Slash Strums Six String on Ace's Solo CD

Original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has set Pain in the Neck as the title of his new solo album, tentatively due in the spring.

"I was all ready and set up to track a record when I was offered the Kiss reunion," Frehley told The Akron Beacon Journal. "I got back with Kiss and that kind of derailed me from 1996 to 2001 and it took me a while to get my wits back.''

Frehley said he is still putting the finishing touches on Pain in the Neck, including some scheduled six-string contributions from Velvet Revolver/ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

Though most of the tunes were written in the past several years, Frehley also looked to his own past for guidance.

"I've been listening to my first solo album with Kiss, because everybody says that's their favorite record. I was trying to figure out what made it so special, so I'm trying to incorporate a lot of what that record had for this new CD," he said.

"It has a lot of different aspects and shows different musical sides of me and it's something I'm trying to recapture. I don't know if I can do it but I'm gonna take a shot at it."

He added, "The record to me is secondary to the fact that I needed to come back and let everybody know I'm alive and well. Some of my old band mates kind of dragged my name through the mud a little, so I figured that it was time for me to re-emerge and let everybody know I'm not dead."

SOURCE: Ohio.com

Better Late Than Never: Appetite For Destruction

by Nathan Rabin

GN'R towered above their hairspray-addled peers to such an extent that it almost seems unfair to associate them with the hair-metal scene at all. The group deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Jerry Lee Lewis, heroin-era Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Cheap Trick, and all the other hellions who ever pleased Satan with their rockitude.

Axl Rose solidified GN'R's iconic status by firing his band and pulling a J.D. Salinger. Nobody could complain that Guns N' Roses' new albums paled in comparison to their classics, because there were no new albums. Nothing becomes a legend quite like disappearing. Axl Rose became the Howard Hughes of rock, a kilt-sporting hermit who divides his time between recruiting/publicly firing new bandmates, disparaging old bandmates (yes, even Buckethead), getting arrested under bizarre circumstances, and working on his notorious, endlessly delayed comeback album, Chinese Democracy.

It's tempting to play amateur psychiatrist and view Rose's obsession with power and control as an extreme reaction to a traumatic childhood. As a bullied, awkward boy in Indiana, Rose felt powerless and vulnerable. As an adult, he vowed never to feel powerless or vulnerable again, even if it meant destroying every important relationship he had, and willingly turning himself into a freak. Axl Rose and the band he ruled with an iron fist became one of pop music's great "What if?"s. But before they flamed out, they conquered the world with Appetite For Destruction, which catapulted Rose and company into the rarified heights of rock superstardom.

Nelly Furtado once described The Roots song "Pussy Galore" as sounding like "walking through a Thai whorehouse in bare feet." That description describes much of Appetite For Destruction as well. The album luxuriates in debauchery, sex, and sleaze: it just plain sounds dirty, from the buzzsaw guitars of Slash and Izzy Stradlin to Axl Rose's leering, raspy howl.

"Welcome To The Jungle" gets the album off to a supersonic start, with Rose theatrically playing the role of a demented rock 'n' roll barker with a leering, sinister, seductive spiel. Destruction is lifestyle porn, pure and simple, an invitation to spend an hour vicariously experiencing a world where the drugs are free, the girls are easy, and the party doesn't stop until someone ODs.

It's a glorious exploration of the adolescent mindset that touches upon such beloved teen themes as drugs and alcohol ("Mr. Brownstone" and "Nighttrain"), how girls, especially hot girls, are all fucked-up ("You're Crazy," "My Michelle"), how adults be all hasslin' you and shit ("Out Ta Get Me"), idealized romance ("Sweet Child O' Mine"), and the eternal quest for transcendence ("Paradise City"). Oh, and on the album-closing "Rocket Queen," there's the sound of real, live, in-the-studio fucking, which is terribly transgressive and naughty in a 13-year-old kind of way.

In case anyone doubts that Appetite For Destruction is the product of a wonderfully blinkered adolescent mindset, the liner-notes thank-yous end with a shout out to "all those who taught us hard lessons by attempted financial sodomy, the teachers, preachers, cops, and elders who never believed." (To paraphrase Woody Allen, financial sodomy is my second favorite kind.) Elders? Are Guns N' Roses secretly stuck inside M. Night Shyamalan's The Village? Who else hath forsaken them? Hath someone stoleneth their butter churn? Think of the "teachers, preachers, cops" line as Rose's version of 2Pac's "Picture Me Rollin'" roll call.

2Pac and Guns N' Roses could scarcely have less in common, musically. Gangsta rap celebrates consequence-free drug use, sexual promiscuity, the subjugation of women, lawlessness, and wanton hedonism. Appetite For Destruction, in sharp contrast, celebrates drug use, sexual promiscuity, the subjugation of women, lawlessness, and wanton hedonism with loud guitars and pummeling drums. There's a world of difference, really.

The lyrics of Appetite For Destruction frequently blur the line between "stupid" and "transcendently stupid," and Rose's debauched frontman routine constantly goes way, way, way over the top, as when he howls "Now you're clean and so discreet / I won't say a word / But most of all this song is true / 'Case you haven't heard" during "My Michelle," a portrait of a heavy-metal casualty-to-be etched in acid. I can't help but laugh out loud every time I hear Axl Rose end "Mr. Brownstone," an incongruously funky song about heroin, with an ecstatic cry of "Yowza!" At first, this annoyed me, but after a while, I couldn't envision ending the song any other way.

Incidentally, the Wikipedia entry for "Mr. Brownstone" describes the song's origins: "[Slash] states that [he and Izzy Stradlin] were sitting around, complaining about being heroin addicts, when they started improvising lyrics and music ('Brownstone' is a slang term for heroin)." Inspired, I wrote the following, extremely short play about the song's genesis.

Slash: Man, being a heroin addict sure sucks.

Izzy Stradlin: Tell me about it. It's like, I shoot up some heroin, then I totally want to shoot up even more heroin! It's downright meshuggeneh, is what it is!

Slash: Whatever dude, pass the heroin. Oh, incidentally, my lawyer says that if we write a song about Mr. Brownstone, I can write off all my heroin purchases as a business expense.

Izzy: Sweet!

[End Scene.]

It took me a little while to warm up to Appetite For Destruction. At first, I found the singles way too long, especially the nearly seven-minute "Paradise City," which initially struck me as a kick-ass chorus in search of a song. I similarly found a lot of the album tracks flimsy and inconsequential, little more than ramshackle filler. Upon my fourth listen, however, I surrendered and gave myself over to the rock completely. Things got so crazy, I even took to lightly drumming my fingers over my computer keyboard in appreciation. I hope I didn't distract any co-workers with my crazy rock 'n' roll shenanigans. The album tracks I initially found wanting suddenly seemed like the product of the world's greatest bar band. I mean that as a compliment.

By a strange coincidence, I reviewed Thriller, another unimpeachable staple of the pop-music canon, while reading W.A.R. That got me thinking about the unexpected parallels between Axl Rose and Michael Jackson, two Indiana boys made good, then bad. Somehow I imagine that when Tom Petty sang about those "Indiana boys on an Indiana night" that helped Mary Jane grow up tall and grow up right in "Mary Jane's Last Dance," Axl Rose and Michael Jackson weren't what he had in mind.

Like Jackson, Rose was liberated by music and ruined by money, power, and fame. Both men peaked early and transformed historic careers into chilly mausoleums to wasted talent and squandered potential, Xanadu-like monuments to arrogance and delusion. Like Thriller, Appetite For Destruction earned Axl Rose a lifetime's worth of "fuck you" money. But a lifetime spent screaming "fuck you" to everyone and everything is bound to feel awfully empty.


You can read the full article here.

Thanks to: Pat

SOURCE: The Onion

Buddy Miles Dead at 60

Buddy Miles, who co-founded and played drums in Band Of Gypsys with Jimi Hendrix, passed away yesterday (Feb. 26) in Austin, Texas, at the age of 60. A cause of death has yet to be announced.

Miles was born Sept. 5, 1947, in Omaha, Neb., and was introduced to music at a young age by his father, who played in a band called the Bebops. As a young man he also played with Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink Spots.

Miles met Hendrix in the early 1960s but didn't begin collaborating with him until 1969, when Hendrix produced an album by the Buddy Miles Express.

Miles, often decked out in sequined clothes and an enormous Afro, went on to drum on Hendrix's landmark "Electric Ladyland" album before officially joining Band Of Gypsys with bassist Billy Cox a few months later.

The group's lone self-titled album chronicled a New Year's Eve 1969/1970 concert at New York's Fillmore East, and is regarded by many as one of the best live albums of the era.

Watch Buddy singing his trademark tune, "Them Changes" from 1970 here.



SOURCE: Billboard

STP Will Play Toronto!

If you haven't been to Toronto yet - here's a great excuse to visit one of the best cities in the world.

Billboard.com is reporting that the Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park will headline the 2008 Edgefest.

The event will be held July 12 at Downsview Park in Toronto.

Also playing are The Bravery, Attack in Balck, The Coast, The Flatliners, Modernboys Moderngirls, Sweet Thing and many more.

Tickets go on sale Saturday (March 1) to the general public; members of 102.1 The Edge's Inside Edge club will have access to a discounted pre-sale tomorrow.

SOURCE: Billboard

Van Halen Family Gets into Domestic Squabble

Van Halen mysteriously cancelled two US shows last week after a fight between band members at a nightclub.

Van Halen's fan website has two 'unsubstantiated reports' that the members of Van Halen were in a bar called Rapture in downtown Charlottesville on Thursday, February 21.

Bassist Wolfgang Van Halen - son of guitarist Eddie - allegedly got into some kind of 'altercation', which precipitated fighting within the band. The squabble reportedly got heated and this apparently caused the abrupt postponement of the shows in Charlottesville and Atlanta.

However, the nightclub in question denies the band were present, only members of the VH roadcrew.

Sarah Oppenheimer, a server at Rapture and longtime Van Halen fan, said she spoke to the crew members who were there. "They were being nice, docile people," she said.

Oppenheimer also said there were no band members at Rapture and there was no fight, although "they [the roadcrew members] were nervous anyway that the show would be cancelled".

SOURCE:
Classic Rock

Italian Iron Maiden Tribute Band Records Album of New Material

Italian tribute band The Clairvoyants has inked a deal with Valery Records for the release of the group's first collection of original material.

The CD will be recorded at Alpha Omega Studios in Como and Nativity Studio in Chiasso, Switzerland and it will be mixed in Milan.

According to a press release, "The Clairvoyants will maintain the same name with a different logo, and on their debut album there will be ten tracks and many special surprises for their fans: there will be two prestigious guests from the international scene that will respectively sing in one song and play an instrument in another, following the tradition that saw the band, as an Iron Maiden tribute, involved with top-level international collaborations."

A fall release is expected, to be followed by an Italian tour.

SOURCE: Blabbermouth

Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver, U2 to Play World Peace Concert

World Peace One, a not-for-profit global peace advocacy group whose mission is to bring peace to the world through a 10-year global campaign of concerts, education and government initiatives, has targeted some of the top acts in the world for a series of international concerts to begin May 17.

The event is in discussions with such marquee acts as U2, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Lionel Richie, Celine Dion, INXS, Velvet Revolver, Will I. Am, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland, says WP1 founder Doug Ivanovich.

International artists in discussion, according to Ivanovich, include Reyna Reyna, Brazilian artists Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Ivan Lins, Sergio Mendes and Linox; Jane Zhang and the Trollmates in China, Tarkan in Turkey, and Saer, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Tamara Day for Africa.

"We are in discussions with some very high-level agents and promoters, and we are planning now to consolidate these relationships in various parts of the world. We are also in serious discussions with Live Nation and other promoters, and we're about to consummate our relationships, so I won't mention their names until we do."

You can read the rest of the article here.

SOURCE: Billboard

Tom Morello Finishes Second Solo Album

Rage Against the Machine recently returned home from headlining the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand, where guitarist Tom Morello also did double duty on some shows as his political folk alter ego, the Nightwatchman. Although Rage still has no plans to record, Morello told The Pulse of Radio that he's already finished his second Nightwatchman CD. "The working title is The Fabled City, and it's pretty damn rocking," he said. "Over the course of the last year, you know, playing hundred-some shows, I think I've grown as a performer, and there's a certain amount of energy and electricity to those acoustic shows that I tried to translate to the record, and it's definitely a more high-energy affair. And there's actually one or two guitar solos may have crept their way in, as well as a riff or two."

Morello did not give a release date for The Fabled City, although he said he expects it to come out later this year. His first Nightwatchman record, One Man Revolution, arrived last April.

Rage Against the Machine reunited last year for a series of concerts, its first in seven years. The band is next slated to hit the European festival circuit this summer.

As for Morello's other band, Audioslave, he said there are no plans at the moment to issue a greatest-hits collection from the now-defunct supergroup. He did hint, however, that there is unreleased material recorded by the band which could someday see the light of day.

SOURCE: Blabbermouth

Prostitute

"Prostitute" is a title mentioned in numerous articles, and was seen on a picture of a setlist, which briefly appeared on the band's official website.

According to Paul Buckmaster's official discography/list of credits, he has served as the arranger and conductor on the tracks "The Blues", "There Was a Time", "Madagascar" and "Prostitute."

Paul Buckmaster had this to say about the song,

It's a mid-up, kind of biting 4 minute song with an aggressive rhythm section. The way I wrote for the string section (32-piece, consisting of ten 1st Violins, eight 2nd Violins, six violas, and eight cellos) gave the song another dimension. The song is powerful, like fire and ice.

"Prostitute" is very likely to be on Chinese Democracy. The song goes back to 1996, and it was first confirmed by Kerrang in 1999.

Over the next 12 months, the band apparently recorded 30 songs for the album, continually reworking them. Tracks recorded were said to include "Prostitute", "Cock-A-Roach Soup", "This I Love", "Suckerpunched", "No Love Remains", "Friend or Foe", "Zip It", "Something Always", "Hearts Get Killed" and "Closing in on You."

Depending on who you believe, they veered from techno-industrial rock to old-style Guns sleaze. Matt Sorum revealed Axl’s love of samples and loops; contrarily, Chris Vrenna stated "I have a feeling it’s gonna be more like Appetite, than anyone is expecting."

The producer, Youth, also worked on "Prostitute." This was early in the process of the recording of Chinese Democracy. Youth tried to make Axl work on music, but there was little progress.

Youth said Axl was working on a song called 'Prostitute', which is a working title and everything was going real slow.

If you search YouTube, you can find a few "Prostitute" fakes here and here.

Jello Biafra vs. the RIAA

Jello Biafra (ex-Dead Kennedys) recently spoke to Norway's Aftenposten and unleashed some serious hate against music industry trade lobby, RIAA. He does express some concern about the problem of file sharing with regards to newer bands however:
"Don't take from the smaller, independent labels. Then fantastic bands would have to surrender way too early, because they can't afford it, Support the independent labels, but the big ones –f*ck'em. Anyways, I haven't found anything in many years which come from a large label worth buying.

"The RIAA reminds me most of the Godfather, we will sue you. If you want out of this without going to court, we can make an arrangement: Give us $5000. If not, you will find a horses head in your bed. They are doing this to 12 year old girls, they are doing it to 80 year old women, and they do it to students."

SOURCE: AntiMusic

Black Crowes: "Maxim Review is a Fraud"

The Black Crowes are lashing out at Maxim magazine for reviewing the band's new album -- apparently without actually hearing it first.

The review, published in Maxim's March issue, gives the Crowes' "Warpaint" a rating of two-and-a-half stars out of five.

"The writer -- who has not heard the album since advance CDs were not made available -- wrote what appears to be a disparaging assessment anyway, citing, `it hasn't left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth,'" said a statement on the band's official Web site.

The band's manager, Pete Angelus, said the magazine explained that its review was an "educated guess."

"It speaks directly to the lack of the publication's credibility," Angelus said in a statement. "In my opinion, it's a disgrace to the arts, journalism, critics, the publication itself and the public. What's next -- Maxim's concert reviews of shows they never attended, book reviews of books never read and film reviews of films never seen?"

A representative for the magazine would not confirm or deny to The Associated Press whether the writer actually listened to the album. Instead, Maxim released this statement in response: "Maxim will continue to provide our readers with information that is important to them, whether it is about fashion, lifestyle, technology, music, movies and more."

"Warpaint," the band's first album in seven years, is set for release March 4. The blues-rock group, fronted by Chris Robinson, has released only one song from the disc, "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution."

SOURCE: Sleaze Roxx

KK Downing Answers Your Questions

Want to ask K.K.? Submit your question to questions@kkdowning.net

Insert "Question" as a topic and don´t forget to write your name and location.

Emre from Istanbul:
I asked you a question before about releasing live albums of Painkiller era or 2004-2005 era. But you said you band members don’t think this project now because of the massive NOSTRADAMUS album. Well, in the future do you guys plan to release any live albums covering the era with the Metal God Rob Halford?

And my last request is about the Nostradamus album. Would you guys like to add a DVD that includes "making of Nostradamus, photos, interviews etc" to a special edition version? Rehearsals, you guys at the studio singing and rocking!

Thank you for your kind behaviour. You are the greatest guitarist in the world with Glenn!

Rock Hard Ride Free!


Hi Emre. All valid points, as I said before we will continue to research any material from those periods but just as importantly as you say we must be more vigilant from now on and try to document the bands history more comprehensively for the benefit of ourselves but more importantly the fans. Thank you for your comments and I hope to see you soon in Istanbul.

Regards K.K.


Hugh Morris, South Wales:
Hello! I’d firstly like to say I am a huge fan of Priest, my dad brought me up listening to you and you were my inspiration to play the guitar!

I won't keep you long as I’m sure you have a lot of things to do but I was just wondering whether on the new Priest tour that is taking shape, is there any possibility of a gig in Cardiff or would they all be based in areas like Birmingham, London and Manchester? I was just wondering as I have never seen Priest and if you were playing Cardiff I would most definitely come to see you but travelling to these places in England is a little hard for many fans from this area. Thank you for your time


Hi Hugh. I certainly hope we will be playing in Cardiff, I know we have many fans there and Wales has been very supportive of Priest for all of our careers so with luck we will see you later.

Regards K.K.



Mick, Geraldton Western Australia:
Hi K.K.!
My question for you is "Is Judas Priest going to tour Australia and if so will there be a gig in Perth, Western Australia?" You guys went there with Ripper a few years ago and I would love to see you there on your tour of Australia if you get down this way. My first taste of Priest was when I saw the video clip of Painkiller when I was 16, myself and my
mates were blown away and ever since then I have been a massive fan!! Keep up the great work and keep the metal coming. Judas Priest rules
forever!!!!!!!!!


Hi Mick. Yes I believe the promoters are working on it as we speak. I can’t say for sure that we will play Perth or not but at the same time I don't see how the promoters could possibly miss it out, especially as you say we have been there before and the gig was great. Hope to see you soon.

Regards K.K.



SOURCE: KK Downing.net

Let There Be Rock (Bon Scott Statue Update)

The lifesize Bon Scott statue was unveiled yesterday in Fremantle (Western Australia).

You can read all about it at BonScott.com

SOURCE: BonScott.com

Marc Canter: "I’ve heard Chinese Democracy and it’s great."

Having been so close to the band right from the start, how do you feel about they way evolved over the years into the Use Your Illusion albums? Do you have any thoughts about Velvet Revolver? Do you have any thoughts about Axl’s “new”‘ Guns N’ Roses?

The Use Your Illusion albums were a big change from Appetite For Destruction. The songs were put together a lot different. The guys no longer were living together and some of them had studios in their homes. Sometimes a song would be brought to the band already recorded and then lyrics would later be written. Also Slash was able to put some magic to songs that Axl came up this time like “November Rain” and “Estranged.”

Now they had some money in their pockets and had a nice place to live,so the tension from living on the streets was gone. They were 5 years older. The songs for Appetite were put together in 1985. When Izzy left I knew there were going to be some problems in the way that the band was going to write songs. Izzy was a great song starter.

I was disappointed when that lineup fell apart but now years later Axl has like 50 songs with the new band. I’ve heard Chinese Democracy and it’s great. Axl has toured around the world and always gives his best show live. Slash, Duff, and Matt put out 2great records with Velvet Revolver and are touring the world. So there all doing well.

You can read the full article here.

SOURCE: Metal Sucks

Bon Scott Statue Unveiled this Sunday

A lifesize bronze statue of late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott will be unveiled in Perth, Australia this weekend.

The statue will be revealed at the Aussie Rock Celebration concert in suburban Claremont on Sunday before being placed permanently at Fisherman's Wharf in Fremantle, where Bon grew up.

West Australian Bon Scott Fan Club president Doug Thorncroft said the statue was just right.

"It's true Bon. He's giving it all to the crowd," he said. "He's got a microphone in his left hand, tilted up, and the cable from the amp on the right, and it's just so Bon.

"His jeans are painted on with his package bulging out."

Check back here on Monday for pictures.

SOURCE: Classic Rock

First Ever Photos Of The New ANTHRAX Lineup Revealed

Nonlouder have posted the first ever photos of the new ANTHRAX lineup -

Scott Ian (rhythm guitar), Frankie Bello (bass) and Charlie Benante (drums), new vocalist Dan Nelson (ex-DEVILSIZE) and lead guitarist/producer Rob Caggiano.

The band are currently holed up in Chicago writing and tracking their new album for a release later this year. Click here for another photo.

SOURCE: Braveworlds

Girl Loves Distortion

Casey, over at Milk Milk Lemonade has a short feature on Girl Loves Distortion, who are about to release their first CD this Winter.

Check them out - their sound is a fusion of everything that is good about music today.

Guitarist Steve Rubin is a modern-day Glenn Tipton.
Seriously.

You can read the article here.

SOURCE: Milk Milk Lemonade

The Washington City Paper has a review of their Jan 6 show here.

Turning A Bicycle Into A Car

by Bumblefoot

I’ve been an independent musician all my life. I’ve dabbled in business with the “music industry”, 99% of it a disappointing experience. More like your worst nightmare. I’ve always pushed the idea that musicians should be self-sufficient, and shouldn’t sell their souls and empower an industry that can’t support them. I write my own songs, engineer my own recordings, manufacture and distribute my own CDs, arrange my own promo and tours. In the past I’ve posted unreleased recordings of my band on download sites for those that might enjoy it. I post full songs on MP3 sites like MySpace. I make MP3s of CDs I’ve bought. I download MP3s of obscure albums I bought as a kid but can no longer find.

I also play guitar in a well-known band that is often faced with internet-based drama, from rumors that misinform the public to the spread of leaked recordings that misrepresent the band’s music. That makes me an unknown, unsigned artist in a major-label rock band, who funds his own albums as a little D.I.Y. label but is illegally downloaded in proportion to the exposure of the major-label band, and I’m an illegal downloader myself. Kinda puts me in the vast gray area between sides of the tired ol’ issue of downloading.

Overheard a good conversation about it the other day. Went something like this…

—————————————-

I bought 1000 albums, and then CDs, over the past twenty years. I bought them once, why should I have to buy them again every time there’s a new format? Isn’t it ok to just make my own MP3s so my music collection can be portable? And if so, why isn’t it ok to download the MP3s from someone else, rather than making them myself?

You don’t have to re-buy your albums in a new format - if you want to listen to the albums you bought, dust off your turntable and play your albums. Buying one thing doesn’t entitle you to the other - buying a bicycle doesn’t give you the right to a free car.

OK, but if I can turn my bicycle into a car, why can’t I still ride it?

You’re buying the objects that carry the music, not the music. Today, the physical object is not something you hold in your hand, the physical object is a file on your drive - you need to buy the file.

OK, what if I -want- to buy files of an album that’s out-of-print and unavailable. Isn’t it ok to download MP3s from someone who has the album, rather than going without the music?

Who says you can have everything you want?

Yeah, but if there’s nothing available to buy, no one’s losing a sale, so what’s the harm in just letting me enjoy the music that someone else wants to share with me? Idealistically, maybe people will start getting into the band again, they end up with one of the songs licensed for a big movie, and it revives their careers and music…?

You don’t own the rights to the songs to make these decisions.

OK, well a music career doesn’t go very far without listeners, so you shouldn’t undermine our importance and strength.

It sounds like you’re fighting to take away our power to govern our own music.

Sure, we’ve been treated like we’re the enemy for a while now, now there’s opposition.

When you steal from us, you are the enemy.

You’ve denied us options and don’t listen to what we want, and make things difficult for us. We started downloading as the new way of getting music, and you sued children, took away our favorite websites, tried to destroy everything instead of being part of everything. You could have easily embraced downloading ten years ago instead of putting us through unnecessary crap all this time. We had all these great sites for getting independent music like mp3.com and the old Napster, and you killed them.

No, YOU killed independent music. You took artists that pay out their pocket for studio time, manufacturing, everything, people who barely make a living selling 1000 CDs but do it for the love, and you put their albums on Torrent sites and stole half the food out of their families’ mouths.

Well, whoever downloaded those albums obviously didn’t like them enough to go out and buy them, so they didn’t lose a sale. If you like an album that much, you’ll show your support, and buy the album. It’s like getting a free sample at a supermarket - if you didn’t like the album enough to buy it, you wouldn’t have bought it anyway, whether there was a free sample or not. But at least there was a free sample - if anything, that free sample might have created more sales.

It’s not a free sample, it’s a free entire-product - like giving away a whole movie instead of a preview. And do you really think a 12-year-old kid is gonna go ask his mom to buy an album for him, when he can just quietly steal it off a torrent site?

OK, but the kid is gonna become a fan of the band, maybe enough of one to go to shows, buy merch, buy the next album.

There won’t be a next album, because too many people stole the first one.

OK, well at least there are ways for indie artists who can’t get on iTunes to be part of the system - stuff like SNOCAP on MySpace.

The music industry is dying…

It should. It’s a flawed system that leaves artists starving and labels scurrying, it doesn’t work.

At least it was a system that didn’t leave an open door for people to give into the temptation to steal. We want to get your spending money, but we can’t “sign” every kid on myspace that sells his own music on there. I guess we’ll have to wait for enough kids on myspace to break copyright laws, sue myspace, take over myspace, and turn the site into something that benefits the industry.

Go ahead. We’ll just open another site to give us what we want. And another, and another.

Great, together we’ll keep lawyers rich.

You’re only complaining because there’s nothing keeping -you- rich. We’re simply not satisfied doing business with you anymore - we’re in an age where we’re willing to trade a little sound quality for a little more convenience and access to a lot more music than you make available. We stopped buying CDs because you stopped supporting artists and art, and don’t give us enough quality and diversity. A band like Pink Floyd would have never given us The Wall or Dark Side Of the Moon if they were signed today, because you would have dropped them after their first album didn’t sell enough.

Their album wouldn’t have sold enough because you would have illegally downloaded away all the reportable sales.

So you’re saying that the consumer killed music and the music industry?

Are you saying the consumer holds no accountability for how the stealing added up?

Are YOU saying that the industry holds no accountability for how they treated us when we got on board with the new downloading technology and the industry refused to be part of it, and gave us no choice but to move ahead without them and trade our own MP3s?

—————————————-

I buy music, I steal music. I also sell music. People buy my music, people also steal my music.

In the end, people just want their music. And we’ll get it the easiest way we can.

SOURCE: Jukebox

Bono: "New Album Will Be Radical"

Bono has insisted that the new U2 album will be "radical and uncompromising".

The singer claimed he couldn't give any details away but argued that it wouldn't be worth the band's time producing a record that was anything less than "great".

Speaking at the European premiere of U23D, he said: "Who needs another U2 album unless it's a really great piece of rock 'n' roll? You young people better watch out!

"We have to do something really extraordinary to be able to get out of bed these days."

He added: "If I told you [about the album] I'd have to kill you. And if I did tell you they'd probably have to kill me too."

Producer Daniel Lanois revealed earlier this week that the Irish rockers had begun work on the follow-up to 2004's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

SOURCE: Digital Spy

Iron Maiden Shreds

Enjoy!



SOURCE: YouTube

Steve-O Wants Rap Battle With K-Fed

TV prankster Steve-O is embarking on a new career as a rapper - and has challenged fellow hip-hop wannabe Kevin Federline to a rap war to prove his talent.

The former Jackass star has written a track attacking Britney Spears' ex-husband for his new album Hard as a Rock - and he wants to set up a lyrical battle with Federline, whose own rap career flopped after the release of his 2006 LP Playing With Fire.

Steve-O says, "I'm officially challenging K-Fed to a rap battle. It'll be just like that scene from 8 Mile! I know that K-Fed has his 'acting' career and all, but if he's a real man, he'll step up and battle me!"

For instructions on how to survive a rap battle click here.

SOURCE: StarPulse

Slayer Confirmed For Denmark's Roskilde Festival

California-based thrash metal legends Slayer have been confirmed for this year's edition of the Roskilde Festival, set to take place July 3-6 in Roskilde, Denmark.

Also joining SLAYER at Roskilde will be: AT THE GATES, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, CLUTCH, ENTER SHIKARI, HOLY FUCK, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and RADIOHEAD.

Slayer won a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 10 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Slayer was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from the band's 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at an hypothesized end of the world. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay.

"This is awesome," Araya stated backstage. "I guess we're part of the industry now, above ground. None of those tunnel diggings anymore. No, this is our second win actually. It's kind of exciting. We've been fortunate to have been around this long with no radio play. We've gotten support from satellite radio recently, MTV gave us minimal support, but it's all on word of mouth and people liking what we do and passing it on to their friends. We owe a lot of our success to our fans. The industry is great, but the fans are the ones that take the time to look you up to see what you're doing, wait for the record to come out and buy it so..."

SOURCE: Blabbermouth

Ace Frehley Confirmed for Sweden Rock!

Its 1986 all over again.

Original Kiss guitarist "Space" Ace Fehley has been confirmed for this year's edition of Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 4-7 in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

Also playing Sweden Rock this year are Def Leppard, E.L.O., Judas Priest, Lizzy Borden, Joe Satriani, Poison, Saxon, Sebastian Bach, Tesla, Testament, Triumph, Whitesnake, and many others.

SOURCE: Sweden Rock

AC/DC - About to Rock - We Salute You!

Australian hard rock icons AC/DC are getting closer to ending an eight-year drought of new music. "God, I'm ready," bassist Cliff Williams, who was in L.A. to participate at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, tells Spinner. To that end, the group will hit the studio March 1.

Almost as long as the wait for new music is the band's absence from the stage. Tour plans, however, aren't as firm. "If we go out again or when we go out again," Williams said. "You just never know. We've been around a long time, so we're going to get together and get in the studio and I fully expect we will [tour.]. I don't mean to be so negative about that. [When] the last tour ended in early '01, you'd see kids on their dads' shoulders. And these kids were like 10, 12 years old. It will be tremendous to see that again. And it's very cool -- younger kids getting into older music."

Williams admits that he doesn't listen to his own stuff very often, but on hand at the Rock Camp, the bassist did get a new perspective on some of the band's classics. And what's standing out for him lately? "'Down Payment Blues,' 'Live Wire' -- I dig a lot of the old stuff," he says. "It's amazing. We look back on old albums -- look at tracks -- and I don't remember the tracks from the title. But those two songs I would love to play."

SOURCE: Sleaze Roxx

CUBAN DEMOCRACY?

Dear compatriots:

Last Friday, February 15, I promised you that in my next reflection I would deal with an issue of interest to many compatriots. Thus, this now is rather a message.

The moment has come to nominate and elect the State Council, its President, its Vice-Presidents and Secretary.

For many years I have occupied the honorable position of President. On February 15, 1976 the Socialist Constitution was approved with the free, direct and secret vote of over 95% of the people with the right to cast a vote.

The first National Assembly was established on December 2nd that same year; this elected the State Council and its presidency. Before that, I had been a Prime Minister for almost 18 years. I always had the necessary prerogatives to carry forward the revolutionary work with the support of the overwhelming majority of the people.

There were those overseas who, aware of my critical health condition, thought that my provisional resignation, on July 31, 2006, to the position of President of the State Council, which I left to First Vice-President Raul Castro Ruz, was final.

But Raul, who is also minister of the Armed Forces on account of his own personal merits, and the other comrades of the Party and State leadership were unwilling to consider me out of public life despite my unstable health condition.

It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis--vis an adversary which had done everything possible to get rid of me, and I felt reluctant to comply.

Later, in my necessary retreat, I was able to recover the full command of my mind as well as the possibility for much reading and meditation. I had enough physical strength to write for many hours, which I shared with the corresponding rehabilitation and recovery programs.

Basic common sense indicated that such activity was within my reach. On the other hand, when referring to my health I was extremely careful to avoid raising expectations since I felt that an adverse ending would bring traumatic news to our people in the midst of the battle.

Thus, my first duty was to prepare our people both politically and psychologically for my absence after so many years of struggle. I kept saying that my recovery "was not without risks."

My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath. That's all I can offer.

To my dearest compatriots, who have recently honored me so much by electing me a member of the Parliament where so many agreements should be adopted of utmost importance to the destiny of our Revolution, I am saying that I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of President of the State Council and Commander in Chief.

In short letters addressed to Randy Alonso, Director of the Round Table National TV Program, --letters which at my request were made public -- I discreetly introduced elements of this message I am writing today, when not even the addressee of such letters was aware of my intention. ...

Following are some paragraphs chosen from the letter addressed to Randy on December 17, 2007:

... "My elemental duty is not to cling to positions, much less to stand in the way of younger persons, but rather to contribute my own experience and ideas whose modest value comes from the exceptional era that I had the privilege of living in. ....

Letter from January 8, 2008:

"I am a firm supporter of the united vote (a principle that preserves the unknown merits), which allowed us to avoid the tendency to copy what came to us from countries of the former socialist bloc, including the portrait of the one candidate, as singular as his solidarity towards Cuba. I deeply respect that first attempt at building socialism, thanks to which we were able to continue along the path we had chosen."

And I reiterated in that letter that "I never forget that 'all of the world's glory fits in a kernel of corn."

Therefore, it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer. This I say devoid of all drama.

Fortunately, our Revolution can still count on cadres from the old guard and others who were very young in the early stages of the process. Some were very young, almost children, when they joined the fight on the mountains and later they have given glory to the country with their heroic performance and their internationalist missions. They have the authority and the experience to guarantee the replacement.

There is also the intermediate generation which learned together with us the basics of the complex and almost unattainable art of organizing and leading a revolution.

The path will always be difficult and require from everyone's intelligent effort ... The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong; however, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century.

This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of 'Reflections by comrade Fidel.' It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful.

Thanks.

Fidel Castro Ruz

Musicians Sue Universal Music For Lost Royalties

More than a dozen recording artists, including the estates of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, sued Universal Music on Friday, saying they had been cheated out of more than $6 million in royalties since 1998.

The artists, many of whom signed with recording companies that were later bought by Universal, sued the world's largest music label for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in a lawsuit filed in New York State Court.

In a statement, Universal, which is owned by the French company Vivendi, denied the allegations.

"We believe that these claims are baseless, and we are confident that we will prevail in court," the company said.

The lawsuit alleges that Universal, which is required to submit at least biannual reports of sales and earnings for each artist, provided false information throughout the accounting period of May 1999 through February 2007.

Universal has not provided all records needed to calculate the losses, but the company "systematically underpaid royalties" since 1998, the lawsuit said.

"Despite a relationship based on trust and manifold contractual obligations, and despite the fact that defendants realized an overwhelming windfall to both its finances and reputation as a result of this relationship," Universal has "utterly failed" to meet their obligations, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also accuses Universal of engaging in "pervasive and systematic acts of using false statements" to conceal the complete earnings of the artists.

Other artists included in the lawsuit, either individually or through their estates, were Les Brown, Richard Hayman, Dick Hyman, Woody Herman, Kitty Kallen, Frankie Laine, Tony Martin, John Mills, Jerry Murad, Patti Page, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Sarah Vaughn.

SOURCE: Reuters

Steve Riley: "The Other LA GUNS Is A Band Of Scrubs"

210sa.com interviewed LA Guns drummer Steve Riley about the battle between competing incarnations of LA Guns.

He had this to say.

210sa: Do you ever want to have a battle of the bands with the other L.A. Guns and just settle it once and for all?

SR: It would be no contest. If you're an L.A. Guns fan or even a casual fan, you'll still notice the difference pretty immediately. ..... There are certain techniques that Phil used, and it's hard to duplicate that. As for L.A. Guns, the other one will peter out. People are becoming aware that it sounds really bad. We're fighting the fight right now, and it's childish, but we have to sort of stick our nose in it right now because people want to know what we think. The reality is that (the other L.A. Guns) is a band of scrubs, and this band is the one with the original singer and drummer. We sound like our records. They sound like a band trying to sound like L.A. Guns.

You can read the entire interview here.

Sebastian Bach Interview on KFLY

KFLY - an FM radio station based in beautiful Eugene, Oregon, conducted a enlightening interview with former Skid Row singer and Axl Rose collaborater - Sebastian Bach.

Bach talks about Axl, Chinese Democracy, Skid Row and his coming US Summer tour with a "big band."

Bach laments the sad state of the music industry today, and how, since no one is buying CDs, music is basically a "hobby" for him.

You can download the entire interview here.

SOURCE: KFLY

GNR Guitarist Seeks Vocalist

GUNS N' ROSES star RON 'BUMBLEFOOT' THAL has gone online to find a singer for his side project.

The guitarist is on the hunt for a backing vocalist to work on his upcoming solo album.

Thal has dubbed his talent search the Bumblefoot Opera Challenge, and has posted a minute-long video online to explain exactly what he's looking for.



SOURCE: YouTube

SEBASTIAN BACH AND POISON ADDED TO SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL:

Sweden Rock Festival 2008 is proud to announce the latest acts confirmed for their show:

SEBASTIAN BACH

His 2005 Sweden Rock Festival gig was one of the most talked about shows of that year and the brand new studio album "Angel Down" is undoubtedly the best record he has made since the early 90's, so it is our great pleasure to be able to add the name Sebastian Bach to this years festival line-up.

The former Madam X vocalist was elevated into super stardom as frontman in Skid Row, who made the exceptionally successful albums "Skid Row" and "Slave to the Grind" in 1989 and 1991 respectively. After the 1994 longplayer "Subhuman Race" and subsequent tour, Bach has been breaking new ground for himself as an actor and musical artist while releasing solo albums like "Bring 'em Bach Alive" and "Bach 2 Basics" and making countless guest appearances on various recordings. With "Angel Down", released in November 2007, his solo career seems to be in full focus. The record offers relentless hard rock/metal in the vein of the hardest Skid Row material and Bachs band includes renowned guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and bassist Steve DiGiorgio.

SOURCE: Sweden Rock

Ronson Thrilled to Meet Idol Slash

Mark Ronson has revealed that he was star-struck when he met ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

The music producer was introduced to Slash backstage at Sunday night's Grammys, where he picked up three awards.

He wrote on his MySpace blog: "I found an empty pack of his cigarettes and got him to sign it. He thought it was sweet.

"But his wife was a bit wary and told me that I might be a psycho. I think she may be right."

He previously said he hoped to persuade the rocker to collaborate with him, describing his idol as the "coolest person ever".

SOURCE: Digital Spy

Shout at the Beatle

by Chuck Klosterman

More complex (and consequently less popular) is the "Shout at the Beatle" T-shirt (fig. 2), which depicts a young Paul McCartney sporting the facial "war paint" that Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue popularized in the glam 1980s.

This coded message takes a particularly convoluted path. In 1988, a man named Matthew Trippe sued Mr. Sixx, contending that he (Trippe) had been hired to impersonate Sixx after the Crue bassist was involved in a 1983 motor-vehicle accident.

Trippe claimed that he then wrote many of the band's most successful songs but was never compensated; he reportedly dropped his suit in 1993.

But proponents of this shirt suggest that this is only half the story.
"Shout at the Beatle" wordlessly postulates that Sixx was actually replaced by a forty-one-year-old Paul McCartney.

And this was not the McCartney from Let It Be and Wings and "Say Say Say"; this was the real McCartney.

This was the McCartney who went into hiding after an orchestrated 1966 car accident that prompted the (now familiar) "Paul is dead" urban myth.

After spending seventeen years as a recluse, the "real Paul" (by then strapped for cash) wrote and played bass on all Crue recordings for half a decade.

Supporting evidence of this can be found through a) the group's sweeping musical advancement that occurred between 1983's Shout at the Devil and 1985's Theatre of Pain, b) the unprecedented, Beatlesque employment of a piano on the power ballad "Home Sweet Home," and c) the band's decision to cover "Helter Skelter," which can be read as a sly criticism of the "fake Paul," who originally wrote the song as a response to the Kinks' "You Really Got Me."

Ringo Starr and Tommy Lee both declined to be interviewed for this story.

SOURCE:
Esquire

Classic Rock Article - Part Two

New Eyeballs in a Secret Club

Zutaut then had to prove that he could help in the studio.

"Here was the Axl that I met in 1985 again," says Tom.

"A guy that had a vision and wanted to make the best record that had ever been made. And we talked and he said,

'I go to the studio - I tell 'em what I want - and they tell me that they've got what I want - and then when I listen to it - I'm bummed out'. He goes, 'Nobody seems to understand my language."

The two men sat and talked for six hours straight as Axl filled him in on the state of Chinese Democracy. Fully briefed, the next day Zoot entered the studio without Axl.

The first task set him by the singer was to help with the drum sound for the album's title track. Axl had told the studio guys that he wanted the same drum sound as Dave Grohl on Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The production crew would claim they had it, but Axl wouldn't be satisfied. Zutaut asked Roy Thomas Baker and the engineer to play what they had, and found himself agreeing with Axl.

"I'm gonna take a break but I'll be back," Tom told them and then he did the only sensible thing: "I went and bought Nevermind at the local Tower Records." Back in the studio, they compared the two and set to work making the GN'R drummer sound exactly like Grohl. "I guess maybe they heard the Nirvana hits on the radio and they just thought that they knew the sound, but none of them had thought to just go buy the album and listen to it."

They sent the finished thing over the Axl who called Zutaut straight away:

"I've only been asking for that for, like, six fucking months!" he said. "You don't understand: I've been losing my fucking mind! I ask you for something, I get it. I've been asking other people and they can't get it?!"

Zutaut had passed the test. "I wish I'd called you a couple of years ago," Axl told him. 'Can you come out here and do this?" Zutaut said he'd talk to Interscope/ Geffen about it – he would, after all, be working for them, not Axl – and just two years previously he'd left them in less than amicable circumstances.

A week later, the two parties were still trying to agree on a fee when Axl phoned Zutaut:

"He said,'I don't give a fuck about the money, whatever it takes. I just know I need you here to move forward, 'cos I've been spinning my wheels for at least six months. I'm gonna tell 'em they have to give you the money if they want the record,"' He was true to his word.

"The only compromise I made," says Zutaut, "was that I deferred some of the money to being able to deliver the record by a certain deadline – which of course I lost.

"But back then, I felt that I could get it done no problem. It was like Use Your Illusions and Appetite all over again. I know what Axl wants, I can get it out of the crew that are in there now, RTB [Roy Thomas Baker] and I worked at Elektra records for two years so – y'know – no problem"

So by deferring some of the money to a trigger date on delivery of the record, Interscope saved some money and they got my services and everybody was happy.

The admin side apart, 95% of Zutaut's job was to listen to all the songs.

"There were probably 50 or 60 songs on four or five CDs with 12-15 songs a piece. I had to go through those songs and then sit with Axl and work with him directly to pick and choose which songs would he worth finishing."

A nocturnal worker, Axl was sent a stack of tracks that they'd worked on during the day for him to listen to during the night. Then, when he got up at two or three in the afternoon, he would call Zutaut and RTB and go through what he liked and what he didn't like. Slowly, the album was coming together.

"We were finishing tracks," confirms Tom. "Doing overdubs with Buckethead and Robin Finck and some stuff with Tommy Stinson. I felt we had a well finished version of “The Blues”, “Madagascar”, “Chinese Democracy”.

“Atlas Shrugged” was pretty good. We replaced a lot of drums. Because of Axl's belief that the record is supposed to be the energy of the people involved in creating it, we had to replace Josh Freese's drumming. And his drumming was spectacular. I would not have wanted to be in Brain's shoes. Basically we were saying to him 'We have got a brilliant performance of this and now we need you to recreate it'."

Does he recognise some of the work he did on any of the leaked versions?

"Some of it's the same and some of it's different. For instance I have heard a leaked version of “Chinese Democracy” that has some really weird keyboards in it and I don't like the sound of that at all. The stuff that we worked on back in '01 smoked its ass. But it's pretty dicey to try compare what's been leaked: we don't know if it was intentional, we don't know who leaked it. It could be a board mix that was meant for a keyboard player so he could learn his parts..."

One song causing problems was “Madagascar”, which samples Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech - a sample for which they didn't have clearance during Zutaut's time on the album.

"Axl feels that particular speech is at the core of the message that he is putting across in that song," says Zutaut, "and he told me that if the Martin Luther King estate would not give permission for that to come out on the final record - that track would not be on it without it.

I subsequently found out that the recorded rights to that speech belong to Universal so I figure that- Coretta King [wife of Martin Luther King] is dead now- so unless her kids are violently opposed to him being associated with Axl Rose, Universal should be able to work that out."

And the project rolled on, and on, and on... Some people now think that Chinese Democracy – with with it's very title – is intended as a never-ending project. Does Zutaut think Axl intend it as an in-joke, one of those things are never going to come to pass? "No," he says. 'And let me put it this way: it would appear we would almost have democracy in China. Certainly in terms of capitalism they are right up front..."

Not only was there a clear intention to finish the album, but the vast majority had been finished, he claims: "By the time 1 left f felt that there were probably 11 or 12 tracks that just needed need final mixes. We could have had a record out for September 2002. I don't think it would have been an issue. would have given it another three months for a few more overdubs and three for mixing and worst case scenario out Spring of '03."

Negotiations could include the release date (Zutaut says that he'd release it at the end of the summer so that it would be a big Christmas album) or something more novel – in an age that sees Radiohead giving albums away free online, is it enough to launch an album like Chinese Democracy in the 'traditional' manner?

And, even if they wanted to, does the album have the hit single it would need to get global airplay? ("It's a great GN'R record," says Zutaut, "but is there a hit single? Cos without the hit, you can't sell 20 million')

PART I

SOURCE: Classic Rock

GN'R LIES

Tuesday, 01 January 2008

Brazillian tour in 2nd half of 2008

Will they come?

Another one who has "good chances" (says a producer) to be here is Guns N' Roses, at the beginning of the second half of the year.

Friday, 01 February 2008

According to an E-mail sent by Bryan "Brain" Mantia to a fan, Brain is planning to get back with Axl and Guns N' Roses this year.

Brain has been off Guns N' Roses since the birth of his daughter in the summer of 2006.

Wednesday, 06 February 2008

The reformed rock star Axl Rose cuts an eccentric figure these days, so much so that even Bryan Ferry will have a cheeky pop. The Guns N Roses singer made an appearance at the chic Mayfair eaterie Le Caprice on Monday evening, where the following exchange was overheard between Ferry and a fellow diner.

Diner: "Did you know that Axl Rose is an anagram for Oral Sex?"

Ferry: "No I didn't. But did you know that the man is bald as a coot and wears hair extensions? He also wears a bandana to cover his bald crown."

Fortunately for Ferry, Rose was well out of earshot - which is just as well, when one considers his active role in ejecting unwanted members of a crowd. He was arrested in 1991 after sparking a riot in St. Louis, when he leapt off the stage into the crowd to wrestle a camera from a fan.

Saturday, 09 February 2008

Today a local Radio DJ of Q104.3 in New York, has commented that he has heard that Guns N’ Roses are going to tour in Poland, also that there are going to announce it very soon.

Wednesday, 12 February 2008

Got a friend in NYC that does tattooes for some of the members of Guns and she usually has the typical updates to share with me regarding the band. Recently she was hanging with Richard Fortus, and when asked about the status if Chinese Democracy, she was told the label had just dropped the band. Seems as if the powers that be have completely given up on Axl.

The Clash Live on PBS

This March, PBS stations nationwide will premiere The Clash Live: Revolution Rock, a new documentary film chronicling live performances from the iconic punk pioneers at the peak of their powers. A preview of the April 15 DVD release, this is a real tribute to the band's electric LIVE PERFORMANCES, and something you won't want to miss.

The Clash Live: Revolution Rock DVD follows the live transformation of the band, incorporating footage from all phases of The Clash's meteoric career, beginning with live-in-the-studio clips from 1979, through triumphant concerts from clubland (London's The Music Machine, 1978) and theatres (The Lyceum, 1978, 1980), climaxing with a transcendent blow-out performance at New York's Shea Stadium in 1982. The DVD also includes rare footage of the band's performance on The Tom Snyder Show and on ABC's Fridays.

Tracklisting (not final):

Complete Control – Music Machine, London 1978

White Riot – live in studio, 1976

London's Burning – live in studio, 1976

English Civil War – London Lyceum, January 79

I Fought The Law – London Lyceum, January 79

Tommy Gun – live in studio, 1978

Safe European Home – Music Machine, London 1978

What's My Name - Music Machine, London 1978

Guns Of Brixton – "Fridays" April 1980

Train In Vain – Lewisham Odeon, February 1980

Clampdown – London Lyceum, Feb 1980

Police & Thieves – Aylesbury Friars, 1980

London Calling – Bonds, New York 1981

Magnificent Seven – Tom Snyder Show, June 1981

This Is Radio Clash Tom Snyder Show, June 1981

Should I Stay Or Should I Go – Shea Stadium, Oct 1982

Career Opportunities – Shea Stadium, October 1982

Be sure to check the Official Web Site: theclashonline.com, for air dates in your city.

SOURCE: AntiMusic

New Loaded Album! This Summer!! And a Tour!!!

Loaded, the band formed by current VR bassist Duff McKagan (on guitar and vocals) after he left GN'R, is currently working on a new, yet-to-be-titled studio album, to be released in the summer, with tours to follow!!!

Loaded was formed in 1999 and has morphed several times, releasing two albums: 1999's "Live Episode" and 2001's "Dark Days". The group's current lineup includes drummer Geoff Reading (NEW AMERICAN SHAME, GREEN APPLE QUICKSTEP), bassist Jeff Rouse and guitarist Mike Squires (both formerly of ALIEN CRIME SYNDICATE).

VR guitarist Slash recently told Billboard.com that he is ready to make the group's third record sooner rather than later, hoping to avoid the two-and-a-half year gap between the band's 2004 debut, Contraband, and last year's sophomore effort, Libertad.

The band is touring until April, and the guitarist said that they're likely to hit the studio right after that. "I'm really jazzed about doing it," he said. "I've, you know, been working on new ideas, and had a couple times where the guys all got together and worked on some stuff. I'm itching to see what this third record's gonna be, 'cause I think it's gonna be awesome, and I think that we don't need to necessarily spend two years on the road like we did last time."

Slash said that the group did not have any songs in finished form, but only basic ideas and arrangements.

Velvet Revolver's exact recording plans for its third effort could be affected by singer Scott Weiland's recent announcement that a reunion of his previous group, Stone Temple Pilots, was on tap for later this year.

Watch Loaded performing the song "Seattle Head" in Tokyo, Japan:



SOURCE:
Blabbermouth

The Shocking Truth

March 6th, 2006
Axl Rose Responds To Lawsuit

In October of 2005 Slash made an unannounced 5:30 AM visit to Axl Rose's house. Not appearing to be under the influence, Slash came to inform Axl that: "Duff was spineless," "Scott was a fraud," that he "hates Matt Sorum" and that in this ongoing war, contest or whatever anyone wants to call it that Slash has waged against Axl for the better part of 20 years, that Axl has proven himself "the stronger." Based on his conduct in showing up at Rose's home, Axl was hopeful that Slash would live up to his pronouncements that he wanted to end the war and move on with life. Unfortunately that did not prove to be the case.

May 19th, 2006
GN'R Get In The Ring!

Tommy Hilfiger was carried away by his own security people kicking and screaming after attempting to pick a fight with Guns N' Roses main man Axl Rose at The Plumm on Thursday night.

According to The Plumm owner Noel Ashman, Hilfiger who took two swings at Rose, was fortunate that he found Rose in good spirits and a forgiving mood. Ashman said "Axl was a gentleman and had the good sense not to retaliate as he would have done some serious damage to Hilfiger."

May 22nd, 2006
Guns N' Roses storm New York

They're back!!!

Guns N' Roses - whose shows at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom sold out in less than 3 minutes - have reclaimed the throne that was always theirs. From stellar reviews to audience adulation, Guns N' Roses' New York shows proved that they are back in a big way.

Over the four nights, audiences were also treated to nearly half of the band's upcoming new album, Chinese Democracy, with live performances of "Chinese Democracy," "Better," "There was a Time," "Madagascar," "IRS" and "The Blues."

June 28th, 2006
Guns N' Roses Knock Out Stockholm

Guns N' Roses W. Axl Rose was released this evening after having been arrested at 8 a.m. this morning in the lobby of his hotel in Stockholm. The arrest followed an altercation with a hotel security guard. Guns N' Roses had just played a triumphant show to a sellout audience of 15,000 at the Globen Arena and had enjoyed the city's hospitality until the morning hours when the incident occurred.

Axl Rose commented, "We had a great gig in Stockholm and I am not going to let this incident spoil that. My assistant Beta and I were talking in the lobby of the hotel when security started to give us a hard time. My only concern was to make sure she was ok."

June 30th, 2006
Guns N' Roses Continue Through Europe!


We are very unhappy about Tuesday's events in Stockholm.

The Swedish authorities continually threatened us over a 12 hour period with between 5 days and 3 weeks incarceration without bail if Axl did not "cooperate." They were fully aware that there were millions of dollars at stake, not to mention the hopes of tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets to see Guns N' Roses.

The point is, the police report should not be taken at face value, and if one were to be explicit, this experience is tantamount to being held for ransom. If the context were any different, Axl would probably have preferred to spend the time in jail in order to ensure that all the facts were a matter of public record.

In addition to this, we are also not happy at the treatment he received. He was arrested after being accosted by a security guard in his hotel, following which he was physically mistreated by the arresting officer in the process of which a valuable bracelet went missing not to be returned. While in custody, he was held down by 5 police officers while a doctor tried to take blood to administer a drug test 3 different times. This illustrates not only the level of incompetence, but malice involved. The results of the test were negative, but the exercise was a clear example of an authoritarian approach trying to flex its muscles. This is the same draconian approach that assumes the security guard in question is telling the truth just because he has a badge.

July 22nd, 2006
Guns N' Roses Heat Wave

Guns N' Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed explained "Newcastle was one of the best gigs of the entire tour. I had puddles of sweat underneath my keyboards and loved every second of it except when some idiots decided to throw things at the stage. When Axl got hit the first time, the audience pointed out who threw the object and security tossed him out so we came back. Then Axl got hit in the mouth with another object, so thanks to the behavior of two morons who obviously don't know how to behave at a rock concert, the show ended with no encores. I've been in this band for sixteen years and stupid shit like throwing stuff at the stage is something we won't tolerate. We're not targets, we're musicians."

December 14th, 2006
An open letter to the fans from Axl

Guns N’ Roses regrets to announce that the following concert tour dates have been canceled:

January 10: Sacramento
January 11: Bakersfield
January 13: Reno
January 16: San Diego

Because of the scheduling of these particular shows, valuable time needed by the band and record company for the proper setup and release of the album “Chinese Democracy” would have been lost. Rather than delay the album yet again, all involved have decided to remove these shows from GN’R’s schedule. We hope our fans understand and we apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. Tickets may be refunded at point of purchase.

To say the making of this album has been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement. Overcoming the endless and seemingly insane amount of obstacles faced by all involved, notwithstanding the emotional challenges endured by everyone -- the fans, the band, our road crew and business team -- has at many times seemed like a bad dream in which one wakes up only to find that they are still in the nightmare. Unfortunately, this time it has been played out for over a decade in real life.

SOURCE: Guns N'Roses.com

Replacements Release Reissues

The Replacements' first three albums and an EP will be reissued in remastered, expanded form this spring, completing a long awaited upgrade of the seminal band's early work.

"Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash," "Stink," "Hootenanny" and "Let It Be" will arrive April 22 via Rhino Records.

SOURCE: Billboard