Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones Plan Another Tour?
(Gibson) Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has dropped a strong hint the band might reunite again for a string of shows next February. "While the big wheel is rolling we are going to capture it before it stops totally," Woods told London's The Sun.
Wood went on to say the Stones were overwhelmed by the response to their 50th anniversary gigs, which included a headlining slot at the U.K.'s Glastonbury Festival. "Everybody had a smile on their face, which was brilliant," the guitarist said.

In the wake of Wood's comments, a spokesperson for the Stones told NME.com "no firm plans" are in place as of yet. Meanwhile, the band is set to release Sweet Summer Sun – Hyde Park Live, a film that captures their performance at London's Hyde Park this past July. The film will be available of DVD and Blu-Ray on November 11. more on this story






Vixen's Jan Kuehnemund Dead at 51
(Classic Rock) Jan Kuehnemund, the guitarist and founder member of pioneering all-girl rockers Vixen, died last Thursday, 10 October, after a long battle with cancer.

Kuehnemund originally formed the band in St. Paul, Minnesota, before moving to Los Angeles and becoming forever associated with the burgeoning 80s rock scene. In an era of absurdly mascara'd male rockers with over-done hairdos and lipsticked pouts, Vixen were proudly female in this feminized man's world.

Like a quartet of Krystle Carringtons in skin-tight leotards, their debut album Vixen (1988) had material from outside writers (Richard Marx among them) but successor Rev It Up (1990) was full of self-written songs, and the band seemed well placed to become the female equivalent to Bon Jovi. more on this story




Pearl Jam To Provide Soundtrack For The World Series
(Radio.com) Major League Baseball fans can expect a heavy dose of Pearl Jam during the upcoming World Series. Thanks to a new deal between Pearl Jam and MLB, all twelve tracks from the band's upcoming album, Lightning Bolt, as well as a slew of selections from the group's extensive back catalog will serve as the soundtrack to this year's potentially seven-game series, scheduled to air Oct. 23-31.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, all of Pearl Jam's albums save 2002 full-length Riot Act will be represented during this year's World Series. Songs like "Even Flow," "Better Man," and "State of Love and Trust" (originally found on the soundtrack to 1992 movie, Singles) will be among the 48 PJ tunes baseball fans can expect to hear throughout the games.

FOX Sports, which is handling the broadcast of the World Series, will continue to rock with Pearl Jam through the month of November, when they'll be featured as the network's Artist of the Month.

"There was a period of time when we didn't license much music," Pearl Jam's longtime manager Kelly Curtis told The Hollywood Reporter. "But for the past many years, we consider licensing requests using the same criteria we do for everything else: Do we like it? Would the fans like it? Does it provide a different forum for fans to hear the music? Is it something we can get behind? The band loves baseball, so this one was a no-brainer." more on this story




Death Cab for Cutie Working On New Album
(Radio.com) Death Cab for Cutie took to social media last Thursday (October 10) to let fans know that they are hard at work recording their eighth album. As of right now, there is no official release date for the band's follow-up to 2011′s Codes and Keys.

According to Rolling Stone, the band is holed up in a Seattle recording studio, with DCFC guitarist Chris Walla once again playing the role of producer. Along with producing records for Death Cab, he's also produced two albums for Tegan and Sara, 2007′s The Con and 2009′s Sainthood, and others.

Photos posted by the band on Instagram, with the hashtag #inthestudio, give fans a look at the setup inside the studio, from multicolored pedals to "paintbrushes," otherwise known as guitars. According to one dispatch, the band is going to be in the studio "for a bit." more on this story





Jason Newsted and Sebastian Bach Added To Geezer Butler Tribute Show
(hennemusic) Jason Newsted and Sebastian Bach are the latest additions to a tribute concert to honor Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler at Bass Player Live! 2013.

"Terry 'Geezer' Butler is my No. 1 influence and greatest teacher of electric bass in heavy metal music," says Newsted. "All true metal bassists look up to Geezer as a pioneer and godfather of our chosen instrument. The best, ever."

The concert will take place at the historic Fonda Theatre and will feature an all-star band performing with Butler; participating rockers include Billy Sheehan, Zakk Wylde, Rudy Sarzo, Kerry King (Slayer), Corey Taylor (Stone Sour, Slipknot), and Frank Bello (Anthrax). more on this story




Boston Reveal More New Album Details
(hennemusic) Boston have unveiled the cover artwork and more details for "Life, Love & Hope", the band's first album release in more than a decade that is set for release on December 3rd.

The project includes lead vocals from Brad Delp, Tommy DeCarlo, Kimberley Dahme, David Victor and Tom Scholz. "I intentionally stayed close to the early Boston style on some of the songs, even using the same amps and instruments," says Scholz, "on others I let my imagination run wild."

"These are songs from the heart, each of them taking many months of effort to write, arrange, perform and record, always up to the demands of Boston's harshest critic, me," added Scholz. "They have all been meticulously recorded to analogue tape on the same machines and equipment used for Boston's hits for the past 35 years." Check out the cover art here.




Queen's Roger Taylor Releasing First New Album in 15 Years
(hennemusic) Queen drummer Roger Taylor will release his first new solo album in 15 years, "Fun On Earth", and his entire solo catalog, on November 11 (November 12 in North America).

Recorded at Priory Studios in Surrey, the 13-track "Fun On Earth" album features the lead single, "Sunny Day." Among the songs on the record, the project sees Taylor team up with guitar icon Jeff Beck for the contemporary Queen favorite, "Say It's Not True."

November 11 will also see the release of "The Lot" - the complete collection of Taylor's back catalog of work, spanning his solo career and material from The Cross. more on this story





Avenged Sevenfold Wanted To Cross Over With New Album
(Classic Rock) Avenged Sevenfold wanted to write more direct songs in a way that could cross any borders and language barriers with their new album Hail To The King.

The release hit the No.1 spot on both sides of the Atlantic but has come in for criticism with Machine Head frontman Rob Flynn labeling it a "covers album".

But speaking to TheMorningSun.com guitarist Zacky Vengeance explains the change in direction for the album, saying: "We took a conscious approach to try to write in a more direct fashion. Just by nature, we're always filled with so many ideas and want to cram as many ideas into a song as we can, and I think that gave us a lot of our signature sound. But, looking back, that could be a little bit meandering, y'know? He had a lot more to say.




Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Announce Symphony Show Details
(hennemusic) As previously reported, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine will be a featured soloist with the San Diego Symphony and now we learn when the performance will be taking place and the music program for the special show.

The classical special concert, billed as "Symphony Interrupted", will take place at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, California on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

Mustaine will participate in a program that will include Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries" from "Die Walküre", Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons" and Dvorak's "Symphony No. 9" (the "New World" symphony). more on this story




Neil Peart of Rush Featured In Walk The Walk Series Premiere
(hennemusic) Rush drummer Neil Peart is among those featured in the premiere episode of Walk The Walk, a six-part documentary series from Global TV in Canada which celebrates the work done by community heroes.

The series surprises local heroes with a visit from a celebrity they admire who has already been inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame. "The main purpose of art is to inspire," says Peart, "and if you can inspire someone, what else can you do?"

Rush was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame in 1999, and the premiere episode focuses on London, Ontario based musician Karl Sloman, who shows compassion, along with perseverance and ingenuity, with the band he formed in 2005 called Trainwreck - an eight-member band divided equally between players with and without disabilities. Check out video from the show here.




Motorhead Stream New Songs and Announce Listening Party
Motorhead have released two new songs online from their forthcoming album, Aftershock! and have announced details for a listening party that will be taking place this Friday.

"Aftershock" won't be released until October 22nd but the band teamed up with two of the most unlikely websites to premiere songs from the album. One song "End of Time" is streaming at Pitchfork and the other new song "Going To Mexico" is streaming on MTV.com.

While those are websites you wouldn't automatically think of when it comes to Motorhead, the band and their fans are right at home at The Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood which will be holding a special listening party this Friday.

The event is scheduled to take place from 9:00-11:00 PM on October 18th in the upstairs area of the famed Hollywood watering hole. According to the announcement, the first 100 Motorhead fans will get in free and they will be giving away free Rainbow pizza and Motorhead prizes.



Mike Oldfield Releasing New Album
(Prog) Mike Oldfield will release his brand new album, his first of original material since 2008, on January 27, 2014. Man On The Rocks is a deeply personal song-based album that reflects many of Mike's different influences. R

Recorded in the Bahamas, Oldfield's 25th studio album has been produced by Mike with legendary British producer Stephen Lipson (Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney, Producers).

"It has been a pleasure making Man On The Rocks with such a dedicated team of performers," says Oldfield. "For a long period, I felt that I wasn't going to record any new music again. But, after the elation of the Olympics and the explorations of my catalogue, I felt the time was right to return with this, one of my favourite albums to date." more on this story





Storm Thorgerson Celebrated In Exhibition
(Prog) Storm Thorgerson's life and career is to be celebrated in a Prog-sponsored free exhibition which promises to present the iconic artist's work in a new light.

The Hipgnosis co-founder, who went on to found StormStudios, died earlier this year aged 69. He left behind a five-decade legacy of album covers including unforgettable work with Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Genesis, Muse and many others.

London's new Proud Archivist gallery will host The Gathering Storm from October 22 until December 1. Organisers say: "Thorgerson's images are usually only seen in LP or CD format, and sometimes printed in less than desirable quality. The exhibition will provide a chance to see them as large, high-quality prints, pulsing with detail and colour.

"It will also offer unique behind-­the-­scenes insights with previously unseen sketchbooks, photographs and anecdotes from the shoots, revealing the process and extraordinary effort that went into making the final images." There is also a book coming.





The Pogues Tribute Phil Chevron
(Gibson) The Pogues have issued a statement paying tribute to their late guitarist, Phil Chevron, who died of cancer last Tuesday (Oct. 8) at age 56. Chevron, whose real name was Philip Ryan, joined the band in 1984 and occasionally handled lead vocals along with main singer Shane MacGowan.

Chevron remained with The Pogues after former Clash frontman Joe Strummer replaced MacGowan in 1991, but left the group three years later due to poor health. When The Pogues reformed in 2001, Chevron remastered their back catalog and figured heavily in the band's annual reunion tours.

The Pogues' statement reads, in part: "It has been no consolation that we have all had months to prepare for the worst; when the worst came, the preparations we had made turned out to be futile, and the impact has been felt very deeply.

"The hole that his death has left will be huge. He was a remarkable and fantastically talented colleague, but most of all a friend. Philip will be missed terribly and will always be in our hearts."

You can read the entire statement at The Pogues' website. more on this story







Bruce Springsteen Makes Rare Online Posting and Reveals Video
(Radio.com) Bruce Springsteen generally communicates with his fans via his music, he's not one to post too often on his website or social media. But last week, he took to his official site to post a thank you letter to fans, and also a new music video, which served a similar purpose.

"To all the tramps and travelers who exposed themselves night after night to the long flights, the long drives, the long queuing, the rain… we appreciate it," he wrote.

Springsteen also thanked the "'creative' request sign makers," "the families who showed up (with) all generations represented" and notably, "our young fans, the newest members of our E Street clan, who brought their life, vitality, fresh energy and who immersed themselves in 40 years of music, we thank and welcome you. You're our future."

Bruce also posted a video of his cover of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream," produced by Wrecking Ball producer Ron Aniello, which features a montage of concert footage, both of fans and the band. more on this story





Korn Find Their Missing Link With Head's Return
(Classic Rock) Korn's Reg 'Fieldy' Arvizu has revealed that it took the return of guitarist 'Head' to the Korn fold for the band to realise just how much they had missed him.

Back in 2005 Brian 'Head' Welch left Korn to pursue a solo career and focus on family life. He made one live appearance with the band during a show at the Carolina Rebellion in 2012 before his full-time return was announced earlier this year.

Now in an interview with Bass Musician Magazine 'Fieldy' has spoken of the instant connection with the returning axeman. He says: "We realised when Head left just how much chemistry was gone. When he came back, it was, like: 'Oh, there it is!' It was amazing, almost like family members when you don't see them all year or even years and you see them at Christmas and just pick up where you left off. more on this story




Slash, Duff McKagan and Steven Tyler Attend Matt Sorum's Wedding
(Classic Rock) Former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum tied the knot with long term girlfriend Adriene 'Ace' Harper this weekend at a star studded ceremony in Palm Springs, California.

US Weekly report the event was attended by a who's who of rock royalty including former GN'R and Velvet Revolver band mates Slash and Duff McKagan, Steven Tyler, Dave Navarro and Juliette Lewis.

The couple have been dating for almost ten years are both members of the band Diamond Baby while Harper is a singer and dancer who has worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Pink in the past. more on this story



Lynyrd Skynyrd Announce Australian Live Debut
(hennemusic) Lynyrd Skynyrd have announce their first-ever concert dates in Australia. The band will play The Plenary in Melbourne on February 11 and the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney on February 13.

Lynyrd Skynyrd will follow the Australian shows with three dates in New Zealand in February. Joining the Southern rock legends in New Zealand will be Starship and 10cc, as the tour hits Taupo, North Auckland, and Queenstown.

Lynyrd Skynyrd are currently touring in support of their latest album, "Last Of A Dyin' Breed." Watch the official music video for the title track here.




KISS To Broadcast Final Japanese Tour Stop
(hennemusic) KISS will broadcast the fourth and final show of their upcoming Japanese tour on pay-per-view in the country. The shows come as the band winds down its Monster world tour.

The final show of the band's Japanese tour on October 24th at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo will be broadcast on Japan's TV WOWOW that same night.

Following the Japanese tour, KISS will play a make-up date in Calgary, Alberta on November 8; the original July 13th show was cancelled due to damage from devastating flooding in the Canadian city over the summer. more on this story





Touchstone To Debut New Songs On Tour
(Prog) Touchstone are planning to debut a range of tracks from their latest album during their UK tour with the Von Hertzen Brothers, which kicks off later this week.

The Prog-sponsored trek includes six shows across Scotland, England and Wales, and Mikko Von Hertzen has already vowed it'll be a breakthrough event for his band.

"There will be lots of new material from our fourth album, Oceans Of Time, plus the odd classic," Touchstone vocalist Kim Seviour tells Prog. "We get to visit places we don't often have the opportunity to get to – Glasgow, we're coming for you! more on this story






Singled Out: The Cringe's Rushing Through the World
Today John Cusimano from The Cringe tells us about the song "Rushing Through the World" which comes from their latest studio album "Hiding In Plain Site". Here is the story:

"Rushing Through the World" -- the first track from our most recent album "Hiding in Plain Sight" -- was the last to be written. The main riff, melody, verse and chorus were written by me in what is known as "Drop D" tuning, whereby the low E string on the guitar is tuned down to a D. This tuning is often employed to create a sludgy/heavy sound, and as a result this track is the most "metal" sounding track on the album.

Roto wrote the interestingly incongruous prog rock sounding bridge and the original draft of the lyrics -- which he and I later refined. The lyrics are essentially a Buddhist plea to find solace in an increasingly busy and distracting world.

We recorded the basic tracks in upstate NY in a home studio I built above my garage. Typically, we record the final drum tracks along with guide or "scratch" tracks of the rest of the band to be used as a guide for the drummer (Shawn Pelton) and to be overdubbed and replaced later under a more exacting and controlled recording environment. That being said, Jonny "Blaze" Matias' scratch track was so epic, and had such heart and fire, that we kept it on the final mix. It's one of the best things about the album.

We often start our live set with this track.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album and grab the tour dates where you can see them with Trapt, and Cowboy Mouth right here!





Pearl Jam Week Coming To Jimmy Fallon
(hennemusic) Late Night With Jimmy Fallon has announced Pearl Jam Week, a series of shows dedicated to the launch of the Seattle band's new album, "Lightning Bolt."

From October 21 – 23, the NBC late night program will feature musical performances of Pearl Jam songs by special guests, before the group appears on the October 24 and 25 episodes.

On October 21, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell will perform "Footsteps" backed by members of the Avett Brothers. On October 22, Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold will break a long hiatus from performing when he covers "Corduroy" backed by special guests.

On October 23, country superstar Dierks Bentley will team up with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready and the Roots for a one-of-a-kind performance. more on this story




Gibson Picks the Greatest Rock Supergroups
(Gibson) The notion of the "supergroup" has always held a special fascination for rock fans, who relish the prospect of hearing what top tier artists can achieve when they join forces. True, superstar egos often clash, but when talent and chemistry come together in the right way, the results can be pure magic. Recently, the supergroup concept has taken on a new life – witness the latest entry, SuperHeavy – but through the years many major artists have attempted such projects. Gibson.com has named 10 supergroups who have done proper justice to the concept. Here are three of the 10:

Blind Faith - Formed in 1969, in the wake of Cream's dissolution, Blind Faith at first seemed to push the "supergroup" concept to spectacular heights. Comprised of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood (fresh off his tenure with Traffic) and Rick Grech (formerly of the band, Family), the gifted quartet released just one album, but through the years the disc has attained a prominent place in the rock pantheon. Had Winwood's ambitions prevailed – he was striving toward something akin to a "rock" version of jazz ensemble – Blind Faith's legacy might have reached epic proportions.

The Firm - Founded in 1984, The Firm centered on Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and ex-Free singer Paul Rodgers, with bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Chris Slade (formerly of Uriah Heep) rounding out the lineup. Released in 1985, the band's self-titled debut album failed to light up the charts, but The Firm's music has aged well and fits comfortably alongside the varied accomplishments of both Page and Rodgers. A second album, Mean Business, was released in 1986, before The Firm closed its doors. Subsequently, Page said the group was never meant to last for more than two albums.

Chickenfoot - Although frontman Sammy Hagar brushes aside the "supergroup" designation, it's hard to deny that a band that includes Hagar, Van Halen's Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith and shredder extraordinaire Joe Satriani is exactly that. Springing to life in a jam session at Hagar's club in Cabo Wabo, Mexico, Chickenfoot released their debut album in 2009, and have garnered raves from critics and fans. Having refined their chemistry on the road, the group have gone on to release a second album, titled Chickenfoot III. "We decided to skip making a second album," Hagar jokingly explained, during an interview on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. See who else made the list.





Eve To Adam Release Straitjacket Supermodel Video
(Classic Rock) New York City's Eve To Adam have just released their new album Locked & Loaded and have released a music video for the track Straitjacket Supermodel.

For Locked & Loaded Eve To Adam enlisted a team of top-notch writer/producers including ex-Wimbledon FC manager Dave 'Harry' Bassett (who was involved in Halestorm's Grammy win for Best Hard Rock Performance as co-writer of Love Bites (So Do I)); Eric Bass (Shinedown) and Elvis Baskette (Incubus, Falling In Reverse, Alter Bridge).

Comments Bassett: "Eve To Adam are on a mission to reclaim real rock'n'roll. The grit, the power, the danger… it's all there with these guys and it was an amazing experience collaborating with them to bring the energy of their live show into the studio. To put it simply, they are poised to explode." Watch the video here.




Goldray Release 'Outloud' Video
(Classic Rock) Goldray, the new psychedelic rock band from Reef guitarist Kenwyn House, have unveiled their video to new single Outloud which is due for digital release on November 4.

The track is taken from Goldray's upcoming self-titled mini-LP, which is due for release in digital and physical formats on November 25. Goldray formed in 2010 when House teamed up with vocalist Leah Rasmussen (Hydrogen, EMI, Bedrock, Renaissance). The two shared a songwriting vision blending experimental psych and prog arrangements resulting in a dynamic that took them towards psychedelic rock: House's hooks complemented by Rasmussen's powerful but smooth Kate Bush-esque vocals.

Joined by Geoff Laurens (Resistors) on bass and featuring performances by both Andy Treacey (Faithless) and Paul Winter-Hart (Kula Shaker) on drums, Goldray's sound has one foot more than firmly planted in the psych rock tradition of the late 60s and early 70s. more on this story




Book Report: 'Nothin' To Lose: The Making of KISS 1972-1975′
(Radio.com) Gene Simmons will be the first one to tell you that KISS is as much of a brand as they are a band; that's been the way it's been since the band put their makeup back on in 1996, and re-ignited their massive marketing machine.

In the years since, they've partnered with everyone from Family Guy to NASCAR to Hello Kitty to sell merchandise. Their empire extends from "KISS Kondoms" to KISS Caskets. Simmons is a near ubiquitous media personality, always promoting something or other, continuously reminding anyone with a microphone that KISS has more gold records than either the Beatles or the Beach Boys, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is bulls*** and "rock credibility" is an inherently useless concept.

Nothin' To Lose takes you back to a time before KISS was a cultural institution, before anyone cared what Gene (and his partner-in-crime for decades, Paul Stanley) had to say, and when they were still figuring out their direction. Most of all, it allows things to go a bit off-brand: not everyone interviewed for the book has great things to say about the band. To their credit, Simmons and Stanley (credited as co-authors with Ken Sharp, who likely did most of the heavy lifting) allowed people around the band to have their say. Including New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain: "Compared to KISS, we were a lot more dangerous. Every idea they ever f*****' got was from the Dolls."

The interviewees in the book include everyone from the band members, managers and road crew, to acts they toured with (including Bob Seger, the members of Rush and Blue Oyster Cult) and early fans (including people who were at their earliest club shows, and even the kids seen holding up a homemade KISS banner on the back cover of Alive). Here are some choice moments from the book:

The band was originally a trio. But guitarist Paul Stanley decided "I didn't want to be a lead guitar player. There was too much responsibility in that and it would limit some of the other things I wanted to do in terms of performing."
Punk rock icon Joey Ramone of the Ramones was at their first gig ever. "At the time, I think they were the loudest band I ever heard. I liked a lot of their stuff. They were fun and had great songs." Years later – in 2003 – KISS would cover the Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio?"
Simmons' early ideas for band names included "F***." "The name of the first record could be 'You,' the name of the second could be 'It.' You'd have people at your shows screaming 'F***, f***, f***!' It's the ultimate band name." Sure, but it may have cost them that Hello Kitty deal.

Even though the mainstream rock press has never treated the band well, they always understood the power they wielded in interviews: Stanley says, "I saw what you give (the press in interviews) as crucial, plus I knew how to ruffle feathers." Simmons, who is in performance mode when being interviewed as surely as he is when he's on stage adds, "If you've got something to say, and a way to say it that's seductive, then people will naturally come to you. And if you're fearless about how you present yourself, you'll get attention. But you better be careful what you wish for, you have to have the goods to back it up."