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Noteworthy Now Archives for 2015-10

Collins talks Genesis reunion, Henley end for Eagles

Phil Collins, forced into retirement as a drummer due to a debilitating nerve condition, says a back surgery he recently underwent is providing so much relief that he thinks he will be back at it soon.  Speaking with Rolling Stone, Collins said, 'My back and hips were just shot.  The doctor had to take my back apart and unscramble the mess.  After the surgery, tough, the doctor said my vital signs were all there.'  WHile he looks forward to the prospect of playing drums again, he is taking a wait-and-see approach on the subject of a Genesis reunion, saying, 'Let's start with this bit first.'  

Speaking with Uncut, drummer Don Henley suggested that the possibility the Eagles have done their last gig is real. Henley, wo has gotten a good response to his solo Country album,  does not dismiss the possibility of future albums or tours but says no plans of any kind are in the works involving him and the other members of the group.

 

MORE PHIL COLLINS INSIGHTS   MORE DON HENLEY INSIGHTS

A Day In The Life revisited (Watch)

Remastered versions of albums in George Harrison's solo catalog recently got reissued with considerably more clarity to them than the originals.  A similar result has been achieved visually with the restoration and upgrade applied to a video created for A Day In The Life from his band's landmark album, Sargeant Pepper.

 

 

Roger Waters draws protesters to concert

Fans of Roger Waters attending his concert Friday (10/30) at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Long Island will get more than an earful inside the venue.  They will also hear from protesters on their way into the theater that object to the Pink Floyd veteran's stance agains Isreal's treatment of the Palesinians.  The Simon Wiesenthal Center group has been calling for a boycot of the concert.  The group considers it appropriate in light of the Rocker's efforts to discourage other artists from scheduling concerts in Isreal.  The organization's web site urges those with tickets to the show to, '...vote with their feet' rather than take a seat and, '...stand in solidarity - outside of the theater - with the innicent victimes of terrorism in the Holy Land.'

ContactMusic.com

 

MORE ROGER WATERS INSIGHTS

ROCKinsights Quick Takes - GNR, UFO & Sting

If reports that Slash and Axl Rose are serious about putting the earlier lineup of Guns N' Roses back together are accurate, guitarist Gilbey Clarke says he's ready to Rock that.  Speaking with The Times of India, Clarke said, 'If Slash & Duff came back, it would be special. I would hope I could be part of it if that ever happened.'

AntiMusic.com

 

MORE GUNS N' ROSES INSIGHTS

 

 

18 US cities will experience UFO sightings in March.  The hard Rockin' UK band is back together and will mount a month long tour that launches March 2nd in Akron, Ohio and wraps up with a 3/28 date in San Francisco.  In between the band will do shows in Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and nine smaller markets.

 

 

Sting and his wife are unloading the impressive art collection the couple has amassed.  Among the originals the former Police front man plans to sell are works by Picasso and Matisse.  The February sale being conducted by Christie's in New York will also include a Steinway piano from the couple's former London residence.

BBC.com

 

MORE STING INSIGHTS

Hendrix apartment opening to visitors

The flat Jimi Hendrix lived in while in London will open to visitors in February following a restoration to the way it looked when the guitar legend resided there.  The apartment at 23 Brook Street in the Mayfair section of the city is where Hendrix and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham lived when Jimi was at the peak of his popularity on the world stage.  While the couple only lived there for about three months, the flat was the only place that Jimi lived on a day-in-day-out basis between his discovery by Animals bass player Chas Chandler and his death.  The address was within a few minutes walk of a number of live music venues, including the Marquee club.  A plaque marking the significance of the address was added outside the apratment in the fall of 1997.  It is directly adjacent to the home of another monumental musical figure, the classical composer Handel. Hendrix and his flat mate reportedly went to a nearby record store on learning of the connection to pick up some recordings of Handel's music.  The Hendrix flat opens to visitors on February 10th.

Standard.co.uk

 

MORE JIMI HENDRIX INSIGHTS

ELO to return to stage

Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra plans include a return to concerts for the long disbanded group.  Lynne and ELO will do a limited run of dates in the UK early next year, with the tentative plan to stage a series of concerts in the US later in 2016. ELO's last go at mounting a tour got scuttled after disappointing advance ticket sales convinced Lynne not to go ahead with the plan.  Lynne will reportedly be joined by ELO keyboard veteran Richard Tandy for the album and tour, it seems unlikely that other prior members will be invited or would agree to participate if the invitation were extended.  There has been a series of legal squabbles over the use of the Electric Light Orchestra name in the years since the band was a cohesive group.

ClassicRock.TeamRock.com

Springsteen & his mom go see Ringo Starr

Bruce Springsteen took his mother, Adele, to see one of the Rockers responsible for her son becoming a musician on Sunday (10/25). After the Ringo Starr All Starr Band concert at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ, the group's ring leader posted this picture of him with The Boss.

Home town seeks to preserve Levon Helm's house

Levon Helm's former home and recording studio have been sustained in his honor in Saugerties, New York.  Supporters of a move to resore and preserve his childhood home in Marvell, Arkansas hope to find enough interest among area residents and far-flung fans of The Band drummer to be able to have a lasting tribute to him in the Arkansas Delta town he spent his early years in, as well.  A concert Saturday (10/25) dubbed the Levon Helm Down Home Jubilee will raise funds to apply to the cause.  Among those in attendance will be Anna Lee, the Annie Helm referenced in the chorus of The Weight.

ULARpublicradio.org

 

MORE LEVON HELM INSIGHTS

Bowie may issue a 2016 album

David Bowie's live performance days are apparently over, but the eclectic Rocker might very well be on the verge of springing some new music on us.  The Times Of London says a jazz oriented Bowie project titled Blackstar is being prepared for a January 8 release.  The 10 minute title track and 6 other songs reportedly comprise the album.  Recorded in New York City, the release melds jazz with electronic elements reminiscent of the German Band Kraftwerk, according to the Times, which references it as one of Bowie's 'oddest' recordings to date.  Given how out there some of his records have been, that's quite a characterization.
Gothamist.com

 

MORE DAVID BOWIE INSIGHTS

Springsteen widens The River

22 outtakes or alternate versions of songs, 11 tracks not previously released and a River tour date filmed in Tempe, Arizona are being packed into a 7 disc expanded edition of The River, Bruce Springsteen's 1980 double album.  Several of the titles not available in official release form are from a 10 song album Bruce recorded as the follow-up to Darkness On The Edge of Town but decided not to put out.  The comprehensive box set will also include a nearly 150 page book loaded with studio and concert photos, graphics considered but not used on the albums.

In other Bruce news, the owners of the Jersey bungalow Springsteen resided in while writing just about all of the songs included on Born To Run has hit the market again.  The group of fans that bought the house some years back put it on the market in 2013 but found no takers.  The price this time around is $299,000, around 50k less than what they hoped someone would plunk down then to get ownership of one of Rock's most unique collectibles.

HenneMusic.com

 

MORE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN INSIGHTS

Joe Perry preparing solo release

With whether and when his band will get down to recording a new album very much in question, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has elected to concentrate on finishing up a solo release that he calls 'mainly instrumental'.  While no title or release date have been decided on, Perry does say that one or more of the songs with vocals could feature a singer other than him. Just who that might be the Admiral isn't revealing, yet.

Blabbermouth.net

 

MORE JOE PERRY INSIGHTS

Waters joined by Corgan & Morello in DC concert (watch)

A Friday (10/16) benefit concert stage in the nation's capitol to raise money for medical care of veterans brought a trio of Rock veterans together on stage.  Roger Waters, host and organizer of the Music Heals benefit concert, was joined by Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine and a frequent E Street Band collaborator on Comfortable Numb.  Tim Donley of the Marine Corps is the singer sharing chorus duties with Waters on the track.

NME.com

 

 

Phil Lesh reveals he has bladder cancer

Phil Lesh posted a notice on the Terrapin Crossroads Facebook page revealing that is undergoing treatment for bladder cancer at the Mayo Clinic's Scottsdale, Arizona location.  Lesh, 75, indicates that the form he has been diagnosed with is non-aggressive and that while surgery has been required, doctors believe he will be fit to play within a couple of weeks of the operation.  Phil Lesh & Friends concerts scheduled for October 24 & 25 at the Marin County club Lesh owns have been cancelled, but Lesh says he plans to stage a free show there before he and his band head east for a series of dates at the Capitol Theatre in Portchester, New York from Ocotber 30 - November 7.

MarinIJ.com

 

MORE PHIL LESH INSIGHTS

Journey drummer enters guilty plea

Journey drummer Deen Castronova faces four years of probation after entering a guilty plea on charges of assault and menacing constituting domestic violence in Salem, Oregon.  The charges stemmed from an incident that also involved a weapon and coercion.  The drummer's terms of probation reportedly ban him from being involved romantically without clearance from a probation officer and restricts him from contact with the victim, alcohol or controlled substance use and entering a drinking establishment except for purposes of performing.  A violation of any terms of the probation could result in a jail sentence of five years.  Journey replaced Castronova with drummer Omar Hakim not long after his legal troubles developed.

HenneMusic.com

 

MORE JOURNEY INSIGHTS

Crue plays without Tommy Lee

A sudden onset of tendinitis left Tommy Lee unable to even hold a drum stick let alone provide the beat when Motley Crue took the stage in Buffalo Wednesday (10/15).  The band was able to go on with the western New York stop on their farewll tour after alerting opening act Alice Cooper's drummer to the predicament just hours before the concert.  Glen Sobel was more than willing  to fill in for Lee, he was stoked, writing on his Facebook page that he had a feeling he might someday get the opportunity, which came after what he wrote was '...an insane day of prep and making cheat sheets.'  Lee was also in the house to cue Sobel through an ear piece as the set unfolded. 

AntiMusic.com

Bono promising big comeback

Bono is promising that the album U2 is working on is 'epic'.  The group's epic failure to produce a release that comes even close to demonstrating how compelling a band U2 once was has us skeptical, but we'd love to have the group deliver the caliber of music it could once be counted on coming up with.

Skynyrd's last original member suffers heart attack

Lynyrd Skynyrd's only remaining member of the original lineup suffered a heart attack on October 8th and is in guarded condition.  Gary Rossington's daughter says the guitarist was diagnosed with the attack when he underwnt a procedure to address complications with a pair of stents implanted earlier this year.  Her post to the Ronnie Van Zant fan page on Facebook indicates that her father will face additioanl stents in the coming weeks if his condition allows for it.  Mary Elizabeth also asks fans to keep her father in their prayers and expresses a deep appreciation for the medical  staff she says has '...saved his life several times now.'

TheBoot.com

 

MORE GARY ROSSINGTON INSIGHTS

Trump campaign gets warning from Aerosmith

Aerosmith has given notice to Donald Trump that it wants the song Dream On removed from the list of songs getting played at Trump campaign events.  The Boston band joins a list of musicians that includes Neil Young and REM that take exception to the Republican presidential candidate using their material for campaign events. According to Hollywood Reporter, Steven Tyler's management took the step of getting a cease and desist order issued to Trump for President after the campaign reportedly ignored an earlier request to discontinue use of the song.

RollingStone.com

 

MORE AEROSMITH INSIGHTS

Richards keeps ripping on other bands

Keith Richards has taken swipes at a number of bands during interviews he has done about his own solo project.  In one, the Rolling Stones guitarist characterized the Beatles Sargeant Pepper album as 'rubbish'.  In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Richards targeted Led Zeppelin saying that while he considers Jimmy Page a great guitarist, he always felt that Led Zeppelin was '...a little hollow' as a group.  He also commended drummer Keith Moon as being the perfect drummer for Pete Townshend, but said the drummer was a 'disaster' when it came to doing sessions with any artist or band outside of the Who.

RollingStone.com

 

MORE KEITH RICHARDS INSIGHTS

Arizona store faces suit over Hendrix guitar

The operator of a Tucson, Arizona guitar shop reportedly is being sued to the tune of $750,000 by the estate of Jimi Hendrix over a guitar it procured from a man who says he bought it from Sheldon Reynolds, a former husband of the late guitar great's sister Janie Hendrix.  The estate refutes a claim that the guitar was given to Reynolds by Janie during the marriage and maintains that the instrument never belonged to Jimi's sister.  A document submitted by the estate indicates it first became aware the guitar was missing after being notified by Sotheby's that an individual interested in having it auctioned had contacted them about getting it authenticated. The claim requests that the guitar shop owner be directed to turn the guitar over to the estate and pay damages.

Tucson.com

 

 

Rock Hall remains off the mark on latest nominees

The annual list of nominees to the Rock Hall Of Fame shows that the insttitution itself, or at least the people charged with deciding who deserves to be on the ballot, are clueless.  The prospects for this year again includes acts that should already have been enshrined and ones that don't deserve to be up for consideration at all.  In the overdue or highly desrerving ranks are, Yes, Deep Purple, the Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick, Chicago and The Cars.  The worth considering category includes Los Lobos, Nine Inch Nails and The Smiths. Janet Jackson leads the pack in ones not worthy of consideration, a batch that also includes Chaka Khan, James Brown's backup band, Chic, N.W.A and the Spinners.  It's the ROCK Hall Of Fame, not Pop, not R&B, not Rap... but every year highly deserving Rock artists get left off the ballot to make room for acts that should never get in.  Is it because people involved in the nomination process have to stroke the egos of acts they owe favors to, or are they really that clueless?  We don't know. What we do know is that the credibility of the Museum takes a hit every time someone like Janet Jackson is deemed deserving of consideration at the expense of a genuinely great Rock artist or band. 

Ono's John Lennon tribute falls short

Yoko Ono set out to set a new world record Tuesday (10/6), but fell well short of attracting the number of people she needed to get it done.  The goal was to get 6,000 or more people to join her in Central Park and form a giant peace sign in tribute to John Lennon. Despite perfect weather, fewer than half that number turned up.  Our first thought was, why a Tuesday? John's birthdaywill be on Friday.  If it was going to be done on a day other than his birthday, why not do it on a Saturday or Sunday?  Our second thought was that a good % of Lennon fans just wouldn't be inclined to participate in something Ono was organizing.  Ithaca, New York's Guinness Record, 5,814 in 2009, still stands.

CBC.ca

 

MORE JOHN LENNON INSIGHTS

Dead to give away 1/2 of house for New York show

The Core Four of the Grateful Dead have announced plans for an additional date at Madison Square Garden and plan to give away 10,000 seats for the November 7 concert.  Facing a chorus of criticism from fans after adding tour dates after having charged exorbitant fees for tickets sold during their supposed farewell concerts in Chicago and California, the Dead & Company will have to hope secondary market outlets and scalpers don't figure out ways to snatch-up 'free' tickets to sell as they did during the Pope's recent US visit.  Fans unable to get tickets won't be entirely shut out.  The concert will be streamed under  the American Express Unstaged series of web casts.

JamBase.com

 

MORE GRATEFUL DEAD INSIGHTS

Phil Rudd shot down on house arrest appeal

A judge has ruled against Phil Rudd in the former AC/DC drummer's bid to have his house arrest ended.  Rudd, who is serving time at home in lieu of behind bars after being convicted of threatening to kill a man and drug possession, contended that being restricted to his mansion was preventing him from being able to resume his career.  Noting that his former band has replaced him and has given no indication they want him back, the judge rejected the contention.  Rudd's attorney argued that the sentence was 'massively excessive'.  The drummer will have another day in court in November when he appears to try and avoid having to spend even more time at home as a result of allegations that he broke the terms of his confinement by having alcohol on the premises.

ClassicRock.TeamRock.com

 

MORE PHIL RUDD INSIGHTS

HBO goes retro on new music series (watch)

Director Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger have teamed to create an HBO drama focused on the 1970's music industry. Vinyl launches on the cable network in January and features the Rolling Stones front man's son, in the role of Kip Stevens, the lead singer for a band known as the Nasty Bits.  The show is being guided by Boardwalk Empire and Sopranos veteran Terrence Winter.

ClassicRock.TeamRock.com

 

 

 

 

Gibbons fuses Blues classic with Latin (Listen)

Got Love if you Want It is one of the songs Billy Gibbons covers on his first solo album, Perfectamundo, out November 6th (more info). The track was also the first song its writer, Slim Harpo, released.  The 1957 single got eclipsed by its B Side, I'm A King Bee.  In the video Below the track, the ZZ Top guitarist talks about the approach he took when concocting this Rock/Blues/Cuban fusion.
ClassicRock.TeamRock.com

 

 

 

Bill Murray Rocks The Kasbah (watch)

In a role tailor made for him, Bill Murray assumes the role Richie Lanz,  a has-been Rock manager looking to make a career comeback with the discovery of Salima Khan, a golden voiced teenager he encounters in a cave in Afghanistan.  Add Kate Hudson as a hooker and Bruce Willis in the role of a mercenary and the improbable story line gets even richer for director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, The Natural, Good Morning Vietnam, Diner, Toys, Wag The Dog), who shoots the film mockumentary style.

 

Mick Jagger goes bowling in Nashville

Mick Jagger spent part of his Thursday night (10/1) in Nashville hangin' out in an alley - a bowling alley!  The Stones front man posted a pic on his Twitter account of him holding a bowling ball immediately adjacent to the pair he spends every day with, captioned 'Don't ask me my score!'.  Jagger's extended visit to Music City has us wondering whether he's thinking about following the lead of Steveny Tyler, Don Henley and Robert Plant into the Country cross-over ranks.
Tennessean.com

 

MORE MICK JAGGER INSIGHTS

Red Rocker whipping up a cookbook

Sammy Hagar shares more than recipes in his upcoming cookbook, Are We Having Any Fun Yet? The Cooking and Partying Handbook.  The Montrose, Van Halen and Chickenfoot veteran packs the book with plenty of his kitchen specialties, but he gives also dishes out a number of tips for making the before, during and after portions of meals and life in general more enjoyable. Hagar, the life of any party, loves hosting them and threw a lot of legendary bashes at the Cabo Wabo Cantina, the Cabo San Lucas, Mexico eatery and watering hole he originally partnered with other Van Halen members in but took over ownership of in exchange for his share of the Van Halen trademark when he left the band.  The food and philosophy of the Red Rocker revolve around the notion that simple pleasures can be just as enjoyable as more extravagant ones.  Dishes don't have to be filled with expensive or hard to find ingredients any more than you need a lavish home with a private water park to enjoy life.  Talking with Rolling Stone about the book, Hagar said, '...if you don't have a swimming pool or a beach in front of your house, turn on the damn sprinkler and fire up the grill. A billionaire doesn't have a better time doing that than a guy broke off his ass.'

RollingStone.com

 

MORE SAMMY HAGAR INSIGHTS

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