H! Everyone.

The hardcore radio show is this Saturday, February 27th. We’re featuring Judas Priest in our new format “Great Rock and Metal Bands and Artists.” Last month, we featured Cream and some of their greatest work. I thought the new segment worked rather well, and I think it’s important to feature bands that have helped to influence and shape the sounds we listen to today.

Also this Saturday, we’ll be playing more Mnemic and Scar Symmetry. I hope to get some Behemoth, Celtic Frost, Exodus and brand new Zombie lined up also.

OK, so for all you Metal music lovers out there, I think it’ll be a very good show, but you’ll have to take a listen to find out if you agree with me or not.

Stay strong and rock forever,
Bill Ward

Bill recently did a couple of interviews with a few magazines, and we want to make sure you see them, as there’s some cool stuff to read.

First up is an interview with ‘Sup Magazine.  This one is titled “Invasion Meets Sabbath“, and covers a wide range of topics from the much trodden ground of Sabbath’s beginning to the kind of tunes that Bill listens to and is into today.  It was originally conducted in the Summer of 2009.  Here’s a bit from that interview:

I’d agree that Metallica definitely picked up your baton in 1983 and they and Black Sabbath are easily the best metal bands ever for me. It feels to me there are lots of good new bands who understand what you were about back in the ‘70s, and I think that the next decade is going to be really exciting for metal. I guess Geezer wrote a lot of your lyrics, but you had this power and intensity. Where did you pick that up from?

Bill: Part of it came from our predecessors. There were great bands in the ‘60s. A lot of bands were referencing flower power and peace. I want to make it clear that I’m not being negative about that whole movement, but we were from Aston and there wasn’t much of a hippie era going on there. At least 50 percent of our day was spent looking at the guy across the street to see if he was going to run over and kick you in the head. That was our reality.

There still is a sense of counter culture in there though “Sweet Leaf” and “Children Of The Grave” and other antiwar songs.

Bill: Well, we were pissed off, you know? “Sweet Leaf” is a very aggressive song when we do it live. “Sweet Leaf” and “Iron Man” were the rallying points for all the young men coming back from Vietnam. And when I think about it– to be quite honest with you, Marek–I start to cry because life is precious and I can still see the audiences when we played those songs. All the vets were up the front, so all we could see were the vets. When those songs came on, they were trying to get out of their wheelchairs. They came to hear those songs. We’d give them our all. They were men that didn’t want to go to war. They were pushed into it and nobody thanked them when they came back.

The second of the interviews is a new interview from February of 2010 with the “Stay Thirsty Media” site.   This interview, entitled “Never Say Die!” has some tidbits which will be of particular interest to fans.  Here’s some tidbits to whet your appetite.

THIRSTY: What are you currently involved in musically? Does the Bill Ward Band still participate in the modern music scene?

BW: Oh yea! This year I’ve worked nonstop. I’m in the process of finishing up three albums, which are ALL my albums. When I write songs, I usually write everything (tracks), so I compose in guitar, bass, keyboards, melody arrangements, the vocals…just everything really. So I’m really active inside my own music…

THIRSTY: And how about playing live? Has the Bill Ward Band, or any other projects you may be affiliated scheduled an upcoming tour?

BW: I haven’t played live at all in a long time. The last time I played live was with ‘The Sabs’ (Black Sabbath) which was about four years ago. I’ve been really active in the studio, writing and spending time with a lot of musicians.

THIRSTY: On these upcoming albums, are you the sole musician or do you have a group accompanying you on the tracks?

BW: When I say I write, I write the parts and so forth, but I have other players that play the music. On the newest work, that’s coming out in the spring, Keith Lynch (Bill Ward Band veteran) is playing guitar. Paul Ill is playing some bass and then I have a couple of other guys that will play bass as well. Paul’s also from early years of the Bill Ward Band. And then I have my own drummer, Ronnie Ciago who’s playing on several tracks. I’m playing drums on several tracks too, so it’s pretty much a band album if you’d like. There are some guests coming onto the following two albums after the spring one, but it’s all under wraps right now [laughs]. They’re rock and rollers man…so they agreed to do it but now let’s get them all together in a room and nail it!

The Thirsty interview also talks about other things too, like Bill’s relationship with Ronnie James Dio, the early days with Tony Iommi in 1966, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, online music piracy, and of course Black Sabbath.   You won’t want to miss this one for sure!

Once there is some more concrete information about these albums (plural!) from Bill, we’ll be sure to pass it on.

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