RALPHIE REPORT: AAR/NBC Drops The Ball Early...

The front man of The All-American Rejects might have a dirty little secret regarding his throat. Ailments hampered Tyson Ritter a couple of years ago while AAR toured. Bassist Nick Wheeler decided to all-but-skirt the issue last week, when I asked him about it on The Ralphie Radio Show.

“(Tyson’s) doing good,” replied Wheeler, before quickly segueing to another topic. “We’ve got a big week ahead of us – new record’s coming out finally.”

It isn’t known when Ritter began experiencing issues with his vocal chords. But, the condition became public in July 2006. The pop-rock stars cancelled the remaining four dates on their Canadian tour. The following fall, the group played the U.S. – but Ritter did not make the media rounds - reportedly not speaking all day, perform the show, and then not talking for the remainder of the evening.

The Rejects released “When The World Comes Down” on Tuesday. The new album brings a number of press obligations. But without a clear answer from AAR’s bassist, it’s unknown whether Ritter is in the clear himself.

Wheeler seemed equally taken aback later in our conversation. Only this time, he entertained the thought of what the Rejects career would look like if their current record label, Interscope, had released their first, self-titled LP. Wheeler first paused for two seconds, before tearing into a mini-diatribe about the current conditions in which bands sign to labels.

“Yunno, I’d like to think that music speaks for itself. Granted, you need people to help you get it out there. From the beginning, we’ve gotten in a van and gone out and played shows. We were around before MySpace and YouTube.”

Certainly the aforementioned networks have unequivocally fostered viral marketing plans and short-term success – but only time will tell if anyone from this new era of music can sustain that.

But with The Rejects predating this new phenomenon, I suppose that’s something the Oklahoma-based band won’t have to worry about.

NBC DROPS THE BALL EARLY

This has nothing to do with Jay Leno’s earlier timeslot, and everything to do with the New Years Eve special on the Peacock Network.

But how much of the show will be live, as opposed to “live”? According to my source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, NBC already pre-taped at least one musical performance. Expect to see The Ting Tings play 1-3 songs, including the iPod commercial-featured “Shut Up and Let Me Go.”

The event occurred in Rockefeller Center, and needed multiple takes. NBC even equipped the audience with hats and noisemakers, as if the ball was dropping.

Problem is, this all went down last Sunday night.
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