Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Led Zeppelin Frontman Vs Media
Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant lost his patience with a mainstream wire service reporter during a press conference in New York yesterday.
The band held the event to promote the release of their new 'Celebration Day' reunion DVD but things took a wrong turn when a Associated Press reporter asked about the DVD possibly leading to something else from the group, Rolling Stone.

When asked if they were thinking about something "bigger" Plant responded, "We've been thinking about all sorts of things and then we can't remember what we were thinking of – schmuck."

RS reports that Plant took another shot at the press. "There are some people in here who are not journalists," he said early on. "There's a masseuse in here who's not a journalist. I think that's ever so exciting." RS reports that was met with "uncomfortable laughter."


Plant later discussed the issue of focusing on the reunion captured on the new DVD and not on the band trying to pull off a reunion tour, "We were so happy we were getting it right and taking it beyond what we thought we were about that night," he said of the O2 gig. "There were moments where we took off ... But the responsibility of doing that four nights a week for the rest of time is a different thing. We're pretty good at what we do but the tail should never wag the dog, really. If we're capable of doing something, in our own time, that will be what will happen. So any inane questions from people who are from syndicated outlets, you should just really think about what it takes to answer a question like that in one second. We know what we've got, you know." Read the RS report here.



Guns N' Roses Putting Together Their 'Next Best Record'
(Classic Rock) Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba says the band's 12-night residency in Las Vegas will provide the kickstart they need to get to work on their next album.

He reports mainman Axl Rose already has a stack of material prepared for the follow-up to 2008′s Chinese Democracy – and all they need is to spend time together to focus on the work.

"[Axl Rose] has tons of stuff done [and] recorded that he's played for me and wants my input on," Ashba tells Rolling Stone and he discussed how the upcoming Vegas residency may produce new music."This is the first time we're all gonna be in the same place for a month solid and that will be, and already has been talked about, our main focus. So I think we're gonna get a lot of done," he says. "There's a lot of stuff recorded and I think it's just a matter of sitting down and working together as a band, putting together what we feel is gonna be the next best Guns N' Roses record. And I can't wait; I'm so excited to dive even deeper into that." more on this story



Between The Buried And Me's Tour Bus Catches Fire
Between The Buried And Me sent over word that their tour bus caught fire Tuesday morning in England. They report that there were no injuries and no equipment was damaged and it will have is no effect on the band's tour.

Tour manager Courtney Warner adds: "As of now, we are at a service area awaiting transportation to a hotel. A new bus is on its way. We shouldn't miss any shows because of this. All gear, luggage, personal items and most importantly, people, are all good. We just stink like smoke."

Between The Buried And Me's new album, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, was released yesterday. more on this story




Band Has Green Day-Like Onstage Meltdown
The Ataris frontman Kristopher Roe reportedly had a Green Day-like onstage meltdown during a concert this weekend.

The band were playing at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ when half-way through the song "Your Boyfriend Sucks," Rowe took his guitar and smashed it into the drumkit and began tossing pieces of the kit off stage, according to Lambgoat.

They report that Roe returned to the microphone and told the fans, "Our drummer's f**king failing tonight... I don't know what the f**king problem is but I'm gonna finish the set by myself."

At that point his bandmates left the stage and he proceeded to play solo, apologizing and calling the performance "f**king embarrasing." Lambgoat has video of the incident as well as the band's apology video here.



Baroness' John Baizley Almost Had Arm Amputated After Bus Crash
(Classic Rock) Baroness guitarist and vocalist John Baizley faced having his arm amputated following the horror accident that saw the band's vehicle plunging 30ft off a bridge.

The drama took place in England in a heavy rainstorm after the bus brakes failed, and put the entire US band and their driver in hospital.

Last week guitarist Baizley, who remains in a wheelchair, recounted the "horrible silent goodbye" he and the driver shared as they realised the crash was inevitable. Now he's revealed a planned three-hour operation lasted nearly three times as long while doctors fought to make sense of the bone fragments remaining in his left arm. more on this story



Rolling Stones Releasing New Song Tomorrow
(hennemusic) The Rolling Stones will release a brand new single, "Doom and Gloom", tomorrow, Thursday October 11th.

The band has announced that the song will receive its world premiere at 8.15am (BST) on BBC Radio 2 before being available to download at digital retailers.

The track is taken from the Stones' forthcoming greatest hits album, "GRRR!" which is due November 12 worldwide (November 13 in North America. more on this story



Underoath Farewell Tour Details
As promised, Underoath have released details about their upcoming farewell tour which is set to take place early next year.

The farewell tour is set to visit nine North American cities starting January 16th and will feature support from their close friends in Mewithoutyou, As Cities Burn and Letlive.

"We're viewing this time as a celebration of the past decade or so as well as a last chance to see and hang out with fans, as well as our friends on the tour," said keyboardist Chris Dudley. "It's the end of an era and we'll be going out on a high note!" more on this story



Metallica Giving Away Orion Fest Download
(hennemusic) In June, Metallica hosted their own Orion Music + More festival at Bader Field in Atlantic City and now the band are offering fans a free download of their 3-song, June 22nd soundcheck for the event.

In addition to more than 30 artists on the bill, Metallica headlined both nights.

On Saturday, June 23rd they played their classic "Ride The Lightning" album in its entirety and, for the first time ever in the U.S., performed the "Black" album on Sunday, June 24. more on this story



Flyleaf Release New Song From Forthcoming Album
Flyleaf have set a October 30th release date for their third studio album, New Horizons and the group have just released the second single from the album, "Call You Out."

"'Call You Out' was one of the first songs written during the New Horizons sessions, commented bass player Pat Seals.

"The stomping opening verse evolved over time into this aggressive but very calculated track that closes with Sameer using chaotic guitar sounds to sort of burn it to the ground - engages you all the way through." more on this story




KISS' Paul Stanley Predicts Analog Revival
KISS founder Paul Stanley spoke with Rolling Stone about the band's new album, Monster, and he discussed their return to analog recording for the effort and how he expects other artists to join KISS and Foo Fighters in returning to the medium.

He tells the magazine: "I have nothing against technology. When technology trumps emotion and feel, when somebody will tell you something is good by looking at a computer screen rather than seeing if they're sweatin' or tapping their foot, I'm out of there. We recorded analog and we sat around with our amps next to us. It was great. It's always exciting when you're doing something without any input from outside sources. Nobody heard the album until it was done. I wasn't interested in what anybody else thought. There were three other guys in the room whose opinions I valued, and that was it.

When asked if expected others to return to analog, he responded: "Yeah, when it becomes clear that people have strayed from what the essence of what we're doing. As a matter of fact, I was talking to Dave Grohl this morning when we dropped our kids off at school. He's doing a documentary [about the studio Sound City], on the great history of it. The music and the people it inspired were recorded on tape. They didn't have pedal boards where you push a button on the right and it gives you cappuccino. Gear that looks like Star Trek isn't what any of our heroes played on. If you can't get a great sound with your guitar plugged into an amp, you need a new guitar or a new amp." Read the Rolling Stone interview here.




Eric Clapton Revisiting Slowhand For 35th Anniversary
(hennemusic) Eric Clapton will commemorate the 35th anniversary of his classic 1977 album, "Slowhand," with a multi-format re-release.

"Slowhand" was recorded at Olympic Studios in South West London in May 1977 and was produced by Glyn Johns. Released in November 1977, "Slowhand" was the most successful album of Clapton's 70s studio recordings, reaching No.2 on the Billboard chart, where it stayed for five weeks before spending a total of seventy-four weeks on the American album chart.

Both the Super Deluxe Edition and Deluxe Edition feature four "Slowhand" session outtakes (three of them previously unreleased): "Looking At The Rain", "Alberta", "Greyhound Bus" and "Stars, Strays And Ashtrays".

A week before the "Slowhand" sessions commenced, the band performed at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The Super Deluxe Edition captures the complete 14 track Hammersmith Odeon, April 27, 1977 concert on two CDs, while the Deluxe Edition features 9 tracks from the Hammersmith Odeon concert. All the details here.



The Black Keys Release New EP
(hennemusic) The Black Keys have released their new digital six-track "Tour Rehearsal Tapes" EP.

The project was recorded in December 2011 prior to the band's tour in support of their latest album, "El Camino."

Available exclusively on iTunes for the first two weeks, the EP features four tracks from "El Camino" and two from their 2010 smash, "Brothers." more on this story



Free Guitarist Paul Kossoff Committed Slow Suicide
(Classic Rock) Free guitarist Paul Kossoff committed a slow suicide as a result of not being able to deal with his acclaim, says bandmate Andy Fraser.

The bassist recalls the harrowing moment he and a Free roadie tried to kidnap Kossoff in an attempt to get him off drugs after the band had split up. Realising he wasn't going to accept their help, the pair were left with no option but to let him continue with his lifestyle choice – and that was the point at which Fraser bade his former colleague goodbye.

Kossoff continued his downward spiral after Free's final split in 1973, and died in 1976 aged 25 while preparing for a tour with his band Back Street Crawler.

Fraser's story is a Classic Rock exclusive excerpt from his book All Right Now: Life, Death and Life Again. Check it out.




Unpublished John Lennon Letter Exposes Paul McCartney Dispute
(Classic Rock) A previously unpublished letter from John Lennon to Paul and Linda McCartney showcases the depth of the former Beatles' dispute in 1971.

In the note Lennon says: " "I hope you realize what s**t you and the rest of my 'kind and unselfish' friends laid on Yoko and me... We both 'rose above it' - & forgave you two - so it's the least you can do for us - you noble people."

"Linda - if you don't care what I say - shut up! - let Paul write - or whatever... I'm not ashamed of the Beatles - (I did start it all) - but of some of the s**t we took to make them so big - I thought we all felt that way in varying degrees - obviously not. Do you really think most of today's art came about because of the Beatles? - I don't believe you're that insane - Paul - do you believe that? [Jam] More rock news.



Alice Cooper Old School Box Set Coming
(Classic Rock) The Alice Cooper band will release Old School, a retrospective box set, on October 29.

The history of shock-rock icon Cooper's band era, which ran from 1964 until 1974, is celebrated in a school desk design containing four CDs and a 60-page school yearbook.

Collectables include demos, pre-production and rehearsal recordings, radio appearances, anecdotes and a live show from 1971. A digital edition will also be on sale. All the details are here.



Meat Loaf Plans Bat Out of Hell Show
Meat Loaf will be performing a special Bat Of Hell Concert later this month as a special stop on the final run of his current Mad, Mad World" North American tour.

The special show will take place on October 24th in Cleveland, Ohio in the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare where he will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the megahit album, Bat Out of Hell.

The final tour run kicks off on October 19th in Prior Lake, MN and is in support of his latest studio album, Hell in a Handbasket. more on this story



University To Look At David Bowie's Cultural Impact
(Classic Rock) The cultural impact of David Bowie is to be discussed by a worldwide panel of academics at the University of Limerick in Ireland later this month.

The three-day event entitled Strange Fascination? A Symposium on David Bowie marks the 40th anniversary of his Changes single.

Co-organiser De Eoin Devereux says: "His ability to reinvent himself, his capacity to capture the zeitgeist of the age in terms of mankind's alienation and his versatility as a singer, performer, artist and actor are just a few of the many reasons Bowie will be examined at our event." [BBC] More rock news.




Dead Sara Hitting The Road With Muse
Dead Sara have reacted to being selected by Muse to be direct support on their 2013 North American tour.

"Muse was a band that we all agreed would be one of the biggest bands that we could tour with out there. Now that we are going on tour with them it is surreal!" says Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara. "We never thought in a million years it would happen like this. We will learn so much watching them every night – we are extremely excited!! 2013 is looking great!"

Dead Sara will be touring in support of their self-titled debut album, which was produced by Noah Shain (Atreyu, As Tall As Lions, Sonny Moore/Skrillex). more on this story



B Sides


Singled Out: David Ralston
Today blues rocker David Ralston tells us about the title track from his latest album "I Don't Care". Here is the story:

This song started out as a rant about things that me and co-writer Kim Middleton got sick of hearing from people, especially girls. So we started listing out all of the stuff we heard from co-workers, friends, family, and chicks that attended shows. We laughed so hard at some of the nonsensical things that people actually care about. Particularly at the type of stuff and things people obsess over such as: Ugg boots, boyfriends bands, drugs of choice, why they are fat, their money, wanting breast implants etc. Then we were like this would be a great idea for a song because you know there are more people who feel exactly the same and the content is certainly universal.

It was at first meant to be kind of a joke but it has taken on its own life and kind of an anthem to some. "I don't care" is powerful statement if you really mean it!! By far the most popular song on this album-probably thanks to the video as well!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself, learn more about the album and watch the video right here!




John Corabi Unplugs Motley Crue
(Classic Rock) John Corabi has released an unplugged version of Hooligan's Holiday, the first single he made as Motley Crue's frontman.

The track is taken from his Unplugged album, which includes six other previously-recorded songs plus five new ones.

Corabi fronted Crue between 1992 and 1997. Despite disappointing sales in the grunge era, guitarist Mick Mars recently said the band's 1994 self-titled album was his favourite among all their works. Listen to the track here.




Aerosmith Release Latest Episode In Video Series
(hennemusic) Aerosmith recently launched a new 8-part series called "The Making Of Music From Another Dimension."

In episode four of the series, the band members talk about inspiration and the songwriting process.

"You know, it's really important in rock and roll to come up with a groovy lick," says Tyler, "and then lay something smooth over it." Watch it here.



Hugh Cornwell Mistaking Madonna Queue For Toilet Inspires Song
(Classic Rock) Hugh Cornwell was inspired to write a song after accidentally finding himself in a queue to meet pop star Madonna.

The former Stranglers singer tells Geeks of Doom: It was a party I went to for Madonna and I was enjoying myself at the party, met The Stranglers' lead singer that replaced me at the party which was bizarre [I was] introduced to him, Paul, he's mentioned in the song, and then I joined this queue because I thought it was for the toilet … it was moving very slowly and then somebody told me it was the queue to meet Madonna!

"So I was very embarrassed because I suddenly found myself in this queue to meet Madonna, so I immediately got out of that!" more on this story



Pete Townshend Explains Why He Released Memoir On Today
(hennemusic) "Who I Am," the new memoir from The Who's Pete Townshend, is now available and he stopped by The Today Show for a session with host Savannah Guthrie.

"I decided to write it when I was 20," laughed Townshend. "It's taken me a long time. It just felt [like] the time was right. I'm 67; if I wait any longer, I could be dead."

Asked if he answered the question posed b the book's title, "Who I Am," Townshend said, "I think I do and I think I have. I'm happy today and I never expected that. I was rather a miserable young man."