Good day. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Well, yesterday, Eagles of Death Metal issued the following statement following the events of last Friday night (Nov 13th) in Paris, France, when more than 129 people were killed in seven coordinated terrorist attacks. The greatest number of deaths took place at the Bataclan, the French music venue where Eagles Of Death Metal were performing when terrorists began a siege that ended with 89 people in the club either shot to death or killed in explosions and many more severely injured and in hospitals.
The band’s statement reads in full:
“While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France. Our thoughts and hearts are first and foremost with our brother Nick Alexander, our record company comrades Thomas Ayad, Marie Mosser and Manu Perez, and all the friends and fans whose lives were taken in Paris, as well as their friends, families, and loved ones.
“Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism, we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.
“We would like to thank the French police, the FBI, the U.S. and French state departments, and especially all those at ground zero with us who helped each other as best they could during this unimaginable ordeal, proving once again that love overshadows evil. All Eagles Of Death Metal shows are on hold until further notice. Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France, and vive Eagles Of Death Metal.”
If you’ve never heard Eagles Of Death Metal, check our this video for “Complexity.” The band was founded in 1998 by Queens Of The Stone Age mainman Josh Homme and his longtime friend Jesse Hughes. Homme appears on all the band’s albums, but only plays live with them occasionally. He was not in Paris at the time of the attacks. Homme told us a while back that working with the Eagles was just like getting together with old friends: “I’ve known Jesse since I was in high school, since I was 15 years old. We’ve actually been playing longer than the Queens have been playing. It’s just one of those things where you just take it at, like, a very casual pace, its own pace, you know. It’s just kind of always been there, you know, and it’s nice to play with your friends.“
In a related story, Metallica has posted a tribute on Facebook to Thomas Ayad, an international project manager for Mercury Records for Eagles of Death Metal at Universal Music France who was killed on Nov 13th at the Bataclan. The post read, “We had great fortune to work with Thomas Ayad at Universal Music France for the past eight years and while Thomas had the official title of being our ‘project manager,’ we knew him as a member of our Metallica family, a fan, a friend . . . and a warm, helpful, supportive familiar face each time we visited France. Friday we lost Thomas, at the Bataclan theatre, in a way that none of us can begin to comprehend. Our thoughts are with Thomas’ friends, family, co-workers and all Parisians during these very difficult time.“
Other artists ranging from Keith Richards to Justin Bieber to the Eagles Of Death Metal themselves have also paid tribute to Ayad. The Eagles Of Death Metal, Deftones and Foo Fighters canceled the remainder of their European tours in the wake of the attacks, while acts including Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach and Marilyn Manson canceled shows in Paris or France immediately following the tragic events, in which at least 129 people lost their lives in seven coordinated attacks. If you would like to help the victims of the Parisian attacks, you can go to the hardDriveRadio APP and donate to the French Red Cross (Croix-Rouge Francaise) or Nick Alexander’s GoFundMe page.
The Pulse Of Radio also reporting today, Nothing More has released a music video for the band’s latest single, “Here’s To The Heartache.” The track is the fourth taken from the group’s self-titled debut album, and singer Jonny Hawkins told us they never expected to get this far: “This was a tough choice because we didn’t even know we were gonna have a fourth single on this record. But we ended up going that way and our label also felt really strongly about that song. They felt so passionate about it, the fact that we’re even doing a fourth one was really them believing in the record and wanting to do it. So we kind of defaulted to their passion in regards to going that direction with this song.”
The Used has announced a 15th anniversary tour that kicks off on April 5th and 6th in Seattle and closes on May 27th and 28th in Los Angeles. The band will play two nights in each city, with the first evening featuring a performance of the group’s 2002 self-titled debut in its entirety and the second focusing on the band’s 2004 sophomore effort, In Love And Death, which will also be played end to end. See Road Rage for all the dates.
Alternative Nation reports Chris Cornell was recently interviewed by Live Nation TV, and the interview showcased previously unreleased Temple Of The Dog footage. Recalling the creation of the classic Temple song “Hunger Strike,” Cornell said, “My memory of us singing it together is I just went in and sang my part, (Eddie Vedder) went in and sang his part, and it took probably 40 minutes, and that was it. That was back in the day where you had no record budget, and that album in particular was recorded and mixed in a total of 14 days, not in a row.” Watch Chris here.
Bring Me The Horizon have posted a live performance video for “True Friends.” It was actually filmed at a show I was at in NYC at the tiny & intimate Studio at Webster Hall. Watch!
Celebrating life today: Tool bassist Justin Chancellor is 44 and Matt Sorum, drummer for Guns N’ Roses, The Cult and Velvet Revolver, among others, is 55.