So shocking to see the devastation in the plains from those monsterous tornadoes! We have a lot of listeners in and around that area and we hope you all are safe!
Congrats to the promoter of Shiprocked for a killer 2016 cruise! Five Finger Death Punch, Seether and Halestorm will lead the lineup of the seventh annual ShipRocked cruise, which is scheduled to sail from January 18th through the 22nd in 2016. Also joining the bill will be Hellyeah, Helmet, 10 Years, Nonpoint, Avatar, Islander and many others. The bands and vacationers will sail aboard the Norwegian Pearl as it heads from Miami to Costa Maya, Mexico. Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory said in a statement, “ShipRocked isn’t just another show. It’s a music festival, and a vacation rolled into one unique experience. The whole ship is a big backstage party where every fan is invited. We are excited to return and headline the cruise in 2016. See you on deck . . . ” Seether’s Shaun Morgan added, “I am absolutely stoked as hell to finally be part of ShipRocked! We have wanted this for so many years and now we get to play music on a cruise ship? F**k yeah! People better bring their drinking hats and get ready for a serious party.” Activities available in Costa Maya include excursions to Mayan ruins, snorkeling, scuba diving, ATV, jeep and dune buggy adventures, catamaran cruises, glass bottom boat rides, paddle boarding and more. The boat features 13 bars and lounges, 19 restaurants and eateries, one outdoor pool, four hot tubs, a fitness center, and a spa, along with a bowling alley, a basketball court and a casino.If the cruise is similar to earlier ones, each act on the ship will give multiple performances, while also doing meet and greets, question-and-answer sessions, contests, games, parties and more. Five Finger Death Punch last headlined the cruise in January 2014. I was on the first one they did back in 2012. It was fun!
Man oh man, did I mention how crazy it’s gonna be in the hardDriveRadio offices? Tomorrow we’ve got Muse in town-they’re playing a “secret” show for fans. I’ve never seen them before, so I am looking forward to checkin’ them out. Monday, my ole pal Duff McKagan, former original member of Guns N’ Roses, and leader of Loaded and The Walking Papers, is in to promote his killer book, How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions.) (See separate story on Duff below.) I’ll also be interested in his take on the New England Patriots‘ “DeflateGate.” Also that day we have Amaranthe dropping in, then there’s Faith No More‘s Mike Patton and Billy Gould, and Of Mice & Men in for interview and acoustic performance, and The Butcher Babies. On top of that, getting Lou Brutus and Paulie Walnuts all set to head out to Rock on the Range, this gal can’t wait for next Friday, lemme tell ya!
Speaking of Duff, (no not Doug), Pulse Of Radio says the ex-Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan has released the song “How To Be A Man” for streaming online. The track, which features former Guns guitarist Izzy Stradlin and Alice In Chains axeman Jerry Cantrell, along with Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga, bears the same title as McKagan’s upcoming second book as well as a three-song companion EP, both of which are set to arrive next Tuesday (May 12th). The book, titled How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions) is the follow-up to McKagan’s critically acclaimed New York Times best selling memoir, It’s So Easy (And Other Lies). In the book, McKagan shares the wisdom he gained from his time with Guns to getting sober after a life of hard living to raising a family with his supermodel wife. McKagan told us not long ago what the best part of sobriety was: “Waking up every day. Waking up and being able to have a cup of coffee and be aware of what’s going on around me and being comfortable in my own skin, and being curious about what’s gonna happen that day. Simply, just waking up is the best thing.” McKagan said the book is a spinoff of a column with the same name that he wrote at Seattle Weekly for five years. He described the book as “a how-to guide of things I’ve learned about life — being a dad, being a husband and being in a rock band.” Fans can meet McKagan during the following book-signing events (subject to change):
- May 11 – Ridgewood, NJ – Bookends
May 12 – New York City – The Strand Bookstore
May 13 – Long Island – Book Revue
May 15 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Casino
May 16 – Ledyard, CT – Foxwoods
May 17 – Seattle – Neptune
May 22 – Los Angeles – Book Soup
SIDE NOTES: In an excerpt from his new book published at VillageVoice.com, McKagan recalls seeing actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in New York’s Greenwich Village the night Hoffman died of a drug overdose. McKagan recalls how he and Jerry Cantrell, now both sober and in town for the Super Bowl, wondered if they should intervene, because Hoffman — who McKagan does not mention by name — looked like he might have been trying to score drugs. McKagan wrote, “We saw the actor in the street again and could tell that he was waiting to score. Should we offer our friendship and a safe place? This is sometimes the dilemma for sober guys –as we all know, you can’t force a guy to get sober.”
Pulse Of Radio reports Rob Zombie is auctioning off more items from his previous films in order to complete his new one. Zombie has been accepting bids on a number of props from films like The Lords Of Salem, Halloween and Halloween 2 to offset the costs of his latest directorial effort, 31. Although the film has already been mostly financed through crowdfunding, Zombie apparently needs a little more money to get the picture finished. Although Zombie does plan out his films in advance, he told us you can only map out a movie so much before you start shooting: “The hardest thing is, until the moment you’re gonna shoot, that’ll be the first time you’ve ever been on set, that set, with your actors in wardrobe, with a camera, you know. So sometimes things just look different. You know, you can visualize in your head, like, ‘Well, this, that and the other thing,’ but you get in there and you’re like, ‘Wow, now that we’re all here and I see you in that wardrobe against that backdrop, it’s very different.’”
September Mourning is a new female-fronted group out of LA fronted by the very intriguing September and includes former Gemini Syndrome guitarist Rich Juzwick. They’ll be at Rock on the Range this year. Should be a great way to debut your band in front of 30,000 intense fans! Looking forward to hearing their music which is set to debut next month. And also hearing June will see the release of a new single from our Southtown friends P.O.D.!
Congrats to The Zac Brown Band! Their Jekyll + Hyde album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart selling a whopping 220,000 copies! And Starset has released their new single “Halo” and the companion music video. Find the band now on the Carnival of Madness Tour with Halestorm and The Pretty Reckless.
Oh and then there was this news making the online industry trade Ramp: United Stations Radio Networks, Inc. is excited to announce that its long-running Rock radio program, hardDrive with Lou Brutus has added four new affiliates in just the past couple of weeks! The two-hour weekly program debuted in 1996 and is hosted by the award-winning Lou Brutus and produced by in-house at USRN under the direction of the lovely and talented Roxy. With that said, please welcome KFMA (Rock 102)/Tucson, KHTQ (Rock 94 ½)/Spokane, WA, KRKH (97-3 K-Rock)/Maui, HI and KZGL (103.7 The Eagle)/Flagstaff, AZ. With these latest additions, hardDrive is now enjoyed in over 100 markets in the U.S. Additionally, 97-1 Radio Gong in Nuremberg, Germany just added the program, which expands its international footprint (making us World Famous, indeed!) Complete information about the show and its new hardDrive Radio mobile app can be found at harddriveradio.com. 🙂 #proud!
• United Stations Radio Networks, Inc. is excited to announce that its long-running Rock radio program, hardDrive with Lou Brutus has added four new affiliates in just the past couple of weeks! The two-hour weekly program debuted in 1996 and is hosted by the award-winning Lou Brutus and produced by in-house at USRN under the direction of the lovely and talented Roxy Myzal. With that said, please welcome KFMA (Rock 102)/Tucson, KHTQ (Rock 94 ½)/Spokane, WA, KRKH (97-3 K-Rock)/Maui, HI and KZGL (103.7 The Eagle)/Flagstaff, AZ. With these latest additions, hardDrive is now enjoyed in over 100 markets in the U.S. Additionally, 97-1 Radio Gong in Nuremberg, Germany just added the program, which expands its international footprint. Complete information about the show and its new hardDrive Radio mobile app can be found at harddriveradio.com. |