Art Response to Metallica...

Now, most of you know I'm a fan of art, and some of you may (or may not) know I like Metallica as well.  They decided to marry the two together and had a gallery opening on January 20th of artistic responses to their songs.   Perhaps this was a brainchild of Lars, since he likes art.  A wide variety of responses were contributed, see below!

Feature: 

Obey Your Master Art Tribute to Metallica

Art is timeless when it inspires other art.

Whether it's a piece by Jackson Pollock, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Beatles,Led Zeppelin, or Martin Scorsese, an artist's work is measured by the volume of the symphony of its resonances. Well, there's no symphony of resonances louder than Metallica. 

They're irrefutably the greatest metal band ever, and their impact reverberates through everything from films like Hesher through seminal musical acts ranging from Alice in Chains to Tool. Last night, the group's music came to life vividly at the opening of Exhibit A's Obey Your Master Art Tribute to Metallica. A myriad of artists such as Shepard Fairey and musicians like Slipknot's M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan and My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way each chose a classic Metallica tune and crafted a piece of art influenced by the song. The opening event saw the band, artists, and more in attendance. The result is one of the most innovative, invigorating, and impactful art shows that Los Angeles has ever hosted.

Walking through Exhibit A was like entering the ultimate rock 'n' roll fantasy. Black Veil Brides singer Andy Biersack's "Creeping Death" depicted Cliff Burton with blood streaming from his eyes, a haunting and hypnotic tribute to Metallica's legendary bassist. Dan Harding's "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" boasts a gorgeously detailed demon with his claws literally in a sad, sorry victim's skin. His use of grays makes for an ornate exploration of a breakdown.

The band's logo stood emblazoned at the corner of Jon Chase's "The Four Horsemen" juxtaposed against four strained dying faces. Touting his now iconic "Obey" persona, Shepard Fairey's "Disposable Heroes" could be the ultimate anti-war poster with the solemn James Hetfield lyrics "He served us well" practically screaming off of the canvas. "Master of Puppets" as interpreted by Richard Villa III is as beautiful as it is brutal with a hooded naked woman pulling the entrails of her victims as strings. The song's classic crescendo blares from the colors and intricacies of the painting. 

Gail Potocki took "Through the Never" and crafted an intriguing twisted fairy tale scene around it as a raven-haired gothic beauty bleeds from her hand into birds below. Cleverly, Kim Saigh gave an unexpected and unique version of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" that's so subtle it's searing. "Dyers Eve" is a psychedelic tribute to life and love with a dove in the middle of flowers and skulls.

Standing in the center of Exhibit A stood M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan's "Damage Inc." sculpture. Two horned skeletons sat atop the vestiges of a soldier with a bullet belt slung over his half torn uniform. Below, buckets stood filled with baby dolls limbs. The piece watched over the entire gallery with an ominous glare befitting of the Master of Puppetsfinale from which it came. It's a fitting homage to Metallica from a true 21st century dark visionary.

Gerard Way's land mines made the tale at the center of "One" a reality. Each mine bore the scars of war, and Way's deft craftsmanship proved marvelous and magnificent. For "The God That Failed", Per Haagensen was hellishly intense as demons stare at an entrancing sky. The there was "Nothing Else Matters" from Chris Peters which depicted to skeletons holding each other in a sparse embracing mirroring the immortal tune.

Obey Your Master…don't miss this gallery and crank Metallica all the way there. You may just go home and create your own piece inspired by the band.

Click here to see more artwork

Pythons in Space! - Monty Python, that is....

Hollywood industry magazine Variety is reporting today that surviving members of legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python will soon be reuniting -- in outer space, no less.

John Cleese, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam are set to perform together in "Absoutely Anything", a sci-fi comedy about aliens who give an earthling special powers, directed and co-written by Python alumnus Terry Jones. Eric Idle, the other surviving member of the troupe, is also reportedly being sought to take part.

The last time the members of the group performed together was in 1998 at the Aspen Comedy Festival, at which an urn containing the ashes of late member Graham Chapman also appeared.

While Jones told Variety that "Absolutely Anything" is "not a Monty Python picture," he said that "it certainly has that sensibility."

Jones was in the red chair last week, when he talked to George about some of his other current projects, and how he perceived the Pythons' legacy. He also gave some insight into the internal dynamics of the legendary troupe - here he is explaining how group members would solve questions of what could be considered funny:

The new movie will also mark the first full-length film to be directed by Jones - who also directed or co-directed all of the Monty Python film releases - since 1996's "Wind in the Willows," which featured performances by Idle, Cleese and Palin. That movie was a video-only release in North America, a development that apparently discouraged Jones from pursuing other directorial projects.

Dave's Top 10 Most Prized Possessions...

I saw this cool article & video with Dave Mustaine's top 10 prized possessions...some might surprise you. I bolded my favorites...including a shofar from Israel that you can watch Dave actually play at 0:40!

ABOUT OUR HOST

When ax-slinging thrash king Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica in 1983, he started Megadeth as an act of revenge. Though the legendary metalheads patched up their differences, it's fair to say the split worked out for both. "I was just some skinny redheaded kid, and the next thing I know, everybody wanted to give me their drugs or their girls," he says. Today, triumph means something else. Mustaine, 50, lives on a sprawling ranch outside of San 
Diego with two teenage children and his wife, Pamela, while Megadeth just notched a 13th album, the shockingly raw, awesomely loud, and accurately titled Th1rt3en.

1) AC/DC Let There Be Rock: I used to sell pot, and this girl who worked at a record store would pay me in albums. I remember putting this one on — the first song is called "Go Down" and the cover shows the scruffiest-looking hooligans I'd ever seen. I thought, "This is my band." It changed my life.

2) Crossbow: When we moved [to San Diego] from Arizona, my son Justis and I wanted to have a sport that we did 
together, so I got him a plastic bow and he was like, "Dad, this sucks — I want a real one." He's really good with this thing. We almost got a compound bow, but that's too 
serious. I don't wanna be Ted Nugent.

3) Peanut M&Ms: When we were recording Endgame, I ate so much red licorice my pee turned red. I needed a new candy so I tried trail mix and only liked the M&M part. Now I can't stop eating them. It's like back in the day when we were smoking crack.

4) Shofar: I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, rebelled by doing witchcraft, and got into all kinds of bad stuff before I saw a cross on a hill one day and said, "What've I got to lose?" [Mustaine is now a Christian.] But my mom is Jewish, and on holidays I blow this ram's horn to get rid of bad spirits.

5) Certificate: I met a fan in Kentucky who had throat cancer. He was only supposed to live a few weeks. For some reason, I reached out, grabbed his throat, and started praying for the dude. He lived long enough to give me this on our next tour. It's signed by the governor and says I'm an honorary Kentucky Colonel. As far as I know, it's the real deal.

6) Unpainted guitar body: I'm a proud supporter of Dean guitars, and they asked me to paint this guitar for a charity auction. I'm thinking about doing a self-portrait — a picture of me painting myself. The guitar is so high quality it'll be worth having regardless of how ugly it turns out.

7) Troy sword replica: The tip's bent. I think Justis used it to open a can of paint for his mom. That, or he killed some delirious nomad out in the desert. One can only hope.

8) Autographed helmet: I've been a Raiders fan ever since 
I was a kid in Costa Mesa. I didn't know much about the team then, but the logo was the baddest thing.

9) Coat of arms: The Mustaine name came from Finland originally. My wife Pam had this made for my 40th birthday with a cake to match. The motto is "Our strength comes from God."

10) Miniature horse: We found Rocky living in a junkyard, abused and malnourished. A lot of stuff was wrong with him and he didn't like people at all, but we just loved on him, and now he's really friendly. He comes into the house to hang out. Sometimes he spits up his apples. When you're a horse person, you get used to it.

Shot for SPIN in San Diego, October 7, 2011

Rock Hall of Fame opens archives to public

January 17, 2012 — CLEVELAND (AP) — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened its new library and archives to the public on Tuesday to give scholars and fans access to the stories behind the music through such "artifacts" as personal letters from Madonna and Aretha Franklin and 1981-82 video of the Rolling Stones tour.

The collection, catalogued over the last few years, includes more than 3,500 books, 1,400 audio recordings and 270 videos, and is housed in the new four-story, $12 million building. Thousands more books and recordings and hundreds of videos will be added as previously stored items and new donations are catalogued, said Andy Leach, director of the library and archives.

"We hope to serve music scholars, teachers, students and the general public," Leach said. "We hope to see all of them here." Tuesday's opening of the building on the Cuyahoga Community College campus in Cleveland, not far from the Rock Hall, occurred without a lot of fanfare. The low-key opening allows the public to enjoy the library before a grand opening April 9. The college funded the building, which the library and archives share with the college's Center for Creative Arts. The Rock Hall financed construction and furnishings of the interior of its section of the building.

The library also offers photos, albums and covers, oral histories and scrap books. Leach said the Rock Hall has done a great job of telling the story of rock 'n' roll. He said he sees the library as bringing the museum more recognition and showing "it to be a serious place of research."

The library collection also includes movie posters, photos and memorabilia related to Alan Freed, the DJ credited with coining the phrase rock 'n' roll; a handwritten list by Elvis Presley of songs included in one of his concerts; and personal letters from Mick Jagger.

Visitors will not be allowed to check out items, but anyone can use the library reading room to browse through books, listen to audio recordings and watch videos. A smaller archives reading room allows supervised access to certain items.

Steve Waksman, an associate professor of music and American studies at Smith College in Massachusetts, did research at the library prior to its opening for his book on the history of American live music.

"It was very useful, with material that I haven't found anywhere else," Waksman said Tuesday. "They had a lot of material regarding the stage sets of music performers from the '60s and the '70s, such as David Bowie and the Rolling Stones."

Elizabeth Papp Taylor, 53, of Shaker Heights, was at the library opening day. "I'm looking forward to coming back for a look at the archives, but my first visit was exciting," she said in a phone interview. "It's very impressive."

Online: http://library.rockhall.com/

Nice one, Dave!

I was viewing one of Metallica's 30th anniverary concert video compilations, and was watching while Dave Mustaine joined them to play on their old song "Metal Militia."  I just happened to catch the shirt he was wearing....I always knew Dave was cool (at least in my book).  :)

Skip to 29:13 to see when Dave joins the band.(Click here to see a close-up of his shirt)