Finally Friday. I could get used to 4 day work weeks, how about you? Today, our friends at Danny Wimmer Presents have announced yet another festival! The first annual LOUDER THAN LIFE festival, featuring music, whiskey and “gourmet man-food,” will take place Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5 at Louisville Champions Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Bands have yet to be announced, but in addition to presenting top rock bands on three stages, the weekend destination festival will highlight some of the region’s best bourbons and craft beers, as well as a variety of local cuisine, with a focus on “gourmet man food” (regional comfort food). “When I first came to Louisville, I fell in love with the city, its diverse food, its bourbon and its culture. It screamed ‘LOUDER THAN LIFE’ and I felt this was the perfect destination for this kind of rock festival,” says producer Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. “I met with Mike Maloney from the Mayor’s office, who shared with me his extensive knowledge of the city. I learned amazing facts about Louisville and its history, tasted incredible small batch bourbons from local distilleries, sampled the delicious regional cuisine–which Mike dubbed ‘gourmet man food’–and experienced Louisville’s welcoming atmosphere. I’ve created the LOUDER THAN LIFE festival to highlight these discoveries and celebrate the ‘Culinary Capital of Bourbon Country.’ And of course, the culture of rock & roll and bourbon go hand in hand!” Oh yeah, baby! Stay tuned as the line-up will start to be announced on Jun 5th….Yesterday they also announced the 2nd annual AFTERSHOCK festival! two days September 13 & 14. Highlights include Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch,The Offspring, Rise Against, Weezer, DEAD SARA (love love love them!), Limp Bizkit and tons more. See Road Rage. A special “Pre-Shock” discounted Weekend Ticket pre-sale for Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK Festival will take place from June 3-5 at www.AFTERSHOCKConcert.com. During the pre-sale–which begins at 10:00 AM PT on Tuesday, June 3–a limited number of discounted Weekend General Admission tickets will be available for purchase. In addition, Weekend VIP tickets will be available at a reduced price during all three days of the Pre-Shock. The Pre-Shock ticket prices are as follows: Tuesday, June 3-Thursday, June 5: $199.50 (Pre-Shock Weekend VIP); Tuesday, June 3: $69.50 (Weekend GA); Wednesday, June 4: $79.50 (Weekend GA); Thursday, June 5: $89.50 (Weekend GA.) Hotel packages will also be available for purchase during the Pre-Shock pre-sale…..Are you ready? Pulse Of Radio says Marilyn Manson has been cast in a recurring role in the hit FX series Sons Of Anarchy, according to Collider.com. Manson will play Ron Tully, a “white supremacist prison shot-caller” who Charlie Hunnam‘s character, Sons Of Anarchy president Jax, uses to expand his power base during the show’s seventh season. The series is expected to return in September. Manson said in a statement, “‘Sons’ has been such a big part of my life, as well as my father’s. So I was determined to make him proud by being involved in what will probably be remembered as the most amazing piece of television cinema. After all, the very heart of Sons Of Anarchy is about that relationship. So, now all I need is a motorcycle.” Wonder if he’ll lose some weight for the role…..Set your DVR for HBO’s airing tomorrow night of a condensed version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It was filmed live on April 10th at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY. Yours truly was there and it really was a spectacular event, especially during the Nirvana portion, which is the last presentation of the evening. Airs from 8:00-11:30PM ET. Blabbermouth reports the Nirvana segment features members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic performing a four-song set that saw them joined by an impressive lineup of some of rock music’s most iconic female artists, specifically St. Vincent (whose real name is Annie Clark), Lorde, Sonic Youth‘s Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett. Jett kicked things off by singing lead and playing guitar on “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. She was followed by Gordon, who fronted “Aneurysm.” Then came Clark on “Lithium.” And finally, Lorde joined the band for a rendition of “All Apologies.” REM’s Michael Stipe inducted Nirvana. Other highlights: Peter Gabriel‘s always superb performance, and for us older folk, the Linda Ronstadt emotional induction from Glenn Frey of the Eagles and performances with Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks and Carrie Underwood. The Kiss induction by our friend Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, and of course, the BRUUUUUUUCCCCCE fans will love the E Street Band performances with the Boss (even though I am not sure how they will handle editing the half-hour acceptance speeches by the very large ensemble.) Hall & Oates (your Mom will love them.) And Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), poetic as always. What a great night. Watch it….Of Mice & Men have released a newvideo recapping their stint on the American Dream Tour with Bring Me The Horizon and several other acts. The band recently released a new music video for “Would You Still Be There,” the chart-climbing single from their latest album, Restoring Force. The band will play Riot Fest Chicago and the main stage of the entire 2014 Warped Tour this summer. (AltPress.com)….And finally, our friend J Loren of Hurt is in a big bind and is reaching out for help from his fans. He sent me this message, which I am sharing verbatim. I’m in a tough spot but I have a sustainable and achievable solution. This is not some crowdfunding thing to raise for an album, not change our business plan and end up in the same spot next cycle. Before someone says something cruel, please know that half of my band quit me and it was simply because they are tired of eeking by on a modern musicians salary. I love those guys very much and theyv’e gotta do what they gotta do. Now so do I. Im going to keep going and I am going to actually succeed. We are selling a limited edition re-release of a very rare album (our first) remastered and bundled with a t-shirt and a copy of the handwritten album lyrics in hopes to raise enough capital to change this entire situation and get us into a place where we can not only rebuild the band but make all future records with extremely low overhead while doing my former side job of giving music lessons. I cant even make any reasonable noise in the small apartment I am living in now. All the record companies (the musicians bank) are broke, and i was informed that due to the change in lending standards I am ineligible for a loan i would otherwise be qualified for. I am stuck now with no home, no car, no way to make music or give lessons which is my day job I am not even elligable for unemployment. I have no choice but to ask the fans and my friends for this favor or wither away. This bundle is available at http://preorder.hurtmerch.com/. Keep up with the latest on this at http://www.facebook.com/hurt. Your listeners can literally save my life’s work by just ordering a copy. If anyone out there is a fan at all or simply respects that what we do is genuine, I need their support now and I will turn this whole mess around. Man, my heart goes out to J Loren, and hopefully we can help….Celebrating birthdays today: Tom Morello turns the Big 5-0! Patrick Dahlheimer of Live & The Gracious Few is 43 and Clash drummer Topper Headon is 59 (the Loudest Band ever!). Saturday, Clint “Well, do you feel lucky, punk?” Eastwood is 84. And Sunday, Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones is 67. And Alanis “You Oughta Know” Morissette turns 40.