Interview with Eric “Halvo” Halvorsen from A ROCKET TO THE MOON

Formed by Massachusetts-native, Nick Santino (vocals/guitar), A Rocket to the Moon has proven to fans that the word “predictable” is not in their vocabulary. From crashing weddings to having songs range from pop to country, Nick, Eric (bass), Justin (guitar), and Andrew (drums) show that they have a lot of offer to their fans. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Eric “Halvo” Halvorsen about tour life, their CD “On Your Side”, and high school life.

- How was A Rocket to the Moon formed?

The band was formed by Nick. He started it in 2007, I think, and it was just him playing acoustic guitar, making beats and whatnot on his computer and then in spring of 2008, our old manager, Tim, was managing Nick and asked me if I wanted to join the band and also my friend, Loren. Justin was just filling in for us and we had a few other guitarists but in December of 2008, Justin officially joined the band. Then Loren, our original drummer, quit and we invited Andrew to come play with us.

- Tell me about touring. What’s a typical day like?

During a typical day on tour, we wake up in a hotel room, usually pretty early depending on if we have to drive or not, we get ready, grab some lunch, head to the venue, hang out with the other bands, do a sound check, if we have one, and then it’s a lot of hanging out and sitting around, and then we play, and then after that we usually hang out at the merch table and with friends, and then when the show is done and we’re done signing and hanging out with kids we either take off to drive for the night, or stay in a hotel.

- Tonight [April 6th] is the first night of the Motion City Soundtrack tour. Have you toured with any of the bands [Motion City Soundtrack, Fun, and Sing It Loud] before?

Not really. We toured with Sing It Loud before on Warped Tour. We did Warped Tour last summer for three weeks and they were on the whole tour, but for the most part everybody is fresh faces. Andrew and Justin have a few friends on tour in Motion City and Fun, though.

- What’s the first night of tour like, since you said you don’t really know anybody on the tour?

It’s kind of stressful, to be honest. It’s hard trying to move our stuff in and get set up inside is kind of hard because you have four bands and four crews and they have to meet everybody and it’s kind of difficult to remember names. The first week is basically playing name games. Usually it takes me three or four times to figure out someone’s name. But it’s exciting. It’s always good to get the first day over. Just going through your set and getting the anxiety out of the way is probably the best part.

- What’s the craziest thing that has happened to you, or the band, while touring?

Once we ran out of gas in the middle of the desert at night, and we’d try to see who could run the farthest in the dark in the desert, which was kind of scary. The same night we also crashed a wedding which was awesome. It’s one of those things that happens once in a lifetime that you’ll remember forever.

- How would you describe your sound on “On Your Side”? Is it different from the “Greetings From…” EP?

Yeah, I’d say so. I think “On Your Side” is more pop-orientated and is a more diverse record. There are some songs that are straight forward pop songs that you would hear on the radio with, like, Miley Cyrus and there are some songs that are little softer or have a country twang to them. It has all different kinds of music on it.

- What made you decide to become a musician?

When i was in 7th grade, I was hanging out with some friends and they said they were starting a band, and I was like “Oh, well I don’t play anything,” and their dad had a bass, and I was like, “Oh, well, I’ll try that out,” but, I didn’t know how to play so I just messed around for a day or two. This was right before Christmas, and I really wanted to play bass. So Christmas day comes around and I was so stoked and there was this big box underneath the tree. I obviously didn’t know what it was, so I start to unwrap it and it turns out my Mom accidentally bought me a guitar instead of a bass and I was like, “Oh, it’s not what I wanted, haha, but thanks!” So I ended up returning that and buying a bass. Growing up always with my Dad listening to music, my friends and whatnot, and me loving music only seemed fitting for me to start playing.

- What was your high school experience like?

It was okay, I guess, haha. I have this super tight-knit group of friends and it was always a group of 12 kids hanging out everyday. We never really tried to go out and party or meet girls. We were losers, haha. We had a band and kids hung out with us or whatever. I wasn’t really too outgoing. I was super small, too, and kind of awkward and I was really uncomfortable with everything, so high school was an awkward experience, for sure.

- Do you have any advice for high school students wanting to make it in the music industry?

Yeah, just work really hard. If you write good songs and are passionate about it and believe that you have something that’s worth putting time and effort into. Today you can get recognized solely off the internet. You have MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and more outlets where people can hear you. And if you just push it, it’s only natural people will catch on.♫

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Emma Watson Had 'Huge' Crush on Tom Felton

Hungry gossip hounds don't usually get much from Emma Watson, but here's a story that'll get their tails wagging! The lovely Brit is gracing the cover of Seventeen magazine's August issue, and right next to her pretty face is a headline that promises real-deal inside dirt on which "Harry Potter" co-star she's been secretly pining for. SECRET HARRY POTTER ROMANCE, YOU GUYS! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMFG! OMFG! OMFG! akgsfjugaeiufOMG! asdljhfglahdsOMFG! jadhfsjuh....oke enough!

...Oh, except that the so-called "secret crush" isn't exactly recent news. Or even a secret. Like, at all.

"For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush. He totally knows. We talked about it. We still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that's cool."

That was a mean tease, Seventeen. Where's the scandal? The drama? The dirty, sexy details about which young witches and wizards were sneaking away from Hogwarts to touch each other's wands, if you get our meaning and WE THINK YOU DO?!

Well, anyway. Much as we'd love to hear all the sordid stories about young stars in Potterlove, we know better than to expect them from Emma. She's never been one to play coy with the press—or, per her own admission, with anyone else.

"I’m a terrible game player," she said. "I’m so impatient—it’s one of my worst traits! If I want to see someone, I want to see them, and if I don’t, then I don’t. My friends are always telling me I have to play hard to get because I’ll pretty much say to a guy, 'I like you—let’s go hang out.' But my friends are like, 'You can’t do that! You have to string this guy along.' And I’m just like, 'No! I won’t! I just want to go on the date!' It’s a nightmare—I definitely haven’t figured it out yet.”

Oh, Emma. Please don't figure that out! We love your cluelessness! And hopefully, this means that whenever our favorite Muggleborn does find herself in a serious relationship, we'll get to hear about it in the same adorably matter-of-fact way.

• Looks like Draco Malfoy cast a love spell on Hermione Granger! Emma Watson, 21, tells Seventeen magazine about her not-so-secret Harry Potter crush in its August issue. The final installment of the beloved franchise hits theaters July 15, wrapping up a 10-year run.
– Alison Schwartz

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Justin Bieber Won't 'Limit' Himself On Next Album

It's been a minute since Justin Bieber released new music, and it sounds like the waiting game continues for Beliebers. The singer is currently in the planning and recording stages for his next record and has not set any deadlines for himself. At the moment, Bieber said, he's still creating.

"I want to work a lot with myself," he told MTV News about any plans to expand his collaboration résumé, after working with artists like Chris Brown, Kanye West, Ludacris and Rascal Flatts. "And [I want to] write a lot myself. I will be working with a lot of other producers and stuff like that, but I'm just writing a lot, writing on tour."

So what is Bieber focusing on in this new batch of songs? "[I'm] writing about how I feel and producing. I've been producing on my laptop and on my computer," he said. "I've been really into it and, hopefully, this next album will be huge."

It may be a while until new stuff comes out, but it's not like fans don't already have plenty of Bieber music to listen to in the meantime. Only a couple of years into his career, Bieber has already managed to release the chart-topping albums My World, My World 2.0, Never Say Never — The Remixes and My Worlds Acoustic. He's also dabbled in a number of genres, like pop, hip-hop, R&B and, yes, even country. With so many interests in so many different sounds and so much to draw from, Bieber said he's not boxing himself in on his next release.

"I've done a lot on my acoustic guitar, so it's gonna have that vibe," he explained. "I'm not gonna really limit myself. I think music is music, and genre — I mean, I know there's country music, there's rock music, but my music is different. My voice is not meant for any style. I just want to make music."

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Bruno Mars Fans Brave Rain For 'Today' Performance

NEW YORK - Hujan, cuaca berkabut tidak berhenti Bruno Mars "hooligan" menghadiri konser di Plaza di pagi dini Rockefeller Pusat Jumat (24 Juni) untuk acara "Today". Fans yang datang dari seluruh negeri, beberapa bahkan rela menunggu dari jam 10 malam. sebelumnya, hooligans berharap untuk melihat sekilas pemenang Grammy Award. Mars tidak mengecewakan hooligans, lalu mars menyanyikan hits-nya "The Lazy Song," "runaway baby" dan "Just the way you are" dari album debutnya, Doo-wops & Hooligans.

"Dia penyanyi yang luar biasa, performnya membuat sya tambah menyukainya bahkan lebih," kata Kathy Ramos, yang telah menunggu sejak 01:00

hooligans menciptakan ratusan tanda-tanda buatan sendiri berharap untuk menangkap mata Mars. Megan Carroll dan Kayla Dee, keduanya 16 tahun, berbaris malam Kamis dan bersemangat untuk melihat penampilan Bruno. "Kami mencintainya Kami melihatnya sebulan yang lalu dan kami harus pergi lagi.. walaupun hujan mengganggu, but it's definitely worth it," kata Carroll.

Munzath Ashraf dan Sundus Arain, keduanya 18tahun , tiba sekitar 4:00 untuk melihat perform dari Bruno Mars. "Kami mencintai Bruno Mars dan kami ingin memastikan kami masuk," kata Ashraf.

Lebih dari 2.000 penggemar tiba pagi ini, polisi setempat dan bahkan tuan rumah Ann Curry, yang menyatakan konser ini adalah "kerumunan terbesar tahun ini" untuk seri "Today"

Garis untuk masuk ke dalam barikade melilit setidaknya tiga blok. Tetapi ruang terbatas dan kerumunan besar meninggalkan banyak penggemar tidak dapat melihat pertunjukan. Bahkan penggemar yang telah menunggu berjam-jam tidak bisa masuk ke dalam barikade. Kedua Ashraf dan Arain akhirnya meninggalkan bahkan sebelum mereka melihat Mars.

"Kami sangat kecewa. Panggung itu terlalu kecil dan orang-orang menangis dan mencoba untuk melompat di bahu kami," jelas Ashraf.

Mars berpakaian hitam Dolce & jas Gabbana dengan kemeja pink dan dasi hitam bersama dengan warna gelap. Bruno mulai menyanyi lagu "The Lazy Song,". Setelah lagu yang pertama, Matt Lauer dan Mars berbicara selama beberapa menit dan berkomentar pada berapa banyak lebih besar kerumunan hari ini dibandingkan dengan penampilan terakhirnya di acara delapan bulan lalu. Mars, yang terus mendapatkan ketenaran dan kesuksesan sebagai artis solo, mengatakan kepada Lauer, "Mereka membuat tanda-tanda bagi saya Aku senang berada di sini.. Aku benar-benar beruntung."

Ketika ditanya apakah ia berencana untuk terus menulis lagu untuk artis lain (Mars sebelumnya telah ditulis untuk Cee-Lo Green, BoB dan Travie McCoy), Mars bercanda, "Absolutely not. I'm done,." Dan kemudian menambahkan "Of Course."

Untuk lagu berikutnya, Mars menyanyikan "runaway baby" dan Bruno pun menari bersama dengan band-nya. Untuk menutup konser, Mars menyanyikan "Just the way you are," dengan seluruh hooligans bernyanyi bersama.

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Eminem Takes His Own Life In 'Space Bound' Video Em plays two versions of himself in eerie clip co-starring former porn star Sasha Grey.

Just when we thought Eminem had fully escaped his demons following the release of his multiplatinum 2010 album Recovery, Marshall Mathers takes his own life with a single gunshot to the head in his new "Space Bound" video, which is now available on iTunes.

The video is a gut-wrenching look into another of Eminem's tumultuous relationships, much like the one exhibited in the video for "Love the Way You Lie" — this time with deadly results.

Filmed in Los Angeles in February, the Joseph Kahn-directed clip starts with our leading man walking down a foggy road in the middle of the night. Obviously perturbed, a sullen Em marches on, hands in his pockets, until a passing car picks him up. In the driver's seat is the Detroit rapper's love interest, played by former porn star Sasha Grey. Things clearly aren't all peaches and cream.

Eminem jumps in the front passenger seat, with a pensive look on his face, while another, more cynical version of Em rides in the back. The differences between the two Shadys are apparent. The front-seat version is calm, with his eyes darting back and forth between his girlfriend and the gun that sits in the glove compartment. The other Em is riled up, hurling insults at Grey, though she is unaware of his presence.

As the couple pulls up to a pit stop, Grey exits the vehicle first with a gun in her back pocket, while Em follows her. They enter a diner, Grey first and the rapper a few steps behind. Here, the director splits the screen and the two Eminems go their separate ways, one to the counter and the other to the booth where his girlfriend sits, texting on her cell phone.

Eminem grows suspicious of the texts and checks his girl's phone after she gets up to go to the bathroom. The rapper apparently finds what he has long suspected: His woman is cheating.

Throughout the video, Eminem follows Grey like a lost puppy. It's when they check into a motel room that the drama unfolds. Closing the door behind him, Eminem begins to attack his girlfriend before realizing that she wasn't even there in the first place. Left at the end of his rope, Eminem pulls out the gun, puts it to his chin and fires a single shot through his own head. Blood splatters, and Shady falls to the floor.

Simultaneously, the alternate Eminem, who is still seated at the counter, is struck by the bullet as well, falling back off of his bar stool before the clip rewinds back to the beginning of the 4:30 video, where we once again see our leading man walking down that foggy road in the middle of the night.

Did Eminem imagine the entire ordeal? Or did his cheating girlfriend metaphorically kill the hopeless romantic, leaving only a distrustful version of himself? The image is jarring; the interpretation, however, is up to you.

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Justin Bieber & Tiffani Thiessen’s Public Display of Affection

He’s been known for his PDA-filled romps with girlfriend Selena Gomez, but lately, Justin Bieber has been showing off some love for another woman — and the feeling is mutual. Bieber rocked a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of Tiffani Thiessen — circa her Kelly Kapowski Saved by the Bell days — on the red carpet Sunday at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto. “Ha, thx for the love,” she Tweeted to Bieber before arranging a worthy ensemble of her own. Thiessen then showed off her appreciation — and burning case of Bieber Fever! — at Thursday’s New York City screening of Horrible Bosses, where she sported a fan-girl style shirt depicting pop’s wonder boy. So where did she get the gear? The White Collar star says she enlisted the help of the show’s crew to get her hands on the Bieber goods in New York’s Times Square. “They’re all over the place,” she tells New York Magazine of her newly acquired tops. “I have, like, nine million of them in my apartment right now. So if anybody wants Justin Bieber T-shirts, I’ve got them.” Tell us: Who wore it better: Bieber or Thiessen? –Alison Schwartz

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