Just saw a news story on a great white shark off the coast of South Africa who swam up to an inflatable pontoon boat and started to bite it! Note to self: never get on an inflatable pontoon……Oh man, one week to go before we leave for Columbus and go backstage at Rock on the Range! Can’t wait!…We are thisclose to launching our new hardDriveRadio APP! It’s gonna be awesome once we get out of the beta stages, but I gotta tell ya, you are gonna love it!… WOW! My friend Sebastien who works with Korn was so lucky to be on hand to capture THIS incredible event! Just WATCH! (Thanks Blabbermouth)…..Pulse of Radio reports Nine Inch Nails main man Trent Reznor blasted the current state of rock music in a new interview with Scotland’s Daily Record, saying, “When you see a lot more excitement generated from the dance tent, I do think a staleness has permeated (rock music),” adding that a “pretty conservative nature has crept into music, and I don’t mean sonically.” Reznor elaborated on his remarks, saying, “I get the sense that a lot of bands today are designing themselves to get a good review in the hip blogs, and that is probably the safest and most cowardly thing you can do as an artist. If you have something to say, then say it. Express yourself and break the rules.” Reznor admitted that he’s “saying this as an old guy,” but added that he put Nine Inch Nails on ice for five years because it was “starting to get comfortable and routine,” and he wanted to try new things like scoring films and starting a new band called How To Destroy Angels. Even after reactivating Nine Inch Nails last year, Reznor said, “I try to be mindful to keep myself in a place that feels artistically uncomfortable, unsure and makes me think and shoots me into some place new rather than resting on past achievements.” Nine Inch Nails are currently touring Europe through June before kicking off their co-headlining tour with Soundgarden on July 19th in Las Vegas. We’ll have a contest to send you to the tour’s opening night, so make sure you are a hardDriveRadio Radical and if not, register NOW on the home page…..Both Lou and I have been telling you the hardDrive Live Tour site would launch today, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we are behind just a little bit. Bear with us. And watch for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT on Monday!…..Oh another day, another item that includes Dave Grohl. (Oddly enough, I had a crazy dream about him last night. He was a part owner of a garage where I had taken my father’s car for an oil changed. I signed my name on his back. It was really strange….) A video teaser has been posted online for the physical release of The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1, the new Zac Brown Band album produced by the Foo Fighters frontman. In the clip, Grohl explains his method of producing, saying, “To me, my favorite way of recording with a band is to start in the beginning of the day with a song that’s kind of written and then you figure it out like a Rubik’s Cube.” The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1 arrives on May 19th although it has been available digitally since December. All I know is new Foo Fighters music is around the corner. I can smell it!….Rob Caggiano of Volbeat was in the hardDriveRadio studios yesterday. Besides talking about his and his band’s excitement about the fall co-headlining run with Five Finger Death Punch, and the unique concept of sharing production so they can finally bring their big stage production to America, and he told me a story he’s NEVER told ANYONE! Before he joined Volbeat, during a break from Anthrax, he was at home in NYC and a friend called him to say “come on over to SIR Studios. They’re looking for a guitarist.” He had no idea what the job was or anything. So he showed up, and met the producer Paul Logus. (Paul has mastered albums for tons of bands including Stone Sour, Anthrax, Pop Evil, Hellyeah and more!) At the time, Paul was working with P-Diddy, Sean “Puffy” Combs, who needed a guitar player for one show, but Rob didn’t know that. He was just there to audition. The song was “Kashmir” (Led Zeppelin.) Anyhow, at one point, the street was closed down when Puffy arrived with his entourage and rest of his band in several black SUV’s. Next thing Rob knew, he was wisked away to Giants Stadium over in NJ where they rehearsed a set at the empty venue. Next night, Puffy was on a big radio show and Rob was on stage with him! I asked him what he was paid for that, he said he couldn’t remember but he was very satisfied! Hilarious!….. This is great news. The same dudes who did the spectacular documentary Super Duper Alice Cooper have signed on to do one on Soundgarden. Very cool!….Blabbermouth reports Smashing Pumpkins main man Billy Corgan has revealed via the band’s web site that Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee will lay down the drum tracks for all nine songs on the new Pumpkins album, Monuments To An Elegy, tentatively due out in 2015. It is not presently clear if drummer Mike Byrne, who joined Smashing Pumpkins in 2009, is still a member of the band….Another Pulse story is former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland kept a low profile after Chester Bennington was chosen as the new singer for the band and continued to play his own series of solo shows. Weiland has been back on the road recently and at an April 30th concert in Dallas, he premiered three new songs from his upcoming solo album. The songs, called “The Way She Moves,” “Beach Pop Rock” and “Circles” — were captured onvideo by a fan at the gig….Gotta dash. Expecting a call from Jeremy Spencer from Five Finger Death Punch. Laters!….Happy 61st to Alex Van Halen!