Chuck Leavell is responsible for a lot of great piano playing heard in Rock thoughout his years as a member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones as well as in his work with other artists, including Eric Clapton. Along the way, the keyboard veteran says, plenty of fans have told him they'd love to be able to play like he does. Now, Leavell is giving them the opportunity to learn from him online. He has launched IROCKU, a web site that will provide aspiring pianists with sheet music, instructional video, music theory and improvisational tips from Chuck. His ultimate objective is to, '...make learning to play rock piano easy and fun.' It's working for students in New York City. The Board of Ed has used the Leavell lessons in city schools and both teachers and students have praised it as life changing. Want to try your hands at it? A free lesson is available here.
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Apple and U2 have both been stung by criticism over the joint venture that saw the Irish group's recent album released exclusively through the iTunes store. The computer, phone and tablet behemoth also had its sterling image tarnished by bugs in its latest operating system and a big and tall version of its popular phone that is susceptible to bending from the pressure of being in some pockets when owners sit down. The band has been criticized for releasing a second consecutive lackluster album. Songs Of Innocence has been dubbed Songs of Mediocrity by some and while an improvement over No Line On The Horizon, the recent release falls far short of measuring up the the group's powerful releases of the late 70's and the 80's. Whether the end product would have been stronger had the group not been under the gun to get it done in time for the album's simultaneous release with the new Apple phones is something only band members know - and they're not talking. The Edge is saying that an additional album is expected to emerge from the sessions that produced Songs Of Innocence, one the band is calling Songs Of Experience. He also says a 2015 tour is being planned that will be less over-the-top than the last tour that featured the band playing stadiums on an enormous claw-like stage.
Hurricane Odile damage has forced Sammy Hagar to relocate the annual birthday party and concert he stages at his Cabo San Lucas resort to Las Vegas. The four October concerts scheduled for Cabo will be rolled into one bigger show at the Las Vegas Events Center October 18 that features Sammy & The Circle, a lineup that includes the Red Rocker along with Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson. They will be joined by Joe Satriani and Chad Smith with Chickenfoot. Sammy says the response to the severe weather caused havoc to Cabo is 'inspiring' and adds it is, '...amazing how much progress has been made.' As for his Cabo facility, Hagar says, 'Hoping to re-open soon along with airport and other businesses. Thank you to all of you that have sent good wishes. All of our staff is safe and we are working hard to assist on thei needs.'
Rock Or Bust, the next album from AC/DC, is confirmed for a December 2 release. The group's first album without Malcolm Young features 11 tracks and was recorded rapidly during sessions in Vancouver this past spring under the production guidance of Brendan O'Brien. The band has also announced that tour plans are being drawn upf for a 2015 world trek that will introduce fans to Steve Young, Malcolm's nephew, as the group's new rhythm guitarist. As in the past, the group declined to offer any specifics about the medical condition that has rendered Malcolm Young unable to play, but shortly after the announcement Young's family confirmed that the 61 year-old guitarist is suffering from dementia. The Sydney Morning Herald had quoted a source as telling them that, 'If you were in the room with him and walked out, then came back one minute later, he wouldn't remember who you are.'
The songs on The Endless River, the largely instrumental Pink Floyd album being released this fall, have been described as spacey and eclectic. While we don't have run times for the songs on it, the track count for the double disc suggests several of the tunes are also quite long. The group's official web site has posted what we presume is the album cover art and track list and is taking advance orders. Copies include a version that offers a hard bound book that includes previously unpublished photos from the 1993 recording sessions that produced the majority of the material on the album.
Sharon Osbourne, never one for subtlety, blasted U2 in a Twitter post that claimed the Irish Rockers are just '...business moguls not musicians anymore' and called the decision to distribute the new album for free via iTunes a desperation move because the music was so mediocre no one would buy it. While we agree the album does nothing to convince us that the band is capable of writing the kind of great songs that made the release of a new U2 album the kind of international slam dunk it once was, the same could be said of Ozzy's recent albums. And when it comes to non-musical side ventures, Ozzy and Sharon are quite the business moguls themselves.
It's a reunion of sorts. Lou Gramm and Mick Jones of Foreigner plan to work together on each others next solo projects. It marks the first ime the two members of Foreigner have collaborated musically in more than a decade. Whether it creates an opportunity for Gramm to return as a member of the group remains to be seen, but Jones says they are both '...going into it quite openly'. He indicates the process will include musical ideas the two were developing while members of Foreigner as well as, '...this little trove of goodies that Lou's got that I haven't heard.'
The marriage of Neil and Pegi Young is ending but the annual benefit the couple stages to raise money for the Bridge School will continue. The October 25 & 26 dates to raise money for the school tailored to meet the educational challenges special needs students face will feature performances by Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Norah Jones, Florence & The Machine, Band of Horses. Neil and Pegi are slated to do solo sets as well during the weekend at the Mountainview, California Amphitheatre.
Peter Gabriel's career pushing musical boundries has earned him Prog God status at the Progressive Music awards. Prog Magazine editor Jerry Ewing cited Gabriel's early work with Genesis and his continuing willingness to venture into new musical territory in the decision to honor him this year. Ewing said, 'From a groundbreaking eight years with Genesis to a solo career that has now stretched almost 40 years, few artists have striven to push back the creative boundries, generating a body of work that in its very nature progresses ever onward.' Others receiving awards include Andy Latimer of Camel, and Sonja Kristina, vocalist for Curved Air. Previous winners of the Prog God distinction include Rick Wakeman of Yes and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson..jpg)
The idea of reuniting with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones apparently has no appeal to Robert Plant. But if a Facebook post is t legitly from him, the former Led Zeppelin front man is keenly interested recording something with Jack White. Calling White someone with,'...a buccaneer spirit' that '...dodges through the musical horizons, I'd be happy to make a single with him.' He even identified the song he'd like to record with White. 'I'd like to do a track called Love Me which was first recorded by the Phantom', and suggested it could happen as soon as Monday 
Using Ride Out as the title to his next album serves as a pretty clear indication that it will be Bob Seger's final studio effort. The long anticipated album finally drops October 14. The long delay had us expecting the songs on it would be originals. Most are, but nearly half the songs on it are covers - and there are only 10 titles on the standard CD. An expanded edition offers 3 more songs. Seger released his cover of John Hiatt's Detroit Made several days ago. The other cover songs he includes on the release are Woody Guthrie's California Stars, The Devil's Right Hand from the Steve Earle catalog and a song titled Adam and Eve by Australians Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers. Accompanying Seger on the release are Rob McNelley on guitar, Jim Brown on keyboards and guitar, Glenn Worf on bass, Chad Cromwell plays drums and Shaun Murphy,Barb Payon and Laura Creamer contribute background vocals.
U2 appears to have so little confidence in the old model for selling music that the band has decided it is better off giving away its new album than bothering trying to get people to buy it. Apple was more than happy to pay whatever it took for the company to secure exclusive rights to distribute the free download to people with an iTunes account. The irony in this exercise is that Apple profoundly understands the need to meet or exceed expectations much better than U2 does. The band bitched at fans over the luke-warm reception their last album got. The iPhone 5c was Apple's hardware equivelent of No Line On The Horizon. They learned from it and moved on. The 6 and the 6 Plus will have to score big points with devout iPhone users and sap the momentum other smart phone makers built up by exploiting a desire for larger screens while Apple clung to a uniformly small screen for it the 6's to be Apple's next Joshua Tree. The read on how good it is will be rapid and verifiable because nobody will be giving them away. Even subsidized carrier deals will eventually exact more than the full retail value from each subscriber. How good U2's new album actually is will take longer. With the potential for more than a half billion people to get it for nothing, numbers are rather meaningless. The real measure whether the album is as good as Bono wants us to believe it is will be in finding out how many songs people who download the album think deserve to occupy a space on their phone in the long term. Hold the phone for that read.
A George Harrison tribute timed to coincide with the release of a comprehensive Apple recording box set fo the former Beatles' recordings will be staged at the El Ray Theatre in LA September 28. We're not sure who put together the list of performers, but it is wide ranging and pretty bizarre. Participants include Weird Al Yankovic, Beach Boy Brian Wilson, Norah Jones, the Cult's Ian Asterbury, Ann Wislon of Heart, a couple of members of the Flaming Lips, Brandon Flowers and Mark Stoermer of the Killers and a number of other acts with little or no association with Harrison we know of. It does serve to show how braodly appreciated George was, although how enjoyable the evening would be to the average Harrison and Beatle fan is anybody's guess.
A Facebook page for something Ozzy Osbourne has cooked up for the Halloween season has sprung up. What's Hell Gate? A tour, an attraction... could be either, neither or, possibly, both. The page accumulated a couple of thousand followers in its first few hours, so it's obvious Ozzy fans are all about finding out. Take your best shot at 
Hearing Metallica secured a spot in the 2015 Guinness World Records roster, we assumed it had something to do with decibels. Turns out it had to do with where they played during instead of how they played. The group's 2013 world tour included concerts on every continent. The culminating performance of the 7 continent trek came with a 10 song set for 120 scientists and some contest winners in a geodesic dome on Antarctica in December. Out of concern for the penguins and whatever else would have been startled or transformed by a typical volume Metallica show, amps were encased in sound barrier cabinets and band members and audience heard the set through headphones.
A security guard working a 2012 KISS concert at the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana has filed a suit against Gene Simmons over an injury he claims was caused by an unsafe stage due to a combination of confetti and water used during a September 1, 2012 concert. Timothy Funk claims he fell as a reslut of water being sprayed from hoses in what he describes as a '...foolish and reckless manner' that resulted in a '...slippery, waxy and glassy' stage. The venue, Live nation and Simmons are all named in the suit, which seeks compensatory reimbursement for his medical costs, compensation for lost wages and additional damages.
Neil Young has a project in the works that apparently includes an orchestra. The expected November 4 release titled Storytone involves the composer-arranger Chris Walden. Conductor Gina Zimmitti's Facebook page included photos of Young in a studio with her. Niko Bolas is evidently producing the sessions. He has worked with Young on a number of prvious albums, including This Note's For You, Fork In The Road and Living With War. Young tipped his hand in a Billboard interview when he discussed his interest in doing a minimalistic session with an orchestra - one that used a single microphone to capture all of the instruments.
A 'U2 project' has been confirmed as the reason a bridge and some roads in Dublin were shut down Sunday 
