LFO’s Rich Cronin has passed away at the age of 35. The singer/songwriter had been battling myelogenous leukemia since 2005. :(
The Deftones have announced plans to tour the UK on a seven-date trek, kicking off in Glasgow on November 12. The California rockers, who dropped sixth album “Diamond Eyes” in May, are currently on the road in the U.S.
For the sixth time, Mark David Chapman has been denied parole. Chapman—the man who shot and killed John Lennon outside his New York apartment on Dec. 8 1980—was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison and will be eligible again in two years.
Indie band Love and Logic blog about their emotional response to the Gulf Oil Spill and why they wrote the benefit song “Hit Hard” and launched a Twitter campaign to raise awareness.
Music exec and The Comet man on the street Jonathan McHugh blogs about last night’s Ray LaMontagne/David Gray double bill at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. McHugh, Lisa Loeb and Eric Stonestreet were among the fans groovin’ under the stars.
For Ryan Star, Life Is a String of Magical Moments
Singer/songwriter Ryan Star blogs about the road to his debut album “11:59” and how he tries to “live everyday knowing that at any moment, a miracle can happen.” The Comet was lucky enough to see his sold-out show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles over the summer – Ryan is proof that music is in fact magic.
Rock is back on top of the albums chart this week, as Disturbed’s “Asylum” debuts at #1 with 172k in sales. EMI’s “Now 35” compilation lands at #2 with 105k, and Eminem’s “Recovery” rounds out the top three with 92k based on music retailer data reported on HitsDailyDouble.com. Meanwhile, Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” takes a dip (-54%), selling under 89k and dropping to #4.
The winner of this year’s Mercury Prize has been revealed—and it’s The Comet favorite xx! As our readers know, we’ve had our eyes on the band since first spotting the rockers at this year’s SXSW music festival. Their eponymous debut earned Britain’s coveted award as the “best album” by a British or Irish artist.
Los Angeles indie rockers Saint Motel, who are known for their innovative videos and rock’ live shows, are slowly recovering from the Sunset Strip Music Festival. A “tricked out” Gibson tour bus, chillin’ with the Pumpkins and getting kicked out of the photo pit during Kid Cudi, vocalist A/J Jackson shares some of his “fuzzy memories.”
TAB the Band Sizzles in Boston
As TAB the Band tours with Stone Temple Pilots, they land in their hometown of Boston. Drummer Ben Tileston blogs from the Bank of America Pavilion, where the group has watched so many of their favorite bands take the stage.
Good news for Weezer fans! The band is currently streaming new album “Hurley” on their MySpage page. You can check out the record here in its entirety before it drops Sept. 14.
I met Tomas Young a few years ago through Eddie Vedder’s camp. The award-winning documentary, “Body of War,” of which Tomas is the main subject, had just been finished. We are honored to have him blog for us about his political trials and views.
Sir Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey and country singer Merle Haggard will be feted by President Barack Obama during the Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 5. The annual event celebrates five individuals who have significantly contributed to the enrichment of American culture.
“One Night in Vegas,” a documentary that examines the friendship between Tupac Shakur and boxing champ Mike Tyson, will air tonight (Sept. 7) on ESPN. The film, directed by Reggie Bythewood, leads up to the evening Pac was shot on the Last Vegas strip, following Tyson’s WBA heavyweight title bout.
Kaci Battaglia is heating things up in the music video for latest single, “Body Shots,” which has amassed over 540,000 views on YouTube. The pop singer tapped rap star Ludacris for the shoot, which was inspired by Kaci’s recent 21st birthday celebration.
EMI CEO Roger Faxon has announced a major restructuring. As part of the changes, president of music services Ron Werre and president of new music for North America, UK and Ireland Nick Gatfield have left the company. According to an internal memo, president of new music international and global artist management Billy Mann was offered a new leadership role, but declined and decided to part ways with the label group to pursue other opportunities. Mann, who is also an award winning artist/ producer/ songwriter, has had massive international success since joining the company with acts including David Guetta.
Sir Tom Jones will headline Radio 2’s star-studded Elvis Forever concert in London’s Hyde Park, Sept 12. The event pays tribute to the King and honors what would have been his 75th year.
British folk rocker Billy Bragg is heading into the studio with country queen Rosanne Cash. Plus, their mutual friend Joe Henry is going to produce the album! Bragg, an outspoken left wing activist, also recently donated six of his guitars to help rehabilitate inmates at prisons across Britain as part of his Jail Guitar Doors initiative.
Former Guns N’ Roses rocker Duff McKagan has parted ways as the bass player for Jane’s Addiction after only five months and three shows. McKagan replaced co-founder Eric Avery earlier this year. He’s been in the studio working on new material with Jane’s founders Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins. “We wanted to thank Duff for helping us write songs for our new record. We love the songs we worked on with him - and the gigs were a blast - but musically we were all headed in different directions. From here Duff is off to work on his own stuff so we wish him all the best.”
Tomas Young, whose life was the subject of the award-winning documentary, “Body of War,” blogs about his political views for The Comet.
