The Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival has announced details for the 2012 Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands powered by Imagen Records. Beginning Tuesday, June 19, unsigned bands can enter to win a chance to play live on the Ernie Ball Stage in their market this August and September. In addition, finalists will compete for the grand prize, which includes a coveted spot on the 2013 Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival, the opportunity to record an EP with legendary producer Jay Baumgardner at NRG Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA, $10,000 worth of music gear and other prizes. This year’s judges for the Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands powered by Imagen Records include: Zacky Vengeance, guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold, legendary producer/mixer Jay Baumgardner, and music industry veteran Bill McGathy. Visit www.RockstarUPROAR.com/UPROARTV to see a video clip of Chris Jericho of Fozzy, Shinedown, Godsmack, Papa Roach and more bands from this year’s tour talking about the Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands powered by Imagen Records. The third annual Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival will run from August 17 in Kansas City, MO through September 30 in Albuquerque, NM. The trek will include 2011 Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands winner Mindset Evolution. The Peoria, IL band recorded an EP with legendary rock producer Jay Baumgardner at NRG Studios in North Hollywood as part of last year’s grand prize package and is excited to hit the road in August. Lead vocalist Rob Ulrich says, “Winning the Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands has been a life changing experience for us. It really kickstarted our career, giving us some amazing opportunities. We had an incredible experience recording our EP with Jay [Baumgardner] and can’t wait to tear it up on UPROAR!” Leading up to the Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival, Mindset Evolution will join UPROAR bands Papa Roach and In This Moment for a string of shows from June 25 through July 2. Go to www.RockstarUPROAR.com/bands/mindset-evolution for details. …..Today, Clown aka Shawn M. Crahan of Slipknot releases his first book of photography, titled Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey, via MTV Books. Before hitting the road with Slipknot this summer, Clown is heading out on a small book signing tour that begins on today in Chicago and ends eight stops later in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The book consists of Polaroid pictures Crahan has taken all throughout his career and compiled over the past 11 years. Lars Ulrich of Metallica wrote the book’s forward…..Meanwhile, I am working away on a special edition of hardDrive for the weekend of Jul 14-15. The second hour of the show will be devoted to the history of Slipknot, spotlighting the upcoming release of their Antennas to Hell “greatest hits” album. It’s funny that both Shawn and Jim Root hate the idea of a greatest hits package, which they say is something bands do to satisfy a recording contract they are trying to get out of or are at the end of their career. Since that is not the case here, Clown was determined to include some cool things like remixes, the live Download show in 2009 that the band won their Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Best concert performance, music videos, the video collages of each band member that are currently on the band’s website, a booklet, the cover art is great and some other little surprises as only Slipknot can concoct! The one hour special covers the good, the bad and the ugly of the band. Can’t wait for you to hear it!…. Pulse of Radio reports 3 Doors Down plans to record “three or four new songs” later this year for inclusion in a greatest hits package, according to Alternative Addiction. Singer Brad Arnold revealed to the site, “We’re going to go back into the studio and record three or four new songs and we’re going to release a greatest hits record around November. I never thought, honestly, that I’d be in a band long enough to do a greatest hits record and I think it’s awesome.” The band is touring with ZZ Top…..The Smashing Pumpkins release their first new album in five years, titled Oceania, on today. Although the material is part of the Pumpkins’ in-progress 44-song cycle, Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, frontman Billy Corgan told us why he decided to carve Oceania out as its own album: “We decided to release Oceania as a standalone project because we’d been doing a song at a time as part of the Teargarden By Kaleidyscope project, and we found that because of the voracious nature of the Internet, our songs were being swallowed up so fast that people didn’t even know that they’d come out. So when we looked at it, we said, what can we do that will garner at least some length of attention? An album of course would do that, at least for that one hour hopefully.” I will be speaking with Billy later this week in Palm Springs, CA at the Sunset Sessions convention in the dusty dry hot desert. Gonna be 110 when I land! But yes, it’s that dry heat…..Bob Marlette has been chosen to produce Rob Zombie‘s next album. Interesting choice (Seether, Shinedown.) ….JDevil is the name of a nefarious DJ alter ego, the legendary KORN frontman Jonathan Davis conjures up entrancingly evil electro. Teaming with cutting-edge label Dim Mak, he will release his debut single “SPIKE IN MY VEINS” featuring Noisia this summer (details TBA). DJing since Davis was 16 years old (years before he was to ever become one of the most notorious faces in rock), JDevil’s sound is a natural progression from Korn‘s tenth offering, 2011‘s The Path of Totality. The album saw the band collaborate with dubstep pioneers Skrillex, 12th Planet, Datsik, Excision, Downlink, Kill the Noise, Noisia and Feed Me. It yielded two hit singles with Skrillex, “Get Up!” and “Narcissistic Cannibal,” along with Kill the Noise on the latter, and was met with critical and fan adoration. In the meantime, he unleashed his first formal remix, a gut wrenchingly catchy take on Hollywood Undead‘s “Hear Me Now,” released as part of American Tragedy Redux. DJ gigs consisted of plays at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, HARD HOLY SHIP! in the Bahamas and I Love This City San Diego. It was time to bring JDevil to the studio. JD says “My DJ persona just represents indulgence. Do what you want, have fun and live your life—as long as you’re not hurting yourself or anybody. I’m excited as hell to be working with Steve Aoki and the entire Dim Mak crew for the release of my EP later this year.” His personae of this JDevil creeps me out with his black teeth and eyes. I believe I showed you that picture I took of him. He scares me!…..Lostprophets have announced a string of west coast dates. Find ’em in Road Rage….Happy 42nd today to Head aka Brian Welch of Love and Death and Korn. Note: there will be no Dirt tomorrow from this desk, so keep an eye on our Facebook page and I hope there is decent wifi in my hotel so I can report from there. I will be back at the desk on Monday for sure! Besides Billy Corgan, I will be chatting with Art of Dying, Dead Sara, The Last Nova, P.O.D., Taproot and more while I am away. Much more in the works. Lou Brutus was on the hotLine last night with Nonpoint’s Elias Soriano. Their new single, “Left For You,” from their forthcoming “Nonpoint” album is coming out soon. CD in Sep. And Lou will also be speaking with Stellar Revival and Corey Taylor of Stone Sour and Slipknot on Wednesday night for future airings. Stay tuned!
