Classic Rock 93.9

Guns N’ Roses rockers Slash and Duff McKagan have lent their musical talents to the new single “I Can Breathe” from Gibson Band, described as “a revolving collective of musicians who join together to make music and raise funds and awareness for worthy causes.” 

Duff takes lead vocal and lyrics duties on the song, with Slash handling lead guitar and solos. Both are joined by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian, who plays piano and rhythm guitar on the track, along with Jota Morelli on drums and Seta Von Gravessen on bass.

“It was such a pleasure to work with Cesar and his whole crew on this tune,” Duff shares. “The musical slant and progressive rock-ness of this huge epic pushed me in a whole new direction.” He notes, “I love a challenge and Cesar killed it! Most importantly, to be of service for mental health issues and awareness is super important to me at this time. Let’s rock!”

Slash adds, “Cesar and Duff came to me with a really cool piece of music. I loved the riff idea, and Duff’s vocal, so I felt right at home on the track.”

“I Can Breathe” is now available via digital outlets.

Also contributing to the project is System of a Down‘s Serj Tankian, whose original painting “They’re Coming” served as inspiration for the song’s cover art.

Released in conjunction with Giving Tuesday, proceeds from the song will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Health through Gibson Gives. In addition to a one-of-a-kind Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar, Serj’s original painting will be auctioned off through Julien’s Auctions, with proceeds going to the same organization.

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Rod Stewart has reunited with his Faces bandmates Ron Wood and Kenney Jones.

Rod posted a photo to Instagram Monday of the three of them sitting on a couch together. While he didn’t offer up a caption on the shot, it’s apparent from the comments fans are hoping it will lead to more than just the photo.

“Reunion,” one person commented, while another requested, “Please play some shows next year!!!”

Both Stewart and Wood have talked about the future of Faces in interviews this year.

Back in February, Rod told Vulture he had some songs that were written and not released, and that he had sent them to Wood, telling him, “This is stuff we’ve recorded with my band, maybe the Faces would like to do it instead?”

And in an interview with BBC Radio’s Front Row in November, Wood talked about the work he’s doing with Faces, noting, “We’re making some continued developments of music we made back in the day. … It still sounds as no time has gone by.”

While they have yet to release new music, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers did put out some music from their archives. They released The BBC Session Recordings and Had Me A Real Good Time… With Faces Live In Session At The BBC 1971-1973 for separate Record Store days. They also released Faces At The BBC — Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973 in September.

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Three albums by the late Robert Palmer will be released on vinyl for the very first time.

The records, Live at the Apollo, Drive and Rhythm & Blues, will be released on vinyl on Feb. 14, and will also be reissued on CD and digitally the same day.

Rhythm & Blues, Palmer’s 13th studio album, was originally released in 1999. Drive came out in 2003, and would wind up being Palmer’s 14th and final studio release before his September 2003 death.

Live at the Apollo, released in May 2001, was Palmer’s first-ever complete live album. It was recorded in New York on the final U.S. date of his 1988 Heavy Nova tour and features performances of hits like “Addicted To Love,” “Simply Irresistible” and “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On.”

All three albums are available for preorder now.

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Iron Maiden‘s Legacy of the Beast mobile game is shutting down.

In the game, which has been running for eight years, you play as famed Maiden mascot Eddie as you make your way through different levels inspired by the metal outfit’s music and iconography. It often collaborated with other bands to bring their mascots into the game, including Disturbed, Ghost, Motörhead, Avenged Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch.

The game also inspired Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast tour, which ran from 2018 to 2022.

Legacy of the Beast will officially come to a close on Dec. 31. In the meantime, the developers say they’re “continuing to work on new projects with Iron Maiden that we are excited to share with you somewhere down the line.”

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Legal documents pertaining to the break up of The Beatles are set to go up for auction in December.

The U.K. auction house Dawsons will handle the sale of the more than 300 pages of documents relating to the band’s official split in 1974. The pages, from advisers and legal reps, were discovered in a cupboard sometime in the last year, although the exact location of the find was not revealed. 

Denise Kelly, from Dawsons, tells the BBC that the docs are “fascinating,” noting, “I just couldn’t put them down until I had read every page.”

“As I read the minutes of meetings – notes which included discussions between the legal teams and accountants – I wondered how on earth they were going to sort everything out, and at times I could sense panic in the room as more and more complexities came to light,” she shares. “One of the lawyers even suggested during one meeting when they had gone round and round and round in circles: ‘Would it be easier if The Beatles just retired?’”

The auction is set to take place Dec. 12, with the pages estimated to sell for between $6,000 and $10,000.

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On This Day, Dec. 3, 1979 …

Tragedy struck The Who’s concert at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati when 11 fans were trampled to death trying to get into the venue.

The concert was using “festival seating,” and fans waiting in the front of the line were crushed as others in line thought the band’s soundcheck was the actual concert and tried to push their way in. 

In addition to the deaths, 26 fans were injured.

The Who were not told about what happened so the show went on as planned. Authorities kept them in the dark, fearing how the crowd would react if the show was canceled. 

The Who did not return to Cincinnati for another 43 years; they played their first concert in the city since the tragedy in May 2022.

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Steely Dan is set to reissue another classic album on vinyl.

The latest is the band’s fourth album, Katy Lied, which will be released Jan. 31, marking the first time the album’s been available on vinyl in over 40 years. The reissue has been remastered from an analog tape copy of the album and will be released on 180-gram black vinyl, along with a limited-edition premium 45 RPM version on ultra high-quality vinyl.

Released in March 1975, Katy Lied featured the top-40 hit “Black Friday,” along with “Bad Sneakers” and “Doctor Wu.” The record peaked at #13 on the Billboard Album chart and has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

The release is part of Steely Dan’s vinyl reissue series, which launched in November 2022 and has been personally overseen by Donald Fagen. It started with their 1972 debut, Can’t Buy A Thrill. Since then, they’ve reissued 1973’s Countdown to Ecstasy, 1974’s Pretzel Logic and 1977’s Aja, and they’ll close out the series in mid-2025 with 1976’s The Royal Scam.

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The all-star Soulshine benefit concert raised $4.5 million for hurricane relief and recovery efforts in North Carolina and Florida.

The sold-out concert took place Nov. 24 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and featured sets by Warren Haynes Band, Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Goose, along with special guests Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and more. 

“The damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene to my beloved home of Asheville and all of Western North Carolina has truly devastated me,” Haynes shared when the concert was announced. “Every year, it is my honor to host the Christmas Jam and give back to the community there, but this year, we need to do things a bit differently.” 

The money raised from the show will benefit the SOULSHINE Concert Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, which will be distributed to a variety of nonprofits on the ground in North Carolina and Florida.

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James Taylor has announced his first concert for 2025.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to play Milwaukee Summerfest, where he’ll headline the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on June 21.

Taylor will be backed by his All-Star Band for the show, which will feature special guests Jason Mraz and Tiny Habits.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. CT.

Milwaukee Summerfest takes place over three weekends — June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 — with shows at a variety of venues across the city. So far a complete lineup has not been announced.

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It’s been one year since KISS played the final date of their End of the Road world tour, and they are apparently feeling nostalgic. 

The band just shared an almost 20-minute video recap of the Dec. 2, 2023, show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which was their final goodbye to the road. 

The clip kicks off with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons descending to the stage on platforms while playing “Detroit Rock City” as pyro goes off around them. It also features clips of them performing “Heaven’s On Fire,” “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and more.

The video ends with the introduction of the “new KISS era,” with video debuting their KISS avatars.

Simmons and Stanley also shared a special message to fans to mark the anniversary.

“While it’s true we stopped touring, this is not the end,” Simmons said. “I wish I could tell you the amazing things that are brewing but you will soon be able to experience it beyond anything you’ve experienced.”

Stanley added, “You’re not forgotten, the 50 years aren’t forgotten and the years to come will not be forgotten either.”

Finally, Simmons noted, “Hang in there. KISS is forever.”

KISS announced their End of the Road world tour in September 2018 following a performance on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. They launched the tour in January 2019 in Vancouver and wrapped it with two Madison Square Garden shows in 2023, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.
 

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