Legendary Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is pictured above after being presented with the Les Paul Award at 32nd Annual NAMM TEC Awards, Saturday, January 23rd.
Perry was presented with the prestigious honor by his Hollywood Vampires bandmate Johnny Depp, who said Perry was “his hero” and “the reason I picked up the guitar in the first place.”
The two were joined by Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Robert DeLeo (Hollywood Vampires, Stone Temple Pilots) and Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper) for a three-song set–Boogie Man, Combination, Walk This Way–before Perry’s Hollywood Vampires partner Alice Cooper joined in on Train Kept A Rollin’ and Sweet Emotion.
The annual Les Paul Award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation and honors individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul. Perry was honored alongside famed Aerosmith engineer and producer Jack Douglas, who was inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame (which was created nearly thirty years ago to honor pioneers of audio technology, as well as the music industry’s most accomplished producers and audio technicians) earlier in the evening.
In related news, Perry recently spoke with Loudwire about Aerosmith’s forthcoming Aero-Vederci Baby tour, read what the guitarist had to say, here.
Music history will be made when Deep Purple and Alice Cooper, joined by special guest, The Edgar Winter Band, visit 19 cities across America this summer on an epic rock tour, announced today. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will also serve as the Long Goodbye Tour for Deep Purple, and begins Saturday, August 12th in Las Vegas, with stops in Los Angeles, Boston, including Cooper’s hometown of Detroit, and more. More information can be found at Live Nation and the itinerary appears below.
Tickets go on sale Friday, February 3rs at LiveNation.com and on the Live Nation app. Citi card members can take advantage of a special pre-sale opportunity beginning on Tuesday, January 31st at 10:00am local time. For complete Citi pre-sale details visit, citiprivatepass.com.
On Thursday, February 2nd at 10:00 am local time there will also be pre-sales via LiveNation.com, the Live Nation app and on Facebook.
Deep Purple’s studio album, Infinite, is set for release April 7t through earMUSIC. Produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin, (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, KISS), Infinite features 10 new tracks recorded with no musical boundaries in the spirit of the 70s. The metal pioneers have released five studio albums since 1996, augmented by an abundance of solo work and special projects from members Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey. Fans will be thrilled as they cover decades of favorites for this run. For more information please visit deeppurple.com.
Alice Cooper brings his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Cooper has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo. Alice’s catalog of hits and anthems, including I’m Eighteen, No More Mr Nice Guy, School’s Out, Elected, Poison, and others, are featured in his live show, along with a mix of newer songs and fan-favorite album cuts. Alice’s touring band features the three-guitar attack of Nita Strauss, Tommy Henriksen and Ryan Roxie, backed by longtime bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel. For more information please visit alicecooper.com.
Edgar Winter has been celebrated across the globe since his 1970 solo debut, Entrance. With over twenty albums, top hits Frankenstein and Free Ride, and numerous collaborative efforts to his credit, Edgar Winter has not been satisfied to ride the wave of popular music stardom. His music is always evolving and he is a master at stretching his skill and imagination to produce amazing results. He continues to thrill audiences with his live performances, always remaining on the cutting edge of music and style. Edgar is now at the very top of his game, and his future looks even brighter than his past. For more information please visit edgarwinter.com.
Deep Purple and Alice Cooper:
August:
12 Las Vegas, NV Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan
13 Los Angeles, CA The Greek
15 Phoenix, AZ AK-Chin Pavilion
16 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheatre
18 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
19 Dallas, TX Starplex Pavilion
23 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
24 Camden, NJ BB&T Pavilion
26 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theater
27 Boston, MA Xfinity Center
28 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
30 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Amphitheater
September:
1 Pittsburgh, PA KeyBank Pavilion
2 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage
3 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
6 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (Tinley Park)
8 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amp
9 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
10 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Additional dates to be announced.
For complete tour and ticket information, visit livenation.com.
Spencer Kaufman of Loudwire spoke with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry about the band’s forthcoming “farewell” tour.
When asked about their Aero-Vederci Baby tour, the Perry replied:
“The feeling is, right now is gonna be in semi-tour mode for the next few years. We’ll be taking time off here and there, but we really want to play some of the places that we’ve maybe played once before, maybe never before. Kind of go around and hit all the spots you can. We’re much closer to the end than the beginning. I’m not going to say this is – after the U.S. tour that we’ll never play the States again. I’m not going to say that. I feel like, at this point, every show could be the last show. You just don’t know. … I always have this attitude, it’s gotta be as good as it can be that day. That said, we don’t have a day planned where we say ‘Okay, this is the last show.’ You can’t picture that. On the other hand, I know there will be a last show just like there’s a one last time for everything in life.”
He added,”Listen, at my age to have the five guys – the original guys – there are not many bands that can say that. Every time I look across at everybody, I go, ‘Man, I can’t believe it.’ I’ll milk it for everything it’s worth. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
Perry also plans to continue touring with the Hollywood Vampires, featuring Alice Cooper and actor Johnny Depp. The band is also discussing the possibility of a 2018 follow-up to their self-titled debut.
Matt Wardlaw of Ultimate Classic Rock spoke with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. Selected quotes from article appear below.
Discussing when the band finished recording, Turbo, 30 years ago, did they know how controversial the album would become?
“In my mind, I can imagine us talking about that, but I think that it was such a slog to make that record, honestly. There were a lot of things going on around that record. For me personally, I was dealing with my substance-abuse demons, and I think we started it in Marbella and then we went to Nassau, and we had to leave Nassau, because we were doing no work at all. We ended up going to Miami, which is even f—ing worse, and then we finally ended up in the Record Plant in L.A. So it was a real slog for me, personally and emotionally. I don’t think we really had much of a chance to think about the consequences of it.”
He continues, “…When you look at everything from Sad Wings of Destiny up to the last release, Redeemer of Souls, Turbo is pushing way ahead of the pack. It seems like the odd man out, although when you play that material now in the set, anything from Turbo, it’s just magic. So wherever we were at 30 years ago, we’re in a different place now, and I think we’re in a place where we feel comfortable and they’re accepted, and we jam those songs and have a good time with them.”
Speaking about how Turbo was originally going to be a double album:
“We were at a place where a lot of bands get when there’s suddenly an incredible outpouring of creativity and material. We had a tremendous amount of songs that we wanted to try and put out together. It was intended at the time to be a Twin Turbo release. Porsche [had their] Twin Turbo, and we were kind of playing around with that idea. We started initially writing the material out in Marbella in Spain. We were there in the winter and we were talking at the time with the label about the idea of all of these extra songs kind of coalescing into a double CD…[but] there was a point where we all agreed that we should just really pull back a bit from putting all of the energy into what would have been a double album and just really focus specifically from song to song to song.”
On what he thinks about Turbo now (30 years later):
“I’m probably a little bit more analytical now than I used to be. Just because it’s interesting to me sonically. It’s interesting to me in terms of the production. It’s interesting to me, listening to my voice. It’s got a lot of characteristics that are unique to that particular record. Sometimes I’m able to put [on our music] and just lose myself, and then there are sometimes when I put it in and I’m just really super-analytical about [it].”
Talking about Priest’s new album:
“[We are] still slaving away in the studio. It’s sounding great. I can’t really say any more than that, because it’s still very nebulous, but it is sounding incredibly exciting and I’m sure we’ll talk about that when the time comes.”
Back by popular demand, Queen + Adam Lambert will rock North America this summer with a highly-anticipated 25-city arena tour kicking off June 23rd in Phoenix, Arizona at Gila River Arena, followed shortly after with a stops at Prudential center on July 26th and Barclays Center on July 28th.
After wildly successful and sold out tours throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin and North America, Brian May, Roger Taylor + Adam Lambert will debut a brand new show specially designed and created for this outing, bringing fans all their favorite Queen hits, like Another One Bites the Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions. The high-energy concert will bring their history alive in all its passion and glory, with stops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and more, before wrapping on August 5th in Houston, TX at the Toyota Center. The tour is presented by Live Nation.
Tickets will go on sale beginning Friday, February 3rd at 12 Noon through the Live Nation mobile app and at Livenation.com. Members of both Queen and Adam Lambert’s Fan Clubs will be able to purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, January 31st at 10AM, and American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, January 31st at Noon and ending on Thursday, February 2nd at 10PM. Exclusive VIP Package offers available at VIPNation.com.
Since their first meeting on the final of American Idol in May 2009, Queen + Adam Lambert’s magical combination has been recognized worldwide with sold out shows in every part of the world.
June:
23 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena
24 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
26 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
29 San Jose, CA SAP Center
July:
1 Seattle, WA Key Arena
2 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
4 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place
6 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Arena
8 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
9 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
13 Chicago, IL United Center
14 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
17 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
18 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
20 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
21 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
23 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
25 Boston, MA TD Garden
26 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
28 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
30 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
31 Washington D.C. Verizon Center
August:
2 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
4 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Supergroup Chickenfoot will release Divine Termination, its first new song in five years on Best + Live, the group’s first ever best of collection, on March 10th. Chickenfoot features front man Sammy Hagar, guitar god Joe Satriani, bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen), and drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
In addition to Divine Termination, Best + Live includes over 90 minutes of live music – for the first time released on CD.
Sammy Hagar says, “Listening to this collection of songs from the ‘Foot brings back memories of some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a band. The chemistry between Chad, Joe, Mike and me is very special. It’s almost like visual music — you can see us having fun when you listen to these songs.”
In May 2016, Chickenfoot reunited for two highly-anticipated one-time shows at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, and played their first complete set in more than six years, along with a special unveiling of Divine Termination.
Joe Satriani describes the track as “bone crunching, hell raising rock, dripping with attitude and vibe. Just the way Chickenfoot likes it!”
Both the extra CD “live” and the bonus tracks on the best of feature a 13 song strong set list including almost every song from Chickenfoot’s debut album as well as Sammy Hagar’s old Montrose classic Bad Motor Scooter, The Who’s My Generation and Joe Satriani’s interpretation of The Star Spangled Banner – all recorded live in Phoenix 2009 and available for the first time on CD (previously only available as video on the DVD/Blu-ray Get Your Buzz On.
The group’s last album, Chickenfoot III, debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 when it was released in 2011.
Tracklist Best + Live:
CD1 – Best Of
1. Divine Termination (Brand New Song)
2. Soap On A Rope
3. Sexy Little Thing
4. Oh Yeah
5. Get It Up
6. Future In The Past
7. Big Foot
8. Different Devil
9. Lighten Up
10. Dubai Blues
11. Something Going Wrong
Bonus Live Tracks:
12. Highway Star
13. Bad Motor Scooter
14. My Generation
CD2 – Live:
1. Avenida Revolution
2. Sexy Little Thing
3. Soap On A Rope
4. My Kinda Girl
5. Down The Drain
6. Bitten By The Wolf
7. Oh Yeah
8. Learning To Fall
9. Get It Up
10. Turnin’ Left
11. Future In The Past
