Stephen Brodsky
Photo: Hydra Head Records

When the members of a rock band decide to take some time apart to work on separate projects or just hang at home with the kids, they often employ that catchall term "hiatus." Some even go the extra mile and punctuate the word with a preceding "indefinite" — leading one to believe that the group has been put on ice for good. But characterizing a band's current status as "on hiatus" doesn't always spell total collapse. Stephen Brodsky is hoping Cave In's imposed lull will ultimately strengthen the ambitious rock outfit's future material.

"Cave In is on a hiatus, primarily because we all live in different parts of the world," he explained, adding that there's no tension between Cave In's members, and the break was not inspired by Cave In's major-label woes (see "Cave In Survive Major-Label Divorce, Want To Revive The Cassingle"). "Until we're all in the same geographical spot with one another, I don't think anything could really happen. The best moments of the band, creatively, were when we were locked in together, geographically, and of course, that affects everything above and beyond that. The other guys have some other things going on as well."

For his part, Brodsky has released two solo projects, and the two-years-in-the-works self-titled debut LP from Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum hit record store shelves Tuesday (November 7). He'd also like to release the latest studio offering from his other band, New Idea Society, soon; that album has been recorded for more than a year, and Brodsky is still trying to find a label home for the disc. Meanwhile, Cave In bassist Caleb Scofield is working with Zozobra, which will release Harmonic Tremors soon. Former Cave In drummer John-Robert Connors has been busy with his band Doomriders, while his replacement, kitman Ben Koller, has been touring with Converge. Guitarist Adam McGrath has also started a new band called Clouds, which will release a record in February.

"It's exciting because between all of us, there's still very much a musical pulse. And I think the great thing about Cave In is that, as time goes on, it's like we can exist outside of this one realm known as Cave In," Brodsky said; Cave In's most recent album, Perfect Pitch Black, was released more than a year ago. "I think we all would love to make a record in the future, and one can only hope that all these separate experiences can have us come back into making a new Cave In record with a ton of new tricks, personalities, and musical explorations that maybe weren't there before we started working on music on our own."

So while Cave In are on vacation, Brodsky doubts it will be permanent. Until the band regroups, he'll be working on his own material — which he said has an uncharacteristically positive feel to it.

"The lyrics, I'd say, have a positive tone overall — maybe more so than stuff I'd written in the past," he explained of Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum, which features 10 tracks, including "Sentimental Case," "Prove Myself" and "Red Headed Butterflies." "The bulk of the songs came out in a songwriting spurt that happened around the same time I had started a pleasant romantic relationship. But I also experimented with taking prescription medications for depression and anxiety in the past. With both of those relationships, there was a honeymoon period. Most of these songs were spawned out of a very positive honeymoon period between a drug relationship and also a romantic one, with a lady."

The album was recorded in bits and pieces, using a Pro Tools rig Brodsky purchased from Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou. "I just recorded things and doubled and tripled every little detail I put in there," he said. "That kind of madness morphed into two years of no boundaries and no limits. It wasn't until I got some other people involved" — like Scissorfight drummer Kevin J. Strongbow, and Thee Electric Bastards mastermind Johnny Northrup — "to play the stuff and engineer it, and then the whole project saw the light at the end of the tunnel."

Brodsky anticipates that Octave Museum will embark on a U.S. tour this spring and will also play a limited number of gigs in the U.K. this fall. As for what the future holds for him and the Octave Museum, Brodsky said he's not sure. He's just happy to be working.

"I'm sort of a musical swinger," he said. "I like to jump around from situation to situation, and see what kind of concoction comes out of that. And this album's one of many concoctions I hope to brew up, for as long as I can use my hands and my vocal cords. I'm hoping to have nothing but a work ethic from here on in when it comes to music. It's always going to be in my mind to have [Guided by Voices'] Robert Pollard as one of my unsung heroes, and I don't think I can accept the challenge to match his output, but I would certainly like to keep barking out songs, in any shape or form that I can. I just want to make sure that my songs are out there for anyone who wants to listen to them."

• Cave In
• Stephen Brodsky
• Stephen Brodsky's Octave Museum

Cave In
Photo: Hydrahead

Four years ago, Boston's Cave In became one of the first hardcore acts to hop the indie fence — defecting from Hydra Head Records, the label that had released all its material up to that point — to the greener pastures of the corporate-music biz, known for letting balding, superannuated men sporting aerosol tans and tailored suits make all the decisions. It was a move frontman Stephen Brodsky says he doesn't regret, but one that, over time, came close to ruining the band.

You see, wading through the muck of the majors didn't play out quite the way Brodsky had anticipated. It was a tumultuous trip, and he's got the scars to prove it. Cave In recorded a single full-length album for RCA, 2003's Antenna, and afterward cruised across the U.S. with no less than the Foo Fighters, setting the proverbial table for Dave Grohl and the gang's main course. But Cave In's brief liaison with RCA ended around a year ago because of the hardcore innovators' forthcoming LP, Perfect Pitch Black, which hit stores September 13 — via Hydra Head.

All 10 tracks that shape Perfect, Cave In's fifth full-length, started as demos for what was to be their second RCA outing. The label funded the initial recording of the material, which consumed the first few months of 2004. Brodsky says when his band started slowly presenting the label with what they had come up with in the studio, the response was not even lukewarm.

"There was clearly a feeling of defeat that we all had," the singer and guitarist said. "In our minds, it was really hard to grasp the idea of putting 100 percent of yourself into something [and] not knowing whether that something would ever see the light of day. We didn't feel like we had any strong connection to this place we were supposed to call home."

That's largely because between the time the band first inked its deal with RCA in 2001 and the release of Antenna two years later, many familiar faces had jumped ship. Essentially the team of dedicated music-industry lackeys who'd worked so hard to get Cave In to take the major-label plunge had moved on — and the people replacing them lacked the same dedication to the band.

One acrimonious but mutual divorce later, Cave In were without a label but with a bunch of experimental songs that melded the best of the band's earliest work — like 1999's Until Your Heart Stops, a twitching, brutal hardcore LP — with its most recent, more amenable compositions. There was talk of throwing in the towel altogether, to safeguard long-standing friendships. Instead, the band took some time off, and Brodsky's side project, New Idea Society, worked on its debut, You Are Awake or Asleep, which was released eight months ago. He also wrote several songs that he'll be releasing in early 2006 in solo-album form; Brodsky calls it "some of the most elaborate songwriting" he's ever done.

The time apart helped "in creative ways and also in ways that have allowed us to regain a love for what we want to continue doing as a band," Brodsky said. "We all feel fairly lucky to have come out of the situation without fist-fighting and brawling and screaming. If anything, it's made us a little bit closer and more compassionate towards each other, and it will help us create better music."

He says for Perfect Pitch Black, which captures Cave In's post-RCA mood (pissed-off on "Trepanning" and morose on "Tension in the Ranks"), the band took the basic demo tracks and expanded upon them. "We had to brush ourselves off and go back at it," he said. "We have our bruises and our cracks, but that's all right."

Brodsky says he feels a renewed vigor in the band. "We feel open to experimenting with music again, without that feeling of people pointing fingers and saying, 'No, it's not going to sell records. No, it's not going to radio,' " he said. "We sort of own our band again, which is nice."

The addition of Converge's Ben Koller on drums has also energized the band. Cave In have recorded a couple of new tracks since Koller entered the mix, and, according to Brodsky, those songs will be on "a limited-edition cassingle" available on Cave In's tour with the Doomriders, which kicks off on November 27 in New York and runs through December 23 in Boston.

"[The new tracks are] called 'Shapeshifter' and 'Dead Already,' " Brodsky said. "Hydra Head doesn't think its manufacturing plant still makes cassingles or cassettes. I think the more special a piece of music is and the harder it is to get, it's like testing the love of your fans a little bit. You'll know whoever is purchasing it will find the means to play it, and really, CDs are just regarded as being so cheap. This will be nicer to stick on your shelf as a trophy figure."

• Cave In

50 Cent (file)
Photo: Interscope

While 50 Cent never pursued a college degree, that doesn't mean he wants his fans to follow in his footsteps. In fact, 50 would rather see young people further their education, and to that end, he's awarding 10 scholarships — together totaling more than $31,000 — to Bayside, New York's Queensborough Community College. Eight students from 50's alma matter, now called Campus Magnet High Schools, and one student each from nearby Springfield Gardens and Hillcrest High Schools will win the scholarships, being offered through 50's G-Unity Foundation. Students don't need the best of grades, either — all it takes is a C, or 70, average. Interested students have been asked to submit 500-word essays and two teacher recommendations by the June 24 deadline. The winners will be announced on July 15. ...

Bobby Brown joined his old group, New Edition, onstage for a special performance of "Mr. Telephone Man" Friday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. During the concert, which also featured Gerald LeVert and headliner Brian McKnight, special guest Brown told the audience that if he only had 10 more minutes of performance time, he would tear their collective "asses" up. Later in the night, Brown tried to sneak in a couple more minutes. He came out — uninvited — during McKnight's set and took the mic out of McKnight's hands and began singing. Brown was escorted offstage shortly after, and McKnight finished up his set without further incident. ... Hilary Duff is planning to shoot a video in Toronto for her track "Wake Up," which she worked on with Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden. Marc Webb — who helmed both the "Helena" and "The Ghost of You" videos for My Chemical Romance — has signed on to direct. ...

On Friday, a week after a Los Angeles Times story questioned a conspiracy theory in the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G. that was reportedly based on questionable information from a mentally ill informant, Biggie's family dropped two people from their wrongful-death civil suit — former LAPD officer David Mack and accused gunman Amir Muhammad. According to The Associated Press, the City of Los Angeles remains the sole defendant in the case. ... The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (June 13) refused to consider whether the 1992 Beastie Boys classic "Pass the Mic" infringed on the copyright of jazz flutist James W. Newton's "Choir," according to The Associated Press. Newton filed suit against the group more than five years ago, claiming the rappers sampled his song without his full permission. While the Boys did pay a licensing fee for the six-second sample, they never paid additional fees to license the underlying composition. In its ruling, the court explained that the short song portion in "Pass the Mic" was not "distinctive enough to be considered Newton's work." ...

The rift between over-the-top Brit rockers the Darkness and mustachioed former bassist Frankie Poullain appears to have gotten larger. Last week, Poullain told reporters in the U.K. that he had not left the band, but rather that he was fired. On Monday the band fired back, releasing a statement saying all the bass tracks on its upcoming album are being recorded by guitarist Dan Hawkins, because Poullain "had yet to participate in the recording of the album when his exit from the band was announced, so no re-recording of bass parts will be necessary." The Darkness also announced on their Web site, TheDarknessRock.com, that going forward, former touring guitar tech Richie Edwards will be assuming Poullain's role in the band. ... Cave In's forthcoming album Perfect Pitch Black will hit stores on September 13 through Hydra Head Records — the band's original label home. The disc will feature a total of nine tracks, including "World Is in Your Way," "Ataraxia," "Screaming in Your Sleep" and "Tension in the Ranks." ...

Kevin "Beez" Beesley-Hammond, bassist for garage-punk band the Smugglers, suffered a heart attack last week after playing in a hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia. Beesley-Hammond was rushed to a local hospital, where an angiograph showed he had a "100 percent blockage" to one of his arteries, according to the band's Web site. He underwent surgery to remove the blockage and a stent was inserted to keep the artery open. Doctors expect he'll make a full recovery. ... Swedish fuzz-pop band the Concretes, whose song "Say Something New" is currently featured in a series of Target ads, are releasing a collection of rare singles and B-sides called Layourbattleaxedown. A cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" is included in the set, which hits stores July 26. ...

06.10.2005

Some of the world's most gorgeous women are getting naked for a very worthwhile cause. Paris and Nicky Hilton, Christina Aguilera, Rebecca Romijn, Elle MacPherson, Heidi Klum and Kimora Lee Simmons are among the 44 beauties exposed in a new coffee-table book titled "4 Inches," which will feature the ladies donning no more than Cartier jewels and Jimmy Choo shoes. Proceeds from the book, hitting stores Thursday, will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and its effort to help women and children in Africa who are suffering from AIDS. ...

Even computer hackers are getting in on the Michael Jackson trial action. British anti-virus firm Sophos reported on Friday (June 10) that hackers have hit computers across the globe with a Trojan virus disguised as an e-mail about an alleged Jackson suicide attempt. The typo-filled spam e-mail with the subject heading "Re: Suicidal aattempt" links to a bogus suicide note as it downloads malicious software onto the user's computer. ... Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has pleaded no contest to assaulting Dwarves singer Blag Dahlia during an altercation at Los Angeles' Dragonfly club in November 2004. On May 23, Homme was put on probation for 36 months, and was ordered to do community service with the Hollywood Beautification Team, enter a 60-day residential drug/alcohol rehabilitation program, complete a level three anger-management class, foot all of Dahlia's legal and medical bills, and stay 100 yards away from the singer, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Superior Court. ...

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' wife, Vanessa, gave birth on Thursday to the couple's second child, daughter Nyla Rae. They already have a 3-year-old daughter named Zoe Jane. According to a band spokesperson, both mom and baby are doing fine. Staind's forthcoming album, Chapter V, hits stores August 9. ... The Deftones, A Perfect Circle, Cave In, Poison the Well and Melissa Auf Der Maur will contribute songs to the forthcoming tribute album to influential 1990s transcendent rock icons Failure. The album should see release sometime this fall through Renfield Records. ...

Finch and Head Automatica will be touring together this fall. No concrete dates for the trek have been set yet, but according to a spokesperson for Finch, the tour should last a few weeks, and both the RX Bandits and Buck 65 have been confirmed as openers. ... It's been more than five years since we've heard anything from New York blues rockers the Spin Doctors, but that all changes Friday night (June 10). The band, best known for its 1992-'93 hits "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes," will kick off a 24-date tour in Richmond, Virginia, that's set to wrap up on September 17 in Oklahoma City. The group's also got a new record on the way: Look for the Matt Wallace-produced Nice Talking to Me to hit stores in September. ...

A week after slapping three Florida sheriff's deputies with a lawsuit for allegedly using excessive force when arresting him during a 2003 New Year's Eve altercation, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is speaking out about the incident yet again. "The legal action we are embarking on now will hopefully bring attention to the fact that people cannot and should not be treated this way," he said in a statement released Thursday. "If some good is to come of this, then let it be that the actions of a tiny minority of aggressive Taser-wielding police officers don't tarnish the reputation of the vast majority of officers who proudly serve their communities with honor and sacrifice." ...

• 50 Cent
• Bobby Brown
• Hilary Duff
• Beastie Boys
• Notorious B.I.G.

Hate Eternal
Photo: Frank Wright

Hey, what's up, metallions? How's it going? Iann Robinson here. There's lots going on in the Metal File this week, so I'll try to keep this short.

The big news I'm hearing about is Black Dahlia Murder pulling out of the Soilent Green tour. Now, Black Dahlia released one of the best metal records of the year with Unhallowed, and when they pulled off the tour it was followed by rumors that they'd broken up. From what I understand, drummer Cory Grady was arrested and half of the band stayed to get him out and half flew back to Detroit. Rumors have since flown that the band has broken up, but Metal Blade Records is adamant that the band is not breaking up and will make the Arch Enemy tour. No word from the guys yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I did get to see the Soilent Green show that Dahlia missed, and it was amazing to see Ben Falgoust back up and being the amazing frontman he is, especially so soon after breaking both of his legs.

All right, everybody, I'm out of here. Stay metal, and I'll see you at the shows.

Jared Anderson, bassist of Hate Eternal, has left the band due to his struggles with substance abuse. "Due to a continuous ongoing drug problem for the last couple of years, I've committed myself to rehabilitation," Anderson said in a statement. "I will be leaving Hate Eternal due to the time and dedication it's taking to get myself back on the right track." Randy Piro has been filling in for Anderson and will continue to do so during Hate Eternal's U.S. tour. ...

Monster Magnet have just started work on their new album, tentatively titled Radiation Day. ... Neurosis have just started work on their new, still-untitled album. It's being recorded by Steve Albini and should be released early in 2004. ... Former Judas Priest singer Tim "Ripper" Owens has joined Iced Earth. ...

Southern rockers Throttlerod have finished their new album, Hell and High Water, for Small Stone Records. ... Orange Goblin have now finished work on their new album, Thieving in the House of God, and hope to have it in stores later this year on Rise Above. Produced by Billy Anderson, the album includes a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid." ...

The Crown have set an October 20 release for their new album, Possessed 13, which will be released in a special limited-edition double-CD Digipack. The package includes a bonus CD of demos — including "Forever Heaven Gone," "Forget the Light" and "Rebel Angel" — and a cover of Bathory's "Burnin' Leather." ...

Former Skinlab guitarist Scott Sergeant, currently the touring bassist for M.O.D., will reunite with his former band (sitting in for his replacement, Glen Telford) for a string of West Coast shows in late August before Skinlab begin a lengthy hiatus. "It's been a while since we jammed with Scott," frontman Steev Esquivel wrote on the band's Web site, "[but] if there's any guitarist who can pick up three albums' worth of material to play in three weeks, he's the man!" ...

Solid State Records and Metal Maniacs magazine are teaming up to sponsor a fall tour featuring Norma Jean, Figure Four, the Agony Scene and Beloved. The trek kicks off September 5 and takes the bands through the South, Midwest and West Coast. ... Time in Malta will open three West Coast dates for Thursday and Year of the Rabbit. The San Francisco Bay Area band is still searching for a replacement for drummer Eric Alexander, who recently announced that he'll be leaving. ...

The October release of My Ruin's The Horror of Beauty will be preceded by an EP called The Shape of Things to Come on August 18. The Los Angeles band is fronted by Tairrie B., the former Manhole vocalist and onetime gangsta rapper who was assisted by Eazy-E in releasing an album called The Power of a Woman in 1990. ...

The once more-metal-leaning Boston band Cave In must be looking to reacquaint themselves with their roots, because next month they're teaming up with the decidedly metalcore From Autumn to Ashes, Every Time I Die and Funeral for a Friend for a U.S. tour. The band is currently on Lollapalooza supporting their Failure-inspired major-label debut, Antenna. ...

Throwdown have been added to the West Coast dates of this year's Take Action Tour, which already featured Throwdown guitarist Keith Barney's other band, Eighteen Visions. A new outfit comprising ex-Botch members called These Arms Are Snakes has also been added to the shows in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. ...

Nevermore will join Hypocrisy, Children of Bodom and Norwegian black metallers Dimmu Borgir on a North American tour scheduled to begin in November. The Seattle band, whose Enemies of Reality recently hit stores, will support Type O Negative at a hometown show later this month. ...

—compiled by Iann Robinson, Robert Mancini and Ryan J. Downey

• Judas Priest
• Hate Eternal
• Iced Earth
• Cave In

It's six months away and organizers have already locked in Metallica to headline Big Day Out 2004, the annual tour of Australia and New Zealand. No other artists are confirmed for the trek, which begins January 16 in Auckland. ...

Juvenile and Run-DMC's Reverend Run are two of the hip-hop stars scheduled to come out August 1-3 for Russell Simmons' next Hip-Hop Summit. The event, set for Birmingham, Alabama, will once again try to encourage major players within the genre to use the power of hip-hop as a catalyst for social change. ... Bono is among several celebrities who gave a recipe to Bill Clinton's cookbook, "The Clinton Presidential Center Cookbook: A Collection of Recipes for Family and Friends." Don Henley and Muhammad Ali also contributed. ...

Hatebreed will headline this year's second annual Rise of Brutality Tour, scheduled to begin in mid-September, with support coming from New York hardcore heroes Madball, death metal stalwarts Hate Eternal, Southern California hardcore band Terror and Cephalic Carnage. The 'Breed, who feature "Headbangers Ball" host Jamey Jasta on vocals, will support Slayer later in the year on the Jägermeister Tour. ... Former Failure/ A Perfect Circle guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, currently touring the country on Lollapalooza with Queens of the Stone Age, joined self-confessed Failure fanatics Cave In onstage at a recent Lolla stop in Columbus, Ohio, for a cover of Failure's "Magnified." "[Failure are] the band we've not-so-secretly ripped off for years and years," reads a post on Cave In's Web site. ...

Goth metal band Type O Negative will launch their summer tour July 25 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Dates run through August 23 in Anaheim, California. The group will be touring to support its new record, Life Is Killing Me, which came out June 17. ... Twiztid will launch a North American tour August 15 in Louisville, Kentucky, in support of their just-released The Green Book. The outing, featuring openers Society 1 and Marz, wraps September 28 in Indianapolis. ...

Brandon Cruz, the former child star of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" who's been touring as the singer of the Dead Kennedys, has left the group to spend more time with his family and work on other material. Jeff Penalty, a former member of Vaz Hoil & Stupid Ferrets, has replaced him. ... Drummer Mario Calire has left the Wallflowers and joined Ozomatli. Calire will join the Latin rock band for its next album, due early next year. ... Singer Mike McColgan, who quit the Dropkick Murphys to become a Boston firefighter, has formed a new group, the Street Dogs. The band's debut, Savin Hill, is due September 23. ...

07.18.2003

For the second time in a week, Scott Weiland's case has been continued. Because he was still in rehab, the Stone Temple Pilots/ Velvet Revolver singer postponed his court date on July 11 until Friday (July 18). Now Weiland won't be due in a Burbank, California, court to address drug charges until July 25, according to a court clerk. Meanwhile, Velvet Revolver are meeting with producer Bob Ezrin to have him produce their moody and grooving track "Slither," which they previewed at their live debut in Los Angeles last month. The band plans to hit the studio with Ezrin on July 28. ...

While Ashanti is currently finalizing the theme and shoot schedule of her next video, she knows Hype Williams is going to be at the helm. According to her label, the famed director will be calling the shots on the set of "Rain on Me" very soon. ... Mya will play a minor role in the upcoming film "Shall We Dance," which stars Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. Mya previously played opposite Gere in the Academy Award-winning 2002 film "Chicago." "Shall We Dance" is slated for release in 2004. ...

Lollapalooza organizers have canceled the July 26 concert at Vernon Downs racetrack in Vernon, New York. "Due to the costs of production versus the estimated ticket sales of 15,000, it did not make fiscal sense to play this date," read a press statement. The Vernon Downs Racetrack can hold up to 30,000. It was the second date of the festival organizers were forced to cancel — the original July 3 tour launch date in Ionia, Michigan, was nixed because of staging and production issues. ...

Always looking to expand his Bad Boy empire, P. Diddy now wants to own a piece of time itself. The rap mogul is currently in talks to become a minority owner of the high-end Ice-Tek Watch Company, which manufactures timepieces favored by such celebrities as 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Kate Hudson and even Oprah. ... A judge ruled Thursday in New York that Funkmaster Flex was liable for slander against fellow Big Apple DJ Steph Lova. Lova and Flex settled out of court months ago for Lova's claims that he choked her. ...

• Metallica
• Juvenile
• Hatebreed
• U2
• Cave In