Mark Metcalfe / Ethan Miller, Getty Images Deftones continue to receive plenty of acclaim for their ‘ Koi No Yokan ‘ album, with the disc making many year-end Top 10 critics lists, including a No. 1 spot on Loudwire’s 10 Best Rock Albums of 2012 . But the success for the band is bittersweet as they’ve been doing it without the services of longtime bassist Chi Cheng , who has mostly been in a comatose state since his 2008 car accident. While Cheng has been out of action, singer Chino Moreno says his presence is felt on their recent material and he feels the musician would appreciate what the band has been doing in his absence. Moreno tells the Irish Times , “Some of the best times in our lives have been together as friends making this music together and he’s a very big part of it. I’ve been friends with him for most of my life. I think he would appreciate what we are doing now.” The band’s creative resurgence with both ‘Koi No Yokan’ and their previous disc ‘Diamond Eyes’ came after Cheng’s accident, and Moreno says that it really proved to be a catalyst for the band’s future musical focus. He says, “It made everybody sit back and realize that little things don’t seem to matter so much anymore. It’s just music. It is not the be all and end all, but it is a gift and we appreciate it. Everybody got into a really good headspace and it made us all close together. We started to appreciate and enjoy it more.” The singer adds, “A lot of people deal with things that are bad. Once you’ve been through something, you grow from it and you take a lot in. You can always turn it into something positive.” As for Cheng’s future, Moreno says, “I think [we’ll see him recover]. That’s what keeps us going. [It’s] four years since his accident. He’s still alive, he’s still fighting. He wants to make it through this. It has happened before in a lot of cases. We do keep positive and hopeful. It helps us to carry through and keep going. It could be the case that he never wakes up, but the best thing we can do is keep a positive mental attitude about things.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/deftones-spring-2013-u-s-tour/” title=”Next: Deftones Announce 2013 North American Tour” align=”center”]
Ethan Miller, Getty Images Hollywood Undead continue to pull in new fans with each album and the fact that their latest single ‘We Are’ is connecting with a certain demographic of their fanbase is no coincidence. One of the band’s emcees, Johnny 3 Tears, tells Loudwire that he specifically wrote the chorus with the fans in their teens and early twenties in mind. He explains, “I guess especially when you’re out on the road, you talk to a lot of kids. A large majority of our fanbase are 16- and 17-year-old kids and they get up in their 20s and stuff, and the vast majority of them I make it a point to speak [to] and get to know as many of them as I can. And I suppose I hear a lot about their difficulties in this day and age. It’s depressing. I’m older now and kind of out of touch with some of the things that present themselves. And I kind of got the idea from talking to kids as much as I could. They go through what they go through and I always find that inspiring. I think it’s one of the more difficult times in anyone’s life and that was what I wrote the chorus about and we kind of filled in the gaps from there.” Loudwire happened to speak with Johnny on the day of the Newtown, Conn., school tragedy and he relayed how different things are for kids of today than when he was growing up. He explained, “When I was a teenager, that stuff didn’t happen. I never heard of anything like that and now it seems to be, and I’m not just narrowing it down to one thing, but these things seem to happen all the time. I don’t know. I really feel for the group of kids that are walking around that have to deal with this stuff.” He went on to add, “Obviously, I look at it from a different vantage point. I have a kid of my own and it’s definitely scary man, the way the world is going, and I really don’t know how things get this messed up. But certainly a song like ‘We Are’ is more important now than it was when I was younger. I feel a full-on empathy for what kids are going to have to go through cause it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. In fact, it seems quite the opposite. It’s pretty sickening sometimes, man.” ‘We Are’ is the lead single from Hollywood Undead’s forthcoming album, ‘ Notes From the Underground ,’ due in stores Jan. 8. Pre-orders for this disc are currently being taken here . Stay tuned for our full interview with Johnny 3 Tears about Hollywood Undead’s ‘Notes From the Underground’ album. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/hollywood-undead-we-are-video-directed-by-slipknot-clown-january-tour/” title=”Next: Watch Hollywood Undead’s ‘We Are’ Video” align=”center”]
Facebook: Suicide Silence The cameras will be rolling when the members of Suicide Silence and their all-star lineup of guest vocalists team up for a memorial concert to salute the band’s late singer, Mitch Lucker . The vocalist died in a motorcycle crash Halloween night and the idea of the show is to not only pay tribute to the singer, but to also raise money for the future education of Lucker’s daughter, Kenadee. The ‘ Ending Is the Beginning: Mitch Lucker Memorial ‘ event will take place tomorrow night (Dec. 21) at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Calif. and a majority of the lineup has been revealed. Hellyeah ‘s Chad Gray , As I Lay Dying ‘s Tim Lambesis and All Shall Perish ‘s Eddie Hermida were the first names revealed for the event. In the weeks since, Asking Alexandria ‘s Danny Worsnop, Whitechapel ‘s Phil Bozeman, Winds of Plague ‘s Johnny Plague, Of Mice & Men ‘s Austin Carlile, Impending Doom ‘s Brook Reeves, After the Burial’s Anthony Notarmaso, Disfiguring the Goddess’ Cameron “Big Chocolate” Argon, former Bury Your Dead musician Myke Terry and ex-Suffokate member Ricky Hoover have also joined the bill. The band did state via their Facebook page that the show will be shot for a future DVD release and that there would be some “big names” that were not revealed in advance of the show. All proceeds from the performance and presumably of the forthcoming DVD would go to the Kenadee Lucker education fund. For more information on how you can donate, click here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/suicide-silence-donation-page-benefit-daughter-late-singer-mitch-lucker/” title=”Next: Suicide Silence Launch Donation Page for Kenadee Lucker” align=”center”]
Saturday Night Live With all the excitement that’s come from the surviving members of Nirvana writing and performing and recording an original song with Beatles icon Paul McCartney , there are a million questions about the musical collective’s future. Will the spontaneous collaboration lead to more material? Will there be a tour? How exactly do you persuade Sir Paul McCartney to come jam in your basement? To list off the mental ramblings of Nirvana and Beatles fans would fill an encyclopedia, but bassist Krist Novoselic has got some inside info to share via his official blog. Paul McCartney himself has told the tale of how he found himself in the middle of a “Nirvana reunion,” but Novoselic has now documented his side of the story as a casual musician who was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “The collaboration came out of the Sound CIty film that was produced and directed by Dave,” writes Novoselic. “He asked me if I wanted to play with him, Pat and Paul? I said YES! It was a wonderful day — Paul came in with this cigar box guitar and started playing some mean slide on it. He said it was in a “D”. Hearing that, Grunge instincts took over my left hand and I dropped the E on the bass to D. Pat and Dave got into it and the tune took shape. Paul flashed a riff and we picked it up. I busted another one out and everyone picked it up. Things started coming together.” Novoselic continues to recount the dream jam session, while offering his view on exactly what the track ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ represents for the future of the impromptu band. “It was so exciting to play with Paul,” gushes the Nirvana bassist. “I became seized with thoughts, for I hadn’t played like that with Pat or Dave since the last Nirvana show in 1994. Wow, it was emotionally and musically heavy! Some other things brought me back; there was a Lefty on guitar who was a heck of a songwriter. Anyway, words can’t really describe it and I returned to the task at hand. A new song was born! And that’s about it. That’s all it is — a new song by some players who have doing it for a while.” ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ has been performed live twice by the group, debuting the track at the ’12-12-12′ Hurricane Sandy benefit, with an encore on ‘Saturday Night Live’ soon after … not bad for a band without a name. According to Novoselic in a separate blog post , although the project has been called many names, the bassist’s personal favorite seems to be ‘Sirvana,’ which offers a nod to the Beatle legend’s status as Sir Paul McCartney Sirvana’s sole original song is now available to purchase via iTunes . Paul McCartney + Nirvana Members Perform at ’12-12-12′ Benefit
Papa Roach courtesy of Guitar Center. Papa Roach are keeping busy this holiday season by releasing a new single, ‘Where Did the Angels Go,’ off the band’s ‘ The Connection ’ album, as well as prepping for a co-headlining North American tour with Stone Sour scheduled for early 2013. Now, Papa Roach are set to appear on a new episode of ‘ Guitar Center Sessions ,’ airing next Friday (Dec. 28) at 9 p.m. on DirectTV’s Audience Network (Ch. 239). But, why wait? Check out an exclusive clip of Papa Roach performing ‘Still Swingin,’ the first single off ‘The Connection,’ in the video below. Papa Roach recently took time off from the road to allow lead singer Jacoby Shaddix undergo throat surgery and rest his vocal cords. Along with the performance clip, an interview portion of ‘Guitar Center Sessions’ that features Shaddix speaking about those medical battles and getting his voice back can also be seen below. “It feels great, man,” Shaddix said of getting his prized voice back. “I couldn’t talk for 10 days. I was losing my freaking mind! I got like a white board. I’m, like, trying to mouth the words. Text. To me, that was the longest silence since my birth!” Papa Roach’s ‘Still Swingin’ is currently nominated for Rock Song of the Year in the Loudwire Music Awards. Place your votes here . Watch Papa Roach Perform “Still Swingin’ on ‘Guitar Center Sessions’ Watch a Papa Roach’s Interview on ‘Guitar Center Sessions’
Lostprophets: Facebook Following the arrest of Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins for various unfathomable charges involving children, the rock world has held its breath with an unhinged discomfort. Facing some of the most heinous charges in recent memory, Watkins now finds himself sitting in a jail cell. Now, his bandmates have offered an official statement, citing their current “state of shock.” The official charges brought against Watkins include conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a 1-year-old female, two incidents of “sexual touching” involving young children and possession and distribution of “indecent images of children,” along with “extreme” animal pornography. These charges are enough to cause any human being’s jaw to drop, and Watkins is now scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 31 after he and his two alleged female conspirators, aged 20 and 24, were denied bail. Lostprophets have just offered a written statement addressing the situation via their official website: Following charges made today against Ian Watkins, we find ourselves in a state of shock. We are learning about the details of the investigation along with you. It is a difficult time for us and our families, and we want to thank our fans for their support as we seek answers. Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike and Stu Stay tuned for further developments as news continues to break. [button href=”http://loudwire.com” title=”Lostprophets Singer Arrested for Child Sex Offense Charges ” align=”center”]
Michael Loccisano, Getty Images After spending a good portion of the year in the studio recording the upcoming Alice in Chains album, singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell is in the mood to get out and play. Cantrell was a surprise guest of the Walking Papers during their performance at the Crocodile Café in Seattle Saturday night (Dec. 15). Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM reports that Cantrell joined the band, which features Duff McKagan , the Missionary Position’s Jeff Angell and Ben Anderson, and former Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, for two songs during their performance. Cantrell rocked guitar on ‘Your Secret Is Safe With Me’ (which can be seen below) and ‘Two Tickets.’ Walking Papers released their debut disc back in October. It features a guest appearance from another Seattle favorite — Pearl Jam ‘s Mike McCready — lending some guitar assistance. As for the upcoming Alice in Chains disc, Cantrell told Revolver (excerpted by Grunge Report ) that the as-yet-untitled album stays true to form. He explained, “I don’t think you’ll be surprised by anything you hear. It’s us. It’s also really unique. It’s got all the elements of any record we’ve put out, but it’s unlike any record we’ve put out. Basically, it’s the next chapter in the Alice in Chains book, and it’s going to be a big one.” Though a release date and title have yet to be announced for the new Alice in Chains record, the new song ‘ Hollow ‘ just arrived, complete with a fan-generated lyric video. Watch Jerry Cantrell Join Walking Papers for ‘Your Secret Is Safe With Me’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/jerry-cantrell-confirms-completion-upcoming-alice-in-chains-album/” title=”Next: Jerry Cantrell Discusses Completed Alice in Chains Album” align=”center”]