Classic Rock 93.9

Alex Van Halen has revealed that there is indeed plenty of unreleased Van Halen music in their so-called vault, but whether the material will ever see the light of day is another story.

Alex recently sat down for an interview with Chris Jericho‘s Talk is Jericho podcast, where he shared that there are likely “three or four” albums’ worth of material — “if not more” — in the vault.

“On the one end of the spectrum is the fact that little licks don’t make a song,” he said. “On the other end of the spectrum, some of those licks are so unbelievably powerful, it’s too bad that they ended up in the back of the vault, rather than being records.”

But Alex isn’t in a hurry to release anything and wants to make sure that if he does release songs, they’re up to the standards of previous Van Halen music.

“They will stay there [in the vault] until we figure out how and why and what to do with them,” he shared. “And again, you have to remember, it has to be on the level of where Ed and I, where we used to play.”

“We’re not just gonna shovel it in. We have access to some of the greatest musicians on the planet, and a lot of ’em are more than willing to take a chance on some of the stuff,” he noted, adding “that takes time. And you wanna do it right. I wanna do it right.”
 

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Pete Townshend is opening up about his personal battles with what he describes as “chemical depression” and the unconventional way he deals with it.

In an interview with the U.K. paper The Times, The Who legend shares that he stopped going to counseling after three years, noting, “I realized that the woman counseling me had only said about three words. I was just listening to myself.”

Instead, he says he writes in his journals and “every morning I rebuild myself in a sense with tea and coffee, and a few vitamin pills.”

“When I first wake up I’m suicidal, actually suicidal,” he says, sharing that on a typical morning it takes him about 30 minutes to escape the darkness.

“I have a couple of cups of tea, two digestive biscuits (cookies)—apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps—and I feel happy,” he said. “If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I’ll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need. … And I have had a really extraordinary life.”

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Paul McCartney wrapped the latest leg of his Got Back tour on Sunday with a performance at the Corona Capitol Festival in Mexico City, and he brought out a couple of special guests to end the evening.

Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows McCartney performing The Beatles track “The End” with the help of rockers Jack White and St. Vincent on guitar. Both White and St. Vincent were on the Corona Capitol bill, as well.

St. Vincent, who appeared on the remix album of McCartney’s 2021 solo release, McCartney III, also joined The Beatle earlier in the set for the classic “Get Back.”

As for the rest of the set, according to setlist.fm, as he’s done most of the tour, McCartney performed a mix of solo, Beatles and Wings classics, once again including the most recent Beatles tune, “Now and Then,” along with “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Love Me Do,” “Blackbird,” “Jet,” “Band on the Run” and “Hey Jude.”

McCartney kicked off this latest leg of the tour in Uruguay in October. He launches a European leg on Dec. 4 in Paris, wrapping with a show Dec. 19 in London. A complete list of dates can be found at paulmccartney.com.

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 Timothée Chalamet and the cast of A Complete Unknown recently talked to Rolling Stone about the making of the Bob Dylan film, and Chalamet shared some insight into his commitment to what he calls a “role of a lifetime.”

“It was something I would go to sleep panicked about, losing a moment of discovery as the character — no matter how pretentious that sounds — because I was on my phone or because of any distraction,” he says. “I had three months of my life to play Bob Dylan, after five years of preparing to play him. So while I was in it, that was my eternal focus.” 

He adds, “He deserved that and then more … God forbid I missed a step because I was being Timmy. I could be Timmy for the rest of my life!”

Chalamet was listed as “Bob Dylan” on the film’s call sheet, and it fooled co-star Elle Fanning, who got an invite to a preproduction meeting with director James Mangold and “Bob,” thinking she was meeting the rock icon.

“I’m probably the first person in life to be let down by having a rehearsal with Timothée Chalamet, right?” she tells Rolling Stone. “Like, the first girl in history.” 

Monica Barbaro, who plays Joan Baez, said Chalamet “wasn’t so full-on” with his method acting, but she noted he was “in his own world” on set, “in a way that I think Bob often was as well.”

And Ed Norton, who plays Pete Seeger, described Chalamet’s commitment as “relentless.”

“No visitors, no friends, no reps, no nothing,” he said. “And I agreed totally — it was like, we cannot have a f****** audience for this. We’ve got to believe to the greatest degree we can. And he was right to be that protective.”

A Complete Unknown opens Dec. 25.

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Rod Stewart will be hitting the road in 2025.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will launch his One Last Time Tour with special guest Cheap Trick on March 7 in Austin, Texas, and wrap up Aug. 15 in St. Louis, Missouri. Rod and Cheap Trick last toured together in 2022.

A fan club presale starts Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. via RodStewart.com. Citi cardmembers can get tickets starting Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. via citientertainment.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.

In addition to the tour, Rod will return to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for his residency show, Rod Stewart: The Encore Shows, which will run on and off between March 12 and June 8.

Despite the tour’s name, this isn’t being described as Rod’s final tour.

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As he recently teased, Sammy Hagar is doing more The Best of All Worlds shows, and this time he’s heading  to Las Vegas.

The rocker just announced dates for The Best of All Worlds Tour – The Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The Vegas residency consists of nine shows, running from April 30 to May 17.

Joining Sammy will once again be Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani, with Kenny Aaronoff handling drums in place of Jason Bonham. In fact, Bonham recently confirmed he wouldn’t be back, after he announced his own shows and a fan asked him if he’d be back with Sammy. He replied in the comments, “Sammy has decided to carry on with Kenny so Sadly no.”

“I’m so looking forward to this residency and being able to stay in one place so we can get the sound and production completely dialed in,” said Sammy. “It also allows the band to experiment with the setlist every night – that’s why it’s going to be exclusive to Las Vegas.”

He adds, “I plan on digging deeper into the Van Halen catalog, and my solo career, Montrose and Chickenfoot, as well. The fans are in for a lot of surprises.” 

Various presales kick off Tuesday, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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On This Day, Nov. 18, 1991 …

U2 released their seventh studio album, Achtung Baby, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, making it the band’s third #1 album.

Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, the band began recording the album in Germany, although the sessions were marred by tension within the band. The record was eventually finished in Dublin.

The album took influences from alternative rock, electronic dance and industrial music, and featured such hits as “One,” “The Fly” and “Mysterious Ways.”

Achtung Baby was a huge success for U2, selling over 18 million copies worldwide. It also earned them a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

U2 celebrated Achtung Baby’s 30th anniversary, albeit a bit late, by playing the album in its entirety during their U2: UV Achtung Baby residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, which kicked off in September 2023.
 

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The Moody Blues’ John Lodge is hoping to get everyone in the holiday spirit.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer released the new Christmas single “Love Will Conquer All,” which he wrote just after suffering a stroke, which he calls a “Christmas present he didn’t want.”

“We all have our challenges in life, mine happened last Christmas … but like a phoenix this song appeared and helped me work through some of those difficult days,” Lodge shares. “As I look forward to Christmas this year, I know it was love that got me through, and my Christmas wish for everyone is that they are surrounded with love (and great music) this year.”

The song, now available via digital outlets, is a bit of a family affair, with Lodge’s son-in-law, current Yes frontman Jon Davison, providing background vocals, drums and rhythms, and Lodge’s wife of 56 years, Kirsten, also joining the song on backing vocals.

The song will appear on an upcoming extended EP, Love Conquers All, which will be released Feb. 14 digitally, on CD and as a limited-edition 180g violet vinyl. It is available for preorder now.

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Def Leppard is getting ready to go country … in Canada.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to headline the Saskatchewan edition of the Country Thunder festival, taking place July 10-13. 

Def Leppard is the only rock band on the bill; country stars Bailey Zimmerman and Jason Aldean are the other two headliners, with Nate Smith, Tyler Hubbard and Kip Moore also part of the lineup.

A full lineup and ticket information can be found at countrythunder.com.

Country Thunder is one of only a few shows Def Leppard currently has booked for 2025. They’re also headlining the Harvest Nights Festival in January and playing the Illinois State Fair in August. They also have their own headlining show in Puerto Rico in May. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com. 

Meanwhile, Def Leppard is also helping fans get into the holiday spirit this year. They just launched a new holiday merch collection, which includes a Def Leppard snow globe, a logo tree topper, a duffel bag and more.

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While KISS may have said goodbye to the road in 2023, Paul Stanley says it doesn’t necessarily mean we will never see the band play live again.

In a new interview with the Daily Times, Stanley says he’d be open to playing with his bandmates again for some kind of one-off performance.

“Anything’s possible,” he says. “KISS is so far from over, though KISS as we know it is done. But, having our hands and our ideas and our fingers in what KISS continues as makes all the sense in the world.”

He adds, “So, I look forward to whatever comes next without knowing what comes next. But I’m open to it all.”

In the meantime, Stanley is focusing on his art; he’ll be making appearances at Wentworth Gallery locations in Atlantic City and Short Hills,  New Jersey, on Friday and Saturday, respectively. He’s also getting ready to play again with his soul/oldies side project Soul Station. 

“We’re just lining up shows and tours now nationally and internationally,” he says. “It’s financially daunting to take a band of that size out, but selfishly, it’s so rewarding for me because those songs mean so much to me.”

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