Tag: "London"

The take over, the break’s over.

After a week and a half of speculation, Fall Out Boy have revealed they are in fact planning to make a comeback in 2013. What no one saw coming, however, was just how prepared they were to take on the world of rock once more. Not only did the boys from Chicago announce their return this morning, but they also released a new single and revealed plans for a new album and North American tour later this year.

“My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” marks the official return of Fall Out Boy with a bigger-than-ever sound that picks up right where Folie A Deux left off. The song will be featured on Save Rock And Roll, which is due in stores May 7 through Decaydance Records. You can stream the single below. Continue reading ‘Fall Out Boy Release New Single; Reveal Album and Tour Plans’

From Sweden to London, England, with nothing but her guitar, a few clothes and a heart of gold, Charlotte Eriksson AKA The Glass Child has poured countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into her craft. Spending sleepless nights on the floors of generous strangers, scraping by for change to make it to the next city, and singing her heart out to audiences every night, Eriksson knows the life of a struggling artist.

With several Top 40 achievements on OurStage and an incredibly strong, captivating voice, The Glass Child is an obvious example of passion, hard work and dedication come to life. Listen to “Best Part Of Me” below.

The Church Studios is a storied recording facility in London’s delightfully named Crouch End neighborhood. Housed in a gothic chapel, the studio has hosted sessions for Bob Dylan, Radiohead, and Elvis Costello, amongst others. However, the studio’s days may be numbered.

According to the Evening Standard, current owner and UK pop singer David Gray is looking to divest himself of the property or have most or all of the site converted into “flats.” “David would be delighted to sell the Church Studios,” noted a spokesperson for the singer. “But given the current upheaval in the music business and the repercussions on commercial recording studios, it is only prudent to explore other avenues, including redevelopment.”

Continue reading ‘Recording Studio That Saw Dylan And Radiohead Might Soon Be Condos’

• This is like a Reader’s Digest version of the internet.
• Get ready to hide that browser window, office workers.
• It’s unclear whether Ryan understands that he is, in fact, the machine.
• One thing Stapp won’t reveal: why Creed was ever popular.
• “Where’s Waldo?” for the post–punk set.
• At least be thankful you were spared from Bellamy’s sparkly suit.

The current line-up of Guns N’ Roses will take the stage later tonight at London’s O2 Arena, finishing up a string of drama-filled UK tour dates. Just make sure you don’t show up in your classic Slash Tee.

NME caught up with a Guns N’ Roses fan who attended last nights show at the O2 Arena, shirtless. That’s right, when 18-year-old James Revell showed up, ticket-in-hand and shirt-on-back, security requested that he remove the offending shirt or he would not be allowed to attend the concert. NME quotes a venue worker at last night’s show as saying, “We were told by the management not to allow anyone into the O2 Arena who is wearing a Slash T-shirt and we are asking anyone who is to remove it and if they refuse they will be turned away.”

Wow. We knew Axl‘s beef with Slash cut pretty deep, just not to the point of enforcing a reverse dress code.

In the words of the surprisingly mature James Revell, “…I think that Axl Rose doesn’t appreciate his fans or anyone for that matter, he needs to grow up and stop acting like a child.”

OK, so I think we can all agree that getting a closer look into the lives of our favorite celebrities is pretty awesome. Whether or not we choose to admit it, most of us have that one famous person (or maybe more) who keeps us fascinated with every tiny detail of their life. The wonderful world of Twitter has made it incredibly easy to stay up-to-date—no  paparazzi or gossip magazine required. Celebrities simply share what they want to share, and we eat it up. Sometimes they’ll even respond to their followers and answer their questions! It’s all good fun, except when it’s not. It looks like some celebrities, especially musicians, just aren’t ready for the responsibilities of being famous and having all of this technology right at their fingertips.

Most recently, rapper The Game sent the tweet heard ’round the world, causing so much chaos it almost got him in trouble with the law. His Twitter posted a phone number, telling his close to 600,000 followers that they should call it for an internship opportunity. Well, turns out the phone number was for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and they were not happy; rightfully so, considering their phone lines were jammed for a couple of hours. The Game claims that someone hacked his account, but then went off on a rant about the police, saying “Yall can track down a tweet but cant solve murders !”  The department planned to file a complaint but later decided against it after The Game gave a public apology.

M.I.A. is another celeb who recently took to Twitter, but ended up offending her own fans. In the wake of the London riots, she tweeted that she was “going down to the riots to hand out tea and mars bars”. Fans who follow her on the site replied with upset comments, not happy that she was supporting the violence.

Continue reading ‘Music Stars Who Need A Lesson In Technology’

You’d think that once a genre breaks into the mainstream, you’d be able to listen to it and tell someone what it is. I mean, what other genre could get coverage in a major online publication that admits that it doesn’t even know what the genre is in the title of the article? Dubstep has been growing in popularity for the past decade but has really come into its own, in the past three years. Most people in college will probably recognize dubstep as that REALLY LOUD bass-heavy dance music they’ve heard at some frat or house party or club venue. Also known as “wobbles”, this music is made to make you nod your head. But that’s not all there is to dubstep, although you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

The roots of dubstep can be traced back to UK Grime rap and 2-Step, growing out of the darker elements of drum and bass music in London. The earliest song to be released with many of the characteristics of the sound would be “Charly”. The sound of early dubstep reflects its urban origins; dark, claustrophobic and nervous created via very heavy subbass. The genre even had something of a home base in its early days. Big Apple Records, based in Croydon, South London, was a record shop specializing in jungle, techno and drum and bass releases throughout the 90s. It began to become the heart of the scene with Dubstep musicians Skream and Benga both working in the shop by day and DJing by night. At least one journalist also conjectured that dubstep had a parallel relationship with rising Ketamine use in the UK. Woah man, drugs and music? Slow down, you almost lost me.

Around 2002 and 2003, the term dubstep began to be thrown around to describe this new dance music. With the name came a jump from local scene to regional flavor and then quickly to national prominence. Much has been made as to how quickly dubstep has come to prominence. Probably doesn’t hurt that the music started out in one of the biggest and most international cities in the world.

Skream is a name that keeps coming up time and again through the growth of the genre. The release of his self-titled Skream! in 2006 with the unexpected UK hit “Midnight Request Line” proved to have a great deal of crossover appeal.

Skream Midnight Request Line by ieseala

House producer Deadmau5 also debuted his first release in 2006. While not a true dubstep adherent, singles like “Strobe”, “Ghosts N Stuff ” and “Faxing Berlin” would prove popular to listeners on both sides of the Atlantic and introduced Americans to music like dubstep. Some wobbles here and there but very melodic and very digestable. Side note: Deadmau5 has started releasing little dubstep experiments on his Soundcloud page and through his Facebook as well. We’ve posted one below for your immediate listening pleasure.

Dub5tepthingie2 by fuckmylife

The 2007 release of Burial’s Untrue, maybe the single most important release for dubstep up to that point if for no other reason than the reviews it received when it came out. Getting positive write-ups almost everywhere, it has since appeared in the Top 10 releases of the decade lists in FACT Magazine, Stylus Magazine and, most notably, placed Number 3 on Resident Advisor’s Top 100 albums of the decade. This brought to dubstep something is was sorely lacking prior; critical acclaim. No longer just the music of club kids and the tastemakers, Untrue proved that not only did dubstep have a dark, gritty, urban soul, but it could also have a brain.

Currently dubstep is bigger than ever. Rusko might have collaborated with Britney Spears on her latest album (“Hold It Against Me” definitely has a bass drop around the 2:40 mark), all around hip guy Diplo released a dubstep collection late last year and the Internet is polluted with a dubstep remix of every song ever made. The genre is not just an internet/pop culture phenomenon, however. For all the critical support as of late, perhaps the highest profile champions were the late legendary BBC Radio1 DJ John Peel and fellow BBC Radio DJ Mary Anne Hobbs. So outside of the basic characteristics of sound, dubstep has had one other stylistic attribute since it has come into greater prominence: it is a genre which exists nearly equally in both the mainstream and in the underground. For a form of music with such a large, young and dedicated following, with write-ups in major publications for years it was, at least until this moment, out of step with the greater continuum of mainstream music and culture in the US. It’s just too dirty for most people. Which, of course, is part of the appeal.

Ten years after forming in 1998, Junior Senior disbanded and guitarist/lead singer Jesper Mortensen left London for his native Denmark, only to realize New York was the place to be if he wanted to find someone to share in his journey to create a truly unique pop group. In a stroke of brilliant luck, Leah Hennessey was the first person he met in the city. “Jesper had written a few songs and asked me to listen and give him my thoughts,” she recalls. “Listening to the songs, I realized that he was asking if I wanted to sing and I was like, ‘Are you asking me to be in your band, because I can do that.’” Mortensen then persuaded his long time graphic designer friend Christiansen to learn to play bass and move to New York. The trio started rehearsing in the spring of 2010, and after countless demoralizing drummer auditions they finally met DIY-loving, Portland, Oregon native Olivia A. through all-girl drummer mag, Tom Tom Magazine. MAKE OUT was ready to go.

Trading on Mortensen’s manic take on pop music and the musical sensibility Hennessey developed from her own frenzied upbringing (and influence of her stepfather, The New York Dolls’ David Johansen), the band hooked up with producer Nicolas Vernhes (Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, The Fiery Furnaces) at his Rare Book Room studios in Brooklyn. We caught up with Jesper and Leah the day after their official debut at The Mercury Lounge in NYC to hear how it went, and what its like trying to reinvent pop music.

OS: For those who haven’t heard you yet, how would you describe MAKE OUT’s music? How is it different from or similar to Junior Senior?

JM: We make rocking pop songs. And hopefully we’ll make great records. That’s what we want. Junior Senior was what happened when Jeppe and me made music together; even though I wrote the songs and lyrics and arranged (for the most part) it, I could never have done that without Jeppe. He was in my head all the time when writing music and what we wanted to do was something we established together. Now I have Leah and MAKE OUT in my head all the time and what we have established we wanna do together.

OS: Jesper, you decided to move to New York to form a new group after Junior Senior broke up. Why did you feel that New York would be the best place to start this group?

JM: I got bored in Copenhagen after I moved back there from London. And London didn’t agree with me. Even though English people are a lot of fun to be around and I love their music culture. But I couldn’t keep up with going to the pub every day, I need to get some work done too. I always liked New York, right now it’s the place on the planet that seems the least depressing to me. Also, I could not find any like minded and especially talented people to make music with in Copenhagen.. So I took a chance, like ABBA

OS: You released your first single, “I Don’t Want Anybody That Wants Me” recently. How has the song been received so far?

LH: I like the idea of a song being received—it’s like a gift.  In that sense I think IT has been very well received—reports are streaming in of kids/people jumping around their rooms singing along and all that.  I saw our music video director jumping around to it during the shoot, that was thrilling.

OS: You recorded your debut EP with Nicolas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors). What made you choose to work with him and how did he help you realize your vision for the record?

LH: Nicolas was very open to our ideas about the record, like when we said “What about like, ESG meets Bruce Springsteen?” he was far out in space far enough to take it seriously, even when we weren’t sure what was a joke ourselves.  Nicolas likes to hear what the music is saying, like, literally.  He listens for words in the rythms, it’s adorable and only a little ritualistic and creepy.

OS: Your first show together was on December 16th in New York City. How did it go?

LH: Our first OFFICIAL DEBUT show, yes, was on December 16.  It was great! The sound system at Merc is phenomenal.  I think people were very charmed and excited, I was.

OS: Leah’s stepfather is David Johansen of The New York Dolls. What kind of influence did he have on your songwriting, live performance and musical taste?

LH: Maybe this would be a better question for Jesper, haha.  David’s my mother’s boyfriend and he’s been like a father to me for a long time. I think he has the influence on me that any wildly supportive genius madman father figure would have on any young artist.  I believe there’s a sort of contagion of mimicry that happens between family members and especially among performers, but I’m sure the ways in which I’ve ripped D off already are unconscious.  He’s a sultan though.

OS: You’ve said that if the rest of the world were making this kind of music, you would be doing the opposite. Why do you think it’s so important to go against the grain?

LH: I think some people are blessed with artistic impulses that are completely physical, they’re headless, and maybe they don’t have to think about the context of their work, but I at least think about too much, and I have fun thinking about music especially.  Of course I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing, it’s not fun.  I’d rather be doing something peoplet think is awful and stupid than something passable and cool.  I honestly haven’t heard any bands around going for the sugar rush of simple pop lately, and I think we’re doing it damn well.

OS: What are your plans for 2011 after the EP is released?

LH: Tour the world, write more songs, see where Jesper’s from.

Is it possible for an indie rock band to outsell major label pop stars? If you’re Canadian rockers Floor Thirteen —who outsold Miley Cyrus, Coldplay and Kid Rock in their hometown of Winnipeg when they released their debut album, Mmmm!, in June of 2008— the answer is “Hell, yes.”

With the aid of Grammy-nominated producer Brandon Friesen, Mmmm! spawned the hit “Blame It On Me,” which has since been featured in the video games Need for Speed:Undercover and The Sims 3 and on The Strombo Show. These opportunities has exposed “Blame It On Me” to millions of people in over 30 countries.

Mixing the sounds of Jet and Led Zeppelin, Floor Thirteen include both retro and contemporary influences in their music. There is certainly a classic rock feel to “Blame It On Me,” but the gang vocal-heavy anthem “Shut ‘Em Out” sounds more like an Aerosmith B-side from the ’80s. This versatility works to the band’s advantage, as their album contains something for rock fans of several genres.

In addition to having impressive placement deals, Floor Thirteen has also proven their ability as a live band, opening for the likes of Our Lady Peace, Buckcherry and 3 Doors Down. They’ve also played at MUSEXPO Europe in London and have been a featured artist on the internationally syndicated radio show Passport Approved.

As you eagerly anticipate the next installment from Floor Thirteen, check out their music in the player below!

You can try, but you probably can’t put an accurate label on Foxy Shazam. Their eccentric and eclectic mix of punk, soul and straight up rock ‘n’ roll has earned the band critical praise and performances at Lollapollooza, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Reading & Leeds. Following a summer tour with Hole and the release of their smash self-titled album, the band recently finished a two-month cross-country stint with Free Energy and is preparing for another huge year in 2011.

One might expect that outrageously energetic 24-year-old frontman Eric Nally lives an equally wild life. On the contrary—offstage, he is a soft-spoken, friendly father of two. We had the pleasure of speaking with Eric about touring memories, writing with Meat Loaf, modern day rock stars and what it’s like to lead a double life.

OS: You’ve just finished your fall tour with Free Energy. How were the shows and what were some of your favorite moments from the tour?

EN: We went to the UK for a week in between this tour and that was awesome. I loved that because we sold out London for the first time. It was big for me because we’re from Cincinnati, Ohio and it’s just really far from home. To sell a place out so far away is an awesome feeling; to bring your music to a different country and do that. I liked playing Montreal because Hollerado, the band that’s opening on this tour, is from there. All their crowd was out and it was just really fun.

OS: Foxy Shazam is well known for its incredible, off-the-wall performances. What inspires the band to become so theatrical on stage?

EN: I usually tell people, “that’s just the way we were born!” It’s just natural to us. We  don’t have to do any preparation or any pre-show rituals to summon these things on stage, they just come out naturally. It’s just the way we came out of our moms, I guess. When I’m on stage, I’m an entertainer…when I’m off stage, I’m a spectator. So I just kind of sit back and watch and soak everything in. When I go on stage, I let it all out.

OS: You’ve stated that Foxy Shazam are “not concerned with what category it falls into.” Do you often find that people are trying to fit you into a genre or compare you to other bands because they’re not sure where to place you?

EN: Yeah, that happens all the time. Anybody I ever meet that’s an artist…everybody wants to be themselves. But really, in the way that everything works now, it’s just what people have to do. I accept that. Everything needs to be compared to something else just so you can wrap your head around it easier, I guess. Either way, I don’t mind it, but people do try to compare or group us into a category. Every time it’s different, so it’s cool.

OS: You’ve said that you would never want to make the same record again and the evolution of the band’s music has certainly reflected that. How do you see Foxy Shazam’s music evolving in the future?

EN: I don’t know…every record we make kind of stands for where I am at that moment. I’d have to kind of be in the moment to understand, but that’s exciting for me. I really like not knowing. It’s kind of cool to not think about it and not prepare.

OS: In the song “Wannabe Angel” from your self-titled record, you sing, “For you I wear this mask, at home I take it off.” Is it difficult to transition between your life as a rock star and your life as a dad and husband?

EN: Yes, that’s exactly what I was trying to say with that. I feel like I’m a completely different person when I’m on stage. It’s kind of like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type thing and that’s awesome to me. It’s like how actors do…entertainers, really. It’s just who I am. Being a dad compared to being a professional touring musician…it’s just the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I feel so different when I’m not on stage.

OS: Earlier this year, you helped write some songs for Meat Loaf’s album Hang Cool Teddy Bear. What was your role in the writing process? Would you be interested in writing for other artists again?

EN: Absolutely! I love being associated with people that have rich history in music and Meat Loaf is obviously one of those people. I just co-wrote two songs with Justin Hawkins who used to be in The Darkness—he’s one of my best friends now. It was just awesome. We went there together and we wrote together and sat with Meat Loaf. It was great, I made a lot of good friends through that whole experience.  A lot of the other writers that were there were a lot older and have done stuff like that before. That was something that I couldn’t believe I was experiencing so early in my career.

OS: Are there any artists in particular that you’d like to write for?

EN: I would love to, whether it’s writing or whatever, work with Cee-Lo Green sometime. I think he has the best voice in music right now. I think it’s just awesome, it hits me in the right spot. It’s the perfect voice for me. I’d love to work with him someday.

OS: Foxy Shazam was one of the first bands featured on ChatRoulette for album promotion, but you aren’t a huge proponent of bands using social media. Can you share your thoughts on that?

EN: I feel like the rock star is kind of a dying breed, we’re becoming extinct. You don’t seem them very much anymore. I think one of the most important things about what that persona was, was that you didn’t know them. It was almost like a mythical creature. People would gather backstage for hours just to catch a glimpse…and you don’t get that anymore. People know everything that everybody does because of Twitter and Facebook and they’re updating constantly. Everybody’s so human now, I guess, which is fine. That’s how it’s always been, everybody’s just a person. But I think there was this certain mysteriousness about the artist and that’s not really around anymore. So I kind of try to keep that going. I think it’s important to have people make their own stories about you rather than know the hard facts because chances are the hard facts are extremely boring (laughs).

OS: Foxy Shazam has recently announced some big touring plans for 2011. Can you tell us about the tours and festivals you’ll be playing next year?

EN: In January, we have a tour with Circa Survive. That will be awesome because I’ve heard their new record is great. I haven’t heard it but I’m really anxious to! I’ve heard a lot about that band and I know a lot of people who know them and they say they’re great guys and that’s really important to me, to share a tour with people that are nice. I’m really excited about that one, I think it will be awesome. Then we go to Australia [for the Soundwave Festival] in February and I’m really looking forward to it. I just love taking my music to different countries. I’ve never been to Australia, so it will be awesome. We have a bunch of days off in between the shows there so I’m going to do a lot of sight-seeing.

Check out this live video of Foxy Shazam performing “The Rocketeer” and don’t miss them on their upcoming tour dates, listed below!

Dec 16 Detroit, MI – Shelter
Dec 17 DeKalb, IL – House Cafe w/Victorian Halls & ‘Richardson’ Richardson
Dec 18 Minneapolis, MN – Popsickle Festival w/Motion City Soundtrack, Minus The Bear & more!
Dec 19 Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt w/Their Teeth Will Be of Lions
Jan 14 Richmond, VA – The National w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 15 Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 16 Ashville, NC – Orange Peel w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 18 St. Louis, MO – Pop’s w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 19 Omaha, NE – The Slowdown w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 20 Des Moines, IA – People’s Court w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 21 Grand Rapids, MO – Orbit Room w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 22 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 24 Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 26 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 28 Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 29 Albany, NY – Northern Lights w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Jan 30 Allentown, PA – Crocodile Rock w/Circa Survive and Anberlin
Feb 26 Brisbane, AU – Soundwave Festival w/Iron Maiden, 30 Seconds to Mars & more!
Feb 27 Sydney, AU- Soundwave Festival w/Iron Maiden, 30 Seconds to Mars & more!
March 4 Melbourne, AU – Soundwave Festival w/Iron Maiden, 30 Seconds to Mars & more!
March 5 Adelaide, AU- Soundwave Festival w/Iron Maiden, 30 Seconds to Mars & more!
March 7 Perth, AU – Soundwave Festival w/Iron Maiden, 30 Seconds to Mars & more!