Rock
Page: 101
Slipknot singer Corey Taylor posted an Instagram video on Wednesday (Jan. 24) in response to fan concern over his well-being following the cancellation of the hard rocker’s previously scheduled North American solo tour. The clip also addressed fan reaction to his subsequent announcement of a four-show run in Asia in late March and early April that includes three dates in Japan (March 25, 26, 28) and an April 1 gig in the Philippines; Taylor is also booked for a European summer tour scheduled to run from June 3 to July 2.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I decided to make this video in response to a lot of the feedback that came out after I announced that I would be carrying on with my Southeast Asia run. Originally, that was supposed to be mentioned in the statement that I released relating to my mental health lapse,” Taylor explained, telling fans he understood why they were so upset.
“I, over the last year, have had a complete and utter breakdown of boundaries, mental health, ego, entitlement, the whole nine yards, culminating in a very, very real, very near relapse that… I kind of don’t recognize myself,” he said. “So, again, I wanted to address this and just tell people that I needed time to reset, I needed time to start working on my heart and my mind and get straight. The reason I’m keeping the Southeast Asia run, it’s literally four shows, it’s literally a week. I’m gonna see how I do with that and just take it day by day, basically. I’m working on self-care right now, getting the help that I need and surrounding myself with my family.”
Taylor thanked fans again for their concern and said he’s doing what’s best for him now. “It’s a long road and I don’t know what’s at the end of it, but I look forward to it. I have gratitude for it, and I hope you can show me some patience,” he said.
On Jan. 5, Taylor announced that he was pulling out of his North American tour citing struggles with mental and physical health. “For the past several months my mental and physical health have been breaking down, and I reached a place that was unhealthy for my family and I,” he wrote in a statement. “I know this decision will come as a shock to some and may be regarded as unpopular by others – but after taking a hard look at where I am and where I was going, I need to pull myself back and be home with my family for the time being. Those of you who bought tickets and VIP packages for this upcoming run will get a full refund.”
The tour had been scheduled to kick off on Feb. 3 in Toronto and wrap up on March 3 in Omaha, following Taylor’s European and North American swings in 2023 in support of his second solo album, CMF2.
See Taylor’s statement below.
Diamond Dave isn’t taking a shine to Wolfgang Van Halen.
Founding Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has taken an extraordinary swipe at Wolfgang, the band’s bass player and son of the late, great guitarist Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli.
The charismatic singer posts an audio clip to YouTube, in which he fires a barrage of complaints the way of the younger Van Halen, ripping him for unpleasant behavior and poor decisions made on the road.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“This f—in’ kid,” he says, “he’s complaining the entire tour like I’m not paying enough attention to him on stage.” Roth continues, “he’s complaining to everybody around me – the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady – ‘Dave’s not paying enough attention to me.’”
The clip opens with a throwback to Roth’s brief stint helming The David Lee Roth Show, as he launches into an imaginary chat with a comedy-voiced “Jesus Christ,” a thinly-veiled barb at Wolfgang securing the gig with VH thanks to him being of the son of guitar “god” Eddie Van Halen.
[embedded content]
Unity and inter-band harmony was never Van Halen’s strong suit.
Roth himself left the band after the hit album 1984, to pursue a solo career, before returning to the fold in 1996 and again in 2001. The “Van Hagar” era saw Sammy Hagar in (from 1985), then out (in 1996), and in again (2003 to 2005). And, in 2007, Eddie Van Halen controversially replaced founding VH bass player Michael Anthony with his own son, Wolfgang. From 2007, Wolfgang was a fully-fledged member of the group until Eddie’s death in 2020, aged 65, at which point VH disbanded.
Those cracks couldn’t be concealed when VH was inducted into the Rock Hall class of 2007, when Hagar and Anthony, who had recently been turfed, were the only bandmates on hand to accept the honor.
If there was a bridge to mend, Roth’s rant was a wrecking ball.
Roth recounts touring tales where, in New York, Wolfgang “commandeered a couple of monkeys to go in back, behind my back, over to the side of the stage and throw out these two great dames that I invited to be my guests to the show.”
“In fact, you aren’t gonna believe this s—. This f—in’ kid, what he doesn’t know is that these two dames work for the accounting firm that represent him, not me. But as usual, he, just like his uncle and his uncle’s brother, stiffed them for tickets.”
Roth tells a similar story, this time with Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl as the setting, for the end of what was presumably the Rock Hall-inducted band’s final tour in 2015. As the band was about to launch into “Ice Cream Man,” at the behest of Wolfgang, he claims, another female guest of Roth, sat in the wings, was identified, made to do “the walk of shame” and ejected from the venue.
It gets worse, apparently. “Not only is this an accountant again, and not only is she carrying the pay cheques for 82 of us on the road crew, but she’s carrying cash bonuses for everybody there. You may wanna pull over on this next one; you’re gonna pee your pants. Remember New York City? It’s the same f—kin’ lady,” he continues.
It’s unclear what ticked-off Roth. Wolfgang has yet to respond.
Now aged 32, and recently married, Van Halen has long fought his own fights. “With the name or just having the parents that I have,” he told Billboard in 2021, “people assume that I’m an unmotivated person who is just comfortable in doing nothing and coasting on what has come before with what my name entails. And I’m anything but that.”
If you didn’t know any better you’d think Jason Momoa was a rock star rather than an actor. With his left arm tattoo sleeve and a similar triangular pattern on the left side of his head, his pumped physique, love of motorcycles and tendency to wear all black, Momoa looks like he could easily be the bassist in a heavy metal band.
And on Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Aquaman star revealed that one of his most popular big screen characters, Aquaman, was actually inspired by his rock and roll hero.
“I built Aquaman a little bit off of Slash. Look at the first Justice League,” Momoa told Kimmel about the 2018 DC action movie starring Momoa as the waterlogged superhero on a mission to stop his evil half-brother from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms in his quest to destroy the dry world. “I’m like, ‘That’s Slash.’ I mean, how do you dress up like you’re playing Aquaman? You’re not going to put him in a polo and some khakis. He was just rocking. The way that [executive producer] Zack [Snyder] designed him, wanted him to be was that he was rock ‘n’ roll. He punched Superman in the face and kissed Wonder Woman. He didn’t care.”
And, not for nothing, Momoa added, “Slash was so important in my life.”
Momoa gets his rock and roll fantasy card punched in his new 8-part Max travelogue series On the Roam — which airs on Thursdays — including an episode in which the actor interviews Slash. “I have to interview him for the first time and I’ve never done an interview,” Momoa said. Though they’d met before, Momoa copped to serious nerves asking the “Welcome to the Jungle” legend some of his most burning questions. “Hats off, because I was so nervous. And I’m also geeking out!… I can’t talk right and I’m so nervous.”
He got over the butterflies and the pair bonded when they visited Gibson to watch a luthier replicate one of Slash’s original guitars. Not only will Momoa and his kids get to watch Slash play one of the guitars he had made in concert, but they also crafted a second one that will be actioned off for charity. On the show Momoa also learns how to make everything from jewelry to knives, while trying his hand at woodworking and learning about vintage hill-climbing motorcycles.
The interview, which kicked off with Momoa rumbling onto the stage noisily on one of his vintage Harley Davidson Panhead motorcycles, also included the actor talking about how he got Metallica to let him use their thundering 1991 song “Wherever I May Roam” as the show’s theme song. “I love them. They’re awesome. They’re everything. I just love Metallica so I just asked them and begged them,” Momoa said, explaining that it made perfect sense for given the show’s title, which is also the name of the actor’s production company.
Kimmel wondered if Slash got jealous that Momoa asked Metallica for a theme and not GNR.
“As a single guitar player, Slash,” Momoa said of the distinction between his hard rock heroes. “As a group, Metallica.”
Watch Momoa on Kimmel below.
[embedded content]
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s primetime airing on ABC was a hit on New Year’s Day, drawing 13 million total viewers and a 0.38 rating among people people aged 18 to 49, according to Nielsen data. The Jan. 1 airing, which was the ceremony’s first time on a broadcast network after decades on HBO, […]
Bob Dylan‘s Never Ending tour will keep on keepin’ on this spring with the latest round of dates in support of his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend announced a new round of shows this week for a spring U.S. tour that will kick off with a pair of dates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, FL on March 1 and 2.
The mostly Southern gigs will then hang in the state for gigs in Clearwater, Fort Myers, Orlando and Jacksonville, before moving on to Athens (GA), Charlotte, Fayetteville and Asheville (N.C.), Louisville (KY), Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis (TN) before winding down with gigs in Springfield (MO), Wichita (KS) and a final gig at the Music Hall of Fair Park in Dallas on April 4.
Tickets for the tour will be available in a Live Nation presale beginning on Thursday (Jan. 25) at 10 a.m. local time using the access code “Spotlight,” with the general public sale kicking off on Friday (Jan. 26) at 10 a.m. local time through Ticketmaster.
Dylan released the comprehensive box set The Complete Budokan 1978 in November, a newly remixed and remastered recording of the original 24-channel analog tapes in celebration of the 45th anniversary of Dylan’s first shows in Japan. The set includes two complete shows from Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Hall from Feb. 28 and March 1, 1978, with 58 tracks, including 36 previously unreleased recordings.
Check out the dates for Dylan’s U.S. spring 2024 tour below.
March 1 — Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing ArtsMarch 2 — Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing ArtsMarch 5 — Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd HallMarch 6 — Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd HallMarch 7 — Fort Myers, FL @ Suncoast Credit Union ArenaMarch 9 — Orlando, FL @ Walt Disney TheaterMarch 10 — Orlando, FL @ Walt Disney TheaterMarch 12 — Jacksonville, FL @ Moran TheaterMarch 14 — Athens, GA @ The Classic CenterMarch 15 — Athens, GA @ The Classic CenterMarch 17 — Charlotte, NC @ Belk TheaterMarch 18 — Fayetteville, NC @ Crown TheatreMarch 20 — Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe AuditoriumMarch 21 — Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe AuditoriumMarch 23 — Louisville, KY @ Louisville PalaceMarch 24 — Louisville, KY @ Louisville PalaceMarch 26 — Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic AuditoriumMarch 27 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman AuditoriumMarch 29 — Memphis, TN @ Orpheum TheatreMarch 30 — Memphis, TN @ Orpheum TheatreApril 1 — Springfield, MO @ Juanita K. Hammons HallApril 2 — Wichita, KS @ Century II Performing Arts CenterApril 4 — Dallas, TX @ Music Hall at Fair Park
The Killers are heading back to their home city of Las Vegas — this time for a residency. The band consisting of vocalist Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. announced on Tuesday (Jan. 23) that they will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their iconic debut album, Hot Fuss, by performing […]
Sharon Osbourne is getting vulnerable about a difficult time in her life. While speaking onstage during her Sharon Osbourne: Cut the Crap show in London over the weekend (Jan. 21), the star opened up about her suicide attempt after discovering that her husband, Ozzy Osbourne, had been unfaithful. “He always, always had groupies and I […]
Just over a week after Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt explained the band’s approach to addressing politics in their music, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is sharing his thoughts on the phenomenon. In a new interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast that Billboard has a first look at, Corgan opened up about making political music, being continually passed over by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more.
“I can’t think of any political song I’ve ever written. That said, I’m a political junkie. I pay a ton of attention to politics. I’m not one of these people who thinks that politics doesn’t have a place in music,” Corgan mused. “I think that every artist should express their views however they deem fit. Whether or not those views are acceptable to people, I think is irrelevant … I’ve just never been that intrigued on putting that type of political messaging into my music.”
The Smashing Pumpkins — alongside fellow support acts Rancid and The Linda Lindas — are set to embark on Green Day’s upcoming global stadium tour in support of new album Saviors. While the jury is still out as to where the record will land on the Billboard 200, the set’s lead single, the fiery “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” has already seen success across several Billboard charts. Since its release in October, the track has reached the top of Rock Airplay and No. 22 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
“‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ was written by Billie [Joe Armstrong] almost four years ago. But we all knew it was just low-hanging fruit,” Dirnt previously said of the making of the hit single. “We’re not a parody of who we are, and songs like that need time to be fleshed out. If that means just sitting back and letting life happen, so be it. And it was one of the last things we recorded.”
Saviors marks Green Day’s 14th studio album, and the band’s third record since its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2015. The band made it into the Rock Hall in its first year of eligibility, while Smashing Pumpkins have still yet to receive such an honor. In his conversation on the podcast, Corgan also criticized the current state of the Rock Hall.
“A general criticism is, ‘Why have a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn’t only relegated to rock n’ roll?’ Personally, I think Willie Nelson belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Because there’s no real clear definition, it’s confusing to people,” he said. “Why don’t you just call it the Music Hall of Fame? I quantify rock n’ roll as more of a spirit thing … I think it’s hard for people to understand the definitive qualities, especially when you start putting in pop artists who are strictly pop artists. Now if the argument is that, over time, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has morphed into an institutional culture which is more the ‘Music Hall of Fame,’ then I think that would be easier for people to understand.”
The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners.
“I think the 20-year-old in me would be shocked, but I think the value of The Smashing Pumpkins has grown into something far more valuable than hit records or institutional approval,” said Corgan. “Our place in musical history has grown into something far more unique than even I would have imagined.”
Over the course of its storied career, The Smashing Pumpkins has sent seven titles to the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including its sole chart-topper, 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (one week). On the Billboard Hot 100, the band has landed eight career entries on the chart, including the band’s highest peaking single, 1996’s “1979” (No. 12). As a soloist, Corgan has a pair of Billboard 200 entries: 2005’s TheFutureEmbrace (No. 31) and 2017’s Ogilala (No. 183), which he released under his full name, William Patrick Corgan.
Watch an exclusive clip of his interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast above.
The Dave Matthews Band announced the dates for their annual summer amphitheater run on Tuesday (Jan. 23). The group’s 32-date 2024 U.S. tour is slated to kick off on May 22 at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, FL and wind down with a trio of shows at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA on August 30, 31 and Sept. 1; the band traditionally celebrates Labor Day weekend at the picturesque venue in Washington state, selling out every one of their previous 70 shows there.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The Live Nation-promoted outing will also include multiple nights at venues in West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, East Troy (WI), Noblesville (IN), Saratoga Springs (NY), Gilford (NH) and Greenwood Village (CO).
This summer’s tour will feature the debut of the DMB’s new sustainability efforts as part of its partnership with Live Nation on the “On the Road To Zero Waste” initiative. Matthews — named a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2019 — and the band will work with LN-operated venues on the routing to minimized concert attendees’ footprint, with a goal of diverting at least 90% of fan-generated waste from landfills, according to a release announcing the dates.
LN will support the goal by providing zero waste green teams, zero waste stations, food donations, waste sorting, composting and minimal single-use plastics at their venues. DMB will also continue its partnership with The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign by pledging to plant another one million trees, bringing the band’s total to five million trees planted since first joining the reforestation project in 2020; click here for more information. The DMB has also pledged to offset carbon emissions for the band/fan travel via a collaboration with REVERB.
An online ticket presale for members of the DMB Warehouse Fan club is open now here, with a Citi presale slated to kick off on Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. local time until Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program. The general onsale begins Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. local time.
DMB 2024 U.S. summer tour dates:
May 22 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 24 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
May 25 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
May 28 — Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place Amphitheater
May 29 — Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place Amphitheater
May 31 — The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 1 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
June 12 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
June 14 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
June 15 — Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
June 21 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 22 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 25 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
June 26 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 28 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
June 29 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
July 5 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 6 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 9 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
July 10 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 12 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
July 13 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 16 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
July 17 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
July 19 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
July 20 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
August 23 — Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 24 — Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 27 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
August 30 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
August 31 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 1 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
As Bon Jovi celebrate their 40th year as one of the world’s most successful rock bands, the history of the group will be explored in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, a four-part docuseries that will debut April 26 on Hulu. Religion of Sports’ Gotham Chopra will helm the doc, which is being made with the […]