Posts Tagged ‘president-obama’

Watch Chris Cornell Perform at President Obama’s Commander-in-Chief’s Ball

YouTube President Obama began his second term with his inauguration earlier this week and with the ceremony came a number of galas . Soundgarden ‘s Chris Cornell , one of Obama’s many supporters, was invited to perform at the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball, which recognized Medal of Honor recipients and Wounded Warriors, and video footage of his entire performance has surfaced online. Cornell, armed with an acoustic guitar, took the stage to perform a trio of cover songs. However, with some microphone problems on the guitar, the set really provided a spotlight on his voice. The vocalist took the stage, telling the audience, “I’ve got to say this is an honor to play for you guys and to celebrate this event, the re-election of President Obama, so thank you so much.” From there he launched into ‘(What’s So Funny Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,’ the Nick Lowe song popularized by Elvis Costello. After making note of the microphone issue, he would perform his other two tracks with a little more amplification for the guitar. First came a powerful performance of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic ‘Long As I Can See the Light,’ which really showed off the wonderful rasp and emotion in Cornell’s voice. He followed with what he called “a song of hope or an impossible dream maybe” — a cover of John Lennon ‘s ‘Imagine.’ The full almost ten-minute performance can be seen below. Cornell would return later in the evening with the full Soundgarden lineup to perform at the Inaugural Ball , doing a three-song set of ‘Been Away Too Long,’ ‘Outshined’ and ‘Rusty Cage’ for those in attendance. Watch Chris Cornell’s Commander-in-Chief’s Ball Performance [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-talk-future-albums-perform-at-inaugural-balls/” title=”Next: Chris Cornell Discusses Soundgarden’s Future” align=”center”]

Daily Reload: Three Days Grace, Soundgarden + More

Ethan Miller, Getty Images – The split between  Adam Gontier says Three Days Grace  has gotten a bit ugly, as the singer criticizes the creative direction of the band. [ Loudwire ] – Chris Cornell and Soundgarden will be busy with political parties to play during President Obama’s inauguration. [ Loudwire ] – Anthrax  are showing off their thrash cover of Rush ‘s ‘Anthem.’ [ Loudwire ] – Tom Morello will join Bruce Springsteen ‘s upcoming Australian tour, filling in for Steven Van Zandt . [ Loudwire ] – Bullet for My Valentine give you a look at the solos from their ‘Temper Temper’ album in our exclusive video preview. [ Loudwire ] – Twenty-five years ago, AC/DC released their ‘Blow Up Your Video’ album. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Has it really been that long? Black Sabbath ‘s ‘Live Evil’ has turned 30. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Sorry Smiths fans. Morrissey says there will not be a reunion of the band at this year’s Coachella Festival. [ Diffuser.fm ] – The Avett Brothers lead an eclectic lineup of acts at the 2013 Kanrocksas Festival. [ Diffuser.fm ]

Election Day: Rockers Take Action on Twitter

Whitney Curtis, Getty Images It’s arguably the most American day of the year (sorry, Fourth of July), as those with the rights given to them as American citizens are heading out to the polls today to cast their votes on both candidates and bills that will affect their immediate future. It’s one of the great things about being an American is having elections that give you the right to help determine what the future will hold. Whether it be current President Obama or his opposition, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney that you vote for, the key is the exercise of your right as an American citizen. A number of top rockers have weighed in via Twitter, attempting to get their fans out to the polls to vote. Some have remained bipartisan, while others are specifically attempting to sway their followers in a certain political direction. See what members of Foo Fighters , System of a Down , Motley Crue , Pearl Jam and more have to say about Election Day in the tweets below: I don’t care WHO you VOTE for, just fucking do it. The power is in OUR HANDS. #Vote — Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) November 6, 2012 Friends in the US, Please go and vote today to make sure no crazy right wing C**t takes control of our destiny again. — Serj Tankian (@serjtankian) November 6, 2012 Election Day! Stand up and be counted. — Rise Against (@riseagainst) November 6, 2012 Don’t forget to Vote today! fb.me/1nyLfWdRE — Anthrax (Band) (@Anthrax) November 6, 2012 Today’s the day! Anyone vote yet? @ sonnywhosoever — Payable On Death (@POD) November 6, 2012 Today’s a big day for the USA !! Get out there and vote!!Who’s Gonna Win ??? — My Darkest Days (@MyDarkestDays) November 6, 2012 OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND COLORADO, IF YOURE VOTING TODAY HELP LEGALIZE IT! twitter.com/DAVIDMDRAIMAN/… — DAVID DRAIMAN (@DAVIDMDRAIMAN) November 6, 2012 Just so u know, I already voted. But today’s the final day to be able to do so. So get out & do it! iiii]; )’ — Slash (@Slash) November 6, 2012 GET OUT THERE AND VOTE! — Rev Theory (@revtheory) November 6, 2012 Tweet us a photo of you with an “I Voted” sign and we’ll RT some. Use #IVoted tag. #GoVote ! — Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) November 6, 2012 twitter.com/foofighters/st… — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) November 6, 2012 There you have it. If you haven’t voted yet, be sure to get out at your first convenience. If so, take pride in knowing you’ve done your civic duty. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/motorhead-lemmy-kilmister-calls-mitt-romney-a-f-ing-monster/” title=”Next: Motorhead’s Lemmy Weighs in on Presidential Election” align=”center”]

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Discusses Being Hit by Beer + Rocks at Croatian Festival

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com You may remember an incident in Croatia earlier this year where Megadeth were pelted with beer bottles and rocks after a group of fans blamed the ‘Big 4′ thrash act for W.A.S.P. no-showing at the festival. After frontman Dave Mustaine was hit in the head with a rock, the band ended their set early. Now, nearly four months later, Mustaine has spoken out about the event in a new interview. After being asked by Powerline about the online backlash to some of Mustaine’s controversial comments, such as speaking out against gay marriage and claiming that President Obama “was born somewhere else than America ” even after Obama’s long-form birth certificate was released, Mustaine eventually made his way to the Croatian incident. Mustaine mistakenly placed the event in the Czech Republic rather than Croatia, but he still recalled the situation with vivid detail: I treat people the way I want to be treated. Even when we were in the Czech Republic and people were upset about the whole debacle with W.A.S.P. not playing and took it out on us. That wasn’t our fault but they still were taking it out on us and when we were in Dubai we did a meet-and-greet and a woman and her little boy came up. And she said, “Yeah, he saw you in the Czech Republic and he was supposed to meet you after the concert and you guys finished early.” And I was gonna say, “Yeah, but …” and she said, “He cried because he didn’t get to meet you.” And I thought, “You know what?! Son of a gun …” The guys that acted out there, I understand why they did that. They wanted to see W.A.S.P., they don’t know why that they didn’t play and somebody had said something that it was our fault. It wasn’t our fault. We don’t decide whether W.A.S.P. plays or not. And they had been out in the sun drinking and they thought it was a novel way to express their disdain for the way things took place was to throw objects at us. I understand. I totally understand. I would have handled it a little bit different. I’m not a p—y who throws rocks at artists. They may not love me, but I still have love in my heart for them. And I’m not going to write the Czech Republic off just because of these few people who mishandled themselves that day. I think that if the guys who actually did that, if we sat down and talked, we’d probably have a lot in common. Because I don’t dislike W.A.S.P. I’m actually friends with Blackie [Lawless] and I probably would have wanted to see them play as much as their fans did — well, probably not as much, but it’s funny how similar a lot of us are when you get down to it, but this mob mentality gets people fired up and you’re afraid to say what your convictions really are because … You know, I saw a letter about three years ago. It was the vice president of GE and I’m thinking it was an open letter about how afraid he was about the way things were going and how he doesn’t think he’ll be able to write the same letter several years later because of the fact that if anybody who says anything negative right now about a politician is going to be vilified and, man, damn if he wasn’t right. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/megadeth-dave-mustaine-shares-concerns-vocal-damage-cursing/” title=”Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Shares Concerns Over Vocal Damage + Cursing” align=”center”]

Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Voices Support for Affordable Care Act

Rick Diamond, Getty Images With the presidential election just over two weeks away,  Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has teamed up with filmmaker Jesse Dylan in a video encouraging people to vote only for Congressional candidates that support the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare (watch below). In the video, McCready voices his support for the Affordable Care Act because of his personal experience in dealing with pre-existing conditions. McCready suffers from Crohn’s Disease. “Before the Affordable Care Act, people with conditions like mine could be denied coverage. I know. I was denied twice, even being a member of a famous rock band,” said McCready. “The people who don’t have those kind of resources, they are stuck, they have no choices. But now, we can’t be denied insurance because of something we can’t change—our illnesses. We have choices, we can be insured, and we can focus on having a life.” The two also have issued a joint statement about the issue. Part of the letter explains why they support the Affordable Care Act: “The insurance industry’s structure left 129 million Americans – including 17 million children – at risk of being denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing medical condition. Millions of Americans tried to buy health care, but were turned away or charged more because they were sick (or had been sick), and therefore didn’t look like a good risk. Millions more Americans were unable to afford insurance, or exceeded their lifetime treatment caps, or experienced other difficulties that left them uninsured and without access to affordable health care when they needed it most. Business isn’t a bad thing. But the business of health insurance hasn’t been a good thing in America. Not for anyone with a chronic illness, or with a spouse who got sick and lost their job, or for a gravely ill child and his or her parents. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) recognized these shortcomings and rectified them. ObamaCare does for health care what business could not or would not; it prohibits discrimination against those of us with pre-existing conditions. It ensures everyone, regardless of their employment status or health care situation, access to quality insurance and medical care. Everyone. Period.” McCready has started a petition on SignOn.org where people can join him to pledge their vote for candidates that support the Affordable Care Act. Watch Mike McCready in the Video ‘Life Is a Pre-Existing Condition’

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian Offers His Take on the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

Robert Sebree, Getty Images System of a Down singer and social activist Serj Tankian  offers many opinions in a new in-depth interview. Among the topics discussed is the 2012 Presidential Election. In the fascinating interview with American Rock Scene , Tankian went into detail about America’s current political structure. “Here’s the thing, if you want more choices you have to create more choices,” begins Tankian. “We need more parties and that’s been the case for many, many years … We really need a healthy left wing party in this country like the Green Party or — I’m down to start a socialist party because President Obama is not socialist. The republicans are calling him socialist and I’m like, “come on,” the guy made legislation where you have to buy insurance from private entities. That’s not socialism, there’s no public option. Most of his policies are centrist, just to the right of center, sometimes left of center. That’s not socialism, but apparently, America has no idea what socialism is.” Tankian goes on to speak about Republican candidate Mitt Romney. “Mitt Romney’s policies are, well first of all, he’s gone back and forth between so many different policies. First he supported health care in Massachusetts and then he turned a 360 and said, ‘I don’t like it anymore I was wrong. Everything I thought, was wrong, I repudiate.’ He’s just trying to get the right wingers on his side but ultimately they are failed policies of the past. It hasn’t worked for America. It’s left us in debt, it’s left us in wars. And the fact that he actually even said that he doesn’t care about 47 percent of America. I would f—ing toss him off the ticket now. That’s offensive. His answer was that it wasn’t a classy way of explaining it, he didn’t even refute it. He admitted saying those things.” Check out the rest of Serj Tankian’s interview with American Rock Scene  here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-toxicity-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”System of a Down – Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]