It’s here! The Vans 2016 Warped Tour announcement! Find the dates in Road Rage! The line up for the 22nd annual event is massive! Falling In Reverse, Motionless In White, From Ashes To New, Sum 41, Bullet For My Valentine, Good Charlotte, Atreyu, The Word Alive, and dozens of others are confirmed to appear on this summer’s edition of the Warped Tour. The lineup was announced during a online telecast that featured performances from Less Than Jake and other Warped Tour artists.
The lineup for Warped Tour 2016 also boasts We The Kings, Yellowcard, Sleeping With Sirens, Reel Big Fish, Pepper, Atreyu, Every Time I Die, and many more. Some, like Bullet For My Valentine, will only play a few shows, while others, like New Found Glory, will stick around for all 41 dates. Tickets are on sale NOW!
The Pulse Of Radio reporting Nirvana producer Butch Vig recently sat down with The Daily Beast for a interview in which he looked back at the making of the band’s milestone 1991 album, Nevermind. Vig discussed the relationship between frontman Kurt Cobain and drummer Dave Grohl, who had just joined the trio prior to the recording sessions, saying, “Dave was a breath of fresh air because he had this goofy sense of humor. He was so young. He brought this great energy, sang a lot of the background vocals, and had this great voice. There really was no tension at all between Dave and Kurt. All we had to do was capture when Kurt was focused and there 100 percent.”
It’s been long thought the title of the iconic song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was inspired by Bikini Kill band member Kathleen Hanna writing “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” — the name of a deodorant — on the wall of Cobain’s motel room. Supposedly, Cobain thought it meant something else and was “highly upset” when he found out it was a deodorant. But Vig dismissed that part of the story, saying, “It didn’t really mean anything, he just thought it was stupid!”
Vig told us a while back that he didn’t want to talk about Nirvana or Nevermind for a long time after Cobain’s death, especially when his own band Garbage took off: “I mean, early on, you know, when Garbage first happened, I got tired of answering questions about Nirvana. And then, you know, time goes by and I started working with Dave and Krist (Novoselic, bassist) about getting the box set together, you know, going back and listening to the tapes, listening to the B-sides, and all the things that ended up being on the record, and you learn to appreciate it again and you sort of have a different take on it, and we’re all so immensely proud and lucky to have made that record.”
Maynard Keenan and Cat Zingano
Pulse also says Tool and Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan and the world’s Number Five-ranked MMA fighter, Cat Zingano, have been training and practicing together for a few months. According to Consequence Of Sound, Zingano has posted footage online of a recent tussle between the two after soundcheck for one of Puscifer’s shows, with Keenan actually showing Zingano some new tricks. Keenan is a purple belt in Brazilian jui-jitsu.
Puscifer’s current shows feature an opening act called Luchafer, a luchador group that stages a wrestling match prior to Puscifer taking the stage. And the band also performs within the confines of the wrestling ring. Because of this, Keenan told us Puscifer’s live show requires a certain sized venue to work: “Those venues that we need to be in, there’s not many venues in your city that are the perfect size for this show. We’re not just a band; this is a show. There’s a lot of moving parts. We need a certain stage size to present it, so we can’t just go anywhere. There’s video attached to the presentation, there’s actors – so to speak, so-called (laughs) — you know, there’s like, there’s more bells and whistles.”
Keenan and Puscifer are currently on a lengthy North American tour in support of their third album, Money Shot. Today the band is in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, Maynard recently said he is waiting to get new music from the instrumental members of Tool before he can begin writing lyrics for that band’s long-awaited new CD. Be listening for Adam Jones of Tool on the Apr 02-03 weekend edition of hardDrive!
In other news:
Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello has launched a new project called Atlas Underground. Morello described the project as one in which he’ll provide his signature style of heavy guitar riffing in collaborations with other top artists, DJs and producers. Morello said, “Atlas Underground is not a band, it’s a plan. One part Marshall stack blowtorch heart and soul, one part Mecha-Godzilla titanium bass drop. Heaven help you all.”
Morello debuted a new song titled “Battle Sirens” live on stage with the track’s collaborator, Knife Party, to a crowd of over 150,000 people at this past weekend’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Florida.
- Morello has previously collaborated with several other well-known electronic acts, including The Crystal Method and The Prodigy.
- Outside of his band activities, Morello records and tours as an acoustic folk solo act under the name The Nightwatchman.
- Morello told us a while back why being a solo act has its advantages: “Say it comes to playing a benefit show, like, if I want to play — if we’re approached by some worthy cause to play a benefit show in some other town. If it’s a rock band, it’s not easy to do, you know. You have to have a band meeting and decide to do it. You have to coordinate schedules and get a tour manager and a lighting rig and roadies and all that. And, you know, if someone asked me to play that show, I just pick up my guitar and I get on a plane, and I’m there to play it.”
- Rage Against The Machine has not played live since 2011 and does not appear to have any plans to regroup in the near future.
- In addition to his solo acoustic tours and albums, Morello has spent time over the last couple of years recording and touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
- Deftones singer Chino Moreno says there are five songs — four unfinished and one pulled from the album late in the game — left over from the sessions for the band’s upcoming set Gore. Moreno explained, “Actually we recorded 16 pieces of music, but I only recorded vocals for 12. And then at the last minute I decided to take the first song, ‘Crest,’ off the record. At this point there’s no plans to revisit the extra tracks, but I never like to make too many predictions about this band!” (Metal Hammer/The PRP)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers have recruited Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich to mix the band’s 11th album, according to a tweet sent out by drummer Chad Smith. Chili Peppers bassist Flea has played with Godrich in the band Atoms For Peace. The Chili Peppers just recently finished recording the album, which was produced by Danger Mouse after Rick Rubin produced the previous six Chili Peppers efforts. (Diffuser)
- Metallica has released an online stream of the remastered audio of “The Four Horsemen” from the forthcoming expanded reissue of 1983’s Kill ‘Em All. Due out April 15th, remastered versions of both Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride The Lightning mark the launch of a massive catalog reissue campaign by the band. Both projects will be available in three formats: CD, vinyl and as a limited edition deluxe box set that includes original source material from the band’s personal collection, plus rare recordings and companion books. (Brave Words)
Happy 67th to The Cars frontman/guitarist Ric Ocasek!