Good morning Radicals! Today’s the big day, we’ve got Saint Asonia playing a live acoustic set on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/hardDriveRadio! Tune in this evening at 6pm eastern to watch!
Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer have officially postponed their massive Hella Mega stadium tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trek was due to launch in North America on July 17th in Seattle, following a European leg that was set to kick off on June 13th in Paris.
But after the European portion was postponed last month, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before the entire schedule was put on hold.
The bands wrote in a joint statement on Instagram, “Hopefully this doesn’t come as a surprise, but as much as we were all looking forward to seeing you all this summer, everyone’s safety is our highest priority so we’ve officially made the call to reschedule all North American dates of the Hella Mega tour until next year. Please stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you in 2021.”
The bands assured ticketholders that the dates would be rescheduled for the same venues next year, with refund options available as well.
Green Day released its 13th studio album, Father Of All Motherf**kers, this past February in anticipation of the trek, while the new Weezer album, Van Weezer, was scheduled to arrive this month but has now been moved to a yet-to-be-determined date. A single called “Hero” surfaced earlier this month. Fall Out Boy has been relatively quiet since issuing a greatest hits collection late last year.
An update regarding our Summer Tour. pic.twitter.com/iY4QTLv9q0
— Breaking Benjamin (@breakingbenj) May 19, 2020
A slew of summer tours were officially canceled or postponed this week due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with many of them holding out until the last possible minute to break the news.
Breaking Benjamin‘s summer tour with support from Bush, Theory Of A Deadman, Cory Marks and Saint Asonia has been canceled. It was scheduled to kick off July 15th in Bristow, Virginia and run through early September.
Breaking Benjamin said in a statement, “If you purchased a ticket or VIP, you will be emailed directly with refund options including a full refund, or you can request a 150% credit at Live Nation venues. They will donate the number of tickets you originally purchased to healthcare workers on the front lines . . . We will be back as soon as it’s safe to do so!”
Also falling victim to the pandemic was a planned run starring Incubus, 311 and Badflower, which was slated to begin in mid-July. Nickelback‘s All The Right Reasons 15th anniversary trek with Stone Temple Pilots was also scrapped amid COVID-19 concerns.
Meanwhile, Deftones postponed their summer trek until next year, with dates yet to be determined.
Godsmack has notched its fourth Number One single from 2018’s When Legends Rise album. “Unforgettable” joins “Under Your Scars,” “Bulletproof” and the title track as songs from the LP that have hit the top of the rock radio chart, making Godsmack one of just four rock acts to reach this accomplishment.
The song is also the band’s 11th Number One overall. Singer Sully Erna said, “We all had a good feeling about this song to begin with, it was just a matter of waiting for its turn to become a single. But even a ‘feeling’ doesn’t guarantee you a number one spot on Billboard. So, for this to actually happen and see it in writing is really exciting. We are mostly happy for the kids who participated on this one. They’re the voice of this song, and the true hidden heroes behind it.”
The band initially recruited 20 students from Hood Middle School in New Hampshire to join the band for the recording of “Unforgettable.” Erna, who regularly works with charity organizations, then invited 400 music students to join them for the video shoot, which took place at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Erna explained to us the meaning for him behind the video: “Really the message we had in the video that I think people can appreciate is that there really is a need for music and it’s a real gift, and so many of us take it for granted so many times. Schools shouldn’t be cutting music programs first when they have to save some money on budgets, as if it’s not important. And so there’s a lot of that kind of message in this video as well.”
Godsmack recently scrapped all 2020 touring plans in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and will spend the rest of the year working on a new album.
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan told Apple Music that he feels hopeful about the future despite the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on millions of human lives and the entire global economy.
Keenan explained, “I feel like we’re going to go through a lot of changes; we’re going to go through a lot of growing pains — and not all of us are going to make it through those growing pains. That’s the hardest part, as a human being to really grasp: that you might not be a part of what happens over the crest in that new valley. You just might not be there because you didn’t pay attention to the basics.”
Keenan’s lyrics in Tool, as well as A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, have long been cited for looking into the future of humanity. The singer himself has prepared for such events by living in a remote part of Arizona, where he has spent 25 years “planting orchards, planting vines, doing greenhouses, understanding how to reconnect.”
He added, “It’s just understanding patterns, and understanding human nature and where we’re going. Although they might seem specific, they’re not. They’re human experience. At my age I’ve seen quite a few things and have tried to keep open-minded about things — not always assuming you’re right just because you’re successful, and kind of reevaluate those things.”
Keenan told us a while back what he feels are important objectives for people to focus on: “We need to concentrate on the war against apathy and ignorance, so we need to concentrate on becoming, you know, more involved in what happens to us as individuals and us as a nation and as a global community.”
Tool has been off the road due to the pandemic, while Puscifer issued a new single last week called “Apocalyptical.” The band’s fourth LP is due out later this year.
Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale, Alice In Chains bassist Mike Inez and Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner joined ex-Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain to record a cover of Thin Lizzy‘s “Bad Reputation.”
The accompanying video was shot in quarantine, with each musician performing in his or her home. The session was organized by Demmel.
“Bad Reputation” was the title track of Thin Lizzy’s eighth studio album, released in 1977. Although it was not released as a single, the song became a live staple for the Irish act, who were best known in the U.S for the songs “The Boys Are Back In Town” and “Jailbreak.”
Foo Fighters covered “Bad Reputation” in 2011 for their limited edition album of covers, Medium Rare, which was released as a vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day.
Nine Inch Nails main man Trent Reznor confirmed in a new post that the band planned to tour later this year until the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The tour had been set to launch on September 15th in San Diego, playing multiple nights in a number of cities before closing out with a five-night stand in Toronto at the end of October.
Reznor is now selling merchandise for this scrapped outing and donating the proceeds to food banks in the cities that the tour had been slated to hit.
Reznor is using the current quarantine to work on new music on several fronts, including Nine Inch Nails. He wrote, “The current plan is to finish up some scoring projects, work on my limited patience skills, deep dive into new NIN material, and hopefully be playing music live for you in 2021.”
Reznor also shared “an incredible fan-made full length concert film” from NIN’s 2018 “Cold and Black and Infinite” tour. He also encouraged his fans to “continue to listen to Bowie, and don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Later this year, Nine Inch Nails are set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Depeche Mode, The Notorious B.I.G., T. Rex and the Doobie Brothers.
Lily Cornell Silver, daughter of former Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver and late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, has launched a discussion program about mental health called Mind Wide Open. She made the announcement in honor of her father on Monday (May 18th), the third anniversary of his suicide.
The new series will take place on Instagram and will feature interviews with mental health professionals, public figures and other notable guests. The goal is to keep the conversations surrounding mental health going and normalize those discussions, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lily wrote, “I am launching today in honor of my dad, who passed away three years ago on this date. We often talked about our experiences with anxiety and depression, and mental health was something that he struggled with throughout his life. Through him, I learned how important it is to have someone who understands your darkness, validates your experiences, and gives you comfort.”
She added, “Losing my dad ripped a hole in my heart, and the grief and trauma that has followed comes with its own set of struggles. Through my experiences, I have become more aware of the stigma that surrounds discussing mental health and grief related issues. I want to use my platform to do what I can to create change around this stigma.”
Lily’s first guest is Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director of the Trauma Stewardship Institute. Lily will provide further details on how to watch the program on her Instagram page.
Well, that’s a wrap for now, we’ll see you tonight!
