The operation Phil Collins underwent last October has him optimistic about playing the drums again. Collins had the back surgery to relieve severe pain he had been experiencing. In addition to addressing the discomfort, the operation has relieved the nerve problem that caused him to quit playing the drums. While he looks forward to regaining his percussion form, Collins doubts that he would be capable of doing a full tour as drummer if Peter Gabriel was to agree to the idea of a Genesis reunion tour. Given Gabriel's past resistance to the idea of touring with his former band mates, the prospect of a reunion that includes him is a long shot, but Collins says he and the others still '...get on great'. While nothing has firmed up yet, it suggests that the he, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett may get back together for another go round.
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A Paris court issued an order Thursday 
The desire for personal privacy during the last decades of his life is evidently something David wanted even after death. Instead of a grave site, he stipulated that his ashes be spread in Bali.
NBC is turning to former a former politician to replace the former host turned politician to revive The Celebrity Apprentice in the fall. Arnold Schwarzenegger will replace Donald Trump as the host on the show, and one of the season's contestants looking to TV for a career move will apparently be former Crue front man Vince Neil. Neil confirmed to FOX5 in Las Vegas he met with the show's producers, who apparently did not want him to go public about it yet, so he left it at, 'I'm up for it. So I never said I was going to be on it.' Bret Michaels went the distance on the show in 2013. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister got axed almost out of the gate on the show in 2012.
A new year that has already seen the loss of David Bowie and Glenn Frey now adds Paul Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane and Starship and a mainstay of the Bay Area music scene to the list of musicians lost during the opening weeks of the new year. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the guitarist and singer died Thursday 
According to Steven Tyler, the Gun N' Roses reunion might be due to him encouraging Axl Rose to open up to the idea. Speaking with Howard Stern, the Aerosmith front man said he did for Rose what Jon Bon Jovi did for him back when Tyler was in rehab and he and Joe Perry were on bad terms. Bon Jovi called him up and, according to Tyler, said, 'What the f%*k are you doing? The world needs you. We are out there ripping it up and everybody's asking for Aerosmith.' Tyler says he and Rose crossed paths a couple of times and he encouraged Axl to get beyond whatever differences he and Slash had for the sake of getting the band back together. The GNR crew was amused by the claim, tweeting the band '...would like to respectfully thank the many people taking credit for our upcoming shows and everything in between. Especially those whom we haven't spoken to in numerous years who, through the power of media, have somehow served a pivotal, even if non-existent role.' 
Geezer Butler of Black Saabbath's suggestion that the reason Bill Ward was not invited to play drums during the group's farewell tour was due to health concerns met with a rapid response from Ward. The drummer claims he is '...completely capable of touring' and maintains his management expressed his interest in being on the tour to the band's management and was told '...there was no interest'. Speaking with Radio.com, Butler said that Ward was invited to play at the tour's closing date in Phoenix on September 16 but the drummer was only interested in playing that night if he could do the rest of the dates as well. The dispute with Ward is believed to have been the result of a disagreement between the drummer and the Osbournes over how much he would be paid for participating in the group's final album and the tour done in support of it. The beat goes on.
Super storm Jonas basically shut down the New York metropolitan area for the weekend. One victim of the massive storm was the sold out Bruce Springsteen concert scheduled for Madison Square Garden. Bruce has offered ticket holders a decent consolation while they await an announcment of when the show will be made up in the form of a free download ot the E Street Band concert on 1/19 at the United Center in Chicago. Get in on the limited time offer 
U2's The Edge has been attempting to build several luxury homes on a hillside above Malibu, California for the better part of a decade. He finally got the long-sought approval of the California Coastal Commission in December after making a series of modifications to his original plan. Now, the Sierra Club has initiated a suit that seeks to prevent the development from going forward. The guitarist claims the complex would be '...some of the most environmentally sensitive ever designed' in the community. The Sierra Club contends the commission failed to give adequate consideration to the adverse impact the project would have on the environment.
Word that David Bowie believed he would survive long enough to do another album surfaced within a week of his death. A Newsweek article now says the singer laid out plans for the eventual release of quite a bit of material once he had died. The claim is attributed to an unidentified source who did not specify how much of that material might be previously unreleased work. The first in that series of releases is expected to come out late in 2017. A cast album of songs from Lazarus, the Bowie musical production that opened off-Broadway shortly before his death, is also in development.
Joe Bonamassa has been binging on Blues, recording and playing interpretations of songs by a number of major and lesser known masters of traditional Blues. Now the guitarist has decided to do a short tour recognizing a trio of Rock guitar legends he credits with having done the most to generate recognition and appreciation of those artists. Bonamassa and his band will do five concerts in the UK honoring Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, three guitarists that came through the ranks of the Yardbirds and have always shared an enthusiasm for and appreciation of Blues. The 5 concerts will all take place in the UK in July. Bonamassa releases another album of original Blues material on March 25 titled Blues Of Desperation.
Members of Pearl Jam took note of the plight of Flint, Michigan residents whose health is at risk due to lead and chemical contamination of the city water supply brought on by the negligence of city and state officials. The band has donated $300,000 to the United Way of Genesee County to assist the organization in addressing the crisis and solicited an additional $175,000 from friends and business associates. The group also set up a Crowdrise funding campaign that has already surpassed $20,000 donated by fans of the Seattle band. The band's web site says the funds collected are being used to provide Flint citizens with bottle water, filters and emergency services. Donations can be made at https://www.crowdrise.com/pearljam.
The highly anticipated album reuniting early members of Santana now has a release date. The 16 song album featuring Carlos Santana with Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie Michale Shrieve, Michael Carabello and others will be available April 15. Titled Santana IV because Carlos aimed to have it pick up from the point he parted ways with the core of the band that backed him on the first three Santana albums, Carlos says the process of recording it was 'magical' and calls the sound of the reconstituted band instantly recognizable as Santana. As for the sessions that went into it, Santana's enthusiasm is obvious; 'When you can go back and break new ground with joy and determination - and some whoop-ass energy - it gets you going. I think we achieved something really rare. This music was screaming to come out of us. It wasn't about nostalgia. It was about passion.'
If we had any say in the matter, Aerosmith would be doing the half time entertainment at the Super Bowl. Sadly, that honor goes to Coldplay and Beyonce. Steven Tyler will make an appearance at the Super Bowl... but only in an ad for Skittles. The Aerosmith front man will wail into a mic covered in the multi-colored candy pieces.
Two mainstays of progressive era Yes and one later member are collaborating on a new album and planning to tour. Original lead vocalsit Jon Anderson, keyboard player Rick Wakeman and later era member Trevor Rabin have confirmed album and tour plans. Wakeman indicates that the death of Chris Squire served as the catalyst for getting the three to actually get down to doing something they had been discussing for the past 5 years. Anderson lost his place in Yes to a sound alike vocalist and Wakeman parted company with the group several years before that. Wakeman says he looks forward to the opportunity to develope new songs with Anderson and Rabin ans to '...perform some of the classic material as we feel it should be performed.'
Singer Don McLean, who scored big with the early 70's song American Pie, was arrested in Maine on a domestic violence count. The Monday 
Just days after receiving news of the unexpected passing of David Bowie, the Rock world was shaken again by the death of another major musician. Glenn Frey of the Eagles died Monday 
Guitarist Zakk Wylde revisits a solo project he released two decades ago on April 8 with the release of a follow-up to his 1996 album Book Of Shadows. Book Of Shadows II was recorded in Wylde's home studio, with most of the work on it having come in the months since ending Black Label Society's Unblackened tour. He is also preparing a new side project called Zakk Sabbath that will feature him doing Black Sabbath sets in a band featuring Joey Castillo on drums and Blasko on bass. The power trio will make its debut on Jnauary 23 in Anaheim, California..jpg)
It appears lingering fallout over the lower pay Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward stood to collect compared to Ozzy for the Black Sabbath reunion has cost him a spot in the lineup for the farewell tour. Ward's apparent dispute with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne led him to refuse to play drums on the group's reunion album. Ward's subsequent scathing review of the album (
Former Max Webster lead singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell underwent life saving emergency surgery in a Toronto hospital Tuesday.jpg)
In recognition of one of the cocktail's biggest fans and consumers, Jack Daniels & Coke is now officially The Lemmy. The proclamation has been issued by Food & Beverage Magazine in honor of Lemmy Kilmister, the Motorhead front man who died of cancer December 28. Publisher Michael Politz said his publication is '...honored to represent the industry and bring the moniker The Lemmy to every bar in the world.' The new name had been championed by more than 40,000 signatures of fans of the man and the band. Jack Daniels has also released a limited edition Single Barrell Select in honor of Lemmy.
Here's one pre-nup we'd like to see. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is said to be engaged to marry Jerry Hall, the model Mick Jagger was hooked up with for a number of years. The 84 year old head honcho of the News Corporation is 25 years older than Hall. If a wedding takes place it will be the Australian-turned US citizen's 4th marriage and the model's first. Although many presumed Hall and Jagger to be husband and wife, their relationship was more of an agreement than a marriage. They staged an informal 'wedding' in Bali in November of 1990. 
David Bowie cloaked much about his public persona and kept nearly every aspect of his personal life strictly private. But the fact he kept an 18 month battle with cancer completely under wraps made the news that he died from the disease even more stunning. Bowie's son Duncan released the information Monday 
Ann and Nancy Wilson are busy writing songs for a new Heart album the pair hopes to have ready for release in the summer. Ann Wilson confirms that four songs are have been penned and more are in development. Speaking with ABC News Radio, Ann indicated that Heart fans can expect a less hard rockin' release that Fanatic, the album Heart put out in 2012. The group wii hit the road for Canadian dates during the month of March and will venture overseas for a short UK tour toward the end of June.
A couple of chambers apparently won't be reloaded with original members when Guns N' Roses reunites in 2016. The band has now confirmed that Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagen are in, but Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler don't seem to be. Stradlin's role looks to be filled by Richard Fortus and former Velvdt Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner, while the most recent GNR drummer, Frank Ferrer, will handle the kit.
Gregg Allman plans to record his next album in one of the south's legendary recording studios. Allman will head to Muscle Shoals, Alabama's FAME Studios in March to start sessions on an album with the working title All Compositions By Gregg Allman. Don Was has been tapped to handle production. The news comes from Gregg's guitarist Scott Sharrad via Glide Magazine. FAME Studios is legendary for having produced seminal works from Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin in the 60's backed by FAME's house rhythm section. The signature sound carried over to the 70's when a second ryhtym section, dubbed the Swampers, carried on the tradition and bridged the appeal of recording there to Rockers, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, who paid tribute to them and the studio in Sweet Home Alabama.
Speaking with Q Magazine, U2 guitarist The Edge drew parallels to the album his band plans to put out sometime this year to the group's Zooropa release. He says producer Brian Eno likes the approach he and the band have been taking to recording it during brief stints between tour legs, adding that the piecemeal process has not prevented them from achieving a 'certain momentum' in putting the album together. Bono says the forced rest resulting from his bicycle accident helped him write better. Let's hope so. Most fans found group's last two albums annoyingly lacking in good songs and Zooropa was lame compared to the great material fans could bank on from the group back in the 80's.
Nashville seems like an unlikely place for a legendary Hard Rock band to record, but that's where Deep Purple is hooking up with Bob Ezrin to work on a new album. Work begins this month on the group's follow-up to Now What?!, the 2013 album the band did with Ezrin also at the healm. Ian Paice told Gary Graff the group already has plenty of material to pull 10 or 11 tracks out of to work on for the release. The group gets a long overdue induction to the Rock Hall Of Fame on April 8. The New York cerrmony will recognize players from the earlier eras, including Paice, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale and Rod Evans.
