STACK NZ Jul #75

NEWS EXTRAS

MAN OVERBOARD

Issue 75 JULY 2016

EXTRAS

• Jon Toogood is looking forward to the new Shihad album; Shailene Woodley talks Allegiant . Pg 4 • Kiwi star Karl Urban on Star Trek Beyond . Pg 5 • Jack Black in Kung Panda 3 ; Broods' Caleb Knott. Pg 6 • Competition, quiz, STACK Social. Pg 8

TECH Gaming Assessories: The latest headsets and keyboards. Pg 9 FEATURES

Good Charlotte

Blu-ray: An in-depth look at the hottest new BD releases, plus your guide to 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray. Pg 10-12 DVD/Blu-ray Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice: Director Zach Snyder and star Ben Affleck on the clash of the DC titans. Pg 14-15 GAMES E3: All the news from the annual video games convention in Los Angeles. Pg 16-19 MUSIC Good Charlotte: Benji Madden tells us how his mentoring helped shape the new album. Pg 20 Jeff Lynne: Graham Reid considers the remarkable career of the ELO founder. Pg 22

Travis Barker explains how Blink-182 have put the departure of frontmanTom DeLonge behind them. Words: Zoë Radas

T here was a time there, back in early 2015, when every other day you heard another sour story about Blink-182; the iconoclastic pop-punk trio were apparently in-fighting, and their position as perennial bros was suddenly shaky and confused. “It wasn’t like anyone was Twittering, ‘so- and-so sucks,’” drummer Travis Barker tells us. “It was just trying to explain to the fans what was going on.” What was going on was that vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge had left the group, and the reasons were murky even to his former bandmates. “It was hard, but everything happened for a reason,” Barker explains. “At that time when Tom took his hiatus from the band, I honestly think he needed a break and he really wanted to pursue other things. I’m friendly with Tom; I respect Tom and any decisions of his – but all we did is, we continued on. "We had a couple of shows booked. We followed through with them. We kept our commitment and then decided to experiment

with getting in the studio and that’s how California came about.”

Those shows Barker is describing featured the talents of Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, who agreed to fill in for DeLonge. “I was surprised how great he sounded singing Tom’s parts,” Barker says. “He has kind of the same register as far as his voice, and he just killed those parts. It was really great.” When the chemistry kept rolling, Barker and third bandmember Mark Hoppus asked Skiba to join them in songwriting, and the return to Blink form – which Barker says had been hampered by DeLonge’s interest in Coldplay and U2, bands he insists he is not “dogging out”, but which nonetheless are a definite shift away from the Blink style – resulted in 30 tracks spilling into the studio, from which the group picked the best 14. “We play fast, melodic, energetic music,”

EXTRAS

REVIEWS

DVD/Blu-ray Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice , Kung Fu Panda 3 , Supergirl: Season 1 , Gods Of Egypt , 10 Cloverfield Lane , My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and more

Pg 23-26 MUSIC Peter Garrett, Bat For Lashes, Van Morrison, Descendents, Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac. Pg 28-30

Kung Fu Panda 3

Barker says.”It was kind of easy to just do what we naturally do on this album.”

California by Blink-182 is out now.

RATINGS GUIDE

LET THE 4K BLU-RAY REVOLUTION BEGIN! Panasonic has just released New Zealand’s 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray player, backed with a special bundling offer from JB Hi-Fi. The UB900 is priced $1199.99 and if you buy it at JB Hi-Fi, you will get two free 4K Blu-ray titles of your choice to kickstart your new High Def library. To learn more about 4K Blu-ray, see pages 12-13.

All information believed correct at time of printing. All images used for promotional purposes only. Copyright of respective owners is acknowledged. © 2016 Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher.

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