Alternative Music
Former FOZZY Drummer FRANK FONTSERE: ‘I Was Really Unhappy’ On Band’s Last Tour
Former FOZZY drummer Frank Fontsere has opened up about his decision to leave the band, saying he “was really unhappy” on the group’s most recent tour. The 54-year-old musician’s exit from FOZZY was officially announced on January 3. The band simultaneously named his replacement, former THROUGH FIRE drummer Grant Brooks. Frank discussed his departure from FOZZY in a new interview with the “Cheap Heat Productions” podcast. Speaking about the band’s recent run of U.K. shows, which concluded with a December 12 performance in London, he said: “I was really unhappy on this last tour. I’d been doing this for so long. 20 years, basically, being the drummer in FOZZY and just trying to pursue making a living as a working drummer for so long, it ...
R.I.P. Rachel Nagy, Lead Singer of The Detroit Cobras Has Died
Rachel Nagy, the frontwoman of The Detroit Cobras, has passed away. The sad news was announced via the band’s social pages, with no cause of death given. The Detroit Cobras came out of the same ’90s garage rock revival scene as The White Stripes, The Dirtbombs, and other bands. Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, along with guitarist Greg Cartwright, formed the core of the group, joined by a rotating cast of other musicians throughout the years. Still an active band up until Nagy’s passing, The Detroit Cobras primarily recorded and performed covers of classic and little known R&B songs from the 1960s. Nagy’s passing was revealed by Cartwright, who wrote the following via Instagram: Dear friends, family and fans, It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we announce the loss of our b...
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...
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 ...
SAMMY HAGAR On His Las Vegas Residency: ‘I Can Stand Right In The Middle Of The Room’ And ‘It’s Awesome’
Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Sammy Hagar spoke to FOX 5‘s Heather Lake about his critically acclaimed Las Vegas Strip residency, “Sammy Hagar & Friends”, at The STRAT Hotel, Casino & SkyPod. Due to popular demand, six new concerts have just been added on Wednesday, February 9, Friday, February 11, Saturday, February 12, Wednesday, March 23, Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26. “Well, last year, when we first started, Bob Weir from THE GRATEFUL DEAD came [and jammed with us],” Sammy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “He’s my good buddy and we do this all the time. He lives close to me. And Stephen Pearcy from RATT was in town; he came and sang a few songs with me. Rick Springfield, who’s my partner in the Beach Bar Rum, he ...
BRUCE DICKINSON Says IRON MAIDEN Will Perform Entire 82-Minute ‘Senjutsu’ Album On Future Tour
Bruce Dickinson has confirmed that IRON MAIDEN is planning to stage a tour where it will perform its new album, “Senjutsu”, in its entirety. The 63-year-old singer discussed MAIDEN‘s future touring plans during an appearance on the latest episode of the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, hosted by FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. Bruce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The plan we’ve got — it’s not really a secret; I think everybody else has chatted about it — we will, I hope, we’ve talked about doing the entire [‘Senjutsu’] album start to finish, but not this time around. And we all appreciate that that is something that really diehard fans will probably love and other people will go, ‘Hmmm, I&#...
