Search Results for: the wonder years

In a pop-punk field increasingly populated with interchangeable sound-alike bands, Good Charlotte has made a bid to break away from the pack with its second CD, “The Young & the Hopeless.” Lead singer Joel Madden, who along with twin brother Benj writes the group’s songs, credits Eric Valentine, the producer of “The Young & the Hopeless,” with helping to expand the group’s musical horizons. “He challenged me to write different songs than just a bunch of songs that were kind of the same thing,” Joel Madden said. “He was like, ‘Why don’t you try writing some songs that you wouldn’t… Read more »

Two bands have been comrades ever since Madden brothers became fans of Mest’s 2000 major-label debut. In the clip for “Jaded (These Years),” Mest reminisce about what life was like viewed through innocent eyes. It could have been a cliché that dates beyond Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” were it not for the fact that Mest singer Tony Lovato’s eyes were never that innocent. “I didn’t grow up like normal kids, who go to high school, turn 18 and leave home to go to college,” Lovato said. “I always hung out with older kids. By the time I was 12, I… Read more »

The annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured the spirit of 1970s British punk, some anti-war sentiments and probably the loudest noise ever heard at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In what’s often the case at the glittery ceremony, the honor also brought together a long-estranged group, in this case the Police. The British trio played publicly Monday for the first time in 18 years, singing the reggae-tinged “Roxanne,” the obsessive hit, “Every Breath You Take” and “Message in a Bottle.” “I’d like to make it very clear that there is absolutely no ego in our band whatsoever,”… Read more »

In a year fraught with political turmoil, turbulence and insecurity, music fans turned to their favorite songs to take them away from many of their problems and help them come to terms with others that were impossible to escape. Whether it was Eminem rapping, “Lose yourself in the music,” or Bruce Springsteen singing, “Come on up for the rising/ Come on up, lay your hands in mine,” the messages of unity were universal. At the 45th annual Grammy Awards, held Sunday (February 23) at New York’s Madison Square Garden, apolitical hedonists and social activists alike rallied together to celebrate the… Read more »

The Grammy Awards return to New York for the first time in five years on Sunday, with songs influenced by the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on the city in the running for the music industry’s top annual prizes. Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and country singer Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” are both nominated for Song of the Year. Young singer and pianist Norah Jones with her mellow mix of jazz, blues and country song and album “Come Away With Me,” is among eight stars most frequently mentioned by music critics as… Read more »

We know Metallica and Limp Bizkit will headline the Summer Sanitarium Tour, but what we don’t know is who will be in those bands. Or do we? “We got Yngwie Malmsteen,” Fred Durst deadpanned Wednesday at a press conference to announce the tour, which also features Linkin Park, the Deftones and Mudvayne. “Oh man, he was next on my list,” Lars Ulrich said of the Swedish metal guitar virtuoso. “I’ll take Steve Vai and give you him,” Durst shot back. Of course, Durst and Ulrich were joking. Metallica’s bassist slot and Limp Bizkit’s guitarist slot remain vacant. The latter band… Read more »

With nary a Hells Angels member or flying pool cue in sight, the Rolling Stones played their first free concert in 33 years on Thursday, as a celebrity crowd headed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton looked on. The event at the Staples Center was a considerably more sedate affair than their last free show, at the Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in 1969. Then, security was handled by the local Hells Angels chapter, who clubbed fans with pool cues while the band looked on helplessly. A teenager was stabbed to death as he appeared to point a gun at… Read more »

Motown Records veteran William “Mickey” Stevenson, one of label founder Berry Gordy Jr.’s top lieutenants at Hitsville USA, has launched his own diversified entertainment firm. Los Angeles-based Stevenson Intl. Entertainment Group will have interests in artist management, music publishing, recording, sampling and live-show production, a statement issued on Friday said. Among the developing acts represented by the firm’s B&W Management division are R&B singer Novel, whose debut album will be released by MCA Records later this year, and his unsigned 14-year-old sister Amber. They are two of soul icon Solomon Burke’s grandchildren. Stevenson’s Mikim Music division boasts a database that… Read more »

Sticking to nearly the same sound that got them booed during their debut performance as kids at a Palo Alto middle school, The Donnas have paved a nine-year path from obscurity to success. “We were just dorks in high school with weird clothes,” Head Donna and lead vocalist Brett Anderson deadpans between bites of breakfast at Mel’s Diner during a tour stop in San Francisco. Now, the female foursome’s powerful punk and tales of romantic angst are the stuff of hot-selling CDs and live performances on MTV. Anderson, bassist Maya Ford, whiz guitarist Allison Robertson and frenetic drummer Torry Castellano… Read more »