Good morning! It’s the first day of August!
Already in the midst of a co-headlining summer North American tour, Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin have announced that they will continue their road trip together on a fall U.S. trek. The jaunt kicks off November 6th in Wichita, Kansas, and runs through a December 11th show in Portland, Maine. The fall leg will feature support from either Bad Wolves or In Flameson selected dates, with From Ashes To New opening up for the entire run.
Five Finger frontman Ivan Moody told us that the band has gotten better than ever as a live act: “We’re really trying to evolve — not even trying, we are evolving and we’re morphing into the band that we always wanted to be. People aren’t going to come or be interested whatsoever in a project that just gets up there and plays the same set over and over again and relies on the crowd to be the focus of the energy instead of bringing something to the table themselves. So that’s been where we stand and it’s been amazing.”
Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory said, “We have an extremely loyal travel-to-the-end-of-the-world diehard fan base, so our shows are always packed and a blast. With that said, this current run turned out to be the most-attended, most successful tour we have done to date. Those cities we couldn’t fit into this summer run — worry not — we heard you all! We’re extending this tour all the way through the fall, so we will see you soon.”
Breaking Benjamin frontman Benjamin Burnley added, “The reactions to this tour from both of our fanbases have been huge, so it only made sense to keep the fun going this fall.”
Tickets for the fall leg go on sale to the general public this Friday, August 3rd, with pre-sales taking place as early as Wednesday, August 1st. The current tour leg pulls into Austin on Wednesday night and comes to a close on September 9th in Cleveland. Check out the Road Rage page for all the stops.
The estranged wife of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is attempting to find the person that has allegedly been posting disparaging comments about her online and accusing her of being a horrible mother.
In documents she filed in divorce court, Perla Ferrar included hundreds of Instagram posts that referenced private family information, as well as photos and details related to the activities and whereabouts of Slash’s and Perla’s two sons, 15-year-old London and 14-year-old Cash. Perla claimed the posts also accused her of being an “unfit mother and child abuser.”
Ferrar apparently believes that the culprit is most likely someone connected to Slash and has insinuated that it could be his current girlfriend. Ferrar has asked her estranged husband for any information he might have about the “altperlafhudson” Instagram account, which appears to have since been deleted.
Ferrar has asked the court to force Slash’s Internet service provider to disclose all IP addresses that have been used to control the Instagram account in question. She claimed that Slash initially agreed to help her but has since withdrawn his offer of assistance.
Slash, whose real name is Saul Hudson, got married to Ferrar in 2001. He filed for divorce for a second and final time in 2014.
The Smashing Pumpkins will be joined by a number of special guests for their upcoming 30th anniversary performance on Thursday, August 2nd at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. AFI frontman Davey Havok, Killers members Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer, Courtney Love, Mark McGrath, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook will join the band throughout the momentous show.
The special celebratory performance will feature the career-spanning setlist, cover tunes, elaborate new production and other surprises that have been the hallmark of the Pumpkins’ “Shiny And Oh So Bright” North American arena tour since it kicked off earlier this month.
The tour is the Pumpkins’ first in nearly 20 years to feature founding members William Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, joined by longtime Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Jack Bates and keyboardist Katie Cole.
The Pumpkins recently shared a new song called “Solara,” the first recording in over 18 years to feature Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin. The song is likely to appear on a new full-length Pumpkins album that is set to arrive before the end of 2018.
The Reelz cable network has set an August 12th premiere date for Autopsy: The Last Hours Of Chris Cornell. The program is a documentary-style TV series that investigates the tragic, controversial and sudden deaths of celebrities. The series debuted in 2014 on Channel 5 in the U.K. and was later broadcast in the U.S. by Reelz.
Earlier in the year, the show’s producers were at Shepherd’s Bush Hall in England, where the program recreated Soundgarden‘s and singer Chris Cornell’s last show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. It was also revealed that British actor and singer Paul Ayres portrayed the late vocalist, who took his own life just a few hours after that concert.
The cast also includes Andrew Shire as bassist Ben Shepherd, Patrick Holly as drummer Matt Cameron and Ben Sura as guitarist Kim Thayil.
The series has done episodes on James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Andy Warhol, Andy Kaufman, Farrah Fawcett, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, George Michael, Mary Tyler Moore, James Gandolfini and others.
Cornell was found hanged in his room at the MGM Grand Detroit hotel in May 2017. His body was found soon after he had spoken with his wife, Vicky, by phone. The death was ruled a suicide. Cornell’s family has questioned the ruling, suggesting that a higher than recommended dosage of prescription drug Ativan may have caused him to experience suicidal thoughts.
Late Pantera and Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott left the bulk of his estate to to his best friend and longtime girlfriend, according to TMZ. The site obtained a copy of Abbott’s will, which outlined how his estate should be divided. The drummer died suddenly on June 22nd at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54, passing away in his sleep from what was said to be a heart attack.
According to the document, Abbott’s friend Charles Jones will get 38 percent. while the drummer’s girlfriend, Chelsey Yeager, will walk away with 37 percent. The rest goes to Vinnie’s tour manager, who gets 10 percent, while his drum tech, producer and another friend are all getting five percent each. In addition, Abbott has given his interest in his late brother and Pantera co-founder “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott‘s estate to Dimebag’s longtime girlfriend, Rita Haney.
Vinnie was buried on June 30th next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas. He was laid to rest in a custom “Kiss Kasket” provided by Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The casket was offered as a gift at Vinnie’s family’s request. Vinnie was also buried in some of his trademark clothes, including his hat, shoes and flannel.
A public memorial for Vinnie Paul was held on July 1st at Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas.
Vinnie had reportedly finished laying down drum tracks for the next Hellyeah album, although there is no word yet on when that LP will see the light of day.
Finally, we’d like to say Happy Birthday to Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan, Public Enemy and Prophets of Rage MC Chuck D, and Def Leppard singer Joe Elliot!
