Classic Rock 93.9

It seems as though Eric Clapton might have had a change of heart over playing shows that require proof of vaccination to enter.

As Rolling Stone notes, on Saturday, Clapton performed at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, which is following city regulations requiring all attendees 12 and over, plus staff, to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated, or provide the results of a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of the event.  All attendees must also be masked when they’re not eating or drinking.

In July, after the U.K. announced that vaccine passes would be required to attend concerts, Clapton announced, “I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present. Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show.”

Over the past year, Clapton has made headlines for his anti-lockdown stance — even releasing a song about it called “This Has Gotta Stop.”  He’s also complained about what he called the “disastrous” side effects he suffered after getting the vaccine.

Rolling Stone speculates that Clapton may have realized that adhering to his promise would essentially require him to cancel numerous planned tour dates.  The publication points out that the venue for his next show, in Nashville, TN, also requires fans to show proof of vaccine or a negative test in order to attend.

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Night is once again entering the Billboard 200 top 10, courtesy of Metallica.

The metal legends’ 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album, finds itself at number nine on the chart following its 30th anniversary reissue earlier this month. According to Billboard, The Black Album last visited the Billboard 200 top 10 more than 29 years ago, back in August 1992.

While it took The Black Album nearly three decades to return to the top 10, its been a near constant fixture on the Billboard 200 since is release. With its new position this week, The Black Album has now spent a total of 625 weeks on the chart, or a little over 12 years. Only three other albums have charted longer: Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side of the Moon, Bob Marley and the Wailers‘ Legend and Journey‘s Greatest Hits.

Along with the Black Album reissue, Metallica also released The Metallica Blacklist, a 53-track compilation featuring covers of every song off the original record by artists including Weezer, Ghost, Royal Blood, Cage the Elephant, Corey Taylor, St. Vincent, Volbeat and Phoebe Bridgers, among many others.

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In early 2020, Foreigner played a series of dates at in Las Vegas at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. It was supposed to be the first part of a two-part residency, but of course, those later shows never happened due to the pandemic.   Well, the band’s now making up for lost time.

Starting March 25, 2022, Foreigner will take over the venue with their show The Best of Foreigner 4 Live, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their biggest-selling album, 1981’s 4. 

Eight shows in all are going on sale: March 25, 26 and 30, and April 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9.  The general on-sale date is Friday, September 24 at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster and VenetianLasVegas.com, or by calling 866-641-7469. Foreigner fan club members and members of various loyalty programs will have access to pre-sales starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT.

The band’s Vegas shows in 2020 featured all the hits from 4, including “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Juke Box Hero” and “Urgent,” as well as some deep cuts like “Night Life” and “Girl on the Moon.”  Most of the band’s other hits — from “Cold as Ice” to “I Want to Know What Love Is” — were also on the set list.

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Dave Grohl has announced a book tour in support of his upcoming memoir, The Storyteller.

The live and in-person events will take place September 27 in London, October 5 in New York City, October 7 in Washington, D.C. and October 12 and 13 in Los Angeles.

For more info, visit DaveGrohlStoryteller.com.

The Storyteller, Grohl’s first-ever book, is set to be released October 5. It spans from his childhood and throughout his career, including his days with Nirvana and forming Foo Fighters.

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The efforts of some Van Halen fans to memorialize the late Eddie Van Halen in the band’s hometown of Pasadena, CA have succeeded.

Julie A. Gutierrez, assistant city manager of Pasadena, wrote in her weekly newsletter that a memorial plaque honoring the late guitarist has been approved for installation outside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where Van Halen played some of their earliest gigs. 

She noted that since Eddie’s death, Pasadena has received several “requests and suggestions” to memorialize him via naming a street, alley or other monument in his honor.  The plaque has gotten the city’s official endorsement, Gutierrez explained, and money raised by Pasadena 4 Van Halen, a GoFundMe started by fans, will fund the effort.  The plaque should be ready for installation some time around October 6, the anniversary of Eddie’s passing.

Pasadena 4 Van Halen’s GoFundMe had an initial goal of $3,000, but has since raised nearly $7,000 as of Monday morning.  The group is continuing to campaign for a new park in Pasadena to be named in honor of the guitarist. Voting on the name of the park is underway now and continues through September 24.

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Lindsey Buckingham is continuing to snipe at Stevie Nicks via the media, even after Nicks issued a rare rebuttal of his version of the events that led to him being fired from Fleetwood Mac.

In a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times, Buckingham claimed that Nicks demanded he be fired, and that Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie went along with it for financial reasons. Nicks in turn told the newspaper that Buckingham’s comments were “factually inaccurate.” But in a new interview with the Times of London, Buckingham is still blaming Nicks for his exit from the band.

“There were a number of years where I wasn’t over her,” says the guitarist. “It is possible that she has never been completely over me either.” 

He explains that he and Nicks have never “had time to heal or move on” from their breakup, adding, “We both had to compartmentalize our feelings. That is not a healthy thing to do because those little compartments can remain sealed up for years, until things start seeping out when you don’t realize.”

Buckingham also suggests that the fact that he’s a married dad and Stevie is single has something to do with it.

“It’s hard for me to know what her mentality is towards me, but I know what mine is to her because I’ve been married for 21 years and I have three children and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he muses.

Buckingham further suggests that Stevie has “lost touch” with the creative part of herself.  And while Buckingham has been in touch with Fleetwood and McVie recently, his rejoining the band “would be down to Stevie having that epiphany herself,” he says.

“And hey, stranger things have happened,” he adds. “This is Fleetwood Mac. Anything is possible.”

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A new documentary focusing on the late Joe Cocker‘s famous 1970 Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour, as well as a star-studded 2015 Lockn’ Festival performance led by the Tedeschi Trucks Band that paid homage to the trek, will get its world premiere September 30 at the Woodstock Film Festival in Woodstock, New York.

The movie, titled Learning to Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, features archival footage of the original tour, scenes from the 2015 performance and interviews with musicians who participated in the trek, the tribute or both.

For the Lockn’ Festival performance, Derek Trucks, wife Susan Tedeschi and their band were joined by 12 of the original artists who were part of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour, including Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge and Claudia Lennear, as well as such guest performers as The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson and ex-Traffic member Dave Mason.

The film features commentary from acclaimed music journalist David Fricke, and conversations with Trucks, Tedeschi, Robinson, Coolidge and many others, including the last interview with Russell, who died in 2016.

Learning to Live Together will get its North American theatrical release on October 22.

You can check out a trailer for the new documentary at Tedeschi Trucks Band’s official YouTube channel. In the preview, Fricke notes that the Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour and its 1970 companion film “summarized what was possible, coming out of the ’60s — new community, new lessons in American soul, blues, R&B.”

Tedeschi and Trucks say of Learning to Live Together in a joint statement, “This film is a labor of love many years in the making, and we’re so proud to share the music and the stories of the men and women of Mad Dogs & Englishmen.”

For more info, visit MadDogsDoc.com.

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Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has donated a favorite classic car he owns to an auction to raise money for a charity affiliated with his hometown-area baseball team, the San Francisco Giants.

Perry’s silver 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SL convertible is up for bid via Capital City Auto Auction, and the money raised by the sale will benefit the Giants Community Fund’s Junior Giants program.

The initiative provides free baseball and softball programs for over 20,000 children and teens in under-sourced communities. Junior Giants also works with local agencies, families and volunteers on various other community projects in the areas of education, health and violence prevention.

Perry’s car is painted silver with black leather interior. When he was in Journey, Steve used to drive the Mercedes to writing, recording and rehearsal sessions, and he has written many songs during his rides.

Along with the car, the top bidder will receive a custom-made red tuxedo jacket that Perry wore at many concert performances, and an autographed copy of his upcoming holiday album, The Season.

Proxy bidding for the vehicle is open now, and a live online auction will be held on Thursday, September 23, starting at 9 a.m. PT. As of Friday, the bidding stood at $27,050.

For more details, visit CapitalCityAutoAuction.com.

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When he’s not collaborating with seemingly every artist under the sun, Elton John is speaking out various topical issues, and one of them in particular really has him riled up.

Elton has been complaining for months that since “Brexit” — when the U.K. left the European Union — touring in Europe is now extremely difficult for British musicians, because they have to get special permits and visas, which are very costly.  Elton has taken part in hearings on the issue, but now, he’s decided to go straight to the top.

In the new episode of his Rocket Hour Apple Music show, Elton says he’s requested a meeting with British prime minister Boris Johnson, but admits, “I’ve yet to hear back from him.”

“I’m on the warpath to try to get this sorted out,” Elton declares. “What has happened is that it’s impossible for young artists financially to pay for visas, negotiate their way through all of the red tape that’s necessary for going to Europe. It’s financially impossible for them to do so.”

Recalling how important is was to him personally to get to perform in Germany at age 17, Elton says, “It’s so imperative for young artists to have that opportunity to do that. It makes them grow as songwriters, as artists, and as human beings. And it’s their right to be able to tour wherever they want to…so, at the moment they can’t, but we’re going to try and fix it.”

The legendary star continues, “I’m going to fight for this, and we’re going to continue to try and fight for this because it’s a desperate thing that’s holding young artists back,” adding, “It breaks my heart that these people are being held back by these ridiculous Brexit rules.”

The full episode will stream Saturday on Apple Music 1.

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NHC, which stands for Navarro Hawkins Cheney — the new group made up of Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins — will perform on the second weekend of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana Festival, on October 2.  But now you can get a preview of what they’ll be playing.

The new trio has released two new songs: The rocking “Feed the Cruel” and the more melodic and mellow “Better Move On.” You can also see the band in action in a black-and-white performance clip for “Feed the Cruel,” now streaming on YouTube.

All three musicians have a long history together.  Hawkins and Chaney once played together in Alanis Morissette‘s backing band, and Chaney later joined Jane’s Addiction with Navarro. The three also played together under the name Ground Control this past January on the David Bowie tribute livestream A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day! Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor joined them then on vocals.

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