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ORIGINAL AC/DC DRUMMER PHIL RUDD SAYS “I’VE NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE”

Annemarie Quill of New Zealand Herald reports:

Growing killer chillies was not something AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd ever thought would become a passion.

But when you are confined to the four walls of your house for eight months, even if it is a waterfront mansion with Ferraris as flatmates, “you discover things about yourself. You do a lot of thinking, play a lot of drums and grow f*** loads of chillies”…He opens the fridge to reveal a further production line of bottled chilli sauce.

“I like growing things. I like hot food. I had time on my hands. Now I have Phil Rudd hot chilli sauce.”

…In March, Rudd’s eight-month home detention ended. During his sentence he was banned from taking non-prescribed drugs and ordered to undergo drug and alcohol testing when police requested.

“I’m all done. I’m free. To do what I like … well, not really.”

…”I have behaved myself pretty well. I even tried to give up the cigarettes, but I haven’t. I didn’t drink. I am not a big drinker, so it doesn’t bother me. But, I have stopped all the crazy stuff.

At first it was hard. Frustrating. Not being able to go out to the shops. Do the little things. I was allowed a couple of hours twice a week to check on my boat. I’d go in the morning. I got to drive my cars. It was my only freedom. But being [a] Taurus, a self-determining person, at first I struggled with having to be home at a set time. But now, I am a homebody.”

…The quietness of the past eight months and the more low-key lifestyle is something he wants to continue, he says.

“It has become part of who I am now. With help. I have had to get help on my issues.”

Help has been in the form of a psychiatrist.

Rudd says he has been meeting with the doctor for one-on-one sessions for more than a year, which he describes as “really good”.

“He comes here to the house about once a week. I have got to know him pretty well. I would even describe him as a mate. At first I’d give him lots of s***, about Clockwork Orange psychiatry and all that … but talking about everything, as well as giving up the crazy s***, means that in a funny way, being forced to do that, it has been good. I was quite happy to get the help.”

Rudd says being able to admit that he did need help was hard. That it doesn’t go with the persona of a rockstar, “having issues”, but he was inspired by Sir John Kirwan talking about his depression and seeing how he overcame it.

“I’ve never felt better in my life. Physically, mentally, I am in the best shape I have ever been.”

[In regards to his former band AC/DC], Rudd says he has not spoken to band members since his conviction.

In an NZME interview earlier this month, when asked about Rudd, Angus Young said, “Phil I haven’t heard from. He’s been very quiet of late,” but Axl Rose was quoted as saying “I’ve talked to him about these other singers, though!”

Rudd smiled at that. “No, I have not spoken to Axl. He has not spoken to me.”

As for playing again with the band, Rudd is not saying never.

“It is up to Angus, what he wants to do. I am limited to where I can go.”

It is a much more subdued approach compared with straight after his sentence when he appeared on TV3 saying he wanted to “get my job back … I’m going to be back”.

Why the change of heart?

“I was over-fuelled. All over the place. I am not like that any more. I’ve never felt better as a drummer or a person. I am not saying I never hope of ever playing with AC/DC again but, then again, is it even AC/DC any more? No Bon’s beautiful voice. No Malcolm. No Brian.”

Read more at Bay of Plenty Times.

source: nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times

OZZFEST MEETS KNOTFEST ON THE WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER 24TH & 25TH IN SAN BERNARDINO, CA

Ozzfest meets Knotfest…the ultimate meeting of metal minds…a double-header music and lifestyle weekend like no other on the planet.

This merger of two of the most well-known and established brands in rock–Ozzfest, celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Knotfest, which debuted in 2012–is set for Saturday, September 24th (Ozzfest) and Sunday, September 25th (Knotfest) at San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, CA. Tickets for the Live Nation-produced Ozzfest meets Knotfest-a multi-stage, two-day weekend camping event with more than 40 acts–go on sale Friday, May 20th at 10:00 AM (PT) at Ozzfest.com and Knotfest.com. All the details and line-ups (below) were revealed at a major press conference today (Thursday, May 12th) at the Palladium in Hollywood, CA.

Saturday’s Ozzfest will be headlined by Black Sabbath–marking their last Southern California performance as part of the band’s final tour–and Sunday’s Knotfest bill is topped by the festival’s namesake, Slipknot. On hand at the press conference were Ozzfest founder Ozzy Osbourne and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and M. Shawn Crahan (aka Clown). The event began with a movie screening, followed by a Q&A session with artists from the Ozzfest meets Knotfest bill and concluded with a performance from Zakk Sabbath, led by Zakk Wylde.

“We are here to create havoc and history,” says Ozzy Osbourne. “Let the madness begin…”

“This could be the one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” says Corey Taylor of Slipknot. “Starting out as an Ozzfest band, coming into our own with Knotfest and now combining forces to make a little metal history…it was meant to be and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

“Playing with Black Sabbath is always an honor,”Shawn “Clown” Crahan of Slipknot exclaims. “Merging both festivals will be a legendary experience that will be life-changing for all fans. We are excited to bring all the families together again.”

“We want it to be the loudest, biggest, dirtiest festival in California. We couldn’t be happier,” says Sharon Osbourne.

“The impact of Ozzfest on heavy music and on Slipknot, cannot be underestimated,” says Cory Brennan, President, 5B Artist Management. “For 20 years Ozzfest has given fans their first glimpse at bands like Slipknot, Disturbed and countless others, but also bringing new fans and bands together every year. Ozzfest inspired Slipknot to continue this vital tradition with Knotfest, and it’s an honor to celebrate our genre alongside them in 2016.”

The San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds is where Ozzfest–the event that launched the U.S. hard rock festival market and went on to tour the world–began in 1996 and where Knotfest last year took over the San Bernardino, CA venue and expanded into a camping festival. There’s also a longtime history between the two namesakes of the events, with Slipknot appearing at Ozzfest in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2013 at the inaugural Ozzfest Japan.

The Ozzfest meets Knotfest 2016 line-up is as follows, with both Ozzfest and Knotfest dedicating a stage in honor of their departed comrade Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.

Ozzfest Line-up:

Saturday, September 24:

Main Stage:

Black Sabbath
Disturbed
Megadeth
Opeth
Black Label Society
Rival Sons

Lemmy Stage:

Children of Bodom
Hatebreed
DevilDriver
Goatwhore
Huntress
Dead Cross

Nuclear Blast Stage:

Municipal Waste
Kataklysm
Nails
The Shrine
Still Rebel

Knotfest Line-up:

Sunday, September 25th

Main Stage:

Slipknot
Slayer
Amon Amarth
Anthrax
Trivium

Lemmy Stage:

Sabaton
Suicide Silence
Overkill
Emmure
Butcher Babies
Man with A Mission

Nuclear Blast Stage:

Whitechapel
Combichrist
Death Angel
SIM
ONI

Beyond the music, each day Ozzfest meets Knotfest festival-goers will encounter a wide variety of attractions throughout the expansive site. Initial onsite daily activities include a Monster Truck Arena, Carnival Thrill Rides, Massive Fire Displays, Flaming Carnival Games, The Thunderdome Battle Arena, an 85 Person Traveling Troupe of Freaks, a Carnival Midway with Games of Chance, Vendor Village, Food Trucks and Craft Beer, with 50 Foot Tall x 75 Foot Wide Image-Mapped Video Walls flanking the Main Stage, with more exciting developments to be announced in the coming months.

A variety of Ozzfest meets Knotfest ticketing and camping packages are available. Single day tickets range from $25.00 for GA lawn to $39.50-$149.50 for reserved seats, with GA pit passes starting at $99.00 for Sunday and $149.00 Saturday. Weekend passes range from $40.00 for GA lawn to $69.00-$239.00 for reserved seats, and $239.00 for GA pit passes. VIP packages start at $249.00 for VIP Lounge; options include the Ultimate Slipknot VIP Experience at $1,000.00, the Black Sabbath M&G Package at $1250 and the Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Experience at $2500. Camping selections include Tent Camping for $150.00 and RV Camping for $250.00. Additional details on camping and ticketing options can be found at Ozzfest.com and Knotfest.com.

Ozzfest on the web:

Ozzfest.com
facebook.com/ozzfestofficial
instagram.com/theozzfest/
twitter.com/theozzfest

ALICE COOPER DISCUSSES WORKING ON NEW MUSIC WITH HIS ORIGINAL BAND MEMBERS

Gary Graff of Billboard reports:

After flirtations at the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and on the same year’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare album, Alice Cooper and the members of his original band — guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — are working together again on new music for the shock rocker’s next album.

“Neal Smith and Mike Bruce and I wrote five songs in Phoenix,” Cooper tells Billboard. “Dennis wrote four or five songs in Connecticut. You never know what’s going to make it on an album, but I think we’ve got a lot of stuff that has a good chance of being there.” Members of Cooper’s current band are also contributing songs for the set, which has led to a welcome plethora of material. “I don’t care where a song comes from; If it fits the idea, what the album’s going to be, then we go with it,” Cooper says. “We’ll see which ones make the album.”

Cooper also has in mind performing again with Bruce — who’s recovering from recent hand surgery — Dunaway and Smith (original guitarist Glen Buxton died in 1997) after playing together last year to promote Dunaway’s memoir Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group. “I would have no problem with that,” Cooper says. “In my show, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a segment where certain guys come in. We do that anyway already; If Dennis is in town he comes up and plays with us. If Neal’s in town he’ll come up and play ‘School’s Out’ or something like that. Same with Mike. He’s really getting back into shape.”

Read more at Billboard.

source: billboard.com

“ROCK CARNIVAL” RETURNS TO NEW JERSEY FEATURING TWISTED SISTER’S FAREWELL PERFORMANCE, ACE FREHLEY, DOKKEN, OVERKILL, TOM KEIFER AND OTHERS

New Jersey, get ready to rock harder than ever. The second annual Rock Carnival will take place on September 30th, October 1st and October 2nd in Lakewood, NJ at First Energy Park, home of the Lakewood Blue Claws.

As with its inaugural year, which drew a staggering 50,000+ attendees, the second annual Rock Carnival will feature classic carnival rides and entertainment, the most delicious food truck offerings, high-action Professional Wrestling, beer gardens pouring the tastiest of brews, and of course… the best in local, national and international rock and heavy metal music performances. This year will introduce a “Classic Rewind” Friday Night concert, featuring some special performances from 2015 performers, returning to the event they loved.

Three-day general admission and reserved seat Weekend Packages for this year’s Rock Carnival go on sale Friday, May 13th at 12:00pm Eastern time. Three-day “Early Bird” general admission passes start at $95.90 and weekend reserved seat tickets start at $119.99. Get your tickets at TicketFly.

Skyboxes, reserved seats, daily general admission and VIP experiences (presented by SoundRink) will be available on June 7th.

The first wave of Rock Carnival live music entertainment to be announced is topped by single-day headliners Twisted Sister, whose performance will mark their official farewell show for the U.S. northeast. With over 2 million records sold, Twisted Sister is undoubtedly one of the biggest heavy metal bands to emerge from the tri-state area, hitting the big time in 1984 with their hit tracks We’re Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock. Since then, Twisted Sister have never wavered as pop culture icons – from their never-ending MTV/VH1 music video rotation and coverage that remains to this day, to standing up for the rights of musicians everywhere during their highly-publicized battle with the PMRC in 1995, to their resurgence over the last two decades with countless performances and iconic frontman Dee Snider’s A&E Network TV show Growing Up Twisted. The band closes its career close to where it all began in Lakehurst, NJ where they played many shows early on in their career. This performance at Rock Carnival will mark the end of an era for heavy metal and Twisted Sister – tri-state area fans, don’t miss your chance to see the band at their final area performance!

Twisted Sister’s JJ French states, “As 2016 marks the end of our live performing career, Twisted Sister is looking forward to returning to the Tri-State NYC area for the final time to the Rock Carnival at First Energy Park in Lakewood, NJ on Oct 1, 2016. In celebrating our 40th anniversary and our farewell to live performing, we are bringing our “40 & F*ck It” worldwide farewell tour one last time to the area that created us!”

Other top hard rock and metal artists already confirmed to perform at Rock Carnival include Overkill, Ace Frehley, Monster Magnet, Fuel, Tom Keifer’s Cinderella, Dokken, Texas Hippie Coalition, Doro, Four By Fate, Killcode, Jester and American Angel. Several more Rock Carnival performances will be announced soon, taking place on multiple stages including two main festival stages, side by side, on the field. Fans will have general admission access to the stadium field. The event will feature the Birch Hill stage, a very popular performance area and craft beer section.

Rock Carnival producer John D’Esposito says, “This year’s line-up far exceeds our expectations.” He adds, “The incredible new layout, amenities and resources are sure to enhance the Carnival experience for our fans and their families.”

More carnival details, per-day line-ups and other entertainment will be announced soon. For more information, visit therockcarnival.com.

EDDIE TRUNK DISCUSSES HIS NEW TV PROJECTS, HIS FORTHCOMING AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MUSICIAN TWITTER BATTLES

Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx spoke with our very own Eddie Trunk. Highlights from the interview appear below.

Sleaze Roxx: You’re working with AXS. You’ll be part of Reel To Real which will be airing a number of documentaries and you’ll be adding some commentary within the airing. Is that accurate?

Eddie Trunk: That’s 100% accurate. In fact, I have been getting the word out to people of exactly this. There’s people who say “Eddie you have a new show on AXS and I’m switching cable providers!” I appreciate the sentiment, but the truth of the matter is that I’m just hosting the documentary series called as you stated Reel To Real.

AXS commissioned about 20 documentaries of all genres — anything from hard rock to classical piano. I wrote the scripts for all the movies. I tell the viewer what the movie is all about. I then come on again toward the middle of the movie and give the viewer some information. I then come in toward the end of the movie and thank the viewer for watching and in some cases, I give updated information. Some of the movies are over 10 years old.

It’s really great working with these guys. I worked with them on a few things when they were still called HD Net. I wanted to work with them but since I was under contract with VH-1 Classic, I couldn’t do it but when it was announced that That Metal Show wasn’t going to continue (on VH-1 Classic), AXS approached me about contracting with them to do this series. I understand that AXS is running the promos right now. I can’t even see it because my cable provider doesn’t carry AXS [laughs]!

Sleaze Roxx: So you wrote all the scripts for the documentaries?

Eddie Trunk: So, for 12 of the 20, I wrote my own copy. AXS wanted my own words. I’ll give you an example. One of the films is Jason Becker’s ‘Not Dead Yet.’ I reached out to Jason and asked him if there was anything that he wanted to say in terms of an update. Jason sent a nice note that he wanted me to read for the viewers. Then there’s the film about the murder of Dave Navarro’s mother. Again, I reached out and spoke with Dave and asked if he’s like to say anything to the audience about the film. I’m a huge documentary fan. I’m an even bigger fan of music documentaries. There were some that I had viewed before but then there are films like the Navarro one that I had no knowledge of. There’s one about a classical piano player which I didn’t know existed. While I’m not a classical piano fan, I found the story very interesting. It’s a very cool project to be a part of.

Sleaze Roxx: Tell us about the pilot that you shot recently and the progress with that?

Eddie Trunk: I got the call from a guy that I’ve known for a very long time when he heard about the cancellation of That Metal Show. He’s a producer by the name of Don Magni who has stuff that’s been on MTV, VH-1 and public television. He said “I’m a big fan and I want to help you in any way possible.” Don basically lent me his staff and his facility and resources to shoot this pilot. We shot the pilot at Iridium which as you know is Les Paul’s club and it’s wired for sound and performance.

I’ve always wanted to do something similar to The Actor’s Studio but for music, in fact, that was the original concept for The Metal Show but it evolved into what you saw on TV. I went back to that idea with this pilot…I called my friend of 30 years — Ace Frehley — who was in town to promote his latest album. He loved the idea. I should have the final edit of the show any minute or by the end of the week. Then it will go to my agent who will shop it to various outlets. He’s very confident that someone will pick it up. The biggest challenge in making this show is that I need to trim it down to 48 minutes and Ace and I spoke for two hours and 20 minutes! That was agonizing to do! The whole conversation was a pot of gold in my opinion.

Sleaze Roxx: You’re also working on a new book but this time around, it’s your autobiography.

Eddie Trunk: [Long pause] Yeah. I started it a couple months ago. It started off pretty well but I got completely sidetracked with everything I just told you about. I pretty much put it on the back burner though I did manage to write two chapters. No one has read them but I will say that the publisher of my last two books is very interested in it. I have another publisher that is also interested in the book. I’d like to write at least two more chapters then work forward from there. Like you said, it isn’t going to be like my first two books. It will be my story. I promise there will a lot of great behind the scenes stuff. I would like to write it completely on my own and not use a co-writer. I was hoping to have it out by the end of 2016 but as it looks like now, it’s unlikely.

Sleaze Roxx: What do you make of musicians taking to social media and battling trolls? We’ve spoke about Paul Stanley in the past blasting people on Twitter. It seems that Sebastian Bach was pulled into the vortex over a negative concert review in Atlanta recently.

Eddie Trunk photoEddie Trunk: I heard a little bit about that. Not that much to tell you the truth. Baz is a very emotional guy; I’m not surprised that he got caught up in that. These guys are human. [Some] tune that all out and let it roll off their back and others react and shoot back! I do that myself at times. I go through my Twitter feed and 99.9% of them are good people who say constructive and positive things or at the very least in a nice way. Listen, it just takes one person to say something really absurd that rubs you the wrong way and you respond. That’s what they are looking for. We’ve all done it. We’ve all been there. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time that Sebastian will go down that road.

There’s a side of me that really likes it when these guys fire back. I think you just have to be careful that you don’t do it so much. That is what those people are looking for — acknowledgement…What gets me is when someone pops off about something that has no merit whatsoever. I’ll give you an example. Recently, someone posted that the reason ‘That Metal Show’ wasn’t on the air was because “Eddie wants too much money! Eddie’s demands are too high!” I just laughed at that! Where does someone even come up with something like that?! It has nothing to do with me [laughs]! There’s a crew of 40 people that the show employs. It’s about the budget, the cost of producing the show — it’s not about me.

In the case of Sebastian for the most part, he really does sing fairly well. I don’t know maybe the guy had a bad night. Again, I don’t have a problem firing back. Just don’t do it all the time otherwise people will bait you.

Read more at Sleaze Roxx.

source: sleazeroxx.com