According to SpeedTV.com, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson will
put on his driver's suit and climb into his 1965 Lola T-70 today at the Rolex
Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey,
California, where 550 historic automobiles are competing in 17 groups that run
the gamut from Pre-1940 Sports Racing and Touring Cars to 1981-1989 FIA Mfg.
Championship & IMSA GTPs.
"This is my first time here at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and my first time at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca," said the 63-year-old
Scotsman, who resides in Sarasota, Florida, "but I'm going to
come here for the rest of my life, and that's a promise."
Johnson is not only a rock legend, second-to-none at infusing
razor-sharp lyrics with the screaming metal energy of a true rock and roller,
but also a dyed-in-the-wool car fanatic. He told Motor Trend magazine that before he traversed the globe
many times as a rock star he drove all over the world in his mind as a kid in
his bedroom. Since driving represented freedom, he longed to drive, so learning
was easy. "I just took to it like a dog to water."
At age six, Johnson's father bought him a steering wheel and put a stick
through it. "I put it through the headboard of my bed and put four
cushions up. My dad would shake his head. I would drive all over the world. I'd
just be sitting there, brrrr!" he made an engine sound. "I could hear
my father say to my mother 'We're going to have to do something about
him.'"
Back then, rock star was not yet a career option, so Johnson would
daydream of one day becoming a bus driver. "I wanted to be a bus driver
more than anything," he explained. "When I was in school, I used to
look out the window and see the big red double-deck buses driving by. It just
looked so free. Then you'd hear, 'Johnson, pay attention when you're in
school!' 'Oh, sorry, sorry, mate!'"
Chris
Mason could hardly hide his excitement about packing up the family for
Saturday's drive to Winnipeg.
Not
only was the trip from his summer home in native Red Deer, Alberta considerably
closer than last year's pre-season roadie to Atlanta, but with all due respect
to the fans in Atlanta, Mason sees the chance to stop pucks for the Jets as a
boyhood dream come true.
"I
was definitely Bob Essensa on the driveway a lot," Mason told InGoal
Magazine shortly before leaving. "It's home, or close to home, and any
athlete would jump at the opportunity to play close to home, especially getting
later in a career, having a couple young children, and being so accessible to
our family. And playing for a team we grew up watching is another major honor
for me. I just can't wait."
Aiding
in Mason's excitement is what is waiting for him Monday in Winnipeg — his new mask, a first for the new
Jets franchise.
Commissioned
especially for him and painted by Steve
Nash of Eyecandyair, Mason put a lot of thought into his new lid, and not
just because it will become a piece of history as part of the first NHL season
back in Winnipeg. Mason has always put a lot of effort into his masks, taking
the time to sketch out his own ideas and then counting on Nash "to make
it 10 times better."
That
wasn't easy this time, in part because they haven't seen the uniform, but after
carefully considering retro and tribute themes, they focused instead on
the Jets name and new logo, adding in an Iron Maiden twist to produce some
impressive results.
Mason's
thoughts on the process are mixed in with the pictures below – and he talks
more about Winnipeg-versus-Atlanta from a player's perspective at the bottom –
but for more of Nash's fantastic work please follow them on Twitter and "like" their Facebook page
today. You can also click on the pictures to go direct to their Mason
page.
"We
went back and forth, lots of phone calls, and I sent Steve some sketches and he
did some art and sent him back and we mulled over a bunch of different ideas,
and then he came up with the Iron Maiden Eddie in the old fighter jet
and I thought it was perfect and I loved the image and thought that was
really appropriate for the Jets," Mason said of the band's famous mascot.
"I'm a fan of a few songs and Aces High is one song I really like too, so
it's kind of perfect I like the song and the artwork for the single was this
Eddie in a plane."
The
Iron Maiden Eddie in question appeared on the Aces High album cover, and was
originally created by artist Derek Riggs, an artist that inspired Steve Nash
throughout his own career.
The
Jets theme continues with a team logo on the chin (below) and military wings
extending from the front up the sides.
"We
did a modified Jets logo and put my number (50) on the wing, and I think it
looks awesome with the Maple Leaf behind the jet," Mason said. "I'm a big fan
of the logo, and I just love having the Maple Leaf on my mask, so I'm really
excited about that."
The
back plate (below) is where things get personal for Mason, who is expecting his
second daughter in October.
"Steve
came up with an eagle family done in native art style," said Mason,
who will once again be wearing a mask made by Tony Priolo at Sportmask.
"It's a mother eagle protecting her two young children with sky in
background. I think it just looks awesome."
(If
you look closely, you can spot the family name spelt out across the wings)
Mason
had repeated praise for the work put in by the husband-and-wife duo of Steve
and Steph at EyeCandyAir, especially under difficult circumstances given the
lack of information on the look of the new Jets jerseys. And if the team
eventually decides to pay more respects to their past with a throwback jersey
night, don't be surprised if Mason and Nash are working together again on a
retro-themed lid.
That
one will be easier to figure out.
"Definitely
my favorite Jets mask was Bob Essensa," Mason said of the current Boston
Bruins' goalie coach. "So if they do a third jersey with something like that I
would have definitely one something like his or close to his because I loved
his masks."
For
now, Mason is just happy to follow in Essensa's skate strides, instead of
pretending to in his driveway.
"I'm
so excited to get to Winnipeg,"
Mason said. "I've always wanted to play in Canada and I'm just really excited
to get that chance. I know it might not be the most popular answer for people
in Atlanta but
that's how I feel. I'm looking forward to this a lot.
"It
was tough in Atlanta
because in my opinion it just wasn't an optimal hockey market. The fans there
were awesome but there just wasn't a broad range of support, so it was tough
some nights to have that feeling it didn't matter so much and hockey wasn't the
most important thing. Going to Winnipeg
you're not going to have that feeling at all. It's going to be everywhere, it's
going to be the opposite spectrum."
Here are the Helmet Pictures
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KISS has set "Monster" as the title
of its new album, tentatively due in early 2012.
In a recent interview with U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley stated about the follow-up to 2009's "Sonic Boom", "We've
recorded eight tracks. Everything's on except the vocals. There'll be 10 on the
album, with a couple of tracks as bonuses for different projects.
"'Sonic Boom' was a pivotal album in the sense that we were aware
of who we were as a performing band, but we had to re-establish who we are as a
recording band. That being done, this is much easier and that much more
self-assured.
Added bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons: "This new record feels heavier
than 'Sonic Boom'. It feels like [it's] a connection between 'Destroyer' and 'Revenge'.
Regarding some of the tracks that will appear on "Monster", Stanley said,
"I'd be surprised if the album didn't start with 'Hell Or Hallelujah'.
It's up-tempo, a great riff, definitive KISS. There's a track called 'Born
To Be A Sinner', and Tommy [Thayer, guitar] has a song called 'Out Of This World', which is terrific. They're anthemic songs. That's
the nature of how we write. There are no ballads."
Added Simmons: "'Are You Ready?' is a new track that I worked
out, wrote, and brought everyone into the studio and said: 'Let's bang this
out.' Another of the new songs, tentatively titled 'Wall Of Sound', we
just came up with on the spot. The guts of that song were written in 40
minutes."
The musical collaboration between Lou Reed and METALLICA, "Lulu", will be released on November 1 in North America and one day earlier (October 31) in the rest of the world.
"Lulu" was inspired by German expressionist writer Frank
Wededkind's plays "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's
Box", which tell a story of a young abused dancer's life and
relationships and are now collectively known as the "Lulu Plays".
Since their publication in the early 1900s, the plays have been the inspiration
for a silent film ("Pandora's Box", 1929), an opera, and
countless other creative endeavors. Originally the lyrics and musical landscape
were sketched out by Lou for a theatrical production in Berlin, but
after coming together with the 'TALLICA boys for the Rock And Roll
Hall Of Fame concerts in New York in 2009, all guilty parties knew they
wanted to make more music together. Lou was inspired enough by that
performance to recently ask the band to join him in taking his theatrical "Lulu" piece to the next level and so starting in early May of this year they were all
camped out recording at METALICA's studios in San Rafael, California,
bringing us to today and ten complete songs.
METALLICA and Reed tapped Dutch photographer, music video and
film director Anton Corbijn to take pictures for the LP packaging.
According to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Corbijn and Reed were seen hanging around with METALLICA in early July in Gothenburg, Sweden
where the band performed as part of the "Big Four" concert at Ullevi
stadium. METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert
Trujillo were also spotted a couple of days later at Lou Reed's
concert at Grand Rex in Paris, France.
METALLICA's collaboration with Reed was made public in June via
the band's official web site. The group wrote in a statement, "We are more
than proud to announce that we have just completed recording a full-length
album that is a collaboration with none other than the legendary Lou Reed.
Ever since we had the pleasure of performing with Lou at the 25th
anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of
2009, we have been kicking around the idea of making a record together."
The statement added, "We have indeed been working at our home studio at (METALLICA headquarters in San Rafael, California) on and off over the
last few months. In what would be lightning speed for a METALLICA-related
project, we recorded ten songs during this time and while at this moment we're
not exactly sure when you'll hear it, we're beyond excited to share with you
that the recording sessions wrapped up last week."
Rolling Stone spoke with both Reed and members of METALLICA about the surprising announcement. Writer David Fricke described the
disc as "a raging union of [Reed's] 1973 noir classic, 'Berlin', and METALLICA's
'86 crusher, 'Master Of Puppets'." The songs were all written by
Reed with extensive arrangement contributions by METALLICA.
Reed called the collaboration "a marriage made in heaven. I knew it
from the first day we played together: 'Oh, man, this is perfection, right in
front of me.'"
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich said, "I don't think we've
ever felt this free. There's nothing that's totally outside of the boundary for
us, nothing that feels like 'Oh, what happens if we go there?'"
Frontman James Hetfield added, "Lars and I listened to [Reed's
demos] and it was like, 'Wow, this is very different.' It was scary at first,
because the music was so open. But then I thought, 'This could go
anywhere.'"
Songtitles on the record include "Pumping Blood" and "Mistress
Dread".
Reed does not have a record deal and METALLICA is no longer
signed to Warner Bros. Music after completing their contract with "Death
Magnetic", so it is not clear how they intend to release the album.
Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET
REVOLVER, LOADED) spoke to MyFoxNY.com about his decision to start his own
wealth-management firm for musicians. The company, called Meridian Rock,
is headed by McKagan and Andy Bottomley, a British investor.
Their goal is to educate rockers about their finances instead of pandering or
lying to them.
McKagan, whose pancreas burst in 1994 from alcohol abuse, said,
"When I first got out of the hospital, I was just trying to stay sober so
I had to fill my time. One of the things I did was to go through my financial
statements and I couldn't figure them out.
"No one took the time to explain how money works, you know, simple things
— the difference between gross and net, what a bond was, how a mortgage worked.
"Even when I was taking my first math class, I started getting calls from
friends of mine who were in the same business saying, 'Duff, you're in
business school, can you help me invest my money?'
"I realized there was great need for some kind of advice service. It
wasn't just me who was freaking out about being broke."
A
video commercial for Total Skull, the clothing line created and designed
by Rob Zombie's wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, can be seen below. The
clip was directed by Josh Hasty, written by Kenny Caperton, and
stars Ana Gilmore as Daisy.
Total Skull offers a wide variety of merchandise for both guys and
girls, including t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, dresses, hats, scarves,
necklaces, and other accessories.
For more information, visit Total Skull's official online
store.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj1h-jZ6IhA&feature=player_embedded
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MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has scheduled
a meet-and-greet on September 10 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Naked Dave's Music in Tempe, Arizona. David will take part in a question-and-answer session and will pose for
photos and give autographs.
Naked Dave's Music
2155 E. University Dr. #105
Tempe, AZ 85281
For more information, call (480) 820-0882.
ANTHRAX will play a very exclusive show under the
name SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND on Monday, September 12 at the Best Buy Theater
in New York City.
To redeem your free ticket for the concert, enter the unique order number found
on your confirmation e-mail when you pre-order the new ANTHRAX album, "Worship
Music", via a special web site which has just been launched at this location.
Regarding how the idea for the SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND concert came about, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian told BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "We played a
couple of shows at L'Amour [in Brooklyn, New York] in… I wanna say '88 or '89.
I'm not sure exactly which year. But we played two or three nights at L'Amour
back then under the name SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND, because it was at that
time things were already kind of blowing up for us, so we had pretty much
stopped playing at L'Amour, but wanted to go back there and do these shows for
our fans. So we announced it as SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND and kept it like a
secret thing. It was the only time we had ever done it, and it was fun and it
was cool. So when this came around — the idea of doing some type of gig before
the Yankee Stadium ['Big Four'] show [on September 14], and basically throwing
a 30th-anniversary party for ourselves in New York City… We've basically been
telling people, 'Oh, yes, we're having this 30th-anniversary party for ANTHRAX and we've got this ANTHRAX cover band called SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND — they're the best ANTHRAX cover band you've ever seen; literally down
to the goatee they really nail it."
When asked if "SATAN'S LOUNGE BAND" can be expected to play
any of the material that will appear on "Worship Music" that
hasn't been performed live yet, Scott joked, "We could actually say
that they're such a great cover band that they actually know more of the new [ANTHRAX]
material and they might be debuting it."
The SATAN'S LOUGE BAND concert will immediately follow the Metal
Masters Clinic, which will be held earlier in the day at the Best Buy
Theater. Members of SLAYER, MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER are
all scheduled to take part in that event, leading to speculation that some of
them may stick around long enough to make guest appearances with SATAN'S
LOUNGE BAND at the end of the night. "It's a good possibility," Scott said. "Everyone is invited. Obviously, the guys that are at the Metal
Masters clinic, I'm assuming, will all still be around. There might be
special guests at that Metal Masters clinic as well that they haven't
advertised, which I can pretty safely say. I would assume everyone else would
be around for our party/gig as well some of the other bands, like METALLICA [who will headline the 'Big Four' concert at the Yankee Stadium two days
later]. Put it this way — they've been invited."
"Worship Music" will be released in the U.S. on September 13 via Megaforce Records (three days later in Germany
through Nuclear Blast Records). The band's first studio release in eight
years marks the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose last
full-length studio work with the group was 1990's "Persistence Of
Time".
In addition to numerous gold and platinum records and seven Grammy-nominated
works, David is the author of the book "Making Music Your
Business" and has two metal bass guitar instructional DVDs through Rock
House Method entitled "Metal Bass Vol. 1" and "Vol.
2". He is also a featured bass clinician, keynote speaker and panelist
on the subject of music and the music industry.
ANTHRAX, BUSH and JUDAS PRIEST are
among the artists who appear on the soundtrack to NHL 12, an upcoming
ice hockey video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA
Sports. The game will be released on September 9 in Europe, and on
September 13 in North America.
"The true NHL experience is about intense skill, hard hits, and
fast action," says Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and
Marketing for EA. "For this year's edition, we've created a
crunching mix of classic arena anthems from artists like JUDAS PRIEST and BILLY IDOL, killer recent tunes from bands such as DROPKICK
MURPHYS and AGAINST ME!, and heavy tracks from emerging acts like MIDDLE
CLASS RUT and MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA. We're also launching all-new
songs from upcoming albums by ANTHRAX and BUSH. The true sound of
the upcoming NHL season is the soundtrack of EA's NHL 12."
NHL 12 soundtrack track listing:
* AGAINST! ME - Occult Enemies
* ANTHRAX - I'm Alive
* BEADY EYE - Standing on the Edge of the Noise
* BILLY IDOL - Mony Mony
* BLACK TIDE - That Fire
* BLACKGUARD - Farewell
* BUSH - Sound of Winter
* DEATH LETTERS - I Wish I could Steal a Sunset
* DROPKICK MURPHYS - Hang 'em High
* ELO - Don't Bring Me Down
* JUDAS PRIEST - You've Got Another Thing Comin'
* MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA - April Fool
* MIDDLE CLASS RUT - Busy Being Born
* MURDERDOLLS - Whatever you got, I'm Against It
Although current JOURNEY lead vocalist Arnel
Pineda is a dead ringer vocally for former frontman Steve Perry,
many of the band's fans long for a reunion between Perry and core
members Neal Schon, Ross Valory, and Jonathan Cain.
In a recent interview with Artisan News, Schon was asked if JOURNEY would be open to the idea of Perry sharing the stage with Pineda for a few songs at an upcoming concert. "Arnel is totally down, and
such a humble human being, that he would be overjoyed if Steve wanted to
walk on stage and sing with us," Schon replied. "Honestly!
He's not just saying that and then like, walking in the other room and [saying
something different]. I've always let the door open. I made it a point, the
last time I saw and even spoke to Perry, [which was] when we received
[star on] the Hollywood Walk Of Fame [in 2005]. There were so many
rumors going around that I hated him and that I'm the one that kicked him out
of the band and blah blah blah, this and that. I wanted to make sure that
people saw me asking him right there, 'If you ever feel like you would like to,
and you'd like to come on stage, it's always an open door. Just come and jam.
There's no pressure. We're not trying to get you back in the band. But if you
just feel like having a blow and you wanna come by and sing, it's there."
When Jonathan Cain was asked if JOURNEY ever thought to asking Perry to rejoin the band, rather than finding the perfect sound-alike vocalist, the
keyboard player replied, "No, because he really sealed the deal back in
'98 and said, 'Don't expect anything from me, y'know, we're done. You and I are
done,'" he said. "So I know that he keeps his word and I would not
make that call because I know that he's quite happy with the life he has. And
it's pretty rigorous out here. What we do is very rigorous, and he doesn't need
it. Why does he need it, you know? His legacy is already there."
Cain told The Pulse of Radio that the band feels totally secure
with Pineda, following the loss of Perry's original replacements Steve
Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto. "I think we really looked long and
hard at what we had accomplished and we didn't wanna slide backwards at
all," he said. "Since '98, trying to recreate the brand and give the
people the kind of shows that we'd hoped for. And when you lose a guy like Steve (Augeri), who was a tremendous team player, and y'know, Jeff Scott steps up and kinda helps us out there. But, y'know, his sound wasn't for us and
then later on, I think his personality wasn't for us."
Steve Baltin of RollingStone.com recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY
CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
RollingStone.com: Have you hung out with Keith Richards?
Tommy: Yeah, man, I've hung out with him and Ronnie Wood a couple
of times. One time in particular just absolutely blew my mind, when MÖTLEY
CRÜE was opening for THE [ROLLING] STONES. The STONES guys sent their tour manager in to come and grab me, 'cause I wanted to say
hello to the guys. This is literally five minutes before they're about to go
onstage. I walk in and Ronnie and Keith Richards are fucking
wasted. I've played many shows wasted, but I'm talking about, these guys could
barely walk, and they were about to go on. And I'm just sitting there going,
"There's no fucking way these guys are gonna be able to play. They can't
even find the stage, never mind playing the right notes." And, dude, I was
so blown away. What true professionals. Somehow they made it to the stage, and
as soon as the house lights went off, it was just flawless. I was like, "I
cannot believe what I just saw."
RollingStone.com: What are a couple of your favorite Strip memories?
Tommy: The very first time we sold out a Friday, Saturday and Sunday —
that goes down as pretty landmark, because in my green-ass, naive, 17-year-old
way, I literally was calling my parents, calling everybody I knew. I had no
clue — I thought we'd made it. I was like, "Oh my god, we sold out a
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Dude, I'm done." Little did I know, what an
idiot (laughs). I don't think we ever paid for anything while we lived on the
Sunset Strip. It was always free drinks, free food, free everything, everywhere
we went. So you gotta mark that up as a highlight. We never paid for anything,
ever. Maybe the club owners and such saw something there, who knows (laughs)?
Either that, or we were just really nice guys.
RollingStone.com: When we did the interview prior to the tour, you
talked about not wanting to make albums. Has being on the road changed your
views on that at all?
Tommy: As far as making new music, I'm sure we will. There's nothing
official laid out yet. What I meant was just making records to make records
doesn't seem like that's got much of a point anymore, when people don't buy
records, they buy singles. Why not make more singles more often than these big,
long records over two-, three-, four-year spans? Give the fans more music and
better music, like doing EPs. I just think that would be a way better thing.
Now, making a full-length record, I think, serves a purpose, like, let's say,
when "The Dirt" [movie] finally gets made. I'd say that
totally warrants a full record and soundtrack album. But just to make
long-playing records now, I don't know. I've lost my appetite for it, and if
you look around at the facts, so has the rest of the world.
Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA have been
confirmed as the co-headliner of the Thrashfest Classics European tour,
set to take place in November/December. The band's setlist will consist of
material exclusively from the "Beneath The Remains", "Arise" and "Chaos A.D." albums. The trek's other co-headliner, EXODUS,
will perform songs from the "Bonded By Blood", "Pleasures
Of The Flesh" and "Fabulous Disaster"; DESTRUCTION will play tracks from "Sentence Of Death" and "Infernal
Overkill"; and HEATHEN will perform selections from "Breaking
The Silence" and "Victims Of Deception".
Commented the tour's promoter, Rock The Nation: "Back to the
Eighties, back to the roots! Tour promoter Rock The Nation turns back
the time for you headbangers, catapulting you back into the glorious Eighties —
the unforgettable days of prime for thrash metal — with a phenomenal package of
top acts. Hardly another period of time carries so much metal history with it
than this one. Rough, rapid and impulsive sounds dominated the whole
music-industry at that time. Breath-taking masterpieces of metallic art, which
still enjoy authority and significance these days, emerged out of the creative
urge of charismatic musicians and bands. Now the time is right to let the
flair, the feeling and the sounds rise again! Thrashfest Classics is a
pure celebration for the high-culture of thrash metal. Some of the most
influential combos will perform their cult albums in full length."
The dates are as follows:
Nov. 25 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
Nov. 26 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Zaal Schaaf
Nov. 27 - Paris, France - Bataclan
Nov. 28 - Braunschweig, Germany - Meier Music Hall
Nov. 29 - Würzburg, Germany - Posthalle
Nov. 30 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Dec. 01 - Prague, Czech Republic - Kd Vltavska
Dec. 02 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
Dec. 03 - Giessen, Germany - Hessenhallen
Dec. 04 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Trix
Dec. 05 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Dec. 06 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Trädgarn
Dec. 07 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
Dec. 08 - Berlin, Germany - C-Club
Dec. 09 - Katowice, Poland - Mega Club
Dec. 10 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
Dec. 11 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
Dec. 12 - Zagreb, Hungary - Boogaloo
Dec. 13 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Kino Siska
Dec. 14 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
Dec. 15 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z-7
Dec. 16 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar
Dec. 17 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
For more information, visit www.thrashfest.eu.
Swedish metallers DREAM EVIL have canceled their
appearance at the ProgPower USA XII festival — which is set to take
place September 14-17, 2011 at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia — and have been
replaced by reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN.
Commented DREAM EVIL: "First of all, we can't describe our
frustration in this sad matter. We can't come to ProgPower for the show
on September 17 because we had problems getting our visas. We did all we could
yesterday, August 18th, when we all took the day off from our jobs and went by
car over five hours in the worst rain storm in years to Stockholm for a visit
at the American embassy for the interview which is necessary for the visa.
After waiting in the long line of people for over four hours at the embassy, they
told us that we had applied for the wrong kind of visa. We asked them politely
to help us change the application so that we could get the right type of visa,
but they told us that we had to go back and do it all over again. As the
booking for the interviews are made a long time in advance, we then checked to
find out that there were no available spots for new interviews until late
September and that is too late. This sucks! We paid a lot of money for the visa
applications and for the trip to Stockholm, all
for nothing, and the worst part of all is that we can't come to Atlanta on September 17.
At this time the American embassy has blocked us from travelling to the U.S. before September 17th, so we are not able
to come to the U.S.
at all until after the festival. We're so sorry and so frustrated and there is
nothing we can do. To all the fans and the promoter at ProgPower, we're
really really sorry."
Confirmed bands for ProgPower USA XII:
THERION **
SANCTUARY
IHSAHN **
EVERGREY (playing "In Search of Truth" in its entirety)
FORBIDDEN
VANDEN PLAS **
LABYRINTH **
MOB RULES **
WHILE HEAVEN WEPT
POWERGLOVE
RED CIRCUIT **
VOYAGER
DARKWATER **
ELDRITCH **
HAKEN **
CREATION'S END
** U.S.-exclusive appearances
From traditional New Orleans
sounds to Southern metal, the lineup for 2011's The Voodoo Experience
Presented By Stephen Rehage continues to reinforce its commitment to
support music of all genres with the latest additions of Atlanta metal rockers MASTODON.
The addition of MASTODON follows Voodoo's ongoing support of rock
and comes as the Georgia band prepare for the release of their fifth album, "The
Hunter".
2011's The Voodoo Experience Presented By Stephen Rehage in New Orleans'
City Park, set for Friday, October 28, Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October
30, will feature its traditionally eclectic lineup, including a variety of
exclusive U.S. festival appearances from SOUNDGARDEN and BLINK-182;
performances from the recently reunited RACONTEURS, the original members
of X, plus SNOOP DOGG, TV ON THE RADIO, FATBOY SLIM, GIRL TALK and many more.
For more information, visit www.thevoodooexperience.com.
Joe Satriani and Sammy Hagar will perform at
the 25th annual B.R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival. The weekend-long
event, which runs from September 23 to September 25, also includes a Gala
Charity Auction Dinner, featuring celebrity chef Guy Fieri, and the
Celebrity Golf Classic.
The 25th annual B.R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival is produced by
legendary and lauded vintner, philanthropist, and music artist manager Bruce
Cohn. This year's festival will be held in the memory of Marty Cohn, Bruce's brother who passed away in late March after a battle with
cancer.
Leon Russell will be performing for the first time at the B.R. Cohn
Charity Events Fall Music Festival on Saturday, September 24 along with
returning festival favorites the DOOBIE BROTHERS. Closing out the set
will be Joe Satriani and Sammy Hagar as special guests alongside
the DOOBIE BROTHERS. Also performing will be Jim Messina.
Another first-time performer for the festival will be LYNYRD SKYNYRD,
who will be closing out the show on Sunday, September 24. Joining SKYNYRD on Sunday will be the DOOBIE BROTHERS with special guest Jim Messina, Leon Russell, Lara Johnston and Carlos Reyes.
According to Amazon.de, the deluxe edition of CHICKENFOOT's
sophomore album, "Chickenfoot III", will include two CDs, two
DVDs and a t-shirt. Due out in Germany
on September 23, it will feature the following track listing:
Disc 1:
01. Last Temptation
02. Alright Alright
03. Different Devil
04. Up Next
05. Lighten Up
06. Come Closer
07. Three And A Half Letters
08. Big Foot
09. DubaiBlues
10. Something Going Wrong
Disc 2:
01. Avenida Revolucion
02. Soap On A Rope
03. Sexy Little Thing
04. Oh Yeah
05. Runnin' Out
06. Get It Up
07. Down The Drain
08. My Kinda Girl
09. Learning To Fall
10. Turnin' Left
11. Future In The Past
12. Bitten By The Wolf
Disc 3 (DVD):
01. EPK
02. Big Foot - Music Video
03. Turning Left - Live in Phoenix
04. Sexy Little Thing - Music Video
Disc 4 (DVD):
01. Avenida Revolucion (live)
02. Soap On A Rope (live at Montreux 2009)
03. Sexy Little Thing (live at Montreux 2009)
04. Oh Yeah (live)
05. Runnin' Out (live)
06. Get It Up (live)
07. Down The Drain (live at Montreux 2009)
08. My Kinda Girl (live)
09. Learning To Fall (live)
10. Turnin' Left (live)
11. Future In The Past (live)
12. Bitten By The Wolf (live)
13. Soap On A Rope (Video)
CHICKENFOOT is the band featuring Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony,
guitarist Joe Satriani and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad
Smith.
The first single from the set is called "Big Foot".
As previously reported, Smith will not join the band on tour this fall
because of his commitments to the CHILI PEPPERS.
As he hinted recently, Hagar told SoundSpike that former JOHN
MELLENCAMP drummer Kenny Aronoff may fill in for Smith on
tour, explaining, "We're going to play with him for two days. If it works,
we're going to go out in November, I think, and do a buzz tour, play small
venues in five cities, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Then we'll make sure that it works and the
chemistry is good. If it is we'll go out with Kenny."
Hagar added that Aronoff was Smith's personal choice,
saying, "Chad picked him because he said Kenny's just like him. He beats his drum set
to death. He doesn't play them. He beats them to death. At the end of every
show you have to buy a new drum set for these guys. We need that power . . .
When Chad can come
back, we'll make 'Chickenfoot IV' probably with Chad."
"Chickenfoot III" may compete with the new VAN HALEN album,
which will feature David Lee Roth on vocals and is reportedly out this
fall.
Tim Louie of The Aquarian Weekly recently conducted an interview with
former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from
the chat follow below.
The Aquarian Weekly: Let's talk "Kicking & Screaming".
This is your first CD with young guitar phenom Nick Sterling. How did
the recording process go with him?
Sebastian Bach: It went great! Nick just turned 21 a couple of
days ago, and I got him when he was 19 years old. I saw an ad for him in a
magazine and I went to his web site, and [listened to] one of the songs called "Dancing
On Your Grave" — that riff blasted off of his web site and onto my
computer speakers and I really loved it. So, he joined my band and we've been
around the world many, many times… Well, not many, many times, but a couple
times (laughs)! And this is his first major release, and his riffs are crazy.
They sound unbelievable! I mean, I did interviews with The Aquarian since the
first SKID ROW record in 1988, so I was his age then, and the music we
wrote back then had a spirit that maybe you can't get when you're 50 years old.
And then, Nick is 21, so the music on "Kicking &
Screaming" fits really well with the first SKID ROW record just
as a spirit because I think that it has that teenage spirit.
The Aquarian Weekly: Songs like "Kicking & Screaming", "TunnelVision", my favorite track; "Dance On Your
Grave" and "Live the Life" were vintage Sebastian
Bach vocals, which I felt were similar to the "Slave To The
Grind" and "Subhuman Race" CDs. Was it important for
you to pretty much get back to basics?
Sebastian Bach: I guess that's just the way I sing. That's the way I
sound. (Laughs) I can't change the way I sound. On a couple of the songs — "My
Own Worst Enemy" and "Caught In A Dream" — to me, my
voice sounds so young and youthful, and I'm not youthful! I just can't believe
what I'm hearing and I'm like, "How the fuck is this possible? I've been
partying for like a thousand years!" (Laughs) I sound like a little boy on
some of these songs. I've heard them a million times! My voice has a mind of
its own. I mean, I know how to make it do that, but it takes a long time to
warm it up to get it to sound like that, but that's the way it sounds when it's
ripping!
The Aquarian Weekly: Your fans will be pleased with the new album
because it's vintage Sebastian Bach!
Sebastian Bach: Well, that's all that I can do! (Laughs) I love the fact
that I can put 13 brand new songs on your iPod that you can crank up! That's
the greatest thing to me! I love to do that! It makes me feel good!
The Aquarian Weekly: How much of "Kicking & Screaming" are you going to be playing live?
Sebastian Bach: We've already played a bunch of these songs live! You
can see a YouTube version of "I'm Alive". We've played "As
Long As I Got The Music" once or twice. We've played "Live The
Life". We have a DVD coming out with the deluxe version that has live
versions of a bunch of the songs. It's an incredible DVD. It also has the three
brand new videos that we shot. We shot a video for "TunnelVision",
a video for "Kicking & Screaming", and a video for "I'm
Alive", and we spent about as much money on these three videos as we
did on the catering at the shoot for "Monkey Business".
(Laughs) Technology is killer because HD is really cheap, and anybody can shoot
a really good-looking video. They look amazing, and I couldn't be happier with
them. So, that's what we have coming your way, and the video has all live
professional shot footage from the GUNS N' ROSES tour. It's called "As
Long As I Got The Music: The Movie", and it's coming out with the
deluxe edition.
Amy Kelly of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with
guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE
HEAD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: "The Blackening" was such a huge
critical success for MACHINE HEAD. Did you feel a certain amount of
pressure to live up to that album?
Robb: The last six months in touring with "The Blackening",
that's the only question we got. "How are you going to top 'The
Blackening'?" I was like, "Psht, I don't know." We started
writing in November of 2009. I don't know if it was a reaction against "The
Blackening" and 10-minute songs and complex structure or that we had
been watching METALLICA every night with people losing their minds, but
we brought in a bunch of riffs and wrote for about two weeks. To be honest with
you, it was a total bum-out. We went back on tour for another six months and
then took a break. It was great to be off tour and it was great to be with my
family, but after awhile my brain was just going. I had really been getting
back into classical guitar. I took lessons when I was in high school. I had
gotten away from it, but I got back into it and was writing some pieces. The
more I wrote, the more I really got into it. I finally got a song going, and I
called up Phil [Demmel, guitar] and Adam [Duce,
bass]. They were like, "I'm not ready to practice. I need more time
off." Dave [McClain, drums] was already there and said,
"I've got to get jamming with you!" The first song on the record that
came out of it was a song called "This Is The End". It's
probably hands-down the hardest guitar, drumming, and musicality. It's a great
song. It's got good strong structures, good hooks, and great key changes — but
it was like a million miles an hour. The chorus is every single string all the
way up to what is my 19th fret. It's like the last part of the chorus and it
goes up to the 19th fret of the highest string. When Dave and I were
done it was like, "This is so fucking hard! But it's so awesome!" It
was great that we had made this song that was basically above our playing
ability. It was like a goal. We literally couldn't play how it was supposed to
be played. It was so freaking complicated. To have that as a goal it's like,
"Okay, we've got to achieve this. We now have to match this." It's
such a high bar to set for ourselves right off the bat. We had covered — now this
is vocally — we had covered "Hallowed Be Thy Name" for a Metal
Hammer IRON MAIDEN tribute. Up until that point, those were the highest
vocals I had sung. I honestly didn't know if I could even do it. I never had
done it, and then I did it. I didn't really know how to control it, and I was
kind of hit and miss with it. I was like, "I want to get this. I can do
this. I can fucking own this." So I started taking some pretty intensive
vocal training back in New York.
I would fly back to New York
every two or three months and take three-hour blocks, three days in a row with Melissa
Cross. Then I did some stuff with the guy who trains Mick Jagger.
Also I started taking classical guitar lessons from this place called the New York Guitar School.
I got into this learning mode. In learning was unlearning. I was taking vocal
lessons for the first time of my life, and I had been singing for 17 years. I
was unlearning all these bad habits. It was cool to get back to a place —
especially on the guitar — where you say, "I'm a retard. This is so
hard!" It was a cool, vulnerable place to write from. We just tried to
write from that place. "The Blackening" was nominated for a Grammy,
which is cool, but as an artist and musician the challenge is to push yourself.
We didn't want, "Okay, this is all you can write. You've got to write
10-minute songs." We just wanted to fucking write. So that was our
mindset.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Did you pick up a lot of techniques from watching METALLICA?
Robb: They're amazing. They are a real band — one of the last real bands
alive. Lifers. The way they arrange their set and blend their set, it's the
magnitude of everything. To me, it was a dream come true. I'm from the Bay and
they were my idols. Just to see how much bigger that big could be and where things
could really go.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Are you striving for that kind of magnitude?
Robb: Yeah. Totally.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: With so many bands coming out of so many different
labels and outlets, do you feel it's still just as possible for artists to
attain that legendary status?
Robb: I think it's a hell of a goal. If you're going to dream, dream
massive. To be honest, I saw how massive it could be. This is a reality. This
is totally a reality. They did it by their own rules. They did their own music.
You hear a song like "Master of Puppets" every night. It's
eight-and-a-half minutes of super complex, weird, off-time rhythms. This is not
pop music. This isn't Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift. This is very
different, very heavy, brutal music. People identify with it. Sure, you've got
the "Enter Sandman". I love the "Black" album. To
see songs like "Master of Puppets" go over — that is what is
incredible. It has a bizarre structure, eight minutes long, super heavy, drugs,
snort your breakfast! It's awesome. I love that.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Let's talk a moment about the business side of the
music world. It's been publicized that your band struggled through some label
woes in the early 2000s.
Robb: They weren't that too tumultuous. Contrary to popular myth, we
asked to be let go. We weren't dropped. They wanted to keep us. Back then we
were still headlining with full force for 30,000 people. It was just a
transition. That's kind of what music was doing. The whole fucking world was
transitioning. The Internet was really starting to take off, and we jumped on
that. Up until then it was like, "Oh, you've got to have a radio
hit." We never fit that mold. That was a difficult period to swim through.
We're not a radio band. We're a fucking heavy band. So labels were like,
"Whatever." We saw the Internet happening. We were the first band
that I saw back then doing a video diary, making a five-minute thing, telling
people what we were doing in the studio. It sounds absurd to say, but we're
going back to the beginning of 2003. We really ran with that. The media didn't
want to talk with us, the radio wasn't into it, and so we chose this other
avenue that we could control a lot more. It made an even bigger connection with
the fans. That snowballed into the record coming out, and the record was our
highest fucking record ever with literally a zero push.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Do you feel in this day and age that going
independent is the way to go?
Robb: You still need a record company. They give you money and they go
knock on the door. You can do a lot yourself, and we do a lot ourselves, too.
This far into our career we have a lot of say in how we're presented. We want
that control. We want to have that say. Every band should aspire to that. This
is your art. This is your soul that you're putting out there. Don't let someone
else control it. You control it. That way, you can always be you. No matter
what kind of music you play – and I like all different kinds of music. One of
my favorite bands of all time is COLDPLAY. I fucking love them to death.
The reason I love them is because they're so passionate about what they do and
the music they make. You see them onstage and you can feel it. You can see it.
It's real. There is energy coming off. They're not playing the heaviest music
ever, but they're playing the music they truly believe in. That goes for METALLICA or SLAYER and other bands like that. As long as you're being true to
yourself — no matter what kind of music you're playing — it will connect. As
hippie as this is going to sound, I think when you're up there and being
yourself, people can see your soul.
The main stage of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar
Festival tour will be moved inside of the Gulf Coast Coliseum for the
September 4 show in Biloxi, Mississippi. A statement from the
local radio station 97.9 WCPR — which is co-promoting the event — reads
as follows:
"WCPR and local officials have announced changes to the CPR Fest/Uproar tour. Because of last week's collapse of a large outdoor stage in Indiana, a decision has
been made to move the 'main-stage' portion of the concert indoors at the Coast
Coliseum. According to officials, 'Safety is our number one concern and until
an investigation is complete into the cause of the Indiana tragedy we didn't
feel comfortable building what would have been the largest stage ever
constructed in Biloxi." The second stage, a much smaller and easily
anchored venue will still be outside. So, it'll be the best of both worlds!
Gates will open at 1:30 p.m. on September 4th with the outdoor stage featuring SEVENDUST.
After an entire afternoon outdoors, everyone will move inside the Coliseum for
the conclusion featuring AVENGED SEVENFOLD, THREE DAYS GRACE, SEETHER,
and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. Officials also say there will be an added
benefit of moving indoors; 'Being indoors allows us to add more pyrotechnics
and production value to the show. Things that weren't allowed by regulations
outside. Also, we like to emphasize that one ticket will get you into both the
outside and inside portion of the show.'"
Inside the arena on the Rockstar Energy Drink Main Stage:
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
THREE DAYS GRACE
SEETHER
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
ESCAPE THE FATE
Outside on the grounds on the Best Buy Music Gear Second Stage:
SEVENDUST
BLACK TIDE
ART OF DYING
HELL OR HIGHWATER
Five people were killed when stage equipment, towers, a tent and a tree
collapsed on August 18 after a wind and hail storm hit the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium.
Last weekend, a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair and sent steel
scaffolding into the crowd below, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
On July 17, CHEAP TRICK barely avoided being crushed when the stage at
the Ottawa Bluesfest collapsed during a storm. A few were injured, but
no one was killed.
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen was
presented with a gold plaque at the Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany
for sales in excess of 120,000 copies in Germany alone of her debut solo
album, "My Winter Storm".
"My Winter Storm" was released in the U.S. in
February 2008. The CD was made available in two exclusive U.S. versions via Fontana: the standard and deluxe
editions (the latter featuring extra tracks not released elsewhere, as well
visually stimulating bonus DVD content).
"My Winter Storm" was produced by Daniel Presley (FAITH
NO MORE, JEWEL, THE BREEDERS), who has been joined in the
studio by a truly stellar line-up of musicians: Doug Wimbish on bass (LIVING
COLOUR, ANNIE LENNOX, JOE SATRIANI, JEFF BECK, MADONNA, ROLLING STONES), Alex Scholpp on electric guitars (FARMER BOYS)
and Earl Harvin on drums (SEAL, PET SHOP BOYS, AIR),
a player personally selected by Tarja after she saw him stealing the
show at a SEAL concert. Keyboards and programming, meanwhile, were
provided by Torsten Stenzel, whose previous credits include NELLY
FURTADO, MOBY, TINA TURNER, VANESSA MAE.
Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold
around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD
landed at position No. 24 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart,
which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as
those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.
North Carolina's DAYLIGHT DIES has issued the following update:
"We're approaching the end of the writing process on the fourth DAYLIGHT
DIES album, and are scheduled to begin tracking drums in mid-October. We
have completed nine songs, but we're not yet certain if all will make it onto
the album. As previously stated, the material is the most varied yet, partly
due to Egan [O'Rourke, bass] making significant song writing
contributions.
"We'll announce a release date or estimated time frame once we're further
into the recording and those details become more clear.
"Additionally, there will be a couple more European gigs surrounding Madrid
Is The Dark [festival] in December, and we'll share those details as soon
as they are confirmed."
The third edition of the Madrid Is The Dark festival is scheduled to
take place December 8-10 at the Old School venue in Getafe, Spain.
DAYLIGHT DIES's latest album, "Lost To The Living", was
released in the U.S.
in June 2008 via Candlelight Records. The CD features captivatingly dark
original artwork from renowned artist Travis Smith, who has worked with
the band before and whose other previous collaborations include OPETH, ANATHEMA and KATATONIA.
According to a press release, "With their new album, DAYLIGHT DIES have put forth the most mature and varied release of their career. The lush
textures which were introduced with the previous album continue and are greatly
expanded upon. Acoustic and clean guitars ride alongside heavy rhythms more
prevalently than previously, creating a multi-layered sound saturated in
atmosphere and depth. 'Lost To The Living' is a mix of beautiful
melancholic leads and harsh dissonant rhythms; despair driven hooks and the
overall dark atmosphere you've come to expect."
Czech Republic-based drummer David Faifer has left
German metallers REBELLION and has been replaced by Matthias Karle.
The band said in a statement, "It was more difficult for [David] to
move to Germany
that we thought and the distance made regular rehearsals nearly impossible, so
he decided to leave."
A video message from REBELLION in which they introduce their new drummer
can be seen below.
REBELLION last December parted ways with Uwe Lulis (guitar), Gerd
Lücking (drums) and Simone Wenzel (guitar) and replaced them with Oliver
Geibig, David Faifer and Karut, respectively.
REBELLION 2011 is:
Michael Seifert - Vocals
Tomi Göttlich - Bass
Oliver Geibig - Guitar
Stephan Karut - Guitar
Matthias Karle - Drums
Gerd and Uwe have plans to form a new band while Simone has joined VERNISSAGE.
REBELLION's latest full-length album (the third part of the "History
of the Vikings" saga), "Arise: From Ragnarök to Ginnungagap -
The History of the Vikings Volume III", came out in July 2009 via Massacre
Records.
Polish industrial metallers THY DISEASE will enter Creative
Music studio in early October to begin recording their new album for an
early 2012 release. Nine "completely new compositions" and three
"bonus tracks" will be laid down during the sessions, with Tomasz
Zalewski (Studio Zed) set to master the CD.
THY DISEASE's latest album, "Anshur-Za", was released
in November 2009 via Mystic Productions. The follow-up to 2006's "Rat
Age" was recorded in three different studios and was once again
produced by Tomasz Zalewski. The CD's artwork was created by Xaay,
who has previously worked with BEHEMOTH.
"Anshur-Za" included two bonus tracks — cover versions of MADONNA's
"Frozen" and DEPECHE MODE's "Sinner In Me".
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