Ask the Dude Back: July 14, 2008

Today is the opening day of Darkest Hour’s tour with legendary swedish thrash metal gods At the Gates. Needless to say my young jedi powers are needed this week in order to take care of all things rock related. Never fear, the thrash metal partying and stage diving will not stop the letters from a flow’n. I’ll be back Monday July 14, 2008 with some new advice to help all you dudes out there Get R’ Done!

Introducing Ask the Dude’s Gear Guru

Introducing our resident Gear Guru, Aaron Deal. Aaron is a close personal friend of The Dude, and long time rocker, with over 15 years band experience on bass, guitar, and drums. As assistant manager and sales associate at three different (MD and VA) Guitar Center locations over the last 7 years, he is no stranger to music gear and it’s applications. Aaron is also highly skilled in the arts of home recording, guitar/amp maintenance, repair and modification. He currently plays drums in Salome and holds down the bass in Nitro Tokyo. Aaron is not only a killer fellow dude, he also knows his shit and is someone that even The Dude seeks advice from.

Check out his first addition to the site here.

Ask the Dude Live at this Summers Thrash and Burn Tour

Hey Dudes!

In conjunction with the organizers of this summers inaugural Thrash and Burn tour, I am excited to announce that I will be inviting you backstage this summer to answer your Ask the Dude questions in person.

When the idea of doing Ask the Dude Live came up I was far beyond stoked (catch the Pantera reference?)! Meeting new people at shows and making new friends all over the world is probably the single most fulfilling thing about being a touring musician. It seems that the more hardcore, punk, and metal gets swallowed by the mainstream the more the true connection between artist and listener is lost. I hope to make some new friends, hold some killer parties, and hopefully maybe even help some dudes out this summer!

If you would like have your Ask the Dude question answered live, submit your question to live@askthedude.net. Please include your city and date when Darkest Hour will be in your town this summer (tour dates listed below) in the SUBJECT LINE of the email. If your question is chosen you will receive two spots on the band’s guest list with instructions on how, when, and where to meet me the day of the show.

Remember you can still always submit your questions directly to me at: thedude@askthedude.net to be posted on the Ask the Dude website! Also, check out Ask the Dude in print in this August’s issue of Alternative Press (issue 241).

Thrash and Burn 2008 Featuring Darkest Hour, Parkway Drive, Misery Signals, Winds of Plague, Stick to Your Guns, Arsis, Arsonists Get All the Girls, Abigail Williams, and After the Burial. W/ Special guests Suicide Silence, As Blood Runs Black, Emmure, Veil of Maya, Brother Von Doom and more on select dates.

Thrash and Burn Tour dates:

7/29 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre

7/30 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom

7/31 – Kansas City, KS @ Beaumont

8/01 – Dayton, OH @ The Attic

8/02 – Detroit, MI @ Dirtfest

8/03 – Milwaukee, WI @ Robot Moshfest

8/04 – Chicago, IL @ The Pearl Room

8/05 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners

8/06 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s

8/07 – Rochester, NY @ Penny Arcade

8/08 – Albany, NY @ Northern Lights

8/09 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre

8/11 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

8/12 – Huntington, WV @ The Monkey

8/14 – Long Island, NY @ The Crazy Donkey

8/15 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium

8/16 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar

8/17 – Virginia Beach, VA @ The Norva

8/18 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre

8/19 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade

8/20 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre

8/22 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit

8/23 – Houston, TX @ Java Jazz Outdoors

8/24 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues

8/25 – El Paso, TX @ Club 101

8/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

8/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues

8/28 – San Diego, CA @ Soma

8/29 – Bakersfield, CA @ The Dome

8/30 – San Bernadino, CA @ The Hudson Theatre

8/31 – San Francisco, CA @ The Grand

9/01 - Portland, OR @ The Hawthorne Theatre

9/02 – Spokane, WA @ The Big Easy

9/03 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven

See you guys there!

The Dude

Ask the Dude on Q101.1 Chicago

If you missed Ask the Dude on Q101.1’s Crash Test Radio in Chicago last week, listen to the complete interview here!

Ask the Dude ON Q101.1’s CRASH TEST RADIO IN CHICAGO

Hey Dudes! I will be calling in to Q101.1’s successful Crash Test Radio on June, Friday the 13th at 11pm (CST). I’ll be discussing the Ask the Dude advice column, as well DARKEST HOUR’s upcoming US tour supporting the reunited AT THE GATES.

“Crash Test Radio has been featuring metal and hardcore every Friday night and was thrilled at the idea of having Mike call into the program. Crash Test Radio airs at 11pm (CST) on 101.1FM in Chicago and streams live online worldwide at www.q101.com. Listen to this interview on Q101.1’s blog!

Laura Nichol Interview Up!

Check out the From the Road page for a new interview with Laura Nichol from Light This City.

Catch Ask the Dude on XM Radio!

Monday, May 12th, at 4:30 PM EST, Ask the Dude will be taking your questions live and jamming some tunes on XM Radio’s killer metal station Liquid Metal Channel #42 (if you have direct TV it’s number 841). If you don’t have XM you can download the free trial at: www.xmradio.com/xmlmoffer It’s good for 14 days. Make sure to call in with your band questions, problems, or opinions.

Check back on Monday, May 12 to see if the next question Ask the Dude answers is yours!