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Day in Rock Report for 04/01/2014


Duff McKagan Hints At Return To Guns N' Roses

(Classic Rock) Duff McKagan has hinted that he's about to rejoin Guns N' Roses on the band's upcoming South American tour. The bassist left in 1997, leaving frontman Axl Rose as the only founding member. He made a guest appearance with the outfit's current lineup in London in 2010 - but later said he regretted the move because it had reactivated rumours of a reunion.

Now it looks like he could hit the stage with them once again later this month. Last night he tweeted: "Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil! See y'all in the next few weeks, Si? GNR."

He added a picture of two pieces of paper on which were scribbled the titles of Guns n'Roses songs, looking a little like a set list. The likelihood of a return is reinforced by the fact that current GnR bassist Tommy Stinson is committed to a handful of US gigs with reactivated former band The Replacements, who are due to headline this year's Coachella festival. See the photos here.

More on Guns N' Roses - Guns N' Roses Music -

Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium Mayhem Tour

(Radio.com) Fans of the Mayhem Festival should know they're in store for a lot of big name headliners this year, including Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria and Trivium.

The 26-date tour, which kicks off on July 5 in San Bernardino, CA , will include over 20 hard rock bands playing four different stages. It's the biggest lineup the seven-year festival has ever seen, which wasn't lost on its promoters.

"We are very excited that in the seventh year of the festival we can bring our biggest lineup ever to heavy music fans across North America," festival producers John Reese and Kevin Lyman said in a statement. "With such a diverse lineup of great bands and festival attractions, 2014 will give fans an awesome day of Metal and Mayhem."

Other artists on the bill include Cannibal Corpse, Suicide Silence, Miss May I, Mushroomhead, Texas Hippie Coalition, King 810, Body Count featuring Ice-T, Upon A Burning Body, Veil of Maya, Darkest Hour, Emmure, Ill Nino, Wretched, Islander, Erimha and a local winner in each city. more on this story

More on Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold Music -

Incubus Singer Puzzled by Real World Star's Restraining Order

(Radio.com) Svetlana Shusterman, a contestant on 2006′s Real World 17: Key West, has filed a restraining order against Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd, who she claims has been stalking her for years.

According to TMZ, Shusterman obtained a restraining order against 38-year-old Boyd, who she allegeds threatened her life. In the report she states, "Every day, I am terrified."

Shusterman claims Boyd followed her in his car and shouted that he was going to kill her. Meanwhile, Boyd says he has never met her. "Brandon has been advised about this but doesn't know anything about it. He doesn't know this person nor does he recall ever having met her," his rep said in a statement. more on this story

More on Incubus - Incubus Music -

The Rolling Stones Reveal Spring Tour Dates

(Gibson) The Rolling Stones will resume their world tour in May in Norway, after the band's 14 On Fire tour was postponed following the death of Mick Jagger's girlfriend, fashion designed L'Wren Scott.

Scott took her own life while the band was in Australia preparing for the first of their run of shows there. They have promised to reschedule the Australian dates for October and November.

The band has expanded the European tour to 14 shows through May, June and July, beginning in Oslo Telenor Arena in Norway on May 26 and wrapping up at the Roskilde festival in Denmark on July 3.

The Rolling Stones 14 On Fire European dates
May 26. Norway, Oslo, Telenor Arena
May 29, Portugal, Lisbon, Rock In Rio
June 1, Switzerland, Zurich, Letzigrund Stadium
June 4, Israel, Tel Aviv, Ha Yarkon Park
June 7, Holland, Pinkpop Festival
June 10, Germany, Berlin, Waldbuhne
June 13, France, Paris, Stade de France
June 16, Austria, Vienna, Ernst Happel Stadium
June 19, Germany, Dusseldorf, Espirit Arena
June 22, Italy, Rome, Circus Maximus
June 25, Spain, Madrid, Bernabeu Stadium
June 28, Belgium, TW Classic Festival
July 1, Sweden, Stockholm, Tele2 Arena
July 3, Denmark, Roskilde
more on this story

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Devo Launching Bob Casale Tribute Tour

(Gibson) Devo will hit the road this June to play ten shows in North America in tribute to guitarist Bob "Bob 2" Casale, who died on February 17 at the age of 61.

The tour, titled Hardcore Devo Live!, will celebrate the band's early material from 1974 to 1977, prior to their 1978 debut, Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!. It'll kick off in Baltimore, Maryland and wrap up in Austin, Texas. The line-up for the shows is Jerry Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob "Bob 1" Mothersbaugh and Josh Freese.

VIP ticket admission will let guests meet the band and exclusively view/purchase rare, limited edition photo prints by noted photographers shot during the band's pre-label days.

A campaign was created by Devo's assistant and webmaster Michael Pilmer via gofundme.com to help defray expenses related to Bob's passing: he died without a will or life insurance, and there are medical and hospital bills and funeral expenses to be paid. A portion of proceeds from the new Devo tour will go to Bob's family.

Devo Hardcore Devo Live! North American dates
June 18, Baltimore, MD, Ramshead
June 19, NYC, Best Buy Theatre
June 21, Chicago, IL, Arcada Theatre
June 23, Denver, CO, Summit Music Hall
June 25, Seattle, WA, Neptune
June 26, Vancouver, BC, Commodore Ballroom
June 28, Oakland, CA, Fox Theatre
June 29, Los Angeles, CA, Wiltern
June 30, Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up
July 2, Austin, TX, ACL/Moody Theatre
more on this story

More on Devo - Devo Music -

Meshuggah and Between The Buried And Me Spring Tour

Meshuggah have announced that they will be hitting the road in North America this spring and they have recruited Between The Buried And Me to support them on the trek.

The band is launching the 25 Years of Deviance tour to celebrate their 25th Anniversary and will be playing songs from their entire career and the trek includes an appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.

The 25 Years of Deviance tour will be kicking off on June 6th at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA and is scheduled to conclude on June 21st at the Best Buy Theater in New York City. more on this story

More on Meshuggah - Meshuggah Music -

Metal Bands Take On Florence + the Machine For New Tribute Album

(Gibson) A new tribute album featuring metal bands covering Florence + the Machine songs is slated to be released by Sumerian Records on May 13th in North America.

Florence + The Sphinx will offer hard-hitting songs from Darkest Hour, Upon a Burning Body, Dead Letter Circus, Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria, Born of Osiris and more.

Sumerian has already released three covers have already been released from the album: Periphery performing "Only If For A Night," Stick To Your Guns covering "Dog Days Are Over" and Come the Dawn performing "What The Water Gave Me."

Florence + The Sphinx Track List:
1. Periphery - "Only If For a Night"
2. Stick To Your Guns - "Dog Days Are Over"
3. Ben Bruce (of Asking Alexandria) - "Shake It Out"
4. Darkest Hour - "Spectrum"
5. Miss Fortune - "No Light, No Light"
6. Fever Dreamer - "Leave My Body"
7. Born of Osiris - "Seven Devils"
8. Come The Dawn - "What the Water Gave Me"
9. Upon A Burning Body - "Lover To Lover"
10. Mike Semesky (of Intervals) - "Hearlines"
11. Dead Letter Circus - "Remain Nameless"
12. City In The Sea - "All This and Heaven Too"
more on this story

More on Florence - Florence Music -

Tom Petty and Heartbreaker Have Different Take On New Album

(Radio.com) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are readying a new record for this summer, according to Rolling Stone. The magazine reports that Hypnotic Eye will include eleven songs; some of the titles are, at press time, "American Dream Plan B," "Faultlines," "Red River," "Burn Out Town" and "Shadow People," and that the album has been in the works since 2011.

The article says that the album harkens back to the early Heartbreakers sound of their first two albums, 1976′s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and 1978′s You're Gonna Get It. Petty says that his songwriting partner, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, told him, "You sing like you did on the first two albums." The article notes that Petty decided against using songs that were too close to "the blues bag" of their last effort, 2010′s Mojo.

But earlier this year, when Radio.com spoke with Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, promoting his solo debut, You Should Be So Lucky, denied that the album is a reaction to the sound of Mojo: "I don't really have a 'take' on how it sounds. I don't really. It sounds like the Heartbreakers to me. I don't think the Heartbreakers need to be pinned down. It's a very versatile band. If you catch us when we're just in a room messing around, or if you hear some of the songs that don't make it to a record, they encompass a really broad spectrum. It's a broad spectrum of things that [Petty] wrote, and that he and Mike have written for this record. How things are sequenced, and which songs are chosen will determine the nature of the record. I'm curious, too. It's going to be a bit of a surprise to me, because I'm not producing the record."

The article also notes that there are some archival Petty releases in the works. One is a live album culling performances from Petty's New York and Los Angeles residencies last year. The other will be a deluxe reissue of his 1994 solo classic, Wildflowers. Tench told us that he loves that album, but bristles at the idea that it is a Petty "solo" record.

"I'm sure there's a reason that Tom called it a solo album. Maybe it's a mental state he was in, you'll have to ask Tom," he says. "The fact is, it's the first Heartbreakers album with the new drummer," referring to Steve Ferrone, who has been in the band ever since. "At the time, the idea wasn't to replace [original Heartbreakers drummer] Stan [Lynch]. Tom set out, I believe, to make a solo record, but very quickly we were all on it except for Stan. It's a Heartbreakers record� It's a really good record, I think it's one of our best." more on this story

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Tenacious D Streaming Cover of Dio's Last In Line

(hennemusic) Tenacious D recorded "The Last In Line" for the new Ronnie James Dio tribute album, "This Is Your Life" (due April 1), and the song is now available for streaming.

Tenacious D's Jack Black and Kyle Gass are longtime fans of the legendary singer: the pair recorded the track, "Dio", on their 2001 self-titled debut - Ronnie countered by including the guys to the video for his 2002 single, "Push." Dio himself also appeared in the D's 2006 film, "The Pick Of Destiny", and guested on the song, "Kickapoo", from the companion soundtrack album.

"Dio was the master," says Black. "The Pavarotti of heavy metal vocalists. Soaring melodies and a lion's roar to match. He was also one of the coolest guys I've ever had the honor of meeting. No one could touch his brilliance, on or off the stage."

"It's hard not to pick a great Dio track, but this one appealed to us," adds Gass. "Recording the track was a blast. Our electric guitarist John Konesky shredded a solo. I said, 'That's pretty good, but let's try out my recorder.' Lo and behold it shredded even more and added a unique element to the track. Dio obviously has been a major influence and inspiration for the D. His performance in The Pick of Destiny was a magical moment for us, and we'll always miss him. Rock on, Dio."

Check out the stream here.

More on Dio - Dio Music -

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie Nelson To Receive Hall of Fame Honors

(hennemusic) Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble and Willie Nelson are among the list of inaugural inductees into the newly-announced Austin City Limits Hall Of Fame.

Vaughan and University Of Texas coach Darrell K. Royal will be inducted posthumously, while Willie Nelson, ACL show creator Bill Arhos and Vaughan's longtime band Double Trouble - featuring Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans - will be inducted at the first annual Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, April 26 at ACL's original home, KLRU Austin's legendary Studio 6A.

Performers for the induction evening include inductees and Doyle Bramhall II, Mike Farris, Buddy Guy, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Lukas Nelson, Robert Randolph and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. more on this story

More on Stevie Ray Vaughan - Stevie Ray Vaughan Music -

Steve Hackett Releasing Genesis Revisited Albert Hall Show DVD

(Prog) Steve Hackett has confirmed the DVD release of the Genesis Revisited show performed at London's Royal Albert Hall last October. It will be released on June 30.

He was joined at the historic venue by guests Ray Wilson, Roine Stolt, John Wetton and Amanda Lehmann, and his band Roger King, Gary O'Toole, Rob Townsend, Lee Pomeroy and Nad Sylvan.

Prog said of the 18-track performance: "This incarnation represents perhaps the last chance we'll have to hear it as it should be. It's hard to recall a performance that sounded so good at this venue."

Hackett says: "It was a thrilling musical experience for all concerned with a fantastic light and visual show. Paul Green and his team filmed it brilliantly too. It's a feast for eyes, ears and all the senses." more on this story

More on Steve Hackett - Steve Hackett Music -

Sebastian Bach Releases Temptation Video

(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach has released the video for "Temptation", the lead single from his new album, "Give 'Em Hell," which is due April 22 in North America (March 18 in Japan and March 25 in Europe).

"I have waited so long for this!," says Bach. "This is the song that so many of you freaked out to on the Jay Mohr Show a while back and now we have an INCREDIBLE video by Patrick Fogarty that I cannot wait for you all to see!!!!!! It is mind blowing to me to have my friends Duff McKagan, Will Hunt & Devin Bronson in the video, also with John 5 and Bobby Jarzombek on the track!!"

Bach will play a series of four US east coast concert dates to launch the album; he'll perform at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York on April 24 before playing shows in New Jersey, Maryland and Maine the same week.

Watch the video here.

More on Sebastian Bach - Sebastian Bach Music -

Genesis' Ray Wilson Releases Live Mama Video

(Prog) Former Genesis singer Ray Wilson has released a live video of his band performing classic track Mama. It's taken from his upcoming DVD, 20 Years And More, which sees him delivering material from across his accomplished career.

On the DVD he also takes the opportunity to play songs that inspired him, including the 1983 track, originally released during Genesis' Phil Collins era.

The DVD was recorded in Poland last year and hits shelves on April 4th. Check out the live video of " Mama" from the forthcoming DVD release here.

More on Ray Wilson - Ray Wilson Music -

Marcus Bonfanti Leads Bowness Bay Blues Festival Lineup

(The Blues Marcus Bonfanti and his band have announced that they will headline the Bowness Bay Blues festival in the Lake District next month - with all proceeds going to local charities.

The event takes place across 11 venues in Bowness On Windermere on the weekend of April 11-13, and aims to offer a broad cross-section of blues styles.

Fellow headliners are Sean Webster and Midnight Train, with other acts confirmed including The Alex McKown Band, Buzz Elliot, Off The Hook and others. more on this story

More on Marcus Bonfanti - Marcus Bonfanti Music -

The Royal Southern Brotherhood Lead Walter Trout Benefit Lineup

(The Blues The Royal Southern Brotherhood have announced that they will be appearing at a benefit show to help raise funds for Walter Trout's emergency liver transplant.

They'll perform alongside special guests Jimmy Hall, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Bart Walker and others at a concert called Rock Out For Trout on April 8 at the Exit/In in Nashville.

The Brotherhood say: "Walter is one of our dearest heroes and we want to pull together some of our friends to help raise money and awareness. Although Walter and his family have reached their medical fundraising goal, there will be other expenses they will incur. Let's all show our love and support for one of the greatest guitar players of all time." more on this story

More on Walter Trout - Walter Trout Music -

Steve Dawson Giving Away Song Download

(The Blues Canadian award-winning producer and musician Steve Dawson is offering a free download of his track The Medicine Show Comes To Avalon - download your copy now.

It's taken from latest album Rattlesnake Cage, which sees him merging blues, roots and country inspirations on instrumental pieces with titles such as Blind Thomas At The Crime Scene, While The West Was Won The Earth Didn't Know It and The Flagpole Skater Laughs From Above.

The Rattlesnake Cage album was recorded using one vintage tube microphone which was rescued and refurbished from the rafters of a Detroit theatre. more on this story

More on Steve Dawson - Steve Dawson Music -

Black Label Society Release My Dying Time Video

(Classic Rock) Black Label Society have released a video for their track My Dying Time. It's taken from upcoming album Catacombs Of The Black Vatican, set for launch on April 7 via Mascot Label Group.

The follow-up to 2009′s The Order Of The Black is the first not to feature guitarist Nick Catanese, who's been replaced by ex-Lizzy Borden man Fario Lorina.

Mainman Zakk Wylde recently explained: "I'd called Nick to tell him about the album and he told me he was already knees-deep into doing his own thing. I told him it was cool, that we loved him, and that he'd always have a home here."

Watch the video here.

More on Zakk Wylde - Zakk Wylde Music -


Hold Steady Perform On Letterman

(Gibson) Brooklyn-based alternative rockers the Hold Steady stopped by the Ed Sullivan Theater last week to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Frontman Craig Finn and the band are out in support of their just-released album, Teeth Dreams, and performed one of the early singles off the album called "Spinners."

Teeth Dreams is the Hold Steady's first full-length studio album in four years. You can check out the video of their performance of "Spinners" on Letterman
here.

More on Hold Steady - Hold Steady Music -

B.B. King's Stolen Gibson Lucille Inspired New Book

(Gibson) The new book B.B. King's Lucille and the Loves Before Her is a painstakingly researched travelogue through the universe of the blues great's gear, starting with the diddley bow he played in the Mississippi cotton fields as a boy and continuing through the current generation of the Gibson-made Lucille line of guitars he cradles on stage today, with plenty of information about amps, picks, strings and minutia along the way.

But there's also a fascinating story behind Nashville-based author Eric E. Dahl's inspiration for writing his authoritative debut book. It starts in 2009 at a Las Vegas pawn shop, where Dahl, a lifelong guitarist in blues and rock bands who's also a guitar appraiser, broadcaster and journalist, was called in to valuate an 80th Birthday model Lucille made by the Gibson Custom shop in 2005.

"They called me because they knew I bought and traded guitars, and I'd bought guitars from them before," Dahl explains. "I was living in Las Vegas and playing in the casinos during the weeknights and in church on Sundays, and would then go buy guitars with the money." He'd already purchased a B.B. King Lucille model from the Easy Pawn a few years earlier, and had no intention of purchasing the one they were about to put on the floor - until the shop's owner opened the case.

"The whole thing was covered in sweat," he recalls. "The strings were nasty. I thought, 'It'll take hours just to clean this.' I figured some local bluesman has hocked it. Then I flipped it over and looked at the headstock and it said, 'Prototype 1' in a white stamp. I'd never seen that before. I assumed it meant this was one of the original 80th Birthday model Lucilles that B.B. King had approved.

"So I bought it, took it home, polished it and cut off and replaced the strings and set it up. Little did I know I was wiping off B.B. King's DNA. Then I started researching it for two-and-half months. I started calling Gibson every week to see if somebody would talk to me about this guitar. I also reached out to George Gruhn and Walter Carter and the other usual suspects we know in the guitar business. Nobody could really tell me about this stamp on the back."

Dahl had no idea it was King's stolen guitar. The blues patriarch had not reported the theft to police, but had told Gibson. Eventually word of Dahl's quest reached Pat Foley, Gibson Brands' worldwide director of artist relations. Foley contacted Dahl and explained the guitar had been made at the Gibson Custom Shop as a gift for King's 80th birthday and was his main guitar until it was stolen.

Soon King's office began calling about the guitar. King wanted Dahl to meet with him to swap instruments. "But that took a while, too, because Gibson needed to get a replacement guitar to Mr. King for the one I had, and he insisted on doing the swap himself. Eventually I thought it wasn't going to happen. In fact, the night before the trade was supposed to happen I told my wife that - new guitar or not - I was going to give Mr. King back his guitar."

As luck had it, Gibson delivered a Lucille 80th Birthday guitar to King's office that morning, and the meeting occurred. "Mr. King shook my hand and he offered me a Diet Coke," Dahl recounts. " We sat down and spent about 45 minutes talking. He talked to me about playing at Bo Diddley's funeral. My friend was taking photos, and he said he didn't think Mr. King really believed it was the guitar until I opened the case and handed it to him. He was thrilled. He gave me a brand new Lucille and told me he hoped I'd enjoy playing mine as much as he enjoys playing his. He really does love these guitars. He signed a book for me and some old albums I'd brought, and gave me some guitar picks. He said he wanted a picture of he and I together for his office. He was always a hero of mine, and my dad's, who passed away young, at 43, in 1984.

"I came up with the idea for the book because I'd done so much research on B.B. and his guitars, just for my own search and my own knowledge, and I found so many inaccuracies. Anybody can put anything up on the Web. There was all sorts of wrong information about his past Gibsons, about the evolution of the Lucille� These things bothered me."

So Dahl approached King's office and asked for their blessing for a book on the history of their boss' instruments and related gear. "I'm a gear freak," he says. "I wanted to know about his gear and about how his gear got to where it is now. I think the evolution of his instruments, starting with a diddley bow on the plantation to playing a $10,000 guitar on stage today, is a fascinating story." And King's amps hold their own fascination. Dahl explains that prominent fans like Eric Johnson keep their antennae up for the long discontinued Lab Series amps King plays, buy them, and ship the amps to him. King then replaces their O.E.M. speakers with Peavey Black Widows.

As Dahl's book relates, the current Lucilles are just part of a long line of Gibson guitars that King has played over the past seven decades. He briefly played a Les Paul Gold Top, but favored the L-30 for many years, after he graduated up from the Stella acoustics he played on the plantation in Mississippi. "That was the 'Lucille' he want back into the house fire in Twist, Arkansas, to save," Dahl notes, alluding to the famous story of how King began calling his guitars "Lucille."

Check out a video where BB explains why the guitar is called Lucille here.

More on B.B. King - B.B. King Music -

KISS FAQ Goes Online

(Radio.com) Radio.com's Brian Ives put together a KISS FAQ ahead of the band's Rock Hall induction: On April 10, KISS will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after years of eligibility, although in recent weeks, there's been a lot of controversy over which members will be inducted, and which members will perform at the ceremony.

So, who is KISS?: Depends on who you ask. Their detractors (many of whom are music critics) will tell you that they're a bunch of hacks with a lot of marketing savvy. Ask their fans, or the band themselves, and they'll tell you KISS is "the hottest band in the world," the catchphrase that opens many of their iconic live albums.

Who's in KISS?: Well, it's always been Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) and Paul Stanley (guitar, vocals). They are the band's co-founders and main songwriters. Essentially, Gene runs the brand and handles the business deals and masterminds all the marketing schemes, while Paul runs the band as the de facto frontman, producing their last two albums.

Though it's not that cut-and-dry: Paul is Gene's partner on a number of KISS business ventures and Gene has written a lot of classic KISS songs. The other original members include drummer Peter Criss (who also sang some of the band's biggest hits, including "Beth" and "Hard Luck Woman") and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who designed the group's iconic logo. Ace and Peter have left and rejoined the band over the years; today, the lineup features Simmons, Stanley, drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer.

So, are they "the hottest band in the world?": Well taste is subjective. But there are things about KISS turns people off before they even hear a note. Many feel the imagery of the band and the spectacle of their shows takes precedence over the music. If you ask the band, they'd disagree: the visuals are equally as important as the music. Simmons and Stanley hated going to see their favorite bands in concert, and being bored because it was visually boring. Gene Simmons, who was born in Israel and moved to the United States with his mother at a young age, was equally influenced by the Beatles and comic books. KISS combined the catchy tunes of the Fab Four with the visuals of superheroes. But without those tunes, no one would have cared.

So, they're a big heavy metal band, right?: Well, they're an influence on almost every heavy metal band who followed, from Pantera to Anthrax to Slipknot, not to mention every single glam-metal band of the '80s. But their influence isn't limited to any one genre, nor is it limited to music. George Clinton - who was labelmates with KISS on Casablanca Records in the '70s - got some of his ideas from KISS, including Parliment's over-the-top stage show, which included motherships and elaborate costumes.

Garth Brooks, meanwhile, was inspired by KISS to make country music concerts into arena spectacles, tipping his hat to them with a cover of "Hard Luck Woman" that featured KISS as the backing band. Garage rock legends (and darlings of rock critics) the Replacements covered "Black Diamond" on their classic 1984 album Let It Be, while Wilco named-dropped the band on "Heavy Metal Drummer" ("I miss the innocence I've known/ Playing KISS covers, beautiful and stoned") on their 2002 landmark LP Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And, of course, Cheap Trick's immortal "Surrender" shouted out loud about the band: "When I woke up, Mom and Dad were rolling on the couch/Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got my Kiss records out!"

Okay, but why all the marketing? If the music is so great, shouldn't that be enough?: Gene Simmons will be the first to tell you - and he'll tell you proudly - that KISS isn't just a band, they're a brand. They've always thought outside the box when it comes to selling stuff with their name on it: in the '70s, they starred in their own Marvel comic and were immortalized as action figures. In later years, they've sold "KISS Kondoms" (since you asked, they came in three different styles: "Love Gun Protection", "Studded Paul" and "Tongue Lubricated"). A "KISS Kasket" is actually a thing that exists and will run you about $3,300. If you'd prefer a more modestly priced receptacle and you are the cremation type, a KISS Urn goes for $650.

KISS has also taken themselves to both the small and big screen, but be warned: you can't un-see either their 1978 TV movie KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park or their 1999 feature film starring Edward Furlong and Natasha Lyonne, Detroit Rock City. There's been a KISS-branded NASCAR car, and there was at one point a "KISS Demon" character in the WWE. These days, they own an arena football team, the L.A. KISS. (Indeed, a few months back, they were in talks to sign Tim Tebow, and Gene Simmons told Radio.com why). To some, all of the above takes away from their music. Which is a criticism that marketing genius/former New York Nets co-owner Jay Z never seems to get hit with. More questions answered here.

More on KISS - KISS Music -

Singled Out: RPWL's Swords and Guns

Today RPWL singer Yogi Lang tells us about the song "Swords and Guns" from their brand new album "Wanted," which was released today (4/1) in North America. Here is the story:

You can write hours of material, record one song after the other but still there is no reason to do an album. And then there is this one push, this one idea, this one chord that lets you know: this is it! "Swords and Guns" was exactly that key moment! I went to the studio and told our guitar player Kalle that I had this idea: I wanted to write about the crusades of the middle ages as a symbol for the horrible consequences of religious fanaticism in general. While I was talking myself into a rage, as I always do, Kalle was playing a demo he had recorded the day before. We both stood there and saw the crusaders passing by, straight on there way to one of those dark and bloody pages in the history books. Basically the song is driven by a "4 on the floor" groove with this specific bass lick that carries the song from the beginning to the end. The guitars Kalle recorded were quite similar to the ones we recorded during the production period. He also recorded a couple of vocal ideas on his demo. The most amazing one was the "left right left right" in the chorus that emphasizes the marching groove. So you see what I mean when I talk about this one great moment: the ideas of music and lyrical content came together and fitted like a glove.

The song starts with the statement: "We only do what god wants us to do", or as the crusaders said: "God wills it". With the promise of a "direct way to heaven after life" from the church, they went ahead with a massacre that started around the year 1100 - with consequences that are still noticeable. The spoken part is repeated like a mantra in the song to give hope and courage.

In the first verse we let them start their trip: thousands of men (about 40,000) starting off in the name of the church to set Jerusalem free. "Set free" in this context sounds of course rather bizarre because Jerusalem, at that time, was multicultural and free until the crusaders came.

The chorus is some sort of proof for their absolute will to do as they were told by Pope Urban II.: going on, whatever it takes, in the name of the Lord! God wills it! To understand the perfect senselessness, you have to focus on the fact that hardly anybody was able to read the bible at that time! It was written in Hebrew or Greek and so the content was in the hands of the priests and abbeys. They could have told them anything they wanted, there was no chance of fact-checking it anyway.

But let's proceed to the second verse:

the subheading of this part was "East and West". A lot of people think that the western part of the world was the more civilized one. That, of course, is absolute nonsense. First of all, it was a blessing for Europe getting rid of the knights that didn't do much besides fight and kill each other. Not very civilized, isn't it? And secondly, the crusaders must have looked very primitive for the eastern part of the world. The "believe or die" dogma was Christian in its nature and unfamiliar for an area where many religions lived together in peace. Bear in mind that the area from Greece or rather Turkey to Syria was the source of all that we'd call wisdom. I'm not saying that this marked the beginning of a war between Islam and Christianity, but, ladies and gentlemen, the Oscar for the invention of the holy war goes to: Pope Urban II. and his Christian army.

Let's have a look at the third verse:
The dynamic goes down a bit in this part, because it's getting a little spooky: As you may know, the crusades have been documented by annalists being close to the crusaders. You have to be really tough when reading about what has happened on their long way to Jerusalem. They weren't prepared for a desert area at all: too heavy suits of armor, but above it all, nothing to drink and nothing to eat! So after destroying everything and killing everybody, the only way to survive was to eat their enemies. Hearing those reports of barbarity and cannnibalism, imagine what the East thought about the Christian invaders. But the promise of a direct way to heaven that the crusaders got from the church gave them the power to go on. Anyway, an old emulator II metallic sound that doubles the theme is part of this scenery, bringing in a bit of a disharmonious feeling. You think I pushed it too hard in the lyrics of the third verse? Staying with the crusaders in Maara, the annalist Radulf von Caen described how they were cooking the older ones, and roasted the kids on their swords. Bon appetite!

The following c-part with the marching drums is the playground for the Moog Memorymoog. The basic sound of the late-70s-built synthesizer has the same kind of architecture but is a bit dirtier than the early-70s-Minimoog. At the beginning of the solo I tried to dive into the misguided spiritual world of the crusaders' souls with this very special Moog sound while the guitar and the bass give variations of the theme. But I return again to the rhythm of this fanatic march that was so dramatic and so pathetic at the same time.

In the final part the song returns to the structure of the earlier part, as a reference to the reasons why they started the whole thing in the first place. It is no surprise that the things that happened happened once they had arrived in Jerusalem - and tried to complete what they had set out to do right from the get-go. They simply stuck with their principles: they didn't understand a word - so they just killed everybody. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, you name it. No prisoners, God wills it!

Maybe it was a twist of fate: when the last massacre of the first crusade was completed and the news of it reached the Western world, the man who had put the deadly chain of events into action, Pope Urban II. was finally dead.
This is where this little history movie ends and, as in any other war of any other time in any other place, there was no winner to be found. Only losers.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself, check out the video and learn more about the album right here!

More on RPWL - RPWL Music -

. Get To Know... 28 North
Currently enjoying a hit single and counting the days till their new album World on Fire drops, 28 North is in the fast lane headed for Big Time and theres not a cop in sight. Kevin Wierzbicki gives us a look at this band as they prepare to release the new album later this month. - Read the full 28 North review

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