Classic Rock 93.9

New Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese reflects on the moment he was asked to join the band in a new interview with YouTuber Rick Beato.

Freese took up the role after longtime Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022.

“It continues to be bittersweet,” Freese says of playing with Dave Grohl and company. “Part of me wants to say, like, ‘I wish I wasn’t there at all. I wish there wasn’t a reason for me to be the drummer in the Foo Fighters.'”

Freese shares that he had long known Hawkins but didn’t become good friends with him until about five or six years ago. He was among the guest drummers who took part in the two Hawkins tribute concerts, but he had no thoughts about playing with the Foos beyond that.

“On my children’s lives, I had zero plans of being called to be the drummer,” Freese says.

Even when he got that call from Grohl in December 2022, Freese didn’t think it would be for that reason.

“[My wife was], like, ‘I know why he’s calling you!'” Freese remembers. “I was, like, ‘Easy!’ I’m not thinking that, I swear to God that’s not why I thought [Grohl called].”

When Freese called Grohl back, he told him, “We had the drummer talk, and we want you to be the guy.”

“It felt like someone kinda socked me in the stomach,” Freese shares. “I didn’t go, ‘Wow! Yippee, this is so cool!’ I didn’t get excited like that, it was almost like I had the wind knocked out of me. I was, like, ‘Oh my God. Here we go.'”

Foo Fighters will play a run of one-off headlining dates and festivals in May, followed by a full U.S. stadium tour kicking off in July.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pearl Jam has shared one more song off their upcoming album, Dark Matter.

The latest track is called “Wreckage” and is available now via digital outlets. You can watch its accompanying visualizer streaming now on YouTube.

“Wreckage” is the third Dark Matter cut to be released, following “Running” and the title track. The album will arrive in full on Friday, April 19.

Pearl Jam will launch a U.S. tour in May.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Grateful Dead fans have some new recordings to sink their teeth into.

The band just released From The Mars Hotel: The Angel’s Share, featuring 16 previously unreleased session recordings, to digital services, giving fans a taste of the original Mars Hotel recording sessions, which happened during the spring of 1974 at San Francisco’s Coast Recorders.

It features outtakes and alternative and acoustic versions of songs like “Scarlet Begonias,” “China Doll,” “Ship of Fools” and more, all of which will hit digital outlets for the very first time.

The digital release comes as The Dead is getting ready to release From The Mars Hotel (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) on June 21. It will feature a remastered version of the 1974 album, along with demos and rarities, and a previously unreleased concert recorded May 12, 1974, at the University of Nevada, Reno. 

It will be released as a three-CD and digital set. The remastered version of the album will also be released as a single black vinyl, a limited-edition neon pink vinyl, a limited-edition “Ugly Rumors” custom vinyl — sold exclusively on Dead.net — and a specially designed zoetrope picture disc, which when viewed by a camera or strobe appears to animate.

All formats are available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Tom Petty estate has announced they’ve donated $150,000 to support women’s reproductive rights in the U.S.

A post on the late singer’s Instagram account shares that the estate “is proud to strongly support @plannedparenthood’s efforts to preserve important healthcare in the USA,” noting the money is going to the Planned Parenthood Federation, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Planned Parenthood Greater New York. 

“Tom’s widow, Dana Petty, worked for Planned Parenthood for over a decade in various roles, including as a counselor, and Tom was quite proud of that fact,” the post explains. “It is in this spirit that we encourage everyone to support the important access to rape kits and counseling, early screenings for cancer and of course the right to choose whether or not to become a parent.”

They also shared a link for those who’d like to follow their lead and donate to the organization.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, April 17, 1964…

Sixty years ago, The Rolling Stones released their self-titled debut album in the U.K, which shot to #1 on the  charts, where it stayed for 12 weeks.

Although Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would go on to become a superstar songwriting pair, they wrote only one original song for the album, “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back).”

A U.S. version was released a month and a half later, with a slightly different track list. The track “Not Fade Away” replaced “I Need You,” and several other song titles were shortened. Like the U.K. version, the U.S. version was originally self-titled, with the sub-title England’s Newest Hit Makers, with the latter eventually becoming its official title.

The U.S. version peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Green Day has added a last-minute concert in Los Angeles.

The “American Idiot” outfit will play the 780-capacity Echoplex on Thursday, April 18. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 17, at noon PT.

Green Day has played a number of surprise, intimate shows as part of their Hella Tiny underplay series, which has also included performances in Las Vegas, New York City and Paris.

Green Day will be headlining much larger venues on their upcoming world stadium tour, which launches in the U.S. in July. They’ll be supporting their latest album, Saviors, and will also be playing their 1994 and 2004 albums Dookie and American Idiot in full in honor of their respective 30th and 20th anniversaries.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A lot of music fans will be lining up at independent record stores across the country for Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20, but the day is about more than just landing that special release.

“It’s almost like Record Store Day is two different days in one,” RSD co-founder Carrie Colliton tells ABC Audio. “In the morning, it’s all about, ‘Oh, I got this special treasure.’ … But the second half of the day is a party, and a celebration of stores and what they do in the community all year long.”

RSD started in 2007 and artists like Metallica, Dave Grohl and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy were early supporters, but for RSD co-founder Michael Kurtz, it was when Paul McCartney emailed them after an in-store appearance that he knew they had made it.

Kurtz notes, “That was the moment I think we all were like, ‘Holy crap, one of the Beatles likes us,’” adding it made them realize they “must be doing something right.”

And this year there are several Beatles-related items fans can get their hands on, including Ringo Starr’s new EP, Crooked Boy, and zoetrope picture disc pressings of two George Harrison albums. 

There’s also a collectible mini turntable featuring the songs The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show 60 years ago. “It’s so cute. You just can’t help but smile or laugh when you see it because it’s just adorable,” Kurtz shares. 

Of course there are lots of other records to pick up on Saturday, including a Lou Reed tribute album, Neil Young’s new album, FU##IN’ UP, and two releases from The Rolling Stones. A complete list of releases can be found at recordstoreday.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The legendary Bob Marley will be celebrated with a new immersive experience coming to Las Vegas later this year.

Bob Marley Hope Road, set to open at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, “invites audiences to enter a world where the heartbeat of one man unites all in celebration.” It will give fans a chance to experience Marley’s Jamaica through musical and visual experiences.

Hope Road will be open seven days a week, with guests offered the option of two different experiences. Bob Marley Hope Road by Day is described as “an illuminating, shared, multi-sensory experience” with digital and analog instillations. There will also be Bob Marley Hope Road by Night, which will feature an intimate show with dancers, DJs, musicians and entertainers celebrating Marley’s music.

“Our family is incredibly proud of this project that honors the life of our father,“ said two of Marley’s children, Cedella and Ziggy Marley, who are among the project’s executive producers. “His legacy lives on through his music and life’s work of empowering and uniting the people. We invite all to be a part of this journey through Bob Marley Hope Road.” 

More information and details about tickets are expected to be announced in the fall.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

In March, Pete Townshend suggested The Who should maybe do one final tour before giving up the road, but now he appears to be backtracking on that idea.

Pete’s initial comments came during an interview with The New York Times, with the rocker sharing, “It feels to me like there’s one thing the Who can do, and that’s a final tour where we play every territory in the world and then crawl off to die.”

But in a new interview on the Sound Up! podcast hosted by Mark Goodman and Alan Light, Townshend suggests fans shouldn’t take him too seriously.

“I was being ironic. I was being British,” he says. “I’m not doing a farewell tour. I think I was being sarcastic about it.” 

Back in March, The Who played two shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust. They have no future dates scheduled, although Roger Daltrey does have some U.S. solo shows planned, starting May 6 in San Diego. A complete list of dates can be found TheWho.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.