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5 entries this month
 

Bands part 1 - S to T

09:00 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 688


Seether Saron Gas



Seether is a post-grunge/alternative metal band from South Africa. They are currently signed to Wind-up Records. Originally called Saron Gas and signed to Musketeer Records in South Africa, they changed their name in 2002, coinciding with the release of their second album and major label debut, Disclaimer.



Saron Gas had their origins in Pretoria, and the earliest days of the group saw their public appearances at parties, nightclubs, small-scale concerts and University venues, such as the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch, where they played for the lunch-time crowds in the Neelsie centre on the latter campus as late as the summer of 2001.



As Saron Gas, the band released its first album, Fragile on Musketeer Records, in 2000 in South Africa. Upon achieving success on the South African music charts, Wind-up Records took an interest in Saron Gas' melodic-yet-heavy sound and signed them to the label. The band was asked to change their name, however, due to Saron Gas being a homophone of sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent. The band chose the name Seether, inspired by a single by the band Veruca Salt.



Their first major release came in 2002 with their second album Disclaimer. The album spawned three singles, "Fine Again", "Driven Under" and "Gasoline," but only "Fine Again" charted with any success. The remaining singles got semi-frequent radio play on modern rock stations, but were not major chart hits. The biggest hit off the album, "Broken", was not even released as a single. Shaun Morgan has cited Nirvana (and specifically the album Nevermind) as 'the reason he picked up a guitar,' and also quotes Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Deftones



After Disclaimer was released, the band went on a non-stop touring route in hopes of boosting sales and name recognition. Upon completing the tour, the band had planned to go into the studio and record their second release. However, they were instead tapped to support Evanescence on a worldwide tour that postponed their recording plans by almost a year. On this tour, the band reworked the acoustic ballad "Broken" into an electric ballad and had Amy Lee of Evanescence share vocal duties with Morgan during live performances. Inspired by the positive reaction the duet got on the road and perhaps fueled by a budding romance between Lee and Morgan, the band headed into the studio and quickly recorded an alternate version of "Broken" with Amy Lee on vocals. The song, along with a new song titled "Sold Me", was featured on the soundtrack for the 2004 film The Punisher and was massively successful, bringing the band fame in the US, the UK and Australia in particular. Morgan has stated that the hit song relates an incident where the band was subjected to what the record company wanted rather than what the band wanted



Seether's Songs on Television

* "Sold Me" was the official theme song for WWE's Bad Blood 2004.

* "Remedy" was the main theme song for SummerSlam 2005.

* "Out of My Way" was used as Pro Wrestler Zach Gowen's Entrane Music.

* "Out of My Way" is feautured on the Soundtrack for The World's Strongest Man, an annual made for TV Event.

* The One Cold Night version of "Needles" was featured on the "Masters Of Horror II Original Soundtrack"

* "Broken" was featured on a career retrospective DVD for Eddie Guerrero as well as their video for "Gasoline".



***

Smashing Pumpkins



The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago in 1988. While the group has gone through several lineup changes, The Smashing Pumpkins consisted of Billy Corgan (vocals/guitar), James Iha (guitar/vocals), D'arcy Wretzky (bass/vocals), and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums/percussion) for most of the band's recording career.



Disavowing the punk rock roots shared by many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered, and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter—his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".



The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, 1993's Siamese Dream. The group built their audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, 1995's double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts.



On June 21, 2005, the day of the release of his album TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now," Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."



Corgan and Chamberlin were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate. In April 2007, Iha and Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion. Chamberlin would later state that Iha and Wretzky "didn't want to be a part of" the reunion. The Smashing Pumpkins performed live for the first time since 2000 on May 22, 2007, in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new members Jeff Schroeder and Ginger Reyes, who took over second guitarist and bassist duties, respectively, as well as Lisa Harriton on keyboards.



The group released a four song EP entitled American Gothic in January 2008.





**

Susan Aglukark



Susan Aglukark OC, LL.D, DFA (born January 27, 1967), is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with pop songwriting has made her a major recording star in Canada.



An Inuk, Aglukark was born in Churchill, Manitoba and raised in Arviat, Northwest Territories (now in Nunavut). After graduating high school, she worked in Ottawa, Ontario as a linguist with the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs, and then returned to the Northwest Territories to work as an executive assistant with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada.



While working with the Inuit Tapirisat, she began to perform as a singer, and quickly became a popular performer in Inuit communities. She soon attracted the attention of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who included her in a compilation of Arctic performers. In 1992, she released an independent album, Arctic Rose. The following year, she signed to a major record label, releasing an album of Christmas music that year.



This Child, released in 1995, became her breakthrough album. The first single from that album, "O Siem", went to number one on the Canadian pop charts that year, making Aglukark the first Inuk performer to have a Top 40 hit. "Hina Na Ho (Celebration)" and "Breakin' Down" became hit singles as well. The album was eventually certified triple platinum (300,000 copies sold) in Canada.



In 2000, Aglukark released Unsung Heroes, which spawned another pop hit with "One Turn Deserves Another". This album also included "Turn of the Century", a song about the creation of Nunavut. In 2004, she released Big Feeling.



She sometimes deals with painful subjects in her songs. "Kathy, I set you free" is about a friend who committed suicide and "Still Running" is about the trauma of sexual abuse so common among Canadian First Nations; being convicted and getting sentenced for rape is non-existent and very laughable, which is why Susan left for Ottawa to get away from her newly released rapist (a family friend).



. Aglukark has also recorded a version of "Amazing Grace" in Inuktitut.



Aglukark has also acted as spokesperson for several non-profit groups working with aboriginal and Inuit youth, and has said that while she is proud to be a role model for aboriginal people in Canada, she ultimately sees herself as an artist with a universal message of self-respect and strength to which she hopes that people of all cultural backgrounds can relate.



In 2004, Aglukark was awarded an honorary DFA from the University of Lethbridge. She was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005, and in the same year received an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Alberta. In the summer of 2006, she performed nightly in the Evening Grandstand Show at the Calgary Stampede.





**

Suzanne Vega



Suzanne Vega (born Suzanne Nadine Vega, 11 July 1959, Santa Monica, California) is an American songwriter and singer known for her highly literate lyrics and eclectic folk-inspired music.



Vega's mother, Pat Vega, is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish extraction. Her father, Richard Peck, is of Scottish-English-Irish extraction and works in graphics. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, is a writer from Puerto Rico



Vega's debut album, Suzanne Vega, was released in 1985 and was well received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. Vega's writing often featured vignettes of characters and even inanimate objects, such as in "Small Blue Thing". A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs on Songs from Liquid Days by composer Phillip Glass.



Her next effort, Solitude Standing (1987), garnered critical and commercial success including two hit singles: "Tom's Diner", and "Luka", which was an international success. "Luka" is written about, and from the point of view, of a battered child—at the time an uncommon subject for a pop hit. While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller, more sensual arrangements. The a cappella "Tom's Diner" was later a hit again, remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA, in 1991.



Vega's third album, Days of Open Hand (1990) signified a change in style: the music became more experimental, and the lyrics expressed greater emotion.



In 1992 she released the album 99.9F°. It consists of an eclectic mixture of folk music, dance beats and industrial music. Her fifth album, Nine Objects of Desire, was released in 1996. The music varies between a frugal, simple style and the industrial production of 99.9F°. This album contains "Caramel", featured in the movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs and, later, the trailer for the movie Closer. A song not included on that album, "Woman on the Tier," was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Dead Man Walking.



September 2001 saw the release of a new album, Songs In Red and Gray. Three songs deal with Vega's divorce from record producer, Mitchell Froom.



At the memorial concert for her brother Timothy Vega in December 2002, she began as the long-term subject of a direct cinema documentary, Some Journey, by director Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films.



**

Tatu



t.A.T.u. or Tatu, is a Russian duet formed in Moscow, Russia in 1999 by Ivan Shapovalov. The group consists of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, who became the most successful international recording act exported from Russia



With the release of their debut English-language album, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, t.A.T.u. became the first act to receive an IFPI Platinum Europe Award for the same album in two languages. Early on, Katina and Volkova were presented as a lesbian couple. Their 2003 documentary, Anatomy of t.A.T.u., made it clear that this was just part of the group's image, and that they were not lesbians, but they do claim to have a strong connection to the Gay Community on their MYSPACE.



n 2004, the group took a hiatus after they split from their producer. In 2005, they released Dangerous and Moving and Lyudi Invalidy. During 2006, t.A.T.u. released a compilation album and then ventured on their own after negotiating out of their contract with Universal Music.



t.A.T.u.'s image and vocals fit well into pop music; however, the group's sound varies from rock to dance, pop, and electronica. Their first Russian album was mostly rock and dance influenced, while their first English album was heavily influenced by rock and electronica. Their English follow-up, Dangerous and Moving, was a more traditionally pop-rock album than the first


COMMENTS

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Bands part 1 - K to Q

08:36 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 690


k's choice

K's Choice is a Belgian rock band from Antwerp, formed in the mid-1990s and touring as recently as 2006. The band's core members are siblings Sarah Bettens (lead vocals, guitar) and Gert Bettens (guitar, keyboard, vocals). They are joined by Eric Grossman (bass), Jan van Sichem Jr. (guitar) and Koen Liekens (drums). The band has produced gold and platinum albums, and has also appeared on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer



In the beginning of the 90s Sarah and Gert played in an amateur band, The Basement Plugs. This led to the discovery of Sarah, who was offered a chance by a label; mainly because of her smoky, enigmatic voice. Under a more English name, Sarah Beth, she appeared on several movie soundtracks with covers including "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (originally by Hank Williams) for the movie Vrouwen Willen Trouwen (Women Want To Marry) and a duet with Frankie Miller, "Why Don't You Try Me," (originally by Ry Cooder) for the movie Ad Fundum. She was offered a contract and formed a band with her brother Gert. The band was named The Choice and in 1994 they recorded their debut album The Great Subconscious Club.



In 1994, the band had five more or less permanent members: Sarah and Gert Bettens, Jan van Sichem, Jr. (guitar), Koen Liekens (drums) and Erik Verheyden (bass). These five toured Germany and the US, supporting the Indigo Girls. When they came to the US and learned of another group named The Choice, they changed their name in order to avoid legal problems; they decided upon "K's Choice" by going through the alphabet to see which letter would sound best in front of the word "choice." Since they thought they needed a story behind the new name, they used to tell that the K referred to Joseph K. from Kafka's the Trial, but later the band revealed the arbitrariness of choosing the "K."



In 1996 they recorded Paradise in Me. "Not an Addict," the first single taken from this album, was very successful and brought international fame. It can be argued that this single was their most popular hit, and even 10 years later in 2006 receives fairly good airplay in major markets. It was at this point that their drummer Bart van der Zeeuw had been replaced by Koen Liekens, and bass players continually changed. For the next year (1996-1997) they toured supporting Alanis Morissette, who heard the band playing on a European festival and handpicked them as her support band. In 1998 Cocoon Crash, their third album was done. Meanwhile American Eric Grossman had become the permanent bass player. In 1999 the band appeared on Buffy The Vampire Slayer in the episode Doppelgängland performing their song "Virgin State Of Mind". In 2000 their last studio album Almost Happy was finished and Koen Liekens returned as drummer. In 2001 Live (a 2-CD collection of live recordings) was in stores, and in 2003 Ten (a collection of ten years of singles and songs that didn't appear on their albums, plus the brand new single "Losing You") was released, accompanied by a DVD bearing the same name.



In 2003 the band decided to go on a sabbatical. Gert and Sarah both wanted to try out some solo work. Gert produced an album for a Belgian band, Venus in Flames, and Sarah recorded a solo mini-CD Go and appeared on several movie soundtracks with songs of her own ("All of This Past" for Underworld and "Someone to Say Hi To" for Zus and Zo). In addition to four full albums, a live album, and a best-of, they also produced four limited edition and fan club CDs: Extra Cocoon, 2000 Seconds Live, Home and Running Backwards.



In 2005 Sarah released her solo album Scream in both Europe and the U.S. Sarah has been performing tour dates in both hemispheres. Gert, having flirted for a while with the band name Moon Brigade, has announced that his new band's name is "Woodface" (which is also the name of one of his favorite albums from Crowded House). Woodface released its first album Good Morning Hope on 19 September 2005.



Gert Bettens confirmed that a new K's Choice album is scheduled for release in 2009.



Their music can be described as guitar-based singer-songwriter rock or folk-rock. It ranges from very delicate and intimate singer-songwriter songs to songs that are stronger, more active and louder. Sarah's smoky, enigmatic voice is the band's best known characteristic. In the seven years between The Great Subconscious Club and Almost Happy the music changed from raw and guitar-based to a more subtle and delicate sound. Sarah and Gert write most of the music and lyrics. Most of it is written separately. Sarah mainly tries to express ideas in her songs, and has a hand in writing silly and tongue-in-cheek songs. Gert has one big theme: losing the one you love. While most of the songs are easily accessible and open, some others are strange and incomprehensible. This led Sarah to comment: Listening to the lyrics for the first time, you may find it hard to understand their meaning. When you listen to them a second time you may sense a basic truth in these cryptic words. If you do so, please let me know.



**

Mango Groove



Mango Groove is an 11 piece Afropop group formed in 1983 in Johannesburg, South Africa and fronted by lead singer Claire Johnston. They have sold more than 700,000 albums in South Africa alone, mostly with the popular songs, "Dance Some More" and "Special Star"



While in her last year at school, Claire Johnston joined Mango Groove (founded in 1984 by John Leyden, who teamed up with Andy Craggs and ‘Big Voice Jack’ Lerole’). She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Witwatersrand while touring with the band and quickly established herself as the face and voice of Mango Groove.



For the next two decades, they had an enormous impact on the South African music scene. At the time, popular multiracial music groups were not common in South Africa - the only other being Juluka, fronted by white Johnny Clegg and black Sipho Mchunu - and Mango Groove was seen as a symbol of unity in a country struggling to shake itself free of apartheid.



The group had over 12 number 1 hits in South Africa and were the first and only group to remain at the top of the South African national sales charts for over a year. They received almost every South African music and video award, as well as a number of global awards.



They also performed to sell-out shows in many cities across the world, including London, Paris, Hong Kong and Sydney. Their unique blend of marabi, kwela and pop music, together with the voice and presence of Claire Johnston and the penny whistle of Mduduzi Magwaza, made them very popular.



Some of the highlights of Mango Groove’s career include:



* The direct satellite link-up to the The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in London in 1992 to an estimated audience of a billion people.

* Their performance in front of 200,000 people at a "Rock Against Racism" concert in Paris

* On the day Nelson Mandela was released, US television stations played "We are waiting" live to air.

* Their performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival where they received 3 encores.

* Being the only African band to be invited to perform at the "Celebrate Hong Kong ‘97" Reunification Concert where they performed alongside Wet Wet Wet, Michael Learns to Rock and All-4-One.



* Claire Johnston – lead vocals

* Sipho Bhengu – tenor sax, vocals

* Beulah Hashe – vocals

* Banza Kgasoane – trumpet

* Alan Lazar – keyboards, piano

* George Lewis – guitar

* John Leyden – bass guitar

* Marilyn Nokwe – vocals

* Mduduzi Magwaza – alto sax, pennywhistle

* Phumzile Ntuli – vocals

* Gavin Stevens – drums, percussion







***

Out Of Ashes



Waves of haunting melodies saturated with an undertow of raw guitars, Out of Ashes emerges from the currents of commercialism to make their mark. Described as "dark, moody and sincere", the compositions convey an array of visions and musings, intertwining delicately with symphonic overtures. Soaring vocals weave their inspired lyrical theme through intricate musical arrangements, immersing the listener in a tide of pure ambience combined with raw power.



The two-piece was conceived quite literally out of the smouldering ashes of projects in which Lawrence and Wood were formerly involved. Hailing from Hamilton, New Zealand, Out of Ashes emerges from a black metal background to scourge the face of the 'pop rock' scene.



With such diverse influences ranging from Pink Floyd to Fantômas, and Type O Negative to Emperor, Out of Ashes have spawned their own breed of music salted with a shared love for everything heavy.



***

QKumba zoo



Qkumba Zoo is a dance music trio from Johannesburg, South Africa, consisting of vocalist Levannah, dancer/sculptor Tziki and producer Owl. The band was originally formed by Owl and Levannah, who created a duo called "Ocean Road". The members have strong feelings about the politics in South Africa, which can often be heard in their music.



"Everyone who finds this music nutritious, know that your enjoyment feeds it in return -- may the butterflies of peace lend you their wings!" ~Qkumba Zoo



Their first album, Wake Up & Dream, was released on Arista Records in 1996, and features 11 tracks of "feel-good" dance music. Owl's intriguing instruments and sounds create a fusion of tribal + dance, and when combined with Levannah's trilling vocals, a purely unique sound is born. As Levannah said, "We wanted to form something that could be part of the global village. And, at the same time, have it be tied to its birthplace."



Their first single, The Child (Inside), produced by the Berman Brothers, hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1996 and #69 on the Hot 100. It peaked on the charts at #34 on 10/18/96. In recent years, The Child (Inside) has been used in several US television commercials, the most popular being from Seaworld amusement parks and Carnival Cruise Lines.



The track Weeping provides a storyteller view of apartheid in South Africa, and reaches the listener's heart. Bonus tracks are also included at the end of Big Mothership and Time of Wonder, two of which are stories/poems narrated by Levannah.



Several years after the album's release, band member Tziki committed suicide. This was one of the catalysts that changed Owl and Levannah over the next several years, which can be heard in the music of their second album, Butterfly Peepl, released in 2000. In addition to the album's release, the band's name was officially shortened from Qkumba Zoo to QZoo. The group also left Arista Records in favor of their own independent label, Zoocumba Music. The unfortunte part of the Butterfly Peepl release is that it hardly gained attention, and even slipped through the hands of many QZoo fans, only having been for sale for a short time on QZoo's long-gone official site.



In 2001, long after their domain had disappeared, QZoo popped up on a new website under the name "Innaskinz". The band still consisted of Owl and Levannah, who were now paired with a woman named Cajun. The site promoted the band and its history, as well as Owl personally running a mailing list. Lyrics for a new song, "Rise Up Against the Tide", appeared on the main page for a brief while. Unfortunately, the site no longer exists and no other albums were made.



As of 2007, Owl is still active with his music. He has written much of his own music outside of Qkumba Zoo (such as "Vision Afrika 2000"), and performs at concerts in South Africa, occasionally accompanied by his former bandmate Levannah.


COMMENTS

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Bands part 1 - H to J

08:25 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 692


Heather Nova

Heather Nova, (born Heather Allison Frith, on July 6, 1967 in Bermuda) is a singer-songwriter.



Nova was born in Bermuda. Her father's stock is Bermudian, while her mother has a Canadian origin. Nova spent most of her childhood with her family (including one sister, television reporter Susannah, and one brother, reggae singer Mishka) on a 40 ft (12 m) boat built by her father, where the Friths spent most of 1970s and part of the 1980s, sailing throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean waters and coasts.



Nova started playing guitar and violin at an early age, writing her first song when she was 12. Her family relocated to New England where she attended the Putney School in Putney, Vermont. Following her graduation in 1983, Nova enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she majored in film in 1989. She also sat in on poetry classes and wrote music to go with her student films. Later, she would forego film study to focus on creating music.



The new name debuted in 1993 with her second EP Spirit in You and her first full album, the critically acclaimed Glow Stars. The success of the album led her to record and release her first live album Blow the same year, which she supported by a tour of Europe. In 1994, she released what many consider to be her finest work to date, the emotional yet jagged album Oyster, for which she toured for almost two years. Another live album, Live from the Milky Way, was released in 1995. Siren, the long-awaited follow up to Oyster, was released in 1998, after which she joined Sarah McLachlan and others on the North American Lilith Fair, a music festival with only female performers.



After the release of Siren and a world tour to promote the record, Nova took a break while various television show and film soundtracks licensed some of her songs and her record company (Sony Records/The WORK Group) released various singles from the album, which received only moderate play on America's MTV2, Europe's MTV and Canada's MuchMusic and on mainstream radio, although she was popular on college radio. Also during this time, she recorded a version of the often covered traditional song "Gloomy Sunday", for the German WWII feature film drama Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (released under the International title Gloomy Sunday). She released yet another live album, Wonderlust, in 2000.



Over the years, Nova has written and recorded over 100 songs. With the release of South (2001), she returned to the international spotlight with an appearance on the soundtrack of the John Cusack movie Serendipity, a couple of music videos, and a collaboration with Swedish indiepop band Eskobar, for a song called "Someone New". Its music video, which proved so popular that it was played primarily on America's MTV, not just MTV2 (which is normally reserved for less-popular songs). Storm, Nova's fifth studio album, was released in late 2003 on Big Cat Records, as was her latest record Redbird, released in 2005.



In December 2005, Nova released Together As One, an EP supporting the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. The EP was only available in Bermuda shops and from the fan-run websites, HeatherNova.Net and HeatherNova.De.



In 2002, she self-published The Sorrowjoy, a 72-page book of her poetry and drawings. An album of the same name was released in March 2006, which featured Nova reading the poems from her book set to ambient music. The album has only been available for purchase at concerts beginning with the Intimate Evening tour, from the fan-run websites, HeatherNova.Net and HeatherNova.De, and from the official website, HeatherNova.Com.



She also collaborated with the German trance outfit ATB on tracks like Love will find you and Renegade.



**

Joy Division



Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitarist), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).



Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences, developing a sound and style that helped pioneer the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. According to the music critic Jon Savage, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy



On 4 June 1976, Sumner and Hook separately attended a Sex Pistols show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall. While only an estimated 35 to 40 people were present, the performance has since been credited with igniting the Manchester punk music scene, inspiring many of the attendants to form their own groups. Sumner later said that he felt that the Pistols "destroyed the myth of being a pop star, of a musician being some kind of god that you had to worship." Inspired by the performance, Sumner and Hook formed a band with their friend Terry Mason, who had also attended the show. Sumner bought a guitar, Hook a bass, and Mason a drum kit. An advertisement was placed in the Virgin Records store in Manchester for a vocalist. Ian Curtis, who knew the three from meeting at earlier gigs, responded and was hired without audition. According to Sumner, "I knew he was all right to get on with and that's what we based the whole group on. If we liked someone, they were in."



n January 1980, Joy Division set out on a European tour. While the tour was difficult, Curtis experienced only two grand mal seizures in the two months preceding the tour's final date. With Martin Hannett again producing, the band recorded their second album, Closer, in March at London's Britannia Row Studios. March also saw the release of the Licht und Blindheit single (featuring the songs "Dead Souls" and "Atmosphere") on the small French label Sordide Sentimental.



Lack of sleep and long hours destabilised Curtis's epilepsy and his seizures became almost uncontrollable. Curtis would often have seizures during shows, which left him feeling ashamed and depressed. While the band was concerned about their singer, audience members on occasion thought his behaviour was part of the show. On 7 April, Curtis attempted suicide by overdosing on phenobarbitone. The next evening, Joy Division was set to play a gig at the Derby Hall in Bury. With Curtis recovering, it was decided that the band would play a combined set with Alan Hempstall of Crispy Ambulance and Simon Topping of A Certain Ratio filling in on vocals for the first few songs. Curtis came onstage to perform for part of the set. When Topping came back out to finish the set for Curtis, some in the audience started throwing bottles at the stage. Gretton leapt into the crowd and a riot ensued. Several April gigs were cancelled due to the continuing ill health of Curtis. The band played what would be their final show at the University of Birmingham's High Hall on 2 May.



Joy Division were due to begin their first American tour in May 1980. While Curtis had expressed a desire to take time off to a few acquaintances, he feigned excitement about the tour around the band because he did not want to disappoint his band mates or Factory Records. At the time, Curtis's relationship with his wife, Deborah Curtis (the couple married in 1975 as teenagers), was collapsing. Contributing factors were his ill health, her being mostly excluded from his life with the band, and his relationship with a young Belgian woman named Annik Honoré whom he had met on European tour. The evening before Joy Division were to embark on the American tour, Curtis returned to his home in Macclesfield in order to talk to his estranged wife. He asked her to drop the divorce suit she had filed; later, he told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning. Early on the morning of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen; Deborah Curtis discovered his body when she returned around midday.[ Tony Wilson said in 2005, "I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was going to happen.... We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn't take it seriously. That's how stupid we were.



Curtis's suicide "made for instant myth", in music critic Simon Reynolds's words.



The members of Joy Division had made a pact long before Curtis's death that, should any member leave, the remaining members would change the name of the group. Eventually renaming themselves New Order, the band was reborn as a three-piece with Sumner assuming vocal duties; the group later recruited Morris's girlfriend Gillian Gilbert to round out the lineup as keyboardist.



Despite their short career and cult status, Joy Division have exerted a wide-reaching influence. John Bush of All Music Guide argues that Joy Division "became the first band in the post-punk movement by...emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s.


COMMENTS

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Bands part 1 - B to G

08:14 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 693


Bif Naked

Bif Naked (born Beth Torbert on June 15, 1971) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian punk rock singer and actress.



Torbert was born in New Delhi, India and adopted by American missionaries. Part of her childhood was spent in Lexington, Kentucky, where her father was a professor at the University of Kentucky. After living in The Pas, Manitoba, her family eventually settled in Winnipeg. She graduated from John Taylor Collegiate and studied theatre at the University of Winnipeg.



A noted poet, she has also released a spoken word album. She is heavily tattooed, getting her first, an Egyptian Eye of Horus, when she was 16. Her tattoos now include a symbol of the Tao, Japanese writing, Buddhist poetry and images (such as the Bodhisattva), and Hindu imagery.



Torbert has always been frank about her bisexuality, and the lyrics of her autobiographical songs detail her attractions to and relationships with both men and women. She is also a strict raw food vegan for health (as opposed to ethical or religious) reasons. She also identifies as straight edge.



When she was diagnosed with a heart aneurysm, corrective surgery was ruled out. She wrote the song "Everyday", from her album Superbeautifulmonster, in part as a response to that experience. In January 2008, she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and is scheduled for a lumpectomy, to be followed by chemotherapy.



Bif married Vancouver Sun sports writer Ian Walker in a traditional church ceremony in Vancouver on September 29, 2007



*

Bjork



Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born November 21, 1965) is an Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, actress and music producer. She has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and two Golden Globe awards (including one for acting).



She is best known for her expressive vocals and an interest in many kinds of music, including pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient music, electronica, and folk, as well as her eccentric costumes. Her singles "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me" and "Hyper-ballad" all charted in the UK top 10.



Her record label, One Little Indian, reported in 2003 that she had sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.[1] Her most recent album, Volta, was released worldwide on May 8, 2007. She was ranked #36 on VH1's "The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll" and #8 on MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music".



Björk's sixth full-length studio album, Volta, was released on May 7, 2007. It was primarily written and produced by Björk herself and features 10 new tracks. It features input from acclaimed producer Timbaland, Antony Hegarty and Sjón, among other artists.



The first single from the album, "Earth Intruders", was released digitally on April 9, 2007 and became her second-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry in the United States. Volta debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming her first Top 10 album in the U.S., netting week-one sales of 43,000. The album also reached number three on the French albums chart with sales of 20,600 albums sold in its first week, and number seven in the UK Albums Chart with 20,456 units sold.



**

emo rangers

Mighty Moshin' Emo Rangers is a television show on MTV UK. The show is a parody of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and it also pokes fun at the emo stereotype. Mighty Moshin Emo Rangers is directed by Chris Phillips and Nick Pittom, who both live in Essex, England; sound design is by Dominic Sinacola who lives in Southampton.



Starting out as a fan-film project that was distributed on Youtube, Google Video and Myspace, the show was quickly picked up by MTV UK in 2006, and has also made its way to the US MTV



The creators have given two versions for how the idea of the show came about.



1) One story suggests that in November of 2004, Chris was upset due to a breakup with his girlfriend. His friend Nick told him to "Quit being emo, you Emo Ranger!" to which Chris replied with "You Mighty Moshin' Emo Rangers!"



2) Another version comes from an interview with Chris; "I was sitting at my computer chatting to Pat from Dullshine (now of The Blood Roses).Pat sent me a picture of him dressed as a ninja leaping across a recording studio, and I said 'you look like an emo ranger'. I sat there for a few minutes and thought 'that sounds kind of funny' and then just heard in my head the term 'Mighty Moshin' Emo Ranger'. The more I thought about the name the more I was convinced there should be a show called Mighty Moshin' Emo Rangers, but there wasn't, which was annoying, 'cos I wanted to watch it." However the story came about, using a Sony HDR-HC1 camcorder, Chris and Nick (who work as professional video editors) decided to film a low-budget Power Ranger parody based on the idea.



Cast of Characters, The Emo Rangers



* Ross: Introspective Emo Ranger (Played by Ross Fretten)



Ross is the leader of the Emo Rangers, who earned his title from thinking about his own mind a lot. His colour is white, and his Fightbot is a stocky humanoid that can use a "depression ray". This Fightbot becomes the head of the Mega-Fightbot.



* Vicken: Weeping Tears Emo Ranger (Played by Victoria Symes)



Vicken (or Vicky) is a depressed, pessimistic girl. Her colour is yellow. Her Fightbot resembles, in Chris' own words, a "yellow dragon/raptor/kangaroo, and attaches to the Mega-Fightbot as the legs."



* Stef: Bleeding Heart Emo Ranger (Played by Stephanie Braithwaite)



Stef is a bitter, hateful girl. Her colour is pink, and her Fightbot is a pink pteranodon that becomes the Mega-Fightbot's torso.



* Luke: Chaos Mohawk Emo Ranger (Played by Luke Markey)



Luke hates authority, and his colour is red. His Fightbot is a tall humanoid with a spiked mohawk, that becomes the Mega-Fightbot's right arm. At some scenes in the first episode, you can clearly see that he is a Traceur.



* Fai: FashionxCore Emo Ranger (Played by Fai Archer)



* John: Chronic Stoner Emo Ranger/StraightxEdge Emo Ranger (Played by John Penn)



John in the first series is the Chronic Stoner Emo Ranger. Series 2 promotions depict John with a sweatband with 'X' replacing his previous sweatband of a hemp leaf.



Other Supporting Characters



* Captain Emohead (Played by Richard Duvale / Voiced by Marc Halls)

* Evil Emperoress (Played by Kathryn Alder / Voice by Laura Bradley)

* Colonel Crusher (Voiced by Chris Phillips)

* Hoodie Patrol

* Funky Monkey (Played by Pat Willis/ Voiced by Chris Phillips)



*********



Enigma

Enigma is an electronic musical project founded by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. Cretu is both the composer and the producer; his wife Sandra often provides vocals on Enigma tracks. The pair have also worked together under the name Sandra. Jens Gad co-produced and played guitar on three of the Enigma albums. Six studio albums have been produced under the name of the project. Enigma was among the first recording group to use direct to HD recording studio and non-percussion musical instrument and vocal samples, such as the iconic Shakuhachi flute and Gregorian monk chants samples on their crossover hit album, MCMXC a.D., which became a start of new music genre - "Enigmatic Music".



From the late 1970s onwards, Michael Cretu already had his own music career on his hands and apart from some collaboration efforts with several other musicians, he also produced his wife's albums. Before Enigma, he released a number of albums under his own name, but none of them sold particularly well. Cretu revealed in an interview that he believed that his ideas were running out at that point.



In December 1990, after 8 months of preparation, Cretu released Enigma's debut album, the groundbreaking MCMXC a.D. that received over 60 platinum awards worldwide.



**

Enya

Enya (born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin) on 17 May 1961, Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, Ireland), sometimes presented in the media as Enya Brennan, is an Irish singer and songwriter. She is Ireland's best-selling solo artist and is officially the country's second biggest musical export (second only to U2). Her works have earned her four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination and is also famous for performing in 10 different languages during her lengthy career. Enya is an approximate transcription of how Eithne is pronounced in her native Irish, in the Donegal dialect



**

Evanescence

Evanescence is a Grammy Award-winning American alternative rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1998 by singer Amy Lee and former guitarist Ben Moody.



After recording two private EPs and a demo CD named Origin, with the help of Bigwig Enterprises in 2000, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards. A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which has sold more than four million copies.



The band has suffered departures, including co-founder Moody in 2003 and guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007; Lee is now the only original member of Evanescence.



Five Iron Frenzy

Five Iron Frenzy (also known as Five Iron or FIF) was a ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003.



The band's music was most heavily influenced by ska and punk rock, but influences also include third-wave ska and heavy metal. The band was signed to 5 Minute Walk in 1996, and stayed with the label for all eight of its albums.



The band never received any significant music industry awards, and received relatively little attention in mainstream media. Their biggest national exposure came when their song, "Oh, Canada" (which referenced William Shatner), appeared on the TV series Boston Legal (in which Shatner stars) in October 2005, almost two years after their last show.



They were known for their positive lyrics and energetic live shows. They often performed their concerts while wearing full costumes (mostly vocalist Reese Roper). On one tour, they told fans to bring sock puppets on stage and help sing along. The socks, and fresh-bought socks alike, were then donated to a local homeless shelter. Their fan base was diverse, ranging from the socially and religiously outcast to the parents of teenage fans. The band played shows at both churches and secular venues throughout their career.



Recurring lyrical themes included the continuing injustices done to Native Americans, the evils of consumerism, Christian hypocrisy (not practicing what one preaches), the shortcomings of the band, and the joy of finding renewal in their religious faith.



**

Graeme Revell

Graeme Revell (born in Auckland, New Zealand on October 23, 1955) is a composer of film music.



Revell is a classically trained pianist and French horn player, but also graduated from the University of Auckland with degrees in economics and political science. He worked as a regional planner in Australia and Indonesia and as an orderly in an Australian psychiatric hospital. Later, he was a founding member of the industrial music band SPK, playing keyboards and percussion. The SPK single "In Flagrante Delicto" was the basis for his first film score, for Dead Calm, which won him an Australian Film Industry award.



His musical style is very much electronic and computer-based in nature, yet often utilizes classical instruments or entire arrangements for certain pieces, much like his contemporary counterpart Hans Zimmer. His music is often re-used from movie to movie (parts from his score for The Crow were reused for Kingdom of Heaven) and in more recent times he has collaborated with other artists on their albums. After the success of his soundtrack on Red Planet where he used the voice of French singer Emma Shapplin to back up and often lead his score, he collaborated with her on her own album Etterna, producing all of her songs. He has recently been interviewed for the independent documentary Finding Kraftland.

COMMENTS

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Bands part 1 - A

05:14 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 696


ABBA



ABBA was a Swedish pop/dance group active from 1972 until 1982. The quartet was formed through the friendship of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and their respective girlfriends Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog, and together they topped charts worldwide from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The name "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's given name.



They remain a fixture of radio playlists and have sold more than 370 million records. ABBA was also the first pop group from mainland Europe to enjoy consistent success in the charts of the English-speaking world (mainly the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand), and its enormous popularity subsequently opened the doors for other Continental European acts. The music of ABBA has been re-arranged into a blockbuster musical Mamma Mia! that has toured worldwide and is in production for a movie version to be released in 2008.



Aimee Allen

Aimee Allen is an American pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her work on the dance song "Cooties" made for the soundtrack of the 2007 version of the movie Hairspray. She was previously signed to Elektra Records and her album I'd Start a Revolution If I Could Get Up In the Morning, featuring tracks produced by Mark Ronson and Don Gilmore, was never released due to a corporate merger. The label did, however, release her first single "Revolution" which was a featured rock video on MTV, appeared in the soundtrack of the film Storm, and was the theme for the WB Television Network series Birds of Prey.



Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has won twelve Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, and has sold more than sixty million albums worldwide.



Morissette began her career in Canada, and as a teenager recorded two dance-pop albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time, under MCA Records. Her international debut album was the rock-influenced Jagged Little Pill, which is the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., and the highest selling debut album worldwide in music history. She is one of the top 20 best selling female artists in music and is the best selling female rock artist ever. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and her upcoming release Flavors of Entanglement.



Arrogant Worms

The Arrogant Worms are a Canadian musical comedy trio that parodies many musical genres. They are well known for their humorous on-stage banter in addition to their music.



The Worms came together in 1991 to do a few spots on campus radio station CFRC in Kingston, Ontario, and quickly moved to doing spots on CBC Radio One. Since 1992 the troup has released 11 CDs on their own label. Their most recent album, Beige, was released in early 2006. The Worms toured Canada with the album starting in January 2006 and are currently (2007) touring. The Worms have spread their wings further with the Beige tour, visiting several locations in the UK in summer 2006.



Each album consists mostly of independent tracks paying homage, always humorously, to different genres and topics. Three exceptions are the 1997 Christmas Turkey CD, dedicated to songs about Christmas, and the 1997 Live Bait and 2003 Semi-Conducted CDs, which are live albums, comprising collections of their best songs. Semi-Conducted is performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.



Rock, folk, ballads, country, Celtic folk, and children's music all have come under the Worm's satirical guns. When not spoofing a particular style of music, the Worms' material pokes fun at various aspects of daily life in Canada with songs like "Canada's Really Big", "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate", "Me Like Hockey", "We are the Beaver" and "Proud to Be Canadian".



The Worms are based in Kingston, Ontario.



The Arrogant Worms currently consist of:

* Chris Patterson - Bass guitar and vocals

* Mike McCormick - Guitar and vocals

* Trevor Strong - Vocals



Former members of the Arrogant Worms include:

* John Whytock left after C'est Cheese

* Gord Thompson left after Russell's Shorts

* Steve Wood left after The Arrogant Worms



Band Member Replacements (in case of emergencies)

* Tim Readman replaced Mike McCormick in the early 2006 tour



When on tour, the Worms are sometimes accompanied by a musician from the local community.



The Worms usually perform the following songs at every show:

* "Carrot Juice is Murder" — a parody of an animal rights protest song comparing vegetarians to murderers, including a line about Coleslaw being a fascist regime.

* "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" — a ballad about a farmer who takes up piracy on the Saskatchewan River. The song was also covered by Captain Tractor.

* "Mounted Animal Nature Trail" — an audience interaction song about a real place [1] on Manitoulin Island: Terry's Taxidermy and Mounted Animal Nature Trail.

* "I Am Cow" — a bovine anthem.

* "We Are the Beaver" — a tribute song to one of Canada's symbolic animals, the beaver. The song mentions how the peaceful rodent compares to other nations' animals like America's bald eagle, Russia's bear and India's tiger.

* "Canada's Really Big" — A satirical national anthem for Canada.

* "Log In to You" — a love song using computer network euphemisms for sex.

* "Rocks and Trees" — A song describing the distinguishing features of Canada.

* "Jesus' Brother Bob" -- A song about Jesus' brother, Bob, who is always in the shadow of his brother. Bob is seen as "A nobody relative to the son of God", and states that "If only I'd been born just a little sooner, I'd be more than just the brother of God junior."



A notable exception is their 2004 live concert recording "Toast!", which is comprised entirely of new material and contains none of the above songs.



******

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne Whibley better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne, (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian Grammy award-nominated rock/pop punk singer, musician and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood, and in 2007 she won ninth place in the Jabra Music Contest for the Best Band in the World, based on fan votes from around the world.



Lavigne's birth name is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as above ("La-Veen") . Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".



Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002. Over 18 million copies were sold worldwide and it was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) sold 12 million copies and The Best Damn Thing (2007) currently 5 million copies sold, respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored six number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend" which became #1 hits in the ARC Top 40. She's ranked #50 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list. Currently, Avril Lavigne has sold about 35 million albums worldwide.

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