Chris Cornell remembered with charity & Linkin Park Singer Dead
Written by Sandra MillerChris Cornell was remembered today, on what would have been his 53rd birthday, by something he was passionate about - helping kids. The Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation announced that they have partnered with Seattle nonprofit Childhaven to create a music therapy program in Chris's memory. The program will help trauma-affected children. Vicky Cornell said, "Chris and I always shared a stron belief in the healing and inspiring power of music. And through Childhaven's establishment of this program, we are able to keep teh promise for Chris by continuing to protect the world's most vulnerable children."
Linkin Park Frontman, Chester Bennington, was found dead in his home this morning by an apparent suicide by hanging. Benninhton died on what would have been Chris Cornell's 53rd birthday. He was close friends with Cornell, and even sang at his funeral. Chester Bennington was 41, and is survived by six children and his wife, Talinda.
Fleetwood Mac making MusiCares history & Zakk Wylde is coming
Written by Sandra MillerEvery year the Recording Acadeny honors an individual musician as the MusiCares Person of the Year - but for the first time ever, the 2018 honoree won't be a person, but a band. Fleetwood Mac will be celebrated with a star-studded concert gala during Grammy Week on January 26th at Radio City Music Hall in New York. They're being recognized for their career achievements and charitable efforts, including their longtime support of MusicCares. The gala benefits the MusiCares Foundation, which provides medical, financial and personal assistance to in-need music community members.
Zakk Wylde is heading out on the road for a three-week tour with his Black Sabbath tribute band, Zakk Sabbath. Look for them to pull into the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on September 28th.
Fun Pink Floyd Factoid & Kiss Goes To The Windy City
Written by Sandra MillerIn a recent interview with actress Naomi Watts (King Long, The Ring, Twin Peaks - 2017) she revealed a new bit of Pink Floyd history. Her father, Peter Watts, was the band's sound engineer until 1974. Unfortunately, he died of a heroin overdose in 1976 at the age of 31. Naomi says she has old photos of her parents on the beach in St. Tropez, and when her died died the band gave her mother a little bit of money to help her out until she got back on her feet. It's Peter Watts that you hear laughing in "Brain Damage" and you can hear him talking in "Speak To Me." His picture is also on the back cover on Ummagumma - he's the guy on the right.
Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley of KISS are opening a bunch of their Rock & Brews restaurants in Chicago. They're looking to open the first Chicago location next year with an additional 10-15 in the area over the next 5-7 years. Their ultimate plan is to have around 100 locations across the U.S. in the next 5 years.
Graham Nash is playing tiny venues on his solo tour... including Cleveland
Written by Sandra MillerGraham Nash just kicked off a tour to support his lastest album, This Path Tonight, which came out last year. He's playing in small little venues across the United States and he's loving it. He says these intimate shows allow him to see the faces he's playing to and see their reaction to the music. It's up close & personal, not just for the fans but to him as well. Another thing he's enjoying is the freedom with the setlist each night. It's just him on a stage with no one else's opinion about what songs to play. Of course he'll play the staples the audience loves, but this gives him a chance to polish off some gems that never get played when he tours with CSN, or CSNY. You can catch Graham Nash when he plays Cleveland's Music Box Supper Club on September 19th. Tickets and info can be found at http://www.musicboxcle.com/event/graham-nash-sep19/.
The long in the works movie about Queen and Freddie Mercury is getting closer to a reality. A casting call has been put out for movie, which Brian May and Roger Taylor are executive producing. The biopic is called Bohemian Rhapsody, and they're looking for Londoners that would like to be a part of it. They're looking for men & women with "70' and 80s hair." The film is tentatively scheduled to hit theaters December 2018.
Is it a joke? Kid Rock might be looking to run for Senate in his home state of Michigan next year. There's a site called www.KidRockForSenate.com and when asked about whether it was a hoax, Kid Rock says the website is absolutely real. There's not much to it, but there is a link to his official website to it where you can go to his merch page & pick up some Kid Rock for Senate swag.
According to an exclusive report from the New York Post, Bruce Springsteen is headed to Broadway this fall! A theater sourse says The Boss will start an 8-week engagement at the 975 seat Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City in November, and will be playing 5 shows a week. The shows will be pared-down from his usual gigs for the intimate setting. The Post also points out that this could just be the beginning of something bigger on Broadway for Bruce... perhaps warming things up for a stage musical based on his memoir, Born to Run.
Congratulations to both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Both of them became grandpas (again) on Wednesday. It started off Wednesday morning when Tyler's daughter, Mia, gave birth to 7 pound 11 ounce baby boy. It was Mia's first child, and Tyler's 4th grandchild. Then Wednesday afternoon Joe Perry was passing our cigars as his son Adrian and daughter-n-law Ann gave birth to a 6 pound 9 ounce girl. Unfortunately, the new grandpa's won't have too much time to snuggle their bundles. Aerosmith kicks off an overseas tour next week.
News spread Saturday that the undisputed father of rock and roll, Chuck Berry, had passed away at the age of 90. With hits like "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybelline," "Roll Over Beethoven" and many, many others, Berry took the R&B of the 50's, added some country flair, a little showmanship and created a whole new sound that had no rules, but inspired artists for decades to come. John Lennon once said, "If you were going to rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Chuck Berry is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Themetta "Toddy" Suggs, and his four children Ingrid Berry-Clay, Chuck Berry Jr., Aloha Isa Lei Berry and Melody Exes Berry.
Rockers have taken to social media to express their thoughts:
Mick Jagger: "I am so sad to hear of Chuck Berry's passing. I want to thank him for all the inspirational music he gave to us... he lit up our teenage years, and blew linfe into our dreams of being musicians and performers... His lyrics shone above others and threw a strange light on the American dream.
Chuck you were amazing and your music is engraved inside us forever."
Keith Richards: "One of my big lights has gone out."
Bruce Springsteen: "Chuck Berry was rock's greatest practitioner, guitarist and the greatest pure rock 'n' roll writer who ever lived."
Rod Stewart: It started with Chuck Berry. He inspired us all. The 1st album I bought was Chuck's "Live at the Tivoli" and I was never the same."
John Fogerty: "Great songwriter, great guitar player, great singer. One of a kind. Thank you Mr. Chuck Berry for teaching me how it's done. Hail, hail Rock and Roll! RIP my friend."
Elton John: "The greatest rock & roll songwriter of all time. Thanks for all those wonderful records that will define rock music forever."
Billy Idol: "RIP Chuck Berry. Without him Rock n Roll wouldn't be what it came to be."
Alice Cooper: "Everybody in rock 'n' roll, from The BEatles to Alice Cooper, owes Chuck Berry. We all cut our teeth on Chuck. I learned to write lyrics listening to Chuck Berry songs. In my opinion, he was the greatest rock lyricist of all time. What I loved about him is that if he couldn't think of a word he's just
make one up. His songs include words like 'botheration', 'cooleration'. He was the single greatest influence in rock, and there will never, ever, be another Chuck Berry. He was one of a kind!"
Jimmy Page has been diggin way, way into his vaults over the past several years, and all the way in the back he's found an entire albums worth of material he recorded back in 1961. Five years before he joined The Yardbirds, and seven years before he starting Led Zeppelin, Page was in the studio recoeding demos for Chris Farlowe and te Thunderbirds. The Beginning will be released on April 30th in a CD plus-vinyl-LP package and a deluxe limited edition signed by himself and Farlowe. You can pre-order it now or buy it once it comes out at JimmyPage.com. There's also a little snippet from the ablum there for you to check out.
The setlist for Rock Band VR is out, and as usual, it rocks. The game is set to be released on March 23rd, and this time around it put the player onstage with the band using the Oculus Touch virtuality headset. Some of the over 60 songs featured on the game are;
Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"
Alice In Chains - "Man In The Box"
The Black Keys - "Gold On The Ceiling"
Bon Jovi - "Livin On A Prayer"
Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "Bad Reputation"
The Killers - "When You Were Young"
Megadeth - "Hangar 18"
Oasis - "Champagne Supernova"
Van Halen - "Panama"
More...
U2 sued for stealing material for "Achtung Baby"
Written by Sandra MillerU2 is being sued by songwriter, Paul Rose, for stealing elements of his song "Nae Slappin" for their song "The Fly" off of Achtung Baby. Rose says he shared a demo of his song with Island Records back in 1989. He thinks studio execs played it for U2 and then they ripped him off. He's now looking for $5 million, lawyer fees and a writing credit. Take a listen & see what you think...
Former Yes singer Jon Anderson recently revealed that Geddy Lee of Rush would be playing bass on "Roundabout" in place of the late Chris Squire when he helps induct Yes into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next month. Perhaps he shared something he wasn't supposed to. The Rock Hall always keeps performances underwraps, and after Anderson's comment they issued this statement, "Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were only confirmed to do the induction speech for one of their favorite bands and not perform. They, like all other Yes fans, look forward to honoring them and watching them perform at the induction ceremony on April 7th and the HBO broadcast on April 29th." So... that's not a denial, right?
Speaking of Geddy Lee, his love of baseball hasn't escaped on Esty retailer. They've swapped the outline of late Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew on the Major League logo to an outline of Geddy Lee playing bass with the caption "Major Lee Bassball." You can order yours at https://www.etsy.com/listing/503256330/pre-order-2nd-printing-official-rush-tee?ref=shop_home_feat_3
Classic East & Classic West has a pretty impressive line up
Written by Sandra MillerAccording to a report from Billboard, the lineup for the Classic East & Classic West festivals will include The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire. The concerts will feature the same line up performing one weekend on the East Coast, then another on the West Coast. First up is the Classic West at Dodger Stadium in L.A. on Joly 15th and 16th. Saturday will feature The Eagles, The Doobs and Steely Dan and Sunday's lineup is Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire. The festival then moves to Citi Field in New York on July 29th & 30th. All of the acts are managed by the legendary Irving Azoff, but no one from his camp is confirming any details. The official announcement is expected to made later on this month.
Heart's Ann Wilson is preparing to launch a new U.S. solo tour next month where plans to perform a mix of Heart classics and cover tunes by artists who've influenced her throughout her life. In the spirit of things, Ann has listed off her top 10 favorite live albums that have influenced her.
Harry Belafonte's Grammy-winning 1959 album, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, is at #1. Annsays it was Harry who inspired her to want to hit the stage herself, "When I was a child my parents used to play this. It made me want to perform!".
At #2 is the 1971 Aretha Franklin album Aretha Live at Fillmore West.
#3 is Elton John's memorable first live set, 17-11-70, which Wilson calls is "a fantastic listen!"
The Who's classic 1970 album Live at Leedsrolls in at #4. Ann described it as "The Who on all cylinders."
Checking in at #5 is Deep Purple's Made in Japan, Joni Mitchell's Miles of Aisles at #6, James Brown's Live at the Apollo at #7, Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison at #8, Muse's Live at Rome Olympic Stadium at #9 and Duke Ellington's Ellington at Newport at #10.