German heartthrobs Tokio Hotel stopped by the Rolling Stone office to clue us in on what’s going on in their big-haired world. Click above for stories about makeup, coming to America and what they think of their passionate fanbase.
[Video: Jennifer Hsu]
Last week’s American Idol castoff Jason Castro stopped by our office to chat about his time on the show, the upcoming Idol tour and his plans for an album. He also offered an explanation for his “Mr. Tambourine Man” lyric fumble during last week’s broadcast: “I think I learn slower than others,” he laughs. “I usually just take my time, spending a week learning an song and connecting with it. I like the connection in music, and I didn’t have time to make that connection last week.”
“At this point, the competition is dependent on who goes home,” Castro adds. “Even if someone messed up before, their performance was still better than another singer. Now everyone is really good and really talented, so it’s like, ‘Who’s going to mess up?’”
While he was admittedly still tired from his post-show media blitz, Castro was also visibly relieved to not be singing three songs tonight. “It’s nice to be doing something different, and not stressing,” he says. “My biggest worry now is that I’ll say something stupid.”
Not that he’ll necessarily be stress-free in the near future; after a cameo in the audience during tonight’s results show, Castro begins rehearsals for the finale tomorrow and starts tour rehearsals on June 1st. “They’re letting us have more input,” he says of the tour, adding each performer will get to sing three songs each. Castro says he’s considering Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” (his audition song at home and during Hollywood week) and his ukulele rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”
After the tour, Castro says he wants to take some time off and create material for an upcoming album. No deals have been confirmed, but Castro says he’s been taking a look at producers of people he likes, including Ray Lamontagne and Ben Harper. “But I don’t even know how you get in touch with those people,” he laughs. “We’ll see if they want to work.”
Though Castro says he didn’t walk away from Idol with a best friend, he certainly acquired a legion of devoted fans, the Dreadheads. “My fans came up with the idea to send me postcards, and I’d get at least 50 a day from all over the world,” he says. “I also got 150 balloons whenever I was sick, and a life size stuffed black panther. Everyone who sees it gets scared — it was sitting on the floor when David Archuleta opened the door and he jumped!”
One thing not on his horizon is school — Castro’s newfound fame has finally given him the chance to put it off for a while, something he says his parents are okay with. “I think what American Idol does is let people know who you are,” he says. “And now that people have heard who Jason Castro is, maybe they’ll take a listen. That’s all I want.”
[Photo: Getty]
Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls bring Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton on the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour, Everclear looks forward to playing “Heroin Girl” for the Navy at Guantanamo Bay and Earl Greyhound previews songs from their unrecorded new album. Click the jump for the itineraries of all three treks.
Good Charlotte/Boys Like Girls
July 8 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theatre
July 9 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
July 10 - Des Moines IA @ Val-Air Ballroom
July 11 - Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
July 12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Salt Air Theater
July 14 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
July 15 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Ballroom
July 17 - Berkeley CA @ Berkeley Community Theatre
July 18 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
July 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
July 20 - Alpine, CA @ Concerts in the Park
July 21 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheater
July 24 - Houston, TX @ Verizon Theater
July 26 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Dixie Landin’ Theme Park
July 29 - Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 30 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
July 31 - Boca Raton, FL @ Mizner Park Amphitheatre
August 1 - St. Augustine FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
August 2 - Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
August 3 - Richmond VA @ 18th Street - Shockoe Bottom
August 6 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Lawn at White River
August 7 - Detroit MI @ The Fillmore at State Theater
August 8 - Cleveland OH @ Time Warner Cable Amp.
August 9 - Cincinnati OH @ National City Pavilion
August 10 - Charlotte NC @ Amos’ Southend
August 13 - Toronto ON @ Kool Haus
August 14 - Montreal QC @ Metropolis
August 15 - Lowell MA @ Tsongas Arena
August 16 - Uniondale NY @ Nassau Coliseum Parking Lot
August 17 - Poughkeepsie NY @ Mid Hudson Civic Center
August 20 - Philadelphia PA @ Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
August 21 - Jackson NJ @ North Star Arena at Six Flags NJ
Everclear
May 16 - Richardson, TX @ Wildflower Festival
May 18 - Camden, NJ @ WMMR Festival
May 26 - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba @ US Naval Station
June 8 - Arlington, VA @ 4th Annual Crystal Rocks
June 28 - Mount Clemens, MI @ Stars & Stripes Festival
July 6 - Kaneohe Bay, HI @ Marine Corps Base
July 9 - Lahaina, HI @ Hard Rock Maui
July 18 - Waukesha, WI @ Waukesha County Fair
July 27 - Altamont, NY @ WZMR Festival Show
August 28 - Marshfield, WI @ Central Wisconsin State Fair
Earl Greyhound
May 28 - Baltimore, MD @ Fletcher’s
May 29 - Norfolk, VA @ NorVa
May 30 - Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
May 31 - Atlanta, GA @ The EARL
June 03 - Nashville, TN @ Exit / In
June 04 - Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
June 05 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door
June 06 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
June 07 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
July 26 - Danbury, CT @ City Center
August 10 - Jersey City, NJ @ Liberty State Park
Click above to watch Manu Chao’s new video for “Politik Kills” from his acclaimed ‘07 disc La Radiolina. Chao, who will be making appearances at the Outside Lands and Austin City Limits festivals in the coming months, will release an EP of “Politik Kills” remixes June 3rd featuring reggae reworkings of that track by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, as well as Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell (fans can get more info and make their own remixes here). The video was shot in Monrovia, Liberia, by French filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire in 2004, and stars a child soldier named Christian who fought in the nation’s civil war (Christian carried a ghetto blaster around for two days, trailed by Sauvaire and an ex-child soldier named “Hitler, The Killer”).
Fifty years after Wanda Jackson unleashed her country snarl on the world with her breakout hit “Let’s Have a Party,” the first woman of rockabilly (a.k.a. the Queen) is telling her story. Jackson — who has dated Elvis Presley, toured with Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash, and recorded with Elvis Costello and the Cramps — is the star of The Sweet Lady With the Nasty Voice, a documentary that will make its TV debut on the Smithsonian Channel on May 18th (see clip, above). The film follows the singer, 70, over the past two years as she tours Europe and the U.S. and includes vintage clips of her live shows, as well as interviews with Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, who give props to Jackson for influencing their music. So how did the mild-mannered girl from Oklahoma break into the rock & roll boys’ club? “The guys I was working with — Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash — I felt like if they can do it, I can do it,” says Jackson. “Sometimes I did it better.”
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