One more week down here in the Sunshine State before we head back up to the Adirondacks! Hard to leave the beach, but it is starting to get hot ‘n sticky, so who am I to complain about getting up to cooler climes? And I will NOT miss the No-See-Ums!
In the news today:
Sharing this The Pulse Of Radio story: Rock musicians responded quickly in the last 24 hours to the horrific incident in Manchester, England on Monday night (May 22nd), in which an apparent suicide bomber set off an explosive device at the entrance to the Manchester Arena as fans were leaving an Ariana Grande concert. 22 people were killed and at least 59 injured in the bombing, which was allegedly perpetrated by a British citizen named Salman Abedi.
Although authorities at press time believe Abedi acted alone, the terrorist organization ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. This attack is the deadliest in the history of Manchester and the worst act of terrorism on British soil since 2005. The fact that it was at a concert struck the musical world hard, bringing back memories of the 2015 attack in Paris in which terrorists slaughtered 89 concertgoers at an Eagles Of Death Metal show.
Slash wrote, “I can’t believe this horrible tragedy in Manchester. My heart goes out to all the victims, their families & friends.”
Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy posted, “Sending love across the pond to victims and families of the Manchester attack. Beyond heartbreaking.”
Skillet ‘s John Cooper wrote: “Prayers for Manchester and all of England. Heartbreaking. We are sending our love and thoughts to u from all of the skillet family-JLC”
Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington wrote in a series of tweets, “My heart goes out to the victims and families of those who lost their lives and were injured last night in Manchester. As of today, my life’s purpose is one of love and understanding. The world needs to change and that change comes from within. Hate, pride, vengeance, and fear are the plague of the earth. Love, kindness, compassion, empathy and service to others are the cure.”
Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach: “Wow, our hearts go out to everyone affected by the explosion in Manchester.”
Duff McKagan: “Watching the news this AM. As a father, I can’t imagine the pain. My heart goes out 2 those families in Manchester. Just beyond awful.”
Pulse also reporting Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows said in an interview with Green Bay, WI radio station and hardDriveRadio affiliate Razor 94.7 that the band will embark on a full North American headlining tour in Jan and Feb of 2018. Shadows explained that the trek, which will be announced after the completion of Avenged’s current stadium run as support for Metallica, was originally “supposed to happen this summer until we got that call from Metallica, so we decided to put it on hold.”
Shadows added that postponing their own tour was a difficult decision for Avenged, saying, “We had just paid for the whole stage to get built, and that was a lot of money to build that stage set . . . but then we got the call from Lars [Ulrich, Metallica drummer], and it was, like, ‘We can’t pass that up.’ It’s just too big of a tour, it’ll be too much fun.”
The singer told us that the live show is based on the band’s latest CD, The Stage: “We built the live show around it. So you know, you’ve got the space theme, you’ve got what look like floating cubes and great video content. You feel like you’re in outer space and then it kind of takes you into robot world for a little bit, you know, the artificial intelligence world. It takes you back into space, we’ve got a huge flying spaceman, a skeleton guy that comes out…it’s an experience.”
Avenged Sevenfold worked with the producers of Cirque du Soleil on its new stage production, with Shadows saying that the band may have to tour “two weeks on, two weeks off” to keep the trek on schedule. The group will rejoin the Metallica tour on Jun 7th in Denver after a three-week break.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield said in an interview with Boston radio station WAAF that the death of Chris Cornell by suicide last week was a “sad story,” adding, “It makes you realize that, you know, there is a darkness that anyone and everyone can find and feel that they’re trapped in. And when you’re there — and at least I know the depth of my darkness at times — it is difficult when you’re in that space to even fathom that there’s someone there that can help you or has been through that before. Sometimes you’re at such a loss.”
Hetfield continued, “I can’t — obviously can’t explain what he was going through, but we all have our darknesses. And check in with each other — check in with each other. Let each other know how you’re doing.”
Hetfield battled his own demons for years until going into rehab in 2001. He told us a while back about the moment he made the decision to get help: “My wife threw me out of the house and I went to rehearsal, and she could not believe that I had done that, and said, ‘You’ve got to check yourself in somewhere,’ and I said, ‘Nah, no way, I’m the singer for Metallica, I can’t get help. I don’t need help.’ A lot of denial. She was very adamant about me seeking the help and I went in, I think, for her and for my family.“
Chris Cornell apparently committed suicide on the night of May 17th, shortly after Soundgarden played a show in Detroit. The 52-year-old singer had been clean since 2002, although he was taking Ativan for anxiety. A lawyer for the Cornell family said that Ativan has been known to cause suicidal thoughts as a side effect. Cornell will be laid to rest this Friday (May 26th) in Los Angeles. The funeral will be private.
A full autopsy and toxicology results are pending, although Cornell’s wife has said he may have taken more Ativan than he was prescribed. His family issued a statement Friday questioning whether his death by hanging was intentional and if “substances contributed to his demise.”
Meanwhile, Chris Cornell‘s remains were cremated yesterday in Los Angeles in preparation for his funeral and internment in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery there. A small group of family and friends stood by, but the rock icon’s legion of fans will also get a chance to memorialize him … TMZ has learned.
Sources connected to the ceremony … tell us 4 people were at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery — Chris’ brother, Peter, his wife, Vicky … as well as his friends Linda Ramone and singer J.D. King.
The group was there for about an hour, and they’ll gather again Friday with other family members at the cemetery. The service will be private, and Chris’ ashes will be buried — and afterward, we’re told fans will be allowed entry to visit the burial site.
Cemetery officials tell us they’re ready for a huge crowd. Cornell joins legends like Mickey Rooney, Jayne Mansfield and Linda’s late husband, Johnny Ramone … already laid to rest at Hollywood Forever.
System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan has just held a grand re-opening of his comic book store Torpedo Comics in a new Las Vegas location that is double the size of its previous space. Dolmayan, who has been selling comics for more than 20 years, told local outlet Vegas 7, “I don’t want 18 locations, I want the best location. The first time I walked into a store, everything came to life. It was like this fantasy world that I walked into. I want to replicate that.” (http://www.torpedocomics.com)
Dolmayan told us a while back that he first became interested in comics at the age of 12: “Yeah, you know, like most kids I bought toys, Star Wars, Matchbox, you name it, whatever pretty much came out during that time. Eventually I progressed onto comics, and once I discovered comics, I discovered a real passion for it. I remember walking into a comic book store for the first time and being amazed by the colors, the books themselves, the interesting characters, and I just gravitated towards that fantasy aspect of it.“
Dolmayan explained his history of selling rare comics to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying, “Initially, I started off by losing a lot of money trying to sell books at conventions and stuff like that until I figured out how to do it. By the time System got signed, I was making $55,000-$60,000 a year. I took a huge pay cut to join System.”
Dolmayan first launched Torpedo online in 2003, while the physical shop currently stocks 60,000 modern and vintage issues.
Meanwhile, Dolmayan revealed in a 2016 interview with Kerrang! magazine that System Of A Down had written more than a dozen new songs for what could be its first new studio album in more than a decade. Since then there has been no further info on a new System album, although the band will return to Europe in Jun and Jul to play summer festivals and select headline dates. (Thanks Blabbermouth & The Pulse Of Radio)
Guns N’ Roses has been streaming a series of short videos this week previewing an announcement related to the band’s “Not In This Lifetime” reunion tour. At press time the news was scheduled to be unveiled on Wednesday (May 24th). Titled “The Beginning,” “It Doesn’t End Here” and “We’re Just Getting Started,” the clips trace the band’s history from its origins to the present tour.
- The trek launched with a series of warm-up dates last year, starting with a rare club show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Apr 1, 2016.
- The band played half a dozen shows in Las Vegas, Mexico City and at Indio, California’s Coachella Festival before officially launching the tour on June 23rd in Detroit.
- Since then, Guns — featuring original members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan — has traveled to South America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, with a European leg beginning in Ireland on May 27th.
- The band has beefed up security for the show in Ireland this weekend following Monday night’s (May 22nd) terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande show in Manchester that left 22 dead.
- According to The Irish Sun, Saturday’s concert at Slane Castle will see more than 400 police and 1,200 security team members patrolling the area for the first Guns show in the area in 25 years. A number of items, including backpacks, waistpacks and air horns, are now prohibited from the concert.
Have a great day. Enjoy life. Hug a friend. Smile.