What up Rockheads, sorry for the lack of blog's lately but it' s been a bit quiet in the music biz except for the DJ AM and Travis Barker plane crash but here's an update on the guys and some other tidbits for you to munch on...
Travis Barker is pimping out his hospital room as he recovers from burns sustained in an airplane accident on September 19th. According to Barker's pal, music producer Jermaine Dupri, the drummer has outfitted his room with iPods, computers, and various other high-tech gadgets. Dupri told People magazine, "He's just now getting everything in the hospital set up for him. You got to make sure he is comfortable."
Dupri estimates that Barker will be laid up at least another two weeks at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, where he's undergone several surgeries for his second- and third-degree burns. Barker is expected to send a message to fans and supporters from the hospital this week.
Barker and Adam Goldstein, a.k.a.DJ AM, were the only survivors of the crash, which killed four people in Columbia, South Carolina.
DJ AM was reportedly discharged from the hospital late last week. His rep said in a statement to TMZ, "Adam Goldstein has been released form Doctors Hospital. While he is deeply saddened by the events, he is thankful for all of the love and support he has been receiving from fans and friends world wide."
The statement also asked the media to respect the DJ's privacy while "he rests and heals and mourns the loss of his friends."
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor spoke out in the latest issue of Kerrang! magazine about the subject of illegal downloading, following the recent arrest of a Los Angeles man for leaking nine unreleased Guns N' Roses tracks online. Taylor said that the record labels only have themselves to blame for the rise in music downloads in the last few years, asking, "Why would you blame (people who download music)? Half the f***ing albums that are out there are s***. I don't download, but at the same time, I don't buy new music 'cause it all sucks...I think it's the quality of the product. If record companies would stop giving any f***ing mook on the street with a fringe a record deal or their own record label, maybe you would sell more f***ing albums."
Taylor's bandmate, percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan, told us something similar when we asked him what he thought was wrong with the record business: "I mean, where do you want me to start? The labels are horrible. The producers who play the game and collect the bill is horrible. You know, the Pro Tools, the efficiency of creating music is horrible. How 'bout the standard of freaking musician that gets allowed to play music for people? It's just bad, but what's good is that the will and the love for music has not changed."
Slipknot's new album, All Hope Is Gone, debuted at Number One on the Billboard album chart nearly four weeks ago, selling 239,516 copies in its first week to give the band its first-ever chart-topper.
Early October will find Slipknot heading to Japan, Australia, Russia and Europe, where they'll stay through mid-December. A North American trek is in the works for January.
Saliva and Drowning Pool were getting together for their second tour of the year together and now it's official. The bands start rocking venues from Ohio to South Carolina and throughout Texas, beginning October 17th in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Tantric and Jet Black Stare are also on the bill.
Drowning Pool vocalist Ryan McCombs said in a statement, "We are excited to get back on the road with our friends in Saliva and to bring the 'Full Circle' show to friends and fans across the country one last time before we head into the studio to make a new album."
Saliva is equally as excited about hitting the road. Singer Josey Scott told us that the band thrives on being "bus rats": "We're just gonna keep beatin' up the road, man. We're bus rats. We love being on tour and rocking our fans and getting close to our fans and signing autographs and the whole schmear, man. I love it, you know. I love playing for the fans of Saliva."
Drowning Pool / Saliva tour dates (subject to change):
October 17 - Saint Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing
October 18 - Daytona Beach, FL - Destination Daytona
October 20 - Columbia, SC - Headliners
October 21 - Goose Creek, SC - The Dive
October 22 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans
October 24 - Providence, RI - Dunkin' Donuts Center
October 26 - Lorain, OH - Black River Landing
October 28 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
October 29 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
November 1 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
November 2 - Springfield, IL - Illinois State Fairgrounds
November 5 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar
November 6 - Pharr, TX - Graham Central Station
November 7 - Beaumont, TX - Scout Bar
November 8 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
November 9 - Corpus Christi, TX - The Pavilion at Concrete Street
November 11 - Lubbock, TX - Wild West
November 22 - Brawley, CA - Galamis Beach
Nickelback's forthcoming album might just be slapped with one of those parental warning stickers. Tentatively titled Dark Horse, the sixth studio effort from the Canadian rockers is teeming with adult themes and lyrics that could make it a tough sell to radio and fans' parents. Singer Chad Kroeger told the BBC, "There's a lot of truly filthy subject matter and adult themes."
The band touches on familiar themes too but not with the same outcome as before. Kroeger said, "It's a challenge. You just grab new themes and the ones that always seem to connect like love, or lack thereof. Those ones are always good. you just have to throw a different spin on them."
The concept of adult themes isn't entirely new to Nickelback. Songs like "Figured You Out" and "Animals" had raunchy lyrics, and Kroeger told us he wasn't embarrassed by putting them out there: "A lot of people ask me, like, 'What does your mom think when you write songs like that?' And I think it went out the window when I started writing songs that started off with 'I like your pants around your feet.' You know, when that one hit the radio waves, a lot of people were going, 'Whoa, what does your mom think of that?' I'm like, 'She's cool with it.'"
Dark Horse will be released by Roadrunner Records on November 18th.
The first single from the album, called "If Today Was Your Last Day," will arrive at radio stations on September 30th.