CHICKENFOOT, the rock supergroup featuring former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith, tentatively plans to record its second album this fall — but Smith might not be behind the kit this time. Hagar told The Pulse of Radio that Smith's commitments to the CHILI PEPPERS could stop him from returning to the 'FOOT. "Chad's a problem, I'm gonna tell everybody straight up," Hagar told The Pulse of Radio. "To me, Chad is CHICKENFOOT. But Chad's, you know, the CHILI PEPPERS are, they've been writing for a year and they haven't even started recording, and I just don't see a window now. 'Cause once they start recording, Chad's never gonna be able to get a break, and then when they're done with that, they're gonna go out on the road for a year and a half. So we really don't know what to do right now, but I think we're gonna probably play with a few different guys and see what happens."
CHICKENFOOT's self-titled debut disc came out in June 2009 and was certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
Smith and the CHILI PEPPERS have not released an album since 2006's "Stadium Arcadium". The band parted ways with guitarist John Frusciante last year, replacing him with Josh Klinghoffer.
Hagar, meanwhile, told Billboard.com this week that CHICKENFOOT has four songs and seven other pieces of music in the works for its sophomore effort, which they hope to start recording soon.
The band will play in Indio, California on September 10 and Stateline, Nevada on September 11, and Smith is expected to perform at both gigs.
Although German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS just wrapped a triumphant 38-show tour of North America on August 21 in Chicago at the Rosemont Theatre, they are now booking more U.S. dates for next summer since their overseas tour commitments will prevent them from playing more U.S. concerts this year. The group's 2011 trek will see the band hit cities they did not get a chance to perform in on this most recent run.
SCORPIONS is now on a brief break and will resume its "Get Your Sting And Blackout World Tour 2010" tour on September 4 in Mexico before heading back to Europe, with dates confirmed through November 27 in Germany.
The farewell tour by the iconic band — Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Rudolf Schenker (guitar), James Kottak (drums) and Pawel Maciwoda (bass) — is in support of their latest album, "Sting In The Tail" (Universal Music Enterprises). It entered the U.S. chart at No. 23, marking the band's highest chart debut in over 20 years.
The SCORPIONS' tour — in celebration of 40-plus years in music— has been a massive success in a soft touring economy, with the group filling many of the arenas they performed at in the United States and Canada.
In a recent interview with Billboard's Ray Waddell, Meine said, "What can I say? It's a celebration… We feel we owe it to our fans and ourselves to keep this energy level. What we pull off every night on this tour, we want to keep it that way to the very last show. We don't want to see ourselves rocking like a hurricane when it's not a hurricane anymore."
SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison tells Kyle Munson of DesMoinesRegister.com that he still mourns the passing of SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray, who was found dead May 24 in an Urbandale, Iowa hotel room. "He was my best friend and still is," Jordison said. "And he was my musical soul mate."
Jordison also reveals that there were times when he could have been the casualty of rock-star excess and substance abuse in place of his late bandmate.
"I've been done with that stuff for three years," he says. "I thought it was all fun and games, but it's not. ... After I got done with my (2007) tour with KORN, I really went for it after that. ... It caught up with me, and that's it — I just stopped."
"Life is definitely a lot more precious now," he adds. "Music right now, really, when I play it, it's like I'm playing it for all the people that I've lost. I think about them all the time."
On the topic of whether SLIPKNOT will continue, Jordison says, "There will be another SLIPKNOT record, of course.
"But, you know — there aren't any replacements. Everyone in the band plays bass and can play guitar. We'll get to that point when we get there. But I want everyone to know — and all my SLIPKNOT fans and all my Iowa fans to know — that no matter what I'm doing right now with [ROB] ZOMBIE and MURDERDOLLS, that SLIPKNOT will return.
"But we're still dealing with the passing of Paul, God rest his soul. ... Paul would never want us to not make another SLIPKNOT record."
A new two-minute teaser for "Blood Into Wine", the award-winning documentary that Filmcritic.com dubbed a "rock 'n' roll version of 'Sideways'" and the Village Voice said was one of the "most intriguing documentaries we've seen in a while," can be viewed below. The film will be loaded with bonus features when it arrives in stores on Sept. 7.
The DVD extras include extended interviews with TOOL/A PERFECT CIRCLE/PUSCIFER front man Maynard James Keenan and vineyard partner Eric Glomski, PUSCIFER concert footage and deleted scenes featuring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim ("Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" ).
"Blood Into Wine" focuses on Keenan and Glomski's struggle to create a high-quality wine region in the harsh terrain of Northern Arizona while facing a number of obstacles including the state legislature, the wine establishment and curious wildlife. The film co-stars Milla Jovovich, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.
Produced and directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke, the team behind the critically-acclaimed documentaries "Moog" and "The Heart Is A Drum Machine" as well as the upcoming feature film "Queens of Country" (starring Lizzy Caplan and Ron Livingston), "Blood Into Wine" has screened in over seventy-five cities since its Feb. 19 theatrical release and will continue to screen throughout the summer (dates below).
Keenan previously announced that a "Blood Into Wine" soundtrack will be released simultaneously via Puscifer Entertainment.
The "Max & Cherri" show recently conducted an interview with original GUNS N' ROSES and current ADLER'S APPETITE drummer Steven Adler about his tell-all autobiography, "My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses". You can now watch the chat in three parts below.
Fans can get "Alive", the brand new single from ADLER'S APPETITE, for a limited time when they buy a copy of "My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses" before October 27, 2010.
GUNS N' ROSES is one of the undisputed greatest rock bands of all time. They single-handedly put an end to the glam rock hair band craze of the '80s by re-establishing the true blues roots of rock and roll. Steven Adler is GUNS N' ROSES' infamous original drummer and co-founder. But Steven's self-destructive obsession with drug use led to Axl Rose firing him from the band in 1990.
In "My Appetite for Destruction", Adler tells all, fearlessly addressing his struggles with heroin and crack addiction; his financial ruin after being kicked out of GN'R; his shattered marriage; and the severe health problems that nearly claimed his life on several occasions.
Steven finally appears to have beaten his epic twenty-year addiction. He has remained clean and sober for the last few months under the watchful eye of family friend Dr. Drew Pinsky.
The first thing Steven was determined to do after cleaning up was to set the record straight. He wants to do this, first and foremost, for all the GUNS N' ROSES fans who have never abandoned him. But "My Appetite for Destruction" is a shocking revelation for anyone who is interested in discovering the truth about what really happened during the meteoric rise and devastating collapse of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
