Chris Detert’s American Rebel PR takes over fashion and music

by Dana Feldman

One cannot ignore the undeniable thread that runs between the worlds of both fashion and music and Chris Detert, of American Rebel PR, has a unique take on merging the two in a seamless way few have mastered. He started his company from the ground up with a focus on these worlds because of his love of the two. This may have been the initial driving force, but it was also his personal history as a musician earlier in his life that served as a strong fire that fueled his flame.

First out of school, Detert went on to work at The Firm, a top entertainment management company which specialized in music. He then went on to work at the well-known fashion brand, Von Dutch. Between these two experiences, he was in a continual world of parallels between both fashion and music and he was a first-hand witness of how these worlds constantly intertwined.

In regards to this crossover and how crucial one is to the other, Detert explains how the two have always had a symbiotic relationship. “They are both huge forms of people’s self-expression and oftentimes music dictates fashion and vice versa.” He goes on to further explain, “Every era is defined by its respective music and fashion and it’s really hard to think of one without the other.”

Going into further detail, Detert answered a few questions on why and how he does what he does.

Tell me about your unique branding strategies and how these separate you from other companies.

This is an ever-evolving topic for me. When I started working in marketing and branding, it was all about connecting celebrities to brands. That’s what I became known for, but as time has gone on, there has been a lot more complexity to this, mostly courtesy of the internet and social media. These days, I would say that my perspective on branding takes more of a 360° approach, where we look to create exposure through celebrities, social media, print editorial, TV product placement, and feature film integration. If you can be successful in all of these respective concentrations, then I feel that a brand has a pretty great chance of success.
 
When working with a musician, how do you go about finding the right look for them that helps them to maintain their authentic self while also making a statement about their music?

I have worked with so many musicians throughout my career, so I have become very adept at working with artists. I have worked with everyone from pop stars like Britney Spears to rock guys like Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. The one thing that rings true throughout all of them is that these people are individuals and need to be treated as such. There is no specific blueprint for how to style a musician. Part of their allure is their individuality, so it’s important to do research on the musician’s individual style, so that you can be sure to provide them with items that complement their interests and taste.
 
You are known for helping to revolutionize the way that brands market their products through the power of A-list celebrities by using the tools of product placement as well as guerilla marketing tactics.  Can you please give a few examples that you feel helped to catapult you to where you are in your career today?

Absolutely! Through my experience at Von Dutch, I was able to develop a new blueprint for how brands garnered exposure through celebrity product placement. At the time, which was approximately 2003-2005, we were placing our products on top celebrities including Halle Berry, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Madonna and Jay-Z, to name a few. When we started doing this, celebrities were not yet wise to their value as marketers. Since then, most of them have started their own clothing companies. For this reason, this method of guerilla product placement is now more difficult than ever. Fortunately for us though, we’ve forged so many strong relationships by being leaders in this industry, so it allows us to still be successful in what has become a very competitive field.
 
At its peak, you helped Von Dutch go from a niche motorcycle/car culture brand into the enormous $70 million phenomenon that it became.  What do you feel was the strategy that you used to get it to that point?

Celebrity, celebrity, celebrity! As I said previously, the current strategy for brands is a lot more sophisticated, but back then, it was all about getting the brand’s hats and t-shirts onto the heads and bodies of Hollywood’s top celebrities. Von Dutch had no advertising budget and we never participated in traditional PR methods. We simply got the products into the hands of the world’s most famous people and that did most of the work for us. Once the brand became popular, virtually all of the work was reactive, as opposed to proactive, meaning that most of my time was spent fulfilling requests, rather than pitching to press or celebrities. The experience at Von Dutch was a great trial-by-fire for me as a young marketer and publicist, but I feel that my skills were truly refined when I started my agency and started working with brands that weren’t as coveted.
 
In the very beginning, when you first had your vision for American Rebel PR, did you always know that it would become the success that it currently is today?

To be honest, I don’t know if I ever even thought about it. I am the kind of person who is always striving for more, so even though I am proud of what I’ve done to date, I am always looking ahead to my next successes and how I can build off of them. I think that this is a trait that most entrepreneurs share and I believe that it is this ideology that keeps my company moving ahead.
 
Can you tell me about working with Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Weiland and English Laundry for the collaboration of the fashion line ‘Weiland for English Laundry’?

Scott and I have been friends since 2005. I met him at the World Music Awards in Las Vegas, when I was still with Von Dutch, and I invited him to come to the store to get some clothes when we got back to LA. When we got together at the store, we literally spent over two hours together picking out outfits for him and when he finally had to leave, he didn’t want to because he wanted to do some custom pieces with our designers in our design studio. He ended up leaving before we could, but a couple of days later, he contacted me and said that he wanted to design a line together. Originally, we were going to do this at Von Dutch, but I left as the company was in its downward spiral and told Scott that we better put it on hold until we found the right partner.

It was shortly after this exchange that Detert started American Rebel PR. The following year he began working with English Laundry. As fate would have it, he remembered his conversation with Weiland and one thing led to another. “I remembered how Scott’s idea for a line was very British and Savile Row-inspired, so I thought it was a perfect fit. I pitched the idea to English Laundry’s Owner/Designer, Christopher Wicks, and he loved it. So we set up a meeting and the rest, as they say, is history!” He describes Weiland as an amazing artist who is extremely fashion forward and very involved in all aspects of his design process. “His personal sense of style is unparalleled.”

Together they did a tour of fashion shows in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami. In a further display of the union between the worlds of fashion and music, Weiland played a concert with his band after each fashion show.

When asked if he had any advice for someone out there right now today, in this economy, with a dream to start a company from the ground up, Detert answered as such, “Dream big. Work harder than everyone else and don’t be afraid to fail. Virtually every successful entrepreneur has fallen on their face before, but what separates the great ones from the rest is the ability to get back up, dust yourself off, and face the next challenge with as much energy and positivity as the last.”

As an entrepreneur, he adds, “Rarely is anything ever just handed to you, so you have to be willing to go the extra mile to win people’s trust.”

And his last bit of advice, “Go out of your way to be kind to people. Everybody prefers to work with people who are nice.” Well said indeed.
 
To learn more about Chris Detert and American Rebel PR, please visit americanrebelpr.com

Review: IK Multimedia iRig Mic

By: Al Morita

Singers and songwriters looking for a quality iOS microphone at an affordable price now have an option with the new IK Multimedia iRig Mic. It is the first handheld condenser microphone for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad and is capable of making professional quality recordings. The iRig Mic incorporates a unidirectional condenser microphone capsule, three-level gain switch, a 6 foot cord, and a 1/8 inch input jack for real-time monitoring. A carrying case and microphone clip is also included. Combined with the new VocaLive app, this provides a mobile recording suite for singers and songwriters.

The first thing I noticed with the iRig Mic is how hefty the mic is. Those expecting the microphone to be made out of plastic will be disappointed. This microphone has a metal housing, making it very durable and rugged for mobile use. The three-level gain switch is useful for capturing loud performances, standard vocal volumes, and quieter acoustic sets without distorting the sound. It can handle up to 120 dB of sound pressure in the low gain mode, 90 dB in the mid setting, and 75 dB on the high gain setting. As for the sound quality, it is excellent for a mobile device. It is significantly clearer than the built-in iPhone or iPad microphone and the headset microphone included with the iPhone.

Included with the iRig Mic is a free version of the VocaLive app, which includes the reverb effect and a doubler effect after registration. The quality of the effects are very good, especially the reverb. One can upgrade the app with the popular auto-tune effect for a reasonable $4.99. Or add the entire suite of effects for $20. My favorite feature in the VocaLive app is the built-in vocal remover. It did a good job at removing most of the vocals from a number of songs in my iTunes library. The iRig Mic also works with any app that uses the device microphone to process or record audio on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. The latency on the other apps isn’t as good as VocaLive, but is still very useable.

Overall, the combination of the iRig Mic and the VocaLive app is an unbeatable value for vocalists looking to record with their iOS device.

Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5 · $59.99 · IKMultimedia.com · Amazon ($59.99)

Review: IK Multimedia iKlip mic stand adapter for iPad

By: Al Morita

Looking for a new way to learn new songs on your iPad? The IK Multimedia iKlip iPad microphone stand adapter is a good option for those tired of carrying music or lyric sheets to practice. It works by mounting onto a microphone stand via a quick and simple install. Once installed, the iPad easily slides onto the iKlip and there are adjustments for multiple viewing angles. It also has the capability for mounting the iPad in either portrait or landscape orientation, but requires disassembly to change between the two settings. To help with portability, it is made out of lightweight durable Italian-made plastic.

The main draw of the iKlip is that it allows you to use the iPad on stage. A musician can read tweets during a performance or learn new songs via songbook apps. Vocalists can use it for displaying lyrics and guitarists can use it for jam sessions with the Amplitube apps. It will fit onto just about any mic stand, making it a convenient addition for many musicians. Another possibility is for reading lyrics on the numerous karaoke iPad apps.

Note: The IK Multimedia iKlip is currently only compatible with the iPad 1.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 · $39.95 · iKMultimedia.com · Amazon ($36.93)

iPad App Review: AmpliTube Fender

By: Al Morita

IK Multimedia has expanded upon their AmpliTube app with collection of Fender amps and effects for use on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Five amps are included including the Twin Reverb, Super-Sonic, Pro-Junior, Bassman, and Deluxe Reverb. The amp models provide a range of clean and overdriven tones. There are also six pedal models that give a noise filter, compressor, overdrive, phaser, echo, and fuzz pedal effects. In order to use this app, one must purchase the AmpliTube iRig to connect the guitar to the iOS device.

The AmpliTube Fender uses the same layout as AmpliTube 2 app with an easy-to-use interface and excellent graphics. Each amplifier model has the same look and functionality of a real amp. To further customize your sound, five speaker cabinets and two microphone options are provided.

I’ve summarized the tone of each of the five amps below:

• The Deluxe Reverb model has the clean Fender tone with nice reverb and vibrato effects.
• The Twin Reverb model adds a brightness switch and midrange EQ to the Deluxe Reverb amp.
• The Pro Junior model is a small tube amp with tone and volume knobs.
• The Bassman model is a warm sounding amp with a great natural distortion when cranked.
• The Super-sonic model has a mix of the Fender clean tones and distortion in one amp.

Two pedal effects that stand out in AmpliTube Fender are the Tape Echo and the Fender Blender. Tape Echo is versatile with many settings such as level, time, feedback, brightness, and BPM sync. Fender Blender is the highlight pedal for any guitarist that loves fuzz distortion. The other four effects are useful for adding compression, noise filter, phaser, and overdrive to your tone.

This app is also useful for practicing and playing-along to existing songs in your iPod library or computer. There is a SpeedTrainer feature that allows you to slow down imported tracks for learning new riffs without affecting the pitch. Also included is a built-in tuner and metronome.

The only problems I found with the AmpliTube Fender were the occasional crashes that occurred while switching amp models. This was quickly remedied through force quitting the app or restarting the iPad.

AmpliTube Fender for the IOS is a great app for guitarists looking for the classic Fender sound in a portable device. It’s an excellent value at $14.99 for both the amps and effects. For existing AmpliTube 2 users, the clean Fender tones in this app are a welcome upgrade as an in-app purchase. A free version is also available for download with the Deluxe Reverb model amp, a Noise Filter effect, and the Compressor.

Pros:
- Best clean guitar tone in an IOS app (Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb models)
- Authentic Fender guitar tones in a portable app
- Fender Blender effect pedal has amazing fuzz distortion
- Fender Tape Echo is a really good echo simulation, comparable to real pedals
- Many customizable settings and features
- Very low latency

Cons:
- Occasional crashes, remedied by restarting the iPad
- Not as good for hard rock tones or metal

4 ½ stars out of 5 · IK Multimedia · iTunes ($19.99 on iPad, $14.99 on iPhone)

Beatles iTunes will anger tech geeks, please mainstream

The Beatles are coming to iTunes tomorrow, a mere seven years after the iTunes Store first launched, according to multiple reports. The move will be hated by technology geeks who were instead hoping for a geek-oriented iTunes fantasy such as music rentals or music subscriptions, but the Beatles move will otherwise be met with a positive reaction by the mainstream. The question, then, is just how large that positive reaction will be.

The Beatles are, by nearly any objective measure, the most popular and influential band in music history. Their impact is so great in fact that when the iTunes Store first launched in 2003, many observers predicted it wouldn’t succeed specifically because the Beatles catalog was missing. That turned out to be incorrect as iTunes now outsells CD retailers. The arrival of The Beatles in 2010 won’t have nearly the kind of impact on iTunes that it would have had several years ago, so the remaining question is just what kind of impact it will have. The number of aging adults who now buy from iTunes, combined with the number of teenagers who consider themselves to be Beatles fans, means that the addition will be met with some degree of smiles from the mainstream.

Geeks, meanwhile, will be deeply disappointed by the announcement. Not that they have anything against The Beatles, it’s just that the mere addition of high profile popular content to iTunes is nearly geeky enough for their tastes.

app review: Solipskier

If you have ever wondered, “There must be a game out there that combines an electric guitar soundtrack with skiing” then Solipskier may be the answer. Solipskier is an iPhone game created by MikenGreg Games Co.; a two-person team that showcases creativity without the need of large teams or million dollar budgets.

In Solipskier, the player’s main goal is to have the skier run through as many gates as possible while avoiding cliffs. The skier, though, is not under the control of the player, and instead skis along the path that is made. The more gates you are able to run through, the faster his pace quickens. The game is not just about getting the highest score, but about what happens in between your runs. While on your runs, you can cause the skier to ski and complete tricks in the air (earning bonus points), and achieve a temporary rainbow colored cape (amazing, I know).

Even though the complete Solipskier experience aspires to reach a psychedelic state, it instead just hints at it. It would have been amazing for the game to encourage the use of tricks, utilize the background and engulf it in colors when reaching top speed or achieving tricks. The cape that appears on the skier is unfortunately all you get. The biggest problem with the game is that it was originally made for keyboard and mouse controls. This means that the game was mostly left unchanged from its desktop brethren, and causes one big problem on the iPhone: your finger will cover up an important portion of the right side of the iPhone’s smaller screen. Your finger will unfortunately cover the pop-up messages, which alert you of upcoming gates and jumps, and become a cause for frustration.

Overall, Solipskier is a fun game but one that could be so much greater. The current $2.99 price tag does not give you much beyond the game, Facebook and Twitter updates, highscore chart, and sound options. Even though there are negatives that detract from the experience, Solipskier should be checked out especially at a discounted price.

review by Bagner Estrada

rating: three stars out of five • App Store link

Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan lets loose on light and darkness in rock music

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has let loose on the state of rock music this evening via his Twitter account, sharing a prolonged stream of thought which touched on everything from music critics to the concept of light and darkness in rock music, and where he thinks it’s headed. Tweeting from a Pumpkins tour stop in Japan, here’s what Corgan had to say in its entirety:

“Critic Robert Hilburn once said of me that I had the talent, but didn’t have the disposition to lead. Wrong. I cannot lead darkness to light … Point being no one can lead darkness to light. Darkness only begets more pain. See current state of Rock and Roll for dire confirmation. … The days of death and destruction being prima matter for the rock and roll machine are over. No one is gonna do it better than the Crue! … The new Age has come, and music will serve as a standard bearer for a new way to connect in Love and Respect. I am happy to lead from Love. … Goodbye to the generations that are more happy to write about you if you are beautiful and dead…or dead of Spirit.”

Billy Corgan recently spoke with Beatweek about Smashing Pumpkins and more in our cover story interview.

Beatweek.com launches reader forums: discuss music, iPhone+iPad, entertainment, pop culture, and more

Beatweek’s reader forums launched earlier today as the place to discuss, music, technology, entertainment, pop culture, and anything else that comes along. Opportunities for discussion include everything from talking up your favorite artists and products, to buying advice, to tech support. Several hundred post have already been made on a variety of topics, so feel free to join the conversation at Beatweek.com/forums.

Jimmy Dean dies, his music and sausage live on

Jimmy Dean, the country music singer who was better known to a younger generation for his eponymous line of sausage products, has passed away at the age of eighty-one. In addition to a sufficiently influential country artist to have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and a visible spokesman for his Jimmy Dean sausage products, he was also an actor, variety show host, and Air Force veteran, according to CNN.

Jack White, Conan O’Brien to release album together

Conan O’Brien and Jack White will officially release last night’s joint musical performance in Nashville as an album in the near future, according to their label. In fact, the album, entitled Live At Third Man, is already available for pre-order on the label’s site, with an expected shipping date of mid to late July. The musical collaboration between was a one-off for Conan O’Brien, former Tonight Show host and future TBS show host, and Jack White, a member of bands including The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and most recently The Dead Weather. The performance by White and O’Brien includes an instrumental cover of the Stripes hit “7 Nation Army” and along with the classic “20 Flight Rock” by Eddie Cochran. The two were backed by O’Brien’s “Legally Prohibited Band” which has been accompanying him on his current national tour of the same name.

Geek wanking over Apple’s Lala acquisition continues

This morning we laid out the facts surrounding Apple’s acquisition of the failed music rental service known as Lala, and we predicted that none of those facts, which make it abundantly clear that Apple acquired the company simply to add its engineers to their roster, would prevent geeks from continuing to insist that Apple was at any moment going to throw away seven years of success with the iTunes Store and instead replace it with an iTunes Rental Depot. And sure enough, those nonsensical headlines have continued to roll in throughout the day, with geek tech pundits continuing to connect the dots of the Lala shutdown in ways in which anyone looking at the situation rationally would laugh at.

So, to reiterate the actual facts of the matter regarding the Lala acquisition, which you’re apparently only going to get from us:

- Lala realized its business model wasn’t working and approached Apple about the buyout.

- Apple was not in the market to acquire a music rental service at the time.

- Every music rental service in the history of digital music has failed to find substantial success.

- The litany of failed music rental services includes early attempts made before the iTunes Store even existed, subsequent attempts made concurrently with the rise of the iTunes Store, and recent attempts made since the iTunes Store became the dominant force in the music industry. To reiterate, all of those attempts have been failures.

- For reason that are unclear to anyone but them, while the general public has clearly demonstrated no interest in renting music whatsoever, the geekiest segment of the population continues to insist that this is their preferred music consumption model and therefore continues to push the notion that Apple’s music efforts, which in their mind have been failure to this point, could finally succeed if Apple would just start renting music to people.

Much as we hate to waste further time even discussing this nonsense, it appears that if we’re going to be the only publication willing to lay out the facts of the matter, then we just may have to do so multiple times per day until those facts set in for those geeks who just won’t stop wanking to their music rental fantasies.

Apple only bought dying Lala for the engineers

Ever since Apple launched its iTunes Store in 2003, various geek pundits have openly speculated that the company would soon abandon its attempt at selling music in favor of a music rental model. And even seven years later, after Apple has proven digital music sales to be a highly profitable business model, while music rental has proven to be a failed model time and time again, those same pundits have still opined that an iTunes music rental service was somehow just around the corner. So when failing music rental service Lala concluded back in December that it wasn’t going to be profitable and decided to approach Apple about a buyout, Apple agreed to the acquisition so the ever-expanding company could add to its engineering roster.

But that didn’t stop those same pundits from looking at the failure of yet another music rental service and interpreting it as Apple, the only widely successful company in the history of digital music, getting ready to shift away from a music sales model which has been proven to work in favor of a music rental model which has been proven time and again to be a failed idea. And now that Apple has shut down Lala’s music rental service this month, a move that any dispassionate observer would have seen coming since the day of the acquisition, those same geek tech pundits have now declared that the shutdown of Lala is even more evidence that Apple is about to abandon its own successful business model in favor of Lala’s failed one. How can these pundits be so insistent on misinterpreting the blatant facts of the matter?

Seemingly the only conclusion is that these geek tech pundits are still so desirous of the opportunity to rent music that they’re willing to overlook every detail to the contrary in order keep their hope alive that Apple, the only company who’s shown any ability to succeed in digital music, will give them their rental service. Which is why this week’s shutdown of Lala, which almost no one was using, was met with cries of pain by geek pundits who saw it for what it was, and hoots of denial from those geek pundits who were able to convince themselves that it was reasonable that Apple would shut down its newly acquired music rental service in favor of launching it again later.

Why are geeks are so insistent that music rental is the future, even as years of evidence have mounted to demonstrate that no one outside the geekdom has any interest? Perhaps it’s just part of the fundamentally differing mindset between geeks and the mainstream. Geeks want a theoretically infinite choice of external monitors for use with their personal computer; the mainstream is increasingly embracing an all in one computer like the iMac. Geeks consider the App Store to be “closed” despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of apps from tens of thousands of developers; the mainstream considers the App Store to be wide open; what geeks call “open” the mainstream would refer to as anarchy. So while it’s unclear whether geek tech pundits (and all tech pundits are geeks) truly believe that the mainstream would suddenly want to swallow a music rental service after a lifetime of soundly rejecting the concept, or whether the geeks merely want such a service for themselves, it seems increasingly clear that while Apple won’t be launching a music rental service anytime soon to replace the failed music rental service that it just put out of its dying misery, every additional step that Apple takes in burying Lala will result in yet another round of headlines from geek tech pundits about how the move somehow represents Apple moving one step closer to finally getting around to shutting down the overwhelmingly successful iTunes Store and replacing it with an iTunes Rental Depot. But then that’s what bubble geeks tend to do.

Bret Michaels and Poison soaring on music charts

Bret Michaels remains in critical condition as fans and well wishers from around the world continue to wait for the latest official news on his condition, but if there’s a silver lining for Michaels it’s that his recent illness has caused a spark in interest in the music from his band Poison. The greatest hits album “The Best of Poison” is currently at number nine on the iTunes rock charts, likely representing by far the best chart position the band has had since the iTunes Store launched in 2003. Included in the hits collection are classics like Nothin’ But a Good Time, Unskinny Bob, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, and Something To Believe In, most of which had their heyday in the eighties and early nineties.

These the days the younger generation is more likely to know Bret Michaels from his Rock Of Love television show than from his Poison days, but it appears that the entirely unfortunate events of the past week have indeed steered the public back in Poison’s direction.

This isn’t the first time that a musician’s ill health has caused a run on digital sales; shortly after Michael Jackson’s death, the iTunes charts quickly became occupied by his various albums. The key (fortunate) difference here is that Bret Michaels is still with us, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.

iPad: Beatweek’s hands-on two week review

Now that I had the iPad for two weeks, I have a better understanding of when and where I like to use it. it’s still a bit heavy to hold but I think getting some sort or stand will remedy this. Here are a few points I’d like to address:

Applications. New iPad-only and universal apps are coming out daily and it’s getting hard to keep up. If there’s an application you need for the iPad, it’s probably available, or will be soon. Again, all iPhone apps that you purchased before will work on the iPad, but they do not make great use of the space. You’ll find yourself deleting most of these apps off of your iPad and waiting for an iPad version of it.

Landscape vs. Portrait. I enjoy holding the iPad in landscape mode a lot. It’s much easier to hold with two hands, especially when you’re playing a game. I also notice that a lot of the apps make better use of the space when it is in landscape mode. Take the official Mail app for example. In portrait mode, you only see the email and would need to tab over to the menu to see the list of emails. In landscape mode, you see both the email and the list of emails in one window. I like to see everything at once, but again, this is just my preference. What’s handy with the iPad is that there’s a switch on the right side (if you’re holding it in portrait mode) that allows you to lock the screen so it’s not switching on you as you move. Sometimes, I wish the iPhone had this switch!
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Kick-Ass soundtrack? Not so much

Those who felt the movie “Kick-Ass” lived up to its title may not feel the same way when they go to purchase the accompanying soundtrack in iTunes. That’s not a complaint about the music on it, mind you, but rather the unusual terms presented when it comes to purchasing the fourteen track album. While the lead single “Make Me Wanna Die” by The Pretty Reckless is available for purchase on its own for ninety-nine cents, the other thirteen songs from various artists can only be acquired by purchasing the entire $11.99 album. Ordinarily, any song in iTunes under seven minutes long can be purchased on its own, even if it’s been released as part of an album, for no more than $1.29.

While those looking to cherry pick various songs from the Kick-Ass soundtrack, which range from The Prodigy to New York Dolls, may be disappointed in the purchasing arrangement, it could be worse; multi-artist movie soundtracks are notorious only having some of their songs available for sale digitally, or not being available digitally at all.

As far as the music itself, iTunes users have rated the soundtrack with an average of four and a half stars.

Chris Jericho interview

He’s the world wrestling champion of the WWE, the lead singer of the hard rock band Fozzy, and he’s even recently found the time to appear in the MacGruber movie and host the upcoming Revolver Golden Gods awards. Days after defending his title at Wrestlemania, Chris Jericho carved out some time to chat with me (a phone call which, as evidence of just much he has going on these days, was briefly interrupted when he got called into the office of WWE boss Vince McMahon). Our conversation spanned how he balances his two careers, how it feels to be on the road with his band again, and what the future holds…

Is it sweeter to win the WWE title in the first place, or is it sweeter when you’re able to defend the title, like you just did the other night?

Anytime you go to Wrestlemania and work for a title it’s always sweet, because obviously that’s the biggest show of the year, and to be able to walk in as the champion and walk out as the champion, they’re both very sweet. I’d have to say probably walking into Wrestlemania as the champion has more prestige and has more fire behind it, especially when it comes to Wrestlemania.

After you won, Edge got you pretty good there on a cheap shot, we all saw what happened. This guy is an old teammate of yours. Is that relationship done for, or is that repairable? Are you looking for a re-match so you can go back in and kill him?

I’m not interested in killing anybody, nor am I interested in repairing any types of relationships. I’m interested in winning the championship and keeping the championship. That’s what I do.

It seems like having these two careers in wrestling and music could be beneficial to both of them through cross promotion, but is there a downside or a risk to having your wrestling career and music career lumped together in the minds of a lot of people?

Yeah, I have to be very careful in keeping them separate, especially being the heel in wrestling, being the bad guy, I have to be very careful because if I don’t be very cognizant of that, people will think they’re supposed to hate my band. If I bring my band into wresting, they’ll just assume they’re supposed to hate the band as well. So I have to be very specific in keeping the band separated and keeping them two separate entities.

You just did your first live concert with Fozzy in four years. How did it feel to be performing up there on stage again?

It felt great. We had the return of Frank Fontsere our drummer, and we had a new guitar player Billy Grey that had played with us for years before and just came back as well, so the band sounded great, and it was awesome. A good way to come back and to hear the band and to hear the new songs live, it was just a long time coming. Very cool experience.

Some bands, if they take four years off from touring, they’re afraid they’re going to lose momentum. Were you pleasantly surprised to see that the show sold out?

I think it’s six of one, half dozen of the other. Yeah, you do lose momentum, but it’s not like we hadn’t been in the public eye. We released another record “All That Remains – Reloaded” in 2007, and the last record did so well for us that people were, actually there was a buzz for Fozzy when we returned. So I was happy that we were sold out, but also that’s just a testament to how much work we did on the last record and how much people were excited and waiting to see us again. So we’ll do as many gigs as we possibly can.

Obviously due to my other day job, I can’t really get on a bus and tour all around the world, or at least for long periods of time. We have a tour of England coming up in May, we have a show at B.B. King’s in New York City, and other ones kind of pending right now. So we play as much as we can, and the good thing is that people are really clamoring to see us. So it was good to take a little break, because absence made the heart grow fonder, which is not always the case, especially in the world of music, you know what I mean? So it’s good to know that people were waiting to hear what we were doing, and plus the fact that Chasing The Grail has gotten such great reviews, and all across the board people are saying it’s our best record by far, so it just makes more of a buzz behind it, makes more people excited to come see us play the new songs live.

When you first started Fozzy, some people assumed it was some kind of vanity project, or didn’t initially take it seriously. Do you feel vindicated now?

Yeah, I do feel vindicated because we’ve been working on it for a long time. People were really waiting to hear what this record could do, and our last one did so good for us, like I said, and that’s why we spent the time that it took to make this record as good as it could possibly be. We took our time to write the songs properly and to record it properly, so to know that it’s going to be our biggest selling record ever, because when we first started it was more of a fun thing. I would never say vanity project, but it was kind of a side project, a hobby, but you know, I’ve been playing in bands a lot longer than I’ve been wresting. I’ve always wanted to play in bands, and to be able to do that, and to be able to continue to do that, especially the level we’re at at this point, is very rewarding to me and it shows what can happen when you use all this hard work to make things happen.

You’re the highest profile member of the band, not just because of wrestling but also because you’re the lead singer, but you and Rich Ward have been in that band together for a decade now. What should the world know about Rich?

Rich Ward is one of the most underrated guitar players in the history of rock and roll. And you can ask Rich Ward’s fanbase, which is Zakk Wylde is a big Rich Ward fan, Jon from Shadows Fall, the dudes from Shinedown are big Rich Ward fans to the point where they even asked Rich to join. Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth has asked Rich to join. Danzig asked Rich to join. And as matter of fact, Dimebag was a big Rich fan, thought Rich had the best tone, and would actually always want to use Rich’s amps when they toured together, thinking that there was some kind of a gimmick until he finally found out it’s just Marshall plugged into the Les Paul and it’s just the way that Rich plays.

He’s got so much experience and so much critical acclaim from all of the big players and he’s a great songwriter and a pioneer. Stuck Mojo was one of the first rap-rock bands. As much of a weird term that is nowadays, in ’95 Mojo was kind of ruling the roost. That’s where Limp Bizkit came from and Papa Roach. He’s just one of those guys that has always been a little bit ahead of his time, and I think now with Fozzy, he’s finally getting a little bit of recognition for what he deserves, just being a great rock and roll guitar player, a great songwriter, and also a great producer as well. I think Rich is one of those guys that is going to be a late bloomer and end up being a lot more famous when he’s in his forties than he ever was when he was in his twenties or thirties.

How important is it to have Frank back in the band?

It’s like with Slayer, when Dave Lombardo left they got a couple great players in, but it still wasn’t Dave Lombardo. Frank fits what we do with Fozzy and with Stuck Mojo. When Rich and Frank had their rift in the mid 2000’s and he left, we had a great drummer Eric Sanders, very technically proficient, but Frank is just a great feel drummer, and also, Frank came prepared for war. He knew that he was coming back into the fold, and he threw down some fire.

You’re hosting the Revolver Golden Gods awards. I’m sure you get offers to participate in a lot of things like this. Why did you say yes to this one?

Obviously I have no problems hosting, I’ve done a lot of shows that way, and I like being in front of a crowd. But mostly it’s just being a huge heavy metal fan, and being proud of the fact that now bands actually have an award for them to kind of hang their hat on. It really makes a big difference to me, and I’m really glad I can be involved in it. I know I can do a great job and help these awards continue to grow so that every year we’ll get to see them.

You’re also nominated for an award, Most Metal Athlete. How competitive are you when it comes to winning awards like that?

To me it’s almost patronizing me, because I’m not a metal athlete, I’m a musician who happens to be an athlete. I think those other guys are just fans of metal, where I’ve been a musician a lot longer than I’ve been an athlete, so I almost hope that people don’t vote for me. It’s like winning American Idol, it’s almost better if you come in second. So maybe I’ll be the runner up and it’ll be better for me. I’d rather be nominated for Best Singer in a Metal Band or something like that.

You’re having you most success ever in both of your careers. Have you ever though that at some point something’s got to give?I left the WWE for a couple years back in 2005 to spend more time with Fozzy, to do some serious touring, and that’s when we really made our mark in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Germany, and those options are always there. I came back to the WWE because I felt I could contribute and be better than I’d ever been, so there’s really no reason for me to quit either one, because they’re both going so good and I’ve been able to juggle both.

Could Fozzy get bigger? Yes. But I want to do it on our terms.

Learn more at FozzyRock.com • iTunes • MySpace • Facebook • Twitter

Meet the band from the iPad TV ad

Can’t quite put your finger on the song that’s featured in Apple’s iPad television commercial that first aired during the Oscars and is now going to bombard you across every TV station for the rest of 2010. Meet Danish rock outfit The Blue Van, whose song “There Goes My Love” provides the soundtrack to the soon to be ubiquitous television commercial. The song comes from the band’s third album, Man Up, which was released last year. On previous U.S. tours, the band has opened for the likes of The Pretenders and Jet, the latter of which was previously featured in an Apple TV ad during the iPod era.

If The Blue Van’s music already sounds familiar, it may be because their music has made previous television appearances on Scrubs, CSI New York, and oddly enough, a Samsung cellphone ad campaign.

The band boats of having more than ten thousand copies of “There Goes My Love” through iTunes as a result of the first handful of times the iPad ad aired prior to this weekend.

A full-length performance of “There Goes My Love” by The Blue Van can be viewed on YouTube.

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Filed Under: Industry News
Tagged: iPad commercial, iPad theme song, music, song, television, The Blue Van, There Goes My Love

Add your iPhone’s music to Twitter

March 27, 2010 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment 

For those who wish to fill their Twitter timeline with automated updates about various aspects of their day without even having to type the 140 characters themselves will now have an even easier task of it thanks to Jingle, an app for iPhone and iPod touch which automatically tweets about the song, podcast, or audiobook you’re listening to on your device, along with whatever star rating you’ve assigned to it. Or as the developer Arbutus puts it, “In most cases a person can Tweet whatever they are listening to without typing.”

So much for using Twitter being good for building up finger muscles.

Learn more about Jingle 1.1 for iPhone and iPod touch in the iTunes.

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Filed Under: Industry News
Tagged: App Store, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, music, songs, Tweet, Twitter

Official GRAMMY iPhone app

January 23, 2010 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment 

With the 2010 GRAMMY awards less than a week away, the new “Guess the GRAMMYs” app is designed to help iPhone and iPod touch users pass the time until the airing of the annual music industry award show. The free app presents users with trivia about the GRAMMYs along with the opportunity to predict winners from twenty-one current GRAMMY categories and register their guesses in order to be automatically notified of how their predictions fared.

The 52nd annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, January 31st, at 8:00 pm on CBS.

Current GRAMMY nominees who’ve been interviewed by iProng Magazine include (click for interviews): Lady GaGa, The Black Eyed Peas, Colbie Caillat, Katy Perry, LMFAO, Steve Vai, The Crystal Method, and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic.

The official GRAMMY app is available for free in the App Store. The full list of GRAMMY nominees can be found at GRAMMY.com.

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Filed Under: Industry News
Tagged: 2010, app, App Store, award, broadcast, Grammy, iPhone, iPod touch, music, nominees, winners

Noush Skaugen interview

January 5, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 2 Comments 

As much time as Noush Skaugen spends interacting with her million-plus followers on Twitter, and answering fan questions on live chats, one might be tempted to wonder how she ever finds time to make music. But her digital omnipresence belies the fact that she’s currently holed up in the studio working on her next album. Noush took some time out from recording her new songs to give us a preview of what’s coming…

You were born in Sweden, grew up in London, spent time in Los Angeles and Nashville. How have those “citizen of the world” experiences impacted your musical philosophies?

Each place has its own unique music culture and perspective on what a good performance is. I have learnt a great deal in all places, which hopefully has made me more open to experiment and a more rounded performer. I grew up dancing round trees singing songs with my parents & guests merry on aquavite (a very potent Scandinavian alcohol) – so initially I guess I learnt that music is about having a good time!

In London you better be good because once the fellas get a few pints in, they’ll let you know if you’re not LA is all about entertaining and the passion of connecting with your fans. Nashville they don’t care what you look like or what’s on your CD, just play it to them on an acoustic guitar and you had better be good, because even the garbage man is probably a prodigy. It has made me step up my game, to compete with the best. I am striving to create the ultimate experience for my fans, from the music to exclusive deluxe content, with behind the scenes footage & interviews yet to be released.

A year ago you had a few thousand followers on Twitter. Now you have more than a million followers, more than Dave Matthews or Snoop Dogg, which seems an unlikely feat for an indie artist. Where are all these followers coming from?

It’s mad really… in a great way…The number keeps growing every day… The power of Social Media is massive. I suppose in the age of reality TV stars, I am the opposite – organic, real, my own creation from hard graft. I am transparent with my tweets, love to chat with my followers, letting them in on what’s going on behind the scenes of making a record.

I am not constrained by any label telling me what I can or cannot do or tweet – so it’s very fluid and brutally honest. There’s no smokescreen. It lets me connect on a one to one basis with them virtually, and for them to be on this journey with me, something acts 20 years ago could not have imagined. Born from this idea, I will do live interactive concerts in the new year and I have other really exciting plans for the fans in the new year that I’m working on.

Do you find Twitter more daunting now that each of your tweets is going to be read by up to a million of your fans?

Lol! Initially when it started growing at a big rate, I had that moment of pure fright, and didn’t tweet I think for a couple of days….but then I got over it You can’t change who you are just because more people are listening to you.

Being true and real is very important to me. I am very comfortable with it now. I imagine as if I am speaking to each person directly.

You’ve been making your songs podsafe for use in podcasts for a couple of years now. How has that worked out for you?

Great. I think podcasts are a fantastic way to get your music out there worldwide with a DJ in Missouri being able to reach someone in South Africa! The DJ’s are really passionate about the music they play. Podcasts have been very supportive of me and my music, Podsafe got me on Satellite radio first…. For me anyway to reach people with my music is a good thing. Red tape and rules can hinder artistic growth.

Many of your fans had been hoping for a new release from you in late 2009. I take it there’s a good reason you’ve chosen to wait until the spring to release your new album?

Yes… I had a whole new game plan set in motion autumn this year. I decided I wanted to release a full album, and held back the EP. My objective is to make the best album I can, one that is timeless and will still be played in decades to come. I am motivated to use the music medium to inspire people to dare to dream! I am taking the time to push myself to the limit in every way possible in terms of my lyrics, music and the whole artistic concept of the album. No fillers, no wasted words… a classic record.

Basically the thought and TLC any great album had back in the day, that seems to be missing today… I am lucky enough to have the fantastic opportunity to write with some of the best songwriters out there and am on an amazing journey. Hopefully my fans will understand the wait will be worth it:) I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their patience.

Dr. System and Run Baby Run, the two songs you’ve sent me so far, are both rockers. Is that indicative of where the new record is headed overall? 

Absolutely, this whole record will be rocking, taking no prisoners I am comfortable in my own skin, sexuality and fearless. This record will challenge the role of female artists today.

You’ve had acting parts in shows like CSI and Entourage. Is that something you plan to pursue more of?

Definitely. I trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, which showed me the thrill of delving deep into a character so that they get under your skin. I love all forms of artistic expression and would love to do a movie and TV once the album is done… Acting allows me to be someone else for a while… explore other realities and history… which can only enrich the art that in turn pours out of me. It’s a fusion which can create fireworks.

Your Twitter bio reads “Together we can change the world” – what are your plans for doing just that?

Using my voice to motivate people to chase their dreams and follow their gut… be who they want to be, no matter what those close to them expect of them or the system tells them they can or cannot do. Anything is possible, the only limitations are the ones we place on ourselves. Music and art used to affect change, and I would love to see us artists bring it back to empowering the people.

I will also be standing behind certain causes, one of them I have already started to take part in is the fight against breast cancer, which I lost my mother to. Some of the proceeds from my album ‘Lost and Found’ goes to the cause.

Life is short and we should use the voices we have to push boundaries, the human race and live a riot baby!

Learn more at NoushSkaugen.com

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Filed Under: Interviews, Musician interviews
Tagged: Adeline, female rocker, interview, Lost and Found, music, Noush Skaugen, podsafe, Swedish, What I

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