How to Write Songs and Teach Yourself the Guitar

Hello guys and welcome to my article. Should you write the lyrics first, or the music? This is often something I contradict myself with, and it all depends on the songwriter. When bands write songs together they usually split the music and the lyrics between them. My concern is that sometimes, when you have written the music and lyrics separately, you can tell. The words sound very broken and sometimes rushed, because the singer is trying to fit the lyrics and syllables into the music.

I find the best songs I write come from jamming on a guitar or playing on a piano and singing along. Singing anything that sounds good. Even gibberish. Once I have the structure of the song, I then start putting meaningful lyrics in place of the gibberish. Sometimes I even keep some of the gibberish. Take the band Sigur Ros. If you have never heard of them, I suggest you legally download some of their music now. They believe the vocals are an instrument, and they treat it that way. The singer sings utter gibberish, but it sounds good. It sounds totally improvised and natural.

Another good way to get ideas for a song is to start jamming with others. Think of a little riff. It could be something at random. Get the other band members to join in with something that fits in.

Lyrics wise, I think you should do what I said. Use gibberish at first to work out the melody and syllables, then when you have finished the structure of the song, write around the gibberish!

There's a lot of software available that aids in writing songs like Garage Band for the Mac, and Cubase for Windows. You might want to check out our Guitar Player World's song writing for guitarists.


* Teach Yourself the Guitar

Playing a really nice guitar rhythm with the songs can be so fulfilling. But to get to that place it will take some time. Do you sometimes feel that your practicing consists of boring mindless exercises and your improvement on the guitar is slow?
There are three ways you can improve your playing.
First you can find a local instructor and get them to show you the techniques they used to stay focused on training.

Second you can download some free lessons from the internet. When you want learn to play guitar, the internet is a lifesaver. Compared to finding a formal guitar instructor, setting up a schedule, and travel time to the instructor and back home, online guitar lessons are a breeze. Not to mention the amount of money you save when you download guitar lessons. But free lesson can sometime lack in substance, you get what you paid for.
Third option is of course to find a superior guitar teaching site and pay a bit of money for the videos and lessons, but the results can be unbelievable. These professional lessons are inspirational, easy to follow and great motivators.
Ask yourself this question. What type of guitarist do I want to be? The answer will determine which type of program or course you should choose. Your ability level, desire and overall attitude will determine which course is right for you.

Music Licensing is a Vital Tool for all Music Aspirants

Music is a passion for millions. In fact, people of all ages prefer to spent hours for music. Every time a music album launches in the market, the musical stores get suffused with enthusiasts. Moreover, the Internet has made it all easy for people to download their favorite collections from certain websites. Owing to these technological advancements, music has been transformed into a craze. However, this has consequently given rise to both positive and negative factors. Certain individuals are found to upload the latest tracks of a musician to a certain website and thereby hamper the authenticity of the creator. Therefore, music licensing is a must for musicians and artists to protect their original compositions from getting duplicated. Besides, music licensing ensures an artist for a stable income and a secured career as well.

For those dreaming to build a career in the music industry, it takes a lot of hard work and passion to get to the top. Inborn talent is in fact a per-requisite criteria for any music aspirant. Freshers are generally unaware of the benefits of music licensing and they often land up in serious issues related to authenticity. There are many individuals who by means of malpractices make use of the original compositions of artists and therefore earns good money. Thus, its quite essential for an artist to license music so that his long hard labor gets justification. You often come across artists singing in concerts and functions and these help certain listeners to execute their dishonest plans. In fact, there has been a number of instances where the original song of a certain singer has been recognized as the one sung by another. Well, music licensing is the only way out to stop such malpractices.

As far as the license music goes, the artist and the licensing company draws an agreement between them. The primary aim to license music is to legally protect one's composition from any sort of fraud issues. Once the agreement is done, no one can access any musical piece of that particular singer. If one shows his guts in doing so, he will be heavily penalized or might be compelled to go behind bars. Owing to the high population of frauds all over the world, licensing music has become a necessity among musicians and singers. Without music licensing, even a successful musician cannot remain secured until he gets the lawful right of his creation.

The benefit of license music helps you to create an independent identity of your own. Well, most of the artists in the music industry struggle for individuality and therefore licensing music can help them achieve it. Being independent, you will be able to draw audience in bulks and can be recognizable for many advertising agencies who hire singers for their company ads. Now, once you prove yourself in the advertising industry, you are bound to get calls from various TV production and also film making companies. Therefore, if you are yearning to grab these opportunities, music licensing is a must for you.

How to Make Video Karaoke on Sony Vegas

Making Karaoke Video on Sony Vegas 7.0 is simple and easy if you know the basic steps. It just needs a little hard work in the beginning but once you familiarize the steps, you can do a lot of video karaoke as fast as you can. Just follow the simple steps below.
1. Open the Sony Vegas 7.0 and create a video karaoke project.
2. Insert two audio tracks for the project, one is for non-vocal audio, the other is for the audio with vocal. Put the non-vocal audio to audio track 1 and the audio with vocal to audio track 2.
3. Play the audio with vocal and create a marker for every word in the song.
4. Insert Video Track to the project. Put the video or photos to the video track.
5. Add four video tracks to the project. One for the normal text on the Top Line, one for the highlighted text on top line, one for normal text on the bottom line, and one for the highlighted text on the bottom line.
6. Create four karaoke text presets. One for the normal text on the Top Line, one for the highlighted text on top line, one for normal text on the bottom line, and one for the highlighted text on the bottom line.
7. Plot the lyrics on the video track using the presets for each video track.
8. Create presets for the Karaoke Effect. One for the Top line and one for the bottom line. Apply the karaoke effect to Top line then to the bottom line.
9. Save the project using the title of the song.
10. Render the project as VCD or DVD.
There is a free ebook for step by step procedure on making video karaoke in Sony Vegas available Free Karaoke Tutorials. The tutorial works perfectly on all Sony Vegas application including the latest Sony Vegas 9.0. The steps are easy to follow since it consists mostly of graphical presentation.

Rickenbacker Guitar

A guitar can be the present of a lifetime, or it can be a great way to spend your money on something that, if looked after properly, will stay with you for a long, long time and give you and your friends/family plenty of good times. Whether you want a Rickenbacker guitar or a Gretsch guitar you'll find the best deal online.

Rickenbacker Guitar

If you're looking for one of the world's finest electric guitars then you should consider a Rickenbacker guitar. Originally from the 1930's, the Rickenbacker guitar models has enjoyed a history steeped in celebrity tradition; John Lennon from The Beatles had a Rickenbacker guitar which he used for their debut on the 1964 The Ed Sullivan Show. Other members of The Beatles (Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison) also had Rickenbacker Guitar's, proving the quality and popularity of the brand.

The unique aspect about a Rickenbacker is that both guitars and basses are equipped with something called a "Rick-O-Sound" unit which allows two pickups to be connected to amplifiers. Both acoustics and electric Rickenbacker's can be purchased.

A Great Present: A Guitar!

Are you searching for the perfect Birthday or Christmas present? Perhaps you want to say thank you to someone? There's no better way to make someone happy than by giving them a brand new guitar covered in wrapping paper! Why is a guitar such a great present? Not only will it last for decades if looked after properly, it provides someone with a new hobby/activity to get involved with that will bring joy to the ears (once they learn how to play it well!) of friends and family!

When deciding on what guitar to purchase for that special someone, ensure you do your research and speak to people who have played the instrument for many years – they will know what to look for in a guitar and also what type of guitar to get depending on the level of ability the person you're buying it for is at.

Ringo Starr's Childhood Friend Marie Maguire talks to David Bedford

Born in The Dingle, Marie Crawford, nee Maguire remembers the young Ritchie Starkey well. Her family moved into 10, Madryn Street in June 1943, immediately opposite Elsie and Ritchie's house.
Recently interviewed by David Bedford, she was asked:
What do you remember about The Dingle?
"It was a lovely place to grow up: not the squalid slums that some writers portray it as, especially when they've never been near the place. I remember that you could walk in and out of each other's houses, with your door being open all the time. Everyone knew everybody else. You knew who your neighbours were and we helped each other out. That was what it was like, and why I was happy to help out. Ritchie's dad had moved out when Ritchie was only three, and so Elsie had to work to pay the rent.

"When our family moved to Madryn Street, we lived opposite the Starkeys who lived at number 9. Mum became good friends with Elsie Starkey, and I was regularly called in, and trusted, to baby-sit young Ritchie. This would often entail going to Ritchie's grandparents' house at the bottom of Madryn Street where I would collect him—often fast asleep. I would carry him home and put him to bed.

"Mum and Elsie became good friends and I spent a lot of time with young Ritchie. When he was near his seventh birthday, his appendix burst and he contracted peritonitis and was very ill. On 7 July 1947, Elsie was called into the hospital, as they weren't sure if he was going to make it. I remember that day, because it was the day my father died. But mum still went with Elsie and sat with her through the night, even though she had lost her husband that same day: she wanted to stay with her in her time of need".

If you want to know what growing up in a community like The Dingle was like, then this selfless act sums it up. For those who don't know the area, then it is hard to describe. Those who do understand Liverpool will not be surprised. Ritchie went to St. Silas School but Marie went to Mount Carmel, the local Roman Catholic School. However, this brought up an interesting point about the clash of religion.

"I was brought up a Catholic by my mum, and Elsie was a member of the Orange Lodge—staunch Protestants who normally hate the Catholics. However, mum and Elsie celebrated the 12 July (Orange
Lodge celebration) and 17 March (St. Patrick's Day for the Irish Catholics). They would sing the songs together and enjoy the day, and proved that not all Protestants and Catholics had to hate each other".

Ritchie became ill again and most books say it was pleurisy. Marie disputes that long-held belief.

"Ritchie contracted tuberculosis (TB) which of course was serious. At the time, there was a terrible stigma attached to having TB, and so the family said it was pleurisy. He was at the convalescent home in Heswall on the Wirral. That is when I took him Eric Delaney's record, ‘Bedtime for Drums', which he loved".

While convalescing, children with TB would spend a lot of time in bed, often outside in the sunshine and fresh air. Part of the therapy to relieve boredom was to give the boys some ‘noise time'. This consisted of giving them a toy drum or tambourine to bang and crash while sitting on their beds. It was here that Ritchie developed his love for drumming, helped along by Marie's simple but memorable gift.

The other Beatles moved their parents out of Liverpool when they became famous. John moved Mimi to Poole in Dorset; Paul moved Jim to Heswall and George moved Harry and Louise to Appleton near Warrington. Elsie didn't want to move too far, so Marie helped Ringo to find a house for his mum and stepfather.

"Elsie wanted to be close enough to come back to see her friends. Admiral Grove was surrounded by fans twenty-four hours a day, which was awkward, particularly as the toilet was still in the yard. So I went and found three houses which I thought could be acceptable. She and Harry chose the bungalow in Heath Hey in Woolton, which was a lovely house".

Marie and Ritchie moved on in their adult lives. Marie has been a leading tour guide in Liverpool for many years. She has fond memories of the young boy who went on to become one of the most famous men on this planet. Her viewpoint is refreshing: no dirt, no scandal, just great memories of a special area that produced a famous son—a lad who grew up to become Ringo Starr. But to Marie he will always be Ritchie.

Jane's Addiction Is Busy Writing New Album

t's been seven years since Jane's Addiction have released new material, but according to guitarist Dave Navarro, a new record could be out as early as next year.

In an interview with PopStop TV (via Spinner), the guitarist revealed the band will hit the studio next month to begin laying down tracks. "We're actually writing quite a bit and getting ready to go into the studio," he said. "We will start recording tracks and hopefully have something by early next year."

The band has had tumultuous line-up changes over the years. Founding bassist Eric Avery returned to the fold in 2008, only to leave the band two years later. He was replaced by Guns 'N' Roses' Duff McKagan earlier this year, but he quit in December. According to Spinner, bassist Chris Chaney has replaced McKagan for the new album.

Linkin Park to Tour U.S. in January

Rock juggernaut Linkin Park will hit the road in North America for the first time since 2008, kicking off a 21-date arena tour January 20 in South Florida. See the full itinerary below.

In a move befitting the techno-ish sound of their latest album, A Thousand Suns, the California sextet has tapped a trio of electronic-leaning acts as their opening acts: the Prodigy, Pendulum, and Does It Offend You, Yeah?

As a bonus to fans, anyone who purchases a ticket for this tour will be able to download a free live recording of the show they attended.

Linkin Park tour dates:
1/20, Sunrise, FL (Bank Atlantic Center)*
1/22, Tampa, FL (St Pete Times Forum) *
1/23, Atlanta, GA (Phillips Arena) *
1/25, Detroit, MI (Joe Louis Arena) *
1/26, Chicago, IL (United Center) *
1/28, Minneapolis, MN (Xcel Energy Center) *
1/29, Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center) *
1/31, Philadelphia, PA (Wells Fargo Center) *
2/1, Boston, MA (TD Garden) *
2/4, New York, NY (Madison Square Garden) *
2/7, Montreal, QC (Bell Centre) *
2/8, Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre) *
2/10, Washington DC (Verizon Center) *
2/11, Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun) *
2/15, Houston, TX (Toyota Center)#
2/17, Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center) #
2/19, Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand – Garden Arena) #
2/20, San Diego (Viejas Arena) #
2/23, Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center) #
2/25, Salt Lake City, UT (Energy Solutions Arena) #
2/26, Denver, CO (Pepsi Center) #
* with Pendulum and Does It Offend You Yeah
# with the Prodigy

Blink-182 Plan New Album for Spring

After coming off hiatus in 2009, Blink-182 have been working in the studio on their first album since 2003. But now a finish line is in sight. In a post on his site, Mark Hoppus says the pop-punk trio will aim to release the album next April or May. One catch: "The only thing more important to us than getting the record out in that time is getting a great record out," Hoppus writes. "If it isn't absolutely ready at that point, we'll keep working until it is."

Hoppus divulged plenty of details about the new music. One track has a strong alt-country vibe, which has already been through several revisions. "The Americana, country-type song I've written about before is now in its third incarnation, and I think it gets better with every change," Hoppus writes.

But it's not like Blink-182 are moving to Nashville. Hoppus -- the former  -- promises plenty of high-energy pop-punk. "Yesterday, I worked on the basics of an uptempo, catchy progression; kind of in the vein of 'Wendy Clear' or 'Going Away to College.'"

Still, Hoppus says the proof is in the music. "I guess it's really pointless to write about creating music, you'll hear it for yourselves soon enough and make your own judgements."

Are you excited for Blink-182's new album? Sound off in the comments.

Oasis' Noel Gallagher Working on Solo Album

Liam Gallagher dropped his first post-Oasis track with his new band Beady Eye earlier this month. Now, his estranged brother Noel is ratcheting up the competition: the songwriter and guitarist is currently working on his debut solo album.

In an interview with the BBC, Miles Kane (who plays in Alex Turner's Last Shadow Puppets) revealed he laid down a track with Noel. "I play guitar on one of his songs for his album," Kane said. "I was only there for a couple of hours. I did my thing."

Earlier this year, Noel said not to expect any new material soon — but Liam's new project seems to have sparked some sibling rivalry in Noel.

Kane says the collaboration came about after he asked Noel to cameo on Kane's own solo album, My Fantasy, which is due out next year. Kane sent his pitch to him via text message. "I was mixing the record and I was going to do these harmonies to give it a boost — it was a bit flat," he said. "I text [Gallagher] saying, 'I need some icing on this tune,' and he said, 'Icing is what I do very well.'"

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton's girlish soprano and songs about old-time virtues made her a major country star in the early 1970s. Later in that decade, she wooed pop audiences and became a household name, her playful, self-deprecating comments about her blond sex-bomb image winning hearts as her finely crafted country-pop singles yielded a succession of more than 20 C&W Number One hits, including classics like "Here You Come Again," "Jolene," and "9 to 5." A self-titled theme park, television variety shows, and several successful films, including an Oscar nomination for her role in 9 to 5, in the 1980s helped cement Parton's status a singularly American superstar.

Parton grew up poor on a farm in the foothills of Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, the fourth of 12 children born to a farming couple. Her sister Stella later became a singer as well, and five other siblings also worked as professional musicians. Parton sang in church as a girl, and at age ten appeared on the The Cass Walker Progam, a TV show in Knoxville with members of her grade school class. She became a regular on Walker's radio show, where she performed until age 18. Parton appeared at the Grand Ole Opry at age 12, and her first single, "Puppy Love," was released by the blues-oriented Louisiana label Goldband.

One day after graduating high school, in 1964, she moved to Nashville and signed with Monument. Her first day in town, she met Carl Dean, whom she married two years later. Early recordings, in a rock vein, were not successful. Her big break came with "Dumb Blonde," a minor hit that peaked at Number 24 on the country chart. In 1967 she joined singer Porter Wagoner's syndicated country-music show, and "Miss Dolly," as she was called, became very popular with viewers. She signed to RCA, and the duo had many country hits, including "Just Someone I Used to Know" (1969) and "Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" (1970). While with Wagoner, she charted over a dozen solo country hits, including "Joshua" (Number One, 1970) and "Coat of Many Colors" (Number Four, 1971).

In 1974 Parton left Wagoner completely, having released Jolene, the title track of which became her second Number One country hit and a minor pop crossover. Other singers began to take an interest in her work. Linda Ronstadt covered "I Will Always Love You" (which Parton wrote about leaving Porter Wagoner) in 1975 on Prisoner in Disguise, Emmylou Harris sang "Coat of Many Colors" that same year, and Maria Muldaur covered "My Tennessee Mountain Home" on her first record. The covers encouraged Parton to bring her country to the pop market, which she did with New Harvest. The LP was more rock-oriented and included a version of "Higher and Higher." She also broke away from the country circuit to play rock clubs.

Parton's first major pop single was "Here You Come Again," which went gold and hit Number Three in early 1978. The LP of the same name went platinum. She also hit the pop Top 20 that year with "Two Doors Down." Parton had successfully crossed over; "Baby, I'm Burnin'" (Number 25, 1978) even had some success in discos. Other Number One country hits of that time include "You're the Only One" (1979), "Starting Over Again" (1980), and "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" (1980).

By 1980, Parton was a regular headliner in Las Vegas, and that year she earned an Oscar nomination for her film debut in 9 to 5 (costarring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin). Parton's recording of the title theme was a Number One hit in pop and country. In 1982 she costarred with Burt Reynolds in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Her other film credits include Rhinestone (with Sylvester Stallone, 1984), Steel Magnolias (with Julia Roberts and Shirley MacLaine, 1989), Straight Talk (with James Woods, 1992), the made-for-television Wild Texas Wind (with Gary Busey, 1992), and The Beverly Hillbillies (1993).

In 1976 she had hosted a syndicated music show, Dolly; her 1987 prime-time variety show of the same name on ABC did not fare as well and was canceled after one season.

Immediately before the release of Rhinestone Cowboy, Parton began a difficult period plagued by health problems. Through the 1980s she continued to score C&W Number One hits with "But You Know I Love You" (1981), "I Will Always Love You" (1982), the Bee Gees-written and -produced duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" (1983), "Tennessee Homesick Blues" (1984), "Real Love" (another duet with Rogers, 1985), "Think About Love" (1985), "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That" (1989), "Yellow Roses" (1989), and "Rockin' Years" (1991), a duet with Ricky Van Shelton. Parton's most successful album of the period was Trio, a collection of traditional country songs performed with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. In 1987 the recording won a Grammy for Best Country Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In 1999 the long-awaited followup, Trio II, was released and featured a Grammy-winning (Best Country Collaboration With Vocals) cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush." In 1993 Parton teamed with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette for Honky Tonk Angels, an album featuring the songs of country singers such as Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells (who appears on the title track).

In 1986 Parton opened Dollywood, a Smoky Mountain theme park. She has also established the Dolly Parton Wellness and Rehabilitation Center of Sevier County Medical Center as well as the Dollywood Foundation, which works to lower the high school-dropout rate in her home county. In 1994 she released her autobiography, Dolly: My Life and Unfinished Business. In 1996 Parton picked up her eighth career Country Music Association Award, for Vocal Event of the Year, for a new version of "I Will Always Love You" (Number 15 C&W, 1995) recorded with Vince Gill for a greatest-hits set. After 1996's Treasures, an album of covers, Parton moved to Decca and recorded Hungry Again, a rootsy collection of self-penned songs that kicked off what many critics viewed as an artistic reawakening for the veteran performer. In 1994 she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and cut her first bluegrass album, The Grass Is Blue, for the independent Sugar Hill label. The set featured an all-star band of bluegrass pros (including mandolin ace Sam Bush and Dobro player Jerry Douglas, among others) and went on to win Parton Album of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards and a pair of Grammy nominations. She followed it in 2001 with a second bluegrass effort, Little Sparrow, which in addition to several new originals featured such left-field covers as Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" and Collective Soul's gospel-rock anthem "Shine."

A third Sugar Hill collection, Halos and Horns (Number Four country, Number 58 pop, 2002), found Parton continuing her foray into folk and bluegrass, this time boldly taking on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." Responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she released For God and Country (Number 23 country, 2003), an album of patriotic and religious standards as well as originals. She returned to folk and bluegrass for her eclectic covers album Those Were the Days (Number Nine country, Number 48 pop, 2005), in which she teamed with an variety of singers including Yusuf Islam for a version of his classic as Cat Stevens, "Where Do the Children Play"; Tommy James on his 1968 hit with the Shondells, "Crimson & Clover"; and Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack for the folk standard "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

In late 2006 the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored Parton with a lifetime award for her contribution to the arts. Two years later, after years of traveling off the beaten musical path, Parton returned on her own label with her first album of mainstream country in nearly a decade, Backwoods Barbie (Number Two country, Number 17 pop, 2008), with a title song written for the Broadway version of 9 to 5.

Pink Hospitalized After Aerial Stage Stunt Mishap

Pink suffered a scare at her concert in Nuremberg, Germany, last night, as a high-wire portion of her show went haywire, launching the singer off of the stage and into a barricade in front of the crowd. The accident took place as Pink attempted to secure herself into a harness for an aerial performance of the show's final number, "So What." Her Funhouse tour is packed with acrobatic stunts, including an upside down trapeze performance of "Sober."

"I possibly broke something," she told fans from the stage last night. "Very sorry, I'm not going to be able to do the last song. But thank you for coming to the show and thank you for always being supportive." A video of the accident shows two assistants helping strap Pink into a harness attached to three wires. As the moment for her aerial departure nears, the singer is visibly apprehensive — turning toward the back of the stage, she makes an "X" signal with her arms to announce that she's not ready.

Her warning was too little too late, and the mechanism pulls the singer at a high speed into the crowd. "No, no, no," Pink says on the video as the wires yank her several meters before she reaches the edge of the stage and is jerked into the barricade. She was quick to reassure her fans that she was OK, taking to Twitter just moments later to say, "To all my nurnberg fans- I am so so so sorry to end the show that way.I am embarassed and very sorry. I'm in ambulance now but I will b fine."

An hour later, she confirmed that a bruised pride was among the worst of her injuries, writing, "Ok all my lovers out there- nothings broken, no fluid in the lungs, just seriously sore. I made that barricade my b*tch!!!!"

Seven shows remain on Pink's European trek, and she has no plans to cancel any dates. Said the singer this morning on Twitter, "no pain, no gain. or is it no brain, no pain? either way, i will be on that stage, even if i have to crawl."

Liam Gallagher Says New Band Is "Bigger" Than Oasis

One year ago, Noel Gallagher quit Oasis with "great relief" nearly two decades after founding the band with his brother, Liam. Though the two still haven't spoken since their massive final fight in Paris last August, both are moving ahead with music: Noel got back onstage in March, performing a set of Oasis rarities at London's Royal Albert Hall, and now Liam is preparing to step back into the spotlight. Gallagher reports that he's three-quarters of the way done with his new band Beady Eye's first record, and that the disc is a collaborative effort: "We've each wrote four." A debut single is due later this year with a second track to follow at the top of '11. The band's album is expected next summer.

Gallagher tells the U.K.'s the group's sound is "Beatlesesque. But there's a lot of it sounds more like T. Rex or really old rock & roll like Jerry Lee Lewis." The band will provide the soundtrack for Gallagher's adaptation of the Beatles book The Longest Cocktail Party, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the Fab Four's Apple Corps, and Gallagher promises the tracks will be "mega."

Asked if the band will be as big as Oasis, the singer responded, "It'll be bigger. I've got no doubt about the music, no doubt about me. I've never sounded better. It's proper rock & roll. Oasis was a pop band compared to what we're doing."

Ryan Adams Unearths Trio of Albums for '10 Release

After working at such a furious pace he released 11 albums from 2000 to 2008, Ryan Adams took a rare hiatus from recording last year, settling down with his wife, Mandy Moore, and authoring a few books. (Check out how he and other artists moonlighted from their rocker day jobs in our After Hours

gallery.) But the singer-songwriter won't be musically dormant much longer: he revealed on his Facebook page that he's prepped a double LP of previously unreleased music with his former band the Cardinals titled Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, III/IV. He's also planning to release another solo album titled Blackhole, which he cut in 2005.

"I f'n love this thing," Adams wrote about Blackhole. "It took 4 years to make it and to me it is basically Love Is Hell Part 3…lots of shimmery guitar love on this. Exciting times." While these two releases contain unreleased and archival material, Adams added that he's gearing up to record new songs, that the first day of demos "went great."

The news comes just weeks after Adams surprised fans with Orion, which he calls the "first fully realized sci-fi opus." The album, available as a vinyl-download package only, has already sold out. Adams hasn't announced when the new releases will be available, but if Orion is any indication, expect another pair of limited-pressing LPs bundled with poster, digital download and more. Keep an eye on Adams'  site for more updates on Blackout, III/IV and whatever new music Adams is cooking up in the studio.

Avenged Sevenfold Knock Eminem Out of Number One

Avenged Sevenfold landed their first Number One album on the Billboard 200 this week, knocking Eminem from his five-week reign on the chart. The group's latest set Nightmare debuted with 163,000 copies sold, besting their last chart high with 2007's self-titled disc, which sold 94,000 copies its first week. (Get the story .) This is the band's first album since the tragic 2009 death of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who died of an accidental overdose. Eminem settled for Number Two in his sixth week, selling 159,000 copies of Recovery — just 4,000 units shy of Avenged's sales figures. Eminem did have another Number One victory this week, though: his single "Love the Way You Lie," featuring Rihanna, remained Number One on the Digital Songs chart for a sixth straight week, racking up another 300,000 downloads.

Other than Avenged Sevenfold's chart-topping entry, no other debuts managed to break into the Top 10. Rick Ross' Teflon Don slipped one spot from last week to finish out at Number Three with 63,000 copies. Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 and Drake's Thank Me Later rounded out the Top Five. This week marked the first time since February that only one album debuted within the Top 10. On the whole, total album sales were down one percent compared to last week and down 13 percent compared to the same week last year.

Jay-Z: I Shot My Brother When I Was 12

Jay-Z is fessing up for the first time about a crime he committed as tween: he shot his older brother Eric when he was just 12 years old.

Touting a new book Jay-Z Decoded, the hip-hop mogul, now 40, opened up about the shocking incident -- he shot Eric, then a crack addict, for stealing a ring -- in an interview with British newspaper 

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York's infamous Marcy projects, the rapper (real name: Shawn Carter) says it was easy to get his hands on a gun. "How did he get the gun? "I went to someone's crib, someone's house, and got it. Guns were everywhere. You didn't have to go far to get one. Just everywhere."

After the non-fatal shooting -- he shot Eric's shoulder -- Jay-Z admits, "I thought my life was over. I thought I'd go to jail for ever."

But his sibling refused to press charges. When Jay-Z visited Eric in the hospital, it was Eric who apologized for his crack addiction.

"It was terrible," he says now. "I was a boy, a child. I was terrified."

It's the only time Jay-Z ever shot someone, he says. "There were shoot-outs, but I never shot anyone else. Most people in shoot-outs don't get shot."

He was, however, shot at three times, but was never hit. "It's like there was some rogue angel watching over us."

George Michael

Few could have guessed the transition from teenybopper idol to serious singer/songwriter would go as smoothly as it did for George Michael, who became famous as half of the British pop duo Wham! before ascending to pop superstardom with his solo debut, Faith. Whereas in Wham! Michael used his cherubic good looks and uncanny knack for a melodic hook to create ingratiating but disposable pop, his solo work reveals an earnest effort to achieve deeper musical and emotional resonance. His radiant ballads, insidious dance tracks, and blue-eyed soul singing established him as a top international artist.

Michael's popularity never waned in the U.K. — all of his albums have reached either Number One or Number Two on the album charts there — but subsequent efforts have been able to match his early solo successes in the U.S. Michael's first post-Wham! outing was "I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me)," a duet with Aretha Franklin that hit Number One in 1987 and earned Michael a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo. Shortly afterward, Michael released the funky first single off Faith, "I Want Your Sex," which, bolstered by a sexy video, quickly soared to Number Two. The album would eventually spin off four Number One hits: "Faith" (1987), the shimmering "Father Figure" (1988), the romantic ballad "One More Try" (1988), and "Monkey" (1988). "Kissing a Fool" hit Number Five, further boosting the 14 million-selling Faith. 1988's smash album and Grammy winner for Album of the Year.

In his videos and media appearances, Michael cultivated a sex-symbol image, albeit a more rugged — leather, chin stubble, sneer — and mature one than he had nurtured in Wham! But with the release of his second solo effort, Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1, in 1990, Michael surprised fans and industry insiders by shunning the press and saying that he wouldn't make videos. The album peaked at Number Two nonetheless, and there was a chart-topping hit, the somber "Praying for Time" (Number One, 1990). The danceable second single, "Freedom 90" — whose lyrics spelled out Michael's decision to abandon his rock-star persona — went to Number Eight (1990) and was made into a video, albeit without Michael's presence. (Instead, a bevy of supermodels lip-synched his vocals.) In late 1991 Michael was back on the charts with a Number One version of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," recorded live with John.

A year later, Michael announced that he would take legal action to terminate his contract with Sony Music, the corporation that took over his label, Columbia Records. He charged that Sony, still wishing to package Michael as a sex symbol, lacked respect for his artistic expression and that it only halfheartedly supported his projects benefiting AIDS research and prevention, among them his duet with Elton John and his three-track contribution to a compilation album called Red Hot + Dance. In 1993, Sony grudgingly granted Hollywood Records permission to release Five Live, an EP of two cover songs performed by Michael on his 1991-92 tour and three from his appearance at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992, during which he sang Queen songs with surviving members of that band. All proceeds from the record went to the Phoenix Trust, an AIDS charity set up in Mercury's memory.

In June 1994 a London court rejected Michael's claim that his contract with Sony amounted to "restraint of trade" and upheld the $12 million contract the singer had signed with the company in 1988. At the time, Michael owed the label six more albums on a contract that could run to 2003. Two months later, Michael filed an appeal of the verdict. As the legal battle continued, Michael was unable to release new product. Under a special arrangement, however, Michael performed his song "Jesus to a Child" on television as part of an annual appeal to raise funds for needy children. After hearing the six-minute song, listeners pledged $32,000 to the charity.

In 1995, though Michael lost the appeal he filed, he signed new contracts with DreamWorks in the U.S. and Virgin in the rest of the world. He released his first album of new material in six years, Older, in 1996 (Number Six), featuring "Jesus to a Child" (Number Seven) and the dance track "Fastlove" (Number Eight), but the release sold just 900,000 copies in the U.S.

Michael's profile was heightened again in 1998, but for a more notorious reason: In April of that year, he was arrested for lewd conduct in the men's room of a public park in Beverly Hills. Michael subsequently outted himself on CNN, and though the court fined him and ordered him to perform community service, he seemed somewhat relieved to reveal the truth to the media and his fans. That fall, he even set the scene for his video for "Outside" (one of two new songs from Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael) in a public restroom; it featured dancing men dressed in leather and male actors portraying police officers kissing. Unfortunately, this was no joke to Michael's real-life arresting officer, who filed a lawsuit against him, claiming slander; the judge dismissed the case.

In late 1999 Michael put the embarrassing events of the previous year behind him with the release of Songs From the Last Century, an album of cover songs co-produced by Phil Ramone that ran the gamut from the Depression-era "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" to the Police's "Roxanne." In 2000 Michael participated in Equality Rocks, a concert in Washington, DC, organized by the Human Rights Campaign that highlighted the issue of gay rights.

Michael's next studio album, Patience (Number 12, 2004), achieved mild chart success overseas, but achieved its greatest notoriety in the U.S. with the inclusion of "Shoot the Dog," a tepid dance track whose video poked fun at Tony Blair and George H.W. Bush. A double-disc best-of, Twenty Five, followed in 2006. That same year, Michael launched an extensive European tour, his first in fifteen years. In September of 2008 Michael was again arrested in a public lavatory in London's Hampstead Heath area for drug possession. In a statement, an embarrassed Michael said: "I want to apologize to my fans for screwing up again, and to promise them I'll sort myself out. And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them."

Lilith Fair Loses 10 Dates, Kelly Clarkson Quits

The worst-selling summer concert season in recent memory has claimed another victim — Lilith Fair, which on Thursday canceled 10 shows, adding to a grim list that includes U2, Christina Aguilera, Limp Bizkit, Simon & Garfunkel, certain Eagles stadium dates and Rihanna's tour opener originally scheduled for tonight. "It's the reality of this summer," says Terry McBride, Lilith Fair's co-founder. "It's just across the board. Main Street is still in recession. We're not out of this yet. Did we see that four months ago? I don't think anyone did."

The tour, which includes singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan on every date and rotating headliners such as Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones and Loretta Lynn, will continue its remaining 24 dates as planned — and McBride adds that the non-canceled shows are selling well. (Organizers suggest fans check the Lilith Fair website for updates on whether acts on canceled dates reschedule for others.) However, Kelly Clarkson also announced today that she is skipping her previously scheduled Lilith dates to complete work on her upcoming studio album. Lilith Fair was the top-grossing concert of 1997, at more than $16 million, but it has struggled to sell tickets in its comeback year, in part due to the economy and in part, some concert-business sources say, because its marketing campaign never really kicked in.

John Scher, a New York promoter who tried unsuccessfully to book Lilith for a 25,000-seat stadium show, adds that the Lilith tour is a symptom of larger problems in the tour business. More than ever, huge promoters such as Live Nation and AEG Live are attempting to outbid each other for top tours, over-paying numerous artists, then wind up raising ticket prices too high. As a result, Live Nation, the world's biggest concert promoter, had to create a no-service-charge deal for all of its amphitheatre shows, including Lilith, last month. "We are not, as an industry, creating any lasting careers and very few big headliners," says Scher, also co-manager of Simon & Garfunkel, whose tour was selling decently well before Garfunkel developed vocal strain last month and had to cancel. "It was hard for [Lilith] to put together the kind of lineup that they had traditionally gotten."

The concert business, which has slowly taken over from struggling record labels as the profit center for the music industry, has been thriving for years as ticket prices and tour revenues have surged. But thanks to Bono's back injury, Garfunkel's vocal strain and what sources say were soft sales on the Aguilera, Rihanna, Jonas Brothers and Eagles tours, cancellations and soft sales are widespread this summer. "It's not just Lilith Fair, it's everyone," says Will Simon, one of the managers for singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, whose upcoming Lilith dates are still on the schedule. "Concert tickets — it's a luxury, to be honest. When you're cutting back [as a customer], that's one of the first things you cut back. But everyone is always going to want to see live music, and it'll come back."

Newly Single Christina Aguilera Talks About "Love of My Life"

Although she filed for divorce from Jordan Bratman last month after five years of marriage, Christina Aguilera doesn't have to go it alone.

The Burlesque star, 29, admits there's "just a little bit" going on in her life now on Friday's Ellen DeGeneres Show -- but she gets solace from a special guy in her life.

No, not set assistant Matthew Rutler (they have been on "a few dates," according to a source) -- her little boy Max, 2!

"He's the love of my life," Aguilera gushes. "I adore him and he's such a character and he's so happy and at the end of the day, that's what's most important."

The star adds that her son with Bratman is "my focus first and foremost...More power to single moms and those out there doing it. I was raised by a single mom."

(Indeed, an insider told Us of Aguilera's fledgling romance with Rutler: "It's not serious. She's not looking to jump into a relationship right now. She has a lot going on with the movie and is focusing on spending as much time as possible with Max.")

Aguilera also reaches a major milestone on Dec. 18: her 30th birthday!

"It's better than turning 20, I'll tell you that," she tells Ellen DeGeneres. "You're more comfortable in your own skin as a woman. You have a better idea of what you want and how to get it. At this time in my life, it's a huge turning point, it's a transitional stage and I'm ready. I'm ready."

Taylor Swift "Speak Now"

Taylor repurposes the "she wears short skirts" melody from "You Belong With Me" in order to bust up a wedding, Graduate-style. But freeing the man of her dreams from bad-marriage hell is almost an afterthought on "Speak Now"; the real fun is listening to her unload her simile nail gun at the disgustingly perfect bride-to-be — a mean girl who "floats down the aisle like a pageant queen" in a "gown shaped like a pastry." And all of it comes off catchy as heck and cute as a button. The girl knows how to spin hate into cotton candy.

Rihanna feat. Drake "What's My Name"

With the second single from the forthcoming Loud,Rihanna has created a perfect little tropical storm: Over dark, humid synths and swirling snare skitters, she's in full-on Caribbean-queen mode, dialing up her islander accent and rolling out a to-do list for any adult male seeking entrance into her chambers: "Hey, boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me," she sings, kicking off the chorus. Her former fling Drake further steams things up with a little, um, math: "The square root of 69 is 8-something," he offers, sounding like the nerdy guy in a fraternity. The end result isn't quite "Umbrella," but between its star power, sex appeal and the impeccably sculpted chorus, "What's My Name" seems like it's destined for ubiquity. Even Chris Brown has tweeted in support of the song's dopeness. For all his faults, Brown at least knows who's on top these days.

Jagger, Clapton Rock With Jerry Lee Lewis on Fall Album

In 1968, Jerry Lee Lewis rebounded from a decade of bad press when he scored his first country hit, "Another Place Another Time." The success kicked off a string of 30 Top 10 country successes, including the Number One single "To Make Love Sweeter For You." The 74-year-old legend will return to the genre for the first time in decades this fall with his new album Mean Old Man. Like 2006's Last Man Standing, Mean Old Man finds Lewis teaming up with an iconic lineup that this time includes three Rolling Stones, Merle Haggard, Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. "It's unique and very groovy, and I sound great on it!" Lewis tells Rolling Stone.

Keith Richards plays guitar on the Stones' country-tinged classic "Sweet Virginia" while Mick Jagger sings on "Dead Flowers." Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood contributes on "Mean Old Man," a track Kris Kristofferson penned for the disc. Eric Clapton and James Burton provide backup guitars on "You Can Have Her." Ringo Starr and John Mayer appear on "Roll Over Beethoven," while country legends Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson sing on "Swinging Doors" and "Whiskey River," respectively. Kid Rock and Slash show up on "Rockin' My Life Away." Jim Keltner and Steve Bing produced the disc, recording with Lewis in Memphis and L.A. It will be released two ways: as an 18-track deluxe version and a 10-track standard edition on September 7th via Verve/Universal Music.

Lewis was initially a rock & roller with chart-topping Fifties hits like "Great Balls of Fire," "Whole Lotta Shaking Goin On" and "High School Confidential." DJs and record distributors abandoned him in 1958 after the press discovered he'd married his 13-year-old second cousin. When Rolling Stone profiled the piano-burning legend in 2006, he was grateful country fans gave him a second chance.

"My fans never stopped lovin' me," he said. "They always came to my shows. They didn't always get my records, 'cause [Sam Phillips] dropped all his distributors and wouldn't release anything. When I moved on to Mercury records in 1963 and started recording some country, my style of country, and some rock & roll too, one of them songs ['Another Place and Another Time'] sold a million copies right off the press. That tells you something is wrong."

AC/DC and the Gospel of Rock & Roll

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson perches on the edge of a sofa in a New York hotel room with a blank look on his face, mumbling to himself in a grainy whisper, his head and shoulders drooping with exhaustion. There is nothing wrong with him. Johnson, a robust man who is built like a bear and who talks in a booming growl, is doing his imitation of AC/DC guitarist Angus Young on tour, backstage just before showtime. "It's amazing, watching him in the dressing room," Johnson says with a raspy cackle through his thick northern — England accent. "He can be totally knackered, in the middle of a long stretch of shows, sitting there with a cigarette and a cup of tea." Johnson goes into that gnomish slouch. "Then it's, 'Twenty minutes, boys.' He gets up, hardly a word, disappears around a corner — and comes back in those clothes. He's got a fag in his mouth, a jaunty look on his face, his guitar slung on him.

"He's like Clark fucking Kent!" Johnson exclaims. "He goes into a phone booth and comes out as the 14-year-old imp, ready to rock!"

It is one of the most astonishing transformations in live rock & roll, the hilarious opposite of classic guitar heroism. At every AC/DC gig for nearly 35 years, Angus, who is five-feet-two in his stocking feet, has come out of the dressing room looking like he's headed for the principal's office, in a pre-puberty student's uniform — white shirt, tie and matching jacket, cap and shorts — based on the suits he wore to school as a boy in Sydney, Australia. Then, as drummer Phil Rudd, bassist Cliff Williams and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, Angus' older brother, hit the first iron riffs and sledgehammer chords, Angus erupts in a nonstop lead-guitar tantrum that doesn't quit until the final encore. He fires terse riffs and gnashed-note solos as he duckwalks furiously across the stage, bobs his head like a supercaffeinated chicken and spins on his back, his legs kicking the air. The only pause in the delirium comes during the song "Bad Boy Boogie," from AC/DC's 1977 album Let There Be Rock — when Angus drops his shorts and moons the audience.

That act and the music that goes with it — more than a dozen studio albums of strict blues-riff grammar, lewd vocal snarl and bull-elephant charge — have made AC/DC one of the biggest bands in the world. Their 1980 album, Back in Black, has sold 22 million copies in the U.S. alone. Over the past two years, AC/DC are second only to the Beatles in U.S. catalog sales, and they've sold a combined 23 million albums and DVDs worldwide since 2003, when the band moved from its longtime label, Atlantic, to Sony Music. And AC/DC's new Columbia album, Black Ice, their first studio release in eight years, is poised to be the bestselling rock album of 2008. Advance shipments by Wal-Mart, the album's exclusive retail outlet, to its stores reportedly totaled 2.5 million copies.

But there is another Angus inside that phenomenon — a passionate, quietly dogged craftsman pursuing the endless possibilities in Fifties-R&B and Sixties- British-rock guitar, in the fundamental slash and drive of Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, the early Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. Offstage, without the suit, in AC/DC practice and recording sessions, Angus is "dead still," Johnson says with hushed awe. "He smiles, smokes, concentrates."

And he plays guitar sitting down.

On a warm day in mid-October, at a rehearsal facility in a northeast suburb of Philadelphia, AC/DC are preparing for their first world tour since 2001, playing songs from Black Ice and warming up old numbers like "Girls Got Rhythm" and "Whole Lotta Rosie" from the records the band made in the Seventies with the late Bon Scott, Johnson's predecessor. (Scott died in February 1980, choking on his own vomit in a car in London while sleeping off a marathon night of drinking.) In two weeks, on opening night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Angus, now 53, will turn into the atomic schoolboy again.

Today, he wears a light-blue T-shirt and jeans and sits in a folding metal chair. He is hunched over a Gibson SG, and his eyes are glued to his left hand as it skitters up and down the neck. Angus viciously bends the strings for the dirty, metallic squeals in the Black Ice single "Rock N Roll Train," solos in machine-gun spasms during "Smash N Grab" and doubles Malcolm's meaty-chord riff in the Scott-era hit "Highway to Hell." But the only thing that moves, other than Angus' fingers, is his left leg, pumping in time to Rudd and Williams' steady swing. When Angus gets up from that chair, it is either for a cigarette break outside — Rudd, Johnson and the Youngs smoke like chimneys — or the drive back to the band's hotel.

After rehearsal, over a pizza dinner, Angus recalls a session with producer Rick Rubin for AC/DC's 1995 album Ballbreaker. "He asked me, 'Don't you ever get off that stool and move around?' " No, Angus replied. "I'm not going to put on a show for myself — I want the music to be right first," he continues with a hard, proud tone in his voice. "I have to have substance first, to feel it in me, before I can do the show.

"That was always the thing for me — I want to play guitar," Angus says in a distinctive accent he shares with Malcolm, a mix of Scottish burr and Australian drawl that reflects their divided childhoods in Glasgow, where the brothers were born, and Sydney, after their family emigrated there in 1963. Without that suit, Angus confesses, "I would never have made the effort to get out there and have a presence. I was a lot more shy before that. I would stand back and play." He flashes a toothy grin. "But the suit pulls me."

Exclusive: ?uestlove on Rocking With Springsteen

Backing Bruce Springsteen on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night was a near-surreal experience for The Roots drummer ?uestlove. "During rehearsal, when the producer said, 'Ladies and gentleman, 'Because The Night' with the Professor and Little Steven, here's Bruce Springsteen and The Roots' — I couldn't move," ?uestlove tells Rolling Stone. "And they were looking at me like, 'Okay count the song off.' And I was like, I said, 'Holy shit. I heard that.'"

He adds: "I mean, I've done some intense playing on our show, but that was the most intense playing I've ever done. He completely surpassed any expectation I've ever had for any mythical god of rock figure."

In a rare talk show appearance to promote the new Darkness on the Edge of Town box set, Springsteen chatted with Fallon on the couch about everything from his brother-in-law to the setbacks of new technology. Alongside The Roots and E Street band members Steven Van Zandt and keyboardist Roy Bittan, he ripped through five-minute takes of rockers "Because the Night" and "Save My Love" — and hilariously dressed up as himself circa 1975 for his own take on Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair."

Before the show, the band rehearsed for 90 minutes, running through "Because the Night" six times and "Save My Love" four times. "[Bruce] was just like, 'Hey, you do what you do,'" ?uestlove says. "'I don't want you to be Max Weinberg. I want you to be you.'"

But soon, during a take of "Because the Night," the drummer got found himself in one of Max Weinberg's familiar dilemmas. "Bruce and Little Steven were giving me the exact opposite instructions — It was kind of like good cop, bad cop," he says.

"There's a moment on the bridge where Bruce said, 'You got to watch Steven's body language. He will come over, bend his knees — that means to bring the dynamics down. Play to a whisper," he adds. "But then two seconds later during the song Springsteen's looking at me like, 'Yo man,' jumping up and down and Steven is like on his knees. My band's laughing at me because they know exactly, you know, the type of quagmire I'm in right now. One guy is telling me he wants to see blood drawn because he wants me to play real powerful and the other one wants me to bring it down a little bit."

He met them in the middle. But on TV, nothing was brought to a whisper. And just as Springsteen has been known to do in arenas, the band went over their allotted set time. "If you look at the last 20 seconds [of "Because the Night"], all of us are literally in a circle. It's like no one else is in that room except Little Steven, the Professor, Bruce, and all seven of my guys," says ?uestlove. "We're totally disregarding the minute mark and the deadline. I'm surprised they got it all on there 'cause Lord knows we went 32 bars over. We were supposed to end after the end of the bridge, but we just kept going. None of that stuff was expected — the guitar solo."

But "Whip My Hair" will be the moment fans remember the most — Springsteen decked out in his classic beard, sunglasses and leather jacket while Jimmy Fallon is dressed as a 1970-era Neil Young, duetting on Willow Smith's viral hit. It was Fallon's idea, but "[Bruce] was absolutely game for it, especially dressing up as his 1975 self," says ?uestlove.

He's silent for moment. "I just got a text from Jay-Z saying he's watching right now and it's incredible."

Evanescence

Some say the devil is in the details. If that's true, the particulars of the Evanescence story add up to an epic allegory involving a Judas-like betrayal of the band's early Christian fanbase during its rise from a little-known Southern goth-metal band with religious underpinnings to a massively successful mainstream band in the secular pop world.

From the beginning, Evanescence was well crafted and well-marketed. Lead singer Amy Lee had the right goth look, from her ghoulish make-up and left-eyebrow piercing to her Victorian-style clothing, corsets and fishnets. Her ex-boyfriend, original guitarist and co-founder Ben Moody, was in a Christian praise and worship band when he met Lee at a church youth camp and was smitten by her voice and piano playing. Still in their early teens, the two formed Evanescence in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1998 and developed a following on the Christian rock circuit. They eventually fleshed out the band's lineup with keyboardist David Hodges, guitarist John LeCompt, bassist Will Boyd and drummer Rocky Gray. After recording a few independently released EPs, which included clearly Christian-themed songs such as "Give Unto Me," the band signed with Wind-Up Records, home to other successful religious-leaning rock acts such as Creed and 12 Stones. With Evanescence's involvement, Wind-Up's early marketing plan included a push to Christian music fans, and the band's 2003 debut album, Fallen, was sold in both Christian and secular music outlets.

That's when the story of Evanescence took a drastic public detour. In April 2003, a month after the release of Fallen, Lee and Moody renounced their association with Christian music in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine that included profanity. It riled their Christian fans and Wind-Up immediately posted an apologetic letter on the Christian Music Central Website announcing that the band members' statements made it clear they considered Evanescence a secular band and that the aptly titled Fallen would be pulled from Christian retail outlets.

It didn't affect album sales at all. Fallen became a huge success, reaching Number One on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian chart and Number Three on the Billboard 200. Its singles included "Bring Me to Life" (Number One Modern Rock; Number Five Pop, 2003), "Going Under" (Number Five Modern Rock, 2003) and "My Immortal" (Number Seven, 2004). The album went on to sell more than 15 million copies worldwide and Evanescence won two Grammys including Best New Band. But chatter on Christian Websites polarized the group's religious fans and tensions within Evanescence created a schism among its members. Even before the Entertainment Weekly scandal had broken, keyboardist Hodges left the group because he had mistakenly believed Lee and Moody wanted Evanescence to be part of the Christian music scene. Then, six months after the dust-up, Moody left due to "creative differences" and was replaced by Terry Balsamo of the Florida-based metal band Cold.

In 2004, Evanescence released a live album, Anywhere but Home, which reached Number 39 on the Billboard 200. If it wasn't already clear that Lee was the focal point of the band, the October 2006 release of The Open Door established her dominance once and for all. The album shot to Number One on the Billboard 200 and produced another Top 10 single, "Call Me When You?re Sober,: written about Lee's post-Moody relationship with Seether singer Shaun Morgan. Shortly before The Open Door's release, bassist Will Boyd left and was replaced by Tim McCord of the California metal band Revolution Smile. Six months after the album came out, guitarist John LeCompt announced that Lee had fired him via cell phone and that drummer Rocky Gray had also decided to leave the band. Lee replaced the two musicians, who had been with Evanescence since its Little Rock days, with drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn, both of the metal band Dark New Day. That lineup toured through late 2007.

After his departure from Evanescence, Moody underwent treatment for substance abuse problems and then began collaborating with pop stars such as American Idol singers Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry as well as Avril Lavigne, Lindsay Lohan and Celine Dion. As of 2008, his solo debut, tentatively titled Can't Regret What You Don't Remember, had not yet been released. He also has worked on various projects with Hodges, who has remained a vocal member of the Christian music scene.

Robert Plant Plays Intimate Club Gig

Robert Plant played a rare club show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom Sunday night, backed by the group behind his rootsy new project, Band of Joy (named after his mid-Sixties psychedelic-blues outfit). In a 100-minute set performed before less than a thousand fans, Plant presented solo material and several revitalized Led Zeppelin classics, retooling many with an ethereal, reverb-heavy sound.

The group emerged a few minutes past 9 p.m. and played “Monkey,” a dark, eerie track off Band of Joy, which was cut in Nashville. Plant, who wore a partly unbuttoned blue shirt and tight jeans, was chatty and playful. He introduced “Please Read the Letter” — co-written with Jimmy Page — as “a song written a couple hundred years ago by a very ubiquitous couple.” During “Down to the Sea,” he repeated the phrase “when I get older” many times, playing with the phrasing, then making bug eyes, like he’d just realized he’s 62.

The singer was in fine form playing Zep classics, especially with his innovative takes on “Misty Mountain Hop” (less guitar-centered) and a mellow, steel-driven “Houses of the Holy.” “Rock and Roll” featured a raucous rockabilly-style solo from producer-guitarist Buddy Miller; the main set climaxed with “Gallows Pole,” built around Darrell Scott’s ragged banjo.

All the band’s members got a share of the spotlight. When Miller sang the heavy blues shuffle “Somewhere Trouble Don't Go,” Plant slid behind vocalist Patty Griffin, and played bluesy harmonica. Darrell Scott took center stage for an acoustic, soulful take on the country classic “Satisfied Mind.” And the band finished with the gospel traditional “I Bid You Goodnight,” which unfolded with nearly every member taking a verse, an appropriately intimate end to the evening.

Before that, as the group came onstage for their encore, Plant took a moment to reflect on his newfound passion for old-time and country music: “There are many things I’ve learned in the last few years. I thought I knew about American music. All the British guys, we spend time staring into Mississippi in a crystal ball, but we miss the mountains of Tennessee, the plains of Texas. Now, I've found a new place to look."

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi Like an American Def Leppard with a Bruce Springsteen fixation, Bon Jovi used good hooks, pumped-up production and stadium-sized passion to forge the pop-metal alloy that made them one of the dominant mainstream rock bands of the Eighties.

As a working-class teenager, John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. (born March 2nd, 1962 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey) showed little interest in school, preferring to sing with his friend David Bryan Rashbaum in local bands. Cousin Tony Bongiovi, owner of New York City?s Power Station recording studio, let Bon Jovi sweep floors there and record demos with such musicians as Aldo Nova and members of Springsteen's E Street Band.

The nucleus of the Bon Jovi band — Rashbaum on keyboards, Dave Sabo on guitar, Alec John Such on bass and Tico Torres on drums — played clubs to support local radio play for their demo. PolyGram won a record label bidding war (reportedly signing only John Bongiovi, with the rest of the band as his employees) and had the Italian-American Bongiovi de-ethnicize his name to Jon Bon Jovi (keyboardist Rashbaum dropped his surname, becoming simply David Bryan). After seeing Bon Jovi at a New Jersey club, guitarist Richie Sambora auditioned and replaced Sabo (later of Skid Row).

Bon Jovi's self-titled debut album (Number 43, 1984) included the hits in "Runaway" (Number 39, 1984) and "She Don't Know Me" (Number 48, 1984). But Tony Bongiovi sued the band, claiming he had helped develop its sound; Jon Bon Jovi called his cousin's influence "slim to none," but settled out of court. Their next album, 7800? Fahrenheit (Number 37, 1985), went gold.

Bon Jovi then made two crucial marketing moves: bringing in composer Desmond Child (former leader of the Seventies New York disco-rock band Rouge, he also wrote for Aerosmith, Cher and Kiss) as a song doctor, and basing the next album's content on the opinions of New York and New Jersey teenagers for whom they played tapes of more than 30 possible songs. The resulting selections formed Slippery When Wet (Number One, 1986), which sold more than 12 million copies with the help of some startlingly un-metal synthesized hooks and straightforward performance videos that showcased the videogenic band. Hit singles included "You Give Love a Bad Name" (Number One, 1986), the hardscrabble romantic anthem "Livin' on a Prayer" (Number One, 1986) — both of which Child cowrote — and "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Number Seven, 1987). The latter, perhaps in part due to Bon Jovi calling himself a "cowboy," would be covered by more than one Nashville country act a couple decades down the line.

The Slippery formula was followed for New Jersey (Number One, 1988), which sold more than seven million copies and contained five Top Ten hits: "Bad Medicine" (Number One, 1988), "Born to Be My Baby" (Number Three, 1988), "I'll Be There for You" (Number One, 1989), "Lay Your Hands on Me" (Number Seven, 1989) and "Living in Sin" (Number Nine, 1989). In the midst of a 1989 tour Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley in Las Vegas (they have two children). Sambora dated Cher for a while, and Bon Jovi backed her on some tracks on her 1989 Heart of Stone album. In 1994 Sambora married actress Heather Locklear (the pair's separation became prime tabloid fodder in 2006). Later in 1993 Bon Jovi played the Soviet Union in the Moscow Music Peace Festival — arranged as part of a community-service sentence on Bon Jovi's manager Doc McGhee, who in 1988 had pleaded guilty to drug-smuggling charges from a 1982 arrest.

After 18 months of touring, the band members went separate ways. Jon Bon Jovi's solo album Blaze of Glory (Number Three, 1990) — recorded with Jeff Beck, Elton John, Little Richard and others — yielded hits in the title track (Number One, 1990) and "Miracle" (Number 12, 1990). Blaze was the soundtrack for the movie Young Guns II, in which Bon Jovi had a bit part, and the album earned both Oscar and Grammy nominations. The following year Sambora released his first solo album, Stranger in This Town (Number 36, 1991). Bon Jovi ended a year of breakup rumors with a Tokyo concert on December 31, 1991. The band then recorded Keep the Faith (Number Five, 1992), which produced hit singles in the title track (Number 27, 1993) and "Bed of Roses" (Number 10, 1993). Another hit, "Always" (Number Four, 1994), emerged from Bon Jovi?s 1994 anthology, Cross Road (Number Eight).

In 1995 the band released These Days (Number Nine). After a full-scale world tour, the band went on hiatus. Jon Bon Jovi took a role in the 1995 film Moonlight and Valentino, and continued acting throughout the Nineties, appearing in Ed Burns' No Looking Back and the World War II submarine adventure U-571. In 1997 he released his first official non-soundtrack solo album, Destination Anywhere (Number 31, 1997). The following year Sambora released his second solo album, Undiscovered Soul.

Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 with to record "Real Life" for the EdTV soundtrack. The following year, the band released Crush (Number Nine, 2000), collaborating with Swedish teen-pop svengali on the hit single "It's My Life" (Number 33, 2000), which included sound-effect hooks that harked back to the band?s Eighties singles. Demand for Bon Jovi's old-style pop-metal turned out to be so big that, since the reunion, the band has gone on to release more successful albums than it did even during its pin-up prime. Crush went double platinum in the U.S. and sold 8 million copies worldwide. After a successful tour, Bon Jovi returned with Bounce (Number Two, 2002. And to keep momentum with their younger audience, Bon Jovi had adopted a more alternative-rock look and sound and played dates with the alternative-identified pop-rock band Goo Goo Dolls. For This Left Feels Right (Number 14, 2004), the band re-recorded some of its biggest hits as slowed-down adult contemporary songs. The four-disc box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong (Number 53, 2004) — the title and packing art playing on the similarly titled Elvis Presley album — compiled 50 rare and unreleased tracks and a behind-the-scenes DVD.

Bon Jovi returned the following year with an album of new material, Have a Nice Day (Number Two, 2005), which produced not only a pop single in the title track (Number 53, 2005) but also the band's first country crossover hit, "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (Number One Hot Country, 2005; Number 23 pop, 2006). The duet with singer Jennifer Nettles of the country band Sugarland won a 2007 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The twangy move suited the changing tastes of aging Bon Jovi fans, many of whom had begun listening to the more adult-contemporary, rock-oriented sounds of post-Garth Brooks country radio. After releasing a live disc and comprehensive greatest-hits package in 2006, Bon Jovi's next album of new material, Lost Highway (Number One, 2007), was marketed more directly to the country audience, with country-charting singles "(You Want to) Make a Memory" (Number 27 pop, Number 35 Hot Country, 2007) and "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" (Number 47 Hot Country, 2007), a duet with LeAnn Rimes. To support the record, the band recorded an episode of MTV's Unplugged.

But the band?s next album, The Circle, was more rock than country; it debuted at Number One in Billboard in November 2009, five months after Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora?s induction into the Songwriter?s Hall Of Fame. At decade?s end, Billboard ranked Bon Jovi as the ninth highest grossing touring artist of the 2000s; The Circle Tour, scheduled to begin in early 2010, was slated to be their biggest and most extensive since their late Eighties hair-metal heyday.