Scott Weiland is filing a $7 million countersuit against his fellow co-founders of Stone Temple Pilots, claiming they do not have the legal right to remove him from the band and asking a judge to bar their use of the name going forward.
“How do you expel a man from the band that he started, named, sang lead on every song, wrote the lyrics, and was the face of for twenty years?” Weiland said, according to TMZ.
He wants a judge to dissolve the band partnership and is asking for at least $7 million in damages.
This legal action follows a lawsuit filed on May 24th from STP that accuses Weiland of using the band’s name to promote his solo career. It bluntly asks a judge to strip Weiland’s ability to play the band’s songs during a solo set.
The singer denied misrepresenting his live shows in a letter to fans.
“When I tour on my own, it’s never as Stone Temple Pilots. It’s as Scott Weiland,” he said. “The fans deserve to know what they’re getting.”
The remaining members of the group are carrying on with Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington taking over as part-time frontman. On May 18th, the group performed a 40-minute surprise set at KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast where they debuted new song “Out of Time.”
Guitarist Dean DeLeo said at the time that “we know Linkin Park will always be [Bennington’s] priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together.”
The Todd La Torre fronted version of Queensryche have released a new song called Fallout. Listen to it below.
Queensryche’s self titled album will be released on June 25th through Century Media Records
Queensryche track list:
1. X2
2. Where Dreams Go To Die
3. Spore
4. In This Light
5. Redemption
6. Vindication
7. Midnight Lullaby
8. A World Without
9. Don’t Look Back
10. Fallout
11. Open Road
Kix are currently in the studio with producer/songwriter Taylor Rhodes working on pre-production for the band’s new studio album, their first since 1995’s Show Business.
Last year Kix released the live package Live In Baltimore through Frontiers Records, with frontman Steve Whiteman stating, “This is a great thing for us and we hope it’s a great thing for Kix fans all around the world. We are so thrilled to finally be able to give the fans what they have been asking for, a live DVD and new Kix music in 2013! We have been hard at work getting new material together that we think will stand shoulder to shoulder with any previous Kix record. It’s a really exciting time!”
Since Kix’ return to the national stage in 2008 with appearances at two of the biggest rock festivals in the US, Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma and Rock The Bayou in Houston, Texas, the band has amassed a large number of successful live shows all across the USA, with regular appearances at festivals, casinos and biker rallys, culminating with headlining the hugely successful M3 Festival in Columbia, Maryland two years in a row.
Last year Whiteman told Sleaze Roxx, “As for the new studio record, we agreed to that for the sake of getting this DVD out — we felt that strongly about it. Funny Money was getting ready to record a new CD so I had a bunch of material lying around. Mark Schenker, our bass player, has a lot of material lying around and Brian Forsythe has some material for use for a new record. Our plan is to combine this music and put 25-30 songs together, throw them in the pot, work on them little by little, and see if we can turn them into Kix songs. If we can get 10-12 strong Kix songs together for an album the fans are going to love — then we’ll put it out. We look forward to promoting the new music — Kix is back and we’re going to be around for a while.”
Producer Taylor Rhodes has previously worked with Kix on the ‘Show Business’, ‘Hot Wire’ and ‘Blow My Fuse’ albums. He is best known for writing songs with Aerosmith, Ratt, Ozzy Osbourne, Loverboy, Cheap Trick, Tora Tora and others.
Kix currently consists of original members Whiteman, guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brian Forsythe, drummer Jimmy Chalfant and newest member Mark Schenker on bass.
The only original member missing from the current line-up of Kix is Donnie Purnell. Whiteman explained to Sleaze Roxx why the bassist is missing, “When Kix disbanded in ’96 I started a band called Funny Money. In Funny Money I was given a vehicle where I could write my own material which was hard to do in Kix because Donnie controlled everything in that band. Getting anything onto a Kix record was hard to do because of that reason. I was finally able to write an entire album’s worth of material for my band Funny Money. There was a song that Donnie and I had written that I wanted to release, I called him up so he wouldn’t be blindsided by it and he tore into me. He called me every name in the book — he accused me of using his name and his talent and that I was taking the song from him. It was the most unpleasant and nasty conversation that I’ve ever had in my life. It was right then and there that I decided that I never wanted to go through that ever again. When it came time for us to reform and we performed some local shows it was our decision not to have him involved because we wanted to enjoy it and not have any pressure. Donnie would always add so much pressure to everything and it was just so unnecessary, so we decided to try it without him. To be honest I’ve never had a fan walk up to me and ask me, “Where’s Donnie? How come he’s not involved?” We were going out to play the old music — we could do that without him just fine.”
The Winery Dogs, a new project featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison) have posted a video online for their third song I’m No Angel from their forthcoming self titled album. The video can be viewed below.
The Winery Dogs have also released videos for their songs Elevate and Desire.
Of The Winery Dogs’ signing, Mike Portnoy commented, “I am so excited about The Winery Dogs and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet! Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think The Winery Dogs will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves. And what can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn’t been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend. I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with Dream Theater. I look forward to continuing that relationship with The Winery Dogs!”
21 Guns’ 1992 album Salute has been reissued by Rock Candy Records. The album, featuring 24-bit remastering, a 4000 word essay about the making of the album, new interviews with the band, enhanced artwork and photos spread out over a 16 page full color booklet, is available for purchase at ww.rockcandyrecords.co.uk.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Thin Lizzy were one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Lead guitarist Scott Gorham was, of course, an essential part of that outfit, carving out a reputation on a string of spectacular albums with his spellbinding guitar playing. After the demise of Thin Lizzy, Scott cooled his engines and spent some time planning for the future, which eventually led to the formation of 21 Guns, a band fit for purpose, boasting both precision and power.
Joining Scott in this new recording venture was an all American line-up, consisting of co-writer, bassist and keyboard player Leif Johansen (Phenomena), drummer Mike Sturgis (Asia) and vocalist Thomas La Verdi, who had previously fronted cult AOR unit A440. Partnering with renowned producer and mixing engineer Chris Lord Alge (Meatloaf, Creed), 21 Guns recorded their album in Los Angeles and found the finished product receiving plaudits from virtually everyone who heard it.
Originally released in 1992, all would have been well and good if only the grunge revolution wasn’t in full swing. With their melodic and polished sheen 21 Guns were ostracized by some quarters the media for sounding dated and being part of a musical heritage that was now rapidly becoming passe. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight we can clearly see that ‘Salute’ was one of the finest rock albums of any era, allowing Scott Gorham to unleash stupendous guitar work and spectacularly crafted songs.
Steve Baltin ofRolling Stonespoke with rock icon Alice Cooper. Portions of the interview appear below.
RS: How is the covers record we spoke about in March going?
AC: We’re about halfway through the record. The tour is sort of in the way, but that’s okay, because we don’t need to put the record out until next year. I always tour June through December anyway, so we knew that was coming anyway, and this is one of those records we’re doing just for the fun of it, so if it comes out next year, no big deal. But the tour is interesting. I toured with Zombie the year before and with Iron Maiden and now with Manson. It’s sort of like Dracula meets the Werewolf meets Frankenstein.
RS: Have you had a chance to hang out more with Manson since we spoke?
AC: I saw him at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and then I had him on my radio show, so yeah we’re feeling each other out. We have a lot in common, stuff that other people wouldn’t have in common in the fact that we both play characters. We both created a couple of monster characters and then what we kind of talked about on my radio show is how do you deal with that character against your real life? And sometimes that character being the fact that it’s so overpowering, does it ever take over? For me, I’ve had a lot more time to work with Alice, so I know when to be Alice and when not to be Alice. I just told him it’s very hard to maintain a character 24 hours a day and there may come a time when you have to divorce yourself from the character just so you’ll like the character.
RS:Did you give him advice on it then?
AC: He’s very smart, he’s got very good insight. We were talking about why we created the characters, what was the idea behind it. My idea was that rock needed a consummate villain and I would be more than happy to create that villain. I thought I had to be that character all the time and it nearly killed me. I’m trying to drink with Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and those guys, and they’re professionals, and I’m like 18 years old, it nearly killed me. That’s when I realized I have to allow myself to be me and then I really appreciate playing the character of Alice. I don’t know how long you can maintain one character 24 hours a day without having some kind of a break.
RS: My guess is you probably would start to lose your identity.
AC: Yeah, but again, that’s just something you have to learn. I didn’t know my limitations until I got to the point where I got to a near-death experience and then I started going, “Wait, now I know where Alice ends and I begin.” It’s one of the only things I can give him advice on, cause we and Rob Zombie are three of the people that created characters we had to deal with, our bigger-than-life mythological character. And me being that character for 40 years gave me a little more insight into it. I might handle it differently than they do, but I can at least show them where the thin ice is.
RS: You know you’ve influenced these artists as well, so it’s interesting; you’re hearing your stuff interpreted through their eyes.
AC: I think the difference is that my background is Yardbirds, the Who, Rolling Stones, West Side Story and Creature From The Black Lagoon, that’s my background. I come from that blues-rock and then I put my own twist on it and my own Twilight Zone twist on it, whereas these guys, Zombie and Marilyn, both come from a more industrial kind of music, much more from a techno background. When you saw Alice and Zombie, that was a very classic kind of show. Alice was pure hard rock, classic rock, lots of hits and then lots of Vaudevillian show biz, whereas Zombie was just all techno and in your face kind of theatrics. That was great. It was all video and this and that, and I sat there and watched his show and went, “This is great.” I love the way he used technology, whereas my show is much more handmade. So you get two entirely different kinds of monsters in that show. I have a feeling it’s going to be more like that with Manson also. I think Manson is also going to have more of a techno version, he is more of a techno monster than Alice, whereas Alice is more cerebral I think. These guys were influenced by Alice’s attitude and Alice’s persona whereas they weren’t as influenced by my music. Trent Reznor’s music probably influenced them more and I totally get that idea. When you see a Marilyn and a Zombie and an Alice – when you get in front of the audience, it’s in your face, it’s not shy: It’s attack the audience. Don’t just go out there and be this character, but attack the audience with that character, and that’s what I see in those guys. What I contributed to them is probably the attitude of take no-prisoners-showmanship.
, bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison) have ... )
