Tours used to almost always coincide with or closely follow the release of a new album. New album buzz helped drive ticket sales and exposure of new material during the tour helped drive album sales.  The nose-dive album sales has taken has even veteran acts re-thinking that sequence.  Bob Seger won't release the new album he has been working on until well into his tour. Now comes word that Alice Cooper has decided not to release the album he has already finished until after he completes a tour. Cooper made the decision to put his album on hold because it is a sequel to his album Welcome To My Nightmare, and he wants to develop a full tour around the songs on the 1975 and 2011 albums.  The new project includes contributions from original Alice Cooper band members Michael Bruce (guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums).  All will tour with Alice this summer and plane to be at the Rock Hall Of Fame induction for Cooper in New York this month.
Gibson.com   Balbbermouth.net

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Trying to mount a credible Kinks tour without Ray Davies is an impossibility, but how about one without Dave Davies?  We may get a chance to find out.  Ray, exasperated by his brother's resistance to doing anything involving him, is reportedly threatening to put the band back together without Dave.  The two have not played together as the Kinks since 1996 and were at odds so often during the decades the group was together that concerts routinely included verbal abuse between the two that sometimes escalated into physical confrontations.  Dave recently made it sound like he'd rather have his fingernails removed one at a time with pliers than participate in a Kinks reunion.  Speaking with Q magazine, Ray took a shot at his brother by saying, 'I'm a little more based on planet Earth than certain other members of my family', and added, 'We'll do it without him if we have to.'
Express.co.uk

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Steve Miller got the honor of doing the opening concert at the Moody Theater, the new hosting venue for the Austin City Limits show that airs on PBS affiliates.  A full house joined the Steve Miller Band for a set filled with lots of fan favorites. A good size crowd unable to score tickets to the grand opening event for the theater that is around twice the capacity of the previous site was able to enjoy the concert on a pair of large-screen monitors set-up outside of the W Hotel on 2d Street during a block party in the city that takes pride in presenting great music just about every night of the year.  Why Miller, who was born in Wisconsin, got the honor of the opening concert instead of a Texan may  have been a burr under the saddle of some Lone Star State music fans.
KXAN.com

MORE STEVE MILLER BAND INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

A version of the Tom Waits song Downtown Train will make an appearance on the new studio album Bob Seger plans to release later this year.  Seger recorded the song in the 80's, but made the mistake of mentioning how much he liked the song to Rod Stewart.  Stewart recorded it too, releasing it before Seger could get his record out.  Seger figures it's about time his version saw the light of day. Waits came to the attention of a lot of Rockers when the Eagles covered his song  Ol' 55 for their 1974 release On The Border.   Neil Young will induct Tom Waits into the Rock Hall Of Fame in a couple of weeks (story).
No title or release date has been set for the new Seger album.  The Motor City Rocker plans to finish it up between legs of his current tour, which has been adding dates at a good clip since first being announced a few weeks ago.
DetNews.com

MORE BOB SEGER INSIGHTS

Man In Motion is an appropriate album title for a guy that seldom stands still.  The new solo project from the Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule guitarist will get a May 10 release.  Haynes sounds justifiably stoked about the project, which includes contributions from Faces and James McMurtry keyboard player Ian McLagan, Ivan Neville, outstanding vocalist Ruthie Foster.  The Warren Haynes Band has a slot at the Wanee Festival in Florida in April, followed by some dates Down Under before the group returns stateside to make an appearance at Mountain Jam, where Haynes, an organizer of the annual festival at Hunter Mountain in the Hudson Valley, will make appearances with both his new band and Gov't Mule.
Relix.com

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Ben Harper's new solo album will include contributions form Ringo Starr and Jackson Browne.  Give 'Til It's Gone was recorded at  Jackson Browne's California studio.  Browne sings on the track Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn.  Ringo Starr drums on the instrumental Get There From Here and can also be heard on another song that he shares a writing credit for.  The album is scheduled for a May 17 release.
JamBands.com


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The prospect of another summer of sluggish concert ticket sales is leading to more acts deciding to combine their drawing power in the hope of being able to fill more seats.  Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks recently announced a series of dates. Two more acts that previously could count on filling fairly large venues on their own are teaming-up on the road.  Def Leppard and Heart have announced 18 summer dates on a tour that opens June 15 in West Palm Beach, FL.  Leppard has been off the road since abruptly canceling dates the UK mainstream metal band had added on to a tour in the fall of 2009 (story).  Ann Wilson says the pairing of the band she and sister Nancy front with Def Leppard makes for a '...powerful, monster show'. Additional dates will be announced. Get tour updates on the Def Leppard web site.
HenneMusic.com

MORE DEF LEPPARD INSIGHTS   MORE HEART INSIGHTS

Deep Purple is logging a brief tour in Mexico.  During a Tuesday (2/22) press conference in Mexico City the subject of a new album was brought up.  Lead singer Ian Gillan responded by saying, '...it's about time, isn't it?', and went on to reveal that the group plans to get together for a writing session soon.  Provided that produces material the band members are excited about, he expects recording sessions would get under way quickly and the band could crank out the new album in short order.  The group's last release, Rapture Of the Deep, came out in 2005.
HenneMusic.com

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Producers of award shows tend to be far too anal to allow for anything spontaneous to take place, but those atending the NME awards in London Tuesday (2/22) were treated to a spur of the moment decision by the Foo Fighters to get Roger Daltrey to join them for a version of the vintage Who classic Young Man Blues.  The rave-up came after the Who front man had presented Foo Fighter Dave Grohl with the evening\'s Godlike Genius (we kid you not) award.  Check out a shakey but exhilirating video of the performance here.
Spinner.com
 
MORE WHO INSIGHTS 

Guitarist Neal Schon is gushing about Eclipse, the new album Journey will release May 24.  The guitarist calls it a Rock record '...built for the places we're about to play.'  We're not sure exactly what that means, but Schon says he hasn't liked a Journey record like this one for a long time.  The group's last release, Revelation, came and went without getting much attention in 2008.  As for the new project, Schon says the songs on it will measure up much better to the best songs from the band's catalog.  The chance to recapture the band's signature sound took a step forward with the 2007 discovery of Arnel Pineda, the lead singer that Schon discovered online.  Jonathan Caine says the front man has '...brought a lot of heart and soul' to the band.  Does the record Rock? Caine calls the sound 'Journey with big combat boots on.'
HenneMusic.com   Las Vegas Review-Journal

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The final 2011 Glastonbury festival headline slot finally got confirmed when U2 announced during the NME awards that they will fill the headline role that Bono's back trouble last year prevented them from taking on.  The confirmation came by way of a video from The Edge, who also congratulated the organizers of the annual event that, as the guitarist put it, is, '...more a way of life than a festival.'  Reports U2 would make-up for not having been available last year have been circulating for months.  The Rolling Stones had also been rumored to be considering an appearance (story), but have since stated that no 2011 concerts will take place.  The festival was assured of success with or without either band: tickets sold out before a single act had been announced. U2 will play Glasto on June 24.
Guardian.co.uk

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A management rep for bizarre pop star Lady GaGa called the sax player for the E Street Band in Florida late on a Friday afternoon to let him know she wanted him to play on her new album.  When Clemons said he could get to it the following week he was told, 'No she needs you right now in New York City.' Clemons told Rolling Stone that he was greeted by a gaga GaGa, who ran down the hall, ecstatic that he'd agreed to do it.  The Big Man said that playing on the track titled Hair was such a blast he would have done it for free.
RollingStone.com   DigitalSpy.com

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The Moody Blues want the World International Property Forum to help them get the web rights to MoodyBlues.com reassigned to the band.  The group has been residing online at MoodyBlues.co.uk because others had already claimed both the MoodyBlues.com and TheMoodyBlues.com domain rights. Neither of those sites currently display anything of substance about the band.
DomainNameWire.com

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Hard core Pink Floyd fans can add vinyl pressings of Syd Barrett rarities to their collection on Record Store Day 2011.  The annual day established to help raise the profile of the remaining independent  music stores takes place April 16 this year.  Among the special releases being prepared for release on that day is a double gatefold album version of An Introduction To Syd Barrett, a compilation released in other formats in the fall of last year.  The collection, which was produced by David Gilmour, includes 18 tracks and will be available in limited quantities on 180g pressings.
RecordStoreDay.com    Examiner.com

MORE PINK FLOYD INSIGHTS

The Eagles opened an Asian leg of the Last Road Out Of Eden tour Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand.  The tour will include stops in Singapore, Osaka, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and will wrap-up in Hong Kong March 18.  The dates in Korea and China will be firsts for the veteran band.  A European series of dates will get underway with a concert in Norway in June.
Both Joe Walsh and Don Henley will release solo albums in 2011.
UnderCover.fm

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A stage monitor tripped up Meat Loaf during his set at the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown, NJ Saturday (2/19).  The resulting fall sent the big man face-first to the stage, but the monitor caught his rib cage and shin on the way. Gotta give props to him.  He got up, did a quick inventory of the extent of the damage, and made sure ticket holders didn't get just half a Loaf by picking-up right where he'd left off.
NJ.com

Whether the Who will mount another major tour is unknown, but a revival of the Rock Opera Tommy is being planned for Royal Albert Hall.  Roger Daltrey confirmed that he will include music from the 1969 double album in his concert set during the annual Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert at the historic venue.  Whether Pete Townshend will join him was not addressed, but the Who front man says he plans to make a lot of music during the next few years before giving all of his attention to painting.  His approach to either art form has to be all-in, Daltrey says: 'I do a bit of daubing in my spare time, but I know that when I start that seriously it's going to have to be serious, there won't be room for anything else.'
Music-News.com   VintageVinylNews.com

MORE WHO INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

A very early Bob Dylan concert set near Boston captured on tape will get released on vinyl and CD April 12.  The set was recorded when the future major American music icon appeared at the inaugural Brandeis University Folk Festival in Waltham, MA on May 13, 1963.  Recorded just a couple of weeks before the release of Freewheelin', Dylan's second album, the seven song set includes versions of his Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues and Masters Of War.
ConsequenceOfSound

MORE BOB DYLAN INSIGHTS

Alice Cooper and Jackson Browne occupy musical spaces that are pretty far apart.  But the shock and folk rocker have come together on a benefit concert for the shooting victims of the attack that critically wounded Congress woman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona January 8th.  Cooper, who lives in the Phoenix area, and Browne have called on David Crosby and Graham Nash, Nils Lofgren of the E Street Band, Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame, Keb' Mo, Dar Williams, Jerry Riopelle and others for the March 10 event.  The concert is being staged at the Tucson Convention Center. Gifford's husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and others will speak.
Money raised will go to a fund to help those dealing with trauma or facing hardship due to medical costs resulting from the shooting rampage that took six lives and left 13 wounded, and an organization formed to promote respect and understanding in the community.
AZCentral.com

Hard to know whether to have admiration or sympathy for a guy that is still fathering children in his 60's.  Rod Stewart joined the ranks of senior dads of diaper aged kids when wife Penny Lancaster delivered a son named Aiden Wednesday (2/16).  The 7lb 12 ounce youngster arrived healthy.  The couple has a 5 year-old son named Alastair.  Stewart has six other children by previous marriage.
HelloMagazine.com

MORE ROD STEWART INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Long before Jimmy Buffett began selling-out stadium concerts in record time, the Mississippi born troubadour was happy to draw an attentive circle of tourists and locals as he played on a street corner in the fabled French Quarter of New Orleans.  A lot more than the number of golden locks on his dome has changed for Jimmy since the late 1960's, but not his love for the Crescent City. So it's as sure as a good bowl of gumbo at a rural Louisiana food shack or good music at Antoines that Buffett is pleased to be the poster man for the 2011 New Orleans Jazz Festival.  The official event poster with a painting of JB busking for quarters in the Quarter done by Garland Robinette unveiled this week will cause some to question what a poster of Buffett strummin' his six string and wearing what would become standard attire for the millions of Parrotheads that flock to see has to do with Jazz.  The answer is a lot more than plenty of the artists that have infiltrated the lineup of the annual New Orleans event in recent years.  Buffett's Coral Reefer Band does and has included members with Jazz, Calypso, Reggae, Roots and World Music chops - something that certainly can't be said for Bon Jovi, Kid Rock!  Being from Mississippi, growing-up a Saints fan, loving Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Professor Longhair and probably hundreds of lesser known NOLA musicians helps, as does the fact he was actively front and center in helping the region respond to the BP oil spill disaster (story).  The Jazz Fest (ironically sponsored by Shell Oil) spans the last weekend in April and the first one in May (April 29-May 1, and May 5-8). Buffett will play the Fair Grounds Race Course on May 7. Not going to make it but want the poster? It's available at ArtForNow.com.
NOLA.com

MORE JIMMY BUFFETT INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

These days, technology can become obsolete between the time your head hits the pillow at night and your feet hit the floor in the morning.  That makes what seemed like a relatively short reign that 8 track tapes had as cutting edge seem like a dynasty compared with mediums like the laser disc and Sony's over almost before it even began mini-discs.  Whether the comparative staying power of 8 tracks will give a shrine to the bygone hulking plastic sheathed cases enough drawing power to keep its doors open remains to be seen, but we love the fact someone is willing to make a go of it.  Bucks Burnett has been collecting the discs since finding a copy of the Beatles White Album at a garage sale in 1988.  About 1/2 of the 3,000 8 tracks he has collected forms the core of the on-site archive of 8 tracks in the museum he has opened in Dallas.  Whatever happens, Burnett seems to have a relaistic outlook on things.  He says, 'I am a collector.  I buy things. I don't use things. That's what collectors do.  I'm not saying it's healthy.'  We think his prognosis might improve if he drops the admission fee a couple of bucks south of the $10 he wants people to pay.
NPR.org

Paul McCartney already has some classical composing under his belt.  Now the former Beatle has gone dance on us.  McCartney recently revealed that he has completed writing the score for a ballet.  Speaking with The Sun, Sir Paul called the music and choreography for the production 'exciting'.  Without getting into much detail about the ballet, he did say it would be headed for performances in New York City.  McCartney picked-up the Best Male Rock Vocal Grammy for the live version of Helter Skelter recorded when his band played CitiField in New York City.
Spinner.com

MORE PAUL McCARTNEY INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Licensing for the use of music and images in Rock Band, apps and other moderately high-tech devices have become important revenue streams to take some sting out of declining music sales.  The newest development on that front is an old school platform.  Stern Pinball, a company that has been producing the fixtures in arcades of old since the 1930's, is releasing a Rolling Stones pinball machine.  Stones fans with room in the den and the cash to bang a pleasure machine that plays 13 Stones tunes as they collect points by collecting RS album cover credits as balls ricochet under glass, step right up.  How soon is the Who version of the game coming?
PRNewswire.com

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Flash is no substitute for substance, which is why Mick Jagger, Muse, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers and a couple of Country Music acts made almost every Pop, Rap, HipHop and other kind of act look like clowns, impostures or worse during the Grammy awards Sunday (2-13).  The annual industry schmooze fest was as bloated as ever with acts whose music takes a distant back seat to spectacle.  Mick Jagger put them all to shame with a tribute to Solomon Burke with more energy and musical credibility than almost all the acts less than 1/2 his age could muster during their appearances,  Bob Dylan croaked his way through a version of Maggie's Farm that should convince the last of his fans that it's time for him to stop desecrating his songs by attempting to do them live.
Neil Young finally picked-up his first Grammy with a nod for Best Rock Song going to Angry World from his Le Noise album.  Nice to see him recognized about three decades and at least a dozen better songs late. Muse beat out Neil, Jeff Beck, Pearl Jam and Tom Petty for Best Rock Album honors. Jeff Beck picked-up Best Rock Instrumental Performance for Hammerhead off his Emotions & Commotion album.  Iron Maiden scored Best Metal Performance for The Final Frontier.  Them Crooked Vultures took home the Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy for the song New Fang, while Paul McCartney earned a nod for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for his live version of Helter Skelter off his album recorded live at Citi Field in New York.

MORE GRAMMY INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Gossip rags and sites have been feasting on the romance between John Mellencamp and actress Meg Ryan since the two were first spotted hand-in-hand a few weeks ago.  The frenzy reached a new level when photos emerged showing what appears to be a gold engagement band on Ryan's ring finger as the pair left his concert at Massey Hall in Toronto.  Even a novice can Photoshop a ring onto a finger, but the pics and blaring captions provoked no angry denials from Mellencamp's publicist.  Unless one comes soon, it looks like the pair plans on getting married - unless they already are.
Starcasm.com

MORE JOHN MELLENCAMP INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Jeez, consecutive relationship gossip stories - a first, and hopefully a last, for Rock Insights.  But it would be negligent of us not to follow the report that John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan appear headed for the aisle (story) with news that Ron Wood may be looking to get back together with his ex-wife.  Wood and the latest woman linked to the Stones and Faces veteran, 31 year-old Ana Araujo, have reportedly been increasingly at odds with each other.  The Daily Mail also attributes accounts to people in the know that say Wood is trying to get back together with his ex-wife, Jo Wood.  Given what we have heard from her, chances that will happen are even slimmer than the younger women the guitarist has been having very public affairs with.
DailyMail.co.uk

MORE RON WOOD INSIGHTS    ALL CURRENT STORIES

Charlie Gilmour, the 21 year-old son of David Gilmour by way of the former Pink Floyd guitarist's marriage to the young man's mother, may have more serious legal problems that first thought after he was swept-up by police as protests against tuition hikes got rowdy last fall.  Originally charged for having scaled a British war monument, the Cambridge University student has since been implicated in an attack on a Royal car carrying Prince Charles and his wife as the couple was in transit to the Royal Variety Performance in the London Palladium.  A rather bizarre earlier charge - one of stealing a mannequin leg from a shop display, was dropped during his court appearance Friday (2/11).  But other charges could be requested by the prosecutor before his next scheduled day before the magistrate, which is scheduled for March 25.
Express.co.uk

MORE DAVID GILMOUR INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Two veteran Rockers with new albums are hitting the road together for a series of dates in the spring.  Gregg Allman's Low Country Blues is already out and collecting good reviews.  The new Steve Miller Band release is scheduled for April 19.  Titled Let your Hair Down, the Steve Miller album will include the last songs done with decades long Miller Band harp player Norton Buffalo, who passed away in 2009 (story).  The Steve Miller Band will do a special show in Texas to raise money for the Austin PBS TV affiliate in advance of his tour with Allman.  The Feb. 24 benefit concert will be followed by an Austin City Limits performance in the show's new 2,700 seat venue. The tour featuring Miller's group and the Gregg Allman Band kicks off April 19 in North Charleston, SC and includes stops in Cary, NC (4/20), Columbus, OH (4/22), Toledo, OH (4/23), Philadelphia, PA (4/26), and Indiana, PA (4/27).
AntiMusic.com

MORE GREGG ALLMAN INSIGHTS   MORE STEVE MILLER INSIGHTS

2011 is shaping up as a busy year for Fleetwood Mac.  Drummer Mick Fleetwood recently said the group plans to return to the studio in the coming months.  Stevie Nicks will end a decade long drought by releasing her first solo studio album since 2001's Trouble In Shangri-La.  A lead track titled In Your Dreams became available through iTunes Wednesday (2/9).  The entire Secret Dreams album, which was jointly produced by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard, will get a May 3 release. Nicks and Rod Stewart have mapped out a co-headlining tour that opens in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida March 20.
WB Records

MORE STEVIE NICKS INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

The Rock Hall of Fame looked to steal some thunder from the Grammys by announcing that Neil Young, Elton John and Paul Simon will attend the induction ceremony in New York on March 14 as presenters.  Getting Young to attend any ceremony is a coup.  He will be handing hardware to another artist about as comfortable at an awards show as a fish is on a bicycle, Tom Waits.  Elton does the honors for fellow keyboard great Leon Russell, and Simon will officially welcome Neil Diamond.  Also on hand at the Waldorf Astoria event will be metal master Rob Zombie who welcomes Alice Cooper to the fold.  John Legend will do the same for Dr. John, while Bette Midler  will induct Darlene Love.
Spinner.com

MORE ROCK HALL OF FAME INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

The two concerts former members of the Buffalo Springfield did together a few months ago left them feeling good enough about the experience to want to share it with more audiences.  Rolling Stone magazine is reporting that a more extensive tour is in the works for later this year.  Neil Young, Stepehn Stills and Richie Furay got together on consecutive nights of Neil's Bridge School benefit concerts last October (story).  ,According to RS, David Crosby loves the idea of making it a co-headlining tour featuring the Byrds and the Springfield, but says Roger McGuinn doesn't have much interest in that. There's no word on whether Jim Messina is a candidate for the tour.  He was not able to appear at the previous reunion due to a prior commitment reuniting him with Kenny Loggins.
RollingStone.com

UK tabloids just love making big stories out of small rumors, so the Daily Mirror wasted no time  jumping to the conclusion that it's possible a Stones tour for 2011 was in the works but got scuttled because Mick Jagger is more angry than he's let on about Keith Richards saying the front man is only endowed with a 'tiny todger'.  The statement was one of several in the guitarist's autobiography that could have gotten Mick riled-up.  If he wasn't all that upset about it being printed in Life, the fact Keith seemed to enjoy the fact that the subject sprang up in interviews during his promotional tour for the book might have been enough to get him there. The paper quotes an unidentified 'source' as saying, 'Even before Keith's comments, there was talk of various egos at play within the band which was making negotiations difficult.  But the fallout from the interview seemed to be the final straw.'
Pollstar.com

MORE ROLLING STONES INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

March will mark the start of several months worth of Kinks albums getting reissued with bonus material.  In all, seven of the British Invasion group's albums will get re-released over a five month period.  They include Kinks, Kinda Kinks, The Kink Kontroversy, Arthur (Or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire), Musswell Hillbillies, Face To Face and Something Else By The Kinks. Each will include bonus material.  Conspicuously absent are fan favorites Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround and Village Green Preservation Society.  We expect Ray Davies has something special in mind for those two.
UnderCover.fm

MORE KINKS INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

The other members of Aerosmith may not like the fact Steven Tyler's American Idol judging commitment has complicated attempts to get the band together in the studio, but their uneasy patience with their lead singer is paying off.  Aerosmith best of albums have enjoyed a huge jump since Tyler made his debut as a judge on the show. Sales of two compilations soared more than 250%, and a third is up 146%.  Meanwhile, digital downloads of individual Aerosmith tracks has more than tripled. 
HollywoodReporter.com

MORE AEROSMITH INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Green Bay and Pittsburgh fans can probably agree on two things about the Super Bowl: It ended up being a decent game (something there was serious doubt about when the first half of the opening half was about as impressive as a high school scrimmage), and the half time entertainment absolutely sucked.  As marginal as the Who was at last year's game, even they came across better than the Black Eyed Peas did on Sunday (2/6). 
True, we're not fans of the BEP, but we have caught live clips of them here and there that  proved they have talent and made it easy understand why they are big stars.  The medley the group did in Dallas featured the songs that have made them huge but the musical credibility of a Village People performance - and the cheese ball dancers to go along with it. 
Unfortunately, the rumor that Slash would participate in the debacle proved to be true.  Maybe he figured that lending his guitar work to the Peas clip of Sweet Child Of Mine will get Axl Rose to apologize to him, something the guitarist says will have to happen if there is going to be a Guns N Roses reunion.  If a GNR reunion will prevent Slash from trashing his reputation by making appearances like the one in Dallas, we hope Axl takes him up on that.

A trip to relax in Spain became a permanent vacation for former Thin Lizzy member Gary Moore.
The 58 year-old guitarist died in his hotel room on the Costa del Sol Sunday (2/6).   No cause of death had been determined.  Moore, who arrived at  the resort with a female companion two days earlier, had reportedly ordered champagne and brandy at a hotel bar before retiring to the couple's room at around 11pm.  He apparently was found dead about 5 hours later.  An autopsy is expected to be carried out in the coming days.  
ContactMusic.com

Hasty repair work has been underway at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, where thieves made off with enough power cable to raise issues with the reliability of the electrical system at the venue U2 is scheduled to play Feb. 13.   An Associated Press account of the heist indicates that operators of the stadium are optimistic everything will be set for the concert expected to draw close to 100,000 fans of the Irish Rockers.
WonderWall.msn.com

MORE U2 INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

We've been feeding updates about reunion recording sessions (story) involving Ric Ocasek and the original Cars lineup (minus Ben Orr, who died in 2000).  The group has now confirmed a title and release date for its first new studio album in 24 years.  Move Like This will drop on May 10.  The seventh studio release by Ocasek with Elliot Easton, David Robinson and Greg Hawkes most likely will get the band back out on tour, but no info on whether and when the group will embark on a road trip has been issued yet.
DirectCurrentMusic.com  Consequence Of Sound.com

Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance is the title of a DVD drummer Neil Peart plans to release soon.  The veteran stick man behind the power trio Rush wants the disc to be more than just a primer on the technical aspects of playing.  He wants it to also address what players need to do to effectively prepare to perform in front of demanding audiences.  Scenes for the DVD were filmed as Peart rehearsed in preparation for the group's Time Machine tour.  Filming was also done during the concert Rush did in July, 2010 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, and in Death Valley, California, an area Peart fell under the spell of during a motorcycle trip in 1996.  In addition to the DVD project, Peart will have a new book titled Far And Away: A Prize Every Time published May 1.
HenneMusic.Com  NeilPeart.com

MORE NEIL PEART INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Brad Whitford, Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton seem to be doing a good job covering whatever anger and frustration they are feeling toward Steven Tyler and Joe Perry - and ya know they're entitled to have a lot of both.  The three musicians logged a lot of hours working-up material for what they hope will be a new Aerosmith studio album without any help from either Tyler or Perry.  The guitarist claims what Billboard described him as calling an 'unspecified commitment' that made him unavailable for the LA sessions, while Tyler remains obligated to American Idol.  Hamilton acted as a spokesman for the band on a video posted to the AeroforceOne.com web site, putting as positive a spin as he could on the group's circumstance.
Blabbermouth.net

MORE AEROSMITH INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Ringo Starr wants to get into the software game.  The former Beatles drummer has submitted a trademark application for the use of his first name on software associated with computer gaming and non-platform specific 'wireless devices'.  Both Ringo and Paul McCartney helped in the development of the ambitious Rock Band edition based on the Beatles that more than 2 million gamers bought.
UK.gamespot.com   Gibson.com

MORE RINGO STARR INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT STORIES

Rumors the Rolling Stones would mount a world tour in 2011 and 2012 have been squelched again (story), but fans of the band will get the chance to see Mick Jagger perform a tribute to soul icon Solomon Burke during the 53rd annual Grammy Awards show Feb. 13.  The Stones did a satellite drop in on the '86 edition of the Grammy celebration, but this will mark the first time Jagger has sung live during the event.  Burke, who died in October, will be honored during the In Memoriam segment of the show - which hopefully takes place early enough that we don't have to slog through Eminem, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and all the other posers that typically dominate the stage during annual industry schmooze fest.
MTV.com

MORE MICK JAGGER INSIGHTS   ALL CURRENT SORIES

It stands to reason that if anyone could convince Rod Stewart to cut loose and tear into a song the way he did when he was young and hungry it would be Jeff Beck.  It's been around 40 years since the two collaborated on a pair of albums. Truth and Beck-Ola remain two prime examples of the incendiary effect a great vocalist and an incredible vocalist can have on each other. The two are giving some serious thought to working together again.  Whether they will reach back to the kind of inspired, balls-out wailing that fueled their last albums together or go in the more subtle direction their respective careers have focused on in recent decades remains to be seen.  Those rooting for a full-blown revival of the early style might be encouraged to hear the description Stewart's manager, Arnold Stiefel, offered-up when he called the songs they have been working-up 'mind-fucking stuff'.  Comments from guitarist also make it sound as though Rod is ready to leave the crooning style of his American Songbook albums behind, noting, 'I'd have to turn the clock back 20 or 30 years, stylistically, to match what Rod does.  He loves the 60's. He loves Blues.'  We say, bring it!
Guardian.co.uk

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The other shoe finally hit the floor Tuesday (2/1) when Citigroup effectively took control of EMI Records.  The nearly inevitable new chapter for the label that the Beatles and Pink Floyd recorded under came as the company continued to struggle to reign-in debt in the aftermath of a 2007 buyout for close to $7 billion, more than half of which was reportedly financed in loans Citigroup advanced to Terra Firma, the private equity firm run by Guy Hands, so that it could acquire the label in 2007.  A recent attempt by Hands to get more breathing room by convincing a jury that a Citigroup banker misrepresented facts related to EMI's value failed.  Whose hands EMI falls into next is anybody's guess, but it's a safe bet it will be had for a fraction of the price Terra Firma handed over four years ago.
NYTimes.com

Prospects for future co-headline appearances by Elton John and Billy Joel look less likely after Elton reportedly passed harsh judgment on the Piano Man during a recent interview with Rolling Stone.  The Feb. 17 issue of the mag evidently quotes John as saying Joel should do '...something better with his life', a reference that came in a context that left little doubt that he thinks Billy needs to get serious about living a more sober lifestyle.  Friction developed between the keyboard super stars over a misunderstanding about continuing the Face2face tour (story).
RollingStone.com

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In a sighting bound to stoke hopes for a Faces reunion, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood and their significant others shared a night on the town in London Sunday (1/31).  Leaving the Ivy Club, Stewart playfully planted a smacker on Ron's cheek for on lookers and photographers.  The pair of long ago band mates, accompanied by Rod's several months along in pregnancy wife Penny Lancaster and Woods latest girlfriend Ana Araujo, shared dinner and a lot of laughs during the night out.  Stewart has repeatedly frustrated Woody by sending receptive signals about doing a Faces reunion and then declaring himself unavailable. (story) If the topic of getting the band together came about at all during the night isn't known, but if it did, it apparently did not go over badly.
TheSun.co.uk

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Rumors about a 2011 Rolling Stones tour have broken out and been beaten back repeatedly in recent months.  The latest indication a tour was at least a good possibility involves a legal battle between two parties that ought to know. Reuters reports that Live Nation initiated a claim against Michael Cohl for breach of at least one condition of an agreement the concert promotions giant claims he signed when he parted ways with the company in 2008.  Cohl fired back at LN recently, claiming that the company violated terms of the agreement first when it attempted to block his chance to obtain promotion rights to a Rolling Stones tour in 2011.  Cohl, who has worked with the Stones in the past, was said to have secured an exemption allowing him to work with the Stones, Pink Floyd and Barbara Streisand in exchange for a payment totaling nearly $10 million to Live Nation.  The company filed a claim in November for more than half of the sum Live Nation contends Cohl owed it.  Cohl's counter is that he does not owe the money because LN failed to uphold terms of the deal by advising him that the company would bid against him for rights to a Stones tour unless he agreed to a joint deal with the company.  Like someone said, the entertainment industry is a lot like high school - with money!  Renewed speculation the Stones would go on the road this year was dashed in sort order by a statement released by the group's publicist that read 'The Stones confirmed today that they have no plans to tour at this time.'
UK.news.yahoo   ContactMusic.com

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The start of the Black Crowes indefinite hiatus won't begin until after the group does a final leg of its farewell tour with a series of summer festival dates in Europe.  But Chris Robinson has already made it clear that the break he and his band mates are looking forward to won't keep the lead singer out of the musical spotlight. In fact, Robinson will be on the road with a new band dubbed the Chris Robinson Brotherhood even before the Crowes cross the Atlantic to wrap things up. The lineup for the group remains under wraps at this point, but info on the tour, which starts March 28 in LA and runs up and down the California coast through the end of May.  Details on the where and when to catch the new Robinson fronted band is available here, as should more info on who is backing him soon.
Spinner.com

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We broke the news about Bob Seger mounting a 2011 tour a few days ago.  Some details emerged about the trek via Rolling Stone Tuesday (2/1).  Between 20 and 30 spring 2011 concerts are firm, with a start date of March 29 on stage at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan.  The 7200 seat arena near Seger's home base will probably be one of the smaller venues on a tour that is expected to cover a good portion of the country.  The only other date the Seger camp was ready to dish-up info on was a March 31 show in the Huntington Center, an 8000 seat venue in Toledo, Ohio the Detroit Rocker wand his Silver Bullet Band will play March 31.  Seger is expected to take some time following the initial round of dates to wrap up work on a new studio album that is described as about half done before returning to the road for fall dates.
RollingStone.com

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