Classic Rock 93.9

How’s this for a smooth move! Carlos Santana has teamed up a again with his “Smooth” collaborator, Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, to record a new song titled “Move” that will be the first single from Santana‘s star-studded upcoming album, Blessings and Miracles.

The track, which also features guest vocals by American Authors, will be released to radio on Wednesday, August 18, while the album in scheduled to arrive on October 15.

“‘Move’ came about was very much like how ‘Smooth’ happened,” explains Carlos. “It was like divine intelligence behind the scenes, and I just knew I had to record it with Rob. The song is about awakening your molecules. Ignite and activate yourself — you know, move. When Rob and I work together, we have a sound that’s splendiferous.”

In a press statement, the new song is described as “a grinding, grooving, swaggering, swaying and altogether breathtaking mix of pop and Latin rock with sure-fire hooks for days.”

“Smooth” was featured on the hugely successful 1999 Santana album Supernatural, and spent a whopping 12 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late ’99 and early 2000. The tune also won three individual Grammy Awards — Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals — and is ranked second among the most successful Billboard singles of all time.

As previously reported, Carlos and Rob both are part of the lineup of the star-packed “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” event taking place August 21 in New York City’s Central Park, although it hasn’t been officially announced if they will perform together. Meanwhile, the Santana band is slated to kick off a new series of Las Vegas residency dates at the House of Blues on August 25.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ringo Starr has announced that he’ll be paying a visit to the TalkShopLive social-networking site’s Rock n Roll Channel this Thursday, August 12, at 7 p.m. ET to share some exciting news with fans.

In a video message promoting his appearance, the famed ex-Beatles drummer says, “Peace and love, everyone. Peace and love. Everyone, it’s Ringo, I’m here and I’m coming to TalkShopLive with some news for you on August the 12th at 4 p.m. [PT]…See you there!” Visit TalkShop.live for full details.

While it’s unclear what Starr will be announcing, Peter Frampton revealed in a post on his Twitter feed in early July that he’d visited Ringo and got to hear an upcoming EP Starr has recorded. Frampton also posted photos on his Instagram that appear to show him possibly laying down guitar parts for a new Ringo project.

Starr’s most recent release was the Zoom In EP, which hit stores in March.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Doors guitarist Robby Krieger has lined up a solo concert at one of his old band’s famous haunts in the Los Angeles area, the Whisky a Go Go club, on December 8.

The show, which currently is Krieger’s only confirmed upcoming gig, coincides with what would’ve been late Doors frontman Jim Morrison‘s 78th birthday. Tickets are available now at WhiskyaGoGo.com.

Meanwhile, Krieger and The Doors’ other surviving band member, drummer John Densmore, were interviewed together for a segment about Morrison that aired on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend.

The segment celebrates the recently published book The Collected Works of Jim Morrison: Poetry, Journals, Transcripts and Lyrics, which Jim’s sister, Anne Morrison Chewning, helped compile and which features most of Morrison’s previously published work, as well as a bounty of unpublished writing.

Asked what kind of musician Jim was, Krieger says, “He wasn’t really a musician, he was more of a word musician…magician.”

Robby goes on to explain, “Those first songs he came up with, he actually heard them in his head. It was like a concert being played in his head.”

Densmore adds, “He said to me he thought of melodies to remember the words. So that’s really a gift.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Though she only had five concerts planned for 2021, Stevie Nicks is calling them all off.

The singer, who spent much of last year isolated and asked fans to respect social distancing and wear masks, has now announced that out of an abundance of caution, she won’t be performing this year.

In an Instagram post, she writes, “These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made. I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising COVID cases should be of concern to all of us.”

The longtime Fleetwood Mac member continues, “While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I’m still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the [five] performances I had planned for 2021.”

She concludes, “Because singing and performing have been my whole life, my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer. I’m devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”

Stevie was to have performed at the 2021 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, but that event was called off a few days ago anyway. She had also been scheduled to perform at the Jazz Aspen Festival in Snowmass, Colorado, and California’s BottleRock Napa Valley, both over Labor Day weekend, as well as twice during Texas’ Austin City Limits Music Festival in October.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Stevie Nicks (@stevienicks)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Scorpions have given fans a taste of one of the new songs that’s expected to appear on the band’s upcoming studio album. A video clip of the veteran German rockers rehearsing a tune, apparently called “Seventh Son,” has been posted on the official social media sites of the group and of drummer Mikkey Dee.

Commenting about the song, Dee writes in an Instagram post, “Scorpions — rehearsing new songs for [upcoming] Tour. Pretty damn heavy.”

There’s been no official announcement about when the album will be released or what its title is, although frontman Klaus Meine revealed in a video message posted on May 29 that The Scorpions “were in the mixing process,” adding, “We can’t wait to get the album out for you guys to hear it.”

Then, on June 7, Meine and guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs appeared in another video clip from The Scorpions’ Peppermint Park studio in Hanover, Germany, and played a snippet of one of the new tracks.

The Scorpions’ most recent studio album, Return to Forever, was released in 2015. According to The-Scorpions.com, the band’s next scheduled shows will be part of a nine-date Las Vegas residency next year at The Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood that runs from March 26 through April 16.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Earlier this year, Milwaukee’s all-genre Summerfest announced its return in September of 2021, featuring a lineup of over 100 performers, including such well-known veteran acts as ZZ Top, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Guns N’ Roses, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Mötley Crüe‘s Vince Neil, Night Ranger and former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison.

Now, the festival has announced new COVID-19 safety protocols in place for attendees. Those coming to the concerts will need to show proof of either COVID-19 vaccination or a current negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the festival grounds and American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

More information is available at the festival’s website. Additionally, those not fully vaccinated can find information on local testing availability before they head to the event.

The new protocol comes on the heels of an announcement from Live Nation, which recently decided that it will allow the touring artists it works with to require proof of vaccination or a negative test from event attendees.

Summerfest 2021 is scheduled to take place September 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Of all the many songs you might hear playing from church bells, you probably wouldn’t expect Motörhead‘s “Ace of Spades” would be one of them. Well, neither did the attendees of the Torenfestival in The Netherlands.

On July 17, residents of the Dutch town of Weert hear none other than “Ace of Spades” ringing out from their local church. The music was provided by guitarist Jitse Zonneveld and keyboardist/bell-ringer Frank Steijns.

The performance became a local phenomenon and was covered by the national Dutch news. Now, you can experience it for yourself streaming via the Motörhead YouTube channel.

As for how Lemmy might’ve felt about his ode to gambling playing on church bells, a press release posits that the late frontman would likely be “a little perplexed,” but also “delighted to know that Motörmusic had forced its way into such rarified air and received such an overwhelmingly positive amount of support.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters have announced a pair of Northeast concerts taking place next month.

The shows will be held September 15 in Syracuse, New York, and September 17 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, August 13, at 10 a.m. ET via FooFighters.com.

Attendees must be either full vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive a negative diagnostic test within 48 hours of entering the venue.

Foo Fighters have been playing concerts this summer while celebrating their 26th anniversary after their 25th anniversary plans for 2020 were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outing will continue August 17 with the band’s first ever show in Alaska.

Meanwhile, you can also catch the Foos at the Bonnaroo and BottleRock Napa Valley festival in September.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paul McCartney‘s new Hulu docuseries McCartney 3, 2, 1 is the latest installment of what’s shaping up to be a huge year for Beatles and Beatles-adjacent material.  That includes the pending release of Peter Jackson‘s Get Back, to the just-released 50th anniversary edition of George Harrison‘s All Things Must Pass, to McCartney’s own album, McCartney III Reimagined.  But McCartney thinks there will always be a demand for Beatles material, because there’s always going to be someone out there who’s yet to discover them.

“There’s so much stuff out there. But I think that’s one of the reasons The Beatles keep going — because you keep discovering another little thing,” Paul tells Rolling Stone in a new interview featuring him and his 3,2,1 co-star Rick Rubin. “I always think everyone’s heard all the stories. As you get older, you think, “Am I just repeating all my stories?”

Paul Continues, “But I rationalize, well, there’s only one answer to the question, ‘How did you meet John [Lennon]?’ I can’t make another meeting up. I can maybe try and explain how we met in a slightly different way. But I’ll still talk to someone and they say, ‘What? You dreamed [the melody of] “Yesterday”?’ And so I’ll tell the story again, but it’s like, ‘You sure you haven’t heard this?’ But not everyone has.”

And, as Paul points out, “As we go on and the young people come onboard, there’s a lot of stuff they haven’t heard.”

You can hear Paul tell a lot of those stories in McCartney 3, 2, 1. Rubin believes the the docuseries is a hit because “it doesn’t come across as product.” Or, as Paul notes, “People feel like they’re watching us talk. Which is exactly what’s happening.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Romantics lead guitarist Mike Skill recently released a new version of his band’s classic 1980 tune “What I Like About You.” It’s available now via streaming services and will be included on Skill’s debut solo album Skill…Mike Skill, due out on September 10.

Skill tells ABC Audio that he thinks his new version “kicks a**.”

Mike co-wrote “What I Like About You” with founding Romantics drummer Jimmy Marinos, who sang lead on the original track.  But since frontman Wally Palmar handled lead vocal duties on most of The Romantics’ tunes, Skill says his solo project gives him the chance to make it “known that I’m able to get out there and sing songs as well.”

The updated rendition of “What I Like About You” features Skill on both lead and backing vocals, guitars and bass, with current Romantics member Brad Elvis on drums.

Mike reveals that he began recording the new version so the The Romantics could offer it for use in movies, TV shows and commercials, but that plan fell through.  Then, when the COVID pandemic last year quashed plans for the band to celebrate their 40th anniversary, Skill found himself with extra time on his hands.

He began gathering songs for his first solo album, and decided to include his new version of “What I Like About You” in the project, and release it as a single to mark its 41st anniversary.

To record his updated version, Skill says, “I brought out the old Hiwatts, the same amps I used on the original song. The Rickenbacker [guitars]…I wanted to make sure it had that really crisp, raw energy — a real…thump to it. And it came out that way. [It] turned out really good.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.