Soooo…maybe this was the reason AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd didn’t appear in a recent promo photo nor take part in the recording of two recently filmed videos with the band. The 60-year-old was arrested on Wednesday at his home in New Zealand and charged with attempting to procure a murder (wait, WHAT?), as well as possession of meth, cannabis, and threatening to kill.
The two men he allegedly wanted killed as well as the hitman were all unidentified at press time; Rudd had no comment. Photos from Rudd’s arrest are located here.
Did you hear that Pennsylvania-born, Tennessee-raised country/pop crossover princess Taylor Swift has been tapped as New York’s “Global Welcome Ambassador?” The move was mocked by many, including Dee Snider. “I’m incensed! It’s insulting,” Dee told the Daily News. “She doesn’t have any life experience here, or connection to the town. There’s so many others — Jerry Seinfeld, for instance, if you want a big name. But Taylor Swift is the pop culture queen, so she moves into town, and she’s the ambassador?!” In a statement to BuzzCut, Dee added,” Taylor Swift doesn’t even know women get cat-called in NYC because she’s never actually walked down the street! You can’t ‘know’ NYC from a high-rise penthouse.”
Slayer fan Jake Klarkowski, who works as an production assistant at ad agency Merit/Andrew, stars in this slick video produced by the agency as a favor for Jake, who genuinely wanted Slayer tickets. The video is a spoof on actor Matthew McConaughey’s much-parodied Lincoln commercial. Not surprisingly, Slayer saw the video and singer/bassist Tom Araya responded in kind, giving Jake tickets and backstage passes. Said Araya in the video, “Dude…you’re gonna sell your car? For some Slayer tickets?! The car’s a piece of sh*t! Tell you what…we’ll give you the tickets!”
Wanna own a piece of Queensrÿche? The band has made the unusual move of offering fans a chance at buying an ownership stake in a company that, according to Billboard.com, entitles them to a “fixed percentage” of future revenue made through sales of Queensrÿche albums and merchandise. The band hopes to raise a total of $2 million with the offering, that requires a minimum buy-in of $50,000.
Attorney Marc LoPresti says Queensrÿche is “hoping that [this move] will engage more people instead of less, because for the guys, it’s about the music and it’s about the fans.” The money raised through the deal will give the group “the flexibility to do a lot of things,” comments drummer Scott Rockenfield. Check out this YouTube video announcing the campaign, and check out the “Building An Empire” site for all the particulars.
Do you have any vintage Metallica photos, recordings or memorabilia circa 1983-1985? The band is looking for those items (and more!) for possible inclusion in upcoming remastered & deluxe editions of their first two albums, Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning, which are expected sometime next year.
Said Metallica on its website, “We want it all. Did you manage to sneak a video camera into a show long before they fit in your pocket? Maybe your old Instamatic camera for some snapshots? A cassette Walkman with a microphone? We’re looking for anything and everything…audio, video, photos, fliers, ticket stubs, the set list you picked up off the floor and in general any mementos you may have from that around that time.” If you’ve got something to contribute, email submissions@metclub.com with a description. The band added, “By submitting it, you’re saying we can use it should your piece of history land on a release (yes, the lawyers made us add this part!).”
Rolling Stone reports that the for the entire week of November 17 Metallica will take up residency in Los Angeles to perform on the final five episodes of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson as that program comes to an end. Sweeeeeet!!
Up for some Megadeth tour memorabilia? Backstage Auctions is hosting a huge online auction extravaganza that includes decades of Megadeth tour memorabilia. Megadeth – The Countdown To Extinction Auction will feature guitars (multiple!), original stage backdrops, flight and wardrobe cases, amps, cabinets, gear, picks and strings, apparel, setlists, lyrics, tour programs, signed items and much, much more. There’s even a pair of used Vic Rattlehead combat boots! The online auction runs December 1 – 7; more information here.
Don’t count on the Sammy Hagar-led band Chickenfoot to be releasing any more albums…at least, that’s what Sammy says at this moment. The Red Rocker recently told RollingStone.com that he believes the supergroup, which also features former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar maestro Joe Satriani, is finito.
“I don’t see any reason to make a new record,” says Sammy, who released two albums with Chickenfoot. “I mean, I love making music. But doing it on Chickenfoot’’s level means spending a half million on a record. We write and record for six months. It’s a lot of work, and then to not sell many records, it’s disappointing. I don’t like being disappointed. I like winning.”
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell is currently being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and his bandmate Joe Elliott (singer), talked with Billboard.com about Viv’s stem cell procedure. “The latest that I’m aware of with Viv,” says Joe, “[is that] they were harvesting stem cells from him and do whatever they do in a petri dish with them, and then they were gonna carpet bomb him with chemo for a week and he was gonna be kept in the hospital…Then they’re gonna put the stem cells back in and do whatever they do, wave the magic wand and say ‘Abracadabra,’ Hopefully by the middle of November they’re gonna let him out. We were under the impression he would be in the hospital until Christmas, but the last email he sent me, which was about two weeks ago, said, ‘It looks like I may be able to get out of here by mid-November.”
Joe says that the band members “don’t bombard [Vivian] with emails and phone calls every day going ‘How are you doing? How are you doing?’ ’cause it’s like saying, ‘Has your hair grown any longer since yesterday?’ It’s a slow process, so you’re best waiting. He’ll contact us when he’s got something to say, but it’s all fingers crossed and thumbs up and very positive vibes going around — coming from him, which kind of rubs off, really. It makes us think there’s a good outcome for this.”
Sweet & Lynch, a new band named after Stryper guitarist Michael Sweet and George Lynch (Lynch Mob, Dokken), has set January 27, 2015, as the release date for it’s debut, Only To Rise. Here’s your first look at the cover art.
