Big Country pictures with tag: rock news

Picture: 12 Shades of White: The Many Guises of Jack White

Picture: Sebastian Bach, Jermaine Jackson to Compete for Nashville Fame on “Gone Country 2″

Picture: News Ticker: Green Day, Regeneration Tour, AC/DC, Big Boi

Picture: Dave Matthews Band Announce Huge Summer Tour

Picture: Levon Helm, Jefferson Starship, Country Joe to Play Woodstock 40th Anniversary Show

After Bruce Springsteen, Who’s Next for the Super Bowl?

Photo: Mazur/WireImage After decades of sugar-coated pop debacles, the NFL has served up a parade of legends during halftime of the big game. In recent years, the Super Bowl has delivered Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, U2, Tom Petty, Aerosmith and now Bruce Springsteen. But where does the NFL go from here? It’s a tall order to fill: applicants must be legendary but still active, rocking but not raucous, and as big as the game itself. So who’s left? Oddsmakers are already lining up favorites for next year’s Lombardi Trophy (The Patriots? Really? No love for your new champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers? Your loss, Vegas.), so we thought we’d set the odds for next year’s halftime show. The NFL could go country (Tim McGraw? Taylor Swift?) or pop (Kelly Clarkson will soon return to us), but you have to presume they’ll stick with what works — big rock from big names. We have, of course, completely pulled these names and numbers out of thin air, plus gambling’s illegal just about everywhere, so keep your money in your wallet. The Who Pros: Legendary band with a sound louder than the game itself. Cons: None. They’re the Who. Odds: 3/2 Bon Jovi Pros: A catalog full of arena rock sing-along jams and status as one of the biggest bands in the world make them a solid choice. Cons: Bon Jovi coming on the heels of Springsteen might cause a full on Jersey meltdown. Odds: 2/1 AC/DC Pros: These kings of arena rock are mainstays over stadium PA systems across the NFL. Cons: Brian Johnson’s howl might scare your kids. Odds: 3/1 John Mellencamp Pros: Heartland rock would play great on the most American stage of them all. Cons: He’s done the World Series… Would the NFL double dip? Odds: 4/1 Metallica Pros: The biggest hard rock band of the last 20 years. Cons: Are they too metal for the mainstream? Odds: 5/1 Van Halen Pros: Reunited hard rock legends with a busload of stadium-ready anthems. Cons: If you thought Springsteen’s crotch-first slide was a bit much, wait until Diamond Dave ge

Published: 2009-02-04
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News

Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Jonas Brothers To Perform At Grammys

Photo:Fox/WireImage (Coldplay), Meritt/FilmMagic (Wayne), Miller/Getty(Jonas) Coldplay, Lil Wayne, the Jonas Brothers and Kenny Chesney will perform at this year’s Grammy Awards, set to air live from Los Angeles on CBS February 8th. Weezy’s appearance at the Grammys should come as no surprise: He’s up for a ceremony-leading eight awards, plus he’s played pretty much every other awards show, from the Country Music Awards to the VMAs. The Coldplay performance was also foreshadowed by the band’s seven nods and already-scheduled gig playing the MusiCares benefit concert in Los Angeles in the days leading up to the ceremony. Wayne and Coldplay will compete against each other — as well as Radiohead, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and Ne-Yo — for the prestigious Album of the Year. The Jonas Brothers, who are up for Best New Artist, will also perform as the Grammys attempt to pull in a younger television audience. In fact, the Grammys used their own Twitter page to reveal who would perform at this year’s event before sending out a press release. The Grammys even set up LastFM and Facebook pages. Keeping with the youth theme, the show’s My Grammy Moment will feature Katy Perry, nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “I Kissed A Girl” but snubbed for “Best New Artist.” Chesney, who’s up for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Shiftwork,” was added to the performance lineup this morning. According to the press release, additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon. Stick with Rolling Stone for all your Grammy needs in the weeks leading up to the music industry’s biggest event — we’ll have rock-star predictions, photos galore and our finest reporters on the ground on the big day. Related Stories: • Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson Set to Honor Neil Diamond at MusiCares Gala • Grammy Nominations: The Odd and The Snubbed • Lil Wayne, Coldplay Lead Nominations for 51st Annual Grammy Awards

Published: 2009-01-14
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News

Picture: On the Charts: Sugarland Beats Out Miley For Top Spot

Smoking Section: The Walkmen, Steve Miller, Billy Joel

“The Rat,” released by the Walkmen in 2004, is one of the greatest songs of this century. So the S.S. was stoked to get an early listen to their killer upcoming disc, You & Me, which has an equally awesome banger, “In the New Year.” The Walkmen recorded You & Me over two years at home in New York, and also in New Jersey, Philly and Mississippi. “It’s always exciting to come up with a big rocker that just works,” singer Hamilton Leithauser says about “New Year,” “because we don’t even like playing rock that much. That could be the problem: We spend so many hours playing slow waltzes.” Other You & Me cuts (”Canadian Girl,” “Red Moon”) will sound amazing live when the band storms through the U.S. in August and September. “It took everything we had to finish the record,” the singer says. “But we’re really happy with it.” We asked Leithauser for the skinny behind “The Rat.” “We were just screwin’ around,” he says. Drummer Matt Barrick kicked off a breakneck groove, and the boys joined in. “We threw some chords on it, I wrote the words in five minutes, and then we all started slammin’!” ***** We finally hit up one of Les Paul’s Monday-night gigs at the Manhattan jazz club Iridium. At age 93, Paul is still shredding. It was a special night — he welcomed his godson, Steve Miller, who sat in for “Fly Like an Eagle.” We hung with Miller during the gig (interrupted by a waiter saying, “Abracadabra!” while delivering a burger) and rolled back to his hotel, smoking stogies into the wee hours. Miller, 64, is rockin’ the USA once again, selling out sheds across the country. “The band gets hotter and hotter,” he says. “The shows have been a lot of fun.” Though he hasn’t released a fresh album since 1993’s Wide River, Miller told us of his desire to put out a new disc. After a trio of shows in March at the Fillmore in S.F., Miller was in the studio cutting 41 old blues gems. “Nothing but great tunes,” he says. “Like ‘Pretty Thing,’ by Bo Diddley; ‘No More Doggin’,’ by Rosco Gordon

Published: 2008-07-28
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News, Smoking Section

Picture: Kings of Leon Craft Epic Fourth Album

Picture: Single Minded: Duffy, R.E.M., Big L and More

Picture: McKagan Talks “Chinese Democracy,” China Tosses Up a Ban

The Roots, Gym Class Heroes Fire Up Big Jams, Political Messages at Baltimore Tour Kick-Off

Photo: Dreyvitser/WireImage On Friday, the Roots opened their co-headlining tour with Gym Class Heroes at Baltimore’s Ram’s Head Live, testing their rep as the best live act in hip-hop with a jam-laced set short on hits and heavy on mind-numbing instrumentals and off-the-wall covers. As the 24-date tour works its way around the country, the band will learn whether or not its loyal fans — some of who were spotted in Baltimore wearing “?uestlove for Prez” T-shirts — will follow as they shift from their trademark hip-hop-soul to something closer to a darker Phish with only slightly more rapping. U.K. soul star Estelle opened with a short set bookended by her hits “Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)” and “American Boy.” Between songs, she quipped endearingly about the state of global affairs and offered some advice: “Life is short. The end is near. Have Sex.” Hip-hop’s emo-hippies Gym Class Heroes, up next, offered a high-energy set with some goofy stage patter — at one point lecturing on the power of love and asking everyone to hug their concert neighbors — and a couple of surprisingly deep musical interludes. They opened with the radio hit “Clothes Off!” on which guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kosongo (or, as frontman Travis McCoy called him, “Chocolate Genius”) lit into his first of a couple deft solos on the night. By way of charming the locals, McCoy then turned to his bandmates and asked, “Is Omar coming?” Met with quizzical looks, he shook his head. “Damn,” he said. “Am I the only one that watches The Wire?” McCoy crooned a section of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” before the band launched into their other mega-hit, “Cupid’s Chokehold” mid-set. Playfully ruling the room, McCoy referenced girlfriend Katy Perry, who he said makes him want “jump up and down on a couch on Oprah” and encouraged everyone to vote and support Obama, asking “Am I the only one who thinks McCain is too old for this fucking job?” After dedicating “Live a Little” to DJ AM and Travis Barker and reprising Estelle f

Published: 2008-10-06
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News

Picture: On the Charts: Metallica Dominate, Jessica Simpson Debuts Strong

Album Preview: Derek Trucks Band Build a Funky Mix of Slide Guitar and R&B on “Already Free”

Photo: Getty “The great thing about having a studio right at home,” guitarist Derek Trucks says with a grin, taking a break from mixing the new Derek Trucks Band album at Electric Lady Studios in New York, “is that if you need somebody to play or sing something on a track, you can just call ‘em” — he mimes talking on a cell phone — and say, ‘Get your ass over here.’ ” It has been a busy commute. The record, titled Already Free and set for release by Columbia’s Legacy Recordings in January 2009, was made at Trucks’ new studio, behind his home in Jacksonville, Florida, and features songs Trucks wrote there with fellow Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes, and guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, Trucks’ bandmate in Eric Clapton’s touring group over the last two years. Bramhall also sings and plays on the album. The Trucks-Haynes acoustic hymn “Back Where I Started” is a geniuine family affair: Trucks’ wife, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi, is the featured vocalist, Trucks plays the Indian sarod in a striking Delta-blues bottleneck style and Trucks’ brother Duane plays cardboard-box percussion. At Electric Lady, Trucks previews several songs from the album, which bonds his greased-lightning slide guitar and encyclopedic loves of blues, R&B and Indian music in funky, cohesive songwriting. With its loping beat and rubbery clavinet, “Maybe This Time,” sung by Bramhall, would have sounded right at home on Little Feat’s 1973 album Dixie Chicken. “These Days Is Almost Gone,” written by Trucks with his organist Kofi Burbridge and sung by DTB vocalist Mike Mattison, is a Sixties-vintage soul-stew ballad, with Trucks busting out on slide guitar at the end the way Duane Allman used to solo on R&B sessions for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. Mattison sings on a crunchy cover of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes song “Down in the Flood.” And there is a version of Big Maybelle’s “I Know” which opens with buzzing tamboura and slide guitar, then opens into a 6/8 country-jazz stride that sou

Published: 2008-09-12
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News

Big Country

Big Country pictures with tag: rock news

12 Shades of White: The Many Guises of Jack White

Sebastian Bach, Jermaine Jackson to Compete for Nashville Fame on “Gone Country 2″

News Ticker: Green Day, Regeneration Tour, AC/DC, Big Boi

Dave Matthews Band Announce Huge Summer Tour

Levon Helm, Jefferson Starship, Country Joe to Play Woodstock 40th Anniversary Show

After Bruce Springsteen, Who’s Next for the Super Bowl?

Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Jonas Brothers To Perform At Grammys

On the Charts: Sugarland Beats Out Miley For Top Spot

Smoking Section: The Walkmen, Steve Miller, Billy Joel

Kings of Leon Craft Epic Fourth Album

Single Minded: Duffy, R.E.M., Big L and More

McKagan Talks “Chinese Democracy,” China Tosses Up a Ban

Fricke’s Picks: A Better Bang

The Roots, Gym Class Heroes Fire Up Big Jams, Political Messages at Baltimore Tour Kick-Off

On the Charts: Metallica Dominate, Jessica Simpson Debuts Strong

Album Preview: Derek Trucks Band Build a Funky Mix of Slide Guitar and R&B on “Already Free”