As promised, the bassist from Stone Sour, subjects himself to our questioning: Date of birth? Shawn: “August 26, 1973” Favourite tour story? Shawn: “The Manchester show this tour. Just everything about it. It was great!” Five words that describe you? Shawn: “Perfectionist. Hermit. Nice. Funny. A bad speller!” One album you think everyone should own? Shawn: “Injected.” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite over for dinner and why? Shawn: “Avril. You figure it out.” [Shawn cracks a grin] Best piece of advice you’ve been given? Shawn: “Join Stone Sour!” [Roadrunner: No kidding.] If I wasn’t in this band, I would be… Shawn:? Tonight, whilst the rest of the band are safely back home in the USA, Corey remains in the UK for TOTP.. recording Bother with a string quintet. Those in the know say the Jack Daniels lovin’ singer was out in London until the wee early hours this morning, folowing a triumphantly successful sold out show in London last night.

Hot off an email from Stone Sour fan Mike Swann…. “Josh is the coolest guy ever! When we was outside the Stone Sour gig in Manchester, just about to go in, there popped up Josh, again! He was walking down the line signing things & giving free signed shit out but he had already passed us…so I went up to him and asked him if he had a spare cigarette…he didn’t but he said, you can have these though & handed me a signed Stone Sour album booklet and a Stone Sour plectrum signed by himself & said, enjoy the show… he’s one cool motherfucker! Can’t wait to see them again! You guys rule!” COMPETITION More on the Stone Sour front… Tomorrow night, Thursday Feb 27th, the band will be filming for TV show Top Of The Pops. Corey will be performing ‘Bother’ with a string quintet.. and if you want to be there at the recording, check out our FREE SHIT section to win a pair of tickets.

Earlier this week, we introduced our new (wo)men behind the music concept and presented Gettting To Know… Joel Ekman, Stone Sour’s drummer. Now it’s time to learn a little more about Jim, Stone Sour (& Slipknot) guitarist. Date of birth? Jim: “April 1st, 1793” Favourite tour story? Jim: “What goes on the road, stays on the road. Haha. No, actually I really don’t have one.” Five words that describe you? “Not interested in these questions!!!” [Jim smirks] One album that you think everyone should own? Jim:“Ok Computer, by Radiohead.” Which famous person (dead or alive) would you invite over for dinner and why them? Jim: “Hmm. Is my girlfriend gonna see this? Haha. Um, lemme think. Corey, who’s that South African actress?” Corey [without hesitation]: “Charlize Theron.” Jim: “Yeah that’s it. Charlize Theron. You need to ask why??” Best piece of advice you’ve been given? Jim: “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever really been given any. People just don’t give me it. They usually come to me! So I guess none, I usually give them it!” If i wasn’t in this band I would be… Jim: “Better off!” [Jim cackles] Jim: “Or in another band… with the same people…” [Jim cackles harder] Tomorrow, we put Shawn under the spotlight… Stone Sour play a sold out show at the London Astoria tonight.

Wanna meet Acey Slade of the Murderdolls and have him sign your stuff? If you live in Germany, now you can… Acey will be doing 2 signing sessions on March 8 and 9 at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt. You can find him at the Hughs & Kettner Booth, Hall 4.0, Booth no E30.

Stone Sour – Bristol February 25th My day started a couple of hours before the show when I got into Bristol and handed out some of my Stone Sour and Saliva flyers. An hour before the show we went in to have a meet and greet with the guys from Stone Sour. Unfortunately, Corey couldn’t make it because of his busy schedule but I had met him earlier in the day so that was ok. All the guys were really laid back and chatted with us for ages, signed stuff and had photos taken. When the time came for the doors to open the queue outside the venue was huge! Inside the venue everyone was looking forward to the night ahead. The first band on were AKO, a local band, they went down really well. When they finished their set, as the roadies were setting up for the next band Corey walked onstage and the the crowd erupted with screams and chants of “Corey, Corey”! The next band on were Saliva. They played a lot of their older stuff which really got the crowd going. They come across a lot heavier live than on their cds which was good. When it was time for Stone Sour to hit the stage, all the lights dimmed except some green lasers. Sound effects started playing and in the darkness you could see five figures getting into place. As the lights came up they hit straight into Get Inside, which sent the place nuts!!!! During the set they played songs like Monolith and Blotter. Towards the end, Corey got his acoustic guitar, and after a bit of a jam he proceded to play Bother. Everyone in the venue was singing along and the atmosphere was electric. It was amazing. All in all the show was electrifying, and I can’t wait to see them back in the UK again. Simon Robinson

from the eyewitness account of our very own ‘Marketing Matt’ in the US: Killswitch Engage invaded Springfield, MA last Wednesday (Feb 19) to shoot a live video for the track “Fixation On The Darkness” – and they took no prisoners. The video, their third from their Roadrunner debut Alive Or Just Breathing, is a testament to the fury and passion that is a KsE live show. The band began shooting at 3 PM, running through the song about 10 or so times in various incarnations to ensure that the directors were able to get shots of each band member playing the shit out of his instrument (or screaming until veins bulged in his head, as in the case of Howard). It is amazing to witness their intensity. The band ripped through the song to a click track and an empty room as if they were playing to a sold out arena. At the same time, all the guys were in a great mood – each relishing his time offstage to mock the other poor saps who were running through the song for the umpteenth time. To watch this whole process take place is a pretty cool sight to behold. For all of the fury they seemed to capture on the run-throughs, nothing equaled the actual live performance. Everyone in attendance knew that a video was being shot that night (thanks to the sign outside the venue that read: Killswitch Engage Live Video Shoot Tonight – or something to that effect). The 300 or so kids that packed the room were just a tinderbox waiting for a match to strike. And that proverbial match was struck when Howard announced after the opener that “Fixation” was the song the video was being shot for and he urged the hometown crowd to go sick. And go sick they did. You will see it in the final product (which the first cut came in just today), but the kids stormed the stage, causing Adam to stand on his amp just so he had room to play. Howard braved the masses and clung to his microphone amidst the onslaught of KsE fans pulling at him. It was quite a moment to witness – seeing all of these fans just feeling the music and responding with such visceral intensity. Anyway, thanks to all of you who showed up (and sorry to all of you who were tuned away at the door). Look for the new KsE video “Fixation On The Darkness” to hit the web and airwaves some time in mid-March. In the meantime, check out KsE’s PHOTO GALLERY for a slew of pictures taken from the evening.

If you’ve ever checked out the photo credits on photographs of your favourite rock acts, it’s highly likely you’ll have come across the name Ross Halfin more often than not. Recently, Ross did a photo shoot with Stone Sour in Des Moines, and some of the resulting photos were used in Kerrang! magazine with a Stone Sour feature (issue Feb 22). Here’s what Ross had to say about shooting the band: “Shot them first on January 4, 2003 on Broadway downtown LA. Then again on January 28 in Des Moines–the coldest I’ve ever been. It was miserable. I just didn’t want to be there. Got in at 11am, got out at 3:30pm. Jim Root dropped me at the airport. Shot them in the street in front of City Hall, then at a fake brewery bar (you know–those dreadful “this is meant to be the 1920s”). Drove out to Corey’s grandmother’s (Thelma) home, shot them in front of the house and the two of them on her doorstep. This was the first time I’d been back in Des Moines since the Iowa Jam (I think in 1984 or ’85). Aerosmith headlined with Dokken and new band Metallica in support.” If you want to check out the rest of Ross’s great Stone Sour photos, surf on over to his website HERE. Explore a little and you’ll find some Slipknot ones too…

We are pleased to report that Type O Negative are all set to embark on a European tour in support of upcoming album ‘The Dream Is Dead’. TON haven’t played the UK since November 1999 when they crossed the pond with Coal Chamber. With just two dates planned for the UK we expect a speedy sell out! Catch them at the following stops! June 19th – Manchester, MDH (tix 퉌£14) June 20th – London, Astoria (tix 퉌£16) Additional dates in Europe include: June 21 – Waldrock Festival – Bergum, NETHERLANDS June 23 – Vega – Copenhagen, DENMARK June 24 – Rockefeller – Oslo, NORWAY June 25 – KB Club – Malmoe, SWEDEN June 26 – Kick – Herford, GERMANY June 28 – Festival – Bologna, ITALY July 1 – Longhorn – Stuttgart, GERMANY July 3 – Live Music Hall – Cologne, GERMANY July 4 – Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel, BELGIUM July 5 – Full Force Festival – Leipzig, GERMANY July 6 – Forest Glade Festival – Wiesen, AUSTRIA July 7 – Sky Club Burmlovka – Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC July 8 – Stodola Club – Warsaw, POLAND July 11 – Tuska Metal Festival – Helsinki, FINLAND

Did you know that Josh from Stone Sour has been spotted at more than one show this tour, including Manchester, walking up and down the queue before the doors open, just meeting people? And that’s he’s been giving away fully signed Stone Sour CD inlays at the same time? It’s true. Cool huh? When we asked him about it, he just shrugged it off saying, “Ah, it’s just something I like to do.” In other touring news… the band play Bristol tonight.. Nottingham last night.. London, the final UK show, on Wednesday. Stone Sour have been playing 2 unreleased songs this tour which aren’t on the album… namely ‘Rules Of Evidence’ (which you can find on the ‘Bother’ single, out March 3rd) and ‘Inside The Cynic’. More to come…

Corey Taylor from Stone Sour spoke to Scotland Today’s music correspondent Billy Sloan when Stone Sour were in Scotland to play at the Barrowlands in Glasgow… not only that, he did a special acoustic performance of ‘Bother’. And now, you can watch both the interview and acoustic performance via Real Player HERE. Enjoy.