Pulse – Rock Music News

Ghost's Linton Rubino Says He Needed Six Months Of Therapy After Being Fired

Former Ghost member Linton Rubino revealed that he needed six months of therapy after getting fired by Tobias Forge. During an interview with Dr. Music, Rubino said, "I actually went through therapy for six months after that 'cause I felt that I'm nobody. We were up there playing with Metallica and Iron Maiden and everything, and they know who we are, all the people backstage know who we are, but nobody else does."

He continued, "So it was just like being up at the top and then you're basically at the bottom once you are out of the band. I didn't have a job or anything… But then you're back on track in a couple of months. And you just roll up your sleeves and get at it again. I didn't have much of a choice."

Goo Goo Dolls Heading Back On The Road

Set for release on August 12th is Chaos In Bloom -- Goo Goo Dolls' 13th album. The group has already dropped the set's lead single, "Yeah, I Like You," and kicks off a major 44-city tour on July 15th at Nampa, Idaho's Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater. Co-founders John Rzeznik and Robby Takac will be on the road through September 24th when they wrap the trek with a hometown show in Buffalo, New York at Keybank Center.

John Rzeznik spoke about the band's new single "Yeah, I Like You" in a statement, explaining, "In a world that is just drowning in social media and internet stars, many of whom are certainly talented, but many confirm that in 2022 you can be famous for doing nothing. Celebrity in this age has a very quick burn. It was hard not to be consumed by it during the pandemic."

Rzeznik, who caught Covid twice, told us the pandemic only made him more diligent in writing the songs for the new Chaos In Bloom album: "For me, it's like, the pandemic was 'you better do something.' I felt like everything I had worked for my whole life was just (snaps fingers) like, in the blink of an eye, it could just be taken away. So, it sort of, added a sense of urgency: 'Hey man, you better sit down with your guitar and a pencil and some paper and really start working - and work hard' -- because nobody knew what was gonna happen. I mean, we cancelled two tours."

The tracklisting to Goo Goo Dolls' Chaos In Bloom is:

"Yeah, I Like You"
"War"
"Save Me From Myself"
"Let The Sun"
"Loving Life"
"Going Crazy"
"Day After Day"
"Past Mistakes"
"You Are The Answer"
"Superstar"

Aerosmith News: Steven Tyler Out Of Rehab, Joey Kramer's Wife Passes Away

According to People.com, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler is out of rehab. He voluntarily checked into a facility in May. At the time, the band announced that his problems started with pain management following foot surgery.

A band representative said that Tyler is doing extremely well and is looking forward to being back on stage.

In other Aerosmith news… Over the weekend Linda Kramer, the wife of Aerosmith's drummer Joey Kramer passed away

Earlier this year, Kramer took a leave of absence from Aerosmith and said that he needed to "focus his full attention on his family."

She was 55. The couple had been married for 13 years.

TL;DR:

  • Steven Tyler is out of rehab and looking forward to being back on stage.
  • Linda Kramer, the wife of Aerosmith's drummer Joey Kramer, passed away She was 55.
  • They were married for 13 years.

Metallica Song Climbs Charts After Appearance In 'Stranger Things'

The title track of Metallica's 1986 album, Master Of Puppets, is making its climb back up the charts once again after being featured in the new season of Netflix series Stranger Things, which was just released on Friday (July 1st). The song is used in a scene during which the character Eddie Munson performs what he calls "the most metal concert ever" by shredding "Master Of Puppets" on his Warlock guitar.

Last weekend, Metallica's Robert Trujillo shared that his 17-year-old son Tye Trujillo contributed "additional guitar tracks" to the Stranger Things version of "Master Of Puppets."

Taylor Hawkins' Early Recordings Featured On New EP

Late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins' early recordings have been released. The songs date back to Hawkins' time in a rock band called Anyone. The five-song EP, called The Sylvia Sessions, is also available as a deluxe NFT Package with exclusive video, pictures, and liner notes, according to antimusic.com.

The songs were recorded in 1993 and originally released as a demo tape.

Anyone was formed in the late 80s in Laguna Beach, CA by Riz Story, Jon Davison (Yes) and Hawkins.

Guitars From AC/DC, Aerosmith, Halestorm To Be Auctioned

Limited-edition guitars from artists who play Gibson guitars are up for auction.

The collection includes an SG Standard from AC/DC's Angus Young. An Epiphone acoustic played and autographed by Darius Rucker of Hootie and The Blowfish. From Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, the first-ever female Ambassador for Gibson, there's the Explorer that she helped design.

And from Aerosmith, a Joe Perry Gold Rush custom Les Paul Axcess guitar. It was signed by all members of the band.

The auction only features rare and collectible limited-edition guitars. All donations raised will go to charitable foundations including Gibson Gives and the National Museum of African American Music education fund.

Bidding is open now online and will end tomorrow (July 6) at 3pm ET.

TL;DR:

  • Limited-edition guitars from AC/DC's Angus Young, Darius Rucker of Hootie and The Blowfish, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and others are up for auction.
  • Bidding is open now online and will end tomorrow (July 6) at 3pm ET.

Update: Poison's Bret Michaels Hospitalized, Another Show Cut Short

Bret Michaels of Poison was hospitalized in Nashville on Thursday night (June 30), and the show was canceled.

He was admitted to the hospital just before show time, so the rest of the band went onstage and announced that Michaels had bad reaction to medication and that they wouldn't be able to do the show without him.

Michaels posted online that doctors "highly recommended" that he rest and save all his energy.

Then, over the weekend, Poison played an abbreviated show in Jacksonville, Florida and performed only 7 songs. The band also canceled all their meet-and-greets in Jacksonville.

TL;DR:

  • Bret Michaels of Poison was hospitalized in Nashville on Thursday night (June 30), and the show was canceled.
  • He was admitted to the hospital just before show time, so the rest of the band came onstage and announced that Michaels had a bad reaction to medication and that they wouldn't be able to do the show without him.
  • Then, over the weekend, Poison played an abbreviated show in Jacksonville, Florida and performed only 7 songs. The band also canceled all their meet-and-greets in Jacksonville.

Whitesnake Cancels Farewell Tour Dates Due To Health Challenges

The remaining European concert dates for Whitesnake have been canceled. The band sited that it was "due to continuing health challenges."

In a statement from frontman David Coverdale, he expressed deep sadness and said it was doctor's orders. The decision was made out of concern for everyone's health and safety.

He said, "I extend my sincere apologies to all of Whitesnake's amazing fans who have been looking forward to the remaining scheduled shows of this tour, all of our amazing, fabulous snakes and tour personnel who have been working so hard to put on these shows. And all of the promoters and other professionals who have helped set up the tour."

The Farewell tour kicked off in Ireland, in early May, before heading to The UK and Europe, but has been faltering since mid-June, when guitarist Reb Beach missed four shows after falling ill. The band also missed a festival date in Spain after drummer Tommy Aldridge also got sick, while Coverdale's issues caused cancelations in Italy, Austria, and Croatia.

Coverdale wrote: "It's time for me to get my arse home… Thank you for understanding, but I need to get home to rest and recuperate."

TL;DR:

  • The remaining European concert dates for Whitesnake have been canceled.
  • "Due to continuing health challenges."
  • Coverdale wrote: "It's time for me to get my arse home… Thank you for understanding, but I need to get home to rest and recuperate."

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Calls Out 'Lazy' Bands

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine says bands who rely on pre-recorded tracks during their live performances are being "lazy." He recently told Kerrang! Radio, "I don't think there's anything wrong with using supplements for songs and other sounds and stuff like that if you can't play 'em live. If you can play it live and you're being f**king lazy and you're seeing whatever just happened a couple of days ago with one of those big bands, and the singer… the tape started and the drummer wasn't playing or something . . ." Mustaine is referencing a technical mishap by KISS drummer Eric Singer during the band's concert in Antwerp, Belgium earlier this month.

He added, "I've always done the background singing on the records until — maybe about 10 years ago, we started having another person come in and help supplement the vocals because it's just not my bag to be singing stuff that I'm not gonna sing live. I sing when I sing live on the records as much as I can."

Megadeth will take the stage at the Barcelona Rock Fest in Spain on Saturday (July 2nd).

Metallica Cancels Overseas Show Due To Covid

Metallica's performance at Frauenfeld Rocks festival in Switzerland on Wednesday night (June 29th) was canceled after a member of their camp tested positive for Covid. The band posted the news on their social media writing, "We are beyond sorry to disappoint those of you planning to attend this show. It was our intention to reschedule a show in Switzerland as soon as possible, however in overnight discussions with the local promoters, sadly it became apparent that schedules and venues do not line up for the remainder of this year or next . . ."

The band continued, "If you have a ticket and would still like to attend Out In The Green, you will receive a refund of 50 Swiss francs. Should you decide not to attend the festival altogether, you will be refunded the ticket price by the respective ticket agencies; you may request a refund for your ticket at Ticketmaster.ch."

At press time, Metallica was still scheduled to perform tonight (Friday, July 1st) in Werchter, Belgium at Rock Werchter at Festivalpark.

Black Sabbath's Heavy Metal Bench Used By Global Debt & Climate Protesters

Earlier this week, global debt and climate protesters decided to use Black Sabbath's "heavy metal" bench in Birmingham, England to highlight their campaign. According to Blabbermouth, the activists placed placards around the necks of the metallic images of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, reading "G7: TURN DEBT INTO CLIMATE ACTION".

The placards were quickly removed by alert Westside BID staff, but the the protest was acknowledged as "democratic" and the protesters were thanked for not causing any damage to the bench.

The protesters -- who regularly uses the hashtag #debtforclimate on social media, want developed nations in the west to cancel the debts of third world countries.

Canadian Radio Station Loops Rage Against the Machine after Firing of DJs

Rage Against the Machine's anthemic anger proved useful to some Canadian DJs - Vancouver-based Kiss Radio's morning show hosts, Sonia Sidhu and Kevin Lim were recently fired from their posts at the station after 5 years–a result of their higher-ups deciding to "change the format". Although the fired radio hosts posted gracious responses, their former colleagues did not take the news so well; they decided to loop Rage's famous song "Killing in the Name" on repeat for at least 16-hours, the only interruption being the airing of fans requesting the same song. In response to the demonstration, Lim said it was "One of the most powerful things anyone can hear is that they matter. Today, Sonia and I feel that and it means the world." (https://bit.ly/3bFGVlo)

Mattel Reveals Bowie-Inspired Barbie Doll Based on "Life on Mars?"

Time for rock n' roll kids to get excited - the second release in Mattel's series of David Bowie Barbie dolls has made its premiere. Following the first release of their Ziggy Stardust-inspired doll, the toy manufacturer has come out with their "Life on Mars?" Barbie, inspired by the classic song of the Hunky Dory album. Barbie wears the same suit featured in the music video, "complete with a foil-printed pinstripe shirt, statement tie and platform shoes." Barbie is also rocking some blue eyeshadow and Bowie's classic red hair style. The limited-edition figure is on sale at Mattel's website for $59. (https://bit.ly/3R2Z9xp)

Machine Gun Kelly Smashes Glass On Face And Gushes Blood At Restaurant

Machine Gun Kelly smashed a champagne glass against his face with such a force that it shattered, causing him to bleed profusely from his forehead. Photos showed blood streaming down his neck and all over the front of his shirt, while he held a bloody napkin.

This all happened in a restaurant full of people after he performed a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden.

As the glass broke, the crowd screamed as Kelly yelled obscenities into a microphone… "I don't give a f**, bro. I don't give a s**t."

He followed up by singing his hit song, "My Ex's Best Friend."

TL;DR:

  • Machine Gun Kelly smashed a champagne glass against his face with such a force that it shattered, causing him to bleed profusely from his forehead.
  • As the glass broke, the crowd screamed as Kelly yelled obscenities into a microphone…
  • He followed up by singing his hit song, "My Ex's Best Friend."

Update: Blink-182's Travis Barker Was Hospitalized With Pancreatitis

The mystery has been revealed as to why Blink-182's Travis Barker is in the Hospital. TMZ now reports that he was admitted on Tuesday (6-28) while suffering from pancreatitis.

The story emerged when photos appeared of him on a stretcher with wife, Kourtney Kardashian at his side. He entered the hospital complaining of cramps. After being rushed in, he was later transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for better care.

Symptoms include nausea, intense stomach pain and vomiting. Barker's current condition is unknown, but doctors believe the attack was triggered by a colonoscopy.

TL;DR:

  • Blink-182's Travis Barker is in the suffering from pancreatitis.
  • He entered the hospital complaining of cramps.
  • Barker's current condition is unknown.

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators Announce Virtual Reality Concert

Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators' Live At Studios 60 livestream will be able to be viewed on the Soundscape VR platform. Fans can experience the debut of all 10 songs from Slash and the band's new Gibson Records LP 4 via Soundscape's Magic Mirror Musical Universe.

He said, "I'm really excited about this cool VR interpretation of our live performance at Studios 60. It's a new and immersive visual that gives it a great ‘in the room' feel."

Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators have released the second single off 4 called "April Fool," along with the video.

Tommy Lee Plays First Full Show Of Motley Crue's Stadium Tour

Tommy Lee performed his first full show of Motley Crue's stadium tour on Tuesday night (June 28th) after previously splitting duties with Tommy Clufetos. As previously reported, Lee recently broke four ribs.

According to the Charlotte Observer, during the band's performance at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, Lee performed without any mention of his injury. Prior to the Charlotte concert, Lee performed the first few songs of each show and then returned later to play piano on "Home Sweet Home."

During opening night in Atlanta, Lee told the crowd, "What I've got to tell you is about 14 days ago, I f*ckin' broke not one, not two, not three, but four f*ckin' ribs right here. The doctors told me, 'No playing, bro. No playing.' And I was like, 'Are you f*cking high, bro? We've got a f*cking tour to do!' So anyway, I ain't sitting out for sh*t. My boy's gonna help me out here, and I'll see you guys later. On with the goddamn show."

Lee's wife Brittany Furlan also explained how he broke his ribs, saying, "We were staying at an old rental house in Nashville. It was a cool, old quirky house," she explained. "But the stairs outside were made out of stones, and they were really uneven, and the roots were pushing them up from the tree. And everything was fine. I actually fell up the stairs a few times getting groceries, but whatever. So, the day that we were leaving Nashville, our driver came and we had all this luggage and he wasn't helping us; he just stayed in the car. And so Tommy was trying to carry all of our luggage for us. And he fell down these crazy stairs and broke — broke — four ribs. Not fractured, not bruised — broke."

Machine Gun Kelly Attempted Suicide While On The Phone With Megan Fox

Machine Gun Kelly revealed that he attempted suicide while on the phone with Megan Fox. It happened after his father died in 2020.

He says that Megan was in Bulgaria to shoot a movie and he started getting really paranoid and felt like someone was gonna kill him. Back then, he was so scared that he slept with a shotgun next to his bed. He called Megan and told her he was freaking out and put the gun in his mouth, cocked the gun, and thankfully the shell got jammed.

Soon afterwards, he started therapy. The story came out in his new Hulu documentary, Life In Pink, which premiered this week.

TL;DR:

  • Machine Gun Kelly attempted suicide while on the phone with Megan Fox. It happened after his father died in 2020.
  • He put the gun in his mouth, cocked the gun, and thankfully the shell got jammed.
  • Soon afterwards, he started therapy. The story came out in his new Hulu documentary, Life In Pink, which premiered this week.

Def Leppard Release Collection Of Makeup, Candles

Def Leppard are in the beauty business. The rockers have released a line of makeup, makeup brushes, cosmetic cases and candles. The Def Leppard x Rock And Roll Beauty collaboration is available exclusively at Ulta stores.

The products in the line are cruelty-free and vegan products, and range in price from $9 to $20.

Most of the products come in eye-catching packaging featuring Def Leppard's logo and album cover art from their new project, Diamond Star Halos, which was released in May.

Depeche Mode Reveals Andy Fletcher's Cause Of Death

Depeche Mode has release a statement addressing the death of keyboardist Andy Fletcher. Bandmates Dave Gahan and Martin Gore said in a statement, "We wanted to take a moment and acknowledge the outpouring of love for Andy that we've seen from all of you over the last few weeks. It's incredible to see all of your photos, to read your words, and to see how much Andy meant to all of you. As you can imagine, it's been a strange, sad, disorienting few weeks for us here, to say the least. But we've seen and felt all of your love and support, and we know that Andy's family has too."

The band continued, "We had a celebration of Andy's life in London last week which was a beautiful ceremony and gathering with a few tears, but filled with the great memories of who Andy was, stories of all of our times together, and some good laughs. Andy was celebrated in a room full of many of his friends and family, our immediate DM family, and so many people who have touched Andy's and our lives throughout the years. All being together was a very special way to remember Andy and see him off."

The band revealed that Fletcher died on May 26th due to "an aortic dissection."

They added, "So, even though it was far, far too soon, he passed naturally and without prolonged suffering."

Pearl Jam Expanding 'Gigaton' Album With Live Disc

Set for release on July 8th exclusively at independent record stores, is the expanded version of Pearl Jam's 2020 album Gigaton, with an entire bonus disc of the album performed live. The new "tour edition" of the set features all 11 of the album's tunes the band have tackled live culled from their fall 2021 performances at the Sea.Hear.Now festival on the Jersey Shore, and Eddie Vedder's Ohana festival in California.

Spin.com posted, "(The songs) are presented in a different order than on Gigaton, with 'Superblood Wolfmoon' opening the disc and 'Who Ever Said' moving from the first to ninth spot in the running order. The song 'Comes Then Goes' is not present, as the band has yet to perform it live for unknown reasons."

Pearl Jam's Ten Club fan organization will get the jump at ordering the live disc as a standalone item.

Guitarist Stone Gossard told us a while back that Pearl Jam feels like its songwriting is as strong as ever after so many years: "We're still writing songs in a way that, we don't take it -- we haven't started hiring people to write songs for us, or feeling like we can't do it ourselves. And we keep being rewarded for our work that we do with each other and the chances we take in terms of trusting each other and songwriting and collaboration and all that stuff."

Pearl Jam is currently on tour in Europe and performs on Thursday (June 30th) in Werchter, Belgium at the Rock Werchter Festival.

The band's next North American date is set for September 1st in Quebec City at Videotron Centre.

The tracklisting for Pearl Jam's Gigaton live disc is:

"Superblood Wolfmoon" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Dance Of The Clairvoyants" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Quick Escape" (Live at Sea.Hear.Now Festival)
"Seven O'Clock" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Alright" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Never Destination" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Take The Long Way" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Buckle Up" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Who Ever Said" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"Retrograde" (Live at Ohana Festival)
"River Cross" (Live at Ohana Festival)

Kiss Mocked For Flashing Australian Flag In Austria

As if Paul Stanley getting caught apparently lip synching during Kiss' June 6th gig in Antwerp, Belgium wasn't bad enough -- Kiss is once again the laughing stock of their detractors.

Classic Rock reported the embarrassing mistake that took place on Sunday (June 26th) at the Stadhalle in concert in Vienna, Austria at the Stadhalle: "At the end of the band's set the production people did what they normally do: they flashed up a message on the screens, thanking fans for their attendance: We Love You Vienna."

So far -- so good, but then the ultimate faux pas: "Well, that was the plan. What they actually did was thank fans for their attendance, with the Kiss logo set against the Australian flag. That's the Australia that's on the other side of the world from Austria. Two extra letters, but so much distance."

Gene Simmons told us that attending a Kiss concert should be viewed as nothing less than a religious rock experience: "There's something else going on, that somehow words don't really get to -- in the same way that, perhaps, when you think about a, a Southern Baptist church revival. Your spirit is lifted when you walk out of there. You feel glad to be alive another day. I'd like to think that when you leave our show, you feel exhilarated -- physically exhausted, but there's something to talk about."

Kiss performs on Thursday (June 30th) in France Saint-Vulbas France at Festival Du Printemps De Perouges

Their next U.S. show is set for September 21st at West Palm Beach's IThink Financial Amphitheatre.

5 Seconds Of Summer Drummer Hospitalized Mid-Concert, Tour Canceled

5 Seconds Of Summer had to cut their show short on Sunday night (6-26) after drummer Ashton Irwin fell ill in the middle of the concert.

Irwin needed to be hospitalized, and the band later explained that he had suffered from "extreme heat exhaustion." Most of the band's upcoming concerts have been canceled while one has only been postponed.

The band played for about 45 minutes in Houston, Texas before the show came to an abrupt end. Irwin left the stage and his bandmates followed. At the time they gave very few details but the band eventually explained that Irwin had been hospitalized and that the tickets would be refunded for that particular show.

Irwin later posted, "It's always amazing to play a massive energetic show in every environment thrown at us. Unfortunately this time my body gave out due to heat exhaustion. I was in tears in the ambulance, because I feel I've let many people down."

5 Seconds Of Summer will perform in Rogers, Arkansas on July 26 and have canceled the remaining stops on the North American leg of their tour.

TL;DR:

  • 5 Seconds Of Summer had to cut their show short on Sunday night (6-26) after drummer Ashton Irwin fell ill in the middle of the concert.
  • Irwin was hospitalized, and suffered from "extreme heat exhaustion."
  • 5 Seconds Of Summer will perform in Rogers, Arkansas on July 26 and have canceled the remaining stops on the North American leg of their tour.

Billie Joe Armstrong Renounces U.S. Citizenship After Supreme Court Ruling

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says he leaving the U.S. in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. He told fans at his concert in London on Friday (June 24th), "F**k America. I'm f**king renouncing my citizenship. I'm f**king coming here. There's too much f**king stupid in the world to go back to that miserable f**king excuse for a country."

He added, "Oh, I'm not kidding. You're going to get a lot of me in the coming days."

Green Day continue on the Hella Mega Tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer tomorrow (Wednesday, June 29th) in Glasgow, UK.