METALLICA: Apologize for Sphere Ticket Frustrations
Metallica has issued an apology to fans for the multiple issues that happened when Sphere tickets went on sale last week. Many fans were confused by the various number of presales for each block of dates that were announced and how the remaining tickets were sold at different times last Friday. And those problems were nothing compared to the number of people stuck in Ticketmaster queues for hours. The band posted on its social media, "At this point in time, we will not be adding additional shows, but we are hoping to offer more in the future. In the meantime, we hear you loud and clear that the ticket-buying process was often frustrating and not always smooth. We’re working with our partners to improve this experience and offer some remedies for the next time around." Metallica's Life Burns Faster residency at Sphere in Las Vegas kicks off October 1st, with 24 shows before it wraps up March 13th, 2027.
SAMMY HAGAR: Back to the Strip
For the second straight year, Sammy Hagar and the Best of All Worlds Band are setting up shop at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas this week for six shows through next Saturday the 21st. He's once again joined by bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Kenny Aronoff. Keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, whose resume includes Eric Clapton,
Stevie Wonder, David Gilmour and many others, takes over for Rai Thistlethwayte. He's joined Toto, which Phillinganes was a member of 20 years. Hagar is promising a different set list this year, with hopefully a different song to open each night. And Michael Anthony says they will also do a handful of early Van Halen songs. "We try to do a nice mix of the David Lee Roth-era stuff along with Sammy stuff and Sammy goes, 'Yeah, why don't you pick some songs,' and so I've got about five early Van Halen songs -- I don't want to give anything way -- and then I rotate them around and I sing 'em." Following these six Vegas shows, Hagar and the band will go on a U.S. tour in June followed by the U.K. in July before returning to Vegas for five more shows from September 18th through the 26th.
Journey Rescheduled Two Shows Due To Severe Weather
Journey is being forced to rescheduled two shows on their "Final Frontier Tour" due to weather. In a post on Instagram, the band announced that "severe weather" had led them to move yesterday's concert in Montreal to Friday, and their Saturday concert in Hartford, Connecticut, to May 24th. The "Final Frontier Tour" began on February 28th, with dates confirmed through July 2nd in Laredo, Texas. A complete list of dates can be found at on Journey's official website.
TOM PETTY: He's Been Done Like That
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have inspired a new line of menswear from John Varvatos
that "honors Tom’s legacy, channeling the attitude and authenticity Petty brought to the stage with the rebellious craftsmanship of John Varvatos.” Starting from low to high...
- $198 will get you one of two T-shirts.
- $348 buys you one of two scarfs.
- $498 gets you one of two button-down shirts.
- $598 buys you embroidered bootcut jeans.
- $1198 is for suede boots.
- $1798 gets you a western-style sports jacket.
- And to top it all off, $3498 has you sporting a suede fringe jacket.
Varvatos has previously launched designs honoring David Bowie and Led Zeppelin.
Rare Copy Of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" Sells For Over $13-Thousand
Pretty much everyone loves Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," but do you love it to the tune of 13 grand? A rare copy of the classic album just went for $13,160...so what is it that makes it so rare? “According to the seller, this record was one of the first 300 produced and was previously owned by an EMI employee,” wrote Discogs, the online marketplace where it was sold. “It has the coveted 1G/1G matrix and is unplayed with no spindle wear visible.” So, of the millions of copies that have been printed and sold, this is one of the very first off the line and has never been played. As for what a "1G/1G matrix" is, we had to Google it. And...
"a 1G/1G matrix in record production refers to a specific, highly coveted alphanumeric code stamped or etched into the 'dead wax' (run-out groove) of a vinyl record, indicating it is a very early, often first, pressing." So now you know.
Bruce Springsteen Center For American Music Announces Opening Date
The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music officially has an opening date. The center, formely known as the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, will open to the public on June 7th on the Monmouth University campus in New Jersey. The Springsteen Center is a home for the singer's archive. More informaiton can be found on the Springsteen Center website.
BILLY SQUIER: A Return for Record Store Day
Billy Squier has been out of the public eye for many years, so it's noteworthy that he's doing something for Record Store Day on April 18th. Squier's 1993 album Tell the Truth, his last for Capitol Records, is being reissued as two LP set and has been re-sequenced with two bonus tracks. Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, New Jersey announced that Squier will appear at the store and "has offered to hang with us and sign stuff!" The 75-year-old Squier hasn't done any public appearances or performances since he did a tour with G.E. Smith back in 2018.
Extreme Says Seventh Studio Album Is FInished
Extreme is getting ready to unleash their seventh studio album. In a recent interview, Nuno Bettancourt explained, "We've got about 18, 20 new tunes, and dare I say it's the greatest album we've ever done, like every artist says." When asked about a release date, the guitarist said, "What we're trying to do is we're hoping to drop the album...it probably has to be towards the end of the year...maybe in June drop our first single, maybe for the Motley Crue tour drop a second single, just to get things excited." And Nuno's expectations for the project? "This album is everything for us. It's everything. This is our career...So I told the guys, I said, 'This album has to dwarf what we did.'"
VIOLET GROHL: Dave's Daughter Sets Album Date
Violet Grohl, the daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, has announced the title and release date for her debut album. Be Sweet to Me will be out May 29th and it contains both tracks Grohl has released so far, "Thum" and "Applefish," plus the brand-new single "595." Check out the video for the song on YouTube.
KEVIN CRONIN: Time for Him to Write
With Kevin Cronin no longer able to tour under the REO Speedwagon moniker, he'll be spending more time at home this year. And on his to-do list is finishing his memoir, Roll With the Change: My Life Within and Without REO Speedwagon, which he started over 10 years ago. He says one of the things that's holding him up is being unable to turn to his former bandmate, guitarist Gary Richrath, who died in 2015. "We played a show in his hometown of Peoria (Illinois) and his son came to the show, Eric. And I told Eric I was writing the book, and we stood eye-to-eye and I said, 'Eric, part of what's taking me a long time to write this book is that your dad is not here to tell his side of the story of REO Speedwagon, and I'm doing everything I can possibly do to put myself in Gary's shoes so that the story comes out balanced. And I will not put this book out until I accomplish that.'" Cronin shared the stage with Eric this past Saturday in Peoria when REO reunited and performed in celebration of an exhibit on Richrath at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Jack Osbourne Names New Baby Girl Ozzy Matilda
Ozzy Osbourne's granddaughter is being named after him. On Wednesday, Jack Osbourne posted a video on Instagram of the new baby girl he and his wife Aree [[ Are-ee ]] Gearhart welcomed last week.The seven-pound girl was named Ozzy Matilda Osbourne, after her rock star grandpa, who died last July. Ozzy Matilda is Jack and Aree's second child together.
IN OTHER NEWS
Journey have moved their show tonight (Wednesday) in Montreal to this Friday, March 13th due to severe weather, and rescheduled their Saturday show in Hartford, Connecticut to May 24th. Their next show is this Thursday in Quebec City.
Foreigner will perform the national anthem this Sunday at the Penzoil 400 this Sunday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Drummer Anika Nilles, who will sit in with Rush on their forthcoming Fifty Something tour, has released a video for her song "Drip" off her latest album, False Truth. You can find it on YouTube.
Bruce Springsteen wrote the foreword to the new cookbook My Jamaican Table: Vibrant Recipes From a Sun-Drenched Island by Andre Fowles. Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa says, “The joy and beauty Andre brings to our home with his talent and grace has been a pleasure and blessing for our family and all who come to our home for dinner!”
Tedeschi Trucks Band will debut their concert film The Garden Party on March 22nd at Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York. The film documents their first headlining performance at Madison Square Garden on September 29th, 2023 along with special guests Trey Anastasio, Norah Jones and Lukas Nelson. The film will get a screening in Tedeschi's hometown of Boston on May 1st followed by a theatrical release later this spring.
INXS's 1987 album Kick will be reissued on May 1st in a special Rhino High Fidelity version. It's limited to 5000 individually numbered copies.
Billy Idol’s documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, will start streaming on Hulu on March 26th. And with this announcement comes a new clip from the film that you can watch on YouTube in which he discusses his desire to mash dance music with punk rock. WARNING!!! Video contains profanity!!!
Two tribute shows for the late Moody Blues bassist and singer John Lodge have been announced. The first is near his home in Florida on July 17th at Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, and the second is near his home in England on July 26th at the Esher Theatre in Esher. They are being organized by his bandleader, keyboardist Alan Hewitt, and his son-in-law and Yes
singer Jon Davison. Lodge died last October 5th at 82.
Slash has signed on as executive producer of Black Zombie, a documentary about the origins of the whole zombie concept and culture. It will have its world premiere at South by Southwest on Friday.
Billy Joel has posted his performance of “Don’t Ask Me Why” from June 8th, 1984 at London’s Wembley Arena.