NEWS
Avril Lavigne
Ryan McFadden*Taylor Swift really, really likes Avril Lavigne‘s new album. The singer who has a Midas touch when it comes to gifting sent Lavigne a sweet note and bouquet of flowers to celebrate Avril’s new album, Love Sux.
The gift was highlighted in Taylor’s Insta Stories according to E! News, which grabbed images of the bountiful bunch of pink, white and peach-colored flowers to accompany the note, which read: “Avril, Been dancing around my kitchen to your fabulous new album!! It’s AMAZING, like you.” The card was signed “Your forever fan, Taylor.”
Lavigne celebrated the release of her seventh album last Friday with an intimate show at Los Angeles’ The Roxy as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series. The 37-year-old punk pop princess we clearly on cloud nine during the show, which featured high-energy renditions of such fan favorites as “Sk8er Boi,” “What the Hell,” “Girlfriend” and “Complicated.”
With a bottle of champagne in hand, Lavigne toasted her return to the pop-rock realm after her more emotional, low-key 2019 LP Head Above Water and she brought along some famous friends to help, with collaborator Travis Barker on drums for four songs, as well a boyfriend Mod Sun, who joined her for their “Flames” duet, which ended with a sweet onstage hug and kiss.
“I went into this album and just said, ‘I want to make a pop-punk record, a rock-and-roll record. I don’t want to be on the piano. I don’t want ballads, really. I just really want to rock out,’” Lavigne recently told Billboard. “I think especially after my last album being so mellow and dramatic and deep and introspective — you know, it was beautiful, and it was where I was at in my life, and that’s what worked for me at the time. But I was just ready to get back out there, rock the f—k out, and again just thinking about the live shows. I mean, this is the kind of music I fell in love with, when I was old enough to buy CDs, to discover bands — like, my first year of high school, which is grade nine in Canada.”
Check out images of the gift below.
Faith No More appear to be hinting at a return to the stage in 2027.
The influential alt-metal band have remained mostly quiet over the past decade following the release of their reunion album ‘Sol Invictus’ in 2015. After its arrival, they played what would become their most recent live performances in 2016 and later called off several touring plans in the years that followed.
Now, however, they seem to be preparing fans for something new. The group recently shared an image of a concert crowd on social media with nothing more than the text “2027” placed across it.
No additional information accompanied the post, but it quickly sparked speculation among fans, many of whom believe a full scale tour announcement could be coming next year.
After wrapping up their 2016 run of shows, the band intended to return to the road in 2020. Those plans were ultimately abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further touring plans surfaced in 2021 as venues began reopening, but those dates were also cancelled before they could begin. Frontman Mike Patton later explained that mental health struggles were behind the decision and revealed he had been diagnosed with agoraphobia during the pandemic.
Until recently, a reunion seemed unlikely. Patton spoke about Faith No More’s lengthy break and said that he did not “see it as a sad thing”.
Speaking on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast and reflecting on whether he felt a “sense of closure” after the 2016 tour, the vocalist said: “I didn’t really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe. I think that we all kind of felt it, but it was unspoken.”
“It’s funny: when you’ve been in a band or a musical situation for a period of time, you always, in the back of your head, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is it.’ And I don’t mind that feeling,” he added. “I don’t see it as a sad thing. I see it as being present and being able to really appreciate it while it’s happening.”
Faith No More have never formally announced a breakup following the cancellation of their 2021 tour, although other members have suggested in recent years that the chances of touring again were uncertain.
Last year, guitarist Roddy Bottum discussed the band's future and admitted they were in a “really weird spot”. “I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people… and I’m in the band,” he said.
Drummer Mike Bordin echoed similar thoughts last spring, saying that he and some of the other members were willing to perform again, but claimed Patton was “unwilling to do shows with us”.
In addition to leading Faith No More since 1989 after replacing original singer Chuck Mosley, Patton has also been involved with projects including Mr Bungle, Fantômas, and Tomahawk.
Tomahawk recently unveiled plans for their first tour in 13 years, with a series of US dates scheduled for this summer. The run begins in Nashville next month and will also see Patton and his bandmates reunite with longtime labelmates Melvins for the first time since 2003.
Patton has also recently launched his tour with Avett Brothers and teamed up with Jehnny Beth on the new single ‘Look At Me’.
