In the past couple of years, Billy Joel‘s charity foundation has pivoted from funding music education programs to helping with pandemic-related causes, such as providing PPE for healthcare workers and helping with food insecurity. Now, the Billy Joel Foundation is providing aid to the people of Ukraine.
Billy’s foundation is donating $250,000 to BStrong, a charity started by Bethenny Frankel that has been providing “direct and immediate aid to refugees at the Ukrainian/Polish border.” The money will go to, among other things, survival supply kits, transportation, short and long-term shelter and food relief as the Russian military continues their invasion of the Eastern European nation.
In a statement, the Foundation notes it continues to monitor the situation to determine what will be needed in the coming weeks, and asks those who want to help to donate at Bethenny.com/BStrong.
Foo Fighters‘ new movie Studio 666 is full of blood and gore, but if you really want to shock Dave Grohl, just mention that The Colour and the Shape is turning 25 this year.
Originally released in May 1997, the sophomore Foo Fighters album spawned the future classic “Everlong,” as well as the singles “My Hero” and “Monkey Wrench.”
In response to ABC Audio asking him about the record’s upcoming milestone, Grohl says, “Our reaction is it’s exactly what just happened: [guitarist] Pat [Smear] goes, ‘Wow!’ and we look at each other, like, ‘Oh my god!'”
He laughs, “I don’t even think we realized it.”
In 2020, the Foos had mapped out a giant celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of their 1995 self-titled debut. Then, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Grohl and company to stay home during their big year.
While Grohl says that he doesn’t currently have any plans to mark The Colour and the Shape‘s silver anniversary, he’s open to the idea of 2022 making up for what they missed out on in 2020.
“We lost our last 25-year [anniversary], so let’s take this one,” Smear says.
“I know, I think 2020 was supposed to be our big 25, our big 25th anniversary,” Grohl adds. “So yeah, let’s take this one.”
While the Foos ponder that idea, you can catch the band on the silver screen in Studio 666, which is in theaters now.
Alice in Chains has announced that it will tour the U.S. later this year with Bush and Breaking Benjamin.
The summer and fall outing will kick off August 10 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and will come to a close October 8 in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit AliceinChains.com.
Alice in Chains released their latest album, Rainier Fog, in 2018. Bush dropped their newest album, The Kingdom, in 2020. Breaking Benjamin’s most recent release is their acoustic compilation, Aurora, which also arrived in 2020.
Deep Purple has canceled their upcoming concerts in Ukraine and Russia, which had been scheduled to take place on May 31 in Kyiv and June 4 in Moscow, respectively, in the wake of Russia’s military invasion of its neighboring country.
Coinciding with the cancellations, all five current members of Deep Purple have posted messages on the band’s official website and social media pages regarding the harrowing situation, prefaced by a note that reads, “As a rule, Deep Purple is apolitical, but on this occasion…”
The messages also are accompanied by the lyrics to the group’s Cold War-inspired 1970 song “Child in Time.”
Frontman Ian Gillan writes, “If speaking out means we shall never see our Russian friends again, then that is a big sacrifice, but nothing compared with never again seeing our Ukrainian friends who are being killed to satisfy the psychopathic ambitions of the Russian leader. I would like to see Russians on the streets in their millions, to show their disgust at the Ukrainian invasion, and I’d like to dream that very quickly, Russia can find some modern leadership that will bring them back into the world as friends. We have so much in common.”
Bassist Roger Glover writes, in part, “We condemn [Russian President Vladimir] Putin‘s military for the atrocities to innocent men, women and children in Ukraine[,] and we apologize to our Russian and Ukrainian fans that the shows have been cancelled. We live in hope that we can fulfill those dates in the future.”
Drummer Ian Paice‘s message reads, partly, “What’s happening is beyond distressing. It’s criminal and should be treated as such. The invasion of Putin’s army into Ukraine, (because that’s what it is), I hope will turn out to bring his ultimate downfall.”
ZZ Top has will release a new album called Raw on July 22 that was recorded in conjunction with the famed blues-rock trio’s 2019 documentary, That Little Ol’ Band from Texas.
That film included a segment where ZZ Top’s classic lineup — singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard — played an intimate set of songs from their back catalog at historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, and that “raw” performance served as the basis for the album.
The 12-track collection boasts versions of such classic ZZ Top hits as “Legs,” “Tush,” “La Grange” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” and other gems like “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” and “Tube Snake Boogie,” as well as renditions of “Brown Sugar” and “Certified Blues,” two tunes from the band’s 1971 debut, ZZ Top’s First Album.
Raw, which was produced by Gibbons, is dedicated “in righteous memory” of Hill, who died in July 2021 at age 72. The record will be available as a 180-gram vinyl LP, on CD and via digital formats.
In liner notes for Raw, Gibbons and Beard write jointly about the album, “[I]t was, in a very real way, a return to our roots. Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour buses. Just us and the music.”
They add, “‘The Dust’ may have left the building but he’s still very much with us.”
In other news, ZZ Top will launch a new U.S. trek on May 27 in San Diego. Dubbed the Raw Whisky Tour, the outing is mapped out through a July 23 concert in Watertown, New York. Tickets for most dates go on sale on March 11.
Here’s full Raw track list:
Side 1
“Brown Sugar”
“Just Got Paid”
“Heard It on the X”
“La Grange”
“Tush”
“Thunderbird”
Side 2
“I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”
“Gimme All Your Lovin'”
“Blue Jean Blues”
“Certified Blues”
“Tube Snake Boogie”
Foo Fighters have announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand for later this year.
The outing kicks off November 30 in Perth, and will wrap up mid-December. For the full list of dates and ticket info, visit FrontierTouring.com.
The news comes after Dave Grohl and company headlined Australia’s GMHBA Stadium last Friday, which marked the country’s first full-capacity stadium concert headlined by an international act since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
Foo Fighters are scheduled to launch a U.S. headlining tour in May. In addition to catching them on the road, you can see the Foos on the silver screen in their new movie Studio 666, in theaters now.
Some new details have been announced regarding the sixth annual edition of the star-studded Love Rocks NYC! benefit concert, which is being headlined by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and takes place this Thursday, March 10, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
In addition to being a ticketed in-person event, the show also will now be available to view as a livestream. You’ll be able to access a link to watch the event for free by signing up at LoveRocksNYC.com, where you’ll also be encouraged to contribute funds to the charity, which is offering a special “$20 = 2 Meals” donation option.
The Love Rocks NYC! concert raises money for the God’s Love We Deliver charity, which provides nutritious meals to seriously ill people in the New York City area who have difficulty leaving their homes.
In other news, singer/songwriter Ben Harper has joined the show’s lineup. As previously reported, Richards will be reuniting with his solo group The X-Pensive Winos to headline the event, while the bill also features Melissa Etheridge, Mavis Staples, ex-Allman Brothers Band singer/guitarist Warren Haynes, Hozier, Jimmy Vivino and many more.
The show will be co-hosted by Mario Cantone, Gina Gershon, Kiefer Sutherland, Steve Schirripa and Michelle Buteau.
The event’s house band will be led by longtime CBS Orchestra bassist Will Lee, and will include former Bob Dylan and Levon Helm touring guitarist Larry Campbell, Eric Clapton touring drummer Steve Gadd, and Fleetwood Mac touring keyboardist Ricky Peterson.
You can find out more information about the concert at LoveRocksNYC.com and GLWD.org.
Todd Rundgren is one of several well-known musicians who are taking part in the 2022 edition of the “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today: A Tribute to The Beatles” tour, which kicked off last week.
While the 2019 edition of the trek showcased songs from The Beatles’ 1967 self-titled album, aka The White Album, this tour focuses on 1965’s Rubber Soul and 1966’s Revolver.
Todd, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, tells ABC Audio that while he’s a fan of Rubber Soul, Revolver is his very favorite album by the Fab Four.
“When they did Revolver…[they] actually redefin[ed] the [rock] genre,” Rundgren notes, “adding tape loops and backwards guitar solos and things like that, all sorts of studio techniques that nobody had used before.”
Todd says when it came time to choose songs to perform on the trek, he immediately “nabbed” two Revolver tunes that were among The Beatles’ first forays into psychedelia — “She Said, She Said” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
“I said, ‘No one else is doing those but me,'” Rundgren recalls with a laughs. “No one else has taken as many drugs as me in this band, and therefore I qualify.”
Joining Todd on the outing are Christopher Cross, founding Moody Blues and Wings member Denny Laine, Badfinger‘s Joey Molland and former Chicago singer/bassist Jason Scheff. Each artist performs several Beatles tunes, as well as a couple of the best-known tunes from their own careers.
Rundgren says the tour members’ own hits actually “get an equally great response” as the Fab Four songs during the show.
The tour continues tonight in Red Bank, New Jersey, and winds down on March 27 in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit GlassOnyonPR.com for a full list of dates.
A new video capturing Deep Purple performing Love‘s 1966 garage-rock gem “7 and 7 Is” during a live rehearsal has debuted on the earMUSIC label’s official YouTube channel.
The band shot the clip in a warehouse in Germany in November 2021 during a promotional tour of the country. Deep Purple’s music video for their recent cover of Fleetwood Mac‘s “Oh Well” was shot at the same time.
Deep Purple’s studio versions of “7 and 7 Is” and “Oh Well,” appear on the band’s latest album, Turning to Crime, which was released last November 2021. Turning to Crime, recorded remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown, is the group’s first album made up entirely of songs by other artists.
The 12-track collection, which was produced by the band’s frequent collaborator Bob Ezrin, also includes versions of Bob Dylan‘s “Watching the River Flow,” Little Feat‘s “Dixie Chicken,” The Yardbirds‘ “Shapes of Things,” Cream‘s “White Room” and more.
Deep Purple has launched a website dedicated to the new album, TurningtoCrime.com, and you also can order the record at the site.
Last month, Deep Purple kicked off its 2022 tour itinerary with a pair of concerts in Florida, and the band also took part in the latest edition of the Rock Legends Cruise. Next up for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will be a May 22 show in Tel Aviv, Israel, that will be followed be a series a European concerts.
The 35th annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert was held Thursday night as a virtual event that streamed live on Mandolin.com, and among the many highlights were performances by Patti Smith and Phish‘s Trey Anastasio, as well as appearances by Paul Simon and Iggy Pop.
Smith kicked off the concert by singing a moving rendition of the Ukrainian National Anthem in tribute to the people of Ukraine, as Russia continues its invasion of the country. Later in the show, Patti performed her song “Peaceable Kingdom” with her daughter, Jesse Paris Smith.
Smith, accompanied by her band, also sang “Happy Birthday” to the event’s artistic director, influential composer Philip Glass, who turned 85 in late January.
Anastasio played a set that included the deep cut “Snowflakes in the Sand. “
Meanwhile, Simon and Iggy were among several special guests who were on hand to deliver spoken-word messages. Others included New Order‘s Bernard Sumner and Stephen Colbert.
The performance lineup also included Laurie Anderson, Nathaniel Rateliff, Angélique Kidjo and country artists Jason Isbell and Margo Price, as well as actor Keanu Reeves, who recited the Alan Ginsberg poem “Pull My Daisy.”
The concert wrapped up with Patti performing her classic 1988 anthem “People Have the Power,” which has become a tradition at the long-running annual event.
The stream of the 2022 Tibet House US Benefit Concert will be available for viewing at Mandolin.com until this Sunday, March 6, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Money raised by ticket sales benefit Tibet House US, a non-profit organization that works to preserve Tibetan culture.
Additional money is being raised for the charity via a CharityBuzz auction that runs through March 8 and features guitars signed by Simon and Pearl Jam, among other memorabilia.
