In celebration of the 30th anniversary of their classic albumScumdogs of the Universe, GWAR have announced “Scumdogs Live” live streaming concert event,
This one of a kind experience is set for Friday, October 30 with the pre-show starting at 6 PM ET. The live stream performance kicks off at 8 PM ET, with ticket and VIP Packages available at GWAR.net. The show will be available on demand through November 15th.
“Scumdogs Live” will be a full-fledged GWAR performance and a spectacle the likes of which you have never seen. Your Lords and Masters will celebrate this momentous occasion by ripping through the entire Scumdogs of the Universe album from front to back. Will there be special guests? You’re goddamn right there will be special guests. Find out who they’ll be on October 30!
We always wanted to do a concert without an audience in the room. The audience is always the worst part. Well, that and the fact that we’re constantly being attacked by a bunch of assholes while we try to get through a set. Man, I hope none of those old school dicks show up to rain on our glorious parade.
Flashback to October 13 and 14, 2018. Nine Inch Nails played two sold out shows at New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall. It was apart of NIN Cold and Black and Infinite tour. Other major stops included Red Rock in Colorado, and the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.
The 26 date tour concluded in December 2018 with four nights at The Palladium in Los Angeles. The tour came in support of the new NIN album Bad Witch, which was the third and final instalment in a trilogy series that began in 2016.
The Jesus and Mary Chain opened the show. Back in the day, JAMC had taken NIN on the road as openers. This time Trent and co returned the favor. Their set was awesome. A killer lightshow, and great sound highlighted their career span on songs “Just Like Honey” and “Some Candy Talking.” It was cool to see them with NIN all those years later, especially at Radio City.
NIN switched up their Radio City set considerably from night one. The first four songs were from The Fragile. On October 13, no songs from the album were played. They also drew from The Downward Spiral including “Piggy,” “Closer,” and “The Becoming.” It was strange they didn’t play anything from their newest album “Bad Witch,” flashing back to their archives only.
Another highlight was “Burn,” a song from a great movie and soundtrack, Natural Born Killers. NIN did not disappoint with favorite “Help Me I’m in Hell” as part of the encore. The only similarities between night one and night two was – “Head Like A Hole” closed the pre-encore set and “Hurt” closed the entire show.
One of the first concerts I ever attended was NIN at Nassau Coliseum in 1994. It is amazing to see how much this band has evolved over the years, especially at Radio City Music Hall. Their music is still ahead of its time now as it was back then. Although industrial music started sometime in the 1970’s, bands like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry were credited for making the genre popular, bringing it into the mainstream.
Setlist: Somewhat Damaged, The Day The World Went Away, The Frail, The Wretched, The Beginning of the End, Survivalism, Piggy, Burn, La Mer, Closer, The Becoming, I Can’t Give Everything Away, The Lovers, The Great Destroyer, Burning Bright, Head Like A Hole.
Encore: Help Me I’m In Hell, Happiness In Slavery, Even Deeper, Hurt
kurt.riley+praxis are best known for shaping the alternative music scene in Central and Upstate New York. Riley has loved and played music from a young age; his influences include glam rock, Moroccan ritual music, new wave, 1930s pop standards, and Eighties post-punk. After a pause of a few years for a college degree, Riley started developing concept albums featuring other-wordly characters – Kismet in 2016, and Tabula Rasa in 2017.
“Free,” releasing today, October 9, is the fourth track from Riley’s current ongoing project, Chrome Empire. The album is built around its main character – an android living in a dark future – and uses science fiction themes to address real-world events.
In “Free,” the android (portrayed by Riley in the video) has gained self-awareness, and is captured by a monolithic megacorporation seeking to prevent the rise of intelligent machines. An employee of the corporation has been put in place to get him to talk.
Previous singles released from the Chrome Empire project are “Future Shock,” “Say You Love Me,” and “Evergreen.” The story arc starts with “Future Shock” that sets the dark, futuristic scene. The android, having a mind that came from a human a long time ago, remembers his love and tries to find her (“Say You Love Me”). In “Evergreen,” he is trying to escape the control of the megacorporation and finds footage of an evergreen Earth of the past.
In each single, Riley has chosen to include non-human characters which was “Much more fun – and more palatable – than talking about our current reality in a plain manner. Plus, I get to dress up!” he said.
There will be at least a dozen releases in total, scheduled through the rest of 2020 and 2021. After “Free,” the next one coming up (scheduled for early November) is called “Get Connected.”
“Free” is scheduled to air at 5:00 PM EST on Friday, October 9, 2020 on the kurt.riley+praxis YouTube Channel.
When I was young, I didn’t understand My grandfather was a preacher man Told me to read the bible Crucial for my survival Grandmother joined him, now they sleep Keeping to the vow, so dark and deep While I maintain location Staring at revelation But I’ll never be free Oh lord, no, I’ll never be free Not me Leaders are debating over déjeuner Waters start to rise at the chestnut tree Only the weak are humble So they shall let it crumble On the horizon, the horsemen ride Stocked up my rations and I’m locked inside Stun my profane synapses All while the world collapses And I’ll never be free Oh Christ, no, I’ll never be free Not me
Derek Discanio, lead singer of pop-punk band State Champs, celebrates his birthday today, October 9th.
State Champs – Upstate Concert Hall – March 2013 – Jenny Caulfield
State Champs originated in Albany and made a name for themselves in the local punk scene playing regular shows at legendary Albany venue Valentines, which has since closed down. Derek founded the band in 2010 with current guitarist, Tyler Szalkowski.
State Champs – Upstate Concert Hall – March 2013 – Jenny Caulfield
State Champs have come a long way in a short time. After self-releasing a string of acoustic singles and EPs, State Champs garnered the attention of Pure Noise Records in 2012 which eventually led to the band being picked up by the label and given loads of promotion opportunities.
After teaming up with Pure Noise, State Champs released remastered versions of “Critical” and “Remedy” which opened the band up to a whole new audience.
The band’s first full-length studio album, The Finer Things, arrived on October 8th, 2013. It sold over 3,000 copies the first week and landed at Number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Following the release of the band’s debut album, State Champs were a staple in any pop-punk kid’s playlist, fulfilling the prototype of skateboard-centric music videos, stage dives, and appearances at the Vans Warped Tour.
Since then, State Champs has gone onto release two more albums, Around The World and Back, debuting the hit single “All You Are Is History” and Living Proof, both of which were praised heavily by fans.
Aside from his involvement in State Champs, Derek has also featured on other prominent Albany pop-punk bands, notably in 2016 when he brought Young Culture’s “Bedroom Floor” to their repertoire, which has become a fan favorite.
State Champs are one of those bands that kids interested in punk music look up to in Albany, making a name for themselves and always remember Albany as their home. Join NYS Music in wishing Albany native Derek Discanio a Happy Birthday!
Eddie Van Halen, legendary guitarist and co-founder of the eponymous 80’s rock band Van Halen, has died after a battle with throat cancer. He was 65
TMZ reports that Van Halen died in Santa Monica, CA, with his wife Janie by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and his brother Alex, with whom he co-founded Van Halen.
Eddie Van Halen, late 1970s
Van Halen had been battling cancer for more than a decade. He had recently been seeking treatment in Germany.
Although Eddie was as heavy smoker, he believed he developed throat cancer from the metal guitar pick he held in his mouth more than 20 years ago.
Van Halen formed in Pasadena, CA in 1972, with Alex on drums, Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth on vocals. Van Halen would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Their last performance was on October 4, 2015 at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
photo by Rob Teller
Revisit Van Halen’s performance from Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, NY on June 19, 1988, and more recently from Jones Beach 2015. RIP Eddie.
In preparation for the release of his album The Atlas Underground, Tom Morello played 2 sold out shows at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge on October, 2, 2018.
For the first part of the show, Tom Morello was interviewed for almost an hour where he told stories about playing with Bruce Springsteen, meeting Chris Cornell for the first time, and shooting the music video for Rage Against the Machine’s “Sleep Now in the Fire,” where filmmaker and director Michael Moore was arrested. During the interview he also played his guitar solo from Audioslave’s “Like A Stone,” a song he wrote for Chris Cornell called “The Garden of Gethsemane,” and jammed along with Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley.”
Morello recently spoke to Rolling Stone about what it was like to play with Springsteen, in celebration of The Boss’ 71st birthday.
For the next part of the show, Tom let the audience hear The Atlas Underground in its entirety and gave a quick synopsis before every song about the featured guest and how the songs came to be.
The show concluded with Tom playing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and inviting audience members on stage for a cover of “This Land is Your Land,” and concluded the show by playing “Killing in the Name” while the audience sang vocals.
Setlist: The Garden of Gethsemane Like a Stone Guitar Solo (Audioslave song) Mr. Crowley Jam (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
The Atlas Underground: Battle Sirens, Rabbit’s Revenge, Every Step I Take, We Don’t Need You, Find Another Way, How Long, Lucky One, One Nation, Vigilante Nocturno, Where It’s At Ain’t What It Is, Roadrunner, Lead Poisoning, The Ghost of Tom Joad (Bruce Springsteen cover), This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie cover) (Fans brought on stage), Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine song)
The Mid-Hudson Civic Center is not a particularly huge arena by normal standards, but the fact that it was less than half-full on this night made it seem that much bigger. This was a solid triple-bill of 1987 real metal – dubbed the ‘Hell on Wheels’ tour – featuring Helloween and Armored Saint, but headliners from the U.K., heavies Grim Reaper, had one hit single to their credit (“See You In Hell”), and that single success had not translated to arena-filling status for the Brits.
So the hall was not packed (a fact not helped by the fact that the much bigger British hard rockers Def Leppard was playing a gig a few hours north at the Glens Falls Civic Center that night), and frankly the audience that was there seemed to be present more for German newcomers/openers Helloween, there on their first US tour, and L.A. metal gods Armored Saint, who played the middle slot. This was a show that could have – and perhaps should have – been booked into The Chance around the corner.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
Helloween had a big buzz at the time with their ‘Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. I’ album, were already pulling big crowds in the UK and Europe, and years later are considered to be trailblazers for the epic, Power Metal sound which still packs halls in Europe. This night they were a new young metal band with something to prove, and hit the stage fast and heavy, and got the less-than-capacity crowd going immediately, despite the fact that the house lights didn’t go down until halfway through the second song.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
The band played a set full of songs from the then-current Keeper album, including “Future World” and the 13-minute epic “Helloween”, and were given a third-on-the-bill encore by the enthusiastic crowd, and played older song “How Many Tears” to wrap things up. The band seemed primed for much bigger things in 1987, and returned a year or two later to play packed halls with Anthrax in ’89, but mass success did not ensue, in the U.S. anyway.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
As tight and entertaining as Helloween were, this writer was there for band #2, west coast heavies Armored Saint. “March of the Saint” kicked their set off, and from there the Saint (singer John Bush, bassist Joey Vera, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and the late, great guitarist Dave Prichard) attacked the stage with enough energy to melt icebergs.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
At the time AS were promoting their third Chrysalis Records LP, ‘Raising Fear’, and played several tracks from that release, like “Human Vulture”, “Book of Blood”, and the killer “Chemical Euphoria”, but didn’t ignore older songs like “Long Before I Die” and “Can U Deliver”, all served up with sweaty, infectious energy.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
The set finished with the then-new record’s high-velocity, headbanging title track, “Raising Fear”, before the band were summoned for an encore, the even faster, heavier “Madhouse” from their debut record.
photo by Marc Kurtzner
Headliners Grim Reaper finished the night, and seemed to get less front-of-the-stage energy from the crowd than the first two bands had. GR were solid metal, singer Steve Grimmett had (and has) a mighty howl, and guitarist Nick Bowcott is no slouch, but the band seemed superlative after the more exciting first two bands, and they played an hour of shrieking metal, culminating in the inevitable “See You In Hell” before a dwindling crowd. That said, a fine night of pure metal, perhaps in a hall bigger than was warranted by the headline act.
This concert is seen as an historical moment, where one older punk band, The Who, passed the torch to a new, younger one, The Clash.
An expectadly rowdy crowd of more than 80,000 packed The Rich. David Johansen warmed up the crowd with a half-hour set, including “Stranded in the Jungle” and a medley of the Animals “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “It’s My Life.”
The Clash were just coming off the release of Combat Rock, recorded at Electric Lady Studios on West 8th Street in New York City. Hits including “Rock The Casbah,” which reached the Top 10 in America, and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” gave The Clash a worldwide smash hit in 1982. Less than a year after this performance in Buffalo, guitarist Mick Jones would leave the band. Watch a slideshow of photos by Michael Mack of The Clash from the performance below.
For The Who, this was the first of many farewell tours, having lost drummer Keith Moon just 4 years prior. Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces) took over behind the kit, with Tim Gorman on keys, Roger Daltrey on harmonica, guitar, and vocals, John Entwistle on bass and Pete Townshend on guitar and vocals.
Given the packed stadium – with entrances only on the floor at the time – the temperature inside the stadium was warm to say the least, with fans drenched in sweat, and some passing even out. As if Keith were looking down from heaven, the skies that were overcast all day opened up during the emotionally charged “Love Reign O’er Me,” the only time of the evening it would rain. As the song ended, Daltrey remarked “How’d you like that one?,” with Townshend saying “Even the Rolling Bones couldn’t have done that one.”
via Matthew Heimberg
While no video or audio exists from this show of The Who, you can view a slideshow of photos by Michael Mack here, and watch below for The Who from December 17, 1982, closing our their North American tour in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Clash setlist: London Calling, Career Opportunities, The Guns of Brixton, Police On My Back, Rock the Casbah, Magnificent 7, Train in Vain, Brand New Cadillac, Armagideon Time, Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Encore: Clampdown, I Fought the Law
The Who setlist: Substitute, I Can’t Explain, Dangerous, Sister Disco, The Quiet One, It’s Hard, Eminence Front, Behind Blue Eyes, Baba O’Riley, I’m One, The Punk And The Godfather, Drowned, A Man Is A Man, Cry If You Want, Who Are You, Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me, 5.15, Love Reign O’er Me, Long Live Rock, Won’t Get Fooled Again
Encore: Naked Eye, Summertime Blues, Twist And Shout
On Sept. 8, 2018, Ozzy Osbourne played to a soaking wet crowd at Jones Beach Theater, but once The Prince of Darkness hit the stage, nobody seemed to mind. Ozzy himself came out first before the rest of band and told the crowd, “The crazier you get, the longer I’ll remain on stage.” That’s all it took to get the sold out crowd of 15,000 plus going f—–g crazy!
At this point it was freezing cold and had been pouring for the last few hours, especially during opening act Stone Sour’s set, and the floor was a foot deep with water seeping in from Zach’s Bay where the venue stands. Regardless, Ozzy sounded just as good as I have ever heard as he kicked off the show with “Bark at the Moon.”
Zakk Wylde was back in the lineup on guitar along with Blasko on bass, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos. The stage backdrop was highlighted by a giant cross made up of screens projecting extraordinary imagery and at times looking like a medieval sculpture.
Ozzy’s solo hits made up most of the setlist including “Mr Crowley,” “Suicide Solution” and “No More Tears,” but he also slipped in a little Sabbath like “Fairies Wear Boots” and the epic “War Pigs.”
Black Label Society frontman Wylde was giving his own 20 minute showcase during the show at which time he made his way into the audience playing a medley of songs. He was tearing it up as he played with the guitar behind his neck and even with his teeth at times. He is one of the best metal guitarists the genre has ever known so it was good to see him play alongside Ozzy again. He was even wearing a custom Ozzy denim vest.
Ozzy Osbourne closed the main part of the set with, in my opinion one of the greatest metal songs ever written, “Crazy Train”. The show concluded with an encore of “Mama I’m Coming Home” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.”
Setlist: Bark at the Moon, Mr. Crowley, I Don’t Know, Fairies Wear Boots (Sabbath Cover), Suicide Solution, No More Tears, Road to Nowhere, War Pigs (Sabbath Cover), Guitar Medley: Miracle Man/Crazy Babies/Desire/Perry Mason, Drum Solo, I Don’t Want to Change the World, Shot in the Dark, Crazy Train
Do you need more cowbell? Blue Oyster Cult thinks you do because they’re released music videos for “Box in My Head,” “That Was Me” and most recently, “Tainted Blood” off the Long Island classic rock group’s first album in over two decades, The Symbol Remains.
The early days of the Blue Oyster Cult.
“That Was Me” is one of the many singles being featured on their upcoming album, The Symbol Remains. Their new album comes out Oct. 9 and embodies the well-known saying, “Good things come to those who wait.”
Music video for new song, That Was Me.
Blue Oyster Cult started producing the album in 2019 and thinks it represents the where the band is ‘here and now.’ The album is a mix of music they worked on years prior and brand new tracks.
“With the song demos emerging for this record, we realized there was as much if not more variety in style and content on this record as any in our history. We embraced this and the thing tying all the disparate elements together is the band’s sound and performance,” said Eric Bloom, vocals/guitarist.
Blue Oyster Cult formed in Long Island, NY at Stony Brook University in the late 1960’s. There, Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and his friends created sounds of psychedelia and acid rock. Through a jam session, rock critic Sandy Pearlman overheard the band and decided they were worth it.
Over the years, they created a melody of rock tunes that would captivate the world. One of their most famous, “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” reached 12 on the Billboard charts and became a rock classic.
Roeser talked about the band’s goals in creating this new album saying, “The goal was for the new music to stand up to the quality and vitality of our legacy recordings, and I believe we have successfully done that. Other than that, the sound of our voices and style of our writing and playing can’t help but sound familiar to fans of our work.”
BOC has recently released the video for “Box in My Head,” the second single off The Symbol Remains, due out on October 9. For more information visit Blue Oyster Cult’s website.
The most recent premiered video for the single “Tainted Blood” was written by Eric Bloom and Richie Castellano, featuring lead vocals by guitarist Richie Castellano. The Symbol Remains will be released on Friday, October 9.
