Good morning everyone. I had the best time last night hanging out with Halestorm, who, along with Dorothy and Lita Ford, KILLED it at the jam-packed Webster Hall in NYC. I had never seen Dorothy before, and I gotta tell ya, she’s gone from opening for Miguel to Halestorm in a very short time, and has made a ton of fans along the way. After seeing the band perform, I understand why they are getting slots on festivals all over the place. Time for hardDrive to give them a little love…….
Then Lita Ford, a pioneer of women in rock from the early 80’s when she was the guitarist for the punk rock band The Runaways. She has had a solo career now for decades and has a really tight band. (Her drummer, Bobby Rock, is a monster!) Anyhow, I loved it when she invited Dorothy and Lzzy Hale out for The Runaways’ classic “Cherry Bomb” and then, with Lzzy, did “Close My Eyes.” For not being known as a lead singer, I think Lita did a great job, and she has a swagger all her own. Would’ve been so awesome if Joan Jett made an appearance, but it was not to be.
And sadly, for me, while all this was happening, I had left my cell phone in my coat pocket which I had left in Halestorm’s dressing room, so no pictures of any of this! Boo me!
Then Halestorm came out and blew everyone away. What can I say. The band is so tight, so awesome live. We are so blessed to be in their company, I tell ya! If you’ve never seen Halestorm, do yourselves a favor and go! The set of lungs on Lzzy is unlike anything I have ever seen in my lifetime. All Hail Halestorm!
Whenever I see stories that deal with legal issues that bands have, I am loathe to post anything. Not really our business, but when the bands respond to allegations that are false and unfounded, I will definitely be happy to spread the word in their defense.
Five Finger Death Punch has issued a statement in response to the lawsuit filed against the band last week by its label, Prospect Park. As reported on Wednesday (April 27th), Prospect Park claimed it was suing the band for breach of contract, alleging that the group wanted to rush the recording of a new album without proper creative input from the label and in order to “cash in” before the anticipated “downfall” of singer Ivan Moody, who was revealed to be in rehab.
Five Finger Death Punch’s statement read:
“Desperate people do desperate things.
“We are saddened, but not surprised by the recent lawsuit filed by Prospect Park, LLC against the members of Five Finger Death Punch. It is the latest in a long line of exploitative and abusive bullying tactics used by our former manager and current label CEO Jeff Kwatinetz to extract money from and wield power against the band.
“Jeff Kwatinetz is well-known as a former music industry powerhouse whose erratic behavior and affiliated corporate bankruptcies have caused most of his companies’ clients, including Backstreet Boys, Korn, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction and Azalea Banks to flee in droves. In fact, we also fired Prospect Park management four years ago in an effort to escape an arrangement that more resembled indentured servitude. Five Finger Death Punch’s recordings are now one of Prospect Park’s last remaining and most valuable assets still under contract.
“Five Finger Death Punch is prepared to record and deliver the final album this year under its recording agreement, but instead of allowing us to record, Prospect Park has chosen to sue us, hold us for ransom and squeeze extra money out of its contract rights by attempting to sell an interest in future recordings. What’s worse is that Prospect Park very deliberately filed their meritless lawsuit the same week we are trying to put our fall co-headlining arena tour on sale.
“In its lawsuit, Prospect Park states that Five Finger Death Punch has plateaued and that its sound is stale, yet on multiple occasions and in writing Mr. Kwatinetz referred to the most recent album, Got Your Six, as the band’s ‘best album yet.’ Five Finger Death Punch is the best-selling Active Rock band of the last 24 months and one of the top-selling Active Rock bands of this decade. Every single first week album sales figure has been higher than the last. In fact, there is not one shred of evidence to suggest that Five Finger Death Punch’s career remains on any trajectory other than an upward one. Any statement or suggestion that Five Finger Death Punch is suffering from some kind of slump is untrue.
“Prospect Park does not want us to record our next album with Kevin Churko, who at this point is part of our family and who has produced the last five of our six albums. As for the creative process, Mr. Kwatinetz has never been to the studio during the making of any of our albums, he has never met Mr. Churko and Prospect Park repeatedly failed to pay Mr. Churko on time.
“As for our singer, Ivan Moody, his issues are no secret and were recently and successfully addressed with the love and support of his family and bandmates in a rehabilitation facility. Never once did Prospect Park Management or Recordings support any efforts to get him sober, preferring the band continue making albums and touring.
“We are confident that the evidence will expose the allegations in Prospect Park’s complaint as completely meritless and that the band will recover substantial damages and be released from any further obligations to Prospect Park based on the cross-complaint that we intend to file.”
BOOM!
I was sorry to hear the news of a severe neck injury that has forced In This Moment to cancel their entire European tour. Chris Howorth, who is the band’s co-founder and guitarist, has done some serious damange over the years. If you’ve seen his dreads, you know how long they are. They also weigh something like 10 pounds. So imagine the strain on your next and shoulders, especially if you headbang or hair toss.
Chris will undergo tests immediately, but doctors have already ordered him not to tour now or risk some serious side effects, including nerve damage. Poor man. I feel your pain (dislocating neck discs)!!!
Howorth said in a statement, “I have injured my neck and am unable to move my head more than an inch or two in any direction — and I now have the burden of making some pretty weighty decisions for myself. In order to continue performing live, I am aggressively seeking treatment and must remain at home in Los Angeles.“
Howorth added, “I am devastated that our European shows are affected by this but in order to keep moving forward with the band, it’s imperative to work on getting better.” Singer Maria Brink chimed in as well, saying, “It’s probably easy for everyone to think, ‘Why don’t you just go without Chris,’ but the truth is, he is my partner, brother and one of my closest friends. I can’t bring myself to do this tour without him. It simply would not be In This Moment.”
We wish Chris a speedy recovery. And shorter dreads! Won’t be RETURN OF THE DREADS tour without them, that’s for sure! See you this summer!
Do you love Ghost as much as I do? A fan at their Houston show on Tuesday night posted a boatload of songs over on Blabbermouth. The band is currently on their U.S. tour, which wraps up at Q103‘s Rock N’ Derby outside of Albany, NY at the Schaghticoke fairgrounds. I hope to be there to witness their majesty! Check out the other songs here.
Pierce The Veil
Pierce The Veil has released “Circles,” a brand new song from the San Diego quartet’s next album, “Misadventures,” due out May 13 on Fearless Records. Just yesterday, “Circles” was named the “Hottest Record In The World” on BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac show, and in less than 24 hours, the track has soared past 100,000 YouTube hits. In addition, it’s trending worldwide on their Facebook. They’ve got new tour dates you can find for June in Road Rage. Find them on a leg of the Warped Tour this summer where they will perform the new album in its entirety!
Have a great day!