Mike Dirnt: “Green Day are gearing up to kick ass again”

Last week, Green Day posted on their official Instagram account that they had jammed together for the first time in a year, which followed frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s hint that the band would be back in action in 2015. Now, in an interview with Billboard at South By Southwest’s Stubb’s Barbecue at the weekend, bassist Mike Dirnt spoke briefly about the current state of Green Day, and things are definitely looking good.

Dirnt revealed that he was “super excited and super nervous, too” about the punks’ upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, which takes place at Cleveland’s Public Hall on April 18^th. The band will be inducted by Fall Out Boy.

During the same interview, he also spoke about guitarist Jason White’s fight against tonsil cancer, reassuring fans that Jason was doing well: “Everyone’s healthy and we’re gearing up to kick ass again”.

Could this be the start of something new from the punk rock legends? After almost two years of being quiet, and their last album release being the final instalment of the Uno Dos Tre trilogy, it’ll be very interesting to see how far the band have come in that time. 

Travis Barker Is 'In No Way, Shape or Form Mad' At Tom DeLonge

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Once again, Travis Barker has opened up about his feelings following Tom DeLonge’s apparent split from blink-182.More back-and-forth statements from both parties over the last few weeks has continued to stir up the band, but drummer Travis told Yahoo that he’s not mad at Tom for it. He does admit, however, that he wishes that Tom “would own up to not wanting to be in the band and go do his other stuff.”

“We’ve been trying to do this for X amount of years, he’s quit three times, we have to get to a healthy place and just move on,” the sticksman says. “[But] I’m in no way, shape, or form mad at him. If anything, I just wish he would own up to not wanting to be in the band and go do his other stuff. There’s a sympathy card he’s pulling right now. And that doesn’t even really piss me off, it’s just kind of childish. But if years down the line it makes sense, I’ll never say never.”

Travis also touched on the times where it was difficult to work with Tom when his heart wasn’t in blink-182: “It was just like, you’d drive to Orange County to practice, drive an hour and a half to get there, dude’s upset, bummed-out or venting about something.”

Despite what’s recently been happening with the band and its members, neither party has lost their musical drive. Blink-182 are currently rehearsing for their first two shows with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. They will be playing an intimate gig at San Diego’s SOMA with A Day To Remember on Mark 20^th, followed by Travis Barker’s own Musink Festival on March 22^nd. Meanwhile, Tom DeLonge is set to release his solo album, To The Stars, on April 21^st- this will feature blink-182 demos as well as his own material.

What To Expect From Record Store Day 2015

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It’s the time of the year again for music to be even more awesome- queue Record Store Day 2015. This year will be the eighth celebration of the UK’s independent music sector, set to take place on April 18^th. Artists including Foo Fighters and FrnkIero andthe Cellabration will release exclusive material for the day, and there will also be special rereleases of past releases.

It’s a day of fans, artists and worldwide record stores to come together to celebrate the culture of independent record stores. Record Store Day started in 2007 when over 700 independent record stores in the USA came together to celebrate their culture. Following that, the UK joined in, as well as thousands of independent stores across the world, fast making Record Store Day one of the biggest music celebrations worldwide.

So what’s happening this year? It’s been announced that Foo Fighters will release 10” ‘Songs From The Laundry Room’, which will also include never before heard demos and tracks. Frontman Dave Grohl has been crowned the official ambassador of this year’s event.

frnkiero andthe cellabration’s ‘Live At BBC Maida Vale’ will be released on limited edition mint pearl 12” vinyl- this will be limited to only 1000 copies worldwide.

Continuing the 40^th anniversary of his 7” picture disc series, David Bowie will exclusively release ‘Changes’ and ‘1966’. The first ever ‘Now That’s What I Call Music!’ compilation album, ‘Now 1’, will be released on vinyl, as well as two unnamed Florence + The Machine songs.

Britpop heroes Noel Gallagher, Suede and Pulp are also set to release exclusive material for Record Store Day. Various remixes of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds song ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’ will be released on 12” vinyl. Pulp will reissue 'Freaks', 'Separations', 'Little Girl (with Blue Eyes)', 'It', 'They Suffocate At Night' and 'Dogs are Everywhere'. Suede will release a live version of ‘Dog Man Star’, which was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

But that’s not everything. As well as the exclusive releases and new material to celebrate the day, there will also be various events, including gigs, meet and greets and loads more.

With all of that happening, this year’s Record Store Day is set to be the best yet. Head over to recordstoreday.co.uk for more information about the release schedule and events.

Travis Barker Says Tom DeLonge Should "Man Up and Quit" blink-182

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It’s been a worrying time for Blink-182 – weeks of conflicting ideas from the band members and Tom’s apparent split from the band have led to the fans being in an awkward situation about who to believe. Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker has now opened up to Alternative Nation with his opinions of what’s happened. Travis has said, “as far as I’m concerned, no bad blood from me. I wish him the best in everything he does, I think the right thing for him to do would just [be to] man up and quit the band instead of telling people he didn’t quit and just be real with the fans“.
He went on to say, “I think that would give him some closure too and really do what he’s passionate about. Even amongst all the other projects I do, I can always find a way to prioritize and still be passionate about blink-182 when it comes around. I love playing, listening, and everything about punk rock. It changed my life. I think for Tom, he doesn’t like punk music and it was a phase for him”.
In the same interview, Travis also mentioned how the rehearsals are going with the band’s current touring vocalist, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. “We are two weeks into practice and he’s killing it. There’s harmonies that have never been sung. He’s actually playing the guitar instead of just Pro Tools. It’s just fresh blood and having someone that’s motivated and stoked to be there makes a world of difference. In general, Skiba has a really charming voice and it couldn’t be a better fit”.
Travis also spoke about the potential of a new Blink-182 album with Matt Skiba as the band’s vocalist saying, “if we did make an album with Skiba, it would be unreal. I don’t know if that’s a possibility yet because I can’t speak for everybody. Right now it feels like the honeymoon stage. Everyone’s really happy and there’s a vibe in the rehearsal room that we haven’t had in a long time”.
Whilst the remaining Blink-182 members are enjoying how everything is coming along, Tom DeLonge has recently released details of his new album, To The Stars. It’s expected to include new Blink-182 demos and other ‘odds and ends’. The record is now available for pre-order and will be released on April 20.

Tonight Alive's Jenna McDougall Rescues Fan From Soundwave Festival Security

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During their set at Soundwave Festival, Tonight Alive’s Jenna McDougall intervened with the festival’s security as they pinned a fan to the ground but the throat. She pleaded with the guards and eventually managed to remove them from the fan- she and the fan then high-fived and hugged. Watch the video below. After the band’s set, McDougall voiced her opinion on what had happened on Twitter, saying, “Security are hired to protect.. Not to tackle, choke hold, push or physical assault our fans. Im extremely disappointed.” She also later added: “Having said that. I realise this abuse of power does not apply to all security & was grateful for the respect & care taken in Melb and Adel.”

Although security are usually more respectful of fans at festivals and concerts, this isn’t the first time band members have had to intervene with guards. At the Warped Tour last year, The Story So Far’s frontman Parker Cannon jumped off stage to physically intervene with an aggressive guard. Security is there for a reason, to make sure the fans and band members are safe and to help them if they need it. Abuse of power and isolating people seems to be a recurring problem in the world at the moment, and something seriously needs to be done to put an end to it.