Christopher Sabec is the co-founder and CEO of the copyright monetization company Rightscorp Inc. He has over 20 years in the music industry as an entertainment lawyer and manager. Some of his more notable clients were the Dave Matthews Band, Hanson, and Jerry Garcia. You can visit his music website here
Sunday, May 31, 2015
B.B. King's Son Doubts Poisoning Claims
B.B. King was laid to rest at a memorial service in his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi on Saturday, but questions whether the blues legend was poisoned continue to loom over his May 14th death. Two of King's daughters, Karen Williams and Patty King, claimed in a pair of affidavits that they believed King's death was hastened by business manager LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson. However, King's son Willie told The Guardian that he believes his sisters "went to the extreme" when they accused Toney of poisoning their father.
"There are always – I don't want to call them this, but – there's always a rotten apple in the barrel, and sometimes you can take hurt, and turn it into something that it should not be. And I think out of the anger of losing their dad, they went to the extreme," Willie King said prior to his father's public viewing Friday at the B.B. King Museum. "I pray that the public don't really accept them as an angry person like that, because being my sisters, they are not like that. But sometimes you just don't know how to express yourself. And you jump out at the nearest person. And they attacked the wrong person."
The legal fight over King's last days has grown increasingly rancorous as attorneys for Toney and King's daughters continue to trade accusations. "Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death," said Brent Bryson, the attorney for King's estate, which has Toney as executor. "I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King."
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Larissa Drohobyczer, the attorney for Williams and Patty King, responded to Bryson's remarks. "Karen and Patty have nothing to gain financially by getting [the] truth on how their father died. Nothing," Drohobyczer said. "Mr. Bryson is unnecessarily dragging mourning daughters through the mud for no apparent reason. Not one family member was allowed to see B.B. for a week prior to his death, not even his friends. That really hurt and angered Karen and Patty deeply."
Drohobyczer did not immediately reply to a request for comment regarding Willie King's remarks.
However, other people who were close to King also questioned the validity of the poisoning claims. "I'm absolutely sure it's absolutely false," King's biographer Charles Sawyer, who penned the authorized The Arrival of B.B. King, told The Guardian. "LaVerne Toney had B.B. King's power of attorney because he trusted her as much as he could trust any human being." Myron Johnson, also accused of poisoning the bluesman, even delivered a eulogy at King's funeral.
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Saturday, May 30, 2015
Sony Music CEO: No Plans to Pull Beyoncé Off Tidal
Contrary to reports, Sony Music has no plans to pull Beyoncé – or any other artists under their umbrella – from Jay Z's Tidal streaming service. "Jay-Z is a friend and business associate for many years. I have always admired his business acumen, his entrepreneurship and his passion for music," Sony Music CEO Doug Morris said in a statement. "All of our content, including Beyoncé, is available through the Tidal service, and we have announced no plans to remove our catalog from Tidal. Like all of our other partners, we are rooting for Jay and Tidal to succeed."
Morris' comments come after a Bloomberg profile on Tidal suggested that the Sony Music catalog – including Beyoncé's music – could soon be removed from the fledging high-quality audio service if Jay Z and the label did not come to terms on streaming rights soon. If Beyoncé's music were to be taken off Tidal, it'd be an especially harsh blow to Jay Z given that his wife was among the superstar artists that joined the rapper onstage at Tidal's all-star launch party and signed a "declaration" supporting the service.
However, a source close to the situation tells Rolling Stone regarding the potential removal of Beyoncé from Tidal, "I don't know that it's even completely accurate. Sony is regularly negotiating with partners. They took that point and obviously focused on one artist, which is inappropriate as well. This is a Sony Music issue and it'd be across Sony Music."
While Tidal prides itself on being the artist-friendliest of all the streaming services, a claim reiterated often by Jay Z and Jack White especially, many musicians have criticized the service since it launched in late March. Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons admitted his band wouldn't have aligned with the service if asked because "a band of our size shouldn't be complaining. And when they say it's artist-owned, it's owned by those rich, wealthy artists."
Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard said of Tidal, "I think they totally blew it by bringing out a bunch of millionaires and billionaires and propping them up onstage and then having them all complain about not being paid."
"I thought that the people on the stage might want to be a little bit aware that they don't look like Jay Z's minions," Noel Gallagher told Rolling Stone after watching the live-streamed launch party. "I think ultimately that the spiel they came out with, it was like, 'Do these people think they're the fuckin' Avengers? They're going to save the fuckin' [world].' I was speaking to Chris [Martin] the day after, and I said, 'Are you after a Nobel Peace Prize? Is that what you're after?' They were like, We're going to fuckin' save the music business.' And I'm just sitting there, thinking [imitates smoking weed] you might want to write a decent chorus for a fuckin' start. Never mind fuckin' royalties and the 'power of music.' Write a tune. Fuckin' start with that."
In late April, Jay Z came to the defense of Tidal, telling fans and subscribers in a long series of tweets, "The iTunes Store wasn't built in a day. It took Spotify 9 years to be successful. We are here for the long haul. Please give us a chance to grow & get better." White also stood up for the service in a recent fan Q&A, writing "I don't see people saying we should go to the movies for free, or Netflix should be free. That state of music is in flux. Be on the side of supporting creativity, not taking from it." White also promised that, despite the marquee talent at the Tidal launch, the service is "not about the rich getting richer."
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Iggy Azalea Cancels Entire Great Escape Tour
Iggy Azalea's Great Escape Tour, originally scheduled to kick off this spring before it was postponed to the fall, has now been cancelled entirely. The trek was set to begin on September 18th in San Diego. "As you may know, the tour is cancelled. I'm so sad and sorry to let my fans down... we'll be back out on the road when the next album is done," Azalea tweeted to fans on Friday.
Great Escape Tour ticket holders were emailed a message informing them that Azalea's tour was cancelled and refunds were available at point of purchase. "There will be a new tour planned around Iggy's new record to be released in 2016 and we apologize for any inconvenience," the message said. However, Azalea still plans on making good on her non-tour summer festival dates. "The cancellations don't include Pittsburgh Pride, Ottawa Bluesfest, Québec Summer Festival, or Washington State Fair. Still coming to those," the "Pretty Girls" rapper tweeted.
The Great Escape Tour, which was officially announced in December 2014, was initially set to begin April 14th in Fresno, California with Nick Jonas and Tinashe serving as opening acts. In March, Azalea revealed that the entire jaunt would be postponed until the fall. "It is bumped back because I am a psychopath – it's my first arena tour, so it's a big undertaking and I'm doing a lot of the creative direction," Azalea told 97.1 AMP in March (via New York Times).
"To accommodate for creative team availability and tour production plans, it was determined that the tour will not be ready this spring," Azalea's reps said at the time. "It is extremely important to Iggy that she delivers the show she envisaged to share with her fans and that requires more time in development... The tour getting pushed back only means that it'll be way more amazing than it would've been in April. Good things take time." No explanation was given why the fall dates were nixed.
Azalea also hinted back in December that her tour was dubbed "The Great Escape" because "this name is somewhat relatable to what I'll be naming Album 2," the follow-up to her 2014 breakout The New Classic.
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Friday, May 29, 2015
Weekend Rock Question: What's the Best Neil Young Deep Cut?
Neil Young played a surprise show at Charley's Restaurant and Saloon in Maui with his new backing band Promise of the Real earlier this week. The set focused on their upcoming album The Monsanto Years, but it also featured lesser-known Young tunes like "Country Home," "Goin' Back," "Walk On" and "Love and Only Love." They're hitting the road for a North American amphitheater tour in July.
Now we have a question for you: What is your favorite Neil Young deep cut? Basically, we're going to count anything not in rotation on Classic Rock radio. That eliminates big hits like "Heart of Gold" and "Rockin' in the Free World" along with tunes like "The Loner," "Like a Hurricane" and "Tonight's the Night." That still leaves about 95 percent of his catalog. Feel free to vote for a Buffalo Springfield tune like "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong," a 1970s gem like "Ambulance Blues" and "Sedan Delivery" or something more recent like "Goin' Home" or "Be the Rain." Pick whatever Neil Young deep cut you want, but please only vote once and only for a single selection.
You can vote here in the comments, on http://ift.tt/1wio6sr or on Twitter using the hashtag #WeekendRock.
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Grateful Dead Offer Up Chicago VIP Passes in Airbnb Contest
The only thing that sold out faster than tickets to the Grateful Dead's three farewell shows in Chicago were the city's available hotel rooms for the July 4th weekend. Thankfully, Airbnb has helped alleviate the lack of lodging for Deadheads by teaming with Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann for a contest where one Airbnb lodger and their guest can win VIP tickets to the Fare Thee Well gigs.
"Wherever the Grateful Dead went – be it Chicago, New York, Detroit, or any other typical city involved in a typical daydream – we were surrounded by Deadheads," Kreutzmann said in a statement. "Not just fans; real community. Local Deadheads would host traveling Deadheads, and as the tour continued onward, the hosts would become the visitors. I get a little bit of that now, myself, as both an Airbnb host and as a frequent traveler."
The contest is running now through June 18th at Airbnb.com/dead50, where entrants are asked to explain why they – in 150 words are less – should have the honor of witnessing the Dead's final shows as Kreutzmann's guest. Three more winning entries will receive passes to all three Fare Thee Well shows.
"I love seeing that tradition continue, both within and beyond the Deadhead community, and I love seeing it extend out to the world community," Kreutzmann added. "So of course I feel a kinship with all the other Airbnb hosts who are traveling to Chicago for Fare Thee Well or who call it their home. It's just another manifestation of the true spirit of the Grateful Dead."
In addition to the Chicago shows, the Grateful Dead will also head to their native Bay Area for a pair of farewell gigs at Santa Clara, California's Levi's Stadium on June 27th and 28th. For Deadheads who can't make the long strange journey to there or the Windy City, there's always pay-per-view.
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Read Bruce Springsteen's Funny, Moving Tribute to Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend was honored Thursday night during the 11th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in New York, where he received the Stevie Ray Vaughan award from fellow rock legend Bruce Springsteen. The evening was filled with musical tributes to the Who, including appearances from Joan Jett, Billy Idol and Willie Nile. Springsteen joined the band for a rousing take on "My Generation," and most of the lineup united for "Won't Get Fooled Again." Other highlights included Jett's powerhouse versions of "Summertime Blues" and "I Can't Explain" and Idol's punk-inflected takes on "Who Are You" and "The Real Me."
Springsteen saluted the Who mastermind in his funny, heartfelt speech, emphasizing Townshend's influence on his own music. The rocker recalled seeing the Who open for Herman's Hermits in the late 1960s and, as a 16-year-old, emulating the band by bashing a vase of flowers after an early show. "Pete managed to take the dirty business of rock & roll and somehow make it spiritual and turn it into a quest," Springsteen said. "Pete, I'm here to say, thanks for not just Who's Next and Who Are You, but who I am."
Bruce Springsteen's Tribute to Pete Townshend at MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit
Thank you. Pete's receiving the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award this year for his dedication to helping others who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, for his work with the Who and his Double 'O' charity, Pete's got a long history of working hard and raising spirits and money for worthy causes. Here's just a few: In 1986, Double 'O' promotions put on a Colombian Volcano relief concert. In 1989, the Who reconvened for an anniversary tour, generated over $8 million for children's charities throughout the U.K. and the U.S.A. In the past years, the Who have helped the Teenage Cancer Trust raise close to 3 million pounds to provide cancer wards and screening units.
There are plans on this tour to raise funds for charities as various as the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation for Underprivileged Children, the Robin Hood Foundation which funds and supports innovative poverty-fighting organizations in New York City. I could go on and tell you much more about what Pete and the Who have done for others, but I think I'll tell you a little bit about what Pete's done for me.
I wouldn't be windmilling a Fender Telecaster if it weren't for Pete Townshend. It's the summer of '66 or '67, I'm not sure which one, but it was the first American tour that the Who were on. And I'm in a long line snaking out of Convention Hall down the boardwalk and the billboard read, in big type, Herman's Hermits [laughter], then The Who [laughter].
I was a young, pimply-faced teenager who managed to scrap enough together to go see my first rock concert ever. Pete and the Who were young pimply-faced teenagers with a record contract, a tour and a rude, aggressive magic. They were on this tour, of all things, opening for Herman's Hermits [laughter]. There was no justice. So, I scrambled to my seat, which seemed like the cavernous Convention Hall and I waited for the rumble to start.
The first band out, I think was a band called the Blues Magoos. They were at a New York City, uh, yeah,… There are a few folks who remember the Blues Magoos out there? [cheers] I don't believe you [laughter]. But they had a great song, "We Ain't Got Nothing Yet," and they came out and they had these electric suits and when all the lights went out in the hall, the electric suits lit up and, it was high-level special effects for the time. But then the Who came out. I think they played for probably no more than 30 minutes, and before Pete and a cloud of smoke demolished his guitar, bashing it over and over into the floor.
And his amplifier… Now the audience was filled with a significant number of teenyboppers who were waiting for "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." So they sat there with their mouths agape, and they were wondering, like, of course, who are you? Who are these guys? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? And all I knew was, for some reason, this music and the demolishing of these perfectly fine instruments filled me with incredible joy. There was something wonderful about the wanton destruction of good commercial property [laughter].
It was the joy and giddiness of the riot that the Who managed somehow to safely attain; semi-safely attain. But all I knew is that it made me happy and it thrilled and inspired me. Inspired me to a degree where I was in a young band called the Castiles. I was about 16 years old.
We had a gig the next weekend at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic School in the basement for the CYO dance [laughter]. So I went out and I bought a smoke bomb and I bought a strobe light and I brought them over to the gig. And as the night neared its end — not being able to smash my guitar — It was the only one I had, you know. At the end of the night, I lit the smoke bomb in the Catholic school basement. I turned on the strobe light and I climbed on top of my damn electro-amplifier holding a vase of flowers that I had stolen from one of the upstairs classrooms [laughter].
And with this huge flourish, melodramatically, I raised the vase of flowers as the flickering, blinding strobe lit me with the smoke all around me, and as the nuns looked on in horror, I reached up and smashed them onto the dance floor [laughter]. And then I jumped off the amp and I stomped all over the petunias, putting them into an early death. Of course, I looked ridiculous and like I lost my mind. The vase of flowers simply failed to have the grandeur of the newly minted Telecaster being smashed to splinters. But, we worked with what we had so… I went home smiling, feeling like a blood bond with Pete Townshend, and I never looked back.
As I grew older, the Who's music seemed to grow with me. The sexual frustration, the politics, identity. These things coursed through my veins with every concurring Who album. I always found myself there somewhere in their music. "The Seeker"; the seeker is the guy in "Born to Run." There'd be no "Down in jungle," ba da ba, "land," without Pete's slashing bloody attack on his instrument. Pete is the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time [cheers]. He plays such incredible rhythm and he showed you don't have to play any lead. It's an amazing thing to behold, really. Pete managed to take the dirty business of rock & roll and somehow make it spiritual and turn it into a quest.
He may hate this, but he identified the place where it was noble and he wasn't afraid to go there. I took a lot of that with me as the years passed by. So Pete, I'm here to say, congratulations, well deserved, and thanks for not just Who's Next, and for Who Are You, but for who I am [applause]. Congratulations Pete.
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Hunter Hayes Gets Morale Boost From Elton John
Hunter Hayes will be the first to tell you that he has been lucky enough to get to meet and play with some of his musical influences, including Stevie Wonder and Garth Brooks.
Now he can add Elton John to the list. Hayes, who covered the title track of John’s classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for the record's 40th anniversary re-release in 2013, recently got a phone call from his idol — and it came at just the right time.
"I’ve been really blessed; I’ve met a lot of my heroes and they've all reached out and said, 'If you need anything, let me know.' You don’t want to abuse that invitation," he tells Rolling Stone Country. "I sent Elton an email and [asked], 'Do you have a second to chat?' He called me and he gave me not as much advice as encouragement. He spoke so much positivity and strength and encouragement that can come from someone like that, who's been through so much and is so brave. It was exciting. It definitely gave a new energy to my outlook on a lot of things, especially that day, that week, that month and, now, this year."
Hayes didn’t want to get into specifics about the phone call, but stressed that John was "insanely encouraging." Meanwhile, the young country star is shaking things up a bit by releasing a series of digital streaming singles, the first of which, "21," debuted on Spotify last week. Hayes says John provided just the right words of courage, adding, "This is the year to be brave. I want to try some new things I’ve never tried before. It’s a lot of firsts coming from me soon."
According to Billboard, fans can expect several more digital singles from Hayes, who is currently on the road with Lady Antebellum and Sam Hunt on the Wheels Up Tour.
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Chance the Rapper's Social Experiment Drops Free 'Surf' Album
Chance the Rapper's side project, Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment, released their debut album Surf Thursday evening via SoundCloud below and as a free download on iTunes.
The album features numerous guest appearances, though the iTunes track list does not name any features. According to MissInfo, Big Sean, J. Cole, Busta Rhymes, Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu are a few of the big-name collaborators who appear on the album.
Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment is a musical collective led by Chance's friend Nico Segal (AKA Donnie Trumpet). While many have anticipated Surf to be the follow-up to Chance's 2013 mixtape Acid Rap, it is primarily Segal's group and fuses hip-hop with free jazz and R&B. "Surf is Nico's project," Chance told the Fader earlier this year. "He was working on it when we decided to be The Social Experiment, so we decided that his project should be first."
The Social Experiment previewed their sound with the reworking of the children's television show Arthur's theme song titled "Wonderful Everyday," which Chance has performed during his solo shows over the past year. The official track features Wyclef Jean and Jessie Ware. The group also debuted a short film for Surf's closing song "Sunday Candy" in April. The dance-heavy film was directed by Austin Vesely and choreographed by Ian Eastwood, who are also both close friends of Chance and Chicagoans.
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Erin Andrews, Brittany Snow to Co-Host 2015 CMT Music Awards
While the CMA, ACM and ACC Awards try various country stars' hands at TV hosting duties, the CMT Music Awards tend to have Hollywood going country for a night. Following in the stilettoed footsteps of actresses including Kristen Bell, Kathy Najimi and Pamela Anderson will this year be Dancing With the Stars and Fox NFL Sunday broadcaster Erin Andrews and Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow, who will co-host the June 10th awards, live from Nashville.
Andrews is no stranger to the country scene; she presented at the 2011 CMA Awards, helped announce last year's ACM Awards nominees and was a special guest at Blake Shelton's annual fan club party in 2010. The renowned sportscaster just wrapped her third season co-hosting Dancing With the Stars – a gig she scored after placing third as a contestant on the show's 10th season. And she'll return to Fox in the fall for her NFL Sunday sideline reports.
"Being a huge fan of country music, the CMT Music Awards are one of my favorite events of the season," the Maine native writes in a statement.
Snow stars in the current Number One movie at the box office (which also boasts a chart-topping soundtrack), Pitch Perfect 2, alongside Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Hailee Steinfeld. Other projects on her acting resume include an award-winning run on Guiding Light, 2007's film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Hairspray and the current William H. Macy-led film, Dial a Prayer.
"I'm thrilled to join Erin in hosting what’s sure to be one of the most memorable musical nights of the year," says the 29-year-old actress.
Carrie Underwood leads the 2015 CMT nominees with five nods and will perform on the show — her first live televised performance since giving birth to her first child in March. She's followed in nominations by Lady Antebellum and Kenny Chesney, who each have four nods and will perform, as well. Others to take the CMT stage include Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line. All categories are fan-voting, with the CMT.com ballet open though June 7th.
The 2015 CMT Music Awards air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on June 10th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
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Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Lists for $100 Million
Michael Jackson's opulent Santa Barbara County, California estate Neverland Ranch has been put on the market for $100 million. Named after the fictional world in Peter Pan where children never grow up, the King of Pop resided on the estate, which contained its own amusement park and petting zoo to entertain visiting kids, for 15 years.
Jackson purchased the 2,700-acre ranch in Los Olivos, California in 1987, but ceased living at Neverland following his 2005 molestation trial and an extensive police search of the property. After Jackson failed to repay a $24 million loan on the ranch amid his mounting debt in 2008, Neverland Ranch almost went to auction before real estate investment firm Colony Capital entered into a joint title on the property with Jackson.
After Jackson left the Ranch, the property fell into disrepair. However, following Jackson's death, Colony Capital slowly redeveloped the home, rebranding the property Sycamore Valley Ranch, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The amusement park rides, exotic animals and the Jackson-owned Neverland Valley Fire Department – an on-property emergency service that would respond to injured children – that once graced the property are now gone (though a llama is still on the ranch).
The property does features 22 structures, including a six-bedroom main house complete with attached staff quarters, a four-bedroom guesthouse and an adjacent two-bedroom guesthouse. There is also a tennis court, basketball court, swimming pool and cabana and a 50-seat movie theatre. The Neverland Valley Train Station, featuring a clock tower with large floral clock, also remains, but while the railroad tracks continue to circle the property, the train itself no longer runs.
In an effort to prevent giving open house tours to Jackson fanatics, the real estate companies who are sharing the listing, Sotheby's and Hilton & Hyland, will conduct an "extensive prequalification" screening process. "Our seller is not encouraging a lot of showings," Jeffrey Hyland of Hilton & Hyland told the Wall Street Journal. "We're not going to be giving tours."
News of Neverland Ranch's sale comes just days after Jackson's estate was sued over an outstanding $4.6 million payment Jackson owed from the August 2007 refinancing of the property, CBS Los Angeles reports.
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Thursday, May 28, 2015
Queen Debut Official App Featuring Quizzes, Band History
Queen have launched a new app, Queen: Play the Game, that allows fans to win various prizes through quizzes and puzzles while exploring the band's history through archival images and re-sampled sounds from their extensive catalog of music.
Developed with Soshi Games, the new app is available to download for iOS and Android, and costs approximately $3. Play the Game comes with a handful of puzzles and more than 900 trivia questions; developers promised the app would be updated regularly with new features and games.
Play the Game will also host monthly competitions where users will be able to win Queen merchandise and prizes. The first competition ends June 30th and includes a mini-Freddie Mercury statue as part of a prize.
Users must have reached a certain level within the game in order to be eligible. For instance, the first competition will be open to those who have achieved two stars. Per the Play the Game site, there are various challenges within each category (such as "The Songs"), and stars are awarded at various checkpoints (one when 25 percent of the category is complete, two at 50 percent and three at 100 percent).
As for their non-app related activity, Queen are taking some time off after a busy 2014, which saw the release of a new compilation, Queen Forever — that included several previously unreleased songs — and a 24-date North American tour with Adam Lambert serving as frontman (the band will return to the road this September for several South American shows).
Despite the near-impossible task of filling Mercury's shoes, Lambert told Rolling Stone at the time that he was up for the challenge: "I think a lot of the apprehension has faded because we've done this a number of times in the past couple of years. That's not to suggest I'm getting cocky at all, because I will never compare to Freddie Mercury. He's one in a million. At this point, I know how to strike a balance between honoring the way these songs were originally meant to be sung and my own instincts, my own choices."
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Bonnaroo Details 'Throwback Superjam Dance Party'
Pretty Lights, Run-D.M.C.'s Darryl McDaniels and Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo will lead another characteristically eclectic Bonnaroo Superjam, which will be held Saturday night of the festival, June 13th, at 1:30 a.m.
Officially dubbed the "Throwback Superjam Dance Party," the rest of the lineup includes Jack Antonoff (Bleachers, fun.) Chance the Rapper, Reggie Watts, Jamie Lidell, Eric Krasno, John Medeski, Karl Denson, Oteil Burbridge, Robert "Sput" Searight (of instrumental fusion group Snarky Puppy), Brian Coogan and Brownout Horns. Special guests Cherub and Rhiannon Giddens will also take the stage, and organizers, as always, have promised more surprises.
Last year's Superjam was helmed by Skrillex and featured a wide array of artists such as A$AP Ferg, Janelle Monáe, comedian Craig Robinson, Cage the Elephant's Matt Shultz and the Doors' Robby Krieger. A subsequent eight-part documentary series offered an inside look at the entire Superjam process, from conception and curation (in one clip, Skrillex rehearses his cold call spiel to potential participants) to rehearsals and performance.
Bonnaroo will return to Manchester, Tennessee for its 13th year June 11th through the 14th. Billy Joel, Deadmau5, Mumford & Sons and Kendrick Lamar are slated to headline, while other big name acts include Florence and the Machine, My Morning Jacket, Robert Planet, Tears for Fears, Earth, Wind and Fire, Slayer, D'Angelo, Alabama Shakes and Belle and Sebastian. A complete lineup is available on the Bonnaroo website.
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Driver Goes on Deadly Rampage After Trace Adkins Concert
One man is dead and at least two more are injured after a food vendor in eastern Tennessee drove his Toyota 4-Runner into the crowd following a Trace Adkins concert this past weekend.
The Saturday evening show was held at Trails End Campground, a popular spot for hunters and off-road ATV drivers in Huntsville, Tennessee. Hometown hero Anthony Smith, who'd written the hit title track for Adkins' fourth album, Chrome, nearly 15 years prior, kicked off the evening, with Adkins taking the stage later that night. The concert doubled as the grand finale of the campgrounds' first-annual Full Throttle Festival, a daylong event catering to ATV enthusiasts. Adkins had completed his performance and was already offstage for nearly an hour before the trouble began, according to his spokesperson.
Following a fight, 42-year-old food vendor Billy Jason Carson, who was reportedly intoxicated, left the concert area and retrieved his SUV, which he drove back toward the crowd. He threatened people with a gun and also spun his truck in circles, hitting two additional vehicles before running over four men. According to local station WBIR, Tony Farrell, a monster truck driver based in North Vernon, Indiana, died at the scene, while two others — including Farrell's son — were airlifted to a nearby hospital at the University of Tennessee.
Concert security officials detained Carson, who was taken to the Scott County Justice Center and charged with criminal homicide and reckless endangerment. Originally held on a $500,000 bond, he was released Wednesday afternoon after posting a reduced $50,000 bond. While the court waits for his toxicology reports, Carson is prohibited to enter Scott County, leave the state of Tennessee or have contact with Farrell's family. His next preliminary hearing is scheduled for the morning of August 6th.
While Farrell's death is the first reported homicide at a Trails End Campground event, it's one of several deaths to occur during recent country shows. Last year, a man died after hitting his head on the concourse at a Hanks Williams Jr. concert in Michigan, while two people suffered unrelated deaths at a pair of Jason Aldean shows that same summer.
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Kanye West Settles 'Bound 2' Lawsuit With Soul Singer
Kanye West has settled a lawsuit with former child soul star Ricky Spicer over the sample that anchors Yeezus hit, "Bound 2," Billboard reports.
Spicer initially sued West, Roc-A-Fella Records, Universal Music Group and Island Def Jam Music Group in December 2013, claiming unauthorized use of his voice. Paperwork, dated March 6th, was filed to a New York Court on May 11th discontinuing the suit.
A representative for West declined to comment on the settlement. An attorney for Spicer did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The sample in question was the song's repeated refrain, "Bound, bound / Bound to fall in love." Spicer recorded those vocals in 1971 when he was 12 for "Bound," a song by his former group the Ponderosa Twins Plus One.
The initial suit claimed, "Mr. Spicer's voice is sampled exactly as he recorded it and his voice… is heard several times." Spicer demanded compensation in light of the song's success, which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100; the song's popularity was also bolstered by a video featuring West and a topless Kim Kardashian — as well as James Franco and Seth Rogen's endearing shot-for-shot remake.
Amidst launching his Adidas fashion line, West continues to prep his follow-up to Yeezus. The LP was initially titled So Help Me God, but recently changed to Swish (West noted on Twitter it was possible the name would change again). The album's only confirmed track is the single "All Day," though West recently dropped "Wolves," as well as two collaborations with Paul McCartney, "Only One" and Rihanna's "FourFiveSeconds."
As of February, West had said that Swish was "80 percent done," though a release date has yet to be announced.
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Watch Jon Pardi Channel Roy Rogers in New Cowboy Video
Jon Pardi's 2014 debut album, Write You a Song, yielded four singles including the Top Ten "Up All Night." But the traditionally leaning singer-songwriter, who's currently in the studio working on the follow-up, held back a few songs from that project. Now, to fill the gap between LPs, Pardi has released the tunes as a digital EP, The B-Sides, 2011-2014.
The half-dozen previously unavailable tracks, all co-written and co-produced by Pardi, have become staples of the performer's live show. One of them, "Back on the Backroads," is now Pardi's latest video. A summer-focused clip replete with a pickup truck, field party and an overweight shirtless dude in a cowboy hat doing some "dancing," the video is anchored by scenes of Pardi — in black-and-white —dressed as a cinematic cowboy, riding a horse and strumming his guitar.
It's an interesting juxtaposition, much like the song itself, which freshens up the occasionally shopworn backroads lifestyle by marrying it with honest-to-goodness country instruments. A California native, Pardi has never been one to shy away from steel guitars and twang. As such, he's found himself aligned with some of the genre's most "country" artists, including Alan Jackson, who enlisted him for his recent Keepin' It Country 25th Anniversary Tour.
While that trek came to a close earlier this month at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater, Pardi will stay on the road with his own tour throughout the summer, along with appearances at festivals like New York City's FarmBorough and Delaware's Big Barrel.
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Michael Jackson Molestation Lawsuit Dismissed
A molestation lawsuit filed against the Michael Jackson estate by choreographer Wade Robson was dismissed Tuesday by a Los Angeles judge who ruled that Robson waited too long to seek legal action. Robson, who previously testified under oath that Jackson never molested him during the singer's criminal trial in 2005, later sued the Jackson estate in May 2013, claiming Jackson molested him during a seven-year stretch that began in 1990 when Robson was seven, the New York Post reports. The Jackson estate had denied Robson's allegations.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff wrote in his decision that Robson could file a lawsuit "only for a reasonable time period after any violence, intimidation or threatening conduct by the decedent ceases." The alleged molestation occurred between 1990 and 1997; Robson waited 16 years before taking legal action. In those 16 years, Robson was one of Jackson's staunchest supporters when the singer faced criminal molestation charges, even when other trial witnesses testified that they saw Jackson molest Robson.
"I'm very mad about it," Robson previously said of the allegations that Jackson molested him. "It's not true and they put my name through the dirt. I'm really not happy about it." However, Robson claimed that a 2012 therapy session made him realize what had happened. "I began to recognize for myself that Jackson had molested me," Robson said in a sworn statement that preceded his lawsuit (via People). "I first spoke about the sexual activity I had with Jackson. This revelation initiated an enormous emotional, psychological and physiological upheaval in my life that continues until this day."
In a statement, Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman praised the judge's decision to dismiss and said that the estate believed Robson's initial testimony under oath "when his sole motivation was 'to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.'"
Robson's attorney Maryann Marzano said they plan to appeal the decision and that they would continue to pursue the molestation claims against the Jackson estate. "We are confident that when all the facts are presented in civil court, there will be no doubt left about just what kind of sexual predator Jackson was,” Marzano said in a statement.
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AC/DC's Brian Johnson Will Appear on Jim Breuer's Album
AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson recorded vocals for a song on Jim Breuer's upcoming rock album, the comedian giddily revealed during an interview on SiriusXM's Opie and Jim Norton Show.
Breuer delivered his dead-on impression of Johnson throughout the story, relaying his grumblings about drummer Phil Rudd — who recently pleaded guilty to drug charges and threatening to kill a former assistant — and casual, masterful recording process.
At their initial meeting, Breuer recalled playing the rocker a handful of tracks from the album before the producer presented the song he'd been slaving over for months in anticipation: "Brian turns on the music for like three seconds, says, 'What's the lyrics?' He shows the lyrics and [Johnson] goes, 'Eh! Bread and butter! See ya tomorrow.'"
When Johnson and Breuer reconvened in the studio, instead of going into an isolated booth to record, Johnson set up in the room with the mixing board and just a microphone. "'I don't want no headphones — that's fucking cheating!"' Breuer, as Johnson, said. "'I'll just stand here with a mic like I'm onstage.'"
Breuer's impression of Johnson did ultimately cause some confusion. Before Johnson came into the studio, Breuer said he recorded the entire song himself (the pair will trade lead vocals on the final version) in order to give Johnson a sense of the song. But as Breuer admitted, while he's great at impressions — he quickly rattled off his Ozzy Osbourne and James Hetfield — he doesn't know his own voice.
"So what the producer would do, 'Breuer, you need to hit this note' — he would go in and sing it, I'd listen and copy," Breuer said. "So that's what we did for Brian. And he comes in, he's listening over and at one point it was me, him, the producer and one other guy, and we're listening to the feedback and none of us knew who was doing it!"
This isn't the first time Breuer and Johnson have collaborated: When the rocker appeared on Breuer Unleashed (the old name of his SiriusXM show Fridays with Jim Breuer) the comedian and his band prepped a cover of AC/DC's "Rock N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution." Johnson gladly assisted on the vocals, and in return Breuer later joined him onstage for a performance of his AC/DC hokey-pokey bit.
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No Doubt, Iggy Pop, Snoop Dogg Lead Chicago's Riot Fest
The multi-city Riot Fest has announced the first wave of artists that will invade Chicago, Denver and Toronto this summer. At the Chicago fest, No Doubt will headline alongside Faith No More, Modest Mouse, Iggy Pop, a still-unannounced act and Snoop Dogg, who will perform his classic Doggystyle in its entirety. Billy Idol, Tenacious D, Motörhead and Taking Back Sunday will also appear at the Windy City faction, taking place at Douglas Park September 11th through 13th.
Snoop Dogg isn't the only artist digging into their catalog for a full album performance: Ice Cube & Guests will tackle N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton, Rancid will run through ...And Out Come the Wolves and the Academy Is will bring Almost Here to Denver.
Riot Fest Chicago also boasts an incredible array of reggae legends (Jimmy Cliff, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley), reunited bands (Babes in Toyland, Swervedriver, L7, Drive Like Jehu) and beloved hip-hop acts (Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Heems). The diverse lineup also features Anthrax, Gwar, Echo & the Bunnymen and Eagles of Death Metal.
Three-day passes for the Chicago and Denver Riot Fests are available now through Ticketfly. The Denver offshoot, hitting the National Western Complex on August 28th through 30th, features many of the same acts as the Chicago fest (Snoop Dogg, Iggy Pop, Rancid and Ice Cube) but adds Pixies, Run-DMC, GZA, Explosions in the Sky and two still-unannounced headliners. Like Chicago, the Denver fest will also feature Bootsy Collins' Rubber Band, Desaparecidos, Yelawolf, OK Go and many more. Check out the Riot Fest site for the complete first wave of artist announcements.
At Toronto's Riot Fest, scheduled for September 19th and 20th, the initial lineup features Wu-Tang Clan, Alexisonfire, Tyler, the Creator, Atmosphere, Against Me!, Rancid and more. With two of the four headlining spots still unannounced, the Toronto fest promises the second wave of artists will be revealed June 16th. For Chicago and Denver, those additions are "coming soon."
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Fun Fun Fun Fest 2015: Jane's Addiction, D'Angelo Lead Lineup
Fun Fun Fun Fest will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year with a lineup featuring numerous, eclectic performances. To help celebrate the lineup's diversity, the Texas festival enlisted Bill Nye the Science Guy as spokesperson in the unique teaser video below.
Jane's Addiction will perform their 1990 LP Ritual de lo Habitual, D'Angelo will play a rare concert with his group the Vanguard, Wu-Tang Clan will perform with all of its members present, Gogol Bordello will play Gypsy Punk, Venom will make their only U.S. appearance and Washington, D.C. hardcore band Dag Nasty will perform its only reunion show. Other performers this year include Rae Sremmurd, Chromeo, Chvrches, Cheap Trick, NOFX and Schoolboy Q.
The three-day fest will take place from November 6th to the 8th at Austin Texas' Auditorium Shores. Tickets for the festival will go on sale at 11 a.m. EST Thursday. Full details are available on the fest's website.
The festival unveiled its lineup with a lighthearted video featuring Nye scientifically proving just how "fun" Fun Fun Fun Fest supposedly is. "I sought some fun," Nye tells Rolling Stone of why he made the video. "Well to be honest, I was and am seeking at least 16 percent more fun."
With a dozen tacos on his table and equations on the chalkboard behind him, Nye offers hypotheses about the "Quantitative Fun Observation" graph, which he says goes off the charts due to "D'Angelo's abs, a wrestling ring, the Supercollider Skate Ramp, official makeout zones, a chance of Rae Sremmurd [and] the 'fun fun' funnel cakes." He also has a Venn diagram about tacos and convenience, a Wu-Tang Clan–themed periodic table and names of other festivals that are made to look less fun.
And why does Nye make a good Fun Fun Fun Fest spokesperson? "Look at me," he says. "These bands are my people."
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr. Headline New Country-Rock Fest
With 264 residents spread over six square miles, Sparta — a former railroad stop that sits 45 minutes south of Cincinnati — is one Kentucky's smallest cities. Come August 28th, though, the local population will swell to more than 30,000, thanks to a new three-day music festival co-headlined by Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Brantley Gilbert and other country heavyweights.
Announced this morning, the NiFi Festival is the first in a series of national fests launched by Nitro Fidelity, a California-based entertainment group, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the auto racing corporation that owns eight of America's most popular speedways. Working together, the two companies plan to host top-tier festivals at more than half of Speedway's racing tracks over the next decade, including an event at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2016 and, if all goes according to plan, a Sonoma Speedway festival that could rival California-area events like Coachella and Outside Lands.
The inaugural NiFi Fest, which kicks off August 28th at the Kentucky Speedway and runs through the 30th, will model itself after camping festivals like the upcoming Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. Top Chef contestant Edward Lee is heading up the food operations, and Huka Entertainment's A.J. Nyland — who helped launch festivals like Hangout and Tortuga — is booking the entertainment. On the lineup are a handful of A-list rock bands, including Green Day and Kings of Leon, as well as some of country music's biggest acts: Lambert, Gilbert, Williams, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Joe Nichols, Josh Turner, Jana Kramer, Nikki Lane and others. Early bird tickets start at $245, with VIP passes and deluxe camping packages — or "glamping," as NiFi Fest's website calls it — driving up the price for well-heeled attendees.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET.
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Azealia Banks Starring in RZA-Directed Rap Drama 'Coco'
Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA and rapper Azealia Banks are teaming for the upcoming musical drama Coco. RZA will direct the Lionsgate/Codeblack Films feature, which stars Banks as a "twentysomething female rapper named Coco." The Brooklyn-set film – which co-stars Common, Jill Scott and Lorraine Toussaint – has already begun shooting in New York.
In the film, Banks' protagonist dreams of pursuing a hip-hop career, but is persuaded by her parents to finish college. In a poetry class, she is transfixed by "the power of the spoken word," developing a verbal strength that ends up propelling her toward her rap goals.
"I'm extremely excited and vigorously inspired to be working with Azealia Banks in my new directorial installment," RZA said in a statement. "Producer Paul Hall and I have assembled a cool and eclectic cast to surround Azealia. Our story, which is set in today's contemporary youth culture, will bring a new voice to cinema that needs to be heard."
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Scott will play a "a professor who believes that rapping and slam poetry cannot co-exist;" Toussaint will reportedly play Coco's mother, and Common will appear as a "mentor figure."
Banks released her debut LP, the bold EDM-rap hybrid Broke With Expensive Taste, in 2014. RZA made his directorial debut in 2012 with the Seventies Kung-Fu homage The Man With the Iron Fists, which he co-wrote wrote with horror director Eli Roth.
In December, a fully reunited Wu-Tang Clan released A Better Tomorrow, their first album in seven years. Three months later, RZA teased a group of 200 listeners with "the first, the last, the only public listening session" for the group's near-mythical seventh album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. There is only one copy of the LP, which will be sold on auction site Paddle8.com – and RZA claims he's already received offers up to $5 million.
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Ornette Coleman Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Unauthorized Album
It had been nearly 20 years since jazz legend Ornette Coleman released a studio album when a new LP donning the saxophonist's name titled New Vocabulary arrived quietly in 2014. A year later, Coleman has filed a federal lawsuit against Antibalas' Jordan McLean and drummer Amir Ziv for releasing New Vocabulary without Coleman's "consent or knowledge."
In the lawsuit, Coleman claims that he was introduced to trumpeter McLean, who worked on the Broadway musical Fela!, in 2009. Around that time, Coleman invited McLean and Ziv over to his house to "share his knowledge" of jazz. Those teaching sessions were recorded and, years later, when McLean asked Coleman if he could release those tapes, the jazz great denied the request.
Attempts by Coleman's attorneys to procure those recordings failed, and McLean allegedly ended up issuing those sessions – with extra instrumentation – as New Vocabulary.
"Without plaintiff's knowledge or consent, defendants McLean and Ziv made audio recordings of one or more live musical performances by plaintiff," Coleman's lawyers state in the complaint. "Without plaintiff's consent, defendants have reproduced, communicated to the public, publicly distributed, sold, transmitted and trafficked in copies…of the infringing recordings under the title New Vocabulary."
Representatives for Coleman and Ziv did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
In addition to releasing the collaboration without permission, Coleman alleges that New Vocabulary credits "an individual not recorded at the sessions" with participating, most likely referring to pianist Adam Holzman, who is listed as a fellow collaborator. Coleman also accuses McLean of adding music atop the recordings that were made. Lastly, the lawsuit claims, "The public is likely to be misled into believing that Coleman approves of, or is affiliated with, the public release of these recordings." It's unclear how much financial compensation Coleman is seeking in the federal suit.
"As a direct consequence of defendant's wrongful conduct, plaintiff has suffered and is suffering irreparable harm and has sustained substantial injury, loss and damage," the suit claims.
Coleman's last official LP was his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 live album Sound Grammar. The Shape of Jazz to Come great will next release his "Celebrate Ornette" tribute concert – featuring performances by Sonny Rollins, Patti Smith, Flea and Coleman himself – as a deluxe box set this fall.
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See Laura Bell Bundy's 'Sound of Music' Inspired New Video
In the five years since Broadway veteran Laura Bell Bundy broke into country music's Top Five with her album Achin' and Shakin', fans of the Kentucky native have seen her in various acting roles, from Anger Management to How I Met Your Mother, but hadn't heard much about her music. That began to change earlier this month when the bubbly blonde announced her upcoming LP, Another Piece of Me, set for release June 9th on Big Machine Records.
And although the title of her new single and video, "I Am What I Am," may at first conjure up images of Popeye, the singer-actress is actually channeling Julie Andrews' Maria in The Sound of Music — she sings from a Swiss mountaintop in key scenes from the gorgeous clip. Directed by Becky Fluke, "I Am What I Am" was filmed while Bundy was in Switzerland to perform at a country-music event, and has the singer delivering the inspirational lyrics — about living life to the fullest and staying true to one's self — while her co-stars hold up signs describing some of their own key traits like "strong" or "silly."
"There is not another place in nature I feel more connected to my higher source than in the mountains," Bundy said in a statement. "So when I found out I'd be performing at the Gstaad Country Music Festival – in the midst of the Alps and the same setting as my favorite film, The Sound of Music – I was stoked. Filming in the same place Maria von Trapp sang seemed like the perfect place to tell that story, a story about being OK with being yourself and feeling free. I want to send the message that being who you are is not only a beautiful courageous thing, it's a necessary thing."
Of the LP's 15 tracks, Bundy co-wrote more than half, with songwriters including Sugarland's Kristian Bush, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Barry Dean, Natalie Hemby and Ashley Monroe also contributing to the project.
Bundy will be in Nashville Friday, June 12th, for CMA Music Festival, performing on the Belk Park Stage.
Here's the track listing to Another Piece of Me:
1. "Love Me Like a Lady" (Laura Bell Bundy, Jerry Flowers, Chris DeStefano)
2. "Two Step" (featuring Colt Ford) (Laura Bell Bundy, Andy Davis, Colt Ford, Lance Kotara, Adam McInnis, Bryan Ray)
3. "Happy Yet" (David Frasier, Craig Wiseman)
4. "She Only Wants to Dance" (Jerry Flowers, Ashley Gorley)
5. "China and Wine" (Laura Bell Bundy, Leah Crutchfield, Natalie Hemby)
6. "Let’s Pretend We're Married" (Laura Bell Bundy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
7. "I Am What I Am" (Caitlyn Smith, Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges)
8. "That's What Angels Do" (Michael Dulaney, John Mabe, Jason Sellers)
9. "Making Me Feel" (Laura Bell Bundy, Patrick Davis, Jerry Flowers)
10. "Kentucky Dirty" (busbee, Barry Dean, Laura Bell Bundy)
11. "Give My Broken Heart a Break" (Laura Bell Bundy, Jay DeMarcus, Jason Sellers)
12. "Maps Out the Window" (Sarah Buxton, Nathan Chapman, Blair Daly)
13. "Missin' Me Yet" (Laura Bell Bundy, Derek George, Tim Owens)
14. "Another Piece of Me" (Laura Bell Bundy, Kristian Bush, Blair Daly)
15. "Wait Until the Sun Goes Down" (Angelo Petraglia, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Monroe)
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Blink-182 Inch Toward 'Friendly Divorce' From Tom DeLonge
Blink-182's public and acrimonious split from Tom DeLonge appears to be inching toward an amicable resolution as bassist-vocalist Mark Hoppus revealed in a new interview that the band have almost legally cut ties with the soon-to-be-ex-guitarist. "We are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist," Hoppus told Das Process (via NME). "Hopefully things clear up and it doesn't get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward."
While DeLonge abruptly and "indefinitely" left Blink-182 in late January after refusing to commit to recording a new album, he didn't officially and permanently quit the band that he co-founded with Hoppus. "There are legalities involved with this," Hoppus told Rolling Stone. "As Tom pointed out, he technically didn't quit the band. Then it gets all lawyer-y, which I will leave to the attorneys and managers."
DeLonge's reluctance to formally depart Blink-182 handcuffed the group's desire to plot out future plans and prompted drummer Travis Barker to declare that DeLonge should "man up and quit." The band recruited Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba to fill in for DeLonge at the band's Musink festival set. With a "friendly divorce" from DeLonge on the horizon, Blink-182 is now opening up to the possibility of recording a new LP with Skiba.
"I think that's a great idea and it’s something we have discussed," Skiba told Alternative Press about recording with Blink-182. "It's something I would be very excited to do and I've known the Blink guys for about 15 years, and we've become good friends. Playing songs I haven't written with Mark and Travis is a blast, so to go in and create music with them would be amazing."
However, Skiba reiterated that he is not a full-time member of Blink-182 because there are "some things that those guys need to figure out before we can start saying I'm a permanent member. But that is a hope of mine." While Blink-182 are settling their legal issues, Skiba will hit the road with Alkaline Trio this summer.
Since leaving Blink-182, DeLonge has already released his To the Stars . . . Demos, Odds and Ends and mapped out his massive 2015 plans.
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Kasey Chambers Ends Four Year Drought With New Album
Fifteen years after the U.S. release of her award-winning solo debut, The Captain, Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers will issue Bittersweet, her tenth studio album and first solo record since 2010's Little Bird. Produced by Nick DiDia, known for his work with Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen and the Wallflowers, Chambers' LP will be released July 24th via the Rounder Label Group. First available in Chambers' native land last summer, the LP reached Number Two on Australia's ARIA Music Chart.
With a gritty, expressive vocal style that reflects both the beauty and the challenges of her South Australia upbringing, much of it spent on the sparsely populated Nullarbor Plain, Chambers first came to musical prominence with her family's Dead Ringer Band, alongside her parents and older brother Nash Chambers. Since then, Nash has managed his sister and produced all of her albums, racking up sales of 1.2 million albums in Australia alone. (American music fans — and TV viewers — may recognize Chambers' songs "The Captain" and "The Hard Way," from her debut LP, for their inclusion in episodes of The Sopranos and Lost, respectively.)
Bittersweet, however, marks the first album not produced with Nash. "I wanted to have an experience making a record that I had never had before," Chambers said in a statement of her decision to make a producer change. "I wanted to challenge myself and I wanted to be excited."
The album, which continues Chambers' exploration of hard-edged alt-country rock in the tradition of such Americana stalwarts as Lucinda Williams and Buddy Miller, was recorded in just seven days in April 2014. In Australia, the LP has already garnered critical acclaim and earned Country Album of the Year honors at the 2014 ARIAs. The record also won the Country Music Golden Guitar Awards for Album of the Year and Single of the Year for "Bittersweet," her collaboration with fellow Aussie musician Bernard Fanning.
To support the U.S. release of Bittersweet, Chambers will embark on a two-week tour, kicking off July 29th in San Francisco. She'll also make stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Boston and New York City. Here's her full tour itinerary.
July 29 — San Francisco, the Chapel
July 31 — Portland, Oregon, Aladdin Theater
August 1 — Seattle, Tractor Tavern
August 4 — Nashville, City Winery
August 5 — Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
August 6 —Alexandria, Virginia, the Birchmere
August 7 — New York City, City Winery
August 8 — New York City, Americana Music Association at Lincoln Center
August 9 — Boston, the Sinclair
August 11 — Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Ark
August 12 — Evanston, Illinois, Space
August 13 — Minneapolis, Cedar Cultural Center
August 14 — Lyon, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
August 15 — Los Angeles, El Rey Theatre
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B.B. King's Estate on Poisoning Allegations: 'Baseless and Unfounded'
As Memphis' Beale Street prepares to remember B.B. King's legacy at a memorial procession Wednesday, the bluesman's estate has hit back at allegations that King's business manager LaVerne Toney poisoned him in the months leading up to his May 14th death. In a statement, a lawyer for the estate says that King's daughters' allegations are "baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality."
"Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death," Brent Bryson, the attorney for King's estate, said in a statement. "I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King."
Nevada investigators have opened a homicide probe and conducted an autopsy after two of King's daughters, Karen Williams and Patty King, said in separate affidavits that they believe their father was administered an unknown substance on a nightly basis prior to his death. After being hospitalized for dehydration related to diabetes in April, King was later moved to a hospice facility, where King's family claim Toney cut off access to the bluesman.
Williams and Patty King also said in their affidavit that they believe their father was "murdered" by Toney and King's personal assistant Myron Johnson. However, Bryson, the attorney for the King estate of which Toney was appointed executor, provided statements from three doctors, including King's primary care physician, that King "was monitored on a 24-hour basis by Certified Nursing Assistants" and that "no action [was] taken to hasten the demise of Mr. King," who died "peacefully in his sleep."
Larissa Drohobyczer, the attorney representing King's daughters, declined to comment to Rolling Stone when asked about Bryson's statement. The statement, in full, below:
Recently allegations have been made accusing LaVerne Toney of wrongdoing involving the death of Riley B. King (B. B. King). The allegations are baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality.
Up until the time that Mr. King passed peacefully in his sleep, Mr. King was monitored on a 24-hour basis by Certified Nursing Assistants.
Additionally, Mr. King was visited regularly by Registered Nurses. Mr. King was evaluated by no less than three (3) independent doctors in the days before his death.
Dr. Darin Brimhall (Mr. King's primary care physician for several years) stated there is no action being taken to hasten the demise of Mr. King and every effort is being made to make Mr. King comfortable and supply him with his regular medication and nourishment."
Dr. Dean Tsai, an independent doctor, asked to render a second opinion stated, "In my medical judgment patient is appropriate for hospice with a very limited expected prognosis (l would estimate weeks). He clearly has had significant decline and I see no reversible component. He is currently getting home hospice care which is entirely appropriate given his known wishes and clinical status."
Dr. Ivan Goldsmith gave a third independent opinion stating: "Home hospice care is entirely appropriate in this situation. There is no evidence of poly pharmacy or inappropriate medications being given to Mr. King."
Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death. I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King.
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Abbey Road, Stankonia Open Up Studios for New Artists
The world's most famous studios will be opening their doors to new and emerging artists later this year. Twelve studios — including London's Abbey Road and Atlanta's Stankonia — will host a total of 84 recording sessions in September.
Converse Rubber Tracks, which will open the Boston affiliate to its Brooklyn studio, is sponsoring the program. The 12 participating studios are spread across four continents and include Seattle's Avast Recording Co. (Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses), Reykjavik's Greenhouse Studios (Bjork, Damon Albarn), Jamaica's Tuff Gong Studios (Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff), Berlin's Hansa Tonstudio (David Bowie, Iggy Pop) and Sydney's Studios 301 (Bruce Springsteen, 5 Seconds of Summer).
The company released a promotional video narrated by Iggy Pop to explain the new program.
"Since we opened our first permanent Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn four years ago, we've had aspirations to elevate this program even further, hoping to extend this opportunity to artists across the globe," Converse Global Music Marketing Director Jed Lewis said in a statement. "With this new program, we will unlock the doors to some of the greatest recording studios in music history and we're ecstatic to offer this extraordinary experience to emerging artists worldwide."
Online registration requires a ranking of the artists' top three studio preferences as well as a brief biography. Registration will be open through June 24th, and applicants will be notified in early July.
In April, Converse hosted the Rubber Tracks Live festival in Boston. For five nights, the festival put on a different genre-themed show. Headliners included Slayer, the Replacements, Passion Pit and Chance the Rapper.
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Disclosure Get Soaring, Soulful on New Single 'Holding On'
British duo Disclosure continue their streak of spaced-out, soulful dance pop odes with "Holding On," the first single from their follow-up to 2013's Settle, which premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show, Stereogum reports.
Though initially written as a ballad, Disclosure's Guy and Howard Lawrence said they remixed "Holding On" into its final, bounding form. Anchored by swift two-step garage percussion, the track seethes with percolating synth stabs that continually simmer at the bottom of the mix and boil brilliantly to the top. Though familiar territory for the Lawrence brothers, the track was co-written and sung by Gregory Porter, a renowned jazz singer who sidles easily into the role of dancefloor siren.
"Holding On" will see release on July 17th via PMR/Island; it's available to pre-order now on iTunes. The song comes on the heels of "Bang That," a soaring house smash that the Lawrence brothers noted had become a staple in their DJ sets and which they offered up as a treat to fans as they continued recording their next album.
While no specific details regarding the LP have been announced, Disclosure promised they would debut new material with the help of special guests at their Wild Life Festival, which takes place June 6th and 7th in Brighton.
Though "Bang That" marked Disclosure's first new music since Settle, the duo have remained busy with various remixes and other collaborations including "The Mechanism" — a 2014 track with Friend Within — and two songs on Mary J. Blige's The London Sessions.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Flashback: The Clash Storm Tokyo in 1982
In hindsight, The Clash probably shouldn't have agreed to tour Asia and Australia in early 1982. Beyond the fact that it came midway through the tense Combat Rock sessions, promoters put together an insane schedule of 25 shows in a little over a month. And after five straight years on the road, the band was simply burnt out and showing major signs of strain. Drummer Topper Headon was in particularly awful shape as his heroin addiction was growing completely out of control.
"In the jazz days the saxophonist would be addicted to heroin, like Charlie Parker," said Joe Strummer. "The nature of the instrument means it's much better to be floating over the music, doing your thing, but it doesn't suit drumming, which is like nailing a nail into the floor. It's a precise thing. The beats have to be there and when Topper got addicted, he couldn't play anymore. It doesn't work with drums."
Somehow or another, the group managed to get through the tour. In the video above, they are in Tokyo in late January playing "Jimmy Jazz," "Tommy Gun," "Police on My Back," "White Riot" and Wanda Jackson's "Fujiyama Mama" with Japanese singer Pearl Harbor on lead vocals. "It was pretty crazy when we arrived in Japan," said Mick Jones. "We were chased around like we were in the Beatles or something, with lots of screaming and people throwing presents."
Not long after they arrived, Strummer and Headon got into a terrible fight. "I was standing in a lift with Joe," the drummer recalled. "He's saying, 'How can I sing all these anti-drug songs with you stoned out of your head behind me?'" It was a question that Headon couldn't adequately answer, and not long after the band came home from the tour he was sacked and replaced by original Clash drummer Terry Chimes.
Ironically, it was Headon's composition "Rock the Casbah," one of the only Clash songs he ever wrote (with Strummer handling the lyrics), that gave the group the biggest hit of its career. By the time the single hit the airwaves he was already out of the band. Years later, Strummer said that Headon's departure doomed the band. "That was the beginning of the end, really," he claimed. "Whatever a group is, it's the chemical mixture of those four people that makes a group work. You can't take one away and replace him with whoever you like, or 10 men: it's never going to work."
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Carrie Underwood to Perform at CMA Music Festival
The lineup for next month's CMA Music Festival in Nashville just got an extra helping of superstar. Carrie Underwood announced today that she'll be performing during the nightly concerts at LP Field. The "Something in the Water" singer will take the stage on Saturday evening, June 13th.
The appearance doubles as an anniversary for Underwood, as it comes 10 years after her first CMA Fest performance. In 2005, she rode her American Idol victory to a slot at country music's four-day festival. Since then, she's been responsible for some of the event's most memorable moments, including a ferocious cover of Guns n' Roses' "Paradise City" to close out the 2013 fest. Last year, she surprised fans with a cameo during Miranda Lambert's LP Field set, recreating her and Lambert's Number One duet "Somethin' Bad."
Underwood revealed her CMA Music Festival appearance via a post on her Instagram. "Hey #CMAfest! Look like I will be seeing you real soon!" she wrote beneath a photo of herself wearing "I Heart CMA Fest" sunglasses.
In February, Underwood gave birth to her first child, a boy named Isaiah Michael, with husband Mike Fisher. Three days before her CMA Fest return, she'll give her first televised post-baby performance at the June 10th CMT Music Awards, singing current Top 10 hit "Little Toy Guns." She also leads all CMT Award nominees with five nominations.
CMA Music Festival runs June 11th through 14th in Music City. Other performers at the nightly concerts include Eric Church, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, the Band Perry and Zac Brown Band.
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Luke Bryan on the First Song He Ever Wrote
Now that Luke Bryan has his own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, fans can learn more about what helped shape his status as the face of today's country.
Some of his first instruments and even the first song he ever wrote are included in Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary, but the tiny placards placed next to each item only reveal a fraction of what makes them special. To hear the story behind them, you've got to ask Bryan himself.
In an interview just before he toured the exhibit for the first time, Bryan filled reporters in on some of his most precious possessions.
"My very first guitar, I don't even know what brand it is," Bryan said. (It's a Silvertone). "But I was about 14 and had been on a summer trip to Jennings, Louisiana. . . During that trip there was a kid playing guitar at a church and I saw all the girls swooning over him, and I told myself when I got back to Leesburg I was gonna find a guitar."
Upon returning to his Georgia hometown, he phoned a neighbor who he knew owned more than a few instruments. "I called to ask if he had an extra guitar. He goes, 'Yeah, I have one,' and it was that guitar," Bryan said. "He brought it over that night."
Earlier in his childhood, Bryan also took piano lessons but says they didn't stick at the time. Even so, he always tinkered with it, and now is confident enough to play in front of a packed arena.
"It was a family friend's piano, and I don't know if we ever formally asked if we could have it up here [at the museum], but it's here," he said. "In our house we had limited space, and the piano just lived in my room. When I got into the guitar, that got me interested in piano, too."
Bryan said he honed his chops by learning to play the songs of one of country's preeminent piano men: Ronnie Milsap, with whom he performed during the ACM Superstar Duets concert last month. Still, the "Kick the Dust Up" singer jokes that his talent is marginal at best. "People who have seen me play know that I'm quite limited on piano skills," he laughed.
But it was the first song Bryan ever wrote that truly started him down his musical path, and he performed it in front of his whole church congregation.
"My first song was 'The Day He Turned Me Around,' and it was a Christian song," he remembered fondly, pointing out the lyrics. "The ink faded, but you can still see what I wrote. It was just a simple Christian song, but I physically wrote it and performed it in front of my congregation when I was 15, maybe 16."
Back then, Bryan couldn't fathom what was to come.
"You don't realize at the time what you're laying the groundwork for, but it's neat to see that piece of paper [now]," he said. "I remember putting it up there on the pulpit and being real nervous."
Bryan, who announced his new album Kill the Lights will be released on August 7th, is currently on his Kick the Dust Up Tour, which hits amphitheaters and stadiums this summer. He'll play Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on June 6th.
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B.B. King Was Poisoned, Claims Bluesman's Children
A homicide probe into the death of B.B. King will be launched after two of the blues legend's daughters accused his two closest aides, business manager LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson, of poisoning King prior to his May 14th death. In court documents released to The Associated Press, King's daughters Karen Williams and Patty King said, "I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances. I believe my father was murdered."
According to Patty King's affidavit, she said she witnessed Toney administer two drops of an unknown substance on B.B. King's tongue at night in the months before his death; Toney never told Patty King what the substance was. B.B. King gave Toney power of attorney years ago, the AP writes, as well as named her executor of his estate, which could be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Toney did not reply to a request for comment by Rolling Stone.
Nevada officials announced Monday that they would open a homicide investigation, adding that they now had jurisdiction over King's body and conducted an autopsy Sunday, Reuters reports. Results are expected to take six to eight weeks; the fact that King was embalmed and displayed for public viewing shouldn't affect those results, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said.
Brent Bryson, an attorney for B.B. King's estate – which now has Toney as executor – did not reply to a request for comment, but denied Karen Williams and Patty King's accusations to the AP, calling them "ridiculous" and "extremely disrespectful." "I hope they have a factual basis that they can demonstrate for their defamatory and libelous allegations," Bryson said. While Toney and Johnson didn't formally comment to the AP, Toney did say, "They've been making allegations all along. What's new?"
Bryson added that three doctors determined that King was being properly cared for in his final weeks while in hospice care, and that King received 24-hour care and monitoring "up until the time that he peacefully passed away in his sleep." In April, King was hospitalized with dehydration related to diabetes.
King had 11 surviving children at the time of his death; the family has hired attorney Larissa Drohobyczer to represent them. Three of those children went to court in Las Vegas earlier this month in a failed attempt to remove Toney's power of attorney over King. One of King's daughters, Shirley King, also told KLAS-TV after her father's death that Toney had cut off the family's access to the blues great.
"Just getting through this day is killing me," Shirley King said. "Why would she not let me see my daddy before he leaves this earth?" Another daughter, Rita King, said when their father was in hospice care, "We love him, and the reason he hasn't seen us is because we're being kept away."
Following a Beale Street procession and memorial scheduled for Wednesday in Memphis, King's funeral will be held May 29th and 30th in King's hometown of Indianola, Mississippi.
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