Music Legend David Bowie Dead At 69(Classic Rock)
Legendary music star David Bowie has died at the age of 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer. The news was announced in posts on Bowie's Facebook and Twitter accounts and later confirmed by his son Duncan Jones and also by his publicist.
A statement reads: "January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."
Bowie released his latest album Blackstar just a few days ago on January 8, which was also his birthday. The man who shot to international superstardom with The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars in 1972 and frequently changed with the times had kept his illness a secret to everyone other than his family. See the social media posts here.
Lemmy's Memorial Included Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Slash, And More(hennemusic)
Family, friends and fellow rockers paid tribute to Motorhead legend Lemmy Kilmister during an emotional memorial service in Hollywood on Saturday and video of the full event has been posted online. The bassist passed away from cancer at his Los Angeles home on December 28, just four days after his 70th birthday.
The memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery was streamed live to more than 250,000 viewers worldwide via the band's YouTube channel. Motorhead manager Todd Singerman hosted the service, which featured a backdrop of Lemmy's Marshall amplifiers alongside images the band through the years on a table where his ashes and famous top hat and boots were displayed.
The service opened with a farewell by Lemmy's son Paul Inder. "He was 100% real," said Inder. "I won the lottery when I got Lemmy. You were perfect. Travel well, my dear father. You are back out on the road for a longest tour to the great gig in the sky, we will never, never forget you. I love you."
Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee paid tribute to his fallen bandmate, saying "I miss you already, Lemmy. I miss our arguments and our hard work in the studio and on the road. It was so much fun, and I will miss it forever. Try to take it a little easier on the other side. Rest in peace. See you soon."
A lengthy list of musicians followed, including Judas Priest's Rob Halford, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Matt Sorum, Bob Kulick, and Mike Inez of Alice In Chains.
Slash offered his own salute, saying "Lemmy was somebody that I feel blessed to be friends with. He was such a great example of what my peers wanted to be. More integrity than anybody. 100 loyal. All these fine attributes."
Dave Grohl closed the service with tales of Lemmy's hospitality and friendship, and the pair's admiration for one of rock's pioneers. "He and I shared a love of Little Richard," explained Grohl, who said he ran into Little Richard's son at LAX airport, who introduced the Foo Fighter to his idol before walking away with an autographed biblical pamphlet.
Grohl then took the pamphlet out of his jacket pocket. "I wanted to give it to him for his birthday," he said, before choking up while reading a psalm titled "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."
The service closed with a wave of amplifier distortion from a strummed bass guitar next to Lemmy's casket, the same way the rocker ended all his shows. Watch video of the full service here.
Deep Purple Co-founder Reacts To Rock Hall Snub(Classic Rock)
Original Deep Purple bassist and co-founder Nick Simper says he finds it strange that he wasn't included in the band's lineup to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
The group were finally selected for inclusion in the Rock Hall last month, with the nod given to Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Rod Evans, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord.
Simper tells TeamRock's Malcolm Dome: "The first I knew about the Hall Of Fame induction was when I read about it and fans were complaining that I wasn't being inducted.
"Maybe I am being naive, but I always thought that if a band gets into the Hall Of Fame then all members, past and present, are part of it. Obviously not.
"Yes, it is a little strange that I am only only one from Marks I, II and III being left out, but I shan't lose any sleep over this. It's not as if I need to be given this award to know what we did in Deep Purple made an impact. And I'm sure it wasn't a decision that came from the band." Read more here.
Sebastian Bach 'Would Love' To Reconcile With Skid Row(Classic Rock)
Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach says he wants to bury the hatchet with his old bandmates. He acrimoniously split with the group in 1996 and has been critical of the band since, saying they were "allergic to cash" and claimed Rachel Bolan and co turned down $500,000 for two reunion shows.
Skid Row have insisted there would be no reunion following the departure of singer Tony Harnell last month - but Bach thinks it's now time for both parties to put the past behind them.
The vocalist says in response to a fan tweet, "Only way a Skid Row Reunion could happen is if we somehow tried2 bury a 20 year hatchet between us. Would love the chance to do so."
He followed up with, "To be honest, I have said some super sh*tty things 2 them. & about them. I would like to apologize for shooting my mouth off." Read more here.
KISS To Revisit Creatures Of The Night On KISS Kruise VI(Classic Rock)
Kiss have announced the initial details for the 2016 edition of their annual Kiss Kruise. While 2015's event saw the band perform 1975's Alive! in its entirety, this year the group will pay tribute to the 1982 tour in support of their 10th album Creatures Of The Night.
The band say: "The time has come Kiss Navy! You are being called into action for another head-banging, fist-pumping mission at sea on The Kiss Kruise VI. What exactly is lurking in the shadows during this adventure of the deep? All manner of creatures from the depths of the sea - that's what.
"This year will be a seaworthy exploration of Kiss' iconic 1982 Creatures Tour!" The Kiss Kruise VI will travel between Miami and Grand Cayman from November 4-9. Read more here.
Killing Joke Forced To Cancel North American Tour(Classic Rock)
Killing Joke have cancelled their planned 26-date North American tour. It was due to get underway next week in Atlanta, but the band have been forced to shelve the trek due to "health issues" within the group.
The band say in a statement: "It is with great sadness and regret that due to some health issues for one of the band, we will not be able to embark on our 2016 US tour.
"This has come as a shock to us all. Please give us the time to work this out and we hope to return to touring as soon as possible." Support was to be provided by Soft Moon, and they'll play some of the dates in place of Killing Joke. Read more here.
Phil Collins Reveals Take A Look At Me Now Campaign Details(Classic Rock)
Phil Collins will officially launch his reissues series of remastered solo releases on January 29. The Take A Look At Me Now campaign was originally scheduled to open with expanded versions of 1981's Face Value and 1993's Both Sides last November 6, but the singer revised the start date after undergoing emergency back surgery in October.
Curated by Collins himself, the albums come with extra material including demos, b-sides, live performances and new artwork featuring the artists recreating his poses from the original covers.
The drummer now reveals the second phase of the series will be issued next month. Collins says: "We are pleased to announce that the Hello I Must Be Going and Dance Into The Light reissues will be released on February 26."
Led a by a UK No. 1 cover of The Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love, 1982's Hello I Must Be Going peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts on its way to triple-platinum sales and Collins' first Grammy and Brit Award nominations.
The bonus disc of extras presents live material and demos of two songs: Do You Know, Do You Care? and Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away. Read more including track details here.
Billy Corgan Won't Reunite With Original Smashing Pumpkins Lineup(Classic Rock)
Billy Corgan says it would be an "inorganic" move to reunite with the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins. The Pumpkins' current lineup put out Monuments To An Elegy in December 2014, with Day For Night slated for release this year.
But the 48-year-old says he wouldn't reunite with bassist D'arcy Wretzky, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha again, having previously described the trio as "two drug addicts and one major pain in the ass."
Corgan tells Jennifer Weigal (via Loudwire): "I have no interest in doing anything that's inorganic. I have people in my band now that I talk to - and they don't want to talk to me and I don't want to talk to them.
"If they were lying on the side of the road, I would stop my car and bring them to the hospital, but we don't send Christmas cards to each other. There's no relationship." Read more here.
Resurrection Kings Stream New Song 'Path Of Love'(Classic Rock)
Resurrection Kings have made their song Path Of Love available to stream. The band, which features Vinny Appice, Craig Goldy, Chas West and Sean McNabb from bands such as Dio, Black Sabbath, Lynch Mob and Dokken, are to release their self-titled debut record on January 29.
Singer West tells Blabbermouth: "It started about five years ago when Craig Goldy contacted me and said he'd like to do something because we'd played together, doing some covers in an all-star thing called Hollywood Allstarz."
Speaking about Path Of Love, Goldy adds: "I got another chance to mix dark, sexy, tough and nasty into the same song as I did with some of the other songs on this album. I've always liked that mixture. Even though this song I didn't write, I wanted to put in the same amount of effort as if I had." Stream the song here.
Queen's Brian May Leads Cozy Powell Memorial Plaque Event(Classic Rock)
A plaque has been unveiled in honor of drummer Cozy Powell in Cirencester, UK. Around 500 people attended the ceremony at the town's Corn Hall, including Tony Iommi, Brian May, Suzi Quatro, Neil Murray and Bernie Marsden.
Powell died in a car crash in 1998 aged 50 - ending a career which included stints with Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy and more.
Queen guitarist May tells the BBC: "He was one of the world's most exciting drummers ever. Cozy really helped to define the whole genre of rock drumming as we know it today. He's the heavy drummer template." Read more here.
Metallica Offers Advise To Aspiring Musicians(Classic Rock)
Metallica's Robert Trujillo says aspiring musicians should focus their efforts entirely on having fun and forget about fame and fortune. The bass player believes the music industry has changed so much in recent years that chasing the big bucks is the wrong way to set about a career in rock.
Trujillo tells the Huffington Post: "The most important thing that I tell young people is to have fun. Back in the day in the music business, bands would get these multi-million dollar record deals and that was the big thing, 'We got a record deal! We got a record deal!'
"That's not the way it is anymore, it's about making music and having fun. Don't make music to make money, because that's not why you should be doing it. Have fun, be creative, and embrace the past.
"I would start from there, have fun, soak it all in and take a journey with this music in the past because a lot of that stuff doesn't exist anymore. People aren't writing stuff like that anymore." Read more here.
Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Reveals Futuristic Novel Plans(TeamRock Radio)
Randy Blythe is working on a novel that is set "50 to 100 years in the future." The Lamb Of God frontman will get to work on the fictional tale later this year, once the band's touring commitments are over and after he's put the finishing touches to a photobook he's also working on.
Blythe tells Metal Hammer's Chris Chantler: "I'm working on an outline for a book, but that's about as much as I can do while I'm on the road. Writing a book makes writing a record look like going to kindergarten. It's a much more tense, concerted, extended, creative effort - it requires a lot of focus that this environment does not provide.
"It's set 50 to 100 years in the future. I'm wracking my brain right now, because you have to figure out all sorts of little things we don't think about, because of the incredibly rapid advancement of technology.
"I've been thinking about the plot, and at first I thought, 'Oh the ending's just got to be awful.' But then I thought, 'That's self-indulgent.' I've been thinking about how I can make the end of the book optimistic, and it's hard. And I haven't decided how it's going to end, but more than likely there's got to be an optimistic end. Otherwise, I'll just be f***ing depressed. And real life is depressing enough." Read more here.
The Graham Bonnet Band Making Documentary(Classic Rock)
The Graham Bonnet Band's upcoming UK tour will be part of a documentary. Bonnet and co will be filmed by Canadian music website The Metal Voice for the film, to be titled All Day And Night Long.
Filming will start at the NAMM convention in Southern California at the end of January and continue on the band's run of UK shows, which starts in Swindon on January 30.
The Metal Voice producer Jimmy Kay says: "We are very excited to work with legendary singer Graham Bonnet and his team. The video will be a first-person account, including the fanatic fans, the encounters, the interactions, the hotels, the behind the scenes and the joy of playing live." Read more here.
Gov't Mule Announce European Spring Tour(Classic Rock)
Gov't Mule have confirmed a European tour for May, with three UK dates included. Warren Hayes and co start the run of shows in the Netherlands on May 7 and will perform in London, Bristol and Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, as part of the 11-date tour.
The band are also plotting a new album, on which they hope to explore jazz or blues influences. Hayes says: ""We're going to make a new Gov't Mule record soon. I still want to make a jazz-influenced instrumental record, which I've never done.
"I still want to make a traditional blues record, which I've never done. The next Gov't Mule record will be different from what we've ever done. And I love what I'm doing right now. I just don't know in what order it will come, but I prefer it that way. I think that's what keeps me inspired and keeps the energy flowing." See the dates here.
David Gilmour's Rattle That Lock Takes Top Art Vinyl Honors(Classic Rock)
The cover of David Gilmour's Rattle That Lock has been named the Best Art Vinyl of 2015 by London-based outfit Art Vinyl. Rattle That Lock took top prize while Drenge's Undertow landed in second, and Tame Impala's Currents took third place.
The annual award, which celebrates artists and designers of vinyl record cover art, recognizes the work of Dave Stansbie and Rupert Truman from The Creative Corporation among 50 finalists nominated by a panel of music design experts and previous Best Art Vinyl Award winners.
Gilmour says: "I am thrilled that the artwork to Rattle That Lock has received the Art Vinyl award. I'd like to offer my congratulations and thanks to Dave Stansbie and the team at The Creative Corporation for the brilliant work that they have done for me.
"It's a thrill to see vinyl making a comeback and the return of the opportunities that the larger format offers. Thanks again". Read more here.
Mavis Staples Streams New Song 'High Note'(The Blues)
Mavis Staples has streamed her track High Note, taken from upcoming album Livin' On A High Note. It features songs written for her by Nick Cave, Ben Harper, Justin Vernon and others. High Note was composed by Valerie June.
Staples said recently: "I told the writers I was looking for some joyful songs. I want to leave something to lift people up - I'm so busy making people cry. Not from sadness, but I'm always telling a part of history that brought us down. I'm trying to bring us back up."
Livin' On A High Note is released on February 19 via Anti- Records, while documentary film Mavis! will be broadcast on US network HBO on February 29. Stream the song here.
Six Feet Under's Jeff Hughell Releases New Solo Album(TeamRock Radio)
Six Feet Under bass player Jeff Hughell's third solo album has been launched. Trinidad Scorpion Hallucinations is available via iTunes, Amazon and at Hughell's website.
Hughell says the album, "takes the listener on a roller coaster of extreme highs and lows which parallel the emotions one would experience after having the misfortune of inhaling one of the world's hottest chillies."
The album artwork was designed by Tony Koehl and the record features guest appearances from Dominic Lapointe, Marc Gilson, Hannes Grossmann and Matt Kourie among others. See the cover art and track details here.
Bury Tomorrow Release 'Last Light' Video(TeamRock Radio)
Bury Tomorrow have released a video for Last Light. The song is taken from the Southampton metalcore outfit's fourth album Earthbound, released on January 29 via Nuclear Blast. It's the follow-up to 2014's Runes.
Frontman Dani Winter-Bates says: "Last Light is about the acceptance of death. The video uses animation, which is something we've never done and it turned out awesome.
"It can be taken two ways - either the loss of sanity while grieving for a loved one, or the literal descent into the afterlife. I feel like the song itself shows a lot more of our melodic side." Watch the video here.
Drowning Pool Streaming New Song 'Hell To Pay'(TeamRock Radio)
Drowning Pool have made their song Hell To Pay available to stream. It's taken from the Texas outfit's sixth album, Hellelujah, due February 5 via eOne Music.
Hell To Pay follows previews of Snake Charmer and By The Blood as the third tune issued ahead of the project's release next month.
Vocalist Jasen Moreno says: "It's about the futility of regret. It's about the danger in second guessing yourself. It's about battling depression. It's about closure."
The follow-up to 2013's Resilience was produced by Jason Suecof (Trivium, August Burns Red, Deicide) and recorded at Audio Hammer studios in Sanford, Florida.
The set marks the group's second record with former Suicide Hook singer Moreno, who joined the lineup in 2012 when Ryan McCombs left after a six-year stint to reunite with Chicago outfit Soil. Stream the song here.
Twenty One Pilots Praised By Ramen Head(TeamRock Radio)
Twenty One Pilots label boss Mike Easterlin has praised Tyler Joseph for tackling sensitive issues head on in his lyrics. And the head of Fueled By Ramen says Joseph and Josh Dun's tracks are helping people deal with various "heavy" situations.
He tells Billboard: "The music means so many different things to so many people. We hear over and over about how the lyrics affect people. Tyler covers some pretty heavy subjects. On the previous record, he tackled depression and suicide, helping kids to understand that there is always an answer when you're down, and suicide is not it.
"On Blurryface, he wrote about insecurities, mostly his own, and how he deals with them. We constantly hear from fans about the impact this band is having on their lives. That is a pretty big burden to carry, but they handle it well, with honesty and true vulnerability." Read more here.
Steel Panther Announce Acoustic Album and DVD(Classic Rock)
Comedy metal band Steel Panther have announced that they will release Live From Lexxi's Mom's Garage on February 26 on their own Open E Records via Kobalt Label Services.
Available on CD and CD/DVD combo, the band's first full-length film presents a 10-song acoustic concert of their most popular songs recorded in Los Angeles last October in front of a live audience of 100 female fans.
The set is rounded out with vignettes showcasing the comedic skills of the group. Bassist Lexxi Foxx says: "It was so much fun playing our songs on these new wooden guitars in my mom's garage!
"Satchel says that he might be my new dad, but I'm not really sure what that means!" Read more here.
Heart Working On New Studio Album(Classic Rock)
Heart are working on a new album that they hope to release in the summer. Vocalist Ann Wilson says the band have already penned four tracks and are working on a handful of others.
She tells ABC News Radio: "We're definitely working on new stuff. We have about four new songs now and we only need a few more, and we'll have enough for a new full-length record, which should be ready by June. We have to make sure it's truly great, which we're in the process of doing."
Wilson adds that the follow-up to 2012's Fanatic will have "more contours" than its predecessor. She says: "Fanatic was our heaviest album we ever did in terms of banging and crashing, big guitars and all that kind of stuff. This one will have more contours." Read more here.
So Pitted Stream New Song 'Feed Me'(TeamRock Radio)
So Pitted have made their track Feed Me available to stream. It's taken from the Seattle punk rock trio's upcoming debut album Neo, released on February 19 via Sub Pop.
On the band's sound, guitarist and vocalist Liam Downey tells Upset: "One of my friends says we're louder than Nirvana. And we are subjected to grunge by default but it's not that bad. Mudhoney is cool but Tad is rad.
"I see us as another spinoff of new wave music. I love Devo. I don't think any of us are into one style, we all have our conventions, we're all really snobby artists but at the same time we're normal people who listen to Backstreet Boys because it's what we heard growing up.
"We just want to be genuine and admit what we like and don't like. The band is the people, and we're always changing so much."
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