Classic Rock News

Happy birthday, Frances Bean Cobain! The daughter of the late Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love celebrates turning 30 Thursday.

In an Instagram post reflecting on the milestone occasion, Cobain shares, “20-year-old Frances wasn’t sure that was going to happen.”

“At the time, an intrinsic sense of deep self loathing dictated by insecurity, destructive coping mechanisms & more trauma than my body or brain knew how to handle, informed how I saw myself and the world,” Cobain writes. “Through a lens of resentment for being brought into a life that seemingly attracted so much chaos and the kind of pain tied to grief that felt inescapable.”

Cobain then mentions an unspecified “event on a plane” that she experienced, which she says, “brought me closer in proximity to death.” However, Cobain feels that what happened “catapulted me towards running at this lived experience with radical gratitude.”

“I’m glad to have proven myself wrong & to have found ways to transform pain into knowledge,” Cobain shares.

“Entering this new decade I hope to stay soft no matter how hardening the world can feel at times, bask in the present moment with reverence, shower the people I am lucky enough to love with more appreciation than words could ever do justice & hold space to keep learning, so the growth never stops,” she continues. “I’m happy to be here & I’m happy you’re here too.”

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Elton John‘s been traveling the world on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, but he’s finally enjoying some much-deserved time off with his family.

As the Daily Mail reports, Elton, dressed in head-to-toe Gucci, was spotted on a yacht in the South of France Wednesday with his husband, David Furnish, and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah. His tour won’t resume until September 7 in Toronto, so he’s got plenty of vacation time left. And he’ll need it: The tour isn’t scheduled to wrap up until the summer of 2023.

Meanwhile, it hasn’t been confirmed, but Elton’s much-anticipated collaboration with Britney Spears, “Hold Me Closer,” is rumored to be coming out on Friday. Not much is known about it, other than it appears to be an interpolation, reworking or remix of Elton’s classic “Tiny Dancer.”

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The Ronnie James Dio documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die is coming to theaters this fall.

The film will screen in cinemas worldwide for two days only: September 28 and October 2. Tickets go on sale next Wednesday, August 24.

Dio: Dreamers Never Die is described as the “first-ever, career-spanning documentary” on the metal legend, who passed away from stomach cancer in 2010. The film will follow Ronnie’s life from his days with the bands Elf and Rainbow, to joining Black Sabbath in place of the fired Ozzy Osbourne, and forming his own namesake band, Dio.

Wendy Dio, Ronnie’s longtime manager and widow, is an executive producer on the doc.

In addition to never-before-scene footage and photos of Ronnie, Dreamers Never Die will feature appearances by Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, ex-Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, Dio drummer Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach and Jack Black.

For all ticket and theater info, visit DioDreamersNeverDie.com.

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Billy Idol will release a new four-song EP titled The Cage EP on September 23. He’s given fans a taste of the record by making its lead track, the rocking and melodic “Cage,” available as a digital single.

The Cage EP follows another four-track collection from Idol, 2021’s The Roadside EP. Like last year’s EP, Idol’s main collaborator on the new project is his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.

The veteran pop-punk rocker also debuted a music video for “Cage” on his official YouTube channel. The black-and-white clip features footage of Billy singing while alternately trying to free himself from a straitjacket and trapped in a small cage. Stevens also makes an appearance in the video, rocking out on lead guitar.

The Cage EP can be preordered now and will be available on CD, digitally, and as a standard black-vinyl disc and a limited-edition red-vinyl disc. A limited number signed copies of the EP are available at Idol’s official store.

Meanwhile, Variety reports that a new documentary about Idol is in the works from Grammy-winning filmmaker and videographer Jonas Akerlund, whose many credits include Madonna‘s “Ray of Light” video and Paul McCartney‘s Live Kisses concert film.

According to Variety, Akerlund was inspired to make a film about Idol after listening to Billy’s audiobook for his 2015 memoir Dancing with Myself.

“I told Billy, ‘This is a film … We need to tell this story,'” notes Akerlund. “He was there when punk-rock happened in London, then moved to New York just as MTV was exploding, and now he’s in Los Angeles. I personally love his story, the incredible events in his life. And the music has touched so many people.”

Here The Cage EP‘s full track list:

“Cage”
“Running from the Ghost”
“Rebel Like You”
“Miss Nobody”

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Iggy Pop is set to headline the inaugural Destination Chaos, a punk-themed destination festival taking place in the Dominican Republic from January 28 to February 4, 2023.

The bill also includes Descendents, Gogol Bordello, Amyl and the Sniffers, The Chats and ex-Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, who will be performing the band’s iconic 1979 debut album Unknown Pleasures in full.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit DestinationChaos.com.

You can also catch Iggy perform at the 2022 Desert Daze festival, taking place in October in Lake Perris, California. That lineup also features Tame Impala performing their 2012 album Lonerism in its entirety.

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The first of two new compilations featuring rare and unreleased recordings by late Who bassist John Entwistle will be issued soon by the Deko Entertainment label.

Titled Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One, the album will feature previously unheard studio tracks, demos, remastered live performances and other unreleased gems. Among the live recordings is a performance of the 1978 Who tune “Trick of the Light,” penned and sung by Entwistle.

The albums have been put together by the Deko label in collaboration with longtime Entwistle solo band member Steve Lungo and John’s son, Chris Entwistle.

Deko Entertainment has launched a webpage promoting the new project, which features a countdown clock that’s scheduled to hit zero on Friday, September 9, at about 4 p.m. ET. There’s also a link to a YouTube video featuring an archival interview clip with Entwistle, who says, “I guess I’d like to be remembered as someone who helped change the face of bass guitar, and being probably the only bass guitarist that hasn’t been copyable.”

Entwistle died in June 2002 of a heart attack one day before The Who was scheduled to launch a U.S. tour. He was 57.

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Paul McCartney will be featured in a new episode of the Cosmic Kids children’s yoga series that premieres on Thursday, August 18, at 9 a.m. ET on YouTube and is inspired by the rock legend’s 2021 children’s book, Grandude’s Green Submarine.

Cosmic Kids is a story-based series that Jaime Amor and her husband, Martin, began in 2012 to teach children yoga and mindfulness. Episodes are available on YouTube and via an app that can be accessed through various streaming devices.

The new episode will offer a kids yoga adventure based on Grandude’s Green Submarine, which tells the story of a grandfather who sets sail with his grandkids, whom he calls his chillers, in his magical submarine on a journey to find his wife, Nandude.

According to a statement promoting the show, the story is a “wonderful celebration of the relationship between kids and their grandparents.”

You can check out a preview of the episode at Macca’s Facebook page.

Grandude’s Green Submarine is a sequel 2019’s Hey Grandude! Both books were written by McCartney and illustrated by Kathryn Durst.

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Is Jane’s Addiction hinting at a reunion with Eric Avery?

In a tweet Wednesday, the “Been Caught Stealing” rockers posted a video featuring Avery jamming on a bass alongside frontman Perry Farrell. Sadly, the video doesn’t feature the audio from the session, just the hiss of static feedback.

Avery is an original member of Jane’s Addiction and played with the group through their 1991 breakup. He eventually rejoined Jane’s from 2008 to 2010, but he didn’t play on either of the band’s reunion records, 2003’s Strays and 2011’s The Great Escape Artist.

If Avery is indeed back in Jane’s, that raises the question of what becomes of Chris Chaney, who’s played bass in the band since 2011. There’s also uncertainly surrounding guitarist Dave Navarro, whose “long bout” with COVID-19 forced Jane’s to scrap their set at this year’s Welcome to Rockville festival. Jane’s was also set to play Lollapalooza last month, but was quietly removed from the lineup. In both cases, Jane’s was replaced by the reunited Porno for Pyros, which is also fronted by Farrell.

Meanwhile, Farrell recently told Spin that new Jane’s material is in the works, and the band is set to embark on a U.S. tour with The Smashing Pumpkins in October.

Stay tuned.

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When it comes to blended families, Rod Stewart‘s an expert: He’s got eight children by five different women, so you can imagine how hard it must be to get them all together for anything, let alone a vacation. But he and his wife, Penny Lancaster, managed to pull it off for the first time in seven years.

The luxurious Italian vacation brought together seven of Sir Rod’s kids: Ruby, Renee, Liam, Kimberly, Sean, Alastair and Aidan. The only one missing was Sarah, who was raised by adoptive parents and didn’t meet Rod, 77, until later in life. They do have a relationship, but it’s not as close as the others.

Rod’s daughter Ruby, whose mother is model Kelly Emberg, has posted numerous photos of herself and her half siblings with Rod and Penny on Instagram. She wrote, “Our last family vacation was in 2015, so this one was well overdue. We all live in different places now and sometimes we miss some pretty important milestones in one another’s life. It can be difficult getting us all together, but the incredible @penny.lancaster managed to do it this time.”

She added, “I am beyond grateful for this mixed batch of personalities that is the Stewart Clan. I don’t know where I’d be with out you lot…Thank you dad for reminding us of the importance of family and Thank you Penny for always bringing us together again.”

Penny and the various siblings also posted their own snaps of the trip to the Amalfi coast, the island of Elba and other locations.

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