Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


KISS' Peter Criss Came Close To Suicide
(Classic Rock) Former KISS drummer Peter Criss came so close to suicide that he put his gun in his mouth and prepared to pull the trigger.
He was sitting in the remains of his Hollywood apartment after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, which killed 57, injured nearly 9000 and caused over $20bn of damage. And although he had a bag containing $100,000 in cash, Criss was haunted by the fact that he'd once been worth over $12m.

In an excerpt from his book, published by Rolling Stone, the drummer tells how he thought: "I'm going to f**king die in some sh*thole apartment – Jesus, I don't believe you're going to take me this way." Find out what happened next.



Rob Zombie Spooked In Little Rock
(Classic Rock) Rob Zombie called off an open-air appearance at Little Rock, Arkansas over the weekend after his crew raised safety concerns over weather conditions.

He decided not to proceed after a series of high profile stage collapses in recent years. Zombie says: "It's a drag. We drove all night to play the show only to find we couldn't. You just have to go on the recommendations of your crew – they're trying to rig thousands of pounds of equipment.

"The wind was blowing and they had to keep stopping, and they came to the conclusion it's just not safe. After what happened with Sugarland and Cheap Trick you just can't take the risk." more on this story



Daughtry and 3 Doors Down Team Up For Tour
Daughtry and 3 Doors Down will be teaming up this fall for a North American coheadlining tour.

P.O.D. will be supporting the trek which is set to kick off on November 17 in Tunica, MS and will wrap up on December 15th in Anaheim, CA.

Chris Daughtry had this to say, "It's an honor to be able to go on the road with 3 Doors Down," says the lead singer. "We are excited to give fans an energetic rock show every night sharing songs from both our catalogs...we can't wait to hit the road to share it with our fans." more on this story




Mumford & Sons Match Beatles Chart Record
Mumford & Sons have tied a Beatles chart record set 48 years ago after they landed their sixth single on the Top 100 chart at the same time.

The band enjoyed a huge debut for their new album, Babel, which topped the album chart after having the biggest first week sales of any album this year with 600K copies sold in the U.S.

Now the band are also dominating the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart according to the trade publication. The official single "I Will Wait" (No. 57) is joined by five other songs, "Babel" (No. 60), "Lover's Eyes" (No. 85), "Whispers in the Dark" (No. 86), "Holland Road" (No. 92) and "Ghosts That We Knew" (No. 94). You can read the Billboard report for more details.



No Voodoo For Green Day And Member Talks Billie Joe's Meltdown
Green Day have officially canceled their performance at this year's Voodoo Music + Arts Experience on October 27, 2012 following frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's admittance to rehab for substance abuse treatment.

"Canceling shows is something we rarely do," said Tré Cool in a statement. "We never want to let our fans down, and we are grateful for all of you being understanding during this time."

Bass player Mike Dirnt told Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 (via NME) about Armstrong's treatment and why they canceled their live tour plans, "We had to put the life of our friend in front of everything," And he said of the singer's meltdown in Las Vegas, "There were signs of things hitting the fan. We hadn't slept in for ever." You can read the NME report here.



Beach Boys Mike Love Denies Firing Brian Wilson
(CBS Local) Mike Love is fighting back against those have vilified him with claims that he "fired" original Beach Boys members Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks.

Love has penned a lengthy, pointed and emotional open letter to the Los Angeles Times in an attempt to set the record straight. It reads in part: " Let me get right to it: I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He's my cousin by birth and my brother in music.

"This tour was always envisioned as a limited run. None of us wanted to do a 50th anniversary tour that lasted 10 years. It was meant to be special. In fact, very early on, Brian was just going to join the tour for a few dates in big cities. We finally settled on 50 dates in 50 major markets." more on this story



Muse Expand North American Tour
Muse have expanded their upcoming tour plans, adding new dates to their 2013 North American tour.

The tour is set to kick off on January 21st in San Diego, California and will wrap up on April 26th in Quebec City.

Muse will be touring in support of their sixth album The 2nd Law, which was released last week on Warner Bros. Records. more on this story



Michael Des Barres On NCIS This Week
Michael Des Barres will be appearing in tonight's episode of 'NCIS' (October 9, 2012.) Glass Onyon sent over these details:

Acting alongside show regulars Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, David McCallum and Pauly Perrette, Michael portrays an ex-rock star down on his luck who gets caught up in some bad stuff. Tracks from Des Barres new album, 'Carnaby Street' will be played throughout the episode.

"I have worked on over 100 hours of television and I have never been on a set where everyone involved made me feel that I could fly with the material," says Michael, "and feel safe enough, respected enough to do good work. Mark Harmon is the Captain of a ship that sails around the television universe like the mothership of terrific entertainment." more on this story



Jimmy Page Recalls Celebration Day Reunion
(hennemusic) Led Zeppelin's new concert film, "Celebration Day", will premiere in New York (Tue) and London (Fri) before similar events take place next week in Berlin (Oct 15) and Tokyo (Oct 16).

Following the premiere events, the film will see a worldwide theatrical release on 1,500 screens in over 40 territories on October 17 before it goes on sale November 19.

Jimmy Page spoke with Rolling Stone about the concert, saying he recalls walking off stage after the reunion concert feeling "really high. That's the truth. It was a serious test, and we passed it, all of us. And we had an extraordinary communion on the stage. That's alive and well when you see it."

"The thing about Led Zeppelin was that it was always four musicians at the top of their game, but they could play like a band," Page says. "Even in the first couple of rehearsal days, running up to the O2, we were playing pretty good. But we really wanted to shine as a band." more on this story



Motorhead Releasing Headphones Aimed At Rock Lovers
(Classic Rock) Motorhead have launched a range of headphones with the aim of reproducing more authentic rock performances in listeners' ears.

Guitarist Phil Campbell says: "We wanted our music especially, and rock music in general, to sound great. We wanted to hear the mid-range and the guitars and for people to appreciate them.

"There's so much drum-and-bass stuff out there and that's fine, but these are for people who like listening to mid-range stuff." more on this story



The Trews Collaborate With Black Crowes Members
(Classic Rock) The Trews have recorded a new EP including collaborations with Rich Robinson and Eddie Harsch of the Black Crowes.

The band say the songs "run the gamut from tongue and cheek songs to heart felt country tinged rock."

Thank You and I'm Sorry is due out on November 6, and the band commence a Canadian and Australian tour on October 11. More rock news



David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Cover Sign Part Of Exhibit
(Classic Rock) The original K West sign as seen on the cover of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album is among items on view at an exhibition of vintage Bowie posters and memorabilia in London.

The sign was rescued after being removed by a fan in the early 1980s and has been restored for the exhibition.

The exhibition also includes difficult-to-find items from 1969 to 1981 and will take place next month. more on this story



Iron Maiden Bandmates Haven't Listen To Steve Harris' New Album
(Classic Rock) Iron Maiden mainman Steve Harris believes his bandmates haven't heard his solo album British Lion.

He didn't want to force them into sitting through the recent release, and only played it to drummer Nicko McBrain when he asked to listen.

"When someone else in Maiden is working on another project, no one really talks about it. Bruce and Adrian don't go around broadcasting to the others and I didn't either," Harris tells Decibel. "Nicko asked to hear it so I played it for him. But the other guys haven't asked to hear it, so I haven't played it for them. Simple as that, really."

The bassist flatly denies the suggestion that his material is made up of Maiden cast-offs. more on this story



Father Told Jimi Hendrix 'You Can't Sing'
(Classic Rock) Jimi Hendrix's sister Janie has recalled the moment when the guitar icon told his incredulous father that he was going to sing as well as play guitar.

The axe icon didn't rate his own voice – an attitude reinforced by his dad. But when he prepared to travel to the UK ahead of what would be his golden era, the star-in-waiting had a solution to the problem.

Janie tells Music Radar: "Jimi never thought he was much of a singer. My dad was a decent singer and he could be brutally honest. He would say, 'You can't sing, so it's good you can play guitar.' He was very supportive of him in the guitar arena, but he was just being honest. more on this story



Beatles Fans Set World Record
(CBS Local) The Beatles' entire catalog remains one of the most enduring groups of songs in popular culture. Their first single "Love Me Do," the song is still fun and vibrant 50 years after its original U.K. release.

To celebrate the occasion, fans gathered in Liverpool's docks Friday afternoon to set a new world record for the most Beatles fans singing "Love Me Do" in a round.

Organized by the city's Beatles Story tourist attraction, the record setting sing-a-long drew in more than 1,500 participants from around the U.K. to crush the previous record of 897 people singing the song, according to The Telegraph. more on this story



KISS Song Used In TV Commercial and App
(hennemusic) KISS' 1979 hit, "I Was Made For Loving You," is featured in a new commercial for the U.K. coffee brand Costa.

The "Costa Coffee Heads" campaign, created by Karmarama, is running across TV, print, digital and in-store, and will culminate in a user-generated TV ad.

An app allows Costa Coffee fans to record and upload videos of themselves singing along to the KISS song, with the winning performances featuring in a later TV ad. more on this story




Anubis Gate Lineup Change
Anubis Gate have announced a lineup change with guitarist Jesper M Jensen leaving the group and being replaced by Third Eye's Michael Bodin. We were sent the following details:

Anubis Gate commented on former guitarist Jesper leaving the band: Jespers decision to leave the band to pursue other musical interests has been some time in the making, actually Jesper announced his leaving to the band 3 months ago, leaving us with good time to the difficult task of finding the right replacement. We feel it's important for everybody to know that Jespers exit has nothing to do with personal differences, in fact we are still the best of friends. Jesper simply found that now was the right time to try something new. We are of course sad that he is leaving but respect his decision and wish him nothing but the best.

We are happy to announce Michael Bodin as Jespers replacement. We know Michael from his works with Third Eye and nineties progmetal band Northern Empire. He is a fantastic player who can contribute with very interesting material, in fact he is already writing great new stuff for the new album which we expect out late 2013. We are looking very much forward to presenting the new lineup for you both on stage and on record.



B Sides


Singled Out: Seven Kingdoms
Today Seven Kingdoms guitarist Camden Cruz tells us about "After The Fall" from their brand new album "The Fire is Mine," which was released today. Here is the story:

When a band writes a song, 9 times out of 10 you have to figure out the tempo. Here at Seven Kingdoms we are always quality control checking to make sure a song is as fast as it can be without being "to fast" to not get the groove. After The Fall was recorded at 156 BPM on our record. Originally we had the song 'bumped up' as our drummer would call it, to 158 BPM; just because we had a song on the last record that was the same speed. We liked it just slightly faster and you really couldn't tell a difference - but it was there - just the simple fact that you know its faster! haha

So in February of this year we shot the video (yes, before we went to the studio) with the demo version playing as a time signature. The Demo was recorded at 156 BPM. And we didn't think anything of it. You could imagine our realization when we got to Morrisound that we had to slow the song down because we shot the video first. Low and behold, You would never have known and no one but us would probably ever be able to tell, but this is our incredible journey in search for two beats per minute. We're shooting the video after the record is recorded next time!

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



Megadeth Game Hits Facebook
(hennemusic) Leander Games has released the brand new Megadeth-branded slot game on Facebook.

Megadeth Slot game presents the brand slot of the band featuring Dave Mustaine, Dave Ellefson, Shawn Drover and Chris Broderick as the game's main symbols all along with the instruments and completed with the group's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, as the Bonus Symbol.

Some of the band's best known songs can be listened as the reels are spun, including "Symphony of Destruction," "Head Crusher" and "Hangar 18." more on this story



Marky Ramone Looks Back on Wikimetal
Ramones legend Marky Ramone is the featured guest on the latest episode of Wikimetal.

During the interview Marky remembers how he heard for the first time about The Ramones, how was the invitation for him to join the band.

He also talks about how was working with producer Phil Spector and he shares some memories about Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee.

Listen to the full episode here or listen to the interview here.



Hugh Cornwell Comfortable Playing Stranglers Songs Solo
(Classic Rock) Hugh Cornwell is now more comfortable with playing Stranglers material as part of his solo live set – so much so that his latest tour includes a full performance of the band's 1977 album No More Heroes.

Cornwell says: "I'd rather play my own stuff, but the Stranglers are part of my life. You can't deny where you come from; it's not healthy.

"I'm willing to play a proportion of old stuff, as long as I'm not expected to play it exactly as it sounded originally." [Chronicle Live] More rock news.



The Wallflowers Plays Something New And A Bit Familiar On Letterman
(CBS Local) The Wallflowers packed a number of tracks from their upcoming album, Glad All Over, as well as their most beloved songs, into their 40-plus minute Live On Letterman performance at New York's Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday (October 5).

"We're gonna play something that's new and also a bit familiar," frontman Jakob Dylan announced before "Reboot The Mission" from the new album (due in stores October 9).

That statement seemed like a contradiction: but while the song is new, it has elements that would be familiar to fans of The Clash, a band that Dylan has long cited as an influence (Clash guitarist Mick Jones plays on the studio version).