Mike Lawrie, Getty Images Scott Weiland will begin 2013 as a solo artist. The frontman, who made overtures about reuniting with Velvet Revolver last year only to have Slash publicly rebuke them and reveal that the singer had once again parted ways with Stone Temple Pilots , is hitting the road next month. According to Weiland’s Facebook page , the tour has been dubbed the “Purple at the Core” trek, signifying that the vocalist may be focusing his energies on the music from the first two Stone Temple Pilots albums. Weiland is billed on the tour image as “Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts,” with two other musicians appearing in the shot. In addition to the ‘Purple’ and ‘Core’ albums, the singer is expected to perform songs from his solo and Velvet Revolver catalogs as well. The tour gets underway March 1 in Flint, Michigan and continues through to a March 27 finale in Dallas. Tickets are currently available here . Scott Weiland’s ‘Purple at the Core’ 2013 Tour Dates 3/1 — Flint, Mich. — Machine Shop 3/2 — Traverse City, Mich. — Ground Zero 3/4 — Niagara Falls, N.Y. — Rapids Theatre 3/6 — Patchogue, N.Y. — Emporium 3/7 — Boston, Mass. — Wilbur Theatre 3/9 — New York, N.Y. — Irving Plaza 3/11 — Washington, D.C. — Howard Theatre 3/12 — New Brunswick, N.J. — State Theatre 3/14 — Bethlehem, Pa. — Sands Bethlehem Event Center 3/15 — Fort Wayne, Ind. — Piere’s 3/19 — Chicago, Ill. — House of Blues 3/20 — Cleveland, Ohio — House of Blues 3/22 — Cincinnati, Ohio — Bogarts 3/23 — Indianapolis, Ind. — Egyptian Room 3/26 — Houston, Texas — House of Blues 3/27 — Dallas, Texas — House of Blues [button href=”http://loudwire.com/scott-weiland-working-on-new-material-planning-tour/” title=”Next: Scott Weiland Working on New Material” align=”center”]
Facebook: Jon Dette Drummer Jon Dette’s name has been surfacing a lot more in the news lately as he’s landed a pair of high profile fill-in gigs for Anthrax and Slayer , two acts he’s played with previously. Dette recently spoke with ‘The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show’ at the NAMM Convention (video below) just weeks before his offers to join Anthrax and Slayer for dates became wide public knowledge. Dette, who is mostly known for his work with Testament , will sit behind the kit for both Anthrax and Slayer on each band’s respective tours of Australia and he says there’s nothing but respect for the two men whose chair he’ll be filling in the coming months. He explained, “ Charlie [Benante] is one of my biggest influences ever, next to [Dave] Lombardo .” The drummer first sat in with Anthrax last year , taking over for Shadows Fall ‘s Jason Bittner when Benante was unable to tour. The Anthrax skinbeater personally called Dette to fill in, and the drummer recalls, “It was kind of a surreal moment for me to get a call like that, saying, ‘Hey can you help me out?’ Which of course I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I just went and did a Europe tour with Anthrax and Motorhead and now I’m getting ready to actually head off to India and Australia with them in February and March.” As for Slayer, Dette’s stint with the band came between Paul Bostaph and the return of Dave Lombardo behind the kit. He recalls, “Slayer is one of those bands I’ve been playing forever, and so it was so natural, and I think we really felt that when we were in a room together.” Speaking about his past experience, he added, “[There were] so many business things that I got to learn — just the music business in general, good and bad. But, again, just to have the opportunity to play for one of my all-time favorite bands and see the back of their heads every night … I’d like to think I did it justice at the time I was with the band and it was just an amazing experience.” Watch Jon Dette Discuss His History With Anthrax + Slayer [button href=”http://loudwire.com/decibel-magazine-tour-2013-must-see-metal-concerts/” title=”Next: Check Out 2013’s Must-See Metal Concerts” align=”center”]
Freeman Promotions Clutch are still rocking hard as the band prepares for the release of their ‘Earth Rocker’ album, but frontman Neil Fallon tells Loudwire that the overall mood of the disc is a little lighter than their last few discs. The frontman explained about the content shift, “I wanted lyrically this record to be more fun than the last couple of ones. Both ‘Strange Cousins’ and ‘Beale St.’ were both pretty dark records lyrically. This one has a bit more levity I think.” One of the songs that lightens things up is their current single and the album’s title track , where Fallon himself is having a blast giving his best rock ‘n’ roll cackle. The singer explains, “The ‘bu-ha-ha,’ for lack of a better way to describe it, I wouldn’t be doing that if Screaming Jay Hawkins hadn’t done it in ‘I Put a Spell on You.’ I did that kind of as a goof in practice once and I told the guys I wouldn’t do that and they said, ‘No, please do that again and make that part of the song.’” Even though it is a fun track, Fallon admits he has other uses for the song. He reveals, “It’s a little bit of a self-motivational speech. It’s something you say to yourself in the mirror before you go out and take on the day and that came about primarily when we were doing a lot of festivals. I heard a lot of young bands bemoaning or whining about having to play in the heat or the catering sucks or the crowd wasn’t good and I just, maybe I’m getting old and cranky, but I just found myself saying, ‘Shut the f— up and play.’ You should be so lucky that you have the opportunity to do this and most people would gladly exchange the opportunity to switch places with you at this point in time. Maybe I just found myself guilty of some of those same attitudes and had to slap myself out of it and that’s kind of where at least the attitude of that song came about.” Clutch’s ‘Earth Rocker’ arrives in stores March 19 and is currently available for pre-order here . Stay tuned for our full interview with Neil Fallon. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/clutch-2013-must-see-rock-concerts/” title=”Next: Clutch – 2013 Must-See Rock Concerts” align=”center”]
Simone Joyner, Getty Images Bullet for My Valentine are enjoying the success of their current single ‘ Riot ,’ but frontman Matt Tuck tells Loudwire that the song’s start initially struck them perhaps in the wrong way. He recalls of the track’s beginnings, “It was just that, ‘De-da-de-lada-dow-dow,’ that annoying riff that we had that was the intro of the song. It was a riff that Padge had on one of the songs he was kind of writing so we offered to finish it. It was so annoying that it was cool.” Once the band got past the initial ‘annoyance,’ Tuck says he and the group began to envision grander plans for the song. “I could just hear it being live in a big arena. I thought it would be an amazing song, so we kind of stole that riff from Padge, wrote the rest of the song musically and it was so in-your-face and direct and punk rock that it had that rebellious spirit and anarchy and punk rock, and I just thought ‘Riot’ was a perfect kind of theme for the song really,” explains the frontman. The singer says it’s been great so far hearing the “whoa-oh-oh’s” back from the audiences, as the band recently played a show in Cardiff before returning to the States. Tuck says, “I think it’s definitely going to be one of the highlights of the Bullet shows for years to come. It’s just an undeniably catchy kind of rock song. I just know it’ll go over live. The tempo’s perfect, the lyrics are nice, the melody’s cool and there’s that flashy section in the middle where you can get circle pits going. It’s kind of the perfect modern kind of metal tune in my eyes, you know what I mean? So yeah, it’s good.” Bullet for My Valentine fans will be able to hear ‘Riot’ on the band’s HardDriveLive trek with Halestorm. To see the dates for the tour, click here . And check back very shortly for our full interview with Matt Tuck. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bullet-for-my-valentine-temper-temper-album-review/” title=”Next: Read Our Review of Bullet for My Valentine’s ‘Temper Temper’ Album” align=”center”]
Rick Diamond, Getty Images Kid Rock ‘s generosity knows no bounds, especially when it comes to his hometown of Detroit and by extension his home state of Michigan. The rocker’s good will was on display again recently when he teamed with Pulte Homes and Operation Finally Home to have a new home built for a returning “wounded warrior” and his family. MLive.com reports that Sgt. Davin Dumar, an Army vet who lost his left leg and injured his arm after an improvised explosive device went off, first learned that his family was in the running for a new home last fall. According to a CNN report (seen below), Dumar and his wife were one of a handful of couples under consideration for the home, having undergone a series of interviews to be chosen. The couple was on their way to a model home, presumably for one final interview, when they were greeted by Rock and representatives from Pulte Homes and Operation Finally Home who were there to share the news that they had been selected and to show them the designs of their new home. Rock stated, “My heart is pumping just to be part of it. Just to work with Dan [from Operation Finally Home] to make it happen for someone like Sgt. Dumar here, so deserving.” For his part, Dumar shared his shock at the events of the day, adding, “I’m completely surprised. I certainly didn’t think I’d be having a cigar with Kid Rock today.” MLive reports that after construction started late last year, the couple recently moved into their Macomb Township home. Watch Kid Rock Present Sgt. Davin Dumar With a New Home (from CNN) [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kid-rock-picks-up-high-school-band-2500-thanksgiving-day-travel-bill/” title=”Next: Kid Rock Picks Up High School Band’s $2500 Travel Bill” align=”center”]
Theo Wargo, Getty Images It’s time to start stocking up on extra padding as Suicidal Tendencies have announced their impending return with a brand-new full-length album and a full-on tour to follow. The band will release their ‘Who’s Afraid?’ album on March 26 and you can bet the group’s ninth release is filled with all the energy and fury of its predecessors. Details on the disc are scarce at this point, but it’s likely that the group will incorporate songs from the album into their set lists when they tour in April. Frontman ‘Cyco Miko’ Muir stated last year of their hopes for their new music, “The way we look at it is that next year will be the 30th anniversary of our first record. When we look at a record, we don’t want to have it sound like 2012. We want it to sound awesome 25 years from now, so when a kid who wasn’t even born when we made it listens to it, he’s like, ‘Damn, that’s a cool record!’” The group has dubbed their upcoming trek the ‘Slam City’ tour. It launches April 11 at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco and runs through a May 12 finale in San Diego. Suicidal Tendencies revealed that DRI will be joining them for the first part of the run, with Sick of It All taking over as primary support on the back end. Meanwhile, Wake the Dead will serve as the opening act throughout the run and the band is teasing the possibility of another great band who they hope to have on board for the first four shows of the trek. Stay tuned. Suicidal Tendencies Spring 2013 North American Tour 4/11 — San Francisco, Calif. — Regency Ballroom 4/12 — Reno, Nev. — Knitting Factory 4/13 — Salt Lake City, Utah — In the Venue 4/14 — Denver, Colo. — Summit 4/16 — Minneapolis, Minn. — Mill City Nights 4/17 — Chicago, Ill. — House of Blues 4/19 — Philadelphia, Pa. — Electric Ballroom 4/20 — New York, N.Y. — Best Buy Theater 4/21 — Worcester, Mass. — Palladium 4/23 — Patchogue, N.Y. — Emporium 4/24 — Baltimore, Md. — Baltimore Soundstage 4/26 — Charlotte, N.C. — Amos’ Southend 4/27 — Atlanta, Ga. — Masquerade 4/28 — Charleston, S.C. — The Music Farm 4/30 — St. Petersburg, Fla. — State Theatre 5/2 — Miami, Fla. — Grand Central 5/3 — Orlando, Fla. — The Plaza Live 5/6 — Houston, Texas — House of Blues 5/7 — Dallas, Texas — Granada Theater 5/9 — Albuquerque, N.M. — TBA 5/10 — Tempe, Ariz. — Marquee Theater 5/11 — Pomona, Calif. — Fox Theater 5/12 — San Diego, Calif. — House of Blues [button href=”http://loudwire.com/decibel-magazine-tour-2013-must-see-metal-concerts/” title=”Next: Check Out Other 2013 Must-See Metal Concerts” align=”center”]
Universal Heavy metal’s living (as of this post) legends Steel Panther have been making progress on their upcoming third full-length album. Since the release of ‘Balls Out’ in October 2011, Steel Panther presumably have been celebrating the album’s success with mountains of cocaine covered in groupies, but after finally coming down from the binge, the Los Angeles quartet are back in the studio. Steel Panther have been on a roll since their debut release, ‘Feel the Steel,’ in 2009. They’ve captured the hearts and naughty parts of fans worldwide, even gaining enough votes in our 2012 Loudwire Music Awards to be declared Live Act of the Year , beating out legends such as Metallica , Tool and Iron Maiden . The heavy metal re-innovators teased that they’ve started recording a new ralbum on Feb. 12, posting an in-studio picture of a soundboard along with the message, “So it begins…” Steel Panther drummer Stix Zadinia has completed tracking his drums for the yet-untitled record, and according to a series of tweets from Zadinia, rhythm guitars are also done, with bassist Lexxi Foxxx next in line to lay down his parts. NEWSFLASH: Rhythm guitars are DONE for new record. Bass begging tomorrow! This shit is gettin handled!!!!! — Stix Zadinia (@Stixzadinia) February 22, 2013 ? I’m goin to the studio today, just to listen to how fucking heavy Satchel’s axe tracks sound! Also, cuz that’s where I’m meeting my dealer. — Stix Zadinia (@Stixzadinia) February 22, 2013 ? Stay tuned for further news on Steel Panther’s third studio album, and remember … Death to All But Metal! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/steel-panther-fat-girl-british-invasion-dvd-exclusive-premiere/” title=”Steel Panther Expose ‘Fat Girl’ Live From ‘British Invasion’ DVD” align=”center”]