Happy hump day! Here’s what’s going on in rock and roll today:
A Perfect Circle will embark on a North American tour this fall in support of its new album, Eat the Elephant. The trek kicks off on October 20th in Salt Lake City and includes stops in Denver, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, New York and Las Vegas before wrapping up on November 20th in Phoenix. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, April 27th at 10:00 a.m. local time.
The new road trip follows a shorter North American jaunt this spring that starts on May 12th in Somerset, Wisconsin and wraps May 26th in Dallas, after which A Perfect Circle will head to Europe. You can check the Road Rage page for all the stops.
Guitarist Billy Howerdel told us a while back why he sometimes prefers the road to the studio: “In a lot of ways it’s a lot easier, just because of scheduling. You just know what you have to do when you have to do it. Whereas, you know, in the studio, at least for me, I’m making my own hours, and I just sleep like five hours a night and work the rest. And out here, playing the show is probably what you look forward to the whole day. It’s kind of all laid out, so in a way, it’s a lot easier for you.”
Eat The Elephant arrived last week and marks A Perfect Circle’s first album in 14 years, following 2004’s eMOTive.
Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda spoke with ET Canada about the songwriting process for his upcoming solo album, Post Traumatic. Shinoda explained, “It started in a really dark place. In the beginning, I wasn’t leaving my house. It felt very claustrophobic, having lost one of my closest friends and collaborators. We associate who we are, to some degree, with what we do, so I felt very lost.”
He continued, “The experience of this last year has been crazy, and I wanted to put it into music, not only to just put a stamp on it and say, ‘This happened,’ but also to allow the fans and the people who have been along for the ride, to guide them on that journey in terms of keeping up with my narrative or understanding where I’m at.”
Asked how difficult it was to write the songs for the album, many of which dealt with the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, Shinoda added, “Life was difficult; music was easy. The music made things easier.” Shinoda also spoke about dealing with his own grief over Bennington’s suicide last summer, saying, “I had terrible days, and now I have less bad days. And eventually, I will find a new ‘normal,’ like a new stasis.” Shinoda will make his first solo appearance since Bennington’s death at this spring’s Identity LA festival in downtown Los Angeles on May 12th.
Blink-182 is working on new music, according to a post shared by the band on social media. Bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker have both shared photos from the studio on their Snapchat accounts, with Hoppus writing in the caption for his, “New Blink-182 songs day one.”
The trio has kept a low profile since wrapping up its 2017 tour in support of 2016’s California, the band’s first album without founding guitarist Tom DeLonge. With Alkaline Trio‘s Matt Skiba replacing DeLonge, the album hit Number One on the Billboard 200 and the tour behind it was one of the bigger rock attractions of last year.
There is no official word yet on when the next Blink LP could arrive. Meanwhile, as previously reported, the band is headed to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for a 16-date residency dubbed “Kings of the Weekend.” The run will begin May 26th and happen on select weekends through November 17th. Hoppus said in a statement, “When the Palms asked us to do a residency here in Vegas, we said ‘Absolutely!’ . . . the possibilities in Vegas are endless.”
Metallica and the San Francisco Giants held the sixth annual “Metallica Night” on Monday night, April 23rd at AT&T Park in San Francisco, as the Giants took the field against the Washington Nationals. Members of the band were on hand to start things off right with the national anthem and first pitch, sticking around all night to cheer on the team against the Nationals.
Drummer Lars Ulrich threw out the first pitch, while guitarist Kirk Hammett took to the diamond for a fiery solo rendition of the national anthem. Asked by NBC Sports if tossing out the first pitch has gotten easier over the last six years, Ulrich said, “Six years in, I think most of them have been where they should be. (I’ve had) the occasional bounce right at home plate, but there’s been no embarrassments; it hasn’t ended up in the dugout or out in the bay or anything like that.”
Ulrich added, “We’re so proud for the city of San Francisco, for the team and for the families and for the whole vibe here . . it’s just so awesome that we still have this going.”
A portion of the proceeds from every “Metallica Night” ticket sold will benefit the band’s All Within My Hands foundation. Metallica has always kept strong ties to the Bay Area sports scene: the band has also performed before Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks hockey games.
Welsh act Bullet For My Valentine has released the official music video for its new single, “Over It.” The song is taken from the band’s sixth studio LP, Gravity, which arrives on June 29th. The follow-up to 2015’s Venom marks Bullet For My Valentine’s full-length recording debut with new drummer Jason Bowld.
Sevendust lost a member of its family recently, and paid tribute onstage during its Albuquerque show with an emotional version of “Angel’s Son.” The grandfather of singer Lajon Witherspoon‘s wife, known as Grandpa Joe Ed, passed at the age of 95. Witherspoon spoke openly about the loss before playing the song. The singer also invited a woman he said was his sister from Australia to come join in the song midway through.
Tat’s a wrap! Have a great day!
