The Zone Insider

Leroy Grey

I'm writing this while ignoring the sunburn I got at Warped tour. What a delicious dilemma: Less Than Jake or The Ataris? Poison The Well or A Simple Plan ? Rancid or Bowling for Soup? Tough choices for some; tougher to get a gang of four to agree. Still, an agreeable jaunt for an afternoon. And I still haven't taken advantage of my second free show (on account of AFI and The Used getting rained out.) Am I going to drive the nine hours to Atlanta, or the 11 hours to Cleveland? You decide!

Favorite moment: watching a biker working the backflip on the halfpipe while the Andrew W.K. band is tearing up the back of my head. Close second: sliding between the giant inflatable Mohawk Man at the water slide. Personal musical discovery: Man, I hope the world discovers Damone. They're a four piece out of Boston. They could be the American Pretenders.

Summer's all about the supergroup, and the biggest supergroup to hit the radio this year is Velvet Revolver. Do you miss Stone Temple Pilots? Scott Weiland's back behind the microphone. Do you miss Guns N' Roses? I don't mean Axl Rose; do you miss Guns N' F'n Roses? This is the best of everybody else from GNR. Their single "Set Me Free" is the obligatory Big Song From a Comic Book Movie, and it'll be harder to shake off this summer than the West Nile virus. (They also threw a Pink Floyd cover in the soundtrack to The Italian Job.) But will they tour? Scott's supposed to make a court appearance this month over a drug possession charge. The band's behind Scott, regardless of what happens; bassist Duff McKagen said to reporters that Scott's current travails "could happen to any of us[in the band]. It has happened to all of us." As for Stone Temple Pilots, there's still the new track on their greatest hits album. And STP's DeLeo brothers are producing the new Alien Ant Farm album.

Alien Ant Farm, by the way, have been busy shooting the video for their new track "These Days." The video sounds like a mix of U2's rooftop concert and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment:" the band crashes a Justin/Christina concert, a gay pride parade, a high school talent show, and the 2003 Black Entertainment Television Awards.

Speaking of supergroups, how about Audioslave? "Like a Stone" is a wonderful, thought-provoking rocker, but they finally got a new single out, "Show Me How to Live". And, of course, there's that Lollapalooza thing, which should be hitting St Louis within a week of this issue's release.

While we're talking Lollapalooza, here's the second stage lineup: The Distillers, Steve-O (from Jackass), Bellydance Superstars (real bellydancers), Cave-In, and Rooney. You'll be hearing a couple of these on the Zone soon, I got a feeling...

And if ticket prices are holding you back, you're in luck. The online ticket subscription service, GetAccess (getaccess.cc.com) has a welcome kit that includes 4 free tickets to your choice of select concerts - including the St Louis Lollapalooza date. (somebody must have noticed that $64 a ticket's a choker.) The catch? Depends on how hard it is to cancel your $60 annual subscription. It's an online-only service, brought to you by Clear Channel, so caveat emptor...

The Transplants are one of those side project/supergroups that take a life of their own. (Yes, that's "Diamonds and Guns" in that shampoo commercial.) Drummer Travis Barker swears it's not a side project, but a real band. But when the heck are they gonna play? Guitarist Tim Armstrong's on the Warped Tour with Rancid this summer, anticipating the release of "Indestructible" in late July, and he's producing the animated slasher film, Live Freaky Die Freaky. Rapper Rob Aston's prepping a solo release. And Travis has plenty on his plate, what with Blink 182 preparing a new album for November and putting up with the lawsuit from a former roadie who says he was the genius that thought up the name for the album "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket."

Not all the big shows are two hours away. I just got word that local hooligans Squadcar and IDC are playing in Sikeston's Manhattan Room on July 9th, along with the Teen Idols (from Boston) and Lost City Angels (ex-Pilferers, Spring Heeled Jack). If you're in the mood for some punkabilly, hardcore, or stripped-down rock n' roll, check 'em out. (July 9th, 7pm, $7, 209 E. Center in Sikeston)

Let me throw in another plug for the Zone's local show, "The Indie Zone". Tabatha and Jaron's search for original local music continues, be it hardcore, hip-hop, or jam band. Does anybody remember the Blue Meanies? How about Orco - I mean, Revis? Sundays at 10, "Indie Zone" is a chance to show some love to our local rockers before they leave the house and show us what they're really made of. Are you listening, Mom? (BTW, if you're sending in music, make sure it's ready for radio. We're all professionals here, capice?)

Next month, more news to shake up the summer doldrums. Until then, for anything Zone related, check out the new Zone website (www.1071thezone.com). It's fresh and new, with bright colors and easy-to-use features! And they link to OFF! Magazine's website, and this very column, online!

Open your ears.

Quote of the month:

"Music is like a shark... If it doesn't keep moving, it will die." - Marko 72, Sugarcult