Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger Angers Fans With Hurricane Sandy Joke
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger angered some fans with an attempt at humor during Wednesday night's 12-12-12 Concert For Hurricane Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden.
During his set with The Stones, Jagger told the crowd that there should be a benefit show the next time it rains in London. "This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden," Jagger said. "But I've got to say, if it rains in London, you've got to come and help us, OK?"

Many fans quickly took to Twitter after hearing the remark to express some shock as victims of Hurricane Sandy in the tri-state were still reeling from the $70 billion in damages caused by the storm. Read some here.




Asia Legend Battling E. Coli Infection
Legendary drummer Carl Palmer of Asia is battling a severe case of E. coli, forcing the band to cancel tour dates this month.

The band were set to launch their 30th Anniversary UK Tour tomorrow but announced yesterday they had to pull out of the tour due to Palmer's health.

The band issued a short statement through their UK press representative Noble PR about the cancellation and Palmer's illness but provided no further details. more on this story




Gene Simmons Offers More Than A Kiss To Linkin Park Singer
Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park sat down for an exclusive interview with KROQ's Nicole Alvarez, with Bennington sharing an eyebrow-raising story about the first time he met Gene Simmons, reality star and founding member of KISS.

"So the first time I met Gene Simmons, I was like 'whoa, that's Gene Simmons. He's like right here,'" Bennington explained. "So I went over and introduced myself. He grabs me by the shoulders, and he says, 'you are a powerful and talented young man.' He's staring at me in my eyes and says, 'if we were in prison, I would make love to you.' I was like, 'oh.'"

"Shannon was in the background like, 'He would. He will make love to you,'" laughed Shinoda, in reference to Shannon Tweed, Simmons' longtime partner who finally tied the knot with the blood-spitting rocker in October of 2011. Watch the interview here.




Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Gets Comfortably Numb With Roger Waters
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joined Roger Waters during his set at the 12-12-12 concert in New York on Wednesday.

The former Pink Floyd bassist played a 4-song set early in the evening that included tracks from both "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall."

Waters closed out his performance joined by special guest Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who helped out on the Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb." Watch video here.




Paramore Explain New Album Title
Paramore have explained the title of their forthcoming self-titled album, which will be released on April 9th, 2013.

"The whole making of this album was a rediscovering of ourselves as a band and as friends," the band wrote in a blog post. "It was a process that allowed us the freedom to explore new territory artistically and to liberate ourselves as musicians, singers, as people!

"Sincerely, we feel that the best way to give it a name is just to call it what it is. This album is us." more on this story




Rush Releasing 2112 iBook
Rush announced yesterday that they will be releasing their very first iBook on December 18, 2012 to celebrate the deluxe reissue of 2112 on the same date.

The 2112 iBook (e-books for Apple's iOS) will feature unpublished pictures, black and white ink art and pencil sketches for every comic book cell, and preview music for the newly remastered Mastered for iTunes (mFit) audio of 2112 with 3 bonus live tracks.

iBook content includes: • 40-page comic book by story artist Tom Hodges ("Star Wars -The Clone Wars," The Simpson's "Treehouse of Horrors #17″)
• Unpublished pictures
• Black and white ink art and pencil sketches for every comic book cell
• Preview of the remastered audio of 2112
• Expanded artwork, liner notes, lyrics and unreleased photos
• Brand new liner notes by David Fricke, Rolling Stone More details on the 2112 reissue.




In Flames Expand Tour With Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish
In Flames have mapped out the second leg of their upcoming North American headline tour with Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish and Battlecross.

The second leg will kick off with several dates in Canada beginning on February 18th in Vancouver followed by U.S. and Canadian dates before concluding on March 7th in Norfolk, VA.

In Flames' current tour with Lamb Of God is set to wrap up on Sunday in Seattle and the prior to the North American tour the band will take part in the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise in January. more on this story




Guns N' Roses Dedicate India Concert To Ravi Shankar
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses dedicated their Wednesday night concert in Gurgaon, India to music legend Ravi Shankar.

Three-time Grammy winner Shankar died at the age of 92 in a La Jolla, California hospital, where he underwent heart-related surgery last Thursday.

"We dedicate this show to Pandit Ravi Shankar, who passed away today" said Axl Rose, according to The Times Of India. Watch video from the show.




Rise Against Honey Boo Boo
During an exclusive interview with Nicole Alvarez, Tim McIlrath of Rise Against commented on reality show sensation Alana Thompson, better known as the pint-sized star of the wildly popular and controversial TLC series, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. It's safe to say he's not a fan.

"It's the new lowest form of television," McIlrath said. "The most despicable celebration of a lack of intellectual ability. If we can look to that as something not to aspire to, maybe we can find something good out of it."

McIlrath's scathing observation came during the light-hearted interview, in which he also spoke on the Kardashian family ("I'm largely unaware of the Kardashians") and the Mayan calendar, which many believe signifies the end of the world on December 21 of this year. more on this story




Devildriver Begin Recording New Album
Devildriver have announced that they recently entered Audio Hammer Studios, Florida to record their new album.

John Boecklin is currently laying down the drum tracks for the upcoming and yet untitled album.

The new studio album is tentatively scheduled for a worldwide release in August 2013.





Downstait Cancel Tour Due To Illness
More illness has forced Downstait off the road entirely, forcing the band to cancel their U.S. headlining tour.

The band previously delayed the kick off of the trek after their bassist/vocalist Sean Arata came down with a 103 fever and it appears illness has plagued the rest of the band since then with drummer Clint Branstete coming down with bronchitis.

Guitarist Justin Call told fans on Facebook, "Clint seems to have caught whatever Sean, Isaiah, and Zack had… as well as bronchitis, nasty stuff. We'll do our best to make it back to all the cancelation areas as soon as possible. For now, we're going to focus on Clint getting healthy in time for the Down the Line (Dec 29th) show and releasing our new album. Thanks for your concern and continued support and be sure to wash your hands." more on this story




Steven Van Zandt Succeeds At Reuniting The Rascals
The Rascals played their first public concert in four decades at New York's Capitol Theater as they kicked off a six-night stand which started last night (December 13th).

The man behind the reunion is the group's biggest and most high-profile fan, Steven Van Zandt.... and he told CBS Local that he'd been trying to get them back together for a long time. "People had been throwing money at the guys for many many years, they kept turning it down. Two years ago, my wife [Maureen Van Zandt] and I were being honored at the Kristen Ann Carr cancer benefit." He requested that The Rascals get back together and perform at the private event.

"The benefit appealed to them," he says. "They came together, they did an hour long set, and it was incredible. From that moment, I felt that it had to come together permanently in some more public fashion." Steven had a lot more to say.




Hrvrd Announce New Album and Tour
Hrvrd have set a February 19th release date for their sophomore album, From The Bird's Cage.

The will be hitting the road for a North American tour as direct support for letlive which kicks off on January 27th in Orlando, Florida.

The first leg of the tour has been announced and will also feature support from This Is Hell, Conditions and Rescuer. more on this story




Intronaut Announce Headline Shows
Intronaut will be playing a series of headlining shows before hitting the road for a North American tour with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders.

The headline shows will take place in early February and include stops in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Florida.

The tour with Meshuggah and Animals As Leaders will kick off on February 11th in Orlando, Florida. more on this story




Motley Crue's Vince Neil Opening Las Vegas Bar
(hennemusic) Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has revealed that he's signed a deal with Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas to open a rock and roll sports bar called "Wildside Saloon."

Neil tweeted the news, saying the new bar should be open in the next 30 days, adding "Hooters, Rock and Sports! What more do you want!!!!"

Vince recently launched his own brand of vodka, Tatuado, using the same name of his Tatuado Restaurant & Cantina at the LVH, formerly the Las Vegas Hilton. more on this story





Singled Out: Super Fuzz
Today Chris Alvy of Super Fuzz (think 70s rock with an alternative edge) tells us about the song "The Fall" from their new album "Art Noise". Here is the story:

The Fall was originally meant to be written as a collaborative effort between myself and a friend songwriter, performer and producer in LA.

I wrote the melody and the music, and I left the lyrics open for my friend to write. It was initially going to be written in Spanish for an international Latin artist.

I demoed the track humming the melody over the music and pitched it along with some other tracks. My friend loved the song, he thought it was a hit. But he felt we shouldn't put too much energy into it because he thought it felt too American pop and it wouldn't have worked for a Latin artist.
Both my friend and I ended up placing music on that Latin record, but I ended up writing the lyrics to The Fall myself when we realized the song wouldn't work for the Spanish market.

Although there's different ways to interpret the "The Fall", the main theme is to realize the true meaning of your failures and struggles. And to understand that there's knowledge to be gained from these failures and struggles. As the chorus goes, "Think about the fall..." - These unpleasant experiences in life.

"The meaning of it all", "... It's never been at all about the fall" - So it's about learning from your falls, your struggles, and being able to bounce back as a stronger person.

The Fall represents our unfulfilled dreams and failures, and coming to terms and going: it's never really been about failing.

The knowledge that you can gain from those experiences is what really matters.

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




Rolling Stones Tour History Mapped Out
A new interactive map project has individually documented each tour stop of every Rolling Stones tour through A Bigger Bang (2005-2007) (so all of them except their five 2012 shows).

Interactive data visualization company CartoDB has put their advanced map tools to work with this new original project documenting 50 years of the Stones' live shows.

The company digitally scoured Wikipedia for information on each Stones tour, starting with their first British tour in fall 1963. The result is a series of interactive maps. more on this story




Lynyrd Skynyrd Bring Southern Rock To American Country Awards
(hennemusic) Lynyrd Skynyrd brought some Southern Rock to the American Country Awards on Monday.

The band teamed up with co-host Trace Adkins for a performance of their classic song, "What's Your Name."

The track originally appeared on Skynyrd's 1977 album, "Street Survivors." Watch video here.




The Killers Frontman Shows California Love With Tupac Lyrics
Brandon Flowers of The Killers reflected on the enduring effect of hometown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the band's music, rapping a line from hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur during an interview with KROQ DJ Stryker just moments before taking the stage at this year's sold out Almost Acoustic Christmas concert.

"We been from Oakland to Sactown, Bay area, back down," Flowers quipped, quoting Shakur's song "California Love" while discussing the Killers' most recent tour itinerary, with the band coming down from Oakland to perform at the KROQ show.

"I think it's in there. It's in there pretty deep," Flowers said when asked about Las Vegas' enduring impact on his band's music, including naming the most recent Killers album Battle Born, which appears on the state flag of Nevada. "Once you took us out of it, it really made us reflect on it and look at it a lot more, I think. And so it finds its way into the songs. Hopefully we aren't overdoing it. Watch the interview here.




After The Fall Streaming New Song Online
After The Fall are giving fans an early taste of what's to come with a stream of a song from their fourth studio album, Unkind, which will be released in the spring.

The previewed song, "Decade," vocalist Mike Moak sings about his band's first 10 years together and the experiences they've had: "I'll never forget, a decade that came and went / Making noise with my best friends / I'd do it all over again / But I have been broke for so long / Going from job to job and living week to week / Ignoring my health and bank account being empty / I'm not feeling worthless and not feeling weak / And I wouldn't trade that for anything."

"This album was recorded as a four-piece," Moak says, "which gave everything a little more depth. We've been a three-piece for the last four years but Will and Tyler rejoining the band have helped us flesh things out and get their influence in on this album and the songwriting."

After The Fall recorded Unkind in Albany with Tim Lynch and it was mixed/mastered by The Descendents' Stephen Egerton. Listen to the new song here.




Krisiun Release 'Tarantino-esque' Music Video
Krisiun have released that has been dubbed a 'Tarantino-esque' music video for "The Will To Potency," a song from their latest studio album, The Great Execution.

The director and producer of the video, Tommy Jones, had this to say about the clip: "The band had originally contacted me to do a live video on the 'Conquerors of the World Tour'. We filmed every night live, however the day before the last show of the tour, we had a day off on a drive through New Mexico towards the last show in Texas. I had the idea of filming the band out in the middle of the desert because I love that area and always wanted to do a desert shoot. So I convinced the driver to pull over in the middle of nowhere at 9AM. We filmed for about 2 and a half hours out there, using a laptop as audio playback. We caught the attention of the Mexican Border Patrol who came to check out what we were doing. They sent about 3 SUVs out to check us out. Once they made sure we weren't doing anything 'too illegal' they got a kick out of it and were taking pictures on their iPhones because they said in all their years, they haven't seen a band set up in the middle of the desert.

"When it was all said and done, we filmed every night on tour, but it ended up that the majority of the video was filmed on that day off in the middle of the New Mexican desert in about 2.5 hours.

"It was a fun video, and I'm glad we got to do it this way, we all are really stoked how the desert stuff came out." Watch it here.




Some People Miss The Buick For The Neon Trees
As part of an exclusive interview with KROQ DJ Stryker at this year's Almost Acoustic Christmas show, Utah alt-rockers Neon Trees talked about their very high-profile TV commercial for luxury automotive brand Buick, even if the car they're helping advertise has a tendency to get lost in the humorous spot.

"That was so fun," recalled Neon Tress' bassist Branden Campbell about filming the ad for the Buick Verano, which features the band rolling in a tour bus to the sounds of their smash hit single, "Everybody Talks."

"It's cool, because it's actually a Buick commercial, but people think it's the Pandora commercial," Campbell continued with a laugh. "Some people think it's the Neon Trees commercial, like we just have our own commercial these days that just airs during football games, and so we just sort of roll with that."