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The best spring music festivals of 2015 – AXS.

Get to know a 2015 Coachella band: Alabama Shakes – AXS.

Get to know a 2015 Coachella band: Florence + The Machine.

Get to know a 2015 Coachella band: Jenny Lewis – AXS.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, can cause a person to have unusual mood shifts. People have ups and downs, but people with Bipolar Disorder have severe ups and downs. Bipolar Disorder can ruin relationships, careers and school performance and even lead to suicide.

The disorder causes someone to have both mania and depression. The mania part is usually apparent when the person is either highly energetic or irritable. The depressive state usually has the person stuck in bed unable to participate in daily activities. The best bet for controlling Bipolar Disorder is psychoanalysis and medication.

Many historical figures and artists have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Creativity is closely linked to the disorder. People with the disorder are highly sensitive and experience emotions very deeply. The extreme intensity of a Bipolar person is expressed creatively at times. “Bipolar disorder may carry certain advantages for creativity, especially in those who have milder symptoms,” according to Dr. Katherine Rankin Ph.D.

Here are some of the most famous musicians with Bipolar Disorder:

Adam Ant, British musician
Here is an excerpt from a February 2013 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine Ant did on the subject of his illness:

“Have you found by talking about your issues with being bipolar that it‘s made a deeper connection with fans who appreciate your candor?”

“Yeah. I think the feedback has been extraordinary, really. I think the whole subject of bipolar disorder is in its infancy in terms of the public being aware it is an illness and not a disease, and not a kind of terminal thing where you have to feel shame. I think creative people, even going back to Winston Churchill, tend to come to it because they kind of have to make their living from abstract ideas, and it’s not like going in and doing a job. It’s actually a broad problem. I haven’t really met a family who hasn’t got a family member who hasn’t suffered from something of this nature, like bipolar disorder. And it’s been swept under the carpet. But I think there’s an obligation to express it, not only in song, which I’ve done on a couple of occasions on the album, but with the media.”

Chris Brown, Pop and R&B singer.
Chris Brown’s struggle with Bipolar Disorder diagnosis was revealed through court documents. Chris Brown was sentenced to 90 days in a treatment facility. Brown had been involved in many different incidences that reflect a Bipolar behavior in some people during a manic period.

Kurt Cobain, Musician.
As a young boy, Kurt Cobain had been diagnosed with ADD then later with Bipolar Disorder.

Cobain would not take the medication needed to control the disorder, instead he indulged in various street drugs and alcohol. The drugs he used included Heroin which he became addicted to by 1990. Cobain attempted rehab in 1992. In 1993, he suffered an overdose prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in New York City. Courtney Love, his wife, injected him with Narcan which woke him from the overdose. He proceeded to perform without anyone knowing what had just happened.

Other artists with Bipolar include:

DMX, Rapper
Dmx has spoken openly about his illness..

Macy Gray, Musician, nd actor.

Kristin Hersh, Musician

Charley Pride, Country music artist.

Axl Rose, Singer.
Quoted as saying, “I went to a clinic, thinking it would help my moods. The only thing I did was take one 500-question test – ya know, filling in the little black dots. All of sudden I’m diagnosed manic-depressive.”

Nina Simone, Singer.

Frank Sinatra, Singer, and actor.

Britney Spears, Singer-songwriter

Dusty Springfield, English pop singer

Townes Van Zandt, singer-songwriter

Scott Weiland, musician.

Pete Wentz, musician.

Amy Winehouse, musician

Whether it be from old age or a tragic accident, it is always devastating when we lose a beloved artist. Many fans gather every year to visit Memphis Tennessee to visit the King of Rock n’ Roll’s grave site at Graceland on the anniversary of his death. The fans of the King walk up the driveway with lit candles to visit his resting place the night before the anniversary of his death. The line of mourners goes well into the early morning hours. The King is not the only gravestone you can visit to pay homage to your favorite artist. We’ve gathered the information for some of the most famous musicians where you can find their gravesites and pay your respects.

Bo Diddley

Born: Dec. 30, 1928

McComb, Mississippi

Died: Jun. 2, 2008

Archer, Florida

Buried at Rosemary Hill Cemetery

Bronson, Florida

Born Elias Bates McDaniel in McComb Mississippi in 1928 is best known as Bo Diddley. He was a legendary blues guitarist and vocalist known for hits such as “I’m a Man”, “Who Do You Love?” and “Pretty Thing”. Diddley was highly influenced by the music of blues legend John Lee Hooker. After studying the violin for years, he switched to guitar. He signed a record contract in 1955 with Checkers Records. In 1987, Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died of heart failure in 2008.

Picture Courtesy of deathzur

John Lee Hooker

Born: August 22, 1917

Clarksdale, Mississippi

Died: June, 21 2001

Los Altos, California

Buried: Chapel of the Chimes Columbarium and Mausoleum

Oakland California, USA

The prolific Blues artist, John Lee Hooker was one the most inspirational musicians of his time. Hooker recorded over 100 albums in his lifetime and some of his hits include; “Boom Boom,” “Boogie Chillen’,” and “Hoogie Boogie.” He started his career at age 14 playing at local establishments in Memphis, Cincinnati, and Detroit. “I don’t play a lot of fancy guitar,” he once told an interviewer. “The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean, mean licks.” John Lee Hooker died in his sleep at age 83.

Courtesy of Bernard Johnson

Harry Nilsson

Born: June 15, 1941

Brooklyn, NY

Died: Jan. 15, 1994

Agoura Hills, California

Buried: Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park

Westlake Village

Los Angeles California

Singer, Songwriter.Harry Nilsson was best known for his Grammy Award-winning hit “Everybody’s Talkin” from the 1969 movie “Midnight Cowboy”. Other hits included; “One,” “Without You,” “Remember,” “Jump into the Fire,” “Coconut,” and the theme song “Best Friends,” to the hit TV show, “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. Harry Nilsson died at his home in Agoura Hills, California after suffering a second heart attack within a two month period.

Courtesy of David Spiceland

Frank Sinatra

Born: Dec. 12, 1915

Hoboken, New Jersey

Died: May 14, 1998

West Hollywood, California

Buried: Desert Memorial Park

Cathedral City, California

Best known as ‘Ol Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra was considered one of the biggest entertainers of the 20th Century. All around entertainer, Sinatra was known for his velvet voice, dancing, and acting skills. He got his break in 1935, when he received first prize in a radio contest this lead to a collaboration with bandleader Harry James. In 1941 Sinatra recorded “I’ll Never Smile Again” with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra. Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998 at the age of 83.

Courtesy of Jim Tipton

Johnny Cash

Born: Feb. 26, 1932

Kingsland, Arkansas,

Died: Sep. 12, 2003

Nashville, Tennessee

Hendersonville Memory Gardens

Hendersonville, Tennessee

One of the most beloved country singers of the 20th Century, Johnny Cash was known such songs as; “Ring of Fire,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “I walk the Line.” “The Man in Black,” as he was known, was born in Kingsland, Arkansas in 1932. He was inducted into the Songwriters, the Country Music and the Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. Johnny Cash died from complications of Diabetes at age 71.

Courtesy of Herb Snowden

For regular citizens, it is easy to get rid of some of your less than flattering photographs. Just throw away or delete the ones you’d rather no one see, but for rock stars, unflattering band photography will be around forever to haunt them. Here are some of the worst band photo’s that the biggest rock stars in the world will never live down.

No doubt there are many pictures The Beatles will regret, but this photo taken in 1964 t looks awfully strange out of context today. The original intent was for the band to playfully mimic the British tradition of Christmas Pantomime. At Christmas time, the band was known to perform in the frilly neckpieces and tights.

Fall Out Boy looks more like the members of The Village People for the cover of AP Magazine. I’m sure reading the article will enlighten us on why the get-up. Or maybe not. The Fallout Boys will surely be haunted by this cover for a long time.

This band photo of Bon Jovi is more about the look of the band than the photo, but the photo has captured this unfortunate moment in time for the one-time hair band. Over the years, the look changed drastically for the band mates but if they ever want to go back to their old look there is plenty of pictures out there for them to refer to.

Although Milli-Vanilli is no longer around, this photo will be around forever. Two grown men in a bathtub together may be one of the most awkward photo shoots in existence. You can’t help get the feeling there is some kind of fetish fantasy being played out here.

The sappiest love songs ever – AXS

http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/the-districts-performance-4th-and-roebling/2846435

Apple is taking action to slow down piracy. The company recently obtained a patent for a technology allowing people to share music and videos with friends legally. Customers can get music and videos from friends and family instead of downloading files from iTunes or other stores by obtaining a separate license. This will save bandwidth costs as well as reducing piracy, according to Apple.

The company is taking if you can’t beat’em join’em approach when it comes to P2P technology. Users can just purchase the license, which requires virtually no bandwidth and drops the delivery costs to almost zero.

Although the piracy issue is a big issue according to Apple, streaming seems to be defeating the piracy problem. Some are questioning why Apple is taking this approach. Many questions in regards to the patent are left unanswered at this point.

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We lost many of the best musicians in the world through unfortunate tragedies. One of the inevitable aspects of being a being a successful musician is touring. That involves some kind of transporting from one gig to the next. It does not matter how big a band gets, tragic accidents and personal injury can happen to anyone. Even the biggest most well-equipped buses can be involved in horrible accidents. Some of the world’s biggest bands have been a victim to tour bus collisions.

In 1986, the heavy metal band Metallica was on tour in Europe in support of their album Master of Puppets. While traveling through Sweden the tour bus flipped and bassist Cliff Burton was thrown from his bunk. The tour bus landed on top of the guitarist killing him on sight. The rest of the band suffered minor injuries.

In 1990, Gloria Estefan was traveling via tour bus in Scranton. PA amidst a snowstorm.  The tour bus was rammed from the back by an 18 wheeler. The pop singer suffered a critical spine fracture. Titanium rods were placed in her back. The singer has since made a full recovery.

En route to Boston from Toronto in December 2009, Weezer’s bus, which contained lead singer Rivers Cuomo, his wife and baby daughter, struck some black ice, which sent the bus crashing into the median and over a guardrail and landing in a ditch. Cuomo suffered three cracked ribs and minor internal injuries. The band had to cancel their remaining dates for the year.

When Kings Of Leon were on tour during the spring of 2014, their tour bus swerved while narrowly avoiding a pedestrian in Boston who jumped in front of the bus. Drummer Nathan Followill was treated for broken ribs after being injured in the accident. The band had to cancel dates until Followill was well enough to perform again.

It’s the most anticipated sports event of the year. Millions gather around the TV to see who will win the ultimate Bowl game of the year: The Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet on Sunday, Feb 1 at 3PM. The game comes complete with a pregame show you can find online at www.animalplanet.com.

Will it be team Ruff or team Fluff who brings home the Lombarki trophy? The show is filled with fun entertainment, such as the halftime show with Katty Furry. The Game announcers; Jack Russell, James Hound, and Rott Weiler will give you play-by-play action. You never know when pet care emergencies happen, so referees will be keeping an eye on any penalties or unnecessary “ruff-ness.” They will be at the ready equipped with flags, and maybe even a little carpet cleaner. Who do you think will be MVP of Puppy Bowl XI?

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