| Rockin' News for August 17, 2009 |
HMH NOTE: I have to start off this edition with one for the "OMG Files." Alice Cooper's scheduled December 11 show at the Tampere
Arena in Tampere, Finland had reportedly been moved to a different venue based on (so-called) conflicts with the venue's "Christian values."
Normally, I would have to laugh something like this off, but this is a case - among other things - of sheer hypocrisy... in "Christian" terms, a
witch-hunt. Do these folks even know of the volumes of charitable work that Alice has done? Are they aware of his Christian-based
youth-outreach program? Have they ever seen one of his shows which, by the way, certainly contains no conjuring of evil minions, no
blasphemy, no gratuitous sex, and only mock tongue-in-cheek violence? C'mon people, can you say "The last remaining legitimate vaudevillian?"
Anyway...
Arena in Tampere, Finland had reportedly been moved to a different venue based on (so-called) conflicts with the venue's "Christian values."
Normally, I would have to laugh something like this off, but this is a case - among other things - of sheer hypocrisy... in "Christian" terms, a
witch-hunt. Do these folks even know of the volumes of charitable work that Alice has done? Are they aware of his Christian-based
youth-outreach program? Have they ever seen one of his shows which, by the way, certainly contains no conjuring of evil minions, no
blasphemy, no gratuitous sex, and only mock tongue-in-cheek violence? C'mon people, can you say "The last remaining legitimate vaudevillian?"
Anyway...
Alice Cooper Banned from Tampere Arena on Religious Grounds
Veteran American singer Alice Cooper's concert scheduled for Tampere in December has been shifted to
Espoo because of concerns over his shock-rock image.
Tampere Arena, which was to have hosted the December 11 show, cancelled it because a perceived conflict
with the venue's "Christian-based policies".
"The [Lutheran-based charismatic revivalist] group Nokia Mission and others use Tampere Arena for their
events, so the venue's management did not want Alice Cooper appearing in the same hall. The contract which
we received from Tampere Arena specifies that no artists may perform there who 'incite evil and the power
of darkness'," promoter Kalle Keskinen told YLE.
Tampere Arena CEO Harri Wiherkoski announced the concert's cancellation on Friday. He said the contract
was not signed after he read in a newspaper that Alice Cooper would be performing there. Wiherkoski says
two previous concerts have been barred from the hall for the same reason.
Veteran American singer Alice Cooper's concert scheduled for Tampere in December has been shifted to
Espoo because of concerns over his shock-rock image.
Tampere Arena, which was to have hosted the December 11 show, cancelled it because a perceived conflict
with the venue's "Christian-based policies".
"The [Lutheran-based charismatic revivalist] group Nokia Mission and others use Tampere Arena for their
events, so the venue's management did not want Alice Cooper appearing in the same hall. The contract which
we received from Tampere Arena specifies that no artists may perform there who 'incite evil and the power
of darkness'," promoter Kalle Keskinen told YLE.
Tampere Arena CEO Harri Wiherkoski announced the concert's cancellation on Friday. He said the contract
was not signed after he read in a newspaper that Alice Cooper would be performing there. Wiherkoski says
two previous concerts have been barred from the hall for the same reason.
"We never imagined that a rock veteran who has performed in Finland in four separate decades without any problems and who has spoken in
public of his own religious convictions would not be allowed to perform at Tampere Arena in 2009," says Keskinen.
The 61-year-old Cooper began his career in the early 1970s, reportedly taking his stage name from a seventeenth century witch. He has
often evoked horror-movie and macabre themes in his music and stage shows. However in later years, he has described himself as a
born-again Christian and an avid golfer.
Cooper last appeared in Finland in November 2007, when he played in Helsinki and Oulu and at Powerpark in Alahärmä, Ostrobothnia.
(Courtesy of www.yle.fi)
public of his own religious convictions would not be allowed to perform at Tampere Arena in 2009," says Keskinen.
The 61-year-old Cooper began his career in the early 1970s, reportedly taking his stage name from a seventeenth century witch. He has
often evoked horror-movie and macabre themes in his music and stage shows. However in later years, he has described himself as a
born-again Christian and an avid golfer.
Cooper last appeared in Finland in November 2007, when he played in Helsinki and Oulu and at Powerpark in Alahärmä, Ostrobothnia.
(Courtesy of www.yle.fi)
| *** *** *** *** *** *** |
Kiss to release new album at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club
NEW YORK – Wal-Mart is being embraced with a Kiss.
The veteran heavy metal group, Kiss, is joining a growing list of classic acts putting
out new music through the world's largest retailer.
Sonic Boom is due to be released only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on Oct. 6. It
will include a CD of the band's first new music in 11 years, re-recorded versions of
famous Kiss hits and a live DVD.
Other classic acts that have chosen to release albums through Wal-Mart include
the Eagles, AC/DC and Foreigner. (Courtesy of news.yahoo.com)
NEW YORK – Wal-Mart is being embraced with a Kiss.
The veteran heavy metal group, Kiss, is joining a growing list of classic acts putting
out new music through the world's largest retailer.
Sonic Boom is due to be released only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on Oct. 6. It
will include a CD of the band's first new music in 11 years, re-recorded versions of
famous Kiss hits and a live DVD.
Other classic acts that have chosen to release albums through Wal-Mart include
the Eagles, AC/DC and Foreigner. (Courtesy of news.yahoo.com)
In other KISS-related news:
KISS: Behind The Sonic Boom Album Cover Art
The cover art for the new KISS album, Sonic Boom, was created by Michael Doret, who also
designed the band's classic Rock And Roll Over album cover.
Regarding how the new artwork came together, Doret writes on his blog, "When Paul Stanley
[KISS guitarist/vocalist] came by my studio to discuss how to proceed on the art for the cover of
their upcoming CD/DVD package, Sonic Boom, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't met with him
since working on Rock And Roll Over, and had very little memory of what that had been like.
"Any anxiety I had melted away when we started talking. Paul is a 'gentlemen's gentleman' and I
immediately felt at ease talking with him — as if all those years had not intervened since the last
time we had spoken.
"After some small talk, he explained what he was after with the new cover art. His vision for
this album was to make it as vital and raw as it had been when they did Rock And Roll Over. He
felt that that had been some of the best work that they had ever done, and wanted the new
album to recreate that energy both musically and visually. While he didn't want me to reprise
what I had done with my art for the earlier cover, he did want me to try to capture some of the
same spirit, attitude, energy, and look that I had instilled in that piece. Also, one of his
stipulations was that unlike Rock And Roll Over (where I had created abstract, graphic versions of
the KISS personas), this time he wanted photographic representations of the four group members
in full makeup.
"When I did Rock And Roll Over, I had a 12" canvas to work on. Now with CD covers and digital
booklets, that canvas had been reduced to less than 40% of its original size. Designing in a 4¾"
space poses some very different problems from what I faced while working on covers for vinyl
releases. In fact, the older cover design would not have worked at that size; its many elements
would have felt crowded into a small space. So the elements of Sonic Boom had to be bigger,
The cover art for the new KISS album, Sonic Boom, was created by Michael Doret, who also
designed the band's classic Rock And Roll Over album cover.
Regarding how the new artwork came together, Doret writes on his blog, "When Paul Stanley
[KISS guitarist/vocalist] came by my studio to discuss how to proceed on the art for the cover of
their upcoming CD/DVD package, Sonic Boom, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't met with him
since working on Rock And Roll Over, and had very little memory of what that had been like.
"Any anxiety I had melted away when we started talking. Paul is a 'gentlemen's gentleman' and I
immediately felt at ease talking with him — as if all those years had not intervened since the last
time we had spoken.
"After some small talk, he explained what he was after with the new cover art. His vision for
this album was to make it as vital and raw as it had been when they did Rock And Roll Over. He
felt that that had been some of the best work that they had ever done, and wanted the new
album to recreate that energy both musically and visually. While he didn't want me to reprise
what I had done with my art for the earlier cover, he did want me to try to capture some of the
same spirit, attitude, energy, and look that I had instilled in that piece. Also, one of his
stipulations was that unlike Rock And Roll Over (where I had created abstract, graphic versions of
the KISS personas), this time he wanted photographic representations of the four group members
in full makeup.
"When I did Rock And Roll Over, I had a 12" canvas to work on. Now with CD covers and digital
booklets, that canvas had been reduced to less than 40% of its original size. Designing in a 4¾"
space poses some very different problems from what I faced while working on covers for vinyl
releases. In fact, the older cover design would not have worked at that size; its many elements
would have felt crowded into a small space. So the elements of Sonic Boom had to be bigger,
bolder — and fewer. I made the decision to make the title the main focus of the graphics, moving the other elements (faces, KISS logo) into
prominent — but subordinate—roles.
"So I set about putting pencil to paper and trying to solve this the way I solve any other design problem. I did not want to get psyched-out by
thinking too much about how the new design would compare with Rock And Roll Over. That cover had taken on a life of its own and had become
a pop culture icon. Creating an iconic cover could not have been one of my goals. All I was capable of doing was to try to create the most
compelling graphics possible within the parameters and limitations that had been set out for me. So I started out at the core of this design by
creating what I call a 'word constellation' out of the title. I tried to make it communicate its meaning visually by not only making it angular
and 'explosive,' but also by creating a shape that was somewhat suggestive of flight — a 'flying wing,' if you will. Bearing in mind the
symmetrical, mandala-like layout of Rock And Roll Over, I started designing the new piece as a field growing out of the center of the square,
with the four members faces moving outwards from the center, and capped with my version of the ubiquitous KISS logo.
"It took about a week for me to develop my sketch to the point where I felt confident in what I had come up with. As I had done with Rock
And Roll Over, I felt so strongly about this cover design that I decided to not present any other options — I wanted this to be the ONE.
"This is the rough pencil [see below] I first presented to Paul. I held my breath as he first took it in, and then was able to exhale when I
saw a big smile appear on his face." (Courtesy of blabbermouth.net)
prominent — but subordinate—roles.
"So I set about putting pencil to paper and trying to solve this the way I solve any other design problem. I did not want to get psyched-out by
thinking too much about how the new design would compare with Rock And Roll Over. That cover had taken on a life of its own and had become
a pop culture icon. Creating an iconic cover could not have been one of my goals. All I was capable of doing was to try to create the most
compelling graphics possible within the parameters and limitations that had been set out for me. So I started out at the core of this design by
creating what I call a 'word constellation' out of the title. I tried to make it communicate its meaning visually by not only making it angular
and 'explosive,' but also by creating a shape that was somewhat suggestive of flight — a 'flying wing,' if you will. Bearing in mind the
symmetrical, mandala-like layout of Rock And Roll Over, I started designing the new piece as a field growing out of the center of the square,
with the four members faces moving outwards from the center, and capped with my version of the ubiquitous KISS logo.
"It took about a week for me to develop my sketch to the point where I felt confident in what I had come up with. As I had done with Rock
And Roll Over, I felt so strongly about this cover design that I decided to not present any other options — I wanted this to be the ONE.
"This is the rough pencil [see below] I first presented to Paul. I held my breath as he first took it in, and then was able to exhale when I
saw a big smile appear on his face." (Courtesy of blabbermouth.net)
| *** *** *** *** *** *** |
Interview With Tony Iommi of Heaven & Hell: Knowing The Devil
On heavy metal Mt. Olympus, Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell guitarist Tony Iommi is more or less Zeus.
Around the house we call him “The Man From Whose Fingers Heavy Metal Sprang” (clearly not into the
whole brevity thing), and though there isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about the original riffer
over the 40 years since the agonizing strains of “Black Sabbath” first appeared on the scene, there
always seems to be more questions to ask—even though most of them round down to, “How the hell do you
do it?”
Even Brian May asked that one.
2009 saw, among other things, the release of Heaven And Hell’s first full-length studio album, The Devil
You Know (Rhino). The line-up of Iommi and fellow immortals, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Vinny
Appice, and singer Ronnie James Dio (AKA Sabbath circa Mob Rules) took to the stage first in 2006 and
On heavy metal Mt. Olympus, Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell guitarist Tony Iommi is more or less Zeus.
Around the house we call him “The Man From Whose Fingers Heavy Metal Sprang” (clearly not into the
whole brevity thing), and though there isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about the original riffer
over the 40 years since the agonizing strains of “Black Sabbath” first appeared on the scene, there
always seems to be more questions to ask—even though most of them round down to, “How the hell do you
do it?”
Even Brian May asked that one.
2009 saw, among other things, the release of Heaven And Hell’s first full-length studio album, The Devil
You Know (Rhino). The line-up of Iommi and fellow immortals, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Vinny
Appice, and singer Ronnie James Dio (AKA Sabbath circa Mob Rules) took to the stage first in 2006 and
haven’t stopped yet, headlining arenas, festivals and anywhere they can like a bunch of 20 year olds who didn’t already change the face of
metal three decades ago. And for that, we’re thankful.
But there’s more to them than iconic status and major market touring (though they will be at MSG Aug. 25 and in Atlantic City Aug. 29), and
Tony Iommi Himself graciously granted some of his time for a phoner to field queries he’s no doubt heard thousands of times before in order
that the word might get out. We’re pretty thankful for that too.
Now that the album has been out for a while and people have had a chance to digest it, have you gotten a sense at the shows of how the
audience has taken to the new material?
Yeah, actually. The new songs we’ve been playing have been going down very well. ‘Bible Black,’ ‘Fear,’ they’ve been going down very well.
Has your opinion changed at all since you’ve had a little distance from making it?
No, I like the album. You always criticize it somewhere along the line, saying, ‘We should have done this, we should have done that.’ But it’s
what it is and we’re onward to the next one now (laughs).
The next one?
(Laughs) No.
In terms of putting the record together and capturing the band’s vibe and all that, how was that different from not only the three songs for
The Dio Years, but in general?
It’s been just great. We had a comfortable time doing it. My idea doing this album was to be able to do it sort of live, to be in the studio and
play live without having to keep going over and over it. We wrote the songs and then rehearsed them and then went into the studio so we could
capture them pretty quick and capture them live instead of having to redo this and redo that and redo the other. It worked really well. I
thought the whole process really worked comfortably. Quick.
Having worked with so many different people, so many musicians and singers, do you adapt your playing style at all, or is it just riffs and then
the song comes together?
Usually it’s just riffs, depending on who you’re working with. Certainly with Ronnie I know what the style is going to be and we work together
to make the song and all come up with a riff and that’s initially how it starts. Whoever comes up with a riff that we all like and then we’ll
make it into a song. Ronnie’ll start singing on a riff and then we’ll look for another section to fit and it sort of builds up that way and all the
ideas are thrown in to help.
Comparing someone like Ronnie to Glenn Hughes and working with different kinds of singers, does that affect what you’re feeling to write?
I think it’s a matter of the way of writing, because each singer has different ways. Glenn may hear something or Ronnie may hear something
that another singer probably wouldn’t on a particular riff. Some of the songs when I was working with Glenn before, there was a couple of
things he picked that I wouldn’t have thought he’d sing on that he did. It’s good because it sends you to another way of writing. They may
hear something over a certain riff that you wouldn’t think they would and you sort of go, ‘Oh, that’s good, that’s interesting.’ Each one has
their own different ways.
Speaking of Ronnie, something occurred to me listening to the song ‘Rock And Roll Angel.’ When a song is all put together and Ronnie comes back
with the lyrics and it says, ‘Caravan To Superman’ and all that kind of stuff, do you ever just ask him what the hell he’s talking about?
(Laughs) Yeah. He usually comes along and says, ‘I’ve got this idea,’ and he explains it. He’s usually quite good. He has a way of explaining
what he’s singing about. We do leave that to Ronnie. I certainly don’t get involved in doing lyrics, that’s for sure. I’m quite content doing all
the riffs and the rest of the stuff.
A lot of guitarists give into that temptation, and you never really have.
No, not really. I could get involved with melody lines, but I don’t really get involved with the lyrics. Certainly in the old stuff, when we’d done
the Ozzy stuff, he used to follow the riff a lot, ‘Iron Man’ and certain other songs he followed the riff. He sang the same as the riff. But as
far as any kind of lyrical thing, I don’t get involved.
Maybe it just doesn’t matter at this point, but in terms of dealing with expectations, there’s the myth of Tony Iommi and there’s the guy who
needs to sit there and write these riffs and go on tour. Are you conscious of what people expect from you and the band when you’re writing?
Well yes. They expect something of a high level, and I do myself. I try and do the best I can at that time and I wouldn’t expect any less.
You have to go out and try and do the best you can, hoping that people are going to like it. You do have expectations to keep up with.
Is how something might be received a factor when you’re writing and arranging the songs?
No, how the writing is, is we agree we all have to like it. We have to feel it. You don’t think, ‘Oh, are people going to like this?’ You don’t
really think like that because you have to write how you feel and you have to like it. You have to do it from your feelings. If I started
writing for other people, I’d probably be doing pop stuff. Years ago, people’d say, ‘You shouldn’t be playing this stuff, you should be playing
more commercial stuff.’ If I listened to them, god knows what I’d be playing. I have my own mind of what I want it to sound like.
Did you have that vision going into this record? Did you know what you wanted beforehand?
I knew I wanted to do an album that we kept it basic and with a lot of riffs, and that’s really the way I write. In fact, talking about a lot
of riffs, I was with Brian May a couple weeks ago and he happened to say, ‘How do you come out with so many riffs?’ I don’t know, that’s
what I do, and you can never sort of answer it.
You guys just did Wacken and other festivals. How was Europe?
Really good. Very good. They’ve all been good. The only thing that was a bit of a downside was the weather. We hit a couple of ones that it
pissed down rain and we done one in England on Saturday and it was 50,000 people and 10 minutes before we went on, it decided to open the
skies and really pour down. But the crowd were great. It’s just a shame it gets like that. Certainly in Europe you tend to get hot. But they
were good, Wacken was good. There were 85,000 people.
Do you know what you’re doing after this U.S. run?
After this U.S. run, yes, we’re going to have some time off. I’ve got to have an operation on my hand, and that’s sort of a major thing I need
to get done and I’ve been putting it off now. So we’re going to have some time off while I get that done. That’ll be a bit of a break, I think.
Not for everybody, but it’ll be some time off from touring for me for sure.
What happened to your hand?
The cartilage is gone from the thumb in my fingering hand. It’s been like that now, to be honest, for a year and I’ve been taking anti-
inflammatories and all sorts of stuff to try and calm it down, but it’s inevitable I’ve got to have the operation because the bone is rubbing on
the bone. Funny enough, I talked to Eddie Van Halen this morning, because he’s had the same sort of problem, so I’m seeing him to have a
chat about what happened to him. He thinks it’s very successful, so we’ll see. (Courtesy of www.theaquarian.com; article by JJ Koczan)
metal three decades ago. And for that, we’re thankful.
But there’s more to them than iconic status and major market touring (though they will be at MSG Aug. 25 and in Atlantic City Aug. 29), and
Tony Iommi Himself graciously granted some of his time for a phoner to field queries he’s no doubt heard thousands of times before in order
that the word might get out. We’re pretty thankful for that too.
Now that the album has been out for a while and people have had a chance to digest it, have you gotten a sense at the shows of how the
audience has taken to the new material?
Yeah, actually. The new songs we’ve been playing have been going down very well. ‘Bible Black,’ ‘Fear,’ they’ve been going down very well.
Has your opinion changed at all since you’ve had a little distance from making it?
No, I like the album. You always criticize it somewhere along the line, saying, ‘We should have done this, we should have done that.’ But it’s
what it is and we’re onward to the next one now (laughs).
The next one?
(Laughs) No.
In terms of putting the record together and capturing the band’s vibe and all that, how was that different from not only the three songs for
The Dio Years, but in general?
It’s been just great. We had a comfortable time doing it. My idea doing this album was to be able to do it sort of live, to be in the studio and
play live without having to keep going over and over it. We wrote the songs and then rehearsed them and then went into the studio so we could
capture them pretty quick and capture them live instead of having to redo this and redo that and redo the other. It worked really well. I
thought the whole process really worked comfortably. Quick.
Having worked with so many different people, so many musicians and singers, do you adapt your playing style at all, or is it just riffs and then
the song comes together?
Usually it’s just riffs, depending on who you’re working with. Certainly with Ronnie I know what the style is going to be and we work together
to make the song and all come up with a riff and that’s initially how it starts. Whoever comes up with a riff that we all like and then we’ll
make it into a song. Ronnie’ll start singing on a riff and then we’ll look for another section to fit and it sort of builds up that way and all the
ideas are thrown in to help.
Comparing someone like Ronnie to Glenn Hughes and working with different kinds of singers, does that affect what you’re feeling to write?
I think it’s a matter of the way of writing, because each singer has different ways. Glenn may hear something or Ronnie may hear something
that another singer probably wouldn’t on a particular riff. Some of the songs when I was working with Glenn before, there was a couple of
things he picked that I wouldn’t have thought he’d sing on that he did. It’s good because it sends you to another way of writing. They may
hear something over a certain riff that you wouldn’t think they would and you sort of go, ‘Oh, that’s good, that’s interesting.’ Each one has
their own different ways.
Speaking of Ronnie, something occurred to me listening to the song ‘Rock And Roll Angel.’ When a song is all put together and Ronnie comes back
with the lyrics and it says, ‘Caravan To Superman’ and all that kind of stuff, do you ever just ask him what the hell he’s talking about?
(Laughs) Yeah. He usually comes along and says, ‘I’ve got this idea,’ and he explains it. He’s usually quite good. He has a way of explaining
what he’s singing about. We do leave that to Ronnie. I certainly don’t get involved in doing lyrics, that’s for sure. I’m quite content doing all
the riffs and the rest of the stuff.
A lot of guitarists give into that temptation, and you never really have.
No, not really. I could get involved with melody lines, but I don’t really get involved with the lyrics. Certainly in the old stuff, when we’d done
the Ozzy stuff, he used to follow the riff a lot, ‘Iron Man’ and certain other songs he followed the riff. He sang the same as the riff. But as
far as any kind of lyrical thing, I don’t get involved.
Maybe it just doesn’t matter at this point, but in terms of dealing with expectations, there’s the myth of Tony Iommi and there’s the guy who
needs to sit there and write these riffs and go on tour. Are you conscious of what people expect from you and the band when you’re writing?
Well yes. They expect something of a high level, and I do myself. I try and do the best I can at that time and I wouldn’t expect any less.
You have to go out and try and do the best you can, hoping that people are going to like it. You do have expectations to keep up with.
Is how something might be received a factor when you’re writing and arranging the songs?
No, how the writing is, is we agree we all have to like it. We have to feel it. You don’t think, ‘Oh, are people going to like this?’ You don’t
really think like that because you have to write how you feel and you have to like it. You have to do it from your feelings. If I started
writing for other people, I’d probably be doing pop stuff. Years ago, people’d say, ‘You shouldn’t be playing this stuff, you should be playing
more commercial stuff.’ If I listened to them, god knows what I’d be playing. I have my own mind of what I want it to sound like.
Did you have that vision going into this record? Did you know what you wanted beforehand?
I knew I wanted to do an album that we kept it basic and with a lot of riffs, and that’s really the way I write. In fact, talking about a lot
of riffs, I was with Brian May a couple weeks ago and he happened to say, ‘How do you come out with so many riffs?’ I don’t know, that’s
what I do, and you can never sort of answer it.
You guys just did Wacken and other festivals. How was Europe?
Really good. Very good. They’ve all been good. The only thing that was a bit of a downside was the weather. We hit a couple of ones that it
pissed down rain and we done one in England on Saturday and it was 50,000 people and 10 minutes before we went on, it decided to open the
skies and really pour down. But the crowd were great. It’s just a shame it gets like that. Certainly in Europe you tend to get hot. But they
were good, Wacken was good. There were 85,000 people.
Do you know what you’re doing after this U.S. run?
After this U.S. run, yes, we’re going to have some time off. I’ve got to have an operation on my hand, and that’s sort of a major thing I need
to get done and I’ve been putting it off now. So we’re going to have some time off while I get that done. That’ll be a bit of a break, I think.
Not for everybody, but it’ll be some time off from touring for me for sure.
What happened to your hand?
The cartilage is gone from the thumb in my fingering hand. It’s been like that now, to be honest, for a year and I’ve been taking anti-
inflammatories and all sorts of stuff to try and calm it down, but it’s inevitable I’ve got to have the operation because the bone is rubbing on
the bone. Funny enough, I talked to Eddie Van Halen this morning, because he’s had the same sort of problem, so I’m seeing him to have a
chat about what happened to him. He thinks it’s very successful, so we’ll see. (Courtesy of www.theaquarian.com; article by JJ Koczan)
