Thursday's Geoff Rickly
Photo: Getty Images/ Paul McConnell

After a decade spent shuffling between labels, grinding it out on the road and coming to grips with the whole "screamo" thing, Thursday were itching to blow it all up and start from scratch. And their new album, Common Existence, is proof of that.

"We had this challenge to make something that felt more raw and dangerous, and at the same time, more grown-up, interesting and sonically layered," frontman Geoff Rickly told MTV News. "That's what we've been working on for the past few years. This record is just trying to take what Thursday does and get it away from the blueprint of screamo."

Fair or not, Thursday became saddled with the mantle of "screamo's brightest hopes" after the breakthrough of 2001's Full Collapse and their follow-up, the major-label released War All the Time. And they've spent most of the past four years trying to get out from under the tag, parting ways with Island Records and releasing split-7" records with Japanese hardcore outfit Envy. So, when it came time to make Existence — which hits stores today — they literally built up, and then broke down, walls.

"When we rented our practice space in this warehouse, we got in there and it was so huge, like being in an empty amphitheater. In order to make it more intimate so we could be close to each other and the sound could get really loud and tight, we built walls up, soundproofed it, and painted and hung banners and tried to make it feel like home," Rickly said. "When we finally got out of the studio the last day, we knew we had to give it up, so we went in there with hammers and started breaking down the walls together."

They also began to knock down sonic barriers, too, bashing out songs that drew inspiration from unlikely sources like Sonic Youth and Peter Gabriel and exploring darker, more atmospheric passages. Emboldened by new label Epitaph, they also began to focus more on the political, as evidenced by songs like "Friends in the Armed Forces," which dances neatly between "Pro-America" and "Anti-War."

"I think it's a really false split between the two, because I'm an anti-war person, but I have plenty of friends who are soldiers and I care about them," he explained. "I think trying to make a decision like, 'Oh, you're a pacifist; that means you're anti-soldier and you don't support the troops,' is a terrible lie to put people in the middle of. So this song was about being a pacifist and caring about your friends that are in the armed forces."

And striking that balance — between the rational and the passionate, and finding the commonality in our struggles — is a large portion of what Existence is all about. After all, Thursday have fought their battles — now they're just looking for a little peace.

"I just liked the idea that the record is about the shared existence of people in general. It's not so much 'me, me, me and my personal story,' " Rickly explained. "I feel like so much punk rock right now is turned inward and it's like an outgrowing of emo becoming mainstream music. I really wanted to say it's just the same thing everybody goes through — that's 'common existence.' That's what life is. No one needs to get worked up about it."

• Thursday

Thursday's Geoff Rickly
Photo: Getty Images/ Paul McConnell

When the long-promised, self-titled debut from grindcore supergroup United Nations is released September 9, chances are you won't be able to buy it. That's because no stores are willing to carry it, according to one of the band's members, Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly.

"We've gotten some cease-and-desists," he explained. "We worked [on the cover art] with this British anarchist artist named James Cauty, and he did all this great stuff. But it had some copyright issues, and that's why all the distributors and stores refuse to carry it. We have 1,000 copies of this album sitting around with artwork that has been banned and we're trying to figure out what to do with those."

So what was so problematic about Cauty's cover image? It's the same one from the Beatles' 1969 classic Abbey Road, only in his version, the Beatles are all entirely engulfed in flames. The band will likely face similar copyright issues when they attempt to release their forthcoming 7-inch, Never Mind the Bombings, Here's Your Six Figures, as that record's cover art — by Australian artist Ben Frost — is strikingly similar to that of the Sex Pistols' sole studio LP, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.

Believe it or not, that's not the only legal snafu United Nations will be dealing with — at this point, Rickly is the only member of this side project who is not under contract. That will soon change, as Rickly claims Thursday is weeks away from inking a new deal. He would not reveal which label the band would be signing with but did say they've already started working on the follow-up to 2006's A City by the Light Divided with producer Dave Fridmann. That album should be in stores this coming spring.

"Officially, we can't use any names, except for mine," he said. The band also features one former member of the Number Twelve Looks Like You and one current member of Head Automatica. "This band is so possible because none of us gives a sh-- what happens to it. We've all got our other stuff and this is just for us to say, 'F--- it — we can do whatever we want here.' "

While Rickly has been talking about the United Nations project for three years, the band certainly spent its time in the studio well. Rickly said they already have enough material for their sophomore album, which could be released early next year.

"It's been really crazy — the response has been insane," Rickly said. "We got a message from MySpace. ... We were one of the bands on the front page, but so was Snoop Dogg and this hot R&B chick, and they told us not only were we the most listened-to band that week but that the second one behind us had only half as many listens. I think it was 186,000 listens in the first 12 hours. So, for me, it's a little weird. I don't know what I was expecting would happen with this band, but it wasn't this."

According to Rickly, the idea behind United Nations is to get people pissed off again and to stir the musical pot a touch.

"To me, it's like we're living in 1984 again, and there's no Dead Kennedys," he said. "To me, it was like, maybe speaking sincerely about things isn't enough to make people pay attention. Maybe you have to make fun of people — and be a mirror — to show them how stupid they look, to get their attention. That's the idea. Punk is just way too safe these days, so we're hoping by making some audacious claims and doing some strange things and breaking a few laws, we can get people to think at least. It's the idea that you need to embrace the absurdity or it will f---ing kill you. The world doesn't make sense, and trying to make sense of it is a fool's errand."

But the record is a tongue-in-cheek affair. One track on United Nations is about the Beatles and their plot to blow up the world so they can all live in the yellow submarine. Another is about a toy-company lobbyist who is obsessed with yo-yos.

"There has been so much great, really aggressive music in the last couple of years, whereas around 2003, I was wondering if heavy music was dying on itself," Rickly said. "Everything became so predictable and formulaic, and in the last couple of years, bands like Young Widows, Ceremony and Cursed have come along, and they've been electric and awesome. This is basically us trying to kick that [heaviness and attitude] back into gear and remind bands that if they do anything safe, it just sucks."

• Thursday
• United Nations

Thursday
Photo: Island Records

There wasn't a Thursday fan alive who wasn't floored by last month's announcement that the New Jersey emo innovators will be working with Victory Records on a retrospective CD/DVD package that, as a press release noted, will "tell Thursday's 10-year-career story from the beginning to the present." After all, Thursday's 2002 split from Victory — which issued the band's landmark 2001 LP, Full Collapse — was the very definition of cantankerous. Mud was flung from both sides when the band joined Island Records, and lawyers were eventually called in to clean up the mess.

At the time of the band's break from Victory, Thursday issued a statement on the matter, saying that the original contract they had signed with the label "stated that any movement away from Victory had to be towards a major label, which at the time seemed like a far-fetched idea to say the least." Friction had arisen on both sides regarding the packaging for Full Collapse, and, according to the band's statement, things got worse when the label, "for promotional purposes, had made 'Thursday Whoopee Cushions' that they intended to have passed out at the Warped Tour."

The statement described communication breakdowns between Thursday and Victory's owner, Tony Brummel, who they accused of caring more about sales than songs. In time, Thursday started generating interest from major labels, and the boys decided to sign with Island, a deal "subject to our getting released from Victory Records." The band further slammed Brummel, saying that he had "deceived" and "bullied" the act. So to see Thursday returning to Victory was unexpected, to say the least.

"We thought it would just confuse the f--- out of everybody," joked frontman Geoff Rickly. "The line of events that led us back to doing a release with Victory is so convoluted, but really kind of interesting. When we parted ways with Victory, we got our asses kicked. The lawyers killed us. Victory's lawyers were so strong. So when we started having trouble with Island with certain things, and we were asking to be let go and they didn't want to let us go — we actually got the lawyers that beat us up from Victory, because they were the fiercest we had ever encountered."

The lawyers did eventually help Thursday break free from Island; Rickly said the band wanted out after it was told, two months into the release of 2006's A City by the Light Divided, that the label would not be spending any more promotional dollars on the LP. "We were on Warped, and AFI came onto the tour, and we're very good friends with them," Rickly recalled. "And [AFI frontman] Davey [Havok] asked me when our record was coming out. This was my friend, who actually looks for my music, and Island wasn't even getting it out to the people who love us.

"We basically asked Island, 'Hey, if you're not going to push the record, why don't you just let us go?' " he continued. "And they gave us some grief about not being as big as the Killers and Fall Out Boy, and they'd tell us we had a lot of star qualities and that we could be that big if we applied ourselves. It's just not what I've ever been interested in."

It was a lonely time for Thursday, and the stress of the situation led to infighting among the bandmembers. With no support from their label, Rickly said they started contemplating retirement.

"When we were touring on the last record, I was like, 'We're f---ed — our career's over. We're not going to do anything interesting again. Everyone's starting families. Maybe we're just getting too old for this. Maybe 10 years will be a good mark to stop at,' " he recalled. "But at the same time, I felt we had been given such a good opportunity, and I wanted to deliver a few more albums that touched people, or at least try to."

During the split with Island, Rickly said his lawyers told him that, despite all of the acrimony, Brummel still spoke fondly of his band.

"It's funny because after we got off Victory, [Tony] sent us the royalty checks more regularly than anybody else we know," he said. "It was weird. They were like, 'Yeah, he still talks about you guys positively.' And that was strange for us because it was so f---ed up at the end there."

Thursday decided to sit down with Brummel, and after a few discussions, they decided to release their forthcoming DVD through Victory.

"It just makes sense," Rickly said. "Because he owns the publishing on the Full Collapse songs, we'd be working with him on the DVD no matter where we did it. A lot of the footage is Full Collapse-heavy because that was one of the most interesting times in the band. We realized it would be better to work with him, not against him."

But Thursday's deal with Victory doesn't extend past the forthcoming, yet-untitled CD/DVD package, which will be in stores in October. The set, which the boys are working on with Sal Villanueva and Tim Gilles, who worked on Full Collapse, will include a full-length feature DVD, containing interviews with the band and archived live footage, along with some behind-the-scenes clips. The companion CD will include three new tracks and several unreleased and live songs.

Thursday's next studio effort, which they're currently writing material for, could end up on another label altogether.

"We've met with a bunch of people," Rickly said. "We've had interest from Ferret, Atlantic, Fueled by Ramen. We want to meet with everybody. I'm really interested in Saddle Creek and Epitaph — I love those labels."

But signing with Victory isn't out of the question. "We even spoke with Koch Records and talked about signing with Death Row Records, of all places," he said. "How crazy is that?"

• Thursday

Britney Spears
Photo: Steve Finn/Getty Images

Britney Spears hasn't confirmed that she delivered a letter to her mother requesting that Lynne Spears stay away from Britney's sons Sean Preston and Jayden James if she's on any medication that would "impair her ability to be around them," as TMZ reported Thursday, but all doesn't sound well with the Spears clan judging by what the singer told People. "I'm praying for her right now," Britney said, according to the magazine's Web site. "[I hope] she gets all the help she needs." Meanwhile, the elder Spears predicts a bright future. "I've got a strong family, and everything is going to be fine," Lynne told People. ...

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is Amazon's most preordered product, with almost 1.6 million copies bought before the book's July 21 release, Reuters reports. The online retailer said Monday (July 2) that demand had passed the previous record of 1.5 million preorders, which was set by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." ...

England's princes William and Harry hosted a party for 70,000 at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday celebrating the life of their late mother, Princess Diana, with a concert that featured sets from Nelly Furtado, Kanye West, Pharrell, Diddy, Elton John and Lily Allen. The six-hour show featured some of Diana's favorite acts, such as Duran Duran, Tom Jones (who dueted with Joss Stone on the Arctic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"), the English National Ballet, Rod Stewart and Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. ...

Organizers of France's Hellfest plan to file a lawsuit against Korn and the band's management after the group failed to perform at the event last week. In a statement issued June 22 — the day the band was scheduled to play Hellfest — Korn frontman Jonathan Davis blamed "severe weather" conditions "and a negligent promoter who didn't provide adequate cover for our gear" for the band's withdrawal from the fest. "We were advised to cancel the show for risk of the band being electrocuted. The fans were short-changed and that pisses us off. This was an especially important show for us given my illness last year which prevented me from performing. I am seriously bummed." Hellfest organizer Benjamin Barbaud announced his intention to sue Korn on Monday in an interview with French site Maville.com, stating that the band was paid in full although it didn't play, and that all conditions were met to ensure Korn's safety. ...

Velvet Revolver will celebrate Tuesday's release of Libertad with an intimate club show at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California, on Thursday. ... Do you like H.I.M.? Would you call yourself the band's biggest fan? The Ville Valo-fronted act is hosting a contest to find that fan, and the winner will be flown to Seattle to meet the boys at the opening night of the Projekt Revolution Tour. Fans can enter by creating a video no longer than three minutes that lets everyone know why they love H.I.M., uploading the clip to YouTube, and e-mailing the link to himbiggestfan@warnerreprise.com — with the subject line "HIM Biggest Fan contest" — before Thursday. ... Morrissey's tour is back on track after the singer was forced to postpone dates last week due to a throat infection. He is slated to perform Monday night in Vienna, Virginia, and will make up the interrupted Boston show on Saturday. The other gigs are also being rescheduled. ...

In a sign that Apple's iTunes is losing some of its iron grip, Universal Music Group has reportedly refused to renew its annual contract to sell music on the leading download site, asking instead to sell music by its artists (which include 50 Cent, Amy Winehouse and U2) at will. The New York Times reports that the month-to-month deal would make it easier for Universal to remove its songs from iTunes on short notice, should the two sides fail to agree on pricing in the future. If Universal pulled its catalog from iTunes, Apple would lose access to labels that account for one out of three new releases sold in the U.S. ...

Thursday have returned to Victory Records — the label they'd left years ago under rather bitter terms — now that they are no longer with Island Records. Thursday plan to release a CD/DVD package through Victory to hold fans over as they work on new material for the follow-up to 2006's A City by the Light Divided. The set will include demos and several new tracks. ... Hi-Five singer Tony Thompson's death at age 31 was caused by an accidental overdose while huffing Freon gas, according to an autopsy report issued Friday, The Waco Times-Herald reports. No illegal drugs or alcohol were found in his system, but a small amount of Methadone was detected, according to the report. Thompson was found dead in his Waco, Texas, home on June 1. ...

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon is hosting a charity auction on eBay to benefit Equality Now, an organization that works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world. Items including dinner with Whedon; advance copies of "Those Left Behind," a "Serenity" special-edition hardcover, signed by Whedon; and engraved watches made for the "Buffy" crew — all accompanied by an autographed "Buffy" lithograph — will be up for bid beginning Monday. ...

In a move that has likely brought a grin to Stephen Colbert's face, South Korean superstar Rain canceled an eagerly expected show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday. The only scheduled American date on the singer/actor/dancer's Rain's Coming world tour was deep-sixed by the promoter's failure to properly set up the stage, the singer told the Los Angeles Times. "When I came to the venue, the LED screen couldn't be set up. I have rain falling in the concert — that couldn't work," said Rain, who is often called the "Justin Timberlake of Asia" — and earned Colbert's ire after taking #1 on a Time readers' poll of the year's most influential people.

06.29.07

Kanye West, who has made his fair share of complaints about the media, can now put his pen to the test — the dapper rapper has been tapped to guest edit the August/September issue of Complex. West — who already acts as a fashion columnist for the magazine — is taking the full editorial reins, and his first decision was to put his "Stronger" castmate Cassie on the cover. West will also conduct interviews and oversee a section highlighting his favorite designers. ...

Lily Allen met with British police on Thursday to answer questions about an alleged assault on a photographer outside the Wardour nightclub in London's Soho neighborhood in March. According to a BBC News report, the 22-year-old singer was bailed by police after answering questions and told to return in late July. ...

Fabolous performed on Thursday night at an NBA Draft afterparty hosted by Carmelo Anthony at Pacha nightclub in New York. Kevin Durant, who was the second overall pick, and Zab Judah were in attendance as DJ Clue took to the turntables. ... Paris Bennett, Joss Stone, Robbie Williams, Shelby Lynne, Kevin Spacey and others will appear on a duets album with late crooner Dean Martin. The songs featured on Forever Cool, due August 14, pair Martin's original vocals with new arrangements. ...

Relient K were forced to back out of their scheduled performance at Chicago's Cornerstone Festival on Thursday due to a, um, minor vehicular issue: Their bus and trailer burst into flames as they were making their way from Pennsylvania to Illinois. "All 12 band and crewmembers escaped the fire without injury," the band said in a statement issued to the festival attendees. "We're happy to take our health and well-being over some torched guitars and charred MacBook Pros any day. Cornerstone is our absolute favorite festival to play, and it breaks our hearts to have to miss it for the first time in six years. Other than that, we're in good spirits." ... Two men died Friday (June 29) after falling from scaffolding while taking down a stage the Rolling Stones had performed on the day before at a stadium in Madrid, Spain, officials told The Associated Press. ...

The woman who supposedly robbed and assaulted Foxy Brown was released from jail Thursday after the rapper didn't show up to testify against her, AP reports. Roshawn Anthony still faces charges of grand larceny, assault and robbery over the alleged attack that occurred last week, but she is denying the charges. Earlier this week, Brown's management team retracted its claim that she was robbed of her bag and said instead that she had simply "lost" it. ... Many of England's music retailers are upset over a plan by Prince to bundle free copies of his upcoming Planet Earth album with issues of the Mail on Sunday newspaper. The Guardian newspaper reported that traditional retailers are insulted by the stunt and that Sony BMG U.K. won't handle the singer's LP in an effort to appease the music stores; evidently the album will not be traditionally released in Britain at all. As he's done in the past, Prince also plans to give away free copies of the album with tickets to his upcoming run of shows in London. ...

Foo Fighters will release a 10th anniversary deluxe edition of their 1997 LP, The Colour and the Shape, July 10. The two-disc set will boast a number of B-sides and covers. The band is currently working on its next album, the release date for which has yet to be announced. ... Manic Street Preachers are bringing their first album in three years, Send Away the Tigers, Stateside on July 24. The band's eighth LP features Nina Persson from the Cardigans and was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, My Chemical Romance). ... Former Phish leader Trey Anastasio will release an Afro-Cuban-spiced all-instrumental album, The Horseshoe Curve, July 24 on his Rubber Jungle Records label. ...

On July 6, DJ AM and Kim Kardashian will help kick off the opening of Ibiza, a state-of-the-art nightclub in Washington, D.C., that houses a Starbucks and will broadcast events live on the Net. Samantha Ronson will spin at the club in July. ... The first round of dates for Brand New's upcoming tour with Thrice and Mewithoutyou has been announced. The trek is set to kick off in Detroit on October 18 and, as of now, is scheduled to run through November 20 in New Orleans. More dates will be announced in the coming weeks. ...

Memphis, Tennessee, rockers Egypt Central have been confirmed to play four dates on this year's Ozzfest. They'll be taking the tour's second stage on August 2 in Dallas; August 4 in Selma, Texas; August 6 in St. Louis; and August 8 in Columbus, Ohio. The band released its self-titled debut in 2005. ... It's been more than four years since we last heard from "Tell Me" duo Smilez & Southstar, but the two-man crew has finally put years of legal issues behind it and is gearing up for a return. Southstar said the duo have recorded more than 60 songs for The Re-Introduction, which is slated for release in the fall. Among the guests on the album are Cash Money's Gotti, as well as Florida homie KC, who sings on the first single, "U," which is due in July. ...

Punkers Vaux announced on Thursday that an upcoming show at the Bluebird Theater in their hometown of Denver will be their final gig. The July 28 show — which will feature recently departed bassist Ryder Robison — will cap a nearly decade-long career and will be followed by a five-song EP. ... Audiences attending the global Live Earth events will be asked to sign a "7 Point Pledge" asking them to take action to help curb global warming. On Thursday, Live Earth co-founder and former Vice President Al Gore unveiled the pledge, which asks the signees to put pressure on their countries to cut pollution that causes global warming, reduce their own carbon-dioxide emissions, work to increase their own energy efficiency at home and work, plant trees, and buy from businesses that share a commitment to solving the climate crisis. Organizers also announced that more than 6,000 parties in 119 countries will accompany the eight official concerts.

• "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" Cover Art

• Britney Spears
• Kanye West
• Diddy
• Korn
• Thursday

NOFX's Fat Mike at Warped Tour in Uniondale, New York, on Saturday
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

For most bands, landing a coveted slot on the Warped Tour is like finding a golden ticket. But this year, bands have been dropping off the annual summer tour's 11th installment like flies.

From First to Last bolted just three weeks into the festival so frontman Sonny Moore could undergo surgery to remove a nodule on his vocal cords (see "From First To Last Singer Dispels More Rumors, Reveals Why Band Left Warped").

Then, Gatsby's American Dream dropped out. "There's no juicy gossip to report, we just need a break to be with our families at this time," the band said in a statement.

Next, it was Christian-leaning rockers Underoath, who bailed late in July, saying they needed to resolve some internal issues. "We're deeply frustrated and sorry for any inconvenience this has caused," the band said in a statement. "We felt it necessary to take some immediate time to focus on our friendship, as that's more important than risking it for the sake of touring at this time."

However, many have noted that the band was on the receiving end of a persistent string of gibes from NOFX frontman Fat Mike. Underoath did not grant MTV News' requests for an interview.

Earlier this week, Mewithoutyou announced that they, too, were leaving Warped, citing much-needed tour-bus repairs — the bandmembers, who bring their families on tour, travel in a special vegetable-oil-fueled bus (see "Mewithoutyou: Not Your Average Christian, Vegetable-Oil-Fueled, Flower-Flinging Rockers") — as well as frontman Aaron Weiss' lingering throat malaise.

"No bus, no touring — pretty simple math," they reasoned in a statement. The band's manager told MTV News that the band was playing on the SmartPunk stage (for which acts are not paid) and, after the bus issues, simply couldn't afford to continue the tour.

And then there were Spitalfield, who on Wednesday — with just five dates remaining before Warped '06's Sunday finale in Montreal — dropped out as well. Frontman Mark Rose told MTV News that guitarist Dan Lowder will be leaving the band in the fall.

"With our new record slated for an October 3 release, we were forced to face [replacing Lowder] right when the record came out or canceling a string of shows to get home and begin rehearsing with a fill-in guitar player," he said. The band chose the latter option.

"Spitalfield have been trying to get on the Warped Tour for four years," he added. "It's really disappointing to not be able to finish the dates on such a high-profile tour."

Later that day, gypsy-punk act Gogol Bordello dropped off, citing drummer Eliot Ferguson's need to seek medical treatment for cellulitis in his arm.

Those are all valid reasons for why Warped has had more bands drop out this year than in any other during its 11-year history.

Yet members of some bands say there is definitely a higher level of tension on this year's trek. While some blame the summer's sweltering temperatures and the pressures of spending two long, grueling months on the road, others say there's an old-punks-vs.-new-punks battle that has resulted in tension between bands.

Fat Mike, who has spent eight of the last 11 summers on Warped with both NOFX and cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, says the tension is due to all of the above.

"The thing is, a lot of bands sign up for this, and they have no idea what it's about, and how difficult it is if you're a smaller band," he said. "If you have to do this tour in a van, it's really, really difficult. Our whole goal on this tour is to have as much fun as we possibly can — that's what it's all about, so if you can [accomplish] that, it's a really great tour.

"A lot of bands are here to further their careers," he continued, "and that's not going to happen. You think a band goes on the Warped Tour and suddenly they get big? It's going to happen to somebody, but it doesn't make your career. There are 100 bands on the tour — with so many choices, the only people who are going to watch you are the people who [already] like you."

He went on to say that attitudes definitely have played a role. "From First to Last came on the tour like total rock stars, and everyone alienated them," he said. "And they were gone in a week or two."

Mike also admits that his constant mocking of Underoath got to them, but he doesn't think it was a reason for them to pull out of Warped. He attended one of the band's Bible-study sessions as a joke but claims he was nothing if not respectful.

"I didn't help their cause at all, but I wasn't the main reason either," he said. "They're a weird band. I was going to go after them as soon as I found out they were on the tour."

The no-longer-so-fat Mike also says he witnessed several of the younger bands on the tour copping what he called "rock star" attitudes because "they have a hit record that sells a few hundred thousand copies and they think everyone's there to see them. The older bands, we really don't care. We're just happy to still be around."

Thursday's Geoff Rickly, who is about to finish his third Warped, says the friction largely amounts to a battle between the old school and new school.

"The number of younger bands is much higher, and they seem to think they're the sh-- and all the older bands are has-beens or whatever," he explained. "I think there's an attitude of entitlement. Like, 'All these old bands don't even sell the amount of records we sell' and 'We should maybe be getting better slots' and 'We're the new sh--.' I kind of get that attitude from some of the younger bands, and that's too bad, I think. They don't even realize that when a band works hard for 10 years, there's a reason why they get respect. Just because you write a few pop songs and maybe get on the radio, you're not necessarily given the world."

While he says he's noticed tension between bands on every tour Thursday have ever done, the strain between some of this year's Warped bands is much more intense.

"I think there's, like, two sides to the tour, and those sides are tense with each other," he said. "There are the young, scream-y bands and the old punk-rock bands, and there are only a few bands that can float through both worlds, like us and Rise Against and Anti-Flag. I think, in general, the old guys are like, 'Dude, all these young punks think they know everything,' and all the young bands are like, 'Dude, all these old guys, all they care about is themselves, and they don't want to support anything new.' Each of them has a little bit of truth, and it's also a little bit overblown in their own heads. It just makes it a little tenser than it needs to be, I guess.

"There's been a lot of drama on the tour this year," he added. "The Warped Tour is just a pressure cooker because it's hot and long and seems like it never ends — it's 50 shows in 60 days. I think it pushes bands to a point that they're not quite ready to be at."

Some of that drama took place between Less Than Jake and Every Time I Die, after the long-running ska band mocked the screaming singing style of ETID's Keith Buckley — in ETID's hometown of Buffalo, New York, no less. Buckley responded by calling the band "washed-up."

"It's not going to stress me out," Buckley said. "I know they said something about us and we said something about them. When they found out we retaliated, they said, 'We didn't mean to upset anybody, we're just joking around.' And that's fine, but it's not like we know each other — I don't know them well enough to be joking around like that. All I know is they're making fun of us, and I had to say something back. But I guess once I said something back, they realized it was getting a little too out of control."

The beef has become so widespread that some bands on the tour are even parodying it. Fans hit various punk message boards to discuss comments Silverstein and Motion City Soundtrack were trading onstage — but according to drummer Paul Koehler of three-time Warped act Silverstein, it was all a joke intended to get people to lighten up.

"We did it because, here's all this other drama that's real on the tour, which people seem to be obsessed with, and we wanted to blow this thing up," Koehler said. "We'd make fun of each other's bands onstage, and we even wore T-shirts that said 'Motion Sh---y Soundtrack.' We came clean about it and told the kids not to believe everything they read on the Internet. That was the point we were trying to make, that all the drama on Warped is nonsense. It should just be about seeing good bands and having a good time."

Motion City frontman Justin Pierre said most of the bands on Warped need to loosen up, and should let barbs from the likes of Fat Mike roll off their backs.

"Fat Mike likes to f--- with people, and I don't really have a problem with that," he said. "Underoath and NOFX had a pretty big thing going on back and forth. He would rip on them for saying that everything they do, they do for Christ. But you need to have a sense of humor about things."

For his part, Kevin Lyman, Warped's founder, says that on average he loses three bands each summer, but he hasn't noticed any tension between any of the bands beyond the situation that unfolded between Fat Mike and Underoath.

"The thing with Mike and Underoath really got kind of blown up," he said. "It was more like they both have very strong opinions, and most of it was done in good fun. But Fat Mike tortures everyone — he tortures me all day long. There are a lot of bands out here who are having trouble. I don't like it, but it's been a bizarre year. We've never had a year like this, but there have been reasons why these bands pulled out."

A few years ago, Lyman noted, several bands got into an all-out brawl. "But there's been nothing like that," he said. "Where's this tension? Come into the parking lot. Everyone's having a great time. You have 900 people on the road, so obviously not everyone's going to like each other. There are seven parties every night, and card games.

"Maybe there is tension," he added, laughing. "I think it's the sexual type."

• Pink Spiders, Gym Class Heroes And More At Warped Tour 2006

• From First To Last
• Less Than Jake
• Mewithoutyou
• NOFX
• Thursday

Tool's <i>10,000 Days</i>
Photo: Volcano

For five long years, Tool fans waited for Maynard James Keenan's rock collective to bless them with some fresh material to sink their teeth into. That's over 250 weeks of waiting and wondering just when Tool's next studio effort would surface to soothe those burning hunger pangs. Last week, Tool finally served up a fourth helping of avant-metal in the form of 10,000 Days, the follow-up to 2001's Lateralus.

From the looks of things, Tool's faithful followers couldn't stand another minute of malnourishment. Nearly 564,000 rushed right out to record stores to devour 10,000 Days. The result? Tool have reclaimed Billboard's albums chart throne. According to the latest SoundScan data, 10,000 Days becomes Tool's second-straight LP to debut at #1 (Lateralus opened on top with week-one sales topping 555,000).

All in all, it was a strong week for rock and roll. Of the 14 newcomers to the upcoming chart, nine are rock bands, including Pearl Jam, whose latest, self-titled release — the band's first in nearly four years — follows at #2 with 279,000 scans. Though it is by no means Pearl Jam's strongest debut showing (1996's No Code bowed at #1 with 366,000 copies sold, and 1993's Vs. and 1994's Vitalogy both opened at #1 with sales reported at 877,000 and 950,000, respectively), Pearl Jam did manage to outsell the grunge icons' two previous outings: 2000's Binaural, which debuted at #2 and pushed 226,000 units, and 2002's Riot Act, which finished at #5 with 166,000 scans.

Sales of Pearl Jam's 2004 best-of collection, Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003, also shot up 44 percent, moving close to 5,000 discs to return to the chart at #177.

Mobb Deep's Blood Money, the chart's sole hip-hop newbie, occupies the #3 spot with close to 106,000 copies sold. The rap veterans' first release for 50 Cent's G-Unit Records outsold the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical," which moved 94,000 copies and climbs three spots to #4. Me & My Gang, the latest from country trio Rascal Flatts, follows at #5 with sales of 89,000 plus. The 21st installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series — featuring tracks from the Pussycat Dolls, Nelly, Chris Brown, Nickelback and the All-American Rejects — finishes at #6 with 85,000 units scanned. The previous week's #1, Godsmack's IV, slides to #7 with nearly 84,000 copies sold.

Jewel's latest, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland, debuts with 82,000 copies sold — enough to break the top 10, but soft compared to 2003's 0304, which bowed at #2 with 143,000 sales. Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions put up second-week sales of 75,000 and then some to give the Boss a solid ninth-place finish. A fresh face rounds out the top 10 as country artist Phil Vassar's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 takes the 10 spot after selling 65,000 copies its first week in stores.

A City by the Light Divided, the new LP from New Jersey emo heroes Thursday, debuts at #20 with nearly 46,000 units scanned. The band's 2003 major label debut, War All the Time, opened at #7 with 74,000 in sales. The self-titled debut from Wolfmother bows at #22 with 37,000 copies sold, and the self-titled debut offering from Rebel Meets Rebel, a project featuring ex-Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul and his late brother, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, claims the #38 slot, with first-week scans of nearly 26,000.

Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell's solo debut, Welcome Home, pops up at #74 with 13,000-plus scans, while Gomez's first studio LP for Dave Matthews' ATO Records, How We Operate, bows at #106 with over 8,000 copies sold. Ministry's Rio Grande Blood debuts at #134 with close to 7,000 sales, and the Black Keys' Chulahoma just makes the chart, coming in at #199 with more than 4,000 copies sold.

Check out "Throwback With Mobb Deep" for a look at the duo's road to G-Unit.

• Tool
• Pearl Jam
• Mobb Deep
• Jewel
• Thursday

Pearl Jam's <i>Pearl Jam</i>
Photo: J-Records

Jamming the Airwaves: Pearl Jam's "World Wide Suicide" has been holding strong at modern-rock radio, and with J Records ruler Clive Davis backing the band, expect big things from the group's first studio disc in four years. The once-enigmatic Eddie Vedder tears into President Bush on the new single with the lyrics "A handsome face that the president took for granted/ Writing checks that others pay," but he doesn't stop there, chewing out the administration on "Army Reserve," "Unemployable" and "Inside Job." The band's nurtured a political bent over the years, but this time people will probably be listening.

Married to the Mobb: While Pearl Jam are hoping for a rebirth after aligning themselves with a new music mogul, so are Mobb Deep with 50 Cent. In a week bristling with major rock releases, Mobb are carving out some space for beats with Blood Money, their first release for 50's G-Unit Records. Prodigy told MTV he had to shave some blasphemous lyrics off "Pearly Gates" at the label's request, but the duo did sneak a couple of unlisted tracks onto the disc: "Have a Party," featuring 50 Cent and Nate Dogg, and a remix of 50's "Outta Control" featuring Mobb Deep. In fact, the record may as well be listed as a joint release between Mobb and G-Unit, what with Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck all making featured appearances. And toward the end of the record — which Havoc partially devotes to his fallen brother, Todd "T.J." Muchita — they hook up with Mary J. Blige for "It's Alright."

Tool Time: Never ones to miss the opportunity for biting sarcasm, Tool may have titled their first album in almost five years 10,000 Days because of how long it's taken to crank out the thing — but, if we're splitting hairs here, it's only been a mere 1,448. While rock competitors Pearl Jam are caught up in the so-called "post-9/11 world," Tool don't seem to be, even if this is their first release since the monumental event — in classic Tool style, the record presses the compact disc up against its 80-minute mark and features darkly mystical tracks like "Jambi," "Lipan Conjuring" and "Rosetta Stoned."

Spare a Dime: Fans still mourning "Dimebag" Darrell may find some healing with the release of a CD and DVD featuring the departed Pantera guitarist, which are being released on brother/ Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul's own Big Vin Records a few weeks later than first anticipated. The title of Pantera's 1990 album, Cowboys From Hell, finds new meaning with the project Rebel Meets Rebel, which partnered reuniting Darrell, Paul and Pantera bassist Rex Brown with Willie Nelson/ George Jones songwriter David Allan Coe. It's a record, as Paul says in a press release, that Darrell once joked he hoped to put out "before the old man [Coe] kicks the bucket." The DVD "DimeVision, Vol. 1: That's the Fun I Have" is more straight-up Darrell, a visual tribute that cobbles together unseen archival concert footage with "Jackass"-style home-video antics and more.

Thursday Comes Two Days Early: Sure there are some big releases dropping this week, but what about all that scrumptious enhanced content? Well, look no further than Thursday's A City by the Light Divided, which finds the band drifting away from that emo thang and, with the addition of a permanent keyboard player, moving into broader territory. The limited-edition digipak will have some video goodies, while those who downloaded the record on iTunes got a bonus track, and the ones who shelled out for it at Tower Records were gifted with a free 7-inch.

Jewel of the Pile: Like a diamond in the rough, Jewel's sixth record, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland, may very well be drowned out by this week's louder releases. But give her some rock credit where it's due: She did re-record the LP with Green Day producer Rob Cavallo after she wasn't happy with the first go-round, even if, on "Satellite," she says rock and roll can't mend her broken heart.

Aussies Vs. Brits: This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Statute of Westminster, a measure that officially cut off most of the constitutional connections between Australia and the United Kingdom (technically it wasn't adopted until 1942). But that doesn't mean there can't be some good-natured rivalry between the commonwealth and its mother country.

And while we're on the subject of mothers, Wolfmother and their self-titled debut lead this week's pack — hardee har har — of Aussie releases. Fresh off a Coachella performance that got them some front-page notice in Sunday's edition of The Los Angeles Times, the power trio keep it feral on tracks like "Where Eagles Have Been" and "White Unicorn." Also busting out from the Land Down Under are Lostep, a Melbourne two-piece who have been enmeshed in the Global Underground DJ community but are finally stepping out with their debut, Because We Can. Decoder Ring — six musicians and a live projectionist who makes live montages with three concurrent projectors — provide the soundtrack for "Somersault," a coming-of-age movie set in New South Wales, as their first U.S. release. And singer/songwriter Audrey Auld Mezera is chiming in with In the House, a two-disc live set she recorded in Sebastopol, California, late last year with Nina Gerber.

On the other side of the world, Gomez chalk up How to Operate, their first studio effort for Dave Matthews' ATO Records, which they crafted with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies). Charlatans UK head out with the reggae-heavy Simpatico, their first U.S. release in five years. The band has said the disc was heavily influenced by Joe Strummer and Gram Parsons, and it's already cracked the charts in their homeland. Lewes singer/songwriter David Ford's I Sincerely Apologize for All the Trouble I've Caused was also released first overseas, but it's getting a major-label push in the U.S., even though Ford recorded the whole thing on his G4. English duo the Boy Least Likely To, who have been getting heavy play on Los Angeles tastemaking radio station KCRW-FM, are taking the humble route by releasing their word-of-mouth The Best Party Ever at a low price in Coalition of Independent Music Stores. It comes with a bonus disc containing two extra tunes, "Rock Upon a Porch With You" and "Grubby Little Memory." And World Party's Dumbing Up is also notable: Frontman Karl Wallinger opted to issue the LP on Seaview Records after breaking his previous label contract when he discovered the label, his former band and U.K. megastar Robbie Williams created an alternate version of his song "She's the One," which subsequently won Single of the Year at the Brit Awards.

Song Title of the Week:

"You Suck! But Your Peanut Butter Is OK" from None More Black's This Is Satire

Other Notables:

Ministry's Rio Grande Blood: Al Jourgensen's calling the latest blast from his band "an all-out aural assault against the occupying forces of demagoguery and complacency." He dishes the anti-GW dirt on "The Great Satan," "Fear (Is Big Business)" and "Lieslieslies," enlisting comrade Jello Biafra for "Ass Clown" and, more surprisingly, a retired drill sergeant named Sergeant Major for Jourgensen's salute to soldiers, "Gangreen."

Brian Littrell's Welcome Home: The Backstreet Boy's new label isn't making many overt references to his affiliation with the boy band, instead focusing on his rebirth as a Christian artist. In a recent press release, the CEO of Provident Music Group said: "Brian [is] a forthright, sincere person of God. This is what Brian was built to do." Like-minded songs include "Grace of My Life," "Angels and Heroes" and "Jesus Loves You."

The Black Keys' Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough: Akron, Ohio's only pair of white guys playing swamp blues resurface with a six-song set devoted to their muse, the late Mississippi blues great Junior Kimbrough. Guitar/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney rework their 'brough's "Work Me," "Have Mercy on Me" and "Meet Me in the City."

Roy Hargrove's Nothing Serious and the RH Factor's Distractions: Hargrove's double-dipping this week. Nothing Serious is the hard-bopper's first acoustic-jazz set in six years, and he works with a backup quintet on songs like "A Day in Vienna" and "Devil Eyes"; the RH Factor is his neo-soul group, and they run through four chapters of "Distractions," plus "Kansas City Funk" and "Bullsh--."

New Releases:

• Merrie Amsterburg - Clementine & Other Stories (Q Division)
• Apiary - Lost in Focus (Metal Blade)
• Andrey Dergatchev - "The Return" soundtrack (ECM)
• Jon Auer - Songs From the Year of Our Demise (Pattern 25)
• Baby Dayliner - Critics Pass Away (Brassland)
• Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Stoa (ECM)
• Beethoven's Wig 3 - Many More Sing-Along Symphonies (Rounder)
• The Black Keys - Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough (digipak EP; Fat Possum)
  Buy Now: Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough (Fat Possum)
• Blue Dogs - Live at Workplay (Black River)
• The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever (Too Young to Die; with bonus disc; available only at Coalition of Independent Music Stores)
• Brandtson - Hello Control (digipak; The Militia Group)
• The Charlatans UK - Simpatico (Sanctuary)
  Buy Now: Simpatico (Sanctuary)
• Clear Static - Clear Static (Maverick)
• Court & Spark - Hearts (Absolutely Kosher)
• Billy Cox & Buddy Miles - The Band of Gypsys Return (Image Entertainment)
• D-Block - Mix Tape (with DVD; Koch)
• Decoder Ring - "Somersault" soundtrack (Bella Union)
• Devotchka - Curse Your Little Heart (EP; Ace Fu)
• Phil Driscoll - Drops of Praise (Koch)
• Dysrhythmia - Barriers & Passages (Relapse)
• The Elms - The Chess Hotel (Universal South)
• Enslaved - Run (Candlelight)
• Alejandro Escovedo - The Boxing Mirror (Back Porch)
• First Blood - Killafornia (enhanced; Trustkill)
• David Ford - I Sincerely Apologise for All the Trouble I've Caused (Red Ink)
• Gadget - Funeral March (Relapse)
• Gomez - How We Operate (ATO)
  Buy Now: How We Operate (ATO)
• Roy Hargrove - Nothing Serious (Verve)
• Homeless J. - Three Seconds to Gaze (Selectric)
• Izzy - In Awe of You (Koch)
• Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (Atlantic)
• Greg Joseph - American Diary (digipak; High Wire)
• Brian Littrell - Welcome Home (Reunion)
• Lostep - Because We Can (Global Underground)
• Rockie Lynne - Rockie Lynne (Universal South)
• Robin McKelle - Introducing Robin McKelle (Cheap Lullaby)
• Audrey Auld Mezera & Nina Gerber - In the House (two CDs; Reckless)
• Ministry - Rio Grande Blood (digipak; 13th Planet/ Megaforce)
  Buy Now: Rio Grande Blood (digipak; 13th Planet/ Megaforce)
• Mobb Deep - Blood Money (Interscope/ G-Unit)
  Read: "Throwback: Mobb Deep"
  Buy Now: Blood Money (Interscope/ G-Unit)
• Mon Frere - Blood Sweat & Swords (Cake)
• Gary Moore - Old New Ballads Blues (Eagle)
• Greg Murray - Tymes Ten (Bus Stop)
• Marykate O'Neil - 1-800-Bankrupt (digipak; Nettwerk/ 71 Recordings)
• None More Black - This Is Satire (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Gregory Page - Love Made Me Drunk (digipak; Seedling)
• Glen Phillips - Welcome Home (digipak; High Wire)
• Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (J)
  Read: "Pearl Jam, Post-'Therapy': 'The Sex Is Better Than Ever!' "
  Buy Now: Pearl Jam (J)
• Glen Phillips - Mr Lemons (digipak; High Wire)
• Rebel Meets Rebel - Rebel Meets Rebel (Big Vin)
  Read: "Vinnie Paul Ready To Release Dimebag's Rebel Music "
• The RH Factor - Distractions (Verve)
• Sadus - Out for Blood (Mascot)
• Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress (Nuclear Blast America)
• Soil - True Self (DRT)
• Starkweather - Croatoan (Candlelight)
• Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming (digipak; Absolutely Kosher)
• Thursday - A City by the Light Divided (digipak due same day; Island)
  Read: "Thursday Frontman Says He Doesn't Want To Exploit My Chemical Romance, But ..."
  Buy Now: A City by the Light Divided (Island)
• Andy Timmons Band - Resolution (Favored Nations)
• Tool - 10,000 Days (Volcano)
  Buy Now: 10,000 Days (Volcano)
• Ralph Towner - Time Line (ECM)
• Up Bustle & Out - City Breakers: 18 Frames Per Second (Collision Cause Chap)
• The Warning - All Systems Dead (Punk Core)
• Carnie Wilson - A Mother's Gift: Lullabies From the Heart (Big 3)
• Wolfmother - Wolfmother (Interscope)
  Read: "Wild Afros, Raging Riffs, Trippy Lyrics: Wolfmother Live Up To Their Name"
  Buy Now: Wolfmother (Interscope)
• World Party - Dumbing Up (with DVD: Seaview)
• Yyrkoon - Unhealthy Opera (Osmose)
• Zombi - Surface to Air (Relapse)
• Various artists - Before the Rise (three CDs; BCD)
• Various artists - The Royal Dan: A Tribute (Tone Center)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

McHouston Baker - Mississippi Delta Dues (Fontana)
• Chi-Lites - The Ultimate Chi-Lites (Brunswick)
• Eric Clapton - Guitar Legend: The Very Best of the Early Years With the Yardbirds/ The Immediate All Stars/ John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (Metro)
• Nat King Cole - The Very Best of Nat King Cole (Capitol)
• Deep Purple - Live at Montreux 1996 (Eagle)
• Manu DiBango - The Very Best of Manu DiBango: African Soul (Fontana)
• Eleven Hundred Springs - Bandwagon (Palo Duro)
• Al Green - The Belle Album: Expanded Edition (Capitol)
• Albert Hammond - Albert Hammond/ 99 Miles From L.A. (BGO)
• Hirax - Not Dead Yet (Black Devil)
• Humble Pie - The Best of the Immediate Years (Metro)
• Furry Lewis - Fourth and Beale (Fontana)
• Wes McDonald - Guest (Skybucket)
• Molly Hatchet - The Deed Is Done (Gott Discs)
• Morrison-Williams - Morrison-Williams (Palo Duro)
• Helen Reddy - The Woman I Am: The Definitive Collection (Capitol)
• Django Reinhardt - Memorial (two CDs; Empire Musicwerks)
• Roswell Rudd/ Toumani Diabate - Malicool (Fontana)
• Darryl Lee Rush - Llano Ave. (Palo Duro)
• John Stewart - An Introduction to John Stewart (Fuel)
• Taste - Taste (Fontana)
• Phil Vassar - Greatest Hits (Arista)
• Jackie Wilson - The Ultimate Jackie Wilson (Brunswick)

Music DVDs:

• Deep Purple - "Live at Montreux" (Eagle Vision)
• Dimebag Darrell - "DimeVision, Vol. 1: That's the Fun I Have" (Big Vin)
• Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "The Birth of a Band - Isle of Wight Festival, Saturday, August 29 1970" (Eagle Vision)
• The Four Tops - "From the Heart - 50th Anniversary Celebration" (Image Entertainment)
• Howard Jones - "20th Anniversary Greatest Hits" (Koch)
• Transatlantic - "Building the Bridge/ Live in America" (Metal Blade)
• Willowz - "See In Squares" (Sympathy for the Record Industry)

Coming Attractions:

May 9:

• Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (Downtown)
• The Isley Brothers - Baby Makin' Music (Island)
• Korn - Live & Rare (Epic)
• Nick Lachey - What's Left of Me (Jive)
  Buy Now: What's Left of Me (Jive)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (two CDs; limited edition with DVD also available; Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Chili Peppers Stoked About New Album, Possible Kanye Tour"
  Buy Now: Stadium Arcadium (Warner Bros.)
• Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (A&M)
  Read: "Snow Patrol Turn 'Candy-Assed' Music Into Beastly Arena Rock"
  Buy Now: Eyes Open (A&M)

May 16:

• Ashley Parker Angel - Soundtrack to Your Life (Universal)
  Buy Now: Soundtrack to Your Life (Universal)
• Cam'ron - Killa Season (limited-edition version with DVD and two bonus tracks also available; Rap-a-Lot)
  Read: "Mixtape Monday: LL Cool J Stays Hungry, Cam'ron Delivers A Preview"
  Buy Now: Killa Season (Rap-a-Lot)
• Hoobastank - Every Man for Himself (Island)
  Read: "Hoobastank Find Inspiration For New LP In Scott Weiland's Cold Shoulder"
  Buy Now: Every Man for Himself (Island)
• Christina Milian - So Amazin' (enhanced; Def Jam)
  Buy Now: So Amazin' (Def Jam)
• The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (V2/ Third Man)
  Read: "Jack White: Don't Call The Raconteurs A Side Project"
• Rock Kills Kid - Are You Nervous? (Reprise)
  Read: "Rock Kills Kid Bring Music From Windowless Room To Radio"

May 23:

• Angels & Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper (Geffen)
  Read: "Tom DeLonge Spills More About Angels & Airwaves' Plans For World Domination "
• The Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way (Columbia)
• Pink - "Live in Europe" (La Face)
• The Walkmen - Hundred Miles Off (Record Collection)

• Pearl Jam
• Mobb Deep
• Tool
• Dimebag Darrell
• Thursday

Thursday
Photo: Justin Borucki

It was at some point during the 17-plus hours Thursday spent last weekend filming the video for "Counting 5-4-3-2-1," the first single from their forthcoming A City by the Light Divided, that the post-hardcore band learned something interesting about the shoot's location.

"Some of the guys in the crew told us we were in the same place where there was that Busta Rhymes shooting," Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly explained. Three weeks earlier, a member of Rhymes' security staff was gunned down outside the same warehouse in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York (see "Police Want To Question Busta Rhymes About Fatal Shooting At Video Set"). "But," Rickly added, "we were told that we didn't have to worry."

Fortunately everyone in Thursday walked away from the experience thoroughly exhausted but safe. And those long hours spent standing in front of a green screen were worth it, Rickly said. Thursday's clip for "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" is going to provide viewers with some startling visuals when it starts airing in early April.

According to Rickly, the video — directed by the Artificial Army team (Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria) — utilizes the same visual effects used in the 2004 film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." That film was shot almost entirely in a kind of semi-monochrome, which bathed everything in a dreamy, soft light.

"The idea is there's this sort of 1920s art-deco-type city," the singer said. "Basically this guy is trying to escape his past and the only exit he can use is along these train tracks. So he's trying to get out of the city before this huge, barreling steam train cuts off his only exit. And Thursday's playing on the steam train."

Everyone in the video was clothed in authentic, uncomfortable '20s garb. "We're dressed in these super-old wool suits — they smelled like your grandparents' house," Rickly said. "Once you started sweating in them, you realized just how f---ing old they were."

With the video completed, Thursday can focus on what will no doubt be a busy year. On March 14 the band will kick off a spring tour in Dallas with Minus the Bear, the Number Twelve Looks Like You and We're All Broken. After that it's off to the Warped Tour with Underoath, NOFX, From First to Last, Motion City Soundtrack, among others (see "Warped Tour Kicking Off A Day Early — Dates And Venues Revealed"). And on May 2, A City by the Light Divided — the follow-up to 2003's War All the Time, which, to date, has sold close to 350,000 copies — will be released.

Like the rest of the band, Rickly is eager to get back on the road. But he is ambivalent regarding A City by the Light Divided, which was produced by Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, the Flaming Lips). Chalk this up to the fact that Thursday's message board is bustling with not entirely positive fan reaction to "Counting 5-4-3-2-1," which was posted on the band's Web site earlier this week.

"There are a lot of longtime, diehard Thursday fans that are not psyched about the single," Rickly said. "I wish all these kids could hear the record so they can see where the song fits. I like to go check [the online forums] and see what kids are thinking. Right now it's pretty 50/50 [on the single]. Yesterday it was slightly more on the hating side. I think the more kids let it sink in, the more they'll dig it."

He said he tries not to let the negativity get to him ("One of the big criticisms is that I sound like [The Cure's] Robert Smith now, but it's like, 'Dude, I have been getting compared to Robert Smith since [the band's 2000 debut] Waiting' "), but he's still nervous.

"It's been such a long time," he said, "and [a lot of] the kids that were in the crowd at our shows are now in bands that are almost as big, or bigger, than Thursday. You wonder if all the kids still see us as the band that started this movement or if think we're old dudes.

"[City is] the most intimate record we've ever made," Rickly continued, "and I can't wait for people to hear it. But any time I hear anybody say anything that's less than positive in any way, it's really heartbreaking, because I really care what the kids think."

A City by the Light Divided is all but finished. Rickly said the disc will contain 11 or 12 tracks, but not the eight-minute-long title track — a collaborative tune that features the Blood Brothers, Converge, Cursive, the Blackout Pact, Dillinger Escape Plan, and others (see "We Are The Emo World? Thursday Ask Seven Bands To Participate On 'Super' Cut").

"We want to save it and have it just right," he said. "I think it's for the best that the song itself isn't going to be on the record at all, which is weird because it turned out so amazing. We might put together an EP around it and release it that way."

• Thursday

Motion City Soundtrack's Tony Thaxton, Justin Pierre and Matthew Taylor
Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Last year, Warped Tour organizers caved under the massive weight of Internet postings from anxious fans and announced the tour's full itinerary in early February. But this year, things were different: They managed to hold off until the beginning of March.

On Thursday (March 2), Warped founder Kevin Lyman confirmed an itinerary obtained by MTV News, which lists dates and venues for 45 of the 49 cities the tour will hit this summer; it used to be 48 cities, but Lyman let it be known that Warped will now kick off on June 15 in Columbia, Maryland — and not on June 16 in Columbus, Ohio, as had previously been reported (see "Warped Tour Founder Vows To Press On Despite Being Punk'd").

"Yeah, we've added another city. Make sure people know about that," Lyman laughed. "We wanted to sort of roll this itinerary out a little bit at a time, but why not do it all now? I think people's enthusiasm about Warped speaks to just how amazing and strong our fanbase is."

The dates and cities for Warped 2006 — which includes Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday, Rise Against and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (see "Warped Tour Nabs Trailblazing Rocker Joan Jett For Trek") plus a host of others — had been announced last month, but with the addition of the venues, there's finally a proper itinerary for the tour.

Lyman (who's currently on the road with his other tour, Taste of Chaos), said that he's close to finalizing an on-sale date for Warped '06, and he'll be making that announcement in the coming weeks.

The dates for Warped Tour 2006, according to event organizers:

• 6/15 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 6/16 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
• 6/17 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
• 6/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Metrodome
• 6/19 - Kansas City, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 6/21 - Antioch, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
• 6/22 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Fairgrounds
• 6/23 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Park
• 6/24 - Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
• 6/25 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
• 6/27 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltell Pavilion
• 6/28 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheater Lot
• 6/30 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center
• 7/1 - Dallas, TX @ TBA
• 7/2 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/3 - Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U Practice Field
• 7/5 - Phoenix, AZ @ TBA
• 7/6 - San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
• 7/7 - Pomona, CA @ Fairplex Park
• 7/8 - San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
• 7/9 - Ventura, CA @ TBA
• 7/11 - Fresno, CA @ SaveMart Center
• 7/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Dodger Stadium Lot
• 7/13 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/14 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
• 7/15 - Seattle, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre
• 7/16 - Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
• 7/18 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
• 7/20 - Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
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• 8/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheatre
• 8/12 - Toronto, ON @ Park Place
• 8/13 - Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau

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Melissa Cross
Photo: Ilian Penev

Name: Melissa Cross

Age: 49

Job: Extreme vocals instructor

Location: The Melissa Cross Vocal Studio in New York

Her Story: During the late 1980s, Melissa Cross was onstage at New York club CBGB with her punk band Bibi Wa Moto ("woman of fire" in Swahili). With one bloodcurdling scream, she nearly destroyed her voice. Doctors told Cross the damage to her cords wasn't permanent, but they prescribed six months of vocal rest.

Cross, who'd received classical voice training at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England, couldn't believe she'd taken the techniques she had learned and tossed them in the trash with one passionate act of aggression.

The mother of one and lover of all things metal spent those six months away from the stage hitting the books. She learned all she could about the mechanics of screaming, eventually discovering the unique technique she's been teaching to her students for more than a decade now.

That technique, Cross said, has helped prolong the vocal cords — and thus the careers — of some of heavy metal's loudest men and women. Her students include Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair, Cradle of Filth's Dani Filth, the Bravery's Sam Endicott, Thursday's Geoff Rickly, Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow, Lamb of God's Randy Blythe and Underoath's Spencer Chamberlain. Over the years, she's repaired the pipes behind Every Time I Die, God Forbid, Candiria, the Agony Scene, A Static Lullaby, Madball, It Dies Today, H20, Bloodsimple, Ill Niño, All That Remains, A Life Once Lost, Sick of It All and Unearth. She helped former Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach perfect his clean vocals, and Andrew W.K.'s got her on speed dial.

"I am the only teacher I know of who makes a concerted effort to deal with extreme vocals," she said. "Once one of these artists is on my roster, they can call me whenever they need me. They don't show up for lessons each week, but they're in my circle, and we communicate about any problems they have. A lot of these guys are very busy, so I only get them when they're in between tours and albums."

Cross works side by side with her screaming students inside her Manhattan studio space, and together — with a little ProTools help — they record a CD of each lesson that the singer can bring on tour. That CD serves as a pre-gig primer. "They'll practice with it wherever they go," she said, adding that she's never taught any of her big-name students how to scream. "Most of the guys I work with already knew how to scream. I needed to teach them how to do it without throwing out their vocal cords, so they don't mess up their throats when they do what they do."

How She Got Here: Fed up after brief stints working 9-to-5 jobs at record labels and in entertainment lawyers' offices, Cross decided to give teaching a whirl. Despite being a fan of the genre, she said she didn't set out on a mission to revolutionize extreme-vocal instruction — the extreme vocalists came to her.

"It started in the mid-1990s, when the genre was smaller," she recalled. "It started with [Hatebreed frontman] Jamey Jasta. He never showed up for his lesson. He'd keep booking and then would get too busy and cancel. But somehow it got out that Jamey intended to come." That word-of-mouth alone led a metal producer to call on her.

"He brought me Jesse Leach, Ian [Keeler] from Dismay," she said. "He tells me about a guy named Brian [Fair] from a band named Overcast," who, these days, sings for Shadows Fall. "I was able to help these people not lose their voices in the studio. They only played shows on the weekends, so that wasn't an issue. The problem was they were in the studio and couldn't get through one song without trashing their voices."

Word spread fast about Cross within the metal community, and she started taking on more and more clients. "Everybody knows everybody," she said. "It's tight-knit and I just love that."

You Either Have It Or You Don't: Cross said that she's had several students come to her wanting to master the art of screaming. But before she can do anything, there must be talent. The majority of her clients were born with it: Like Fair, they're vocalists with well-established careers who've been screaming since the age of 15 but would like to stop spitting up blood after every performance. None of the novices, she says, have gone on to make an impact on the scene.

Others "have come to me with really clean voices and wanted to add that heat but couldn't because they were afraid or overly trained," Cross said. She's also helped artists who had been screaming but stopped because of a vocal injury or out of fear that they'd cause permanent damage.

"For instance, Geoff [Rickly] from Thursday had relegated all the screaming to [keyboardist] Andrew [Everding]," she said. "He was really pulling back. But he isn't anymore — he's singing, he's screaming, he's out there. It's a huge difference, because he's completely confident knowing that he can turn, on a dime, from the singing to the screaming."

Cross has a list of dream clients she'd love to work with — not because they need help improving their vocal skills, but because she's a fan and would like to help them conserve their voices: Life of Agony's Keith Caputo and Mikael Åkerfeldt, frontman for Opeth.

What's Next: Cross is putting the finishing touches on "The Zen of Screaming 2," the sequel to "The Zen of Screaming," a DVD that covers the fundamentals of vocal maintenance.

The second "Zen" will feature guest appearances by Rickly, Gossow, Blythe, Chamberlain, Unearth's Trevor Phipps, Phil Labonte from All That Remains, God Forbid's Byron Davis, Lou Koller of Sick of It All and T.J. Miller, who fronts Still Remains.

" 'The Zen of Screaming 2' is what everyone wanted from the first DVD — it's all screaming," said Cross. "Everyone needed the first one for the basics. This second DVD will teach my technique as it applies to screaming. Without the first DVD, we would have had all these kids hurting themselves."

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