Queensryche Fued Continues

latest episode of their ongoing legal fight, the members of Queensryche are accusing the ousted singer Geoff Tate of withholding access to the group’s official website and social media accounts.
According to Blabbermouth, the group made the new claims in a July 25 filing in response to Tate’s recent motion to disqualify their attorney from representing them. Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield claim that Tate continues to interfere with their career despite a court ruling in early July that they could tour under the name Queensryche without him.
“This includes refusal to relinquish control of Queensryche.com and other Internet and social media accounts, challenging the Defendants from taking control from the registering entity of Queensryche.com,” they state in court documents. The group recently launched a new website at QueensrycheOfficial.com
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The musicians announced a side project called Rising West in,with singer Todd LaTorre taking Tate’s place in what was essentially a tribute to classic Queensryche featuring most of the band members. Shortly after they announced that they were replacing Tate entirely and that LaTorre would become the new singer in Queensryche, touching off a spate of lawsuits between Tate and his former colleagues.

Tate is arguing that his musical  contributions to Queensryche are so extensive that the band should change its name in his absence. His former band mates allege that Tate has no legal right to use any offshoot of their familiar Tri-Ryche symbol in packaging and promoting his upcoming solo album.by: sterling wqueenshitaker

Metallica Crew Sustain Burns After Performance in Mexico City?

Metallica debuted their new stage set up, which commemorates three decade of history in Mexico City during the first of eight shows at Palacio de los Deportes. During the performance of ‘Enter Sandman,’ one of the onstage flare launchers malfunctioned. Two stagehands inspected them, only to be engulfed in a huge flame. You can see video of the pyro-gone-wrong below, with one man appearing to be completely on fire at the bottom left.

Frontman James Hetfield pleaded for the show to stop and that’s when other stage crew members came out with fire extinguishers, rushing to the aid of their associates, who were carried out on stretchers. A few minutes later, ‘Tallica resumed the performance.

Scary scene right?There are rumors that this is a scripted and planned part of the show although seeing someone become a human inferno isn’t exactly entertaining. “It’s all part of the show,” a spokesperson for Ocesa, the promoter of the concert, said, according to Blabbermouth.
Apparently, the band was recreating the accident that was initially staged for the ‘Cunning Stunts’ video. In that 1998 video, the stage collapsed and exploded during ‘Enter Sandman’ and a stage tech was ignited, running across the stage while ablaze.
The band also posted a recap of the show on its official website last night, with a casual mention of a mishap,making us think that it was indeed a well executed stunt.by amy sciarretto

Metallica’s Expects New Album to See an Early 2014 Release

Metallica drummer is “realistically” expecting the band’s 10th album to hit stores in early 2014.
Metallica have been incredibly busy as of late, putting together the massive, two-day Orion Music + More Festival, which the band plans to bring back next year, and the working on the Metallica 3D concert film.
Ulrich took part in an interview with Canada, radio station 99.3 ‘The Fox,’ revealing Metallica’s making their next record. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘close,’ says Ulrich. “I mean, obviously, in the context of, say, the age of planet Earth, we’re pretty close. But in the context of, say, other things, there may be one or two football seasons, or one or two baseball seasons, or one or two hockey seasons… We’ve gotta do this movie, and we’re gonna get back to writing when we’ve done this movie.”
He continues, “I would say late ’13 or early ’14. It’s difficult to imagine… I think even late ’13 may be a bit optimistic. I would say hopefully we can realistically get a record out probably about a year and half from now, so maybe early ’14.”
Metallica’s 3D film will be much more than just a concert experience. The concert footage will be shot on Aug. 24 – 25 in Vancouver on a giant 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that will showcase “colossal components and striking visual elements spanning Metallica’s entire 30-year career,” while the accompanying narrative will be filmed afterward. “The rest of the film will be shot the next two or three weeks after the shows in Vancouver, into the middle to the third week of September,” the drummer says.
Ulrich continues, “[The film] is a narrative, and the rest of the stuff that goes on outside of the concert is not going to feature members of Metallica… in any way, shape or form. It’s a split narrative that kind of runs parallel to the concert.by Graham Gruhamed Hartmann

 

 

The Who Announce ‘Quadrophenia and More’ Tour

The Who will embark on a 37-date North American tour entitled ‘Quadrophenia and More’ this fall.  members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will perform the 1973 album in its entirety, along with other popular songs from their catalog.

Its the band’s first North American tour in four years. As Townshend explains, “We’ve been trying to find something we can do together, Roger and I, for a while… ‘Quadrophenia’ was something that we both felt we could get together on and look again. The last time we did it (on tour) was in 1997. We’ve been anxious to work together before we drop dead.”

 “What’s great about doing it now, is that it’s still a work in progress. Hopefully, it’ll keep developing into something new. I don’t know how many more years I’m going to be able to sing this music.
Although Townshend makes it clear that “we miss the other two guys very much,” he also admitted to relishing the “liberating” challenge of presenting the music instead with the group’s longtime supporting musicians, including Zakk Starkey (Ringo‘s son) on drums, Townshend’s brother Simon on guitar and Pino Palladino on bass.

It’s been a busy time for ‘Quadrophenia.’ The album was given the deluxe reissue treatment — with great results — last year. A documentary exploring the album, ‘The Who: Quadrophenia – Can You Still See the Real Me?,’ will air in movie theaters across the country on Tuesday, July 24, and the ‘Quadrophenia’ film will be given the high-class Criterion Blu-ray and DVD treatment on Aug. 28.
The tourdates are listed below. A special two-day exclusive ticket sale takes place July 20 for members of the band’s official fan club. Then American Express cardholders get three days of exclusive sales.by matthew wilkening

2012/2013 The Who ‘Quadrophenia and More’ Tour:
2012
11/1 — Sunrise, Fla. — BankAtlantic Center
11/3 — Orlando, Fla. — Amway Center
11/5 — Duluth, Ga. — The Arena at Gwinett Center
11/8 — Greenville, S.C. — Bi-Lo Center
11/9 — Greensboro, N.C. — Greensboro Coliseum
11/11 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — Consol Energy Center
11/13 — Washington, D.C. — Verizon Center
11/14 — Brooklyn, N.Y. — Barclays Center
11/16 — Boston, Mass. — TD Garden
11/20 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre
11/21 — Ottawa, ON — Scotiabank Place
11/23 — Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre
11/24 — Detroit, Mich. — Joe Louis Arena
11/27 — Minneapolis, Minn. — Target Center
11/29 — Chicago, Ill. — Allstate Arena
12/2 — Nashville, Tenn. — Bridgestone Arena
12/5 — New York, N.Y. — Madison Square Garden
12/6 — Newark, N.J. — Prudential Center
12/8 — Philadelphia, Pa. — Wells Fargo Center
12/9 — Uncasville, Ct. — Mohegan Sun Arena
2013
1/28 — Anaheim, Calif. — Honda Center
1/30 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Staples Center
2/1 — Oakland, Calif. — Oracle Arena
2/2 — Reno, Nev. — The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
2/5 — San Diego, Calif. — Valley View Casino Center
2/6 — Glendale, Ariz. — Jobing Center
2/8 — Las Vegas, Nev. – The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
2/12 — Denver, Colo. — Pepsi Center
2/14 — Tulsa, Okla. — BOK Center
2/16 — Louisville, Ky. — KFC Yum! Center
2/17 — Columbus, Ohio — Schottenstein Center
2/19 — Hamilton, ON — Copps Coliseum
2/21 — Uniondale, N.Y. — Nassau Coliseum
2/22 — Atlantic City, N.J. — Boardwalk Hall
2/24 — Manchester, N.H. — Verizon Wireless Arena
2/26 — Providence, R.I. — Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Queensryche Members Win Court Ruling Keep Band Name

Billboard spoke with AGPS Management  manager Glen Parrish, who explained, “We are excited that the courts saw what we and the fans have always known, that Queensryche is more than any one member. We are sorry we had to go to court to show this, but we are determined to bring back the quality product Queensryche was known for. We can’t wait to unveil to the fans what’s next musically.”

Parrish also that the group had signed with AGPS Management, having recently ousted Tate’s wife Susan from her role overseeing the band. The sworn declaration of Susan Tate regarding her husband’s case toward the other group members has become public.
According to Blabbermouth, Tate claims that the band members painted an inaccurate picture of how she became their manager. Having initially started as the group’s fan club operator, she later took on merchandising and was eventually asked to join the management team after the band became dissatisfied with their former representative.

Tate says over time she began performing more and more tasks assigned to a manager even though she was serving as an assistant to then chief Lars Sorenson, and was able to negotiate a contract for the group with Rhino which eventually led to a request by Scott Rockenfield to stay on as manager after Sorenson decided to quit.

She adds, “Rockenfield, Jackson and Wilton’s assertions that Geoff and I conspired to take control of the band by force belies the fact that they were the very ones who hired me as the band’s manager.”
The remaining band members recently announced plans to continue with new singer Todd LaTorre taking over for Tate, and they performed under the moniker Rising West at a recent show prior to making the move to get rid of the singer.by chad childers

Farm Aid 2012 Hershey,Pennsylvania

MUSIC NEWS - Organizers have announced that there're bringing their annual concert to Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Hershey Park Stadium! FarmAid 2012 will shine a spotlight on the family farmers and ranchers whose hard work and ingenuity are essential for all of us.

Farm Aid 2012 will run on Saturday, September 22, will feature Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds). Special guests include Jack Johnson, ALO, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Pegi Young & The Survivors.

Tickets for Farm Aid 2012 will go on sale Friday, July 13, at 10 a.m. EDT and range from $35.75 to $99.75. Tix are available at www.livenation.com, www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets, GIANT Center Box Office, or by-phone at 800-745-3000.

Steven Tyler Stepping Down From ‘American Idol’

Steven Tyler has announced that he will not return for a third season as a judge on ‘American Idol.’ Instead of spending another year hosting a bland televised singing competition, the Aerosmith frontman will focus on what we all know he was put on this earth to do.
In a statement released, Tyler explains, “After some long……hard……thoughts…I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress ‘American Idol’ before she boils my rabbit. I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back — but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band. The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass.”
Tyler surprised many fans and ruffled his longtime bandmate Joe Perry‘s feathers when he joined ‘American Idol’ two years ago. While the nationally televised spotlight gave his band’s back catalog a nice sales boost, many fans wondered how he could successfully split his attention between a music and TV career.
With Aerosmith set to release their first studio album of new material in over 10 years, ‘Music from Another Dimension,’ this November, the time seemed right to choose sides. It seems Tyler is doing so with no regrets: “’Idol’ was over the top fun, and I loved every minute of it…Now it’s time to bring rock back.”by: Matthew Wilkening

Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson Join Forces For 2012 Tour

Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson are teaming up for a co-headlining trek dubbed the Twins of Evil Tour.
The U.S. leg of the trek will kick off this fall when both acts appear at the Desert Uprising Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, and fittingly wrap up on Halloween night in Dallas, Texas. Following the U.S. jaunt, the Twins of Evil will travel overseas to embark on a European leg of the tour, which launches Nov. 26 in London and runs through a Dec. 12 gig in Bologna, Italy.
Describing his excitement for the tour, Zombie comments, “Finally! Why did the most obvious tour take so long to happen? Who knows? Who cares? It’s happening now. If good taste is the chief enemy of great art, then we should be able to fill the Louvre with this f—ing tour. Be prepared for something wicked this way a-coming.”
Meanwhile, Manson issues a warning statement: “I have sympathy for the Whore of Babylon that gave birth to these twins of evil, and this abomination of a tour. There is no babysitter, and there is no repairing her womb. If Rob Zombie doesn’t f— you up, than I surely will. Hide all drugs and firearms… I’m coming to town.”

The tour will be supported by J Devil, the DJ alter ego of Korn singer Jonathan Davis, who will open the Manson/Zombie dates with his chaotic electro-metal. “I like to think of J Devil as the ‘anti-christ’ of EDM [electronic dance music],” says Davis. “To play alongside Zombie and Manson is going to be a f—ing sinister night all around, and an unbelievable theatrical experience. I can’t wait.”by spencer kaufman

Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson Twins of Evil 2012 Tour Dates:

9/28 Phoenix, AZ — Ashley Furniture Home Store Pavilion
9/29 Las Vegas, NV — Luxor Lot or Red Rocks
10/1 Salt Lake City, UT — USANA Amphitheatre
10/2 Denver, CO — 1st Bank Center
10/4 Topeka, KS — Topeka Expo Center
10/8 Lincoln, NE — Pershing Auditorium
10/9 Mankato, MN — Verizon Wireless Center
10/11 Chicago, IL — Allstate Arena
10/12 Detroit, MI — DTE Energy Music Theatre
10/13 Bloomington, IL — US Cellular Coliseum
10/15 Youngstown, OH — Covelli Center
10/16 Rochester, NY — Armory
10/17 New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
10/19 Camden, NJ — Susquehanna Bank Center
10/20 Uncasville, CT — Mohegan Sun Arena
10/21 Manchester, NH — Verizon Wireless Arena
10/23 Boston, MA — Agganis Arena
10/25 Atlanta, GA — Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
10/30 Houston, TX — Reliant Arena
10/31 Dallas, TX — Verizon Wireless Theatre
11/26 London, UK
11/27 Manchester, UK
11/28 Glasgow, UK
11/29 Birmingham, UK
12/1 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
12/2 Bochum, Germany
12/3 Amsterdam, Holland
12/5 Stockholm, Sweden
12/6 Copenhagen, Denmark
12/8 Vienna, Austria
12/9 Munich, Germany
12/11 Basel, Switzerland
12/12 Bologna, Italy

Sebastian Bach to Skid Row: Let’s Come Together for the Fans

Skid Row's Old frontman Sebastian Bach has never had a problem saying what’s on his mind, especially when he thinks someone is putting words in his mouth. This was proven at great length in his latest  letter to his old band and  one particular member of the press.
A  story for those not following along – over the past few months, there have been fleeting rumors of the original Skid Row lineup reuniting after their tumultuous past. Nothing was ever substantiated by any of the current or former members, leaving it just a rumor for the most part.
In a new interview with current Skid Row vocalist Johnny Solinger, a writer hints that he had conversations with both Bach and guitarist Dave ‘The Snake’ Sabo — both saying they were NOT interested in any sort of reunion. Bach took exception to this question, saying he never said anything of the sort. In fact, he was so perturbed by it, that he wrote a open letter to his fans and the writer in particular, calling him a liar.
So kick back and get comfortable, here’s Sebastian’s full lengthy letter that he posted on his Facebook page:

One of my favorite bands in history is Kiss. One of the coolest things I’ve always loved about Gene Simmons is that he truly lets the fans be the boss. Whatever the fans think is cool, Gene tries to give us what we want. Always. For almost 40 years now, Kiss has let the fans be the boss, and the fans love them for it. They really know how to succeed in this business.
My old band? Is the complete opposite of that.
Individually, I’m sure we all appreciate the fans for putting us where we are today and giving us a great life. I know I do! But collectively, as a band, we don’t care at all about what it is that the fans want.
Nowhere in the world can you buy a DVD of our original band. Nowhere in the world can you buy a Skid Row box set with unreleased goodies like every other band in the world. No ‘Deluxe Editions’ for our fans. Nowhere can you go buy a copy of the ’18 & Life’ video or Roadkill or Oh Say Can You Scream, all Platinum releases that do not exist anymore. That’s because we, collectively, as a band, put the fans very last on what is important to us. Individually, I’m sure we all love our fans who put us where we are today. But collectively, Skid Row has treated Skid Row fans worse than any other band I can think of in history. The name is completely destroyed. For many reasons.
There is another reason while you may never see the original band reunite. Not just because the band itself could care less about what the fans want. There is a journalist named Jonathan Parks who has gone out of his way to undermine our fragile relationships and pit us against each other online with lies and bulls–t. This piece of s–t ‘journalist’ makes up whatever he wants to say on his website and I can guarantee you I never said what ended up in my online “interview”. Every time there is a question in the interview from Jonathan Parks I answer (on his site) “well you know John,” I can guarantee you I did not know this person’s name doing the interview & I never put his name in my answers because I did not know his name! I can guarantee Snake, and everyone else in the band he has interviewed, did not know his name either. I challenge Mr. Jonathan Parks to put up the the Audio of what I actually said, so you can hear for yourself what bulls–t lies ended up in his online ‘interview’. I can guarantee you I never said his name once in my interview, because I did not know his name!
This guy Jonathan Parks pulls our pants down, sucks our d–ks in the interview, rips apart the other members to each one of us behind our backs, and then turns around and does the exact same thing with the other band members. This is why it’s futile for me to respond to my replacements ridiculous claims. Because I’ll bet you Jonathan Parks used more than a little creative license in his interview, as he did in mine.
But I will address some points. Number one: I can guarantee you it’s not “crap” when I say that four out of five band members would reunite Skid Row. I can guarantee you it’s not “crap” that we were offered to play two shows at Sonisphere in Europe this year as the original band. I can guarantee you it’s not “crap” they even printed up posters for the show which had us on the bill.
I talked with Snake years ago with Doc McGhee and we even planned a box set with unreleased stuff, going on tour, and all that great stuff. He was the first one to say that he would reunite… for the fans. I have talked to Rob many times and he would do it. I talked to Scotti and he seemed very into putting the band back together for a world tour. I called the bass player but never heard back. Of course they could change their mind in public, but in private that is the truth, and the one thing the fans know about me is that I am not afraid to say what the truth is. Never have been.
Another thing I would like to say is that I did not say anything about a Skid Row reunion to “get attention for myself”. My little fingernail has forgotten about more attention it has received than my replacement will ever receive for his whole life’s work. I answered a Tweet from someone on my Twitter account with the response “4 out of five of us would reunite”. That was all. My one tweet made news the world over. I cannot help it if news outlets look at my twitter feed and take one individual tweet and make it into news stories around the world. Believe me, when I send out a tweet I do not expect it to turn into world news. The fact that my replacement thinks I answered a tweet “to get attention for myself” is as hilarious as his attempt to sing ‘I Remember You’ accurately. If there is one thing I do not need, and am certainly not looking for, is ‘attention’.
Another comedic factor that I must address is when someone says, “I have wanted back in that band since day one”. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not want to be in their band even now. All I ever said was that, for the fans, I could get on stage with them and sing ‘I Remember You’ and ‘Youth Gone Wild’, even in the right key. I am completely happy with my new record Kicking & Screaming. I am the only musician from the original Skid Row to place anything at all on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, with ‘Kicking’ reaching #68 & Angel Down reaching #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. My record deal for Frontiers is demanding that I do another solo album right now. I am completely happy playing the main stage at festivals such as M3 while my old band plays second stage. I am completely happy with my band members in my solo band. But for the fans, I do understand their frustration at the fact that all five members of Skid Row are still alive, but because of ego, and journalists such as Jonathan Parks, we cannot get in the same room together. It’s not fair to the fans. I do not want anything more in this life than to make great music and play great shows. I do not need my old band to do that. But, for the fans, I would be willing to put my ego aside and do something that would be special for the people who put us where we are today. I do not personally want it myself. But its not always about “what I want”. If the fans really want to see us together, I would do it for the fans. Sometimes you can do things for people other than yourself.
So to my old band members, if you want to try and get out of the Internet bulls–t and come together for the sake of the fans, you can give me a call.
One last gigantic ‘f— you’ to Jonathan Parks for being a slimy scumbag and going around starting fights with each one of the members of the band. You are the worst kind of ‘music journalist’, one who would put band members against each other, and further jeopordize our already fragile relationships, just for the sake of your own personal ‘gain’. One thing is for sure, if we ever do get back together, you will be banned from every single show that we do. Jonathan Parks, the fans have you to thank for completely f—ing up this years chances for a reunion, and making it even more of a remote possibility than it already is. Way to go, stupid! F— you, and your piece of s–t website of lies.
Yours Sincerely, Sebastian Bach.by: Mary Ouellette

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Passes Out on Stage

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor had a scare July 10 when he passed out near the end of the band’s performance at the Dallas, Texas, stop of the Mayhem Festival tour. Thankfully, the vocalist is OK, and will be back in action for the next Mayhem gig near Houston tonight (July 11).
Taylor’s fainting episode comes on the heels of news that guitarist Jim Root was skipping the first several shows of the Mayhem tour to recover from a near-fatal burst appendix.
The Mayhem Festival also features such acts as Slayer, Motorhead, Anthrax, As I Lay Dying, the Devil Wears Prada and more. Slipknot are performing in the headlining slot. Today, Taylor took time to inform fans that he is doing well:
We recently chatted with Slipknot percussionist Chris Fehn, and he talked about how much energy the band puts into each show.by Spencer Kaufman

Joe Bonamassa Live in Amsterdam,Netherlands - Presale

Joe Bonamassa Live in Amsterdam - Presale

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Joe Bonamassa playing The Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands on March 22nd, 2013.

This Presale runs until Midnight on Wednesday July 11th and is exclusive to Joe Bonamassa Street Team Members.

When the presale ends, the tickets will go on a public onsale. Thursday, July 12th and the presale links will become inactive.

The links for the presale are below.

Regular seats:

http://www.ticketmaster.nl/event/100725?CL_ORIGIN=ORIGIN2

Premium seats:

http://www.ticketmaster.nl/event/100727?CL_ORIGIN=ORIGIN2

 

David Lee Roth Take on Van Halen Super Bowl Rumors

David Lee Roth has addressed rumors that Van Halen will perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show. In an  letter posted on the fansite Van Halen News Desk, Roth says, "That honor has not been bestowed upon us at this time, though it is one we would accept in a NY minute." Here is the complete text:

An Open Letter

I'm compelled to address the now-rampant rumors that Van Halen is playing the Superbowl. First of all let me say this — be still my pigskin heart. That honor has not been bestowed upon us at this time though it is one we would accept in a NY minute.

Having heard VH blaring through stadium speakers on any given Sunday – more like every given Sunday, the idea of playing there live would be like – ‘okay, now we're in the game'.

Van Halen's collective memories are – and with all due respect to each and every one of these memories, teeming with been-theres and done-that's, but none include playing at the Superbowl. Playing at the Superbowl is a veritable holy grail of musical recognition, a highly prized rite of passage for (game-changing) artists. Not a spiritual rite with snake pits or Hebrew school or anything, but it's up there.

We are not on Commissioner Goodell's dance card at this time, but we would be most honored to dance the halftime away in New Orleans.

It's an honor to be considered and for that we would like to thank the rumormongers all over the World Wide Web.

- D-Ro

Van Halen recently cancelled an entire leg of their  tour, but in a recent interview with USA Today, Eddie Van Halen said the group wasn't breaking up. "We bit off more than we could chew," he said. "This record took a lot out of us. And we went on tour earlier than we wanted to so we could play Madison Square Garden (in March, before a renovation), and that threw the schedule out of whack."
The guitarist also said that the band will tour Japan in November. "In the new year we'll possibly do something special," he said, "but I can't talk about it." That statement only served to fuel rumors that the group was playing the Super Bowl.
If Van Halen plans on touring next year, the Super Bowl would be a Awesome way to increase ticket sales. Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna have used the halftime show to promote tours in recent years.
source rollingstone.com

Metallica's New Approach To Performing Live

Metallica’s Orion Festival were served up two nights of meaty Metallica headlining sets. Day one was their 1984 disc ‘Ride the Lightning’ in its entirety followed by their self-titled 1991 release, more commonly referred to as the Black Album, on day two.
Digging back that far and even playing songs Metallica has never played live before, may sound like a recipe for a lot of practicing. But according to drummer Lars Ulrich, “Metallica and rehearsal are two words that don’t spend a lot of time together.”

In a recent interview with 98 Rock in Baltimore, Md. leading up to Orion, Ulrich described the band’s  laid back approach to brushing up on their past discography. “Were generally pretty played in, like I said before, we don’t sort of disappear for so long that we have to work our way back up to touring shape,” explained Ulrich. “We’re mostly in touring shape and playing shape continually.”
Of course, it doesn’t always come so easy. “Obviously a song like ‘Escape’ which we’re going to play tomorrow that we’ve never played, we sort of ran that a few times in Europe in a few of the tuning rooms,” said Ulrich. “We haven’t played ‘Fade to Black’ this year, we ran that earlier. That’s a little bit of a muscle memory, we know that one fairly well. ‘The Call of Ktulu’ we played a couple times last year. We’re all fairly good with sort of saying, ‘Oh we’re going to play something we haven’t played’ and everybody kind of does their homework.”by: Mary Ouellette

Ulrich thinks the key is to be fearless, explaining, “If you’re not scared, which none of us are really scared of this kind of stuff, or intimidated, you can get away with a lot.”
Fans hoping to hear a precise Metallica set list from start to finish may be disappointed, because according to Ulrich, that’s not really their goal these days. “As I get older and as Metallica ages, the word perfection it’s just not something that we’re interested in,” Ulrich admits. “We’re more interested in the human elements and we’re not uncomfortable with kind of sharing the human side of who we are.”

 explaining where the band is at these days, “I think increasingly for Metallica, our vibe, our future, our mojo is to kind of play more songs, vary the set list, be a little loosey goosey, make it more fun and more human in a way than this kind of military precision kind of thing that completely just perfect all the time.”

Geoff Tate take on Former Queensryche Band members: ‘I Think They’re Not Good Business People’

Queensryche and longtime singer Geoff Tate have gone their separate ways, the vocalist is disputing the reasons why. Tate says rather than “creative differences,” which was cited by the band in their press release, he says it’s more related to the business side of their operations.

The vocalist says that the point at which things came to a head was when the other band members started to push to take their merchandising to a third party. He tells Billboard, “I think they’re not very good business people. And continuously in our career, they had tried to make bad business decisions and this is just another in a long line of ridiculous, bad business decisions that I had to put my foot down and say, ‘No, this is ridiculous. Can’t do this. This is going to end up costing us more. And what’s smart about that?’”

Tate says that through a majority of their career, he not only led the way on the business side, but also the creative and attempts to get guitarist Michael Wilton and drummer Scott Rockenfield more involved in either process didn’t yield any additional contributions.

“It started day one … It’s always been a constant conversation,” says Tate, referring to attempts for the other band members to take a more active role. The singer says that the  decision to oust him as well as members of their organization came out of the blue. He adds, “To have creative differences, you have to have multiple parties creating and we don’t have that. It’s me driving the ship, me organizing everything, me deciding what the songs are, what the album is, artwork … you name it. My fingers are on it and have been since we started the band.”

Tate says he understands the desire of the other members to branch out on their own, but where he has an issue is that he feels they should stand on their own and not rely on the music that he created. He adds, “I think that would be the honorable thing to do rather than trying to make a living off what I’ve done, what I’ve created. Especially if  a situation where it has to be decided about the name and the legalities. I would think they would havet the respect for [what was] built over the years to take care of that stuff before they launch into a public arena and claim themselves to be something that they’re not.”

,all communication between Tate and the rest of the band is being done through lawyers. On June 22, the singer filed a lawsuit against the remaining members for wrongful termination.by chad childers

Usher Demanded The Red Carpet Be Cleared For Him

Usher Demanded The Red Carpet Be Cleared For Him GQ Awards Show, 
The album has been certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA. His follow-up album, 8701, produced the Billboard Hot 100 number one hits “U Remind Me” and “U Got It Bad”. The album has been certified 4-times platinum by the RIAA.
We all know or atleast hear how demanding pop stars are when on what they want in their dressing rooms. At a GQ awards show Usher had to have the red carpet cleared so he would be the only one being photographed and interviewed. The other celebrities in attendance were not amused.

Pearl Jam Fan Creates Setlist For Amsterdam Show

Pearl Jam superfan Brian Farias was recently given the opportunity of a lifetime. Farias, who has attended 108 Pearl Jam concerts in his lifetime, was given the honor of  creating the setlist for one of the band’s shows in Amsterdam.
The fan has been a Pearl Jam fan club member before the band were even called Pearl Jam. He began as a fan club member for Mother Love Bone, the band which would eventually see its members form Pearl Jam.
Farias recently spoke with Rolling Stone regarding the opportunity to create the band’s setlist, which was bestowed upon him by frontman Eddie Vedder. Although Farias relished in the honor, the fan admitted that the job made him more than a bit tense. “It was really stressful,” says Farias, “because it’s something you know is never gonna happen again. You’re only getting one shot at it.” the superfan finally handed in his final draft for the Amsterdam concert, about 90 to 95 percent of which ended up being played by Pearl Jam. The set was filled with tracks that surely many Pearl Jam fans believed that they would never get to hear live, such as ‘Alone,’ a b-side from the ‘Vs.’ single ‘Go,’ ‘Crowd of Thorns,’ which is a vintage Mother Love Bone track and even ‘Bugs,’ an obscure track from ‘Vitalogy,’ which has only been played once before then.
At the end of the Amsterdam concert, Farias was invited onstage to take the closing bow with Pearl Jam, a moment that according to the setlist craftsman, “doesn’t seem real.” Farias adds, “It’s better than winning the lottery. All the money in the world, I couldn’t bribe Eddie Vedder to let me make his setlist. It was like programming your iPod and then Pearl Jam show up in your yard and play it for you.”graham "gruhamed" hartmann
Check out the once-in-a-lifetime setlist below:

Brian Farias’ Pearl Jam Setlist:

‘Wash’
‘Last Exit’
‘Animal’
‘State of Love and Trust’
‘Severed Hand’
‘Corduroy’
‘I Got S–t’
‘Daughter/WMA’
‘Nothing As It Seems’
‘Got Some’
‘Dissident’
‘Once’
‘Glorified G’
‘Deep’
‘The Fixer’
‘Bugs’
‘Better Man’
Encore 1:
‘Release’
‘Hail, Hail’
‘Alone’
‘Footsteps’
‘Rearview Mirror’
Encore 2:
‘Crown of Thorns’
‘Sonic Reducer’
‘Alive’
‘Baba O’Riley’
‘Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing’

Kayne West On His "God Flow"

Kanye has new track “New God Flow” track. The song builds a sample of Ghostface Killah‘s “Mighty Healthy” to a piano-driven beat that is about as spare as the one Ye banged out on the BET stage with his foot. It’s patient, too, providing enough space within for West and his guest Pusha T to stack their boasts high while dreaming of piles higher. For these two, G.O.O.D.’s not enough — they want that new god flow. The track is available for full stream or download on West’s website.A fired-up Pusha goes first. “I believe there’s a God above me,” Pusha begins, before really digging in: “I’m just the God of everything else. I put holes in everything else, new God flow, f**** everything else.” From there, he revels his dope dealing past, his H.A.M. trips to Ibiza, and his dreams of going bigger yet. “Well, if you goin’ coupe, I’m goin’ four-door,” he spits.
Kanye takes the extended third verse to align himself with giants hated, celebrated, and passed; giants like Lebron James, Michael “Jumpman” Jordan, Biggie Smalls, Dr. King, Rodney King, the late Whitney Houston. There’s someone bigger yet, though, he’s got his eye on. Did strippers not make an arc when I made it rain?”, recasting himself as the big man. To close, he leads himself in classically Kanye military-cadence chant about his fresh hoes and fresher clothes.

50 Cent To Release 5 (Murder By Numbers) As Free LP

“50 Cent” Jackson has been on  display whether through his cuddling with stuffed animals or sitting down with his former archenemy Oprah. With tomorrow’s release of 5 (Murder By Numbers), which has now been pegged as a free LP, Curtis felt  need to unleash 50 Cent for a little tomfoolery. One of 50′s followers urged him to “release the album or get shot again” to which 50 responded, “yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic.” His autism slur sparked an outcry leading to actress Holly Robinson Peete  penning an open letter to the rapper expressing how hurtful his words were. Oh, Fiddy. That Oprah appearance really had some folks fooled.
5 (Murder By Numbers) was believed to be his fifth studio album until 50 tweeted that his official album, Street King Immortal, will be released in November. That makes sense seeing as how there had been no promotion, singles or videos leading up to 5. He has publicly vocalized his gripes with Interscope, accusing his label of not doing anything as it relates to marketing. We wonder why the change of heart. If 5 was set to go as the official album, did Fiddy realize releasing it without any singles or promo that he’d risk it not doing well? Is he not satisfied with the album? Whatever the rationale behind his choice there’s an awful lot of pressure to see if 50 still has what it takes to move units. His last album Before I Self Destruct went gold. We shall soon see if 5 or Street King Immortal will be exactly what he needs to make a comeback.MTV.com

Zakk Wylde Welcomes New Child

Wylde and his lovely wife Barbaranne welcomed their fourth child, son Sabbath Page Wielandt Wylde, into the world last night . That’s quite the rock ‘n’ roll name, isn’t it?
Leave it to Zakk Wylde to nod to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page when naming his offspring. We’ve heard of guitarists naming their instruments, but in this case, the guitarist names his kids after bands and musicians that he reveres. That’s some serious dedication to his craft and demonstrates real passion for music.
Sabbath joins older siblings Hayley Rae, Hendrix and Jesse. Obviously, Sabbath is not the only child in the brood with a thoroughly rockin’ moniker.
Wylde’s former boss Ozzy Osbourne is Jesse’s godfather, so we are left to wonder if perhaps Zakk and Barbaranne will choose Tony Iommi or Geezer Butler as Sabbath’s godfather. It’s only fitting, right?
Barbaranne, who delivered the happy, healthy tot at just over 8 lbs., shared the family’s good news on Twitter. Her tweet about the arrival of her bundle of joy is below.
They also shared a photo of ” Little man Sabbath” which you can see below. Isn’t he adorable?
What a trooper Barbaranne is. She was already tweeting away and sharing photos hours after giving birth. Sabbath comes from some pretty sturdy stock – a guitar-playing beast for a dad and busy bee mom who was spreading the word on social media outlets that day.by: amy sciarretto

Motley Crue Reease Date For New 'SEX' Single

Motley Crue has announced that their brand new single, entitled ‘Sex,’ will be released on July 17, and will debut four days before on SiriusXM. The band’s summer tour with Kiss kicks off on July 20 in Bristow, Va.
Earlier this spring, Crue bassist and songwriter Nikki Sixx told VH1 Radio that the track marks a very conscious return to the songwriting of the band’s earlier days: “That was definitely on purpose. I’ve been writing very simple riffs for the last year and focusing on how these riffs would work for Vince (Neil), basically, and took it in the studio with Tommy and Mick and the thing just came alive.”
Earlier this week, the Crue’s summer touring partners, Kiss, released their own new single, ‘Hell or Hallelujah,’ the first track from their 20th studio album, ‘Monster,’ which is due out on Oct. 6., Motley Crue have declared no plans to release a new album at this time.by: matthew wilkening

PITBULL HEADING TO ALASKA?

David Thorpe, who writes for the humor website SomethingAwful.com and the Boston Phoenix, has taken a special interest in Pitbull’s Facebook page contest. His goal is to help send the rapper far, far away, to the land of the Kodiak bear.

Here’s how the contest, sponsored by Walmart and Energy Sheets, works. Fans are asked to log onto Facebook and “like” their local Walmart’s Facebook page. The Walmart that gets their most new “likes” will win an appearance from Pitbull

Thrope tweeted that he and fellow Something Awful writer Jon Hendren had a new mission in life. They wanted Kodiak’s Walmart to win the contest, forcing Pitbull to make the trek to Kodiak, Alaska, population 6,130.
Why? Why not.
Here are some of Thorpe’s recent tweets convincing his followers to get on board with the plan. Thorpe’s hashtag to go along with the Kodiak plan is “ExilePitbull.”
“Go to this page and enter zip code 99550, then Like the Kodiak Walmart”
“Do you like imagining Pitbull being mauled by a Kodiak bear on a remote, frozen island? Enter 99550, like Kodiak AK”
“Pitbull doing a photo op with the moose from Northern Exposure #ExilePitbull”
“If you haven't liked the Kodiak Walmart yet, you haven't pictured Pitbull standing in a river, biting into a raw salmon”
“Pitbull, frostbitten, forlorn and surrounded by an icy wasteland in all directions, drops to his knees and screams: DAALLEEeee”
“Pitbull’s beard is flecked with ice, his face rough and windburned. ‘I am excited to share Energy Sheets with my fans.’”
“Yes: the Kodiak city council is constantly at war with bears. Let’s send Pitbull there.”
Pitbull isn’t worried about battling bears and snow. In response to the Kodiak shenanigans, he tweeted Friday, “I hear there’s bear repellant at Kodiak, Alaska @walmartspecials @sheets #exilepitbull daleeeeeee!”Sarah Marie Pittman

Tesla To Release Live Recordings To Fans After Shows

Tesla is going to give their fans the opportunity to take home the show they just heard, in the form of limited-edition, individually numbered CD sets available immediately after each show! The band has partnered with DiscLive Network, the global leader in producing instant content, and as of today, fans may pre-order the CDs online at www.disclivenetwork.com, where they may opt to either pick up the CD at the show they are attending, or to have it conveniently shipped home to them. The CD sets are available to ALL Tesla fans, whether you are attending the shows or not! This is the ultimate collectible - a high quality audio recording of the show you just heard packaged in a heavyweight DigiPak - and a second disc containing extra Tesla bonus material! These are *strictly* limited edition in nature - only 500 per show will EVER be produced -tesla.com

Drakar Frontman Ivan Sekrya Dies at age 59

Drakar frontman Ivan Sekyra passed away from an undisclosed illness on June 30 at the age of 59. As the mastermind of the Czech heavy metal band, he led Drakar to gather a cult fan base in their home country.
Drakar managed to create a slightly bigger buzz about themselves with their 1990 debut double album, ‘Let Draka / Flight of the Dragon.’ The album featured Czech vocals one disc and the English versions of their songs on the other.
According to Noisecreep, Sekyra let fans into the depths of his sonic philosophy. “The music of Drakar are riddled with practices that are banned in classical music,” Sekrya said. “There is important work with rhythms. None of the drummers wanted to play like that because they used to play different from it.”
He continued to speak about why he decided to become Drakar’s vocalist. “We could not find right singer, so I started to sing of necessity alone. A few people told me that I have an interesting timbre of voice, and so I tried to take advantage of it. The vocal should sound like when Big Brother speaks to you, a hundred times intensified.”by graham gruhamed hartmann

Roger Waters 'The Wall' Yankee Stadium This Weekend

Roger Waters plans to bring the massive production of “The Wall” to Yankee Stadium on July 6. Tickets go on sale Jan. 30 through Live Nation.
“Thirty years ago when I wrote ‘The Wall,’ I was a frightened young man,” Waters said in a statement. “In the intervening years it occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with its concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns: Nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, whatever! All these issues and ‘isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life.”
The Yankee Stadium stop is part of a stadium tour for “The Wall” that starts at San Francisco's AT&T Park on May 11 and runs through Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 14.by glenn gamboa

Van Halen Postponed Shows Now Fully Cancelled

The veteran rockers made headlines earlier this year when they postponed 31 North American tour dates, and now those dates have been canceled.

At the time, David Lee Roth posted a video update stating that there was no recurrence of past tensions in the band but rather realizing they couldn’t keep up the extensive touring pace.
Though the group went ahead and booked a tour of Japan later in the year after the postponement announcement, they’ve now decided to give themselves a bit of a break before returning to the road. Pollstar.com reports that fans with tickets for any shows scheduled after June 28 will be offered a full refund. Cities affected by the cancellations include Uncasville, Baltimore, Rochester, Detroit, Toledo, Memphis, Sacramento, Reno, and Milwaukee.by chad childers