Limp Bizkit

Limp Bizkit Singer Fred Durst To Star In CBS Sitcom

14 Oct 2011 09:17:52 EDT

Show's tentative title is 'Douchebag' and would follow a rock star dad and his family.
By Gil Kaufman

Fred Durst
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst has long complained that people have treated him like a music industry joke, a punch line to the question, "Seriously, what's with that dude in the backward red baseball cap?" But the nu-metal maestro may have the final laugh thanks to a deal he recently signed with CBS and CBS TV Studios to develop a half-hour sitcom. According to Deadline Hollywood, Durst will star in and produce the untitled show, which has a not-ready-for-primetime working title that perfectly fits the "Nookie" singer's self-deprecating image: "Douchebag." CBS has committed to looking over a script for the show, which centers on a "rock legend looking for balance between his high-profile lifestyle and trying to raise a family." The script is being written by Matthew Carlson ("Mr. Sunshine"), who will also serve as executive producer. Durst is something of a TV novice, having made guest appearances on "Revelations" and "House," as well as cameos in "Zoolander," "Be Cool" and "Pauly Shore Is Dead." But he does have some solid experience behind the camera, with two feature directing credits on the little-seen "The Education of Charlie Banks" and "The Longshots." He got his start directing while working on nearly a dozen Limp Bizkit music videos; he's also done the honors on clips by such brethren acts as Staind, Korn, Cold and Puddle of Mudd. The rocker also has some experience as a dad thanks to his teenage daughter Adriana and son Dallas. He reunited with the original lineup of Bizkit earlier this year for a comeback album entitled Gold Cobra, which failed to catch fire and return the group to its late-1990s peak. Will you tune in for a Fred Durst sitcom? Tell us in the comments!

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Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst: The Chocolate Starfish Gets Humble

12 May 2010 07:37:33 EDT

The singer we met this week was worlds away from his former self, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery

Fred Durst
Photo: Jeff Vespa/ WireImage

Think back, if you can, to the nightmarish state of rock and roll in the late '90s. Recall the thudding riffs, the macho posturing, the turntablists. Shudder at the memory of Woodstock '99, the Family Values Tour, and moshpits filled with red-faced, shirtless frat guys all looking to abuse and/or murder you. Recoil from the terror. The dread. The Puddle of Mudd. It was a tough time, indeed. Now, think even harder ... what's the first image that comes to your with mind? Chances are, it's a dude. He is probably wearing a blood-red Yankees cap, turned backwards on his skull. He is probably crouched, wildly gesturing, the crotch of his baggy sweats nearly scraping the floor. He is probably angry at seemingly nothing — and everything — all at once. He is almost definitely Fred Durst. Because, more than anyone (or anything), fairly or unfairly, Durst represented most of the above. He was misogynistic, mean-spirited and egotistical. He picked fights, burned bridges, and stomped on anyone who got in his way. He rhymed "Nookie" with "Cookie," and did it loudly and proudly. Basically, he was "rap-rock" personified, an outwardly lunk-headed, ham-fisted dude who elbowed his way to the top of the mountain. And when the genre that he embodied dropped off, Durst was left in the lurch. And here's the thing: Fred Durst knows all of this. Or, at least, I think he does. Because when I met him (and his Limp Bizkit mates) Recently, he was none of the things I mentioned above. Instead, he was soft-spoken. Slightly goofy. Strangely Zen. And most of all, incredibly humble. Time and reality seem to have tamed him. Of course, this is all based on the 45 minutes I spent talking to him, and everything he told me about Limp Bizkit's new album, the rather excellently titled Gold Cobra (which, strangely, still does not have a release date), but I don't think I'm that off-base. It's the first album to feature the band's full lineup in more than a decade, one that Durst calls their "full circle" affair. Making it meant mending the bridges he had so roughly busted up during his heyday, apologizing to his bandmates, and realizing — probably for the first time ever — that the world does not revolve solely around him. And sure, the first song we've heard off the album — "Why Try," currently streaming on the band's official site — is very much a Limp Bizkit-y affair (one in which Durst refers to himself as "the pirate pimp"), and yes, the presumed first single is called "Douchebag," but those are merely superficial details. Durst admits that the former was born out of in-studio collaborations and the latter is actually a song about bullies. It would seem the shoe is on the other foot. But that's not all. Durst spoke at length about the "unspoken language" that he and his bandmates share, a "magical" connection that he couldn't have with anyone else. He mentioned the pure intent behind Cobra, a renewed focus the band had lost in their later years ("It's controlled chaos now ... there's an intent behind it"). He heaped praise on guitarist Wes Borland's work on "Douchebag," and beamed about the "melodic stuff" on the album. But most of all, he repeatedly talked about the fun he's having these days, about the energy the band is receiving from the crowds they're playing for. Make no mistake about it, Durst is amazed — and a bit flattered — that his fans have stuck with him through all of this. He is taking nothing for granted. And, at the end of our interview, he made a point of showing me the (then-unreleased) artwork for Cobra on his iPhone. You've probably seen it by now. It's a painting, done by Borland, of a giant cobra, rearing up in a cave, with a bikini-clad babe nestled in its coils. As Durst was dialing it up, he couldn't help but laugh, mostly because he was so excited by the artwork (and, of course, the sheer WTF-ness of titling an album Gold Cobra). It was an oddly telling moment, not to mention a really genuine one; the kind of thing I'd never expect from a guy with his reputation. But it only further illustrates my point: Fred Durst, the former Enfant terrible of rap rock, is actually a pretty humble guy these days. He laughed. He smiled. He even wore his ballcap forward the whole time. His image may not be what it was, and perhaps that's beside the point. Fred Durst isn't the monster you probably think he is, at least not anymore. He's been through the ringer, he's heard all the jokes, and he's better for all of it. And while he still may do it all for the nookie, he no longer derives satisfaction in instructing you to stick it up your (yeah).

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Limp Bizkit's First U.S. Tour In Nearly A Decade Will Be 'Big'

10 May 2010 17:49:00 EDT

Lineup includes Ice Cube, Method Man and Redman, others.
By James Montgomery

Limp Bizkit
Photo: MTV News

In many ways, Limp Bizkit's upcoming Gold Cobra album is about coming full circle. It's their first studio album to feature the full lineup in more than 10 years, not to mention a return to the band's big, Billboard-dominating sound of the late '90s. So, somewhat fittingly, they're promoting it with a full summer tour, the group's first stretch of U.S. dates in nine-plus years. In keeping with the familiar Bizkit vibe, they're bringing some old friends along for the ride. Ice Cube will join them for the majority of the dates (replacing Snoop Dogg, who was announced for the tour but has since dropped off) and, according to frontman Fred Durst, Cube's not the only special guest Limp Bizkit will have on hand. "This is our first U.S. tour in — obviously — many, many years, so we wanted it to be big," he told MTV News last week. "Method Man and Redman [will be on] on some dates ... some other bands too. We're excited. We're just going to keep rocking." Bizkit fans might remember that Ice Cube starred in "The Longshots," the 2008 film directed by Durst. Meth and Red have worked with the band in the past: Both rappers appeared on the song "Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle)," from 2000's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,) and Meth famously collaborated with the band on "N 2 Gether Now," a hit single from LB's Significant Other album. And though Limp Bizkit have begun touring in earnest in support of the album, they're most looking forward to the summer jaunt. Because with that tour — kicking off on July 3 in Holmdel, New Jersey — and the acts they're taking on the road with them, Durst and Co. hope to hammer home the fact that they're back and better than ever — and so are their friends. "Personally, I feel like a lot of rockers don't necessarily go see the urban artists they like at urban concerts," Durst said. "I think it'd be nice to bring the urban artist to the rock place, so they can be in their comfort zone and see some other type of acts." Limp Bizkit's Gold Cobra tour dates, according to the band's label:
» 7/3 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
» 7/5 - Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
» 7/7 - Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
» 7/8 - Charlotte, NC @ Uptown Amphitheater
» 7/10 - Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum
» 7/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
» 7/13 - Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live
» 7/15 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
» 7/17 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» 7/18 - Cadott, WI @ Chippewa Valley Rock Fest
» 7/20 - Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
» 7/21 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
» 7/23 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Center
» 7/24 - Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
» 7/25 - Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
» 7/27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center
» 7/28 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» 7/30 - Hartford, CT @ Comcast Theatre
» 7/31 - Syracuse, NY @ New York State Fair
» 8/2 - St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» 8/3 - Kansas City, MO @ Sandstone Amphitheatre
» 8/5 - Denver, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
» 8/7 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
» 8/8 - San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
» 8/10 - Albuquerque, NM @ Hard Rock Casino Pavilion
» 8/12 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» 8/13 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
» 8/15 - Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre

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Limp Bizkit Performs At Gramercy Theatre

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Limp Bizkit Come 'Full-Circle' On Gold Cobra Album

07 May 2010 16:10:00 EDT

'Evolution is great, but we need to do what we do,' Fred Durst says of the band's back-to-basics sound.
By James Montgomery

Limp Bizkit
Photo: MTV News

Here's the thing about the recently reunited Limp Bizkit: Sure, it's been more than five years since they last released an album — 2005's The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) — and even longer since they've been free of any sort of intra-band strife, but in a lot of ways, it's like things have never changed for them. Especially when it comes to Gold Cobra, their new album (which is due this summer). It's the first time the band's full lineup — Fred Durst, guitarist Wes Borland, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto and turntablist DJ Lethal — have recorded together in more than a decade, and it's far from a rusty, dusty affair. The bass still booms, the riffs still crash, and Durst sounds like he's having an absolute blast. All of this means that, after spending the latter part of the '00s adrift, directing feature films or starting other bands, it appears the Bizkit are officially back. "I think that, in a nutshell, we came in staying true to ourselves and doing what we do. ... We make heavy music that has rapping in it. We're a rap-core band," Durst told MTV News. "Through the years, it felt natural to try and explore and grow beyond that, and inevitably, it led us in different directions. And what our coming back together represents is us having figured out that, you know, evolution is great, but we need to do what we do. "And this new album, this is what we do. The evolution has brought us full-circle," Durst continued. "We're Limp Bizkit. And if you didn't like it before, you're not going to like it now. If you don't want to hear a band that plays super-heavy grooves, with an MC rapping over it, then you shouldn't listen to Limp Bizkit." And he means that, because the songs on Gold Cobra aren't exactly designed to win Limp Bizkit any new fans. From the snarling "Why Try" — currently blaring on Bizkit's website — to first single (according to Durst, at least) "Douchebag," this is very much a band playing to its strengths, unapologetically so — as if, with Limp Bizkit, there is any other way. "A song like 'Douchebag,' to me, it's about ... I was really pushed around and bullied a lot growing up ... so having that torture in my life, until forming Limp Bizkit, and still having it against me in Limp Bizkit, but me at least having a voice, a way to fight back and release my aggression through the music," Durst said. "I've always had a problem with the irony that came with Limp Bizkit's music fueling bullies, when really, my aggression and my pent-up anger is mainly focused at these bullies. So I'm mainly calling those people douche bags, and a few other select individuals. ... Everybody has their own interpretation, and you will have a douche bag in your life that this song will apply to, and you just turn this f---er up really loud, because the riff is out of control." Are you excited to hear Limp Bizkit get back to basics? Let us know in the comments!

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Fred Durst Looks Back At His Relationship With Britney Spears

19 Mar 2009 12:36:00 EDT

Limp Bizkit frontman says of Spears, 'I always stay true to my heart and true to everything I did, and my intentions.'
By Brian Jacks

Fred Durst
Photo: Jeff Vespa/ WireImage

Fred Durst is a lot of things, but he's apparently not one to hold a grudge. The outspoken artist recently made peace with guitarist Wes Borland to re-form the classic Limp Bizkit lineup, and if he has anything to say about it, Britney Spears could be next. The story begins in 2003 when Spears tapped Durst to pen songs for her next album. The collaboration then allegedly turned into a romantic fling, with Durst telling fans in a statement that Spears "happens to be a person that I [wouldn't] have thought could make me feel this way." In the resulting paparazzi firestorm that followed, the exact details of the relationship became muddled. On "TRL," Spears declared not only were they not dating, but that she barely knew the Bizkit frontman. Durst then took to the airwaves, telling Howard Stern that it was "unbelievable about this crap she's saying," and swearing on his child's "blue eyes" that he was telling the truth. Whatever transpired, life quickly moved on. Spears married her hometown sweetheart and divorced after 55 hours, before marrying Kevin Federline and divorcing him two years later. Durst, for his part, continued making music and pursuing a directing career (his latest film, "The Education of Charlie Banks," stars Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Ritter and opens March 27). But the alleged Durst/Spears dalliance remains a curious sidenote in both artists' careers. So, six years later, what does Durst make of the situation? "It just became a fiasco of madness," he told MTV News this week. "[But] I always stay true to my heart and true to everything I did and my intentions, and I am in no way a liar." The confusion over the affair still remains with Durst, and the rocker points to the episode as one of the first in a long line of erratic episodes for Spears. "I look back on it as very interesting [in terms of] how things have been sort of unraveling for her since," he said. "[But] it is what it is. I can sleep at night knowing I made decisions that I wanted to make. [Still], I'm a supporter. I was then, I guess I am now. "Her own decisions and different things in her life, people can judge her all they want, but she has an extreme presence and when she's giving it, it's really good," he continued. "I don't think you can really write her off and I just think it'd be silly for people to think that they could. Everything kind of works in cycles and I think she's an example of how those things work." For Durst, summing up the incident may all boil down to one underlying theme. "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her," he laughed. Check out our chat with Durst about his new film, "The Education of Charlie Banks."

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Vision Of Disorder 'Skeptical' Of Reuniting For Good; Plus Limp Bizkit, Jonathan Davis & More News That Rules, In Metal File

26 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT

'Never say never, but reunions are short-lived,' V.O.D. frontman Tim Williams says.
By Chris Harris

Vision of Disorder
Photo: Koch Records

For metal, hardcore and hard-rock fans, the last two years have brought some long-awaited, never-thought-we'd-see-'em reunions. Bands such as Carcass, Snot, Overcast, Pestilence, Living Sacrifice, At the Gates, Possessed, Rage Against the Machine and Suffokate — among others — have all been resuscitated, as members have put aside their various differences, with some groups staging rather successful comeback tours. But the thing about reunions is that they don't always stick, lasting — in some cases — just two or three gigs. Such has been the case for Long Island hardcore hellions Vision of Disorder, who've played just a handful of reunion shows since dissolving back in 2002. Frontman Tim Williams — who didn't languish in the wreckage left by V.O.D.'s demise, instead teaming up with guitarist Mike Kennedy to launch Bloodsimple — is looking forward to the band's upcoming reunion gig in New York on November 16 (the bill will also feature Overcast, Indecision and Nassau Chainsaw) but isn't so sure V.O.D.'s return will lead to anything more than feelings of nostalgia. "Never say never, but reunions are short-lived; everyone knows that," Williams told Metal File this week. "Who knows what's going to happen, but for the time being, this will be it. We're going to do some shows, but V.O.D. will never come back the way it was. It'll never be like a full-time, full-on reunion, but there's definitely going to be some shows. Then again, if the right opportunities presented themselves to the band, and we all agree on it, I think we'll probably do some more shows, because we were pretty happy with the success and the turnout the last couple of shows have had. We're just very skeptical, and we want to be careful." Williams and the rest of V.O.D. are playing November's show to celebrate the release of their first-ever DVD, "Dead in New York," which hits stores just five days before they'll be taking the Irving Plaza stage. The bandmembers started working on the effort two years ago, culling video footage they'd been shooting over the course of their entire career for what Williams said will be a must-have for any true V.O.D. fan. "Dead in New York" also features footage from the band's three most recent reunion gigs. "It's just straight-up V.O.D.," he explained. "I've only seen it once, and I was drunk, but it's awesome. You're going to get a lot of behind-the-scenes V.O.D. stuff, a lot of stuff we'd taped throughout the years, and you're also going to be able to take home those three reunion shows, which were really powerful and amazing and in a small-club atmosphere, where V.O.D. has always been at its best. There's also some funny stuff in there and some stuff from when we were f---ing young as hell. That's always funny and interesting to see. In some of this footage, we were just children." Williams said he hasn't completely ruled out recording new material with Vision of Disorder and said the band has yet to have a serious discussion about hitting the studio. But the more he talked about V.O.D.'s future, the more open he seemed about taking the reunion to the next level. "If something comes along with V.O.D., which it might, we're going to be very careful," he insisted. "We're very wary of contracts, because we made some serious mistakes when we were younger, which we don't intend on repeating. I also feel V.O.D. is in a position to do one-off deals with labels within our realm, and that's where we'd feel safest. That said, I think there will be some other V.O.D. stuff in the future, but I don't want to say anything more about it." But then, he did say more. "It feels like it might be the right time," he said. "I'm just sick and tired of being on everybody else's time. If V.O.D. will do anything, we're going to make the calls, and we'll do it when we feel the time is right. If we record, it will be on our terms — not on any timeline dictated by management or a label timeline. It's going to be on our terms, and we feel we've earned the right to pick and choose our battles." Williams did say it's possible the band could release a live CD, given "Dead in New York" was initially conceived as a DVD/CD set; audio recordings of those reunions gigs exist, along with a bunch of other studio material that Williams doubts will ever see the light of day. So, again, Williams isn't sure what the future might hold, but it could very well include some sort of album release. For now, Williams is concentrating on his own solo projects. "I've been working on some things," he explained. "I'm working on putting together a book and some acoustic material for a possible acoustic EP release in the not-so-distant future. We'll see — it's something I've always wanted to do, but it's got to be really good. I really feel that the work I did with Bloodsimple was really solid, vocally. I set a new bar for myself on that last Bloodsimple record, so I don't want to follow it up with something I don't feel is as good, if not better, than that. But I've been writing poetry for eons, and I've got a lot of journals, too, from throughout the V.O.D. and Bloodsimple years. I've been compiling some poems and some essays for it. In a perfect world, I would like to release a book with a four-song acoustic EP to go with it." As for Bloodsimple, Williams said they haven't broken up, contradicting rumors to the contrary. They're on hiatus, he said, but he doesn't see it as an indefinite one. "Bloodsimple is just taking a well-deserved break at the time," Williams said. "Some things came up in everybody's personal lives that needed some attention, but we're a tight-knit family, and we all realized it might be a good time to step away for a little while, because Bloodsimple was at it for six years straight. I feel Bloodsimple is some of the best music I have ever been a part of, so my eyes are still looking towards the future, and when the time presents itself, I think we'll get back together and do some more shows and probably do some recordings." The rest of the week's metal news: Don't believe those rumors that have been floating around the Net about Limp Bizkit. The band has not replaced guitarist Wes Borland with Evanescence's Terry Balsamo, although it certainly seemed that way earlier this week. In fact, a source close to Balsamo tells Metal File the guitarist has not left Evanescence but is instead working with Limp bassist Sam Rivers on an unnamed side project at Rivers' Born Recording Studio in Jacksonville, Florida. ... Metal File recently caught up with Korn frontman Jonathan Davis and asked him about his forthcoming solo LP. He told us the band is taking a break for the time being, having spent the last 15 years on the road, "So we're definitely going to take a break, [and we're off] doing our own projects. I'm working on my solo record right now, and I'll hopefully have that done by the end of the year. I hope to have it out by the end of this year or early next, so I'm just really busy working on that." Davis said his solo material is a complete departure from Korn's sound. "[There's] a lot of electronic stuff in it. It's really vibe-y, a lot of world-music stuff going on. It's definitely different from Korn, but what's cool about this record I'm working on now, you can actually go on my Web site and you can watch me write it. I have a camera, and I don't care; I'm just doing it different this way, so all the fans can watch me while I'm working." He's still not sure who he'd like to produce the effort, saying, "I've just been writing right now, and when I figure out who I want to produce it, I'm going to do that." ... The members of Bury Your Dead were involved in a serious van accident while on tour in eastern Canada this week. Most of the bandmembers escaped with minor injuries, but guitarist Brendan "Slim" MacDonald wasn't so lucky. He has undergone reconstructive surgery on one of his legs as a result. According to the band, the van flipped four times and slammed into a highway median. The vehicle was totaled. ThePRP posted two pictures (here and here) of the accident's aftermath. ... According to Mastodon's Brann Dailor, Neurosis' Scott Kelly will once again appear on the band's forthcoming LP as a guest performer. He also contributed backing vocals on 2004's Leviathan and 2006's Blood Mountain. ... Ill Niño, Walls of Jericho and Otep will be teaming up next month for a quick tour, which starts October 27 in New Port Richey, Florida. Dates are scheduled through November 30 in Hollywood. ... Behemoth's upcoming EP, Ezkaton, will hit stores November 11. The effort will feature seven new songs, as well as a new studio recording of "Chant for Ezkaton 2000

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Britney Lawyer Fights To Keep Custody Battle Private; Plus Jamie Foxx, Madonna, 50 Cent, Kanye West & More, In For The Record

14 Sep 2007 19:40:00 EDT

Judge postpones ruling on court documents in Spears' child-custody case; Foxx calls Brit 'courageous'; Com to co-headline 2K Sports Bounce Tour.
By MTV News Staff

Kanye West and 50 Cent present the "Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration" at the 2007 VMAs on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Kanye West's Graduation is proving to be quite the bear. The album leads with 781,000 copies sold over the 603,000 moved by 50 Cent's Curtis according to projections, Billboard reports. "It's just a few days out," Fiddy told the news outlet, qualifying the numbers. He said the music industry "would consider me to be a hip-hop favorite because of my sales history, and people like to root for the underdog." He also took some time Thursday to sound off about Sunday's VMAs on New York's Hot 97, saying he was shorted compared to 'Ye — even though West has also been complaining he didn't get enough airtime during the show. Fif also managed to take a swipe at his record label, Interscope, during the VMA rant: "As far as the VMAs were concerned, Kanye received the upper hand. I ain't going to front. He had four looks — his song 'Stronger,' his new record 'Good Life,' he had a performance with Soulja Boy, 'Crank [That],' and then he came out with me. So I feel like Def Jam is doing a better job of promoting the CD than Interscope. Interscope is just relying on my base and the actual music. I was on the VMAs for one minute and 20 seconds. I should've just stayed home." ... Last weekend, Britney Spears had the VMAs to worry about — this weekend, it's her kids. On Friday (September 14), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge postponed making a ruling on whether court documents relating to the singer's divorce and custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline should be sealed or open to the public. "Access Hollywood" and People magazine were among the media outlets representing the public's interests. Outside the courtroom, Spears' divorce attorney Laura Wasser spoke to reporters, telling them this is a frustrating time for the singer. "I think she just wants to be a mom," Wasser told reporters, "and both of her kids' birthdays are this week, and I think she would've liked to celebrate with them without having to worry about the entire nation — the entire world — being concerned about what's going on with her personally and her custody battle with Mr. Federline." On Monday, the judge will hear Federline's order to show cause for primary physical custody of the couple's two children: Sean Preston, who turned 2 on Friday; and Jayden James, who turned 1 on Wednesday. ... Earlier this week, the "American Idol" judges had at Britney Spears' VMA performance — now "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba is following suit. "When I watched it, I think they gave her a great place to make a comeback," she told Newsweek. "It was more mature than we've seen in the past. The thing that was unfortunate is that the center of the performance was Britney, and she was only giving about 30 percent. That's why it fell short. The backup dancers focused all the energy right to Britney, and she was the weakest link. ... I think fear got the best of her." ... Jamie Foxx got a place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Friday, and when he chatted with reporters at the induction ceremony, he inevitably gave his two cents on Spears' performance. "I think Britney's gonna be fine," he said. "I think that she was courageous to get up there and do her thing. I wish her well for that." ... Common and Q-Tip will co-headline this year's 2K Sports Bounce Tour, which will kick off September 22 in Milwaukee and conclude October 14 in Los Angeles, according to Filter magazine. Q-Tip is featured in "NBA 2K8" as a playable character and is on the video game's soundtrack as well. ... Mark Ronson — who manned the ones and twos inside the Palms' Pearl Theatre during last weekend's Vegas VMAs — has slapped two U.S. tour dates onto his itinerary: October 3 (Los Angeles) and October 5 (New York). ... A fire broke out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday afternoon, injuring four people, according to Austin360.com. The flames erupted inside a trailer located behind the beverage-vendor tents between two of the festival stages, and Pete Yorn's set was stopped as the fire was extinguished. All four people were transported to Brackenridge Hospital, and two are in critical condition. ... Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher attended a Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday to celebrate the Jewish New Year, according to The Associated Press. She reportedly didn't speak with the media, and the conference was closed to TV cameras. ... Master P visited Monroe Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and spoke to roughly 800 students about the importance of education, good financial management and a vision for success, AP reports. The rapper was approached by math teacher Bonnie Mwanda, who reportedly heard he would be in town and thought his success might be an inspiration for her students, many of whom come from similar backgrounds as the hip-hop mogul. "If the principal tells me y'all have a good year, I'm going to bring Romeo back to do a concert," he told the students, according to AP. ... Fred Durst has been keeping a relatively low profile these days, but the Limp Bizkit frontman was given a 120-day suspended jail sentence after pleading no contest to seven misdemeanors way back on August 16, AP reports. He was also ordered to perform 20 hours of community service and fined $1,500 for assault, battery and reckless driving, for deliberately hitting two people with his car in Los Angeles in October 2006. Moreover, Durst was hit with a restraining order, is not allowed within 100 yards of the two victims — whose names have not been revealed — and cannot possess a firearm. ... Elton John made a surprise appearance onstage during a Prince concert at London's O2 arena Thursday night. BBC News reports that John joined Prince for a cover of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road." After the two-hour-plus show, Prince ducked into the O2's smaller theater and played another two-hour gig, which included covers of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and another Beatles song, "Come Together." ... Led Zeppelin fans are getting more time for a chance at tickets to see the band perform a one-off reunion gig November 26 at London's O2 arena. Organizers behind the concert — a tribute to late music icon Ahmet Ertegun — are extending the lottery-application process to Wednesday, Billboard reports. The Web site set up to handle registrations received 89.5 million attempts in a 12-hour period on Thursday, according to the news outlet. ... Members of underground-rock heroes Shudder to Think will reconvene for a one-off gig at New York's Mercury Lounge on Monday, Pitchfork reports. Frontman Craig Wedren and guitarist Nathan Larson — whose conflicts were part of the reason the band broke up in the late '90s — will get together with drummer Kevin March for the gig, although bassist Stuart Hill will not be accompanying them. ... Glassjaw have booked three California dates for next month. The reunited band will play October 28 in Hollywood; October 29 in San Diego; and October 30 in Pomona, California. ... Iconic punk band Operation Ivy's 1991 self-titled compilation LP will be reissued on November 6 on Hellcat. The classic release has been remastered and will also be available for download for the first time. ... PJ Harvey's White Chalk album has shifted from a September 25 release date to October 2. ... AT&T's Blue Room, the site where political comments made by Pearl Jam during Lollapalooza were censored a month ago, has announced a new policy to avoid repeating that controversial practice during its webcast of this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival. According to AT&T spokesperson Steven Schwadron, "AT&T has developed an AT&T Blue Room policy to maintain integrity of the live performances featured on the site. AT&T will not edit any audio during the live webcast, of performances. We may edit visual content — either through camera angle changes or video blackouts — if there is strong sexual content. Also, we are going to have a clear viewer-discretion messaging both before and during the webcasts. The terms and conditions of the site, which users accept when they choose to view the webcast, requires users to be at least 13 years of age." ... It's been 42 years since Johnny Cash's arrest in Starkville, Mississippi, for picking flowers from a resident's garden. But a judge who is reviewing the matter could potentially pardon the late musician, according to BBC News, and the city plans to instead honor him with the Johnny Cash Pickin' Festival from November 2-4. Cash wrote the track "Starkville City Jail" — which he performed at his legendary live At San Quentin prison LP — after spending a night in the city's prison. 09.13.07 50 Cent, Common, Nicole Scherzinger and others have all had their say about Britney Spears' VMA performance — now the "American Idol" judges are having at her. "We've decided that we're all going to collectively manage Britney," Simon Cowell remarked at a press conference earlier this week, according to "Access Hollywood." "We're going to manage Britney, take her career over," Randy Jackson added. Cowell snickered that he would "keep her away from the stupid friends, buy her some underwear," while Pa

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Fred Durst-Directed Flick Awarded At Tribeca Film Festival

04 May 2007 20:38:00 EDT

Limp Bizkit frontman's 'Education of Charlie Banks' takes home Made in NY narrative prize.
By Shawn Adler

Fred Durst
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

Fred Durst has always been a popular singer. Who knew the Limp Bizkit frontman could also direct? Durst was among the big winners at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, where his flick "The Education of Charlie Banks" took home the Made in NY narrative prize, given to the best film either about or shot in New York state. "The Education of Charlie Banks" follows three New Yorkers, played by Chris Marquette, Jason Ritter and Jesse Eisenberg, who reunite at Vassar College after a turbulent youth (see "Fred Durst: The Next Martin Scorsese?"). (Watch Fred talk about making the transition from frontman to filmmaker.) According to a festival spokesperson, Durst's flick beat out 14 other films for the prize and was chosen by a jury that included Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl and actress Minnie Driver. Director David Volach's "My Father My Lord" took home the award for Best Narrative Feature while Alex Gibey's "Taxi to the Darkside" won Best Documentary. "My Father My Lord" (titled "Hofshat Kaits" in Israel) follows a rabbi who challenges his faith, while "Taxi" centers on U.S. torture practices overseas, particularly how they affected an innocent taxi driver who was tortured and killed in Afghanistan in 2002. Gibey won't be making many friends at the next Republican National Convention. He was previously best known for directing "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." "I fear that along the way that sense of purpose and hope for a better world was hijacked by some people who played on our fears and in a way took us on a journey to the dark side," the director said at the awards ceremony, according to Yahoo! Movies. Other winners at the sixth annual festival included "Making Of," which won both Best Actor (Lofti Edbelli) and Best Screenplay (Nouri Bouzid); "Lady Chatterley," which won Best Actress (Marina Hands); and "The Killing of John Lennon," which won the Made in NY Special Jury Recognition Prize. "The Last Dog in Rwanda" and "A Son's Sacrifice" were highlighted in the short-film competition. The flicks won for Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short, respectively. Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal started the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002 as a way to revitalize lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center crippled the area's economy.

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Fred Durst Digs Wes Borland's New Band But Still Wants To Get Back To Bizkit

26 Apr 2007 14:21:00 EDT

'We're still a family, we're just farther apart,' he says of his outfit's original lineup.
By Chris Harris

Fred Durst
Photo: MTV News

A few years back, a video featuring a baseball-capless Fred Durst prancing around the bustling streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, made the rounds on video-sharing sites like YouTube, subjecting the Limp Bizkit frontman to oodles of online ridicule. In the obnoxiously long clip, Durst disrupts pedestrian and vehicular traffic, pops out of a large recycling bin, clumsily rides a bicycle down the street and does his best impression of the Carlton dance from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" — all while lip-syncing British post-punk outfit Modern English's 1982 classic "I Melt With You." The video was never intended for public consumption. Durst called it "a fun thing I did for a girl I was dating at the time," adding that the footage was among the spoils hacked from his personal computer. An explicit video, showing the singer doing it all for the nookie with an unidentified female, was also pilfered and eventually released online. "I had a lot of fun, but I felt silly borrowing people's bikes and just setting up and dancing in the middle of Vancouver," Durst said of the Modern English homage. "I love that song. It was just something I did in my hotel room while she was working. I thought it was romantic — hey, I'm a romantic guy." These days, Durst continues to make movies — the legitimate kind. His first stab at directing, "The Education of Charlie Banks," will debut this weekend in New York as part of Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival (see "Fred Durst: The Next Martin Scorsese?"). And while Durst plans to dabble with film in the future, his first love is music in general and Limp Bizkit in particular. Durst recently posted a blog on Limp's MySpace page expressing a strong desire to restore the band's original lineup and get back to the business of crafting nü-metal masterpieces. Trouble is, guitarist Wes Borland wants no part of it (see "Wes Borland Sees The Black Light, Says No More Bizkit For Him"), having formed his own rock outfit, Black Light Burns. The band's debut LP, Cruel Melody, is slated for June 5. "There were feelings with Limp Bizkit that were so amazing, it's almost like if you could get close to feeling something like that again, with the same family you started it with — I mean, I love Limp Bizkit, and I would always want to have the family together," Durst said. "There were times we were all looking at each other like, 'Holy sh--, I can't believe this is happening.' But we're all individuals as well. People evolve and grow, and life is fascinating and fun and tragic. There are so many things in life, and I always look at Limp Bizkit as something I just love, because it's just that feeling, that thing." Durst said he has seen loads of bands perform live, and he admits some do a fine job at it. But none is Limp Bizkit. "I think Limp Bizkit f---ing rock hard," he said. "Limp Bizkit on the stage, together, just stepping back and looking at it — I just love it. I love the whole band." Durst doesn't know what the future holds for the Bizkit ("I stopped predicting the future a long time ago," he said), but like a delusional boyfriend waiting for a girl to take him back, he doesn't think a reunion is out of the question, even with Borland doing his own thing. "We're still a family, we're just farther apart," he explained. "But it's still there, and we all know it. We're going to do it when we want. We don't feel obligated. Our hearts are in it. If there's ever something Limp Bizkit does together, I'd say check it out, because it might be pretty powerful." And yes, folks, there will be a follow-up to 2005's ill-received The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). He said the Limp Bizkit project has been in the bag for awhile, but when will it surface? "Timing's everything," Durst said. "I want it to be the right time. I think people should focus on Rage Against the Machine playing Coachella. People need to realize that [the Rage reunion] is going to rattle the world like an earthquake" (see "Rage Against The Machine To Reunite For Coachella Festival"). Durst has heard Black Light Burns' inaugural offering, and he admits that he digs it. "Wes would always play stuff he was doing, solo-wise," Durst said. "He's one of the most creative guys you'll ever meet. Obsessive — just making great music in his studio all the time. He's a killer player, and he plays so many instruments and he's created this thing. I think [Black Light Burns] are cool. Everybody has their own little solo thing going on right now, and I think Black Light Burns are pretty damn good."

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Wes Borland Sees The Black Light, Says No More Bizkit For Him

26 Apr 2007 06:02:00 EDT

'The whole Limp thing is absolutely, offensively impossible,' guitarist insists.
By Chris Harris

Photo: I Am Wolfpack

Fred Durst misses Limp Bizkit, and he misses Wes Borland — a lot. A few weeks back, LB's red-baseball-cap-sporting frontman updated the band's MySpace blog with an honest and seemingly heartfelt plea to his nü metal brethren to revive the Bizkit and tour the world. "I would love to do a tour with the original [lineup]," he wrote. "The feeling we have on stage as Limp Bizkit is like no other feeling I have ever had, and no other feeling has been so rewarding." But of course, there's been years of publicly spilled bad blood between Durst — who has been focusing on filmmaking in recent years (see "Fred Durst: The Next Martin Scorsese?") — and Borland (see "Durst Attacks Wes Borland In Song, Blogs Over Bizkit Talk"). The guitarist has since cut ties with Limp to go out on his own (see "Bye Bye Bizkit? Wes Borland Says Limp Are Pretty Much Done"). His band, Black Light Burns, will issue their debut LP, Cruel Melody, on June 5. "Imagine that me and Wes could work things out together and be a band again," Durst wrote. "We had so many wonderful times ... [and] I am proud to say that I have learned so much from my mistakes and it has taken a long time to evolve to this place where I finally let myself be healed. Without Wes, I wouldn't know what it is like to work with the best." Well, it looks like Durst is just going to have to settle for a different guitarist if he's truly interested in making a comeback with the Bizkit, because for Borland, there is only Black Light Burns. "I am in this for the long haul," Borland said during a recent interview with MTV News. "The whole Limp thing is absolutely, offensively impossible. I've been through that several times now, and it's always the same thing. It's very predictable how that group of people, when they come together, what happens. Him calling me out and saying that he's different and wants the band back together ... I mean, I've seen it three times before. And what happens is, I go, 'OK, let's make it work,' and three months later, we completely hate each other. It's nothing against Fred — that's just how it works. I understand that the intentions are good, and that he means what he said, but I can't waste any of my time trying to make that happen, because it's a scenario that just doesn't work out." While Borland's thankful for the times he did have with Limp — or at least the times he says it worked well — "I am just ready to do something I believe in more, and something that makes me happier," he said. "I'm too old to be farting around with stuff that isn't precisely what I want to do. This is my focus now, whether it blows up quick or it flunks. Either way, I don't really care. I just want to be back in the world, doing music and meeting people — doing my thing." Borland said Black Light Burns plan to spend much of this year and next touring. He's compiled a touring band that features drummer Marshall Kilpatric, who some may remember from the Esoteric and Today Is the Day. His band will head out with Chevelle for a tour that kicks off in Chicago on April 30 and wraps May 23 in Clifton Park, New York. After that, Borland said they'll head out on their own headlining run, and at some point early next year, he said he plans to begin working on Cruel Melody's follow-up. He's been working with Kilpatric on several new tunes. "I don't want to take as long to do the next record as this one took, because this one was sort of about finding my own way, and now I know how it works, so it'll be a lot easier," he said. (Borland spent more than three years working on Cruel Melody.) "The band's built, and now I just have to crank out a bunch of songs." Borland said he plans to work on new material from his bus, over the course of the next few months of touring. And in just a few weeks, the first video from Black Light, for the track "Lie," will be making its TV debut. In the clip, Borland is killed off by the members of From First to Last — a band he did a brief stint with (see "From First To Last Are Done With Wes Borland, Target Rob Zombie") — who are all dressed in masks and robes. His body is dragged off to a party by a gaggle of go-go dancers, and Wes parties his undead ass off. During the video's shooting, Borland nearly lost a tooth. "We were performing, and there was all this water on the floor," he explained. "I slipped a few times and busted my lip open. And I also chipped my tooth on my microphone." Making Cruel Melody — which Borland recorded with ex-Nine Inch Nails multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, drumming hired gun Josh Freese, and Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv fame, and features guest spots by former From First to Last frontman Sonny Moore, Limp bassist Sam Rivers, British singer Carina Round and Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano — was a liberating experience for Borland, as he's transitioned from musician to vocalist with ease. And really, he doesn't know what sort of reaction he'll get from fans. "All I want is for it to grow, and I just hope that it continues to reach people and sustain us so that we can tour a lot," he explained. "I feel like people don't know what to expect, because it's, like, the dude with the black contacts that was, like, Fred's sidekick — that's probably what most people are thinking. And it's fine, because I don't expect anyone to welcome this with open arms, because it is different from other things I've done. But it's the most real I've ever been before — it's the most pure me. So if you don't like this, you don't like me as an artist."

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Photos | Britney And Kevin, Depp, Durst, More At "Charlie" Premiere

11 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EDT

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