Had a great day yesterday with Ghost. Papa Emeritis III and two Nameless Ghouls were in the studio for a killer two song acoustic set, “If You Have Ghost” and “Jigolo Har Megiddo.” I interviewed the two Nameless Ghouls, as you all know, Papa does NOT do interviews. But we did find out the Roky Erickson song “If You Have Ghost” (produced back in 2013 by Dave Grohl) was a song the Nameless Ghouls did in their sets before they became Ghost, so there’s some back story. We are thinking of making the interview into a podcast, so stay tuned. And be looking for the beautifully filmed performance in the hardDriveRadio studios by the end of the week on the hardDriveRadio YouTube Channel. (and of course in the WATCH section of the new hardDriveRadio APP!!)
Got crazy news of a new fall tour! As you may have seen me post previously, it will be called the hardDrive Live FALLOUT. And we are so excited to announce it on Thursday. Tickets will go on sale Friday. WATCH THIS SPACE!
The Pulse Of Radio is commenting further on the Foo Fighters’ rally against the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos. (Where does all that hate come from, I ask you?) As you may have heard, those weirdos were hanging out in front of the venue where the band was playing in KC on Friday night. During the band’s show, frontman Dave Grohl told to the audience why the band “rickrolled” members of the hate-themed Westboro Baptist Church who were protesting the band’s concert earlier in the day. The Foos rolled up outside the venue on the back of a truck blasting Rick Astley‘s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” with drummer Taylor Hawkins sporting a sign saying, “You Got Rick Roll’d, Again.”
Before playing “My Hero,” Grohl told the audience, “You can’t just sit there and do nothing, you got to go out there, and say what you wanna say, so we did . . . we figured, you know what, why don’t we just f**king RickRoll their ass? Cause nothing says love like a little Rick Astley in your life, you know what I’m saying?” Grohl added, “So I’m going to dedicate this song to all the people who go out and speak their mind, to stand up for what they think is right, because every time we got to stand up in this city in front of them, we do it because we feel like we’re standing up for what we think is right.”
This is the second time that the Foos have thrown a protest back in the Westboro group’s faces. In 2011, they pulled up to the protesters on the back of a flatbed truck, wearing trucker outfits and wigs identical to those they donned in their homoerotic “Hot Buns” video. The band played the country parody song from the video, called “Keep It Clean.” Foo Fighters next play in Burgettstown, PA tonight (Aug 25th).
Pulse also reports this morning: Although he has a new solo album called Higher Truth coming out, Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell told Rolling Stone plans are in motion for the Seattle band’s seventh full-length studio effort. He explained, “We’re already working on new material for an album. And then I’ve got several other irons in the fire and things going that I won’t mention now. There’s a lot of things coming in addition to Higher Truth, as well as a new Soundgarden album.”
Cornell told us he and the rest of Soundgarden are working on new music at a leisurely pace: “I started working on a couple of songs already and we’re working on new material. We don’t put a clock on anything, ever, because I feel like, you know, that was one of the major things that kind of contributed to us splitting up. We never did well with that, so we don’t do that now. Now we have no clock and everything seems to feel really relaxed and good all the time.”
It’s spreading! Pulse also reporting Slipknot‘s Knotfest music festival is going on the road for the second time since its inception three years ago. The band is taking the event to the Foro Pegaso in Toluca, Mexico on Dec 5th (my birthday!) The headliners will be joined by Lamb Of God, HIM, A Day To Remember, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Atreyu and others. Knotfest was last staged outside of North America in November 2014, when Slipknot was joined by Korn, Papa Roach and other acts for a Japanese edition of the show.
Taylor recently spoke with Musik Universe about the possibility of Knotfest becoming a full-fledged traveling festival, saying, “There’s been talk about it. My problem is that it’s a little more than I wanna grow Knotfest right now. I wanted it to kind of grow in increments and slowly expand. I think if we turned Knotfest into a big tour, then we would lose a lot of the elements that make it so cool.” Taylor added that instead of a full tour, he would prefer to do “maybe ten weekends in different places — maybe five in the U.S., a couple up in Canada, and maybe one down in Mexico City. Just try to expand it like that, so people get the actual experience of it, and you’re not running yourself into the ground trying to chase something that it isn’t.” The next U.S. edition of Knotfest takes place on Oct 23rd, 24th and 25th in San Bernardino, CA.
Diffuser reports Nine Inch Nails main man Trent Reznor has been heavily involved in the design and curation of the Apple Music streaming service, and now he’s acting as a spokesperson for it well, narrating a new commercial for the service. In the black and white clip, Reznor sells Apple Music as a meeting place for artists and fans, saying, “To have access to nearly all the music in the world at our fingertips is remarkable. And yet, there needs to be a place where artists and fans can discover one another.”
Bring Me The Horizon posted a gift for fans on Twitter and other social media sites of a new tune from their forthcoming That’s The Spirit album (due Sep 11th) called “True Friends.” Check it out here. Can’t wait to see them when they hit the states again in Oct!
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare–the ultimate Halloween horror event–at Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, IL has announced Detroit-based horrorcore/hip hop band Insane Clown Posse, San Diego’s P.O.D., along with artists Stitches, Young Wicked, and Dope D.O.D., will perform on Saturday, Oct 3. Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare will celebrate the Halloween season on the following dates: Sep: 25, 26; Oct: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31 and Nov: 1
Tickets for the Oct 3 show at Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare go on sale Friday, Aug 28 at 10:00 AM CT and start at only $35. Tickets include the concert and haunted attractions. Tickets purchased at the door (if available) will start at $45. On Oct 3, doors open at 5:00 PM and the concert starts at 7:00 PM. A limited number of VIP packages will also be available for purchase at www.GreatAmericanNightmare.com. All VIP packages include a commemorative t-shirt and quicker access to the haunted attractions than general admission.
As previously announced, October 2 & 4 at Great American Nightmare will also feature two special concerts with groundbreaking musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie.
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare 2015 will feature three attractions based on Zombie’s own horror films: Captain Spaulding’s Clown School In 3D, The Devil’s Rejects, and 31. Captain Spaulding’s Clown School In 3D and The Devil’s Rejects debuted at Great American Nightmare in Scottsdale, Arizona last year. 31 is a brand new, never-before-seen haunt based on Rob’s forthcoming film of the same name.
The fully immersive haunted house experience at Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare will include the ALL NEW Bloody Boulevard with major carnival rides, freak shows, musical entertainment, roaming characters, themed food and beverages, games and vendors each night. Note: Carnival rides will not be open on concert nights.
OK, Tom, I know you must be getting bored, but come on! You had to go and do THIS! LOL! Watch Tom Morello and Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) on stage with Mumford & Sons at the Troubadour in LA.
And in birthdays today, Gene $immon$ of KISS is 66 today. In honor of that, here he is back when I first saw them in 1974. Enjoy!