Rock
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Knowing when to hang it up is a skill not every rock singer has. While some call it a day way before their time is up, others hang around way too long and end up doing damage to their reputations. That’s why the announcement last week that Aerosmith will permanently retire from touring due to 76-year-old singer Steven Tyler’s ongoing vocal issues hit Sammy Hagar so hard.
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During the encore of a show on Hagar’s Best of All Worlds tour with drummer Jason Bonham, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and guitar god Joe Satriani at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Michigan on Friday, Hagar, 76, took a moment to acknowledge the then-new information and give Aerosmith props for their longevity and spirit.
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“We had some crazy news today. We got here this afternoon sometime and we’re all sitting around backstage and a friend of ours that works for Aerosmith came and said, ‘Yeah, Aerosmith called retirement today. They quit. They stopped.’ God bless ’em,” Hagar said according to fan video of the moment. “It’s a horrible thing. What a great f–king loss.”
Hagar recalled the time in 1973 when his band Montrose was opening a gig for Aerosmith at Detroit’s Cobo Hall (now called Huntington Place) during a period when the red rocker had no idea who the “Dream On” Boston band were. “They sold out Cobo, and I’m going, ‘Who the f–k are these guys?,’” Hagar remembered saying. ” So, we did our show, we did an encore, and we played ‘Helter Skelter’ for our encore. And Aerosmith comes on and they opened with ‘Helter Skelter.’ Steven and I have been friends ever since.”
Long story short, Hagar added, “we love those guys. We all grew up with those guys. You grew up with them, we grew up with them, Mike and I. They’ve been our competitors to Van Halen for f–king 10 years. You know what I’m saying? ‘F–k those guys.’ No, no, no, but we really do like them. It’s just that we’re mad at them. But anyway, what a shame.”
Three months after rescheduling the remaining dates on their Peace Out farewell tour, Aerosmith announced their official retirement from touring on Friday due to singer Steven Tyler’s ongoing vocal cord injury. “It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history,” the statement began. “It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives.”
The “Walk This Way” group said that Tyler has spent “months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury,” but said it became clear that a full recovery was not going to happen. “We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a and of brothers — to retire from the touring stage,” they wrote.
Hagar said the tough call to press permanent pause on the road was honorable, and rare. “It’s a sad thing, but honest to God, my hat goes off to one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time, Mister Steven Tyler, for saying, ‘I can’t sing anymore. I quit,’” Hagar said before taking a veiled swing at other, unnamed, aging rockers who have continued to tour past their prime while making a bold prediction about himself.
“F–k yes! Listen, that’s honorable – that’s f–king honorable. The day I can’t sing anymore, I will f–king do the same thing. And that’s what a lot of other motherf–kers should have did a long time ago,” Hagar said. Sammy and the band then, naturally, broke into the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” which Hagar howled with his signature raspy vigor.
Aerosmith only got three shows into their swan song outing last year before having to reschedule the tour due to an injury to Tyler’s larynx.
Watch video of Hagar’s comments below.
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Less than a week after she passed the delegate threshold needed to become the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris is kicking off a battleground state tour alongside her yet-to-be-announced running mate — and she’s bringing along Bon Iver for the ride. Billboard can exclusively report that, Bon Iver will join Harris and her […]
The third annual Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp for women only will take place Dec. 5-8 in Los Angeles and feature such rock legends as Nancy Wilson (Heart), Lita Ford (The Runaways), Sheila E. (Prince), Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper) and Rhonda Smith (Jeff Beck).
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“Rock Fantasy Camp for women is a meaningful gathering of women together. As a military brat I never felt constrained by my gender,” Wilson tells Billboard. “Encouraging women to wield their power outside confining gender expectations is always a happy task for me.”
The capacity for the camp is around 80 campers divided into up to 14 bands. Each band is assigned a counselor who mentors them throughout the four days and helps prepare the musicians for the closing concert where they play with the rock headliners at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip. The counselors themselves are a constellation of heavy hitters, including Roxy Petrucci (Vixen), Eva Gardner (P!nk), Jennie Vee (Eagles of Death Metal), Julia Lage (Vixen), Jennifer Oberle (Sarah McLachlan) and Britt Lightning (Vixen), who also serves as the event’s musical director.
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Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp
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The camp is open to musicians of all levels, who are evaluated beforehand to make sure they are placed in the appropriate band and each participant is sent a song list to start rehearsing. The four days are filled with rehearsals, masterclasses, Q&As and jam sessions.
This year’s event will also include a panel of top women music executives, presented by Billboard, which serves as the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp’s media sponsor.
“The Women’s Rock Camps have been some of the most supportive and uplifting camps I have seen in my 28 years of producing the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp,” says producer David Fishof. “The way these women are able to bond and be completely open about topics without judgment allows everyone to leave with so much joy and increased confidence. After observing it, I realized it would be a disservice to not continue producing annual Women’s Rock Camps.”
Lightning adds, “The campers gain friends for life and more importantly establish a network of females that share the same passion from all over the world. The sense of community is overwhelming and inspires not only the campers but the talent as well and allows dreams to be realized in music and beyond.”
Fishof has run the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp for more than 25 years, and participating rock stars have included Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler, Alice Cooper, Joe Tyler, Slash, Paul Stanley and Sammy Hagar.
For more information, go here.
Dave Grohl surprised fans at a Foo Fighters concert in Denver by performing an unexpected cover of Tenacious D’s “Tribute.”
During the acoustic section of the set at Empower Field on Aug. 3, Grohl took the mic and paid homage to his longtime friends and collaborators Jack Black and Kyle Gass.
“I only played the drums on that song,” Grohl quipped, recalling his contribution to the original track. You can check out the moment at the 1:31 mark below.
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But as fans know, the beloved rocker’s involvement with Tenacious D goes far beyond percussion.
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Grohl has played drums on all of Tenacious D’s albums and famously portrayed Satan in both the “Tribute” music video and the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, his devilish antics having become a beloved part of the band’s mythology.
The Foo Fighters‘ “Tribute” performance comes not long after Tenacious D found themselves in hot water over a controversial comment made during a show in Sydney on July 14.
When Jack Black asked Kyle Gass for his birthday wish, Gass replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” referencing the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The remark drew major backlash, with an Australian senator calling for the band’s deportation and the Australian Prime Minister telling the band they needed to “grow up”.
In response, Tenacious D cancelled the rest of their tour and announced, “All future creative plans are on hold.”
Jack Black released a statement distancing himself from the controversial comments, saying in a statement that he was “blindsided” by his bandmate.
“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” Black wrote on Instagram before announcing the cancellation of the tour.
Kyle Gass also faced professional repercussions, reportedly being dropped by his agent.
In the midst of this controversy, Grohl’s Denver performance seemed to offer a light-hearted show of support for his friends.
“Tribute,” released in 2002, became Tenacious D’s breakthrough hit, reaching No. 4 on the U.K. Singles Chart and peaking at No. 84 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
The “Tribute” music video, featuring Grohl as the devil, has amassed over 124 million views on YouTube since its release.
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The Smashing Pumpkins‘ Aghori Mhori Mei has topped this week’s new music poll that features artists in various genres of music. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 2) on Billboard, choosing the the Billy Corgan-led rock band’s 13th studio album as their favorite new music release of the past week. Aghori Mhori […]
A vulnerable Machine Gun Kelly opens up about his troubled relationship with his mother in a raw conversation with Bunnie XO on the eighth season opener of her popular podcast, Dumb Blonde. “I would like to say for the record I love my mom dearly and I misrepresented her a lot early in my career,” Kelly […]
Puddle of Mudd lead singer Wes Scantlin was arrested after allegedly resisting arrest during a traffic stop. On Wednesday (July 31), the 52-year-old rocker was pulled over for a traffic violation by police in Burbank, Calif. During the stop, officials discovered Scantlin had an outstanding warrant from a previous crime for allegedly having a weapon […]
Three months after Aerosmith rescheduled the remaining dates of their Peace Out farewell tour, the group has officially announced their retirement from touring amid Steven Tyler‘s ongoing vocal cord injury. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The rock band took to social media on Friday (Aug. 2) […]
Pearl Jam notches its first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart in over 10 years as “Wreckage” rises to the top of the Aug. 10-dated survey.
“Wreckage,” Pearl Jam’s third leader on the list, follows “Sirens,” which ruled for three weeks in November-December 2013. The band first led with “Just Breathe” for 13 weeks in 2010.
The group’s 10-year, eight-month break between No. 1s is the longest on Adult Alternative Airplay since John Mayer went 11 years and eight months between the reigns of “Who Says” in 2009 and “Last Train Home” in 2021.
In between “Sirens” and “Wreckage,” Pearl Jam charted four Adult Alternative Airplay entries, paced by the No. 2-peaking “Dance of the Clairvoyants” in 2020.
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“Wreckage” is the second single from Dark Matter, Pearl Jam’s 12th studio album. The title track hit No. 19 in March.
Concurrently, “Wreckage” ranks at No. 6, after reaching No. 2 in June, on Rock & Alternative Airplay, with 3.4 million audience impressions in the week ending Aug. 1, according to Luminate. It ruled Mainstream Rock Airplay for one week in July, having become the band’s fifth No. 1, and rose to No. 3 on Alternative Airplay.
By leading both Adult Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay, “Wreckage” becomes the first song to hit No. 1 on the lists, which span the sonic extremes of rock radio, since The Black Keys’ “Lo/Hi” in 2019.
On the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated Aug. 3, reflecting data July 19-25), “Wreckage” placed at No. 6, following a week at No. 1 in May. In addition to its radio airplay, it drew 265,000 official U.S. streams.
Dark Matter debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated May 4 and has earned 107,000 equivalent album units to date.
All charts dated Aug. 10 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Beloved former President Jimmy Carter will be feted at a 100th birthday party next month in Atlanta by an all-star group of musicians and celebrities at a music gala entitled “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song.” The Sept. 17 event at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta will come ahead of the ailing former command-in-chief’s […]