Fans of bluegrass and roots rock will find Blanche as a Radiohead to their collection, making the modern and exciting out of something familiar, without leaving the listener alienated. If Loretta Lynn, who recently won new fans with Van Lear Rose can do it, the more youthful Blanche might be next.
Soul legend James Brown has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. In a statement released this morning, said that he will undergo surgery for the ailment on Wednesday.
“I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well,” Brown said.
Brown is also a diabetic. Dubbed “the hardest working man in show business,” he just finished a two-week Canadian tour last night. The artist is expected to spend three weeks recovering from the procedure.
Earlier this year, Brown faced other troubles when he was charged with domestic abuse after an altercation with his wife. The allegation was resolved when he failed to contest the charge.
Brown is due to release an autobiography next month. Besides promoting the project with a slew of appearances, he still plans a tour of Asia and Australia early next year.
Source billboard.com.
The gunman who fatally shot four people — including Damageplan (and former Pantera) guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott — at Columbus, Ohio’s Alrosa Villa nightclub Wednesday night was a discharged Marine described as a “disturbed” loner by hometown acquaintances.
Soon after Damageplan began playing at the Alrosa Villa nightclub, the gunman, identified as twenty-five-year-old Nathan Gale of nearby Marysville, charged the stage, shot Abbott several times at close range and then began firing into the crowd of 450. Three others were killed before thirty-one-year-old patrol officer James D. Niggemeyer, who had entered the club through the back door, fatally shot Gale.
The others killed were identified as fan Nathan Bray, 23, Erin Halk, 29, and Jeff Thompson, 40. Halk and Thompson’s reasons for attending the show have not been confirmed, but Thompson was likely a security guard for the band. Two wounded individuals are currently at Riverside Methodist Hospital and have not yet been identified. In addition to Abbott, 38, Damageplan includes singer Patrick Lachman, bassist Bob Zilla and Abbott’s brother, ex-Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul.
Gale was an employee for a temp agency who was on medication for mental-health issues. Brandy Brown, the bartender at a local bar Gale frequented described him as “a hermit kind of guy. I think he lived with his mom.” Lucas Bender — the owner of Bear’s Den Tattoo Studio, which Gale frequented constantly in past weeks — said of the young man, “He kind of gave everyone a weird impression — you know how some people just seem disturbed? . . . After he would leave, my friends and I would all talk and say, ‘Gosh, what’s wrong with that guy?” Gale was discharged from the Marines in November 2003 after less than two of the typical four years of service.
Gale also alarmed Alrosa Villa workers before the gig. “He was hanging around trying to get in,” manager Rick Cantella says. “We told him . . . that he had to pay to get in like anyone else. One of my loaders told him to leave . . . He was hanging around trying to talk to the members of the band, and he was shooed away.” Just before the show, Gale jumped an eight-foot fence to get inside, and headed straight for the stage. “There were guys chasing him as soon as he got in,” explains Cantella, “not because [they saw] he had a gun, but because he jumped this fence and didn’t pay.”
During the gunfire, a local nurse in the audience, twenty-eight-year-old Mindy Reece, stepped in to aid Abbott. “The one thing that stands out in my mind was I could see Vinnie [Paul] stand up from behind the drums and look down…He had this look on his face like, ‘Oh my fucking God.'” says Reece, a Pantera fan since the age of thirteen. With the help of another audience member, she performed CPR on Abbott for several minutes until the paramedics arrived. “I kept saying, ‘Dimebag, come on, come on please, stay with me,'” she recalls. “It was bad . . . There was blood on the floor.”
“The motive is very unclear,” says Sherry Mercurio, a Columbus police department spokesperson. “Right now, we’re trying to piece together statements, which may take some time.” Approximately 250 of the audience members are still being questioned by police. Amateur video was also shot during the show, but investigators have not yet determined whether any of the incident was caught on tape. There have been previous incidents of violence at or outside the Alonsa Villa, including a parking-lot shooting as recently as January of last year.
Source rollingstone.com.
Snoop Dogg will star in and executive produce a feature based on his real-life experience of coaching his son’s youth football team. 20th Century Fox beat out several bidders, including Sony and Paramount, paying $1 million for the pitch titled “Coach Snoop.”
“This film is about how I learned to be a good father through coaching,” Snoop Dogg said. “It’s also about life lessons learned on and off the field. But most importantly during the football season, if you aren’t wearing a helmet, get the f*** away from me. Football first; everything else second.”
“I’m just really excited to work with Snoop,” says producer Todd Lieberman. “I have been a fan for a long time, and this is actually based on his life and a very inspirational story, so I can’t wait to get into it. It’s the story of what Snoop did himself. In his real life as in the movie, like any regular overworked father, he put aside his whole career to coach his kid’s football team. They won 13 straight games and won the Super Bowl.”
Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin are penning the project. Their prior credits include “Snow Dogs” and “The Wild.”
Source billboard.com.
New Orleans blues guitarist, Mike DeLaCerda, has spent much of his career behind the scenes. For years he ran sound and performed roadie functions for such greats as Stevie Ray Vaughn and B.B. King. But Mike didn
Noticeably absent from the Austin-based singer-songwriter
Jay-Z — artist, producer and entrepreneur — has been named president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. He will report directly to Antonio “LA” Reid, chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group. Based in IDJ’s New York offices, Jay-Z will officially take his new post on Jan. 3.
Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter), will continue to run his record company Roc-a-Fella. IDJ recently bought the remaining 50% stake in the label from Jay-Z and his business partners Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke.
Over nearly a decade the Roc-a-Fella brand has spawned other ventures, including the Roca Wear clothing line, films including “Fade to Black” and “State Property,” the 40/40 nightclub and a Reebok sneaker line.
“After 10 years of successfully running Roc-a-Fella. Shawn has proven himself to be an astute businessman, in addition to the brilliant artistic talent that the world sees and hears,” said Reid in a statement. “I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip hop community to build upon Def Jam’s fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era.”
“I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-a-Fella,” says Jay-Z. “I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artistic community.”
Jay-Z announced his “retirement” as an artist after the release of “The Black Album” (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. But retirement hasn’t been easy for the superstar — as previously reported, his mash-up collaboration “MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z/Linkin Park: Collision Course” (Warner Bros.) debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 this week.
Source billboard.com.
A gunman stormed the stage during a heavy metal concert in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday night, firing at the band and audience and killing four people before a police officer shot and killed him, police said.
One of the dead was guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, 38, of the band Damageplan. The gunman also wounded two people.
Columbus police identified the suspect as Nathan Gale, 25, of nearby Marysville but said they had no information about a motive or possible connection to the band.
The man was “targeting members in the band,” Columbus police Sgt. Brent Mull said.
Before the gunman was shot, police said, he grabbed a hostage and fired into the crowd. It was unclear what happened to the hostage.
The attack came shortly after Damageplan began its performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub on Columbus’ north end.
One of the wounded is in critical condition, and the other is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Two others were hurt and treated at the scene, although the nature of their injuries was not clear.
The gunman initially shot the band’s guitarist, Abbott, witnesses said.
He and his brother, Vinnie Paul Abbott, 40, formed Damageplan after Pantera — a group they formed in the 1980s — broke up last year. Their father is Jerry Abbott, a country and western songwriter and producer.
Police were notified of the shooting around 10:18 p.m., Mull said. A uniformed police officer who was near the scene slipped into the venue from a back entrance, confronted the gunman during the rampage and killed him, authorities said.
Source: cnn.com
Just when you thought 2004 was a year full of so-so releases with a few random bright spots…Boom! Our ears were flooded with so much good stuff that all of sudden a Top 20 list became a serious challenge. But here we have it – our picks for the year’s best – The Glide 20 of 2004.
R&B/hip-hop artists reigned supreme last night at the Billboard Music Awards, where Usher walked away the big winner with 11 trophies. Alicia Keys netted seven awards during the ceremony at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, with OutKast grabbing five and Kanye West four.
Usher, who opened the Fox broadcast with a performance of “Bad Girl,” was named as the overall artist of the year, and took that honor in Billboard 200, Hot 100 and R&B/hip-hop categories. His Arista release “Confessions” was named The Billboard 200 and R&B/hip-hop album of the year, while his single “Yeah!” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris was named the Hot 100 single of the year.
Introduced by Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder was honored with Billboard’s highest honor, the Century Award, while Destiny’s Child was recognized with the special Artist Achievement Award, presented by the members of Earth, Wind & Fire.
Diana Ross paid tribute to Wonder, performing pieces of “My Cherie Amour,” “I Just Called To Say I Love You” and “For Once in My Life,” while Mary J. Blige turned out a rendition of “As” and Destiny’s Child contributed a version of “Livin’ for the City.”
The band vamped to the strains of “Higher Ground” as Wonder ascended the stage, hugging Jones and others, then surprised and delighted the packed arena by singing the chorus and prompting the band to pick up the beat again. “I
