Last night (February 13), Jimmy Eat World played a surprise set at an Arby’s in Daytona Beach, FL. You can see fan-filmed footage of that below. The show was put on to celebrate the restaurant’s sponsorship of JR Motorsports’ No. 1 Chevrolet. That car will be driven by Carson Kvapil during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
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Evanescence Drummer Will Hunt On The Band’s New Album: “It’s Beyond My Expectations”
During an interview with Mark Strigl, Evanescence drummer Will Hunt discussed the band’s new album. According to him, “it’s beyond [his] expectations.”

Hunt said the following:
“It’s gonna drop sometime this year. I’m so excited for people to hear that. It’s cliché to say, ‘Oh, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, but I this is insane. It’s another level. Amy’s [Lee, EVANESCENCE singer] really pushing the boundaries, and we’re all pushing boundaries.”
He continued when asked about producers:
“We did, like, four tunes with Nick Raskulinecz, who’s done the last two records; he did the self-titled in 2011 and then ‘The Bitter Truth’ from ’21. And so we did four tunes with him. And this was originally the idea, by the way, for the last record, but COVID had other plans. So, we weren’t able to bounce around. So this one is part partly Nick. And then we were working with Jordan Fish [formerly of BRING ME THE HORIZON] and Zakk Cervini. And Zakk’s mixing the whole record. So Zakk mixed ‘Afterlife’, which is the song that was in the Netflix series ‘Devil May Cry’. And we did that song with Nick and Zakk mixing. So that was kind of like the first little test of that. But then we’ve done six or seven songs with Zakk and Jordan Fish. And it’s just beyond my expectations, which is awesome. I’m a pretty tough nut to crack, man, when it comes to that. I just can’t wait for people to hear it.”
[via Blabbermouth]
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Gene Simmons (KISS) Defends His Comments Regarding Rap Music
KISS’ Gene Simmons recently made headlines after claiming “hip-hop does not belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.” However, amid his rant, he stirred up controversy after saying rap is “not [his] music,” because he doesn’t “come from the ghetto.” Some found the “ghetto” statement to be racist, but the musician has since doubled down.

Simmons told People the following:
“Let’s cut to the chase. The word ‘ghetto,’ it originated with Jews. It was borrowed by African Americans in particular and respectfully, not in a bad way.”
“Ghetto is a Jewish term … How could you be, when rock is Black music? It’s just a different Black music than hip-hop, which is also Black music.”
“Rock ‘n’ roll owes everything to Black music, statement of fact, period. All the major forms of American music owe their roots to Black music.”
“You’re not going to win the prize with talking about, ‘My people this and my people [that].’ … So if you want to play the card of … We’ve been tortured … Us too.”
“You can agree to disagree and still respect and admire each other. That’s fine. I have a sense of humor, and you don’t have to agree with my opinion, but I stand by my words. That’s what I believe.”
“One, I admire and respect hip-hop. Two, it is not rock ‘n’ roll. And three, when are Led Zeppelin and AC/DC going to be inducted into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame?”
Notably, Public Enemy’s Chuck D has also shared his thoughts on Simmons’ comments. He told TMZ the following [via The PRP]:
“Gene Simmons seems to say this about three years anyway, and I guess when the latest group of hip-hop artists and rap music artists come in [to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame], you know, he’s gonna issue his point. He’s a rock god. But what he fails to realize is that it’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
And everything else other than rock — when rock ‘n’ roll splintered in the ’60s, is the roll. And soul music, reggae, hip-hop — which is rap music, because hip-hop is a culture, so it embodies sight, sound, story and style — but music, the vocal on top of the music has already been determined. That’s the roll, that’s the flow, that’s the soul in it. KISS are rock gods, but they don’t have a lot of roll to them.”
He also added:
“[Gene‘s] never really going to get off of that point. So, we’re in a time where everybody is saying everything at the same time. Nobody’s really listening, so Gene is gonna probably scream out that probably for the rest of his life, and he’s entitled to his opinion.”
Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) has since commented as well, telling TMZ rap belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame:
“Yeah, of course.”
“Gene Simmons has got a lot of opinions about a lot of things.”
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Saint Agnes Premiere New Song “Good Boy”
Saint Agnes have premiered a new song titled “Good Boy.” You can check that out below. The track is from the band’s new album, “Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin,” which will be released on May 29. Frontperson Kitty A. Austen commented:
“‘Good Boy’ was written to be a scathing critique of obedient, subservient men who uphold the capitalist death cult, feed the machine, and call it a virtue. It’s a snarling takedown of the so-called ‘good boys’ who suck corporate dick and wear their complicity like a badge.”


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