Gotta start off with a rant today! Time Warner Cable took the two channels off that I religiously watch: CBS (for The Young and The Restless) and Showtime (Dexter, Ray Donovan.) To say I am freaking out is an understatement! My guilty pleasure is the 40 yr old soap opera I’ve been DVRing forever and Dexter, well, two episodes left in the final season! Really TWC and CBS, you have to stick it to us NOW! UGH! And when I called TWC to demand the channels be returned (HA!) or I would switch to Verizon, they told me the same thing could happen over there! That CBS could inflate their fees by 600% or whatever the heck it was with other cable providers. I am so pissed! I don’t know if you are old enough to remember when TV was FREE! You had an antenna on your roof or rabbit ears on top of the tv set! Now it’s all digital and we have to PAY! Grrrr! PLUS since I am a TWC internet subscriber, I am blocked from even going to the CBS website to WATCH EPISODES ONLINE! ARGHHHH! OK, sorry, had to vent…..In the news, very sorry to hear this about my friend. Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix has posted a letter on Facebook apologizing to the band’s fans for the cancellation of its South American tour due to Shaddix having “vocal issues.” Shaddix wrote in part, “Trust me, I would love to not have to deal with these vocal cord issues at all. Don’t forget — I am a HUMAN, not a MACHINE. When a guitar string breaks, you change it, but when a vocal cord breaks, time and silence is the ONLY thing that heals it. I pray to GOD I don’t have to have surgery again.” He continued, “If you know anything about ME and PAPA ROACH is we always give it 100 percent. Sometimes that 100 percent breaks us. I would LOVE nothing more than to be in South America playing these shows. My HEART goes out to the people that bought bus and plane tickets to come see us. You’re NOT ALONE — we bought tickets down there too (that are not refundable as well).” Shaddix added the band is losing a “ton of money” by not doing the gigs, saying, “I am doing the best I can. But in this case, to some of you, fans, my best is not good enough. I PRAY that you find it in your hearts to understand. And trust me, we will reschedule and come to South America as soon as we can.”…Blabbermouth reports according to Korn.com, Korn‘s 11th studio album, The Paradigm Shift, has had its release date pushed back to October 8th from the previously announced October 1st. The follow-up to 2011’s The Path Of Totality features the return of guitarist Brian “Head” Welch to the lineup after more than eight years away. His last album with the band was 2003’s Take A Look In The Mirror. “Never Never”, the first single from The Paradigm Shift, is still scheduled to arrive online and at radio stations next Monday (August 12th). (It’s awesome)….Was on the hotLine yesterday with Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge. After listening to the new single “Addicted to Pain,” (and playing it like 5 times in a row) I was so stoked to speak with Mark about it! He told me the new album their first new disc in three years, Fortress, due October 8th., has no particular concept behind the title or album, but there are several running themes throughout the record: “There’s two songs about, like, fictional kind of apocalyptic themes. There’s betrayal throughout the record. And then there’s a few songs that just, that like we’ve had in the past where, you know, ‘things are going tough but keep fighting through it’ kind of a deal.” Mark even sings the lead vocals on the title track. The good news is the single hits radio on Monday or so, but the band won’t be touring the states til MARCH! Ugh! It boggles my mind Alter Bridge is so huge in the UK and Europe, yet doesn’t get the respect over here. If you saw him on his solo tour, you know what an outstanding player he is, and how tight his band is. (And yes, Wolfgang Van Halen is a permanent member of his solo band !) Mark also said that solo tour (a hardDrive Live Tour, btw) was the highlight of his CAREER! He is one of the hardest working guys out there. Is ALL about the fans, respects everyone. I mean, there isn’t a nicer person you’d ever want to meet. But getting back to Alter Bridge, hopefully my fellow radio/music tastemakers will wake up and smell the Alter Bridge “coffee” and realize what they are missing. I hope to get a sneak peek of the album soon. If you haven’t checked out the band before, try it. You might be surprised!….And keep your questions coming for Device, who will be in the hardDrive Studios and do a “Live at 10-65” performance today. Can’t wait! Email via the link on the home page please!…..Happy 55th today to Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Happy 35th to Jamie Jasta of Hatebreed.
