Staind's Aaron Lewis says the bandmembers' increasing maturity was a factor in their desire to include new sounds in their upcoming album, The Illusion of Progress. "We grew as a band from another record's worth of time gone by, and another record's worth of touring," explains the singer. "You learn as you go." Meanwhile, Lewis reveals that the video for the disc's first single, "Believe," will feature Staind traveling across country in an old car.
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Buckcherry have set Black Butterfly as the title of their fourth album, which follows the band's platinum-certified 2006 release, 15. The new disc tentatively is expected to hit stores Sept. 23. Meanwhile, Buckcherry's management company has authorized the "leak" of a new tune that's expected to be included on Butterfly. Buckcherry currently are touring with Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach and Trapt on the Crüe Fest trek, which runs through Aug. 31 in Pittsburgh.
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Natasha Shneider, former singer of the '90s alt-rock act Eleven, died Tuesday of cancer. The Moscow native also played keyboards for Queens of the Stone Age and collaborated with Chris Cornell on the ex-Soundgarden singer's 1999 solo debut, Euphoria Morning. "She was a brilliant, beautiful and ballsy woman who will be missed deeply by all those who knew her," writes her ex-QOTSA bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen. A memorial fund has been set up to help with medical expenses.
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Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has mapped out a new series of solo dates in August. The singer's trek will launch with an Aug. 1-2 stand in Boston and is scheduled to continue through an Aug. 21-22 engagement in Chicago. In other news, Pearl Jam raised around $3 million for New York-based anti-poverty charity the Robin Hood Foundation with their private benefit gig at the city's Beacon theater Tuesday.
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Filter have selected the George Bush-bashing tune "What's Next" as the second single from their Anthems for the Damned album. "We've got two oil men in the f**king White House that have destroyed our country," fumes frontman Richard Patrick of Bush and Dick Cheney. "It just astounds me. So it's a call to arms." Meanwhile, Filter have added more dates to their current U.S. tour, which now runs through an Aug. 15 gig in Philadelphia.
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