Thursday, January 20, 2000

Chuck Schuldiner

Death vocalist and guitarist Chuck Schuldiner was scheduled to have surgery today to remove a rare type of brain tumor. While the surgery is scheduled to go ahead without pre-payment, his family is still worried over Chuck's mounting medical bills... hospital fees for the surgery alone are near $100,000, and that's without the surgeon's fees (who have generously waived their normal fees). The family has set up a fund for those who wish to contribute.

For fans in the Netherlands: TogetherAsOne~38.16.50.057~Rabobank/Netherlands:

His mother opened an account in the States for US fans:

Washington Mutual
500 E Altamonte Drive
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
Acc. no.- 351-653400-0
Wire no.- 321180748

Saigon Kick

It appears that all of the original members of Saigon Kick will be performing a concert at the Buffalo Rose Saloon in Golden, CO on 19 Feb (thanks Chris for the word). No word yet if this is a full reunion or just a one-off thing. Here's the hype from the website.

There is nothing predictable about Saigon Kick, they put on a bizarre, rude, theatrical rock and roll show.

Formed in Miami in 1988, Saigon Kick careened onto the music scene with a provocative mixture of crash and burn avant-garde rock and roll. From the dark tranced, mind altering vocals of Matt Kramer, heavy tribal drum rhythms of Phil Varone, rumbling bass of Tom DeFile, and bizarre altered guitar sounds, Saigon Kick broke every attendance record as a local act that stand to this day.

Released in 1991, "Saigon Kick's" self titled debut release kicked at album and metal radio, generated major press raves, and bred a pack of rabid fans that, to this day, keeps the spirit alive and well. Their second album "The Lizard" produced the platinum hit "Love is on the way", which was also the #1 requested video on MTV.

Now, from the Buffalo Rose, all of Saigon Kick's original members reunite to perform live again for the first time in seven years. This promises to be a show that will remind fans that the love for their music has never left....as Saigon Kick continues their passion for excellence!!

Today's remaining news items are from Detritus. The new issue of Detritus also has some other tidbits I don't have time to print right now, along with some stuff I printed last week, so check out the full thing when you're done here.

Killer Dwarves

The Killer Dwarfs launched their new official site, http://www.killerdwarfs.com, last month. It's still under construction but already you can check out a humorous FAQ, multimedia, a discography, and more. MP3 clips from the following albums are available: s/t - "Heavy Mental Breakdown"; STAND TALL - "Stand Tall (Stick To Your Guns)," "Keep The Spirit Alive"; BIG DEAL - "Tell Me Please," "We Stand Alone," "Startin' To Shine," "Desperados"; DIRTY WEAPONS - "Dirty Weapons," "Doesn't Matter"; METHOD TO THE MADNESS - "Hard Luck Town," "Driftin' Back," "Doesn't Matter." A new "best of" and possibly a rarities compilation are due sometime in the future. The site also mentions a mailing list, but we couldn't get the link to work. E-mail killerdwarfs@killerdwarfs.com for more info. Ex-Dwarfs Russty (vocals) and Darrell (drums) are busy, though. Russty's new band Penny Black has a Web site and is working on their debut album for a spring release. Possible song titles: "Come On," "Strange Dreams," "Happy Everyday," "Wash Away," "Everything," "Shallow," "Desperate Hours," "Never Tell," "Sink Or Swim," "Smoothline." Send a blank e-mail to pennyblack-subscribe@onelist.com to sign up for their mailing list, or contact info@pennyblack.net or pennyblack@pennyblack.net for more. Darrell's new band Laidlaw has their debut FIRST BIG PICNIC out now on Nikki Sixx's Americoma Records. The tracks: "Send My Baby Home," "Burnin'," "Sweet Leanna," "Wastin' My Time," "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo," "Shine On Me," "Give It Time," "Stoned," "Just Might Do Me In," "Catfish Stew." Half the songs have clips available at http://www.rockuniverse.com/laidlaw/ . The band is currently on the road opening for ZZ Top/Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Rick Steier

Metal Edge reported guitarist Rick Steier left Warrant because he didn't want to join the band in its current "old-school" direction. He left on good terms and is now working with ex-Krokus drummer Jeff Klavan and bassist Bruce Robinson. The material is said to be "Oasis/Beatles with heavy guitars." He's also going to fill in on some live dates with Krunk, which features his ex-bandmate drummer James Kottak, and both of them are talking with Lenny Wolf about some sort of Kingdom Come reunion. Kottak is also working on Jeff Pilson's (Dokken) solo album and a Bon Jovi tribute.

Mark Kendall

Details are still very sketchy, but rumor has it guitarist and founding member Mark Kendall has left Great White. The band plans to replace him with Matthew Johnson, who played on vocalist Jack Russell's 1996 solo album SHELTER ME, to finish up some touring commitments. After that the band's future is in doubt. Kendall is said to be lining up shows as a solo artist in Los Angeles.

Poison

Poison info from the March issue of _Metal Edge_: The band's new live album (recorded last year) should be out around Memoridal Day, and a tour will follow. A co-headlining run with Sammy Hagar or a package deal with bands like Whitesnake, Cinderella, and Dokken were mentioned. There's also a Def Leppard rumor. Singer Bret Michaels will release his solo album BALLADS, BLUES & STORIES on Portrait Records inMarch.

Twisted Sister

A news wire story earlier this week reported Twisted Sister formally asked the Atlanta Braves baseball team to stop playing their song "I Wanna Rock" when pitcher John Rocker enters games. You probably heard, but Rocker ran off at the mouth concerning gays, single mothers, ethnic groups, etc., in a recent Sports Illustrated article.

Stratovarius

There is a new interview with Stratovarius mainman Timo Tolkki available at http://www.melodicmetal.com. MP3s of the songs "Hunting High And Low," "Millennium," and "A Million Light Years Away"--from the new album INFINITE--are available at the same site.

Metallica

An allstar article reported Metallica has settled with Victoria's Secret, concerning the company's use of the word "metallica" in the name of one of their lip pencils. The band is "happy with the settlement."

Hey yo

It's snowing right now in Boston, and folks back home told me Chicago got dumped on yesterday, so hopefully my flight out tomorrow won't be too much of a hassle. Beantown's been a pretty fun time. We went out to visit Harvard last night, but there wasn't a whole lot to do because (a) they're in the middle of finals and (b) it was freezing cold. We did eat at some fairly cool, vaugely Irish bar/restaurant right across from the university, though the name of said establishment escapes me now. It may have been due to the Long Island Tea. :)

Anyway, I'm planning on posting a "weekend wrapup" on Saturday or Sunday which goes over everything I didn't have time for during the week. Seeya then!

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

KISS tour

Thanks to Tom for passing this along (originally posted on KISS Asylum).

KISS singer-bassist Gene Simmons has gone on record as saying the bandwill tour this year, confirming rumors that have been flying for months. During an interview with the webmaster of the band's official site, Simmons was asked about the prospects of a new KISS tour, and whether it might be the last time fans will get a chance to see the band in concert. "We are, I will tell you, we are actively planning a tour, set to begin in the spring sometime," he said. "As to what it's called, we don't have a clue. Honestly. We don't know whether or not it`s going to be called 'The Farewell Tour' or 'The Jews In Space Tour,' which I, I prefer as a title." There's no word yet on when those dates will be announced.

So there ya go. Jews in Space. Gotta love that.

Anthrax tidbit

Anthrax.com posted that the band will appear on VH1'S The Rock Show on Sunday,January 23rd at 12:30AM (thanks again to Tom).

New band: Horfixion

This is a message from HORFIXION to tell you that our new Mini-CD is out now.

Horfixion is a speed / thrash / death metal band from Canada (Quebec)
Influenced by bands like Death, Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura, Megadeth, Kreator, Testamantà

Visit our Official web-site at http://metalmusic.net/horfixion/ for Mp3à.Picturesà.Lyricsà.VideosàBioàContactsàand many more

Hey yo

Day number two out in Boston here. Nothin' much goin' on really. Tim says that Detritus is going to be a day late this week, so look for that stuff tomorrow.

Monday, January 17, 2000

Steven Pearcy out of Ratt

Thanks to "Big Fruit Punch Marie" (?) for writing me with the news that Steven Pearcy has ubruptly quit RATT. Here's the full story from hardradio.com:

From RATT manager Tim Heine: "Stephen Pearcy suddenly, unexpectedly, voluntarily, and unexplainably informed the band and management that he was pulling out of the tour. Maybe they should get the guy that just got kicked out of LA Guns so they could have their original singer (Jizzy Pearl). He sounded alot like Stephen. I believe he used to be in LOVE/HATE, but forget his name."

Supposedly, drummer Bobby Blotzer adding the following in a recent online posting:

"I thought I'd pop in and fill you in on what's happened here with our band. First off, Stephen has about one tenth of his brain left, due largely to 30 years of 18 hours a day of smoking weed and boozing. He has gone well over the edge (no pun intended). He cannot even reason about any of his insanity. Not only did he f**k a list of people that is so vast, but ultimately he f**ked himself and his family. He will be paying for this one for years to come. Let me tell you something, only a crazy person would do something so retarded. The guy is borrowing money from the guy that does our bags on tour and yet blows off a tour that would gross $250,000 in five weeks. So look for Stephen to continue to hawk his stage socks and shirts, cause that's the only work he's likely to get after promoters from around the country catch wind of this idiotic stunt. Look in the mirror Pearcy, fat drunk and stupid is no way to go thru life! He should also be thanking our manager Tim for getting his ass outta jail last week for beating up his wife. Thanks for all the support from you guys. We'll be seeing you with a new "sober" frontman soon." Bobby.

According to http://ratt-n-roll.com, all of the other band members, along with management, have tried unsuccessfully - at incredible length - appealing to Pearcy to change his mind and meet his obligations to the fans, the band, and the tour. All efforts have failed without consideration. As you might imagine, Pearcy's action has left Bobby, Warren, Robbie and Keri reeling and they are all trying to regroup somehow to meet the band's obligations to their fans and promoters. The band, which still holds a viable deal with Portrait Records, will begin a search for a new singer in the immediate future. Expect an official press release this week.

Hey yo

That's the big news story for today, there's some other news but I'm updating this from a slowass telnet session, so it's taken me ten minutes to even get this much up. :( Hit Hardradio for the rest of their news. Most of it has been posted here already, but it's a nice review for ya I guess.

So yeah. Boston is cold! It's a balmy 2 degrees F today with 40mph winds. Chicago's winter has been tame by comparison, kinda surprising actually. Anyway, if anything else happens I'll try and toss it up. Keep it rocked!

Sunday, January 16, 2000

New Reviews

Absolutely nada happened this weekend, but here are a couple of new reviews to tide you over. I'll try and do a little updating from Boston, but I don't know how much free time I'll have. Anyway, here ya go.

Motley Crue - Live: Entertainment or Death - first live album ever from the Crue boys

Michael Harris - Distorted Views - excellent progressive instrumental guitar rock

Seeya guys later. I will have email access on the road, so mail me if something big happens, and I'll put it on the page. Everything else will wait for the huge weekend update.