There is just no slowing down legendary New York rockers, KISS. While touring in promotion of their upcoming Oct. 9 release, Monster, KISS has released a sneak peak into the album, for eager listeners to revel in.

Fans were promised a full on rock & roll album with this release, and what fans want, fans get. KISS delivers with two brand new streams, “Long Way Down” and “All For The Love Of Rock & Roll.” Both tracks pack distinguishable KISS quality variety, and while their “Detroit Rock City” days may be behind them, they’re still proving they can “Rock and Roll All Night.”

Take a listen right here and drift back to a time filled with uninhibited fun, explosive performances, and unpredictable stage antics.

More like this:

• Motley Crue and KISS Donate $100,000 To Aurora, CO Theater Shooting Victims
• If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Repeat ‘Em! – Bands Forge Own Tracks To Spite Record Labels

Intel’s “Superstars” Competition is back, only this time they’re seeking the best talent Canada has to offer.

From now until August 25, you can submit your best material to the Intel® “Canadian Superstars” Competition through one of seven channels, including electronic, singer-songwriter, urban, pop, rock, country and Francophone (exclusively for tracks sung in French). Our community of music fans will listen and rate your track against other channel submissions until one song rises to the top of the heap and an artist is crowned the victor. If selected, you will receive a ton of awesome prizes including gear from Avid, Casio, Monster®, Shure, and Fender®, not to mention Best Buy gift cards.

So what are you waiting for? Click here and let the games begin.

The “Superstars” Competition is back. Only this time, we’re turning the spotlight on our northern neighbors. We’ve got seven channels for all you aspiring Canadian superstars, including Electronic, Singer-Songwriter, Urban, Pop, Rock, Country and Français (exclusively for tracks sung in French). Enter your track in one of these Intel® “Canadian Superstars” Competition channels by August 25, and you could win awesome prizes including gear from Avid, Casio, Monster®, Shure, and Fender®, not to mention Best Buy gift cards. Let the games begin.

The Good

New Arcade Fire video brings it home … to your home

Remember when Arcade Fire came out with that incredible (and creepy) interactive video for “Neon Bible” and we all thought THERE’S NO WAY THEY CAN TOP THIS. Well, Montreal’s finest just topped that. Check out their interactive video for “We Used to Wait,” which uses Google Maps to incorporate your childhood home address into the footage. Customized nostalgia. There’s no way they can top that … right?

Kanye releases another track on his Web site

This one is called “Monster” and features an eclectic all-star lineup of Nicki Minaj, Justin Vernon from Bon Iver, Jay-Z and Rick Ross. What happens when indie-folk and hip hop collide? Find out here.

The Bad

John Lennon’s toilet sells for $15,000

That’s a lot of money for a porcelain throne, even if it once belonged to rock royalty. No butts about it.

The Ugly

Guns N’ Roses bomb at Leeds & Reading

Unless you’re easily shocked, the following will come as no surprise. Guns N’ Roses performance at England’s Leeds and Reading festivals left a lot to be desired. Like, for instance, punctuality. The band showed up an hour late to Reading and had to cut their performance short due to strict curfew laws. A few days later they repeated the tardiness at Leeds and were cut short again. Axl Rose took to Twitter to explain to fans, claiming there was “a deal in place” for the band to continue after curfew and “someone wasn’t informed, [someone] changed their mind … or [it] was a con.” By most reports, the performances were terrible, so thank goodness for cons and curfews.

Taylor Momsen is drinking the haterade

Taylor Momsen may have begun her career as the adorable Cindy Lou, but she’s become quite the Grinch in her off-camera life. Trying a little too hard to be tough and anti-establishment, the Pretty Reckless singer has spat the haterade out at Miley Cyrus, public toilets, Rihanna and her band name. We kind of hate that last one, too.

Miscellany

• Eddie Vedder, Johnny Depp, Patti Smith play benefit for West Memphis 3
• Lady Gaga debuts new song “Living On The Radio”
• Slash and Fergie play Sunset Strip Music Festival
• Noel Gallagher keeps it fat & funky for Paul Weller
• Jeff Tweedy thinks Jeff Tweedy Day is stupid
• Robert Plant done with hard rock
• Hayley Williams gets interviewed by Tegan and Sara

So you’ve been making an impression on the local scene— perhaps even the tri-state area—but as all Generation DIYers do, you still want more! You have a CD, merchandise, a pretty full touring schedule but still lack that national recognition. What’s the next step? Well, this week’s “Generation DIY” ventures into sponsorships and how you can get behind a company to not only gain some national fame but also spread the word on your favorite brand. With that being said, let’s roll up our sleeves and get down to the nitty gritty.

First off, let’s define and make sure that we all know the difference between a sponsorship and an endorsement. Sponsor: a person who vouches or is responsible for a person or thing. Endorse: to approve or back openly. NOW, the difference between the two is that a company SPONSORS YOU and you ENDORSE their PRODUCT/BRAND. Remember, a company won’t endorse you—they sponsor you in order to sell more products through your fanbase.

As a fellow musician, I suggest the first thing each of you looking to endorse a product should do is find a brand that you personally love and can stand behind. A positive connection to a product will definitely show through when you spread the word whether you’re on stage, in a commercial ad  or networking online. So ask yourself, what brands do you use for strings, drum heads, sticks, guitar picks, etc. Once you can narrow down the equipment that you love using, and will continue to use throughout the years, then you can begin thinking about inquiring about a sponsorships. For instance, I use Fender for electric guitars and Takamine for acoustic, as well as Ernie Ball strings.  Since I have used these brands for many years, I can get behind these companies and suggest their products to fellow musicians who are in the market for something new. When a company considers sponsoring an artist, one question they always ask is , “Can the artist sell more units for us?” If the answer is “Yes” then you are well on your way.

Continue reading ‘Generation DIY: Sponsorships For The Hip’