Former KORN Guitarist BRIAN 'HEAD' WELCH Has No Regrets
James Wood of GuitarWorld.com recently conducted an interview with former KORN guitarist and current LOVE & DEATH frontman Brian "Head" Welch. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
GuitarWorld.com: How did LOVE & DEATH get started?
Welch: When I left KORN, I did a solo record, which was very personal and experimental. I hired a few guys and went on the road, and a few of them have stayed with me over the years. We've all become good friends.LOVE & DEATH is really a group effort that shows you what can happen when you let other people in to distribute their gifts on a project.
GuitarWorld.com: You were able to reach the pinnacle of success and the rock-star dream with KORN.
Welch: True. But if you have all of that and you're still empty inside, what does it matter? It all means nothing. Everywhere we went, we were able to take whatever we wanted; getting the free alcohol and sometimes free drugs. Wherever we went, there were no laws, and it was killing us. You can call it "fun" — that is, until you realize it's tearing you down, and it tore all of us down.
GuitarWorld.com: Do you have any regrets?
Welch: Never. Everything is meant to be in life, and I love the person I've become. I'm still growing into the person I really want to be in the future. Now that I've found myself, it means a lot. I know it's a gift.
GuitarWorld.com: You were recently asked to perform on stage withKORN again. What was it like performing with them as the "new" Brian?
Welch: It was exciting. I appreciated just being there, but for different reasons. I could also breathe easier, because I'm so much healthier now.
GuitarWorld.com: What brings you fulfillment?
Welch: My spiritual life and raising my daughter and steering her in the right direction. I also know that the music itself is a gift that I have to give.
TOOL Drummer Hopeful New Album Will Drop This Year
Even though singer Maynard James Keenantold a Chilean radio stationearlier in the week that TOOL will not be releasing a new album in 2013, the band's drummer Danny Carey is hopeful that TOOL's next CD could still arrive in the next few months. "Sometime this year … that's all I can say," Carey told New Zealand's The Rock FM regarding a possible release date for the record. "The sooner the better for us. We're working every day but you can never predict it, honestly. We're really excited about it, so I hope all the fans will be too."
Carey also revealed that TOOL has amassed a significant amount of live material for possible future release on CD or DVD. "We have tons of stuff recorded," he said. "I hope we do make that happen one of these days. We have lots of video stuff too, we could do a DVD or two whenever we get around to it. We're kind of trying to focus on the new thing now, so we'll go back at some point and do it."
In a separate interview with David Farrier, Carey spoke about "a big'Lateralus'-type song" that is being pieced for TOOL's next album. "We're still — believe it or not! — still working on it," he laughed. "It's like an ever-evolving thing. It's probably going to turn into a thing that's, like, a big trilogy type of feel to it, sort of like 'Disposition' and 'Intension'and 'Triad', like on the 'Lateralus' record or something. It will probably be over a 20-minute piece when it's all finished, so it will be a good part of the record. We're dealing with it in sections, but it's coming together really well. We're having lots of fun working on it, that's for sure."
Carey also confirmed that he was the previously unidentified member ofTOOL who was recently injured in a scooter crash, pushing back the band's writing and rehearsal sessions. "It's been tough lately because I cracked four ribs, broke three of them on a motorcycle the other day, so I am kinda laid up at this point," he said. "It's making it really painful to play. It's not an easy thing to do. [laughs] It was just over in the San Fernando Valley, I was just turning to go on the freeway, and I think I hit some antifreeze or oil or something, and the wheels just slipped right out from under me, and I just hit the pavement really hard. [laughs] Yeah, I'm still in one piece anyway, but I don't know how lucky I was the way I feel right now. [laughs] It's pretty painful, but some painkillers and some scotch will get you through it."
TOOL hasn't released a new album since 2006's "10,000 Days", although the group has toured intermittently since then.
Keenan and his side act PUSCIFER will release their new EP, "Donkey Punch The Night", on February 19, with some touring to follow.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
Guns N’ Roses Named Third Headliner for Governors Ball Music Festival
The lineup for this year’s Governors Ball Music Festival is now complete. Event producers have just announced that Guns N’ Roses will be the third headliner for the upcoming fest. The band joins previously-announced headliners Kings of Leon and Kanye West at the event, which will be held June 7-9 on New York City's Randall’s Island.
Other artists appearing at the Governors Ball Music Festival include Young the Giant, The Lumineers, Grizzly Bear, The xx, Animal Collective, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Feist and Beach House, plus more. To see the complete festival artist roster, head over to GovernorsBallMusicFestival.com.
Dave Grohl Schedules TV Appearances, Sound City Players Performance on Letterman
Dave Grohl will be making a couple of TV appearances while he’s in New York City next week to promote his recently-released documentary, Sound City. The Foo Fightersfrontman will drop by Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report on Wednesday, which is the same day he’ll be putting on a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom with the Sound City Players, a band comprised of some of the artists who appear in the movie.
Accompanying Grohl for the concert will be all the members of the Foo Fighters, formerNirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Queens of the Stone Age multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Fear frontman Lee Ving, Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, John Fogerty, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, Rick Springfield and producer Chris Goss.
The next day, Grohl will bring his Sound City Players to CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman to perform on the program.
Grohl has said that he plans on staging Sound City Players concerts all over the world in the coming months. More dates for the supergroup are expected to be announced soon.
Jack White Previews Collaboration with Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes, “Paul’s Not Home”
Jack White is giving us a taste of his new collaboration with Butthole Surfers frontmanGibby Haynes for his Third Man Records labels' Blues Series.
The ex-White Stripes frontman has posted online a stream of their cover of Adrenalin OD's "Paul's Not Home," which is one of the tracks set to be released on Valentine’s Day. The upcoming three-track release also includes new songs, "You Don't Have to Be Smart" and "Horse Named George."
While the digital downloads of the songs are set to be released on February 14, a 100-copy, limited edition vinyl version -- which will be pressed on old medical x-rays -- will be available exclusively at the Third Man Records' Rolling Record Store during next month’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX.
Muse Spends a Day at the Beach in “Supremacy” Video
Muse provides the soundtrack to a day at the beach for an unusual group of skaters/surfers in the new video for “Supremacy,” the next single from their Grammy-nominated album, The 2nd Law.
The video’s storyline focuses on a gang of young people in gothic-style makeup who spend the day at the beach skateboarding and surfing before attending a wedding. The clip also features footage of the band performing the song on a platform overlooking the ocean.
Muse is currently on tour overseas, but they’ll return to kick off a North American tour on February 22 at the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Visit Muse.mu to view the full itinerary.
Marilyn Manson Collapses During Canadian Concert Due to Flu Symptoms
Marilyn Manson fans have the flu to blame for the singer collapsing on stage on Wednesday night during a concert in Saskatchewan's TCU Place in Saskatoon. TMZ.com is reporting that Manson was suffering from various flu symptoms and “vomit[ed] on stage several times” before he “passed out” while performing the show’s encore, “The Beautiful People.” The gossip site adds that Manson had been “feeling like crap all day long” but didn’t want to disappoint fans by canceling the concert.
Sources tell TMZ that the singer didn’t go to the hospital following the incident, but that he headed back to his hotel room to recuperate. Manson is expected to continue his tour dates as scheduled. Fan-filmed footage of event has been posted on YouTube, and you can see the singer going down at around one minute and 13 seconds into the clip.
