Days are just flying by and tomorrow I am heading to West Dover, VT for the Independent Television/Film Festival where “Life On The V: The Story of V66” will screen at Noon. Just after, I will be one of the speakers, along with my former associates at the remarkable music video channel that served the Boston area from 1985-1987 called V66. We were a live and local channel on UHF (yeah, you kids are wondering, “UHF? What’s that?”) Back in the days before cable, we watched tv on VHF (the network stations from 1-13), and the UHF channels that were higher numbers. TV’s had two dials then. Anyhow, Boston was one of the last big markets to have 100% cable capabilities (those Beacon Hill types didn’t want those nasty wires on their turn-of-the-19th century buildings!) Anyhow, we were like a radio station with pictures. And unlike MTV, we were FREE and LIVE! We helped to break a ton of bands, both national and local. It was one of the most exciting places to work! I was the music director and hosted a music news feature, produced a series “Guest VJ” where celebs and musicians would host for an hour and a Sunday night show called “The New Music Show” where I picked 10 new videos that came in that week and talked about the artist, info about the videos and occasional guests who stop by. It became one of the most popular shows on the station! And when we were sold to the Home Shopping Channel and disappeared, the music community felt like they lost a friend. Enter two young and passionate filmmakers who loved the channel and decided to do a documentary. They found many of the members of our staff and traveled all over the place to interview us. They talked to the bands, too. And now it is making the rounds of some film festivals. I am so honored to be a part and can’t wait to see some of the folks I worked with this weekend. Check out the trailer here…..On to the news: Pulse Of Radio reports just one day after it was announced a new AC/DC song called “Play Ball” will be part of Turner Sports’ marketing campaign for the Major League Baseball post-season, a preview of the track can be heard on promos already appearing online. The full song is expected to be heard starting Sep 27th. “Play Ball” is taken from AC/DC’s upcoming studio album, Rock Or Bust, a new 11-song collection set to arrive on Dec 2nd. Meanwhile, the band will film a music video for a yet-to-be-disclosed song from Rock Or Bust on October 4th in London, England. Fans can enter for a chance to appear in the clip by filling out the form at sweeps.acdc.com. Winners will be contacted by October 2nd. Rock Or Bust is the first all-new AC/DC album since 2008’s Black Ice. The disc is the first in the band’s history without founding guitarist Malcolm Young, who stepped down earlier this year and will not be returning to the group due to ill health. His replacement is nephew Stevie Young. AC/DC will embark on a world tour to both promote Rock Or Bust and celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary, although details are yet to be confirmed….Universal Studios Hollywood launched its annual Halloween Horror Nights last weekend and this year Slash has composed the original music for the park’s new 3D maze, Clowns 3D. The guitarist and horror fan told us how he got involved in the terror-filled yearly event: “Last year I went to Universal and checked out the Haunted Halloween Nights and it was amazing. And I went like four times and I hooked up with John Murti, who’s the guy who’s sort of like the main designer of the whole thing and the organizer. Months and months later, he called me up and asked if I’d be interested in writing the music for their first original-themed 3D maze. I think I have a sort of cameo appearance as a Slash clown in it.” Check out the trailer here.… One of my Boston friends, Aerosmith‘s Joe Perry, is hitting the road next month for a string of book signings all over the country. The tour for Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith kicks off on the autobiography’s release date on Oct 7th in New York City, and stretches for two straight weeks. Perry will be hitting Ridgewood, New Jersey; Brookline and Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago and Arlington Heights, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; along with Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. Here are the book store dates:
October 7 – New York, NY – Barnes & Noble at Union Square
October 8 – Ridgewood, NJ – Bookends
October 9 – Brookline, MA – Brookline Boomsmith at The Coolidge Corner Theatre
October 10 – Boston, MA – Guitar Center – Boylston Street
October 11 – Boston, MA – The Paper Store at Framingham
October 13 – Chicago, IL – The Standard Club Of Chicago
October 13 – Arlington Heights, IL – Guitar Center – Arlington Heights
October 14 – Cleveland, OH – Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame
October 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Barnes & Noble at The Grove
October 16 – San Francisco, CA – Guitar Center – San Francisco Proper
October 17 – San Francisco, CA – Book Passage at San Francisco Ferry Building
October 18 – Phoenix, AZ – Changing Hands Bookstore
October 19 – Scottsdale, AZ – Guitar Center – Scottsdale
October 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Book Soup
Celebrating life this weekend: Today: Sherrie Moon Zombie is 44, Olivia Newton-John is 66; Saturday: Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down is 36, Avril Lavigne is 30, Lil Wayne turns 32; Sunday: My Dad would’ve been 101! Ginger Fish of Rob Zombie’s band is 48, George Lynch of Dokken and KXM is 60, Dita Von Teese is 42 and Moon Unit Zappa is 47….And a final word on Derek Jeter. 100% class. Thanks for the memories. It’s the end of the era of the Big 5. They’re all gone. But the memories remain! Thank you, Number 2, Derek Jeter!