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November 18, 2009
Faces Ready For 2010 Tour Without Rod Stewart
Yet another classic act from days gone by have finally announced their intentions to embark on a tour next year. One major factor holding up a Faces tour that has been talked about for a while was Rod Stewart’s reluctance to make a decision about joining his old band mates or doing something else.
According to Rolling Stone, Stewart has finally decided that he would rather do other things and will not be joining the Faces on tour. This has freed up the other members of the group to move forward and begin planning their 2010 tour.
Showing what may have been a bit of frustration on the part of the other members of the group, keyboardist Ian McLagan stated: “If we don’t do it very soon, one of us is gonna check out. We’ve been waiting and waiting for Rod to say yes; now he’s finally said no. He’s busy doing other shit. So we’re gonna do it.”
Will this news send Rod Stewart impersonators scrambling for their video cameras and posting their best performances on YouTube? It seems to be the happening place these days for classic groups to go in search of replacement singers.
With Stewart busy promoting his own album with a tour that is scheduled to run into next year, it’s a scenario that brings back memories of that long series of Led Zeppelin reunion rumors that erupted after the surviving members of the group performed at London’s O2 Arena with Jason Bonham nearly two years ago.
At various times it was said that Robert Plant was unable to take part in a reunion tour due to his commitment to tour with Alison Krauss in support of their new album. Despite all the rumored reasons for Plant’s inability to tour with his old band mates, the tour never came to pass and the rumors have died down.
Like Journey without Steve Perry or Yes without Jon Anderson, the idea of the Faces without the signature sound of Rod Stewart may have some fans disappointed, but like the aforementioned groups, a Faces tour will probably fill a lot of seats in whatever venues they put on their itinerary nonetheless.
May 21, 2009
Classic Rockers Featured on American Idol Finale
I don’t write much about American Idol here, but I will admit to being a pretty faithful viewer of the show. The fact that last night’s finale dished up a good share of classic rock certainly made it interesting for me, particularly the appearance of both Queen (or half of them, at least) and KISS.
Rod Stewart also showed up to perform “Maggie” for the crowd packed into the Nokia Theatre.
Seeing Adam Lambert with KISS was interesting, and it was a role he seemed to ease into quite naturally. My favorite moment however, was when he joined with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen. I liked the fit there even better than with KISS, despite the winged glam costume Lambert donned for the occasion. According to what one might take away from the video below, perhaps even May and Taylor think it was a good fit!
I don’t recall them saying how close the numbers actually were for the final vote, but it would be interesting to know. I think a lot of people expected Lambert to walk away with the win, myself included. Even Kris Allen seemed shocked by the outcome, and said something to indicate that Lambert deserved to win.
I agree with that statement. Kris Allen really came into his own during the final weeks of the competition, but I thought Lambert was a solid and consistent performer all throughout. It may have been Simon Cowell, or one of the other judges that made a comment about judging the contestants based on the entire season, and that’s definitely the way I feel about it as well.
Lambert is a natural-born performer and I think he bested Allen on just about every level. In the long run it won’t matter all that much. I suspect Lambert will have ahead of him a musical career that will eclipse Allen’s, much like we have seen in the past with the success of runners-up Clay Akin and Chris Daughtry.
Perhaps events like last night’s are a big part of Idol’s whole appeal. Just when you think you have things figured out, the results prove how wrong you were. There are undoubtedly those who were expecting the Allen win and are not surprised at all. Obviously, he was well-liked enough to take home the big prize.
Although an awful lot of what we see on TV is fiction, one thing that struck me about Lambert and Allen was their obvious admiration and respect for each other. I think they both conducted themselves in a way that showed their genuine down-to-earth image of themselves. I imagine it would be easy for someone to get a big head (“Bikini Girl,” anyone?) after being on stage with a few thousand fans screaming your name and reaching out to touch you.
It’s not often we get to see true humility on stage during a competition of that magnitude, but I think that’s exactly what we saw last night. It’s hard not to think of them both as winners.
January 23, 2009
About Face For Faces Reunion
It was only yesterday that we were talking about the possibility that Ron Wood and his young lover may be thinking of relocating to Los Angeles after Wood spent some time there working on the new Faces album with Rod Stewart. It was even reported that they had managed to get quite a lot done, and that Wood was planning to return in two weeks time to finish it up.
One day sure can make a lot of difference when it comes to news about classic rock reunions. The Faces reunion is now starting to sound a lot like the Led Zeppelin reunion.
Today, we are hearing that a spokesperson for Rod Stewart is denying that Wood and Stewart have written any significant amount of music for a new Faces album and that there are no plans for a Faces reunion tour. “There’s no plans for a Faces reunion tour this year,” the spokesperson reportedly told Rolling Stone magazine.
In addition to this latest news, there is now also some confusion about who would be filling in for late bassist Ronnie Lane. Originally, it was reported that Rod Stewart’s touring bass player, Conrad Korsch would be the one, but today there is talk that Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was also a possible stand-in for Lane. A spokesperson for Flea also said that there are no plans for a Faces reunion, and that Flea “knows nothing” regarding the issue.
Some reports indicate that Wood and Stewart did not get along too well when they got together last year to rehearse, which diminished the possibility of a reunion.
As it stands now, there is no Faces reunion in the works and no Faces album forthcoming. Although this news may result in many sad faces within the ranks of Faces fans, it may be a bit too early to give up hope just yet. Tomorrow some other spokesperson may announce that the whole thing is back on again.
December 3, 2008
The Faces Currently Planning Tour Dates
With the original line-up all in place, with the exception of the late Ronnie Lane, The Faces are in the process of firming up their tour dates for 2009. The group has also been working on some new material, and sound like they are anxious to get the reunion tour on the road.
“We had a few fantastic rehearsals last week and we’re ready to go. It’s like no time has passed by. We just have to sort out when and where and drop all of the management egos and just do what we can. We know we can do it,” guitarist Ron Wood recently said.
Lane’s spot will be occupied by Rod Stewart’s tour bassist Conrad Korsch.
The Faces disbanded in 1975 when Wood departed to join up with the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart decided to devote himself to his solo career.
For more information, check out NME.
July 7, 2008
A Face-Saving Effort From Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood are said to have met recently met for lunch to discuss the possibility of reviving their old group, The Faces. Stewart and Wood both played with The Faces back 
in the late 1960’s and 1970’s.
Now it seems the old band mates may have an interest in reviving the group and there are reported to be plans for the group to begin working in the studio in the fall with a tour possible in the winter.
Along with Stewart and Wood, other members of the group were Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and the late Ronnie Lane, who died in 1997. Even after a very successful solo career, it seems Stewart still has a desire to reunite with some of his old mates.
The group reunited during 1993, without Ronnie Lane who was suffering from M.S. at the time. The occasion was the BRIT Awards, where Rod Stewart was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
There was no word on whether or not Ron Wood gave the thumbs up to the reunion offer, but after decades with the Rolling Stones, it’s unlikely he’d decide to do it based on the potential financial rewards.
