We Will Rock You

PRESS RELEASE:

New York, NY (August 23, 2010)- On September 28, Eagle Records will proudly release Ronnie Wood’s 7th studio album I Feel Like Playing.

Featuring twelve brand new cuts, written specially for this release, I Feel Like Playing takes its name [and cover] from one of Ronnie’s most vibrant recent artworks. The color and verve of the artwork is equally reflected in the swagger and roll of the music on the album. Solo work has always co-existed alongside Ronnie’s band commitments and I Feel Like Playing is, he feels, his best album yet. Many of the friends made along the course of an incredible career contributed to the album; guests include luminaries such as Slash, Flea, Eddie Vedder, Billy F Gibbons, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Womack, Ian McLagan and more.

Ronnie Wood needs no introduction to any fan of British rock music. Starting his career with The Birds and then Creation, it was when Ronnie joined the Jeff Beck Group that he truly started to stamp his identity on the music world. After that group split, Ronnie - along with Rod Stewart - joined up with ex-Small Faces Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones in The Faces. While Ronnie [and Rod] moved on after a couple of years, The Faces are viewed by all rock fans as a truly classic band; and in fact they perform a handful of dates in 2010 with Mick Hucknall on vocals. After the release of his first solo album, Ronnie was invited to join the Rolling Stones - in 1975 - and remains with them to this day.

Rightly revered for his time with The Faces, Jeff Beck Group and of course The Stones, Ronnie Wood has continued to chart his own course and his output of both high quality music and art has been a constant. I Feel Like Playing is a great addition to his catalogue and all lovers of true British creative mavericks will find much to admire.

Track Listing:
1.) A Thing Like That
2.) Sweetness
3.) Lucky Man
4.) I Gotta See
5.) Thing About You
6.) Catch You
7.) Spoonful
8.) I Don’t Think So
9.) 100%
10.) Fancy Pants
11.) Tell Me Something
12.) Forever

PRESS RELEASE:

HOLLYWOOD, CA (August 23, 2010) - After months of speculation, WHITESNAKE is thrilled to announce their new bass player/singer… MICHAEL DEVIN.

Recently DEVIN has been playing with LYNCH MOB along with new WHITESNAKE drummer, BRIAN TICHY. This union completes the new WHITESNAKE line-up alongside guitarists DOUG ALDRICH, REB BEACH and keyboardist TIMOTHY DRURY for the new album in the works.

“It’s an honour to be welcomed into the WHITESNAKE family. I’m a big fan,” explains DEVIN. WHITESNAKE is notorious for exciting musicianship, David’s history is rich, and I’m very proud to be here.”

The album is currently being recorded for release on Frontiers Records in early 2011. The band will be also returning to touring in support of the new album’s release.

PRESS RELEASE:

Los Angeles, California, August 23, 2010 - With anticipation mounting for Heart’s August 31 release of their first new studio album in six years, Red Velvet Car, Heart is seeing success on the road and at radio with their singles “WTF” and “Hey You” seeing increased airplay on AC, AAA and Classic Rock stations across the country. Ann and Nancy Wilson will be in New York City in support of their new release and will be appearing on several national television shows including: “Fox & Friends” (9/1,) “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (9/2,) “The Today Show” (8/31,) and “ShopNBC” (8/29.) Appearances on “The Joy Behar Show” will air on August 25 and on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” on September 4.

“The barracudas are back and at the top of their game.” (Rolling Stone, September 2, 2010)

“Aggressive, Delicate and Enduring” (New York Times, August 4, 2010)

“Red Velvet Car, to be released by Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings, boasts an evolved sound that doesn’t pander to the iPod generation. The women of Heart have strong stories to tell through the music.” (The Virginian-Pilot, August 13, 2010)

Like all Heart albums, Red Velvet Car rocks hard but also has a deep acoustic side. Nancy Wilson has long been known to play her acoustic guitar with rock ferocity. This time an abundance of resonant acoustic instruments (guitars, mandolin, dobro, banjo, fiddle, viola, cello, and autoharp), played by Nancy Wilson and the album’s producer, Ben Mink, are showcased in Heart’s unique style. Nine of the album’s songs were written for, and appear for the first time on Red Velvet Car. The album’s closer, “Sand,” is a newly recorded version of a song originally written and recorded by the Lovemongers, Ann and Nancy’s 1990’s acoustic side project. The release of Red Velvet Car heralds Legacy’s forthcoming reissues of the classic Heart catalog in new physical and digital editions.

Ann Wilson and her younger sister, Nancy Wilson, first showed the world that women can rock when their band Heart stormed the charts in the ’70s with hits like “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” ‘Straight On,” “Even It Up,” “Kick It Out” and so many more. Not only did the Wilson sisters lead the band, they wrote the songs, and played the instruments too, making them the first women in rock to do so. Heart continued topping the charts through the ‘80s and into the ‘90s with huge hits like “These Dreams,” “Alone,” “What About Love,” “If Looks Could Kill,” “Never,” and a string of other hits that showcased the sisters’ enormous talents as both musicians and singers. Along the way, Heart sold more than 30 million records, had 21 top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide, and had a profound influence on rock music.

Nils Lofgren’s four-decade musical career has been an amazing journey that took an accordion-playing kid from the South Side of Chicago and placed him among some of the most important musicians of his generation.

Lofgren is probably best known for his guitar playing with Neil Young and his 25 years as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, but he is also a singer/songwriter who’s had a multi-faceted solo career. Eagle Vision recently released a DVD entitled Cry Tough, a collection of three different live performances Lofgren recorded for the German television show Rockpalast from 1976, 1979 and 1991.

Nils Lofgren joined us on Long Live Rock to discuss the new DVD, his upcoming solo tour, and to share some classic stories from his amazing musical journey!

For more information please visit www.nilslofgren.com

Listen to the interview in the player below or at this link.

Ever wondered what it takes to be a heavy metal journalist? In this comprehensive collection, Neil Daniels has interviewed a staggering 65 of the world’s most successful writers of heavy metal and hard rock. Many of these writers are successful biographers, editors and long-standing freelancers who have interviewed some of the genre’s leading artists from KISS to Metallica and Black Sabbath to Slayer. They’ve travelled the world over, lived in tour buses, got drunk with their idols, attended some of the greatest gigs in history and are still alive to tell the tale. It’s all here; the wild stories, the anecdotes…and the advice!

All Pens Blazing offers a potted history of the genre as well as the publishing industry from the legendary Sounds and Melody Maker to metal bibles Kerrang! and Metal Hammer to modern day magazines like Terrorizer, Powerplay and Classic Rock. There’s also a wealth of information on fanzines and webzines as well as long-gone magazines like Metal Forces, RIP and RAW. With a foreword by the Canadian metal historian Martin Popoff, this collection makes essential reading for the heavy metal fan. It is also a worthy historical document for the serious enthusiast and can be used as a handy reference tool for the aspiring metal writer.

Volume I (foreword by Martin Popoff) is 350 pages and features 65 interviews:

Jeff Apter/Gavin Baddeley/Bailey Brothers/Geoff Barton/Carl Begai/Mark Blake/Jerry Bloom/Dante Bonutto/Paul Brannigan/Louise Brown/Garry Bushell/Brett Callwood/Steffan Chirazi/Ian Christe/Carol Clerk/Dave Dickson/Malcolm Dome/John Doran/Paul Elliott/Jerry Ewing/Mike Exley/Dave Ferris/Lonn Friend/Joe Geesin/Ian Gittins/Ian Glasper/Tim Henderson/Mark Hoaksey/Seb Hunter/Neil Jeffries/Howard Johnson/Tim Jones/Dom Lawson/Dave Lewis/Dave Ling/Peter Makowski/Matthias Madder/Joe Matera/Joel McIver/Bruce Mee/Mick Mercer/Alexander Milas/Ben Myers/Derek Oliver/Daniela Pilic/Martin Popoff/Greg Prato/Dave Reynolds/Steven Rosen/Xavier Russell/Jonathan Selzer/Joe Shooman/Brian Slagel/Joseph Stannard/Paul Suter/Adem Tepedelen/Everett True/John Tucker/Tommy Udo/Clinton Walker/Chris Welch/Sterling Whitaker/Rich Wilson/Jeb Wright/Henry Yates
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST VOLUME:

“…the aggregate of this book is an at minimum interesting and at max fascinating read for any rock fan…friggin’ well all of this would be interesting to any rocker”

- Bravewords.com

“Ever wondered how Metal Hammer’s and Classic Rock’s contributors got their jobs? Most of them reveal the truth behind the art of the music hack in this collection of over 60 interviews with the world’s best-known rock writers.”

- Metal Hammer

“All the major rock mags are covered here, with no scribe outstaying their welcome. Read this because you remember these great writers from happier days, read this because you want an insight into what drives them…”

- Powerplay

FROM CLASSIC ROCK REVISITED:

This news is brought to you by VH1 Radio’s Dave Basner

Today, Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan turns 65. He might be getting up there in years but the rocker is still in shape and definitely fit enough to perform. So what does Ian think about retiring?

“I think time, obviously, catches up with everyone, but it’s certainly not something we’re planning at the moment, everyone’s in pretty good shape. I don’t think we specifically try hard. We all had a pretty healthy life.”

Deep Purple kick off a European tour on October 26th in Prague. For all their dates, head to DeepPurple.com.

FROM CLASSIC ROCK REVISITED:

This news is brought to you by VH1 Radio’s Dave Basner

Order of the Black, the new album from Zakk Wylde’s band, Black Label Society, debuts at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. That’s the group’s highest debut ever. So did they know that this record would be huge? Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist filled us in.

“I knew this thing would be as big as ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and Led Zeppelin IV, I mean, I just had that gut feeling (laughs). But no, the whole thing is just, like any Black Label album you do, any record we’ve done or any Ozzy record I’ve done, you go in there with the best intention, like when we did No More Tears, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh this is gonna be the one,’ you just hope people dig it.”

It’s not a bad week for Zakk, who also graces the covers of both Revolver and Guitar World magazines. Check out the stories on the rocker at RevolverMag.com and GuitarWorld.com. Meanwhile, the band hits the road later this year.

Learn more at BlackLabelSociety.net.

Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton has announced a new solo album.

Etitled simply Clapton, the record is due September 28th from Reprise. It is his first album in five years and features guest appearamces from Steve Winwood, Sheryl Crow and Derek Trucks.

Clapton spoke to Billboard enthusiastically about the forthcoming record. “It’s actually better than it was meant to be because, in a way, I just let it happen,” he said.  “It’s an eclectic collection of songs that weren’t really on the map-and I like it so much because if it’s a surprise to the fans, that’s only because it’s a surprise to me, as well”.

Here’s the full track listing:

1) Travelin’ Alone

2) Rocking Chair

3) River Runs Deep

4) Judgement Day

5) How Deep Is The Ocean

6) My Very Good Friend The Milkman

7) Can’t Hold Out Much Longer

That’s No Way To Get Along

9) Everything Will Be Alright

10) Diamonds Made From Rain

11) When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful

12) Hard Time Blues

13) Run Back To Your Side

14) Autumn Leaves

In an interview with Spin magazine, Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd revealed that he is totally broke and has resorted to sleeping in studios or on friends’ couches.

According to Spinner the bassist said that he took the band’s breakup thirteen years ago very hard, and it started him on a downward spiral. “My whole life seemed over,” he stated. “Soundgarden broke up; my other band, Hater, broke up; my fiancée broke up with me; and then I broke three ribs. I got addicted to pain pills, drank a ton, and wound up OD’ing on morphine. I was laid out in my house for five days, and no one knew it.”

The good news is that things may be looking up for Shepherd. Earlier this year Soundgarden announced plans to reunite, and recently the band topped the bill at Lollapalooza. The band has also struck a licensing deal for the new video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

After weeks of rampant speculation, and last week’s coy near-confirmation from the man himself, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler has signed on to be a judge for the upcoming season of the venerable American Idol.

So far that makes him one of only two judges confirmed for the new season, along with returning judge Randy Jackson.  Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres will not return to the show.

Producers have tried  -  so far unsuccessfully  -  to strike a deal with Jennifer Lopez, but talks hit a snag when the diva reportedly demanded more than $20 million. The Hollywood Reporter states that producers are still interested in making a deal with Lopez and are also in talks with country superstar Shania Twain, who was a mentor on an episode last year.

Though Fox has yet to confirm anything, Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton told the Star-Ledger that it’s a done deal. “Steven is doing American Idol. The ink is dry on that,” said Hamilton, in an interview with Bradley Bambarger. “So, we’ll have to work around his schedule for a new record.

“I hope it doesn’t hurt the new momentum we’ve built up on this tour, because that’s been so important for us as a band. But I wouldn’t want to be the one standing in the way of this for him. Steven is someone who absolutely lives to be in front of an audience, and the people closest to him know how witty and entertaining he can be. I don’t know if American Idol will be rock ‘n’ roll enough for him, but it is an opportunity for millions of people to see another side of Steven Tyler.”

No word yet on guitarist Joe Perry’s reaction. Aerosmith has had a famously tumultuous year punctuated by a very public falling out between Tyler and the rest of the band, and at one point Perry stated the band was actively seeking another singer. Then Tyler suddenly returned for a triumphant summer tour, but when rumors of Tyler’s participation in American Idol started swirling, the guitarist complained publicly that the other members of Aerosmith deserved to know how to plan their lives.

“I found out on the Internet like the rest of the world,” Perry said. “After working with me for 40 years, he couldn’t tell me about this?”

Two nights ago Tyler fell off stage after playfully bumping into Perry, who responded with a firm nudge that sent Tyler flying into the audience.