 |
 |
 |
|
December
19, 2000
NO, I'M NOT DEAD
Yes, I'm still out
here. Truthfully, there hasn't been that much going on lately, and with
the site revamp, I was intentionally holding off on doing new content - I don't
like creating content twice.
Anyway, I'm sending out an issue of
the mailing list today, and I'm going away on vacation. Both of my
grandparents have had some health problems this year, and I wanted to go home
and spend some time with them at Christmas before I can't do that anymore.
I'm leaving tomorrow, and will return the first week of January.
Then I will start work on converting the site to the new format, which was
delivered to me two days ago. It'll take me a few days to do everything in
the new format, so I didn't have time to do it while I was getting ready.
Sorry for the lack of communication,
but real life has a way of getting in the way of hobby pursuits such as this
one. :)
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
October
27, 2000
TONY IOMMI SOLO ALBUM
There's another article
online about the Tony Iommi solo album - I've mirrored it locally here.
WEB SITE TO GET OVERHAUL
Folks, those of you who
have been following my Black Sabbath site in the 5 years it's been up have known
one thing. I can't draw. :) Over all these years, the one thing that I felt the
site has lacked is a cohesive visual style.
Well, no more. I now have a
professional site design guy working on a new graphic look to my web site. It
will be quite quite awesome, will completely blow away anything that has come
before it, and at the risk of sounding egotistical, it'll probably look better
than any of the official sites, too. :)
Anyway, more on that later - the
framework is still under design, and once it's final, it will take some time to
convert all the old information to the new look. I'm hoping to have it online
before the end of the year. It might be sooner than that, but it all hinges on
when the design is finalized.
This is a prime reason I'm not
editing a whole lot on the site at the moment - I don't see the point in putting
up new info when I know I'm just going to have to do it again in a few weeks.
You'll love it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October
19, 2000
TONY IOMMI "ALL STAR
TOUR"?
This story came over
the wire yesterday. Everything I've been told says that Tony will not tour
behind his solo album, but check out this article anyway...
Is a tour in the works featuring
Tony Iommi and many of the guest stars from his self-titled debut solo album?
Rumors to that effect were a major topic of conversation at a gathering
attended by Iommi's guitarist collaborators, including Henry Rollins and the
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl at the offices of Divine Recordings and Iommi's
manager Sharon Osbourne in West Hollywood, California, on Monday night
(October 16).
Such a series of dates would
possibly put the former Black Sabbath guitarist on stage with Rollins, Grohl,
Billy Idol, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, System Of A Down's Serj
Tankian, and ex-Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, among others. One hitch in the plan
would be the unavailability of Pantera's Phil Anselmo, who is committed to
being on the road with his band for the time being.
However, a spokesperson for Iommi
tells LAUNCH that right now the idea is "still up in the air."
Iommi joined Grohl, Rollins, Ward,
and Tankian on Monday night to hang with music retailers who were flown in for
the event in order to potentially gain their support for the album, which
arrived in stores yesterday (October 17).
Eyewitness accounts called the
gathering a low-key affair, save for the early evening near-disaster when a
candle ignited the hair of one unidentified guest. The fire was extinguished
by the nanny for Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's children.
The article can be viewed online here.
Will Tony tour? Who knows - but this article seems to hint it may happen.
In other Iommi happenings, I put a
copy of the KNAC.com Iommi interview over on the interviews page - check
it out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
14, 2000
PRE-ORDER THE TONY IOMMI SOLO
ALBUM!
You can now pre-order
the Tony Iommi solo album through CD-Now. Long time site visitors have
known that I've linked to CD-Now since the start of my site, and they're a good,
reputable place. If you want to pre-order
the CD, you can do so by clicking on the logo below. The street
date is October 17, 2000. We're only four weeks away!
MORE IOMMI NEWS
 Tony
Iommi is starting to make the promotional "rounds" for his solo
album. Here's some details:
1) Tony Iommi to appear on
Rockline - The Prince of Darkness will be the featured guest on the nationally syndicated interview program
'Rockline' Monday, September 18. For a listing of stations, go to http://drchuck.net/rockline/stations.html.
2) Tony
Iommi to appear on VH1's The Rock Show - Tony will guest with host Kane on the VH-1 Rock Show
September 29. Point your browser to VH-1.com for more information.
3) Tony Iommi to be on KNAC.com -
Tony will appear in the KNAC studios on October 19th at 4PM PST. Check it
out.
The album is due soon, I should have
cover art for it shortly.
From Joe: Since when is Tony Iommi
Satan? I like Black Sabbath, and I like the music, but the lame ass
satanic references are just that - lame.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
6, 2000
IOMMI ALBUM
The Tony Iommi solo
album "Iommi" (whatever happened to that name the album contest on his
web site? This couldn't have been the winner) is still due to be released
on October 10th. I've not been able to find it available for pre-order on
any of the usual web sites. Once I do, I'll make sure and let you know
where you can order it.
TONY MARTIN UPDATE
This past week, I had
emailed Tony Martin asking what he's been up to - mostly because I've had a lot
of emails asking the same thing, and also because I wanted to know myself.
Here's what Tony had to say:
joe hi, no problem. there's not much to tell
to be honest, I'm working on some film score stuff which is an area that I
have wanted to get into for some time, basically because it allows me to use
my talents as a writer, in all kinds of styles. I'm looking to do some
producing too. I'm really happy. I work if I want, play if I want, it's kinda
cool. I'm still looking for the moment to take up the touring thing. trouble
is I'm so content at the moment It's difficult to get motivated. I've always
been happiest in the studio where the technology is. I love all that stuff.
As for Back where I belong? sorry, my Ex
manager wouldn't let it go, I did ask, but I'm afraid he wouldn't let me have
it. I know why!!!!!
The only thing I have to do now is learn how
to spell!!!
Wotever
Best wishes TM
And before anyone asks - no I can't
give you his email address (or anyone else's address who you've seen me post
things from from time to time) - sorry!
SABBATH ON VH-1
I neglected to mention
this before it aired, but this past week, VH1's Pop
Up Video show ran an episode themed around "Classic Rock".
In it, they "popped" Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Specifically,
it's the "Beat Club" version of the song - you know, the one with the
big psychadelic looking heads and images behind the band. It was quite
funny - they even touched on the latter history of the band in a small way at
the end of the song. VH1 tends to repeat these things a lot, so look in
the schedule and keep an eye out for the "Classic Rock" themed
episode. Sabbath is on after the first commercial break.
The other VH1 news was given to me
by someone at VH1 (whose identity I'm not going to reveal). Their email
stated this:
Joe~
Just wanted to let you know and all Sabbath
fans out there that Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie Dio are some of
the few artists honored in a new 5 1/2 hr special on VH1 that is set to
premiere on November 13th and will be broadcast throughout the rest of that
week. The show, titled the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock", will
countdown the top hard rock artists chosen by a panel various hard rock
journalists, artists and other qualified people in the field. It features new
interviews and lots of great performance footage.
This is also something to keep an
eye out for. I'll repeat this piece if I get newer info, or just when it
becomes closer to air date.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
August
17, 2000
MORE IOMMI SOLO ALBUM NEWS
This news update just
in from the Divine Recordings Web site...Ozzy has given his blessing to the
final mix of 'Who's Fooling Who', the last song completed for the long-awaited
Tony Iommi solo album. The song is an almost-Sabbath reunion: Bill Ward plays
drums! Hallelujah!
Also, Tony's web site at http://www.iommi.com
is back online - although it appears to be a slightly stripped down version of
the site that used to be there before. Too bad, the old site was better,
in my personal opinion.
OTHER (AND FORMER) BAND MEMBER NEWS
Here's some updates on various other
members of Black Sabbath besides Tony Iommi.
Bobby Rondinelli & Neil
Murray: I recently heard from Bobby Rondinelli who told me that he has asked
Neil Murray to participate on an upcoming solo album of his. No further
word yet on that.
Bill Ward: Bill is in the
mixing stage for his third solo album, "Beyond Aston". It should
be out shortly in the fall. Further details are available at http://www.billward.com.
Vinny Appice: Vinny will be
participating in an online chat on September 9, 2000 @ 12 noon Pacific
Time. It will be held at http://www.drum-talk.com.
Check it out. Vinny also has a new band, Hunger Farm. They
will have a song on the soundtrack to an upcoming movie called "Bedazzled"
starring Brendan Fraser & Elizabeth Hurley.
Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy has apparently
cancelled several overseas Ozzfest dates to return to the studio and finally
finish his long awaited follow up to 1995's Ozzmosis.
Ronnie James Dio: After an extremely successful
"Magica" tour through the United States, Europe, and
Japan, Ronnie wil be touring with Deep Purple in 2000. The tour will travel with a 79- piece orchestra and thrill fans in countries such as Brazil,
Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, the Czech Republic, Holland, Austria,
Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July
17, 2000
TONY IOMMI SOLO ALBUM NEWS
Tony Iommi's first solo
album (aptly named 'Iommi'') finally has some movement in the way of news.
Check it out:
- Master Tape Delivered - After
months of anticipation, the IOMMI album master tape has been delivered to Divine
Recordings headquarters in Los Angeles. Street Date: October 10, 2000 and
featuring Henry Rollins, Skin from Skunk Anansie, Dave Grohl, Philip Anselmo,
Serj Tankian, Billy Corgan, Ian Astbury, Peter Steele, and Billy Idol. More news
as it develops. Finally, IOMMI!!!
- Track listing finalized -
I've posted the entire track listing to the Iommi
solo album page here on my web site, along with who is playing on what songs
- check it out.
- The album is due to street on October
10th.
I've heard one track - the track
with the Pantera singer, and I have to say it sounds more like Pantera than an
Iommi track. :) No cover art yet - once I find that, I'll post
it. Furthermore, I've not found anyone who is taking pre-orders
online. Once I find that, I'll be quick to post it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June
30, 2000
PERSONAL UPDATE
I've had a lot of
people ask me for an update - I've had some good reasons to be offline
lately. The reasons are twofold. First, I had to put my pet cat to
sleep - she had kidney damage, and later failure. Also, I had to go to the
hospital myself; thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out it wasn't
that. I'm on some medication now for this condition (which means no
alcohol), but otherwise I'm getting healthy again. Now that I
have more time to devote online, I'll be getting to the various things on the
site that need updating (the links page, the pictures page, and the web forums).
I've got some truly new pieces of
news to report...
NATIVITY IN BLACK II RELEASED
The follow-up to the
1994 tribute, Nativity in Black, entitled "Nativity in Black II" is
now available. If you want to check out information on it, including the
lineups, and whatnot, click on the banner shown here. This will take
you to my NIB II page, and from there, you can order it. The CDNow
page for NIB2 has MPEG samples from all of the songs on the album, if you'd
like to hear a little of it before you order it.
TONY IOMMI SOLO ALBUM INFO
This past week Tony Iommi appeared
on KNAC radio in Los Angeles, and answered a bunch of questions from one of the
staffers there. Unfortunately, it wasn't Mike Stark, who probably would
have been a better interviewer. Why is it that when someone
interviews one of the Sabbath members, they ask the same lame ass
questions? That time could have been used for more interesting things.
Anyway, a couple of facts did come
out of that interview regarding Tony's solo album.
- The name of the album is simply
"Iommi".
- It will be released in
September/October
- A list of singers on the album
(off the top of my head, I remember the Pantera guy, Henry Rollins, the guy
from Foo Fighters, & Billy Idol).
- Tony doesn't have any current
plans to collaborate with Tony Martin again.
- It will be released on Divine
Recordings.
- My site wasn't mentioned.
:) (That is a joke for those of you reading this who are
impaired in the humour dept)
If you go to the Divine
Recordings Web site, there is an extremely small piece on
Iommi. There's nothing there that hasn't been said a million times
elsewhere already, but I suspect that is where there will be more info once the
time comes for info to be released.
BILL WARD THIRD SOLO ALBUM HAS NAME
CHANGE
A few days ago, I spoke with Bill
Ward's production manager, and got an update on his third solo album.
Bill was in the studio in early
April, and worked in the studio during most of the month. However, the
appearance of Black Sabbath at the recent weenie roast in Los Angeles took up
some time, as the guys had to plan for that, and do a couple of
rehearsals. Furthermore, studio time just ran long to begin with, mostly
due to a lot of equipment problems and breakdowns. Also, there was some
time spent getting album art together, drawn up, liner notes, as well as all the
other fiddly details that most people don't think about that go into an album
production. What's
left to do for the album? Well, there's about two or 3 days left of mixing
work to do, and then it's off to mastering. After mastering, the album can
be delivered for mass duplication by a record company. Who will be
distributing it is still up in the air, but that should be settled shortly. What's
the release date? Well, that's not completely known yet because it's not
complete yet, but the current target release is mid August, although Bill hopes
to be done faster than that. There
is one big piece of news on it. It's had a name change. It was
formerly called "Remembering". It is now called "Beyond
Aston". More
info on this as we get it. One
other thing - the planned re-release of Bill's first studio album "Ward
One: Along the Way" has been scrapped for now. There's a lot of
issues relative to that album, and what will become of it is unknown at this
time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May
4, 2000
OZZY SOLO ALBUM UPDATE
Heavy-metal
godfather at work on follow-up to 'lazy' 1995 LP.
NEW YORK _ Ozzy Osbourne's last
release, 1995's Ozzmosis, was "a lazy record," the heavy-metal
godfather admits, so he's aiming to top it with a diverse new album that will
combine epic songwriting with his signature hard rock and power ballads.
The as-yet-untitled album still is
in its early stages, Osbourne said, but he hopes to give fans a taste of some
new songs during his headlining performances on this year's Ozzfest tour, which
begins July 2 in Palm Beach, Fla.
"I've got a bunch of ideas, and
I've got a couple of semi-finished songs done _ about four or five,"
Osbourne said last month, relaxing on a couch in his Manhattan hotel suite.
"We've been writing tons of riffs."
Osbourne and his band are expected
to begin recording the album shortly after Ozzfest ends in early September, said
Eddie Williamson, a spokesperson for the singer's management company. The album
likely will be released this winter, he said.
Osbourne said he and his touring
band _ guitarist Joe Holmes, bassist Robert Trujillo and new drummer Roy Mayorga
_ had just finished a demo for a new song earmarked for the album, an uptempo
rocker called "The Junkie."
The 51-year-old rocker, with hair
almost supernaturally full and dark and face remarkably unlined, was genial and
earnest as he discussed his plans for the album. Despite his dark image and his
much-discussed penchant for chomping on live animals, Osbourne was hardly a
foreboding presence. He wore black leather but eschewed his usual John
Lennon-style sunglasses.
"I hope to rock," he said.
"I always like to do an album with a rocker, a ballad, an epic track _ a
good start-to-finish album. I like to have variety. I like it to be a
journey."
Osbourne puffed on a cigarette as he
expressed dissatisfaction with Ozzmosis, which included the single "See You
on the Other Side." "It was a pretty good album, but it lacked a
little bit of emotion _ it seemed to be a lazy record," he said.
Williamson said he was impressed
with the demos he'd heard of Osbourne's new material. "It sounds great. It
really is full of energy. Ozzy hasn't recorded a record in five years, so it
sounds really fresh. He has great melodies bouncing around in his head just
waiting to get out."
Last year Osbourne finished the
final leg of a reunion tour with his legendary band Black Sabbath. In 1998 the
tour spawned a live album, Reunion, which included performances of such Sabbath
classics as "Iron Man" (RealAudio excerpt) and "War Pigs"
(RealAudio excerpt).
Though the tour was billed as the
band's last, Osbourne didn't rule out future collaborations with the group.
"I may end up doing some more with them, but there aren't any plans for the
immediate future," he said.
Sabbath also performed as part of
last year's Ozzfest tour, which this year will feature Pantera, Monster Magnet,
Kittie, Static-X and Godsmack, among others.
Osbourne, who began his solo career
with 1980's Blizzard of Oz, founded Ozzfest in 1996.
(This story originally appeared
online here)
IOMMI SOLO ALBUM UPDATE
There isn't one - I
wish to god I could tell you something, but I can't. All I know is that
it's coming out on Priority Records, and is supposed to be out around the start
of the Ozzfest 2000 (which Tony & Sabbath have nothing to do with).
That's all I know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April
25, 2000
TOUR DATES UPDATE
Those of you who have
followed my site for some time have known that I have taken quite some time to
get all the tour dates online. Well, guess what? They're all
up now!!! I got off my duff and typed in all the tour dates
I had for the Ozzy tours from 1970-1978. I had everything else since then,
but it was the Ozzy tours I was missing. I now have them all online
in my tour date section of the web site.
This is by no means
meant to be a 100% accurate list. I'm not an idiot - I wasn't at every
Black Sabbath gig that was ever played personally, so I can't 100% verify
everything that appears here. However, if you have information about a date
that's not listed, or a correction, let me know. However, please
have some concrete information available before submitting an
addition/correction. Don't just say "Oh, I think they played here, on
this date. Have some proof of the date other than just "I
remember it".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April
20, 2000
 NATIVITY
IN BLACK II RELEASE DATE
Back in 1994, there was
a Black Sabbath Tribute album released entitled "Nativity
in Black". Coming this summer is the sequel, oddly titled
"Nativity in Black II". :) Anyway, I was contacted
by someone from Priority Records, the folks who are putting out the album with
some information about the album. The release date is June 6, 2000.
The final track listing for the album is:
- GODSMACK-Sweet Leaf
- MACHINE HEAD-Hole In The Sky
- STATIC-X-Behind The Wall Of Sleep
- MEGADETH-Never Say Die
- SYSTEM OF A DOWN-Snowblind
- PANTERA-Electric Funeral
- PRIMUS with OZZY-N.I.B.
- SLAYER-Hand Of Doom
- SOULFLY-Under The Sun
- HED(PE)-Sabbra Cadabra
- MONSTER MAGNET-Into The Void
- BUSTA RHYMES with OZZY-Iron Man
(This Means War)
I already have a page set up for the
album, you can check that out here. It has
the artwork that will appear on the album on it (the artwork shown here is
supposed to be the cover art.
LINKS
Recently, I had some
people send me some interesting links I think you should check out.
First up is a piece called "Black
Sabbath 30th Anniversary Roundtable". It is a joke link, but is
definitely worth checking out. It's a discussion about the 30th
anniversary of Black Sabbath made up of mostly short time Sabbath members or
people who weren't officially in the band at all. Quite amusing.
The other one comes from a Van Halen
web newsletter, "The Inside". This link is a story about Van
Halen's tour with Black Sabbath in 1978. The story is obviously more from
a Van Halen slant, but there's a few remarks in here from Black Sabbath. Check
it out.
BILL WARD IN THE STUDIO
The Bill Ward Band
returned to the studio the first week of April to begin work on completing
Bill's third solo album, Remembering. As you may remember, Bill was at work on
this album in 1997 when his second solo album, When the Bough Breaks was
released. Then in late 1997, Tony, Ozzy, & Geezer came calling, and a little
side project named Black Sabbath <g> took up Bill's time, as did a heart
attack in 1998.
Bill's back and ready to complete
the studio work that was laid down in 1997 for this album. The first studio date
was April 1st, and Bill hopes to have the album completed and mastered by mid
May. More detailed information about how it's progressing with a projected
release date will be coming shortly.
THE TEXAS RANGERS & BLACK
SABBATH
As some of you might know, I'm a big fan of the Texas Rangers baseball
team, and when I was at the game Tue night, I found something funny that I thought I'd pass along. You know how baseball players usually have some
short piece of music played when they're coming up to bat? Well, two new Texas Ranger players in 2000 have some cool tunes being played.
First is our First Baseman / Designated Hitter David Segui. He was having Ozzy's Flying High Again played.
Gabe Kapler, our new right fielder had Iron Man! It was way cool having Tony Iommi's major song opening riff being played. Seemed to be a big
crowd pleaser song, too. People were getting into it. <g>
DIO'S MAGICA IS OUT
As I
posted last time I did a news update, Dio's Magica album is out now. It's
turning out to be quite the interesting album. Anyway, there was an AP
wire story on the release, which contained an interview with Ronnie James Dio. You can check it out by going to the link here: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000405/en/celeb_ronnie_james_dio_1.html
If you want to by Magica, you can do
so by clicking on either of the graphics here.
SITE UPDATE
As some regular
visitors to my site have noticed, I've still not finished the past history of
the tour dates. On my mailing list, I asked for help recently, and I
intend on having all the back stuff online before the end of the month.
I'm also hoping to get the web forums online around then, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March
22, 2000
NEW DIO ALBUM "MAGICA"
RELEASED
After a several year
"hiatus", Ronnie James Dio's self monikered band has released a new
album, "Magica". The cover art is shown below (from an
autographed copy), and you can purchase the album right now from either CD-Now
or Amazon.com from the graphics below. There was a short story on the back
from the promotional copy of the disc I received to the right. That story
goes like this:
 Ronnie
James Dio, arguably metal's most enduring and well regarded heavy metal
vocalist returns with his first new work in four years, a concept album which
is surprisingly his first in 35 years as a recording musician. But don't
expect a concept record in the standard sense of the word. Having seen
many attempts amongst his metal compatriots through the years, Dio has
something special in store. As is begetting his proven literary stature,
the critical mass of the album itself is cloaked in allegory and metaphor,
abstraction to the point where little of the plot can be ascertained within
the flow of the songs. Such illumination is left for the booklet, as
well as the 20 minute narration from Ronnie that caps and brackets the
record. Ronnie explains: "Not ever having done this before,
and wanting to take some time with it, I didn't want to be foolish about
it. These things can turn out pretty strange. It has its peaks and
valleys of course, but it has to tell a story. I didn't want to do it
all in verse. So it tells the story in music as well, with logs of high
relief, share and light. It's much more involved than the things we've
done before, but again, it retains the character of Dio music. As well,
the songs can be removed from the whole process and stand on their own, so
much so, that I've provided the narration. I'm trying to tell as much as
I can in the music, but I want to tell something extra. But in essence,
it's a journey that should be consumed beginning to end."
Musically, Ronnie's band has turned in a regal, self-assured timeless
performance as befits their veteran status within metal's upper
echelons. On guitar and co-writer, Dio welcomes back Dream Evil axeman
Craig Goldy. Simon Wright also returns to the fold, having pounded the
skins for 1990's Lock up the Wolves. And last but definitely not least
Magica marks the return of bass legend Jimmy Bain, having worked with Ronnie
during Rainbow's golden era. So everything points to a return: a reunion
of personnel, a reinvigoration back to the roots of Dio's creative high points
(Ronnie feels the record specifically invokes the spirit of Holy Diver, Mob
Rules, & Long Live Rock & Roll) and, given the weighty grooves
enclosed, a return to the critical and commercial statue Ronnie commanded
through much of the 1980's. Magica awaits...
This is a concept album - something
different for Ronnie. Several people have already called it his best album
ever - if you haven't already ordered it, why not click on one of the links here
to order your own copy? Both CDNow & Amazon have some sound samples
from the album. The Official site of the record company Ronnie's
with now (Spitfire) has an MP3
download available of the entire track "Fever
Dreams". Check that out, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February
24, 2000
 BLACK
SABBATH WINS GRAMMY AWARD FOR IRON MAN
After 30 years of
neglect, Black Sabbath was awarded a Grammy Award for their song "Iron
Man" from the Reunion album. The ceremonies were held yesterday in Los
Angeles, and Bill Ward was on hand, receiving the award on stage. Bill had this
to say about Black Sabbath's winning the award for "Best Metal
Performance"...
Drummer Bill Ward said it was
gratifying to see artists from the Woodstock generation, including the night's
top winner, Carlos Santana, doing so well.
``I think it's totally cool,''
he said. ``I didn't think that 31 years ago, I'd be standing up in a suit. I
feel more like an accountant than the guy who plays drums in Black Sabbath.''
Unfortunately, this award was not
shown on the television broadcast, but there was a mention of the award during
the show. Furthermore, there was a brief picture of Bill on stage accepting the
award on the show during the telecast. Bill was the only one on stage
accepting the award, although Ozzy & Geezer were at the ceremonies with
their families (there's a pic of Ozzy with two of his kids below).
The official title of the award
given Black Sabbath was "Best Metal Performance for solo vocals, or
Duos/Groups with vocals. Singles or Tracks only." Those
nominated for this award were:
- Black Sabbath - Iron Man
(Reunion)
- Ministry - Bad Blood (Matrix
Soundtrack)
- Motorhead with Zebrahead - Enter
Sandman (ECW Extreme Music)
- Nine Inch Nails - Starfuckers,
Inc. (The Fragile)
- Rob Zombie - Superbeast (Hellbilly
Deluxe)
If you are interested in purchasing
a copy of the Grammy Award Winning album Reunion, the only official live album
by the original Black Sabbath, you can do so by clicking on the spinning Black
Sabbath logo below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February
18, 2000
SITE UPDATE
Back with another update. That pesky thing called "real life"
has been intruding. My real job has taken just about every moment I have
online lately, and "the paycheck" will always get attention
first. :) Anyway, here we go with a bunch of
news:
WEB FORUMS COMING SOON
I'm going to be putting web forums on
the site shortly. Here's some text I sent out over the last two mailing
lists that addresses this issue (didn't feel like re-writing the text):
Folks, I've been mulling this idea over
for some time now, and wanted to throw it open for discussion.
Getting right to the point, I've been
thinking of opening web forums on black-sabbath.com. I intend on having an
archive of every mailing list issue (going back to #1) online at all times.
I'll be posting all new issues there too. This will make it possible for you
to search through them for specific text.
I'm also going to have open discussion
areas. However, given the volatile and rather hostile nature of some of the
(ahem) rabid fans out there, I've decided to try and keep the "<singer
a> fucking sucks, <singer b> rules" discussions to a minimum. I
intend on setting up separate areas for each singer "era". (Ozzy /
Dio / Martin / etc ) Obviously, it won't stop things, but it should help keep
things to a minimum (I would hope).
Thoughts on this? The last time I tried
this on my Sabbath site (many years ago, something like 4 years, I think), it
ended up in a fiasco, but the software I'll be using (The Ultimate BB) allows
more control over what happens on the forums.
At the very least, I will put the
archive of mailing lists online, but it's going to take some time for me to
get them all up there, as I have to sit there and enter each list archive one
at a time. Ugh. :( The biggest delay in me getting this online is that I
want to launch it with all the back issues online already. Posting them all is
turning out to be rather tedious job. Do you think I should launch the site
without them all up there, and just post them as I can get the time to do
it?
I'm rather interested in hearing
people's thoughts on this matter - drop
me a line about it if you get a moment. I'm going to be using the Ultimate
Bulletin Board Software package to do the forums. It's fairly well
known stuff online at the moment. I'm on staff at the company who makes
the software, and they were cool enough to let me run the stuff here for free,
so big thanks go out to the folks over at Infopop for that.
I have no real timetable for getting
these online, as I have a few other issues to work out first. I'm hoping
to have 'em switched on within a month.
 NATIVITY
IN BLACK II ARTWORK
No release date yet for this thing,
but I'm still guessing Spring 2000. However, I did turn up something
that a lot of you are really going to be interested in. I've dug up what
is supposed to be the artwork for the album.
Remember how the first one had
pictures in the liner notes relative to each song? Well, I've now got
online the same artwork for the new cover album. If you go check out the
new discography page I set up for Nativity in Black
II, you can see it all at the bottom of the page.
The artwork shown to your right here
is what the cover art is supposed to be, while all the individual song images
are on the NIB 2 page. Check 'em out! The artwork looks real, as it
looks exactly like the style for the first album, so I'm fairly confident this
is real stuff.
Enjoy!
BLACK SABBATH'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY
As you probably know by now (from the
countdown on the main page), this past Sunday (Feb 13th) was the 30th
anniversary of the release of Black Sabbath's first album. This thing
still holds up extremely well 30 years down the line - and kicks the shit out of
most everything that's been recorded since then.
If you haven't already done it, go and
get the album out, and give it a spin. If you don't have it already, click
on the image below, which will let you order the remastered version from
Amazon.com
THE FUTURE OF BLACK SABBATH
Well, after the NEC gigs in late December, not much has been happening. Sabbath itself is supposed to be "done", but you know how these things go - they'll probably
do something together next year. :) There are no "secret plans" to play somewhere, and I beg of you
PLEASE STOP WRITING ME ASKING IF THERE ARE MORE TOUR
DATES! IF I HAD ANY, I WOULD POST THEM! I AM NOT HOLDING BACK INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC (as I've been accused of doing in a few nasty
emails).
Tony Iommi - His solo album is supposed to be done, or close to it. I keep hearing a Feb/March launch, but if it is that close, we probably would have more concrete
information by now, I would think.
Geezer Butler - The most
secretive/private member in the band. Donut is known here, except a remark
I heard before the last Sabbath tour that he's "writing material with Pedro
(Howse - his guitarist, friend).
Ozzy Osbourne - Well, Ozzy has
been rumoured to have a new solo album in the works since the release of his
Greatest Hits album a year ago or so. There's no concrete news other than
a short clip on the Epic Records Ozzy page that says simply, "Ozzy is currently working on his next solo album, due out in Spring 2000!
Pre-production begins as soon as Ozzfest is done."
 Bill Ward -
Bill's got some more concrete news - here's some stuff I wrote last month for
Bill's site after talking with his production manager. The long awaited reprint of Bill's second record "When the Bough Breaks" is completed,
and will be available shortly. It will be made available directly off this web site - details
will be made available shortly. The details need to worked out insofar as payment,
credit cards, and the lot, but there should be direct order sales from the
Official Bill Ward site shortly. Regarding
Bill's third studio album, "Remembering", Bill gave it a listen last
month, and then set up some studio time to finish it up, and get it out this
year. A date is not yet available, as Bill hasn't looked at the record since the
Black Sabbath reunion tour. A decision needs to be made as to how much work is
left to do on the record - but you should expect a new Bill Ward solo record in
2000!
To your right is a scan of the
reprint's new cover art. The old "two roses" art was never
supposed to be there, it was a mistake that it was released - this art is what
it should have been all along.
BLACK SABBATH NOMINATED FOR A
GRAMMY AWARD <snicker>
You may have noticed that Black
Sabbath was nominated for a Grammy Award recently for the song "Iron
Man" off of their Reunion album. I find it amusing that Black Sabbath
is even nominated, and for a 30 year old song, too. Yeah, yeah, I know
it's a recent print of it, but yeesh!
If you care, the Grammy Awards are
next week on Feb 23rd. I'd be shocked if Black Sabbath won, and quite
frankly, I don't care if they do. It's the same nonsense as the Hall of
Fame. Do I really need an award or a plaque on a wall to tell me what
tunes I like? Fuck no - Black Sabbath has never been about the awards or
the accolades. It's about stamping your foot, getting off on the tune -
nothing more. Don't care if they win or they lose. I'm probably not
updating the site again until after the show is over, so if you want to see if
they've won after the 23rd, check out the Grammy
Awards Site.
In other amusing Grammy news, a song
from the South Park movie was also nominated in another category (Blame Canda).
THE OZZFEST MOVIE
From Joe: This text was taken from the
Official Ozzy site. If you visit
there, you can view clips of the trailer online.
The Ozzfest is coming to a theater
near you! That's right, you can fix your winter Ozzfest jones when the Ozzfest
hits the silver screen early next year. Acclaimed director Penelope
Spheeris (Decline of Western Civilization Parts 1, 2, and 3, Wayne's World)
took out a full crew on last year's tour to capture all that is The Ozzfest: the
people, the music, the excitement, the chaos. Her work is nothing short of a
masterwork, and the feature length documentary is enhanced by the use of
cutting-edge High Definition technology and a full (read: LOUD) Dolby Digital
Surround Sound audio treatment. This must be seen and heard to be believed! A
special film tour is being planned for this year to take the film across the
country, and, in addition to the feature presentation, there will be three bands
playing live throughout the night. We thank you all for your title suggestions.
Bookmark Ozzy.com and Ozzfest.com and check back soon for full details, dates,
and venues.
Director Penelope Spheeris
encountered the nitty-gritty world of the concert business, the circus-like
atmosphere of Never Neverland, the parking lot parties, and every imaginable
stripe of the Ozzfest cast of characters.
TONY MARTIN & CANCER
As you may have read below, Tony Martin had gone in to get himself checked out for cancer. It turns out he doesn't have it, which is
way cool news. Whether you like his tenure in Sabbath or not, he is associated with the band, and I'm sure everyone out there wishes him all the best for the future. If
anything changes health wise with any current or former Sabbath band member, I'll be sure to pass that information along.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
10, 2000
TONY MARTIN UPDATE
In going through my Black Sabbath email today (the first time since before
Christmas), I found this one. This was submitted for the mailing list -
but I thought given the nature of the material, I'd just post it
here. Has anyone heard any more about this issue? If so,
please email me. Thanks.
From: Mark Cloer
Subject: Pray for Tony Martin!
Date sent: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 19:10:30 PST
I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this but Tony Martin recently had a cancer scare. His exact quote is as follows:
"I have had some spooky moments recently that have taken my time up. Which I guess I can tell you about it now, I had some screening tests for the big "C". Fortunately it's all come up clear so far, but it kinda makes you think, and you really don't feel like talking to people when you got stuff like that hangin over you're head."
Jesus, I took that just as seriously as I would if a close friend had had that happen. After all, I am Tony's #1 fan you know! Hopefully he was just being cautious but I urge each and every one of you to put in a good word for Tony with the man upstairs. My father is a Methodist minister and I told him I had a special prayer request for a fellow named Tony. If you're a pagan, then pray to your totem pole or whatever the hell you believe in! We lost Ray & Cozy way too soon..... nope, we're not even gonna think that way! In brighter news, Tony does have some other projects under way that should be interesting:
"Firstly I'm working on a film score for Geoff Nicholls of Black Sabbath, he wrote a couple of books and one of them has been picked up for a film idea, so he asked me to help him put the music together for it, which I'm really happy about. Secondly I've been asked to write something for a rock opera about Nostradamus, for the part of the inquisitor, who is the guy that wants Nostradamus dead, and tries everything to get rid of him. I'm supposed to sing along side Allanah Miles, also featuring is Glenn Hughes, the guys from a band called Europe, Joe Lynn Turner, and few others that can't get record deals anymore. Actually I'm not too keen on the idea at present cause the rock opera kind of drama / avant gard type music thing , isn't my favourite stuff, and the part that they want me to sing is quite a non event, also , it lists like a role call of has beens, which I'm not too happy about. However, if I can get my head around that bit, and get them to give me something worth singing, that or I write the stuff myself, then who knows."
"I'm actually concidering putting a band to-gether, a few people have mentioned it, but It's quite a task to start from scratch, finding the right people to tour with. If I find the right people to put it to-gether then I think I could put quite a show to-gether!"
Let's all keep Tony in our thoughts and wish him the best, career AND health-wish!
Mark
WEBMASTER UPDATE
Welcome back! We're all still here in 2000 (like that was ever in
doubt). I'm back online, after spending the last two weeks on vacation,
with my family over the holidays, or being sick again. :)
I intend on getting a new issue of the
mailing list out on Tuesday or Wednesday, and I hope to get all the NEC reviews
up and posted by the end of the week. I also posted updates to
the Cozy Powell & Bill
Ward sites I run too last week - check 'em out; especially the Bill Ward
site, there's some pretty cool info there regarding sales of his records.
|
|
|
|
|
[ Top
of Page ]
[ News from 2004 ]
[
News from 2003 |News
from 2002 ]
[
News from 2001 |
News from 2000 ] |
THE
TONY IOMMI SOLO ALBUM IS OUT!
