Real Rock News

ROGER WATERS REVEALS PLANS TO COMMEMORATE ROAD REVIVAL OF THE WALL

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:28:00 GMT

During an appearance on satellite radio, Roger Waters revealed his plans to commemorate his ongoing road revival of The Wall, as well as a new original studio set. On the upcoming live project, Waters revealed: "We've been filming almost everything as we go along, remorselessly. We filmed for a week when we did shows in Athens and we were filming all over South America, so yeah, there will definitely be a DVD of this whole experience coming up in the near future."

Waters, who performs tonight (June 8th) at Chicago's Wrigley Field, talked about his upcoming studio set -- which will be his first new rock album since 1992's Amused To Death: "I've got a strong feeling that I have a new album literally about to pop out. I've written a song while I was on the road, which I think will provide me with the impetus, emotionally and philosophically and politically to create a new album."

Before Waters started planning the initial gigs for the new version of The Wall, he wracked his brain to try to devise a method for the piece to cover more and different ground than the original 1979 tale of personal alienation and doom: "Could the piece be developed to describe a broader, more universal condition than we did in 1980 and I did in 1990 in Berlin? So, I started to think about it more and more and I suddenly had a few more ideas and I thought, 'Maybe if we did this with this song and that with that song, we could achieve that.' And so I started jotting few things down on paper and eventually I said, 'Y'know what, I think I'm going to do this.'"

FLASHBACK: BRIAN JONES LEAVES THE ROLLING STONES

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:26:00 GMT

It was 43 years ago today (June 8th, 1969) that Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones, officially quit the band. Jones, a blues enthusiast, both named and led the original group, which included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and keyboardist Ian Stewart. Shortly after turning professional, Stewart, whose looks didn't fit with the band, signed on as their road manager.

Jones played a pivotal role in the Stones' success, with his blond hair and good looks, as well as his ability to play any instrument seemingly within minutes of picking it up. Jones, although uncredited, co-wrote and played the recorders and cello on "Ruby Tuesday," sitar and tamboura on "Paint It, Black," dulcimer on "I Am Waiting" and "Lady Jane," the harpsichord on "Yesterday's Papers," the trumpet and trombone on "Something Happened To Me Yesterday," the marimba on "Under My Thumb," and the autoharp on "You Got The Silver."

Jones began losing control of the group when Jagger and Richards began their songwriting partnership in 1965, which slowly moved the band away from Jones' blues-based direction. By 1966, Jones' mental instability and drug abuse had become a liability to the Stones. Due to his substance abuse problems, Jones frequently missed tour dates and recording sessions, and was unable to function within the band when he did attend.

Bassist Bill Wyman wrote about Jones in his 1991 autobiography Stone Alone, saying, "For two years not only had he become physically vulnerable and battered by his drug busts, but within the Stones he was sad, isolated and obviously unhappy."

On June 8th, 1969, Jagger, Richards, and drummer Charlie Watts fired Jones. They claimed that due to legal problems, Jones wouldn't be able to attain a work visa for their upcoming U.S. tour.

Watts recalled in the Stones' 1989 documentary 25x5 that he still felt guilt over firing Jones: "He got much nicer just before he died, y'know the last few years of his life. I felt even sorrier for him for what we did to him then. We took his one thing away which was being in a band."

Jones agreed to a settlement, which gave him a lump sum of nearly $200,000, as well as a yearly salary of $40,000 for as long as the band stayed together. He was also allowed to issue a statement saying that he had quit the band. He then reportedly tried to form a supergroup with John Lennon, who had stayed friendly with Jones after his firing.

Jones died July 3rd, 1969, at the age of 27. He was found dead at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Cotchford Farm home, in Hartford, England.

For years there have been conspiracy theories about what went on the night Jones died, including several suggesting foul play. In 2006 a film focusing on Jones' last days, titled Stoned, opened in theaters.

FORMER FLEETWOOD MAC GUITARIST BOB WELCH DEAD FROM APPARENT SUICIDE

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:26:00 GMT

Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch apparently committed suicide on Thursday (June 7th) at age 66 by shooting himself in the chest at his Antioch, Tennessee home according to police. Billboard.com reported that Welch, who was best known for his 1977 solo album, French Kiss and it's two hits, "Sentimental Lady" and "Ebony Eyes," was found by his wife, Wendy, shortly after 12 Noon, local time and had left behind a suicide note. Welch had recently been suffering from several undisclosed health issues.

Mick Fleetwood, who had stayed close with Welch over the years, told Reuters, that his suicide was "incredibly out of character," adding, "He was a very, very profoundly intelligent human being and always in good humor, which is why this is so unbelievably shocking. He was a huge part of our history which sometimes gets forgotten. . . mostly his legacy would be his songwriting abilities that he brought to Fleetwood Mac, which will survive all of us. If you look into our musical history, you'll see a huge period that was completely ensconced in Bob's work."

Stevie Nicks told The Associated Press: "The death of Bob Welch is devastating. I had many great times with him after Lindsey (Buckingham) and I joined Fleetwood Mac. He was an amazing guitar player -- he was funny, sweet -- and he was smart. I am so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac -- so, so sad."

Welsh was born into a Hollywood family, with his father a successful film producer in the 1940's and '50s. He briefly attended college at Georgetown University before studying in Paris, France, and eventually enrolling at UCLA. Welch played a pivotal role in breaking Fleetwood Mac in America, acting as the bridge between their blues-heavy earlier incarnation with co-founders Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer and their blockbuster success led by his replacements Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

During his stint in Fleetwood Mac -- which included future stars Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood, among others -- Welch served as the driving force of the band's middle period, from 1971 to 1974, contributing key tracks to 1971's Future Games, 1972's Bare Trees -- which included the original version of "Sentimental Lady" -- their two 1973 releases Penguin and Mystery To Me, and 1974's Heroes Are Hard To Find. Welch's split with the band amicable and he continued to sit in with Fleetwood Mac during jam sessions and opened for them on the road. He went on to form the short-lived rock trio, Paris, upon quitting Fleetwood Mac, but dissolved the band after two albums.

An all but forgotten footnote to the early Buckingham/Nicks lineup was that in addition to two early Fleetwood Mac cuts -- "Oh Well" and "Station Man" -- Welch's staple track and radio hit for the band -- "Hypnotized" -- stayed in the band's setlist for a good year after his departure.

Both his former bandmates Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood along with his replacement, Lindsey Buckingham, appeared on his 1977 remake of the band's "Sentimental Lady" which peaked at Number Eight. The French Kiss album spurred another Top 20 hit, "Ebony Eyes," which Stevie Nicks often performed with Welch in concert. Welch slowly faded from the music scene, becoming unrecognizable to his former '70s self, wearing a wig to hide his always-thinning hair. He battled heroin briefly in the early-'80s and quietly continued to record and perform while based out of the Nashville area.

Despite the importance of his work, when Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, his predecessors and successors were welcomed in -- but he was snubbed. At the time he told Cleveland's The Plain Dealer: "My era was the bridge era. It was a transition. But it was an important period in the history of the band. Mick Fleetwood dedicated a whole chapter of his biography to my era of the band and credited me with 'saving Fleetwood Mac.' Now they want to write me out of the history of the group. It hurts. . . It basically comes down to the fact that they don't like me anymore. I guess they can do what they want. I could understand it if I had been a sideman for a year. But I was an integral part of that band. . . I put more of myself into that band than anything else I've ever done.""

Mick Fleetwood recently told us that unlike most band's fans, Fleetwood Mac's legion of followers learned to embrace all the band's various lineup changes throughout the years: "If you're aware of our history, it's pretty much unique in terms of the people who have come through the ranks of this band. But the band somehow, even with very large musical changes, has been accepted, and, y'know, there's been slight ups and downs, but we've never gone away, and somewhat unbelievably, have held an audience during that journey."

On January 3rd, Bob Weston, one-time lead guitarist for Fleetwood Mac during Welch's tenure, was found dead at his London home at age 64. Weston's autopsy showed "a gastric intestinal hemorrhage, cirrhosis of the liver and throat problems." Weston replaced guitarist Danny Kirwan in 1972, and was featured on the band's two 1973 albums, Penguin and Mystery To Me.

PAUL McCARTNEY RECALLS BOOZE GETTING IN THE WAY OF HIS MUSIC

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:25:00 GMT

As Paul McCartney celebrates the deluxe reissue of his 1971 solo set Ram, he's recalling the dark days that led up to the album's New York City sessions. Following the release of his 1970 solo debut, McCartney, he, wife Linda, and their daughters sequestered themselves on their farm in Campletown, Scotland -- where McCartney hit the bottle pretty hard to escape the ugliness of the Beatles' split.

He remembered the period, telling Britain's Express, "I overdid it, basically. I'd drink whiskey, of which there is a large supply in Scotland. I'd be getting like, 'Heeeyyy, nice and fuzzy' and it's not a good (condition in which) to write, at least not for me it's not. (Later) I'd go into the studio, maybe have another drink and so on. I got to the point where Linda had to say, 'Look, you should cool it.'"

McCartney admitted that despite leaving London, the long shadow of the Beatles' breakup followed him: "It got very heavy, so me and Linda escaped with the kids, but the business hassles were still there. So, I think I was just trying to escape in my own mind, and I had the freedom to just have a drink whenever I fancied it."

He went on to say that despite their reputations for imbibing in various substances over the years, he and John Lennon pretty much wrote the Beatles' catalogue sober: "Me and John were always straight when we wrote (together), and it was normally in the middle of the day when you had your wits about you."

McCartney explained that splitting with Lennon and the Beatles was absolutely devastating to him: "The Beatles' breakup was quite shocking to me, really. It really throws ya, y'know? I mean, as anyone who's had that type of thing happen knows, y'know, it just suddenly makes you think: 'Am I any use to anyone? 'Cause I was very useful yesterday, playing bass and singing -- but that's all broken up now.'"

NEIL YOUNG SAYS THERE WAS NO FEUD WITH LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:25:00 GMT

In an appearance last night (June 7th) in New York City, Neil Young revealed that contrary to rock legend, there was no ill will between him and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ever since Young was called out by Skynyrd in the lyrics of "Sweet Home Alabama" because of Young's song "Southern Man," there's been an assumption that the two musical camps were bitter rivals -- but Young made some enlightening comments to the contrary.

Young was appearing along with director Jonathan Demme to promote his latest album with Crazy Horse, Americana, and for Journeys -- a new concert documentary starring Young and created by Demme that was filmed in Ontario. The interview, conducted by public radio's Leonard Lopate, got around to the subject of the Skynyrd-Young war of the words, with Young wryly commenting, "They weren't criticizing (me) . . . they noticed me. It was nice to be noticed. . . nice to know that I had an affect."

Young's comments seemed a little sarcastic until he also pointed out that he and Lynyrd Skynyrd would have actually collaborated if their infamous and fatal plane crash hadn't happened. Young explained that he actually gave Skynyrd his song "Powderfinger" to record, and that the band was set to do the song. But after Skynyrd was decimated by the plane crash on October 20th, 1977, in which six people in the band's entourage were killed, the collaboration was put on ice.

"Powderfinger" eventually found a home two years later on Young's 1979 album, Rust Never Sleeps.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse tour dates (subject to change):

August 5, 6 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Neil Young solo)
October 3 - Windsor, ON - WFCU Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 5 - Kingston, ON - K-Rock Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 6 - London, ON - The John Labatt Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 8 - Cleveland, OH - Wolstein Center / Cleveland State University (with Los Lobos)
October 9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Petersen Events Center (with Los Lobos)
October 11 - Chicago, IL - United Center (with Los Lobos)
October 13 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park
October 14 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Convention Center Arena (with Los Lobos)
October 17 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl (with Los Lobos)
November 10 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena At Seattle Center (with Los Lobos)
November 11 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena (with Los Lobos)
November 13 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome (with Los Lobos)
November 14 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 16 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 19 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 23 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre (with Patti Smith)
November 24 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place (with Patti Smith)
November 26 - Boston, MA - TD Garden (with Patti Smith)
November 27 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Arena (with Patti Smith)
November 29 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (with Patti Smith)
November 30 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center (with Patti Smith)
December 4 - Bridgeport, CT - Webster Bank Arena (with Patti Smith)

JOHN MELLENCAMP TO RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS STEINBECK AWARD

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:39:00 GMT

John Mellencamp will receive the prestigious Steinbeck Award on July 30th at San Jose's California Theatre. Pollstar.com reported that Mellencamp will take part in the "Conversation and Special Performance," which will be moderated by moderated by Grammy Museum executive director Robert Santelli. Public tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday, June 8th at 10 a.m. local venue time. The Center for Steinbeck Studies is the leading global archive of material pertaining to author John Steinbeck. The will be Mellencamp only U.S. appearance this summer. Steinbeck, who died in 1968, is best remembered for his masterworks, East Of Eden, Of Mice And Men, The Grapes Of Wrath, and Cannery Row, among other pieces.

Mellencamp said in a statement: "John Steinbeck's remarkable ability to give voice to the common man and to people on society's margins, to describe their plight and aspirations, continues to inspire us more than a century after his birth. I'm very honored to be the recipient of an award given in his name."

John Stenbeck's son, author Thomas Steinbeck, was quoted as saying: "My father always carried a deep and profound respect for songwriters and musicians. He felt they were the voice of the people and had the unique opportunity to reach the very souls of the people. Like Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, and a handful of others, John Mellencamp has done just that. He has spent his life serving as a voice for the people. . . as an exemplary activist, and as a creator and longtime champion of Farm Aid, he has maintained the true spirit of John Steinbeck's compassion for the worker. Without question, John Mellencamp has earned the John Steinbeck Award, and it will be my great pleasure to present it to him."

Past recipients include Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, filmmaker Michael Moore, author Studs Terkel, and newscaster Rachel Maddow.

For many of Mellencamp's followers, a large part of his allure is his ability to call things as he sees it -- especially in social situations when dealing with the "haves and the have-nots": "It's been a while since I've done it, but I still remember the frightening experience of being a young person and trying to borrow money from a bank -- or filling out a job application. For some reason, they're not people anymore in those situations; they become, 'them and us' real quick. 'Cause you could see the guy 20 minutes before in a different surrounding and he's just another guy. Everybody's your friend when you've got money, when you don't have money, nobody wants to know you."

UPDATED: John Mellencamp tour dates (subject to change):

June 14 - Penticton, BC - South Okanagan Events Centre
June 16 - Dawson Creek, BC - EnCana Event Centre
June 17 - Prince George, BC - CN Centre
June 19 - Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford Ent'ment & Sports Centre
June 21, 22 - Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
June 24 - Moose Jaw, SK - Mosaic Place
June 26 - Thunder Bay, ON - Fort William Gardens
June 27 - Sudbury, ON - Sudbury Arena
June 30 - Summerside, PE - Consolidated Credit Union Place
July 3 - Moncton, NB - Moncton Coliseum Complex
July 4 - Sydney, NS - Centre 200
July 7 - St. John's, NL - Mile One Centre
July 9, 10 - Dartmouth, NS - Dartmouth Sportsplex
July 12 - Ottawa, ON - RBC Bluesfest at Lebreton Flats Park
July 13 - Sarnia, ON - Sarnia Bayfest at Centennial Park
July 15 - Oshawa, ON - General Motors Centre
July 30 - San Jose, CA - California Theatre

GLENN FREY SAYS THE EAGLES 'MOTHERSHIP' IS TUNED UP AND READY TO GO

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:39:00 GMT

Although no definite plans have been announced for the Eagles in 2013, Glenn Frey hinted that a major tour might be in the pipeline. Frey, who just wrapped a series of shows promoting his latest release, the mostly standards set, After Hours, was quoted by Ultimate Classic Rock as saying, "We keep that mothership tuned up and ready go. I wouldn't be surprised if you saw us on the road next year. . . I am always surprised. Every time I think I've got this band figured out, something happens that I totally couldn't prepare myself for. It's one of the reasons we stay together -- it's still interesting."

Frey went on to explain the Eagles' continued success on the road: "If you are a band for your time, like the Eagles were the band for the '70s, if you do it well enough, maybe you become a band for all time. We're still playing shows. We work every year."

Glenn Frey credits the band becoming close again personally as the reason why their last album, 2007's Long Road Out Of Eden, sounds like such a cohesive unit, and why their current live show ranks among the band's tightest of their entire career: "The camaraderie of the band returned in earnest. Y'know we worked real hard and we re-did our show. It was fun to go to soundcheck. It was fun playing. It was fun on the plane. Y'know we had the opportunity to go out to dinner together and do some other things, y'know other than just show up to work and play shows. So I think with that in place, we were able to say, 'Let's try to make a record now, OK?'"

CROSBY, STILLS & NASH KICK OFF 61-DATE U.S. TOUR TONIGHT

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:38:00 GMT

Crosby, Stills & Nash kicks off their 61-date U.S. tour tonight at Upper Darby, Pennsylvania's Tower Theatre.

The exhaustive run eventually winds down on September 30th in Temecula, California at the Pechanga Resort & Casino.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE ANNOUNCE FALL TOUR

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:17:00 GMT

Neil Young & Crazy Horse have announced a 22-city North American tour for this fall, marking their first road trek together in eight years. Special guests Los Lobos and Patti Smith will serve as respective opening acts over the course of the tour. The dates begin on October 3rd in Windsor, Ontario and wind down on December 4th in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Young and the band will be touring behind his new album, Americana, which was released yesterday (June 5th). Americana features hard driving re-workings of such classic folk tunes as "Oh Susannah," "Clementine," "Gallows Pole," Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," along with a pretty straightforward cover of the Silhouettes' 1958 chart-topper, "Get A Job."

Neil Young spoke to Rolling Stone and shed some light on last year's canceled plans for a prolonged Buffalo Springfield reunion tour -- which fell by the wayside in the 11th hour when Young backed out: "That could happen. But it's not happening now. I'd be on a tour of my past for the rest of f***ing time, which I can't do. I have to be able to move forward. I can't be relegated. I did enough of it for right then, but there is this seed of something great still there. It's worth exploring again."

Crazy Horse guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro says that despite Young's constant need to shake things up by playing with different musicians, he seems to consider the band his musical home: "When you look at it, there is only one band that Neil continues to play with. He's played with a lot of different bands, but I'd have to say that we are, overall, the most consistent of all the bands he's played with -- even though he's played with Crosby, Stills & Nash quite a bit, but I think he's even played with us more than them."

Neil Young tour dates (subject to change):

June 8 - New York, NY - Kaufmann Concert Hall
August 5, 6 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

NEWLY ADDED: Neil Young & Crazy Horse tour dates (subject to change):

October 3 - Windsor, ON - WFCU Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 5 - Kingston, ON - K-Rock Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 6 - London, ON - The John Labatt Centre (with Los Lobos)
October 8 - Cleveland, OH - Wolstein Center / Cleveland State University (with Los Lobos)
October 9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Petersen Events Center (with Los Lobos)
October 11 - Chicago, IL - United Center (with Los Lobos)
October 13 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park
October 14 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Convention Center Arena (with Los Lobos)
October 17 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl (with Los Lobos)
November 10 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena At Seattle Center (with Los Lobos)
November 11 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena (with Los Lobos)
November 13 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome (with Los Lobos)
November 14 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 16 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 19 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre (with Los Lobos)
November 23 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre (with Patti Smith)
November 24 - Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place (with Patti Smith)
November 26 - Boston, MA - TD Garden (with Patti Smith)
November 27 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Arena (with Patti Smith)
November 29 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (with Patti Smith)
November 30 - Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center (with Patti Smith)
December 4 - Bridgeport, CT - Webster Bank Arena (with Patti Smith)

JOE WALSH BELIEVED BEING LOADED PRODUCED BETTER MUSIC

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:17:00 GMT

Joe Walsh is back with his first new album in two decades, called Analog Man. In addition to breaking a 20-year silence, the album marks the Eagles guitarist's first album since becoming sober in 1994. The album addresses Walsh's new healthy lifestyle in the new material -- particularly on the track, "One Day At A Time."

Walsh told us that like many rockers, he deluded himself into believing that he needed to be wasted to produced his best music: "It's a great denial for an artist to say that we need to experience the entire spectrum of emotions, blah, blah, blah. Could (Jimi) Hendrix have played like that if he wasn't on acid? Probably not. Could (Ernest) Hemingway or (William) Faulkner have written all that literature if they weren't alcoholics? Probably not. Y'know, so I justified me with that kind of talkin' and reasoning -- (with it) not really occurring to me that they're all dead because of it."

UPDATED: Joe Walsh tour dates (subject to change):

June 30 - Naperville, IL - Ribfest
July 3 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
July 4 - Dublin, OH - Coffman High School
July 10 - Lansing, MI - Common Ground Music Festival at Adado Riverfront Park
July 13 - Salina, KS - The Stiefel Theatre For Performing Arts
July 14 - Riverside, IA - Riverside Casino and Golf Resort
July 28 - Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival at Yankton Trail Park
August 1 - Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent
August 3 - Cohasset, MA - South Shore Music Circus
August 4 - Westhampton Beach, NY - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
August 7 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center
August 10 - Hampton, NH - Hampton Beach Casino
August 11 - Salamanca, NY - Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel Outdoor Venue
August 13 - Vienna, VA - Filene Center At Wolf Trap
August 18 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
August 19 - Littleton, CO - The Hudson Gardens Events Center
August 21 - Salt Lake City, UT - Gallivan Center
August 24 - Shelton, WA - Little Creek Casino
August 25 - Salem, OR - Oregon State Fair at L.B. Day Amphitheatre
August 30 - Tulalip, WA - Tulalip Resort Casino Amphitheatre
September 1 - Richmond, BC - River Rock Casino Resort
September 22 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Concert Theater
September 30 - Saratoga, CA - Montalvo Arts Center