Hey! Forty Eight degrees and no snow on Feb 1st? And there’s no such thing as climate change, right?
This is an interesting story that hardDrive has had a hand in reporting on. The Pulse Of Radio says Disturbed frontman David Draiman told a Philadelphia radio station the band has been “blown away” by the response to the band’s cover of Simon & Garfunkel‘s “The Sound Of Silence.” Draiman explained, “We’re pretty blown away — and surprised, to be honest — by the amount of positivity that has surrounded the cover. Because it was definitely a left turn, and it was something that, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have intended to go to, stylistically, on my own.” Draiman said it took him three hours to record the vocal for the song — the longest vocal session of his career — and recalled hearing it three days later. He explained, “(I) was kind of tearing up listening to it, because it had been so long since I have allowed myself to go to that place vocally, and hearing it, and hearing it come out as well as I thought it did was not just gratifying, but like having a weight lifted off me.”
Draiman told us performing the song live should be an interesting experience: “From a vocal standpoint, it’s not as challenging as you might imagine, but from a production standpoint, that will be challenging. We’ve talked about bringing out either a string quartet or maybe trying to get local orchestras to maybe be a part of it or whatever the case may be. We’ve talked all kinds of things and it’s a very significant production nightmare, but I think it’s definitely one we’re heading down the road for.”
Check out “The Sound Of Silence” here. Meanwhile, the band is starting rehearsals and gets back out on the road next week, Feb 10th to be exact, in Fargo with Saint Asonia. They will officially start their U.S. tour on Mar 12 in Seattle. Can’t wait to see the guys in all their glory LIVE again!
BTW: “The Sound Of Silence” is in Smash or Crash vs the new single from Killswitch Engage “Hate By Design” this week! See the home page to vote!
photo credit: Jamie Weiland
Man, it’s even worse now that we know THIS! Billboard.com (see it here) has posted a story about Scott Weiland‘s many problems, which probably lead to his passing. The former Stone Temple Pilots frontman was dealing with hepatitis C, mental illness and the knowledge that both his parents had cancer in the final months of his life, according to the story. The article features new interviews with Scott’s widow Jamie, his mother Sharon, his Wildabouts bandmates Tommy Black and Nick Maybury, tour manager Aaron Mohler and others.
Weiland was found dead on his tour bus on Dec 3rd at the age of 48 from a toxic mix of drugs and alcohol. The vocalist was also dealing with self-medication, estrangement from his children, financial difficulties and a steadily increasing drinking problem. Mohler said, “If I had known he was going to die, I would have taken every bottle away from him and thrown it. Just broke it right there.”
Jamie said Scott had been experiencing episodes of paranoia and mania caused by bipolar disorder. She explained, “At one point, it was so bad I had to move out because he was unstable.” Eventually they found a medication that leveled him out, with Jamie adding “For the last couple of years, he was doing pretty great.”
Scott’s last text to Jamie was on the morning of Dec 3rd, when he wrote, “I’m so in love with my beautiful wife.” Jamie also opens up in the article about the legal battle with Weiland’s ex-wife Mary over his estate, saying, “I don’t know under what mattress she thinks she’s going to find $2 million, because it sure as s**t isn’t here . . . He was broke.”
While the Billboard article states that Scott’s children did not attend his funeral at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Alternative Nation reports that his children and their mother Mary had their own private memorial for Scott, which included tributes from his oldest friends. Also, according to Billboard, public records showed more than $147,000 in state tax liens on Weiland’s property in Los Angeles. So sad!
News briefs:
- Black Sabbath canceled two of its Canadian concerts on Saturday night (Jan 30th) in Edmonton, AB and Monday night (Feb 1st) in Calgary, AB. A message posted online by the band read, “Due to extreme sinusitis with Ozzy Osbourne, the shows in both Edmonton and Calgary have been postponed. Details regarding rescheduled dates will be announced as soon as they are available.” Sabbath’s farewell trek kicked off on Jan 20th and is slated to resume on Feb 3rd in Vancouver, BC. (Blabbermouth)
- The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and now they’re gotten their own memorabilia showcase.The collection includes hand-written “Brass Monkey” lyrics, Mike D‘s Volkswagen medallion, Beastie Boy action figures and the outfits from their “Intergalactic” music video. The Beastie Boys’ 2012 induction came just weeks before band member Adam “MCA” Yauch died of cancer. (Billboard)
- Asking Alexandria has premiered the title track from its upcoming album, The Black, on England’s Radio One Rock Show. A music video is slated for release on today (Feb 1st). The Black is the first Asking Alexandria album to feature frontman Denis Shaforostov, previously of Ukrainian metalcore outfit Make Me Famous. He takes the place of Danny Worsnop, who left the group last year. (AltPress.com)
- Jack White was at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah last Thursday night (January 28th) to preview American Epic, an ambitious six-hour documentary series about the early history of American music that he’s executive produced for PBS with Sundance founder Robert Redford and producer/musician T Bone Burnett. The series chronicles how early recording devices captured regional sounds for the first time and helped lay the groundwork for modern popular music. (The Pulse Of Radio)