Motion City Soundtrack is at it again with its fourth studio full-length album, My Dinosaur Life, the first released under its contract with Columbia Records. The band is set to embark on tour in support of the album with Set Your Goals, This Providence and The Swellers.
Hannah Montana fans are getting the best of both worlds, leaving the less entertaining aspects to the show’s lawyers and publicists. A lawsuit brought against the Disney Channel by an award-winning comedy writer who claims he pitched the original idea for Hannah Montana and was never compensated for his efforts was referred Friday to mediation in the hope that the two sides can cut a deal. Buddy Sheffield sued parent company ABC Cable Networks Group on Aug. 23, alleging breach of implied contract, breach of confidence, unfair competition and unjust enrichment. He is seeking unspecified damages. ABC Cable has denied… Read more »
The official story goes like this: On the last night of Jim Morrison’s life, the rocker went to a movie in Paris, listened to records, fell ill and died of heart failure in his bathtub at the age of 27. But rumors have always swirled around the death of The Doors frontman and, 36 years later, a former Paris nightclub manager is telling a different story. In a new book, Sam Bernett says that Morrison died in a toilet stall of his club after what he believes was a heroin overdose. He writes of his shock on finding Morrison’s body:… Read more »
You’d think the guys in Panic! at the Disco would have a whole buncha goals in mind for the follow-up to their platinum debut, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. But, no – they have just one. “Actually, our whole goal for this CD is to create a close relationship with Dr. Dre. You know, getting some sort of business plan worked out,” bassist Jon Walker laughed. “I mean, the guy’s a genius.” Of course he’s joking (we think), because there’s clearly more on the line for them this time around. Which is probably why, earlier this month, they announced… Read more »
Britney Spears is certainly not the first celebrity to go off the rails in full view of her once-adoring public. But hers is one of the most spectacular falls from grace in recent memory, meticulously documented by paparazzi and bystanders, and uploaded instantly for the titillation of the masses. At 25 she’s certainly young enough to resume her career after she regroups, and for perspective, we’ve compiled some of the most notorious celebrity flameouts of the past 10 years, along with the success (or not) of their efforts to get back on track. We’ve rated these 1-4 in ascending order… Read more »
Much has already been written about the Shins’ new album, Wincing the Night Away (which comes out Tuesday), including the fact that the majority of the songs were inspired by singer/songwriter James Mercer’s bouts of “crippling insomnia.” Whether or not that’s entirely true is debatable , but what’s more interesting is the fact that, for the first time in almost 15 years of playing together, the Shins have become a band about which much is written. And more pertinently, very little of it is about their career-making shout-out in Zach Braff’s 2004 flick, “Garden State,” or one of their songs… Read more »
Dustin Kensrue hasn’t been getting much sleep lately. The release of his debut solo album, Please Come Home, is right around the corner, and his month-old daughter has been doing her best to keep him up too. Oh, and there’s that little project he’s been working on with Thrice, the band he’s fronted since 1998: a collection of 25 songs, spread across four CDs that will be known collectively as The Elements. Thrice, Kensrue said, are about halfway through the writing and recording of The Elements, which is bound to be one of the most ambitious studio efforts in recent… Read more »
Melisma/Atlantic recording artist Rob Thomas has announced plans for his first-ever solo concert tour. The special 11-city, cross-country itinerary heralds the April 19th release of Thomas’ debut solo album, “…SOMETHING TO BE.” The tour kicks off on Friday, April 15th at The Fillmore in San Francisco and wraps up on April 30th at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The shows will mark Thomas’ first club tour since matchbox twenty’s first national trek eight years ago. “Lonely No More,” the first single from “…SOMETHING TO BE,” has proved to be an immediate smash at pop radio across the country. The… Read more »
Los Angeles – Motley Crue action figure sets will be up for grabs in a promotion for the band’s reunion tour this spring. Global Spectrum and McFarlane Toys are teaming to offer concertgoers at five venues the chance to win a set along with a pair of concert tickets. The promotion is part of Global Spectrum’s effort to explore more creative marketing tools, while McFarlane Toys is seeking to expand its customer base. “This is a way to draw attention to our venues,” Global Spectrum COO John Page says. “Traditional forms of advertisement aren’t having the same impact they used… Read more »
New York – As rap stars go, Jin has the typical look down cold: Hoodie, baggy sweats, chunky diamond stud earring, a Chinese character tattooed on his neck and a large blingy necklace. Not everything’s typical, though. “Yeah, I’m Chinese. And what?” he asks with mock exasperation. At just 22, the Miami-bred, New York-based rapper is something of a pioneer – the first Asian-American hip-hop artist to get a major solo record deal. At the same time, he worries that it’s his race, not his rhymes, generating all the attention. “Being Asian helps me so much,” he says. “It definitely… Read more »
