Alternative Music
Coachella Selling NFTs Granting Lifetime Special Access to the Ultra Rich
Deep-pocketed Coachella festivalgoers who don’t find the VIP section exclusive enough can now level up their experience by purchasing a lifetime guest pass being auctioned as an NFT this Friday, February 4th. There will be 10 such NFTs available as part of the Coachella Keys Collection, each of which offers a pass to one festival weekend each year. Each key has a different perk, like the best spot at the Coachella stage, lifetime luxury “camping” accommodations, or a professionally cooked meal in the Rose Garden. Two other collections are being made available on Friday for those who aren’t quite as ready to dive into the NFT deep end. For $180, buyers of the Desert Reflections Collection get one of 10 digital renditions of a Coachella poster by iconic artist Emek. Each of the 1,000 NF...
HitPiece Draws Ire of Musicians for Allegedly Selling NFTs Without Permission
A digital marketplace called HitPiece is allegedly selling songs as NFTs without the consent of artists or proper licensing. According to LinkedIn, HitPiece was co-founded by industry executive Rory Felton and Michael Berrin (formerly known as the rapper MC Serch), with the financial backing of Blake Modersitzki. The marketplace went live in beta in early December, offering fans the chance to bid on a “One of One NFT for each unique song recording.” This was news to many of the artists whose music is up for sale on HitPiece, and who only learned of the marketplace’s existence on Tuesday. Advertisement Related Video “Bottom feeding scavengers of late capitalism sucking the last marrow from our bones and/or running a scam on me, you, or everyone, because obviously, I didn’t approve this, and...
IRON MAIDEN’s BRUCE DICKINSON Says Two Songs On ‘Senjutsu’ Album Were ‘Predictive Of What’s Happening’ In The World Now
In a new interview with Columbus Alive, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson was asked if there was something that he learned, good or bad, from a global pandemic over the course of the last two years. He responded: “Well, in IRON MAIDEN, we kind of already predicted this would happen [on our latest album, ‘Senjutsu’, which was recorded in 2019, before the pandemic]. We didn’t exactly know what it was going to be. ‘The Writing On The Wall’ [and] ‘Hell On Earth’ were both tracks that were predictive of what’s happening now.” He continued: “I curiously found that there were things about lockdown that I enjoyed. Everything was shut down, so everything was slow, and I spent time just sitting around with my partner. It was great. A...
ALICE COOPER: ‘I Don’t Think Rock And Roll And Politics Belong In The Same Bed Together’
In a new interview with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Alice Cooper was asked how his relationship with Ted Nugent is “holding up right now” considering all the stuff that the legendary guitarist has said in the last few years. He responded: “Ted and I grew up together in Detroit, and he’s always been the mouth that roared. When he gets going, nobody can stay with him. I kind of look at him as his own entity.” He continued: “I don’t ever talk politics… I hate politics. I don’t think rock and roll and politics belong in the same bed together, but a lot of people think it does — because we have a voice, and we should use our voice. But again, rock and roll should be anti-political, I think. When my parents started talking about politics, I would t...
Rockers React To Death Of MEGAFORCE RECORDS Co-Founder JON ZAZULA
Members of BLACK SABBATH, ANTHRAX, EXODUS, ANVIL, VENOM, MEGADETH and EXCITER are among the musicians who have reacted on social media to the passing of Megaforce Records founder Jon “Jonny Z” Zazula. The 69-year-old died earlier today (Tuesday, February 1) in Florida surrounded by his brother, daughters, granddaughters and friends, according to Variety. Jon‘s wife Marsha, with whom he founded Megaforce, passed away of cancer in January of last year. Megaforce is widely credited for launching the career of METALLICA by releasing the band’s first two albums, 1983’s “Kill ‘Em All” and 1984’s “Ride The Lightning”, before METALLICA landed a major label deal with Elektra. Megaforce‘s roster has also included such artists as...
METALLICA’s LARS ULRICH And JAMES HETFIELD Thank JONNY Z For ‘Taking A Chance’ On Their Band
METALLICA has paid tribute to Megaforce Records founder Jon “Jonny Z” Zazula who died earlier today (Tuesday, February 1). The 69-year-old passed away in Florida surrounded by his brother, daughters, granddaughters and friends, according to Variety. The legendary heavy metal band shared a moving statement in honor of Jonny shortly after news of his death became public. The statement read: “Heavy music lost one of its great champions today when Jonny Z left this world far too soon. “In 1982, when no one wanted to take a chance on four kids from California playing a crazy brand of metal, Johnny and Marsha did, and the rest, as they say, is history. “He was a mentor, a manager, a label head and a father figure to us all … METALLICA would not be who we are o...
R.I.P. Jon Zazula, Megaforce Records Founder Who Helped Launch Metallica’s Career Dies at 69
Jon Zazula, the legendary founder of Megaforce Records, has died at age 69. Sadly, his passing comes just one year after the death of his wife, Marsha, who co-founded the iconic metal label with her husband. According to Variety, a rep for Megaforce confirmed that Jon Zazula passed away on Tuesday (February 1st) in Florida, where he was surrounded by his brother, daughters, and granddaughters, as well as a number of friends and associates. Known as “Jonny Z,” Zazula was a major force in the metal world, helping to launch the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, and many other bands. He and Marsha essentially founded Megaforce in order to sign Metallica to their first record deal, releasing the band’s groundbreaking 1983 debut album, Kill ‘Em All. The thrash titans stuck with Megaforce for their ...
David Letterman Launches YouTube Channel Full of Late Show Clips
You know when you’re trying to relive David Letterman’s turn as a Taco Bell employee or rewatch all of Robin Williams’ insane Late Show appearances, but you can only find grainy VHS rips of the segments? Letterman is here to smoothen your trips down the YouTube rabbit hole. To coincide with the 40th anniversary of Late Night with David Letterman’s premiere on NBC, the legendary comedian launched an official YouTube channel full of HD clips of his finest moments on NBC’s Late Night and CBS’ Late Show. Letterman’s YouTube page currently has about 125 videos split up into “Letterman Originals,” “Dave’s Best Celebrity Interviews,” “Stupid Pet and Human Tricks,” “Top Ten,” “Comedians,” and “Human Interest Guests” playlists. Among the uploads, highlights include Martin S...
Failure Pull Music from Spotify, Citing Business Model and Joe Rogan Controversy
Failure are the latest band to pull their music from Spotify, citing the platform’s business model and the spread of COVID vaccine misinformation. The cult alternative rockers join a growing number of other artists who’ve followed Neil Young’s lead and removed their music from the streaming service. Young and others have objected to Spotify hosting Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has been criticized for proliferating misinformation and falsities about COVID vaccines. Failure released a lengthy statement on Facebook decrying Spotify’s response to the Rogan controversy and the company’s business model in general: “Failure have wrestled with the question of Spotify and whether to have our newest music, which we control, on the platform. Until now, our ambivalence about Spotify has been based on th...
Wale Pulls Out of Festival After — Gasp! — Seeing His Name on Line Two of Poster
Wale the Great, Wale the Resplendent, Wale the consensus greatest poet in history, is pulling out of a festival for the unforgivable slight of burying his name on line two of the lineup poster. His Gloriousness Wale revealed his decision on Twitter after the Broccoli City Festival shared its roster. Don’t bother looking for his name — you might tear an eye muscle squinting to find it there on line two, nearly invisible in a slightly-smaller font than line one. “I’m Pullin out this show,” he wrote, randomly capitalizing the ‘P’ as only a genius could. When someone asked, “For why?” he summoned his full majesty for a crushing three-word response: “Respect is why.” Shakespeare — poor, wordy Shakespeare — bumbled his way through a similar sentiment when he wrote, “Mine honour is my life; ...
CIRCLE JERKS Release New ‘Wild In The Streets’ Video
“Wild In The Streets”, the scorching 1982 sophomore album by the pathfinding Southern California hardcore punk band the CIRCLE JERKS, will receive a remastered, augmented LP reissue on February 18 by Trust Records. Succeeding Trust‘s 2020 re-release of the band’s 1980 debut “Group Sex”, the package will include remastered audio by Pete Lyman and rare April 1982 live performances of material from the band’s first two albums, captured at the Elite Club in San Francisco. A lavish 20-page, full-color 12-by-12-inch booklet created for this release assembles historic photographs, club flyers, and an 8,200-word essay by veteran Los Angeles journalist Chris Morris, including new interviews with founding band members Keith Morris, Greg Heston and Lucky Lehr...
Late PANTERA Drummer VINNIE PAUL’s Legendary Arlington, Texas House Can Be Yours For $750,000
Late PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott‘s legendary home in Arlington, Texas has just been listed for $750,000. The secluded hilltop 3,784-square-foot home, which was completed in 1995, sits on 1.5 acres and features 40-plus-foot ceilings, four bedrooms, four and a half baths, two game rooms and a secret/safe room. The home has four newer, over-sized Lennox Elite AC units and a gas-operated Generac generator. The backyard features a large pool with waterfall and a spa that spills into the pool. Two fire pits are on each end of the waterfall. Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — ba...
