Weekly Music News

[FH]

Pearl Jam Looks Ahead
Source: Billboard
After a long break, activity is slowly brewing in the Pearl Jam camp. The group's official Web site hints at a handful of future releases and live performances by the fall. "There could be some shows -- maybe acoustic, maybe not, a possible CD of some sort, and it's possible the band may head back to the studio towards the end of the year to begin work on their eighth album," the site says.

"As far as new music from side projects goes, some releases are possible but not definite," the post continues, referring to such affiliated acts as Brad and the Rockfords. In addition, frontman Eddie Vedder is confirmed to appear on former Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons' upcoming solo album, but will not make a rumored guest spot on the Who's in-progress studio release.

The prospective fall shows may be held in swing states in the run-up toward the U.S. presidential election. And while Pearl Jam actively campaigned for Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, the site says the group will not play any fundraisers on his behalf this year.

Bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard will be seen in the upcoming documentary "Malfunksun: The Andrew Wood Story," which chronicles the life of the late Mother Love Bone vocalist. Former Soundgarden members Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil have also participated in the film.

Finally, the site confirms that Sony Music is working on a Pearl Jam greatest hits album, with details to be announced. The band exited Sony's Epic Records last year after spending its entire career on the label. Pearl Jam says it is "still leaving options open" for a new record deal.


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

[FH]

New CD Releases on June 1

A.T.L. The A.T.L. Project (Epic)

A18 Dear Furious (Victory)

Aa Big A Little a (Narnack)

Afterlife Speck of Gold (Bar de Lune)

Amp Fiddler Waltz of a Ghetto Fly (PIAS America/Genuine)

Animal Collective Sung Tongs (Fatcat)

Another Dead Juliet Here Lies (Trash Art!)

Asura Lost Eden (TV Matters)

Auburn Blue Ridge Reville (Nettwerk America)

Melissa Auf Der Maur Auf Der Maur (ICE #203) (Capitol)

Backstabbers Incorporated Kamikaze Missions (Trash Art!)

Baha Men Holla (S-Curve)

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama (Eagle Rock)

Blue-Eyed Son (ex-40 Watt Domain) West of Lincoln (ICE #206) (Eenie Meenie)

Gary U.S. Bonds Back in 20 (guests Bruce Springsteen, Dickey Betts and Southside Johnny; ICE #206) (M.C.)

Brydge Crossover (X-Ray)

BT Music from and Inspired by the Film Monster (w/bonus DVD) (DTS)

Bobby Charles Last Train to Memphis (Bogalusa)

Eugene Cole & Persuaded Jesus Is the Balm (DVD same day) (Jabez/PGE/Brody)

Deborah Coleman What About Love? (Telarc)

The Contrast Fade Back In (Rainbow Quartz)

Cosmic Rough Riders Too Close to See Far (429/Savoy)

James Cotton Baby, Don’t You Tear My Clothes (Telarc)

Cougars Manhandler (EP) (Thick)

Crimson Spectre Crimson Spectre (Magic Bullet)

Joe Diffie Tougher Than Nails (BBR/C4)

Sandy Dillon Nobody’s Sweetheart (ICE #205) (One Little Indian)

downset. Universal (Hawino/Liquid 8)

Ronnie Earl Now My Soul (Stony Plain)

A Faith Called Chaos Forgive Nothing (Volcom Entertainment)

Farewell My Enemy Casting for Funerals (Rise)

Fear My Thoughts The Great Collapse (Lifeforce)

Melissa Ferrick The Other Side (Right On)

Fluke Puppy (ICE #205) (One Little Indian)

Gift Sumthin’ Amazin’ (X-Ray)

grandadbob waltzes for weirdoes (MRI/Lax Recordings)

James Greer & Company A Special Place (Liquid 8)

Jim Guthrie Now, More Than Ever (guests by members of The Constantines and Hidden Cameras) (Three Gut)

Mic Harrison Pallbearer’s Shoes (w/members of Superdrag and Guided by Voices) (Valley Entertainment)

Hawthorne Heights The Silence in Black and White (Victory)

He Is Legend He Is Legend (Tribunal)

Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle Night Light (ICE #206) (Hybrid)

Heart & Soul (Nexus) Parkes Stewart (Comin’ Atcha/PGE/Brody)

Martin Hederos & Mattias Hellberg (members of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Hellacopters and Diamond Dogs) Hederos & Hellberg (w/covers of songs by Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Gram Parsons; ICE #206) (Hidden Agenda)

Herod For Whom the Gods Would Destroy (Lifeforce)

The Honorary Title Anything Else but the Truth (Dog House)

Intelligence Boredom and Terror (w/bonus CD) (Narnack)

Joss If Not for the Hovering... (Delmore)

Kali Fam How We Live (Pudgie)

Ana Laan Orégano (Liquid 8)

Lackloves The Beat and the Time (Rainbow Quartz)

The Like Young So Serious (Parasol)

Louque So Long (Lava/Everfine)

Misery Signals Of Malice and the Magnum Heart (Ferret)

Miss Kittin I COM (Astralwerks)

Mista Naked Thongs ’N’ Pumps (Liquid 8)

My Revenge! Less Plot, More Blood (Thorp)

OPM Forthemasses (Suburban Noize)

Greg Osby Public (Blue Note/Metro Blue)

Jesse Powell Jesse (Liquid 8)

The Power & the Glory Call Me Armageddon (Deathwish Inc.)

Rahzel Greatest Knockouts (guests KRS-One, RZA, Black Thought and others; ICE #202) (Sure Shot)

Duke Robillard Blue Mood (performs the songs of T-Bone Walker) (Stony Plain)

Dexter Romweber (ex-Flat-Duo Jets) Blues That Defy My Soul (Yep Roc)

Rosavelt The Story of Gasoline (produced by Don Dixon) (Gaff Music)

Bobby Rush Folkfunk (Deep Rush)

Katey Sagal (of 8 Simple Rules and Married with Children) Room (featuring Don Was and Ivan Neville) (Valley Entertainment)

Saigon Warning Shots (two songs produced by Alchemist) (Sure Shot)

Bobby Sanabria And Quarteto Ache (Zoho)

The Satelliters Hashish (Dionysus/Bacchus)

Hadden Sayers 12 Bars and the Naked Truth (Radio Ready)

Seldom Seen See Me Now (East Side)

Small Towns Burn a Little Slower Small Towns Burn a Little Slower (EP) (Rise)

Sofa Surfers See the Light (ESL)

Something for Kate The Official Fiction (produced by Trina Shoemaker) (Red Ink)

W.C. Spencer Blues Explorer (Catscan)

Steep Canyon Rangers Steep Canyon Rangers (Rebel)

Suran Song in Stag Kitty Igloo & the Plastic Stereo (produced by Martin Bisi) (Cruel Music)

Switchblade Switchblade (Deathwish/Icarus)

Tangerine Dream Dream Mixes 4 (TDI Music)

Therion Lemuria/Sirius B (Nuclear Blast)

DJ Tiësto Just Be (featuring BT; ICE #206) (Nettwerk)

Trivium Inferno (Lifeforce)

Truth Ready Now (ICE #205) (Pookie Entertainment)

Twelve Tribes The Rebirth of Tragedy (Ferret)

Two Lone Swordsmen From the Double Gone Chapel (Warp)

Tyshena Take as Is (X-Ray)

Jonny U. I Want 2 Look at U (Triple X)

Wagon Christ Sorry I Made You Lush (Ninja Tune)

Weeto Treez (Triple X)

White Lights (w/Buffi Aguero of the Subsonics) Gifts from Strangers (Two Sheds)

Xfilesx Excruciation (Trash Art!)

Zug Izland Saved (Ax & Smash)

VA 2004 Label Sampler (Rise)

VA A Bluegrass Tribute to Simon & Garfunkel (CMH)

VA Chillout Jazz (Nettwerk)

VA Cypress Thrill (w/Cypress Hill, Everlast, Mellow Man Ace, et. al) (X-Ray)

VA Dream: The String Quartet Tribute to Enya (Vitamin)

VA Evil Lives: A True Metal Tribute to Black Sabbath (Magick)

VA Guitar Tribute to Bob Seger (Tribute Sounds)

VA Outbreak Presents: Biological Warfare (mixed by Resonant Evil) (MRI/Outbreak)

VA Record of Shadows Infinite (Crucial Blast)

VA Soho Lounge (Organica/tpz)

VA The String Quartet Tribute to Duran Duran, Guns N’ Roses, Jet and A Perfect Circle (Vitamin)

VA Tribunal Records No. 50 - A Collection (Past, Present & Future) (two CDs) (Tribunal)

VA A Tribute to blink-182, Jet, Sevendust and the Strokes (Tributized)

VA Tribute to Brooks & Dunn and Snoop Dogg (Tribute Sounds)

VA A Tribute to Josh Turner, Norah Jones and Twista (Big Eye)

DVD Lyricist Lounge: Dirty States of America (w/OutKast, Goodie Mob and Mystikal) (Image Entertainment)

DVD Corn on Macabre The Final Chapter (Magic Bullet)

DVD John Kay and Friends Live at the Renaissance Center (Rainman)

DVD Switchblade Symphony Sweet Live Witches (Cleopatra)

[FH]

VELVET REVOLVER:Contraband Preview Available Online
Source: Blabbermouth

MTV.com is currently offering a free audio preview of the entire VELVET REVOLVER album, "Contraband", due on June 8 through RCA Records. Listen to all of the album's 13 tracks at this link.
In other news, Billboard is reporting that VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" will be one of three albums BMG (RCA's parent company) will issue this summer with copy protection.

BMG refers to its application of the SunnComm technology as "copy management." BMG Canada, going forward, is also planning to apply copy management in tandem with the U.S. schedule.

BMG's copy management allows consumers to make three copies of a CD. They can also share tracks by e-mailing links through SunnComm's TuneShare PromoPlay feature. The e-mail recipients can listen to tracks for 10 days before they are timed out.

[FH]

VINCE NEIL To Get Extreme Makeover
Source: Blabbermouth

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, former MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil is scheduled to begin a three-month extreme makeover today for MTV's version of "The Swan".

"I call him 'The Mallard,' " said Leah Gerardini, Neil's fiancée.

At 43, Vince is the first rock star to join the reality re-do craze.

The new Neil will be revealed August 28, after seeing a lot of a trainer, a plastic surgeon and a lifestyle counselor.

Starting today, he consults with a plastic surgeon and cuts out drinking.

"It's not just for me, but for my career," said Neil, who is in negotiations to reunite in January with MÖTLEY CRÜE, if he and former drummer Tommy Lee can get past their feud.

MTV is billing the show as "The Remaking of Vince Neil". At stake for Neil is a recording contract and the opportunity to work with a top producer and a recording artist.

[FH]

William Hung Inspires DVD
"Idol" reject also headed for big screen
Source:RollingStone
William Hung is going to spend much of 2004 stretching his fifteen minutes of fame. Next up for the University of California engineering student turned American Idol reject, whose Inspiration album debuted at Number Thirty-four in April, is the DVD Hangin' With Hung on June 29th.
Hangin' will include new interviews with Hung; the "She Bangs" video and the making of it; the Fuse network special Idol Worship and several other Hung TV appearances; and behind-the-scenes footage from his appearance at Southern California's Wango Tango concert and the Inspiration recording sessions.

"It's more about the life of William Hung," said the twenty-one-year-old Hung, who was in Toronto on Sunday to "sing" "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the Blue Jays-Rangers game to a mixed reaction from fans.

He also revealed that he will begin work on his second album and will be shooting a movie in August in Hong Kong. When Hung was asked for more information about both projects, his mother signaled to him and he then responded "no comment" and "confidential, sorry."

Pressed about the album, Hung added, "It will include original songs and cover songs. There will be more bands this time. That's all I can tell you."

The new album will be aided by the singing lessons he is currently taking. As to whether Hung currently thinks he's a good singer, he answered, "No comment."



KAREN BLISS
(Posted Jun 01, 2004)

[FH]

JUDAS PRIEST's Reunion Tour: Opening Night Setlist Revealed
Source: Blabbermouth

JUDAS PRIEST played their first concert since reuniting with singer Rob Halford Wednesday night (June 2) at Stadiumsporthalle in Hannover, Germany. The group's entire setlist for the show was follows:

01. Hellion
02. Electric Eye
03. Metal Gods
04. Heading Out to the Highway
05. The Ripper
06. Touch of Evil
07. The Sentinel
08. Turbo Lover
09. Victim of Changes
10. Diamonds and Rust
11. Breaking the Law
12. Beyond the Realms of Death
13. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)
14. Painkiller
Encore:
15. Hell Bent For Leather
16. Living After Midnight
17. United
18. You Got Another Thing Coming

According to a fan that attended the show, "The stage setting (backdrop) was the 'Electric Eye' DVD cover. Halford appeared in the eye! Halford's voice was in very go(o)d shape. He sang 'Victim of Changes' like on 'Unleashed (In the East)' (GREAT, FANTASTIC!!!!). After 'Metal Gods' he said that this was a very special night: the first gig of the PRIEST reunion after so many years. He looked awesome with spiked leather coats, changing on some songs. During 'Painkiller' he wore a spiked leather jacket. 'Hell Bent' = Harley, cap on. Sunglasses at the beginning of the show. Sound was awesome, not too loud, very clear. The band just fucked up on 'Green Manalishi' at one part (only the die-hards noticed that)."

[FH]

AVRIL LAVIGNE: FRED DURST Expected Me To Bang Him
Source: Blabbermouth
Avril Lavigne spoke with Rolling Stone magazine about how she shot down LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst after hanging out with him at the METALLICA tribute concert. She said, "[Backstage at a METALLICA tribute] I mentioned to Fred that I was hungry — like, 'I want an In-N-Out burger'. He had someone go out and get me a whole box of them, with fries. I was like [sarcastically], 'Yeah!' Then he took a private jet out to one of my shows, expecting me to bang him. He was disappointed that I wouldn't even go near him [laughs]. He was a little pissed that I went to my room alone that night."

[FH]

DEF LEPPARD Bassist: '70s Covers Album Due In September
Source: Blabbermouth
DEF LEPPARD bassist Rick Savage has revealed to Hoover's Online that the group's latest project is a covers album of hits from the Seventies, tentatively due in September. "We are playing songs from all the great rock bands, including DAVID BOWIE and ROXY MUSIC," Savage said. "It originally was a bit of fun for us and then the record company got excited."

The upcoming album will be the follow-up to 2002's "X" (Island Records), which debuted at #11 on The Billboard 200 chart with a first-week sales tally of over 71,000.

[FH]

VAN HALEN: 'Dress Rehearsal' Video, Photos Posted Online
Source: Blabbermouth

Video footage of VAN HALEN's final dress rehearsal for their upcoming tour has been posted online at this link. (courtesy of KTLA TV). A bunch of photos from the rehearsal have been uploaded here.
VAN HALEN's entire setlist for the June 1 show at Sony studios in Los Angeles was as follows:

01. Jump
02. Runaround
03. Humans Being
04. Up For Breakfast
05. Bass Solo
06. Somebody Get Me a Doctor (Mike on lead vocals)
07. Poundcake
08. It's About Time
09. Drum Solo
10. Top Of The World
11. Unchained
12. Why Can't This Be Love
13. Eagles Fly (Sammy solo acoustic)
14. Deeper Kinda Love (Sammy solo acoustic)
15. Learning To See
16. Best of Both Worlds
17. Guitar Solo (Featuring Wolfgang Van Halen)
18. Dreams
19. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
20. Right Now
21. You Really Got Me
22. When It's Love

[FH]

Creed Guitarist Says Band Broke Up Months Ago
Source: MTV

"None of us really argued amongst each other. It was always Scott who had the problem." — Creed's Mark Tremonti


The biggest rock band of the past decade has broken up.

After nearly 10 years together and more than 24 million albums sold, Creed have decided to put an end to their string of multiplatinum records and chart-topping singles. The choice was made months ago, when guitarist Mark Tremonti and singer Scott Stapp reconvened after a yearlong hiatus and ran into problems.

"We had gotten together two or three times and nothing happened," Tremonti explained. "We got our instruments and played, but neither of us was taking it seriously. We were just running in circles. There wasn't a vibe like on the previous records. It felt very joblike. We knew that it would take us years to get a record out."

The trouble wasn't that the collaborative couple — Tremonti was responsible for the music, Stapp for the lyrics — were clashing creatively. Personal issues, mostly between Stapp and the rest of Creed, caused an irreparable rift that ultimately led to the band's demise.

"Scott and I hadn't been close for a while," Tremonti said, "and things just weren't working out. ... None of us really argued amongst each other. It was always Scott who had the problem."

Stapp declined to be interviewed for this story.

The animosity apparently began to churn two years ago, while Creed were promoting 2001's Weathered on a tour that Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips described as long and grueling. For starters, to preserve his voice, Stapp sat out soundchecks, which had been where the bandmembers would goof around and playfully bounce new ideas off each other. So Tremonti was forced to germinate new ideas with Phillips and touring bassist Brett Hestla, who had replaced founding member Brian Marshall in 2000, and the collaboration got under Stapp's skin.

Having to postpone several dates because of Stapp's April 2002 car accident and a few more shows later that year due to his bout with laryngitis, only added to tensions in the band. Meanwhile, the other bandmembers got the sense that their singer wasn't as committed as they were, and his attention seemed fractured.

"It's not fun to count on other people when they're not that focused," Tremonti said. "Scott wasn't in the mindset that we were. He wasn't as focused on the current tour. He had 800 things on his mind, and I think that distracted him from what we were doing."

Among the ventures that Stapp was exploring was a clothing line called Screamline and forays into acting.

"He definitely had his plate full, whether it was professional or personal," Phillips said. "He always had the cell phone going," the drummer added, with an eyebrow raised to relay his disgust.

Well aware that something wasn't right in the band's dynamic, Stapp, Phillips and Hestla began talking about their situation, though they didn't figure a permanent split was imminent.

"When every day just seemed to get weirder and weirder, it's natural to start discussing that with the people around you," Phillips said. "There wasn't ever a point where anyone was like, 'All right, I'm done with it.' It was more a question of what exactly is happening. What's going to happen tomorrow night? What's going to happen three months from now?"

The pinnacle of Creed's problems took place in Chicago in December 2002. Whether Stapp was inebriated or simply sick, as he had claimed, his performance was so terrible that some members of the crowd sued the band for sucking. For a band proud of its reputation for exciting and passionate performances, such a show was inexcusable. Some fans even balked at Stapp's heavy-handed Christ-like poses, which he claimed symbolized that he "had some things going on in [his] life," "kind of felt alone" and "didn't think anybody had [his] back at the time".
"My entire family was at that show," Tremonti said, "so I was very irritated. But I forgave Scott for it. I talked to him about it, [but he didn't] offer any kind of explanation. That's probably what bothered me the most. There was no closure on it. It was like, 'Let's keep moving on,' and I was like, 'Well, we've got to address these issues,' but we just never did."

The guitarist wasn't really much help in explaining what caused Stapp's uncharacteristic behavior that night, since their strong friendship, on which the band had been built, had deteriorated.

"We didn't really speak too much, so as for what he did on his personal time, we had no idea," Tremonti said. "We just knew that [over time] he would just slowly act a little more distant and do things that we didn't really approve of. So we really don't know what happened in Chicago, except that it was a low point in a long year."

Following the tour, the band decided to take a break for the next year, a move spurred more by Stapp than by his bandmates. According to Tremonti, Stapp's outlook for Creed entailed making an album every couple of years and then touring for only a few months. To the workaholic Tremonti this wasn't acceptable, so he figured he'd vent his creative juices in a side project.

Although the speed-metal-minded Downshifter never got off the ground (Tremonti had envisioned working with Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Slipknot's Joey Jordison), just the mere thought that his songwriting partner would apply his talents elsewhere bothered Stapp.

"We kept having [personal] problems, and my side project turned into 'Creed is not working,' " Tremonti said. "And to keep performing, I had to make a decision to move on."

The last time he spoke to Stapp was in February, when the two were still trying to rekindle their creative fires for the follow-up to Weathered. When collaboration and reconciliation proved futile, Tremonti introduced the idea of a world without Creed.

"We just wanted it to be fun," he said. "And it just got to the level where it was so political and there was so much drama that it just drove us crazy and you just can't ... We wanted to do this for the music, and you're not supposed to be in a rock band to be miserable or have to walk on your tiptoes around people."

Tremonti's side project took a more serious turn when he recruited Phillips and Creed's original bassist, Brian Marshall. The trio enlisted singer Myles Kennedy, formerly of the Mayfield Four, and Alter Bridge was born. Since February, the band had been working on its debut album, One Day Remains, at Tremonti's Orlando, Florida, home studio. The disc is due on August 10, with a first single, "Open Your Eyes," expected to surface later this month and a promotional tour of radio stations slated for mid-July.

"I'm more driven now than I've ever been," Tremonti said. "If you've tasted it and been there, you need to get back. Rock and roll, to me, is like a drug. I need to get out there and perform and get the music out there. That's why we've been a band for only five months and we're coming out with a record in another two."

Stapp is working on a solo album with hip-hop producer 7 Aurelius, according to a Wind-Up Records spokesperson. Before that is released, however, he'll contribute a track to an album inspired by the film "The Passion of the Christ," which the label will release August 31.

"Creed was one of the most amazing journeys through music and friendship I am blessed to say I was a part of," the singer expressed in a statement. "I made memories I can never replace. I just want to thank the fans who supported us and became part of the Creed experience. We could not have accomplished anything without you!"

While perhaps surprising, Creed's breakup is hardly unique. Often a band formed by the best of friends can self-destruct when confronted with the pressure and blinding sheen of success.

"People in bands, at first they're high school or college buddies who just want to get out there and rock," Tremonti said. "But after it gets to a bigger level, it turns into a business where people have to make decisions about their careers, and people see things differently. You start to see your friends as somebody who might hold you back from something that you really want to do. Their opinions might not be your opinions, and a friendly disagreement might turn into a career-ending decision."

Whether you loved them or hated them, Creed had always inspired strong sentiments in anyone who heard their music. Tremonti and Phillips just want the band's contributions to be recognized.

"When Creed came out on the radio seven years ago, there was a lot of poppy radio music," Tremonti said. "I think 'My Own Prison' was the first song [in a long time] with a serious tone and a message behind it. After that, a lot of radio programmers started programming more serious-sounding rock and roll, and I think that's what I'm most proud of. Creed perhaps opened the doors for some other bands who may have had a message."

"Even if you loved us or hated us," Phillips emphasized, "remember us."

— Joe D'Angelo, with additional reporting by John Norris