"The mother of deceased Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley has sued her son's former bandmates, claiming they cut her out of royalties owed on the band's hits.

Staley's mother Nancy McCallum contends the surviving members of Alice in Chains owe her half of the money due Staley - about 16 percent of the hard rock band's income. According to the lawsuit, the band has attempted to cut her out of any further payments. [seattlepi {via)]

Later in the summer Alice in Chains join Jane's Addiction for a "Rockstar Energy" tour that hits CT, NJ and NY among other places. All of those dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Layne Staley's mom suing Alice in Chains (who are playing the MMRBQ w/ Soundgarden & Cheap Trick)"

The Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival tour is happening this summer with Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction, Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, Middle Class Rut, and others. It hits the NYC-area on August 10 at Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT, August 17 at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, and August 18 at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater. Tickets for those shows go on sale today at noon.

Tickets for the Limp Wrist reunion show at Le Poisson Rouge are on sale now. Still no advance tickets for their Union Pool show.

Tickets to see The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on sale today at noon.

Tickets to see Robert Plant & Sensational Space Shifters at a Celebrate Brooklyn! show in Prospect Park go on AmEx and a BRIC presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Death From Above 1979 and Fucked Up play a Governors Ball afterparty at Irving Plaza go on LiveNation and Music Geeks presale today at 10 AM. (Music geeks password is "musicgeeks")

Rush Midnight and Rioux are playing Mercury Lounge on May 3. Tickets for that show go on sale today at noon.

Mike Starr, the former bassist for Alice in Chains has died, according to police.

Police have confirmed that they checked a residence at 1:42 p.m. at 1986 South Richards Street in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, where they discovered Starr's body.

He was 44 years old. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Starr was arrested for illegal prescription drug possession in Salt Lake City in February.

Starr was the original bassist for Alice in Chains a rock band that made its mark on the "grunge" scene with roots in the Seattle area. He left the group in 1993. Another original band member Layne Staley, died from a cocaine and heroin overdose in 2002.

Starr appeared in 2010 on the VH1 cable reality show "Celebrity Rehab" after suffering from a heroin addiction. [ABC 4]

Continue reading "Mike Starr of Alice in Chains, RIP"

photos by Matthew Eisman, words by BBG

Alice in Chains

"While Mastodon's intricate jams and the Deftones' cathartic releases were spot on, special credit goes to AIC for topping this bill with a fierce confidence that cemented the power of a lineup featuring singer William DuVall.

AIC drafted DuVall in 2005 and his ability to echo the late Layne Staley, Alice's original galvanizing frontman, was eerie. But with the release last year of "Black Gives Way to Blue,'' AIC has jelled into more than a rehash. DuVall still nails the vibe of the Layne-era material, but now has his own swagger woven into the delivery. And with fine new material such as "Lesson Learned'' and "Check My Brain'' providing set highlights, AIC can once again assert itself as a force to be reckoned with, not merely respected for having once shaped the sound of modern rock."
[Boston Globe]

Chino Moreno belting it out with Deftones

After selling out two nights at Terminal 5 earlier this year (pics from the first night), it didn't seem like a huge stretch for Alice in Chains to move up to a stadium, and it was reportedly the band's biggest show ever, but it was not sold out...

"Upon arrival, the early comers were re-routed to different sections leaving a full empty row in between every row. When I made a pit stop during Deftones, event staff was just telling people, and I quote "There's tons of seats, it doesn't matter what your ticket says just find an open seat".. So I paid $38 plus fees for this thing to not be near capacity? That doesn't make me proud of my NY peers at all. And why not just charge $25 for these seats I'm in now and you'll sell the place out.. We're at least twice the distance I was when I first saw Alice In Chains with DuVall in 2007 at an outdoor venue in NJ that I paid $20 for tickets. It just bewilders me that this thing isn't crammed full-and later when AIC came on and everyone was standing up it looked like the place was packed-trust me when I tell you it was far from that." [Concert Confessions]

Alice In Chains recently debuted a new video for "Lesson Learned" from their comeback LP Black Gives Way To Blue. That video, with more pictures and the setlists from the MSG show, below...

Continue reading "Alice in Chains, Deftones, Mastodon played MSG (pics, setlist)"

Stone Temple Pilots played a show at Gramercy Theatre in NYC last night (5/18)

Alice in Chains play one in Glens Falls, NY tonight, at Monmouth University in NJ tomorrow (5/20), and in Camden with Stone Temple Pilots on Sunday (tickets are still on sale).

In September, Alice in Chains go on tour with Deftones and Mastodon. Tickets go on Citi presale at 10am for the show happening at MSG (try password = 546616) (or use your Citi card).

STP Gramercy setlist below...

Continue reading "Stone Temple Pilots played Gramercy Theatre (setlist), play NJ Sunday w/ Alice In Chains (MSG Mastodon show on presale)"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains at Terminal 5

They're calling it Blackdiamondskye. Alice in Chains (new album Black Gives Way To Blue), Deftones (forthcoming album Diamond Eyes), and Mastodon (last album Crack The Skye) will team up for a string of dates this fall including MSG in NYC on Friday, September 24th. Tickets for all dates go on sale May 22nd.

Mastodon is currently on the road with Baroness, Between The Buried and Me and Valient Thorr, and played Starland Ballroom last week. Their setlist from that show is below.

Deftones are welcoming Diamond Eyes, their new album due on May 4th. Check out a pair of videos from this forthcoming LP below, both of which feature new bassist Sergio Vega, best known for his stint with Quicksand. Preorder the record from the band directly to get three remixes including an M83 remix of "Rocket Skates".

Billboard: DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ON CHENG'S CONDITION?

Chino Moreno: He's doing a little better and looks healthier. He has a brain injury, and with that you don't really know until he fully wakes up. Right now he's in a semiconscious state. So he wakes up and he sleeps, but he hasn't communicated yet. His eyes are open and he's looking at you. For me, looking into his eyes and standing there talking to him, I feel like he's in there and recovering. He's got to get his motor skills back and be able to communicate. He's got really good doctors working with him right now, trying some experimental therapy to get him to react. It seems to be working, so we're very hopeful that's the case.

Alice In Chains, who also have May shows coming up in PA, NJ, and Glen Falls, played Terminal 5 on March 8th with Middle Class Rut as part of a two night sold out stint at the 3500-or-so capacity venue (so I guess even with a new singer, and with strong openers, they can headline Madison Square Garden?). Photogrpaher Greg Cristman wrote about that show...

Alice in Chains sounded amazing; every song was delivered with absolute perfection. They came on stage hidden behind a white curtain projecting the pumping heart that appears on the cover of their new album, Black Turns Into Blue. Jerry Cantrell's silhouette soon flashed onto the screen to a great uproar from the crowd and the other members followed. Flashing, shifting and pulsing the shadowplay created an excellent build up and when the curtain suddenly fell to the floor a minute later, revealing the band and the spectacular lighting, the crowd went wild. New singer, William DuVall, held sway over the crowd and there was never any doubt that he belonged and that he wasn't living in the shadow of the late, great Layne Staley. The band was clearly having a fantastic time and it seems they've finally found the stability that was long needed in their group and they looked very comfortable in their new skin. The crowd was one of the best NY crowds I've seen in a long time and they were seriously up for the show prompting Jerry to emphatically tell them they were the best audience they'd seen in days.

Continue reading "Alice in Chains touring w/ Mastodon & Deftones (dates), playing MSG, played Terminal 5 (belated pics & setlist) "

I procrastinated posting this because of the inner struggle I have with the "new singer" thing. Alice in Chains have announced a huge tour which includes a March 8th AND a just added March 9th show at NYC's Terminal 5 which are now on sale. In related news, the band was nominated for a Grammmy this week for "Best Hard Rock Performance"... you can see some of their performance from their last NYC show (at Irving Plaza) HERE. All dates, and a video of their Halloween performance on Conan O'Brien, below...

Continue reading ""Alice in Chains" tour dates (TWO SHOWS at Terminal 5) "

Meat Puppets

Meat Puppets have a slew of upcoming tour dates: In September, they go across the West Coast with Athens grunge-rock band Dead Confederate, who also joins them on on their October dates in the South (which include a Halloween-in-Houston show with Those Darlins). Meat Puppets then spend November touring the Midwest and East Coast before heading to NC & TN. They visit NYC on east coast leg of that tour for a show at Bowery Ballroom on November 25th. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 11th at noon.

In July, Meat Puppets opened some shows for Stone Temple Pilots which I think is as good a way as any to segue into a mention of "Alice in Chains" who played Irving Plaza in NYC last night (9/8)...

"New vocalist William DuVall (well at this point he's not really new anymore, but I guess he's new-ish) didn't just sing the phrase "Again and again and again" - he belted it, jumping up onto the monitors to give himself just a little extra boost in the rockstar god department. Then, as it came time for him to grunt and signal the start of the "Doo-doo, doo-doo" sing-along section (and sing along the crowd did), DuVall lept off the monitor and started pumping his fist in the air, prompting the audience to do the same. As he finally turned to face drummer Sean Kinney, Kinney started grinning; and then the grin spread across the stage like an infectious disease, and by the end of the song, guitarist Jerry Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez were smiling, too." [Metal Sucks

Continue reading "Meat Puppets touring (dates), 'Alice in Chains' played Irving "

Tickets are on sale The Feelies' September 13th show at Southpaw. The Feelies have also added a September 12th show at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. That show goes on sale Saturday. That means they're playing three shows in three days.

Cocorosie are back and playing Highline Ballroom in the Meatpacking District on September 2nd. Tickets are on sale.

Stellastar*, Wild Light and The Postmarks kick off a tour at the Highline Ballroom in NYC tonight. All dates on MySpace.

Meat Puppets, who recently played two shows at Mercury Lounge (during Northside Fest hectic week), are opening for Stone Temple Pilots on July 17 @ Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, on July 18 @ Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, and on July 19 @ Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD.

Speaking of the 90's,. "Alice in Chains" are playing Irving Plaza on September 8th. Those tickets are going for $5.00.

Tickets are now on AmEx presale for the show Mirah is playing at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are now on AmEx presale for the show Peaches is playing at Terminal 5.

JEFF the Brotherhood plays Cake Shop tonight (7/16).

Bob Weir & Ratdog announced 5 NYC shows - Monday & Tuesday, October 19 & 20, 2009 at the Grand Ballroom, and Thursday, Friday & Saturday, October 22, 23 & 24, 2009 at the Beacon Theatre. Tickets are now all on AmEx presale.

Tickets are on sale for the Japandroids show happening at Mercury Lounge. You can also see them for free at the Siren Fest this Saturday.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the Pains of Being Pure at Heart show happening at Webster Hall.

Rhett Miller & the Serial Lady Killers are playing the Bell House in Brooklyn on September 16th. Tickets are on sale. Three days later Rhett plays Webster Hall with Nicole Atkins opening. Tickets are also on sale for that.

Tickets are on sale for the Juana Molina show happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale for the two Sondre Lerche shows coming up at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale for the "Minus 5, the Baseball Project, & the Steve Wynn IV" show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the show Placebo is playing at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on AmEx presale for the show Dan Auerbach is playing at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale for the Twilight Sad / We Were Promised Jetpacks show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Shudder to Think show at Bowery Ballroom.

Live Nation $5.00 ticket deals HERE.

The Morning After Girls play with Hopewell at Mercury Lounge tonight.

Paul McCartney was on Letterman last night. Video from that below...

Continue reading "Meat Puppets, Feelies, Rhett Miller, Stellastar*, Cocorosie, Bob Weir, Mirah, Molina, Minus 5 & other tickets"

Live Nation santas outside Irving Plaza - 7/14/2009 (Jason DeCrow/AP Images)

Live Nation has been dealing with the recession, or at least their recession, by putting tickets on sale like crazy this summer. They've been continuing week after week with their No Service Fee Wednesdays (for lawn tickets at amphitheater shows). This past Tuesday they sent multiple Santa Clauses to give out tickets outside Irving Plaza here in NYC. And there are $5.00 ticket promotions running for both Citi Cardmember holders and Subway sub eaters (code = Subway$5tix). NYC show tickets you can get for $5.00 include Pinback, Bob Mould, Son Volt, Alice in Chains AND STRYPER, Suffocation (playing with Necrophagist on Sunday), Marduk, Obituary, Vader and KMFDM, Brian Wilson in Westbury, and Motorhead, Psychedelic Furs, Happy Mondays, and Islands. Supposedly Pet Shop Boys are $5.00 too, but I can't get that to work.

last night (April 17, 2008) in NYC....

More than a few special guests (and I don't mean the protesters) showed up to the opening party/benefit inside the John Varvatos store (aka CBGB) on the Bowery last night (April 17, 2008). All photos by Randy Haecker, and there's more where they came from at his Flickr.

A lot of these guys were in town to play a different benefit show the night before.