I love Instagram, it's my favorite social network. Besides forgoing the clutter of pointless status updates, and just focusing on photos, it's the only social network that Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe is still a member of. Much like when he was the MVP of Twitter, when he had one, Randy posts some incredibly interesting photos on Instagram, which are usually accompanied by paragraphs of text worth reading.
This weekend, Randy was posting photos from New York City, saying he was here on a secret mission. Earlier today, he broke the news that he will be hosting a monthly show on SiriusXM Liquid Metal, called "The Crucible" on Instagram. This was so top secret, I didn't even know about it until now, and I host the weeknight shift on the channel. I guess they didn't want me to leak out the information, which…um, I guess I'm doing now. Here is Randy's full announcement:
“The reason I came to NYC was to record the first installment of my radio show for Sirius/XM’s Liquid Metal channel. That’s right, I have my own damn radio show now. My homeboy Jose Mangin (who has done a lot for lamb if god since the start) hit me up and said- “Um, dude, do you want a radio show?” WHY NOT? I have decided to call my show THE CRUCIBLE. Besides being a fantastic play by Arthur Miller (and a container that holds MOLTEN METAL), a crucible is defined as a difficult or trying experience, one that you come out of harder and more refined and more pure.
Sometimes life is like that- you have to step into the fire to burn away all the crap and and just take the pain that comes with it. It hurts, but if you want to be A BETTER PERSON, you face this stuff and forge yourself anew, PURER and HARDER. One thing that has always helped me through these times is MUSIC. So on my show, I’ll be playing songs by bands that have helped shape me into the man that I am today, that have gotten me through the rough shit. I’ll also be playing songs by newer artists I like, and I’ll be telling some stories about what all the tunes mean to me. Then, once every show if I can, I will interview a member of one of the bands I’ll be playing, and I’ll ask them about what their music means to them. Right now (due to scheduling and my uncertain future), the show will be once a month- I want to do it more often eventually, but right now I’m kinda busy and have a situation to settle.
For my first guest, I wanted someone who has seen some hard times himself, who has gone through some brutal stuff and come out a better man. I needed a real-deal, no bullshit, highly respected and moral, yet hard-as nails motherfucker. I immediately thought of one dude. He’s a legend and a good friend of mine, so he came up to do my first show and KICK IT.
John Joseph (AKA Bloodclot), singer of the almighty CRO-MAGS. John is an amazing dude who has lived a life that would crush, break, and destroy most folks- I don't think a lot people would make it out of a childhood like his alive, much less go on to be a living legend with such a positive message. Just read his autobiography,"The Evolution of a Cro-magnon", and you will see what I mean. Dude gets MAD RESPECT for a reason- he's as real as it gets, and no one to fuck with AT ALL, but also is one of the nicest most humble and generous men I have ever met. Big hearted dude, and I'm proud to call him a friend! So thanks Bloodclot and Jose Mangin for helping me bring THE CRUCIBLE to life!
I'll be announcing the air dates soon- I wanna get nutty with this show, and use it kinda like this instagram- share some art and tell some stories behind it- here it's photos, on the show it will be tunes. We blasted some Cro-mags for the interview potion if the show and I talked about what the tunes meant to me, then asked John about what they meant to HIM. When you make music, if it's ANY GOOD, the listener takes it and makes it their own. I've done that with Cro-mags and countless other bands- for me, it's cool to talk to the faces behind the songs- I'm a fan of music first, and a band guy second. Watch out for my show!
Needless to say, I am incredibly excited to hear Randy's show, and see what music he has in store for us. No word yet on when the show will air, but we will update you. And if you feel like trying out SiriusXM, they are doing a free 30 day trial right now. You can sign up here.
And as an aside, in the photo above, Jose is wearing the super awesome Reign Injection Metal Injection shirt which you can grab here.
