Two weeks from today I close on the sale of my sweet little apartment in NYC. Leaving with some regrets. Blessed to have gained so much!
Chicago Open Air festival has been announced. The second annual Chicago Open Air will bring together an all-star lineup of rock’s top artists on Friday, Jul 14, Saturday, Jul 15 and Sunday, Jul 16 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL, just outside Chicago. The three-day music, craft beer and Gourmet Man Food festival will feature over 40 performances, including legendary rock artists Ozzy Osbourne, KISS and Korn, along with Rob Zombie, Slayer, Godsmack, Stone Sour, Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Seether, Meshuggah, Anthrax, Clutch, Body Count and many more.
Tickets for Chicago Open Air go on sale Friday, January 20 at Noon CT at www.ChicagoOpenAir.com.
Green Day has released a music video for the song “Troubled Times,” off the band’s recently released album Revolution Radio. The clip, posted on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan 16th), pays tribute to the slain civil rights leader while unleashing a barrage of criticism against the President-elect. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in a statement about the video, “Today we celebrate love and compassion more than ever.”
The video contrasts famed protests and historic moments such as the fight for women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement with images of a Trump-like figure wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat spouting hate-filled messages to the masses. It also juxtaposes images of the MLK-led March on Washington with footage of KKK rallies, ending with mushroom clouds and the threat of nuclear war. Green Day has made their feelings on Trump clear since last year, with the group chanting “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” during their performance of “Bang Bang” at the American Music Awards in November.
Bassist Mike Dirnt told us anyone who listens to Green Day should have a pretty good idea of where the band stands on the issues: “If you look at our discography, you can draw a line from any single one of our records directly to any of the other records. Pretty much our first album had a song called ‘Road To Acceptance’ which is a song against racism. You can snap that line directly to American Idiot or to Revolution Radio. I just think it’s part of who we are that we, you know, we’re not afraid to say what we mean and mean what we say.”
Armstrong also wrote on Instagram shortly after the election, “The dark side of our better angels have spoken…They gloat…They cheer…I pity them. I pity them because they have no clue what they’ve gotten our country into. Or the world for that matter.” Armstrong also said, “One thing is for sure. Racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, and xenophobes have no place around Green Day and/or any Green Day event.”
Green Day recently added 24 new North American dates in Aug and Sep to its tour schedule, with its first swing through the U.S. and Canada taking place in March and April. See all the dates in Road Rage.
Smashing Pumpkins frontman and sole founding member Billy Corgan told Chicago radio station “The Loop” a reunion of the band’s original lineup seems more and more likely. Corgan revealed, “I just talked to [guitarist James Iha] the other day, things look good for us getting together to play. We’re talking about it, we’ll see.” But Corgan added, “The reunion thing is always a bit weird, because then people come in with their expectations. So my whole thing is if we’re going to do it, I think we do it to make people happy, and not go against the tide of what people would want to hear and that type of stuff, but my interest in it is sort of limited. I’m not going to do it for 14 years of my life.” Corgan has been touring under the Smashing Pumpkins name for several years with a newer lineup of musicians, although original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin rejoined the band last year. More significantly, Corgan confirmed last summer that he had repaired his friendship with original bassist D’arcy Wretzky, after not speaking for nearly two decades. With Chamberlin back in the band already and guitarist James Iha joining them onstage at two gigs last spring, a reunion of the group’s original lineup seemed imminent. As for that possibility, Corgan said, “We’re not rushing to something, we have to repair some things between us, and see what’s out there for us, if those opportunities are even there.” An “industry source” told Consequence Of Sound last August that Corgan had begun shopping an reunion of the original quartet for headlining shows and festival slots next summer.
Korn did a live performance at Maida Vale Studios for the BBC Radio 1‘s “The Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter.” Warning: this is uncensored material. Hope your brain doesn’t explode. The band toured the UK last month.
Joey Jordison
More than three years after he was dismissed from the band he co-founded in 1995, ex-Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison says he still doesn’t know why the rest of the group parted ways with him in 2013. In a new interview with AXS, Jordison recalled the time leading up to his firing, explaining, “During the end of a Slipknot tour, I was getting really ill, and I didn’t know what it was. My legs were starting to fail on me as I was playing, and it was scary, sitting up on stage with thousands and thousands of people right in front of me looking at me. And everyone thought I might be under the influence of something, and that was absolutely not the case whatsoever.”
Jordison said he was diagnosed with Acute Transverse Myelitis and, while in the hospital, was visited by only one member of Slipknot. It was shortly after that when he learned via email that he was no longer part of the group. He remarked, “They all knew I was in there . . . and next thing you know, I got exited from the band. And I don’t know why. I don’t understand what the deal was. There’s been a bunch of rumors and stuff like, you know, why it was, and it is absolutely untrue.” Jordison added, “I didn’t quit Slipknot. I would never have quit Slipknot, ever. I just want the fans to know that. It’s important for everyone to know that.”
Slipknot announced in December 2013 it had parted ways with Jordison,with singer Corey Taylor telling us at the time: “I mean, the only way I can say it is that his life and our lives were going in two separate areas, and it was hard. You know, we were trying to put something together and it just seemed like he was going down a path that wasn’t the way we were going. And unfortunately we had to do what was best for the band.” Slipknot has to this day never explained the full reasons for Jordison’s dismissal, although rumors about his drug use surfaced after he was let go. He was replaced in the band by Jay Weinberg, son of E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg. Jay made his debut with the group on the 2014 album .5: The Gray Chapter.
Jordison has gone on to form a new band called Vimic, who have released three songs so far and intend to issue a full-length debut album this year. Slipknot is on hiatus for the moment, with Corey Taylor gearing up to release a new record with Stone Sour and some of the Slipknot lineup planning to begin writing new music next month. (The Pulse Of Radio)
In other news from our pals at The Pulse Of Radio:
- Metallica has shared official pro-shot footage of the band opening its show in Seoul, South Korea last Wednesday (January 11th). The footage also shows the band just before they go onstage as they gather in their pre-concert huddle. Metallica continues the first leg of its “Worldwired” 2017 tour on Wednesday night (January 18th) in Beijing. (Blabbermouth)
- Incubus has finished recording its new album and has now begun mixing it. Guitarist Michael Einziger shared the news on Twitter, writing, “Ahhhhhh so close! We finished recording and now mixing….you’ll hear new songs very soon!!” Incubus’s last release was theTrust Fall (Side A) EP in early 2015, but its last full-length studio effort, If Not Now, When? came out in 2011. (The PRP)
- Invidia, which features In This Moment member Travis Johnson and ex-Five Finger Death Punch bassist Matt Snell, has signed with SPV/Steamhammer and will release its debut album, As The Sun Sleeps, on March 31st. The first single release, “Feed The Fire,” will be available for digital download and as a video starting February 3rd. (Brave Words)Folks celebrating life today: FLOTUS Michelle Obama is 53, Kid Rock is 46, Betty White is 95! (I <3 her), and actor and voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones is 86.