Odds & Ends: Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Heart, The Hives

Nine Inch Nails splits with its manager and promises a new lineup in 2014 … Heart is the latest act to cancel an appearance at SeaWorld … Pixies announce its new touring bassist … The Hives apologize for offending Boston fans with song dedication.

One bit of news Trent Reznor didn’t reveal during last week’s Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session was that Nine Inch Nails is no longer managed by Jim Guerinot of Rebel Waltz.   

When Pollstar contacted Rebel Waltz this morning the management company confirmed the news but said “no comment.”

Rebel Waltz’s client roster now includes No Doubt and Gwen Stefani as well as The Offspring, Josh Freese and Robbie Robertson.

Photo: Scott Legato / RockStarProPhotography.com
Voodoo Experience, City Park, New Orleans, La.

During Thursday’s Reddit AMA Reznor said Nine Inch Nails plans to tour in 2014 with a new lineup.

“Here are some thoughts on touring: When we commit to a touring cycle, it usually is at least a year long, and can start to feel stale after X amount of time,” Reznor said. “What I’m doing this cycle is making each leg of the tour have its own identity. The festival run we did over the summer was very different from the Tension tour we just finished. We’re currently rehearsing with a new incarnation of the band for what’s ahead. This keeps things fresh from a musician’s perspective, but also keeps things interesting for fans in an era where every show ends up on YouTube. The setlist and presentation moving forward will be very different from what we just did. That’s part of the incentive behind releasing the Tension footage now. That was one very specific look at Nine Inch Nails in the Fall of 2013, that I wanted the whole world to be able to see (just like you can see the festival footage on YouTube, which was its own thing). Yes, we are planning to return to North America in 2014…”

Speaking of lineup changes, Pixies announced that Paz Lenchantin is joining the guys as the band’s touring bassist for its North American, South American and European summer dates.

Lenchantin takes over following last week’s news that Pixies had parted ways with Kim Shattuck, who had joined the band less than five months earlier to replace Kim Deal.

The new bassist’s resume includes her work with A Perfect Circle, ZWAN and The Entrance Band.

Photo: PixiesMusic.com
Pixies’ new touring bassist

“We are really looking forward to playing with her on these dates,” said drummer David Lovering. “Working with different bass players is very new for the band, but we’re having a great time doing it.”

The Pixies haven’t comment about why the band split with Shattuck. Today’s announcement about Lenchantin also included additional festival appearances in South America and Europe. The band returns to the road Jan. 15 with a show in Toronto launching its North American tour.

Apparently a song dedication during The Hives’ show in Boston on Thursday didn’t go over so well.

“This song’s for everyone in Boston. It’s about stuff blowing up. It’s called ‘Tick, Tick, Boom,’” singer Pelle Almqvist reportedly told the crowd at TD Garden, according to CBS Boston.

Photo: Biggi Krebel
Download Festival, Donington Park, UK

The Swedish rockers, who were supporting Pink, posted an apology on Facebook following complaints on social media referencing April’s Boston Marathon bombings.

“About last night: I wanted to dedicate a song to the Boston crowd because they had been so great throughout the show, and unfortunately ‘Tick Tick Boom’ was the next song in the set. The tragic Boston Marathon bombing never once crossed my mind while on stage, and of course it should have. My most sincere apologies to the people of Boston for this unintentional but serious mistake.”

The official tally for number of acts nixing SeaWorld appearances in the past few weeks is now up to 3.

Following cancellations by Barenaked Ladies and Willie Nelson, Heart says it won’t take the stage in Orlando either.

“Heart has chosen to decline their forthcoming performance at SeaWorld on 2/9/14 due to the controversial documentary film ‘Blackfish,’ the band tweeted Dec. 7.

Photo: John Davisson
Bridge School Benefit, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, Calif.

Nancy Wilson sent out her own tweet Dec. 6 saying, “The Sea World show was planned long ago as an Orlando show. Had we known, we’d have said no then. We said no today. Love you all.”

She added, “I am a big Orca fan.I hosted a nature documentary once called Baby Wild all about Orcas. I’m happy to stand w/all of u to protect our animals.”

“Blackfish” portrays the reported mistreatment of killer whales in captivity as well as the subsequent consequences and danger to trainers. The film features the story of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca that has killed three people, including a SeaWorld trainer in 2010.

SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck told CNN Sunday, “While we’re disappointed a small group of misinformed individuals was able to deny fans what would have been great concerts at SeaWorld by Heart, Barenaked Ladies and Willie Nelson, we respect the bands’ decisions.”