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Dropping Daylight Begin Recording Sophomore Album
November 29, 2008
Octone Recording Artists and Minneapolis’s Dropping Daylight announced they have begun recording a new album due out in Spring 2009.
This is Daylights’ follow-up to their 2006 debut disc “Brace Yourself”.
A few warm-up shows have been announced as follows:
Nov 29 The Picador - Iowa city, Iowa
Nov 30 House Of Bricks - Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 5 Spicoli’s/Rock Garden - Waterloo, Iowa
Dec 6 Spicoli’s/Rock Garden - Waterloo, Iowa
32 Leaves
November 28, 2008
32 Leaves is not emo. Or hardcore. Or pop-punk. If their sound must be labeled, just call it “music for pensive, brooding people and their pensive, brooding friends.” Not that they’re morbid, but growing up surrounded by the stark desert landscape of Phoenix, AZ must have planted a seed of intensity and reflection. “Exposing the darker side of things just comes naturally to us,” says singer Greg Norris.
32 Leaves offers up powerful, driving rock that is as at once aggressive and heavy, melodic and subtle. Their unique musical identity is found within the composition of their songs, their live shows and their relationships with each other and the world around them.
Foo Fighters Judge Top Chef
November 28, 2008
Foo Fighters have made a special guest appearance on the reality TV show “Top Chef”.
The band tested out their tasting skills on a Thanksgiving spread prepared by contestants on The Top Chef in Rochester, New York.
On the episode, which was filmed earlier this summer, the contestants had to impress fellow guest star chef Grant Achatz and the band with their cooking skills for a pre-show meal at their tour stop.
Disturbed on a record roll
November 28, 2008
Two No. 1’s out of three is huge, so what’s three out of four?
Disturbed’s fourth album, Indestructible, was released in June and, like its predecessors, went straight to No. 1 on the national chart.
This is no small feat. So much music is available now, and in so many different formats, and CD sales have dropped, that such placing is not guaranteed. Furthermore, Disturbed is a heavy metal band and Indestructible is the Chicago group’s first self-production after recording with Johnny K. Few metal bands get to No. 1, never mind debuting at No. 1, and self-production could have been Disturbed’s undoing. Instead, the success of Indestructible confirmed that Disturbed was on the right path. Only five other such bands have debuted at No. 1.
“We felt pretty confident,” explains singer Dave Draiman. “The concern we felt was from the perspective of pressure. Johnny K was a great teacher but there comes a time when you have to leave the nest.”
Now, six months later, Draiman can appreciate the band’s accomplishment.
“It’s always interesting as an artist when you mix and master an album to a point where it changes your perspective and you don’t know anymore,” he figures. “I just put the record on and listened with fresh ears and like it.”
Making Indestructible sounds like going with the flow Draiman, John Moyer, Dan Donegan and Mike Wengren had created with Believe and 10,000 Fists. They just had to harness it.
“I think the tone was set immediately by ‘The Night,’” Draiman says. “It was the first song I wrote for the album.”
By contrast, the title track was the last and wasn’t happening. Draiman took home the track, re-wrote it and, with a new title, “Indestructible” became the first song of the album. It was another stepping stone.
“We really learned with this last record to trust each other.”
Formed in 1996, Disturbed has always embraced alternative forms of exposure, contributing to wrestling themes, film soundtracks, Napster and video games, but its remarkable popularity seems to be rooted in touring.
“I think there are multiple factors but we really are proud of our live ability,” Draiman says. “But a lot of it comes from the faith we’ve been able to build in our fan base. They know what to expect of each Disturbed album.”
That would be an accent on invention and an ear to melody (not a pronounced one but discernible) that makes Disturbed accessible. Diehard metal fans don’t rate Disturbed, and will dispute Disturbed’s place in heavy metal. It’s a pointless argument.
“Truth be told,” Draiman explains. “If you go by today’s definition of heavy metal, [Disturbed is not]. It’s now metalcore and not melodic. I feel obliged to follow in a tradition. We try to keep up the standard of the great heavy metal bands.”
Nickelback Plots 2009 Tour
November 26, 2008
Canadian rock band Nickelback will begin a North American tour February 25 in Nashville in support of its just-released album, “Dark Horse.”
Tickets go on sale December 5 via LiveNation.com, but Nickelback fan club members get first crack on Friday (November 28).
Seether and Saving Abel will provide support on the jaunt, which runs through April 23 in Columbia, South Carolina.
“Dark Horse,” from Roadrunner Records, is expected to debut Wednesday in the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 album chart. First single “Gotta Be Somebody” has sold 570,000 downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Asked recently by Billboard why Nickelback opted to wait to tour until next year, frontman Chad Kroeger said, “We’ve been bitten too many times by going out too early. I’m always adamant about making sure there’s at least a true rock song from the band that’s gone to radio, just to give a more diverse selection of music for people to listen to.
“We’ve been consulting with some people; I’m interested to see someone else’s take on what this band could look like live, and we’ve had some real interesting stuff come back,” he continued. “I think we’re gonna try some stuff that, believe it or not, no one has ever done live before.”
Tour Dates:
February 25: Nashville (Sommet Center)
February 27: Lexington, Ky. (Rupp Arena)
February 28: Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)
March 2: Toronto (Air Canada Center)
March 3: Hamilton, Ont. (Copps Coliseum)
March 5: Worcester, Mass. (DSU Center)
March 6: East Rutherford, N.J. (IZOD Center)
March 8: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
March 9: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
March 11: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
March 12: Rosemont, Ill. (Allstate Arena)
March 14: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
March 15: Moline, Ill. (I Wireless Center)
March 17: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
March 18: Des Moines, Iowa (Wells Fargo Arena)
April 1: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Center)
April 2: Calgary (Pengrowth Saddledome)
April 4: Saskatoon,(Credit Union Center)
April 5: Winnipeg (MTS Center)
April 7: Minneapolis (Target Center)
April 8: Kansas City. Mo. (Sprint Center)
April 10: Tulsa, Okla. (BOK Center)
April 13: Bossier City, La. (CenturyTel Center)
April 14: San Antonio (AT&T Center)
April 16: Houston (Toyota Center)
April 17: New Orleans (New Orleans Arena)
April 19: Little Rock, Ark. (Alltel Arena)
April 22: Jacksonville, Fla. (Veterans Memorial Arena)
April 23: Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena)
RIP Copper?
November 25, 2008
Developing: Rumors are a buzz related to unconfirmed news that Knoxville Tennessee’s “Copper” has called it quits after 8 years of music making. The hard working DIY band released ” Take My Chances” back on October 14th.
Cage Rattle fans were enthusiastic about Copper’s chances at a break-out single with “Broken Sky” leading the way. We wish the band well and hope a reconcilation is imminent.
Framing Hanley Live Video Chat 12/6
November 25, 2008
Live from Nixon’s MacBook, Cage Rattle presents Framing Hanley on tour with Theory of a Deadman. Get an inside peek at life on the road and off day shenanigans from one of Rocks top emerging bands.
The webcast begins at 8:00pm EST Saturday December 6th here at cagerattle.com along with audio simulcast on Cage Rattle’s “Backstage Pass”
Slash Teams Up With Ozzy Osbourne
November 25, 2008
Former Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Slash is joining forces with Ozzy Osbourne on his forthcoming solo album.
Speaking in an video interview - which you can watch below - with Rockerrazzi.com, the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist’s wife Perla Hudson revealed that Slash has also recruited Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie for the project.
“It’s going to be Slash and friends, with everyone from Ozzy (Osbourne) to Fergie,” she said.
Hudson also claimed that Slash “feels great” about Guns N’ Roses’ long-awaited album ‘Chinese Democracy,‘, which was released this week (November 24th, 2008), and described his current band Velvet Revolver as “not my husband’s best work”.
“He feels great about it (’Chinese Democracy’). It’s long-awaited,” she explained. “Our kids like it but they also like Elmo, so that goes without saying.”
As previously reported, Slash revealed that he has demoed 14 songs for his forthcoming solo album.
Scott Weiland Wraps a Rough Year With a New Album
November 25, 2008
Behind an unmarked door on a nondescript street in an industrial part of town is Scott Weiland’s second home: an old machine shop he transformed into his dream studio.
Gold and platinum records cover one wall; hand-scrawled set lists for Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots fill another. There’s a grand piano, stacks of amps and a pool table covered with Weiland’s clothes. A Yoda doll sits in the corner. Red silk lanterns dangle from the ceiling next to an American flag.
This is where Weiland’s second solo album, an ambitious double-CD almost 10 years in the making, was born.
“This album is really my heart and soul,” Weiland says, sitting in the studio’s glass-enclosed control booth with an acoustic guitar on his lap, “because this is my playground.”
Over the past decade, the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman escaped to the studio again and again — when STP broke up and reunited, when he and his wife broke up and reunited.
“Whenever he had some time, he would come in and we’d either write a song or record a song or something,” says Doug Grean, Weiland’s longtime friend and musical collaborator. “Every time he got fed up with the big rock machine, the corporate machine, he would come in and do a song. Every time he got kicked out of his house by his wife, he would come in and do a song.”
Most of those tracks appear on “Happy in Galoshes,” in stores today (November 24th, 2008).
The title is a tad ironic, since Weiland isn’t exactly what you’d call a happy type — especially lately. The 41-year-old rocker continues to be dogged by his drug addiction, though trips to rehab and jail have become less frequent. Last year, his brother died of a drug overdose, his mother was diagnosed with cancer, he had a dramatic split with Velvet Revolver and hit the road with STP. He is also going through an “unexpected divorce” from wife Mary, with whom he has two children.
“It’s been a rough year and a half,” says Weiland, who delves into his personal issues without provocation or reservation. In flowing, stream-of-consciousness style, he talks about his drug problems, his divorce, jail, blogging, high school, being a dad and the war in Iraq. He switches subjects without warning or reason. But there is an earnestness to him, a sort of wounded sincerity.
He talks about his 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter and how he tried to keep STP’s reunion tour short so he could spend more time with them. He shares how uncontrolled drug use derailed his first solo album, 1998’s “12 Bar Blues,” and how most of the musicians went to rehab before the record was released. He talks about his other stints in treatment and jail and confesses: “I currently don’t have my driver’s license. I’ll be able to get it back in a couple months.” He reveals that “Happy in Galoshes” is about his relationship with his wife, whom he married in 2000.
“It’s a concept album of the love lost between she and I,” Weiland says. “It chronicles our relationship from the moment that we got married and really, every time there was a separation is when I would come in here and live here basically and just purge.”
The album is a genre-defying collection of 19 songs — some hard rock, some pop tunes, some folksy tracks and a cover of David Bowie’s “Fame.”
But “Happy” is likely his last double-disc effort, says Grean.
“The next record’s going to be totally different,” he says. “We might do a country album next time.“
Guitar Center On-Stage Winning Band, The Last Vegas, Drops First Single
November 25, 2008
“I’m Bad,” the first single from The Last Vegas, the winners of Guitar Center On-Stage will be available exclusively on AOL on Monday, November 24 and on iTunes the following day, just two weeks after beating out almost 8000 entrants for a chance to open for Motley Crue on their upcoming “Saints Of Los Angeles 2009 Tour” (tickets are on sale now at Motley.com). The Last Vegas, who were hand picked by Motley Crue as part of Guitar Center’s major effort to organically support and elevate new artists also received a recording deal with Eleven Seven Music and Tenth Street Entertainment (Motley’s label and management company), $25,000 in cash, $20,000 in gear from Gibson and more. The US tour, which kicks off on February 2 also features Hinder and Theory of A Deadman.
The Chicago based band was in the recording studio less than 12 short hours after their Guitar Center On-Stage victory at the world famous Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles on November 10. The band joined veteran rock producers DJ Ashba and Marti Fredericksen quickly writing, producing and recording their first single, “I’m Bad.” Nikki Sixx, co-founding member of Motley Crue and President of Eleven Seven Music will be hands on in the development of The Last Vegas.
“The overall talent and energy of The Last Vegas surpassed our expectations,” said Motley Crue’s Vince Neil. “Motley Crue is excited to pass the torch on to these amazing musicians, just as Ozzy did for us over 25 years ago.”
“When artists talk about when they ‘made it’ they always say it ‘happened overnight,’ but it really has been an overnight phenomena for us.” said The Last Vegas front man, Chad Cherry. “From opening for Motley at the Palladium just four days after they announced we had won the contest to releasing our first single “I’m Bad” that drops today– Guitar Center On-Stage has changed our lives in an instant.”
“We have proven that Guitar Center On-Stage is a revolutionary platform that works,” said Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center. “The organic nature of the program and the buzz surrounding the anticipated release of their first single fits perfectly with Guitar Center’s aim to support aspiring artists in the most crucial moment of their careers. We can’t wait to see what’s next for The Last Vegas.”
To hear “I’m Bad,” the first single from The Last Vegas, please visit: www.spinner.com/2008/11/24/the-last-vegas-im-bad-song-premiere/
For more information or to watch highlights from Guitar Center On-Stage, please go to www.makerockhistory.com
For more information on The Last Vegas, please visit: www.thelastvegas.com
