Music News You Can Use

Don’t Go Away, Mad

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:19:00 GMT

We just heard new music from Brad, and now there’s another Pearl Jam offshoot resurfacing. Guitarist Mike McCready revealed to a Kentucky radio station that fans might hear more from Mad Season. While the ‘90s supergroup would be hard to reunite considering singer Layne Staley’s death, the guitarist explained that the return would consist of a reissue of the 1995 album “Above” as well as a live record and potentially some unreleased material that he would like to complete and offer to fans. When asked why there was never a second Mad Season disc, McCready revealed that they had tried, but before getting too far into it, Staley had to return to Alice In Chains and he died before ever returning. The guitarist adds, “I had to change the band name to Disinformation. From the Disinformation sessions, there are probably twelve songs, and out of that, probably eight that are pretty great. They need to be edited, but they’re all music, so we’re trying to find singers that are up to the caliber of Layne to do justice to it.” In addition to Staley, bassist John Baker Saunders passed away in 1999, which led to the dissolution of the band. The remaining members of the band were from the ‘90s Seattle-area favorites Screaming Trees.

A Festive Future: Carolina Rebellion

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:19:00 GMT

Carolina, here we come! The hard rock and metal community will set their sites on Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina Friday and Saturday for the second annual Carolina Rebellion. The event will begin Friday evening with a campground party that starts at 7:30PM with Otherwise, followed by One, Lez Zeppelin, and Foxy Shazam. As for Saturday, there are three stages. The Carolina “Monster Energy” stage kicks off at 11:50AM with Paper Tongues, followed by Halestorm, Chevelle, Five Finger Death Punch, Evanescence, and Shinedown. The Rebellion “Monster Energy” Stage launches a little earlier, at 11:20AM with Weaving The Fate. Other acts on the Rebellion Stage include Adelitas Way, Volbeat, Slash, Staind, and KoRn. And the day truly kicks off at 11:00AM on the Jagermeister Stage with Ghosts Of August, followed by New Medicine, RED, Redlight King, and P.O.D.

The Plotting Pumpkin

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:17:00 GMT

We’ve known for a while that The Smashing Pumpkins were returning to the album format with “Oceania.” Now there’s a few more details. The full track listing for the set includes: “Quasar,” “Panopticon,” “The Celestials,” “Violet Rays,” “My Love Is Winter,” “One Diamond, One Heart,” “Pinwheels,” “Oceania,” “Pale Horse,” “The Chimera,” “Glissandra,” “Inkless,” and “Wildflower.” The stand-alone disc comes in the midst of Billy Corgan’s 44-song “Teagarden By Kaleidyscope” project. “Oceania” is due June 19th.

Chuvalo’s Peace

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:17:00 GMT

Our Lady Peace may have a great album, but if nothing else the group can look at the “Curve” record as the one that made a memorable and powerful connection for the band. The cover for the disc features Canadian boxing legend George Chuvalo, an idea which came to the group after they finished the single “Heavyweight.” In addition, the band met with Chuvalo and recorded part of a conversation for usage in the album closer “Metals” on the disc. Singer Raine Maida says, “He’s had a very tragic life and fought some hard battles outside of the ring where he’s had two children and his first wife die of suicide and addiction. But he’s still standing and he’s a very positive and inspiring man who talks a lot to children regarding addiction and he’s just a very gracious man who gave us that picture.” Maida says one day after a few meetings, he brought an iPhone over and recorded a conversation, and from there they were able to pick out some meaningful messages that not only fit well with the music, but spoke to what the band felt as a whole in putting the “Curve” record together. Guitarist Steve Mazur says the band eventually got to showcase the song “Metals” for Chuvalo at Canadian Music Week and it was a powerful moment to see their hero taking in the music for the first time.

Vig Gets In On Grohl’s Sound Decision

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:17:00 GMT

The relationship between Dave Grohl and “Wasting Light” producer Butch Vig is now continuing beyond the celebrated album. Vig tells Billboard.com that when he’s not playing drums and taking care of promotional duties for Garbage, he’s spending spare time with Grohl to put together the Sound City documentary. According to Vig, “[Dave’s] probably interviewed 150 or 200 people so far and now we’ve been working on musical collaborations to be a part of the soundtrack for the film. It’s all new things. Rick Springfield came in and played with Dave and Josh [Homme] and Queens Of The Stone Age. And we’ve got Corey [Taylor] from Slipknot and Stone Sour and really interesting collaborations. I’m not sure how it’s all going to come together yet, but so far the process has been really, really fun.” Vig recently tweeted that he had teamed up with Grohl and his former Nirvana cohort Krist Novoselic as well. Grohl purchased the historic studio’s Neve console and has been using it to record the music as well as interview the participating acts about their memories of laying down their classic records there. While there’s no firm date for completion, fans can keep up on the progress by calling the studio hotline, 1-855-SND-CITY (763-2489).

McKagan Reflects On Rock Hall

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:44:00 GMT

Former Guns N’ Roses bassist and ESPN columnist Duff McKagan is still buzzing about last week’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. In his latest column, he writes, “We weren’t really quite sure if we were going to play until about 24 hours before the actual show. It was really great to play with drummer Steven Adler again after some 20-odd years. Sorum crushed it too, and Slash just gets better day after day. Gilby honored us with his presence and he has a ‘feel’ that fits, and once again saved GNR’s ass.” As for guest vocalist Myles Kennedy, McKagan says, “The dude has class and a ton of respect and humility. I like those qualities in a guy. Humbleness can let real inner strength breathe.” As for missing vocalist Axl Rose, McKagan stated during the ceremony, “I don’t know if it matters who’s here tonight because it’s about the music that the band created.”

Soft-Lee

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:44:00 GMT

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee is using his celebrity to combat the growing number of animal abuse cases in Baltimore. The rocker agreed to take part in an advertising campaign, hoping to bring awareness to the situation. In the “Show Your Soft Side” ad, Lee is shown playing and holding animals with the tagline “Only a punk would hurt a cat or dog.” The campaign is just the latest effort by Lee to show his support of animal rights. He recently adopted a puppy named Bowie, and urged fans to adopt rather than buying their pets from a store.

“All I Was” And All It Will Be For Tremonti

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:43:00 GMT

Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti has finalized all the details on his forthcoming solo set. “All I Was” will be released under the moniker Tremonti on July 10th through Fret 12 Records. The guitarist recently revealed his band in a video posting, as bassist Brian Marshall transitions over from Creed and Alter Bridge, to join Submersed’s guitarist Eric Friedman and drummer Garrett Whitlock. Songs on the album include: “Leave It Alone,” “So You’re Afraid,” “Wish You Well,” “Brains,” “The Things I’ve Seen,” “You Waste Your Time,” “New Way Out,” “Giving Up,” “Proof,” “All I Was,” “Doesn’t Matter,” and “Decay.”

Oh Well, Whatever, Nevermind

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:43:00 GMT

Former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson recently sent Nirvana fans buzzing while suggesting that Kurt Cobain had been working on solo material that would be his “White Album” at the time of his death. But according to former Nirvana producer Butch Vig, fans shouldn’t expect anything more. Vig told NME.com that Cobain was more interested in Courtney Love’s music in the months leading up to his death. “He was working on songs, but they were just in his head,” says Vig. “He might have just played some songs to Eric….around that time period he only wanted to talk about Courtney’s album. I never heard any of his new songs.”

The Gun With Axl’s Back

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:05:00 GMT

Axl Rose may have taken some heat over his attendance, or lack thereof, at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but there’s at least one GNR member ready to back the singer. Guitarist Richard Fortus told GlideMagazine.com, “You know, that guy has more integrity than any artist I have ever worked with, and I have played with a lot of people. But he has more integrity and that is really something that I find incredibly admirable. He is all about the music and that is all that matters to him and that’s what it’s about and that’s all it should be about.” Fortus says “the money” has never been a factor in Rose’s motivations, and he’s always put the art first and foremost. And while Rose and his original band fell out, the guitarist says, “That guy listens more than any other singer I’ve ever worked with. He listens to musicians. When we’re onstage, and the songs are different every night, he’s listening to you for when you finish a phrase before he comes in. He totally pays attention and it’s really cool. It’s great to work with someone like that.”