Maria Brink can’t help the way she looks (tall, blond, blue-eyed and voluptuous), just as she can’t help who shows up (uncouth, basement-dwelling dudes with spare tires and beer muscles) to her melodic metal band In This Moment’s gigs. But she can control who stays and who goes at her shows.

“I won’t let people disrespect me,” she told Metal File last week, just days before In This Moment’s sophomore LP, The Dream, hit stores. “I’ve been onstage and I’ve had people harass me, and if it gets to be too much, I just have security usher them out. [Last fall's] Megadeth tour was probably the most challenging for me, as far as learning how to deal with an aggressive crowd. Most of the crowds we played to were 95 percent male, and the drunker they got, the louder they got.”

And, apparently, the cruder they got. Brink — who by most men’s standards is a bona fide knockout — said she’s learned to deal with the rude hand gestures she’s often met with when she takes the stage. She’s also learned to block out the boorish comments guys toss her way. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, hasn’t — and he’s been known to take care of business from time to time.

“I’ve been onstage and guys have yelled, ‘Show me your t–s, bi—,’ and I’ve been able to ignore them, but then I see my boyfriend plowing through the crowd, into the pit, attacking somebody, and I’m trying to sing, and he’s on top of someone, and I’m singing and I’m terrified,” she explained of her beau, DevilDriver bassist Jon Miller. “He definitely doesn’t take too kindly to people sexually harassing me when I’m onstage. On the Megadeth tour, some guy in the crowd said something, and I stopped the show to have him kicked out. I remember the next day, [Megadeth frontman] Dave Mustaine wanted to have a meeting with me, because he’d heard about what had happened, and he told me I was 100 percent right. He told me to tell the crowd that Dave Mustaine would kick their ass if they stepped out of line, and that was pretty awesome.”

Unfortunately, Miller and Mustaine won’t be able to shield Brink and In This Moment — who’ll be on tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Bury Your Dead and Another Black Day through December 4 in San Diego — from some of the critical backlash they’re liable to face from fans. The Dream is a decidedly different album than the band’s 2007 debut, as it forsakes the metalcore feel of Beautiful Tragedy in favor of a more straight-up rock sound. But Brink says she wouldn’t call it a drastic departure.

“It actually, to me, feels a lot more comfortable than the first album,” she said. “I think our fans are really going to like it. We didn’t really want to worry about what everybody else was going to say. We tried to just do what we wanted to do. Of course we care about our fans, but we thought if we stayed true to what we really wanted to do, that hopefully everyone else would get it. Not everyone is going to like it, and that’s OK. We are who we are, and we never claimed to be a brutal metal band or that we’re really heavy and hard. We just do what we do — that’s it.”

On The Dream, Brink elected to give her pipes a break, so instead of screaming her way across the album’s 11 tracks, she wanted to let her natural singing voice shine through. Brink said the rest of the band was cool with her ditching the screams, and the music just naturally followed suit.

“As a vocalist, screaming always came really easy for me — it wasn’t much of a challenge, it just came out of me,” Brink explained. “The singing vocals were always more challenging. People always complimented me on my scream, but I didn’t get a lot of feedback on my singing, so I just wanted to challenge myself a lot more on this record. I’m not anticipating a backlash. If people like us, then they like us. If they don’t because we don’t fall into their standard of being a brutally heavy band, then that’s OK. We don’t feel like we have anything to prove to anybody.”

And just as she’s learned to ignore chauvinistic fans, she’s also learned to ignore criticism. “I try not to read what the critics write or Blabbermouth,” she said. “A lot of people love Blabbermouth, but some of the people who write on it are just brutal.”

Brink said she’s thrilled with the band’s maturation, which is more than evident on The Dream, but ultimately, the album isn’t everything she’d hoped it would be — thanks to Chino Moreno.

“I wanted Chino to sing on this album with me more than anything,” she said of the Deftones frontman. “That was, like, my dream, and I had somebody talk to his management, and he sounded like he was maybe into it but wanted to hear the song. But we just didn’t have enough time to push it or dwell on it, unfortunately. He’s my favorite singer, so I’m really disappointed that didn’t get to happen. Let’s see — maybe we’ll get it to happen on the next album.”

The rest of the week’s metal news:

Contrary to online reports, Dimmu Borgir has not inked a three-year deal with Roadrunner Records. Guitarist Silenoz told Metal File this week that he’s heard rumors suggesting his band’s next album would not be issued by Nuclear Blast but shot them down. “I don’t know where this rumor is coming from,” he said. “People have been asking me about that. They’ve also been asking me if Max Cavalera would be producing the new album, and if we’re going to Egypt to record it. Where the hell do people take this from? I’ve never said anything like that. Sometimes confusion is good, but not when it haunts you like that.” Check back next week for the rest of our interview with Silenoz, who will be heading out with Dimmu on October 9 in Miami Beach, Florida, for the Blackest of the Black Tour (with Danzig, Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch). …

How’s this for a collaboration to end all collaborations? System of a Down’s Serj Tankian and ex-Faith No More frontman Mike Patton have written a song together, called “Bird’s Eye,” which will appear on the soundtrack for the film “Body of Lies.” Awe. Some. … If you’ve ever wanted to be in a Mudvayne video, you’ll soon get your chance — so long as you’re willing to travel to New Jersey. On Saturday, the band will be in East Hanover to shoot a clip for “A New Game,” the first single from their forthcoming album, The New Game. The shoot starts at 11 a.m., and those interested in taking part in the video should send an e-mail to Casting@BlueStreakEnt.com for more information. …

With the band’s forthcoming album almost in the can, frontman Jon Gula has decided to leave Turmoil. A founding member of the group, Gula’s departure followed some serious soul-searching. He told Lambgoat that he “just [couldn't] devote 100 percent of myself to Turmoil anymore. I’ve got too many things to attend to right now, and I didn’t think it would be fair to our fans, or to the rest of the band, to delay the inevitable.” He also said he wasn’t sure what the future holds for the band but that he’d “understand if they carry on with someone else. I’m not sure if I would call it ‘Turmoil’ going forward, but I support whatever decision they make. Obviously, they’ve got to do what’s right for them.” …

The Black Dahlia Murder, Misery Index and Soilent Green will be hitting the road together this December for a mostly Canadian run of shows. Aside from a gig in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on December 3, the remainder of the tour will take place north of the border, wrapping December 18 in Toronto. … Brutal Truth will be entering the studio next week to start tracking their next LP. They’ve written 24 songs for the effort, including “Grind Fidelity,” “Evolution Through Revolution” and “Detached.” … Born of Osiris, Shai Hulud, After the Burial and Burning the Masses will kick off the Progressive Damnation Tour next month. The trek launched in Seattle on November 16 and runs through December 22 in Des Moines, Iowa.

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The singer/pianist was run over ahead of her solo gig at the Auntie Annie’s venue. She was taken to Belfast City hospital where she was given crutches to use and her leg was put in a cast.

Palmer played the gig wearing the cast, and performed at the City Hall earlier in the day, where she had organised to play an impromptu show for fans under 18 years of age via MySpace.

“I had an accident today,” Palmer said onstage in Auntie Annie’s. “I did what most stupid Americans do and walked on the wrong side of the road and ended up getting run over.

“I have to say I’m very grateful for the free health care that you have in Northern Ireland. This is the first show I’ve played where I’m completely on drugs.”

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The “red beans and rice” looked like raisins and rice. The “crawfish monica” featured elbow macaroni. The muffelattas came with olive sauce on the side.

But onstage, Irma Thomas, Houma guitarist Tab Benoit, Grammy-winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard, the Soul Rebels Brass Band and dozens more demonstrated what a Louisiana house party should sound like.

“If you want to throw a good party, you draw on Louisiana musicians,” Benoit announced from the stage.

And so it was.

The Soul Rebels and Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, in full Indian regalia, kicked off the night as delegates streamed into a massive Colorado Convention Center ballroom.

Benoit then took center stage with his Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, a group he founded before Hurricane Katrina to promote coastal restoration. He and Cyril Neville traded lines on Neville’s “I Got the Blues for New Orleans,” then shifted gears for a Cajun shuffle. Guitarist Anders Osborne, Cajun fiddler Waylon Thibodeaux and pianist Henry Butler — a Denver resident since Hurricane Katrina — soloed behind them.

Blues belter Marva Wright wailed “A Change is Gonna Come.” Irma Thomas and Austin pianist Marcia Ball teamed up for a no-holds-barred “One More Time Like That.”

Just before Democratic part chairman Howard Dean spoke, Blanchard and Newman rendered Newman’s “Louisiana 1927,” now a post-Katrina anthem. Blanchard relished the opportunity to participate in the convention.

“This is history in the making, no matter what happens from here on out,” he said. “To be part of this with all these New Orleans musicians…Even though we didn’t get a presidential debate (in New Orleans), I’ll take this. This is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Voice of the Wetlands drummer Johnny Vidacovich concurred.

“It’s probably a once in a lifetime experience,” Vidacovich said. “It’s a special night, especially with this collection of musicians.”

Initially, the New Orleans musical delegation were booked for a Sunday night fundraiser for Friends of New Orleans, a Washington D.C. nonprofit that advocates on behalf of the Gulf Coast’s recovery. When organizers of the Democratic convention learned the Louisianians were coming to town, they recruited them for the delegate party.

Throughout the night, Benoit addressed the issue of coastal restoration. “If I want to take people camping where I camped as a kid, I’d have to take a houseboat,” he said. “It’s open water.”

The Women of the Storm delivered the same message by tossing small foam footballs symbolizing the football field of wetlands lost every hour.

The Women of the Storm’s Sally Suthon missed the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars at the 2008 Jazzfest when their show was rained out. She relished the chance to hear them in Denver — and took pride in how they represented their home state for thousands of delegates from around the country.

“These are internationally renowned musicians that we can see on any Friday night,” Suthon said. “If (the delegates) don’t get Louisiana after this show, they can sell us back to the French.”

The delegate party was the start of a busy night, and week, for many of the musicians. After a final mass “When the Saints Go Marching In” at the convention center, they hustled several blocks to the Fillmore Auditorium for the Friends of New Orleans party.

This week, they’ll play two additional fundraisers for the Tipitina’s Foundation and Friends of New Orleans in Aspen, Colo., and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Finally, Benoit leads the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars at a Friends of New Orleans event during the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

“There’s a fork in the road, and we’re going to take both of them,” Benoit said. “This is what we’ve worked for. Let’s use the music as a voice for the area.”

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Other news:

• Cineplex Entertainment launching fall concert series in movie theatres
• Cate Blanchett backing new theater project
• Pop: End of the Road festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset

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Just as the band did with fan favourite ‘Nude’ earlier on in the year, the group will make available the separate sections of the song - or ’stems’ as they are known here.

The stems, which will be sold from September 23rd, feature the lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars, drums, bass, as well as the piano and strings.

As we reported this week, Radiohead are working on the follow-up to In Rainbows.

Other news:

• VH1 debuting two original hip-hop shows
• Dizzee Rascal - Dizzee To Work With Sugarhill Gang
• Vivienne Westwood releases ‘catwalk’ album

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Kelly, who was acquitted of all charges by a Chicago jury in June, said in his first television appearance since the trial that he wanted to move on.

“If you were charged with something and found innocent, then you can’t be found guilty for being found innocent,” Kelly told the Black Entertainment Television (BET).

Kelly was originally charged in 2002 on counts of making and owning child pornography, although a number of charges were later dropped.

His trial centred on a sex tape which prosecutors claimed showed him having sex with an underage girl.

Asked during the BET interview if he had a weakness for teenage girls, Kelly replied: “When you say teenage, how old do you mean?

“I have some 19-year-old friends, but I don’t like anyone illegal if that’s what we are talking about, underage.”

Since his acquittal, Kelly is understood to have begun working on a new album.

Other news:

• ‘Mamma Mia’ still on top overseas
• Morrissey champions The Courteeners
• Timbaland Suing Australian Tour Company
• Olympians — The Torch is Out and Nobody’s Home
• MySpace Music to launch with major ad deals

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“With all the problems surrounding her personal issues and addictions we are really concerned it will never get finished,” a source tells the Sun newspaper, reffering to Amy’s third album.

The insider also claimed that Winehouse has a slow work rate, which may delay the release: “If six months produces two half-baked tracks how long will an album take?”

“Unless she sorts herself out and gets some focus it might never happen.”

Other news:

• Cineplex Entertainment launching fall concert series in movie theatres
• New “season” of web series is most mature yet
• Yo Majesty, Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid

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Proof of how its musical star had faded became clear during a conversation with Interscope Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine, who was the producer behind Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen and with whom DeWolfe had previously struck a deal to distribute CDs on a MySpace Records label.

Iovine didn’t mince words. When it came to music, “you guys are basically in our rear-view mirror; we’re going in different directions,” DeWolfe recalled Iovine saying. A representative for the producer confirmed the account.

At Iovine’s urging, DeWolfe boarded a plane the following morning to meet with Universal Music Group Chief Executive Doug Morris. The purpose: to sketch out a potential collaboration that would set the stage for today’s relaunch of the MySpace Music service.

Although MySpace was a pioneer in giving unsigned musicians a voice, the social network struggled to leverage that momentum into a revenue-generating business. That left the door open for Apple Inc. to emerge as the dominant force in digital music, eclipsing even familiar record stores.

Details of the new MySpace Music are now as familiar as the lyrics to any hit pop tune. MySpace’s 120 million worldwide users will be able to create and share playlists, as well as listen to songs or albums in its digital catalog for free. If users want to put the tracks on a portable music player, they need to buy them through Amazon.com.

However, this revamped MySpace Music falls short of the comprehensive one-stop online music store DeWolfe described last spring when he announced the service. At that time, he promised that music aficionados could not only listen to and purchase songs but also buy concert tickets or a band’s T-shirt.

Instead, MySpace went for the basics. Users will be able to search for music by artist, song title or album, then place it on a playlist that can hold as many as 100 tracks. The songs can also be added to a shortened playlist on a MySpace profile page, where others can hear it. Other features will be added over time.

The playlist is hardly an innovation. Other online services, such as the start-up Imeem and Last.fm, which is owned by CBS, offer free streaming and ways for friends to share their virtual mix tapes. These smaller rivals say they’re not worried about the competitive threat from MySpace, noting that they had a head start.

“Retrofitting an older legacy online service is like trying to turn the cargo ship toward the more nimble speedboat,” said Steve Jang, chief marketing officer at Imeem.

But what the News Corp.-owned MySpace Music may lack in originality, it makes up in reach.

“There are 120 million unique users every month on MySpace,” DeWolfe said. “It’s the largest music community in the world.”

Most of the revenue for MySpace Music, at least early on, will come from advertising. Music industry executives hope that a global audience will lure advertisers eager to reach a youthful, music-loving demographic. Indeed, MySpace has lined up as sponsors McDonald’s, State Farm, Toyota and Sony Pictures. These companies will stage various promotions, including Toyota Tuesdays, in which the auto company will offer free music downloads for users to transfer the tracks to portable devices.

The music industry could use fresh sources of revenue to supplement traditional CD sales, which have fallen precipitously since 2000. CD shipments in the U.S. are down 46% over the last seven years, and digital sales haven’t come close to making up that shortfall, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America’s statistics.

“Our business, historically, is driven by the sale of recorded music,” said Rio Caraeff, executive vice president of Universal Music Group’s digital division. “We’re focused on diversifying our revenue streams, and ad-supported revenue is only one [of the many businesses] we’re supporting.”

All four major music labels — Sony BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI — together own a 40% stake in MySpace Music, so they stand to gain financially if the venture attracts enough advertising. Moreover, the labels hope that by creating a social environment where people can discover music, they’ll be more likely to buy it.

“We really believe there’s an opportunity to significantly grow the total digital music space by providing the right thing for the consumer at the right time,” said Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy for Warner Music Group.

But by aligning itself with the corporate music establishment, MySpace risks losing its “indie” feel, said Dave Kusek, vice president of Berkleemusic.com, the online extension school for the Berklee College of Music in Boston. “It’s a complete 180 on their part, in terms of where they came from and what made them so cool, and really what attracted their initial audience,” Kusek said.

Still, if MySpace succeeds, many can profit, said Ali Partovi, CEO of ILike, an online music recommendation service.

“Radio and MTV are the bulk of where the advertising money is spent today for people who want to advertise with music,” Partovi said. “That’s not where people are spending their time, so the more successful players there are helps all of us.”

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Other news:

• Kate Moss Is A Mess After Three Parties In One Night
• Noel Gallagher: ‘Oasis Members Will Go Solo After New Album’
• HBO to make its lamentably late Canadian debut

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During November and December, the rockers will hit the US roads to complete fourteen dates. Many of the venues will see the band performing two night residencies.

Shortly before Smashing Pumpkins embark on their new schedule, they release the single ‘G.L.O.W.’ on October 26th through Guitar Hero World Tour.

November Tour Dates:

New York, NY, United Palace Theatre (6/7)
Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata (8)
Washington, DC, DAR Constitution Hall (11)
Boston, MA, The Wang Center (14/15)
Chicago, IL, Chicago Theatre (18/19)
Chicago, IL, Auditorium Theatre (21/22)
St. Louis, MO, Fox Theatre (26)
San Diego, CA, RIMAC Arena (30)

December Tour Dates:

Los Angeles, CA, Gibson Amphitheatre (2/3)

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