Tenspoke Indies Week: Give to Get

antiMusic reports: Tenspoke Indies debut album, 'Blinded By The Sound,' comes out March 4, 2008. With a sound often compared to Jimmy Eat World but with indie cred, they got our attention, so we asked the band's singer/guitarist (and British ex-pat) Rich Wise to pick his favorite five tracks from the CD and tell us a bit about each one. Here is Rich with today's song "Give to Get".

The band wrote this one together in one writing session at Apple Studios in Tampa. I think everyone was feeling the rock that day. Sometimes as a band you'll go for months of tedious sessions or rehearsals and come up with nothing, and then all of a sudden you'll complete an entire song in an hour. Who can explain that?!

Lyrically, I flat-out wanted to write a song about a prostitute in kind of in an old Stones-y kind of way, with a lot of color. In fact, I had a whole character written out – her name was "Mona Malone," and she was basically this superstar slut. But no one liked it, and probably for the best, because I'm sure it would have sucked. So, we used the help of a friend. Chris Moody of the Dead 50's out of Harrisburg sat down with it and came up with some great ideas that really led the direction. Especially "Girl, I gotta find what it is that makes your fever pitch. You know you move so fine your toppin' the list."

You don't have to wait until March to get a taste of what Tenspoke Indie have to offer, they're hitting the road next month. You can grab the tour dates and preview some of the tracks from 'Blinded By The Sound' - more on this story

Avril Not A Thief Just Unoriginal

Jam! reports: A pair of U.S. songwriters who accused Avril Lavigne of ripping off one of their tunes now say the songstress did nothing wrong.

Last summer, Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer alleged that Lavigne's boppy track "Girlfriend" sounded suspiciously like the Rubinoos 1979 single, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."

On Tuesday, Lavigne's record company Nettwerk issued a statement from Dunbar and Gangwer in which the two men said: "We are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke's use of certain common and widely used lyrics."
- more on this story

Garth TV

Contact Music reports: A portion of country star GARTH BROOKS' five Los Angeles charity concerts will air live on TV as part of a special.

Brooks made Staples Center history on 1 December (07) when all 85,000 tickets for his January (08) concerts, held to raise cash for the victims of last year's (07) California wildfires, sold out in just 59 minutes.

And, with the Hollywood writers strike bringing most shows to a standstill, bosses at TV network CBS have decided to win viewers by airing a live portion from Brooks' third show on 25 January (08). The one-hour special will be titled Garth Brooks: Live in L.A.!. - more on this story

Corporate Band Sponsorships?

Gigwise reports: The whoring of the music industry hits a new low. Your favorite band might soon be "brought to you by Viagra". Gigwise has thes story: EMI will allow its artists, who include Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, to be sponsored by corporate companies, according to reports.

The proposals, which could see Coldplay's new album 'Prospekt' released with corporate branding, are expected to feature as part of an extensive shake-up of the company.

Terra Firma, EMI's new owners, believe the plans would help increase the label's revenue as it struggles to meet the growth of the digital marketplace. - more on this story

Yellowcard Digital Live Album

PR reports: Yellowcard will release a digital live album, entitled Live From Las Vegas At the Palms, exclusively though the iTunes Store beginning January 22nd, 2008. Recorded in October at Las Vegas' renowned Palms Casino Resort's intimate Pearl Concert Theater, where the farthest seating is just 120 feet from the stage, the album captures the Jacksonville, FL, quartet's fiery blend of rock, punk, and classical at its most explosive best.

"We were honored to record Live From Las Vegas At the Palms for iTunes and we're really proud of the record," said frontman Ryan Key.

Live From Las Vegas features five tracks from Yellowcard's current album Paper Walls including the lead-off single "Light Up the Sky." The live album also features Yellowcard's previous singles "Way Away," "Ocean Avenue," and "Only One," from the band's double-platinum 2003 Capitol Records' debut Ocean Avenue, as well as "Lights and Sounds" and "Rough Landing, Holly," from their 2006 gold album Lights and Sounds.

Anyone who purchases Live From Las Vegas at the Palms in its first week of release (from January 22nd to January 28th) will also receive a code for Ticketmaster enabling the purchase of up to four tickets for the tour on January 30th before they go on sale to the public on February 2nd. - more on this story

The Verve Make Demands on Label

Gigwise reports: Jazz Summers, manager of The Verve, has said that the band want financial assurances from EMI's owners Terra Firma before they release their new album.

Mr Summers, who also represents Snow Patrol, says he will ask Guy Hands, Terra Firma's boss, why the band should deliver a new album "when EMI is cutting back on the marketing and is in financial difficulty", at a meeting in Kensington today.

The band are are due to release the follow-up to 1997's 'Urban Hymns' this spring. - more on this story

Sevendust Set 7th Studio Release

Metal Underground reports: SEVENDUST returned to Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of November to complete its seventh studio full-length record.

Entitled "Hope and Sorrow" (the working title "The 7th Chapter" has been scrapped), the CD will be released on April 1, 2008 on SEVENDUST's own 7 Bros. Records in conjunction with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group. More information will be made available soon.

SEVENDUST's sixth studio album, "Alpha", was released outside of the U.S. and Canada on November 12. The CD contains the original 12 songs plus the bonus track "The Rim" along with a brand new studio cut entitled "Abuse Me".
- more on this story

Iron Maiden Live After Death Comes To DVD At Last

PR reports: Finally available on DVD for the first time, New Door Records/UMe are proud to announce the eagerly awaited release of the Double Disc DVD of "LIVE AFTER DEATH," the legendary recording of Maiden's four-night stand at Long Beach Arena, California, in 1984. In stores February 5th, 2008, the release will coincide with the start of the band's "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour," on which they will recreate many of the aspects of this original and spectacular show.

Disc one contains the recording of this full 90-minute concert. Originally filmed on 35mm, the footage comes alive on DVD resulting in a visually stunning film that far outstrips the usual live video of the '80s. The disc carries two sound options -- the original concert audio specially mixed into 5.1 Surround Sound by Kevin Shirley, Maiden's producer since 1999, plus the original stereo sound track by Martin Birch, the band's producer from 1981 to 1993. Originally released on video in 1985, this has been largely unavailable for the past 20 years.

Disc two has Part 2 of the 'History of Iron Maiden,' continuing on the Maiden story from "The Early Days" DVD, along with rare and unseen bonus footage in the form of BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN, ROCK IN RIO '85, and 'ELLO TEXAS, all in all giving a total running time of well over three hours. - more on this story

Rancid Recording New CD

CMJ reports: After four inactive years and a general assumption that they were kaput, Rancid is back in the studio with longtime co-conspirator and Epitaph head honcho Brett Gurewitz manning the knobs.

Considering the road miles the band has logged and the various ups and downs of their career, Rancid's lineup has remained remarkably steady, though Brandon Steineckert replaced Brett Reed on drums last year.

The new record is slated to be released later this year on Hellcat/Epitaph. - more on this story

Ticketmaster Buys Ticket Resale Site

Fox News / PR Newswire reports: Ticketmaster today announced a major expansion of its ticket resale business by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire TicketsNow, the leading independent Web-based marketplace for music, sports and other live entertainment event tickets. The acquisition will make Ticketmaster a leading company in the resale category.

Ticketmaster will create an integrated platform on which fans will be able to simultaneously review and compare ticket availability and pricing in the primary, premium and resale categories. Building upon its existing TicketExchange resale marketplaces and partnerships with the NFL, NHL and NBA, Ticketmaster will work closely with its venue, promoter, team and other live entertainment clients to offer ticket validation and electronic ticket delivery to fans purchasing in the resale marketplace.

"Fans have embraced ticket resale, and the combination of Ticketmaster and TicketsNow will allow us to provide a safer, more reliable and efficient resale experience," said Sean Moriarty, President and CEO of Ticketmaster. "We are confident that combining TicketsNow's strong resale network with our audience and distribution capabilities will enable us to set a new standard in the resale category."
- more on this story

Nick Barker's New Gig

Metal Underground reports: The new drummer of ATROCITY and LEAVES' EYES is Nick Barker, who has previously played with CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR and TESTAMENT. Says ATROCITY/LEAVES' EYES vocalist/producer Alex Krull, "It's with great pleasure that we can announce Nick Barker is joining the ATROCITY and LEAVES' EYES family! We always were great fans of his way of drumming, and we are happy that we will kick some ass in the future together! Nick was our No. 1 choice! When we heard he would join us, we invited him right away!"

Here's a short interview with Nick Barker about his decision to join the two bands: Q: How did it come about that you joined the two bands now?

Nick: "Alex approached me at the Metal Hammer award ceremony in London last June (2007) and said that he was looking for a drummer that could handle the complexity and savagery of ATROCITY as well as the softer, more groove-laden beauty of LEAVES' EYES, and he thought I could be the right man to do both jobs. I had some prior commitments and obligations to fulfil at that time, but we spoke over the Christmas period and arranged for me to come to Stuttgart and audition; everything was fantastic both musically and from a social and personal aspect."
- more on this story

Bullet For My Valentine Listening Party

PR reports: Bullet For My Valentine has teamed up with Hot Topic to give their fans a special listening party for their new album Scream Aim Fire on January 18th. At 7pm on Friday (1/18), all Hot Topic stores will be playing Scream Aim Fire in its entirety. Fans will receive a special gift with pre-order of the new album and a 10% discount for any purchases made during the listening party.

Bullet For My Valentine's title track, Scream Aim Fire, is already making its mark on rock radio and is the most added track to both active and modern rock stations. Bullet For My Valentine's sophomore album, Scream Aim Fire, hits stores on January 29th.

The single broke into the Top 25 songs and is continuing to climb the Active Rock charts. Bullet For My Valentine is currently on tour in Europe and will kick off the Taste of Chaos Tour in the US on February 29th. - Video for "Scream Aim Fire"

Kresge Returns to Tiger Army

Punknews.org reports: Geoff Kresge, stand-up bassist in Tiger Army from 1999 to mid-2004 has rejoined the band for their upcoming tours. Kresge also performed on III: Ghost Tigers Rise and II: Power Of Moonlight as well as providing back up vocals on Music from Regions Beyond.

He replaces Jeff Roffredo who left the band to pursue other interests and adds: "I don't think people understand what a difficult decision it was for me to make when I left the band in late-2004, or that it may or may not have been for the reason(s) that the fans have heard or read about. Being given the opportunity to rejoin the band is an exciting prospect.

Plans are in motion to film a video in February for the second single from Music From Regions Beyond, "Pain," which made its US radio debut this week when Nick 13 appeared for the second time on the nationally syndicated show "Loveline." - more on this story

Brad Renfro Found Dead

TMZ reports: TMZ has learned actor Brad Renfro is dead. The 25-year-old actor was found dead at his Los Angeles home this morning. The cause of death has not been determined, however, Renfro had a history of drug abuse.

Sources tell us Renfro, who had starring roles in "The Client" and "Apt Pupil" had been working valiantly to stay clean, especially since this summer. Renfro had been convicted of several drug offenses, including attempted heroin possession.

Renfro had been filming a movie with Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton. The movie, "The Informers," just wrapped. - more on this story

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