Classic Rock 93.9

Four years after it was first recorded, Collective Soul‘s new album, Vibrating, has finally arrived.

As frontman Ed Roland tells ABC Audio, the “Shine” rockers had written two albums’ worth of material in between touring at the end of the 2010s and decided to release the second batch as the album Blood in 2019. That first batch, which made up Vibrating, was then set to drop as a companion album soon thereafter. Of course, that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“The pandemic kinda whacked everybody,” Roland says. “We were gonna release Blood and then, right after that, release Vibrating. So we had to wait a couple years — two or three years — before we could get it out.”

Even if Vibrating was made so long ago, Roland can clearly remember the recording process, which took place live in his home studio with the band “horseshoed” around drummer Johnny Rabb.

“We did no more than five takes on all the songs,” Roland recalls. “I just loved the spontaneity and what the band felt at that moment. It was that simple.”

That spontaneity led to moments like the breakdown in lead single “All Our Pieces,” which spotlight’s Roland singing over just a quiet drum beat.

“I want people to hear the feeling of what I was going through,” Roland shares. “When we were doing it with the band, actually, I think Johnny or [guitarist] Jesse [Triplett] was, like, ‘We need you to just break it down right here. I want people to hear what you’re talking about. Let us get out of your way.'”

Vibrating is out now. Collective Soul’s current U.S. tour in support of the album alongside Switchfoot continues Saturday in Billings, Montana.

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Sammy Hagar was among the many well-known artists who contributed original songs to the soundtrack of the classic teen comedy-drama Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which premiered 40 years ago this Saturday.

Hagar wrote and recorded the movie’s title song, a riff-heavy rock tune that Sammy notes was one of a series a tunes he recorded specifically for films around that time.

“They just would send me the script of the movie, and I would read…through it,” Hagar explains to ABC Audio. “And they didn’t ask me to write the title track. I just wrote a song called ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High.’ So…lyrically, I just kind of mimicked what was going on in the movie. You know, just a bunch of high school kids messing up…and trying to get laid, basically.”

The Red Rocker says having one of his songs as the title track of a popular movie then felt like he’d hit the “big time.”

Hagar notes that he always enjoyed writing songs for films, explaining, “I loved having a theme. For a songwriter, the first thing you need to have, after you have the [music]…I needed a title, a subject. ‘What am I writing about?’ And when they would hand that to you in a script in a movie…I just said, ‘Oh, yeah. Boom! I know what to do.'”

Meanwhile, Hagar says one of the cool things about his “Fast Times” song was getting to work with a soundtrack musician who was experimenting with synthesizers, and who added an effect that Sammy described as sounding “like a knife being sharpened.”

“It was so advanced [at the time],” Hagar notes. “It was really cool…You know, no one had ever heard anything like that before.”

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Alice in Chains has announced a vinyl reissue of the band’s 1992 sophomore album Dirt in honor of its 30th anniversary.

The two-LP collection, which includes remastered audio of the original record, will be released September 23, six days before Dirt officially turns 30 on September 29.

The reissue will also be available as a super deluxe box set, which, along with the two LPs, also includes a remastered Dirt CD and each of the album’s five singles — “Them Bones,” “Down an a Hole,” “Rooster,” “Angry Chair” and “Would?” — on seven-inch vinyl, plus various memorabilia, including an 80-page photo book and exclusive art prints, posters and a reprinted set list.

The box set is available to preorder now via the Alice in Chains web store.

As previously reported, Alice in Chains is also marking the 30th anniversary of Dirt with an album-themed collection of Funko Pop! figures. Dirt was also recently certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.

Meanwhile, you can catch Alice in Chains live on their U.S. tour with Breaking Benjamin and Bush. The outing, which just kicked off earlier this week, is currently scheduled into October.

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The third installment of Aerosmith‘s five-week archival streaming concert series, 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults, premieres Friday at 3 p.m. ET on the band’s official YouTube channel.

The movie captures the veteran rockers performing in July 1993 at the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater in the Pittsburgh suburb of Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, during the band’s tour in support of its chart-topping, hit-packed ’93 studio album, Get a Grip.

The show features renditions of “Eat the Rich,” “Love in an Elevator” and “Cryin’,” as well as older classics like “Walk This Way,” “Back in the Saddle,” “Rag Doll,” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Dream On” and “Sweet Emotion.”

The film, which has been remastered in HD from the original master tapes, will be viewable for one week after its premiere.

As previously reported, the five-part series, which kicked off two weeks ago, is offering new archival “official bootleg” concert films featuring never-before-seen footage debuting weekly. Each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade.

One day after each film premieres, highlight clips from the respective movies will be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.

Here’s the complete remaining schedule of the 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults series:

8/12 — Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 (Get a Grip Tour)
8/19 — Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 (Rocksimus Maximus Tour)
8/26 — Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 (Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble Tour)

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The second episode of the new four-part Rolling Stones docuseries My Life as a Rolling Stone premieres on EPIX this Sunday, August 14, at 9 p.m. ET.

The new installment focuses specifically on Keith Richards, looking at how important the founding Stones guitarist’s passion for music has been to the band, and how his bad boy and rebellious image has played such a major role in the group’s legend.

In a preview clip, Richards talks about how important he feels it is for a song to have a good guitar intro.

“[I]f an intro can grab you, you’re gonna to be in for at least a few more minutes,” he notes. “And if the riff behind that intro grabs you then, then you pretty much got ’em.”

Richards also discusses the unique way he devised of setting up his guitar, which entails removing the low E string and tuning the remaining five strings to a G chord.

He explains about the sound of the specially tuned guitar, “There is something about the intonation of the notes, the separation at the point — I would say almost mystical — that when hit in the right way, in the right moment, you know, [it’s a] cheap ride to heaven.”

As previously reported, the series, which was produced to coincide with the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary, is made up of four hour-long episodes, each focusing on a different band member. Last week’s premiere episode profiled singer Mick Jagger, while the final two installments will look at longtime guitarist Ronnie Wood and late drummer Charlie Watts, respectively.

In addition to new conversations with Jagger, Richards and Wood, My Life as a Rolling Stone features new interviews with a variety of other noteworthy music artists.

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Megadeth has premiered a new song called “Soldier On!” off the band’s upcoming album, The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!

“Soldier On!” is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a visualizer streaming now on YouTube.

The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead!, the follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia, will be released September 2. It also includes the previously released single “We’ll Be Back” and the Ice-T collaboration “Night Stalkers.”

Megadeth will hit the road in support of The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! on a U.S. tour with Five Finger Death Punch kicking off August 19 in Ridgefield, Washington.

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This Saturday, August 13, marks the 40th anniversary of the premiere of the classic teen comedy-drama Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The hit film, which featured such soon-to-be stars as Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates and Forest Whitaker, also had deep connections to the rock music world.

For starters, the screenplay was written by one-time Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe, who went on to write and direct such rock-themed movies as Singles and Almost Famous.

The Fast Times soundtrack was packed with original songs by well-known rock artists, including Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, The Go-Go’s, Don Felder, Billy Squier, Sammy Hagar, Graham Nash and Stevie Nicks.

Meanwhile, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson appears in a scene in which Judge Reinhold‘s character Brad Hamilton tries — and fails — to flirt with her.

Several other scenes included humorous references to popular rock acts. Here are three examples:

–In a scene featuring Leigh’s Stacy Hamilton and Cates’ Linda Barrett, as the two friends chat in the high school cafeteria, they realize that several of their female classmates have “cultivated the Pat Benatar look.”

–As the shy, nerd-ish Mark Ratner, portrayed by Brian Backer, nervously prepares for his first date with Stacy, his smooth-talking but sketchy pal Mike Damone — played by Robert Romanus — shares his special five-point plan for a successful date. Point five? “When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.”

–Just before the end credits of the film roll, we’re informed that Penn’s perpetually stoned surfer-dude character Jeff Spicoli has won a bunch of reward money for saving model/actress Brooke Shields from drowning, but spent all the cash to hire Van Halen to play his birthday party.

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Way back in 2018, when Elton John first announced his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, he told reporters that he’s told his kids, “When Daddy dies, promise me you won’t have a hologram of me going around the world.”  But he never said anything about appearing in the metaverse while he’s still alive.

Elton’s husband and manager, David Furnish, tells the British publication MusicWeek that he’s been looking into how to expand Elton’s brand in the metaverse — meaning 3D virtual worlds that allow people to interact via computer-generated avatars. 

In the past couple of years, the metaverse has become very popular with musicians — many artists have staged exclusive concerts within these virtual worlds. So, Furnish says, why shouldn’t Elton get in on the action?

“That’s going to be a big new market for music discovery,” Furnish tells Music Week. “We’re looking at it closely but carefully. Elton’s been a bit like an avatar his entire life, throwing things on and off, changing and moving forward.”

It’s all part of Furnish’s five-year plan to promote Elton’s music to younger audiences; projects like the Rocketman film and Elton’s Lockdown Sessions album have been a part of that. The plan seems to be working: According to Furnish, more than half of Elton’s Spotify listeners are aged 18 to 35.

And while Elton admits he’s hopeless when it comes to technology, Furnish says that once his husband “understands the role it plays in his world, he’s happy to give it a try … but then you better get it right.” As Furnish puts it, “If it doesn’t turn out the way it should, he’s not happy.”

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Paul McCartney is mourning the loss of his brother-in-law John Eastman — older brother of his late first wife, Linda — who died Thursday of pancreatic cancer at age 83, according to U.K. newspaper The Sun.

“My dear brother-in-law, John Eastman, has passed away,” the former Beatles legend writes in a tribute posted on his official website. “Having known each other for over 50 years it is an extremely sad time for me, and our families.”

McCartney continues, “John was a great man. One of the nicest and smartest people I have had the good luck to have known in my life. ⁠Not only did he help me massively in my business dealings as my lawyer but as a friend he was hard to beat.”

Sir Paul adds, “His sense of humour always shone through in everything he did and his devotion to his family was supreme. ⁠We had so many fun times together through the years, but when the time came to be serious, he was unbeatable.”

The note concludes, “[W]ords can hardly describe his passion for life and our affection for this amazing man. He will be sorely missed but always held dear in the hearts of those of us who knew and loved him. See ya Johnny!”

Accompanying the message is a photo of McCartney and Eastman smiling as they do yoga poses together.

John Eastman and his late father, Lee, were both lawyers who helped guide McCartney through his legal separation from his fellow Beatles during the band’s breakup and also advised Paul on some of his lucrative business endeavors, including his investment in music publishing.

Paul wed Linda Eastman in March 1969, and the couple remained married until Linda’s death in April 1998 at age 56.

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Rush‘s surviving members, singer/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, reunited Wednesday night at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, at a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular animated comedy show South Park.

Lee and Lifeson made a surprise appearance, joining their longtime friends Primus for a performance of Rush’s classic 1977 song “Closer to the Heart” while South Park co-creator Matt Stone sat in on drums.

This marked the first time Lee and Lifeson have played together in public since longtime Rush drummer Neil Peart‘s death from brain cancer in January 2020.

Before Lee and Lifeson hit the stage, a video featuring South Park-style cartoon
versions of them was shown in which they humorously discussed what they could do to help Stone and South Park co-creator Trey Parker celebrate the 25th anniversary.

“[Should we] send them some free Rush beer?” Lee poses. “Or even worse, we could show up and jam with them, eh?” Lee and Lifeson then hit the stage, to wild applause.

Rolling Stone reports the concert included full sets from Primus and Ween, and Stone joined in on various instruments for renditions of original South Park songs.

The show was filmed for South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert special, which premieres on Comedy Central this Saturday, August 13, at 10 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Paramount+ starting August 14.

Stone is a lifelong Rush fan, and the band has been referenced in South Park numerous times, including the 2011 episode “Royal Pudding” that features the prog-rock legends performing at a vigil after the princess of Canada was kidnapped.

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