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Jay Barker, Sara Evans’ Husband and Ex-Alabama Quarterback, Charged With Domestic Violence
Former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, who is married to country music singer Sara Evans, was arrested Saturday (Jan. 15) on a felony domestic violence charge, Tennessee authorities said. Barker, 49, was booked into a Nashville county jail early Saturday morning, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office website. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and placed on a $10,000 bond with a 12-hour hold because it was a domestic violence case. He was released Saturday night after posting bond. Explore Explore Sara Evans See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Investigators did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press requesting details about the case. Barker did not answer a call from the AP and it was not immediately cl...
The Detroit Cobras’ Rachel Nagy Has Died
Rachel Nagy, best known as the singer of the Michigan garage rock band the Detroit Cobras, has died, her representative confirmed to Pitchfork. No cause of death was given. Detroit Cobra’s label Third Man eulogized Nagy on Instagram, writing, “In both her voice and personality, Rachel Nagy was the perfect balance of tough badass and absolute sweetheart.” Bandmate Greg Cartwright wrote in a message to the band’s Facebook page: “With the Detroit Cobras Rachel Nagy carried the torch of Rock, Soul and R&B to fans all over the world. More than just a performer, she embodied the spirit of the music itself and vaulted it to new heights with her own deeply affecting vocal power. I know that I am not alone when I say that I was inspired by her vitality, her fierce intensity and her vulnerabilit...
JUDAS PRIEST Reverses Decision To Tour As Quartet: ‘We Will Continue Our Live Shows Unchanged’ As Five-Piece
British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have reversed their recent decision to perform as a four-piece on their upcoming tour. Last Monday (January 10), JUDAS PRIEST announced that it would perform as a quartet when it returns to the road in early March. A few hours later, the band’s touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who co-produced the group’s 2018 album “Firepower”, released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in which he said that he was “incredibly disappointed” by PRIEST‘s decision to carry on as a four-piece and thanked the Rob Halford-fronted outfit for the “mind-blowing” opportunity to share the stage with one of his favorite bands. Meanwhile, PRIEST fans were understandably upset about the band’s decision to forgo its classic tw...
BLACK SABBATH’s TONY IOMMI Mourns Death Of Longtime Manager ERNEST CHAPMAN
BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has announced the passing of his longtime manager Ernest Chapman. Earlier today, Iommi took to his social media to write: “I’m sorry to hear that my long-term manager, and Ralph Baker‘s business partner, Ernest Chapman passed away this morning. A very successful lawyer as well as a manager, he was a rock for me in a difficult time in my career. Despite being from completely different backgrounds we really bonded. He will be sadly missed and my condolences to his wife Christie and the family.” In his 2011 autobiography “Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath”, Iommi wrote about how he first came to be involved with Chapman back in the late 1980s. He said: “In November and December 1987, t...
ANTHRAX’s FRANK BELLO Thanked METALLICA’s JAMES HETFIELD For Organizing ‘Big Four’ Shows: They ‘Didn’t Have To Do That’
ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello returned to Rock City Music Company in Livonia, Michigan on November 20, 2021 for an intimate question-and-answer discussion, acoustic performance and book signing in celebration of his memoir, “Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax”, which was released earlier that month. At the event, which was hosted by Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF, Frank took questions from the audience, shared stories about auditioning for ANTHRAX, learning how to play the bass, touring with METALLICA, his last memory of late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton, and even took part in a rare, acoustic performance of the ANTHRAX classic “Only”. Frank then took time to sign copies of the book as well as other memorabilia for a...
JUDAS PRIEST’s ROB HALFORD: ‘I Still Go Through Moments Of Depression’
In a recent interview with Spain’s Mariskal Rock, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke about his struggles with depression and substance abuse, and how his own suicide attempt in 1986 led him to the rehab program that saved his life. “You just feel… It’s negative thinking,” Rob said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “It’s like a cycle of negativity. You don’t feel or see a way out. It’s just like this circle of — like a black hole; you cannot find a way to escape it. Even though you think about the place that you’re at — you’re in a successful band, you’re financially stable, your friends and your family are good, everything is great, but you yourself are in this really dark place in your mind. “For me, of course,...
Judas Priest Welcome Andy Sneap Back Five Days After Dropping Him from Touring Lineup
Judas Priest have reversed course on their recent decision to drop guitarist and producer Andy Sneap from their touring lineup. The legendary metal act announced Saturday (January 15th) that Sneap will indeed be with the band when it launches its North American tour in March (tickets available here). Sneap joined the Priest live lineup when longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton stepped away from regular touring after revealing in 2018 that he is battling Parkinson’s disease. On Monday (January 10th), Judas Priest announced that they would be proceeding without Sneap as part of their live band, but that he would still stay on to produce the group’s upcoming album. The band stated at the time, “Hello maniacs! We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring… celebrating 50 years...
R.I.P. Fred Parris, “In the Still of the Night” Songwriter Dead at 85
Fred Parris, bandleader of The Five Satins, a doo-wop group known for their smash hit “In the Still of the Night,” died Thursday at the age of 85. “Fred’s classic song ‘In the Still of the Night’ has been recognized as one of the greatest love songs of all time and the number one requested song of the doo-wop era,” Parris’ family wrote on his Facebook page. “Fred also wrote several other classic songs and his gorgeous voice enthralled audiences world-wide for decades. The Five Satins family is devastated by this loss but appreciative of having shared Fred’s music with thousands of fans and friends.” Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Parris discovered R&B music while digging through his family’s records and spent his youth singing in local groups. He wrote “In the Still of the Night” whil...
11 Years Later, Steve Aoki Delivers Dose of Dance Music Nostalgia With Remix of “No Beef”
Steve Aoki and Afrojack‘s “No Beef” became a gateway to discovering dance music for a new generation of listeners. Now, 11 years following its release, Aoki is rekindling the magic through a fresh perspective. In 2011, the frenetic tune with vocals from Miss Palmer was an instant attention-grabber given the intersection of Aoki’s electro house characteristics and Afrojack’s influence within the stylistically adjacent Dutch house movement. Never one to tie himself to any given genre, Aoki didn’t hesitate to tweak the winning formula over a decade later. With his new remix, he shakes up the drum arrangement with the kicks, snares, and percussion more consistent with the tech house arrangements dominating the airwaves today. At heart, however, the new versi...
Gramatik’s “Water 4 The Soul II” Album Is An Ode to Emerging Blockchain Technologies
“Strap on your headsets and gather all your assets,” commands Stehreo in the introduction of Gramatik‘s new album, Water 4 The Soul II. Gramatik’s passion for blockchain technology is nothing new, but his latest effort reveals the multi-genre producer has only become more entrenched and enamored with the promises of the metaverse, digital collectibles and more. The nine-track effort is only available on blockchain-based streaming platform Audius thus far, and is chock full of nods to emerging cryptocurrency tech with titles like “Wagmi Express” and “Hodlers in Paris.” Musically, Gramatik continues to derive inspiration at the intersection of funk and electronic with twangy pluck basses, jazzy piano riffs, and lively brass fanfare. Recom...
W.A.S.P.’s BLACKIE LAWLESS Says He Was ‘One Of The First People’ To Contract COVID-19: ‘It Took Three Months To Shake It’
During an appearance on this past Wednesday’s (January 12) episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, W.A.S.P. leader Blackie Lawless revealed that he “one of the first people [who] contracted” COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. He recalled (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It was kind of a bizarre thing because… [METALLICA‘s] James Hetfield was having a showing at the Petersen [Automotive] Museum here in L.A. for his cars [in January 2020]. And I hadn’t been anywhere in quite some time. So I thought, ‘Okay, I’m a car guy.’ So we went down to see the cars. What we weren’t anticipating when we got there is that — we found out later — it was the single largest event in the ...
Ex-FEAR FACTORY Frontman BURTON C. BELL On His Singing Style: ‘It’s All About Vocalizing For Feeling And Vocalizing A Moment’
Former FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell and his ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS bandmate Jayce Lewis took part in a Facebook Live chat yesterday (Friday, January 14) on the official ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS page. You can now watch the question-and-answer session below. When asked if he identifies more with melodic or aggressive vocals, Bell said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “For me, it’s all about… It’s not a preference. It’s all about vocalizing for feeling and vocalizing a moment and capturing those harmonies that I hear in the music and trying to emulate them with my voice. Believe it or not, I can hear harmonies in chunky riffs — I can hear harmonies and I hear melodies in my head. Now, for me, when I do the heavy voice, I’m not screaming; I’m ...
