Fender is paying tribute to George Harrison with a new collection of guitar accessories inspired by the late Beatle‘s record label, Dark Horse Records.
The George Harrison Dark Horse Capsule Collection consists of three items: a Dark Horse floral guitar strap, another guitar strap with the Dark Horse logo, and Dark Horse pick tin with Dark Horse Records graphics and six medium-gauge printed picks.
All three items are available now on Fender.com and range in price from $11.99 to $44.99.
Bono and TheEdge’s upcoming Disney+ special, Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, has them touring Dublin with David Letterman. The U2 rockers say it was only right to invite the talk show host to come visit them in their city.
“You know, he had us on his stomping ground” for a week, Bono tells Access Hollywood, referring to their weeklong visit on The Late Show in 2009. “So it was the right thing to return the compliment and host him at home in Dublin.”
The Edge adds, “We thought a stand-up comic like Dave might be able to understand what we are about and unravel the U2 mystery.”
In the special, Bono and The Edge perform a song they wrote about Dave, which he still can’t quite believe.
“I’m still processing it because most songs written about me begin, ‘Hey dumb***,’” Letterman joked. “So this was an unusual experience.”
Bono and The Edge were also asked about how long it took for them to get used to their nicknames, and it sounds like they may still be working on that.
“Nicknames, you don’t choose them, your friends choose them and they’re not necessarily compliments, they’re often slags, as we’d say in Ireland,” Edge says, to which Bono chimed in, “It’s always uncomfortable, is what The Edge is saying, but even his mother used to call him The Edge. In fact, Mrs. Edge used to call him The Edge.”
As for whether Letterman has a nickname, Bono says it’s “Lord,” to which Letterman clarified, “Lord Dips***.”
Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming debuts March 17 on Disney+.
U2 released their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, which went on to be one of the world’s best-selling albums. It was the Irish rockers’ first number-one album in the U.S. and spent nine weeks in the top spot on the Billboard 200, the longest reign at number one for the band.
The record included future U2 classics “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which remain U2’s only number-one singles in the U.S., as well as “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
The Joshua Tree sold over 25 million copies and won two Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. In 2014, it was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the U.S. National Recording Registry, a distinction that body reserves for sound recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
In 2017, U2 celebrated The Joshua Tree‘s 30th anniversary with a tour of North America, Europe and Latin America, playing the album in order, in its entirety. The tour grossed more than $316 million, making it the highest-grossing tour of the year worldwide. They then added more dates through 2019, bringing in another $390.8 million.
Stevie: Erika Goldring/WireImage; Billy: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks‘ joint stadium tour gets underway Friday in Inglewood, California. And Billy says you just might hear him singing “Landslide” at the shows, while she sings “Just the Way You Are” — or something along those lines.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times about the pairing, Billy says he and Stevie met about 10 years ago backstage at a Fleetwood Mac show. “We’ve never worked together, even though we both kind of hit at the same time,” he notes. “So this’ll be a completely new thing for me. I’ll probably do one of her songs and she’ll probably do one of mine.”
Asked which Stevie song he’s considering, he says, “That’s up to her.”
Billy traded songs with Elton John when the two toured together years ago, and he says teaming up with another artist, like Stevie, really appeals to him.
“I did very much enjoy touring with Elton John. It was like I joined something. As a solo artist, it’s always ‘me, me, me’ — gets kind of boring,” he admits. “But when I hooked up with Elton, I got to play his material, which was a hell of a lot of fun. I miss that.”
And speaking of Elton, Billy, who’s nine years into his Madison Square Garden residency, in addition to the stadium shows he does each year, says a farewell tour like the kind Elton’s doing isn’t really for him.
“I have a disdain for capitalizing on that: ‘Let me threaten that it’ll be the end, and then I’ll make a lot of money,'” he tells the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve seen bands so many times announce their farewell tours and then they never go away.”
The show must go on for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Despite the loss of their last founding member, guitarist Gary Rossington, last Sunday, it has been confirmed that the band will play Florida’s Strawberry Festival this Sunday as planned.
“Our Festival has lost a great friend, entertainer, and music icon,” Florida Strawberry Festival President Paul Davis shares, according to Planet Rock. “Our hearts go out to his entire family, all his fans and to the thousands of people whose lives he has enriched.”
He adds, “We know we will have a special guest and guardian angel watching over this performance.”
In addition to the Strawberry Festival, Lynyrd Skynyrd has several other shows on their schedule, including an upcoming summer tour with ZZ Top. A complete list of tour dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.
The early years of Iron Maiden are going to be the subject of a new picture book from Rufus Publications.
Iron Maiden – The Paul Di’Anno Years, the third title in the publisher’s Portraits series, will focus on the band’s years with frontman Di’Anno, which covers 1978 to 1981. The book features hundreds of never-before-seen photos, with the black-and-white pics covering the band rehearsing, recording, playing live and more.
The 240-page book comes with a fold-out poster and features a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. There will be 666 numbered copies of the main addition, along with limited leather and metal editions, with just 66 of each available.
It seems like even Gene Simmons doesn’t fully believe that KISS‘ “final” concerts, scheduled for New York’s Madison Square Garden December 1 and 2, will truly be the end.
While speaking to The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Simmons was asked if the band would ever again play a show in Las Vegas, considering they canceled a scheduled residency at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater, which would have run from December 2021 to February 2022.
“I actually don’t know, because we have been so inundated by people wanting to see us wherever we go. I mean, every guy whoever [sic] washed my dog or did my dry cleaning is hitting me up for tickets for his entire family, three generations back,” Simmons said.
“Vegas? I don’t know, it would be nice to do a Vegas residency,” he continued. “But I don’t know any of these things.”
What Simmons does know is that he’s hosting a VIP event May 5, 6 and 7 at the Rio Hotel & Casino, the location of the KISS by Monster Mini Golf and World Museum attraction, and tickets costs thousands of dollars. The bassist tells the Review-Journal that even though the band is — allegedly — ending their touring career, he’s still excited about the potential of the KISS brand.
“We have KISS everything — I want to sell KISS Air,” he says, meaning actual oxygen. “Have you seen the KISS air-guitar strings? Just a plastic bag with nothing in it. People buy cases of them. We have condoms and caskets.”
He laughs, “I’m thinking of a church, ‘KISS-Tianity.’ What do you think? It’s like everything else in the KISS empire, just throw open the doors and await the masses.”
March 8 marks 50 years since the death of The Grateful Dead’s co-founder and first frontman, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and the day isn’t going unnoticed.
First, The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast, the official podcast of The Grateful Dead, is kicking off its seventh season Wednesday with two episodes devoted to Pigpen. It will delve into Pigpen’s life and career, featuring newly unearthed documents and recordings, including excerpts from some never-before-heard 1964 tapes, one featuring Jerry Garcia. There’s also audio from what is believed to be the only surviving full-length Pigpen interview.
In addition, on May 5 a remastered 50th anniversary edition of History of The Grateful Dead, Volume 1 (Bear’s Choice) will be released. The live album, which originally came out in March 1973, was curated by Dead sound engineer Owsley “Bear” Stanley and features Pigpen singing lead on three of the seven tracks.
The release will come out digitally and on vinyl, along with 5,000 copies of a custom vinyl version with two different custom labels, featuring artwork with the iconic Grateful Dead Dancing Bears. It is available for preorder now at dead.net.
Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Billy Squier is back with new music. The rocker just released the new track “Harder On A Woman,” which is his first new single in 25 years.
The song was written around a hook Squier first heard during a writing session with New Orleans blues artist C.C. Adcock back in 2012. He says he felt compelled to write the tune after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
Billy enlisted a host of well-known musicians for “Harder On A Woman,” including G.E. Smith on guitar, BadCompany’s Simon Kirke on drums and Mark Clarke, who appeared on Squier’s 1981 album Don’t Say No, on bass.
The 2023 Bourbon & Beyond Festival returns to Louisville, Kentucky, in September, with a lineup that includes The Black Crowes, Duran Duran and Blondie.
The festival is set for September 14 to 17 at Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, with a lineup of over 50 artists, including headliners Brandi Carlile, The Killers, Bruno Mars and The Black Keys, along with Mavis Staples, Brittany Howard, Bastille andThe Gaslight Anthem.
Tickets for the festival are on sale now. More info and the complete lineup can be found at bourbonandbeyond.com.
