Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea was red hot about his love for Denny’s during John Mulaney‘s Everybody’s in LA live comedy series.
During the six-part show’s final episode on Friday, May 10, Flea proclaimed that the home of the Grand Slam is a “microcosm” of Los Angeles.
“Denny’s is a magical place and is a sanctuary in this town,” Flea said. “It transcends all cultural and ethnic and economic boundaries. It’s a beautiful place.”
In a social media post alongside a clip of his Denny’s speech, Flea wrote, “I very much enjoyed being on John Mulaney’s show this evening. He is a nice man.” The Denny’s account then replied, “Can’t tell you how many times we’ve [listened] to this since the show ended.”
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band are getting ready to kick off the latest leg of their tour, and even though Ringo just released a new EP, Crooked Boy, fans won’t be hearing those songs at the shows.
Ringo tells Variety there’s a very good reason he and his bandmates — Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette — don’t play any new songs during the tour.
“I promise you, any band out there, say ‘I’d like to do something from my new LP, EP, CD,’ and you can feel the vibe of people going to the toilet, or going to find some T-shirts,” Ringo shares. “This, with the All Starrs, is so great because (playing the hits) is why we’re there.”
He adds, “We’re the best 1-800 band in the land right now.”
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band return to the road on May 22 in Las Vegas, with dates confirmed through September 25 in New York. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.
Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes has added a new show to his Now Is The Time Tour, which features The Warren Haynes Band and The Dreams and Songs Symphonic Experience.
The new show will take place at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Tuesday, September 10. Haynes will be backed by The Warren Haynes Band, made up of John Medeski, Kevin Scott, Terrence Higgins and Greg Osby,along with the Colorado Symphony, led by conductor Christopher Dragon.
“It’s almost cliche to say Red Rocks is a magical venue, but the truth is … it is,” Haynes shares. “Having played there dozens of times, I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad show there. So, when picking places to bring my retrospective Symphonic Experience show, the one place I knew we had to play was Red Rocks.”
A ticket presale for the show begins Thursday, May 16, at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday, May 17, at 10 a.m.
The tour will have Haynes playing a full symphonic set, plus a regular set with WHB. It will have him exploring music from his entire career, including his time in Gov’t Mule, his solo work and his associations with the Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia.
Haynes has a full summer of tour dates ahead of him, including shows in Europe and dates with Guns N’ Roses‘ Slash on his S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival. A complete list of Warren Haynes dates can be found at warrenhaynes.net.
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider wants the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to hurry up and induct deserving artists before they are no longer here to accept the honor.
The rocker made his feelings known on social media, and the comment seems to have been prompted by the May 9 death of drummer Dennis Thompson, the last surviving member of MC5, which is getting inducted into the hall this year.
“DEAR @rockhall RNR HALL OF FAME…There are bands who YOU KNOW are going to eventually be inducted because of their huge influence. How about NOT waiting until the entire band is DEAD?” Snider wrote. “The MC5 are being inducted next month. The last living member died yesterday. RIP MC5. #thatsucks.”
Snider later responded to a comment about MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, who passed away in February, sharing, “I had the honor to finally hang with Wayne a few years ago. It’s a damn sin that the @rockhall waited so long to induct MC5. RIP ENTIRE MC5 BAND!”
MC5 is set to be inducted this year in the Musical Excellence category. Jimmy Buffett, who died in September, is also getting in for Musical Excellence.
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place October 19 in Cleveland and will stream live on Disney+. It’ll air during an ABC special at a later date and will be available to watch the next day on Hulu.
Grammy-winning saxophonist David Sanborn passed away May 12, according to a post on his Facebook account. He was 78.
“It is with sad and heavy hearts that we convey to you the loss of internationally renowned, 6 time Grammy Award-winning, saxophonist, David Sanborn,” read the post, which revealed that he died “after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications.”
“Mr. Sanborn had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018, but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently,” the post continued. “Indeed he already had concerts scheduled into 2025.”
“David Sanborn was a seminal figure in contemporary pop and jazz music. It has been said that he ‘put the saxophone back into Rock ’n Roll,'” the post concludes.
Sanborn, an alto saxophonist, was well known not only in the jazz world, but in pop, rock and R&B, as well. He released his first album, Taking Off, in 1975, which landed in the top 20 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. He went on to win six Grammy Awards, and earn eight Gold albums and one Platinum album.
Sanborn performed and recorded with a whole host of musicians, including David Bowie on Young Americans; James Taylor on four albums, including the Gorilla song “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”; and Eric Clapton on the soundtrack to the movie Lethal Weapon.
Other artists he recorded with include The Who‘s Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, BruceSpringsteen, Elton John, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, James Brown, The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and the Eagles.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band brought their tour to Kilkenny, Ireland, on Sunday, where they paid tribute to the late Irish singer Shane MacGowan, who passed away in November at age 65.
Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows Bruce and the band performing “A Rainy Night in Soho,” the classic track by MacGowan’s band ThePogues.
When Shane died Bruce paid tribute to him on social media, sharing that Shane “was one of my all-time favorite writers.” He added, “The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon.”
According to setlist.fm, “A Rainy Night in Soho” was the first song of Springsteen’s main set, but fans who got to the show early got a surprise from The Boss. The rocker came out with his guitar to perform for the “early birds” in the audience, treating them to an acoustic performance of “This Hard Land.”
The rest of concert featured plenty of Springsteen classics, including “Born To Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Badlands” and “Thunder Road.” Springsteen also got up close and personal with the Kilkenny crowd, jumping into the pit during “Spirit in the Night.” Unfortunately he had a little issue getting out and needed a hand from security to lift him out.
Bruce has two more shows in Ireland: He plays Cork on May 16 and Dublin on May 19. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.
A pair of boots worn by Sir Paul McCartney are being auctioned off at Sotheby’s to raise money for Meat Free Mondays.
The black vegan suede boots, which McCartney designed with shoemaker Crispinians, were made for the rocker’s On The Run world tour and were worn during his finale performance at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.
“As it was time for me to get myself a new pair of boots I thought this might be a good way to help our Meat Free Monday campaign celebrate its 15th anniversary,” Paul shared. “Me and my boots have great memories of that special evening at the Olympic opening ceremony in London. It was a high to be involved with such an awesome and spectacular event. Something I’ll remember forever.”
The auction is set to begin on May 24, with the boots estimated to sell for between $12,000 and $19,000.
Meat Free Mondays is a nonprofit co-founded by Paul, Mary McCartney and Stella McCartney in 2009 to encourage people to help the environment by committing to eating at least one plant-based meal a week.
“It’s a great idea, and I urge you to try it, and if you like it then spread the word,” Paul says. “And if enough people do it, it really will make a considerable difference to the future of this planet.”
More info on the auction can be found at sothebys.com.
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is bringing his live show to the U.S. for the first time in eight years.
The rocker has just announced four North American tour dates for his Luck and Strange tour: October 29 and 30 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and November 4 and 5 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. These will be Gilmour’s only North American concert appearances.
A presale for tickets will begin Wednesday, May 15, at 10 a.m., and fans need to sign up at davidgilmour.com to gain access. Tickets then go on sale to the general public starting Friday, May 17.
Gilmour previously announced dates in Rome and London. He’ll play Rome’s Circo Massimo September 27, 28 and 29 and October 1, 2 and 3, and London’s Royal Albert Hall October 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15.
The tour is in support of Gilmour’s new solo album, Luck and Strange, which drops September 6. It is his first album of new material in nine years.
Bruce Springsteen married actress Julianne Phillips at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The marriage was the first for both, although it did not last.
Songs on Springsteen’s 1987 album Tunnel of Love were inspired by his troubled marriage, and during Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love Express tour he reportedly began a relationship with musician Patti Scialfa, who had joined The E Street Band for the tour.
Springsteen later separated from Phillips, and Phillips filed for divorce in August 1988, citing irreconcilable differences.
Springsteen went on to wed Scialfa on June 8, 1991, at their home in Los Angeles. They had already welcomed their first child, son Evan, almost a year earlier. They later welcomed two more children, Jessica, born in December 1991, and Samuel, born in January 1994.
Springsteen and Scialfa are still married and she has toured with The E Street Band for years, although she’s been mostly absent from his current tour, which hits Cork, Ireland, on May 16.
Foo Fighters covered Van Halen‘s “Eruption” during their headlining set at Florida’s Welcome to Rockville festival on Saturday, May 11. Or, more accurately, Foo Fighters pretended to cover Van Halen’s “Eruption” during Welcome to Rockville.
In the middle of the show, frontman Dave Grohl bemoaned that he doesn’t get to play guitar solos during Foos concerts.
“You know who never gets a f****** solo?” Grohl asked the crowd. “Me, godd*****!”
To remedy this very serious problem, Grohl started shredding the iconic Van Halen “Eruption” instrumental, mimicking the late Eddie Van Halen‘s signature tapping technique. However, it was soon revealed on the big screen behind the Foos that it was actually Eddie’s son and Mammoth WVH frontman Wolfgang Van Halen playing the solo backstage.
“Pulled a prank on the @welcometorockville crowd with Dave and the Foos last night,” Wolf writes in an Instagram post alongside footage of the moment. “Good times. Stoked to rock some shows with them this summer!”
Mammoth WVH will be opening a number of dates on Foo Fighters’ upcoming summer stadium tour, which kicks off in July.
In other Welcome to Rockville happenings, Limp Bizkit performed their cover of The Who‘s “Behind Blue Eyes” alongside Jelly Roll.
