Brandon Marshall of Denver Westword recently conducted an interview with rocker-turned-filmmaker Rob Zombie. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Denver Westword: What's your favorite classic movie monster?
Rob: I think my favorite is Frankenstein's monster, probably because it's so iconic. I think when I was a little kid, I would have said King Kong. But I think Frankenstein, just because I loved everything about it. The design is the most classic design. It just seems like Hollywood to me. If you think Hollywood, you think, you know, Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe and Frankenstein. Also, I like the character. Even in my movies I always want to make the monsters... That was my whole pitch for my remake of "Halloween" my take on it. I always saw him asFrankenstein.
Denver Westword: Your shows are obviously a big, multimedia affair. How hands-on are you with that side of your performances?
Rob: Well, I'm hands-on with everything. Even right now the only reason I'm doing this interview while I'm driving is that I'm driving out to where the new stage props are being built so I can okay them before they start getting really finished. But yeah, I'm involved with everything. Every little tiny thing has exactly got to be the way I want. Not that I don't have really talented people working with me to make it all happen. I don't want to take away from [their contribution]. But it's 100 percent my vision of what it's supposed to be. There's nobody else I can turn to. They all look at me.
Denver Westword: Clearly, performing live is vastly different from making a film, but how would you compare the logistics and process of putting together a live show versus a film?
Rob: The similarities with making a movie is that you're the boss and you have a huge crew of people — and it's a job. It's a great job, but it's a job. I would say with anything, the fish stinks from the head down. So they're only going to work as hard and be as organized as you are. And I have to run everything super-organized and make it work. To me, nothing matters but the show. I'm not on tour to party and to fuck around because I don't want to hurt the show. The show has to be excellent all the time. Nobody wants to go see your show and you suck and hear about how much fun you had backstage. Nobody pays fifty bucks so you can have fun backstage. They want the show to be amazing. That's all I care about. That's all anybody cares about. And if the people that work with me don't care about it, I replace them with someone that does. That's the way it should be, right?
METALLICA Pays Tribute To Fallen Bassist With Free Concert Download
On the 26th anniversary of METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton's death, the surviving members of the band have paid tribute to their fallen friend, who was killed in a bus crash in 1986.
METALLICA posted a photo of Cliff on the band's official Facebook page accompanied by the caption "We miss you" before adding, "While you're remembering Cliff on the 26th anniversary of his passing, give a listen to this free download from the 'Ride The Lightning' tour."
METALLICA's entire November 22, 1984 concert at at Le Riff in Toulouse, France is available at this location.
Burton, best known as a heavy metal bass player who made use of distortion and special effects, was killed in an accident on September 27, 1986 at the age of 24, four years after joining METALLICA. It wasBurton's early influence that helped create METALLICA's unique musical style for which the band has become famous.
Burton's huge talent and achievements were chronicled in book form with the 2009 global publication of "To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton", written by U.K.-based author Joel McIver and published by Jawbone Press. The foreword has been provided by Cliff's close friend in METALLICA, Kirk Hammett. Other interviewees who spoke to McIver for this book, many for the first time on the public record, include Cliff's bass teacher Steve Doherty; legendary reporter and photographer Brian Lew; Bay Area headbanger Harald Oimoen, the subject of "The Ballad Of Harald O" by the infamous SPASTIK CHILDREN, in which Cliff played; that band's frontman Fred Cotton;EXODUS founder Gary Holt; the Metal Blade label founder Brian Slagel; photographer Ross Halfin; Cliff's first guitar tech Chuck Martin;METALLICA's first fanclub manager KJ Doughton; "Ride The Lightning"and "Master Of Puppets" producer Flemming Rasmussen; the last reporter to interview Cliff, Jörgen Holmstedt; roadie and ex-METAL CHURCH guitarist John Marshall, who was also in the bus crash which killed Burton; Lennart Wennberg, the photographer at the scene of the crash; and Cliff's girlfriend for the last year of his life, Corinne Lynn.
After Kirk Hammett's foreword, separate introductions are provided by a range of musicians influenced by Burton, including Mikael Åkerfeldt(OPETH), Alex Webster (CANNIBAL CORPSE), Alex Skolnick(TESTAMENT), Dave Ellefson (F5/ex-MEGADETH) and a host of other musicians and writers.
An Italian-language documentary on Burton can be seen in two parts below. According to Overkill.pl, the film was produced by the ItalianMETALLICA chapter ZonaMetallica and was shown for the first time last year at Rock'n'Roll Arena in Romagnano Sesia (near Novara) at a ZonaMetallica party.
Soundgarden Posts Stream of Single, "Been Away Too Long," Online
Soundgarden wants to you check out another track from the band’s first studio album in more than 15 years, King Animal. After releasing a 37-second clip of a song from the album called "Worse Dreams," the band has now posted online a full-length stream of “Been Away Too Long,” the first single from their upcoming release. In addition to checking out the track online, you can now purchase the single on iTunes. King Animal is set to be released on November 13.
Tom Morello Premieres Occupy Wall Street Anthem, "We Are the 99 Percent," Online
It’s been a little over a year since the Occupy Wall Street movement began, and now Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is spreading the campaign’s message in a new track titled "We Are the 99 Percent." The song, which is streaming online at RollingStone.com, features guest vocals from his friends Tim McIlrath of Rise Against and System of a Down's Serj Tankian.
"[The song is] our gift to the movement," Morello tells Rolling Stone. "I wanted to do a huge riff-rock anthem. It would feel like the excitement of the global Occupy Wall Street movement."
Morello says you’ll be able to download "We Are the 99 Percent" for free on Friday at his website, AxisOfJustice.net.
Mastodon Guitarist Announces Release Date, Track List for Only Time Can Tell from Side Project West End Motel
Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds’ side project, West End Motel, has a new album headed our way. Only Time Will Tell features eight new tracks, including the first single “Burn It Down,” which is streaming online at RollingStone.com.
"I walked into [singer] Tom Cheshire's house one day and him and [pianist/guitarist]Mike Shina were playing the chords and I just started singing the lyrics right there out of the blue," Hinds tells Rolling Stoneabout the track. "We were being kinda silly and had the cheesy Casio island beat on, playing around with the two chords. We decided that it would be funny to just leave it in when we recorded it... so ridiculous!" Only Time Can Tell will arrive in stores on October 30. Here’s the track list:
“Burn It Down”
“El Myr”
“Witch Is Dead”
“If I Only Had Tomorrow (Second Chances)”
“Forgiveness”
“Only Time Can Tell”
“Valentine”
“Bite”
Green Day Drummer's Ex-Wife Says Frontman Armstrong's Vegas Rant Was Caused by Heavy Drinking
It appears that alcohol may be to blame for Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s profanity-filled tirade at last weekend's iHeart Radio music festival in Las Vegas. Claudia Suarez Wright, the ex-wife of drummer Tré Cool, says that Armstrong -- who'd been sober for about a year -- had reportedly been drinking heavily during his time in Sin City.
“When he was in Vegas he was drinking a lot,” Suarez tells Celebuzz. “The night of the show he had been drinking. In Las Vegas there's a lot of temptation to drink and it's tough to be around when you're fighting against it. They have a new album coming out and it's a demanding lifestyle. It's very difficult."
The day after the Las Vegas incident, Armstrong apologized for his behavior and announced that he would to be heading to rehab to seek treatment for substance abuse.
Stone Sour Talks “Insane” House of Gold & Bones Recording Sessions with Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan
Stone Sour enlisted Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan to play on their upcoming double album, House of Gold & Bones, following the recent departure of former bassist and founding member Shawn Economaki. So far, it seems a good match. Guitarist Josh Rand says that Bolan only needed a few days with them in the studio because he was able to lay down the tracks in record time.
“He came in, a super-cool guy and did all 24 songs in five days,” Rand tells Metal Shrine. “I don’t think people realize how great of a player he is. It was just insane to watch him knock these songs out.”
Rand noted that Bolan also helped contribute to the songwriting process during the House of Gold & Bones recording sessions. “[Bolan]’s a phenomenal writer on top of being a phenomenal bass player and he brought this style into it that we felt had been lacking,” explains the guitarist. “Instead of following the guitars, he actually plays bass and it elevated all of the songs to a whole new level.”
Rand added that due to his commitments with Skid Row, Bolan won’t be able to tour with Stone Sour to promote the album. He did, however, reveal that fans can expect to seeCavalera Conspiracy bassist Johny Chow on stage with Stone Sour for their upcoming world tour. House of Gold & Bones Part 1 will hit all the usual outlets on October 23. The second installment, House of Gold & Bones Part 2, is expected to be released sometime next year.
Watch Free Live Broadcast of NYC's Global Festival Featuring Sets by Foo Fighters & Black Keys on Saturday
Foo Fighters, The Black Keys and Band of Horses are a few of the artists donating their time to perform at the Global Festival in New York City’s Central Park this weekend.
If you can’t make it to Manhattan for the show, the event will be broadcast live on several TV networks and will also be streamed online for free. You’ll be able to catch sets byFoo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses and more on your TV on Palladia, the HD cable music channel owned by Viacom, or on Fuse. If you’d rather watch the show on your computer, you can join the audience online at VEVO.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com, VH1.com, NYTimes.com and at YouTube.
In addition, organizers for the concert have recently revealed that a number of celebrities will serve as hosts for the event, including actresses Minka Kelly, Sophia Bush andOlivia Wilde, and pop singers Selena Gomez and Katharine McPhee.
The concert, which was created to raise money and awareness about global poverty, will air live on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, and again at 12 and 8 a.m. ET the next day.
