James Hetfield Hangs Out With Sandman

I had to share this because it is too cute: Metalllica's James Hetfield hanging out with horse Sandman before the Kentucky Derby. Apparently the band heard about the horse and sent the barn crew a bunch of Metallica merch.

James and the rest of Metallica are down in Nashville for a no repeat weekend. They played Thursday and will do so again tonight. This photo was taken yesterday.

The Kentucky Derby takes place in Louisville, so that's about 2 and a half hours by car (or like 12 seconds by private jet or something, ha) from Music City.

Post time is 6:57 p.m. today. Unfortunately it is very rainy - let's just hope all the horses make it through the race healthy.

No clue if James bet on Sandman.

Just A Reminder...

Happy Friday! This is just a reminder that musicians don't make (much) money off streams. Buy merch if you can.

If you don't recall, Bob Pare is a former touring guitarist for KIX. He's also a guitarist for Sun Dogs. Check out some of the comments on Bob's post if you can. There are other musicians posting about their digital revenue (or lack thereof )as well. Remember, all the folks we love don't have deep catalogs of stadium songs or hordes of former top hits.

Mammoth WVH Launches New Song, Tour

Mammoth WVH has a new song out today called "The End" and dates for a tour of the same name just posted, too.

I'll assume Mammoth WVH isn't calling it quits here - but the naming is a bit interesting.

All that said, the video is amazing. Nice throwback to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and big money to get Danny Trejo as a guest star. I bet Valerie Bertinelli worked for free! Also Slash. And Myles Kennedy. Oh and check out the "Hot For Teacher" catwalk nod, too. Pretty sure that's Mrs. Wolfgang Van Halen at the end too. Epic.

Sonic Temple Set Times Released

Sonic Temple is a four-day festival that starts next Thursday and it takes place at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It's a pretty huge event with masses of humanity everywhere. Earlier this week I mentioned I was waiting on the set times and now they are here! I am only going Friday because I wanted to see Metallica. Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie are nice adds for me as is Hatebreed and Upon A Burning Body.

I also love that there is an ASL interpreter for some bands, including the main three acts of the day. I cannot wait to see this person absolutely kill it during Metallica's set.

A Remastered 'Load' Era Incoming

Don't call it reload (ha). Coming June 13, Metallica will release a remastered Load box set on digital, vinyl, CD, cassette - you name it. And yes, you can preorder now.

This set promises 1,800 minutes of music. The full box set offers 301 tracks. It's $275 for the whole shebang but just a copy of the original release remaster is like $30.

2025 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced

Bad Company, Thom Bell, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Salt-N-Pepa, Soundgarden, Lenny Waronker, The White Stripes, and Warren Zevon all made it in this year.

The fact that Billy Idol, Joy Division and Phish didn't make it is criminal, but we must have something to complain about, right? Phish is the most egregious since they won the fan vote, but whatever. At least Bad Company is finally in!

M3 Rock Festival Set Times Announced

Big news for those attending M3 rock festival next weekend! The set times are here. If you are traveling to Maryland for this event, be safe and have fun! Meanwhile, I'm over here waiting for the Sonic Temple set times (impatiently at this point).