Paul McCartney seems to have found another gear. Last year he undertook his record-breaking “On the Run” tour, staged several memorable one-off appearances (including a stunning Olympics Opening Ceremony concert) and released a terrific new album, Kisses on the Bottom. 2013 is shaping up to be just as busy. A few days ago, the legendary former Beatle announced that a new world tour – dubbed “Out There!” – will kick off June 22 in Poland. Plus, a new studio album is in the works. With this swirl of activity simmering, we decided to gather some choice commentary from Sir Paul on a range of topics. Below, he talks about his love of guitars, his approach to bass playing, and why “nicking” great riffs is not a bad thing to do.
On getting his first guitar, as told to Guitar Player (1990):
I bought a right-handed guitar, a Zenith, an old acoustic which I've still got. I sat down at home with a little chord book and started trying to work it out. It didn't feel good at all … very awkward. It was only when I saw a picture of Slim Whitman in a magazine, holding his guitar the "wrong" way, that I thought, “Oh, he must have turned his strings around." So I started on that problem, which is always the nut. I used to actually take matchsticks and build up the bass nut. It was only later that I was able to buy a left-handed guitar.
On his favorite guitar part as a Beatle, as told to Guitar Player (1990):
I like "Taxman" just because of what it was. I was very inspired by Jimi Hendrix. It was really my first voyage into feedback. It was just before George was into that. In fact, I don't really think George got too heavily into that kind of thing. George was generally a little more restrained in his guitar playing. He wasn't into heavy feedback.
On how he and Lennon wrote songs together, as told to Drowned in Sound (2012):
We had a kind of system, which was: you just sat with a pad of paper and a pencil, and you sat at your guitar or your piano, and you make a song, and within about three hours, you should have finished the song. That’s how we always did it.
On his love of the Epiphone Casino, as told to Drowned in Sound (2012):
I got that while I was with The Beatles, basically because I love Hendrix. I went into [a guitar shop] and said to the guy that I wanted something that would really feedback, and he said, “Well, this one will.” It had a hollow body and that was the reason I got it originally. I used it for the “Taxman” solo and for “Paperback Writer” because … through a Vox amp, it just gave a nice little dirty noise. I use that on stage now.
On “nicking” great guitar riffs, as told to Guitar Player (1990):
I'm always taking a little of this and a little of that. It's called being influenced … either that or stealing. What do they say? A good artist borrows; a great artist steals--or something like that. That makes us great artists then, because we stole a lot of stuff. If anyone ever said to us, "Wow! Where's that from?" we'd say, "Well, Chuck Berry," or that the "I Saw Her Standing There" riff is from [Berry's] "I'm Talking about You." We took a lot of stuff, but in blues, anyway, you do: People lift licks.
On how The Beatles emphasized variety, as told to Bass Player(1995):
We were very keen that every track sounded different. We thought in terms of singles. Our albums, right up to Sgt. Pepper’s, were albums of singles. We felt The Supremes were a bit boring; it always sounded like the same song, or very near. They were trying to keep that Motown-Supremes sound. Well, we weren't trying to keep the Beatles sound; we were always trying to move on. We were always trying to get a new sound on every single thing that we did.
On his affection for the bass, as told to Bass Player (1995)
Funnily enough, I'd always liked bass. My Dad was a musician, and I remember him giving me little lessons --not actual sit-down lessons but maybe there'd be something on the radio and he'd say, “Hear that low stuff? That's the bass.” Then I started listening to other bass players -- mainly Motown. [Motown’s] James Jamerson became my hero. Jamerson and later Brian Wilson were my two biggest influences: James because he was so good and melodic, and Brian because he went to very unusual places.
Oh how “Michelle” marked a turning point in his bass playing, as told to Bass Player (1995):
That [introductory bass line] was actually thought up on the spot. I remember that opening six-note phrase against the descending chords was a great moment in my life. I think I had enough musical experience after years of playing, so it was just in me. I realized I could do that. It's quite a well-known trick --I'm sure jazz players have done that against a descending sequence--but wherever I got it from something in the back of my brain said “Do that. It's a bit more clever for the arrangement, and it'll really sound good on those descending chords."
On his love of Les Pauls, as told to CNN (2010):
The thing about Les Paul guitars is that they’re beautiful guitars. That’s due to Les’s knowledge of the instrument and due to his technical knowledge. So he, together with Gibson, developed this amazing guitar. For me, it’s just beautiful to play. It’s a classic. One of the ones I have is 50 years old, so it’s a great antique as well as being a classic. It plays great, and I think that’s due to Les’s expertise. When you pick it up you fall in love with it.
On the pleasures of working alone, as told to Pitchfork (2007):
It's something I've done throughout my career, to describe it loosely. When I left The Beatles, I made an album called McCartney that I played everything on. And it was kind of a cool experience. I felt like a professor in a laboratory, just crafting stuff and adding things, putting this on and moving the microphone. It was very homemade … a good sort of bedroom experience. It’s just quicker that way, you know?
Like many great guitarists, Don Felder has a heart-wrenching gear-that-got-away story. It starts with a young boy who saved up his pennies to snag a choice Gibson guitar and, let’s just say, the story doesn’t end well.
“I’ve been a Gibson advocate since the first Les Paul Jr. that I ever got to play in high school,” he said. “I scraped together some money working at a music store and playing in a band, and I finally ordered a 355, which was my dream guitar. It was cherry red. Within four months, it was stolen from me at a show in Miami. I was heartbroken. It destroyed me!
“I went out to the Gibson factory years later and walked by the guy who wraps all the bindings for all the 345s and 355s, and I had to shake his hand, because he had made the binding on my guitar. I told him the story and how much I appreciated his work. Gibson has always been a huge part of my life and career.”
Thankfully, Felder has plenty of Gibsons to make up for it now, including his famed Don Felder “Hotel California” EDS-1275. We caught up with the four-time Grammy Award winner to talk about his favorite guitars; his new solo album, Road to Forever; and why having Crosby, Stills & Nash sing on his solo album was such a killer moment.
Congrats on the success of Road to Forever and it debuting #27 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
Thanks! It was really fun to make. I had been collecting and writing song ideas for four or five years, and I had 26 song ideas put together in my studio and chose the best. Some of my best friends came in and managed to help me, like Randy Jackson from “American Idol,” Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tommy Shaw and a bunch of people who are not only great musicians, but fun. We were all smiling and laughing and having a great time.
You wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album. Is it important to you to be hands-on with the writing process?
I’ve written a lot of songs for the Eagles on nearly every album. I would write between 12 and 18 song ideas, and usually two of them would show up on the album, like “Hotel California.” They were selective about what songs they wanted on the record. So, when I was no longer contained and having to write for that project, I wrote anything I wanted to write. There’s such a wide variety of songs on this record that go form heavier stuff to a lullaby about my little boy to a sweet ballad about having your heart broken and trusting in love again.
How did your 27 years with the Eagles spill into your solo work?
In making records together, we all learned how to do things together from different producers and engineers, from how songs are structured to how a song is put together and laid out to how phrasing goes melodically. So, I did the same thing on Eagles records that I did on this record. Even some of the same Gibson guitars I used those years with the Eagles I used on here. It’s a familiar voice, tonally. My style of playing is recognizable from the Eagle work.
So many great collaborations are on this set, from David Crosby to Graham Nash to Stephen Stills. Do you have a favorite?
I think one of my earliest mates was Stephen Stills. He and I had a band together when we were 14 years old. He’s always been a great singer, so to have Crosby, Stills & Nash sing on my record, after our paths have crossed so many times over the years, was great. I’ve always loved those guys. Even though I’ve worked and played with all those guys, to have them all come in and sing on my record was a highlight for me.
What are your go-to Gibson guitars?
I have guitars that are always sitting in my studio, ready to go. I have a Sunburst Les Paul, a ‘59 Les Paul, a Goldtop Les Paul, Gibson acoustic guitars and on stage, I play my Don Felder “Hotel California” EDS-1275. Those are my first go-to guitars, and I use them on the road or in the studio. I have a little under 300 guitars in my collection, and Gibsons are usually the ones I go to first when writing and looking for certain sound. It’s just a great instrument.
Why do you prefer Gibsons over other brands?
Personally, I think the craftsmanship, the quality of the way they’re made and the attention to minute details. When I went back to the custom shop and they were looking at my old ’59, they told me about the many minute changes made in that Les Paul over the years. They’re constantly in the process of trying to make the absolute best guitar on the market, in my opinion. You can see that side by side. All brands are unique in their own right, but to me, Gibson has a quality that’s head and shoulders above the rest.
What’s next for you?
I’m planning touring all the way through the fall, and the times I’m not in a plane or hotel room, I’ll be in the studio back here in California. I’ve already started writing for another CD, and hopefully within a year of two, I’ll put out another new record.
The legendary band is slated to perform on Saturday night (June 29). Mick Jagger shared his enthusiasm in a tweet, saying, “Can't wait to play Glastonbury. I have my wellies and my yurt!" Keith Richards chimed in as well, adding, “We all had such a ball last year, and the energy between the band is so good, we can't wait to play Glastonbury, see you on a summer's day in England."
As reported by BBC News, Stones guitarist Ron Wood jokingly claimed to have cajoled his bandmates into participating in the event. “I've been using all my persuasive charm on the boys for a few weeks now,” he said.”Really pleased to be doing it, can't wait to be getting out on that stage." Joining the Stones as headlining acts for this year’s festival will be Mumford and Sons and The Arctic Monkeys.
The most famous gig Clapton held before Cream was as guitar foil to John Mayall in the supremely influential British band the Bluesbreakers. It was there that Clapton was tagged “god” and played his role in the canonization of the Gibson Les Paul Standard. But everybody knows about the Bluesbreakers and their famous eponymous “Beano” album, right? After all, Clapton’s interpretations of “Steppin’ Out” and Freddie King’s “Hideaway” became litmus tests for the era’s up-and-coming blues pickers.
But what about his other less well known gigs as a supporting player, which range from stints with the Beatles, in formative roots-rock bands, alongside psychedelic gurus and in an electronica project — and still continue to this day? There’s a lot more to Clapton than blues, “Layla” and ’80s beer commercials, as this list of 10 of his most distinguished gigs as a sideman attest:
• The Beatles: That’s Clapton sparring with George Harrison on The White Album’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” In 1969 the other Beatles contemplated asking him to replace Harrison to complete Let It Be, because tensions between the group’s guitarist and his ‘mates had become so severe. And after the Beatles ran out of gas as a group, Clapton joined John Lennon in the Plastic Ono Band, contributing to the group’s without-a-net Live Peace in Toronto album. In the 2000s he regrouped with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, playing on their solo discs as well. And of course Clapton was Harrison’s foil for 1970’s majestic and sprawling All Things Must Pass.
• Delaney & Bonnie: Clapton’s fascination with American roots music had grown well beyond blues by the time Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett’s band opened for Clapton and his cohorts in Blind Faith in 1969. The next year Clapton joined their band, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, and hit the road. In 1970 the release of the live document On Tour With Eric Clapton, thanks to the use of Clapton’s name, handily increased Delaney and Bonnie’s fan base and profile. Clapton used his time in the group to explore other forms of music from the American south, like country and soul, as well as his beloved blues. And the gig introduced Clapton to Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle, who would morph into his bandmates in Derek and the Dominos. Delaney also became the co-writer and producer of Clapton’s first solo album, Eric Clapton, in 1970.
• Music From Free Creek: This super-session double-LP was the invention of producers Earle Doud and Tom Flye, who were convinced that they’d make a hit by calling together an A-list of rock star friends that included Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Dr. John, Delaney Bramlett, Jeff Beck, Todd Rundgren, Keith Emerson and others. Unfortunately Clapton, Beck and Emerson were all on different sessions, but Clapton’s pairing with Dr. John — both supporting singers who’ve since slipped in obscurity — on three tracks is a notable meeting of roots music giants. Due to contractual obligations, Clapton was billed as “King Cool” for the original release.
• Waylon Jennings: Yes, in 1978 Clapton played on several tracks by the granddaddy of Outlaw Country. The occasion was the overlooked White Mansions, a concept album — essentially an “un”-rock opera — that looks at the Civil War through the eyes of three white southerners whose stories were connected by Jennings in the role of “the Drifter.” There is a slight chance some marijuana was smoked during the making of this trippy album, which cracked the country music Top 40 at number 38.
• Buddy Guy & Junior Wells: Clapton put himself in the service of this revered Chicago blues duo as payback on the 1972 release Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues. Much of Clapton’s stinging, single-note attack can be traced back to classic Guy recordings like 1968’s A Man and the Blues and Guy’s earlier sides for Chess Records, where he displayed a clean, saber-like tone. Clapton played second guitar and co-produced alongside the giants Tom Down and Ahmet Ertegun. Although the sessions were reportedly chaotic and difficult, the results are quite good. Clapton would join Guy in the studio again, for 1991’s Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues and Guy’s 2008 Grammy winner Skin Deep.
• Roger Waters: After Pink Floyd – or at least Roger Waters — called their band quits for the first time, Waters tapped Clapton as guitarist for his 1984 concept album The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. The disc suffers from the same self-absorption that makes The Final Cut, the last project featuring the original post-Syd Barrett line-up of Pink Floyd, a mere testament to Waters’ confusion about his personal issues, but it’s less inner-directed and Clapton gets to open up not only on guitar but guitar synthesizer.
• Buckwheat Zydeco: Clapton met Stanley Dural, the Louisiana keyboard king who goes by the pseudonym “Buckwheat Zydeco,” at an all-star jam on stage in London in 1987, where Dural traded volleys with the master guitarist on Clapton’s Derek and the Dominos hit “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad.” A year later Clapton took Dural’s invitation for an in-studio rematch, adding burly guitar to the song on Buckwheat Zydeco’s 1988 release Taking It Home. The pairing temporarily gave Dural, who also opened dates on Clapton’s “25th Anniversary Tour” in 1987/’88, and the zydeco genre a higher profile.
• Taj Mahal: Clapton and this great American bluesman have been crossing paths since the 1960s, but their most notable musical intersection is on 1996’s Mahal album Phantom Blues, where Clapton supports the gravel voiced multi-instrumentalist on “Here In the Dark” and “You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling,” the latter a tune associated with another of Clapton’s deepest blues influences, fellow Gibson playing legend Freddie King.
• Carlos Santana: “The Calling” is a battle of ’60s guitar “gods,” with Santana and Clapton trading lead and supportive rhythm on the track from Santana’s mega-comeback album, 1999’s Supernatural. Hard-core fans of both legends will want to invest the $1.29 it takes to download “The Calling Jam” from the expanded “Legacy Edition” reissue, which captures both guitarists playing it heavy on the song’s theme.
• TDF: This is one of Clapton’s hippest collaborations, because he’s playing outside of his box. Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Simon Climie pressed Clapton into service for an electronica/dance album as the one-off TDF, an abbreviation for Totally Dysfunctional Family. Their sole 11-track disc Retail Therapy was issued in 1997 and includes “Seven,” which marked the second time B.B. King’s performance of “How Blue Can You Get” was sampled, following Primitive Radio Gods’ hit “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand” by a year.
Read about Clapton’s part in the Harrison-Clapton 1957 Les Paul Standard "Lucy” here.
Mosh.cam of Australia filmed a Slash gig August 2012, and you can now watch it all on YouTube. It is a professional recording and shows Slash and his band up-close with good audio. That’s it. If you like Slash and plenty of Gibson Les Paul action, subscribe and watch it.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - live at Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney on 25 August 2012.
Pink Floyd's masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon has been selected by the US Library of Congress to be included in its Recording Preservation Registry. The album celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.
The Library motivate the inclusion of The Dark Side of the Moon by saying: "The Dark Side of the Moon benefits from the fact that Pink Floyd worked out the songs in live performances for months before going into a studio. When they did, there were such recent technological innovations as 16-track recorders and synthesizers at their disposal. Rather than overdoing it, The Dark Side of the Moon is an example of brilliant, innovative production in service of the music."
"The album is notable for the close vocal harmonies of Richard Wright and David Gilmour and for the double tracking of voices and guitars. More unusual effects include the flanged choir in 'Time,' the precisely placed delays in 'Us and Them,' and a tape loop at the beginning of 'Money' that was so long a microphone stand had to be used to hold it up."
Other acts that are added to the Recording Preservation Registry in 2013 include The Ramones' self-titled debut, and Chubby Checker's The Twist.
Want to contribute to a 40th anniversary tribute to KISS and to help raise funds for a worthy cause too? Music journalist Mitch Lafon is the mastermind behind A World With Heroes, a KISS tribute album featuring a bunch of well-known artists paying tribute to their favorite fire-breathing, blood-spitting, cherrypicker-riding, zip-lining, flame-throwing rock band.
A PledgeMusic campaign is under way to help fund the project, with proceeds also benefiting a cancer care hospice. All basic tracks were recorded by Eric Brittingham (bass, Cinderella), Jeff LaBar (guitar, Cinderella) and Troy Lucketta (drums, Tesla). The vocalists and other artists that will contribute to the CD include: Don Dokken, Mark Tornillo (Accept), Terry Ilous (Great White), Bumblefoot (GNR), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter), Russ Dwarf (The Killer Dwarfs), Ron Young (Little Caesar), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake), Rex Brown (Pantera, Kill Devil Hill), Dery Grehan (Honeymoon Suite), Bill Leverty (Firehouse), Phil Lewis (LA GUNS), Doro, Tommy Denander, Slaves on Dope (w/Jason Rockman), Phil Naro (ex-Talas & Peter Criss), Ron Keel, Sean Kelly (Nelly Furtado, Helix) and more to be announced shortly.
If you'd like to kick in a few bucks (with incentives including Skype lessons with Leverty, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, or ex-Dream Theater/Black Country Communion keyboard player Derek Sherinian), head to pledgemusic.com/projects/kiss40thtribute
Stevie Nicks appears ready to open up about her romantic split with Lindsey Buckingham that occurred during the making of Fleetwood Mac’s classic 1977 album, Rumours. In an interview to air this weekend on Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class, the veteran singer hints that her relationship with Buckingham soured because of the band. “The band was way more important than each separate person's problems," she says. "And we knew that. So we never, ever, with everything that happened to us, ever, let love affairs break Fleetwood Mac up. But Lindsey always blamed Fleetwood Mac for the loss of me. Had we not joined Fleetwood Mac, we would have continued on with our music but we probably would've gotten married, and we probably would have had a child." Fleetwood Mac is set to kick off a spring and summer tour on April 4 in Columbus, Ohio. Click here to watch a preview of the interview with Nicks.
The Eagles have announced the initial run of dates for their much-anticipated “History of the Eagles” tour. The trek kicks off July 6 in Louisville, Kentucky, and includes eleven shows scheduled through July 25. The tour is being staged in conjunction with the documentary, History of the Eagles, which debuted on Showtime last month. The career-spanning film offers an intimate look into the legacy of the band via archival materials, concert footage and never-before-seen home movies. The documentary will be released as a three-disc set on DVD and Blu-ray on April 30. Packaged with the set will be Eagles Live at the Capital Centre – March 1977, a disc featuring performances culled from the band’s two-night stand in Washington, D.C., during the Hotel California tour.
History of the Eagles Tour dates:
7/6 Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
7/7 Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
7/9 Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
7/11 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
7/15 Ottawa, Ontario – Scotiabank Place
7/16 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
7/18 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
7/19 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
7/22 Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center
7/23 Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
7/25 Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center
Recently we reported that a new studio album from Paul McCartney was in the works. It’s now come to light that producer Mark Ronson worked with McCartney on three songs for the project. “He understands that you're so nervous to be working with Paul McCartney because everyone is," Ronson said, speaking to the Associated Press. "He gives you a lot of leeway, but then at the end of the day you need to deliver the goods." Ronson went on to say collaborating with the legendary former Beatle was like “taking a master class in production.” "He's done every kind of music,” Ronson explained. “He invented the rule book in several different ways. I don't know if [our stuff] is revolutionary, but they're brilliant songs. I just tried to give him a sound he was looking for." McCartney also announced earlier this week that he’ll launch a world tour beginning June 22, in Warsaw, Poland.
The anniversary of U.K. release of Pink Floyd‘s seminal 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon happens this month, and in honor of the occasion, the band is hosting an online event this weekend. For just 24 hours beginning at 7:01 p.m. ET this Saturday, the record will stream from beginning to end via the band’s official website. As the album is streaming, fans will have the chance to Tweet messages and photos that will alter a special moon on the website.
Here’s how it works: Fans may tweet their messages using the hashtag #DarkSide40, and the messages will cause a part of the moon up at PinkFloyd.com to darken. On top of that hoopla, a few new takes on artist Storm Thorgerson’s famous prism design on The Dark Side of the Moon's cover will also be revealed each day via the website through this Sunday. In the end, all of the new designs will be united to create a digital poster for fans to download.
Where were you when you first heard Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album? Tell us your stories in the comments section below!
Slash is Back! by Anne Erickson,posted Mar 21 2013 1:36PM
Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is always full of creativity, and he’s ready to take his latest round of musical ideas into the studio. Slash tweeted out a special message on Wednesday (March 20) to tell fans that he’s back in the studio, writing and recording songs for his upcoming solo album, which will once again include his backup group Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.
Slashtweeted, “Started the demo process for the next S/M & the Conspirators record last night; lots of material to work up. It's going 2 be good. iiii]; )’”
As for the rest of 2013, in addition to recording the new album, Slash is slated to kick back into touring mode in May with a full slate of tour dates and festival shows.
Def Leppard start their Las Vegas residency VIVA Hysteria! on Friday, and have released a newly-recorded version of “Hysteria,” the title track and hit single from their 1987 album of the same name.
Def Leppard will perform 11 shows at The Joint between March 22 and April 13. They’ll play the Hysteria album in full, in addition to a greatest hits segment.
The new single is the latest song re-recorded by the band, who explained their reasoning in recent interviews.
“It was, well, let’s just say a sensible business decision on our part,” Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott told MTV. “How can I put this politely? We were having a major disagreement with our ex-record label about the digital rights for our back catalog. We couldn’t come to a mutual understanding that seemed fair for both sides.
“So we finally just decided to re-record all our hits. We started with “Sugar” and “Rock of Ages,” and I think we did a pretty good job. It’s hard work trying to recreate something you did 30 years ago.”
The first ever Jimi Hendrix store is opening in London in April. The “pop-up store” is temporary, and will mark the release of the “new” Hendrix album People, Hell and Angels.
The store will be open from April 1-12 at 8 Ganton Street, London, just off the world-famous Carnaby Street. Customers will be able to buy Jimi CDs, DVDs and merchandise. Guitarists will be able to test gear and play along with classic Jimi music. There is also a photography exhibition from Gered Mankowitz, who captured some of the most iconic Jimi images. Mankowitz will also do a signing-session (April 6) for new prints of his famous work.
Janie L. Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix’s sister and President/CEO of Experience Hendrix, will also appear at the store (April 1), signing copies of the new book Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Lyric Book. Follow #HendrixCarnaby on Twitter to keep up to date.
The Beatles’ John Lennon and George Harrison have received a Blue Plaque in London. The commemoration was at 94 Baker Street, the site of the Apple Boutique clothing shop, which was owned in the 1960s by the band’s company Apple Corps Ltd.
A plaque to Lennon was already on the site, but has now been replaced with one that also remembers Harrison, who died in 2001.
The plaque was unveiled by Rod Davis, the banjo player in Lennon's first band, The Quarrymen, who formed in 1956 and would later become The Silver Beatles, then The Beatles.
Blue Plaques on historically-significant buildings are awarded by the cultural organization English Heritage. But English Heritage only honor people who have died, which is why Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr do not feature.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, Rod Stewart will release an album of all new material. The album, Time, will hit the streets on May 7th, with the first single being, "She Makes Me Happy," available now.
Stewart told Rolling Stone that his creative energy was revived during the process of reviewing material for his recently published memoir. The singer said he found himself “getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down…” Eventually, he had an album’s worth of material.
A preview of the upcoming album can be heard in the video below:
With their successful Clockwork Angels tour well underway, Alex Lifeson of Rush recently told Guitar World magazine that things were not always so upbeat. When recalling the band’s Caress of Steel tour he said, “We were already extremely in debt, and it was just getting worse and worse. The crowds were getting smaller and there didn’t seem to be much interest in the album at the time. Everybody around was concerned about what the future was going to be. So there was a lot of reflection. I thought, Well, you know, I guess I could be a plumber again if I had to…”
The band persevered despite the dwindling support. Eventually, they struck a production deal with Mercury label and the band itself became “responsible for delivering the record, the artwork — everything — in its completed form. It was really up to us. But they [Mercury] did lament the fact that we seemed to no longer have the same interests as we had initially. And they were concerned about that. Of course they were concerned about that—they had invested a lot of money and time and effort in us. And they wanted only what was best for the band, which was for us to make them a lot of money! And that’s fine. They’re a business and that’s what they do. I get it. That’s okay. Truthfully, I think it lit a fire under us.”
The album delivered, of course, was the groundbreaking conceptual epic, 2112. Fans responded positively to the music and lyrics, garnering the band larger and larger audiences at time when the fate of the band was at stake. The rest is history.
It appears that guitar master Eddie Van Halen will make a guest appearance on rapper LL Cool J's upcoming album Authentic. Eddie posted a picture on Twitter of him and LL Cool J sitting infront of a mixing console, with the simple message "Authentic 4.30.13." It is not yet known what track Eddie Van Halen will be playing on. Other guest artists include Tom Morello, and Travis Barker, who both guest on the track "Whaddup." This would not be Eddie Van Halen's first cross-over appearance, having played the guitar solo on Michael Jackson's classic hit "Beat It."
In related news, Van Halen manager Irving Azoff has denied that there was any truth to the comments made by David Lee Roth on the Opie & Anthony Radio Show regarding a possible European tour for Van Halen later this year.
David Coverdale is kicking around ideas for a possible new Whitesnake album following the success of Forevermore.
In an interview with Metalshrine, Coverdale says he's been talking with co-producers Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre about the band's next move. "I wanna do an unplugged record, and we're still talking about it," Coverdale says. "Believe me, I would love the challenge to go further than Forevermore, because Doug and I and the band are so up for that. It's just taking a whole [expletive] year to write new songs and quality songs, because we're very critical.
Coverdale says his days on the road, while not exactly numbered, are certainly becoming less frequent as he continues journeying down this road called 'life.' "My last long tour was in 2011, and you're gonna see shorter ones now and I wanna make sure I have the physical energy and power to be able to present shows as people wanna see me," he says. "If I commit to a nine-month tour, I don't think I'm gonna be able to deliver. I'm 61 years old and I'm in great shape, but I'm still 61 years old."
For now though, there are two live albums on the way (Live In Japan and Live In Britain), and Forevermore is the gift that keeps on giving. A limited-edition box set is due at Christmas, featuring "everything Forevermore-related plus outtakes, alternate mixes, acoustic versions of songs [and] behind-the-scenes footage. Forevermore is an extraordinary jewel in the Whitesnake catalog. It's still got legs, as they say. It's still selling significant records."
Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters has given the keynote speech at the South by South West (SXSW) music festival, Texas. Grohl spoke at length of his life and career, revealing that he had doubts in the early days of Nirvana when Kurt Cobain aspired to be “the biggest band in the world.”
“How Kurt even thought we could make a ripple in this mainstream world of polished pop music was beyond me,” Grohl recalled. According to the NME, Grohl also described himself as “lost and numb” after Cobain's death. “The music I had devoted my life to had now betrayed me. I turned off the radio, I put away my drums,” he reflected.
Grohl also brought his Sound City supergroup to the event, with John Fogerty joined him onstage for a rendition of “Proud Mary.”
Grohl also provided an update on the next Foo Fighters album, which he has described as being “unconventional.” He declined to provide any specifics on when fans could expect to hear the record - the band have only just begun writing new material.
Grohl’s Sound City documentary movie is out now on download, or for streaming.
Billie Joe Armstrong is adding a punk yet Beatle-esque twist to the England’s Elizabethan era – he is writing songs for a modernized version of the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. The Green Day guitarist and frontman will compose original material for a 2014 production by the Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut.
Due in March 2014, These Paper Bullets will take Shakespeare's play and reimagine it in modern England. The Yale Rep say of the production: “Meet the Quartos. Ben, Claude, Balth, and Pedro. Their fans worship them. Scotland Yard fears them. And their former drummer will stop at nothing to destroy them. Can these fab four from Liverpool find true love in London and cut an album in seven nights? These Paper Bullets is a rocking and rolling version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with a serious backbeat.”
It’s not Armstrong’s first venture into stage music. The Berkeley Repertory Theater worked with the singer on an adaptation of Green Day’s album American Idiot, premiering the show in 2009. It later moved to Broadway, making $40m. There were recently reports that the American Idiot production is being turned into a Hollywood film.
Armstrong is not giving up his day job, though. Green Day play at 2013’s SXSW festival.
Joe Walsh is working with Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Keb Mo’, Jeff Beck bassist Tal Wilkenfeld and more. On what, exactly, Walsh isn’t yet saying but he’s posted a Facebook photo of him and the others, simply saying: “Cooking up something here at Capitol Records. I think you’ll like it.”
Also in the photo are producer Don Was, keyboardist Mike Finnegan, and legendary drummer Jim Keltner. Walsh has also posted a photo of himself with legendary soul singer/songwriter Bill Withers.
Bassist Wilkenfeld has provided the strongest clue this a serious new project. She posted, “Thursdays in the office are usually pretty mellow. Like today… when I wrote a song with Bill Withers, Mick Jagger, Keb Mo & Joe Walsh. LOL.”
Bob Seger is known for his live show, but the Michigan musician says he might take a step back from touring soon. Seger, who just launched his latest North American tour with his Silver Bullet Band, says he’s “definitely nearing the end” of his touring days, according to Canada’s QMI Agency.
“I can’t see myself doing this when I’m 70,” said Seger, 67. “I’ve had a wonderful, wonderful run and my audiences have just kept coming and it’s really nice but all good things have come to an end.”
The rocker is currently working on a new studio release, which means he might be forced to head out on the road again soon, delaying his retirement plans. “If [the album does well], then we might tour another year,” he said. “We'll see.”
To find Seger’s latest tour dates, head to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s official website.
David Bowie’s wife, Iman, has dropped a strong hint that the veteran rocker may indeed tour behind his new comeback album, The Next Day. Speaking to the UK publication, Grazia, Iman alluded to that possibility with this statement: “We have a 12 year old in school, so we are stuck, we can't travel. Our schedule is around her, so I don't know. We'll have to go visit him, but we won't be on tour with him because she's in school.”
Speculation about whether or not Bowie will tour has been rampant since news of the album broke. Producer Tony Visconti has said Bowie is “fairly adamant” about not hitting the road; on the other hand, Bowie guitarist Gerry Leonard has placed the odds at “50/50.” Iman also talked about the loyalty of Bowie’s collaborators, who maintained a code of silence during the making of The Next Day. “Everyone asks, 'How did he keep it so quiet?'” she said. “But they were loyal to his vision [when he asked if] they just keep it under wraps until it was released. They were just happy he was working on something and it's just great to hear him.”
Van Halen has refuted David Lee Roth’s recent assertion that the band will perform “probably 50, 60 shows” in Europe starting later this year. As reported by Rolling Stone, the manager for Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen indicated Roth’s comments simply weren’t true. “Nothing's been discussed yet," said manager Irving Azoff. "Why would he say this? Hey, Dave's a talkative guy. Why don't you call and ask him?" Azoff went on to say the band’s performance schedule remains currently limited to two April festival dates with Billy Joel in Australia, three June dates in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, and a headlining gig at the Rock USA festival in July in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Asked if a broader tour was a possibility, he replied, “Not unless something special comes up. It certainly won't be a tour of Europe."
Bob Dylan has become the first rock artist to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Officials in the Academy inducted Dylan as an honorary member, saying they couldn’t decide whether it was his words or his music that warranted his membership in the prestigious honor society. “The board of directors considered the diversity of his work and acknowledged his iconic place in the American culture," said executive director Virginia Dajani, speaking to the Associated Press. "Bob Dylan is a multi-talented artist whose work so thoroughly crosses several disciplines that it defies categorization." Other honorary members of the Academy include Woody Allen, Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese.
Dylan has already accepted his membership – a condition of his being voted through – but his manager had no comment on whether he would attend the induction ceremony in May.
There has been a lot of speculation as to whether the Rolling Stones would follow up their anniversary gigs from last year with a full scale tour. If a tour does indeed happen it will be the band's first since their A Bigger Bang tour that ended in 2007. Now Rolling Stone magazine qoute a concert business source who says that the band will play 18 concerts in North America this year. The magazine also quote another source who says "May 2nd is the launch day. I've heard West Coast cities – L.A. And Seattle. But I think they're going to do some back East as well."
According to Kasabian guitarist Serge Pizzorno, the Stones will perform in the UK as well. Pizzorno told MTV News UK when answering the question if his band's performance at Hard Rock Calling this year would be the most talked about event: "I hope ours is the most talked about performance of the weekend, but that would be a miracle because The Rolling Stones are playing Glastonbury." It seems we all just have to wait and see, but it certainly is looking more and more like we might get one more chance to see the Stones live while they're still healthy enough to tour.
Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil is currently laid up in hospital in Sydney, Australia after surgery to remove kidney stones — but in true Crüe style he plans to be onstage soon.
The band were forced to cut short their set in Sydney on Sunday night during their tour with Thin Lizzy and KISS. After Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Tommy Lee and Mick Mars performed their solo sections and the band finished off with Live Wire.
Neil was then rushed straight to hospital. Sources say he'd been doubled over in pain before the show the previous night too.
Neil checked in on Twitter after his operation to let fans know he's alright. "Just out of surgery," he wrote. "Spent night in hospital probably have to again tonight. Thank you all for the kind words and prayers. Doc says I should have a full recovery and be back onstage for the Brisbane show tomorrow. Thanks to my bandmates and crew for your support!"
Legendary Gibson guitarists Peter Frampton and B.B. King will play the Musikfest stage this summer in Bethlehem, PA. The two musicians will share the Sands Steel Stage on August 5 as part of Frampton's Guitar Circus project. Read more at Musikfest.org.
Also featured in the Guitar Circus appearance will be guitarist Sonny Landreth, whom Eric Clapton calls “probably the most underestimated musician on the planet and also probably one of the most advanced.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Jack White has been talking about his desire to make old blues legends heard. White’s Nashville-based Third Man label has teamed-up with Scottish-based archive label Document. This month, White's label begin releasing out-of-print selections from Document’s mammoth back catalog of 1920s and 1930s Mississippi delta blues – what they both call “vital, breathtaking recordings; the building blocks and DNA of American culture. Blues, gospel, R&B, soul, Elvis, teenagerism and punk rock." It’s all being released on vinyl.
White recalls that his peers in his Detroit neighborhood listened to chart music and the grunge/rap music of the early ‘90s. The future White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather musician grew up in a house with six older brothers and three older sisters, and was subjected to country music and rock'n'roll.
"Then someone died, and their family sold their entire blues collection to a Detroit record store," he remembers. "They were all numbered, in the corner. I got there a coupla days late. A lot of the better records had gone, so I got to buy a lot of records I'd never seen before, by Tommy Johnson, Blind Boy Fuller, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie McTell and all these people. I bought as many as I could – 30, 40 of them."
He continues, "I could learn so much about songwriting and the blues from those records. So I did whatever I could to get hold of that stuff."
The first releases on White’s Third Man Label in collaboration with Document’s archive are by Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell and the Mississippi Sheiks.
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is to get his own exhibition. On June 12, the Grammy Museum will open its doors to “Ringo: Peace And Love” - “the first major exhibition to explore the life of Ringo Starr.”
Ringo's exhibition will feature drum kits he played on at Shea Stadium and The Ed Sullivan Show, and his iconic Sgt Pepper suit. It will also include the cape he wore in Help and the red jacket he donned during The Beatles' final performance on the Apple building rooftop, along with personal and unpublished photographs and artifacts.
“Ringo: Peace and Love” will incorporate an interactive component where visitors can take a virtual lesson from the legendary drummer.
Bizarrely, Paul McCartney remains the only Beatle not to be honored with a dedicated Grammy Museum exhibition.
Scott Weiland says he’s definitely still the frontman of Stone Temple Pilots, in spite of a statement that the band sent out earlier this week saying they have “officially terminated” him as their singer.
“There are some issues that have to be worked out with STP,” Weiland told SPIN. “But they’re the same issues that have been going on since the end of the last tour. Nobody in the band can be fired. No one’s ever fired anybody, and no one's ever quit the band.”
Weiland added that the note from the band hurt him on a personal level. “[STP] really have been together a long time, and I'm proud of that,” he said. “I really do like those guys, and it hurts my feelings when we aren’t getting along, because I view them as family.”
In other Weiland news, the singer is currently on the road playing STP tracks with his new solo gig, the Wildabouts.
What’s your favorite STP track? Let us know in the comments section below!
Greg Lake admits prog-rock became overblown, but his pioneering work in King Crimson and Emerson Lake & Palmer nonetheless remains a deep source of pride. “It was a very strange thing to hear a rock band taking their influences from European music, as King Crimson did,” Lake tells Rolling Stone, in a new interview. “I mean, I didn't sing with a mid-Atlantic accent. I sang with a British accent. The music of King Crimson was almost exclusively based on more European structures. It wasn't the three-minute single. It wasn't basic blues-riff music.”
Lake also reiterated his longstanding antipathy toward ‘70s punk music. “Punk is not a form of music,” he said. “It's a fashion statement. If you wanna talk about real punk music, you've gotta look at people like The Who, The Rolling Stones . . . the people who initially had that kind of punk attitude, that right-up-in-your-face thing. But they had a form of music to go along with it. This sort of thrashing away on a chord and just screaming abuse through a microphone doesn't constitute art to me.”
Speaking of The Who, Lake recalled fondly his work with the band on their 2004 song, “Real Good Looking Boy.” “It's a funny business playing with Pete and Roger,” Lake revealed. “At the time, their regular bassist, Pino Palladino, was on tour with Simon and Garfunkel. That's how I wound up doing it. Pete and Roger are a very interesting couple. [Laughs] I use that word because they are like a married couple.”
It’s hard to believe, but 25 years have passed since R.E.M. first unleashed their major label debut to the world, Green. In celebration of the milestone, the alternative rock guys have announced that they’ll release a special deluxe reissue of the album on May 14.
The set, called Green: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, will feature two discs that pack a remastered version of the original release, plus an album offering 21 live performances that were recorded at R.E.M’s November 10, 1989 show in Greensboro, N.C.
In addition, the guys will be releasing a limited edition EP on Record Store Day, which falls on April 20 this year, called Live in Greensboro. The EP offers five live performances from the same Greensboro show that won’t come with the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, including “Strange,” “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry),” “Feeling Gravity's Pull,” “King of Birds” and “I Remember California.”
Van Halen has a pretty busy touring schedule this year, which includes gigs in Australia in April and Japan in June, but according to bass player Wolfgang Van Halen, new music may also be a part of the band’s 2013 plans.
As the story goes, Wolfgang recently told Billboard, that he actually helped bring his dad Eddie, uncle Alex and lead singer David Lee Roth back together to fashion tracks for the group’s 2012 reunion album, A Different Kind of Truth, and that process kind of put the guys “into the mindspace of when they wrote” those songs. Moreover, he says that there’s more old material out there to resurrect, plus “some new stuff that we’ve been working on, too.” While that’s not a definitive answer whether the guy will record the new music, it’s a start.
When he’s not rocking out with his dad, Wolfgang is playing bass for Mark Tremonti’s band, and he recently officially joined the project. He’s also involved in the writing process for Tremonti’s next album.
“Van Halen is definitely the priority, but whenever Van Halen isn't doing anything, I treat this as another band I’m legitimately in,” he said. “I’m really excited to be on the next record and have some sort of influence on the writing.”
Lenny Kravitz is no longer set to portray Marvin Gaye in the long-awaited biopic about the late American soul singer. As reported by Deadline Hollywood, the lead role for the film, titled Sexual Healing, will now be filled by Law & Order alumnus Jesse L. Martin. Kravitz had been announced to star in the biopic last November. Soon afterwards, Gaye’s son, Marvin Gaye III, criticized the choice and threatened legal action if Kravitz did not drop out. Martin, who’s in the current season of the NBC series Smash, has a musical background, having been an original cast member in the Broadway musical, Rent. Filming for Sexual Healing is set to begin later this month in Europe. The script is said to focus on Gaye’s life in the ‘80s, at a time when the singer was reviving his career with help from British promoter Freddy Cousaert. Julien Temple, who’s manned the camera for films about the Sex Pistols and Joe Strummer, is the director.
Guitar legend Alvin Lee of Ten Years After has died of complications after routine surgery, reports BBC News. He was 68.
The British guitarist shot to worldwide attention with a staggering Woodstock performance in 1969.
Lee talked to Guitar World about his ‘Big Red’ ES-335 just last year. “I've still got the original Woodstock 335, but, sadly, I don’t use it these days as it has become too valuable. She’s now in a vault since some loony offered me half a million dollars for her.
Alvin Lee’s family announced the sad news on his website, saying: "We have lost a wonderful and much loved father and companion, the world has lost a truly great and gifted musician."
Noel Gallagher believes there’s a lesson to be learned from the way David Bowie staged his recent return to making music. In a new interview with New Musical Express, Gallagher says Bowie’s new album serves notice that established artists shouldn’t be so quick to trade on past glories. “It's great to hear his voice singing something new,” says Gallagher. “The more you hear [the single] 'Where Are We Now?,' the better it gets. The video's mad – like his cat directed it."
Gallagher said Bowie’s comeback “blew his mind,” adding that it strengthened his [Gallagher’s] resolve against the idea that bands should reunite to perform their “oldies.” “If you had turned on the news and it had said, 'David Bowie is to do a series of concerts next year,' everyone would have gone, 'Oh great, can't wait, that's it, let's talk about something else,’” Gallagher said. “But we're still talking about that song. New music and records rule, but reunions for gigs [don’t]."
You can never have too many supergroups right? The latest one feature Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan. Along with Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin the trio is looking for several singers to record both new and old material they've written.
“Duff and Barrett and I got together. We wrote some new stuff and we took some of those old Mad Season demos from that [unreleased] second Disinformation record, so we are trying to find something to do with those,” McCready told Billboard. “We're talking to Jaz [Coleman] from Killing Joke and I've been trying to find some singers to work on some of that stuff.”
McCready and Martin played together in the grunge supergroup Mad Season, which featured late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley, while Martin and McKagan have the band Walking Papers together. Martin talked about the trio's new material to Billboard: “I had a whole bunch of song ideas and Mike had a whole bunch of song ideas and Duff had a whole bunch of song ideas that were not making it into Walking Papers. We decided that we would go into the studio and record them. Right now they're being sent out to different singers. Mike and Duff are overseeing that because they know everybody.”
There is no release date, let alone a band name, as of yet. According to Martin, it mainly depends on finding the right singers for the project: “As the different singers finish their songs and turn them in, that will determine when they get put out.”
Read Gibson.com’s exclusive 2011 interview with Duff McKagan here.
Classic Rock report that Kansas are getting ready for a one-off reunion with original members Kerry Livgren, Dave Hope and Robby Steinhardt. The event is set to take place on August 17 in Pittsburgh, PA. Drummer Phil Ehart says the band chose Pittsburgh because "Pittsburgh and the whole state of Pennsylvania discovered the band first. We came here in the early days and it was like our home from home."
The concert will be a two-part event, starting with Kansas performing together with a 35-piece symphony orchestra. After intermission the band will return to play some of their classic tunes. Says Ehart "We do a symphony set then we do a regular set. And in the meantime we have Dave, Kerry and Robby playing on different songs with the current band throughout the whole show. We’ve got some great stuff planned for the intermission too – it’s gonna rock."
The event is in celebration of the band's 40th anniversary. There has been no mention of them taking all original members out on tour, but who knows what happens if the gig in Pittsburgh is a success?
Tommy Lee has explained his current refusal to participate in band meet-and-greet sessions while on tour in Australia.
Lee says, "For those of you that are asking why I am not doing anymore meet and greets: It's got nothing to do with me not wanting to meet the fans, I just don't agree with doing it under the certain given circumstances. I love u all and I'll gladly high five y'all if I see u out n about - and u won't have to pay me for that." We'll point out that he capped off that last sentence with a winky-face emoticon. He then followed that message up by tweeting 'Virtual high 5's for all!'
Lee seems to be missing the grittiness and realness of Mötley Crüe’s early days. A few days ago he tweeted a series of messages:
"How to kill a vibe in 1.2 secs! Whip out your [expletive] cell, turn the flash on too or shoot video with the light on the whole time! It's not the pictures that bother me! It's the boring [expletive] standing there taking pics and not being in the moment of what's happening!"
And he has a point: why spend all that money on a concert ticket if you're going to view it through your cellphone screen instead of enjoying it? It's not like cellphone videos are even high enough quality to justify the robbing yourself of the memory of the experience in the aim of recording a memento of it. I'm with Tommy on this one.
The band is currently touring Australia with Thin Lizzy and KISS. KISS fans on this tour will have the option of paying for various meet & greet packages, including ones where they get to purchase Paul Stanley's stage-used microphone or stage-smashed guitar, and another where they can attend a lunch and speaking engagement featuring Gene Simmons.
Everything about David Bowie's forthcoming album The Next Day is a surprise, from the announcement of its very existence to its controversial cover art to the astounding secrecy surrounding its creation. Now Bowie has pulled off the ultimate 'gotcha,' streaming the album for free in its entirety on iTunes weeks ahead of its release.
The album is streaming for free from now until its release date. Go check it out!
A few of us media folk here in Melbourne, Australia were treated to a preview last week before the stream was announced and it's classic Bowie, blending parts Scary Monsters and Heroes with scatterings of other Bowie eras as well: elements of Heathen and Reality, a dash of Let's Dance, even hints of Tin Machine and 1.Outside. The two songs that have been released as singles so far aren't really a clear indication of the rest of the album.
So will Bowie tour? Who knows? Rumors vary from "It's 50/50 as to whether he'll tour," to "Maybe a show in New York and one in London" to "No." But knowing Bowie, that means he'll probably do the opposite of what everyone expects and show up busking on a street corner or on someone's porch for an afternoon set some day.
First there was an unsuccessful attempt to name an airport after Ozzy Osbourne in his hometown of Birmingham in England. Now an Australian woman has launched a campaign to have Ozzy knighted.
First of all, it's not so unusual for an Aussie to be concerned with such matters, since Australia is part of the Commonwealth and therefore under the dominion of the Queen, who would be conferring the honor upon Osbourne should the petition reach receptive royal ears. Secondly, Ozzy is set to visit the antipodes in June when Black Sabbath plays their first shows on Australian soil since the 1970s. So maybe the founder of the petition, Helen Maidotis, is hoping for an audience with the prospective Sir Osbourne to discuss the campaign.
"Ozzy has been an inspiration to many great musicians over the last 40 years," Maidiotis says. "He has taken a lot of young musicians under his wing along the way, from the late and great Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde and many others. He is a credit to his country and I believe that a knighthood for Ozzy is one well deserved and long overdue."
At time of publication the petition had 201 signatures. You can follow the petition's progress at Causes.com and its official Facebook page, The Knighthood Of Ozz.
A basic pencil doodle drawn by Paul McCartney when he was a teenager has fetched £3,764 (approximately $5658) at auction.
The sketches, done by the Beatle during the late 1950s when he was studying at the Liverpool Institute High School For Boys, was sold by PFC Auctions on 28 February amid a flurry of last minute bids.
The drawings, multiple faces showing different expressions on a single sheet of paper, are rendered in pencil. The “piece” is 12.5” x 8” and in good condition, with the exception of a small tear in the bottom right hand corner.
McCartney won a prize at the age of 14 for a drawing he did of St Aidan's church on the Speke, Liverpool, housing estate where he lived, though the unschooled artist has said, “I felt that only people who had gone to art college were allowed to paint.” McCartney’s ink drawing of an idea provided the inspiration for the artwork for the Sgt Pepper album cover. In 1999, his visual work was displayed in a solo exhibition, Paul McCartney: Paintings, in Germany.
A couple have been arrested in Cleveland, Ohio, after an argument over rock guitarists Slash and Eddie Van Halen escalated out of control.
Cleveland.com reports that the unnamed pair were staying in Motel 6 in the city’s Brook Park suburb and having an obviously “lively” discussion about rock music. The man believed Slash was the better guitarist while the woman felt Van Halen was the man.
After a time their discussion became a heated argument and staff were forced to call Brook Park police. On being interviewed by officers the couple agreed to calm down – but a database check revealed they both had outstanding warrants in other locations and so they were both arrested.
Weird. There’s only one question that now needs answering. Who is better? Slash or Eddie Van Halen? Discuss – and no fighting!
An early version of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and Metallica performing with Marianne Faithfull could be destroyed if not claimed. The recordings are among a slew of tapes from the old Windmill Lane recording studios near Dublin, still looking for a home. Windmill Lane is famous for its use by U2. The Rolling Stones, Status Quo, Kate Bush, R.E.M and Elvis Costello have also recorded there.
The Irish Times reports more than 1,000 tapes, weighing a ton, which are filling up the attic in the new Windmill Lane studios in Ringsend, Dublin, are waiting to be reclaimed by the artists or recording companies that recorded them.
The two-inch multitrack tapes date from the days before digital technology took over; the new studio plans to begin destroying the tapes in May if they remain unclaimed.
Jack White is immersed in writing new songs for the follow-up to Blunderbuss, the solo album he released last year. Speaking to Rolling Stone, White said he’s working on 20 to 25 tracks that span a wide range of styles. “[They’re] definitely not one sound,” he said. “It's definitely several. Like you heard in Blunderbuss, there's many different styles there. I don't pick my style and then write a song. I just write whatever comes out of me, and whatever style it is is what it is, and it becomes something later. Someone else can label it if they want to, but as it's being written and recorded I'm just trying to service the song as best as possible."
White also alluded to a number of other projects brewing at his label, Third Man Records. “I could work 24 hours a day at Third Man if I wanted to,” he said. “There's so much going on … so many amazing things that are going to come out in the next few months. I just look at it like one step at a time and I don't think too far ahead.”
The Stone Temple Pilots have parted ways with lead singer Scott Weiland. Yesterday (Feb. 27), the band issued a succinct statement on their website that reads: “Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland. No further information is available at this time.” Weiland was apparently stunned by the news.
The singer posted the following statement on his Facebook page: “I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press. Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing all of my fans on my solo tour which starts this Friday.”
Weiland’s tour is expected to focus almost exclusively on material from the first two STP albums.
The Eagles have announced the initial run of dates for their much-anticipated “History of the Eagles” tour. The trek kicks off July 6 in Louisville, Kentucky, and includes eleven shows scheduled through July 25. The tour is being staged in conjunction with the documentary, History of the Eagles, which debuted on Showtime last month. The career-spanning film offers an intimate look into the legacy of the band via archival materials, concert footage and never-before-seen home movies. The documentary will be released as a three-disc set on DVD and Blu-ray on April 30. Packaged with the set will be Eagles Live at the Capital Centre – March 1977, a disc featuring performances culled from the band’s two-night stand in Washington, D.C., during the Hotel California tour.
Recently we reported that a new studio album from Paul McCartney was in the works. It’s now come to light that producer Mark Ronson worked with McCartney on three songs for the project. “He understands that you're so nervous to be working with Paul McCartney because everyone is," Ronson said, speaking to the 
The anniversary of U.K. release of 
Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters has given the keynote speech at the South by South West (SXSW) music festival, Texas. Grohl spoke at length of his life and career, revealing that he had doubts in the early days of Nirvana when Kurt Cobain aspired to be “the biggest band in the world.”
A basic pencil doodle drawn by Paul McCartney when he was a teenager has fetched £3,764 (approximately $5658) at auction.
An early version of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and Metallica performing with Marianne Faithfull could be destroyed if not claimed. The recordings are among a slew of tapes from the old Windmill Lane recording studios near Dublin, still looking for a home. Windmill Lane is famous for its use by U2. The Rolling Stones, Status Quo, Kate Bush, R.E.M and Elvis Costello have also recorded there.
