Today's Day in Rock
Journey React To Death of Sopranos Star James Gandolfini
Journey have paid tribute to James Gandolfini, best known for the role of mafia boss Tony Soprano in the hit HBO series "The Sopranos," who died in Italy on Wednesday of a suspected heart attack. He was 51.
The famed final scene in "The Sopranos" featured Journey's classic song "Don't Stop Believing" and the band issued a statement about Gandolfini death on Wednesday.
Here is what they had to say, "It's truly an honor to have been able to share one of the greatest moments ever in TV history with James Gandolfini. He was an amazing actor - taken way too young – and he'll be missed. Our condolences go out to his family."
HBO and James managers also issued statements. HBO said, "We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us."
Gandolfini managers Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders issued this statement, "It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy. Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving."
You can watch a video of clip of the final Sopranos scene featuring the Journey song here.
Rare Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth Performance Goes Online
A new set of rare videos from a performance featuring Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth have been posted online by Chris Gossett.
Gossett says that these new videos are very rare and come from a show that Van Halen and Holdsworth performed on April 23rd, 1982. He says that while two pieces from the show have been posted on YouTube, there were actually six pieces recorded and he has posted four of the six on his site.
He has broken the posting up into six parts, of which he has posted four in total so far. One video features a 12 minute jam which you can watch here. The next two videos feature what Gossett says is a crafted song where Van Halen got together with Allan Holdsworth's bass player, Jeff Berlin, on 4/22/82, just one day prior to the show to compose the riffs. Watch the first part here and the second part here and he sent an additional video link of a jam from the show that has previously been featured on his site here.
Black Sabbath Score Their First No. 1 Album
Black Sabbath's brand new studio album, "13," has earned the legendary veteran heavy metal band the very first U.S. No. 1 album of their 45-year career.
"13" made a powerful first week impression after it sold more than 155,000 copies in its first week, which was 100,000 more copies sold than the next best selling album of the week, Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories."
The members of Black Sabbath issued the following statement about their historic achievement: "The news is absolutely amazing--we couldn't have imagined this would happen," says guitarist Tony Iommi. "We have the greatest fans."
"There have been so many amazing highlights in our long career," says singer Ozzy Osbourne. "To finally have our first #1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath. Thank you to all of our fans for their support and loyalty."
Bassist Geezer Butler says, "I'm absolutely stunned. Thank you all world wide for being the best, and most patient, fans ever."
The album made a big impression across the globe where it also topped the charts in the U.K., Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland and made top five debuts in Australia (#4), Austria (#2), Belgium (#5), and Ireland (#5).
North American fans will be able to help the band celebrate this summer when the group launches their summer tour on July 25 in Houston, TX. more on this story
Travis Return From Hiatus With New Album and Tour
Travis have officially ended their five year long hiatus and regrouped to record their new studio album, "Where You Stand," which will be released on August 20th.
Fans will not have to wait until August to get a taste of what the new album will sound like as the band is giving fans an advance listed to the album's title track here.
"Where You Stand" was produced by Michael Ilbert who recorded the album on the same sound desk that was used on both "The Man Who" and Radiohead's "Ok Computer."
The album was written and recorded across London, Norway, New York and Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios and the band had the following to say about the end of their hiatus and return to making music, "When you're in a band, you're in a band forever - its a life thing," reasons lead singer Fran Healy. "For me it's family."
"It's a lovely life," reflects bassist Dougie Payne, "but when you do it relentlessly, there's a point when it snaps you. We decided to take a break to spend time with our families. You stay away as long as it takes" he says of the well-judged fallow period "so you feel that hunger and desire to get back to it same as you did at the start."
The band will also be making their live return this summer and have announced the initial dates from the globe spanning trek that will kick off in July and include performances at T In The Park and the V Festival (UK), plus shows across Europe, Russia and a North American headlining tour that begins September 19th in Philadelphia more on this story
Ray Manzarek's Final Album Released
The final studio album recorded by the late Doors legend Ray Manzarek has been released. The album is entitled 'Twisted Tales' and was recorded by Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers.
"In our last meeting together before his passing, Ray and I were both very excited about the upcoming release of 'Twisted Tales'. We signed off on the artwork and agreed that it should be released sooner than later," says Roy Rogers.
"So, honoring that decision, I have proceeded with the release. We both were proud of this recording and hope that people enjoy it. This recording is dedicated to Ray's memory."
Glass Onyon sent over these details about the album: Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers have received no shortage of kudos since they first recorded together five years ago. Ray Manzarek's signature keyboard sound was a cornerstone of The Doors - one of the most iconic rock bands of the 60's. An inductee into the R&R Hall of Fame - he certainly needs no introduction. In the pantheon of music, The Doors' music continues to be one of the most revered rock song catalogs of any band. Slide guitarist Roy Rogers has been lauded not only for his own recordings but for his long-time collaboration with harmonica master Norton Buffalo as well as his producing of 4 CD projects for blues icon John Lee Hooker and folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott. He is well known worldwide for his mastery of slide guitar and has received 8 Grammy nominations for his work as artist and producer. more on this story
Sammy Hagar Added To Toby Keith's Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert
Toby Keith's upcoming Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert has just gotten even more star power with the announcement that Sammy Hagar will be joining the all-star lineup.
The charity concert will be taking place on July 6 in Norman, Oklahoma in the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at the University of Oklahoma and will feature the former Van Halen and current Chickenfoot frontman as well as Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis and John Anderson.
"When Toby asked me to come on board, I immediately said yes!" says Hagar. "He's put together a hell of a concert lineup to help raise funds for the brave and resilient people of Oklahoma. My job is going to be to help them take their minds off their problems and have some much-needed, good old-fashioned fun."
"I grew up in Moore, I live in Norman and I've got lots of family and friends who were directly affected," Toby Keith said in a press statement. "I know these folks and they're resilient, but we're going to keep helping them any way we can. I'm proud to get together with some others from around here who are just as committed as I am to supporting these communities." Hagar has additional information here.
Rob Zombie Plans Great American Nightmare Event For Halloween
(Gibson) Halloween is over four months away, but Rob Zombie is ready for it. The horror film guru and singer has just dropped the news that he'll host a new event this Halloween that will let fans walk through several haunted house attractions based on his popular horror movies.
The event, called "The Great American Nightmare," will offer three haunted houses: "Lords of Salem Total Black Out," "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto 3D" and "Haunt of 1,000 Corpses." The houses feature 3D effects and animatronics for an extra creepy twist.
"This is...the ultimate badass Halloween experience!" Zombie said in an official statement. "No one will walk away disappointed. I am thrilled to bring The Great American Nightmare to California and begin a reign of bloody terror!"
On top of the haunted attractions, the Great American Nightmare will offer 15 evenings of creepy concerts arranged by Zombie, including performances by the Used, Andrew W.K., Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish and more. more on this story
Arctic Monkeys Streaming New Song Online
(Radio.com) After premiering the song in concert last month, British rockers the Arctic Monkeys have released the studio version of their new single, "Do I Wanna Know?"
The band's sound continues to evolve beyond the snappy and upbeat kick of early singles like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," with the new single riding on a slow-burning big-beat stomp, falsetto backing vocals and a massive sing-along chorus.
According to drummer Matt Helders, the band will release a new album this year, their first full-length since 2011′s Suck it and See. The Arctic Monkeys only have one U.S. date on their tour itinerary this summer, with the band scheduled to play the Music Midtown 2013 festival in Atlanta, Ga., over the weekend of September 20-21 alongside such acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons, 2 Chainz and Journey. Check out the song here.
Homme Explains Elton John and Queens Of The Stone Age Collaboration
(Gibson) Queens Of The Stone Age has a very unexpected collaboration on their new album ...Like Clockwork. The band teamed up with piano rock legend Elton John on the song "Fairweather Friends." In an interview with BBC 5 Live Josh Homme talked about working with Elton:
"He's a workaholic. He's a music fan who's constantly searching for new music to get involved with. He's signing acts from YouTube, it's really intense. He's always playing 200 plus shows a year and he's an amazing piano player."
Speaking about the track "Fairweather Friends," Homme said: "He called me on the phone and it took me a minute to work out if I was being punked or not. He came in and we tracked a rock song live together, which was a wonderful experience.
"That is what collaboration is all about, learning something from someone else and about someone else and maybe reminding them of something they enjoy too. To experience that with Elton was wonderful. There are piano-based, mellower songs on our record but that's not really the point. It's about strange chemistry and doing what you're not supposed to do."
Queens Of The Stone Age are touring Europe during June and July, before heading Stateside for shows throughout August and September, starting with an appearance at the Lollapalooza Festival on August 2. more on this story
Queensryche Rift Goes Back A Decade
(Classic Rock) Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield says the rift between the band and fired frontman Geoff Tate go back ten years. They're poised to release their self-titled album with new singer Todd La Torre, and streamed the full record online yesterday.
Tate was sacked in 2012 following a series of disagreements – but Rockenfield says the process leading up to the band's decision started a decade ago.
"It's been, like, ten years – things were starting to come uncomfortable," He tells Ghost Cult. "It was a slow process, but over time if became apparent that Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and I were drifting apart from Geoff, especially when it came down to the music and the general direction of Queensryche."
Rockenfield says there's a good reason they didn't take action sooner.
Killers Team Up With M83
(Radio.com) In a surprise announcement, drummer Ronnie Vannucci has revealed that the Killers have collaborated with M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez on a new song.
"Not just demos. Real recordings," Vannucci told NME about the studio collaboration. "I mean, you never know what it's gonna be, I guess. But we have our engineer, and we're working with a couple of surprise guests, in the producer capacity. Some of it is sounding really cool.
"We can be guilty of making things so ornate, and sometimes that's a bad thing. So I always have conversations with Brandon [Flowers, Killers frontman] about working from a smaller palate, simplifying things. If these new tracks develop a theme, a common thread, then that could be the start of something."
The Killers are currently on tour in Europe, with a string of U.S. dates this summer including an appearance at Lollapalooza in Chicago (August 3) and LouFest in St. Louis (Sept. 8). The band is still supporting their most recent album, Battle Born, which came out in September of last year. more on this story
Everyone Dies In Utah Replace Justin Yost
Everyone Dies In Utah frontman and bassist Justin Yost has left the group and started a new band and has been replaced by former Us, From Outside singer Michael Crimlis.
Crimlis had this to say about his new gig, "I used to be the vocalist for another band on Tragic Hero, so I've been labelmates with the EDIU dudes for a while and I was always a big fan of their style," he said. "When I was offered the position to be their new vocalist it was pretty much a no brainer."
The rest of Everyone Dies In Utah had this to say about Crimlis, "We look forward to the opportunity to share the adventure with such a talented musician!"
Everyone Dies In Utah did not address Justin's departure but assured fans that they will still be performing on the upcoming Scream the Prayer tour.
Justin Yost posted a series of tweets following the announcement and says that he is "coming out with a solo record this summer and a new song with my new band this weekend. ;)"
A few hours later he said, "Boy, oh boy, do we have some awesome stuff for you guys soon. Things no one does anymore. #backtotheroots #appreciatefans #newband "
He also had a message for fans and friends, "Through all this band craziness I just wanted to say thanks to all the friends/fans who are still supporting me. Real love goes far. #thanks"
Sunset Strip Music Festival Lineup Expanded
Awolnation, Wale, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Logic, Slick Rick/Doug E. Fresh, Asher Roth, Finch and Street Drum Corps will be joining headliners Linkin Park as the outdoors performances at this year's Sunset Strip Music Festival.
The sixth annual festival will be taking place in West Hollywood at the Sunset Strip's famed music venues on August 1-3 and will culminate on Saturday, August 3 with a 3-11 PM street festival.
In addition to the two outdoor stages on The Sunset Strip, venues inside the street festival closure – including The Roxy, Whisky A Go-Go and a special outdoor Viper Room stage -- will feature full lineups throughout the day and into the night, including performances by Warren G and Bizarre Ride featuring Fatlip & Slimkid3 at The Roxy and Orgy at the Whisky. more on this story
Don Felder Describes The Difficult Road to Forever
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder describes in a new interview with antiMusic's Morley Seaver a tragedy that occurred as he was preparing to record his latest solo album, "Road To Forever," as well as the story behind the title track and other songs on the album. Here is that portion of the interview:
There was a record producer called Greg Ladanyi, a really famous guy. He's produced tons of great records that I loved and admired and I worked with Greg on several other projects along the way. He was originally going to be the producer on this record. He and I had spent months playing golf and having lunch and listening to song ideas and deciding where we would record and who the players would be. And just kind of putting out the roadmap in advance of how we were going to go about making this record, song selection and all that other stuff.
Then about a week before we were scheduled to actually come into the studio, Greg got on a plane and flew to Greece to see one of his Greek Madonna artists, who isn't really known in the states but is huge in Greece. And he had an unfortunate accident where he fell off the back of this really huge stadium stage and passed away. So I was kind of left with this roadmap that Greg had laid out for me and really saddened by his not being able to be part of this record. But he had given me the plan to do it.
So myself and one of the guys that I had been introduced to by Greg, Robin DiMaggio, decided we would pick this up, go into the studio, record three or four songs and kind of see how they turn out. See how we'd do. One of the songs that I wanted to do was a song called "Road to Forever", which I started writing as a really kind of acoustic guitar song when my father passed away. My father never really got to see and enjoy the celebration of my success. He passed away before I really went anywhere with the Eagles. I was in the band but we were just starting to tour and stuff.
So I wanted to record that song and we put together that group of people that Greg had talked about doing on that song. I wanted to make it tougher so I rewrote some of the song and took it in from a pretty acoustic song to this harder rock song. Brought in Steve Lukather and David Paich…a whole bunch of guys to play on it that we had talked about. And at the very end of the record I created this affect that sounds like what I would imagine the pool of souls sounding like. You stick your head up into heaven, you could hear the millions an millions of souls that's gone before us, just a swarming sound and you couldn't really understand what they were saying but you would hear all these millions of voices.
We simulated that in the studio by having a bunch of people speaking and saying prayers and saying stuff, women and all sorts of kids and everything to create that. And at the very end of that pool of souls, on the "Road to Forever" song, I found this thing online of Greg at a conference for recording engineers and producer. And he was speaking about the difference between digital recording and analog recording and he said at the very end of his speech, "and that's the difference between the two worlds." So I took Greg's voice and put it in the very end of the pool of souls. So as it fades down you can hear Greg say, "And that's the difference between the worlds." So Greg ended up on the record.
That song was kind of done in his honor and my father's honor, but it's the same pathway for us all, if you know what I mean. So kind of the theme of the record was, you may be living through all of these experiences, as fun and uplifting and tragic as they may be, and you may be living your life in the fast lane but we're all on the road to forever. So that kind of was the underlying theme of the record. And that's why I chose that title to be on the record.
All the other things are other experiences that I've gone through that were quite tragic. Like the separation and divorce from my wife produced the song "Fall from The Grace of Love". Living through those three or four years of really desperate bad economy, I wrote the song "Money", where I saw single moms who couldn't feed their kids and thieves on Wall Street just ripping off everybody. And Uncle Sam is raising taxes and guys working as hard as they could to just earn enough money to get by and how difficult that was. So I wrote songs about life experiences that I either observed or living through, and said that was part of the road to forever. Read the full interview here.
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Rockline Appearance Posted Online
(hennemusic) Megadeth's Dave Mustaine was the guest on Rockline with host Bob Coburn this past Monday, and a reply of the broadcast is now available online.
Mustaine was on the show to promote the band's new album, "Super Collider," which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 last week with opening sales of 29,000 copies. Listen to the replay here.
The record was the final project recorded at Mustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K; the guitarist has since closed the facility and is moving it to another location. more on this story
Metallica Release Orion Fest Day 2 Recap Video
(hennemusic) Metallica are sharing more footage from their recent Orion Music + More festival from Belle Isle in Detroit, MI with the release of a recap of day two of the festival.
A recap of day 2 (Sunday, June 9) features the pre-show meet-and-greet, "I Disappear" in the tuning room, and "Carpe Diem Baby" and "The Day That Never Comes" from the show.
Orion 2013 marks only the second time that "Carpe Diem Baby" had been performed live, and just the second time that "The Day That Never Comes" had been played over the past two and a half years.
The June 8/9 weekend event featured more than 30 bands across five live music stages plus a variety of activities and on-site events; the Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined the first night and Metallica closed out the festival on Sunday evening. Check out the recap here.
Singled Out: The Custodian's Necessary Wasted Time
Today Richard Thomson from U.K. prog rockers The Custodian tells us about the title track from their brand new debut album, "Necessary Wasted Time". Here is the story:
So this song I think is the most important song lyrically for me on the album, as it sums up the entire writing process. Looking back on this now, the basic meaning of the title is a rather childish observation of "wanting to be able to do what you want to do all the time instead of having responsibilities".
During the initial creation of the music that appears on the album, I was working a really high stress job for a pay that didn't nearly match the pure anguish I was having to deal with on a daily basis. I would start real early and get back real late, so as soon as id had a very modest gym session to de-stress and de-fat, I would have about 2 hours left in the evening to eat and hopefully, write some music. Or do anything productive at all for that matter. I saw my job obviously, as utterly necessary for my continued survival but still got mad at it for cutting into my "me" quite time so severely. This album was all that mattered and I got incredibly frustrated when I wasn't able to contribute to it.
At one point it became pretty awful and it seemed that I had permanently cut all fun from my life. Every weekend, evening and small morsel of free time was consumed with the writing process. In all honesty it started to become a little obsessive. I barely saw my housemate and tended to be moody and snappy when I did bump into him which I'm sure he appreciated greatly (sorry Sam). I never saw my friends and constantly forgot to call any of my family members back when they felt like having a chat with their distant, surly butthole of a son. Oh yeah and my girlfriend left me too which was entirely expected. (get out your tiny violins). In hindsight I should of left her first and retained some pride. Strangely, the songwriting process became easier after that. Id hate to subscribe to the cliché that being in a strangely (for me anyway) emotional funk can lead to creativity but hey, it worked for me.
So I guess that's about it. The entire album was written over about a year's period in a tiny bedroom in Warwickshire. The process was solitary and a bit isolating but social skills CAN be re-learnt with no huge conscious effort it turns out. The album is being released professionally by Laser's Edge and I couldn't be happier with the result. Its just a shame it took 5 years from the completion of the material for it to appear on the store shelves. I guess I just had a lot of necessary time to waste before then!
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
Chimaira Release 'No Mercy' Video
Chimaira have premiered a new music video for their latest single "No Mercy," which is featured on their forthcoming studio album "Crown of Phantoms."
Frontman Mark Hunter had these details about the new video, "We are pumped to present the first official video for our new album 'Crown of Phantoms.' Directed by Cleveland native Patrick Finegan, 'No Mercy' is a ferocious, twisted, cerebral ride through hell and back. Enjoy the trip!"
"Crown of Phantoms" will be released on July 30th and the band enlisted fans via a Indiegogo campaign to help fund the creation of the album. You can watch the new music video here.
The Boxer Rebellion Rock Leno
The Boxer Rebellion were the special musical guests on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno last Friday night and video of their appearance has been posted online.
The UK band made their American late-night television return by performing their song, "Diamonds," which is the first single off their recently released full-length album 'Promises.'
The Boxer Rebellion is currently on a run of North America that includes a headlining show at Webster Hall in New York City tonight, June 20 and a final show at Sinclair in Boston, MA on Saturday, June 22. Watch the Leno performance here.
King Khan & The Shrines Streaming New Song Online
(Classic Rock) King Khan & The Shrines have unveiled the first track, "Born To Die," from their upcoming album "Idle No More," which is set for release on September 3 via Merge Records.
Six years since the release of KK&TS' last album What Is!?, Idle No More is full of sweat-drenched, ass-shaking, psyched-out numbers, complete with rip-roaring horn lines, southern-fried guitar riffs and lysergic melodies.
Or, as Classic Rock Ed in Chief Scott Rowley comments: "Pretty good, totally mad garage rock. They played the Austin Psych Fest dressed as Egyptian kings from what I could tell."
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