'Tis the Season (for Social Networking)

It seems as though Simon Cowell got a lesson in humility. How? According to sources, Facebook users banded together (lead by Jon & Tracy Morter) to boost Rage Against The Machine's single "Killing in the Name Of" to the top of the UK Christmas charts, ahead of the always-perfectly-timed Simon Cowell. The alleged reason this was done, was to beat out Simon's typical Idol/X-Factor artists to the top of the Christmas charts. They succeeded.

The man knows business, yes, but he's also very disliked in numerous circles for his attitude. This seems like the FB users were striking out against Simon and his typical operations, proving once again that if you have a group of people believing in something, it can shoot the object to the moon. In this case, it was an aptly picked song dated from 1996.

It's a strong song, with a strong message, and has staying power.

What do your songs say and can people rally behind them? Use the tribe...

-AR

Take Me Down to Paradise City

Slash is at it again. He recently released a new version of the Guns 'N Roses hit "Paradise City." The 2009 version includes Cypress Hill rapping and Fergie, of the Black Eyed Peas, singing. This version will be featured on Slash's new solo album.

He explained, via his Twitter account, “Until now, not too many people have heard Fergie sing Rock & Roll but she sings it better than most dudes I know. She’s a screamer at heart.”

The song has seemed to cause an uproar in the rock community. What do you think of the new version of an old classic?

How To: Re-add an LP to iTunes

I just recently accidentally deleted an LP from my iTunes. Ugh. Muse's LP for "The Resistance" is awesome. How the hell do I get it back into my library? Apple confused me for a brief moment... Until I figured it out.

Here's how:

(With iTunes open)

1. Go to "File"

2. Go to "Add Folder to Library..."

3. Navigate to your iTunes music folder for the band that has the LP

4. Find the folder with the name of the album that has the LP

5. Highlight the folder with the "*.itlp" file extension, and click "OK"

Here's what it looks like for me (your results may vary):

Enjoy! Know about any other tricks with iTunes? Let us know...

EMI to offer live concert recordings

Media/Industry mogul EMI is now heading towards a full-swing at offering a live recording of concerts to attendees in formats like flash drives, dvd's etc. Smart. You can get blown away by the show, then pay $20 for a live multi-tracked professional quality version and not some bootleg. Smart for the band, and great for the consumers. Shocking note about this trend? Willie Nelson has been said to be doing this....since 2004.

Do filesharers spend $ on music?

Studies are now coming out as saying "yes" to that question. People are admitting to downloading music illegally, but also saying they spend their just amount on albums.

Check out the interesting article that talks more about it on CNET:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10387976-71.html

Musicians: Make some rock with Tommy Lee

(Image source: www.thepublicrecord.com)

Here's a cool opportunity, called The Public Record.

Tommy Lee, Guitar Center, and the Methods of Mayhem have created a contest which will allow Joe Rocker to record their chops with some of their tracks.

Multiple download options are available for Pro Tools users, etc.

Not only are there some cool prizes, but if you win, you get partial writing credits on the next Methods of Mayhem album.

Bitching.

Now, go download and get involved...
More info: http://www.guitarcenter.com/ or http://www.thepublicrecord.com/

Interview: Jason Davis (President/Founder of Fahrenheit Media Group)

Well, here's the mystery interview that we've been talking about for a bit. What an opportunity!
We got the incredible chance to chat a bit with Founder and President of Farenheit Media Group, Jason Davis. He has managed and worked with some of today's biggest recording artists including Michael Jackson, AFI, Jo Jo, N'Sync, Busta Ryhmes, Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, 10 Years, Wheatus, Linkin Park, and many many more. His solid expertise is something to behold, so take note. Grab a cup of piping hot coffee and read on...

***
Anti Rust: Jason, thanks for taking the time out of your insane schedule to chat a bit. You have an incredible resume, working with the likes of Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and rock newcomers 10 Years, among a slew of other incredible artists. Tell us a little bit about how you got into the music industry, eventually working your way up to collaborating with such big names, and to what you're currently working on.

Davis: I started out as a songwriter. The emphasis to me for any artist is how good their songs are. The record industry felt my songs were commercially viable and I started getting on records as a songwriter and I worked VERY hard on my relationships with the people at the record labels that were taking and using my songs. I cared intensely about those relationships and the doors that had been opened for me and I feel like I networked and worked very long hours on making sure that I had forged the right relationships with the right people.

Anti Rust: The Internet has blown the floodgates open for independent artists to be heard around the world. Some see the flood as a good thing, and others not so much. Sifting through the piles of music to find subjectively good music can be much more difficult, although exciting. How have you embraced the shift in the industry/technology, in regards to finding new music, promoting new music, and running Fahrenheit Media Group?

Davis: That is a really great question. I think because there is a lot more noise today to get through today that it does make it harder to find that great artist. This is another reason why we are excited as a company to be developing new artists because, if you are involved in developing a great artist from the beginning you get to watch that artist nurture and grow. I do believe firmly that great music and great art will in some manner still rise especially with a lot of hard work behind it. I also believe that as an artist you have more of a chance to get heard than ever before what with the TV shows like American Idol and the internet. This makes it harder for companies like Fahrenheit Media Group to find artists but on some levels it is also easier to find new artists too. For example, how would you have found that great band from Oklahoma all those years ago without the internet? You would have to have known someone from Oklahoma. Today you can go on the internet and do some searching and there are figures available that can show you what is reacting and what is not. On some levels it is easier for a company to find that artist but on other levels it is also harder.

Anti Rust: We have a multitude of readers that are independent artists. What are some characteristics you look for in artists that want to expand their career by working with your company?

Davis: I would recommend an aspiring artist to try and write and record one song every week (even if it is a home recording) and I would make sure that I wrote and completed 52 songs a year minimum. I would try and get out and play live shows of my own material three to four times a month both in my local area and beyond. I would focus on my craft as a musician and if you have seriously focused on your song-writing and your live performance, then those are the two keys that would excite us about you as an artist.

Anti Rust: There is a giant question mark in people's heads right now regarding the direction of the music industry. Where do you see it headed and landing in say, 5 years? What will be in store for artists, fans, and business?

Davis: Over the past five years the trend has been that there are fewer big artists and more mid level artists than ever before. I think you will see less and less people selling millions of records and I think you will see more artists selling 20-50,000 and if those artists are independent they could make an incredible living with their music as long as they work hard. The cleansing process that’s happening in music right now is causing artists to have to work harder than ever before and that is a good thing for music. If an artist has to focus on their songs, promotion and live performance more then it turns that artist into a true business person and allows them to understand the business more and how it may react or not react to their music. This cleansing process will make the music industry stronger, the music industry will become smaller but it will be stronger. There will be a lot more artists that taste success in the future but that taste will be nowhere near as delicious as the stars of yesteryear that they grew up with.

Anti Rust: Besides your client list, what makes Fahrenheit Media Group unique and stand out from the rest of the agencies in our global music industry?

Davis: Fahrenheit Media Group is aggressively passionate about artist development and that is hard to find these days.

Anti Rust: What is "sidelining" and how is Farenheit Media Group the best at working with record labels in a sidelining role?

Davis: The term sidelining is the outsourcing of services that a few years ago would have been done in house at a major record label. Basically as record labels are merging and the staff is getting smaller inside the actual buildings they are relying more and more on outside help to promote, push and market their up and coming records and songs. So in a nutshell “sidelining” is a term for outsourcing.

Anti Rust: How do you keep your approach fresh, interesting, and cutting-edge when it comes to operating your company?

Davis: That is a really great question. So much of what keeps us fresh and excited is the inspiration we get from who we work with. Working with great singers, producers and songwriters it is hard not to get inspired when you have two or three songs come in during a day from a country writer, or a rock producer, or an urban R&B singer. When you’re getting sent incredible music everyday it is almost impossible to not enjoy what you do when you are a music lover. That’s what keeps it fresh for Fahrenheit Media Group is the talent and how good the talent we work with actually are.

Anti Rust: Why “Fahrenheit Media Group?” How did you come up with that name and what does it mean to you?

Davis: I was working with a friend of mine years ago and we just thought of the name one day. There was not a lot of thought put into the name as such, it just sounded good (laughs). I had a vision of Fahrenheit Media Group becoming a full blown entertainment and media company where we dealt with singers, bands, country music singers, rappers and songwriters / producers for all the genres, press people, publicists, and marketing people etc. We had a big vision of being very multi-media centric and creating a hot media company that handled everything from the writing of the song itself to the press involved with making that song a hit success.

Anti Rust: Artists, Bands, Studio Musicians, etc. are all striving for a career in music as their livlihood. What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see young artists making and how can they correct them to achieve their goals?

Davis: That is such a great question. I appreciate the intelligence behind that question. The biggest single mistake that I see is people pursuing the music business from the middle. What I mean by that is a lot of people know that they are not going to make it famous just by singing Karaoke but a lot of people are not willing to go and do the things that Taylor Swift did to become famous. They are not willing to work that hard, to stick with it for years, to possibly spend money on it. What people tend to do is to take a safe or middle approach. Whatever you are going to do in life, be it an entrepreneurial business, a marriage or a friendship I don’t think that things work that well when you pursue them safely. You either need to stick your toe in the water or you need to dive right in. If you go half way in to the water it is a dangerous place to be as you can spend a lot of time and money with very little result.

Anti Rust: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Davis: When I was a kid I wanted to be a famous singer when I grew up and I think I have gotten as close as I am going to get (laughs).

Anti Rust: What is one thing that not many people know about you?

Davis: Friends and family know this, some of the more recent artists I have worked with might know this too but three and a half years ago I became a Christian and started reading the Bible. Me reaching for the Bible and for God changed my life, my heart, my thoughts, and my appreciation towards others and for what I have been given by God in life. I have a real love affair with God that has happened over the last few years and not a lot of people on the outside would know this.

Anti Rust: Jason, thank you very much for your time and insight on current trends, artist motivation, and all of your other powerful standpoints. I'm sure that our readers have gained some valuable ideas that they can hopefully integrate into their work ethic as well. Hopefully we'll be catching up with you down the road. Best wishes and luck with everything!

Davis: Thank you!

***

For more information on Farenheit Media Group and their extensive credits: http://www.fahrenheitmediagroup.com/

Grammy Rock Entries

The 2010 list of entries for the various rock, hard rock and metal Grammy categories has been released. These are not nominees but a list of entries that the nominees will be chosen from.

View the PDF file here.

September 29th: A Big Day in Rock

Surely fans of Breaking Benjamin, Paramore, Default, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice in Chains and AFI (and many others) have been counting down to Tuesday, September 29. Why? The bands' highly anticipated new records are dropping - all on the same day.

It isn't unusual to have a few albums of the same genre and caliber dropping at once, but Tuesday seems to be an especially exciting and popular day to release music that fans have been feigning for.

So, my question to you is: Who will come out highest on the charts? Paramore, who have support from not only rock lovers but Twilight fans? Breaking Benjamin, who have thousands of loyal BenHeads going through withdrawal? Alice in Chains? Lynyrd Skynyrd? AFI? Default? None of the above?

And do any of these bands have a chance for the #1 spot competing against other big acts like Mariah Carey?

Check out this list of rock releases and let us know what you'll be picking up and who you think will come out on top this week:
AFI - Crash Love
Alice In Chains - ‘Black Gives Way To Blue‘
Bowling For Soup - ‘Sorry For Partyin‘
Breaking Benjamin - ‘Dear Agony‘
Buckcherry - ‘Live and Loud 2009‘
Default - ‘Comes And Goes‘
Evergreen Terrace - ‘Almost Home‘
Foreigner - ‘Can’t Slow Down‘
Hatebreed - ‘Hatebreed‘
Hydrovibe - ‘Nothing Left to Lose‘
Kill Hannah - ‘Wake Up The Sleepers‘
Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘God & Guns‘
Paramore - ‘Brand New Eyes‘

Digidesign unveils "Eleven Rack"

This hardware piece is nothing short of awesome. From Digidesign comes Eleven Rack. It's a standalone hardware unit that acts as a ProTools LE interface, all-in-one reamping solution, and guitar amp modeling.

With it's multitude of outputs, you can drive combo amps, poweramps, or run direct-in into a P.A. in a live setting. Take what you used in the studio, and run it live. You can also run multiple outs for different laying techniques as well.

It has internal DSP which handles all of the modeling processing, freeing up valuable CPU cycles when you're in a ProTools session.

This is a killer unit and you'll be seeing more of these popping up in studios everywhere....

For more info: Click Here

VMA Tweets Beat Out MJ

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards brought an influx of tweets to Twitter on Sunday. According to MTV, during the show alone, 1.3 million tweets were posted regarding the VMAs.

Twitter's Chloe Sladden explained to MTV that "during the VMAs, Twitter experienced three times our average volume of tweets."

"[It was] twice as many as during the news surrounding Michael Jackson this past summer," she added.

Twitter has undeniably changed the way the world interacts. Even celebrities were tweeting from their seats, with many expressing their distaste and anger for Kanye West's onstage stunt.

"The unique level of viewer engagement MTV was able to inspire during the VMAs was impressive," Sladden added. "We think Twitter can be the way television becomes more interactive, and MTV is showing us the way."

Read the full article about the VMA Twitter Experiment via MTV.com.

Smashing Pumpkins announce new album

(image from smashingpumpkins.com)

For Smashing Pumpkins fans: This is big.

On 9-15-2009, recording began for a very intriguing album release set forth by the band. The new album will be titled "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope" and features 44 songs. Yes, 44.

All of the songs will be free. As they stated on http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/, all of the songs will "be free of charge with no strings attached." They continue by stating you won't have to give an email address, sign up for anything, etc.

Each song of the album will be released 1 at a time, until all 44 are released. Additionally, for the biggest SP fan, there will be collector editions of the album available upon it's completion. They will be divided into 4 separate mini 'box sets.'

The concept of the album is based on the journey in life according to the Tarot.

----

Some thoughts:

Overall, it's a really cool concept with some distinct business possibilities. Artists are experimenting with various business models; at this point it's like throwing something against the wall and seeing what sticks. That's a tactic that A&R from labels have been accused of lately.... hmmmm.

It will be interesting to see how Billy finalizes the monetization of the release.

-AR

MTV's Video Music Awards - 2009

(Image from examiner.com)

I don't know about you, but I was left feeling like it was a partial atrocity.

Let's recap:
- Madonna gives a generic speech, paying homage to Michael Jackson, and somehow finds a multitude of ways to relate his life to hers. I found it completely disrespectful to MJ. Somebody else could have done a better job and Madonna's efforts were poor and truly did no justice to Michael Jackson. Period.

- Opening dance number paying tribute to Michael Jackson was pretty good. Great to see Janet pop out and do some cool dance synced with her brother on a large screen behind her. Nice.

- MC Russell Brand. Oh dear.... where to start. Firstly, pull up your pants. Secondly, 1 or 2 crotch jokes were more than enough. Y'know, I feel like he'd be rolling right along with his monologue, doing a fine job.... then the last 30% of what he said was just poor jibberish. At most times listening to this guy, we were uncomfortable.

- Poor Taylor Swift. She's a doll. Not only that, she's a true talent. Then you have a no-talent try to bring her down. I'm referring to the new infamous point in the VMA's where Kanye West jumped on stage, grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift (accepting her award for "Best Female Video") and stated that Beyonce should have won. Are you kidding us Kanye?! That was the most insane stunt pulled in completely poor, classless taste. Jesus. Taylor stood there, holding her award, completely blank. Stunned. We were all stunned at what had just happened. Unreal. Somebody remove that man from all of the VIP lists, PLEASE. He's a moron.

- Green Day: Awesome as usual. They really are an incredible band. They've come a long way since the days of Dookie and have matured gracefully, keeping their edge. Keep it up, guys.

- Britney Spears joined us via satellite to accept an award. For what? I have no clue... I was completely dumbfounded by the fact that the world forgot she was nuts.

- Muse (http://www.muse.mu/) performed. SLAMMING. What a great band...

- Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga. She's a freakin' trip. There is another true talent. You don't believe me? Not only can she sing her brains out, but she's a great piano player too. Check out "Acoustic Poker Face" on http://www.youtube.com/ and really listen to her musicianship. Her performance last night was very good overall. The outfit changes just rock. She's nuts.

- Beyonce. A true professional with a load of class. Beyonce won "Video of the Year" for "All the Single Ladies." Thank you, Beyonce, for calling Taylor Swift back out to the stage to complete HER acceptance speech which Kanye so rudely interrupted. That was HUGE of Beyonce to give up her time in the spotlight and let Taylor take it. That's class.

-MTV's own Sway tried to plug Verizon's LG line while trying to call his brother while live on the air... Call failed.

It ended on a high-note with Beyonce passing the spotlight to Taylor, thank heavens. All-in-all, the bad outweighed the good, IMO.

Any points you think we missed? We'd love to hear your thoughts about it all!

Reader Question Submission

Hey All!
Great news. We have the opportunity to interview a key player in the industry. We're keeping it a secret for now, but he has worked/managed/developed such artists as 10 Years, Britney Spears, and Michael Jackson.

This is where YOU come in.

Send us your music industry-related questions that you would like to ask: submissions@antirustrecords.com
Deadline for submission: 2pm EST, Friday 9/11/2009

There's no guarantee that you're question will be picked, but hey, it's worth the 2 seconds it takes to email it to us.

Apple Strikes Again!

Steve Jobs of Apple was back on the job and announced some new additions and modifications to it's current line up of offerings. They include:

- iPod Classic upped to 160GB
- iPod Nano now includes a speaker, video camera, and a microphone, available today.
- iTunes 9 is released with additional sync features, app/music sharing, and additional content options with downloaded movies and music. Liner notes and artwork are among new features of digital content.
- iTunes Genius DJ - basically implies that the genius will shuffle your music according to what you have in your library...
- iPhone users can now download firmware update 3.1

More to come...

Visit http://www.apple.com/ for more information.

Book Your Own Tour

Indie On the Move helps bands book their own tours wherever they'd like. It allows networking with fellow musicians, gigswapping, rating/reviews of clubs, and a host of other useful features.

Labels like to see active bands who are not afraid to branch out. Check out http://www.indieonthemove.com/ to see if it's what you've been missing from your roadcase.

A Song for Chi

"A Song for Chi," a tribute to Chi Cheng, bass player for the Deftones, was recently released. Cheng was seriously injured in a car accident nearly a year ago and remains in a semi-concious state. Korn's Fieldy organized the instrumental song which features members from heavy hitting bands such as Metallica, Korn, Hatebreed, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust and Machine Head.

The video is can be viewed below and the song is available to download for free at this site. Fans are encouraged to donate to a fund for Chi.

From The Vault - "Mia" by Chevelle

Every now and again, I like to dip back into the catalog of an artist right before they drop a new album. I believe it renews an excitement within me that I initially had for an artist. In this instance, I happened to go back to the album "Point #1" by Chevelle, primarily to listen to a song called "Mia." The song is so raw and driving; it's distinctly different from their more recent releases, but that's the magic of it, at least to me. Check it out...

The Expansion of Bandcamp

I've mentioned Bandcamp before. If you're not a member now, we just got news that might push you over the edge to tune in.

Bandcamp provides a free-to-use service for musicians wanting to digitally distribute their albums. You can give them away, or charge for them. Artists keep 100% royalties/rights. Fighting Zero is out there. You should be, too ;).

But, what's new on the list of features?
- Bonus digital content inclusion. You can now upload digital booklets, high-res photos, videos, etc. to be included in your package. When a user downloads your full album, they get all of the extra content. Nice!

- RSS feeds have been added so fans can stay on top of when you upload new material.

- Reporting to Neilsen Soundscan. This one is a big one. Most digital outlets don't report sales to the almighty Soundscan. Well, Bandcamp now does. That's a big one. Numbers talk when trying to land label deals.

Kiss Caters to Fan Demands

Kiss just announced dates for their "Alive 35" tour - the "first ever fan-routed tour." The band used the power of the internet and their fan base by running a four month long promotion on www.eventful.com. Eventful is used by fans to “demand” an artist appear in their area. Kiss gave fans the power to “demand” a tour stop in their favorite place and picked 40 dates based on the most popular cities. Throughout the promotion, Kiss promised to play “from stadiums to cornfields.” Obviously there aren’t any cornfields on the list, but the dates are as follows and feature supporting band Buckcherry:

September 25 - 26 Detroit, MI Cobo Arena
September 28 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
September 29 London, ON The John Labatt Centre
October 1 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
October 2 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
October 3 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
October 5 Boston, MA TD Garden
October 9 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
October 10 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena
October 12 Philadelphia, PA The Wachovia Center
October 13 Washington, DC Verizon Center
October 16 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum
October 17 Greenville, SC Bi-Lo Center
October 19 Pensacola, FL Pensacola Civic Center
October 21 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
October 22 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center
October 24 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena
October 26 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
October 28 Nashville, TN Sommet Center
October 29 North Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
October 31 New Orleans, LA Voodoo Experience
November 6 Chicago, IL United Center
November 7 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
November 9 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
November 10 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
November 12 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
November 14 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place
November 15 Seattle, WA KeyArena At Seattle Center
November 17 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
November 20 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
November 21 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
November 24 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
November 25 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
November 27 San Diego, CA San Diego Sports Arena
November 28 Las Vegas, NV TBA
December 1 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena
December 2 El Paso, TX University Of Texas
December 4 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
December 5 Houston, TX Toyota Center
December 6 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

Breaking Benjamin Release Video, Track Listing

Breaking Benjamin released the first version of their music video for single "I Will Not Bow" on Friday. The video includes the shots of the band and clips from the movie "Surrogates," starring Bruce Willis.



The tracklist for their fourth album, "Dear Agony," has also been posted on Amazon.com and is available for preorder. The album is scheduled to be released September 29 and the tracklisting is:

1. Fade Away
2. I Will Not Bow
3. Crawl
4. Dear Agony
5. Lights Out
6. What Lies Beneath
7. Without You
8. Give Me A Sign
9. Hopeless
10. Into The Nothing
11. Anthem Of The Angels

Michael Jackson's death ruled as a Homicide

Lethal doses of propofol were found in Jackson's system, along with two other sedatives. It is likely that homicide charges will be brought against the doctor who administered the drugs to MJ. His name is Dr. Conrad Murray, and is the target of the manslaughter investigation.

MJ died on June 25, 2009 due to the overdosing by his physician.

Apple's "Snow Leopard" OS - Avail. Aug 28th

Woo hoo! Apple peeps everywhere should be stoked that the Snow Leopard upgrade for their systems running Mac OS X Leopard. It will set you back a whopping $29 (if you bought your Mac on or after June 8th, you only pay $9.95). You can pre-order now by going here. What does this mean for Joe User? Well, (to keep it simple), the OS has been streamlined, enhancements to current processes were made, and it utilizes the horsepower of the CPU cores in your machine better. You should see enhancements in speed and snappiness, there Dexter.

Digidesign Pro Tools Users: As with all Mac OS updates: Don't upgrade yet. Digidesign (Avid Technologies) has the uncanny ability of not supporting new Mac operating systems for a while. Patience is a virtue. Now, while Digidesign hasn't formally said anything about supporting the new Mac OS flavor, I can't imagine an announcement from them is too far off...

Stay tuned, cadets.

(image from Apple, Inc. http://www.apple.com)

"Megan Wants a Millionaire" - CANCELLED?

We've all grown to love/hate the reality shows on VH1. Brett Michaels, Daisy, Sharon Osbourne, and of course, Megan, the unruly gold-digger. She wanted a millionaire, but now it looks like the show will have to wait.

It got cancelled because one of the contestants, Ryan Jenkins (pictured top), allegedly murdered his ex-wife/model, Jasmine Fiore (pictured bottom). Her body was found in a suitcase, inside of a dumpster in Buena Park, CA.

Ryan Jenkins has fled the country to possibly Canada. The man-hunt is on.

Wow. Megan found a Murderer.

** UPDATE - 8/23/2008 - Canadian authorities have found the body of Ryan Jenkins with an apparent fatal/self-inflicted wound. They are ruling it as a suicide. **

Chevelle - "Sci-Fi Crimes" - Aug. 31, 2009

The new album from our favorites, Chevelle, will be hitting shelves on August 31st, 2009. Titled "Sci-Fi Crimes," this album will be no slouch compared to it's predecessors. ...But that's just guaging by the current single on terrestrial, internet, and satellite radio called, "Jars."


Pre-orders of the album are being taken now from Skyroo and iTunes.
Click here to Pre-order the album "Sci-Fi Crimes."

Keep up to date by visiting the band's website: http://www.chevelleinc.com/

MySpace Acquiring iLike

Big news today in the music social networking world: MySpace has announced they will be acquiring iLike. iLike boasts over 55 million users and allows for sharing of favorite artists, concert updates, and artist profile pages.

According to the Associated Press, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta said in a statement that the acquisition "advances our relentless pursuit of innovation and the need to create new distributed social experiences in music and beyond."

It will be interesting to see how MySpace changes and adapts the iLike music application within Facebook, one of its biggest rivals. Facebook dominated the social networking scene in July, defeating both MySpace and Twitter.

Groovemaker - IK Multimedia

(picture courtesy of Groovemaker/IK Multimedia)

Dude. This is insane. If you have an iPhone, go get IK Multimedia's new app, called Groovemaker. You can mix House, Club, Hip Hop, Techno, Trance, etc. Set up the beats, then sequence it. Is that not enough? Just export your tune over WiFi.

IK Multimedia also creates some awesome DAW plugins and samplers.

More info: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/ or http://www.groovemaker.com/

Get it.

Creed Is Entitled to Overcome

After a shocking reunion earlier this year and a summer tour in full swing, many rock music fans wanted to hate the 'new' Creed. Immediately after the announcement of their new album (due for release in October), fans were in an uproar and were sure Creed's new music was set up for failure. It seemed as though Scott Stapp's image had been ruined and the remaining members of Creed had formed Alter Bridge - a band with quality and respectable musicianship and an amazing live show but with far less financial success.

But it appears that Creed has - just like Stapp croons about in the new single - overcome the haters. A high quality stream of their new single, "Overcome" hit the world wide web today and surprisingly enough, it is receiving rave reviews and tons of buzz from music fans across the globe.

Click here to check out "Overcome"

Introducing, Katie!

Please join me in welcoming a new writer, Katie Goodling!

Hailing from Central PA, Katie is a Mass Comm major with a focus in Journalism. She is a freelance writer for http://www.dailyitem.com/, former writer for Shinbone Magazine, and has interviewed rock staples such as Framing Hanley and Breaking Benjamin.

As an avid music fan and entertainment journalist/PR, she pays close attention to local-area bands and attends at least two concerts a month.

You'll be hearing from Katie a bunch out here and she's a great asset to the Anti Rust Records family!

Welcome aboard, Katie!

Cool Freebie of the Day - Skullcandy

I've talked about them before. They have great products in some killer color/pattern combinations. The Asym headphones (pictured below) are just plain awesome. Mine are red/black.



If you don't have the extra dough to shell out for a new set of cans, fret not. You can still grab a sweet, free wallpaper from them. They have a ton.
Check them out here.

Waves Artists' Presets Page

I love Waves Plugins... tracking, mixing, and mastering with their plugs make studio work a snap, expressive, and audibly great.

Check out some artist presets.

Waves Artists Presets Page

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Les Paul - The Passing of a Legend

(Image: From http://www.gibson.com)

Les Paul: guitarist, innovator, and inspiration to us all, sadly passed away today. Rest in Peace.
For more information on his legacy, please visit: http://www.gibson.com/

"I Will Not Bow" - Breaking Benjamin

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to hear the single first-hand (and I can't give up my secrets on how I did).

It definitely slams.

The new single from Breaking Benjamin is supposed to hit airwaves on August 17th.

For more info: http://www.myspace.com/breakingbenjamin

My Best Friend

.73mm Dunlop Tortex guitar picks.

It takes a lot for me to shred these. I know some guys play heavier guages, up to 2mm (which I think is just crazy and uncalled for, but to each their own...). These just seem to be right. In my 25 years of playing guitar, I've gone through almost every guitar pick imaginable. I've played with quarters, popcicle sticks, and even a custom polished glass pick.

The .73mm Dunlop Tortex is what I kept coming back to.

What's your go-to guitar pick?

Killer Music Sharing Sites

There are a host of awesome music sharing sites out there, which help ultimately push you, your band, or your label further.

Here are two that have it down pat and I think you should check them out.

Soundcloud - http://www.soundcloud.com
Not only can you upload your music and then share your tunes with everyone in your network, but you can also receive. The beauty part is it makes music submission incredibly easy. It's one big happy, musical, social-networking family.

Bandcamp - http://www.bandcamp.com
With zippy download speeds, you can offer your listeners a place to buy your music for a set price, buy for a user-set price, or download for free. Not only do you have multiple options for selling your music, but you also enable the user to pick which format they'd prefer. Mp3, to high-quality WAV can be had. Options are key!

Think you have a cool music site? We want to hear about it.
Email us: admin@antirustrecords.com or post your comments.

Evolv

Evolv is a modern rock group from Philadelphia, PA. Killer songs, great guys, and catchy tunes. Check out their video/tune, "Fate."




For more information, hit up their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evolv

We want to hear from you.
Have a band that you think rules? Email us: submissions@antirustrecords.com

Netbooks, Mobile Recording, and Cost Savings

It's insane. Technology is getting smaller everyday, which is incredible for mobile musicians everywhere. Grab a laptop, a USB interface, and your instrument. Out the door you go, with nothing more than your 1 bag. Nice.

I thought that I'd share my setup with you.

Netbook

Recently, I picked up an Acer Aspire One AOA150 Netbook in seashell white. With an 8.9" widescreen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 3 USB ports, and Headphone/VGA outs, this little thing rips. It's footprint is about the size of a small book.

Interface

I chose to snag an M-Audio Black Box. It's a guitar amp modeler, USB interface which is compatible with ProTool M-Powered, and has a host of ins and outs, including 1/4" guitar-in, and XLR in. No phantom power. It was an old model, but brand new. I instantly upgraded the firmware on it, as per http://www.m-audio.com/. This gave me a ton more amp models, FX, etc.

Software

ProTools (Digidesign, Avid Technologies) is the standard everywhere. Studios large and small are using it. I'll admit; for the longest time, I was using Sonar 4/7 Producer Editions. I still use it. But, to keep up with other studios, and to have distance sessions possible, ProTools was the answer. Since my interface supports M-Powered, I grabbed a copy of that flavor of ProTools. The slick part is that I can work with people who have other flavors of ProTools such as LE and HD. They can open my session files, and vice versa. Slick business! See more: http://www.digidesign.com

Headphones

I opted for the Skullcandy in-ear "Ink'd" earbuds. Dude. For between $10-$15, you can't go wrong. With the frequency response that they give me, I'd say they'd rival my Shure E2s (I have two pairs and love them, btw.)

Do It

I installed the necessary drivers for my Black Box on the netbook, then installed ProTools. Bingo. Mobile rig. I can record guitars, vocals, work with drum loops, and even record various instruments using the mic input on the interface. It sets up in 2 minutes, and there's hardly any cords. The headphones give me and everyone else around me some privacy, and there's minimal sound leaks into a microphone. Keep in mind, this isn't for recording a full-length album, but more or less to have a way to roughly track some ideas, and then have a usable file format which can translate into your main studio, or others' for that matter. It keeps you motivated and that's what matters.

Now, tell us about your mobile rigs! We're all ears. ;)

"Change My Mind" - Fighting Zero

We think they will.
Self-produced, and all snot. Check out their video for their single off of "Beautiful War: Part 1" which you can download from http://fightingzero.bandcamp.com/.

Enjoy.