MK ULTRA

SOURCE: Loudwire.com

Every year when the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the contenders for a rock / metal Grammy are revealed, artists and fans are split, typically deriding both establishments. Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor joined in, explaining that he doesn’t care about receiving accolades from either of them.

“I saw somebody write something online or comment on Twitter like, ‘What could be less rock and roll than the fuckin’ Hall Of Fame.’ And that is authentically how I feel about it,” Reznor told Stereogum in a recent interview when asked about being snubbed from the nominee ballot for the Rock Hall’s 2019 class. Nine Inch Nails had been nominated twice in the past, but remain on the outside of the Hall.

Reznor acknowledged that he feels it is “nice to be appreciated,” but added that it is nicer when the appreciation is “coming from a place that you care about.” Turning his attention toward the Grammys, he admitted it “doesn’t mean a fuckin’ thing,” adding, “It means a few assholes in a room that are trying to make a TV show have good ratings deciding, ‘Let’s give it to this guy.’ It doesn’t feel like it has any meaning behind it.”

One award the Nine Inch Nails frontman did appreciate was winning an Oscar for Best Original Score for his work with Atticus Ross on The Social Network. He said the win was “completely unexpected” and that he was “blown away” by all the hard work that happens behind the scenes regarding filmmaking. He realizes politics can still play a factor in these decisions, “but it feels like it’s coming from a much more significant place and from the community that’s honoring you than a couple dudes trying to get ratings for a TV show like the Grammys.”

“Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, who knows what that is. I don’t give a shit,” he continued. “It’s irritating every year that suddenly my inbox lights up with, ‘Oh man, sorry about …’ I don’t give a fuck! [Laughs] You know what I mean? I don’t … the worst would be if we did [get inducted] and then what? We’d have to fuckin’ show up and jam? I can’t even imagine what that would be.”

Reznor maintains this tirade wasn’t about “sour grapes” and that he “honestly couldn’t give less of a shit.” He reiterated the notion of being appreciated is still nice, but “it’s not on my list of things I have to achieve before I die.”

Ace Frehley spoke to SiriusXM’s “Jim And Sam” about his decision to part ways with the solo band that has backed him on his most recent tours: Richie Scarlet on guitar, Chris Wyse on bass and Scot Coogan. His new group now consists of musicians who backed him and KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons on an Australian tour this past summer: Philip Shouse on guitar/vocals, Ryan Cook on guitar/vocals, Jeremy Asbrock on guitar/vocals, and Christopher Williams on drums. After the Aussie dates, Shouse, Cook, Asbrock and Williams accompanied Frehley on a Japanese trek. Shouse switched from guitar to bass for Frehley’s show.

Comparing his new badmates to his old group, Frehley said: “They’re better in the sense that they’re more hungry, everyone sings lead, they really nail all the parts musically, and they pick up the phone.”

Asked if his previous musicians didn’t answer his phone calls, Ace said: “A lot of times, no.”

Speaking about how his former bandmates took the news that they were being replaced, Ace said: “It wasn’t a big deal with Chris Wyse, because he’s been working with the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, playing bass, and he’s also been doing some solo shows with Joe Perry. He’s one of the most sought-out bass players in Los Angeles, so he was pretty cool about it. My drummer, Scot Coogan, he didn’t take it too well.”

Recalling the conversation with Coogan during which he informed the drummer that he was being relieved of his duties, Frehley said: “I told him I was moving on with Gene’s cover band and ‘I’m not gonna need you anymore at this juncture.’ He goes, ‘Ace, c’mon! What are you talking about?’ He goes I’m his rock star. ‘You’re losing a rock star,’ he says. Okay — whatever you say. Then he’s hitting me up for money.”

According to Ace, the “hardest” person for him to fire was Scarlet “because his wife [Joann] just passed away. And I knew she didn’t have very much time to live, because she had Lou Gehrig’s Disease [ALS] and there’s no cure,” Frehley said. “So I was procrastinating for a week not to call him. Finally, I got enough guts up to call him, and he was so drained, because he had been at the hospital every day and so on and so forth. After I told him, he just couldn’t grasp it with everything else surrounding his… what he was going through. So he pretty much hung up on me. But I’ve known Richie the longest — 35 years — so I let a day or two go by and I called him back one evening a couple of days ago, and we made up. He apologized for hanging up for me. We discussed and reminisced about old times. He reminded me that I dated his wife before he did. [Laughs]”

Frehley went on to describe Joann as “a wonderful woman” who “really enjoyed life,” adding that “her and Richie had so much fun together and had met so many people.”

After his second conversation with Scarlet, Frehley says Richie told him “Ace, whatever’s best for you, I want you to go ahead and do it.” Ace also revealed that he was covering half of Joann’s funeral costs and was on his way to speak at the service a few hours after the interview.

Asked if there was any way that he could have kept some of the musicians from his previous band or if it was an “all-or-nothing” type of scenario, Frehley said: “Well, these guys [Shouse, Cook, Asbrock and Williams] from Nashville, they’re a unit, and it’s all or nothing. And they’re terrific. I remember doing ‘2000 Man’ in Tokyo. And with my old band, they were great live and they were great musicians in their own right, but the vocals weren’t always there, because they’re not all lead singers. This new band is all lead singers, so all of sudden, I’m playing ‘2000 Man’, and when the band kicks in, I’m hearing the three-part harmony that I haven’t heard since I was with KISS.”

According to Ace, the harmony vocals he wanted to hear from his solo group never materialized until he started playing with his current lineup. “It just wasn’t there,” he said. “Chris Wyse, I love him — he’s one of the greatest bass players in the world — but he’s really not a lead singer. Scotty is the only really lead singer.”

Asked if he is good at firing people, Frehley said: “No. I hate it. I don’t actually like being a boss. I remember the days I was in KISS where I didn’t have to get involved with the business that often. [Paul Stanley and Gene] were more business-orientated, where me and Peter [Criss, drums] were more party-orientated. I didn’t fire anybody [while I was in KISS], I don’t think.”

Asbrock and Shouse are the founders of THEE ROCK N’ ROLL RESIDENCY, a popular Nashville tribute band that routinely hosts surprise appearances by such rocks stars as Alice Cooper, Robin Zander (CHEAP TRICK) and Roger Glover (DEEP PURPLE).

Frehley’s new solo album, “Spaceman”, will be released on October 19 via eOne.

After the cataclysmic events of the Season 4 finale, Gotham Season 5 will put its own twist on the iconic No Man’s Land comic book arc of the ’90s, with villains like Penguin, Scarecrow and Mr. Freeze claiming territory across a devastated Gotham City. Get a recap of Season 4 and a sneak peek at the final season, which premieres in 2019 on Fox.

Band Continues to Breathe Fresh, Cinematic Life Into Rock’n’Roll Storytelling

LOS ANGELES, CA – Wednesday, October 17, 2018) — Described by one writer as “the perfect love song for that special demon in your life,” the new music video for Ghost’s track “Dance Macabre,” released today, is just that. Two party crashers talk their way into a surreal bash that one will never remember and one will never forget. The video was directed by Zev Deans (Ghost’s “Square Hammer” video) and is erotic and romantic as only Ghost can do it.

“Dance Macabre,” already with 15-million Spotify streams, is the second music video and radio single from the Grammy-winning rock/pop band’s most recent album Prequelle (6/1/18 (Loma Vista Recordings). Simultaneously apocalyptic with catchy, contagious hooks, the song tells of how some people coped with the devastation of 14th century Europe’s Black Plague that wiped out millions – by dancing and partying and seducing until they dropped. The music video puts its own twist on the celebration of the End of Days and beyond.

Twenty-eighteen has been a good year for Ghost. “Rats,” the first single from Prequelle, held the #1 spot at Rock Radio for a record-setting nine consecutive weeks. In North America alone, “Rats” has been streamed more than 14-million times, its companion music video has racked up more than 13-million YouTube views, and Prequelle has accumulated nearly 49-million streams. Ghost recently sold out the very prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, and Metallica just announced the band will be Special Guest on its 25-date European stadium tour next summer. Ghost will headline its two-act “A Pale Tour Named Death” Fall North American tour that starts in Dallas on October 25. The North American trek includes two headline arena shows, The Forum in Los Angeles, and New York City’s Barclays Center. 

October

 
25 The Theatre at Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, TX
26 Cox Business Center Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
29 Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
30 Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
31 Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI

November

1 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
2 Peoria Civic Center – Theatre, Peoria, IL
3 The Sylvee, Madison, WI
4 Stephens Auditorium, Ames, IA
6 Orpheum Theatre, Omaha, NE
8 Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM
9 Abraham Chavez Theatre, El Paso, TX
10 Comerica Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
12 Spreckels Theatre, San Diego, CA
13 Community Center Theatre, Sacramento, CA
15 City National Civic Center, San Jose, CA
16 The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
17 The Joint @ the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
19 Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center, Midland, TX
20 Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX
21 Orpheum Theatre, New Orleans, LA
23 Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – Walt Disney Theatre, Orlando, FL
24 The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami Beach, FL
25 Ruth Eckert Hall, Clearwater, FL
27 North Charleston Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, SC
29 Saenger Theatre, Mobile, AL
30 Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, GA

December

 
1 Florida Theatre, Jacksonville, FL
2 Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
4 Dominion Energy Center, Richmond, VA
5 F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Wilkes-Barre, PA
7 Place Bell, Laval, QC Canada (Montreal)
8 Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON
10 The Hippodrome, Baltimore, MD
11 Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA (Philly)
13 Palace Theater, Albany, NY
14 Wang Theatre, Boston, MA
15 Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Famed brothel owner-turned-politician Dennis Hof died in Nevada on Tuesday, officials said.

The 72-year-old Hof was found dead “at the Love Ranch in Crystal NV” the Nye County Sheriff Department said on Twitter.

No other details were immediately available.

The hard-partying, always quotable Hof was running for seat in the Nevada state Assembly, after knocking off an incumbent Republican in June.

“I’m stunned. This is not the turn I would’ve expected,” his Democratic opponent Lesia Romanov told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Hof owned several legal brothels in the Silver State, including the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. That location was center stage of HBO reality show and documentary about the sex industry, “Cathouse: The Series.”

VNV Nation have released their latest (10th) studio album, “Noire”. The album is out since October 12th also available here on vinyl , also the day VNV embarked on a world tour.

The band’s first official video for “When Is The Future?” can be viewed above. The clip takes us on a tour of Tokyo, following Harris throughout the city and was directed by Michael Winkler.

The new VNV Nation album “Noire” will get 2 versions. A limited edition double black vinyl and a digipak version.

Both versions will have the same tracklist being this one: 01 A Million 02 Armour 03 God of All 04 Nocturne No.7 05 Collide 06 Wonders 07 Immersed 08 Lights go out 09 Guiding 10 When is the Future 11 Only Satellites 12 Requiem for Wires 13 All our Sins.

This is the first album which will be released after Mark Jackson left the band. Jackson had participated as live drummer at concerts since the mid 1990s. “Noire” is planned for release in October 2018 and will be accompanied by a tour.