| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 27th November |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Emo guitarist dies
- Quiet Riot frontman dies
- Pavarotti widow accuses his friends of defamation
- TI prosecutors plan to prove past violations
- Young Buck denies robbery
- More Britney nonsense
- Jermaine says Jackson Five reunion on
- Wyclef on the new Carnival
- Fucked Up plan all star Christmas record
- The Verve re-release hits album with added vids
- Joe Jackson album comes with behind the scenes DVD
- Doherty working on solo material
- Gang Of Four bassist on the future of music
- Opera singer launches pay what you want promotion
- Live Review: Oberon at Fabric
- Madness to play Snowbombing
- Breaks massive get smart
- Reverend And The Makers tour
- Line up for British MIDEM bash announced
- Facebook artist pages are here
- Hard Fi launch Joost channel
- Carling step back from their festival weekender
- Slicethepie launch Facebook tracker
- Clash relaunch website
- DiS launch new audio blog thing
- Walsh is really Vincent
- Doherty bans drink on tour bus
- Dougie McFly frustrated by hits album
- Wentz not happy with Ashlee mocking song
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TOP BIT - VOTE FOR YOUR TRACK OF THE YEAR!
OK, last nudge on this, promise. Yes, it's the CMU Track Of The Year poll. As we revealed yesterday, Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Battles, Beirut, Biffy Clyro, CSS, Dan Le Sac, Feist, Justice, Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem, The Nextmen, Patrick Wolf, Radiohead, Reverend And The Makers and Shy Child have all been scoring well, and not just because I mentioned them yesterday. But you don't have to vote for them - you can vote for anyone.
In fact you can vote for any track that first surfaced this year in the CMU poll - a single, album track, remix, mash up, b-side, demo, TV theme tune - whatever. Email the name of your favourite track, with your name, company and job title, and a sentence on why you're voting for it, to 2007@cmumusicnetwork.co.uk. We will feature some of your votes and reasons here in the Daily during December, and will then release an overall top ten, on which you can then vote a second time so that we can select an overall track of the year. It's all very exciting.
So, to summarise, email us the name of your favourite track of 2007 to 2007@cmumusicnetwork.co.uk now.
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CMU PRESS ROOM
CARLING SUPPORTS LONDON - New Band Showcase
It's been a great year for Carling in music and to help celebrate, five of the UK's best local bands have been invited to play a special one off gig as Carling Supports comes to London on Monday 3rd December.
At the start of the summer Carling asked up and coming bands in Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow to perform at Carling Supports - a showcase for local talent.
The best band in each region, as chosen by an independent panel of judges, secured a support slot at a future Carling Academy show. Now, for one night only, Bar Academy, N1 will play host to the best five bands with a night of live music:
Pinstripe (Carling Supports Bristol)
Page 44 (Carling Supports Birmingham)
Stoneleaf (Carling Supports Newcastle)
The Inventors (Carling Supports Liverpool)
Yoshi (Carling Supports Glasgow)
For more information on Carling Supports check:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/carlingsupports
or contact Julia Barratt or Mark Hindle at the Carling Press Office at Cake on 020 7307 3105.
Carling Supports will return in 2008, for more information visit http://www.carling.com
Ice cold Carling and the best local music. The complete live experience.
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SNAP OF THE DAY: 8 BIT PEOPLE
Well, we haven't had many non-MySpace SNAP Of The Days, have we, despite changing the feature's name so we could? So let's rectify that now by tipping a Last.fm profile, though this is actually for a label not an artist, so really it should be SNLP Of The Day. But whatever. Already popular in its home city of New York, indie label 8 Bit Peoples has become a by-word for all fans of 'chip-tune' music since it was established back in the day. With initial hopes to provide all their releases free of charge (back when giving away music was an absurd prospect, remember) the brains behind it have since begun to sell records, while still offering free downloads from their smaller acts. Signings like Anamanaguchi, Bit Shifter and Nullsleep are all integral to its growing success using this method, proving that it's possible to mix the sound of the NES system, Commodore Entertainment System and Gameboy with rock, drum n bass and electro, amongst other sounds, to sublime effect. Furthermore, they're all onboard for the forthcoming Blip Festival - a visual and musical celebration of all things 8-bit - that is taking place from the 29 Nov to 2 Dec in, yep, New York. Aside from the label's foray into festival land, the most impressive part of its ethos is it's investment into the research and development of software and creation of hardware to help its artists integrate chip music better in the future. In this respect, 8 Bit Peoples is maintaining its leading edge within this genre, nurturing an entire industry. And cos we like that kind of thing, we take our hat off to them. Go discover more about their tunes on their Last.fm profile.
http://www.last.fm/tag/8+bit+peoples
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EMO GUITARIST DIES
Casey Calvert, guitarist with emo rockers Hawthorne Heights, died on Friday night on the band's tour bus, which was travelling between Detroit and Washington DC as the band moved from one tour date to the next. The cause of 26 year old Calvert's death is as yet unknown, but some reports suggest it may have been linked to an asthma attack. In a statement on their website the rest of the band have been keen to stress that their bandmate had not been "doing anything illegal" the night before, presumably in a bid to stop any rumours of a drugs related death.
In a statement posted on Saturday, the band wrote: "Today is probably the worst day ever. It's with our deepest regrets that we have to write this. Casey Calvert passed away in his sleep last night. We found out this afternoon before sound-check. We've spent the entire day trying to come to grips with this and figure out as much as possible. At this time we're not sure what exactly happened. Just last night he was joking around with everyone before he went to bed. We can say with absolute certainty that he was not doing anything illegal. Please, out of respect to Casey and his family, don't contribute or succumb to any gossip you may hear. We don't want his memory to be tainted in the least. Casey was our best friend. He was quirky and awesome and there will truly be no others like him! His loss is unexplainable. As soon as we know more we will let you know".
Needless to say, Calvert's death has caused the most recent dates on the band's US tour to be cancelled. It is unclear if the whole tour, due to run through to 21 Dec, will now be postponed. The band had also begun work on a new album, though progress on it had been delayed somewhat by the band's much previously reported legal wranglings with Victory Records, which may prevent its release.
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QUIET RIOT FRONTMAN DIES
The frontman of US metal band Quiet Riot, Kevin DuBrow, also died this weekend. The 52 year old founding member of the pioneering metal outfit was found dead at his Las Vegas home on Sunday. Cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
DuBrow fronted Quiet Riot's original incarnation in the mid-seventies, and also led the band's recreation in 1982, following the death of another founder member, Randy Rhoads. It was in the mid-80s that the band had the most commercial success, arguably the first in the pop metal genre to garner mainstream attention, paving the way for the likes of Motley Crue, Ratt and Bon Jovi who ultimately came to overshadow DuBrow's band.
DuBrow quit the band in 1987 but returned in the early nineties and had toured and recorded with them on and off ever since. Frankie Banali, the band's drummer since 1982, and their manager for the last decade, confirmed DuBrow's death yesterday, commenting on his website: "I can't even find words to say. Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow".
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PAVAROTTI WIDOW ACCUSES HIS FRIENDS OF DEFAMATION
The widow of Luciano Pavarotti, Nicoletta Mantovani, is suing two of the late opera star's close friends for alleging that the couple's marriage was close to collapse at the time of the singer's death.
Mantovani has previously criticised the Italian media for speculating about the state of her marriage to Pavarotti, and for reporting that there are tensions between her and the singer's children from his first marriage over his will. Yesterday her lawyers announced they were launched defamation proceedings against two of the people quoted in those stories - Franca Corfini Strata, who is married to the late singer's dietician, and Lidia La Marca, the wife of conductor Leone Magiera - both of whom appeared on a popular Italian TV show called 'Porta A Porta' and claimed that Mantovani had been "isolating" Pavarotti in the months before his death. La Marca said the singer had complained to her that his wife was cutting him off from his friends, and that she was only thinking about money.
Confirming the defamation action, Mantovani's lawyer Anna Maria Bernini said yesterday: "Since the comments did not cease - and were in fact reiterated - Mantovani had no choice but to file the lawsuit. She is doing it to protect her sense of respectability - privately for the sake of her daughter and the memory of the maestro, publicly for her image and any future professional activity".
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TI PROSECUTORS PLAN TO PROVE PAST VIOLATIONS
Prosecutors in the ongoing TI illegal firearms case have said they will present evidence that the hip hopper has broken gun laws on at least three previous occasions. In legal papers filed yesterday, the US Attorney's Office say they have evidence that TI has a history of illegally acquiring guns. As much previously reported, he is currently under house arrest after being caught trying to illegally buy unregistered machine guns and silencers back in October. The rapper has pleaded not guilty of all charges guvnor.
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YOUNG BUCK DENIES ROBBERY
It's not often hip hoppers are releasing statements denying they were the victims of crime. But that's what G-Unit-er Young Buck was doing yesterday after rumours began to circulate that he had been mugged in Nashville, Tennessee this weekend. Said rumours suggested the rapper had lost his watch, jewellery and even his car after being held at gunpoint.
But the rapper, real name David Darnell Brown, told AllHipHop.com yesterday: "Ain't nobody robbed me for a thing. There was an altercation between me and a dude here in Tennessee and during that altercation I lost a watch which came off my arm. But as far as someone taking my Bentley, my Bentley is sitting pretty without a scratch on it, right here in my driveway and my jewellery is right here too. I guess this is what people wanted to happen. I didn't get robbed for anything".
He also dismissed reports that the altercation was the result of a dispute over an unpaid debt. Brown: "I don't owe anyone money and the dude who I had the altercation with knows me and I know him and we already had our words since the altercation happened, so whoever is posting this or commenting on this recklessly is trying to take Buck down but you can't take Buck down".
So, that's that sorted.
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MORE BRITNEY NONSENSE
A lawyer for Britney Spears has asked the LA Courts to keep files relating to her long running custody battle with Kevin Federline a secret from the LA County Department Of Children & Family Services on the grounds that if the files are handed over to such a large organisation there is a high chance personal information about the singer and her negotiations with the Fed will be leaked to the media.
The DCFS is presumably keen to see the files because of the various discussions regarding Spears' parenting skills that have taken place as part of the custody battle. Federline's lawyers have also expressed concerns regarding the passing of the files to the DCFS, though his people have said they would be OK with relevant sections being passed on, providing they were informed as to which sections were deemed relevant.
Another session in the ongoing custody proceedings took place yesterday also, with visitation rights for the Christmas period being discussed. Apparently last week Britney spent the night before Thanksgiving with her children, who then spent the big day itself with their father. A similar set up is rumoured to have been agreed for Christmas.
Elsewhere in Britney news, there are rather strange rumours that the singer is trying to adopt a set of twins from China, and that she has told friends she is in the final stages of talks with an adoption agency. But I find that hard to believe - when the authorities take away your own children I don't think you're meant to just replace them with someone else's.
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JERMAINE SAYS JACKSON FIVE REUNION ON
More on those rumours of a Jackson Five reunion involving Michael, this time from Jermaine Jackson, who is presumably a pretty reliable source. He's told BBC 6Music that the group have been discussing a reunion, that it could happen "sometime in 2008" and that "Michael will be involved". He concluded: "We feel we have to do it one more time. We owe that to the fans and to the public".
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WYCLEF ON THE NEW CARNIVAL
Having said all there is to say about loopy former bandmate Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean has been talking about his new album 'Carnival II: Memoirs Of An Immigrant', a follow up to 1997's 'The Carnival'. He told reporters: "The first Carnival album defined my style of producing and this one is the next level of that style". On his return to music making, he continued: "I wasn't getting that many calls and then I cut off my hair and Shakira gives me a call. Then we made the biggest song of all times. 'Hips Don't Lie' revived Wyclef Jean. Kids who don't even know the Fugees are like 'Shakira, Shakira. Say it man, say it!'"
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FUCKED UP PLAN ALL STAR CHRISTMAS RECORD
Radio friendly Canadian punk band Fucked Up have recorded a special Christmas song which features an all star cast of collaborators.
On the track are all the following: James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Cole (Black Lips), Kevin Peterson (What's Your Rupture?), Jacob Thiele (The Faint), Morag And Ursula, Jay Reatard, Dan Romano (Attack In Black), Faris Rotter (The Horrors), Davey Havok (AFI), Mike Fellows (Rites Of Spring), Matt Sweeney (Chavez/ Zwan), Dave One (Chromeo), Trevor Keith (Face To Face), Jason Green (Panthers/ Orchid), Jerry A (Poison Idea), Shenae Grimes (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Scott Vogel (Terror) and Nelly Furtado. It's like Band Aid, but with quality acts.
Writing about the all star track on their blog, the band assure us "this is not a joke", adding: "All of these people (willingly) participated in the recording of this song. This probably the most bizarre collaboration that they have/will ever do".
The all-star track will appear on the b-side to Fucked Up's 'David Christmas', the punk band's own festive number. Only a 1000 copies of the single are due to be pressed, though presumably it will also appear online, officially or otherwise.
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THE VERVE RE-RELEASE HITS ALBUM WITH ADDED VIDS
The Verve are re-releasing their 2004 greatest hits package, but with a bonus DVD full of the band's pop promo videos. The re-release follows the band's previously reported reunion tour. For those of you wondering if Ashcroft et al ever had enough hits to fill a whole album, well, here's the list of what's on there...
On the CD...
This Is Music
Slide Away
Lucky Man
History
Shes A Superstar
On Your Own
Blue
Sonnet
All In The Mind
The Drugs Dont Work
Gravity Grave
Bitter Sweet Symphony
This Could Be My Moment
Monte Carlo
On the DVD...
This Is Music
Slide Away
Lucky Man
History
Shes A Superstar
On Your Own
Blue
Sonnet
All In The Mind
The Drugs Dont Work
Gravity Grave
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Lucky Man (US Version)
This Could Be My Moment
Monte Carlo
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JOE JACKSON ALBUM COMES WITH BEHIND THE SCENES DVD
Joe Jackson's new album 'Rain', due out on Rykodisc at the end of January, will also be available in a two disc set with a bonus DVD which will feature live footage, behind the scenes clips and a rare TV interview. The DVD has been produced by Julie Gardner, who has been recording engineer on Jackson's last two studio albums. Joe told CMU: "We decided to let Julie Gardner, who we've worked with for years now to follow us around as we worked, playing a live show, rehearsing, and just talking about playing together and our long history together as band mates and just mates". Press info on the album and bonus DVD from Noble PR.
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DOHERTY WORKING ON SOLO MATERIAL
Pete Doherty has begun work on a solo album - though I'm pretty sure he started work on a solo album a while back - but whatever, word has it this one will be released next summer. The NME reports he is working with producer Jake Foir on solo material, and that Foir says three songs are completely finished. They quote him thus: "We're recording it piecemeal between two studios in London. We go in for two or three hours at a time, usually at about two in the morning, and get stuff down. It sounds slower and more intimate [than Babyshambles]. Pete's writing is more universal, rather than about personal experiences". Despite all that progress, that summer release date may not actually materialise - mainly because Parlophone would rather Doherty spend his time making and promoting Babyshambles music than working on side projects, and Foir fears they may veto the solo album's release.
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GANG OF FOUR BASSIST ON THE FUTURE OF MUSIC
Gang Of Four bassist Dave Allen has been writing on his blog regarding his current thinking of how his band should release all future new material. Seemingly inspired by Radiohead's 'pay what you want' promotion, Allen says that he thinks all of the following:
01. We need to make a cheap quick recording of no more than 6 songs. The days of spending forever in a studio are over.
02. It can't be called an album, that format is over - case in point - after downloading the Radiohead 'In Rainbows' album I found various remixes of songs from that album and so I deleted the originals as the new mixes were preferable to me. I then built my own running order. Goodbye to having an album formatted in advance.
03. As we write and record in rehearsal we should post the demos, as rough as they are, to our website and also to Amiestreet so that fans can download them. Comments would be offered and that way we could gauge response. Also word of mouth will get the message far and wide that these demos are available and that we are working on the new recordings - no PR required.
04. Understanding the data which will then help us understand our fans' behaviour.
05. It's imperative that we give away MP3s.
06. Enroll our most rabid fans to help us market and promote the band.
07. We must partner only with an indie label for any physical good that we release.
08. We must take meetings with people like Kevin Arnold at IODA and Shane Tobin at iMeem whose companies offer very distinct ways to reach music fans.
He then goes on to offer a diagram of how he sees the record label of the future working, which I'm not sure I completely follow, but it looks pretty. Anyway, you can read more about this at Allen's own website - http://www.pampelmoose.com - where you'll also find Allen is practicing what he preaches by making demos of new Gang Of Four songs - their first totally new material since 1995's 'Shrinkwrapped' - available as MP3s.
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OPERA SINGER LAUNCHES PAY WHAT YOU WANT PROMOTION
In not entirely unrelated news, opera singer Barbara Hendricks is following Radiohead's lead by making her latest album 'Endless Pleasure' available for download on a pay what you want basis. The promotion, which is similar to the way Radiohead released their latest album 'In Rainbows' online, has been made available by the American soprano's own label Arte Verum and their Paris based digital distributor Believe.
As an incentive to pay more for the digital version of the album - which is already available in physical form through traditional retail routes - fans who chose to pay more than seven euros are also offered Hendrick's previous two albums for the same price. It is the first time those two albums have been available digitally.
The founder of Believe, Denis Ladegaillerie, has told reporters that the promotion has gone well, with about 75% of people choosing to pay for the album, with the average paid price currently 6.50 euros. Ladegaillerie adds that he thinks the 'honesty box' principle works better in Hendricks' genre because: "There is a stronger will to pay within classical customers". He added that the promotion was a good way to expose the opera singer's music to "the widest audience possible".
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LIVE REVIEW: Oberon at Fabric on 22 Nov
I was reminded at the last minute that I'd promised to go to this, so changed my plans and got along to Fabric asap - a decision that proved brilliantly worthwhile, because as the guys from Hackney's Fred gallery (and label) launched their art-meets-music extravaganza Oberon at Fabric a fine night was had by all. Imbued with a mellow energy perfect for a Thursday, the evening mixes performers with musicians with art to great effect. Fully decked out with a massive art installation including projections, massive cut out figures and performers, and masks given out to clubbers, Fabric took on a fairy tale edge, aided in no small part by performances by The Irrespressibles and Salt Peter - and 20 transvestites wearing headlights. Tunes from New York DJ Anita Sarko (who legendarily DJ'd Andy Warhol's funeral) added edge to the hugely enjoyable evening which, as word builds, looks set to become a unique and rewarding experience for club-goers looking for something a little different. ST
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MADNESS TO PLAY SNOWBOMBING
Hey, organisers of Snowbombing have just announced that Madness will be playing at next year's snow covered music/ski/snowboarding fest, which takes place in Mayrhofen, Austria from 31 Mar to 6 Apr. Madness will headline the growing live dimension to this winter fest, which will also include performances from Pigeon Detectives, Calvin Harris, The Whip, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Courteeners, Foals and Palladium. Meanwhile on the decks you get pretty much every CMU favourite DJ going - Plump DJs, DJ Yoda, Annie Mac, The Scratch Perverts, Stanton Warriors, Annie Nightingale, Krafty Kuts, Ewan Pearson, The Freetsylers, Justin Robertson, Tayo, Ali B, Trojan Soundsystem, The Loose Cannons, Soul of Man, Joe Ransom, Filthy Dukes and Eddy TM, among others, plus there's a '25 Years Of The Hacienda' party featuring Peter Hook and Graeme Park. You'll find more at http://www.snowbombing.com, press info from Get Involved.
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BREAKS MASSIVE GET SMART
More quality dance music, though not like you'd normally see it. This Saturday the London breaks community will be dressing up smart for a charity 'Black Tie Breaks Do'. Yes, you'll get breaks meisters Rennie Pilgrem, Jem Panufnik, Move Ya, Plaza De Funk and a special guest on the decks, like any breaks fest, but at this one the dress code is "black tie (or as close to it as you can get) - posh frocks and suits please!", so it won't be just any breaks fest. This all takes place at Lockside Lounge in Camden this Saturday, 1 Dec, from 8pm to 2am. Tickets are a tenner and all proceeds will go to Centre For Dolphin Studies in South Africa. More at http://www.tcr.uk.com, press info from pip.pippa@gmail.com.
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REVEREND AND THE MAKERS TOUR
Headline says it all really. CMU favourites RATM (no, not Rage Against The Machine) will go on tour next February, dates as follows...
19 Feb: Glasgow, ABC1
20 Feb: Middlesborough,Town Hall
21 Feb: Skegness, Embassy Ballroom
23 Feb: Lincoln, Engine Shed
24 Feb: Bradford, University
25 Feb: Warrington, Parr Hall
26 Feb: London, Roundhouse
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LINE UP FOR BRITISH MIDEM BASH ANNOUNCED
Before all that, though, the Reverend boys will be joining the all those label execs at their annual jolly in Cannes, headlining the British Music At MIDEM showcase on 28 Jan. They will be joined by Richard Hawley, Tawiah, New York Fund, Bailey Tzuke, Jack Savoretti, Beth Rowley and Karl Morgan.
Caroline Reason of Metropolis Music, who have put together the showcase, says this: "This year's line up is again a great testament of the diversity and quality of artists that are coming out of the UK labels at the moment. Great music is what it's about and this line up delivers exactly that".
MIDEM 2008 takes place from 27-31 Jan, with the MidemNet digital music thang kicking off a day earlier.
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FACEBOOK ARTIST PAGES ARE HERE
Talking of digital, will Facebook take over from MySpace as artists' social networking site of choice? Well, Facebook's band page format won't allow you artistic types as much creative freedom, but if that means less garish backdrops, unreadable colour combinations and pages that shoot off the screen, that's possibly a good thing. Anyway, go make your own decision with this sample Facebook band page that has been put up by those Dave Matthews Band chaps.
http://www.facebook.com/davematthewsband
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HARD FI LAUNCH JOOST CHANNEL
Or perhaps all the cool bands will be doing their digital stuff on web TV platform Joost. Well, Hard Fi are. They're cool right? What? Well, I think they're cool. Anyway, here is what Atlantic Records president Max Lousada has to say about his Hard Fi boys getting their own Joost channel: "By combining Warner Music's digital footprint with our ever-expanding range of artist services, we continue to offer our acts new and innovative ways to connect with audiences. This channel is one such example. It will provide Hard-Fi with a powerful medium through which to communicate with their following on an interactive and on-going basis".
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CARLING STEP BACK FROM THEIR FESTIVAL WEEKENDER
Festival Republic have announced they have ended their nine year sponsorship relationship with Carling which means that their Reading and Leeds festivals will no longer be referred to as the Carling Weekend.
Festival Republic, which, as previously reported, dropped the Mean Fiddler name after it sold most of its venue network to the MAMA Group earlier this year, said their partnership with the British drinks brand had ended "by mutual agreement" and that "both parties felt the time was right to pursue new opportunities".
The Carling Weekend was for along time a key component of the drinks company's high profile music sponsorship programme, which also includes, of course, headline branding on venues run by the Academy network.
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SLICETHEPIE LAUNCH FACEBOOK TRACKER
Online music community Slicethepie, where music fans are invited to review music from unsigned bands, and to then invest in the bands they most highly rate, has launched a new Facebook application which will allow users to keep track of the bands they have most highly rated, and to prove their skills, or otherwise, in tipping artists that later take off.
Launching the new Facebook app, Slicethepie founder David Courtier-Dutton told reporters: "The vast majority of Slicethepie users already have a Facebook profile and this gives us a unique opportunity to allow users to build their own scouting leagues. Not only is it great fun, but this competitive aspect will further increase the quality of the reviews and benefit the thousands of artists on the site whilst making the [Slicethepie.com] process even more efficient at identifying tomorrow's music superstars."
So far six bands have raised finance through Slicethepie to enable them to go into the studio and put down new recordings - Gilkicker, The Alps, The Skies, Katrina Bello, Scars On 45 and Miranda Barber. Two more are reportedly close to having the funds to start recording - Gola Ola and Tommy Ludgate.
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CLASH RELAUNCH WEBSITE
Music mag Clash has launched a new website called http://www.ClashMusic.com, which is being led by former IPC type Pat Kelly, who was involved in NME.com and LOADED.co.uk in their early days, and was a founder member of the Internet Advertising Bureau.
Here's what Pat says: "ClashMusic.com is a significant six-figure investment and builds on the success of the previous Clash site. This new site is vastly superior and our objective is to become a leading UK, then international, site dedicated to young people who love their music. The music industry widely recognises Clash as a fresh, vibrant UK music media brand with fantastic content and great access to artists, and I'm delighted to be involved in such a dynamic business at such an exciting period during media convergence within the music industry".
Clash editor Simon Harper, adds: "The initial focus was to build a quality platform that was leading in its navigation and usability encompassing the Clash style. Now that we have achieved that, over the next few weeks we will be adding the exciting elements such as audio, video and community features that will bring the site to life and make it a vital stopover destination. We'll be able to offer a wide range of exclusive media content in any which form our audience wants to consume it at any time via print, digital or live - we have leading platforms in all three areas. The interactivity that ClashMusic.com will offer puts the music back into the hands of the audience where it belongs".
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DIS LAUNCH NEW AUDIO BLOG THING
Talking of music websites, Drowned In Sound has launched a new audio and video blog with RCRDLBL.com, a network of ad-supported labels, blogs and forums. It will be called the 'Drownload' (see what they did there?) and will feature audio and video content from the DiS's favourite acts, kicking off with an exclusive from Simian Mobile Disco. You can get to it here: http://drownedinsound.rcrdlbl.com
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WALSH IS REALLY VINCENT
Louis Walsh's real name is Michael Vincent, which isn't that interesting, except that the music mogul and X-Factor judge was seemingly rather embarrassed when his Mum revealed his real name while being interviewed during a warm up session for the pop talent show this weekend. A 'show insider' told the Sun: "The warm-up guy was speaking to guests to keep the audience on a high. At one point he had a chat with [Louis' Mum] Maureen. I don't know if he'd been tipped off but he decided to ask Maureen if Louis was his real name and she said it wasn't. It was hilarious, nobody could believe his real name was so ordinary. When Simon Cowell came back into the studio he admitted he had no idea of Louis's secret and thought it was brilliant. Poor Louis was a bit red-faced. He got well and truly set up by his old ma, intentionally or otherwise".
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DOHERTY BANDS DRINK ON TOUR BUS
More Doherty, and Pete has reportedly banned alcohol on the Babyshambles tour bus, because there's nothing worse when you're trying to find a vein to have some pisshead getting in the way. No, only joking. The new rule is reportedly part of Doherty's bid to live a more sober life. The band's Drew McConnell told NME: "He's insisted on it [the alcohol ban]. I thought it was a joke at first but it's true - we're having to hide bottles of beer under our pillows! I think it's indicative of Peter's resolve to sort himself out".
Despite the previously reported relapse, McConnell assures us that Pete is doing well in his latest attempt to kick the drugs, adding: "We kind of want to thank everyone for their patience with him. We know what we're capable of as a band, and it's up to us to prove it on this tour. Hope springs eternal, y'know".
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DOUGIE MCFLY FRUSTRATED BY HITS ALBUM
The rarely on-message Dougie Poynter has revealed that McFly weren't that keen about releasing a greatest hits album. In an interview with Digital Spy the band's bassist says: "It [the recently released hits package] wasn't really our decision. It's in our record contract that they can release a greatest hits whenever they want. I'm not angry about it, but I'd rather have released one more album and then done a greatest hits album. It would have made for a better mix of songs. After just three albums, it does feel very soon and you do get a lot of people thinking that we're going to split up now. It is a little frustrating".
Elsewhere in the interview, he was asked about that pube-burning incident at a recent GAY appearance promoting the hits album. Asked if he was nervous when the club's Jeremy Joseph suggested he set light to his pubic hair on stage he remarked: "Nah, I've done it before, but in a hotel. Luckily I've got a very big, thick bush that's very easy to light. As long as I always keep moving, it doesn't burn. And fire goes up, you know!"
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WENTZ NOT HAPPY WITH ASHLEE MOCKING SONG
Aaah, Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz has sent a message to Canadian rock band Neurosonic asking them to stop singing a new song that mocks his girlfriend Ashlee Simpson, mainly about that infamous 'Saturday Night Live' performance in 2004 where she was found to be lip syncing. According to the New York Daily, Post Wentz is pissed off about the song, which Neurosonic have been performing at recent gigs, and wants them to stop mocking his other half. Look at that - he doesn't do sex tapes and he takes on Canadian rockers on his girlfriend's behalf - what a boyfriend.
