The Cult

[FunkyMonkey]

Now this is something I'd like to see.

Duff McKagan

I want to tour the US finally. Hell or high-damn-water!

AJ Celi

@DuffMcKagan You should go with The Cult!! Call Billy! How sick would that tour be???

Duff McKagan

@AJCeli Uh....OKAY!!!!!!!! You know someone who has an 'in', i hear?

AJ Celi

@DuffMcKagan I think it would be the perfect match up! Billy's playing footie up at Robbie Williams (name drop) but I already text him!

May 8 2012

[Falcon]

Really feels like the guys are just going to explode once the tour kicks in to high gear and the album comes out. I still can't believe all of the press that they're getting!

They are definitely embracing all the positive feedback and the attention that's coming along with it so far which hasn't always been the case.  In the past Ian tends to pull back and literally sabotage the band getting any wider attention than he's comfortable with, it's just not in his artistic DNA, still a punk at heart I suppose.

Billy likes it, he understands The Cult's outsider existence and embraces it - he's extremely proud the body of work and their position of influence.   

[Falcon]

Now this is something I'd like to see.

Duff McKagan

I want to tour the US finally. Hell or high-damn-water!

AJ Celi

@DuffMcKagan You should go with The Cult!! Call Billy! How sick would that tour be???

Duff McKagan

@AJCeli Uh....OKAY!!!!!!!! You know someone who has an 'in', i hear?

AJ Celi

@DuffMcKagan I think it would be the perfect match up! Billy's playing footie up at Robbie Williams (name drop) but I already text him!

May 8 2012

It would not surprise me if this actually did happen, early word is The Cult will be doing more North American gigs in August so the door may be open.

It would be a cool rock show for sure although I still remain opposed to Duff singing anywhere near an open microphone..

[Falcon]

That Metal Show sneak peak with Ian talking about The Doors and how he was originally asked to play Morrison in Oliver Stone's Doors bio flick..

http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-05-10/sneak-peek-ian-astbury-and-billy-duffy-from-the-cult-on-that-metal-show/

[Falcon]

Billy Duffy will be appearing tonight on SixxSense Radio.

Sixx has been going on and on about Choice of Weapon for a few weeks now, this maybe worth a listen.

Or not..

I can already hear it, Nikki will tell BD they used Bob Rock after The Cult "discovered" him with Sonic Temple then make it all about the Crue....

[BurningHills]

I'm more than down with a Cult / Loaded tour! 

[Ali]

I've been to a bazillion Cult shows over the years and have always been amazed by the diversity of the crowds they pull, it's a people watching bonanza.

With the above in mind, the following news should amplify said diversity to the nth degree for the US leg of the "Choose Your Weapon " tour  starting late this month with support from Against Me! and The Icarus Line.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PEOPLE_TOM_GABEL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Against Me!'s Tom Gabel is becoming a woman

NEW YORK (AP) -- Tom Gabel, the lead singer of punk rock band Against Me!, says he's becoming a woman.

The 31-year-old tells Rolling Stone that as a kid he felt disconnected from his body and has a condition called gender dysphoria. He plans to take hormones and undergo electrolysis. He also is considering gender reassignment surgery.

Says Gabel: "Growing up, my experience with transsexualism was nothing but shame."

Gabel says his new name will be Laura Jane Grace. He says he's not attracted to men and will still be married to his wife. They have a 2-year-old daughter.

Against Me! is best known for the song "Thrash Unreal." The group will hit the road for its tour with The Cult later this month.

The June issue of Rolling Stone hits newsstands Friday.
 

Yeah, I thought of the tour when I read this too. I have a feeling that depending on where the tour hits, the vibe and reaction of the crowd to Against Me! could be very different.

I can't help but think of the timing of the announcement on the heels of this tour being possibly more than coincidence.

Regardless, my only interest was in seeing The Cult, and honestly this further solidifies my decision to show up in time for The Cult's set as I have no interest in being in a potentially hostile crowd.

Ali

[BurningHills]

I've been to a bazillion Cult shows over the years and have always been amazed by the diversity of the crowds they pull, it's a people watching bonanza.

With the above in mind, the following news should amplify said diversity to the nth degree for the US leg of the "Choose Your Weapon " tour  starting late this month with support from Against Me! and The Icarus Line.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PEOPLE_TOM_GABEL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Against Me!'s Tom Gabel is becoming a woman

NEW YORK (AP) -- Tom Gabel, the lead singer of punk rock band Against Me!, says he's becoming a woman.

The 31-year-old tells Rolling Stone that as a kid he felt disconnected from his body and has a condition called gender dysphoria. He plans to take hormones and undergo electrolysis. He also is considering gender reassignment surgery.

Says Gabel: "Growing up, my experience with transsexualism was nothing but shame."

Gabel says his new name will be Laura Jane Grace. He says he's not attracted to men and will still be married to his wife. They have a 2-year-old daughter.

Against Me! is best known for the song "Thrash Unreal." The group will hit the road for its tour with The Cult later this month.

The June issue of Rolling Stone hits newsstands Friday.
 

Yeah, I thought of the tour when I read this too. I have a feeling that depending on where the tour hits, the vibe and reaction of the crowd to Against Me! could be very different.

I can't help but think of the timing of the announcement on the heels of this tour being possibly more than coincidence.

Regardless, my only interest was in seeing The Cult, and honestly this further solidifies my decision to show up in time for The Cult's set as I have no interest in being in a potentially hostile crowd.

Ali

The Philly show just got a whole lot more interesting.

If it wasn't GA, I'd show up late too, but I want to be down front, so I may have to deal with a pissed off group of Philadelphians.

[Falcon]

I don't think there'll be much hostility, I'm sure random hecklers will rear there ugly heads but
I don't anticipate any type of over the top radical behavior.

Who really knows though, people can be idiots....

[Falcon]

Another review of Choice of Weapon from Pit Riff...

http://www.pitriff.com/cd-reviews/classic-metal/171-review-the-cult-choice-of-weapon

Review - The Cult - CHOICE OF WEAPON

Having never been an overly huge fan of The Cult, I've always struggled to understand the rabid way their fans follow them. Clearly, they are one of those bands that are polarizinng. Their fans tend to REALLY love their music. Being honest, I think songs like "Edie" and "She Sells Sanctuary" are pretty cool. I have a few albums, like ELECTRIC, LOVE and SONIC TEMPLE. They are cool I guess. I think they might just be a bit too artsy for my taste, to be perfectly honest.

With CHOICE OF WEAPON, the band that would never record another album because it's a dead format have returned with another album in the dead format. Interestingly, it's the first time in the history of The Cult that they've recorded back to back albums with the same lineup. CHOICE OF WEAPON is definitely one of the most interesting albums of The Cult's career, and it's probably the least likely to find mass appeal. In short, CHOICE OF WEAPON is a very deep album that, while sounding somewhat like their past work, really expands and explores a lot of new ground for the band.
 
The leader of this band, vocalist Ian Astbury, really is one of the more artistically talented guys in rock music. With CHOICE OF WEAPON, he seems as if he might have been stuck channelling his inner Jim Morrison throughout many of these songs. Lyrically, the depth of writing goes from its normal level of deep to a more difficult to understand place that he, and he alone, may be the only one that can understand it. Songs like "Wilderness Now" showcase Astbury coming from a unique place musically. Other tunes like "Lucifer" may not be the deepest lyrics that Astbury has ever written, but they are some of the most biting. Vocally, age and years have deepened Astbury's voice a touch. The astronomical range of the past is not there anymore, but Astbury has adapted the material to meet his now lower tone.
 
The other musicians are fine throughout as well. Guitarist Billy Duffy, bassist Chris Wyse and former White Zombie drummer John Tempesta create music that sounds distinctly like the band's past work. It does sound as if it's tuned down a touch to accommodate Astbury, there will be no mistaking this for anything other than The Cult.
 
If I have an issue with the material, it's that it's so locked into the vision instead of simply creating great songs. I get that these guys are artsy, and that Astbury likes to write about Native American heritage, but songs like "Pale Horse" are a bit tough to decipher and come off as grandiose toward a cause that pretty much ran its course long ago.
 
One final thing I must address, that deserves the utmost credit - the packaging. Simply put, this is the best CD package to hit my desk in a very long time. It's a binded booklet - literally. Great imagery is included with the lyrics,a s well as a nice setup for storing the disc and the accompanying bonus disc.
 
PITRIFF RATING - 74/100 - While much of this material goes to some places that won't remind you at all off The Cult's heyday, there's no denying that there's a lot of quality moments on this release. While there's not a "Fire Woman" in the bunch, there's no indication they were looking to write one either. CHOICE OF WEAPON is a deep record that is solid but avoids trying to find mass appeal. Clearly, this is an Ian Astbury record and is exactly what he wanted it to be.
 
Chris Akin

[Falcon]

Spin Magazine feature  with Ian:

http://www.spin.com/articles/cults-ian-astbury-girl-power-love-and-karma?utm_source=spintwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spintwitter

by Kenny Herzog

Time isn't exactly a linear construct for the Cult's Ian Astbury. The crooning frontman made his name during hard rock's '80s halcyon days, but his spiritual roots reach back to the mystical '60s (it wasn't exactly a shocker in 2002 when the remaining members of the Doors asked Astbury to pull on the Lizard King's leather pants), and his band is set to release the intense Choice of Weapon (Cooking Vinyl), their first new studio album in five years, on May 22. Fittingly, the headscarf-loving Englishman, who turns 50 the week before Weapon's release, covers a lot of territory as he offers his alternately shamanistic and common-sense guidelines for enlightenment.

I'd rather take my directions from a woman. I came from a very strong matriarchal background ? my mom, seven sisters. Maybe it's having all that feminine energy and being interested in feminine artists like David Bowie that made me much more interested in the poetic vein of expression. You gotta ask yourselves, "Who are these guys pontificating about this and that? Who are the government and leaders?" It's all men. I'd like to see more women up front.

Forget about yourself. Think about how your actions affect everybody else. When you came through punk rock and postmodern music, they pulled the ladder up on us. That's one of the reasons we railed against the older generation so much, because they went, "We're gonna keep all the cake for ourselves." With all respect, I don't know too many artists from that period who were associated with altruism and political activism apart from the obvious Joni Mitchells and Neil Youngs. But a lot of people were definitely shoving as much stuff as they could get in their nose, in their pockets, grabbing the hottest off the shelves for themselves. When I was meeting people like Jagger and Clapton for the first time, they were more interested in hitting on our girlfriends than giving us any advice about how to be a young man.

I remember learning to sit. In my own dark night of the soul, I had an encounter with a Tibetan monk in New York, and I escorted him to where he was staying and had this wonderful discourse with him. I was saying, "How do I get through this period in my life?" And he goes, "Accept your karma. Accept the events that have got you to this place." I'm like, "That's so hard." And he goes, "You have to accept it. You can't change it. The moment's gone. Where you're at in this present moment is infinite possibility, so accept those events." I said, "How do you do that?" And he said, "Sit. Learn to look inward. Learn to sit."

Creating [1985's hit album] Love, we were trying to make a flower instead of a barbed-wire fence. That took a real presence to do that. The U.K. culture was very cynical. You'd have to live through it to understand the reference points. It's amazing that Black Sabbath is playing Lollapalooza this year. They came from postwar Britain. They came out of bombed-out buildings. They're still pulling bombs out of the buildings in England. I was lucky. I got exposed to other cultures. The North American influence really pushed the optimistic button in me.

Fuckin' smash the doors open of the libraries and steal the books that have got the dynamite in them. Get [Terence] McKenna, get Alan Watts, get [Allen] Ginsberg, get the great Buddhist teachers. Pema Chodron is still alive. She has incredible insight. She's lived the Western life. She has grandchildren. She understands, but she's an ordained Buddhist nun. If you have the opportunity to see her speak, do.

Learn about visual elements, forget about the aural elements. People say [adopts mock-reporter accent], "What do you say to young artists?" I say, "Get a fucking camera." You should go away and spend 16 hours in your bedroom exploring your influences and mastering your instrument, but at some point, you've gotta have that tactile experience. What I'm saying now is get a camera, learn about visual elements, really look at visual elements and how they play a role in the culture. If you really wanna get your face out there, you gotta have something that captures people's attention for those 15 seconds.

You don't have to be a part of any particular system. You can create your own reality. The Cult, and me as an individual, we stepped out of the mainstream. Or at least I stepped away from that in the mid-'90s. I came back and revisited it, because I thought it somehow changed, or we changed enough to make a difference. But we really had to create our own environment. We had to be much more autonomous.

You can't be one guy going down the street with an ice cream saying, "Yeah, I'm having a great day," and there's somebody else in the gutter. The Great White Father is gone. We live in multiculturalism. We live in a global community. We have to learn each other's language. We have to learn each other's religious beliefs and values. We have to get it right.

[Ali]

I don't think there'll be much hostility, I'm sure random hecklers will rear there ugly heads but
I don't anticipate any type of over the top radical behavior.

Who really knows though, people can be idiots....

I would agree with you, but this is a fairly aggressive, masculine "punk" band we're talking about.  The demographic they appeal to may not react well to this revelation.  At best, there will be heckling, at worst, it could get a little ugly if people start throwing things and what not.  I just want to eliminate any possibility at all of this happening, so I'll try to skip the opening sets.

Ali

[Falcon]

I don't think there'll be much hostility, I'm sure random hecklers will rear there ugly heads but
I don't anticipate any type of over the top radical behavior.

Who really knows though, people can be idiots....

I would agree with you, but this is a fairly aggressive, masculine "punk" band we're talking about.  The demographic they appeal to may not react well to this revelation.  At best, there will be heckling, at worst, it could get a little ugly if people start throwing things and what not.  I just want to eliminate any possibility at all of this happening, so I'll try to skip the opening sets.

Ali

Where will you be seeing them Ali?

[Ali]

I don't think there'll be much hostility, I'm sure random hecklers will rear there ugly heads but
I don't anticipate any type of over the top radical behavior.

Who really knows though, people can be idiots....

I would agree with you, but this is a fairly aggressive, masculine "punk" band we're talking about.  The demographic they appeal to may not react well to this revelation.  At best, there will be heckling, at worst, it could get a little ugly if people start throwing things and what not.  I just want to eliminate any possibility at all of this happening, so I'll try to skip the opening sets.

Ali

Where will you be seeing them Ali?

San Francisco, which believe me, I know how tolerant the general population of the city is.  But, again, it's not the city that I'm worried about.  It's more than fans of this band and how they may react.  There could be people who are not from SF travelling into the city to see this show given it's on Memorial Day weekend.

Frankly, all it takes is one person throwing things on stage or starting a fight for things to get uncomfortable.  And this is The Fillmore, where it's general admission only.  I don't want me or my girlfriend to be in the middle of a hostile crowd.

Ali

[Falcon]

This is pretty cool, looks like Billy Duffy and Johnny Marr will be taking the stage for pregame festivities before their beloved Manchester City plays this Sunday.

Apparently Man City hasn't played for a Premier League championship in like 40 some years so
they're going all out.

I have no clue when it comes to British "football" so please excuse the lack of details..
 

[FunkyMonkey]

This is pretty cool, looks like Billy Duffy and Johnny Marr will be taking the stage for pregame festivities before their beloved Manchester City plays this Sunday.
 

City Square Live Streaming On Sunday

You can be part of all the build-up to the big game on Sunday even if you?re not at the Etihad Stadium.

The sold-out signs went up weeks ago, but mcfc.co.uk will be streaming the Live from City Square show as it happens from around 1pm.

Join Hugh, Natalie and Fanzone Danny for chat with fans, star guests Johnny Marr (follow him on Twitter) and Billy Duffy, vintage City video clips and you?ll see the announcement of the teams from the tunnel live at around 2pm, plus much more.

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2012/May/Live-from-City-Square-streamed-before-City-v-QPR

[Falcon]

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/05/ian_astbury_speaks_out_on_the.php

Ian Astbury Talks The Cult's Upcoming Tour With Against Me! & Laura Jane Grace

By Craig HlavatyThu., May 10 2012 at 3:40 PM

This afternoon, Rocks Off talked to The Cult's Ian Astbury as his band readies to go on tour with Against Me! and the Icarus Line at the end of the month. The month-long summer jaunt that stops at House of Blues June 19 was seen as a masterful juxtaposition of disparate sounding groups. Rocks Off thinks the lineup on this tour is great, but even we had to read it twice.

Normally bands like the titanic Cult go out with the fire-breathing likes of Against Me!, so this was a standard rock tour until this week. Then the announcement in the current issue of Rolling Stone that Tom Gabel, lead singer of Against Me!, was coming out as transgendered brought new attention to the upcoming dates.

The singer and guitarist is currently taking hormones in order to make the transition into a woman. Gabel will become Laura Jane Grace, and remain married to her wife, with whom she has a child. The news sent shockwaves around the music world as people came to understand her situation. Overall there has been lots of support and pride in her openness from fans and colleagues alike.

For some reason, amongst all the press The Cult has been doing lately, no one had asked Astbury about Grace's news until Rocks off breached the issue on Thursday.
 
"I think it's fine, it's his life, and I support whatever he wants to do. He seems like a very beautiful person," Astbury says. "This is very courageous,"

"I would like to think the culture is opening up enough now, with Obama's recent words too. Aren't we beginning to see now in culture that the patriarchal machine has driven us into a ditch this millenia?"

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama went on record stating that he believes gay couples should have the right to get married.

Astbury welcomes and champions the recent drive in strong female roles in pop-culture in movies and music, iconic and heroic characters who are women.

"You don't see these wars being created by women. It's all lead by men," he adds. He points to friends like Genesis P-Orridge, who has been ahead of the curve now for years in terms of challenging gender roles. Astbury thinks aloud that this may all be apart of something bigger.

"Maybe we are all evolving into one sex, and one gender. It's possible isn't it?" he says.

Astbury is no stranger to people judging him by his looks either. His flowing black hair and Gothic-shaman clothing weren't always welcome.

"I was definitely at the end of other peoples' boots and fists because of the way I looked," he says. "But I can be quite tasty in a fight. I had to learn that."

Astbury reminds Rocks Off that the Cult had toured with a transgendered performer too, with Canadian rock band the Cliks opening for his band on a past tour.

Lead singer Lucas Silveira and his band made music history as one of the first bands with an openly transgendered front man to be signed to a major label.

[Falcon]

That Metal Show sneak peak with Ian talking about The Doors and how he was originally asked to play Morrison in Oliver Stone's Doors bio flick..

http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-05-10/sneak-peek-ian-astbury-and-billy-duffy-from-the-cult-on-that-metal-show/

Tom Morello and DJ Ashba make cameo's tomorrow night as well, Tom in the "Top 5" segment and DJ on "Stump the Trunk".

[FunkyMonkey]

Billy Duffy is interviewed by Frankie DiVita for 96.7 KCAL Rocks.  There may be more/another reality show in the works...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVdFsDrOoe4

[Ali]

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/05/ian_astbury_speaks_out_on_the.php

Ian Astbury Talks The Cult's Upcoming Tour With Against Me! & Laura Jane Grace

By Craig HlavatyThu., May 10 2012 at 3:40 PM

This afternoon, Rocks Off talked to The Cult's Ian Astbury as his band readies to go on tour with Against Me! and the Icarus Line at the end of the month. The month-long summer jaunt that stops at House of Blues June 19 was seen as a masterful juxtaposition of disparate sounding groups. Rocks Off thinks the lineup on this tour is great, but even we had to read it twice.

Normally bands like the titanic Cult go out with the fire-breathing likes of Against Me!, so this was a standard rock tour until this week. Then the announcement in the current issue of Rolling Stone that Tom Gabel, lead singer of Against Me!, was coming out as transgendered brought new attention to the upcoming dates.

The singer and guitarist is currently taking hormones in order to make the transition into a woman. Gabel will become Laura Jane Grace, and remain married to her wife, with whom she has a child. The news sent shockwaves around the music world as people came to understand her situation. Overall there has been lots of support and pride in her openness from fans and colleagues alike.

For some reason, amongst all the press The Cult has been doing lately, no one had asked Astbury about Grace's news until Rocks off breached the issue on Thursday.
 
"I think it's fine, it's his life, and I support whatever he wants to do. He seems like a very beautiful person," Astbury says. "This is very courageous,"

"I would like to think the culture is opening up enough now, with Obama's recent words too. Aren't we beginning to see now in culture that the patriarchal machine has driven us into a ditch this millenia?"

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama went on record stating that he believes gay couples should have the right to get married.

Astbury welcomes and champions the recent drive in strong female roles in pop-culture in movies and music, iconic and heroic characters who are women.

"You don't see these wars being created by women. It's all lead by men," he adds. He points to friends like Genesis P-Orridge, who has been ahead of the curve now for years in terms of challenging gender roles. Astbury thinks aloud that this may all be apart of something bigger.

"Maybe we are all evolving into one sex, and one gender. It's possible isn't it?" he says.

Astbury is no stranger to people judging him by his looks either. His flowing black hair and Gothic-shaman clothing weren't always welcome.

"I was definitely at the end of other peoples' boots and fists because of the way I looked," he says. "But I can be quite tasty in a fight. I had to learn that."

Astbury reminds Rocks Off that the Cult had toured with a transgendered performer too, with Canadian rock band the Cliks opening for his band on a past tour.

Lead singer Lucas Silveira and his band made music history as one of the first bands with an openly transgendered front man to be signed to a major label.

I greatly respect and appreciate Ian's perspective on Tom Gabel.  I only hope the rest of those in attendance feel the same way

Ali