The Zone Insider

Thanks for reading this month's Insider. You can be my valentine.

As for the folks at the Zone, they're still recovering from the Three Doors Down show. In fact, we still haven't found Kevin Casey. And Boner keeps pretending to put people on hold, just so he can shout Wesley Willis songs into the phone.

EVANESCENCE UPDATE:

Okay, the closest they're coming to Cape is Champaign, IL on February 24th. It's a 4 hour road trip, and it's kinda tough to find tickets, but if a certain DJ wanted to take a certain day off to check out a certain favorite band of his, he's got enough time to ask a certain know-it-all to cover his shift (wink wink) Meanwhile, don't look for former co-writer Ben Moody in Champaign; he's helping Avril Lavigne with her upcoming album...

Dave Grohl, the Paul McCartney of the 21st Century, has yet another music project in the wings. We know he loves alt-rock (fronting the Foos), punk rock (behind the skins for Killing Joke), stoner rock (w/ Queens of the Stone Age), and RRRock with three R's (via Tenacious D). Now, he takes his music jones up to 11 with the PROBOT project. Three years in the making, Dave teams up with some of the most established and worshipped vocalists in heavy metal. We're talking Lemmy from Motorhead, King Diamond, Max from Sepultura, the singers from Venom, Celtic Frost, Corrosion of Conformity, Voivod...I know this ain't be Zone territory; this stuff'll slash your eardrums. But if it sounds like your idea of fun, start looking in your shops in mid-February.

About the only place you won't hear Dave Grohl is American Idol. The Foo Fighters are one of the acts on a verboten list of songs and artists for people to audition to. Whether due to royalty rates or personal tastes, the Foos join such Zone artists Red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Linkin Park, and Stone Temple Pilots in American Idol purgatory.

In fact, most 'alternative' acts 'would not be advisable' according to producer memos. So if your TV is being held hostage on Tuesday nights, and you were hoping that somebody might slip in a rendition of "Times Like These" or "Got the Life", forget about it and stick with the radio (although there's always the chance someone might try "When I'm Gone"...)

The Grammys are February 8th; are you wondering if your nominated faves will win? It's a good sign when they're scheduled to perform. So, pay attention a few moments after the White Stripes finish their performance. Check out Outkast during the all-funk, all-star jam. Insider predicts: Stripes win 2, Outkast gets 2, Evanescence takes one home. Check out the show, for one last bathe in 2003's noise. One thought about the Grammys: Is it more wrong to be disappointed if Metallica wins the "Metal" category? Or to consider Dave Matthews a favorite to win Male "Rock" Vocal?

KORN UPDATE:

Korn might win back-to-back this year (in the Metal category!) for "Did My Time". But they've moved on already, prepping their video for "Y'All Want a Single". They're also on the video game NFL Street, teamed up with Nas, for "Play Me".

On a video side note, Alien Ant Farm fans might want to grab their game system compatible version of NHL 2004. You can play a custom character based on your favorite member of Alien Ant Farm, just by typing in his name.

It also works for members of the band Gob. In case you care.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Courtney Love's latest album "America's Sweetheart" is scheduled for release on February 9th. I know, there are so many reasons to consider her over; she's so busy being a mom and an actress and an addict and a litigant and an eyesore that she doesn't have time to brush her hair, never mind make decent music anymore, right? And we got Brody and the Distillers now, right?

Well, from the sounds of her new single, "Mono", Courtney knows it's her last stand. And she manages to channel the last ten years of her chaos into a three-and-a-half-minute song. Sure, she's only got herself and a drummer at this point (Samantha Maloney, who is an awesomely hot drummer, BTW), but she's teamed up with some ace songwriters, and has the guitars cranked up right. I don't even know if she has fans anymore, but she will next month.

The Zone's starting to spin a new track, "Last Train Home," from the Lostprophets' new album, "Start Something". They're Britain's answer to Incubus, and you may have heard them on the radio a few years back, with the track "Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja". They should be swinging through America again this summer, and they're on the Zone this month.

A band that's ready for the Zone is Brand New. I wasn't impressed initially, what with their Morrisey-sized song titles and emo ballads that start suicide hotlines... I mean, there's only so much Dashboard I can take. But their latest track, "Sic Transit Gloria," is a better Taking Back Sunday tune than Taking Back Sunday can manage. Speaking of Dashboard, "Sic" is the flipside of "Hands Down"s second-base euphoria. It's got a decent video, too.

You know, I don't just write music columns. I write movies, too. One of them got made around here by Backwards Logic Productions. They also managed to get a cool soundtrack, collecting great tracks from local bands like Catatonic, Attention Span Zero, and the Tone Def All Stars. You can hear all about it on A Very Special Episode of The Indie Zone later this month. Maybe they'll even let me on the mike... maybe.

CONTEST OF THE MONTH:

Want to win a free T-shirt?

All you have to do is rescue the princess Fiona. She's at the top of the tallest tower, atop a fiery mountain, protected by a fierce dragon. Wake her up, get her home, and have her e-mail me your address, and I'll send you a Man or Astroman t-shirt. E-mail djelvis@sbcglobal.net and type FIONA'S FREE in the subject line. And give me some proof that it's really you, girl. Really really.

Until next time... Rock on London, rock on Sikeston, rock on Cape Girardeau! Open your ears!

Quote of the month:

"When you were a teenager and you had a crush on a girl, you'd make her a mix tape. You don't want to have to talk about yourself, you figure, "Maybe in this Jane's Addiction ballad she'll know how I feel." But my tapes usually made people never talk to me again."

Dave Grohl