Away Team

While GARBAGE is busy in the studio recording their new unnamed album, they have posted their contribution to the tribute to U2‘s Auchtung Baby turning 20 years old this year.

Garbage has recorded their version of Who’s Going To Ride Your Wild Horses which will be included with the following tracklisting:
01 Nine Inch Nails: “Zoo Station”
02 U2: “Even Better Than the Real Thing” (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
03 Damien Rice: “One”
04 Patti Smith: “Until the End of the World”
05 Garbage: “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
06 Depeche Mode: “So Cruel”
07 Snow Patrol: “Mysterious Ways”
08 The Fray: “Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World”
09 Gavin Friday: “The Fly”
10 The Killers: “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
11 Glasvegas: “Acrobat”
12 Jack White: “Love Is Blindness”

The album is set to be released October 31st.

For more GARBAGE click here.

Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, the 24 year-old Ukranian duo known as 2CELLOS became an overnight internet sensation with their self-made music video of themselves performing Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal” on their cellos. With “Smooth Criminal” racking up over 5 million views on YouTube, Sulic and Hauser have premiered the video for the next 2CELLOS single on VEVO: A rocking rendition of the Guns N’ Roses worldwide hit, “Welcome to the Jungle.”

Of the new single Sulic says: “Covering “Welcome to the Jungle” was a real challenge but that one we were up for! We chose this song because we thought that it could sound like a whole symphony using only our 2 cellos. We’re really proud of it and think it rocks!”

The 2CELLOS debut self-titled album will be released this summer on July 19th via Sony Masterworks, and the duo will kick off a European summer tour opening for Elton John on June 8th at Cardiff International Arena in Wales.

2CELLOS is now available for pre-order on the 2CELLOS website. Each pre-order of the CD comes with a free 11″ x 17″ poster/calendar. An instant MP3 download of “Smooth Criminal” will be included with pre-order of either the CD or MP3 version of the album. The debut album features Sulic & Hauser‘s unique spin on hits by Guns N’ Roses, U2, Coldplay and Kings of Leon among others.

“We grew up with Michael Jackson, U2 and Nirvana. The melody and structure of their songs really inspired us to arrange them for 2 cellos. Bands like Coldplay, Kings of Leon and Muse also write songs with those similar melodic qualities – so we had a great time digging in and making them part of this album too,” says Luka Sulic.

2CELLOS Tracklisting:
1. Where The Streets Have No Name (U2)
2. Miserlou / Pulp Fiction Theme (Dick Dale)
3. Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)
4. Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson)
5. Fragile (Sting)
6. The Resistance (Muse)
7. Hurt (Trent Reznor/Johnny Cash)
8. Welcome To The Jungle (Guns N’ Roses)
9. Human Nature (Michael Jackson)
10. Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
11. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
12. With or Without You (U2)














For more 2CELLOS click here.

In what stands as a major global music relief effort to benefit those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, over 30 of the biggest names in contemporary music have joined together for the worldwide release of “Songs for Japan,” an unprecedented compilation of 38 chart-topping hits and classic tracks, available worldwide on the iTunes Store for $9.99 ON SALE NOW. Proceeds from the album’s sale will benefit the disaster relief efforts of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

The “Songs for Japan” track listing features an all-star lineup:
1. John Lennon “Imagine” (Remastered)
2. U2 “Walk On” (Radio Edit)
3. Bob Dylan “Shelter From The Storm”
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Around The World” (Live)
5. Lady Gaga “Born This Way” (Starsmith Remix)
6. Beyonce “Irreplaceable”
7. Bruno Mars “Talking To The Moon” (Acoustic Piano Version)
8. Katy Perry “Firework”
9. Rihanna “Only Girl (In The World)”
10. Justin Timberlake “Like I Love You”
11. Madonna “Miles Away” (Live)
12. David Guetta “When Love Takes Over” (feat. Kelly Rowland)
13. Eminem “Love The Way You Lie” (feat. Rihanna) [Clean Version]
14. Bruce Springsteen “Human Touch”
15. Josh Groban “Awake” (Live)
16. Keith Urban “Better Life”
17. Black Eyed Peas “One Tribe”
18. Pink “Sober”
19. Cee Lo Green “It’s Ok”
20. Lady Antebellum “I Run To You”
21. Bon Jovi “What Do You Got?”
22. Foo Fighters “My Hero”
23. R.E.M. “Man On The Moon”
24. Nicki Minaj “Save Me” (Clean Version)
25. Sade “By Your Side”
26. Michael Buble “Hold On” (Radio Mix)
27. Justin Bieber “Pray” (Acoustic)
28. Adele “Make You Feel My Love”
29. Enya “If I Could Be Where You Are”
30. Elton John “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
31. John Mayer “Waiting On The World To Change”
32. Queen “Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)” [Remastered]
33. Kings Of Leon “Use Somebody”
34. Sting “Fragile” (Live In Berlin)
35. Leona Lewis “Better In Time”
36. Ne-Yo “One In A Million”
37. Shakira “Whenever, Wherever”
38. Norah Jones “Sunrise”

For more SONGS FOR JAPAN click here.

Proceeds from “Songs for Japan” will be directed to the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) to support its disaster relief efforts. The society will use the funds for the ongoing provision of immediate relief and for eventual recovery support to the affected population. The artists participating on “Songs for Japan,” the music labels and music publishers have waived their royalties and proceeds from the worldwide sales of the album to ensure that the JRCS receives as much support as possible from this global initiative. iTunes will also donate its proceeds from the album’s worldwide sales to the benefit of the JRCS, and has prominently featured the project throughout its stores worldwide.

When certain bands come to town I am forced not to photograph them because of something in the industry known as a rights grabber. A rights grabber is a contract that is normally handed to you right before you obtain your photopass at a show that you are forced to sign in order to get your photopass and be able to photograph the event.

Sometimes these contracts are harmless and state things like you will only use the photos for editorial uses and not for anything commercial. Which I am totally fine with like most concert photographers are, because we are in the business of licensing photos for editorial uses to music mags, websites, papers, etc. We are here to help promote that artist and get their name out as many places and outlets that we can. Publicity is the name of the game for concert photographers.

Publicity is the main reason why we are allowed to receive photo passes to get the access that we do to photograph all the amazing artists that we do. We rub their backs by having photos and stories published of them to promote their bands and tours and they rub ours back by allowing us to photograph them in exchange. In the world of concert photography we are very limited to access as it is, the norm is that we only get the first three songs of the show to photograph without use of any flash. With some bigger acts sometimes we have to stand all the way back at the soundboard to photograph the artist and we are not allowed close access up front in the pit. All of the limitations should be no problems for a professional. Sometimes we get crazy restrictions (first 30 seconds, only shoot from one
side, etc) but I wont bother to get into that as that is a totally different topic for discussion.

The main point that you need to know is that we get access to photograph artists in exchange for getting their bands publicity.

Then comes acts like Lady Gaga that recently appeared with a “rights grabber” contract in order to photograph her. In the past there was no contract for her and there were no problems. However Lady Gaga is not the first act to have such terrible contracts, she just got a lot of news lately mainly because she is a higher profile artist.

Artists such as Janet Jackson, Beastie Boys, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Stone Temple Pilots, KISS, Janes Addiction, Gogol Bordello, Steven Seagall, MGMT, Queens of the Stone Age, Cheap Trick,The Mars Volta, Matchbox 20, AFI, Sonic Youth, and many more have all felt the need to have rights grabbers. Some of these acts still have them while some have decided to change for the better on their policies.

There are two main types of rights grabbers out there at the moment, there are the full blown rights grabbers where artist owns all rights to your photos and then there are ones that state artists are allowed to you any of your photos for whatever they want without payment. Both types are totally unacceptable and a slap in the face to any photographer. I mean how would the artist feel if just by playing a venue they had to give up rights to their songs to that venue?

Why are rights grabbers bad in general?

When there are rights grabbers it basically means that any photo that the
photographer takes at a show, they no longer own them anymore and have no rights to use them in the future in any way. They are no longer the photographers photos. Which means it takes away their rights to license the photo editorially for any publications that
wish to use a photo of a artist for a story in the future preventing extra publicity for that artist. Not only do you not own your photos anymore, it also gives the artist or the management the rights to use the photographers photos for whatever they wish, whether it be to promote the band or for commercial uses such as t-shirts, cd covers, box sets, posters, etc. To add insult to injury most of these rights grabbers make you waive your moral rights also, which means when they use your photos that you no longer own, they do not even have to give you credit for using them. So in the future when you see the photo that you taken on posters, the bands websites or cd covers, it most likely
will not have your name on it. So you have nothing to show for your work because legally they do not even have to credit you not to mention they dont have to pay you for using them also.

Most concert photographers make peanuts to cover a show, they depend on owning rights for licensing their photos to editorials and publications in the future to make ends meat. With rights grabbers this is not possible for them to to license their photos anymore for editorial uses.

Why are there rights grabbers in the first place?

A lot of concert photgraphers notice that a lot of the above listed artists are represented by the New York publicity firm Nasty Little Man. When Steve Martin who owns the firm, was asked about the contracts, he said that those stipulations are up to the bands and their managers. and stated “In my experience it often comes from artists who’ve been stuck having to pay a ton for a shot they want for a box set, merch, etc. and that having the parameters set for such transactions in a legal document can keep that from happening in the future.”

Another reason that I was told by various managements was that it was there to protect the artists image so that the photos are not used for unethical uses such as tabloids, etc. They also mention that it was no big deal and if the bands ever wanted your photos they would still pay you to license them, even though legally they don’t have to and they already own them.

So basically, Steve is saying because one, two, or many bands had to pay a premium for good photography in the past for merch that they are forced to enforce the rights grabbers. I dont know specifics about these bands paying a ton for a photo for box sets, etc., or if it ever really happened at all or if its just a cop out that the management tells the band to scare them into using a rights grabber so that management can get free photos in the future. I do know however that if I asked all the bands they probably would not have a clue what I was talking about when I tell them about the rights grabber and why I was told that it was being used. Im not saying that it never happened, maybe the “ton” that was paid for that photo on a box set was really just a manager getting mad because the photographer refused to let the band use a free photo. Or maybe he was really asking for a million. Like I said, I never heard any specifics on the story to prove that it ever really happened and no one will ever fess up details about it. All in all this is no reason to go overboard and punish all the working professionals over one photographers actions.

Some photographers personally think that this excuse is a cop out used by managements in order to get free photos. Then again I personally know some photographers that have been paid for a photo usage of photos that they did not own because they signed the rights grabber. As stated above that some bands will still pay you for the usage even with the rights grabbers, which really just defies the point of the grabber in first place.

I have personally asked bands about these contracts when they had one, half the time the band has no idea about them and are oblivious to the fact that they exsist. As for the bands that are aware of them, they normally tell me what management has told them, that its there to protect their images from being used unethically, wheter the managment
does not want their photos on the wire, or tabloids, etc. But when you tell them what the contract is really saying and how it takes photographers rights they normally are shocked and or appalled about the issue. The sad part is that even when they are made aware of it, it never changes most likely due to managment decisions are final.

As for the excuse that these contracts are around just to protect the artists image from the photos being used the wrong way. Which seems to be the main reason that these contracts really exist. This is the most ass backwards thinking that could ever exsist.
Their reasoning is that if they own all rights to the photos, then they will not get used in anyway without their permission. Well they are right on that, but that only applies to professional photographers that play by the rules. But what they fail to realize is that the problem with photos ending up in the wrong places will always exist, with rights grabbers or no rights grabbers.

The rights grabbers are not really doing any thing to prevent the problem. Why is that you ask? Well the problem does not lie in the professional photographers, it lies in the unprofessional ones, and the fans that bring cameras into shows. Most of the photos of artists that are put into bad light, sent to tabloids, and used in unethical ways are from fan
photos from the crowd or the non professional photographers that will sign any contract handed to them because they plan on selling and using the photos unethically in the first place. With these people contracts do not stop them from doing what they are going to do in the first place. The only thing that will is better control on who gets passes or letting cameras into venues.

There is a big problem in the process of getting credentialed for photo passes. You will see anything in the pit these days from professional shooters, point and shoot cameras, to people with cell phone cameras. It is sad but true I must say when you are a professional trying to work when you see someone standing next to you with a photo pass and a camera phone taking photos.

But the major problem is the unprofessional photographers. When they are given a rights grabbing contract, they will take the contract and sign it and shoot. After the shoot, they will sell the photos to whoever is paying, unethical or not. They do not care about that rights grabber that they signed, they are going to do what they want to do.

Then you have a professional photographer, who is actually there working for a publication that is going to get the band some major publicity. They get the rights grabber, but have to refuse to sign it, and in return they do not get to photograph the show because of it. Why did they refuse to sign it? Because professionals actually play by the rules, and with those set of rules, it does not allow them to use the photos ever again. Not to mention that sometimes the company they are shooting for wont allow them to sign it because the company owns all rights to photos that they shoot because they are work for hire, the photographer actually has no legal ability to sign the contract cause they give their rights to the company they are shooting for and that company wont allow them to give up their rights thus killing any publicity. This is the case for most photographers that work for newspapers, they do not own their rights in the first place the paper does, so when they get these agreements, it just means that story that was going to run in the paper wont happen. Then there are the normal freelancers that will refuse to sign it out of ethics. Which again kills any publicity.

If by chance a professional is allowed to sign it, they sign, and they forfeit their rights to the photos and only get to use them for what they are shooting for and get paid from that company for the one time use of the photos. Then they can never use the photos again because they sign their rights away and no longer own them. They just photographed the show because they needed money to pay bills.

So if rights grabbers are around because of photos being used unethically, then they have to realize that they are not solving the problem by enforcing them and all it is doing is creating more problems because of it.

So here is where I am going to list the pros and cons of rights grabbers on the music industry side.

Pros : Bands / Management get free use of photos for whatever they want without having to credit or pay photographers.

Cons: No newspapers will cover bands with grabbers.
Most professional photographers will not sign them thus leaving amateur shooters taking less quality photos.
Unprofessional photographers will still use photos for the wrong reasons because they sign and shoot without reading contracts.
Less Professional Publicity is received.

Now you have to ask, do the pros out weigh the cons? In these days free photos are worth their weight in gold I assume.

Solutions to the problem?

There are alternative ways to make both parties happy but the voice of photographers is too small to make a difference in the big music industry as this has been the case for years as these contracts have gotten more and more out of control. The ideal contract
would be none at all and many big artists have realized this, and they normally play by the rule that any publicity is good. Some artists that do not have any contracts at all include acts such as Madonna, Elton John, U2, etc. etc. etc. Now if these big artists do not need rights grabbers, then why does any artist. It really makes you think about other motives for them.

So it comes down to managements saying that rights grabbers exist for these reasons but the wording in the contracts say noting about the reasons they say they are for in the first place. If these contracts were truly being used for these for the reasons that were stated the wording would read different. For example, if they were worried about paying too much to license a photo, the contract could say that you agree to license photos to the band at a fair market value if they want them. Or it would say you agree to only use the photos editorially. But managements refuse to change the wording because they know that the way they have it worded means free photos.

But if there has to be a contract, it should only state that the photographer will only use the photos editorially and not commercially without artist prior consent. Although this still will not prevent the non professionals from doing bad things with the photos. You have to realize that it is going to happen despite any precautions one takes rights grabbers or not.

If one wanted to take precautions for such they should be looking into a better process on screening photographers that apply for credentials and have better security measures at shows and fans bringing cameras in. By doing this it would probably stop a lot of the misuse from happening in the first place.

If the bands are worried about getting ripped off for licensing photos down the line, why not find a photo from the 1000 of other photographers out there that are willing to be fair with licensing, or if they really wanted that particular photo they could get it by other means. I can not say that I do not know one photographer that would pass up on licensing a photo to a band for a lower rate if not free, if that band gave the photographer unlimited photo access to their next event. Money is not the only thing we accept, we are able to barter. Then again, there will always be that one photographer who has a stick up their butt and trys to rip a band off. But that is life, there are always going to be bad apples out there.

If you are management, the real question you should be asking before deciding on having a rights grabber is should you be punishing all professional photographers for the actions of one or a few bad ones? Concert photographers are hard working artists that do this out of the love of the art and not in it for the money as most of us have multiple jobs on the side just to support us being able to pay for camera gear, gas, time, to get to the shows to support you, the artist, by giving you free publicity. The thinking that putting these rights grabbers out will prevent anything mention above is ridiculous thinking.

Why did I write this in depth article on rights grabbers when it comes to concert photography?

The main reason is that I want to make the world aware on this plague that our small community has to put up with on a daily basis and hopefully will make some higher ups in the industry realize what they are doing is not only evil, and wrong but it robs photographers of their art and lively hood. It also prevents the higher quality publicity that bands deserve and for what? To save a few dollars from that one mystery photographer ripping a mystery band off on a photo for their box set.

Also I am personally getting fed up lately of all the concerts that I have had to turn down because of these contracts, while I see unprofessional photographers still shooting them because they do not abide by these contracts, while the professionals sit out and miss the shows. Preventing professionals from using their own photos while the unprofessional photographers are using them in any way despite signing the contracts has to end.

The industry has this notion that concert photographers are making a ton of money off of their artists and are exploiting them, but what they dont realize is that 99.9% of professional concert photographers have to have multiple jobs just to keep doing what they
love. Its what we put all of our passion into, and that is making their artists look good while getting them the most publicity that they can receive at the same time.

who am I?

I vow to remain anonymous do to the nature of this industry because if someone disagrees with something that I said above then I would most likely be blacklisted from photographing certain concerts. I personally have been professionally been photographing artists for over ten years and supplying many photos to publications worldwide. I have been doing this out of the love for concert photography and I live off of my paycheck week to week from my part time job not photgraphy. I am well known in this industry and I can barely afford to keep my
camera gear running with the money I make from concerts. I will stay in the game as long as I can.

-Concert Photographer

This Manifesto may be re-posted anywhere at no cost.

Taken from here.

According to Billboard Boxscore BON JOVI Ranks as #1 in the Top 25 Tours Of 2010 list ranked by total gross earnings from November 22nd, 2009 through November 20th, 2010.

1. BON JOVI: $146,507,388
2. U2: $131,502,369
3. AC/DC: $122,633,027
4. LADY GAGA: $116,227,987
5. BLACK EYED PEAS: $81,579,114
6. JAMES TAYLOR / CAROLE KING: $62,326,410
7. EAGLES: $62,166,344
8. METALLICA: $61,947,556
9. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: $61,247,906
10. PAUL MCCARTNEY: $55,760,403
You can view the rest of the list here.

CLASSIC ALBUMS:
RUSH: 2112 & MOVING PICTURES
Eagle Vision DVD














Eagle Vision & Eagle Rock Entertainment have put together a series entitled CLASSIC ALBUMS that goes back and looks at the making of some of the greatest albums of all time. With titles such as Metallica: Black Album, Fleetwood Mac: Rumors, Judas Priest: British Steel, Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Iron Maiden: Number Of The Beast, Motorhead: Ace Of Spades, Deep Purple: Machine Head, and on and on… The series takes the band back to the studio, with the producer and engineer occasionally and goes over the recording of the album, how they wrote it, the stories that came from the recording session, and actually takes the album apart track by track and channel by channel. From the great licks, that killer vocal line, the special mixing that makes the song come alive.

You can’t turn on VH-1 without seeing an episode of Classic Albums, and with good reason. Even if you don’t particularly care for the artist or the album, the stories behind how the album came to be will enthrall you. My favorite episodes are DEEP PURPLE: Machine Head, JUDAS PRIEST: British Steel, and MEAT LOAF: Bat Out Of Hell. Not because they are amazing albums (they are), not because they are great legendary bands (they are), but because of the stories that come out about how the album and the songs came to be. From Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water being written about the actual recording of Machine Head and the dismal situation they were in while recording one of rock’s greatest albums of all time. To Judas Priest’s Metal Gods marching sound being a drawer full of silverware being slammed open and shut. To Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman basically selling their souls and beating the odds to get a rock opera released by two unknown and unlikely artists.

RUSH: 2112 and Moving Pictures as albums need no real introduction to even casual music listeners.

With the opening track 2112 taking up half the album alone, the sheer epicness and ballsiness of an unknown band releasing this epic tome of music and having the fortitude and belief in themselves to pull off a magnum opus of this magnitude is to be respected and celebrated. The message of 2112 with nods to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead actually echoes the band’s ambition for releasing a 20 plus minute song as the opening and title track on an unsuspecting public.

Moving Pictures is simply a greatest hits album of brand new music. Red Barchetta, Limelight, Vital Signs, and YYZ are well known to Rush fans and non fans alike. And of course Tom Sawyer which is probably second only to Stairway To Heaven as the most played song on Classic Rock stations.

The episode and the series isn’t a ‘Behind The Music’ drug and sordid history, it is about how the album came about, how the artist came up with the riff, the lyric, the song, the sound, and finally the impact the album had when it was released.

RUSH: 2112 & Moving Pictures was released September 28th. And can be purchased here. Do yourself a favor, pick it up, throw it in the DVD player and relive the magic of 2112, the hits of Moving Pictures and find out how the band came up with some of the most well known rock and roll songs in the history of music.

The DVD comes with almost an hour of extra material recorded for this episode. From Geddy Lee explaining the Overture of 2112, to Neil‘s (Non) drum solo, there are too many great nuggets to list here. The extras are worth the price of the DVD alone, nevermind the who, how, why of the recording of 2112 and Moving Pictures!

No matter which episode you watch, STEELY DAN: Aja, TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Damn The Torpedoes, SEX PISTOLS: Never Mind the Bollocks, or U2: Joshua Tree, you’ll always come away with a great story, an amazing tidbit about how your favorite song came to be, what studio magic was used to make that special sound that transports you to another place and time, and where the artists head was or wasn’t at when they recorded it. So check out the links below, pick up 2112 & Moving Pictures, treat yourself to a few other episodes of Classic Albums, and enjoy! You’ll thank me later.

For more CLASSIC ALBUMS click here.
For more RUSH click here.
To purchase RUSH: 2112 & Moving Pictures Classic Albums click here.

Atlantic recording artists Shinedown formed in Jacksonville, FL in 2001.  Since then, they have released three albums full of countless hits, such as “Fly from the Inside”, “45″, ”Save Me”, and more recently “Devour”, “The Crow and the Butterfly”, and who could forget their brilliant cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”.  All the while they have been touring their asses off, and playing in front of packed houses, and surprisingly enough none of them have included me.  I don’t know how it came to be that I never had the chance to get out and see these guys, but I can’t believe what great shows I’ve missed.  That being said, it should come as no surprise that when the opportunity arose to interview guitarist Zach Myers at a stop on this summer’s Carnival of Madness tour, I jumped at the chance.  Here’s how it all went down as Zach and I talked about everything from the tour, to Ozzy, to oil spills.

AWAY-TEAM:  First off, I’d like to congratulate you on the tour, and the success of the fifth single off “The Sound of Madness” , “The Crow and the Butterfly”.  I saw that it just hit number one on the Active Rock charts, and it’s poised to do the same on the Mainstream Rock chart.

ZACH MYERS:  Thanks.  That’s five number ones on this record, we’re so very blessed, and we’re really excited.  And now we just found out they’re gonna release one more single, so we’re gonna go for six.

AWAY-TEAM:  Can you tell me what that’s gonna be?

ZACH MYERS:  I think it’s gonna be “Breaking Inside”, but I’m not sure.  I can’t confirm that, but I think that’s what it is.

AWAY-TEAM:  So six singles AND you’re gonna knock Ozzy off the top spot.  That’s pretty cool.

ZACH MYERS:  Yeah.  We did already, actually, on Active Rock.  Sorry Ozzy.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs)  Back to the tour, you guys have assembled a killer lineup, how did this all happen?

ZACH MYERS:  The idea came up…Brent (frontman Brent Smith) wanted to do a festival tour, our manager also wanted to do a festival tour, our manager manages all of these bands.  So it was pretty easy to put together, ya know what I mean, it was all in house.  It was cool man.  It was something that we asked all these bands, we picked the bands.  It was a fun idea, when we put it all together, and ya know the best thing about the summer is festivals.  And these are all bands that would be on a festival anyway, so we went to every single one of them and said “Why don’t we put on a festival.  Our own festival, and travel around”  The backstage vibe is way cooler like that.  Festivals are just like class reunions, you get together and see all your friends again, so why not have that for a couple months.  So it was a very easy idea to put together.  It was a no-brainer.

AWAY-TEAM:  You mentioned that you thought summer festivals were fun.  Is this something that you plan to do annually? 

ZACH MYERS:  It is gonna be an annual thing.  But it’s gonna be almost like when Limp Bizkit did the uh…

AWAY-TEAM: Family Values?

ZACH MYERS:  Yeah.  We’re not gonna be on it every year.  I know that we probably won’t be on it next year, but the following year we’ll probably do it. 

AWAY-TEAM:  So kinda “One on, one off”?

ZACH MYERS:   Yeah.  But it will be an annual thing.  The Carnival will be an annual event, but who headlines will be different from year to year.

AWAY-TEAM:  With Ozzfest kinda winding it’s way down, it seems like the perfect replacement.

ZACH MYERS:  Yeah, and you never know, maybe we could move it to like two or three stages.  We would all love that.

AWAY-TEAM:  That’d be great.  In ten words or less, what can a fan expect to see at the Carnival of Madness?

ZACH MYERS:  Madness.  It’s a carnival. (laughs) Um.  Loud. (pauses) Five of the greatest live shows you’ve ever seen.

AWAY-TEAM:  You guys had a Live DVD that was scrapped back in 2007.  Any chance we’ll get a Live DVD/Album from this tour?

ZACH MYERS:  I can tell you that we’re gonna record a couple shows.  DVD’s are so hard pressed now with labels, because they don’t really make any money off of them.  They put money into them but they really, no matter how many you sell of them, it’s not like the old days where when you sell a concert DVD, you can’t really sell a million copies of one.  Ya know what I mean? I couldn’t tell you the last person who did that in the last ten years, so.  We actually talked about doing it ourselves, and funding it ourselves.  This is way too cool of a show to not put out a DVD of some sort.  If there’s not a DVD, after this we’re doing an acoustic tour and we’re definitely gonna film alot of that, so…

AWAY-TEAM:  Now, five singles off “The Sound of Madness”, you said you’re ready to release a sixth, it’s been about three years when can we expect to see a new Shinedown studio album?

ZACH MYERS:  Umm. At the earliest, I would say at the end of 2011.  At the very earliest.  We’re gonna take October off, and go write in L.A.  We’ve been writing alot anyway, we wrote the Alice in Wonderland song (“Her Name is Alice”), we’ve written “Diamond Eyes” for The Expendables.  But yeah, we’re gonna go write in October, then we’re gonna go do this acoustic tour, and then I think we’re gonna wind it down in about mid-December.  Kinda take a break, take about a month or two off, and then start it all back over again.

AWAY-TEAM:  You guys recently joined the ever growing list of bands that are boycotting BP Petroleum…

ZACH MYERS:  I don’t know where this is coming from. 

AWAY-TEAM:  Not true?

ZACH MYERS:  No.  We’ve been asked that like five times.  I don’t know where… I disagree with it, I think it’s completely fucked.  We all live in the south, so ya know that’s our home…Do I get gas at BP when I’m home? No.

AWAY-TEAM:  So I guess the question still does apply.  If you had the podium at a BP board meeting, what would you say to them?

ZACH MYERS:  What can you say?  Who’s fault is it?  It’s really not their fault.  In all honesty, it’s not their fault when something like that happens.  It’s a natural disaster, they didn’t pop the cap off the thing.  But it is their fault for not fixing it sooner, or not having a plan in place.  They really, if they would’ve kept their mouths shut, then it would’ve been fine.  But this guy kept going on and saying things like “There’s more shrimp in Louisiana”.  This guy’s an idiot, ya know what I mean?  He’s put his foot in his mouth so many times.  When you’re the head of a company and you have to have security to escort you back to Europe so people don’t kill you, it’s because you’ve opened your mouth too much.  But no, as a band we can’t get involved in that.  It’s not our place, we’re not a political band.  The most political we’ve ever been is “Devour” and that’s just us talking about what WE saw when WE were in Iraq.  But other than that, we’re not a political band, it’s not our business.  Eric (bassist Eric Bass) and I are very political as people, but we don’t bring that into the band.  You don’t talk about politics, and you don’t talk about religion, that’s just something that you don’t do. 

AWAY-TEAM:  This is your work.  You don’t talk politics at work.

ZACH MYERS:  Yeah, and bands that use 45 minutes of their 2 hour set to talk about politics should be shot!  I’m sorry, it’s people that pay to hear you bitch? So what? No one cares!  U2 is one of my favorite bands of all time, and yeah Bono will slip things in here and there, but he doesn’t take half an hour.  And that’s the thing about it, it’s finding that line, ya know.  Some bands don’t do that.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well thanks, man.  I’m looking forward to the show tonight, and thanks for your time.  Have a good show.

ZACH MYERS:  Thank you very much.  We’ll do our best.  This is only our third show of the tour, so we’ll see how it goes.

AWAY-TEAM: Just warming up.

ZACH MYERS:  Just warming up, and my whole body hurts already. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  Well, hey Zach thanks alot.  It’s been a pleasure.

ZACH MYERS:  Thanks.  I appreciate it.

For more Shinedown, including Tour Dates and to purchase their music visit http://www.shinedown.com/

Special thanks to Zach Myers for so graciously giving me his time, and to Julie Lichtenstein at SKH Music for making it all happen.

Eagle Rock Entertainment’s critically acclaimed Classic Albums series has recounted the back-stories of some of popular music’s most enduring and beloved albums. On August 3, the next installment, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Damn The Torpedoes, will be simultaneously released on DVD and Blu-ray. The documentary will also be broadcast on VH1 Classic.

Unweaving the creative process behind this all-American rock ‘n’ roll gem, this 56-minute documentary presents newly filmed interviews from Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Ron Blair, as well as co-producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus. Completing this package is 42 minutes of bonus features not included in the upcoming VH1 Classic broadcast, as well as in-depth multi-track tape analysis, and new and archival performances.

It takes a concoction of memorable hooks, artistic energy, and a lasting impression to create a work worthy of the label “classic album.” Damn The Torpedoes, featuring the hits “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl,” and “Even The Losers,” still has that fresh, dynamic sound that skyrocketed it to #2 on the U.S. charts and into the hearts of audiences worldwide.

Rolling Stone magazine in their review in the December 13, 1979 issue, said that Damn The Torpedoes was “the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ album we have all been waiting for.” In their September 16, 2004 issue they declared it one of “the greatest albums ever made”

Now more than 30 years after its release and the emergence of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers as a major musical force, Damn The Torpedoes is a worthy addition to the Classic Albums library.

Previously delving into definitive works by Elvis Presley, The Doors, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Meat Loaf, Phil Collins, U2, Bob Marley, and most recently Black Sabbath, Classic Albums has peeled away the layers, via comprehensive interviews, studio recreations, and vintage footage, to reveal the stories behind the music.

For more TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS click here.
For more on CLASSIC ALBUMS click here.

Fans holding tickets for this summer’s aborted North American leg of U2’s 360° tour finally find what they’re looking for as Live Nation announces rescheduled dates for 2011.
The North American leg was originally scheduled to begin June 3 in Salt Lake City. That is, before Bono underwent emergency back surgery in Munich. At first only the SLC date was postponed, but as doctors determined the extent of the frontman’s spinal predicament, the band ended up postponing the entire leg as well as cancel its planned headlining engagement at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival.
The revised North American leg now begins in Denver at Invesco Field May 21, plays Salt Lake City at Rice Eccles Stadium May 24 and stops in Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium June 1.

Newly rescheduled U2 dates:
21 May, 2011 Denver CO US Invesco Field
24 May, 2011 Salt Lake City UT US Rice-Eccles Stadium
1 June, 2011 Edmonton CA Commonwealth Stadium
4 June, 2011 Seattle WA US Qwest Field
7 June, 2011 Oakland US Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
17 June, 2011 Anaheim CA US Angel Stadium
18 June, 2011 Anaheim CA US Angel Stadium
26 June, 2011 East Lansing MI US Spartan Stadium
29 June, 2011 Miami FL US Sun Life Stadium
5 July, 2011 Chicago IL US Soldier Field
8 July, 2011 Montreal CA Montreal Hippodrome
9 July, 2011 Montreal CA Montreal Hippodrome
11 July, 2011 Toronto ON CA Rogers Centre
14 July, 2011 Philadelphia PA US Lincoln Financial Field
20 July, 2011 New York NY US New Meadowlands Stadium
23 July, 2011 Minneapolis MN US TCF Bank Stadium

From Pollstar.com
For more U2 dates click here.

FOF/EMI

Rating:  7 out of 10

Though not typically a fan of British emo-rock, when reviewing albums I always follow the self-imposed edict that all music deserves a chance.  Union, the new album from the U.K.’s Intervurt was no exception, and quite frankly, that’s a good thing.  The album’s opening track “Suffering” kicks things off with an industrial style opening chord, which quickly breaks into an upbeat melting pot of Depeche Mode, early U2, and INXS all rolled into one.  “Suffering” sets the tone for the next three tracks which follow in it’s footsteps stylistically, until…

Track 5, “Scars and Stripes” hits us with a musical styling reminiscent of The Nixons’ “Foma”, one of the few non-metal albums from the 90′s that I still find myself occasionally listening to.  From there, things continue to change, with the next offering “Diesel”.  One of the better tracks on the album, “Diesel” draws a comparison to something that could’ve easily been included on Scott Weiland‘s drug-induced hallucination that he called “Barbarella”.  The album finds it’s own “Industrial Revolution” with the next track,  “Merla”.  Perhaps my favorite song on the album, “Merla” is a musical mesh of part Radiohead, part Stabbing Westward.

The metamorphosis doesn’t stop here, however… “The Fear” brings back a U2 feel, that would make Bono choke on his Guinness.  Intervurt continue the up-tempo onslaught with “Saturday Night”, before leaving us with one more welcome dose of Radiohead, known as “City of Moods”.

All in all, Intervurt has done a brilliant job with this offering, and makes this metal-head raise a pint to the boys from Britain.  Trust me on this one, at the risk of sounding like less of a man, open your mind and cast your prejudices aside, this album comes highly recommended.  If you’re a fan of Depeche Mode, Radiohead, U2, The Cure, or even Queens of the Stone Age, this album is for you.

For more info on Intervurt, as well as tour dates, and to purchase the album, visit http://www.reverbnation.com/intervurt or amazon.com.

Ed Kowalczyk, legendary lead singer and songwriter of the multi-Platinum rock band Live, who is releasing his first solo album, Alive, on July 6 has also announced July U.S. tour dates. The summer tour schedule starts July 1 in Buffalo, NY and ends August 6 in Chicago, IL at Lallapalooza for a solo acoustic set.
Currently, Ed is giving away a FREE download of the song “Grace” which is featured on the new album if you tweeting the phrase “Get @EDDIEKLIVE new song “Grace” for free in exchange for one tweet!” For more details, go here.
Alive was recorded in Austin, TX at Wire Recording Studios with producer CJ Eiriksson (U2, Blue October, Matchbox Twenty) and Kowalczyk’s new band – Ramy Antoun on drums, James Gabbie on lead guitar and Chris Heerlein on bass.

“During the last two years, I found myself at a new level of personal inspiration and creativity. I am so excited that my long time fans, as well as new ones, are about to experience the fruit of my labor of love! This album is a gigantic achievement for me and I couldn’t be more thrilled at the prospect of finally sharing it with the world,” he says.

The 12-song album features Ed Kowalczyk at his best – ferocious yet passionate, while retaining the anthemic and spiritual songwriting he’s always been known for. Fans both old and new will be immediately drawn to the first single “Grace” – a soaring, hard-hitting song destined to be a rock radio staple. Alive also features a songwriting collaboration with friend Chris Daughtry on the driving rock track “Drink (Everlasting Love).”

Ed Kowalczyk built an impressive résumé with LIVE that includes eight full-length albums, total CD sales exceeding 20 million, a huge international fan base and extensive touring all over the world. LIVE has been one of the most successful and enduring alternative rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s.

TOUR DATES
7/1 – Buffalo, NY – Thursday at the Square
7/2 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground (Sold Out)
7/3 – Beauce, QB – Woodstock en Beauce
7/6 – New York, NY – City Winery
7/7 – Clifton Park, NY – Norther Lights
7/8 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
7/9 – Sayerville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
7/10 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
7/31 – Syracuse, NY – NYS Fairgrounds (Krockathon)
8/1 – Rochester, NY – Riverside Festival Grounds
8/6 – Chicago, IL – Lallapalooza (Solo Acoustic Set)

For more information on Ed Kowalczyk visit his website here.

U2 frontman Bono left hospital in Germany on Tuesday after undergoing emergency surgery on his back, but the injury has forced the Irish band to postpone the entire North American leg of its world tour.

It also means the band will not be appearing at Glastonbury, one of the biggest live music events of the annual pop calendar.

Bono has been told to recuperate for at least eight weeks and band manager Paul McGuinness, speaking to Reuters outside the Munich hospital where the operation was performed on Friday, said the 50-year-old singer “feels awful” about the tour changes, which will affect over a million fans.

“Clearly this is a serious injury and the recuperation time necessary to rehabilitate Bono is a big problem for the U2 tour and has unfortunately necessitated the postponement of 16 shows in North America,” he said.

“Those shows were to occur between June 3 in Salt Lake City and July 19 in Meadowlands Stadium.”

The earliest possible date for Bono‘s return, according to the band’s website, would be August 6 in Turin, Italy.

U2 were to have been the headline act on the main stage at Glastonbury on June 25, but that has now been canceled.

“I’m heartbroken,” Bono said in a statement posted on the festival’s website. “We really wanted to be there to do something really special — we even wrote a song especially for the festival.”

For more information on the canceled shows and Bono’s condition you can visit U2′s website here.

Source: Reuters.com

U2 lead singer Bono had emergency surgery on his back in a Munich hospital on Friday after being injured while preparing for the next leg of a world tour, the first date of which has been postponed.

The 50-year-old from Ireland had been getting ready for the North American leg of the “360 Degree” world tour which had been due to kick off in Salt Lake City on June 3, according to a statement first released to Reuters.

Any lengthy disruption would be a blow both to fans and to Live Nation, the concert company which has a major deal to handle U2‘s merchandising, digital and branding rights as well as touring.

The band’s website confirmed that Salt Lake City had been postponed.

Paul McGuinness, the group’s longstanding manager, hinted that the injury could cause further postponements.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re inconveniencing fans,” he said in an audio message. “We will make plans to reinstate these dates as soon as possible.

“Obviously, it’s been very disruptive to our crew. We have over 400 people converging on Salt Lake City. Some of those have been told to turn around and told to stay at home until we make our new plan.”

A spokesperson for Bono said the singer was admitted to a specialist neuro surgery unit in a Munich hospital.

“Bono will spend the next few days there, before returning home to recuperate,” the spokesperson added. “Once his condition has been assessed further, a statement will be made regarding the impact on forthcoming tour dates.”

After Salt Lake City U2 are scheduled to play in Anaheim on June 6 and 7 followed by Denver on June 12 and Oakland on June 16.

Visit U2′s website here for more information and tour dates.