Rob Halford Discusses Departure of Judas Priest Guitarist K.K. Downing

Michael Wright

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05.16.2011

With their farewell tour kicking off in just a few weeks, Judas Priest have been rehearsing intensively—a job made more challenging due to the abrupt exit of guitarist and founding member K.K. Downing in April. Downing issued a press release stating that he left because of a breakdown in his relationship with members of the band and the group’s management. Frontman Rob Halford addressed the topic with Spanish metal journalist Rafa Basa (as reported onBlabbermouth), who asked the metal god why he thought Downing timed his departure right before the group’s farewell tour.
“It's a great question. I can't answer it. You have to get in touch with K.K. and ask him that question, 'cause I can't answer it. I think we've tried to be as honest and as straightforward as we can be on both sides of the discussion, and it is very emotional. I mean, you could just as easily [have asked] that same question—which you may have done—when I was away from the band, and Ripper, my good friend Ripper, was holding the mic for me. You just have to carry on. I think more than anything, it's just kind of difficult, 'cause it's a farewell tour. Why is it happening now? Well, you've got no control over life, have you? [Laughs] You can't control life and these things happen. So you just have to accept them and see what your options are. So that's the way it is.
“Of course, it will never be the same without K.K., like I'm sure a lot of people said it was never the same without me. But you can't just grind to a halt, you can't just stop everything—that would be ridiculous. We have obligations to our fans and to promoters and to everybody else, and to our record company, and we wanna fulfill them and be professional and do the right thing, which is what I think we are doing."
Halford confided that the departure hit him and the rest of the band on a personal level.
“I just feel very sad that this whole episode has taken place at the time that it has. I think that we're all dealing with it differently. I love Ken like a brother; we've been in each other's lives for over 40 years. And we're all still good friends; that's the important thing. It doesn't matter about the breakdown in the communication or the creative differences; that's just part of being in a band. The friendship and the caring for each other, that doesn't go away. It should never go away. Because we've been through too much together and you can't let differences of opinion over different incidents and different moments, you can't let that affect your long-term-standing relationship, business-wise and personal-wise, you can't let that get destroyed; that would be a terrible thing to do. So you just respect each other, you respect each other's choices and you respect each other's decisions.
“And I'm sure that at some point K.K. will probably want to be a little bit more open about his reasons for departing Priest; that's entirely up to K.K. We've made it clear that we're not speaking for K.K.; we can only speak for ourselves and what we need to do. So there you go—that's about as much as we can really offer to the press and to our fans at this point.”

Stevie Nicks: Fleetwood Mac Will Tour Again, May Record Again

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05.13.2011

In a recent interview with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Fleetwod Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks revealed thatFleetwood Mac will tour together again in 2012. But she’ll first ride out the release of her new solo album,In Your Dreams, and the release of Lindsey Buckingham’s solo album after that.
“When [my new] album and Lindsey’s album come to a stop then Fleetwood Mac will gather again and we’ll either make another record or we won’t and we’ll just go on tour,” said Nicks, who released her first solo record in 10 years on May 3.
Buckingham’s album, which Nicks calls her “favorite thing he’s ever done,” is due out in September and will be called Seeds We Sow. Nicks’ own solo album debuted an #6 on the Billboard 200 chart this month.
The last time that Fleetwood Mac played together was 2009. Their last album was 2003’s Say You Will.

Velvet Revolver was about money and hits – Weiland

Sacked singer Scott admits he joined band for the cash – and their material deliberately had “commercial calculation behind it”

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Not dead but for sale: Scott Weiland

Scott Weiland admits he joined Velvet Revolver purely for the money – and although he liked the band’s music he didn’t think it was his best work.

The singer joined ex Guns n’Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum alongside guitarist Dave Kushner in 2003, after he left Stone Temple Pilots. They recorded two albums together before the band kicked him out for his continuing drug addiction issues.

In his biography Not Dead And Not For Sale, published next week, Weiland says his first reaction to being invited to join was: “Sounds like a lot of egos – sounds like a lot of trouble.

“They put some songs on a CD and my wife said, ‘They think you’ll like what they’re doing.’ I didn’t; it sounded like Bad Company and I never liked Bad Company. A week or so later another CD arrived with songs custom-designed for me. The tunes had STP written all over them.

“I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to hook up with these guys. Duff said, ‘There’s soundtrack stuff we’ve been asked to do, and the money’s great.’ The money attracted me.”

But when Weiland jammed with the band he found they had great chemistry. Having been a long-time fan of Slash and an admirer of Kushner’s previous band Electric Love Hogs, he decided to sign up.

The singer says: “We went on the road for two years, toured the world and established ourselves as a premier rock band. There was so much energy on the stage that at times it felt combustible – anything could happen at any time. We were dangerous.”

But despite the success of 2004 album Contraband, with over four million sales and giant singles Slither and Fall to Pieces, Weiland wasn’t overwhelmed by the work.

“I liked our first record, but I can’t call it the music of my soul,” he says. “There was a certain commercial calculation behind it. We wanted hits – we wanted to prove that, independent of Guns n’Roses and STP, we could make a big splash. And we did.”

Not Dead and Not For Sale will be published on May 17 in the US by Scriber, and imprint of Simon and Schuster. It’s available elsewhere in June.

'Thor' Should Hold Off 'Bridesmaids' To Stay Atop Box Office

(RTTNews) - Even with some extra competition from action-horror release "Priest," "Thor" is in great position to end up the top box officedraw for the second consecutive weekend. Also looking to enter the top two or three should be R-rated comedy "Bridesmaids," a Judd Apatow production that should find a fairly nice audience this weekend. Meanwhile, "Priest" is the widest overall release of the weekend at an estimated 2,800 total venues, though it will likely struggle to compete with "Thor" and "Fast Five" for action-seeking audiences.

Though producer Judd Apatow has had a few box office underachievers in recent years, he still seems to frequently find material that can reach mainstream comedy audiences. "Bridesmaids" has largely been marketed as a female version of "The Hangover," which should go a long way in drawing both male and female moviegoers. Even if "Bridesmaids" doesn't open with nearly the same level of fanfare as "The Hangover" did in 2009, it still doesn't have much competition for audiences this weekend and should put up a decent overall opening.
Also helping "Bridesmaids" is very strong early buzz from critics, which could help sway a portion of its intended audience and also help set it up for a long box office run. "Bridesmaids" will have to compete somewhat with "Something Borrowed," though the Warner Brothers distribution isn't in a great position for a strong second weekend in theaters. Look for "Bridesmaids" to finish as the top new draw of the weekend, though it will likely finish below "Thor" and "Fast Five" on the weekend charts due to its so-so 2,700-theater release.


Even though "Thor" didn't post an enormous opening last weekend, a $65 opening for a new franchise is still fairly strong. "Thor" will probably get quite a few repeat audience members this weekend and positive buzz will likely encourage new ones to seek it out as well. "Fast Five" probably will limit the overall potential of "Thor" once again, though the God of Thunder should still be able to easily top the charts for a second straight time with a weekend haul in the neighborhood of $35 million.
Competing for the same demographic has been "Fast Five," the fifth entry in a franchise that has completely reinvented itself with the last two releases. "Fast Five" has already pushed past $140 million domestically before its third weekend, making it the top commercial release of 2011 thus far. "Fast Five" isn't only hitting with domestic audiences, though, as it's also been doing big strong business overseas, helping it rack up $333 million worldwide. Considering how lucrative the last two "Fast and Furious" releases have been, expect to see Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and company back for future installments in the near future.
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Mary Tyler Moore Hospitalized To Undergo Brain Surgery

(RTTNews) - Mary Tyler Moore has gone into the hospital to undergo elective brain surgery to remove a benign tumor on Thursday.

Moore's representative, Alla Plotkin, noted that the 74-year-old actress would be having a meningioma (a slow-growing tumor in the membranes that cover the brain that usually occurs in older adults) removed after being advised to do so by her doctors, who have monitored the condition since it was first diagnosed years ago. Plotkin did not confirm a date for the procedure or whether the surgery had already taken place.
Added Plotkin: "Mary went in for an elective surgery that her doctor recommended while she's healthy."
Moore is best known for her role as a suburban housewife in the 1960's comedy "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
Meningiomas, though benign, can create pressure on the brain leading to vision or hearing loss, headaches, seizures or other problems, with a small percentage of meningiomas becoming malignant.

Steven Tyler Rips Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab

.Aerosmith frontman turned American Idol judge Steven Tyler has some strong words about Dr. Drew Pinsky's 'Celebrity Rehab' show on Vh1.Tyler, who has famously battled his own addictions over the year, recounts in his new autobiography, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?," that we was in a Los Angeles area rehab at the same time former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and Tyler alleges that Adler was "told to fake his drug stupor for the 'Celebrity Rehab,'" according to Reuters.
"They wanted him to act out his own messed-up state when he entered rehab. It was ghoulish and unreal. They gave him 30 grand for the episode, he snorted it all, crashed his car, and he ended up in jail detox," Tyler wrote."It didn't seem to me all that ethical using actual f---ed-up people like Steven Adler in a realityshow, but who am I to say? Not to mention getting trashed celebrities to mime their own self-destructive nosedives which they then sensationalize on a melo-fing-dramatic reality show, which so traumatizes them they end up in worse shape than ever -- from the drugs they bought with the money from the show.

Eddie Van Halen and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam

Photo: Eddie Van Halen and Mike McCready

FRIDAY, 13 MAY 2011

Mike McCready from Pearl Jam tweeted this photo yesterday:

@MikeMcCreadyPJ Mike McCready
Photo: Me and Eddie Van Halen…

Beastie Boys New CD Hit High On Music Charts!

(RTTNews) - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, the eighth studio effort from the Beastie Boys, made its Billboard debut this week. The new album claimed the top spot on several charts. For the week of May 21, the album hit number one on Billboard's Alternative Albums, Rock Albums and Hip-Hop Albums charts.

Additionally, the latest from the rap-rockers landed at number two on the overall Billboard200. 21 by Adele remains at number one on the top 200 for the week.
Despite their recent revival, the Beasties aren't planning on hitting the road anytime soon. In a recent interview, the group noted they have no plans to tour until Adam Yauch is at 100 percent health.
Yauch was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009, prompting the group to put recording and touring plans on hold.

Pink Floyd reunite in London

Gilmour and Mason guest with Waters on Wall tour – while drummer admits massive re-release programme is race against time

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Together again: Floyd in 2005

The surviving members of Pink Floyd staged an unannounced but not unexpected reunion on stage in London last night.

Mainman David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason made guest appearances during former frontman Roger Waters’ The Wall show at the O2 Arena.

Gilmour’s appearance wasn’t announced – during the song Comfortably Numb a spotlight revealed his presence on the elaborate stage set, and the pair duetted on vocals before Waters left his ex-colleague to play a guitar solo.

Relations have thawed between Waters and Gilmour over the years. In 2010 they shared a stage for a charity event at Gilmour’s suggestion, leading to the counter-invitation to appear at a show of his choice on The Wall tour.

Later in the show Waters told the crowd: “Now we know – tonight was the night David gave me the enormous honour of coming out to play Comfortably Numb.

“When we first played this more than 30 years ago I was a grumpy fellow, disaffected with rock and playing live, as David will attest. But all that has changed.”

Mason then joined them on stage and they performed an acoustic version of Outside The Wall, with the drummer accompanying on tambourine.

The band last gathered for 2005′s Live8 charity show, complete with keyboardist Rick Wright who has since died. It’s not thought likely a fully-fledged reunion will take place, especially since Waters is expected to retire at the end of his current live project.

Meanwhile, Mason has admitted the band’s giant re-release programme is a race against time – because they don’t think people will want to buy physical albums for much longer.

Floyd’s entire back-catalogue has been remastered and will be released in phases starting in September. A best-of CD, re-engineered film footage, unheard music and new artwork will be included in the ongoing campaign. Material will be pitched at three separate levels to attract completists, fans and the general-interest market.

Mason says: “There’s a sense we’re coming to the end of the period where people will buy the physical record with all the packaging and so on.

“It’s really important have a last go at that, because if we do end up just downloading everything it would be a shame if there wasn’t on record all that good artwork and the things that went with it.”

VAN HALEN TO HEADLINE AUSTRALIA’S SOUNDWAVE REVOLUTION MUSIC FESTIVAL

WEDNESDAY, 11 MAY 2011

It’s OFFICIAL – the first confirmed VAN HALEN tourdates for 2011 have been announced! VAN HALEN will headline SOUNDWAVE REVOLUTION,  an annual music festival held in major cities around Australia.

The confirmed festival dates:

Brisbane – September 24
Sydney – September 25
Melbourne – September 30
Adelaide – October 1
Perth – October 3

SOUNDWAVE REVOLUTION Full Line-up for 2011:

ACTS ANNOUNCED TODAY (Announced May 11th at 9pm in Australia, 7am EST in U.S.)
Van Halen (with David Lee Roth)
Hole
Alice Cooper
Machine Head
Danzig
Bad Religion
Altar Bridge
Versa Emerge
Sisters of Mercy
The Pretty Reckless

ACTS PREVIOUSLY CONFIRMED
All Time Low
Dashboard Confessional
Gojira – new
Panic! at the Disco
Hatebreed
Hollywood Undead
Street Dogs
The Used
Reliant K
Face to Face
Attack Attack!
Framing Hanley
Watain
Cro-Mags
Kvelertak
Yellowcard
Unearth
Funeral for a Friend
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (D.R.U.G.S)
Steel Panther
Thursday
Devin Townsend
Sum 41
Black Veil Brides
Zebrahead
The Dangerous Summer
Set Your Goals
Hellogoodbye
Hellyeah
The Damned Things
In This Moment
Skindred
White Chapel
Every Time I Die
The Acacia Strain
Story of the Year
Terrible Things
The Swellers
Young Guns
Four Year Strong
This Providence
Madina Lake
We Are The Ocean
Make Do and Mend

For more information, visit the festival’s official web site.

Alterbridge tweets:
“We are beyond excited to announce we will be rocking Australia in Sept/Oct on the same stage as Van Halen!”

Scott Ian’s tweets:
@Scott_Ian Soundwave Revolution lineup. Playing with Van Halen. HOLY CRAP!!!

FILED UNDER: ALEX VAN HALEN, DAVID LEE ROTH, EDDIE VAN HALEN, VAN HALEN, WOLFGANG VAN HALEN   •   132 COMMENTS

David Lee Roth’s Hand-Written Fair Warning Lyric Sheets Unveiled

FRIDAY, 6 MAY 2011

We have something very special for the last day of “Fair Warning Week”, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Van Halen’s fourth album.

In front of your naked steaming eyes–David Lee Roth’s original hand-written lyric sheets!These contain the original (but not final) lyrics for all four songs contained on “side A” of Van Halen’s Fair Warning album. These are from VHND.com’s archives and have never been seen anywhere before! They’ve been tucked away in a folder since early 1981 and we are very happy to be sharing them with fellow fans.

Note that the working title of “Sinner’s Swing” was “Get Out And Push” and from these papers we are able to decipher a couple lyrics that most fans interpreted incorrectly from the album:

Actual lyrics at 1:01:
“I may burn my fingers, want my iron in that fire” (Not “I’ll eat with my fingers”)

Actual lyrics at 2:19:
“Wearin’ out my welcome, guess I better save my breath” (not “Guess I better say my prayers”)

Can you spot all of the changes that Roth made to the lyrics by the time he recorded the vocals?

More of Roth’s hand-written lyrics from Fair Warning will be featured in a future VHND story.

FILED UNDER: DAVID LEE ROTH, VAN HALEN   •   66 COMMENTS