Monday, October 31, 2016

John Lennon Protest Letter To Queen Of England Found In Used Record Sleeve

A letter John Lennon wrote to Queen Elizabeth in 1969 protesting the country's involvement in foreign wars and a Plastic Ono Band song falling down the charts has been found inside a record sleeve in a man's attic. 

The man who bought the record as part of a used-item sale for $10 wishes to remain anonymous, CNN reports, but the letter is valued at an estimated £60,000 ($72,000).

In the letter, Lennon states that he is returning his honorary MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal that all the Beatles received in 1965 "in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts."

Lennon signed the note, "John Lennon of Bag," playing on the term "bagism" he and Ono coined during their late-'60s peace campaign as a way to satirize prejudice and stereotyping.

This is not, however, the actual letter that Lennon sent to the Queen. A memorabilia expert theorized to CNN that this draft was never sent because of the smudged ink.

"If you're writing to The Queen, you want the letter to look pretty perfect, you don't want the ink to be smudged," he said. "This suggests that he wrote a second version of the letter, which was the one that was actually sent to The Queen."

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Bob Dylan Accepts His Nobel Prize for Literature

Bob Dylan has accepted the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature, the Swedish Academy said, adding that getting the prestigious award left him "speechless."

The academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said Dylan himself contacted them and said "of course" he would accept the prize. Danius told Sweden's TT news agency that Dylan called her Tuesday evening and they spoke for about 15 minutes.

"The news about the Nobel Prize left me speechless," Dylan told Danius, according to a statement posted Friday (Oct. 28) on the academy's website. "I appreciate the honor so much."

It has not yet been decided whether Dylan will attend any Nobel events in Stockholm in December, Danius said.

In an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph posted Friday, Dylan was quoted as saying he "absolutely" wants to attend the Dec. 10 prize ceremony, "if it's at all possible."

Danius said the academy will do "all it can" to have a schedule suiting Dylan if he wants to come to Stockholm, according to TT.

The 75-year-old singer-songwriter was awarded the prize on Oct. 13 "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

Dylan at first was silent after the announcement, and a member of the Swedish Academy called the silence "impolite and arrogant."

Dylan has accepted numerous awards over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for which he attended a White House ceremony in 2012. But he also has a history of taking his time acknowledging them.

In 2013, he became the first rock star voted into the elite American Academy of Arts and Letters, which made him an honorary member. According to executive director Virginia Dajani, the academy informed Dylan of the decision -- through his manager, Jeff Rosen -- in January of that year. Only in May 2013 did Dylan respond, through his manager.

If Dylan travels to Stockholm for the Nobel ceremony, it won't be the first time he receives an award from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. In 2000, Dylan collected the Polar Music Prize from him.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Aerosmith’s Joe Perry To Receive Les Paul Award At 32nd Annual NAMM TEC Awards

As part of its 32nd Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), The NAMM Foundation has announced that Aerosmith guitarist and co-founder Joe Perry will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award. The annual award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation and honors individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology  in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul. 

The award will be presented at a January 21st ceremony being held in Anaheim, California, as part of The 2017 NAMM Show. Perry, who was included in Rolling Stone’s list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” is also scheduled to perform live before an audience of pro audio and sound production inventors, musicians and industry friends.

"Anytime my name is mentioned in the same sentence as Les Paul, it’s a huge honor,” says Perry. “Getting an award bearing his name is the icing on the cake."

A long-standing co-founding member of a group whose music repertoire spans four decades, Perry’s versatile musicianship and influence has helped pave the way for a long list of accolades that reach beyond the band’s more than 150 million albums sold.

In the role of principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and as producer for multiple tracks featured on several notable Aerosmith albums, Perry’s talent has helped contribute to the super group’s four Grammy® Awards, (one of which includes Perry’s guitar-based instrumental “Boogie Man”); six Billboard Music Awards; twelve MTV Video Awards; and two People’s Choice Awards, to name a few.

"Joe Perry was a friend of Les Paul's and is undoubtedly one of the most innovative and talented musicians of our time,” says Michael K. Braunstein, Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation. “His ability to push boundaries of the electric guitar with his signature sound and deft playing ability embodies the true spirit of what Les Paul and the award given in his name stands for. The Les Paul Award has been presented at the NAMM TEC Awards to remarkably-distinguished and accomplished individuals from the music industry, including such luminaries as Sir Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townsend, Slash and last year's recipient, Don Was. The Les Paul Foundation could not be more thrilled to be adding Joe Perry to this amazing list."

Hollywood also became a part of Perry’s musical resume when his familiar riffs were heard on the band’s hit song “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (from the soundtrack to “Armageddon”), which received an Oscar® nomination for Best Song. Among many other TV and film projects, Perry also composed the theme song for the “Spiderman” animated TV series and provided the instrumental music for “This Thing of Ours,” starring James Caan.

Along with Perry, famed Aerosmith engineer and producer Jack Douglas, will be inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame, which was created nearly thirty years ago to honor pioneers of audio technology, as well as the music industry’s most accomplished producers and audio technicians. Douglas is associated with many of the band’s most iconic releases and affectionately dubbed "the sixth member" of Aerosmith for having contributed lyrics to several tracks released from the band. He also engineered and produced many multi-platinum Aerosmith albums including Toys in the Attic and Rocks, both of which ranked among Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” Douglas rose to prominence when the Record Plant Studio opened its doors and eventually engineered John Lennon’s Imagine and the Who’s Who’s Next.

The NAMM TEC Awards celebrate the pro audio community by recognizing the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind today’s sound recordings, live sound, films, television, and video games.

Outstanding Technical Achievement and Outstanding Creative Achievement nominees were announced earlier for the Saturday, January 21 event. Tickets can be purchased on site or in advance for $50 (General Admission) or $175 (VIP). For tickets, please go here.

The show will be hosted by comedian Sinbad and will be available via a live event web stream during The NAMM Show.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Rhino Rolling Out Limited Edition Vinyl For Record Store Day Black Friday

This year's Record Store Day Black Friday event includes nine exciting limited edition releases from some of Rhino's most celebrated artists including: Blue Man Group, Foreigner, Ramones, The Afghan Whigs, The Cars, The Monkees, and The Sugar Hill Gang / Chic. 

Fans can expect a variety of colored vinyl options, picture discs, double-LP and triple-LP sets, and 7-inch and 10-inch singles, available on November 25, 2016, exclusively at select independent music retailers. For a list of participating stores, please visit www.recordstoreday.com.
 
081227955076Blue Man Group – Three
Limited edition of 1,200 copies on splattered vinyl, $29.98
a-haRSDForeigner - The Flame Still Burns
Limited edition of 3,250 copies on 10-inch vinyl EP, $14.98 
a-haRSDJethro Tull – Ring Out, Solstice Bells
Limited edition of 2,000 copies on 7-inch vinyl, $9.98
a-haRSDRamones - Live at the Roxy, Hollywood, CA (8/12/76)
Limited edition of 9,500 copies on 180-gram vinyl, $21.98
825646183494The Afghan Whigs - Black Love (Expanded Edition)
3-LP Limited edition of 5,000 copies on 180-gram vinyl, $44.982-CD Limited edition of 4,500 copies, $19.98
a-haRSDThe Cars - Just What I Needed
Limited edition of 4,000 copies on 7-inch picture disc, $14.98
825646168118The Monkees - Good Times! Plus!
10-inch limited edition of 4,500 copies on opaque red vinyl, $14.98
825646183494The Sugarhill Gang / Chic - Meet Your Maker: Rapper's Delight / Good Times 
Limited edition of 3,500 copies on 7-inch vinyl, $7.98





Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Releasing Companion Vinyl Box Sets Of All Studio Albums


Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will commemorate the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album by releasing two companion vinyl box sets featuring their entire studio album repertoire via UMe and Reprise/Warner Bros. Records.

Several of these albums have been out of print on vinyl for years and all albums have been remastered for this release except where noted. All LPs in each of the limited-edition box sets will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl with replica artwork.

The Complete Studio Albums Volume 1 (1976-1991) features nine vinyl albums and will be released on December 9th.

Volume 1 features:
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers*
You're Gonna Get It!*
Damn The Torpedoes*
Hard Promises
Long After Dark
Southern Accents
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
Full Moon Fever
Into The Great Wide Open

*Remastered since 2010

The Complete Studio Albums Volume 2 (1994-2014) begins with Petty's first release for Warner Bros Records, Wildflowers (featuring the Grammy-winning single "You Don't Know How It Feels"), and includes his most recent album, 2014's Hypnotic Eye. It has seven albums on twelve pieces of vinyl and will be released on November 25th.

Volume 2 features:
Wildflowers (2-LP)
She's The One
Echo (2-LP)
The Last DJ (2-LP)
Highway Companion (2-LP)
Mojo (2-LP) (Original Master, 2010)
Hypnotic Eye (Original Master, 2014)

In other Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers news, Petty will be honored as the 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year on Friday February 10th, 2017.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Legacy Recordings Announces Limited Edition Vinyl Exclusives For Record Store Day Black Friday

Legacy Recordings has announced the label's lineup of vinyl releases created especially for Record Store Day's Black Friday 2016, celebrated this year at the nation's independent record stores on Friday, November 25, 2016.

Connoisseurs of classic sounds delivered old school via these two highly collectible releases:

Bob Dylan - The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert - Double LP 12" Vinyl (Columbia Legacy)
Bob Dylan's performance at the Royal Albert Hall from May 26, 1966 (two days after the artist's 25 birthday) is being released as a 2LP album entitled The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert. For decades, Dylan's performance in Manchester was incorrectly labeled "The Royal Albert Hall Concert." Now, for the first time, the REAL Royal Albert Hall concert--originally recorded for a live album by CBS Records--is finally being released, mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Chris Shaw. (This show is also included in the monumental Columbia/Legacy Bob Dylan - 1966 Live Recordings box set.)

Jimi Hendrix - Morning Symphony Ideas - 10" Vinyl LP
Morning Symphony Ideas is an official 'bootleg' which places its focus on Jimi's songwriting and his unique approach toward developing new material in the recording studio. This collection presents Jimi's funk forays with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, three shining examples of Jimi's work in progress from late 1969. "Jungle" was recorded at the Record Plant on November 14, 1969. Side Two features a September 1969 session with Hendrix again joined by Miles yielding a vigorous then-new interpretation of "Room Full Of Mirrors," a song Hendrix had attempted previously going as far back as August 1968 sessions at Electric Ladyland. During the same December 1969 Record Plant session which produced "Message To Love" and "Earth Blues," Jimi put forward the funky groove which fans and bootleggers alike have come to know as "Strato Strut," included as the third cut on Morning Symphony Ideas. This compilation was produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer, & John McDermott for Experience Hendrix, L.L.C.

Now in its ninth year, Record Store Day is an annual day-long celebration of record store culture held on the third Saturday in April. RSD has named Metallica as Record Store Day Ambassadors 2016.

To locate your nearest participating RSD 2016 retailer, please visit: http://recordstoreday.com/Stores

www.recordstoreday.com
#RSDBF

www.legacyrecordings.com

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Rhino's Gift Guide Offers Killer Classic Rock Collections

Looking for the perfect gift for the music lover on your Holiday list? Check out Rhino's selections below...

The Monkees - Classic Album Collection
Street Date: 1/19/2016
10-CD Boxed Set
10-LP Vinyl Boxed Set Also Available

~

The Cars - The Elektra Years 1978 - 1987
Street Date: 3/11/2016 & 6/7/2016
6-LP Boxed Set 
6-CD Boxed Set Also Available

~

Grateful Dead - July '78
Street Date: 5/13/2016
12-CD Boxed Set


~

John Coltrane - The Atlantic Years In Mono
Street Date: 6/10/2016
6-LP Boxset +7" Single
6-CD Boxed Set Also Available

~

Chicago - Quadio Box
Street Date: 6/17/2016
9 Disc Blu-ray Audio

~

The Monkees  - The Complete Series
Street Date: 7/8/2016
10 Blu-ray Disc Video + 7" Vinyl LP

~

Ramones - Ramones - 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Street Date: 9/9/2016
3-CD & 1-LP 

~

Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Sessions - Super Deluxe Box
Street Date: 9/16/2016
5-LP & 3-CD


~

Ray Charles - The Atlantic Studio Albums In Mono
Street Date: 9/23/2016
7-LP Boxed Set

~

David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 to 1976)
Street Date: 9/23/2016
12-CD & 13-LP


~

Fleetwood Mac - Mirage (Deluxe Edition)
Street Date: 9/23/2016
3-CD/ 1-LP Boxed Set


~

Dio - A Decade Of Dio: 1983-1993
Street Date: 10/4/2016
6-LP Boxed Set + 7" Single
6-CD Boxed Set Also Available

~

Phil Collins - Singles
Street Date: 10/14/2016
4-LP Boxed Set
3-CD Set
2-CD Deluxe Versions Of All 8 Studio Albums Also Available

~

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (Super Deluxe Box)
Street Date: 11/11/2016
4-CD Boxed Set


~

The Band -The Last Waltz (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition)
Street Date: 11/11/2016
6-LP Boxed Set &4-CD/1 Blu-ray Edition Also Available


~

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (The Elevated Edition)
Street Date: 11/18/2016
2-CD/1-DVD

Friday, October 21, 2016

Paul McCartney Backs Campaign To Save Grassroots Music Venues In U.K.

As a teenager growing up in Liverpool he honed his live skills in the city’s small and sweaty pubs and music venues, most famously The Cavern Club. Now Sir Paul McCartney is backing a campaign to protect the dwindling number of grassroots music venues throughout the United Kingdom. 

"I've been lucky enough to play in venues of all different shapes and sizes, from tiny clubs to massive stadiums all over the world. Without the grassroots clubs, pubs and music venues my career could have been very different,” said McCartney, pledging his support to the Music Venue Trust’s #FIGHTBACK campaign.

“Artists need places to start out, develop and work on their craft and small venues have been the cornerstone for this. If we don't support live music at this level, then the future of music in general is in danger,” the former Beatle went on to say.

Yesterday, almost 500 delegates attended the third annual Venues Day conference at London’s Roundhouse venue, which saw executives from across the industry address some of the threats to Britain’s once-thriving live scene. In London the problem is particularly acute, with the U.K. capital having lost 35 percent of its small and grassroots music spaces since 2007 due to a combination of rising rents and licensing restrictions.

Numbered among the famous central London venues that have closed in that time is the Marquee, Astoria, 12 Bar Club and Madame Jojos, while The 100 Club, which played host to early gigs by The Rolling Stones and Sex Pistols and saw Paul McCartney play an intimate lunchtime gig in 2010, was only saved from extinction after signing a sponsorship deal with Converse in 2011.

More recently, legendary dance club Fabric had its license revoked by Islington council following the drug-related deaths of two 18-year-olds earlier this summer.

An appeal hearing to decide the fate of Fabric has been scheduled for Nov. 28 at Highbury Magistrates Court. The venue’s #saveourculture fund raising campaign has generated almost £300,000 ($368,000).

Further support for London’s world famous cultural heritage has come from London mayor Sadiq Khan, who last month pledged to introduce greater protection for venue owners by establishing the ‘Agent of Change’ principle, a regulation that puts the onus on property developers to mitigate against noise complaints from existing venues or businesses.

In 2014, world-renowned London nightclub Ministry of Sound successfully applied the Agent of Change principle after a long-running dispute with developers wanting to build of an apartment block opposite the club. In that instance, pursuing the legal case and protecting the venue's future took over four years and over £1 million ($1.5 million), costs that are prohibitive to the majority of venue operators.

“Too many venues have been lost in recent years and those that survive are under unprecedented pressure from unscrupulous developers, with little protection offered to them by the government, be it national or local,” said J Willgoose, Esq. of British indie band Public Service Broadcasting, who played at last night’s #FIGHTBACK concert at The Roundhouse.

“We are facing a genuine cultural crisis, as well as a serious threat to the music industry in the UK -- a huge British export,” added Everything Everything’s Jeremy Pritchard in a statement. “Already we hear the cry that there are too few festival headliners rising through the ranks. This is directly connected to the worrying trend of invaluable but highly vulnerable local gigs going for good.”

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Iggy Pop, Jeff Gold Launching Stooges Book In Detroit, NYC

To celebrate the publication of  Total Chaos: The Story of The Stooges / As Told by Iggy Pop, Third Man Books is presenting Iggy Pop in conversation with author Jeff Gold at two locations: Detroit on October 25 at Third Man Records Cass Corridor, and November 4 in New York City at Rizzoli Bookstore. These events are free and open to the public, with admittance first come, first serve. 

Total Chaos: The Story of The Stooges / As Told by Iggy Pop is the first time the story of this seminal band has been told entirely in Pop's own words, and features a cache of never-seen-before images. Pop's candid, bare-all account is the incredible tragic and triumphant story of a group who rose from youth, fell prey to drugs, alcohol, and music biz realities, collapsed and, nearly 30 years later reformed, recording and touring to great acclaim.

In 2010, the Stooges -- often credited with having invented punk rock -- were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Total Chaos: The Story of The Stooges / As Told by Iggy Pop will be available from Third Man Books November 15, 2016.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Foghat Sponsoring Listening Parties For 'Under The Influence' Vinyl Playback

With vinyl making a comeback in recent times, what better band to get the vinyl treatment than Foghat, who sold a lot of it in the 70s. 

On Friday, October 21, the group’s own label, Foghat Records, will issue a double/180-gram vinyl edition of their latest release, Under The Influence.

Additionally, select indie record stores will be giving away posters with purchase (and select stores are throwing listening parties for the LP along with tastings of Foghat Cellars Wines.

"A couple of things I love about new vinyl releases is the re-emergence of an old art form, i.e., album cover art and the return of high-quality analog audio played through great old stereos being pulled from the garage and resurrected," says the band’s guitarist Bryan Bassett.

“It’s black, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful and some really nice noises come out of it! And you can actually read the liner notes and see the photos!” adds drummer Roger Earl.

Since its initial release on June 24, Under The Influence has already proven to be the most successful Foghat release in years - with their presence felt once more on the Billboard Charts (debuting at #17 on “Hard Rock Albums,” and at #40 on “Independent Albums”).

Under The Influence has received rave reviews from the music press, including VintageRock.com, which called the album, "classic Foghat."

Listening parties at the following indie record stores take place on October 21 at 7:00 P.M local time (in each time zone)

Cactus - Houston, TX
Music Millennium - Portland, OR
Fingerprints - Long Beach, CA
Record Archive - Rochester, NY
Park Ave CDs - Orlando, FL

Under The Influence vinyl track listing:

Side 1
Under The Influence
Knock It Off
Ghost

Side 2
She’s Got a Ring in His Nose
Upside of Lonely
Heard it Through the Grapevine

Side 3
Made Up My Mind
Hot Mama
Heart Gone Cold

Side 4
Honey Do List
All Because of You
Slow Ride

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
www.foghat.net
www.foghatrecords.com
www.facebook.com/foghat
www.foghatcellars.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Graham Nash Honored For A Lifetime Of Cutting-Edge Photography

This month, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and two-time Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductee Graham Nash will be honored for his pioneering work in the field of photography by the International Photography Hall of Fame, the Lucie Awards, and the PhotoPlus Expo.

On Thursday, October 20th (12:30-1:30PM) at the PhotoPlus Expo at Javits Convention Center in New York, Nash will appear as a keynote speaker, discussing his printmaking studio Nash Editions. Nash will share the stories behind some of the images he's made over the decades in an onstage conversation with award-winning photographer Mark Seliger.

On October 23rd at New York's Carnegie Hall, Nash will receive the Double Exposure Award at the 2016 Lucie Awards Gala, which honors the greatest achievements in photography.

On October 28th in St. Louis, MO, Nash will be one of eight photographers inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame (IPHF), alongside Ken Burns, Steve Jobs, Annie Leibovitz, and others, in celebration of it's 50th anniversary.

Nash will then visit the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on November 16, where he'll appear with Shane Fontayne for a Q&A and intimate acoustic performance in support of his critically acclaimed new solo album, This Path Tonight. This album landed on seven different Billboard charts in the United States, his highest-charting album overall. It features ten original songs produced by Fontayne.

Check out a VintageRock.com review and photos of a recent Graham Nash concert, featuring Shane Fontayne.

For more information on Graham Nash, please visit www.grahamnash.com.

Monday, October 17, 2016

How Desert Trip Made History

From Forbes Magazine

(Editor's Note: VintageRock.com was denied press credentials to cover Desert Trip. However, you can read reviews of recent shows we covered by The Who & Neil Young)

By now, music fans around the globe are familiar with the story behind how the massive Desert Trip festival came to be. Goldenvoice President Paul Tollett had a vision to bring together six of the biggest acts in the history of rock for a once (or as it turned out twice) in a lifetime musical event.

So Tollett began traveling around meeting with all of the artists – the Rolling Stones, the Who, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney and Neil Young; it was reported Tollett didn’t personally meet with Bob Dylan – to recruit them to fulfill his wildly ambitious dream.

On the final night of weekend two, bringing to a close six nights of music history, even Who guitarist Pete Townshend commented from the stage that it could have been a “good idea or a crazy idea.”

One thing for sure is it was a lucrative idea. In a July interview with the New York Times Tollett said Desert Trip had already grossed a staggering $160 million. And that figure surely will rise. Tollett also described Desert Trip as more of a concert than a festival in that same interview, but neither is truly accurate.

Tollett and his crew created a utopian paradise for music fans of all ages where money became no object. The $75 large concert posters and several other merchandise items were sold out; the $180 culinary experience sold out, most of the craft cocktails in the custom-built Cabin were out by 5:30, 45 minutes before the show began. Fans could be seen leaving the merchandise stands with three or four of the $40 shirts or multiple of the $70 hoodie sweatshirts.

Why was money no object? Two reasons: the first being if you were there you had already decided the history of the event was worth the money and the second being Tollett and his crew brilliantly created a functioning world that was about so much more than the music.

Of course, the six acts brought people in, but by the time the first band took the stage every night between 6:00 and 6:30 tens of thousands of fans had already experienced a great day of food, drink, the photography exhibit with lines out the door every day, the Ferris wheel and more.

Desert Trip was so well constructed, from the state of the art sound and visuals to the seating design, which did make it feel comfortably like a concert, to the surroundings, that it was already such a unique experience the musical acts were the cherry on the sundae.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Twisted Sister To Perform Last U.S. Date Ever At Badlands Pawn

Twisted Sister, fronted by the incomparable Dee Snider, is coming to Badlands Pawn in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the final U.S. performance of their career ending "40 and F*ck It" World Tour.

Badlands Pawn is no stranger to hosting big shows. They recently hosted the only U.S. date for the reunion of the classic lineup of Dokken, which hadn't performed together in over 20 years! Other acts that have graced the stage range from KISS to Joan Jett and Rick Springfield to Disturbed and The Offspring to Megadeth.

"Having a band like Twisted Sister do their final US show is unbelievable and we could not be more excited," said Chuck Brennan of Badlands Pawn. "Badlands Pawn is the perfect match for these types of shows as the sound, lights, video and intimacy is unparalleled."

Tickets for Twisted Sister are on sale now. General admission tickets start at $85 and can either be purchased at the Badlands Pawn Box Office or online at www.BadlandsBoxOffice.com.

Badlands Pawn, Gold & Jewelry is located at 1600 W. Russell Street in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It opens at 9 a.m. daily in the heart of the Sioux Falls Sports & Entertainment District. For more information, visit www.BadlandsPawn.com.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Yes Welcome Back Alan White, Touring Japan, Prepping For Cruise To The Edge

Yes will welcome drummer Alan White back for their Japanese tour next month. White sat out the band's U.S. summer tour due to back surgery, and Jay Schellen, a friend, took over drumming duties. Schellen will travel to Japan and sit in until White is fully healed.

White says he's "looking forward to getting back on stage with my band mates to play Yes music once again for our devoted audiences."

The six-date Japanese trek, beginning November 21 in Tokyo, will feature Yes performing the 1973 album Yessongs, the band's first live album, as well as sides one and four of 1973's double album Tales From Topographic Oceans, which received rave reviews throughout their 28-date U.S. outing this summer (See VintageRock.com's Yes report).

In Japan, Yes will perform at the Tokyo Orchard Hall on November 21, 22, 28 and 29, the Osaka Orix Theater on November 24, and Zepp Nagoya on November 25.

In other Yes news, Tales From Topographic Oceans: Expanded Edition, featuring Steven Wilson remixes, was released October 7 in two configurations: one Blu-Ray Disc and three CDs, and two DVDs and two CDs. The fifth in a series of expended Yes editions, the expanded Tales includes 5.1 surround mixes, new stereo mixes and high-resolution stereo mixes of the original music as well as extra material. Both editions feature restored artwork overseen and approved by Roger Dean, with an expanded booklet containing new sleeve-notes, photos and archive material.

In early 2017, Yes will once again host and headline the 4th annual Cruise To The Edge. Set for February 7-11, the prog music festival at sea will set sail out of Tampa, Florida aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of The Seas visiting Cozumel, Mexico and featuring over 20 artist performances including Yes (with White fully on drums), Kansas, Steve Hackett, Mike Portnoy, John Wetton, Patrick Moraz, Bad Dreams, and many more.

A limited number of cabins remain; go to www.cruisetotheedge.com to book a spot and to access additional information, including the full lineup, itinerary, pricing and ship details.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Prize In Literature

From the New York Times

Half a century ago, Bob Dylan shocked the music world by plugging in an electric guitar and alienating folk purists. For decades he continued to confound expectations, selling millions of records with dense, enigmatic songwriting.

Now, Mr. Dylan, the poet laureate of the rock era, has been rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature, an honor that elevates him into the company of T. S. Eliot, Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison and Samuel Beckett.

Mr. Dylan, 75, is the first musician to win the award, and his selection on Thursday is perhaps the most radical choice in a history stretching back to 1901. In choosing a popular musician for the literary world’s highest honor, the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, dramatically redefined the boundaries of literature, setting off a debate about whether song lyrics have the same artistic value as poetry or novels.

Some prominent writers celebrated Mr. Dylan’s literary achievements, including Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates and Salman Rushdie, who called Mr. Dylan “the brilliant inheritor of the bardic tradition,” adding, “Great choice.”

But others called the academy’s decision misguided and questioned whether songwriting, however brilliant, rises to the level of literature.

“Bob Dylan winning a Nobel in Literature is like Mrs Fields being awarded 3 Michelin stars,” the novelist Rabih Alameddine wrote on Twitter. “This is almost as silly as Winston Churchill.”

Jodi Picoult, a best-selling novelist, snarkily asked, “I’m happy for Bob Dylan, #ButDoesThisMeanICanWinAGrammy?”

Many musicians praised the choice with a kind of awe. On Twitter, Rosanne Cash, the songwriter and daughter of Johnny Cash, wrote simply: “Holy mother of god. Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize.”

But some commentators bristled. Two youth-oriented websites, Pitchfork and Vice, both ran columns questioning whether Mr. Dylan was an appropriate choice for the Nobel.

As the writer of classics of folk and protest songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” as well as Top 10 hits including “Like a Rolling Stone,” Mr. Dylan is an unusual Nobel winner. The first American to win the prize since Ms. Morrison in 1993, he is studied by Oxford dons and beloved by presidents.

Yet instead of appearing at the standard staid news conference arranged by a publisher, Mr. Dylan was in Las Vegas on Thursday for a performance at a theater there. By late afternoon, Mr. Dylan had not commented on the honor.

Mr. Dylan has often sprinkled literary allusions into his music and cited the influence of poetry on his lyrics, and has referenced Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine and Ezra Pound. He has also published poetry and prose, including his 1971 collection, Tarantula, and Chronicles: Volume One, a memoir published in 2004. His collected lyrics from 1961-2012 are due out on Nov. 1 from Simon & Schuster.

Literary scholars have long debated whether Mr. Dylan’s lyrics can stand on their own as poetry, and an astonishing volume of academic work has been devoted to parsing his music. The Oxford Book of American Poetry included his song “Desolation Row,” in its 2006 edition, and Cambridge University Press released The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan in 2009, further cementing his reputation as a brilliant literary stylist.

Billy Collins, the former United States poet laureate, argued that Mr. Dylan deserved to be recognized not merely as a songwriter, but as a poet.

“Most song lyrics don’t really hold up without the music, and they aren’t supposed to,” Mr. Collins said in an interview. “Bob Dylan is in the 2 percent club of songwriters whose lyrics are interesting on the page even without the harmonica and the guitar and his very distinctive voice. I think he does qualify as poetry.”

In giving the literature prize to Mr. Dylan, the Nobel committee may also be recognizing that the gap has closed between high art and more commercial creative forms.

“It’s literature, but it’s music, it’s performance, it’s art, it’s also highly commercial,” said David Hajdu, a music critic for The Nation who has written extensively about Mr. Dylan and his contemporaries. “The old categories of high and low art, they’ve been collapsing for a long time, but this is it being made official.”

In previous years, writers and publishers have grumbled that the prize often goes to obscure writers with clear political messages over more popular figures. But in choosing someone so well known, and so far outside of established literary traditions, the academy seems to have swung far into the other direction, bestowing prestige on a popular artist who already had plenty of it.

It’s not the first time it has stretched the definition of literature. In 1953, Winston Churchill received the prize, in part as recognition of the literary qualities of his soaring political speeches and “brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values,” according to the academy. And many were surprised last year, when the prize went to the Belarussian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, whose deeply reported narratives draw on oral history.

In its citation, the Swedish Academy credited Mr. Dylan with “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

Sara Danius, a literary scholar and the permanent secretary of the 18-member academy, which awards the prize, called Mr. Dylan “a great poet in the English-speaking tradition” and compared him to Homer and Sappho, whose work was delivered orally. Asked if the decision to award the prize to a musician signaled a broadening in the definition of literature, Ms. Danius responded, “The times they are a-changing, perhaps.”

Mr. Dylan, whose original name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, was born on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minn. He emerged on the New York music scene in 1961 as an artist in the tradition of Woody Guthrie, singing protest songs and strumming an acoustic guitar in clubs and cafes in Greenwich Village.

But from the start, Mr. Dylan stood out for dazzling lyrics and an oblique songwriting style that made him a source of fascination for artists and critics. In 1963, the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart with a version of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” whose ambiguous refrains evoked Ecclesiastes.

Within a few years, Mr. Dylan was confounding the very notion of folk music, with ever more complex songs and moves toward a more rock ’n’ roll sound. In 1965, he played with an electric rock band at the Newport Folk Festival, provoking a backlash from fans who accused him of selling out.

After reports of a motorcycle accident in 1966 near his home in Woodstock, N.Y., Mr. Dylan withdrew further from public life but remained intensely fertile as a songwriter. His voluminous archives, showing his working process through thousands of pages of songwriting drafts, were acquired this year by institutions in Tulsa, Okla.

His 1975 album Blood on the Tracks was interpreted as a supremely powerful account of the breakdown of a relationship, but just four years later the Christian themes of Slow Train Coming divided critics. His most recent two albums were chestnuts of traditional pop that had been associated with Frank Sinatra.

Since 1988, Mr. Dylan has toured almost constantly, inspiring an unofficial name for his itinerary, the Never Ending Tour. Last weekend, he played the first of two performances at Desert Trip, a festival in Indio, Calif., that also featured the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and other stars of the 1960s. He is scheduled to return on Friday for the festival’s second weekend.

“As the ’60s wore on,” Giles Harvey wrote in The New York Review of Books in 2010, “Dylan grew increasingly frustrated with what he came to regard as the pious sloganeering and doctrinaire leftist politics of the folk milieu.” He “began writing a kind of visionary nonsense verse, in which the rough, ribald, lawless America of the country’s traditional folk music collided with a surreal ensemble of characters from history, literature, legend, the Bible, and many other places besides.”

Mr. Dylan’s many albums, which the Swedish Academy described as having “a tremendous impact on popular music,” include Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Blonde on Blonde (1966), Time Out Of Mind (1997), Love and Theft (2001) and Modern Times (2006). His 38 studio albums have sold 125 million copies around the world.

The academy added: “Dylan has the status of an icon. His influence on contemporary music is profound, and he is the object of a steady stream of secondary literature.”

Mr. Dylan’s many honors include Grammy, Academy and Golden Globe awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, won a special Pulitzer Prize in 2008 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

The Nobel comes with a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor, or just over $900,000. The literature prize is given for a lifetime of writing rather than for a single work.

“Today, everybody from Bruce Springsteen to U2 owes Bob a debt of gratitude,’’ President Obama said at the Medal of Honor ceremony. “There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music. All these years later, he’s still chasing that sound, still searching for a little bit of truth. And I have to say that I am a really big fan.”

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Roger Waters 'Us + Them' 2017 North American Tour Dates Announced

Roger Waters will return to North America in 2017 with a pioneering new tour, Us + Them, featuring classic Pink Floyd, some new songs and solo work.  The tour runs through the summer of 2017 and is promoted by AEG Live’s Concerts West.  Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 21, 2016.

Roger Waters – Us + Them will tour the United States and Canada and will showcase highlights from Waters’ groundbreaking body of work.   The title is derived from the 1974 track “Us And Them,” from the multi-million selling Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon.

“We are going to take a new show on the road, the content is very secret,” Waters says. “It’ll be a mixture of stuff from my long career, stuff from my years with Pink Floyd, some new things.  Probably 75% of it will be old material and 25% will be new, but it will be all connected by a general theme.  It will be a cool show, I promise you.  It’ll be spectacular like all my shows have been.”

Waters’ legendary live performances are renowned as immersive sensory experiences featuring high class, state-of-the-art audio visual production and breathtaking quad sound. This new tour promises to be no exception, following months of meticulous planning and visionary craft, it will inspire crowds with its powerful delivery to take the audience on a musical journey.

Roger Waters – Us + Them marks the artist's first US return since The Wall Live (2010-2013), his sold-out world tour which was seen by more than four million fans globally at 219 shows and remains the highest grossing tour by any solo artist in history.

News of the Roger Waters – Us + Them North American tour 2017 follows a triumphant headline performance on Sunday, October 9, at the Desert Trip Festival in Indio, California. Waters returns to Desert Trip for a second headline appearance on the closing day of the multi-weekend festival on Sunday, October 16.

VIP package sales and Citi presale tickets will begin on Monday, October 17.  Citi is the official credit card of the Roger Waters – Us + Them 2017 tour.  Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for US dates only beginning on Monday, October 17 at 10:00 AM local time through Citi’s Private Pass Program.  For complete Citi presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Friday, October 21, 2016.

For more information about purchasing tickets, please visit RogerWaters.com or aeglive.com.

Roger Waters 2017 Tour Dates

May 26 - Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO
May 28 - KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, KY
May 30 - Scottrade Center - St. Louis, MO
June 1 - BOK Center - Tulsa, OK
June 3 - Pepsi Center - Denver, CO
June 7 - SAP Center at San Jose - San Jose, CA
June 12 - Golden 1 Center - Sacramento, CA
June 14 - Gila River Arena - Phoenix, AZ
June 16 - T-Mobile Arena - Las Vegas, NV
June 20 - Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA
June 21 - Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA
June 24 - Tacoma Dome - Seattle, WA
July 3 - American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX
July 6 - Toyota Center - Houston, TX
July 11 - Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL
July 13 - American Airlines Arena - Miami, FL
July 16 - Infinite Energy Arena - Atlanta, GA
July 18 - Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC        
July 20 - Nationwide Arena - Columbus, OH          
July 22 - United Center - Chicago, IL
July 23 - United Center - Chicago, IL
July 26 - Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, MN
August 2 - The Palace of Auburn Hills - Detroit, MI
August 4 -Verizon Center - Washington, DC
August 8 - Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
August 9 - Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
September 7 - Prudential Center - Newark, NJ
September 11 - Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY
September 12 - Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY
September 15 - Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY
September 19 - PPG Paints Arena - Pittsburgh, PA
September 27 - TD Garden - Boston, MA

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Heart's 'Live At The Royal Albert Hall With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra' Coming To DVD, Blu-ray, CD

On December 2, 2016, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Heart's Live At The Royal Albert Hall With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and other digital formats.

This film captures not only Heart’s first-ever live performance at the Royal Albert Hall but is also the first concert film of Heart performing with a full orchestra.

Live At The Royal Albert Hall With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra includes chart-topping songs like “These Dreams,” “Alone,” “What About Love,” “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” “Dreamboat Annie,” and more!

Making their first live appearance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in June 2016 to a sold-out crowd, Heart was accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra who added further depth and epic scale to the band’s songs. The set included hits, fan favorites and both new and reinterpreted tracks from their most recent album Beautiful Broken.

The lineup for this show features Ann Wilson (vocals); Nancy Wilson (guitar & vocals); Ben Smith (drums); Dan Rothchild (bass); Craig Bartock (guitar); Chris Joyner (keyboards) and, of course, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nick Davies. As a bonus feature, this release includes an interview with the band.

The chemistry between band and orchestra, that Live At The Royal Albert Hall With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra captures, added a truly magical quality to a concert that will live long in the memory of those Heart fans lucky enough to be present. See a teaser below.


Monday, October 10, 2016

Brian Wilson Extends 'Pet Sounds' Tour Into 2017

With one of the most in demand concert outings of the year, Brian Wilson is extending the final performance run of his Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour and announcing a slate of new North American show dates for 2017 to celebrate and perform the iconic album Pet Sounds for a final time. 

Currently on the road and performing his last shows of the year, the tour will pick up again in the spring with an initial 37 new dates added to the Pet Sounds: The Final Performances tour run.

VIP ticket presales are available now with general on-sale beginning Friday. A full list of tour dates is below with up-to-date ticketing, show information and more at www.BrianWilson.com.

In addition, fans everywhere can now purchase the autobiography I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir, available at retailers everywhere.

“There were so many cities on this great tour that myself, my band, Al, and Blondie just couldn’t get to playing,” says Wilson. “We’re performing more shows than ever before and the fans keep asking for more! It’s been a real trip so far and I’m happy that we’ll have the chance to reach so many people that weren’t able to catch our shows this year.”

This year alone found Wilson and his band, joined by former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin, performing 99 shows to captivated audiences in sold out venues all over the world. Garnering critical acclaim and marking a true return to form, Wilson continues to deliver a live performance of Pet Sounds in its entirety, as well as top hits and fan favorites spanning his 54-year career with The Beach Boys and as a solo artist.

Universally hailed as a writer of one of the greatest American songbooks, Pet Sounds has reigned atop countless critic and fan polls, and has maintained its timeless rank as one of popular music’s most-cited influences.

In 1965, with the Beach Boys out on tour, Wilson began session work on some of the most deeply personal recordings of his career. Inspired by the Beatles album Rubber Soul, he challenged himself to create an immaculate musical masterpiece. A vast departure from the bands’ then commercial sound, the resulting “concept album” Pet Sounds achieved great critical success helping usher in a new musical landscape.

Wilson began his career as a founding member of the Beach Boys, who signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year. The band’s initial surf-rock focus was soon broadened to include other themes. Wilson’s innovative vocal and instrumental arrangements for major hits including “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” and the No. 1 smash “Good Vibrations” made the Beach Boys America’s preeminent band of the 1960s.

Wilson has also achieved great solo success with 11 of his own albums released to date, including his acclaimed 2004 completion of an album he first began recording in the ‘60s, Brian Wilson Presents… SMiLE.  The album earned Wilson his first GRAMMY® for a recording, which was followed by his second GRAMMY® win for producing the Beach Boys’ acclaimed 2011 release, The SMiLE Sessions.

With his own band, Wilson has performed major, sold-out tours in recent years, and with the Beach Boys, he celebrated the iconic band’s 50th anniversary in 2012 with a major international tour and acclaimed studio album, That’s Why God Made The Radio.

In 2015, Wilson released his latest solo album No Pier Pressure and was the subject of the critically acclaimed, award-winning biopic Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate). Directed by Bill Pohlad, starring John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti, Love & Mercy presents an unconventional portrait of the music legend. Set against the era-defining catalog of the music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost. The culmination of these projects produced Wilson’s first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song (Motion Picture) for his song “One Kind Of Love” featured in the film.

Brian Wilson is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and a U.K. Music Hall of Fame inductee.  As a member of the Beach Boys, Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and honored with The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

2016 TOUR:

October 12 - The Masonic – San Francisco, CA SOLD OUT
October 13 - The Masonic – San Francisco, CA SOLD OUT
October 14 - Harrah’s Lake Tahoe - Stateline, NV  SOLD OUT
October 15 - Sacramento Comm. Center Theater - Sacramento, CA SOLD OUT
October 28 - Royal Albert Hall - London, UK                          
October 30 -  Salle Pleyel - Paris, FR                              
November 3 -  Dubai Tennis Stadium - Dubai, UAE                            
November 6 - Spektrum, NO - Oslo, NO                                
November 7 - Malmo Live - Malmo, SW                            
December 1 - Auditorio Pabellon M - Monterey, MEX                      
December 3 - Tropico Festival - Acapulco, MEX                                  

2017 TOUR:

March 27 - Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts - Orlando, FL
March 29 - Saenger Theater - New Orleans, LA              
March 31 -  Choctaw Casino - Durant, OK                        
April 1 - Prairie Band Casino - Mayetta, KS                        
April 2 - Hartman Arena - Park City, KS                      
April 4 - Lincoln Center - Fort Collins, CO                  
April 6 - BSU – Morrison Center for the Perf. Arts - Boise, ID
April 9 - Paramount Theatre - Seattle, WA                        
April 17 -  Orpheum Theatre -Sioux City, IA                      
April 18 -  Civic Center - Des Moines, IA                
April 19 - Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI                    
April 21 - Palace Theatre of Columbus - Columbus, OH                    
April 22 - Hard Rock Live - Northfield, OH                      
April 23 - Murat Theatre at Old National Centre - Indianapolis, IN
April 25 - Hershey Theatre - Hershey, PA                        
April 26 - Palace Theatre - Albany, NY                          
April 28 - New Jersey P.A.C. - Newark, NJ                          
April 29 - Lynn Auditorium - Boston, MA                          
April 30 - Hanover Theatre - Worcester, MA                      
May 2 - FM Kirby Center - Wilkes Barre, PA                  
May 3 - Lincoln Theatre - Washington, DC                  
May 6 - Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, TN                        
May 7 - Tivoli Theatre - Chattanooga, TN                  
May 9 - BJCC Concert Hall - Birmingham, AL                    
May 12 - Revention Music Center - Houston, TX                        
May 13 - ACL Live at The Moody Theater - Austin, TX                            
May 16 - Brady Theatre - Tulsa, OK                            
May 18 - Kiva Auditorium - Albuquerque, NM                
May 19 - Centennial Hall @ U of AZ - Tucson, AZ                          
May 20 - Harrah’s Laughlin – Rio Vista - Laughlin, NV                        
May 22 - Celebrity Theatre - Phoenix, AZ                          
May 24 - San Diego Civic Theatre - San Diego, CA                      
May 26 - Pantages Theatre - Los Angeles, CA                  
May 28 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA              

Additional dates TBA

Official website: brianwilson.com
Facebook: facebook.com/officialbrianwilson
Twitter: @BrianWilsonLive
Instagram: @BrianWilsonLive

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...