Classic Rock News

Wolfgang Van Halen has commented on the rumored Van Halen tour that would pay tribute to his late father, the iconic Eddie Van Halen.

Reports of the tour first surfaced when former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed that he was approached by VH drummer Alex Van Halen and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani for a jam session that ultimately “fizzled.” Satriani then confirmed that he’d been speaking with Alex and VH vocalist David Lee Roth about a potential tribute while admitting the whole thing was “complicated.”

Now, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Wolf reaffirmed that there were talks of a tribute to Eddie, sharing, “There was an attempt at doing something.” He added, “It was not a tour” but rather a single tribute concert.

“I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to Van Halen,” Wolf said. “We made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”

When asked to clarify his involvement in the project, Wolf explained, “When it comes to Van Halen, and decision-making overall and what Van Halen does, it’s Al, and then I’m there and supportive.”

As for whether he gave his “blessing,” he said, “It didn’t even get to that point.”

“It was in such an early stage that it never even got off the ground,” Wolf added, explaining that by the time Newsted had made his comments, “It was already not happening.”

The interviewer then asked if a certain “singer with three initials” is to blame, and Wolf replied, “I would say, ‘Do your research on the history of Van Halen, and come to your conclusions.'”

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Axl Rose has dedicated Guns N’ Roses‘ recently concluded European tour to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Over the weekend, in a tweet following the tour’s closing show in Germany, Rose wrote, “It’s just a simple gesture n’ it’s awkward dealing with the gravity of something like this but in an effort to pay [our] respects we’d like to dedicated this tour to our friend Taylor Hawkins.”

“Taylor was a really great guy and it was always great to see him!” the “Welcome to the Jungle” singer continued. “He was a great n’ always welcome part of touring these last few years! This is such a horrible thing and [our] hearts go out to his family, friends, band manes and everyone who love him.”

Hawkins passed away unexpectedly on March 25 in Bogotá, Colombia, ahead of a Foo Fighters show scheduled there for later that night. He was 50 years old.

Foo Fighters will be holding a pair of tribute shows to Hawkins taking place September 3 in London and September 27 in Los Angeles.

Also in his note, Rose thanked Carrie Underwood, who joined GN’R for two shows in London to sing “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

“She’s AMAZING!!” Rose wrote of the country star. He added that Underwood was also a “real lifesaver,” alluding to the vocal issues he was battling during the second London show, which forced GN’R to postpone their next show in Scotland.

“At least someone could sing!!” Rose wrote.

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The Boss is a grandpa.

Bruce Springsteen‘s wife and band mate, Patti Scialfa, took to Instagram over the weekend to announce the arrival of the latest addition to the Springsteen clan: Lily Harper Springsteen, the daughter of their youngest son, Sam.

Scialfa posted a pair of photos: the first, a black-and-white shot of Sam, who’s a New Jersey firefighter, with his fiancée wheeling a baby carriage; the second, a color pic of Lily wearing a pink hat and pink mittens.

The photos, captioned “walking the baby” followed by a yellow flower emoji, drew congratulatory messages from Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Eddie Vedder‘s wife Jill and Sting‘s daughter Mickey Sumner, among others.

The baby is Bruce and Patti’s first grandchild.

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Chicago‘s 38th studio album, Born for This Moment, was released on Friday.

The 14-track collection features the lead single “If This Is Goodbye,” which recently broke into the top 20 of Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary chart.

“‘If This Is Goodbye’ was one of the first songs I heard as a possibility to be on the album, and immediately I knew that this definitely should be a contender,” founding Chicago trumpet player Lee Loughnane tells ABC Audio. “And I think 15, 20, maybe even 30 songs came in, [but when I heard that one, I thought,] ‘Yeah, this has got…some legs on it.’ And turns out it does.”

The song is a showcase for Chicago singer Neil Donell, who joined the group in 2018.

“He is the latest tenor voice in the band. And he sings as well or better than [former member Peter] Cetera ever did…and Cetera was at the top of his game when he ended up leaving us,” Loughnane maintains. “So…it’s really good to have him in, and he’s enjoying it, we’re enjoying having him…The band is smokin’ right now.”

Lougnane says recording Born for This Moment was challenging, since most of the project was done remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We couldn’t even get into the same rooms together to speak with each other,” notes Lee. “[W]e missed being able to have that camaraderie, but I think it came out pretty good, despite not seeing each other all that much.”

Loughnane reveals that the entire band did record one song on the album together, a tune he co-wrote called “If This Isn’t Love.”

“We were on tour and I had us set up before the show,” Lee explains, “and we ran the song down…three or four times.”

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Guitar legend Jeff Beck‘s recently announced collaborative album with actor/musician Johnny Depp, 18, was released Friday on CD and digital formats.

The 13-track collection features two Depp originals alongside an eclectic selection of 11 covers, including songs by The Beach Boys, late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Velvet Underground and The Everly Brothers.

In an exclusive interview to promote 18, Beck says he really enjoyed working with Depp and appreciated his contributions to the project.

“He was a major force on this record,” Beck notes. “I haven’t had another partner for ages.”

Among the covers on 18 are two Motown classics — Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and The Miracles’ “Ooo Baby Baby.”

Beck says he knew he was taking a risk covering “What’s Going On,” admitting, “I fully expect the full force of criticism because of that song being so precious,” while adding with a laugh, “but I was going through the Motown appreciation time.”

Beck recalls that “Ooo Baby Baby” came about while working on the album at Depp’s home in France. While waiting for Johnny to wake up one day, he laid down the track as a way to get a good audio balance. By the time Depp joined the session, Beck says he started feeling under the weather and went lie down for a bit.

Beck says that when he woke up, “I heard [Johnny] singing ‘Ooo Baby’… He was doing the three-part harmonies, and I crept into the studio without him seeing me. And it was just amazing watching him put these parts together.”

Beck also praised Depp’s songwriting skills, particularly how in “This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr” he expressed “respect for that actress and what she achieved.”

Here’s the full 18 track list:

“Midnight Walker” (Davy Spillane cover)
“Death and Resurrection Show” (Killing Joke cover)
“Time” (Dennis Wilson cover)
“Sad Motherf***in’ Parade” (Johnny Depp original)
“Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)” (Beach Boys cover)
“This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr” (Johnny Depp original)
“Caroline, No” (Beach Boys cover)
“Ooo Baby Baby” (The Miracles cover)
“What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye cover)
“Venus in Furs” (The Velvet Underground cover)
“Let It Be Me” (The Everly Brothers cover)
“Stars” (Janis Ian cover)
“Isolation” (John Lennon cover)

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Following her debut with Demi Lovato‘s band on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, Nita Strauss has confirmed that she’s joining the pop star on the road, too.

In an Instagram post Friday tagging Lovato, Strauss writes, “Let’s rock, @ddlovato! Excited to dive into this show and have some fun.”

Lovato’s tour, which supports their upcoming, guitar-driven album Holy F***, kicks off August 13 in Springfield, Illinois.

News of Strauss’ involvement comes after the longtime Alice Cooper touring guitarist announced earlier this week that she wouldn’t be joining the shock rocker on his upcoming fall tour.

“There is no drama whatsoever and my touring year is still VERY full,” Strauss wrote at the time. “In fact, I’m on a flight straight into the next adventure as I post this, and I’ll be on stage again much sooner than you think!”

Outside of her work in Cooper’s band, Strauss released her debut solo album, the instrumental Controlled Chaos, in 2018. Her 2021 solo single, “Dead Inside,” which features vocals by Disturbed‘s David Draiman, became the first song by a solo female artist to hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in 32 years.

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Chicago‘s new studio album, Born for This Moment, arrived on Friday.

The 14-track collection is the band’s 38th official album and was mostly recorded remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, although the horns were laid down live at founding trumpet player Lee Loughnane‘s studio in Arizona.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are enjoying some chart success with the album’s lead single, “If This Is Goodbye,” which currently sits at #19 on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary tally.

You can check out an official music video for the upbeat pop tune on Chicago’s YouTube channel.

Born for This Moment features three songs that founding singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm co-wrote with Ides of March frontman and ex-Survivor member Jim Peterik — the title track, “Crazy Idea,” and “Our New York Time.”

Chicago fans will likely pick up on the fact that the intro to “Our New York Time” recreates the start of the band’s classic 1969 song “Beginnings.”

“That was [producer] Joe Thomas‘s idea to do that there,” Lamm notes. “Initially, I had a little trepidation about it because I always want to hear something new, but the guys felt really positive about it, so I was cool with it.”

Born for This Moment is Chicago’s first album of original material to feature singer Neil Donnell, who joined the group in 2018.

Founding Chicago trombonist James Pankow says of Donell’s contributions, “Not only is Neil a technically gifted performer, he is an amazing, multirange singer … Without a doubt, he is a big asset to the band.”

Chicago currently is on the road with founding Beach Boys member Brian Wilson‘s solo band. The trek continues Friday night in Wantagh, New York, and runs through a July 26 show in Clarkston, Michigan.

Here’s the full Born for This Moment track list:

“Born for This Moment”
“If This Is Goodbye”
“Firecracker”
“Someone Needed Me the Most”
“Our New York Time”
“Safer Harbours”
“Crazy Idea”
“Make a Man Outta Me”
“She’s Right”
“The Mermaid” (“Sereia Do Mar”)
“You’ve Got to Believe”
“For the Love”
“If This Isn’t Love”
“House on the Hill”

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Stewart Copeland, the arrestingly kinetic drummer of The Police, celebrates his 70th birthday this Saturday, July 16.

Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Copeland grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, where his CIA agent father was stationed. He later moved to England, and in 1974 he became the drummer of the prog-rock band Curved Air.

After Curved Air broke up in 1976, Copeland formed The Police the following year with singer/bassist Gordon Sumner, a.k.a. Sting, and guitarist Henry Padovani. Guitarist Andy Summers joined as a fourth member later in ’77, and Padovani exited the group soon after.

Offering up a captivating mix of punk, reggae, pop, rock, jazz and world music influences, The Police soon became one of the most popular bands on the planet.

While Sting was the group’s main songwriter, Copeland wrote or co-wrote at least one song on every Police album. His most significant contributions came on 1979’s Regatta de Blanc, which featured six tracks that he wrote or co-wrote.

While with The Police, Copeland released some solo singles and an album under the pseudonym Klark Kent. In 1982, he composed the soundtrack to the Francis Ford Coppola-directed film Rumble Fish.

After The Police broke up in 1986, Copeland worked on many film soundtracks, including Talk Radio and Wall Street.

Stewart also has played in such collaborative projects as Animal Logic, with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and singer/songwriter Deborah Holland; Oysterhead, with Primus‘ Les Claypool and Phish‘s Trey Anastasio; and Gizmodrome, with ex-King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew and Level 42‘s Mark King.

In 2003, Copeland was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Police. In 2007-2008, the band reunited for a massively successful world tour.

In recent years, Copeland has composed several operas. In 2021, he won a Best New Age album Grammy for Divine Tides, a collaboration with Indian-music composer Ricky Kej.

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On the heels of the release of their new studio album, Freedom, Journey kicks off a series of four orchestral concerts Friday night in Las Vegas at the new Resorts World Theatre, a 4,700-seat venue with a modern sound system.

“We’re definitely looking very much forward to playing these first shows … at [concert promoter] AEG’s new venue,” Journey guitarist Neal Schon tells ABC Audio. “It is supposed to be a complete state-of-the-art venue, from what I’ve heard from everyone that’s been there … It’s gonna sound amazing in there.”

Back in December, Journey played a one-off concert with an orchestra at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but Schon says the new shows — which are scheduled for July 15, 16, 22 and 23 — will feature some different songs, including some tunes from Freedom.

“It’s gonna be a nice little stay there,” Schon offers.

Schon says the band likely will perform the songs from the new album without orchestral accompaniment, noting, “I think we’re gonna leave those raw and just lay it on the audience.”

According to Schon, among the new tunes from Journey’s back catalog that will be performed with the symphony are “Winds of March” and “City of Hope.”

Meanwhile, Schon says he actually likes the way Journey’s harder-rocking songs sound with an orchestra more than the ballads.

“It’s like the ballads, you can imagine what the symphony sounds like, ’cause they already sound like they’re orchestrated … on the album, with keys and sometimes real strings,” he explains. “But the rock stuff [combined with a symphony] adds a whole different dimension.”

Besides the four Vegas performances, Journey has eight nonsymphonic concerts lined up around the U.S. this year. Visit JourneyMusic.com to check out the band’s full schedule.

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