Latest News (05/02/2013)

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Howard Jones live with Killswitch Engage

Former Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones discloses in a new interview that he was in a coma last year for three days due to his type 2 diabetes.

Jones revealed the news in an interview with Metal Hammer. He told them, "Finding out you're diabetic is pretty dramatic. I just started feeling weird, and then I started getting really clumsy. I fell down some stars and broke a finger, then fell down some other stairs and broke a toe. Then I collapsed.

"I was in a coma for three days. They basically told me I had the highest sugar level they'd ever seen. Afterwards, they told me I had a 50/50 chance of coming out with brain damage."

In January of 2012 Jones issued a statement about his reasons for leaving Killswitch Engage and touched on the illness, "Well, I guess I will shed a little light without going too deep. As some of you may know, I've had a pretty interesting couple of years to say the least battling with some personal issues. One of the low points being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that went unchecked for years. The rest of the band stuck with me through it, and to be honest they are the ones that kept me going. The whole experience definitely put a scare in me." Read the rest here.

Jones returned to the music scene this year. In March we reported that he had formed a new band with Francesco Artusato (Shall Perish) and John Sankey (Devolved/ Fear Factory and Divine Heresy.) You can read more details here. 

Black Sabbath With Ginger Baker? Rick Rubin Explains

(Classic Rock) Rick Rubin has explained why he suggested Ginger Baker should play on new Black Sabbath album 13. The producer came up with a list of names including the Cream icon after Bill Ward withdrew from the project. And even though Sabbath vetoed the idea, Rubin had a good reason for putting it forward.

He tells Mojo: "He was on the list I submitted to them. Certain people were dismissed outright by the band, based on having dealt with them on the past, or the baggage. It wasn't always about drumming ability.

"He was on my list because I wanted to get someone who had grown up in the same world as them, and who jammed the way they did. There aren't many of those people left. Most of them are dead.

"I was asking: who grew up listening to the same music as them? Who played in bands where they jammed back then? It's a very different thing from the way hard rock and heavy metal drummers play today. That's the kind of drummer I was looking for." more on this story

David Lee Roth Says Van Halen Are Avoiding Overexposure

(Classic Rock) It may come as a surprise, but Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth believes there's a limit to how much exposure his band should get.

During a recent TV show he explains his theory that their appearances should be like James Bond movies. He says: "Those first 15 years you tour constantly. You're everywhere.

"Now we're on what I call the James Bond schedule. James Bond movies only come out every three years or so. It's been around so long and it's so familiar that, any sooner and its, 'What did he just do?'"

In the full show Roth explains that his house in Pasadena is just about his only example of rock'n'roll excess when it comes to possessions, saying: "I've been here the length of the Van Halen career. A lot of folks in my position like things and stuff – an Italian sports car with a six-syllable name and an Italian trophy wife with a five-syllable name. This was the one material thing that I bought." Read more and watch video of the interview here. 

Metallica Jam With SF Giants Pitcher Barry Zito

(hennemusic) Ahead of the first Metallica Night at AT&T Park in San Francisco this Friday (May 3), MLB is sharing video of Giants pitcher Barry Zito hanging out and jamming with the metal legends.

Metallica will be on hand to kick off the San Francisco Giants' home-opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday by performing the National Anthem and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

As part of the festivities, fans can bid on one, or both, of the custom made Giants guitars played during the anthem by Metallica members James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. More. 

Deep Purple Debated Making New Album

(Classic Rock) Deep Purple spent three years wondering whether they should make 19th studio album Now What?! says bassist Roger Glover. The band struggled over the decision until they spoke to producer Bob Ezrin last year, and he crystallized their thinking.

"There were different theories in the band about whether we should do a record again, whether we should release an EP, or some singles on the Internet," Glover tells Vintage Rock. "But the bottom line of thinking is: we're an album band and we always were an album band.

"We kind of railed against doing singles. That's kind of strange vanity – but an album, especially with a band like us, is a sort of state of the union address, if you like. It's the state of the band that we're in now.

"Every album we make is a kind of a point in time. I thought we needed to do one. Three years ago, we started thinking seriously, 'Let's have a writing session.' We had no idea where or when we were going to record it." He continues here. 

Five Finger Death Punch To Debut Song From New Double Album

Five Finger Death Punch have recorded enough new music for two albums and will be releasing the effort in two different volumes and will debut the first single at the Golden Gods Awards tonight in Los Angeles.

The band have set a July 23rd release date for Vol. 1 of the double album and plan to release Vol. 2 of the effort at a date to be determined this fall.

Guitarist Zoltan Bathory explains why they went with a double album, "We came off the road after a couple of great years of touring and were really amped up to write the 4th record.

"Everybody was in the right headspace and the band tighter than ever so it was a perfect storm. We jumped in head first and found ourselves 12-13 songs deep fairly quick but were still coming up with better and better material so we looked at each other and said, 'why stop there? Let's keep going.'

"Once we passed the 24th song we knew we're going to have to do a double album. We had this massive amount of music that's very dear to us, possibly the best material this band has ever created. At that point there was no way to decide which songs to leave off the album. So we made the decision to release them all."

Fans can tune in to tonight's (May 2nd) AXS TV and Xbox Live broadcast of the Golden Gods Awards to watch the band perform the first single "Lift Me Up." The show will also feature performances from Metallica, Stone Sour, Halestorm and more.

The band will be releasing the single on May 14th and it will be released to radio on May 13th. more on this story

Beck To Debut New Music At Shows This Summer

(Radio.com) Beck is gearing up to premiere songs from an upcoming acoustic album during a handful of recently announced concerts this summer.

According to a press release, Beck will perform "special acoustic sets with minimal accompaniment" in Paris at the Days Off Festival (July 2), as part of Bob Dylan's Americanarama Festival in Wantagh, NY (July 27) and again the following night at the Newport Folk Festival (July 28). He'll use those shows to road-test the new songs as well as "best-loved classics" from his extensive catalog.

In addition to the acoustic shows, Beck will bring out a full band for "a pair of full-on electric blow-outs," scheduled for Boston's Bank of America Pavilion on August 2 and Brooklyn's Prospect Park on August 4.

These shows are described as similar to what he delivered on the festival circuit last year, including the 2012 editions of Outside Lands and the Governors Ball. more on this story 

Foo Fighters Star To Rock Johnny Cash Tribute Revival

Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett's alt-country side project The Dead Peasants has been added to the lineup for this year's Roadshow Revival: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash.

The event will be celebrating its fifth year this year and will be taking place during Father's Day weekend at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, CA on June 15th.

Organizers are still adding acts to the lineup but so far they have announced Junior Brown, The Americans, The Blasters, Robert Gordon, Johnny Cash tribute bands Cash'd Out and The Walking Phoenixes. You can find more details here.

Black Sabbath To Offer Best Buy Bonus

(hennemusic) Best Buy will sell a version of the new Black Sabbath album, "13," that features an exclusive bonus track when the album is released on June 11th.

"Naïveté In Black" is one of four bonus songs with the package, but the only one available via the North American retailer; the additional tracks also include "Methademic," "Peace Of Mind," and "Pariah."

"13" was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Rick Rubin. Sabbath recently kicked off their 2013 world tour in Auckland, New Zealand. more on this story

Classic Sublime Concert Set For Release

Sublime celebrate their 25th anniversary this year and will mark the occasion with the release of "Sublime's 3 Ring Circus: Live at the Palace - October 21, 1995."

The concert took place at the Palace in Hollywood, Ca and features the band performing 27 songs including "Date Rape," "Badfish," and "40 Oz To Freedom."

It will be released in three different configuration on June 18th and features remastered and remixed multi-source live audio taken for the original master tapes.

The DVD version will include the concert video, which was newly edited using Hi-8 video and recently discovered 16mm and Super 8 film footage, according to the announcement.

The CD version will feature the audio recording of the concert and the deluxe 2DVD+CD Deluxe package will feature the audio and video, the original Hi-8 Palace concert video (unedited), an exclusive poster, laminated backstage pass and an additional bonus concert video of Sublime live at the Las Palmas Theater from February 17, 1995. more on this story

Rob Zombie: Classic Album Collection Set For Release

(hennemusic) As Rob Zombie rides high on the charts with his latest release, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor," a new Zombie compilation is on the way.

Due May 14, "Rob Zombie: Classic Album Collection" features the albums "Hellbilly Deluxe" (1998), "The Sinister Urge" (2001), "Educated Horses" (2006) and "Past, Present, & Future" (2003).

Each album will come in a new slipcase with a placeholder card for the new album to allow fans to complete their full Rob Zombie studio album set. more on this story 

Steven Van Zandt Demands Procol Harum Rock Hall Induction

(Radio.com) Last week, Radio.com spoke with Bruce Springsteen sidekick and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt about his Rock And Roll Forever Foundation, his initiative to get music history integrated with public school curriculum. But Little Steven being Little Steven, he's juggling a number of projects right now.

We spoke to him about a few other things on his agenda including his recent hiatus from E Street Band, the Rascals' reunion shows (which he prompted and produced) and, for the fun of it, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which he often seems to be at least peripherally involved in.

Van Zandt famously advocated for the Rascals' induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997. Another group whom he campaigned for was the Hollies. Former members Allen Clarke and Graham Nash attended the ceremony, but founding members Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott were unable to attend… because the current version of the Hollies had a gig in London the night of the induction. This still rankles Van Zandt.

"I couldn't get all the Hollies to show up to the f***ing Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame," he said, "after I practically had to kill people to get them in!"

So, who is the next artist who he thinks deserves induction? "Easy answer: Procol Harum!" he declares, with no pause at all. "It's absurd that they aren't in yet! They're No. 1 for me, on my ballot. I have a lot of No. 2′s, including Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio, the greatest rockabilly group of all time, arguably… other than Elvis, Scotty and Bill," referencing Elvis Presley and his early backing group Scotty Moore (on guitar) and Bill Black (on bass). Find out who else he things should be inducted and more.

Chevy Metal, The Bronx For Metallica's Orion Fest After Shows

Metallica have announced the details for the "after shows" to their upcoming Orion Music + More music festival that will be taking place on June 8th and 9th in Detroit.

There will be two after shows for the first night of the festival. One will be taking place at the Majestic Theatre and will feature performances by Chevy Metal (featuring Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters), The Bronx and The Orwells. The other after show will be at St. Andrews Hall and will feature sets from Baroness and Coliseum.

The after party for the second night of the festival will take place at the Fillmore and feature performances from Dillon Francis, Adventure Club and 12th Planet. 

 

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Robert Levon Been On The Call's Reunion

(Gibson) 2013 is already a landmark year for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Robert Levon Been. The co-singer/bassist/guitarist has reunited his late father's band, The Call, and BRMC have just released a fine new album, Specter at the Feast.

The Call were the acclaimed '80s band led by Robert's father, Michael Been. And Michael was also key to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Michael was their live sound engineer right up to his sudden death in 2010. Robert took the place of his father in The Call's L.A. reunion shows of April 2013, and a live DVD of the shows is being edited. And BRMC's Specter at the Feast is also something of a tribute to Been senior: the storming single "Let the Day Begin" is a cover of The Call's best-known song of the 1980s.

Gibson.com asked Robert Levon Been about Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Call and BRMC's Epiphone and Gibson gear…

Was reuniting The Call your idea or did you get asked by the other members? Not sure it was anyone's "idea," we just connected. Those guys were like a second family to me when I was growing up. I was always on the road as a kid with my dad, so I knew them. It took a year to find a window to hook up. It was a shot in the dark, but rewarding. When I strapped on an old fretless bass of my father's, I felt pressure, sure. And his vocal range is much wider than mine. So, I'm not sure how we did it, but we did.

How was it playing your late father's music? I was a nervous wreck before the shows. It was intense. I had 20 songs to learn, songs I thought I knew… but when it comes to the bridge or the third verse, it became harder. But it was a beautiful experience. It was very emotional for me. But it wasn't just to honor my father. It was also about the other guys in The Call. Their hearts are still in it, they're still playing music, even if it's in bar bands just scraping by. But I learned a lot from them, and it was great to do it for them. more on this story

Foals Have No Desire To Be An 'Arena Rock Band'

(Radio.com) Foals reveals in a new interview with Radio.com that they have no desire to be an 'arena rock band,' and they offer up their reasons for the stance.

There's a kind of an arrogance in thinking that you can dictate who you can write your songs for," explained Foals' Yannis Phillippakis in a recent interview with Radio.com. The British rockers have recently found themselves playing to both large and very diverse audiences as a result of their sophomore album Holy Fire, released back in February.

"I do think it's a good thing having a more diverse crowd," Phillippakis continued. "Since the early days when we started out we only played to cool kids at house parties that were in the know. And it's nice to have transcended that kind of clique or that niche. I like the idea that our songs can mean an equal amount to someone in Indonesia or some guy in the North of England who are in very different conditions. I like that it can transcend those types of boundaries."

This is an issue with any band that equates cool factor with audience size. The bigger the audience, the less cool the band must be. And when you place a high value on remaining cool, it's a battle that requires real introspection.

"It seems the more successful you get, your quality of life or the quality of your musical profession is diminished. It's made up for financially but in terms of the fun of music for us of playing and touring and being able to feel like we're connecting. At that [arena] level you can't [connect]." more on this story

Black Spiders Launch PledgeMusic Campaign For New Album

(Classic Rock) Black Spiders have announced their second album will be called This Savage Land. It'll be available via PledgeMusic to pre-order from today (May 1) with the official release on September 2.

The band promise they'll return with "10 songs all equally as epic in proportion as the one before in the classic full-length album format". (By "the one before" they're presumably referring to their acclaimed debut Sons Of The North.)

The Spiders also promise "all manner of special editions and exciting activities" if you get involved with their PledgeMusic campaign. more on this story

Singled Out: Digital Daggers' Out of My Head

Today Andrea Wasse from L.A. alternative duo Digital Daggers tells us about their single "Out of My Head" from their forthcoming album "Close Your Eyes," which will be released on June 11th. Here is the story:

Out of My Head is probably the 'poppiest' song we've done, which is funny because at the time, I was feeling anything but poppy.

When we started writing this song, I was in the grips of a very on again/off again relationship with someone that was making me a little crazy… well, more than a little crazy. I was also still dealing with the aftermath of a long-term relationship that had ended months prior to that, so let's just say that at that time, I wasn't exactly the poster girl for mental sanity.

In fact, I was so wrapped up in sulking, obsessing, and feeling sorry for myself that I wasn't prepared to do anything productive.

Luckily Digital Daggers is a duo, and my partner in crime is a bit of a driving force. He insisted we get together and work on something. So I (begrudgingly) met up with him at our studio, and took the opportunity to exorcise some demons.

I sat down, grabbed an acoustic guitar and played him the first verse, something I'd kind of had milling around my head for a little bit. When I was done, I looked up and saw this look in his eyes, which after having worked together for so long, I know well and hope for. It's almost like something sparks inside his brain and he thinks 'I can do something with this!'…

So we started writing. We threw some ideas and lyrics around, Space started building a track full of cool, almost 90s sounding guitars (a la Elastica), lush yet driving synths, and a really steady beat… the energy in the room was so light that I actually found myself getting up and dancing. It felt like a truly cathartic moment, purging the negativity that had cropped up in my life… just getting it all out of my head- hence the lyrics in the chorus and title of the song.

It took us a few days to fine tune it and get it all recorded, making sure each lyric and sound was right, and in the end we had a song and recording that we were both really happy with. And that's the thing, by the end of that process, I was HAPPY.

Which is a strange and wonderful thing.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and check out the lyric video here and learn more about the group and the album right here!

Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard Releases New Solo Song

(Classic Rock) Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard has released his track "Both Live" from upcoming solo album Moonlander and you can listen to the track online.

He says of the third piece to appear from the record: "It's a song I wrote while paddling on Lake Washington, thinking about a friend, who I dreamed set me free from a past restraint. It's more-or-less about how meditation on a conflict can give way to a new understanding. One person doesn't have to lose for the other to win."

He's gone through more than 60 ideas that he'd noted down since his last outing, and says one thing hasn't changed about his approach. "The things I was attracted to then are still the same things I'm attracted to now – oddball riffs that strike my ear as being different. Listen to the new song here.

Iggy and the Stooges Burn For Colbert Report Encore

(Gibson) Iggy and the Stooges ripped through a performance of "Job," a new song from their just-released Ready to Die album, on The Colbert Report on Tuesday (April 30).

After the show, the band stuck around to deliver an encore, scorching through a track titled "Burn." The second segment didn't make the official broadcast, but Stooges fans can watch the band performing "Burn" on the The Colbert Report website.

Iggy, dressed in a suit, was also interviewed by Colbert. Asked about his predilection for going shirtless, the punk icon simply said, "The Pharaoh never wore a shirt."

Thirty seconds into the performance of "Job," Pop charged into the studio crowd, recruiting members of the audience to join him in singing the refrain.

Ready to Die is the first Stooges album to feature guitarist James Williamson since the 1973 classic, Raw Power. You can watch the band's performance of "Burn" here.

What Now Release If Looks Could Kill Video

(Classic Rock) What Now have unveiled a video for "If Looks Could Kill," which is the second single to be released from their latest album Move Like A Sinner.

Having grown up in the dusty beach town of Ballito, South Africa – a place known for its surfing and skateboarding, but with little trace of a music scene – vocalist and guitarist Ryan Morris met drummer Adam Jenkins at school, before recruiting vocalist and bassist Tyron Layley after overhearing him singing at a friend's house.

In their first year, What Now recorded their debut EP, designing their own artwork and printing the CDs at home – spawning a DIY ethic that has stuck with them ever since. Next came a full-length album.

"When our debut record came out we got great radio play on the big South African stations," says Morris. "It was our first taste of real success and we were all delighted of course, but we're a very ambitious band and we just wanted to go big. We didn't want to be trapped in South Africa and be limited by that further down the line. It was an incredibly tough decision, but we knew that we had to leave."