Past Rock News 

August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007

10/20/08

NEW PAUL McCARTNEY TRACK SAID TO REFER TO HEATHER MILLS BREAKUP

The latest experimental Paul McCartney track released is said to be his musical statement regarding his divorce to Heather Mills. Screenindia.com spoke to McCartney's collaborator, world musician Nitin Sawhney, who explained the circumstances behind the track "My Soul" from his album London Undersound. Sawhney said, "Paul came down to my house for a couple of days and we started putting together the track which delves into the paparazzi infiltrating his life during the breakup. More than the split, it's about his soul being stolen."

The lyrics in the song "My Soul," which were written by McCartney and Sawhney, read in part:

Life spinning round

At a blistering pace

I've been shot

From a gun

To your final embrace

My soul, your heart

Two worlds

Apart

This life

Is all we have

How could this steal

All these feelings

How could they lie

To this world

A picture away

From your smile

One soul displaced

One heart replaced

Feelings defaced

Invade our space

No one left

To give us

Back our time

We could climb

Every mountain

Swim to every sea

When the all world

Is asleep

We can set

Ourselves free

•           There have been several McCartney songs over the past few years allegedly written about his tumultuous relationship with Mills, including the bitter "Riding To Vanity Fair," and "Friends To Go," from his 2005 set Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.

•            Surprisingly, on his last album, Memory Almost Full, he recorded "See Your Sunshine," a poppy love song written and recorded for her when the couple was on good terms. McCartney claimed at the time that he didn't want to keep the song on the shelf because it was an honest statement and good song.

•            McCartney's third album under the Fireman moniker, called Electric Arguments -- which is the first to feature vocals and lyrics -- will be released on November 18th.

________________________________________

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM WRAPS TOUR IN NEW YORK CITY

Lindsey Buckingham wrapped up his third solo tour last night (October 19th) in New York City's Nokia Theatre in the heart of Times Square. In addition to songs from his solo catalogue including numbers from his latest album, Gift Of Screws, Buckingham tore through such Fleetwood Mac classics as "Tusk," "I Know I'm Not Wrong," "Never Going Back Again," "Big Love," "World Turning," "I'm So Afraid," "Go Your Own Way," and "Second Hand News."

Buckingham's new album, Gift Of Screws, features songs co-written with his wife Kristin and his 10-year-old son Will. We asked him if after becoming a family man later in life, there was a specific moment when he realized that he had made his wife and kids a priority above his music: "I found myself in the situation before I was fully acclimated to it, I think, y'know? It just... It didn't sink in right away because old patterns do die hard. I can't say that I remember a particular moment, but I do know that one of the great joys and comforts of being a father in particular -- and a spouse as well -- is that you sort of have this biological imperative that you know that you would put them first in any situation."

•           Gift Of Screws, which was released last month, features appearances by Fleetwood Mac bandmates John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. After a five-year hiatus, Fleetwood Mac is expected to hit the road sometime in 2009.

________________________________________

FLASHBACK: THE WHO'S 'QUADROPHENIA' TURNS 35

It was 35 years ago this week that the Who released their second double album, the watershed 1973 collection, Quadrophenia. The set was released on October 19th, 1973 and featured such classic Who songs as "The Real Me," "5:15," "I'm One," "The Punk And The Godfather," "Drowned," "Sea And Sand," and "Love Reign O'er Me," among others. A film version based around the album was produced by the band and released in 1979.

For Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend created a song cycle chronicling the life of "Jimmy" -- a pill-popping fashion conscious R&B loving "Mod" from London in the mid-'60s. The album focused on Jimmy's battles with his parents, the mod nightlife, his demeaning office job, and the mods' legendary beach rumbles against their cultural nemesis, the "Rockers."

The character of Jimmy was supposed to represent the four facets of the Who: Keith Moon (insane), John Entwistle (romantic), Roger Daltrey (bad), and Townshend (good).

•            Townshend was asked which he prefers; the band's 1971 album Who's Next, which features only a selection of tracks recorded for his unrealized sci-fi follow-up to Tommy, called Lifehouse, or the more grounded Quadrophenia: "I like Quadrophenia better because it's purer. Y'know, it's complete. I had complete control of it, and I think that hurt the band a bit that I had such control over it -- particularly Roger, who had a feeling that he was on the outside, even though he is very much a pillar. Quadrophenia is also an iconic rock piece. Quadrophenia was also more self-contained. If in a way the failure of Lifehouse led to Quadrophenia then I'm happy, because I think I will never surpass it."

•           The Who began performing Quadrophenia as a whole in 1973, but eventually cut many of the songs out of the live shows due to problems in syncing the various live tapes and synth loops to the band's performance. Using various guest stars and supplemental musicians, the Who reunited in 1996 and 1997 and performed Quadrophenia in full. A future stage production of Quadrophenia is in the works for the London stage.

•           During the Who's 2006-2007 tour, the band dropped most of the material from Quadrophenia from their set lists after Daltrey complained that singing the material from their then-new album Endless Wire along with songs from Quadrophenia was too taxing on his voice.

•           The Who kicks off their 10-date North American mini-tour tomorrow night (October 21st) in Auburn Hills, Michigan at the Palace Of Auburn Hills.

•           The band has just announced their only UK dates of the year for December 14th and 15th at London's O2 Arena.

________________________________________

AC/DC LAYS DOWN 'BLACK ICE'

AC/DC's first album in eight years, Black Ice, arrives on Monday (October 20th) exclusively at Wal-Mart stores, Walmart.com and ACDC.com. While the hard-rocking 15-song set doesn't offer anything radically different from the Australian group's 14 previous studio albums, lead guitarist Angus Young said he thinks that's the biggest reason AC/DC has lasted so long: "I think as a band, you spend all your early years defining your own style, you know, and with us, it was always hard-edged rock 'n' roll band. You want to put on a record and, you know, automatically go, 'Well, that's them. That's AC/DC.'"

•           Wal-Mart will also be the exclusive retailer for AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, a special collection of songs for the Rock Band video game.

•           A world tour in support of Black Ice begins with a private "dress rehearsal" show on October 28th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Tickets for the trek are among the hottest of the year, with gigs selling out in record time and second nights being added in several major cities.

•            Although AC/DC does not sell its songs at digital retailers like iTunes, Black Ice leaked online two weeks ago. According to Internet tracking company Big Champagne, it was downloaded 100,000 times a day in the last week alone.

•           AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and is second only to the Beatles as the biggest selling act in the U.S. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

________________________________________

FLASHBACK: LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S PLANE CRASHES

It was 31 years ago today (October 20th, 1977), that a plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in a swamp near Gillsburg, Mississippi. At the time, the group was en route to its next show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The crash took the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant; guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines; Lynyrd Skynyrd manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as the plane's two pilots.

All the other members of the band suffered horrific injuries, from which they eventually recovered. Two years later, survivors Gary Rossington and Allen Collins (guitars), Billy Powell (keyboards) and Leon Wilkeson (bass) formed a new group, the Rossington-Collins Band. A decade after the plane crash, the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd regrouped under the legendary name and played a series of dates to mark the anniversary with Johnnie Van Zant, the younger brother of Ronnie Van Zant, stepping in as his permanent replacement.

•           Gary Rossington -- who broke both arms, both legs, both wrists, both ankles and his pelvis in the plane crash -- was asked what motivates him and his bandmates to keep the Skynyrd name alive: "Gosh, it's just, you know, you gotta carry on, and go through it. If you take the lives of just any seven individuals and follow them, tragedy happens, y'know? And it just happened to us. And we just kept carryin' on, we're doin' it for the guys that aren't with us, and for us, and for the music and the name and — it's what we are."

•           Lynyrd Skynyrd is currently working on a new album set for release early next year. The album will likely feature a completed version "Cottonmouth Country" -- an unfinished track recorded during the recording of band's final pre-crash album Street Survivors.

•           Lynyrd Skynyrd is set for two New Year's Eve (December 31st) concerts with Trace Adkins in Pikeville, Kentucky at Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center and Nashville, Tennessee at Sommet Center. Each act will be en route to the gig following their respective performances.

________________________________________

NIKKI SIXX TATTOOS MICK MARS ON HIS LEG

Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx has made bandmate Mick Mars a permanent fixture on his body -- he put a tattoo of Mars' face on his leg. Kat Von D, the L.A. Ink star who is reportedly dating the bassist, did the artwork. Sixx wrote on his blog on Sunday (October 19th): "Katherine tattooed a killer portrait of Mick Mars on my leg and we got to surprise him with it at the Los Angeles Crue Fest show. It was a pretty emotional rollercoaster ride to share the whole experience with Katherine, from the beginning of the idea to the end when we finally show Mick."

•           Sixx said he had a "f***ing blast" getting the tattoo.

•            Footage of Sixx getting the tattoo will be aired on the October 23rd episode of L.A. Ink. The show airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on The Learning Channel.

10/17/08

AC/DC LAYS DOWN 'BLACK ICE'

AC/DC's first album in eight years, Black Ice, arrives on Monday (October 20th) exclusively at Wal-Mart stores, Walmart.com and ACDC.com. While the hard-rocking 15-song set doesn't offer anything radically different from the Australian group's 14 previous studio albums, lead guitarist Angus Young said he thinks that's the biggest reason AC/DC has lasted so long: "I think as a band, you spend all your early years defining your own style, you know, and with us, it was always hard-edged rock 'n' roll band. You want to put on a record and, you know, automatically go, 'Well, that's them. That's AC/DC.'"

•           Wal-Mart will also be the exclusive retailer for AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, a special collection of songs for the Rock Band video game.

•           A world tour in support of Black Ice begins with a private "dress rehearsal" show on October 28th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Tickets for the trek are among the hottest of the year, with gigs selling out in record time and second nights being added in several major cities.

•            Although AC/DC does not sell its songs at digital retailers like iTunes, Black Ice leaked online two weeks ago. According to Internet tracking company Big Champagne, it was downloaded 100,000 times a day in the last week alone.

•           AC/DC has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and is second only to the Beatles as the biggest selling act in the U.S. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

________________________________________

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND BILLY JOEL ROCK FOR OBAMA IN NYC

In a dream-come-true pairing for East Coast fans, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen joined forces last night (October 16th) at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom for the "Change Rocks" fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama. The show marked the first time that Springsteen and Joel have performed together since March 15th, 1999 when they both were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

According to fan reports, John Legend with special guest India.Arie opened the show, with Springsteen and Patti Scialfa joining them for a song. Springsteen then performed "The Promised Land" and "This Hard Land" solo on acoustic guitar. Joel performed "Miami 2017 (See The Lights Go Out On Broadway) and then duetted with daughter Alexa Joel on "Baby Grand." Springsteen and Joel -- along with Joel's band -- then tore through a joint set, featuring the two of them often trading off vocals to each other's classic hits -- even playing a good natured bit of "Hail To The Chief."

Among the songs performed were, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" -- with Springsteen changing the song's key line to "The piano man joined the band," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Thunder Road," "A Matter Of Trust," "Spirit In The Night" -- with Springsteen and Joel trading verses," "Allentown," "The Rising," "New York State Of Mind," "Glory Days," "River Of Dreams" featuring a bit of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" squeezed in, "Born To Run," and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)."

•           Last night's show marked Joel's first benefit for Obama. Earlier this month Springsteen played acoustically at rallies for Obama in Philadelphia, Columbus Ohio, and Ypsilanti, Michigan.

•           Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both been labelmates on Columbia Records since 1973.

________________________________________

ELTON JOHN PLANNING AIDS FILM MUSICAL FOR BEN STILLER

Fresh off the Broadway debut of his Billy Elliot musical, Elton John revealed that he's planning on writing a movie musical starring Ben Stiller as an AIDS patient. Elton told msnbc.msn.com, "(I have) got to try and write a film musical for Ben Stiller... about a guy on Broadway who is gay, has HIV and AIDS, and has to go back and face his wife and his kids that he left. It's very funny... The premise doesn't sound funny, but it is."

There's been no word as to whether a studio has been lined up for the film, or if Stiller is even aware of the project.

•           Despite scoring hits and/or critical acclaim with such musicals as The Lion King, Aida, and Lestat, Elton admits that the musical is hardly his form of music: "I like some of the classic ones. West Side Story, for me, is the greatest musical ever written. But I don't like forced fun. I'm more drawn to tragedy than 'Let's all have a great time.' And I'm not keen on the music in musicals sometimes. I'm quite fussy about it. I don't really like them unless I'm involved in them, for some reason."

•           Elton John plays tonight (October 17th) in Charlottesville, Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena.

________________________________________

RAY DAVIES HITTING THE ROAD NEXT MONTH

Ray Davies has announced a 10-date mini tour kicking off on November 20th in Orlando, Florida and wrapping up on December 11th in Burlington, Vermont. As with his summer gigs, Davies will be performing with a guest guitarist and featuring songs from his latest solo album Working Man's Cafe -- as well as other Kinks classics.

Modern rockers Locksley will open for Davies and sit in with him for a handful of Kinks hits.

•           Ray Davies tour dates (subject to change):

November 20 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Cafe / Hard Rock Live

November 28 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre

November 29 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theater

November 30 - Melbourne, FL - King Center For Performing Arts

December 2 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse

December 3 - Nashville, TN - Wildhorse Saloon

December 5 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa / Music Box

December 6 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Bardavon, 1869 Opera House

December 8 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

December 10 - Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel

December 11 - Burlington, VT - Burlington Memorial Auditorium

•           Davies' musical featuring Kinks hits, called Come Dancing, is now running at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East. No U.S. premiere has been announced.

•           He's trying to reform with the original Kinks -- Dave Davies, Pete Quaife and Mick Avory -- although his younger brother Dave Davies, who is slowly recovering from a stroke, remains the lone holdout.

________________________________________

GUNS N' ROSES TRACK LISTING NOW ONLINE

 The track listing for the new Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, has been posted at BestBuy.com, which will exclusively carry the album in the U.S. starting on November 23rd. A pre-order page for the long-delayed release was posted at the site on Wednesday (October 15th), although the pre-order option was later taken off. Now the page lists 14 song titles for the record, 11 of which have either been played live or leaked online over the past few years. One of those, "Street of Dreams," was previously known as "The Blues," while three titles, "Scraped," "Sorry" and "Prostitute," have not been heard anywhere.

•            According to Billboard.com, sources who have heard the album say that it opens with a "blood-curdling Axl Rose scream."

•           Two different covers will apparently be available, along with CD and vinyl versions. What appears to be one of the covers has been posted at the Best Buy site, showing what seems to be a bicycle with a basket perched on it.

•           There has still not been an official announcement regarding the November 23rd arrival date for the record.

•           Chinese Democracy has been in the works since the mid-'90s, with speculation and mystery surrounding the album's 13-year journey, ever-changing roster of players and spiraling recording costs.

•           The track listing for Chinese Democracy is:

"Chinese Democracy"

"Scraped"

"Shackler's Revenge"

"Street Of Dreams"

"If The World"

"Better"

"This I Love"

"There Was A Time"

"Riad N' The Bedovins"

"Sorry"

"I.R.S."

"Catcher"

"Madagascar"

"Prostitute"

________________________________________

THE EAGLES, KID ROCK, TRACE ADKINS ADDED TO CMA PERFORMERS

Trace Adkins, Kid Rock, The Eagles and Lady Antebellum have all been added as performers at the upcoming CMA Awards on November 12th. In addition, The Wailers will join Kenny Chesney during his performance. The 42nd annual CMA Awards will be held at the Sommet Center in Nashville. The show will air live on ABC.

•            Previously announced performers include co-hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Chesney, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban.

10/10/08

ROGER DALTREY EYING AMY WINEHOUSE FOR WEST END PRODUCTION OF 'QUADROPHENIA'

Roger Daltrey thinks that troubled British singer Amy Winehouse and Carl Barat -- the former Libertines' bandmate of the equally troubled Brit rocker Pete Doherty -- would make a great addition to a West End musical of the Who's Quadrophenia. Daltrey mentioned the two names when talking about the possible show, telling thisislondon.co.uk: "It would make a great musical. The biggest problem with it is getting a visual narrative that at least gives people some idea of what's going on."

• A low-key stage production has been workshopped in Britain over the past few years, with author Pete Townshend's participation, but so far no major plans are in the works for a large-scale musical.
• During his recent keynote address at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Townshend explained whyQuadrophenia is one of his most multi-dimensional song cycles: "Quadrophenia is music, it's angry music, it never lets up, it's full of energy. But it's also simply a story of a kid who has a bad day. It rains and he goes and sits on a rock. And he contemplates the future and the present, and he decides to do something that he's never done before -- he prays."
• Last year Daltrey wrote an open letter to the drug-addled Winehouse and Doherty that was published in Britain's The Sun. In the piece, printed under the byline "Roger Daltrey (still rocking at 63)," he wrote in part, "I've felt the pain and grief of losing friends and I can tell you, it's not cool. I knew them all -- Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin -- too many to list, and it's incredible to think they've all gone... You don't know anything at that age. You think you do but you don't -- and there's a lot of temptation and pitfalls. Young people love to flirt with danger."
• Daltrey went on to write: "Keith Moon might have been saved if he were a young performer today. He had an intelligence, and with the structure there is now he might have been okay. But rehab then was very rare. Don't forget that back then the record company people were all the same age as us and doing the same things. We invented this industry. Most of us didn't really spot there was anything really wrong with Keith -- we just thought he liked a drink."
• Last month marked the 30th anniversary of Keith Moon's death.
• The Who kicks off their 10-date North American mini-tour on October 21st in Auburn Hills, Michigan at the Palace Of Auburn Hills.

PAUL McCARTNEY'S FORMER PUBLICIST WRONGLY CREDITED FOR ANTI-McDONALD'S REMARKS

Representatives for Paul McCartney have denied that they called for a photo of the Beatles to be removed from a McDonald's in the Fab Four's hometown of Liverpool, England. The Abbey Road Best (abbeyrd.best.vwh) website reported that it was PETA's representatives alone that called for the picture to be removed.

McCartney's former publicist, the sometimes controversial Geoff Baker, who was fired in 2004 after representing the former Beatle for 15 years, was incorrectly quoted as once again representing him in his tirade against McDonald's. Baker was asked for a statement by Liverpool's Mercury Press Agency and said, "What sort of morons do McDonald's think Beatles' fans are? It's ridiculous and insulting to use images to peddle hamburgers. Fans should boycott McDonald's, and not just in Liverpool."

• McCartney's current publicists issued a statement saying that Baker's comments were not an official statement from the McCartney camp. Baker posted on his blog (geoffbakerdiaryofamadman.blogspot.com), writing, "Just for the record. There is a news story inThe Sun newspaper today alleging that I am 'Macca's spokesman.' Err...this is new to me and, I suspect, Paul and the excellent Stuart Bell, who actually is the spokesman that I am not."
• Baker, who was particularly close with the late Linda McCartney, was fired due to an ongoing cocaine addiction, which he has since received treatment for. Since his firing he has made it public that he and McCartney's second wife Heather Mills never got along.

SOURCES CONFIRM NOVEMBER 23RD ARRIVAL FOR NEW GUNS N' ROSES

Guns N' Roses will release its new album, Chinese Democracy, on Sunday, November 23rd, sources have confirmed to Billboard. The long-delayed set will be exclusively available at Best Buy and will skip the usual Tuesday release date for new music. To whet fans' appetites, so to speak, the group's label will reissue its classic 1987 debut, Appetite for Destruction, in a new vinyl edition on October 28th. One new Guns song, called "If The World," can be heard in part over the end credits of the film Body of Lies, which opens Friday (October 10th), while another track, "Shackler's Revenge," will make its debut on Rock Band 2 at the end of this month.

• The last all-new Guns N' Roses releases were the 1991 double albums Use Your Illusion I and II. Since that time, every single original member of the band except for singer Axl Rose has departed.
• Chinese Democracy has been in the works since the mid-'90s, with speculation and mystery surrounding the album's 13-year journey, ever-changing roster of players and spiraling recording costs.
• Keyboardist Dizzy Reed, who joined in 1990 and is the longest-serving member after Rose, told us a while back that he thinks fans will be pleased when they finally get to hear the results: "It's a pretty intense musical journey, really. Everyone that is in the band, or was in the band at some point -- 'cause there, you know, there's been a few guys who have come and gone even since the old band -- has contributed, and because of that I think it really takes you to some interesting musical places. When you add Axl and guitars, of course, though, it kinda glues it all together. There's something for everybody, but I think if you're a Guns fan, if you're an Axl fan, you'll like it all. You'll love it all."
• There is no official confirmation yet of the release date for Chinese Democracy. Axl Rose's last promised arrival date, back in March of 2007, came and went with no news.
• Soft drink maker Dr. Pepper promised earlier this year that it would send a free can of soda to everyone in America if Chinese Democracy came out before the end of 2008. If the new release date holds firm, they'd better start loading up the trucks.

DAVID CROSBY FILES DECLARATION BACKING ROB LOWE IN NANNY CASE

David Crosby is backing actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl in their battle against their former nanny, according to The Associated Press. Crosby filed a declaration in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday (October 7th) stating that while on vacation with the Lowes in Hawaii last year, he witnessed the couple's nanny Laura Boyce act "sexually inappropriate."

He went on record saying that although the trip marked his first meeting with Boyce, she "informed them that she only dated 'black guys' and divulged very intimate details as to why." Crosby also said that he witnessed the nanny talking and giggling on the phone when she was supposed to be on duty for the Lowe's.

• Two other friends of the couple gave separate declarations stating that at various times they had respectively heard Boyce use vulgar language and the "N" word.
• The Lowes are currently suing Boyce and another former nanny, Jessica Gibson, who have made claims that Lowe had sexually harassed the nannies during their tenure with the family. The Lowe's sued the pair for breach of confidentiality, and the two nannies cross-complained against them.
• David Crosby's currently on tour with Graham Nash and plays tonight (October 10th) in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania at H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center.

NEIL YOUNG DELAYS ARCHIVES AGAIN, VINTAGE SET FROM 1968 COMING TO CD

Neil Young fans who've endured the frequent delays to his upcoming inaugural set of his Archives series are going to have to wait just a bit longer. Bad-news-beat.org, posted that the project's latest hold up was due to production, not financial, issues.

The eight-CD, double-DVD spanning 1963 to 1972, was originally due out last year before being pushed to this fall, and now will -- hopefully -- reach fans by January or February 2009. In the meantime, on November 28th, Young will release a "a 22-track set recorded in November 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan." No further details were given.

• Neil Young's next gig is set for October 14th in Saint Paul, Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center.

VH1 CLASSIC PLANS AC/DC MARATHON

VH1 Classic will broadcast a 24-hour AC/DC marathon on Sunday, October 19th, two days before the band's new album, Black Ice, arrives on the 21st. Among the programming highlights will be archival footage of the band, concerts filmed for the BBC in England and the group's legendary Live at Donnington gig. The recently released No Bull concert DVD, filmed in Spain in 1996, will also be aired, along with rare footage of the group shown on British television back in the late 70s.

Frontman Brian Johnson told us that he's noticed one thing when watching footage of the group shot years ago: "There's one important thing I think is very important, is we've never changed. The band has never, ever changed. As one interviewer said to(lead guitarist) Angus (Young), 'You know, you've made 15 albums, Angus, and they're all the same.' And Angus said, 'That's not true. We've made 17 albums, and they're all the same."

• VH1 Classic will also show many of the band's classic videos throughout the day as well.
• Black Ice is the Australian group's first album in eight years. The disc will only be sold at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, andacdc.com.
• The album leaked online earlier this week, with reports that the band's label, Sony Music, was flooding BitTorrent sites with fake files to discourage its distribution.
• A world tour in support of Black Ice begins with a private "dress rehearsal" show on October 26th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

PAUL STANLEY PAINTING EXHIBIT OPENING IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TOMORROW

Paul Stanley's traveling art exhibition will open tomorrow (October 11th) at Washington, D.C.'s Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria, with Stanley on hand to greet guests. According to Rolling Stone, Stanley's been raking in the bucks with his artwork -- with his four-by-five-foot acrylic paintings earning the "starchild" a cool $2 million last year.

Stanley spoke about his art, saying, "It's been terrifically successful. And the great thing is I never expected it. I paint for myself. If no one else likes it, at least I do. I have never approached things to please other people in both art and music."

• Stanley explained the crowds who usually come to check out his work are a diverse bunch: "I see people at the gallery who will never go to a Kiss show and people at a Kiss show that will never go to the gallery. And then there are some people in between." Go to paulstanley.com for future art exhibitions.
• Kiss recently wrapped up a European tour and are busy planning a 35th anniversary tour for 2009.

In other Paul Stanley-related news:

Memorabilia from Paul Stanley, along with Roger Daltrey, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Ginger Baker, Alice Cooper, among others, will be up for sale starting Sunday (October 12th) through October 19th though backstageauctions.com.

• The memorabilia is being sold as part of the "All Access Rock Collection" and was owned by David Fishof, the promoter and creator of the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. The auction can be viewed at backstageauctions.com.

FOO FIGHTERS FRONTMAN GETTING STREET NAMED AFTER HIM

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is getting a street named after him in his birthplace of Warren, Ohio, according to Radio and Records. A rock radio station in nearby Youngstown, Ohio spearheaded the campaign for the street name along with Warren police sergeant Joe O'Grady. The city council voted unanimously on September 24th to change a downtown street named Market Alley to Dave Grohl Alley. There's no word on when a dedication ceremony will take place or whether Grohl will attend.

• Foo Fighters issued a statement earlier this week slamming the John McCain presidential campaign for using the band's song "My Hero" during campaign rallies without the group's permission.
• Grohl recently told England's BBC Radio that Foo Fighters plan to take a "long break" from recording and touring, although they will play a charity show with ZZ Top on October 26th in Pomona, California.

EMI TO LAUNCH ONLINE MUSIC SERVICE

Music giant EMI plans to start a new online music service by the end of the year. According to Reuters, the site, EMI.com, will sell downloads and stream music from EMI acts. The move is the latest effort by large record labels to increase music sales and snag revenue from ad-supported audio and video streaming. Some of EMI's acts include Coldplay, KT Tunstall, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Norah Jones and Lenny Kravitz.

10/09/08

DEFINITIVE JOHN LENNON BIOGRAPHY RELEASED TODAY

Out today is Phillip Norman's 800-page biography on John Lennon, titled John Lennon: The Life. The book is notable for the participation ofYoko Ono and Paul McCartney. Ono original backed the book, but after numerous extensive interviews she pulled all support after she deemed Norman's manuscript "too mean" towards Lennon's memory.

Paul McCartney initially refused to help Norman after being slighted in his 1981 book, Shout! The Beatles In Their Generation. Norman recalls that after McCartney's office declined participating in the project, McCartney himself reached out to Norman: "When I set out to write the John Lennon book, I had a feeling that I would have to be much more considering of McCartney's relationship and do a sort of reappraisal of his importance creatively to John, which turned out to be true. The phone went one day, and the voice said, 'It's Paul,' and he said, 'You have written some things about me and I haven't liked them and I can't sit down and talk to you because that would be like it was rewarding you for what you wrote."

Norman said that although he never felt that he was unfair to McCartney in his writings, he accepted McCartney's reasons: "However, I did say 'There are only certain things that only you can say, pronounce upon -- 'Did John kick Stuart (Sutcliffe) in the head?' -- which may have led to Stuart's death from a brain hemorrhage. Or on a very minor level -- 'Have you any recollection of John coming into the boardroom at Apple and announcing that he was Jesus Christ, to the other Beatles' -- which has been in a couple of other books. So, he agreed to answer questions by email."

• In addition to Yoko and McCartney's interviews, the book features the recollections and insights by longtime Beatles right-hand man, the lateNeil Aspinall, Lennon's first cousins, his father's second wife, and Sean Lennon.
• Phillip Norman has written numerous books on the Rolling Stones, Elton John, and the Beatles. Tomorrow (October 9th) would have been Lennon's 68th birthday.

JACKSON BROWNE SAYS DEMOCRATS ALWAYS FUMBLE WHITE HOUSE VICTORY

Although Jackson Browne is a diehard supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, he's worried for the Democrats in this election because he feels that the party has always botched their chances to reclaim the White House.

Browne says that the results of the 2000 Presidential election still baffle him and leave a bad taste in his mouth: "I mean, in every case I think the Democrat has caved and folded. (Al) Gore folded. He folded, he conceded without counting all the votes, without demanding the votes be counted. He presided over the shutting down of the Black Coalition when they demand and inquire how they were intimidated and kept from voting. I think that they above all preserve the system because they think they're about to take it over, they think they just barely missed out... Or they want to blame it on (Ralph) Nader -- The thing that drives me nuts was that the Democrats wanted to blame Nader for losing the election (for Gore in 2000). Well, in the first place, excuse me, but Al Gore did get all... he did win it!"

• Browne recently filed a lawsuit against Sen. John McCain and the Republican National Party for their use of his 1977 song "Running On Empty" in a campaign commercial without Browne's approval. The suit hopes to ban McCain and the G.O.P from using any of his compositions as campaign songs, and also seeks unspecified damages. There has been no court date announced for the case.
• His new album, Time The Conqueror, debuted on the Billboard album charts at Number 20, marking his highest charting album in 25 years.
• Jackson Browne plays tomorrow night (October 16th) in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre.

DAVID GILMOUR REVEALS THAT PINK FLOYD WAS TURNED DOWN BY GLASTONBURY THIS SUMMER

David Gilmour revealed that the late Rick Wright's dying wish for Pink Floyd to reunite at Britain's Glastonbury Festival never came to pass because festival organizers couldn't find room for them on this summer's bill. Gilmours talked about the incident at Britain's Q Awards ceremony on Monday (October 6th), where Floyd was honored with the Outstanding Contribution award, according to guardian.co.uk.

Gilmour paid tribute to Wright, who died last month of cancer at age 65, saying, "(I) worked (with Rick Wright) for 40-odd-years, and that has now come to an end. There is all sorts of music that I'll not be able to play again, without him, which is a source of sadness for me. One of the last things he wanted to do, in this last year, was to do a big outdoor festival, such as Glastonbury. We weren't able to do that due for all sorts of strange reasons, which, again, is a sadness."

• The Guardian reported that festival organizers considered bumping headliners Kings Of Leon to "a less important billing," but by showtime the lineup remained unchanged.
• Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis responded to Gilmour's claim telling BBC 6 Music: "I think maybe he has been misinformed by someone that it was some sort of thing about them, but it wasn't at all, it was just purely because we couldn't fit them on anywhere. We had a call from their agents three weeks before the festival and we'd already booked three headliners, and there was nothing we could do apart from bump someone off and we've never done that before. We couldn't just say 'Sorry, you've now got to play underneath someone because someone bigger has come along.'"
• Gilmour has just released his new concert CD and DVD, called Live In Gdansk, which was recorded during the final show of his 2006 summer tour at the shipyards in Gdansk, Poland. The concert, which also features Rick Wright, was the only stop of the tour to feature an orchestra, and includes the string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Among the Floyd classics featured on Gilmour's Live In Gdansk album are: "Breathe (In The Air), "Time," "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "Astronomy Domine," "Fat Old Sun," "Echoes," "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," among other Pink Floyd and solo songs.
• Pink Floyd reunited on July 2nd, 2005 at London's Hyde Park as part of the Live 8 concerts. It was the first time Gilmour, Wright, Nick Mason and estranged member Roger Waters had performed together in 24 years.

THE PRETENDERS RELEASE FIRST NEW ALBUM IN SIX YEARS

Out now is the Pretenders' first album in six years, called Boots Of Concrete. Chrissie Hynde spoke to Rolling Stone and when asked about what she thought the current state of rock was, she said, "It used to be a secret between the audience and the artist. But I think a lot of bands turned it into a sport, like, 'We want to be the biggest band in the world and play in the biggest places!' It just got all flabby and stupid. Musicians started going to gyms, and it was all about choreography. That's not my cup of tea. Think small -- that's my motto."

• She added that she was able to relive an important part of her past while celebrating her 57th birthday with her parents: "My mother got me a nice vegan cake. And my dad told me that all my old records were upstairs. I thought I'd lost them, but there was this huge box: Tim Buckley, the (Rolling) Stones, the Beatles, the Kinks, (and the) Buffalo Springfield. If you looked at the collection, you'd find everything I plagiarized on every Pretenders record. It was f***ing great to touch them again."
• Hynde admits that she's never considered herself a "woman rocker" per se: "I don't know. I don't think about women in rock, I never have. I just think about the music and y'know, if someone's a songwriter or singer I like. It's nothing to do with men or woman. In fact, what I always liked about rock in the first place was and what attracted me, obviously, was the guys, but I also liked sort of that androgynous thing. I mean, and that's why I fit in nicely, because I'm not that, y'know, I don't really look so girlie or anything. So I could kind of sneak in there and get away with it."
• The Pretenders performed a single gig on Tuesday night (October 6th) at New York City's Highline Ballroom to promote the new album. No other dates have been announced.

PEARL JAM, KID ROCK, AEROSMITH MEMBERS JOIN HENDRIX TOUR

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Aerosmith axeman Brad Whitford and Kid Rock guitar player Kenny Olson have all signed on for guest appearances on the Experience Hendrix Tour, a 19-stop trek paying homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix. The traveling show, which launches on October 14th in New Hampshire, will also include performances by Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Jimi Hendrix Experience members Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell, members of the Doors and many others.

• Cox told Rolling Stone, "Nothing can compare to playing with the original master. But this tour is helping to validate the musical genius that I knew, by bringing Jimi Hendrix into the new millennium."
• The tour is presented by Experience Hendrix, the Hendrix family-owned company founded by Jimi's father, James A. "Al" Hendrix. Artists will perform both Hendrix songs as well as music either covered by or associated with the legendary guitarist.
• Experience Hendrix Tour dates (subject to change):
  October 14 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino
  October 16 - Albany, NY - Palace Theater
  October 17 - Providence, RI - PPAC
  October 18 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater
  October 19 - Waterbury, CT - Palace Theater
  October 21 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
  October 22 - New York, NY - United Palace Theatre
  October 23 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theater
  October 24 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
  October 26 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater
  October 27 - Louisville, KY - Whitney Hall 
  October 29 - Omaha, NE - Orpheum Theatre
  October 30 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theater
  November 1 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
  November 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater
  November 3 - San Francisco, CA - Nob Hill Masonic
  November 5 - Spokane, WA - INB Performing Arts Center
  November 6 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
  November 7 - Portland, OR - Schnitzer Hall

OASIS RIPS OFF BRITISH POP LEGEND?

Oasis has been accused of "borrowing" from the 1976 hit "Devil Woman" by British pop legend Sir Cliff Richard for a song called "The Turning" on their new album, Dig Out Your Soul. According to Music Radar, Richard fans began posting messages about the resemblance between the two tracks at his website after Oasis posted their song at the group's MySpace page last week. Janine Castle of the International Cliff Richard Movement wrote, "I'm astounded Oasis use Cliff as their muse -- but delighted. I can hear the similarities. It's about time Cliff's musical genius got some recognition." Another fan simply wrote, "This is a rip-off."

• Dig Out Your Soul arrived in stores on Tuesday (October 7th). It's the U.K. group's seventh studio effort.
• Oasis has never been shy about citing or channeling their influences, mostly classic British acts like the Beatles and the Kinks.
• Oasis has been experiencing a bit of a comeback recently after several albums met with mixed reviews and lackluster sales. The band's first two albums, Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory, were named the two best British albums of the past 50 years in a recent U.K. poll.
• Oasis will head out on a North American tour in December.

10/08/08

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CLOSES PRO-OBAMA 

Bruce Springsteen played his third rally in three days for Senator Barack Obama, performing an eight-song, 50-minute set yesterday (October 6th) in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.

Springsteen told the crowd, "I was on the campaign trail four years ago. This time we're winning," and reprised many of the songs he played over the weekend in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania and Columbus, Ohio -- including "The Promised Land," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," "Thunder Road," "No Surrender," "The Rising," and Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."

He also included "Devils & Dust" and the rarely-performed "Used Cars," whose mentions of Michigan Avenue were particularly well-received by the crowd -- reported at 11,000 by organizers and estimated at a more accurate 5,000 by university officials. "You can't go wrong singing a song that has the name of the state in it. It's kind of a cheap applause-getter, but it gets 'em every time."

• Before "The Rising," Springsteen delivered the same speech he made at previous stops in Philadelphia and Columbus, which is posted at his official brucespringsteen.net web site. But in Ypsilanti he added that in the coming weeks he expects that Republican candidate Sen. John McCain will launch "an attack on Senator Obama's character that will make the Swift Boaters look fair and balanced ... they will fail."
• Springsteen finished the show by leading the crowd in a rhythmic chant of Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes we can!," urging everybody to vote and "take America back."
• Springsteen's next Obama event comes on October 16th, when he, Billy Joel, and John Legend play a fundraiser for the Obama campaign at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom.

PETE TOWNSHEND, RON WOOD AND OTHERS RECALL THEIR 'MOST SPINAL TAP MOMENT'

Pete Townshend, Ron Wood, Angus Young, and Billy Gibbons were asked by Guitar World magazine to name the "Most Spinal Tap Moment" of their careers.

Townshend recalled a few classic Keith Moon tales, one of which, not surprisingly, involved a car and a hotel: "Keith Moon, God rest his soul, was Spinal Tap incarnate. Most people know the story of how he drove his Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool. But on another occasion, Keith drove his car through the glass doors of a hotel and all the way up to the reception desk, got out and asked for the key to his room, all without blinking an eyelid. One time, on a plane, he poured the contents of a soup can into a paper bag, pretended to be sick in the bag and then to drink his own 'vomit.' All of this in first class. The businessmen didn't know what hit 'em."

Ron Wood recalled an evening in which he and Mick Jagger went to see a Marvin Gaye concert, after which Jagger spent an hour trying to impress to Gaye with his knowledge of R&B music. Wood says that the man who they thought was Gaye told Jagger, 'That's great, but why don't you tell that to Marvin? He'll be here shortly.' Mick had been talking to Marvin's brother, who wore the same kind of knitted wool cap Marvin wore." Wood also recalled the Stones hanging out backstage prior to a gig in the early '80s when their road manager yelled out to them "The police are here!" The band panicked and threw all their drugs down the toilet before Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland, walked in to greet the group.

• Billy Gibbons recalled one of ZZ Top's most ill-advised stage plans: "Somehow I got it in my head that it would be a good idea to get a huge stage set and 'take Texas to the people.' We had a stage in the shape of the state of Texas , and a number of rattlesnakes, vultures and even a couple of buffalo onstage. It was authentic! It was disastrous. At first, everything went well: the rattlers behaved, the birds seemed to stand the noise and the buffalo grazed quietly -- until one night one buffalo decided he'd had enough. He rammed two glass cages containing the snakes. Suddenly we had a dozen rattlers crawling around onstage. Our drummer suggested we play 'something quiet,' to soothe them' -- a stupid idea, 'cause most snakes are deaf. We didn't even attempt it. We just fled and left the roadies to minimize the damage."
• Angus Young recalls an early AC/DC show where Bon Scott thought it would be a great joke to have the band arrested onstage by fake cops. Unfortunately, because of the arrests a riot ensued and the real police were called to break up the mess. Young remembers one exceptionally hysterical moment: "One of the cops gave orders to his 'colleagues,' who were, in reality, the actors! I just stood there laughing my head off, which the real cops didn't appreciate. In short: total chaos ensued."
• To check out more real "Spinal Tap Moments" go to guitarworld.com.

EUROPEAN BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN REISSUES AVAILABLE NOW

Backstreets.com is selling the new miniature Bruce Springsteen reissues, which so far have only been made available through the Spain's newspaper El Periodico. The paper has been offering a different disc each Sunday over the course of 16 weeks, with readers getting a total of 16 Springsteen albums.

The reissue series differs from the Japanese Springsteen reissues from back in the late '90s, and now features a 36-page seven-by-seven full color hardcover book, with new notes written in Spanish, written by Salvador Trepat, song lyrics printed in English, apropos album and tour reviews.

• The 12-pound Springsteen box set including 16 CDs and books costs $325.
• Backstreets.com is offering the collection only as a complete set consisting of all 16 discs, with the set being shipped in two parts. The initial batch of the first eight discs will ship in late November, with the second shipment of discs set for delivery in January.
• The albums included in the set are: The Rising, Born In The U.S.A., The River, Born To Run, Human Touch, Tunnel Of Love, 18 Tracks, Lucky Town, Nebraska, In Concert/MTV Plugged, Live In New York City, The Ghost Of Tom Joad, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and Greatest Hits.
• Missing from the reissue series are the box sets Live 1975/1985 and Tracks, the compilation The Essential Bruce Springsteen -- which features a third disc of rare and previously unreleased material, the Chimes Of Freedom live E.P., Devils & Dust, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Live In Dublin, and his latest album Magic.

ELTON JOHN PARTNERS WITH BEST BUY FOR 'THE RED PIANO' COLLECTION

Elton John has partnered with Best Buy stores for his new CD/DVD set The Red Piano, which will be released on October 28th. The project, which was taped live at Elton's long-running stand in Las Vegas' Caesar's Palace, will be made available as a two-DVD/two-CD set in standard definition, or one Blu-ray disc/two CD set in high-definition, as well as a three-album premium vinyl set -- all of which includes the full 14-song performance of The Red Piano show.

Elton says that he's proud of both the audio and visual aspects of The Red Piano: "It's what I am like from an artistic point of view. It's fun, it's deep, it's the songs I really love and it gives me a chance to get across what I am all about, visually as well as musically."

• Elton's abbreviated Vegas show features, "multi-colored neon sculptures, pop art, inflatables, baubles, balloons" and more.
• Highlights on Elton John's The Red Piano CD/DVD include: "Benny And The Jets," "Philadelphia Freedom," "Daniel," "Rocket Man," "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," "Tiny Dancer," "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," "Candle In the Wind," "Pinball Wizard," "The Bitch Is Back," "I'm Still Standing," "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," "Your Song," and others.
• Although Elton spends most of his stage time performing his own hits to massive crowds, at charity events and functions, he tries to always collaborated with newer and younger acts: "I'm the sort of artist that gets inspiration from seeing and hearing young musicians, young artists, painters, photographers. I like to hear what they have to say -- unlike a lot of my peers, I do listen to what they have to say -- and I'm inspired when I play with them."
• Elton's next gig is set for October 15th in Hershey, Pennsylvania at the Giant Center.

FLASHBACK: JOHN LENNON ALLOWED TO STAY IN AMERICA

It was 33 years ago today (October 7th, 1975), that John Lennon won his four-year battle against deportation by the U.S. government. Due to his stance against the Vietnam war, Lennon had been under almost constant surveillance from the FBI and the Immigration & Neutralization Service (INS) since his arrival in the U.S. in 1971.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act have shown that plans were put into motion to deport Lennon as early as February 4th, 1972. Senator Strom Thurmond issued a memo, classified as secret, claiming Lennon was a threat to the 1972 Republican National Convention, and advised that, "If Lennon's visa is terminated, it would be a strategy counter measure." The government used Lennon's 1968 marijuana conviction as the basis for their attempt to have him deported.

Lennon battled back and was granted temporary visa extensions while his case was appealed. In September of 1975, the INS gave Lennon temporary non-priority (deportation) status because his wife, Yoko Ono, was pregnant. Finally, on October 7th, 1975 the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York overturned the order from the INS to deport Lennon. In their 30-page decision, the court stated that his previous marijuana conviction couldn't be used as grounds to prevent Lennon from seeking permanent residency. It went on to say that, "Lennon's four-year battle to remain in our country is a testimony to his faith in his American dream."

• Two days later, on Lennon's 35th birthday, Yoko gave birth to their son Sean. Lennon told reporters at the time that, "I feel higher than the Empire State building." On July 27th, 1976 Lennon was awarded his "green card," which officially granted him permanent residency status.
• In 1980 Lennon dedicated his "comeback" album Double Fantasy to "people known and unknown who helped us stay in this country."
• He was murdered outside his New York City home on December 8th, 1980. He would have been eligible to become a U.S. citizen in 1981.
• John Lennon's battle to remain in America is the focus of author Jon Wiener's two books Come Together: John Lennon In His Time, and Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files, and the 2006 documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon.

MEMBERS OF CHILI PEPPERS AND VAN HALEN MAKING ALBUM

A new group featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and guitar virtuoso Joe Satrianirecently began recording its debut album, according to Billboard.com. Although the band, which played live for the first and only time so far back in February, was tentatively called Chickenfoot, Satriani told Billboard that a new name will be announced before the record is released.

• Satriani said about the February gig in Las Vegas, "We had never played together before, and when we walked off stage, we looked at each other like, 'Wow, there's a connection here. We should do something about it.' So last week we were together for five days and we recorded nine tracks."
• The group hopes to complete the album by January and issue it next April, with a tour to follow.
• Smith told us that Hagar wants to focus on musicianship in the new outfit: "Sammy's a very excitable guy and he really wants to, like, you know, do some serious playing. He's all, you know, 'We've got to f*** people up,' and, you know, he just wants to go crazy. So we'll see, you know. Might be fun. Keeping me out of trouble."
• Joe Satriani told Billboard that Smith is the backbone of the band, adding, "He is a very huge personality, a very high-energy guy, and his drumming in person is explosive."
• Smith has been playing with former Deep Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes as well as his own jazz combo since the Chili Peppers went on hiatus after touring in support of 2006's Stadium Arcadium CD.

In other news, Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen is engaged. According to People.com, the 53-year-old axeman proposed to 38-year-old publicist Janie Liszewski in August while they were vacationing in Hawaii. A June 2009 wedding is planned. A source said, "They are happy, healthy, very much in love and looking forward to living life together forever. They are devoted to each other and to experiencing life in a whole new, positive and passionate way." Van Halen was previously wed to actress Valerie Bertinelli. Their teenage son Wolfgang now plays bass in Van Halen. This will be Liszewski's first marriage.

GREEN DAY WORKING WITH NIRVANA PRODUCER

Green Day is reportedly working with producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig on the band's long-awaited next album, according to Buzznet. The news came courtesy of Garbage singerShirley Manson, who mentioned during a recent interview on Late Night with Carson Daly that her bandmate was working with Green Day on the punk trio's seventh studio effort. With the exception of 2000's Warning, which the band produced themselves, Rob Cavallo has produced four of Green Day's previous CDs, including their 1994 commercial breakthrough Dookie and 2004's blockbuster American Idiot.

• Green Day themselves have not released any official information about the new record, although it appears that it will definitely come out in 2009.
• A recent message sent to a Green Day mailing list by the U.K. branch of the band's record label stated, "Green Day are set to release a new album in 2009! Think it's a long time off? You don't have to wait that long, the fun's going to start sooner than you think."
• The new Green Day record will be the first official follow-up to the massively successful American Idiot. Earlier this year, the group released a garage-rock album called Stop, Drop and Roll!under the name Foxboro Hot Tubs.

TAYLOR SWIFT, DEF LEPPARD TAPE 'CROSSROADS' SHOW IN NASHVILLE

Taylor Swift and Def Leppard teamed up to tape the newest installment of CMT Crossroads last night (Monday, October 6th) in Nashville. Swift previously told us that she placed the initial phone call to Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen about doing the show more than a year ago. However, the group's lead singer, Joe Elliott, said that Allen never delivered the message.

Despite the communication breakdown, the pairing came together, as Elliott explained at a press conference held prior to the taping. "Our tour accountant came on our bus with his laptop open and said, 'Have you seen this?' and it was an article that Taylor had done that had been put on to a website -- Variety magazine maybe -- and it just mentioned if she was ever to do Crossroads she wanted to do it with us. Of course we were going, 'Who is it?' because we didn't know, so we just googled her, iTuned her, listened to it all and then said, 'Well, wow!' Then you look at how many records she was selling, then look at how young and pretty she is . . . (Swift) Awww! (Elliott) And how exciting it is to be at that point of her career 'cause we were there once a long time ago before you were born (Swift) (laughter) and of course, you know, the first thing we did 15, 20 minutes later was, 'Let's try and get a hold of her. Let's see if we can actually get this going!' It took a year, but here we are."

• CMT Crossroads featuring Swift and Def Leppard will premiere on the cable network on November 8th.

DIRECTOR SLAMS MOTLEY CRUE, STUDIO OVER 'THE DIRT'

Film director Larry Charles has spoken out about his involvement in the biographical Motley Crue film The Dirt, which was originally set to be produced through MTV Films/Paramount Studios but is no longer on the company's slate. According to Metal Underground, Charles, who directed many episodes of Seinfeld as well as the movies Borat and the new Bill Maher documentaryReligulous, said, "The Motley Crue thing I was really into and I did a lot of work on it...but it was at MTV Films which then got swallowed by Paramount Vantage which then got swallowed by Paramount. All those people were gone that developed it and it got put to the side, so I don't know what's going to happen to it."

• Charles added that he thought the film "had to be an NC-17 (no one under 17 admitted) movie, and I thought, 'Well that would be ballsy to do. When was the last time they had a mainstream NC-17 movie?' That'd be a good idea."
• Interestingly, Charles is not a fan of the Crue, saying that the memoir the film was supposed to be based on was "so much better than they deserve, the book, because Motley Crue is a crappy band but (author Neil Strauss) wrote a really epic book about them. It's really fascinating."
• The director also said that the "hardcore" nature of the band's history might have affected its chances as a movie, explaining, "They've killed people, they've hurt people, they've crippled people, they've done all kinds of crazy things. You'd have to show that for real and I think there was a little bit of reticence about doing that ultimately."

10/07/08

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SINGING FOR OBAMA TODAY IN MICHIGAN

Bruce Springsteen will appear acoustically today (October 6th) in Ypsilanti, Michigan at Eastern Michigan University's baseball stadium in support of Sen. Barack Obama. He's performing in hopes of inspiring prospective voters to register on the final day they can do so in the state. Gates open at 3 p.m. with the showtime set for 4:30.

Yesterday (October 5th), Springsteen performed for Obama in Columbus, Ohio at the Ohio State campus, and the day before (October 4th) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

• Springsteen's set was nearly identical both days -- except for one song, which had strong emotional ties to each community: "Promised Land," "Ghost Of Tom Joad," Thunder Road," "Youngstown (in Ohio)," "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street" (in Philly), "No Surrender" -- both times jokingly calling for the absent Steve Van Zandtto help him with the song's chorus, a personal "public service announcement", "The Rising," and his first performances of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" since his acoustic shows in 1996.
• During his set, Springsteen gave an impassioned speech and on Saturday and spoke of his belief in Obama and the sorrowful state of America today. Ho told the crowd, in part, "... I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another."
• He continued, "... Despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down. They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again."
• He went on to say: "...But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back."
• Go to brucespringsteen.net for the full transcript of his Philly speech.
• Springsteen says that there's always been a form of interactive journalism in his songs, in which his fans can experience situations that differ from their lives first hand: "My job was always to put you in somebody else's shoes and have you walk a while in those shoes. You're out there, and you feel what's in the air out there, and you feel what's on people's minds. People are looking for ways to try to get a handle and make sense of what's happening."

BEATLES NEWS ROUNDUP

• The British tabloids are having a field day trying to find hidden messages to Heather Mills on Paul McCartney's new album, Electronic Arguments. Recorded under the moniker the Fireman, the set will be released next month. The Sun has reported that the album's single, "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight", deals specifically with Mills. Among the lyrics in the song are: "The last thing you do was to try and betray me/ In new morning light/ I'll never forget it/ And that's just outta sight... I remember you well/ Oh woman betrayed you/ I couldn't resist you/ When I made you."
• The Daily Mail suggests that the album's title, Electric Arguments, "is a reference to the texts, emails and alleged phone-bugging which took place between the pair as their marriage slipped into acrimony."
• The magpies reference in the song "Two Magpies," is said to be a dig at Mills and her sister and closest confident Fiona, who come from Newcastle, where the local soccer team is referred to as the "Magpies" due to their black and yellow uniforms. Also, reports suggest that the magpie reference is yet another dig at the sisters, because magpies collect "brightly-colored shiny trinkets and jewelry to make their nests with."
• The title of the song "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight" was inspired by his late friend Jimmy Scott, who also inspired the title of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."
• Electric Arguments, which is McCartney's third album of experimental music in collaboration with DJ/producer Youth, will be released on November 18th.
• Pete Best will join former Ringo Starr producer Mark Hudson, former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, andPink Floyd's Nick Mason for the UK version of Rock Fantasy Camp, according to NME.com. The camp sessions run from November 4th to the 9th at London's Abbey Road Studios and costs over $13,300 for the tutorial jam sessions, which culminates with a gig at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club.
• Other musicians who will serve as the camp's tutors are Jeff Foskett of the Brian Wilson Band, Mott The Hoople's Mick Ralphs, former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade, and Kip Winger, among others

This Day In Beatles History -- October 6th:

1962: The Beatles take part in their first-ever record signing in Widnes, England at Dawson's Music Shop while promoting their debut single "Love Me Do/"P.S. I Love You."

1964: The band begins work on "Eight Days A Week" at London's Abbey Road Studios Number Two

1967: The Fab Four are back at Abbey Road recording a cello overdub for George Harrison's psychedelic classic, "Blue Jay Way" from their Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack

1968: A clip of The Beatles performing their latest single, "Hey Jude," premieres on CBS' The Smothers' Brothers' Comedy Hour.

1969: The band releases their double A-sided single "Come Together/Something" off of their Abbey Roadalbum.

1988: The documentary Imagine: John Lennon premieres in London and New York City.

DEF LEPPARD TEAMS WITH TAYLOR SWIFT FOR CMT CROSSROADS

Def Leppard will team with country star Taylor Swift today (Monday, October 6th) in Nashville for a taping of CMT Crossroads before an invitation-only audience.

The pairing was not something created by the show's producer, but instead by Swift herself, as she told us:"I've wanted to do Crossroads with Def Leppard since I heard about Crossroads. I always thought, 'That would be so fun to get these crazy British guys with these awesome songs and they're rock stars and my band would freak out.' It never occurred to me that we'd actually get to do it."

Swift took the bull by the horns and asked one of the members of Def Leppard about doing the show with her. "I actually made a phone call to the drummer a year ago. I was on tour with Tim (McGraw) and Faith (Hill) and I heard through the grapevine that Tim's tour manager was Rick Allen, the drummer's brother, so I kept bothering this guy, like bugging him non-stop, like, 'Hey, can I have a call with your brother? I need to talk to him about something. Can I please call him? And one night he came on my tour bus and he was like, 'I got someone on the phone for you,' and it was Rick Allen."

• Swift said that Allen had no idea who she was as an artist when she first contacted him.
• CMT Crossroads featuring Swift and Def Leppard will premiere on the cable network sometime next month.
• Def Leppard album has been out behind their new album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.

SIDE NOTE

• Oddly enough, Def Leppard experienced the height of their success in the mid to late 1980's, while Swift wasn't even born until December of 1989.
• The 18-year-old singer says that her mom listened to Def Leppard while pregnant with Swift and "raised me on Def Leppard." I guess those were the beginnings of her country roots!

SAMMY HAGAR, MICHAEL ANTHONY, JOE SATRIANI, AND CHAD SMITH SET FOR SUPERGROUP

Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith are currently recording an album together, according to Billboard. Satriani shed light on the supergroup project, explaining that the four came to record after performing a particularly hot show together: "We were very excited about that show. We had never played together before and when we walked off stage, we looked at each other like, 'Wow, there's a connection here. We should do something about it.' So last week we were together for five days and we recorded nine tracks."

Satriani says that all four members are serious about pursuing the project as a new band: "As soon as Sammy and myself finish touring our separate solo tours we'll reconvene in Northern California and finish the record. We hope to mix the album in January, have it ready for April and then we'll follow it up with a tour."

• He added that the name Chickenfoot, which Hagar, Anthony, and Smith had been thinking about using, will unlikely be used for the band. When pressed to describe the still-unnamed band's style, Satriani said, "The style is high-energy, kick-ass rock'n'roll We all bring to the table some unusual influences and then we also share a lot of roots. And I think that's where a true color of a band comes out, just how we react to each other. So, it's definitely rock music. We haven't brought each other together to do a techno record."
• Satriani is quick to point out that Smith is the crucial element in keeping the group a workable unite: "The material is really slamming, and anybody who has ever been around Chad knows that he is a very huge personality, a very high-energy guy and his drumming in person is explosive. This band really gives him carte blanche to go crazy. I think it's the best of what you'd expect, that's the best way to put it. No one is acting out of character."
• There's been no release date set for the band's album, nor have any tour dates been announced.
• Sammy Hagar says that he loves nothing more than hitting the road with former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony: "Lemme tell you, man, Mike -- you'd think the guy would have enough of a tour bus. He bought himself his own tour bus for his family, had it custom built. An outta sight bus, by the way. He's a character, Mike. He is Mr. America, I gotta tell you. He's more fun than I am."
• Joe Satriani performs tonight (October 6th) in Winnipeg, Manitoba at Burton Cummings Theatre.
• Sammy Hagar & the Wabos' next gig is set for November 16th at the New Orleans House Of Blues.
• Hagar's upcoming album, Cosmic Universal Fashion, will be released on November 18th and features guest appearances by the Cult's Billy Duffy and Matt Sorum, along with Michael Anthony.

AC/DC REACHES COMPROMISE WITH INDIE STORES

AC/DC has reached a compromise with independent American record stores just days after it was revealed that those stores were ordering import copies of the band's new album, Black Ice, to compete with the exclusive U.S. release through Wal-Mart. According to Undercover News, indie stores will now get to carry an exclusive vinyl edition of the record, as well as a seven-inch version of the set's first single, "Rock 'n' Roll Train," which also features the tune "War Machine."

• AC/DC announced in the summer that Black Ice, which is due out October 21st, would be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and ACDC.com. The news enraged the more than 700 indie stores around the country, as well as the few remaining national chains.
• One chain, FYE, reportedly pulled a large chunk of AC/DC catalog from its shelves, according to unconfirmed reports.
• One indie retailer told Undercover News last week that his store was ordering copies of the Black IceCD from Argentina and preparing to sell them at a lower price than Wal-Mart.
• Black Ice is AC/DC's first album in eight years. A world tour in support of the record begins on October 28th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, with shows selling out at a rapid clip.

Ask Your Listeners:

-- Should AC/DC sell the new CD through all retailers and not just Wal-Mart?
-- Would you buy a vinyl version of the record instead of the CD?
-- Should music artists support independent record stores in these difficult days for 
the business instead of big chain stores?

JAMES TAYLOR CHOOSES HITS FOR NEW ALBUM

James Taylor supported his just-released new album, Covers, with a set of his own material on Thursday night (October 2nd) in a special solo performance at Borders Books & Music's headquarters store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Taylor explained to the crowd of 400, who had lined up early in the morning for wristbands, that he could not perform most of the songs from Covers, which he recorded with his 12-memberBand of Legends, by himself. He did, however, play a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," which appears on the album, along with "Something In The Way She Moves," "Secret O' Life," "Carolina In My Mind," "Sweet Baby James," "Belfast To Boston (God's Rifle" from 2002's October Road album, and "Mexico."

Taylor was in a jovial mood throughout the half-hour set, talking a bit about Covers and telling stories about the songs he did play. He got a laugh from the crowd after "Something In The Way She Moves," which he said got him his deal with the Beatles' Apple Records label: "I played it for Paul McCartney and he liked it. I played it for George Harrison, and he liked it so much he went home and wrote it" -- referring to Harrison's Beatles' hit "Something."

• The performance was filmed and will be posted on the Borders.com web site early next week.
• Taylor has upcoming appearances booked on NBC's The Tonight Show (October 7th), Public Radio International's The Tavis Smiley Show (October 8th) and an October 22nd stop on PBS' Charlie Rosewith cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played on "Suzanne." Taylor is also taping a segment for Sundance's newSpectacle: Elvis Costello With...
• A version of the Temptations' "It's Growing" is the first single from Covers.

OASIS GUITARIST: 'I'M ON A LOT OF PAINKILLERS AT THE MOMENT'

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher gave the U.K's Absolute Radio an update on his condition following an onstage attack last month in Toronto that injured his ribs. Gallagher said, "I'm on a lot of painkillers at the moment. The trouble with painkillers is they're only fun when you're not meant to be on them. When you're actually in pain they just take the edge off it. The doctor said that at my age it should take about another four weeks to heal. It's making me walk and stand different though 'cause of the pain. I've been rehearsing though, so I know I can do the rest of the tour."

• Oasis was forced to cancel several North American and European dates as a result of the injury. Gallagher was assaulted by a concertgoer who jumped onstage and shoved him into a monitor.
• The band will release its seventh studio album, titled Dig Out Your Soul, on Tuesday (October 7th).

10/02/08

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TO GO ACOUSTIC ON SATURDAY FOR OBAMA RALLY IN PHILLY

Bruce Springsteen will perform acoustically on Saturday (October 4th) in the streets of Philadelphia in support of Senator Barack Obama, and to raise awareness of Pennsylvania's voter registration deadline on Monday (October 6th). The event, which features Springsteen performing without the E Street Band, is an effort to both to register voters and recruit volunteers.

Craig Schirmer, the Pennsylvania State Director of the Obama-Biden campaign told backstreets.com, "Senator Obama is a great fan of Bruce Springsteen and is honored to have his support. This will be a great opportunity to gather tens of thousands of our supporters together in one place as we register new voters and bring new volunteers into this campaign for change."

• Springsteen's performance will take place on Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 20th and 22nd Streets. Gates open at 2 p.m. with a 3:30 p.m. show time. For more information go to pa.barackobama.com/springsteen.
• On October 14th, Springsteen, Billy Joel and other still-to-be-announced friends will play a double bill fundraiser for Obama at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom. The show is titled "Change Rocks" and will benefit the Obama Victory Fund.

In other Springsteen-related news:

E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren had both his hips replaced on Tuesday (September 30th). Lofgren posted to fans prior to the surgery on his website (nilslofgren.com), saying, "Due to a long, beautiful life on the road (40 years) that's included back flips with guitars, dive rolls, leaping off drum risers, and trying to break stage floors with pounding legs due to the amazing energy I gratefully continue to get from you, the audience -- in addition to thousands of hours playing aggressive basketball, (my favorite sport to play) on mostly cement, city courts -- I have finally destroyed both of my hips and they are both bone on bone with no cartilage left."

• He added, "... If all goes well, I hope I can start doing my acoustic show touring by early Spring. Anyway, right now I'm just focusing on the immediate future and would welcome your kind thoughts and prayers. You have all been an incredible source of inspiration and hope and have helped keep the musical and life journey real. (My wife) Amy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts and will be in touch soon with updates. Until then, God bless you all! Peace and Believe -- Nils."
• There is no word as to whether Lofgren will be on hand when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform as the half time act at the 2009 Super Bowl in February.

BOB WEIR BREAKS HIS RIBS ON TOUR BUS

The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir broke his ribs riding on his tour bus, but he's expected to recover nicely. According to TMZ.com, Weir was standing and fell when the driver slammed on the brakes. The band's rep says it hurts for Weir "to breathe, hold the guitar, and laugh." Weir was en route on the "Deadmobile" heading to fundraising concert when the incident occurred.

PAUL McCARTNEY TO RELEASE NEW EXPERIMENTAL ALBUM THROUGH DAVE MATTHEWS' VANITY LABEL

Paul McCartney's new experimental project under the moniker the Fireman, called Electric Arguments, will be released in the U.S. by theDave Matthews-owned label, ATO. The album, which was co-produced by longtime McCartney collaborator and ambient DJ Youth, will be released by McCartney's production company MPL and manufactured and distributed outside of North America by One Little Indian Records.

Electric Arguments is the third Fireman project that McCartney has released since 1993, and is the first to feature full vocal performances. The album's lead track, called "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight," is musically and vocally reminiscent of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter," and such early solo and Wings tracks as "Oh Woman, Oh Why," "Monkberry Moon Delight," "Mumbo," among others.

• McCartney told Mojo that the title of the song "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight" was inspired by his late friend Jimmy Scott, who also inspired the title of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da."
• "Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight" was previewed on BBC's Radio 1 Zane Lowe Show and can be accessed by going to bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/
• In June, McCartney had premiered a song from the album called "Lifelong Passion (Sail Away)" on his website, paulmccartney.com, to fans who donated $25 or more to the Adopt-a-Minefield campaign.

PHISH TO REUNITE IN 2009 

Phish will reunite next year for their first shows since 2004. The band will perform on March 6th, 7th and 8th in Hampton, Virginia at the Hampton Coliseum and will announce a full 2009 itinerary early next year. Phish's legendary November 1998 stand at the Hampton Coliseum was released as the boxed set Hampton Comes Alive.

Hampton Coliseum GM Joe Tsao told Billboard how the reunion shows came together, explaining, "It's very simple: I got a call from the band saying we want to come back and I said 'come on!... We're very, very happy about this. It's something very special,""

• Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday, October 18th, at 10 a.m. ET.
• On November 18th, Phish will release At The Roxy. The eight-CD box set chronicles the band's three-night stint from February 1993 at Atlanta's The Roxy nightclub.
• This summer Phish let fans know that they had been working again with the help of producer Steve Lilywhite. There's been no announcement as to whether a new studio album is in the pipeline.

JACKSON BROWNE SCORES FIRST TOP 20 ALBUM IN 25 YEARS

Jackson Browne has scored his first Top 20 album on the Billboard charts since his 1983 set Lawyers In Love. The new album, calledTime The Conqueror, debuted this week on The Billboard 200 album chart at Number 20.

Browne says that although the recording sessions happened quickly, gathering the album's material was a few years in the making: "I've had some of these songs going on for a while. Certainly, a lot's been going on in my corner -- a lot's been going on for everybody. I was shocked, I was looking for the original version of the song that we were working on... I said, 'Let's go back and listen to when we did it originally' and it was on a disc this disc that said, 2005, and I went 'Oh.' I fact, this album was cut in a very short time, but in the case of a couple of songs, they began a long time ago."

• Browne's last album, Solo Acoustic Vol. 2, released earlier this year, peaked at Number 24 on The Billboard 200 and Number Four on the magazine's Top Independent Albums chart.
• Jackson Browne performs tonight (October 2nd) in Los Angeles at McCabe's 50th Anniversary at UCLA's Royce Hall Auditorium.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE WANTS TO TIE THE KNOT

Melisa Etheridge hopes to one day get married to her long-term girlfriend, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels. With the legalization of gay marriage in California, a ceremony could be in the couple's future. Etheridge tells Extra, "Yes, we have four children and we're trying to find the right time." Etheridge and Michaels have been through a lot together, including the singer's fight against breast cancer.

Etheridge, who is now an advocate for the cause, explained what it was like when they told their children about her possible breast cancer: "They were there when I discussed the lump with Tammy...and (we) said, 'Mama has a lump in her breast and this lump could be many things, but we need to check and see what it is because if it is a cold, it might spread to her whole body and be really bad for it.'"

• Etheridge is now out with her first holiday album, A New Thought For Christmas, which features her take on such classics as "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Blue Christmas."
• Her next show is slated for Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 8th.

ARTIST CLAIMS TO HAVE KURT COBAIN'S ASHES, PLANS TO SMOKE THEM

An Australian-born artist named Natascha Stellmach claims that she has acquired the ashes of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and has incorporated them into an art installation on suicide, called "Set Me Free." The project, which includes recordings, poetry and text, will conclude with an event in which Stellmach plans to produce a joint containing the ashes and smoke it at a secret location in Berlin. This will, according to the artist, release Cobain "into the ether from the media circus."

• According to Art World, when asked how she obtained Cobain's ashes, Stellmach said, "That's confidential and kind of magic. They came to me."
• Cobain's widow, singer and actress Courtney Love, reported the ashes stolen from her home last year. She has yet to comment on Stellmach's claim.
• Cobain shot and killed himself in April of 1994, leaving behind Love and a daughter named Frances Bean Cobain.

METALLICA TOPS 'BILLBOARD' CHART FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK

Metallica's ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, remained at Number One on the Billboard album chart for the third straight week, with the disc selling another 132,000 copies since arriving on September 12th, Although sales figures released on Wednesday (October 1st) indicated a 61 percent drop from the previous week, the CD has still racked up total sales of 959,000 copies. Death Magnetic is also only the second album of 2008 to top the chart for three straight weeks, following Jack Johnson's Sleep Through The Static.

• The week's other major rock debut on the Billboard chart was Kings of Leon's Only By The Night, which entered the chart at Number Four with 74,000 copies sold, both career bests for the Southern rockers.

10/01/08

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND BILLY JOEL TO ROCK FOR BARACK OBAMA IN NYC

In what may be the hottest ticket of the year, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel will play a double bill fundraiser for presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom on October 14th. The show is titled "Change Rocks" and will benefit the Obama Victory Fund.

Backstreets.com broke the news to subscribers, announcing that Obama will be in attendance, along with Springsteen, Joel, and "friends." The show marks both artists' first benefits for Obama. No additional acts have been announced yet.

• Tickets run from $500 to $10,000. For ticket information go to donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/Oct16Concert

SLASH ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash expressed his support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, in a new interview with England's NME Radio. Slash remarked, "I think Obama's great. It's the first time in eight years (since George W. Bush came into power) I've heard somebody speak English. I think it's refreshing to see someone who's reasonably intelligent come in. I agree with a lot of (Obama's) stuff. There are a couple of things I'm concerned with, but all things considered I think he's the best candidate for the job."

• Slash also talked about the progress of his new solo album, saying he's got demos recorded of 14 songs. He plans to enlist a number of different singers to appear on the CD, although he has not yet revealed any names.
• Velvet Revolver is still looking for a new vocalist to replace Scott Weiland before beginning work on its third studio effort. Slash said he wasn't sure if his album would arrive before the next Velvet Revolver disc.
• Slash will also release a series of new guitars, the Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop range, on October 7th.

AC/DC EXPANDS TOUR, UNVEILS OWN 'ROCK BAND' GAME

AC/DC's first world tour in eight years has already sold out in 18 cities, with the band adding second shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland, according to FMQB.com. A first gig at Chicago's Allstate Arena, two at New York City's Madison Square Garden and one at Vancouver's General Motors Place all sold out within minutes, while tickets for a date at Rogers Centre in Toronto went faster than any other concert in the history of the venue. The trek, which opens on October 28th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, has already added an entire second leg, beginning on December 20th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and extending well into January.

• AC/DC will be on the road behind Black Ice, its first album since 2000's Stiff Upper Lip. The album arrives on October 21st and will be sold in the U.S. exclusively through Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and ACDC.com.
• Tickets for the newly announced leg go on sale Saturday (October 4th).
• Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Wal-Mart will also be the exclusive retailer for AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack, a special edition of the Rock Band video game centered around the band.
• This is the first version of Rock Band that's specific to one artist. Rival game Guitar Hero recently issued an Aerosmith-based edition and also has a Metallica game in the works.
• Since Wal-Mart does not have any outlets in Los Angeles or Manhattan, special "AC/DC stores" may be set up in those cities to sell the new album, the game and other merchandise. The game will be out in early November.
• Newly announced AC/DC tour dates (subject to change):
  December 20 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
  December 21 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
  January 5 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
  January 7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
  January 9 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre
  January 11 - Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena
  January 13 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
  January 15 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
  January 17 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome
  January 19 - Minneapolis, MN - Xcel Energy Center
  January 21 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
  January 23 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
  January 26 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
  January 28 - Little Rock, AR - Alltel Arena
  January 30 - Memphis, TN - FedEx Forum
  January 31 - Nashville, TN - Sommet Center

BILLY JOEL HELPS FISHERMAN'S FAMILY WITH FUNERAL COSTS

Billy Joel is helping to pay for the funeral of a clam digger who was found dead in n the water of Long Island Sound on Monday (September 29th). According to the Associated Press, Joel's home in Centre Island is near where the body of a drowned local fisherman Edwin Floreswas discovered. Joel wanted to help out the family, so he donated an unnamed amount to the North Oyster Bay Baymen's Association to aid with the funeral and other expenses.

• Joel has long been a supporter of fisherman in Long Island, and sang about them in his 1989 song "The Downeaster Alexa."
• Joel and Bruce Springsteen are teaming up for Barack Obama benefit on October 16th in New York City, to help raise funds for the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign.

JOHN OATES UNRAVELS '1000 MILES OF LIFE'

John Oates has just released his second solo album, called 1000 Miles Of Life. The album was recorded in Nashville, and is a blend of folk, funk, R&B and rock. The album includes guest appearances by Stax legend Steve Cropper, Blues Traveler's John Popper, Bela Fleck, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Bonnie and Bekka Bramlett, among others.

1000 Miles Of Life was co-produced by Oates with Jed Leiber, who is the son of legendary songwriter Jerry Leiber of the Leiber & Stoller team.

Oates says that fans have only recently fully embraced his and Hall's work away from the duo, and now realize that it's not only healthy, but essential to their work: "I think in the old days it threw them. They saw it as a threat to the Hall and Oates that they loved, and the partnership and the legacy -- they saw it as a threat. I think that over the years, they've come to accept it and appreciate it even more, because Daryl and I -- you know, we're individuals... and it's funny, our company is called 'Two-Headed Monster,' and it's obviously a tongue-in-cheek expression, but we don't want to be a two-headed monster. That's not what we are."

• Oates released his debut solo album, called, Phunk Shui, in 2002.
• John Oates will perform solo on October 15th in San Juan Capistrano, California at the Coach House, and on October 16th in San Diego, California at Anthology.
• Daryl Hall & John Oates will next perform on November 7th and 8th in Windsor, Ontario at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor.

METALLICA DRUMMER SPEAKS OUT ON SOUND QUALITY CONTROVERSY

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has spoken out in an interview with Blender magazine about the controversy over the audio quality of the band's new album, Death Magnetic. Some fans and publications have accused the group and producer Rick Rubin of mixing the album at such a loud volume that the music is distorted and difficult to listen to. Meanwhile, a number of fans have said online that they prefer the versions of the CD's tracks prepared for the Guitar Hero video game, which are mixed differently.

Ulrich told Blender, "Listen, there's nothing up with the audio quality. It's 2008, and that's how we make records. Rick Rubin's whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it to sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers. Of course, I've heard that there are a few people complaining. But I've been listening to it the last couple of days in my car, and it sounds f***in' smokin.'"

• Much of the actual recording and mixing was handled by engineer Greg Fidelman, who also worked with Rubin on Slipknot's 2004 album, Vol. 3:(The Subliminal Verses). Ulrich explained Fidelman's part in the process to us: "You know, Rick has a bunch of guys, like one does, and he's kinda... you know, when we sat down with Rick to talk about what we wanted the record to sound like, we said our favorite record was the Slipknot record, in terms of the sounds. So we worked with Greg Fidelman and he's been the -- he's the engineer, he's the constant. He's the nuts and bolts of the project and has really, I mean, he's there every minute."
• Ulrich also told Blender, "The Internet gives everybody a voice, and the Internet has a tendency to give the complainers a louder voice... Part of being in Metallica is that there's always somebody who's got a problem with something that you're doing: '(Frontman) James Hetfield had something for breakfast that I don't like.' That's part of the ride."
• The drummer also said that the overall positive response to the album has "exceeded even our expectations," but said he and Hetfield deliberately gave Rubin room to produce the record his way. Ulrich added, "That's not to put it on him -- it's our record, I'll take the hit, but we wanted to roll with Rick's vision of how Metallica would sound."
• Audio clips comparing the CD and Guitar Hero versions of Death Magnetic have surfaced online, and the Wall Street Journal even did an article on the controversy recently.
• A petition asking the band to remix the album has gathered 12,000 signatures, although that is a relatively small number compared to the nearly one million copies the CD has sold in the U.S. alone since its release on September 12th.

CAREER-SPANNING ROD STEWART COLLECTION SET FOR NEXT MONTH

Coming on November 19th is a two-CD set The Definitive Rod Stewart, which compiles 29 tracks from the singer's career from 1971 to 2004, according to Billboard. The collection will be released as a basic double-disc set, as well as a special edition featuring 14 videos.

Highlights on The Definitive Rod Stewart include "Maggie May," "Mandolin Wind," "Every Picture Tells A Story," the Faces' "Stay With Me," "You Wear It Well," "Tonight's The Night," "The First Cut Is The Deepest," "You're In My Heart," "Hot Legs," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," "Passion," "Young Turks," "Tonight I'm Yours," "Baby Jane," "Infatuation," "Same Guys Have All The Luck," "Love Touch," "Forever Young," "My Heart Can't Tell You No," "Downtown Train," "This Old Heart Of Mine," "The Motown Song," "Have I Told You Lately," and "Reason To Believe" with Ron Wood from Unplugged.

• The DVD included on the deluxe edition of the set features videos for "Sailing," "The Killing Of Georgie (Part I & II)," "She Won't Dance With Me," "Hot Legs," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," "Young Turks," and others.

BRIAN WILSON TOUCHES UPON DARKEST DAYS ON NEW ALBUM

Brian Wilson says that on his new album, That Lucky Old Sun, he drew upon his darkest days in the mid-'70s when he suffered with mental illness and drug addiction.

Wilson spoke to Australia's Sunday Life magazine about his life before undergoing detox and psychotherapy, explaining, "When I wrote the song 'Oxygen To The Brain' on the new album, it was about a time (when) I lay around my house in the '70s. I was really in a bad way when I was sick. I didn't do anything. I didn't shower much or do any exercise. I was wasting myself away. Then one day I decided to step on the gas and get in shape and it all started to happen for me. I said to myself 'How did I ever do that? How could I get myself in such a state?' but I wasn't thinking at the time."

Wilson's wife and manager Melinda Wilson told usatoday.com that the key to his current well-being is positivity: "He needs a positive environment. It's improved his mental state to be with a band that respects him and has such a clear understanding of who he is. Now he can be creative and not worry about the fallout. Based on his disorder, he'll always feel pressure. It's something we control by medication and visits to his doctor. But if he has a bad week, it's nothing like it was in the past. I mean, here's a guy who went to bed for years. He's better because he gets all this positive reinforcement from his family, his bandmates, the music community. He never realized what he meant to anybody."

• Wilson's bandleader Jeffrey Foskett discounted all the rumors that Wilson relies too heavily on his band to complete his work in the recording studio: "You know, Brian wrote all these things, so Scott (Bennett), or Darian (Sahanaja), or myself can't say, 'Oh no, you're not supposed to play that there' -- how do I know what's supposed to be played there? It's in Brian's head! Brian's in the studio, or it's not happening, period. That's the way that it is."

Questions? email Greg Applebee