| Rockin' News for August 29, 2009 |
Dave Grohl: Behind the kit again with Them Crooked Vultures
(Pic: Danny North)
(Pic: Danny North)
Them Crooked Vultures play surprise Leeds Festival show
Them Crooked Vultures made a surprise appearance at the Leeds Festival this
afternoon (August 28), playing an unannounced set on the NME/Radio 1 Stage.
The band – Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led
Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, along with guitarist Alain Johannes – had kept their
appearance a secret, not confirming they were playing until just hours before the show.
Rumours had circulated about their possible appearance since the band played a surprise
support slot with Arctic Monkeys – who headline in Leeds tonight – in London earlier in
the week (August 26).
Them Crooked Vultures made a surprise appearance at the Leeds Festival this
afternoon (August 28), playing an unannounced set on the NME/Radio 1 Stage.
The band – Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led
Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, along with guitarist Alain Johannes – had kept their
appearance a secret, not confirming they were playing until just hours before the show.
Rumours had circulated about their possible appearance since the band played a surprise
support slot with Arctic Monkeys – who headline in Leeds tonight – in London earlier in
the week (August 26).
At around 4pm (BST) a drum kit with Them Crooked Vultures' logo was wheeled onto the stage, prompting cheers from fans. 15 minutes later
the four-piece walked on stage to even louder cheers.
"We're Michael Jackson," Homme joked before launching into the set. "I feel good, do you feel alright?" he later asked the crowd, before
bigging up Spinnerette – the band featuring his wife Brody Dalle - who played earlier.
He also praised Eagles Of Death Metal, the band he formed with singer and guitarist Jesse Hughes, but who he did not play with today when
they performed earlier on the Main Stage.
Homme later introduced his new band, prompting the loudest cheers of the set when he introduced Grohl on drums – who grinned and poured a
bottle of water over his head.
John Paul Jones, who also earned huge cheers when his name was called, played keyboard at the end of 'Daffodils' following the 'Dead End
Friends', 'Gunman', 'Mind Eraser (No Chaser)' and 'Caligulover'.
"Have a good time - that's why you paid your money, that's why you're camping, that's why we're here, that's why you're all totally high
right now," Homme told the crowd before heading off, ending with set closers 'New Fang' and the epic 'Nobody Loves Me (And Neither Do I)'.
(Courtesy of nme.com)
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the four-piece walked on stage to even louder cheers.
"We're Michael Jackson," Homme joked before launching into the set. "I feel good, do you feel alright?" he later asked the crowd, before
bigging up Spinnerette – the band featuring his wife Brody Dalle - who played earlier.
He also praised Eagles Of Death Metal, the band he formed with singer and guitarist Jesse Hughes, but who he did not play with today when
they performed earlier on the Main Stage.
Homme later introduced his new band, prompting the loudest cheers of the set when he introduced Grohl on drums – who grinned and poured a
bottle of water over his head.
John Paul Jones, who also earned huge cheers when his name was called, played keyboard at the end of 'Daffodils' following the 'Dead End
Friends', 'Gunman', 'Mind Eraser (No Chaser)' and 'Caligulover'.
"Have a good time - that's why you paid your money, that's why you're camping, that's why we're here, that's why you're all totally high
right now," Homme told the crowd before heading off, ending with set closers 'New Fang' and the epic 'Nobody Loves Me (And Neither Do I)'.
(Courtesy of nme.com)
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Slash, Les Paul and the guitar that defines rock.
SLASH To Pay Tribute To LES PAUL With New 'Appetite' Guitar
Guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) has revealed via his Twitter page that
he is currently working with the technicians at the Gibson guitar-manufacturing company on a new
Les Paul signature model.
Says the top-hatted axeman: "We're going to call the new Les Paul Slash model the 'Appetite'
guitar. It is modeled after the guitar I recorded that album [GUNS N' ROSES' classic 1987 LP,
'Appetite For Destruction'] [and] it will be my tribute to Les Paul, the man and mentor."
In an interview with L.A. Weekly, Slash spoke about Les Paul:
Guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) has revealed via his Twitter page that
he is currently working with the technicians at the Gibson guitar-manufacturing company on a new
Les Paul signature model.
Says the top-hatted axeman: "We're going to call the new Les Paul Slash model the 'Appetite'
guitar. It is modeled after the guitar I recorded that album [GUNS N' ROSES' classic 1987 LP,
'Appetite For Destruction'] [and] it will be my tribute to Les Paul, the man and mentor."
In an interview with L.A. Weekly, Slash spoke about Les Paul:
Slash: Les Paul invented the guitar that I use. The first guitar I ever got was a Les Paul copy [laughs]. First and foremost, he's an amazing
fucking musician and jazz guitar payer, but he also invented a whole bunch of recording techniques that we use: reverb, multi-tracking,
overdubbing, echo, delay... He invented them because they didn't make them back then. He thought he needed different things so he built
them. He was a total fuckin' maverick. He was awesome. I've known him since 1991. The first time I met him I jammed with him at the
club where he had a residency, Fat Tuesdays, in New York. Meeting and jamming with an icon like that was pretty overwhelming. He promptly
just wiped the stage floor up with me [laughs], you know? It was one of those humbling experiences.
But he sort of took me under his wing after that and we became friends. I would always gauge my progress as a guitar player by how well I
did jamming with Les on any given day. [Laughs] He was like the barometer for my evolution as a guitar player. It's an honor for me to have
Les Paul models with my name on it. He's going to be missed. He was such a great guy, really warm, funny, very to the point, didn't mess
around, didn't mince words, but had a really great heart and tons of energy. He was one of those people that set out to do something and
accomplished things. He didn't sit around and wait for things to happen; he just went for it. He lived to be 94, always stayed true to his
school as a musician, and kept inventing the whole time. He was a landmark influence on all us young musicians [laughs]. One of the reasons
Jeff Beck, one of my favorites, is such a bitchin' guitar player is because he was so heavily influenced by Les Paul. I'm just paying tribute to
the guy.
L.A. Weekly: Are there any particularly memorable moments that stand out above the others from when you'd hang out or jam together?
Slash: I just had a gig with him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few months ago, a tribute to Les Paul, where a dozen guitar players all
got together and jammed and then Les played at the end of the show. It was really one of those special events where some phenomenal guitar
players got together and each one of them did their own little show, [laughs] including myself... it was another humbling experience... and when
all that was done, Les got up there. And this is only a few months ago, so at 94 years old he gets up there and makes jokes into the
microphone and has his whole band with him and fuckin' plays phenomenally. For the last 60 years he's had this major influence on guitar
playing and the recording industry. So there he is, this little guy, so fuckin' full of life and vibrant and doesn't seem 94 years old, jamming
out to this huge audience. It was really a special moment... it's hard for me to verbally explain it. Les was the kind of guy that anytime you
were in his presence, he was always very upbeat, always cracking jokes, always making comments about the women present...
L.A. Weekly: [Laughs]
Slash: Very polite but very perverted at the same time, you know? [Laughs] The fact that he took a liking to me and took me under his wing
was a huge honor. We always talked on the phone and that kind of stuff. It was special. It's important for kids to know who Les was because
when I first started playing, I thought Les Paul was the name of a guitar. I didn't know it was a real person until I learned from guys like
Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Obviously from that point on I researched and then finally got to meet him. Kids nowadays don't
even really know that kind of history but it's important to have an understanding of that delay pedal that you're using and where the original
concept came from [laughs]. Whenever you hear guitar harmonies recorded, like Brian May used to record harmonies on all of Queen's records,
that was all Les Paul stuff. He invented the technique where you could layer guitars. Before that people just had to play live and that was it.
I would have loved to have seen him again but at the same time he was such a great example of a life fully lived that everybody should just
celebrate the fact that a human being could have such a great life and accomplish so much. You can never complain about being bored when you
think about a guy like Les Paul, you know? (Courtesy of blogs.laweekly.com and blabbermouth.net)
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
fucking musician and jazz guitar payer, but he also invented a whole bunch of recording techniques that we use: reverb, multi-tracking,
overdubbing, echo, delay... He invented them because they didn't make them back then. He thought he needed different things so he built
them. He was a total fuckin' maverick. He was awesome. I've known him since 1991. The first time I met him I jammed with him at the
club where he had a residency, Fat Tuesdays, in New York. Meeting and jamming with an icon like that was pretty overwhelming. He promptly
just wiped the stage floor up with me [laughs], you know? It was one of those humbling experiences.
But he sort of took me under his wing after that and we became friends. I would always gauge my progress as a guitar player by how well I
did jamming with Les on any given day. [Laughs] He was like the barometer for my evolution as a guitar player. It's an honor for me to have
Les Paul models with my name on it. He's going to be missed. He was such a great guy, really warm, funny, very to the point, didn't mess
around, didn't mince words, but had a really great heart and tons of energy. He was one of those people that set out to do something and
accomplished things. He didn't sit around and wait for things to happen; he just went for it. He lived to be 94, always stayed true to his
school as a musician, and kept inventing the whole time. He was a landmark influence on all us young musicians [laughs]. One of the reasons
Jeff Beck, one of my favorites, is such a bitchin' guitar player is because he was so heavily influenced by Les Paul. I'm just paying tribute to
the guy.
L.A. Weekly: Are there any particularly memorable moments that stand out above the others from when you'd hang out or jam together?
Slash: I just had a gig with him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few months ago, a tribute to Les Paul, where a dozen guitar players all
got together and jammed and then Les played at the end of the show. It was really one of those special events where some phenomenal guitar
players got together and each one of them did their own little show, [laughs] including myself... it was another humbling experience... and when
all that was done, Les got up there. And this is only a few months ago, so at 94 years old he gets up there and makes jokes into the
microphone and has his whole band with him and fuckin' plays phenomenally. For the last 60 years he's had this major influence on guitar
playing and the recording industry. So there he is, this little guy, so fuckin' full of life and vibrant and doesn't seem 94 years old, jamming
out to this huge audience. It was really a special moment... it's hard for me to verbally explain it. Les was the kind of guy that anytime you
were in his presence, he was always very upbeat, always cracking jokes, always making comments about the women present...
L.A. Weekly: [Laughs]
Slash: Very polite but very perverted at the same time, you know? [Laughs] The fact that he took a liking to me and took me under his wing
was a huge honor. We always talked on the phone and that kind of stuff. It was special. It's important for kids to know who Les was because
when I first started playing, I thought Les Paul was the name of a guitar. I didn't know it was a real person until I learned from guys like
Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Obviously from that point on I researched and then finally got to meet him. Kids nowadays don't
even really know that kind of history but it's important to have an understanding of that delay pedal that you're using and where the original
concept came from [laughs]. Whenever you hear guitar harmonies recorded, like Brian May used to record harmonies on all of Queen's records,
that was all Les Paul stuff. He invented the technique where you could layer guitars. Before that people just had to play live and that was it.
I would have loved to have seen him again but at the same time he was such a great example of a life fully lived that everybody should just
celebrate the fact that a human being could have such a great life and accomplish so much. You can never complain about being bored when you
think about a guy like Les Paul, you know? (Courtesy of blogs.laweekly.com and blabbermouth.net)
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Rob Zombie will be behind the camera for his interpretation of the '58 classic
"The Blob."
"The Blob."
Rob Zombie to remake 'The Blob'
Director sets a sci-fi redo of the 1958 horror film
After reviving the "Halloween" franchise, Rob Zombie will next reinvent "The Blob."
Zombie will write, direct and produce a remake of the 1958 horror classic that
launched the career of Steve McQueen. Production will begin next spring.
Zombie's deal to make "The Blob" his next film comes as Dimension opens
"Halloween II," the Zombie-directed sequel to his 2007 hit "Halloween."
In the original "Blob," an object from space crashes into a field, containing a red
blob-like substance that absorbs the humans it contacts and grows exponentially.
Director sets a sci-fi redo of the 1958 horror film
After reviving the "Halloween" franchise, Rob Zombie will next reinvent "The Blob."
Zombie will write, direct and produce a remake of the 1958 horror classic that
launched the career of Steve McQueen. Production will begin next spring.
Zombie's deal to make "The Blob" his next film comes as Dimension opens
"Halloween II," the Zombie-directed sequel to his 2007 hit "Halloween."
In the original "Blob," an object from space crashes into a field, containing a red
blob-like substance that absorbs the humans it contacts and grows exponentially.
While Zombie was a fan of the original, he's formulated a decidedly different take that he would not reveal.
"My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing -- that's the first thing I want to change," Zombie said. "That gigantic Jello-looking thing
might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now."
Zombie will produce with Genre Co.'s Richard Saperstein and Brian Witten; original "Blob" producer Jack H. Harris; and Judith Parker Harris
of Worldwide Entertainment Corp. and Andy Gould.
Saperstein, the former Dimension Films president who developed a relationship with Zombie while they worked on "Halloween," said that
funding is in place to make an R-rated film that will cost around $30 million. The budget model is similar to that of recent fright fare like
"Cloverfield" and "District 9," and they expect to firm a distribution deal before production begins. Genre Co. is in pre-production on the
independently financed, Darren Bousman-directed remake "Mother's Day."
"I'd been looking to break out of the horror genre, and this really is a science fiction movie about a thing from outer space," Zombie said. "I
intend to make it scary, and the great thing is I have the freedom once again to take it in any crazy direction I want to."
Zombie has begun writing. He'll follow the release of "Halloween II" with a new album and tour this fall and get the script done at that time.
Shara Kay and Jeremy Platt will be "Blob" co-producers, and David Mendez is exec producer.
Zombie’s repped by ICM and managed by Spectacle Entertainment’s Andy Gould. (Courtesy of variety.com; article by Michael Flemming)
"My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing -- that's the first thing I want to change," Zombie said. "That gigantic Jello-looking thing
might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now."
Zombie will produce with Genre Co.'s Richard Saperstein and Brian Witten; original "Blob" producer Jack H. Harris; and Judith Parker Harris
of Worldwide Entertainment Corp. and Andy Gould.
Saperstein, the former Dimension Films president who developed a relationship with Zombie while they worked on "Halloween," said that
funding is in place to make an R-rated film that will cost around $30 million. The budget model is similar to that of recent fright fare like
"Cloverfield" and "District 9," and they expect to firm a distribution deal before production begins. Genre Co. is in pre-production on the
independently financed, Darren Bousman-directed remake "Mother's Day."
"I'd been looking to break out of the horror genre, and this really is a science fiction movie about a thing from outer space," Zombie said. "I
intend to make it scary, and the great thing is I have the freedom once again to take it in any crazy direction I want to."
Zombie has begun writing. He'll follow the release of "Halloween II" with a new album and tour this fall and get the script done at that time.
Shara Kay and Jeremy Platt will be "Blob" co-producers, and David Mendez is exec producer.
Zombie’s repped by ICM and managed by Spectacle Entertainment’s Andy Gould. (Courtesy of variety.com; article by Michael Flemming)