Rock it Out! Blog

Discover These Bands (Episode #16)

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:35:41 +0000

Reignwolf

White Light Parade

Envy The Fallen

Bill Ward not drumming for Black Sabbath reunion shows

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:51:11 +0000

It’s official. The Black Sabbath reunion isn’t a complete one. Drummer Bill Ward has decided to pass on playing the upcoming Sabbath gigs including a headlining slot at Lollapalooza in Chicago this August.

Ward posted a lengthy letter at his official website where he discussed in detail the reason behind his declining to join the band on the road. Some of the excerpts read as thus:

Throughout this process, which began over a year ago, I have had to stand up for myself time and time again. I have had to stand up for myself and in doing so realize my actions indirectly, although unintentionally, are upsetting and hurting a lot of you. I know in my heart I couldn’t have done these concerts by agreeing the terms suggested. I made a solemn vow after the last European and Ozzfest concerts that I would never again enter into what was, in my opinion, a totally unsatisfactory contract. I have to stand for something, and as painful as it is, I’m doing it.

I found out about the Birmingham gig on Monday, April 30 through the Internet ad. I was taken aback somewhat by the date, and the fact it was Birmingham. Knowing the “signable” contract negotiations were at best in shreds, I was upset by the idea that the band was going to play Birmingham and play it assumedly without me. I had no prior knowledge of the date and location, and I felt totally excluded. We contacted the representative for Black Sabbath to see if something could be worked out. In the meantime my drum crew and I, along with our US endorsers, finished all the necessary planning for a swift departure to the UK. There wasn’t a whole lot to complete; we’d all been on standby more or less since mid-January 2012. The remaining work in the UK was confirmed done by our European and UK endorsers and we were good to go by Friday, May 4 2012. There were two stress points: firstly, getting an agreement in place, and secondly, getting to England in a timely manner. Jetlag time was taken into account as well as drum practice, a drum practice room in the heart of Birmingham, accommodation, and travel arrangements were all in place to meet with any band rehearsals that may have transpired before the Birmingham show. So far everything that had been arranged was on my dime, but we didn’t move ahead without a realistic confirmation.

Communications between the representative and my lawyer continued through the weekend of May 5 finalizing on Wednesday, May 9. The offer we received on May 9 was, “come to the UK, play for free and see how the first show goes.” I was tempted. Playing for free would not have been a problem for me, but “seeing how the first show goes” left an element of risk which could have affected Download. My ideal thought was to play in full the Birmingham show, in full Download, and in full Lollapalooza.

I had notified the representative that May 10 was my cutoff day in order to have good lead-in time for England. On the night of May 9 I asked for a brief letter to be sent to the representative asking to find out if we were at an end. On the morning of Thursday, May 10, I received a reply in the affirmative. After consulting with my advisors and crew a decision was made to let go and stop.

I can’t prioritize the Sabbath fans making one show more important than the other. I can’t do that. All of you are important. It’s all the gigs or none at all. I can’t come to Birmingham and “see what happens” knowing there is a risk of not being able to play Download or Lollapalooza. Again, for me, it’s all or nothing. I had to say “no” to Birmingham on the principle of wanting to play all the shows. Saying no to Birmingham is very difficult for me. My family grew up in Birmingham. Black Sabbath grew up in Birmingham. It’s still my hometown and I resent having to arrive at such a difficult choice.

Although the statement was made that, “the door is always open” for me, as explained above, walking through that door is not always as easy as it sounds. There are many complicated issues and unseen and unspoken agendas on hand. I can assure you, my criteria for a “signable” contract is based in mindful principles, respectability, and acknowledgement of my history within the band.

I hold no malice or resentment towards the other band members. I love them; I’m tolerant of them; I’m frustrated with them, as they may be with me. My fight has never been with them. I’ll love them forever. In my opinion, nobody wins this time; the band doesn’t win; the fans for an original lineup don’t win. Nobody wins, nobody. Even the ones who thought they did.

I didn’t want to make this decision, but I have to be honest and transparent. This is the statement I didn’t want to write; it’s the last thing I wanted to do. But, I have written it, and now it can go into the universe.

Since Spring of 2011, I’ve waited patiently and hopefully for a signable contract, you know the rest. I stand for the boy in the U.K., for the coming drum student, for all the drummers, who write their parts out and get stiffed on the publishing, I stand with the Sabbath fans chanting “Bill Ward” and asking “why?” and I stand with Tony and Geezer and Ozzy.

On a final note, even though I’m at an end with the upcoming announced concerts, I will remain with an open mind and a position of willingness to negotiate “signable” terms with Sabbath’s representatives in the future.

Stay strong.
Stay safe.

With all my heart and strength, I love you,
Bill Ward

Green Day, Neil Young & Crazy Horse headlining Voodoo Experience festival

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:40:50 +0000

The Voodoo Experience festival, which takes place on the last weekend of October in New Orleans, LA, has got some pretty big acts heading its way this year.

Green Day and Neil Young & Crazy Horse will headline this year’s installment. Other acts performing include Gary Clark, Jr., Skrillex, Justice, Tomahawk, Bootsy Collins, Say Anything and Preservation Hall Band. Over 150 acts are expected to perform and more will be announced over the next few months.

Voodoo takes place from October 26-28 this year. Three-day and VIP passes are now available at the festival’s website.

RiO!B episode – May 15, 2012

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:52:46 +0000

Scott Weiland back in Velvet Revolver?

Green Day headlining Voodoo Experience

Coachella 2013 dates

The Killers on the Dark Shadows soundtrack

Blur touring UK this August

The Gaslight Anthem announce summer tour dates

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:11:44 +0000

New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem are releasing their new album, Handwritten, on July 24th. Down below you can check out the first single, “45″, which is one of 11 tracks that appear on the LP.

Also down below are the many tour dates the band has lined up in support of the album. They’ll be playing the Bamboozle festival in Asbury Park on May 20th and will also hit spots including Boston, New York City, Chicago and many more.

The Gaslight Anthem tour dates:
5/16 – Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
5/18 – Hollywood, CA, The Roxy
5/20 – Asbury Park, NJ, The Bamboozle
6/23 – Atlantic City, NJ, Orion Music + More Festival
7/5 – San Francisco, CA, The Independent
7/7 – Portland, OR, Hawthorne Theater
7/8 – Seattle, WA, Crocodile
7/11 – Minneapolis, MN, Fineline
7/12 – Lawrence, KS, Bottleneck
7/13 – St. Louis, MO, Firebird
7/14 – Cincinnati, OH, Bunbury Music Festival
7/16 – Toronto, ON, Opera House
7/18 – Nashville, TN, Mercy Lounge
7/19 – Chapel Hill, NC, Cat’s Cradle
7/20 – Washington, D.C., U Street
7/22 – Boston, MA, Middle East
7/24 – New York, NY, Webster Hall
8/5 – Chicago, IL, Lollapalooza

Toadies announce summer tour dates with Helmet

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:58:40 +0000

Now that the Toadies have a new album coming in July called PLAY.ROCK.MUSIC, it’s only right they hit the road to support the album.

The band has announced a slew of dates this summer kicking off on July 20th in Houston, TX. Helmet will provide support on all of the dates which you can check out down below. Also down below you can check out Toadies’ first single from PLAY.ROCK.MUSIC called “Summer Of The Strange”. The album is out on July 31st.

Toadies tour dates:
7/20 – Houston, TX. House Of Blues
7/21 – Pensacola, FL, Cptn Fun Beach Club
7/22 – New Orleans, LA, Tipitinas
7/24 – Jacksonville, FL, Jack Rabbits
7/25 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Revolution
7/26 – St. Petersburg, FL, State Theatre
7/28 – Atlanta, GA, The Masquerade
7/29 – Charlotte, NC, The Fillmore
7/31 – Silver Springs, MD, The Fillmore
8/1 – Philadelphia, PA, The Trocadero Theatre
8/2 – New York, NY, Webster Hall
8/3 – Boston, MA, Paradise Rock Club
8/4 – Rochester, NY, Water Street Music Hall
8/5 – Lansing, MI, Michigan Rock And Brew Fest
8/7 – Cleveland, OH, House Of Blues
8/8 – Detroit, MI, The Crofoot
8/9 – Chicago, IL, House Of Blues
8/10 – Indianapolis, IN, The Vogue
8/11 – St. Louis, MO, Pop’s
8/12 – Kansas City, MO, The Beaumont Club
8/14 – Denver, CO, The Bluebird Theater

Listen: Baroness – “Take My Bones Away”

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:51:35 +0000

One of the more anticipated albums of 2012 is the double album from metal outfit Baroness called Yellow & Green.

Which is why it’s beyond awesome that you can check out the first track from the album called “Take My Bones Away” down below. And, based on the track, the band definitely falls into a groove while still bringing the noise. Yellow & Green comes out on July 17th.

Scott Weiland re-joins Velvet Revolver

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:47:38 +0000

So after years of auditioning new singers and hearing rumors about who would be the next frontman of Velvet Revolver, it’s officially come full circle. Scott Weiland has returned to be the voice of the band he left in 2008.

In an interview with ABC News Radio, Weiland said that he and the rest of the band members were “able to put egos and differences and old…conflicts aside and so that’s really cool.”

As for when we can expect new music from VR, Weiland said that they’ve already started work on album number three. “They gave me a couple of songs and myself and [guitarist] Dave [Kushner] and [bassist] Duff [McKagan] are gonna be getting together for a song writing session next week.” He also said that the band will tour near the end of the summer and into the fall following Slash’s tour in support of his second solo album, Apocalyptic Love.

Velvet Revolver recently played a benefit concert for John O’Brien in Los Angeles back in January. Furthermore, Weiland’s other band, Stone Temple Pilots, are planning on touring this year as well.

UPDATE: Looks like Slash is denying the whole thing. In an interview with radio station 93X (via Grunge Report), the guitarist claimed he had no knowledge of Weiland claiming he was back in VR.

Slash said he has “absolutely no intention of going back to” working with Weiland and that, regarding the VR tour later this year, “I’m on tour all this year”. Which would kind of put a kink in the touring plans…unless the other members of VR are slowly trying to get rid of Slash without his knowing?

There I go again trying to cause a ruckus.

Coachella announces dates, ticket info for 2013 festival

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:11:00 +0000

This year’s Coachella festival marked the first time the Indio, CA based event took place over the course of two consecutive weekends. Since it was such a rousing success, the festival is doing it again next year.

Coachella 2013 will take place on April 12-14, 2013 and then on April 19-21, 2013. The lineups haven’t been announced yet but you can buy your tickets as early as this coming Thursday, May 17 at 10:00 am PDT. The general on sale will happen early next year.

Animal Collective releasing new album, Centipede Hz, September 4th

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:43:01 +0000

So after two new songs from Animal Collective hit the interwebs, we now have word that the band is releasing a brand new album this September.

Centipede Hz is its name and you’ll be able to purchase it on September 4th. It’s the band’s first album since 2009′s Merriweather Post Pavilion and, if you head to the band’s site, you can check out a video announcing the new album’s arrival.

Down below you can check out the tracklisting as well as the first two songs AC released this year; “Honeycomb” and “Gotham”.

Centipede Hz tracklist:
1. Moonjock
2. Today’s Supernatural
3. Rosie Oh
4. Applesauce
5. Wide Eyed
6. Father Time
7. New Town Burnout
8. Monkey Riches
9. Mercury Man
10. Pulleys
11. Amanita