Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young fans in Texas were left disappointed when the rocker was forced to postpone two shows in the state due to severe weather.

Young and his band Crazy Horse were supposed to bring their Love Earth tour to Austin on May 1 and Dallas on May 2, but both shows have been pushed to the fall due to threats of lightning.

“Too dangerous to put our audience in that situation,” read a post on the Neil Young Archives site. “We are rolling on, with these shows coming back in September on our way to Farm Aid.” 

“Would have loved to play Texas – Austin and Dallas, but too unsafe at the moment,” the post continued. “Sitting in the parking lots, lightning flashing in the sky. Movin’ On.”

The Austin show has been rescheduled to September 13, with Dallas happening on September 14. 

Next up, Young and Crazy Horse are set to play Jazz Fest in New Orleans on Saturday, May 4. A complete list of dates can be found at neilyoungarchives.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mike McCready approves of Duff McKagan‘s cover of the Mad Season song “River of Deceit.”

In a Facebook post, the Pearl Jam guitarist writes, “The amazing Duff McKagan covered ‘River of Deceit’ by Mad Season and it’s beautiful.”

“Thanks Duff!” he adds.

McCready was a member of Mad Season alongside late Alice in Chains front man Layne Staley. The group, which also featured Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and late bassist John Baker Saunders, released just one album, 1995’s Above, which featured “River of Deceit.”

As previously reported, McKagan’s “River of Deceit” cover is included on his upcoming live solo album, Tenderness: Live in Los Angeles, due out May 31.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jon Bon Jovi has given fans some hope that a new Bon Jovi tour may be happening in the near future.

The rocker previously revealed that he is still recovering from surgery for atrophied vocal cords and that he wouldn’t tour again unless his voice was back 100%. In a new interview with Planet Rock, he seems to suggest he’s close to getting there.

Jon’s surgery and recovery are detailed in the recently released Hulu docuseries Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story, but Jon says what fans see in the series covers things that happened up to two years ago.

“It’s been a slog,” he says of the recovery. “Nothing that I would ever wish on my worst enemy.” But, he says, “The recovery is proceeding, it’s progressing, it’s getting there, and it’s sort of out of your control at this point.” He notes, “The good news is we’re coming through it.”

And when the idea of a possible tour with the band was mentioned, Jon seemed more than hopeful.

“Oh, I’m not worried about it. It’s gonna happen. Not tonight but very soon,” he says. “For me to be in this clear a voice at 9 a.m. in the morning after eight hours of talking yesterday, it’s there. It’s just a matter of time now.”

As fans wait for a tour, at least they’ll get to enjoy some new music. Bon Jovi will release the new album, Forever, on June 7.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol is opening up to People about his path to sobriety, revealing that he’s currently “California sober.” 

The rocker says he decided “not be a drug addict anymore” after he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 1990, but his sobriety didn’t happen overnight. 

“It took a long time, but gradually I did achieve some sort of discipline where I’m not really the same kind of guy I was in the ’80s,” he says. “I’m not the same drug addicted person.”

“I mean, AA would say, ‘You’re always a drug addict.’ And that may be true, but I don’t do anything that much anymore. I got over it somehow,” he adds, noting, “I was really lucky that I could get over it because a lot of people can’t.” 

Idol says his “California sober” lifestyle means he’ll have the occasional glass of wine, sharing, “I don’t have to do nothing.” 

“I just tell myself I can do what I want, but then I don’t do it,” he says. “If I tell myself I can’t do anything, I want to do it. So I tell myself, ‘You can do anything you like.’ But I don’t actually do it.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A new book about The Doors will take a deep dive into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band as they celebrate their 60th anniversary. 

Night Divides the Day, the first official anthology on The Doors, is being described as the “most definitive book yet” on the band. It features new interviews with surviving members Robby Krieger and John Densmore, and archival contributions from the late Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek.

Hours of archival interviews were used as sources for the book, which also features rare photos, song lyrics, poster artwork and more. It also includes contributions from artists like Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Nancy Sinatra and Van Morrison.

Only 2,000 copies of the book will be available — in two different editions. The Collector edition is limited to 1,650 copies, all signed by Densmore and Krieger. It comes with a 24-page replica program of The Doors’ 1968 tour and a booklet featuring reproductions of the previously unseen mastertape boxes of six of The Doors’ albums. There’s also a 7-inch vinyl picture disc featuring rare demos of “Hello I Love You” and “Moonlight Drive.” 

The Deluxe edition, limited to 350 copies, is also signed by Densmore and Krieger, and features much of the same content as the Collector, with the addition of five previously unpublished photo prints of The Doors at the Whisky a Go Go in 1966, taken by photographer George Rodriguez.

Night Divides the Day is available for preorder now, with the book expected to ship in January 2025.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Steve Perry is singing Journey again — just not with Journey.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer announced on Instagram that he has rerecorded the Raised on Radio track “It Could Have Been You” with The Effect, the band made up of Trevor Lukather — son of Toto‘s Steve Lukather — Phil Collins‘ son Nic Collins, Steve Maggiora and Emmett Sans. 

“I’ve known Trevor Lukather since he was 9 years old and he is a very gifted musician. One day we were talking about his new band, The Effect… He surprisingly mentioned ‘It Could Have Been You’ is one of his favorite tracks from that record, I told him I felt the same,” Perry shared. “I then said, why don’t you record it? He asked if I would sing on it if they did, I said… ‘Of course my most precious!'”

“I must say, singing on their powerful track brought out a vocal experience in me from years ago !” he adds, noting that he always considered the song a “diamond in the rough.” 

The reimagined version of “It Could Have Been You” will be released May 7 on all streaming services.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dave Grohl paid tribute to late Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott with a performance of “My Hero” during Foo Fighters‘ concert in Dallas on Wednesday, May 1.

“Since we’re here in Dallas, I’m gonna dedicate this one to an old friend who lived around here,” Grohl told the crowd in fan-shot footage posted to YouTube. “His name is ‘Dimebag’ Darrell.”

Dime founded Pantera alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul, in nearby Arlington, Texas. Grohl, a longtime Pantera fan, wrote about hanging with Dime and Vinnie on his Daves True Stories Instagram account.

Foo Fighters’ next show is at the New Orleans Jazz Fest on Friday, May 3. They’ll play a number of one-off headlining dates and festivals before launching a full U.S. stadium tour in July.

Pantera, meanwhile, reformed in 2022 with vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown alongside Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde and Anthrax‘s Charlie Benante in place of Dime and Vinnie, who died in 2004 and 2018, respectively. They’ll be playing the upcoming Sonic Temple and Aftershock festivals as well as dates with Metallica.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Albums from Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie were among the big sellers on Record Store Day, which took place on April 20.

Billboard reports that Talking Heads’ double vinyl Live at WCOZ 77 was the fifth bestselling record during the annual celebration of independent record stores, while a picture disc vinyl of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Bowie’s Waiting in the Sky (Before the Starman Came to Earth) both landed in the top 10. 

Other bestsellers include albums from Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Ramones, Grateful Dead, The Doors and John Lennon.

As for singles, David Byrne & Paramore’s “Hard Times”/”Burning Down the House” 12-inch vinyl was the second bestselling single, with U2’s “Atomic City (Live at Sphere, Las Vegas)” /” Atomic City (Mike WiLL Made-It Remix)” at three and The Beatles’ “She Loves You” 3-inch vinyl also landing in the top 10.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, May 2, 1972… 

A 22-year-old Bruce Springsteen auditioned for Columbia Records A&R exec John Hammond in New York City. Hammond was known for working with such artists as Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan.

At the time, Springsteen had already gained a local following due to his live shows, but he had yet to garner a larger following.

Bruce performed “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” at the audition, and Hammond was impressed and wanted to sign him. Later that night, Springsteen performed for Columbia execs at the Gaslight Club in New York and later recorded a demo, landing him a deal with the label.

Springsteen wound up signing to Columbia on June 9, 1972, and released his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., in January 1973. He has spent over 50 years with the label, releasing his last album, Only the Strong Survive, in 2022.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke is selling some of his personally used gear with a newly launched Reverb shop.

Among the items available is a custom-made ESP Telecaster, which he played with GN’R and Slash‘s Snakepit project. Clarke is also offering a signed and framed poster from a 1992 Guns show with Metallica in Oakland.

The Gilby Clarke Reverb shop is open now. For more info, visit Reverb.com.

Clarke played in Guns N’ Roses from 1991 to 1994 in place of Izzy Stradlin. He’s also performed with Heart.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.