I had the best time yesterday when P.O.D. entered the hardDriveRadio studios here in NYC! Their entourage converged into our Studio G and we recorded “Youth of the Nation” and “Beautiful” acoustically and videoed it for our first ever documented performance. Then I interviewed the entire band.The tracks turned out AMAZING and special thanks to their tour manager and soundman, Dr Evil aka Eddie O. Paulie Walnuts engineered and big ups to him and Jamie for video duties (check out our Video Interviews for some more of Jamie’s fine work!) Sonny brought his 6-yr old son Justice and Marcos had his 10-yr old son Roman along, too. We had a great time. Their show later in the evening at the Highline Ballroom rocked the house. We got there in time only to see Flyleaf open (although Stars In Stereo from the hardDrive Live Tour and Manifest opened the bill.) Anyhow, HR from Bad Brains joined the band on stage for a song, which was way cool. Q from Stillwell was in the house. P.O.D.’s set was laced with the usual heaviness and a smatter of reggae in there, which made for a killer vibe! Afterwards, I went backstage to say hello to Flyleaf. Hadn’t seen them in a while. Samir is married, James and his wife are expecting a baby in February. Patrick is BALD! It was really nice to catch up with them. And I met Kristen for the first time and she couldn’t have been sweeter! During their performance, she smiled the entire time. So refreshing! Good times! …Not so good times here. Puddle Of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin continued his downward spiral on Wednesday (July 24th), getting arrested for allegedly vandalizing a neighbor’s property with a buzz saw and a sledgehammer. According to TMZ, Scantlin, claiming a neighbor’s wall infringed on his property at his Los Angeles home, struck the wall with a sledgehammer. Scantlin also apparently caused some sort of damage on the neighbor’s patio with a circular saw, although it is not clear what was destroyed. Police arrested the 41-year-old Scantlin on charges of felony vandalism when police officers arrived at the scene. The singer/guitarist had reportedly been feuding with the neighbor for a while, presumably over the property line issue. This latest arrest is the latest in a long line of legal hassles for the musician. Back in May, he was arrested twice within the space of a week — first on warrants stemming from his 2012 cocaine possession case, then on charges of domestic violence when he became physically abusive with his ex-wife Jessica outside a West Hollywood business. Ya know, it’s so sad, because everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE who is in Wes’ life has gone to him for an intervention, to try to get him help. He’s refused. Refused even his family and even his own son. It’s so unreal and we all fear one day we are going to read something about him we all think it inevitable. And we don’t wish that on him, but what is it going to take for him to wake up and smell the coffee? Doesn’t he see what’s happening here? Everyone else does! What a waste of talent…..Can’t wait for this one. Alter Bridge‘s fourth studio album, Fortress, will be released on October 8th via EMI Label Services. The arrival of the album will be accompanied by a single U.S. live date, on October 4th in Orlando, Florida, before the band jets off to Europe for a month of shows starting on October 16th. Guitarist Mark Tremonti said in a statement about the new disc, “When we started pre-production on this album, we pushed ourselves harder and further than we ever have previously in order to make the most out of every individual arrangement. We wanted this album to be our most unpredictable and exciting one yet.” Nice!….Metallica has posted a 24-minute video recap online of the band’s secret show at the Spreckels Theater in San Diego last Friday night (July 19th), which the group played after doing a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 to promote its upcoming 3D movie, Metallica Through The Never. The video includes footage of the band’s rehearsal and their performance of “Seek and Destroy,” along with a few moments of drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist Kirk Hammett briefly swapping instruments. Ulrich, Hammett, frontman James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo all appeared at the band’s early evening panel in the San Diego Convention Center’s 6,000-capacity Hall H, along with director Nimrod Antal, star Dane DeHaan and producer Charlotte Huggins. The film combines concert footage and a fictional storyline in which DeHaan plays a member of Metallica’s road crew who encounters bizarre events while sent across town on a mysterious mission for the group. Antal told Hitfix during an interview at Comic-Con, “The band’s persona, their energy and certainly the love they have for what they do, those made their way into the film. I’m very proud of it.” Metallica Through The Never opens in IMAX theaters on September 27th, followed by a wider release on October 4th…Despite having a rough patch in their set the other night at the Holmdel, NJ stop of Mayhem when the sound system crapped out, come great news! Five Finger Death Punch drummer Jeremy Spencer says he is proud of frontman Ivan Moody after the singer revealed in a recent interview with Revolver magazine he needed to get sober after developing a serious drinking problem while the band was touring behind its last album, American Capitalist. According to Blabbermouth, Spencer told Artisan News, “(Moody) had some personal stuff going on at the beginning of the (making of the new) record and he wasn’t really ready to pour his heart into all this material yet.” But, Spencer added, “I think once he got in there and got focused and started chilling out on some of that stuff, things started flowing, man, and it was actually a lot of fun working with him . . . I’m proud of him for stepping up and doing as well as he did.” Spencer, who’s been sober himself for 18 months, said that it was important for bandmates to support each other during difficult times, explaining, “I’ve partied enough to last 10 lifetimes, man . . . I’ve had great times, not-so-great times. And I think that we need to support one another. If somebody is trying to chill and be good, you help him out. I mean, you have to. This is a family and it’s a business.” Right on!….Rob Zombie told me he was having a hard time casting his next film, “Broad Street Bullies.” about the colorful 70’s history of the Philadelphia Flyers. (As a Boston Bruin fan in those days, the Flyers were our most hated rival. And I mean HATED!) Bobby Clarke was one of the most physical players who played dirty with a capital D! The team was so hated, that the usual custom for visiting teams was to hang out after the games at either Daisy Buchanan’s or Great Gatsby’s and they wouldn’t dare show their faces for fear of retribution from fans and Bruin’s players! I’m saying, we just did not like them! Which is why I think it’s so funny Rob (a confirmed Bruin fan as a kid) decided to make a film about them. I am curious how violently he will depict the playing scenes. There was a famous fight between Clarke and Terry O”Reilly which will go down in history for the most left hooks pummelled in one fight in Boston Garden! Anyways, Rob is having a hard time getting a cast together because it’s hard finding actors who can ice skate like hockey players. Meanwhile, Rob hired a team of builders based in Texas who are hard at work building his three haunted houses for the Great American Nightmare happening in Pomona, CA in October. More on that in the coming weeks….The new look Joey Jordison (have you seen pictures of him lately? He gained weight and he is sporting a beard!) Well, the Slipknot drummer has revealed his new side project, Scar The Martyr, will release its self-titled debut album on October 1st. While Jordison plays all drums and bass on the disc and most of the rhythm guitar tracks, the touring lineup will include guitarists Jed Simon and Kris Norris, keyboardist Joey Blush and ex-In This Moment bassist Kyle Konkiel in addition to Jordison and vocalist Henry Derek Bonner. Scar The Martyr will kick off a tour with Danzig and Huntress on August 9th in Toronto….Special thanks to Pulse of Radio for the report today.
