J.D. Fortune, whose life changed when he became INXS’ new singer after winning a TV contest, recalled thinking he’d failed the first audition. His music career was flailing when he applied for Rock Star: INXS in 2005, along with over 50,000 other hopefuls. In a new interview with Rolling Stone the singer told of how he […]
The recent explosive comments from Roger Waters have reportedly held up negotiations of Pink Floyd’s catalog sale. Variety reports that the band has been quietly shopping their “recorded-music catalog and other assets for several months, seeking as much as $500 million.” However the former frontman’s comments have led potential buyers to question the value of […]
What’s in a name? The core of that question, famously posed by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, asks if an item’s intrinsic value is changed by its title. Even though UCR is not fair Verona, or even your high-school English class, we can apply the same question to our favorite rock artists. A good band name […]
Members of R.E.M. were skeptical about the commercial potential of their eighth album, Automatic for the People. It was a testament to their immense popularity and sharp songcraft that the lush, brooding LP replicated the success of its 1991 successor Out of Time, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and selling over 4 million copies in the United States. […]
As the world remembers Loretta Lynn, the trailblazing country star who died Tuesday, Poison frontman Bret Michaels has revealed he visited with the singer just weeks before her death. “My heart is beyond heavy today as I have just learned of the passing of my good friend Loretta Lynn,” Michaels wrote on Instagram (see below). […]
Former Journey singer Steve Perry has given fans a preview of his upcoming holiday song, “Maybe This Year.” “Hello, everyone. I’m Steve Perry, and this is my recording studio,” the rocker began in a video uploaded to Tik Tok. “And these are my holiday lights, and these are my holiday assistants,” he continued, showing colorful lights […]
A record that began with a message to the kids about control (“Drive”) ends with a song suggesting that we’re all powerless in the face of mortality. Time doesn’t stop. “The ocean is the river’s goal.” The only thing that’s truly “automatic for the people” is that every one of us has an end date. […]
As many songwriters can attest, some of the best musical inspiration comes simply from the immediate world they see around them. At some point then, things are bound to get a bit meta. This is especially true when artists bump up against some of the harsh realities of the record-making business: labels that refuse to […]
Jane’s Addiction stormed Dallas’ American Airlines Center on Sunday night during the opening stop of their Spirits on Fire Tour in support of the Smashing Pumpkins, barreling through an 11-song, hourlong set with the charisma and ferocity of headliners. Decked out in matching, acid-washed black vest and pants, Perry Farrell sauntered on stage with a […]
Nearly 60 years ago, on April 12, 1963, Bob Dylan made his debut at the Town Hall in New York City, a historic venue in Manhattan’s Theater District that first opened its doors in 1921. It was his first large-scale concert. Dylan’s set that evening included several songs from his then-unreleased second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan — […]