TENACIOUS D

Tenacious D

Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released three albums – Tenacious D (2001), The Pick of Destiny (2006), and Rize of the Fenix (2012). The band's studio releases, and more recently[when?] its live performances, feature a full band lineup, including such musicians as guitarist John Konesky, bassist John Spiker. Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl played on every studio release, with Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman replacing Grohl on tour.

The band first gained popularity in 1999 when they starred in their eponymous television series and began to support large rock acts. In 2001, they released Tenacious D, their debut album featuring a full band. The first single, "Tribute", was the band's most successful achieving their only Top 10 in any chart, until they released "The Metal", which was first shown at Saturday Night Live. In 2006, they starred in, and recorded the soundtrack for, the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. In support of the film, the band went on a world tour, appearing for the first time with a full band. They released their newest album "Rize of the Fenix" on May 15, 2012.

Tenacious D's music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass's acoustic guitar playing abilities. Critics have described their fusion of vulgar absurdist comedy with rock music as "mock rock". Their songs discuss the duo's purported musical and sexual prowess, as well as their friendship and cannabis usage in a style that music critics have compared with the storyteller-style lyrics of rock opera.

Also known as: The (Fellowship of The) D, The Greatest Band in the World

Origin: Los Angeles, California, United States

Genres: Comedy rock, heavy metal, hard rock, acoustic rock

Years active: 1991–present

Labels: Epic/SME Records, Columbia/SME Records

Associated acts: The Kyle Gass Band, Trainwreck

Members: Jack Black, Kyle Gass

Pictures: 

Song:

Concert:

Tenacious D - Live @ Rock am Ring 2012 [FULL CONCERT]

Album:

Tenacious D - The Pick Of Destiny 

Interview:

ALICE IN CHAINS

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr (who was replaced in 1993 by Mike Inez).

Although widely associated with grunge music, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and acoustic elements. Since its formation, Alice in Chains has released four studio albums, three EPs, two live albums, four compilations, and two DVDs. The band is known for its distinct vocal style which often included the harmonized vocals of Staley and Cantrell.

Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 35 million albums worldwide, and over 14 million in the US alone. In 1992 the band released their album Dirt which was critically acclaimed and has been certified quadruple platinum. The band also achieved two No.1 Billboard 200 albums (Jar of Flies and Alice in Chains), 14 top ten songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and eight Grammy Award nominations.

Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onwards due to Staley's substance abuse, which resulted in his death in 2002. The band reunited in 2005 with new lead vocalist William DuVall, and released their fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue, in 2009. The album was a success, being certified gold by the RIAA in 2010. Alice in Chains is currently working on a new studio album, which is due for release sometime in late 2012 or early 2013.

Origin: Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Genres: Alternative metal, grunge, alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal

Years active: 1987–2002, 2005–present

Labels: Columbia, Virgin/EMI

Associated acts: Alice N' Chains, Class of '99, Comes with the Fall, Mad Season, Black Label Society, Spys4Darwin, Alice Mudgarden

Members:Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney, Mike Inez, William DuVall

Past members: Layne Staley, Mike Starr

Pictures:

Song: Concert:

Concert: 

Alice In Chains - (HD)(Live Facelift)(Seattle 1991)

Album:

Alice In Chains - Dirt (Full Album) 1992

Interview:

THE STOOGES

The Stooges

The Stooges (also known as Iggy and The Stooges) are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003. Although they sold few records in their original incarnation and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences, the Stooges are widely regarded as instrumental in the rise of punk rock, as well as influential to alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music at large. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Also known as: Iggy and The Stooges, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Psychedelic Stooges

Origin: Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Genres: Garage rock, hard rock, protopunk, punk blues, punk rock, acid rock

Years active: 1967–1971, 1972–1974, 2003–present

Labels: Elektra, Columbia, Virgin

Associated acts: Iggy Pop, The Iguanas, Minutemen, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, Destroy All Monsters, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Pictures:

Song:

Live:

The Passenger - Iggy Pop and The Stooges 70's

Album:

The Stooges- The Stooges 

Interview:

METALLICA

Metallica

Metallica is an American Thrash band from Los Angeles, California, whose releases include fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the founding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. They formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. As of 2003, the line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (who joined the band in 1983) and bassist Robert Trujillo (a member since 2003) alongside Hetfield and Ulrich. Previous members of the band are lead guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to found the band Megadeth), and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted. The band also had a long collaboration with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of its albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

The band earned a growing fan-base in the underground music community and critical acclaim with its third album Master of Puppets (1986), described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. Metallica achieved substantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album (also known as The Black Album), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among a number of artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without any band member's consent. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger (2003) alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger and the tensions within the band during that time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, three live albums, five extended plays, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the first band to do so; this record was later matched by the Dave Matthews Band. The band's 1991 album, Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 28 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-best-selling album in the country. In December 2009, it became the best-selling album of the SoundScan era, surpassing 1997's Come on Over by country artist Shania Twain. The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide as of the release of their latest album, Death Magnetic (2008). As of December 2009, Metallica is the fourth best-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 52,672,000 albums in the United States alone. Metallica has been working on their tenth studio album, which is due for release in early 2014.

Origin: Los Angeles, California, United States.

Genres: Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock, speed metal.

Years active: 1981–present.

Labels: Elektra, Vertigo, Megaforce, Universal Music, Warner Bros.

Associated acts: Bob Rock, Megadeth, Echobrain, Spastik Children, Leather Charm, Exodus, Trauma, Flotsam and Jetsam, San Francisco Symphony, Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Suicidal Tendencies, Lou Reed.

Members: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo.

Past members: Ron McGovney, Dave Mustaine, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted.

Picture:

Song:

Concert:

MetallicA concert Live in Seoul

Album:

Metallica-1988-...And Justice For All 

Interview:

KID ROCK

Kid Rock

Robert James "Bob" Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations. Kid Rock released several studio albums that mostly went unnoticed before his 1998 record Devil Without a Cause, released with Atlantic Records, sold 11 million albums behind the hits, "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy", and "Only God Knows Why". In 2000, he released The History of Rock, a compilation of remixed and remastered versions of songs from previous albums as well as the hit single, "American Bad Ass".

Kid Rock released the follow-up in 2001, Cocky. After a slow start, his country-flavored hit "Picture" with Sheryl Crow resurrected the album and it went gold as a single and pushed the album's sales over 5 million. It was followed by 2003's self-titled release, which went platinum . In 2006 he released Live Trucker, a greatest hits live album that failed to go platinum.

He made his comeback in 2007. Kid Rock released Rock n Roll Jesus, which produced a hit in "All Summer Long". It was his first worldwide smash hit, charting No. 1 in eight countries across Europe and in Australia. Rock N Roll Jesus sold 5 million albums worldwide and was certified triple platinum in the U.S. He released Born Free on November 16, 2010. It reached platinum a year after its release . This gives Kid Rock his sixth Platinum album certification and gives him a career tally of 23 million albums sold.

His sales are not aided by iTunes, as he has boycotted sales of his music on the service. This also affects his singles' chart positions without digital downloads added in (for example, "All Summer Long" only peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100). The only Kid Rock album available on iTunes is "Grits Sandwiches For Breakfast" because Jive Records owns the rights to the album.

Birth name: Robert James Ritchie

Born: January 17, 1971 (age 41) Romeo, Michigan, U.S.

Genres: Rock, hip hop, rap rock, rap metal, heavy metal, hard rock, southern rock, country rock, blues rock

Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter, actor, rapper

Instruments: vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, banjo, slide guitar, steel guitar, lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, keyboards, piano, organ, mellotron, synthesizers, turntables, drums, percussion, talkbox

Years active: 1988–present

Labels: Atlantic, Jive, Top Dog

Associated acts: Uncle Kracker, Joe C., Champtown, Yelawolf, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martina McBride, R. Kelly, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Too Short, Slash.

Pictures:

Song:

Concert:

Kid Rock Performance at Wrestelmaina 25

Interview:

ALICE COOPER

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician whose career spans more than four decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors, and baby dolls, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal designed to shock.

Originating in Detroit in the late 1960s, Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and drummer Neal Smith. The original Alice Cooper band broke into the international music mainstream with the 1971 hit "I'm Eighteen" from the album Love It to Death, which was followed by the even bigger single "School's Out" in 1972. The band reached their commercial peak with the 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies.

Furnier's solo career as Alice Cooper, adopting the band's name as his own name, began with the 1975 concept album Welcome to My Nightmare; in 2011 he released Welcome 2 My Nightmare, his 19th album as a solo artist, and his 26th album in total. Expanding from his Detroit rock roots, in his career Cooper has experimented with a number of musical styles, including conceptual rock, art rock, hard rock, New Wave, pop rock, experimental rock and industrial rock.

Alice Cooper is known for his social and witty persona offstage; The Rolling Stone Album Guide has called him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". Cooper is credited with helping to shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and he is regarded as being the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed the genre". Away from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur and, since 2004, a popular radio DJ with his classic rock show Nights with Alice Cooper.

In 2011 the original Alice Cooper band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Birth name: Vincent Damon Furnier

Born: February 4, 1948 (age 64), Detroit, Michigan, United States

Genres: Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, shock rock

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, actor, DJ

Instruments: Vocals, harmonica, guitar

Years active: 1964–present

Labels: Straight, Warner Bros., Atlantic, MCA, Epic, Spitfire, Eagle, New West.

Pictures:

Song:

Concert:

Alice Cooper ABC in Concert Pt. 1.

Album:

Alice Cooper - Love It To Death 1971.

Interview: