tool news


Info here is covered in / superseded by the FAQ, and may no longer be valid. It is provided only for historical interest.

- old news: march - april 1997 -

[4/29/97] - Lollapalooza's official lineup was announced today, and, as reported in USA Today, Addicted to Noise, and many other news sources, the festival will be comprised of bands such as Snoop Doggy Dogg, Korn, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Tricky, and (they finally seem to be confirmed) Tool. Tour dates are available in the Tour section.

[4/28/97] - Word now is that MuchMusic isn't showing the spotlight after all. Let this be a lesson; trust your local listings. Tool Page updates have been minimal recently because it is the end of the semester. Soon.

[4/23/97] - Oops; sorry folks, the MuchMusic spotlight is being aired next week, on the 29th.

[4/22/97] - Canadian Toolheads, MuchMusic is showing a Tool spotlight this weekend, it's likely the same one as usual.

[4/21/97] - Oops, seems I forgot to mention that Lusk's (Paul's new project) debut release came out last week. The album "Free Mars" is reported to sound more like Failure and the Replicants with a touch of classic rock fused with experimentation. More info is available on the back of the CD in your local store. The Tool Page will not contain any detailed information on Lusk; maybe someone will start a Lusk page. Also newsworthy: during the seven days following April 1st, "Ænima" moved up 6 places on the Billboard sales charts (it has been sliding slowly since October). Maybe that April Fools' thing made a dent. Lastly, please note, the concert reviews section is automated to make the site more user- and Kabir-convenient; not so teenyboppers can post "TO ASTRO FROM NEW ZEALAND, I hope you like my review / love from fAeriE aNgeL / ænima rocked...". Don't make me start blocking access.

[4/17/97] - Happy 33rd birthday to Maynard! Lollapalooza status, last I heard, is still "nearly certain" -- we should know soon. A few more Australian concert reviews have been posted (now that it's automated, they seem to go up faster...). In other t.d.n news, last night's JJJ Australia-wide broadcast of a three hour Tool tribute featured snips of some of Maynard's favorite songs, interviews with other band members, and even a live phone interview with yours truly. (To all who heard it, bear in mind that I had just woken up.) Lastly, Alternative Press magazine may well have a story about the Internet and rumors (and April Fools' events) in a few months; hopefully featuring this site. Again.

[4/16/97] - Calling all Australian Tool fans; if you have access to JJJ radio, tonight (Thursday night there) there will be a "3 Hours of Power" tribute to Tool. Catch it. Also, though it feels like it happened much longer ago, today is the one year anniversary of the site moving to the address "toolshed.down.net". For those who haven't gone and read the t.d.n history, available in the More section, the name was suggested by Maynard, after a whole slew of folks were unable to come up with anything better than "sucked.down.net", "dragged.down.net", or even "i-hope-it-sucks-you.down.net." In that year, site accesses have increased over thirteenfold daily, and the site has been noted by many a notable media outlet. Oh, and Tool put out a new album in that year, too.

[4/13/97] - The automation of t.d.n has finally begun; concert reviews should no longer be sent to Kabir via email. Reviews for the latest Australian shows can now be posted automatically, check the Tour section for the submission form. (Older reviews will still follow the same procedure; but the summer tour will be completely automated.) There are, coincidentally, a bunch of new reviews online. Also, within a few days, a brand new Links section will be available; posting there will also be automatic. If you have a page you want linked, start practicing typing the URL...

[4/11/97] - To all who have sent in links to be posted, stay tuned; a new-look Links section is on its way, as is a revised and expanded Audio section (you t.d.n veterans can probably guess what it's going to look like).

[4/10/97] - The new FAQ has been slightly (very slightly) revised today, a few errors have been cleaned up. Concert reviews continue to stream in, as well.

[4/9/97] - At last, the new FAQ is done!!! Also, this machine was down for 9 hours this morning, I just found out; but even so, in the past 30 hours, over 300 emails have been sent to MTV. (The machine was down for nine of those. Wow.) Anyhow, go read the FAQ.

[4/7/97] - Only one question remains, then the FAQ will be done. Latest word from Lifetime TV is that they don't have the rights to broadcast the Tori Amos RAINN concert currently, but that it may happen in the future. And, speaking of cable channels, here's your chance to complain to one.

[4/4/97] - The FAQ should have been done by now, but the machine needed servicing early tonight, so I was unable to finish it. Agh. Clarification about that MTV News situation; again, MTV did not perpetuate the rumor, they were trying to clear it up. More soon.

[4/3/97] - A new FAQ had been scheduled for the 1st, it should be ready by tomorrow. And t.d.n has hit infamy: MTV news has been running a spot about "a Tool website reporting that 3 members of Tool were injured", and confirming that they are OK. You can read about it also at their news pages, as well as at the pages of rockdaily.com, a national radio network. I continue to be amazed at the scope of this site's readership; it wasn't supposed to go this far. On a related note, thanks to everyone who kept me sane last night in the wake of the negative responses I've received regarding the April Fools' incident. I did feel genuinely bad about some of the aftereffects, and you folks made an amazing difference; to me and to the future of this site. (Incidentally, only 10-15% of the responses were, in fact, negative).

[4/2/97] - Tour reviews continue to flood into the Tour section, along with a link to the BMG Australia Tour page! Seems today is the day for clearing up a lot of things. Tool was not involved with the Heaven's Gate cult (the ones who committed mass suicide in California last week), first of all. "No Quarter", again, has been recorded but not released; there are still no concrete plans for its release, though I'd expect it this year =). Lollapalooza does seem to be an almost-definite for this summer, even if official word hasn't yet come down. Final confirmation (yes or no) should be out soon.

Lastly (and I apologize) is a slight editorial. We reap what we sow; I stand accountable for yesterday's uncharacteristic lack of tact. But I must comment on the public reaction. For perhaps the first time in my life, I understand how major bands feel when they release a new album, and everyone doesn't like it. Think of how often we turn on someone who has been good to us; if our favorite band puts out a bad album, how often do we suddenly make it our mission to broadcast how badly they suck? Casting aside our past love for their early work, we seize any available opportunity to throw stones. We come to expect something from them. Everyone can have an off day; the first t.d.n hatemail in two years came in today. I've been doing this for free since Day 1, I do the best I can. What more can I say. I'm human. I'm not perfect, I fucked up. I've learned; t.d.n won't "cry wolf" again. Fear not, I do feel badly as well. Hope to see you around here again.

[4/1/97] - In much of the world, today is April Fools' Day, a day full of trickery. The alleged bus accident in Australia was simply an example of April Fools' madness; no shows have been cancelled, and the band is all healthy and fine. It is highly recommended that you read the facts about this situation.

[3/31/97] - If yesterday's additions to the Video section weren't enough, now there are stills from the elusive "Hush" and "Sober" videos online!

[3/30/97] - The Tour section has a few May European dates listed, and is home to the first reviews from the just-started Australian tour. At long last, those Tori-MJK videos are online! Check the new-look Video section. Also, tab voting results have been retallied, preferred bass tabs for "Opiate" and "Forty-Six & 2" are now available. By the way, if you have submitted a tablature recently, it has not been posted because I've been waiting for the voting to end; once a favorite has been selected, it will go up again against new submissions. Thanks also to Shane for pointing out that Tool (and other bands) recently voiced their feelings on the Egyptian government's method of handling 'metalheads.' The story is online at Addicted To Noise. Various other bits of the site have also been cleaned up.

[3/26/97] - At long last, the tour reviews from the early half of the spring tour are online! As you peruse them, you'll notice that I'm trying to make up for having been offline recently: the Tour section is now laid out in an entirely new, somewhat different format which should make browsing reviews easier. Don't miss the two new tour dates, in Europe this May. Also, several tabs are no longer up for voting, a favorite has been selected for "Stinkfist", "Hush", "Eulogy", "jimmy", and "Hooker with a Penis."

[3/20/97] - Even though it's not 100% in stone, you can probably count on Tool playing Lollapalooza's second-to-headline spot this summer. Exact tour dates, as well as May dates in Europe will be posted shortly.

[3/17/97] - This note is completely non-Tool-related, but it is important. While I was away last week, someone thought it would be a good idea to mail me a 3MB sound file of "H." so I could tell him that I was hearing 'hidden backwards messages'; even though I had already told him that these alleged mumblings did not exist. This unsolicited "submission" sent my email account over quota, which is why many of you received bounced mail (or t.d.n feedback or votes) from me between last Thursday and yesterday. I run this page in my free time, and I'd like to think I don't deserve such frivolous wastes of my time. The Contribute page asks that any file submissions over 30K be sent to kabir@e.down.net -- all I ask is that you please play by the rules.

[3/12/97] - If you're planning on going to the show in Corpus Christi tonight, please call the venue before you leave home; word on the street is that the show has been cancelled. I have no other info, so please check with Texas Sky Park before you start your car. Less importantly, There are a lot of tour reviews that are about to go up; as well as an armload of images and sounds. As it is, I've been without email access for nearly a week, which is why I haven't written any of you back yet. Thanks for being patient.

[3/10/97] - Kabir is recovering from wisdom tooth surgery. Expect regular t.d.n updates again within a few days.

[3/6/97] - Updates will be spotty for a few days, I'm traveling out of town yet again. Agh.

[3/4/97] - The concert reviews are back in full swing this season, roughly fifteen were just made available from the Tour page, and more will just keep on coming, no doubt. Regarding Lollapalooza, nobody is still 100% sure, but it's looking like they will be playing the second-to-last spot.

[3/3/97] - No, Tool did not win the Grammy for "Best Recording Package", but how much can that possibly mean? Lots of concert reviews will be posted hopefully tomorrow. If I didn't get back to you via email recently, or if I did but was really terse, I apologize, I'm just really busy this week again. Special note: the "chickenweasel" fun is mostly over; but fear not, there will be some new, more innocuous plan for later...


(Tool)

"Your pal" Kabir Akhtar (kabir@down.net)