METALLICA: Heading to the Sphere
The rumors are true -- Metallica are heading to the Sphere in Las Vegas. The Life Burns Faster residency will go four Thursday and Saturdays in October -- the 1st and 3rd, the 15th and 17th, the 22nd and 24th and 29th and 31st. The band will continue it's "no repeat weekend" setlists during the run. They say in a statement, "Life Burns Faster set lists will span the entire catalog, enhanced by the venue’s immersive technologies that will allow you to experience the ’Tallica sound in new experiential dimensions. "Whether you’ve seen us from the upper reaches of a stadium or arena, at an intimate club or theater gig, or from the Snake Pit, Sphere’s technology will present an entirely new live experience for everyone in the house …including us!" Two-night and single-night tickets go on sale next Friday, March 6th, with presales happening over the next week. See Metallica's website for more info.
EAGLES: From Sphere to Stadiums
After the Eagles finish their more than two-a-half year residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas in April, they will head outdoors on The Long Goodbye, Act III. Following their performance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 2nd, they will do three stadium dates:
- May 5th - Atlanta, GA - Truist Park
- May 9th - Nashville, TN - FirstBank Stadium at Vanderbilt University
- May 16th - Arlington, TX - Globe Life Field
The Tedeschi Trucks Band will open, and tickets go on sale Friday, March 6th, at 10am local time. For complete tour and ticket information, visit the band's website.
ROCK HALL: First 12 Hours of Fan Voting
Just 12 hours into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's fan vote and there's a clear favorite. With over 340,000 ballots tallied, Phil Collins is on top with over 42,000 votes. He's followed by Billy Idol with just over 30,000, and INXS with 27,000. The Top 15 and number of votes, rounded up, is as follows:
1.Phil Collins - 42,000
2.Billy Idol - 31,000
3.INXS - 27,000
4.Iron Maiden - 25,000
5.Luther Vandross - 22,000
6.Sade - 21,000
7.Oasis - 20,000
8.Mariah Carey - 19,000
9.Joy Division + New Order - 18,000
10.P!NK - 17,000
11.The Black Crowes - 16,000
12.Jeff Buckley - 16,000
13.Wu-Tang Clan - 16,000
14.Melissa Etheridge - 15,000
15.New Edition - 15,00
You can vote for up to seven artists once a day through April 3rd at RockHall.com. The top five artists selected by the public will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other 1200 ballots to determine the 2026 Inductees. The Class of 2026 will be announced in mid-April with the ceremony set for the fall at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Chris Robinson Immediately Called Noel Gallagher After Both Were Nominated For Rock Hall
When the Black Crowes were announced as nominees for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame yesterday, singer Chris Robinson immediately called one person who might know exactly how he felt: fellow nominee Noel Gallagher of Oasis. “I told Noel that if we both get in he’s buying dinner - then we instantly got to talking about (soccer),” Robinson told Billboard magazine.
The Black Crowes are nominated for a second time; Oasis for the third. The two bands toured together during the late spring of 2001. “To have friends that are in the same thing is fun,” says Robinson, who’s also friendly with Adrian Smith of fellow nominees Iron Maiden, and had “a great evening hanging out” with the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence in Paris. The Rock Hall inductees are expected to be announced in late April. The public fan vote, now open via rockhall.com, will be used to assemble an additional ballot. The 2026 induction ceremony will take place during the fall, at a date and location to be determined.
OASIS: Liam's Reaction to Rock Hall Nomination
Oasis got their nomination to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this morning -- and Liam Gallagher still doesn't seem to care. Last year when the band got its second nomination, Gallagher tweeted in response to a fan that the "RNR hall of fame is for WANKERS." And when another fan asked what he would do if the band were to get in, he responded, "[Obviously] go and say it’s the best thing EVER." This morning a fan tweeted at Gallagher, "Liam, Oasis got nominated again to RNR hall of fame. Your thoughts on that?" He wrote back, "Oh no not again." When a fan asked what he would do if they get voted in, he replied, "[Obviously] go collect it and tell the panel of judges how lovely they all look thank all the fans that voted for us and wreck the gaff." And when another fan pointed out what he said last year he replied, "It is but if we win then it ain’t."
PHIL COLLINS, INXS: Family and Band Member Hall Reactions
A member of Phil Collins family and a member of INXS have both reacted to the news of their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominations. Phil's daughter, Emily in Paris star Lily Collins, posted on her Instagram story, "Proud daughter moment. Congrats, dad, you deserve it. Love you to the moon and back." INXS guitarist-keyboardist Andrew Farris told Billboard that "I think everybody in the band is thrilled and excited to be nominated, and obviously we’re very much honored to have something like that. It’s something, I guess, that goes into the history books, whatever they are." This is the first time on the ballot for both acts (Collins is already in as a member of Genesis). It took 21 years after the were eligible for INXS to show up, and 20 years for Collins.
Wolfgang Offers His Support for New Van Halen Album (With a Clarification)
Wolfgang Van Halen says he doesn't have any inside information about his uncle Alex's plans to release an archival Van Halen album, but that he's happy to support the project in any way he can. Earlier this month, Alex revealed that he had recruited Toto guitarist Steve Lukather in a co-producer role to complete what he described as "recordings that were going to be the next [Van Halen] record" before the 2020 death of Alex's brother (and Wolfgang's father), guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Alex went on to explain that his drums, Eddie's guitar and Wolfgang's bass were all "already in there." Finding a singer appears to be the main remaining issue, as Paul Rodgers turned down an offer to participate, and former Van Halen singers
David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar still seem to be in the doghouse.
Speaking Tuesday afternoon, Wolfgang professed some confusion about Alex's plans but vowed his full support for the project. "I mean, I haven't played anything yet, so I'm not sure what Al is talking about in that respect," he began. "They could be older ideas that maybe we worked on, you know 15 years ago or something. Because there were a couple of years where Dad, Al and I were just jamming in the studio. "But I really do think it's more of Al's thing to talk about. I'm really just here in a position of helping him with whatever he needs. If he needs bass on something, I'm there. If he needs anything else, I'm there. Whatever he needs, but it's definitely his thing to spearhead and I'm in a support position." Wolfgang joined his father and uncle as the new bassist in Van Halen in 2007, at the same time the band welcomed founding lead singer Roth back to the fold. This lineup embarked on three successful North American tours, and also released what currently stands as Van Halen's final album, 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Wolfgang is currently touring in support of his band Mammoth's third album,
The End. Their next round of dates kicks off March 5 in sunny Buffalo, New York.
DAVID BOWIE: Daughter Wasn't At Deathbed
Lexi Jones, the daughter of David Bowie and Iman, has revealed that she was not at her father's deathbed because she was at a treatment center. Jones posted a lengthy Instagram video where she said that she felt sick when she read the statement about her father dying on January 10th, 2016 surrounded by his whole family. "Yeah, the whole family was there — except for me." She said, "I had the luxury of speaking to him two days before, on his birthday. I told him I loved him and he said it back, and we both knew." As for why Jones was in a treatment center at the time, she said had bulimia, self-harming, and substance abuse issues as a teenager. "When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I was at my breaking point. I was barely 14. I could already see what the future would look like for my family and for all of us. I felt broken before it even happened, and I didn't want to stick around and watch it fall apart.
That's when I turned to drugs and alcohol."
One morning she was ready for school Iman called her into the living room where Bowie read her a letter about going into treatment, and that the last line was "I'm sorry that we have to do this." She said two large men came in to take her to therapy and she screamed while holding onto the coffee table before being led away. "They told me I could do this the easy way or the hard way. I chose the hard way." Jones said she was taken to a 91 day wilderness therapy treatment program, which was followed by the stint in a Utah treatment center.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Chad Goes to Class
Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers recently got to add teacher to his resume. He teamed up with Drumeo to fill in as a drum teacher for one day at a Long & McQuade music store in Vancouver. What he doesn't have in teaching skills he makes up for with his enthusiasm, especially for the students who have heard of his band. The entire video is well worth your time. Check it out on YouTube.
Sublime Signs Deal With Atlantic Records
Sublime is signing with a new record label. The long-running band has signed with Atlantic Records, with the band's first new full-length album with frontman Jakob Nowell slated to arrive later this year. The Atlantic deal follows a series of independent releases, including the singles "Feel Like That" and "Ensenada." Nowell says that they're "gonna change California music history or die trying."
IN OTHER NEWS
While Rock Legends Cruise 13 is currently sailing around the Caribbean, it's been announced that Foreigner with special guest Lou Gramm will perform on RLC 14 next February 21st to the 25th out of Miami.
Gene Simmons made up his show Tuesday on the Rock Legends Cruise when he stopped his set after two songs due to high winds. On Wednesday he performed in the Platinum Theatre and after his second song, "Shout it Out Loud," he said, Not to windy" before pooping up his hair. He'll do his third and final show this Thursday back on the deck stage.
Paisley Park has announced it will mark the 10th anniversary of Prince's passing on April 21st with a free daytime event that will include seven minutes of silence. Then at night there will be a ticketed event that will include the showing of a Prince concert from the vaults.
Paul McCartney posted a photo of himself with George Harrison to mark what would have been the Beatle's 83rd birthday. Macca wrote in the caption, "Have a great day, it's George's birthday." The photo was taken by McCartney's late wife Linda. And Tom Petty's Instagram
account also posted a photo with his fellow Traveling Wilbury.
Another live video from the Billy Joel archives has been posted to YouTube. This time it's a take on "My Life" from London's Wembley Arena in 1984.
38 Special have posted a new live performance video for their 1983 hit "Back Where You Belong." Watch it now on YouTube.
On This Day
· in 1914, the first long-distance phone conversation took place thanks to the Boston-Washington underground cable.
· In 1977 - The Eagles reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the third time with "New Kid in Town", their first single from Hotel California, which spent one week on top.
· In 1985 - Bruce Springsteen won his first Grammy, taking home the Best Male Vocal Performance award for "Dancing In The Dark."
· in 1987, Beatles music was first released on compact disc. The Beatles (aka The White Album) becomes the first Beatles album to be released on CD.
· In 1995 - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, touring under the moniker Page & Plant, kicked off their first tour together in 15 years at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, FL.
· In 1997 - Perhaps trying to make amends for giving them just four awards when they were still together, The Grammys gave The Beatles three awards: two for "Free As A Bird" and another for their Anthology video.