Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Uriah Heep Star Battling Cancer
(Classic Rock) Trevor Bolder has told Classic Rock that the reason for his recent surgery wasn't a heart attack, as online rumors suggested - it was cancer.
But the Uriah Heep bassist is looking forward to life without the killer disease, and he's revealed plans for a Spiders From Mars reunion later this year.

Heep last month announced that Bolder would be temporarily replaced by JJ Jowitt of IQ, Arena and Frost* fame, adding: "We all wish Trevor a speedy return to the fold."

That led to speculation he'd suffered a heart attack. But Bolder tells Classic Rock: "No. It wasn't – it was cancer. I had a big operation in early January that will take me months to get over. more on this story




Robert Plant Has New Album Almost Done
(Radio.com) 2012 saw lots of Led Zeppelin activity, including the band's inclusion in the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in December. The night of that event, Robert Plant told Radio.com that in 2013 he might "just chill for a while."

But one of his many collaborators, guitarist Buddy Miller, recently told Radio.com that Plant has at least one new album almost ready to go. And after two consecutive releases of (mostly) covers (2007′s Raising Sand with Alison Krauss and 2010′s Band Of Joy), this one will feature brand new songs.

"We got together, we wrote a whole new batch of songs," Miller says. "He wanted to write together, so I said, 'Come over to the house, and let's have Marco [Giovino], our drummer — he's drumming with Jim [Lauderdale] and me — come over. So the three of us set up in my room, and I thought, 'Y'know, if we're gonna write, let me stick up some mics, and record it.' I'm glad I did: it actually sounded really good. It's exciting: I'd say it rocks harder than what we did before. We recorded most of it without a bass; I played baritone guitar, or six-string bass. It's stripped down and tribal and rocking."

So, just how close is it to being ready for release? That, of course, is up to Mr. Plant. "It's just about done," Miller says. "It's missing a few background vocals, and him re-doing a few things. I think he wants to finish it. He's real proud of the songs. But he's Robert Plant, man. He can do whatever he wants to do!" More including a video stream of the interview.




Axl Rose Turned Down Offer To Leave Guns N' Roses
Music industry legend Kim Fowley recently spoke with antiMusic's Morley Seaver and had numerous stories to share from his travels in the business and he shared the following story about how Axl Rose turned down a lucrative offer to leave Guns N' Roses and join another band.

Kim tells us: I was working for a rich manager of a difficult band who had drug issues and alcohol issues and they were friends of Axl. The guy who was putting up the money for this unknown band was dating the leader of the band's mother. So he said "I don't know about this band I'm investing in." he was paying me three grand a week to be their babysitter, producer, coach, shrink, songwriting teacher, publicist, etc. I was doing like 10 jobs. He said, 'Something tells me these guys may not make it. Do you know anyone else who's weird and strange and difficult but possibly platinum?" "Yeah, Guns N' Roses." "Good. Okay. Let's take a look. Oh my goodness. You're right. Okay. Have the singer come by the studio tomorrow."

So we're all in the studio with the unknown band and here comes Axl by himself. And the manager had a $2,000 suit on and he said, "Well, you guys are great. I want to be your manager, production company etc. And I want Kim Fowley to record and produce right here in this studio. And to show you how serious I am I'm going to open this suitcase and show you what's inside. And you can walk away with the suitcase. Or call the boys up and drive up and I'll pay for the cab if you don't have enough gas. Go ahead Axl, open the suitcase."

So Axl opens the suitcase and there's $50,000 in cash. And the manger says, "What do you think?" and Axl says, "With all due respect sir, whoever you are. That's not enough for Guns N' Roses. We're going to be bigger than that. It's just a matter of time. I'll say no politely and I'll go away and I'll make more money than this on our initial signing with my guys. What don't you help these guys out? They're deserving. They're probably not as great as we are but if you're going to piss it away, you might as well piss it away on them because you're already working with them. I gotta go rehearse. It was nice seeing all of you. Good bye." And we all applauded him. (laughs) What else do you do, you know?

So he called a cab. We had the money for the cab and he rode away. And I always thought of all the starving musicians I'd ever seen, even the ones who made it or didn't make it, he was the only one who knew exactly how valuable he was, and how not to panic. Because that's a lot of money for anyone. And he just wasn't interested. And of course they got 75 grand for signing with Geffen.

And the day they got the deal, they gave him the check. He came into Rainbow Bar & Grill, he saw me there and he remembered that I had recommended him. He said, "You'll appreciate this." And he opened his jacket and he had a check for $37, 500 which was half of $75,000 and then they would get the other half when they started the album. So he said, "See, I told you we'd get more." I said, "You did. When are you going to cash it?" He said, "Tomorrow, the banks are closed. So buy me dinner." "I said, okay." (laughs) So we did. And he sat there and he hustled this free dinner (laughing) and with his $37,500 he walked away. He had a steak dinner and we thought it was great. Good for him. And that's how I know Axl. I know THAT Axl. The kind of guy who kinda had it under control.

Check out the full interview to discover how Kim links Axl Rose to Jayne Mansfield here.




Tool Plan Limited Edition Anniversary Release
Tool will be celebrating the 21st anniversary of their debut EP, Opiate, by releasing a special limited edition reissue on March 26th.

The six-track EP will be reissued as limited edition anniversary packages and sold on the band's website.

They plan to only release a total of 5,000 copies with 5 different 1,000 piece runs featuring different graphics and bonus material.

The reissues will feature art direction by Adam Jones, illustrations by legendary artist Adi Granov and design packaging by Mackie Osborne.

The bonus material will include a new stereoscopic image from the 10,000 Days packaging for fans to use with their glasses. The band says that more details will be announced soon and they will not be taking pre-orders for the reissues. Band's website.




David Bowie Pokes Fun At Celebrity Culture in New Video
David Bowie takes aim at today's obsessive celebrity culture in the short film / music video for his new single "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)."

The song comes from his forthcoming album, The Next Day, and has been released at iTunes. The album will be released on March 12th in North America.

The video was directed by Floria Sigismondi and stars the Bowie and actress Tilda Swinton and includes an unprovoked attack with a Morphy Richards electric carving knife, according to Classic Rock. You can stream the new video here.




Iggy Pop and the Stooges Releasing New Album
(Gibson) Iggy Pop and the Stooges have set an April 30th release date for "Ready to Die," their first album since 2007.

"Ready to Die" will be the first album to feature guitarist James Williamson and drummer Scott Asheton since the band's classic Raw Power album from 1973.

The new album will feature bassist Mike Watt, who took over after original guitarist and later bassist Ron Asheton passed away in 2009.

Iggy and the Stooges are hitting the road on March 23 with an Australian tour. After a lone date in Long Beach, CA, the boys head over to Europe for a bunch of festival dates in June and July. more on this story







Metallica Not Planning Full Album Set At Orion Festival
(hennemusic) Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich shares some insight into this year's Orion Music + More Festival, including which acts he's looking forward to seeing and what fans won't be seeing from Metallica.

"I saw the Chili Peppers in San Francisco about six months ago," says Lars. "They're on a f**king roll at the moment. They're better than they've ever been. I was completely blown away for two hours. We did a run with the Deftones in 2003 on our Summer Sanitarium Tour, which was really cool. Those guys are always good. Dropkick Murphys, those guys are so much fun and have so much energy. [Laughs] There's such a positive vibe in what they do. Bringing in the 2013 incarnation of Black Flag, minus the "Black," is obviously going to be pretty fun.

"My 14-year-old has turned me on to Japandroids, and I've heard some of their stuff, which is pretty amazing. I've become kind of a late fan of Fu Manchu. My girl actually turned me on to them a little while ago, so I'm a brand new fan of theirs. I'm glad that they're with us. You know, [proto-punk band] Death. [Laughs] We'll have Death come out and do their thing in Detroit again! And the Dillinger Escape boys. Lots of different stuff."

Ulrich was asked if the band would be playing any of their classic albums at Orion 2013. "If I was a betting man, which I'm not, I would probably not put too much money on that," he said. "I think you've got to be careful that it doesn't become something that people expect from you every year, especially when you only put records out every five years like we do. We'll run out of records to play at some point pretty quick." He elaborates further.





Deep Purple Reveal New Album Title
(Classic Rock) Deep Purple have finally confirmed the title of their 19th studio album: it's called Now What?! and it's set for release in late April.

The band had spent recent weeks teasing fans over the title, referring to is simply as "?!" and refusing to reveal any further details.

The first single, a double-A release featuring tracks entitled Hell To Pay and All The Time In The World, will appear on March 29.

Meanwhile, former Purple member Glenn Hughes has recalled how the band kept watch on him for a year before inviting him to join. Read about that here.





Soundgarden Reveal Spring Tour Dates
Soundgarden have revealed the tour dates for the 2nd leg of their North American tour in support of their latest album.

The new tour leg will kick off on May 3rd in Atlantic City, NJ and will conclude on May 28th in Broomfield, CO

In addition to headlining dates, the tour will also include performances at music festivals including Carolina Rebellion, Rock on the Range and WRZX X103 Mayday Event.

The band is touring in support of their comeback album, King Animal. The band filmed the final show of the 1st leg of the tour at The Wiltern in Los Angeles for Live From The Artists Den.

The episode will be airing later this year on PBS and will feature interviews with the band in addition to the live footage. more on this story





Whitesnake Plan Second Live Release This Year
(hennemusic) Earlier this month, Whitesnake announced plans to release "Made In Japan," a Deluxe 2CD/DVD Edition, Blu-ray and DVD that captures the band in concert at the Loud Park festival on October 15th, 2011 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan during their Forevermore World Tour.

The project will be released in the UK on Monday April 22nd (North American release is Tuesday April 23rd).

Now, singer David Coverdale tells The Rockpit that the band will issue a second live project later this year.

"We'll also be releasing a double live CD called 'Made In Britain' in July," he says. "It was recorded on the 2011 UK tour and an extra CD tentatively called 'Whitesnake The World Record' recorded all over the f**king place. Very ambitious." more on this story




Jeff Lynne Rarities Include ELO Album With George Harrison and Ringo
(Gibson) A number of rare Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne recordings have found a new home on Frontiers Records, the label that recently released new albums by both Lynne and his most famous musical endeavor, ELO.

The releases are ELO's Zoom, a 2001 release which has been unavailable for over ten years and which features appearances by Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr; Lynne's 1990 solo debut Armchair Theatre (Harrison shows up there too); and Electric Live Orchestra Live, which chronicles the first date of the Zoom tour at Los Angeles' CBS Television City, originally released as a DVD.

Each release includes additional tracks, with Live really upping the ante with four tracks that weren't on the original DVD release as well as two new unreleased studio tracks, "Out of Luck" and "Cold Feet." more on this story






Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run Home For Sale
(Radio.com) A little more than a week has passed since Bruce Springsteen's former home located at 71/2 West End Court Long Branch, New Jersey was placed on the market for $349,900 by one of its three owners, and already real estate agent Susan McLaughlin of Keller Williams Realty has received a whopping 40 phone calls and another 40 emails regarding the estate.

The other two owners have agreed to partner with anyone willing to buy a third of the house.

Springsteen lived in the five-room, two-bedroom and one bath cottage in 1974 and '75 and while writing his most iconic album to date, 1975′s Born to Run. He was 25 and 26

According to the Asbury Park Press, rock legend Bob Dylan was looking for the landmark home after being detained by the Long Branch police in 2009. While visting the homes of rock stars like Jim Morrison to feel the musical vibes, Dylan mistakenly went to West End Avenue, not West End Court. more on this story




Great White Guitarist Explains Jack Russell Departure
Classic Rock Revisited recently spoke with Great White guitarist Mark Kendall for an in-depth interview about their new 30th anniversary release, their new frontman and other topics. Kendall also explained the band's parting with original singer Jack Russell. Here is that portion of the interview:

CRR: I don't want to slag Jack, because I love him in Great White. But we know what happened and all of the issues. Great White was not having fun at the end with Jack. Did you ever think it would be fun again?

Mark: Just to be brutally honest, it was not fun because there was so much drama attached to everything. I get it because I work with addicts every day. My sobriety has quality to it because I am giving back. I work with MusiCares and I help people who are struggling.

I get addiction. When you are watching someone self-destruct and you're trying to have fun at the same time, then the fun is really hard to get to. We were dealing with someone who was fighting demons. He was having a hard time getting it, if you will. It was hard on everyone. Even the fans were going, "What are you doing having this guy out here in this condition?" as if we were forcing him to come out. He was insisting on coming out. I remember playing a gig in Canada and he actually was falling asleep onstage. I went behind him where the crowd couldn't see me and literally slapped him on his back to wake him up. We were only five songs into the set and he was falling asleep. It was tough. You get so used to the drama that it is normal. When you start out you go to your hotel, you do interviews and you go play the show. When you have to insert urgent care and shots of Demerol and falling down and all of that, then it hinders everything. It makes it hard on everyone.

When that all went away and we got this healthy dude in Terry, who is into martial arts and doesn't smoke cigarettes and we are all sober as the day we are born, then we just started making music and enjoying our families, and our fans, and our gigs again. We don't leave anywhere that we play without having everything signed and all of the pictures are taken. We are having fun again and it is a blast. Everything is so easy; I had forgotten how easy it can be. It is really not so tough. When you have someone struggling then it really can make it tough.

It was not like Jack and I got into a drop down drag out fight and that we were done with each other. It was not like we could not take each other anymore. It was just the case of addiction winning. I work with addicts all the time and I try to help them. I tried to help Jack. I took him to my pastor and I had him baptized, but he was high at the time. It was a little bit of a dog and pony show, but I get it. If you're not ready to get sober then you're not going to do it. You can't get clean for other people; you have to quit for yourself. To have success in recovery then you need to do it for yourself. The problems will take care of itself in time. You can't do it because your kids want it, or to save your marriage. You give yourself the best chance to be successful if you do it for yourself. The interview with Mark covered a lot more topics, check it out here.




Member Leaves Saigon Kick As They Prepare For Reunion Tour
Saigon Kick are preparing to launch a five date reunion tour next month but have announced one member is already leaving the band.

The group had this to say, "After the official Saigon Kick reunion announcement and rehearsals, we regret to announce that Tom Defile (bass) will not be continuing with the band. Tom and Saigon Kick amicably decided this is best for both parties and we wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors."

Saigon Kick frontman Matt Kramer tells BW&BK that Chris McLernon, who replaced Defile on their Water album and joined the reunion as second guitarist, will now be back to playing bass. Read their report here.




Extended Interviews From Aerosmith's 60 Minutes Appearance Go Online
(hennemusic) 60 Minutes Australia caught up with Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry for an extensive chat about their legendary career and survival tactics for the future.

The appearance was tied to the news that Aerosmith will tour Australia this spring for the first time in 24 years. The group will play three shows in Oz and one in New Zealand.

Watch Tyler and Perry's extended individual interviews that were not part of the 60 Minutes broadcast here.




Anthrax Break Out AC/DC Cover Down Under
(hennemusic) Anthrax rocked an AC/DC classic during the first show of the Soundwave festival in Australia.

The group played AC/DC's "TNT" on Saturday at the Brisbane stop of this year's traveling festival.

Anthrax have recorded "TNT" for "Anthems," a forthcoming eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the group's favorite bands from the 1970s. Check out video of the jam here.




American Hero Experience Makes Marine's Music Dream Comes True
(Gibson) The American Hero Experience TV show helped make the dreams of singer/songwriter and former active duty Marine, Markus Fox, come true earlier this month.

Fox, who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, had his father ship his guitar to a combat zone. His music not only became therapy, it also lifted the spirits of his fellow Marines.

The American Hero Experience sent Markus to Nashville, Tennessee to record his song, "Sacrifices," which will be used periodically on the new TV series.

Markus also performed on stage in Nashville with hit songwriters Wynn Varble, Don Poythress, Karen Staley and Brad Cotter. At the show, Gibson President & CEO Henry Juszkiewicz presented Fox with a guitar.

The episode will air on "American Hero Experience" at 1:00 pm EST on Thursday, February 28, 2013 on the NBC Sports Network. Check out video here.






Robin Zander's Sgt. Pepper Outfit Added To Rock Hall
(hennemusic) To kick off 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio has unveiled dozens of new collection items – including handwritten lyrics, instruments, a tour van, clothing, stage props, and more – many on display to the public for the first time.

One of the highlights from the new collection is Cheap Trick vocalist and guitarist Robin Zander's Sgt. Pepper outfit, designed by Karen Dusenbery, and located in the Ahmet Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall, Lower Level

Cheap Trick released the album "Sgt. Pepper Live," recorded with a full orchestra on August 25, 2009, commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the release of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." more on this story




Def Leppard's Rick Allen Plans Special Art Events In Vegas
(hennemusic) When Def Leppard take over the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas next month for their "VIVA Hysteria!" residency, fans will have more than just the live concerts to check out while in Sin City.

Leppard drummer Rick Allen will showcase his fine-art debut collection, "Electric Hand: Rhythm + Change", at the Martin Lawrence Galleries at the Forum Shops in Las Vegas.

From March 22 until April 10, Allen's entire collection of rhythm on canvas will be on display, and fans are encouraged to visit the gallery while they are there to see it and own the final pieces available in the world.

There will also be two live question-and-answer events with Rick at the gallery where he will discuss the collection and meeting the public. more on this story





Singled Out: The Trouble With Templeton
Today Hugh Middleton from up-and-coming Aussie band The Trouble With Templeton tells us about their song "Six Months in a Cast". Here is the story:

'Six Months in a Cast' was the first track that we decided to record with Matt Redlich at his incredible studio in Yeronga, Brisbane. The bass, drums and acoustic guitar bed of the track was recorded live. Initially it was quite a tricky one to capture on a recording because of how tight the bass and drums had to be to perfectly lock into the groove of the acoustic guitars' quite staccato sounding strums. While laying down the bed of the track we all slowly started to realize how much of a perfectionist Redlich is. And I mean that in the best way possible. At the time it was quite a shock to us that it was proving more difficult than recently anticipated to get a take down that reached Redlichs standards. But it is this very reason why all of us have chosen to work with him. He listens from a completely objective point of view, and delivers what he thinks in the same way. He pushes just enough for the best results whilst maintaining a friendly yet professional way about it.

Being the first recording experience together as a band, there was a fair amount of experimentation involved using a wide array of pedals, synths and sounds that we as a band had never previously been accustomed to playing. Our drummer Richie had also a fair amount of influence on the ambience of the track. Redlich secretly recorded Ritchie scuffling through one of his drum bags as he was searching for a shaker. The clanking of bells, sticks, shakers and other bits of percussion were used as a large part of the ambience particularly in the middle section. It was Redlichs idea to incorporate a Moog modulation pedal running through a live piano track. Betty's piano line during the chorus shifts up and down in octaves, and swells and retracts in fast sweeping delays that were controlled simultaneously by Tom in the control room. This method of one member playing the instrument and another controlling the plug ins or pedals is happening all over this album. It's a great way of breaking the predictability of a melody line with effects.

Because the bass, drums and rhythm guitar parts of the track were quite driving and staccato I felt it would compliment the progress of the song to include a more sustained, elongated feeling guitar line that enters after the first verse. I was hoping this would create some contrast against the dry acoustic tight grooves and balance it with some eeriness. The outro of the song was only actually written a few days before we started recording. Originally we were hoping to fill out the outro with a brass section. That idea didn't really make it since all the brass players we asked were busy and I think by the end we all started to lean towards the idea of it being more of a soaring, crowd sing along style section…

After the instruments were done, it was time for the main vocal. Tom being Tom pushed out one take and it was it. Absolutely incredible... By that stage I think Redlich really was impressed by the delivery of Toms' vocal, seeing that the recording of the bedding track seemed to take a bit longer than he would've liked. Oh before I forget, claps! Claps were a major part of this song. I remember Tom also had an exceptional clap sound, I don't think mine made the cut…

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself right here!




Saxon Release Sacrifice Video
(Classic Rock) Saxon have released the promo video for Sacrifice, the title track of their 20th album.

It follows the launch of an eight-minute making-of clip in which band discuss the inspiration for the song while the director and crew explain the process of putting the video together.

Sacrifice is released on March 4. Saxon tour the UK and Ireland in April. You can find the tour dates and watch the new video here.




Van Halen's David Lee Roth Explores Tattoo History
(hennemusic) Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth explores the world of tattoos in the latest episode in his series, The Roth Show.

"Tattoos In Japan" see Roth talking about the history of tattoos worldwide, especially in Japan, where the singer is currently residing. Dave also shares his own Japanese tattoo experiences.

A year ago, "Tattoo" was the lead single from Van Halen's "A Different Kind Of Truth," the band's first album with Roth since 1984. Check out the episode here.




Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx On Creative High Heading Down Under
(hennemusic) Motley Crue kick off an Australian tour with KISS and Thin Lizzy on Thursday in Perth.

The bands will play 8 shows in the country between February 28 and March 16. Bassist Nikki Sixx checks in from down under as he prepares for opening night.

"Long day today ( yesterday ) getting last minute stuff together to catch the flight to Australia ( where i just landed in Sydney )," writes Nikki. "I haven't had a day off in over a month so I am a little bit crisp around the edges. The good news is I've been on a creative high and that always a good reason to be tired."

"Anyway, I regress, back to the tour," he continues. "Leaving on tour is always hard on me and always has been. Ive been pretty open about it in my books and posts over the years. I have a lot to wanna stay home for but i also love doing what i do ( playing ROCK N ROLL )..So here I sit in Sydney waiting for the connection flight to Perth where Kiss and Crue kick off the first show of the tour. The rest of the band left days ago but i wanted to milk the last few days to soak up the family."