HA! It’s 4/20! How many times will we hear THAT today, eh? I gotta tell ya, the Nickelback stop last night at Madison Square Garden was so much freakin’ fun for yours truly! From the moment I got there for my interviews with Seether and Nickelback, to the hang with several players of the NY Mets (yes,I know, I am a Yankees‘ fan) and NHL player Noodles (aka Jamie McLennan) good times ensued! Watched every band and the sets were awesome, especially when Gavin Rossdale of Bush jumps into the stands and walks through the aisles around the arena while the band did The Beatles‘ cover of “Come Together.” But Nickelback, showmen that they are, stole the show with their floating stage that leaves it’s mount and floats over the floor area to a spot right in front of the sound board. That was freakin’ amazing, lemme tell ya! I have NEVER seen that before in all my days! So thanks to Chief and all the bands for one fun night! My Darkest Days opened the show with their short but great set. Got to hang with Shaun Morgan, who told me he loves me! 🙂 Chad told me he’s giving Avril Levine a hand producing her next record (I know, what an unlikely combo!) but hey, Canadians stick together, eh? Gotta hand it to Chad and the boys, love ’em or hate ’em, they make it look so effortless up there. The place went nuts!….Speaking of covers, Red Hot Chili Peppers will release an EP of classic cover songs, titled We Salute You, on May 1st. The digital-only set, which the band is issuing to commemorate its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last Saturday (April 14th), will feature the Chili Peppers’ take on songs from previous Hall of Fame inductees such as the Ramones, Iggy And The Stooges, Neil Young, the Beach Boys and more. Five of the six songs have never been available digitally before, and originally surfaced as hard-to-find B-sides or out-of-print singles. The sixth track, the band’s version of Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” was recorded live on the Chili Peppers’ current tour. It will also be available via their website….And Godsmack revealed the list of their cover songs that will be on the upcoming “Live & Inspired” cd. Besides “Rocky Mountain Way,” they also do The Beatles’ “Come Together,” Pink Floyd‘s “Time,” Metallica‘s “Nothing Else Matters” and David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” Can’t wait for these for our Cover It Up special edition of hardDrive!….The Toadies have decided to release a full album on Jul 31. Look for a tour soon….Sad news about legendary drummer/singer Levon Helm. If you don’t know who he was, Google The Band and listen to “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down.” He was the driving voice and soul of The Band. Their “Big Pink” album is one of my all time favs. …Happy 45th today to Mike Portnoy. On Saturday, Happy 65th to Iggy Pop and Happy 53rd to Robert Smith and on Sunday, Happy 38th to Shavo Odadjian, Happy 34 to Aaron Fink (ex-Breaking Benjamin) and Happy 33rd to Daniel Johns of Silverchair. Have a great weekend. Today in studio: Art of Dying and Adelitas Way. Shows I’ll be attending, Avalanche Tour with Shinedown and Creed.
