AWOLNATION Cover Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change’ With Brandon Boyd + Portugal. The Man

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It’s time to wet your whistle, as AWOLNATION have revealed a new cover of the Scorpions’ 1991 rock ballad, “Wind of Change.” And singer Aaron Bruno has a couple of guests helping him out as Incubus’ Brandon Boyd and the members of Portugal.The Man also turn up on the song. Listen to the cover and see the video in the player below.

“Wind of Change” is the first of a number of AWOLNATION covers that could be arriving this year as Bruno has been using the pandemic downtime to complete a covers collection titled My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers that’s on schedule for a May 6 release.

The singer explained to Billboard, “I thought it was an opportunity — since I was all alone, like everybody was — to make a covers album. I’ve always wanted to do that, and these are songs that made me feel like I was escaping from the reality of 2020. And then 2021 and now 2022.”

As for having not one but multiple guests on the his Scorpions cover, the musician calls it a happy accident. He initially reached out to Portugal. The Man, but a delay in the turnaround due to the band working on their own record then led him to ask longtime friend Brandon Boyd of Incubus.

“Just when I got Brandon’s vocal, the Portugal guys said, ‘Hey, we’re in town. We want to come over and do the song.’ This is when everything was starting to settle down and people started to get together. I thought, ‘Oh, fuck, I hope they’re both cool with each other.’ I asked both of them separately about all three of us being on the song together, and everybody was really excited about it,” said Bruno. “It was a totally strange combination of worlds and a happy accident.”

Speaking about the decision to cover “Wind of Change,” Bruno says he liked the challenge “mostly because it was a ridiculous idea (laughs), and an enormous attempt at not butchering a classic song.” He added, “One of the most fun things about doing a covers record is if anyone doesn’t like the songs, it’s not my fault. I didn’t write it! I chose great songs and just a weird collection of songs that I’ve always wanted to cover at some point in my career. I’m never going to claim that I’m even scratching the surface of the originals, but it was just a fun thing to do.”

The original song first appeared on Scorpions’ Crazy World album and was written after the band visited the Soviet Union in the late ’80s toward the end of the Cold War. The song hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is a gold certified single in the U.S.

Take a listen to the cover below and you can pick up the song via streaming services here.

AWOLNATION Featuring Brandon Boyd + Portugal.The Man, “Wind of Change” (Scorpions Cover)

The Violent (Ex-Red Sun Rising) Drop Deconstructed Cover of The Doors’ ‘People Are Strange’

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The Violent have deconstructed The Doors classic “People Are Strange” for their latest release and it’s now a synthed-out anthem that still manages to portray the dark uneasiness of the original song.

For those not yet familiar with The Violent, the band features a voice you likely recognize as Red Sun Rising vocalist Mike Protich fronts the group, having recruited fellow former Red Sun Rising members Patrick Gerasia (drums) and David McGarry (guitar) to fill out the lineup.

While many covers often fall into the “staying faithful” category, The Violent managed to revise “People Are Strange,” putting their own stamp on it with a presentation that sounds totally fresh.

“‘People Are Strange’ became poignant in this new world we are living in; a world of parameters that we feel pressured to live within,” said Protich. “This type of pressure can make one feel more of an outcast and more alone than ever before. We focused on these concepts and emotions during this process while the original holds a more whimsical quirkiness.”

The cover also comes with an equally interesting video, with director Samuel Shapiro placing the band upon a darkly lit stage to perform for a faceless robotic crowd whose only forms of expression are a message board where their faces would be. It’s a bit creepy and fitting of the song. Check out the clip below.

The Violent, “People Are Strange” (The Doors Cover)

“People Are Strange” will appear on The Violent’s forthcoming self-titled EP which is on track for a March 11 release. Pre-orders are available here. You can also look for The Violent to return to the concert stage in 2022, with an appearance at Welcome to Rockville already booked for May 21. Stay up to date with all their happenings here.

Dee Snider Covers ‘Theme for an Imaginary Western’ for Upcoming Leslie West Tribute Album

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Dee Snider has covered “Theme for an Imaginary Western” for the upcoming star-studded Leslie West tribute album. The tribute album also features such musicians as Slash, Zakk Wylde and more saluting the legendary musician.

Leslie West was the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain. The legendary guitarist passed away in December 2020 at the age of 75. The musician was born in New York City and started his music career with The Vagrants. He then went off to form the band Mountain in 1969 with Vagrants producer Felix Pappalardi. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

A ton of Leslie West’s friends and peers came together to celebrate the trailblazing musician. The album’s star-filled lineup not only has Snider, but Slash, Zakk Wylde, Randy and Tal Bachman, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Elliot Easton, Robby Krieger, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, Eddie Ojeda, Dirty Honey’s Marc Labelle, Mike Portnoy, Bobby Rondinelli, and Rev Jones also joined in on covers.

The Leslie West tribute album is available for pre-order (as a CD or vinyl) and is set to come out on March 25. Take a listen to Snider’s cover, and check out the artwork + track listing below:

Dee Snider, Eddie Ojeda, Mike Portnoy + Rudy Sarzo, “Theme for an Imaginary Western”

Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West Artwork + Track Listing

Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group loading…

Blood of the Sun (feat. Zakk Wylde)
Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (feat. Joe Lynn Turner & Marty Friedman)
Theme for an Imaginary Western (feat. Dee Snider, Eddie Ojeda, Rudy Sarzo, Mike Portnoy, Francesco Saglietti)
For Yasgur’s Farm (feat. Joe Lynn Turner & Martin Barre)
Why Dontcha (feat. Steve Morse & Ronnie Romero)
Sittin’ On a Rainbow (feat. Elliot Easton & Ronnie Romero)
Never in My Life (feat. Dee Snider & George Lynch)
The Doctor (feat. Robby Krieger & Ronnie Romero)
Silver Paper (feat. Charlie Starr)
Money (Whatcha Gonna Do)/By the River - medley (feat. Bachman & Bachman)
Long Red (feat. Yngwie Malmsteen & Teddy Rondinelli)
Mississippi Queen (feat. Slash & Marc LaBelle)

Will Forte and Willem Dafoe Set to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’ With Måneskin and Katy Perry!

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Saturday Night Live is continuing to bring some serious talent to Studio 8H for the new year! The show announced that former cast member Will Forte and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe are set to host the upcoming episodes.

Forte – who served as part of the cast from from 2002 through 2010 – will be making his hosting debut, with some help from musical guest Måneskin, the Eurovision winners and artists behind the hit cover of “Beggin’.”

Forte took to Twitter to celebrate the announcement, writing, “This is about as exciting as it gets. Thanks @nbcsnl — can’t wait for Saturday.”

This is about as exciting as it gets. Thanks @nbcsnl — can’t wait for Saturday ❤️ https://t.co/yAuCK1TgEk — Will Forte (@OrvilleIV) January 16, 2022

Meanwhile, the show announced on Tuesday that Dafoe would be hosting the Jan. 29 episode, with some help from musical guest Katy Perry.

This will mark Dafoe’s first time as an SNL host as well. Perry, on the other hand, has been a musical guest three times, and once served as the host herself.

Live from New York, it’s 🍄PLAY🍄 Can’t wait to bring my slice of Sin City to the Big Apple🍎 (and ur 📺) @nbcsnlpic.twitter.com/6BCJDsmWtd — KATY PERRY (@katyperry) January 18, 2022

This past weekend, West Side Story star Ariana DeBose made her hosting debut on SNL’s first episode of the year.

Ahead of her debut, DeBose opened up to ET’s Denny Directo about getting to host for the first time.

“I just wanted to be on the show, so SNL was on my bucket list. I was walking down the 48th street like five years ago and I was like, ‘That would be fun to be on Saturday Night Live one day,’” she recalled. “I didn’t think it was coming this quick though.”

The Prom star said she was ready to take over Studio 8H, and admitted that while she felt “sensibly fearful,” the cast “has been wonderful and it’s been a really fun process.”

“I still have no idea what I am doing and I probably won’t know until we go live, so it will be a surprise to me and you,” she quipped.

Saturday Night Live airs live coast-to-coast at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.

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‘SNL’ Cold Open Takes on Novak Djokovic, the Green M&M, and Wordle

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“Saturday Night Live” kicked off this week’s episode with Kate McKinnon playing the Fox News host Laura Ingraham, on her show “The Ingraham Angle.”

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Listing off rising inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, and the flaws of the Green M&M girl, McKinnon’s Ingraham went right after the first year of Joe Biden’s “disaster” of a presidency in the cold open.

McKinnon’s Ingraham played a heavily edited soundbite that makes it seem like White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is saying, “We are not good people. The American public should vote us out.”

“First true thing she’s ever said,” McKinnon’s Ingraham said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, played by Aidy Bryant, joins in on the program to “talk about how he’s pushing back against Biden’s tyranny,” Ingraham says while pointing out that Cruz is still sporting a beard.

Bryant’s Cruz responds, “My beard is like January 6. Shocking at first, but sadly, it’s been normalized.”

McKinnon’s Ingraham then welcomes her next guest, tennis star Novak Djokovic, played by Pete Davidson, to discuss his recent deportation from Australia from concerns that the unvaccinated athlete could pose a risk to public health.

Davidson’s Djokovic tells Ingraham, “You see, people love to tear you off your pedestal, you know, just because you’re really rich, or you’re the best at tennis, or you go to a charity event with 200 kids even though you’re dripping with COVID.”

“I am now the least popular Joker, except for Jared Leto,” Davidson’s Djokovic quipped in reference to Batman’s foe and the Oscar winner’s controversial stint in the role in 2016’s “Suicide Squad.”

The next guest is known conservative pundit, Candace Owens, played by Ego Nwodim who is there to address the voting rights bill.

Nwodim’s Owens accuses liberals of making everything about race. “To quote the only words that Martin Luther King ever said, ‘I have a dream.’ That’s it, end of quote,” Nwodim’s Owens says. “Nothing about money or jobs or schools, unless you count his tombstone, which says, ‘Great job, gang. Racism over.’”

For the final guest of the evening, James Austin Johnson returns with his impression of former President Donald Trump. “I’m back just like ‘Tiger King 2.’ You have fun the first time, and then you’re like, ‘How are more people from this not in jail yet?’”

Trump then plays a game of Wordle, that somehow manages to connect multiple topics such as vaccine boosters, John Mayer, Hilary Duff and her new show “How I Met Your Father,” Jason Momoa and Prada.

The night’s host, longtime cast member Will Forte finally got his opportunity to host. “I was in the cast 12 years ago with Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Fred Armisen, so it was really fun to see Kristen host, then Bill, then Andy, then Fred, then Kristen again, then Bill again, then Jason,” Forte said, feigning irritation at being passed over.

John Mulaney, was a writer on “SNL” while he was in the cast, and he too has been asked to host—four times. “But hey, that’s okay! You know, I’m not bitter about it. I’m not,” Forte deadpanned. “Saved the best for last right? Saved the best for way last.”

As Forte relished getting his “time to shine,” Wiig appeared on stage, with the pair’s interaction quickly going bitter.

“Hi Will, I am so excited you’re hosting,” said the “SNL” alum, to which Forte responded, “Not a good time,” encouraging her to leave.

Forte acknowledged the fact that Wiig received more applause when she came out than he did, Forte picked up where he’d left off. “If I could just take a serious moment,” he said, “I’d like to say how much this show has meant to me. I started my career here and they’ve always supported me.”

He then decided to take a question from the audience, with “SNL” creator and producer Lorne Michaels appearing alongside actor Willem Dafoe.

“I’m so sorry, Will,” said Michaels. “There’s been a mistake.”

“Willem Dafoe?” said Forte. “You’re hosting next week!”

“I’m pretty sure it’s this week,” Dafoe replied.

“Oh my God, this is not happening,” said Forte. “Wait, you texted me to come host, Lorne.”

“I texted Willem,” said Michaels, “and you know, autocorrect.”

Will Forte brings back his titular character MacGruber (the television series debuted on Peacock’s streaming service in December) for a pre-taped sketch with Ryan Phillippe and Kristen Wiig. MacGruber asks for their masks, as part of his escape plan. He’s “freeing them from tyranny.”

In the first live sketch of the night, Will Forte plays a host of a game show called “Kid Klash.” The sketch had a lot of 90s nostalgia, spoofing the hit game show “Double Dare” that had multiple runs during the 1980s to the 2000s, with a short revival in 2018.

Aidy Bryant plays a contestant on the show, trying and failing to locate a flag around a giant pie of cream. Forte insists she sees this through. He’s teaching her a grim lesson about life and “her unfulfilled potential.”

The Italian rock band Måneskin performed a cover song first popularized by the band the Four Seasons in 1967, called “Beggin.” The group made an international breakthrough when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021.

During “Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost opened the news segment by noting President Biden’s press conference that happened this week, marking his first year in office, that lasted nearly two hours.

“Because that’s how long it took to mark everything that’s gone wrong,” he said.

Co-host Michael Che noted that Jon Voight recently released a video claiming that Abraham Lincoln’s spirit was guiding former President Donald Trump. “Hopefully,” he said, “not to a theater.”

Pete Davidson appeared alongside Jost later on in the segment, to discuss them purchasing a decommissioned ferry, that served the pair’s native Staten Island. They plan to turn it into an entertainment venue.

Davidson called ferries “the windowless van of the sea,” but he seemed pleased with his choice of partners, telling Jost, “You look like you own the yacht they rent out for rap videos.”

“It’s very exciting,” Jost deadpanned. “We thought the whole thing through.”

Next week actor Willem Dafoe hosts “SNL” with musical guest Katy Perry.