Classic Rock 93.9

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead. While the surviving band members – Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann – had said there was talk of a reunion to celebrate the milestone, the October death of bassist Phil Lesh seemed to put an end to that.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone Weir discuses the possibility of that reunion, but he doesn’t sound too optimistic about it.

“I think when Phil checked out, so did that notion, because we don’t have a bass player who’s been playing with us for 60 years now,” he says. “I suppose I could go back out. I wouldn’t put anybody in his place, so it would be a trio at this point. It’d be me and two drummers. I’d have to think about that. … I guess we’ll just see what the three of us can pull together.”

Talking about the decision-making in the band, Weir shares, “We speak a language that nobody else speaks. We communicate, we kick stuff back and forth, and then make our little statement in a more universal language.”

“For us, it’s a look or a motion with one shoulder, or the way you reflect a phrase or something that tips off the other guys where you’re going with this,” he adds. “And then they work on being where you’re headed, getting there with a little surprise for you.”

“That’s a formula that’s worked real well for us over the years, and there just aren’t enough of us left now to do that anymore,” he says.

While Grateful Dead hasn’t made any decisions about reuniting, the offshoot Dead & Company is set to launch new residency dates at the Sphere Las Vegas on Thursday. The shows are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the band.

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After touring to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of R.E.M.’s Murmur and Fables of the Reconstruction, actor Michael Shannon and his musical partner Jason Narducy are ready to take on another album from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band.

Narducy tells SPIN they’re hoping to tour in celebration of the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant in 2026.

“We want to do it, but there’s so many logistics still to be worked out, like who’s available when and what cities we would go to,” Narducy tells the mag. “We’re learning as we go.”

He adds, “I love that record and I love these tours, so we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen.”

Shannon and Narducy recently wrapped their Fables tour in Chicago. Their two nights in Athens, Georgia, birthplace of R.E.M., included an onstage reunion of all four members of R.E.M. – Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry. The duo will next bring the Fables tour to the U.K. and Ireland in August.

“I don’t aspire to be in a cover band, but this is just so damn fun,” Narducy says. “It also doesn’t feel like a cover band. It’s more like a celebration band.”

He adds, “Most of the comments from people are them sensing that we love the songs and they love the songs and we’re just going to get into a room and do that for two-plus hours. What does that say about R.E.M.? They’re so phenomenal. The quality of every single album is astounding.”

Released in July 1986, Life’s Rich Pageant was R.E.M.’s fourth studio album and peaked at #21 on the Billboard chart. It featured such songs as “Fall on Me,” “Begin the Begin” and a cover of “Superman,” which was sung by Mills.

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KISS has found a unique way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their third studio album Dressed to Kill.

To mark the occasion, on Saturday KISS will launch a special audio walking tour through New York City, where the band launched their career. The tour will feature audio interviews from KISS’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, as well as rock photographer Bob Gruen.

The tour will begin at West 23rd Street and 8th Avenue, the corner where Gruen shot the album’s cover, which featured KISS in bespoke suits and full makeup. The rest of the tour will feature iconic New York locations from KISS history, or KISStory as they say, including several venues where they played.

The tour can be accessed at kissonline.com, although the audio is only accessible via a mobile phone.

Released March 19, 1975, Dressed to Kill became a top 40 hit for the band and was certified Gold. It featured what would become one of their signature tunes, “Rock and Roll All Nite,” although it wasn’t a hit when first released. A live version, released off KISS’ 1975 album Alive!, eventually went to #12 on the charts.

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Carlos Santana’s legendary musical career is being explored in a new retrospective book.

Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender will feature never-before-seen and rare photos, as well as pieces from the rocker’s personal archives, giving fans insight into his 50-year career.

Highlights of the book include a foldout of Santana’s favorite guitars, as well as reproductions of iconic albums and a complete catalog of performances ranging from 1968 to 2025. There’s also tour memorabilia, personal art, correspondence and more.

The book features text from interviews with producer Clive Davis, former Santana band members and collaborators like Rob Thomas, Narada Michael Walden and Santana’s wife, Cindy Blackman Santana. Carlos also contributed his own insights to the book, which features a foreword by his good friend and fellow musician Taj Mahal.

Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender, by Jeff Tamarkin, will be released May 27. There will also be a deluxe and a limited collector’s edition, signed by Santana, coming this summer.

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Long before Mike McCready linked up with Ozzy Osbourne on 2022’s Patient Number 9 album, the Pearl Jam guitarist tried to bring the Prince of Darkness a guitar riff idea. 

Speaking with the State of Love & Trust podcast, McCready says that he originally came up with the riff for a possible second album with Mad Season, the grunge supergroup that also featured Layne Staley of Alice in Chains. He then pitched it to Ozzy around the time of his 2001 album, Down to Earth.

“I brought that riff to Ozzy, and I was playing it through a little amp,” McCready recalls. “He listened to it, and he just wasn’t into it.”

He adds, “I should’ve probably done a really good job of recording it and bringing him the original, maybe.”

McCready did end up collaborating with Ozzy about 20 years later on the aforementioned Patient Number 9, lending his guitar to a song called “Immortal.”

In other Pearl Jam-related happenings, the band has announced an auction for a painting done by the artist Munk One in real time as frontman Eddie Vedder was performing a solo show in Los Angeles in 2022. The piece is signed by Vedder and Munk.

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Joni Mitchell has Amanda Seyfried to thank for her latest streaming bump.

Billboard reports that ever since Seyfried showed off her dulcimer playing skills by performing Joni’s “California” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, there’s been renewed interest in the song.

“California,” from Joni’s 1971 album, Blue, saw a 794% streaming boost. It went from just over 100,000 streams in the two weeks before Seyfried’s clip aired to over 1 million streams in the week ending March 13.

While some folks have suggested that Seyfried’s performance was an attempt to audition for Cameron Crowe’s upcoming biopic on Joni, the actress has already shot that down.

“In fact, I didn’t even consider that, which is funny,” the 39-year-old Seyfried said on the Just for Variety podcast. “What I know about that project is that I’m very, very much aged out of young Joni.”

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Guns N’ Roses has announced the departure of their drummer, Frank Ferrer.

The band described Ferrer’s departure as amicable, noting he is the “longest serving drummer in their storied run.”

“The band thanks Frank for his friendship, creativity, and sturdy presence over the past 19 years,” a statement says, “and they wish him success in the next chapter of his musical journey.”

Ferrer joined GNR in June 2006, replacing drummer Brain aka Brian Mantia, who had been with the band since 2000.

So far there’s no word on who’ll be replacing Ferrer behind the drum kit, but GNR will have to find somebody soon. They launch a world tour on May 1 in Incheon, South Korea. A complete list of dates can be found at GunsNRoses.com.

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Elton John and Brandi Carlile are headed to Saturday Night Live in April.

The artists will be the musical guests for the April 5 episode of the NBC late night comedy sketch show, with Jack Black serving as host.

Elton and Brandi’s SNL appearance comes one day after the release of their new collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels? It features the already released tunes “Swing for the Fences,” the title track and the Oscar-nominated “Never Too Late.”

And the pair will be all over the airwaves that weekend. Over on CBS, they’ll premiere the special An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile April 6 at 8 p.m. ET, featuring performances from their March 26 concert at London’s Palladium Theater.

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Ozzy Osbourne has shared a tribute to the late Randy Rhoads on the 43rd anniversary of the guitarist’s death.

In a Facebook post, the Prince of Darkness calls Rhoads “quite possibly the best composer & musician that I have ever met in my life.”

“He came into my life like a bolt of lightning and as such he was gone again,” Ozzy writes. “I consider my self one of the luckiest men alive to have not only met him but also I had the great honor of being able to work with him. I will cherish the time I spent with him till the day I die.”

He concludes,  “LONG LIVE RANDY RHOADS. LONG LIVE ROCK N ROLL. I LOVE YOU ALL.”

Rhoads played on Ozzy’s first two solo albums, 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz and 1981’s Diary of a Madman, contributing to classics including “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley.” He died March 19, 1982, in a plane crash at just 25 years old.

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ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons is the latest artist speaking out in support of Joe Cocker getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Gibbons, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2004, says in a statement that Cocker’s nomination this year is “good news in view of the monumental recordings released and amazing performances delivered over the course of his lengthy career.”

Gibbons said he met Cocker when he appeared at ZZ Top’s Rompin’ Stompin’ Barn Dance & B.B.Q. back in 1974. 

“Suffice it to say Joe was one of a kind, the very embodiment of rock and roll in terms of talent and spirit,” Gibbons adds. “Let’s get him inducted!”

Gibbons’ statement follows Paul McCartney’s public support for Cocker’s induction. The Beatles legend released a letter calling Cocker “a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances,” noting “he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company” in the Rock Hall.

Cocker, who passed away in 2014, has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 1989; this is his first-ever nomination.

Fan voting for the Hall of Fame is open now, and inductees will be announced in April. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction is set to take place in Los Angeles this fall, although an exact date has yet to be announced.

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