Topics

31

The Wicked Garden / The STP / Zeppelin connection.

« on: November 03, 2016, 05:14:28 PM »

Call me crazy but I always found a very close association between STP's catalog and how it related to Zeppelin's, beyond STP’s obvious love for Zep. And notwithstanding, each band’s ostracism by the music press, despite their success.

CORE / ZEP I:
First album was the foundation and introduction of the band. More straight up than later records would exemplify between production and sound experimentation. Might call it the most bare-bones sounding record of each band, but also first albums have a tendency to have that quality.

PURPLE / ZEP II:
Second album was the sound of a band really coming into their own. While an extension of the first, it further gave a glimpse of what might follow. It began to broaden the dynamics of the bands’ sounds. Many times regarded by fans as "doing what the first album did but better".

TINY MUSIC / ZEP III:
Third album: the "experimental" record. The band returned with a different sound. They pushed themselves and their fan-base. Some casual fans felt alienated, might have moved on. Both albums were deemed commercial disappointments but over time, both Zep III and Tiny Music were rewarded with newfound appreciation and it was the album that each band respectively needed to make. Fans understand that album much more in the midst of the full catalog, more than they did upon release.
[insert: STP’s status, were they going to break up? Would they return? Zeppelin also “disappeared” briefly to make their next album that would make or break their continued success]

NO.4 / ZEP IV:
Fourth album was a conglomeration of all the various pieces and influences that made the band. The rock roots were there, the experimentation was there, the influences were on full display. The album titles lend themselves too (although technically Zep IV was untitled). And after the trippy artwork on each band’s previous album, Zep refused to list their name on their 4^th album while STP’s minimal artwork/branding is similar in how it differed from their previous album.
 
SLDD / HOUSES OF THE HOLY:
Album 5 is the band moving in a new direction. On a creative high. Sounding like nothing they’d done before but all the while still very much who they were. Brighter colors, vivid mood & production. While Zeppelin clearly had more success, this was STP’s touring peak. They never sounded better.
 
Unfortunately, after everything dissolved on the SLDD tour and Scott ended up with VR, we fans missed out on that possible double album that they wanted to put out for years... STP’s Physical Graffiti?
 
Anyway, I’m probably overthinking it, but as both bands in my all-time top 5, I couldn’t help it.

32

I'm Looking For A New Rock Sensation / Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge)

« on: October 25, 2016, 03:38:49 PM »

What is everyone's thoughts on Vinnie Dombroski from Sponge?

Vocal tone, range, lyrics, melodies?

33

Scott Weiland / Jamie Selling Engagement Ring

« on: August 16, 2016, 02:57:32 PM »

Jamie is selling the engagement ring that Scott gave her.

This was posted on FB:
This is the ring Scott gave me when he proposed. Eight months into this new chapter of my life, I need to part with it. I am so sad to see it go but it's a truly gorgeous piece and I would love for it to make someone as happy as it once made me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/142087271161?ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Not sure if it's a financial or emotional decision. I guess it doesn't matter either way, but I was very surprised and saddened to read about this.

34

I'm Looking For A New Rock Sensation / Temple of the Dog tour.

« on: July 20, 2016, 07:10:44 PM »

In case anyone here cares...Temple of the Dog announced a fall tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their album.

go to www.templeofthedog.com

35

Out Of The Chains That Bind You / Ticketmaster Free Vouchers

« on: June 20, 2016, 07:31:42 PM »

Some of you may have heard but for those that haven't... if you bought tickets through Ticketmaster between October 21, 1999, thru February 27, 2013, you may be eligible for free or discounted tickets due to a recent lawsuit settlement.

Log in to your TM account. Go to My Account > Active Vouchers and see if you have any codes to redeem.
I got a handful.

36

Velvet Revolver / Contraband, 12 years today.

« on: June 09, 2016, 03:37:21 AM »

Hard to believe but Contraband is 12 years old today.

Loudwire has a cool write up.

http://loudwire.com/velvet-revolver-contraband-album-anniversary/

By the time the 21st Century rolled around, many Guns N’ Roses fans were wondering if and when we might ever see the long-teased Chinese Democracy album. Meanwhile, most of the band’s original lineup had moved on to other projects, but hadn’t seen much success. Then, in April 2002, came a supposed one-off reunion that turned into something special.

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum got together to play a tribute concert for ailing Motley Crue drummer Randy Castillo in Hollywood. Rounding out the band was Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson. What was evident from that one show was that Slash, Duff and Matt still had the chemistry and felt like they could start anew. And while Todd and Nelson were initially part of the project, the ex-GN’R trio decided to move forward without either.

By September, they were putting out ads seeking a vocalist “somewhere in the realm of early Alice Cooper/Steven Tyler, the harder-edged side of McCartney and Lennon.” By October 2002, the still unnamed act added guitarist Dave Kushner, who had played with McKagan in Loaded. In addition, another former Gunner, Izzy Stradlin, was reportedly writing with the group, though he would eventually exit the project after a few weeks.

Over the next few months, a few names surfaced as potential vocalists. Days of the New‘s Travis Meeks, Neurotica’s Kelly Shaefer, Sebastian Bach, Lit‘s A. Jay Popoff and future Slash band member Todd Kerns were among the names rumored to have tried out, while Faith No More‘s Mike Patton, future Alter Bridge and Slash vocalist Myles Kennedy and The Cult‘s Ian Astbury were also rumored to be invited to audition, but each had reportedly turned down the offers. Then, in April 2003, Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland became available and eventually landed the gig.

Guitarist Dave Kushner told KNAC.com, “It was so undeniable. It was him … It’s like he came in and we gave him a demo of one song, and he came back a day and a half later and it was ‘Set Me Free,’ you know, it was from The Hulk soundtrack … And once we listened to that, it was like, ‘All right. This is the guy.'”

However, a month later, Weiland was arrested after a traffic collision and was charged on suspicion of driving under the influence and drug possession. The singer entered rehab in June and the band worked around his rehab sessions.

After settling on the name Velvet Revolver, the band played their first show at the El Rey in Los Angeles. The set mostly consisted of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N’ Roses covers, but there were two new tracks that surfaced — “Set Me Free” and “Slither.” Not long after, the group inked a record deal with RCA and the beginnings of their first album were set in motion.

Speaking about the process, Kushner stated, “We really wrote… we wrote about 60 songs with Scott. Of course we had been writing songs for about a year. Once we found Scott, he listened to all the songs, and he picked out about six or seven that he thought he could really do his thing on. Once we did those, then we wrote six or seven more songs together, with all five of us in the room, as a band. And that was it. That was the record.”

As stated, “Set Me Free” was the first song most people heard from Velvet Revolver. The song arrived in 2003 as a soundtrack cut for the film The Hulk. The driving rocker was produced by Nick Raskulinecz with the song’s main riff generated by Slash, who also lent a rather complicated guitar solo to the song. By the time the Contraband album came out nearly a year later, the track had a few changes. The summer of 2003 also saw the band record another soundtrack song as they covered Pink Floyd‘s “Money” for The Italian Job remake. However, that song was left off the Contraband disc.

Once the band got down to work on tracks, they revived the raw, gritty energy once held by Guns N’ Roses. Weiland told Rolling Stone, “As a whole, the album is a true representation of the best aspects of STP’s music, and the best aspects of Guns N’ Roses, when they were at their best — vicious, streamlined, living off strippers, and their music was great. It’s a perfect marriage between the two.”

After “Set Me Free” helped pave the way, the band released their debut disc Contraband on June 8, 2004. And fresh out of the gate, they issued a true banger — “Slither” — which was widely embraced by listeners. From the opening slow burn of the song to the aggressive, blistering guitar and Weiland’s sinisterly soulful delivery, Velvet Revolver had the kind of song they needed to truly launch their career. And fans agreed, as “Slither” shot to the top of Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks. In 2005, the band was rewarded with a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song.

Next up for the band was the touching ballad “Fall to Pieces.” Weiland penned the track about his battle with heroin and the toll it took on his wife Mary Forsberg, who guest starred in the video for the song. Slash recalled, “Before Scott joined, we tried out a lot of different singers, and a lot of them sang this song. No matter who sang it, it always sounded like a Top 40 song, but when Scott came in and sang it, he was going through all this s–t and trying to get his life back together. He wrote the lyrics, and the way they fit the music was chilling. The night he sang it was the same night he got arrested, so it’s a poignant timepiece for us.” “Fall to Pieces” would spend 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The fourth single to come from ‘Contraband’ would be “Dirty Little Thing,” a high energy rocker that dated back to the early days of the band with Todd and Nelson still involved. Nelson earned a songwriting credit for the track though no longer with the group. Featuring some killer opening bass from Duff McKagan and nifty guitar work from Slash, “Dirty Little Thing” was just the type of song meant to be played live. It would eventually top out at No. 8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

And speaking of great live songs, “Sucker Train Blues” fits the bill. “This song developed from one of my riffs, basically. When I presented it to the band, it was 10 times slower, but we sped the whole thing up,” recalls Slash. “This is a very different kind of song for me because I recorded it with an old Fifties Telecaster and played the solo on a ’65 Strat. I also put a baritone Music Man underneath the guitars.”

After several years of struggling in their post-GN’R careers, what it took was a reunion of that chemistry to put them back on top again. Velvet Revolver’s Contraband was a huge success. It debuted at No. 1 and went on to be certified double platinum in an era when record sales had begun declining. In addition, the new spotlight gave them more opportunities like performing at the Grammys and joining some of the greats.

McKagan stated in an interview with Billboard, “It seems like this band — the reincarnation of ourselves in another thing — has been accepted now into this whole other kind of upper echelon. We played with Elton John and Stevie Wonder. We’re asked to be the band to play on the Grammys and all these other magnificent things. Finally, we’re respected as players.”

As we now know, the dynamic personalities would eventually come to clash leading to a highly publicized split with Scott Weiland after the promotion of Velvet Revolver’s second album. The years since have found the band never quite shutting the door permanently, but never finding the right vocalist to fill the void either. Still, with the promise of what Contraband gave us, there’s hope that the talents involved with the group will eventually settle on a vocalist and give it another go.

37

Purple / Big Empty / Only Dying question.

« on: June 08, 2016, 04:18:03 PM »

I didn't post about it yesterday but June 7th marked the 22nd anniversary of Purple.

Anyway, I was reading a piece on Loudwire in which it claimed that "Big Empty" was originally titled "Only Dying" but was changed when Brandon Lee died.
 
That can't be right, right?

It says that confirmation was made by Robert (and points to a link that comes back to this site).

As we know, "Only Dying" was a very different song, but I wonder if there was any validity to this claim. It would add to the confusion that a song called "Only Dying" was supposed to be on the Crow soundtrack only to have "Big Empty" be included instead.

They've used/reused old titles before, so it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Then again, this can all just be misinformation.

38

Scott Weiland / Six months later

« on: June 03, 2016, 02:23:48 PM »

Today marks 6 months since that awful day.
How's everyone doing?
I still have some occasional empty moments, but coming here has helped.

I keep thinking/wondering where everything would be right now with the new band possibly working on a new album. The whole STP singer situation. It still gets to me.

Anyway, just wanted to vent a little.

39

Out Of The Chains That Bind You / Captain America: Civil War

« on: May 05, 2016, 09:11:31 PM »

Any comic book fans here - or comic film fans?

I'm totally fan-boying over this movie. I got my tickets for the weekend already. Anyone going?

Please no spoilers.

40

Scott Weiland / Scott's word.

« on: April 13, 2016, 04:04:20 PM »

We often talk about taking a person at their word - their source, etc. Adversely, so many times, Scott has been made out to be out of his mind about certain topics.

A new report on Alt. Nation mentioned that "Slash tried to rejoin" GNR a decade ago. I remember there was a report around that time how Slash has showed up at Axl's house and Scott had some choice words about it, only to have the whole thing denied.

And then, thinking back to Scott basically breaking the news that Chester was out of STP.

I know when you run in those circles, you tend to hear things or get the inside scoop, but the point I'm trying to make is, when Scott went public that VR was getting back together - only to have Slash completely laugh it off and make him sound delusional - maybe there WAS some momentum around the time VR did that benefit set. Maybe Slash just shut the door because he had his own thing going.
 
I know all this doesn't matter now, but...it's interesting.

41

I'm Looking For A New Rock Sensation / GNR - Not In This Lifetime Tour.

« on: April 04, 2016, 03:48:56 PM »

Anyone going?

I picked up tickets. Looking forward to it.

On a related topic. I caught this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KpuKolE-eY
Duff talks about not holding grudges or whatever.

It just reminded me of Scott and VR.

But anyway, GUNS N ROSES!

42

12 Bar Blues / Happy birthday "12 Bar Blues"

« on: March 31, 2016, 04:09:35 PM »

http://diffuser.fm/scott-weiland-12-bar-blues-anniversary/

18 Years Ago: Scott Weiland Goes Solo With '12 Bar Blues'

In 1998, the first solo album from the late Scott Weiland marked the public return of troubled former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist, whose penchant for chaos and self-destruction had forced STP into an indefinite hiatus the year before. While the music is thoroughly glam and carnivalesque, the album also continues on where STP’s 1996 full-length, Tiny Music… Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop, left off. Basically, Weiland was free to get fairly weird and wacky on both albums.

Luckily, Weiland being weird and wacky often produced worthwhile results. For as disjointed and random as the ideas might seem on 12 BAR BLUES, it’s clear there’s an awful lot happening – even just within in the space of a single song. Whirling piano passages, oversaturated noise guitar and the transistor hum of vintage synths all find a home on 12 BAR BLUES – an album fueled by fearless experimentation. The progression through the album’s eclectic ideas, the lush layering and the interaction between the broad palette of sounds showcase a keener vision than what Weiland had previously been credited.
In fact, it’s almost mind-boggling to hear how fluidly and competently Weiland moves from one totally different sonic vibe to the next. One moment, he’s building dramatic tension with the acoustic ballad, “Where’s The Man” (which intensifies with progressively loudening drums and guitars), the next moment, an eerie piano solo opens “Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down” – a quirky waltz with accompanying strings that sound equal parts Johann Strauss and the Beatles’ WHITE ALBUM.

Elsewhere, “Divider” has the Latin ballroom intrigue of a James Bond score while the verses of “Opposite Octave Reaction” could easily pass for something Prince might’ve written. Weiland’s use of electronica is also quite noteworthy, rooting much of the recordings in a barrage of drum loops and distorted, solid-state crackle before much of the rest of the rock world embraced EDM elements.

Equally impressive is the lengthy list of contributors to the recording which includes Sheryl Crow (accordion on “Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down”) Daniel Lanois (synths on “Desperation #5” and guitar on “Barbarella”) and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, whose nimble fingers dance across the keys on “Divider” and “Mockingbird Girl.” Weiland also got into the spirit of musicianship himself, contributing guitar, keyboards, piano, bass, synth bass, beat boxing and drum loops in addition to his myriad vocal tracks.
And while much of 12 BAR BLUES WAS too abstract to ever find a home on mainstream radio in the ’90s, there are a few songs where commercial appeal wasn’t entirely thrown out the window. On “Barbarella,” melodic verses crash into stunning choruses and “Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down” appeared on the soundtrack to 1998’s Great Expectations. There’s also a re-recorded version of “Mockingbird Girl” (originally recorded by Weiland’s side project the Magnificent Bastards for the soundtrack to 1995’s Tank Girl), which is dazzling in the way it jumps between sludgy, hyper-distorted guitar and airy, tranquil passages.

Not surprisingly, the album didn’t achieve great commercial success – it marked a pretty big departure from the rock-rooted marketability of STP. Critics, however, were slightly more attuned to the album’s artistry. ROLLING STONE’S David Fricke wrote that it “isn’t really a rock album, or even a pop album. Weiland, out on his own, has simply made an honest album – honest in its confusion, ambition and indulgence.”

That sentiment speaks well to the charm of 12 BAR BLUES, even 18 years later. It’s an exercise in sincerity, assembled with little care for convention or commerce. Weiland reunited with the other three members of Stone Temple Pilots just a few months after the release of the album to begin work on their back-to-basics 1999 album, NO. 4. And while he went on to release two more albums with STP, two with modern rock supergroup Velvet Revolver and another solo album, 2008’s “HAPPY” IN GALOSHES, there’s something about 12 BAR BLUES that sets it apart from the rest of Weiland’s discography.

The album shows that, after stripping away all personal pandemonium and trappings of rock stardom that defined his public persona, Weiland was a remarkably gifted, nuanced and versatile artist, capable of playing with words and sound the way a painter manipulates color. If there’s anything about 12 BAR BLUES that’s regrettable, it’s that Weiland never released another album quite like it.
 

43

Art Of Anarchy / New singer for AoA2?

« on: February 26, 2016, 11:11:41 PM »

Rumor has it that Scott Stapp is fronting AoA2.

Has anyone heard?

44

Delta Deep / BB Kings (NYC) on 4/3/16

« on: February 11, 2016, 06:42:17 PM »

I got a weird email alert that STP was playing at BB Kings in NYC on April 3rd.

Upon further investigation, it's actually a Delta Deep show.

For anyone interested...

http://www.ticketmaster.com/delta-deep-feat-phil-collen-of-new-york-new-york-04-03-2016/event/00005044BDC83AE6?artistid=2184433&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=4&tm_link=artist_msg-0_00005044BDC83AE6

45

On Tour / Live show payout.

« on: January 28, 2016, 04:25:11 PM »

This was posted on AlternativeNation.

Artist: Scott Weiland
 Venue: Huntington, NY – The Paramount
 Date: November 29, 2015
 Gross Sales: $8,585
 Attendance/Capacity: 566 / 1,573
 Ticket Prices: $15

That's rough, man. I think we all knew it anyway, but seeing the numbers right there, that's sad.
Clearly, as that article pointed out, Scott knew where he was and how he'd gotten there.