As previously reported, Ozzfest will be teaming up with Knotfest in San Bernardino, CA on the weekend of September 24th and 25th.
At the press conference at the Hollywood Palladium, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler commented on the band’s final tour saying, “It’s good to finish at the top rather than just dragging it down and down and down. It felt like 13 could have been the last tour. Mainly, Tony is the one that really wanted to finish it.”
As time passes, the end comes nearer. “Everybody’s dying, you know,” Ozzy said. “I go, ‘I hope don’t die tonight!’ It’s like the year of the dying rock star, isn’t it? And yet the Stones keep going on. Paul McCartney keeps going on.”
“When Prince died, I was like, ‘Wow, what the fuck?’ David Bowie, Lemmy. F–king hell, it’s one a week,” Ozzy said. Then he added with a laugh, “There’s going to be some good equipment on sale soon.”
After Sabbath stops touring, Ozzy will continue as a solo artist, but he is also looking toward his own retirement from touring, according to [his wife] Sharon, who will continue to manage his career. “We’ll continue until Ozzy finishes, and Ozzy won’t be long behind them when he calls it a day,” she said, still clearly guiding her husband’s trajectory, as she has since the the beginning of the 1980s.
“It’s not going to be within the next year, but it’s coming up,” she said. “I don’t want Ozzy singing Crazy Train at 75. I think it’s best you go out before you hit that 70 and go out on top.”
Read more, and watch a video from the press conference, at Rolling Stone.
Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx spoke with former Danger Danger frontman, Ted Poley, about his new solo album. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Sleaze Roxx: You have a great new record Beyond the Fade. I imagine the response has been pretty good to it?
Ted Poley: Thank you for saying that about the record. The reviews have been awesome and I had signed copies of the album through my site and we sold them all in record time. I wanted to do something for the hard core fans that wanted a signed copy. I thought those would last for a couple weeks, but we sold out in two days [laughs]. I think it’s driven by the positive reviews and the videos that Frontiers has released. It’s been awesome.
Sleaze Roxx: While I have you on the phone, I would be insane not to ask you some Danger Danger questions. What are some memories you have about recording the debut record? Sadly, the band issued the debut and follow up right before the changing of the guard.
Ted Poley: That was magical. It was my first “big” record deal. We all lived in a condo in New Jersey where we were recording the album. The songs were very cool. If you’ve heard the demos, the versions that made the record were very close to the original demos.
Like you said, we came out at about “a quarter till grunge.” About 15 minutes after we came out, everyone was wearing flannel and goatees [laughs]! That was that. They flicked the “off” switch and that was that and it was over. I have no regrets. It was a really special time. I really like that first record. We worked with Lance Quinn who had worked with Bon Jovi. As a matter of fact, Obie O’Brien who was one of Bon Jovi’s engineers stopped by the studio and he told us that [Jon] Bon Jovi liked the studio so much that he bought it [laughs]! Thankfully, he allowed us to finish recording the album before he moved all the (recording) equipment into his house [laughs]!
I do think we were the last band to record there. After we were done, they moved the mixing board into his basement. Obie actually asked me to come with him to Jon’s house because he was in the basement framing it in preparation for the equipment to be moved in. Obie says “Hey Ted you wanna go to Jon’s house?!” I said “Yeah, I would love to go to Jon’s house!” [laughs] Oh, that was so awesome because it was at the peak of “Jon Bon Jokiness.” It was surreal. Obie was close to Jon so we get to the gate. The gate opens, we walked through the property through the garage. I saw Jon’s vintage and sports cars and then got to see where the studio would be.
There was Jon walking around barefooted and he was the nicest guy you could ever meet! He bought us lunch from an Italian restaurant and he stuck me in his office and played me the New Jersey album which they’d just completed. It was the ultimate Bon Jovi experience thanks to Obie O’Brien. Little did I know what was coming! [laughs].
Sleaze Roxx: I remember the videos for the debut getting regular rotation on Dial MTV. How did that feel like? I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like?
Ted Poley: I f–king miss that s–t! [laughs hysterically] That was the best! I’m not going to bulls–t you man. That’s everything you ever wanted.
Sleaze Roxx: Any memories of the Screw It record?
Ted Poley: When we did that record, it was the beginning of the musical shift. By the time we set out to record the Cockroach record, we were there. We spent a lot of money on that Monkey Business video. [laughs] We should have invested that on an apartment building! We spent somewhere in the area of two to three hundred thousand dollars on that video. I might have seen it played 2-3 times on MTV at three in the morning. It’s an awesome video for its time but honestly an apartment building would have been a better investment! [laughs]
We used Erwin Musper who gave us a little less slick of a sound. Lance [Quinn] gave us an early Bon Jovi like sound. I don’t know that it was a “conscious” decision to move to a different sound at the time. I couldn’t have cared less. I was too busy getting laid. [laughs] Don’t get me wrong, I’m a musician, but there was a lot going on at the time to keep me occupied.
Sleaze Roxx: Last thing, have you ever approached by an established band to audition to be their vocalist?
Ted Poley: I was by a couple really cool bands. Nothing that I think I would take to the next level. At one point right after I left Danger Danger, I got a call from a really cool band called Royal Hunt. I liked them but I liked them without me! [laughs]
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
