Vains of Jenna Announce New Singer

This didn't take long: Vains of Jenna have a new singer and his name is Jesse Forte. He's a graduate of Musicians Institute and has been in a lot of California bands. Yes, he's American - which will be an interesting dichotomy to the Swedish act.

From a press statement:

"We first saw Jesse in 2009 when his band opened for us at the ‘Cat Club’ and he blew us away," says Vains of Jenna co-founder and bassist JP White. "Jesse is unique for sure. Imagine Steven Tyler’s charisma, Chris Cornell’s powerful voice, a charming smile; then mix it all in a blender with a pair of nunchakus and you get Jesse Forte."

We'll see I suppose. Forte's picture is plastered all over the band's Myspace. All the promo shots sure look like this singer change was in the works while Lizzy DeVine was still in the band, but maybe not (the logo looks a little different too). I still can't imagine VOJ without Lizzy, but I'm keeping an open mind about this. I just hope the rest of VOJ didn't screw Lizzy over and push him out or something. That would be uber lame, considering how much work Lizzy put into the band. (Is it me, or does the photo suggest an entirely new movement for the band? Like, maybe VOJ doesn't want to be Glam anymore? Their business, their right. The photo just seems...odd).

If you're in the Hollywood area, go see Vains of Jenna live on April 10th. The band has a gig booked at the Whisky a Go-Go. I'd love to check out the band's new chemistry but I'm afraid a trip across the country isn't an option right now.

Photo from the band's Myspace - no copyright assumed.

Krokus To Release New Album, Video

Krokus will release a new album on May 25th! The record is called Hoodoo - the band's first album in two decades. The guys in Krokus even made a spanking hot new video, too. The video is for the first single, called (what else?!) "Hoodoo Woman." Here's the official press release.

For 30 years now, Krokus has been Switzerland’s most successful rock export.

Now the original Krokus line-up is back to enjoy its second spring: Hoodoo is the title of the rock legends’ powerful comeback album - their first in 20 years.

 From the small Swiss town of Solothurn, the band catapulted itself and its incomparable brand of straight hard rock right to the top of the music world.

1980 saw the band set out to conquer America, Canada, and England, quickly consolidating its reputation as a strong, no-nonsense live band. Soon they were part of unforgettable headline tours and on the same bill as incredible bands like AC/DC, Van Halen, Quiet Riot, Ted Nugent, Judas Priest, Motorhead and many, many more. These were wild times, full of big adventures, which saw the band not only going gold and platinum in the U.S. and Canada, but also being made honorary citizens of Memphis, Tennessee.

Following this triumphant tour of North America, Krokus became the first Swiss band ever to sell out the legendary Hallenstadion in Zurich.

In total, Krokus has notched up 10 top-selling albums worldwide and a Diamond Award for selling over 1 million records in Switzerland alone.

In 2008, the band celebrated an incredible comeback with a reunion concert in Berne’s Stade de Suisse. No less than 10,000 delighted fans came and witnessed the most astonishing comeback in the history of Swiss rock.

Encouraged by this sustained success and how much they love to play, the band made the most of the flames burning inside and went straight back to the studio to record. They spent two years creating a fiery new album that is sure to become a classic.



Lazerfest Anyone?

Here's another one-day fest if you're located in the middle of America: Lazerfest will take place May 16 at Indianola Balloon Grounds in Indianola, Iowa. Tickets are cheap at $35 so if you're looking for something to do that revolves around music and find yourself in Iowa, check it out. Here are the bands on the lineup:

ALICE COOPER
DROWNING POOL
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
GODSMACK
HAIL THE VILLAIN
HALESTORM
HELLYEAH
PAPA ROACH
RED
ROB ZOMBIE
SEETHER
SKILLET
THREE DAYS GRACE
VIOLENT SOHO

If I was in the region, I'd go for Alice Cooper, Papa Roach and Halestorm for sure. Lazerfest is presented by Lazer 103.3 FM. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

How Long Would You Wait?

Let's say you've paid for a concert ticket and are waiting at the venue for the band to start. You wait and wait and wait...and the band never appears...or appears hours later. How long do you stick around? I ask because I just read Axl Rose kept Guns n' Roses fans in Chile waiting four hours the other day. Of course, we all know Rose has been keeping fans waiting for years now, but come on. It's disrespectful and I can't imagine just sitting and sitting and sitting...On the other hand, I'd hate to walk away from a show that cost a hundred bucks (or more) to attend.

Again, I ask: how long would you wait? I'm going to put my wait limit at around an hour. If a band can't get it together within an hour of the posted start time, then there's a serious problem. You can bet I'll be at the box office, demanding a refund - and I'm a pretty persuasive arguer, thank you very much.

Bands that keep fans waiting are lazy, really. Performing - and on time - is part of a musician's job. The high cost of ticket prices keep a lot of fans from attending shows these days as it is. I highly doubt many artists want to go the way of Axl Rose and just piss off music lovers more. Thoughts?

More Bands Added to Download 2010

Download Festival 2010 is getting bigger and bigger! Here are the newest bands added to the festival bill:

Coheed and Cambria
Airbourne
HIM
Dillinger Escape Plan
Cinderella
Steel Panther
We Are The Fallen
36 Crazyfists
A Day To Remember
Whitechapel
Hell Yeah
The Blackout
Dommin
Taking Dawn
Job For A Cowboy
Saxon
RATT
Unearth
Lawnmower Deth
Rise To Remain
August Burns Red
Y&T

Single day tickets are on-sale today! Check out the rest of the lineup (including Aerosmith, AC/DC and Rage Against the Machine) and day splits here. Amazing lineup if you ask me - best festival of 2010 so far.

Who Likes Treat?

Treat has a new album called Coup De Grace. I haven't listened well enough to do a fair review, but I will before Wednesday when I speak with the band. In between watching CNN and C-SPAN last night, I checked out some classic Treat on YouTube. Really, I think I basically love all rock bands from Sweden. Maybe I should move there! Nah, I'm a proud American...still, Sweden Rock Festival calls my name...

"Ready for the Taking"

"Party All Over"

Cinderella's Return...Captured on YouTube

Cinderella played their first show in years Friday night at the Grizzly Rose in Denver. I trolled YouTube looking for videos but didn't find much - just a lone clip of the band's (apparent) first couple songs of the night. The clip is of "Second Wind/Push Push" and is a little hard to discern at first but gets better as the clip rolls on. Cinderella immediately packed up their gear and headed for Utah last night for another "warm-up" show. The band will play Verona, New York on April 8th and Philadelphia on April 9th.

Someone on Metal Sludge posted the setlist:

Second Wind / Push Push
The Last Mile
Night Songs
Somebody Save Me
Heartbreak Station
Coming Home
Fallin' Apart At The Seams
Long Cold Winter
Gypsy Road
Don't Know You Got (Till It's Gone)
Nobody's Fool
Shelter Me
Shake Me

As you know, Cinderella is booked for a lot of festivals including Rocklahoma, Shiprocked, M3 and Sweden Rock. Come on summer!