Good morning, peeps! Let’s start out today with news on the Three Days Grace interview I did with Neil Sanderson last weekend. The Pulse Of Radio writes the Canadian band has emerged out of the writing sessions for its sixth studio album to play a series of festival shows.
It was at the Fort Rock event in Florida last weekend that I caught up with drummer Neil Sanderson and asked about a timeline for when we could expect the new record: “We’re starting recording in late July and we’re probably going to take about six weeks, and so you know, by the end of the summer we’ll be mixing and really gearing up for, you know, the tour and the release and everything. So I’d like to think that there will be new music by the end of the year. Can’t guarantee that but we’re in good scoring position (laughs) to have a record in our pockets by fall.”
The new Three Days Grace album will follow up 2015’s Human, which debuted at Number 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The disc was the first for singer Matt Walst, who replaced original frontman Adam Gontier in 2013. It yielded two chart-topping singles in “Painkiller” and “I Am Machine.” Three Days Grace’s touring cycle behind Human took the band to several countries it had never visited before, including Ukraine and Latvia.
The Canadian act’s current schedule brings them to Virginia Beach on Friday (May 5th). The band will play scattered festival dates through the end of May before heading to Russia and Poland in July.
Working out the interview schedule as we speak for Lou Brutus’ interviews at the second stop on the World-Wired Tour with Lars Ulrich, Michael Poulsen and M Shadows, which kicks off on Wednesday in Baltimore. But meanwhile, our friend Lars has signed on to do a new radio show called “It’s Electric!” on Apple Music‘s Beats One service, it was revealed on Wednesday (May 3rd). The show will debut this Sunday (May 7th) at 6:00 p.m. ET and Ulrich’s guest will be Iggy Pop. An encore of the episode will air Monday (May 8th) at 6:00 a.m. ET. Ulrich’s longtime friend and Metallica’s So What! fan club magazine editor Steffan Chirazi will serve as co-host.
According to a press release, the “unscripted, unfiltered” show will include “music that motivates Lars, as well as interviews with artists who inspire him… all wrapped up in some magnificent mindless banter reminiscent of the good ‘ole Lars babble.” The drummer intends each week to focus on music that listeners may not have heard before, regardless of genre.
On the debut episode, Ulrich will play some of his favorite new music, pull out lesser known tracks from his favorite artists, tell stories from the road, and talk with Iggy Pop about their recent collaborative performance in Mexico City.
The drummer said in a statement, “I’m gonna play you lots of really cool music by mostly bands you don’t know; a lot of bands I’ve just been introduced to. We don’t believe in boundaries, and we’re open to everything. I have some guests call in on the phone, and they promise me I’m gonna have this show every week.”
WHAT???!!!!! The Pulse Of Radio reporting The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen admitted in a new interview with Alternative Nation that she “thought about” auditioning for the vocalist spot in Stone Temple Pilots. STP held open auditions for a new frontperson following the departure of Chester Bennington in 2015 and Momsen said that the thought of giving it a try had crossed her mind.
Momsen revealed, “I thought about auditioning for that! Honestly, I freaked out the rest of (The Pretty Reckless). I called Mark (Damon, bassist) and Jamie (Perkins, drummer) and was like, ‘Yeah, so I’m gonna go sing for Stone Temple Pilots now. And, yeah, so we’re not touring anymore. Sorry, guys. This is it, my new gig.’ And they bought it for a while. We f**k with each other all the time, but I actually had them for a minute.”
Momsen added that while she found the idea interesting, she admitted, “I like writing and playing my own songs. I love Stone Temple Pilots. I think they’re fantastic . . . Maybe one show I would sing their songs.”
Momsen told us not long ago that she’s never sure when the inspiration for a new song is going to strike: “It’s different every time. There’s no real process or anything. I mean, the writing dictates where the song goes and how it comes together, and my joke is that if I knew where inspiration came from, I’d move there.”
STP completed the open audition process last year and reportedly combed through thousands of submissions. There have been rumors that the band has been working with a handful of finalists but no confirmation of that. Original STP singer Scott Weiland departed the band in 2013 and died in December 2015 while on tour with his solo band The Wildabouts.
The Pretty Reckless are out on the road behind their third studio album, Who You Selling For, which features the singles “Take Me Down” and “Oh My God.” Their next single from the album will be “Back To The River.”
I can’t decide if this is a real story or not!!! Foo Fighters main man and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl recently spent some time in a Hollywood recording studio with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and iconic session drummer Jim Keltner, who has played with artists like Bob Dylan, John Lennon and George Harrison. According to a tweet posted by Smith, the three drummers got together to work on a new studio album from Derek Smalls.
Derek Smalls, of course, is the fictional bassist from Spinal Tap played by comedian and actor Harry Shearer. In his post, Smith also tagged CJ Vanston, who has been Spinal Tap‘s producer and musical director on their past albums.
Spinal Tap — the brainchild of Shearer and fellow actors Michael McKean and Christopher Guest — have released three albums and made intermittent live appearances since their classic fake documentary This Is Spinal Tap was released in 1984.
Although he’s fronted Foo Fighters for over two decades, Grohl told us a while back that he still enjoys drumming the most: “I feel most comfortable behind the drums. I mean, being the lead singer of a band I actually feel kind of uncomfortable. I like doing it, and the challenge and the fear is one of the things that I like about it. But playing the drums, it’s like I just feel totally comfortable doing it. I don’t really worry that, you know, I’m not gonna be able to do what I’m supposed to do.”
Grohl and the Foos will hit the road this summer for one California festival and a string of European dates as the band slowly emerges from its year-plus hiatus. Meanwhile, Smith and the Chili Peppers continue to tour behind their 11th studio album, The Getaway, which arrived last year. The band is on a North American run right now that stops in Pittsburgh next Thursday (May 11th).
Blabbermouth reporting Meltdown of our affiliate station in Detroit, WRIF, talked to Zacky Vengeance of Avenged Sevenfold. Asked for his opinion on the announcement that Ozzy Osbourne was reuniting with guitarist Zakk Wylde for the first time in more than a decade, Zacky said: “Oh, dude, it’s so cool. I love to see all that stuff. Certain bands, you get a couple of people together and it just creates magic. All those guys are extremely talented on their own, but when you put ’em together, it’s just something really, really special.”
He continued: “We had the privilege of doing Ozzfest back in 2006. And Zakk Wylde, he rules as a guitarist. He’s just one of those magical guitar players that just can do stuff that other people can’t — much like a Dimebag [Darrell Abbott] or a [Jimi] Hendrix. They just have something really, really spectacular. And Ozzy, he’s the master. You put those two guys together and it’s just crazy.”
Zacky added: “I’m thrilled. I love seeing the original guys get back together. I love seeing the Misfits get back together, and Slash and Axl [Rose] and Guns N’ Roses. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what creates the magic.”
Ozzy and Wylde first teamed up 30 years ago when Wylde joined Ozzy’s band in 1987 and made his debut on the following year’s No Rest For The Wicked album. They last collaborated in 2007 on Ozzy’s Black Rain album.
This is very cool! Blabbermouth also reporting Chef Brian Tsao, known for his stint on Food Network‘s “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Chopped”, as well as his heavy metal persona on the web series “Taste Of Metal”, is hosting “Small Bites Of Hope”, a pop-up culinary event benefiting the non-profit organization Hope For The Day.
To celebrate Mental Health Awareness month in May, Tsao will team up Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach to host a unique event that raises awareness for mental health advocacy and suicide prevention. The event will offer exquisite catering from Tsao, signature cocktails from Black Craft, craft beer from Six Point Brewery, dessert from Snow Days, and much more!
Proceeds will benefit Hope For The Day, a non-profit organization that achieves proactive suicide prevention by providing outreach and mental health education through self-expression platforms. The event takes place Thursday, May 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Gibson Guitars Showroom, in the historic Hit Factory Studios on 251 West 54th Street, New York, New York 10019.
Said Tsao: “For too long, mental health has been ignored in the professional kitchens. With Small Bites of Hope, I want to present people in these harsh working environments with the opportunity to get help or give help to others that may need it. It only takes one to start the conversation that can resonate and help many others and this is that first major step for myself along with my friends in Hope For The Day and Jesse Leach!”
Leach, a known advocate for mental health, said: “I’m honored to be a part of Small Bites Of Hope, to help raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention with my pal Chef Brian Tsao! It is a subject near and dear to me, so having a dialogue and helping shine some light on a topic that is not talked about enough is important.”
Limited tickets are offered here.
In a 2014 interview, Leach opened up about the reasons why he originally left Killswitch Engage in 2002 after recording two albums. Leach, who reunited with the group in 2012, explained: “When I left Killswitch, there was definitely something wrong with my head. I was dealing with a depression. At that time it was a pretty lowdown feeling of being alienated, just sort of not being prepared mentally for a life on the road.” Leach‘s replacement in the group, Howard Jones, sang with them for nine years and three albums before leaving in 2012 with his own health issues.
Celebrating life today: Mike Dirnt of Green Day is 45, Mick Mars of Motley Crue is 66. and the King of Surf Guitar, Dick Dale, is 80!