As of right now quantumRadio is being put on hold. It will bee back at a later date, for more information please visit Escape from Reality.

I’ll post back as soon as that happens.

~ Dj Dark

Please if anyone is willing to volunteer their time for quantumRadio please send in an application.  (You can find the info in this post.)

I’m looking for volunteers to post entertainment related news articles, cd reviews and possibly a podcast of weekly/monthly entertainment events.

You don’t have to post specifically about dance music, it can be any genre, except country.

You can even post about TV, Movies and hell even games

So if your interested you can contact me, DJ Dark at djdark@quantumradio.net, please include the following details:Subject: Volunteer for qR
Full Name:
Age/Date of Birth:
Why you want to be a volunteer for qR.

That basically all we need,  if you can think of anything else that’ll get you you higher on the list than don’t be shy and include it.

All that we ask is that if you get accepted please help grow quantumRadio into the best music and entertainment community.

She might be a relative newcomer, but the artist born Stefani Joanne Germanotta commanded the stage with a royal air during her hour-long set, at times even sporting a glowing scepter.

With two chart-topping singles to her credit and her debut album, "The Fame," climbing the upper reaches of the Billboard 200, GaGa’s first theater tour is a hot ticket — and the Lady did not disappoint. Borrowing from Madonna, Grace Jones, David Bowie and Daryl Hannah’s "Blade Runner" replicant, GaGa put on a compelling show revolving around her mysterious persona, a trio of leather-jacketed dancers, multiple costume changes and props and a lone DJ providing musical accompaniment.

Old-schoolers might bemoan the lack of a live band, but GaGa’s eye candy and an onslaught of beats delivered by DJ Space Cowboy filled the void effectively. Opening with the dance-pop basher "Paparazzi," trapped on a platform that complemented her angular modern ensemble, GaGa focused on the beat-heavy pop that comprises most of "Fame."

But midset she pulled out a surprise: a translucent purple piano she claimed was designed specifically to match her dress, made of giant plastic bubbles. At the keyboard she proceeded to perform a drastically rearranged bluesy lounge version of her current hit "Poker Face," proving her talent extends beyond the dance floor.

It’s the sort of stunt a veteran artist pulls after performing one of their biggest hits for decades, but GaGa had the chutzpah to circumvent the wait and go directly for the kill. She followed with the not-yet-released doo-wop-flavored space oddity "Future Love," again performed on piano while she serenaded a glowing mannequin.

In an age of too much information, one of the most refreshing things about GaGa is her mystery. She often hid behind shades, and her mostly incomprehensible, coy and semi-robotic stage patter did little to tell us who’s that Lady.

"Some people say Lady GaGa is a lie, and they’re right," she said at one point. "But every day I kill to make it true."

Whatever the case, by the time GaGa pulled out her big hits, "Just Dance" and the more familiar version of "Poker Face," she had transformed the Wiltern into a joyous dance party that might have made even that other Stefani a little jealous.

Source: Reuters

The Toronto-based electro-dance band Fritz Helder & the Phantoms is the first act signed to Nelstar and will release its debut album July 7.

"Nelly just wasn’t that interested in doing a OneRepublic/Timbaland type of thing," says Chris Taylor, president of Last Gang and Furtado’s longtime attorney. "She’s an independent spirit, and she wants to make sure we build the band at the right pace. It’s also very important to launch a band with indie branding behind them and be able to build them brick by brick."

Taylor points out that Furtado has close ties to the band, noting that two members are her backup dancers.

Furtado says she never considered introducing the Nelstar imprint via her label, Interscope.

"I’m happy there, and it would be great if Fritz got signed there at some point in the future," Furtado says. "But I also think that it’s best to start off an indie. When you are a new band and you sign to a major, you get thrown to the fire. Plus, I always secretly wanted to be an indie artist. When I was a teenager, I loved Ani DiFranco and hoped I could do something like that. A major turned out to be my destiny, but I’m enjoying reconnecting with the indie world."

Furtado adds that Interscope is aware of the project but says, "They have enough going on without my label adding to everything." Interscope didn’t respond to an e-mail request for comment.

The model might resemble one commonly used in hip-hop, where a rapper signs his or her protege, then builds the artist up through a series of guest spots on tracks and promotional appearances, but Taylor says there are some differences.

"Nelly’s not on the album in a meaningful way," he says. "She’s in one of the videos, but that’s really it. She’s not like Puff Daddy in that respect."

But that doesn’t mean Furtado has just signed the band and handed it over. "We had a meeting a few weeks ago to look at all the pictures, and Nelly was really concerned that (band member) Raquel Gil-Jimenez didn’t look foxy enough," Taylor says. "She insisted we do reshoots, and we’re going to send the new pictures to the Maxims of the world to promote the band."

The deal is also unique in that Fritz Helder & the Phantoms will remain signed to their own label, House of Helder, which will become an imprint of Nelstar. "We still have the label and we still control the creative aspect," Helder says. "Nelly is acting as a mentor, Last Gang will coordinate the distribution, and we’ll still do the videos and things like that."

Helder and Furtado describe the deal as a long-term partnership. "It’s a three- to five-year deal, with one or two albums," she says. "I’m doing this for a band I love, and I don’t want it to be too restrictive."

Furtado adds that she’s looking at signing a few other bands. "I’m busy enough right now, and I don’t want this to get to a point where it’s something I’m not passionate about," she says. "I want this to be something that really grows organically."

Source: BillBoard.com

I should have the new session ready for this summer, if not, well like I said, no regular release schedule anymore (though we never had one before.).

Cohen, 74, broke a 15-year hiatus from touring in 2008 with shows in Canada, Europe and New Zealand. His AEG-promoted North American tour will begin April 2 in Austin, Texas, and run through June 2 at Red Rocks outside Denver. He will also make a previously announced appearance on April 17 at the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif.

In what was just the second show at the newly reopened Beacon, Cohen dazzled the sold-out crowd with a career-spanning set, backed by an ace six-piece band and three female vocalists.
He frequently thanked the audience for its devotion, and the crowd ate up Big Apple references in songs like "Chelsea Hotel" and the funky "First We Take Manhattan."

Cohen was in fine, deep voice throughout, dropping to his knees to sing "Hallelujah" and dabbling in guitar and synthesizer throughout the performance.

As previously reported, Columbia will on March 31 release Cohen’s "Live in London," taped last summer at the city’s O2 Arena.

Here is Leonard Cohen’s set list:

Set one:
"Dance Me To The End of Love"
"The Future"
"Ain’t No Cure For Love"
"Bird on the Wire"
"Everybody Knows"
"In My Secret Life"
"Who By Fire"
"Chelsea Hotel"
"Hey That’s No Way"/"Sisters of Mercy"
"Anthem
Set two:
"Tower of Song"
"Suzanne"
"The Gypsy’s Wife"
"The Partisan"
"Boogie Street"
"Hallelujah"
"I’m Your Man"
Poem
"Take This Waltz"

Encores:
"So Long. Marianne"
"First We Take Manhattan"
"Famous Blue Raincoat"
"If It Be Your Will"
"Democracy"
"I Tried To Leave You"
"Whither Thou Goest"
"Heart With No Companion"
"A Thousand Kisses Deep"
"This Is a War"
"One of Us Cannot Be Wrong"
"That Don’t Make It Junk"
"Passing Through"
"Waiting for the Miracle"
"Avalanche"
"Closing Time"
"Sisters of Mercy"

Here are Leonard Cohen’s North American tour dates:
April 2: Austin, Texas (Long Center)
April 3: Grand Prairie, Texas (Nokia Theatre)
April 5: Phoenix (Dodge Theatre)
April 7: San Diego (Copley Hall)
April 10: Los Angeles (Nokia Theatre)
April 13: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
April 17: Indio, Calif. (Coachella Festival)
April 19: Vancouver (GM Place)
April 21: Victoria, B.C. (Save-On Foods Memorial Centre)
April 23: Seattle (WaMu Theatre)
April 25: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Place)
April 26: Calgary, Alberta (Jack Singer Hall)
April 28: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Credit Union Centre)
April 30: Winnipeg, Manitoba (MTS Centre)
May 3: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
May 5: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
May 9: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
May 11: Columbia, Md. (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
May 12: Philadelphia (Academy of Music)
May 14: Waterbury, Conn. (Palace Theatre)
May 16: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
May 19: Hamilton, Ontario (Copps Coliseum)
May 21: Quebec City, Quebec (Pavillon de la Jeunesse)
May 22: Kingston, Ontario (K-Rock Centre)
May 24: London, Ontario (Labatt Centre)
May 25: Ottawa, Ontario (National Arts Centre)
May 29: Boston (Wang Theatre)
June 2: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks)

Source: Billboard.com

The dates will follow a previously announced spring run, which kicks off April 14 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Support acts for the summer shows include Robert Randolph, Femi Kuti, the Hold Steady, Umphrey’s McGee, Old Crow Medicine Show and Switchfoot.

Rumors suggest the band may play Boston’s Fenway Park on May 29-30, but no announcement has yet been made.

Meanwhile, DMB plans to zip over to Europe for a quick tour during late June and early July. For the band’s full itinerary, visit its Web site.

The new DMB album was produced by Rob Cavallo. A number of songs have been played live since the summer of 2007, including "Round and Round," "Cornbread," "#27" and "Falling Off the Roof," but it is unknown if they will appear on the upcoming project.

Source: Billboard.com

Selling 77,000 on a whopping 715% increase, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ "Raising Sand" (Rounder) zooms 69-2 following its album of the year win at the Grammys. The set debuted at No. 2 in late 2007 with 112,000 and has now sold 1.26 million to date.

Coldplay’s "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Capitol rebounds 31-8 with 62,000 (+271%); the album generated three Grammys, including song of the year for "Viva La Vida." Best new artist winner Adele’s Columbia debut "19" climbs from 27-10 with 57,000 on 218% bump, and the "Grammy Nominees 2009" compilation posts a 114% increase to 61,000, resulting in a 12-9 jump.

Elsewhere on The Bilboard 2000, India.Arie’s "Testimony: Vol. 2 — Love & Politics" (Universal Republic) arrives at No. 3 with 76,000. The singer/songwriter’s last release, 2006’s "Testimony: Vol. 1 — Life & Relationship," started at No. 1 with 161,000.

After topping the chart last week, the Fray’s self-titled Epic album slips to No. 4 with 75,000 (-58%). Directly behind is Lily Allen’s sophomore album, "It’s Not Me, It’s You" (Capitol), which starts with 70,000 at No. 5. The British singer’s debut release, 2007’s "Alright, Still…," bowed at No. 20 with 34,000.

Bruce Springsteen’s "Working on a Dream" (Columbia) falls 2-6 with 65,000 (-36%), and R&B crooner Bobby Valentino’s "The Rebirth" (Blu Kolla Dreams/Capitol) enters at No. 7 with 64,000 copies. The artist’s new single, "Beep," is No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart this week.

"Saturday Night Live" star Andy Samberg’s comedy troupe the Lonely Island earns a No. 13 entry for its Universal Republic debut, "Incredibad," which sold 48,000 copies. Other debuts this week include Red’s "Innocence & Instinct" (Essential) at No. 15 with 39,000 and Ryan Leslie’s self-titled NextSelection/Casablanca debut at No. 35 with 24,000.

At 8.56 million units, sales are up 16.8% compared to last week, but are off by 12.6% compared to the same week in 2008.

Source: Billboard.com