Of Mice & Men last night! OFF THE CHAIN crazy amazing! Will post some picks on the hardDriveRadio app and Facebook pages later. Truly, one of their best shows and first headlining date in NYC. Place was packed. Crowd sang EVERY WORD and there were more women than men crowd-surfing and tons of women moshing in the pits! So psyched for the band! They’re heading to the hardDriveRadio studios today for a two-song acoustic set and I can’t wait! Was also hanging with their fabulous Raw Power managers and producer David Bendeth! What a great night! I also met Kato Khandwala (producer We Are Harlot, The Pretty Reckless.)
Also today, Billy Gould and Mike Bordin, founding members of Faith No More, will drop by to talk about getting back together and their new album, Sol Invictus, which drops Tuesday! Butcher Babies also dropping by today. It’s nutty around here this week! Love it!
Everyone I know is heading to Columbus, OH for Rock On The Range. WAH! I have to stay home and nurse my torn meniscus. Surgery May 27. WAH!
Pulse Of Radio reports Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has written a lengthy tribute to the band’s late bass player, Paul Gray, as the fifth anniversary of Gray’s death approaches. May 24th will mark five years since the 38-year-old bassist was found dead in a hotel room in Urbandale, IA from a accidental overdose of prescription drugs. In his piece, published by U.K. magazine Kerrang!, Taylor writes, “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. When I’m on the road, the live shows bring back our times together. When I’m home, this house and the pictures in it remind me of good times and bad. When I’m listening to music, I think about the two of us, cranking new and old tunes in his car or mine, rocking out like little kids and giggling because the stuff is so awesome.” Taylor continues, “I think that’s the overall memory I cherish the most about him: his energy and his excitement. Even if you weren’t ‘feeling’ something musically or anything else to do with the band, he was the world’s best cheerleader. After one conversation with him, you’d be so ready to play or tour or record or whatever that you’d be jumping out of your skin.” Taylor told us a while back how he felt about the loss of his friend and bandmate: “I just miss him, you know. I miss him so much sometimes that it doesn’t feel like he’s gone, and there are times when I’m thinking and he’s in my train of thought and I have to stop myself and go, ‘Oh, God, he’s not here.’ But you know, I mean, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him.” Taylor also writes in Kerrang!, “I had the privilege of making music with Paul Gray for 13 years. I learned so much from that man that I still use his ideology and methods to this day . . . He and I built a career out of passion, music, anger and art. We may have had our ups and downs, but he loved every minute of it. I know I did.” Gray left behind his wife Brenna and daughter October, who was born the August following her father’s death. Slipknot’s latest album, .5: The Gray Chapter, came out more than four years after the bassist’s death was dedicated to his memory. Gray was eventually replaced for recording and touring purposes by Alessandro “Vman” Venturella, although Venturella is not an official member of Slipknot and his identity has never been officially confirmed by the band.
Pulse also reports Creed singer Scott Stapp has said he’s “lucky to be alive” in a new interview with People magazine, the first time that the rock vocalist has spoken to the media since his highly-publicized, drug-inflamed meltdown late last year. Explaining what happened last November that caused him to post videos in which he claimed to be under attack both financially and personally, Stapp revealed, “I had a psychotic break that was brought on by alcohol and drug abuse. I was hallucinating. I drove around the United States for a month, following an angel that I saw on the hood of my car.” Stapp continued, “In my delusional thinking, I thought my family was involved in ISIS, and that millions of dollars had been taken from me to support terrorism. All of it was nonsense. I was out of my mind.” After he finally entered into an intensive rehab program, Stapp was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition that causes unexpected shifts in mood, energy and activity levels. The singer said, “It was hard to process. There’s a stigma associated with it. But (his wife) Jaclyn kept telling me, ‘Embrace it. We love you.’ It became a big sign of relief, because finally, we had an answer.” The whole drama began last November when Stapp posted several videos online in which he claimed to be broke, nearly homeless and under “attack” from unnamed enemies who had wiped out his bank accounts and possibly set the IRS on him. It later turned out that Jaclyn had filed for divorce, claiming that her husband had left their home in early October and had went on a drug bender. Stapp lost custody of his three children during this period, while also missing a court hearing and allegedly threatening to kill President Obama.Stapp is now sober and in intensive therapy. He takes medication for bipolar disorder, works through a 12-step program, and meets with a sponsor, saying, “Nothing is more important than my sobriety.” More about his treatment and recovery will be revealed in the new issue of People, on newsstands this Friday (May 15th.)
Congrats to Mumford & Sons. Their new album, Wilder Minds, sold a whopping 249,000 first week and attains the # 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart!
Wicked scary! Godsmack abruptly ended its show on Tuesday night (May 12th) in Montclair, NJ when frontman Sully Erna experienced shortness of breath and dizziness just before the band’s encore. A statement issued by the group said, “Out of an abundance of caution, it was decided to have him be further evaluated by medical personnel off site and end the performance prior to the completion of the encore.” The statement added that Erna, who had been battling a virus, “was evaluated and cleared to perform and is able to continue with the tour.” (Blabbermouth)
While on a break from their Sonic Highways world tour, Foo Fighters performed a surprise concert last Saturday (May 9th) at a county fair called Conejo Valley Days in Thousand Oaks, California. Appearing as Chevy Metal (which is Taylor Hawkins side project), the band covered Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” the Knack’s “My Sharona,” John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good,” AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” and more. Wish I was there! (Spin)
I am listening to new Bullet For My Valentine music! m/–m/ The song will debut on Sunday night on the BBC Radio 1 show with Daniel Carter at 7 PM BST and can be listened to world-wide here!
Celebrating life today: Mike Inez of Alice In Chains is 49, Ian AStbury of The Cult is 53. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder, is 31.