Drums weren’t all he was beating…Deen Castronovo, drummer for rock band Journey, was arrested last week in Oregon after a heated argument with his girlfriend turned physical. Castronovo was charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment, coercion and interfering with a police report, according to TMZ, with bail set at $52,500. A source quoted from the report says that the drummer believes the incident was “a misunderstanding that should not have been escalated to such a level in the first place.” Castronovo has been with Journey for over a decade and has played on five of their albums since 2000.
Coffee bean Billy
Singer-songwriter Will Oldham—better known to the world as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy—has gotten into the coffee bean business, releasing his signature Bonny Billy Blend Kona Rose coffee through his longtime record label, Drag City. The beans, which can only be purchased by mail order from Drag City, are certified organic and are sold in resealable, half-pound bags. The label describes the coffee as having “overtones of chocolate, leather and non-wacky tobaccy [sic].” The coffee, which was produced in a limited edition run, is going for $20 a bag.
Surprisingly it’s not all just Rage Against The Machine songs
The Occupy movement will be getting its own soundtrack this spring according to an article in Rolling Stone. The project, entitled Occupy This Album, will feature a pantheon of famous artists, including Willie Nelson, Devo, Yoko Ono and Tom Morello. According to a press release on musicforoccupy.com, the goal of the album is “to inspire and celebrate through music the Occupy Wall Street movement and the 99% who’ve been adversely affected by the economic corruption that has permeated our Democracy, created a near insurmountable disparity in wealth, and hindered life, liberty, justice and the pursuit of an honest living for all.” The statement also says all album proceeds “will go directly towards the needs of sustaining this growing movement.”
I thought killing was his business?
David Ellefson, bassist for thrash metal band Megadeth, is looking to trade in his plectrum for the priesthood, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ellefson, a founding member of the L.A.-based band, is studying to become a Lutheran pastor by taking online courses at St. Louis’ Concordia Seminary. “Most people want to become a rock star,” says Jon Bjorgaard, Ellefson’s family pastor, “David’s a rock star who wants to become a pastor.” In regards to his seemingly asynchronous interests, Ellefson said: “Some people want to morph things together into one, but I have a hand in both worlds, I love praise and worship music, and I love heavy metal.”
Old man angered by new sound
In an interview with MTV News last week, Neil Young vented about what he felt was problematic with music in the 21st century. “I’m finding that I have a little bit of trouble with the quality of the sound of music today, I don’t like it. It just makes me angry,” said
Young. “Not the quality of the music, but we’re in the 21st century and we have the worst sound that we’ve ever had.” The rocker went on to say that MP3s only feature five per cent of the data from an original master file, and that’s something Young just had to take issue with. “If you’re an artist and you created something and you knew the master was 100 per cent great, but the consumer got 5 per cent, would you be feeling good?” Before you go thinking he’s just being a cranky old man, Young did mention he is a fan of some new music. “Mumford and Sons and My Morning Jacket are great bands,” Young said. “I love them both and I know them well. I feel good about saying that.”
