Roger Waters Vows To Make New Album

Roger Waters has vowed he’ll make another album after starting to write during lunch breaks on his The Wall world tour.

The former Pink Floyd man has been toying with the idea of retirement ever since he announced the ambitious global trek, which included an emotional onstage reunion with former bandmates David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

Waters plans to call the album Heartland and the work will explore concepts of religious extremism.

He tells Rolling Stone: “The Heartland idea came from a song I wrote 15 years ago, or longer even, which was a song I wrote for a movie. A really, really bad movie called Michael that was about an angel.”

He’s been working on a track which he hasn’t titled yet. “I’m not sure what it would be called but I’ll tell you what the first line is: ‘If I had been God…’”

Waters continues: “I’m absolutely determined to make another album. I think this new song may give me the chance to do that.

“It provides a cornerstone and a core idea for me to write about. I’m sort of obsessed with the idea that religious extremism is a maligned factor in most of our lives.”

He’s said Gilmour and Mason won’t appear on the album, with whom he last worked on 1983 anti-war record The Final Cut.

He believes many of its messages are still valid, explaining: “We’re determined to continue to fight against the onslaught, if you like, of a society driven mad by the headlong rush to maximise the bottom line.”

Water’s The Wall tour was the biggest-grossing travelling show of 2012, taking $131.4million in the six months up to the end of May. When he launched the project in 2010 he said it would be his last, but later explained: “I haven’t made up my mind – I’ve become very enamoured of the outdoor show. It’s such fun to do that I think I’ve got some more in me.”

source :progrockmag.com

Mike Portnoy snaps over PSMS tour stress

Mike Portnoy has admitted the stress of touring in difficult circumstances caused his onstage meltdown in Manila on Tuesday.

After encountering a problem with his drumkit, he stopped playing and began throwing cymbals and mic stands around. As local crew struggled to understand what was upsetting him, he rapped to the audience about how upset he was.

Portnoy is on the road with supergroup PSMS, also featuring Billy Sheehan, Tony MacAlpine and Derek Sherinian – and he says the experience hasn’t been all they hoped it would be.

Video, available below, shows him throwing equipment round then coming close to walking off stage. He appears to regain control of himself and encourages his bandmates to keep playing while he explains himself to the crowd in rhyme.

He says: “Oh Manila, how I love you – but I hate these motherfuckers who keep fucking with my drums! When will they get it right? We made you wait all night. We want to play for you, but they make it so hard to do!”

Writing on his official forum Portnoy explains the band were forced into massive compromises in order to be able to afford touring in China, the Philippines, Russia, Israel and Indonesia.

He says: “On at least half a dozen occasions we’ve been frustrated to arrive at the venue only to find our requirements were blatantly ignored – wrong keyboards, wrong amps, Zildjian cymbals – and gear wasn’t set up as had been promised.

“We’ve been as patient and understanding as we can possibly be. But when you get four guys who haven’t slept more than a couple of hours every night in order to fly to these shows, sometimes our patience can wear thin.

“In the case of the Manila show, we arrived to find the drums weren’t setup, cymbals were missing, Billy’s amp was wrong – again – and Tony had a buzz on his gear that would not go away. But we forged ahead because we were very excited to play for the fans.”

He says he lost control after his snare mic collapsed – and instead of fixing it, a roadie removed it, leaving his leading drum without amplification. “You’ll hear I begin playing the high tom instead of the snare. Realising the roadie had no idea what was going on, I stopped playing and did my little ‘rap’ while they fixed the situation and we wouldn’t have to play the whole song with no snare in the mix.”

Portnoy continues: “In the video you can see I was at least making a joke out of it. Moral of the story: we are human! And sometimes frustrating circumstances create frustrated behaviour. I’ve been waiting my whole career to play in Manila and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my night or their show!

“We carried on and everybody had a great night. I look forward to returning – although this may be the last time I tour without my own kit and my own drum tech!”

source :progrockmag.com

Rush: Alex Lifeson Named Greatest Canadian Guitarist

Alex Lifeson of Rush has been named the greatest Canadian guitarist by national broadcaster CBC Radio. 

He tops a list which includes Jeff Healey, Neil Young and Randy Bachman, released as part of CBC Music’s Guitar Month.

The broadcaster says of Lifeson: “The most impressive thing about him may be his ability to keep up with his virtuoso bandmates Neil Peart and Geddy Lee.

“For over four decades, he has been seamlessly transitioning from complicated rhythm patterns to searing solos. His influence on shredders is undeniable, though his own playing borrows from jazz, reggae and funk. 

“Guitar nerds love him for heady prog finger exercises like 2112 and YYZ. Everyone else loves him for timeless rock riffs like Working Man and The Spirit of Radio.”

Rush have finally been nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s class of 2013 – 15 years after first becoming eligible.

The three-piece are also to be inducted into Guitar Center’s RockWalk on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. They’ll add their handprints at an invite-only ceremony on November 20.

Lee says: “We’re very pleased to have been chosen by our peers and fellow musicians. It’s an honour to have our names added to this illustrious list.” 

Meanwhile, Rush’s breakthrough fourth album 2112 will be re-released on December 18 to mark its 40th anniversary. It will be available in a number of formats including 5.1 surround sound remaster, high-resolution DVD audio and blu-ray audio.

Sound engineer Richard Chycki says on his blog: “This concept has been in stasis for quite some time. It’s a pinnacle moment that we see it come to light.”

The band are currently touring their 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels, in North America, complete with a string section who play for part of each show.

source :progrockmag.com