I'm From Rolling Stone Contest #4: Curate an imaginary concert.

If you were asked to come up with a dream line-up, venue, and name for a concert, would you be able to pull it off in 300 words? That's what Rolling Stone asks and to that I say yes. Here's my idea:

If any tour in the past years had been set up to be fan-friendly, it was the 2006 Family Values Tour. The tickets were only $10 and there were games and activities throughout the day to break up sitting and waiting for the bands in the sweltering heat.

So what was the problem? The problem was that the earlier acts were ear-bleeding, and only the most diehard scream metal fans were willing to listen. Listening is a loose term; the diehard fans were ramming and kicking each other at full speed.

To remedy this, Amy Lee has announced the Twilight Tour. It will have the same basic set-up; powerful music for a low price in a day-long festival. She has called upon two Family Values alums, 10 Years and Flyleaf, as well as A Perfect Circle and six other acts to round out the lineup.

The festival will begin at 3 pm when newcomers Ambulette take the stage. Ambulette have been gaining a strong fan-base after touring with Dredg, also slated for the Twilight Tour, and releasing their five-song EP "The Lottery. The full line-up at press time is as follows:

• Ambulette
• Hurt
• 10 Years
• Evans Blue
• Flyleaf
• Dredg
• Breaking Benjamin
• Finger Eleven
• A Perfect Circle
• Evanescence

Finger Eleven comes in support of their upcoming release, "Them Vs. You Vs. Me," due out in March. Evanescence continues to support "The Open Door".

Rolling Stone competition: 10 Questions For Josh Homme

Those who have been keeping up with Above The Din have undoubtedly seen our admin talk about the reality show competition for a writing position with Rolling Stone, which led up to this week's challenge to viewers - a mock interview with a living musician. I too have submitted to this competition and the artist in question is Josh Homme.

Josh Homme (pronounced "Hommy") is the only constant in seminal stoner rock band Queens Of The Stone Age and has extended his hand to two of his own side projects (The Desert Sessions - a purely improvised rock compilation with many modern rockers that takes place at a secluded ranch - and the Eagles Of Death Metal) as well as assisting everyone from Mastodon to Foo Fighters, from Peaches to Local H. He was the perfect target for my assignment. So without further ado, ten questions which I would definitely bounce off of Joshua Homme.

Interview with Josh Homme

1. Hello Mr. Homme. Before we start I'd like to congratulate you on your daughter Camille, who turned a year old yesterday. Has this year of fatherhood changed your outlook on life?

2. As well as new lives you've had some partings prior to Queens' last album. Has it been different recording without Nick Olivieri?

3. I'd like to ask you about The Desert Sessions, which is unlike any other project in that it is completely improvised. How did you come up with the idea?

4. Is it true that you played for three days straight while stoned on mushrooms?

5. Queens and The Desert Sessions are rotating musicians; Eagles Of Death Metal are a steady band. Which experience do you find more gratifying?

6. What happened with Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, and has that feud subsided or escalated?

7. I respect that you want some privacy concerning your instruments, so I won't ask you about that, but I will ask, is there any reason for the privacy?

8. How did you get the nickname "Baby Duck" provided to you by Eagles and Brody Dalle?

9. You've collaborated with everyone from A Perfect Circle to Peaches, as well as some lesser knowns. Is there any uncharted water, anyone with whom you'd still want to collaborate?

10. What lies in the immediate future for Queens Of The Stone Age?

IFRS - Writing Competition: Assignment Two

I'm elated to announce that I have just submitted my piece for the current "I'm From Rolling Stone" contest, which complements their MTV-based reality show. Here's the dirt:

Now let’s say you got the chance to shoot the breeze with your favorite living band or artist for a Rolling Stone profile. What questions would you ask? Tell us 1) who you’d interview and 2) what ten stellar questions you’d ask. Intelligent, well-informed, provocative, off-the-wall or poignant — the goal is to do your homework and then craft inquiries that will elicit compelling answers and reveal something about the interview subject.

Contest rules and submission form live here.

My submission follows below:

10 Questions for Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke:

1) After the breakout success of your debut album, "Silent Alarm," the band catapulted from performing in small clubs to full arenas. Was this an intimidating time for you?

2) Bloc Party originally signed on with Panic! at the Disco's fall tour. Given that the audiences for the two bands are very different from each other, do you think it worked out for the best not to have completed the tour as a result of Matt Tong's collapsed lung?

3) Your new single, “I Still Remember,” reportedly explores the theme of latent bisexuality. Is that topic risqué even in modern rock?

4) You have talked about not hiding behind abstraction on the new album. How do you, as a songwriter, go about writing more directly and clearly to your audience?

5) Your new album, “A Weekend in the City,” has been described as being about the living noise of a 21^st century metropolis. In this way, is the record almost like a concept album?

6) What was the experience like of working with producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol) on the new album?

7) “A Weekend in the City” has reportedly leaked on the Internet. Do you think this will adversely affect the commercial success of this greatly anticipated record?

8) The song “Where is Home” is said to explore issues of race in England. Do you feel this topic isn’t explored often enough in pop music and, if so, why do you think that is?

9) On your upcoming U.S. tour you will be predominantly hitting theaters as opposed to clubs or arenas. Why do you prefer theaters to others types of venues?

10) What message do you ultimately hope people take away from “A Weekend in the City?”