Category: Music News and Interviews

Music news, interviews, features and giveaways

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Music News and Interviews

Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger passes

It happened. In a huge blow to music fans, artists, and venues, The United States Justice Department has approved a merger of companies Ticketmaster and Live Nation, making the new company the biggest monopoly in the entire music industry.

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff is quoted in a CNN article as saying, “Their resolution is a great win for fans. The entertainment industry needs innovation and we are ready to deliver.” This could not be any less true. If you’ve ever been to an event put on by Live Nation or Ticketmaster, you’ve likely payed anywhere from $10 to 30, just  in “service” fees. Sometimes these fees can be nearly as much as the base ticket price itself. With the new merger, these fees are likely to go up even more. These fees are in no way “innovative,” but in my opinion, a greedy way for the two companies to grab even more money from the concert-goer.

Proving that both companies are either egomaniacal or delusional – I would guess it’s likely the former – Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in the same article,  "This is a good and exciting day for the music business, and we are close to finalizing the creation of a new company that will seek to transform the way artists distribute their content and fans can access that content.“

I don’t think there is anything  good or exciting here, folks. The only transformation in the way fans are able to "access that content” are likely to be, as mentioned before, even higher “service” charges.

If this hasn’t convinced you that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are bad companies that care nothing about music, take this into account: Ticketmaster runs a ticket-resell site called TicketsNow. Prices for tickets on TicketsNow are not simply $10-20 dollars higher than the actual ticket prices. Try multiple times the actual ticket price. The really bad part? Ticketmaster takes a cut of the profits earned from this site, directly promoting humongous, greedy markups on ticket prices. Last year, when tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s US tour went on sale, when fans went to the Ticketmaster site to purchase tickets, they were automatically redirected to TicketsNow. The Boss was not happy.

I could go on about the myriad other ways this merger is detrimental to the music industry. Instead, however, I recommend reading the “Key Facts” page of the Ticket Disaster website, as well as exploring the rest of the site and signing the petition. You can also email your State Representatives asking they take action to pass laws against this type of merger. The music community, whether it be artists, fans, or venues, need to stand up and fight back against the bullying that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been doing for so long.

*Thanks to music blog Consequence of Sound for the tip

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Music News and Interviews

The ExMonkeys to re-schedule their appearance on WKNC

Local electronic duo The ExMonkeys will not be in tonight, January 28, as previously stated. With so many schedules to keep up with, I forgot to check our women’s basketball schedule. We will be broadcasting the game tonight, so The ExMonkeys will have to reschedule, hopefully for sometime next week. Apologies for my goof up. –Chuck

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Music News and Interviews

WXYC locally produced digital music showcase

Being a fan of all things local does not just include bands, artists, venues, record labels, and recording studios, but also radio stations other than us.   If you are not in Raleigh and parts of Durham you can probably hear UNC’s student run radio station WXYC who also focuses on local music within their wide array of formats (or you can listen to them online anywhere).

They have recently made a public appeal for locally produced digital music to feature in a showcase that will broadcast on WXYC February 17 at 9 p.m.

According to WXYC’s website:

WXYC is pleased to announce a call for entries for its Locally Produced Digital Music Showcase in partnership with the CHAT Festival for Digital Arts and Humanities at UNC-Chapel Hill. The goal of this project is to feature technologically innovative and artistically creative music produced in and around the Triangle…

…Anyone living in the greater Triangle area is welcome to make a submission, including (but not limited to): University Students, Staff, and Faculty, local artists, local musicians, local residents and community members.

Read the entire thing and submit your digital music here.

The deadline is February 10, 2010.  Good luck!

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Music News and Interviews

Local concerts for Haiti

It seems people in all walks of life are doing what they can to help the devastated nation of Haiti.  This includes some local bands and venues that are putting on some benefit concerts.

At the Cats Cradle on January 23 will be an interesting show with two new bands Kick the Future (Debra DeMilo, Terry Anderson, Jack Cornell and Terry McInturff) & The Bipolar Bears (Robert Kirkland, Scott Davison, Terry McInturff and Ron Bartholomew) as well as HWYL, Kitty Box and the Johnnys, Charles Pettee, Puritan Rodeo, The New Town Drunks, and The Moaners.  The show starts at 6 p.m. and costs $10.

At the Pour House on February 4, there will be an additional benefit show, this one starting at 6:40 p.m.  A Rooster For the Masses will headline alongside Chatham County Line, Filthybird, The Hotwires, Roger Gupton, Debonzo Brothers, and Andy Bilinski.  This show is $12.

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Music News and Interviews

Jay Reatard R.I.P.

Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard passed away in his sleep early Wednesday morning. Reatard, known to friends and family as Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., was the man behind such garage-pop classics as Blood Visions and this past year’s Watch Me Fall. Currently, there is no report on the cause of death. He was 29 years old.

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Music News and Interviews

Music blog posts My Morning Jacket covers archive

Music blog You Ain’t No Picasso recently posted an archive of more than 50 covers the band My Morning Jacket has performed live. They run the gamut from people you’d think My Morning Jacket would cover (The Band, The Rolling Stones) to hair metal (Motley Crue, Poison) to funk (Parliament, James Brown) and beyond.

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Music News and Interviews

IWTDI plans ambitious project for next album

In a blog post on their website entitled “2010: The Year We Make TOO Much Contact”, Chapel Hill band I Was Totally Destroying It outlined their ambitious plan to film every stage of the creative process behind composing their next album.

When asked about the blog post, singer/guitarist John Booker said, “It was almost sort of a new year’s resolution.” The blog post would give them the encouragement to actively film the creation of their next album. After previously attempting to film themselves on the road, forgetfulness got the best of them, and when Booker noticed a friend of the bands filming them during a live show he reminded himself of the idea of filming the band during the creation of a record. Booker explained that aside from the blog post to remind the band of constantly filming, he currently has a sign on his wall above his computer with the words “Film It,” and he plans to hang another sign like this in places where they will be working on their album.

The idea of filming the creation of their next album came out of a wide variety influences. “I felt if we kept writing songs like that [the band did in the past] it would sound the same.” Also, he said the project is an effort to bring more recognition to the band through utilizing many of the social networks that have developed in the past couple of years. The plans incorporate posting one video at the end of the month on Youtube to give fans an idea of how the process is going. And one of the goals of the project is to  film themselves for the entire year. Another goal for Booker was for the filming of the development of the next album to play out into a longer film.

When asked about how the constant filming could interrupt the creative process for the band, Booker responded, “I get worried about that in theory.” He followed up saying, “I think we’ll get use to it really fast.” When asked about who was going to be doing the work behind filming Booker responded, “We’re going to do a lot of the filming ourselves.” The band has also gotten support from friends of theirs to help them out in this project, including everything from filming to editing the footage. They have also gotten the thumbs up from their record label, Greyday.

Although the band plans on filming a lot of the creative process for their next album, they don’t plan on giving away all that is going to be on the next album. On their upcoming tour dates when they have new songs complete, Booker explained, that unlike previous live shows where people got to know the new songs before they were released on Horror Vacui, “We’re going to try playing one new song and relying on songs in the past. I want the next cd to be fresh and new.”

Although the next album is still in its early stages of development, the band has plans to be recording towards the end of the year, with the release of the album expected sometime within the first half of 2011.

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Music News and Interviews

John Frusciante quits RHCP

On December 16, 2009 John Frusciante announced his departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

John Frusciante has been with the Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1990.  After a widely reported addiction to heroin, Frusciante left in 1992 and was briefly replaced by Dave Navarro.  Frusciante returned to the Peppers in 1998 and recorded “Californication,” “By The Way” and “Stadium Arcadium” with the band.

Aside from the RHCP, Frusciante has released a number of solo albums (my favorite being To Record Only Water for Ten Days, 2001) and put out his most recent album, The Empyrean, in January 2009.

The following  is a reprint of Frusciante’s words taken from his MySpace blog:

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

“When I quit the band, over a year ago, we were on an indefinite hiatus. There was no drama or anger involved, and the other guys were very understanding. They are supportive of my doing whatever makes me happy and that goes both ways.

To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction. Upon rejoining, and throughout my time in the band, I was very excited about exploring the musical possibilities inherent in a rock band, and doing so with those people in particular. A couple of years ago, I began to feel that same excitement again, but this time it was about making a different kind of music, alone, and being my own engineer.

I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests. For me, art has never been something done out of a sense of duty. It is something I do because it is really fun, exciting, and interesting. Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature.  There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do.

Sending love and gratitude to you all.”

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Music News and Interviews

How Rage Against the Machine stole Christmas

Over the past couple of weeks a very interesting story has developed coming out of England. First let’s get started through giving you a little bit of back story.

For the past couple of years, the winner of the popular British music show “The X Factor,” has gone on to getting the number one selling single the week of Christmas which sets it to the top of the “Christmas Number One Singles Chart” in England. In 2005, X Factor winner Shayne Ward, had the number one Christmas single. In 2006, winner Leona Lewis, made it to the top. When 2007 rolled around, winner Leon Jackson had the number one single. This trend continued in 2008 when Alexandra Burke made it to “Christmas Number One” (which the number one Christmas single is referred to as).

Then the followers of Rage Against the Machine took notice, and they weren’t going to take this anymore.

The campaign initially took place at a completely grassroots level as member Tom Morello explained, “We were followers in this campaign, we tried to lend some wind to its sails, but it began at a completely grassroots level without the band’s involvement.” In describing how he was first introduced to what the fans were attempting to do he said, “The campaign first came to my attention a couple of weeks ago when some friends of mine in the UK emailed me about it. I checked it out online and as it began to gain momentum I realized what a potentially historic moment it could be – and the band knew that we needed to throw our weight behind it.”

The premise seemed simple enough, get the popular 1992 track by Rage Against the Machine, “Killing in the Name” to Christmas Number One and defeat 2009 X-Factor winner, Joe McElderry.

The fans and the band started pushing all their weight behind this one goal. The Facebook page in support of the campaign gained thousands of followers, and the band used the force of other social networking sites like Twitter in their effort to make it to Christmas Number One. Tom Morello went on to post things like, “Attention Freedom Fighters! RAGE VS. X-FACTOR WILL BE DECIDED BY SATURDAY’S SALES. Spread the word! Knock on doors! Host downloading parties! Knock over ladies buying X-factor! The clock is ticking. And if ‘Killing In The Name’ is number one WE ARE COMING. And it will be the victory party to end all victory parties.”

Judge of The X-Factor Simon Cowell went on to say that the campaign was “stupid”, “cynical”, and “very Scrooge”.

The time for pushing and selling the single had finally ended on December 19th. The result came in. Joe McElderry’s cover of The Climb totaled 450,000 sales. “Killing in the Name” sold 50,000 more. Rage Against the Machine and their group of dedicated fans had won.

Morello would go on to say, “Make no mistake about it, this was a political act! This was an entire nation delivering a stinging slap of rejection to the whole notion of pre-fabricated pop ruling the charts. And Rage’s victory over The X Factor was an act of God. That the bad winter weather came in, keeping people away from stores and made it more of a fair fight, because we didn’t have hard copies in stories. When Paul McCartney (who endorsed the act by Rage Against the Machine earlier)and Mother Nature agree on something it’s going to be unstoppable!”

He would then proudly say, “Rage Against The Machine was built for moments like this,” Morello followed up, “That historic chart upset the other night is one we’re very proud to have been a part of, but more proud that it showed that people uniting in solidarity can do anything. That’s the lasting message from this. It went from being ‘let’s kick The X Factor off the top of the charts’ to a real people’s movement and, in the future, the energy behind it can be used for other social justice causes and not just chart-topping.”

The band is planning to take the stage early next year in a celebration of winning Christmas Number One in both the UK and the United States.

After a strong campaign by fans and by the band, Rage Against the Machine proved that this Christmas Number One was going to be one to remember.

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Music News and Interviews

DJ Ones Interviews The Whigs

Recently I got the chance to interview Tim Deaux of The Whigs. The Whigs are currently touring the east coast, with upcoming show at the Local 506. We talked about upcoming release of the band’s third full length album, “In the Dark,” and we discussed the process behind the creation of the upcoming album. This is Tim’s first full length album that he has recorded with the band, and since the release of their previous album “Mission Control” he has taken the role as the band’s full time bassist. For those of you who missed the live interview, here it is in its entirety.

The Whigs