According to an article on Limewire, the forthcoming Melvins tour will include dates with Isis, and for those shows without Isis, the Melvins will play two sets.  Not sure which one I’d be more interested in to be honest:

The Melvins may have just recently had their 25th band birthday, but they’re showing no signs of slowing down. They’ll be supporting The Bride Screamed Murderall over the country in June and July, sharing bills with alt-metallists ISIS and Totimoshi, including an appearance at Bonnaroo, so there are plenty of chances for you to get Melvined this summer.

June 1     San Diego, CA     Casbah
June 2     Tempe, AZ     The Clubhouse
June 3     Albuquerque, NM     The Launchpad
June 5     Austin, TX     Emo’s
June 7     Houston, TX     Warehouse Live
June 8     Baton Rouge, LA     Spanish Moon
June 9     New Orleans, LA     One Eyed Jacks
June 10     Birmingham, AL     Bottle Tree
June 12     Manchester, TN     Bonnaroo Festival **
June 14     Athens, GA     40 Watt Club *
June 16     Washington, DC     9:30 Club *
June 17     Philadelphia, PA     TLA *
June 18     New York, NY     Webster Hall *
June 19     Brooklyn, NY     Music Hall of Williamsburg *
June 20     Boston, MA     Paradise *
June 21     Boston, MA     Paradise *
June 23     Cleveland, OH     Grog Shop
June 24     Detroit, MI     Small’s
June 25     Chicago, IL     Double Door
June 26     Madison, WI     High Noon Saloon
June 27     Des Moines, IA     House of Bricks
June 29     Denver, CO     Ogden Theatre
July 2     Calgary, AB     Sled Island Festival +
July 3     Calgary, AB     Sled Island Festival +
July 5     Vancouver, BC     Rickshaw Theatre
July 6     Seattle, WA     Showbox at The Market
July 7     Eugene, OR     John Henry’s
July 9     San Jose, CA     Blank Club

All dates feature Melvins (2 sets) w/Totimoshi except:

* = Melvins/ISIS/Totimoshi
** = Melvins/ISIS
+ = Melvins

The cover for the new album The Bride Screamed Murder has also been revealed:

Before you ask apparently it’s not a joke.

In a short interview with Rock Radio Maynard commented that he likes to take time between Tool albums:

"Some new band, their first two records are the ones that are the freshest, ’cause they’ve had all their lives to write them. And then that third record ends up being all about the inside of a bus and something that happened backstage ’cause what else have they seen? And I’ve pretty much tried my best to avoid that album by taking time between writing projects to kind of absorb life in general — have some experiences, read a few books, get into a different headspace and then wait ’til the time is right."

Not much else of note in the interview…

Patrick Slevin from The Aquarian Weekly has this week interviewed Maynard about his work with Puscifer.  It’s one of the more interesting interviews I’ve read, so check it out.

Here’s a not so random quote:

The EP that was recently released was only available digitally, as well as the Lustmord dub mixes. Do you expect to continue releasing physical records?

Not yet. As this project develops and as it gains a little more momentum, we might eventually do some CDs. We’ll definitely do vinyl. But I’m going to rely on the digital sales to fund the making, because once again, we’re independent, so writing a check for a bunch of coasters seems kind of silly at this point.

I think people like to have the CD in their hand, but I don’t think they realize that to have one CD in their hand, I had to make thousands to make it worth making them, and then you’re sitting on all these coasters. I’m not going to do that until the sales of the digital stuff catches up with it. Then we’ll do another collection, maybe make it a part of the DVD. But we’re going to make vinyl, for sure. Vinyl format I think is more fun, you can put more images on the 12-inch surfaces. It’s great.

The PRP has released some info in regards to the new Melvins album.  It will be called The Bride Screamed Murder and should be released on June 1st.  Once again the album will be released on the Ipecac label.  Personally I can’t wait!

Christophe from Salival.fr conducted an interview with Tool associated artist Cam De Leon recently, and is now available on his website.  Here’s the question I know you’re all dying to ask him:

If you don’t mind, can you tell us more about what happened for this great combination to cease ?
Well, I appreciate your interest and concern about that, and I’m sure it’s coming from a good place, but I don’t think there are enough who actually care, to warrant spending much time on it. But I’ll just say in more than 10 years of working together, I contributed as much as I could, and I love Adam like a brother. Working with him was always a meaningful challenge, and I appreciate the experience. But they’re clearly in good hands with the list of super talented artists you mentioned so I don’t assume they have any particular need of me, and I have way more projects of my own than I can possibly manage.

There you go.  A great interview and well worth reading!

The February newsletter is now up on Toolband/Toolarmy and it’s a somewhat revealing one:

• Tool are in the process or writing new material., though Blair personally hasn’t heard any.
• Joe Baressi has, which suggests to me he’s probably going to engineer the album again.
• Adam has a new pedal he’s been playing around with, and this may or may not feature.
• Danny has some new percussion instruments, and they definitely don’t have a water bong in the room.
• The cover from the mini tour was from the band The God Machine, and it wasn’t played because a member of the band had recently passed away (a friend of Justins)
• Apparently the male doctors voice on Lost Keys is the bands manager, not Justin as has been suggested to me in the past.  The man in question, Pete Riedling if I remember correctly is an Australian.
• The Big Thing is the website updates.  It will happen sometime in the future.  My sources tell me around September.

It’s an interesting read, a mini-FAQ in some ways and I suggest you all take a look.

Thanks to Nathan for the tip!

The Melvins, having just finished recording the new album, will be hitting the road later this year and have released the following tour dates:

June 1, 2010
San Diego, California
Casbah

June 2, 2010
Tempe, Arizona
The Clubhouse

June 3, 2010
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Launch Pad

June 5, 2010
Austin, Texas
Emo’s

June 7, 2010
Houston, Texas
Warehouse Live

June 8, 2010
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Spanish Moon

June 9, 2010
New Orleans, Louisiana
One Eyed Jacks

June 10, 2010
Birmingham, Alabama
Bottle Tree

June 12, 2010
Manchester, Tennessee
Bonnaroo Festival

June 14, 2010
Athens, Georgia
40 Watt Club

June 16, 2010
Washington D.C.
9:30 Club

June 17, 2010
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
T.L.A.

June 18, 2010
New York, New York
Webster Hall

June 19, 2010
Brooklyn, New York
Music Hall Of Williamsburg

June 20, 2010
Boston, Massachusetts
Paradise

June 21, 2010
Boston, Massachusetts
Paradise

June 23, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio
Grog Shop

June 24, 2010
Detroit, Michigan
Small’s

June 25, 2010
Chicago, Illinois
Double Door

June 26, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin
High Noon Saloon

June 27, 2010
Des Moines, Iowa
House Of Bricks

June 29, 2010
Denver, Colorado
Ogden Theatre

July 2, 2010
Calgary, Alberta
Sled Island Festival

July 3, 2010
Calgary, Alberta
Sled Island Festival

July 5, 2010
Vancouver, British Columbia
Rickshaw Theatre

July 6, 2010
Seattle, Washington
Showbox At The Market

July 7, 2010
Eugene, Oregon
John Henrys

July 9, 2010
San Jose, California
Blank Club

Don’t forget they’re playing Bonaroo this year as well.  Hopefully we’ll see a Melvins/Big Business tour down under this time…

A quick post this morning before I head off to Soundwave.  Maynard did an interview with Movieweb recently, and it’s results can be found here.  Worth the read, though it only really covers his winemaking.

Here’s a random quote:

You usually have control of your artistic endeavors, but Page and Pomerenke had final cut on this documentary. How difficult was it for you to hand over the reigns on something that is so important to you? Were there aspects of this film that you didn’t necessarily want shown?
Maynard James Keenan: The cut that you see now is not the cut they presented to us initially. There was definitely a reedit before the final cut was approved. This is quite a different film from that first cut. I will say that. It was more about me than it was about wine. That was not my intention. And that should not have been the intention of the film. The intention of the film is to help explain what is possible with effort and due diligence. And focus and commitment.

A new message from Major Douche regarding the upcoming Puscifer tour:

Major Douche Eastern Assault. Spring 2010.
"In this war against complacency and the mundane, we the artists/insane must strive to re-invent, to shadowbox our paranoia, and to adapt to inevitable change while still maintaining a balanced diet. Multi tasking is at the very core of our assault. That is why we are very pleased to unveil a new level of combined art and utility during this Spring Campaign. Along with the comedic, visual, and melodic arsenal, we will also be introducing the latest form of whole body entertainment. By inserting a high fiber brown note to the equation, we will achieve not only an elevated sense of the theatrical, but also provide a non chemical, bio degradable, free range sonic digestif. Forward movement will be achieved. Bon Apetit’!!"

Major Douche,

Battalion Commander.

Maynard had a nice chat with Kat Corbett from KROQ recently, and the interview is available for streaming here.  I haven’t had a chance to listen yet, so let me know if it sucks.

There’s also another Blood Into Wine clip available as well on Youtube: