New Found Glory

Paramore's Hayley Williams Dispels Engagement Rumor

02 Mar 2009 11:38:00 EST

Gossip site falsely reports that she and New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert were engaged.
By James Montgomery

Step back from the ledge, Hayley Williams obsessives: The Paramore frontwoman is not getting married.

Yes, despite what you may have read over the weekend, the 20-year-old Williams and her boyfriend, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert, 27, did not get engaged.

The rumors started on Sunday, when Canadian "celebrity blogger" Zack Taylor posted an entry on his site claiming Gilbert popped the question over the weekend in Nashville. According to a "source," the site said, "Hayley was telling her friends that she and Chad were hoping to have a huge wedding in [Paramore's hometown] Franklin [Tennessee], sometime in 2011 when they can both take a break from touring."

This was apparently news to Williams, who took to Paramore's LiveJournal page to dispel the engagement talk (and to allude to "The Princess' Bride" while she was at it).

"Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dream," she wrote, quoting the movie. "I had no idea I was engaged! I'm so happy for myself!

"In case you guys have seen the post floating around the interweb, I just wanted to state for the record that Chad and I are not engaged," the post continued. "I feel so ridiculous posting about this ... but hopefully I'm posting enough in advance that most of you haven't even heard all this, yet ... so, now you've heard it here... the rumors are not true."

Meanwhile, when she's not setting the record straight on her personal life, Williams and her Paramore-mates are in Nashville, demo-ing songs for the follow-up to their Riot! album and gearing up for their summer tour with No Doubt. According to their labels, Fueled By Ramen and Atlantic, Paramore's new album is due after that tour wraps in August.

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Chamillionaire Takes H.I.M. On; Plus U2, James Blunt, Twista & More, In New Releases

18 Sep 2007 08:02:00 EDT

Also due Tuesday: Havoc, Motion City Soundtrack, New Found Glory, Ben Lee, Les Savy Fav, Babyface.
By Kurt Orzeck

Twenty-four years ago Tuesday (September 18), Kiss went on MTV and unmasked themselves for the first time. The stunt coincided with the band's Lick It Up LP and had fans of the glam-rockers salivating all over again. So in commemoration of that revealing day, here are this week's new releases, unmasked.

Resurrecting the Cham-P: It's unlikely Chamillionaire will be ridin' his way to the top of the Billboard albums chart anytime soon, given the sales aftershocks that are likely to result after last week's epic showdown between Kanye West and 50 Cent. But that isn't to say the Houston rapper didn't try to live up to the title of his second album, Ultimate Victory — Lil Wayne, Devin the Dude and UGK's Bun B and Pimp C all rear their heads on the effort, as does Slick Rick, who is featured on the lead single, "Hip Hop Police." But that track hasn't made a huge impact at radio, so maybe the MC should start thinking in terms of thousands and not millions ...

Let's Be Blunt: But Cham isn't the only one sweating the sophomore slump this week — James Blunt has even more to measure up to with All the Lost Souls. That album chases 2004's Back to Bedlam, which went twice platinum in the U.S. and had an even bigger impact elsewhere in the world. The album's collage cover is comprised by hundreds of small images of Blunt, but the negative reviews the LP has been garnering might be even more dizzying for the artist.

Oh, H.I.M.: Moody Finnish goth-rockers H.I.M. might surprise everyone by making Venus Doom the highest-charting Billboard debut among this week's contenders — despite such gloomy songs as "Dead Lovers' Lane," "Sleepwalking Past Hope" and "Love in Cold Blood." The group's latest LP has fewer keyboards than previous releases, and the limited-edition version comes with a DVD boasting remixes and more.

From Them 2U: It's been almost 10 years since U2 stirred a sports stadium full of fans at Mexico City's Foro Sol venue, so what better time to revisit the landmark event with a spiffy new DVD? "PopMart Live From Mexico City" is hitting the format for the first time and has been shined up with revitalized video and audio. A special limited-edition version takes it one step further by adding a bonus disc with unreleased concert material, plus four documentaries, a tour-visuals montage, wallpapers, screensavers and more.

That's a Rap: Speedy MC Twista roped Pharrell onto "Give It Up," the first single from his seventh studio album, Adrenaline Rush 2007 — but he also convinced R. Kelly, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Cee-Lo, E-40, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Kanye West to lend their skills as well. Mobb Deep's Havoc went the underground route for The Kush, his solo debut, going light on featured artists and crafting the project on his own. Beyond his Mobb mate Prodigy, "I did not want a bunch of big stars on [The Kush], as it would have taken away from the real objective of the LP, which is grimy and down to earth." Watch him clue in MTV News' Shaheem Reid about the disc:

Also this week, there's a raft of artists cropping up in places you wouldn't expect, and a few more under-the-radar surprises too:

· Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Taking Back Sunday's Adam Lazzarra, Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba, Cartel's Will Pugh and Lisa Loeb (!) help New Found Glory burn through their favorite soundtrack songs on From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II.

· Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson pay unexpected visits on Reba McEntire's Duets — the country singer's 25th album, impressively.

· Jay-Z gets an unexpected shout-out on "What Would Jay-Z Do?," a track featured on the new album by Ben Lee. Ripe, the singer/songwriter's sixth opus, also bristles with guest spots by Benji Madden, Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata and more. (Let's see how Lee's Ripe fares against Alvin Lee's Saguitar.)

· Elvis Costello chalks up a surprise cover of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" while Sarah McLachlan touches up XTC's "Dear God" on the "House" soundtrack. Even more eyebrows will be raised when people hear a cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" that features the show's star, Hugh Laurie, performing alongside Greg Grunberg ("Heroes"), Bob Guiney ("The Bachelor") and more.

· Speaking of TV stars taking to the mic, Rosie O'Donnell does a duet of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Barry Manilow on his The Greatest Songs of the Seventies. OK, that one might be too much for anyone to handle.

· Eddie Vedder steps away from Pearl Jam for a sec to conjure up the soundtrack to Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" flick — "no other voice flows, bleeds or rejoices the young American's land and heart so passionately as Vedder's," Penn said in a statement.

· Babyface is using his 11th album, Playlist, as an opportunity to reimagine some of his favorite songs — and they're probably not what you'd expect. Kenny Edmonds puts his R&B polish on Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle," among other selections.

· Angie Stone and Anthony Hamilton share their gifts with urban-jazz saxophonist Boney James on his Christmas Present.

· Carlos Santana and — sure, why not? — actor Andy Garcia surface on Gloria Estefan's 90 Millas.

· Celtic punks the Dropkick Murphys go green on their The Meanest of Times LP, reining in the Pogues' Spider Stacy and former Dubliners singer/guitarist Ronnie Drew.

Song Title of the Week:

"Slash in the Snake Pit" from Pre's Epic Fits

Album Cover of the Week:

Drug Rug's Drug Rug

Other Notables:

Kevin Drew's Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew - Spirit If ...
Don't be confused by all those guest spots by Broken Social Scene members and affiliates — this is in fact a solo release by the Toronto collective's frontman. Recorded at Do Make Say Think multi-instrumentalist Ohad Benchetrit's house over the past two years when BSS were on break from touring, the songs are more stripped down than the ones typically found on the band's releases. Also participating in the affair are Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, Scott Kannberg (Pavement), Metric's Joules Scott-Key and more.

Les Savy Fav's Let's Stay Friends
The colorful New York post-punks barrel back with their first album since 2001's Go Forth, bringing some unlikely homies along for the ride: "Saturday Night Live" actor Fred Armisen, who plays drums on two tracks, plus fellow arty spazz-outs Enon, Metric's Emily Haines and members of Modest Mouse, Fiery Furnaces and more. The album, which leaked online last month, features "The Year Before the Year 2000," "What Would Wolves Do?" and "Scotchguard the Credit Card."

Rogue Wave's Asleep at Heaven's Gate
After releasing two albums on Sub Pop, the Bay Area indie-rockers hopped over to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Recordings for their third one, which was produced by Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney). The band's music has been featured on "Heroes," "Weeds" and other TV shows, but lineup changes, health problems and other developments have tripped up the band a bit lately. Maybe this album — and its guest appearances, including ones by John Vanderslice and Nada Surf's Matthew Caws — will help get Rogue Wave flowing smoothly again.

New Releases:

· A Life Once Lost - Iron Gag (Ferret)
· A.A. Bondy - American Hearts (digipak; Superphonic)
· Ahleuchatistas - Even in the Midst ... (Cuneiform)
· Akron Family - Love Is Simple (with DVD; Young God)
· A-Sides - Silver Storms (digipak; Vagrant)
· Sérgio & Odair Assad - Jardim Abandonado (Nonesuch)
· Athletic Automaton - A Journey Through Roman's Empire (Skin Graft)
· Babyface - Playlist (Mercury) [Buy Now]
· Bella - No One Will Know (M

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New Found Glory Look For Newfound Label, Say Geffen Split Was Amicable

22 Mar 2007 15:30:00 EDT

'Our fans say Geffen screwed up ... that's not really true,' singer Chad Gilbert explains.
By James Montgomery

If you're expecting some huge sob story from New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert about his band's recent departure from Geffen Records, well, you can pretty much stop reading right here.

Because, as he told MTV News late Wednesday, NFG's split with the label — the break was announced via a press release earlier this week — was completely mutual, completely painless and, well, completely expected.

"It wasn't a shock to us, because it's been in the back of our minds for a while. And we were all sort of thinking, 'What's going to be our next move?' " Gilbert said.

Get out your spool of thread: NFG put out their first album, Nothing Gold Can Stay, through Drive-Thru Records in 1999. After that, the band signed to MCA — which distributed Drive-Thru — and the major label re-released the band's debut that same year. In early 2003, MCA was absorbed into Geffen, with the Drive-Thru moniker carrying over as well. NFG's 2006 release, Coming Home, came out via the combined Geffen, Drive-Thru and Suretone, a label founded by Geffen President Jordan Schur and Interscope Records. Phew.

"We've released five albums [through that family of labels], but it's been, like, two albums on MCA, one album under Geffen under Suretone, one album on Geffen under [label president] Ron Fair. ... There's been so many regime changes that the original people who released [2000's] self-titled record and released Sticks and Stones have been long gone."

There was no bad blood, no "they screwed us" sentiments, and the band says it's looking at the break as a good thing. Many NFG fans have been filling message boards with speculation that the less-than-stellar sales of the band's recent Coming Home album — which has moved just 126,000 copies since its September release — were either a) Geffen's fault; or b) a misstep that got the band dropped. Gilbert sees things a little differently.

"I think some of our fans weren't into the last record, but the ones that were into it were really, really into it, and they loved it so much that they were personally offended that it wasn't all over everywhere," he said. "I read comments where our fans say Geffen screwed up Coming Home, they screwed New Found Glory, but that's not really true. Maybe Geffen didn't have the right tools or whatever to get it to the kids, and internally, there were a bunch of changes going on at the label when our record came out, so I don't know if it's anyone's fault.

"I think it's probably a bunch of reasons that no one could do anything about. Was it because the songs weren't good enough? No — some radio stations played the single ['It's Not Your Fault'] a lot, some didn't. And we have friends at MTV and some of them loved the video, but it didn't get a lot of play," Gilbert continued. "It was some other things behind the scenes that were out of anyone's hands. And I don't really know what those things are. You can't really know and you can't really say. All in all, we're leaving the label on good terms, and we're really excited and our fans are really excited."

NFG aren't sitting idly by, either. They've already hatched a plan to release From the Screen to Your Stereo, Part 2 — a sequel to 2000's EP of movie-score covers — on Drive-Thru. They'll record the album in May — when they return from a spate of tour dates in Japan, Australia and Europe — and hope to have the album out in the fall, when NFG wrap their stint on the Warped Tour (see "Warped Tour Unveils 45-Show Run With New Found Glory, Coheed, Bad Religion").

And then they'll turn their attention to finding a new home, a process Gilbert said has already begun in earnest in the few days since the Geffen split became public knowledge. And unlike the past — when they were "upstreamed" from Drive-Thru to MCA — this time, the ball is in NFG's court. And they intend to take their sweet old time making a decision.

"The amazing thing is that we're free to do whatever we want," Gilbert said. "If we meet some people that are in love with NFG that are a major label, then we'll sign with them. If we meet people that are in love with NFG that are an independent label — and they have a plan — well, then we'll sign to them. It's completely up to us."

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New Found Glory

Warped Tour Unveils 45-Show Run With New Found Glory, Coheed, Bad Religion

13 Mar 2007 08:09:00 EDT

Hawthorne Heights, K-os, As I Lay Dying also on 13th annual outing's diverse lineup.
By Gil Kaufman

When an event has been around for 13 years, it's usually time to shake things up. And while Ozzfest chose to do that by going free, the Vans Warped tour opted to piece together one of its most diverse rosters to date.

The tour, which will kick off June 28 at Chula Vista, California's Coors Amphitheater, is currently slated to play 45 shows through an August 25 date in Los Angeles with a lineup that includes Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion, New Found Glory, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Cute Is What We Aim For, Bayside and Canadian rapper K-os.

Among the other groups that will be on the road with Warped all summer are Amber Pacific, Circa Survive, Tiger Army, Escape the Fate, Hot Rod Circuit, Big D and the Kids Table, Paramore, Gallows, the Matches, the Fabulous Rudies, Meg and Dia, All Time Low, Bleed the Dream, the Unseen, Escape the Fate, Spill Canvas, Evaline, Bless the Fall, Boys Like Girls, My American Heart, Vincent Black Shadow, Throw the Fight and Pepper.

Tour founder Kevin Lyman said he had plenty of options to choose from when putting together the roster. "We received over 4,000 submissions, so in booking the tour this year I felt that a diverse lineup was in order," he said in a press release announcing the dates. "The tour has always been a place to explore and discover new music. This year's lineup has old school, emo, punk, screamo, hip-hop, more ska than you have seen in a long time and everything in between. If you're open-minded, this will be a great show."

Members of the online Warped community will get their annual shot at Internet presale tickets starting April 1, where they'll be offered a ticket and a copy of the Warped Tour double-disc compilation for $19.99.

Among the other acts scheduled to play select dates are: A Static Lullaby, the Actual, Agent Orange, Alesana, Alkaline Trio, the Almost, Anberlin, As Cities Burn, As I Lay Dying, the Automatic, Biffy Clyro, the Briefs, the Briggs, Buck O Nine, Cinematic Sunrise, the Confession, the Dear and Departed, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Envy on the Coast, the Fall of Troy, Family Force 5, Fishbone, Flogging Molly, the Fold, Funeral for a Friend, the Graduate, Haste the Day, Hawthorne Heights, Human Abstract, I Am Ghost, Madina Lake, Mayday Parade, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, New Year's Day, Norma Jean, Parkway Drive, Pennywise, Pistolita, Play Radio Play, POS, Poison the Well, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Set Your Goals, So They Say, the Starting Line, Straylight Run, Supernova, the Toasters, Underoath, the Used, Valencia, The Vandals and Yellowcard.

More bands and dates are expected to be added in coming months.

Warped Tour dates, according to the tour's spokesperson:

· 6/28 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
· 6/29 - Pomona, CA @ Los Angeles County Fairgrounds
· 6/30 - Ventura, CA @ Seaside Park
· 7/1 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
· 7/3 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
· 7/5 - Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
· 7/7 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairgrounds
· 7/8 - Denver, CO @ TBA
· 7/11 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
· 7/12 - Las Cruces, NM @ NMSU Practice Field
· 7/13 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
· 7/14 - Dallas, TX @ TBA
· 7/15 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center
· 7/18 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
· 7/19 - Jacksonville, FL @ Metropolitan Park
· 7/20 - Saint Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Waterfront Park
· 7/21 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Amphitheatre
· 7/22 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
· 7/23 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 7/24 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 7/25 - Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
· 7/26 - Scranton, PA @ Montage Mountain Amphitheatre
· 7/27 - Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
· 7/28 - Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
· 7/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ HHH Metrodome
· 7/31 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
· 8/1 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Centre
· 8/2 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheatre
· 8/3 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
· 8/4 - New York, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
· 8/5 - Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
· 8/7 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
· 8/8 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
· 8/9 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center Lot
· 8/10 - Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lakes Field
· 8/11 - Oshawa, ON @ Park Place
· 8/12 - Montreal, ON @ Parc Jean-Drapeau
· 8/14 - St. Louis, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
· 8/15 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 8/17 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
· 8/18 - Seattle, WA @ Gorge
· 8/19 - Saint Helens, OR @ Columbia Meadows
· 8/23 - Fresno, CA @ Selland Arena
· 8/24 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
· 8/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center

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Leak Was True: Fall Out Boy Announce Friends Or Enemies Tour Dates

05 Dec 2006 11:58:00 EST

Band will hit 15 cities in January to build buzz for forthcoming Infinity on High.
By James Montgomery

Last week, Fall Out Boy announced they'd be hitting the road for a string of small (well, to them, anyway) club shows to build buzz for their upcoming Infinity on High album. But as is the case with seemingly every band these days, they chose to ratchet up the excitement by doing something a little different: They only confirmed the first and last dates of the tour.

It was a move meant to fuel both excitement and speculation among fans — and a move that was promptly undone this weekend, when the full string of dates for the Friends or Enemies jaunt were mistakenly posted on FOB tourmates New Found Glory's official Web site (whoops!). Of course, nearly as soon as the tour itinerary appeared, it was yanked from the site — a spokesperson for NFG's label, Geffen Records, said she wasn't even aware the mishap had occurred — but, given that this is the Internet, the damage was already done. The dates had leaked.

On Tuesday (December 5), the full list of tour dates was posted on FriendsOrEnemies.com. The trek kicks off on January 4 in San Francisco and wraps on January 20 in Orlando, Florida, making stops in 13 cities in between. In addition to NFG, Fall Out Boy will be joined on the road by the Early November, Permanent Me, and, on select dates, legendary New Jersey hardcore unit Lifetime. Tickets for some dates are expected to go on sale December 15.

Fall Out Boy's Friends or Enemies tour dates, according to Island Records:

1/4 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
1/5 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove of Anaheim
1/6 - Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee Theatre
1/7 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
1/8 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
1/10 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
1/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
1/12 - Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
1/13 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
1/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
1/16 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
1/17 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
1/18 - Raleigh, NC @ Disco Rodeo
1/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
1/20 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live

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Sneakers, Warped Tour Mementos From MCR, NOFX To Be In Rock Hall Of Fame

25 Oct 2006 16:42:00 EDT

New Found Glory, Dropkick Murphys also contribute items for display, which begins in January.
By James Montgomery

For years, the biggest knock on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been its unwillingness to recognize the contributions of artists that fall outside the standard definition of, well, "rock and roll."

In recent years, the Hall has taken steps to rectify the problem. The list of 2006 inductees included punk pioneers the Sex Pistols and Blondie, proto-metallers Black Sabbath and forward-thinking jazznick Miles Davis (see "Metallica Thud, Blondie Feud At Rock Hall Of Fame Ceremony"). And now an even more unlikely group of artists will be allowed inside the hallowed Hall: a bunch of sweat-stained and sunburned punks — or, more specifically, their guitars, Converse All Stars and hairspray.

Starting in January, an exhibit honoring Warped Tour — the longest-running touring rock festival and summertime celebration of piercings, Manic Panic and all types of punk rock — will display gear, clothing and various ephemera donated by the hundreds of artists that have graced Warped's many stages over the years.

"It's a great honor for the Hall to recognize the success of Warped, and I know it's a special thing for a lot of the bands," Warped founder Kevin Lyman told MTV News. "So many of them have donated their personal gear, because they realize how great this is. A lot of them have kids now, and so they looked at it like, 'Well, I don't know if I'll ever get into the Hall, but now at least my guitar will.' "

New-school acts like My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory and Gym Class Heroes all contributed items, as did a host of punk stalwarts, including NOFX, the Dropkick Murphys and the Bouncing Souls. And in keeping with the spirit of the tour, the list of donated items is particularly punk — from the Murphys' bagpipes and Anti-Flag's sneakers to a customized Millencolin beer bong.

"When we first reached out to Kevin about making this exhibit happen, we wanted to recognize the significant contributions Warped has made to the state of rock and roll," Todd Mesek, a spokesperson for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, told MTV News. "We wanted to explore just what the fest means and how it has developed so many artists. And so we set out to collect as many artifacts as we could from the past 12 years."

The Warped exhibit is scheduled to open sometime in late January at the Rock Hall's permanent home in Cleveland, and Lyman told MTV News that he's in the early stages of planning a show to coincide with the opening (the Used and Paramore are already on board to play, he said). And when the exhibit wraps — which should be sometime in June — the Hall plans to seal all the donated items in a special time capsule, which will be reopened in 25 years.

(Click here for a look at what goes on behind the scenes at the summer's craziest punk-rock circus.)

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Fall Out Boy Deliver New LP Details: Panic Cameo, Single On The Way

10 Oct 2006 06:01:00 EDT

Album will include guitar solos by Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross, New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert; hip-hop pals 'not rapping.'
By James Montgomery

As far as album-preview interviews go, this probably isn't the best way to start one:

"I hate hearing bands talk about their new records before I hear them. Inevitably all bands trash their old songs, which we love, and insist they have come up with an entirely new formula. Then you hear the record and it sounds basically, for all intents and purposes, exactly like the band has always sounded. We're not the kind of band that is just gonna throw you in a cold pool with all of your clothes on just to get the party started — at least we wouldn't in this particular metaphor."

That's Fall Out Boy bassist/mouthpiece Pete Wentz on his band's much-touted new record, which has been written about so much, it hardly feels like an upcoming release (see "Pete Wentz Says: Don't Expect A Fall Out Boy Album This Year" and "Fall Out Boy Say Next LP May Fix Global Warming, Feature Jay-Z"). And yet, despite the copious amount of sorta information currently floating around about it — and Wentz's reluctance to describe the songs on it — he has e-mailed MTV News a bunch of new information about the new FOB record, which the band is in the process of wrapping up as you read this.

"It never really feels like the homestretch, but I think we should be finished tracking this week. Or maybe we will do one more song, we'll see," Wentz wrote. "I think the date the label wants the record is Halloween. We're gonna deliver it dressed in costumes. Or maybe not."

He also revealed that the new disc will be heavy with guest stars, and while he wouldn't talk about everyone who appears on the record — a list that includes "a couple of our friends" from the hip-hop game making cameos, "though not rapping" — he did let the cat out of the bag regarding a pair of guests that should have the MySpace Nation vibrating with excitement: Panic! at the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross and New Found Glory axeman Chad Gilbert, both of whom contribute solos to an unnamed track.

"We tried to make it a bit different than the way we used guests on From Under the Cork Tree," Wentz wrote. "We felt like rock bands have kind of neglected the guitar solo, at least in our genre. So we had our friends Chad Gilbert and Ryan Ross both play guitar solos on a song. But it won't be what you expect."

Wentz said that FOB have already recorded 14 songs with producer Neal Avron — he claims titles include "Hum Hallelujah," "I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers" and "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" — and are currently working with Babyface on a pair of tunes, under decidedly, um, relaxed conditions.

"Working with Babyface has been cool, different. The hours are way better," Wentz reported. "We work from, like, 3 p.m. till midnight. One night we even started at midnight. Kind of amazing for us late sleepers."

When they've finished burning the midnight oil with 'Face, Fall Out Boy will whittle a list of 15 or 16 songs down to a dozen that will make up the new album — the title of which Wentz still won't reveal — and have the LP in stores in "late January or early February." The band also plans to release a new single before the end of 2006, though its not sure which song it will be.

"We have more choices for a single this time around, which is proving to be both a blessing and a curse," Wentz wrote. "I think people get sick of bands and pictures and personalities, but everyone is always craving good music — and hopefully that is what we will deliver."

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New Releases: Fergie, New Found Glory, Chingy, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Jesse McCartney, Lupe Fiasco & More

19 Sep 2006 06:00:00 EDT

Also due Tuesday: Jane's Addiction, Hidden Cameras, Ben Kweller, Napalm Death, Kasabian, DJ Shadow, U2.
By Kurt Orzeck

Fergie Takes The Plunge: The Black Eyed Pea dips her toes into solo waters for the first time this week, crowning herself as The Dutchess. If the success of her first single, "London Bridge," is any indication — it soared from #84 to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second-highest jump ever recorded on the chart — her maiden release has high hopes. With production help and a featured spot from Will.I.Am, plus additional guest appearances by Ludacris and Bob Marley's wife Rita, the athletic singer should be in good shape. Just don't be distracted by Will misspelling "tasty" as "T-A-S-T-E-Y" throughout "Fergalicious."

Hear Fergie talk about the making of The Dutchess in MTV News RAW: Fergie in L.A.

Shooting for Newfound Success : After Lionel Richie dropped his new LP, Coming Home, last week, rabble-rousers New Found Glory — whose album shares the same name — issued a mock threat to the R&B star, saying they might name their next album Dancing on the Ceiling. On a more serious note, guitarist Chad Gilbert touches on the death of his father on "When I Die," and the band recruited Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers to record the melodies on piano. Death by Stereo's Paul Miner and the Vandals' Warren Fitzgerald also helped oversee the outing, which includes "Oxygen," "Hold My Hand" and "Taken Back by You."

Cha-Chingy: The St. Louis rapper is chasing 2004's platinum Powerballin' with Hoodstar, which is divided into two parts: the crunk-heavy "Hood Side" and party-oriented "Star Side." With Tyrese, Three 6 Mafia, Jermaine Dupri, Chingy's cousin Spiffy and Fatman Scoop all lending their skills, plus production contributions from Dupri, Timbaland, Mannie Fresh, Mr. Collipark and Kwame, Chingy has every reason to expect some chart lovin'.

Bigger Mac: He's no Paul, but Jesse McCartney's 2004 debut, Beautiful Soul, did go platinum, and the 19-year-old is hoping for even bigger sales with Right Where You Want Me. Although nine different writers and producers helped him out, Jesse Mac did help pen all 12 tracks — yes, even "Daddy's Little Girl." And he bares his soul on "Invincible," a song about a friend who died in a drinking-and-driving accident for which McCartney is backed by a 15-piece orchestra.

Grocery Shopping: Jay-Z's had Lupe Fiasco in his sights since 2002, when he spoke highly of the Muslim rapper to L.A. Reid, and now it's time to see what the fuss is about with his Food & Liquor debut. The album, being distributed through Atlantic by Fiasco's 1st & 15th Productions, features a Pharrell co-writing credit ("I Gotcha"), Burt Bacharach and UFO samples — oh, and guest spots by Jay-Z and Jill Scott. Jay also executive produces the 13-track Luper-duper effort.

Thugs-R-Us: Thug Stories is the sixth Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album, but it's their first as a trio (sayonara, Bizzy Bone) and first for Koch, even though the label's general manager did marketing and promotion for two previous LPs by the group. With every Bone Thugs album having gone gold or platinum so far, the guys have quite a bit to live up to. But with songs like "Still No Surrender" and "Stand Not in Our Way" on their side, they don't seem to be lacking any confidence.

Looking Back: Reissues and archival material don't always get the attention they deserve, but this week merits more than a few call-outs.

Expect big things from Up From the Catacombs: The Best of Jane's Addiction, which touches on the band's three studio albums, live opus and rarities collection. Also featured on the 16-track set is "Superhero," their theme song to HBO's "Entourage."

The Ultimate Master P will be more of a test, seeing as how his No Limit empire has collapsed and he's now signed to his son's label, Gutter Music. This LP is actually coming out on Koch and has 16 cuts, including "Act a Fool" featuring Lil Jon and "Stressin' " featuring C-Murder.

Another collection of vintage material with chart potential is Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby. The Velvet Underground pioneer — who shook up the Video Music Awards by playing "White Light/ White Heat" with the Raconteurs — finds his 1976 release getting an anniversary brush-up with three unreleased cuts and three more bonus slices. Topping it off, Reed pens the liner notes.

Many of the bands that were influenced by Reed — Joy Division, the Birthday Party and Echo & the Bunnymen — rub elbows on A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box, a four-disc, five hour black-eyeliner extravaganza that's bound in leather (you've got to see it to believe it).

If that whets your appetite, you'll probably dig a recap of another gloomy group, the generically named Electronic, which included Bernard Sumner of New Order and the Smiths' Johnny Marr. Get the Message: The Best of Electronic corrals 13 songs by them — not just "the best," but also remixes, alternate mixes and rarities.

Speaking of remixes, Fabriclive continues its series of spruced-up-song collections with FabricLive 29: Cut Copy, which lumps together 17 rehashings of tunes by Röyksopp, Force of Nature and Claude VonStroke. Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto let Cornelius, Alva Noto and Craig Armstrong touch up his songs for Bricolages. And Japan's DJ Krush takes a different approach, redoing his own songs featuring Mos Def, Aesop Rock and the Roots in the form of Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best.

If electronic music's your thing, look no further than two DVDs capturing the essence of the genre. "Put the Needle on the Record: A Documentary on the Global Phenomenon of Electronic Music" features interviews with Paul Oakenfold, Junior Sanchez and Christopher Lawrence, while "High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music," which focuses on Detroit only, boasts chats with Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson.

Also on the DVD front is U2's "Zoo TV: Live From Sydney," which bundles the original video with a second disc of extras, including additional footage from throughout the tour, short films, a 24-minute Easter egg documentary and a performance of "Desire" from the Yankee Stadium concert. And don't forget Bad Brains' "Live at CBGB 1982," which is hitting DVD for the first time. The set list included "Big Take Over," "How Low Can a Punk Get" and "Rally Round Jah Throne."

Not to be overlooked are the Pogues, whose first five albums are expanded to include at least four bonus tracks apiece; NRBQ's Ludlow Garage 1970, which the band has finally agreed to put on CD; Ween's Shinola, Vol. 1, which originally got a limited release on the band's own Chocodog label; and Noel Ellis, a very rare album by Alton's son that is on CD for the first time.

Song Title of the Week: "I Won't Send Anymore Letters to the South" from Cult of Sue Todd's Kelsey Grammer Loves Us

Other Notables:

Red Sparowes' Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun: Even though Isis have a new album, In the Absence of Truth, planned for Halloween, that's not stopping their Sparowes side project from dishing up with their second record. The ambient album, which recalls Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Mogwai, is the first to feature new drummer Dave Clifford (Pleasure Forever, the VSS) and is adorned with gorgeous album art. Even though the Sparowes are all-instrumental, they sure do have a lot to say with song titles like "And by Our Own Hand Did Every Last Bird Lie Silent in Their Puddles, the Air Barren of Song as the Clouds Drifted Away. For Killing Their Greatest Enemy, the Locusts Noisily Thanked Us and Turned Their Jaws Toward Our Crops, Swallowing Our Greed Whole."

The Hidden Cameras' Awoo: The orchestral pop ensemble has a new home in Arts & Crafts (Broken Social Scene, Feist), although the band will be putting out this record on its own label, Evil Evil, in Canada. The Cameras' third LP was recorded at the Gas Station on Toronto Island, but it's a slug from their bio that should pique even more interest in the album: "Lead singer Joel Gibb's lyrics explore gay love and sex with a rare fearless explicitness, as well as Jungian themes of the anemia, the waning moon and pagan music." Sold?

The Diminisher's Imaginary Volcano: Dave McConnell has worked with members of Neutral Milk Hotel and Icy Demons in the past, and made his own contributions to Olivia Tremor Control, but he gets his chance to step out on his own this week as the Diminisher. McConnell recorded the LP using a harpsichord he borrowed from a church, but he also integrates violin, viola electric piano and cello — and gets a little help from bassist Griffin Rodriguez and drummer Dylan Ryan.

New Releases:

A Shoreline Dream - Avoiding the Consequences (LateNight WeekNight)
Clay Aiken - A Thousand Different Ways (RCA)
Buy Now: A Thousand Different Ways (RCA)
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New Found Glory Unveil Track List; New LP Is 'Different From Everything Out There'

29 Aug 2006 12:12:00 EDT

For fifth LP, band decided 'we're gonna write this new album exactly how we want to do it.'
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Chris Harris

With the release of their fifth studio album less than a month away, New Found Glory are finding themselves in a rather unfamiliar role: (very young) elder statesmen of pop-punk.

"Because we've been a band for awhile, all these young bands are coming up to us and saying, 'You guys are our favorite band,' " guitarist Chad Gilbert laughed. "Like Pete [Wentz] from Fall Out Boy came up to me about a year before his band blew up, and he was like, 'Man, I saw you guys forever ago! You're the reason I started my band!' And it's sort of weird, because we're totally not even that old."

That's one of the perils of being in a band for nearly a decade: Even though you've barely scratched your mid-20s, you're still regarded as a longtime scene vet. But it's not like the guys in NFG are complaining. After all, people have been telling them they're awesome for years now, and that couldn't help but influence the songs they wrote for their new album, Coming Home (see "New Found Glory Find A Home For New Release — September").

"After hearing that over the past few years, it gave us the confidence to be like, 'All right, we're gonna write this new album exactly how we want to do it. We're going to record it exactly where we want to do it, and exactly how we want to do it,' " Gilbert said. "And now we've got the confidence to go out there and have people hear all these songs. Because we know it's the best thing we've ever done. And it's something that kids have never heard before. It's different from everything out there."

And he's not kidding. Home's genesis is most certainly different than the average pop/emo-punk effort: Written in a mansion in Malibu, California, recorded at folk-singer Jackson Browne's California studio, produced by Bruce Springsteen knob-twiddler Thom Panunzio (see "New Found Glory LP Gets Even Weirder: Band Working With Springsteen Associate"), and featuring Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench on a handful of tracks, it's the kind of big-budget production usually associated with arena-prowling rock dinosaurs. Which was exactly the point.

"We've all started listening to different music, and we've become steeped in the history of rock and roll. So we wanted to take that and combine it with the roots of New Found Glory," Gilbert said. "We needed to do something new and different. Kids don't want to hear the same record. There are a hundred million bands that they could listen to; you want to give them something that they've never heard before."

And with the video for Home's first single, "It's Not Your Fault," already flirting with the "TRL" countdown (see "New Found Glory Single Might Be About Love, But Video's All Action"), plus a big-ticket tour kicking off in early October (see "New Found Glory Aren't Just Coming Home — They're Coming To Your Town"), fans will soon get a chance to hear the new New Found Glory for themselves.

But will there be anything that'll shock them?

"I think our fans are going to be pretty blown away by the fact that [bassist] Ian [Grushka is] wearing a shirt and pants these days," frontman Jordan Pundik laughed. "I know we are."

Track list for New Found Glory's Coming Home, according to Geffen Records:

"Oxygen"
"Hold My Hand"
"It's Not Your Fault"
"On My Mind"
"Coming Home"
"Make Your Move"
"Taken Back by You"
"Too Good to Be"
"Love and Pain"
"Familiar Landscapes"
"When I Die"
"Connected"
"Boulders"

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New Found Glory

New Found Glory Single Might Be About Love, But Video's All Action

01 Aug 2006 15:14:00 EDT

'It's Not Your Fault' clip debuted Tuesday on 'TRL'; new LP drops September 19.
By Corey Moss

"There's nothing like a little afternoon session," Jordan Pundik declared recently. And he wasn't talking about a recording session.

Rather, the New Found Glory singer was referring to a different daytime deed, one that takes center stage in the band's Brett Simon (Good Charlotte, Sum 41)-directed video for "It's Not Your Fault," which debuted Tuesday (August 1) on "TRL."

"The video starts out with this couple [played by Teddy and Heidi of '8th & Ocean'] in bed having just got done doing what they were doing," Pundik explained with a wink. "And they get out without any clothes on, and it's them retracing their steps, picking up their clothes as they go along. And they're putting on their clothes throughout the whole video. And there's parts where we're in there too. Like me sitting on a bus stop bench singing a couple lines or in their apartment elevator, but pretending I don't see them. And they finally go back to this record store and their baskets are still there and they look at each other and walk in separate ways."

While the characters have apparently indulged in a random quickie, the song, at least to Pundik, is about a deeper relationship.

"I want people to think it's about whatever they want, but for me, it's about when you're in love with someone and you're away from them and you have an argument or a fight and it's over the phone, so you can't console them and it sucks," Pundik explained.

Although that might not sound like a typical New Found Glory song, "It's Not Your Fault" seems right at home — no pun intended — on their upcoming Coming Home (see "New Found Glory Find A Home For New Release — September").

Since the release of 2004's angst-filled Catalyst, all five bandmembers have had children or gotten married or engaged, and the new album is a celebration of relationships clearer than anything the guys have written in the past.

"You don't have to think about what the songs are about — in a good way," Pundik said. "I'm not comparing my band to the Beatles whatsoever, but their [early] records were simple songs about love and relationships, and people could relate to their songs because they understood what they were trying to say. That's what this record reminds me of. There's not weird metaphors. It's just straight up, wearing your heart on your sleeve."

New Found Glory wrote and demoed the album while living together at Malibu, California's Morning View house (where Incubus recorded their album of that name), which forced them to be away from their families — hence the title Coming Home — but more concentrated on the music.

"It was really relaxing and totally out of the norm for how we usually write, which is on tour, in the bus or in a dressing room," Pundik said. "We were so relaxed, and it kinda comes through on the record."

In between the kayaking, pool parties and late-night card games, New Found Glory jammed incessantly and were totally reinvigorated — especially guitarist Chad Gilbert, who emerged for the first time as a lyric writer.

"I've always written all the music, and [guitarist] Steve [Klein] does the majority of the lyrics," Gilbert said. "But this time it's like, 'Why have I never been involved in every element?' I realized music is the most important thing to me and I love writing songs, and I think I had more to say in life. So Steve would come up with stuff, and I'd critique him. We challenged each other. I came into preproduction, and they were like, 'We don't like 'em,' whereas before, we just recorded everything."

The Morning View sessions — yes, recording sessions — were overseen by a variety of New Found Glory's friends, including Paul Miner of Death by Stereo, Warren Fitzgerald of the Vandals and Thom Panunzio, a Geffen A&R rep who has produced veterans from Bob Dylan to Tom Petty and eventually helmed Coming Home.

"He fell in love with one of our songs, and that was the time we were meeting with the regular guys, Howard Benson, Don Gilmore and these guys who have the same formula for every record," Pundik recalled. "Thom was like, 'Why don't I produce the record?' Which was cool, 'cause he hasn't done a full record in a long time. And we knew we could get some cool sounds, guitar-wise and stuff like that."

Coming Home is due September 19 and will be promoted with a headlining tour kicking off October 4 in Cincinnati (see "New Found Glory Aren't Just Coming Home — They're Coming To Your Town").

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