KINGS OF LEON "english"

Biography

Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 1999, consisting of brothers Anthony “Caleb” Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan “Nathan” Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael “Jared” Followill (bass guitar, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron “Matthew” Followill (lead guitar, backing vocals). Each member of the family group is known by his middle name (second given name) as opposed to their first given name.

The band’s early music was an upbeat blend of southern rock and blues influences but the band has gradually expanded their sound to include a variety of genres, including alternative rock.

Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album Because Of The Times also reached the number one spot. After the release of Only By The Night in 2008 they finally achieved chart success in their native United States. The singles Sex On Fire, Use Somebody and Notion peaked at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, while the album itself was their first ever platinum-selling album in the US.

Early years (1999–2002)
The three Followill brothers spent much of their youth traveling around the Southern United States with their father, Ivan “Leon” Followill, a traveling Pentecostal Church preacher and their mother, Betty-Ann, who taught them when they were not in school. Caleb and Jared were both born in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, while Nathan and Matthew were born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. According to Rolling Stone magazine, “While Leon preached at churches and tent revivals throughout the Deep South, the boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were either home-schooled or enrolled in small parochial schools at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followill’s childhoods were spent driving through the south in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile, decamping for a week or two wherever Leon was scheduled to preach.”

When the boys’ father resigned from the church and divorced his wife in 1997, the boys relocated to Nashville and embraced the rock music and lifestyle they had previously been denied. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of the Rolling Stones, The Clash, and Thin Lizzy in particular. Six months later, Nathan and Caleb signed with RCA Records, who insisted that the duo recruit more members for the band before launching their career. The band was formed when cousin Matthew and younger brother Jared were asked to join. They named themselves Kings of Leon in honor of Nathan, Caleb, and Jared’s father and grandfather, who were both named Leon.

In an interview, Caleb admitted to “kidnapping” their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi in order for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was just staying for a week, but they consequently never allowed him to return home. Drummer Nathan added, “When we signed the deal with RCA, it was just me and Caleb. The label told us they were going to put a band together, but we said, ‘We’re going to buy our little brother a bass, he’s a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar. Our cousin Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I’ll play drums.’ The record label agreed,”.

Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak (2003 - 2005)
Their first record, the Holy Roller Novocaine EP was released on February 18, 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not yet learned to play the bass guitar. The release of Holy Roller Novocaine gave the Kings of Leon a significant amount of exposure prior to the release of their debut album, Youth And Young Manhood, receiving a 4/5 star rating from Rolling Stone magazine. Four of the five songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood, however the versions of Wasted Time and California Waiting on the EP differ, with the first having a more tense riff and different vocal style than the same track off Youth and Young Manhood, and the latter being recorded in a rush to finish the record. The EP contains the B-side Wicker Chair while another track titled Andrea, was discarded prior to its release. All the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia who also produced the record.

The band’s debut studio album, Youth and Young Manhood was released in the UK in July 2003, and in the United States in August of the same year. The album was recorded between Sound City Studios in Los Angeles and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California, with producer Ethan Johns (son of producer Glyn Johns who most notably worked with the Rolling Stones and the Eagles). The album received some critical notice domestically, but became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where NME declared it “one of the best debut album of the last 10 years”. Following the release of the album, Kings of Leon was chosen to tour with fellow American rock band The Strokes and U2.

The band’s second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band’s domestic and international audience. The album was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. The Bucket, Four Kicks, and King Of The Rodeo were all released as singles, with the “The Bucket” rising into the Top 20 in Britain. Taper Jean Girl was also used in the 2007 movie Disturbia and the movie Cloverfield in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Elvis Costello, and also toured with Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam during 2005 and 2006.

Because of the Times (2006–07)
In March 2006, Kings of Leon were back in the studio with their producers Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns, working on their third album. Guitarist Matthew told NME: “Man, we’re sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear”. The band’s third album was titled Because Of The Times, which may be a reference to a church ministers conference of the same name held at The Pentecostals of Alexandria church in Alexandria, Louisiana that the brothers often attended. The album showed a clear evolution from Kings of Leon’s previous work, as the band’s trademark dirty, southern-fried swagger was replaced with a more polished, clean-cut sound.

The album was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the United States, preceded by the single On Call, which became a hit in Britain and Ireland. It debuted at number one in Britain and Ireland and entered the European charts at number twenty-five, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. NME said that the album “cements Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times.” and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times “an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band’s best to date.” However, some critics found the album inferior to their previous efforts. Stylus Magazine rated it a C- and noted “If they wanted us to take them serious this time around, they’d at least try to be right honest about their ascent into minor celebrity and not keep on with the yokel façade. Without cautionary yarns regarding life on the tour bus or banging supermodels, the bright-eyed, legs-stretched mood of the music rings just as hollow.” Dave Hood of Artrocker gave the album one star out of five, finding that “Kings of Leon are experimenting, learning, and getting a bit lost.” Pitchfork Media contended that “Because of the Times sounds suspiciously like a counterattack on womankind, launched from somewhere in the mid-1990s, deep inside a bruised, stadium-sized ego.”

In spite of the mixed recognition, the album spawned a number of hit singles in Europe, including Charmer and Fans, along with a number of crowd favorites such as Knocked Up and My Party.

Only by the Night (2008–09)
After recording throughout most of 2008, “the all American long haired rockers” (The Times), released their fourth studio album Only By The Night on September 19, which subsequently entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and remained there for one more week. Only By The Night also had two single week stints as the UK #1 album in 2009, one directly after the BRIT Awards. In the United States, the album reached number 5 on the Billboard Charts. Reception to the album was the most polarized yet, with the British press granting the album glowing reviews. Q Magazine named Only by the Night “Album of the Year” for 2008. In the United States, reactions to the album were more mixed. Spin, Rolling Stone, and All Music Guide gave the album positive reviews, while Pitchfork Media gave the album a virtual equivalent of 2 stars. The album was officially named as the UK’s third biggest selling album of 2008 and the biggest selling album of 2008 in Australia. Sex On Fire was the first single released for download in the UK on 8 September. The song became their most successful ever as it peaked at number one in the UK and in Ireland. It was also their first song to chart number one on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock chart. The second single to be released from the album on December 8, 2008 was Use Somebody which achieved worldwide chart success and consistency, such as peaking at number two in the UK Singles Chart, and also reaching top ten chart positions in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. The album’s popularity in Australia was confirmed with a total of four singles being voted into the world’s largest online music poll, the “Triple J Hottest 100”. The song Crawl came in at number 70, Closer was voted number 24 and “Use Somebody” finished number 3 in the poll. However, their biggest success from Only By The Night was “Sex on Fire” which was voted number 1 in the Hottest 100 poll for 2008 and number 90 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009 poll. “Sex on Fire” also won the band a Grammy Award at the 51st Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 2009. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the Brit Awards in 2009, where they also performed “Use Somebody” live. Kings of Leon also performed on 14 March 2009 at Sound Relief, a benefit concert, for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The song “Crawl” from this album was released as a free download on the band’s website on July 28. The third and fourth singles were Revelry, which peaked at number 19 in New Zealand and Notion, which peaked at number 24 in Belgian charts. Only By The Night was certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies in less than a year after its release.

In 2009, the band headlined a number of music festivals, including Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter, Oxegen, T In The Park, Gurtenfestival and Open’er Festival in Europe, along with Sasquatch, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits in the United States. That same year, the band won their first Grammy Award for the single “Sex on Fire”, as well as two BRIT Awards for “Best International Group” and “Best International Album.” The album Only by the Night also won an NME Award for “Album of the Year.”

Future projects (2009-present)
The band has announced the release of a live DVD on November 10, 2009 and a remix album due for release in the coming months, though the latter is untitled and unscheduled at the moment. The DVD was filmed at London’s O2 Arena in July 2009. In an interview with Billboard.com drummer Nathan stated, “England is really the first place we broke … We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest?” The show featured some choice rarities, and Nathan continued by saying “we just put the cameras in the back of our minds and acted like they weren’t even there.” The remix album came to life after Kings of Leon learned that other artists had started working on revisions of the band’s songs. Mark Ronson, Kenna, Lykke Li with her cover of “Knocked Up”, and Linkin Park are also contributing a remix to the album.

On October 17, 2009, the night of the final show of the US tour in Nashville, Tennessee, Nathan Followill posted “Now it’s time to start creating the next musical chapter in the novel that is Kings of Leon. Thanks again to all. Boomer fucking Sooner.” on his personal Twitter page.

Controversy
Kings of Leon caused controversy at the 2009 Reading Festival when Caleb Followill tried to get the crowd going by asking “I thought this was supposed to be the loudest crowd in the world?” Picking up on a perceived hostility towards the band, he announced “we know you’re sick of Kings of Leon, so for all those who don’t give a fuck about us, I understand. But we’ve worked fucking hard to get here. So anyone that has anything to say to us, fuck you. We’re the goddamn Kings of Leon.” The band later smashed their guitars in anger and made rude gestures before leaving the stage. Nathan Followill further criticized the Reading crowd on his twitter page, declaring “Zero love for the kings. I know it was cold but holy shit, y’all were frozen. I can only hope Leeds is in better form.”. At the Leeds Festival Caleb again bad-mouthed Reading while complimenting the Leeds crowd declaring “We’re only five songs in and you’ve blown Reading to hell”, while complimenting UK crowds in general stating “It was the UK that made us feel like we could take on the world.”

Discography

* Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
* Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
* Because of the Times (2007)
* Only by the Night (2008)
* Come Around Sundown (2010)

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KAISER CHIEFS "english"

Biography

Kaiser Chiefs are a britpop revival band which formed in Leeds, England, United Kingdom in early 2003. The band consists of Ricky Wilson (vocals), Andrew “Whitey” White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick “Peanut” Baines (keyboards) and Nick Hodgson (drums). The band has released four albums as of 2011 and have released 13 singles, including the hits I Predict A Riot, Oh My God, Ruby and Never Miss A Beat.

Several members of the band are ardent fans of the English football team Leeds United (as the band originates from Leeds). The band are named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, the former team of long-serving former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe.

The band’s main musical influences include The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Blur, Eric Burdon, The Jam, and other new wave bands. Andrew White (b. England; guitar), Ricky Wilson (b. Charles Richard Wilson, 17 January 1975, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England; vocals), Nick Baines (keyboards), Nick Hodgson (b. Nicholas Hodgson, 20 October 1977, England; drums) and Simon Rix (b. James Simon Rix, 18 October 1977, England; bass) formed the band in early 2003, having originally played garage rock under the Parva moniker. Their energetic brand of post-millennial guitar rock, which would have been branded “indie” in previous decades, quickly found favour on the local gig circuit. The quintet issued their debut, the XTC-soundalike Oh My God, before they had even signed a proper recording contract, teaming up with the Drowned In Sound website in May 2004 for a limited edition release. A contract with the B-Unique label followed and the band began to attract wider interest at the end of 2004 with the release of their storming I Predict A Riot. The topical lyrics, concerning alcohol-fuelled violence in small English towns, attracted as much attention as the band’s anarchic update on late 70s new wave.

The band’s explosion onto the global music scene in early 2005 was epitomised when they had their first single I Predict A Riot off their debut album Employment played on the radio around the world and opened Live8 in Philadelphia. Several years prior to 2003 the members of the band had been a garage rock group called Parva (before that they had been known as Runston Parva). However, after their label Mantra Records went bust in late 2002, the band went back to their roots and adopted a more britpop sound, helping the band reach their current popularity within the UK and beyond as a consequence.

The band re-released the single Oh My God on 21 February, which charted at #6. The debut album Employment was released on 7 March 2005 and entered the charts at #3 that week. Despite becoming favourite after being shortlisted, the album failed to win the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. They covered the Marvin Gaye classic, Heard It Through The Grapevine for the War Child album Help! A Day in the Life, giving a whole new slant on the song.

A DVD, entitled Enjoyment, was released in November 2005. The basis of the DVD is a (semi-false) documentary about the band narrated by Bill Nighy. It also includes all the promo videos, live performances and more.

An internet-only (so far) music video for their song Sink That Ship has been released in September 2005. The video appears on Electronic Arts’ website as a promotional tool for their game Burnout Revenge but is completely unbranded.

Wilson auctioned off his red tambourine to radio show Xfm in late 2005 to raise money for the homeless charity Shelter. The winning bid was £375.00.

On February 5th, The Kaiser Chiefs Released their next single, Ruby, which was a major success reaching #1 in the singles charts.

The Kaiser Chiefs released their new album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob on February 23, 2007 in The Netherlands and Belgium, February 26, 2007 in the United Kingdom and on March 27, 2007 in North America. A double disc edition is also available, the second disc being a DVD.

It is known that three of the band members went to a school near Highroyd, Leeds. Also, Nick (drummer) announced during a gig in Newcastle Upon Tyne that his dad went to a school called St. Cuthberts in Newcastle. Other famous people from that school include Ant & Dec and Sting.

The band released their third album, Off With Their Heads, on October 20, 2008. It contains the hit single Never Miss A Beat.

Songfacts states that the band’s fourth album, The Future Is Medieval was released through the band’s website on June 3, 2011. In effect the world’s first bespoke album, fans are able to create their own version of the record by choosing their favorite 10 tracks from the selection of 20 on offer. One-minute excerpts allow them to make their selections and each song is represented by an object.
After creating their own album, people can then share their version of the record with other fans, and earn £1 each time it is purchased by someone else.

Performances

Kaiser Chiefs’ first big festival show was at the dual-site Reading and Leeds Festival on 27 August 2004 and in the following year, on 16 May 2005, they appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, The Netherlands. After that, things went fast. They were the opening act at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on July 2nd 2005, one of only two British acts in the lineup (Def Leppard being the other). They performed I Predict a Riot, Everyday I Love You Less and Less and Oh My God. They played Reading and Leeds in 2006 before Franz Ferdinand and were extremely popular.

June 2005 saw them headline at the May Ball at Queens’ College, Cambridge, supported by Anada, before an acclaimed appearance at a rain-soaked Glastonbury festival during the same month, whilst August’s appearance at the V Festival featured a very enthusiastic set despite Ricky Wilson having his leg in plaster. Also more recently they embarked on their own headline UK Tour, supported by Maximo Park and The Cribs. Their first US tour (with The Cribs) ran through the summer of 2005, and they followed it by playing a few shows on the Foozer tour. This was followed up by opening for Foo Fighters during their Australian tour in December 2005. They also played to Jools Holland and his audience on December 31, 2005.

Their song Ruby, from the album Yours Truly, Angry Mob was featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero III, and I Predict A Riot from Employment was eventually released as downloadable content for the game.

Kaiser Chiefs are set to return to the European festival scene this summer, having been booked for Switzerland’s Gurten Festival.

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HOOBASTANK "english"

Biography

Hoobastank is an american post-grunge band best known for their crossover hit “The Reason” (2003) and by their continued success in the modern rock market.

Vocalist Doug Robb met with guitarist Dan Estrin in a high school battle of the bands competition and decided to form a band. They recruited Markku Lappalainen and Chris Hesse to form Hoobastank. In an interview with Yahoo’s Launch, Doug Robb said the name had no particular meaning. “You’re going to ask me what it means. It doesn’t mean anything. And it’s really cool, it’s one of those old high school inside-joke words that didn’t really mean anything.” [1] Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park attended the same high school as the members of Hoobastank.
Hoobastank started playing gigs in their local area and, with their unique saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser, recorded a self-released album called They Sure Don’t Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To in 1998. By this stage, they had developed a strong reputation in Southern California. This attracted interest from Island Records who signed the band in 2000. The bands reputation grew further on tours with the similar sounding band Incubus who come from the same area of Los Angeles and Alien Ant Farm.

Hoobastank released their self-titled debut in November 2001. The first single was Crawling In The Dark which was a breakthrough hit reaching #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the modern rock chart, #8 on the mainstream rock chart and #1 on an MP3.com download chart in early 2002. The second single Running Away was even more successful reaching #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the modern rock chart, #9 on the mainstream rock chart and #3 on the MP3.com download chart. The Hoobastank album went platinum on the back of these hits and reached #25 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart. The album also achieved recognition internationally with the album touring in Europe and Asia in support of the record. Remember Me, the third single, was a moderate hit reaching #23 on the modern rock charts and #9 on the mainstream rock charts.
The band entered the studio in 2003 with producer Howard Benson who has produced records by P.O.D., Cold and The Crystal Method. However, recording was disrupted for a month when Dan Estrin was seriously injured in a freak minibike accident in August. Estrin had recovered by October and the band headed off on a Nokia Unwired Tour with The All-American Rejects and Ozomatli in November.
Their second album The Reason was released in December 2003. The first single Out Of Control was made available for download on the band’s website. Doug Robb says on the band’s website: “A lot of it is about asking questions or questioning all that people see. It’s not all about religion. ‘Out of Control’ is about that and about opening your eyes after being blinded by being devoted to anything.” [2] “Out of Control” would reach #9 on the US modern rock chart, #16 on the mainstream rock chart and #16 on a composite world modern rock chart (based on the US, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Australia). The Reason initially reached a peak of #45 on the Billboard 200.
The title track was released as a single in the first half of 2004. It became a massive hit reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (chart proof), #1 on the US and world modern rock charts, #1 on a world airplay chart in May 2004, #10 in Australia and #12 in the UK. The Reason album received a new lease of life on the US album charts reaching #3 on the Billboard 200.

Additionally, on 15 June 2009, the band played a prank on Iranian protesters and their supporters during the 2009 Iranian election protests using the popular Web 2.0 service Twitter and the shock image Goatse, featuring a naked man stretching his anus to a large size with both hands, with the inside of his rectum clearly visible. While thousands of protesters used the Twitter service to rapidly spread information on street level protests and the shocking behavior of pro-government militias and security forces, Hoobastank allegedly spread links to the image disguised as relevant news items and twittered them to thousands of their fans and followers. The punk rockers have since announced their satisfaction with the number of the political enthusiasts having viewed the image unintentionally (over 2 million, according to the site’s usage statistics). As of June 2009, Twitter’s verification system for celebrities has not officially validated either twitter account.

Seven Amazingly Fascinating Things About Hoobastank

1) Guitarist Dan Estrin has a great story involving brain surgery and a catheter.
In 2003, during the band’s tour for its multi-platinum second album The Reason, Estrin made a fateful purchase. “Everyone in the band rides street bikes and motocross bikes,” says the guitarist. “I was fucking around on a mini-bike that I just bought. I was riding one around after a show … and I smashed my head into concrete.” The result? “They had to cut my head open. I just remember, before the surgery, I had two fears: they’d have shave my head and I’d wake up with a catheter in me. So I wake up, and lo and behold, my head’s shaved and there’s a tube in my dick.”

2) There are flutes and seven minute songs on the new album (blame Pink Floyd).
If you liked the infectious pop-rock stylings of the last two Hoobastank albums, you’ll enjoy Every Man for Himself just as much, if not more. That said, Every Man does offer up some variety, even while maintaining the band’s core sound. The epic “More Than a Memory”, for example, features flutes, accordion, chimes and trumpets. “I was listening to a lot of Pink Floyd at the time, especially The Wall,” remembers Estrin. “I like albums, and songs, that take you on a journey, that almost come across as a movie. And that song definitely does - it’s like Floyd, the Beatles, and even tails off like “Sir Psycho Sexy,” that old Red Hot Chili Peppers song. I just like applying lessons from bands I admire.”

3) Did we mention the Journey influence?
Listen to “Moving Forward” and prepare to recognize a very familiar classic rock refrain. “We wrote that song when Doug was driving one day and heard Journey’s ‘Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ on the radio,” says Estrin. “We like Journey; we’re not huge fans, but I really liked that ‘na na na na’ part of the song.” He laughs. “I don’t think it’s stealing. We made it our own style.”

4) Music critics despise them. The feeling is mutual.
“The album comes out in April. I expect we’ll do some shows, meet fans, and have critics ready to tear it apart,” says Robb. “Honestly, I want to go ‘fuck it, it’s not for you, it’s for me and the guys in the band.’ If we’re happy with it, that’s what counts. We get a lot of shit because we don’t go out of our way to be ‘different’ … we’re just trying to be who we are. And that’s actually the theme of the album - being yourself.”

5) Speaking of message boards, you can find a lot of fun, weird stuff about Hoobastank on theirs… and some of it might be true.

* Dan used to be a roadie for Incubus.
* Chris worked in a plant nursery for 5 years.
* Doug and Dan used to be counselors at the YMCA.
* The name of the band? It’s the “H” in Jesus H. Christ. At least, that’s what Doug will tell you.

6) That’s a real drill sergeant on the album. He’s there for a reason.
“Born to Lead” features the barking cadence of Sgt. Dale Guy. “I wouldn’t want him there all the time, but he was cool,” says Robb. “The song was about people wishing and praying for things instead of doing something to accomplish their dreams. It’s about getting off your ass, and I think the Sarge added a lot to the song’s vibe.”

7) They recorded Every Man for Himself in a really backward, inefficient, grueling kind of way.
The band started work on the album during Hooba’s last mega-tour. Estrin would come up with musical ideas during sound checks, then record a demo later, hand it off to Doug for melodies and lyrics, and finally, fly home with the whole band to record the finished product during non-tour weekends. “It wasn’t an ideal way of doing things,” admits Robb. “But I think, strangely, it affected us in a positive way. Maybe it was the energy of being on tour, but I think the results came out far better than our previous two records.”

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GORILLAZ "english"

Biography

Gorillaz are a british virtual band formed in 1998 by a collaboration between Damon Albarn of Blur and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. They had the idea to create the band while watching MTV in their London flat and originally intended to call the project Gorilla. The band is comprised of four fictional band members: 2-D (vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass), Noodle (guitar, vocals), and Russel Hobbs (drums). These characters only appear in animated form and are not alter-egos of real people, as is often mistakenly assumed. There is an extensive fictional back-story behind these band members, written by Albarn and Hewlett. Their albums, several of their music videos, and their autobiographical book Rise Of The Ogre all tell the saga. Damon Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor to the band, which is a collaboration between various musicians. Their style is broad, with a large number of alternative influences including rock, hip-hop, and electronica.

They have released three studio albums: Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), and Plastic Beach (2010). Additionally, they have put out two B-side collections, G-Sides (2001) and D-Sides (2007), and a reggae remix of the Gorillaz album entitled Laika Come Home (2002). The band has also released three DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Takedown, Demon Days: Live at Manchester Opera House, and Phase Two: Slow Boat To Hades. At the end of 2010, Gorillaz released their next album, The Fall, which was recorded during their US ‘Escape to Plastic Beach’ tour. It is promoted as being the first album made entirely on iPad. The album is streamed on the Gorillaz website.

The band’s first single, Clint Eastwood, was released on 5 March 2001. This single was the first of four from Gorillaz, which was released on 26 March 2001. The other three singles were released over the next year. These were: 19-2000, Rock the House, and Tomorrow Comes Today. The album sold over 7 million copies worldwide and has gone platinum twice in the United Kingdom earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band’s request. Collaborators on the first album included Del tha Funkee Homosapien (often mistaken as a band-member), Miho Hatori (formerly of Cibo Matto), Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.and Ibrahim Ferrer. The album was produced by Dan The Automator.

At the end of 2001 the band released another single, 911, which was a collaboration between Gorillaz and rap artists D12, Eminem and Terry Hall. The single was from the soundtrack to the 2002 action comedy Bad Company.

Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released on 11 May 2005 and included the hit singles Feel Good Inc., Dare, Dirty Harry and Kids with Guns / El Mañana. Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the United States, and earned five Grammy award nominations for 2006 and won one of them (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals). Collaborators on this album (produced by DJ Danger Mouse) include De La Soul, Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner, MF Doom, and Roots Manuva, amongst others.

In late 2007, Albarn and Hewlett began working on Carousel, a new Gorillaz project which eventually evolved into the band’s third studio album, Plastic Beach, which was released 9 March 2010. Albarn said, “I’m making this one the most pop record I’ve ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth.” The album features guest performances by Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Gruff Rhys, Mark E. Smith, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Kano, Bashy, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Sinfonia Viva, and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.

A 3D projection of the group was shown at the 2005 MTV Music Awards and the 2006 Grammys. They also performed at the Brits, in a different format, using screens rather than projections. Gorillaz have performed live in other occasions as well: in 2001 & 2002 they did tours where the musicians played behind screens, and in 2005 & 2006, Gorillaz had five nights in Manchester and New York respectively. This time the screens were behind the musicians, who were visible to the audience only as silhouettes (except for the guest-stars).

Since the band began to achieve mainstream success, there have been rumours of them working on a full-length movie. Some of these have been confirmed, but nothing has gotten beyond planning stages, mainly due to conflicts between the band and studios involved. In 2008, Hewlett said “Ultimately we didn’t think that feel we’re in a position to make the kind of movie we want to make with Gorillaz at the moment. […] But I’d still like to make a full, lavishly-animated Gorillaz movie someday.”

Albarn and Hewlett created a Pop Opera called Monkey: Journey to the West, which premiered in the summer of 2007 at the Manchester International Festival. A soundtrack album was recorded in the summer as well (initially only digitally available though a CD version was released in 2008). The production went on to show at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in September-October 2007, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, USA in May 2008, and the Royal Opera House in London in July 2008.

The duo behind the Pop Opera built on ideas from Monkey: Journey to the West to release a short film in the Summer of 2008 which accompanied the United Kingdom’s coverage of the BBC Olympic Coverage in Beijing. It featured a basic outline of the main plot elements of the Opera, reworked into a “Journey to the East”, with the characters finishing in the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

Gorillaz headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2010, as an immediate replacement for U2, who dropped out of performing at the festival.

At the end of 2010 Gorillaz released their next album The Fall made in the hotel rooms during their US tour. It is the first album made entirely on iPad. The album is streamed on the Gorillaz website and was available for free download for a limited time.

Gorillaz’s current live band’s lineup includes
Damon Albarn - Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar
Jamie Hewlett - Illustration, visuals, FX
Mike Smith
Mick Jones - guitar
Paul Simonon - bass
Cass Browne - Drums, percussion

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THE STROKES "english"

Biography

The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1998. The band rose to fame in the early 2000s as a leading group in garage rock/post-punk revival. The band consists of Julian Casablancas (lead vocals), Nick Valensi (lead guitar), Albert Hammond, Jr. (rhythm guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass guitar) and Fabrizio Moretti (drums and percussion).

Upon the release of their debut album, Is This It, in 2001, the group was met with much critical acclaim, being hailed by some as the “saviors of rock and roll.” NME made Is This It their Album of the Year. Since then, the band has maintained a large fan base, notably in the UK, US and Australia. As of 2007, Is This It has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

They released their second album Room on Fire in October 2003, to good reviews, but to less success commercially, although it still went gold. The album’s sound maintained the Strokes’ familiar reference points, while also evoking groups such as The Cars, Bob Marley, and Blondie. In the process, they made the cover of Spin Magazine for the second time, with each member receiving his own cover. They also made the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time. Additional media coverage of the band came from the relationship between Moretti and actress Drew Barrymore, which ended in January 2007.

In late September 2005, “Juicebox”, the first single from The Strokes then unreleased third album, was leaked online, forcing the single’s release date to be advanced. The single was then released as an exclusive on online download services. “Juicebox” became The Strokes’ second UK Top 10 hit, as well as their second US Modern Rock Top 10 success. During November and December 2005 the Strokes did a promotional tour for the still unreleased album, which involved doing one-off shows in major cities around the world.

Their third album, First Impressions Of Earth, was released in January 2006 to mixed reviews and debuted at number four in the US and number one in the UK, a first for the band. In Japan it went gold within the first week of release. It was also the most downloaded album for two weeks on iTunes. Fraiture claimed that the album was “like a scientific breakthrough”. In January 2006, the band then made their second appearance on Saturday Night Live playing “Juicebox” and “You Only Live Once”.

The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas and guitarist Nick Valensi started writing new material for their band’s forthcoming new album in the latter stages of January 2009, which they were set to go in the studio to finalize in February of the same year. In February 2010, Julian Casablancas told NME that the band’s fourth album was set to be released in September 2010. The release date has been pushed back again, and the album, titled “Angles” will now be released March 22, 2011 in America. The album’s first single, “Under Cover Of Darkness” was made available as a free download from the band’s website on February 9, 2011 for a 48 hour period.

Official website: http://www.thestrokes.com

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DAFT PUNK "english"

Biography

Daft Punk is a multi Grammy Award-winning electronic music duo formed in 1994 in Paris, France, and consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born 8 February 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born 3 January 1975). The band is considered one of the most successful electronic music collaborations of all time, both in album sales and in critical acclaim.

Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 90s house movement in France, along with other artists such as Air, Cassius, and Dimitri from Paris. Daft Punk are credited with producing songs that were considered essential in the French house scene. They were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter (Busy P), the head of Ed Banger Records.


Early years (1987–1993)

Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 on the grounds of the Lycée Carnot, a secondary school in Paris. The two became good friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led to the formation of the guitar-based group Darlin’ with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively, while Brancowitz performed on drums. The trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition.

Stereolab released both tracks on a multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open for stage shows in the United Kingdom. Bangalter felt that “The rock n’ roll thing we did was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs and two gigs and that was it.” A negative review in Melody Maker subsequently dubbed the music “a bunch of daft punk.” Instead of dismissing the review, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo found it to be amusing. As the latter stated, “We struggled so long to find [the name] Darlin’, and this happened so quickly.” Darlin’ soon disbanded, leaving Brancowitz to pursue other efforts with Phoenix. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk and experimented with drum machines and synthesizers.


Homework era (1993–1999)

In 1993 Daft Punk attended a rave at EuroDisney, where they met Stuart Macmillan of Slam, co-founder of the label Soma Quality Recordings. The demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave formed the basis for Daft Punk’s debut single, “The New Wave”, a limited release in 1994. The single also contained the final mix of “The New Wave” called “Alive”.

Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 1995 to record “Da Funk”. It became their first commercially successful single the same year. After the success of “Da Funk”, Daft Punk looked to find a manager. They had no trouble finding one at the time as they chose Pedro Winter, who regularly promoted them and other artists at his Hype night clubs. The band signed with Virgin Records in September 1996 and made a deal through which they licensed their tracks to the major label through their production company, Daft Trax.

“Da Funk” and “Alive” were later included on Daft Punk’s 1997 debut album Homework. The album was regarded as an innovative synthesis of techno, house, acid house and electro styles, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential dance music albums of the nineties. “Da Funk” was also included on The Saint film soundtrack. It was during this period of change in dance music that Daft Punk became largely successful. They combined the aforementioned music styles and elements of rave that were crowd pleasers. The most successful single from Homework was “Around the World”, which is known for the repeating chant of the song’s title.

Daft Punk also produced a series of music videos for Homework directed by Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Roman Coppola and Seb Janiak. The collection of videos was released in 1999 and titled D.A.F.T. - A Story about Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes.


Discovery era (1999–2004)

By 1999 the duo were well into the recording sessions for their second album, which had begun a year earlier. 2001’s Discovery took on a slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, initially stunning fans of Daft Punk’s previous material in Homework. The group states that the album was conceived as an attempt to reconnect with a playful, open-minded attitude associated with the discovery phase of childhood. This accounts for the heavy use of themes and samples from the late ‘70s to early ‘80s era on the album.

It reached #2 in the United Kingdom, and its single “One More Time” was a major club hit, creating a new generation of fans mainly familiar with the second Daft Punk release. The singles “Digital Love” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” were also very successful in the UK and on the United States dance chart, and “Face To Face” hit #1 on the USA club play charts despite a limited single release. A 45-minute excerpt from a Daftendirektour performance recorded at Birmingham, UK in 1997 was also released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997.

2003 first saw the release of the feature-length animated film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. Daft Punk produced the film under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto, whom they have said is their childhood hero. The album Daft Club was also released to promote the film. It features a collection of remixes previously made available through an online membership service of the same name.


Human After All era (2004–present)

Starting on September 13 and ending November 9, 2004, Daft Punk devoted six weeks to creating new material. The duo released the album Human After All in March 2005. Reviews were mixed, mostly citing its overly repetitive nature and seemingly rushed recording. The singles taken from this album were “Robot Rock”, “Technologic”, “Human After All” and “The Prime Time of Your Life”. The earliest official statement from Daft Punk concerning the album was “we believe that Human After All speaks for itself.”

A Daft Punk anthology CD/DVD entitled Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 was released on 4 April 2006. It contains new music videos for “The Prime Time of Your Life” and “Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)”. Daft Punk also released a remix album of Human After All called Human After All: Remixes. A limited edition included two kubricks of Daft Punk as robots.

On 21 May 2006, Daft Punk premiered their first directed film, Daft Punk’s Electroma at the Cannes Film Festival sidebar Director’s Fortnight. The film does not include their own music, which is a first for the duo considering their previous DVD and film releases (D.A.F.T. for Homework and Interstella 5555 for Discovery). Midnight screenings of the film were shown in Paris theaters starting from the end of March 2007.

Daft Punk released their second live album titled Alive 2007 on 19 November 2007. It contains the duo’s performance in Paris from their Alive 2007 tour. The album includes a 50-page book showcasing photographs shot while on tour. The live version of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” from Alive 2007 was released as a single. A music video for the single directed by Olivier Gondry features footage shot by 250 audience members at Daft Punk’s Brooklyn appearance at KeySpan Park, Coney Island. In 2007 Daft Punk also debuted in a worldwide official poll of DJ Magazine in position 71.

Following the Alive 2007 tour, Daft Punk focused on other projects. A 2008 interview with Pedro Winter revealed that the duo returned to their Paris studio to work on new material. Winter also stepped down from managing Daft Punk to focus attention on his Ed Banger Records label and his work as Busy P. He stated in a later interview that the duo are working with an unspecified management company in Los Angeles.


Influences

Bangalter and de Homem-Christo have credited many sources that influenced their musical style. Years before producing electronic music as a duo, they were stated to have shared tastes for Elton John, MC5, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and The Stooges. Their mutual admiration for rock bands led to the founding of their own independent project, Darlin’. Bangalter expressed that “It was still maybe more a teenage thing at that time. It’s like, you know, everybody wants to be in a band.”They drew inspiration from the rock and acid house displayed in the United Kingdom during the early 1990s. De Homem-Christo pointed to Screamadelica by Primal Scream as an influential work, as the record “put everything together” in terms of genre.

The liner notes of Homework pay tribute to a large number of musical artists and contains a quote from Brian Wilson. Bangalter expressed that “In Brian Wilson’s music you could really feel the beauty - it was very spiritual. Like Bob Marley, too.” When questioned on the success of Daft Punk’s debut album and rising popularity of their associated musical genre, Bangalter responded, “before us you had Frankie Knuckles or Juan Atkins and so on. The least you can do is pay respect to those who are not known and who have influenced people.” The Daft Punk track “Teachers” on Homework refers to several influences including Romanthony and Todd Edwards. De Homem-Christo stated that “Their music had a big effect on us. The sound of their productions — the compression, the sound of the kick drum and Romanthony’s voice, the emotion and soul — is part of how we sound today.”

Romanthony and Edwards later collaborated with Daft Punk in tracks for Discovery. For the album Daft Punk focused on new styles of electronic music. A major inspiration was the Aphex Twin single “Windowlicker”, which was “neither a purely club track nor a very chilled-out, down-tempo relaxation track” according to Bangalter. The duo also utilized vintage equipment to recreate the sound of a previous artist. As stated by de Homem-Christo, “On ‘Digital Love’ you get this Supertramp vibe on the bridge,” which was generated through an in-studio Wurlitzer piano. During a later interview, de Homem-Christo clarified that “we didn’t make a list of artists we like and copy their songs.”


Visual components

Daft Punk are noted for their use of visual components associated with their musical productions. The music videos for their singles from Homework featured memorable characters and placed emphasis on storytelling instead of musical performance. The album Discovery subsequently became the soundtrack to Interstella 5555.

Their outward personae have also changed over time. During their Homework years, the duo would usually wear masks to hide their appearance. When not wearing disguises, they occasionally preferred to be replaced by animation (as they appeared in The Work of Director Michel Gondry DVD) or have their faces digitally obscured for press kits. Very few photos of the duo’s faces exist, including a blurry one found in the Homework liner notes.

In their more visible Discovery years, they have appeared as futuristic robots for publicity photo shoots, interviews, live shows and music videos. These suits, engineered by Tony Gardner and Alterian, Inc., sport complicated helmets capable of various LED effects and metallic finger gloves. Daft Punk introduced the costumes to many U.S. television viewers through an advertisement for a special presentation of their videos during Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. Thomas Bangalter once stated, “We did not choose to become robots. There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots.”

During a video interview shot in Japan, Daft Punk stated that they donned their robot masks to easily merge the characteristics of humans and machines. However, Bangalter later admitted that the costumes were initially the result of shyness. “But then it became exciting from the audiences’ point of view. It’s the idea of being an average guy with some kind of superpower.” When asked on whether the duo expressed themselves differently within the robotic suits, Bangalter stated “No, we don’t need to. It’s not about having inhibitions. It’s more like an advanced version of glam, where it’s definitely not you.” With the release of Human After All, the musical duo’s outfits became slightly less complicated by consisting of dark leather jumpsuits and simplified versions of the Discovery head gear. The jumpsuits were designed by Hedi Slimane.

During the filming and promotion of Daft Punk’s Electroma, the duo went to great lengths to avoid showing their faces. While on the set of the film, the duo chose to be interviewed with their backs turned. As reported on October 2006, the band went as far as to wear black cloth over their heads during a televised interview.

It is believed that the mystery of their identity and the elaborate nature of their disguises has added to their popularity. The iconic status of the robotic costumes has been compared to the makeup of Kiss and the leather jacket worn by Iggy Pop. Bangalter stated, “The mask gets very hot, but after wearing it as long as I have, I am used to it.”


Live performances

In the mid-to-late nineties, Daft Punk performed live without costumes in many places including the United States. In particular, a rare bootlegged video featuring the duo in Wisconsin matches the verified identity of Thomas Bangalter. Less clearly seen, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo is to Bangalter’s right and is mostly cut off from the camera. Comparing the artwork packaging of Homework to the video footage, one can verify that the album’s liner note photo was taken during this event.

In the fall of 1997 they did their Daftendirektour to promote Homework in several cities throughout the world. For this tour Daft Punk opted to utilize their home studio equipment for the live stage instead of creating a more conventional DJ set. As Bangalter stated, “Everything was synched up — the drum machines, the bass lines. The sequencer was just sending out the tempos and controlling the beats and bars. On top of this structure we built all these layers of samples and various parts that we could bring in whenever we wanted to.” 25 May 1997 saw them perform at the Tribal Gathering festival at Luton Hoo, England, headlining with Orbital and Kraftwerk. Also of note is the November 8 performance in Birmingham, UK, from which came the recording of Alive 1997.

At the start of 2006, Daft Punk announced plans for a number of special summer shows. On 29 April Daft Punk performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival where they received a jubilant reception for their first U.S. performance since 1997. Thomas Bangalter had initially been reported as saying that there would be a DVD of their recent live set. He later emphasized his reluctance for such a release, as the duo felt that online amateur videos of their performances were more compelling than anything captured professionally. In an interview with the Miami Herald Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo stated that their November 11 appearance at the Bang Music Festival was their final for 2006 and that Daft Punk would conduct more performances in the future. The band later specified a date for a live show at Bercy, Paris for June 2007. Also reported were dates at the Rock Ness Festival and Wireless Festival in June, the Oxegen festival in July and Lollapalooza in August. Daft Punk then announced a world tour called Alive 2007.

Daft Punk played at the Rock Ness Festival by the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland on 10 June 2007 as the headline act in the 10,000 capacity Clash tent. To the crowds displeasure, the show was delayed, but the crowd gave the duo a jubilant welcome when they appeared. Due to popularity, part of the tent was removed to allow thousands of people outside to see the show. On 16 June 2007 Daft Punk successfully headlined the third day of the O2 Wireless Festival to positive reaction and reviews. The Times described the set as a “memorable sensory spectacle, both dazzling and deafening” and ThisisLondon declared it “an almost faultless set of relentless electro euphoria”.

Daft Punk headlined Stage 2/NME Stage at the Oxegen music festival on 8 July 2007. Their live set was preceded by a showing of the trailer for the film Daft Punk’s Electroma. Subsequent reports stated that the Daft Punk appearance was the highlight of the festival. NME expressed that the performance was “a robotic spectacular”, while Shoutmouth described the set as “typically triumphant”. Four days later, the duo played at Traffic Torino Free Festival in Parco della Pellerina in Turin, Italy.

Daft Punk headlined the AT&T stage on 3 August 2007, the first night of the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. Their show there was praised by Pitchfork Media stating that the experience of watching the performance “was a much-needed reminder of the still-potent power of communicative pop.” On August 9 they performed at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, New York.

Daft Punk composed the music for the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2008 Womenswear Full Show on 7 October 2007. The duo also headlined the Vegoose festival in Las Vegas on 27 October. They appeared at the festival along with bands Rage Against the Machine, Muse and Queens of the Stone Age. At the end of the month, Daft Punk performed in Mexico City. The duo also performed on Friday November 2, 2007 at the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Modular announced that Daft Punk would appear in Australia for an event in December 2007 called Never Ever Land. The announcement addressed years of speculation on whether Daft Punk would visit Australia for live performances. Never Ever Land included Australian acts The Presets, Cut Copy, Muscles, Van She and the Bang Gang Deejays. Daft Punk were supported by their regular acts Sebastian and Kavinsky at the appearances, which had been announced as an extension to the Alive 2007 tour. Never Ever Land toured to Melbourne at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Perth at the Esplanade, Brisbane at the Riverstage and finally Sydney at the Sydney Showground Main Arena. A Triple J interview with Pedro Winter (Busy P) revealed that Daft Punk’s Sydney appearance on December 22 would be their final show for 2007 and the last to feature the pyramid light scheme. Tickets for the Australian tour sold more quickly than for any Daft Punk-related event in their history. The duo stated in an EMI-sponsored live webchat that there will be no tour performances for 2008, and that they would instead focus on new projects.

Daft Punk made a surprise appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards on February 10, 2008. The duo appeared with Kanye West to perform a reworked version of “Stronger” on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For the appearance, Daft Punk utilized four JazzMutant Lemur controllers. A press release specified that this was the first televised live performance by the duo in their career. Bangalter’s wife, Élodie Bouchez, also attended the event.


www.daftpunk.com
www.daftalive.com

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE "english"

Biography

Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band, formed in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. The band’s line-up comprises vocalist Zack De La Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Critics have noted Rage Against the Machine for its “fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, rap, hard rock, and funk.” Rage Against the Machine drew inspiration from early heavy metal instrumentation, as well as rap acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy and Beastie Boys.

In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, which became a commercial success, leading to a slot in the 1993 Lollapalooza. The band did not release a follow-up record until 1996, with Evil Empire. The band’s third album The Battle of Los Angeles was released in 1999. During their initial nine year run, they became one of the most popular and influential political bands in contemporary music.

Shortly after breaking up in 2000, the band released the cover album Renegades. De la Rocha & Morello both started low-key solo careers; the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with Chris Cornell, then-former frontman of Soundgarden, which disbanded in 2007, and in April of that year, Rage Against the Machine performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The band has continued to perform at many live venues and festivals around the world since 2007 but have not recorded any new studio material, as of yet.

Due to a popular Facebook Campaign in 2009, the band managed to beat Joe McElderry, winner of the X Factor 2009, to the UK Christmas number one spot. This broke the chain of X Factor winners reaching the Christmas number one spot. To celebrate, Rage Against the Machine held a free gig to show their gratitude towards their fans.

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THE SMASHING PUMPKINS "english"

Biography

The Smashing Pumpkins are an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1988. Billy Corgan and James Iha met in a record store, and began performing in local nightclubs with their bassist, D’Arcy Wretzky, using a drum machine. Playing with a drum machine frustrated both the band and their audience, and so Chicago jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was hired soon afterwards.

Less influenced by punk than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had a densely layered, guitar-heavy sound, with powerful loud-to-soft-to-loud transitions, while still picking up grunge, heavy metal, power pop, psychedelic rock, shoegaze-style production.

In later recordings, namely Adore, the fourth album, an electronica flair filtered in after Jimmy Chamberlin temporarily left the band for drug rehab. Though Jimmy Chamberlin returned for their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God, electronica undertones remained. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan’s songs ranged from angry (X.Y.U.) to dour (Disarm) to jubilant (Cherub Rock).

Selling more than 18.3 million albums in the United States alone (as of 2006), The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, diminishing sales, drug problems, cultural vitality, and what is speculated to be improper treatment from their record company, hampered the band in their later years, leading to the 2000 break-up.

Prior to the complete dissolution of the original line-up, their final tour (dubbed “Sacred and Profane”), featured former Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur to fill in the gap left by D’Arcy Wretzky, who left in September of 1999. Besides touring with the band she also appeared in the videos accompanying “Machina/The Machines of God”.

The band’s final album, “MACHINA II / The Friends And Enemies of Modern Music” was unofficially released on vinyl in 2000, prior to their break-up, with the record company refusing to back the band with a pressing. Only 25 vinyl copies were made, each signed by the band. The album was then released across various fan sites by those who received the album and transferred it digitally, as a final tribute to the band’s supporters.

Problems have been seen since then with Billy Corgan, James Iha (who later joined A Perfect Circle), and D’Arcy Wretzky, both of whom started their own record company Scratchie Records.

Billy Corgan would continue from there first forming the band Zwan with members Matt Sweeney, Paz Lenchantin, David Pajo, and Jimmy Chamberlin. After a bad breakup shortly after their debut album Mary Star of the Sea Billy turned solo and released the album TheFutureEmbrace. Jimmy Chamberlin[/bandmember] formed the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, and Corgan recorded vocals for them on the track entitled Loki Cat.

In mid-april 2006 The Smashing Pumpkins “reunited” with original members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin . They performed live as The Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in 6 and a half years on May 22, 2007 in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new members Jeff Schroeder, Ginger Reyes and Lisa Harriton who took over rhythm guitarist, bassist and keyboard duties respectively.

The band’s latest studio album, titled “Zeitgeist”, was released on July 10, 2007 to mixed reviews. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, #1 on the United World Chart, and in the top ten for several other countries.

On Jan 2, 2008 the Pumpkins released the American Gothic EP exclusively on iTunes as part of an expanded version of Zeitgeist. The four tracks: “The Rose March”, “Again Again Again (The Crux)”, “Pox”, and “Sunkissed” demonstrate a more acoustic sound when compared to the rest of Zeitgeist.

In March, 2008 the group contributed the song “Superchrist” to a compilation CD released by Guitar Center. Though Corgan and Chamberlin have continued to record as a duo, Jeff Schroeder indicated that he might be contributing to future recordings. No longer signed to a record label, Corgan and Chamberlin purchased a recording studio in Chicago and began recording in May, again, as a pair. The band released the single G.L.O.W. on October 1st of 2008.

On March 20, 2009, it was announced Jimmy Chamberlin had left the band, leaving Billy Corgan the only original member left in the band. It is reported Corgan plans to continue using the Smashing Pumpkins name and return to the studio to make new music.

On August 17th, 2009, Mike Byrne was confirmed as the new Smashing Pumpkins drummer.

Formally announced by the frontman Billy Corgan on September 16, 2009, the 44-song concept album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope will be released over the Internet, from the band’s official website for free, one song at a time. Available for download so far are: “A Song for a Son” from December 8, 2009; and “Widow Wake My Mind” from January 18, 2010.

http://www.smashingpumpkins.com
http://www.myspace.com/smashingpumpkin

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