Classic Rock News

Roger Waters is denying recent accusations made against him in a new documentary that aims to prove he’s antisemitic.

The documentary was released by the Campaign Against Antisemitism. In a new post to his website, Waters says he initially didn’t feel he needed to respond but notes, “now that the attacks are in circulation, I want to put my response on record.”

“All my life I have used the platform my career has given me to support causes I believe in,” he explains. “That is why I am active in the non-violent protest movement against the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its egregious treatment of Palestinians. Those who wish to conflate that position with antisemitism do a great disservice to us all.”

Waters criticizes the makers of the film, noting they’ve faced scrutiny because their “core purpose is waging partisan political campaigns against critics of the state of Israel.”

According to Rolling Stone, the doc, The Dark Side of Roger Waters, features interviews with The Wall producer Bob Ezrin and Waters’ saxophonist Norbert Stachel, claiming Waters made antisemitic remarks in front of them.

“Truth is, I’m frequently mouthy and prone to irreverence, I can’t recall what I said 13 or more years ago,” Waters explains. “If I have upset the two individuals who appear in the film I’m sorry for that. But I can say with certainty that I am not, and have never been, an antisemite – as anyone who really knows me will testify.”

He argues the film’s “seriously misleading in many respects,” noting it’s “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda that indiscriminately mixes things I’m alleged to have said or done at different times and in different contexts, in an effort to portray me as an antisemite, without any foundation in fact.”

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Rush’s Geddy Lee is heading out on tour this fall but without his instruments.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced North American dates for My Effin’ Life In Conversation, which will have the rocker discussing his upcoming memoir, My Effin’ Life, due out November 13.

The shows will see Geddy reading and expounding on excerpts from the book. He will also answer fan questions during a Q&A moderated by a yet-to-be-announced special guest.

The tour kicks off Monday, November 13, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City before moving on to such cities as Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Seattle, Los Angeles and more. It wraps December 7 in Toronto, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at rush.com. 

A Citi presale for tickets kicks off Tuesday, October 3, at 12 p.m. local time and will be followed by a general onsale Friday, October 6, at 10 a.m. local time. Each ticket purchased comes with a copy of Geddy’s book, plus $1 from each ticket will be donated to the Neil Peart Memorial At Lakeside Park fund, which is raising money in order to commission a public work of art in honor of the late Rush drummer.

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Eddie Vedder and Sammy Hagar joined The Killers onstage during the “Mr. Brightside” outfit’s headlining set at the Ohana Festival on Friday, September 29.

According to setlist.fm, the Pearl Jam frontman joined Brandon Flowers and company for a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ “The Waiting,” while the ex-Van Halen vocalist took the stage to perform his former band’s song “Why Can’t This Be Love.”

The Killers posted photos from their Ohana performance on social media alongside the caption, “Life’s a beach. Thanks Ohana!”

Vedder, who founded Ohana, performed his own headlining set on Saturday, September 30, while Foo Fighters closed out the festival on Sunday, October 1. Dave Grohl and company’s set included a one-verse cover of the Led Zeppelin classic “Stairway to Heaven.”

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On This Day, October 2, 1982…

Genesis reunited with ex-singer Peter Gabriel and ex-guitarist Steve Hackett for a benefit concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England.

It was the first time either had played with the band since their departures from Genesis: Gabriel left in 1975 and Hackett in 1977. It was also the last time Gabriel performed any of the band’s songs. 

The beneficiary of the concert was Gabriel, who was close to financial ruin after the failure of his World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Festival. The money bailed him out, and he went on to stage the festival for the next 40 years.

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Foo Fighters have made their summer 2024 plans. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced dates for their new Everything or Nothing at All stadium tour.

The tour, in support of their 11th studio album But Here We Are, kicks off with a two-night run at Citi Field in Queens, New York, July 17 and 19, and hits such cities as Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles and more, before wrapping August 18 in Seattle, Washington.

Special guests on the 12-date trek include Pretenders, Mammoth WVH, L7, The Hives, Amyl and The Sniffers and Alex G.

A Citi card presale kicks off Tuesday, October 3 at 10 a.m. local time, with the general on sale set for Friday, October 6 at 10 a.m. local time. 

Foo Fighters still have several dates on the books for 2023. Their next show is happening October 3 in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at FooFighters.com.

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This Barbie is a Gold Dust Woman.

Yes, Mattel has launched a Stevie Nicks Barbie Doll, which is available now. She’s dressed in a black outfit inspired by the one Stevie wore on the cover of Rumours, and also wears platform boots and a crescent moon necklace. She even comes with a ribbon-festooned tambourine.  Her flowing blonde hair is styled in bangs, and she’s wearing smoky eye makeup.

Stevie showed off the doll to fans while onstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, October 1, and then presented it to an audience member.

The doll costs $55 and is available at Target, Walmart and other stores.

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Grateful Dead just released the 50th anniversary deluxe reissue of their album Wake of the Flood and is giving fans a unique way to enjoy it. 

Dead Heads can now go to the band’s website to explore Playing In The Band: Wake of the Flood, described as “an interactive mixing board” that allows them to jam along with classics on the album like “Eyes of the World,” “Stella Blue” and “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.”

Playing In The Band gives fans a chance to play around with the contributions of each band member. They can press solo to listen to each artist’s specific performance and even mute them in order to fill in using their own instrument.

And the Dead has even more Wake of the Flood goodies to share with fans. On October 15, exactly 50 years after Wake of the Flood was released, over six hours of never-before-heard material from the album’s recording sessions will stream as a YouTube Live exclusive event.

Released in 1973, Wake of the Flood was the first album released on the band’s own record label, Grateful Dead Records. Featuring new members Keith and Donna Godchaux, it was also the first album released following the death of founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and the temporary departure of drummer Mickey Hart.

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September has officially ended, which can only mean one thing: Green Day is awake.

On Sunday, October 1, the “American Idiot” trio launched a new website, TheAmericanDreamIsKillingMe.com, which features a video of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong waking up to the sounds of a muffled guitar riff. As he sits up in bed, he looks at his calendar and sees the date Tuesday, October 24, circled.

Green Day had previously set up the website IsGreenDayAwake.com, which now simply declares, “Yes.” Back when it was still September, the site gave you negative answers such as, “Still no.”

So, is The American Dream Is Killing Me the name of the next Green Day album? It looks like we’ll find out October 24, which notably comes after Green Day’s headlining sets at the When We Were Young festival, taking place October 21-22 in Las Vegas.

Green Day’s most recent album is 2020’s Father of All… The group also just put out a 30th anniversary reissue of their 1994 breakout album, Dookie.

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U2 launched their Las Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, on Friday, September 29, treating fans to a totally immersive experience.

The venue’s huge LED screens flashed a gallery of images created for the show, while the rockers dazzled the crowd on a Brian Eno-inspired stage that looked like a turntable

According to Setlist.fm, U2 opened with Achtung Baby’s “Zoo Station,” and in the end played all of 1991 album, including “Mysterious Ways,” “One” with bits of “Purple Rain” and “Love Me Tender” added, “So Cruel” for the first time since 1992, and “Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World” for the first time since 1993.

The set also featured U2 classics including “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” “Elevation” and “Beautiful Day,” which featured bits of The Beatles‘ “Blackbird” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in honor of Paul McCartney, who was in the audience. They also played their brand new single “Atomic City.”

U2 even treated the crowd to an acoustic set, which, according to Variety, Bono said will focus on a different album, or other people’s albums, each show. This show featured the Rattle and Hum tunes “All I Want Is You,” dedicated to drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., who’s skipping the residency to recover from surgery, “Desire,” dedicated to McCartney, “Angel of Harlem” and “Love Rescue Me,” dedicated to the late Jimmy Buffett.

The show also brought out many of U2’s celebrity fans, including McCartney, Bryan Cranston, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kimmel, Matt Damon, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.

U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere will consist of 25 shows, wrapping December 16. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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The second of three episodes of The Continental: From the World of John Wick is now streaming on Peacock. 

Set in “the hell-scape of 1970s New York City,” it was up to director Albert Hughes, as well as Wick franchise producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and their production team, to recreate the bad old days of the Big Apple — very far from New York, no less. 

One way of painting that landscape was through the music. The soundtrack is filled with hits from the era, from Heart to Gerry Rafferty to Pink Floyd. Hughes was the driving force behind it, and credits Peacock and Lionsgate with not pushing back, in spite of the hefty licensing fees.

Hughes explains to ABC Audio, “There was a certain budget for music at the beginning, and I go, like, ‘Oh you guys, it’s going to be three or four times that. There’s no way.'” One big chunk of that budget went to getting Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here track “Welcome To The Machine” for episode two; Hughes notes it was the most expensive song in the series.

To their credit, Hughes says the studios were all in. “I saw the music as a replacement for Keanu Reeves because I don’t have Keanu Reeves and a dead puppy,” he jokes. “So I need another kind of actor, you know, in theory, a personality, and it was the music. And it also helps with time and place and nostalgia, all that other good stuff.”

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