JOHN NORUM "EUROPE's CURRENT MUSICAL DIRECTION IS INFLUENCED BY AUDIOSLAVE, VELVET REVOLVER
Recently John Norum, Europe guitarist, spoke with "The Hairball John Radio Show" about the bands new, critically acclaimed release "Secret Society" and commented on why he originally left EUROPE after the highly successful "Final Countdown" release.
John Norum: "Well, I didn’t really like the direction the band was going. We became this teeny-bopper, bubblegum band and I hated that whole image, the spandex, poodle-rock type of thing. I was more into the heavier, guitar-oriented stuff and it seemed like the keyboards were taking over more and more, and we were becoming more commercial. So I decided to leave. I didn't really care if the album was number one in thirty countries at the time. It didn't really matter. I just wanted to move on and do something else."
Hairball John: What was the bands musical mindset when going in to record the new record "Secret Society"?
John Norum: "Some people just thought we were going to go in and record another 'Final Countdown'. That would be the dumbest thing we could ever do, because we all have moved on. We had gotten into a lot of the newer bands like AUDIOSLAVE and VELVET REVOLVER and I got a kind of influence from those bands and started tuning the guitars a little different and getting into some heavier stuff."
The first ever Kerrang! Karaoke presents 16 monstrous anthems hand-picked by the K! team to provide the ultimate high voltage rock 'n' roll experience, featuring a gluttony of legendary rock artists and Kerrang! favourites, including Foo Fighters, Green Day, Nirvana, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron Maiden and many more
No band to play in? No problem - with Kerrang! you can star in all the greatest ever bands to rock your world. No longer feel pangs of jealousy watching Axl shimmy or Anselmo roar or Ville croon, for now you can practise your vocal and musical talents to perfection. Special features include Vocal Version :: Karaoke Version :: Backing Version :: No Lead Guitar Vesion :: No Bass Guitar Version :: No Drums Version :: Video Backdrop :: Blue Screen Option
"Kerrang! Karaoke" DVD track listing
01. AC/DC - Highway To Hell
02. IRON MAIDEN - Number Of The Beast
03. GREEN DAY - American Idiot
04. GUNS N' ROSES - Sweet Child O' Mine
05. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
06. SLAYER - South Of Heaven
07. METALLICA - Enter Sandman
08. SYSTEM OF A DOWN - Toxicity
09. FOO FIGHTERS - Monkey Wrench
10. NIRVANA - Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. PANTERA - Walk
12. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Under The Bridge
13. BLINK 182 - All The Small Things
14. EVANESCENCE - Bring Me To Life
15. H.I.M. - Buried Alive By Love
16. GOOD CHARLOTTE - Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Famous
NIKKI SIXX "MY LIFE IS SO FULL AND CONTINUES GO GROW"
Nikki Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist, has posted the following message on his website:
"Sitting here soaking up the love of my kids, all I can think about is how everybody in the house laughs a lot, a lot more than i can remember in a long time. Yes, it's different being a single dad and having a career, but different in a better way. I have a lot more to do daily and I take it very serious. I've not found anybody worthy of really dating and that's OK by me… My kids come first, then my career and last my social life… I can live without the last two but not the first. So on I trudge.
"On the musical front, DJ Ashba [ex-BEAUTIFUL CREATURES guitarist], James Michael and myself are hard at work on the music and recording of 'The Heroin Diaries' [a book drawn from Nikki's 1986 and '87 journals, when he was in the throes of a heroin addiction]. The soundtrack for the book will come out at the same time as the book. No firm release date yet, but I imagine September (don't hold me to that). It is 'not' a solo album, but an experimental musical journey. It goes everywhere an anywhere. All I can say is expect the unexpected. The trip is weird, from Danny Elfman's ghoulish arrangements, singer-songwriter story-telling to open-ended rock… theatrical comes to mind.
"This is freedom and a journey with no real expectations… We don't talk radio, charts or boundaries… We just talk 'feel.' We are feeling our way through the project. There is one feeling I will share with you all, the feeling that I've fallen back in love with music…
