Classic Rock 93.9

The life of Asia co-founder, singer and bassist John Wetton will be celebrated with a new tribute concert in August. John’s wife Lisa, his son Dylan and QEDG Management just announced the lineup for An Extraordinary Life, a memorial concert for Wetton, taking place August 3, at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex, England. 

The concert will be streamed online for fans to enjoy and will feature an audience of friends and family, a whole host of performers and special guests, including Wetton’s Asia bandmate Geoff Downes, Yes’ Rick Wakeman, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, Squeeze’s Chris Difford and more. All artists will be backed by musicians from The Paul Green Rock Academy.

“I am delighted and humbled that so many legendary artists who worked with my Dad over the years have agreed to come together both to honor him and raise vital funds for the charity which supported him during his last days,” says John’s son, Dylan.

The memorial will raise money for the charity Macmillan Caring Locally, which cared for Wetton. He passed away January 31, 2017, due to complications from cancer.

Tickets for the live stream are on sale now.

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3rd Secret, the grunge supergroup featuring members of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden, has released a new album.

The project’s sophomore effort, aptly titled 2nd 3rd Secret, is out now via digital platforms. You can watch a video for the song “Ditch” streaming now on YouTube.

3rd Secret is made up of Pearl Jam/Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil as well as Bubba Dupree of the hardcore band Void and vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson.

The self-titled debut 3rd Secret album dropped in 2022.

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Blue Öyster Cult drummer and founding member Albert Bouchard is set to release a new album, Imaginos III – Mutant Reformation, on July 7, and now, he’s sharing a new track from the record.

The latest is a new take on the BÖC song, “Transmaniacon,” featuring members of the rock band The Dictators, “Ross the Boss” Friedman and Andy Shernoff. It follows the earlier release of “E.T.I.,” featuring his brother,  BÖC bassist and singer Joe Bouchard.

“I wanted to make a version of “Transmaniacon” that had a heavier approach, proto-metal with a punk flavor,” Bouchard says. “The guys in the new Dictators were just the group to deliver that. I know it’s a fan favorite with BÖC fans, but I hope they can appreciate it as much as the original.” 

Imaginos III – Mutant Reformation is the third and final record in Bouchard’s trilogy of Imaginos, following 2021’s Imaginos 2 – Bombs Over Germany and 2020’s Re Imaginos, which was a reworked version of Blue Öyster Cult’s 1988 concept album Imaginos.

The albums have all been inspired by the writings of the late producer and songwriter Sandy Pearlman, which centered on an alien conspiracy happening in the 1800s and early 1900s through the actions of an evil character named Imaginos.

Imaginos III – Mutant Reformation is available for preorder now.

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Former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars speaks on the ongoing lawsuit against his former band in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

“They’re trying to take my legacy away, my part of Mötley Crüe, my ownership of the name, the brand,” Mars says. “Frank Sinatra‘s or Jimi Hendrix‘s legacy goes on forever, and their heirs continue to profit from it. They’re trying to take that away from me. I’m not going to let them.”

As previously reported, Mars is suing Mötley Crüe over a financial dispute related to his retirement from touring in October 2022. Mars alleged that his ex-bandmates played to pre-recorded tracks during Mötley’s 2022 reunion tour, specifically claiming that bassist Nikki Sixx “did not play a single note on bass” during the shows. Mötley’s team, though, contends that it was actually Mars who was struggling to play live.

“I was sabotaged musically so they’d have an excuse to get rid of me and bring in another person,” Mars says. “The feed of guitar into my in-ear monitor was horrible. It would break up, and nobody else’s seemed to break up but mine. And then they’d switch to prerecorded crap from rehearsals, when I was just relearning the songs. They did it to make me look bad.”

Sixx, meanwhile, calls Mars’ claims “insanity.”

“When Mick came into rehearsals, he couldn’t play guitar properly,” Sixx says. “He just couldn’t pull it off, so we have to use tapes and cover it up. He was the only person in the band on tape.”

In between the legal dispute, Mars is working on a new solo album, Another Side of Mars. In describing one song, Mars shares, “It’s about narcissists that keep you pinned down and make you feel crazy.”

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Another historic item of Beatles memorabilia is on the auction blocks. The latest is the December, 29, 1974, signed document that signaled the official end of the legendary rock band. 

The Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction house is currently selling the contract, which is signed by all four members of the band, with John Lennon and George Harrison signing twice since they were the acting directors of the band’s record label, Apple Corps LTD.

According to the description, the document released “each Beatles member from their obligation to record as the group known as ‘The Beatles,’ thus giving each Beatles member their independence from each other to pursue their own projects solely and as individuals.”

As of this writing, the artifact has a bid of $100,000, but it’s expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000. Bidding closes June 30.

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As previously reported, Elton John closed out the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival on Sunday, June 25, and it turns out, a lot of people tuned into see what was likely his last U.K. performance.

Deadline reports that in addition to the massive crowd that gathered to see him live at Worthy Farm, over seven million people tuned in to watch his set on BBC. Data shows Elton’s set was one of the most-watched TV shows of the year, and it drew almost three times the audience that tuned in to see Paul McCartney in 2022.

“Thank you, Glastonbury!” Elton wrote on Instagram after the show. “The energy last night was like nothing else, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the crowd and the people watching at home for all your love and support. You will be in my heart and soul forever,” adding, “UK, what a farewell. I love you.”

Fans who caught the concert got to see Elton perform such tracks as The Who’s “Pinball Wizard,” “Tiny Dancer,” with The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, “Benny and The Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Your Song” and more.

Elton still has a few more shows left of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Next up, he plays Paris, France, on June 27 and 28, and wraps the whole tour with two nights in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 7 and 8. A complete list of dates can be found at EltonJohn.com.

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Former Megadeth drummer Lee Rauch has died.

Lee’s brother, Chris Rauch, announced the news in a Facebook post on Friday, June 23, sharing that Lee “was a very strong man of faith so I know he is with God now.”

Lee helped launch Megadeth by playing drums on their 1984 demo tape, Last Rites, but played in the band for only one year. He was also part of the rare live lineup that featured Slayer guitarist Kerry King alongside frontman Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson.

“His heart was set on making it big and came very close numerous times,” Chris writes of his brother. “Lee was a very loving and giving individual who was extremely hard working, he continued to play drums later in his life for the church which made him happy. He was a loving son and a very honorable man.”

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On This Day, June 26, 2021…

After a 471 day closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters finally reopened in New York.

The first official show was a performance of Bruce Springsteen’s critically acclaimed Tony-winning show, Springsteen on Broadway, at the St. James Theatre, which featured The Boss telling his life story through his songs.

This was the second Broadway run of Springsteen on Broadway. It initially opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on October 12, 2017.

Proceeds from the post-COVID opening night were donated to various charities, including the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. 

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The Baseball Project, the supergroup featuring R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck, The Minus 5‘s Scott McCaughey, The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn and Filthy Friends‘ Linda Pitmon, will release their fourth studio album, Grand Salami Time!, on June 30.

It’s been almost 10 years since their last album, 2014’s 3rd, and McCaughey tells ABC Audio it’s something they’ve been “trying to do for a long time.” But due to other commitments and the COVID-19 pandemic, it took longer than expected. They worked on the new record with Mitch Easter, who produced R.E.M.’s debut EP, Chronic Town, and their debut album, Murmur. 

McCaughey says of the album, “We got a little bit of the R.E.M. magic maybe in there, and I think it came off really, really well.”

As with previous Baseball Project albums, the songs all have baseball themes. McCaughey admits it got “a little harder” to do that by the fourth record. “I mean, the first one was so wide open. You could just write about 150 years of history in baseball,” he explains. But, he says, with baseball “new things come along.”

To record the album, the band decided to get into the studio together. “I prefer being in a room working,” Buck says. “What I like about music as a listener is the interplay of the musicians.”

But is it much different for Peter to be in the studio with these musicians as compared to R.E.M.?

“Things are different. You know, with R.E.M., there were four of us and it was a democracy and democracies don’t really work in a way,” he says. “But we’re older … No one’s really uptight about it.” He adds that since he’s known his current bandmates for a long time, “it felt pretty familiar.” 

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Not content to just play a surprise show with Foo Fighters at Glastonbury 2023, Dave Grohl also made a few extra appearances at the famed English festival.

The “Everlong” rocker hopped onstage during Guns N’ Roses‘ headlining set on Saturday, June 24, joining Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan on guitar and backing vocals during a closing rendition of “Paradise City.”

“We’re gonna bring out a friend … Mr. Dave Grohl,” Rose told the crowd in introducing the Foo frontman. “Because there’s never such a thing as too many guitars!”

Earlier Saturday, Grohl showed up during Pretenders‘ performance. While they missed a chance to play “The Pretender” with Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde and company invited Grohl up to play drums during “Tattooed Love Boys,” which also featured Johnny Marr.

Foo Fighters’ surprise Glastonbury set, which was billed as “The Churnups” leading up to the show, took place on Friday, June 23. The performance ended with a rendition of “Everlong” dedicated to late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

(“Paradise City” video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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