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ANTHRAX’S FRANK BELLO SAYS “HOW DO YOU OUTGROW METAL?!..THIS IS A WAY OF LIFE”

Ruben Mosqueda of Oregon Music News recently spoke with Anthrax bassist Frank Bello about their new album For All Kings, Anthrax’s 35th year anniversary, among other topics. Portions of the interview appear below.

OMN: Worship Music was released 6 years ago and it still seems fresh to me. So to get a new Anthrax record [For All Kings] when you’ve not grown tired of a band’s previous effort; that’s a huge plus. Any worries about following up Worship Music?

Frank Bello: I’ll be honest with you dude, there is no secret; they key thing is caring about the music. It’s not an easy thing. You can’t write a record in two weeks and put it out. We’re fans of this music and we have to be into what we’re writing because we’re going to be playing it every night…we’re fans; we didn’t want to disappoint ourselves. We didn’t want to release anything that did [not] give you that fire in your belly and get you going. We hope that our music connects with the fans which thankfully judging from the reaction it has. If you write a good record or a write a good song the rest will take care of itself. You know we’ll be touring forever behind it, which we are. It’s great feeling when people connect with your music. We’re incredibly grateful for it.

OMN: As a fan I knew that Anthrax was creeping up on 30+ years in the business; it’s been 35 years of Anthrax in 2016. I can’t believe it. We’re getting old. What’s been a memorable musical memory in your time with the band?

FB: First, the old thing. I look at it like this; everyone on earth is getting old. I’m up for a challenge I think everyone in Anthrax is up for a challenge. I look at it like ‘bring it.’ In spite of us getting old we should write the best music of our careers and we should be putting on the best shows. We do just that. We go for it and we leave it all on the table. That’s how we grew up.

With getting older I also would like to think that I’m getting better. You never stop learning that’s my take and that’s how I live my life. We have bumps, bruises, backaches all that stuff from touring. We keep in pretty good shape we eat well and take care of ourselves. Anthrax wasn’t a ‘party band’ so we didn’t get into all of that. I think we’re good to go. I’m a yoga guy so that helps a lot. I look forward to the future with this band and I think we have a lot more to say.

As for a career highlight? I think to still having a record label and to have a record like For All Kings come out. People are acknowledging it and hearing from people in the press referring to it as “our best work to date;’ that really feels good man. That’s the real deal right there. After 35 years and we can put out two consecutive records that connect with people like that and that are referred to as “our best work?!” How can you not love that? I think we’ve really captured something really cool and we’re in such a great place.

We’re seeing our fan base growing. We’ve been seeing a younger fan base coming to the shows. There are people who hadn’t heard of Anthrax before we’re getting people from 12 years old to people into their 50s. The great thing is everybody is invited come out party and have fun.

OMN: I’ve been a fan of this music for years there’s something about it that keeps you young. I might be in my 40s but I’m still a fan. There’s people that I bump into that say “You’re still into that? Oh, I grew out of that years ago.”

FB: How do you outgrow metal?! I’m 51 years old and I’m just as into it as I have ever been. This is a way of life and I don’t consider it a trend, you know what I mean? I’ve always love[d] the music from the early days of metal. This is a way of life for me. Really? This is not a trend for me! It’s a community that I really appreciate and I’m loyal to. I agree this music keeps you young and if you’re a true metal fan you’re in it for life.

I think back to the reason why I was drawn to this music was that as a kid I had a lot of angst in me. This music met that angst; it really did. I’m pretty sure into your 40s you never lost that? You’ve got that fire, you know what I mean? I’ve still got it. I think it’s probably grown over the years actually. So, to me this generational thing or the getting older thing is all bulls–t…

OMN: What record do you think is THE definitive Anthrax record and why?

FB: For All Kings! I’ll tell you why and it’s not a shameless plug. After all these years we still care about what we do; we know how important it is to write that ‘right song.’ We can not ‘phone it in.’ It’s more important now than ever because no one makes a dollar on records? It’s still that important to us.

Read more at Oregon Music News.

Anthrax tour dates:

October:

16 Knitting Factory Spokane Spokane, WA w/ Death Angel
17 ENMAX Center Lethbridge, Canada w/ Slayer and Death Angel
19 South Okanagan Events Centre, Penticton, BC w/ Slayer and Death Angel
20 Abbotsford Centre, Abbotsford, BC w/ Slayer and Death Angel
21 Daze Of the Dead Portland, OR w/ Death Angel
22 Aftershock Festival w/ Slayer, Tool,…Sacramento, CA
23 Reno Events Center, Reno, NV w/ Slayer and Death Angel
25 Orpheum Theater Flagstaff, AZ w/ Death Angel
26 Top Deck Farmington, NM w/ Death Angel
27 El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, TX w/ Slayer and Death Angel

February:

2 70,000 Tons Of Metal Miami, FL

source: oregonmusicnews.com

JON BON JOVI ON THE RICHIE SAMBORA SPLIT, “WE WERE IN CALGARY…[HE] JUST DIDN’T SHOW UP AT THE SHOW…AND WE HAVEN’T SEEN HIM IN PERSON SINCE”

Kelly McCarthy of ABC News reports:

After 33 years and 130 million albums sold, Jon Bon Jovi is not slowing down.

“Writing a song, to me, is the closest thing that I’ll ever know to immortality because it’s something that’s going to last forever,” he said in an interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan.

The band is coming out with a new album, This House is Not for Sale, which took three years to write, and is the first without original lead guitarist Richie Sambora, who left the group unannounced in 2013.

“Everyone says, ‘Well, what happened?’ We were in Calgary. The last album was entering the charts at No. 1. We’re sold out every single night. It’s show No. 21, and the short of it is, Ritchie just didn’t show up at the show,” Bon Jovi said. “And we haven’t seen him in person since. There was no fight. There was no money. There was nothing I swear in my whole career, and he’ll tell you the same thing. So we went on…”

…The album title, This House is Not for Sale, is meant to evoke “integrity,” Bon Jovi explained.

Despite their success, the group said there was no guarantee a song would become a hit.

“Living On a Prayer almost never made it,” said [drummer Tico] Torres.

“Ritchie had to tell me, ‘You’re outta your mind,’ yeah, yeah, yeah,” Bon Jovi recalled.

…The singer has [also] been busy off-stage with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation’s restaurant Soul Kitchen, a passion project for Bon Jovi’s.

The farm-to-table restaurant, once a former auto shop, has dished out 59,000 meals to both paying and non-paying customers in need of assistance through what he calls “meal volunteers.”

“Our model is what we call ‘pay it forward.’ So if you were to come in, and you want to directly affect change, you take our pay-it-forward card, which is placed on the table with what the model of the restaurant is. And you leave a $20. It covers your meal, and it covers a meal for somebody who can’t put down the same money,” he said.

People can go in, work in the gardens, bus a table or wash dishes to actively participate in the pay-it-forward eatery…

Read more at ABC News.

In other Bon Jovi news, the band recently announced their This House Is Not For Sale 2017 tour dates. Click here to view their tour itinerary.

source: abcnews.go.com/Entertainment

“BON JOVI: THE STORY” TO BE RELEASED THROUGH STERLING IN NOVEMBER

With their catchy hooks, good looks, and irresistible pop-metal sound, Bon Jovi became one of the bestselling bands of all time. Bon Jovi: The Story (Sterling, November 2016) by Bryan Reesman is the first fully illustrated, comprehensive book paying tribute to the mega-popular group from the beginning in 1983—soon after shooting to stardom with the release of their multiplatinum third album Slippery When Wet, which celebrated it’s 30th anniversary this August—to the present day.

This is also the first biography to include the early days of Bon Jovi through the words of people who were there—including early bandmates and associates like Jack Ponti, Wil Hercek, Bill Frank, and Bruce Stephen Foster. There are 25 sidebars
throughout, covering solo and side projects, major collaborators like Desmond Child and Wayne Isham, the Slippery When Wet cover debate, the band’s Moscow festival performance, Jon Bon Jovi’s philanthropy and acting, the rise of tribute bands, and more.

Containing over 35 new interviews with music luminaries like Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell, Nickelback bassist Mike Kroeger, music mogul Derek Shulman, and media personality Eddie Trunk and more than 130 color photographs, this unofficial music biography is a must-have for every Bon Jovi fan.

Veteran entertainment journalist Bryan Reesman has test driven a Corvette with Rob Halford, visited Lemmy’s apartment, and interviewed celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Hugh Jackman on camera. He has contributed to The New York Times, Playboy, Grammy, American Way, Inked, and over 100 other media outlets. He’s written liner notes for rock icons like Korn, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC. A decade long voting member of the Recording Academy, Bryan has contributed to six books, including The Art of Metal (Voyageur), Music Producers (Hal Leonard), and Classic Rock Posters (Sterling).

Pre-order at Amazon.

BEASTO BLANCO TO RELEASE SELF-TITLED SOPHOMORE ALBUM ON NOVEMBER 25TH

Beasto Blanco, the band fronted by long time Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric, will release their self-titled, full-length second album on November 25th through Rat Pak Records.

Beasto Blanco is the follow up to the bands critically acclaimed 2013 release Live Fast, Die Loud (Rat Pak Records) which was endorsed by the likes of movie actor Johnny Depp, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, producer Bob Ezrin, and many more. The effort, which was produced by Ryan Greene (Alice Cooper/Lita Ford/Mr. Big), features 11 new songs and an amped-up cover version of Alice’s hit song Feed My Frankenstein that also features Alice’s daughter and fellow Beasto band mate Calico Cooper. The album is currently available for pre-order at the Rat Pak Records website.

The first single from Beasto Blanco, the band’s version of Feed My Frankenstein, can be heard on the Nights With Alice Cooper radio show, which is syndicated on over 100 stations worldwide. The song can also be heard at 15,000 AMC, Regal, Cinemark and NCM movie theaters in the United States throughout the month of November.

Influenced by bands such as White Zombie and Motörhead, Beasto Blanco’s all new 12-song, sophomore release is a potent mix of heavy riffs, driving bass and melodic choruses. “I’m very proud of this release” says Chuck Garric, “This new album showcases the bands evolution as songwriters and our unity as a musical force” and Calico Cooper adds “This record is like a baseball bat to the chest that you want more and more of“.

The track listing for Beasto Blanco is:

1. Buried Angels
2. Grind
3. Feed My Frankenstein (Alice Cooper cover)
4. Carcosa
5. Death Rattle
6. Dark Matter
7. Sadhana
8. I Rise
9. Machine Girl
10. Honey
11. Blind Drive
12. Damnation

Beasto Blanco will embark on a 2016/17 Fall/Winter tour starting in November, that includes a string of U.S headline dates, as well as an arena tour of Europe with German Hard Rock heavyweights Boshe Onkelz. They return home to the U.S for another run of headline dates that will conclude with performances on the 2017 Monsters of Rock Cruise in February.

November:

4 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick
5 Tucson, AZ Tucson EXPO
10 Hollywood, CA Whisky A Go Go
11 Las Vegas, NV Vamp’d

January:

25 Moline, IL Rascals
26 Nashville, TN Basement East
27 Atlanta, GA 120 Tavern
28 Birmingham, AL The Nick

February:

2nd-7th Miami, FL Monsters Of Rock Cruise

For more information, please visit:

Official Website
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ROB HALFORD SAYS THAT JUDAS PRIEST ARE WRITING MUSIC FOR THEIR NEXT ALBUM

Keith Valcourt of the Washington Times interviewed the Metal God, Rob Halford and Judas Priest guitarist, Richie Faulkner. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

Question: What made you get involved with Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp?

Rob Halford: For us it’s bigger than the music. It is very much an experience that brings a lot of skills and discoveries about yourself together. In that respect, it also enables you to learn that being in a band is a lot tougher than sitting around and playing guitar in your bedroom. You really have to try and find a way to communicate, to respect each other’s opinions and ideas, to be able to fight for something you feel is better than somebody else’s idea. It’s a lot of things other than the music. I think that’s the thing that draws us to it.

Q: What advice do you give young rockers?

Richie Faulkner: Practice. Listen. Use you ears. And as Rob said, that team effort. You can learn your instrument in your room, but being in a band is more than playing your instrument. Listen to other people. Respect the other people in the band, and work together to create something that is larger than the sum of its parts. And have fun.

RH: You gotta have fun. Even now we have fun onstage.

RF: Too much sometimes.

RH: We can look at each other and say, “How cool is this?!” Also, never lose perspective on where you are and what you’ve got. And how you got it. Don’t put yourself on a pedestal. Because it’s very easy for someone to knock you off. It’s balance.

Q: What do you guys get out of being here?

RH: It’s making new friends, helping people realize something that could be very, very important to them. And also learning something about yourself as a musician. Because we are looking at these rock ‘n’ roll campers, and we know what is going on in their minds because we’ve been there.

RF: It’s also giving back to the community that put us all there in the first place. Priest wouldn’t be here without the support of the fans. As soon as I joined the band, I got it straight away. Especially in my situation, since I’ve only been here five minutes. I was a fan.

Q: Rob, what part has sobriety played in your longevity?

RH: Without it? Oh, I’d be dead. Literally, I would be dead. I wouldn’t be talking to The Washington Times now. I wouldn’t be here. The place where I got to, the next step, was lost. I love people. I love being in a band. I love making music. I had to figure out that was way more important than being addicted.

Q: What is next for Judas Priest?

RF: We’re writing a new record this year. As we speak, really. We have already had a writing session in England earlier this year. We have another one coming up later this year. The focus is on a new record.

RH: Then road work to support the record. That’s the life really isn’t it? You write. You record. You play. And it never grows old.

Read more at the Washington Times.

source: washingtontimes.com

EDDIE TRUNK DISCUSSES HIS NEW FIVE-DAY-A WEEK SIRIUS/XM SHOW ON THE NEWLY LAUNCHED “VOLUME” CHANNEL

Caitlin Carter of Sirius/XM reports:

Eddie Trunk’s weekly live SiriusXM show Trunk Nation has become synonymous with “appointment listening.” Over the past three decades, he has built a reputation as one of the most respected personalities in the world of hard rock and heavy metal with fans and bands alike flocking to his program to hear in-depth interviews, commentary and live interaction with fans. His brand of “music and talk that rocks” fit so well with the mission of SiriusXM’s new channel Volume that they decided to make his weekly show a daily event.

Trunk says he’s excited about the show having “a much bigger platform.”

“Doing Trunk Nation on Volume is a culmination of all the things I’ve done in my life,” he explains.

Throughout his career, Trunk has dabbled in many aspects of the music industry — from his time as a record executive, to his work in artist management, to his years as a host and producer at VH1, MTV Classic and AXS TV. In 2010, he also added “author” to his credentials with the book Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock & Heavy Metal and its 2013 sequel.

“I’ve been doing a music talk show on SiriusXM for a long time already, one time a week, and it’s amazed me that wherever I’ve gone in the country, whether it’s artists or fans, they come up to me and they tell me, ‘We don’t care what we’re doing, when you’re on we need to be there.’ And that’s just this one-time-a-week little island I’ve been doing forever. Now, five days a week I’m going to be able to have that, and I’m really excited to see where that goes.”

Unlike the current iteration of his show on Hair Nation, Trunk Nation on Volume will go beyond the hard rock and metal he’s known for and expand into the rock genre as a whole.

“I’m known for doing a lot of hard rock and metal, and that is what I love, I’m not going to ever deny that, but I like other things, too,” he says. “And I want this to be a more wide-ranging rock platform and conversation. I believe there’s no good or bad music. There’s no right or wrong music. I think that it’s very subjective, and I respect all genres of music and respect people’s different tastes. But I also have my own tastes, and I’m not afraid to give my opinion when I’m asked.”

Despite having developed a relationship with nearly every rock musician on the planet, Trunk has no qualms with critiquing his heroes, and hopes his VOLUME audience will feel free to do so as well.

“Something that I’m really adamant about is that everybody should have the right to their opinion. It doesn’t mean that you don’t like the band anymore, but if they’re doing something you don’t like you should be able to say it.”

“Music,” he continues, “has been about passion for me – whether you like it, whether you don’t like it, it’s the way you express your passion for it.”

Hear Eddie Trunk display his unwavering passion for music, every day on Trunk Nation’s new home Volume (Ch. 106).

source: blog.siriusxm.com