Classic Rock 93.9

Welcome to your 60s, Axl Rose!

The Guns N’ Roses frontman was born on February 6, 1962, 60 years ago this Sunday. He moved to Los Angeles in the early ’80s, and in 1985, Guns N’ Roses was formed with Rose on vocals, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler, now referred to as the band’s classic lineup.

Two years later, GN’R released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, which spawned hit singles in “Welcome to Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City,” and went on to become one of the best-selling records of all time.

GN’R followed Appetite with 1988’s GN’R Lies, and then 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II. By then, drummer Adler had been fired from the group because of his drug use, and the band had earned a bad reputation due to destructive behavior on the road. Stradlin soon left, too.

Guns would release one more album, a covers compilation called “The Spaghetti Incident?”, in 1993, before Slash and McKagan eventually departed the group in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Rose, the only remaining original member, continued to work on new GN’R music for a new album called Chinese Democracy, which would become one of the most notorious records in history while sitting in development hell for a decade before finally being released in 2008.

As Rose kept touring GN’R without his old band mates, fans wondered whether a reunion was ever possible. Finally, in 2016, Slash and McKagan rejoined for the Not in This Lifetime tour, a reference to Rose’s previous comments regarding a reunion. The run became the third highest-grossing tour of all time.

In between, Rose fronted AC/DC in 2016 in place of Brian Johnson, who was sidelined due to hearing issues.

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It’s official: Red Hot Chili Peppers are giving fans another album, but first comes their new single, “Black Summer.”

After teasing the new track last week, the band released “Black Summer,” along with the music video, at midnight on Friday.  In the same breath, they revealed that their new album, called Unlimited Love, would be out April 1. 

Shortly after the news, RHCP said in a lengthy Instagram post, “Our only goal is to get lost in the music. We spent thousands of hours, collectively and individually, honing our craft and showing up for one another, to make the best album we could.”

“We yearn to shine a light in the world, to uplift, connect, and bring people together. Each of the songs on our new album UNLIMITED LOVE, is a facet of us, reflecting our view of the universe,” the post continued. “This is our life’s mission.” 

John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and Flea signed off on the note by telling fans, “Thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy it.”

Unlimited Love will be RHCP’s first studio album since Frusciante rejoined the band in 2019. It’s currently available for pre-order. An exclusive colored vinyl of the album is available for pre-order as well. 

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This Monday, February 7, Julian Lennon will auction off six one-of-a-kind NFTs focusing on three prized Beatles-related items from his memorabilia collection and three guitars that his late dad, John Lennon, gave him as gifts.

The “Lennon Connection: The NFT Collection” sale is being presented by the NFT marketplace YellowHeart in partnership with Julien’s Auction, and will be held live in Beverly Hills and online at JuliensLive.com and YH.io.

The Fab Four memorabilia depicted in the NFTs are Paul McCartney‘s handwritten studio notes for the recording of “Hey Jude,” a black cape Julian’s father wore in the film Help!, and an Afghan coat John wore in the Magical Mystery Tour special.

Julian tells ABC Audio that to make the NFTs unique, he came up with the idea to animate the images of the items and record narration explaining why each piece is special to him.

He says the “Hey Jude” studio notes are meaningful because McCartney wrote the song to cheer him up when he was a boy at the time that his father and mother were separating.

Julian explains that the Help! cape is significant because he remembers his mother telling him about how she visited his dad during filming in Austria, where they both learned how to ski.

He says the Afghan coat has particular meaning to him because he spent lots of time with John while Magical Mystery Tour was being made. In addition, Julian notes, “I just loved [the] coat, regardless. I thought it was a beautiful, beautiful coat.”

Julian says an important aspect of the auction is that some proceeds will go to his White Feather Foundation, which will help fund the charity’s global work in such areas as clean water, health, education, conservation of life, and protection of indigenous cultures.

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Metallica‘s ongoing deluxe reissue campaign is set to continue with Load and Reload, and, once again, the band is asking for your help.

In an email to members of their Met Club fan club, the metal legends write that they’re looking for any ‘Tallica-related memorabilia you may have dating between August 1995 through September 1998, including live photos, show flyers and ticket stubs.

Metallica previously asked for similar fan submissions for their previous five reissues: Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice for All and The Black Album. 

Should you have anything you’d like to share this time around, you can email Submissions@MetClub.com.

Load and Reload, released in 1996 and 1997, respectively, followed the massive success of 1991’s The Black Album, which turned Metallica from beloved metal outfit to stadium-headlining superstars. Though both records sold well and spawned hit singles including “Until It Sleeps,” “Hero of the Day,” “King Nothing,” “The Memory Remains” and “The Unforgiven II,” some longtime fans felt Metallica betrayed their thrash metal roots in favor of a more radio-friendly hard rock sound.

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In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s nominees for induction in 2022, some of the artists shared their feelings about the good news on their social media pages or in interviews.

Pat Benatar, who previously was nominated for the honor in 2020, said in a joint statement with her husband and longtime guitarist and songwriting partner Neil Giraldo, “Thrilled to be nominated again for the RRHOF. Congratulations to all the nominees!”

Judas Priest, who received its third nomination this year, posted a video message from frontman Rob Halford expressing excitement about the latest nod.

“Hello, heavy metal maniacs,” Halford says in the clip. “As Judas Priest continues to celebrate our ongoing 50th Anniversary we’re absolutely thrilled and stoked and amped to be nominated for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

He also encourages the band’s fans to vote for Priest via the online Rock Hall fan ballot to help “get some more heavy metal into the hallowed Halls of Fame!”

Devo also received their third nomination this year. The veteran New Wave band’s lead singer, Mark Mothersbaugh, was interviewed by Billboard and said about the Rock Hall, “Somebody there must like us, there’s somebody tenacious over there. We’ll see what happens. It’s a nice honor if it would happen — but I look at all the other people [nominated this year] and I would vote for them, too.”

As previously reported, the 2022 Rock Hall inductees will be announced in May, while the induction ceremony will take place this fall. Fans can vote at RockHall.com for their favorite nominees through April 29.

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Rod Stewart has announced that he’s hitting the road this summer for a series of shows in the U.S. and Canada, with special guests Cheap Trick.

In a video, Rod reveals that the tour will run from June through September and adds, “I really want you to come out, because we’ve had a bad time lately, and it’s really gonna be fun!”

At the moment, however, Rod’s website only reveals tour dates starting July 1 in Fort Worth, TX and wrapping September 3 in Tampa, Florida, but more dates will likely follow.

From May 13 to May 21, Rod is performing at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and he’ll return for a second round of shows there on September 23.

Rod’s most recent album, The Tears of Hercules, came out in November.

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Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has shared a statement regarding the COVID-19 safety protocols for his U.S. solo tour, which launches Thursday in New York City.

“We have done our absolute best and are doing everything we can to be able to play these shows as safely as possible,” Vedder writes.

Vedder asks attendees for tonight’s show to “remember to bring your proof of vaccination and wear your mask.” He adds, “If you have access to testing and can double-check you’re negative before you come, even better.”

“The goal is to be conscientious of others,” Vedder concludes. “And in doing so, get 2 or 3 hours where we can not think of any of this crap and tap into the live music we’ve been missing.”

Vedder will be touring in support of his forthcoming solo album, Earthling, due out February 11. His live band for the outing features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-RHCP guitarist and current Pearl Jam touring member Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, and producer and guitarist Andrew Watt.

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Slash is one of the most recognizable people in rock today, but when he was growing up, he often pretended to be someone else. Specifically, someone old enough to get into rock clubs.

During an interview on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday night, the Guns N’ Roses icon recalled creating fake IDs when he was a teenager. 

“I was pretty good at it,” Slash said. He then told a story of when he and his future GN’R band mate Steven Adler used fake IDs to get into a particular club, but while the doorman let Adler in, he rejected Slash.

“I was just crushed,” Slash shared. “So I went home, and I put on a bunch of makeup and put on some of my mom’s clothes — I was really drunk, you have to understand — and I went back up there. It was Ladies Night, so I went back and I got in.”

Slash’s initial thought was he was going to mess with Adler — “Steven would screw anything,” he joked — but soon realized that the drummer had since left the club.

“This whole black cloud of reality came down,” Slash remembered. “I felt the most vulnerable I’d ever felt, ever. Still to this day, I’ve never felt like that.”

After the interview, Slash and his solo band Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators performed their new single “The River Is Rising.” The track will appear on the upcoming Conspirators album 4, due out February 11.

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Founding Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has teamed up with author Mala Gaonkar to create an immersive sensory experience called Theater of the Mind, which will premiere August 31 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Off-Center.

The production, which originally was scheduled to debut in 2020 but was postponed because of COVID-19, takes place in a 15,000-square-foot historic warehouse and, according to an official description, brings audience members on “an immersive journey of self-reflection, discovery, and imagination, inspired by and grounded in neuroscience.”

The show uses stories from Byrne’s and Gaokar’s own lives to shape a narrative that attendees will be able to see, feel, taste and hear.

At each show, 16 audience members will follow a “Guide” through various environments and will have the opportunity to try a number of sensory experiments devised to make attendees question how they perceive their own beliefs, memories and identities.

Byrne explains that Theater of the Mind was inspired by a series of neuroscience experiments in which both he and Gaonkar participated.

“We began referring to the project as a Neuro Funhouse, but as we worked on it we came to realize that it was evolving to be something more than that,” he notes. “It has made us rethink some of our own beliefs and assumptions, to see ourselves and the world in a different way, and we hope that it might have a similar effect on our audience.”

Theater of the Mind begins previews on August 31, and officially opens on Septmber 13. The production will run through December 18. Tickets will go on to the general public on May 20, while pre-sale tickets will be available to all Denver Center for the Performing Arts subscribers starting May 6.

Visit TheateroftheMindDenver.com for more details.

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Dave Grohl may need to find more room in what’s surely a crowded trophy case.

The Foo Fighters frontman is nominated for the 2022 Audie Awards, which celebrate the best in “audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.” Grohl’s 2021 autobiography The Storyteller, the audiobook for which he narrated himself, will compete for the top prize: Audiobook of the Year.

Grohl’s fellow nominees include the novels Project Hail Mary and The Sweetness of Water, as well as former President Barack Obama‘s memoir A Promised Land.

The Storyteller, Grohl’s debut book, finds the prolific musician sharing tales from throughout his life, from his childhood to joining Nirvana and forming Foo Fighters. Upon its release last October, it topped two New York Times Best-Sellers lists.

The 2022 Audie Awards will be held virtually on March 4.

Meanwhile, Grohl’s expansion beyond music continues with Studio 666, an upcoming horror-comedy movie starring the Foos. The film premieres in theaters February 25.

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