Look for Kix– Steve Whiteman (lead vocals), Jimmy Chalfant (drums, vocals), Ronnie Younkins (guitars), Brian Forsythe (guitars) and Mark Schenker (bass)—to release their first new album in almost two decades on July 22nd, thanks to their new partnership with Loud & Proud Records. What makes this project even more exciting and anticipated is that the album features the band’s original line-up, with the exception of Schenker on bass.

“The boys and I are so happy that our old friend, Tom Lipsky, has invited us to join the Loud & Proud family,” exclaims Whiteman. “We worked with Tom and Madelyn Scarpulla on our last studio album, Show Business, and we’re looking forward to working with them again with the release of the first new Kix album in almost 19 years! We’ll still be coming to a dump near you very soon!”

Loud & Proud Owner & President Tom Lipsky adds, “What I have always loved about Kix is they make rock ‘n roll fun. What I love about their new music is that it’s pure, genuine Kix music, straight up guitar rock with no compromise. They’re not chasing trends or trying to re-invent themselves. They’re simply doing what they do best…and now they can do it Loud and Proud!”

Marking the re-emergence of Kix in early-2000’s, the band had teamed up a few times a year to test the waters with reunion shows in the Maryland/Pennsylvania, which were very well received. Then in the summer of 2008, they performed outside the mid-Atlantic for the first time in 13 years at two of the biggest rock festivals in the U.S. Rocklahoma in Pryor, OK and Rock the Bayou in Houston, TX. The band was hailed by many music websites and attendees as “Best Performance” at both festivals, where they played alongside Sammy Hagar, Alice Cooper, Tesla, Queesryche, Ratt, and more.

As the demand for new music has never subsided and in fact has only increased over the last few years, the band decided that they can no longer ignore the overtures from their fans and are currently recording new Kix songs. The new album, due out summer 2014, is produced by Taylor Rhodes, who last worked with KIX on 1991’s HOT WIRE album. Rhodes has also written hit songs for Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne and Journey.

Stay tuned for new album news, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and check out Kix on tour at any of the following stops (with more to be announced soon):

4/25 Columbia, MD M3 Festival
5/24 Pryor, OK Rocklahoma
5/31 Sandusky, OH Ohio Bike Week
6/6 Vernal, UT Thunder Rocks
6/21 Idaho Falls, ID Rock The Falls
7/25 Royalton, MN Halfway Jam
7/31 Leemore, CA Tachi Palace Casino

Greg Prato of Songfacts spoke with iconic guitarist Michael Schenker. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

Songfacts: How did the songwriting work in the band UFO? Was it more of a collaboration?

Michael: Well, when I joined UFO, they were a psychedelic band. They were playing very different music. But I was attracted to them being British, since that’s where the music that I fell in love with came from: Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Johnny Winter. Well, Johnny Winter was American, but a lot of the music that we were listening to at that point in time when I was 15 years old was coming from there.

When I toured with UFO and Scorpions, the guitarist from UFO lost his passport, so in order to continue the tour, I had to play for both bands. That was when I was 16 years old. I opened up with the Scorpions and then I played with UFO for a couple of days. And that’s when they asked me to join them.

I always told the Scorpions that if a British band would ever ask me, I would go just to get to a country where there was the interest for rock n’ roll. In Germany it was dead. It was disco music and it wasn’t very interesting what I was doing. So I was more than happy to go over there. They invited me over and I took the offer.

When I got there I just laid down a riff and another one and another one, and Phil [Mogg] did his vocals to it and it just became a totally different band based on the pieces that I gave them, which every song was built on. I wrote that way right from the beginning, and it’s still how I write today.

But because I had just joined them, we were more in the mode of making a record, touring, making a record, touring, making a record, touring. Because we were doing everything in the short amount of time, we spent a lot of time at the rehearsal studio.

Some very early songs, like Rock Bottom, were very spontaneous. We were just sitting there looking for an additional song, and when I played “Rock Bottom,” the riff, that’s when Phil jumped up and said, “That’s it! That’s it!” So we started putting it together and putting it into form.

But in general, I would always come up with some riffs, give it to the singer and he would find something, too. Then we’d go into the rehearsal studio and work on it. That’s basically how we used to write.

Songfacts: You just mentioned the song Rock Bottom, which I was always a big fan of. The studio version and the live version are a bit different, as the live version had a long jam section. How did that come about?

Michael: Well, Rock Bottom has that piece in the middle of free expression, and it’s perfect for me because I love pure self-expression. It’s a really, really good part to play over that particular chord there, and it leaves a lot of space to come up with a whole bunch of creative ideas. Over the years, the solos have changed. I keep the basic structure of it, but there is a lot of space to put new “sparks” on here and there and keep it fresh.

It’s always enjoyable to play over and over and over, because I can be very creative with it on the spot. That’s a very fascinating, enjoyable part of music for me.

Songfacts: Another favorite UFO song of mine is the song Lights Out. Was that song pretty much the same, that you came up with the riff first and then it was a collaboration?

Michael: Well, on songs like Only You Can Rock Me or Lights Out, Pete Way would come up with (guitar sounds – play the clip to hear), and that was it. Then I get inspired by that and find the additional parts. Or in the other song, that kind of happened quite a few times, too, that Pete came up with, like, Only You Can Rock Me, for instance (guitar sounds). But that was it. And then I added all the other pieces to it.

So that is also a way of writing. It’s a combination based on the circumstances and on the moment. But there was no particular strategy of how to do it. It’s just like, “Who has got something? What is it?”

If it was complete or just a riff or anything that sounds good or inspiring, we had enough people in the band that would create additional parts to it. Like, Paul Raymond is a very good songwriter himself, so he would also come up with stuff. I think most of his songs were complete. Most of Pete Way’s were just riffs. They needed additional ideas. And my stuff usually would be a riff and a bridge and a chorus, but not necessarily a complete, ready song.

Songfacts: Is it true that the UFO song, Lipstick Traces, you played that whole song with your feet?

Michael: I was about 18 years old and I don’t know why I was thinking or what I was thinking. I don’t know. Maybe I was thinking, “I wonder if I can play with my feet?” And so I was just wondering if it was possible. [Laughing] So I started playing Lipstick Traces with my feet, and I went, “Wow, it is possible.” I played it to Andy.

But then I decided, “I think it’s better I just focus playing it with my fingers. It’s easier.” [Laughs]

Songfacts: So the actual studio version is you playing with your fingers, right?

Michael: Absolutely. Yeah.

Songfacts: I’m glad that I had the opportunity to ask you that, because I’ve always been curious about that, if you were playing with your feet or your fingers!

Michael: Yeah. I didn’t in the studio, no, no. The studio was with my hands. It was an experiment.

Songfacts: Is it true that you were asked to try out for the Rolling Stones back in the ’70s?

Michael: Yeah. When UFO invited me, I came over. I was only over in England for a few months and then I get a phone call from someone asking me to audition for The Rolling Stones. I was very, very scared. [Laughing] I called my brother and told him and said to him, “What shall I do?” I was very nervous about it. I never called back and I left it.

I had joined UFO, I’m 17 and very shy and very sensitive in a country without any knowledge of English. It was quite a big step already. So when that came my way, I remembered images of The Stones in the paper. First of all, Brian Jones had just died. And then I saw pictures of The Stones looking at each others’ lice. I mean, like, in the hair, looking for lice! The whole image that The Rolling Stones had, I was scared that it was a dangerous thing to be with them.

UFO and Great Britain was a step that was big enough at that point in time.

Songfacts: Did you also try out for Aerosmith a few years after that?

Michael: Yeah. That was when I was finished with UFO and Peter Mensch started managing me. They flew me to New York just to see what the Aerosmith situation would be like, with Joe Perry not being there.

I went there, but we never really got to play, because Steven Tyler wasn’t in any good shape. I was sitting for five days in a hotel, waiting. I wasn’t in the best shape myself, and so it never really got to anything, other than when I started my first songs for the first MSG album [The Michael Schenker Group], I actually went in with Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton after that time, because Steven Tyler went to a hospital and he disappeared. I was getting ready for a solo album, and Joey Kramer and Tommy Hamilton, they wanted to do the rhythm section. So I went to Boston and we started to rehearse, and then Steven Tyler got better and they started Aerosmith.

Then I got my next lineup with Denny Carmassi on drums and Billy Sheehan on bass. That lasted for a month. I almost got Geddy Lee and Neil Peart to help me out on that – we talked about it and they almost did it. We knew each other from the UFO days. We toured a lot together. And then I ended up with Mo Foster and Simon Phillips, who was with Jeff Beck.

Songfacts: How close did you come to joining Ozzy Osbourne’s band after Randy Rhoads’ death?

Michael: That was around ’81. Graham Bonnet just came over and we started writing and doing things, and then I get a phone call in the middle of the night from a very devastated Ozzy Osbourne telling me what happened [Rhoads was killed in an airplane accident, on March 19, 1982]. I said, “Okay, it’s the middle of the night. I’ll let you know, but I have to speak to Peter Mensch” and so on. And then I had to look… I was tempted to do that, but at the same time I was in the middle of doing Assault Attack and it was going to be the second album with Cozy Powell. We were getting ready, and I had to look at my situation.

Then I heard some crazy stories about Ozzy dragging people across the stage by their hair and stuff like that. And then some other horror stories that didn’t sound too good. I was tempted to do that, but something tells me, you know what, Michael, first of all, the Scorpions, my own brother, he asked me to play, to help the Scorpions and to join them and tour with them. And I couldn’t do it because I’m not made for copying people. I love to invent things, to express myself, and so my vision is a different vision. Sometimes you have to battle a little bit with your true vision and temptation.

Read more at Songfacts.

source: songfacts.com

Same with Aerosmith: It was a good thing it didn’t work out, because again, I would have not enjoyed myself. I know that. At the end of the day, I said, “I can’t do that.” It came to the point when I stretched it for so long that I think Cozy Powell took it over and told them, “He’s not going to do it.” And that was that. It was a very strange situation.

As previously reported, guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, Gary Hoey and Bumbleoot will be touring this summer as part of Malmsteen’s Guitar Gods 2014 tour. A promotional video and a list of tour dates can be found below.

Guitar Gods tour dates:

June:

13 – Paramount Theatre – Huntington, NY
14 – Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
17 – Bergen Performing Arts Center- Englewood, NJ
20 – Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
21 – Phoenix Theatre – Toronto, ON
26 – Showbox Theatre – Seattle, WA
27 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR

July:

3 – Saban Theatre – Beverly Hills, CA
8 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ

To read more about the Guitar Gods 2014 tour, click here click here.

Amid all the rumors and speculation of retirement that have floated around the past couple of days, AC/DC have finally released an official statement through their Facebook page:

“After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group’s diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support.

In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family’s privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music.”

As previously reported, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson also confirmed that the band will continue to make music and disclosed that a member of the band was battling a debilitating disease.

Andrew Hampp of Billboard reports:

The Golden Gods Awards, a ceremony devoted solely to hard rock and heavy metal, is returning to TV on Saturday, May 24 on VH1 Classic at 8 p.m. ET/PT, produced by Dick Clark Productions and Revolver magazine.

The four-hour live show will tape Wednesday, April 23rd, at Los Angeles’ Club Nokia, and stream at VH1.com and on VH1′s mobile app, with a black carpet hosted by Dee Snider. The May 24th telecast will be an edited, 90-minute version of the show.

Topping this year’s star-studded talent lineup will be Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, who will be presented with 2014′s Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award, and Joan Jett, the first-ever female recipient of the Golden God Award, which will be presented by 2011 winner Alice Cooper. Guns N’ Roses and Jett are also among the show’s confirmed performers, alongside Zakk Wylde, who will play during a very special musical tribute to the heavy-metal and hard-rock legends who’ve passed away over the last year. Additional appearances will include Dave Navarro, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Andrew Dice Clay, Joe Manganiello, Tony Hawk, Pauley Perrette, Carmen Electra, A Day To Remember and The Pretty Reckless.

The show will be hosted by That Metal Show hosts Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine.

The 2014 Golden Gods Awards marks Dick Clark Productions’ first year producing the show, which executive producer Assaf Blecher says is an extension of the company’s growing portfolio of music-themed programming.

“We are very into music properties, so it’s just natural that the Golden Gods would make sense for us,” Blecher says. “The show is a good combination [of older] and newer heavy-metal icons, and it’s a great occasion for the community to come together for a one-night only event.”

Read more at Billboard.

source: billboard.com

AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has stated the band are not retiring yet – and they’re planning to go ahead with studio sessions in May.

But his comments suggest there’s at least a hint of doubt about the band’s future, and no guarantee that their planned 40th anniversary tour will go ahead.

There’s been a flurry of speculation in recent days after it was rumoured that mainman Malcolm Young was too ill to continue, and that a long-standing agreement amongst the quintet meant that if one of them left the entire band would fold.

Johnson tells the Telegraph: “We are definitely getting together in May in Vancouver. We’re going to pick up guitars, have a plonk and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas. If anything happens we’ll record it.”

He’d previously confirmed that one of the band, believed to be Malcolm, was suffering from ill health – but he refuses to add more details.

“I wouldn’t like to say anything either way about the future,” says Johnson. “I’m not ruling anything out. One of the boys has a debilitating illness, but I don’t want to say too much about it. He’s very proud and private. A wonderful chap. We’ve been pals for 25 years and I look up to him very much.”

He’d also said there were plans for AC/DC to play 40 shows to mark their 40th anniversary – their first show was on New Year’s Eve 1973.

Now he reports: “That would be a wonderful way to say bye-bye. We would love to do it – but it’s all up in the air at the moment.”

additional source: classicrockmagazine.com

Despite an earlier report from Billboard magazine that rumors of AC/DC’s retirement was imminent due the health of guitarist Malcom Young were false, conflicting information continues to surface.

Mark Evans, who claims that he is the son of original AC/DC singer Dave Evans, tweeted that reports of AC/DC’s retirement are true. He added: “Malcolm Young is very sick…. [Malcolm's son] Ross Young spoke to my father this morning because the cat got out…. But yes, the band will be finished…. No new shows or music.”

Additionally, Australian journalist Darryl Mason of The Orstrahyun reports, “About three weeks ago, founding member, rhythm guitarist, co-producer and co-songwriter Malcolm Young had a stroke, which left a blood clot on his brain. When AC/DC reunited at the start of April to begin a month of rehearsals, in the lead-up to new album recording sessions, Malcolm discovered he couldn’t play. At least, he couldn’t play like he used to play.”

As previously reported, Billboard states that insiders claim here’s no truth to the rumors. However, the band, their management and the their current label, Columbia Records, have chosen not to comment on the matter.

Sebastian Bach has released a lyric video for, Taking Back Tomorrow, which is on the singer’s forthcoming album called, Give ‘Em Hell, out April 22nd.

Watch the video below.

Bach previously released a video for the song, Temptation, which can be viewed here.

Watch an EPK for Give ‘Em Hell below.

Give ‘Em Hell track listing:

1. Hell Inside My Head
2. Harmony
3. All My Friends Are Dead
4. Temptation
5. Push Away
6. Dominator
7. Had Enough
8. Gun To A Knife Fight
9. Rock N Roll Is A Vicious Game
10. Taking Back Tomorrow
11. Disengaged
12. Forget You

Rumors of AC/DC’s imminent demise appear to be exaggerated.

Reports surfaced Monday in the band’s native Australia that the group was on the verge of announcing its retirement due to one band member’s (presumably guitarist Malcolm Young’s) serious illness. But insiders tell Billboard that there’s no truth to the rumor, though the group’s management and Columbia Records, its current label, have chosen not to comment on the matter.

Australia’s Noise11.com adds that the source of the retirement rumor was an email sent to Perth radio station 6PR from an anonymous tipster using the handle Thunderstruck. The station subsequently spread the word, setting off a flurry of reports first throughout Australia and then worldwide.

This is hardly the first time AC/DC has been rumored to be on the verge of retirement. Frontman Brian Johnson set off a furor in 2011 when he spoke of it, though he subsequently claimed to have been quoted out of context.

In fact, he told Billboard at the time that, “A journalist asked me once, ‘What do you think about retirement, Brian, seeing as you’re getting older?’ I said something honest and quite naive; I said, ‘Well, I’ll retire when I can’t do it anymore and as soon as I feel I can’t do it anymore, then I’ll retire.’ Next thing I now there’s a headline, ‘Brian Johnson’s gonna retire’ and I’m like, ‘Y’know, what a piece of shit that guy is.’ And it came out all wrong so you got to be careful what you say. Retirement is like anything… There’s a time when you have to call it quits. I don’t want to do it, and if we can get out and (do) the album and do another short little tour or something, have a bit of fun, I’m your man. I’ll be right there.”

In fact, the retirement speculation ran counter to yet another report that will likely please fans more. According to The Australian, AC/DC has booked six weeks of studio time in Vancouver, to work on a follow-up to 2008′s chart-topping, double-platinum “Black Ice, which was recorded there with producer Brendan O’Brien. Nobody in the band’s camp is commenting on that, either, but earlier this year Johnson predicted that AC/DC would indeed be working on a new album as well as playing a 40-date tour to commemorate the group’s 40th anniversary.

source: billboard.com

The Winery Dogs (Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen) released their self-titled, self-produced and critically acclaimed debut album in North America on Loud & Proud Records today as two very special editions.

The Winery Dogs special edition is comprised of two-CDs. Disc one is the standard album and Disc two is entitled Unleashed In Japan 2013, comprised of 10 songs recorded live in Japan during their July ’13 tour, including Criminal, a track previously unavailable in the U.S., along with a 16-page booklet of live photos and lyrics. Unleashed In Japan 2013 is also available as a stand-alone digital album. Dog Treats: The Winery Dogs Deluxe Special Edition, a limited edition release, is being sold in a box resembling a box of dog treats, and includes the special edition collection of music, a DVD featuring four music videos and interview footage, demos from the original recording sessions, a “studio diary” written by Mike Portnoy, as well as some unique merchandise unavailable elsewhere. Portnoy recently gave fans a glimpse inside the packaging of the DOG TREATS on Revolver magazine’s website.

After The Winery Dogs was originally released on July 23, 2013 on Loud & Proud Records, it debuted on Billboard’s “Top Alternative Albums” chart at #3, “Top Independent Albums” chart at #4, “Top Rock Albums” chart at #5, “Top Internet Albums” at #8 and “Top 200 Albums” chart at #27.

The Winery Dogs tour dates:

4/30 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
5/2 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
5/3 New Brunswick, NJ State Theater
5/4 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn’s Peak
5/6 Londonderry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
5/7 Alexandria, VA Birchmere Music Hall
5/9 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
5/10 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
5/11 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy’s
5/14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
5/15 Largo, FL Largo Cultural Center
5/16 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live
5/18 Little Rock, AR Juanita’s
5/20 Fort Smith, AR Neumeier’s Rib Room & Beer Garden
5/24 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
6/24 Ramona, CA Ramona Mainstage
6/26 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
6/27 Beverly Hills, CA Saban Theater
6/28 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club
6/30 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
7/1 Oakland, CA Yoshi’s at Jack’s London Square
7/26 Buffalo, NY The Tralf
7/28 Amityville, NY Revolution Bar & Music Hall