H! Everyone.

Happy 2010.

Our first radio show of the year will have a new format included.  Instead of  the “show within a show,” which played classic/hardcore metal, we¹ll be playing a featured artist or band.  This new segment takes place after the noon break, as did the “show within a show.”  We’ll be playing artists from the 60¹s through to today.  Please let us know if you like the new segment.  Featured band this month is Cream.  Also appearing on the show:  Arch Enemy, Skeletonwitch, Type O Negative and Slipknot.

The show airs 11:00AM Pacific Time, Saturday, January 30th. I hope you can join us.

–Bill Ward

As you may or may not know both Geezer Butler & Bill Ward are vegans. Geezer has done spots for PETA, and while Bill doesn’t do that kind of thing too much, I did just run across a cool article about Bill’s diet called “Bill Ward – The Heavy Metal Vegan Pt 1“. It talks about his food choices, what he makes, and what it’s like being a vegan where he lives. There’s also a recipe available for “Bill Ward’s Enchilada Pie“. It actually looks good, I might have to try making it myself. This is part of a larger site (which is newly launched) called “The Rock & Roll Cook“.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo is (c) 2009 Christopher Wagner.

H! Everybody.

In my last news post, about the November radio show, I’d said the Christmas show was canceled. That’s changed! We’re airing the Christmas show on Saturday, December 12th.

Our Christmas show rarely plays traditional Christmas songs, and “Frosty The Snowman” and Rudolph,” lovable as they may be, will no doubt be appearing continuously on other radio stations. Wishing not to sound “ba-humbug,” we will be playing the best of the songs that have appeared throughout the year on our show, and that will include “The Last Baron” by Mastodon, and the jewel of Christmas shows past collection Type O Negative’s “Red Water/Christmas Mourning.”

I’ll be playing some of the greatest bands and artists in the world, who in their writing and performance, and sheer brilliance period, have brought hope to millions of people all over.

For those in hard times, I hope our two-hour show will play a part in helping you to sustain and feel more empowered. Music is the most powerful language on earth.

Peace and spiritual progress to us all,
Bill Ward

Bill’s recent interview with clashmusic.com details his six steps on how to survive the biz side of the music industry, which can be a “writ” (har har har). Anyway, Bill’s steps are:

1. You Don’t Have to Be Cool
2. You Don’t Have to be Fit
3. Cherish Your Band
4. Read your Contracts
5. Power to the People
6. Have a Laugh

It’s a pretty cool article, where Bill talks about such concepts as letting the audience react, not carrying around a lot of angst & pain like some musicians do, and to just have fun. Check out the whole article here.

Hi, everyone!

Our next radio show will take place on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Normally in November, we dedicate our show to those who have fallen in war and to their loved ones, we pay our respects. We will be playing a lot of Metal songs, however, as in our 9/11 show, we’ll be temporarily breaking away from our allegiance to Metal by playing other artists whose songs are well-suited for the Armistice show. Check out the show if you can. Some artists appearing: Disfear, Anthrax, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, A Perfect Circle and many, many more.

Stay strong,
Bill Ward

H! Everyone.

The radio show airs on Saturday, September 19th. Because it’s September, we will be playing songs as a tribute to those who perished and suffered during and after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. Besides our hardcore songs, we’ll also be playing some opera, folk, rock and pop songs.

Our show has always been quick to support what we consider to be honorable gestures, and to divert slightly from our normal hardcore show is the least we can do to bring a wider selection of music to this sad anniversary. To not preserve the memories of that fatal day would be to render us amiss and without respect.

–Bill

A couple of new “behind the scenes” type pictures have been put on the website. They’re both from the July 2009 Rock 50 episode. One shows Bill in the Rock 50 studio, and the other is a picture of Bill arriving at the studio with friend Richard Johnson. You can check them out at the Bill Ward photo gallery here.

In contemplation over these past few days since the tragic news of Michael Jackson’s death, I have reflected on other occasions when some of my heroes have died. I know how I felt at the time. I can’t help wondering how those who loved Michael Jackson are going to heal and overcome the loss. My heart feels passionate to all who are feeling loss for Michael Jackson today.

I can’t help regurgitating the emotions and absolute numbness I felt when John Lennon was shot. I felt completely devastated. It’s taken me years to come to terms with John’s death. I felt robbed. I think we all did. Sincerely, my life has never been the same since his passing. There’s an emptiness in the world and in my soul. My first trauma of those I idolized was when Buddy, Ritchie and the Big Bopper died. Again, I felt numb, heartbroken, and didn’t understand why.

For those in heartache today, I wish you all wellness in healing. A great entertainer has died. I think those who experienced and heard his heart are more enlightened people for it than before. I believe you’re all most fortunate to have connected to Michael Jackson.

— Bill Ward

There’s a recent audio interview with Bill Ward out and about. If you missed it when it was first published a few weeks back, you should give it a listen. It’s Episode 24 of “Shockwaves Skull Sessions”. The specific episode title is “Ozzy & Black Sabbath”. You can check it out here:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/music/view.aspx?songID=2495

Here’s a description of the episode from their site:

This episode features a 4-way discussion with legendary Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, Roadrunner Records VP of A&R Monte Conner, and metal enthusiast David Tedds as they join Skull Sessions host Bob Nalbandian in this mesmerizing and historic exploration into the first decade of Black Sabbath, commonly referred to as the “Ozzy-era.” The four discuss the entire catalog, from Sabbath’s groundbreaking 1970 debut leading up to 1978’s Never Say Die release. This is perhaps the most compelling Skull Sessions discussion yet. A MUST LISTEN for any Sabbath fan!

The latest edition of Bill’s monthly Rock 50 radio show happened a few weeks ago. We hope you had a chance to listen in. If you did not (or if you did anyway), the track listing from the show is now available. You can check it out here.

In addition to that, we have an mp3 widget available where you can listen to sound samples from all the songs Bill played this month. That is available at the bottom of this news story (save for two that weren’t available in mp3 format).

FREE MP3 BONUS: One of the tracks Bill played in the June show was “More than Meets the Eye” from the band Testament. The Amazon.com MP3 store, which we link to for mp3 purchases is offering this mp3 for free. It is unknown how long they will be doing that, so if you’re interested in a free legal copy of this song, click this link to be taken to the song in Amazon.com’s MP3 store.

If you have any comments on the tracks Bill played this month, please let us know by commenting on this story. You can do that by clicking the “Leave a Reply” link at the bottom of this story.