First, I can’t begin today without a comment about the horrific tragedy that occurred on Friday in Newtown, CT. All of our hearts are heavy and thoughts and prayers go out to the 27 families devastated by one man’s senseless actions. It is certain discussions in many of your homes were centered around gun restrictions, but would that have helped in this instance? As more news comes out on the details surrounding this sickening and shocking event, it seems the answer is no. I think Phil Labonte from All That Remains said it best in a post online on Friday, “It’s tragic what happened this morning in #Newtown. CT has some strong gun control laws, we need to focus on mental health issues.” Other rock stars made their thoughts known as well:
Slash wrote: “The Conn elementary school shooting is horrific. Those poor kids & their families. I’m speechless.”
Godsmack wrote: “Heavy thoughts go out to everyone who was affected by the tragedy and absolute nonsense that went down in CT today….”
Papa Roach wrote: “Wow. Our hearts go out to the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Sad and sickening. #prayfornewton”
David Draiman (frontman, Disturbed): “ANOTHER ONE, ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE PEOPLE.”
adelitasway: “We can’t do this to each other it’s Heartbreaking.”
Gerard Way (singer, My Chemical Romance): “My heart goes out to everyone effected in Connecticut, and anywhere else… really hard day.”
Chad Smith (drummer, Red Hot Chili Peppers): “How many innocent children need to die before we ‘The people’ make a constitutional change?”
Lamb Of God: “Our thoughts are with the community of Newtown.”
Nonpoint: “Our hearts, prayers and condolences go out to the families that have been affected with the shooting in CT. What awful news to wake up to.”
Jared Followill (bassist, Kings Of Leon): “So, so sad. Thoughts and prayers going out.”
On to the news: Pulse Content informs us the studio version of “Cut Me Some Slack,” the song debuted by Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana last Wednesday night (Dec 12th) at the 12-12-12 benefit concert in New York, has been released on iTunes. The surprise collaboration was recorded for Nirvana drummer/Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl‘s upcoming documentary Sound City, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January before rolling out via Blu-ray, DVD and VOD on Feb 1st. The raw-sounding track comes across as heavier than what one might expect to hear from McCartney, but Grohl told us a while back that Nirvana liked to rock as hard as any other band: “There was a lot of that crazy, heavy element in Nirvana. You know, the one thing that Nirvana was against was just the bulls**t.” McCartney, Grohl, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Nirvana/Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear premiered the song live during the all-star charity concert, which was organized to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Grohl, Novoselic and Smear have not performed together onstage since the last Nirvana tour in 1994, before the death of band leader Kurt Cobain. The former Beatle said he had no idea he was jamming with three-quarters of Nirvana during the recording session, explaining, “I didn’t really know who they were. They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said, ‘Whoa? You guys haven’t played together for all that time?’ And somebody whispered to me, ‘That’s Nirvana. You’re Kurt.’ I couldn’t believe it.” The soundtrack to the documentary, which chronicles the history of a legendary Los Angeles recording studio, will be released on March 12th. The film opens Feb 01st….Speaking of Slash earlier, he’s confirmed his participation in the upcoming “Band Fuse: Rock Legends” video game. He confirmed the video game on Twitter. The new game is reportedly like Rock Band and Guitar Hero however, the problem with those games was that according to actual Rock and Roll legends, they did not properly exemplify the real experience of playing in a rock band. Reportedly, “Band Fuse: Rock Legends” is set to break that mold. Reportedly, between one and four players can take part at the same time and play along to the music as it would typically be read by musicians as they learned themselves. Slash said, “Hands down, best guitar game.” Slash, Zakk Wylde and Bootsy Collins have reportedly filmed their own tutorials within the game to teach players how to play certain tracks. The game reportedly features 55 songs and includes acts like Rush, Pantera, Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addition. “Band Fuse: Rock Legends” will be available on Xbox and Playstation 3, this coming spring….Blabbermouth reports Marilyn Manson underwent a medical procedure at a hospital in Switzerland to reattach his part of his ear, following a fight in which he claims he was hit by a glass table. (Editor’s note: me thinks he was flighting the table, not another person.) Manson, who is touring Europe with Rob Zombie, did not go into detail about the incident, but posted at Twitter: ““I was hit by a glass table in a dangerous fight. I was however, the victor but had to have 24 stitches to keep my ear from becoming Van Goth.” He posted a photo of the ear, covered in medical tape, which can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/c33ja6e …Blabbermouth also reports A court in Prague, the Czech Republic, has set Feb 4th as the trial date of Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe, who is charged with manslaughter in the 2010 death of a fan who died from injuries he allegedly received at a Lamb Of God concert in Prague. Blythe spent five weeks in prison after being arrested and charged in Prague last summer, and could face five to 10 years in prison if he is convicted. Blythe, who has proclaimed his innocence, has said he will return to Prague and stand trial. Donations are being accepted for his defense fund at www.lamb-of-god.com …..Finally, someone speaks out about this mess! Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath is not a fan of Honey Boo Boo, the child beauty pageant star who is now a reality TV sensation. McIlrath called the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo series “the new lowest form of television and the most despicable celebration of a lack of intellectual ability.” He added that despite her inclusion on Barbara Walters‘ list of the year’s most fascinating people, Honey Boo Boo is “someone we should not aspire to be like.” (Thanks Pulse via KROQ)….Happy 34th today to Neil Sanderson of Three Days Grace and Happy 66th to Eugene Levy. I sure loved you on SCTV!
