Away Team

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson was to embark on a short tour in February 2012, to recount stories all things automotive from his new book, Rockers And Rollers: A Full-Throttle Memoir.

Johnson is now scheduled to undergo surgery on his wrist in February, meaning the scheduled dates are now cancelled.

The following dates are now cancelled:
February
7 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
8 – Atlanta. GA – Center Stage Theatre
10 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
11 – Richmond, VA – The National
13 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre
15 – Millvale, PA – Small’s Funhouse
16 – Covington, KY – Small’s Funhouse
18 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at ONC
19 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
21 – Madison, WI – Overture Center
22 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater

Warner Home Video has announced AC/DC: Let There Be Rock for Blu-ray release on June 7, in a limited-edition BD/DVD combo pack in a 30th Anniversary Collector’s Tin. This legendary concert film covers a 1979 Paris concert during the Australian heavy metal band’s Highway To Hell tour. Interview segments and humorous backstage footage show another side to the musicians, especially AC/DC‘s flamboyant lead singer Bon Scott, who died two months after this filmed concert.

Let There Be Rock tracklisting:
Live Wire
Shot Down in Flames
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
Sin City
Walk All over You
Bad Boy Boogie
The Jack
Highway to Hell
Girls Got Rhythm
High Voltage
Whole Lotta Rosie
Rocker
Let There Be Rock

Special features:
- Loud, Locked & Loaded: The Rites of Rock: Seasoned rockers, actors and journalists recollect their rite of passage as early witnesses to the raw, bone rattling rock of AC/DC.
- AC/DC: The Bedrock of Riff: No one has mastered the basic DNA of Riff Rock as successfully as AC/DC. Explore Angus and Malcolm Young‘s telepathic groove and the four-on-the-floor swing of Mark Rudd.
- Angus Young: A True Guitar Monster: Angus Young‘s transformation from diminutive schoolboy to raging rock monster electrifies the masses. Find out what makes this time bomb tick.
- Bon Scott: The Pirate of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Bon Scott was the ringleader of the AC/DC circus, balancing his screaming sexuality with a rakish charm. Get a glimpse into the life of a classic Rock ‘n’ Roll pirate.
- AC/DC: A Rock Solid Legacy: From bar band to arena rock, AC/DC stuck to their guns and shot their way to the top. Fellow rockers and journalists chart AC/DC‘s ascent into the Pantheon of Rock Gods in rock ‘n’ roll history.
- BD Playlist: your favorite songs in your favorite order
- 32-page tribute book by rock journalist Anthony Bozza (author of Why AC/DC Matters)
- Exclusive souvenir guitar pick
- Collector card set featuring concert photos

For more AC/DC click here.

According to Billboard Boxscore BON JOVI Ranks as #1 in the Top 25 Tours Of 2010 list ranked by total gross earnings from November 22nd, 2009 through November 20th, 2010.

1. BON JOVI: $146,507,388
2. U2: $131,502,369
3. AC/DC: $122,633,027
4. LADY GAGA: $116,227,987
5. BLACK EYED PEAS: $81,579,114
6. JAMES TAYLOR / CAROLE KING: $62,326,410
7. EAGLES: $62,166,344
8. METALLICA: $61,947,556
9. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: $61,247,906
10. PAUL MCCARTNEY: $55,760,403
You can view the rest of the list here.

From KKDowning.net:

“It seems that the time has come for us to put the touring wheels in motion for our next world tour in
2011!
It’s funny but these days around – about this time – I can’t help but reflect on the past when we had to
load the touring van ourselves. Sometimes in the ice and snow, being afraid that we would get frostbites
on our fingers and not be able to play the gig!
I remember one winter we had a gig at Hull City Hall in England. We were driving in heavy snow when we
hit black ice and the car hit the motorway barriers so hard that it was never able to be driven again.
However, it was fortunate that a passing farmer saved the day by letting us pile into his old Land Rover and was kind enough to drive us to the gig!
It seems just like yesterday, as they say, that we were on tour with our good friends Budgie, Accept,
Warlock, AC/DC, Saxon, Pantera… to name just a few. Very good memories indeed!
Actually, I have just received a copy of Accept‘s new album “Blood of the Nations“. And was really happy that Wolf and the boys are still creating great classic metal. I think it was back in ’81 that Priest
and Accept hit the road together for the first time and what a great tour that was! I really hope that we can meet up with the guys next year, at least on some of the festival dates and have a good laugh
when talking about the old times.
It was our great fortune, as time passed, to go on and tour with almost every band that you can think of. Some tours included very cool line-ups that many people may not even be aware of: e.g. Priest, Whitesnake & Iron Maiden / Priest, Scorpions & Def Leppard / Priest & UFO… and the list goes on.
People often ask me what it’s like to be on a tour and I always say the same things about it: simply
it’s the hardest thing that you will ever do, but you wouldn’t change it for the world. The travelling
becomes such a major part of your life that you actually feel like a piece of luggage yourself! But
I must confess when you get to go to places that you have never been before like Korea, Turkey,
Romania, Columbia etc. it’s no surprise that you feel like the luckiest man alive. I guess mainly
because for me – growing up as a kid – thinking of going to any of these places would have been
pure fantasy.”

For more JUDAS PRIEST click here.

BRAVE WORDS recently interviewed ACCEPT‘s Wolf Hoffman:

Stranger things have happened. But whenever a classic act feels the creative juices flowing, yet need to find a new voice due to a death, split or other drama to complete the puzzle, it’s a recipe for disaster. Ask Mr. Iommi about the revolving door of singers post-DIO. In history, two success stories stick out; AC/DC and VAN HALEN. Nothing else comes close. So when guitar legend Wolf Hoffman‘s creative juices were flowing and he couldn’t convince Udo Dirkschneider to take another kick at the can, he started looking for the new voice of ACCEPT. You could hear a big sigh in the distance. No disrespect to former TT QUICK singer Mark Tornillo, but Accept made the disastrous call once in their career and our ears are still ringing from the ‘generation clash‘ (1989′s dismal Eat The Heat with singer David Reece). But here we are in 2010, and Hoffman‘s gut instinct is churning again. He’s got a waft of material he’d created with bassist Peter Baltes and the band needed a voice. Fast-forward to the present and Accept‘s new album, Blood Of The Nations is a blinder, even to the point of entering the German album charts at #4, marking the highest entry ever in the band’s career at home, beating out the #5 position of 1986’s Russian Roulette. So what the hell happened? Hoffman fills in the blanks with BraveWords.com below:

Hoffman: “Man, we really just wanted to prove to the world that we’ve still got it, and we got a little bit ticked off about the early people who said it couldn’t be done, which in turn made us try even harder. We wrote this whole album in two or three months. And this is all brand-new stuff. We just met Mark and figured he’s the perfect man for the gig, and we sat down and asked him whether he wanted to join us. And we called the other guys and within a day or so it was decided that we were gonna re-start Accept. And then we sat down and said, ‘oh, shit, now we need to write new songs, so let’s get to it.’ And Peter and I did, and we wrote all that stuff over the summer last year.”

Read the rest of the BRAVE WORDS interview here.
For more ACCEPT click here.

AOL Music is sponsoring a Full CD Listening Party for ACCEPT’s Blood Of The Nations. Stream the entire album – which includes the bonus track “Time Machine” – at this location.

Click here to read the Associated Press album review that likens Mark Tornillo joining ACCEPT to Ronnie James Dio joining Black Sabbath and Brian Johnson joining AC/DC!

All fans are invited to participate in the FREE Meet & Greets that will take place after every show throughout ACCEPT’s co-headlining tour with King’s X, which launches this Friday in Baltimore, Maryland. The members of ACCEPT have pledged to stay until the very last fan leaves happy, so grab your ACCEPT memorabilia & camera and get ready for a night of autographs and photographs!

Confirmed tour dates are:
09/24/2010 Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
09/25/2010 The Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
09/26/2010 ***IN-STORE SIGNING AT VINTAGE VINYL, 2 – 4 p.m.*** – Fords, NJ
09/27/2010 B. B. King’s – New York, NY
09/29/2010 Showcase Live – Foxboro, MA
10/01/2010 The Silo – Reading, PA
10/02/2010 The Emerald Theatre – Mt. Clemens, MI
10/06/2010 Scatz – Middleton, WI
10/08/2010 The Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH with IN-STORE SIGNING AT THE EXCHANGE, 6-7 p.m. in Parma Heights, OH
10/09/2010 The Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
10/11/2010 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
10/12/2010 House Of Blues – Dallas, TX
10/13/2010 House Of Blues – Houston TX
10/19/2010 The Key Club – Hollywood, CA ***THIS L.A. SHOW WILL BE STREAMED LIVE WORLDWIDE***

Pre-sale ticket links are available on the band’s MySpace page.

Read away-team.com’s review of ACCEPT‘s Blood Of The Nations right here.

Two classic DIO tracks — “Holy Diver” and “Stand Up And Shout” — will be made available on September 14 in the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii.

With more than 400 artists, including JIMI HENDRIX, THE WHO, AC/DC and GREEN DAY, who are exclusive to Rock Band, as well as more than 1,100 songs available through the Rock Band platform and 65 million songs sold through its download store alone, Rock Band is the undisputed sales and content leader in the interactive music space, providing the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums. Rock Band DLC additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii.

For more information on the tracks click here.

JOE SATRIANI‘s new single, ‘Light Years Away‘ is currently streaming at Satriani.com, allowing fans a taste of his upcoming album, Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards.

Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards, Satriani’s 14th studio album, is produced and recorded by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA) and Satriani, and is set for release on October 5, 2010 through Epic Records. Veteran Satriani bandmate Jeff Campitelli joins Joe on drums, while newcomers, keyboardist Mike Keneally (FRANK ZAPPA, STEVE VAI) and bassist Allen Whitman (MERMEN) are adding their expertise to the mix. Satriani’s classic sound also carries a surprisingly rich texture of new material as well.

Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards tracklisting:
Premonition
Dream Song
Pyrrhic Victoria
Light Years Away
Solitude
Littlleworth Lane
The Golden Room
Two Sides To Every Story
Wormhole Wizards
Wind In The Trees
God Is Crying

Satriani’s World Tour promoting Black Swans . . . will begin in this fall, kicking off on October 16 in Dublin, Ireland with the North American dates starting on December 1 in Atlanta, hitting cities such as Chicago, New York, Boston and more.

Joe Satriani live dates:
December
1 – Center Stage – Atlanta, GA
2 – Pompano Beach Amphitheatre – Pompano Beach, FL
3 – House of Blues – Lake Buena Vista, FL
4 – Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, FL
6 – The Palace Theatre – Greensburg, PA
7 – Aronoff Center for the Arts – Cincinnati, OH
8 – Massey Hall – Toronto, Ontario
9 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
10 – Tower Theatre – Upper Darby, PA
12 – Metropolis – Montreal, Quebec
13 – Nokia Theatre – New York, NY
14 – Nokia Theatre – New York, NY
15 – The Music Center @ Strathmore – North Bethesda, MD
16 – Fillmore Detroit – Detroit, MI
17 – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH
19 – Chicago Theatre – Chicago, IL
20 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
21 – Historic Paramount Theatre – Denver, CO

For more JOE SATRIANI click here.

After debuting their new line up to a sold-out audience in New York this past May and then traveling to Europe to devastate the masses with shows in 16 different countries in 80 days (including two shows opening for AC/DC), Germany’s legendary metal band ACCEPT will return to tour the U.S. for the first time in 14 years on a co-headlining tour with King’s X. Their first show will kick-off the eleventh annual ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta.

Guitarist & songwriter Wolf Hoffman checks in about the band’s time in Germany & their upcoming North American trek:

“Believe me, this was boot camp, but we loved every minute of it! Twelve months ago, there was nothing on the horizon that would have made us believe we would be on the stages of the world again as ACCEPT… and here we are! [New lead vocalist] Mark Tornillo inspires us to get it all out in a way we have not been challenged before. We can’t wait to be on stage with him!!!! He is the new kid on the block and he is the reason we are back again. It is such a relief, such vitamin shot!!! And if we could, we would never stop!!!”

When asked what has surprised the band the most about their fans, Hoffman responds enthusiastically:
“NO DOUBT ABOUT IT – the biggest surprise is the way they make us feel welcomed. Of course we hoped the fans would be happy to have us back – who would not believe that about their fans? – but, what is happening here, EVERYWHERE we go, is a TOTAL KNOCK-OUT for us. WE HAVE NOT SEEN FANS SO HAPPY IN A LONG, LONG TIME.”

Confirmed tour dates are:
09/09/2010 ProgPower USA Kick-Off – Atlanta, GA Center Stage
09/23/2010 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
09/24/2010 Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
09/25/2010 The Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
09/27/2010 B. B. King’s – New York, NY
09/29/2010 Showcase Live – Foxboro, MA
10/01/2010 The Silo – Reading, PA
10/02/2010 The Emerald Theatre – Mt. Clemens, MI
10/09/2010 The Arcada Theatre – St. Charles (Chicago), IL
10/12/2010 House Of Blues – Dallas, TX
10/13/2010 House Of Blues – Houston TX
More October dates will be announced soon.

For more ACCEPT click here.

In January Pearl Aday released her first album Little Immaculate White Fox to critical praise. No stranger to the stage Pearl started out at a young age running handkerchiefs out to her well known father Meatloaf during his performances. After spending nine years in his band as a backup singer, she then toured with Motley Crue as a ‘Crue Slut’ in 2000 where she met her now husband Scott Ian of Anthrax. Her band is none other than Mother Superior and her guitarist husband performs with her. We recently spoke about growing up the daughter of a Rockstar, why women who rock today are not necessarily Janis Joplin or Pat Benetar clones, how Rock & Roll still exists and is not simply 70’s riffs rehashed, as well as leopard print outfits and g strings. Pearl took the time to explain why she felt now is the time to release her first album, how Slipknot is not a guilty pleasure but just good music, and how difficult it can be stepping out of the shadow of the legendary Meatloaf.

AWAY TEAM: This is Slim Jim with Away-Team.com, and I am speaking with Pearl Aday. Congratulations on the release of your first album Little Immaculate White Fox. It came out in January, and how have the sales and reception for it been so far?

PEARL ADAY: Both really good considering that we’re just a tiny little baby band. But reception all around has been really great. The response we’ve been getting it’s just really been positive. People either know about me and they really love it because they’re so set already, or they’re a lot of the time pleasantly surprised because a lot of people don’t know who I am. They hear the references for Meatloaf and they hear the reference for Anthrax and they’re like ‘well it’s a girl’, and it’s ‘what is this?’ And then they hear it and they go ‘oh ok this is rock and roll and it’s good, I really dig this’ you know? And this is like usually, I’ve heard a lot too ‘this is like something that I miss and didn’t even know I missed it because it’s not around anymore’ you know what I mean? This is pretty simple; this is rock ‘n’ roll! It’s a girl kicking ass singing rock ‘n’ roll so I mean if it’s good you can’t really go wrong with that.

AWAY TEAM: Well I’d heard about you several years ago basically through following Anthrax and your husband Scott Ian (guitarist for Anthrax), and when the album came out I was looking forward to checking it out and I was very impressed. Not that I didn’t expect anything from it but it exceeded my expectations it was very good! And you’re absolutely right it’s a straightforward rock ‘n’ roll album. A lot of people I’ve heard kinda compare what they call today straightforward rock ‘n’ roll they’re kind of saying it’s a like a ‘70s rock revival and I’m like no, this is what rock ‘n’ roll is! I think people just forgot.

PEARL ADAY: Exactly! You know I’ve been getting that story of like throwback, those comments about being a throwback to the ‘70s. It’s like well, has it not been around that long? Like is that the last time you heard really like good true simple rock ‘n’ roll done like this? I guess maybe it is, but it’s kinda funny that people consider it a throwback. This is rock ‘n’ roll! This is classic you know what I mean? Classic in the sense that it never goes out of style. People seem to think that it’s like a retro thing. Not everybody, but a lot of people. I guess I get that but I don’t necessarily agree with it

AWAY TEAM: I’ve always found it amusing that straightforward male rock ‘n’ roll bands like say Jet or whatnot, they get compared to AC/DC. If you’re a straightforward male rock ‘n’ roll band oh well you’re like AC/DC. And if you’re a female fronted or female rock ‘n’ roll band, oh, well you’re Janis Joplin, or you’re Heart or you’re like Pat Benetar. But you’re not necessarily like anybody else. It doesn’t have to be that throwback. It’s new, it’s modern, its straightforward rock ‘n’ roll. Period.

PEARL ADAY: Right. Thank you!

AWAY TEAM: Absolutely! And I promise that will be the only Janis Joplin reference in the interview.

PEARL ADAY: Cool! Well I love Janis! I mean people bring up her name with mine in the same sentence all the time. And I think that she’s amazing, but I don’t think that I sound like Janis. I don’t think anyone sounds like Janis you know what I mean? It’s flattering but at the same time that’s not true. I would say that anybody, nobody, was like her before and or ever will be after her! So it’s good you and I are on the same page.

AWAY TEAM: A little quick history of yours, you are Meatloaf’s daughter. Growing up backstage, at home, and on the road did you realize who your father was? I’ve heard stories or read interviews where when you were very young you would run out in between songs on stage and change out his hankies for him or his handkerchiefs. But did you understand how big he was? Who Meatloaf was and what he had done with Bat Out of Hell?

PEARL ADAY: Well no I don’t think when I was 4 years old I was understanding the whole scope of what Bat Out of Hell had done. The sort of the walls that he had broken down, especially being a big guy, and fronting a band which is what initially gave him a lot of trouble trying to get into the business. Because they’re like you’re a big guy that sings rock opera what the hell is this? And he just kept going and going and going until it worked and it was massive. So no, when I was 4 years old of course I didn’t understand the scope of that. I don’t quite remember how I thought of it. I did understand that that was his job and that he would go to work and go up on stage and sing, and there would be packed arenas of thousands of people singing his songs and screaming for him and adoring him. So how a child gets that or how to processes that concept I don’t really remember, But I remember understanding that that was what he did, that was his job. There’s a story that my mom loves to tell when, we always had an apartment in Manhattan, we I grew up in and I went to school in Connecticut. We had a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Manhattan, we don’t anymore but growing up I did. We had a place that was right across the street from Central Park and my dad had a day off and it wasn’t a day when he was playing softball in the park cuz he used to do that a lot too. And it was like daddy-daughter day and he took me to the park right by the softball fields where there’s swings and stuff like that. We just got swarmed by fans! I’m on the swing and he’s pushing me and I remember this, I was like 5 years old I think, and he’s pushing me on the swing and then I go forward and I come back and I turn and he’s not there to push me again! But he’s signing autographs. And after that we went back the apartment and my mom asked ‘so how was the day Pearl?’ and I just went ‘Meatloaf, Meatloaf, Meatloaf that’s all I ever hear is Meatloaf’! That was around that time of Bat Out Of Hell. And then it happened again in the 90’s, we couldn’t go anywhere without him just being swarmed. So as a little girl I don’t think I totally got that. I think that it was just like people are annoying and taking my dad away from daddy-daughter day, I didn’t totally get the autograph thing. Growing up, when I was 19 that’s when I started singing in his band. I sang in his band for 9 years so at that point I understood what was going on. But when I was real little I think it was more, ‘ok this is what dad does and people like to talk to him when we’re out.’

AWAY TEAM: So at what point did the music bug bite you? At what point did you say hey either I’m good at this or this is what I really want to do?

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know, I always remember singing around the house and making little girl groups with my girlfriends and performing in the living room for everybody. We had a girl group called the Bottle Caps I remember. We would put on tutus and lip sync to Leader of the Pack, I don’t know why Leader of the Pack but that we liked that song when we were 10. In elementary middle school I was always in plays and musicals and high school I was the lead in all the musicals and in a band, and in college I was in a band. So I think it was just always just something that I was gravitating towards, always singing in the house, and writing in high school. I started writing poems and putting them to music; stuff like that. I think always I always wanted to be a singer. Always!

AWAY TEAM: You were, as you already stated, Meatloaf’s backup singer for many years and you were a backup singer for Motley Crue for awhile, so what took you so long to step out front and do your own album?

PEARL ADAY: It’s funny when people say “what took you so long?” But I think that if I tried to do this 10 years ago this wouldn’t have come out. I think that it needed to happen naturally and organically and I had to live the life that I’ve lived up to this point in order to make this music and write these lyrics. You know I had to I had to experience it first, Well I experienced a shitload my entire life, but I also had to get the experience of performing and I think build up my gut. It’s quite an intimidating thing to have a parent who is such a megastar and that is what you want to do too and sort of…

AWAY TEAM: Oh I can’t imagine! I can’t imagine trying to step out of that shadow.

PEARL ADAY: Forget about it! It’s really scary and unless…you know a different personality might have gone ‘blaahhhh here I am! I’m ready!’ but I’m sort of more like I’ll hang out until I’m ready because I don’t want to come out and do it half assed or go out and look like I don’t know what I’m doing. I want it to be the best that it’s gonna be and I think that’s what this is for right now. You know the next album that we write might be better. I don’t know. It will be different in the sense that it’ll be different songs and I’ll have lived that much longer and learned that much more through the cycle of this album, performing and finding my feet onstage as a front-person in a band which is something that I’ve become really comfortable with right now. But I still don’t know everything that there is to know. Every time I go onstage I learn something new about myself and as a performer. In terms of what you said ‘why did it take you so long’ and I don’t think… I don’t see it that way. I see it as this is happening now. This is what’s happening now it wasn’t going to happen before. I used to do some interviews with my dad through those 9 years when I was performing in his band with him and he would introduce me sometimes as ‘yeah this is my daughter the amazing singer who’s afraid to sing’ because it was true. I was comfortable in my niche being a backup singer which, don’t get me wrong, that’s an important job especially with Jim Steinman and Meatloaf songs! Those parts are not easy. Those are complicated songs. I wasn’t fronting it though, I was back there and my voice was blending in with lots of other voices with the other people who were singing on stage too. I don’t think I was ready then to step out, I needed to observe a little longer and I needed to find it in myself.

AWAY TEAM: You’ve done a few dates for the release of the album. I actually saw your performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live which is so far the only chance I’ve had to see you perform. I know your band is opening for Meatloaf on his tour starting next month. When will we see you out doing a full fledged tour on your own?

PEARL ADAY: Hopefully we’ll be able to get back out and do that again. We actually did that in the spring for a month. We went all around the U.S. doing headlining club dates. First time we ever did that in the States and that was great. So hopefully we’ll be getting to do that again soon. I’m always ready to perform whenever, wherever, because I love it so much. But I always say the money fairies have to visit us because we don’t have a machine or a record label or stuff like that. So every tour everything that we do comes from our pockets and it’s not cheap! Contrary to what most people think my dad doesn’t give me a penny. My dad is a very wealthy man but it doesn’t mean that I am you know what I mean? Definitely letting me forge my own path find my own way with this. He’s not buying me tour buses and shit like that. Actually these opening dates for him we were told no! no! no! no! no no no no no no… forever and ever and ever. Then at the last minute I got an email from him saying, ‘what are you doing from Aug 12th on?’ I’m going ‘I thought you told us no, what are you doing?’ so though we’re thrilled I mean are you kidding me? We start here in LA at the Gibson Amphitheater so you know it’s much better than the Cheyenne Saloon, it’ll be a really, really good run for us. We’re just stoked.

AWAY TEAM: How do you go from being a backup singer for Meatloaf to becoming a Nasty Habit for Motley Crue?

PEARL ADAY: You audition! (Laughs) Yeah, I auditioned. In 2000 I heard they were auditioning girls but we weren’t the Nasty Habits we were the Crue Sluts. The Nasty Habits were from the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. They were before us that was Donna and Amy. We were called the Crue Sluts from the Frank Zappa song. You know there’s a song called the Crew Sluts. Actually that’s how they would open the show before the band would come on, there would be sirens and a light show and they would play Zappa’s Crew Sluts so it was cool.

AWAY TEAM: I actually saw the Maximum Rock Tour in 2000.

PEARL ADAY: Yeah in 2000 that’s the one I was on.

AWAY TEAM: It had you and who was the other singer?

PEARL ADAY: Well where did you see it? Cuz we had one girl who started and then she quit two weeks in and we got another girl. The first girl had short dark hair and the second girl had long red hair.

AWAY TEAM: Ok, this was in Sacramento and I think it was almost halfway through the run if I’m not mistaken.

PEARL ADAY: I think Sacramento was towards the beginning.

AWAY TEAM: Was it towards the beginning? Ok.

PEARL ADAY: Yeah we started like June 25th or something up in Sacramento actually.

AWAY TEAM: Ok yeah cuz I know that Anthrax was still on the bill and unfortunately they didn’t last throughout the whole tour.

PEARL ADAY: Right, right yeah so you saw me and Marty her name was.

AWAY TEAM: Ok, and then Samantha Maloney (HOLE drummer) was doing drums at that point too for Motley Crue, so you had as much estrogen onstage as testosterone from the Motley Crue boys…

PEARL ADAY: (Laughs) I guess so! Well they always had girls. They’d never had a female drummer before, so that was super cool. Yeah I think even with those guys the testosterone definitely outweighed the estrogen!

AWAY TEAM: How did your dad handle your touring with Motley Crue? The infamous Motley Crue…

PEARL ADAY: Fine! It was fine. I mean he’s a performer he understands performance and costume… and I mean we had 5 costume changes. I don’t know if you remember, there was the rubber dress and the nurse outfit, the nasty nurse, and then there was the Wild Side with the leopard and the g-string. I mean it was great, with a cat ‘o’ nine tails yeah! I think we actually came and played Gibson Amphi- it was Universal Amphitheater back then but my dad came to the show. And he was backstage beforehand and the first costume of the show was a like a blue rubber mini cop dress with a zipper down the front. And I had a long, long wig like a long blonde wig with blonde bangs and blue eye shadow from my lashes to my eyebrows. A push up bras like 3 of them and platform boots, thigh high platform boots. I walked out and I walked right up to him and he looked at me like I was a stranger. He didn’t recognize me! I went, ‘dad it’s me’ and he was like ‘WHOA’! He never expected to see me like that. And Girls, Girls, Girls when we come out up we would like walk down the catwalks and come up to the front and dance on a little platform I think I saw him peeking through his own fingers out in the audience like that yeah. He wasn’t I mean you can’t really freak out a Rockstar you know? He gets that its performance, so it’s all costume and lights and loud music.

AWAY TEAM: So you did a lot of writing for Little Immaculate White Fox with the boys from Mother Superior, which used to be Henry Rollins‘ Band or for the Rollins Band they performed with him. How’d you get connected up with them?

PEARL ADAY: Actually Scott knew them. When Scott and I first started dating I was a fan of Mother Superior and Scott happened to know them and introduced me to them. I think it was one of my birthdays and he invited them to my birthday party. I was really like just a dorky fangirl and I had a couple of drinks and I walked up to them and I said ‘hey I’m Pearl’ and they were like ‘yeah happy birthday’. After awhile of talking I said ‘hey what do you guys think about having a chick sing with you maybe a little bit?’ I don’t know what am I saying! (Laughs) They kind of like stopped and looked at each other and I was like ‘oh god what did I just say’! Then they turned around and went ‘ok’. So from that point on they’d say well we got we have a riff or melody we have song idea, so I’d go over to their… this was when they still shared an apartment Jim and Marcus. And I’d go over to their place and they’d play it for me and I’d record it and then I’d take it home and start plugging in lyrics. We’d get together after that and flesh it out but that’s pretty much how we worked with all the songs. Later Scott started getting more involved with helping with the arrangements and melody ideas and lyrics and stuff. So there are a few songs where Scott’s in on the writing credits as well. It’s a really, really great process actually because I just clicked with those guys immediately in terms of style and vibe. We were just totally on the same page when it came to all that stuff. It’s like ‘Ah that’s exactly what was in my brain!’ So it was just an organic and natural thing. I met these guys and then fell into writing with them and because it’s not easy to find a writing partner, not everybody can write together. And this just happened to be a perfect match, so it’s really good!

AWAY TEAM: How long was that writing period from the time you approached them at your birthday party until the release of the album or at least the starting of the recording of the album?

PEARL ADAY: Well it was a few years because we initially got together and got a bunch of songs and went in and recorded a demo album at Cherokee Studios here in LA. It’s actually flattened now, which is sad because it was a really cool old studio full of lots of history. But we did that and played… I got a band together I didn’t initially play with the guys from Mother Superior they just played on the demo. I played around town with those songs that we recorded. I had like a 9 piece… I had like a horn section and a B3 organ and guitars and drums and like a huge band which is kinda tough when you’re playing the Viper Room you know cuz its tiny. We sorta lived with those songs and noticed that some of them weren’t quite as good as others and some of them were pretty weak so we got rid of the shitty ones and wrote new ones. Then started rehearsing the new ones and freshening up on the older ones and called Scott (Ian) and Joe Baresi, the producer, and gave him a call and he came down to one of our rehearsals and agreed to produce the album. Which is now Little Immaculate White Fox with the exception of Broken White, and the cover of Ike & Tina’s Nutbush City Limits. Those two we tacked on at the end. Broken White was the last song that was written, that’s like the newest one and that one includes writing credit for my guitar player Anale Cult who actually wrote the last song on the album called Anything. Those were recorded at Matt Sorum’s studio and produced by our friend Jay Rustin who does The Donnas and Steel Panther. Joe Baresi did the bulk of it and then Jay did the last two. But it’s a good collaboration.

AWAY TEAM: Is your current touring band is that different from the recording band?

PEARL ADAY: Well it’s funny you say that because my recording band was Mother Superior, the drummer, the bass player and the guitar player and Scott Ian and I have been touring with a different band. Right now my bass player is Marcus Blake from Mother Superior who’s just done the last tour with us and now it’ll be Jim Wilson from Mother Superior on guitar Scott Ian on guitar and our drummer will be filling in for us because my drummer just quit on me at the last minute right before the big tour but the drummer filling in for us on these dates will be my friend Andy Hurley who actually plays with Fall Out Boy.

AWAY TEAM: What was Mother Superior doing? Henry really hasn’t done anything musically for quite awhile, have they been playing around with other people, doing their own thing because I hadn’t really heard their name until you…

PEARL ADAY: You gotta check them out! Mother Superior is a kick ass rock trio! They’re amazing! I was a huge fan of theirs. When I said I was a fan of theirs I’m a fan of Mother Superior I wasn’t talking about Rollins, even though I do like Rollins. They were only the Rollins Band for like 6 years but they’ve been going on their own. They have 12 out, 10 albums, or something like that. They’re not super well known… they’ve got a lot of fans out in Spain and France too. Look ‘em up they’re pretty kick ass! I mean they’re really kick ass! When they’re not doing their own thing they also are uh Daniel Lanois’ touring band.

AWAY TEAM: So how do you go about writing a song? Do you journal everyday, write poems, and then when your collaborators kinda get a song structure down you modify the words or the timing to fit the music? Or do they write the music around your words?

PEARL ADAY: No the music comes first. They’ll send me ideas for melodies or song ideas, the music, and then I’ll sit down and put the words in. so whatever the music is, depending on if it’s upbeat or if it’s mid tempo or slower, and I’ll just sit down with it and let the words come, ideas just come into my mind and the words just come out that way.

AWAY TEAM: And who are your influences musically?

PEARL ADAY: Aw how much time you got? For writing or for lyrics? I’m a huge; god I gotta make a list! This is when you’re a kid and someone asks you what you want for Christmas and you know everything you want and then when you get asked your mind goes blank! As far as lyrics go there are certain songs cuz not every song from a particular artist is my favorite. Of course there’s the regular… there’s Bob Dylan, there’s Joni Mitchell, who are great poets and I love their lyric style. I’ll actually sometimes sit down and if I get stuck writing lyrics I’ll sit down and listen to them because they’re so colorful and visual and they’re such storytellers, that it kind of opens up the room for you. Having writers block for me, it’s like the room’s sort of narrowing down to a pinpoint and you can’t see beyond anything. So listening to those writers or somebody else who I admire the writing style of, it opens it back up again. A friend of mine Leona Ness she’s a singer/songwriter I really admire her songwriting style. You know something like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd! I think that is an amazing song lyrically. It’s just an amazing song but the lyrics in that are like “oh my god I wish I wrote that”!

AWAY TEAM: Which leads into my next question: What’s one song that you listen to and you’re like god if I could have written that, or I should have written that song?

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know if I have just one because they’re all special for different reasons. They’re all amazing you can’t really put one on top because there’s so much amazing stuff. But that one that would definitely be on the list maybe A Song For You Donny Hathaway, you know that one?

AWAY TEAM: It sounds familiar yes, I’d have to go back and listen to it but the name sounds familiar.

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know I’d have to get back to you on that one, that’s a tough one.

AWAY TEAM: And guilty pleasure-wise you know you being the rocker chick with the Meatloaf bloodline and the heavy metal guitarist husband… What’s your guilty pleasure that you’re listening to these days that you’re almost embarrassed to admit or people would be surprised to know?

PEARL ADAY: It’s funny, I talk with Scott and my friends every once in a while about guilty pleasures because it’s fun to ask people what their guilty pleasures are. But it’s funny what other people consider guilty pleasures to be. As far as what people would be surprised to hear me listening to? I guess because my musical tastes are all over the place so I’ll listen to Slipknot. I love Slipknot! And then I’ll put on you know Joni Mitchell Blue or something. I love them both.

AWAY TEAM: It’s quite a dichotomy, quite diverse.

PEARL ADAY: I mean somebody else asked me a question similar to that and I said that I love Slipknot, and they’re like ‘Really? You listen to Slipknot?’ Why is that weird? I don’t get it. Because I’m a girl or? Anyway so people are usually surprised to hear that I like Slipknot I don’t know why.

AWAY TEAM: Seems to me to make perfect sense having the husband you have but you know…

PEARL ADAY: Yeah well it doesn’t mean that I like everything he likes! Even though we kind of do like the same stuff, but it’s funny because when I got with Scott he introduced me to the metal world and then I introduced him to stuff that he loves now. Like Otis Redding and Donny Hathaway and stuff like that which he was aware of but I don’t think he ever really listened to it before. Now he’s really into it so it’s cool!

AWAY TEAM: Well I thank you very much for your time ah good luck on the upcoming tour and hopefully we will see you guys out on your own headlining! And help get the word out there as much as possible for a very good album Little Immaculate White Fox. I wish you all the luck and much success to you!

PEARL ADAY: Thank you, thank you and I thank you for your time because it’s really important to us to have people like you to help us spread the word so thank you back to you

AWAY TEAM: I appreciate it Pearl thank you very much!

PEARL ADAY: Cool alright have a good day!

For more PEARL click here.
To get your own copy of LITTLE IMMACULATE WHITE FOX click here.

Pearl starts her tour tomorrow August 12th. Here are her current dates:
Aug 12 2010 Gibson Amphitheatre Los Angeles, CA
Aug 15 2010 Snoqualmie Casino Snoqualmie, WA
Aug 18 2010 Humphrey’s San Diego, CA
Aug 20 2010 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
Aug 22 2010 Celebrity Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Aug 24 2010 River Spirit Casino Tulsa, OK
Aug 26 2010 House of Blues dallas, tx
Aug 28 2010 House of Blues Houston, TX
Aug 30 2010 Hard Rock Orlando, FL
Sep 1 2010 Hard Rock Hollywood, FL
Sep 4 2010 Fantasy Springs Indio, CA
Sep 5 2010 Silver Legacy Casino Reno, NV

My thanks to Pearl for taking time out of her busy schedule to do the interview, Kymm at 60 Cycle for setting it up, and Melissa Dolak for her wonderful transcription services.

On September 5th, John Blake Publishing will release AC/DC In The Studio: The Stories Behind Every Album by music biographer Jake Brown.

“AC/DC have reigned over rock’n'roll for almost four decades. Their signature power chord rock was the sonic standard bearer of the genre they pioneered, summarised in Rolling Stone‘s declaration that they are ‘one of the top hard rock bands in history’. The group has transcended their Australian roots to become a global phenomenon. Their albums consistently go platinum and they have earned their reputation as one of the best bands on the planet. The band’s live arsenal includes ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If you Want to Rock’n'Roll)’, ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ (which Billboard called ‘the greatest one-night-stand anthem in rock history’) and their influence is felt today as strongly as ever. Their most recent release Black Ice sold more than 1.5 million copies in its first week in 2008, making history by debuting at No 1 on album charts in 29 countries simultaneously. The record would go on to sell seven milion copies worldwide, spending serveral weeks in the top of the Billboard Top 200. As late as 2009 they were still getting the honours – winning the Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy over the likes of Alice in Chains, Linkin Park, Nickelback and Metallica. Featuring exclusive interviews with producers, engineers, as well as extensive, sourced commentary from band members on the making of such classics as ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘Back in Black’, AC/DC: In the Studio is the definitive account of the making of the greatest hard rock anthems of all time.”

To pre-order the book click here.
For more AC/DC click here.

Carlos Santana was initially intimidated by mentor Clive Davis‘ pitch for his next album — another “Supernatural“-style all-star collaboration, but this time on a collection of iconic rock songs by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and others.
“I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if I want to do this one, Clive. This one’s a little challenging,‘” the guitarist and bandleader told Billboard.com.
“And he would stay on the phone for at least 45 minutes to an hour, three times in one year, and I was like, ‘Oh, lord…’ But then I started realizing that someone with that intense passion of commitment couldn’t be wrong, so I had to trust him. And it was incredible.”

The album — Santana‘s first since “All That I Am” in 2005 — is due out in September and is not yet titled. The track list is being finalized as well, but during sessions Santana reunited with “Smooth” partner Rob Thomas on Cream‘s “Sunshine of Your Love” and worked with Joe Cocker on Jimi Hendrix‘s “Little Wing,” Scott Weiland on the Rolling Stones‘ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” Chris Daughtry on Def Leppard‘s “Photograph,” Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell on Led Zeppelin‘s “Whole Lotta Love,” Papa Roach‘s Jacoby Shaddix on Deep Purple‘s “Smoke on the Water” and rapper Nas, who lays down rhymes on AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

Santana chose half of the songs while Davis, Sony Music‘s chief creative officer, picked the other half. Davis, who originally signed Santana in the 1960s, masterminded his 1999 comeback “Supernatural,” a worldwide smash that also garnered nine Grammys.
“What I brought to the table is my heart, knowing that I complement, I don’t compete,” Santana said of the recording sessions. “I brought my heart, trusting that there’s enough in me of purity and innocence and genuineness that I couldn’t possible, excuse the expression, fuck it up. I know Eric (Clapton). I know Jeff Beck. I know Jimmy Page. And they know me. I have supreme certainty and confidence that they’re going to say, ‘Hey man, I love what you did with my song.”
While he considers every song “incredible,” Santana said his very favorite is the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which he recorded with India Arie and cellist Yo Yo Ma.
“I sent the song to George Harrison‘s widow, Olivia, and I got back an email that says, ‘Carlos, I listened to the song and I started crying and jumping with joy at the same time. And I want you to know that George really loved you, because he understood your passion for compassion.’ And I was like, ‘Bam!’ that’s like George Harrison himself, through his beautiful wife, validating my existence and what I did with that song.”
Santana plans to preview some of the covers during his upcoming summer tour with Steve Winwood, which gets under way June 30 in Saint Paul, Minn. He also plans to have Winwood “join my band” for collaborations he hopes are “totally different” than what fans might expect.
“I would prefer not to do Steve Winwood or Santana songs with him,” Santana explained. “I would like to go to the Bob Marley repertoire or Marvin Gaye or African music by King Sunny Ade or really, really obscure other-side-of-the-tracks. So I’m crossing my fingers.”
After the summer tour with Winwood, Santana is returning to Las Vegas in August for his second residency at the Hard Rock Hotel. Santana is touring Europe in September and October, including a stop at London’s O2 Arena.
Santana has another album ready to go as well, an all-instrumental set called “Shape Shifter,” which he recorded with his band and he plans to release after the next album has run its course.

Current SANTANA dates:
5/25/2010 Tuesday Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon
5/28/2010 Friday Le festival MAWAZINE Rythmes du nde, Rabat, Morocco
6/30/2010 Wednesday Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN Steve Winwood
7/1/2010 Thursday Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI Steve Winwood
7/3/2010 Saturday Saturday in the Park Festival, Sioux City, IA Steve Winwood Free Festival
7/4/2010 Sunday Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO Steve Winwood
7/6/2010 Tuesday Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH Steve Winwood
7/7/2010 Wednesday Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Indianapolis, IN Steve Winwood
7/9/2010 Friday Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL Steve Winwood
7/10/2010 Saturday DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI Steve Winwood
7/11/2010 Sunday Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON Steve Winwood
7/13/2010 Tuesday Quebec City International Summer Festival, Quebec City, QC Steve Winwood
7/14/2010 Wednesday Lebreton Flats, Ottawa, ON Steve Winwood
7/15/2010 Thursday Bell Centre, Montreal, QC Steve Winwood
7/17/2010 Saturday Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY Steve Winwood
7/18/2010 Sunday Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY Steve Winwood
7/20/2010 Tuesday PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ Steve Winwood
7/21/2010 Wednesday Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT Steve Winwood
7/23/2010 Friday Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA Steve Winwood
7/24/2010 Saturday Trump Taj Mahal Casino/Hotel- Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJ Steve Winwood
7/25/2010 Sunday Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA Steve Winwood
7/27/2010 Tuesday Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA Steve Winwood
7/28/2010 Wednesday Time Warner Cable Music Pavillion, Raleigh, North Carolina Steve Winwood
7/29/2010 Thursday Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA Steve Winwood
7/31/2010 Saturday 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL Steve Winwood
8/1/2010 Sunday Cruzan Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL Steve Winwood
8/25/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/27/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/28/2010 Saturday THe Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/29/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/1/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/3/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/4/2010 Saturday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/5/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/29/2010 Wednesday O2, Dublin, Ireland
10/1/2010 Friday O2 Arena, London,UK
10/2/2010 Saturday MEN Arena, Manchester,UK
10/3/2010 Sunday Newcastle Arena, Newcastle,UK
10/5/2010 Tuesday Gleredome, Arnhem, NL
10/6/2010 Wednesday Sportpaleis, Antwerp, BE
10/7/2010 Thursday König-Pilsener-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
10/9/2010 Saturday Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
10/10/2010 Sunday Zenith, Dijon, FR
10/12/2010 Tuesday Bercy, Paris, France
10/13/2010 Wednesday SAP-Arena , Mannheim, Germany
10/15/2010 Friday O2 Arena, Prague, CZ
10/16/2010 Saturday O2 World, Berlin, Germany
10/17/2010 Sunday Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
10/19/2010 Tuesday Mediolanum Forum, Milan, Italy
10/20/2010 Wednesday Rothaus Halle , Friedrichshafen, Germany
10/23/2010 Saturday O2 World, Hamburg, Germany
10/25/2010 Monday Arena Fyn, Odense, DK
10/27/2010 Wednesday The Globe, Stockholm, SE
10/29/2010 Friday Vestlandshallen, Bergen, Norway
10/30/2010 Saturday Vikingaskeppen, Hamar, Norway

For more information visit Santana‘s website here.

Source: Reuters.com