Happy Friday!
The Pulse Of Radio reporting Stone Temple Pilots spoke with Rolling Stone this week, and they confirmed in the interview they are working with a new vocalist and hope to announce his identity in the next few weeks, nearly two years after the passing of original vocalist Scott Weiland and more than two months following the death of Weiland’s replacement, Chester Bennington.
Bassist Robert DeLeo said, “We’ve been working with someone — I don’t want to name names yet — and we’re making music. I don’t know if he’s well known or unknown; I don’t look at him as ‘well known.’ But we’re writing music and we’re hopefully looking at finishing a record and putting it out soon.”
Robert’s comments echoed that of his brother, STP guitarist Dean DeLeo, who told Los Angeles radio station KLOS last week that STP’s search for a new singer was “looking good, man . . . it won’t be too long.” Two names that have circulated among fans after STP held open auditions last year are one-time X Factor contestant Jeff Gutt and Filipino vocalist John Borja. The members of STP are currently promoting the 25th anniversary expanded reissue of STP’s debut album, Core, which arrives today (Sep 29th) — 25 years to the day of the LP’s original release.
Robert DeLeo told us the band had no idea at the time what kind of impact Core would have: “We had no idea what that was going to do. All we really knew is we sincerely believed in what we were doing, and that’s really what mattered, is we finally had the chance to express what we were going through in life at the time.”
STP has been without a singer since November 2015, when Bennington — who joined in early 2013 — departed to spend more time with his main band Linkin Park. Weiland, who reunited with the group in 2010 after an eight-year hiatus but was dismissed in 2013, died in December 2015 of a drug overdose while on a solo tour. I will be speaking with the guys next week, so maybe, just maybe, we can get the lowdown.
Now here’s something I wouldn’t have placed a bet on. The Pulse Of Radio says Prophets Of Rage guitarist Tom Morello revealed in a new interview with the Guardian he is good friends with classic rocker and far-right firebrand Ted Nugent. On paper, the two couldn’t seem to have less in common, with Morello a confirmed socialist and left-wing activist, while Nugent remains a strong supporter of Donald Trump and has made vicious comments about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Morello explained, “Ted Nugent’s a good friend to me. We have very similar views on freedom of speech. His libertarian edge and my anarchist edge overlap considerably. Sometimes, if he says something outrageous that will fire up his racist base, I’ll text him to say, ‘Dude. What are you on about?’ We’re able to talk about it as friends as opposed to people on the opposite sides of the barricade.”
Morello insisted you don’t have to be down with Prophets Of Rage’s politics to enjoy their music, saying, “There’s no political litmus test to listening to the music. I’m a fan of bands whose points of view is one that I don’t agree with because I’m a fan of rock ‘n’ roll. Many people were drawn to Rage Against The Machine. People will be drawn to Prophets Of Rage because of the space-tacular guitar solos and the aggression of the music and the power of the band when they may not care about the politics.”
Asked who in the world he does feel a political affinity with these days, Morello told us: “I would say there’s definitely kindred spirits in the anti-fascist movement, there are kindred spirits in the Black Lives Matter movement, there are kindred spirits in every band that gets on a stage trying to kick ass in these difficult times.”
Prophets Of Rage also consists of Morello’s fellow Rage Against The Machine members Tim Commerford on bass and Brad Wilk on drums, along with Public Enemy‘s Chuck D and Cypress Hill‘s B-Real on the mic. The group made their live debut in May 2016 in Los Angeles. They released their debut full-length LP earlier this month and next play at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, KY on Sunday (Oct 1st.)
Pearl Jam releases its new documentary, Let’s Play Two, today (Sep 29th) and has posted a new clip from the film online. It features footage from a surprise Pearl Jam concert on the roof of a bar outside Wrigley Field in Chicago, just before the band played two sold-out shows there in the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, one review of the film at The Music said it was not so much a concert film or a behind-the-scenes look at the band as it is “a film about frontman Eddie Vedder and his lifelong relationship with his beloved Cubs, an obsession that began as a four-year-old attending games with his uncle.” (Alternative Nation)
A&E Network has set Wednesday, Nov 8th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT for the premiere of season two of Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, in which Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack travel the world to visit historical sites and off-the-radar locations. Jack said, “I am so excited to be back for a second season because it means my dad didn’t kill me or cause too much destruction last season. But you never know what will happen this time around!”
Blabbermouth is reporting a second compilation of video footage chronicling the life and career of late Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, titled Dimevision Vol. 2: Roll With It Or Get Rolled Over, will arrive on Nov 24th. The DVD/CD sequel to 2006’s Dimevision Vol. 1: That’s The Fun I Have will include more raw footage, home movies and classic Dimebag moments, including five previously unreleased demos.
Celebrating life today: Jerry Lee Lewis is 82, Primus’ Les Claypool is 54
Have a great weekend!