Classic Rock 93.9

Ace Frehley has dropped a new video for “Cherry Medicine,” the latest single off his new solo album, 10,000 Volts.

“This is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and we definitely had fun making the video,” the former KISS guitarist shared on Instagram.

The clip opens with Frehley getting out of a cherry red Ferrari, and features a bevy of leather-clad women who frolic with each other, and with the rocker and his band as they are performing the track.

To coincide with the video’s release, Frehley is releasing a limited-edition “Cherry Medicine” vinyl variant. Only 750 copies of the 12-inch are available on 180g half silver/half clear vinyl, with red and blue splatter.

Frehley’s 10,000 Volts, his first solo release since 2020’s Origins Vol. 2, comes out February 23 and is available for preorder now.

Frehley has several performances on the calendar for 2024, including an appearance on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, which runs from May 2-6 out of Miami, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at acefrehley.com.

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A lawsuit accusing Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler of sexual assault in the ’70s has been dismissed after a judge ruled the plaintiff waited too long to file her case.

The suit was filed in New York in November on behalf of former child model Jeanne Bellino, who claimed she was assaulted by Tyler in the summer of 1975 when she was 17. She accused him of forcibly kissing and groping her. 

Although the alleged assault happened in the ’70s, Bellino filed her suit under New York City’s Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, which granted a two-year window to file suits that would have otherwise fallen outside the usual statute of limitations.

But U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Bellino’s case, noting that to qualify under the Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, she would have had to show Tyler’s actions posed a “serious risk of physical injury,” but she didn’t.

Tyler is still facing another lawsuit. In December 2022, a woman named Julia Misley filed a lawsuit in California accusing Tyler of sexual assault, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Tyler and Misley were in a relationship for three years starting in 1973, when she was 16 and he was in his 20s. She claimed she was “powerless to resist” the rock star’s “power, fame and substantial financial ability,” and said he “coerced and persuaded” her into believing their relationship was a “romantic love affair.”

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On This Day, February 22, 1989…

The 31st Grammy Awards added a new category, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, but it was not without controversy.

Jethro Tull won the award for their album Crest of the Knave, beating out Metallica, who were the favorites to win for their album …And Justice for All.

Other artists nominated in the category included AC/DC, Jane’s Addiction and Iggy Pop.

There was so much controversy over the win, that the following year the Grammys separated the categories into Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, with Metallica winning Best Metal Performance in 1990 for “One.”

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Mark Lanegan passed away February 22, 2022 — two years ago Thursday. Among his many admirers in the music industry is Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, who was good friends with the late Screaming Trees frontman.

“I met Mark sometime in the mid-’90s,” McKagan tells ABC Audio. “He’s also from the Northwest. We became friends and I started playing on some of his recordings, just as friends. Because we were both sober guys, to be frank.”

With Screaming Trees, Lanegan helped pioneer the grunge sound that would make Seattle and the Pacific Northwest the defining music scene of the early ’90s. He also had a prolific solo career, and sang with Queens of the Stone Age. In 2008, he released a collaborative album with Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs under the moniker The Gutter Twins.

McKagan was a fan of all Lanegan’s work and remembers jamming with The Gutter Twins during a benefit concert some years back.

“It went so well,” McKagan shares. “I played rhythm guitar and I sang, I knew all the songs. I’m like, ‘I’m in! What backup do you want me to sing? I’ll sing that one.'”

According to McKagan, that live collaboration almost continued into the studio.

“They’re like, ‘Man, maybe it’s gonna be The Gutter Trio next record, what do you think?'” McKagan recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m in!’ But we weren’t able to do that.” 

McKagan’s new solo album, Lighthouse, is dedicated in part to Lanegan.

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KISS fans know Paul Stanley can rock out onstage, but music isn’t his only artistic endeavor. Stanley has had a successful art career for years, and he tells ABC Audio it started as an outlet for him when he was going through some hard times.

“I was going through a divorce and my best friend said to me, ‘You need to paint,'” he shares. “And I was taken aback because that wasn’t something I was expecting to hear, but it somehow resonated with me.”

Stanley describes his art as “very cathartic.” While he’s made millions from his work, he never expected it to be so lucrative. In fact, when he first started out he didn’t think he’d show his pieces to anyone.

“I never could have imagined the kind of success I’ve had,” he says. “If credibility comes from being a struggling artist, I guess I’ve given that up.”

Stanley is set to premiere his latest collection with appearances at two Wentworth Gallery locations in Florida: at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood on February 23 and at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton on February 24.

Included in the collection are some pieces from Stanley’s The Other Side exhibit, which debuted last August at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. 

Of course, his appearances bring out KISS fans who may have previously thought art wasn’t for them, and Stanley is perfectly happy with that.

“I would like to think that I can break down some of those barriers of elitism and snobbism that ultimately intimidate people from experiencing theater or art,” he says. “Good art is what you like. Art is, like everything else, is subjective.”

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Bonnie Raitt is returning to Austin City Limits. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer appears on the Saturday, February 24, episode of the PBS series, performing classic tunes and highlights from her 2022 album, Just Like That… .

Raitt taped the episode back in October and was joined by Nashville-based singer/songwriter Sunny War.

Raitt’s appearance is her first ACL performance in over a decade. She made her ACL debut in 1984 and last appeared on the program in 2012, although she did perform on the 40th anniversary special in 2014. She was also inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2016.

In addition to PBS, fans can catch the episode streaming via PBS.org. 

The ACL performance is a preview of what fans can expect when Raitt hits the road this spring. Her tour kicks off April 26 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at bonnieraitt.com.

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Mötley Crüe and Judas Priest are among the hard rockers confirmed for the Louder Than Life festival, taking place September 26-29 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Mötley Crüe will headline Saturday, September 28, while Priest is on the bill for Sunday, September 29.

Slipknot, Korn and a reunited Slayer round out the Louder Than Life headliners, with The Offspring, Anthrax, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, Dropkick Murphys, Clutch, Disturbed and Marky Ramone also on the bill.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit LouderthanLifeFestival.com.

The festival is one of a handful of dates Mötley Crüe has on the schedule this year, including appearances at Welcome to Rockville in May and Milwaukee’s Summerfest in June. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.

Priest, whose new album Invincible Shield drops March 8, will kick off a U.S. tour on April 18 in Wallingford, Connecticut. A complete schedule can be found at judaspriest.com.

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Roger Daltrey has booked his first U.S. show for 2024. The Who frontman is set to headline The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego, California, on May 6, with KT Tunstall serving as special guest.

The concert is billed as a one-off show, where fans can expect Daltrey to perform “solo songs, rare cuts and some Who favorites.” He’ll backed by a band that features Frank Simes on guitars, Jon Butto on bass, Loren Gold on keyboards, Scott Devours on drums and Katie Jacoby on violin.

A ticket presale begins Thursday, February 22, at 10 a.m, with the general sale set for Friday, February 23, at 10 a.m. 

The gig is one of only four shows on Daltrey’s schedule this year. The Who is set to perform two Teenage Cancer Trust benefit shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall in March. Daltrey is also headlining the final night of the Teenage Cancer Trust benefits, dubbed Ovation, a Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs for TCT, on March 24, with special guests Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones and Paul Weller.

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Eric Clapton and James Taylor are among the artists contributing to a new album celebrating the music of “Mr. Guitar” Chet Atkins.

We Still Can’t Say Good Bye, billed as “a musician’s tribute to Chet Atkins,” features an A-list lineup of artists performing on 15 tracks made famous by Atkins, who passed away in 2001 at the age of 77.

In total, 22 musicians and artists appear on the record. In addition to Clapton and Taylor, guests include Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley and Tommy Emmanuel.

Clapton appears on two songs on the album, “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad),” which also features Gill and Bradley Walker, and “Freight Train,” which features several special guests. Taylor teams up with Krauss for one song, “How’s The World Treating You.” 

We Still Can’t Say Good Bye is set to drop April 19.

Atkins has been credited with creating the “Nashville sound,” which helped popularize country music. During his career he was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Music Excellence category in 2002.

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The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is set to star in an upcoming unscripted series debuting on The CW later in 2024.

The currently untitled show will follow Corgan in his role as the president of the NWA wrestling company. Additionally, it will focus on his life, family and, a press release puts it, his “day job,” which we can only assume refers to the Pumpkins.

“It offers an unprecedented vignette into every dimension of [Corgan’s] world with unparalleled candor,” the release reads.

The series is part of a larger deal between Corgan and The CW to exclusively stream NWA programming.

“The CW has made a big commitment to sports, and they have an incredible top-tier streaming platform,” Corgan says. “The network’s audience represents a very wide swath of American culture — which wrestling has always been a key part of. This partnership gives us the opportunity to reach that audience more readily. We’re excited to get the chance to show there are other voices in professional wrestling.”

“With NWA, there’s honesty, integrity, and a different level of swagger, because it’s coming from the underground,” he continues. “It’s similar to rock ‘n’ roll in this respect. With The CW behind us, we’re pulling NWA into the light where fans can appreciate its authenticity.”

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