An Eye Opening Headline

I know touring costs are consistently going up and bands are canceling shows because hitting the road just isn't feasible right now... but holy smokes. Dave Mustaine says it costs $45k a day for Megadeth to just "be" when on the road. Of course, that price is passed right on to us as ticket buyers.

Now compare that cost to a really huge band  - say Metallica's current 72 Seasons tour. What is the nut on that bad boy every day? Or heck, the current and never-ending Motley Crue / Def Leppard world tour? Or Aerosmith's upcoming farewell harrah? Nirvana ain't cheap and I'm thinking there's a lot of bloat in the day to day costs for huge bands that like to travel in a certain style. Still, when even smaller bands that hit the road in a van and play clubs can't afford to gig anymore, we've got a problem. What happens when only massive acts like Taylor Swift can afford to tour? What happens to live rock n' roll? Just something to consider on this hump day.

Marty Friedman Will Perform With Megadeth Again

This one surprised me today: Rolling Stone has an exclusive story about guitarist Marty Friedman performing with Megadeth again. Friedman hasn't been on stage with the band in over 20 years, so the performance will be special. The little reunion will happen later this month when Megadeth headlines Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

You'll be able to watch via livestream. Details for that are below - tickets are required.

EXCLUSIVE: Megadeth will reunite with guitarist Marty Friedman for the first time in 23 years at the band's upcoming Budokan concert in Japan.

"This is like a gigantic birthday and Christmas present for me," Mustaine tells us. https://t.co/EPnZBaachZ

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) February 13, 2023

Excited to announce ‘They Only Come Out at Night’ - Live at Budokan!

This will be a Global Livestream Event from the legendary Budokan Arena in Tokyo on February 27, 2023 + on-demand for 2 days.

Get Livestream Tickets NOW at https://t.co/RZLlh59zlF pic.twitter.com/dVelipm89l

— Megadeth (@Megadeth) February 6, 2023

'Guitar World' Highlights Interesting Social Post By Marty Friedman

A great read from Guitar World! The piece is a breakdown of Marty Friedman's recent Facebook post about the decline in guitar solos in streaming music. I shared a sort of similar piece recently about the lack of guitar solos in modern songs, period - but Friedman's take is different. He looked at how people interact with streaming music. That is, how they either listen to an entire song or skip past the guitar solo.

Apparently more and more folks are skipping guitar solos, which is nuts to me. One, I prefer music that is driven by guitar solos like classic rock or metal. Second, who is taking the time to actively skip through solos but not the entire song? That seems like a lot of work. Are these people the nuts who mess with their phones while driving, preferring to look at their screens instead of the cars merging near them? The other day, I noticed a woman full-on reading her phone with both hands - while driving - and I made sure to get away from her quick. I assume she was using her legs to steer, but I digress.

The article linked below is definitely worth a read. It was the first piece of journalism I read this morning and it helped me kick my day off right. Then I felt like listening to Megadeth, so win-win.

Marty Friedman on why streaming listeners are skipping guitar solos: “Solos often have an obligatory existence – they must be there for a deeper reason” https://t.co/CVokfWANqq pic.twitter.com/2R4U4zD2Ob

— Guitar World (@GuitarWorld) May 10, 2022