Category : LATEST NEWS

COULD RICHIE SAMBORA’S ABSENCE BE THE REASON BEHIND LOW TICKET SALES FOR BON JOVI?

RadarOnline reports:

Jon Bon Jovi has turned against Richie Sambora, the band’s exiled guitar player, and the result has been low ticket sales with one planned show canceled due to poor advance sales, RadarOnline is reporting.

“Jon has been keeping Richie out of the band,” a source close to the situation told Radar. “And, frankly, he’s been a real jerk to Richie, saying some awful things. Maybe Jon wants to prove the band can be just as good or even better without Richie. But based on what’s happening now that’s not working out well.”

Sambora was said to have left the band for “personal reasons” but he’s ready and fit to resume his role as lead guitar player.

As Sambora remains out of the band – and he wants back in – the Cleveland Browns pro football team just announced they canceled a scheduled Bon Jovi concert schedule for July 14th.

The reason an insider tells Radar is that advance sales were pathetically low, approximately only 3,500 tickets had been sold.

“And other shows have not sold as much as they should have either,” the source said. “I’ve seen special deals on tickets for as low as $16! Jon is keeping Richie out of the band. And when the band’s fans see Bon Jovi they expect to see Richie on guitar.

On a personal level Jon made a comment to Richie that was so insensitive about his family and his daughter that Richie still can’t believe it. It happened after Jon’s daughter had her issue with heroin. Jon told Richie that was something he would have expected from Richie’s family. It’s just nasty.”

For the record: Sambora’s family is doing extremely well. The same cannot, however, be said of the band as it moves along without its high-profile guitarist.

source: radaronline.com

JAKE E. LEE FINDS A SINGER FOR HIS NEW BAND, RED DRAGON CARTEL

According to Blabbermouth, Drummer Darren Smith of the Canadian band Warmachine has been named the singer for Jake E. Lee’s (Badlands, Ozzy Osbourne) Red Dragon Cartel.

The band, which is a reference the guitarist’s Japanese roots, also features Ronnie Mancuso (Beggars & Thieves) on bass and Jonas Fairley (Black Betty) on drums.

Recorded at Las Vegas’ The Hideout Studios-Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel’s debut album will feature many special guests including: Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Paul Di’Anno (former Iron Maiden), Maria Brink (In This Moment), among others.

source: blabbermouth.ne

AEROSMITH’S STEVEN TYLER ‘ITCHING’ TO MAKE A SOLO ALBUM

Steve Baltin of Rolling Stone spoke with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry about…Portions of the interview appear below.

Rolling Stone: You have a few U.S. dates on the horizon. Where does Aerosmith go from here?

Tyler: Joe has done, like, four solo albums. I never have, though with lyrics and arrangements and so forth a lot of Aerosmith albums are just fine for me. It’s cathartic. But I had a lot of fun doing (It) Feels So Good. I wrote that with Marti Frederiksen. I’ve got this itch in me to do a solo record, and that’s what I’m gonna do next. I’ve got some great people that want to get involved in it. It’s early on right now, but that’s the itch I got. I got that itch to do something that’s a lot different than Aerosmith. Aerosmith’s never been better, but we did that album. This last album was an Aerosmith all-for-one-and-one-for-all. But my heart is in stuff like that weirder, off-the-cuff stuff that I’m not sure Aerosmith would like. I’m into electronica – I was when I used to listen to Stockhausen in ’65. So there’s just a lot of stuff – good, weird fucking music that I want to get off my chest. The band will be playing, and we’re going to China and Singapore. It’s gonna open up a whole new world for Aerosmith. So Aerosmith will always be around, but I got this itch and I know how to scratch it.

RS: Who are you looking to work with on the solo record?

Tyler: There’s so much good stuff out there. I am a huge Skrillex fan. I went to lunch with Deadmau5 at Mel’s Diner. He’s got incredible ideas for his next tour – blew me away, what he’s gonna do. He’s a single guy. He makes all the money himself when he puts the mouse head on, so he’s got a ton of money. He knows where to take it, and he’s still relevant. So it was a sick dinner, it was fucking unreal. I want to go out and explore things . . . I really want to take a little risk here and do something solo. There’s no timeline – I’m gonna start in January and see where we get by March.

RS: Joe, how is the book coming?

Perry: It’s a lot of work. It’s 42 years of keeping Aerosmith together, and then the other 20 that got me there. It’s a lot to sort through. I really want this to be as close to the truth, and what I can remember, as it can be. It isn’t like I’m sitting down and giving a couple of interviews and then letting my ghostwriter go off and figure it out. We’re working with him almost daily. So it’s cruising along. We’re probably three-quarters through the first draft, I’d say.

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

EDDIE ON “STUMP THE TRUNK”: “WE HAVE FUN WITH IT”

Jonathan Williams of Wrestling with Pop Culture spoke with Eddie about That Metal Show and Stump The Trunk. Portions of the interview appear below.

WWPC: Now that That Metal Show has made it to its 12th season and 100th episode, what have been some of the more memorable moments or guests for you?

ET: Since the show started in 2008, we’ve had a lot of great guests. For me, it’s always really special when you get some of those iconic guys from the ’70s that played such a huge role in the history and evolution of this music. Tony Iommi, who I think is basically the founding father of metal, comes to mind. Having him on was amazing. Brian Johnson from AC/DC is just one of the best guests you can have. Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony are always a blast to have on – great people. Same with Rob Halford, we’ve had him on a couple of times. That’s certainly not to diminish any of the ’80s guys or more recent guys, but my mind always goes back to the people I grew up with in this genre of music. And to have them sitting next to me swapping stories and stuff on the show is really, really special. As far as performances, bands can’t play songs on the show because we can’t afford the publishing. So they’re just playing riffs and shredding a little bit. But we’ve had tremendous players up there doing that, and also some great drummers including in this season we have Carmine Appice and Vinny Appice doing their thing. And we have Jake E. Lee, who I tracked down out of obscurity, not only as a guest but also playing in two shows. And we have guitarist Richie Kotzen, who is one of my favorite musicians on the planet, playing a couple of shows. In the past we’ve had amazing guys. Everybody knows I’m a big UFO fan, so we have Michael Schenker play in a couple of shows and that was really special. But just about everybody we’ve had has really brought it when they’ve been part of the show.

WWPC: You talked earlier about some of the people you’ve had the honor of having on the show. Who are some of the people that have not been on the show that you’d like to talk to?

ET: The guys we probably get asked the most about would be David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen, Nikki Sixx, James Hetfield, Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. We ask them every single season and whether they are on or not is completely up to them. For some of them it’s just scheduling, some of them have issues, some of them don’t want to do the show or whatever the case may be. Those are probably the top five people I’m asked about all the time, and they’re all welcome to come on. It’s just a question of if they want to do it and if we’re working when they decide they want to. So hopefully one of these days we’ll get them.

WWPC: In addition to being the host of the show, you also have a segment called Stump the Trunk. What are some the hardest or most memorable questions you’ve been asked?

ET: Oh, there are absurd questions. There have been tons of ridiculous questions that have been asked that nobody in their right mind could ever get right. That’s done because they want to see me go crazy, which I often deliver for them. What people have to understand with Stump the Trunk is it’s a fun thing, people really love it and it’s a part of the show that will never go away, it seems. But it’s a bit. We have fun with it and I certainly don’t think for a minute that I know it all. I probably know a little bit more than the average person just because I’ve lived this music my whole life. But they’re always coming at me with crazy, over-the-top stuff, then they’ll often tell me that I’m wrong when I’m right just to try to get me really agitated. And it works about 90 percent of the time. At this point I’m prepared for anything that comes out of anybody’s mouth during that thing.

Read more at Wrestling with Pop Culture.

EDDIE TRUNK, JIM FLORENTINE AND DON JAMIESON DISCUSS “THAT METAL SHOW”

Tim Louie of the Aquarian Weekly spoke with Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson about That Metal Show. Portions of the interview appear below.

Aquarian: Did you ever imagine that this show would last 12 seasons?

Eddie Trunk: I’ve been asked that question a lot and I was just happy to get it on the air five years ago. It was quite the fight to get it just on the air and then once I did, I was just happy to see it get on the air and get rolling. And then to have seen how it’s sunk in and connected with people, artists and fans alike, and also outside of America now and a lot of International territories, is really pretty remarkable. So I’m just happy we’re still doing it. We’re going to hit 100 episodes this new season and it’s been a phenomenal ride that I hope continues.

Don Jamieson: You know, after every season, I usually think to myself, “All right, well, that’s probably it.” So here we are, 12 seasons later. Of course, I’m thrilled! I want to do this until I’m 80, dude! We’ll call it That Metal Hip! If we’re lucky enough, we’ll keep doing it, but if it ended tomorrow, what a great accomplishment. I got to hang out with my two best friends on tv, talk about metal and get paid. God bless America!

Jim Florentine: I think since it’s on VH1 Classic, a network that doesn’t have much original programming and is kind of a hidden channel, it gave the show some time to breathe. If we were on NBC and didn’t get ratings within the first two or three weeks, we would’ve got canceled. So I think it’s on the perfect network for it to last this long and plus, metalheads are loyal. They’ll stick with us. They might not like a certain guest or two here and there, but other than that, they’re like, “What else am I gonna watch?” A 40-year-old guy in a rock shirt doesn’t have many options on a Saturday night at 11 o’clock.

Aquarian: Has there been any thought in bringing at least one season back to New York since this is where you guys are all from?

ET: We actually had planned this special from Times Square, but the day that we were scheduled to shoot it was the day Hurricane Sandy hit. So we were scheduled to do a special that day and obviously, needless to say, it got canceled, but that was going to be kind of a New York homecoming sort of special that fell apart.

Once that got canceled, we ended up shooting a variation of that show in Vegas with Vince Neil. That special we did with Vince Neil was not supposed to happen. That was supposed to be the New York Times Square special.

So the idea of doing a special or doing something back in New York—which, of course, we’re all from New Jersey, we’re all based here, the network is still headquartered here—it’s come up, but doing a season from here is just really difficult. You said it yourself, the whole reason we do the show in L.A. is that 90 percent of the artist community that we’re trying to reach lives there, which makes booking the show so much easier. And at the end of the day, the only people that care whether we do the show in New York or L.A. is people who live in New York or L.A.

Read more at the Aquarian Weekly.

JON OLIVA TO “RAISE THE CURTAIN” ON JULY 2ND

It took a while: more than 30 years after founding the legendary Savatage, Jon Oliva presents his first ever solo album. Having released albums with Savatage first and Jon Oliva’s Pain later, this first Oliva solo album was about to become different: Raise The Curtain combines Jon’s early music influences of Prog Rock/70’s with the sound he cultivated with Savatage and Jon Oliva’s Pain. The result is a high-class, thrilling musical journey, something all lovers from (Prog) Rock to Metal shouldn’t miss.

“After the passing of my dear friend Matt LaPorte I felt very confused about the future of Jon Oliva’s Pain”, Oliva speaks out.“A week or so after Matt’s service, I was speaking to my friend Dan Fasciano about what I wanted to do. He suggested that I come by his home where he has a full studio and we just hang out and record whatever I had that I wanted to demo. Unknown to me at the time, Dan also had tons of unfinished music that he wanted to do something with. It was very strange because he had tons of stuff and so did I. I don’t remember how we actually started writing together but it just happened.

Then it became almost like a competition. I would show up at his house at 9am and we just started combining what we both had and somehow it was magic. He would say on the phone I hope you got something because I do. We recorded over 60 songs in a very short period of time. I was amazed at the fact that his music and mine were very similar and easy to join together. I knew that this CD was going to be different and I wanted to play as much of it myself as I could. This was something I had to do for me and for Criss.

Dan and Chris Kinder’s (Jon Oliva’s Pain drummer) help was crucial to this CD coming out the way it did. The work of Tom and Jim Morris and Wayne Le’fleur, was also crucial.

The fact that this is the last of Criss’s music (who died 20 years ago in a car accident), makes me sad but I’m also happy that I got all his music out to the fans because that’s what he would have wanted. Everyone who pushed me to do this album: I thank you, your support is crucial to me. I so much loved recording this CD and I got to fulfill my deepest musical fantasy. At the same time I got the rest of the Criss’s music out. It was a labor of love, I’m very proud of thank you all for listening.”

Raise The Curtain will be released as a CD (first edition comes as Digipak) and strictly limited double-vinyl edition in gatefold sleeve (800 copies worldwide only).