OK, not many of your probably care about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But some of the bands who were inducted at last night’s ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Ctr in NY were some that I loved. Yes, ELO, Pearl Jam (of course, who doesn’t love Pearl Jam!) and I’ll bet you’ve found yourself singing along with a Journey song once in a while too! And with age, comes the fact that older singers have a hard time hitting those high notes, like Yes singer Jon Anderson, who tried his best with “Roundabout.” But the band is as tight as ever! Rick Wakeman looks the same as ever. Funny….old is new again. (That’s Rush bassist Geddy Lee substituting for Chris Squire, who passed away last year.)
Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder made a lovely acceptance speech, who closed by saluting the brotherhood Pearl Jam shares with its fans and with one another: “We knew that we were better together than apart, and it was you that galvanized us and forged a brotherhood and a family. I love these people so much. And we love hanging out and we love touring, we love playing, we love writing, we love recording, and I feel like, maybe, we’re about halfway there to deserve an accolade of this kind of stature. Maybe halfway there — but this, this is very encouraging and we’re very grateful and thank you very, very much.“
Pearl Jam was inducted by David Letterman, who was a late substitute for Neil Young, who fell ill and backed out of the induction at the last minute. Letterman, sporting a formidable, full, white beard, delivered a heartwarming — but no less hysterical speech: “By the way, I’ve known Neil Young for many, many years. We met a long time ago on FarmersOnly.com, now. . . (laughter). In 1988 is when I first met most of the people involved in Pearl Jam and we were all in a. . . (cheers) we were in a band called Mother Love Bone (laughter). . .”
Meanwhile, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament wore a t-shirt with the names of bands he feels should already be IN the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Right on, Jeff! Billy Idol retweeted the shot and thanked Jeff for including him in the list! Watch the show in edited form on HBO Saturday, Apr 29th. Set your DVR!
And of course, it’s not a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony without the jam session!
Check out Tye Trujillo’s Band The Helmet.
This is crazy! Apparently Fieldy from Korn was unable to attend the upcoming South American leg of Korn’s current tour, so the band found a replacement in Tye Trujillo. If the name sounds familiar, it’s the 12 year old son of Metallica bassist Robert! A TWELVE YEAR OLD replacing Fieldy! What does THAT say! LOL (Kidding, Reggie!)
Incubus has released the music video for “Nimble Bastard.” It’s hilarious. Thanks to director John Larese. Funny stuff. Love me some Frenchies!
Blabbermouth reporting Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has told NBC News he is in the process of mixing the sound from the band’s final shows in Birmingham, England for a possible live album. “We’ll actually be doing a documentary,” he said. “My job at the moment is to have a listen to what we’ve done.”
Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in late 2011 and is currently in remission, has written a piece for the long-running “CSI” television series and has “bags” of riffs he came up with for Sabbath that might one day wind up on a solo album.
“I’m certainly not retiring from playing and doing stuff,” he said. “But I think since my illness I’ve had to look at things differently, think sensibly. I feel fine, but I still go for checkups and tests and at the moment I’m okay.”
Black Sabbath finished its year-long “The End” farewell tour on Feb 4th in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, closing out the quartet’s groundbreaking 49-year career with an emotional 15-song set. The band decided to make this tour its last because Iommi can no longer travel for extended amounts of time. The guitarist recently said that he wouldn’t rule out Sabbath recording new material or playing a one-off event.
The original lineup of the band came together in 1969 with Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the ’90s and 2000s for live work. They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. Sabbatg has used Ozzy‘s regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. Rage Against The Machine‘s Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on the album 13, which came out in Jun 2013. Osbourne is reportedly at work on a new solo album, and already has a pair of shows scheduled for this summer.
This is kinda cool. Jack White has released his first new song since his 2014 sophomore solo album Lazaretto. According to Diffuser, the largely instrumental track is called “Battle Cry” and debuted without fanfare on digital music services overnight. It’s part of a promotional campaign for Warstic, the baseball bat manufacturing company that White joined as co-owner last year.
The company has tied the track in with a new promotional film titled Warcry: The Battle Of The Hawk And The Raven, which stars veteran Detroit Tigers second baseman and Warstic co-owner Ian Kinsler alongside White and photographer Anthony “Thosh” Collins.
The song is being made available on special limited-edition one-sided gold vinyl as part of Record Store Day at the Nashville and Detroit retail locations for White’s Third Man Records on April 22nd.
Both the tune and the film are meant to help raise awareness and funds for the Well for Culture initiative spearheaded by the Native Wellness Institute, a group dedicated to providing training and technical assistance to Indian tribes and organizations throughout the U.S.
Since the release of Lazaretto and its subsequent tour, White has kept a low musical profile with the exception of guest appearances on records from Beyoncé and A Tribe Called Quest and the arrival of last fall’s Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 compilation.
White recently revealed to the New Yorker that he has been working on new music, recording on a reel-to-reel tape recorder every day in a tiny, dark two-bedroom apartment in Nashville.
And finally today, FINALLY, a new song from A Perfect Circle was debuted during their 3 night sold out stint at The Pearl venue at The Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The band opened its 2017 tour on Thursday night (Apr 6th) in Las Vegas, and closed the show by debuting a new song called “Feathers.” Stereogum described it as a “heady, atmospheric epic,” and fan-filmed footage of the track briefly made its way online before being pulled down. The song will presumably find its way onto the band’s new studio album, set to be recorded and released this year.
A Perfect Circle’s live lineup remains the same as its last tour in 2011, with singer Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Billy Howerdel joined by ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Devo drummer Jeff Friedl, and Eagles Of Death Metal bassist Matt McJunkins.
Last month A Perfect Circle announced that it had signed a new worldwide recording deal with BMG Music. A new full-length album will be released later in the year. The group, which last toured in 2010 and 2011, will include several festivals on its current trek, closing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 7th. The band next plays tonight (Apr10th) in Phoenix.
In other news, Keenan’s other band Tool posted a cryptic teaser teasing the date of Jun 24th. Although there was some speculation that the band was hinting at an album release date, the post may instead be teasing a Tool concert in San Bernardino, CA. The group, which is reportedly making progress on its first studio album in more than a decade, will hit the road starting May 24th in Fairfax, VA, with dates booked so far through late Jun.
Happy 47th today to Mike Mushok of Staind, Newsted’s band and Saint Asonia!