Rock
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Jack Black made a 15-year-old fan’s day by giving him the most rocking of surprises. While hosting this year’s Layla Paige and Friends Walk for TinityKids Care charity event to raise funds for a hospice program that provides end-of-life care for children in the L.A. area, Black met terminally ill superfan Abraham, whose favorite movie happens to be Black’s 2003 musical comedy School of Rock.
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After finding out that Abraham’s favorite song from the film was “The Legend of the Rent,” Black bent down, held the teen’s hand and belted out a bit of the tune, crooning, “In the end of time/ There was a man/ Who knew the road/ And the writing/ Was written on the stone.” Abraham nodded and smiled as Black not only sung the tune, but also scatted the guitar part, which the teen then repeated back to him.
Black played hapless teacher Dewey Finn in the movie, which earned him an MTV Video Music Award for best comedic performance and a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy/musical. The annual walk celebrates the life of Layla Paige, a two-year-old who died of an incurable brain disorder who received treatment at TrinityKids Care. “Not only did they take care of Layla, but provided incredible emotional support to her parents and brother Luke,” Black said in a video promoting the walk.
Black comedy rock duo, Tenacious D, are slated to rock New Year’s Eve at the Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on Dec. 30 and 31st.
Check out the footage of the inspiring moment uploaded by Upworthy below.
First, Blink-182 reunited with Tom DeLonge, then gave us new music in the form of “Edging,” with its official music video. The skate-punk favorites give us a little more action, this time with the “alternate version” of “Edging.”
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Cole Bennett returns to direct the fun new clip, which features the trio at a circus, surrounded by adults dressed as bunnies, and cameos from Lil Tracy and Bennett himself.
Matters take a dark turn, as DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker showcase their knife-throwing skills with the rabbits the hapless targets.
It’s more Monty Python than Donnie Darko, as the floppy-eared friends get taken out.
“Oh no, look at the mess we started,” sings DeLonge and Hoppus. Indeed.
Bennett, the Lyrical Lemonade chief, videographer and music video director, has worked on music videos for Juice Wrld, Jack Harlow, Lil Durk, The Kid Laroi and many more.
Blink is very much back. Just last week, the rockers announced that the group’s classic lineup would reunite for a new album, led by “Edging,” marking the first time in a decade that the three founders had been in the studio together.
DeLonge, who had previously left the group in 2014 and was replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, tweeted that “‘Edging’ is fun, and a perfect way to remind u of the fun again. But just u f—ing wait.”
A world tour will follow. Produced by Live Nation, the global jaunt includes the trio’s first-ever performances in Latin America along with runs in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand starting March 2023 and running through February 2024.
The Australia tour announcement, LN reports, “has received an extraordinary response from fans” as three extra arena dates are added to the itinerary.
Watch the “alternate version” of “Edging” below.
Rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon, whose albums with guitar greats Link Wray and Chris Spedding helped solidify his place in rock history and carry the genre over several decades, died Tuesday (Oct. 18) at Don Greene Hospice in New York City following a diagnosis of leukemia, according to Gordon’s friend and colleague Sam Grosso. He was 75.
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Gordon’s most recent album was 2020’s Rockabilly For Life, which featured Spedding, Paul Shaffer, Albert Lee, James Williamson, Linda Gail Lewis, Kathy Valentine and others. He was slated to perform some dates in the U.S. and Canada this past summer with Spedding, Anton Fig and Tony Garnier, but was forced to cancel due to health issues related to his leukemia.
“Heartbreaking news about Robert Gordon passing away,” wrote Lou Molinaro, owner of the Hamilton, Ontario venue This Ain’t Hollywood, on Facebook. “He was like family at This Ain’t Hollywood. I will miss his ‘check one one. Uh huh’ during soundchecks. Gordie and I LOVED those moments. Wish I had one last chance to bring him back to Hamilton. Goodbye Robert.”
“Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think listening to his records as a teenager I would forge a working relationship and friendship with this rockabilly legend,” Grosso, former owner of Toronto’s Cadillac Lounge and current owner of the city’s Sam’s Place, says in an email. “So many great shows and so many wild stories. I will miss him dearly. Robert performed at the Cadillac Lounge more than any other venue [and] every show was sold out.”
Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Gordon was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll after he heard Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” at age nine. He soon dug into the music of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochrane and others ’50s greats and cut his first recording at 17 singing with a band called The Confidentials. His career ramped up after he relocated to New York City and joined the punk band Tuff Darts (which can be heard on the 1976 album Live At CBGBs alongside tracks by Mink DeVille, Sun Ra and others).
In 1977, Gordon cut his debut “solo” album, Robert Gordon With Link Wray, and followed with several others, including 1978’s Fresh Fish Special (with Wray), which also includes Presley’s famed background singers The Jordanaires and Bruce Springsteen, who played on Gordon’s rendition of the Springsteen-penned track “Fire.” An ad in Billboard that ran on March 11, 1978, read, in part: “Robert Gordon, the new voice of Rock and Roll, and Link Wray, the legendary guitarist, are together again! FRESH FISH SPECIAL follows their red hot first album – and it’s a killer! Bruce Springsteen wrote a song for it. Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Jack Scott are faithfully remembered in it.”
In 1979, Gordon released Rock Billy Boogie, which peaked at No. 106 on the Billboard 200. That was quickly followed by 1980’s Bad Boy and 1981’s Are You Gonna Be The One, which included the single “Someday, Someway,” which peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1982, Gordon ventured into acting, co-starring in outlaw biker flick The Loveless opposite Willem Dafoe. Gordon can also be seen performing with his band in a 1981 skit for Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, in which he’s mistaken for astronaut Gordon Cooper.
Since then, Gordon has released nearly 20 albums, including live recordings and international releases. He also continued to tour; his last live show was in February.
“RIP in my dear friend Robert Gordon,” wrote Danny B. Harvey of the 69 Cats on Facebook. “It was your music that brought me to Rockabilly and it was an honor to produce and play guitar on your final endeavor! One thing everyone that’s ever met you can agree on, is you were one of a kind and they broke the mold after you were created. Say hello to Link for us . F*ck ‘Rockabilly for Life’, ‘Rockabilly Forever’ Ok?”
In a lengthy Facebook post, musician Steve Conte began: “RIP RG. Sad news, Robert Gordon the Rockabilly icon has passed. That voice, now silenced. His take on Rockabilly Boogie, Black Slacks, Red Hot, The Way I Walk, It’s Only Make Believe and other classics won’t be heard again in venues on earth, but luckily we’ve still got the records.”
Noting that Gordon was one of his “favorite NYC singers,” Conte added that several years ago, Gordon asked him to replace the guitarist Spedding in his band. But in early September, he got a call from Gordon’s tour manager Bill Moser that Gordon had been “diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukemia. And this was after he’d just gone through major heart surgery and was just getting over that surgery.
“I knew he was not doing well and perhaps didn’t have long so getting in touch with him was on my’ ‘to do’ list, but this morning I got the call that I missed my chance,” Conte added. “Rest In Peace Robert.”
Greta Van Fleet have been forced to postpone a trio of shows after singer Josh Kiszka ruptured his eardrum during a show in Bangor, Maine earlier this month. “It’s with a heavy heart that we must reschedule our shows this upcoming week,” the band wrote in a statement.
“During our last show in Bangor [on Oct. 8], I ruptured an eardrum and upon further evaluation I have just been advised it needs more time to fully heal than initially anticipated. I’m working closely with my team to ensure I get proper rest in order to finish out the year strong.” The group said they are working on rescheduling the dates as soon as possible.
The affected shows were slated on Tuesday(Oct. 18) in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday (Oct. 19) in Greenville, South Carolina and Oct. 21 in Jacksonville, Florida. “I’m gutted to have to do this and I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate the love and support you give us every night,” Kiszka told fans. “It’s devastating me to make this announcement, but know it’s imperative in order to keep performing.” The band encouraged fans who will want to see them to hold on to their tickets, or to seek a refund at point of purchase.
According to GVF’s updated tour scheduled, their next date will be at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Oct. 25; at press time it was unclear if an announced Oct. 22 show in Estero, Florida at Hertz Arena is still on.
Back in March the band postponed the eight remaining dates on their Dreams in Gold tour after guitarist Jake Kiszka was hospitalized with pneumonia.
See the band’s post below.
Imagine Dragons informed fans on Monday (Oct. 17) that they’ve been forced to postpone the planned South American leg of their Mercury World tour due to a number of ailments affecting singer Dan Reynolds. “We are very sorry to share that we have to postpone our Latin American shows,” they wrote in a tweet announcing the news.
“In our 12 years as a band, we’ve never had to cancel a tour (and could count the number of shows on one hand),” they continued. “We hope you guys know how hard it is for us to postpone these dates, and we plan to make it up to you soon.” The band explained that Reynolds’ recent struggles with hemorrhaged vocal cords and a vocal nodule that have lingered since the last leg of the tour have become serious enough that his doctors have warned that hitting the road now could cause a “rupture and irreparably harm his voice.”
In addition, Reynolds is now also unexpectedly dealing with a “fairly serious” tear in the LCL (lateral collateral ligament) in his knee that will require a brace and extensive physical therapy. “We just can’t give you the show you expect and deserve right now,” they wrote.
“We will keep everyone updates as we figure out new dates, and we are so sorry for those who made travel and other plans to see us,” they concluded, saying refunds will be made available to those who can’t travel to the as-yet-unscheduled make-up dates. The South American swing was slated to kick off on Tuesday (Oct. 18) in Bogota, Colombia at Coliseo Live and include dates in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
See the statement below.
“Once Bruce walks out on stage, the only question in my mind is: is this going to be an absolutely great show, one of the greatest shows he’s ever done or the greatest show he’s ever done? That’s the range,” says Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau in a video at the new Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
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While that may be a bit (but only a little) hyperbolic, The Boss is renowned for both the high caliber and marathon duration of his concerts, and the exhibit — which officially opens Saturday (Oct. 15) and runs through April 2 — gives fans a backstage pass to five decades of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live shows, including rare memorabilia and clothing, instruments, photographs and interactive displays. The exhibit was co-curated by the Grammy Museum and Eileen Chapman, director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & the Center for American Music at Monmouth University.
As Springsteen and his band get ready to return to the road next year for the first time since 2017 (excluding his solo runs on Broadways in 2018 and 2021), the exhibit serves as the perfect way for fans to whet their appetite. Taking a little license with some Springsteen lyrics, here are five of the best displays/experiences at the exhibit.
“I Got This Guitar and I Learned How to Make It Talk”
The exhibit features a number of Springsteen’s guitars, but perhaps none as gloriously roadworn and famous as his 1950s Fender Esquire (the display IDs it as 1953-1954). The beat-up butterscotch beauty, well known to fans, features a Fender Telecaster body and Esquire neck and Springsteen used it on the road from 1972 until 2005. Alone in its own glass case, it feels as if it still reverberates with a thousand songs in it waiting to be played. Even those who didn’t get to see Springsteen play it live will recognize it from the album covers for Born to Run, Live 1975-95, Human Touch and Wrecking Ball.
“I Got Debts No Honest Man Can Pay”
In an undated letter from what is likely the early ‘70s, Springsteen writes a charming note to his landlord, apologizing for not paying his rent on time. Addressed to “Dear Landlordess,” and penned on a torn-out page from a spiral notebook, he adds not one, but two endearing postscripts: “P.S.: Do you like this classy writing paper?” and “P.P.S: I’m practicing my autograph. Whadya think?” In the same display case, there is a scrapbook from the ‘70s that his mom kept as her son’s career took off. It was opened to a page that included a 1972 review from Variety — one of his first — and a postcard from the road from his then-manager, Mike Appel, as a reminder that Springsteen, too, was once a struggling artist.
“I Want Pounding Drums”
For an exhibit devoted to touring, there is very little footage of Springsteen playing live, but in one of the most enjoyable displays, drummer Max Weinberg gives wannabe drummers a tutorial and then the chance to play along with a video of Springsteen performing before tens of thousands of people at a stadium gig. Fans sit at a mini-drum kit while Weinberg teaches them how to play bass drum, snare drum and hi-hat to “Born in the U.S.A.,” a song the longtime E Street Band member says is one of his favorites to play, before turning them loose to play along with the video.
“Is There Anybody Alive Out There?”
In one of the many interactive elements, fans can build their own five-song encore to a live show and see how close they come to what Springsteen played that actual night. For someone who is revered for his ability to call an “audible” and change up the set at a moment’s notice, it turns out a great deal of thought goes into the encore. In a video, Springsteen, with guitar in hand, explains how he selects the encore songs based on smooth key changes and rhythm changes as he slides from “Born to Run” into “Devil With the Blue Dress On” (usually part of what is known as “The Detroit Medley”) into “Glory Days” into “Land of Hope and Dreams.” “You want to constantly kick it up,” he says.
“A Prayer for the Souls of the Departed”
While casual fans may pass right by the displays to beloved late E Street musicians Danny “The Phantom” Federici, who died in 2008, and Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, who died in 2011, longtime devotees will appreciate the mementos that celebrate the longtime members. Federici is feted by a display with one of his accordions, a photo of him as a young boy playing the instrument and a note from his son talking about how Federici, who was also Springsteen’s organist, began playing the accordion at 5. For Clemons, one of his saxophones is on display, but the item that will tug at hard-core fans’ heartstrings is “The Throne,” the upholstered, gold-painted armchair that Clemons had onstage with him so he could sit as he got tired in later years and where he reclined and took in his adoring fans when the rest of the band left the stage before returning for the encore. Both are gone but never forgotten.
Slipknot‘s The End, So Far continues the band’s string of No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts, debuting atop all three rankings dated Oct. 15.
End bows with 59,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Oct. 6, according to Luminate, with 50,000 from album sales.
Each of Slipknot’s studio LPs has ruled the three charts since the lists’ inceptions (Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums in 2006, Top Hard Rock Albums in 2007). Prior to End, the band, which formed in Iowa in 1995, reigned with 2008’s All Hope Is Gone, followed by 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter and 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind.
End concurrently starts at No. 2 on the all-format Billboard 200, marking the band’s sixth top five title, and No. 1 on Top Album Sales, its fourth ruler.
Six songs from End appear on the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, led by current single “Yen,” which re-enters at No. 6 on the strength of 1.1 million official U.S. streams and 736,000 airplay audience impressions. The top debut from the album is “Hive Mind” at No. 12 (1.5 million streams).
“Yen” and “The Dying Song (Time to Sing)” also rank on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs at Nos. 47 and 50, respectively.
“Yen,” the album’s second radio single, has reached No. 16 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, this week placing at No. 17 with a new high in weekly plays. Preceding single “The Chapeltown Rag” hit No. 28 last December.
Pop-punk lifers rejoiced upon the announcement that Blink-182 — the San Diego trio against which all other heavy-and-happy bands are measured — had reunited its classic lineup.
Guitarist Tom DeLonge is back after a split from bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker in 2014 (preceded by a split in 2005 and reunion in ‘09). While the band soldiered on with Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba, releasing two LPs in 2016’s California and 2019’s Nine, it was never the same, the electricity (and poop jokes) among the core trio never replicated.
But now, the group is back together and promising a new album — a bouncy new single called “Edging” just dropped Friday. An accompanying new world tour is set to kick off next year, and some fans are surely already dreaming about what the ideal Blink 2.0 setlist might look like.
Us, too! So we went ahead and built this dream setlist: 25 songs that would more than satisfy the droves of millennials heading for arenas across the U.S. and beyond next year. This setlist, which we believe the band could pull off in about two hours — pretty standard for a legacy headliner — is informed by recent tours, fan sentiment and, moreover, what we think would be freaking awesome to see.
Here’s our best-case scenario on how the new Blink tour plays out. Happy moshing!
Ringo Starr has tested positive for COVID-19 again. The musician revealed his diagnosis late on Thursday (Oct. 13), and announced that he’s canceling the remainder of his tour.
“I’m sure you’ll be as surprised as I was I tested positive again for Covid the rest of the tour is off I send you peace and love Ringo,” he wrote in an Instagram post alongside a selfie.
The 82-year-old and his All Starr Band’s remaining shows were Oct. 14 in San Jose, Calif.; Oct. 15 in Paso Robles, Calif.; Oct. 16 in Los Angeles; and Oct. 19-20 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Starr initially tested positive earlier in the month, and announced Oct. 3 that he was canceling five shows in Canada. That announcement came after he had canceled a pair of concerts “due to illness.” A week later, on Oct. 10, he shared on Instagram that had tested negative for the coronavirus and was ready to get back to work. “On the road again I will see you in Seattle on Tuesday the 11th Portland Wednesday I am negative peace and love everybody thanks for waiting,” he wrote at the time.
The second leg of the nine-time Grammy winner’s All Starr Band tour kicked off September in Bridgeport, Conn. The tour dates were initially planned for 2020, but when the global coronavirus pandemic hit, the former Beatle’s tour — like many musicians’ around the world — was postponed.
Since touring has resumed, various musicians have had to cancel or postpone shows as they and/or their touring crew contracted COVID-19 while on the road. Drake, The Rolling Stones, Alan Jackson, and Justin Bieber are among those who have delayed shows after testing positive for COVID-19.
See Ringo Starr’s latest announcement below:
Blink-182 are back, they’re playing in a huge venue near you next year, and they’ll road test some new tunes.
One of those tracks is “Edging,” the first taste of new music from the reunited classic lineup of Blink-182, which set social media ablaze this week with news of Tom DeLonge’s return to the band.
“Edging” is the first cut from the pop-punk favorites’ forthcoming album, the first with DeLonge since the singer/guitarist left the band for a second time, in 2014.
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DeLonge returns to the trio alongside singer/bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker for an upcoming Live Nation-produced trek that’s being called their biggest international tour to-date.
Dropping at this stroke of midnight, “Edging” marks the first time in a decade that Mark, Tom and Travis have been in the studio together.
If you thought the lads were all grown up and graduated to soft ballads, fear not. “Edging” is straight-up Blink-182 material, hewn from misspent youth and with all the bluster, swagger and stop-on-a-dime detail that made the threesome one of the most popular alternative rock acts of its era.
“I’m a punk rock kid, I came from hell with a curse/ She tried to pray it away, so I f***ed her in church,” Delonge and Hoppus sing at the top.
The tour is slated to kick off on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico at the Imperial GNP festival and keep the band on the road in South America and Mexico through April 12 before shifting to North America on May 4 with a show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota; those dates will run through a July 16 gig in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and then move on to Europe in September and Australia/New Zealand in early 2024.
Along the way, Blink-182 will play multiple festivals in Latin America and the U.S., including Lollapalooza and the 2023 edition of We Were Young.
Stream “Edging” below.