In a new interview with Alamo True Metal, Alicia Taylor, a professional dancer and a member of the all-girl dance group CHERRY BOMBS, was asked what drew her initially to her husband of the past two and a half years, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor.

“The first thing that I fell in love with of Corey was his mind,” she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “He’s so well read. He could talk about anything, and his interests are all over the place. And I love that about him. I love his intelligence. I love his ability to write and speak so well; he’s extremely articulate. I love that he’s a little geeky and a little nerdy. And he loves movies, and he loves music, and he loves sports, and he loves so many things. And he’s so well rounded in that aspect. So he and I would just talk about anything and everything and just find something — even if it was something that maybe I wasn’t into and he was really into, or he wasn’t really into but I was into, we could still talk about it and find something cool about it within one another.

“We are best friends,” she continued. “And I know everybody says that — it’s so cliché: ‘I married my best friend.’ But it’s true. We love hanging out, man. And we love exploring and doing things and traveling. And every day is an adventure together.

“I think it was his mind — absolutely — that I fell in love with first that drew me to him,” Alicia repeated.

“We had been acquaintances for many years before we started dating. And our industry is so small. In our industry, everyone knows everybody or everyone knows someone through someone. The degree of separation is this big [holds two fingers close together]. So, we had always ran into each other a bunch of times but we never really got to know each other until we started planning that STONE SOUR [2017] tour [with CHERRY BOMBS as a support act]. And when you tour together, you’re around each other a lot; I mean, there’s nowhere to go. And we just connected so quickly and easily. And I mean, man, we’ll be together five years now coming up this year, and it’s still the same; nothing has changed. It’s just us two dicks having fun. And we do. And it’s so easy when it’s with the right person. And nothing’s hard; it just is the way it is and it’s life and you enjoy every day of it. Not to get too sappy on you or anything, but it really is the coolest thing I’ve ever felt in my life — his love.”

Corey and Alicia got married in October 2019 in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. The reception was reportedly held in their home and was attended by a number of their friends and fellow musicians, including Roy Mayorga of STONE SOUR, Kyle Sanders of HELLYEAH, and Lajon Witherspoon of SEVENDUST.

Corey and Alicia began dating after the breakup of the singer’s eight-year marriage with Stephanie Luby, whom he wedded in November 2009 (the couple had a daughter named Ryan). Corey was previously married from 2004 to 2007 to a woman named Scarlett, with whom he shares a son. The rocker also has a daughter from an earlier relationship.

Corey released his debut solo album, “CMFT”, in October 2020 via Roadrunner Records.

CHERRY BOMBS will kick off a four-date “Macabarét” tour on February 25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Photo courtesy of Alicia Taylor’s Instagram

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THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan “Dexter” Holland will deliver the commencement address at one of the commencement ceremonies for at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, speaking to PhD, MPH, and MS graduate students on May 14.

Holland, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and wrote his thesis on microRNA in HIV genomes, commented: “We live in an incredibly exciting time at the crossroads of advanced medical technology and breakthroughs in research. Recent innovations such as CRISPR gene editing and mRNA technologies have blown the doors open to the possibilities that medical intervention can provide. I am excited to applaud the Keck School of Medicine class of 2022 as they begin their careers during this amazing time.”

Peggy Farnham, PhD, vice dean for health and biomedical science education at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said: “Clearly, Dr. Holland has a passion for both music and science. I hope that his experiences will demonstrate to our students, and to our community, that science can be an integral part of all lives.”

Holland had received his Ph.D. from University of Southern California in 2017. The title of his dissertation was “Discovery of Mature MicroRNA Sequences within the Protein-Coding Regions of Global HIV-1 Genomes: Predictions of Novel Mechanisms for Viral Infection and Pathogenicity.”

Last May, Holland spoke to Tom Power, host of “Q” on Canada’s CBC Radio One, about THE OFFSPRING’s decision to encourage fans to receive their COVID-19 vaccines by reworking the chorus of their 1994 classic “Come Out And Play” to say “you gotta go get vaccinated.” The new version of the song was shared in March 2021 on THE OFFSPRING’s Instagram, featuring a snippet from the song’s music video with the reworked lyrics.

Holland said: “I went to school for this. I feel like I have a little bit of a background in it, and I do think it’s a good idea [to get the COVID-19 vaccine]. And whatever you think about all this, the truth is that we’re not gonna get back to normal until people get vaccinated; that’s just the reality of it. So why don’t we just get this done with so that we can all go to shows again and do the things that we love to do. That was kind of the reasoning behind it. And I do feel like it’s the right thing to do. I felt strongly enough to put this out.”

Asked about the fan response to the new version of “Come Out And Play”, Dexter said: “There’s been a little bit of a mixed reaction. I was a little more surprised than I thought I would be… There were a lot of people that were surprisingly kind of angry about it. But that’s where we’re at — we are in maybe the most divisive period in our nation’s history, if not the world’s history, and this is kind of par for the course.

“On a scientific or factual level, it’s frustrating [to see people who are vaccine hesitant],” he continued. “On a personal level, I understand. People are unsure about certain things. And there could still be some sort of crazy side effect that we don’t know about. I think that’s unlikely, given how many millions of doses have been administered. But besides that, there’s all this conflicting information on the Internet. Again, another sign of our times where people are getting just bombarded with all this conflicting information, and it’s hard to know what to do sometimes.”

Although the COVID-19 vaccine was produced quickly because of the urgency of the health crisis and the number of clinical trial volunteers, Holland said the vaccine was not rushed, and it relied on years of research.

“With the vaccine, I know there’s a lot of belief out there that, ‘Well, these were developed too quickly,'” he said. “I think part of the story that’s not out there is that there’s a whole platform of technology that’s been developed over the last five years or so that was happening — the mRNA vaccines. They were working on this for flu vaccines over the last five — really, almost 10 years — but the last five years. So this great technology happened to be right on deck when this happened. And that’s what allowed it to be quickly adapted to the coronavirus. So it’s not as quick as everyone thinks.”

Dee Snider will perform at this year’s edition of the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

The TWISTED SISTER singer will appear on Saturday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m.

The Arnold Sports Festival will be held March 3-6 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and other venues, including the Ohio Expo Center.

The festival, which draws more than 20,000 athletes and 200,000 fans to Columbus, was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 20,000 athletes from more than 80 nations are expected to appear at the festival, participating in about 60 sports.

Dee’s fifth solo album, “Leave A Scar”, was released last July via Napalm Records.

In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled “Forty And Fuck It”, in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band’s “core lineup” of Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, and bassist Mark Mendoza, along with drummer Mike Portnoy. The band’s last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of drummer A.J. Pero.

TWISTED SISTER’s original run ended in the late ’80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows’ And Children’s Benefit Fund.

The surviving members of the classic lineup of TWISTED SISTER — Snider, French, Ojeda and Mendoza — reunited virtually on March 20, 2021 for a special episode of Mendoza’s Internet TV show “22 Now”. The hour-and-a-half-long program was a tribute to Pero, who died exactly six years earlier at the age of 55 while on tour with the band ADRENALINE MOB.

Prior to last March’s virtual reunion, the four surviving members of TWISTED SISTER reunited for two days and nights in November 2019 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band’s classic album “Stay Hungry”.

COLUMBUS ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?!

We’ve decided to kick off Saturday’s finals just a little bit different this year!…

Posted by Arnold Sports Festival on Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Hear Axioma guitarist J. Meyers’ electronic project, Dark Worship, do some serious digital damage on their latest full-length.
The post Full Album Stream: Dark Worship – ‘Flesh of a Saint’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

These two bass overdrive and preamp pedals use Analogue Amp Recreation circuitry and an analogue cabinet-simulated DI output. Plus, Origin Effects offers the all-new Cali76 Compact Bass compressor pedal with matching finishes.The BassRIG Super Vintage captures every nuance of the Ampeg SVT and its 8×10 speaker cabinet. Released in 1969, the SVT was the world’s first purpose-built, high-powered bass amp and it remains the first choice for the biggest names in bass guitar. The BassRIG Super Vintage boasts all the versatility of this classic stack, with deep low end, growling distortion and wide-ranging controls.The BassRIG ’64 Black Panel harks to the mid-Sixties and pays tribute to the Showman and Bassman amps which, along with their 2×15 cabs, were relied on by everyone from Soul session players to Rock ‘n’ Roll royalty. Both pedals have distinctly different, vintage-inspired personalities but share the same forward-looking feature set. Their recreated amp circuits have all the controls you need to craft the perfect bass amp tone, while the BLEND knob adds clean signal to preserve clarity and low-end. Origin’s proprietary Amp Out EQ filter ensures compatibility with any amp and cab, while the XLR-equipped DI output’s analogue cabinet simulator provides a huge and authentic tone direct to your mixing console. The BassRIG pedals are aimed at home, studio and stage players alike.Also, to celebrate the release of the BassRIG Super Vintage and BassRIG ’64 Black Panel, Origin Effects are now offering their Cali76 Compact Bass compressor pedal in matching Super Vintage Blue and ’64 Black Panel finishes.BASSRIG Super Vintage & ’64 Black Panel || Official Product TrailerThe Origin Effects BassRIG Super Vintage and BassRIG ’64 Black Panel are available now from Origin Effects dealers worldwide. Find out more at www.origineffects.com.

PEARL JAM singer Eddie Vedder’s third solo album, “Earthling”, has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Top Rock Albums and Top Current Album Sales charts. It has also landed at No. 1 on Alternative Album Sales (per MRC Data), the Canadian Top Current Albums, Top Canadian Album Sales, Alternative Album, Current Digital Albums, and LP Vinyl Albums charts. The LP continues to hit new highs in numerous countries, including Switzerland (No. 3), Belgium (No. 5), Netherlands (No. 5), Germany (No. 11) and U.K. (No. 36). In addition, the album was the highest international debut in Italy (No. 10) and hit Top 10 in Australia.

Released via Seattle Surf/Republic Records, “Earthling” features Eddie’s touring band THE EARTHLINGS, which includes former RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS guitarist Josh Klinghoffer (now a PEARL JAM touring band member), album producer Andrew Watt on guitar, THE WHO’s Pino Palladino on bass, Glen Hansard on guitars and backing vocals, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS’ Chad Smith on drums.

“Earthling” is Vedder’s first solo album since 2011’s “Ukulele Songs”, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

“Earthling” illuminates every side of Vedder and includes collaborations with some of music’s most iconic legends including Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr, Elton John, as well as Watt, Smith and Klinghoffer.

Vedder has served as PEARL JAM’s frontman, in addition to a guitarist and primary lyricist, since 1990. Inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017 as a member of PEARL JAM, Vedder’s trademark vocal style inspired a generation. His energetic and unvarnished stage presence coupled with his honest conversations with the audience led PEARL JAM as pioneers in live performances and social justice.

Vedder’s signature ethos carries into his solo work. His first project came out in 2007 with the soundtrack album for the film “Into The Wild” and earned him a Golden Globe for the song “Guaranteed”. In 2012, Vedder’s sophomore solo album, “Ukulele Songs”, received a Grammy nomination for “Best Folk Album.” He recently collaborated with Glen Hansard for the “Flag Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”.

Vedder’s lyrics address many of the key issues of our times including gun violence, racism, and climate change. In addition to the activism inherent to the music, Vedder is an outspoken advocate for several progressive, social, and political causes, most notably abortion access and the environment. A longtime supporter of Surfrider Foundation, Vedder has most recently been vocal in banning offshore drilling along the U.S. coast.

“Though some may think there should be a separation between art, music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest,” Vedder says.

In addition to his activism, Vedder and his wife Jill McCormick Vedder co-founded the EB Research Partnership, dedicated to finding a cure for epidermolysis bullosa, a family of rare genetic disorders that affects the skin. The Vedder family is active in supporting both the work of the organization and the children who are impacted by the disorder.

Vedder and his wife reside in Seattle with their two daughters.