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October 23, 2009
Bon Jovi World Tour, Joe Perry Interview And Writing For Def Leppard
Bon Jovi Announces World Tour
In support of their 11th studio album, Bon Jovi have announced that they will embark on a world tour that will stretch into a period of nearly two years.
February will mark the start of the tour which will begin with Seattle and eventually take the veteran rockers through more than 130 shows in 30 countries.
Bon Jovi’s new album, The Circle, is set for release on November 12th on the Island Records label.
Read more from ABC News.
Joe Perry Interview
On October 14th, Aerosmith guitarist stopped by radio station 107.7 “The Bone,” in the bay area.
Perry has recently released a new album entitled Have Guitar, Will Travel and will be on the road next month for a few shows with his group, The Joe Perry Project.
The show venues are limited to the northeast U.S., with the exception of a show in Windsor, Ontario and Indio, California.
Check out the video clips of the interview at Blabbermouth.
Song-writing a Painful Process For Vivian Campbell
Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell describes the song-writing process as “painful,” and his inclination towards being more of a soul singer demands that he consider the fact that singer Joe Elliott does not approach things the same way he does.
Describing his struggles with song-writing, Campbell says, “I’m not a good enough songwriter where I can write to order. If somebody says, ‘Write a song for Britney Spears’ – I can’t do that. I’m not a prolific songwriter. I’m not one of these songwriter hacks who can churn out a song a day for so-and-so. It’s a painful process for me.
For much more on this, see Ultimate Guitar.
October 20, 2009
Meat Head Impersonates Meat Loaf & Phil Collins Puts Down The Sticks
Meat Loaf Impersonator Arrested
Perhaps nobody but Eric Brown, 37, of Middletown, KY knows why he thought he could get away with pretending he 
was Meat Loaf, but the booking photos make it apparent that the man arrested after grabbing the steering wheel of a taxi he was a passenger in does not look like Meat Loaf.
Although the long hair and stocky build are qualities he has in common with the Meat Loaf of years gone by, anyone familiar with the Bat Out of Hell rocker and actor would know Mr. Brown was not who he claimed to be. For heaven’s sake, Meat Loaf guest hosted on House last season!
Check out the story at KYPost.com.
Phil Collins Unable To Play Drums
Best known, perhaps, for his years with prog rock group Genesis, Phil Collins is being forced to take a break from playing drums.
The multi-talented 58-year-old who resides in Switzerland these days, has told a German newspaper that recent surgery to repair a dislocated vertebra in his neck has left him with limited use of his fingers.
Collins reports that the only way he could currently play would be to “glue drumsticks to my hands.”
It appears that the condition is expected to be temporary.
Read more at the Star Tribune.
October 15, 2009
Lifeson Soars, Bertinelli Dishes, Buble Tops KISS and Whitford Races
Rush axe man Lifeson soars on ‘man date’
Not looking much like the menacing owl portrayed on the cover of Fly By Night, Alex Lifeson recently joined Canadian comic Rick Mercer as they filmed a “man date” segment for Mercer’s CBC TV show The Rick Mercer Report.
The pair stopped by Niagara Freefall Indoor Skydiving to float around a bit, which, judging from the photograph, Mercer enjoyed thoroughly. More at The Niagara Falls Review.
Valerie Bertinelli pens new book
The woman who was the object of many a teenage fantasy during her days as a TV actress on One Day At A Time (guilty as charged!) is back with a new book.
This time, instead of Losing It, Bertinelli is Finding It, and sharing her inspirational story about how she “discovered how to live the best life possible at the age of 49.”
Coming as a shock to some of us who watched her every move on One Day At A Time, Bertinelli describes her struggles with her self-image and how she felt inferior to co-star MacKenzie Phillips. Perhaps by now she has come to the realization that it was her that most of us admiring young men had our eyes glued to during each episode. I know I sure did! Check out the full scoop at ABC News.
Buble and Oprah a KISS killer?
In a recent interview with Macleans magazine, KISS frontman and business mogul, Gene Simmons jokingly (at least I hope he was joking) referred to himself as “king of the world.” Unfortunately for KISS, Simmons was not able to proclaim his group as king of the charts at the same time.
Having never had an album make it all the way to #1 on the Billboard chart, the group seemed poised to finally reach the promised land with the release of their new album Sonic Boom.
Those hopes were dashed by none other than Michael Buble, the Canadian crooner who was recently featured on Oprah after the release of his new album Crazy Love. Oprah’s star power was cited as a contributing factor that helped send Buble to the top of the chart with Sonic Boom coming in second. Read more from Gawker.
Aerosmith guitarist takes to the track
If you happen to be an Aerosmith fan who also enjoys things like racing, you will definitely want to check out the footage of Brad Whitford as he zips around a racetrack in a Volkswagen speed machine.
Check it out at Aerosmith’s official website.
October 14, 2009
Classic Rock Briefs For October 14, 2009
Brian May Hints At Queen on Rock Band
Brainy guitar man Brian May says that there may be a Queen version of the popular video game Rock Band at some point in the future.
"Yes we’re into it, I think it may happen," May said regarding the subject during a BBC interview.
Pink Floyd’s Gilmour To Receive Honorary Degree
Anglia Ruskin University has decided to bestow upon David Gilmour an honorary degree to recognize his “outstanding contribution to music as a writer, performer and innovator.”
The honorary doctor of the arts degree will be awarded next month, according to the Cambridge News.
Acoustic Innovation Keeps Jethro Tull’s Music Engaging
Iconic frontman for Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is another aging rocker who is not quite ready for the rocking chair.
Currently Anderson is working his way through a solo tour that will bring him to the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore tomorrow night.
According to the man himself, “It’s a good idea not to expect anything. "We’re liable to do anything, so it’s a good idea to keep an open mind.”
With the introduction of classically trained violinists and new material woven into well-worn Tull classics, Anderson’s advice seems well worth any ticket holder’s consideration. Read more at the Washington Examiner.
February 27, 2009
Def Leppard May Take Break After Summer Tour
Having rocked their way through four summer tours over the last four years, it sounds as if British rockers Def Leppard may be ready to take a little time off and concentrate on other activities for a while.
Frontman Joe Elliott sums up the situation by saying, “This will be our fifth year in a row where we’ve toured the summer in the states, and I seriously do think that it’s time for us to not do it next year, because I’m a firm believer in you don’t want to do it too much — people start taking you for granted.”
The group has toured in recent years with a diverse group of acts including, Journey, Foreigner and Bryan Adams, which likely created a nostalgic blend for middle-aged concert goers who can remember cruising in their cars a couple of decades ago with the sounds of these bands blaring from their stereos.
As for the group’s decision to team up with Poison for this year’s tour after a public spat between the two groups a while back, it was kind of a surprise to hear that they would be sharing a stage this summer. According to Elliott, however, the whole incident was a misunderstanding that was sparked by something that was taken out of context by a foreign journalist, and Poison’s Bret Michaels, who was in the center of the controversy, understands that.
Def Leppard’s decision to take a break from touring may not be all bad for dedicated fans. Elliott says he may use the time off to write some music and begin making preparations for a new album. This is probably due to his desire to keep moving the group forward and making new music.
“I can’t live my life with my past being my future, just going out there and consistently playing some kind of nostalgia show," he said. "I have to be able to walk on stage and say, ‘This is a song from my new album,’ or I can’t do it."
For more check out Yahoo! News.
