Cinderella bassist Eric Brittingham was recently interviewed on the Talk Toomey podcast where he discussed the future of the band. Excerpts from the interview appear below, as transcribed by blabbermouth.net.
On the future of Cinderella:
“That is the big question. It’s, like, what are we doing? It’s been four years now that Tom’s [Keifer, (frontman)] been on his own. I don’t think he’s coming back. So that’s probably the big question. I guess that’s the big question that I have: what are we doing? ‘Cause we’re not making any new music [and] he is, so I guess that’s probably the answer right there.”
…It went from just doing, like, whatever just to fill the time. [I thought] ‘[Tom’s] solo record’s coming out, so I guess we’re not touring this year. I guess we’ll do it next year.’ And here’s four years later, and it’s, like, okay, I’m still kind of playing… I’m playing in four different freakin’ projects at the moment — I’ve got a residency, I’ve got a southern rock thing, I’ve got an original thing, a power-trio thing I’m doing… It’s, like, I’m just making my ends meet.”
…If [Tom] wants to do a tour [with CINDERELLA], I’m in. I’m glad that I didn’t hold my breath. I’d be blue now. [Laughs] Like I said, Tom’s having fun doing what he’s doing, so I guess, all in all, I’m looking to do something more permanent, I guess, too. I don’t know what that would be, but… We’ll see. If any bands are out there that are looking for a permanent bass player, apparently I am free. [Laughs]”
Tom Keifer released his solo album, The Way Life Goes, on April 30th, 2013. Cinderella’s last release was 1994’s, Still Climbing.
According to TMZ, Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson’s death is being investigated as a suicide.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Emerson had a single gunshot wound to the head when his girlfriend found him in their home in Santa Monica.
He had recently been suffering from a serious medical problem — a degenerative nerve issue in his right hand … according to TMZ sources. They were told he could only play the keyboard with 8 fingers at this point and knew it was only going to get worse.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson has died at the age of 71.
Drummer Carl Palmer released a statement that read:
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my good friend and brother-in-music, Keith Emerson. Keith was a gentle soul whose love for music and passion for his performance as a keyboard player will remain unmatched for many years to come. He was a pioneer and an innovator whose musical genius touched all of us in the worlds of rock, classical and jazz. I will always remember his warm smile, good sense of humor, compelling showmanship, and dedication to his musical craft. I am very lucky to have known him and to have made the music we did, together. Rest in peace, Keith.
Carl Palmer
March 11, 2016”
The band’s Facebook page states:
“We regret to announce that Keith Emerson died last night at his home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, aged 71. We ask that the family’s privacy and grief be respected.”
The keyboardist was born on November 2, 1944, and played with the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown’s Bodies, The T-Bones, The V.I.P.’s and PP Arnold’s backing band The Nice, before co-founding supergroup ELP in 1970 with singer and guitarist Greg Lake and drummer and percussionist Carl Palmer.
They released the studio albums Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Tarkus, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, Works Volume 1 and 2, and Love Beach between their formation and 1978, along with live record Pictures At An Exhibition.
They split in 1979, coming back together in 1991, releasing Black Moon in 1992 and In The Hot Seat in 1994.
Emerson also carved out a successful solo career and worked on a variety of film soundtracks.
Ruben Mosqueda of Oregon Music News spoke with our very own Eddie Trunk. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
OMN: VH-1 Classic has disappointed a lot of hard rock and metal fans but not picking up That Metal Show for another season. Who owns the rights to the name if you take it elsewhere can you use the name?
Eddie: Thank you and thank you to the fans that are upset about the show. We didn’t want it to happen either; we had a tremendous run with them. We’re grateful for what it was but we do hope to go to bigger and better things from here forward. As far as the name is concerned it’s under the control of our producer who I might add no longer works for VH-1. For all intents and purposes we control the name with him. He owns it of course we’re tied to it because it’s That Metal Show.
We’ll see how this all plays out. He’s trying as hard as we are to try to keep the show alive and find a new home for it. It could wind up bigger, better and on a new network—which is what we all hope for. It could wind up as a slightly different variation on the show under a different name. We’re hoping for some good news in the next month or so.
OMN: You were always pretty cautious when approached by fans on social media, the radio show or even in your live appearances about “the next season” of That Metal Show. It didn’t matter if it was season 3 or 13 you always said that you were waiting to hear if the show was being picked up. Was it really season to season with VH-1 Classic? I think fans often thought that it was a given that VH-1 Classic would renew the show.
Eddie: No it was never like that, it was season to season like you said. The way it worked after every season they had 90 days after the last episode to let us know if they want us to do more. We would just wait for what is called in the industry a “pick-up notice” which is a legal document that is sent to our agents or managers from their lawyers exercising their options. We were very lucky that that option was exercised 14 times.
The only time that we knew that there would be a “next season” was the first season. Mid-way through the first season we received notice that we would be doing a second season. The reason for that I feel was that the network needed to do a second season to find out if the had something they needed to do a second season. That’s the only time we worked with any security that we still had a future with the network. If you recall back then the show was 30 minutes long we weren’t being paid as much and the show wasn’t as expensive for the network to do.
OMN: Stump the Trunk has taken a life of it’s own. Have you ever been approached about spinning that off into it’s own stand alone show?
Eddie: It has. I have been told this before; I have a new agent that is looking at what opportunities are out there for me. Who knows? It could happen? I’m totally open to some kind of ‘rock n’ roll trivia’ thing. As you know. It’s been done before—it doesn’t seem to last long. I have become known as “that guy” so I’m willing to explore it. Unfortunately, VH-1 Classic didn’t do anything.
OMN: Who’s the best classic rock act going strong and still delivering live at the moment?
Eddie: Well, I’d have to say Aerosmith. They’re remarkable. I grew up loving Aerosmith—I still do. I’ve seen them live a lot over the last few years and for what they did early in their career and for their age; they’re remarkable. It’s still the original five guys, they still look great and in my opinion Steven Tyler is still “the best” frontman in hard rock. I savor everyday that we still have the band intact. It’s special. I also have to say Cheap Trick in my opinion is a close second. They don’t have Bun E. Carlos in the band anymore but they’re still amazing. Sammy Hagar is another great one. Sammy is almost 70?! Can you believe that?!
OMN: What’s is more likely to happen; David Lee Roth finally getting the Eat ‘Em and Smile band back together or Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony joining Van Halen?
Eddie: Well, as you know the Eat ‘Em reunion was seconds from happening. The band was literally on stage before the fire marshal shut it down. I think I’d have to go with Roth getting that band back together because it comes down to just one guy wanting to do it. I think the only thing preventing it from happening is the fact that David doesn’t know what is happening with Van Halen. I assume he doesn’t want to burn that bridge until he’s sure there’s nothing going on. There’s been a lot made about Eddie (Van Halen) and Sammy exchanging pleasantries on Twitter, but I don’t make a whole lot of that. Then again that’s how things happened with Slash and Axl (Rose).
OMN: In closing what’s your most anticipated record of 2016?
Eddie: Well, I have it already—the new Anthrax record (For All Kings) is simply amazing. It’s out at the end of February (29th). I can’t believe it’s been five years since Worship Music they’ve followed it up with another great record. Anthrax is making some of the best music of their career.
A record that I know is done and that I hope eventually gets released in 2016 is John Sykes’ new album. He’s an incredible guitarist and songwriter. The album was completed now for a couple of years and he’s just sitting on it. John is very stagnant as far as the business; I think he struggles a little bit with the current state of the music industry.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund held a Street Party last Saturday (March 5th) at Harley-Davidson of Glendale to launch its 2nd Annual Ride For Ronnie Motorcycle Rally & Concert. Attendees were able to pre-register for the upcoming event, which will be held on Sunday, May 22nd, 2016. During an afternoon of live entertainment provided by Dio Disciples, Gabbie Rae, Budderside and The Loveless, the winning ticket was drawn for a one-of-a-kind Holy Diver Harley Motorcycle. More than 400 tickets were sold both online and in person at the event with 100% of the net proceeds going to the Dio Cancer Fund.
“Boston” Tom Foresteire of Northridge won the 2015 FXDB Street Bob model Harley that was custom-painted with the illustration that graced the cover of Ronnie James Dio’s iconic Holy Diver album. Additionally, 10 winners were drawn who received a pair of tickets to the May 22nd event.
The 2nd Annual Ride For Ronnie Motorcycle Rally and Concert will depart from Harley-Davidson of Glendale at 11AM and ride to Los Encinos Park in Encino, where attendees will be treated to an afternoon of live music, raffle/silent auction, food trucks and more. The Inaugural Ride, held last May 2015 as part of a weekend of events commemorating the 5th anniversary of the passing of Ronnie James Dio, drew over 300 riders and fans. Several dozen riders pre-registered for the Ride For Ronnie during the street party, which also yielded revenue for the charity from merchandise sales and direct donations.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was formed in memory of the legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010. SUAS has already raised over $1million for cancer research projects in its short history. Just recently, Jimmy Bain, the original bass player in Dio, died of lung cancer and Lemmy Kilmister, the celebrated leader of Mötorhead, lost his battle with what was deemed an “extremely aggressive cancer” just after Christmas. These and other high profile deaths attributed to cancer have only reinforced the commitment of the Dio Cancer Fund to support research and education that furthers early detection, prevention and treatment of prostate, colon and gastric cancers. Portions of the money raised thus far has been allocated to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research, and the Gastric Cancer Research Unit of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated during the last six months of his life.
Other than the pre-Super Bowl show last month, Metallica have been lying low so far this year. Nevertheless, they’re anticipating a very busy 2016. Although they have no tour dates on the books as of right now, Lars Ulrich tells Kory Grow of Rolling Stone that will change once they get past one big hurdle.
“I think it will be a pretty in-your-face year, at least the back half of it,” the drummer says. “Obviously, we’ve gotta finish the new record now. But, thankfully we’re quite far along. Hopefully we should be able to knock that on the head this spring, I would guess. So, we will be gearing up and playing shows and doing all that fun stuff again soon.”
As the group has been keeping an eye toward the future with the new LP, the band members have also been keenly aware of the records that got them to this point in time. In addition to writing and recording the LP, Metallica have also been prepping deluxe reissues of their debut, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, and its follow-up, 1984’s Ride the Lightning, in time for Record Store Day, when they’ll also put out a live album they recorded at Paris’ Bataclan to benefit charity. They’ve also worked with author Matt Taylor on his book, Back to the Front, which covers the making of 1986’s Master of Puppets and is due out later this year.
“There’s been this dichotomy between the new record, moving the band forward, and all this great stuff that’s happening in the future, and then really seeing the Matt Taylor book and reissues,” Ulrich says. “We’ve had one foot in the past, sifting through old photos and old memorabilia and listening to old songs, and another in the new album. It’s been a confluence of all these different energies, and I’m not even sure exactly what to make of all of it.”
 at Harley-Davidson of Glendale to launch its 2nd Annual Ride For Ronnie Motorcycle Rally & Concert. ... )
