Classic Rock News

Last month Ted Nugent announced he was saying “adios” to the road with his Adios Mofo ’23 Tour. Well, it looks like folks in Alabama aren’t going to be able to see it. 

Nugent recently added a show at Alabama’s Avondale Brewing Company on July 18, but AL.com reports there was so much online backlash that the venue has canceled the concert.

Avondale Brewing’s Facebook page received about 1,000 complaints about Nugent, with most commenters upset at the booking because of Nugent’s outspoken political views and recent transphobic comments. 

“I will never spend another dollar in your establishment,” a person named David Symonds commented on Facebook. “Grotesque that you would book such trash. Do better.” Another added, “Lose this show or lose my business.”

The social media response was enough for Avondale Brewing to pull the show, explaining, “We have heard the concerns of the Avondale community, which is so important to us, and in conjunction with our partners, have taken the necessary steps to cancel the Ted Nugent concert scheduled for July 18.” 

So far Nugent hasn’t commented on the cancelation. His tour is set to kick off July 12 in Immokalee, Florida, and wrap August 20 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. A complete list of dates can be found at tednugent.com.

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Warren Zevon didn’t get chosen for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week, and David Letterman, who is a huge Zevon fan, has some thoughts on the snub.

In a YouTube chat with his former Late Show colleagues Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay, the former talk show host says he’s disappointed Zevon wasn’t recognized.

“Warren Zevon was on the ballot for the first time and was not voted in,” he says. “I will say that I’m disappointed. I’m not angry, because I would’ve been surprised had it gone the other way.” He adds, “I think to be angry would’ve been 30 years ago, when he should’ve been inducted.” 

But Letterman doesn’t need the Hall of Fame to tell him how great Zevon is. “Warren can do without the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s next year — we’re so long overdue on Warren, but that’s fine. He’s above and beyond the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

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Slash‘s song with Chris Janson and Dolly Parton is here.

The previously teased track, titled “21 Forever,” features the Guns N’ Roses shredder ripping a solo as the two country singers duet about how you “can’t be 21 forever.”

“I’m so thrilled to announce, that two Global Icons have joined me in song, for my absolute biggest collaboration to date,” Janson says. “Dolly and Slash, it doesn’t get any BIGGER than that. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for these two. Hope you all enjoy ’21 Forever.'”

You can listen to “21 Forever” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying lyric video streaming now on YouTube.

Last month, Slash performed on country music’s CMT Music Awards as part of a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. He and GN’R have also performed live with Carrie Underwood multiple times.

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Paul Stanley and Dee Snider are both responding to the backlash they received over Stanley’s recent tweet about gender confirmation treatment for children, where he suggested it’s been “turned into a sad and dangerous fad.”

In a new post on social media, the KISS guitarist seems to regret his initial statement, saying, “While my thoughts were clear, my words clearly were not.” 

Stanley insists he supports those struggling with their sexual identity, especially considering the “constant hostility” they experience, noting, “It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps.”

But Stanley didn’t actually clarify what he meant by his original statement. “A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view,” he explained, “so I will leave that for another time and place.” 

Meanwhile, Snider, who was dropped as a performer from SF Pride because he agreed with Stanley’s initial tweet, just released a statement regarding his position.

“I was not aware the transgender community expects fealty and total agreement with all their beliefs and any variation or derivation is considered transphobic,” he writes, insisting he has spent his lifetime supporting the transgender community’s right to “identify as they want.” 

He does say, however, he does not “believe young children are ready to decide their gender allocation.” While he believes their choices “should be supported and accepted by their parents,” he doesn’t think they’re “mentally developed enough” to make such drastic decisions that could affect the rest of their lives.

He adds that he will continue to support the transgender community no matter how they feel about him, and also shares, “I am open to educating myself so I can be a better ally.”

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David Bowie’s 1975 track “Golden Years” has gotten the remix treatment with the release of the new digital single, “Golden Years (TOKiMONSTA Remix).” 

“To me, I connect with Bowie as an amazing innovator. He was always reinventing himself and pushing the envelope of music while somehow never ceasing to be authentically himself,” Los Angeles-based producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA, born Jennifer Lee, shares. “His experimental fashion choices are always a beacon for me to challenge my style and look.”

The new take on the song is part of a trio of Bowie remixes for Peloton’s celebration of Bowie’s legacy, coinciding with his 75th birthday, which was in January.

The original “Golden Years,” released in November 1975, was the first single off Bowie’s classic album Station To Station and was a top 10 hit for the rocker. The tune has since been covered by artists like LCD Soundsystem‘s James Murphy and was even featured in the 2001 movie A Knight’s Tale.

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Queen is once again highlighting their unique stage wear in the latest edition of their weekly YouTube series, Queen The Greatest Live.

In this week’s episode, the band highlights the looks from four performances of their ’80s hit “Under Pressure,” which was recorded as a duet with David Bowie.  

The live clips come from the band’s June 5, 1982, performance at the Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire, England; a May 1985 concert in Japan; their historic June 27, 1986, concert in Budapest, Hungary; and finally, clips from their July 1986 homecoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The London shows, in which Mercury wore a yellow military-style jacket designed by Diana Moseley, wound up being their last-ever performances in London.

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Extreme has canceled the band’s set at the upcoming M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland, after guitarist Nuno Bettencourt injured his knee.

In a statement, M3 organizers say, “It breaks our heart to announce that due to Nuno’s severe knee injury, Extreme will be unable to perform,” adding, “Rest assured, Nuno is going to be OK.”

Extreme has also shared a statement, reading, “We are seriously bummed out that we are unable to perform for everyone at the M3 Rock Festival as we’ve been looking forward to the festival for several months. We apologize for the inconvenience to fans attending the festival.”

Bettencourt appeared to injure his knee while playing basketball during the Monsters of Rock cruise this week. According to Guitar World, Bettencourt performed while sitting down during Extreme’s performance on the cruise.

Extreme will release a new album called Six on June 9. They’ll launch a U.S. headlining tour in August.

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May 5 brought another full moon, which means music fans just got another single from Peter Gabriel. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released the track “Four Kinds of Horses,” from upcoming album i/o. The track features Brian Eno on synthesizer.

“One of the inspirations is the Buddhist parable of the Four Kinds of Horses, which describes different ways a student can approach their spiritual practice, but also the interesting overlap of religion and peace on the one hand and violence and terrorism on the other,” Peter shares. “There was also a wonderful film by Hany Abu-Assad called ‘Paradise Now’ which shows two young men who end up being trained to become terrorists and it’s a real insight into where the head goes.”

As he has with his other full moon releases, Gabriel will be sharing different mixes of the song, the first being the Bright Side Mix from Mark “Spike” Stent. Later this month he’ll release a mix by Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos mix (In-Side Mix). 

Gabriel’s album i/o is due out sometime this year, although so far he hasn’t revealed a release date. He’ll launch i/o – The Tour in Europe and the U.K. on May 18 in Krakow, Poland, with the North American leg kicking off September 8 in Quebec City, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at petergabriel.com.

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On This Day, May 5, 1981…

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released their fourth studio album, Hard Promises.

The album featured the future Petty classic “The Waiting,” as well as “Insider,” a duet with Stevie Nicks, which was recorded around the same time Petty and Nicks recorded her hit “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which Petty and Mike Campbell wrote. It eventually appeared on Nicks’ debut solo album Bella Donna and went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Hard Promises’ release was delayed when Petty and his label, MCA, went to war over the album’s list price. MCA wanted to sell it for $9.98, a dollar more than its other releases. After Petty threatened to call the album Eight Ninety-Eight, MCA backed down.

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The Baseball Club, the supergroup that includes R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck, is ready to drop some new music.

The band, which also features The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5 and Young Fresh Fellows and Linda Pitmon of Filthy Friends, will release their fourth studio album, Grand Salami Time!, on June 30. The band has also shared the first single from the record, “Journeyman,” which was written by Wynn and Buck.

“I was in a hotel room just outside of Buffalo when I got an email from Peter with an instrumental version of this song,” Wynn shares. “The words came immediately, not surprising since a veteran musician stringing together a series of one-night stands has more than a little in common with a left-handed relief specialist who plays for a dozen teams in a workmanlike career.” 

Grand Salami Time! is The Baseball Project’s first album in nine years. It was produced by Mitch Easter, who worked with Mills and Buck in the ’80s on R.E.M.’s early albums, including their debut EP, Chronic Town, and their debut album, Murmur.

Grand Salami Time! is available for preorder now.

The Baseball Project is also set to hit the road in support of the album, with the tour kicking off August 8 in Birmingham, Alabama. A complete list of dates can be found at baseballproject.net.

Here is the Grand Salami Time! track list:

“Grand Salami Time”
“The Yips”
“Screwball”
“Uncle Charlie”
“Journeyman”
“Erasable Man”
“New Oh In Town”
“Disco Demolition”
“Stuff”
“The All or Nothings”
“That’s Living”
“64 and 64”
“Having Fun”
“Fantasy Baseball Widow”
“The Voice of Baseball”

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