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MICHAEL SWEET Completes Work On Music For New STRYPER Album: ‘It May Very Well Be Our Best Yet’
Michael Sweet of openly Christian hard rockers STRYPER has completed the songwriting process for the band’s upcoming album. The follow-up to last year’s “Even The Devil Believes” will once again be recorded at SpiritHouse Recording Studios in Northampton, Massachusetts. Earlier today, the 58-year-old guitarist/vocalist posted the following update on his social media: “I’m happy to say that all the songs (music) for the new STRYPER album are complete. I started work on everything 2 weeks after my eye surgery (once I could lift my head) so it’s taken a little longer than usual (3 weeks) and also due to the holidays. Of course we will fine tune them once we get together for rehearsal. Usually we rehearse at my house and then we head to Spirithouse to ...
ANTHRAX’s FRANK BELLO On Touring During Pandemic: ‘It’s Dangerous’ And ‘It’s A Pain In The A**’
During a recent appearance on the “Tour Talk” video podcast, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello spoke about what it has been like for him and his bandmates to play live shows during the pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The way I look at things, at any given time, the rug can be pulled from underneath you — honestly. And [that’s the case for] any band, anywhere we are, in this circumstance where we’re at right now. It’s unfortunate. But the only thing I know how to do is just do it and take all the precautions, be smart about things. Look, I come to my room. I don’t hang out and party. I wear a mask. It’s my personal thing. I don’t do anything. I mean, for all of us, for that matter. Last night we all went to dinner. We ...
DAVID LEE ROTH Shows For New Year’s Eve Weekend In Las Vegas Have Been Canceled
The first two shows of David Lee Roth‘s previously announced Las Vegas residency have been canceled. According to Metal Sludge, one of the musicians in Roth‘s backing band contracted COVID-19, forcing the concerts to be called off. Roth‘s camp has issued the following statement: “Due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows, the David Lee Roth performances schedule for Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022 have been cancelled. Refunds will be automatically processed, and ticketholders will be notified directly.” Roth is still scheduled to perform at Mandalay Bay’s House Of Blues on January 5, 7 and 8, January 14-15 and January 21-22. When Roth‘s residency was extended earlier...
Ezra Koenig Tells Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus About Next Vampire Weekend Album: Listen
But, yeah, we’ve been working on music and, yeah, we were just recording in England for a while, now back in L.A., working with everybody, and, yeah, I mean, I think we’re… I’m always hesitant to…. Sometimes I oversell how close we are with the record because who really knows? But we almost have an album’s worth of songs. And, as you well know, you could tinker with a song forever; change the arrangement, change the lyrics, whatever. But, in that sense we’re close. I have no idea how long it’ll take to finish, but we’re feeling really good about the new material. So, yeah, a lot of studio time to come after the holidays.
Dwayne Johnson Slams Vin Diesel’s Invite to Return to Fast and Furious, Calling His Post “Manipulation”
That’s a no from Hobbs. Dwayne Johnson made it clear in a new interview that he has no plans whatsoever on returning to the Fast and Furious franchise — and had some choice words for fellow star Vin Diesel. Chatter regarding the possibility initially kicked off back in November, when Vin Diesel publicly issued an invite to his long-rumored rival to come back to the family. “The world awaits the finale of ‘Fast 10,’” Johnson, who plays Dominic Toretto, wrote on Instagram at the time. “As you know, my children refer to you as Uncle Dwayne in my house. There is not a holiday that goes by that they and you don’t send well wishes… but the time has come. Legacy awaits. I told you years ago that I was going to fulfill my promise to Pablo. I swore that we would reach and manifest the best Fast in ...
Katy Perry’s Bonkers Las Vegas Residency Includes a Giant Toilet and Lactating Beer: Pics & Video
Is a stack of toilet paper the new Left Shark? On Wednesday night (December 29th), Katy Perry debuted her new Las Vegas residency, PLAY, with some help from some over-the-top set pieces. Among the props for the show, the pop star performed alongside a massive mask, a giant toilet and a mountain of toilet paper, in apparent nods to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “As with everything I do, PLAY is massively colorful for the kids, with a deep wink for the adults,” Perry said in a statement ahead of opening night. “The show is a funny, playful trip, and was designed specifically for this theatre in Vegas. Honestly, I couldn’t ever travel this show from arena to arena. These sets are larger than life – literally – and the perfect excuse to wake up in Vegas.” Advertisement Related Video <im...
Ezra Koenig Teases Vampire Weekend’s Next Album is “Close” to Completion
Could a new Vampire Weekend album be on the horizon? Frontman Ezra Koenig teased as much in a new interview this week. On Wednesday, the indie rocker stopped by Mark Hoppus’ After School Radio on Apple Music to discuss the progress he and his bandmates are currently making on their follow-up to Father of the Bride. “Yeah, we’ve been working on music and, yeah, we were just recording in England for a while, now back in L.A., working with everybody, and, yeah, I mean, I think we’re… I’m always hesitant to…Sometimes I oversell how close we are with the record because who really knows? But we almost have an album’s worth of songs,” he told the Blink-182 bassist. Advertisement Related Video Koenig continued: “And, as you well know, you could tinker with a song forever; change the arrangement, c...
Sufjan Stevens Shares His Favorite and Least Favorite “Albums” of 2021
Long after most music publications shared their Best of 2021 lists (cough cough), Sufjan Stevens has arrived fashionably late to the opinion-dumping party. The musician caused a bit of a stir today by sharing not only his favorite, but also his least favorite albums of the year on his Tumblr blog; Sure, most of his favorite albums didn’t come out in 2021, and most of his least favorite albums aren’t even albums at all, but who’s going to stop him? He’s Sufjan Stevens! Some of the notable highlights from Stevens’ favorites list include Alain Goraguer’s soundtrack to La Planète Sauvage, a.k.a. Fantastic Planet, the wildly trippy 1973 animated sci-fi film. He also took a liking to new age icon Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s 1986 masterpiece, Keyboard Fantasies. As far as more re...
Ava Max Celebrates ‘Baby Hairs’ Growing Back After Losing Them to COVID-19
Ava Max is ready to leave her experience with COVID-19 behind as she slowly lets her hair grow back. In an Instagram Story posted on Wednesday (Dec. 30), the “Kings & Queens” singer posted a short video of small hairs beginning to grow in on the top of her head, and writing that she suffered from some hair loss after contracting the virus in 2020. “Baby hairs Comin THRU,” she wrote. “Also so so happy my hair is growing back .. ((( I lost a lot of hair when I had Covid last year!! 🙁 )))” While it may sound odd, the American Academy of Dermatology does in fact say that COVID-19 can result in “telogen effluvium,” commonly referred to as hair shedding. “Fever is a common symptom of COVID-19. A few months after having a high fever or recovering from an illness, many people see notic...
Which ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ Performer Are You Most Excited to See? Vote!
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 is just one day away, and Billboard wants to know who you’re most excited to see perform! Billy Porter and Daddy Yankee will be pulling double duty as hosts and performers of the 50th annual televised New Year’s Eve celebration. While hosting the Central Time Zone countdown in New Orleans, Porter will deliver a new single on the riverboat Louis Armstrong on the Mississippi River in the city’s historic French Quarter. And for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve‘s first-ever Spanish-language countdown in Puerto Rico, Yankee will give a special hometown performance in San Juan. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Although LL Cool J and Chlöe had to pull out of their performances in Times Square, where 17-time host and the sh...
Jon Batiste’s Grammy Noms Are Validation for Verve and the ‘Exciting’ State of Jazz
On Nov. 23, Dahlia Ambach Caplin was walking through her Brooklyn neighborhood, listening as a series of artists announced the nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Over the course of an hour, as the genre categories and Big Four honors were revealed, one name kept surfacing again and again: Jon Batiste, the Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader whom Ambach Caplin had signed to the Verve Label Group in 2018. In all, Batiste scored 11 nominations, the most of any artist, including nods for record and album of the year for his single “Freedom” and We Are album, respectively. “I was [multitasking] on a Zoom call, on a completely different subject, as all the album and record of the year stuff started coming out, and I was just like, ‘I can’t stay on the phone right now!’ ” she says...
Quavo Sued for Allegedly ‘Unprovoked’ Beating of Limo Driver in Las Vegas
A new lawsuit claims that Migos rapper Quavo and several associates assaulted a limo driver outside Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and that hotel security simply stood by and watched. In a complaint filed earlier in December in Nevada state court, a man named Terrill R. Cowans alleges Quavo and others attacked him “unprovoked” after they mistakenly believed he’d left a different member of the group behind at a club on July 3. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “When plaintiff responded, the Migos artists and affiliates told plaintiff to ‘shut the f–k up,’ and one of the Migos artists threw a bottle at plaintiff,” attorneys for Cowans wrote in the lawsuit obtained by Billboard. “Plaintiff was then attacked by three to five Migos artists and/or affiliates...
