I got a very strange call on Friday. I was offered to fly into El Paso Texas and hang out at the ranch where Al and Co are recording the new Revolting Cocks record. At that time I would be able to do an interview w/ Al about the MINISTRY record which I should have any day now and about the pending RevCo record and the tour. After checking some prices it looks like I can fly in and out of El Paso for under $150. So it looks like I'm going to take them up on their offer. We'll do the interviews for both the magazine and DVD.
It's official there will be a MINISTRY and RevCo Tour starting in July. Al is putting a booth up at all of the shows with a goal to register 100,000 voters to help get W out of the White House. Please don't wait for it to come to you, you can register online now by clicking the Rock The Vote banner above.
I'm supposed to be receiving an advance of the new album any day now. This is a strange trend. Starting with Psalm 69 I've been getting advances of MINISTRY albums for over a decade long before the street date. In fact I had FILTH PIG (still my favorite MINISTRY record) somewhere around 4-5 months before it came out. This should be a good week for tunes.
Today I should be getting 5 copies of the new SKINNY PUPPY disc, and speaking of the great SP, it looks like we'll be taping them for the MK DVD when they play here in June, as well as taping the interview. Puppy live completely changed everything about what I look for in music and a concert. It's pretty embarrassing to admit what I listened to and was seeing live prior to that. Make no mistake, I've always been a punk at heart, but I was into electronic music as well. But the awful thing was some of the 80's metal bands I saw. That all ended when I become absorbed with The Sisters, JAMC, Love and Rockets, MINISTRY and of course the great Skinny Puppy. My favorite SP offering by the way is Too Dark park. This was all before the NIN revolution.
I'll also be getting the new Gene Simmons solo this week, and it better be impressive because I'm not excited about it at all. And I was once the biggest KISS fanatic. I've read both of Gene's books and am not impressed at all with the caricature he's helped turned the legacy into.I'd rather see them do a no make up Revenge era line-up album and tour than this retro charade. This will be the second time I've passed on seeing them live. I've seen incarnations of KISS over 50 times. I'm done with it...for now. Though That Symphony DVD was AWESOME. Rich Madden of I Love Rich fame, will interview Gene for us.
Friday I sent a box to my long lost best friend who I found in Texas. I haven't seen or heard for the guy since graduation 20 years ago. From 13-19 we did all the crazy shit together. If I dated a girl, he dated her best friend. it seemed that when I broke it off and met another, he ended up dating her best friend as well. We both saw KISS together for the first time and the very last concert he saw was with me back in our senior year of High School with our best friend girl friends. We skipped school together, learned how to drive and roller skate (in that order?) and got drunk together the first time. At 18 we both got our ears pierced and my father flipped and called me a fag. So I've been trying to find this fucker since the 80's and when the internet became available the search continued. well, last month I found his sister who I last saw when she was 3 years old. She had no idea who the fuck I was. But 5 min later he called me from Texas where he's a truck driver and races stock cars. He's been married for 15 years to the same lady and has 3 kids. I explained what I do and he wasn't surprised. So I sent him 4 issues of the magazine, DVD' s of my JBTV appearances, a Type O CD and 3 porno's. I'm anxious to hear what he thinks of the material. When I asked him if he was still a long-hair and he said no because he's still in the National Guard. In High School he had the long hair and I had the spiked punk hair long before it was socially acceptable, (for both of us) and we played the most horrible pranks on each other regularly. I was hoping to meet up w/ him in Texas but he lives 400 miles from where MINISTRY in working. Bummer.
I hooked All Systems Halt up with the first contest ever to record at Trent/Nothing's studio. The deadline was last week and I know its a shot in the dark but at least they're in the mix. The contest ended last week and I have no idea who else is in the running, but this is the first time anyone outside the very small circle who will be permitted to work and record with the Trent-ster. Contrary to what people may think or believe, Nothing is a record label and the studio that Trent built isn't available for rental or recording by anyone outside of the master himself,and a couple of friends. Not the way that Chicago Trax or Smart Studio have been. Manson did Anti Christ Superstar at Studio 1 in NOLA.
All Systems Halt are playing at The Double Door on Sunday May 2nd as part on Emergenza. I gotta do that after staying out at Newbombs on Saturday night. Whhhhoooo Eeeeeee.
Tomorrow I'm meeting The Madman Mike J of Rebel radio and Victory Records, at the Hard Rock Hotel for a special event. Look for my full report on Chicago's newest Hotel and their hospitality on Wednesday.
Posted by Alex Zander at April 26, 2004 11:32 AM