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Feature StoryFoo Fighters – Dead or Alive?

Current EventsWe Are the World – An Evolution of Support

ReviewThe E.N.D. is Only the Beginning to Concert Tour History

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Foo Fighters – Dead or Alive?

September 18, 2008- The Foo Fighters announced today that they are taking an extended break from music production. Although their hiatus is not expected to last long, the band reportedly wants some time to individually explore different projects before reconvening as a group. People everywhere are disappointed – many thought that the band was on a huge swing of momentum – but lead singer Dave Grohl assures fans that, “it [isn’t] going to be very long.”

Good news Foo Fighter fans – the boys are back!

After a year of silence, the Foo Fighters are once again opening their doors to the exploration of music with Nirvana producer Butch Vig, the mastermind behind the 1991 album Nevermind.

Who would have thought that the Foo Fighters would have ever gone on a break in the first place? Upon announcing their hiatus in September 2008, many supporters were left disappointed and dejected. After fifteen years of musical dominance, the epic band that produced some of the world’s greatest tracks had decided to put a sudden halt to their creative process. With such a dedicated fans base, this decision was definitely controversial. The band then released their Greatest Hits album, which made official the end of their era.

The prime reason given for their break was that the band was in favor of pursuing individual projects. And during this yearlong pause, that’s exactly what they did. Drummer Taylor Hawkins

worked to produce a new album Red Light Fever with a host of guest stars that is slated to be released in early April, and lead singer Dave Grohl (along with spending time with his family) oversaw the coming together of a movie in the works that is based on the journey of iconic Nirvana, the band that launched Dave’s career.

The question we have to answer now is – will the Foo Fighters come back stronger than ever, or will their new album just be a flop?

In order to predict this we have to analyze their performance before the hiatus. From the beginning, the Foo Fighters appeared to have come out swinging from the studios, releasing their first single “This is a Call” in 1995. Foo Fighters, their debut album, included some really powerful tracks like “I’ll Stick Around” and “Big Me” that launched the band into a nation-wide tour. That was only their starting point, as they proceeded to produce six more chart-topping albums.

written by: Katie Keohane

“It might be nice to broaden our range, open up the dynamic, so we can go out and just make music,” he explained to Rolling Stone. And who could blame him?

After so many years of putting out alternative rock album after album, the fact that the Foo Fighters recognize the need to put out something new is reassuring. The massive fan base they have accumulated will also help them out in the long run, and will stand by them as they attempt to revamp their band.

This new album offers the Foo Fighters an opportunity to branch out and make a move towards a

newer, more expansive genre and fan base. The fact that they’re keeping the world updated on their progress indicates their excitement about the project, and usually when the Foo Fighters are motivated, the end result is something to look forward to.

The Foo Fighters have survived artistic lulls, petty fights, and threatened breakups. No band is without its struggles, and they have dealt with their hardships like champions. The Foo Fighters will continue to output inspiring music (even though it will be harder with the yearlong drought) until the official end of their reign.

Grohl sums it all up beautifully – “This greatest hits record, that's the end of

something... It's time to move on into this next chapter or another phase.”

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

This early success provides much insight into the inner workings of the band. In order for any band to do well, there must be cohesion between members in which the flow of music can proliferate. It was apparent at the time of their birth that this band was a force to be reckoned with, as singer Dave Grohl took the lead in guiding the Foo Fighters to success with his experience from the iconic band Nirvana.

“We all love music,” Grohl said in a 2007 interview with Guitar World, “whether it's the Beatles or Queen or punk rock. I think the lure of punk rock was the energy and immediacy; the need to

thrash stuff around. But at the same time, we're all suckers for a beautiful melody, you know? So it is just natural."

It’s obvious that this “natural” feeling that the band

cultivated from the beginning was a huge factor in bringing them together and closer to success.So what now? Does the cohesion remain after

fourteen years of working as a group and even still after a year of being apart from each other?

The answer to that is yes.The Foo Fighters have too much musical

experience and talent to let themselves be influenced by outside factors such as harsh critics and skeptics. Instead of feeling closed in by their past and being confined to their previous persons, the band instead wants to expand their image according to Grohl.

The idea all started in the 1980s when a group of Irish and English musicians in the UK recorded a Christmas song, “Do they know it’s Christmas?”. The musical group, known as Band-aid, recorded the song in hopes that the selling of the single and it’s album would rake in a large amount of money for a charitable cause. Fortunately, they were very successful and produced a number one Christmas single that year. All of the profits went to Ethiopia, a country experiencing the formidable crisis of famine.

Seven million people paid ten dollars each to create a chain around the country buy holding hands for 15 minutes. Through both of these fundraisers, the organization raised a staggering 100 million for Africa.

This past year, another tragedy occurred in Haiti. A tremendous and devastating earthquake left Haiti in complete disarray. Clean food and water were scarce and shelter became almost obsolete. So, once again, the U.S. decided to reach out those less fortunate. Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones reunited to produce a new version of “We Are The World”. This time around, Richie and Jones were the only ones to return from the 1985 version of the song. With their former knowledge and the new voices of artists such as Nicole Sherzinger, Celine Dion, Lil’ Wayne, Pink, Usher, and many others, the song has struck gold a second time.

As a result of this great success in the UK, the U.S.A. decided to follow in the country’s footsteps with the 1985 song “We Are The World”. Famous musicians and humanitarians, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie came together to write the inspiring pop anthem. The new hit was used to help support those starving and dying of disease in Africa. Artists from all different genres were called to participate in the recording of the song. Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Diana Ross, and Bruce Springsteen are only a few of the many who came out to support the effort of “USA for Africa.” This organization not only recorded a number one song in the U.S. and the UK, but a benefit called Hands Across America was held.

• Lionel Richie and Quicy Jones, the producers of “We Are The World”.

• Written by: Jane Tracy

When asked about recording the song, tenor singer Josh Groban replied, “Everybody left their ego at the door.” Justin Bieber, a 15-year old newcomer from Canada stated “The experience was out of this world.” The description of their experiences truly translated on the screen when the video for the newly recorded “We Are The World” premiered during the Vancouver Olympics, Friday February 12th. Many of the artists were featured in the video with a small solo ( Jennifer Hudson, Janet Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Miley Cyrus…). A new twist was added to the song as well when Wyclef Jean sang a few bars of the song in Haitian Creole.

The monetary success of the song/video has not yet been released since they have only been available for a short time. Although the public is not yet aware of this, the video and song have received great feedback. The music video has remained in the top 10 videos on iTunes for the past month. Showing clips of the devastation in Haiti, the video has gotten Americans to realize that the country needs as much help as it can get. From the production of “Do they Know it’s Christmas?” in the UK and more recently, the updated version “We Are The World” in the U.S., people around the world have truly learned what it means to give back.

• 1985 version of “We Are The World”

• The new 2010 version of the song

• A city destroyed after the earthquake in Haiti

The light effects were probably the best I’ve ever seen. This really got the crowd pumped up until they finally came on stage opening with their old hit “Let’s Get It Started.” They sang all of their hits from “Pump It” to the finale of “I Gotta Feeling.” Every song they sang included amazing futuristic lighting effects and every outfit was shiny, futuristic, and almost robotic looking. The background dancers were unbelievable as they performed tricks and wore some pretty crazy costumes to make the futuristic vibe of the show. They were dressed like giant stereo systems to a full body suit of black and white strips. Not only did the peas play all of their hits, but each member of the band came out doing their own thing individually. Fergie sang some of her hits from her single album “The Duchess” including hits like “Fergalicious” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. Ludacris joined her on stage for the song “Glamorous” as well. Apl.de.ap did some rapping, and Taboo rode through the sky over the audience in a light up motorcycle.

Right now The Black Eyed Peas are touring the world promoting their latest hit album “The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies).” One stop of their tour was in Uniondale, Long Island NY at Nassau Coliseum on March 1, 2010. At 7:30pm the crowd was filled with excited fans of all ages. From little kids to elders, to die hard fans or people that only knew one or two songs, all waiting for The Black Eyed Peas. First the band LMFAO, best known for their song “I’m In Miami Trick”, opened the show. They were full of energy and really got the crowd dancing, even for people that never heard of them before. But following LMFAO was Ludacris, who sang all his hits from old to new. Including his latest hit single “How Low” that got everyone on their feet. For fans of either LMFAO or Ludacris, their performances were great, but for people that didn’t know their music so well the first hour of the show seemed pretty long and drawn out. But the wait was 100% worth it when the lights dimmed and it was time for The Black Eyed Peas to come on stage. Fog began to fill the air and the screens resembled a machine and it began “downloading…” each member.

. However, some of the high points of the show had to be Will.I.Am.’s freestyle rapping based on comments audience members texted in before the show and his DJ-ing. He took out the turn tables and the stage lifted as smoke and lighting effects gave a club atmosphere and the whole audience rocked out to hits from all different times periods and all different music genres. This took up about 20 minutes of the concert, but was totally worth it. After each member did their solo act, The Black Eyed Peas rejoined on stage and played almost their entire new album. Then they left the stage, but quickly returned with an encore of “Boom Boom Pow” and ended with “I Gotta Feeling”. The whole audience was out of their seats singing along. It ended then with the final explosion of confetti and a cheering crowd that wanted more. This was definitely an amazing concert experience.

I would recommend this concert to anyone who loves to party. The whole concert was truly amazing to watch and full of non-stop excitement. This concert tour definitely sets high standards for all future tours. It was completely futuristic and

the technical effects were like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Whether you knew 1 song or every song, it was so entertaining that you could enjoy every second. The concert ended with more people wanting more and not wanting to

leave. I would give this concert a 10 on a scale of 1-10 in which 1 is the worst and 10 is the best. This concert, from costumes, to lighting, to background dancers, to how amazing they sounded, and the songs they sang, was by far unlike

any other concert I’ve ever been to and totally tops it all. So if you’re a BEP fan or not, this concert is definitely a great experience and recommended to you.

This is a MUST SEE concert experience that will blow your mind!

The E.N.D. is definitely only the beginning for the future of concert tours and for this rising hit group.

Thanks for reading