Classic Rock News

Dead & Company wrapped their Dead Forever residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, and fans are already eager to find out if they’ll be returning. Well, it sounds like there’s a good chance of it happening.

The band’s co-manager Bernie Cahill was interviewed by Pollstar about the residency, and he sounded hopeful that they’ll do more shows there.

“The band loved playing the Sphere, I can tell you that. And they love the residency,” he said. “I know they would definitely be interested in going back.” 

Cahill isn’t the first person to suggest Dead & Company would be open to returning for more residency dates. In a recent interview, drummer Mickey Hart gave fans hope of more shows, sharing, “There’s no reason why there wouldn’t be. Let’s leave it at that.”

Meanwhile, next year marks the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, and Cahill was asked about whether there are any plans in the works to celebrate the huge milestone.

“In terms of next year and what GD60 holds, it’s all a conversation, we’ll see,” he said. “There’s a lot to celebrate.”

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Rush’s Alex Lifeson has just launched the latest product in his Lerxst line, a new wah effects pedal.

The Lerxst Blah Blah pedal, made in collaboration with pedal designers Morley, is, according to the description, “inspired by Lifeson’s never ending tone journey for new and innovative sounds.” 

“Wah pedals have been an essential tool of sonic expression for me since the ‘Fly by Night’ album,” Lifeson shares, referring to Rush’s 1975 album. “With the ‘wah’ side of the Blah Blah, we really wanted to capture that classic sound while also giving it a wide enough frequency response to suit modern players.”

He adds, “The guys at Morley have designed some of the greatest wah pedals ever, so it was a natural collaboration to work on this project with them, and also see where we could take it next.”

“Alex wanted us to create something unique and inspiring,” said Morley owner Scott Fietsam. “We certainly achieved the ‘Blah-talkie’ sound, but what surprised us was how versatile this pedal turned out to be. It opened up numerous sonic possibilities in both clean and distorted modes, making it enjoyable for a wide range of players.” 

The Blah Blah pedal is currently limited to 500 pedals and is available to order now through the Lerxst Reverb store.

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Ozzy Osbourne‘s dog Rocky has died.

In a Facebook post Thursday alongside a photo of him holding the Pomeranian, the metal legend writes, “Two days ago I lost my good friend Rocky who has been at my side for 15 years.”

“I’ll see you on the other side my friend,” Ozzy continues. “I love you always.”

The Black Sabbath Facebook replied with a photo of Ozzy, Rocky and guitarist Tony Iommi, adding, “Rest in Peace Rocky.”

Rocky was one of many dogs who are part of the Osbourne family. During a May episode of The Osbournes Podcast, they shared that they’d just adopted a new bulldog.

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Aerosmith canceled their Peace Out tour and retired from the road in early August, citing Steven Tyler’s continuing vocal problems. Now bassist Tom Hamilton is giving fans a little more detail about what happened to the Aerosmith frontman.

In an interview with Charlie Kendall’s Metalshop, Hamilton says Tyler didn’t hurt himself singing, but actually fractured his larynx when he fell during the band’s third show of the 2023 tour.

“It wasn’t a case of him blowing his throat out by doing something wrong,” Hamilton said. “He has been healing well and working his a** off to get ready to go back out on the road, but it just wasn’t possible.” 

He added: “We don’t know what the future holds, but it won’t include touring.”

But it sounds like he doesn’t think Aerosmith will go away completely, sharing, “The future is still out there and I imagine we’ll figure out a way to be part of it.” He insists the idea of replacing Tyler is out of the question.

“There’s been no talk at all about going on the road with another singer,” he says. “I can’t imagine it.”

As for their fans, Hamilton says they’re “grateful for all for all of the people in this world who have come to love this band.” 

“I think that was the hardest part about retiring from the road,” he says. “just knowing that there are so many people out there who have found meaning in our music. We see you and we feel you.”

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Green Day has brewed up another coffee collaboration.

After announcing an American Idiot-themed Keurig kit, the punk outfit is teaming up with 7-Eleven to offer an exclusive blend of the band’s Punk Bunny Coffee brand.

The beverage celebrates what 7-Eleven exec Dennis Phelps says is the “60th anniversary of 7-Eleven as the first national retailer to offer freshly brewed coffee in to-go cups, making us the OG To-Go coffee destination.”

“What better way to celebrate than by teaming up with Punk Bunny to bring new and exclusive coffee options to our customers and offering a one-of-a-kind coffee experience?” Phelps adds.

The Green Day Anniversary Blend will be available at 7-Eleven locations, and in Speedway and Stripes stores, starting Aug. 28. A special launch event will be held at the 7-Eleven at 800 6th Ave. in New York City on Aug. 28 at 8 a.m. ET. The first 50 people in line will win free 7-Eleven coffee for 711 days and a “semi-permanent” Punk Bunny-themed tattoo.

Green Day, meanwhile, is celebrating their own anniversaries on their current U.S. tour, during which they’re playing Dookie and American Idiot in honor of the albums turning 30 and 20, respectively.

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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz ended his speech at the DNC Wednesday and walked off the stage to Neil Young’s classic tune “Rockin’ In The Free World,” and it turns out Young was perfectly OK with that.

Reps for Young have confirmed to ABC Audio that the rocker personally gave his permission to allow Walz to use the track, which originally appeared on Young’s 1989 album, Freedom.

It’s far from the first time “Rockin’ In The Free World” has been used by a politician, but Young hasn’t always been happy about it. In fact, in the past he’s threatened to sue Donald Trump over his repeated use of the song. Trump first used the song when he announced he planned to run for president back in 2015, then used it in subsequent rallies over the years.

News of Young’s approval was first reported by CNN.

And Young’s tune wasn’t the only classic track to soundtrack Walz’s appearance at the DNC. Ahead of his speech he walked out to John Mellencamp’s “Small Town.”

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Earlier this year Def Leppard released their May 2023 hometown club show in Sheffield, England, as a special Record Store Day vinyl. Now they are giving more fans a chance to experience the concert. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced they’ll be releasing Def Leppard One Night Only Live at The Leadmill Sheffield May 19, 2023, on Oct. 11. It will be released in a variety of formats: CD, DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD and a limited-edition two-LP set on orange vinyl. Audio and video of the concert will also be released digitally.

The performance, which was livestreamed for fans, was the first time in over 35 years that Def Leppard played such a small venue in the U.K. The night featured a unique set that included hits like “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” as well as deep cuts like “Wasted,” “Too Late For Love” and “Mirror Mirror.”

And the band is giving fans a preview of what to expect with the release of their performance of “Excitable,” a track from their 1987 album, Hysteria.

All formats are available for preorder now. 

Def Leppard are currently on their Summer Stadium tour with Journey. They play Phoenix on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Alex Van Halen’s upcoming autobiography, Brothers, will offer a treat to fans who decide to listen to it as an audiobook.

A description of the release posted to the Van Halen website reveals that the audiobook, narrated by Alex, will feature the added bonus of a previously unreleased song, “Unfinished,” which was written by Alex and his late brother, guitar great Eddie Van Halen. It is described as “the last piece of music they wrote together.”

Brothers, which Alex described as a love letter to Eddie, will be released Oct. 22. It will include previously unseen photos from Alex’s private collection and will delve into the brothers’ childhood. It also includes “tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior.”

Brothers is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, Aug. 22, 1979 …

Led Zeppelin released their eighth and final studio album, In Through the Out Door, in the United States.

The record went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, where it spent seven weeks, tying it with Led Zeppelin II for the Led Zeppelin album with the most weeks at #1. The album’s best known songs include “All of My Love” and “Fool in the Rain.”

In Through the Out Door wound up becoming the last studio album from the legendary rockers. Their drummer, John Bonham, died in September 1980 and they disbanded that December.

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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band brought their tour to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday and played two songs that were clearly chosen for the location they were in.

According to setlist.fm, Bruce and the band kicked off the show with the Nebraska track “Atlantic City,” likely chosen because of Philly’s close proximity to the New Jersey beach town and the opening line, “Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night.” 

Later in the show Springsteen performed his Oscar- and Grammy-winning track “Streets of Philadelphia,” which was a tour debut and the first time he performed it in concert since 2018.

But not every song in the set pandered to the Philly crowd. He also played the track “Wrecking Ball,” which garnered a strong reaction from the audience.

Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows Bruce getting booed as he sang one of the verses that includes a reference to the New York Giants football team, a huge rival to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

As Bruce began the verse that starts, “Now, my home’s here in these Meadowlands,” the crowd started booing, prompting Bruce to break out into laughter and take a few seconds before returning to the song. He then continued, “Where mosquitoes grow big as airplanes. Here where the blood is spilled. The arena’s filled. And giants played their games,” which prompted even more boos. 

As the boos continued, Bruce asked the crowd “Eagles?,” which garnered an even bigger laugh from the rocker. 

Wednesday night’s show was the first of two concerts Bruce is playing in Philly. The second is happening Friday. Both are shows that were rescheduled from 2023.

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