Tears for Fears tidbits Part 2: Sad separations and Happy endings

Tears for Fears tidbits Part 2: Sad separations and happy endings

Written by Jamie Ortega

                Here is part 2 of our MCS Exclusive on English rock band Tears For Fears:

·         After the success of the record-breaking album The Seeds Of Love, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith decided to end their partnership in 1991.The reason? Irreconcilable differences.  Orzabal’s intricate and detailed approach to work clashed with Smith’s desire to slow down the pace of their work. Possibly adding to Smith’s desire to slow things down was the ending of Smith’s marriage. The band kept their music alive by releasing a compilation enttled Tears Rolls Down (Greatest Hits 92-92) which featured every single to land in the top 20 either in the UK or internationally.

·       

     Orzabal and Smith went on to establish separate music careers. Smith released his first solo album in 1993 entitled Soul On Board. The album didn’t do so well. Smith himself has said on many occasions that he recorded it only to fulfill his responsibilities to his record company. Orzabal, on the other hand, released an album entitled Elemental which bore one hit, Break It Down Again. The song swiftly entered the top 20 UK, Canada, France and Italy charts.

·         There’s a really sweet story behind how the duo reunited: in 2000, routine obligations involving paperwork led to the duo running into each other after Orzabal signed a document on Smith’s behalf. According to Smith, Orzabal’s manager  contacted Smith’s manager about the possibility of reuniting. Smith and Orzabal eventually had dinner and after just nine minutes of awkwardness, laid the groundwork for a new album, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending ( what a cute name!)

·         14 songs were written and recorded in six months for Everybody Loves A Happy Ending which was released in September 2004. Two US tours to promote the album followed. After their reuniting it’s quite evident how the band began to focus on immortalizing their work – their live performance at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris recorded in June 2006 sold 70,000 physical copies plus downloads! It also included a new studio song Floating Down The River plus a remastered Curt Smith/Mayfield track entitled What Are We Fighting For.

·         Tears For Fears joined another 80’s pop group Spandau ballet on 7-date tour of Australia and New Zeland before headlining their own tour in South East Asia, Philippines. The band’s 2010 show was a big success and we are sure their upcoming concert in Manila will be an even bigger hit so grab your tickets before they are sold out!

Here is info on how to get your tickets for Tears For Fears Live In Manila featuring the voice of Fra Lippo Lippi, Per Sorensen on August 10 and 11 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and August 12 at the Waterfront hotel, Cebu  

Ticket Prices:

PATRON VIP(PT) – P7,920

PATRON REGULAR (PT) – P5,810

LOWER BOX(LB) – P4,755

UPPER A (UA) – P2,640

UPPER B (UB) – P1,585

GENERAL ADMISSION (GA) – P740

Tickets available at Ticketnet or call 911-555

Cebu Concert

P6500

P5500

P3500

P2500

P2000

P1000

Tickets available at 232-6888/09176228705

Read More

Tears For Fears Fun Trivia(PART 1)

MCS Exclusive: Tears For Fears Fun Trivia(PART 1)

Written by Jamie Ortega

Calling all ‘80s babies! We know how excited you all are for the spandex-filled, neon color flooded, Bermuda bag wearing madness that is sure to descend upon Araneta Coliseum on August 15, 2012, but before you unearth your bauls for your grooviest ‘80s outfit to wear to Tears For Fears Live In Manila here are some fun tidbits about the iconic English rock band to whet our dear MCS fans’ appetite.

·         Tears for Fears was formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. They met as teenagers in Somerset, southwest England. They started out as session musicians for the band Neon which was where they met future Tears For Fears drummer Many Elias. Orzabal and Smith eventually had their own band  called Graduate. Graduate released an album, Acting My Age which was popular in Spain and Switzerland but wasn’t able to do as well in the UK.

·         Do you think History Of Headaches is a good name for a band? That’s what Orzabal and Smith first called Tears For Fears. We wonder if they would have attained the same amount of success with that name

·         Tears For Fears was first signed to Phonogram Records, UK, in 1981 by Dave Bates. Their first single, Suffer The Childrenwas released in November 1981, followed by their second single, included in the first edition of Pale Shelter, released in March 1982. Unfortunately, neither of them was successful.

·         Looks like three’s a charm for Curtis and Orzabal- their third single Mad World reached no 3 in the UK in November 1982. Their first album, The Hurting, released in March 1983, was full of tunes inspired by Orzabal’s bitter childhood. Nearly all of their songs had references to emotional distress and primal scream therapy. The band’s success is proof that there is more than a little grain of truth to the adage, “misery loves company.” The Hurting finally tapped their hometown audience, reaching No 1 as well as platinum status in the UK. It also reached top 20 in other countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland and Italy

·         The band decided to have a slight change in musical direction for their second compilation, Songs From The Big Chair. Inspired by the book and television miniseries Sybil, a story of a woman with multiple personalities, the duo decided to give their alb um that name because they felt that each of the songs had their own distinct personality.

·         Songs From The Big Chair possessed more of a sophisticated sound and less of the band’s signature synth-pop feel.  Going off in that direction was apparently a good decision because the album became certified triple platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the US. It also had the most number of hit singles, fromShout, to Everybody Wants To Rule The World, to Head Over Heels

·         Head Over Heels peaked at 12 on the UK charts, 3 in the US, and 8 in Canada. Shout, on the other hand, peaked at 4 in the UK charts, 1 in the US, Australia, Canada, and Germany charts.  Everybody Wants To Rule The World did very well, too, hitting the second spot on both the UK and Irish charts as well as bagging the top spot in the US and Canadian charts. Yes, the boys from Somerset have definitely arrived!

·         Apart from their commercial success, the band also achieved critical success, bagging the Best British Single award, Best British Group, and Best British Album at the 1986 Brit Awards in London. They released their third album The Seeds Of Love In 1989. The album still kept their epic, signature sound in check for their third offering, although critics did notice a smattering of jazz, blues and The Beatles influences in all the songs. However, this was most evident in their mega-hit single, Sowing The Seeds Of Love. The second single from the album, Woman In Chains, became a top 40 hit in the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the US. It also entered the UK album charts at 1, and made the top 10 in the US among other countries. Striking while the iron was hot, the band went on a Seeds Of Love world tour. They also released a book which chronicled their adventures and misadventures as a band. The book included rare photographs and exclusive insight from each of the members.

That’s all for now- we will be releasing part 2 very, very soon! 

Catch Tears For Fears LIVE in Manila with special guest: Per Sorensen of Fra Lippo Lippi LIVE on August 10 & 11 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and on August 12, 2012 at the Waterfront Hotel Cebu. Tickets for Manila show are available at all Ticketnet outlets. Call 911-5555 or visit www.ticketnet.com.ph. Per Sorensen will be performing only in Manila. Event made possible by Ovation Productions. Don't miss it! 

Read More

MCS Article: Catch Up on Cobra Starship

Title: CATCH UP ON COBRA STARSHIP
BY JHO MARIANO 
EDITED BY JAMIE ORTEGA 

Smash Project presents four amazing bands all in one night– Dashboard Confessional, The Cab, The Used and Cobra Starship! Don’t miss this smashing event this coming 8th of March at the Smart Araneta Coliseum; gates open at 6pm. Buy your tickets now at TicketNet (911-5555). Ticket prices are as follows: Patron (PT 101 & 103 - Standing) - P4240; Patron Seated (Reserved Seating) - P4240; Lower Box (Reserved Seating) - P3710; Upper Box A (Reserved Seating) - P2650; Upper Box B (Free Seating) - P1060; General Admission (Free Seating) - P530.

Cobra Starship is an American pop punk/synthpop band which was founded in Arizona by Gabe Saporta back in 2005. At that time, Gab wanted to create a band with a melodic style of music that is heavily influenced by synthpop and hip hop. After his trip to Arizona, he started writing his soon-to-be band’s debut album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets. Saporta eventually signed to Fall Out Boy’s bassist Pete Wentz’s label, Decaydance Records. Other members of Cobra Starship are guitarist Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, drummer Nate Novarro, and keytarist, Victoria Asher, all of whom provided backing vocals.


Here are some interesting facts about the band: 

• Another name Gabe thought of calling the band was Hot Child in the City. WeI think Cobra Starship sounds way cooler!
• Gabe Saporta: (on the inspiration for the band's name) I love, like, old vintage jackets and had this one that said Cobra on it from the Sylvester Stallone movie. And I had another one, it was like a total Michael Jackson jacket with the zippers and stuff from the '80s, and on the back it said Starship Disco, so I just put both of them together.
• The group released their debut album back in 2006. "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", is the debut single of the band from the soundtrack album Snakes on a Plane: The Album.

• Cobra Starship's debut CD, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, was released October 10, 2006. It reached #125 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Gabe Saporta wrote most of the songs in the album.

• The song and video for Snakes On A Plane (Bring It) features William Beckett of The Academy Is . . ., Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, MajaIvarsson of The Sounds, and Gabe Saporta of Midtown. The video is a slight take-off of the movie, where the four singers are sneaking snakes onto a plane. To get away with this, Maja distracts one of the airport employees.

• Talk about a rock collaboration at its’ finest! The band's Decaydance Record label owner Pete Wentz has quick cameos in the videos for Snakes On A Plane (Bring It) and The City Is At War.

• While the video for Snakes On A Plane (Bring It) is like the movie Snakes on a Plane, the real meaning of the song is quite different, it is about the "snakes," finks, and sneaky people in the music industry.

• The band likes to put a comedic flair in their music. They created parodies of Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl called Hollaback Boy and of Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl called I Kissed A Boy.

• ¡Viva La Cobra!, their second album was released in late 2007.

• They played MTV Spring Break, Bamboozle East, West, in London, Tokyo and Canada.

• Their third albumwas released in August 11, 2009, Hot Mess. The lead single for this album, "Good Girls Go Bad", charted at number #2 in New Zealand.

• In late August, 2011, the band released their fourth studio album, Night Shades. The lead single, "You Make Me Feel..." featuring rapper Sabi, debuted at number #1 in New Zealand.

• Cobra Starship did two different versions of the video for Guilty Pleasure. The first is in the form of a home movie, while the second version is mocking an actual music video.

• Cobra Starship's song The City Is At War was used for promos for the show Top Chef: New York.

• Cobra Starship worked with VIP Party Boys in the song, Damn You Look Good And I'm Drunk (Scandalous), which is on their album ¡Viva La Cobra!.

• Did you know that their lead singer Gabe Saporta is a vegetarian? He is a strong member of Peta.

• Gabe Saporta: (for Action for Animals) How weird is it that we call certain animals pets and treat them like members of the family, and yet other animals we label food and suck the meat off their bones... we have so many food choices and options - so why make an animal suffer, and why take the life of another living thing, if I don't really need it in order to survive.

• Cobra Starship has a fake MTV reality show on YouTube. The band lives in a house and deals with their day to day drama.

• Cobra Starship's song, Pleasure Ryland, is named after Ryland Blackinton, the guitarist of the band.

• Ryland Blackinton has an alter-ego named Guy Ripley, a British journalist. He interviews the band but is most interested in Vicky-T. Ripley's catchphrase isDelicious.

• ¡Viva La Cobra! was the first album the whole band collaborated on and was released on October 23, 2007. It was written while they were on the 2007 Honda Civic Tour and produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump. The album also reached #80 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

• At a concert in Rhode Island on November 27, 2007, Saporta's favorite pair of jeans ripped at the crotch. In a later video on Cobra's website, Gabe requested that fans bring sewing kits to concerts so the jeans could be repaired, which they did. Hahaha Talk about supportive fans!

• Cobra Starship covered Lionel Richie's song Three Times a Lady for the reality show The Girls Next Door.

• Patrick Stump, producer of Cobra Starship's second album, made an appearance in the video Send My Love To TheDancefloor, I'll See You In Hell (Hey Mr. DJ).

• The band’s videos are Snakes On A Plane (Bring It), The Church Of Hot Addiction, Send My Love To The Dancefloor, I'll See You In Hell (Hey Mr. DJ), Guilty Pleasure: Home Movie, The City Is At War, Guilty Pleasure, Kiss My Sass: Home Movie, featuring Travis McCoy, Guilty Pleasure, and Good Girls Go Bad, featuring Leighton Meester.

• Alex Suarez and Ryland Blackinton, already have their own band called Ivy League.

• In 2006, a four-song CD demo was leaked onto the Internet with the tracks Bring It(the version that is not for "Snakes On A Plane"), Keep It Simple, Send My Love To The Dance Floor, and The Kids Are All F***ed Up.

• The song The Church Of Hot Addiction was featured on a commercial for TGI Fridays in 2007.

• In late 2006, Cobra Starship replaced Bloc Party for the second half of the Nothing Rhymes With Circus Tour, which featured headliner Panic! At The Disco.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_Starship

http://www.tv.com/people/cobra-starship/trivia/

Read More