WHEELS & DEALS: WILL CHASE HAVE TIME FOR TESSA?

Fans of this season’s MTV reality show Laguna Beach will be pleased to hear that cast member/lead singer Chase Johnson and his band Open Air Stereo have signed with Epic Records. Label prexy Charlie Walk and crew get the kudos for signing the Bobby Collin-managed group. Meanwhile, TV exposure continues to be a dominant form in breaking new acts on the multi-platinum level. Whether it’s High School Musical or American Idol, mass TV exposure now seems to have almost as much juice as Top 40 radio in fueling mega album sales. Most new rock acts that get high on the Alternative radio chart aren’t getting to platinum, with a handful of exceptions. By contrast, according to our lemon-stand sales guru Mark Pearson, Clay Aiken’s just-released new album is projected to hit between 190-200k in its first week, and there’s no serious radio play for his single. Meanwhile, in case you haven’t heard, High School Musical cast members Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale signed deals with Hollywood and Warner Bros. Records, respectively. And with YouTube reigniting sales for acts like OK Go, TV and video content for new acts is fast becoming a necessity for breaking big… Buzz building on the Drake Sutton-Shearer-managed/Peter Lewit-repped Aphasia. Weasel ears are perking up to the band’s new demos. We hear private showcases are lining up this week. Stay tuned… ON THE POP TIP: Early heat is building on teen sisters Tory & Taylor Thompson. The two were finalists on the American Idol spin-off American Juniors a few years back. Now in their early teens, the sisters have recorded tracks with a number of A-Level producers, including The Matrix, and showcase requests are now coming in. We’ll keep you posted… RED-STATE ROCK STILL SELLS: Kudos to producer/songwriter Brian Howes for the success of Universal Republic act Hinder. The album has sold over 600k and continues to clock 50k-plus every week. It’s definitely on its way to platinum. Howes developed the band with producer Joey Moi. And just like Nickelback back in the day, when these demos were going around, most A&R types passed, opting instead to pursue the next emo/indie-cred rock thing. Meanwhile, there’s another red-state rock band that apparently is starting to get label folks on both coasts quite antsy. Hope your scouts are on it… Finally, we’d like to thank ASCAP’s Tom DeSavia for hosting a good ol’ A&R dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House last week in honor of the U.K. ASCAP reps who were in town. The dinner was followed by a hugely buzzin’ ASCAP showcase at the Coconut Teaszer featuring Hayden, Silverjet, The Odds and Agnes Gooch. Booyaaa…. BUZZIN’: Carl Stubner, Dilana and Toby from Rockstar: Supernova… Hit me up: [email protected]

BUZZ/GIGS:
AWAY STATION Mon., Sept. 25, 9:00 p.m., Knitting Factory, L.A.
APHASIA Tues., Sept. 26, TBD, Viper Room, L.A.
ABIGAIL Wed., Oct. 18, 8:00 p.m., Bitter End, N.Y.