Tuesday, September 8, 1998
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Those of you with keen eyes who attended any of the Summersault '98 shows recently may have noticed that the band Esthero were short one member on stage. Doc, one half of the original creative team behind Esthero, has made a difficult decision to step away from the touring entity of the group in order to concentrate on his first love. That love is the creation of music in all its forms, so Doc has left Esthero, perhaps only temporarily, to write and record new material and collaborate with other artists. Esthero (the person) told a Maritimes newspaper over the weekend that "I think both of us want to write with other people and experiment and do all sorts of stuff." Esthero (the band) will continue to tour their debut album Breath From Another extensively, while Doc returns to his home studio to begin the creative process anew.
Zak Werner, Esthero's manager, told D.A.M.N. this morning that Doc and Esthero "made the record together, they were thrilled with the results, but Doc just wasn't happy on the road. He was going crazy not being able to work on new stuff...just playing rhythm guitar was in no way fulfilling." Werner went on to say that between the writing, recording and mixing of Breath From Another, it's been a long time since Doc had the chance to work on new songs, and he's hungry to write with other people. Expect a hip-hop project at some point from the Minneapolis native. Meanwhile, Esthero will also be working with other people, including some material for television and film soundtrack work. Once the touring runs its course on this album, there is a potential for Doc to work with Esthero again. D.A.M.N. will keep you posted.
According to JamTV's Blair R. Fischer, Alice In Chains are having a little trouble on their latest project, but it's an issue over the behaviour and attitude of producer Dave Jerden, not the usual drugs muckety-muck. Fischer reports that the band, including troubled singer Layne Staley were in a Los Angeles studio August 23 to work on new tracks for an undisclosed future release (possibly a box set) with Jerden, who produced AIC's 1992 album Dirt. Despite the fact that this marked the first time in three years the band had assembled in the studio, everything was fine until plans were being made for further recording the next day. That's when Jerden was 'reminded' by Alice In Chains' manager Susan Silver that Staley had a commitment to attend his sister's wedding in Seattle. As a result, the band wanted to keep working overnight and take the next day off completely. Jerden and his engineer Bryan Carlstrom (who also worked on Dirt) objected, voicing concerns about fatigue. It should be noted here that Jerden took on the AIC session as an aside to his current full-time production job on The Offspring's Americana album.
Needless to say, an argument broke out, and the long and the short of the story is that Jerden was notified by telephone a week later that Layne Staley no longer wanted to work with Jerden. Silver made the call, citing Staley's animosity towards Jerden that began in '92. Jerden claims this is due to his constant badgering of Staley about his drink and drug abuse. "Apparently he got all mad at me", Jerden told Fischer. "What's my job as a producer? To produce a record. I'm not getting paid to be Layne's friend." Needless to day, Jerden is off the project, and Toby Wright has been contacted to take the helm. Wright produced both a trio of AIC records (Jar Of Flies, Alice In Chains, Unplugged), as well as guitarist/songwriter Jerry Cantrell's solo album Boggy Depot.
Ironically, Dave Jerden was recently hired by Cantrell (over Wright) to produce his next solo album. Cantrell says he has no plans to remove Jerden from his project just because of the problems on the Alice In Chains session. "I'm having a really good time and I don't see a reason to stop that right now," remarked Cantrell. Silver has since issued a statement criticizing Jerden for trying to "lay blame on everyone around him for something that he was so clearly responsible for". She alleges that Jerden had been advised well in advance of Staley's schedule, and that his involvement with the AIC sessions was a point of concern for the band given the Offspring project's demands on his time. Jerden dropped a nasty and suggestive bomb at the end of all this nonsense, commenting that Staley "weighed eighty pounds...and was white as a ghost" in the studio. What a tangled web, eh?
In an attempt to forge a direct link with his fans and thereby avoid the hundreds of rumours and countless censors out there, Marilyn Manson has launched a new website. www.marilynmanson.net is online right now, and Manson himself will be conducting a live webcast tomorrow night at 10:00pm EST from the House Of Blues in Los Angeles. The chat will be available in RealVideo. Manson recently told MTV News that the website is "the one place where I can communicate directly with my fans. Undiluted, unfiltered by the media. And that's where they can find the truth...if anyone wants to know something, they can speak to me directly there. I'll actually be in contact with [fans] on a daily basis." The new site will also feature the usual content, including tour dates, items for sale, exclusive artwork and much more.
A partial list of the performers for this year's Farm Aid concert has been announced. The October 3 show in Tinley Park, Illinois will feature Phish, Wilco, Hootie and the Blowfish, Neil Young, Willie Neslon, John Mellencamp and Steve Earle. Farm Aid was created in 1985 to assist farming groups, churches and state service agencies across the continental United States.
Meanwhile, Neil Young's own annual benefit show is scheduled to take place October 17 and 18 in Mountain View, California. Proceeds go to the Bridge School, a San Francisco school created to assist children living with severe physical disabilities and impaired speech. Young and his wife have children in the same position, so it's a cause close to their hearts. This year's concert (thirteenth annual) will see Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, the Wallflowers, Eels, Jonathan Richman, Phish and Young himself. Thanks to JamTV for elements of this story.
KILL HANNAH, LETTERS TO CLEO, SUMMERCAMP ONLINE
Tonight on JamTV, a live show by Kill Hannah airs at 8:00pm, followed by a backstage interview with Letters To Cleo (9:00pm) and another live show from Summercamp at 9:20pm. All times are EST.
THE PRETENDERS, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, BARENAKED LADIES, CHUCK MANGIONE, STEROPHONICS, NARDWUAR, EVE 6, WILLIE NELSON, EN VOGUE, TRACY CHAPMAN, SHANE MACGOWAN ON THE TUBE
Today's Saturday Night Live repeats on the Comedy Network feature The Pretenders (3:00pm) and Tracy Chapman (midnight). Sticking with the Comedy Network, The Rocky Horror Picture Show airs at 4:00pm, starring Tim Curry and Meat Loaf. MuchMusic puts the Barenaked Ladies in the spotlight tonihgt (7:00pm), and Chuck Mangione makes an animated guest appearance on the season premiere of King Of The Hill (8:00pm, FOX). On The New Music, Nardwuar and the Stereophonics are featured (9:00pm, Much). Eve 6 are on Viva Variety (10:00pm, Comedy). Turning to late night, Willie Nelson visits Letterman (11:35pm, CBS), En Vogue are on Leno (11:35pm, NBC) and Shane MacGowan and the Popes drop by Conan O'Brien (12:35am, NBC). All times are EST. For the ultimate guide to rock, check out Rock on TV.
D.A.M.N. is compiled by Mike McCann most of the time.
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"We're in a position now where you have bands imitating old Pumpkins styles. You have Our Lady Peace, and they're basically doing a really good Siamese Dream imitation. I like them: I think they're good, and I'm flattered. But at the same time, it's bizarre."
-- Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins snuggles up to Raine and the boys.
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