Well, surprise surprise! In a couple of hours, I will be on the hotLine with A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel! Their tour begins in a couple of weeks and we’ll speak of that and who knows what else! More on that soon! I can tell you he will be a guest on hardDrive with Lou Brutus weekend Oct 21-22, so be tuned in for that!
The Pulse Of Radio says Shinedown singer Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers will embark on the “Songs For The Soul: An Intimate Acoustic Evening” tour in early December, billed as Smith & Myers. (See dates in Road Rage.) Smith said in a statement, “Zach and I are extremely excited to be bringing the Smith & Myers tour to a city near you. We feel this will be a unique and intimate experience for our fans and what better time to celebrate but during the holiday season. See you at the show!”
The pair went out on a similar run in December 2015, delivering unplugged versions of Shinedown favorites plus covers of classic and contemporary hits. In January 2014, the pair released a digital EP called (Acoustic Sessions) as Smith & Myers.
Smith told us at the time why the EP didn’t go out under the Shinedown name: “The label wanted to do that, and we were like, ‘Okay.’ ‘Cause the label was like, ‘Yes, you’re in Shinedown, but it’s not really Shinedown because — I mean, it’s all an extension of Shinedown because Zach’s the guitar player in Shinedown and I’m the singer in Shinedown. But, you know, it was just me and Zach, so I think the label kind of wanted to do maybe a little bit different branding on this particular acoustic cover EP that was coming out, ’cause it is a little different.“
The EP contained covers of songs from the Clash, Metallica, Otis Redding, the Black Crowes, Soul Asylum and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The final selection was chosen from thousands of submissions by fans and narrowed down through daily voting on Facebook. The project was initially envisioned as a 10-track album, but four songs were held up awaiting clearance, meaning the initial idea was carved in two.
Meanwhile, Shinedown has been working on its sixth studio album for most of the past year. Expect a 2018 release.
The Pulse Of Radio also says Skillet has announced a deluxe edition of its 2016 album Unleashed will be released on Nov 17th under the title Unleashed Beyond. Coming just over a year after the original, this version features five unreleased songs along with remixes of the tracks “Feel Invincible,” “The Resistance” and “Stars.” Anyone who pre-orders the album will receive an instant download of the unreleased Feel Invincible Remix EP, which contains five vastly different re-imaginations of that song.
Frontman John Cooper told us a while back that making Unleashed was the most fun he’d had in the studio in a long time: “I’ve got to be honest, it was so much fun — the most fun I’ve had recording a record. It was easy, very little fighting ensued — usually we fight the whole time (laughs) — this time there was only a little bit of fighting and everything just seemed to kind of go good and the performances were great, probably because the vibe was good.“
One of the five unreleased tracks features a guest appearance from former Flyleaf singer Lacey Sturm. The remix EP will also be available for purchase via all digital retailers the same day the deluxe edition comes out. Skillet is still touring behind Unleashed and stops on Thursday night (Oct 12th) in Lubbock, TX.
LET ME WARN YOU, this next video contains explicit footage that may be offensive to some. Parental advisory!
Marilyn Manson has posted the new music video for “Say10”, co-starring his good buddy Johnny Depp, on marilynmanson.com. Watch it here. (Age restricted.) The clip finds Depp joining forces with Manson to help run a bizarre underground sex dungeon. The pair sit on thrones while naked women writhe around on the floor at their feet. A press release insists that the pair are supposed to depict brothers Cain and Abel from the Bible.
Things get more macabre towards the end of the clip when Manson slits his own throat and blood gushes everywhere. Manson stated about the video, “After the the balloons have all shriveled up and are swallowed in the puddles of puke and idealism, don’t look to Me for sympathy. I am here to be all that I am accused of not being. And to be blamed for what you made Me.” He added, “The shots you will hear are from a mouth disguised as a gun. Don’t call this art. This is a hard c**k in a room full of vampires and the music, man. The music is My foul blood on your faces.”
Heaven Upside Down is Manson’s 10th studio LP and follows up his 2015 release, The Pale Emperor.
In other news Manson has also canceled his appearance at the Aftershock Festival, scheduled for October 21st and 22nd in Sacramento, CA. This comes after Manson canceled nine shows of his just-launched Heaven Upside Down tour following an incident on September 30th, when he was injured after a stage prop fell on him while he was playing in New York City.
Manson is scheduled to resume the tour on Oct 15th in Grand Prairie, TX — but since Aftershock takes place after that, it’s possible he may need more time to recover and might scrap more concert dates. Stay tuned.
Glad someone else thinks it was a lame stunt! Blabbermouth says Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose took to his Twitter account for the first time in five months this week to slam Vice President Mike Pence. Axl, an Indiana native, put Pence on blast for traveling to Indianapolis on Sunday (Oct 8th) to watch a football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers, only to abruptly leave when some players knelt during the national anthem.
Rose tweeted, “Thanks WH 4 the $200k Colts game PR stunt.” He joined a growing chorus of voices that criticized Pence, calling his exit a costly stunt orchestrated by Donald Trump, who tweeted he had directed Pence to leave the game if protests occurred. Reporters following Pence were also alerted ahead of time that Pence might leave the game early, suggesting that the whole thing was planned. Pence later said that while the players, who are protesting racial injustice, are “entitled to their own opinions,” he didn’t think it was “too much to ask NFL players to respect the flag and our national anthem.”
Trump recently said that NFL players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired, and called on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to tell them to stand. The controversy started over a year ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against police brutality and racial inequality.
Meanwhile, seems Rose is no fan of the Trump administration: last December he invited fans at a Guns concert in Mexico City to beat the crap out of a large piñata designed to look like Trump.
Alternative Nation posted an item saying Linkin Park bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell has posted a photo of the band’s first rehearsal without Chester Bennington. Farrell wrote, “Home from the #dunhilllinks and back to ‘work!’ Good to be back with the guys.” The band will perform for the first time without its late singer on October 27th at a tribute concert for Bennington.
My friend Fieldy (Reggie Arvizu) of Korn has been working on his solo project for a while now and has revealed on his Facebook page (according to The PRP) he is planning on releasing it. Bassically is the title and it will be released Nov 17th.
He said about the project, “This is a bass album that encompasses the last nine years of my life on the road recording with a variety of special and unique basses. This project features recordings of mine from dressing rooms, tour buses, hotel rooms and other unique locations . . . It’s a blend of funk, fusion, and rock — I can’t wait to share it with you.”
And ICYMI: Game Of Thrones Kit Harington (“Jon Snow”) played a terrible April Fool’s prank on his fiance, Rose Leslie! (remember, she was the Wilding he fell in love with a couple of seasons ago?)….well, I think the video says it all! The couple plans to be married next year and has invited the entire cast of the show to attend, so the film schedule will be delayed so this blessed event can occur. Love it!