Classic Rock 93.9

Steely Dan winds down its current U.S. trek, The Earth After Hours Tour, with a three-show residency this week at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have revealed that each of the shows, scheduled for Wednesday night, Friday and Saturday, will feature them playing a different album from their catalog in its entirety.

Wednesday night’s concert will include a full performance of Steely’s Dan’s sixth studio album, 1977’s Aja, which features such classic tunes as the title track, “Deacon Blues,” “Peg” and “Josie.”

The August 12 show will feature a performance of the group’s entire fifth album, 1976’s The Royal Scam, which includes “Kid Charlemagne” and “Haitian Divorce.”

Bringing the residency, and the tour, to a close, the August 13 concert will feature a performance of Steely Dan’s 2021 live album Northeast Corridor, which was recorded during recent tours by the band at four venues in the Northeastern U.S. The album showcases renditions of some of Steely Dan’s most popular tunes, including “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Hey Nineteen,” “Aja,” “Peg” and “Reelin’ in the Years.”

Opening all three shows with be jazz outfit The Dave Stryker Trio.

Visit TheCapitolTheatre.com to purchase tickets to the concerts and for more details.

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Queen‘s Brian May and ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman are among the musicians who will participate in the 2022 Starmus festival, which is scheduled to take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from September 5 to September 10.

May co-founded the festival in 2011 with Dr. Garik Israelian, one of the world’s leading astrophysicists, who had helped Brian complete his PhD thesis in astrophysics in 2007. The event promotes science communication and music. It features speeches from Nobel laureates, astronauts, scientists and authors, as well as musical performances.

The festival seeks to inspire and educate a new generation of explorers and spark their interest in making new discoveries.

The sixth annual Starmus festival will mark May’s first visit to Armenia. In 1988, May participated in the Rock Aid Armenia campaign, a humanitarian project organized to help those affected by a devastating earthquake that hit the country.

Wakeman, who has taken part in several previous Starmus festivals, joins May on this year’s lineup of performers, which also includes contemporary prog-rock group Sons of Apollo and Armenian-American rock singer Serj Tankian of the band System of a Down.

For more information about the festival, visit Starmus.com.

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Former Yes frontman Jon Anderson just finished a U.S. tour with the Paul Green Rock Academy celebrating the 50th anniversary of his old band’s classic album Close to the Edge. Now the 77-year-old singer has revealed he’s got potential plans for a new trek with a different group of musicians.

Anderson tells ABC Audio that he recently discovered a group called The Band Geeks that he says “do very, very good interpretation[s] of Yes music.” The group is led by Richie Castellano, who’s been Blue Öyster Cult‘s bassist since 2004.

“It kind of freaked me out how good they were,” Anderson notes. “So last November, I got in touch with the bass player, and I said, ‘Guys, would you be interested in going out and doing epics and classics?’ And they said, ‘Yes! We would!'”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continues, “They actually sound just like Yes. It’s kind of wonderful and frightening at the same time. The bass player, perfect Chris Squire sound … [The] guitarist, perfect Steve Howe. And [the drummer sounds like] Alan White, Bill Bruford-y Alan White.”

Anderson says he’s hoping to put together a set that includes the epic “Close to the Edge,” as well as some lesser-known Yes songs, among them “The Ritual,” “The Gates of Delirium” and “Mind Drive.”

“These are really, to me, very special Yes pieces of music that got lost in the quagmire of life,” Anderson maintains. “And I think they’re brilliant.”

Anderson says he recently shot a video of him singing some Yes material with The Band Geeks that he’s planning to use “to promote the idea” of the tour. However, no official plans for the trek have been confirmed.

Find out more about The Band Geeks at RichieCastellano.com.

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Alice in Chains‘ discography just got a whole lot shinier, thanks to new Platinum certifications from the RIAA.

The grunge titans’ 1992 sophomore effort Dirt is now five-times Platinum in recognition of 5 million units certified, while their 1990 debut Facelift has been certified triple Platinum.

For Dirt, the new certification comes a month before the album will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Meanwhile, AiC’s 1994 EP Jar of Flies has been certified four-times Platinum, and their 1996 Unplugged release is now double Platinum.

Additionally, a number of singles have earned new certifications, including the triple-Platinum “Man in the Box,” and the double-Platinum “Would?” and “Rooster.” The songs “Them Bones,” “Down in a Hole” and “Nutshell” have also been certified Platinum for the first time.

Alice in Chains’ most recent album is 2018’s Rainier Fog. The band is set to launch a U.S. tour this Wednesday, August 10, in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, alongside Breaking Benjamin and Bush.

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Blondie has debuted a 1978 home recording of a previously unreleased song called “Mr. Sightseer” as the latest advance track from the band’s expansive forthcoming box set, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982, which is due out August 26.

The song was recorded on a four-track reel-to-reel machine in the bedroom of singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. It will be featured on the B-side of a 7-inch vinyl single that boasts Blondie’s recently rediscovered rendition of The Doors‘ “Moonlight Drive,” which previously was made available as an advance track.

Reflecting on “Mr. Sightseer,” Harry says, “The lyric is not good at all … The song’s not too bad. It’s just a little simplistic. It didn’t ever get really developed or finished.”

As previously reported, Against the Odds focuses on the influential New Wave band’s original heyday and is fully authorized by the group.

The retrospective, which can be preordered now, will be available in multiple formats and configurations, including an eight-CD set and a Super Deluxe Collectors’ Edition that features 10 12-inch vinyl LPs, a 10-inch LP and the aforementioned vinyl single.

The vinyl box set features 124 tracks, 36 of which are previously unreleased. The collection contains remastered versions of Blondie’s first six studio albums — 1976’s Blondie, 1977’s Plastic Letters, 1978’s Parallel Lines, 1979’s Eat to the Beat, 1980’s Autoamerican and 1982’s The Hunter — and four LPs of outtakes, demos, remixes, alternate versions, home recordings and other rarities.

The box set also includes extensive liner notes and track-by-track commentary from current and former Blondie members.

Blondie: Against the Odds will also be available as a four-LP package, a three-CD set and digitally.

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Jon Bon Jovi and football have long gone hand in hand: He once owned Arena Football League champions Philadelphia Soul; he and others unsuccessfully tried to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014; and he’s also a pal of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. So maybe it wasn’t so odd that he was seen at Notre Dame football training camp Sunday giving the first team a pep talk.

Jon, whose son Jesse Bongiovi once played for the Irish, gave the team some good advice, reports Notre Dame Insider. Senior lineback Jack Kiser told the publication, “Him being a Notre Dame parent, the first thing he said was, ‘Thank your parents.’ But then he just talked about, ‘Live in the moment. Don’t take this for granted. So, just enjoy every day, and the dog days of camp are not too bad.’”

Kiser also said that Jon reminded the players that never again will they “be around a group of 100 … guys that we consider our brothers, our closest friends.” Jesse, who was also there, echoed what his dad said and told the players, “Just keep those relationships going,” according to Kiser.

Jon also made a cameo in the video the team tweeted out, featuring the team attempting to sing “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

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Anthrax canceled the band’s show Monday in Dallas as a result of a “medical concern.”

The thrash metallers have been touring in celebration of their 40th anniversary alongside Black Label Society and Hatebreed, who still performed at the Dallas concert.

“We’ve waited so long to be able to celebrate our 40th anniversary,” guitarist Scott Ian said in a statement. “[We] are so disappointed that we won’t be able to do so [Monday] — frankly, it blows.”

Ian added, “Thank you for your support and understanding, and stay safe.”

The tour is set to continue Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

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Darryl Hunt, bassist for the Celtic punk band The Pogues, has died. He was 72.

In a tweet posted Tuesday, the “Fairytale of New York” outfit writes, “We are saddened beyond words. Our Darryl passed away yesterday afternoon in London.”

The post also quotes the lyrics “I know you want to hear me catch my breath/I love you till the end” from the 1996 Pogues tune “Love You ‘Till the End,” which was written by Hunt.

Hunt joined The Pogues in 1986, four years after the group formed. He played with them throughout their initial run, which ended in 1996, and rejoined the group for their reunion in 2001 and through their most recent show, which took place in 2014.

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A fresh run of episodes of the AXS TV investigative series Music’s Greatest Mysteries, which delves into some of the biggest myths and legends in music history, will premiere on Wednesday, August 24.

The first of the six new Music’s Greatest Mysteries episodes will include segments looking at the death of founding Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and the curious similarities between two hit 1984 singles — Huey Lewis and the News‘ “I Want a New Drug” and Ray Parker Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters” theme.

Other episodes will feature segments about Pat Benatar‘s enduring rock ‘n’ roll romance, John Lennon‘s fascination and association with the number nine, the tragic death of Who drummer Keith Moon‘s chauffeur, and Led Zeppelin‘s connection with the occult, as well as stories about Quiet Riot, Kris Kristofferson and more.

A variety of experts and commentators will be featured on the new shows, including Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo, former MTV host Matt Pinfield, Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo, famous rock groupie and author Pamela Des Barres, Spin magazine founder Bob Guccione Jr. and many more.

The new episodes Music’s Greatest Mysteries will premiere weekly on AXS TV on Wednesdays through September 28.

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A few days ago, Elton John attended a preview performance of his new musical, The Devil Wears Prada, which is currently playing in Chicago on its way to Broadway. On Instagram, Elton told the cast and crew, “You’ve created something truly wonderful!” But at least one review doesn’t agree with him.

In its review of the show, Variety writes that the show needs to “get meaner,” calling it “an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials.” According to Variety, the show, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, “provides some serviceable entertainment but needs a hefty dose of guilty, edgy fun to boost its mild pleasures.”

In Variety’s opinion, the show “just never lets loose,” and in particular doesn’t give us enough of Prada’s iconic boss-from-hell Miranda Priestly, who in the movie and book treats her assistant Andy so terribly that we’re rooting for her to get out from under her thumb.

And while Elton’s score and its “pleasing, peppy pop sound” has “its moments,” Variety reports, “There’s a lot of work needed to replace the sincere and fairly dull songs … with songs that express the naked ambition, social irresponsibility and joyful artifice of the fashion industry.”

Variety suggests that Elton and the rest of the creative team need to “set niceness aside, and channel their inner Miranda Priestlys.”

Of course, Elton has written numerous hit musicals — The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida — so it’s unlikely one middling review will make much of a difference to him, though The New York Times isn’t thrilled with the show either. The musical is playing at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre through August 21.

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