Gotta make it a quickie today. Gotta get into the office early for Mr Cornell‘s arrival. Pretty cool listening to Superunknown in a remastered form. Michael Beinhorn and Soundgarden‘s work shines on the new reisue and I can’t wait to talk to him about amazing songs like “Black Hole Sun,” “Fell On Black Days” and “Spoonman,” and I rediscovered songs like “Limo Wreck” and “Let Me Drown” that I had totally forgotten about. The album has sold over 9 million copies and according to critics, redefined alternative rock and influenced the course of music history! Sad though to think that album in its first week sold over 310,000 copies. Today, bands are happy if they sell 31,000 copies in a week. It’s a scary sign about the music industry. Makes me long for the “good ole days”! Look for the 20th anniversary deluxe and Super deluxe reissues of Superunknown on Jun 3rd….Alter Bridge was so smoking hot last night at the Best Buy Theater in NYC, it was ridiculous! The sold out show had the place packed like sardines. Got to hang out with the guys before the show, and talk to Mark Tremonti while he practiced his nimble fingers on his signature PRS guitar. It was basist Brian Marshall‘s birthday and all the guys had their wives and families with them. Just before the band hit the stage, Mark got a call from his pal and former NY Yankee/Boston Red Sox/Tampa Bay Ray/Detroit Tiger/Kansas City Royal/Oakland Athletic Johnny Damon! I volunteered to escort him backstage. Hubba hubba. Always like that Johnny Damon. LOL He’s out of baseball now. Sigh….Pulse fo Radio reports Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has updated Rolling Stone on the progress of the band’s 10th studio album, saying the group is now working steadily on new material. Ulrich explained, “We’re going through the grind. We’re in there doing riffs and putting them into songs. We don’t really write one song and then show up the next day and do another one. We just work on riffs and sections, connecting riffs and tempos and moods.” Ulrich admitted there’s no set timeline to record or release the new disc, but added, “We’re going to do these dates this summer and then really hone down. I’d say that right now, we’re in the fourth inning.” Although the group took a break earlier this month, Ulrich said they will reconvene in early May to begin talking about hiring a producer, adding, “We haven’t started recording yet. But we are deep into the songwriting part of it.” ….Papa Roach are putting the finishing touches on their next album. Jacoby Shaddix told Loudwire about the band’s eighth studio album, which they’ve been recording for the last few months at the Hideout in Las Vegas, Shaddix said, “We are making the sickest, most illest P-Roach record to date, guaranteed. It’s fiery, that’s how I explain it. It’s fiery. It’s like I’m holding a light orb in my hand and when I put it to the sky, I take off like a superhero, if that makes any sense.” Shaddix told us a while back even after so many albums, the band is always itching to prove itself all over again: “We’ve always had that hungry, you know, fighter spirit, that hustler spirit, you know, and that’s just something that’s been ingrained in our band since the beginning. We’re still excited about this rock and roll band that we’re in, and we’re still…it doesn’t feel like a job to us. When we get in that room and the four of us start jamming, it’s like there’s something magical that happens there and, you know, we just can’t deny that.” Some of the songs on the new album include “Just As Broken As Me,” “Never Have To Say Goodbye,” “Gravity” and “Face Everything And Rise,” which Shaddix said is “about stepping up to your problems and connecting with my God and walking through those things.”…Whoa. I missed watching the Golden Gods Awards, but if this is true, I may have dodged a bullet. Pulse of Radio reported on Wednesday night’s (April 23rd) show, which featured performances from Guns N’ Roses, Joan Jett, The Pretty Reckless and others, was frequently chaotic and featured a number of outright flubs, according to a report at Ultimate Classic Rock. Viewers watching online and attendees at the event, which took place at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, witnessed long gaps between band introductions and the performances themselves, with Jett even asking “Did I do something wrong?” at one point in the run-up to her spot. Jett also had to re-do her performance of “I Hate Myself For Loving You” when Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen blew her lines. There were also several awards given out that were deemed questionable, with Deep Purple‘s win over Black Sabbath in the “Comeback of the Year” category such a shocker than even presenter Scott Ian was visibly disappointed in the result. Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody later voiced his own displeasure. Perhaps the most cringeworthy moment of the evening was during a tribute to heavy rock and metal stars who had died within the last few years, when late Warrant singer Jani Lane was identified as a member of Motorhead. The four-hour event began with a surprise performance from Slayer, who delighted fans by premiering a new song. A contributing factor to the length of the show was the long, silent gaps as the production crew scrambled to prepare the stage for the next performer, killing the show’s momentum. Audience members began to filter out during the long wait for Guns N’ Roses — again due to production issues, and not the band for once — but those who stayed saw the band perform for nearly an hour, with ex-bassist Duff McKagan appearing with them on a U.S. stage for the first time in 20 years. Axl Rose‘s vocals, however, were noticeably lackluster. The notoriously volatile Rose’s acceptance speech for his Lifetime Achievement Award was short but humble, and included gracious shout-outs to previous lineups of the band. VH1 Classic streamed the show live and will also air an edited version on Saturday, May 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT….Meanwhile, everyone I know that’s heard the new single from Slash has said he’s raised the bar once again. And the new Godsmack single is coming next month. Rock is BACK in a HUGE way, and I, for one, am extremely pleased. I just don’t know how Myles Kennedy does it, bouncing back and forth between these two projects, but I guess the same can be said about Corey Taylor. Doing double duty as a single doesn’t leave a lot of time for vocal rest. Hope these fellows can continue without issues!…..Celebrating birthday’s this weekend: Today: Al Pacino is 74, Saturday: Joey Jordison od Scar The Martyr is 39 and Incubus drummer Jose Pasillas II is 38, Sunday: Ace Frehley is 63, Travis Meeks of Days Of The New is 35 and American Top 40’s Casey Kasem is 82.