Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Chris Cornell Edition

As I am sure most of you reading this are aware, there was sad news in the music world this week as we learned of the passing of Chris Cornell. Details surrounding the death were still being investigated as of this writing, but evidence and reports point to an apparent suicide. I was stunned when I heard the news and deeply saddened since. I know I did not personally know the man, but his music and his voice brought so much joy to my life. I was a huge Soundgarden fan during the height of their fame, and the first Audioslave album navigated me through some dark times in my life. Eventually I will write the Reflections On…Audioslave post that I have on my “to write” list, which will explain that navigation in much more detail.

Since hearing the news of his death, I have been listening to a lot of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Chris Cornell solo work. Each song I listen to holds a special memory in my head and a special place in my heart. I was fortunate enough to see Soundgarden live once, with Nine Inch Nails (another post that I should write), and I am now more grateful than ever that I got to see him perform live. Superunknown, Down on The Upside, and the aforementioned Audioslave were all soundtracks to my life at one point or another.

This edition of Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup is dedicated to Chris Cornell. He was a vocal talent unlike any I’ve listened to and he will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Here’s the Chris Cornell Tributes that rocked:

New York Times Obituary

The New York Times wrote a detailed obituary on this legend that is worth reading. Their tribute to Chris Cornell is a touching remembrance on all the joy that Cornell brought to people across the world.

The Washington Post

The Washington Post also gave a touching tribute to the legend that follows his career from the early days in Seattle all the way through the current tour.

Gizmodo’s Take on Cornell’s Passing

Gizmodo posted their take on the passing of Chris Cornell, but also on the unexpected passing of celebrities in general. The article discusses the “strange new ritual” that fans go through when remembering a fallen hero---diving through the internet for social media posts in the celebrities’ final moments. An interesting quick read that reflects how tributes have changed over the past decade.

USA Today Collects Tweeted Tributes

USA Today gathered a lot of the early tweets from musicians that paid tribute to Cornell. It’s clear that he meant a lot not just to fans, but also to his peers.

A legend has passed. He will be missed, but his music will be remembered for ages

Temple Of The Dog To Tour For The First Time Ever

Temple of the Dog — the Seattle supergroup featuring Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready, and drummer Matt Cameron(who plays drums with both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) — has reunited and will tour for the first time ever since forming in 1990. The band will play five cities, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, in November.

A special ticket pre-sale for fans signed up to the Ten Club, Soundgarden, and Chris Cornell email lists begins immediately and runs through July 27^th. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 12:00 PM local time on Friday the 29^th. $1.50 from each ticket sold will benefit the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation and an additional $1.50 will benefit Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation.

The tour marksthe 25^th anniversary of the release of Temple of the Dog’s first and only album, a self-titled set that was released by A&M Records on April 16^th, 1991. “We wanted to do the one thing we never got to do… play shows and see what it feels like to be the band that we walked away from 25 years ago,” Cornell says of the 2016 tour.

On September 30^th UMe will release a special Temple of the Dog 25^th anniversary reissue collection of their landmark album,newly mixed by Brendan O’Brien. The collection will be available in four configurations, including a four disc Super Deluxe, a double LP, a two CD Deluxe, and a single CD. Physical pre-orders are available today along with a detailed list of the contents of each configuration HERE.

Temple of the Dog came together from the ashes of Mother Love Bone following the death from a drug overdose of its frontman Andrew Wood, Cornell’s close friend and roommate. Cornell wrote future TOTD songs “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and “Reach Down” to help process his grief, “but the songs didn’t have any destination,” he says. “I was compelled to write them and there they were – written in a vacuum as a tribute to Andy. My thought was that maybe I could record these songs with the remaining members of Mother Love Bone and that maybe we could release them as a tribute.”

Mother Love Bone’s Gossard and Ament began playing with McCready, and they brought in Soundgarden’s Cameron to drum on demos. Because this was a collaboration, and a tribute, there was no commercial expectation for the Temple of the Dog album. It would be, Gossard would later observe, “the easiest and most beautiful record that we’ve ever been involved with.” Adds Cornell: “Temple was about making an album simply for the joy of doing it. We weren’t concerned what anyone outside of our group of friends would think of it. It was the first and maybe only stress-free album that we all made.”

Gossard, Ament, and McCready were also simultaneously forming a new band, which more than six months later would be known as Pearl Jam. A singer from San Diego named Eddie Vedder, who was vying to lead the project, came into the studio to sing background vocals on three of the Temple songs. When Cornell thought another song, “Hunger Strike,” needed a duet, Vedder was enlisted. “Hunger Strike” became a hit single, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.               

Temple of the Dog performed live only a handful of times, most notably in Seattle, in November and December of 1990. Those shows have become some of the most legendary Seattle concerts of all-time. Their 2016 shows mark the first time the band has ever toured. (Cornell joined Pearl Jam in 2014 at the Bridge School show and for two nights at PJ20 in Alpine Valley, WI, and the Temple line-up played “Reach Down” and “Call Me a Dog” at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall in January 2015.)

“This is something no one has ever seen,” Cornell says of the official reunion. “We wanted to stop and recognize that we did this and pay homage.”

Temple of the Dog’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:

11/04  Philadelphia, PA      Tower Theater

11/07  New York, NY           Madison Square Garden

11/11  San Francisco, CA  Bill Graham Civic Center

11/14  Los Angeles, CA      The Forum

11/20  Seattle, WA               Paramount Theater

Chris Cornell Reissues First Solo Album - Due Out August 14th

When GRAMMY-winning, GOLDEN GLOBE® nominated singer/songwriter and rock icon Chris Cornell was about to release his 1999 solo debut on Interscope/A&M/Geffen Records, he was dissuaded from his first choice for the title, Euphoria Mourning, and reluctantly dubbed it Euphoria Morning. Now, 16 years later, Universal Music Enterprises is correcting that admitted misjudgment, re-releasing the re-mastered album under its original name on August 14, for the first time on vinyl as well as reissuing digitally and on CD.  Euphoria Mourning will be pressed on 180 gram vinyl and include a download card featuring 320 kbps MP4 audio ripped directly from the vinyl.

“The title of the record has been restored to its original spelling,” notes Cornell. “Which was changed before release after I listened to some bad advice.”

His first release outside of his work as lead singer with Soundgarden, Euphoria Morning, as it was then called, was a collaboration with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven, who appeared on the album, co-wrote five of the tracks and were credited as co-producers, engineers and mixers with Cornell.  The album’s first single, “Can’t Change Me,” was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2000 GRAMMY® Awards. “Flutter Girl” was reportedly an outtake from Soundgarden’s 1994 album, Superunknown, while Cornell revealed later on during a 2007 solo tour that “Wave Goodbye” was written as a tribute to Jeff Buckley, who tragically drowned in Memphis in 1997.  “Can’t Change Me,” the first single, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #7 on the Modern Rock Tracks tally.

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - M3 Music Festival Edition

Your Cousin Ryo is on a road trip. Currently, I am in Maryland for the M3 festival which kicks off tonight at the Post Merriweather Pavilion. There is a lot that I am looking forward to at this year’s festival. Between the bands, the beer, the food, and the fans, it’s going to be a great time.

Several of the hair metal bands that I love are scheduled to perform. Kix, Slaughter, Warrant, LA Guns, Hurtsmile, Mr. Big, Tesla, and Whitesnake are all on the bill. Rob Rockitt from Hard Rock Hideout (http://www.hardrockhideout.com/) will be attending with me and we are going to have a hard rocking blast!

Of course, you’ll be sure to read all about it in the coming weeks as I will try to do profile pieces on most of the bands that I see live, including reviews of their M3 performance. To me, this is the official start of the summer! That has me very excited.

Here’s what rocked this week:

Soundgarden Announces 2011 Tour Dates
Soundgarden is going to tour this summer. That is sweet music to my grunge-loving ears! I have never been able to witness this band live and this is a perfect opportunity to do so. Touring behind a greatest hits package and a live album pretty much guarantees that the band will be playing nothing but the hits. That would be an incredible first time experience. Soundgarden comes to New Jersey on July 8th. When do they come to your town?

Is This The End Of Record Companies?
Over at Blog Critic, I ran across a very interesting article that takes a look at the remaining four “big label” record companies. Author Michael Melchoir examines if this is the beginning of the end for all the major labels. How would music be distributed if there were no major labels? I wonder if it would be all online, or if other record companies would swoop in to fill the void.

Warrant’s New Album, Rockaholic, hits stores on Tuesday (May 17th)
Over at Hard Rock Haven, a cool interview was conducted with Warrant guitarist Erik Turner. He discusses the upcoming album, life on the road, and what it’s like to work with lead singer Robert Mason. From what I have heard of the new Warrant album thus far, it’s going to be one kick ass record. You may want to get to the store on May 17th!

For more news, reviews, music that rocks, witty sarcasm, tour updates, and other nonsensical meanderings, you should follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/ryovie

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Warmer Weather Edition

Ahhhhh! The sun has been shining all week. The snow has melted, and the temperature has stayed above 40 degrees for more than seven days. That can only mean that spring really is right around the corner. And it could not come any sooner as far as I’m concerned. I grow tired of being cooped up in the house, dealing with the long, dark, cold nights. I need some outdoor activities. Camping, hiking, and of course, concert attending. With a few more concerts and festivals being announced this week, it really appears that summer is not that far away. Bring on the warmth. Bring on the beer. Bring on the music!

Here’s what rocked this week:

Pete Yorn Adds New Tour Dates
Pete Yorn is currently out on tour behind his self titled album, the fifth studio release of his career. This week there was an announcement of additional east coast tour dates on Pete's website. For those of you on the east coast, this is your opportunity to see a great performer live in action. Pete Yorn is an incredibly gifted artist and amazing in concert. If you want to see a highly entertaining show that won’t break your savings account, check out Pete Yorn when he comes near your town.

The Top 20 Highest Earners n Music
This was a cool post over at DJMICK.com---the top 20 earners in music for the year 2010. I was surprised by some of the names and expected some of the other names. What’s really revealing is the amount of money these bands made. And if the bands made this much, just think what the concert promoters made. And they still can’t lower the price of a ticket to a show?

Poison and Motley Crue Touring Together This Summer
They said it would never happen. I distinctly seem to recall Nikki Sixx (when he was with Brides of Destruction) saying that he would never do anything that involved Poison. Funny how the right amount of cash can change your tune. Nikki is one big hypocrite. Personally, I think this is awesome, because Poison can show Motley Crue how a tour is done. This also allows Bret Michaels a chance to teach Vince Neil how to sing all the words, instead of every third word. And Mick Mars will still be the coolest guy in the building! Tickets go on sale March 18th.

A New Soundgarden Album for the Holidays?
Soundgarden is entering the studio to start recording a new album that they would like to have released in 2011. There’s also news of a live record hitting the shelves in late March. And there’s talk of some late spring/early summer concerts. It appears that it is a great time to be a Soundgarden fan.

For more news, reviews, concert updates, ticket price rants, and other oddities, you should follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/ryovie

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Goddaugher Edition

This weekend I will be spending time with my Goddaughter, as well as my best friend, Tommy. There is a big township day happening in their town and every year we try to go together. It gives me a chance to see his kids and catch up with him and his family. Tommy and I don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like to, but we make the effort to get together at least on a monthly basis. It will be nice to spend the day with my Goddaughter and her brother (not to mention my best friend and his wife). The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous and I am really looking forward to a fun filled day in the sun. Running around after a 3 year old and a 5 year old, well, that could be a little painful…

Here’s what rocked this week:

From Good Homes Live At The Wellmont
The From Good Homes Reunion continues. The band is playing two shows at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey, on Friday December 17th and Saturday, December 18th. Last year’s 2-night stand at the Wellmont is still being talked about, and with additional shows under the belt from earlier in 2010, these 2 nights are bound to be spectacular. Do yourself a favor and buy an early holiday gift to enjoy. These are going to be amazing concerts!

Kim Thayil Shares His Thoughts On Soundgarden’s Greatest Hits
Soundgarden released a greatest hits album this week (Telephantasm). Did you get your copy? Lead guitarist Kim Thayil sat down with Rolling Stone to share his thoughts on the hits of Soundgarden. During the time he takes a swipe at Rage Against The Machine, discusses the possibility of a new Soundgarden album, and talks about future releases, including a long awaited B-sides album. This is a very entertaining read.

Widespread Panic Performs Their First Two Albums
Following in the current trend of many performers, Widespread Panic performed their first two albums in their entirety for a benefit concert. Their first album was the first set and their second album was the second set. It appears to have been a very special evening.

Farm Aid Celebrates 25 Years This Saturday
Farm Aid is 25 this year, and to celebrate, they will be holding their annual concert at Miller Park in Milwaukee (home of the Brewers). Didn’t get tickets to the show, or couldn’t find a cheap flight to Milwaukee? No worries, you can do the next best thing. The concert will be aired in its entirety on XM Radio Channel 13 (Willie’s Place). Check it out if you have the chance.

For more concert announcements, ticket listings, strange habits revealed, and superunknown facts, you should follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/ryovie

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Brand New Ideas Edition

Lately, I’ve been working on some ideas for some interesting projects that may come to fruition in the near future. Yes, acting on these ideas would cause me to lose even more of the time that is such a precious commodity these days, but it would be worth it. The excitement that I feel when I envision these projects in their completed stage is the same excitement I felt when I prepared to launch The Rock and Roll Guru. It’s a good feeling that makes me push harder to achieve my goals.

As always, research first. My first step will be doing a lot of research to make sure what I want to release does not already exist. That could take up a month of time alone. However, it is better to put the time in now instead of doing all the work only to learn that a similar site already exists.

As things progress, and if these ideas look like they are going to become reality, I will keep you posted on the end result. And of course, as soon as I can make it official, I will release the full information and details. If everything goes according to plan, these projects are going to be amazing!

Here’s what rocked this week:

Free Download From Ratt
Ratt has a brand new album coming out on April 20th (Infestation). They want to share the first single with you for free. Eat Em Up Alive is available as a free download and worthy of a listen or three. New Ratt sounds pretty darned good.

One Step Closer To Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier
This is probably the most anticipated album of 2010 for me. The way that I couldn’t wait for Kiss’ Sonic Boom last year is the way I feel about Maiden’s The Final Frontier this year. The fact that it is mixed and I still have to wait 4-5 more months is annoying. In a world of instant everything, that disc should be out a little sooner than late summer.

Rock N America Takes Over As The Hair Metal Festival Of Choice
Well, it appears that there will be a new festival in Oklahoma this July. The Rock N America Festival is filling the hole left by Rocklahoma. The Scorpions, Warrant, Ratt, Dokken, LA Guns, Firehouse, and Lynch Mob (just to name a few) will all be performing. If I hadn’t already purchased my ticket for M3, I would be giving serious consideration to this one. This is a hair metal lover’s dream! Tickets go on sale this Saturday. This festival is really going to kick ass!

Lollapalooza Lineup Announced
Perhaps it’s just me, but this lineup is not exciting. After Soundgarden and Social Distortion, there is nothing here that would make me shell out the money and travel to Chicago. I am pretty disappointed with this year’s acts.