Kevin Winter, Getty Images It’s great to jam out with your buddies, but you really find out a lot about a person when you spend every waking hour with them on the road and even the best of friends can start irritating each other. Luckily, Duff McKagan , who knows a thing or two about performing with some rather unique personalities, has offered a few tips for survival on the road in his latest Seattle Weekly column. McKagan, who has been part of combustible acts like Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver , says in introducing his 10-point list, “There is definitely an art to the dance that is being in a band. All kinds of crap can happen if band members let some of the following things go unattended. As an aside, it is healthy for a band’s creative juices to have a bit of a rub within the band. The release of tension onstage can be magical.” With that said, McKagan’s guide to surviving in a touring band is as follows: 1. Don’t be a dick. Yes. That simple. 2. Get used to having little to no personal space for weeks at a time. A tour bus or a van, and traveling through airports together, can be small enough, but add small backstage dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, and studio control and you have the condition for someone in your band to blow their top. 3. Personal hygiene. (see #2) 4. Respect off-limits places. For example, when you draw the curtains to your bunk on the bus, no one should be allowed to f— with you. No punching in the dick, even. Each others’ girlfriends/wives/husbands/boyfriends are also off-limits. 5. Share everything. Clothes, chocolate, drugs, whatever. If it’s expendable, it is a “band” item. 6. Hug it out. Being in a band is the best place I can think of to be as up-front as possible. If you let something stew, it’ll grow into a mountain of nonsensical black mud in no time. 7. Read books and keep informed. The conversation can get old if you don’t have some good new topics to bring to the table. Gossip and c–k-talk only go so far. 8. Keep in touch with Mama Kin. Yes, definitely phone home and text as much as possible. It keeps one a bit sane, and leaves one with at least a modicum of a cornerstone. 9. Write a riff. Keep bringing fresh ideas to your band. 10. Don’t poo in the same room that someone else is eating in. Unless of course said eater gives the “poo OK.” If a “poo OK” is granted, you have a band that will NEVER break up! These days, McKagan has more control over how things play out as a touring member and leader of Duff McKagan’s Loaded . The bassist has also become a well-respected columnist, and an archive of his Seattle Weekly pieces can be viewed here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/duff-mckagan-loaded-the-taking-film-10-vignettes/” title=”Next: Duff McKagan’s Loaded Unveil ‘The Taking’ Film in Vignettes” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com A year that began with Nickelback ‘s Chad Kroeger doing a simple co-write on a song with pop star Avril Lavigne is ending with the pair engaged and planning their wedding. Now, Kroeger says he’s expecting a ceremony that will probably be anything but traditional. Kroeger tells Men’s Health magazine that he’s taken a back seat while his bride-to-be plans a good portion of the wedding. He explained, “We [grooms] get such an incredibly small chunk in terms of what we can actually participate in … I get control over nothing. I just show up. But I’m glad, because she has … traversed these territories before. These are uncharted waters for me, so it’s nice to have her to guide me through this.” The frontman says he’s quite impressed with what he’s seen so far, adding, “She’s got great ideas. I would have gone a little too traditional, I think, and she’s giving it a real rock ‘n’ roll edge. The groomsmen won’t be wearing piano neckties, (but) let’s just say she’s taking the bull by the horns and steering the ship towards what is going to be the most unique wedding that the planet has probably ever seen.” Kroeger told the magazine that he never envisioned himself as a married man, but his relationship with Lavigne got him thinking otherwise. He adds, “Honestly, it was more my idea than hers to get married. I’m just lucky she said yes.” Lavigne was previously married to Sum 41 ‘s Deryck Whibley. Lavigne’s current and former beaus recently had a humorous exchange over Whibley’s decision with his current girlfriend to dress as the newly-engaged couple for Halloween. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/chad-kroeger-and-avril-lavigne-wedding-night-playlist/” title=”Next: A Suggested Chad Kroeger-Avril Lavigne Wedding Night Playlist” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Kid Rock ‘s love affair with Detroit will continue this Thanksgiving as the vocalist has signed on to perform at the Lions halftime show to kick off the United Way holiday campaign. The timing is perfect for Rock, whose ‘ Rebel Soul ‘ album will have arrived in stores earlier in the week. Billboard reports that Rock will perform his new song ‘Detroit, Michigan’ at halftime of the Lions game against the Houston Texans. Rock also performed at the halftime event of the 2010 Thanksgiving Day game, rolling out his track ‘Born Free’ for the national audience. Rock says, “It’s great because I’m home for Thanksgiving, number one, and it’s a huge television audience. I get to be in front of the hometown fans and it’s great to have my family down there and then go eat some turkey and watch the next football game. It’s such a tradition.” The singer recalls going with his father and brother every year to catch the Lions Thanksgiving Day game, and he adds, “To be part of it now, musically, is great — especially when you’ve got a record coming out. It’s a win-win.” Rock’s charitable spirit isn’t just limited to the United Way campaign. As in recent years, Rock is giving back to the Detroit community by offering $30 Meijer gift cards to 1200 families in need. The musician is teaming with local radio stations to give away the gift cards. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kid-rock-new-single-lets-ride/” title=”Next: Listen to Kid Rock’s Single ‘Let’s Ride'” align=”center”]
Kevin Winter, Getty Images – Soundgarden ‘s released a full itinerary of dates and unveiled the ‘Been Away Too Long’ video. [ Loudwire ] – Ever catch Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio on the big screen? Check out a list of favorite musician movie cameos. [ Loudwire ] – Speaking of movies, Korn ‘s Jonathan Davis stars in a short film titled ‘Wounded Warriors’ that will play at the GI Film Festival. [ Loudwire ] – Drummer extraordinaire Mike Portnoy has a mini-meltdown during a performance in Manila. [ Loudwire ] – 30 Seconds to Mars have been working on a new album and Jared Leto has high praise for the upcoming release. [ Loudwire ] – The Used will headline the 2013 Take Action tour. [ Rock Music Report ] – Anthrax ‘s Joey Belladonna joins Steel Panther for a cover of a Journey favorite. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Roger Waters plays with a backing band full of heroes. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – The Joy Formidable have debuted their new video for ‘This Ladder Is Ours.’ [ Diffuser.fm ] – How excited is James Bond to see ‘Skyfall’? The picture says it all. [ GuySpeed ]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com There are instrument-breaking, expletive-hurling onstage meltdowns, and then there’s something a whole lot less bombastic but no less entertaining that drummer Mike Portnoy pulled off during a set in Manila, Philippines, when he became upset with the equipment setup mid-performance. The Adrenaline Mob drummer, who was playing with his supergroup that featured bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Tony MacAlpine, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian, was clearly not happy with the way his drums had been set up during the show and had a mini-meltdown that was captured via fan video (seen below). We call it a mini-meltdown as the concept of tossing parts of your kit to the ground definitely qualifies as a meltdown, but it may be one of the calmest experiences ever seen in this situation. The former Dream Theater stickman can be seen gesturing for assistance mid-song, and once the drum techs got to the stage, he proceeded to stop drumming while the band played on and tepidly tossed several of his cymbals to the ground while the group of techs worked on his kit. He then asked the band members to take the sound down a little as he addressed the crowd with an impromptu rap about having to wait all night for the crew to get it right. Once the kit was back in proper order, Portnoy returned to his place onstage and finished out the song with the band, who continued performing throughout the entire ordeal. The drummer later posted about his actions in a lengthy missive that read: Not to excuse my actions, but at least to explain the situation: This PSMS tour has been VERY difficult on all of us in terms of gear and production. The only way we have been able to make it to such far away places such as Manila, Russia, Israel, Indonesia, etc (where it is normally VERY expensive to tour unless you are a “name” band that has been around for many years) is we’ve have had to make concessions by using supplied gear and local techs at each show. Granted, WE agreed to these terms and are willing to make it work — however, on at least a half dozen occasions on this tour we have been incredibly frustrated to arrive at the venue only to find the band’s gear requirements were simply blatantly ignored (wrong keyboards, wrong amps, Zildjian cymbals, etc) AND were not setup and ready for us as was supposed to be the case and what the promoters had promised. We have been as patient and understanding as we possibly can be…but when you get 4 guys who haven’t slept more than a couple of hours every night in order to fly to these shows without sleep … sometimes our patience can wear thin. In the case of the Manila show, we arrived hours before the show to find out the drums weren’t setup, cymbals were missing, Billy‘s amp was wrong (again) and Tony had a buzz on his gear that would not go away … but we forged ahead because we were VERY excited to play for the fans! At the start of ‘Stratus’ (where the video on youtube is from) — my snare drum mic fell off and I motioned for the tech to come put it back on the stand/drum … and instead, he comes up to the drum kit and takes the mic away … leaving me playing with NO snare mic!!! (you’ll hear I begin playing the high tom instead of the snare) … realizing he had no idea what was going on or how to fix the situation, I stopped playing and did my little “rap” while they fixed the situation and we wouldn’t have to play the whole song with no snare in the mix. In the video, you can see I was at least making a joke out of it and wasn’t maliciously trying to hurt anybody or storming off in anger. Moral of the story: WE ARE HUMAN! And sometimes frustrating circumstances create frustrated behavior. I’m not saying I was right in stopping the song … but if you see a video from later in the show, you’ll see I explain to the audience that I’ve been waiting my whole career to play in Manila and I wasn’t going to let ANYTHING ruin my night or their show!!?And we carried on and everybody had a great night. And I look forward to returning (although this may be the last time I tour without my own kit and my own drum tech…hahahaha!!!). Watch Mike Portnoy Deal With Technical Issues in Manila [button href=”http://loudwire.com/adrenaline-mob-video-undaunted/” title=”Watch Adrenaline Mob’s ‘Undaunted’ Video” align=”center”]
YouTube Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace will have reconstructive dental surgery after a crowd surfing audience member managed to accidentally knock the microphone stand into her mouth during a show, resulting in the early conclusion of the performance. The band was playing in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday night (Nov. 7) when it’s alleged that an audience member was pushed toward the stage into the stand that managed to shatter Grace’s teeth and led to an angry equipment throw down from the singer. Punk News reports here was no video of the incident, but fans began making online comments about what happened. One fan, Matt H., posted that he apologized for the “douchebags that stormed the stage and stopped the show,” and begged the vocalist not to think any less of the rest of the crowd because of what happened at the show. Grace offered her comments on the situation in a series of tweets that read: For those asking, last night my mic was kicked into my face and it shattered a couple of teeth. It was an accident, but still really hurt… — Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) November 8, 2012 I’m also pretty upset about the idea reconstructive dental surgery. — Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) November 8, 2012 I’m gonna start a kickstarter to get a diamond grill like Kanye — Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) November 8, 2012 Against Me! have been working on a new album called ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues,’ that will reportedly touch on Laura Jane Grace’s transformation over the past year. Grace, formery Tom Gabel, came out as transgender in May. Bassist Andrew Seward told MTV Hive of the album, “It just sounds f—ing killer. I don’t know if ‘brutal’ is the right word, but it sounds really f—ing tough, and good. Laura is recording the whole thing herself — engineering, producing, build the studio — full on everything.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/against-me-singer-laura-jane-grace-discusses-fan-reaction-to-transgender-transformation/” title=”Next: Laura Jane Grace Reveals Fan Reaction to Transgender Transformation” align=”center”]
Fox / New Line / Lionsgate This entire feature is inspired by the simple reaction of, “Wait a minute, is that…?!” When you unexpectedly spot one of your favorite musicians in a movie, the inner nerd of a fan is instantly revealed. Spotlit cameos from metal gods such as Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio are always incredible to see, but the more rewarding appearance is the one that only you catch while your friends remain oblivious. From small supporting roles to split-second materializations, we’ve compiled our all-time favorite Musician Movies Cameos That You May Have Missed. Did you miss one of music’s biggest names in one of your favorite films? We’ve teamed up with Ultimate Classic Rock and Diffuser.fm to present a number of memorable musician cameos. Check them out by clicking below! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/maynard-james-keenan-musician-movie-cameos” title=”See the Musician Movie Cameos You May Have Missed” align=”center”]