Niki N. Phaser

                  Good Charlotte fans must be a little bit disappointed these days. The band announced on their official site that the album they’ve been working on, Cardiology, is going to the dumpster. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that they will write a new one, just that they’ll re-record their new songs. Faced with the product of the initial recordings, it dawned on Benji Madden that “it just wasn’t right” and the whole process has to be repeated. He continues with some not so subtle finger-pointing at Howard Benson: “While we were working with one of the most successful, biggest producers in the Business, all he seemed to focus on was “Commercial Success” of the record and all everyone seemed to talk about was the RADIO”.

                  The decision was made to re-record the album with old friend of the band, Don Gilmore (Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory and Meteora). So, now the outfit is at it again, up in Vancouver, Canada. Good Charlotte’s previous album was 2007′s Good Morning Revival, which spawned hits like Keep Your Hands off My Girl, Dance Floor Anthem or:

THE RIVER

          Mark Hoppus has announced that Blink 182 will be touring Europe for a few weeks, during the summer of 2010. No exact dates or locations have been published yet, but in the following months, everything will be revealed. To be sure that you are not missing anything, check the band’s official site for future information. Since the band reformed, there has been talk of a new album, but there is still nothing certain. Drummer Travis Barker has been working on his solo record, which will feature, among others, RZA and Chester of Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise. It will be out next year, under the title Mr. Barker’s. Mark Hoppus has been in the studio also, producing a lot of new bands, while Tom DeLonge’s side project, Angels and Airwaves is about to release a new album, Love, and also an experimental movie of the same name. The first single, Hallucinations, has been released as a free download, as will the entire record. However, some sources state that the band will be working on a new Blink 182 album before touring Europe in 2010. Their last one was released in 2003.

            Since his departure from Placebo, in September 2007, drum virtuoso Steve Hewitt hasn’t been slacking off. Helped by friends and family, Hewitt has started a new musical project. The band is called Love Amongst Ruin. This will also be the name of their debut album. Yes, that is correct, an album is already on the way. It was recorded at the Moles Studio (Bath, UK) in the spring-summer period of 2008. Paul Corkett, who produced The Cure’s Bloodflowers, among other noteworthy stuff, was invited to work on some of the tracks. It’s not the first time Hewitt collaborated with this producer. Paul Corkett also produced and engineered Placebo’s Black Market Music. The mixing was done overseas, at the prestigious Bernie Grundman studios in Los Angeles by Brian Gardner, whose discography is as eclectic as can be: from 2Pac to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Barbra Streisand.

            Currently, Steve Hewitt is putting the ‘finishing touches’ on the band’s line-up, as most of the musicians involved in the recording sessions are members of other bands and unable to commit long term to Love Amongst Ruin. Rehearsals are on the way, but before the band premieres any new music, there is still the issue of finding the right management and a label. Knowing that, studio-wise, Steve Hewitt wasn’t restricted to playing only drums for Placebo, one cannot help wondering what this new project of his will sound like, especially since he’s also doing vocals for his new band. For more info, check his:

MySpace Page