VIDEO: Steven Tyler rocks Boston

VIDEO: Steven Tyler rocks Boston

Steven Tyler did some rocking of his own while he was in Boston last week.

The Aerosmith singer attended Boston Common magazine's summer bash last Wednesday at the House Of Blues, and jumped on stage with the house band to perform a few songs.

Tyler did “Last Child” (from 1976’s “Rocks”) and was joined by blues harmonica player James Montgomery on the classic Aerosmith cover, "Walkin’ The Dog."

While at the event, Steven was asked by FoxNews about his status for next season’s American Idol. “We’re in negotiations,” he answered; as for fellow judges Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez, Tyler said, “I don’t know. We’re all in negotiations right now.”

As for Aerosmith, the band just announced a tour of Japan for this fall - tickets will go on sale beginning July 23rd with presales TBD.

Aerosmith

Steven Tyler – Last Child / Walkin’ The Dog
House Of Blues – Boston, MA – June 29, 2011


Steven Tyler - Last Child
House Of Blues – Boston, MA – June 29, 2011

Mark Tremonti Spills More Details on New Van Halen Album

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07.05.2011

As previously reported on Gibson.com, Alter Bridge/Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti recently spent some time at Van Halen’s 5150 studio listening to material from the band’s forthcoming album. The as-yet-untitled CD will be the group’s first with singer David Lee Roth since 1984’s…err, 1984.
Tremonti appeared recently on Colorado’s 94.3 KILO Radio and divulged more details on his visit.
“What makes it so great,” he told host Ross Ford, “is that they took what they could from all their old demos back in the ’80s and pretty much did what they could to create songs out of old ideas. So it sounds like vintage Van Halen. Musically, it sounds in the era. I didn’t hear any vocals — David [Lee Roth] was not there. It was just [Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen] and the music sounded like very authentic, old-school Van Halen.”
Tremonti said he nearly stepped into hot water when he complimented his pal, Wolfgang.
“I remember commenting on Wolfgang’s bass parts. I said, ‘Man, that was a great chordal thing you did at the end there.’ And then Eddie looked at me and said, ‘How was my part?’ [I said], ‘Dude, you’re Eddie Van Halen. Your part is incredible every single time!’ He was very, very nice. I couldn’t have had a better experience.”

Soundgarden open first tour in 14 years in Toronto

Sunday, July 3, 2011

VIDEO: Soundgarden open first tour in 14 years in Toronto

Soundgarden kicked off their first full tour in 14 years Saturday night at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto.

"Welcome to the first show of the first tour in 13, 14 years," said vocalist Chris Cornell before adding, "This is the best place to start. It sounds like bulls**t, but it's not bulls**t.”

The 2-hour show started with “Black Rain,” the previously unreleased which was recorded during the 1991 “Badmotorfinger” sessions and finally surfaced on last year’s career retrospective, “Telephantasm.”

The month-long tour hit London, Ontario Sunday night and will hit Ottawa, Uncasville, CT and Newark, NJ this week.

Soundgarden have been in the studio working on a new album this year, which is 80% done, according to drummer Matt Cameron.

"We're going to record a couple of more songs in August when we get back from tour and then hopefully we can mix it up and put it out," Cameron told Boston rock station WAAF.

Soundgarden
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011

01 - Black Rain
02 - Searching With My Good Eye Closed
03 - Spoonman
04 - Gun
05 - Rusty Cage
06 - Blow Up the Outside World
07 - Let Me Drown
08 - Jesus Christ Pose
09 - My Wave
10 - The Day I Tried to Live
11 - Outshined
12 - Beyond the Wheel
13 - Fell on Black Days
14 - Ugly Truth
15 - Burden in My Hand
16 - Superunknown
17 - Black Hole Sun
18 - 4th of July

Encore:

19 - Face Pollution
20 - Like Suicide
21 - Slaves & Bulldozers

Soundgarden

Soundgarden – Black Rain
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011


Soundgarden – Rusty Cage
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011


Soundgarden – Outshined
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011


Soundgarden – Burden In My Hand
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011


Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011


Soundgarden – Slaves & Bulldozers
Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON – July 2, 2011

KK: I didn’t quit for golf

Former Priest axeman Downing rejects bassist Hill’s explanation of split – while guitarist Tipton comes up with his own theory

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Side by side: Downing and Tipton

Retired Judas Priest guitarist KK Downing has denied he left the band because he wanted to concentrate on running his golf course.
He surprised fans by announcing his departure just as the metal gods revealed their current world tour would be their last. His statement alluded to dissatisfaction with “management and band elements” but he didn’t elaborate.
Bassist Ian Hill, now Priest’s sole remaining original member, recently suggested Downing wanted to focus on his nine-hole course at his Shropshire home of Astbury Hall.
But Downing has rubbished the suggestion. He says: “I love Iain as a brother and nothing will ever change that – but his take on the situation is inaccurate, and the people from the press has no license to jump in and take what they thought was a cheap scoop out of what Ian thought the situation was.
“My golf course is not, and was never, the reason for not doing the tour with Judas Priest.
“I have had in place since last September the world’s leading golf management company. The course has been open and running smoothly.
“Anyone who has ever known me will testify that I’ve always been dedicated to Judas Priest and the fans – and nothing has ever stopped me from touring until now. I stand by my original statement on the matter.
“Athough I am not there, I wish for the name Judas Priest to forever be triumphant. I have no doubt the tour is sensational and I urge you all again not to miss this one.”
Meanwhile, guitarist Glenn Tipton has come up with his own reason for the split.
He tells RushOnRock: “KK decided to retire and we have to respect his decision. He told us last December but we didn’t say anything and gave him some time, probably hoping he’d change his mind – but he didn’t.
“He’s had some problems with his wrist and I think he looked at another world tour and didn’t think he could pull it off again. He must have thought seriously about his decision.”
Priest are touring with new guitarist Richie Faulkner, and have begun work on an album with him. Tipton adds: “He’s enjoyed his time with us from the word go. I said to him at the start, ‘If there are any tricky parts and you need me to show you how to play them, I’m here.’ After an hour or two he was showing me stuff.”

GEORGE LYNCH - "I've Got A Record With Jeff Pilson And Mick Brown; We Are Calling It TOOTH AND NAIL, That's DOKKEN Without Don"

Hot Flashes

Posted on Tuesday, July 05, 2011 at 02:56:15 EST

Guitar legend George Lynch (LYNCH MOB, ex-DOKKEN) is featured in a new interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited. An excerpt is available below:



Jeb: The album coming out is called Kill All Control. It is officially a George Lynch solo album. As I understand it, this was not going to be the case. It was to be a SOULS OF WE album.

George: "It was a follow up to Let the Truth Be Known but we had some complications in the singer department and our record that was to take five weeks to finish ended up taking two years. We have four singers on it, which really turned out to be a happy accident. I have no regrets; we made it work. People seem to really dig the record so; somehow, it all seems to have worked out."

Jeb: Was all the music written but there was no singer?

George: "I write all my records that way. The vocals are always an afterthought. We basically laid all the music down. We got in a room for ten days and started jamming. We had no ideas; we just let it all flow and we captured it. We rehearsed it up a bit and we went in the studio for two weeks and we laid it all down. Then we spent the next two years working on vocals."

Jeb: I thought you were exaggerating that the vocals took two years. You’re serious.

George: "It really did. It is not that it takes that long to do the vocals but we had singers coming and going and things happened, like I had to go out on tour with Lynch Mob. It was a bunch of different things. It wasn’t that we worked for two straight years as everyone had to do other things to make a living. Plus, we had one singer out so we had to get the others and they had to learn the songs and that is a process. It was a bit of work."

Jeb: You mentioned that you have never done a solo, instrumental album. Will we ever really get that?

George: "It is on my radar from some point next year. It will probably not be early next year because I have a lot of other things in the pipeline. I’ve got a record I recorded all the music to with Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown. We are calling it TOOTH AND NAIL, that’s Dokken without Don. The record is called Dump The Chump."

Jeb: No way!

George: "Yeah. Don used to show up for rehearsals about half the time so it would just be the three of us with Jeff singing and we loved it. When the Dokken reunion was not going to happen we just said, 'Why don’t we just do this? This is way cooler.' Many years later, we are doing it and it is just for fun. It is half new material and it is half old Dokken material. We will finish that up around the end of the year because Jeff is busy with FOREIGNER and I am busy with several things."

Click here for the complete interview.



Kill All Control is set for release on July 19th through Rocket Science, Inc. The new track, 'Son Of Scary', is now streaming online at this location.

What began as a follow-up to the Souls Of We debut, Let The Truth Be Known, George quickly realized the project was taking on a new direction with the addition of POWERMAN 5000 drummer, Adrian Ost. While writing with Souls Of We singer, London LeGrand (BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION), George noted, “The creative juices flowed and we wrote most of the CD in 10 days.”

Kill All Control combines many of Lynch’s varied styles and histories, including a reflection back to earlier days which spawned a follow up to the instrumental Dokken track, 'Mr.Scary', called 'Son Of Scary', featuring Fred Coury of CINDERELLA on drums. Additional guests on the album include a variety of known singers. Will Marten (EARSHOT), Marc Torien (BULLETBOYS), and Keith St. John (MONTROSE) all joined in on the new album in which George hopes he was able “to create an eclectic listening experience for my fans.”

In 2009, George re-formed Lynch Mob and released Smoke And Mirrors, which resulted in an extended tour and the reuniting of the original Lynch Mob Line-up, to the delight of many fans. Lynch Mob are currently also working on a new album, due out later this year.

Lynch came to fame in the 1980s through his work as the lead guitarist in the band Dokken. Dokken had a string of successful platinum albums including Under Lock and Key and Back For The Attack, both of which featured Lynch’s inventive and intricate guitar work.

The tracklisting for Kill All Control is:

'Kill All Control'
'Brank New Day'
'Done'
'Flys On The Wall'
'Wicked Witch'
'Man On Fire'
'Voices In My Head'
'Resurrect'
'Here Comes The Sun'
'My Enemy'
'Son Of Scary'

Listen to the track 'Wicked Witch' at this location.

New Photos of Van Halen and Family

New Photos of Van Halen and Family

Sunday, 3 July 2011

Today, Valerie Bertinelli posted these family photos from last night to her twitter page.

“Janie joins us even tho she’s workin hard in her aerial show”

“Having fun at The Supper Club!”

“More fun with my boy and his girl”

David Lee Roth’s Cryptic Message

David Lee Roth’s Cryptic Message

Saturday, 2 July 2011

From today. Just two words.
http://DavidLeeRoth.com/

More From Tremonti: New Van Halen Music Sounds Like OLD SCHOOL VAN HALEN

More From Tremonti: New Van Halen Music Sounds Like OLD SCHOOL VAN HALEN

Friday, 1 July 2011

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As we reported earlier, Alter Bridge/Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti is good friends with Wolfgang Van Halen and was recently invited to 5150 studios, where Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang Van Halen performed their not-yet-released new record live in the studio, from front to back. He called the experience “Incredible.” Yesterday, a bit more details emerged as Tremonti called in to Ross Ford’s morning radio show on 94.3 KILO in Colorado and spoke more about his recent trip to 5150.

Describing more about the experience, Mark says, ‘Wolfie asked if me and my buddy Eric wanted to go checkout rehearsals the next day over at his dad’s house. And I said (laughs) “Of course!” (laughs) So he picked me up the next day and we drove to this big, gated home and we get to 5150 studios. It was just me, my buddy Eric, Wolfie and Eddie in one room, and then Alex was in the other room behind some plexiglass, and then they played down the entire new album. What makes it so great is that they took what they could from all their old demos back in the ’80′s and pretty much did what they could to create songs out of old ideas, so it sounds like vintage Van Halen. Musically it sounds in the [early '80's] era. I didn’t hear any vocals – David was not there. It was just the three of them and the music sounded like very authentic, old school Van Halen. It was a just a crazy experience to sit there and watch. Eddie was four feet from me, and Wolfie was on the other side. The guys were very excited to be doing what they’re doing.
‘I remember commenting on Wolfgang’s bass parts – I said, “Man, that was a great chordal thing you did at the end there.” And then Eddie looked at me and joked, “Wha..wha..wha.. how was MY part?” (laughs) [I said], “Dude, you’re Eddie Van Halen. Your part is incredible every single time! (laughs). He was very, very nice. I couldn’t have had a better experience.”
When talking about his friendship with Wolfgang, Mark says, “He’s just a good, good guy. Every time I see him he’s a very positive, humble guy. Being the son of Eddie Van Halen, you don’t know what you’d expect, but he’s the nicest guy in the world. He’s more talented than anybody. He’s a drummer, guitar player, bass player, and great singer. I think that when you learn young, you become that much better and he’s been doing it since he was a baby, so he’s a very, very talented guy. We call him Wolfie.”

VAN HALEN - NEW ALBUM RUMOUR ROUND-UP:

Dear rabid Van Halen fans - if you are looking for a factually infallible, dead on, "here are the facts" news update....this ain't it!
But seriously, a news report that does fit that description isn't far away as David Lee Roth tells us to "Get Ready..." (www.davidleeroth.com) and Van Halen actually open up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VanHalen). And Alter Bridge/Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti (friend of Wolfgang) starts yakking after sitting in on the trio of Van Halen's playing new songs live in the studio - reporting back that the band used ''old demos for inspiration for new material" (www.vhlinks.com/vbforums/mark-tremonti-new-t52379.html).
Plus the band are also hitting to road for the first time since 2007 with dates in Australia in 10 weeks' time. So we know something's happening right?
Right! But when are we going to really hear something official and when will we hear the first new Van Halen material since 2004 and the first new album with David Lee Roth since 1983? Soon folks....

What we know is that the album is done and mixed...John Shanks finishing production work on it earlier this year (with other producer names likely to appear inside the album credits.) The rumoured album title is VH '11, 2011 (or Two Zero One One to be precise) and all rumours point to a mid/late September release.
A single was again rumoured to hit airwaves this weekend, but failed to happen.
What I have previously stated is that I personally believe the new album will be released in October, after Van Halen return home from Australia and a single could likely appear late this month or in August.

I am hoping to have some more precise information from a source close to official goings on later this week. Stay tuned...


But in the meantime, I was contacted last week by an anonymous source with a summary of rumours and "inside" information they happened to be privy to. Ok....due to the demand from fans wanting to hear about anything Van Halen related to keep them busy while counting down the seconds to hell freezing over (the new album appearing in store), here is a summary of the information I was sent.
This is certainly not being printed as gospel or fact, but merely as yet another in the series of much loved Van Halen Rumor Reports that have been printed over the last decade of this band's colourful history. So with that disclaimer in place....here goes folks....


RUMOUR ROUND UP!

- Eddie Van Halen was apparently prepared to tour again with no new album, reluctant to produce new songs. David Lee Roth and especially Wolfgang Van Halen wanted to record new tracks. Wolfgang Van Halen finally convinced his father that he didn't want to go out on tour to replace Michael Anthony, with no new material and without David Lee Roth's input.

- It is suggested that the music was the main thing in EVH's mind and David Lee Roth was asked only to contribute lyrics.

- Seventeen songs were prepared in demo form. One was an instrumental. Fourteen songs were properly recorded. This includes the instrumental. A couple of tracks are likely to be held over as bonus tracks for various uses. Management are currently negotiating with specialist retailers for a deal to release the album, with these bonus tracks possible to make an appearance if an agreement is reached.
- Because of distributing/promotion matters, the release date of first single is still up in the air, although it will (apparently) 'definitely' happen no later than 2nd week of August. The album is expected to be ready to ship in September. [I still say October...].
- Only two tracks feature keyboards of any type. One is the instrumental which briefly features piano. The other features keyboards in the intro, and 'lightly' in the chorus.

- Although Wolfang Van Halen did not write any of the lyrics to the new album, he had a bass solo he was preparing that he titled "Hurricanes", for which David Lee Roth wrote lyrics with the same working title. It is unclear if this song will be included on the album, but it was recorded in demo-form.

- The album title has not been chosen at this point. Many rumours have surfaced... Two likely working titles may be in the running which are "VH '11" and "Two Zero One One". Rumored titles that have not been officially dismissed by band members however are "Mammoth" and "Play".
This information has surfaced because of proposed artwork for the new album which at this point features a brown circle on a glass table with a silver and red Van Halen logo emblazoned upon it (the circle which looks like an M&M). There is a rumour that the brown circle is supposed to represent both the "Brown Sound" of Van Halen and also the infamous M&M chocolate candy contract rider of years past. The proposed artwork does not show all edges of the circle due to a possible 'infringement' with the candy-maker. Rather the outer edges of the circle are 'cut-off' by the square-edged artwork. The reverse side of the album jacket features all four members standing by a garden like area shot in a sepia tone. This photo and others were taken in May on the grounds of Edward Van Halen's studio, 5150. Inner booklet/lyric sheets photos were also shot in and around 5150. [Not sure about this folks...but I guess we'll know soon enough...]

- Two songs recorded have been selected as singles. One song sounding like an early era Van Halen combination of "Beautiful Girls/Jamie's Crying", and the other song sounding more in the vein of "Unchained"/"Drop Dead Legs" (this one features a very lengthy guitar solo by comparison).

- Although no song titles are 'confirmed' at this point, some of the 'working' song titles were/are: "Hurricanes", "Stop Talking" (which is one of the possible first two singles), "Down This Road", and "Who's Looking Back At You?". Other titles have been mentioned, only these four keep resurfacing.

So what do you think folks? It could be a rather detailed exclusive inside look at what's to come...or...not! It's a fun read at very least and further heightens the anticipation of the album and official information. Information I'll do my best to bring forth ASAP. But until then, enjoy the speculation!

'Transformers 3' Biggest July 4th Weekend: Now Tracking $416M Global Thru Fireworks; Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts In Holiday Flop

By NIKKI FINKE |

MONDAY AM, 15TH UPDATE: There were fireworks for some Hollywood action and family movies this Fourth Of July long weekend but not for Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts whose new movie bombed. Right now total U.S. and Canadian moviegoing for the holiday looks like $230M, which is trailing last year's $250M by -8% but still the 2nd biggest Fourth Of July long weekend ever.
Here's the Top 10 :
1. Transformers 3 (Paramount) NEW (opened Tues) [4,013 Theaters]
Tuesday $5.5M (9 PM), Wednesday $37.7M, Thursday $21.4M
Friday $32.8M, Saturday $34.4M, Sunday $30.2M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $97.5M, Four-Day Holiday $116.4M, Cume $181M
Three-Day International $217M, Three-Day Global Cume $379M,
Four-Day International $235M, Four-Day Global Cume $416M
Paramount's latest Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is the giant #1 movie and biggest Fourth Of July opening weekend (3-day and 4-day) ever beating Spider-Man 2's $88.2M and $115.8M. IMAX broke its global record with the first ever $20M-plus debut ($22.5M global). Domestically, the pic opened with some 3D-only nighttime sneaks on Tuesday ($5.5M), followed by a full release into 4,013 theaters on Wednesday ($37.7M) and Thursday ($21.4M). Now Friday brings in a big $32.9M, Saturday $34.5M, and Sunday $30.2M. That's still -6% behind 2009's Transformers 2 despite 3D's higher ticket prices. Michael Bay's robot actioner should hit $181M through the Fourth of July, compared to TF2's $214M. "We expected to start behind the last one," a Paramount exec tells me. "This one has an 'A' CinemaScore and better reviews, so it should play to a better multiple." Paramount now says it's the only studio to ever score 5 consecutive $100+M films in a row.
The movie is doing better overseas where sequels and 3D are more popular. Internationally the movie is open in 110 countries (but not yet Japan or China) and is up +55% over the franchise's 2nd installment. Foreign should close in on $235M through Monday for Paramount Pictures International's biggest opening weekend ever. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon shredded a bunch of box office records as it claimed #1 in 57 of the 58 territories where it was released. About 70% of the overall gross was generated by 3D this weekend. Combined with the domestic result, TF3 becomes Hollywood's third highest grossing worldwide debut ever with $416M global cume for its first 7 days. (TF2 did only $360M in 2009.)
2. Cars 2 (Disney) Week 2 [4,115 Theaters]
Friday $7.8M, Saturday $9.3M, Sunday $9.4M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $26.5M (-60%), Four-Day Holiday $33M, Cume $124M
3. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 2 [3,049 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M, Saturday $5M, Sunday $5M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $14.5M (-54%), Four-Day Holiday $17.5M, Cume $63M
4. Larry Crowne (Universal) NEW [2,972 Theaters]
Friday $4M, Saturday $4.9M, Sunday $4.1M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $13M, Four-Day Holiday $16M
The pairing of veteran Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts could open Larry Crowne which also was produced and directed and co-written by Hanks. (Did he tell himself to dye his grey hair with the equivalent of black shoe-polish? Looked weird...) Even though the two stars did any and all publicity for it, this is a bigger repudiation for Hanks who went on a rare 5-city personal appearance tour, his first since promoting Saving Private Ryan, and met with regional press in every one of those cities. He and Roberts
appeared on one of Oprah's final shows together in early May, which re-aired this week, but Hanks also personally co-hosted Oprah's final two blowout shows personally.
Despite that, the romantic comedy finished a dismal #4 with just a $13M three-day weekend and $16M four-day holiday from a wide release into 2,972 theaters. That's a very disappointing start for two stars who individually should be able to open a new pic to at least $20M of North American grosses for a three-day weekend and presumably more when paired. (Their last film together, 2007's Charlie Wilson's War, also bombed.) Their latest pic received a 'B' Cinemascore, but just 'C+' from audience members under age 35. Good thing Universal was only distributing, and good thing the film's negative cost was only $30M fully financed by Vendome Pictures. But the marketing cost was at least another $30M high with a heavy rotation of expensive TV ads. This is the third movie with major stars to disappoint at the box office this summer following Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern and Jim Carrey in Mr. Popper's Penguins.
5. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 4 [3,088 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $2.7M, Sunday $2.9M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $7.8M, Four Day Holiday $9.7M, Cume $110.2M
6. Monte Carlo (Fox) NEW [2,472 Theaters]
Friday $3.1M, Saturday $2.3M, Sunday $2.1M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $7.5M, Four-Day Holiday $9M
Fox's counterprogramming film aimed at tween/teen girls, Monte Carlo, is performing about as expected with an 'A' CinemaScore with $9M for the four-day weekend.
7. Green Lantern (Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,280 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2.3M, Sunday $2.3M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $6.6M, Four-Day Holiday $8.3M, Cume $104M
8. Mr Popper's Penguins (Fox) Week 3 [2,861 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $1.8M, Sunday $2.1M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $5.4M, Four-Day Holiday $6.6M, Cume $51.6M
9. Bridesmaids (Universal) Week 8 [1,389 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Saturday $1.3M, Sunday $1.6M, Monday
Three-day Weekend $3.8M, Four-Day Holiday $4.6M, Cume $154M
10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Classics) Week 7 [951 Theaters]
Friday $875K, Saturday $1.3M, Sunday $1.5M, Monday
Three-Day Weekend $3.7M, Four-Day Holiday $4.7M, Cume $35M

THURSDAY PM/FRIDAY AM, 8TH UPDATE: Paramount says Thursday's gross was $21.4M for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. The North American cume is now $64.6M, and 60% of that comes from higher priced 3D tickets. Right now the studio is projecting that Michael Bay's actioner should make $165M domestic through the Fourth Of July.
WEDNESDAY PM/THURSDAY AM, 6TH UPDATE: The Fourth Of July fireworks are already beginning at the box office. Paramount's Transformers 3 lit up 2011's biggest North American opening day, even though it's Wednesday, beating fellow 3D film Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 which had the year's highest gross on a Friday. The Michael Bay 3D actioner hit $37.7M Wednesday, which included the $8M from midnight screenings. Adding in Tuesday's pre-midnight 3D sneaks of $5.5M, the cume is now $43.2M. Paramount itself had put the range possible between $35M-$40M. IMAX accounted for $3.3M on 146 domestic sites and $1.7M internationally on 89 sites for a total $5.1M (including Tuesday and Wednesday cumes). Pirates 4 set the 2011 record by opening to $34.8M including midnight shows.
Surprisingly considering the mixed reviews, audiences gave the pic an 'A' CinemaScore. Exit polling showed that 62% Males gave it an 'A-' and 38% Females an 'A', while 55% under age 25 gave it an 'A' and 45% over 25 an 'A-'.
Wednesday's domestic numbers are bigger than Transformers 1 but don't better Transformers 2. However, international for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is expected to come in higher than previous installments and set a record for the franchise's global cume as it rolls out in 110 countries over Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Paramount today estimated an opening day foreign take of $32.5M, which is 38% ahead of Transformers 2 for the markets that have opened. The overseas cume with previews is estimated at $36.6M for a global take so far of $80M.Transformers 2 did 10% more grosses outside the U.S., and this threequel should be a notch better -- $165+M. That means the global cume for Dark Of The Moon should range from a low of $315M to more likely $365M for its first seven days in theaters.
Notable includes Asia where Korea which opened to a massive $5.03M from 1,291 theaters, which is 217% up on Pirates 4 and 114% up on Transformers 2 for the biggest opening day of all time in Korea for any film. (The studio says 53% of business was from 3D.) Hong Kong and Singapore scored the biggest non-holiday opening day of all time and the 3rd biggest opening day of all time. Malaysia had the biggest opening day ever, and the biggest single day ever, and biggest 3D gross ever. No records were set in Australia ($2.8M from 392 theaters, 32% ahead of Transformers 2 with 71% of business in 3D), New Zealand ($335K from 87 theaters, which was 3% behind Transformers 2).
In Europe, the UK opened to $3.5M from 494 locations, and previews take the total to $4.17M. The opening was 10% up on Pirates 4 (also a Wednesday opening) but 25% below Transformers 2 which opened on a Friday. (And 70% of business was from 3D.) Germany was 1/3 bigger than Transformers 2. France opened to $3M, including previews, from 700 theaters for the biggest opening day of 2011. Russia following the World Premiere with a huge $3.1M from its opening day, rising to $4.2M with previews. The opening was 76% up on Transformers 2 but 35% down on Pirates 4.
In Latin America, most markets open today or tomorrow in the region but the early numbers are very strong: Peru is the biggest opening day of all time and the biggest day of all time for any movie. It is 153% ahead of Pirates 4 and 273% ahead of Transformers 2.
WEDNESDAY 9 AM UPDATE: The only 2011 movie to do more was The Hangover Part II which opened to $10.4M midnights. By contrast, Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 did $4.7M midnights. Now the comps: Transformers 1 in 2007 opened wide at 8 PM on July 3rd, which was a Monday night, and did $8.8M for all shows. Transformers 2 opened wide at midnight two years ago and did $16 million. If tracking is any indication, this threequel should do box office between the two prior films but closer to Transformers 1. So Paramount expected around $10M total for Tuesday's pre-midnight 3D-only screenings and Wednesday's midnight and later shows. The exact tally turned out to be a bigger $13.5M -- $5.5M for 3D-only pre-midnight Tuesday screenings, and $8M for Wednesday mightnights. Remember, only 2,700 3D screens opened Tuesday pre-midnight. Then another 300 to 500 2D screens opened at midnight Wednesday. By the time the movie releases wide today, it'll play in 4,011 locations.
Paramount is expecting this latest installment in the franchise to open less than the last one in the U.S. but play to better multiples. Grosses over the seven days from Tuesday night through the Fourth Of July should hit $200M, though the studio keeps lobbing lowball estimates of $150M-$165M despite the higher 3D ticket prices. ('Transformers 3' $150M For First 6 Days?)
Internationally, almost every territory opens this week, except Japan and China, which should account for 15% of the pic's business. ('Transformers 3' Premiere In Red Square)
TUESDAY PM: Bring sunglasses and earplugs to Transformers 3 or you'll walk out of the theater like one Paramount exec who told me he was not just blinded by the 3D but also deafened by the battles. I hope he was just kidding, because you don't want to miss those cheap shots at Megan Fox (like the robots who complained that the other girl was mean). Actually, Michael Bay wasn't kidding when he said certain shots took a year to get right. This is just some of the reaction as Transformers: Dark Of The Moon opened in 3D starting at 9 PM tonight. I'll keep writing about this phenom for the next seven days in what's shaping up to be a very loooong Fourth Of July holiday week.
A few seconds after I posted this, the film's 14-time Academy Award nominee re-recording mixer Greg P. Russell emailed that, "I had my technician go over to the Paramount theater to make sure it was perfect. Just looking out for Michael. If you're sitting close in that room, you're screwed. Because I know it sounds awesome. Best sound mix of any Bay film yet. The irony is that the Visual FX and Sound will more than likely be nominated for Oscars by their peers who know the difference."
Russell, who spent six months doing what he calls the best work of his 30-year career, says many movie theaters are presenting the pic in the brand-new 7.1 sound. Bay has said, "This is the most complex intricate soundtrack that me and my Academy Award-winning sound team have done. They really outdid themselves to make this a big picture experience."
How much is riding on this film? A lot, judging by Paramount's pull-out-all-the-stops tude. (Paramount Making Too Many 3D Demands?) Bay already has called the chief executives of major theater chains imploring them to show Transformers: Dark Of The Moon in a way that makes 3D look brighter and sharper. Since the darkness of 3D has started to impact movie satisfaction. (Michael Bay Writes To Theater Projectionists)
Reviews are mixed to bad but better than the really rotten ones for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (which we all agree was horrid).

Exclusive VHND Chickenfoot Update: Album & Single Details Revealed

Exclusive VHND Chickenfoot Update: Album & Single Details Revealed

Thursday, 30 June 2011

The Van Halen News Desk received a surprise update straight from Michael Anthony today, when he personally called us and said that he reads the VHND every day, and that he wanted to give us the inside scoop on some important details about Chickenfoot’s upcoming album and first single. “Okay,” said Michael, “Here’s some breaking news for ya – I hope that you feel special ‘cuz you’re the first I’m telling this too, after my wife (laughs)”. You heard it here first!
ALBUM RELEASE DATE: The official release date for Chickenfoot’s second album is Sept 27th, 2011.
ALBUM TITLE: Michael did not want to divulge the album title at this time, but after we pressed him, he did at least admit that the title will not be the rumored title, “Chickenfoot IV”.
FIRST SINGLE: The first single from the album is scheduled to be released in July.

Some more info from Michael – “Sammy is really coming up with some great lyrics! And Chad’s really excited, even though he won’t be able to go on tour this time. We’re really going to miss having him on tour. We’ll get an amazing drummer for the tour, but they would only be filling in for Chad, not replacing him.” No word yet on who will be filling in for Chad.
When we asked if there is any possibility that Chad Smith would be able to play just a few shows on the tour, Michael replied, “I can’t say right now.  It’s a scheduling issue. We wouldn’t want to pull him away from the Chili Peppers tour during any short breaks, because he’ll probably be tired and want to spend time with his family.”
We will keep in touch with Michael and we’ll have another exclusive interview with him sometime in the near future, as things get rolling with the ‘Foot.

Filed under: Chickenfoot, Michael Anthony   •   30 Comments

Michael Anthony Clarifies Roth Comments

Thursday, 30 June 2011

The Van Halen News Desk got an update straight from Michael Anthony today, when he personally called us and told us that he reads the VHND every day and he is hoping that we could clarify something he said in an interview that we featured this week. He also gave us the inside scoop on some details for Chickenfoot’s upcoming album and first single, here.
Michael Anthony, regarding his comments on David Lee Roth:
“I want to say something about the interview UltimateClassicRock.com. The guy that interviewed me interpreted a couple of things that I said about Dave’s solo touring the wrong way, and after I read some of the comments on VHND, I wanted to clarify what I meant.
“In that interview, I was talking about how, a few years ago, Roth put a band together and went out on a couple tours and was played nothing but Van Halen classics. I didn’t mean to knock him for doing so. What I meant to say about that was – that’s fine for him, but for me, I would not want to do that.
“A few years ago I put together my “Mad Anthony Express” band just to do a few shows. We were doing a few Van Halen songs, but we were mainly doing a bunch of classic rock songs that I dig. I could have taken it out on a small tour, but I didn’t want to. Or I could have went out and toured and played only Van Halen songs just to make money, but I don’t want to do that either. It’s the same reason why, on Chickenfoot’s first tour, we didn’t play any Van Halen or Hagar or Red Hot Chili Peppers… we didn’t want to only rely on our past.
“But anyway, I have no ill will at all towards Dave. He was the one guy that I was really looking forward to jamming with some day, either at the Van Halen reunion tour or when Van Halen would get inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. You know, before the induction, his manager called me and asked if I would want to jam with Dave at the induction, and I said I’d love to! But neither would come to be. I’m totally cool with Dave.”

JOHN WAITE REMINICES OVER THE BABYS:

JOHN WAITE REMINICES OVER THE BABYS:
John Waite is featured in the new issue of Classic Rock Magazine. From: johnwaitethegreatest.web-log.nl

"The interview tells about the fond memories that John has when meeting Adrian Millar and Michael Corby for the first time in a London pub called Richard Steele. Adrian and Mike who founded The Babys. About the efforts to find a good lead singer for The Babys cause ''Mike could not sing and could not write songs''.
Tony Brock who was in a band called Strider, and that Wally was the last one to audition, John felt right away good about him. John honours the late Adrian Millar: The Babys would not have existed without his vision. The Babys who were living on a wage of 200 dollars a week, during the success of Head First! Also the increasing irritation in the band between John Waite and Mike Corby, which let to the departure of Michael Corby."

Ex-child star says MJ gave him cocaine

Ex-child star says MJ gave him cocaine By WENN.COM

Aaron Carter claims Michael Jackson offered him drugs and alcohol. (QMI Agency file photo)

Former child star Aaron Carter has stunned fans of Michael Jackson by revealing the King of Pop once offered him cocaine when he was 15.
Carter makes the bombshell claim in a new OK! magazine interview in Australia, admitting he "felt weird" about some of the things he did with the late superstar .
The 23-year-old singer says, "I never talked about, this is the first time, I do miss Michael, I have spent such incredible times with him.
"I did things with him that nobody else did but I was also troubled about what he did to me... He gave me wine. I mean, I could have refused, but I was 15.
"As for drugs, he gave me cocaine. I felt weird about that and other stuff."
And Carter, who is the younger brother of Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, reveals in the interview his mother grew so concerned about the amount of time her young son spent chatting to Jackson on the phone, she called the police.

And now he understands why his mother was so concerned: "I admired Michael, but his behaviour bothered me a lot."

Michael Anthony Opens Up on Conflict in Van Halen

Anne Erickson

|

06.30.2011

Former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony seems to have found new life in the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot; and if you ask Anthony, he’ll whole-heartedly proclaim Chickenfoot are “like how Van Halen was in the early days.”
“It’s four friends getting together and having a good time,” Anthony told Ultimate Classic Rock about the band, which includes his former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar, as well as guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. “I guess a lot of that has to do with, you know, we’ve all had our own careers and done really well. So, it’s not like we have anything to prove, and we don’t need to do it for the money, so we can do it just purely for the enjoyment of making music.”
He added that Van Halen’s ’04 reunion was more than a little uncomfortable because, “the way that turned out, Eddie didn’t want me on that tour anyway, because I was a ‘traitor,’ because I sided with and was jamming with Hagar…”
As for Chickenfoot’s sophomore album, the men hope to release the new single in July (“Why wait?”), adding the new tracks are “maybe a little darker” than the last release.
“I think we’ve really evolved as a band. The first CD, we just had so much fun jamming, we had some ideas and we put it together kind of quick, because everybody else had their schedules to keep,” he said. “Even though we actually kind of did it the same way this time, we were a lot more comfortable jamming with each other, and I think we dug a lot deeper. There’s a lot more meat to these new songs.”
He also promises Chickenfoot will tour this year, hopefully in the fall. Meanwhile, Van Halen are plugging away on their new album, and according to Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti, it rocks.

VAN HALEN Acknowledges Australian Soundwave Revolution Dates Via Facebook Page

Hot Flashes

Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 10:49:01 EST

On May 11th, Soundwave Revolution, the annual music festival held in major cities around Australia, announced VAN HALEN as the surprise headliner for all five of their huge festivals in September and October.

Now, Van Halen officially acknowledged the shows by simply posting the dates on their official Facebook page. This makes the first time that the band has posted any major news via Facebook… or any major news in a long while.



The Soundwave Revolution dates are:

September
24 - Brisbane, Australia
25 - Sydney, Australia
30 - Melbourne, Australia

October
1 - Adelaide, Australia
3 - Perth, Australia

Full Soundwave Revolution details can be found at this location.



Back on May 17th, Tom Russell of UK’s Rock Radio conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES). Here’s what Slash had to say about what Van Halen is up to:

Slash: “I’m a huge Van Halen fan. They’re finishing (up their new album right now), actually. I don’t wanna speak on their behalf, but one of the guys that works for us works for Van Halen in the studio and he told me that they’re in the mixing stages.”

Van Halen have been in the studio with Grammy Award winning producer John Shanks, recording their first album with David Lee Roth in more than 25 years, and their first new music as a band in seven years. Shanks has worked with likes of BON JOVI, FLEETWOOD MAC and STEVIE NICKS, as well as massive pop acts including MILEY CYRUS, BACKSTREET BOYS, ALANIS MORISSETTE and CÉLINE DION. A release is expected in the fall which coincides with the announcement that for the first time Van Halen will take their reunion outside of the US and Canada, headlining Australia's Soundwave Revolution.

(Thanks: Van Halen News Desk)

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