Outside Lands Festival. August 10, 11, 12

This party at Golden Gate Park has been going since 2008. San Francisco. Pay attention to the DJ Dome. Tickets are about to go on sale (4/19)

Alabama Shakes | Allen Stone | Amadou & Mariam (French) | Andrew Bird | Animal Kingdom | Beck | Big Boi | Big Gigantic | Bloc Party | Bomba Estereo | Caveman++ | City and Colour | Die Antwoord | Dirty Dozen Brass Band | Dispatch | Dr. Dog | Electric Guest (new album, April 24) | Explosions In The Sky | Father John Misty (see their 3-hour non-music film) | Fitz and the Tantrums | Foo Fighters | Franz Ferdinand | Fun. | Geographer | Grandaddy | Honey Island Swamp Band | Jack White | Jovanotti | Justice | Metallica | Michael Kiwanuka | Mimosa | MSTRKRFT | Neil Young & Crazy Horse (together again, new album, June 5) | Norah Jones | Of Monsters and Men** | Papa | Passion Pit** | Portugal. The Man. | Rebelution (look at them with their triple album!) | Reggie Watts | Regina Spektor | Santigold | Sean Hayes | Sharon Van Etten | Sigur Ros | Skrillex | Stevie Wonder | Tame Impala | Tanlines++ | Tennis | The Be Good Tanyas | The Kills | The M Machine | The Oh Sees | The Walkmen | Trampled by Turtles | Two Gallants | Wallpaper | Washed Out** | White Denim | Wolfgang Gartner | Yacht | Yellow Ostrich** | Zola Jesus++.

** also playing at Lollapalooza
@@@ also playing Bonnaroo
++ also played Rhapsody Rocks Austin

All that in relatively tiny Golden Gate Park. Serious foods and wine, too.

I’m starting to understand why Axl Rose may have included that Charles Manson song on the Spaghetti Incident? release. They’re both fucking crazy. Manson directed his destruction outward, Rose’s destruction is all directed inward.

Have some fucking fun man. Fuck. Go attend Saturday’s Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction. Yeah, you have to visit Cleveland, but still….

I haven’t been following all the ins and outs and travails of Guns ‘n’ Roses past or present in recent years. Guilty. But, fuck Axl, you had some accomplishments and GnR once ruled the world – acknowledged with talent AND respect. Not you by yourself but with a tight unit of talented people – especially in the early years – who loved you and yes, you created beautiful music together.

Don’t cry about not wanting to get on stage with people who may have said some nasty wasty things about your behavior – or the ultimately disappointing Chinese Democracy. And don’t refuse to be inducted because you’ve somehow got it stuck in your mind that you’re achieving anything by doing so. If you don’t like the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, that’s different, because it’s pretty fucking useless and the standard bearer for oxymoron. But you’re not saying that.

Do two things for self-respect. Lose some fucking weight, because you might be losing your mental edge but you don’t have to lose everything. And two, show up to the fucking ceremony you big baby. Whose music I love. I couldn’t give a shit if anyone’s inducted to the fucking place – whatever. But if you do something, and you may respect this, do it for a good fucking reason otherwise you’re just wasting everyone’s time. Like the 10 minutes it’s taken to write this for a start.

Axl Rose wrote the following letter to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame saying, “na-ah” and “I donwanna.”

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N’ Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N’ Roses were to be inducted it’d be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we’ve listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N’ Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists’ comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we’ve been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N’ Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in “our” induction (that for the record are decisions I don’t agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things… no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn’t appear to be somewhere I’m actually wanted or respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It’s their show not mine.

That said, I won’t be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N’ Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of “Guns N’ Roses”.

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp’s perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I’m sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I’ll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don’t intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we’ve actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I’ve publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing’s changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of “for the fans” or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in ’06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in ’06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in ’11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that’s enough.

There’s a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn’t room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it’d be different. Maybe you’d do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We’re there for each other when the going get’s rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn’t owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another’s, or in this case several others’, expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the “no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn’t care about the fans” crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let’s move on. No one’s taking the ball and going home. Don’t get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we’ve endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball’s never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I’d like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns’ induction. More importantly I’d like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we’ve had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N’ Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,
Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

Who’s licking their Goldfingers?

Face To Face and Goldfinger headline The Great American Barbecue & Beer Festival this Saturday in Chandler, AZ., noon to 8pm.

A total of 12 acts will sweat their chops on two stages. Together with 200 kegs and 20,000 pounds of meat in a BBQ off, it’s going to be a tasty party. Thrown in a custom bike show (win a Casa Grande, AZ Saxon Warlord motorcycle) and a kidzone for youngster play.

Billed as a family-friendly event, that doesn’t mean the tunes are lame. Face to Face punks it out. Goldfinger, who’ve been around almost 20 years, rips out ska punk for the masses. Riverside’s Voodoo Glow Skulls and Buck-O-Nine round out the main stage.

It’s the local stage that promises even more revelation and reverberation with tastes of: Versions of You, Howard ‘Til Midnight, Milhouse, Ethan 103, CC Beats, The Frogstranglers, The Andys, Rainafire, Pride Through Strife, Inept Hero, and Bird City.

Strumming along in between are Johnny Lee, Walky Talky and The Collective

$10 gets you in to the event @ Dr. AJ Chandler Park (map, S. Arizona Ave & E. Chandler Blvd.) with kids 12 and under get in free. Go to ChandlerBBQ for more details.

Van Halen – Long Version Trailer from Van Halen on Vimeo.

Can the best Van Halen frontman bring it like he did in the early 1980s? Just reading that sentence over, the likelihood seems very low. Tickets are expected to be $60+. David Lee Roth left the band in 1985 and Sammy Hagar became the face and voice of the band, with Eddie and Alex. Eddie’s son Wolfgang, 20, will play on bass.

I met Julio, one of Ms. Sariñana’s concert promoters, Sunday at a friends house and my ears perk up whenever I hear a name I haven’t heard before. Then I heard her husky voice dominating a playful pop beat and wanted others to know more.

Sariñana is already a success in her home country, Mexico. She doesn’t look manufactured (even though she was a child actress); you’re catching someone who’s just here and there to enjoy the music. Sariñana, lives in Mexico, sings in both English and Spanish and seems comfortable in her bilingualdom. She’s been around for about 3 years, since her debut Spanish-language album Mediocre in 2008.

Website: XimenaMusic.com
Twitter: @XimenaMusic

Their fifth studio release, Re:(disc)overed is a celebration of sorts for the polyglot band’s 10 years in music, and if someone’s gonna let them do it, well heck they’ll do it. They’re auspicious beginnings demand nothing less.

“We chose some that may be unexpected to some just so we could push the Puddle envelope a bit,” said PoM’s lead guitarist Paul Phillips.

He said the new versions of the songs were more tribute than reinvention. “Our goal in interpreting these songs was to pay more tribute rather than reinvent,” Phillips said. “These are all classics that are perfect in every sense, so who are we to mess with that? We just wanted to represent them in their true form and add a little of our sound to them. We cut everything with very few takes and tried to keep it very live like those old seventies records.”

The new album includes: AC/DC’s “TNT,” Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You,” Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty’s duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (which Puddle Of Mudd recorded with BC Jean), Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” Free’s “All Right Now,” Bad Company’s “Shooting Star,” James Gang’s “Funk,” Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Maker,” Neil Young’s “Old Man,” and the first single, The Rolling Stones soulful classic, “Gimme Shelter.”

Wes Scantlin said winnowing down the songs to the final cut brought out the wrinkles, in a way.

“As I’ve become an adult, I’ve realized that I have become my old man,” Scantlin said. “I seem to have inherited the same traits as him, whether they are good or bad. I’ve been listening to that one forever and now I’m living it.”

Puddle Of Mudd have scheduled five shows where the first half of the show they will perform songs from re:(disc)overed followed by the favorites:

July 23 – Webster Theater, Hartford, Connecticut
July 24 – Northern Lights, Clifton Park, New York
July 26 – Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
July 28 – Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, New Jersey
July 30 – House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio

Some information provided from a news release

Other acts include Lynn Anderson, Don Edwards, Dave Stamey, Waddie Mitchell, Johnny Rodriguez, Michael Martin Murphey, and Josh Gracin, Belinda Gail, The New Pioneers, Clint Walker, Rollie Stevens (also now the festival organizer), Robert Fuller, Rocin’ M Wranglers, Waddie Mitchell, Jon Messenger, Johnny Western, and Rusty Richards.

Tons of kids and teen fun too, as well as chuckwagons, log home show, poet and songwriters, a cowboy race, mountain man rendezvous and the tradition of 9th Cavalry Buffalo soldiers and TV and movie performers.

FestivalOfTheWest.com – presented by Real Country, 96.3. Tickets are $25 each (separate from festival entry cost)

We hooked up with them about a year ago. Not in any official way, but they put us front and center of one of their handful of music channels (actually 5, yes) to follow and pay attention to. There’s no money changing hands either way, I just want these guys to succeed. They’re growing, they’re refining what they do – and they listen to what you’ve got to say. In the meantime, visit our profile there and check out what’s going on. Bonus, Like.fm founder Chris’ musical tastes are almost as varied as Soundlust’s.

PS – hello all new Like.fm listeners who clicked through and found us. We’re on Twitter and on Facebook, too. Our YouTube channel coming soon.

Radiohead self-released an album again. People are again calling it the model of the future and thebestthingeverohmyGod.

OK, but what about the music?

“Lotus Flower” and “Feral” are The King of Limbs two best songs. At least on first and second listen, so take that for what it’s worth. These two have a sound that make them accessible. While this is not a barometer for musicianship, I’ve never given a band “bonus points” just because they’re famous. If they sound good, they’re good. If they sound like they’re following a trend and phoning it in; like they have no passion or vision – or skill – they’re the opposite of good.

In that vein, Radiohead sound like any other band just getting started, an idea that comes ripe with the positive, the negative and the irrelevant. And yes, Yorke in the Lotus Flower video looks like he’s trying to become the album title. Go with your bliss, man.

A fuller, more informed, review comes later.

Angerfist is one of those one-member bands that have more excitement and creativity than a stadium full of Britney Spears or a pocketful of Justin Biebers.

That may sound like damning with faint praise but Angerfist is all about damnation. (Ironic that considering i found out about this event in front of a Scottsdale, Arizona church.)

Since 1997, when Danny Masseling started playing professionally at 16, he’s moved from teenage angst to grown-up digital full-frontal aural dancefloor assault. His rise and influence was sharp and quick. Samples were sparse. The beats, insightful and inventive. Masseling survives and like his European Nordic DJ brethren his name is sought to put a sound-shifting sheen to songs that are often played out the day of release.

Angerfist headlines a Jan. 21 show at Tempe’s 1300-capacity 910 Live venue (910 N. McClintock Road, Tempe, AZ). It marks their first time in Arizona and he’ll have to try really hard not to bring the house down. Limited tickets are $25 from Event Vibe, and the rest are $30, $40 at the door.

Turner & Heit crack in for the fun, battling Tranzit & Dooz (aka promoters Relentless Beats vs. TranzitHouse.com.) Also filling out the noise:

The AZHC All Stars, 6 DJs create a wicked sound. Unless they just didn’t know what they’re doing the ideas bouncing back and forth will be seamless and wonderful.

AZHC Hardstyle Team VS Hardstyle Assault. The hometown, house-proud crew.

Pac D vs Ill-legal? – aka IBB, Da, Binge Records X vs Subversion Dubstep 2×4

Nemo vs Sesso – aka One Vibe Events vs Jersey Shore (Go Snooki!, go Snooki!)

Also featured: Brandon de Carlo, Robotech, and Matt Dunn.