NYS Music 20​16

Author: Chad Vergine

  • Of Mice and Men Band Members Respond to the Departure of Carlile

    News had spread that frontman for Of Mice and Men, Austin Carlile, has stepped down from the band that he helped start up in Orange County, California back in 2009 due to his ongoing battle with Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue in the body, making Carlile vulnerable to illness at a moments notice.  Carlile stated that the disease, is now making it hard for him to scream, and could suffer permanent damage.

    of mice and men carlileCarlile stated that he will continue to write music as he heals and rests in Costa Rica, where he now resides, and that the band would not seek a replacement, and continue as a quartet.

    Hours after Carlile explained in a lengthy post on social media to fans about the reasons of his departure from Of Mice & Men, his bandmates, released this statement on social media:

    Dear Of Mice & Men Fans,
    It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Austin’s departure from the band for reasons pertaining to his health. As many of you are aware, Austin suffers from a rare connective tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome & has been struggling with the physical demands of touring since the band began.

    After his most recent series of surgeries at Stanford University Hospital, following the cancellation of our European headlining tour, his team of doctors informed him of the damage that performing, & more specifically his aggressive vocals, have been causing his body. They warned that if he were to continue on doing so, it would cause permanent & irrevocable damage to his spine & nervous system.

    Following the advice from his team of specialists, Austin decided it best that he step away from the band & change his lifestyle to better his health. Though we’re heartbroken that he can no longer continue, his health has always been of utmost importance to us & we support him now in this decision & are proud of his perseverance over the years.

    We’ve had an amazing & unforgettable past few years making music & touring the world together & the 4 of us look forward to sharing the next chapter of the band’s story with you. All previously announced shows will proceed as planned & we thank you for your continued love & support. We couldn’t do this without all of you! See you real soon.

    -Aaron, Alan, Phil & Valentino

    Carlile’s full Twitter statement can be read below. He touches all the grateful experiences he has had throughout his career, to the reason why he must step away from singing, and what the future holds.

    of mice and men carlile

  • Rare Layne Staley Recordings Up for Auction

    Blabbermouth reports that the rare recordings that surfaced earlier this year of now deceased Alice In Chains front man Layne Staley, have been put up for auction on ebay by Ron Holt. The auction ends Friday Dec. 30 around 6 p.m. ET The recordings are from a project titled 40 Years Of Hate, that Staley and Holt, who is a Seattle-based musician and songwriter, worked on before Staley’s AIC days.

    The post has a $5000 price tag with a current bid, as of this writing of $1,025. There is a reserve bid on the item as well, which has not been met, and most likely close to the $5000 dollar price tag.

    This auction is for the recordings only, and not the publishing rights to the unfinished tracks. Holt will take separate offers for publishing rights. There are six tracks in all, although earlier reports this past May by Blabbermouth have said that there were eight unreleased recordings found and were being restored and mixed by Seattle-based audio designer Jesse Holt. With the name connection, could those be the tracks in question, or separate recordings?  One of the rumored songs “Things You Do,” is not listed as part of the track listing. Holt never made it clear who his source is for the Staley tracks, or if they would see the light of day.

    Alternate mixes of two of the tracks “Party People,” and “I Don’t Care,” have surfaced on YouTube.  Also the track, “It’s Coming After,” was released by the band Second Coming, which featured former AIC members James Bergstrom and Johnny Bacolas.

    The item description posted on ebay is as follows:

    Up for sale is a rare one of a kind item. This is a 1 inch 16 track studio master from 1988 featuring Layne Staley of Alice in Chains. Prior to Alice n Chains, Layne Staley worked with Seattle musician and songwriter Ron Holt on a project they called ’40 Years of Hate’. The band featured former AIC member James Bergstrom, up and coming Seattle drumming talent Davis Martin, Ron Holt, Layne and Jerry Cantrell.  The music was a mix of industrial, rock and funk rock. The songs were never fully recorded and exist here in an unfinished state. Jerry Cantrell was slated to play guitar on this session but never did. Jerry played on the 4 track demos of these songs. So the tracks that were recorded were: bass guitar, synthesizers and drum machine programming – Ron Holt, drums – James Bergstrom, percussion – Davis Martin, back up vocals by the group and then a track of time code on track 8.
    There are 6 songs with Layne’s singing.

    Party People
    It’s Coming After (Released on Second Coming’s L.O.V.Evil CD) 
    Throw Me Down
    Tell Me How To Love You
    Dance It Up
    I Don’t Care

    The songs were digitized years ago. Alternate mixes of these songs were leaked onto YouTube. The songs I Don’t Care and Party People can be found there. The song It’s Coming After was released by Seattle band Second Coming featuring Jesse Holt, former AIC members James Bergstrom and Johnny Bacolas.

    This is an extremely rare item. The tape was baked once and digitized. The digitized tracks exist and can be made part of the sale. But publishing rights are not a part of this sale. Are NOT. This auction is for the physical tape and box only. Offers on the songs themselves will be considered. 

    Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Thank you for your curiosity and love for Layne. 

  • Phil Finger Death Punch, a Possible Glimpse Into The Future

    All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte has come up from the “Righteous Side Of Hell,” to help save the boys in Five Finger Death Punch from being on the “Wrong Side Of Heaven,” due to the band’s erratic troubled frontman Ivan Moody, to save the rest of the band’s co-headlining tour with Shinedown, a tour that also features Sixx: A.M., and As Lions.

    phil finger death punchLabonte, who is good friends with Moody, stepped up and filled in on Dec. 1 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, doing a tremendous job in the process. Joining Labonte in helping save the tour for FFDP and their fans were Sixx: A.M. frontman James Michael and As Lions singer Austin Dickinson (son of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), lending their vocals during FFDP’s set. Phil will continue the vocal duties for Five Finger Death Punch for the remainder of the tour. There has been speculation that this could be an audition for Labonte to replace Moody for an extended period of time or even permanently.

    Moody stated on Nov. 29 to Syracuse, NY fans inside the Oncenter, that they would see the real Ivan Moody tonight. He went on and said that with all the social media outlets out there, that his life is exposed, and can’t seem to get away from people fabricating stories about him.

    One of those “fabricated” stories came days earlier in Worcester, MA, when Moody stated to the crowd that his mother was passing away as he was onstage, and cut the concert short. Bassist Chris Kael was left with the mop up duties, apologizing to the crowd for the early departure. In an odd twist, Moody’s sister stated that their mother was not ailing nor anyone else in their family, for that matter. This prompted Moody’s statement at the band’s Newark, NJ show that the mother he was referring to was his “House Mother” from rehab.

    During the same show, Moody, who has revealed his thoughts about Kanye West in the past, compared himself to the hip hop star, stating that he now “Get’s it” when it comes to the “mental breakdown” that West is has currently been hospitalized for, after West went on various verbal tirades during his live shows and cutting concerts short. Two days later, Ivan Moody is on the shelf due to illness and off the rest of the tour.

    Moody had his famous Memphis meltdown back in May of 2015, where he apparently angered drummer Jeremy Spencer with a comment he made over the mic about Spencer’s book, prompting Spencer and the rest of the band to leave Moody by himself on stage. Days later, the band stated that there was nothing wrong with Moody, or the band, and blamed poor sound equipment as the reason why they had cut their set short.

    It has been no secret, as reported previously by NYS Music, that the band is being sued by their record label, Prospect Park. Some of the reasons stated in the lawsuit include that the band doesn’t care for Moody’s well-being and that they are trying to cash in before Moody has a complete meltdown, or even worse, dies. With his past and recent actions, Prospect Park could be onto something when it comes to Moody’s well-being.

    Fans, music insiders and music executives believe that, without Moody, there is no FFDP, and with all his recent  seemingly “I’m untouchable” behavior over the past couple of years, Moody must feel the same.  Moody’s recent behaviors suggest a desperate need for an extended break from touring, the music industry, and the limelight.

    Eventually, the band will have to draw the line with Moody’s recent actions and do what’s best for FFDP moving forward. Whether they move on with Labonte or someone else, or force Moody to take a break.

    With all that being said, Labonte has the goods to deliver the songs in FFDP fashion on stage, but does he has the raw charismatic edgy appeal that Moody possess, and that fans crave and love about Moody?

    When it come’s to what’s next in the Ivan Moody/FFDP saga”All That Remains” is, wait and see.

    https://youtu.be/OdOqi03fbds

    Remaining Five Finger Death Punch/Shinedown Tour Dates:

    12-08 – Amway Arena – Orlando, FL
    12-09 – Amalie Arena – Tampa, FL
    12-10 – Infinite Energy Center – Duluth, GA

  • Avenged Sevenfold Surprises Fans with New Album Drop, Pop-Up Shows

    With the holiday season rapidly approaching, Avenged Sevenfold has decided to play Santa Claus, and give A7X fans an early Christmas present in the form of the band’s new seventh studio album The Stage. The music world was going crazy after the band’s virtual performance on top of the Capital Records building in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.

    An announcement that the band was working on a new CD would have been great news, but with all the hints that A7X has been showing the past couple of weeks, fans had a feeling something huge was around the corner.

    Others in the music business have released an album in this fashion before, but only through a digital media source. Avenged Sevenfold fans can head right out and pick up a physical copy of The Stage at any record store.

    Since the announcement, Sirius/XM Octane has been playing tracks off the new album with intro’s by A7X frontman M. Shadows. Shadows recently had an interview with Sirius/Xm’s rock and metal DJ Jose Mangin, to talk about how the release came about.

    Mangin showed some love to A7X for breaking the mold for an album release. He asked Shadows the reason why the band decided to go this route to release the new album:

    There’s a million reasons, but I guess the most prominent reason would be just the lack of, you know, originality in the way people are releasing records these days. The internet is so quick, things happen instantly. When your parents have iPhones, and they know everything that’s going on, you know everyone is connected and you can do something like this and the word is gonna get out there. A lot of it has to do with our boredom of having to go through three to four singles before you get to the record release, and then three months later it’s finally out, and all the excitement is gone. We just wanted to give the fans the cherry on top right off the bat and just say, here it is. You thought that we were messing around for a year, but we’ve been working.

    A lot of bands, you’re hearing what people are saying. You know their reviewing this, you’re hearing the vibe of the record before you even get to hear the music and that’s just wrong to me. Like I want people to make their own decision. Listen to the music and figure it out for yourself instead of being fed the press release. Like, this is what its going to sound like and it’s our favorite most melodic heaviest thing ever. It’s just so boring at this point.

    After Mangin plugged all the ways on media you can hear the album, he wanted to confirm that fans could purchase a physical copy immediately from retailers. Shadows replied:

    Well that’s the craziest thing, Props to Capitol Records for being able to pull that off. This is the first surprise release that actually has a  physical release with it. You know when you talk about Radiohead or Kanye (West) or Beyoncé, it was all digital, but we’ve been able to sneak records into the stores. So you can go anywhere and pick it up now.

    After joking with Shadows about hiding the new album with a fake cover or labels, Shadows confessed, “We definitely had some fake labels going around, and we also had (Chris) Jericho’s fake album title.”

    A7X set up pop up shops in New York and Los Angeles over the Halloween weekend to celebrate the release and for fans to get their hands on some A7X merch.

    The Stage Tracklist:

    01. The Stage
    02. Paradigm
    03. Sunny Disposition
    04. God Damn
    05. Creating God
    06. Angels
    07. Simulation
    08. Higher
    09. Roman Sky
    10. Fermi Paradox
    11. Exist

  • Justin Bieber Walks Off Stage During Manchester Concert

    Justin Bieber had another meltdown of sorts during a performance on his Purpose World Tour in Manchester, England Sunday night, E News reports. Having had enough with fans screaming in between songs, Bieber addressed his overzealous Belieber’s sincerely to please calm down. After the crowd seemed to ignore what the singer was saying, Bieber dropped the mic as he walks off stage.

    He returned a minute later to again sincerely address the crowd and explain that he wanted fans to tone it down a bit so he can connect with them more. As fans still screamed, Bieber went on to say that he won’t talk anymore and that he is just gonna play music because the crowd can’t handle it.

    The pop star had the same thing happen to him in Birmingham days earlier, and had to address the crowd about their noise level, asking them if they could relax for two seconds. He also said to the crowd that he is two feet away and that their screaming is obnoxious.

    Many videos of the incident in Manchester have hit social media. Bieber stated before he walked off the stage:

    I appreciate all the support. I appreciate love. I appreciate the kind things. But the screaming in these breaks has got to stop. Please and thank you. I don’t think it’s necessary when I’m trying to say something and you guys are screaming.

    After a quick breather, Bieber returned and told the fans:

    I’m not quite sure, you know, why you guys came tonight. I hope it was to enjoy our company as well as me enjoying your company. I feel like I wanna connect with you. The point of the no-screaming thing is that when I’m looking at you in the eyes you know that we’re actually having a moment and having a connection. It’s not that I’m trying to be an asshole, it’s me just simply wanting to have a moment. Manchester, you are awesome. We’re just going to do the music. Obviously Manchester just can’t handle it, so let’s do the music.

    In other Bieber news, DJ Mags 2016 #1 DJ in the world, Martin Garrix will join Bieber’s tour on all Australian dates in 2017. This past May, Bieber announced on his Instagram that he will no longer take pictures with fans. He posted:
    If you happen to see me out somewhere know that I’m not gonna take a picture I’m done taking pictures. It has gotten to the point that people won’t even say hi to me or recognize me as a human, I feel like a zoo animal, and I wanna be able to keep my sanity.

  • Godsmack on Hiatus, New Album on Hold Until 20 Year Anniversary in 2018

    Godsmack fans who were hoping for a new album from Sully and the boys will get exactly what they wanted. A new album. What fans didn’t want though is, that they are going to have to patiently wait until sometime in 2018 to get their ears on the band’s seventh studio effort. 2018 also marks the 20th anniversary of Godsmack’s debut album.

    20150506-Godsmack-24

    Godsmack frontman, Sully Erna, recently sat down with Roxy Myzal of HardDrive Radio Blabbermouth reports, and talked about the bands future plans and his career.

    Myzal asked Erna what fans could expect from Godsmack in the upcoming months. He replied:

    I don’t know yet. We’re talking now about getting together maybe fall of next year to write and record and dropping something top of 2018, which is gonna be the 20th-year anniversary of our first album. So we thought, you know what? We could have pushed it and did something to drop in 2017, but we were, like… You know what?

    After, Erna touched on how drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola are currently working on their side project The Apocalypse Blues Revue, and that he is currently busy with his solo stuff. Erna continued:

    So let’s just finish this and do it right and just wait a pinch longer, because if we do that, and we drop in 2018, we can make a really big, great world tour with the whole theme of the first album concepts involved in it and all that. So I think that may be the plan.

    When asked about some of his personal highlights from his 20 year career as a musician, Erna responded:

    Well, certainly for my musician side of me, I think it’s meeting some of the people that were my childhood heroes. Being able to meet Neil Peart [Rush] a couple of times, that was, for me… I didn’t need to meet anyone else after that. As much as I love the Steven Tylers and the Joe Perrys and the James Hetfields, Neil Peart… that guy changed my life as a musician. I quit school because of Rush.

    Erna is set to embark on another solo acoustic tour this fall, beginning in Atlanta at Center Stage on Oct. 26. The tour will support his just released second studio solo album Hometown Life. The tour will make several stops in New York. First stop will take place Nov. 1 at The Space in Westbury, Nov. 2 at the Gramercy Theatre, Nov. 13 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Nov. 16 at the Riviera Thaetre in North Tonawanda, and Nov. 22 at The Egg in Albany.

  • Reznor Responds to Questions of NIN Returning in 2016

    Ever wonder what happened to that Nine Inch Nails‘ return that Trent Reznor spoke about around last holiday season? Reznor sent out a tweet around the Christmas holiday in 2015 and stated that Nine Inch Nails’ would return in 2016.

    Well with 2016 rapidly coming to an end, the only thing NIN fans have heard from Reznor were a couple movie announcements he will take part in. Reznor will be apart of Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary about climate change titled Between The Flood, and Peter Berg’s motion picture about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings titled Patriot’s Day, which stars Mark Wahlberg.

    NIN 2016With less than three months left on the calendar year, COS reports that Reznor recently posted a photo to Instagram of him and some crew members from the movie Between The Flood. This prompted fans to comment and ask the front man, what’s the deal with NIN returning in 2016 like he said – Reznor responded with “2016 is not over yet!”

    Reznor over the summer registered a song titled “Dive and Slam,” on ASCAP’s Repertory and attributed the song to Nine Inch Nails’. The track originally had a September 16 release date, but that info was disputed by Reznor and has yet to be released. Reznor is the only original member of the band, and serves as the band’s main singer, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist. Once Reznor records a new album, he then sets out to assemble a band to play live on tour with him.

    Nine Inch Nails’ has released nine studio albums. The band’s most current album Hesitation Marks, was released in 2013. NIN has sold over 10 million albums in the United States and over 20 million worldwide.

  • Frank Palangi Ready To ‘Break These Chains’ With New Video

    Upcoming rocker and Queensbury native Frank Palangi, has recently released a video for his new single “Break These Chains.” With this track, Palangi just keeps getting better and better, and “Break These Chains” is one of Palangi’s hottest recordings to date. The multi-talented Palangi hooks you with his husky gritty vocals on the track while showing off some of his guitar skills in the video.

    Palangi caught the eye of Daughtry guitarist Brian Craddock, and was invited record the “Break These Chains” single at Craddock’s the Cat Room Recording Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia. When talking about Palangi, Craddock stated that Frank is an amazing young artist, with a very clear and focused direction, he knows who he is. He went on to say that Palangi is a killer singer and guitar player and is an artist to look out for.

    The frontman has been making a name for himself opening many shows across the northeast for some pretty recognizable names in rock over the years including Buckcherry, 3 Doors Down, Trapt, Aaron Lewis, Lacey Sturm, Powerman 5000 and Starset to name a few. The singer/songwriter has also appeared on some major music festivals in the capital region including the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival that featured Alice in Chains and Janes Addiction, and the first ever Rock ‘N Derby, which saw the likes of Shinedown, Ghost, Megadeth, Sevendust and Sixx: A.M.

    The vocalist has also appeared on numerous local media outlets on television and print including News Channel 13, Fox 23 News, Albany Times Union, The Chronicle and The Saratoga Spotlight.

    Besides himself, Frank Palangi’s band consists of guitarist Jared Curtis and Josh Opitz behind the kit.

  • Armin van Buuren Collaborates With a Different Kind of Artist

    Amsterdam is known for its artistic heritage.  Two separate art forms will join forces and collaborate in a unique way this fall in the Netherlands. The Van Gogh Museum is teaming up with DJ/producer and native son, Armin van Buuren to merge two separate art forms into one.

    Armin van BuurenUsually collaborating with other music artists, this will be a first for van Buuren. The one-off collaboration will see personal commentary and personalized music from van Buuren in the museum’s special edition multimedia guide, that will takes effect October 21, titled, “Embrace Vincent.”

    Van Gogh Museum director Axel Rüger commented about the collaboration:

    This collaboration sees us bring music, art and the museum together. Each form of expression influences the other; culture works as a unifying force. The Embrace Vincent project allows us to highlight how Vincent’s legacy remains relevant. And more importantly, that this legacy is being passed down to future generations. This takes numerous different forms, as is aptly illustrated by this collaboration between the museum and Armin van Buuren.

    Van Buuren has reached another incredible feat in the music world. On Sept. 30, van Buuren reached a milestone for his career, releasing his 15 year anniversary album in his A State Of Trance series titled I’m In A State Of Trance 15 Years. The two disc set features some of the greatest trance anthems by van Buuren and other top DJ/producers throughout the last fifteen years. Van Buuren was voted #1 DJ in the world five years in a row by DJ Mag, setting two separate records in the process; as the only DJ to have won five times and the longest streak at number one.

  • Syracuse Area Musicians Form Supergroup, 1000 Drops Of Venom

    Syracuse area musicians that helped create the Syracuse metallic hardcore sound, have formed the supergroup, 1000 Drops Of Venom. Members from the band are from some of the area’s most prolific performers, and include frontman Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis, the Path Of Resistance, Freya), guitarist Jonathan Dennison (the Promise, Unholy, the Path Of Resistance), drummer Andy Miller (Unholy), and bassist Chris Reilly.

    1000 drops of venom
    1000 Drops Of Venom is set to release the band’s first metallic hardcore style 7″ EP, which is now complete, and currently being finalized. The EP was recorded, mixed, and mastered at the Watchman Studios in Buffalo by Doug White. The studio has also produced the likes of the Gym Class Heroes, Brutal Truth, and Psyopus. The EP will be released on a label still to be announced. The band leaked its first single from the upcoming EP, “To Their Doom,” now available for streaming.

    When talking about the new project, guitarist Jonathan Dennison said, “Well, talks of starting a new band together with Karl has finally materialized. I think fans of our past and present bands will like what we’re doing. Musically, this band represents how we feel and some things never change.”

    Vocalist, Karl Buechner added:

    JD and I became friends back when Another Victim toured with Earth Crisis in the nineties. Since then we have played music together in Earth Crisis, the Path Of Resistance, and Freya at different points. It was only a matter of time before we put a band together on our own. Our beliefs and our take on metal and hardcore are identical. There is genuine hatred in this music but it’s not back to square one. I think it’s the best elements of what were known for.

    1000 Drops Of Venom can be seen Tuesday Sept. 20, opening for Crowbar at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse.