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May 2008
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Recently in Music CategorySo the details of "Guitar Hero 4" are starting to le ak and it looks like there's going to be a drum set. This is not to be confused with "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," which is coming out this summer. This is the full-on GH experience, or by the looks of it, "Rock Band" experience. The one plus about the new "Guitar Hero" drum set is that it looks like it includes cymbals, and who doesn't love cymbals. And apparently there actually is a "Drum Hero" spinoff in the works. But the really cool thing about GH4? Apparently you can upload your own songs into it. I am hoping that means I can torture friends and relatives by making them play the nonsense songs I write--like the one about former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich eating a piece of pie at an Annapolis deli. Of course, the fellow reporters who wrote our song, which only has half of a chorus, would have to sign off on it. Back to the drums, though, I really hope I don't have to buy another drum set for the new one, but it kind of looks that way. I am starting to run out of space in my living room. 
The Associated Press
Ozzy Osbourne will not bring Ozzfest to Inland Southern California this year. Ozzfest is happening in Dallas for one day, with Metallica, Serj Tankian and others on the bill. Kermit the Frog is not playing.
After years of mosh pits across the country, selling out shows, and making admission free for the 2007 run, it looks like Ozzy's only doing one date--and it's in Dallas. This is what Ozzy's wife and wrangler, Sharon, told Billboard.com: "We're going to be a stadium destination festival for now -- we have gone past doing the sheds every summer," says Ozzy's wife, Sharon Osbourne, who is producing Ozzfest with AEG Live. "We've given everyone else the blueprint and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning; AEG Live and I have a lot of new ideas for Ozzfest." Well, Ozzy was just out touring. But, I wonder if the Rockstar Mayhem Fest, featuring the likes of Disturbed and Slipknot and coming to Glen Helen Pavilion in Devore on July 13, had the Ozzfest camp concerned. Of course, I think it's hilarious that the one Ozzfest show is in Texas, considering Ozzy's trouble with the Alamo and his bladder in 1982. Granted, that was San Antonio and Ozzy has played there since, but it still cracks me up. Anyway, for all of you metalheads out there--can you give me some insight on Ozzfests of late? Especially last year's?
Where do Metallica, Bad Religion and the Bravery all co-exist in Southland harmony? The KROQ Weenie Roast y Fiesta, which is happening this weekend. If you thought the lineup was strange with those three, look who else is playing--the Offspring, the Raconteurs, Rise Against, Pennywise, Scars on Broadway, Seether, Flogging Molly and Atreyu. On the second stage with the Bravery it's MGMT, Flobots and Ludo. Is that Warped Tour meets Ozzfest or what? Tickets go on sale this afternoon, but only online to people signed up with the radio station.
Now, I know that the inspiration spark for a song comes from all kinds of things. You have the typical love and loss scenario, and cars and driving are always good topics, too. And I know even pets can inspire a song. But a press conference? That's a new one. Leave it to Mötley Crüe to be inspired by their Crüe Fest presser (Crüe Fest comes to the Glen Helen Pavilion in Devore in August) to write a song.  In the 1980s, Mötley Crüe wrote about its decadence and girls, girls, girls. Now they're inspired by a press conference? From the press release: Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt at the press conference to announce the upcoming mega-tour, Mötley Crüe extended the production for their upcoming CD, returning to the studio this week to record one more track for the highly-anticipated album "Saints of Los Angeles." WHAT? I love the Crüe, but this one seems a bit bizarre even for them. They pushed back the release date for a press conference song? This is beginning to seem a little Spinal Tap-ish, isn't it? This is what Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx had to say about it in the press release: "Before our performance at the press conference, we were firing on all cylinders at sound check just jamming out, and that's when the new idea came. We quickly laid it down and went to the studio to record it, and liked it so much we pushed back the release one week so that we could get it onto the album - it now has 13 tracks. It's the ultimate song to end the record with and begin the new chapter of our career." OK, so it's not like they were coming up with this stuff while the press was asking them if they were actually going to keep Vince Neil in the band for this tour and if Tommy Lee would get distracted by a shiny object or a reality show and run away. Unfortunately for you, I thought it happened that way and I already started making up my own lyrics to the song. So here it is, to the tune of the Crüe classic "On With the Show." Nikki stepped up to the mic just the other night Told the reporters it would be all right Because he knows How the shows will go, woah-oh-oh-ohhh I got distracted after that. Oh, and because of the new song, the band is delaying the release of "Saints of Los Angeles." until June 24.
Weezer has bumped up the release date of its latest disc to June 3. The title of the new album is, wait for it, "Weezer." That's right, this will be the THIRD self-titled album for the geek rock group. However, everyone is calling it "The Red Album," because apparently the cover is red, just like 1994's "Weezer" is now known as "The Blue Album" because of its cover following the release of 2001's "Weezer" which is known as "The Green Album" because of, you guessed it, a green cover.  Hi, we're Weezer. While this is a picture of the four of us, it's not our album cover because we're standing in front of a white background. We like blue and green and red, kind of like Joseph and his amazing technicolor dreamcoat. Or Speed Racer. The band has actually ventured out to create other album titles, such as "Pinkerton," "Maladroit" and "Make Believe," but those didn't sell as well as the color albums, at least at first. And front man Rivers Cuomo has been famously working on this perfect formula for a pop song, so maybe the album cover is part of it. I seriously doubt the band will ever do "The Black Album" or "The White Album" because seriously, who wants to compete with Metallica and the Beatles? Not I. Back to the matter at hand, the album is bumped up, apparently due to the success of single "Pork and Beans," which hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, and if you pre-order it from iTunes, you can get early access to U.S. tour tickets. However, if Rivers and Co. are anything like Coldplay and Pearl Jam, they'll just ignore us in SoCal anyway. You can listen to "Pork and Beans" here. Although I think the title is just stupid, it's a good song. 
The Associated Press
Chris Martin tells the crowd to listen up, because they're getting a special show that Southern California won't since Coldplay has neglected the area on its upcoming tour.
Either way, both Coldplay and Tom Waits' tours are skipping Southern California this summer. The closest you'll be able to get to Waits' whiskey-soaked voice of all things dark and seedy is Phoenix on June 17 and 18. As for Coldplay, maybe Chris Martin and Co. are trying to duck the paparazzi of Hollywood and instead they're opting for the glitz of Las Vegas July 19. Now if they brought out showgirls to do a crazy costumed interpretive dance to "Trouble," I would pay good money for that. And for all of you Pearl Jam fans out there, start looking into your frequent flier miles--the band has only announced east coast shows for the summer, and a handful at that. For those of you excited about the reunion of Jordan, Jon, Donnie, Danny and Joe, a.k.a. New Kids on the Block, they don't have any L.A. dates either. I'm actually contemplating a trip to Boston to see them myself if my college roommate got the tickets. We might have had a New Kids on the Block dance party to the "Hangin' Tough Live" video instead of studying for finals sophomore year. On a brighter note, punk stalwarts Rancid FINALLY announced some California shows, and they're even playing the Fonda in Los Angeles on my birthday in October. And tickets for Madonna's Dodger Stadium show go on sale this weekend. Coachella and Stagecoach have ended, but we have two homegrown festivals coming up this weekend. The Temecula Music Festkicks off Friday at the Temecula Ampitheater at 20875 Rancho Vista Road. The lineup has some of the top local bands playing. I recommend catching 15 North, Cetas Aspire, Amue, Farewell Darla, Guilty Conscience, Iggy and the Rough Riders, My Last Revelation and more. It's the fourth annual event (although only the third with the Temecula Music Fest moniker) and tickets are $10 for one day and $25 for three. If you want to skip Temecula and head to the desert, check out the Joshua Tree Music Festival, which also kicks off Friday. To shift into my "Wayne's World" mode, I will say there are some most excellent acts playing. Definitely check out Ghostland Observatory, Zilla, Afromotive and Dubconscious. A three-day pass is $110 ($125 at the gate), a two-day pass is $90, ($100 at the gate), and single day passes are $50 each for Friday and Saturday and $35 for Sunday. And if you don't want to do the drive, you can camp out there for $10 more, but you might want to check it out and see if they still have room. All tickets are will call. Kids 10 years old and younger get free admission, and no dogs are allowed, unless they are guide dogs. I am guessing pet hermit crabs aren't allowed either. Look for more about both festivals this week in The Press-Enterprise. Well, get prepared for 3-D Jonas Bothers next year: Disney's planning a 3-D movie featuring footage from their upcoming "Burning Up" tour. The 3-D arena isn't new to the group. After all, they appeared in Miley Cyrus' 3-D concert film earlier this year. Here's my question: Do you get special Jonas Brothers-emblazoned glasses to take home after the event? Do you get a themed pillow should the 3-D experience prove to make you faint? From an Associated Press notice on the story: In a statement, brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick said: "We can't wait to start working on this film for our fans. It's going to be awesome and we really want to bring a totally unique and different movie experience to everyone whether they've seen us live or not." So, I guess I was woefully incorrect in my extreme feeling that 3-D movies are just a fad. How do you think the Jonas Brothers' movie will be? The boys are playing at Wango Tango in Irvine on May 10, and will be back in Irvine on July 12. For more concert info, check their site. Whew, I am finally back from two long weekends in the desert for Coachella and Stagecoach, but I am leaving again today. Thank you so much for following our coverage and commenting. It's been a crazy couple of weekends. If you missed it, just scroll down. I'm going to be out of town this week for family things, including my sister's college graduation. I have a few tidbits I'm pre-writing to keep you entertained while I'm gone, but I'll be back and up to full blogging force on May 12. Michael Martin Murphey won the affection of his audience in an hourlong solo set that included his signature song, "Wildfire." Then he lost a little of it by failing to show up to a scheduled autograph session. It was supposed to be at 7:30 p.m., a half-hour after he finished at the Mustang Stage. At 8 p.m., the staff at the Borders booth turned away a dwindling line of 30 people, offering them refunds on their CD purchases. Fielding Buck During Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," they broke it down to invite the "pint-sized member of the music mafia" and introduced Two-Foot Fred, while they sang Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback." Fred had a message for the fans about Big & Rich: "These guys rock!" Big & Rich take the award for best cover song. They're performing a Western swing cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long." Bucky Covington, this is how you do a cover! And they've got the crowd singing one final chorus. Kudos to you Big & Rich, you guys are working the crowd. "Looks like 50,000 people out there shaking to me, John," "Big" Kenny Alphin said to John Rich. We haven't gotten the official tally today, but there were 35,000 people here Friday and 35,000 people here today, according to the festival's publicists. We are still waiting on Coachella numbers. John Rich of Big & Rich took the time to give a shout out to friend Gretchen Wilson and to "the best man in country music," Trace Atkins. Half-way through his set he became much more recognizable, switching out a University of Texas Longhorn hat for the black cowboy hat fans know and love. I was wandering around the backstage area when I ended up in this line and then I realized Carrie Underwood's trailer wasn't too far away and that she was going to get in this van standing right in front of me. So about 15 minutes later she walked by, stopping to take a few photos with little kids and security kept pushing us to the fence. Then she got in a van and presumably went backstage. The artist compound is pretty cool. Everyone has a brightly colored homemade sign saying which trailer they're in. Crazy cameraphone photo to follow soon. Gretchen WIlson has been sounding great on the Mane Stage, playing hits like "Here For the Party" and "Homewrecker." She also played a new song, "Growin' Up Down South," off the album she is currently recording. Her fourth effort is due in September. What strikes me as odd, though, is that while she sounds totally on, she's not really dynamic on stage and at least on the big screen, she looks a little tired. My favorite part of her set was the rock cover break (because everyone does a cover at Stagecoach) when she asked the audience "Are you ready to rock and roll out there?" She covered Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and man, Journey should have hired her to replace Steve Perry. Not only did she sound awesome, but her hair is way better than the mullet Steve was rockin' in the 1980s. Then she did Heart's "Barracuda." As my colleague Fielding Buck noted--"Guitar Hero" has really changed the landscape of music. Wilson is closing with her breakthrough hit "Redneck Woman" and is getting the crowd to sing along with the chorus. Towards the end of his set, Trace Adkins started talking about his videos and how he showed his mother the one he did for "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" before it came out. He said that she told him, "I think I'm gonna have to change churches now." He told her that it would answer the biblical question of "How do you think Eve got Adam to eat the apple?" I think Sunday school teachers in the audience might have have cringed at that one. I ran into Sandi LaPlaca of Yucca Valley over at Karista Smith's set and she had a recommendation for Stagecoach organizers--free shuttles to the parking lots. She said she wouldn't even mind paying for parking if there were shuttles. There are a few bicycle taxis around, some golf carts willing to pick up passengers and an odd kiddie-like train called the "Western Express," but no formal shuttle. A number of fans have mentioned that to me over the weekend, especially with the festival drawing older fans and people with young children. And believe me, the hike to and from the parking lot is my least favorite part of the day. What if they had people park at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and did shuttles over here? At $2, water is the cheapest meal you can have here at Stagecoach. Here are some sample prices. Remember, most don't include sides. So iif you'd like fries with that, you'll probably have to go do a different booth. All-beef hot dog: $4 In the VIP area, a booth called Burgerrito's has gotten a lot of attention all weekend. A burgerrito is a hamburger patty wrapped in a buritto with lettuce, tomato, cheese and the usual condiments. It will run you $10. You might want to wait and grab a double double later. Fielding Buck Now Trace Adkins may not be as animated as say, Dierks Bentley, but he does move around the stage. And his voice sounds great as he plays his set on the Mane stage. The field is PACKED for his set. I think it might be more jammed down there now than it was for the Judds last night. He opened with "I Got My Game On" and followed it with "Swing," and "Songs About Me." Before launching into current his "You're Gonna Miss This," Adkins thanked his fans for keeping the song at the top of the charts and he also thanked everyone who supported him on "The Apprentice." Cowboy star Ian Tyson got a hero's welcome from his Mustang Stage audience, which he described as not large but good. Tyson is from Alberta, Canada, where he said there is still snow in the ditches. But he and his band were wearing red, Hawaiian style shirts, not tucked in. He performed with two musicians he said were both named "Gord" after Gordon Lightfoot, a fellow Canadian artist he helped launch. Tyson, 75, sang some of his compositions about cowboy life from the 1980s and '90s in a voice tempered by 50 years in show biz. He was competing with the over-miked Chuck Wicks on the Mane Stage, which he called "the rock 'n' roll show over there." A real rancher, Tyson asked if there were any cowboys in the audience and when people raised their hands commented that he didn't notice any stockyards in Rancho Mirage. Near the end of the 45-minute set, he performed one of his big hits from his folk music days in the early '60s, "Someday Soon." Several audience members called out for his other standard, "Four Strong Winds," but he didn't sing it. Nevertheless, he got a standing ovation and came out for an encore. Fielding Buck
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