Monthly Archive for April, 2008

Lemmy The Movie

Rock Giants Pay Tribute To Lemmy In Documentary

The life and career of Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister is being celebrated in a new documentary, tentatively titled “Lemmy” and slated for release in 2009.

The film promises fans more access than ever before to Kilmister’s life, and includes interviews with past and present bandmates and such peers/admirers as Slash, Dave Grohl, the Clash’s Mick Jones, Alice Cooper, Steve Vai and wrestling superstar Triple H.

Directors/producers Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski (both of whom have contributed to Billboard) are shooting the film on a combination of HD video and super 16 mm film. Other giants from the world of metal and hard rock will appear in the film as well, with details to be announced. “We haven’t heard the word ‘no’ yet after any interview request,” Olliver says.

“Lemmy never ceases to surprise me,” Orshoski says. “You think you know who Lemmy is, but you have no idea. If you think you have Lemmy all figured out, trust me. You don’t!”

“Shooting Lemmy is like filming dangerous wildlife. He never does what you expect him to do, and he never does anything you want him to do,” Olliver says with a laugh. “A lot of the coolest shots are shots we had to wait for four or five shows to go by before we could get them.”

A distribution deal hasn’t yet been inked, but the teaser clip, featuring on-stage footage and such amusing backstage segments as Kilmister testing out a bass amp at deafening volume and telling dirty jokes, is available at Lemmymovie.com.

Judge Tosses Out Ramone Lawsuit

Judge Tosses Out Ramone Lawsuit

A US judge has today tossed out a lawsuit by a former Ramones drummer who says he was cheated out of royalties.

US District Judge Shira Scheindlin said in a ruling last week that a contract Richard “Richie Ramone” Reinhardt signed when he performed with the US punk rockers between 1983 and 1987 clearly covered digital uses of his songs.

She noted that the contract defining phonograph records contained the words “now or hereafter known” when referring to forms of reproduction, making it clear that future technologies are covered by the agreement.

Reinhardt filed a lawsuit last year claiming he was owed nearly $US1 million ($A1.06 million) in royalties on songs sold over the internet.

He wrote six songs for the group.

The Ramones helped define punk after forming their band in New York in 1974. They performed for 22 years, with various members, before their last show in 1996.

Three of the group’s founding members, Johnny,

Reinhardt’s six songs for the Ramones were Smash You; Somebody Put Something in My Drink, Human Kind, I’m Not Jesus, I Know Better Now and (You) Can’t Say Something Nice.

Jeff Sanders, a lawyer for Reinhardt, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Nine Inch Nails Discipline

Nine Inch Nails Discipline

According to RollingStone.com, Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor earlier today (Tuesday, April 22) released a brand new song, titled “Discipline”, to radio stations. Unlike the instrumental Ghosts I-IV album, which was web-released less than two months ago, the new track actually features vocals from Reznor. In addition, an April 21 post on NINE INCH NAILS’ official web site, www.nin.com, reads “2 weeks!” echoing a similarly mysterious message posted in mid-February that ultimately resulted in the release of Ghosts I-IV.

Nine Inch Nails recently launched an online film festival showcasing short films made by fans to accompany music from the new Nine Inch Nails album, Ghosts I-IV. According to a press release, the Nine Inch Nails channel on YouTube, which went live on March 13, is accepting submissions immediately through May 1. Music from Ghosts I-IV is available for filmmakers through YouTube’s AudioSwap channel. Submissions will be personally reviewed by Trent Reznor, who will host a festival featuring the best entries at a later date.

Reznor released Ghosts I-IV online on March 2. The two-hour collection of 36 untitled instrumental tracks was made available in various high-quality DRM-free formats at different price levels. According to a press statement, a total of 781,917 copies of the project were transacted at NIN.com in the first week of release, including paid and free downloads, plus pre-orders for physical editions of the set. The total gross earned was reported as $1,619,420.

The expensive “ultra-deluxe” limited edition of Ghosts I-IV sold out almost instantly despite a steep $300 price tag. (I actually ordered one of these!) A digital version is available for five dollars, along with a $75 limited edition “deluxe” package. A $10 double CD version and a $39 vinyl edition was made available at U.S. retail on April 8.

STOP PRESS: Download new NIN track now!

H.R. Giger Documentary From 1987

Celtic Frost & H.R. Giger

Celtic Frost & H.R. Giger

Swiss Black/Death/Doom Metallers Celtic Frost will play a special party celebrating the 10th anniversary of the H.R. Giger Museum on June 21. The group will pay tribute to the Swiss fantasy artist who designed the creature in the Alien movies and contributed the cover to Frost’s To Mega Therion album, among other accomplishments.

In a 2006 interview with the Associated Press, bassist Michael Eric Ain said of Giger, “We were completely stunned when he got back to us telling us that he could relate to the music, that he saw something of his art reflected in the music. That was one of the biggest boosts we’ve ever gotten artistically speaking, because back in those days…a lot of the inspiration we got was from literature or art”.

The concert will tentatively take place at 11 P.M. at the Globull nightclub in Bulle, Switzerland.

Tom Gabriel Fischer Quits Celtic Frost

Tom Gabriel Fischer Quits Celtic Frost

Its weird how things pan out. Just the other night I had an inkling to once again listen to Celtic Frost’s brilliant and masterful ‘Monotheist’ album. (covered extensively on this here blog upon its release). I played this album to death when it came out on a musical rotation policy that lasted for months. Every so often I would also check out Celtic Frost’s mainman Tom Gabriel Fischer’s blog which is always an interesting read and keeps people informed and involved in all the dastardly deeds in the Frost camp.

Several days ago, the blog was offline and appeared to have been hacked. A new blog sprung forth and featured some exciting news about Tom’s involvement in the H.R. Giger camp. For those in the know, Celtic Frost and Giger are a match made in the outer reaches of hell! Celtic Frost’s music is so perfectly in sync with the sick and twisted stylings of H.R. Giger.

Right here on Dogmatic we posted about a forthcoming gig featuring Celtic Frost performing at the Giger Museum’s 10th Anniversary bash. Things were looking promising.

Within the span of several hours, Fischer announces his exodus from Celtic Frost. Huh? How is this possible? He IS Celtic Frost.

“Celtic Frost singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer has left Celtic Frost due to the irresolvable, severe erosion of the personal basis so urgently required to collaborate within a band so unique, volatile, and ambitious.”

I was personally upset at the news as this is a band I have followed since 1983. I managed to find an email address for Tom and sent of a supportive email. I was pleasantly surprised to hear back from him and it all appears to be true… he is no longer a member of Celtic Frost.

In his email to me Tom states: “…John, It is indeed a tragedy. I am deeply affected. Unfortunately, I don’t think things can be fixed, as the others don’t regard Celtic Frost to be that important…”

In a post on his new blog Fischer explains: “…I am devastated beyond description, and I am infinitely disappointed. As the one member of Celtic Frost who is exposed most dramatically to the feedback by our audiences and the media, I feel troubled and humiliated about being unable to honor the enormous goodwill extended to Celtic Frost during the past few years and meet the justified expectations of our fans…”

It will be interesting to see what happens from this point on. But if Celtic Frost are no more (let’s face it, without Tom they are nothing!) – here’s hoping that Tom Gabriel Fischer is not lost to the world of Avant Garde music…

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