Monday, December 24, 2012

Justice Collective's Charity Single Wins Christmas No. 1 Title

The U.K.'s much sought-after Christmas No. 1 crown was won on Sunday (December 23) by the Justice Collective's cover of the Hollies' 1969 hit "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother." Emeli Sandé's "Our Version Of Events," already the bestselling artist album of 2012, climbed back 4-1.

The Justice Collective is an all-star aggregation of artists, mainly but not entirely from Liverpool, gathered by producer Guy Chambers to raise funds for the legal battles still being endured by the families of 96 Liverpool Football Club fans killed in the infamous 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

The track features contributions from such local heroes as Sir Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden (Gerry & the Pacemakers), Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes To Hollywood), Melanie Chisholm (Spice Girls), Peter Hooton (The Farm), John Power (Cast) and Rebecca Ferguson plus other notables including Robbie Williams, Paloma Faith, Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze), Mick Jones (Clash, Big Audio Dynamite et al) and Beverley Knight.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Quadrophenia Documentary To Air On BBC America As Who Tour Continues In 2013

One of rock’s most powerful and legendary bands, the Who will be celebrated when The Who: Quadrophenia-Can You See The Real Me? airs Friday, January 4 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) on BBC America.  Originally screened earlier this year as a one-night in-theater event, the documentary takes fans on a riveting ride back to the 1970s when the Who's creative musical genius was taking the world’s music stage by storm.  The Who: Quadrophenia-Can You See the Real Me? gives fans an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look into one of rock’s most influential bands and the creation of their celebrated album, Quadrophenia originally released in October 1973.

The Who kicked off their critically acclaimed Quadrophenia And More Tour, in early November. The trek features the Who performing their iconic 1973 double album Quadrophenia in its entirety, along with a selection of Who classics. Founding members Roger Daltrye and Pete Townshend are being joined by Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass), Simon Townshend (guitar/backing vocals), John Corey (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards/backing vocals) Reggie Grisham (horns), JG Miller (horns) and Frank Simes (musical director, keyboards/backing vocals) for the tour.

The 2012-2013 AEG Live-promoted Quadrophenia And More Tour features the Who performing on a sleek, stripped-down stage with 10 musicians on board, a sophisticated lighting rig and multiple screens that provide footage of world events from World War II to the present day, concentrating on popular culture and the history of the band, including live footage from throughout their storied career.  The visuals tie in closely to the Quadrophenia album and movie, particularly the themes of disillusionment, teen angst and rebellion, plus social issues--both from the ‘60s and now--as well as the beach and ocean that are pivotal in Quadrophenia.  Tickets for the tour will be available at www.aeglive.com

The Who’s 2013 tour dates are as follows:

Mon - 1/28 - Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
Wed - 1/30 - Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center
Fri - 2/1 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
Sat - 2/2 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
Tue - 2/5 - San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center
Wed - 2/6 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
Fri - 2/8 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Sun - 2/10 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tue - 2/12 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
Thu - 2/14 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
Sat - 2/16 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Arena
Sun - 2/17 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
Tue - 2/19 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
Thu - 2/21 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
Fri - 2/22 - Atlantic City, NJ - Boardwalk Hall
Sun - 2/24 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
Tue - 2/26 - Providence, RI - Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Ted Nugent Blames Connecticut Tragedy On Political Correctness, Moral Decline

With the issue of gun control more hotly debated than ever following Friday’s tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, it should be no surprise that Ted Nugent – a board member of the National Rifle Association and staunch Second Amendment supporter – would make his opinion known.
The rocker, outdoorsman and political activist penned an editorial for the Washington Times in which he blamed the massacre that left 20 children dead on political correctness out of control and a decline in moral values.
“The ugly and dangerous truth is that we live in an embarrassing, politically correct culture that exalts and rejoices in the bizarre; aggressively promotes an ‘anything goes’ value system; and vilifies, condemns and mocks traditional societal values and customs at every opportunity,” Nugent wrote.
“We’ve embraced a culture of contempt that attacks the very institutions that make for a healthy and strong society, and then we’re shocked when it spirals out of control. The only thing I’m shocked about is that anybody is shocked.”
Nugent also accused anti-gun proponents of using the mass shooting to further their agenda.
“Some blabbermouths already are using the Connecticut school massacre to promote their anti-gun agenda even though more gun laws won’t prevent a psychotic from getting a gun and killing us,” he wrote.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Top Artists Adjust To New World Of YouTube Bootlegs

From Rolling Stone

"Most of the artists have kind of conceded to it," says Josh Grier, attorney for Ryan Adams, Wilco and Fountains of Wayne, all of whom have live shows on YouTube. "Metallica might be inclined to take a stand, but it would be a serious legal expense, and just manpower. I expect that everybody, slowly but surely, is going to accept it – as a recording group, your live material is going to be up there. Or join the club and just see if you can get advertising attached to all of it and get revenue-share for everything."

Until recently, many major artists fiercely opposed the spread of any type of concert footage or audio. Bruce Springsteen famously criticized bootleggers throughout the 70s and 80s. Performers were historically concerned about losing creative control or having to live with gaffes or other spontaneous happenings – like when Paul McCartney fell on his face during a recent performance of "The End" in St. Louis, and footage appeared on YouTube within a week. They also were worried about bootleggers unfairly making money off their work.

But attitudes have changed, in part because the DVD market for live concerts has become less lucrative, with the exception of top-tier stars like Adele. "We tried to put out a Fountains of Wayne special edition recently – they made a lot of videos through the years that didn't get much play," Grier says. "Adam [Schlesinger, the band's co-songwriter] just said, 'They're all on YouTube.' And I looked, and yeah, they were."

As for shaky fan-camera footage, Grier says it's more of a curiosity than a threat to a band's revenue stream when people want to check out, say, Lou Reed performing the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" with Pete Townshend at a pub in 2007. Still, some acts, including Springsteen, ask ushers to police the audience to ensure nobody brings in cameras or even shoots cell-phone video. It's almost an impossible task. "The idea that someone is shooting with cameras at festivals – that's very, very hard to control," says John Peets, manager of the Black Keys. "It's a new world out there. Our concern is more, if we put this out, we need to make sure it's of a certain level. That's the line we're trying to control, more than slapping down people at a show."

The concert industry's general philosophy in recent years has evolved into "If you can't beat them, join them." Bonnaroo has been live-streaming the sets of top performers since roughly 2003, when its partner was AOL, and while the occasional headliner asks not to participate, most do. "You just can't stop it when everyone has a mobile device," says Jonathan Mayers, co-founder of Superfly Presents, the Manchester, Tennessee, festival's promoter. "If you can't control it, use it as a marketing device – go with it."

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Rolling Stones End Anniversary Tour With All-Star Blowout In Newark

Mick Jagger has sung the words "This could be the last time" hundreds of times – yet the line had a special resonance tonight. The Rolling Stones’ December 15th show in Newark, New Jersey was the final gig of their 50th anniversary tour, their first live performances in five years. And with no shows scheduled for 2013, many fans had to be wondering if tonight meant it’s all over now.

But whatever the future holds for the World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band, they blew it out tonight, rampaging from classic to classic in true Stones fashion – through the past, darkly. The Stones treated this show as a lavish celebration loaded with special guests, from Lady Gaga torching up "Gimme Shelter" to Bruce Springsteen strapping on a guitar for "Tumbling Dice."

Yet all eyes were on Jagger, a cosmic blur of hips and ribs and lips, attacking each song with an unbelievably ruthless rocks-off energy, whether he was shimmying through "Honky Tonk Women" or strumming his guitar for "Dead Flowers," in its first appearance of the tour. (It was a fan selection, as voted via the band’s new smartphone app.) For most of the show, he wiggled in the same skintight outfit he wore on the Stones’ 1969 tour: black drainpipe trousers, clingy long-sleeve T-shirt, Cuban-heel boots. In his case, actually, it might have been the *exact* same outfit – no doubt the old one still fits. (How does this man do it? Zumba? Tantric Pilates? Or just generally getting his ya-ya’s out?)

Keith Richards played heroic amounts of guitar all night, especially in "Gimme Shelter" and "It’s Only Rock & Roll," and though he mostly glowered over his guitar at the back of the stage, he took the mike to rasp through a Mick-free interlude of "Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy." Ron Wood looked gratifyingly hale, dancing around and resuming his mischievous-schoolboy role, while Charlie Watts drummed with his unflappable gravitas.

The brisk pace of the show didn’t leave much room for ballads or idle chit-chat. Mick whisked the guests on and off the stage so fast that at one point he joked that he felt like David Letterman. Lady Gaga did a spectacularly soulful duet on "Gimme Shelter," teetering in a striped jumpsuit and platform heels that could have come straight from the inner sleeve of Tattoo You. The Black Keys sat in for Bo Diddley’s "Who Do You Love," while the Freddie King tribute "Going Down" became a metallic blues jam featuring Gary Clark Jr. and John Mayer, who played extended solos with Wood and Richards.

Jagger told the crowd that some of the Stones’ guests had flown thousands of miles to be there in New Jersey, from exotic locales like Russia, Norway and Saskatoon. Then he added, "Our next guest just had to walk here." And with that, Bruce Springsteen came on for "Tumbling Dice," the undisputed highlight of the night. Springsteen traded verses with Jagger while playing guitar, grinning broadly, busting out his Otis Redding moves as he grunted "You got-ta roll me!" over and over.

For guitar freaks, another highlight had to be the showcase for Mick Taylor, who played with the Stones in the Sticky Fingers/Exile on Main Street years between Brian Jones and Ron Wood. All three guitarists jammed on "Midnight Rambler," as Jagger honked along on harmonica. Even as the Stones stretched the song way past the ten-minute mark, luxuriating in all the sex-and-doom longeurs, there was still a restless twitch in the music. Like the rest of the show, it was a moment that seemed to encapsulate the band’s whole history.

But even on a momentous occasion like this, it wouldn’t be the Rolling Stones’ style to get sentimental. And true to form, they stuck to their hardass sense of menace. Five of the first six songs they played touched explicitly on the theme of death, and the one that didn’t – the show-opening "Get Off Of My Cloud" – was the ultimate Stones ode to flipping off the human race and zoning out into your own private dream-world. As always, the Stones didn’t offer any easy comfort tonight – just mean guitars, high energy, and plenty of satanic majesty.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Inside Abbey Road Events Scheduled For March 2013

Following the glowing critical and public response to the series of unique events held at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios earlier this year,  a new series of talks will be held in the famous Studio Two for six special days in March 2013.

Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan (authors of Recording the Beatles), will give their second series of  talks on Abbey Road Studios’ rich history and continued success.

Kehew and Ryan’s talk will explore the studios’ decades of landmark recordings, celebrating the technology and sonic creativity that lead to epoch-defining music from artists such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Adele and of course, the Beatles.

With over 20 years of research into EMI history, they have uncovered many secrets of the Studios and have worked with Abbey Road to preserve and illuminate the Studios' immense history and ongoing legacy. The talks will explore the history and the present day action at Abbey Road Studios with rare archive photos, film and audio, showing changes to the studio and equipment. They will illustrate Abbey Road Studios’ long progression through all kinds of music, from classical to rock and beyond, plus the methods used to record in each style/period.

These events will also give more focus to the more recent hits recorded, mixed and mastered at the studios, and artists who currently use the studios to create new and innovative music. They will also explore the studios’ rich experience in film scoring and even demonstrate how sound and images are synched for some of the biggest movies ever made such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The King's Speech, Prometheus and the new James Bond film, Skyfall.

If all that wasn’t enough, the authors will bring the authentic, classic sound of the past to life with demonstration of a vintage 4-track mixing console and tape machine, as well as the studio’s legendary echo chamber, used on countless classic recordings. The popular display of original instruments, microphones, and studio hardware used to create classic tracks at Abbey Road, will be making a welcome return.

Visitors will be allowed early entrance with time to explore and take photographs in the famous Studio Two, where seminal acts like the Beatles, Oasis, the Hollies, the Shadows, Pink Floyd and Kate Bush recorded their music.

More recently, Elbow recorded their theme for the 2012 Olympics in this legendary studio and  artists such as Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Ryan Adams, Laura Marling and Feist laid down performances for the Live From Abbey Road television show.

Inside Abbey Road events schedule:

Friday 8th March
Session 1: doors open 2pm / event starts 3pm
Session 2: doors open 7pm / event starts 8pm

Saturday 9th March
Session 1: doors open 10am / event starts 11am
Session 2: doors open 3pm / event starts 4pm

Sunday 10th March
Session 1: doors open 10am / event starts 11am
Session 2: doors open 3pm / event starts 4pm

Friday 15th March
Session 1: doors open 2pm / event starts 3pm
Session 2: doors open 7pm / event starts 8pm

Saturday 16th March
Session 1: doors open 10am / event starts 11am
Session 2: doors open 3pm / event starts 4pm

Sunday 17th March
Session 1: doors open 10am / event starts 11am
Session 2: doors open 3pm / event starts 4pm

For more information, check out the official Inside Abbey Road: The Best Studio In The World.

Tickets on sale now at http://www.seetickets.com/tour/abbey-road-studios.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Deep Purple To Release New Studio Album In 2013

Deep Purple have officially announced a new studio album set for release next year. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2005's Rapture Of The Deep is set for release in late April 2013.

After being written mainly in Europe, the disc was recorded and mixed in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Bob Ezrin.

Song titles will include "Out Of Hand," "Hell To Pay," "Weirdistan," "Uncommon Man" and "Above And Beyond," the last of which being a tribute to the band's longtime keyboard player Jon Lord, who passed away earlier this year.

As for the lack of a title, Ian Gillan had this to say earlier this month: "The title of our new album is still a question mark to all of us ... We have recorded a new album, and it's a fantastic collection of songs. At the moment that's the only affirmative point we can offer ...”

Fans can keep up to date on the new album by way of a new website launched in support of the release at http://www.deeppurple2013.com.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Sandy Benefit Concert Aims For 2 Billion Viewers Worldwide

Tonight's (December 12) commercial-free benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York will be seen both around the world and around the World Wide Web.

The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, The Who, Roger Waters, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Kanye West and many other artists will perform at the benefit to the Robin Hood Relief Fund and victims of Hurricane Sandy. The broadcast will be accessible by an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, according to the concert's website
http://www.121212concert.org.

U.S. television viewers will have a difficult time missing the event. The broadcast will be carried on 34 channels, from AMC to VH1 Classic. Even pay channels HBO and Showtime 2 and the newsy Bloomberg will carry the broadcast.

But not all networks will carry the event. Fox will air a two-hour semi-final of "The X-Factor." NBC, CBS and ABC will carry on with their normal Wednesday evening schedules. The benefit concert will air on the CBS station WLNY in-TV in New York and the CW station in Philadelphia, however. A handful of local PBS stations in New York and New Jersey will also carry the broadcast.

The live webcast will be carried by 30 different websites, including YouTube, MTV.com, MySpace, Yahoo, Yahoo, Vevo, AOL, Hulu, People.com and BMI.com.

In the U.S., free tickets to view the simulcast in movie theaters will be given away at select theaters in storm-affected areas. Simulcasts can be viewed around the country at Cinemark Theaters for the price of a regular Child admission. All of the proceeds will go toward the Robin Hood Relief Fund. A full list of broadcasters and participating theaters can be found at the concert's broadcast page http://www.121212concert.org/broadcast.

The broadcast will also be seen in countries around the world. MTV and VH1 will carry the telecast in Canada, Latin America, the U.K., France, Australia and dozens of other countries. Numerous channels will carry the concert in Japan, Korea, Tawain, India and Africa.

Social media will also play a role in raising support for relief efforts. Foursquare has created a "Be Robin Hood #121212concert" badge for users who check in using the #121212concert hashtag. Samsung Galaxy will donate $10 to the Robin Hood Relief Fund on behalf of each of the first 25,000 unlocked badges.

The Twitter hashtag #121212concert is sure to be a trending topic throughout the day. Sponsored by Chase, the hashtag on Twitter's trend section in the U.S. as well as the U.K., Mexico, Japan, Canada, Italy and many other countries.

Shazam will make it easy for its 250 million users to help. Proceeds from music purchased through the music identification app during the concert will be donated to the Robin Hood Foundation Relief Fund. Shazam users can also use the app to donate directly to the charity during the broadcast.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The new class of inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced, and it includes rockers, the Queen of Disco, a group of hip-hop pioneers and a band whose fans have long been clamoring for the honor.

In the performer category, Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush and Donna Summer will receive the prestigious induction. Lou Adler and Quincy Jones will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which is given to non-performers.

A few of those selected to be part of the 2013 group had been nominated before, but none have had the fan support for entry into the hallowed Hall of Fame as first time nominees Rush. The band had been eligible for nomination for the past 14 years.

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson said after the group was nominated back in October that the honor meant a great deal to his group's fan base.

"For our fans, it's very, very important, and we feel great for them," he said. "We're at the next stage and we'll see if we're actually inducted. If so, we'll support it in every way we can for our fans."

To be eligible for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination, artists had to have released their work at least 25 years prior to appearing on the ballot. That means this year's group released their first single in 1987 or earlier.

For the first time since 1993, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on the West coast. The 28th annual event is scheduled for April 18 and will be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. in Los Angeles, California.

The ceremony will be open to the ticket-buying public, and will air on HBO at 9 p.m. on May 18.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Rolling Stones Add Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Black Keys To Final '50' Show

The Rolling Stones have invited Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and the Black Keys to their final "50 and Counting" concert, celebrating an astounding half-century as a band, being held Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The concert will be telecast live pay-per-view in a Ken Ehrlich-produced special called One More Shot.

"We're excited these extraordinary artists have agreed to help celebrate our 50th Anniversary as we share the night live with our fans all over the world," the band said in a statement. "Now the fun begins of trying to figure out the best songs to perform together."

May we humbly suggest "Honky Tonk Woman" for Gaga, a dirty/bluesy "Midnight Rambler" with the Keys and take-your-pick with The Boss.

Fresh off a triumphant debut in Brooklyn on Saturday, where the band gave the borough a 2-hour onslaught of hits spanning five decades, the Stones next play the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief on Wednesday before starting their 2-show stint in Newark on Thursday.

"People ask us why we're still doing this," Jagger said to the Brooklyn audience late in the show over the weekend. "It's for you."


Friday, December 7, 2012

Spirit Drummer Ed Cassidy Dead at 89

Ed Cassidy, the drummer for the classic rock band Spirit, died in San Jose, California on Thursday (December. 6) of undisclosed causes. Notable for his shaved head (which inspired the nickname “Mr. Skin”), head-to-toe black wardrobe and massive drum kit, Cassidy was considered very influential on other drummers of the ’60s rock era. He was 89 years old at the time of his death.

Born on May 4, 1923, in a rural town outside of Chicago, Cassidy began his career at an early age in 1937, after his family moved to Bakersfield, California. He served in the Navy during World War II and thereafter held a series of jobs before returning to music full-time in the ’40s, working steadily in a succession of show bands, country and western acts, and big bands. He also worked on film soundtracks and played briefly with the San Francisco Opera.

Cassidy spent the 50s working primarily in jazz in California, playing with such historically important performers as Art Pepper, Roland Kirk and Gerry Mulligan. He played with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder briefly in a band called Rising Sons before forming a new group, the Red Roosters, in 1965. That group comprised Cassidy, his stepson Randy California on guitar, Mark Andes on bass, and singer Jay Ferguson.

Changing their name to Spirit with the addition of keyboardist John Locke, that ensemble created a sound that was an amalgam of jazz, hard rock, and psychedelic influences. Signed by 60s L.A. music impresario Lou Adler, the group released their self-titled debut album in 1968. They followed it up with The Family That Plays Together later that year, which featured their highest-charting single, ‘I Got a Line on You.’

In 1969 they toured successfully with a then-little-known band called Led Zeppelin as their opening act, and their impact on the new group was substantial; Cassidy often performed his live drum solo with his bare hands, which reportedly influenced John Bonham’s performance on ‘Moby Dick,’ while Jimmy Page reportedly began using a theramin to alter the tone of his guitar after seeing Randy California doing it on stage. Many fans and critics have noted the similarities between Spirit’s song ‘Taurus‘ and the intro to Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ which appeared several years after.

After the release of their landmark fourth album, 1970′s Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, the original lineup of Spirit fell apart. Cassidy would continue with the group through various lineups over the course of decades until Randy California’s untimely drowning death in Hawaii in 1997. After that he continued to play with surf musician Merrell Fankhauser until he retired from performing. In later years, he was also involved in acting, appearing in 2010 and The Escape Artist on the big screen, and twice in minor roles on the television soap opera General Hospital.

Spirit bassist Mark Andes paid tribute to Cassidy in a Facebook post Thursday, writing, “RIP Ed Cassidy, one the worlds greatest drummers…loved you cass…” and posting a picture of the pair together.

Bob Irwin produced a series of Spirit re-masters, starting at Sony in the 80s and eventually carrying over into vinyl reissues on his own label, Sundazed Records. He recalls his friend and colleague fondly. “What can I say, other than Ed was a friend, a consummate professional and mighty-ass drummer,” he said. “He was close – and stayed close –  to his entire body of work, and certainly took great pride in the band’s recordings and accomplishments.”

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Fleetwood Mac Announces 2013 Tour

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.

That's because Fleetwood Mac is sticking to its promise of hitting the road in 2013.

The legendary group will kick off a 34-city North American tour on April 4th in Columbus, Ohio, with tickets going on sale December 14th.


The tour coincides with the 35th anniversary of the band's classic disc Rumours, which is one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

What's more, unreleased studio and live tracks will reportedly be included in a re-release of the 1977 album early next year, and there is talk that the upcoming concerts may include new songs as well.

The dates will feature vocalist Stevie Nicks, singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. (Christine McVie retired from the group in 1998.)

Fleetwood Mac last toured together in 2009.

Friday, November 30, 2012

AC/DC's iTunes Debut Sells 48,000 Digital Albums, 696,000 Songs

One of the longest hold-outs from iTunes, AC/DC finally reached the digital retailer last week.

The iconic rock band's entire catalog, along with two iTunes-exclusive box sets, became available on Monday, Nov. 19. In the week ending Nov. 25, the band's 25 albums moved 48,000 downloads while its songs shifted 696,000 in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Its biggest selling album, digitally speaking, was the band's classic Back in Black, with 15,000 -- more than 10,000 ahead of its second-biggest title, Highway to Hell (a little under 5,000). Coming in third for the week was the brand new Live at River Plate (4,000), followed by High Voltage (just under 3,000) and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (2,000).

In terms of song downloads, "Thunderstruck" led the way for AC/DC last week, selling 85,000. It debuts at No. 16 on Digital Songs and No. 1 on Hard Rock Digital Songs. On the latter tally -- viewable on billboard.biz -- the entire top 12 positions are owned by AC/DC tunes. The band's second biggest seller last week was "Back in Black" (68,000), followed by "You Shook Me All Night Long" (64,000), "Highway To Hell" (50,000) and "TNT" (40,000). There were 14 AC/DC songs that sold at least 10,000 last week.

Unlike the Beatles' arrival on iTunes in 2010 -- which was heralded with great fanfare and a TV marketing campaign -- AC/DC's entrance to iTunes seemingly dropped out of the sky without hype. Even though there weren't TV commercials touting the iTunes debut (as there was for the Beatles), one could hear the song "Back in Black" in at least two different TV commercials over the busy Thanksgiving shopping weekend. It soundtracked spots for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II as well as Black Friday ads for Walmart.

To compare, when the Beatles catalog arrived, it sold a combined 119,000 digital albums and 1.42 million songs.

Of course, comparing anything to the Beatles is difficult, since the band exists in its own realm of superstardom. That week, the Fab Four's best selling digital album was Abbey Road (16,000), followed by its stereo box set with 13,000. The Beatles' biggest song download that week was "Let It Be" (63,000), followed by "Here Comes the Sun" (55,000), "In My Life" (45,000), "Hey Jude" (38,000) and "Come Together" (38,000).

For a perhaps better side-by-side comparison, we turn to another former hard-rockin' holdout from iTunes: Led Zeppelin. The week its music bowed in the store way back in 2007, its combined albums moved 47,000 (with 33,000 of that for its then brand-new Mothership greatest hits album) while its songs shifted 300,000.

Following Mothership, Led Zep's second-largest selling album that week was the iTunes-exclusive box The Complete Led Zeppelin, with 5,000 sold. In third place was Led Zeppelin IV with 2,000.

As for Led Zeppelin's biggest song downloads that week, unsurprisingly, the iconic "Stairway to Heaven" was its best-seller, with 31,000. At Nos. 2-5 were "Kashmir" (21,000), "Over the Hills and Far Away" (16,000), "Black Dog" (15,000) and "Immigrant Song" (14,000).

Led Zeppelin bowed in the iTunes Store almost exactly five years ago, when download sales weren't as potent as they are today. Thus, seeing AC/DC start with a much larger volume isn't that shocking. (Year to date download album sales stand at 103.46 million -- 39% of the overall market. For the full year of 2007, downloads amounted to 50 million -- or 10% of the market.)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

New Jimi Hendrix Music Coming In 2013

A new Jimi Hendrix album is coming March 5, 2013.

According to the Jimi Hendrix website says People, Hell and Angels contains 12 previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1968 and '69.


Hendrix recorded the songs apart from the Jimi Hendrix Experience as he considered new, experimental directions for his follow-up to Electric Ladyland.

He plays keyboards, percussion and a second guitar on the album.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Former Who Manager Chris Stamp Dead At 70

On stage at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night (November 24), The Who's Roger Daltrey saluted Chris Stamp -- one of the two early managers that launched the group's success -- as a man "without whom we wouldn't be the band we were."

Stamp -- who not only co-managed The Who with the late Kit Lambert but also co-founded the group's Track Records label and executive produced most of its albums and film projects starting in 1968, died from cancer on Saturday at the age of 70 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Daltrey went on to say that Stamp "flew into the universe on a pair of rainbow wings. Chris, we can never thank you enough -- well, I can't, for what you brought to my life" just before he and Pete Townshend performed a duo rendition of "Tea & Theatre" that, while not specifically dedicated to Stamp, certainly had the quiet and dignified air of a tribute.

Born and raised in London's East End, Stamp started out as filmmakers at Shepperton Film Studios, where he met Lambert. The two worked on projects such as I Could Go On Singing, Of Human Bondage and The L-Shaped Room before deciding in 1963 to make a film about the growing British rock scene, meeting The Who, then known as the High Numbers, when the group was playing at the Railway Hotel.

The filmmakers and the musicians became fast friends, and Daltrey referred to Stamp and Lambert as "the fifth and sixth members of The Who," with Stamp "the expert in cool, menace and scams." Stamp and Lambert bought out the High Numbers then-manager Peter Meaden, persuaded the quartet to re-adopt The Who moniker they'd been using previously and build on its popularity in Britain's Mod scene. They did make a film about the group -- a promotional piece that was sometimes shown before the group took the stage -- and encouraged The Who's early live performance mayhem, even tossing smoke bombs onto the stage themselves.

After The Who's first two albums, they started Track Records in 1966, though it began with releases of the Jimi Hendrix Experience single "Purple Haze" and the album Are You Experienced?, as well as the Crazy World of Arthur Brown's hit single "Fire" and early efforts by the Dutch band Golden Earring. Stamp's first Who production credit was for the Magic Bus album in 1968, and he also executive produced Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia and the soundtrack for the 1975 Tommy  feature film, as well as several Who compilations.

The band's relationship with both Stamp and Lambert eroded during the mid-70s, however. "They lived like rock stars, too," Townshend said last year, "and they really stopped functioning as managers -- or the type of managers they had been, and that we still needed."

The duo and The Who parted ways in 1975, with Stamp and Lambert moving to New York and continuing the Track label, with, among others, Labelle. Lambert died after suffering a brain hemorrhage in 1981, but Stamp entered rehab in 1987, cleaned up and became a therapist, specializing in psychodrama treatment and addiction counseling in New York. He also re-established and maintained a connection with The Who, appearing in documentaries and writing liner notes for the re-release of the A Quick One album in 1995. He also sat on the board of the John Entwistle Foundation started in memory of the late Who bassist.

The Who posted a message on its official web site calling Stamp's passing "hard to bear" and promising a tribute would follow. Stamp is survived by Calixte, his wife of 22 years, his two married daughters and several grandchildren.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Rolling Stones Return To Stage To Mark 50 Years

The Rolling Stones take to the stage later tonight (Sunday, November 25) after a five-year hiatus to celebrate the golden jubilee of one of the most successful and enduring bands in rock and roll history.

Now in their mid-60s to early 70s, lead singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood and drummer Charlie Watts will perform five concerts - two at the O2 Arena in London on November 25 and 29 and three in the United States next month.

Joining them at the O2 on Sunday will be former band members Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, the first time the two ex-Stones have performed with the group in more than 20 years.

And in a fresh announcement on Saturday, American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige and guitar great Jeff Beck have also been added to the lineup as special guests.

The flamboyant veterans behind a string of hits including "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" have promised a "stunning" gig lasting more than two hours.

A sellout crowd of some 20,000 people is expected, in spite of widespread complaints from fans at ticket prices that ranged from 95 pounds ($150) to up to 950 pounds for a VIP seat.

Costs went far higher on secondary ticketing websites, although by Friday eBay was offering several seats to Sunday's show at below face value and there were places still officially available at around 400 pounds apiece.

The band has defended the prices, saying that the shows are expensive to put on, although Billboard, a specialist music publication, reported that the quartet would be paid $25 million for the four shows first announced. A fifth was added later.

The concerts are the culmination of a busy few months of events, rehearsals and recordings to mark 50 years since the blues-infused rockers first took to the stage at the Marquee Club on London's Oxford Street in July, 1962.

There has been a photo album, two new songs, a music video, a documentary film, a blitz of media appearances and a handful of warm-up gigs in Paris.

The O2 Arena was where another top band of the 1960s and 70s, Led Zeppelin, staged an eagerly awaited one-off reunion in 2007, and while the Stones have appeared together far more regularly, it is their first arena performance in six years.

One factor behind the long break has been Wood's struggle with alcohol addition, according to Rolling Stone magazine, while Jagger and Richards also fell out over comments the guitarist made about the singer in a 2010 autobiography.

"We can't get divorced - we're doing it for the kids!" joked Richards in a recent interview after apologizing to Jagger.

While the rock and roll excesses of the swinging 60s and 70s are in the past for the band, and their very best songs may be behind them, music critics praised their recent single "Doom and Gloom" from the GRRR! greatest hits album just released.

And there have been hints from the band that the five gigs which wind up at the Newark Prudential Center on December 15 may not be the end of their reunion.

"Once the juggernaut starts rolling, it ain't gonna stop," Richards told Rolling Stone. "So without sort of saying definitely yes - yeah. We ain't doing all this for four gigs!"

Monday, November 19, 2012

AC/DC Releases Catalog Through iTunes

The digital music world is a bit louder this morning. AC/DC, the Australian hard rock band whose heavy metal thunder has never been available for legal download, has stepped into the 21st century and released its music through iTunes, the band announced Monday (November 19) morning.

After years of stubbornly arguing that iTunes was, in the words of singer Brian Johnson, “going to kill music if they’re not careful,” the band reached a deal with the company to sell its entire catalog -- 16 studio albums, four live albums and three compilations -- through the service. It’s too early to predict whether this move marks the death knell for melody, rhythm and/or song.

But “Hells Bells” sure sounds great. Like the rest of the Australian band’s big-riffed music, the classic 1980 song about Satan, death and “black sensations” has been remastered, and the opening church bells have never rang clearer (that is, unless you’ve grabbed a copy of “Back in Black” on vinyl for a dollar at a garage sale, but that’s a whole other conversation).

Until Monday, AC/DC was one of the last high-profile holdouts from the digital music marketplace. It had outlasted the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, all of which jumped into the realm long after much of the population had accepted the downloading future. Only two artists remain steadfast: Garth Brooks and Kid Rock, neither of whom offer downloadable versions their back catalog, but Rock recently broke ranks and is selling his new album Rebel Soul via iTunes.

Angus Young, AC/DC’s lead guitarist (known for wearing a schoolboy’s uniform when performing), had long argued against hawking the band’s music via iTunes or any other digital service. He didn’t like the idea of allowing for individual song downloads -- submitting that the group’s albums were designed to be listened to from beginning to end.

“It’s like an artist who does a painting,” he said in 2008. “If he thinks it’s a great piece of work, he protects it. It’s the same thing: This is our work.”

He’s since changed his mind. Each of the group’s songs -- “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Highway to Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Thunderstruck” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” among them -- is available individually for $1.29. Albums are priced at $9.99.

In keeping with Young's point, iTunes also offers a package deal that buys mega-fans the entire lot -- live albums, compilations and all -- for $149.99. And for those who haven’t had the time or sense to manually insert CD versions of the band’s studio albums into their computer and import them into iTunes, a mere $99 provides digital copies of all those in one fell swoop.

The untethered option is a good thing, however, because while AC/DC’s peaks have been spectacular over its nearly 40-year career, it’s also put forth a lot of compost. For example, suffering through “Big Balls” just to get to “Ride On" when buying Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap isn’t too good a deal, especially when a used CD is also dirt cheap.

Still, AC/DC's brand of proto-metal remains timeless, and its ability to resist the technology until now proves how devilishly immortal the band's sound remains in any format. Even if its work were only available carved into stone tablets, fans would still find a way to listen.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Springsteen, McCartney To Perform Concert For Sandy's Victims

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Jon Bon Jovi will perform at a special "12.12.12" Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden next month, according to organizers.

The Who, Roger Waters, Billy Joel and Alicia Keys have also signed up for the December 12 event, which its producers said is shaping up to be a showcase of rock royalty.

"The response from the entertainment community to help those most affected by Hurricane Sandy has been nothing short of astounding," the Madison Square Garden Company, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment and The Weinstein Company said in a joint statement.

"We expect to announce additional legendary performers in the near future and we are confident that the event will ensure those in need will not be forgotten, and vital aid will be directed to rebuilding our communities along the East Coast."

More than 130 people were killed when the superstorm pummeled the east coast of the United States late last month. Thousands more were left homeless as the storm tore through areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, causing an estimated $50 billion in damage.

Donations raised from the one-night event concert will go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which will provide money and materials to groups helping people hardest hit by the storm.

The organizers of the concert also produced the 9/11 benefit The Concert for New York City in 2001, which raised more than $30 million.

A concert and telethon on NBC earlier this month raised almost $23 million for people affected by the storm.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Guitar Auction To Benefit Ronnie James Dio Cancer Fund

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, founded in memory of the world-renowned voice of Dio, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell, will participate in the upcoming Icons & Idols-Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, December 1st at 2 P.M.

Nearly 100 donated guitars signed by a variety of celebrities from the music world will go on the auction block to benefit the Fund’s mission of cancer prevention, research and education.

The collection includes guitars signed by the Jonas Brothers, Slash, Tom Morello, Tony Iommi and members of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, the Alice Cooper Band, Metallica and Iron Maiden. Among the rarities are a prototype electric guitar made for and signed by Eddie Van Halen and a custom hand-carved Ronnie James Dio memorial guitar created by DBZ Guitars.

Also in the collection is an Epiphone electric guitar signed by a host of country music stars, among them Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney, an ESP acoustic electric guitar signed by Twilight film star Robert Pattinson and three guitars hand painted by the famous elephants of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project in Thailand.

Online bidding has already commenced, and items included in this auction are available for viewing at http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2012/icons-and-idols-rock/index.html.

A free public exhibition of many of the items included in the auction will be available for viewing during the auction house’s regular business hours of 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. beginning Monday, November 19 through Friday, November 30. For hours, visit http://www.juliensauctions.com.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Who Take On Teenage Cancer

"All you rich rock stars out there: get off your butts!" yelled Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the Who, to the packed lunchtime house at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C on Monday (November 12).

However, the only other wealthy rocker in the room happened to be Daltrey's bandmate, Pete Townshend; the two were on hand to raise awareness for Who Cares: Teen Cancer America, the U.S. extension program of their two-decade-old UK effort, Teenage Cancer Trust.

Daltrey and Townshend joined teen cancer survivors and medical professionals on Monday to kick off Who Cares, and Daltrey was vocal about his cause. The initiative joins with hospitals to create facilities and support programs for cancer patients ages 13 to 24; as Daltrey explained to the audience, the organization began 22 years ago after he learned of a "huge gap in the health system" that offered no clinical recognition to teenage and young-adult cancer patients. All too often, they are recognized and treated insufficiently as either pediatrics or adults. However, as Daltrey noted, teenagers often suffer the most aggressive and rarest forms of cancers and are diagnosed later.

At the luncheon, Daltrey spoke passionately of Who Cares, which relies solely on charitable donations; he explained from the stage that the trust aims to provide age-appropriate treatment in the right environments. It creates communities within hospitals to offer patients and their families built-in support groups to "unload some of the terror in their hearts." He emphasized that six teenagers are diagnosed with some form of cancer every day and that Who Cares attempts to share that burden; its first U.S. facility, the UCLA Daltrey/Townshend Teen and Young Adult Zone, has treated 16 patients since its establishment in California one year ago. Who Cares is also working with Duke Children's Hospital at Duke University in North Carolina.

If results in the United Kingdom are any indication, concentrating on teen cancer is resulting in more young lives saved. The survival rate for teenagers who utilized the teen-centric UK centers is, according the Teenage Cancer Trust, 10 to 15 percent better than the rate for those who turned to the UK's National Health Service. Daltrey noted that if any drug displayed similar success, the world would "throw billions at you."

Daltrey's earnest and lengthy endorsement of Who Cares was not without its moments of levity. In a press Q&A, when asked if the band might offer entertainment for teenage cancer patients, he raised an eyebrow and quipped, "We might kill off the rest of the hospital!"

The Who are currently performing their classic rock opera Quadrophenia on tour; one dollar from each ticket goes to the Who Cares organization. For more information, visit the Who Cares website.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Rock Legends Cruise II Announces Performance Schedule

Twenty five artists will soon be boarding Rock Legends Cruise II on January 10, 2013 for what promises to be the biggest and best music festival at sea to date!

With over 75 Top 40 hits to choose from, the artists will be performing a vast selection of those songs along with other music gems during the four day excursion aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas.

Artists appearing on the first night alone include Blue Oyster Cult, 38 Special, Bachman & Turner, Molly Hatchet, Foreigner, Bobby Keys & The Suffering Bastards and the Pat Travers Band.

And if you're up by the crack of noon on Friday, you'll arise just in time for the sounds of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, who will lead off three full days and nights of ultimate classic rock on three separate stages.

69 live performances are scheduled!

Only three "vacation days" are necessary as Rock Legends Cruise II departs Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a Thursday evening (January 10) and returns the following Monday morning (January 14, 2013).

Oh yeah... did we mention the expected 80+ degree weather in Labadee, Haiti on Saturday?

Don't be left at the dock... it's time to rock!
 
For further information about Rock Legends Cruise II, please go to www.rocklegendscruise.com or call 888-666-1499.

For information on Liberty of the Seas, please see: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipCode=LB.

Pricing currently begins at $699.00 per person (party of four in the same Interior cabin), with many cabin levels still available.

Cabins are going fast!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Mick Jagger's Love Letters Up For Auction

Love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, discussing poetry and his personal turmoil, will hit the auction block next month.

Hunt, with whom Jagger had his first child, Karis, told Britain's Guardian newspaper she was selling the letters, written in July and August 1969, because she had been unable to pay her bills.

"I'm broke," Hunt, who lives in France, told the newspaper.

The Guardian said on Friday the 10 letters would be sold by Sotheby's on December 12.

The auction house values the letters from between 70,000 and 100,000 pounds ($111,000-$160,000).

Jagger wrote them to Hunt while filming the Tony Richardson movie Ned Kelly in Australia.

They are described as showing a sensitive side of the then-young singer, who wrote about the poetry of Emily Dickinson, meeting author Christopher Isherwood and an unrealized multimedia project.

Jagger's relationship with Hunt, who is African-American, was kept under wraps until 1972.

"The sale is important," Hunt told The Guardian. "Someone, I hope, will buy those letters as our generation is dying and with us will go the reality of who we were and what life was."

Hunt has said she was the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' song "Brown Sugar," which Jagger wrote while in Australia.

The rock star also cites in the letters the disintegration of his relationship with singer Marianne Faithful, whom he was also dating at the time, and the death of Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Andy Summers Film Documents Surviving The Police

Police guitarist Andy Summers has always been a multifaceted artist - musician, songwriter, photographer and author. Now he can add filmmaker to his extensive resume.

Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police, Summers' 90-minute documentary film that chronicles his musical career and life with supergroup, has its world premiere at the DOC NYC festival in New York on Friday (November 9).

Summers, who narrates the film, describes it as "a musical journey" that uses live footage from the 2007-2008 Police reunion world tour, along with lots of archival material from both the early Police days and the London punk scene.

"But it's not done as a chronological story," he says. "We establish the fact we're doing the reunion tour early on, and then it dips in and out of live Police concert footage, and then starts going back to the earlier days."

Based on his 2006 memoir One Train Later, the documentary also incorporates rare footage dating back to the 1960s, when Summers, now 69, was involved with the early British rock scene and seminal artists including British vocalist and keyboard player Zoot Money and Eric Burdon. The film also features many still photographs that the rock star took along the way.

"I was always interested in photography, so it was very natural for me to document everything, whether it was backstage at some grungy club or on early tours with the Police," he said.

"So there's a lot of intimate moments and interesting shots and archival stuff, especially in the first 25 minutes of the film, with the Sex Pistols appearing and so on."

Following his book's lead, the film also documents the serendipitous nature of the formation of the Police, one of the biggest bands in rock history, when Summers "just happened to bump into" drummer Stewart Copeland in a London Underground station one day in 1977.

The two decided to have coffee and discuss forming a new band with a then-unknown singer called Sting, whom they had just met.

"One train later, and it all might never have happened," recalled Summers, "which is why I titled the book One Train Later."

He would have preferred that title for the documentary. "It's much hipper and doesn't pander to the obvious Police connection," he said, "so I'm hoping at some point we'll change it to that."

Inevitably, the film also focuses on the breakup of the always-combustible and often acrimonious trio.

"It's obviously a very painful and poignant moment, when we all realize, ‘Well, that's it,'" Summers said of the 2008 footage documenting the band's final dissolution.

"The camera lingers on all our faces, and you can see the raw emotion there. It's very bittersweet."

As for rumors that the Police may re-form yet again for another tour, Summers does not think that is likely, even though their 30th reunion tour grossed more than $350 million.

"But then I never thought we'd get back together to do the last tour, so I never shut the door on anything," he said. "I personally think that my book was somewhat of a provoking agent in getting the Police reunited, so maybe this film will do the same thing again."

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Encore Screenings Of Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day Being Added

Following the worldwide success of Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day, the cinema concert event which presented live footage of the band’s 2007 reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena, there has been an enormous response from fans – 1.7 million fans have visited the fan’s website.

The film was screened in 15,000 cinemas around the world for a strictly limited engagement on Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Fans who were unable to attend the original tribute concert for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun in 2007, when more than 20 million fans applied for the 18,000 available tickets in a worldwide lottery, finally had the opportunity to see it as if they had front row tickets. The film earned $2 million in a single night and was a phenomenal success.

Omniverse Vision, the UK-based distribution company that released Celebration Day, a two-hour-plus tour de force of Zeppelin’s signature blues-infused rock ‘n’ roll, has been working with online marketing specialist Distrify to track the response from fans online via an interactive platform on the Led Zeppelin website. With 100,000 hits a day, including 46,000 searches for show times and 4,000 requests for local screenings, Distrify has been able to compile the information needed for Omniverse Vision executives to agree to schedule encore performances in select markets to meet the demands of Led Zeppelin’s fans. There has been overwhelming interest in additional screenings from the U.S., the UK, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Mexico and Australia.

For younger fans, this film may be the first time that they will see founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, along with Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, together on stage. For older fans, this might be their last chance to see these iconic rockers perform 16 songs from their iconic catalog. The band made it all too clear in press conferences announcing Celebration Day that there were no plans for a reunion tour. The set list for the cinema concert event includes:

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Ramble On
3. Black Dog
4. In My Time Of Dying
5. For Your Life
6. Trampled Under Foot
7. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
8. No Quarter
9. Since I’ve Been Loving You
10. Dazed And Confused
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. The Song Remains The Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock And Roll

Celebration Day will be presented in high definition with surround sound in movie theatres for an encore performance on Tuesday, November 13. Tickets are limited.

For a list of theatres and show times, please refer to the Led Zeppelin website.

Celebration Day will then be available in multiple video and audio formats on November 19, 2012 from Swan Song/Atlantic Records.

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Doors "Live At The Bowl '68" Debuts At #1 With Theatrical Screenings To Follow

The Doors' newly released Live At The Bowl ’68 makes an impressive debut at #1 on the Billboard Top Music Video Chart.

Live At The Bowl ’68 features a newly restored version of the band’s the legendary 1968 Hollywood Bowl concert. For the first time, the film from the historic performance has been painstakingly restored using the original camera negatives and the audio has been remixed and mastered from original multitracks by the group’s engineer and co-producer Bruce Botnick.

This new restoration offers a stunning visual upgrade from earlier versions and will give fans the closest experience to being there live alongside Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, who opined, “You can hear it as if you were at the Hollywood Bowl, on stage with us.”

Check out our review of the Live At The Bowl ’68 Blu-Ray.

Live At The Bowl ’68 will also debut theatrically later this week with several exclusive “one night only” screenings. The first screenings are set to begin on November 6 and will continue in select markets across the U.S. throughout the month of November. For a list of specific theaters and dates, please visit www.thedoors.com/liveatthebowl.html.

A trailer for the film can be viewed at http://youtu.be/o5nQr7fzS9Y.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Jerry Garcia and Prince's Royalty Rates Up For Auction

SongVest launches two blockbuster auctions today: the music of Jerry Garcia and Prince (with 94 East). Passion meets opportunity now that fans can own a revenue-producing piece of musical history by sharing in the royalties of their favorite songs.  SongVest’s auctions with featured memorabilia are one of a kind and a rare find for the music loving investor.

The bonus packed Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders’ SongVest auction celebrates the recent release of the highly anticipated “Keystone Companions” recordings. This is an opportunity to own 33% of the complete catalog of Saunders’ studio albums.  Included in this set is the Keystone Live Recordings Collection which contains the entire body of work from the influential Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders 25-year musical partnership. 

Saunder’s catalog also features his numerous collaborations with The Grateful Dead, David Grisman, Bonnie Raitt and many others.  Also offered in this auction are the future royalties from 200+ previously unreleased masters of Jerry Garcia-Merl Saunders live shows as well as the future royalty rights to the very popular Legion of Mary and Jerry Garcia Band: Live at Berkeley 1973 and 1974 recordings.

As a bonus, the highest bidder will received tickets to a private tribute concert of the Keystone Companions collection by Merl Saunders’ son, Tony Saunders, and Keystone Revisited.  In addition, the lucky buyer will get a professional platinum record plaque that showcases ownership of the catalog.

To view this auction please go to http://www.songvest.com/category/362/Rock/listings/316/Garcia-and-Saunders-Catalog.html

The exclusive auction of Prince’s first-ever professional recording on guitar starts today at www.SongVest.com.  This event offers the original 2” recording master (and the safety copy) with the original separated tracks of Prince performing at age 17 with Pepé Willie and the 94 East band on The Cookhouse Five album. 

This special auction offers the rare opportunity for ownership of the copyright as well as the legal rights to market and promote the recording. This 1975 album is slice of history – recorded at Cookhouse Studios in Minneapolis; this is the beginning of a remarkable career where Prince began to define the Minneapolis Sound! 

To view this auction please go to: http://www.songvest.com/category/362/Rock/listings/317/Prince-(feat-94-East).html.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel Plan Sandy Benefit

Bruce Springsteen and other stars are stepping up to help out hurricane victims.

The Boss and Jon Bon Jovi, both of whom have strong New Jersey roots, along with Billy Joel of Long Island, have signed on to perform at a benefit telethon concert, Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, for NBC.

Sting, Christina Aguilera and newsman Brian Wiliams, who often talks fondly of his childhood on the Jersey shore, are also slated to appear.

Hosted by Matt Lauer, the concert will air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, broadcast from NBC facilities in Rockefeller Center in New York City. It be tape-delayed in the West.

The telecast will benefit the American Red Cross and will be shown on NBC and its cable stations including Bravo, CNBC, USA, MSNBC and E! Style Network and G4, and online at NBC.com, Today.com and NBCNews.com. Other networks are invited to join in.

Money collected will go to the American Red Cross, which is providing food, shelter and other support to those affected by the hurricane and other disasters. To donate, visit RedCross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Screening Of Mr. Blue Sky: The Story Of Jeff Lynne And ELO Coming To Grammy Museum In LA

Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS-FM has announced a special screening on Wednesday, November 14 at The Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles, of the documentary Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO. It will be followed by a Q&A with Lynne. KLOS DJ Cynthia Fox will host the event, which starts at 7:00 PM, and moderate the Q&A.

Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO, written and directed by Martyn Atkins, gets to the heart of who Jeff Lynne is and how he has had such a tremendous musical influence on our world.  The answer, as told by the British artist himself and such distinguished collaborators and friends as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Barbara Orbison and Eric Idle, is that Lynne is a true man of music for whom the recording studio is his greatest instrument.

In other news, Lynne recently received a nomination for inclusion in the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame. The event will take place June 13, 2013 in New York City.

Lynne recently released two albums on Frontiers Records:  the solo disc Long Wave, a heartfelt and vivid tribute to some of the very songs that originally inspired him, and Mr. Blue Sky–The Very Best Of Electric  Light Orchestra. For the latter album, Lynne has artfully revisited and created brand new versions -- at his home studio in Los Angeles -- of the greatest hits of ELO, actually improving on the gems that catapulted them to sales of 50 million-plus records worldwide.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Paul McCartney Says Yoko Ono 'Not To Blame' For Beatles Split

Yoko Ono was not responsible for splitting up The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney claims in a new TV interview.

"She certainly didn't break the group up," the 70-year-old will be seen telling Sir David Frost in an interview to be broadcast next month.

"I don't think you can blame her for anything," he says, claiming John Lennon was "definitely going to leave."

His remarks challenge a school of thought that holds Lennon's widow responsible for the band's separation.

McCartney's revelations feature in an hour-long interview with Sir David, 73, that will be aired on the Al Jazeera English TV channel in November.

The program will also see the former Beatle claim that Lennon, who died in 1980, would not have written his hit song Imagine without the conceptual artist's influence.

"When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things," the former Beatle tells the veteran broadcaster. "She showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave."

According to The Observer, the interview will see Sir Paul muse on losing his mother at the age of 14 and the death of his first wife Linda in 1998.

The musician also discusses being a father and a grandfather, which he describes as "my coolest thing."
Both McCartney and Lennon went on to forge successful solo careers after the Fab Four split up in 1970.

Earlier this month saw the 50th anniversary of The Beatles releasing their first single, "Love Me Do," in 1962.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Rod Stewart Says He Used Cocaine Suppositories

Rod Stewart has packed a lot of life into his 67 years and he uncovers it all in his new book, Rod: The Autobiography. The memoir is filled with page after page of sex, drugs and of course, rock ‘n’ roll!

Access Hollywood’s Michelle Beadle sat down with the legendary singer to get the scoop on some of his book’s wildest stories, starting with his love life.

“I’ve got to be honest with you. People try and say that I have had thousands of girls — I haven’t,” Rod told Michelle. “I’ve probably had 50 or 60.”

And in his book, Rod reveals the ladies who made a special impact on his heart and in his bed – the “You’re In My Heart” singer was quite the heartbreaker until he met his sixth wife, Rachel Hunter.

“It seemed like you fell hard [for Rachel],” Michelle said. “And then she’s the one that broke your heart.”

“Yeah, Karma,” the rocker replied. “Looking back, she was probably too young. She was 21, I was 45. So she hadn’t really spread her wings. She hadn’t lived.

“And to be married to me? She was constantly in my shadow,” he continued. “Even my sister said as we were going down the aisle, she said, ‘I think Rachel’s going to break Roddie’s heart.’ She never told me but, but you know, that’s life. And we’re best of mates now.”

Rod (whose new holiday album, Merry Christmas, Baby will hit stores on Tuesday) opened up about his use of drugs as well.

“As far as the drugs are concerned, I was never an addict. I was never, you know, in rehab,” he said. “It never affected my family or my relationships or anything. I was just a social user.”

The same couldn’t be said for Rod’s “Faces” band mate Ron Wood, who burned a hole through his nasal septum from cocaine use.

“Did that scare you enough?” Michelle asked.

“Well, it scared Ronny, yeah it did, so then we found another method of taking the drug,” he said. “We put them in a little pill like the French do them, [a] suppository.

“We did that for a little while. Are we still on the air?” he added, laughing.

Rod also had an idea for a “super rock band,” consisting of himself with pals Elton John and Freddie Mercury.

“It was going to be called, ‘Teeth, Nose & Hair,’” he said, adding that the idea “must have been the drugs talking.”

Rod and Elton remain friendly to this day, despite one embarrassing Christmas gift exchange, where Rod purchased an alcohol dispensing fridge (with a 300-pound price tag) for his friend.

“You stood it by your sofa, press a button, and out comes all the champagne, all the glasses are frozen [and] there’s all these colorful lights going on. And I thought, [Elton will] love that,’” Rod explained. “So I took it over there and gave it to Elton and he comes by Christmas Day with a Rembrandt [painting] which I’ve still got to this day.

“He paid about 10,000 [pounds] for it in those days and my humble gift was 300!” he added. “Cheap Stewart.”

Rod: The Autobiography is available in stores now.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Rolling Stones Play Surprise Pig In Paris

The Rolling Stones performed to 350 fans in Paris yesterday (October 25) after announcing the surprise gig on Twitter.

It was their first concert since 2007, and came ahead of 50th anniversary shows in London and New Jersey.

Playing for almost an hour and a half, the band rattled through hits like It's Only Rock and Roll and Brown Sugar.

"I can't believe we're all still standing up," joked Mick Jagger. "You'd think by now one or two of us would be sitting down, but we're not."

Tickets to the event at Le Trabendo club in Paris cost £12, selling out within minutes.

By contrast, seeing the band at London's O2 Arena in November could set you back £406.

The Rolling Stones are in Paris to rehearse for those arena dates and tweeted that last night's performance would be a "short warm-up gig".

They played fan favorites including "Route 66" and "Miss You," as well as their latest single "Doom and Gloom," which peaked at number 97 in the UK's Official Singles Chart.

Fans Don Device and Robert Blalack were amongst the crowd.

"It seemed like it was their fifth or sixth performance, they still had the enthusiasm and the thrill of enjoying the audience reaction, even after 50 years," said Mr Blalack.

"Actually, after tonight, I think that they have got a long time in front of them," added Mr Device.

"They were much more tight [tonight]. I saw them for the first time in 1979 - worst concert I have ever seen. Tonight - amazing! I saw younger men tonight than I saw in 1979."

Le Trabendo has previously hosted famous names including Metallica, Arctic Monkeys and the Neptunes. But the Rolling Stones are the biggest band to perform there.

The venue has a capacity for 700 people and the crowd was also made up of the band's friends and colleagues from the music industry.

"We really lucked out," said one fan from San Francisco, who had secured a ticket because her husband's former boss works for the Stones.

"I have seen them before, but it has been in larger arenas with 40 thousand people, and [in] such a small club it was incredible. They played all the hits. 'Brown Sugar' was still my favorite."

Johan Anssens said he had waited in the cold for three and a half hours to buy his £12 ticket after he read about the gig on Twitter.

He said he didn't feel sorry for fans in Britain and the United States, who are being charged much steeper prices for the band's 50th anniversary tour dates.

"I don't have a job so I wouldn't be able to go if I had to pay the same price as in London," he said.

"But here I could afford it, so I think it is very democratic. I love the Rolling Stones and I had an amazing night."

Some fans said that they had got in for free after organizers granted last-minute entry to those who had been unsuccessful queuing for tickets earlier in the day.

"They let about fifty extra people in, of all ages, and we did some very loud clapping!" said one man, who was wearing a backstage pass.

"Don't worry, I don't work for the Stones, I picked this up on the floor as a memento!" he laughed.

Guitarist Ronnie Wood had earlier hinted that the band could perform in Paris.

He told NME magazine that there were "going to be little club gigs that we're gonna surprise ourselves to do as well… I don't know who we'll be billed as but we'll turn up somewhere and put a few to the test. Tiny, 200, 300 people kind of places."

There will be a second private gig on Monday funded by investment company Carmignac Gestion for their employees.

Fans at last nights gig said there were already rumors of further possible concerts in the French capital next week as the band continue to prepare for their major shows.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Crosby, Stills & Nash Rewind To 1969 In Tour Closer

Monday's finale to 's international 80-date tour may have been one of the more memorable gigs of the group's career. Concluding a string of five nights at New York City's Beacon Theatre, the trio hearkened to 1969, showcasing the first-ever complete performance of their self-titled debut album.

But that wouldn't come until the evening's second set, Graham Nash informed a crowd who seemed almost entirely to hover within a couple decades of his own 70 years. The walking spectrum of graying hair had murmured words like "memories" and "remember" many times as they filed into the gilded concert hall moments before Nash's introduction. Some parents brought teenagers in tow; others settled for telling their seat mates about rediscovering CSN's catalog alongside their children.

The three-pronged harmonies began immediately with the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tune "Carry On," with a barefoot Nash at center stage, a sturdy and merry Stephen Stills to his right, and David Crosby to his left, looking as if one of J.R.R. Tolkien's dwarves grew three feet and shaved the epically long beard but kept the mustache. A smattering of attendees seemed unprepared to take the show sitting down, with isolated seat-dancers standing sporadically throughout the night. (And how refreshing to see a group of people who not only obeyed the prohibition of photography but even seemed unfazed; a band witnessed without a sea of screens is the modern concert goer's needle in the haystack.)

For a crowd in full knowledge of the historical treat forthcoming, one might have expected reserved enthusiasm for the early portion of the show. One would have been wrong - the full crowd rose after the second song, the first of a couple dozen standing ovations. For a band whose songs have been locked in amber by soundtracking so many American memories, the music sounded refreshingly immediate. Through newer songs and classics, hits and deep cuts, the three brothers in song were entirely invested in their performance. Skipping the notion of an opening act, CSN played something in the neighborhood of 30 songs, holding the stage for the majority of three hours with an intermission between sets.

Crosby tried out a recently written, as yet unreleased song titled "Radio," and the reception was not an exodus to the restrooms but applause on par with the beloved chestnuts. Nash, taking a brief break from his theatrical hopping and miming, took to the electric piano to perform "Our House" as a tribute to his newborn first grandchild, inciting the night's first gigantic sing-along. "Love the One You're With" came shortly after, also igniting the crowd's fullest excitement.

Though deft and busy, the five-piece backing band felt invisible behind the famous threesome. One song, "Lay Me Down," was touted as having been written by Crosby's son James Raymond, who manned the evening's keyboards. Nash and Crosby simply stood and harmonized, instrument-less, Nash with a glass of wine in hand.

"My job is to write the weird shit," Crosby said in response to detractors wondering what exactly he does in the band. That segued into the title track from 1970's Déjà Vu. Crosby would showcase his fanciful side again, playing "Guinevere" during the Crosby, Stills & Nash run-through.

The first set concluded band-less, with the three icons alone at center stage; "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" began in the same terrific fashion, just three voices and one guitar as strummed by Stills. The uninterrupted spin through the self-titled album included highlights in the always-buoyant "Marrakesh Express," the absurdly energetic "Wooden Ships," and a fierce rendition of "Long Time Gone." The thrill of honoring the record that had introduced them to the world never seemed to waver. "And there you have it," said Crosby at the close of "49 Bye-Byes." "Never been done before," added a visibly proud Nash. There was a thunderous approval for even more, and a half-dozen additional songs followed.

The night ended with a loudly sung cover of Stills' timeless Buffalo Springfield tune "For What It's Worth," followed by a near-deafeningly sung "Teach Your Children." If anyone was disappointed, they hid it well.

Monday, October 22, 2012

GNR, Eddie Vedder Take Stage For Neil Young's 26th Annual Bridge School Concert

At approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, a member of the Shoreline Amphitheatre security detail radioed his co-workers to inform them that Guns N' Roses' tour bus had arrived at the venue. Now, Axl Rose isn't exactly known to be punctual, so for him to arrive at a venue with the sun still out, there must be a good reason. And there was: GNR, along with Jack White, the Flaming Lips and Ray LaMontagne, up-and-comers like Gary Clark Jr. and Foster the People, and songstresses k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, and Lucinda Williams were all scheduled to perform at the Mountain View venue for the first night of Neil Young's annual Bridge School benefit concert, now in its 26th year of raising money for children with speech and physical impairments.

If Rose did arrive at 4 p.m., he made it in time to see Young himself open the festivities by performing "Sugar Mountain" to the Bridge School students and their families, who sat in the rafters immediately behind the stage for the entirety of the nearly nine-hour show. Young then invited his wife Pegi to join him on a poignant, gorgeous rendition of "Comes a Time." Eight hours and a dozen acts later, Young, this time joined by Crazy Horse, would return to the stage.

Gary Clark Jr. had the unenviable role of following Young and playing for the masses of concertgoers finding their seats or spots on the lawn after the mile-long walk from the parking lot. After setting the tone for the night with spirited performances of "When My Train Pulls In" and "Don't Owe You a Thang," Clark's set was unfortunately cut short after three songs due to the tight scheduling. Foster the People likely encountered the same situation when their turn arrived later on: They performed a handful of tracks, including the hit "Don't Stop (Color the Walls)," but "Pumped Up Kicks" didn't make the cut.

After four hours of music – including an irresistible and funny set by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers – it was time for the Flaming Lips, who would perhaps be the most handcuffed by the Bridge School's all-acoustic doctrine. No matter, Wayne Coyne had a secret weapon: Comedian and human beat box Reggie Watts, who replicated every deep bass, 808, and spacey sound effect on "Fight Test," "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," and "It's Summertime." To close out their set, the Lips stunned the crowd with a cover of the Beatles' epic "A Day in the Life," featuring Coyne and Watts sharing vocal duties (with the comedian blatantly reading the lyrics off his cell phone).

Next up was Jack White and his all-female backing band, who helped make the Blunderbuss-heavy material sound as though it was being interpreted by the Rolling Thunder Revue. White wrapped up his 30-minute set with a pair of White Stripes classics: A rollicking, country-fried version of "Hotel Yorba" and the tender "We're Going to Be Friends."

After White's set, there was a longer-than-usual break before the next scheduled act, Guns N' Roses. The crowd, already uneasy from the chilly weather, was growing restless. Some audience members audibly wondered whether Axl was about to sabotage the Bridge School benefit with his now-infamous antics. However, the delay was due to what ended up being the night's biggest surprise: an unexpected performance by Pearl Jam frontman and Neil Young acolyte Eddie Vedder.

The audience immediately burst into revelry. "This is the last place I thought I'd be when I woke up today . . . opening for Guns N' Roses," Vedder joked before launching into "Last Kiss," which he said was a favorite of one of the Bridge School students. He followed that up with "Elderly Woman," and with the crowd now in hysterics from his surprise performance, he quickly exited to let GNR take the stage.

If an all-acoustic concert seems like the perfect setting for GNR to focus on the back half of their EP Lies, that same notion didn't escape Axl: Three of the seven songs GNR performed were culled from that disc: Set opener "You're Crazy" (with Axl dropping the F-bomb in front of an audience of children no less than five times), "Used to Love Her," and "Patience." The remainder of the set was rounded out by exhilarating, fresh takes on Appetite for Destruction's three biggest singles, "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City." Credit also has to go to GNR's army of guitarists – especially DJ Ashba and Bumblefoot – for involving the Bridge School kids in the performance.

Finally, it was time for the Godfather of Grunge, Neil Young. Like the majority of shows on this current Young trek, the Bridge School set list focused on material from his upcoming Psychedelic Pill, albeit in acoustic form, from the autobiographical "Born in Ontario" to the Dylan/Grateful Dead tribute "Twisted Road" and a tight, truncated rendition of the mammoth "Ramada Inn." Alongside old favorites like "Powderfinger" and "The Needle and the Damage Done," Neil did throw some curve balls: The unreleased "Singer Without a Song," featuring Young on piano, resurfaced once again, and Crazy Horse busted out "Like a Hurricane," which hadn’t been played at the Shoreline Amphitheatre for nearly a decade.

That track set the stage for the evening's final performance, the traditional all-star jam. Vedder, White, Coyne, Watts, Foster the People, everybody – except Rose – joined Young for a rousing rendition of "Rockin' in the Free World," its mantra echoing in the heads of thousands of satisfied music fans as they journeyed back toward the parking lots, eager to experience the whole event again on Sunday.


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Bruce Springsteen: President Obama Is 'Our Best Choice'

After vowing not to get involved in this year's presidential election, Bruce Springsteen is supporting President Barack Obama again, saying he believes Obama is the best person to lead America.

The Boss posted a message on his website Wednesday night endorsing Obama's re-election, saying he had been "getting asked a lot about where I stand." Springsteen is making his debut on the 2012 campaign trail Thursday at events in Cleveland and Ames, Iowa, with former President Bill Clinton.

Springsteen supported Obama in 2008. In his letter, he called Obama's four years in office "a really rough ride" because of the "economic chaos" from President George W. Bush's administration and "the extraordinary intensity of the opposition."

But the 63-year-old rock star said he's behind Obama because of the president's views on the rights of women and homosexuals, ending the war in Iraq and tracking down Osama bin Laden.

"Right now, there is a fight going on to help make this a fairer and more equitable nation. For me, President Obama is our best choice to get us and keep us moving in the right direction," he wrote.

Springsteen said Obama, who is facing Republican rival Mitt Romney in November, needs increased support from Congress if America wants the next four years to be effective.

"He needs support in the Congress, where some sterling candidates, such as current Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, challenger Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, and so many others, are fighting to make their constructive voices heard," he wrote.

The rock icon added that the division of wealth in the United States is a great issue and that Obama "is our best choice to begin to reverse this harmful development."

Monday, October 15, 2012

Rolling Stones Announce Dates For 50th Anniversary Tour

Ladies and Gentlemen, they are back! The most eagerly anticipated concerts of 2012 are announced today as the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, The Rolling Stones, confirm their long awaited return to the stage with four spectacular arena shows in London and New York. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood at last revealed their return to live work via a video message today (October 15).

As part of their on-going 50th anniversary celebrations, the rock icons will play London’s O2 Arena on November 25 and 29, and then across the ocean to perform at the Prudential Center, Newark, near New York, on December 13 and 15.

These shows will be the first opportunity for audiences to see the Rolling Stones perform on stage for more than five years. They will treat their generations of fans to countless classics from GRRR!, the multi-format compilation album coming out in November marking the Stones’ astonishing five decades at the top.

Mick Jagger commented, “Everybody loves a celebration, and London and New York are two good places to do it in!”

Keith Richards said, “Sorry to keep you all hanging around but the waiting is over. I’ve always said the best place for rock and roll is on the stage and the same is true for the Stones.  I’m here with Mick, Charlie and Ronnie and everything is rocking. See you very soon!”

Fans can look forward to an all-new, custom-built set design, with a stage based on the band’s ubiquitous and celebrated tongue and lips logo, which will reach out into the crowd and become a truly must see and hear experience, with integral video screens and effects enhancing the sort of high-octane adventure for which the band’s concerts have been famous for decades.

The 2012 concerts will mark the first time that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have performed together as a band since three acclaimed nights at London’s O2 Arena in 2007.

Elvis Presley's Beverly Hills Estate Up For Sale

The former Beverly Hills home of the late Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla is up for sale for a cool $12.9 million.

Real estate website operator Trulia says the home hit the market last Wednesday (October 10).

Like Elvis' home in Memphis, known as Graceland, Elvis fans have for years flocked to visit the property. According to the listing, the four bedroom, five bathroom French Regency estate sits on a 1.18 acre promontory overlooking Los Angeles.

According to Elvis Presley Enterprises, Presley first rented the house before the couple bought it in 1967. It was sold in 1973, the same year Elvis and Priscilla divorced.

The estate was formerly available to lease for $25,000 a month.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Aerosmith May Self-Release Albums If 'Band Stays Together'

With the upcoming Music From Another Dimension marking the end of their current deal with Columbia Records, Aerosmith may abandon the label world and take future release matters into their own hands.

Asked during a conference call with reporters on Thursday whether the band would consider self-releasing future projects, frontman Steven Tyler said that "if the band stays together, yeah, we'll definitely go that route, something somewhere over there. We've been keeping record companies stocked with millions of shekels for years, been making a lot of people rich -- not that we haven't, but every now and then you get into arguments with labels (and) you think, 'Where is all this money going?' We've definitely thought of putting stuff out. I was very successful last year with a (single) called 'It Feels So Good.' It proves it can happen."

Guitarist Joe Perry didn't sound quite so definitive about the idea, however, saying that, "We've talked about every idea you can think of out there, and we really don't know. There's so many different directions we can go. (Columbia) has been totally with us and behind us on this album, and really supportive. So the talk about what happens when it gets delivered and we (finish) our commitment with Sony, what are we gonna do next -- it's really an open question at this point.

Music From Another Dimension, Aerosmith's first set of all-new material in 11 years, comes out November 6, while the band starts the next leg of its Global Warming Tour on Nov. 8 in Oklahoma City. The album has been preceded by the singles "Legendary Child," "What Could Have Been Love" and "Lover Alot" and features a duet with Carrie Underwood ("Can't Stop Loving You") and collaborations with Johnny Depp ("Freedom Fighter") and Julian Lennon ("Luv XXX").

Continuing to address the future, Tyler said Aerosmith will go on a full-scale world tour next year and predicted that Music From Another Dimension has "four songs radio is not gonna be able to stay away from, which is unheard of." He promised that he plans to make a solo album next but assured "that don't mean the band's breaking up. It means I'll divert a little and have some fun with other people."

Perry, meanwhile, is following Tyler and drummer Joey Kramer in writing an autobiography, which he hopes to publish in 2013. He's teamed with award-winning author David Ritz, who's worked with B.B. King, Jerry Wexler and, most recently, Bettye LaVette, and the guitarist says that "it's going to be my story, but it's also entwined with Aerosmith and relationships there and the how and the why of that kind of stuff. People have been asking me about it for the last probably five or 10 years... I'll definitely take a different path than the other guys, the way they put their books together. I read probably 40 biographies and autobiographies, musical ones. I can see how some worked and some didn't. I hope this one works. There's a lot to fit into 600 pages or whatever it's gonna be. I'm pretty excited."

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Tom Petty Auctioning Off 996 Jaguar XJS Convertible

Tom Petty is auctioning off his personal 1996 Jaguar XJS Convertible on October 11 through e-bay. This flashy but classy automobile is something of a modern classic. Production of the XJS model Jaguar ended in 1996 after 21 years. Proceeds from the auction will go to Doctors Without Borders.

The link to the auction is at http://conta.cc/Porygm.

Petty recalls what the car means to him personally, saying "I have so many great memories associated with this car. When I began dating Dana (my wife), I asked her what her favorite car was. So, I phoned the office and said I wanted a Champagne convertible Jaguar XJS. The next day they delivered it to my house and showed me how everything worked and I took it for a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. I was in heaven, as was Dana. This car has such an incredible design. My favorite car I ever owned. We sure are going to miss it."

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, Doctors Without Borders provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF also reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Blondie to Perform On YouTube Presents Live

Blondie will be performing on YouTube Presents live on today (October 10) at 4pm EST in New York City. Fans can be a part of the live studio audience by go to to http://www.youtube.com/user/YouTubePresents/featured?v=V6oUkgZfIr  or their Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/Q6LVcX.

Blondie and Devo recently wrapped up their "Whip It To Shreds" tour, a U.S. co-headlining run of dates that kicked off September 7th and hit 13 select cities before September 26th.

Blondie's 9th studio album Panic of Girls was released in 2011 on the band's own imprint exclusively via Amazon.

The band received rave reviews during their sold-out North American tour and made two very special national TV performances on the TODAY Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to perform single "Mother, " a nod to the legendary West 14th Street night club of the same name.

Panic of Girls is colored with inspirations from New York City's roiling melting pot and street-level pop culture, featuring new wave dance gems, songs sung in French and Spanish and a reggae cover are threaded together with a timeless pop sheen. 

Blondie was inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

John Lennon's 20 Best Quotes In Celebration Of His 72nd Birthday

October 9th is a big day for one of the first families of music. Not only is it the 37th birthday of John and Yoko's only son, Sean Lennon, John Lennon would have turned the ripe old age of 72 today.

The late Beatles legend, who passed away at the age of 40, wrote some of the band's most famous songs and had an uncanny ability of speaking in timeless quips. Today, on John's birthday we're pouring some out and offering him one of his best, “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” In celebration, we've collected some of the singer's most insightful, eloquent, and famously controversial quotes. Take a look below:

1. "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

2. "As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."

3. "Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."

4. "You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!"

5. "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity."

6. "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."

7. "Rituals are important. Nowadays it's hip not to be married. I'm not interested in being hip."

8. "It doesn't matter how long my hair is or what color my skin is or whether I'm a woman or a man."

9. "You have to be a bastard to make it, and that's a fact."

10. “Declare it. Just the same way we declare war. That is how we will have peace... we just need to declare it.”

11. “I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people.”

12. "Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground."

13. "If there's such a thing as genius — I am one. And if there isn't, I don't care."

14. "Before Elvis there was nothing."

15. "What we’ve got to do is keep hope alive. Because without it we’ll sink."

16. "If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace."

17. "Happiness is just how you feel when you don't feel miserable."

18. "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it."

19. "You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die."

20. “If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”

Jeff Lynne's ELO Announces 2024 North American Fall Tour

  Jeff Lynne’s ELO is set to embark on the band’s final tour dubbed “The Over and Out Tour.” The 27-date trek, produced by Live Nation, will...