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Exclusive

IRON STEEL EXCLUSIVE BLOG ENTRY #5: MORGAN ROSE ON BEING THE TOUR MANAGER

 Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 5:43pm by

Morgan Rose[Welcome to the fifth installment of our exclusive blog series from the new thrash supergroup Iron Steel, featuring Morgan Rose (Sevendust) on drums; Jim LaMarca (Chimaira), Dave Ellefson (ex-Megadeth) and Rachel Bolan (Skid Row) all on bass; along with vocalist and guitarist Fran Strine and guitarist Tommy Redd. Each week a different member will be posting a blog entry at MetalSucks. This week Sevendust skinsman Morgan Rose talks about the trials and tribulations of being the band's de-facto tour manager. (Check out Fran Strine’s, Jim LaMarca’s, Tommy Redd’s and Dave Ellefson's previous entries.]

If you asked me a year ago if I would be the only island of sanity in an otherwise raucous, insane metal super-group, I would tell you that you were NUTS. The fact is, they need SOMEONE around here who is realistic, grounded and sensible, so here I am!

At NAMM Ellefson and Fran were having flashbacks, LaMarca got out of control at our release party and Tommy… well, Tommy is just a dangerous dude on the whole. Rachel Bolan only speaks to us via morse code transmissions and I recently heard that we were bringing even more people into this psychotic mess of a band – scary!

I’ve become the de-facto tour manager for the band lately because all our tour managers wind up either quitting, getting killed in one of Tommy’s ill-planned maneuvers or disappearing on their way to take the groupies home. The last one went to bring Tommy one of his bags and brought the wrong one up from under the bus – it was his stash of grenades – and it exploded as the tour manager swung it over his shoulder. We found the poor guy, headless, hanging from a tree on the outskirts of the parking lot we were in.

The most interesting part of the tour manager duties is maintaining the list of what we spend money on here. You learn a lot about a person from what they spend their per diem on, for sure. From Fran’s purchase last week of 6 bottles of Jack Daniels, 2 boxes of Hello Kitty Band-Aids, 30 black bandannas a box of Grits and a bucket of KFC to Ellefson’s stockpile of Red Bull and Pixie Sticks (how did you THINK he got all those side projects done? 12 hours awake just isn’t enough!), it is telling for sure. LaMarca bought a tazer gun, a case of chocolate milk, 20 copies of the DRAGONFORCE record and some whoopee cushions yesterday and Tommy bought an electron microscope, night vision goggles and fireworks from a state that wasn’t supposed to sell them with what he saved up of his per diem over the last few months.

I, of course, bought Ramen Noodles, Mac & Cheese Mix, a few bottles of water and a bottle of multi-vitamins. Boring, I know, but I might actually make it through this promo tour with my health intact. That is, if I continue to avoid Tommy and if we can find another new tour manager soon.

-Morgan Rose, IRON STEEL

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  • Porkpsam

    “The fact is, they need SOMEONE around here who is realistic, grounded and sensible, so here I am!”

    uhm if you were indeed those things you would have never let this attrocity see the light of day. May have sounded like a good idea stoned/drunk/etc. but in real life, not so much.
    and sa far as a tour manager? uhm yeah cause sevendust really was the bomb yo and much was to be learned with the group of winners

  • Seth

    Sevendust isnt bad and Morgan is actually a really sweet drummer. Im so sick of all these metal drummers today that just pop on a double bass pedal and think they are sweet. Morgan at least added some creativity with his bass/snare combinations and creative use of hi hat and other sounds. Plus he does vox, which I respect. Maybe this super group sucks, but this guy aint bad.

  • ERiK

    Morgan is great, I wish I knew a drummer around here that could play like him. Regardless, this band is a total joke. Parody metal is funny for like 2 songs and then it’s boring. Thier singer is a hack/wannabe Halford and he can’t do it. He is a disgrace to the genre. Halford should bend him over, ass rape him, stick his bloody shit covered dick in this clown’s mouth, and blow a load.

    Are these guys ever going to play a show? They sure talk a big game. I have a feeling that the Bullet Boys would outdraw these guys.

  • Porkpsam

    Seth I’m not putting him down as a person. He may be a great guy. Drummers tend to be the more easy to get along with people from groups. Just This supergroup is a joke. And come on, sevendust had to have fucking Daughtry from american Idol come and write for them on their new cd, plus they used the vocalist from alter bridge and the guitarist (ex-creed). Some real metal going on there I’m sure… Once you bring in outside writers sorry but your cred is shot. And guest spots from members of creed is about as cool as being produced by Fred Durst.

  • Seth

    Sam, I cant argue any of those points–I havent listened to a sevendust album since HOME (which i find to be a great album). I bet their new stuff blows, and this band, i havent listened to either–nor will I based on the comments here. I was however, defending Rose because as I stated, I think he’s a sweet drummer. As I re-read your post I see you were not bashing him personally anyway, but overall he wasnt gettin it too easy, so I figured i’d throw a kind word his way.