The News Review:
- British Punk Rock Has Inspired The Dropkick Murphys
- Fall music’s 2007 sales showdown
- Music & Nightlife in Santa Cruz County | Muz
- … huge fame isn’t necessary: Band has shown range with…
- Peter Hartlaub/Pop Culture: Styx bassist happily out of underworld
British Punk Rock Has Inspired The Dropkick Murphys
Cleveland Free Times – Sep 12, 2007
"When we first started two of the songs we wrote "Barroom Hero' and "Boys in the Docks' had a storytelling kind of element that a lot of American punk didn't" he says. "And that influence I think was derivative of us being fans of Irish music and the fact that music is supposed to tell a story and document life and history and people. We always think that real music and our albums should be a celebration of what life is like. "Casey places that "real" mindset at the core of the band's punk philosophy. "There's a lot of punks out there who punk rock to them we are not it 'cause we're not singing about how much cops suck or whatever" he says. "Music's subjective but I think we're pretty broad on the spectrum of punk. And I think that even if people don't agree with what we're saying or live it in their own lives that they get the sentiment and they know that it's important to us and it's real to us… We always think that real music and our albums should be a celebration of what life is like. "Casey places that "real" mindset at the core of the band's punk philosophy. "There's a lot of punks out there who punk rock to them we are not it 'cause we're not singing about how much cops suck or whatever" he says. "Music's subjective but I think we're pretty broad on the spectrum of punk. And I think that even if people don't agree with what we're saying or live it in their own lives that they get the sentiment and they know that it's important to us and it's real to us. "Although the Dropkick Murphys didn't deliberately set out to make any sort of themed album after recording the new The Meanest of Times album one recurring topic became apparent: the idea of family encompassing both blood relatives and close friends. Casey relates the broad family theme to "stuff like songs looking back at the crazy days of youth to songs about the current state of having children the age where you're losing parents or grandparents or the state of Massachusetts or a mother losing her children to drugs or a song inspired by a friend who's locked up in jail and his mother's spending whatever she needs to for appeals.
Fall music’s 2007 sales showdown
USA Today – Sep 12, 2007
• The industry desperately needs some hot sellers to push 2007 into the black and the catalyst could be this week’s trifecta of albums by Kenny Chesney Kanye West and 50 Cent. But country records aren’t selling as strongly as country tours and rap’s slump suggests neither hip-hop giant will match earlier chart heights. • While labels nervously wait for numbers to roll in USA TODAY examines key competitors in the fall forecast. A battle in every genre… •Double features: It’s the third album for both. Curtis finds 50 venturing outside his usual G-Unit collaborations to team with the likes of Justin Timberlake Timbaland Akon Robin Thicke and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. Kanye thinks outside the box with guests Daft Punk and Chris Martin. •Double talk: History (and 50) say that Curtis should easily win this hyped face-off. Overall 50′s first two albums have sold more than 12 million copies double Kanye’s total. But Kanye’s album racked up more first-day sales and his single Stronger is outpacing 50′s Ayo Technology and I Get Money. — JonesR&B royalty •Double bill: Past Grammy R&B album winners Alicia Keys and Mary J.
Music & Nightlife in Santa Cruz County | Muz
metroactive.com – Sep 12, 2007
com introduce you to some expert area real estate agents. Nowhere else on earth do hippies punk rockers emo-kids and hip-hop homies converge on such a small town with such big-city force. Thursday night at Don Quixote’s was a tribute to the free-spirited era of the 1960s and the vibe was love love love. Opening for Wubakia was fellow jam-band Grandview. Fusing elements of funk jazz and rock & roll the UCSC alums produced a sound that was as appealing as psychotropic drugs were to Timothy Leary. Guitarist Ryan Avellone took the spotlight with his show-stopping guitar solos leading the improvised jams on a hollow-body electric guitar like a young Trey Anastasio… First up was Salinas power trio Hate For State. The guys ripped through an hour-long set of thrasher punk madness highlighted by heavily distorted guitar riffs and vocals that sounded something like Green Day’s Billy Joe. The music was loud the crowd drunk—it was looking to be an interesting night. Following Hate for State was Santa Cruz Mountain crew Honest Mistake. Mistake or not these guys were definitely the crowd favorite dishing out a hefty portion of rock & roll that ranged from heavy metal to reggae. Throaty vocals recalled Metallica’s James Hetfield though the band’s overall sound was wholly original.
… huge fame isn’t necessary: Band has shown range with…
Free with registration – Baltimore Sun – AccessMyLibrary.com – Sep 12, 2007
For They Might Be Giants huge fame isn’t necessary: Band has shown range with witty songs and kids’ music. (12-SEP-07) Baltimore Sun (Baltimore MD). 12–John Flansburgh is hazy on the finer points of They Might Be Giants the enduringly bizarre hyper-literate pop band he co-founded 25 years ago. How many records has.
Peter Hartlaub/Pop Culture: Styx bassist happily out of underworld
San Francisco Chronicle – Sep 12, 2007
com which focuses on his AIDS activism. Pundits have been speculating for years what will happen when the first gay professional athlete still participating in a male-dominated sport comes out. But in the almost equally testosterone-charged world of hard rock punk and heavy metal several artists have come out in the past decade – with strong support from their fans. Judas Priest singer Rob Halford resumed touring with the heavy metal band two years ago after coming out on MTV in 1998. Two-thirds of the groundbreaking punk band Husker Du – Bob Mould and Grant Hart – are gay and have maintained successful solo careers. Halford spoke about coming out in an interview with NPR host Terry Gross two years ago (worth listening to just to hear the reserved Gross enunciate the song title “Ram It Down”). Halford said the Judas Priest followers treated him well and a new 2005 album was acclaimed by critics and fans… He dresses more like a real estate agent and speaks quickly but softly as he communicates his heartfelt message. Despite co-founding the group with his brother John and Dennis DeYoung Panozzo spent most of his 30 years with the band almost hiding in the background. The bassist says his music career actually helped him with the awkwardness of knowing he was gay but not being able to come out to his family and friends in his working-class neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. He says he was teased for being different when he was younger but few questioned his coolness when his band became a local success. “Those early childhood days were a struggle but when I could become someone else through my music it allowed me to feel accepted” Panozzo says. “I earned my stripes through the band. Panozzo came out to his brother the original Styx drummer when they were younger.