This week, music news seems to take on an air of historical magnitude, what with a Guinness World Record attempt, an upcoming biographical movie, a social media team-up, unlikely concert ban and more.
Attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the first band to tour the U.S. in 51 days, The Melvins will set out on September 5th to promote their recently released album, Freak Puke. Their tour will start in Anchorage, Alaska and pass through every U.S. state, including Hawaii and Washington D.C.
With no days off in between, The Melvins will steadily perform until October 25th. Prior to this record-setting nationwide tour, the band will go on a condensed Canadian tour in July. It’s safe to say these guys are coming to a town near you!
Producers for the upcoming CBGB film have reportedly chosen Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins to take on the role of Iggy Pop. There’s definitely a resemblance between the two, and fittingly, Foo Fighters and Iggy Pop have crossed paths in the past, specifically at last year’s Isle of Wight festival in the U.K., where Iggy Pop pulled Dave Grohl onstage.
Besides Hawkins’ recently announced role, Alan Rickman will play the lead role of Hilly Kristal, Micky Summer will play Patti Smith and Steven Schub, Joel David Moore and Julian Acosta will take on the roles of Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone.
Just another infamous tale to add to a slew of rivalry stories between Slash and Axl Rose, it seems Axl has banned fans from wearing Slash t-shirts to Guns N’ Roses concerts. On May 31st at London’s O2 Arena, 18-year old fan James Revell was forced to remove his Slash t-shirt at the Guns N’ Roses show. Adding to the dismay of Revell, the band showed up over an hour late.
Revell only caught 3 songs before he and his brother had to catch a train back home. “I have never experienced anything as insulting as that at a concert before,” said Revell in an interview with NME. Following the drama that ensued over Guns N’ Roses’ Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame induction earlier this year, this t-shirt ban further emphasizes the obvious split between the old GN’R outfit and the new.
GWAR has announced their third annual GWAR-B-Q, set to take place August 18th at Hadad’s Lake. The event will feature bands of the heavy metal variety, such as The Casualities, GHOUL, Valient Thorr, Occultist, Lionize and more. Of course, GWAR will headline the shindig. However, the most notable element of the GWAR-B-Q is perhaps the return of the Sexecutioner to GWAR’s live performance format for the first time in 12 years.
Twitter and Pepsi have teamed up to mesh the social media revolution with music to make “Live for Now Music,” a year-long campaign dedicated to exposing Twitter users to new music. Through Pepsi’s username, @Pepsi, along with trends such as #LiveForNowMusic and #PepsiMusicNOW, followers can be the first to hear about upcoming “pop-up concerts,” free downloads, and music-affiliated video series. The video series will debut episodes weekly, and focus on the most popular trend of the week. Twitter’s ultimate role is to be an essential part of global marketing without updating any platforms.
Unplugging In Brief :
The Melvins Lite Attempt To Break Guiness World Record For Fastest Tour of the US on Fall Tour Playing 51 Dates – Starting in Alaska, The Melvins will take on a 51 day nationwide tour, stopping at every state including Hawaii and Washington D.C.
Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins Set to Play Iggy Pop in Upcoming CBGB Film – Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins will play the role of Iggy Pop in a new CBGB film, and we can see the resemblance!
Axl Bans Fans From Wearing Slash Shirts to Guns N’ Roses Concerts – An 18-year old Guns N’ Roses fan was forced to remove his Slash t-shirt at a recent concert in London.
GWAR-B-Q 2012 Announced For Hadad’s Lake Featuring the Live Return of the Sexecutioner – At the 3rd annual GWAR-B-Q, GWAR will welcome longtime buddy, the Sexecutioner, back to their live performance format.
Twitter and Pepsi to Team Up to Produce Pop-Up Concerts That Will Be Webcast Online – A powerful collaboration, Twitter and Pepsi have joined forces to create “Live For Now Music.”
