Classic Rock 93.9

John Mayer has been forced to drop out of Playing in the Sand, a three-day destination festival in Mexico’s Riviera Cancun that he was scheduled to do with Dead & Company beginning this Friday.

On Instagram, Dead & Company said that just before he was set to leave for Mexico, John tested positive for COVID-19 and so is unable to travel and perform.  “In these unprecedented times, fans should expect many rare and different tunes,” the group said in a statement.

Dead & Company’s Bob Weir added, “We came down here to have fun. Unfortunately some of our brothers cannot make it but fun is what we’re going to have.”   The festival will continue with “special guests and sit ins,” the statement continued.

Another installment of Playing in the Sand is scheduled for January 13-16. It’s not clear if John will perform during that weekend.

Meanwhile, John is scheduled to kick off his solo tour in support of his latest album, Sob Rock, on February 17 in Albany, NY.

 

 

 

 

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Founding Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood and drummer Kenney Jones both recently revealed that they and singer Rod Stewart had been working on songs for a new album by the band.  Now Stewart also has commented about the project.

“It’s very, very worthy,” Stewart tells ABC Audio about how the new material stands up to classic Faces tunes.

Reflecting on his former band’s music, Rod adds, “When you dig out tracks that [are], like, 40 years old or whatever, you suddenly realize, wow, we were good and we did have a different sound, chaotic as it may have been.”

As for the status of the record, Stewart says, “We’re working on it.” He notes that depending on whether his planned 2022 Australian tour takes place, “we’ll have two or three months to work on it. And it’s gonna be good.”

Wood, who joined The Rolling Stones after the Faces’ 1975 breakup, wrapped up a U.S. Stones trek in November, although it’s not been announced if the band will hit the road again in 2022. Stewart, who released a new solo album called The Tears of Hercules in November, is scheduled to launch his Australian tour in March. However, ongoing issues with COVID-19 could derail those plans.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Uncut, Jones shared some more details about the Faces reunion project.  According to BANG Showbiz, he told the magazine that the album will feature a “mixture of old and new” material.

“What we’ve decided to do is work on some of the original stuff that we didn’t use,” Kenney explained. “Ronnie and I, in particular, have been working on lots of the old stuff together and we’ve rerecorded a couple of those songs with more of a modern feel.”

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This Saturday, January 8, marks what would’ve been David Bowie‘s 75th birthday, and to mark the milestone, several special releases and events are planned in the coming days.

Most of the events will take place at one or both of the Bowie 75 commemorative pop-up stores that opened in New York City and London this past October.

On Thursday, January 6, the two shops will host the premiere of a new Sony 360 Reality Audio mix of David’s final studio album, 2016’s ★ — aka Blackstar — which was supervised by frequent Bowie studio collaborator Tony Visconti.

Also on January 6, a special livestream event beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Bowie’s YouTube channel will feature songs from David’s A Reality Tour presented in 360 Reality Audio.

Friday, January 7, will see the previously announced release of the TOY (TOY:BOX) box set focusing on Bowie’s previously unreleased 2000 TOY album. An exclusive, limited-edition cassette version of TOY will be sold at the New York and London Bowie 75 stores, as will vinyl and CD editions of the box set.

On January 8, David’s birthday, the New York Bowie 75 store will feature a special Q&A with one-time Bowie band member and TOY producer Mark Plati at 5 p.m. ET.

On Sunday, January 9, the New York and London shops will host screenings of the Selections from A Reality Tour concert film in HD with a SONY 360 Reality Audio soundtrack.

Then, on Friday, January 14, at the New York Bowie 75 store, sax player Donny McCaslin, who collaborated with David on Blackstar, will take part in an interview event that begins at 6 p.m. ET.

Visit Bowie75.com for more details about the events and releases.

Bowie died of cancer in January 2016 at age 69.

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While Billy Joel went ahead with his December 20 show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, he’s not taking any chances in 2022.

The Piano Man has announced that his show scheduled for January in the legendary venue — part of his ongoing residency there — has been postponed.  The January 14 show, which itself had been rescheduled from a May 2, 2020 date, has now been pushed to August 24, 2022.

“Nothing is more important to me than the safety and well-being of my band, crew, and the fans; so due to unfortunate COVID-related circumstances, we made the decision to reschedule the January 14th concert at MSG,” Billy said in a statement. 

Tickets for the January show will be valid for the new show and won’t need to be exchanged. Fans who can’t make the rescheduled show can request a refund in the next 30 days.  More details are available at BillyJoel.com.

Billy currently has numerous shows scheduled for 2022, including January 28 in Hollywood, FL, February 12 at Madison Square Garden, and February 26 in Las Vegas.

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The 2022 edition of Grateful Dead spinoff group Dead & Company‘s Playing in the Sand concert-and-vacation extravaganza gets underway this Friday in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, but one of the band’s core members won’t be taking part in this year’s event.

Founding Grateful Dead and Dead & Company drummer Bill Kreutzmann has announced that he’ll be missing the event because of health issues.

“Playing in the Sand has become my favorite tour stop in recent years and there’s so much about it that’s just so great,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says in a Facebook message. “And thus, it is with a heavy and still recovering heart that I have to relay a note that I received from my doctor this morning, ordering me to sit this one out.”

He continues, “As many of you know, I had some health issues this past fall. After a lifetime of playing special beats, it’s almost no wonder that my heart came up with its own idea of rhythm. All jokes aside, my doctor has ordered me to take it easy (and stay safe) through the end of January so that I can continue to drum and play for you for many tours to come.”

Kreutzmann, 75, adds, “I wish my brothers in the band the best these next two weeks and I look forward to meeting back up with them — and with you — before you know it.”

The 2022 Playing in the Sand is scheduled for January 7-10 and January 13-16, with multiple performances taking place at the Moon Palace Cancún resort. A variety of COVID-19 protocols are being enforced to help ensure the safety and health of attendees, and organizers also are honoring refund requests.

Dead & Company haven’t yet confirmed any other 2022 performances.

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Music-industry veteran and Lollapalooza co-founder Ted Gardner has died.

The news was first announced by Anton Newcombe of the band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who Gardner had managed. According to Billboard, Gardner was 74.

“I’m sad to report Ted Gardner, our manager passed away today surrounded by his loving family,” Newcombe tweeted on December 28. “We will miss a great manager, mentor & friend. Our condolences to all his family & friends.”

Gardner was the manager of Jane’s Addiction when he and Perry Farrell co-founded Lollapalooza in 1991. He also managed bands including Tool and The Verve.

I’m sad to report Ted Gardner, Our manager
passed away today surrounded by his loving family. we will miss a great manager, mentor & friend
Our condolences to all his family & friends. pic.twitter.com/T9XzL4yyVa

— anton newcombe (@antonnewcombe) December 28, 2021

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For a second year in a row, the Grammy Awards will not take place on January 31 as originally planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC News confirms the Recording Academy has delayed this year’s ceremony, which was to be hosted again by Trevor Noah.

“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards Show,” the organization announced in a statement on Wednesday. 

The Recording Academy continued, “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks.”

At this time, the organization has not announced when the Grammys will be rescheduled, but promised the new date “will be announced soon.”

Currently, federal data reports that more than 100,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. for COVID-19.  Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the weekend shows that the U.S. is now averaging nearly half a million new cases a day — averaging out to nearly six Americans testing positive every second.

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In a new memoir being published this month, Valerie Bertinelli opens up about her relationship with her late ex-husband Eddie Van Halen and shares what happened during his final moments.

People has shared an exclusive excerpt from the book, titled Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today, in which Bertinelli reveals that she and son Wolfgang — her and the Van Halen guitarist’s only child — had been visiting the cancer-stricken rock legend daily in the hospital until his death on October 6, 2020.

“‘I love you’ are the last words Ed says to Wolfie and me,” the actress writes in the book, “and they are the last words we say to him before he stops breathing.” Bertinelli notes that’s Eddie’s second wife, Janie Liszewski, and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, also were there.

Valerie and Eddie were married in 1981 and separated in 2001, eventually divorcing in 2007 — his drug and alcohol issues being a major factor — but Bertinelli writes that she and Van Halen grew closer again as he became seriously ill.

“I hated the drugs and the alcohol but I never hated him,” she explains. “I saw his pain.” She also admits, “I loved Ed more than I know how to explain. I loved his soul.”

Bertinelli reveals that around Thanksgiving 2019, Eddie privately gave her a gold pendant he’d bought while in Germany for cancer treatments.

“I hope you don’t think it’s weird…that I bought my ex-wife this gift and didn’t get my wife anything,” Valerie says Eddie told her with tears in his eyes. “I just love you.”

She notes, “He want[ed] me to know he messed up [during our marriage].”

Enough Already will be released on January 18.

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Hulu has released a second trailer for the upcoming Pam & Tommy limited series about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee‘s infamous sex tape.

While the first teaser focused mostly on the two men who stole and then sold the tape, played by Seth Rogen and Nick Offerman, the new clip gives us more of a preview of Lily James and Sebastian Stan‘s respective performances as the Baywatch superstar and the Mötley Crüe drummer.

“You don’t seem to understand what a big deal this is,” James’ Anderson tells Stan’s Lee, who replies, “I’m on that tape just the same as you.” When Anderson says that the tape is “worse” for her, Lee shoots back, “How is this worse for you?”

Pam & Tommy is set to premiere February 2 with three episodes. Subsequent episodes will air weekly.

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David Byrne is one of the many music artists who have contributed to a new tribute album called Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono that’s been compiled by Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and will be released on February 18 — Yoko Ono‘s 89th birthday.

The former Talking Heads frontman teamed up with veteran indie-rock group Yo La Tengo to record a version cover of Ono’s 1970 song “Who Has Seen the Wind?” for the project. The track is available now via digital formats, and an animated companion lyric video has premiered at Death Cab for Cutie’s official YouTube channel.

The 14-track collection also features newly recorded renditions of songs from throughout Ono’s career by such other artists as Death Cab, The Flaming Lips, Magnetic Fields singer Stephin Merritt and more.

Gibbard says in a statement, “It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.”

To accompany the album, Gibbard will be co-hosting a podcast diving deeper into Ono’s music that will feature some of the Ocean Child guest artists. The podcast will premiere on February 18, as well.

In a trailer for the podcast, Byrne says, “Yoko, in her own words, is perceived as a witch, and she’s underappreciated…so that gives us an opportunity to work with her material in a way that would be harder to do with someone who was kind of more universally appreciated.”

He adds, “She has a very open and curious approach, which is something that is really inspirational.”

A portion of proceeds from Ocean Child will be donated to the charity organization WhyHunger.

Here’s the full Ocean Child track list:

“Toyboat” — Sharon Van Etten
“Who Has Seen the Wind?” — David Byrne and Yo La Tengo
“Dogtown” — Sudan Archives
“Waiting for the Sunrise” — Death Cab for Cutie
“Yellow Girl (Stand for Life)” — Thao
“Born in a Prison” — US Girls
“Growing Pain” — Jay Som
“Listen, the Snow Is Falling” — Stephin Merritt
“No No No” — Deerhoof
“Don’t Be Scared” — We Are KING
“Mrs. Lennon” — The Flaming Lips
“No One Sees Me Like You Do” — Japanese Breakfast
“There Is No Goodbye Between Us” — Yo La Tengo
“Run Run Run” — Amber Coffman

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