For the 4th time this century, Happy Leap Day! Sad to say Dave Williams of Drowning Pool would've been 40 today. Hope your having fun hanging out with Dime, dude!…..Man, at first I was blase (I don't have that french accent ague that goes above the E) about seeing Van Halen. If I got a ticket, great. If not, ok. But after Interscope so graciously sent over a pair, I was delighted I went to see one of America's biggest classic rock acts do what they do best. A huge rock show. No real bells and whistles, save for a huge state-of-the-art HD screen using cameras that layered the visuals making it feel like the background was weaving and tilting. My friend Kat commented that most of the night, the camera operators never did a close up of Eddie's fingers flying across the frets, but during the guitar solo for Eruption (I think it was), we got our wish. I shot a video of it on my iPhone, we'll see if I can figure out how to post it! I was also very glad to see Eddie did not light up a cigarette all night! That was a first! I hope this means the former tongue cancer patient has finally kicked that horrible habit!!!! The show was great. No ballads, no special effects. Just song after song of huge ass hits. Getting back to the screen for a second, the visuals were all in black and white and sometimes included sped up street shots of NY and LA. Except when Eddie's solo hit, then they switched to color. Right before Dave did Ice Cream Man, there was this strange video of him with his two herding dogs, working with his sheep and cattle. Apparently he owns a huge ranch somewhere (not sure if it was in California or Australia, actually.) Anyhow, thought that was sorta weird. But good ole Diamond Dave didn't disappoint. He changed shirts about 9 times. (And thank GOD he buried those buttless pants!) I thought his voice was strong, although the arrangements of some of the vocals that we recall his high shreeks masked his changing vocal range. His martial arts skills were definitely evident all night, even if he can't do those high kicks like he used to! Alex looked amazing and strong on the drums. Always thought he was the hunk of the band! 😉 Although it appeared the audience loved every second, I still say it's a shame Michael Anthony isn't a part of this. I don't get it. Hopefully some day there will be a reunion with all the original members. We can only hope…..Sorry to hear Foo Fighters have had to cancel their show in Singapore this Friday night. Seems Dave's having vocal strain. I mean, the band has been pushing the boundaries of how long they can endure a show (3 hrs) and Taylor Hawkins has told us it's starting to wear on everyone. Anyhow, not sure if the band will be able to do their shows in Japan. Up to Dave's docs….Sully Erna (wonder if he's still sulking over his Patriots?) has announced a handful of solo dates with his Avalon band. Mostly in my neck of the woods. See Road Rage. He plans to release the DVD from the last leg of his tour in April….Hit www.slashonline.com to see 5 webisodes my buddy Slash has posted. Good stuff and shows ya the unique method they used to record this new album….New Yorkers Eve to Adam will open for Creed on their tour from Apr 13-May 31. Congrats to them….The 36th annual Beale Street Music Festival will take place May 4-6. Volbeat and Bush will join Florence & the Machine, Jane's Addiction, Primus, The Cult, Coheed and Cambria and more in Tom Lee Park. See www.memphisinmay.com for more.…12 Stones's Paul McCoy and Eric Weaver stopped by the hardDrive studios yesterday and we spoke at length about the problem of bullying. They have a new website they will be launching called I'm With You (after a new song on the “Beneath the Scars” album due May 22. (By the way, if you pre-order the cd, you will receive 6 tracks from it early on Mar 6th, so hit 12stones.com for more! The I'm With You site should be up soon and will help with advice and support if you are being bullied. I am also happy to report October will be Stop A Bully Month. You will see hardDriveRadio spotlighting this will special interviews with rock stars about the issue. You'll be surprised at how many were bullied themselves! And be listening to hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus as Lou will be asking for your participation. So please reach out and let us know if you are a victim of bullying or want us to shout out a bully on the air!
