Not too long ago a few tracks from Guns N’ Roses, 14 years in-the-making album “Chinese Democracy” leaked online. This led to rumors of whether or not the album would finally come out. The “Chinese Democracy” album, up to this point, has basically become a huge joke. Now though, there are some signs that it may finally see an actual release, maybe even an exclusive one. According to Billboard.com…

“But some concrete signs are finally emerging that the album’s release could be imminent. That’s because, according to sources, negotiations are underway for “Chinese Democracy” to come out as an exclusive at one of the big boxes — either Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Negotiations are also ongoing to have conventional record company distribution, another source says.”

Kind of fitting that they’d do a Wal-Mart exclusive huh? It’s like they’re making a huge joke sundae and putting the Wal-Mart cherry on top. None of the people Billboard tried to reach for comment were available, including the band’s management company, their label Interscope, or any of their reps.

This album features drumming work from both studio great Josh Freese, (who was a part of the project for around 2 years before leaving to play with A Perfect Circle) and also Brain, both of whom are DW Drums endorsers. Hopefully at some point we can hear their work on the album, even though I can’t stand Guns N’ Roses.

Source.

While I kind of disagree with Pitchfork Media’s opinions, oh, 98% of the time and their choice of bands to cover…they do some cool things. I guess the site has gotten so big now that they have a lot of priority and access to all kinds of stuff.

Courtesy of “Pitchfork TV” check out Josh Freese totally killing his DW drums, on this live-in-studio footage, of NIN playing their new song “1,000,000″ off of their new album “The Slip.” Really cool…

NIN: Live-In-Studio Rehearsal

This is the first of 3 parts, so make sure to check out the other 2 when they become available.

Nine Inch Nails released their new album “The Slip” (which features the famed Josh Freese), for free in May. Now Trent Reznor has decided to release a physical version to coincide with Nine Inch Nails upcoming US arena tour.

“Each of the 200,000 discs arrives with a DVD of the band rehearsing Slip tracks live, plus a 24- -page booklet and stickers. The set hits Canada and the States July 22, with a Japanese release date is still TBA. A virtually identical set– sans the limited/numbered business– is due in the UK and Europe July 21, and whenever the Australian edition is released, it, too, will be available in this manner.

In addition, an unnumbered/unlimited gatefold vinyl set, featuring a single 180 gram LP of the disc and a 24-page booklet, is due August 4 in the UK and Europe and August 5 in the States. Further info on the Japanese and Australian releases can be expected shortly.”

The 180-gram vinyl version sounds the most interesting to me, as I’ve already got the free version on my iPod. This should also sell well as vinyl is making a resurgence. Nonetheless, very cool way of doing things. Release your record for free to your fans as a sort-of thank you, and then if people still want to buy the physical copy, make it available. Nice work Trent.

Source.

Here are NIN’s current tour dates…

07-25 Pemberton, British Columbia - Pemberton Festival
07-26 Seattle, WA - Key Arena at Seattle Center *
07-28 Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place *
07-29 Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome *
07-31 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre *
08-02 Minneapolis, MN - Target Center *
08-03 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-05 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre %
08-07 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena %
08-08 Worcester, MA - DCU Center %
08-09-10 Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course (Virgin Mobile Festival)
08-12 Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum %
08-13 Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena %
08-15 Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center #
08-16 Houston, TX - Toyota Center #
08-18 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center #
08-20 Saint Louis, MO - Scottrade Center #
08-22 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
08-23 Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills #
08-25 Toledo, OH - Seagate Convention Center #
08-27 East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center $
08-29 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center $
08-31 Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena ^
09-02 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater %
09-03 Salt Lake, City UT - The E Center of West Valley %
09-05 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena %
09-06 Inglewood, CA - The Forum %
10-24-26 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Experience

* with Crystal Castles
% with Deerhunter
# with A Place to Bury Strangers
$ with Does It Offend You, Yeah?
^ with White Williams

I posted earlier this week about famed session drummer Josh Freese. This guy has officially played drums on over 200 records, and not just small unknown bands either. He’s appeared on albums ranging from Jewel, A Perfect Circle, Chris Daughtry, Nine Inch Nails, Puddle of Mudd, Evanesence, Filter, Fuel, 3 Doors Down, Staind, Avril Lavigne…the list goes on and on.

Josh Freese is so sought-after as a session drummer that even bands with their own drummers sometimes swap them out for Freese, so he can record drums on the albums! Unless he is a member of the band (like he was with A Perfect Circle), he is usually uncredited, so as not to offend the bands own drummer even further, one would assume.

His style is very straightforward most of the time, although he can play very complicated fills and beats as well. Anyone who’s heard his work can of course attest to this. He is known for his rock-solid beats and ability to master a songs drum parts instantly. He has even stated in several interviews that he has just gone into the studio and played drums to something without even knowing what it is, then he’ll be listening to the radio, the song will come on and he’ll say to himself “oh, so thats what that was for!”

Freese is currently recording and touring with Nine Inch Nails. He plays DW Drums, he was playing Zildjian cymbals, but switched to Paiste a few years ago. Here are the specifics of his drum setup…

Drum Workshop Drums, Pedals, and Hardware
Paiste cymbals
Remo drumheads
Vater H220 drumsticks

Drum Workshop Drums

1. 18″ x 22″ DW Bass Drum
2. 6″ x 14″ Paiste Spirit of 2002 Snare
3. 5″ x 14″ DW Aluminum Shell Snare
4. 8″ x 10″ DW Tom
5. 10″ x 13″ DW Tom
6. 14″ x 16″ DW Tom
7. 16″ x 18″ DW Floor Tom

Paiste Signature Series Cymbals

A. 14″ Dark Crisp Hi-Hats
B. 18″ Full Crash
C. 18″ Power Crash
D. 21″ Dry Heavy Ride
E. 19″ Full Crash
F. 20″ Dry Crisp Ride
G. 20″ Power Crash
H. 18″ Sound Formula Thin China 20″ (top), inverted Full Ride w/rivets (bottom)

Sources.

One of my favorite drummers is Josh Freese. This guy’s played on over 1000 records easily and numerous personal favorites of mine, such as A Perfect Circle, The Vandals and many more.

At some point, I’d like to do a somewhat comprehensive profile of Josh Freese and his drumming here, but recently I’ve been enamored with his playing on the newest Nine Inch Nails album “The Slip.” Some parts on the record are actually hard to pick out, this is because programmed drums are used in addition to standard acoustic ones.

Most of his parts on the album are high-energy and the recording of them is incredibly full sounding, as I know the drum tracks were recorded at the famous Sound City studios in Van Nuys, CA. This drum room is one of the best sounding in the world.

Expect to see a more in-depth review/profile here this week. Also, check out more about Josh Freese here…

Josh Freese’ page @ Drummerworld.com 

If you don’t already know about it, one of the best sites for everything drummer related is www.drummerworld.com. This site has almost every prominent drummer ever. Everyone from Dave Grohl, John Bonham to Josh Freese and Steve Gadd. As well as lesser known talents like Rashied Ali. I’ve been going to it for a long time, it’s got pictures of setups, videos and a bunch more.

This video is really cool…Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and Earl Hudson from the Bad Brains having a live drum jam…

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/davegrohltaylorhawkins.html