Courtesy photo

Staind headlines the tour, which stops in Roanoke on Tuesday.

Times are tough, but four mainstream rock bands say they want to give you a big show for a relatively small price.

So Staind, Shinedown, Chevelle and Halestorm are headed to Roanoke Civic Center Coliseum on Tuesday, an early stop on their "Stimulate This!" summer tour.

Staind's Aaron Lewis came up with the idea and name for this tour, a play on words on the national stimulus package and a way to help out cash-strapped fans suffering in the rough economic climate. Even the most expensive tickets, about $44.50, will average to about $12 per band, not counting purchasing fees.

Lewis has recently written and released Staind's first politically oriented song. "Rainy Day Parade" includes these lyrics: "What I see is all too real/What I need is what you steal/And all I reap is what you take/Upon my back on which you break."

Lewis said that the national debt has him "really f-ing p----d off."

"And to look at it in such an illogical way as, let's borrow more money from everywhere else in the world, instead of, you know -- government's too big," he said. "Government already has more control than what they're supposed to have, as per the original document that created it all. ... We as a people in this country are allowing a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals to completely destroy what it is that we all value so much."

Shinedown frontman Brent Smith agreed.

"What's the next step?" Smith said. "If somebody can't pay taxes, if they can't pay their mortgage, because the government has already taxed us so aggressively, then what are you gonna do? You gonna execute people next, because they can't pay you?

"It's that age-old comment, you know, 'You can't get blood from a turnip.' So what do you do? Well, you just kill it."

Unfortunately, the conference call situation with a group of reporters from around the country limited follow-up questions. And those statements just begged for follow-ups related to the history and nature of national debt and national tax policy. Not to mention vegetable homicide.

So we'll boil it down to this: These bands care about their fans and want them to get their money's worth. It would seem they have the success to do it.

Hit-making bands

If you're a mainstream heavy rock fan, this lineup is loaded from the opening act on.

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale, whose band takes the stage first, is a prime example. Among females, there have been very few major stars in hard rock music. Lita Ford might have been the last, and her only platinum selling album is two decades old. Shinedown's Smith thinks Hale could be next.

"The reality of it is, as far as rock music is concerned, it's been waiting a long, long time for Lzzy, especially in this day and age" Smith said. "She is one of the only frontwomen that I've ever seen take an audience that may not know anything about her, or anything about her band, Halestorm, and by the end of it, they are put under this incredible trance that she is able to do. It's quite mesmerizing ... to watch. She is really the epitome of a superstar. We're all lucky to have her on the tour."

Shinedown, second on the bill, appears to be breaking out. Its single "Sound of Madness," hit No. 1 on the Billboard mainstream rock chart week before last and this week is breaking into the alternative/modern rock list, at No. 9. Its lighter single, "Second Chance," has spent the past couple of weeks in the Billboard pop singles Top 20. Both come from the CD "The Sound of Madness," released last year. It, too, crossed over, peaking at No. 8 among top albums.

"We just wanted to go above and beyond what we thought we could do, and I think we accomplished that" with the CD, Smith said.

Halestorm is also in the Billboard chart, with "I Get Off" at No. 8 on the mainstream rock chart. Hale received publicity recently when she was selected among Revolver magazine's "hottest chicks in metal." Her brother, Arejay, is the band's drummer.

Staind, best known for the crossover hit single, "It's Been Awhile," for years has scored in the modern rock and mainstream rock charts. Its recent album, 2008's "The Illusion of Progress," peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard pop album chart. Three previous CDs topped that chart.

Each of Chevelle's three CDs has landed in the pop chart's top 20.

"I think this is the strongest tour of the year," Smith said, "or at least of the summer."