Cranberries Nominated for a Lunas del Auditorio 2003 Award

August 31, 2003  |  Comments Off on Cranberries Nominated for a Lunas del Auditorio 2003 Award  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The Cranberries have been nominated for a ‘Las Lunas del Auditorio’ 2003 award, a special program recognizing the finest artists who have played at Mexico’s prestigious Auditorio Nacional within the past year. The Cranberries are nominated in the “Rock in a Foreign Language” category and are facing some tough competition with 12 other big names up for the same award, including Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Cypress Hill, Garbage, INXS, Lenny Kravitz, Papa Roach, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart, and The Strokes, just to name a few.

The awards cover the best entertainment that Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional has had to offer in the past year, including all genres of music, dance, and theater. A panel of 324 arts experts from around the country selected the final nominees from all of the performances between March 2002 and April 2003. The Cranberries played the Auditorio Nacional on June 25th and 26th of last year.

Public online voting for the awards ended on August 8th. The winners will be announced in an awards ceremony on September 10th, to be broadcasted on television by Televisa, TV Azteca and Canal 22. Luis de Llano, vice- president of programming for Televisa, said that, “It is always a challenge to unite efforts with other companies, especially now that the music industry is undergoing a crisis. We do this so that Mexico continues to be a launch pad for speading music at the international level.”

For much more on Las Lunas del Auditorio Awards or to check out the other nominees, you can check out the program’s official website.

Source: Las Lunas del Auditorio Awards

Alan Swan Talks New Charity Book with Zombieguide

August 29, 2003  |  Comments Off on Alan Swan Talks New Charity Book with Zombieguide  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Zombieguide reported weeks ago that RTE TV presenter Alan Swan has been finishing up his first book entitled “From the Cradle to the Stage: A Complete History of Irish Music,” the proceeds of which will be given to Irish charity Fighting Blindness. Zombieguide got the chance to talk a little bit today with Mr. Swan about the progress of his upcoming book and some changes that have occurred with its content.

“Just one or two things you should know about; It will be Fergal that is featured in the book and not Dolores. Also there was a mistake in the press release and Larry Mullen Jnr won’t be featured,” Swan told Zombieguide earlier today. Although the news might disappoint U2 fans, no “Complete History of Irish Music” would be complete without extensive mention of the band, and the book is certain to include them, even without Mullen’s direct involvement.

Of course the book is much more than just U2 and Cranberries; he noted that the “other acts that will be featured include Ash, Devlins, The Corrs, Samantha Mumba, Christy Moore, Chieftains and many more — 70 acts in all.”

Aside from the book, which he considers a side project, Swan is currently busy with his day job at Ireland’s largest media network. “I am currently a TV presenter for RTE but have worked in commerical radio outside of RTE for a number of years,” he says.

Swan told us that “From the Cradle to the Stage: A Complete History of Irish Music” is currently on tap for a November release with an anticipated price of €19.99. Copies will be available for purchase from Fighting Blindnessupon release, and no doubt retailers as well.

“You certainly have your finger on the pulse,” he tells us. “It’s great to know that Cranberries fans will be able to pick up and copy and that they know about it… It would, I’m sure, help raise much needed funds for the charity.”

Zombieguide will have more on “From the Cradle to the Stage” as its November publication date nears. Keep it here for the latest!

Source: Exclusive

Street and Townshend First Clients for New Olympic Studios Rooms

August 23, 2003  |  Comments Off on Street and Townshend First Clients for New Olympic Studios Rooms  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The website for the US magazine “Mix”, which focuses on the technical side of studio recording, reports that Olympic Studios have just finished buiding two brand new studios, a programming room and a small studio. The first to use the new facilities are none other than Cranberries producer Stephen Street and engineer Cenzo Townshend. From the Mix website:

Olympic Studios Adds Two New Rooms
London’s Olympic Studios has continued its expansion plans at the Barnes facility by adding one new programming/pre-production room and a small studio, increasing the total number of client suites to six.

Top record producers Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths/Morrisey, The Cranberries) and Cenzo Townshend (Skin, Lightning Seeds and U2) have moved into the larger suite, which boasts an adjacent overdub booth for vocals or guitars. Working on an Audient desk and recording to RADAR and Pro Tools|HD, they have also incorporated a host of vintage outboard equipment.

The second suite, dubbed “The Green Room,” is available for lease and is currently housing a few short-term projects.

Siobhan Paine, Olympic Studio’s manager, said, “We are thrilled that Stephen and Cenzo are joining us here, and with the multitude of studios and mix rooms available at Olympic, the two new rooms add an extra dimension to the services we offer. Projects can make an easy transition from programming to production all under one roof.”

For more, visit www.olympicstudios.co.uk.

Last month, Dolores told Hot Press that she and the band were indeed making use of the more high-tech programming technology, which the band has shyed away from in the past. “I’ve come up with these piano-driven songs that I’m recording using Pro-Tools and all that other computer-y stuff,” she said.

With both Stephen and Cenzo in the same room, there’s no question of who’s performing there with them…

Source: Mix Online

Declare The Cranberries As Your Favorite Female-Lead Band Online

August 20, 2003  |  Comments Off on Declare The Cranberries As Your Favorite Female-Lead Band Online  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Think female vocalists are pretty powerful? Well not even their commanding voices can compete with the strong opinions of fans from around the world. Poll after poll has challenged music listeners to cast their votes on favorite female artists; and now Brazilian music channel Universo Do Rock is asking for your vote in a poll that asks you to choose your favorite female-lead band. The Cranberries are in the running, positioned in the company of Hole, The Gathering, Kittie, Evanescence, and Nightwish. To help The Cranberries come out on top and prove their fan base in and around Brazil, cast your vote online at Universo Do Rock.

Thanks to: Daniel Chirzostomo for the information

Cranberries Make Cover Attraction on “Radio Inside” DVD

August 19, 2003  |  Comments Off on Cranberries Make Cover Attraction on “Radio Inside” DVD  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

In the mood for a good “coming of age” flick saturated with mid-1990’s flavor? 1994’s “Radio Inside,” newly released on DVD, may not have won any Oscar nominations or make for a prized piece in your DVD collection, but it does have one thing going for it: a soundtrack featuring music by The Cranberries that garnered attention from movie-goers and film critics alike. Even the cover of the new DVD boasts “music by The Cranberries and REM”. The soundtrack includes “Dreams,” among other songs.

The film is now on DVD courtesy of the Australian studio Capitol Films. Although the DVD is region-free, it is likely in PAL video format only, not North American NTSC.

Reciting the story of two brothers in love with the same woman, “Radio Inside” stars Williams McNamara, Elisabeth Shue, and Dylan Walsh. The film marks the directorial debut of Jeffery Bell, who is best known for his behind- the-scenes work on various pop culture television favorites of the 1990’s, like the “X-Files”.

Though the film fared with only mediocre reviews and lackluster attendance at the box office, critics rave about the movie’s soundtrack, with the inclusion of The Cranberries’ music commonly noted as poignant and relevant to the film’s dramatic, romantic tone.

“Radio Inside” on DVD is available for purchase online, priced at about $20 at shops like totaldvd.com and widely available on VHS for as little as $1. So if you’re a completist or just curious, “Radio Inside” may be worth a look.

Exclusive: Cranberries Drop $2.6 Million Universal Lawsuit

August 16, 2003  |  Comments Off on Exclusive: Cranberries Drop $2.6 Million Universal Lawsuit  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The Cranberries may not be “analysing,” but their accountants certainly are. Recent audits of the band’s finances, managed by their self-owned company Curtain Call Ltd., seemed to show that The Cranberries were shorted royalties of over $2.6 million by former record company Universal Music. Curtain Call responded by quietly filing suit against UMG Recordings in the New York Southern District Federal Court on March 27th, 2003. On July 30th, 2003, the case was withdrawn by the plaintiff as quietly as it was initiated.

Curtain Call Limited was founded by Dolores O’Riordan, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler in the mid-90’s to manage the band’s day-to-day business, touring, and merchandising affairs. The company is located in the city of Shannon, County Clare, Ireland and enjoys exemption from a large number of taxes due to its affiliation with the music industry.

The Cranberries abruptly terminated their contract with Universal Music in January of this year, citing poor promotion and support for the band’s last two releases, “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee” and “Stars: The Best of…” Despite the fact that the band still owed Universal one album from their 1991 contract with Island Records, the so-called “monolith” has remained mysteriously quiet. We’d bet the farm that the two actions are related.

Zombieguide first heard whispers about a court case in June of this year, when the paid online service Entertainment Law Digest posted the following one-sentence summary:

“Curtain Call Limited v. UMG, Inc.; Island Def Jam Music Group; and Island Def Jam Records, Inc. The recording company for the musical group The Cranberries claims subsidiaries of UMG Recordings, Inc. breached agreements by failing to pay over $2.6 million in royalties. New Filing SD New York.”

Intrigued by this statement, Zombieguide contacted a representative for the band’s management who told us that this was “a reference to an older issue.” This diffused our interest (temporarily), and we moved on. A month passes.

You see, this isn’t the first time that The Cranberries have filed a lawsuit against Universal for royalties. In 2000, Norwegian newspaper VG reported that the band was suing Universal for about £2 million (approx. $3.1 million) for royalties outside the UK for the period of 1992-1997. We assumed by the statement above that this was the “older issue” in question. The ruling from the 2000 case is still unknown to The Cranberries’ fanbase. But judging soley from the current ongoing case, it might suggest that the band was previously successful, and is attempting to do so again.

Now we go to August 2003. Our curiosity coming back around, we decided to check around further — only to find yet more listings of the case “03CV- 2158 Curtain Call Limited v. UMG Recordings, Inc.; Island Def Jam Music Group; and Island Def Jam Records, Inc.” In fact, one legal database even showed that on July 30, 2003, the appointed judge in the case, the Honorable Judge George B. Daniels signed a document describing certain stipulations of the case.

We knew that something was going on in New York. Once again, Zombieguide contacted the band’s management. This time, we got a response.

Lewis Kovac, The Cranberries’ London-based manager told Zombieguide, “The Cranberries back catalogue is controlled by Universal Music Group through its affiliates, Island Def Jam and MCA Records. At this time, there is a claim for the years 1997-2000 which has been presented to the record company and the court of jurisdiction, the Southern District of New York.”

In his statement, Kovac told us that the civil case was more routine than extraordinary. “Audits of royalties are routine and thus claims are filed with the appropriate court once a determination is made. All labels have many claims ongoing with the major royalty earners on their books.” Another employee of Timless Music, Ltd., the band’s self-owned promotional company, said that the ongoing procedure was “no biggie.”

Zombieguide also contacted the Universal Music Group (because we’re fair guys like that), but UMG declined comment.

Under the Federal Freedom of Information Act, any U.S. citizen is entitled to any non-classified governmental information, including that of lawsuits, arrests, etc. As an American citizen, I excersized that right and obtained a sole court document, dated July 30th, 2003, from the United States NY Southern District Federal Court.

With said document in hand, we found that the July 30th stipulation was more exactly a “Stipulation of Discontinuance Without Prejudice.” The case had been closed by Curtain Call “without costs to any party against the other.”

Exactly why The Cranberries’ lawyers decided to withdraw the lawsuit is still uncertain, and is likely to remain uncertain. The last clause of the short statment, stating that the suit was discontinuned “without costs to any party” may suggest that there was no out-of-court settlement, though even that is unknown at this time.

If we get further details, you can be sure to find them right here. In the meantime, check out our exclusively obtained court document regarding the lawsuit’s discontinuance, below. Stick here with Zombieguide for more upcoming won’t-find-it-anywhere-else Cranberries news.

Source: Exclusive!
Partial Sources: Entertainment Law Digest, Clare Champion

Rumor: Dolores to Star in “Helen of Troy”?

August 15, 2003  |  Comments Off on Rumor: Dolores to Star in “Helen of Troy”?  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The Cranberries Official Site conservatively states that Dolores O’Riordan is waiting to hear more from AC/DC’s Brian Johnson regarding is comedy-in- the-making, “Helen of Troy.” Since then, unofficial sources have hinted that Dolores is more than simply waiting — that she is indeed going to have a very active role in the play. Pun intended.

Here’s the breakdown of the latest on “Helen of Troy,” conveniently separated into what, as best as we can confirm, is fact and rumor.

The Rumor:
A reputable poster by the name of Goulash has posted an update on “Helen of Troy” on the alt.rock-n-roll.acdc newsgroup. He writes that a rehearsal of the play was put on in London (to where the show is being moved) last month for potential sponsors. As we wrote in an earlier story, “Helen of Troy” has already been postponed several times due to lack of sponsorship. He writes:

“The lowdown is that a rehearsal was held at the Prince Edward Theatre in London (England, not Ontario) on 3rd July. Malcolm MacDowell is still in the role of Zeus and the singer from The Cranberries has been roped in. The production isn’t gonna be one of those ballet or rock opera affairs, it’s a comedy and Brian has written 21 songs for it while the script has been penned by those geniuses who wrote Auf Wiedersehen Pet (Dick Clemens and Ian La Frenais). Looks like it could be hitting the stage in London at the end of this year / beginning of next.”

As you are likely already aware, Dolores has made several statements over the past year hinting at her desire to land an acting role. Has she found the role she’s been looking for?

The Fact:
In a column posted this week on Southwest Florida’s Herald Tribune website, the editor recounts a very recent happenstance conversation with Brian Johnson. Johnson confirmed that he had just returned from London rehearsals for the comedy. Johnson told the newspaper that there are indeed some unspecified changes going on with the script. “The show isn’t quite there yet — we need to tinker with the second act,” Johnson said. “But people were excited.” One such potential backer in the audience was Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Miss Saigon.”

Zombieguide will stay on top of the latest “Helen of Troy” news… keep it here!

Special thanks to Glenn of the AC/DC website Crabsody in Blue for his help on this story.

Sources: alt.rock-n-roll.acdc, Herald Tribune

Rumor: TV Auction for Dolores’s Clothes?

August 8, 2003  |  Comments Off on Rumor: TV Auction for Dolores’s Clothes?  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

In a newsletter sent out by German site Dolores-tv.de, the site’s webmaster claims that Dolores is considering participating in a televised auction to sell some of her personal affects for charity. This will be a continuation of the promised charity auctions of Dolores’s clothes, which began earlier this year, with one pair of shoes raising €2,775 for the Chernobyl Children’s Fund and Amnesty International. However, this time the rumored upcoming set of auctions will benefit the families of victims of the September 11th terrorism attacks.

Zombieguide will let you know if anything comes out of this rumor report!

Source: Dolores-tv.de Newsletter

Istanbul Concert to Webcast on Sunday

August 8, 2003  |  Comments Off on Istanbul Concert to Webcast on Sunday  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

This Sunday, Turkish radio station Radyo Eksen will be broadcasting The Cranberries’ Istanbul concert from the “Stars” tour (November 5, 2002). The station also has an online stream available, which means that anybody in the world will be able to tune into the broadcast.

The concert airs Sunday, August 10th at 15:00 (3:00 PM) local time, or 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (click here to find the time in your area). The main online stream is located here (an alternate is here). (LINKS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Thanks to Haluk for the heads-up.

Source: Daffodil Lament

Cranberries Using Gemini Studios for Pre-Production

August 5, 2003  |  Comments Off on Cranberries Using Gemini Studios for Pre-Production  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

The Cranberries have recently held pre-production sessions at Britain’s Gemini Studios — that is according to a listing of recent clients on the studio’s webpage. During that time, the band has evidently been working with engineer Cenzo Townshend on new material. Cranberries fans will remember that Townshend engineered their last studio album, “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee.” It was revealed only little over a week ago that Townshend and The Cranberries were working together again. There’s no word on exactly how recent the band’s session was.

The Suffolk, UK, based studio boasts itself as “one of the most comprehensively equipped recording studios in Europe,” providing a large range of both vintage and modern recording equipment. The studio specializes in microphones and outboards. Other pre-production clients include Skin (presumably of Skunk Anansie) and the Groove Doctors.

Zombieguide contacted Gemini Studios for further information, but received no reply as of posting time.

Source: Gemini Studios

“Zombie” Nominated for Yet Another Video Countdown

August 4, 2003  |  Comments Off on “Zombie” Nominated for Yet Another Video Countdown  |  by Zombieguide Archives  |  The Cranberries

Will The Cranberries ever top “Zombie”? In terms of its inclusion in video countdown programs from music channels broadcasting from all over the world, the “Zombie” phenomena just never seems to fizzle. In fact, if you were to count all of the times “Zombie” has been included in a video countdown program, it’d be a program within itself. And MTV Latin America’s upcoming Top 20 Countdown is looking as if it will be no exception.

On August 9th, MTVLA is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a Top 20 “Best Live Videos” countdown program with 153 video nominations that include none other than The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” live from the MTV Europe Music Awards 1995. There’s no limit on how often music fans can vote. Just visit MTVLA’s web site with information on the upcoming special to cast your vote. Then, if you’re fortunate enough to have access to the channel, tune in to MTVLA on August 9th to see if “Zombie” makes it to the countdown.

Thanks to cranberrygirl for the tip.

Source: MTVLA

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