I went to college in Boston. Spent about 1/3 of my life there. To say the bombings at the Boston Marathon and the aftermath has had a profound effect on me would be an understatement. I think about those streets where I walked, where I lived. When life was so damn easy and free. And now we are in a whole new world. It saddens me. Please take a minute out of your day today for a moment of silence for the bombing victims and the city of Boston at 2:50 PM Eastern. (Europeans, please do so as well.) Thank you. And right on to Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. who said on national tv in pre-game ceremony, “This is our f*^&ing city. city, and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.” and the FCC commissioner, who tweeted his sentiments were universal and nobody was fined!….On to the news! Our friend Pulse Content editor Don Kaye was in the press room at Thursday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in LA and got some great stuff! With the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions now in the books, speculation will begin about who should get the nod for 2014. Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell inducted Heart into the Hall and said this year’s crop of inductees gave him hope Soundgarden could get in one day: “It bodes well for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Like, now I’m more excited. Now I feel like there’s more integrity in terms of the organization because they’re recognizing a band like Heart, a band like Public Enemy, a band like Rush, which is one of my favorite bands of all time. So it makes me more excited about the possibility of my future induction if it happens, because now I believe in it a little bit more after tonight.” Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, who performed with Heart during their portion of the induction ceremony, was asked backstage about his band’s chances: “You know, you never want to place any bets on anything. I’m not a gambler, so I’m not going to try to put any odds on that. But I don’t know. I hope so. But you never know. You never know what happens. It could take a while. I hope Kiss gets in. I’m going to say that.” Soundgarden released its first record in 1988 and is eligible now for induction, while Pearl Jam will be eligible in 2016. Acts become eligible 25 years after their first professional recording was released. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to see Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins perform with inducteesOK, so now Rush on their classic “2112 Overture.” Those two wore white kimonos and wigs to match their idols’ dress when Rush toured back in the day wearing the same garb. Pictures were pretty hysterical! Watch an abbreviated version of the ceremony on HBO on May 18th. Check local listings! I may have to switch over for a day and set my DVR! I’ll be at Rock on the Range! *Showtime viewer I am…..Oh no! This is horrible news! Pulse Content said 3 Doors Down bassist Todd Harrell was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide following a late Friday night (April 19th) car crash in Nashville, according to TMZ. Police said Harrell was allegedly speeding when his auto clipped a pickup truck and sent it spinning out of control. The truck hit a guardrail, went down an embankment and flipped over. The driver, Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr., was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from his truck. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Harrell’s Cadillac struck a retaining wall and finally came to a stop about a quarter of a mile away. He allegedly showed signs of impairment during a field sobriety test and admitted to the police on the scene that he had been drinking hard cider in addition to taking Xanax and a prescription painkiller called Lortab. Davidson County Sheriff’s deputies then allegedly discovered a plastic bag in Harrell’s sock that contained more Xanax pills along with Oxycodone and Oxymorphone. Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide and bringing a controlled substance into the jail. He’s being held on $100,000 bond. This is so very tragic! No idea how this will impact the 3 Doors Down tour at this time. Stay tuned…..The long national nightmare for Breaking Benjamin fans is apparently over: frontman and founder Ben Burnley issued a statement at the band’s Facebook page on Friday saying that he had resolved his dispute with two former members of the group and, most importantly, was free to use the band name again. Burnley wrote, “I am pleased to finally put this matter behind me and focus on the future for Breaking Benjamin. I wish to express my never ending love and gratitude to the best fans in the world for their undying love and support. Words cannot express my love to you all! Thank you!!” The statement said specifically, “Benjamin Burnley retains his right to use his band name and Breaking Benjamin will continue.” The legal troubles all started back in 2011 when Burnley filed a lawsuit claiming that he should have sole ownership of the band’s name after firing guitarist Aaron Fincke and bassist Mark Klepaski. Meanwhile, Ben co-wrote and recorded a song with Adam Gontier last year. The song will tentatively appear on Adam’s first solo album, expected possibly sometime in 2013. We’d love to see Breaking Benjamin back in service. Hello Ben, if you’re out there! Get in touch! He’s been composing music for video games since his “retirement” from touring….Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne went on the BBC in England to discuss the band’s new single, “God Is Dead?” and the inspiration behind the track. Ozzy explained, “I was in somebody’s office and there was a magazine on a table and it just said, ‘God Is Dead,’ and I suddenly thought about 9/11 and all these terrorist things and religion and how many people have died in the name of religion. When you think about the tragedy that’s happened throughout time, it just came in my head. You’d think by now that their God would have stopped people dying in the name of, so I just starting thinking that people must be thinking, ‘Where is God? God is dead’ and it just hit me.” Ozzy added the question mark at the end of the title is his way of showing he’s not sure about the answer himself, saying, “At the end of the thing, there’s still a bit of hope because there I sing that I don’t believe that God is dead. It’s just a question of when you see so many dreadful people killing each other with bombs, and blowing the tube trains up and the World Trade Center.” Sabbath’s new album, 13, is set for a Jun 11th release….Loudwire reported a memorial gathering for late Deftones bassist Chi Cheng was scheduled to take place yesterday (Sunday, April 21st) at Oak Grove Regional Park in Stockton, California. A message on the OneLoveForChi.com website from his family posted the details of the memorial, which was open to family, friends and fellow musicians. The message added, “Your outpouring of love and condolences is so very appreciated. Please come join the family as we pay a tribute of love to our dear Chi. Love always,
Mom J, Chi & the Cheng Gang.” Chi died on April 13th at the age of 42 after spending more than four years in a semi-comatose state following a November 2008 car accident…..Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted‘s new band, Newsted, kicked off its first tour over the weekend and Newsted said the group’s live sets will include a few tunes from his former group. Newsted explained, “I want to make sure to pepper (the live set) with some things that people know me for. I only feel righteous about doing a few Metallica things . . . I’ll do a little snippet here and there for people, but I don’t think I’ll do full versions of any of those songs.” Newsted says he plans to perform songs he’s sung live on occasion, like “Creeping Death” and “Whiplash.” His new act, which features Staind‘s Mike Mushok on guitar, recently finished recording its debut album set for a release later this summer….Blabbermouth reports Godsmack singer Sully Erna will make his feature film acting debut in an upcoming movie called “Army Of The Damned”. The movie follows the crew of a hit reality tv series who follow a team of local cops in a small town. When the cops are summoned to a house on a “domestic disturbance” call, they suddenly are faced with a situation in which they either must survive or join the “army of the damned,” a horde of warriors from hell. The film begins production on April 22 and is directed by Tom DeNucci. Erna has been taking part in rehearsals and some of the first photos from the film with the singer in his role have been posted on the film’s Facebook page. The cast also includes horror legend Michael Berryman from “The Hills Have Eyes”, pro wrestler Tommy Dreamer, TNT wrestling diva Thea Trinidad, Joey Fatone of N*SYNC fame and Jackie Moore, who appeared on “Homeland” and “30 Rock”. Go Sully!….OK, so now, take the next 8 minutes to watch this simply brilliant 30 Seconds to Mars music video, “Up In The Air,” directed by Jared Leto (aka Bartholomew Cubbins.) It’s beautiful! Wonder when he will start directing films and commercials? I gotta get him on the hotLine!…And if you haven’t already, please check out the amazingly cool photo gallery of the hardDrive Live Five Tour over on our tour site! Thanks to all who’ve made it out to the shows so far! Keep those pictures coming and download the VIVOGIG app (hit that link if you’re an Android user or don’t have a smart phone!) on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad if you haven’t already! It’s a pretty cool app for taking concert shots and winning cool prizes!…..Happy 39th today to Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down! Happy 35th to former Breaking Benjamin guitarist Aaron Finke and Happy 34th to former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns. And Jack Nicholson turns 76 today!
