When the news came down on CNN Radio in my car on Friday as I was leaving to drive upstate for the weekend, I was so freaked out knowing some of the people and band Eagles Of Death Metal, who had experienced such terror all while they were simply doing their job in a place they felt comfortable. How could such horror happen? What is wrong with this world that people want to incur such violence and death, in the name of God, not only upon innocent people, but upon themselves. Needless to say, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Paris and across the globe. Vive La France!
My friends at Ramp posted this this morning:
As the world continues to try and process the magnitude of the horror that occurred in Paris last Friday, it did not go unnoticed that the majority of the 120+ deaths happened inside the Bataclan Theater, where UMG artists Eagles Of Death Metal were about six songs into their set when the carnage erupted. While the band managed to escape unharmed (co-founder Josh Homme was not touring with the band during this European leg), we were saddened to learn that a UMG employee and a member of the band’s crew were killed during the attack. UMG Chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge confirmed the death of Thomas Ayad, an international product manager for Mercury Records. In a staff memo, Grainge said, “This is an unspeakably appalling tragedy. I cannot even begin to express the depth of my sorrow. On behalf of everyone here at UMG, we extend our most profound sympathies to his parents and all of his friends and family.”
Rolling Stone also reported the death of Nick Alexander, 36, a British citizen and a member of the Eagles of Death Metal merchandising crew. In a statement, Alexander’s family said, “Nick died doing the job he loved and we take great comfort in knowing how much he was cherished by his friends around the world. Thank you for your thoughts and respect for our family at this difficult time. Peace and light.” Alexander’s friends have set up a GoFundMe page in his memory.
Shortly after the attack, HBO cancelled Saturday’s scheduled live broadcast of U2‘s Innocence + Experience concert at the Bercy Arena in Paris. (The band also went to the site of the Bataclan in honor of the victims.) As related by Variety, U2 frontman Bono spoke with Irish radio personality Dave Fanning on Saturday, commenting, “If you think about it, the majority of victims last night are music fans. This is the first direct hit on music that we’ve had in this so-called ‘War on Terror,’ or whatever it’s called. It’s very upsetting.” He added, ‘These are our people. This could be me at a show, you at a show, in that venue. It’s a very recognizable situation for you and for me, and the coldblooded aspect of this slaughter is deeply disturbing and that’s what I can’t get out of my head.”
Also, late Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, as the horrific events were still unfolding in Paris, Coldplay cancelled that evening’s scheduled live streaming show for Tidal & KROQ/Los Angeles, “out of respect for the terrible events in Paris.” The downtown Los Angeles event was intended to promote the band’s forthcoming album, A Head Full Of Dreams. The Facebook post continued, “For those of you already down at the venue and those on your way, we’ll play a short set of old material so that your journey isn’t wasted. We send our love and prayers to the people of Paris.” That show will be rescheduled.
On Saturday, Foo Fighters announced the cancellation of the rest of their European tour. “In light of this senseless violence, the closing of borders, and international mourning, we can’t continue right now,” their Facebook post read. “There is no other way to say it. This is crazy and it sucks. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was hurt or who lost a loved one.”
And The Deftones, who were supposed to perform two sold-out nights at the Bataclan Saturday and Sunday nights, cancelled their shows without moving to another venue. (I just discovered the band was in attendance on Friday at the Bataclan, but also got out safely.)
Also on Saturday, Godsmack performed in Las Vegas. Blabbermouth reporting during their set, the band’s frontman, Sully Erna, dedicated the song “Serenity” to the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, France. (Note: There is some swearing here) While introducting the track, he said: “It doesn’t matter if they’re in another country, we’re all human beings, and these motherfuckers in ISIS, I’ve gotta tell you… I hope at some point they can wipe out that shit and make it a fucking parking lot. I’m tired of this shit.“
He continued: “So we’re not gonna stop the show and ask you guys to kind of be quiet for a minute. We’re just gonna do a song that I think kind of represents a moment like this. This is gonna be our version of a prayer. So, for whatever it’s worth, you don’t have to do a whole lot on here; maybe you can sing along with us. But whatever you do, just send out some really positive energy, because I am certain that a lot of people lost their children that night, a lot of people lost their parents that night. And so, it’s our job as human beings to just kind of send out some good energy their way, you know what I mean?! That’s what we do. We’re all good people. So, Tony [Rombola, guitar], let’s play a song and let’s call this our prayer for the evening, okay?”
The Pulse Of Radio posted comments from other musicians from around the world:
Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale wrote on Twitter, “”I play these venues,I know these people, the fans, the crew, the photographers, the journalists. It’s an attack on my world.”
Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy offered, “My heart aches for the victims of tonight’s attack and the good people of Paris. Sending love to all.”
AC/DC: “We mourn this tragic loss of life and stand with the world to salute your joie de vivre. Paix.”
Corey Taylor: “Sending all my love & thoughts to the French people. I hope justice is done for those who died & those who were hurt. ”
Slash: “Mortified by the horrific events in Paris. Our thoughts & prayers go out to all the innocent victims.”
Shinedown‘s Eric Bass: “Those were just fans at a rock show. Faces we see every night out here. I’m just heartbroken.”
Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo: “Our hearts are with Paris tonight.”
Chris Cornell: “I can’t imagine a reason to end so many innocent lives or believing that there is a God who would condone it .”
Flea: “Sending all my love to all the people in Paris being attacked, killed, and hurt and taken hostage right now.”
Rise Against: Rise Against played #leBataclan in Paris one year ago today. Our hearts go out to our brothers in #EODM and #deftones , venue staff and fans.
Godsmack: Our thoughts go out to everyone in Paris right now. Horrible & very sad.
Papa Roach: Crazy stuff happening in Paris right now. Everyone there is in our thoughts.
On to other news:
One show that did go on in NYC on Saturday night was Parkway Drive! The band did, what I understand, an AMAZING set at Irving Plaza, and before the show, frontman Winston McCall did a live AMA on the hardDriveRadio APP. Many thanks to the band and congrats to our Parkway Drive guitar winner, Paul Koivisto, who is a KILO listener in Colorado Springs, CO.
Today, Maynard Keenan and Mat Mitchell of Puscifer are coming to the hardDriveRadio studios in NYC. And to show you how close this music community is, the bass player on Puscifer’s new Money Shot album, Matt McJunkins, also happens to be touring now with Eagles of Death Metal. It should be an interesting conversation today with Maynard and Mat.
Speaking of Maynard, who doesn’t like to be asked about Tool, I guess he will be packing his bags to do some shows with them in 2016. Toolband posted a cryptic message last week: “Something wicked this . . . your way comes! For those of you who only like news about Tool, here’s something that should be of great interest. The impenetrable veil of my dark scrying mirror finally cleared today — enough so, in fact — that I could perceive a large heptagram on a complexly lit stage where four performers were dwarfed by dramatic video projections. Evidently the sonic and visual extravaganza that I was receiving is a rare glimpse of future Tool U.S.A. tour dates in the month of January, 2016.” Hmmm. Stay tuned for tour dates in Road Rage soon!
Volbeat has parted ways with founding bass player Anders Kjolholm, with a statement from the band saying that all matters related to the split “have been mutually and respectfully agreed upon.” Frontman Michael Poulsen and drummer Jon Larsen, the band’s two remaining original members, said, “Anders has been a loyal friend and bandmate since 2001. We’ve toured most parts of the world and shared experiences that only few bands get to do. We’re very thankful for this and wish Anders all the best in the future.”
Kjolholm himself added, “It has been a great experience to be part of the Volbeat family for so long and I wish Michael, Jon and Rob (Caggiano, guitar), everyone involved with the band and of course all the fans all the best on the continued journey.” Kjolholm is an original member of the group, starting with them in 2001 and playing on all five studio albums to date.
The Danish-American act has reportedly been working on its next studio set, with a 2016 release date expected. Poulsen told us earlier this year how it was shaping up: “We have an album title, you know, we’re working on a front cover, and there’s gonna be stuff that goes way back to the first Volbeat record, but also there’s gonna be stuff that continues from the latest album that we released. So it’s gonna be a mixture of very old Volbeat, but also where we left.“
Pulse also reporting speculation reached a fever pitch last week that Guns N’ Roses was close to announcing a reunion tour, but now a report has emerged indicating that the band lineup for the trek may not be exactly what fans had in mind. According to Melodic Rock, the tour will feature founding members Axl Rose on vocals, Slash on lead guitar and Duff McKagan on bass — but that’s all for the original roster.
Instead of also seeing original guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler — or even Use Your Illusion-era drummer Matt Sorum — fans will instead get current guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer joining the big three, as well as longtime keyboard player Dizzy Reed. A report from Dish Nation claimed last week that a reunion tour was “close to being revealed,” with the band allegedly headlining several major festivals in Europe and the U.S. before embarking on a worldwide tour to mark its 30th anniversary.
Rumors about a reunion have been heating up ever since the summer, when Slash revealed that he and Rose had repaired their relationship after nearly 20 years of estrangement. Several members have recently left the current lineup of Guns N’ Roses, which features Rose as the sole original member. The band has not performed live since last year, but its Twitter account has posted several cryptic messages lately, furthering talk of a reunion. Other celebrities and musicians with direct or indirect ties to the Guns camp have also hinted that an announcement is imminent.