Just Checking In...

Hey all...been a while, I know. After months of computer issues that would drive the most docile human being crazy, I broke down and got a laptop a couple of weeks ago. Guess what? I've already had to perform a system restore on the damn thing. Some people aren't supposed to have nice, new, techie-type things I guess. Pen, paper, and the like still have an appeal after all this. If I could have 5 minutes in a room alone with Bill Gates I guaran-damn-tee I'd come out with a pocketful of that dude's teeth. So how y'all been? Good. Enjoying the weather? Me too. Alright...enough. Let's go...

• Can't wait until November 17th. That's when the most anticipated album of the fall (for me anyway) drops...Them Crooked Vultures everybody! Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has recruited old buddy Dave Grohl once again to play the skins, and new old buddy - the legendary John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) to play bass. They've been on tour all fall already, and a few of my buddies were fortunate enough to catch them in Columbus recently. Some really good tunes from what I've heard, including "Elephants," "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I," and "Dead End Friends." Sounds a great deal like another QOTSA project with Homme clearly out front, but hey, that ain't all bad.
• Watched some of The Killers: Live From Royal Albert Hall Friday night on VH1. Yeah, I said VH1 played music Friday night. Right before some damn Ray J show...who the hell is Ray J anyway, and does Flavor Flav & Brett Michaels know this cat is stealing their bitches? Anyhow...I've been riding the fence for a long time concerning The Killers, and I'll have to say I'm officially on board now. Was never a fan of "Mr. Brightside," but I absolutely love "All These things That I've Done." The way they absolutely had that crowd in the palm of their hands was amazing...you could hear the echo of the crowd singing along with every note. The Killers have "it," whatever "it" is.
• I'm proud to announce my 10-year old son now knows the power chords to "Seven Nation Army" and is well on his way to being the next Hendrix. It's a very significant moment for a father...kinda ranks up there with learning to walk, first words, killing your first forest-dwelling mammal. Went out and got him a bigger amp with all the cool effects and distortion channels. Next is a slide, a capo, a couple of stomp-boxes...we're (I mean he's) on his way...
• Speaking of buying music supplies, if you want to hear the best musicians around all you need to do is go to your local guitar store, even if that means Guitar Center or something. I swear, every time I've taken my kid to look at stuff we end up staying like two hours or better listening to these fellows that seemingly just wander in. My skeptical side thinks they're plants, hired by the store to get people to buy whatever they're playing, but man is it cool. When we're were looking at amps at Guitar Center we sat down beside an older guy playing some rockabilly on a vintage Gibson Les Paul. We tried the same guitar after he left, but of course could not produce anything close to what that guy was playing. As we were leaving we paused to listen to a guy that had brought his kids along just like me. He was cranking out some mean metal licks on a sweet B.C. Rich though, I was just standing there with my jaw open. Man, I wished I'd learned an instrument when I was young.
  

Steven Tyler: Quitting Aerosmith or not?

From The Rolling Stone:

When Steven Tyler joined Joe Perry onstage last night in New York to sing “Walk This Way” — and announced he wasn’t quitting Aerosmith — it seemed like the troubled group’s problems might be over. But Rolling Stone has learned that things are far from settled within the band, as part of reporting for a story that will appear in our next issue.
The cameo, says Perry, came as a surprise even to him. “There was all this commotion during our encore break and somebody said, ‘Steven is here.’ ” Perry says. “And I was like, ‘What?’ ” After exchanging pleasantries, Tyler asked to sit in with the group on the final encore of “Walk This Way.” “Being an acquaintance of 40 years, I said, ‘Why not?’ ” Perry says. “So he came up and sang and that was the last I saw of him.”

Despite Tyler’s onstage insistence that he isn’t quitting the band, Perry says Aerosmith is still considering touring and recording with a new singer. “He wants to take two years off from the band,” Perry says. “The rest of the band wants to keep on working. We have so many different options to fill up that time. Anything is possible at this point. Basically, any communication that we’ve had over the last couple of months has been through managers, so that’s been pretty strange.”

Perry adds, “I never won any money trying to second-guess what goes on in Steven’s mind. I guess this is just Aerosmith business as usual.”

Breaking Benjamin takes "Agony" to Top Ten

From The Rolling Stone . . .

"Dear Agony," the fourth full-length album from the Pennsylvania post-grunge band Breaking Benjamin, enters the Billboard 200 at No. 4 with 134,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. While the act's last two Hollywood Records albums have gone platinum, this is the group's best sales week-the result of savvy marketing and a commitment to change that starts with lead singer Benjamin Burnley.

Since forming in 1998, Breaking Benjamin's pummeling alt-rock has earned heavy airplay on modern rock radio. The singles "So Cold" and "Sooner or Later," from the 2004 set "We Are Not Alone," each peaked in the top 10 of Billboard's Alternative chart. Meanwhile, the 2006 disc "Phobia" debuted at No. 2 and led to a successful joint tour with Three Days Grace in the fall of 2007.

While the band -- whose lineup includes guitarist Aaron Fink, bassist Mark Klepaski and drummer Chad Szeliga -- was gaining a sizable following and sales momentum, Burnley was living as a "functional alcoholic" and had developed neurological problems.

"I've suffered permanent brain damage through alcoholism," says Burnley, who has been sober for more than two years. "I don't want to say that I'm proud to have stopped, but I'm glad I realized that I wanted to stick around for a while."

After he quit drinking and started writing material for "Dear Agony," Burnley decided to use his struggles with alcohol and subsequent recovery as recurring themes. The first album Burnley recorded sober with the band is also his most personally revealing and features a scan of the singer's brain on the album cover.

"All the tests and hospital visits stick with you, so I thought the scan was an effective image to use," he says. "It was a dangerous situation to be in . . . thankfully, I was able to reflect what was going on in my life within the music."

Produced by David Bendeth, "Agony" draws on Burnley's emotional experience to create an 11-song set of anthems with blistering lyrics. The lead single, "I Will Not Bow," is No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and features stirring lines like "Take the path that leads to nowhere/All is lost again, but I'm not giving in" over chugging guitars and cymbal crashes.

Aside from its affecting content, the new album's success can also be chalked up to Breaking Benjamin's unique marketing strategy. "I Will Not Bow" has received exposure from its placement in the Touchstone release "Surrogates," while three tracks from "Agony" have been made available as downloadable songs for "Rock Band." A deluxe edition of the album is available exclusively at Best Buy. It comes packaged with a bonus DVD that includes all of the group's music videos.

"We've tried to find a balance between traditional marketing tools and new media," says Hollywood director of marketing Linc Wheeler. "The industry might look at a follow-up record and see a falloff, but the band has been eager to embrace new ways of getting closer to fans, especially through new technology."

In September, the group released "Altered Benjamin," an online flash videogame that was designed and submitted by a fan. The parody of the arcade game "Altered Beast" features Burnley as a character and the other band members as bosses.

The game, along with the band's fan-run Web site, demonstrates the act's online interaction with its followers that Burnley believes helps keep the act grounded. "Musically, we're a serious band," he says. "So it's cool for stuff like the game to show that we have a sense of humor and are open to fan contributions."

Starting Nov. 29 in San Antonio, Breaking Benjamin will hit the road on a bill that includes Sick Puppies and Rev Theory. While Burnley says that pressure used to hamper him onstage, now he focuses only on having fun. "Nowadays, bands are a dime a dozen," he says. "At this point, I'm just very thankful we've lasted this long and can continue to perform."