Happy hump day Radicals! Here’s some music news to kick off your morning!
Godsmack has released a music video for the song “Bulletproof.” The satirical clip was filmed on February 7th at a studio in Los Angeles, and documents the band’s quest to actually make a new video. it features cameos from country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, in addition to TV personality Chris Jacobsfrom Overhaulin’.
In the video, Godsmack’s manager — played by their actual manager, Paul Geary — suggests that it’s time for the band to expand its fan base by working with clueless new video directors, played by Bach and Cyrus. After being pitched a host of awful ideas, Sully Erna decides to hire his cousin, Salvatore Pasquale from Sicily, Italy. Everything goes wrong at the shoot, climaxing with the set catching fire and the video files being destroyed.
“Bulletproof” is taken from Godsmack’s seventh studio album, When Legends Rise, which arrives on April 27th. Godsmack frontman Sully Erna told Detroit’s WRIF about the new LP, “It’s a bit of a departure for us . . . But there’s a little bit of everything on this record for everybody. There’s certainly Godsmack songs that are gonna cater to the core audience, and there’s stuff that just kind of pulled us in a little bit of a new direction.”
The new disc follows up 2014’s 1000 Horsepower and is the band’s first release through BMG after splitting with its longtime home, Republic/Universal. Godsmack will perform at several music festivals this spring and summer, including this month’s Welcome To Rockville and Fort Rock, May’s Carolina Rebellion and July’s Rock USA. A summer tour with Shinedown begins on July 22nd in Clarkston, Michigan.
Although he won’t be touring with the band, guitarist James Iha was still part of the recording sessions for the new A Perfect Circle album, Eat The Elephant. An article in the latest issue of Guitar World chronicles the making of the long-awaited LP, mentioning that Iha, bassist Matt McJunkins and drummer Jeff Friedl all assisted in the making of the record after being part of the lineup for years.
Iha, however, has had to drop out of touring with the band due to the recently announced Smashing Pumpkins reunion trek. Iha will be unable to join A Perfect Circle on the road until June, with Failure guitarist Greg Edwards tapped to temp in his place.
APC guitarist and founder Billy Howerdel acknowledged that the band’s always uncertain schedule can cause problems, explaining, “When APC will reconvene is never exactly defined. That’s frustrating, for sure, but maybe that contributes a little bit to the magic that can happen when we do get together — that feeling of not being predictable, not punching a clock.” Howerdel added, “But I’d still prefer to tour, make a record, take a little break, then tour and make another record.”
The last APC studio effort, a covers collection titled eMOTive, came out in 2004. Eat The Elephant arrives on April 20th. A Perfect Circle will begin touring in support of the new album on April 14th in Tucson, Arizona, The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Shiny And Oh So Bright” tour kicks off on July 12th in Glendale, Arizona.
Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose wanted his band to hit the road for a massive tour with U2 and Pearl Jam in the early 1990s — but one of those acts poured cold water on the idea instantly when its manager immediately turned it down.
The story comes courtesy of ex-Guns manager Doug Goldstein, who told Guns N’ Roses Central that the whole thing was Axl’s idea, that he he didn’t even care about money or billing — but that Pearl Jam’s manager shot the whole thing down.
Goldstein recalled, “Axl came to me, Pearl Jam had just broke, they had released Ten and it was on fire . . . Axl had come to me in the morning and said, ‘I don’t care if we open, I don’t care if we don’t get paid, I want to do a show or a couple of shows with us, Pearl Jam, and U2 closing. Can you please call everybody?’ I said, ‘Sure.’”
After getting U2’s management to agree to the plan, Goldstein called Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis — and was met with such indifference that he didn’t even think Curtis would bring the proposal to the members of Pearl Jam themselves.
Goldstein said, “(Curtis) goes, ‘Eh, no. We’re going to pass.’ I said, ‘Okay, hang on a second, I manage Guns, and when an idea comes to me, I usually talk to the band. Are you speaking on behalf of the band?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, we’re going to pass.’ I go, ‘Don’t you have a moral ethical responsibility to at least discuss it with the band?’” According to Goldstein, Curtis then said, “Don’t f**king tell me my f**king job,” ended the conversation and ended the idea of the three supergroups touring together.
Guns N’ Roses did mount a stadium tour with Metallica in the early ’90s — which resulted in riots and the two bands not liking each other all that much.
Former Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge has announced the upcoming publication of the second novel in his Sekret Machines series. Titled Sekret Machines: Book 2: A Fire Within, the book was penned by DeLonge in collaboration with author and professor A.J. Hartley. Technically fiction like the previous book in the series, Sekret Machines: Book 1: Chasing Shadows, the new entry continues DeLonge’s efforts to create awareness about the alleged impact of extra-terrestrial technology on Earth.
DeLonge said in a statement, “One of the largest areas of study when dealing with the UFO phenomenon is consciousness and the human mind. A.J. was able to weave that into the storyline with a tapestry of information never before released. He’s providing us with an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and the greatest story never told.”
Hartley added, “In the second installment of the series we push the story into the gray areas between the normal and the paranormal in more clearly human terms, exploring the idea that as technology might make exponential evolutionary progress, so might people themselves.”
Sekret Machines: Book 2: A Fire Within will be available on September 18th.
Blink-182 parted ways with DeLonge three years ago after he refused to commit to touring and recording with the group so he could pursue his investigations of UFOs. DeLonge has published several books on the matter and has been working on videos and multi-media projects related to his interests.
Last year he launched To The Stars Academy, described as a “consortium of scientists, aerospace engineers and creatives” dedicated to the study of extraterrestrial life and the paranormal. One of the Academy’s members was cited in a New York Times article on UFOs last December.
Early Nirvana drummer Chad Channing, a member of the band between 1988 and 1990 who performed on the band’s 1989 full-length studio debut Bleach, was asked by Kaaos TVif he has any regrets about leaving the group just before they exploded with 1991’s Nevermind. Channing replied, “I have no regrets because I always thought that things just sort of fall in place for a reason. For example, I was that perfect puzzle piece for the band at the time, and then they needed another piece to do other things and stuff.”
Channing continued, “Our differences were strictly on a musical level. We always stayed friends. In fact, I remember the first time I saw them with Dave (Grohl) at this place called the OK Hotel. It was the first time I’ve seen the guys in probably a year or so, and it was really good to see them. It was like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ It was very friendly.”
Channing added. “I found out what a really nice guy Dave is. So it was really cool meeting him too.” Channing said that he did not have any “ill will” about his exit from the group, remarking, “I have no regrets. I look back at those days and I think, ‘Wow, I played a small part in something.’ So I’m happy with that.” Channing did play on some demos for Nevermind recorded at producer Butch Vig‘s studio in Madison, Wisconsin. One song on which he appeared, “Polly,” did make it to the final track list of the record.
Finally, we’d like to wish a happy birthday to Adam D. of Killswitch Engage and Josh Todd of Buckcherry! Make it a great one!