Fans at the Journey concert this week in Las Vegas got an added treat when Carlos Santana joined his former band mates at the end of the set for a few songs. The reunion of Carlos with early Santana members Greg Rolie and Neal Schon was a long time coming - the three parted company in the early 70's when Schon and Rolie left Santana to form Joueney, but it won't be the last. Carlos intends to get almost all of the early Santana members back together to record a new album in 2014.

HauteLiving.com

Paul McCartney returns with a new album titled New on October 15.  The title track,  released through iTunes 8/28, is a bouncy pop piece from the project, which was apparently the product of  a host of producers that included Giles Martin, son of famed Beatles producer George Martin.

Neil Young's dissatisfaction over the compromise in quality the mp3 encoding process results in is well documented. Less well known is that the Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y veteran has been developing an alternative audio file format for people that share his disgust for mp3's.  Young has come up with a portable player capable of delivering a high quality listening experience he thinks will make music lovers that hear the difference in quality abandon their iPods and iTunes for his Pono player and service.  Files that play on Young's pyramid profiled player will also be listenable on other devices, but only the Pono player is capable of playing the files with uncompromising quality.  The player and service is expected to launch before year's end with between 5 and 8 thousand albums.  'Pono' is Hawaiian for 'righteous'.

ToneDeaf.com   Evolver.fm

MORE NEIL YOUNG INSIGHTS

Dan McCafferty, the lead singer of Nazareth, may have reached the end of his performing career.  The band's set at the Summerdays festival in Switzerland Saturday (8/24) was cut short after McCafferty reportedly collapsed after complaining of being short of breath.  The show's promoter was quoted as saying the singer was hospitalized after suffering a stroke.  The group's concerts earlier this year in the UK and Canada were cancelled due to the singer's health issues.
ClassicRockMagazine.com

Scott Weiland was sacked by Stone Temple Pilots a number of months ago. Now, the former lead singer has served notice he expects to either be bought out or for the group to pay him if they plan to continue using the name. Speaking with Gater Rocks, the Ex STP member countered the group's description of him as 'toxic' and the claim his conduct cost them potential earnings as a band with a counter claim saying he was let go without a justifiable reason being given which, Weiland maintains, is a breach of both the band agreement and a contract.  The singer calls the band's actions 'ridiculous', adding, 'They can't use the name without us coming to an agreement.  So thy'll have to buy me out of the company', which Weiland maintains he has 'value' in.  Band members contend that Weiland's decision to tour with his own group during a time frame that was supposed to have been reserved for an STP anniversary tour constituted grounds for them to oust him from the band. Never a dull moment when Weiland is involved.
CklassicRockMagazine.com

A five day curise out of Miami in April will feature on board entertainment from a number of progressive rock veterans, including members of Genesis (Steve Hackett), Yes (Patrick Moraz), the bands UK, Queensryche, Marillion, Strawbs, Soft Machine, Tangerine Dream, Renassance and others.  The excursion sails out of Miami on April 7 aboard the MSC Divina and will make port calls in Honduras and Cozumel. Pricing ranges from $550 for a quad interior room to $3,598 for VIP quarters with a large balcony.
CrusieToTheEdge.com

Trey Anastasio let slip that Phish is considering The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway as the Vermont jam band's choice for this Halloween's traditional album performance.  Chances of that being the album the band plays will likely evaporate unless former Genesis front man Peter Gabriel accepts the group's invitation to do it with them.  Speaking to Rolling Stone, Anastasio says he can play the album in his sleep, but the group decided they will only do it in its entirety with Gabriel.  'I am such a big fan of Peter Gabriel, I can't even tell you. I've been one my whole lifetime. I spent most of my high school years in a dark closet with headphones on listening to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.'  Three years ago, Anastasio had the honor of welcoming Genesis to the Rock Hall of Fame and Phish played Watcher of the Skies and No Reply At All during the ceremony.
JamBands.com

 

It's been a decade since David Crosby's last solo release (Thousand Roads).  The solo project he has been putting time into recently is so unlike any of his others that the singer says he thinks he will call it Dangerous Night.  He calls it 'experimental'.  The album includes a good deal of input from Crosby's son, James.  David has also been laboring over a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young live album recorded during the group's 1974 tour.  That album would already be available but for Neil Young's stubborn insistence on meeting a higher audio standard, something Crosby says Young is '...a bit of a nut about', but adds '...I get where he's coming from.'  Crosby's title preference for the live release is What Could Possibly Go Wrong? because it was recorded during a tour on which nearly everything did.
RollingStone.com

MORE DAVID CROSBY INSIGHTS

A dentist in Canada did not submit the high bid for a John Lennon tooth at a 2011 auction so it could just sit in a display case.  Daniel Zuk intends to attempt to use DNA from the molar to clone the late Beatle.  'To say I had a small part in bringing back one of rock's greatest stars would be mind-blowing', says Zuk.  'Yuk' is a better characterization of the idea, to many.  The tooth he will use had been given to Lennon's housekeeper in the 1960's and has changed hands a number of times.  Zuk contends that if he manages to turn the tooth into a complete person, fans who '...remember where they were when they heard John Lennon had been shot ...will also live to hear about the day he got another chance.'
TimesLive.co.za

MORE JOHN LENNON INSIGHTS

Fans in Asia will miss the chance to catch Aerosmith live in Taipei and Shanghai due to the promoter failing to meet the terms of the contract according to reports.  Band members took to the web site and thei social media accounts to express their disappointment.  Front man Steven Tyler says, 'We are extremely upset to have disappointed our dedicated fans.  They have welcomed us to their country and due to uncontrollable circumstances we will not be able to perform.'
Billboard.com

MORE AEROSMITH INSIGHTS

A bruised eye John Mellencamp sported during an appearance on a late night talk show was a good indication that one of his sons might have management issues. Asked about the cause of his black eye, the father of Hud and Speck Mellencamp said that there had been a disagreement over something and his son got a punch in and he didn't.  Both of the singer's sons  now face charges that they went to the home of a 19 year-old that one of the Mellencamp boys claimed had hit him earlier that night and allegedly confronted him and gave the boy a severe beating that resulted in broken bones and lacerations serious enough to require plastic surgery.  Also accompanying Mellencamp's sons was Ty Smith, the son of the Indiana University basketball coach.  An affidavit filed in the case indicates that Speck threw the first punch and Hud and Ty Smith joined in and '...punched, kicked and stomped' Alexander Bucey.
Music-New.com

The Encino, Claifornia residence Tom Petty and his former wife, Jane, lived in has gone on the market for just over $3.5 million.  The hillside home with 5 bedrooms, 8 baths, a pool and a media room distributed among several levels totals close to 10,000 square feet and is something of an architectural hodge-podge.  The structure replaced a home on the same site that was torched by someone in 1987.

Curbed.com

MORE TOM PETTY INSIGHTS

Leslie West has enlisted help from Johnny Winter, Jonny Lang, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame and Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge for his next album. Still Climbing will be released on September 28. The Mountain veteran attributes still being around to his love for making music. West, who lost a leg to diabetes two years ago,  quipped, 'I'm lucky it wasn't one of my hands or I'd be screwed.'
Gibson.com

Brian May elected to have knee replacement surgery to put an end to the chronic discomfort he'd been dealing with in one of his legs.  The Queen guitarist made the decision after intensive physical therapy failed to improve things.  He used his Bri's Soapbox account to update fans on his progress, posting, 'Im THROUGH!!! With a shiny new knee. This no walk in the park (1) but for 1st tim in months I feel optimistic and free of that OLD pain.'
HenneMusic

MORE BRIAN MAY INSIGHTS

Sammy Hagar combines forces with Chickenfoot and former Van Halen band mate Michael Anthony and a roster of guests  that ranges from Kid Rock to Blues man Taj Mahal and Country stars Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith on a new release titled Knockdown Dragout due out September 24.  The 10 track release also features Hagar with Kid Rock, Santana and Journey veteran guitarist Neal Schon, Joe Satriani, and Nancy Wilson of Heart.  The title track features Hagar with Joe Satriani and Kid Rock.

A broken hand suffered by guitarist Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro will keep Neil Young fans in Sweden, Belgium and the UK from the chance to catch Neil Young in concert this time around.  The Crazy Horse guitar player suffered what a source told Rolling Stone was a 'miild fracture' in an unspecified accident. Sampedro is expected to be cleared to play again in time for planned U.S. tour dates.

Ambitious plans to update a landmark hotel in Dublin announced a few years ago by U2 have yet to get off the ground due to resistance from the City Council. A court has now upheld the Council's right to keep the developer from being able to begin work on the Clarence Hotel that would have included the addition of a giant, saucer shaped roof-top restaurant and lounge.  The partnership formed to get the makeover done put plans on hold in 2009 for economic considerations. Central in the Council's refusal to give the project another green light are objections related to the height the building would reach with the 'skycatcher' roofline the band and developer have proposee.

IrishTimes.com

MORE U2 INSIGHTS

AC/DC has a good sized collection of platinum albums.  Wine maker Warburn Estate has decided it's high time the Down Under hard rockers had a fine red wine named AC/DC Platinum.  The Shiraz that has spent two years aging in oak barrels is about to get released through exclusive orders placed directly to the company.
NoiseCreep.com

MORE AC/DC/INSIGHTS

Tom Petty tipped Rolling Stone to a general idea of what to expect on the next album from him and his Heartbreakers, calling the material like, '...songs we would've written around Wildflowers or Damn The Torpedoes, but much more distorted.'  The recording phase of the project is nearly finished, but no release date has been pegged yet.  Petty says the approach has been casual. 'Lately, I just roll in, play the song on the guitar, and they just fall in and we work it out', adding, 'Usually, the first takes are the best... I think people are going to like it.'
RollingStone.com  RTTNews.com

MORE TOM PETTY INSIGHTS

U2 bass player Adam Clayton will marry a Brazilian art gallery director in a reatively small mid-September ceremony at the Riveria villa near Nice, France that Bono and The Edge own.  Clayton proposed to Mariana Texeria during the famed Carnival in her home country earlier this year.  The Irish musician has come close to walking the aisle twice before. He was previously engaged to model Naomi Campbell and later to a personal assistant of U2 manager Paul McGuinness.

TheSun.co.uk

MORE ADAM CLAYTON INSIGHTS

While he was giving fans a break in ticket prices, someone decided to break-in to his Detroit area home.  Rock, who has been touring this summer on a $20 ticket price, sent a message message to the would-be thief: 'Don't mess with a Mother&%#$er like me' accompanied by a $5,000 reward for info leading to the arrest of a suspect.  Police in the Oakland County Sheriff's Office say they acted on two tips that steered them to a man they say attempted to bust through the gates of Rock's Independence Township residence using a 1994 Ford Club Wagon.  The singer posted his message and reward info on his web site together with a security cam video that shows a man on crutches near the van at about the time the attempted breakin took place on Wednesday afternoon (7/31).  He says whoever did it is lucky he wasn't home at the time. 'I am an avid hunter and marksman and I will not hesitate to shoot anyone who has myself or family in fear for our lives.'
HenneMusic.com

Redditch, the Worcestershire UK community Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham grew up in, wants to commemorate its musical claim to fame with a statue of him.  Some businesses have aligned themselves with a campaign launched by local Zep fans and the late drummer's brother, Mick Bonham, has committed to donating some proceeds from the sale of a book he's written about John to the cause.  Bonzo's sister, Deborah, tells the Redditch Standard she likes the idea but notes that his on and off stage antics aside, John was actually quite bashful 'John was unassuming, so he'd probably be a bit shy about it - but I know he'd be very proud.'
A similar campaign being mounted in the home town of Bon Scott, the late AC/DC front man, has yet to raise half of its statue funding goal after a Kickstarter campaign failed to meet its goal ahead of a deadline.  Supporters there vow to continue their fund raising efforts.
ClassicRockMagazine.com

MORE JOHN BONHAM INSIGHTS   MORE BON SCOTT INSIGHTS

The stone Château outside Paris Elton John recorded the album named for it in needs a new owner willing to invest a lot of money in its restoration.  Elton's Honky  Château was the first of many albums recorded in the country estate about 15 miles north of the French capitol. Château d'Hérouville would also be the recording site for Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player and John's epic double release of 1973, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.  David Bowie recorded his album Pin Ups there that same year and dozens more came in the ensuing years, including Fleetwood Mac, Iggy Pop, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull and T-Rex.  

The Grateful Dead may not have recorded there, but they did treat some of the locals to a private concert on the grounds of the estate after a nearby festival appearance had ben canceled due to heavy rains in 1971.  Jerry Garcia recounted the event, saying, '...we played to a handful of townspeople in Auvers.   We played and people came - the chief of police, the fire department, ... and everybody just had a hell of a time - got drunk, fell in the pool. It was great.'

The house and grounds were closed down in 1985 and little or no care has been given the place since.  Estimates are that the building would require around a half a million in restoration costs to return it to a liveable state.  Word is an unidentified Australian musician might be willing to take that on.
TheGuardian.com

Stubs from tickets admitting fans to one of the relatively few concerts the Beatles performed have long been hot items among collectors, but tickets to one of their concerts that were not used are exceedingly rare.  Rarest of all, perhaps, are tickets to the group's debut performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  That's what Jon Lindsey ended up with after winning a pair of tickets to that performance an employee of the show donated to his school for a fund raising raffle.  Lindsey was unable to go to the taping of the legendary appearance.  His good luck and misfortune that year turned out to be wonderful for the George Jackson Academy after Lindsey elected to donate the originally donated tickets back to the school.

WSJ.com

MORE BEATLES INSIGHTS