Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

---Jennifer McClellan

EdgeFest 2007, which featured Godsmack and other popular artists, was huge and this year does not disappoint. Kid Rock, Disturbed, Sevendust, Saliva, Five Finger Death Punch and Black Stone Cherry are set to hit the stage in North Little Rock on Saturday, April 26th.

Kid Rock has sold over 22 million albums since the release of his debut album Grits Sandwiches For Breakfast in 1990. After 3 failed albums, Kid Rock finally broke into the mainstream with his fourth release. Released in 1998, Devil Without A Cause sold 12 million albums behind the hit songs "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy" and "Only God Knows Why."He released " History of Rock" in 2000, yielding the hit "American Bad Ass". In 2001 his release "Cocky" was saved by the crossover hit "Picture" with Sheryl Crow. He would release a self titled album in 2003 and 'Live' Trucker in 2006. In 2007, Rock N Roll Jesus revived his career, it was his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, on the strength of its hit singles "So Hott","Amen" and "All Summer Long". He and Rev Run of Run DMC fame will release an album together called "Running With The Kid", the date hasn't been determined.

Rock N Roll Jesus was released on October 9, 2007. The album was produced by Kid Rock along with Rob Cavallo. Three different versions of the album were released. Best Buy offered 2 bonus tracks: the songs "Guilty" and a live version of "Jackson, Mississippi". Wal-Mart offered a VH-1 DVD and a behind the scenes look of the making of "Rock and Roll Jesus". Lastly, Target offered a bonus DVD interview called "Roll On With Kid Rock". On October 5th Kid Rock appeared on "Larry King Live" for the first time, and he also graced the cover of Rolling Stone, for the 2nd time. "So Hott," the first single off the album, was released August 9, 2007. So Hott was Kid Rock's best charting Rock hit peaking at No 2 on Mainstream Rock and No 13 on Modern Rock.

Rock N Roll Jesus became Kid Rock's first number one album of his career, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. On the same day he and his manager of 7 years, Ed "Punch" Andrews, split ways. It is believed Andrews, who also manages Bob Seger, is retiring. "Amen" was released November 5th to radio, with Rock boasting it to be the best song he had ever written.

At the September 9th MTV VMA's Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson's ex-husband Tommy Lee got into a scuffle. Lee took Kid Rock's seat and refused to get up. After Lee began teasing him, Rock landed a back hand and a punch before security broke it up. Kid Rock was allowed to stay while Tommy Lee was escorted out. Kid was cited for misdemeanor battery, but Lee would eventually drop the charges.

On October 20th, Kid Rock was again involved in a fistfight after a post-concert stop at a Waffle House, in Atlanta. As Kid explained when he was on "The Ellen Degenres Show" on October 26, 2007, a drunken man began heckling him after Kid bought everyone in the restaurant breakfast and gave the waiters $300 to split among themselves. Rock escorted the gentleman outside and locked him out as a joke. This angered the man, who then punched his way back in through the glass, and the fight ensued. It spilled out into the parking lot, where members of Kid Rock's band and crew, including guitarists Jason Krause and Aaron Julison, joined in. They were all charged with misdemeanor battery charges.

On December 17, 2007, Kid joined Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong, comedian Lewis Black and Miss USA Rachel Smith for a Christmas USO Tour in Iraq. Kid Rock rang in the New Year on MTV's "Tila Tegulia's Masquerade New Year's Eve Party", performing "Cowboy, "So Hott", and "King Of Rock" with Run DMC's Reverend Run. The two unaired performances of "Amen" and "Bawitdaba" would air on Jimmy Kimmel Live the following night. He talked about his trip to Iraq after his performance of "Amen" on the Conan O 'Brien Show on January 3, 2008.

All Summer Long was the 3rd single off of " Rock N Roll Jesus". It debut at No 34 on mainstream rock. Kid Rock debut the live version on Jimmy Kimmel Live April 3,2008.

Reverend Run has confirmed an album with Kid Rock called Running With the Kid, a play on Eric Clapton and B. B. King's Riding With The King collaboration. The release date is yet to be determined. Kid Rock will appear on Lil Jon's 2008 album, Crunk Rock and will also be on the track "Together Forever" with Trick Trick on his forthcoming album.

Kid Rock has stated for his follow up album to Rock N Roll Jesus he will be going back to his roots to make a hip-hop album, after his side project with Rev Run.

"All Summer Long" has been named the official theme song for the upcoming WWE Backlash 2008. This is the first time in years Kid Rock has collaborated with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Disturbed is a rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The group was formed in 1996 when musicians Dan Donegan, Steve "Fuzz" Kmak, and Mike Wengren hired singer David Draiman in Chicago, Illinois. They have sold over 10 million albums worldwide. Originally classified as a nu metal band, Disturbed is now regarded by some music critics as hard rock or heavy metal, although others now regard them as alternative metal. However, the band's genre is still being debated. When asked about die-hard metal fans not finding Disturbed heavy enough, frontman David Draiman stated: “We probably have too much melody going on or we're not quite as turbulent or caustic. While I really love that type of music, it's not what we try to do. If we have to place things in context, we're more hard rock than heavy metal these days. “

Disturbed completed the first leg of their "Music as a Weapon III" tour in late 2006. Soon after, Draiman stated that there wasn't going to be a second leg to the tour and that instead the band was going off the road to start working on their fourth album. In July 2007, a new track titled "This Moment" was released on the soundtrack to the movie Transformers. The band then worked on the new album through the months of October and November, with recording finished in December of 2007.

The band mixed their fourth album Indestructible in Los Angeles, set for release on June 3, 2008. In an earlier interview, Draiman said that they are going to record 15 songs, but only 12 will be on the album. David also said that the track "This Moment" will not appear on the album.

It has been recently announced that Disturbed will tour over July and August of 2008 in the "Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival". They will be touring on the main stage alongside Slipknot, DragonForce, and Mastodon. The band has also been announced to play at both the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, as well as the Download Festival during June 2008.

On February 26, 2008, the band released a thirty-second sample of a previously recorded track titled "Perfect Insanity" on their MySpace page, remastered as an official studio track. The track has been confirmed to be on Indestructible. Another track, "Inside the Fire", the first single from Indestructible, will be made into a music video. On March 7, 2008, "Perfect Insanity" was made available for full download on their website.

On March 10, 2008, the band played live in Kuwait during a special "Operation Myspace". A condensed one-hour version aired on FX on April 12, 2008. On March 19, 2008, a trailer for Indestructible was posted on the band's YouTube channel.

On March 25, 2008, "Inside the Fire" was released for playback on the band's MySpace page and made available on digital distribution services for purchase.

EdgeFest takes place East of the I-30 bridge on Riverfront Drive in North Little Rock. Tickets are $35. Kids 8 years old and under get in FREE with paid adult admission. For more information, visit www.edgelittlerock.com.

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