New York Times: Every Time I Die

The key to “The Big Dirty,” by the Buffalo metalcore band Every Time I Die, isn’t just the music — big, barreling guitar riffs with some swing in them, sudden switches to a new rhythm well into a song — but the words too. They’re so complicated that a lyric sheet is helpful, but the best one-liners jump out of each verse. The singer Keith Buckley has been perfecting his lyric-writing skills over three previous albums: he fixes a general concept for a song, then strafes it with sayings and familiar phrases, sometimes imported from one context to another.

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Metal Is Sweet Music to Guitar Makers

There aren't too many mean-looking things in Cupertino, this sleepy Silicon Valley haunt of Apple employees and overachieving middle schoolers.

But there's something gruesome growing in one corner of town: Halo Custom Guitars, Inc.

Fueled by a resurgence in heavy metal music, and its numerous dark sub-genres, Halo makes and sells evil looking instruments with bodies carved to resemble rotting flesh, distended eyeballs and bone. The demonically-themed guitars primarily find their way into the hands of death metal musicians.

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The City of San Francisco is proclaiming September 5th as Ron Thompson Day

The City of San Francisco is proclaiming September 5th as Ron Thompson Day.

Mayor Gavin Newsom and his Entertainment & Arts Liaison, Patti Carlise, plan to be on hand that evening to personally present the proclamation to Ron on stage at Biscuits and Blues! Show starts at 8 PM. Tom Mazzolini (founder and producer of the San Francisco Blues Fest) and other VIPs will be on hand to celebrate Ron's well-deserved and long overdue recognition.But before "The Day," there is tomorrow, Monday--August 27th--tune into KFOG 's morning show--you can access the program via streaming internet. Ron will be playing a little guitar (of course!) and his long-time friend Mick Fleetwood has promised to call in from Maui (4:30AM Mick/Maui ime)

Ron will also be performing at the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary on Sunday, September 2nd in Golden Gate Park. An incredible line-up is planned--check out the SOL website for a full list and more details. The show is also going to be webcast.

Submitted by Jackie McCort

Droid Now 2nd Stage Headliner for Family Values Tour

California metal heads Droid have moved from opening the main stage at this year’s Family Values Tour to closing the Guitar Hero Second Stage. This will give fans a chance to get up close and personal with the heavy hitters from Long Beach .

Also, from now until the end of the tour, Korn’s James “Munky” Shaffer will be joining Droid at their signing booth. Shaffer is the founder of Emotional Syphon Recordings, the record label that released Droid’s self-titled debut CD in July. When fans buy Droid’s CD at the signing booths, they will also receive a free bonus DVD. The DVD is available only at signings and online when you order the album from Droid’s website.

Guitarist Jamie Teissere had this to say about the move: “Since they’ve pushed us back, we haven’t had a bad show. The energy is the way it should be! It’s a lot easier to let people know we’re going on later. We’re playing in front of twice as many people, all concentrated in one area, instead of all spread out in a 20,000-seat amphitheater. Now we’ve got huge mosh pits with tons of people crowd surfing. We’ve even had a couple dudes carried out with broken legs!”

On their self-titled Emotional Syphon Recordings debut, Droid embraces a bludgeoning aesthetic that pummels, punishes and pushes the boundaries of heavy metal. Their assault stems from a musical skeleton fused by rapid-fire riffs, wicked power grooves and a violent, hardcore crash.

Make sure to catch Droid as they headline the Guitar Hero Second Stage at all remaining Family Values dates, and don’t miss them at their signings where they will now be joined by Munky from Korn!

News Submission from Adrenaline PR

Best-Of Albums: A Difficult Decision for Bands

On one hand it remains a giant moneymaker for labels.

On the other, iTunes has made greatest-hits albums redundant. If you want an act’s highlights, you can assemble them yourself.

The Sacramento, Calif., band Cake was requested by its former label, Columbia Records, to make a greatest-hits album. With only a handful of well-known albums to its name, the band judged a best-of disc to be premature. It refused, prompting a legal fight between Cake and Columbia.

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Record Executive Brings Music's Marketing Savvy to Publishing with Free Download of his Debut Novel

Article By Brendan Peters
Submitted By Adrenaline PR

Ramsey Dean was thrilled when his debut novel, The CoolKids, was likened by publishers to a teen version of the John Kennedy Toole Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Confederacy of Dunces. That was until his own journey into the publishing world began to resemble the tragic author’s life. Within the praise for the epic comedy there were the calls for conformity that has turned publishing into Hollywood ’s farmers: “Could you dumb it down?”, “Could you make it shorter?”, “Could you make it more mainstream?”



When they said it would be a niche release because “teens don’t read”, Ramsey realized they didn’t know the demographic the way he did. By day he was one of the most noted music executives in the world of independent rock. He had held VP positions at the two largest labels in the business, TVT Records and Victor y Records, was currently heading up an elite artist development unit for EMI Music, and was well known for his innovative and sometimes unorthodox marketing strategies. He had seen the power of this audience grab onto million-selling artists like Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights , and Atreyu. Selling to this audience was his stock and trade.

That was when Ramsey Dean went to work, drawing up a marketing plan for the next artist he hoped to break: Ramsey Dean. While the publishing business frowns upon self-releasing, the music business thrives on it. The first thing he did was build a website where the entire book can be downloaded and printed in soft-cover format, right from a printer, absolutely free. While the traditional publishing model could never tolerate this, Ramsey knew that in music, where artists rarely see royalties, the album is more of a marketing tool, used to achieve fame and sell t-shirts and concert tickets.

With this in mind, the e-book goes where traditional publishing can’t, custom designed with links that go directly to a shirt store. Revolving around the fashion and music obsessed youth of today, The CoolKids boasts more t-shirts and songs than most albums. Once at the site, http://www.wearethecoolkids.com/ , the book takes on a life of its own, inviting readers to design and sell t-shirts, post songs, pictures, shoot YouTube scenes with their friends, chat, write reviews and suggest actors for the upcoming film. Yes, the concert tickets Ramsey Dean is out to sell are actually movie tickets, where he’s already attracted Hollywood ’s attention, including leading music video director Shane Drake, most famous for Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, to direct the film. 



By leveraging a career’s worth of music industry relationships, the author is aiming to set off a viral tsunami. One of the key assets in this well-established music executive’s arsenal is relationship marketing. As a new reading concept, aimed at a hip, young audience, and free, The CoolKids is the perfect value-added tool for bands, lifestyle companies, and media outlets that build their brand by delivering cutting-edge innovations to their fans first. There is a cache in introducing the next big thing, and The CoolKids allows anyone who can get the word out quickly to build an association with the upcoming film. The site even comes with banner ads, e-cards and flyers that can be tailored for custom delivery. 



With the music business going through such change, could the publishing business be next? Music executive and author Ramsey Dean just might be leading the way.

Looking for a good read? Check out http://www.wearethecoolkids.com/
For more information contact: info@wearethecoolkids.com

Ozzy: "His performance was downright painful to watch"

Ozzy Osbourne should just stop. Retire. Call it quits while he still has a shred of dignity left.

Judging by his headline performance Saturday at Ozzfest at the Dodge Music Center, there's not much doubt his best days are behind him.

His performance was downright painful to watch. His voice was weak, he looked puffy and out of shape and his ace band of backing musicians - which included guitar hero Zakk Wylde, ex-Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin and ex-Rob Zombie bassist Blasko - came off more like an Ozzy tribute band.

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Local hard rockers lead with piano, not guitar

Even Andrew Skuza, 24-year-old vocalist and keyboardist of Windsor heavy metal trio Sledgehammer, admits there was a time when he, too, subscribed to that stereotype.

"To be honest, I thought it was kind of (vulgar word for feminine)," says Skuza, who learned how to play piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music method during his childhood. "It wasn't a cool instrument, you know?"

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Two die from overdoses and 83 arrested at New Jersey Ozzfest

Two men died and 83 were arrested at the New Jersey PNC Arts Center, Holmdel the scene of this year's New Jersey Ozzfest, an annual traveling hard rock and heavy metal show. This year's Ozzfest includes Lordi, Static-X, Lamb of God and the show's namesake, Ozzy Osbourne.

Raymond Guarino, 26, of Forked River, New Jersey collapsed at around 3:15pm and went into cardiac arrest, following which he was resuscitated. He later died in a local hospital. It is believed his death was the result of his consumption of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

Patrick Norris, 24 of Coram collapsed around 10:00pm and was transported to the same hospital in cardiac arrest; he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police believe he too had consumed a combination of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.

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Rob Zombie's Halloween: The Music

The tracklisting for Rob Zombie's remake of the horror classic Halloween has been released. The disc is a classic rock fan's wet dream with tracks from Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, Rush, Peter Frampton, BTO, KISS, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, The Misfits and more.

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Teens get education on illegal downloading

The first educational initiative of its kind aimed at middle-school students, “The Donny the Downloader Experience” was launched by ASCAP in February 2007 in partnership with i-SAFE. The program aims to bring the harmful effects of music piracy to life, especially in terms of those who make a living from their art. To date, more than a quarter of a million students have been educated with this interactive curriculum.

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Political hopeful told to remove MySpace music

A controversial Queensland Senate candidate was yesterday ordered to remove content from his Myspace page after downloading a song by popular singer/songwriter Pete Murray.
James Baker, a former National Party adviser, has become known for his ultra right-wing policies, including calls to execute convicted terrorists.

Mr Baker had been using Murray's song Better Days on his Myspace page, which is linked to his official campaign website.

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Radiohead album news: not good

Radiohead will not be releasing a new album this year, the band's management has confirmed to NME.

The Oxford rockers have been working on their seventh studio set, which follows 2003's Hail To The Thief for most of this year and much of last, with the latest studio news putting the five-piece in a New York recording studio.

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Interview: Butch Walker

Walker has become the hot hand when it comes to production. He has produced records for Pink, Hot Hot Heat, The Von Bondies, Avril Lavigne, Lindsay Lohan, Sevendust and the All American Rejects. Along the way Butch has managed to carve out a nice solo career for himself.

How do you pick and choose who you work with as a producer? Is there anyone you would not want to work with for fear of alienating your core audience?

BW: No that's dumb. It's a day job, and f#@k anyone who doesn't like where I work. I don't judge someone for working at Applebee's but dresses like the Strokes at night, so don't judge me for having a very kickass, high-paying day job. Plus, writing anything I want or producing any style I want for other people? Who wouldn't want to exercise that part of their curiosity? Although, I don't ever think I'll work with that Lohan chick again. (HA!)

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Philips Celebrates the 25th Birthday of the Compact Disc

The birth of the CD in Germany in 1982 heralded in the era of digital music and signified the beginning of the end of analogue. The very first CD was "The Visitors" by ABBA and was produced by Polygram, a recording company. When the compact disc was finally released to the public in November of 1982, there were around 150 titles available. And, of course, a compact disc player was needed and Philips had it covered with their CD100. The player was available in Japan in November; the U.S. and European releases of this technology occurred in March of 1983.

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The Sound Check Interview - Mobius Band

My favorite part about The Mobius Band is your innate ability to sound organic and electronic at the same time. When I play your music it still feels like I'm listening to a rock band. Is "Heaven" along those same lines? Any departures? New methods?

Yeah. I think we are probably worried less about what is organic or electronic rather than just not limiting ourselves to any particular sound.

I love the guitar and I've been playing it since I was 10, but it's not always the best choice for the song. So we try and think of it in really open-ended terms as far as what can make up a song.

Specifically with Heaven, Noam got really into 'circuit bending' keyboards last year, so he was taking apart $5 toy Casio's with a soldering iron and turning them into these amazing, sophisticated machines that sound like a more interesting version of whatever plug-in is popular now. His attic is full of these great Frankenstein instruments. So there are a lot of sounds from those circuit-bent keyboards on the album.

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Rob Zombie: Prankster?

Sporting a Hell's Angels surfing T-shirt and covered in tattoos depicting The Creature and The Phantom of the Opera, the 42-year-old told Radar about some backstage clowning on the set of his revamped version of John Carpenter's 1978 classic horror flick (Halloween opens Aug. 31). The victim: legendary actor Malcolm McDowell, who plays Dr. Samuel Loomis.

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Spoof turns serious for Beatallica

Thank the United States' legal system for helping jump-start one of the greatest parody bands of all time. After all, without a serious threat by Sony Records there'd be no Beatallica and ultimately no "Leper Madonna," "Hey Dude," or "... And Justice for All My Loving."

Through sheer word of mouth and Internet buzz, the songs began circulating. Soon, Sony Records caught wind of the project and quickly issued a cease and desist order against the musicians to stop playing Beatles material. The problem — they weren't actually a band and weren't technically playing anything.

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Interview: Eisley

How was the summer tour with The Fray?

Sherri DuPree: It was really cool. They were so sweet and it was so fun.

Chauntelle DuPree: We had a great time because -- we got spoiled -- they had catering. They were so nice and their crew members were so nice to us so we were like "this is heaven."

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Focus has kept thrash-band Slayer around

The long haul: It's a hard feat in the world of rock music, and most groups can't pull it off. Trends shift, restless fans move on, band members succumb to the pressures – or temptations – of life off the stage.

Slayer is one of the survivors. Twenty-six years after forming in Los Angeles, the band is, in fact, enjoying new career peaks, generating the sort of big sales and broad recognition that had long eluded the thrash-metal quartet. Where other enduring bands have forged careers marked by zipping across the musical map, Slayer's longevity is a testament to the group's single-minded focus, says vocalist, bassist and all-around band brain Tom Araya.

"I think the biggest reason would probably be that we've stuck really close to what we've always done. That's what we owe it to," he says. "We never gravitated too far away from center."

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