Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


KISS Star Paul Stanley Deaf In One Ear
KISS legend Paul Stanley revealed in an article for CNN that he was born "virtually deaf" in his right ear. CNN has republished the article, which was original published in 2011, to coincide with the band's upcoming world tour as they celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Stanley told CNN, "I was born with a Level 3 Microtia, which is a congenital deformity of the cartilage of the outer ear, and occurs in approximately 1 out of every 8,000 to 10,000 births.

"There is no ear canal and no direct path to the inner workings of the ear. Except for bone conduction, I'm virtually deaf on my right side, as there is no access for sound to enter.

"I've had an implanted hearing aid for years now. This is a device that is usually given to children at an early age or to adults who have lost their hearing due to a medical condition. This has been an ongoing adjustment for me as my brain has never processed sound coming in from my right side.

"In the beginning, it was incredibly taxing and extremely confusing. It would be like you are suddenly developing an eye in the back of your head. That said, it has settled in quite a bit and I have to say, it has enhanced my day-to-day activities.

"People often ask if my hearing problem has had any impact on my career. It's sometimes hard for people to understand that you don't miss what you've never had. When blind people speak about seeing or colors, it's very personal to them." Read the rest of what he had to say here.




Motley Crue Plan Another Residency
(hennemusic) Motley Crue are returning to Las Vegas for a second residency in Sin City and will announce the news today according to a friend of the band.

Crue pal Robin Leach of VegasDeluxe.com tweeted the news on Monday evening, writing, "Motley Crue returns for Hard Rock residency Sept 18 Oct 6. Look for trashed hotle room theme and a dangerous set whole new production."

Leach later added, "#MotleyCrue show will be confirmed tomorrow with tickets on sale this Friday. Not April 1 joke but still exclusive."

In February of 2012, the Crue became the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency in Las Vegas, playing a series of shows at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. more on this story




Bob Ezrin Tried To Make Pink Floyd Rap
(Classic Rock) Producer Bob Ezrin tried to introduce rap music to Pink Floyd album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, he's admitted.

But David Gilmour hated the idea and vetoed it, meaning the band's 1987 record – their first without Roger Waters – was recorded without elements of the then cutting-edge pop movement.

Ezrin tells ZME Music: "I became fascinated with rap – I'm an early adopter. I brought some in when we were doing A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. I brought some to David Gilmour, going, 'Boy, I think this stuff with a rock beat would be awesome.'

"He said, 'Oh my God, that would be terrible!' He couldn't believe it. He hated the idea."

Meanwhile, the producer has also admitted he refused his first invitation to work on Deep Purple's new album, Now What?! – and only changed his mind after he saw the band live. more on this story




The Dillinger Escape Plan Stream New Album Preview
The Dillinger Escape Plan are giving fans an advance listen to their new album over a month before the album is officially released.

The band posted a new video online that preview every track on the new album, One Of Us Is The Killer. The album is set for release on May 14th. You can check out the preview here.

And as a fan commented on the video page, with a new album that means the band will be hitting the road with a new tour to promote the effort.

The band will be launching their North American tour on April 22nd, ahead of the album release. The tour will also feature sets from The Faceless and Royal Thunder. more on this story





Nine Inch Nails, Mumford & Son, the Cure Lead Lollapalooza Lineup
(Radio.com) The line-up for this year's Lollapalooza music festival has officially been announced, featuring headliners Nine Inch Nails, Mumford & Son, the Killers and the Cure, making their first-ever appearance at the fest.

"The first time I ran into Robert Smith of The Cure was 1997 in New York City," said Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane's Addiction and the festival's founder, in a press release. "We were both going into the same club; and it was Halloween. I was dressed as myself and so was he. I am so happy the Cure have finally arrived at Lolla in Chicago."

The announcement was made more than a week ahead of the original release date of April 9 after the line-up was leaked when a poster revealing the acts hit the internet late last week.

This year's line-up is packed with heavy-hitters and fan favorites, including Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Phoenix, the Postal Service and Vampire Weekend.

Check out the complete Lollapalooza 2013 line-up here.




Geoff Tate's Queensryche Lose Producer
(Classic Rock) Geoff Tate's Queensryche album Frequency Unknown has hit another stumbling block as Billy Sherwood has bowed out of remixing the record.

He made the announcement days after he was supposed to have started work on the project, explaining that he doesn't have time for it.

Sherwood was hired by Tate's record label after fans complained about the quality of the original mix as heard in preview clips. They confirmed Frequency Unknown would be released as planned next month, then Sherwood's version would appear at a later date.

But the bassist and producer has said: "I'm in the middle of many projects, both studio productions and live stuff – Prog Collective 2, Steve Miller tribute, William Shatner solo record, starting a Doors tribute soon, playing live in a few days with Eddie Jobson in Mexico.

"I also just got an interesting offer to play bass with a prog icon for a few gigs in June. I will announce who when it gets closer." more on this story




Skid Row Releasing their First New Material in Seven Years
(Classic Rock) Skid Row will release their first new material in seven years when their EP United World Rebellion Chapter One is launched on April 15.

It's the first in a series of planned EP releases, of which bassist Rachel Bolan says: "When we put the band back together, we needed to reintroduce Skid Row as relevant without relying too much on past success.

"We sunk our heart and soul into it, letting people know we weren't doing it for lack of nothing better to do." He adds: " I like the idea of a steady flow of new music, as opposed to releasing a full-length album then riding it for the next two years." More rock news.




Paul McCartney Jams With Rolling Stones' Ron Wood
(Gibson) Paul McCartney joined Rolling Stones' Ron Wood at the Ambassador Theatre in London during a concert staged by McCartney's son, James.

Wood accompanied the younger McCartney on guitar throughout the set, while at one point James' famous Dad surprised everyone by leaping onstage to play piano during one song.

After wrapping up his performance cameo, Sir Paul rejoined the audience, which included his daughters, Stella and Mary, and his wife, Nancy.

In other McCartney news, the former Beatle recently announced that a live version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" – originally circulated as a radio promo single in 1976 – will be released on 12-inch vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20. more on this story






ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons To Record With The Moving Sidewalks
(Radio.com) Over the weekend, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons revisited his youth by reuniting with his pre-ZZ band, The Moving Sidewalks, for their first concert in 44 years at New York's B.B. King's.

The band has one more show scheduled for April 28 at the Austin Psych Fest, but their story won't end there thanks to one of their more famous fans, fashion designer John Varvatos.

Gibbons told Radio.com that Varvatos (who posted a photo from Saturday night's show on his Facebook page) convinced him to hit the studio with his former band.

"After speaking with John," he said, 'You know a couple of shows, that's okay, but they're going to evaporate.' I said, 'What are you recommending?' He said, 'You know what I'm recommending! Get in the studio!' So, in the not-too-distant future, we've made arrangements to take some of the re-arranged originals and cover those, and we're in the process of maintaining the momentum by writing new material."

The shows are to promote the band's recently released The Complete Moving Sidewalks and Gibbons says he was surprised by the continued interest in the band. But even more importantly, he was surprised that the chemistry was still there. more on this story




Local H Resuming Tour As Singer Recovers From Brutal Attack
Local H will be returning to the road after they were forced to cancel a series of dates because frontman Scott Lucas suffered vocal cord damage in a vicious attack in Russia in February.

The band will kick off the reinstated tour this Thursday, April 4th, at The Waiting Room in Omaha, NE. The band also plans to reschedule the canceled dates.

Lucas told fans about the brutal attack in the following Facebook post: "Here's what happened: A month ago, after a date in Moscow, I was assaulted and robbed. The attacker came up from behind and put me in a chokehold until I passed out. When I came to, I was in a stairwell with all of my pockets empty. No phone, no wallet, no cash, and (worst of all) no passport. Nothing. Even my hat and glasses were gone. It wasn't until I found someone to ask for help that I realized something else was gone - my voice. When I opened my mouth to ask that person to call me a taxi, nothing but a scratchy croak would come out. I touched my throat and could feel that more damage had been done than I initially thought. A purple bruise began to form. I was having trouble swallowing. Russia...........

"When I got back to the states, I just figured that resting my voice and taking it easy would allow everything to return to normal. I'd lost my voice before and I knew the drill : shut the f**k up (basically). But it soon became apparent that this time my voice wasn't going to just heal itself and I had to see someone. The folks at MusiCares hooked me up with a voice doctor who found that one of my vocal cords had been damaged." more on this story




Eddie Van Halen Explains Why He Went Hip-Hop
Eddie Van Halen surprised fans when he revealed that he had collaborated with LL Cool J on two tracks on the veteran rapper's new album, Authentic, which will be released on April 30th.

Now the legendary rock guitarist has spoken out about the collaboration and what inspired him to team up with LL Cool J. His camp says that Eddie didn't know what to think of the invitation at first but once he met LL the two hit it off instantly and he agreed to do it.

"The thought of me playing guitar to hip hop was definitely left of center, but I was intrigued and I agreed to meet and listen to what he had," says Eddie. "I was not only inspired by the songs I heard, but LL's enthusiasm, his down to earth personality, the freedom he gave me to co-create and his willingness to, for the very first time, sing the chorus on 'We're The Greatest'. It was like a breath of fresh air that I needed as an artist and an individual."

Eddie adds, "the diversity of the songs on this album and the other artists he has collaborated with is outstanding, appealing to multiple genres of music and maybe even creating a few of our own. I feel blessed to not only have had the opportunity to work with LL but also to call him a great friend." more on this story




Led Zeppelin: Sound and Fury Set For Release
(hennemusic) "Led Zeppelin: Sound and Fury", a new digital book by noted Zeppelin photographer Neal Preston, will be published on April 15.

The in-depth, illustrated digital coffee-table book is created and designed especially for iBooks, providing an unprecedented and comprehensive glimpse into the world of Led Zeppelin through the lens of the famed photographer.

Blending images, interviews, and information to allow readers inside access into some of the greatest moments in rock history, "Sound and Fury" features hundreds of photos of the band from throughout their career (including over 100 that have never been seen before), audio introductions, written pieces, hi-definition video interviews, ephemera, commentary from contemporary artists, technical camera info, band discography, and more.

"Sound And Fury" includes a written introduction by Stevie Nicks. More details.




New Beatles Auction Record Set
(Classic Rock) A signed copy of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band's album has been sold at auction for $290,000, breaking a previous record.

The item, believed to have been autographed by the Fab Four soon after its released in 1967, was estimated to have been worth just $30,000.

The previous record for the band's memorabilia was $150,000 for a signed copy of 1964 release Meet The Beatles. More rock news.





AC/DC Legend Bon Scott Named 2nd Greatest Australian Singer
(hennemusic) AC/DC legend Bon Scott has been named the second greatest Australian singer of all-time in a new survey of Aussie singers.

The Daily Telegraph reports Scott landed at No. 2 behind pop singer John Farnham on the list, which was compiled after a survey of Aussie singers.

"Bon's combination of cheek, wit and balls made everything he did unforgettable," said Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus. "He was also a brilliant songwriter. Do I really need to say any more about the genius of Bon Scott? We were very lucky to have him."

Scott was AC/DC's vocalist from 1974 until his death in 1980. He recorded six albums with the band – from 1975's "High Voltage" to 1979's "Highway To Hell." Who else made the list?




Yes Expand Tour Plans
(hennemusic) Progressive Rock legends Yes have added more dates to their 2013 tour due to overwhelming demand.

The newly added dates start May 19th with 6 shows in Brazil and one each in Chile and Argentina. The new North American dates launch July 6th in Paso Robles, CA and wrap up August 14th in Rosemont, IL.

The tour marks the first time since 1973 that Yes - bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Jon Davison - have performed an album onstage in its entirety.

The current trek sees the band performing 1971's "The Yes Album", 1972's "Close To The Edge" and 1977's "Going For The One" from beginning to end. more on this story




Rush Look Back At Rock History
(hennemusic) Rolling Stone have released video of Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson taking a recent tour of their offices as the two rock legends look back at other rock legends.

The clip shows the pair spending time at the "cover wall," highlighting and discussing various artists as they review the collection from the magazine's 46-year history.

Lee and Lifeson reminisce about seeing Led Zeppelin in Toronto in 1969 and meeting them many years later, drummer Neil Peart's audition for the band, seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and, where they were and what they were doing the day John Lennon was murdered.

Rush return to action this month with a full calendar of events, including their April 18th induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live. more on this story





Def Leppard Aim To Surprise In Vegas
(Classic Rock) Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has admitted the band have their work cut out trying to surprise fans during their Las Vegas residency.

The band is midway through a series of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino, where they're performing classic album Hysteria in full. And Elliott accepts that means most people think they know what they're going to get during the evening.

In the video, showing scenes from Def Lep's final rehearsal, he tells Fuse: "Once we start Hysteria everyone knows what they're going to get. So we have to make a conscious effort, knowing they don't know what they're going to get for the first half of the show.

"With eleven performances we can do literally eleven different sets. We're going deep – the first album, which we don't visit too often; a couple of tracks from High And Dry which haven't been played in years, or have never been played." Watch the video and read more here.




John Lydon Looking Forward to Chinese Prison
(Classic Rock) John Lydon is surprised that Chinese authorities approved his PiL tour after demanding to read every lyric he's ever written.

"They have either incredible good taste or they have no idea what I'm going on about," he says. "I can't wait to find out."

"I hope their prison food is better than elsewhere. I've been in jails all around the world. I'm due an update." More rock news.




Krokus Mistaken For Beatles Songwriters
(Classic Rock) Krokus bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr has been inundated with congratulation for having written Beatles classic Help, because the band covered it on their new album Dirty Dynamite.

"A lot of people don't know that song," he reports. "They come to me and tell me, 'Wow, great new Krokus ballad here,' and I have to tell them that that's unfortunately not written by us.

"Not everybody young knows Help. And it's good to tell the young people: 'Hey, listen to the Beatles stuff – they wrote the best songs in the world, ever.'" More rock news.




Anthrax's Benante Not Bothered By Not Cashing In On Innovation
(Classic Rock) Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante isn't upset that he's given credit for a number of heavy music innovations, but doesn't make the money.

He says: "There have been many times when I've been namechecked and people will say, 'He's the guy who started that.' But it doesn't bother me that others might have reaped the financial rewards for the seeds I was responsible for sowing. It happens to a lot of people in this business.

"You can always be on the cusp of something great, but just be a bit too early with it. The SOD thing was very influential – it showed hardcore bands that you can play what you want to play and make money doing it.

"It definitely helped a lot of those hardcore bands to reach a certain level of success and popularity. The blast beat on the SOD. song Milk had a big impact on rock drumming." More rock news.





Singled Out: Deap Vally
Today Lindsey Troy from Deap Vally tells us about the song "Lies" from their debut EP, "Get Deap," which is set to be released next week on April 9th. Here is the story:

Julie got a me delay pedal for Christmas a couple years ago. I locked myself in our rehearsal space for a few hours and played around with my new toy. I came up with the guitar riff for the chorus during those few hours.

I was seething from a romance that had recently crashed and burned. I was in my car on my way to band practice a few days later and I started to come up with the lyrics. I showed the idea to Julie when we got the our rehearsal space and she dug it, so we jammed it out and finished the song together. We had most of the song fleshed out and were just jamming on the music when Julie grabbed the mic and in a smoky Diana Ross speaking voice says "I thought we agreed / you wouldn't have the need to spread your seed / but it's a fact / you broke your contract". It was on.

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




Tesla Guitarist Frank Hannon Releases New Video
(Classic Rock) Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon has released a new music video for his track The Hills Of California, and you can watch the video online.

It's taken from his solo album Gypsy Highway, which was released in 2010. He says of the work: "The storytelling style of songwriting has always been fascinating to me.

"Singing is a whole another world for me – it took me a long time to find my voice as a lead singer and feel comfortable exposing my soul that way.

"I wrote, sang and played all the instruments and it is definitely an acoustic-type album that shares a lot of my roots and life experiences from the heart." Watch the video here.




James Bond Inspired One of David Lee Roth's Bad Habits
(hennemusic) David Lee Roth has posted a new episode of The Roth Show. This time out, the Van Halen frontman discusses his personal history with alcohol and cigarettes; the singer reveals he took up smoking after seeing Sean Connery as James Bond in "Goldfinger."

Roth has been visible lately doing press interviews to promote the few Van Halen concert dates on the 2013 calendar.

First up for the band is an April 20 gig at The Stone Music Festival in Synday, Australia, marking VH's first visit to the country with Roth.

Van Halen then play three concerts in Japan in June, and they have a single US show set for July 20 at the Rock USA festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Watch the episode here.




Vanderhoof's Metal Church On Wikimetal
The latest episode of the Wikimetal podcast features an exclusive interview with Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. They sent over these details:

Vanderhoof, the guitar player and founding member of Metal Church, spoke with the podcast about the group's history as well as all the band's break-ups.

Kurdt also talked about Metal Church's next album and the show they're doing in São Paulo, on the Live N' Louder festival.

You can listen to the full episode here or you can listen to the interview portion here.




Vampire Weekend Celebrate Easter With Steve Buscemi
(Radio.com) Vampire Weekend spent this weekend with revered character actor Steve Buscemi to take part in this year's New York City Easter Parade.

Buscemi and the band marched in the parade bearing a colorful Easter-themed banner, handing out chocolate Easter eggs to the crowd, according to Pitchfork. The Boardwalk Empire star even used a bullhorn for an impromptu rendition of the band's most recent single, "Diane Young."

Vampire Weekend also took to their Instagram account to post a picture of Buscemi holding up a copy of the New York Post's feature story regarding the band's recent controversy regarding the burning of two Saab 900 series cars for the "Diane Young" lyric video, much to the chagrin of enthusiasts of the new-defunct automaker.

The band preempted the collaboration with a tweet last week, stating that member Chris Baio "has been working on a family tree for months and just discovered he is a distant cousin of actor Steve Buscemi." more on this story





Looking Back At Nirvana's Kurt Cobain 19 Years After His Death
(Gibson) Kurt Cobain, the legendary frontman of '90s grunge band Nirvana, took his own life in his Seattle-area home 19 years ago this Friday (April 5). He was just 27.

On this anniversary week, we recall the impact he had on popular music via some choice quotes: On being a "Sub Pop" band before signing to DGC for Nevermind, as told to Dirt in 1990.

"Well, when someone walks up to me and says, 'You're my favorite Sub Pop band,' I think -- geez, we're you're favorite out of five bands? What about the rest of the country? I don't know. It just scares me. I wonder whether they like us because we're a Sub Pop band or because we're ourselves."

On being called an "alternative" or "underground" band via Recalling Memories of Kurt Cobain in 1991: "What's alternative? What's counterculture? What's cool? Who knows? Who cares? If chasing cool is important to you, you're an idiot! What can you say about people who wait to be told what to like, what to do and how to do it? It's like apathy in action… Look at the mediocrity and blatantly unacceptable stuff we do to each other and the planet. Look at what we accept in our lives by just saying it's out of our control, we can't do anything about it, and it's not our fault. I'm not into ambition or salesmanship, we're not some new trend. We never meant or tried to be cool, or be a "buzz" band. It never even entered our minds."

On the difference between Bleach and Nevermind, as told to Kerrang! magazine (via NirvanaClub.com) in 1991: "I think we've been focusing on dynamics a lot more on this record [Nevermind]. With the Bleach album, everything was just straight ahead and simple, and it becomes boring to play that kind of music all the time so we decided to break things down without songs. I mean, we showed signs of doing that on Bleach, but I think we're way more focused now with both of the elements of soft and pretty and hard and aggressive."

On MTV thinking Nirvana is a metal band, as told to Guitar World in 1992: "That's fine; let them be fooled! I don't have anything against Headbanger's Ball, but it's strange to see our faces on MTV."