<![CDATA[Damone]]> http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/damone/artist.jhtml (c) 2007 MTV Networks. (c) and TM MTV Networks. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See http://www.mtv.com/sitewide/mtvinfo/terms.jhtml for terms and conditions. http://www.mtv.com/sitewide/images/u/mtv-logo.gif MTV http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/damone/artist.jhtml 65 44 Music en-us 15 <![CDATA[New Releases: 'Idol Encores,' Angels & Airwaves, Don Omar, Pink, Walkmen, Dixie Chicks & More]]> Also due Tuesday: Damone, Susan Cagle, Yo Gotti, Mission of Burma, PJ Harvey.
By Kurt Orzeck


<I>American Idol Season 5 Encores</I>
Photo: RCA

Idolatry: Everyone knows Katharine and Taylor are battling it out Tuesday night (May 23), but if you were rooting for Elliott, Paris, Kellie or another "Idol" contender, the compilation "American Idol Season 5 Encores" will give you a chance to hear the finalists once again. Covers of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight & the Pips give the collection plenty of soul, although Chris Daughtry adds some rock edge with his take on Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive."

While the "Idol" contenders' best-known tunes belong to other people, so do the theme songs to entertainers on the other end of the spectrum: WWE wrestlers. This week's other big compilation, WWE: Reckless Intent, isn't as heavy on the metal as you might think: Alongside tracks by Killswitch Engage, Brand New Sin and P.O.D. are Three 6 Mafia, who add some hop with "Some Bodies Gonna Get It," and Silkk the Shocker, who chips in "Never Gonna Change."

Touched by Angels: Call them a "rebirth," a "supergroup" or "the greatest rock and roll revolution for this generation," as singer Tom DeLonge himself did, but whatever the case, Angels & Airwaves finally descend with We Don't Need to Whisper this week. If you pre-ordered through the A&A site, you might have received a copy signed by the band, but if you're still looking for something extra, pick up the U.K. edition, which has bonus live versions of "Start the Machine" and "Do It for Me Now."

Don We Now: After teaming up with Jennifer Lopez and Fabolous the last time around, Don Omar is back with King of Kings, which probably gives you an idea of how important the rapper considers himself to the reggaetón movement. This time around he's roped in Juelz Santana ("Conteo"), Beenie Man ("Belly Danza") and Mackie Ranks ("En Su Nota") for his 18-track affair, which is mostly sung in Spanish.

Tickle Her Pink: Liking Pink's I'm Not Dead but still dying to "Get the Party Started"? Look no further than the singer's "Live in Europe," a DVD that packs in all her pre-"Stupid Girl" singles, plus a heap of additional performances. Furthered by an on-the-road doc, the video has more than 25 live songs plus spots by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Peaches.

Dixie Cats: The Dixie Chicks know better than anyone what it's like to carry a heavy burden, but they share the load a little on their politically charged Taking the Long Way. Famed rock producer Rick Rubin sat behind the decks, while John Mayer adds a searing lick to "I Hope," co-written by blues legend Keb' Mo'. Sheryl Crow also lent her songwriting skills, though the Chicks get deeply personal by touching on everything from infertility to Alzheimer's, from which singer Natalie Maines' grandmother suffers.

Getting a Boost: Harlem, New York's Purple City tapped Jim Jones to executive produce and appear on their latest LP, The Purple Album, which also features B.G., Max B. and Boot Camp Click. Mr. Collipark is all over Da Muzicianz's record of the same name, producing a smattering of songs and appearing on the last two, "Mr. Collipark Speaks" and "Gyrate." And Lil Wayne, Jazze Pha, Bun B, Baby and 8Ball beef up the second record by Memphis underground fave Yo Gotti, whose Back 2 Da Basics also features "Full Time" from "Hustle & Flow."

On the rock side, Sufjan Stevens embellishes his pals Serena-Maneesh's self-titled debut, playing flute and marimba while his sisters Elvira and Hilma contribute vocals and bass, respectively. Another breakout indie troubadour, Devendra Banhart, furthers the second record by Vetiver — a.k.a. Andy Cabic, who is also a member of Banhart's live band. And two more solo stars are bumping up rookie Sierra Swan: James Blunt, who took her on tour recently, and Aimee Mann, who chimes in on "Get Down to It" on Swan's Ladyland. And one of the most iconic singer/songwriters of all, Leonard Cohen, mentored Hawaiian artist and Berklee College of Music grad Anjani Thomas for her major-label debut, Blue Alert, which was co-written and produced by Cohen.

As far as indie stuff goes, Mike Patton proves that Dub Trio really are "Not Alone" by appearing on that song on the noise act's enhanced New Heavy. Liars' Julian Gross directs one of the six videos that appears on the DVD accompanying Bedroom Walls' All Good Dreamers Pass This Way. And Antony and Bonnie "Prince" Billy surface on Black Ships Ate the Sky, the new album from Current 93, a collective headed up by David Tibet and also featuring Ben Chasny of Bonnie "Prince" Billy labelmates Six Organs of Admittance.

Branching Out: How apropos for Michelle Branch to debut her new project, the Wreckers, on "One Tree Hill." Now that she has, it's time for her and Nashville singer/songwriter Jessica Harp to trot out Stand Still, Look Pretty, the limited edition of which comes with a bonus DVD.

Also finding a new mouthpiece — actually, let's make that a bullhorn — are punk heroes Marky Ramone, Jerry Only (Misfits), Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Ivan Julian (Richard Hell & the Voidoids) and Misfits collaborator John Cafiero. Their new team, Osaka Popstar, roll out their eponymous debut this week, which — like the Wreckers' LP — comes with a bonus DVD loaded with videos, animation and more.

Two members of the Mother Hips and Cake drummer Todd Roper have gone on to form Sensations, whose Listen to My Shapes debut drops this week. And Dave Shettler of the Sights has joined forces with members of the Paybacks and Cyril Lords to form SSM, a raggedy Detroit band that's also chalking up a self-titled debut.

We Salute You: Everyone knows how much Def Leppard love their sugar, but David Bowie and the Kinks too? 'Pears so, as the U.K. arena-rockers hail those artists — plus Thin Lizzy, T. Rex and Roxy Music — on Yeah! Still, that's not as unusual as Urge Overkill, the Four Tops, the Monkees and Crooked Fingers covering Neil Diamond; all the recordings have been out before, but now they've been compiled as Forever Neil Diamond. Less surprising is another torch singer, Michael Bolton, who brings us his self-explanatory Bolton Swings Sinatra this week.

Song Title of the Week:

"Sometimes the Line Walks You" from Murder by Death's In Bocca Al Lupo

Other Notables:

PJ Harvey's "PJ Harvey on Tour - Please Leave Quietly" DVD: She's been around for seven album cycles, but the celebrated chanteuse finally has a concert video to call her own. Consisting mostly of performances from 2004 — including the rare tracks "Uh Huh Her" and "E♥ol" — the DVD also has a revealing, 28-minute interview and diary footage from the usually reserved Harvey.

Art Brut's Bang Bang Rock and Roll: If you didn't see last year's critics polls, you probably don't know about U.K. sensations Art Brut, whose debut LP finally arrives in the States this week. The chic artistes have added three exclusive cuts to the U.S. version: "These Animal Menswear," "Really Bad Weekend" and "Maternity Ward."

Mission of Burma's The Obliterati: They've been around for 26 years — well, just six, if you subtract the slightly lengthy hiatus — but Boston's MOB finally have a third studio LP to their name. Initial pressings have a bonus DVD featuring high-def, multi-angle footage from the band's November 2004 gig at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts. Prepare to be obliterated.

New Releases:

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

  • Will Ackerman - Pure Will Ackerman (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Jim Brickman - Pure Jim Brickman (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Roy Buchanan - The Definitive Collection (Polydor)
  • Candlebox - The Best of Candlebox (Rhino)
    Buy Now: The Best of Candlebox (Rhino)
  • Johnny Cash - Personal File (two CDs; Columbia/ Legacy)
    Buy Now: Personal File (Columbia/ Legacy)
  • Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton (two-CD deluxe edition; Polydor)
    Buy Now: Eric Clapton (Polydor)
  • The Miles Davis Quintet - The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions (enhanced four-disc box set; Prestige)
  • Delaney & Bonnie - Home (Stax)
  • Pat DiNizio - This Is Pat DiNizio (Fuel)
  • Sammy Hagar - Marching to Mars (Geffen)
  • John Lee Hooker - The Definitive Collection (Hip-0)
  • Mark Isham - Pure Mark Isham (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Kansas - Works in Progress (with DVD; Compendia)
  • Gladys Knight & the Pips - Gold (two CDs; Hip-O)
  • Leadbelly - The Legend of Leadbelly (Empire Musicwerks)
  • Huey Lewis & the News - Greatest Hits (available with DVD; Capitol)
    Buy Now: Greatest Hits (Capitol)
  • Luciano - Gold: The Very Best of Luciano (Jet Star)
  • John Jacob Niles - An Evening With John Jacob Niles (Empire Musicwerks)
  • Harry Nilsson - A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson, Son of Schmilsson (RCA/ Legacy)
  • Poison - The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock - Deluxe Tour Edition (with DVD; Capitol)
    Buy Now: The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock - Deluxe Tour Edition (Capitol)
  • Pete Seeger - American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4 (Smithsonian Folkways)
  • Lionel Richie - Time (MCA)
  • Diana Ross - Diana (MCA)
  • Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia - Well-Matched: The Best of Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Shadowfax - Pure Shadowfax (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Garnett Silk - Rule Dem: The Roots of the Reggae Messiah (Trojan)
  • George Strait - Ten Strait Hits (MCA)
  • Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair (two-CD deluxe edition; enhanced; Mercury/ Universal)
    Buy Now: Songs From the Big Chair (Mercury/ Universal)
  • Tuck & Patti - Pure Tuck & Patti (Windham Hill/ Legacy)
  • Uriah Heep - Look at Yourself (MCA)
  • Muddy Waters - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
  • Faron Young - An Introduction to Faron Young (Fuel)
  • Various artists - Best of '60s Soul (Madacy)
  • Various artists - Big Band: Remixed + Reinvented (Sunswept)
  • Various artists - Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways)
  • Various artists - Eisenhower Blues: Post-War Urban Classics From the Eisenhower Era (1952-1960) (Empire Musicwerks)
  • Various artists - The Essential Hollywood (two CDs; Columbia)
  • Various artists - Forever Neil Diamond (Shout! Factory)
  • Various artists - Irie Reggae Hits: Best of Dancehall (Time Life)
  • Various artists - Punk Rock! 20 Classic Punk Bands From the World of Mystic Records (Varèse Sarabande)
  • Various artists - Road Tested: The Ultimate Driving Album (Time Life)
  • Various artists - West Coast Sock Hop: The Arvee Records Story (Empire Musicwerks)

Music DVDs:

  • 16 Horsepower - "Live" (Alternative Tentacles)
  • America - "America In Concert: Live at the Sydney Opera House" (Rhino)
  • Faith No More - "You Fat Bastards: Live at the Brixton Academy, London/ Who Cares A Lot: Greatest Videos" (two DVDs; Rhino)
  • Oscar Peterson - "London Concert 1964" (E Jazz Lines)
  • Pink - "Live in Europe" (La Face)
  • PJ Harvey - "PJ Harvey on Tour - Please Leave Quietly" (Island)
  • Uli Jon Roth - "Historic Performances Volume I & II: The Electric Sun Years" (Steamhammer)
  • Uli Jon Roth, Jack Bruce and UFO - "Legends of Rock: Live at Castle Donington" (Steamhammer)
  • Son Volt - "6 String Belief: Son Volt Live" (Transmit Sound/ Legacy)
  • Tears for Fears - "Scenes From the Big Chair" (Mercury/ Universal)
  • Muddy Waters - "Classic Concerts" (Hip-O)
  • Wendy O. Williams - "Bump N Grind: Wendy O. Williams Live" (Cherry Red)
  • Various artists - "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" (two-DVD special edition; Warner)

Coming Attractions:

May 30:

June 6:

June 13:

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532278/20060522/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1532278/20060522/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml 23 May 2006 06:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Damone Rock On Despite Label Drama, Near-Death Experience]]> Massachusetts band's second LP, Out Here All Night, due May 23.
By Gil Kaufman


Damone
Photo: Island

It's been a pretty typical couple of years between albums for Massachusetts rockers Damone: Some touring, some recording and a few minor bumps in the road ... like the lead guitarist and creative engine bailing on them before their first major tour, being dropped by their label, almost losing their bass player to a brain hemorrhage, and having no money to record with.

But that was all no big deal, according to singer Noelle LeBlanc.

"We've all had quite an experience over the past year, but we remain positive," said the deadpan 20-year-old singer, a Joan Jett for the MySpace generation who goes by her first name professionally. "It's not like we're saying, 'Being in a band is so hard,' and whining about it. We're like, 'F--- it, let's rock!' "

That's a pretty positive attitude, given all that's happened to Damone since they released their overlooked pop-metal debut, 2003's From the Attic. When RCA was unenthused about the new songs the group was writing, the follow-up to Attic was shelved and Damone were let go, which was fine with them. They'd already learned to adjust since the departure of co-founder and primary songwriter Dave Pino, who split just as the Attic tour dates were kicking off because he didn't want to go out on the road.

"[Getting dropped] was fine at the time because we weren't ready as a band then," said Noelle, who began playing in punk groups when she was 14. After six months of waiting around to finalize their release, on the day after the papers were signed, Damone played a show in New York that quickly resulted in a contract with Island and a sign of approval from a rock legend.

"We did this showcase and [former Cars leader] Ric Ocasek was in another room working with a band at the same time," remembered Noelle. "He was hanging out in the lounge, and when [new guitarist] Mike Woods went outside to smoke a cigarette, he looked up and was like, 'It's Ric Ocasek!' Ric must have heard some of the showcase because he gave a nod of encouragement to [bassist] Vazquez."

Before signing with Island, Damone had already recorded half the new album — Out Here All Night, due May 23 — on their own dime, mostly in a small studio and sometimes in Noelle's apartment. During that period, Vazquez was running around so much and sleeping so little between sessions that he almost did himself in.

"He was really anxious during the whole recording process, and the day he f---ed himself up we had been out all night before and he hadn't eaten," Noelle said. "We went to the gym, and he fell flat on his back and hit his head really hard in the right spot and was in the hospital for a couple weeks." At one point Vazquez was read his last rites, but he eventually emerged from a two-day coma and recovered from what turned out to be a brain hemorrhage.

The addition of "impeccable guitar player" Woods to the lineup, which also includes drummer Dustin Hengst (who played with Woods in a previous band), helped recharge Damone's batteries and gave them a sound Noelle describes as "a force you cannot f--- with." You can hear it all over the album, which mixes the metal riffage and over-the-top solos of '80s hair metal with a pop-punk edge and lyrics that take jabs at a host of unnamed liars, deceivers and backstabbers.

The Judas Priest-meets-Weezer title track and first single is a hair-flipping rock song on which Noelle spits, "People take what they need/ Then they tell you 'get lost'/ Kindly leading you on/ While they're ripping you off." Damone went the indie route while filming the clip for the song, hooking up with mtvU, which supplied them with some budding college film directors who lensed a low-budget homage to the "Friday the 13th" movies. "It turned out really cool," Noelle said. "I had this idea of being in the woods running around being chased like in some campy '70s horror movie, and we had so much fun doing it."

Before getting shot with arrows and chased through the woods, though, the band shot another low-budget clip earlier this year that quickly became a YouTube sensation. The fake public-service announcement has Noelle earnestly staring at the camera and lamenting the plight of broke rock bands as her bandmates fish through a garbage can for scraps.

"Everyone is still talking about it," said Noelle. "Whatever success we've gotten [recently] is because of that damn thing."

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1531623/20060511/damone.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1531623/20060511/damone.jhtml 12 May 2006 06:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Damone Find Love At The Carwash, Don't Think Sum 41 Are Funny]]> Band's lead singer says '80s rock star Rick Springfield was a prime influence for his own songwriting.
By Gil Kaufman


Damone
Photo: RCA

Mullets, Chevelles, BMX bikes, muscle cars, cheesy mustaches. The science of guitar solos by White Lion and Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt. These are '80s things bands like Blink-182 like to poke fun at. Damone's Dave Pino, however, isn't laughing with them.

"That whole mullet thing, American Hi-Fi and Sum 41 can goof on that stuff — the Camaro-driving guy with the mustache. It's funny and I get it, but it's offensive to us," said Pino, the musical mastermind behind Waltham, Massachusetts, rockers Damone.

"In this town, we're stuck in some '80s suburb," Pino explained of the working- class Boston 'burb of 60,000 where he and his bandmates grew up. "Everyone who lives here has muscle cars and motorcycles. Those guys' act makes us feel like they think they're better than us and we belong on 'The Jerry Springer Show.' But that's our roots!"

Pino's roots are definitely showing all over Damone's debut, From the Attic, a fired-up, hook-heavy '80s arena ode to teenage life and hopeless devotion that might just hold the record for songs that either take place in or mention car washes. With a few big, Eddie Van Halen-style solos, cascading, multi-tracked vocal harmonies from high school senior and singer Noelle, and bright, skintight rhythms from bassist Vazquez and drummer Dustin Hengst, From the Attic sounds like the lost soundtrack to a John Hughes high school flick from the '80s. The band was, after all, named after the slimy ticket scalper from 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," which was released four years before Noelle was born.

The 11 songs are among the hundreds Pino has written since his early teens, more than 80 of which he wrote in 1996 while working the graveyard shift at the Waltham Carwash and dreaming about his soon-to-be-ex girlfriend. "I worked there 50 hours a week," Pino said of the wash, which is mentioned in the album's lead track, "Frustrated Unnoticed," as well as in "Carwash Romance" and "Your Girlfriends."

"I worked two jobs and then the night shift at the carwash, so the office was like my living room. I had a guitar there and I'd work on songs that I tried to make like ones I loved from the '80s, when songs had mysterious lyrics," Pino said, citing Rick Springfield as a prime influence in that department. The Donnas-meets-Cheap Trick song "Carwash Romance" came to Pino one night at the wash when he was lonely, eating junk food, gazing out the window and imagining the perfect girl coming over the hill on her BMX bike. "At the carwash I will be dreaming/ Would you like it if I sing to you/ I'm just hoping, I'm just hoping," Noelle sings in her girlish lilt, before her voice is buried in a landslide of major riffage and bashing drums.

Pino didn't get the girl, despite making her tape after tape of original love songs. But Pino — who compares himself to the character Wooderson from the stoner flick "Dazed and Confused" because of his tendency to hang out with the younger siblings of his friends — did eventually get introduced to then 12-year-old tomboy Noelle, whose shyness he said makes her the perfect frontperson.

"It makes her presence that much stronger on the record, which I think is cool," said Pino of the hair-in-her face, black leather bracelet, tough-girl look which masks a reserved persona and a powerful voice reminiscent of '90s rockers Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt.

"Dave was 21 when I met him and he wanted to be a rock star," said Noelle, whose Huey Lewis-loving mom owns a yarn store. "I didn't really want to be a rock star, ever."

Onstage, Noelle has a strange way of showing it. When Pino dropped out of the band's recent tour with the Ataris to concentrate on making music, novice guitarist Noelle was suddenly thrust into the spotlight as both singer and riff-master, a task she completed with a mix of swagger and self-deprecating humor. "Sorry we suck so bad tonight," she said during a tour stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, before chopping out the chunka-chunka riffs of "Feel Bad Vibe," hair in face, guitar slung low. (The group has since added a touring guitarist.)

Noelle said she has no problem singing Pino's hopelessly devoted songs. "I didn't know Dave that well when we started playing and singing together, so I just swapped the gender and anyone can relate to them," she said. "I mean, in 'Frustrated Unnoticed,' that's just about being pissed off because the person you're into doesn't notice you. You're like, 'Look at me, I'm riding a BMX bike, I'm rockin' a musclehead car, but you're not even noticing me.' "

Though they just played their first live gig a year ago, the whirlwind reality of having their major-label debut out hasn't really sunk in for Damone. "It's not as exciting as I thought it would be," said Pino. "I thought I'd be all nervous and freaked out, but my real life is as prominent as ever. Earlier today, I was [working on some] of our trucks and before that I woke up early to change out windows on some of my dad's buildings and picked up my mom." Noelle, who has a tutor on tour, where her big brother keeps an eye on her, said she doesn't know if rocking is her full-time dream.

"I'd like to go to art school or something," she said. "That sounds really cool."

Avril Lavigne and Lillix may have made it safe for young women to rock again, but Noelle doesn't really care if people tap into her 'girl power.' "I'm wicked into Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and Letters to Cleo," said Noelle. "But we pretty much are heshers. I have a mullet and people bash that sh--, but it's just who we are. We need more girls rocking out."

Oh, and that ex-girlfriend who didn't respond to Pino's CDs full of love songs? After dumping him, Pino wrote a few songs for her older sister ("Karen on My Mind," "Karen's Electric Love") and eventually, they got back together.

Related Artists ]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1471781/20030508/damone.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1471781/20030508/damone.jhtml 9 May 2003 07:53:00 EDT <![CDATA[Damone - Out Here All Night]]> Damone - Out Here All Night

Out Here All Night

  • Artist: Damone
  • Label: Island
  • Director: Langlev/Leonardo
]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1233698&vid=80449 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1233698&vid=80449 3 Apr 2006 12:00:00 EDT <![CDATA[Damone - Frustrated Unnoticed (Version 2)]]> Damone - Frustrated Unnoticed (Version 2)

Frustrated Unnoticed (Version 2)

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1233698&vid=28539 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1233698&vid=28539 4 Feb 2004 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Photos | MTV.com Exclusive: Damone Photos 06.08.2006]]>

MTV.com Exclusive: Damone Photos 06.08.2006

Related Artists ]]> Photos http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1535098 http://www.mtv.com/photos/?fid=1535098 26 Jun 2006 12:00:00 EDT