Posted by Administrator on December 5th, 2014
Just two days after AC/DCdrummer Phil Rudd's lawyer entered a not-guilty plea to charges of threatening to kill and possession of drugs on Rudd's behalf, the musician was brought to Tauranga District Court in New Zealand on Dec. 4 after a bizarre scuffle with an unidentified man and Rudd's own bodyguard. Police were called to a cafe in Tauranga after witnesses reported seeing the 60-year-old drummer "following a taller, bigger guy" and "trying to punch him." A third man, believed to be Rudd's bodyguard, then intervened which reportedly caused Rudd to begin to "punch and kick" him also. Appearing in court in handcuffs, Rudd was granted bail on condition he doesn't consume illicit drugs. Rudd's lawyer admitted his client had a "chance meeting" with someone he was barred from contacting under his previous bail conditions. The drummer is said to have "mumbled unintelligible responses" when the waiting media asked questions outside the court. Rudd has been in the headlines since he was charged in November with trying to procure a murder. That charge was soon dropped, but he still faces charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. He has been on bail since his arrest in early November in New Zealand. Judge Tom Ingram said Rudd's charges of threatening to kill and drug possession would likely be heard at a judge-alone trial in 2015. - Billboard, 12/4/14...... 
But the technical limitations of the tapes means that we hear more of their youthful swagger than the proficiency and creativity that would later enchant the world," he added. The tapes, which are currently owned by onetime Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali business manager Larry Grossberg, reportedly were once offered to Beatles manager Brian Epstein at a price of £100,000, prompting Epstein to make a counteroffer of £20 based on the inferior sound quality. The auction includes the master tapes for the 26-song album as well as stereo mixes created from the original monaural recording and the 7-inch reel safety master from the original unedited tape that Barber made. - The L.A. Times, 3/19/15...... Meanwhile, "Strawberry Fields Forever" has just been named as the greatest Beatles song ever in a new poll of some of music's biggest names, including Beatles producer George Martin, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Dave Grohl and Nile Rodgers. Coming in behind the 1967 chart-topping hit in the poll conducted by Britain's New Musical Express were "A Day in the Life," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Here Comes the Sun," and "Blackbird." - NME, 3/18/15...... In other Beatles news, it was announced on Mar. 18 that Paul McCartney will present Ringo Starr with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's one-off Award For Musical Excellence during the 2015 induction ceremony on Apr. 18 at Cleveland's public hall, making Ringo the final member of the group to be honored as a solo artists. Other presenters include Stevie Wonder, who will do the honors for '70s hitmaker Bill Withers, and Pattie Smith, who will induct the late Lou Reed. - Billboard, 3/18/15...... Barry Manilow is donating a piano to the Uniondale school district on Long Island in New York as part of the singer's Manilow Music Project. Manilow says he started the project to help public schools with depleted music programs, and is urging others to also donate musical instruments for schoolchildren to play. The 71-year-old crooner performed at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale on March 20, and announced he'd be giving free tickets to anyone who donates a new or gently used musical instrument. "Music is a vital part of a child's education," Manilow said. - AP, 3/21/15...... 
Organizers of a proposed Jimi Hendrix park in Seattle, Wash., announced on Mar. 20 that they've picked a developer to build a 2.5 acre Jimi Hendrix Park in the city's Central District, adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum. Construction, which is being handled by ERRG, Inc., is expected to begin in April, with phase one projected to open this fall. The non-profit groups Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation and the Friends of Jimi Hendrix Park have raised more than $1.4 million for the project since 2012. "It is our hope that for generations, [the park] will exist as more than an attraction or point of interest, but a place of homage to one of Seattle's own," said Janie Hendrix, the legendary guitarist's sister and director of the Jimi Hendrix Park Foundation. "The landscaping, the artistic design, and the ambience all mimic the vibe of the persona of Jimi, whom this park honors." Phase one of the park -- dubbed "Little Wing" -- will include an entrance at 25th and Massachusetts, a pathway with a timeline of the Seattle native's life and career, rain infiltration gardens and a central plaza for performances, among other features. Phase two, which is still in the fundraising stages, will add the park's centerpiece, a so-called "shadow wave wall" depicting silhouette images of Hendrix. Hendrix died in London on Sept. 18, 1970, at age 27. - Billboard, 3/20/15...... A planned Janis Joplin biopic starring Hollywood A-lister Amy Adams has been halted, at least temporarily, by a new lawsuit that claims writer-producer Ron Terry and an investor breached an exclusive option agreement by owned by producers for the script about the hard-living rock and roll queen. LKL Productions and Swiss production company Silver Reel claim they paid $117,000 for the exclusive rights in August 2014 to the script Get It While You Can, which Terry wrote with his wife Teresa Kounin-Terry. Silver Reel and LKL's option is set to expire at the end of March, and they have equested the judge extend the option agreement until the lawsuit's resolution, and want an injunction preventing the defendants from shopping the screenplay to any third party. - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/18/15...... With its release held up for seven years because of rights issues, Danny Tedesco's illuminating documentary The Wrecking Crew about the unsung L.A. session musicians who provided the backbeat for some of the greatest songs from the '50s through the '80s can now be seen in selected theaters in the US. The wait was worth it. Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Carol Kaye, and the director's dad, Tommy Tedisco, are finally allowed to step out of the shadows and take a belated bow. - Entertainment Weekly, 3/20/15...... 
Neil Young made a surprise appearance at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Tex., on Mar. 19, attending a Q&A session following a special screening of his 1982 film Human Highway. "It has a life of it's own. It refuses to die - we tried to kill it a couple of times," said Young of the surreal movie, which was shown in a newly re-cut and re-mastered format. "It was never satisfying to look at, because I knew there was more than what we were seeing... I always wanted to make it what it could be." Human Highway is set at a roadside diner near a nuclear power plant and stars the singer-songwriter, who also wrote and directed the film under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey. It also features the band Devo as power plant workers and also sees the band jamming with Young on a version of his track "Hey Hey My My (Out Of The Blue)." "They're geniuses -- they had something that was totally unique," said Young of the Ohio-based Nw Wave band. "When I met them I freaked out." He added that the new version of the movie, which includes previously unseen footage, will be touring film festivals throughout the year, before getting a DVD release. - New Musical Express, 3/20/15...... Meanwhile, late Small Faces and Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan was remembered at the Austin Music Awards on Mar. 18 with an hour-long tribute by an all-star group of musicians, including Steven Van Zandt, Patty Griffin and Alejandro Escovedo. McLagan, an Austin transplant who died on Dec. 3 at the age of 69, had also been named best keyboardist in a poll conducted by the Austin Chronicle. The award was accepted by his son Lee McLagan, who'd flown over from England and received a standing ovation from the crowd. "He loved this place with all his heart. I hope he gave you a good time, 'cause you gave him a home," McLagan said. - Billboard, 3/19/15...... Fleetwood Mac has rescheduled their tour of Australasia for later in 2015 after previous dates in late 2013 were called off when bassist John McVie diagnosed with cancer (he sought treatment and returned to the stage in late December of that year). The classic Fleetwood Mac lineup of McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie will play 10 shows in Australia and New Zealand in the fall, beginning with shows on Oct. 22 and 24 in Sydney. The band will also visit Perth, Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane, Hunter Valley, and Dunedin before wrapping on Nov. 21 in Auckland. Fleetwood Mac was last Down Under for the 2009 Unleashed Tour, and they've not toured as a five-piece since 1998. - Billboard, 3/20/15...... Former Chic principal Nile Rodgers has weighed in on the recent controversial verdict concerning the Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke song "Blurred Lines," which has been ruled as copying Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up." "Compositionally, purely compositionally, I don't think they should have lost that case," said Rodgers, who has worked alongside Williams in Daft Punk's smash hit "Get Lucky." "'Got to Give it Up' is clearly a blues structure, ('Blurred Lines') isn't at all....they don't really sound alike." On Mar. 18, Gaye's children wrote an open letter in hopes to "set the record straight on a few misconceptions" surrounding their winning case against Thicke and Williams. The siblings said that they were "forced into court" by a lawsuit brought by Thicke and Williams' attorneys, and that the lawsuit could have easily been avoided had the pair acknowledged their infringement and approached the family in advance and come to a deal on the song -- something they "would have welcomed." - AP/Billboard, 3/19/15...... 
Auctioneers Julien's have announced an auction of Elvis Presley items at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York on May 16 will include the King of Rock & Roll's TCB (Taking Care of Business) bus was owned by Elvis' backup band, The TCB Band, and purchased with money provided by Elvis. The bus, which features the TCB initials and lighting bolt logo throughout, has been fully restored. It features bunks for nine, old-fashioned tube TVs and classic '70s decor. And Elvis drove it himself sometimes. The estimated selling price is $100,000-$200,000. Also up for sale is Presley's 1971 two-seat Stutz Blackhawk car, which featured the best audio system of the day and was delivered to Elvis at his Beverly Hills home on Sept. 9 1971. The pre-sale estimate is $400,000-$600,000, along with Elvis' army winter dress uniform ($20,000-$40,000), Las Vegas "penguin suit" ($60,000-$80,000), marriage certificate to Priscilla Presley, black Gibson J-200 he played in Vegas, and the contract he signed to play the Louisiana Hayride early in his career. - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/17/15...... The Crawford, Colorado home of late British-born rocker Joe Cocker is back on the market again, after being taken off the market after the the singer's death. The nearly 16,000-square-foot Tudor-style mansion was on the market fully furnished for $7.9 million last year, before Cocker's death, but has now been relisted again, fully furnished, for $7 million. It has eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms and sits on 243 acres. The home is about a two-hour drive from the resort areas of Aspen and Telluride. - AP, 3/16/15...... Johnny Cash's acclaimed Rick Rubin-produced American Recordings I-VI will be released as a 
With contemporary bands like War on Drugs refracting Dire Straits' honeyed 1980s guitar sound, it's surprising that frontman Mark Knopfler hasn't rebooted his old band lately. Instead, he's been unpacking his influences on modest, multifaceted rock LPs like his latest, 
Eric Clapton announced on Mar. 12 that he'll celebrate his milestone 70th birthday on Mar. 30 with two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden on May 1 and 2. The concerts will also commemorate another anniversary: the 46th anniversary of his first peformance at the venue with Cream, which christened the "new" MSG in 1968. Clapton ahs since appeared at the arena more than 45 times -- more than any other place in the U.S. General public tickets go on sale Mar. 20, and the opening act will be Andy Fairweather Low and the Low Riders. - Billboard, 3/12/15...... The Eagles announced on Mar. 13 that they'll take their History of the Eagles Tour on the road again in 2015 beginning with a May 19 performance at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tex. The iconic country-rock band will play relatively smaller markets on the 24-date tour, including Bakersfield, Calif., Sioux Falls, S.D., Eugene, Ore., and Dayton, Ohio, before wrapping in Bossier City, La., on July 29. The previous leg of their HOTE tour raked in more than $145 million in 2013-14, playing for 1.1 million fans. - Billboard, 3/13/15...... Robert Plant has announced a series of live North American dates, some of which will see the alternative band the Pixies providing support. Plant will tour North America during May and June, with Frank Black & Co. opening for the musician in Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Rochester Hills and Raleigh. Singer-songwriter JD McPherson will open on the remaining dates. Full dates can be found at Plant's 
Elton John is among the voices calling for a boycott of fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana after the pair expressed skepticism about the use of in vitro fertilization and surrogate mothers to create families in a recent interview with an Italian magazine. "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as "synthetic," Sir Elton posted on his official site on Mar. 14. He added: "And shame on you for wagging your judgemental little fingers at IVF -- a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil their dream of having children. Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again." The designers, under growing social media pressure, issued a statement on Mar. 14 saying their comments supporting traditional families with a mother and a father "weren't intended to judge the choices made by others." The designers, who are gay and formerly were a couple, have put the traditional family at the center of their last two collections, sending a pregnant model and models with their own children down the runway to celebrate motherhood. - AP, 3/16/15...... Stevie Wonder will serve as an executive producer on Freedom Run, a proposed NBC show about the Underground Railroad. The mini-series will be based on Betty DeRamus' book Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories From the Underground Railroad. The show is indicative of the networks' desire to satisfy the audience's thirst for more diverse programming after the success of such diverse hits as Empire, How to Get Away With Murder and Fresh Off the Boat. Wonder is also writing a musical version of Freedom Run to be staged on Broadway. - Entertainment Weekly, 3/13/15...... Comedian/actor Eddie Murphy is in talks to portray Richard Pryor's dad in an upcoming Pryor biopic that Lee Daniels is directing for The Weinstein Co. Mike Epps will star as the controversial '70s comedian who pushed the boundaries of race and mined his own gritty experiences, becoming one of the most influential acts of all time. Murphy will play the father, LeRoy Pryor, and Kate Hudson will play Pryor's fourth wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, who was married to Pryor in 1981-82, and then became his seventh wife after the couple remarried in 2001. - The Hollywood Reporter, 3/13/15...... 
In one of the most unlikely career moves in recent times, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has recently relocated to Nashville and begun collaborating with local songwriters for a new album of country music, after first announcing his intention to record a country LP last October. Tyler is expected to sign with Big Machine Label Group very soon, and has reportedly already begun work on the album. On the Mar. 11 episode of American Idol, Tyler joined country stars Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire and The Band Perry in a taped segment, all of whom are signed to BMLG imprints, in praising Big Machine executive Scott Borchetta. Taylor Swift is the label's biggest act. A release date for Tyler's album could come as early as November, though a 2016 release is more likely. No producer has been confirmed for the project. - Billboard, 3/13/15...... Mike Porcaro, a longtime bassist for the Grammy-winning band Toto, died on Mar. 15 after a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease), according to a Facebook post by his brother, Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro. He was 59. "My brother Mike Porcaro is now now at peace. I will miss him more than I could ever put into words. My deepest love to the family. God Bless," Toto guitarist/singer Steve Lukather tweeted on Mar. 15. Porcaro, the son of the jazz percussionist Joe Porcaro, joined the Grammy-winning rockers Toto in 1982 and was with the band for their most successful album, Toto IV, which featured the hit singles "Africa" and "Rosanna." He appeared on many more Toto albums before retiring from the band in 2007 due to complications from ALS. Toto is set to tour Europe this spring in support of their new album, 
Three Dog Night keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon died of etastatic melanoma in Gaithersberg, Md., on Mar. 11. He was 67. Greenspoon's organ and electric piano on hits such as "Easy to be Hard" and 
Posting on his 
Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain is denying he's planning to leave the band, despite recent claims to that effect from the band's guitarist Neal Schon. On Oct. 9, Schon posted on 
Oscar-nominated Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (Ladybird, Little Women) has reportedly been cast as Linda McCartney in the upcoming Beatles "Four Film Cinematic Event" directed by Sam Mendes. Deadline.com is reporting that -- according to multiple sources -- Ronan will portray Paul McCartney's first wife in the upcoming series of biopics. Reps for distributors Sony Pictures are yet to make an official comment. Ronan, 31, has received four Oscar nominations across an illustrious career and appeared in addiction-recovery drama The Outrun in 2024. More recently, she led the dark comedy Bad Apples, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Ronan joins a cast that includes Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. With scripts written by Jez Butterworth, Peter Straughan and Jack Thorne, the films are expected to arrive in spring 2028, though official details currently remain scant. Linda Eastman and Paul met in 1967, and they were married until her death from cancer in 1998. She was a photographer, musician and animal rights activist who founded a vegetarian food company. She also performed alongside Paul as part of his post-Beatles band, Wings. - Billboard, 10/9/25...... KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was hospitalized after a car crash in Malibu, Calif., on Oct. 7. According to NBC4 Los Angeles the crash was reported to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department just before 1:00 p.m. PT when Simmons' Lincoln Navigator reportedly crashed into a parked car on Pacific Coast Highway. He told deputies on the scene that he had either fainted or passed out before the crash, according to the L.A. Sheriff. Simmons' wife, Shannon Tweed, told NBC4 that the rocker was recovering at home, while a rep for KISS told Billboard on Oct. 8 that Simmons is "already back to work." Also on Oct. 8, Simmons posted on his 
As Linda Ronstadt reissues a 50th-anniversary vinyl edition of her 1975 album 
The Moody Blues bassist/vocalist John Lodge died "suddenly and unexpectedly" on Oct. 10, according to a 
On Oct 6 Rush surviving members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced they'll embark on their first tour in 11 years beginning in June 2026. The legendary prog rockers announced dates for a 12-show North American swing they are calling the "Fifty Something Tour." It will mark the first time singer/bassist Lee and guitarist/vocalist Lifeson hit the road since the group wrapped their "R40" 40th anniversary tour on Aug.1, 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles. According to a press release, the outing will be a celebration of Rush's "music, legacy and the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart"; the band's time-keeper and primary lyricist died of the brain cancer glioblastoma on Jan. 7, 2020 at age 67. Fittingly, the tour will kick off on June 7 with the first of two shows at the KIA Forum in L.A., followed by shows in Mexico City, Fort Worth, Chicago, New York and Toronto, wrapping up on Sept. 17 at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The "evening with" shows will feature the band playing two sets a night, with each show featuring a distinctive set of songs pulled from a setlist of 35 hits and fan favorites. They will be joined on the dates by German drummer/composer/producer Anika Nilles, 41, who has performed with Jeff Beck and released four solo albums. "It's been over 10 years since Alex and I have performed the music of RUSH alongside our fallen bandmate and friend Neil," wrote Geddy Lee in a statement. "A lifetime's worth of songs that we had put our cumulative hearts and souls into writing, recording and playing together onstage. And so, after all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we f---ing miss it, and that it's time for a celebration of 50-something years of RUSH music... No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable," he added. Fans can get in on a Rush artist pre-sale by signing up at 
On Oct. 1 The Who performed their final show of their North American farewell tour at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Calif. Surviving co-founding members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and co. opened the performance with a live rendition of "I Can't Explain," before rocking other Who chestnuts including "Substitute," "Who Are You," "I Can See For Miles" and "Pinball Wizard." The penultimate track of the night was "The Song Is Over" from the band's 1971 fifth studio album, Who's Next, and the band made a final goodbye with a tender performance of "Tea & Theatre" -- a single from their 11th studio set, 2006's Endless Wire. "I suppose, you know, it's goodbye," Townshend told the audience at the end. "That's what it is. To what we know as The Who, it's goodbye. What Roger and I will get up to next, who knows? If we last any longer, I'm sure we'll get up to all kinds of mischief. We'll do stuff together, I'm sharing some stuff, all kinds [of] bits and pieces. But for this kind of thing, it's goodbye. And you were last!" Daltrey said: "Thank you so much for your support, over all the years. It means so much to us. It was every band's dream in the '60s to make it in America. And thanks to you guys, you made it happen for us. Thank you so much!" A fan-shot clip of the moment has been shared on 
It has been revealed that the surviving members of The Cars -- guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Greg Hawkes -- have been working on new music started by late Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. The trio of the legendary new wave band have been building a collection of tracks from the dozens of demos Ocasek left behind, as was teased in the new Cars biography 
Chris Dreja, a core member of the seminal British blues-rock band The Yardbirds and who helped shape the sound of some of their biggest hits, passed away on Oct. 2, according to his sister-in-law, Muriel Levy. He was 79. "It is with a deep sadness that I have to announce that my brother-in-law Chris Dreja, former member of legendary band The Yardbirds, rhythm guitarist and also bass player has passed away after years of health problems," Levy posted. "I share the pain with my sister Kate who took care of him during all those years and his daughter Jackie... May he RIP." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, into which Dreja was inducted as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992, paid homage to the band's "innovations in feedback and distortion" and credited them for informing a slew of burgeoning genres like psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and punk in their short-lived but highly influential tenure" in a post on