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Classic Rock Briefs For November 11, 2008

Pretenders Planning Tour Next Year

To support their latest album, Break Up The Concrete, The Pretenders are planning to tour during 2009 and according to Chrissie Hynde, they hope to be on the road for most of the year.

Currently, there are no plans for another act to join them on the tour. They did tour with ZZ Top and Stray Cats last year, but Hynde hopes to headline the tour since Hynde is a vegan and would rather avoid dealing with another group that they would have to share catering with, and may want to include meat on the menu. Full Story.

John Deacon Stays Out of Queen Lineup

According to the current group of fellows that comprise Queen and Paul Rodgers, their former band mate John Deacon has so far declined to take part in any of the group’s recent activities. The former Queen bass player is always welcome to re-join the group if he wishes, but he has refused.

For the group’s latest album, The Cosmos Rocks, bass duties were shared among Rodgers, May and former Blue Oyster Cult bassist Danny Miranda.

There is no mention of Deacon’s reason for refusing to be part of the group. Perhaps he just feels like some fans do that Queen is no longer Queen without frontman Freddie Mercury. Full Story.

Zeppelin-signed Ron Wood Painting Readied For Auction

A rare painting of late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun by Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones will be going up for auction by Christie’s in New York City on November 24th.

The portrait has been signed by Wood as well as the three surviving original members of Led Zeppelin. Jason Bonham, son of original drummer John Bonham, also signed the limited edition print. The print was created to commemorate Led Zeppelin’s reunion show at the O2 last winter in tribute to Ertegun.

Although 100 prints were produced for the original issue, and were being sold at the O2 event for $10,000 each, only eight of them include the Led Zeppelin signatures and are only now being made available. Full Story.

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Tags: Ahmet Ertegun, Art, Auction, Chrissie Hynde, John Deacon, Led Zeppelin, Pretenders, Queen, Ron Wood, tour

Bruce Springsteen Readies New Album

Fans of “The Boss” can expect a new album release in January, right around the time President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office. Whether or not that is a coincidence is not known, but it is well known that Springsteen was one of Obama’s most loyal celebrity supporters, and performed at numerous events in support of the Democratic candidate.

The newly debuted song “Workin’ on a Dream” is likely to be included among the tracks on the new album. Springsteen played it publicly for the first time at an Obama rally in Cleveland, Ohio recently.

It has been reported that a wealth of material was left over after Springsteen’s most recent album, Magic, was completed, and there is speculation that some of that material may be included on the new album.

Springsteen also made a showing at the “Stand Up For Heroes” charity event last night, where he contributed to the cause by auctioning off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and accompanying leather jacket for a reported $75,000. He also auctioned off the guitar he had played three songs on during the event to entertain the attendees. The guitar is said to have fetched $50,000.

This was the second “Stand Up For Heroes” event, something that was organized by ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff and his wife Lee to raise money for injured soldiers returning from duty in Iraq. Woodruff himself was seriously injured in 2006 while covering the war in Iraq.

Tags: Auction, Bruce Springsteen, Harley Davidson, January, New Album, Stand Up for Heroes

Classic Rock Briefs For Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ozzy Says Bats Taste Like McDonald’s Food

Those of us who ever watched the The Osbournes when it was on MTV a while back will know that strange things come out of Ozzy’s mouth from time to time. This time he may have outdone himself.

Speaking of the infamous incident that took place at one of his concerts back in 1982, where he bit the head off of a live bat, Ozzy says, “It tasted all crunchy and warm… like a Ronald McDonald’s." I’m sure McDonald’s will be pleased to  hear about that comparison. Full Story.

Jack White Says There Is No Zeppelin Without Plant

White Stripes lead singer, Jack White, who is apparently another one whose name has taken a turn or two on the Led Zeppelin rumor mill, denies that he was being considered as a replacement for Robert Plant on a Zeppelin tour.

White’s name, along with Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy have come up since we started hearing rumors that the rest of the Led Zeppelin team are ready to go on tour with or without a reluctant Robert Plant.

White says, “I do not believe you can have a band called Led Zeppelin, singing Zeppelin songs, without Plant.” Full Story.

Rolling Stones Ron Wood Sticking With New Girlfriend

Having been seen recently with his new 20-year-old girlfriend, walking a dog in the vicinity of a London Park, it appears that the 61-year-old guitarist had decided to keep the newer model partner and leave his wife of 23 years. He has reportedly been meeting with divorce lawyers of late.

According to witnesses, Wood “looked more careworn than carefree.” Perhaps that’s because he’s preoccupied with the potential amount of a sizable divorce settlement that may be in his future. Generally speaking, wives don’t care much for husbands leaving them for younger women. Full Story.

Famous Pink Floyd “The Wall” Guitar Up For Auction

Although it’s just a plain-old Fender Stratocaster at heart, the one in question has some impressive history in its background. Designed by UK artist Gerald Scarfe, who worked closely with the band on the album and film of The Wall, the guitar is up for auction, with the proceeds benefitting the a homelessness charity called Crisis.

The guitar’s scratch guard was signed  by all four members of the band only weeks before Richard Wright’s recent passing, and will be accompanied by a Scarfe On The Wall Limited Edition Box Set. Full Story.

Tags: Auction, Bat, guitar, Jack White, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd's The Wall Stratocaster up for auction, Robert Plant, Rolling Stones, Ron Wood, The Wall

Psssst! Hey Buddy, Want To Buy Some Tunes?

No, I’m not talking about some shady character in a dark alley hawking bootleg CDs. It’s all about a new way for artists to make money from their music.

There has been a lot of debate in recent years over the effect of the internet on the music industry. With numerous methods of downloading just about any song you can think of for free, some artists consider it theft, while others consider it a good way for them to get more exposure.

Recently, Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell has stated that he thinks music piracy, as it is often called, is a benefit to groups like Def Leppard since it creates an opportunity for a new generation of fans to discover their music.

If artists are losing as much revenue as some claim, it would seem that touring might be the one way for some artists to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. With word of multi-million dollar revenues from recent tours by Van Halen ($36.8 millions), Bruce Springsteen ($40.8 million) and Bon Jovi ($56.3 million), I don’t think there’s cause to worry about these classic groups resorting to Raman Noodles or macaroni and cheese for dinner three times a week anytime soon.

There is, however, a brand new idea that will come to fruition beginning next month that may help artists recoup some of the reported losses due to all the free downloading going on.

A new company called SongVest is actually auctioning a portion of the ownership rights to some songs from artists you may have heard of. Groups like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and The Monkees as well as solo artists such as Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne and Carrie Underwood.

There are no real details about how substantial the ownership percentage of the auctions tunes will be, but SongVest’s co-founder calls the opportunity "the ultimate memorabilia," and is probably not intended as a bona fide investment. The new venture is counting on the dedication of a few fans with deep enough pockets who are willing to shell out over $200,000 for some of the songs that are planned for the auction block.

The song’s publisher will still control how it is used, whether it be for radio airtime or advertising use as part of TV and radio commercials, and SongVest will retain 25% to 40% of the sale price for their services when a song is successfully auctioned off.

Tags: Auction, Song Ownership Rights, SongVest