DIRECTOR OF DUFF MCKAGAN’S DOCUMENTARY DISCUSSES THE BASSIST, GUNS N’ ROSES AND AXL ROSE

Melinda Newman of Billboard spoke with Christopher Duddy, who directed Duff McKagan’s documentary, It’s So Easy and Other Lies. Portions of the interview appear below.

Billboard: You and Duff met in the least rock and roll way possible: walking your kids to school.

Duddy: We had moved in to a nice neighborhood in Sherman Oaks [in Los Angeles], and unbeknownst to me, Duff lived about three houses up from us. We became fast friends. We’d watch NFL games together. We saw each other every day. It was cool to see somebody like that was super down to earth, a guy you’d want to hang out with.

Billboard: How did you go from friends to helming the documentary?

Duddy: We all know Duff from Guns N’ Roses forward. I didn’t know much about his backstory. The book struck a chord with me so I approached him [about] a documentary. He said no, he didn’t want to do that, he thought the book was good enough. I just didn’t give up on it.

Billboard: The documentary spends little time on Guns N’ Roses. Duff talks about the first time he hears Axl sing, but there’s no footage of them in the studio or mention of their breaking up. Why?

Duddy: Duff was real adamant from the beginning that he didn’t want this to be a Guns N’ Roses documentary. I didn’t either, because it’s a story about his journey through life and successes and darkness. During the course of us making the movie, the talks started about the reunion tour and Duff wanted to be real sensitive about that and not convolute anything with that going on.

Billboard: Guns N’ Roses members Slash and Matt Sorum are in it. Did you ask Axl to participate?

Duddy: We reached out gently. He can be a volatile guy, so we really didn’t want to disrupt anything with his camp and with the talk of this reunion tour. I sent his manager a rough cut of the movie. I didn’t want to push too hard on that. It is what it is.

Billboard: This was shot over a three-year period?

Duddy: It was shot in spurts over three years. Before the [Guns N’ Roses] reunion, Duff’s been in like five bands. He was constantly going on tour and I would lose him for a month at a time. I’ve never seen anybody as busy as that guy.

Billboard: Are you tying in with the Guns N’ Roses reunion tour or is this timing just coincidence?

Duddy: It’s pretty much lucky coincidence for the filmmakers and producers. This movie was done a year ago. Not in our wildest dreams did we know this movie was going to hit the same summer they’re doing this monster tour. That was just luck of the draw. That’s the silver lining at the end of this very long process.

Read more at Billboard.

It’s So Easy and Other Lies opened on June 3rd for an exclusive theatrical run in Los Angeles.

source: billboard.com

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6/3: AXS REEL TO REAL, RADIO GUESTS, CARMINE APPICE PODCAST, MORE.

Busy week doing press for the new series I am hosting for AXS TV Reel To Real. The series debuted this past Tuesday with the Green Day documentary. There are new music docs on a wide variety of topics every Tuesday I’ll be hosting at 9P ET with many repeats as well. Hope you guys enjoy this new series which I am thrilled to be a part of. I hope to have more news on other upcoming TV projects to share soon, and of course as soon as I have TMS news I’ll let you know! In the meantime TMS repeats continue on VH1C.

As part of the press I did during the week I appeared on the Howard Stern Wrap Up show for the first time live on Thursday. As a lifelong Stern fan that was a huge thrill and I got a ton of response. Appreciate them having me and hope to one day make it on to the main show to talk music, radio and more. Was also great to be on again with my old friend Ron Bennington for the first time on his show with his daughter Gail. Appreciate all my fellow radio broadcasters for having me.

Speaking of radio, join me tonight 11P-2A ET on Q104.3 NYC and WAAF Boston for new and classic hard rock and metal on Eddie Trunk Rocks. Both stations stream free. Full list of stations airing over the weekend on this site.

Back live on SiriusXM Trunk Nation this Monday 6-10P ET on channel 39. Guests will include Michael Schenker and Joe Lynn Turner.

New podcast up now with Carmine Appice talking about his new book and more. Free on www.PodcastOne.com and Itunes.

Next live appearance is this Wednesday at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood FL hosting Jason Bonham. Tickets here: http://bit.ly/JasonBonham2016

Have a great weekend!

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AC/DC FRONTMAN BRIAN JOHNSON MEETS WITH HEARING TECHNOLOGY EXPERT AND WRITES, “IT JUST TOTALLY WORKS”

As previously reported, AC/DC singer, Brian Johnson, was scheduled to meet with hearing technology expert Stephen Ambrose of Asius Technologies, to see if his product could assist Johnson with his hearing issues.

Johnson has since issued an update on the meeting stating, he’s “moved and amazed” by the technology Ambrose is pioneering.

Johnson writes on Ambrose’s Facebook page, “It works. It just totally works and you can’t argue with that. I was really moved and amazed to be able to hear music again like I haven’t heard for several years now. I can’t wait for it to be miniturised so I can use it in every situation from normal communication, going out to noisy restaurants, to performing live music on stage.”

AC/DC hired Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose to complete their Rock Or Bust tour and recently announced their rescheduled dates in the U.S. which will take place in August. Click here for more information.

additional source: Classic Rock Magazine via teamrock.com/news

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NIKKI SIXX SAYS THAT HIS BANDMATES IN MOTLEY CRUE ARE “NOT ENEMIES, BUT NOT FRIENDS”

Bassist Nikki Sixx has predicted that the former members of Motley Crue are unlikely to spend any time with each other in the future, adding that they’re “not enemies but not friends.”

His comments appear in the band’s concert movie The End, shot during their farewell show in Los Angeles in December.

Drummer Tommy Lee said last month that he, Sixx, Vince Neil and Mick Mars had gone their separate ways after the show without saying goodbye to each other, and that he hadn’t spoken to Sixx or Neil since.

In The End Sixx says, “We probably won’t see each other. We don’t hang out now. We go on stage like motherf–kers but we don’t hang out. We’re not enemies, but we’re not friends. I’ll probably never see them, except in passing.”

Neil shares similar thoughts. “The politics of being in a band shouldn’t be as tough as it is,” he says. “The hardest part of being in Motley Crue is being in Motley Crue.

I don’t know if other bands of our stature go through some of the crap that we go through. That’s the tough part – being onstage and doing that stuff, that’s the easy part.”

Lee recently told Rolling Stone he hasn’t heard from his bandmates since their last show. “I haven’t spoken to Vince Neil or Nikki Sixx,” he said. “I speak to [guitarist] Mick Mars a lot. He’s actually working on some new stuff, and I’m really happy for him. I think Nikki unfollowed me on Twitter, like, the next day. I was like, ‘Wow. Okay dude.'”

The End will be screened in selected cinemas on June 14th, with a DVD release expected later. For more information about this event, and where to screen the movie, please click here.

additional source: Classic Rock Magazine via teamrock.com/news

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AC/DC ANNOUNCE RE-SCHEDULED “ROCK OR BUST” U.S. TOUR DATES

While packing out stadiums across Europe to rave reviews from critics and fans alike this summer, AC/DC have today announced full details of their re-scheduled USA tour dates. The AC/DC Rock or Bust World Tour returns to America for ten final shows in August and September 2016. They are in Greensboro, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Columbus, Cleveland. Detroit, Buffalo, New York, Washington & Philadelphia. Original tickets will be honored for all rescheduled dates, refunds are available at point of purchase.

AC/DC have played to over 4 million fans on the Rock or Bust World Tour and the current line-up of Angus Young, Cliff Williams, Stevie Young, Chris Slade and Axl Rose are set to continue their global trek with a return, for the final leg, to the USA.

The second part of AC/DC’s European tour which kicked off in Lisbon on May 7th has been greeted with acclaim from all quarters. Rolling Stone headlined with “AC/DC is a triumph – this new union is one of the touring hits of the summer” while the Guardian in London called the gig – “triumphant…a rock n roll victory on wheels…” The Telegraph critic added: “Angus Young is a consummate showman rocks the duck walk… Axl hit every note and sent it to the heavens… simply great.”

Not for the first time last year, AC/DC were hailed as the biggest selling live act in the world when, sadly, vocalist Brian Johnson was forced to step down midway through the U.S. tour after being advised by doctors that he risked total hearing loss if he continued to perform live.

For the shows in Europe with Axl Rose on vocals, AC/DC have been surprising fans by including rarely played tunes from their formidable archive such as Rock N’ Roll Damnation, Riff Raff, Touch Too Much and If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It).

Angus Young commented, “This band has got a ton of energy and you’re going to see a fusion of all that terrific chemistry that we have felt ever since rehearsals in Lisbon. I want to get back out there onstage in the US with these guys so our audience can see and feel it too.”

AC/DC released their highly acclaimed studio album, Rock or Bust, in December 2014 and it peaked at #1 in twelve countries and #3 in the U.S. Billboard charts. In a career that spans over four decades, AC/DC have sold an incredible 200 million albums worldwide, over 70 million in the US alone, producing landmark albums such as Highway to Hell and the seminal Back in Black which is the biggest selling hard rock album ever, helping to make AC/DC one of the top five selling bands in American music history. Their distinctive brand of high voltage rock n’ roll, awesome stadium rock shows and everlasting anthems continues to energise fans globally from Adelaide to Atlanta, from Prague to Philadelphia and all points between.

The rescheduled AC/DC Rock or Bust U.S. dates are:

8/27 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
8/30 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center

9/1 Atlanta, GA Phillips Arena
9/4 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
9/6 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
9/9 Detroit, MI The Palace
9/11 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
9/14 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
9/17 Washington, DC Verizon Center
9/20 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

AC/DC on the web:

Official website
facebook.com/ACDC
twitter.com/ACDC
instagram.com/ACDC
YouTube.com/ACDC

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SECOND ANNUAL “RIDE FOR RONNIE” MOTORCYCLE RALLY & CONCERT RAISES $50,000 FOR RONNIE JAMES DIO STAND UP AND SHOUT CANCER FUND

The 2nd Annual Ride For Ronnie Motorcycle Ride and Concert, held on Sunday, May 22nd, raised $50,000 for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. Some 1000 people participated in the day’s events, including 300 motorcycle riders who made their way from Harley Davidson in Glendale to an afternoon of live entertainment at Los Encinos Park in Encino, California.

Joining the ride were Sons of Anarchy cast members Emilio Rivera, Michael Beach, Star Fields and actor-musician Sean McNabb as well actor Al Coronel (The Last Ship) and musicians Lita Ford, EJ Curse, Taime Downe and Gilby Clarke. Wendy Dio, Ronnie James Dio’s widow and co-founder of the Dio Cancer Fund, welcomed everyone before joining SUAS board member Scott Sentinella on his motorcycle for the 20-mile ride to the Park. Also riding was “Boston” Tom Foresteire on the Holy Diver Harley-Davidson motorcycle he won at the recent Street Party that launched this year’s Ride. The one-of-a-kind motorcycle is custom-painted with the illustration from the cover of Ronnie James Dio’s iconic Holy Diver album.

The afternoon’s entertainment kicked off with Doctors of the Earth as the procession of motorcycles arrived at the Park. They were followed by sets from Sonia Harley, Budderside, Gabbie Rae, Dio Disciples, Lita Ford and headliners Great White. The festivities were hosted by DJ Will.

Wendy Dio and SUAS Medical Director Dr. Sandy Kapoor presented a check for $25,000 to Dr. David Wong, Director of the Dental Research Institute at the University of California Los Angeles to further his research into a saliva test for the early detection of cancer. Dr. Wong believes this simple, non-invasive test will be available for medical use within the next three years.

Assorted merchandise, a jumble sale booth, a silent auction and a raffle for a special limited edition ASG Vision Motörhead white-body guitar with the Ace of Spades graphic raised additional funds as did live auctions conducted by SUAS board members Adam Parsons and Danny Zelisko between performances. Among the live auction items were a B.C. Rich guitar signed by Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), King Diamond and Geoff Tate, a custom-made leather “Kutte” motorcycle vest with a set of specially-embroidered Dio Cancer Fund patches and an ESP guitar signed by all of the event’s performers.

The Sons of Anarchy cast members as well as Great White, Lita Ford and Dio Disciples signed autographs at special “Meet and Greets” during the afternoon. Rocker Gabbie Rae hosted a Meet & Greet following her set to promote Free2Luv, the Anti-Bullying initiative for which she is a spokesperson.

100% of the net proceeds from the Ride For Ronnie will go to the Dio Cancer Fund.

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