http://forum.songfacts.com/showforum.php?fid/9/What is new and interesting in the world of music? This is the place to share current news stories.en-usFri, 08 Dec 2006 17:00:06 GMTFri, 08 Dec 2006 17:00:06 GMThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFusionBB 1.0 (www.fusionbb.com)http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141593/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141593/
NEW YORK - It's not like Steven Van Zandt doesn't have enough to keep him busy. There's his job as host of his nationally syndicated "Underground Garage" radio program, with more than 1 million listeners in 200 markets. And his position as head of his own channel on Sirius Satellite Radio. And his role as consigliere Silvio Dante on "The Sopranos."


Oh, and he's the guitarist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

Yet this week, Van Zandt added another line to his rapidly expanding resume: head of his own record label. In a deal with Best Buy stores, he rolled out the first six records on his rocking new label.

"I'm getting a little bored, you know?" the 56-year-old Van Zandt deadpanned in the Manhattan office that is home to his Wicked Cool Records.

Despite his relentless schedule, Van Zandt said his involvement with the new label was total.

"Right now, it's 100 percent," said Van Zandt. "It's a very personal thing. ... It's my own taste, my own personality, and we're not pretending otherwise. We're not doing any marketing surveys.

"If I dig it, I'm going to try and support it."

Van Zandt sits in a sixth-floor loft, decorated with vintage movie posters ("Barbarella") and pop culture memorabilia (a Ramones lunch box). He's wearing a purple scarf around his head, well-worn jeans, and a shirt undone to mid-chest.

He's quick to laugh, but quite serious about this latest effort to resurrect old-school rock 'n' roll. Since starting his nationally syndicated radio show nearly five years ago, Van Zandt has become the Johnny Appleseed of garage rock, spreading his musical seeds from coast to coast.

It's worked, too.

Van Zandt estimated his program has introduced 150 new bands since then. Two of the newer groups are featured in the first half-dozen releases: "Strange Magic," by the Charms, and "Mastermind," by the Oslo, Norway-based all-female band The Cocktail Slippers. The Chesterfield Kings, another show favorite, are also among the first releasing an album on Wicked Cool.

One of the label's staples is a plan to release four compilation albums per year under the title, "The Coolest Songs in the World." Not surprisingly, the concept is a fixture on Van Zandt's weekly program.

"The label did evolve out of the radio show," Van Zandt explained. "There's a lot of bands these days. A lot of the bands came to us and said they needed a little help."

Van Zandt laughs when asked about comments by Springsteen earlier this year that he's already written half of a new album for the E Street Band.

"He's lying," Van Zandt says of his longtime friend. "He always has two albums in his pocket, OK? Always. If he's got a jacket on, he's got three albums. ... I wouldn't be surprised if we get that phone call soon. I don't know if it will be '07, but we will certainly make a new record."

The perpetually busy Van Zandt is also shooting the final three episodes of "The Sopranos."

"There's surprises," he said of the final season. "Oh, there's surprises. Leave it at that."

___

On the Net:

Van Zandt Web site: http://www.littlesteven.com

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"It's also been 2 years since I've even celebrated my birthday. Every move I make at this point has been magnified more than I expected, and I probably did take my new found freedom a little too far. Anyway, thank God for Victoria's Secrets' new underwear line! I look forward to a new year, new music and a new me."

Spears, the mother of two young sons, celebrated her 25th birthday on Dec. 2. She has been unleashing her inner wild child since filing for divorce last month from Kevin Federline, her husband of two years.

Her recent nights out with party girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan - and those uncensored, R-rated crotch shots that were splashed across the Web - drew disapproval from her fans and other Spears watchers.

Spears and Federline, 28, have a 1-year-old son, Sean Preston, and an infant son, Jayden James, who was born Sept. 12. Spears is seeking custody of both children, with visitation rights for Federline.

Federline, an aspiring rapper, is seeking spousal support and sole custody of his sons with Spears.

©Copyright AP 2006 - Dec 7, 5:50 PM (EST)

Ah-hem

So she DOES know WHERE to buy underwear, that's comforting! ]]>Thu, 07 Dec 2006 23:11:42 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141587/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141587/
A source tells In Touch magazine, "She loves playing with (Spears' son) Sean and rocking (baby) Jayden to sleep," and she reportedly told a friend, "It's been my dream to have four babies by 30."

Paris Hilton has put her plans for motherhood on the fast track after spending time as "auntie" to pal Britney Spears' kids.

The socialite-turned-pop star has stated she'll give up her partying ways and be married with children within three years, and hanging out with Spears has made her even more determined to become a parent.

A source tells In Touch magazine, "She loves playing with (Spears' son) Sean and rocking (baby) Jayden to sleep," and she reportedly told a friend, "I can't wait to be a mom, too. It's been my dream to have four babies by 30."

And it appears the 25-year-old hotel heiress is planning to settle down with her ex, Stavros Niarchos - she has been spotted at parties with the Greek hunk and the couple were seen dining alone at romantic Los Angeles hotspot The Little Door over the weekend.

Friends also claim Hilton has started wearing a locket containing photos of her 21-year-old beau.

Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006
]]>Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:19:14 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141580/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141580/
The former Van Halen star will be honored for his promotion of tourism in the community.

Rocker Sammy Hagar will be given the key to the city of Baja, California's holiday resort Los Cabos.

The star will be awarded for his tourism-boosting efforts there.

The former Van Halen frontman, and owner of Cabo Wabo Tequila and nightclub Cabo Wabo Cantina, will be honored for his promotion of tourism and achievements in the community by the city's mayor and other dignitaries early next year.

Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006 ]]>Wed, 06 Dec 2006 16:35:29 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141576/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141576/
The rocker's divorce from second wife Rachel Hunter was finalized last month.

Rod Stewart is planning to marry fiancée Penny Lancaster early next year, after his divorce from second wife Rachel Hunter was finalized last month.

Divorce papers signed by both the rocker and model Hunter were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on November 2 and Stewart was spotted making marriage arrangements at a registry office near his Essex, England home earlier this month.

Model/photographer Lancaster gave birth to son Alastair last year - Stewart's seventh child - and she is expected to get hitched in January.

Her spokesperson says, "It is a legal requirement to give notice of an intended marriage.

"It was for this reason that the couple was seen in the local register office.

"I can confirm... the couple will be getting married next year."


Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006
]]>Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:30:09 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141575/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141575/
Lyrics for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was sold to McCartney's biographer Barry Miles.

A page of handwritten lyrics for The Beatles song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was sold at auction Monday in New York for $192,000.

The words, penned by Paul McCartney, were sold to the artist's biographer Barry Miles at Christies auction house. A guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix sold for $168,000, well over its $80,000 estimate.

A notebook belonging to Bob Marley was sold for $72,000, while a poem written by Jim Morrison and a taped John Lennon interview reached $50,375 and $38,400 respectively at the sale.

However, memorabilia from Britney Spears' school days made just $240. The review of ancient Greek writer Sophocles' work by 13-year-old Spears was so unpopular, bidding started at $50.


Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006 ]]>Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:28:37 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141571/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141571/
Bono admits the group's first show was one of their most rewarding.

Rocker Bono's decision to cover a Bay City Rollers hit during the group's first ever show gave the Irish foursome a first taste of the adulation that was to come - because young girls started screaming at them.

The singer admits the group's first show, made up of Velvet Underground covers, was one of their most rewarding - and it was all thanks to scarf-waving Bay City Rollers fans.

He says, "Somebody said, `Let's play a Bay City Rollers song for the laugh' - actually that was me. I guess they were the boy band of the time.

"We weren't really playing that kind of music but we noticed that if we played the first few chords of this particular Bay City Rollers song all the girls would scream - and we liked that."


Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006

]]>Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:41:08 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141565/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141565/
Paul and Heather Mills McCartney announced their separation in May.

Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

Paul McCartney said he's seen a psychiatrist for help since the breakup of his marriage in May.

McCartney, 64, and Heather Mills McCartney, 38, announced their separation in May after four years of marriage and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

Mills McCartney has threatened to sue at least three British newspapers that published disparaging claims about her husband, alleged to have been contained in divorce court papers drawn up on her behalf.

In an interview with Britain's Radio Times magazine, the former Beatle said he had sought solace in writing music but had been helped by professional psychiatric counseling.

(c) 2006 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Copyright Yellowbrix 2006
]]>Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:30:24 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141562/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141562/
Fans were treated with a 15-song set at the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational surfing competition.

Pearl Jam stunned fans in Hawaii Thursday night by performing an unannounced set as part of the opening night of the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational surfing competition.

The group's secret show at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center on Oahu was a treat for the 300-plus music fans who turned up to watch the festival's first night activities.

The rockers were joined by surfing hero Kelly Slater, a friend of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, for their 15-song set.

He joined the group on guitar for a version of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

Vedder showed off his surfing skills earlier Thursday when he took part in the festival's Paddle Out opening ceremony.

Pearl Jam will play a headlining show at Honolulu's Blaisdell Center Saturday night and they'll stay in Hawaii for their upcoming support slot on U2's island show at Aloha Stadium.

Copyright World Entertainment News Network 2006
]]>Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:53:21 GMThttp://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141550/http://forum.songfacts.com/showtopic.php?tid/141550/
"She started attending some, and I think it's a positive thing," Leslie Sloane said. "My biggest fear is who's the big idiot to out which (chapter) she goes to."

She said Lohan, 20, made the decision on her own to attend meetings, although Sloane added: "And, by the way, she's not saying ... she'll stop drinking tomorrow."

"It's a place to go and feel safe," Sloane said. "No one judges her, and it's going to be a slow process. But, to me, the fact that she's seeing that there's something not right makes her smarter than the next person."

In an interview Friday with E! Entertainment Television's Ryan Seacrest, Lohan's mother, Dina, echoed Sloane's comments. "That is true ... It's a positive thing," she said.

The New York Post first reported sightings of Lohan at an AA meeting earlier this week. The actress, who's currently filming "The Best Time of Our Lives," frequently makes that paper's gossipy Page Six and other celebrity columns for her hard-partying ways.

Sloane said the press was unfair to Lohan by ridiculing a statement the actress wrote following last week's death of Robert Altman, who directed her in "A Prairie Home Companion." (Full story)

A sad Lohan wrote the rambling letter "on the fly" on her Blackberry, Sloane said.

The letter, in which Lohan signs off with "BE ADEQUITE," has been criticized by a number of media observers for its grammatical errors and misspellings, among other things. One critic said she was exploiting Altman's death for her own publicity purposes.

Patt Morrison, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, derided the letter on The Huffington Post Web site as "alarmingly incoherent" and said Altman might find it "comedic."

"I want everyone to leave her the hell alone," Sloane said. "I'm so bored of this with her. No matter what she does, it's never good enough for everybody."

CNN source ]]>Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:12:02 GMT