Search Results for: warped tour

A concert promoter in Denver has filed suit against Clear Channel Communications, alleging that the broadcasting giant has unfairly used its dominance in radio broadcasting to monopolize the live-music market. The Associated Press reports that an antitrust suit has been filed in federal court against the nation’s largest broadcaster, Clear Channel Communications. The lawsuit is the result of Clear Channel’s $4 billion acquisition of SFX, a leading concert promotions company, which has been renamed Clear Channel Entertainment. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in Denver by and independent music promotion company called Nobody in Particular Presents (NPP), charges that Clear… Read more »

Alien Ant Farm’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” has gotten the thumbs up from the “King Of Pop” himself. Some of the biggest pop stars in the world will be in the house at Madison Square Garden for the two Michael Jackson tribute concerts scheduled for September 7 and September 10. Alien Ant Farm singer Dryden Mitchell told LAUNCH he wants to be part of the show. “I don’t know, we would love to go and play it,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of bands that are on it that aren’t even playing Michael Jackson’s songs. They’re… Read more »

Tensions will be running high at the July 31st Bristow, Va., show of the 2001 Warped tour when Eminem and D12 join the tour and perform on the same stage as Overcore’s Esham, who slams his fellow Detroiter Eminem and partners D12 on his latest album “Tongues.” Esham issues a warning to the D-12 crew in the song “All Night Every Day”: “The styles that you runnin’ round with is ours. You and them Shady suckers is nothin’ but cowards. Bang your brains in the dirt make you go bizerk, if you rap with Emily your ass gonna get murked.”… Read more »

You might think that after parting ways with a major label, Jimmy Eat World would take the opportunity to further indulge in the thoughtful experimentation that marked 1999’s Clarity, their second and final release on Capitol. After all, no label means no more A&R guys frowning at songs like Clarity’s 16-minute-plus “Goodbye Sky Harbor,” with its drum-loop buildup and crescendo of overlapping, programmed vocals. But left to their own devices, Mesa, Arizona’s favorite sons made their most straight-up pop record to date – Bleed American, which hit stores Tuesday. “Things still got pretty gnarly in the studio as far as… Read more »

Radio airplay is and has been the primary driver of retail record sales in the United States. Some estimate that nearly 90 percent of sales is the direct result of an artist being exposed on radio. But today, radio is joined by an array of other media choices: MTV, BET, and VH1, digital downloads, and streamed audio. Consumers borrow friend’s CDs and tapes, and see live performance. Any record label or promoter would be remiss by ignoring any one of these outlets since they all help to sell music. In the first-ever project of its kind, James Schureck at Jeff… Read more »

Punk-funk rockers 311 have earned the third top 10 debut of their career with the arrival of their sixth album, From Chaos, on the Billboard 200 album chart. The group’s Volcano Records debut claimed the Number 10 spot, selling more than 82,000 copies, according to sources. Nick Hexum, 311’s frontman, tells LAUNCH that he knew they were on to something with From Chaos, just based on the reaction by fans since the album’s release last week. “We’re definitely having the strongest reaction of any debut ever, you know, because, our breakthrough album, our third album, took over a year to… Read more »

D12, Eminem’s original Detroit rap crew, opened at number one with its debut release, Devil’sNight. The disc was produced by Eminem and prominently features the rhymes of the controversial hip-hopster. D12 (short for the Dirty Dozen) is the first group on Eminem’s Interscope-distributed Shady Records. “We made a pact years ago,” says Eminem. “Whichever one of us gets signed comes back for the rest.” For the week ending Sunday, Devil’s Night sold 371,000 copies, according to SoundScan. The numbers were significantly lower than the 500,000 million retailers predicted and the 1.76 million first week enjoyed by Eminem’s last solo effort,… Read more »

Shaquille O’Neal and 311 hooked up to perform a version of the basketball star’s new song, “Psycho” during a Los Angeles-area gig Saturday (June 23), according to the Los Angeles Times. O’Neal joined the rap-rockers onstage during their set at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, California as part of the annual Weenie Roast, hosted by Southern California alt-rock radio giant KROQ. The 300-pound superstar made the most of his brief concert appearance-crowd surfing during his performance and, later, hovering over the crowd in a helicopter as Staind took its turn on stage, the newspaper reports. The pairing was a… Read more »

Even in its early days of release, Devil’s Night-the new album from D12, the Detroit rap group that includes solo superstar Eminem-is drawing criticism for its lyrical content about drugs, booze, weapons, raping grandmothers, having sex with pit bulls, and exacting violent revenge on enemies. This certainly isn’t news to Eminem fans, who have grown used to the “Parental Advisory” stickers that grace his albums, as well as Devil’s Night. And that certainly hasn’t been enough to keep it from blowing out of stores, with an expected debut at Number One in next week’s Billboard. MC Proof, who co-founded D12… Read more »

While Alien Ant Farm’s remake of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” is currently climbing the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, perhaps real success to the group would be if the King Of Pop were to perform the song with them at some point in the future. Alien drummer Mike Cosgrove and bassist Tye Zamora tell LAUNCH that the concept is definitely in their dreams. Cosgrove says, “We want to go perform the song with him-if he would ever, like, grace us, it would be great. And plus, he would have fun. He never rocked out with a band like us, so…… Read more »