Dick Wagner may not ba a familiar name to a lot of fans of the artists he played with, but his guitar riffs are. The versatile player who logged time working with Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Aerosmith and KISS passed away Wednesday (7/30) after contracting a lung infection following a recent surgery. Paul Stanley, weighing in on Wagner's death, said, 'Dick was a stellar player' and called his playing with Steve Hunter on Lou Reed's 1974 live album Rock & Roll Animal '...legendary', adding that Wagner was 'A huge talent with a huge heart. A great unsung hero.'
Billboard.com
Jimmy Page's job remastering the first three Led Zeppelin albums earned the guitarist/producer high marks. Round two of his labor features expanded editions of Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy. As was the case with the previous reissues, each copy of the next two includes a bonus disc of previously unreleased material recorded during the original album sessions. Bonus material on the October 28 re-release of IV include alternate versions or mixes of Black Dog, Rock and Roll, The Battle Of Evermore, Stairway To Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Four Sticks, Going To California and When The Levee Breaks. The Added disc for Houses Of The Holy serves-up The Song Remains The Same, The Rain Song (without piano), Over The Hills And Far Away, The Crunge, Dancing Days, No Quarter (instrumental), and The Ocean. Super Deluxe editions will include a 180-gram vinly pressing of the album, a HD download of all of the audio and an 80 page hard-cover book of rare photos.
Stevie Nicks will draw from songs she wrote over a 20+ year span starting in 1969 for a double album titled 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault she plans to release October 7. Even though the songs were composed long ago, the recordings of them used on the album were done quite recently at studios in Nashville and LA. She describes the collection as songs that '...represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken-hearted and the survivors.' The Vault collection was co-produced by Nicks with assists from Waddy Wachtel and Dave Stewart.
Farm Aid announced September 13th as the date for the 2014 concert to raise money and awareness to support family farms but held back an announcement on where it would be staged. Thursday
The John Bonham Memorial Fund hopes to raise $85,000 to establish a memorial honoring the late Led Zeppelin drummer in Redditch, the UK town he was born in. Bonham's singer-songwriter sister, Deborah, will do a benefit performance in the town on the first Saturday of August (8/2). If enough money is raised by the organization and the plan receives approval, the memorial will be located next to a bandstand behind the church where her concert is taking place.
Last we knew, U2's first album in 5 years would not make it out until 2015
After keeping a total lid on his most recent album, David Bowie is making his next one less of a secret. A decade + elapsed between Reality, and The Next Day, his surprise album of 2014. Granted he's not saying much, but 'More music soon' the promise he uttered recently at an event in London amounts to more than he said about anything new being in the works before ambushing fans with a cryptic confirmation that he was releasing last year's album. We'll make no secret of hoping the next one has stronger songs than the last.
The trove of Jimi Hendrix material controlled by his estate has grown by nearly 100 titles with the acquisition of 88 songs recorded by Curtis Knight & The Squires between 1965 and '67 while Jimi (then 'Jimmy') was a guitarist in the group. The New York City based band reportedly got Hendrix in a 3 year deal for just $1 plus 1% of the royalties - which doesn't amount to much if you don't sell a ton of records, and they didn't. In 1966, Hendrix formed his own group under the alias Jimmy James and called his band The Blue Flames. That was the outfit that Chas Chandler caught one night at a small Greenwich Village club. The Animals bass player was so blown away by Hendrix that night that he convinced him to return to London with him so Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and others could see him play. Chandler subsequently became Jimi's manager. 
ZZ Top has had to pull out of a headline appearance at Musikfest in Bethlehm, PA on August 1 and five other dates so bass player Dusty Hill has time to regain form after surgery this week to get a pair of kidney stones removed. The condition was discovered during a routine physical and Hill's MD recommended he get them out asap. The news deals a blow to the annual lineup on the Sands Steel Stage. The concert was approaching a sellout. ZZ Top plans to return to the road August 6 date in Sturgis, SD for an appearance that will open a series of dates that team Tres Hombres with guitar legend Jeff Beck.
A tree planted in Los Angeles in honor of George Harrison has apparently been killed by actual beetles. The pine, located near the city's famous Griffiths Observatory, will be replaced by one hopefully more resistant to the insect... and irony.
Neil Peart seems to be getting the shaft if reports from Inside Toronto prove true. The story indicates a community council in the city is considering naming a new arts oriented park in honor of Rush... or at least 2/3 of the Canadian band. The proposal to dedicate the space the Lee Lifeson Art Park will be taken-up by the North York council on August 12. The connection to the vacinity the guitarist and bass player share seems to be what could leave the drummer outside looking in. Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee were students at the neighborhood's Fisherville Jr. Highschool when the idea for Rush hatched.
Director Ron Howard says he is, '...excited and honored' over his opportunity to tell the story of the formative years of the Beatles in an upcoming film being made with the complete cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison. The movie will concentrate on the period from their earliest months together through the last full-scale concert the group did, Candlestick Park in San Francisco on a chilly, damp night in August of 1966.
The body of Johnny Winter was discovered in a Swiss Hotel in Zurch Wednesday 
August will see the release of an album of Creedence Clearwater Revival classics rendered by a collection of Roots & Blues artists that includes Duke Robillard, Sonny Landreth, Mike Zito and Smokin' Joe Kubek. A Blues Tribute to Creedence features a dozen tracks. Here's the lineup of songs and featured players for the August 25 release.
Mastering is a process that seldom takes place until most if not all of the recording is finished, so it might be a good sign that Eddie Van Halen was recently photgraphed with mastering master Howie Weinberg. The pic on the studio's Facebook page was apparently taken at the Howie Weinberg Mastering Studio in LA. Weinberg mastered the group's last album.
Chinese Democracy was more than a decade in the making and proved nowhere near worth the wait to the ears of most Guns N' Roses fans. Maybe working faster will produce a better results. It appears the band should be setting a release date sometime soon for at least one new album. Keyboard player Dizzy Reed recently told Rolling Stone that the group has plenty of songs that did not appear on the 2008 release to choose from and said, 'If the new record is not done, then it's close to being done.' His remarks echo those of Al Rose, who said while speaking to Revolver, 'We recorded a lot of things before Chinese was out. And then we have a remix album made of the songs from Chinese. That's been done for a while, too.'
On their first three albums, the word 'love' appeared in Beatles song lyrics 151 times. Overall, the writing team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney got by quite well using far fewer words than some others, using just 688 unique words of the 7,283 they sang over that span of recordings (it should be noted, some songs were covers). In contrast, Elvis Costello, who could cram more words into short songs than just about anyone, managed to use 1,890 different ones on his first three records and a jaw flapping total of 11,422. David Bowie wasn't that far behind, using 1,748 unique words on his first three albums. 1960's songs averaged 28 unique words per tune. The 70's & 80's were remarkably similar with 37.1 and 37 different words respectively. Vocabulary slipped in the 90's, with unique words per song dipping to 31.6. There's been a slight increase since 2000. The average has climbed to 33. 
The growing tensions between Palestininans and Israelis have ignited sustained rounds of rocket fire from Gaza and retaliatory air strikes by Israel. Concerns over the safety of those planning to see Neil Young in concert in Tel Aviv Thursday
Kansas fans learned that Steve Walsh was leaving the group from a post on the band Facebook page. Our friends at Melodic Rock contacted Walsh seeking an account of why he decided it was time to end his long run with the mainstay Classic Rock band. He responded by writing, 'I know there's a lot of different versions out there on why I'm leaving so just let me say that it's time for me to go, and yes, it makes me sad to have to admit that.' He also said he wishes the remaining members all the best and made a special point of thanking the crew members, who Walsh called, '...the best group of guys behind thescenes that I've ever worked with.' His 41 years as a member of Kansas come to a close August 16 after a concert at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.
In the wake of the Brazilian World Cup soccer team's collapse against Germany, host country fans are venting about the loss by putting some of the blame on Mick Jagger. The Jagger jinx became a big buzz among fans even before the team's 7-1 loss set a new record for the most one-sided semi final in the tournament's 84 year history. Fans trace tie the jinx to the pattern of losses by teams the Stones front man supports in person or expresses confidence in. Jagger was on hand for England's 4-1 loss to Germany during the 2010 World Cup, sat next to Bill Clinton when the US team went down to Ghana and wore a Brazil team shirt while watching them lose to the Netherlands in the quarter finals. He tweeted the Brazilians a message of encouragement before they took the field and got beaten by Italy in an early round in this year's Cup. Brazilians are not the only ones that think Jagger's support is the kiss of death. Mick blurted out to fans during a Stone concerts in Lisbon and Rome that Portugal and Italy would win it all this year. Neither team made it to the second round.
Brian Johnson says recording sessions for the next AC/DC album are complete. The band spent time in Vancouver recording what the lead singer says includes '...great songs' for an album that marks the beginning of the post Malcolm Young era for AC/DC. Johnson said his absence from the process made things difficult but praised his nephew for the job he did filling in. The band has not specified the nature of the medical condition that sidelined their rhythm guitarist. Reports have suggested the Young brother suffered a stroke. That would seem consistent with Johnson's comments. He said, 'He's in hospital but he's a fighter. We've got our fingers crossed that he'll get strong again.' Johnson suggested Man Down as an album title in tribute to the missing member of the lineup, an idea that sounds as though it met with a less than enthusiastic response from the other members.
Simon Collins, the son of Genesis veteran Phil Collins, is denying claims that he posessed Class B drugs and may have had a role in supplying Class A drugs, according to a report in the Daily Mail. The singer and drummer with the band Sound Of Contact issued a statement reading, 'I refute the allegations presented in the press today but due to obvious legal implications at this time, I am unable to comment further.' Simon is the oldest son of Phil Collins with his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli.
Keith Hornsby shares the height and wingspan of his father, lanky keyboard wizard Bruce Hornsby. That helped the younger Hornsby compile impressinve stats against D1 opponents as a member of the North Carolina Asheville basketball team. Looking to move to a bigger program, the 6'4" 210lb Hornsby put in for a transfer to LSU. After sitting out the requisite season as a transfer, Keith looks forward to providing a big spark to the Tigers on both ends of the court at the guard position. His skills and stamina both benefit from having a father who loves the game, too. According to LSU basketball coach Johnny Jones, Bruce has put in time conditioning Keith for the rigors of a Division One schedule. Jones calls Keith '...the hardest working player I've ever been around', and adds, 'I've seen his dad come in here and work him out really, really hard. I think that's the way he has been conditioned mentally and physically. If It's true hard work pays off, he's put himself in position for good things to happen.'
The recent reconvening of Genesis to collect updated group comments for a BBC documentary on the band went well according to Steve Hackett. Hackett characterized the two hours he spent in the company of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks as ...vey nice', and told BANG Showbiz, '...we spoke at length for about two hours to the camera. We had lunch and it was the first time we'd got everyone in one room for quite some time.' If there were any side discussions about possibly playing together, Hackett did not reveal anything about the prospect. He said the members were open and honest about one another and added, 'I was able to say nice things. I don't think I said anything nasty or bitch.'
A bit of intrigue regarding a possible Pink Floyd album has surfaced via a post on a Twitter accounts tied to Durga McBroom-Hudson, a background vocalist that has done studio session vocals for Pink Floyd, and Polly Samson, David Gilmour's wife. A Sunday 
As far as guitarist Phil Collen is concerned, it's fine if the Rock Hall Of Fame never gets around to inducting his band. Guesting on the Shmonty & Conklin radio show the Def Leppard guitarist said, 'For me, I really don't care, whatever. The way I look at it, I've got two diamond albums sitting on my mantlepiece - that's 10 time platinum. I've got two albums. That means the fans went out and bought it, so that means a lot more to me.' With the slump in album sales, Phil probably won't need to make room for a third no matter how strong the group's next release is, but he sounds as though he thinks it could measure up with best work the band has recorded, saying, 'The recording has been really going fast and flowing, so we're ultra excited'. A 2015 release is expected.
Following the cancellation of a Tuesday concert in Boise, ID, reports have emerged that Gregg Allman had been hospitalized. Oregon Live indicated that the Allman Brothers Band veteran had checked himself in for treatment, but no information was made available about the nature of his ailment or his condition. The manager of a blues festival Allman and his solo band were scheduled to appear at said Allman's management informed him that entire tour is being scuttled.
