Foos in the news! The Pulse Of Radio reporting Foo Fighters have released a brand new song called “The Line” from the band’s upcoming ninth album, Concrete And Gold. Frontman and composer Dave Grohl described the song as “a search for hope in this day and age where you feel as if you’re fighting for your life with every passing moment, and everything is on the line.” The track is the third to be unveiled ahead of Concrete And Gold‘s Sep 15th arrival, following “Run” and “The Sky Is A Neighborhood.”
In other Foo Fighters news, Grohl opened up with Rolling Stone about his feelings over the death of close friend and Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Grohl revealed that he wanted to book Soundgarden for the Foos’ Cal Jam 17 festival in California next month, saying, “They had agreed to do it. And, um . . . It didn’t happen.”
Struggling to hold back tears during the interview, Grohl continued, “I loved (Cornell). He was a really sweet guy. Full of life. And he had so much to offer. That one hurt. Over the years you sort of count your blessings that you survived, and when you see another one go down . . . ” Cornell’s death by suicide dredged up painful memories for Grohl of his Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain, who also took his own life. Grohl explained, “I felt for (Cornell’s) family . . .And I felt for his band, you know? Because that’s a long road, man.”
Grohl added, “Every time it happens, the same feeling comes up. It’s shocking and confusing and I just don’t get it. You get into this with a love of music, and sharing it with people, and you hope everybody feels the same way.”
Foo Fighters have lined up a fall North American tour that kicks off on October 7th in San Bernardino, California with Cal Jam 17, featuring the Foos, Queens Of The Stone Age, Cage The Elephant, Liam Gallagher, Royal Blood, The Struts and more. The rest of the tour begins on Oct 12th in Washington D.C.
TALINDA BENNINGTON TWITTER
Rolling Stone and Pulse reporting Talinda Bennington, widow of late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, shared a photo via social media on Thursday (Sep 7th) of her husband spending time on a sunny landscape with his wife and children. The picture was taken while the family was on vacation in Arizona, just days before Chester was found dead on Jul 20th in his Los Angeles-area home after he hung himself.
Talinda wrote in the photo’s caption, “This was days b4 my husband took his own life. Suicidal thoughts were there, but you’d never know. #f**kdepression.” In the photo, Talinda smiles warmly at the camera while Chester and four of his kids look out at the setting. Bennington appears to be smiling and relaxed. Talinda is also encouraging fans who want to help out in any way to donate to the One More Light fund in honor of her husband. http://chester.linkinpark.com/
Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo, who played with Chester for two years in STP after the latter replaced Scott Weiland, was asked how he felt in the wake of Chester’s death: “Really sad. I lost a great friend. We’re part of the same community here and, you know, we took our kids to school and took our kids to baseball, and he was a great human being. He was there for us when we needed it and it’s hard to talk about him in the past tense still, you know. I miss him every day. There’s not a day that doesn’t go by that I just think about him and think about why he did what he did, and I’m kind of baffled.”
Chester had returned alone from Arizona to his family’s home in Palos Verdes Estates, CA, saying he needed to work. He was set to kick off a 29-date North American tour with Linkin Park, which was canceled. The band’s future plans remain unknown for now.
Speaking of Stone Temple Pilots, bassist Robert DeLeo told Billboard in a new interview the three surviving members of the group are still intent on finding new singer, two years after the death of founding frontman Scott Weiland and two months after the passing of Weiland’s replacement, Chester Bennington.
DeLeo said he and his brother, STP guitarist Dean DeLeo, have no intentions of quitting music: “Dean and I are always, we’re always writing music, whether that’s for STP or not. You know, hopefully we will find a singer who will be that guy to represent what we want to do moving forward. I think there’s a lot of music to be made still, and I think we all feel that we want to continue. When it all comes together, it’ll come together and it’ll feel right and we’ll proceed forward.“
Asked when he thinks STP will be up and running again, Robert said, “This is not an overnight decision. This is a series of getting together with someone and really figuring out what they are all about and if that’s right for us.”
STP held open online auditions for a new singer last year, after Bennington left the band to focus on his main act Linkin Park.
The group reportedly received thousands of submissions, with a handful of vocalists getting a chance to audition in person. DeLeo said about that process, “It’s been very interesting. You get some interesting scenarios with people. There’s been some colorful people, I should say.”
Weiland was dismissed in 2013 after reuniting with STP in 2010 following a seven-year break. He died on his tour bus in December 2015 while on a solo trek. Bennington killed himself this past July.
A 25th anniversary expanded reissue of STP’s 1992 debut album, Core, is set for release on Sep 29th.
We learned via a press release, Metallica has teamed with guitar string and musical accessory maker Ernie Ball to offer three fans a chance to hang out with guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett at the band’s headquarters in San Rafael, CA. Winners of the “Hetfield + Hammett Experience” will also take home their choice of a Hetfield or Hammett signature ESP guitar as well as other prizes. The contest launched Thursday (Sep 7th) and runs through Tuesday, Oct 31.
Hammett said, “I have to say that HQ is kinda like NASA. You need the right credentials to get in, you need to know the right codes to get through the door. There are constantly people around making sure that whoever is there is there for a purpose. It’s pretty tight because it’s like the brain control . . . the mission control for all things Metallica.” Hetfield added, “This is a pretty cool opportunity to get into Metallica’s creative space and see what it is, why it is, and what is in there that inspires us.”
Fans can enter the contest by purchasing qualifying packs of Ernie Ball strings at Guitar Center or from Musician’s Friend, then entering the codes found inside the packs at ernieball.com/metallica for a chance to win.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers kicked off the European leg of their current world tour last weekend, with shows booked through November. A second European run kicks off next February. Metallica is touring in support of its 10th studio album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, which came out last November.
Avenged Sevenfold continue their expansion of new album THE STAGE with today’s release: a cover of the 1966 Rolling Stones’ hit, “As Tears Go By.”
“We really got into some of the deeper Rolling Stones tracks during the writing process for ‘Hail To The King,’” says Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M. Shadows. “This song always stood out because of the melody and fragile state of Mick Jagger’s vocal and the interesting string section in the bridge. We took a more uptempo rock & roll approach and added the sitar as a little nod to the experimentation of the 60s.”
Over the course of the past several weeks, Avenged Sevenfold have been steadily adding new tracks to The Stage and transforming the album into an evolving body of work. They began with Mexican folk song “Malagueña Salerosa” and followed with a reimagining of Mr. Bungle’s “Retrovertigo,” original track “Dose,” a cover of Del Shannon’s 1961 No. 1 hit, “Runaway” (featuring a guest appearance by Vandals’ guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and lead vocals by Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Zacky Vengeance) and the band’s version of The Beach Boys’ 1966 hit, “God Only Knows.”
The Stage is the band’s 7th studio album and first for Capitol Records. The album hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock, Hard Rock and Alternative Albums charts, No. 4 on the Top 200 and debuted Top 5 on iTunes in over 35 countries. Its title track hit Top 5 at rock radio and its companion video has amassed over 19.5 million YouTube views to date.
Avenged Sevenfold (vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman) just wrapped a stadium summer run with Metallica as well as on their own series of special headline shows. Next up is their headlining slot at the Houston Open Air festival on Sep 15th.
Green Day posted this music video for “Too Dumb To Die.” As they posted online, “There’s still time left to watch our Facebook Live and donate to Americares. The money raised will be used to help the Houston community + surrounding areas recover from Hurricane Harvey as well as those who may be affected by Hurricane Irma.”
WATCH AND DONATE
And now, this……
Queen! They were such an amazing band. I got to see them only once, in NYC at Madison Square Garden in November 1978 on their Jazz Tour. They were, in a word, outrageous! Show started out with about 12 bikini bottomed only beautiful modelesque women on english racing bikes in the front of the stage, while the band came out to perform “Fat-Bottomed Girls.” That was only the start! Even more outrageous was the backstage! There was an oily-based mud wrestling ring with more scantily clad women wrestling while backstagers milled around drinking adult beverages and snacking on hors d’oeuvres. It was crazy! But anyhow, the album posted above came out later in the year and blew everyone away! Enjoy!
Celebrating life this weekend:
Saturday, Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. is 43. Sunday: Aerosmith’s Joe Perry is 67.
Please keep Florida in your prayers this weekend!