In a new interview with The Razor's Edge, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares once again opened up about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's kind of like just life in general. Anybody who has a normal job — you're still getting paid 10 bucks an hour, but your rent went up, your insurance went up, food prices went up, gas prices went up, but your pay is the same. It's kind of like how it's been for bands as well. Promoters are only willing to pay you so much, but everything else went up. Now the club owners and the promoters are taking a cut of your merchandise, so it's making harder and harder for artists to survive out there."

Asked if the merchandise cuts that the promoters are taking from artists are getting larger than they were in the past, Dino said: "Yes. That's been the whole debate, that it's been getting larger and larger. Of course there's always been a percentage that you have to give to venues. That's just how it is. Merch percentage — we're talking about merch percentage. But, of course, it's getting higher and higher. So, unfortunately, the fans are the ones who have to pay for that, because once the merch percentages get higher that the venue takes, then you're gonna have to raise your prices on a t-shirt. That's just inevitable and that's unfortunate, [but] that's what happens."

When the interviewer pointed out to Dino that artists do not get a cut of any of the alcohol that is sold in the venues where they are performing, Cazares said: "It's not just the promoters and the club venues; it's also the ticket agencies. It's all a big thing. It's not one thing — it's all of it. And you're right — we do not get a percentage of the alcohol at all whatsoever. But I did hear that there was one artist that did that, and that was Axl Rose. Axl Rose was putting GUNS N' ROSES in stadiums — in soccer stadiums and baseball stadiums — selling out 40, 50 thousand people, but he was, like, 'If you want GUNS N' ROSES in your stadium, you're gonna have to give me a piece of the alcohol,' And I heard a rumor that he got a piece of that alcohol percentage, which is really good. Which probably evened out to what [the promoters] were getting from the merch percentage. But not a lot of artists in my genre have that kind of power, if at all."

Many venues require bands to pay them a percentage of their merchandise sales. Commonly that split is 20/80, meaning for every dollar a band makes selling a t-shirt, the venue gets 20 cents. It's an accepted industry standard that understandably riles touring bands, especially those acts for whom merch income is still crucial for ensuring that a tour is profitable.

"That's a typical thing that venues will do," DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci recently told "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. "I think that if you're in the position, you should try to negotiate that as much as you can. I mean, 30 percent, that's way too high. I think it's more typical [for it to be in] the 15-to-20 [range]. And I think also it might be different for soft goods and physical things, like records and stuff like that. So there might be a difference there as well. But it's all reasons to be on top of your shit and your business and have people representing you that know what they're doing, because a young band might not know that they can negotiate that. They just kind of [go], 'Oh, I guess it is what it is.' And I guess in some circumstances, if you have no leverage, then it is what it is. But you can look at that and be conscious of that. Because it sucks. 'Cause then you're in that position — well, what are you gonna [do]? [Are you] gonna jack up the price of your shirt? Then somebody is paying 50, 60 dollars for a t-shirt? That's ridiculous. And you feel like you're gouging your fans, and that's not cool."

DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess added: "And it's also sad, because a lot of these younger bands, they're working so hard to get out there and play, they finally show up at a venue and they stand a chance of making a little money maybe at the merch booth, and then you've got these venues — clubs, theaters, whatever — that wanna take money out of their pockets, basically. You see it all the time. It sucks."

In larger venues, it is often mandatory for a merchandise staff to be employed directly by the venue, meaning a percentage cut can be standard.

In recent months, some venues have said that they will do away with merch fees. Ineffable Live, which runs 10 venues, including the Golden State Theater in Monterey, California; the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California; and the Chicken Box in Nantucket, Massachusetts, got rid of their 20% merch fee in response to the testimony of Clyde Lawrence of the independent soul-pop band LAWRENCE, who spoke in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this past January about the "lopsided deal mechanics in certain aspects of the live music industry." During his appearance at the hearing, Lawrence explained why venues taking a cut of merch sales is unfair, saying: Another pain point for artists is the significant loss of revenues due to promoter merchandise cuts. Typically, the promoter takes a sizable percentage (roughly 20%) of an artist's merch sales, and once we factor in our costs of creating and transporting the merch, it can be an even larger percentage (40%) of an artist's bottom line. The argument is that the venue is providing us the retail space for us to sell our merch. Sure. But we're providing all of the customers, and yet receive no cut from their many ancillary revenue streams. Live Nation getting around 20% of our gross merch sales while we get nothing on ticketing fees, bar tabs, coat checks and parking passes doesn’t make a lot of sense to me."

According to Billboard, Ineffable Music Group CEO Thomas Cussins said that on a good night, an independent touring band with a loyal fanbase can sell $5,000 to $10,000 in merchandise at a 500-capacity show. Eliminating the venue fee can save some groups $1,000 to $2,000 per night, he added.

"We are on the ground and hearing from artists every day," Cussins said. "We are seeing how much the costs of everything have gone up — from buses to hotels to flights. So even though the club business is a marginal business, any action we can take to help to insure a healthy, vibrant concert ecosystem is important. This industry only works if artists of all levels are able to afford to tour. When artists are able to tour sustainably and fans can afford to buy a t-shirt because the all-in ticket price is reasonable, everyone wins."

Ineffable head talent buyer Casey Smith added: "We've been able to make our live business work even with increased expenses by having a number of venues and being able to create routes for artists, offering them a number of shows in secondary and college markets between their big city plays. Since we've made it work for ourselves, we want it to work for the artists as well. This move is fully aligned with Ineffable's independent spirit, and in hearing the needs of independent artists, we believe it’s important to put them first."

In a new interview with Germany's Rock Antenne, Corey Taylor spoke about how long he thinks SLIPKNOT can go on, given the intense physical demands of the band's live performances. The SLIPKNOT singer, who will turn 50 in December, said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "As long as I can physically do it, and as long as there are people there to see it, man, I'll continue to do it. Now, if the quality starts to fail, then I'll know it's time to hand it in. And I've already thought about it — I've already thought about, maybe I've got another five years left of physically touring like this. I try to take care of myself. I work out when I can. The travel out here [in Europe] is exhausting; the food is horrible; so it makes it hard to do that. But as long as I can keep at it, that's at least what I wanna do. So, yeah, it is what it is."

Asked if his bandmates feel the same way about the end of SLIPKNOT as he does, Corey said: "If they wanted to continue and I wanted to retire, I would help them find somebody, to be honest. This band has always been bigger than the sum of its own parts. And it was hard moving on without Paul [Gray, late SLIPKNOT bassist]. It was hard moving on when we had to part ways with Joe [late SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison]. It's always been hard when the original nine ceases to be the original nine, but at the same time, the ones who are here are here because we love it, and we've always gotten something out of it.

"I've said it since day one — if I didn't want to do SLIPKNOT, I wouldn't do it," he continued. "And I think I've proved that. The reason I stick around is because I want to do it. There's still something in my heart and my soul that needs it. I don't know if that's good or bad. Obviously, psychotherapy will help me out with that shit. But at the same time, it's… it's once in a lifetime, man."

Asked if he feels a responsibility to the SLIPKNOT fans to be there with his bandmates, Corey said: "I do. But at the same time, I don't expect them to be there. I mean, there are songs that they love; there are songs they don't love. There are times I love this band; there are times I don't love this band. But I still wanna be here. And when I physically can't do it anymore, that's when I'll hang it up. I might not retire from performing period; maybe that's when I go and I do my acoustic thing. But when I can't go out there and give it at least my one hundred percent, that's when I'll hang it up. And me and Clown [SLIPKNOT percussionist and visual mastermind Shawn Crahan] have talked about this, man. He's older than all of us, and he's broken just as much crap as I have. I mean, Christ, he hit the keg with a baseball [bat] and ripped his bicep clean off the bone, and then went, got surgery and came back.

"We're psychos, dude," Taylor added. "I went out three weeks after my fucking spinal surgery — 'cause I'm a psycho. It's just we don't know our limitations until they catch up with us. So that's what I say. I mean, yes, there's a responsibility to the fans, but there's also a responsibility to me and my family. And I don't wanna be the one trying to pick up my grandkids and my legs don't work. I just don't wanna do that — I refuse to. I want my quality of life to be better than that — at the end."

Earlier this month, SLIPKNOT announced the addition of a new keyboardist, two weeks after Taylor and his bandmates revealed the departure of longtime member Craig Jones.

SLIPKNOT played its first show with its new mystery member on June 7 at the Nova Rock festival in Austria. The concert took place hours after the band announced in a social media post that it had parted ways with Jones.

A short time after SLIPKNOT revealed Jones's exit from the group, the band's original post announcing his departure was deleted and a photo was shared of SLIPKNOT's apparent new member. The same unidentified person appeared onstage behind the keyboards at the Nova Rock show and all subsequent SLIPKNOT tour dates.

No reason was given for Jones's departure from SLIPKNOT.

Jones joined SLIPKNOT in early 1996, shortly after the band had finished the recording of its demo album "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat." He was initially brought in to replace Donnie Steele, one of the two original guitarists, though he quickly moved on to the role of sampling and keyboards. Following the departure of drummer Joey Jordison in 2013, Jones was the second-longest-serving member in the band.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that Crahan would once again sit out some of SLIPKNOT's shows in order to stay home with his wife, who is suffering from undisclosed health issues.

SLIPKNOT is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "The End, So Far", which was released last September via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to "We Are Not Your Kind", it is the band's final record with Roadrunner after first signing with the rock and metal label in 1998.

The Quireboys, the iconic British rock band known for their boundless energy and catchy melodies, are thrilled to announce the release of their brand new single and video, "Medicine". Unleashed today, this new track is taken from their upcoming album, The Band Rolls On, slated for release in September.





Building upon their reputation as one of rock music's most enduring and charismatic outfits, The Quireboys have embarked on an exciting new venture by teaming up with Josh Todd and Stevie D from the renowned rock band Buckcherry for this special collaboration. This powerful union promises to deliver a hard-hitting, unforgettable sound that will resonate with fans both old and new.




"Medicine" showcases The Quireboys' signature blend of raw energy, Guy’s gritty vocals, and infectious hooks, maintaining their reputation for crafting timeless rock anthems. Combined with the dynamic contributions from Buckcherry's Josh and Stevie, this track is destined to leave listeners craving more.


With The Band Rolls On on the horizon, The Quireboys continue to carry the torch for rock 'n' roll, staying true to their roots while pushing boundaries. The album, which is set to be released in September 2023, promises to be a testament to the band's enduring passion for creating music that resonates with audiences across the globe.


Save the "Medicine" single here, and watch the music video below.





The new album, which is now available for pre-sale, features some well known faces which include:


Joe Elliott (Def Leppard)
Angry Anderson (Rose Tattoo)
Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke)
Dan Reed (Dan Reed Network)
Josh Todd and Stevie.D (Buckcherry)
Chip Z’Nuff (Enuff Z’Nuff )
Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper)
Scotti Hill (Skid Row)
Steve Conte (New York Dolls)
Tim Mosher (Junkyard)





Pre-order the CD here. Pre-order the vinyl here.


Guy Griffin says: “It’s great to have people we really respect and admire in the industry adding some of their magic to the new songs we’ve written. After twenty years of writing Quireboys songs, these collaborations have not only taken a bit of the pressure off me but brought a fresh perspective to the process, another way of looking at a song. It’s also been a pleasure to sing alongside such great names.”


From the rock n' rolling gospel tinged riffs of the title song to the hypnotic groove of "So Glorious" (w/ Dan Reed) this is something different but with no less swagger. Griff goes on to say: “It’s given us a real chance to explore other styles as we continue our musical journey."


Paul Guerin added, "The new machine is fresh, tight, highly motivated and performing better than ever, we have been so excited we haven’t stopped writing new material throughout all the tours, tbh we have enough new material for 3 albums but The Band Rolls On will feature the first batch from The Quireboys."

YouTube guitar sensation Sophie Lloyd, who recently toured with Machine Gun Kelly, is featured in the latest issue of Guitar World. In the feature story she discusses her earliest days as a guitarist, revealing in the process that her inspiration to pick up the instrument came from a most unlikely source.  


Loyd: "This is going to sound so embarrassing. It was actually when I watched SpongeBob SquarePants. It's a great show. (Then) I saw the movie – (and) they do a version of Twisted Sister's 'I Wanna Rock', but SpongeBob sings, 'I'm a goofy goober!' They had the big band, and I thought it looked so incredible. I said, 'Wow, I wanna do that!' That was the start. Plus, my dad loved music, and he had all the classic rock around the house – Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Rory Gallagher, all of these amazing blues guitarists... I was surrounded by music. I took a few classical guitar lessons when I was 10 or so, but I was like, 'Nah.’ Then I got an electric guitar – a Yamaha Pacifica – and I was like, ‘This is more like it.'"


Read more here.







Following on from her last two singles, “Fall Of Man" feat. Matthew K Heafy, and “Hanging On" feat. Red Handed Denial's Lauren Babic, Lloyd returned with instrumental track "Lost" featuring Canadian guitarist / fellow YouTuber Cole Rolland. Check out the official video below.





Sophie Lloyd is one of the most prolific guitarists on the world wide web, a trailblazer who is redefining the concept of a “bedroom” guitarist. A talented composer and accomplished musician, Sophie graduated from the prestigious BIMM in 2018 with a First Class Honours BMus in Popular Music Performance, honing and refining a talent she has nurtured since childhood.


Since then, she has amassed the kind of following that even the guitar gods she grew up idolizing would be envious of, with a reach surpassing 3  million followers across her social channels, built through a steady stream of sharing her talent via guitar “shredleys”, covers and her own original material.


Most recently, Sophie could be seen shredding on stage as guitarist for multi-platinum recording artist Machine Gun Kelly on his recent Mainstream Sellout World Tour, which included sold out shows at legendary venues such Madison Square Garden in New York and Wembley Arena in London.


At 27 years old, Sophie Lloyd is just getting started, with work on her debut solo album in progress and a few other items to tick off her bucket list.

In 1993, groove thrashers Extrema released the album Tension At The Seams setting a new standard of quality never before achieved by an Italian metal band, both in terms of songwriting and arrangements, as well as production and units sold.


The album represented a true turning point for the band's future, as it's their pinnacle record for what would come in the following years from this visionary album. After the record's release, they became one of the most sought-after bands across the country and went on performing hundreds of concerts along with sharing the stage with giants like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Motorhead, and many more.







Fast forward to 2023, Extrema is excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tension At The Seams, with an exclusive boxset edition that will be available for purchase on Rockshots Records. The 30th-anniversary edition is remastered from the original tapes and available in three formats: Vinyl Blue edition, cassette, and digital download.


In addition to the album, the boxset includes a rich and exclusive storybook with unpublished photos, memorabilia, articles, and notes from industry insiders close to the band at the time of the album's release. To complete the circle, there is a never-before-published photo of the original lineup, two big pins with the legendary band logo and album cover, a patch, and a sticker. Preorder at the Rockshots Records webshop.


In additional news, on Friday, October 6, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary, Tsunami Edizioni will release the official biography "Un Fottuto Massacro Collettivo" (A Fucking Collective Massacre), written by Max Villa with contributions from Enrico Salvini (Extrema’s longtime manager) former members, and many industry professionals.


Those lucky enough to have known Extrema since the time of Tension... are well aware that the band has written many important chapters of Italian-made metal. That's why the iconic Tsunami Edizioni also wanted to be part of this celebration, dedicating a book to Extrema that could closely recount the details - even the uncomfortable ones - of a story that deserved to be told.


The book will also be available during the band's special 30th Anniversary concert on October 7th, which will also see the return of guitarist Marco Cassone (Fuzz Fuzz Machine, Cowboys From Hell) to complete the quintet's lineup.


Tension At The Seams 30th Anniversary Show will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at Slaughter Club in Paderno Dugnano (MI)/. It will be a special event where Extrema will treat the fans to a lethal set list, featuring a large portion of tracks from their debut masterpiece, some of which have been absent from their shows for over twenty years, along with the most representative killer tracks of their incredible career. 


Tickets available at dice.fm.

The Original Misfits - featuring singer / songwriter Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only, with Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein on guitar – performed live in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center on July 8. Check out fan-filmed video of the classics “Some Kind Of Hate” and “Come Back” below:










The Original Misfits, one of the most influential, genre-defining bands to emerge from North America, recently announced a limited run of shows for 2023 kicking off on June 24 in Tampa at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre with Megadeth, hitting the band’s home turf of NJ at the Prudential Center in Newark on July 8 with fellow New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem, followed by a performance at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on July 15 in Phoenix with AFI. All three dates feature support from Fear.


The tour will give fans the rare opportunity to see the horror punk pioneers in their fiendish glory, live on stage as well as mark the first time the reunited Original Misfits have visited the states of Florida and Arizona, featuring the classic lineup of original singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig and original bassist Jerry Only with longtime guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.


Fan filmed video of the entire Tampa show can be viewed below. The setlist was as follows:


"Death Comes Ripping"
"I Turned Into a Martian"
"Vampira"
"Where Eagles Dare"
"Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?"
"London Dungeon"
"Hybrid Moments"
"Violent World"
"Some Kinda Hate"
"Hollywood Babylon"
"Who Killed Marilyn"
"Earth A.D."
"Green Hell"
"20 Eyes"
"Devil's Whorehouse"
"Halloween"
"Horror Business"
"Bullet"
"Astro Zombies"
"Teenagers From Mars"
"Children in Heat"
"Skulls"
"Night of the Living Dead"
"Last Caress"


Encore:
"We Are 138"
"Die, Die My Darling"





Tour dates are as follows:


July
15 - Phoeniz, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (Tickets)

Celebrating the first year of their Metal Blade debut, Pain Is Forever And This Is The End, the guys in Mantar release their signature duo playthrough of "Egoisto". Check it out below:





Pain Is Forever And This Is The End is available on CD, LP, and digital formats. Order here.







Pain Is Forever And This Is The End tracklisting:


"Egoisto"
"Hang 'Em Low (So The Rats Can Get 'Em)"
"Grim Reaping"
"Orbital Pus"
"Piss Ritual"
"Of Frost and Decay"
"Walking Corpse"
"New Age Pagan"
"Horder"
"Odysseus"


"Odysseus" video:





"Hang 'Em Low (So The Rats Can Get 'Em)" video:





Mantar lineup:


Hanno Klänhardt - guitars, vocals
Erinc Sakarya - drums

Former MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover, who is currently promoting the debut album from his WITHERING SCORN project, was asked in a new interview with the "Trendcrusher" podcast if he enjoys having to rely on social media so much to promote his music and grow his bands' audiences. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not really, to give you an honest answer. I mean, look, it's a necessary evil. You have to promote your record. Everything keeps coming back to the pandemic. With this pandemic, now so many bands are not able to tour — they're canceling tours because of the cost of petrol in Europe, the cost of bus drivers and buses, the lack of availability of bus drivers and buses because everybody and their grandmother is on tour right now. You've gotta find ways to promote your product, ultimately. So now, with the advent of social media, everybody's doing that. But that's almost a problem, is like everybody and their grandmother is posting on Instagram that they just went to Starbucks and had a latte. It's, like, you kind of get lost in the shuffle of all of the things that you're posting, that I'm posting. We can go on Instagram right now and there'll be 20 new posts from somebody. You can't be on it 15 hours a day and looking at the updates."

He continued: "It's complicated. I understand that's a necessity, and I'm embracing it as much as I can. I'm on it almost every day with the new band, 'cause I believe in the music that we put out, so I have to promote it. I don't mind promoting things. This is just such a new and different thing than what we did back in the day, but you have to adapt to that and you have to try to roll with it. So we're doing the best we can with it. It is what it is. The record company does their job; we do our job. Would I rather it be in the '80s when it was just on the radio and you went and bought metal magazines, and you bought it because… I would definitely prefer that, but that's not reality anymore. I try to adapt the best that I can, and I understand what it is. So you just try to make the best of it."

In addition to Shawn, WITHERING SCORN features his brother, and fellow ex-MEGADETH member, Glen Drover, along with former FATES WARNING bassist Joe DiBiase and German singer Henning Basse, who has previously played with FIREWIND, METALIUM and MAYAN.

WITHERING SCORN's debut album, "Prophets Of Demise", was released on July 7 via Frontiers Music Srl.

WITHERING SCORN was formed in 2020 by Glen and Shawn, who previously played together in MEGADETH, as well as in EIDOLON. The pair have teamed up once again for their latest musical offering and are joined by DiBiase, who played with FATES WARNING for 14 years on multiple records and world tours, and Basse. The potent combination of these four incredibly talented musicians joining forces has given birth to an uncompromising heavy metal record in the form of "Prophets Of Demise".

Shawn joined MEGADETH in 2004 as the replacement for Nick Menza, who had only just rejoined the group. Drover performed on four MEGADETH studio records: 2007's "United Abominations", 2009's "Endgame", 2011's "TH1RT3EN" and 2013's "Super Collider".

Glen Drover left MEGADETH at the end of 2007 and was replaced by Chris Broderick, who previously played with NEVERMORE and JAG PANZER.

Usaopoly (The Op),the board game and puzzle publisher behind iconic licensed games and best-selling party games Telestrations, Blank Slate and Hues And Cues, today launched the most rocking version of the classic board game yet with Monopoly: AC/DC Collector's Edition. Bringing one of the world's most renowned bands to the tabletop as they celebrate 50 years of creating legendary music, fans can now rejoice and relive the band's most iconic moments.

With epic twists on classic Monopoly components, those about to rock can buy, sell, and trade the Australian classic rock band's most memorable moments from the past 50 years — from legendary locations including AC/DC Lane, to albums and hit songs like "For Those About To Rock", "TNT" and more. Travel the board with custom song-inspired tokens including Dynamite, Angus's Hat, a Lightning Bolt, a Cannon, Hell's Bells, and Stacks Of Cash to upgrade your properties with Gold and Platinum Records, replacing the classic Houses and Hotels, respectively.

"As we continue expanding our line of iconic licenses, we're excited to add yet another legendary band to the mix with the launch of Monopoly: AC/DC, giving fans new memorabilia to celebrate 50 years of some of the best rock 'n' roll music," said Dane Chapin, CEO of The Op. "AC/DC has incredibly loyal fans that have been supporting them for half a century, and we're honored to give them a collector's edition board game with custom artwork and historic moments."

Designed for two to six players, ages eight and up, fans will stack custom Angus-printed cash like amps with the help of profitable "Bonfire" (Community Chest) and "Backtracks" (Chance) cards. Collect the most cash and roll the dice to the guitar bite to find out who can build the ultimate AC/DC Empire and make it up the long way to the top to rock and roll!

Monopoly: AC/DC (MSRP: $44.99) is available now at store.acdc.com and on The Op's web site.

To learn more about the game and The Op, visit www.TheOp.Games, and follow along on social (@TheOpGames) for more on the latest game announcements and launches.

Monopoly first hit shelves in 1935 with the Racecar, Thimble, Boot, Top Hat and Battleship among the original set of Monopoly tokens, while the Scottie Dog and Wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s. Although the brand has evolved over the 87 years, the gameplay and iconography of the classic Monopoly game has remained unchanged, making it a timeless classic sure to be enjoyed by future generations. Today, Monopoly is the world's favorite family game brand and is enjoyed by more than one billion players in 114 countries across the globe.

The Op, also known as Usaopoly, is a family entertainment company and leading publisher and manufacturer of board games and puzzles for over 25 years. The Op's diverse portfolio includes award-winning and best-selling titles such as Telestrations, Blank Slate, Hues And Cues, Tapple and Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle as well as licensed versions of Monopoly, Clue, Munchkin, Trivial Pursuit, Dice Throne, Smash Up, and more. The Op continues to partner with marquee brands and licensors such as Hasbro, Disney, Marvel, Nintendo, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. The Op is passionate about bringing family, friends, and fans together to create memorable experiences through play.

AC/DC is one of the most influential rock bands in history with over 200 million albums sold worldwide and 74 million albums sold in the U.S. alone. The double-diamond "Back In Black" stands out as "best-selling album by any band ever" and "third best-selling album by any artist" with global sales of 50 million and counting. They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. The band also garnered their first Grammy Award in the category of "Best Hard Rock Performance" for "War Machine" during 2010. They continue to sell millions of albums annually and generate streams in the billions. AC/DC, which returned with the "Power Up" album in 2020, will make its first live appearance in seven years at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California in October.

New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL kicked off their "Scorching The Earth" U.S. tour with EXHORDER and HEATHEN last night (Thursday, July 13) at the Great American Hall in San Francisco, California. Fan-filmed video of the concert can be seen below.

OVERKILL's setlist was as follows:

01. Scorched
02. Bring Me The Night
03. Electric Rattlesnake
04. Hello From The Gutter
05. Powersurge
06. Wicked Place
07. Coma
08. Horrorscope
09. Long Time Dyin'
10. The Surgeon
11. Mean, Green, Killing Machine
12. Ironbound
13. Elimination

Encore:

14. Overkill
15. Rotten To The Core
16. Fuck You

The 16-date trek will make stops in Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale and Silver Springs, among other cities, before ending in Huntington, New York on July 30.

In a recent interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Ellsworth spoke about the realities of post-pandemic touring, including increased travel expenses — gas, tour buses, hotels and flight costs. He said: "Things have changed, obviously. From a personal perspective, you have to be ready for anything. But on a daily perspective of getting ready for the tour, I try to push that as much out of my head as I can, that it's been handled prior. We know that we're taking a risk when it comes to this. The logistics are different financially. It could be a tough situation, just based on regular costs, just the fact that transportation is that much more expensive at this point. And people don't wanna go into their pocket and pay for your transportation; they wanna pay for the concert ticket. So I get it. But I'm not gonna let those logistics be something that have us overthink something as simple as fucking touring."

He continued: "It's becoming complicated behind the scenes; it's not complicated on the stage. The stage is what the stage is. So I think if I use that as my motivation, all the other stuff just — I'm not gonna say 'falls into place', but for sure you figure out ways to work it out. You put good people around you. I have a great tour manager, I have a great booking agent, and she is all over this insurance and taxes and increased costs and making everything happen. 'Cause we still wanna present ourselves as OVERKILL. This is something that for years we've not just shown up with an amplifier and everybody with one guitar. We've shown up with drum risers and huge backdrops and big backlines and light shows. And this is still important to us. So we wanna present ourselves at the highest level. And the only way to do that is to go for it but also surround yourself with good people."

Asked if he thinks three-month tours are a thing of the past and bands like OVERKILL will concentrate on shorter runs covering smaller geographical regions, Blitz said: "We've been doing that for a long time anyway, because it is more cost effective. We've been doing three-week-to-month blocks now for at least a decade. And it works for us that way. Because, to some degree, there's less risk if it falls apart. If it falls apart on a three-month tour, there's expenses that go all the way through that three-month period. But if you're doing three weeks to a month, if you're doing it in a consolidated area, you can maximize, for instance, your revenue, but you can minimize your loss if something happens that's unforeseen, something that you don't know. It's easier to survive 10 shows when somebody gets sick at the tenth show and there's only 10 more than surviving 40 shows after that, where tickets have to be given back and buses have been paid for down the road and you sign contracts for three-month periods."

OVERKILL's twentieth studio album, "Scorched", was released in April via Nuclear Blast Records.

Rufus Publications has announced the release of the new book, Portraits Of Status Quo. A video trailer can be viewed below.





Portraits Of Status Quo is a photographic celebration of the glory years of Status Quo through the ’70s and into the mid-’80s. Starting life in the early 1960s, after a series of line-up and name changes, the band became Status Quo in 1969. It was in the early ’70s that the band moved away from their psychedelic 60s roots and became a full on hard rock/boogie machine with a stream of successful albums and singles. Along with a change to their sound, came a change in image, moving into faded denim and t-shirts, creating their iconic ’70s look. With more than 60 chart hits in the UK, Quo are one of the most successful hard rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s.




The book features hundreds of classic and unseen, carefully restored black and white images of Quo at play and playing live on a series of stunning, unforgettable tours. The book concentrates on the ’70s and finishes with the band at Live Aid in 1985. Contributing photographers include PG Brunelli, Chris Walter, Fin Costello, Barry Plummer, Michael Putland and more.





This unofficial book is 230mm square, case-bound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt-coated paper. The book comes with a fold out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 666 numbered copies and sells for £55 plus shipping.
The first two hundred pre-orders ship with a free Telecaster Geepin badge worth £6.95.


In addition to this, a much larger, ultra-limited Leather and Metal Edition measuring 375mm square and presented in recycled leather and a hand welded aluminium metal slipcase with a screen printed logo in a run of 50 numbered copies. This will sell for £500.


The books will go on sale on Friday, July 14 at 3 PM, UK time and will feature a 10% pre-order discount if ordered before August 31. The books will ship worldwide in October 2023.


The books can be ordered here.

Ted Nugent kicked off his "Adios Mofo '23" farewell tour Wednesday night (July 12) in Immokalee, Florida.

The legendary rocker's performance at the Seminole Casino Hotel, which is billed as Southwest Florida's premier gaming and entertainment destination, saw him backed by his current solo band consisting of drummer Jason Hartless and bassist Johnny Schoen.

Nugent's setlist was as follows:

01. The Star-Spangled Banner
02. Gonzo
03. Stormtroopin'
04. Paralyzed
05. Free-For-All
06. Snakeskin Cowboy
07. Johnny B. Goode
08. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
09. Come And Take It
10. American Campfire
11. Hey Baby
12. Good Friends And A Bottle Of Wine
13. Fred Bear
14. Cat Scratch Fever
15. Stranglehold
16. Great White Buffalo

In a recent interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Ted spoke about his decision to embark on what is being billed as his last-ever tour. Regarding why he doesn't want to spend time on the road anymore, Ted said in part: "Hotels are jail. I hate jail… I will always play music. The music still has fire. I still crave it. I've got new songs. I'm gonna go in the studio with these killer musicians that are always at my side. But traveling, I tell you… A hotel room is jail… The travel and the hotels… And I don't even have to go to TSA [Transportation Security Administration]; I mean, I gave the finger to them in 2009. If somebody doesn't send a jet, I don't go anywhere. My friends are better than your friends, 'cause my friends have jets. So, I'm not TSA and I'm not gonna let somebody fondle my Glock [gun] and ask me questions about gun laws. And hotels are so painful for me… So this tour, like the last 10, I will hub out of our Texas home to play gigs around there. I'll first start in Florida. So I'll hub out of our condo — [my wife] Shemane's got a condo down there, so I can go to all those Florida dates. And then I come back to Michigan and go to Ohio and Indiana and Wisconsin and Illinois and Pennsylvania and Kentucky. And I'm able to hub, so I's still able to spend a lot of time with my kids and my grandkids and my dogs."

Ted went on to clarify that he is not retiring from playing live. "The fire, the music, it will always go on," he said. "I play my guitar every day… And I get to collaborate with the best musicians in the world. So it's always a challenge, it's always intriguing, it's always stimulating. I'm an old man — I'm 75 this year — but the stimuli factor… I hope that somebody else in this world is as stimulated by the music as I am, because it's still very much alive and well."

Asked if he will miss the audience and the live interaction on stage, Ted said: "Yes. Of course I will. But again, I won't miss it because I'll still do it… I'm not going out for months or even weeks. I'll do the occasional special events. I do a lot of corporate stuff… Yeah, I'm an energized son of a bitch, but I am 75, and I'm not swinging from ropes and I'm not wearing a loincloth and I'm not jumping off the amplifiers with my new knees. So I will miss it, but, again, I've got 12 grandkids and I don't wanna go away someday and not make an imprint on them, teach them about the important things in life. In a world that's really gone really stupid, I think my grandparenting responsibilities are more important now than ever."

Ted's concert in Birmingham, Alabama was recently canceled due to a backlash surrounding his controversial political views. The legendary rocker's July 18 performance at Avondale Brewing Co. was scrapped one day before tickets were to go on sale via Ticketmaster. The decision to call off the gig was apparently made in response to about 1,000 comments which were posted on Avondale Brewing's Facebook page after the show was announced, as well as more than 150 comments on the venue's Instagram page.

Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975 was certified double platinum in the United States, while "Free-for-All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Weekend Warriors" and "State Of Shock" all reached the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Nugent has reportedly sold over 40 million albums and was named Detroit's greatest guitar player of all time by readers of MLive.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Nugent's latest album, "Detroit Muscle", was released in April 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's most recent touring band, which included bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.

This past May, Smith, who had played bass for Ted for the past 16 years, announced his departure from the legendary rocker's touring band. He explained in a statement: "It was a difficult decision but one that I really had no choice in. With Ted no longer touring I had to accept an offer from a tour that will continue for the next several years. I tried to get someone to cover for me for the 2nd half, so I'd be able to do Ted's tour, but I was unfortunately unable to."



Posted by Ted Nugent on Wednesday, July 12, 2023



Posted by Teri Bishop Denison on Wednesday, July 12, 2023



Posted by Teri Bishop Denison on Wednesday, July 12, 2023



My kinda energy….Ted Nugent

Posted by Carlton Ross on Thursday, July 13, 2023