Classic Rock News

In June, Journey released a new single called “The Way We Used to Be” that will part of the band’s forthcoming studio album, which will be the group’s first collection of new, original songs since 2011’s Eclipse.

Journey guitarist Neal Schon tells ABC Audio that “The Way We Used to Be” began as a musical idea he came up with using a keyboard loop, to which he then added guitar, bass and string sounds before sending it to the band’s longtime keyboardist, Jonathan Cain, for him to fill out with lyrics and melodies.

Schon admits that when he first sent the tune to Cain, he didn’t think it sounded like a Journey song.

“I thought it was more like…a Bad English song or something for John Waite or Rolling Stones with a little harder edge,” Neal explains. “And I’m glad that 90 percent of the people that have heard it love it. Some others are just going, ‘Wow, that doesn’t sound like Journey.’ And I go, ‘Well, it wasn’t meant to be’…but it ended up on our album.”

Speaking about the band’s studio effort, Schon says, “There’s so much great material on this album that we’ve…produced and I’ve been working on for well over a year now with everybody.”

Neal tells ABC Audio that it was “a blessing” for him to get to record a lot of his parts live in the studio with Journey’s new drummer, Narada Michael Walden, who also is producing the album, while the other band members generally laid down there parts remotely.

As for when the new album might be released, Schon reports, “It could come out at the end of this year, or, if it doesn’t, I believe that it will come out sometime after the first [of January].”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Triumph, Stryper and former members of KISS and Iron Maiden are among the inductees who will be welcomed into the Metal Hall of Fame this year during a virtual ceremony the will be livestreamed on September 12 starting at 3 p.m. ET at Volume.com/MetalHallofFame.

The KISS alumni who will be honored during the event are guitarist Bruce Kulick and late drummer Eric Carr, while the band’s current manager, Doc McGhee, and late former manager Bill Aucoin also will be inducted.

Meanwhile, two of Iron Maiden’s former lead singers, Paul Di’Anno and Blaze Bayley, also will be inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame, as will Derek Riggs, the artist who created the band’s infamous mascot, “Eddie.”

Other honorees at the event include former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman and acclaimed rock photographer Mark Weiss.

In addition, a variety of musicians will serve as virtual presenters during the ceremony, including KISS’ Paul Stanley and Eric Singer, Dee Snider, ex-Judas Priest singer Tim “Ripper” Owens, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, former Ozzy Osbourne touring guitarist Gus G, Fozzy, frontman Chris Jericho and many more.

The Metal Hall of Fame livestream also will feature footage and performances from past induction ceremonies to mark the fifth anniversary of the event.

“The…2021 Metal Hall of Fame Livestream Gala Video is a great way to have all hard rock and heavy metal fans around the world to take part in our Annual Induction Ceremony,” says Hall of Fame president Pat Gesualdo. “In 2021 we had to do a recorded livestream video of the Gala as a result of the Covid 19 lockdown restrictions. We are excited that as of now, the Annual 2022 Metal Hall of Fame Gala will be back to normal in January, and held in person.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Legendary record executive Walter Yetnikoff, who died on Sunday, would have been 88 on Wednesday, August 11.  As the head of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990, Yetnikoff guided the careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Billy Joel, who posted a tribute to the late music-industry bigwig on his website Wednesday.

Billy recorded for Columbia Records, which at the time was owned by CBS. Billy writes, “Walter Yetnikoff was the man who changed everything at Columbia Records…Walter was a street fighter — a man who didn’t shy away from confrontation with other power players when it came to protecting his artist’s interests.”

Billy continues, “I will always be eternally grateful to him for ensuring that my song copyrights and publishing rights were returned to me — intact. I loved him as a dear friend and a mentor, in a business where real friendships don’t exist.”

The Piano Man adds, “I owe much of my good fortune to Walter’s stewardship at the Columbia label. I will miss him and the strong life force that he was.”

In other news, Billy returned to the stage for his first post-pandemic concert at Boston’s Fenway Park last week, and is currently set to perform at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium this Saturday.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters and Lenny Kravitz are among the nominees for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.

Dave Grohl and company received nominations in three categories, Best Rock, Best Choreography and Best Cinematography, all for “Shame Shame.”

Also competing for Best Rock are Lenny Kravitz‘s “Raise Vibration,” John Mayer‘s “Last Train Home,” Evanescence‘s “Use My Voice,” The Killers‘ “My Own Soul’s Warning” and Kings of Leon‘s “The Bandit.”

The artist receiving the most nominations was pop superstar Justin Bieber, with seven nods.

The 2021 MTV VMAs will air live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT across all of MTV’s digital platforms, as well as CMT, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, MTV2, Pop, TV Land, VH1, Logo and The CW.

Fans can start voting today across 14 categories, which are gender neutral, via VMA.MTV.com. Voting for most awards runs through Friday, September 3. More nominations in social categories, like Best Group and Song of the Summer, will be announced at a later date.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elton John and British pop singer Dua Lipa seem to have become BFFs, so maybe it’s no surprise that they’re now releasing a joint single.

The rock legend appeared on Lipa’s Studio 2054 livestream special in November of 2020, and then she performed at his Oscar party this past April.  Now, the two have teamed up for a song called “Cold Heart,” which will be out on Friday. You can pre-save the track now.

“Cold Heart” isn’t exactly a new song, though: It’s a dance remix created by the Australian dance act Pnau.  It features Dua singing lines from Elton’s 1972 classic “Rocket Man,” and Elton singing lines from his 1990 hit “Sacrifice.”

In a snippet posted online, we hear Elton sing, “Cold, cold heart/ Hard done by you/ Some things look better, baby/ Just passing through,” and then Dua comes in with, “And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time/ ’til touchdown brings me ’round again to find.”

Elton writes on Instagram, “Dua, I adore you, and it has been an incredible experience making this together. I can’t wait for you all to hear it!”

This isn’t the first time Pnau has remixed Elton: Back in 2012, they did an entire album called Good Morning to the Night, where all the songs were made up of samples of Elton’s past hits, mashed up into completely new songs.

It’s not clear if “Cold Heart” is a one-off, or part of a second collection of Elton remixes by Pnau.

I’m so excited to finally be able to tell you that I have a new single with @DUALIPA, ‘Cold Heart (@pnau Remix)’, coming out this Friday – I can’t wait for you all to hear it!

Pre-save link in bio #coldheart pic.twitter.com/kZjNreWzcM

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 11, 2021

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Megadeth has announced a new touring bassist, and it’s a familiar face.

James LoMenzo, who previously played with the thrash legends from 2006 to 2010, will rejoin the band as their touring bassist for their upcoming Metal Tour of the Year, Rolling Stone reports.

LoMenzo takes the place of founding bassist David Ellefson, who was dismissed from Megadeth earlier this year after video of sexually explicit interactions between him and a woman leaked online.

It’s unclear whether LoMenzo will be Megadeth’s bassist going forward beyond the tour, or if he is the same bass player who was recruited to re-record the parts Ellefson had previously recorded for the upcoming new Megadeth album.

The Metal Tour of the Year, which was originally scheduled for 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to kick off August 20 in Austin. The bill also features Lamb of God, Trivium and Hatebreed.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol will release a new four-track EP titled The Roadside on September 17, and in advance of the record, the veteran pop-punk singer has made available one of the songs, “Bitter Taste,” as a digital single.

The bulk of The Roadside was written, recorded and mixed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It features contributions from Idol’s longtime lead guitarist and songwriter partner, Steve Stevens. The record, which was produced by Butch Walker, is Idol’s first collection of new original songs since his 2014 album Kings & Queens of the Underground.

The Roadside can be pre-ordered now on CD, on vinyl and as a limited-edition blue-vinyl LP, as well as digitally.

“Bitter Taste,” which was co-written by Idol, Stevens and two other collaborators, was inspired by Billy’s 1990 motorcycle accident that left him with a seriously injured leg.

“I think everyone has been feeling more reflective [during the pandemic]. So, it seemed quite logical and natural to write something about my motorcycle accident,” Idol explains about the new song. “Certainly, the motorcycle accident was the catharsis, the wake-up moment. A little bit of me got left on that roadside. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end; it was a wake-up call. Maybe on that roadside I left behind the irreverent youthful Billy and opened the door for a more attentive father and a more sensitive musician.”

You can watch a dramatic companion music video for “Bitter Taste” at Idol’s official YouTube channel.

Here’s The Roadside EP’s full track list:

Rita Hayworth”
“Bitter Taste”
“U Don’t Have to Kiss Me Like That”
“Baby Put Your Clothes Back On”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters are heading to Atlanta this fall to headline the 2021 Shaky Knees festival.

Dave Grohl and company join the lineup after news broke that Stevie Nicks and alt-rockers Royal Blood had dropped off the bill. The legendary Fleetwood Mac singer announced Tuesday that she was canceling all of her 2021 solo touring plans due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with the Foos, Garbage has also been added to the Shaky Knees lineup. Previously announced artists on the bill include Alice Cooper, The Strokes, The Hives and many more.

Shaky Knees 2021 takes place October 22-24. For more info, visit ShakyKneesFestival.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

How’s this for a smooth move! Carlos Santana has teamed up a again with his “Smooth” collaborator, Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, to record a new song titled “Move” that will be the first single from Santana‘s star-studded upcoming album, Blessings and Miracles.

The track, which also features guest vocals by American Authors, will be released to radio on Wednesday, August 18, while the album in scheduled to arrive on October 15.

“‘Move’ came about was very much like how ‘Smooth’ happened,” explains Carlos. “It was like divine intelligence behind the scenes, and I just knew I had to record it with Rob. The song is about awakening your molecules. Ignite and activate yourself — you know, move. When Rob and I work together, we have a sound that’s splendiferous.”

In a press statement, the new song is described as “a grinding, grooving, swaggering, swaying and altogether breathtaking mix of pop and Latin rock with sure-fire hooks for days.”

“Smooth” was featured on the hugely successful 1999 Santana album Supernatural, and spent a whopping 12 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late ’99 and early 2000. The tune also won three individual Grammy Awards — Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals — and is ranked second among the most successful Billboard singles of all time.

As previously reported, Carlos and Rob both are part of the lineup of the star-packed “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” event taking place August 21 in New York City’s Central Park, although it hasn’t been officially announced if they will perform together. Meanwhile, the Santana band is slated to kick off a new series of Las Vegas residency dates at the House of Blues on August 25.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

How’s this for a smooth move…Carlos Santana has teamed up again with his “Smooth” collaborator, Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, to record a new song titled “Move” that will be the first single from Santana‘s star-studded upcoming album, Blessings and Miracles.

The track, which also features guest vocals by American Authors, will be released to radio on Wednesday, August 18, while the album in scheduled to arrive on October 15.

“‘Move’ came about was very much like how ‘Smooth’ happened,” explains Carlos. “It was like divine intelligence behind the scenes, and I just knew I had to record it with Rob. The song is about awakening your molecules. Ignite and activate yourself — you know, move. When Rob and I work together, we have a sound that’s splendiferous.”

In a press statement, the new song is described as “a grinding, grooving, swaggering, swaying and altogether breathtaking mix of pop and Latin rock with sure-fire hooks for days.”

“Smooth” was featured on the hugely successful 1999 Santana album Supernatural, and spent a whopping 12 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late ’99 and early 2000. The tune also won three individual Grammy Awards — Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals — and is ranked second among the most successful Billboard singles of all time.

As previously reported, Carlos and Rob both are part of the lineup of the star-packed “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” event taking place August 21 in New York City’s Central Park, although it hasn’t been officially announced if they will perform together. Meanwhile, the Santana band is slated to kick off a new series of Las Vegas residency dates at the House of Blues on August 25.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.