Classic Rock News

Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has settled the lawsuit filed in November 2023 by former Penthouse Pet of the Year Sheila Kennedy, who claimed that back in 1989 the rocker sexually assaulted her in his hotel room after they met at a New York nightclub.

“Mr. Rose has suffered greatly from this lawsuit, and I am pleased that he will now be able to move on with his life,” Rose’s attorney, E. Danya Perry, said in a statement provided to ABC Audio.

The rocker added in his own statement, “As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault.”

Kennedy claimed in her suit that she “suffered severe emotional, physical, financial and psychological distress” from the encounter with Rose and had “issues with physical and emotional intimacy.”

Rose’s lawyers filed his response to the suit in March, arguing that Kennedy’s suit was an attempt to “rewrite history” and implying she filed it for financial gain. 

They argued that she had previously acknowledged in her 2016 memoir, No One’s Pet, that her encounter with Rose was consensual, adding that she only changed her story after New York passed the Adult Survivor’s Act, which allowed victims of sexual abuse to sue in cases that would have otherwise fallen outside the usual statute of limitations.

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Gene Simmons may no longer be touring with KISS but he hasn’t given up playing live.

The rocker has announced a set of spring dates with the Gene Simmons Band, including shows in Florida, New Jersey and Texas.

Simmons is set to play Tallahassee on April 28, followed by a previously announced show in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, on May 3. He’ll then play Red Bank, New Jersey, on May 5, followed by Dallas on May 22 and Houston on May 25.

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at GeneSimmons.com. 

Following KISS’ final show at New York’s Madison Square Garden last December, Simmons has played several dates with the Gene Simmons Band. His first post-KISS show took place in April 2024 at the grand opening of the Rock & Brews Restaurant and Concert Bar within the ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Washington. The band then went on to play shows in Brazil and Europe.

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If you just can’t wait until Christmas Day to see the Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown, there’s now a chance to catch it earlier … and bigger.

The film, starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic singer, is set to play in IMAX theaters starting Dec. 18, a week earlier than its Dec. 25 official release day.

A Complete Unknown: IMAX Early Access will screen in select AMC, Regal, Cineplex and Cinemark theaters in 19 major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. 

All screenings will be followed by a prerecorded Q&A with the cast, and attendees will get a commemorative mini poster and lanyard with their ticket. 

Tickets for the IMAX screenings are on sale now.

A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold, follows a 19-year-old Dylan as he arrives in New York from Minnesota and tracks his rise as a folk singer during the ’60s to the top of the charts, ending with his electric rock ‘n’ roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

The film also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as a character named Sylvie Russo, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash and Nick Offerman as Alan Lomax.

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On This Day, Dec. 4, 1988 …

Roy Orbison performed what would be his final concert at the Front Row Theater in Highland Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. 

The concert featured performances of such Orbison classics as “Crying,” “In Dreams,” “Only the Lonely,” “Oh, Pretty Woman” and more.

After the show, Orbison returned home to Hendersonville, Tennessee, where he died from a heart attack on Dec. 6. He was 52.

Orbison’s many accolades include being a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Musicians Hall of Fame. He won five Grammy Awards and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Dead & Company are once again set to take up residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. 

The band just announced a set of 18 new spring dates for their Dead Forever – Live at Sphere residency, kicking off March 20 and wrapping May 17. The shows will be in celebration of Dead & Company’s 10th anniversary and will be the only Dead & Company Sphere dates for 2025. 

Presale sign-up is open now, with the artist presale kicking off Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. PT, followed by other presale opportunities that begin Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. PT. Travel and VIP packages go on sale Thursday at 7 a.m. PT. 

A complete list of dates can be found at deadandcompany.com.

Dead & Company launched their Dead Forever – Live at Sphere residency in May, treating fans to a four-hour show that combined the iconic Dead music with visuals that helped celebrate the 60-year legacy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group.

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The Rolling Stones want to make sure you smell good.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have just unveiled their first-ever fragrance, RS No. 9, described as “a unique scent that summons the spirit of a scene that made history, the place where it all began.”

The scent, released in partnership with The Stones, fragrance company Nirvana Brands and Bravado, is designed to recall the feeling of London’s Soho area in 1962, which is when The Stones played their first live show at London’s Marquee Club.

As for what it smells like, the scent is described as having “bourbon-infused notes of velvet swagger onto centre stage, as warm leather brawls under electric musk while tempting patchouli and sultry oud seductively linger.”

“It’s the perfect fragrance for those who dare to be different,” The Stones share, “and we hope it will bring some joy to our fans.”

The fragrance will be limited to 999 numbered bottles and will cost $99.99 for a 100ml bottle. They’ll be available at The Stones’ RS No.9 stores in London and Tokyo, and are also available to preorder online, with bottles shipping on Jan. 31.  

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Gibson has unveiled the newest addition to its Jimmy Page guitar collection.

The latest is a new replica of the Led Zeppelin rocker’s most recognized guitar, his 1969 EDS-1275 Doubleneck, which he used on such songs as “Stairway to Haven,” “The Song Remains The Same” and “Celebration.”

The new Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS ’69 Cherry is described as an “effective clone” of the original, with Gibson using 3D scanning technology while crafting the instrument. It also got “significant input” from Page while crafting the guitar.

Gibson first announced its collaborative partnership with Page back in February, and in March released a limited collector’s edition of the 1969 EDS-1275 Doubleneck guitar, at a cost of $50,000. The new model comes at a more reasonable price of $9,999 and is available to order now.

Gibson also released the Jimmy Page 1964 SJ-200 and 1964 SJ-200 Collector’s Edition guitars in October, which were inspired by Page’s own mid-’60s Gibson SJ-200 acoustic, which he used to record Led Zeppelin’s debut album.

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Actor Oscar Isaac wasn’t sure if Timothée Chalamet could pull off playing Bob Dylan — that is until he heard him sing one of Dylan’s songs.

While presenting Chalamet and director James Mangold with the Visionary Tribute award at the 2024 Gotham Awards on Monday, Isaac recalled working with Chalamet on Dune: Part One. While hanging out with fellow actors Josh Brolin and Stephen McKinley Harrison, Chalamet mentioned his upcoming project, A Complete Unknown.

“He starts telling us about his next project he was working on. A movie with the wonderful director James Mangold about a young Bob Dylan coming to New York in 1961,” Isaac. “And my first thought, ‘It sounds like a really bad idea.’ I mean, it’s Dylan. It’s the holy of holies for me. It just didn’t sound right.”

But Isaac’s opinion changed after he heard Chalamet sing.

“Then Timmy takes out his guitar — not a good sign — and starts playing ‘Girl from the North Country,'” Isaac said. “Now, this is a song I know deeply, to my core, and Josh, Stephen and I, we’re not your average Timmy Chalamet groupies. We’re grizzled movie vets. We’ve seen some s***.”

Isaac finished his speech with kind words for Chalamet and Mangold.

“James and Timothée have approached this work with a mix of humility and irreverence, just like Dylan approached the Great American Songbook, probing familiar forms to rediscover the truth of the present moment,” Isaac said.

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A producer on Fleetwood Mac’s classic album Rumours has settled his lawsuit over the Tony Award-winning play Stereophonic.

Ken Caillat, who co-produced the 1977 album, filed a lawsuit in October against the writer and producers of Stereophonic, alleging the play used portions of his 2013 book, Making Rumours: The Inside Story Of The Classic Fleetwood Mac Album, without permission.

In the suit, which was also filed on behalf of Caillat’s co-author Steven Stiefel, the pair claimed Stereophonic “copies the heart and soul of Making Rumours, and is substantially similar,” noting they didn’t authorize the play’s writer, David Adjmi, to “copy, reproduce, or create a fictional adaptation or derivative work of their book.”

In legal documents filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York, the parties asked for the adjournment of a planned conference that was supposed to take place Thursday, noting that both sides have “resolved the dispute in principle” and expect to have their settlement finalized before Dec. 23.

So far no details of the settlement have been revealed.  

Prior to filing the suit, Caillat, father of singer Colbie Caillat, gave an interview with The New Yorker, in which he detailed the similarities of his book and the play, including portions of dialogue he believes were taken right from his book.

Stereophonic opened on Broadway in April and won five Tony Awards, including Best Play. It was originally scheduled to run until July 7, but its run was extended several times. It is now scheduled to close on Jan. 12.

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Guns N’ Roses rockers Slash and Duff McKagan have lent their musical talents to the new single “I Can Breathe” from Gibson Band, described as “a revolving collective of musicians who join together to make music and raise funds and awareness for worthy causes.” 

Duff takes lead vocal and lyrics duties on the song, with Slash handling lead guitar and solos. Both are joined by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian, who plays piano and rhythm guitar on the track, along with Jota Morelli on drums and Seta Von Gravessen on bass.

“It was such a pleasure to work with Cesar and his whole crew on this tune,” Duff shares. “The musical slant and progressive rock-ness of this huge epic pushed me in a whole new direction.” He notes, “I love a challenge and Cesar killed it! Most importantly, to be of service for mental health issues and awareness is super important to me at this time. Let’s rock!”

Slash adds, “Cesar and Duff came to me with a really cool piece of music. I loved the riff idea, and Duff’s vocal, so I felt right at home on the track.”

“I Can Breathe” is now available via digital outlets.

Also contributing to the project is System of a Down‘s Serj Tankian, whose original painting “They’re Coming” served as inspiration for the song’s cover art.

Released in conjunction with Giving Tuesday, proceeds from the song will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Health through Gibson Gives. In addition to a one-of-a-kind Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar, Serj’s original painting will be auctioned off through Julien’s Auctions, with proceeds going to the same organization.

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