You could WIN a Discoverer Delay from Maestro Pedals in today’s I Love Pedals giveaway! Ends Feb. 21, 2022.Discoverer DelayThe Maestro Discoverer Delay is a modern analog delay pedal that proudly utilizes legendary analog bucket brigade device (BBD) technology to deliver classic, warm, and inviting delay sounds. The intuitive 3-knob control layout lets users quickly dial up the length of the Delay time (with a range from 20 ms to 600 ms), the amount of Sustain (delay repeats), and adjust the level of the delays in the Mix. A toggle switch engages built-in modulation that applies anything from a slightly saturated, tape-like wow and flutter effect to a heavily pitch-shifted modulation effect to the delayed signal. Two internal trim pots allow the user to adjust the Rate (speed) and Width (sweep range) of the modulation. The true bypass footswitch triggers the LED lights in the bugles in the Maestro logo when it’s on, so you’ll always know when the effect is active.I Love Pedals Day #20: Maestro Pedals Delay

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During his February 19 spoken-word show at Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson recalled how he personally flew Royal Air Force pilots home from Afghanistan to RAF Wittering in 2008, taking control of a Boeing 747 chartered by the Ministry of Defence to transport RAF pilots back to the U.K. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “One of the jobs that we had at the airline I worked for, we had an airplane permanently allocated to the military to go and take people places — not to wars, but we’d take them to bases. And sometimes we flew people back. And sometimes we flew people back who had been in Afghanistan, for example, been in a war. They would go somewhere for two or three weeks to try and readjust and then we’d take them back. And one particular flight, we were the flying the Royal Air Force Regiment, which is RAF boots on the ground, soldiers. And they’d been to Afghanistan. It was an unusual flight ’cause we were returning them to their actual home base — not to a military airfield and then they get on a coach and they go back to their barracks. Where they were based had a runway, and we were told to go direct there. They had taken some casualties and they had lost some people. But they were all really cheerful; the best passengers you could ever have in the military — I mean, seriously… And we flew them into a place called the RAF Wittering, which is where they invented the Harrier Jump Jet. So, as we were coming in to land, we stopped and we blew the reverse thrust. And I had a female co-pilot, first officer. And we were looking out, and all really close to the runway were families, kids, all the families and wives and everybody of all the soldiers, and they were all [holding signs saying], ‘You’re my hero, daddy’ and everything else. I mean, it was very emotional. And we actually had to stop the airplane ’cause my co-pilot was welling up and so was I. We were both trying not to [cry]. I went, ‘Okay, we’re gonna stop. We’re gonna blow our noses, make sure we can fucking see where we’re going and then do the job. ‘Cause this is really exceptional.’ The last thing you wanna do is go, ‘It was so emotional, we ended up in a fucking ditch.’ So, we dropped them off and that was it. So that was one of the more memorable flights — the sort of thing we used to do.”

Two years ago, Dickinson was officially attested into the Royal Air Force, the United Kingdom’s aerial warfare force. The British singer was awarded the role of Honorary Group Captain.

Bruce has held a commercial pilot’s license for more than 20 years.

Dickinson had other connections with the RAF, having completed an emergency landing at RAF Halton in 2015. He was flying his Fokker triplane when it began to run low on fuel.

Last month, Bruce, who flew his group around the world in their customized jumbo jet dubbed Ed Force One, named after MAIDEN’s iconic mascot Eddie, told the Associated Press that he will not be sitting in the pilot’s seat when he and his bandmates return to the road later this year. “Oh, no, no, no, no,” he said. “We’re going to be flying and I’m going to be in the back. Hey, look, I’m 63 — I’m 64 in August. You know, when you get to 65, if you’re an airline pilot, they just take you out the back and shoot, right? So, I’m going to be sitting in the back being the backseat driver.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), commercial pilots have to retire at age 65. There is currently no maximum age limit for being a private pilot or for being an Air Force pilot.

Dickinson gained a commercial pilot’s license after learning to fly in the 1990s. In 2012 he set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company which has since changed its name to Caerdav.

Bruce, who spent a few years flying planes for Astraeus Airlines, told CNN in a 2007 interview: “Aviation’s been kicking around my family for as long as I can remember; my uncle was in the RAF. But I always thought I was too stupid. I was useless at maths and majored in history at university, so I thought history majors don’t become pilots, let alone rock stars. And then our drummer learned to fly, so I said, ‘If a drummer can learn to fly, then anyone can.'”

Dickinson told Wales Online that he still gets a thrill out of flying, but that it’s a totally different sensation to playing live.

“The satisfaction flying airplanes is getting the job done, but the satisfaction with playing live is external, looking out at all the people looking at you,” he said. “With an airliner, it’s all internal. If you’ve got passengers, nobody goes, ‘Wow! Wasn’t that great?’ They’re thinking about the rest of their day. Your job as an airline pilot is to deliver them safely and be invisible. That’s quite nice for me because it’s completely the opposite to what I do when I sing.”

Bruce will hit the road with IRON MAIDEN for a new North American leg of the band’s “Legacy Of The Beast” tour in September.

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There’s an oft-told tale about solidbody guitars in the early 1950s. It relates how California upstart Fender sparked the public’s fervor with its Broadcaster and Telecaster models, and how the established East Coast builders first denied that they had to respond, but then relented. The rest, and even that alone, is history.While everyone knows how Gibson answered Fender, they weren’t the only notable East Coast brand at the time. Epiphone was a heavy hitter, too, and there were other significant labels, including the company behind this month’s guitar, New York City-based Premier. That guitar and amp seller was a division of the Peter Sorkin Music Company, and its guitars were made by Sorkin’s manufacturing subsidiary, Multivox. Premier was especially notable for its “scroll” electrics, like this month’s exceptionally well-preserved E-723.With pots dated late 1958, this E-723 was originally offered in or around 1959 and is an early example of the scroll shape that Premier would continue to use throughout the 1960s. Check out that distinctive upper horn: traditional yet daring, almost like a mandolin’s curves transferred to one solid piece of mahogany. And, well, that’s exactly what it is.Premier’s owner Sorkin had recently bought the Strad-O-Lin mandolin company, and he put its equipment to work on these solidbodies. In many ways, they’re a marriage of old-world craftsmanship and rock ’n’ roll design. The neck is one carved piece of Brazilian rosewood, yet bolt-on. The gold hardware and trapeze bridge could complement any jazz box, yet they sit next to a large crushed-plastic pickguard that’s almost garish. All those knobs and switches are functional and funky. The small black knobs include a volume and tone control for each of the three single-coil pickups, which get their own on/off toggles as well. The large gold dial is a master volume control.Premier’s owner Sorkin had recently bought the Strad-O-Lin mandolin company, and he put its equipment to work on these solidbodies.Premier’s scroll guitars were made in a variety of pickup configurations, model names, and finishes, and were originally sold for anywhere from $145.50 to $230.00 and more, depending on the number of pickups and factory upgrades. Nowadays, prices range from about $1,500 at the low end (for a single-pickup model in fair condition) to $5,000 or more.This particular Premier is one of the high-end models, with three pickups and a Ruby finish that has faded over time. Guitar seller, tech, builder, historian, and writer Lynn Wheelwright has owned it for the last 30 years and says it is one of “only two other examples of this top-of-the-line, solid-carved, 3-pickup beauty” he’s found in decades of looking for guitars. He’s selling it for $4,899 through his Pro Musician Outlet Reverb shop.Sources for this column include Vintage Guitar’s February 2020 article “Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Premier E-723” and Reverb listings from Retrofret Vintage Guitars, The Guitar Broker, and Rivington Guitars.

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TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider spoke to the New Orleans radio station Bayou 95.7 about his involvement in “America’s Deadliest Concert: The Guest List”, a documentary about the infamous GREAT WHITE concert fire nearly two decades ago that killed a hundred people and injured hundreds more. The film will receive its premiere on Reelz today (Sunday, February 20) to coincide with the event’s 19th anniversary. A trailer for the documentary is available below.

Snider, who was interviewed for the film said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s hard to remember and listen to, but a hundred people burned to death, over two hundred were injured, and 65 kids lost one or both parents in a fire in a nightclub. GREAT WHITE was playing. And yeah, GREAT WHITE, they were vilified. Their pyro ignited the building, and wrong or right, they’ve been shouldering the blame for a long time.

“One of the things I like about this documentary, it’s very well rounded and it actually allows Jack Russell [former GREAT WHITE singer, whose pyrotechnics ignited the deadly blaze on February 20, 2003 in Rhode Island] to speak,” he continued. “I remember Jack from back when, and we toured together back in the heyday, and now he’s a broken man. And people may say and rightfully so. But let me just say, was it stupid, was it foolish to set off pyro in a small club? Yes. Was it malicious? Not on your life. They would never, ever intentionally hurt any of their fans.”

According to Dee, the deadly event “struck a chord in so many ways” with him when it happened. “I had, post-TWISTED SISTER, gone from arenas to the bars, just like GREAT WHITE had, and I played The Station nightclub,” he explained. “The DJ, who was called Doctor Metal, he was this kid, and what he did with my show is what he did with GREAT WHITE — he introduced me and then jumped off the front of the stage into the front of the audience and rocked out, because he was that local guy, that fan. And he perished in the fire. There were so many people. To think that those same people who came to see me were probably at that GREAT WHITE show as well. So it just struck so many chords. And I got very involved in a concert event to help those people. Troy Luccketta from TESLA, myself… But more than the money we raised that night, it was a deadlock with the lawyers and the courts and the insurance companies for a decade. And because of the attention we brought to the plight of these people, 175 million dollars finally went through to help these people. But the truth of the matter is the scars, literally and figuratively, remain for that community. It’s very tough.”

Snider also touched upon the documentary’s title, saying: “It’s called ‘The Guest List’ because Jack had been in town at a tattoo parlor, getting a tattoo, and met a bunch of fans and put them on his personal guest list. The greatest honor ever to have a lead singer of a band that you like put you on their guest list. And in the documentary, their families are talking about how their brothers, their sisters, their wives, their friends called and said, ‘I met Jack Russell. He put me on the list.’ Jack put ’em on a list that turned into a death list — see those names, and they died. So it’s an awful, awful remembrance. But certainly Jack was doing something nice for the fans that turned into an awful tragedy.”

This past December, Russell told Tulsa Music Stream about the documentary: “We took three years shooting this thing. I mean, it was a long time. A lot of footage — a lot of footage. But it’s really moving. It is really moving, touching, and it’s a beautifully shot piece of film. It lets you know how beautiful music is and how music can heal everything, no matter what people think. There’s a certain thing in music that is very healing, and it’s helped a lot of people through the aftermath of the fire.”

Russell also said that he wanted the tragedy to serve as a reminder to remain alert about public safety.

“Honestly, I haven’t been asked a question about the fire in — I can’t remember how many years now,” he said. “It’s been a long, long time. The public has a short memory, unfortunately. It was something that I hoped that people would remember, just because of the nature of it and the fact that we need to take care of ourselves when we’re out at places; we need to be conscious of our safety.”

Five years ago, Russell told Psycho Babble TV about the documentary: “What it is is partly my life story, as a kid growing up, and then it goes off into the fire, unfortunately, and the aftermath of that, and testimonies… not testimony, but… talks by the victims and their families and how it affected them.”

Russell said that parts of the movie are especially hard for him to watch “because a lot of people blame me.” He then corrected himself: “I wouldn’t say a lot, but they’re very vocal.” Still, he said he understood why some believe he should be held accountable for what happened fifteen years ago. “I look at it like this: if it makes it easier for them to grieve the loss of somebody close to them, then my shoulders are big enough,” he explained.

The fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick began in an overcrowded club when pyrotechnics from Russell’s GREAT WHITE ignited illegal soundproofing foam lining the club’s walls.

“I’ve seen so many video tapes of pyro shooting off in that club with the foam — bigger stuff than we had — and it never happened,” Jack told Psycho Babble TV.” Why it happened that night… Who knows? I mean, it’s like a plane crash — it takes all these little things to fall in line for that one big thing to happen. So [the movie] gave me the opportunity to talk about how I felt and for me to apologize. Not a guilty apology, but because I just…

“I mean, I feel horrible that it happened,” he continued. “I lost a lot of friends that night — a lot of friends. People that I didn’t even know were even there. And people have said, ‘Well, he’s not remorseful.’ And they’ve gotta understand, when all this went down, my legal team, they said, ‘You cannot ever say you’re sorry, because it implies guilt.’ And I’m, like, ‘But I am sorry.’ [And they told me], ‘But you can’t say it.'”

According to Russell, at least one “really beautiful” thing came out of the tragedy. “There was a man named Joe; they call him ‘The Lizard Man,'” Jack said. “He was the worst, most badly burned of all the people. And he met his wife in the fire and they had a beautiful son. And his comment was, ‘If this wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have met the love of my life.'”

The singer said that the documentary, which he hopes will help bring him some closure, is “really well done. The guy [making it]… He’s done Disney movies. He’s actually from that town. So he had to be really unbiased, which he really was — he just told it. And it’s really, really informative, and it delves into people’s lives.”

Russell added that he is “glad” the film was made. “It may not be the best thing in the world for me, but it’s very cathartic,” he said.

At least one relative of a Station fire victim was angered by Russell’s plan to make a documentary about the incident and discuss it in the upcoming book.

“I think it’s ruining all the positive strides that we’re now making to heal here in Rhode Island,” Jody King, whose brother Tracy was a bouncer at the Station, told the Associated Press in 2015. “If he wants to help, stay away, shut your mouth.”

Russell’s bandmate Ty Longley (guitar) was one of the people who perished in The Station blaze, which became the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history.

In 2008, the band agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and families of the victims of the fire.

GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall founded the band with Russell in 1982. At the time of the fire, the group that was on the road was called JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE. Kendall later said he was asked to join Russell and his solo band on the tour to help boost attendance.

Official “America’s Deadliest Concert: The Guest List” description: “Fates of the innocent and guilty collide in a small New England town when pyrotechnics from an 80’s rock band spark America’s deadliest rock concert.

“On the night of February 20th, 2003… America’s deadliest rock concert began in West Warwick, Rhode Island, when the band GREAT WHITE ignited pyrotechnics inside a run-down roadhouse called The Station. The resulting conflagration killed 100 persons and grievously injured many others. It could fairly be said that music and rock culture drew one hundred innocent people to their deaths in The Station fire. ‘The Guest List’ explores how that same music and culture became sources of healing and comfort, at least for some, in the years thereafter.

“Many victims of The Station fire had been seduced by the siren song of rock celebrity. They met Jack Russell in the local Denny’s, a nearby motel or at a tattoo parlor, where he generously added their names to the show’s guest list. For many of those passionate fans, what appeared to be their very luckiest day turned out to be their last. Weeks after the fire, the actual charred, handwritten guest list was recovered from the club’s ashes.

“The film contrasts Jack Russell’s post-fire journey, in a search for redemption, with survivor Joe Kinan’s rebirth, courage and inspiration. along the way, we meet other survivors and victims’ families who have memorialized their loss through pursuits ranging from an exhibit of commemorative body art to re-immersion in the rock culture that initially brought them and their loved ones to the station nightclub. Throughout this journey we discover what many feel was legal injustice within local and state government.

“The documentary addresses timeless themes of personal responsibility, acceptance forgiveness and redemption. Its central characters struggle to cope in the aftermath of tragedy – some gracefully, and some less so. It is an object lesson in the tragic potential of poor decisions. ‘The Guest List’ remains timely, years after the station fire tragedy, as young people will always be attracted to concert events while some bands, promoters, and concert venues remain tempted to cut corners for cheap spectacle. ‘The Guest List’ is based in part on John Barylick’s narrative non-fiction work, ‘Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America’s Deadliest Rock Concert’. The result is poignant footage contrasting very different life stories. the guest list is a strikingly visual film. No one who watches ‘The Guest List’ will enter a concert venue again without first checking for the exits.”

“America’s Deadliest Concert: The Guest List” includes interviews with Russell, Snider, Don Dokken (DOKKEN), Lita Ford and Michael Sweet (STRYPER).

Russell exited GREAT WHITE in December 2011 after he was unable to tour with the group due a series of injuries, including a perforated bowel and a shattered pelvis. Jack largely blamed these injuries on his alcohol and painkiller addictions as well as the prednisone drug he was prescribed.

Russell sued his onetime bandmates in 2012 over their continued use of the GREAT WHITE name after Jack had taken a leave of absence from the band for medical reasons. A short time later, Russell was countersued by Kendall, rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Michael Lardie and drummer Audie Desbrow, claiming the vocalist’s self-destructive behavior was damaging the GREAT WHITE name (they also alleged he was charging promoters less for his own touring version of GREAT WHITE). The parties settled in July 2013 without going to trial, with Russell now performing as JACK RUSSELL’S GREAT WHITE while the others are continuing as GREAT WHITE.

This is an IMPORTANT rock doc that EVERYONE needs to watch. The truth is ugly but should never be forgotten. “America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List” premiers Feb 20th on @ReelzChannel https://t.co/uQPOE13agm
— Dee Snider?? (@deesnider) February 5, 2022

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Former HANOI ROCKS guitarist Nasty Suicide (born Jan-Markus Stenfors) has revealed that he is battling prostate cancer. The 58-year-old musician discussed his diagnosis in a new interview with Finland’s Chaoszine which focused primarily on promoting the upcoming debut album from his new band STENFORS.

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I can talk about it. It’s no secret. And it actually had a role to play in recording the [STENFORS] album as well. When we decided we’re gonna do the album, everything was fine. But then, as soon as we started doing it, I got my diagnosis of prostate cancer. So that was, like, ‘Oooh. What’s gonna happen with the album then?’ [laughs] was first at mind. Well, anyway, it didn’t affect that at all — except that, obviously, then when I went into chemo in the summer while we were doing the recording bit by bit, it did affect, obviously — it affects everything; it goes everywhere, and it’s nasty stuff [laughs], but it’s supposed to take care of the cancer, so I’ve always taken it as a thing — you’re supposed to feel like something. But it kind of affected me a little bit while we were doing the recording, but I think it went pretty well.

“So, I’m through the chemo part now and I’ve been through it for a few months and feeling really good,” he continued. “Now we started the radiation phase, so until the end of March I’m going to radiation every day. So, bit by bit, they’re giving the disease the dose that it needs.”

As for his prognosis, Jan said: “It’s been positive. Actually, the direction is really good. I’m pretty confident that it’s just gonna be kind of chronic state; you have to go to checkups and give it a little dose of something every now and again. I feel good. I mean, I feel nothing from it.”

Nasty Suicide is best known as one of the founding members of HANOI ROCKS, the legendary Finnish rock band whose trashy, hedonistic, decadent hard rock/pop-metal boogie influenced many Los Angeles acts, including GUNS N’ ROSES and MÖTLEY CRÜE.

HANOI ROCKS originally broke on to the hard rock scene in the first half of the 1980s, becoming one of the first Finnish bands to make an international impact. HANOI ROCKS’s career was subsequently derailed after drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley’s 1984 death in a car accident caused by MÖTLEY CRÜE’s Vince Neil. Internal tensions and the commercial disappointment that was 1985’s “Rock & Roll Divorce” led to singer Michael Monroe leaving the band that year, thus putting an early end to HANOI ROCKS.

STENFORS’s debut single, “Then It’s Gone”, was released on February 18. A full-length LP, “Family Album”, will arrive in June.

After the breakup of HANOI ROCKS, Nasty Suicide and his former bandmate Andy McCoy recorded an acoustic album under the name THE SUICIDE TWINS which was released in 1986 and was titled “Silver Missiles And Nightingales”. They also started THE CHERRY BOMBZ, which included Timo Caltio on bass (later replaced by Dave Tregunna), Terry Chimes on drums and singer Anita Chellemah. THE CHERRY BOMBZ released two EPs, “The Cherry Bombz” (1985) and “House Of Ecstasy” (1986) as well as a live album, “Coming Down Slow” (1986). After THE CHERRY BOMBZ, Nasty went on to form his own band CHEAP AND NASTY, which was active from 1990 to 1994. Suicide was also a member of Monroe’s band DEMOLITION 23 in the early Nineties. After the breakup of DEMOLITION 23, Suicide recorded an album under his given name, titled “Vinegar Blood”, in 1996; it was released in Finland only.

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Former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt has launched a new band called DIE HUMANE.

The news of Hunolt’s project was shared by BLIND ILLUSION’s Mark Biedermann who took to his Facebook Saturday night (February 19) to write: “Here’s what’s really going on. Rick Hunolt’s new band DIE HUMANE is going to blow your mind. I wish I could share what he gave me but just know this it is fresh, new and different with amazing vocals and top notch Guitar playing! That is after one listen to one song. Now let me get back to you in a few minutes as I have just received more. Dang it’s good to be in the loop! Thank you Rick!”

Hunolt — the other half of the famed EXODUS “H-Team” who is on every studio recording from 1985 through 2004 and co-wrote some of the band’s best-known songs such as “A Lesson In Violence” and “Deliver Us To Evil” — left EXODUS after the band’s highly acclaimed 2004 reunion album, “Tempo Of The Damned”. Following his departure, Hunolt was replaced by HEATHEN guitarist Lee Altus.

Rick discussed his exit from EXODUS during a November 2021 appearance on “Put Up Your Dukes”, the new podcast hosted by ex-EXODUS singer Rob Dukes. He said: “During the recording of ‘Tempo’, Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] had just gotten clean a little while prior to that, and I was still using. But I’ve gotta say, Gary Holt — my hat’s off to the man for… He never sweated me. Not once did Gary say, ‘Dude, you’re a piece of shit. I’m gonna fire you from the band if you don’t get your shit together.’ He never said nothing. He let it take its course, you know what I mean?

“I was a mess,” Rick continued. “We all were, but everybody got better, and I didn’t. I fell down the rabbit hole even worse, I think, because I was just so depressed. I couldn’t stop. I don’t know what was up… To the point where I was gonna lose my position in the band I’d been in for over 20 years — my best friends, my life. Yeah, it was dark as fuck.

“One day, after spending my life, giving everything that I had and the whole world to EXODUS, one day I woke up and I wasn’t in EXODUS anymore,” Hunolt added. “And that morning was, like… Dude, I can’t even describe the emotions that I [was feeling]. I woke up and I wasn’t in EXODUS anymore, dude. It damn near took me out, bro.”

Rick revealed that he went through a particularly difficult period after splitting with EXODUS. “I had to reinvent myself at 40-plus years old, [with] two little kids,” he said. “I ended up moving out of Oakland. I had to get the fuck out of there, ’cause we were living at the studio; it was bad. And then we moved in with my wife’s mom and I got a job at the [discount chain] Dollar Tree and I ended up working there for, like, two or three years. I mean, I can go on and on and on. But long story short, I met a guy who knew who I was and offered me a job on his ranch. And the rest is history. He taught me how to live my life and make money.”

Hunolt makes a guest appearance on EXODUS’s new studio album, “Persona Non Grata”, which was released in November via Nuclear Blast Records.

The San Francisco Bay Area thrashers’ latest disc is the follow-up to 2014’s “Blood In Blood Out”, which was their first release since the departure of Dukes, the group’s lead singer of nine years, and the return of Steve “Zetro” Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Back in April 2019, Hunolt rejoined Holt and other EXODUS members Tom Hunting (drums) and Souza to perform several of the group’s classic songs during a METAL ALLEGIANCE concert in San Francisco, California. More recently, Hunolt joined EXODUS on stage in August at Psycho Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The original lineup of EXODUS consisted of guitarists Kirk Hammett (now in METALLICA) and Tim Agnello, Hunting and vocalist Keith Stewart. Holt joined the band in 1981, while Kirk left two years before EXODUS’s debut album, “Bonded By Blood”, saw the light of day.

Here’s what’s really going on. Rick Hunolt’s new band DIE HUMANE is going to blow your mind.I wish I could share what he…

Posted by Mark Biedermann on Saturday, February 19, 2022

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