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In the new Thom Zimny documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last night (Sept. 8) and premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on Oct. 25 — we see under the hood of arguably the best live performer in rock ‘n’ roll, as The Boss meticulously “shakes the cobwebs” off his colossal band in preparation for their 2023-2024 world tour.
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After being forced off the road for six years because of the global pandemic, during which he turned 70, Springsteen chose the setlist with care and precision to “let the audience know who I am at this point.” At its core, though, Road Diary is about exceptional commitment and a lesson to all bosses on how to be firm and respectful to get the best out of the people who work for you, something Springsteen alluded to in the post-screening Q&A.
Zimny, who directed other Springsteen’s docs (2019’s Western Stars, 2018’s Springsteen on Broadway, 2010’s The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, 2005’s Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born To Run) and countless music Springsteen videos, sat with The Boss, his manager Jon Landau and E Street guitarist and musical director Steve Van Zandt in the balcony of Roy Thomson Hall. Together, they watched the first public screening along of Road Diary with 2600 other people, including the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy.
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On the red carpet before the screening, Zimny told Billboard, “I was hoping with the film to give the casual fan a sense of Bruce, but also the über fan approach. What I wanted to show was there’s elements of a brotherhood that you see in how they first greet each other — nothing is staged, none of it is rehearsed. I sat there for days filming them, and what came across for me — and what I think is unique compared to the other docs — was this musical language that they have, where they work out songs… So, I think, the big surprise is how deep that bond is. You see it in the footage, and then you see them share that with the crowds.”
Interspersed with that beautiful bond is Springsteen’s current mindset: bracing his own mortality. From being the only surviving member of from his first band, the Castiles, which he joined at 16 (captured in the song “Last Man Standing”), to the “terrible blows to the [E Street] Band” when Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici died too young — in 2011 and 2008, respectively — and the final scene of Springsteen dancing with his mom, Adele — who died in February at 98 (and to whom Road Diary is dedicated) — Springsteen, now 74, is feeling nostalgic, contemplative, appreciative and a little bit melancholy.
There is also a brief but startling revelation in the documentary when his wife — and band member — Patti Scialfa, 71, says she received a diagnosis in 2018 of early-stage multiple myeloma (blood cancer), which she says “affects my immune system” and makes it “challenging” to tour.
Still, despite the undercurrent of “I’m getting old,” Road Diary is more joyous than anything — which is no surprise to any Springsteen fan, given the still-jubilant nature of his live shows. It serves as a blueprint for how a band can still sell out arenas and stadiums around the world many decades after its formation, from Springsteen’s meticulous guidance of the E Street Band to his six-cylinder live presence — and, as the doc reveals, getting in the gym the next morning after a show. Plus, as he promises in the film (and has recently affirmed on tour), he plans on “continuing until the wheels come off. After 50 years on the road, it’s too late to stop now.”
Though fans know there are often spontaneous moments in concert — though fewer on the current outing than in years past — Road Diary shows the high level of planning and practice that go into each show.
On the red carpet, Van Zandt tells Billboard that even 50 years later, there’s no strolling into rehearsal with a “‘Sorry I’m late. I overslept.’ No, that would be a different band,” he says with a loud laugh. “This movie does lift the curtain, the backstage curtain, the rehearsal curtain. I’m not sure we’ve ever done that to this extent. So, you’re gonna see the band [and] how it works.”
Springsteen’s long-time manager Landau tells Billboard he likes how Zimny includes archival footage that shows “the history of the emergence of Bruce as a performer,” from the shy teen that Van Zandt met when they were both teens, “into what we think is the greatest live artist in the world. We try to show how that happened.” Though the doc includes a good deal of footage from the current tour, Landau says, “We really wanted to tell the story of Bruce, the live performer, artist, and what goes into it. And I think that what will surprise people is that it’s actually a very emotional film.”
Springsteen didn’t do any interviews on the red carpet, but did join Zimny, Landau and Van Zandt onstage for a brief, 15-minute post-screening Q&A. As always, Van Zandt played the perfect hype man, prepping his question for Springsteen with a wind-up: “So, alright, for you, I got a big question now, so bear with me for 60 seconds. This is your question, baby. Get ready!”
He proceeded with a lengthy set up which included a spot-on summation of the film, describing it as “the explanation of your roots and methodology as a band leader, the explanation of how a band works, how it functions [and] what it takes to do what we do.” Van Zandt then asked Springsteen, “Did the realization of being that ‘Last Man Standing’ from your first band reawaken your love of the band interaction, and how that affects your work and ultimately the communication to an audience?”
Springsteen answered that he is “completely committed to everything that I do, but the band is the band,” and that onstage he’s not alone; he’s surrounded by his bandmates. He reflected on how the “natural order of things” is that bands break up and quips how, “They can’t even get two guys to stay together, Simon hates Garfunkel, Sam hates Dave, the Everly Brothers hated one another… but if you do it right, and we have, I would call it a benevolent dictatorship.”
And, he knows just how lucky he and his ongoing band members are. “We have this enormous collective where everyone has their role, and a chance to contribute, and to own their place in the band, and this is what people want from their work, and I wish it on everyone,” he continued. “We don’t quite live in a world where everybody gets to feel that way about their jobs or the people they work with, but I sincerely wish that we did — because it’s an experience like none I’ve ever had in my life. If I went tomorrow, I’d be, ‘It’s okay. What a f–king ride.”
E Street bandmember Patti Scialfa reveals her recent cancer battle in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday night (Sept. 8).
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According to Variety, Scialfa opens up in the film about being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2018, which resulted in her dialing back her public appearances and performances with husband Springsteen’s E Street Band over the past few years.
“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she says in the film that looks at the relationship between the 74-year-old rock icon and his longtime bandmates. “Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
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Scialfa, 71, who has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 as a backing vocalist and guitarist — and married Springsteen in 1991 — was not on hand for Sunday night’s movie premiere. In addition to being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, Scialfa has also released three solo albums. Fans have noted her absence on stage during the E Street Band’s current stadium tour, which is the group’s first major outing since 2016.
“Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs onstage, and that’s been a treat,” Scialfa says in the movie of her occasional recent live appearances. “That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.” According to Variety, the movie does not make it clear if Scialfa is still be treated or if the cancer was in remission. Springsteen was forced to postpone the tour in 2023 after being diagnosed with a peptic ulcer that caused serious vocal issues.
Road Diary is an intimate look at the rock band’s current world tour and the unique backstage dynamic between the players, a handful of whom have been by Bruce’s side for more than half a century. Given their longevity and despite the physical demands of playing two-hour-plus shows, recent health issues and the inexorable march of time, Springsteen made it clear at Sunday’s premiere that he plans to continue rocking until “the wheels come off.”
Road Diary will come to Hulu and Disney+ on Oct. 25. Watch the trailer below.
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Bass guitarist Herbie Flowers, who played with David Bowie, Elton John, Lou Reed and other music legends in a decades-long career, has died at 86.
The musician’s family confirmed his death on Facebook Saturday (Sept. 7).
“While we knew and loved him as Uncle Herbie, his musical contributions have likely touched your lives as well,” the husband of Flowers’ niece wrote. “He played bass on many of the songs from the golden age of rock,” the post reads.
A cause of death was not provided.
Flowers was a founding member of the pop group Blue Mink, who later joined the rock band T Rex. He won acclaim for his work with many of the biggest names in U.K. music in the 1970s, giving Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” from the 1972 Transformer album, its recognizable twinned bassline.
He also played bass for Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” Bryan Ferry’s “The Bride Stripped Bare,” and Paul McCartney’s “Give My Regards to Broad Street,” and featured in two of John’s early ’70s albums, among many others.
In a tribute, Bowie’s estate wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “his work with Bowie and associates over the years is too long to list here.”
“Aside from his incredible musicianship over many decades, he was a beautiful soul and a very funny man. He will be sorely missed,” it said. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Tim Burgess, lead singer for The Charlatans singer, wrote X that Flowers “made the greats sound greater.”
Flowers also founded the instrumental rock band Sky in the late 1970s, releasing seven albums.
Oasis‘ Liam Gallagher is teasing the possibility of new music from the recently reunited Britpop band.
On Friday (Sept. 6), an Oasis fan asked on X (formerly Twitter) if rumors were true that Liam and his brother Noel were planning to release a new album following their announcement that the U.K. group is reuniting for a string of concerts in 2025.
“Yep it’s already finished,” Noel replied. When another fan inquired if a new album was “in the air,” the 51-year-old singer-songwriter wrote, “It’s in the bag mate f— the air.” And one word to describe the supposed album? “TURDOS,” he added.
This isn’t the first time Liam has hinted at the possibility of a new Oasis album. Earlier this year, the musician suggested on X that a new Oasis project would arrive in November. His tweet arrived around the same time that Noel announced he was scrapping a solo acoustic album in favor of a more “defiant rock album.”
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Oasis’ seventh and final album, Dig Out Your Soul, peaked at No 5 on the Billboard 200 chart in October 2008.
On Aug. 27, Oasis officially announced that the reunited band will hit the road in 2025 for multiple dates across the British Isles, including Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, for what will be their “only shows in Europe next year.”
The Gallagher brothers have also promised an extended international run in the near future. “Plans are underway for OASIS LIVE ’25 to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year,” a statement read.
Oasis split in 2009 after years of massive chart success and tabloid headlines in the U.K. tied to the Gallagher siblings’ fierce rivalry, with main songwriter older brother Noel quitting the band after a backstage fight with Liam at a show near Paris that year. The brothers haven’t performed live since then, though they often play Oasis songs during their solo gigs and with their side bands and, until the reunion announcement, continued to snipe at each other online and in the press.
Linkin Park‘s new singer Emily Armstrong is responding to backlash over claims that she supported convicted rapist Danny Masterson during his sexual assault trial.
The Dead Sara co-founder took to social media Friday (Sept. 6) to address past comments by the Mars Volta‘s Cedric Bixler-Zavala that she showed support for Masterson during preliminary hearings ahead of the actor’s 2020 trial. Bixler-Zavala’s wife, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, was among several women to accuse the That ’70s Show star of sexual assault.
“Hi, I’m Emily. I’m new to so many of you, and I wanted to clear the air about something that happened a while back,” Armstrong wrote in her Instagram Story. “Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer. Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have. I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged and he was later found guilty.”
She concluded, “To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”
Linkin Park announced its grand return on Sept. 5, with Armstrong on board as Mike Shinoda’s new co-vocalist and Colin Brittain signing on as drummer and co-producer. Shortly after the livestream reveal, Bixler-Zavala posted screen grabs on Instagram of his past comments about Armstrong’s former support for Masterson and her ties to the Church of Scientology, Rolling Stone reports.
“Do your fans know about your friend Danny Masterson? Your rapist friend,” Bixler-Zavala wrote last year in a comment on Dead Sara’s Instagram page. “Remember how your fellow scientologist goon squad surrounded one of the Jane Doe’s when she was trying to leave the elevators? The court sheriffs had to escort her away from your awful cult…”
In another Instagram post on Friday, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler reportedly accused Armstrong of being a “hardcore Scientologist who supported convicted serial rapist both in and out of court.” She added, “Emily Armstrong is a true believer of the Scientology cult/criminal organization that engages in human and child trafficking, child and elder abuse, the coverups of countless [sexual assaults] on children and adults.”
Last September, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women during the early 2000s. The Ranch actor was not convicted on charges tied to Chrissie Carnell-Bixler’s accusations, but she is part of a civil suit against him.
David Gilmour raised some eyebrows during the summer. In an electronic press kit shared with press, the Pink Floyd guitarist commented that his new album, Luck and Strange, is “the best album I’ve made since Dark Side of the Moon, since 1973.”
That’s certainly a bold comparison — though in subsequent conversation Gilmour notes that Dark Side‘s successor, Wish You Were Here, is actually his favorite Pink Floyd album. But it nevertheless made clear how happy he is with his fifth solo album, and first in nine years.
“The album feels like a solid body of cohesive work,” Gilmour, 78, tells Billboard via Zoom from the Astoria Recording Studio, in a houseboat docked on the Thames in London that he bought in 1986. “It’s the cohesiveness of the whole thing — the writing, the work, the thrill it still gives me to listen to it all the way through as an album. There’s a consistency of thought and of feeling that runs through it that excites me in a way that makes me make those comparisons.”
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The nine-track Luck and Strange is, he adds, the product of a “liberation” he felt going into the studio.
Gilmour was working on new material when the pandemic hit in 2020, bringing the world to a stop — but also opening some new vistas for him and his family. Gilmour’s wife and frequent lyricist Polly Samson published a novel, A Theatre For Dreamers, the week of lockdown, which scotched planned promotional appearances. Their son Charlie came up with the idea of doing livestreams, during which Gilmour would play some songs by Leonard Cohen, who was a character in the book.
“It started pretty much only on Holly’s book as a focus,” Gilmour recalls, “but then it became broader. We got our daughter Romany to sing along and play with me, and that showed me that we have got that lovely sort of family tonality that happens — Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, other people. These artists that we loved in the past. All these things came together to create a different mood and a different feeling for the making of this album. It left me feeling I don’t need to stick with any pre-rule book or anything that’s gone before. I can be freer to do anything I feel like. That became emphasized for me.”
As he set out to make Luck and Strange in earnest, Gilmour veered from previous collaborators such as Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Chris Thomas and Bob Ezrin and brought in a new (and younger) face with Charlie Andrew, a Music Producers Guild Award winner who worked with alt-j on its Mercury Prize-winning An Awesome Wave, James, Bloc Party and others. One of his first questions — “Do we need another guitar solo here?” — made clear that Gilmour was open to fresh input this time out (though rest assured there are plenty of guitar solos on the album).
“His lack of being over-awed by my reputation was a big plus for me,” Gilmour says. “Pink Floyd wasn’t one of his influences…but (Andrew) liked the music I was working on, and I liked him. Polly liked him very much; she found him, really, and my acceptance of what he was showing me and the direction he was proffering was an interesting and exciting way for us to be moving forward.”
“I didn’t specifically know a lot of his previous work, and I purposefully didn’t immerse myself in it as I just wanted to come at it with a fresh angle,” Andrew tells Billboard. “All I tried to do is keep it coherent as a body of work and make sure that there’s a flow to it. When we started out one of the first things I asked David was, ‘What are we making this for?’ For me, there’s more to it than ‘here’s a bunch of songs’ and just release them. I think it should be a bit more of one whole thing. I know David thinks the same.”
Luck and Strange — recorded primarily at Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios — also features drummers Steve Gadd, Adam Betts and Steve DiStanislao and keyboardist Roger Eno and Rob Gentry, along with longtime bassist Guy Pratt, who started playing with Pink Floyd in 1987 and has remained by Gilmour’s side ever since. (He’s also part of Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets band.)
“It felt much more like a family,” Gilmour says, “much more like a group of people working toward a common end than I’ve felt for quite awhile.”
While not a concept album, Gilmour acknowledges that themes of mortality and retrospection unite Luck and Strange’s mostly midtempo songs — two of which, “Black Cat” and “Vita Brevis,” are instrumentals, and one a cover of the Montgolfier Brothers’ “Between Two Points,” sung by daughter Romany. She plays harp on the album as well, while son Gabriel Gilmour provides some backing vocals. “You discover the record as you work on it,” producer Andrew notes. “You don’t start it knowing exactly what it’s going to be. I really wanted to understand what the lyrics were focusing on, and Polly has been an incredible help in that regard, taking me and the musicians through the lyrics and what they mean.”
Particularly poignant is Luck and Strange‘s title track, which began in 2007 and includes the late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, who was part of Gilmour’s touring band at the time.
“It’s wonderful to have a track that he’s actually a part of,” says Gilmour, who included a lengthy “barn jam” version of “Luck and Strange” as a bonus track. “Rick’s unusual playing style pours out of it and makes me sad that he’s not around to take more part in what I’m doing. Obviously, I worked on it later to add in these bridges and choruses and things. I don’t know why, in 2015 or ’14, that I didn’t listen to that track and go, ‘Yeah, let’s go,’ but this time it demanded to be heard and worked on, so we did.”
As Luck and Strange comes out Gilmour is gearing up for a tour, his first in eight years, that begins Oct. 9 with the first of six shows at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall. He’ll also play four Los Angeles area dates — starting Oct. 25 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and moving to three concerts at the Hollywood Bowl — and five at Madison Square Garden in New York, wrapping up Nov. 10.
“I’m thinking more modern times than old times,” Gilmour says of the setlist, “but there’ll be some songs from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s. All the way through, there’ll be some stuff, but I’m focusing perhaps a bit more on the new album and the newer material.” And, he hopes, there will be more new material in less than the nine years he took before making Luck and Strange.
“My intention is to gather some of these people together and get back and start working on something else in the new year,” Gilmour says. “What you want is a few things to get started with and hope it all starts flowing, and that’s what I’m hoping will happen.”
Seether claims its 10th No. 1 and fourth in a row on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, as “Judas Mind” leaps from No. 5 to the top of the tally dated Sept. 14.
The Shaun Morgan-fronted act began its current streak with “Dangerous” in 2020 and followed with both “Bruised and Bloodied” and “Wasteland” in 2021.
Seether first led Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2005 with eight-week No. 1 “Remedy.”
The band is now one of 13 acts with at least 10 Mainstream Rock Airplay chart-toppers, dating to the list’s 1981 inception.
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Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:19, Shinedown17, Three Days Grace15, Five Finger Death Punch14, Foo Fighters14, Metallica13, Godsmack13, Van Halen12, Disturbed10, Linkin Park10, Papa Roach10, Tom Petty (four solo, six with The Heartbreakers)10, Seether10, Volbeat
The 5-1 leap for “Judas Mind” is the greatest to the top of Mainstream Rock Airplay since Foo Fighters’ “Rescued” also flew 5-1 in May 2023.
Concurrently, “Judas Mind” soars 16-8 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay survey with 2.3 million audience impressions, up 11%, in the week ending Sept. 5, according to Luminate.
On the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated Sept. 7, “Judas Mind” rose 23-17; it debuted at No. 10 in July. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 247,000 official U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 29.
“Judas Mind” is the lead single from The Surface Seems So Far, Seether’s ninth studio album, due Sept. 20. It’s the band’s first set of new music since Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, which hit No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart in September 2020 and has earned 146,000 equivalent album units to date.
All Billboard charts dated Sept. 14 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Cage the Elephant continues to climb the ranks of the acts with the most No. 1s on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, claiming its 12th ruler on the Sept. 14-dated list with “Rainbow.”
The song jumps 3-1, becoming the rockers’ third leader in a row, following “Neon Pill” earlier this year and “Skin and Bones” in 2021.
The band has strung together three consecutive No. 1s for a third time. First came the run of “Back Against the Wall,” “In One Ear” and “Shake Me Down” in 2010-11, followed by “Cigarette Daydreams,” “Mess Around” and “Trouble” in 2015-16.
With 12 No. 1s, Cage the Elephant slots into a tie with Foo Fighters and Linkin Park for the third-most leaders in the Alternative Airplay chart’s 36-year history.
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Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:15, Red Hot Chili Peppers13, Green Day12, Cage the Elephant12, Foo Fighters12, Linkin Park10, Twenty One Pilots8, U28, Weezer7, The Black Keys7, Imagine Dragons
“Rainbow” concurrently tops Adult Alternative Airplay for a second straight week. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, it rises 6-4 with 3.3 million audience impressions in the week ending Sept. 5, according to Luminate.
“Rainbow” is the second single from Neon Pill, Cage the Elephant’s sixth studio album, following the title track. The set bowed at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums chart dated June 1, making the band’s sixth top 10, and has earned 62,000 equivalent album units to date.
All Billboard charts dated Sept. 14 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Despite being released with just six hours left in the Sept. 14-dated Billboard charts’ tracking week, Linkin Park’s comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” debuts at No. 24 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay list. The song – the six-piece’s first with new vocalist Emily Armstrong, who sings with Mike Shinoda on it, and new drummer […]
The Offspring’s “Make It All Right” ascends two spots to No. 1 on Billboard’s all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart dated Sept. 14. The track reigns with 3.9 million audience impressions in the week ending Sept. 5, according to Luminate. The Dexter Holland-fronted act snags its first ruler on Rock & Alternative Airplay, which […]