12 November 2011
VVN Music
Dan Nelson, who fronted Anthrax from 2007 to 2009, is suing the group for $2.65 million for the music he wrote for the album Worship Music and for the defamatory remarks made by the group in interviews since his departure. The band rerecorded the new album after he left.
Cheap Trick is making plans to open a rock themed eatery and museum in the area of Chicago famous for much of the city's blues and R&B music.
According to Reuters, the new business would anchor an entertainment district on South Michigan Avenue where labels like Chess, Vee-Jay and Brunswick were originally located.
It looks like Alabama is coming out of retirement. The group hit number one recently on the Country Singles chart with Old Alabama by Brad Paisley Featuring Alabama, their first trip to the top since 1993.
Now, Randy Owens has told the Tennessean that the band is working on new music which they will "hopefully be recording" along with a new tour. "I still love to play and sing, and I’m sure the other guys do, too. I know that’s that our plans, and there’s some very exciting things out there we’re looking about and thinking very seriously about going out and doing the music."
The Berkshire Theatre Group in Pittsfield, MA is about to mount their annual community production of A Christmas Carol but this year's production will be a bit more special as it will feature the theatrical debut of James Taylor.
Taylor is playing Bob Cratchit who will be joined by his wife Kim and children Rufus and Henry in the production. Eric Hill, the director, said "It's a thrill to direct James Taylor in his theatrical debut - the process for A Christmas Carol is one of celebration and sharing of our common humanity on a community level. I know that James will bring his inherent charm and gentleness to bear in his portrayal of Bob Cratchit, a good and unpretentious man. To work with Kim, Rufus and Henry Taylor again will only add to the joy."
The long tale of the fall of EMI and the attempts to sell the company has finally come to an end. Universal has signed an agreement to buy the recorded music division for $1.9 billion, which will include such prestigious labels as Angel, Blue Note, Capitol, Parlophone and Virgin.
Now comes the attempt to save the company that already lost such artists as Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney (and now a rumored David Bowie). It also is not clear how the Beatles catalog will fit in as there are some specific agreements in place that may negate them from the sale.
Meanwhile, Sony, in conjunction with the Estate of Michael Jackson; Mubadala Development Company PJSC; Jynwel Capital Limited; the Blackstone Group’s GSO Capital Partners LP; and David Geffen, have purchased EMI Publishing for $2.2 billion.
