Thal spoke with XS Rock about the acclaimed new album "The Madness" from his group Art of Anarchy, which also features Creed frontman Scott Stapp and Disturbed's bass player John Moyer, and the inevitable topic of his former band came up.
Ron was asked is Axl is really as difficult to work with as he is portrayed in the media and the guitarist answered, "He's a human being and he has a big heart. The press doesn't give him the same consideration that they would some other people. You know, they try to hold him to a different standard, where he's always supposed to be happy and smiling, nothing should ever be wrong and he's always supposed to be in a good mood and do the right thing and that's stupid.
"It's bullsh*t. It perpetuates a lot of negativity and incites a lot of negativity that isn't deserved. He's dealt with a lot of that. I had a great, great time working with him. Is everything perfect? No. I've probably pissed him off more than the other way around, but he's just a human being."
The guitarist was understandably excited and emotional at the induction, not only over the Rock Hall honor, but also with reconnecting with Perry for the first time in over a decade at the event, and looked back at the issues which caused the singer to leave the group.
Schon discussed going into Perry' room at the induction event with Rolling Stone and shared his hope that they could rekindle their friendship. He said, "At the end of Journey, around [the 1996 album] 'Trial By Fire' or even 'Raised On Radio' [1986] we were having a falling out as far as the direction of the band. It was more or less like that.
"There were a lot of other issues going on that were kind of stupid looking back. I'd hoped we'd put everything aside and get back to our great friendship that we always had, the admiration and respect we had for one another. I felt like that was definitely there. Some of his friends were in the room with my wife and I, and they snapped some photos. People can genuinely see that he was very happy and so was I. Every picture tells a story." Read more
here.
The Andrew Joffe directed video for "Hard Times" can be streamed here. The new studio album, which features the return of original member Zac Farro, will be entitled "After Laughter" and it scheduled to be released on May 12th.
Paramore recorded the 12-track album at the historic RCA Studio B in the band's hometown of Nashville, and it was produced by band member Taylor York and Justin Meldal-Johnsen. See the song list
here.
Due June 9, the band co-produced their ninth studio album with Chris Baseford (Slash, Shinedown) as part of a new global record deal with BMG. Nickelback will support the record with a North American tour that will begin in Noblesville, IN on June 23.
Special guests on the tour including Shaman's Harvest on all shows, Daughtry on all of the US concerts plus appearances in Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC, and Cheap Trick on the fall western Canadian leg. Watch the video and see the tour dates
here.
The band's summer tour is now scheduled to kick off with an appearance at the Festival d'Ete de Qu�bec on July 13th and conclude in Stateline, NV on August 16th at the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys.
In between they will be playing shows in Canandaigua (NY, 7/16), National Harbor (MD, 7/18), Uncasville (CT, 7/20), Atlantic City (NJ, 7/22), Grand Rapids (MI, 7-25), and San Francisco (CA, 8-13). Read more
here.
Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple are credited by many as the third jewel in the British hard rock crown. At the suggestion of their accountant, Deep Purple would look to save some money by recording their 1972 album Machine Head outside of the UK tax jurisdiction and in the quiet resort town of Montreux, Switzerland.
The events that transpired before and during the recording of Machine Head are legendary, immortalized in the band's iconic song "Smoke On The Water" which details the massive fire that destroyed the venue where Deep Purple were set to record. Singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover share with In The Studio host Redbeard the story that has become Rock and Roll folklore, resulting in Deep Purple leaving Switzerland with a career-defining album.
Ian Gillan: "We have always had a kind of aversion to recording studios, for various reasons� We are not very good studio workers� We are quite naive about studio technique and technology. We concentrated very much on the music." -
Roger Glover: "It (Montreux) was a very small sleepy town in the early Seventies� It was the place you retired to� And we're looking for somewhere we can make a lot of noise in the middle of the night. That's a pretty tall order." Stream the episode
The special night of Fleetwood Mac focused programming will include the premiere of a rare 1986 concert film entitled "Steve Nicks: Rock A Little" that features Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton at 9pE/6pP.
The marathon will be kicking off with a Lindsey Buckingham episode of The Big Interview at 4:30PM E/ 1:30 P. that will be followed by drummer Mick Fleetwood taking a look back at some of the band's music videos in Video Killed The Radio Star: The Artist View Fleetwood Mac at 5:30E.
here.
This year's installment of the music event will be taking place on September 15th, 16th and 17th at Douglas Park in Chicago and organizers have revealed the initial lineup.
Additional performers will include New Order, Paramore, Wu-Tang Clan, Bad Brains playing a special 40th Anniversary set, A Day To Remember, Gogol Bordello, Taking Back Sunday, Vic Mensa and more. Read more
here.
The song comes from their projects self-titled debut album which is set to hit stores on June 2nd. The band features Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall ), Ronnie Romero (Lords Of Black , Rainbow), and Mike Terrana (Rage, Axel Rudi Pell, MasterPlan).
The Ferrymen began last summer when Karlsson shared some tracks he had written with singer Ronnie Romero, who's profile got a big boost last year when Ritchie Blackmore recruited him to handle lead vocals for his special return to rock Rainbow shows. Watch the new video
here.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the project reached the plateau on April 12 through sales of a million equivalent album units, which blend traditional album sales, tracks sold from an album and on-demand audio and video streams.
Metallica recently saw a jump in sales of their tenth album when it was offered as part of a bundle with tickets to their summer stadium tour of North America when they went on sale in mid-February.
Fans could choose a physical CD or digital download, with redemptions of albums officially counting as a final sale in the week the customer redeems/receives the album. Read more
here.
The album, entitled "Iconic Performances From The Monterey International Pop Festival", will hit stores and digital retailers on June 6th and will include previously unreleased performances from The Grateful Dead and Laura Nyro.
The other tracks will include other notable performances from artists like Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Simon and Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas & The Papas and more. See the tracklisting
here.
The recordings for the new album and home video were captured during the January 21st and 2nd concerts at the famed New York City venue during Bonamassa's 2016 acoustic tour.
'Live At Carnegie Hall -An Acoustic Evening' will be released in various formats including CD, vinyl, DVD, and Blu-Ray and a new trailer for can be streamed
here.
The song comes from the group's forthcoming studio album "Pollinator," which is set to be released on May 5th. The video was directed by Dikayl Rimmasch and shot in New York City.
The special Record Store Day release of the single will be issued on 7" vinyl and will also feature the non-album cut of a song called "The Breaks". It will be limited to just 750 copies and will be available in select U.S. record stores. Watch the video
here.
The 25-year-old assumed the drumming duties in the band last summer and the group has now confirmed that he has been made an official member of the band.
They had this to say, "We are super stoked to announce Bastian Thusgaard as our permanent drummer. He's been touring with us for quite a while and has been nothing short of amazing to work with, both on a musical level and on a personal level.
"Taking over after Dirk must have been pretty hard, but he has proven, time and time again, through our tours through North America, South America and Europe, that he is the perfect man for the job." Read more
here.
The 38th class of Blues Hall of Fame inductees will be feted at a ceremony May 10 that will take place at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts (225 S. Main St.) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Honorees include Johnny Copeland, Henry Gray, Willie Johnson, Latimore, Amy van Singel, Magic Slim, and Mavis Staples, W.C. Handy's book, Father of the Blues, and a number of classic recordings, among them John Lee Hooker's album Real Folk Blues, inducted during his centennial year. Read more
here.
The new studio effort will be released on April 28th and the next day the band will be taking the stage at Urban Outfitters at their Space 15 Twenty for the special event which will be taking place between 1-3PM local time.
To gain one of the 200 wristbands to the show, fans will need to purchase the exclusive Urban Outfitters vinyl edition of the album at Space 15 Twenty on its release date of April 28th, between 10am-10pm, according to the announcement. Read more
here.
Frontman Dennis Jagard had this to say, "We are excited to have fresh new recordings of our favorite old TFP songs, plus a couple of new ones, to introduce modern Ten Foot Pole to our friends, old and new."
"Setlist" was mixed and produced by Kyle Black (New Found Glory, Strung Out) and is the band's first new album release in over a decade. In addition to the new tracks "Scars" and "I Don't Want To Go" , the album takes a journey through the band's entire career with a look at the California punk scene, according to the announcement. See the tracklist
here.
Obaro had this to say about the new musical offering: "The song is written in two halves - the first hopeful for a brighter future, while the second sees hope snatched away by forces beyond the control of the storyteller.
"There is an important story to be told there, but I wrote the song in a way that aims to capture a broader human truth: that while we are all working for a better life for ourselves, we have to accept that we are not in control of the outcome." Stream it
here.
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