Category: News

BRUTUS RETURNS TO HOST ROCKFEST 2020

For the fifth straight year, LB will return as host one of the premiere concert events in America: Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin.

This year may very well be the best lineup in the long history of the festival. It includes Slipknot, Disturbed, Staind, Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Theory of A Deadman, Hellyeah, Saint Asonia, Anthrax, Of Mice & Men, Bad Wolves, Chevelle, Hollywood Undead, All That Remains, Like A Storm, Crobot, Bones UK, Avatar, We Came As Romans, Fozzy, Memphis May Fire, Gemini Syndrome, Through Fire, Hyro the Hero, Rachel Lorin, and many more.

Brutus will host onstage, interview the artists backstage, and be in the photo pit capturing the action. You’ll also have chances to meet him in person at special signings for his new book SONIC WARRIOR: My Life As A Rock N Roll Reprobate. Darla the Wonder Dog will not be appearing.

Lou was recently a guest on The Rock Fest Podcast with Cooper. They cover the festival, getting baked with Snoop Dogg, and what is now being referred to as The Darla Factor. Listen to it here.

For ticket information and more hit Rock-Fest.com.

10 QUESTIONS WITH LOU BRUTUS

The esteemed broadcast industry website All Access has honored Lou by making him the subject of their first 10 Questions feature for the rock world in the new year.

Brutus was quizzed about many aspects of his career, even going back as far as his internship at WMMR/Philadelphia. They also cover how he first came to be nationally syndicated, some of his favorite interviews, and his thoughts on how Rock music is treated by the Grammy Awards. There is also insight into Lou’s forthcoming book SONIC WARRIOR: My Life as A Rock N Roll Reprobate (Tales of Sex, Drugs and Vomiting at Inopportune Moments) and even a section on Darla the Wonder Dog.

You can read the entire interview here.

Many thanks to both Ken Anthony and Joel Denver of All Access for featuring LB and congratulations to them on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the site.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM LOU & DARLA

As the holiday season opens, Lou and Darla the Wonder Dog have unveiled their Christmas card for 2019.

This year’s card features artwork based on the cover of an old Archie Comics Christmas Classic. Lou explained, “I figured since the new Riverdale show was wreaking havoc on Archie’s legacy, it would be nice to salute the comic’s old school roots.”

As with previous cards, the art was done by The Alan MacBain Cartoon Company. You can check out older cards and other images in the Art section of the site here. Alan is currently working on original illustrations for Lou’s upcoming book entitled “Sonic Warrior: My Life As A Rock N Roll Reprobate (Tales of Sex, Drugs & Vomiting at Inopportune Moments).” The book will be published by Rare Bird Books on April 14, 2020.

Each of this year’s cards are hand-signed by both Lou and Darla. If you’re not already on the list to receive one, the best way to get a card is to send a card of your own. The address is Brutus World Industries PO Box 361 Arnold, MD 21012. Supplies are limited!

SLIPKNOT AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR

It was a history making event as Slipknot headlined the Iowa State Fair with LB on hand to interview and photograph the band, as well as act as stage emcee.

The group had dreamed of playing the hometown event for twenty-years, but a variety of factors kept them from making happen. However, on Saturday August 10th, 2019, it finally happened. The gig, which occurred the day after the new album “We Are Not Your Kind” was released, was completely sold out with French metal gods Gojira opening the proceedings. Lou was given the honor of announcing the band at this momentous occasion, having been introduced to the crowd by his friend Andy Hall from longtime hardDriveRadio affiliate Later 103.3 in Des Moines. He gave a short, emotional speech on his love for the band and the importance of live music.

Before the show, Lou conducted at 30-minute interview with the band’s Corey Taylor which covered every aspect of the new album and latest tour cycle. He then photographed the concert from the photo pit then ended the night joining the band backstage. In the days leading up to the concert, Brutus drove the diehard maggots into a frenzy with limited-edition stickers commemorating the show featuring the fair’s legendary butter cow, which is literally a cow carved from butter. Droves of fans combed the fairgrounds in search of LB calling out the phrase from the sticker “You can’t see Iowa without the butter cow’s eyes!” The stickers are now completely gone.

SONIC TEMPLE

A debt of gratitude to everyone involved in my weekend at the Sonic Temple Festival. The artists include Disturbed, Papa Roach, Ghost, Bring Me the Horizon, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Chevelle, The Struts, The Hives, The Interrupters, The Glorious Sons, Palaye Royale, Halestorm, Tom Morello, Parkway Drive, Beartooth, Avatar, Starset, Bad Wolves, Badflower, Killswitch Engage, Architects, Fever 333 and others I’m forgetting as I’m running on fumes. Thanks to the tour managers, label staffs, crews, techs, security, drivers and additional people who make rock shows run behind the scenes. Props also to the people from both DWP and Mapfre Stadium for the hospitality. Major kudos to the hardDrive Radio crew including Paul Spagna and James Shefferman for being the boots on the ground while Bill Powell handled tech and social media offsite. Finally, the biggest thanks go to the fans who come out to slog thru the heat and rain to bring it all to life. Let’s do it some more!