File: December 2006
Black Is Back
Way back in September IE received an e-mail hinting at a Dio-era Black Sabbath reunion. Although it hadn’t been confirmed by any of the musicians’ — Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward — managers, the message said a Web zine out of Spain had reported a reunion tour of a group calling themselves Heaven & Hell, the title of the Sabbs’ first Dio-led record.
About a month later promotions company Rogers & Cowan sent an e-mail that said the project “appears to be shaping up and taking a new form.” That same press release also hinted the band should hit the road in early ’07. Our response? Shit yeah! You may be wondering, though, why the group is calling itself anything other than Black Sabbath. Two words: Sharon fuckin’ Osbourne. Apparently, somewhere along the line, Ozzy and wife/manager/hag obtained the copyright to the name Black Sabbath. Rumors of new Ozzy-fronted material have been swirling since 1999, but Ozzy’s refusal to commit has been a hold up. Ironically, the same day Rogers & Cowan made their announcement the Osbourne camp issued a statement that dismissed the Dio lineup and made clear Ozzy’s intentions to tour and record with his old bandmates in the coming year. Holy Diver!
The Goo Goo Dolls Guy Wasn’t Available?
When Gilby Clarke is the second most famous member of a band called Rock Star Supernova, there’s trouble.
That’s the position Rock Star Supernova (whose self-titled debut was released November 21st) find themselves in after former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted f’d up his shoulder trying to catch a 90-pound bass head that fell off his amp. His chart — torn bicep and rotator cuff — reads like Kerry Wood’s injury report, which means Newsted is out of commission for roughly nine months. That leaves Clarke, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, vocalist Lukas Rossi, who beat out other hopefuls on the CBS show to win his frontman spot, and new bassist (drum roll, please) . . . Johnny Colt? While his tenure with Black Crowes technically qualifies him for “Rock Star” status, time spent with Train might offset that. To recap, Rock Star Supernova: Lee, the guy who replaced Izzy in GN’R, some boner singer who looks like he won a lifetime shopping spree to Hot Topic, and a dude who plays in Train. Believe it or not tickets are still available for the band’s February 3rd concert at the Rosemont Theatre.
Chicago Has Crabs
Lollapalooza isn’t just a treat for live music lovers, it seems, but also nature lovers. According to the Chicago Tribune 340 crabapple trees and 600 lilac trees were planted in Hutchinson Field thanks to $400,000 given to the Chicago Park District by Lollapalooza promoter Capital Sports & Entertainment. And that was just for the 2005 Grant Park music festival! The Sun-Times says the Park District earned $928,000 for the 2006 version, which drew 160,000 paid customers compared to 60,000 in 2005.
Some people obviously hate trees and flowers, though. Residents who live near Grant Park raised a ruckus to the Park District board about sound levels during this year’s three-day festival. But much to their dismay, the Park District board went ahead an O.K.’d a new deal with the Texas-based Capital Sports anyway, meaning Chicago will be Lolla’s home for another five years and the Park District will earn a cool $5 million during that time. That’s a lot of crabapples!
— Trevor Fisher
