Plans for a Metallica live set at a Formula 1 Grand Prix event in India were scrapped after unruly fans swarmed onto the scene of the concert and damaged or destroyed a portion of the stage and some equipment.  After initially announcing the scheduled Friday (10/28) concert would be postponed to allow for repairs, promoters pulled the plug on plans to do the show the following night.  While promoters blame some disruptive fans for causing the cancellation, others claim there is equal blame on both sides.  One music blog site attributed the rapid escalation of rowdy behavior to an '...absence of any real security' at the concert site.  In the aftermath of the fracas questions remain about whether the riot was a cause or consequence of the original postponement.
Pollstar.com

MORE METALLICA INSIGHTS

Pete Townshend used an appearance at a radio industry conference Monday (10/31) in the UK  to call on Tim Cook, the new managing director of Apple Computer, to realign it's iTunes store to make it less of what the Who guitarist called '...a digital vampire' bleeding musicians.  He also lashed out at music pirates, saying that a society that condones downloading music in a way that cheats musicians out of royalties for their work is one that has '...gone wrong with human morality and social justice.'  Speaking at the 2011 Radio Festival in Salford, Townshend also challenged the technology giant to commit to providing free computers to emerging artists it feels are most deserving, as well as helping them them with license and market their music.  The guitarist said his 'inner atrist considered Steve Jobs '...one of the coolest guys on the planet' even though he once expressed the opinion the late Apple founder should '...have his balls cut off' for what his company had done to musicians.
Guardian.co.uk

MORE PETE TOWNSHEND INSIGHTS

Peter Gabriel seldom goes on record about the prospects of a Genesis reunion, but some interviewers that managed to get face time so Gabriel could chat-up his New Blood Orchestra project have managed to put the question to him.  Speaking with Jim Kerr of Q-104 in New York City, the former Genesis front man joked that 'a large brown envelope', presumably stuffed with cash, could do it.  He went on to acknowledge there have been numerous and substantial offers for him to participate in a reunion with the band he left in 1977 but says he's too preoccupied with the present to want to revisit his musical past for an extended period.  That said, he also left the door open to a single concert for a good cause, provided they had enough time to rehearse so it would come off well.
UltimateClassicRock.com

MORE GENESIS INSIGHTS

Steven Tyler went on the Today Show to make the case that drugs or alcohol had no role in his face plant in a bathroom shower in Paraguay that left him battered and minus a couple of teeth (story).  The Aerosmith front man said it bothers him that his past substance abuse makes so many people assume drugs or alcohol were involved.  He said the very fact he was up at the hour he was on a live morning show in the middle of a hectic schedule of travel in South America should make it evident that he's not messing with drugs.  He attributed his loss of balance and fall to an attack of Montezuma's Revenge that left him dehydrated.  He told Today viewers, 'I got nauseous and started to get sick.  I fell on my face and just passed out.  I woke up with the water running on me and didn't know where the hell I was.'  After stitches, a bit of cosmetic surgery and some dental work, Tyler was back on stage the night after the fall - and even managed to ply some harmonica.  As he put it, 'Short of having my leg torn off, people are going to expect me to hit the stage no matter what.'
BostonHerald.com

MORE STEVEN TYLER INSIGHTS

2012 will see the arrival of four previously unreleased master recordings of Grateful Dead concerts.  The limited edition archive series is coming together under the direction of David Lemieux, one of the foremost authorities on the seminal San Francisco band.  Dave's Picks will include many of the elements that made the multi-volume Dick's Picks and Road Trips series of live releases so popular with core fans of the Dead, including extensive liner notes.  Each release will be limited to 12,000 copies, each individually numbered.  First up will be a May 25, 1977 show the band did in Richmond, Virginia with a second set that was almost all one long  six song medley.  The 12 discs are available on a quarterly subscription basis that includes a bonus disc and free shipping for $95 through dead.net.

MORE GRATEFUL DEAD INSIGHTS

A three year run of intensive activity by U2 has Bono admitting that the future of his band is a low priority to him.  Telling Rolling Stone, 'I'm not so sure the future hasn't dried up' for his group, the front man went on to say he just wants to, '...disappear with my iPod Nano and some books and an acoustic guitar'.  While a desire for solitude has the upper hand for Bono now, it seems unlikely he'll fade into the background for long.
The Irish group's 360 tour shattered the Stones all-time touring record, grossing close to a billion dollars on it's multiple continent run (story).  Bono is also involved in dozens of ventures outside of the music business, including an investment firm, a Dublin hotel and the Broadway production of Spider-Man.
Live4Ever.uk.co

MORE U2 INSIGHTS

Cancer claimed his eyesight when he was just one, but Jeff Healey never let that stand in the way of making great music.  Healey earned the admiration of great guitaists and made fans the world over before losing his live to the disease in 2008.
Full Circle: The Live Anthology (Nov. 1, Eagle Rock Entertainment), a four disc set that showcases some of the finest live performances of the Canadian guitarist, makes the case for considering Healey one of the finest players of his time.  The three CD, one DVD package includes complete concert sets from performances at the Montreal Jazz Festival (1989), the St. Gallen Festival in Switzerland (1991) and a 1995 concert in his hometown of Toronto.

Joe Walsh and Levon Helm toured together as members of the first lineup of the Ringo Starr All-Starr Band in 1989.  The two got together again in New Jersey Monday night (10/24) when the Eagles guitarist pulled into the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank.  Helm kept the beat on Rocky Mountain Way.
Walsh, who is close to finishing-up work on Analog Man, his first solo album in nearly two decades (story), is on the final leg of a solo tour.
PoughkeepsieJournal.com

MORE JOE WALSH INSIGHTS   MORE LEVON HELM INSIGHTS

Pete Townshend helped launch the Prince's Trust benefit series in 1982 with a concert that included Robert Plant and Phil Collins.  The 1996 edition in London's Hyde Park featured a complete live rendition of Quadrophenia.  Townshend looks forward to taking part in the November Rock Gala, saying', 'The Trust's reputation for putting on first class music concerts spans three decades and the band is delighted to be on board for this one.'  Question is, who is in 'the band' - or is the Who the band?
SonicState.com

MORE PETE TOWNSHEND INSIGHTS

Steven Tyler reportedly was treated and released at an area hospital after sustaining injuries in a fall in the bathroom of his hotel in Paraguay.  The incident apparently took place while the Aerosmith front man was taking a shower.  The mishap, which caused  postponement of the Tuesday night (10/25) Aerosmith concert in Asuncion, is said to have resulted in stitches and emergency dental treatment.  A representative of the concert's promoter said Tyler's 'small accident' was not cause for further concern beyond the need to delay that night's concert.
A fall Tyler took from a stage in South Dakota several months ago was the source of considerable friction between the lead singer and the other members of Aerosmith.
ABC.net.au  Reuters

MORE STEVEN TYLER INSIGHTS

Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band joined their Boss Saturday night (10/22) for a more than two and a half hour set at the fabled Stone Pony in Asbury Park.  The private gig was a benefit for Boston College, where Springsteen's son is enrolled.  A horn section and JT Bowen, who was a regular in the Red Bank Rockers, a group Clarence Clemons had together during the 80's, backed Bruce and Bobby Bandiera during the 25 song set, which closed with an acoustic version of Thunder Road and included E Street Band staples 4th Of July, Asbury Park, Darlington County, Pink Cadillac, 10th Avenue Freeze-Out, Dancing In The Dark, Glory Days and Rosalita, along with covers of Soul Man, Midnight Hour, Havin' A Party and Twist & Shout.
NJ.com

MORE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN INSIGHTS

If the title song to Joe Cocker's forthcoming album (Jan. 24) is any indication, fans with little use for the somewhat insipid pop material Cocker put out during the more recent phase of his career might become fans again. Hard Knocks finds Cocker reverting to the more muscular sound that made his early career albums keepers.  He snarls and wails, backed by a rock solid, R&B infused band that is up to the task.  Whether he will ever release anything as riveting as his first few albums seems unlikely, but at least this new one sounds as though it just might be worth inviting to the party.
SomethingElseReviews.com

SEE ALL CURRENT STORIES

Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese are putting together an HBO drama revolving around the music world in the 1970's.  The script for the yet-to-be named series is being developed by Terence Winter, a writer who shares credit with Scorsese for the cable network's popular Boardwalk Empire drama series.  Jagger began shopping the concept as a movie before connecting with Scorsese on the idea of taking an episodic approach.  Given the number of great story lines Jagger himself could come up with about the 70's music scene, the series has the potential to have plenty of wild episodes. Mick, who will serve as a producer for the series, was very closely involved with Scorcese in the making of Shine A Light, the excellent 2008 Rockumentary on the Rolling Stones.
Gibson.com   Hollywood Reporter

MORE MICK JAGGER INSIGHTS

Nearly 15,000 pieces documenting the life and career of Jersey native Bruce Springsteen will be moved from the Asbury Park Public Library to Monmouth University in West Long Branch on November 1.  The relocation of the 14,900 documents in the collection will both insure that they are better preserved and provide greater access to the public, according to University officials.  The coup for the school was achieved with the help of an influential Monmouth alum, Robert Santelli, Executive Director of the Grammy Museum in LA.  The plan also had the backing of Backstreet Magazine editor, Christopher Phillips, who also presides as the President of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection.  Presumably the Boss had to endorse the idea of moving the collection, which he jokingly referred to as having more stuff in it '...than every place except my mother's basement!'.
Viewings of materials in the collection will be by appointment weekdays between 9am and 5pm. They can be arranged by calling 732-571-3512.
NJ.com

MORE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN INSIGHTS

In what has to be one of the more unusual Rock items to ever go up for auction, a tooth belonging to John Lennon will be in the mix of items presented by Omega Auctions in November.  The tooth has been in the possession of a former housekeeper who says Lennon presented it to her as a 'souvenir' to give her daughter, a big fan of the Beatles.  Also headed for auction is a hand written letter Paul McCartney penned in August of 1960 inviting an unnamed drummer to audition for the band.
BBC.co.uk   HuffingtonPost.com

MORE BEATLES INSIGHTS

Joe Bonamassa went from local legend to world-wide guitar great almost as fast as he could work his way up the fret board.  Inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, Hendrix and the masters that they followed, Bonamassa demonstrated guitar skills that quickly drew the attention of a lot of legendary musicians.  While still in his teens, Bonamassa inked a record contract with the band Bloodline, a group that included the sons of Miles Davis, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and Allman Brothers Band great Berry Oakley.  A series of solo releases followed, building the international audience for Bonamassa.  Now in his 30's, Bonamassa recently released the solo album Dust Bowl and a sophomore effort with Deep Purple veteran Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham and Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian under the name Black Country Communion.
As if having all of that going on is not enough, Bonamassa has also managed to make the time to to open a new guitar shop in New Hartford, New York, just a few miles from where it all began. Adorned with a banner proclaiming 'Where knowledge is king and legends are born', Bonamassa Guitars looks to hook aspiring musicians in the Utica area up with both the hardware and the inspiration to follow in his footsteps.

The Songwriters Hall Of Fame 2012 nominations are out, and Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, Steve Miller and Lou Reed stand to get in next year.  The organization also fronted an impressive slate of candidates in the Performer category, giving nods to Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of the Eurthymics, Debby Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) and Dion DiMucci.  The actual awards will be distributed on June 14 during a ceremony at the New York City Marriott Marquis.
HenneMusic.com

Recurring talk of a Kinks reunion never seems to lead anywhere before one of the Davies brothers throws the idea under the bus.  This time it's Dave's turn.  Speaking with the Telegraph, Dave Davies said that an hour in the presence of his brother, Ray, was about all he could handle, '...so it would be a very short reunion.'  Sixty minutes is more than the brothers have spent in each other's company in quite some time. As for back in the day, Dave says that hearing a Kinks song on the radio still gets him excited, until he thinks '...about the way things really were - the bad contracts, beating people up, getting beaten up, all the shit...'
NME.com

MORE KINKS INSIGHTS

Other establishments are free to argue over who has the best margarita recipe, but until one manages to mix one with more than 2,125 gallons of tequila, 708 gallons of Triple Sec, 5,667 gallons of Margarita Mix and 22,267 Limes, none can claim a bigger one than the margarita mixed as a part of the grand opening festivities at the Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.  The mega margarita named Lucky Rita is a concoction for a cause.  Each of the 181,333 12oz margaritas that can be poured from the 8,500 gallon tropical mix will generate a donation to the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, an organization Jimmy Buffett has long championed.  As an added treat for the 1,000 Parrotheads on hand for the official new Guinness World Record, Buffett himself came out to raise a glass in a toast to the Herculean 300 hour effort to collect and combine all of the ingredients, proclaiming, '...thank you for coming out. We're going to have a good time this weekend. Let the FIN begin!'
PRNewswire

MORE JIMMY BUFETT INSIGHTS

A lot of people figure Joe Walsh would tire of being a member of the Eagles - or that the others would oust him - within months of the announcement he had replaced Bernie Leadon at the end of 1975.  The fact neither happened might have something to do with the 13 year hiatus the group took during the 80's that ended with the Hell Freezes Over Tour in the Spring of 1994.  With the exception of a brief James Gang reunion and some touring with the Ringo Starr All-Starr Band, the resumption of a semi-regular gig with the Eagles left Walsh with too little time, energy or ambition to do much else musically.  That recently changed. in addition to mounting his own solo tour, Walsh is putting in studio time finishing up a new solo album.  The release he has dubbed Analog Man should be out in February.  ELO and Traveling Wilburys veteran Jeff Lynne handled production of the new disc.
UltimateClassicRock.com

MORE JOE WALSH INSIGHTS

The biggest, highest grossing tour in music history will be showcased in book form with a title as overblown as the tour itself. U2360A^: The Official Story of the Greatest Spectacle in Stadium-Rock History is being touted as a 'landmark publishing event' by Random House.  The likely massive and high priced book will include the observations of band members, manager Paul McGuinness, stage designers and concert production directors Willie Williams and Mark Fischer, and will include hundreds of photos by tour photographers Ralph Larmann and Eoin McLoughlin.  The narrative will be supplied by GQ writer Dylan Jones.  The books layout is being designed by Steve Averill, the man behind much of the Irish band's album art and packaging.
Independent.ie

MORE U2 INSIGHTS

Tom Petty will show his support for independent record store operators by releasing an album of live material on November 25.  The vinyl only edition will include concert versions of a number of the tracks on Mojo, the studio release Petty and the Heartbreakers put out last year.  Tom and the band have also committed to doing a concert to help a listener sponsored California radio station overcome some funding shortfalls so they can re-hire some of the on-air talent the station was forced to let go.  The October 29 concert in Northridge, CA is likely to be the only live show Petty does for a long time.  He told Rolling Stone he needs a break from '...the same merry-go-round', but plans to get to work on a new album in the coming months.
RollingStone.com

MORE TOM PETTY INSIGHTS

Joel 'Taz' DeGregorio, a decades long member of the Charlie Daniels Band, died in a car crash near Nashville Wednesday night (10/12).  Daniels, who logged hundreds of thousands of miles on the road during more than 40 years of tours with DeGregorio at his side, was devastated by the news that his friend and band mate was killed while on his way to meet-up with the group's tour bus.  Calling his keyboard player '...one of my best friends', Daniels said he was in shock.
DeGregorio, who helped Daniels write The Devil Went Down To Georgia and The Legend Of Wooley Swamp, was '...one of a kind and will never be forgotten', said the CDB leader.
Billboard.com

A UK magazine is publishing an iPad edition devoted to the life and career of David Bowie.  IPC's special digital edition titled BOWIE promises an in-depth look at each of his albums, archived interviews, many of which have not been available for years, and an array of photographs, video and audio clips and artwork related to the Thin White Duke.
While no official announcement has been made, it is widely assumed that Bowie has packed it in as a Rock performer to concentrate on visual arts.
Guardian.co.uk

MORE DAVID BOWIE INSIGHTS

The ZZ Top tribute album due this month (story) features a group identified as M.O.B. doing Sharp Dressed Man.  Mick Fleetwood says the sessions involving him, his Fleetwood Mac band mate John McVie, guitarist Jonny Lang and Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler were such a blast that he has hopes the the group has a future beyond this release.  In a Fleetwood YouTube vid, the drummer says 'I have musical fantasies all the time, but we had a lot of fun doing this, and I truly, truly do have a vision of somewhere, somehow walking on stage and actually putting something together with the group.'  He adds that he thinks the others in the one-off band would like that to happen as well.
ContactMusic.com

MORE MICK FLEETWOOD INSIGHTS

The 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby's release is being marked with an expanded re-release of the U2 album on October 31 (story).  Five days before that, an album featuring a host of musicians including Patti Smith, Nine Inch Nails, Jack White, Garbage and The Killers will release an album of covers of the tracks on the 1991 U2 album.  That release will be free to buyers and subscribers of GQ magazine in the December issue, and in CD and digital download form starting October 26.
BackpageMagazine.com

MORE U2 INSIGHTS

Rush  will simultaneously release a two disc live album titled Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland coupled with Moving Pictures Live 2011 on vinyl and in digital formats November 8.
Captured in April at Quicken Loans Arena during the Time Machine World Tour, Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland is the band’s first live album recorded at a US show.
The fact the group elected to go with the Ohio concert is fitting on two counts: Cleveland became one of the Canadian group's strongest bases of early support south of the border, and it is the home base of the Rock Hall Of Fame, the institution that has inexplicably and repeatedly failed to so much as include Rush on a nominations ballot - an oversight that might finally come to an end with this release. 
The tour featured a set filled with fan favorites and provided a glimpse ahead to Clockwork Angels, the studio album the group will complete this fall for a 2012 release.
ClassicsDuJour.com

MORE RUSH INSIGHTS

There's plenty of time for the wheels to fall off, but Ozzy Osbourne says things are progressing and calls the outlook for a Black Sabbath reunion album '...very, very strong'.  Osbourne told Billboard that the Ozzy fronted line-up hasn't done any recording together as of yet, adding, 'If it works out, it'll work out.  If it doesn't, I'll keep doing my thing.'  Ozzy's newest thing has been dispensing health advice in Rolling Stone magazine.  The Ozz Man's recommendations have been compiled into a new book titled, Trust Me, I'm Dr. Ozzy.
Billboard.com   NoiseCreep.com

MORE OZZY OSBOURNE INSIGHTS

Bob Dylan won't be adding a Nobel Prize to the Grammy awards his Golden Globe and the Pulitzer  Prize he has won - at least not this year.  The 104th Nobel Prize for Literature will go instead to author Tomas Transtromer.  The committee's decision to hand the honor to the author instead of the poet and songwriter bucked strong odds (yes, you can gamble on just about everything).  Odds makers had Dylan at 5:1 to take the award going into the closing days prior to the announcement  Dylan would have pocketed $1.4 million in addition to the honor had he won.
UltimateClassicRock.com

MORE BOB DYLAN INSIGHTS

Steal Your face Red Blend is the latest wine branded with an iconic band's song or album title to join the roster offered by Wines That Rock.  The Grateful Dead titled red will be in good company, including a Dark Side Of The Moon Cabernet, a Rolling Stones Merlot known as Forty Licks, a Woodstock Chardonnay and a Police themed Synchronicity Red blend.  A collaboration between a Rock management company and Mendocino Wine Co. gets credit for coming up with the concept that merges music and vino. The wine company's Mark Beaman is the lucky soul that gets to draw on two of two of his favorite things in the world - Rock music and wine making to come up with the flavors and names.  Of the newest addition to the company line-up, Beaman says, 'To capture the essence of the live energy for Grateful Dead's Steal Your Face, we chose to meld several varietals into one.  Just as the band members would segue through various musical styles, this wine's far reaching flavors melt seamlessly from one to the next', a signature that he says '...celebrates the diversity and freedom of experimentation' the Dead and their fans soso enjoyed.  To Mark Pinkus, the GM of Grateful Dead Properties for Rhino Records, Beaman nailed it like a soaring Jerry Garcia guitar solo: 'Wines That Rock's passion for the band really shows in how hard they worked to reflect the mood and essence of the recordings'.
PRNewswire

After Paul McCartney ducked into a town hall in London a few weeks ago to deal with paper work required before a marriage, the when and where of his upcoming marriage to Nancy Shevell were all that remained to be discovered. Preparations leading into the weekend at McCartney's St. John's Wood residence made it clear the couple would be married before Monday.  The official pairing took place at Old Marlylebone Town hall on Sunday (10/9), the birthday of John Lennon.  The ceremony site was also where Paul had married first wife Linda Eastman in 1969, just a week before John's marriage to Yoko Ono.   Ron Wood of the Stones joined Ringo Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, at the 45 minute ceremony, which was said to have included around 30 friends and family members.
McCartney married Heather Mills after Linda died of breast cancer.  His second marriage ended in 2008 with the former Beatle getting a harsh reminder that Money Can't Buy Me Love - but marriage to the wrong person can cost a fortune.  Whether Mills was out for money at the start only she knows, but Shevell enters the marriage independently wealthy enough that Paul can afford to be less uncomfortable about ulterior motives this time around.
Telegraph.co.UK

MORE PAUL McCARTNEY INSIGHTS

Cliff Morrison claims he is the son of Doors singer Jim Morrison.  Lorraine Widen, who says she is  his mother, said in court that her son submitted a DNA test to the Morrison estate 20 years ago that was never contested.  The court hearing in Rancho Cucamonga on Friday (10/7) was not
over whether 42 year-old Clifford Marston Morrison was fathered by Jim Morrison.  It was a mental competency hearing related to his arrest in 2010 on charges of robbery, flight and crashing into a police car in Ontario, California.
His prior record and the combination of charges following the purported gas station robbery on January 4, 2010 mean that Morrison could be facing a life sentence due to California's Three Strikes policy on repeat offenders.
ContraCostaTimes.com

Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock, the auto biographical account of Sammy Hagar's life, could have used some self-imposed censorship according to a Waterloo, Iowa woman.  A suit filed against the Red Rocker under the name 'Jane Doe' to shield the identity of the woman claims the former Montrose and Van Halen member who is now with the band Chickenfoot had vowed not to reveal details about a child he allegedly fathered with the woman while he was lead singer for VH in the late 1980's.  An account in the book by Hagar says a former Playboy bunny he hooked up with in Detroit attempted to extort payments from him for a child Hagar denies having conceived with her.  The filing apparently includes a document said to be a paternity agreement the two reached in 1989. The child in question died soon after birth, according to the woman.  Hagar's written account casts doubt on whether the child ever existed and adds that if it did it 'Obviously' wasn't his baby.
WCFCourier.com  HenneMusic.com

MORE SAMMY HAGAR INSIGHTS

The 80's is considered a musical wasteland by a lot of people so there is no shortage of songs that qualify as low points, but according to a Rolling Stone poll, the worst song of the decade was We Built This City by the Starship.  It was never one of our faves - but the worst of the worst... really? Rounding out the top 5 were Final Countdown by Europe, Lady In Red by Chris DeBurgh, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham and Safety Dance from Men Without Hats.
RollingStone.com

The Rock memoir Keith Richards put out this year turned into a blockbuster of a book, selling well over a million copies.  He clearly hopes that some segments in Life and comments the Rolling Stones guitarist made about Mick Jagger during his publicity tour promoting the book don't end up being seen as what busted-up the Stones.  During an interview with the British edition of GQ magazine, Richards admitted the process of authoring the book made him conclude '...I'm a much meaner bastard than I realized', but also made him come to appreciate how much friendship means to him.  After saying the idea of getting the band back together for '..one more bash' is important to him, he acknowledged that his comments about Jagger (story) caused additional tension between the two, but said, 'Mick was obviously a bit peeved, but that was yesterday and this is today.'  Of band mate Ronnie Wood's book Keith said his fellow guitarist has '...a much better story to tell' than what made it into print, adding that he hopes drummer Charlie Watts gets around to writing one because it is the one he'd most like to read. 
Examiner.com

MORE ROLLING STONES INSIGHTS

Fender, Gibson and other guitar makers have issued plenty of limited edition guitars modeled on ones played by Rock icons.  Figuring that a player willing to spring for an Eric Clapton signature guitar might also be willing to fork over big bucks to plug it into an amp identical to one EC plays through, Fender is producing a limited run of tube amplifiers from the 1950's, each based on a model Clapton used during a period of his career.  Handmade in the US, each amp will be outfitted with premuim tubes and high-end speakers and will be adorned with an EC on the front grill and Clapton's signature on the control board.  As you would expect, the hardware won't come cheap.  Prices range from $1,700 to $4,600 for the three single channel amps with both high and low gain inputs.
Mi-pro-uk

MORE ERIC CLAPTON INSIGHTS

Dead Letters is the title of an unlikely new book that is a showcase for the most creative envelopes sent by Grateful Dead fans in an effort to score tickets to the group's concerts.  The Dead's decision to begin distributing tickets directly to fans in the early 1980s produced an avalanche of millions of requests. Inevitably, some fans decided their chances of getting tickets would improve if the envelope containing their request was more eye-catching than the average #10 envelope.  That notion quickly gained traction and the daily delivery of mail to the Dead's San Rafael, California offices went from plain vanilla to a kaleidoscope of colors and design in a flash.
Paul Grushkin took on the task of looking through 15,000 of the estimated 10 million envelopes sent in by fans that made it into the official archive of the band at UC Santa Cruz to come up with 400 that stood out as particularly creative.  He called the challenge '...a sheer delight'.  The envelopes featured in Dead Letters include ones adorned in crayon, pen & ink, oil, watercolors, collages and other media.  Grushkin says the art work was all the more inspired because there were no guidelines other than the requirement that the work surface be a standard #10 envelope.
SantaCruzSentinel.com

MORE GRATEFUL DEAD INSIGHTS

Random House has secured publishing rights to a Rock memoir Rod Stewart promises will '...hold nothing back'.  That could make for a good read for fans of the Jeff Beck Group and Faces veteran.  The publishing house expects to put the book out in hard bound, digital and audio book form simultaneously in the fall of 2012.  Stewart quips, 'Forget skeletons in the closet, this one's going to be socks and knickers under the bed.'
Stewart will be in the perfect setting to counter any inhibitions he might have about letting it all hang out as he writes.  He recently began an extended residency in Las Vegas.
TheBookSeller.com

MORE ROD STEWART INSIGHTS

Rock fans may not know much about Bert Jansch, but his innovative acoustic guitar work had a profound influence on a lot of acoustic and electric players they consider guitar greats.  Neil Young, who recently did a series of dates with Jansch, called him as talented as Jimi Hendirx. Jimmy Page is said to have drawn direct inspiration from Jansch for some of his most admired work with Led Zeppelin.  Johnny Marr praised him for having broken so much ground that 'There are people playing guitar that don't even realize they've been influenced by him.'
Jansch got on the radar of a lot of pickers with the jaw-dropping versatility he displayed while a member of Pentangle, a group that infused it's Folk base with elements of Jazz & Rock with Jansch sharing the guitar work with another brilliant player, John Renbourn. 
Pentangle recorded together for the last time in 2008, but the five members reunited for a couple of concerts just a few months ago.  Jansch lost his long battle with cancer on Wednesday (10/5).
HolyMoly.com   BertJansch.com

David Gilmour attended a sentence review hearing Wednesday (10/5) in the case brought against his adopted son, Charlie Gilmour, in the aftermath of violent protests over tuition increases (story).  Videotaped defiantly scaling a British war monument and later allegedly involved in an attack on a Royal Convoy transporting Prince Charles, the Cambridge student was handed a 16 month jail sentence in July. Several other appeals are before the court and it could be some time before a decision on Gilmour's plea is returned.
UKPress Association

MORE DAVID GILMOUR INSIGHTS

Hopes that Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will be able to mount a 2012 tour performing Quadrophenia in its entirety remain just that.  Speaking with Billboard, the Who lead singer said that uncertainty about his band mate's hearing problems leave some hurdles the pair will have to figure out ways around before anything gets firmed-up.  Townshend has been spending a good deal of time preparing deluxe editions of the 1973 benchmark double album by the band for release on November 14 while Daltrey tours doing the Rock Opera Tommy with Pete's younger brother, Simon Townshend, on guitar.  Roger said , 'Quadrophenia was much more a Pete animal than Tommy ever was... So for me, spending months in a studio putting something like that together is a complete waste of time.'
Billboard.com

MORE WHO INSIGHTS

Bruce Sringsteen was in the house and on stage playing as an unannounced guest during Sting's 60th birthday concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York Saturday (10/1).  The Boss did Fields Of Gold and Hung My Head in tribute to the former Police front man before joining Sting on Can't Stand Losing You and wrapping up a night that had included Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder by being a part of the everybody-in finale on Every Breath You Take. 
Fans expecting a new Springsteen album will have to hold their breath longer.  Reports that a new album titled Arcade At Night could come out as soon as November appear to be bogus.
NME.com cast doubt on the validity of one source by pointing out that the claim the 12 song solo effort included a song titled Bigger Than Life about Clarence Clemons was followed by a mention that the late sax player died in June of 2010 - right month, wrong year - a mistake a site with legit inside info would probably not make.

MORE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN INSIGHTS

Looking Out My Back Door is the promo line being used in advance of November dates in the Big Apple which John Fogerty plans to devote to a couple of Creedence Clearwater Revival albums. The November 17 concert at the Beacon Theatre will feature a complete run through Cosmos Factory.  The following night's show will reprise Green River.  Each night will be supplemented with a set featuring various highlights from Fogerty's years in CCR as well as songs from his lengthy solo career.  If there is any credence to reports that the former front man is the most open to the idea of working with his surviving CCR band mates he has been since their estrangement, these dates might be when that revival finally happens.
MusicRadar.com

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