Good morning Radicals! Here’s the mid-week music news roundup:
Rage Against The Machine and Prophets Of Rage guitarist Tom Morello kicked off a solo tour in New York City on Monday night, October 1st as he prepares to release his new solo LP, titled The Atlas Underground, on the 12th of this month.
Morello opened the show by talking for about 15 minutes about his background, his days with Rage Against the Machine, and his days studying at Harvard. Then he played a few song fragments, including part of Audioslave‘s “Like A Stone” as a tribute to his fallen Audioslave bandmate Chris Cornell. He also did part of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley,” which he’s done with Ozzy in the past.
Following that, Morello performed his entire new album from start to finish, then played his Bruce Springsteen collaboration “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” invited fans onstage to sing along on “This Land Is Your Land,” and ended with the Rage Against the Machine classic, “Killing In The Name.”
Morello next plays on Thursday, October 4th in Boston. His new LP features guest appearances from Portugal. The Man, Cage The Elephant singer Matt Schultz, X-Ambassadors, Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath, Marcus Mumford and many more.
Smashing Pumpkins frontman William Corgan and his partner Chloe Mendel have welcomed their second child and first daughter, named Philomena Clementine Corgan. Their son Augustus Juppiter Corgan was born in 2015.
Corgan wrote on Instagram, “Please welcome Philomena Clementine Corgan, the latest addition to our family! Pictured here with her brother, Augustus Juppiter, this makes 8, counting Chloe, Angelface, Diamondbaby, Chin Chin, Ling Ling and yours truly.”
He added, “I’m so lucky to have a great partner in @chloemendel, who juggled raising our son, pregnancy with Philomena, whilst building her fashion line (@maisonatia) and navigating my being gone so much with SP in 2018. Oh, and then there’s wrestling!! What a year!”
The Pumpkins recently announced a string of 30th anniversary live shows that kick off on November 28th at the Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. The new dates follow up the “Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour,” the first in nearly two decades to feature original members William Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha.
In addition, the Pumpkins will release their new album, Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun., on November 16th. The eight-song LP is the band’s first in over 18 years to feature Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin recording together. The band has shared two songs from the disc, “Solara” and “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts).”
AC/DC‘s 45th anniversary is being commemorated by the Australian government through the release of a new collection of coins. The Royal Australian Mint — the government agency which is the sole supplier of Australia’s circulating coinage — has partnered with Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre, to strike its AC/DC coins with a bolt of man-made lightning.
The experiment was conducted in the “Caged Lightning” exhibition at Questacon, which produces lightning using a Tesla coil. Ten AC/DC 50 cent pieces, all featuring the famous high voltage logos and design elements from AC/DC albums, were jolted with 3,500,000 volts of lightning.
Royal Australian Mint chief executive officer Ross MacDiarmid said, “The Mint thought that such an iconic band deserved high voltage coins and an electrifying launch to match. We weren’t sure what effect the lightning would have on the coins, but we discovered that because the coins are such excellent conductors of electricity, the lightning’s mark is only visible under magnification.”
The 10 coins that were “Thunderstruck,” out of the 30,000 that were made, will be randomly sent to 10 customers who order their AC/DC anniversary coin through the Mint’s online store or Contact Center.
The second coin minted for AC/DC’s 45th anniversary is the Mint’s first-ever nickel-plated coin. It’s black and minted on a triangular blank to resemble a guitar pick. The design elements have also been drawn from AC/DC’s album artwork and the amp-inspired packaging includes an actual guitar pick. The new coins are both officially licensed AC/DC merchandise and legal tender in Australia.
Finally, we’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon, Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook, and the legendary Tommy Lee of Motley Crue!
