Friday, July 30, 2010

TAB The Band to Open for Slash in Boston & NY


On Wednesday we announced that Taddy Porter would be opening for Slash at select dates on his North American tour.

Today, I found out - much to my delight - that a band I've been following for years is slated to open the New York and Boston gigs - and I'll be there! That band is: TAB The Band!

TAB the band formed in December 2006.

"What resulted was a ragged, hard rock band the likes of which has not been seen since 1974, but sounds like it could still be good in 2074."

Their music speaks for itself.

Go to their MySpace and listen to the songs - you'll know what I mean.

They sound like side 5 of Exile on Main Street, with elements of old Priest, Sabbath and Motorhead.





TAB the Band's MySpace
TAB the band

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Taddy Porter to Open Slash's North American Tour


ARTISTdirect
Opening for legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is quite an honor and it is one that has befallen Stillwater, Oklahoma quartet Taddy Porter. The band has been confirmed as the opening act for the top-hatted one. The eight-date run will begin in Toronto on September 10, 2010 at Kool Haus.

Taddy Porter has been winning fans and garnering rave reviews across the country with their debut album and explosive live shows. Their debut album was released on June 29, 2010.

Taddy Porter's music has been heard everywhere lately, at Citi Field in New York where "Shake Me" is Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey's at bat and warm up song and all over broadcast and cable. As a Phillies fan, I guess I can forgive them for being chosen as a rival's music… for now. Taddy Porter had two songs featured in the Entourage season premiere; the songs are "King Louie" and "Mean Bitch." Their songs have also appeared on Monday Night Football, ESPN's SportsCenter, ABC's Cougartown, and the WWE film Legendary. That means these guys have a terrific licensing person, who gets their music on film and TV!

Taddy Porter was formed in October 2007 in Stillwater. The band members grew up in different towns, but came together to create timeless, undeniable rock songs that where seeded, take root almost immediately. The quartet features Andy Brewer (lead vocals / guitar), Joe Selby (lead guitar / backing vocals), Doug Jones (drums) and Kevin Jones (bass).

See Taddy Porter on the road now playing select dates across the country with Slash. Dates are below.

Taddy Porter / Slash Dates:

Sept 10 Kool Haus Toronto, ON
Sept 17 Borgata Hotel - Music Box Atlantic City NJ
Sept 18 The Norva Norfolk, VA
Sept 20 Center Stage Atlanta, GA
Sept 22 Harrah's - Stir Cove Council Bluffs, IA
Sept 23 Medina Entertainment Center Medina, MN

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Adler: Four of us would 'love' GN'R reunion


Music Radar
There's only one tour that could top the Thrash Big Four shows in terms of pure shock value, the original Guns N' Roses line-up cocked, loaded and ready to go. Well, it seems that if Steven Adler had his way jaws around the world would be hitting the floor sooner rather than later…

Adler told Billboard.com that four out of the five original guys would jump at the chance of dusting off some Appetite For Destruction-era classics. The only problem is that the ever-controversial, kilt-clad frontman Axl Rose is the one that isn't so enamoured with the idea of resurrecting the band's late '80s line-up.

The platinum-haired sticksman said, "I know the four of us besides Axl would love to do it. I know besides millions and millions and hundreds of millions of dollars that would be involved, I think if we played for the whole world, it would be such a relief ... like, 'God, they're finally playing!' It's what so many people really want, y'know?"

We're not holding our breath for that one, but forgive us for having a little daydream about it for the next few minutes ...



Adler's new band, Adler's Appetite, is in the midst of a 50-city North American tour, after which the group plans to record an EP with producer Anthony Focx, with sessions for a full album to follow at the end of the year.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Axl Rose Lawsuit Gets Off To A Touchy Start


Press-Telegram
Dueling lawsuits involving Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose and his former manager began on a sour note, so a judge said today she may appoint a third party help them strike a more pleasant chord.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rita Miller blamed attorneys for Rose and Irving Azoff for problems during a recent deposition that Azoff's attorneys suspended before it was over.

Rose's lawyer, Sasha Frid, said the questions he asked got Azoff so upset that the manager threw a copy of the Wall Street Journal at the attorney.

Azoff's counsel, Steve Rothschild, said he was present at the deposition and denies that happened.

"It sounds like you guys are going to be in a knockdown, dragged out war," Miller said. "If both sides take extreme positions, it ends up costing both sides a ton of money."

Miller said she will wait and see if the lawyers can resolve their differences before she appoints a referee, a move supported by Azoff's legal team, but opposed by Rose's lawyers as too costly.

"You guys can try and fix this thing before it becomes a nightmare for all concerned," Miller said.

Azoff sued Rose March 25, claiming the musician owes his company, Front Line Management, more than $1.8 million and broke a verbal agreement to pay the company a 15 percent commission for performances by the band in Taipei, Seoul, Japan, Canada and South America.

Axl countersued May 17, claiming the manager tried to force him to reunite with the original Guns N' Roses band members and failed to properly promote the band's Chinese Democracy CD.

The suit also claims Azoff lied about a prospective Van Halen super tour and mishandled the band's tour dates.

The countersuit refers to the U.S. Justice Department's recent antitrust lawsuit that sought to stop Ticketmaster and Live Nation from merging over concerns the new entity would have too much control over artists and venues. Afterwards, Ticketmaster entered into a consent decree with government regulators that allowed the merger to go forward under certain operating provisions.

Rothschild said Azoff's deposition was suspended after Frid began asking the manager questions about his role as chairman of Ticketmaster and Live Nation after the 2008 merger of the companies and Ticketmaster's acquisition of a majority share of Front Line.

Rothschild said the questions were not relevant, were designed to harass his client and that the final straw was when Frid gave a copy of the Wall Street Journal to Azoff and asked him about his stature in the music industry.

But Frid said the inquiries were an attempt to probe whether Azoff has any conflicts of interest in promoting tours while also managing artists.

Miller set trial for April 26.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Appetite 23


Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction (1987, Geffen)

Well, this is pretty much it.

Appetite for Destruction is the singular answer to the question, "Why did hair metal need to exist?" After all the coke and the car wrecks and the screaming and the creaming and the musical masturbation and the pentagrams and the dead hookers, this is what we are left with — the best record of the 1980s, regardless of genre.

If asked to list the ten best rock albums of all time, this is the only pop metal release that might make the list; it's certainly the only Reagan-era material that can compete with The White Album and Rumours and Electric Warrior.

Appetite for Destruction is an Exile on Main Street for all the kids born in '72, except Appetite rocks harder and doesn't get boring in the middle. It bastardizes every early Aerosmith record, but all the lyrics are smarter and Axl is a better dancer.

Part of the credit for the success of this five-headed juggernaut has to go to Nigel Dick, the faceless fellow who directed all the videos for GN'R's early singles. One needs to remember that Appetite was out for almost a year before it cracked the Billboard Top 10 in 1988. Most people assume that this was because of the single "Sweet Child 0' Mine," but the real reason was the video for "Welcome to the Jungle."

The first fifteen seconds of that vid explain everything we need to know: Axl gets off a bus in downtown L.A. with a piece of friggin' hay in his mouth (and evidently, he didn't do much chewing during the twenty-six-hour bus ride from Indiana, because it still looks pretty fresh).

The first time I heard this song, I was riding the Octopus at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, and I had no idea what the fuck it was supposed to be about — but I still kinda liked it. When I saw this video two months later, I realized that Axl wasn't welcoming me to the jungle, people were welcoming him. Suddenly, the whole album made a lot more sense: Axl Rose was screaming because he was scared.

From the brazen misogyny of "It's So Easy" to the pleading vulnerability of "Rocket Queen," the album is a relentless exercise in high-concept sleaze. "Nightrain" is my personal favorite; Axl insists he's "one bad mutha," and he proves it by waking up his whore and making her buy four-dollar wine with her Visa card. "Mr. Brownstone" is hard funk on hard drugs, and it cleverly tells us how rock stars are supposed to live— you wake up at seven, you get out of bed at nine, and you always take the stage two hours late.

"Paradise City" is probably the musical high point; it has GN'R's signature soft-heavy-soft vocal sequence and the best chorus in metal history. "Paradise City" still seems like a disco classic waiting to happen.

The flip side is a little dirtier, starting with the unsettling "My Michele" and the semisweet "Think About You." The material is dark and purposefully hidden (kind of like Slash's eyes, I suppose), and the drums are ferocious; it sounds like Steven Adler is setting off cherry bombs in his drum kit. And through it all, the guitar playing is stellar. On Appetite for Destruction, Slash invented a new style of playing that's best described as "blues punk." He simultaneously sounds raw and polished - the master craftsman who came to work loaded. It was a style that sold 15 million records, but almost nobody managed to copy it (including Slash, who never really got it right again - even when he consciously tried on 1993's The Spaghetti Incident?).

There are those who will argue that the best thing that could have happened to Guns N' Roses would have been death, probably in about 1991. They were certainly on the right path (in fact, the rumor persists that David Geffen wanted Use Your Illusion to be a double album because he suspected someone in the band would be dead before they could cut anything else).

From a romantic (read: selfish) perspective, there's some truth to this argument; it would be nice if Appetite for Destruction was all we really knew about this band of gypsies; Axl would have never lost his hair and the Gunners would have never become such bloated disasters.

Since Rose legally obtained the rights to the name Guns N' Roses in 1991, GN'R is Axl Rose for all practical (and impractical) purposes. Put Axl onstage with the starting five of the Quad City Thunder, and that qualifies as "the new Guns N' Roses." The group still exists, but it's almost like comparing Jefferson Airplane to Starship:

As I write this, the ever-evolving lineup consists of Axl, Dizzy Reed, former Replacements' bassist Tommy Stinson, Buckethead (a robot-obsessed guitar freak who wears a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his dome), Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails, Brian "Brain" Mantia (the drummer from Primus who replaced Josh Freese, the guy from the Vandals who played on the new Guns record but has also quit the band since the album's completion), and what amounts to Axl's buddies from high school.

The next album's working title is Chinese Democracy and it's rumored to be aggressive industrial metal in the spirit of Led Zeppelin, filtered through the sensibilities of Stevie Wonder; I can only imagine what this will be like, although it's safe to assume it will be twice as good as Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, three times as good Slash's Snakepit, and five hundred times better than anything Duff McKagan ever released. But it will never be as good as this, and I suspect Axl knows it.

-Chuck Klosterman, Fargo Rock City (2001, Scribner)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

GN'R to headline Rock 'N Rev Fest - Sturgis, SD Aug 13


Rapid City Journal
Following a split over the weekend with Glencoe Capt Resort, the Rock ‘N Rev Festival has found a new home at Monkey Rock USA and will bring Guns N' Roses and Daughtry with it, said Monkey Rock chief operating officer Chris Edwards.

“There are not a lot of places capable of hosting an event and lineup like this,” Edwards said. “We offered the option to solve a problem and they sent their operations people to survey the area -- all of it happened within 48 hours.”

The new location for the weeklong festival was determined after negotiations fell through between concert promoters DC3 Global and Glencoe Camp Resort late last week, said Randy Alexander, public relations director for the festival promoter DC3 Global.

He said new festival owners HDlogix and DC3 Global will build The Rock ‘N Rev Amphitheater at Monkey Rock on a 25-acre site. Negotiations for the 5-day concert series were finalized Monday afternoon.

“We were motivated to try to help and they were quite interested to find another place,” Edwards said. “With commitments to rally goers, they wanted to fulfill their end of the bargain.”

Alexander said Monkey Rock USA was chosen for its proximity to the Glencoe campground. DC3 said it is working with Glencoe to offer special accommodations at the festival for anybody who is camping. The new venue was also selected with future ventures in mind, Alexander said.

“The relationship has been entered with long-term vision in mind,” he said.
Bands scheduled to play at Glencoe will play at Monkey Rock USA with Guns N' Roses set to headline the Friday night stage, Edwards said.

Guns N' Roses will share the Friday night stage with Alice in Chains

The Daughtry show time has not yet been determined, Edwards said.

Sturgis Mayor Maury LaRue was shocked to hear the new location of the festival.
“It’s up to them; if they make money it’s a good move,” LaRue said. “If they don’t, they will have to rethink it.”

After negotiations between DC3 and Glencoe broke down late last week due to unpaid rent, people who have reserved camping spaces at Glencoe had mixed feelings.

“I plan on having a good time, and so much easier to just walk back to your tent after the concerts,” Neil Smith said in an e-mail. “Now I will have to figure out ways to get back. This is not good business, they should work it out or they should have never announced the concert in the first place.”

Eagle River, Wis., resident John Jacobson said he has been attending the Sturgis bike rally for 13 years and stayed at Glencoe for five years and is glad the concert was moved.

“I am happy to see the concerts gone from Glencoe, there are far too many concert venues in Sturgis the way it is,” Jacobson said in an e-mail. “Concerts only appeal to a select few. It is not, and never will be, a reason to come to the Sturgis rally.”

Alexander said all tickets will be honored at the new location and prices will stay the same.

http://rocknrevfestival.com/

Monday, July 19, 2010

We Share. ["Cover B"]


Click on the image for a bigger view.
"There are 2 more covers/bk cover combos and the real booklet that is all artwork that will be out shortly in some form. It's been an ugly battle that hasn't made any sense to anyone and whether anyone cares about such things the booklet or artwork has always been something I've been passionate about and to release the album with unapproved and unseen final artwork with a !st work only error filled draft when others more recent were readily available still has not been explained but is finally getting cleared up. My fave is the How Are You Grenade cover."

-Axl Rose
There are a few more images from the "B" booklet (that you have probably already seen) here.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Friday, July 16, 2010

Chinese Democracy Leaker Kevin Skwerl Laughs Last


WIRED
The convicted Guns N’ Roses uploader, Kevin Cogill, isn’t the anti-piracy pitchman the Recording Industry Association of America was hoping for.

A year ago Wednesday, the 29-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced to two months’ home confinement and a year of probation for uploading nine unreleased tracks of Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy to his music site. Federal prosecutors initially sought six months of prison, but Cogill got no time after agreeing to do an RIAA public service announcement that would scare future file sharers straight.

But nobody has made him perform the PSA. As of Wednesday, and he’s no longer under the court’s jurisdiction. So the deal is no longer legally binding.

“I knew as soon as this went down, nobody would give a shit about me doing a PSA,” Cogill said in a recent telephone interview.

The closest he came to providing a public service announcement was last August, in a video interview with Current TV. He said file sharers can get “f’d in the A” from the RIAA and get it “right in the butt.”

The proposed court-ordered PSA was vaguely defined from the beginning, he said. “We had some conversations about it, hypothetical conversations,” Cogill said. “I said everybody is going to laugh at it.”

FBI agents raided Cogill’s home in 2008, and last year he pleaded guilty to uploading nine pre-release songs to his Antiquiet site from the 14-track Chinese Democracy album. He said he did not inform the authorities where he got them, although he said they asked.

Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the RIAA, which alerted the FBI to Cogill’s unlawful uploading, said in a Wednesday e-mail that the RIAA has “discretion whether or not to move forward” with a public service announcement.

“Due to various elements of this case (not to mention unnecessarily high production costs), we chose not to produce one,” the e-mail said.

We’re not sure what to think of the “high production costs” statement. The RIAA has spent $64 million in legal fees and costs to collect $1.3 million in damages as part of its copyright-litigation campaign.

A year ago, Los Angeles federal prosecutor Craig Missakian said the PSA would be a radio or television message of “Kevin talking about the importance of protecting copyright holders’ rights in their songs and movies.”

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Missakian said Cogill’s agreement to perform a PSA “was certainly part of our consideration” of eventually seeking 60 to 90 days in jail, compared to the original demand of six months.

“As far as our office was concerned, it was up to the RIAA to use him or not,” Missakian said

But perhaps what saved Cogill from even more prison time was the many years it took Guns N’ Roses’ to publish Chinese Democracy, an album Cogill said he’d been dreaming about since he was 14. The band began producing the album in 1993 and it was published in November. It reached No. 3 in the charts.

“I’ve been waiting, literally half of my entire life,” he said.

The album’s slow production is significant insofar as copyright infringement law is concerned. Cogill faced a statutory maximum of five years in prison under the original felony charge for which he was arrested, but that would have required prosecutors to prove that he had distributed pre-release, commercial material over the internet.

With the album in production for a decade and a half, the government might have had a hard time convincing a jury that it was on track for commercial distribution. The charges were subsequently reduced to a one-year maximum, misdemeanor copyright-infringement charge, which did not require proof that Chinese Democracy was going to be released.

“That was one of our positions that there was never any indication it was coming out anytime soon,” said Cogill’s attorney, David Kaloyanides, in a Wednesday telephone interview.

Cogill wondered aloud: “How could they prove it was for commercial release when it was lying around for 15 years?”

Other likely factors for the reduced charge, Kaloyanides said, was that some of the tracks had leaked in England 15 months before and it “might have been an intentional leak from somebody on the inside.”

Missakian said “internal discussions,” which he declined to disclose, paved the way for the government to agree to reducing the charges on the plea agreement.

A year ago, a federal judge eventually gave Cogill no prison time. “I don’t think jail time was in the cards,” Missakian said.

Cogill, now an independent web developer, said he’ll never forget when the FBI awoke him at 7 a.m. that summer.

“I come to the door, and immediately I’m yanked out of the doorway. I’m flipped around and there was like six or seven guns pointed at me,” he said.

The best advice he got was from his Los Angeles lawyer, Kaloyanides. “He told me,” Cogill said, “‘to shut my fucking mouth and don’t say shit to the feds.’” But Kaloyanides was retained too late, after Cogill spilled the beans and handed over his laptop.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Axl Rose Demands Withdrawal Of All Quotes Regarding Sydney 500 V8 Supercars Performance


via Blabbermouth
According to Australia's rock station Triple M, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has demanded the withdrawal of all his quotes used on the official press release that was sent around the country announcing the band's upcoming appearance at this year's Sydney 500 V8 Supercars street race.

Guns N' Roses will make its second trip to Australia since 1993 when it performs a one-off gig on Saturday, December 4, at ANZ Stadium, following the weekend's first event around the Olympic Park circuit.

"To mix Guns with this massive Sydney event will be a blast," Rose was quoted as saying in the original press release.

"We will be in Europe just before we head to Sydney so it will be great to come out and chill around Australia for a while, spend a bit of time getting around and soaking up the relaxed Aussie vibe.

When we came back in 2007 it had been about 14 years between tours in Australia and we had a complete ball.

Bring on Sydney and the V8 Supercars. Hopefully I can get a ride in one of those big beasts while I'm there."

In a strange - or maybe predictable - turn of events Axl has already started causing problems.

Following the official announcement this morning, Axl demanded the withdrawal of all his quotes used on the official press release that was sent around the country.

And it's not as if he said anything controversial.

We'll see what happens but we assume the organisers know about Axl's notoriously diva-like reputation when it comes to touring and playing live.

Whatever the case the show promises to be "classic Axl" and he's left the door open for more shows in other cities.

According to The Daily Telegraph, it's believed V8 Supercars officials are paying Guns N' Roses more than AUD $1 million (around USD $886,000) to perform the solitary gig, included in the AUD $91 price (around USD $80) of Saturday's admission.

Monday, July 12, 2010

GN'R to Play Sydney, Australia in December


2010 SYDNEY TELSTRA 500 DECEMBER 3 - 5
BAND LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT AND TICKETS ON SALE SOON!

The V8 Supercars are set to return to Sydney Olympic park for the ultimate grand finale. Last year, over 180,000 people raced by day and rocked all night with over 3 days of non stop entertainment.

2010 is set to deliver more excitement and action both on and off the track as the V8 Supercars delivers the Greatest Show on Wheels. Don't miss out on any of the action, Friday December 3 to Sunday December 5 with the option of both individual day and 3 day tickets.

Tickets include same day access to all the racing and concerts plus free public transport on select services for pre-purchase ticket holders.

Past Ticket Holders Pre Sale Period - July 7 - July 18
Announcement of Bands - July 14
General Public On sale - July 19

http://www.v8supercarevents.com.au/sydney/default.htm

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Adler's Appetite to Release "Alive" Single


via Blabbermouth

Adler's Appetite has finished recording and mixing its new single, "Alive," with longtime friend and producer Anthony Focx (Vince Neil, Buckcherry). The group is planning on debuting the song live as part of its summer tour, which kicks off Friday, July 9 in Redondo Beach, California.

"We are really excited to be moving forward with original material," says guitarist Alex Grossi. "I think people are really going to like the direction we are going in."

The band — which includes guitarists Alex Grossi (ex-Quiet Riot) and Michael Thomas (Faster Pussycat), bassist Chip Z'nuff (Enuff Z'Nuff) and vocalist Rick Stitch (Ladyjack) — plans to release the song worldwide in conjunction with Adler's tell-all biography, My Appetite For Destruction: Sex, Drugs & Guns N' Roses, which is set for a July 27 release through HarperCollins.

Steven Adler will sign copies of his biography at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey on Wednesday, July 28 at noon.

Bookends
232 East Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewoood, NJ 07450
Phone: (201) 445-0726
www.book-ends.com

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Slash to be Honored by 2010 Sunset Strip Music Festival


via Blabbermouth
The third annual Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF), set for August 26-28, 2010, has announced 2010 honoree Slash will perform with Fergie and Myles Kennedy — two of the vocalists on Slash's self-titled album, which topped the charts as the #1 rock album and #3 on The Billboard 200 list in its first week of release — during the Saturday, August 28 outdoor street festival.

Organizers also announced Common, Semi Precious Weapons, Neon Trees, Big B, and Steel Panther have been added to the street festival lineup that is being headlined by the previously announced Smashing Pumpkins.

Additionally, a mix of more than 50 local and national artists — including Adler's Appetite and Ankla — will perform within the venues during the August 28 street fest date.

The boulevard is closed to traffic between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevard and will be transformed into a premier concert destination with outdoor stages, beer gardens, a VIP lounge, food trucks, interactive experiences and live performances within the venues during the day.

The three-day fest kicks off with a tribute to legendary guitarist Slash at the House of Blues on Thursday, August 26.

Tickets are currently on sale via Ticketmaster. A portion of all ticket sales benefit Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN), a charity personally selected by honoree Slash.

LAYN's mission is to end homelessness, one kid at a time, by providing shelter, food and counseling for the abused, neglected and abandoned.

For more information about SSMF, including additional lineup announcements, visit www.ssmf.com.

Known for his skillful, soulful hard-rock guitar solos, Slash's career has continued to grow from his early days performing at the Whisky A Go-Go with Guns N' Roses to his collaborations with Michael Jackson ("Black And White," "Give In To Me"), Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and directors Quentin Tarantino and Darren Aronofsky (core contributions to the Jackie Brown soundtrack and the signature sound of the score to The Wrestler).

Slash traces his love of music and exploring spirit to his childhood in England, where his father introduced him to the sounds of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and other classic, groundbreaking acts. He got an insider's view through his teen years after the family moved to Los Angeles, his father a graphic artist who worked with David Geffen for such artists as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and his mother a costume designer for many top pop artists.

Almost on a whim, he and friend Steve Adler started playing music together; Slash on guitar and Adler on drums. In the early '80s, influenced by such bands as Lemmy's Motohead, he and Adler formed a band, recruiting bassist Duff McKagan. Within a year, with the addition of singer Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, the venture had morphed into Guns N' Roses — and by the end of the decade had changed the course of rock history.

"You cannot mention The Sunset Strip without thinking of Slash. His influence changed the course of rock and roll and can be seen daily on The Strip," stated Todd Steadman, executive director of the Sunset Strip Music Festival. "He continues to support The Sunset Strip and has been a part of the festival from its inaugural year, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate him for his contributions to this legendary music boulevard."

Previous SSMF honorees include Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and Elmer Valentine, who helped shape the live music experience on The Strip with the creation of The Roxy Theatre, The Rainbow and the Whisky A Go-Go, and rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, whose first US performance was at the Whisky with Black Sabbath in 1970.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Jane's Addiction to Play Intimate, "Fans-Only" Show this Evening


Jane's Addiction (with Duff McKagan on bass) - July 2, 2010 - The Roxy Theatre - West Hollywood, California

"We in Jane's Addiction have done several intimate LA shows over the past year or so... Little places with 100 or so tickets set aside for the fans. It was tough for a lot of fans to get in even after waiting all day for entry. With all of our friends and family in LA, it's sometimes hard to accommodate everybody. Well it looks like we are doing another show and we have decided to make this show an event that is mainly for the fans. We are going to strip back the guest list, inviting only our immediate loved ones and let the majority of tickets be made available to the people who have given us so much over the years, the fans."

This, only days after the band announced it's returned to the studio with its new lineup, which places former Guns N' Roses member Duff McKagan on bass. Rich Costey (Muse, Franz Ferdinand) will be producing the as yet untitled new album, which is due out in 2011 (via LA Weekly).

In other news, Digital Spy is reporting that the new Manic Street Preachers album, Postcards From A Young Man, features Duff McKagan on one track - "A Billion Balconies Facing The Sun."

Three other tracks are said to feature a gospel choir, while the band's Nicky Wire quipped "back of the net" when told that the title track sounded like Queen.

Frontman James Dean Bradfield said, "we're going for big radio hits on this one. It isn't a follow-up to Journal For Plague Lovers, it's one last shot at mass communication."

Wire added, "we've always been about infiltrating the mainstream. It was a conscious decision this time to want to hear ourselves on the radio. Our mantra at the start was, 'if you've got something to say, say it to as many people as possible.'"

A potential lead single is titled "It's Not War Just The End Of Love" and Wire claimed, "I believe in the tactile nature of Rock 'n' Roll. There's a generation missing out on what music meant to us.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Slash at Glastonbury: Pro-shot Videos










06.27.10 - "Glastonbury Festival," Glastonbury, UK
Ghost, Back From Cali, Nightrain, Rocket Queen, Starlight, By The Sword, Civil War, Slither, Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City