Talk About Rock Music

You heard it here first people!  American Rockers, Queensryche, are working on a new album!  The band, who formed back in 1981 in Bellvue, Washington, are in the sudio doing the little tweaks to their 12th studio album before pushing it out onto the shelves.

The new album, titled American Soldier, has been formed from frontman Geoff Tate speaking in one on one interviews with various members of the armed forces who have all been in war at one time or another and the album is to tell the story of war, from the soldiers point of view, from World War II to the present day.  A heavy subject I hear you say!  Yes for sure but could also be a very good time for it to be released, especially in our current cliamte when we have no idea what wars are still rampaging on and not being focussed on by the media.

The album is due for release next year, around spring time and then touring will start.  We’ll keep you posted on the tour dates but you can be sure that the first concert will be at the Seattle Snoqualmie Casino.

Geoff Tate spoke about the new album.

“Queensrÿche has always had incredible support from members of the Armed Services.  It seems like after every show, I’d end up speaking with a fan that was or had been involved with the military. The more and more I began to hear their accounts and feelings, the more I really felt a conviction to tell their story. Over the last two years, I’ve conducted dozens of one-on-one interviews with veterans of many different American wars. I listened to their amazing and moving recounts and did my best to examine war through their eyes.”

My favourite Queensryche track HAS to be Silent Lucidity or Jet City Woman or Eyes of a Stranger or . . . .

Before I go on too much, here’s a couple of videos for you to check out.

Silent Lucidity

Eyes of a Stranger

Jet City Woman

For all you bands out there who haven’t hit the big time yet and had Roadrunner Records sign you to their label, you may be wondering what you need to do to get your music heard.  Have you thought about selling or giving away cds at your gigs.  This is a great way of getting your media out into the big wide world if you can’t afford to host and design your own site and set up your own download pages.  You do have the option of your own myspace page which is free, but lets face it, who uses myspace anymore?  It is also a really good way of getting more interest in your live shows.  Offer a competition of free signed cd giveaways?  Sell the rest and make a profit on what you spent on getting the cds made.

There are companies out there that will burn your music to a cd, print the cd with your own design and even sort out the cd case and booklet that goes with it.  (I’ve already tried this as a DIY job at home and believe me, it is more cost effective to get someone else to do it!) You can get some more information about your band in the booklet and into the real world rather than it being stuck in the rehearsal studio and limited to when and where you play live gigs.

So what do you have to do to get a professional looking cd?  Get your tracks recorded and send them off for CD Duplication.  Your music will be burnt to the disc and your cd image printed on it.  You’ll receive your discs back in a few days to be sent out to the ready and waiting ears of your increasing fan base.  Before you know it, you’ll hear people driving past in their cars with your songs blaring out of their speakers.

So what are you waiting for?  Get your music out there and before you know it you’ll be headlining at Download!!

The start of the build up to Download 2009 has started!!  Download is set to rock our pants of in June of 2009 on 12th, 13th and 14th so keep checking back to find out when tickets go on sale.

The venue will be the same, held at Donington Park and have the usual 3 stages full of A list rock bands and a few up and coming names set to be big next year.  Past bands include the likes of Iron Maiden, Evanescence, Motley Crue, Metallica, Guns n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds To Mars.

I managed to get my butt to the 2007 festival which was amazing and an experience I will never forget.  I will definatley be at the 2009 event as it is something not worth missing.  Even if you don’t like all of the 100+ bands that are there, the atmosphere is fantastic and is a weekend of rock mayhem.

The festival started out as The Monsters of Rock back in 1980 and has progressed into the Download festival we all know and love.

So stay tuned for more info, line ups and ticket and competition information.

Edit - **  Tour dates announced!!!! See Tour Dates and Ticket Info

Still no tour announced form Canadian rock band, Nickelback, but there is some good news.  They are releasing a live dvd titled “Nickelback: Live at Sturgis” and is the newest addition to the live collection since 2002.

Nickelback

The dvd is set to follow the latest album from Nickelback, “Dark Horse” which is being released on 18th November this year - just in time for Christmas me thinks!!!!  It will be a collection of songs form the first 3 albums, Silver Side Up, The Long Road and All The Right Reasons.

The dvd has been filmed in HD with 15 cameras and is set to be an explosion of sound and colour.  Some of the songs included are as follows:

Figured You Out - Not released in the UK as the government deemed the lyrics too bad for our ears
Never Again
Photograph
Someday
Too Bad
Animals
Savin’ Me
How You Remind Me
Woke Up This Morning
Because Of You
Side Of A Bullet
Far Away

There will be some extra bonus features on there too which is a behind the scenes fottage, Rockstar music video and a photo gallery.  I just hope Santa remembers to put it in my stocking this year!!

If you want more information on the dvd or just info on the band, take a look at the Nickelback site.

Here’s a little something to keep us all going while we wait for the dvd and for the UK fans who may have not heard this song yet!!

Nickelback - Figured You Out music video

American rockers, Black Stone Cherry, have been forced to cancel a few shows on the Rock Is Alive tour.  John Lawhon’s grandfather endured a heart attack in the week and John obviously has to be there with him and help him recover.

Black Stone Cherry

They are only cancelling 4 shows in the tour list which are Tallahassee, Hattiesburg, Beaumont and San Antonio but the support acts, Theory of a Deadman and The Parlor Mob will still be playing those dates so fans will still have a great night of rock to go to.

The following message has been posted to the fans:

“Unfortunately, we’ve been forced to cancel a few upcoming shows from the Rock Is Alive Tour. Jon Lawhon’s Grandfather has suffered a heart attack this week and Jon needs to be by his side. The cancelled dates are Tallahassee, FL, Hattiesburg, MS, Beaumont, TX, and San Antonio, TX.

“We truly HATE having to cancel shows and deeply apologize for any inconvience this may cause you. Being the southern boys we are, it’s family first with us and we hope you all understand.

“Now, we WILL be in Tampa, FL for tomorrow’s Guavaween and we will also be in Orlando on the 26th at The House of Blues.

“Although we are not able to be on the MS or TX shows, THE PARLOR MOB and THEORY OF A DEADMAN will still be there to rock your ass.

“Again, we are deeply sorry and we promise to come back and play yall’s town soon! We love you all dearly and it kills us that we won’t be melting your faces next week, but please understand where we’re coming from. If you were planning on attending those shows, we urge to go please go have a great time with Parlor Mob and Theory!

“PS… our Halloween contest is still on… so let’s see some friggin photos! ha!”

BSC are also coming to Europe and more importantly, the UK this year.  Dates as follows:

5th December - Manchester Academy
6th December - Newcastle Academy
7th December - Barrowlands Ballroom, Glasgow
9th December - Sheffield Academy
10th December - Birmingham Academy
11th December - Bristol Academy
13th December - Oxford Academy
14th December - Brixton Academy
16th Decemebr - Dublin Academy
17th December - Spring and Airbrake, Belfast

Emo/Rock superstars, Panic at the Disco are set to release and live cd and dvd titled Live in Chicago,  The live combination is due to be on sale this December, (Why do they all have release dates near Christmas I wonder!) and is going to include promotional videos, bonus tracks and a documentary of the tour.

Panic at the Disco first invaded our lives back in 2005 with their debut album A fever you Can’t Sweat Out and the hit single I Write Sins Not Tragedies.  They have been nominated for 6 MTV awards, Best Pop Video, Best Direction in a Video, Best Group Video, Best Rock Video, Best New Artist in a Video and Best Art Direction in a Video and have won 1 MTV award which was Video of the Year in 2006 for I write Sins Not Tragedies.

The band, Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross, Jon Walker and Spencer Smith, have released the follow up album, Pretty Odd, in March this year and went straight to number 2 in the US album charts.

Don’t call them an emo band though as they hate it.  I believe their word was acutally “b**lsh*t” and they want to be the new Radiohead.  Well, they have a long way to go but they certainly are making good progress so far.

For more information, check out the band’s official site and keep your eyes peeled for tour info.

There doesn’t seem to be much going on in the world of rock music so here are a few quick hits for you.

Some unseen pictures have been released of Kurt Cobain from different times through out his life.  Some fans are outrages and some are welcoming the unseens pics of their beloved Nirvana frontman.  You can see the pictures here and make up your own mind.

After the official release date announced of the new Guns n’ Roses album, Chinese Democracy, Dr Pepper, famous soft drink manaufacturers are having to honour their deal!  They stated that they would give a fee can to every person in America should the album be released this year.  Just goes to show you should really watch what you say to people.  After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

AC/DC’s new album, Black Ice, has been rumoured to sell over 800,000 albums in the first week of the release.  That is going to be the biggest album debut by Sony in 2 years!

After reporting to you that My Chemical Romance were all working on various other projects at the moment, it turns out the the comics penned by frontman Gerard Way could be turned into a film!  The comic series, titled The Umbrella Academy has been optioned as part of a deal between Dark Horse and Universal.

There are so many posts and sites online that state the new single from the new album from Guns N’ Roses title Chines Democracy has been released for radio play today.  It was rumoured to be played on Radio 1 this morning before 11:30.  I’ve checked the play list and I can’t see it there and after searching for what seems like hours in Google, I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

I am intrigued to hear it for the first time as there appears to be a lot of good press about it so far and some even say it’s better than anything Velvet Revolver have released.  I know we shouldn’t be comparing them but it’s hard not to as they were the same band bar the singer.

Maybe its my searching capabilities (or lack of them) as the reason that I can’t find anything but if you have heard or seen the single or video, please point me in the right direction so I can check it out.

Chinese Democracy has been in the pipleine to be released for about 10 years now and fans have been told pretty much every year that it will be released soon.  Finally it’s here!

I’ve been advsed that it will be played between 1pm and 4pm this afternoon on X.fm so get tuned or listen live on your pc at the official x.fm website.

Hoping to still get tickets for Hard Rock Hell to be held this December at Pontins in Prestatyn?  They sold out 3 months ago but they have managed to blag a few extra tickets so get to the website NOW and see if you can book the last few.  The accomodation has been fully booked but there might be cancellations so keep checking.  There are some B&B’s nearby which are worth checking out if you can’t get a cancellation.  If you are one of the lucky few who managed to buy tickets, you are in for a real treat this year.  There are some top bands who are playing this year and the venue isn’t half bad either.  Scuzz TV will be sponsoring the Young Blood stage so get yourself there for prizes, competitions and maybe a spot on tv!

The show runs over 2 days on the 5th and 6th of December and will have 3 stages on the Friday and 4 on the Saturday.  This years rocking line up so far is as follows:

Friday 5th December

Classic Rock Stage - 17:45 - 03:00

Thin Lizzy - 22:30 - 00:00

Tigertailz - 02:00 - 03:00
Doro - 00:30 - 01:30
Budgie - 20:50 - 22:00
Benedictum - 19:35 - 20:30
Glyder - 18:30 - 19:15

Metal Hammer Stage - 19:00 - 01:00

Cancer Bats - 00:00 - 01:00
Johnny Truant - 23:10 - 23:40
The Ghost of a Thousand - 22:20 - 22:50
The Plight - 21:30 - 22:00
Textures - 20:40 - 21:10
Blackhole - 19:50 - 20:20
Hexes - 19:00 - 19:30

Young Blood Stage - 14:00 - 18:30 - Sponsored by Scuzz TV

Jett Black - 18:00 - 18:30
Attica Rage - 17:00 - 17:45
Heaven’s Basement - 16:15 - 16:45
Big Linda - 15:30 - 16:00
Get Vegas - 14:45 - 15:15
Lethargy - 14:00 - 14:30

Saturday 6th December

Main Stage - 17:30 - 03:20

Viking Skull - 02:20 - 03:20
The Wildhearts - 01:00 - 02:00
Black Label Society - 23:00 - 00:30
Clutch - 21:40 - 22:40
Orange Goblin - 20:30 - 21:20
Panic Cell - 19:30 - 20:10
Hawkwind - 18:15 - 19:15
Litmus - 17:30 - 18:00

Clive Aid Stage - 12:00 - 18:00

Beholder - 12:00 - 12:45
Hecate Enthroned - 13:00 - 13:45
Million $ Reload - 14:00 - 14:45
Pig Iron -15:00 - 15:45
Dope -  16:00 - 16:45
Warrior Soul - 17:00 - 18:00
Chariot - 18:15 - 19:00

Born Again Stage - 12:00 - 17:20

Spit Like This - 12:00 - 12:45
Pride Tiger - 13:05 - 13:45
Praying Mantis - 14:00 - 14:45
Tygers of Pan Tang - 15:00 - 16:00
Wasted - 16:20 - 17:20

Porshhamar Stage - 17:40 - 01:00

Battlelore - 17:40 - 18:25
Korpiklaani - 18:45 - 19:40
Alestorm - 20:00 - 20:45
Outcry Fire - 21:05 - 21:35
Ravens Creed - 21:50 - 22:30
This is Menace - 22:45 - 23:30
Powerquest - 23:45 - 00:40
Firewind - 01:00 - 02:00
Blitzkrieg - 02:15 - 03:15

Last years show was an absolute success and this year looks to be even better.  Check out the official site for further information on the line up, tickets, accomodation, forums and even listen to some of the bands that will be there. (more…)

It’s finally happening people. The greatest and most historical music venue in London has been bought by the Government along with 12 other buildings which are to be demolished so they can build yet another train station, called Crossrail Station. Music gigs have been booked at the Astoria up until March 2009 and will be closing after that.

I can’t believe that they are destroying the most famous rock and roll venue in London. There are talks to build another venue elsewhere, as advised by Ken Livingstone (can we really believe a politician!) but how is that going to compare to the Astoria? Did you know that it was actually built on an old pickle factory and opened its doors to the public in 1927, not as a music venue but as a cinema. In 1976, it was converted into its more well known use as a theatrical building and is now a complete music venue that can hold up to 2000 people.

Some of the biggest bands in the world have played there such as Nirvana, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Pearl Jam to name but a few. Blur and The Enemy hold the record for having 6 back to back nights there.

There is nothing that anyone can do now to save the Astoria. A petition has been signed by 37168 people so far but will it do any good? These plans have already been put into place and is part of the overall scheme for an east-west rail route. Lord Adonis was interviewed by BBC news and told them it was a major step forward for the Crossrail project which is costing £16 billion, Yes you read that right. £16,000,000,000!!!!

I must say that I’m disgusted. The building is nearly a century old and will now be turned into rubble and nothing is going to replace its history.