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Classic Rock News And Views
March 23, 2010
Vultures Play Cancer Benefit, Gene Simmons Rips Obama And More
Them Crooked Vultures, the group that includes former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, landed in London to do their part for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charitable effort dedicated to “improving the lives of teenagers and young adults with cancer.”
The Vultures took to the stage at Royal Albert Hall in London last night for a two-hour set, and were quite happy to be part of the effort, according to front man Josh Homme, who said, “What an absolute pleasure to see you all here this evening. London let its hair down for the right reason, huh?”
Check out more on the story from NME and the video below from Absolute Radio.
Gene Simmons Speaks His Mind on Fox News
Anyone at all familiar with KISS rocker Gene Simmons knows he’s not the least bit bashful about telling things the way he sees them. In a recent appearance on Fox News, Simmons had a few things to say about President Obama and the current state of U.S. foreign policy.
Simmons told Fox’s Megan Kelly that, “I voted for Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. We can disagree for instance on certain social issues, and completely disagree with our pathetic foreign policy. It’s wimpy.”
With regard to the white-hot health care issue, Simmons does not sound like he’s in Obama’s corner on that issue either. “I think the worst thing we can do right now is health care… When the government gets involved it’s disaster.”
Simmons has described himself on occasion as an “Ayn Randian of sorts,” and has credited some of Rand’s work for inspiring his own creative efforts. Something he apparently has in common with Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.
ZZ Top Announces Chile Benefit Show
Texas rock trio ZZ Top will appear at Movistar Arena in the Chilean city of Santiago on May 18th for a benefit concert for victims of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that shook the region on February 27th.
On the band’s official website, guitarist Billy Gibbons announced news of the show via video. Gibbons, speaking in Spanish, expressed the band’s sentiment with the following statement:
“I’m Billy from the band ZZ Top. The whole world knows about the effects caused by the earthquake that happened in your beautiful country. We know that the Chilean spirit can never be broken and that right now it is stronger than ever. ZZ will be in Santiago on May 18 at the Movistar arena. We hope that you can join us for a special night.”
For more, see Undercover.
March 17, 2010
Caffeine Catches Up With Dave Grohl
Much has been said throughout history about “too much of a good thing,” and for Them Crooked Vultures drummer Dave Grohl, the “good thing” of choice is coffee.
Whether coffee is good or bad for you is something best left to doctors and nutritionists to debate, but Grohl’s reported five-pot-a-day intake pushed his body a bit past its ability to deal with that much caffeine. Who the heck wouldn’t be bouncing off the walls, or perhaps ceilings with that much caffeine in them?
Being the fun-loving and crazy guys that rock stars tend to be, the guys from the Vultures put together a little video recently that featured a caffeine-crazed Grohl screaming for “fresh pots,” hammering away at lightning speed on his drum kit, and playing some kind of 4-stringed instrument that looks like it may be some variation of the mandolin or something.
The video is amusing, and probably the kind of thing you would expect from crazy rock musician types. Hey, who doesn’t like to have a little fun once in a while and act a bit silly in the process?
Apparently things went from silly to decidedly more serious when Grohl had to be rushed to the doctor after suffering from the effects of too much caffeine. The incident unfolded just two weeks after the video was shot.
According to a few quick tidbits dredged up on the web, too much caffeine can lead to symptoms such as nervousness, gastrointestinal disturbance (ouch!), muscle twitching, rambling flow of thought and speech, and rapid heartbeat.
It is also said that caffeine overdoes can be fatal in some cases, but Grohl was probably nowhere near the level it would take to actually kill him. Let’s hope so, anyway!
The video entitled “Fresh Pots!” can be enjoyed below, and we’re glad to hear that Grohl came through his ordeal just fine and has reduced his intake of coffee as a result.
November 10, 2009
Them Crooked Vultures Let It All Hang Out on YouTube
They may not be the first group to put their entire new album on YouTube, but it’s still not something you see every day. New “supergroup” Them Crooked Vultures has confidently made their self-titled new album available free for anyone to listen to on the wildly popular video sharing site YouTube.
This may be an interesting experiment, whether or not the band planned it as such, I do not know. Will the release of 
the entire album online for free have any impact on album sales? Some fans have commented on YouTube and indicated that they plan to buy the album and applaud the group’s decision to put their music out there.
Other fans indicate that those who download music illegally are mostly kids who cannot afford to buy their music or people who would not buy it even if the downloads were not available. Groups like the RIAA surely do not agree with that assessment, but might this move by the Vultures prove them wrong? Is there any measurement that is used to accurately predict album sales? It would be interesting to know if the YouTube release has any effect on the numbers.
Perhaps the group is just facing up to reality, knowing that their album will be available online whether they put it there or not. I don’t think it takes a seasoned internet veteran to locate free music to download online, and it seems that barely any popular group is immune to having their material shared though various methods, which include download sites, news groups, torrents, P2P Networks, and perhaps others I have never even heard about.
The official release for the new album is set for November 17th.
To check out their new album in its entirety, head on over to Them Crooked Vultures’ YouTube Channel.
