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Today's Day in Rock Stories

Rock Legend Tom Petty Confirmed Dead At 66(hennemusic)

Management confirmed Tom Petty died Monday at the age of 66 in a Santa Monica, CA hospital after being unfound unconscious at his Malibu home Sunday night.
"On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty," confirmed Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, on behalf of the family.

"He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PST surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends."

TMZ first broke the news of Petty's emergency, which found him unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest at his residence when EMT's arrived on scene.

In critical condition from the moment he was discovered in distress, the singer was rushed to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital where he was put on life support.

Petty reportedly had no signs of brain activity when he arrived at the hospital and a decision was made to remove him from life support as family, friends and his bandmates gathered on site.

Confirmation of the rocker's death comes hours after it was first reported by CBS News in a breaking news story early Monday based on information obtained officially from the Los Angeles Police Department, with Petty's passing making headlines around the world prematurely; the LAPD later said it was not in a position to confirm the singer's status.

"The LAPD has no information about the passing of singer Tom Petty," tweeted the LAPD. "Initial information was inadvertantly provided to some media sources. However, the LAPD has no investigative role in this matter. We apologize for any inconvenience in this reporting." Read more here.



Marilyn Manson Suffers Stage Accident and Postpones Tour(Radio.com)

Marilyn Manson has postponed nine shows after being injured in a freak stage accident Saturday night (Sept. 30) in New York City. In the middle of a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, a set piece (two larger-than-life revolvers) collapsed on Manson, who was rushed to the hospital.
The band was in the middle of their hit cover of Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and Manson appeared to be shaking the metal bars on the stage prop when it fell on top of him. Manson's management has not confirmed the extent of his injuries but stated that the singer will be recovering at home in Los Angeles, according to Variety.

Manson was taken from the venue on a stretcher but is expected to resume his tour on October 15 in Grand Prairie, Texas. Manson's reps said the most significant injury affected his leg, but that the hard rocker would be "fine."

Rescheduled dates for Manson's postponed shows have not been announced. See footage of the alarming New York stage mishap here.




Billy Joel Joined By Paul Simon And Miley Cyrus During Concert(Radio.com)

It was a weekend of high-profile collaborations as music legend Billy Joel invited Miley Cyrus and Paul Simon to his Madison Square Garden concert in New York.
Joel's legendary MSG residency has drawn its share of special guests over the years. Hot on the heels of her Younger Now album release, Miley Cyrus stopped by Joel's Saturday night concert with another New York City icon, Paul Simon.

Miley lent her support on "New York State of Mind" and joined Joel and Simon for "You May Be Right," which segued into Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll," reported, Ultimate Classic Rock. Watch Billy Joel's set with Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus here.



Ghost Reveal New Frontman Papa Emeritis Zero(hennemusic)

Ghost revealed their new frontman, Papa Emeritis Zero, in a dramatic fashion at the finale of their September 30 concert in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the band is sharing video from the event.
As current vocalist Papa Emeritus III closed the show with the encore of the 2013 track, "Monstrance Clock", the singer was forcibly removed from the stage by two security men as some fans screamed from the crowd.

The band's lineup of Nameless Ghouls then exited and, a moment later, the security personnel returned with a new figure that appeared as an elderly version of their former frontman, who walked slowly to center stage using a cane and an oxygen mask while wearing a white robe and headdress. "I am Papa Emeritus Zero," said the figure. "The party is over and now a new era begins. The Middle Ages begin now"

Ghost have introduced a new frontman on each of their albums: Papa Emeritus III led the group on 2015's "Meliora" and last year's "Popestar" EP; he replaced Papa Emeritus II after his work on their second record, 2013's "Infestissumam", while original vocalist Papa Emeritus introduced the band on the 2010 debut, "Opus Eponymous."

The Gothenburg show marked the final date of Ghost's 2017 "Popestar" tour, and the Swedish rockers are now preparing album number four for release next spring, according to Tobias Forge.

"We've been in the studio for about a month now," Forge explained recently, "and by the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan - knock, knock - we're gonna have a new album, not out, but we're gonna have a new recorded and mixed and delivered. And hopefully that means that we're gonna have a new album out by April - possibly, hopefully." Watch the video here.



Black Sabbath's Farewell Concert Film Coming To TV(hennemusic)

Black Sabbath's farewell concert film, "The End Of The End", will see its world television debut on US cable and satellite television network Showtime on Saturday, October 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Directed by Dick Carruthers (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Oasis), the project presents the last concert under the Sabbath brand by three-quarters of the original lineup - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler - in their hometown of Birmingham, England this past February.

The show at the city's Genting Arena marked the 81st and final date of the groundbreaking metal band's farewell tour, wrapping up a year-long global trek to wind down a legendary career that spanned five decades.

"To bring it all back home after all these years was pretty special," says the group. "It was so hard to say goodbye to the fans, who've been incredibly loyal to us through the years. We never dreamed in the early days that we'd be here 49 years later doing our last show on our home turf." Watch the trailer here.






Pavement May Reunite For 30th Anniversary(Gibson)

Pavement came together in Stockton, California in 1989. Over the course of the next decade, they would go on to become of the most critically-acclaimed and influential indie rock bands of all time, sticking fiercely to their 'indie' reputation over the course of five albums from 1992 to 1999.
After disbanding in 1999, Pavement came back together in 2010 to tour before wrapping things up once more. Another reunion was floated by the band's members in 2015, but frontman Stephen Malkmus declined.

Now, there's talk once more of another Pavement reunion, with guitarist Scott Kannberg mentioning the possibility in a recent interview. Speaking to the Italian podcast Radio Cittá Del Capo, Kannberg says there's been some talk of getting the band back together, saying, "We haven't really discussed it, but there has been some talk about our 30th anniversary in 2019, maybe doing some stuff, so stay tuned!" Read more here.




KISS Stop Concert To Lead Fans In Pledge of Allegiance(Radio.com)

KISS want to rock and roll all night and pledge allegiance every day? Legendary shock-rockers KISS took a moment to get patriotic during a show at the Gretna Heritage Festival in New Orleans over the weekend (Sept. 30), leading the audience in a mass reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.
According to Nola.com, the band paused to welcome Army Major Steve Roberts to the stage to thank him for more than 30 years of military service. "It's always cool to love your country," frontman Paul Stanley told the festival crowd. "Some people believe that freedom is free."

As expected, crowd response to the moment was varied, with one fan tweeting that it was "pretty damn cool," while another more disgruntled attendee called it "the least rock and roll thing I've ever seen." Check out fan footage of the pledge seen.— Bantam Foxes (@BantamFoxes) October 01, 2017 Read more here.



Avenged Sevenfold Announce Headline Tour Dates(Radio.com)

Following a support slot on Metallica's recent North American stadium tour, hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold have set a series of headlining dates for early 2018.
The shows will also feature Breaking Benjamin and Bullet for My Valentine. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 6 at 10:00 a.m. local time. More shows are expected to be added.

The tour is set to kick off on January 1st in Nashville, TN at the Bridgestone Arena and will be concluding on February 11th in Fargo, ND at the Fargodome. See all of the dates here.



Morrissey Performs New Songs During BBC Performance(Radio.com)

Morrissey performed selections from his new album Low In High School on BBC 6 Music. The singer debuted 'When You Open Up Your Legs," 'I Wish You Lonely," 'Home Is a Question Mark" and 'Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up on the Stage."
He also played some tracks from throughout his solo career as well as the album's single 'Spent the Day In Bed," and a cover of the Pretenders' 'Back on the Chain Gang."

Getting political, Morrissey said, 'Free the bull from Spain. Free everybody from Spain," while introducing 'The Bullfighter Dies." See the tracklisting




Tim Buckley Reissues Feature Previously Unreleased Recordings(Conqueroo)

While Tim Buckley's album Dream Letter (recorded in 1968 but not released until 1990) is the perfect, sublime example of his in-concert genius, Live at the Troubadour 1969 (released in 1994) has long been a fan favorite, with its improvisational raw energy in songs that stretch toward or past the 10-minute mark, and combinations of acoustic and electric guitars, Fender Rhodes piano and electric bass, drum set and congas - all throbbing and brewing in a dynamic jazz-folk stew. On drums is Art Tripp from Frank Zappa's stable of musicians; the bass player is John Balkin, who helped conceptualize Buckley's legendary Starsailor LP. But this is the not the free-form, avant-garde jazz of the Starsailor era, nor is it the funk-soul of 1972's Greetings From L.A. Rather, Live at the Troubadour 1969 represents a brief period of the ever-evolving explorations of Tim Buckley.
Maverick reissue producer Bill Inglot recently discovered more Troubadour tapes in the archives. He and fellow reissue producer Pat Thomas uncovered five different sets of material from three days' worth of shows. These revelatory tracks have been assembled into a 2-LP package, Greetings From West Hollywood, and a 2-CD set, Venice Mating Call, both to be released October 13, 2017 on Manifesto Records.

With the exception of "Buzzin' Fly," there were no other songs in common with Dream Letter, and furthermore, these early September 1969 shows featured a slew of songs that had yet to be recorded in the studio (at that point), songs that would turn up on Lorca and Blue Afternoon, and even songs that were unique to this run of shows! Read more here.




J.D. Simo Talks New Album 'Rise and Shine'(Gibson)

Creatively speaking, J.D. Simo is not one to sit still. On 2016's Let Love Show the Way, he and his trio - called, fittingly, SIMO - showcased their classic rock influences on a set of blues-stoked rockers recorded at the Allman Brothers' famous "Big House" in Macon, Georgia. For their new album, Rise & Shine, the trio embarked on a different path, widening their sound to include smoldering soul ballads, Stax-flavored funk, and psychedelic-tinged instrumentals - all without severing the blues-rock roots from which they've always drawn.
The trio, which in addition to Simo includes Elad Shapiro on bass and Adam Abrashoff on drums, spent more than a month crafting the album, which was recorded in the band's home base of Nashville. Working in the studio from mid-afternoon until the wee hours of the morning, they succeeded in producing their most eclectic set of songs to date.

"If you go through my record collection and look at the more contemporary titles," JD explains, "you'll see the Roots, Wilco, Alabama Shakes, and Ryan Adams. I listen to a lot of old soul music, too. Isaac Hayes. Funkadelic. Bob Dylan. On Rise & Shine, I was just trying to cull from the vastness that is my normal music diet, and not trying to pander to some target that was easy to hit."

Gibson spoke with Simo about the new record, his background as a session player, and the influences that brought him to where he is today. Read the interview here.



Singled Out: Five Of The Eyes' Wasteland

Prog rockers Five Of The Eyes have just released their new album The Venus Transit and to celebrate we asked Peter Griffith to tell us about the song "Wasteland". Here is the story:
Wasteland came to be over many successive rehearsals, when Ned, Tim, Tom, and I were trying to cram together, I dunno, 12 different riffs, all hard-rock driven, and for the most part, all difficult to perform, physically. I remember a serious frustration throughout the rehearsal room; we'd settle on a form, play through it at different tempos, record it and play it back, scratch our heads, leave, and come back the next night feeling as though we'd made no progress, and chop it up and rewrite riffs, write new riffs and record a new scratch track, and repeat, or at least, that's how I remember it. It was stressful. We had impending recording dates, lots of personal life crap going on... it was just a mess of tension and disagreement. It wasn't until Darrell had had a chance to put his creative tweaks on it that I really felt like we were making something great, and I mean really great. The song reminds me of many moments in life in which we all have to, in full awareness of our own impending discomfort and a likelihood of failure, commit to slog through that muck and stress and sheer mental exhaustion, "return to the wasteland," if you will, because we all know that somewhere on the other side could be something really, really great.