Tuesday, September 26, 2006

New Orleans Superdome Rocks!


New Orleans Saint's Reggie Bush "Bangs His Head"

World renowned rock bands U2 and Green Day teamed up to give the New Orleans faithful an earful of energized music during Monday Night Football this week.

This was the Saints first home game since hurricane Katrina turned the Superdome into a damaged refuge for those riding out the storm last year. The Superdome has been through major refurbishing and apparently The Saints have as well. They are first in their division at 3-0 after Monday's win.

The 70's punk song "The Saints Are Coming" rattled though the stadium as U2 lead singer Bono traded melodies with Green Day's Own Billy Joe Armstrong. Local musicians played backup for the pregame concert.

The two rock juggernauts worked together earlier this year in the famous Abbey Road studios to record a studio version of the song which will be released as a fund raiser to help rebuild New Orleans.

U2 and Green Day are both working on albums due out next year.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Too Old To Rock and Roll?

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Here's what some aging Rock performers require in their performance contracts according to Timesonline.co.uk:

Ozzy Osbourne- An eye, ear, nose and throat doctor must be on site when Ozzy arrives at the venue. The doctor must be able to administer a B12 shot and Decadron (anti-inflammatory) shot. The venue must provide two oxygen tanks, two masks and two regulators

The Beach Boys- A licensed masseur/masseuse, qualified in either Swedish or Oriental deep muscle massage, must be available on day of engagement or any day off the artists have in the city. No form of advertising shall contain the word “oldies” in conjunction with the artists’ logo.

Meat Loaf- A mask and one small tank of oxygen, which needs to be charged and ready

Aerosmith- The venue must provide names and phone numbers of a throat specialist, a physician fully qualified in internal medicine, an osteo-podiatrist and a licensed chiropractor

David Bowie- The venue must ensure a dressing room temperature of between 14C and 18C

Paul McCartney- One large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies with lots of foliage for a dressing room containing off-white furniture

Metallica- Four oxygen tanks. These shall be portable and equipped with masks and regulators if not inclusive of tank. Very important that bacon be available at every meal and during the day

For many bands, autocues are a guilty secret. These teleprompters display the lyrics to songs, should the performer have a brain freeze or memory lapse.

“Everyone uses them, from Macca to Elton,” said Brian Larter, managing director of Autoscript UK, which provides prompts for BBC newsreaders and rock stars. But discretion is vital. “Singers like to hide them in a front-of-stage monitor,” Mr Larter said. “You don’t want cameras to pick them up or let the audience see them or the gig can turn into karaoke.”