Staind guitarist Mike Mushok said in a new interview at GuitarWorld.com that making the band's new, self-titled seventh album was a "miserable" experience because the band was on a tight deadline. After demoing "17 or 18" songs in December, the group reconvened in January to begin recording the disc with producer Johnny K. Mushok explained that things starting going wrong at that point, saying, "During the sessions, it was clear Jon (Wysocki, drums) wasn't ready or on the same page, and the motivation wasn't where it needed to be. After thinking long and hard, we decided to do something different and decided to split up and do all the parts separately."
Mushok added, "I worked up at a studio in Springfield and Aaron (Lewis, singer) worked in his barn, and that's how we kind of finished the record. It was the first record we had a deadline with the label. They wanted the finished product by May 1st, so we had to get it done. We thought we weren't going to be able to do it, but we did and turned it in and they accepted it and were happy with it . . . It ended working out, but I would not like to live January to April of this year again. It was miserable."
Even though he was working in his own studio in his barn, Lewis told us that being at home did not make the project any less stressful: "There was so much other mental fatiguing things that were going on. I mean, I was away from home for most of it anyways, 'cause I was playing solo shows on the weekends, coming home during the week and working until three 'clock in the morning in the studio, and it's definitely the most outwardly stressed out I think I've probably ever been."
Staind ended up parting ways with Wysocki during the making of the album. A permanent replacement has yet to be named.
The new disc is Staind's first studio effort in three years, following 2008's The Illusion Of Progress. The first single is called "Not Again."
Staind will perform a handful of shows in September, including Southern California's Epicenter Festival on the 24th, with full tour plans yet to be announced.
Evanescence has announced the details of a fall North American tour in support of the band's upcoming third major label album. The trek, which is confirmed for a dozen cities so far, will begin on October 10th in Oakland, California and finish up on November 1st in New York City. Several more dates are expected to be added. Tickets for the jaunt, which is hitting smaller venues, are available now through each location's box office.
The new Evanescence album, which is self-titled, arrives on October 11th. It follows up the band's 2006 effort, The Open Door.
The disc was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, whose credits include Foo Fighters, Rush and Alice In Chains, and is said by singer Amy Lee to be "more aggressive" than previous Evanescence outings.
Lee abandoned attempts last year to make a more electronic and dance-oriented disc under the Evanescence banner.
The first single from the new album, called "What You Want," was played today on the morning show
Confirmed Evanescence tour dates (subject to change):
October 10 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre
October 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
October 14 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
October 19 - Dallas, TX - Palladium
October 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
October 22 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
October 24 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
October 25 - Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy
October 27 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
October 28 - Boston, MA - Palladium
October 30 - Atlantic City, NJ - Showboat/House of Blues
November 1 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
3 Doors Down has announced the details of its fall U.S. tour, which will begin on September 29th in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Support on the trek will come from Theory Of A Deadman and Pop Evil on most of the dates. The tour is the group's first major road trip in support of its newly released fifth album, Time Of My Life, which debuted at Number Three on the Billboard album chart with first-week sales of 60,000 copies after coming out on July 19th.
Tickets for the tour begin to go on sale to the public on Friday, August 12th.
The latest single from Time Of My Life is called "Every Time You Go."
3 Doors Down will play scattered festival dates throughout the rest of this month and September before the tour starts, with Theory Of A Deadman, Sick Puppies, Safetysuit and others.
Confirmed 3 Doors Down tour dates (subject to change):
August 13 - Springfield, IL - Illinois State Fair
August 27 - Sarnia, ON - Hiawatha Bash
August 28 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
September 1 - Allentown, PA - Great Allentown Fair
September 2 - Essex Junction, VT - Champlain Valley Expo
September 16 - York, PA - York Fair
September 29 - Chattanooga, TN - Memorial Auditorium
October 1 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena (no Theory Of A Deadman)
October 2 - Nashville, TN - The Woods
October 4 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
October 5 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
October 7 - Bossier City, LA - CenturyLink Center
October 8 - Mobile, AL - BayFest
October 11 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum
October 12 - Roanoke, VA - Roanoke Civic Center
October 14 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Ruscaloosa Amphitheatre
October 15 - Jackson, MS - Mississippi Coliseum
October 20 - Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
October 21 - Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino
October 26 - Phoenix, AZ - Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Arizona State Fair
October 28 - Beaumont, TX - Ford Center Arena
October 29 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street
November 1 - Rockford, IL - Rockford MetroCentre
November 2 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
November 4 - Grand Rapids, MI - DeltaPlex
November 5 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center (no Theory Of A Deadman)
November 6 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
November 9 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
November 12 - Providence, RI - Providence PAC