weekly music news

[FH]

Source: JUDAS PRIEST '90 Percent A Go' For OZZFEST 2004, SLIPKNOT To Headline Second Stage - Jan. 25, 2004

According to a reliable industry source, JUDAS PRIEST are "90 percent a go" for this year's Ozzfest, which is tentatively expected to kick off late June/early July. OZZY OSBOURNE, who is recovering from a nasty all-terrain-vehicle crash, will reportedly try to headline the festival once again, although any complications with his recovery may indefinitely postpone his return to the live stage. SLIPKNOT are believed to be in talks to co-headline the festival's second stage with HATEBREED, while DAMAGEPLAN and VELVET REVOLVER are also said to be strong possibilities. Says our source: "The thinking is that not enough people have been coming early so [the festival organizers] may lay off the newer acts and get more established acts for the second stage."

[FH]

Hendrix Resurrected on Tour

Living Colour, Buddy Guy bring legendary guitarist's music to life

Jimi Hendrix's classic catalog will be brought back to life with a short tribute tour, where the legendary guitarist's songs will be performed by the likes of Living Colour, Buddy Guy, Double Trouble and Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell.
Three dates in Hendrix's hometown of Seattle will kick off the tour, starting February 22nd at the Paramount Theater. Other guitarists, young and old, including Howlin' Wolf's axeman Hubert Sumlin, Earth Wind and Fire's Sheldon Reynolds and Kenny Wayne Shepherd will take the stage. Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers has also been tapped as a special guest.

So far two additional shows have been set: Portland's Roseland Theater on February 24th (with Guy, Living Colour, Cantrell, Double Trouble and Indigenous) and the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on February 26th featuring the same lineup except for Joe Satriani, who subs for Living Colour.

Two of Hendrix's former bandmates -- drummer Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix Experience and bassist Billy Cox from the Band of Gypsies -- will also be on hand for the shows.

Nearly thirty-four years have passed since Hendrix's death, but interest in the guitarist remains strong. Last fall he topped Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and in May he will be the subject of Power of Soul, a tribute record featuring his songs covered by Eric Clapton, Sting, Prince, Santana, Musiq and others.

ANDREW DANSBY
(January 23, 2004)

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SCORPIONS To Release 'Unbreakable' In April - Jan. 26, 2004

Veteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS have set "Unbreakable" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in April. An as-yet-undisclosed single will precede the album in March. The band are also working on a DVD which should be released later in the year.

As previously reported, SCORPIONS — who recently announced the addition of Polish bassist Pawel Maciwoda (SECTION 31, URBANATOR) to the group's ranks — completed the recordings for "Unbreakable" at Peppermint Park Studio in Hannover. The album is expected to feature a return to the band's classic hard rock sound following a foray into a more dance-inspired direction on their last studio release, 1999's "Eye II Eye".

[FH]

Interview with Tool/APC Frontman Maynard James Keenan

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Pearl Jam Resurrects Dog for Fan Club Single
(LAUNCH, 01/26/2004 1:25 PM)

By Tamara Conniff

The first full-fledged on-stage reunion in 11 years by members of Seattle rock supergroup Temple Of The Dog is spotlighted on the upcoming holiday single for members of Pearl Jam's Ten Club fan organization.

The single sports Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell joining Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder , Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament , Mike McCready and Matt Cameron for a 10-minute run through Temple's "Reach Down" at an Oct. 28 benefit concert in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Temple Of The Dog's self-titled 1990 album was recorded prior to Pearl Jam's 1991 breakthrough, "Ten," and introduced the music world to Vedder via his harmonizing with Cornell on the single "Hunger Strike." The group's members had not played live together since the 1992 Lollapalooza tour.

McCready told Billboard.com in November that a release of the complete Oct. 28 show was possible down the line. "We did four benefits in a row," he said, "so we were kind of like, O.K., this is the end of our whole touring cycle . It may come out on something, because we did film it and record it. We'll just have to sit back and listen to it again."

The holiday single's B-side is a stripped-down cover of the Ramones' "I Believe in Miracles," taped Oct. 22 at Seattle's Benaroya Hall. A drawing by Ament will adorn the single.

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After putting two bands on ice in the past four years, Billy Corgan will go it alone for his next album. The former Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan frontman has begun work on what will be his debut solo recording, though in a Web post he joked, "some would argue that it's not my first, and I wouldn't argue with you there."
"I am excited to work on this music," Corgan continued, "because for the first time in my life it will be my tunes with no compromises to anyone or anything. It's gonna be loud and beautiful and poetic and dumb. Just the way I like it."

Corgan disbanded Smashing Pumpkins in late 2000, taking drummer Jimmy Chamberlin along with him in Zwan, which he formed a year later. The group released one album, Mary Star of the Sea, before Corgan announced their breakup last fall, complaining that "band members viewed it as something they could decide to do or not to do."

Zwan guitarist David Pajo had been working with his project Papa M for several years before joining Zwan, and didn't seem inclined to dissolve it. Zwan bassist/vocalist Paz Lenchantin joined Pajo's troupe, which has an active 2004 planned including a February tour with Super Furry Animals, the next in its numerical singles series ("Six") due in March, and Hole of Burning Alms, a collection of singles from 1995 to 2000 due in February.

In addition to Corgan's solo debut, he's a week away from turning in a book of poetry for future publication.

ANDREW DANSBY
(January 26, 2004)

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NIKKI SIXX's Wife In Sex-Video Shocker! Photos Available
- Jan. 26, 2004

A never-before-seen sex video featuring Donna D'Errico, wife of MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, is scheduled to go online next week, according to the web site YouGottaKnow.com. Although Donna's "partner" in the video has never been officially identified, rumor has it that it is the lead singer from SUBPOENA. Check out a few (non-graphic) stills from the video at this location.

Commented MÖTLEY CRÜE's webmaster Shaun: "Guess this was recorded before Donna learned about the importance of erasing the tapes! See, Jim Rome brings this up and two weeks later it's on the net!!!!"

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ALICE IN CHAINS: Two-Disc Retrospective Due In March - Jan. 27, 2004

ALICE IN CHAINS' impressive legacy will be celebrated on a two-disc retrospective, "The Essential", due March 16 from Columbia/Legacy, according to Billboard.com. The 29-track album features familiar songs such as "Them Bones", "Rooster", "No Excuses", "Heaven Beside You", "Would?" and "I Stay Away", plus two contributions to the 1993 "Last Action Hero" soundtrack ("What the Hell Have I", "A Little Bitter") that have been remixed by producer Toby Wright. Also included are two cuts from the group's 1996 "Unplugged" release and the 1999 boxed set "Music Bank".

"The Essential" track listing:

Disc One:

01. We Die Young
02. Man in the Box
03. Bleed the Freak
04. Love, Hate, Love
05. Am I Inside
06. Brother
07. Got Me Wrong
08. Right Turn
09. Rain When I Die
10. Them Bones
11. Angry Chair
12. Dam That River
13. Dirt
14. God Smack
15. Hate To Feel
16. Rooster

Disc Two:

01. No Excuses
02. I Stay Away
03. What the Hell Have I (remix)
04. A Little Bitter (remix)
05. Grind
06. Heaven Beside You
07. Again
08. Shame in You
09. Over Now (unplugged)
10. Nutshell (unplugged)
11. Get Born Again
12. Died
13. Would?

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DREAM THEATER Add Tour Dates
- Jan. 28, 2004

DREAM THEATER have added more dates to their forthcoming North American tour. The group's current itinerary looks as follows:

Mar. 02 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
Mar. 03 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Mar. 05 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theater
Mar. 06 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Pantages Theater
Mar. 07 - San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theater
Mar. 08 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theater
Mar. 11 - Denver, CO @ Paramount Theater
Mar. 13 - Minneapolis, MN @ State Theater
Mar. 15 - Kansas City, KS @ Uptown Theater
Mar. 17 - St. Louis, MO @ American Theater
Mar. 18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
Mar. 19 - Chicago, IL @ Riveria Theater
Mar. 20 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater
Mar. 22 - Detroit, MI @ State Theater
Mar. 23 - Greensburg (Pittsburgh), PA @The Palace Theater
Mar. 25 - Toronto, ONT @ Massey Hall
Mar. 26 - Quebec City, QUE @ Le Capitole
Mar. 27 - Montreal, QUE @ Metropolis
Apr. 01 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theater
Apr. 02 - Philladelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
Apr. 03 - New York, NY @ The Theatre at Madison Square Garden

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R.E.M. Eyes 'Perfect' DVD, New Album




R.E.M.'s July 19, 2003, concert at Bowling Green in Weisbaden, Germany, is captured in its entirety on the DVD "Perfect Square," due March 16 from Warner Bros. The 23-song set sports such performance rarities as "Maps and Legends" from the 1985 album "Fables of the Reconstruction" and the ancient non-album track "Permanent Vacation." Prior to the 2003 tour, the former had not been played live since 1989, while the latter hadn't been unearthed since 1984.

Also featured are "Bad Day" and "Animal," the two new songs included on the recent best-of "In Time," plus such R.E.M. favorites as "The One I Love," "Orange Crush," "Country Feedback" and the show-closing "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."

"Perfect Square" is bolstered by the documentary "A Stirling Performance," which chronicles the set-up for R.E.M.'s summer 1999 three-night stand in the small Scottish town of Stirling. The film features performance footage, behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with the band.

Meanwhile, work continues in earnest on R.E.M.'s next studio album, extensive sessions for which have already taken place in Vancouver. According to a post on the band's official Web site, group members are in Athens, Ga., writing songs and revisiting some of the previously recorded material. Working titles include "Around the Sun," "Wanderlust," "Magnetic North" and "I Wanted To Be Wrong."

"The band will be heading into the studio in the next few weeks," the post continues. "We're hoping for a fall record and hopefully will be touring some of the places we didn't on the '03 tour (and some of the ones we did)."

Here is the track list for "Perfect Square":

"Begin the Begin"
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
"Maps and Legends"
"Drive"
"Animal"
"Daysleeper"
"The Great Beyond"
"Bad Day"
"The One I Love"
"All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)"
"Orange Crush"
"Losing My Religion"
"At My Most Beautiful"
"Electrolite"
"She Just Wants To Be"
"Walk Unafraid"
"Man on the Moon"
"Everybody Hurts"
"So Fast, So Numb"
"Country Feedback"
"Permanent Vacation"
"Imitation of Life"
"It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

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Fleetwood Mac Dust Off Demos

Expanded reissues of late Seventies albums due in March

Rhino Records will reissue Fleetwood Mac's landmark late Seventies albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours and Tusk on March 23rd.
The expanded version of Fleetwood Mac, originally released in 1975 and the first to feature Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, will include a previously unreleased jam, along with four alternate takes of album cuts. Both Rumours (1977) and Tusk (1979) will come with a full disc of unreleased demos and outtakes.

Rumours, which has sold more than 19 million copies, has become almost as famous for its creators' feuding as its blockbuster hits. "All of those problems and all of those drugs, and all of the fun and all of the craziness, all made for writing all those songs," says Nicks in the liner notes. "If we'd been a big healthy great group of guys and gals, none of those great songs would've been written."

The roughs and outtakes on the discs offer a behind-the-scenes peak at the group's sometimes fractured songwriting process, which gave "The Chain" its name.

"It started out as one song in Sausalito," Buckingham told Rolling Stone. "We decided it needed a bridge, so we cut a bridge and edited it into the rest of the song. We didn't get a vocal and left it for a long time in a bunch of pieces. It almost went off the album. Then we listened back and decided we liked the bridge, but didn't like the rest of the song. So I wrote verses for that bridge, which was originally not in the songs and edited those in. We saved the ending. The ending was the only thing left from the original track. We ended up calling it 'The Chain' because it was a bunch of pieces."

Fleetwood Mac outtakes:

Jam #2
Say You Love Me (Single Version)
Rhiannon (Single Version)
Over My Head (Single Version)
Blue Letter (Single Version)

Rumours demos and outtakes:

Second Hand News
Dreams
Brushes (Never Going Back Again)
Don't Stop
Go Your Own Way
Songbird
Silver Springs
You Make Loving Fun
Gold Dust Woman #1
Oh Daddy
Think About It
Never Going Back Again
Planets of the Universe
Butter Cookie (Keep Me There)
Gold Dust Woman
Doesn't Anything Last
Mic The Screecher
For Duster (The Blues)

Tusk demos and outtakes:

One More Time (Over and Over)
Can't Walk Out of Here (The Ledge)
Think About Me
Sara
Lindsey's Song #1 (I Know I'm Not Wrong)
Storms
Lindsey's Song #2 (That's All for Everyone)
Sisters of the Moon
Out on the Road (That's Enough for Me)
Brown Eyes
Never Make Me Cry
Song #1 (I Know I'm Not Wrong)
Honey Hi
Beautiful Child
Song #3 (Walk a Thin Line)
Come On Baby (Never Forget)
Song #1 (I Know I'm Not Wrong)
Kiss and Run
Farmer's Daughter
Think About Me (Single Version)
Sisters of the Moon (Single Version)

COLIN DEVENISH
(January 28, 2004)

[FH]

Yes will begin a North American arena tour April 15 in Seattle, featuring the classic lineup of Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Steve Howe (guitar), Jon Anderson (vocals), Alan White (drums) and Chris Squire (bass). Each date will feature a specially designed set by Roger Dean, the artist responsible for the band's album covers.

The 35th Anniversary tour is in support of the just-released "Ultimate Yes" collection (Rhino), a two-CD set of hits and essentials, plus a newly recorded bonus CD with five unreleased tracks, including the new song "Show Me." The set was released in the U.K. last summer, where it debuted at No. 10 on the album chart.

Additionally, the tour also supports the companion DVD release of "Yesspeak," an extensive documentary the band created with Robert Garofalo (Classic Pictures) featuring more than three hours of interview and performance footage.

Here are Yes' tour dates:

April 15: Seattle (Key Arena)
April 16: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
April 18: San Diego (Cox Arena)
April 20: Anaheim, Calif. (The Pond)
April 21: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay)
April 24: Mexico City (Sports Palace)
April 27: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)
April 28: Atlanta (Phillips Arena)
April 30: Ft. Lauderdale (Office Depot Center)
May 1: Tampa, Fla. (Times Forum)
May 4: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
May 5: Detroit (Palace of Auburn Hills)
May 7: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
May 10: Philadelphia (First Union Center)
May 12: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
May 13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
May 15: Boston (Tsongas Arena)


-- Ray Waddell, Nashville

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G3 Tour: Live DVD, CD Details Revealed - Jan. 30, 2004

All the details have been released for the forthcoming G3 DVD and CD sets that are being released through Epic Records on February 24.

The track listing is as follows:

"G3 - Live in Denver" DVD

01. Satch Boogie
02. The Extremist
03. Starry Night
04. Midnight
05. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
06. I Know You're Here
07. Juice
08. I'm the Hell Outta Here
09. Evil Eye
10. Baroque and Roll
11. Acoustic Guitar Solo
12. Adagio
13. Far Beyond the Sun
14. Rockin' In The Free World
15. Little Wing
16. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Play Concert
Set List (see track listing)
Audio Select
Bonus Features

"G3 Live: Rockin' in the Free World" CD (cover):

Disc 1:

01. The Extremist
02. Crystal Planet
03. Always With Me, Always With You
04. Midnight
05. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
06. You're Here
07. Reaping
08. Whispering a Prayer
09. Blitzkrieg
10. Trilogy Suite Op. 5
11. Red House
12. Fugue
13. Finale

Disc 2:

01. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
02. Little Wing
03. Rockin' In The Free World

[FH]

LIMP BIZKIT's FRED DURST Slams Spanish Journalist For 'Insulting' Him - Jan. 29, 2004

LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"This morning, as I was spending time with my son Dallas in a park, I had a series of phone interviews to do in preparation for our upcoming European tour. One of them was with Jordi Meya, from Rock Sound magazine (supposedly the biggest alternative music magazine in Spain). It not only amazes me that this guy was picked to interview me, but that he is a journalist for one of the most popular music magazines in Europe. Jordi's first question was about my perspective of 2003, and whether it was positive or negative. Afterwards I told him how excited I was to be coming to Spain and looked forward to playing for the fans there. He then had the wits to remind me, 'People here are still pissed about you guys cancelling the show here a couple years ago.' Apparently, Jordi wanted to make an issue about something that happened a long time ago rather than just focus on what's happening now and what to look forward to. The event he was referring to was the 'FestiMad' show, which was a large festival style concert in Spain that we had to cancel for safety reasons. Jordi was implying that we let fans down by not performing. If he'd done his homework, he'd know that we didn't cancel the show to hurt the fans, we did it to protect them. Our own crew worked hard until the 11th hour trying to provide a safe barricade and environment after the festival producers neglected to do so. We're not in the business of putting innocent people's lives at risk. I told him I am just a human being and if there's still people claiming to be pissed about something that happened a couple years ago, then they need to stay home and not waste our time.

"Continuing with his flow of charisma, Jordi then mentioned, 'You have a knack for pissing people off, why is that?' It's ignorant statements like these that don't help anybody. What is this guy trying to get at? He's got 20 minutes to ask or talk about anything he wants in order to generate some positive energy but instead all he wants to do is focus on a half empty glass. I told him if he's gonna do an interview, try asking questions that are innovative or inspiring. Pretending to be a gentleman, he began trying to ask the normal set of questions that any good journalist usually asks, but it was too late since he never intended to make something fun or productive out of it. All he had to do was be decent from the start and he would've gotten answers to anything he asked. He then slyly stated, 'I've been taking a lot of shit for supporting you and LIMP BIZKIT,' as if he was doing us a favor. Has he ever realized that it's journalists like him and his articles that are the reason why there's so much unnecessary drama and bad energy to begin with? You can support us or choose not to, but just because I agreed to do an interview and we just met, doesn't give anyone the right to insult me. How would Jordi like it if there were a million great things to be grateful for in his life and I called him just to tell him he was an asshole?

"Jordi, since you don't have any regard for constructive or objective journalism, kiss my ass and try to be front and center at the concert next month."



Spanish Journalist Responds To FRED DURST: 'You Have Once Again Disrespected Your Fans' - Jan. 30, 2004

A Spanish rock journalist who was challenged by LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst to stand near the stage at a BIZKIT concert after Durst was "insulted" in a one-to-one interview with the reporter has penned an "open letter" to the singer, telling him that he has "once again disrespected [his] fans" and suggesting that his "bad reputation" in the media is "well deserved."

In a lengthy posting to LIMP BIZKIT's web site, Durst said that he became furious after Jordi Meya, from Rock Sound magazine (web site), asked him: "You have a knack for pissing people off, why is that?"

Durst said: "It not only amazes me that this guy was picked to interview me, but that he is a journalist for one of the most popular music magazines in Europe.

"He had the wits to remind me, 'People here are still pissed off about you guys cancelling the show here a couple years ago.'

"The event he was referring to was the FestiMad show, which was a large festival style concert in Spain that we had to cancel for safety reasons. Jordi was implying that we let fans down by not performing.

"Jordi, since you don't have any regard for constructive or objective journalism, kiss my ass and try to be front and center at the concert next month."

Responding to Durst's outburst, Meya wrote the following "open letter" to the LIMP BIZKIT frontman:

"Dear Fred,

"I'm still amazed that someone as important as you has taken the time to write about a nobody like me. I'm also amazed how easy is for you to make the news. You've proved your point, the world is ruled by bad press, and negativity spreads much more easily than creative innovative journalism. But... remember it was you who insulted me, it was you who posted your negative article on your website, and it was you who overreacted to a question that lots of [LIMP BIZKIT] fans around Spain have in their minds. As I tried to explain to you, I was not judging the fact that you have cancelled the Festimad show, but trying to make you realize how important are the upcoming shows in Spain for the band. I think you had the chance to make things better by saying something like: 'We were as disappointed as the fans to have to cancel that show for security reasons, but they can be sure we'll give them 200% show this time' or something like that. Instead you got mad at me and once again disrespected your fans.

"As a fan myself I'm also disappointed that I couldn't talk to the 'new' Fred Durst, and found out that maybe your bad reputation is after all well deserved.

"If you want, you can prove me wrong by having an intelligent adult conversation with me instead of trying to kick my ass when you come to Spain.

"Make something positive out of this."