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Classic Rock Briefs For December 1, 2008

Drummer Michael Lee Dies At The Age of 39

Probably recognized most for his work with Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, drummer Michael Lee has died at the age of 39. Lee was tapped to be a part of Plant’s solo band and remained with Plant when he reunited with Jimmy Page in 1994. He was also on both albums that resulted from that reunion, No Quarter: Jimmy Page And Robert Plant Unledded and Walking Into Clarksdale.

Lee was also known for his work with other groups including Echo & The Bunnymen, Little Angels, The Cult and Thin Lizzy, as well as for his playing in bands for several theatrical performances.

It was reported that Lee died as the result of a seizure after being out the night before and reporting that he was not feeling well. Former Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and KISS drummer Eric Carr also passed away on the same date, November 24.

Live Earth Event Cancelled

As a result of the recent terrorist attack in the Indian city of Mumbai, it has been decided to cancel the Live Earth concert that was to take place there.

Major rock acts such as Bon Jovi and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd were scheduled to perform.

Tour Rider From Van Halen Tour Revealed

Although there were no reports of requirements for M&M’s candies with the brown ones removed, the tour rider for the recent Van Halen tour does contain a few interesting details that may hint at the state of the personal relationships between the members of the band.

Frontman David Lee Roth was required to have a dressing room that was as far away as possible from the dressing rooms of the other group members. Roth’s dressing room was also required to be lacking any carpeting or rugs in order to facilitate his martial arts activities that are presumably part of his preparation for his performance.

Not surprisingly, a “study room” was also called for, where bass player Wolfgang Van Halen could spend time with a tutor. Being 16-years-old at the time of the tour’s starting date, private tutoring may have put a slight damper on his new rock star status, but his continued education was obviously considered important enough to add a private tutor to the tour.

Although no request was made for any alcoholic beverages in any dressing room, it appears that Eddie Van Halen’s on-stage cooler was stocked with a modest selection of wine. Full Story.

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Tags: India, Live Earth, Michael Lee, Tour Rider, Van Halen

Classic Rock Briefs For November 25, 2008

Son of Mick Jagger Lands Role In Film

James Jagger, the 23-year-old-son of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has taken his acting career to the next level. He’s been cast in a movie about the life of Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, the renowned composer.

The young Jagger, who was born to Mick Jagger’s ex-wife Jerry Hall, studied acting at Cambridge in the U.K. and is set to portray one of Vivaldi’s pupils, Alessandro Grimani. The movie, Vivaldi - The Red Priest is set for release sometime next year. Full Story.

AC/DC Sneaks One By The Gatekeepers

As far as I know, this is the first time something like this has been done – at least by a group a well-known group. It is being called “The world’s first music video in an Excel spreadsheet.”

As someone who spent more than a few years inside a corporate cubicle, I am well familiar with the barriers that companies place on their internet connections that restrict access to sites and content that they do not want their employees accessing on company time.

One could certainly argue that any business has the right to restrict the way their internet connection is used by employees, even so stop some employees from attempting to devise methods that will allow them to bypass company firewalls and surf to their heart’s content. Those tricks are usually reserved for the more tech savvy employees (not that I would know!), which leaves most employees without access to some sites while on the job.

One group feels their pain. AC/DC has employed a creative geek somewhere who has managed to embed the video from the new song “Rock N Roll Train” in a Microsoft Excel file.

Now don’t expect the full-color version or even actual video footage from this Excel file, but it does make some very clever use of what might be described as ASCII video, which is accompanied by an abbreviated version of the song which actually sounds quite good.

So, if you are an AC/DC fan trapped behind a company firewall who badly needs a little dose of AC/DC to get you through the day, downloading this Excel file might be worth a shot. Just make sure you use headphones or keep the volume low enough so that the boss won’t overhear it if you manage to snag it.

An Excel file certainly seems to be something that you would expect employees to download for legitimate business reasons, so unless your company has blocked access to the AC/DC site, the odds are pretty good that you can grab your copy and snicker a little at the trolls that lurk beneath the bridge that connects your workplace to the net.

To find out if you can trick the gatekeepers, try the download direct from the AC/DC website.

Tags: AC/DC, Download, Excel, James Jagger, movie, Rock N Roll Train, Spreadsheet, Vivaldi

Classic Rock Briefs For November 24, 2008

Joe Walsh Comfortable With Eagles Pecking Order

Joe Walsh certainly seems to have mellowed with age. The guy that sang about trashing hotel rooms is now 60, and according to Walsh himself, has sobered up and discovered sleep.

Walsh readily accepts that the Eagles fly in whatever direction that Don Henley and Glenn Frey decide, and reports that he knew from the beginning that it was “truly is Don and Glenn’s band,” although that does not prevent him from speaking his mind when he wants to.

For example, he’s not too crazy about the coordinated clothing the group is wearing on their current tour and would prefer to decide for himself when it comes to wardrobe, but accepts the black suits, white shirts and black ties that were the brainchild of Glenn Frey. “I don’t know exactly why we’re doing it. I guess Glenn came up with it,” he said.

With his wild days behind him, Walsh sounds content to show up and do his job and collect his paycheck. Doesn’t sound like a bad gig. Full Story.

Geddy Lee And Alex Lifeson Scheduled For CBC’s ‘The Hour’

Rush bassist/lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson will appear on The Hour this coming Wednesday. Lee was on the program most recently during 2007.

The Hour is hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos (say that three times fast!) and airs Wednesday night on Canada’s CBC at 11:00 PM. Full Story.

Now You Can Get Your Rock From Round Rock

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell computer has recently begun offering a new option with the purchase of a PC. For $25 you can get 50 songs pre-loaded on your new Dell PC or go for 100 songs by paying an extra $50.

With Apple’s dominance in the music space these days, Dell hopes the new deal with Universal Music will lure some customers who otherwise might fall under the spell of the iTunes crowd.

For classic rock fans, a bundle of music called “Rock Titans” is available and features material from the likes of ZZ Top, AC/DC and Meat Loaf. There are bundles available featuring other genres as well, but here at Real Rock News, we really don’t care.

I’m sure the execs at Dell are hoping this new idea will fare better than their 2006 effort to compete in the music space with Apple when they abandoned the player they had been offering. Full Story.

Rolling Stone Keith Richard Slows Things Down With Possible Easy Listening Album

I can never avoid thinking about actor Johnny Depp when I hear Keith Richards’ name come up. That’s because I once heard Depp talk about how he used Richards as a model when he honed his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the blockbuster Pirates of The Caribbean movies. Depp even persuaded Richard to take on the role of his father in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

Swaggering pirates aside, the real news this time is that Keith Richards may be working in an easy listening album. Apparently, twenty or so cover songs performed by Richards were leaked to the internet and people began to ask questions.

Reported to be on the album are versions of Judy Garland’s iconic "Over The Rainbow” as well as Perry Como’s “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now,” Tammy Wynette’s “Apartment No. 9” and Andy Williams’ “Let It Be Me.” Now that is easy listening.

Once the tunes were leaked on the net, Richards was asked if he would consider releasing them and replied that he might decide to do it. Keith Richards covering an Andy Williams tune? I guess sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. Full Story.

Tags: Alex Lifeson, Eagles, Geddy Lee, Joe Walsh, Keith Richards, New Solo Album, The Hour

Classic Rock Briefs For November 21, 2008

Sammy Hagar Answers Questions From Boneheads

Well, that’s hw San Francisco radio station KSAN, “107.7 The Bone” refers to their listeners, many of whom were probably pleasantly surprised to hear a surprise visit from Sammy Hagar who dropped by the studios to talk about his current activities and answer call-in questions from fans.

In addition to getting his voice heard live on the Bay Area radio station, Hagar’s visit was also filmed by someone who is known, affectionately I presume, as “Baby Huey,” who wielded the “Huey Cam” to capture Hagar’s visit for fans to enjoy. You can check out the station’s website for the interview and video.

Roger Waters And Bon Jovi on Live Earth Roster

The city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the financial capital of India will host the Live Earth event next month with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Bon Jovi scheduled to perform. Along with the veteran rockers, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hritik Roshan are expected to be in attendance to lend their support to the effort.

Former U.S. Vice President and former Presidential candidate Al Gore, who is credited as the founder of the Live Earth events is also expected to be present. Full Story.

Tags: 107.7, Bon Jovi, India, KSAN, Live Earth, Roger Waters, Sammy Hagar, The Bone

Classic Rock Briefs For November 19, 2008

New Rush DVD Close To Release As Group Takes A Break

Although I have not seen it yet, the new live DVD coming on the 25th sounds like a good one. As someone who is less impressed with lightning fast cut-away shots from camera to camera and more impressed with having the opportunity to actually watch a great group of musicians like these guys play, I’m looking forward to getting a look at this one.

Snakes & Arrows Live, recorded at the Ahoy Rotterdam Arena in the Netherlands last October is said to have taken a  different approach than earlier DVDs from the group. “With this one we wanted to focus on the playing," according to Geddy Lee. "So a lot of the camera work features the interaction between Neil, Alex and myself, a lot of the details that you don’t normally cover in a DVD performance.”

Lee also said that Rush is “a little burnt out right now,” and is planning on taking a break for a while. He does sound confident that they will start writing again in the future although he’s not specific about when that will be. Full Story.

Snakes & Arrows Live is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Chris Squire Talks About History of Yes and Feelings About Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

As the latest incarnation of the veteran progressive rock group continues their tour with stand-in frontman Benoit David, bassist Chris Squire takes some time to talk about his experience as the only member of the group who has remained continuously through their 40 year history.

When asked about not being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Squire responds, “Who knows, I don’t know what you do about that. They just seem to have some anti-prog rock thing going on within their voting committee, and it’s just incredible that we’ve never been put forward.”

Personally, I think Squire is onto something. The fact that groups like Yes and Rush have yet to receive invitations for inclusion into the Rock Hall is a bit ridiculous, and the people in charge of making those decisions need to re-think some of them.

The decision makers out there in Cleveland should recognize the important contributions and outstanding musicianship demonstrated by both Yes and Rush, to name just two. Both groups have a very significant and dedicated fan base and have probably sold more albums than many artists who have been honored by being included among the other inductees. Full Story.

Paul Stanley Radio Interview Available Online

KISS fans might want to head over and check out the recent audio interview with guitar man Paul Stanley. He talked with the folks at radio station WBPM Classic Hits 92.9 in the Hudson Valley area of New York and commented about the group’s plans for a new album and possible tour. Full Story.

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler And Joe Perry To Appear At American Music Awards

This Sunday marks the date for the 36th annual American Music Awards, which will be hosted this year by Jimmy Kimmel, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry are scheduled to make a special appearance at the event.

Fans who want to catch Tyler and Perry should tune in or set their DVRs for 8:00 PM (ET) Sunday night on the ABC television network which will be broadcasting the event live from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Full Story.

Tags: Aerosmith, American Music Awards, Chris Squire, DVD, Paul Stanley Interview, Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Rush, Yes