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THE MARS VOLTA FALL U.S. TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
July 28, 2009
HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM, MONOLITH FESTIVAL AND OUTSIDE LANDS APPEARANCES AND MORE ALREADY ON SALE & MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED
Following on the heels of a triumphant appearance at last month’s Bonnaroo festival and the recent announcement of a Sunday September 13 headline slot at this year’s Monolith Festival, The Mars Volta has announced a full U.S. tour. The tour will kick off August 29 at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco followed by a two-night headline stand at the Hollywood Palladium following on August 30 and September 1. Tickets for the two Los Angeles shows went on sale this Saturday, July 25, as did tickets for confirmed dates in Phoenix and St. Louis. Tickets for the remaining shows will go on sale July 31 and August 1, as indicated below.
The tour begins in the wake of The Mars Volta’s fifth full length studio album, Octahedron, which was released June 23 by Warner Bros. Records in the U.S., entering the Billboard chart at #12. Octahedron’s bold expansion of The Mars Volta vision has resulted in appropriately enthusiastic critical response, ranging from THE NEW YORK TIMES declaring “The panache of the singing and the radiant complexity of the music… drive the album relentlessly forward. And it’s the subtle touches, no less than the sweeping ones, that leave an impression” to MAXIM simply hailing the Volta as “America’s freakiest big rock band.”
Further dates will be announced as they are confirmed. For a full listing of confirmed dates and on sale dates, see below. For an up to the minute rundown of The Mars Volta touring activity, see http://www.themarsvolta.com
THE MARS VOLTA FALL 2009 U.S. TOUR
August 29 - San Francisco CA - Outside Lands Festival * ON SALE NOW
August 30 - Los Angeles CA - Palladium * ON SALE NOW
September 1 - Los Angeles CA - Palladium * ON SALE NOW
September 2 - Santa Barbara CA - Santa Barbara Bowl * ON SALE AUGUST 1
September 4 - San Diego CA - Soma * ON SALE JULY 31
September 5 - Phoenix AZ - Dodge Theater * ON SALE NOW
September 8 - St. Louis MO - The Pageant * ON SALE NOW
September 10 - Minneapolis MN - First Avenue * ON SALE AUGUST 1
September 11 - Chicago IL - Congress Theater * ON SALE AUGUST 1
September 13 - Denver CO - Monolith Festival * ON SALE NOW
September 16 - Dallas TX - Palladium * ON SALE JULY 31
September 17 - Houston TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater * ON SALE AUGUST 1
September 19 - San Antonio TX - Municipal Theater * ON SALE AUGUST 1
The Cult’s Ian Astbury says “Rock is Dying!”
July 22, 2009
Ian Astbury is as angry as he’s ever been – and after reflecting on his punk roots, his passion for rock giants like Jimmy Page and writing talent like Bob Dylan, he concludes rock’n’roll is dying – and the industry itself is to blame. It all adds up to his decision never to record another album.
The Cult singer tells the El Paso Times: “Rockn’n’roll is pretty much in the garbage. It’s barely alive. Everybody has taken from it. Nobody has given back. It’s a very selfish occupation. That’s why we have a lot of pastiche and we have a lot of artists who are never involved beyond their sophomore albums. It’s a travesty.”
Warming to the notion of albums, he states: “There will be no new Cult album. The format is dead. iTunes destroyed albums. It’s an arcane format, as much as the 78 rpm or writing sheet music for an orchestra.
“If we have a great song we really believe in, then we’ll record it and release it.”
But that’s not to say the Cult has no future – Astbury believes any band’s strength is in its live playing ability, and his current lineup -with Billy Duffy, Mike Dimkich, Chris Whyse (ex Ozzy) and John Tempesta (ex White Zombie) – has all the strength it needs.
He explains: “We don’t have a record deal and I’m completely fine with that. The Cult started as a live band. We still have that and we are engaged in that. We choose what we want to do.”
And he reserves a special assault for the modern breed of music games, like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, saying: “I’ve been talking to some bands and they’ll say, ‘Aren’t you excited for people to discover your music through ‘Guitar Hero’?’ No. That’s not the way to discover music. If you’re in the music business, you should consider that introducing people to music is an end result.”
The Cult “Love Live” North American Tour Dates
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Street Festival | El Paso, Texas | ||
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Ulrich City Center | Lockport, New York | ||
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House of Blues | Atlantic City, New Jersey | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ House Of Blues | San Diego, California | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Celebrity Theater | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Nokia Theater | Los Angeles, California | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ The Warfield Theater | San Francisco, California | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Roseland Ballroom | Portland, Oregon | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Moore Theater | Seattle, Washington | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ AEG – REC Building | Abbotsford, British Columbia | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Flames Central | Calgary, Alberta | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ The Venue at River Cree | Edmonton, Alberta | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ First Avenue | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ House of Blues | Chicago, Illinois | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ House of Blues | Dallas, Texas | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Stubbs | Austin, Texas | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ House of Blues | Houston, Texas | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Amos | Charlotte, North Carolina | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ 9:30 Club | Washington DC | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Terminal 5 | New York, New York | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ House of Blues | Boston, Massachusetts | ||
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LOVE Live Tour @ Massey Hall | Toronto, Ontario |
Wanna Play Poker With Jerry Cantrell, Vinnie Paul, Kirk Hammett, Greg Tribbett & Scott Ian?
July 22, 2009
When: August 19th at 9:00PM EST
Where: UltimateBet.Com
With Whom?: Scott Ian - Anthrax, Kirk Hammett - Metallica, Jerry Cantrell - Alice in Chains, Vinnie Paul - Pantera, Greg Tribbett - Mudvayne, Annie Duke - World Poker Champion, Phil Hellmuth - 11-time WSOP winner
The Stakes: 1st Place – An $8,500 Aruba Poker Classic Prize Package, 2nd Place – $1,000 in Tournament Dollars, 3rd Place – Entry to $100k DS Saturday, 4th Place – Entry to $100k DS Saturday, 5th Place – $100 in Tournament Dollars
Get ready to raise your lighters. Scott Ian is taking the stage for an encore performance of his home game on August 19th at 21:00 ET and you’re invited to play along.
If you rock like a champion, you could find yourself seated in one of 18 seats in the ultimate Rock ‘n Roll SnG for a trip to Aruba.
Atreyu Complete Recording New Album
July 22, 2009
According to their latest Twitter update Atreyu has completed recording their new record and are moving on to mixing. The album will be the band’s second for Hollywood Records.
The Orange County-based band has been working with producer Bob Marlette at his Blue Room Studios in the San Fernando Valley. The album will be the follow up to Lead Sails Paper Anchor and is expected in October.
Static-X Announces Headlining Tour Dates
July 22, 2009
Static-X announces additional headlining tour dates along with the Pedal To The Metal tour coming your way this summer 2009.
Static-X front-man Wayne Static says of the tour: “I’m very picky about who we tour with. I think Static-X slaughter most bands live, and I pride myself in our show – I refuse to open for a band that I don’t think is worthy, so that says a lot about Mudvayne, Zakk Wylde, and this entire package.”
Static-X tour dates are as follow:
7/24 - Portland, ME - Cumberland County Civic Center
7/25 - Lowell, MA - Tsongas Arena
7/27 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
7/28 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
7/29 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Center
7/31 - Big Flats, NY - Tag’s Summer Stage
8/01 - Altamont, NY - Altamount Fairgrounds
8/03 - Dayton, OH - Mc Guffy’s House of Rock
8/04 - Ft. Wayne , IN - War Memorial Coliseum
8/05 - Battle Creek, MI - Kellogg Arena
8/06 - Flint, MI - Machine Shop
8/07 - Moline, IL - iWireless Coliseum
8/08 - Rockford, IL - Metro Center
8/09 - Madison, WI - Willow Island
8/11 - Topeka, KS - Landon Arena
8/12 - Mankato,MN - Alltel Center
8/13 - Sioux Falls, SD - Ramkota Exhibit Hall
8/14 - Council Bluffs, IA - West Fair Amphitheater
8/15 - Little Rock, AR - Stone Hill Ranch
8/16 - Wichita, KS - KS Coliseum Lot
8/18 - Boise, ID - Napa Idaho Amphitheatre
8/19 - Missoula, MT - Ryan Creek Meadows
8/21 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena
8/22 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheater
8/23 - Hillsboro, OR - Washington County Fairgrounds
8/25 - Eugene, OR - Cubhert Amphitheatre
8/26 - Reno, NV - Events Center
8/28 - San Jose, CA - San Jose Civic Center
8/29 - Bakersfield, CA - Rabobank Arena
8/31 - Anaheim, CA - HOB
9/01 - San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
9/02 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
9/04 - Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street Amphitheater
9/05 - San Antonio, TX - Sunken Gardens
9/06 - Lubbock, TX - Lonestar Amphitheatre
9/08 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theater
9/09 - Oklahoma City, Ok Zoo Amphitheatre
9/10 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
9/11 - Louisville, KY - Coyotes
9/12 - Toledo, OH - Headliners
9/14 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note
9/15 - Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont
9/16 - Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep
9/17 - Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
9/18 - Farmington, NM - Gators
9/19 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
July 22, 2009
They came of age alongside such contemporaries as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now, seven years after the death of troubled frontman Layne Staley, multiplatinum rock group Alice in Chains are returning to the spotlight with a new singer, a new album and a forthcoming world tour. And while fans have cautiously watched the new venture take shape, the guys are confident they can recapture the magic that made Alice in Chains one of the most influential acts of the 1990s.
“We’ve seen the crossed arms for the first couple of songs,” relates vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell of their recent shows. “[But] then, by the end, people are having fun. They’ve let go of whatever personal reservations they may’ve had, and they’re seeing why we’re doing this.”
The decision to re-form Alice in Chains with Comes With the Fall singer William DuVall taking co-vocalist duties with Cantrell was a difficult one for the group, which also includes original members Sean Kinney and Mike Inez. The trio had frantically tried to save Staley from a devastating drug addiction, and his passing left the band shaken beyond repair.
“When Layne [died], I doubt we even thought about doing this,” Kinney said. “We never thought about getting a new singer. It wasn’t an option and it wasn’t how we went about this. We just slowly took little steps until it felt right.”
“We hadn’t committed to do anything after that initial charity show that we did [in 2005],” Cantrell explained. “Playing that show with a group of friends, including William, seemed to cough up a real f—ing sh–ball of f—ing grief. It was something that we had been walking around with, and something that we chose not to discuss in public. It was a private matter for us. So it’s something we couldn’t take lightly and we knew we didn’t have to do. It just continued to feel right enough to continue trying, and it continues to feel right to move forward.”
Like other bands that have reformed over the years with missing members, questions over the legitimacy of using the Alice in Chains name have been floated in some circles. But for Cantrell, there was no other option.
“The band’s changed. I get that,” Cantrell said. “But some of the [questions] are kind of annoying, like, ‘How could you call yourself Alice in Chains?’ Well, because it’s our f—ing band. And we decided as a group that we can live up to that name, and we will, and it’s our choice. But it’s cool that it strikes such a chord and that it’s so personal to everybody, and we dig that.”
The evolution of Alice in Chains is evident in the new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, slated for a September 29 release. The LP comes from a matured sensibility, and Cantrell promises its themes will fill in the band’s missing pieces. There’s also more to the lyrics than drug use and depression, he asserts.
“It’s easy just to f—ing put a blanket thing on those two particular subjects because that sh– was there and we did write songs about that. But there are songs about our relationships with each other, there are songs about my brother, there are songs I wrote for my dog, there are songs Layne wrote for his girlfriend. We didn’t just write about f—ing drugs,” Cantrell laughed. “It’s there, but it’s an easy catchphrase and I find that that’s kind of a drag sometimes living inside of that.
“It was a dark factor to all of that,” he continued, “but I think that came from just dealing with things through a gut level and in a truthful way. But there are a lot of other subjects that we wrote about, and on this record there are a lot of subjects we brought to it. There’s a lot to address, and from the time we stopped to where we are now, that’s all on the record.”
In the end, it’s a contemplative experience for Cantrell, as he and his bandmates prepare to begin the next chapter in the storied history of Alice in Chains.
“There’s a bigger message for us personally,” he said, “which is, ‘Sh– happens to everybody, and life is not always good, and you take your f—ing lumps.’ We’ve done it together, so regardless of how well this record does financially, we’re really proud of the music that we created and we’re really looking forward to the future. More than all of that, I’m totally f—ing proud of all of us for manning the f— up and continuing to live.”
PEARL JAM STREAM NEW TRACK “THE FIXER”
July 21, 2009
Check out your first listen of ‘The Fixer’ on the Pearl Jam Myspace page. This is the first single from Pearl Jam’s new album Backspacer in stores September 20.
Chevelle Return With Sci-Fi Crimes
July 21, 2009
(Epic) Chevelle will return with their fifth studio album titled: Sci-Fi Crimes on September 1st. The band’s brand new single “Jars” was the number one most added track at rock radio and the single is quickly becoming one of the band’s biggest hits to date entering the Top 20 after only two weeks.
The Chicago-based trio spent seven weeks co-producing Sci-Fi Crimes with Brian Virtue (Jane’s Addiction, 30 Seconds to Mars, Deftones) in Nashville, Tennessee. Chevelle are currently on the road all summer long with Staind and Shinedown where they are previewing some of their new material, alongside hits from their previous releases.
Sci-Fi Crimes is the follow up 2007’s smash album Vena Sera. Formed in 1995, the Chicago-based band has remained a staple in the rock scene with six Top 5 Modern Rock hits under their belt, including the #1 songs “Send the Pain Below” and “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)” as well as fan favorites, “The Red” and “The Clincher”. The band is made up of Pete Loeffler (vocals, guitars), brother Sam Loeffler (drums), and brother-in-law Dean Bernardini (bass).
A quick glance at the title of their new album may give their legions of longtime fans pause. Sci-Fi Crimes Song titles like “Roswell” and “Highlands Apparition”? Have the same guys who delivered 2004’s dynamically crunchy This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) and the melodic heaviosity of 2007’s Vena Sera gone conspiracy-theory flaky, wearing tinfoil hats and praying to Mr. Spock?
“Much as I love the Flaming Lips, we’re not going off in that direction,” laughs singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler. “If anything, this record represents a natural progression in the band’s maturity and sound. We really wanted to take the time to write about some of our experiences and feelings since our last tour, both during and in the time afterwards.”
In fact, the title Sci-Fi Crimes was inspired by some off-road adventures with one “friend,” whom Pete describes as “this really off-the-wall character, who was driving us around, who believes so whole-heartedly in aliens and UFOs that the subject just really piqued my interest.”
Chevelle’s new album is the work of a band taking stock of itself after a strenuous decade of recording and touring (”Weird to think we’re a ‘veteran’ band; I’m kind of shocked by how long we’ve been going,” Pete muses) and, especially, a blistering tour schedule behind Vena Sera.
Too often lumped into the “just another hard rock band” ghetto, Chevelle emerges with Sci-Fi Crimes as an admittedly heavy-sounding group whose wit and intelligence now stand fully reveal
BEASTIE BOY ADAM YAUCH HAS CANCER
July 21, 2009
Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys revealed on Monday morning (July 20th) that he has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left parotid gland, also known as his salivary gland, and a lymph node in the same area. According to a video message on the band’s website and a press release, the cancer was caught early, is localized in just one area, and is considered “very treatable.” But because Yauch will need surgery and chemotherapy, the trio has canceled all its upcoming concert appearances, including headlining gigs at Lollapalooza and the All Points West festival, and has postponed the release of its upcoming album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1.
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Yauch said in the video how he learned he had the disease: “Well, about two months ago I started feeling this little like lump in my throat, like you would feel if you have, like, swollen glands or something like that, like you’d feel if you have a cold. So I didn’t really think it was anything, but then just recently when we were over in Europe doing promotion, I started to think I should talk to my doctor. And so I called my doctor and saw him when I got back — this is about two weeks ago - and he sent me to a specialist and they did tests, and I actually have a form of cancer.”
Yauch also discussed his prognosis: “The good news is that that it is, they did scans on my whole body and it’s only localized in this one area, and it’s not in a place that affects my voice, so that’s nice. So anyway, it’s a bit of a, a little bit of a setback, but this is something that’s very treatable and in most cases, they’re able to completely get rid of it and people don’t have continuing problems with it. And they’ve caught it early and it’s not anywhere else in my body, so that’s the good news.”
Yauch was accompanied in the video by fellow Beastie Boy Adam “King Ad-Rock” Horovitz, who claimed to not know what the video was about until he had arrived at the studio.
In a later press release, Yauch tried to inject some humor into the situation, saying, “It’s a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because I was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later.”
Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 was originally slated to come out on September 15th.
Wayne Static of Static-X
July 21, 2009
Photo Courtesy Lindsey Martin
Taken at 2009’s Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio, May 16th. Watch the interview with Wayne Static below.
