Future Ruins, the big-name movie soundtrack festival from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross set to take place in L.A., has been cancelled. As Emily Garner writes in Kerrang, there was just about a month to go before the event. My bandmate and I previously talked about going, but ruled it out because of ticket prices. Still, it’s a bit of a disappointment to hear it’s no longer on.
Killing Joke’s self-titled first album has turned 30 and bassist Martin “Youth” Glover looked back on the classic record in a Facebook post.
While looking at his page, I saw that Youth also looked back on the Revelations album in July.
And while we’re at it, in October of last year he gave the first Killing Joke single “Turn to Red” a look back.
Photo: from Sounds by Vernon St Hilaire, posted by Youth
Andrew Lee from Ripped To Shreds et al., wrote a piece for the Deciblog in June about ending racist stereotypes against Asians in the metal scene. He took a left turn on his YouTube channel this month when he followed the piece up with a 20-some-minute piece titled “How Heavy Metal Upholds White Supremacy.” While both were welcomed by some people, others turned to insults or embracing the bands Lee was criticizing to express their distaste with the posts.
Pestilence has posted an open call online for a new bass player. Usually bands talk to their friends or their manager or approach someone they’ve had their eye on when they are looking for a new member, but once in a while bands go the public approach. The band stipulates that candidates have to understand music theory. (That means I’m out of the running right there.)
John Mellencamp played the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid on September 20, which was broadcast live on CNN. When I say live, it was actually live, without a delay that allows a network to blank out cursing. During a post-set CNN interview (pictured above), he had some advice about the American people getting along. Pointing to the camera, his message for the cable TV audience was, “Mind your own fuckin’ business.”
Johnny Marr went after UPS on social media when his guitars went missing in September. It seems to have been an effective strategy, as he posted the next day that his guitars were “sorted out.”
What Music Owes to the War Machine is an informative piece from James Barber about how different companies that manufacture music formats and equipment and different record label parents are intertwined with the military.
Rest in Peace
Ann Everton of the Baltimore band Darsombra passed away in October. There’s been an outpouring of tributes from the local scene, and a GoFundMe has been set up to help with expenses.
Soo Catwoman (Susan Lucas), the model and fixture of the London punk scene in the ‘70s, died in September at 70 after falling into a coma. A GoFundMe has been set up to cover expenses. Will Stone and Amy Denman write in The Mirror that Soo Catwoman was noted for her inspirational handmade clothes, hairstyle, and makeup.
Danny Thompson was a bass player who passed away at the age of 86. He played with Rod Stewart, T-Rex, Kate Bush, and the list goes on, Michael Hann writes at The Guardian. Thompson broke boundaries in jazz and folk with his upright bass playing.
Tomas “Tompa” Lindberg, the singer of the top-tier Swedish metal band At The Gates, died in October after an illness. He was a cool guy who I had the pleasure to interview a couple of times.
Chris Dreja, Yardbirds co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, died at 79 in September. Nina Corcoran writes at Pitchfork that Dreja played rhythm guitar first and then bass later in the band. He declined an invitation to join Led Zeppelin to pursue a successful photography career.
