Aerosmith made their debut on The Simpsons, becoming the first rock band to appear on the Fox animated series.
The episode, Flaming Moe’s, revolves around Homer creating a new drink, the Flaming Homer, which Bar owner Moe then steals and renames the Flaming Moe. The drink is so popular that Moe’s Tavern becomes a hotspot, and a hangout for Aerosmith.
While Aerosmith was the first band to appear on The Simpsons, they weren’t the last. Other bands to turn up on the show include U2, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, and White Stripes.
The wait is over for fans of The Rolling Stones. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced they’ll be hitting the road next year.
The Stones Tour ’24 Hackney Diamonds will see the band playing stadiums in 16 cities, kicking off Sunday, April 28, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, followed by a May 2 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The tour — sponsored by AARP, the organization for the over-50 crowd — will hit cities including Las Vegas, Seattle, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Los Angeles before wrapping Wednesday, July 17, at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 1, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at therollingstones.com.
Those who didn’t make it to the theaters to see Billy Idol’s concert film, Billy Idol: State Line, now have another shot to check it out. The film, which captures the rocker’s April concerts at the Hoover Dam, will stream on Veeps starting Saturday, November 25, at 12 p.m. PT.
Idol and his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens will host a livestream debut chat at veeps.com. The stream will feature bonus, never-before-seen footage of Hoover Dam performances of “Rebel Yell” and “Bitter Taste.”
Billy Idol: State Line, which had a limited theater run earlier this month, features performances from both of Idol’s shows at the iconic site on the Nevada/Arizona state line. One was a full band show, which took place at sunset and featured guest appearances by Sex Pistol’s Steve Jones, No Doubt’s Tony Kanal and Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather. The second was an acoustic performance with just Stevens on the roof of the Hoover Dam.
Veep All Access subscribers will be able to stream the film for free, while individual tickets are available at a cost of $19.99. Tickets are available at veeps.com.
Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle has shared a new preview of his upcoming tribute album, Anthems – Honoring The Music Of Lynyrd Skynyrd, dropping February 2.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released his take on the Skynyrd classic “Simple Man,” featuring special guest Sammy Hagar.
Hagar is one of several guest stars joining Pyle on the album. Others include Dolly Parton and Gov’tMule’s Warren Haynes, along with country stars Ronnie Dunn, Chris Janson, Billy Ray Cyrus and others.
In addition to “Simple Man,” the 13-track album features performances of such Skynyrd classics as “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “What’s Your Name” and “Free Bird.”
Rockers Gene Simmons and Neil Young have both announced they are leaving X, formerly known as Twitter. The move comes as several companies have pulled ads from the social media site after owner Elon Musk seemed to endorse a post that included comments that have been deemed antisemitic.
Simmons, who is Jewish and was born in Israel, simply posted, “Friends, I’ve decided to end my X/Twitter posting.” He shared links to his Instagram, TikTok and Threads accounts.
Young announced his decision to leave on his Archives website, sharing a photo of Musk with the caption, “Teslas should fly flags of love – not hate.”
“We are stopping all use of X that we can control,” the site reads. “For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth, we are taking action against his company.”
It continued with a message to both Palestinian and Jewish friends, noting, “We do need to start over in the present and release our terrible connections to the past. As bad as they are, they need to be forgotten so we can be free to move on in life together, all humanity, focused on saving our planet for future generations of all people.”
Musk has since come out and denied he is antisemitic, writing on X, “This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
Blondie guitarist Chris Stein hasn’t played with the band in over a year, after telling fans in April 2022 that he had to sit out of shows due to an irregular heartbeat. He’s also living with prostate cancer, and all of that has led him to realize he isn’t likely to tour again.
“I miss it a little [playing live], but it’s a lot of work, and I did it for 50 years, I kind of got it out of my system,” he shares in a new interview with The Sunday Times. “It’s doubtful I’m gonna do more shows at this point.”
Stein says the rock star lifestyle has left him feeling “a little fatigued,” and he seems to regret some of the decisions he made over the years.
“All this stuff caught up with me in my old age,” he explains. “Don’t do drugs, kids, is all I can say. All that sh** I did over the years didn’t help.”
Fans will soon be able to read all about Stein’s rock star life. He recently announced that his memoir, Under A Rock, will be released June 11. It is available for preorder now.
AC/DC fans have decided on what song they want to make #1 for Christmas.
Earlier this month, in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary, the Facebook fan group AC/DC We Salute You launched a campaign to get an AC/DC single on top of the U.K. chart for the holidays. After a vote, fans have decided to concentrate their efforts into the 1990 song “Thunderstruck.”
The campaign follows the one the band launched in 2013 for their 40th anniversary. They set out to get the classic AC/DC single “Highway To Hell” to the top of the U.K. chart but ultimately got it to #4.
“It is fitting in a way. Last time out, we championed a Bon Scott song. This time, we’re championing a Brian Johnson song,” the group shares. They advise that fans download “Thunderstruck” between December 15 and December 21 to have the best chance at that coveted Christmas #1.
In other AC/DC news, drummer Phil Rudd tells New Zealand’s Stuff that he’s auctioning off some of his personal items to help raise money for a cancer charity in honor of his best friend Toni Wilson, who is dying from breast cancer. Items that will go up for auction include AC/DC gear, drum sticks played while performing, memorabilia and even a sports car. Proceeds will go to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
Elton John has won several awards, including a Tony, for his stage musicals, but on November 19, he was given a special award for his contributions to the art form as a whole.
At the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London, handed out by the U.K. paper The Evening Standard, Elton received the Editors Award for “bringing his collaborative musical spirit to theatre.” Among Elton’s hit musicals are The Lion King, Billy Elliot, Aida and Tammy Faye, which was a hit this year in London’s West End and is moving to Broadway next year.
Elton was presented the award by his collaborator on Tammy Faye,Jake Shears of the group Scissor Sisters, and by Culture Club‘s Boy George, who will be returning to Broadway next year with a role in Moulin Rouge: The Musical.
On Instagram, Elton wrote, “Creating music for the stage has been some of the most gratifying projects for me, from the Lion King to Billy Elliot and now Tammy Faye, so thank you to the editors for this award as well as @jakeshears and @boygeorgeofficial for presenting it to me. With @tammyfayebway coming next year, I couldn’t be more proud of this recognition. Thank you.”
In other Elton news, earlier this month, he was presented with a plaque recognizing that his best-of compilation Diamonds has been RIAA certified multi-Platinum for sales of more than two million copies.
Rush’s Geddy Lee recently revealed that the book may not be closed on him and bandmate Alex Lifeson touring again, although Lifeson’s health issues may prevent it from happening. Apparently, that’s not the only thing that may keep Lifeson off the road.
Geddy tells Rolling Stonethat Lifeson may not be keen to tour because he wasn’t “super happy in the last few tours” and got bored quickly. “I think being away and touring is more difficult for him to be happy,” he explains.
If they ever tour again, it will be the first time since the 2020 death of their drummer Neil Peart, and Geddy isn’t so sure they should go out using the name Rush.
“I don’t know how comfortable we would be doing that, calling ourselves Rush, and it’s all speculation because … Honestly, it’s unlikely to happen,” he says. “That’s a conversation for probably another time, but we might not be super comfortable.” He then joked, “But we could always call ourselves some other stupid name, or Rash.”
When the suggestion “Lee and Lifeson” came up, he wasn’t happy with that either, noting, “‘Lee and Lifeson Play the Songs of Rush.’ That really sounds like an old-fart Eighties band.”
On a positive note, Geddy, whose memoir, My Effin’ Life, is out now, suggested the possibility of new music from him and Lifeson isn’t out of the question, although they currently don’t have anything planned.
“Would I like to write some more music? Now, yes, I would. I am ready for that,” he says. “Does Alex want to write some more music with me? Yes, he does. He’s made that very clear. And that’s something I will try to do with him over the coming year.”
Bruce Springsteen has opened up about just how much he relies on his longtime friend and E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt.
The Boss turned up during a 60 Minutesprofile on Little Steven, calling him “the consigliere of the E Street Band,” a reference to a crime underboss similar to Van Zandt’s role of Silvio Dante in The Sopranos.
“If I have questions pertaining a direction for the band, or issues with the band, or something like the set list, I’m not sure what we’re gonna play that night, or what we should start with, or if he has second doubts about something, he always comes to me,” Springsteen explained. “He’s been essential to me since he walked into the studio during the Born to Run sessions and fixed the horns and my guitar parts.”
Springsteen, who has known Van Zandt since the guitarist was 16, added, “We’ve been doing it together for a long time. And that’s a wonderful thing. How many people have their best friend at their side 50 some years later?”
Van Zandt feels the same way about his boss and friend. “People always say, ‘Aren’t you worried about, being replaced?’” he said. “I’m like, ‘No. I can’t be replaced. How many best friends do you have for 50 years?'”
