As previously reported, Mr. Big will be releasing their new album, Defying Gravity, on July 7th. The band is streaming a new song song called, 1992, from the record, which can be streamed below.
In addition to releasing a new CD, Mr. Big will be also be hitting the road. See the dates, for the first leg of their tour, below.
5/31 Milwaukee, WI Potowatami Casino
6/2 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
6/3 Wetland, MI The Token Lounge
6/6 Warrendale, PA Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
6/7 Newton, NJ Newton Theatre
6/9 Uncasville, CT The Wolf Den/Mohegan Sun
6/10 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
6/12 Nashville, TN Basement East
6/14 Lexington, KY Manchester Music Hall
6/16 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live
6/17 Houston, TX Scout Bar
6/19 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads Saloon
6/22 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
6/23 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club
To read more about Defying Gravity, and to view a track list, please click here.
Ruben Mosqueda of Metal Titans spoke with Diamond Head guitarist, and founder, Brian Tatler. Highlights from the interview appear below.
MetalTitans: There are parallels between UFO and Diamond Head stateside; both acts caught the collective ear of American Metal musicians and cite Diamond Head as a direct influence. While you didn’t sell millions of records you have the respect of several metal acts. That’s got to be gratifying.
Brian Tatler: It’s really flattering to be influential on any musician. I think it was something about our songs that people really liked. I think our music was ahead of its time and sounded unique.
I have to add that I love UFO and love Michael Schenker; I agree that they are a highly influential band and I thank you for including us with them. I have to say that we didn’t even sell records like UFO who were a gigantic band compared to us. I think you almost have to go out of your way to find a Diamond Head record; because we didn’t get any exposure in America. We were a ‘word of mouth’ kind of band.
MetalTitans: In America the first taste of Diamond Head was second hand, as Metallica covered Am I Evil. They recorded it and at one point it made it onto a pressing of Kill ‘Em All.
Brian Tatler: I think it was Lars [Ulrich] that called us in ‘84 saying that the band [Metallica], planned on putting Am I Evil as the B-side of Creeping Death [in Europe]. I’m not sure if they issued that in America. It was released in Europe on a big indie label called Music for Nations. When their deal with Megaforce Records ended and they signed with Elektra Records Kill ‘Em All was reissued with Am I Evil and Blitzkrieg as bonus tracks. That was just am added bonus for us. The biggest accolade for us when they put all the Diamond Head covers on the Garage, Inc.. album. That was amazing. I knew then that they were going to reach a lot of people. [laughs] Garage, Inc. has sold something like 5 million copies.
MetalTitans: The royalties off the songs covered by Metallica must be incredible.
Brian Tatler: Oh, they’re fantastic. Thank you, boys. [laughs] Metallica helped us get over to America and reach an audience that we otherwise wouldn’t have [reached]. Borrowed Time was released in America in ‘82 but I don’t believe that Canterbury [‘83] was ever released in America. Like you stated earlier, it wasn’t until the mid-80s that Lightning to the Nations [Behold the Beginning] was released on Metal Blade [Records]. I feel that without Metallica we would have been a really obscure New Wave of British Heavy Metal band.
MetalTitans: In ‘93 something really cool took place where Metallica asked Megadeth and Diamond Head to support them in the U.K. I remember reading about that in Kerrang! Magazine or another import magazine. That’s all we had in those days.
Brian Tatler: In ‘93 there was a big festival called National Bowl in Milton Keynes; it was as you stated Metallica headlining, then Megadeth, there was another band [The Almighty] then Diamond Head opened the show. We all played on the same stage; it 2011 we played a few shows opening for the Big 4. We opened shows in the U.K. and in France–that was great.
MetalTitans: Let’s do which do you prefer; The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?
Brian Tatler: Beatles. I just love the songs. I’ve become a bit mad about The Beatles in the last few years. I’ve always loved them. My brother who’s 6 years older than I got me into guitar was in love with The Beatles. I recall he was in The Beatles fanclub and used to get the flexi discs for Christmas and stuff like that. I really appreciate their songwriting. They were so original and they broke down so many barriers. They simply paved the way for the rest of us. I listen to and watch anything related to The Beatles because there’s master craftsmanship happening there.
MetalTitans: [Led] Zeppelin or [Deep] Purple?
Brian Tatler: Zeppelin. [laughs] Zeppelin are my favorite band. They’ve been my favorite band since the 70s. Again, it’s about the songs; I think Jimmy Page has written some incredible stuff. There was a brilliant chemistry between all four guys in that band. I think that’s four of the most amazing four people to ever go into studio and make some amazing records. I love the entire catalog from top to bottom; I think I’ve almost overdosed on Zeppelin, really! [laughs] I don’t play the records much anymore because I’ve heard them so many times. They’re in my DNA.
In other Diamond Head news, the band recently announced U.S. tour dates, view their itinerary here. The band also released a new self titled album on April 22nd. Watch the video for, All The Reasons You Live, below.
Vicky Cornell, the wife of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, issued a statement on May 19th remembering her late husband, who died the morning of May 18th at the age of 52, and speculated whether his suicide was the result of taking too much of his anxiety medication.
“Chris’s death is a loss that escapes words and has created an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled. As everyone who knew him commented, Chris was a devoted father and husband. He was my best friend,” Vicky wrote.
“His world revolved around his family first and, of course, his music second. He flew home for Mother’s Day to spend time with our family. He flew out mid-day Wednesday, the day of the show, after spending time with the children. When we spoke before the show, we discussed plans for a vacation over Memorial Day and other things we wanted to do.”
However, following Soundgarden’s concert Wednesday night, Vicky noticed a change in her husband’s demeanor when they talked on the phone after the show.
“When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him,” she continued. “What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life.”
An attorney for the Cornell family, Kirk Pasich, reiterated Vicky’s belief that an extra dosage of Ativan, an anxiety medication often employed by recovering addicts, altered Chris Cornell’s mental faculties after the Detroit show. Pasich added that the Cornell family is “disturbed at inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally took his life.”
“Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris — or if any substances contributed to his demise,” Pasich said. “Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages. The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”
Pasich added that side effects of Ativan include “paranoid or suicidal thoughts, slurred speech and impaired judgment”; Vicky Cornell noted her husband’s slurred speech following the Detroit concert in her statement.
She added, “The outpouring of love and support from his fans, friends and family means so much more to us than anyone can know. Thank you for that, and for understanding how difficult this is for us.”
Hours after Cornell’s death at a Detroit hotel, a medical examiner’s report confirmed that the singer had died by suicide.
As reported earlier, singer Chris Cornell passed away yesterday. There were questions raised as to whether the death was a possible suicide, as the vocalist was found with with a band around his neck.
Unfortunately, a new report by the Associated Press, reveals that to be the case. The medical examiner determined that singer did die as a result of suicide by hanging.
Cornell played his final, sold-out performance with band Soundgarden on Wednesday night in Detroit. He reportedly ended the set by singing a cover of Led Zeppelin’s In My Time of Dying which include the lyrics, “In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn/All I want for you to do is take my body home.”
Cornell leaves behind a wife and three children. He had one child, Lillian Jean, in 2000, with his first wife Soundgarden manager Susan Silver. They divorced in 2004, and then in the same year, he married Vicky Karayiannis. Together, they had two children, a daughter in 2004, and a son in 2005. In the philanthropic realm, the couple co-founded the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support homeless, abused and impoverished children.
Chris Cornell, the powerful, dynamic singer whose band Soundgarden was one of the architects of grunge music, has died at 52.
Mr. Cornell died Wednesday night in Detroit, said his representative, Brian Bumbery, in a statement that called the death “sudden and unexpected” and that said the singer’s family would be “working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause.”
Dontae Freeman, a spokesman for the Detroit Police Department, said in an interview that at about midnight officers responded at the MGM Grand casino to an apparent suicide of a white man, born July 20th, 1964, who was pronounced dead on the scene. He would not confirm the victim’s name; Mr. Cornell’s date of birth is July 20th, 1964. Mr. Freeman said that the victim’s wife called a family friend to check on the victim; the family friend forced his way into the room and found the individual unresponsive on the bathroom floor.
The victim was found with a band around his neck, Mr. Freeman said. He said that the police were not confirming that the victim died of a suicide, though the preliminary determination was an “apparent suicide.” He said that more details would be released in a statement later Thursday.
The group played at the Fox Theater in Detroit on Wednesday night, and it had been scheduled to perform in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday at the Rock on the Range festival.
Mr. Cornell appeared to be active on social media in the hours before his death. A post on his Twitter account on Wednesday announced that the group had arrived in Detroit, and a clip of the group’s 2012 release By Crooked Steps was posted to his official Facebook page hours before his death.
Mr. Cornell had admitted in interviews to struggling with drug use throughout his life. In a 1994 Rolling Stone article, he described himself as a “daily drug user at 13,” who had quit by the time he turned 14.
Cornell was born in 1964 in Seattle and helped form Soundgarden 20 years later. Sub Pop, then a fledgling record label, released the group’s first single, Hunted Down, in 1987, as well as two subsequent EPs. The group’s debut album, Ultramega OK, came a year later.
Badmotorfinger,” released in 1991, benefited from the swell of attention that was beginning to surround the Seattle scene, where Soundgarden, along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, were playing a high-octane, high-angst brand of rock n’ roll. Soundgarden’s musical journeys tended toward the knotty and dark, plunging into off-kilter meters and punctuated by Mr. Cornell’s voice, which could quickly shift from a soulful howl to a gritty growl.
Three of Soundgarden’s studio albums have been certified platinum, including Superunknown, from 1994, which featured Black Hole Sun, Fell on Black Days, Spoonman and My Wave.
The singer released five solo albums during and after his time with Soundgarden, starting with the 1999 LP Euphoria Morning. His 2007 album Carry On featured an acoustic cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean that served as the inspiration for a well-received version of the song on American Idol. He contributed the song Seasons to the soundtrack of Singles, Cameron Crowe’s love letter to the Seattle music scene, and performed alongside other members of Soundgarden in the film.
Ozzy Osbourne has backed plans to open a dog care center for up to 30 animals on his $6.4 million country estate.
It comes after wife Sharon Osbourne branded him a “dirty dog” for his alleged affair with a hairdresser last year.
A dog walking business is set to use four acres of the rocker’s Buckinghamshire farm for the pet project.
Black Sabbath singer Ozzy, 68, and wife Sharon, 64, have six dogs named Bella, Rocky, Alfie, Charlie, Flick and Moe, and would likely use the facility themselves, it is claimed.
The family, who also reside in America, are famously dog daft with Sharon alleged to spend $297,022 last year flying her pets first class.
Qualified dog trainer Francesca Maddock, of Positive Dogs, has applied to the local council for planning permission for a change of use of four acres of his land which is currently a horse grazing pasture.
She cites the A-list couple’s name at the bottom of the application.
Her planning agent said, “The logic behind the new business is to create a central facility where dogs will be collected in the morning, spend the day in the countryside, in the safe and secure environment of the field, and then be dropped home at the end of the day.
This will reduce the amount of travel required throughout the day along with the risks associated with walking groups of dogs on local footpaths.
Dogs are currently walked in open spaces, parks and footpaths, normally in groups. This can be intimidating to other dog owners, cyclists, runners, young mothers with prams and children.
The owner of the property gives full support to the application and would use the proposed day care.”
The dog care center would run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a maximum of 30 dogs split into groups of seven to eight and walked up to four times a day.
References are made in the paperwork to a need for a commercial waste company to collect all the dogs’ waste and new 6 ft fence and stable block shelter will be built, with plans for up to four members of staff.
Planners at Chiltern District Council are expected to make a decision next month (June 13) and there has so far been no objections from neighbors.
Ozzy was kicked out the family home last year after having a fling with hairdresser Michelle Pugh – but the couple, married for 35 years, have since reconciled.
Sharon said, “I forgive. It’s going to take a long time to trust but you know we’ve been together 36 years, 34 of marriage, and it’s more than half of my life. I can’t live without him. Even though he’s a dog. He’s a dirty dog. He’s going to pay for it though, big time!”
