Hello my friends. How are you all? I hope you’re all kicking ass.
I know there’s been a lot of rhetoric out there regarding upcoming Anthrax shows, Big 4, and otherwise. I’ve been debating on whether or not to make a public statement about this as it really pertains to my personal life, and I generally like to keep that personal. Because this is affecting my band life, I feel like you, my friends, deserve to hear from me personally.
I will be playing the Big 4 show April 23 in Indio, CA as well as the shows in Manila, Bangkok, and Japan that will follow the Indio show.
I won’t be playing the shows scheduled from July 2-16 in Europe and the UK. My wife Pearl and I are expecting our first child, and she is due literally the day of the Big 4 Sonisphere show in France.
This decision to miss these shows was a deeply personal one. I co-founded this band July 18, 1981 and for almost thirty years, I have been there for everything we’ve ever done. I have never been faced with anything that would make me even question being there for anything Anthrax related. Becoming a father is the biggest, best thing that’s ever happened to me and it made the decision relatively easy. My priority is with my wife and the birth of our first child.
As soon as I was faced with this decision, I knew, as Freddie Mercury so eloquently said, “The show must go on.”
I started thinking about guitar players I knew, guys that I am a fan of, guys that I respect, guys that headbang like Angus was watching them, guys that I listen to, and guys who I thought had the spirit to enable the show to go on. This wasn’t a hard decision at all. I asked the rest of the band what they thought, and we were on the same page. We chose Andreas [Kisser from Sepultura] because we feel he can do the gig better than anyone. He has the fire, the attitude, and the crushing right hand to do the gig. I’ve played with Andreas at the Roadrunner 25th anniversary show, and I’ve gotten up and played with Sepultura, and we are kindred spirits. We both play every show like we’re going to jail the next day— like it’s the last show we’ll ever play. He has what it takes, and he has the experience and history to fucking bring it and make these Anthrax shows something special. I can’t wait to see and hear it for myself.
This year will bring our tenth Anthrax studio record featuring the return of the one and only Joey Belladonna. We’re hard at work finishing it, and I can say that from the tracks I have heard, it is going to tear your fucking heads off. I’m looking forward to getting back on the road with the band that is now better than we’ve ever been, and seeing all your sick faces and banging heads.
Cheers,
Scott
(Scott will play the following dates)
APRIL
23 Empire Polo Club: Indio, CA (Big 4 show)
30 Pulp Summer Slam Festival: Manila, Philippines
MAY
2 AP Parking: Esplanade, Ratchada, Bangkok, Thailand
5 O-East: Tokyo, Japan
6 O-East: Tokyo, Japan
7 Diamond Hall: Nagoya, Japan
9 Big Cat: Osaka, Japan
(Andreas Kisser will play the following dates)
JULY
2 Veltins Arena: Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Big 4 show)
3 Ullevi: Gothenburg, Sweden (Big 4 show)
5 Komplex AG: Zurich, Switzerland
6 Fiera Open Air Arena: Milan, Italy (Big 4 show)
8 Sonisphere Festival: Knebworth, UK
9 Sonisphere Festival: Amneville, France
11 Garage: Saarbrucken, Germany
12 Vega Musikkenshus: Copenhagen, Denmark
14 Slottsfjell Festival: Tonsberg, Norway
15 Dour Festival: Dour, Belgium
16 Zwarte Cross Festival: Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands
Monday October 25, 2010 Source:VQPR Location: Musicians Institute Music Corridor and Amphitheatre in Hollywood
Saturday, November 6th @ Musicians Institute Music Corridor and Amphitheatre in Hollywood
What do Rob Zombie, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Alice Cooper, Marky Ramone and so many other rock stars have in common? They all love animals and have signed guitars and more to help support the upcoming concert HUMANITY THRU MUSIC and the building of a No-Kill animal sanctuary. Right now you can get your ticket for $35 as a special Halloween price – Just Paypal to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and get yours now!!!
Come wag your tail and rock-out in Hollywood on November, 6th at the First Annual “Humanity Thru Music” concert and paw-sta dinner in benefit of Fur and Feather Animal Sanctuary a501c3 dedicated to much needed animal welfare in California. Come help save the lives of our homeless animals from having to enter shelters and face needless euthanasia by supporting the building of Southern California’s first full NO-KILL animal sanctuary, medical and educational center.
The night will dazzle you with bright lights and stars as you cross the green carpet to the corridor off of Hollywood Blvd for fun, food and a paw-stompin concert with Platinum super-group players from YES and TOTO – YOSO - playing hits from both bands Roundabout, Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Rosanna, Hold The Line and so much more!!
Join celebrities and rockstars at the vegetarian Paw-sta buffet bar then trot over and chase your tail around one of the largest silent auctions full of the best treats, including guitars signed by Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, drum heads signed by Marky Ramone, weekend trips, Hi-end spa weekends, signed sports memorabilia, autographed Star Wars memorabilia, Two Brunches at the House of Blues, Tickets from the LA Philharmonic (winter season) and Hollywood Bowl tickets (summer season), a Two Night Stay at the beautiful Carmel By the Sea, Cypress Inn - part owned by Doris Day and pet friendly. The list of auction items is endless and all proceeds go to Fur & Feather Animal Sanctuary to further their goal of building in 2011.
NIGHTS SCHEDULE: Will-call opens at 5:30 pm to check in and purchase tickets with the Green Carpet and silent auction starting at 6:00 pm. The vegetarian paw-sta buffet starts at 6:30 pm with a martini and wine bar. 8:00 pm is your cue to go rock-out to classic rock in the amphitheater for the concert that will start at 8:30pm. The concert will end about 11:00 pm in which the guests will return to the corridor for the last chance to bid on the silent auction before the winners are announced. At this time, coffee and dessert will be served.
Tuesday December 29, 2009 Source:Blabbermouth Location: Orange County, CA
According to The Orange County Register, AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer James Owen Sullivan (a.k.a. The Rev) was found dead at his home on Monday (December 28). He was 28 years old.
Sullivan appears to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo told The Orange County Register. Police were notified by firefighters who had responded to Sullivan’s home about 1 p.m., according to the report.
Sullivan is survived by his wife, Leana MacFadden.
In addition to playing drums for AVENGED SEVENFOLD, The Rev was a prolific songwriter, having contributed the track “A Little Piece of Heaven” (see video below) to the band’s fourth studio CD, 2007’s “Avenged Sevenfold”.
“The Rev is very good at coming in with full songs,” singer M. Shadows said in a 2007 interview with Revolver magazine. “That guy’s a piece of work; he’s badass and he’s a great writer. He walked in with ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’, and it was like an eight-minute movie that he wrote and had in his brain; nothing was on a recorder — he just walked in, one-fingered it on the piano, played drums over it, and was like, ‘That’s the song. Let’s bring some string guys in to work on the string arrangements.’ And we were like, ‘Fuck yeah, dude!’”
“I can write in any style that I choose,” The Rev said in the same interview. “And I’ve always been heavily been influenced by Danny Elfman, OINGO BOINGO, MR. BUNGLE, and bands like that. With all the different parts and the cinematic feel, I thought it called for lyrics that told a story, too. Without giving too much away, it’s about a couple: First the boyfriend kills the girlfriend, and then the girlfriend comes back and repossesses her body and kills the boyfriend; then he comes back and repossesses his body and apologizes, and they get married. And then they start killing everyone at their wedding. I just had a lot of fun with that one!”
According to Reuters, AVENGED SEVENFOLD in recent years tried to live down its reputation for debauchery. Sullivan, in particular, had raised eyebrows after a 2006 cover story in metal magazine Revolver described his penchant for cocaine and other drugs.
“The press was all like, ‘They want to be GUNS N’ ROSES; all they care about is partying, all they care about is girls,’” Shadows complained in the 2007 Revolver interview. “We’ve all got steady girlfriends; I’ve got a fiancée. I’m not out there banging every groupie and getting hammered every night. I drank twice on the whole Asian tour, because I was dealing with the record, which was still being mastered, and I was trying to keep my voice fresh. We’re not a bunch of drugged-out friggin’ wannabes that don’t give a shit about their music or their fans.”
“No one could get anything done if they were completely out of control all the time,” seconded The Rev. “Everyone likes to go out and have a few drinks with their best friends; I don’t think anyone on the planet doesn’t like to do that.”
AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s last release was the DVD/CD package “Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough”, which came out in September 2008. The live DVD features the band’s April 2008 hometown show at the Long Beach Arena headlining the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour, while the CD contains previously unreleased b-sides that were recorded during the making of “Avenged Sevenfold”, plus various covers, and other never-before-heard material. The DVD was directed by Core Entertainment’s Rafa Alcantara, who also worked on the band’s critically acclaimed 2007 road documentary “All Excess”.
Monday July 20, 2009 Source:HER Publicity Location: Los Angeles, CA
Play Poker with Scott Ian, Jerry Cantrell, Vinnie Paul, Kirk Hammett, Greg Tribbett and Poker Legends Phill Hellmuth and Annie Duke
Get ready to rock the UltimateBet poker tables in the encore performance of Scott Ian’s HomeGame , an online poker tournament set to take place August 19th at 9:00PM ET. Swap your guitar chips for poker chips to win one of 11 exclusive seats in Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian’s Home game where you could find yourself seated next to rock legends and poker pros, and shooting for the stars in the ultimate Rock ‘n Roll Sit-and-Go for a trip to the Aruba Poker Classic.
“UltiimateBet players showed huge support for my first Home game on UB back in March,” said UltimateBet pro Scott Ian, who was reached for comment on a break from play during the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. “With an Aruba Poker Classic package up for grabs this time, expect the competition to be fierce.”
The star-studded line up in Scott Ian’s Home Game is headlined by Ian, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne, who are set to put their own unique metal edge on the UB Hold ‘em tables, where online poker players will be able to chat with the rock stars through the UltimateBet software’s chat feature.
Rounding out the list of poker legends featured in the Texas Hold’em tournament are 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and World Poker Champion Annie Duke.
Online poker players are invited to secure their spot in the Scott Ian Home Game Main Event Qualifier via daily satellites at 10:30 PM ET for as little as 1000 UltimatePoints, with each one paying out one seat for every ten players ente red. Winners will receive automatic entry to the August 18th 10,000 UltimatePoints Main Event, where 10 seats in Scott Ian’s Home Game are at stake. One additional seat will be offered up to UB’s VIP players through a special invitation-only online poker freeroll.
The top five places in the Scott Ian Home Game will be awarded a range of prizes and tournament entries, including an $8,500 Aruba Poker Classic prize package to go to the Home Game champion, plus Scott Ian will have a $200 bounty on his head. The 18-player Sit-and-Go is sure to fill even faster this time around, and with only 11 seats available exclusively at UltimateBet, players should be quick to get in on the action.
This October will see the release of Worship Music, the brand new album from Scott Ian’s band, Anthrax, considered one of metal’s all-time great acts. Along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, Anthrax is credited with originating the thrash genre and has sold more than 10-million albums worldwide.
Scott Ian at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event
