While You Were Away: New Albums From Dance Gavin Dance And Kendrick Lamar, Sergio Vega Details Deftones Departure And More
Too busy enjoying the first tastes of Spring weather to keep up with music news? See what you missed with this week’s edition of While You Were Away!
Sergio Vega details his departure from Deftones
During a new interview with Talk Toomey podcast (as transcribed by The PRP), former Deftones bassist Sergio Vega opened up about his recent departure from the band insisting it had nothing to do with money.
“It was not financial, because they were like, ‘Oh, here’s more money, here’s a raise,’” Vega said. “It was never about money, it was about a sense of belonging. So that was really it. And ultimately, in parting ways, it was not a function of me trying to renegotiate during the pandemic.”
He continued: “I was like, I think the path forward is that we can all be in the same boat. Now would be the time to get off this type of structure. Because it’s not really working for anybody, especially now when we’re not touring, we’re not doing anything. And it doesn’t make sense to have this type of structure, it has been 12 years [since Vega joined the band] at this point and let’s make good on that.”
Vega also talked about his new projects, which include his longtime band Quicksand and a new project he formed with Spotlights drummer Chris Enriquez. The project features a revolving door of guest singers for each track including former Every Time I Die vocalist Keith Buckley.
Listen to the interview below.
Dance Gavin Dance announce new album ‘Jackpot Juicer’
A week after the tragic death of bassist Tim Feerick, Dance Gavin Dance have announced their new album, Jackpot Juicer, out July 29th. The band also revealed plans to move forward with their spring tour, which started last weekend.
The band explained their decision to move forward with the tour and new music in a statement emphasizing they had the blessing of Feerick’s family and that his “close friend” Sergio Medina will fill in on bass:
“This past week has been the most challenging time in Dance Gavin Dance’s history. On Thursday, April 14th, we found out that we had lost Tim. While he was the bassist in the band, he was also our brother and best friend. Losing him is devastating. We were preparing to meet up this past weekend in Sacramento for a photoshoot and then rehearse this week ahead of Swanfest and the subsequent tour, when we heard the devastating news that he was no longer with us.
After the initial shock and sadness, it wasn’t long after that we were faced with some challenging decisions about the immediate future and our upcoming plans. After many internal discussions with our team and, most importantly, Tim’s family, we have decided to perform this year’s Swanfest and do the subsequent tour in honor and dedication to Tim. We will also move ahead with the announcement of our forthcoming album, later this week.
The main factor of this decision came from knowing who Tim was as a person and what he would have wanted. We are confident that he would be very disappointed if we were to postpone or cancel these dates. We received further affirmation of this from Tim’s parents, with their encouragement to perform these dates. In addition, music is our way of healing, and we, as the remaining members, desire to be together during this time and perform on stage to our fans the songs that he helped create. While no one can ever replace Tim or what he has brought to the band, we have asked Sergio Medina, a close friend to all of us and someone who has worked with Tim, to perform the bass duties for the upcoming shows.”
Read their full statement here.
Kendrick Lamar returns with new album ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’
The long wait is finally over! Kendrick Lamar has announced his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, his first album in five years. The album drops on May 13th.
The rapper revealed the news via a post to his website oklama.com, under the letterhead of his multi-media company pgLang. He initially linked to the announcement by quote tweeting a fan who said the rapper had retired. The album also marks his final release with Top Dawg Entertainment. Last year, he announced that he would be leaving the label in favor of pgLang.
So far, no other details about the new album have been revealed, but Kendrick promises that “all factual information for this release will come directly from this source only.”
Architects share new song ‘When We Were Young’
Architects recently released their new single “When We Were Young.”
Drummer Dan Searle explained the inspiration behind the stand-alone track:
“When We Were Young is a song that recognizes what is gained and what is lost as we get older. As the world unfolds around us we can become overwhelmed by its endless complexity. When I was 20 I thought I had the whole thing sussed, today I’m pretty sure I’ll never understand reality. We lose our innocence as we age, and although fatalism and cynicism can creep in, we also begin to shift our focus toward gratitude for existence and for those that we love.”
Listen to the song below.
Tours on sale this week
Rage Against the Machine and Run the Jewels team up for a UK/European co-headlining tour that kicks off August 24th in Edinburgh, UK. Get tickets here.
Anthrax and Black Label Society will embark on their co-headlining North American tour this summer with Hatebreed. The tour starts July 26th in Phoenix, Arizona and wraps up August 28th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tickets are on sale now.
The iconic Bob Dylan has added a leg of west coast shows to his “Never Ending Tour.” The new leg kicks off May 28th in Spokane, Washington and concludes June 18th in San Diego, California. Get tickets here.
Outside Lands Music Festival 2022 goes down in San Francisco August 5th – 7th. This year’s lineup includes headliners Green Day, Post Malone, and SZA. Other acts on the bill include Weezer, Phoebe Bridgers, Disclosure, Pusha T, Mitski, Kali Uchis and more. Get tickets and see the full lineup here.
