by BBG

Some encouraging news. Chi Cheng of Deftones, who was badly injured and went into a coma after a car crash, is recovering slowly but surely. Check out a new video of Chi Cheng in the hospital, which was posted along with an ongoing campaign to raise money for his family and medical care, below. Best of luck to him.

The band has soldiered on without him, with Deftones vocalist Chino also taking on a new project Crosses in addition to the band. The new Crosses 7" is available via IndieMerch.

Continue reading "Chi Cheng of Deftones shows signs of improvement in coma (video posted)"

by BBG

Crosses is a new crew that features Shaun Lopez of FAR and Chino Moreno of Deftones, and the trio (Chuck Doom rounds it out) have released a new EP for download. Get it for the price of your email address. Though the pedigree of this might indicate something on the heavy side, Crosses definitely resembles Chino's Team Sleep or with moments of (gulp) witch house present. No word on what is next for the trio, but one thing is for sure, Ritualz, AKA †‡†, is not pleased. He tweeted "only thing i can think of right now is that if you have a blog post about that fat fuck stealing my shit to let people know please" and "woke up to attacks by deftones fans. basically they're mad because i came up with the crosses first and they hate everything not deftones?" No word on a response from Chino

Meanwhile, Dave Witte has gathered up an impressive crew of musicians for his latest project Argonauts. Witte will join The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minkanakis, East of the Wall bassist Brett Bamburger, and fellow Burnt By The Sun member John Adubato. Though the band has yet to post a new song (they will in the near future according to a recent Facebook post), they are scheduled to play the Gwar-B-Q in Richmond, VA on September 17th. There they'll join Gwar (duh), Darkest Hour, Kepone, Mensrea, DBX, Groundscore, Battlemaster, White Cross, The Occultist and Bloody Crackdown as part of the day-long affair.

Lollapalooza last year (more by Josh Darr)

Lollapalooza celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with some huge names on its just-announced lineup. See it in full below.

The festival has obviously changed over the years. What started out as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction with a 'touring festival' lineup that included the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and Souxsie & The Banshees, has turned into a one-weekend Chicago festival that Lady Gaga co-headlined last year. As leaked a while ago, Foo Fighters, Muse and Eminem all play this year, as will Coldplay, Cee Lo Green, and My Morning Jacket along with the reunited Cars and the continuing-to-be-reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Death From Above 1979, and a bunch of other bands which may or may not be worth the ticket price depending on how you feel about the headliners and generally seeing bands in big, hot, outdoor crowded parks (Lollapalooza happens in Chicago's Grant Park from August 5th - 7th).

Full 2011 Lineup and a couple of videos (one from 1991, one from 2010), below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 lineup announced"

by BBG

Deftones at MSG (more by Matthew Eisman)

It's official! Deftones and The Dillinger Escape Plan will team up for a North American tour that hits NJ's Starland Ballroom on 5/11 and Best Buy Theater in NYC on 5/13 & 5/14. Tickets for Starland Ballroom go on sale 1/8 at noon, while tickets for 5/13 and 5/14 go on AMEX presale at 10AM today (1/6) with regular sale beginning on 1/8 at noon. All dates are also on presale now and listed below.

In related news, The Dillinger Escape Plan recently showed up on the 2010 Pitchfork Readers Poll as the 38th best LP of the year, despite very little coverage of the band by the site. As a matter of fact, The Dillinger Escape Plan received the highest percentage of #1 votes (73% of people that voted Dillinger, voted them #1), smashing Kanye West's #2 ranking (39%). So how did that happen? DEP campaigned for it.

All Deftones & DEP dates, and some videos below...

Continue reading "Deftones & the Dillinger Escape Plan going on tour (dates)"

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]

When a band like Mastodon OPENS a show, you know it's a big one. The BlackDiamondSkye tour descended on Madison Square Garden on 9/24, as Alice in Chains headlined with support from Deftones and Mastodon.

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]

Deftones' appearance was their first in NYC since bassist Chi Cheng's accident (he was replaced by Sergio Vega of Quicksand fame).

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)"

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.

The Deftones has been playing with a new bassist in Cheng's absence.

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.

Pictures from that show adorn this post. The rest of them, with AIC's set list, the above-mentioned videos and all tour dates, below...

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

by Black Bubblegum

The Bronx

The Bronx have announced a pair of NYC area shows including The Bowery Ballroom on 4/20 with Trash Talk and Maxwell's on 4/22. Tickets for Maxwell's go on sale on 2/11 at noon while Bowery goes on sale 2/13 at noon.

The Bronx are currently touring around Europe, ultimately linking up with Fucked Up and Rolo Tomassi for a brief tour of the UK and then their US tour. One of those US dates, April 5th, is part of the Bamboozle Left Festival in Irvine, CA... an otherwise lackluster festival of mallcore, deathcore, and psuedo-emo feturing headling sets by a reuniting Get Up Kids, (gulp) Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and (lord help us) 50 Cent. Full lineup below.

Why even mention Bamboozle Left? Well, besides The Bronx, Kevin Seconds (who has some NYC shows, and a few others... Deftones will make their return to the stage at this show, but with a new bassist...

Continue reading "The Bronx announce tour dates, Deftones' have new bassist"

Photos by Tim Griffin, Words by Black Bubblegum

Jonah Matranga (Onelinedrawing) played his second show in two days in BOTH event spaces at the eclectic Gershwin Hotel on Tuesday, November 11th. Joined by his old friend and past congtributor Ian Love (Rival Schools/Cardia), a drum machine, and an acoustic guitar, Jonah ran through solo material, covers, and songs from his-old-but-currently-reunited band Far. He also paused for a moment to reflect on the recent events with Deftones bassist Chi Cheng. Along the way Ian Love added some amazing effects-heavy guitar, reminiscient of recent Stars Of The Lid... adding tremendous depth and emotional (I did NOT say emo) power to his set. Partial setlist, beaucoup photos, and video of Jonah performing the Deftones' "Be Quiet And Drive", below...

Continue reading "Jonah Matranga @ the Gershwin Hotel - pics, video & setlist"

by Black Bubblegum

Mastodon's Bill Kelliher

If you're in Europe and are wondering why Mastodon is looking a little light lately...

Bill Kelliher, guitarist with MASTODON, has been hospitalized in London as of Nov.3, during the band's current European Unholy Alliance Chapter 3 package tour. Doctors will continue to monitor his condition which is improving at press time.

At the moment, Mastodon has decided to continue on the tour as a trio. Doctors and Bill are hopeful that he will rejoin his bandmates in time for their headlining tour of Europe which begins Nov 30, in Utrecht, Holland and will end on Dec 7, at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Somerset, England. More details to follow as they develop.

Get well soon Bill... whatever the problem is. Affected tour dates and a video of Mastodon the TRIO are available below. That ATP festival in Somerset that they referenced above is the one curated by Mike Patton and the Melvins.

Mastodon recently announced the release of their new album Crack The Skye, due in early 2009 and produced by Brendan O'Brien.

In related metal-band-members-in-the-hospital news, Chi Cheng of the Deftones is showing signs of improvement after his car accident:

"Chi is showing definite signs of improvement. His father expects when he fully awakes, they'll have to sedate him (again) so he doesn't start pulling out the tubes and wires from his body."

- Chino [Moreno, vocals for Deftones]

Chi's mother Jeanne also made a statement

"Again you all are so very much appreciated. God has his hand on our son, please continue to lift him in prayer. For today please forgive someone who has wronged you or wronged yours. Not forgiving is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die. Please continue to stay buckled, show love and spread kindness throughout the day to those around you".

-Jeanne

ex-Deftones collaborator Jonah Matranga is known for covering Deftones songs in his solo sets. You can catch him tonight (11/11) at the Gershwin Hotel in NYC. Mastodon dates and video below...

Continue reading "Mastodon temporarily a trio, Deftones' Chi Cheng improving"