music news

30 Seconds To Mars Fights Off Crazed Fan

Thirty Seconds To Mars will remember last Thursday for an event that didn’t go off.  The group was planning a sneak look at their upcoming documentary at their Hive headquarters in Los Angeles when a bomb threat was issued and a mass evacuation took place.  Singer Jared Leto says a man in a hoodie pushed his way into the venue with a large, wrapped box and dropped the package at his feet before exclaiming, quote, “It’s time for a little self-help.”  Leto noticed the man break into the screening and ask for assistance, but the guy made it to the stage and began to make a speech before Leto grabbed him and pulled him out the back door.  The venue was then evacuated, the person in question was apprehended by police, and the event was pushed back until Friday night. 
Leto told “MTV News,” quote, “As I tried to talk to him, he got more and more aggressive.  I saw he was not well, and then he started to read out of his book again, saying he had a message for me.  And in these circumstances, you get protective of fans and friends, so I was concerned a little.  We were all cautious.  He kept trying to push his way back in, but we stopped him.  It was pretty surreal, but at the same time, I did feel some empathy.”

Tom DeLonge Balances Blink, Angels      

Tom DeLonge is doing his best to be both a member of Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves, but his schedule is quite filled at the moment.  DeLonge tells AlternativePress.com, quote, “Blink are in the process of scheduling how we are going to record the next record.  The only issue we’re having now is that Angels are having quite a lot of electricity being built, so we kind of have the release of our life, and with this film and everything, we’re just trying to schedule how we’re going to be able to be in the studio.”  DeLonge says his Blink bandmates have been supportive of Angels & Airwaves, and Mark Hoppus even does a remix that will be available on the sellable version of the album.  The singer adds that the current plan is to meet a couple of times a week until Angels heads out on tour this spring.  Then after the tour is done, the Blink members plan to really dig in on their studio album. 
DeLonge says that he’s happy to have two great bands and says there’s a lot of “one step at a time” moments for him.  Angels & Airwaves’ album will be released digitally for free on Valentine’s Day, with a physical expanded release for sale coming at a later date. 

Pitchfork Features Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem

Chicago area music fans can start getting excited about the Pitchfork Music Festival again.  The music weekend takes place July 16th-18th and features Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, and Pavement among others.  Modest Mouse is assigned to the Friday date, typically reserved for acts performing full albums in their entirety.  LCD Soundsystem joins Raekwon on Saturday, while the reunited Pavement appear to be the curators for a Sunday lineup that includes St. Vincent, Lightning Bolt, Cass McCombs, Here We Go Magic, and Sleigh Bells.  Tickets for the event, which takes place at Chicago’s Union Park, are currently on sale.  Additional acts will be named in the coming months. 

LCD’s Murphy Soundtracks Greenberg

LCD Soundsystem is working on a new album, but first there will be a soundtrack for the upcoming Ben Stiller film “Greenberg” primarily featuring LCD mastermind James Murphy.  He included the cuts: “People,” “Sleepy Baby,” “Thumbs,” “Plenty Of Time,” “Photographs,” “Gente,” “Birthday Song,” “Dear You,” “If You Need A Friend,” “Please Don’t Follow Me,” a piano version of “Photographs,” and LCD Soundsystem’s “Oh You (Christmas Blues)” for the film.  The soundtrack, which is due March 22nd, also features cuts from The Steve Miller Band, Nite Jewel, Albert Hammond, Galaxie 500, Sonics, and Duran Duran.

My Chemical Romance Cancels Soundwave Festival Date

My Chemical Romance will not be making their planned trip to Australia for the Soundwave Festival after some vocal woes for singer Gerard Way.  The frontman has been advised by physicians to forego the tour and receive treatment on his throat and vocal chords to protect their long term use.  Way apologizes for their absence and promises the band will return as soon as they possibly can.  Meanwhile, Jimmy Eat World has stepped up to fill in for the band.  The group is taking a break from recording their next album to take part in the festival. 

Paramore’s Farro Bows Out Of Tour      

Paramore will be minus a familiar face when they travel to the Pacific Rim for shows.  Guitarist Josh Farro says in a new journal posting that he’s been granted some time off as he’s recently gotten engaged and is planning a wedding.  Farro writes, quote, “I feel really blessed to be able to take this time off, especially in the midst of this record cycle.  The band has been extremely supportive and gracious to me about all of this which has made it a lot easier.”  Justin York, Taylor York’s brother, will fill in for Farro on the dates.  Josh says, quote, “He’s an awesome dude.  You all will love him.  I know it’s strange having someone fill in for me.  I don’t like it anymore than you guys do, but this is the most important thing in the world to me and I trust you all will understand.”

A Fading Oasis

It appears that Oasis is ready to fade away, with a new band to emerge in its place.  Singer Liam Gallagher tells “XFM” of the name of his band, quote, “It’s not Oasis…I’m glad to see the back of it.  There’s one [new band name] that we’re digging at the moment, but we’re going to get on with the music and see how it goes.  If we haven’t got a better one by then, we’ll go with the one we’re into.”  Gallagher went on to add that the band is halfway through the demos for the new album, have plans to meet with potential producers in April, and hope to start recording in June and July.  He also stated that the group will be back on stage later this year.

Gallagher To Attend Sentencing

Danny Sullivan will get his day in court, just a little later than expected.  Sullivan is the man who crashed the stage in Toronto during Oasis’ 2008 gig and tackled Noel Gallagher, leading to five broken ribs for the guitarist and a string of canceled dates for the band.  Sullivan was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but the judge agreed to a delay after a late request by Gallagher to attend the sentencing in person.  Gallagher wanted to read his victim impact statement during the proceedings.  Court was adjourned until Gallagher could pick a date to appear.

Something Corporate In The Studio

There’s good news for Something Corporate fans.  There appears to be an existence for the reunited Something Corporate beyond their Bamboozle California headlining gig this spring.  “OC Weekly” reports that the group recently spent time in a Santa Monica recording studio.  Singer Andrew McMahon says, quote, “We basically went back with this idea that we would kind of revisit a couple of demos that we never really ended up putting on the first two records, but that we still loved and that we always wanted to get to.”  McMahon says one of the songs is a Josh Partington-penned track called “Wait” that has grown from its acoustic version to a full band song.  “Letters To Noelle” is a track from McMahon’s writing that’s also getting a new look.  The newly updated songs will be part of a still-untitled Something Corporate “best-of” set that’s expected later this spring. 

Deftones Shelve “Eros” For Now
 
The Deftones are nearing a new album release, but the path to get there was not an easy one.  Singer Chino Moreno tells Spin.com that the band decided to scrap their “Eros” album after bassist Chi Cheng slipped into a coma after his vehicle accident.  Moreno says, quote, “We didn’t can it completely—we still have ‘Eros.’  It’s a really experimental, dark record for us, and it’s special because it’s the last thing that Chi played on.  We’ve put it in the vault and will release it when the time is right—hopefully when Chi is back on his feet.  But when the accident happened, we just didn’t want to be in that time anymore.”  Moreno says the new album has the aggressive overtones and lush openness that the band is known for, but in a different way.  He adds, quote, “There are a few heavy songs, like our first couple records, and there are also experimental tunes—but there’s not a minute on this record that feels like it doesn’t need to be there.
Each sound compliments the other.  I’ll straight-up say it: It’s definitely one of our best albums.”  The still-untitled disc is expected later this year. 

Alice In Chains Wants Your Vote

Alice In Chains are back, but many things have changed since they last recorded.  Drummer Sean Kinney tells Noisecreep.com that with the way music consumption is changing, so is their own view of success and survival.  He explains, quote, “People don’t buy music anymore.  It costs so much to tour and make shirts, so you lose money.  If you want to support a band, vote with your dollar, for your entertainment, that will make a better product for you to enjoy.  Fans don’t realize that so many bands have to go and get a day job after touring and making records.”  Kinney says that he recalls having a finished product handed to him prior to the album’s release, and then decided to check some of the torrent sites and found that the disc was already on six of them with 350-thousand people grabbing the music within three hours.  With that kind of rampant downloading, Kinney says that his group and others need your “vote” more than ever to continue putting out a
great product.

Atreyu Prepared For Mayhen

Atreyu may be putting off headlining until this summer, but what a headlining spot they’ve got.  The group will front the Mayhem Stage at the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival beginning July 10th in San Bernardino, California.  Singer Alex Varkatzas says, quote, “It’ll be awesome and we’re really looking forward to it.  I really like playing the heavier stuff.  The more upbeat and fast-paced, the better.  So I’m stoked.”  Bassist Marc McKnight adds, quote, “We’re gonna incorporate some of the older songs we haven’t played in a while,” while pointing to “Someone’s Standing On My Chest,” “You Eclipse Me” and the heavier “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” and “Congregation Of The Damned” tracks as possibilities.  Though not on the main stage, Varkatzas says he’s fine with that as they love being able to connect with crowds and this will provide a better opportunity to do so. 
In other Atreyu news, the group just shot a new video for “Lonely” with director Sean Stiegemeier.  The video focuses on performances from their recent Japan stops and mixes in footage of the band taking in the sights and sounds of Tokyo and Osaka.

Dredg Holds Remix Contest

Dredg is currently holding a remix contest for the song “Gathering Pebbles.”  The winner will have their song sold on iTunes, receive producer-remixer royalties, and will have a crack at Dredg merchandise and two tickets to any show.  They also get a painting done by bassist Drew Roulette, who has also created some of their album art.  Head to RemixWizard.MixMatchMusic.com/contestrules/201 to download the song stems and get details on how to enter and post your music.