Breaking News, LEGENDARY GUITARIST LES PAUL, 94 YEARS OLD, HAS PASSED AWAY

From his Publicist:

 

“LEGENDARY GUITARIST LES PAUL, 94 YEARS OLD, HAS PASSED AWAY FROM COMPLICATIONS OF PNEUMONIA.  NO OTHER DETAILS AT THIS TIME.”

 

Les Paul

 

Classic Metal Band Hades to Perform Shows with Mid-80s Lineup

Hades will bring its “Resisting Success” album lineup together for a couple shows in April 2010. Dan Lorenzo (guitars) and Alan Tecchio (vocals) will reunite with Tom Coombs (drums), Jimmy Schulman (bass) and Scott LePage (lead guitar).

Tom Coombs is into the vibe of the reunion:

“I feel now Hades has come full circle. After all these years apart the things that led to the breakup of the band do not matter anymore, and the good memories will inspire us to perform these songs again and enjoy the journey that started so long ago. I am also amazed that our diehard fans have kept the songs alive for almost 25 years. As a founding member of the band, it just feels right.”

Who knows, maybe more will come out of this. The musicians all lead separate lives (and locations) but this was some great power metal from the mid-80 metal scene.

If interested, read a Powerline A.D. interview with guitarist Dan Lorenzo earlier this year at www.powerlinead.com

Dio Getting Diva

Recently, Dio complained to a U.K.’s Absolute Radio about singing Ozzy-era Black Sabbath:

“I Don’t Hear OZZY Doing ‘Heaven And Hell’ So Why Should I Sing OZZY-Era Songs?”

Dio, don’t be a dickhead. It’s not all about you. It’s about performing the songs for the fans. The Ozzy-era songs are Black Sabbath classics. People pay to hear that. The band should tour as Black Sabbath, IMHO. “Differentiating” a tour and band by timeline ala Heaven and Hell is kind of lame.

And there’s a reason why Ozzy wouldn’t perform Dio songs. Ozzy was the first singer in Sabbath as the cemented their legendary status in hard rock, you came second — deal with it!

Could you imagine Iron Maiden not performing any songs from their first two albums because Bruce Bruce and Paul Di’Anno dislike each other? Please.

The ‘Writer From Heaven’ Music News -By Carol AnneSzel

 

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam announced today that they will add five (5) additional shows
to their previously announced North American tour dates. The band is now scheduled to perform in Vancouver, BC (September 25th), Portland, OR (September 26th) and Salt Lake City, UT (September 28th). They will also add two additional dates (October 27th and October 31st) to their run as the last band to perform at Philadelphia’s historic Wachovia Spectrum.

Following up one of its most successful years ever, CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival returns to New York City October 20^th-24^th.  As New York’s largest music event and one of the world’s most important showcases of new music artists, CMJ draws tens of thousands of professionals from all sectors of the music and film industry. More than 1,300 artists and over 120,000 music fans will converge on the Big Apple to catch the latest buzz band, cool indie film or learn more about the ever-changing music industry from key innovators, insiders and celebrities.

Platinum-certified Reprise Records artists The Used have announced a nationwide headlining fall tour. The month-long run, which kicks off October 9th in Las Vegas, NV and runs through November 14th in Portland, Oregon, will support their new album, Artwork, out August 31, 2009. The Almost and Drive A will be supporting.

Following the success of Rob Zombie’s initial reinvention of John Carpenter’s smash cult horror film HALLOWEEN which premiered number one at the box office breaking all Labor Day Weekend 2007 records, comes the sequel, HALLOWEEN II, hitting theatres nationwide on August 28, 2009 from Dimension Films.

 Surgeland Records, a division of Serge Entertainment Group LLC, has announced an unconventional release date of August 28th for “End of Ride Revisited” by rock band Paris Keeling. The release date falls on a Friday rather than the standard Tuesday release date protocol the larger labels follow. The 16-song set features songs previously released on the 2006 Paris Keeling CD “End of Ride” along with bonus tracks and remixes, and contains the renowned vocal talents of Kelly Keeling (Baton Rouge, Michael Schenker Group, Blue Murder, Carmine Appice’s Guitar Zeus, King Kobra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, O’2L) and the lauded guitar and production work of Marty Paris (The Marty Paris Band, Permanent Reverse) along with several celebrity musicians. The collaboration between Paris and Keeling began several years ago with the culmination of their songwriting styles blossoming into melodic rock/pop political and relationship-based songs.

Music legend Peter Frampton is stopping off  at the Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury on Friday, August 28 at 8 PM.  Frampton is best known for his hit singles “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “I’m in You,” “Show Me the Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.” Frampton’s 1975 album the Frampton went to #32 on the charts in the U.S. and it was certified Gold by the RIAA. Frampton’s 1976 live album Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for him. The singles from the album “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Show Me the Way” were huge hits. While the album stayed at number one on the charts for 10 weeks, on the Top 40 for 55 weeks, and was in the Top 200 for more than 95 weeks, it was also the biggest selling live album at the time of its release.  Frampton also had two additional Gold albums, Frampton (1975) and Where I Should Be (1979), and another Platinum album I’m in You (1977).  Tickets are available exclusively online at LiveNation.com and at the Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury box office

After winding up their sexy “Revenge Is Sweeter” summer headlining tour, super-hot Aussie rock band The Veronicas are going back on the road this fall to support Kelly Clarkson on her “All I Ever Wanted” tour, along with a string of headlining dates. The high-energy trek, which kicks off in Portland, ME, on October 4th, includes a stop in New York City on October 6th at Hammerstein Ballroom before finishing up in Pensacola, FL on December 11th. The band, fronted by 24-year-old twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, have been touring across the U.S. all summer performing in support of their current Sire Records album Hook Me Up.

The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), a leader in innovative music therapy treatments and research, is pleased to announce a special Music Has Power™ Benefit Concert on September 2, 2009 at New York City’s Terminal 5. Kid Rock will headline the event. Past Music Has Power events have featured appearances and performances by Beastie Boys, Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dustin Hoffman, Moby, Rob Thomas, the B-52′s, Kris Kristofferson, Rufus Wainright, Bruce Hornsby, Vanessa Carlton and many others.

Column Rights Reserved By Carol AnneSzel

Is Them Crooked Vultures For Real?

According to the  music critic Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, the new supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures, which consists of Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, is “for real.”

“The group made it very clear that it’s not only for real, but also has the chance to be the exception to the super-group rule. Most of these Frankenstein projects usually end up being less than the sum of their parts, but Them Crooked Vultures sounded like it was on to something fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty.”

Ya, well, maybe Robert Plant will join this band instead of a reunited Led Zeppelin. It would figure. Move over Chickenfoot.

www.themcrookedvultures.com

www.myspace.com/crookedvultures

The Enemy’s Tom Clarke Is Hosting XFM London’s Residency Program This Month

Tom Clarke (pictured above) of the Coventry, England-based trio The Enemy is this month’s host for XFM London’s program The XFM Residency, which airs on Sundays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. BST (4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern). He has already presented two of the shows, and has played an interesting mix of music. The remaining programs air on August 16th, 23rd, and 30th. They can be heard live by going to the XFM London Web site at the appropriate date and time and clicking the “Listen Live” button. They will also be available for on-demand listening after the broadcast via XFM London’s “Listen Again” function, which can be found on the Web site.

For further information and for an audio link to Tom Clarke’s first program on The XFM Residency, click here.

The Enemy released their second album, Music For The People, earlier this year. They were a support band for Oasis earlier this summer at several huge gigs at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The Noisettes Do Great Live Acoustic Session For MTV UK

The fantastic London-based trio The Noisettes recently did a live acoustic session for MTV UK. They performed their recent singles–”Never Forget You” and “Don’t Upset The Rhythm.” To watch the session, see the MTV UK Web site.

The Noisettes are currently on tour in America. They play in Boston tonight, Philadelphia tomorrow night, and in Washington, DC on Wednesday night. After that, they return home to play England’s V Festival in Chelmsford and Staffordshire on August 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

The Noisettes are definitely one of the top bands in the UK at the moment. They are worth checking out. And their singer, Shingai Shoniwa, is one of the best frontwomen in music today, a fantastic talent.

For more on The Noisettes, see:
http://www.thenoisettes.com
http://www.myspace.com/noisettesuk

Guitarist Dave Navarro Praises Jane’s Addiction’s Drummer Stephen Perkins

Dave Navarro praised drummer Stephen Perkins on twitter — for playing hard even though hurt and still sick:

BTW: I should point out that Perkins was incredible despite Dr.’s orders to stay off the kit. You’d never know he is recovering still.

Perkins was hospitalized with what was called a mysterious infection not too long ago.

Perkins and bassist Eric Avery were always the glue that held the band together so well. Jane’s Addiction is not the same without them.

First Iron Maiden Singer Embraces His Past and Future

Iron Maiden’s very first vocalist, Paul Mario Day, seems to embrace his past with Iron Maiden (see him wearing a Maiden t-shirt in photo, right), even though he was released from the band early on due to lack of “stage charisma.”

And he feels good about his future: Day still sings — and has released new material — with a new hard rock band named Crimson Lake. Hear Crimson Lake demo here. Very NWOBHM.

Paul Mario Day is also a pretty decent graphic designer as well.
Check out his website at www.paulmarioday.com

An interesting sidenote is that Day claims to have written uncredited material for Maiden:

In the newly formed “Iron Maiden” I wrote my first song, – “Strange World” (unaccredited) which was included years later on their first album – simply called “Iron Maiden”.

Strange World, huh? Pretty impressive. Why didn’t Maiden credit him on the first album, I wonder?

VINTAGE VIDEO: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” By Simple Minds

Very sad news out of New York City yesterday that the writer-director John Hughes has died of a heart attack at the age of 59 while visiting Manhattan.

For those of us who were in our teenage years during the early 1980s, John Hughes’ films were something that we all knew, and all related to, particularly 1984′s Sixteen Candles and 1985′s The Breakfast Club.

Because of its use in The Breakfast Club, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” provided the Scottish band Simple Minds (pictured above) with its only number one hit in America. The song was not written by the band. It was written by Keith Forsey, who had offered it to Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry before Simple Minds agreed to record it. That could explain Jim Kerr’s Billy Idol-esque vocals on the song.

To watch the video for “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds, click below:

To read John Hughes’ obituary, see The New York Times‘ Web site.

R.I.P. John Hughes 1950-2009.