Classic Rock 93.9

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong appears in the new campaign for Marshall’s new Monitor III A.N.C. headphones.

Armstrong is seen in the clip wearing the headphones while walking down the street, oblivious to the strange things happening around him, including a falling street lamp, a dog driving a car and money flying out of an ATM.

“The world, well, it’s sort of chaos,” he says in a voice-over. “It’s easy to get lost in the midst of all that. But things have a way of falling into place.”

It ends with him playing his guitar surrounded by fans, before adding, “But hey – what do I know?”

Marshall’s Monitor III A.N.C. headphones feature 70 hours of playtime with active noise cancellation, or 100 hours without, and come with Soundstage spatial audio technology for a more immersive listening experience. 

“If you know anything about me then you know that for me, the music never turns off,” Armstrong shares. “Marshall is and has always been one of my loudest co-pilots along the way – from the stage to now, the street.”

More info on the headphones can be found at Marshall.com.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd was forced to cancel their concert Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaska, so frontman Johnny Van Zant could be with his daughter, who was dealing with a “medical emergency.” 

“Early this morning, Johnny Van Zant was informed his daughter must undergo emergency surgery,” read a message on the band’s social media accounts. “Johnny has asked all fans to pray for a successful procedure and recovery.” 

Ticketholders will be refunded their money for the canceled show. As for the rest of their schedule, the statement notes, “Updates tied to all confirmed upcoming appearances will be announced in the coming days.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd is currently on their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top. Their next scheduled show is Thursday in West Valley City, Utah. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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Elton John‘s new book, Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour, is out now. It includes Elton’s detailed reminiscences of his touring career, both from the past and from his final trek, which wrapped up last year.

The book includes a forward by Elton’s husband and manager, David Furnish, and an introduction by Elton in which he gives a bit of background on his five decades of touring, as well as his decision to stop. 

“Imagine this book as a montage of moments from my distant and recent past, like a convergence of flashing memories,” he writes. “It will give you a glimpse of what it was like to say goodbye to the road and hello to whatever is next.”

That’s followed by a section in which Elton talks about conceptualizing the tour, from the sets and costumes to the set list. Each subsequent chapter in the book is titled after a different city or country that Elton visited during the tour, which, due to COVID-19, spanned from 2018 to July 2023. From the U.S. to the U.K. to Australia and back, Elton recalls what it was like playing in each place, both in the past — if applicable — and during the Farewell tour.

There are also Concert Flashback chapters, where he recalls specific and memorable shows, such as Live Aid in 1985, where he shares his memories of hanging out with his friend Freddie Mercury backstage. There’s also a chapter on what he did when COVID-19 put the tour on hold for months.

Throughout, there are plenty of photos documenting Elton onstage and off, plus set lists, photos of Elton with his celebrity pals and their quotes about the tour, wardrobe and memorabilia photos and more.

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Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band have canceled the final two shows on their fall tour due to illness.

“Ringo has come down with a cold and after consulting a doctor he was advised to cancel these two remaining shows and get rest,” reads a statement released by the rocker’s rep. “As always, Ringo and the All Starrs send peace and love to their fans and hope to see them soon.”

Canceled concerts are Tuesday’s show at the TD Pavilion at The Mann in Philadelphia and Wednesday’s at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Ticketholders will receive automatic refunds.

Ringo and his All Starr Band kicked off the fall leg of their tour on Sept. 7 in San Diego. They have no other shows on the schedule for 2024.

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Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is set to join rock band Thunderpussy for a special benefit show in Seattle.

The Stand for Innocence concert will take place Oct. 10 at The Showbox, with proceeds benefiting the Washington Innocence Project, a nonprofit that works to free innocent people imprisoned in Washington.

The show is the 10th anniversary of the group’s Stand for Innocence fundraising event. Tickets are on sale now.

Up next, McCready and Pearl Jam are set to headline two nights at the Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California, which runs from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29. The band will then head down under for an Australia/New Zealand tour that kicks off with a two-night stand in Auckland, Nov. 8 and Nov. 10. A complete list of dates can be found at pearljam.com.

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Actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy are getting ready to tackle another R.E.M. album on tour.

The pair previously went on the road in celebration of the 40th anniversary of R.E.M’s debut album, Murmur, and now they’ve announced a new tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the band’s 1985 album, Fables of the Reconstruction.

The tour kicks off Feb. 14 in Pioneertown, California, with stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New York and more before wrapping March 14 in Chicago.

Most notably, the tour includes two shows, Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, in R.E.M.’s home city of Athens, Georgia. During Shannon and Narducy’s Murmur tour, all four members of R.E.M. — Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck — made a surprise appearance at the Athens show, although Stipe did not perform.

“This music is beyond comprehension and I cherish every chance I get to deliver it, even second generation. R.E.M. means the world to me,” Shannon shares. “And this band led by Jason is stone cold ridiculous. Even if I never walked onstage, you would get a hell of a show.”

Narducy adds that the band plans to open the show with Fables of the Reconstruction in its entirety, then they’ll “dig deep” into the R.E.M. catalog. He notes, “We love celebrating the music of this great band.”

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday.

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Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour recently dropped Luck and Strange, his first solo album of new material in nine years, but it sounds like fans may not have to wait long for the next one.

The rocker tells MOJO that Luck And Strange is “the best record I’ve made going back to (Pink Floyd’s) The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here or whatever” and notes that he’s already thinking about his next solo project.

“I’ve got a trove of stuff already,” he says. “Bits and pieces of songs, some of which I rather like.”

Gilmour is set to kick off his Luck and Strange tour on Sept. 27 in Rome, Italy, but recently played two rehearsal shows in Brighton, England, on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21. According to setlist.fm, in addition to new songs from the album, he played several Pink Floyd tunes, including “Breathe (In The Air)” for the first time since 2006 and “Marooned” for the first time since 2004, as well as “Time,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.”

Gilmour’s Luck and Strange tour includes six nights in London and hits the States on Oct. 25 in Los Angeles, where he’ll play four shows. That will be followed by five shows in New York, starting Nov. 4. A complete list of dates can be found at davidgilmour.com.

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Sting is currently on his Sting 3.0 tour, and there’s been so much demand in Los Angeles that the rocker has added a fifth and final show in the city. 

The latest addition to the schedule is Nov. 17 at the Wiltern, with tickets going on sale Friday. The five shows, beginning Nov. 12, will wrap the U.S. leg of the tour.

Sting kicked off his 3.0 tour with a two-night stand at The Fillmore in Detroit on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18. The tour has him backed by guitarist and longtime collaborator Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, and the shows have him playing solo hits like “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” “All This Time,” “Fields of Gold” and “Fragile,” as well as The Police classics like “Message In A Bottle,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “Every Breath You Take,” “So Lonely” and “Roxanne.”

In addition to the new LA show, Sting also just announced European/U.K. and Latin American legs of the tour. Latin America shows begin Feb. 14 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while the European/U.K. tour kicks off June 6 in Hannover, Denmark. 

Up next, Sting will play the final two nights of a five-night stand in Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday. He will then headline the Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California, on Saturday. A complete list of shows can be found at sting.com.

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On This Day, Sept. 24, 1983 …

Billy Joel landed his second #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Tell Her About It,” the first single from his ninth studio album, An Innocent Man, which was a tribute to popular music of the 1950s and 1960s.

The video for the song had Joel performing on The Ed Sullivan Show as frontman of the fictional band BJ and The Affordables.

Over the course of his career, Joel has had three #1 songs on the Billboard chart. His first was 1980’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” and his last was 1989’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire.”

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Bruce Springsteen fans are getting their first preview of the upcoming documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band with the release of the first trailer for the film, a behind-the-scenes look at the rocker’s recent tour.

“Since I was 16, playing live has been a deep and lasting part of who I am and how I justify my existence here on earth,” Springsteen says in a voice-over. “But when the world shut down I made a promise that if we got through this I’d throw the biggest party I could.”

The trailer features archival footage of The Boss, along with highlights from the tour and interview clips from E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, manager Jon Landau and more.

“I plan on continuing until the wheels come off and for as long as the audience will follow me,” Bruce says at the end. “It’s my job.” 

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will stream on Hulu and Disney+ starting Oct. 25.

And fans will get even more insight into The Boss when Springsteen sits down for a conversation with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for the primetime special Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, airing Oct. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the following day on Hulu and Disney+.
 

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