Just a few days after news that the last apartment Doors lead singer Jim Morrison lived in before he moved to Paris in 1971 was available to rent (story)comes news that another LA house he once called home was nearly destroyed during the outbreak of arson that rocked the region Thurdsay night (12/29). Fire fighters responding to one of nearly two dozen deliberately set car fires arrived to find that flames from a torched Mazda Miata had ignited the balcony of a house Morrison had lived in on Rothdell Trail in West Hollywood.  The address is thought to have inspired Morrison when he wrote the song Love Street.  One fire fighter was injured while fighting the blaze, which was brought under control before substantial damage was done to the home.
LATimes.com

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VHND, the Van Halen News Desk, has posted dates additional info and music from Van Halen should become available. According to the usually reliable web site, the initial series of 2012 VH tour dates will be officially released Monday (1/3), with tickets going on sale one week later.  On that second Monday of the new year (1/10), a new single and video should drop, with the full album to follow on Feb. 7.  While they don't have the title of the new release in hand yet, VHND assures us it won't be The Future, as some other sites have speculated.
VHND.com

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Steven Tyler and long term girlfriend Erin Brady could be getting married. TMZ claims the 38 year-old Brady was sporting a dazzling diamond on her wedding finger during the couple's Christmas vacation in Hawaii.  Brady knows first hand about her mate's wild behavior in the past, something he confessed to and apologized for in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey. Brady, who served as the singer's accountant during a number of those wild years, told Winfrey she always knew Tyler could reform and figures she could be the one to help him do it. After the two became romantically involved, she stuck with him even while knowing that Tyler was getting action on the side. Asked whether he could stay committed to one woman, Tyler replied, 'I don't want to hurt anybody again. For all the divorces I've had I've hurt those girls deeply.'
If the wedding goes down, it will be the third for Tyler.  His first marriage, to Cyrinda Foxe, lasted nine years (1978-1987). He later married Teresa Barrick. 
TMZ.com Blabbermouth.net

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Peter Frampton contends that A&M Records owes him a bundle.  Sources say the guitarist is seeking a considerable amount of cash from his long time record company and has filed notice of claims that include unfair competitive practices and breach of contract. The legal row involves the contention that the label unjustly used a formula that pays musicians much less for digital download sales than for CD sales.  The suit is similar to one filed by the same firm on behalf of an heir to the drummer for My Sharona band The Knack and rapper Eminem's producers.
Billboard.com  Tennessean,com

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Jon Bon Jovi closed his 2011 tour without longtime guitarist Richie Sambora at his side.  Sambora took some personal time to get himself straight, a process that apparently rekindled his interest in doing an album on his own.  Sambora is working in southern California with engineer-producer Luke Ebbin on the as yet un-named album.  Speaking with Broadcast Newsroom, Ebbin said the guitarist '...came off the Bon Jovi tour energized and we got together to write a couple of songs.' He says that he and Sambora were both impressed enough to continue writing together, a move that led to the decision to record a full album.
Gibson.com

If walls could talk, the last place Jim Morrison of the Doors lived before moving to France would undoubtedly have some intriguing tales to tell.  The two bedroom second floor apartment in West Hollywood close to Santa Monica Blvd. and the fabled Sunset Strip was where the charismatic Doors lead singer shacked up with Pamela Courson before he moved to Paris early in 1971.  Morrison died in the City Of Lights on July 3 of that year. The owner of the complex, Cheri Woods, had opened the property for private and group tours in 2004.  The apartment also provided the setting for Morrison's Rolling Stone magazine interview.
ContactMusic.com  RoadsideAmerica.com

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U2 raked in 3/4 for a billion dollars during its last world tour, but the Irish group's lead singer spent a fair amount of time on a Dublin street corner singing for free on Christmas Eve.  For the second year in a row, Bono joined street and other professional musicians lending their voices to some holiday songs to raise money for charity.  So many people turned up along Grafton Street expecting a repeat of the free performance the U2 front man gave last year that police were forced to urge the performers to move along to prevent too large a crowd from gathering.
IrishCentral.com

VIDEO

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We have to give the Grammys props for its decision to bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award on the Allman Brothers Band. Yeah, we know, it's about two decades overdue, but at least they got around to it.  There is a good chance most of the band will be on hand Feb. 12 for the induction ceremony because Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Warren Haynes are going head-to-head in the Best Blues Album category, Gregg for Low Country Blues, Trucks for his collaboration with wife Susan Tedeschi on the album Revelator and Haynes for his album Man In Motion.
Gibson.com

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Paul McCartney lost his footing after closing out a Christmas concert he and his band did in Liverpool Monday (12/19).  The incident at the Echo Arena in the former Beatle's hometown left MCCA ruffled but uninjured. A witness told The Sun newspaper that Paul recovered quickly from the short fall down some steps and seemed more amused than anything else.
ContactMusic.com

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Apple device owners interested in a daily chronicle of all things Bob Dylan now have a app packed with historic and biographic information available.  The latest artist oriented app offered by the This Day In Music folks offers a detailed look at the folk icon's life and music and provides a song by song account of Dylan's first dozen albums.  The $2.99 app also includes set concert dates, set lists and a free ring tone.  This Day In Bob Dylan is available for iPhone, iPod and iPad.
Gibson.com

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An anonymous car and Beatles enthusiast in Texas gave himself quite the gift this year by being the high bidder on an Aston Martin that was first owned by George Harrison.  The 1964 Aston Martin DB5/1896/R that was delivered to Harrison on New Year's Day in 1965 was a showcase vehicle in a London auction that also included a Cord 810 Phaeton that had been owned by Jimmy Page that secured a top bid of $125,000. 
While the identity of the new owner of Harrison's car is unknown, it seems likely the car will not get locked away.  The buyer reportedly said, 'George Harrison would be amazed about all the money his car is going to raise for Christian causes'.  Depending on the nature of those causes, he could also be spinning in his grave.
GalwayIndependent.com

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The Grateful Dead may be old school, but an interest in innovation and willingness to embrace emerging technology is central to why the age old SF band remains cutting edge to this day.  The Epic Tour is the latest online venture to engage Dead Heads.  The game experience invites the group's multiple generations of fans to emerge themselves in behind the scenes aspects of being on the road with the band.  Registering for a user profile allows participants to create a Bear that will serve as their avatar in the virtual tour world.  We did not drink the Kool-Aide yet, but some early adopters say the game leans to the PG side. Groupies, Merry Prankster acid spikers and some of the other more colorful characters of the band's past may need to be rooted in through the back door.
BackPageMagazine.com

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Paul McCartney has announced plans to release an album of American standards the former Beatle says had an influence on the material he wrote with John Lennon.  The as yet untitled release will also include contributions form Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and Diana Krall.  Two original tunes will also be included on the project.  McCartney says the time is right to give recognition to some of the songs and song writers that he '...took a lot of my lessons from.'  He says the process of arranging and recording the material reminded him of how the Beatles approached recording, calling it, '...very spontaneous, kind of organic'.  The release is expected to be out on February 6 - just in time for Valentines Day.
Mirror.uk.com

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Guns N' Roses fans thinking the group's upcoming induction into the Rock Hall Of Fame (story)  might reunite the band got one indication they could be right on Friday (12/16) when fromer GNR bass player Duff McKagan took the stage with the current lineup backing Axl Rose on You Could Be Mine.  McKagan and Rose last performed on the same stage during a London concert in 2010.  Prior to that occasion, the lead singer and McKagan had not paired up in 17 years.  Calling the current GNR lineup '...the nicest bunch of fellas', McKagan described himself as 'pretty excited' about performing with Rose and the band.  McKagan's own group, Loaded, was opening the Seattle and Vancouver GNR dates.
NoiseCreep.com

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The already sad story involving a purported lover that reportedly died from cancer last October (story) became even more wrenching with new that the son Van Morrison allegedly fathered with the woman died several months before Gigi Lee. Morrison vehemently denied British tabloid claims he was the father of the baby boy when they first surfaced, going so far as to claim through a representative he did not even know the woman.  Once that claim was discredited, the Irish singer sought an injunction prohibiting the press from reporting on any aspects of his personal life and made it clear that he would not comment on anything not related directly to his music.  Reports that Lee was diagnosed with cancer a couple of months before the December, 2009 birth of George Ivan Morrison III were attributed to friends of the Texas woman, who had moved with her son to Belfast to be close to the father.  No cause or circumstances regarding the death of the then 13 month old boy have been revealed.
DailyMail.co.uk

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Peter Gabriel is asking fans that have memorabilia relating to his 1986 landmark album So or his tours around that period in his career to submit a photo and description to him so he can consider using it in the album's 25th Anniversary expanded edition set, the companion book or his web site.  Got a ticket stub, poster, concert photos or personal recollections?  Get 'em off to Peter by Jan. 9 and you could score some pretty unique bragging rights.  Send them to https://www.petergabriel.com/so-submissions
VintageVinylNews.com

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Someone apparently helped them self to one of Bob Seger's favorite guitars sometime during the period that he was on the road and having his belongings moved to a new house.  Police in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Park reported that a 1978 Gibson Les Paul belonging to Seger was discovered missing recently, but authorities indicate it could have grown legs anytime between August and early October.  Also gone was an autographed size 22 Shaquille O'neal sneaker, a Wii game console and a bracelet.
WXYZ.com

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The recent revelation that Ian Anderson will not include other Jethro Tull members on his Thick As A Brick tour (story) has been followed by guitarist Martin Barre pronouncing the group disbanded. Speaking with the Kinston Free Free Daily, Barre said flatly there will be no future Jethro Tull studio album and made it clear that he thinks it unlikely that the group will tour together again.  He then voiced his disappointment with the set lists that Ian Anderson insisted on during recent tours and revealed that he has plans to put together a band with as many as three Tull veterans to do concerts featuring the classics that Anderson did not want to do on recent tours, including Teacher, Minstrel In The Gallery, and deeper tracks from the group's early albums, adding, 'We won't be regurgitating what Jethro Tull did last year, or this year, or the year before, which I find fairly pointless.'
PasadenaStarNews.com

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A June 1968 document releasing Jimi Hendrix from an early recording contract has been purchased for $45,950 - a sum considerably greater than what Hendrix probably earned under it.  The deal gave the Seattle guitarist just 1% of each record's selling price and compensated him at the lowest rate legally available for his production work.  Bidding on the release signed by Hendrix,  and reps of Warner Brothers Records, PPX Records as well as artist representative Michael Jeffries and Hendrix himself started at $10,000 and took only eight bids to reach the eventual sale price.
UltimateClassicRock.com

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Just as its northern and international counterparts have done, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has continued expanding the scope of the music it offers.  Following the lead of Newport and Montreaux, the NOLA event has added acts less traditionally associated with the type of artists and fans the event formerly targeted.  While there will still be plenty of Jazz, Cajun, Zydeco and other music forms closely associated with the host region, the 2012 lineup will once again bring in acts with little or no direct connection to those forms of music. This year Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, the Eagles and the Foo Fighters will join the party on the bayou April 27-29 and May 3-6.

Fans attending a benefit concert Saturday (12/10) at Canterbury Cathedral got the unique treat of hearing songs performed by a group made up of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson.  The Christmas Charity event included renditions of two holiday chestnuts, Revelations and Jerusalem featuring Anderson and Dickinson.  Hayward did Nights In White Satin and Forever Autumn, after which all of them got together for the Tull classic Locomotive Breath.  The Jethro Tull front man has a December 19 holiday gig on his schedule that will unite him and Emerson Lake & Palmer's Greg Lake at Manchester Cathedral.  Anderson will begin a 6 week long European tour performing the 1972 album Thick As A Brick in mid April.
StereoBoard.com

2009 ended with vehement denials from Van Morrison that he had fathered a son with a then 42 year-old woman from Texas.  He is alleged to have instructed a representative to not only deny the validity of the story, but to claim that the singer did not even know the woman, something very unlikely since her association with Morrison was documented in his album credits.  He then sought an injunction to prohibit media outlets from covering matters in his personal life. 
A long lull in coverage of the story has ended with a report in the Daily Mail that the woman that many reports identified as the mother of the child allegedly conceived with Morrison died of cancer in October.  The web site for the paper cites court records in Texas listing probate actions in the estate of 'Gigi Ann Lee', that list a date of death of October 7, 2011.  Lee had reportedly moved to Ireland with her son.  The paper received information that Lee, 44 at the time of her death, passed away while under the care of a hospice organization in Belfast.  Do not expect a confirmation or denial from Morrison.
DailyMail.co.uk

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American artists have grabbed the headliner spot on all three days of the 2012 Isle Of Wight festival.  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were first in and will will close the June event. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers confirmed plans to anchor a day earlier this week and Pearl Jam signed on as a closer for the remaining date. Pearl Jam will open a European tour three nights ahead of the Wight festival appearance with a concert in Manchester June 20.  Only 8 northern European dates have been announced at this point, but more would seem likely given the expense of mounting an overseas tour for a Seattle band.
AudioInkRadio.com

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Southern Rock fans will want to add the Excalibur resort to their Vegas plans. Thursday (12/8) the center of the gambling universe in North America celebrated the grand opening of  the Lynyrd Skynyrd Bar, BBQ and Beer saloon with an appearance by the band.  Group members joined the head Master Distiller from Jack Daniels at a special luncheon in the new establishment.  It's more comfortable than the original Jacksonville, FL Hell House, the joint that inspired the theme and atmosphere for the eatery and music venue.  Packed with displays of band owned instruments and other memorabilia and featuring a bar constructed using 100+ year old wood from barns, the place provides a down home setting for Texas BBQ pit master Keith Schmidt to work his magic.  Proceeds from the opening night concert by the band were donated to the Epicurean Charitable Foundation and the Nevada Medical Center.
LasVegasSun.com

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Hubert Sumlin. a blues guitarist admired by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger during a decades long career that included stints backing Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf will be laid to rest at the expense of the two Rolling Stones members, according to a post attributed to the blues man's partner, Toni Ann.  Sumlin died of heart failure Thursday (12/4).  Noise 11 reports that the message read, 'I just wanted to share with you, Hubert's loving fans, that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have insisted on picking up the full expenses for Hubert's funeral. God bless the Rolling Stones.'  Richards called the late guitarist '...an uncle, and a teacher' to him.
NME.com

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The stage is set for a couple of highly anticipated reunions when the Rock Hall Of Fame holds it's annual induction ceremony in Cleveland on April 14.  Guns N' Roses might table the hatred between some members when the the group that blast on the scene with Appetite For Destruction officially enters the Hall.  There is no guarantee that Rock's poster boys for dysfunctionality will get together but if it doesn't happen at the induction ceremony it's a safe bet it never will.  Maybe billing it as a cage match will help. 
The other possible reunion is one that has been a perking possibility for the last couple of years - Rod Stewart with the Faces.  The induction of the Faces the first time the group was on the ballot will move Stewart and Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood into the ranks of artists enshrined twice.  The former front man for the band issued a statement calling the honor '...a hell of a good reason to reunite and celebrate with my old mates.'  
Also in are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Donovan, blues man Freddie King, Laura Nyro and promoter Don Kirshner.  Missing the cut: Heart, Joan Jett, War, Rufus, The Cure, the Spinners and old school hip-hop's Eric B. & Rakim.

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Lindsey Buckingham has been forced to postpone a series UK dates after suffering a back injury. The cause of the problem, which described in a statement released by the Fleetwood Mac member as a 'severely injured' back, was not specified, but it will apparently not prevent future make-up concerts, as ticket holders are being advised to hang on to tickets for use at 'soon to be announced rescheduled dates'.
Buckingham has been touring in support of his solo album Seeds We Sow, and a new concert DVD that includes both solo tracks and a number of songs he has performed with Fleetwood Mac.
StereoBoard.com

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Paul McCartney spent much of 2011 year doing concerts in cities on multiple continents.  Not wanting to leave London feeling slighted, Sir Paul delivered a 3 hour marathon during his only appearance of the year in London Town Monday (12/5).  The career spanning set included a surprise guest appearance by Faces and Stones veteran Ronnie Wood on Get Back, several songs from his Wings era and a healthy helping of Beatles classics, closing with a rousing rendition of the album ending medley from Abbey Road - Golden Slumbers-Carry That Weight-The End.
McCartney will wrap up the year with a night where his Long And Winding Road began when he plays the Echo Arena in Liverpool Dec. 20.
Live4Ever.uk.com

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In a move not likely to ring true with a lot of Jethro Tull fans, Ian Anderson has apparently elected to leave the other members of the group behind when he mounts an album tour in 2012 that will recreate Thick As A Brick on stage.  Guitarist Martin Barre reported through his web site that the 1972 album was essentially an Ian Anderson solo work and went on to add, '...as such, I won't be playing'.  While representatives for Anderson have not confirmed who will back the flute playing front man, Rock n' Reel magazine in the UK has gone on record as saying the lineup will not include any regulars from the Tull ranks other than Anderson.
UltimatClassicRock.com

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The Isle of Wight festival landed another major American act this week when Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers confirmed plans to fill the headline role for the Friday night of the June event.  Petty and company join Bruce Springsteen at the three day event staged at Seaclose Park June 22-24. Bruce and the E Street Band have the festival closing slot on Sunday.  Promoter John Giddings says he has tried to get Petty into the lineup of the venerable festival for a long time. Like Tom says, the waiting is the hardest part. Giddings says he's '...sure it will be worth the wait.'
IWCP.co.uk

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The cover to the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed featured an antique phonograph needle on a vinyl album with layers on the spindle above it comprised of a large film canister with the album title on a price of red tape along its spine, a Roman numeral clock face and a bicycle tire, all topped by a frosted cake with simplistic figures of band members.  The original art work for the album will go on the block during a Dec. 15 auction being conducted by Bonhams and experts predict it will bring a high bid between $45,000 and $60,000.  The cover earned a spot among the iconic album covers voted to be pictured on a limited run of UK postage stamps in a poll conducted by the Royal Mail in 2009 (story).
Mirror.uk.co

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Jackson Browne added a couple of appearances not listed on his solo acoustic tour itinerary in recent days, first performing for Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City and later making an unannounced stop at Levon Helm's studio to join the night's scheduled guests, Dawes, on Saturday night (12/3).  Browne, backed by the young L.A. based band  whose approach has drawn comparisons to the singer-songwriter genre he helped forge the identity of four decades ago, backed Browne on Take It Easy and Our Lady Of The Well.  Browne returned to the Midnight Ramble stage during host Levon Helm's set for Dylan's It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, Up On Cripple Creek and The Weight.  Browne also stopped at the site of the Occupy Wall Street encampment on Thursday (12/1) to play his song Lives In The Balance and a new one he has written to support the cause.
PoughkeepsieJournal.com  NYDailyNews,com

Fans taking in the Bob Seger concert Thursday (12/1) at Madison Square Garden found an unexpected additional member of the Silver Bullet Band for one song early in Seger's set when Bruce Springsteen came out to join Bob and the band on Old Time Rock 'n Roll. The pair alternated verses and Bruce added some blistering guitar to the nugget.  Bob joined the E Street Band for a version of Thunder Road when Springsteen's 1980 tour rolled into the Motor City.
Springsteen has also been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the SWSX in Austin, Texas in March, the annual music industry confab that draws thousands of musicians and tens of thousands of industry types and fans.
Soundspike.com

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Promotion for the Wednesday (11/30) Grammy nomination special was ripe with references to a Van Halen appearance, including a Tweet telling Twitter subscribers to be ready to 'Jump & Dance The Night Away' with a reuniting band.  A press release also promised a 'live announcement from an iconic group' that will perform on the Feb 12 telecast.  The special came and went without a performance or even an announcement.  We don't know where the fault lies, but VH's credibility has nose-dived in recent months due to several conflicting reports about album and tour plans.  But don't discount the possibility that all the blame belongs to the Grammy organization or some social media PR hound.
AntiMusic.com

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