KORN Singer Presented With American Flag Flown In Combat Over Afghanistan
KORN fan and United States Air Force Shift Supervisor Michael Bowserpresented the band's lead singer, Jonathan Davis, with an American flag flown in combat over Afghanistan onboard a B-1B bomber in support of operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom for KORN on September 11, 2012. Watch the video below.
Davis last year visited wounded U.S. soldiers at a base in Germany, where he also spent some time taking a course in bomb disposal training. Davisvisited Rammstein Air Force Base, where he strapped on a bomb suit at one point and learned how to operate the bomb disposal robot. After passing the egg test — using the robot to pick up, transport, and drop an egg in a bowl without breaking it — Davis also took a class in Readiness and Emergency Management: Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear Warfare Defense Orientation. The singer also signed autographs, took photos and ate lunch with the troops at the USO's Wounded Warrior Center before leaving.
The members of KORN were moved last summer when they were presented with the uniform of a Marine killed in Afghanistan in 2010. According to The Pulse Of Radio, Marine Lance Corporal William H. "Billy" Crouse IV was killed in a bombing in the country's Helmand province two years earlier. At a 2012 concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana,Crouse's brother Ryan Rothman presented Davis with Crouse's uniform, saying, "I want to give this uniform formally to you on behalf of my family. The inspiration you have had on my life and the impact of things you've brought me through and the things we shared through you and your music, I wanted him to be with you."
Davis responded, "I feel for your loss. We've lost a lot of kids, but it wasn't in vain, it was to keep our way of life going. I will have a special place for this, always."
In a video about his brother, Rothman spoke about Crouse's first KORNshow, recalling, "When he was 13 years old, I took him to Indianapolis to see KORN. He was a lot bigger than me, and we went into the mosh pits. He was protecting me at that point, even though he was my little brother."
Davis has done a lot of work with the USO and the Wounded Warriorsorganization, arranging to spend time visiting injured members of the military in hospitals.
DROWNING POOL: 'One Finger And A Fist' Lyric Video Released
The official lyric video for "One Finger And A Fist", a brand new song from Texas heavy rockers DROWNING POOL, can be seen below. The track will appear on the band's fifth album, which is due out later this year via Eleven Seven Music. The band teamed up with producer Kato Khandwalla at House of Loud Studios in New Jersey, as well as John Feldmann (THE USED, STORY OF THE YEAR), and completed the album in Dallas.
DROWNING POOL bassist Stevie Benton recently spoke to AOL'sNoisecreep about the latest addition to the group lineup: singer Jasen Moreno. Moreno, who previously fronted fellow Texas band THE SUICIDE HOOK, is DROWNING POOL's fourth and newest frontman. Jasenreplaces vocalist Ryan McCombs, who exited the group at the end of 2011 after a six-year stint in the lineup.
Asked how DROWNING POOL's chemistry has been affected by the singer changes over the years, Benton said: "Well, it's a forced form of band evolution, I would say, certainly not something you strive for and not something that I would advise other bands to do, because it's a lot of extra work and it's hard on you at times, but for us, we still had a such great time with Dave [Williams, DROWNING POOL's original singer] and such great vibes still remains and we've been trying to recapture that ever since then. It feels cheap to stick with a chemistry that just doesn't feel right and so maybe that's why we've had a lot of turnover. We knew if we switched singers again that a lot of people would look at it and make comments, but for us it seemed like it was worth it to take that shot at capturing the best chemistry we ever had. So we did. Look, sometimes you have to shift gears and I'm sure some of our ex-singers feel the same way: 'I can't wait to get the hell out of here.'"
He added: "One thing we have learned is that each singer has strong points and weak points and we've learned to craft the sound of the band that will benefit the singer at the time. It can be tricky at times to learn the nuances of it, but this time around, one fortunate thing is Jasen, our new singer, is a Dallas guy, we've know him for years and so it's not like having a stranger coming in. We had a great idea about him though, who he is and what he is about, and so we've been able to hit the ground running."
Moreno made his live debut as a member of DROWNING POOL on July 8, 2012 at a club in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
DROWNING POOL's video for the song "Saturday Night" was directed byJon Bertorelli and produced by Daniel Livschultz, both of Vulpine Films.
"One Finger And A Fist" lyric video:
METALLICA's Co-Manager Defends Decision To Join SPOTIFY
Cliff Burnstein, a co-owner of Q Prime, a talent management company that handles the careers of METALLICA and other major acts, spoke toThe New York Times about the reports that the sales of METALLICA's studio albums were negatively impacted by the band's decision to add its catalog to the streaming service Spotify on December 6.
According to Burnstein, as the Spotify subscriber numbers grow, royalty rates will also climb, a process that was previously seen whenever new technologies have been introduced.
"There is a point at which there could be 100 percent cannibalization, and we would make more money through subscriptions services," Burnsteinsaid. "We calculate that point at approximately 20 million worldwide subscribers."
Spotify reportedly reaches 20 million users in 17 countries, with a quarter of those paying subscribers.
Billboard.biz reported in late December that sales were 15% below expectations for METALLICA's studio albums the week the titles were added to Spotify and 35% below expectations the following week.
METALLICA sales had jumped 60% to 61% in the four-week period leading up to Christmas in both 2010 and 2011. In 2012 that four-week increase was just 27.2%.
METALLICA has made all nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify. The move is significant because Sean Parker, who co-founded Napster, now sits on the board of Spotify. METALLICA waged a battle with Napstermore than a decade ago over the illegal sharing of the band's music, which resulted in both legal action and a battered public image for the band.
At the press conference in New York announcing the Spotify deal on December 6, Parker and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich appeared together and seemingly buried the hatchet. Ulrich said, "When [Parker] and I saw each other a few months ago. We could see that we had been put down as adversaries. We realize we had much more in common and sitting down was long overdue . . . We were younger, maybe somewhat more ignorant. We sat down and had a heart to heart."
In a statement at its web site, METALLICA said, "We are extremely proud to be a part of Spotify, who not only has a proven track record, but is by far the best streaming service."
METALLICA is now able to make these deals directly since, as of last month, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label,Blackened Recordings.
The first release for the new label was the "Quebec Magnetic" DVD on December 10, which showcases footage from two Quebec City live performances recorded in 2009.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
Queens of the Stone Age Working with Mark Lanegan on Upcoming Album
Former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan will be lending his talents to the forthcoming Queens of the Stone Age album.
In a note posted Friday on their Facebook page, QOTSA wrote, “Lanegan came by. He didn't say much, but he sang good. [Guitarist] Troy Van Leeuwen said to [keyboardist]Dean Fertita as overheard by [bassist] Mikey Shoes.”
The collaboration comes as no real surprise -- Lanegan has a long history working with the band, having contributed vocals to 2000’s Rated R, 2002’s Song for the Deaf and 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze.
In addition to Lanegan, the record will feature guest appearances by Foo Fightersfrontman/former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails,Scissor Sisters vocalist Jake Shears, and former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri.
Queens of the Stone Age have said that they plan to release the new album sometime in the first half of this year.
Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix Recounts “Tough” Vocal Recovery; Tour with Stone Sour
Last week, Papa Roach kicked off their North American co-headlining tour with Stone Sour. Frontman Jacoby Shaddix says he’s grateful to back on the road now that his voice has healed following last year’s corrective surgery, during which doctors removed a nodule from his left vocal cord.
“I was really nervous after I got the surgery, I couldn’t talk for a few weeks which was tough, but I did the right thing and I followed doctor’s orders and my voice recovered fully,” he tells ABC News Radio. “Obviously some huge lifestyle changes have been an integral part of why my voice is the way it is and it’s staying now.”
Shaddix also gives fans an idea of what they can expect to experience if they make it out to one of their upcoming shows. “We’re doing six songs off The Connection and we’re performing for 75 minutes," he explains. "So fans will get the new stuff, mixed with the cult classics, mixed with the hits. It’s a set that P-Roach fans will love I guarantee it."
Marilyn Manson Sues Woman Claiming to Be His Fiancée
Marilyn Manson has filed a lawsuit against a woman who he says has defamed and harassed him by passing herself off as his fiancée.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Manson filed the complaint Tuesday in Los Angeles against Yolanda Tharpe, a self-described "rock vixen and independent occult horror film maker" who's also known as Seraphim Ward. Manson says Tharpe falsely announced on her website and elsewhere that they were engaged.
The lawsuit states that when Manson demanded she retract her statement, Tharpe suggested that he didn't want to marry her because he is "pro-Nazi" and did "not want to be seen with [African-American] women" such as Tharpe.
Tharpe further claimed that Manson stalked her and that he had killed her cats.
Manson seeks 50 thousand dollars in damages.
