djrossstar

Alternative Press has announced that Long Island pop-punk band Patent Pending were involved in a van crash on the way to their first tour date with Suburban Legends and MC Lars. 

The accident occured outside of Elkhart, Indiana and although the van was totaled, the band have made light of the situation by saying "You could see the inside of the trailer from the outside, and that's not how that's supposed to be!" 

The van has been replaced.  They are still on tour and they have provided us with a video of the destroyed van.

For many years, churches have served as all-ages concert venues.  One church inparticular, The Trinity Methodist Church, has been hosting punk rock shows.  That is, until the city of Albany put a stop to it.

Punknews reports that the Church is sueing for "unconstitutional governmental interference in religion."

Times Union goes deeper into the story and explains that the punk rock shows were stopped due to complaints from the neighbors about loud noise and loitering outside.

Do churches play a big part in your punk rock community?

Not all bands like to discuss politics, including The White Stripes' and The Raconteurs' singer Jack White.  According to Stereogum, Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke is upset that White cares so much about selling records but not debating political matters.

NME goes on to directly quote Okereke as saying, "I was amazing when Jack White said it wasn't his job to be critical about foreign policy because he was being paid to be an entertainer. I thought that was treacherous because it's complicit with the capitalist society."

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  What's yours?

Are you a fan of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy?  Were you aware that real life "Hobbits" were found in 2004 on an island in Indonesia?

Neatorama reports that these human "Hobbits"are being considered as a new species, called Homo floresiensis, by a study at Florida State University, conducted by Dean Falk and her colleagues. 

BBC News goes on to explain, telling us that the researchers believe that the 3 feet tall humans had evolved from a small brained ancestor and were wiped out 12,000 years ago from a volcanic eruption.

I hope this team does their next study on Nessie - The Loch Ness Monster.

Just when connect-the-dots puzzles were starting to get boring, a new take on the old game became available.  Introduced in 1967 by a company called Hasbro, and later bought by Milton-Bradley, Lite Brite allowed every child to be an artist. 

The toy included a large number of tiny colored pegs and a ton of connect-the-dot outlines on light, black paper.  Once the pegs were placed through the holes, the light bulb from behind the black paper would light up the image, which could be anything from a rocketship to a pumpkin.  Creative children could ignore the connect-the-dot patterns and make their own picture.


Here are some commercials for Lite Brite including one of the catchiest product jingles that you probably still remember today.




Shorter Lite Brite Commercial

Someone's Lite Brite Wall Creation

Industrial-Electronica band Mindless Self Indulgence have offended Christians...although it may not be their fault.

Due to their devoted and cult-like following, the band decided to label their music under the Religious/Inspirational section of iTunes.  According to Punknews, iTunes decided to put their music in the Christian/Gospel section and Christians began buying their music, without even hearing it.  This led to a number of complaints to iTunes about Mindless' lyrical content and offensive song titles, even though the songs were labeled as offensive.

Singer Jimmy Urine explains: "It was iTunes, not us, that interpreted "religious" to mean Christian/Gospel. What is offensive to some people is obviously inspirational to others. To our fans this IS inspirational music. I have no intention of changing the genre listing of this album."

Absolutepunk has delivered news that shocked fans around the world.  Drive-Thru Records band Hidden In Plain View have called it a day.

The New Jersey band (and one member from Atlanta!) released their first six-song CD in 2002.  Their most recent effort was 2005's Life In Dreaming.

Although, little information is given about the breakup, besides "professional and creative differences," Stefanie Reines, co-owner of Drive-Thru Records, has spoken up about the breakup and says that "The band has clearly touched the lives of music fans around the world, and we're sad to see it end."

Currently, it is unsure if there will be a farewell show.  However, fans can rejoice as their final CD, currently titled Resolution, will hit stores in the Spring of '07.

Indie music is enjoyed by all races alike.

However, The New York Times has written an entire article about black indie music fans. 

The Modern Age has provided part of the article that speaks of a new term called "blipster" which means “a person who is black and also can be stereotyped by appearance, musical taste, and/or social scene as a hipster.”

Is this article offensive or just telling it like it is?

Do you want to take your love for the 1980's, David Hasselhoff starring, TV series "Knight Rider"  to the next level?  Do you have $30,000 in Canadian money to spend?

The Raw Feed has provided a link to a story on Autoblog which announces that an exact replica of the Knight Industries 2000 car from the hit TV show is for sale on Ebay.

The Ebay user, zapper80 claims that the car cost over $40,000 in Canadian money to create and claims that some of the car parts come from original molds.

Tired of carrying around that big Poloroid camera?  Not a fan of the I-Zone camera with the sticky film?  If so, then you are in luck.

Poloroid is working with a company called Zink on a digital camera that will include a tiny printer inside of it.  The Raw Feed explains that this new device will have paper that can turn into any color. The printer heads decide what color each "pixel" should be.

Back in the 80's and 90's, Chuck E. Cheese was the place to go for video games, pizza and animatronic characters.  Chuck E. (stands for entertainment) Cheese was a loveable rat who would walk around in costume to greet everyone and numerous musical animatronic shows were performed each day with Chuck E. and other characters including Mr. Munch and Pasqually.

Since the early '90's, Chuck E. Cheese has changed a lot.  The target audience has gone down to toddler level, all the locations are now called Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, there are less animatronics and probably the biggest change of all, Chuck E. is now a mouse, not a rat.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some old commercials promoting Chuck E. Cheese from the '80s and early '90s.





Chuck E. Cheese's New Jersey Commercial

Chuck E. Cheese's "Dreams" Commercial

With a 3 day line-up including performances from Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine, the Coachella Festival is almost certain to sell out.  Rumored apperances from The Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt and The Police will have people flying in from all over the world to attend the festival. 

Have you heard news about any other rumored guests that might perform at Coachella?  Share your information with the Coachella Community.

Charlotte Lesher, mother of the late Joey Ramone, singer of the highly-influential punk band The Ramones, has passed away at the age of 80.  Punknews reports that she passed away on January 27th, 2007 due to a heart attack.

Since Joey's death in April of 2001, Lesher has created the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research and a concert called the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in which many great bands have performed, including old members of The Ramones.

Rather then sending the traditional cards and/or flowers to send your condolences, her friends and family ask that you think about sending a donation to:

Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research
P.O. Box 1107
Cooper Station, NY, NY 10276

Ghostbusters 2 is my favorite movie of all time.  You can imagine my excitement when The Raw Feed announced that The Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Car, the actual car that the Ghostbusters drove in both movies, is for sale.  It turns out the car is actually a pimped-out 1959 Cadilliac.  Hemmings.com is selling the car for $150,000 so start saving up or donate to the DJ Rossstar fund so that I can buy it!

Finally, a place I can store my Ghostbusters action figures and Ghost Trapper.

Have you ever wondered what Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump does backstage to prepare for a show?  Does he chug 10 Red Bulls?  Does he jog up and down a flight of stairs? Actually, he sings along to showtunes!  Shh...don't tell anyone.  It's a secret!


Check out this video of Patrick warming up before a show.  Direct from the Friends or Enemies Tour. 

As a special bonus the clip ends with "This Ain't a Scene, I'ts an Arms Race" live from the Friends or Enemies Tour.

Be sure and check out Friends Or Enemies for all your Fall Out Boy needs. 

It seems as if every respectable company in the 80's and early 90's used a fun, cartoonish character to market their product.  Domino's Pizza was no different.  Although, to this day I am still not sure what kind of creature The Noid actually is, I do know that his commercials were very popular and helped separate Domino's Pizza from the competitors.  At one point, The Noid even had his own Nintendo game.

Here are some great videos that include The Noid!



The Noid Strikes Again

The Noid appears on Family Guy

It seems as if every actor has a band these days, so why not Kevin Costner as well?  The famous movie star (Dances With Wolves, The Bodyguard) is set to perform with his band at the California Speedway in February and Steregum has provided links to not one, but two videos of Costner performing live.  Did I mention the name of his band yet?  Yes, that's right.  The Kevin Costner Band!

Check out this video of Costner performing with Lisa Loeb.

Absolutepunk.net has provided a link to a video brawl between Good Charlotte's Joel Madden and Crazy Town's Shifty Shellshock.  The video appears to be a few years old (does anyone evenn remember Crazy Town!?) and even features commentary from KROQ Radio DJ Stryker.

Based on what you've seen, who do you think won the fight?

For those of you who are bored with doing your daily activities at a desk, Neatorama reports that RotoRooter has created a one of a kind toilet, to be given away through a contest off their site on April 25th 2007 for National Plummer's Day.  The toilet comes equiped with a flat screen TV, cooling fan,  Xbox 360, Megaphone, Petal Exerciser and much much more.

Win one, bring it into the office and chances are your boss will tell you that you can work from home!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the biggest craze of the 80's and 90's.  With a hit TV cartoon, large number of action figures, (I personally owned around 300!) 3 feature movies, video games, ice cream and everything else in between, it seemed as if every kid was fan of the turtles.

With a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie due out this year, I wonder if they can once again be a worldwide success.

Here are some commercials from back in the day promoting TMNT.






Movie Trailer for TMNT II - 1991

TMNT Toy Commercial - 1992

Donnie Davies has gained quite a large amount of attention on the Internet this past week with his outlanding homophobic videos.  Perhaps that's exactly what he wants.  Is Davies in fact an actor, trying to make a name for himself or is he actually one of the most confused, in-denial geeks in the history of the Internet?

What do you think?

Not a fan of Jared Leto's band, 30 Seconds To Mars?  Make sure he doesn't find out!

Absolutepunk.net reports that Leto tried to choke Actor Elijah Wood at the MTVU Woodie Awards, back in October, because Wood said that he was not a fan of Leto's band.

AndPOP has Wood's side of the story in which he was grabbed by Leto, minutes after telling him he didn't dig 30 Seconds music, because Leto may have thought he was "laughing" at him.

Wood adds that the whole situation was "kind of ridiculous."

This story has hit way too close to home.  For the past 5 years, I have built a career with my Internet Radio Show, DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show, which has connected listeners directly with their favorite bands on a weekly basis. 

Now, according to Punknews, the Democratic Congress wants to put an end to Internet Radio by enforcing new laws, such as charging Internet Radio Stations licensing and royalty fees that would be beyond the amount traditional radio stations are charged.  Charges that many college and Internet stations simply couldn't afford. 

You can read the full article at Medialoper.

Use the links in the article to contact your local lawmaker and tell him how you feel about the situation.  Save Internet Radio!!

TV Commercials aren't what they used to be.

Forget about Ronald McDonald, here are some great videos from the McDonald's - Mac Tonight campaign from 1987.

Do you remember these from back in the day??




Mac Tonight Sings Around The Earth

Mac Tonight Sings On Top A Burger

With online services and illegal downloading offering music, the record store, in it's purest form, is a dying breed.  To adapt with the times, New York City record store Other Music has created their own digital download service that will launch in February. 

The Modern Age reports that the service will be DRM-free, meaning that there are no restrictions on what you do with the mp3 you purchase.  Wired has an interview with co-owner Josh Madell.  Highlights include the quality of their mp3s, which will be 320Kbps and the hope to provide interviews, live streams and other features in the future.

Have you ever listened to a song backwards in hopes of finding a hidden message? Well, one kid has and Stereogum has stumbled upon the video of it.

The video features Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" played backwards and typed up lyrics of what the listener thinks Kurt Cobain is saying.

What do you think? Do they sound accurate?  What lyrics do you hear?

Do you want to be able to tell the time...on all of your fingers?  Well, just in case, Cool Hunting reports that LeCoultre and Rolex are offering vintage ring watches from the 1950's.  Lecoultre offers both platinum and diamond watches to fit your fingers' moods.  If you want to be the coolest kid in school, Rolex is offering an 18k Rolex Precision complete with it's own engine turned conical cover.

The downfall is that with a watch for all ten fingers, you have no excuse to be late!

Tune in tonight, Wednesday, January 24th 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a
live phone interview with The Fall Of Troy and an in studio interview
with Big City Rock on DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show. You can tune in,
worldwide at www.idobiradio.com. Send questions to the screen name:
Staridobi to be answered on air. Add myspace.com/djrossstar and djrossstar.buzznet.com for more
info.

Were you one of the 13,000 people who bought Paris Hilton's CD last year?  Having sold so few albums, The Brooklyn Vegan reports that Warner Music spent over $170,000 to accomodate her needs on her publicity tour. 

According to The Daily Express, Hilton isn't the only Diva who needs to lessen their high-priced demands in order for the music business to continue and make some of the money back that it continues to lose.

This is another example of why the music industry has continued to suffer.  Record Execs continue to blame illegal downloading for the downfall of the record biz, when in reality it's divas like Hilton who are hurting their bank accounts and our ears!

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz is a man who seems to have it all.  However,  PR - Inside reveals that Wentz admits to being envious of singer Robbie Williams' "double-life."  Williams can walk the streets in the US without being noticed but has the ability to make headlines when he is back in Europe.

At this point, if Wentz wants to go unnoticed, he needs to take a vacation to Guam...in a disguise.

Unsure of what to get Sir Elton John for his upcoming 60th birthday?  Singer Robbie Williams isn't.  Accoring to The Music Slut, Williams is prepared to strip down to his birthday suit at John's birthday party, this coming March at Madison Square Garden.

Apparently, John and Williams try to outdue each other when it comes to gifts.  I am terrified to see
what John has in store for Williams' birthday next month.

Would you feel more comfortable in the hospital with the help of a robot, instead of a human?

Neatorama has informed us that robot nurses may soon be a reality.  The Scotsman states that within three years,  hospitals will be able to use robots for such things as distributing medicines, taking messages and even using laser thermometers to monitor patients' temperatures.

I just hope they don't confuse the rectal with the oral thermometers.

Have you ever wondered what happened when rock God Kurt Cobain met up with fellow rockers Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in heaven?  Well, one company has.

Stereogum is reporting that come March, an off-Broadway, rock'n'roll play entitled 27 Heaven will open in New York City describing Cobain's first deceased encounter with the 3 rock legends.


I wonder if Elvis will make a cameo.

Do you think you have great taste in music?  Do you want everyone around you to hear your favorite songs?  Neatorama reports on the Boombox Jacket, complete with an mp3 player, speakers and over 15 other "important?" features.  You can order yours now at  Freeride-Snowboards for the low price of around $1000.


Now you can get beat up for your jacket AND your taste in music.

Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington, wants to give the ultimate apology for calling fellow castmate T.R. Knight a gay slur comparable to the N word.  Stereogum reports that musician John Mayer may have found the solution...having Washington play a gay character.  On his most recent blog entry, Mayer writes a few scenes for Grey's which displays the coming out of Washington's character, Dr. Burke.

One scene in particular finds Dr. Burke at a Scissor Sisters concert.  Not only does Dr. Burke get a shoutout from the band on stage but they also thank him for the tea cookies!

Perhaps Mayer will give up music to become a screenwriter??

A Socialite's Life  informs us that Doogie Howser M.D. star Neil Patrick Harris has his own thoughts on the Washington/Knight drama.

Tired of your boring, everyday wristwatch? The Raw Feed reports that Designer Pierre Haulot has created a new concept to an old technology.  A watch that acts as a countdown.  In other words, it runs backwards, which means they can charge whatever they want for it.   Finally, you will be able to accurately tell when you meter is out or when the dog needs to go outside to pee.

Hey everyone,

Tune in tonight, Thursday, January 18th 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a
live phone interview with Lovedrug and an in studio interview with
Street Drum Corps. You can tune in at www.idobiradio.com (or open
iTunes, chose radio, then alt/rock, then Idobi Radio) Send questions
to the screen name: Staridobi to be answered on air.

Also, tune in tonight to hear us announce the winner of the first ever
"DJ Rossstar's Unsigned Band Contest."

--dj rossstar

Last night I attended an advanced screening of The Hills Have Eyes 2.  I am a big fan of the original from the 70's as well as the remake.  Many people do not know this but Wes Craven released The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 in the 80's but the story was very weak and the movie was not very good.  I think he spent all his time then on A Nightmare On Elm Street.  Anyway, after the success of the remake, Wes offered to try and write an entirely new script to The Hills Have Eyes 2, which he wrote along with his son.

This time around he got it right.  THHE2 was gorier and more suspenseful than the remake (I know it sounds impossible but it was!) and the script and characters were well thought out and completely original (focused on a group og army-trainees and NOT helpless teens)

I don't want to give away any more information.  Just promise me you will go see the movie when it comes out in March!!

Wes Craven was in attendance at the screening and I got the chance to tell him personally how much I enjoyed the film.

I wonder if any other horror movies that come out in 2007 can top this one.  I am very excited to see Grindhouse and 300 and I am sure I will end up seeing The Hitcher. (Remake)

What movies are you excited to see this year?

--dj rossstar

Isaiah Washington, of the ABC hospital-drama hit, Grey's Anatomy, has been under fire for allegedly calling fellow Grey's star T.R. Knight a "faggot," thus leading Knight to announce that he is gay.  The feud re-arupted at Monday's Golden Globes.

I Don't Like You In That Way gives us fellow cast-member Katherine Heigl's side of the story.

Evil Beet is on team T.R.

Socialite's Life provides a video of T.R. Knight explaining his side of the story on Ellen.

D listed reports on T.R.'s saddness.

Good As You has Isaiah stating "I wanted to be gay."

Tune in tonight, Wednesday, January 17th 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a live phone interview with Gabe of Cobra Starship and an in studio interview with A Thorn For Every Heart. You can tune in at www.idobiradio.com (or open iTunes, chose radio, then alt/rock, then Idobi Radio) Send questions to the screen name: Staridobi to be answered on air.  Add myspace.com/djrossstar for more info.

--dj rossstar     

Everyone has their favorites.  Favorite band.  Favorite song.  Favorite movie.  So does Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. Stereogum tells us that Rivers, who received an education from Harvard University, has posted his best of 2006 list for The Harvard Crimson (The Harvard School Paper!)

Have you suffered one too many humiliations from choking and bungling your lines when the action heats up during an until-then sizzling Webcam date?

Thanks to the Raw Feed for informing tongue-tied home-computer exhibitionists that Bodelin Technologies has created a Webcam telepromter.  Never botch your suave delivery again.

Simply jot down the dazzling spiel you intend to spew, and an easy-to-read cheat sheet magically appears in front of your face.

The poetry and passion of your online romance -- or of your tortured YouTube confessional -- will flow with the unbroken eye contact of a professional newscaster.

Of course, you might still want to break eye contact after making some of the more outrageous claims that you’ve jotted in your Bodelin prompter.

I have been a big fan of Reel Big Fish since 1996. They were one of the first ska-esque bands I got into
(See also: Suicide Machines, Less Than Jake) and have continued to put out great albums in which EVERY song is a must listen. I have seen them live numerous times throughout the years at numerous venues but it wasn't until 2006 that I started to become friends with Aaron Barrett (vocals/guitar)

The first time Aaron and Scott appeared on my radio show, it was a ton of fun. Usually, my show lasts about an hour and bands will play 1-2 songs acoustic. However, on this show they decided to play close to 3 hours worth of material. In between songs they gave hilarious answers to fan questions and provided what turned out to be on of my best interviews to date.

My birthday came around on a Wednesday in 2006 and thus I decided to invite a band that I liked to do my radio show that night. Reel Big Fish accepted and came o my birthday show. Aaron stayed after the show to hang out with everyone and have cake.

Shortly after that, him and his wife Molly started to come over and hang with everyone else during my radio shows. We have also had some incredible bowling championship matches.

I have probably seen Reel Big Fish live about 6 times in the past year (and beginning of 2007) and they still put on an entertaining show. This past weekend, I attended their show at the Key Club Morongo (thanks Aaron for the killer sky box!) It is incredble to see that they can still sell out venues AND have a large number of people coming to see them for the first time, 11 years after their big hit "Sell-Out." They are very good at changing up their set each show and including songs from all 4 albums (and the live album) as well as the crowd-pleasers. The best part about their live show is that whether you know all of their songs, a few or none at all, you are still able to enjoy the show because of how fun Reel Big Fish is to watch on stage.

Don't miss Reel Big Fish on tour!

--dj rossstar

A Heartwell Ending will be appearing live in the studio this Thursday, January 11th 2007 7-8pm PST on DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show. Planes Mistaken For Stars will be calling in for a live phone interview.  Tune in live, worldwide, at www.idobiradio.com Send questions for the bands to the screen name: Staridobi For more info add myspace.com/djrossstar and djrossstar.buzznet.com

On this show we will announce the Top 10 Finalists in the DJ Rossstar "Unsigned Band" Contest.

--dj rossstar

Hey everyone,

Tune in tonight, Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear live in studio interviews with Love Equals Death and Dead To Me. You can listen from anywhere in the world by logging on to www.idobiradio.com and send us questions live by IMing the screen name: Staridobi For more info add www.myspace.com/djrossstar or djrossstar.buzznet.com

--dj rossstar


*Honorable Mention: In the newest issue of Big Wheel Magazine (Circle Jerks on cover) there is a feature on the band No One Goes Home. In the article they mention that they frequently attend the radio show of DJ Rossstar. Pretty excitiing!

Tune in tonight, Thursday, January 4th, 2007 from 7-8pm PST to hear a live in studio interview with I Am Ghost and a live phone interview with Escape The Fate. This is the Epitaph Records Show and we will be playing music from all Epitaph bands. You can listen from anywhere in the world by logging on to www.idobiradio.com and send us questions live by IMing the screen name: Staridobi  For more info add www.myspace.com/djrossstar or djrossstar.buzznet.com 

--dj rossstar