REASON TO PARTY; BEASTIE BOYS ARE THE HOT TICKET AGAIN.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer They started out as three musically bereft but affluent Jewish kids from New York's Upper West Side. Their idea of a stage act was spewing Budweiser at the first three rows. Somehow, though, the Beastie Boys Beastie Boys is a hip hop musical group from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and the official DJ for the group Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz. became the first white rap group Noun 1. rap group - a gathering of people holding a rap session assemblage, gathering - a group of persons together in one place to matter. Despite the scorn of critics and purist pur·ist n. One who practices or urges strict correctness, especially in the use of words. pu·ris  tic adj. hip-hoppers who accuse them
of cultural piracy, the Beastie Boys always treated rap as just another
entry in a post-punk musical underground.
In late '70s Manhattan, that's just what rap was. Even superstar Mariah Carey, an unknown high schooler at the time, recalls growing up to the background noise of ``two turntables and a microphone,'' as Beck famously sang. The Beasties - Mike D (Mike Diamond), MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. (Adam Yauch) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) - transformed their obnoxious party-animal image into a groundbreaking sound on such inspired albums as ``Paul's Boutique,'' ``Ill Communication'' and the current ``Hello Nasty.'' And along with musical growth that places the trio at ground zero of today's youth culture comes an appreciation for social issues, as evidenced by the group's conversion to Buddhism and their support of Tibet's plight under Chinese rule. These days, the Beasties are more concerned with partying for your right to fight than fighting for your right to party. Staying power Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock appear in sold-out shows Sept. 11-12 at the Forum with support from longtime allies Money Mark and Mixmaster Mike. The group's latest album, ``Hello Nasty,'' named for the trio's New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most firm Nasty Little Man Nasty Little Man is a public relations firm based in New York City designed specifically to promote musicians and bands. It was founded in 1992 by Steve Martin, a freelance music journalist. , reached No. 1 in the national albums chart a few weeks ago and has sold more than 1 million copies. It ranks at No. 2 this week. Like Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins and even Snoop Dogg, the Beastie Boys enjoy an audience that has grown up with their sound and remained fans. Although the trio refused interview requests to promote a sold-out tour and massively popular album, Diamond told Rolling Stone rolling stone Noun a restless or wandering person he realized how lucky they were to have such staying power. ``We're fortunate that the audience has - well, it would be presumptuous pre·sump·tu·ous adj. Going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward. [Middle English, from Old French presumptueux, from Late Latin praes of me to say `grown with us,' '' he said in the Aug. 6 issue. ``But it being the nature of beings to progress, a lot of people have gone through, and continue to go through, what we have.'' Industry types, however, didn't predict ``Hello Nasty'' (Grand Royal/Capitol) would sell as well as it did upon its release. ``The success of this record was a real surprise,'' admits Larry King Larry King (born November 19, 1933) is an award-winning American writer, journalist and broadcaster. He currently hosts a nightly interview program on CNN called Larry King Live, one of the longest running talk shows on American air. , product manager at Tower Sunset. ``They've been around long enough that they're sort of grizzled griz·zled adj. 1. Partly gray or streaked with gray: a grizzled beard. 2. Having fur or hair streaked or tipped with gray. veterans of the scene. But for this release to just explode out of the box like that was completely unexpected.'' Despite their exaggerated frat-boy antics in the early days, the Beasties have been on the cutting edge for some time. Their 1986 debut, ``Licensed to Ill,'' became the first rap album to hit No. 1. In 1989, the complex and inventive Dust Brothers-produced second album, ``Paul's Boutique,'' presaged the genre-blending, sample-happy, cut-and-paste style of record making so prevalent today. ``I don't think `Hello Nasty' is anywhere as visionary as `Paul's Boutique' was,'' says longtime fan Steve Alper, co-owner of Atomic Records Atomic Records is an independent music store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of the oldest and best known record stores in the Milwaukee area. External links
Along with sharp record production, the Beasties did something else that was smart: Early on, the trio developed a musical community by way of its own label, Grand Royal, and a magazine of the same name. ``Everything they touch turns to gold,'' Alper said. ``They co-own some restaurants, a clothing company, the magazine and the label. But they're still the worst hard-core band ever, and thank goodness there's no hard-core music on this new record.'' Growing popularity But fans who plan to attend the Forum shows will probably get a taste of the Beasties' attempts to play punk-rock whether they like it or not. During earlier stops on the ``Hello Nasty'' trek, Diamond, Yauch and Horovitz have given crowds a gander Gander, town (1991 pop. 10,339), NE Newfoundland, N.L., Canada. Gander's airport, an important base in World War II, is a hub for international flights; it also attracts many refugees. It was the site of a Dec. at the world's most inept rock band. Nonetheless, reviews have been raves. The New York Times said the recent Beasties show at Madison Square Garden Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference achieved ``New York's potential as a melting pot melting pot America as the home of many races and cultures. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : America ... True, it was just a pop show, but it felt like the coolest one around.'' Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a weekly trade magazine that covers the concert industry, said it could be one of the year's most successful rock tours. ``It's a big tour,'' he said. ``To some extent, it's a surprise. It's getting tougher to predict when an act that's been around for a while is going to explode in mainstream popularity. It starts becoming broader-based when a record crosses over into multiple radio formats. You can't have a hit in just one format and be successful today.'' Bongiovanni said the ``Hello Nasty'' trek was averaging sales of 15,000 tickets a show for an average per-night gross of $386,183. Meanwhile, record sales are still going through the roof. ``We ordered enough copies for what we thought was three or four months, and we came close to selling out in the first week,'' Tower's King said. ``They've accomplished something the really important groups do, and that's widen their fan base while holding on to their early audience. ``They have a foot in both camps - college girls College Girls is a Channel 4 documentary series, first transmitted in the UK from 8 September 2002. The documentary followed the lives of six students who studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford, the last remaining single-sex college at the University of Oxford, between 1998 , high schoolers, junior high kids. When that happens, the older kids usually drop out, but that hasn't happened with the Beastie Boys. They've crossed those borders without alienating anyone.'' THE FACTS Who: Beastie Boys. Where: Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Ave., Inglewood. When: 8 p.m. Sept. 11-12. Tickets: Sold out; try brokers. Information: (213) 480-3232. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Cover--Color) GO! BEASTIES! GO! The unlikely success of the Beastie Boys Bradford Mar/Daily News (2) The Beastie Boys - Adam Yauch (MCA), left, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) and Mike Diamond (Mike D) - have a surprise No. 1 album in ``Hello Nasty.'' |
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