NewsBLITZ: SNO-CORE 2009 FEATURING STATIC-X AND SALIVA

The 13th annual Sno-Core tour is coming to town! Starting April 1, Static-X and Saliva will co-headline the bill, which also features Burn Halo and The Flood. Tour dates for the month-and-a-half long jaunt are as follows:

April 1: Sunshine—Albuquerque, NM
April 2: Club 101—El Paso, TX
April 3: Midnight Rodeo—Abilene, TX
April 4: Hemisfair Park—San Antonio, TX
April 5: Scout Bar—Beaumont, TX
April 7: The Palladium—Dallas, TX
April 8: Scout Bar—Houston, TX
April 11: Revolution—Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 13: Country Club—Augusta, GA
April 14: The Dive—Goose Creek, SC
April 15: Hooligan’s Music Hall—Jacksonville, NC
April 17: Starland Ballroom—Sayreville, NJ
April 18: Hampton Beach Casino—Hampton Beach, NH
April 19: Sonar—Baltimore, MD
April 21: Mulcahy’s—Wantagh, NY
April 22: Crocodile Rock—Allentown, PA
April 23: Town Ballroom—Buffalo, NY
April 24: Harpo’s—Detroit, MI
April 27: House Of Blues—Chicago, IL
April 28: Pop’s—St. Louis, MO
April 29: Sokol Auditorium—Omaha, NE
April 30: Gothic Theater—Denver, CO
May 3: House Of Blues—Las Vegas, NV
May 4: House Of Blues—Los Angeles, CA
May 6: Grand Ballroom—San Francisco, CA
May 7: Senator Theatre—Chico, CA
May 8: Medford Armory—Medford, OR
May 9: The New Oasis—Reno, NV

Static-X will be supporting new album, Cult Of Static, which comes out March 17. “Over the years, my voice has been destroyed from excessive touring… and I love it,” exclaims frontman Wayne Static. “The vocals on the new record are raw and brutal.”

Saliva is touring behind the recently released record Cinco Diablo.

Burn Halo’s self-titled debut drops March 31. The band features former 18 Visions frontman James Hart.

The Flood is recording their debut full-length with producer Sylvia Massy at her Radiostar Studios in Weed, Calif.

Go Go Karen O, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and IT's BLITZ

Since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are HUGE fans of MusikBLITZ, they've named their forthcoming record (April 14th) It's BLITZ. Ok, thats not why they titled the album that, but that would be pretty cool wouldn't it? I assume the title has something to do with Karen O getting out of Dirty Jerzey / Williamsburg Brooklyn and moving to La La Land a few years ago and becoming all zen and shit.

Anyhoo, i heard the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - this album is a follow up to 2006's Show Your Bones and the band is featured on the cover of the March issue of SPIN magazine for the third time...kick ass. According to SPIN, YYY's guitarist Nick Zinner is pretty much ditching guitars for synths. I can't say how i feel about this until i hear the album in its entirety.

What's more exciting is the YYY's have posted a cover of the Ramones classic, "Sheena is a Punk Rocker," which appears on a charity album called War Child: Hereos compilation which also features a Blondie cover by Franz Ferdinand.



Speaking of the Ramone's remember when Rayanne Graff from My So Called Life (FAVORITE SHOW in High School!!!) freaked out on stage while doing a cover of "I Wanna Be Sedated??" I'd post the footage here but it's not available due to stupid "terms of use violation."

NewsBLITZ: KID ROCK SHILLING BEER!

Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil sells wine via Vince Vineyards.

Sammy Hagar has made a fortune with Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Nelly's Pimp Juice revs up the adrenaline.

And Lil Jon gives a boost with Crunk!!! Energy Drink.

Now Kid Rock is getting in on the celebrity-drink craze by launching his own signature beer!


The Michigan Brewing Company is investing $7 million on the new craft beer from the Rock 'N' Roll Jesus. The ale’s name, style, pricing and packaging have yet to be determined, but Kid is said to be working very closely with the company to get all the details figured out. “It’s his idea," says Michigan Brewing Company owner Bobby Mason. "It’s his concept. I’m just working with him to make it happen.”

Expect Kid Rock's beer to hit shelves in time for spring. And, then you can get your drink on All Summer Long!

NewsBLITZ: MC HAMMER GETS NEW REALITY SHOW!

The latest former megastar to show his reality on TV is… MC Hammer!

You Can’t Touch This upcoming series, Hammertime, which will premiere on the A&E Network sometime in ’09. Each half-hour program will follow Hammer (AKA Stanley Burrell), his wife of more than 23 years, Stephanie, and their family of seven (daughters, sons and nephews ranging in age from 3-21) in Oakland, Calif. “Each week, we’ll open our home to viewers to showcase the hectic pace of our lives and our eclectic family, our real life truly is drama and there is no better place than A&E for some Hammertime,” says the ex-rapper, who is also the show’s executive producer.

“MC Hammer is an iconic figure in American pop culture but many people only know him for his music and fashion sense, now A&E takes an unprecedented look behind his larger-than-life personality and into his life as a devoted husband, father and business entrepreneur,” says A&E’s senior vice president of nonfiction and alternative programming Robert Sharenow. “Hammertime truly captures the intimate, funny and genuine moments that resonate with our viewers and underscore the essence of our brand.”

Hammer is no stranger to reality TV, having been a part of The Surreal Life's first season (along with Vince Neil, Corey Feldman and Emmanuel Lewis) back in 2003. Additionally, his oldest child, daughter A’Keiba, competed on MTV's 2008 show Rock The Cradle.

MusikBLITZ will definitely let you know when this series premieres, but you can keep tabs on the A&E website as well. Let’s Pray that this series is entertaining because we all know that Hammer is 2 Legit 2 Quit.

Nikki Sixx: WTF??

I know this has been going around for a few days, but i really have nothing more to say about it other than WHAT THE FUCK DUDE, ARE YOU BACK ON THE HORSE????? I have spent A LOT of time with Nikki Sixx, and do not know this raging lunatic who was on stage and almost murdered a female fan for laughing at him.

NewsBLITZ: KIP WINGER HONORED

Winger frontman Kip Winger recently received an honorary plaque and a historic United States flag (which flew over Forward Operating Base Kalsu in Iraq) by the U.S. government for his show of support for the troops.

Winger's 2006 CD, Winger IV, featured several tracks with lyrics written from the perspective of a soldier, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” which the U.S. government singled out.

Acoustic version of “Blue Suede Shoes”

“I had been doing solo shows at military bases and, in speaking with many of the soldiers, their stories touched me,” explains Kip. “It was amazing to hear how far reaching our music was and how many soldiers have been moved by it. I was truly humbled by the stories.”

General Harold Cross presenting the plaque to Kip Winger

The inscription on the plaque reads:
In appreciation of recording artist Kip Winger and his musical composition “Blue Suede Shoes” honoring the service and sacrifice of our United States Armed Forces and their families.

Kip is currently writing songs with guitarist Reb Beach for a new Winger release while promoting his 2008 solo CD, From The Moon To The Sun. He also recently completed an orchestral piece, “Ghosts,” that will be performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in November.

Visit Kip's MySpace for further information.

CRÜE FEST 2 ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING SOON!!!

Mötley Crüe is getting ready to announce the details of their second annual Crüe Fest and, to get fans excited, have posted the following hilarious video:



The inaugural summer festival took place in 2008 and featured a half-a-day's worth of fantastic rock from Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Trapt, Sixx A.M. and, of course, the Crüe.

Visit the official Crüe Fest 2 wesbite to sign up for updates on the jaunt.

Peace Out METAL EDGE!

I wonder if Zenbu Media (publisher of Relix and the recently defunct Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs) knows that it probably was not the fact that "the music industry sucks" - as he wrote in a blog post on FolioMag.com - for Metal Edge going under.

Sure, this is somewhat true, but there are also a number of additional reasons why it DID go under, many of which were probably caused by Metal Edge's Editor in Chief, Phil Freeman. Its unfortunate because Freeman is a good writer and I did enjoy a few of his features over his year and a half reign. I did not enjoy the way he treated people nor the way Metal Edge was slowly melding into Metal Maniacs.

I have seen and heard first hand many wrong doings on his part as an editor working with his staff, publicist, managers and record labels. With the terrible economy we're in I won't be as cold hearted as I'd like and shout him out in detail, as everyone is human and makes mistakes so I do hope he finds a job he is better suited for. It's a very big shame that one of the only magazines that young metal loving kids had to read is now over.

The below email from Freeman was sent to us by a few people late last week:

Subject: Goodbye METAL EDGE - Hello, Freelance

Hey...

As you've no doubt heard, Wednesday, February 11 will be my last day as Editor-in-Chief of METAL EDGE. I am going to continue writing for various freelance outlets, though. I'm currently publishing regularly in five Village Voice Media papers (the Village Voice, the Cleveland Free Times, the SF Weekly, Westword in Denver, and the St. Louis Riverfront Times) as well as Jazziz, Alternative Press, and the Wire. I plan to expand even further in 2009, too, so all of you receiving this email should keep me on your promo lists, as I will continue to cover metal, jazz and anything else that catches my ear, whether in
print or online. I'm also available for artist bios, liner notes for reissues and compilations, and other similar projects. And finally, I'm a certified audio engineer as well as a critic and journalist, so feel free to pass my info to bands you know or work with who might be looking for an in-studio consultant ("producer" would be a stretch) or someone to evaluate their work and help them improve.

Please use this email address (and the mailing address below) for anything and everything; I look forward to continuing to work with you.

Thanks!

Phil Freeman

And now, a look back at happier times:

2009 Grammy Awards

Nice one Chris Brown. Not only did I fall asleep before the Grammys were over thanks to Cold Play putting me to sleep (until Jay Z came out for a cameo), but you totally f'd the Grammys because you assaulted darling Rihanna (possibly just a rumor). Was that some kind of sick Valentines Day gift? Let me take a swing at your puny 19-year old ass.

Anyway, I love Kid Rock but his performance wasn't dirty enough for me I guess. A big @#$% YEAH!!! to MIA for getting up there majorly preggers and doing a great job. Even more interesting than the actual Grammy show, is New York Times critics Jon Caramonica and David Itzkoff's live blogging.

NewsBLITZ: THE WRESTLER SOUNDTRACK TO BE RELEASED

MusikBLITZ has already praised the Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler (read the review here) and the awesome music heard throughout the movie. Now Koch Records is releasing the flick’s official soundtrack.


“I love the music presented on this soundtrack,” says the film’s director and producer Darren Aronofsky. “Put together, it helps to tell the story of The Ram [Rourke’s character]. Each song was chosen to push the movie forward.”

Adds film producer Scott: “You could easily see this soundtrack being the playlist or mix tape from any ’80s-era icon. Any fan of ’80s hair metal will appreciate the mix of hits and more obscure tracks with a little current hip-hop thrown in.”

The track list is as follows:
1. Quiet Riot: Bang Your Head (Metal Health)
2. Cinderella: Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)
3. Birdman & Lil Wayne: Stuntin’ Like My Daddy
4. Firehouse: Don’t Walk Away
5. Rhino Bucket: Soundtrack To A War—Welcome To Hell
6. Solomon: Blowin’ Up
7. Dead Family: Mirror
8. Ratt: Round and Round
9. Slaughter: Dangerous
10. Ratt: I’m Insane
11. Accept: Balls To The Wall
12. Scorpions: Animal Magnetism

(Note: Fans of Bruce Springsteen’s Golden Globe winning theme song, “The Wrestler”, won't find the track on the soundtrack. However, the song is available on his new studio album, Working On A Dream.)

The 12-song soundtrack to The Wrestler is already available via iTunes and will hit stores as a traditional CD on Feb. 24.

SLIPKNOT @ MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: FEBRUARY 5, 2009

The members of Slipknot made their dreams come true when they hit New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden for the very first time on Feb. 5. Playing to a near-sold out crowd (proving that metal still lives in NYC), the 9-piece masked band put on a 90-minute show featuring their one-of-a-kind blend of extreme metal music and high-energy performances.

As fans moshed in the pit, Slipknot performed favorites like “Wait and Bleed,” “Duality” and “People=Shit,” as well as new tunes from their latest album, 2008’s All Hope Is Gone, like “Psychosocial” and “Dead Memories.”

The always entertaining band supplemented the music with crazy percussionists on platforms that go up and down while they pound trash cans with bats and other objects; turntabilist Sid Wilson’s Cirque du Soleil-esque antics hanging and doing tricks from the aforementioned platforms; and Joey Jordison drumming while spinning around in the air on a contraption that resembled an amusement park ride.

Slipknot @ MSG

Slipknot’s current U.S. tour—also featuring Coheed and Cambria and Trivium—ends in mid March. Visit Slipknot's website for more info.

REVIEW: JON BON JOVI PERFORMS AT HILLARY CLINTON BENEFIT

Before he took the stage in Washington, D.C., to perform for the brand new President, Jon Bon Jovi helped out Hillary Clinton on Jan. 15 by performing at a fundraiser for the newly-appointed Secretary Of State at New York City’s Town Hall.

Democrats were abuzz as they filled up the venue, getting louder as time passed on as the event started a half an hour later than expected (apparently Hillary was on an Amtrak from D.C. back to NYC).

New York State government officials Sheldon Silver and David Patterson spoke and then a PowerPoint presentation was shown featuring all of Ms. Clinton’s achievements. Then Jon Bon Jovi took the stage.

Bon Jovi opened his set with a slow, almost unrecognizable cover of The Beatles’ classic “Help” that was simply brilliant. He was joined onstage by on-and-off members of Bon Jovi’s touring entourage—guitarist Bobby Bandiera, keyboardist Jeff Kazee and violinist Lorenza Ponce.

Jon said he was there for Hillary as “friends helping friends.” He then went on to perform Bon Jovi staples “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Next, Jon showed off his blue-eyed soul side with an amazing rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which you can see below.



The 25-minute set closed with another Beatles cover: “Here Comes The Sun.”

Jon then introduced former President Bill Clinton via this touching speech:



Bill then thanked Jon and his family profusely for all of the help they've given the Clinton family over the years. “He never quits and I admire that,” Bill said of Jon.

After the remainder of Bill’s speech, Chuck Schumer spoke and then Chelsea Clinton.

Finally, Hillary arrived. Of Jon, she said that he’s proof that “good guys can finish first.”

I agree with that!!!

CALIFORNICATION PARTY REVIEW

MusikBLITZ presented its first event on Sunday, Jan. 25, with a Californication-themed party at Solas in NYC.


To honor David Duchovny’s hit Showtime television series, partygoers dressed as members of the show’s cast while downing Jameson cocktails.

Bronx-based cover band Famous Shamus played two awesome sets filled with a wide-range of rock songs—from Led Zeppelin (“Immigrant Song”) to Buckcherry (“Crazy Bitch”) and Bon Jovi (“Livin’ On A Prayer”) to Lit (“My Own Worst Enemy”). The band kept with the evening’s theme by performing tunes featured in episodes of Californication like Cheap Trick’s “Surrender,” the Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender” and, since many Warren Zevon songs are often heard on the show, “Werewolves Of London.” (However, the band somehow neglected to play the Red Hot Chili Peppers song that has the same name as the TV show.)


It was a good turnout on a very cold night for MusikBLITZ’s first party. And, hopefully, there will be many more to come!