Gibson Guitars is being investigated by police in the US for allegedly using illegal wood to make its instruments.
Federal agents seized wood, computers, files and guitars from the company's Massman Road manufacturing facility in Nashville, Tennessee.
They were seeking evidence that Gibson shipped illegal rosewood from Madagascar via Germany.
Under America's Lacey Act firms are barred from bringing Madagascan rosewood into the US due to corruption and environmental issues, reports The Guardian.
Gibson said that they are "fully co-operating" with the federal investigation.
In a statement the company added: "Gibson is a chain of custody certified buyers that purchases wood from legal suppliers who are to follow all standards."
Richard Curtis had a death in the family. I’d flown in to London to do the interviews for my PIRATE RADIO coverage, and the director was at the top of my list. Some things, though, take precedence over spending fifteen minutes with a dumpy New York journalist, and for Curtis, this had to be one of ‘em. I had no argument there. I did my sessions with actors Tom Sturridge, Talulah Riley, and Nick Frost instead (you can hear them in Part 1 of this series) and silently wished Curtis well.
Three weeks later, he and I finally had our sit-down. Frankly, I’m not sure I could’ve scraped it all together in so short a time under such conditions, but I was grateful he did. That conversation wraps up this installment, along with my exclusive one-on-one with Bill Nighy — who plays the paternal, impeccably dressed, and seemingly gay (he’s one of the few characters who doesn’t get it on in the course of the film) proprietor of the pirate broadcaster Radio Rock — and the roundtable interview with “The Count” himself, Philip Seymour Hoffman. You’ll learn a little about Nighy’s inner wild man, Hoffman’s experiences as the sole American in a cast of Brits, and Curtis’ decision to trim PIRATE RADIO (nee THE BOAT THAT ROCKED) by some fifteen minutes (or more — reports vary) for its U.S. debut.
So here’s what I did on my class trip to London: shoot a video featuring people on the street discussing whether they preferred PIRATE RADIO or THE BOAT THAT ROCKED as the title of the latest Richard Curtis film; interview some of the stars of the film itself; and eat British airport pizza. Two of those things were a helluva lot of fun, and one of them was an ungodly plummet into the depths of Hell. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which (hint: glad I brought some Pepto tablets with me).
The three actors featured in this first installment of our special, two-part PIRATE RADIO coverage form something of a romantic triangle in the film. Tom Sturridge plays Carl, the teenager who is sent by his mother (Emma Thompson) to spend some time on Radio Rock, the notorious pirate radio ship that in 1966 was beaming rock and roll from international waters into a United Kingdom whose own BBC couldn’t be bothered with the form. Talulah Riley is Marianne, the young woman that Carl’s godfather and Pirate Radio owner and captain Quentin (Bill Nighy) brings on-board to alleviate some of the boy’s sense of isolation. And Nick Frost is Doctor Dave, the sexually unquenchable Radio Rock personality whose interference in the kids’ first meeting proves to be something of a distraction for Marianne — because true love may be forever, but getting nailed by a DJ nets you serious street cred.
The conversations in this ep ranged far beyond the topic of PIRATE RADIO itself, covering as they did the legendary 007 water tank, the Cirque du Soleil, Steven Spielberg’s on-set attitude, and Rupert Everett in drag (but, then, don’t all conversations eventually wind up there?). Click the link to hear the show:
When I was leading music workshops (under Lollipops Crown Music/Arts Initiative) for the Ministry of Youth in Bensaliman, Morocco in June, the officers at the US Embassy Bureau of Public Affairs offered to sponsor my band Zerobridge (from New York) to come to Morocco to play concerts and to do music workshops for Moroccan youth across the country. I was so stoked to have the boys in the band come here to Morocco, where I am leading a music and arts initiative for street children as a U.S Fulbright Fellow. Zerobridge was founded by my brother Din and myself. We are named after Kashmir, where our family is from and currently lives.
In each town we rolled into we were mobbed by fans who never heard us and many never seen a live rock band, let alone met Muslim artists from New York. And that made each show so special because we were introducing rock and roll and representing Muslim America. Throughout the country we were signing t-shirts, heads, arms, phones, and even fingers. We in the band certainly don’t get such attention in New York, so it was kinda nice. Although it was pretty akward when 15 year old girls slipped us their numbers. Some of the scenes on tour i’ll most remember: young girls wearing the traditional head covering throwing up fists and dancing and wanting to play drums and guitar; impromptu jam sessions with talented young Moroccan rappers and female R&B singers; having scores of fans asking for pictures and autographs with us; playing to 5,000 Moroccans in Meknes; seeing a group of traditional dancers from Saudi dance with a member of the US Embassy during our concert; and the beautiful drives through villages and mountains and coasts of Morocco.
During our workshops with the youth, we had kids come up on stage and try playing our own Zerobridge songs with us on stage. Usually we picked our song “How Long’ in which we had some kids sing the chorus with us and another group of kids drum the rythm. It was magic man. We also had question and answer sessions about music and art, and we had jam sessions with talented rappers, singers, dancers from the audience. It was just simply inspiring to feel this overwhelming energy from the kids in each town…kids who were so amped and grateful and talented. Everyone we met on tour, be it the kids or the sound guys, or the Embassy staff…everyone truly inspired us and lifted our spirits. I only hope we did the same. Morocco is all about the union between music, rhythm, and spirituality. It was so refreshing to play for kids who were just eager to learn and to dance and to express themselves, unlike in NYC where crowds at shows can be pretty indifferent or jaded. And in the end, I think we accomplished some inspiring workshops for the kids too while also using music for building better understanding between America and the Arab world. Thanks to the US Embassy for hooking this up and for giving us equipment, a driver, a sound-man, and for booking the shows. And thanks to Morocco. Here are the vid links to each day on the tour and of the workshops we lead. I never dreamed our band from New York would be playing rock shows for youth in Morocco. Life is a trip.
* Our new album 'There We Were Now Here We Are" drops 11/17
CHICAGO — A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley's head when he joined the Army in 1958 has sold for $15,000 at a Chicago auction house.CHICAGO — A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley's head... more
Tom Waits' new website/store is finally up, woo hoo! Very spiffy. He's even got a "preview" link to his new live album which is definitely worth checking out. If you've seen him live before you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't you're severely missing out. Here's the link to the "free preview" before the album is released in Nov. http://www.tomwaits.com/news/article/60/Free_Glitter_and_Doom_Live_Album_Preview/Tom Waits' new website/store is finally up, woo hoo! Very spiffy. He's even got a... more
"On Oct. 22, you can purchase the new book Who Shot Rock & Roll, which compiles iconic music photographs from 1955 to the present. On Oct. 30, if you're in the New York area, you can see some of these images in an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum that runs through Jan. 31, 2010. And right this very moment, you can see 10 of our favorites from the collection, complete with notes from the book's editor Gail Buckland, written exclusively for Paste Magazine.""On Oct. 22, you can purchase the new book Who Shot Rock & Roll, which compiles iconic... more
In each of his... 32 (?) bands, Jack White makes a point of sharing, or even ceding, the spotlight with his collaborators. This is especially true with the Dead Weather, where Alison Mosshart handles the vocals and the vamping while Jack attempts to keep a low profile in back behind the drum kit.
Which would then make the just-released video for "I Cut Like a Buffalo," the latest single from Dead Weather's debut Horehound, a relatively Jack-centric affair.
more in the link...In each of his... 32 (?) bands, Jack White makes a point of sharing, or even ceding,... more
When Danger Mouse and the Shins’ James Mercer met backstage at Denmark’s Roskilde festival five years ago, the unlikely duo quickly discovered a mutual fandom. “As soon as I heard the Shins, I wanted to do something with James, no matter what,” Danger Mouse explains. Their partnership took time to develop, but in March 2008, Mercer began a peripatetic recording odyssey, sequestering for weeks on end at Danger Mouse’s Los Angeles home studio. Both were coming off of a series of high-profile, high-pressure undertakings — Danger Mouse had recently finished producing Beck’s Modern Guilt, while Mercer was coming off a controversial, radical reshuffle of the Shins’ lineup. As a result, they covertly began making music that resembled nothing either of them had ever done.
more in the link...
Can't wait to hear this!When Danger Mouse and the Shins’ James Mercer met backstage at Denmark’s Roskilde... more
The new documentary The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights reveals as much about Canadian culture as it does about Jack and Meg White’s friendship, work ethic and music. The duo eat raw caribou, meet tribal elders, walk along frozen tundra, don traditional kilts and fire a canon — all while touring unconventional places in the summer of 2007 as director Emmett Malloy captured the experience for his film, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“The idea was there was this gigantic frontier right next to where we grew up in Detroit that is just so untouched by our band, let alone bands in general,” Jack White said at a press conference, admitting the idea for the movie went against his normal inclinations. “I’m not too big of a reality TV show fan or peek-behind-the-curtains fan, especially in this day and age — there’s so much of that going on and there’s so little mystery about the world of music and creativity.”
more in the link...The new documentary The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights reveals as... more
The Strokes' Julian Casablancas has posted a new solo song, '11th Dimension', on his official MySpace page, Myspace.com/juliancasablancas.
The track will be released as a single on November 2 following the release of the frontman's debut solo album, 'Phrazes For The Young', released on October 19.
more in the link...The Strokes' Julian Casablancas has posted a new solo song, '11th Dimension', on his... more
The Cribs' Gary Jarman has spoken out about what it feels like to be out-selling The Beatles in the UK albums chart.
The band's fourth album 'Ignore The Ignorant' is currently trumping the Liverpool legends' reissued back catalogue after they all hit the shelves on Monday (September 7).
more in the link...The Cribs' Gary Jarman has spoken out about what it feels like to be out-selling The... more
Some people have found Kurt Cobain's posthumous appearance in Guitar Hero 5 a little unsettling -- including his widow, Courtney Love.
In a Twitter tirade for the ages, the former Hole frontwoman announced plans to sue Guitar Hero 5 publisher Activision over the way her late husband was represented in the game, reports The Guardian.
"For the record this Guitar Hero [expletive] is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction," she posted on her Twitter account. "WE are going to sue the [expletive] out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises."
more in the link...Some people have found Kurt Cobain's posthumous appearance in Guitar Hero 5 a little... more
The Cribs' guitarist Johnny Marr has claimed the band's forthcoming new album is the best record he's worked on for 25 years.
Speaking about 'Ignore The Ignorant' on Sky Sports' 'Soccer AM' programme, the former Smiths hero said: "You always think something's the best thing you've done. You're not always right, but in this case I'm right. It's good."
more in the link...The Cribs' guitarist Johnny Marr has claimed the band's forthcoming new album is the... more
Former Stooges guitarist James Williamson was in the parking lot of his dentist’s office earlier this year when he heard a familiar voice on his cellphone: Iggy Pop. “He asked me if I wanted to play guitar again,” says Williamson, who hasn’t performed a single gig since the Stooges dissolved in 1974. “I was about to take an early retirement from my job in Silicon Valley, so I figured ‘What the hell, let’s do it.’ ” Williamson spent time last month in Los Angeles rehearsing with the Stooges (minus Pop) — bassist Mike Watt, drummer Scott Asheton and saxophonist Steve McKay — and they just booked their first gig: on May 2nd and 3rd of next year they’re going to perform Raw Power in its entirety at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in London.
more in the link...
UPDATE: All Tomorrow's Parties tells us that the Raw Power performances will NOT be during an ATP Festival, but will rather be part of ATP's Don't Look Back series, in which bands perform classic albums in their entirety. These shows will take place at Hammersmith Apollo, and the Stooges will be joined by two opening acts performing full albums.Former Stooges guitarist James Williamson was in the parking lot of his dentist’s... more
The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards has revealed that he has been working with Jack White.
Richards was tight-lipped about the hook-up, but told Rolling Stone magazine that the two guitarists have collaborated. However, he was cagey on the subject on whether he might enlist White to produce for his band.
more in the link...
I can't wait to hear this!The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards has revealed that he has been working with Jack... more
"A little while back, we reported that Johnny Cash would appear as an unlockable character in the new video game "Guitar Hero 5", which came out yesterday. That was weird.
But we didn't know about the game's biggest, weirdest surprise: You can also unlock fellow deceased legend Kurt Cobain and make him do all kinds of totally embarrassing shit!"
This is sad and wrong. Exactly the kind of thing that led to Kurt's unfortunate demise. Thoughts?"A little while back, we reported that Johnny Cash would appear as an unlockable... more
