Search Results for: the voice

The members of Train must have thought they were dreaming when bandmate Pat Monahan called them late last summer about a new track that had popped into his head. “We had made our record already, and we were all back home, and Pat called and said, ‘Man, you have to hear these lyrics I came up with,’” recalls drummer Scott Underwood. “I guess he woke up from a dream and had the song and the melody and a whole concept in his head. The next thing you know, we’re all listening to Pat’s demo tape of that song, and it… Read more »

“We still like to go and bash our heads out and play really loud rock,” says Sugar Ray drummer Stan Frazier. Though best known for acoustic-flavored pop hits like “Fly” and “Every Morning,” the band grew up on a diet of California punk and Eighties New Wave, and its fourth album draws on those roots. The self-titled album, out June 12th, was recorded in Los Angeles with Don Gilmore, who has produced recent albums by Lit, Eve 6 and Linkin Park, and features a guest vocal appearance by 311’s Nick Hexum. The songs were written by all five members: Frazier,… Read more »

Columbia/Loud Records’ Stereomud will be headlining what promises to be one of the most aggressive, exultant and satisfying underground hard rock tours of the summer: the “Pain & Suffering” Tour featuring Columbia/Dv8 Records’ Endo. The “Pain & Suffering” Tour kicks off Monday, May 21 at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan and will feature either Columbia/Portrait Records’ Spike 1000 or Columbia Records’ Flybanger. Inspiration behind the name of the “Pain & Suffering” Tour can be found in the music of the bands: Stereomud’s current hit, “Pain”; Endo’s first single “Suffer,”; and “Make Me Suffer,” the first single from Spike 1000. Currently… Read more »

With little more than one day’s advance public notice, Prince brought his under-the-radar Hit ‘n’ Run tour to Hollywood on Friday. He may not be the commercial presence he once was, but the man (the legend) is still quite capable of tearing the roof off any joint, even the sterile Palladium – as he amply demonstrated over the course of a nearly 30-song set. “You’re about to have the best time of your life,” his Purple Badness boasted before the evening’s opening number, 1980’s disco-y “Uptown,” and then he and the latest incarnation of his NPG band delivered on that… Read more »

Sting effortlessly trots through a cowboy-style Western ditty, swoons a blues number interrupted by French rap and still knows how to strip down to pure form the songs of the group that made him a legend. On tour to promote his album “Brand New Day,” the former Police frontman uses that distinct, throaty voice to sow together his eclectic musical endeavors. “Fill Her Up” from his latest record, a song which is about as close as the poised Englishman comes to singing in a country twang, glides almost seamlessly into “Fields of Gold,” one of his most melodic solo ballads.… Read more »

British rocker Phil Collins and his third wife, Swiss-born Orianne, have had their first child, the star’s publicist said on Tuesday. Orianne gave birth to Nicholas Grev Austin on Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, where the couple now live. “It is difficult to express just how happy Orianne and I are with the arrival of little Nicholas,” the 50-year-old legend said in a statement. He married Orianne, 22 years his junior, in July 1999. Collins has three other children, Simon, Joley and Lily, by his first two marriages. The stocky drummer who became frontman for the hugely successful band Genesis has… Read more »

“I want people to know that we’re still a notch above a garage band,” John Mellencamp says about his summer tour in support of his forthcoming release Cuttin’ Heads, which is due this summer. “No cars dropping down from the ceiling, none of that shit. No, everything’s gonna be black – the whole stage is gonna be black.” Mellencamp’s no frills show will hit twenty-seven cities through the late summer with another straight up rock & roll band, the Wallflowers, opening. Nearly 200 songs and eighteen, going on nineteen, albums later, the challenge for him comes in choosing what to… Read more »

RCS, one of the leading software and broadcast tools providers for radio, has inked a deal with newcomer Kickworks, a network of amateur webcasters set to launch later this year. RCS will provide an array of software tools from its suite of broadcast products that includes RCS Selector music scheduling and RCS Master Control digital automation system. This sophisticated software combination allows users to merge all of the individual audio elements common to every music station (songs, commercials, DJ banter, and recorded announcements), allowing users to create completely personalized radio stations. RCS and Kickworks will create an extensive digital music… Read more »

Imagine a ruthlessly efficient army of robots running wild through the nation’s record stores, removing every bit of major label product from the shelves, from Britney to Bob Dylan – but leaving behind CDs from independent labels. Since March, that unlikely scenario has taken place, more or less, on the free but legally precarious online music bazaar that is Napster. A court injunction stemming from the major labels’ copyright infringement suit against Napster has forced it to block access to copyrighted songs – but labels have the burden of naming the songs in question. And many small and mid-size indie… Read more »

Joey Ramone, lead singer of legendary punk band the Ramones, passed away at 2:40 p.m. Sunday at the age of 49. The towering front man, born Jeffrey Hyman, did not respond to treatment for lymphatic cancer, a disease that attacks the body’s ability to fight infection. Along with his cohorts Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee – all of whom adopted Ramone as a surname – Joey was credited with helping found the modern punk movement. In mixing the griminess of the New York streets with a love of bubblegum pop, ’60s girl groups and the Stooges, the Ramones inspired everyone… Read more »