Author Archives : Dana

GUNS N’ ROSES ANNOUNCES TWO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN PERFORMANCES

Unstoppable rock music icons Guns N’ Roses will electrify fans into the fall, announcing today a series of fifteen additional North American Stadium and Arena stops on their ongoing worldwide Not In This Lifetime Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the exhilarating global phenomenon is letting fans get closer with a newly added round of arena shows throughout the U.S. and Canada including stops at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles’ Forum and Staples Center over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to the arena shows, a larger-than-life performance for the people of Little Rock, AK has been added on August 5th at War Memorial Stadium. Tickets for the new Stadium and Arena dates go on sale to the general public starting Saturday, June 3rd. Exclusive Guns N’ Roses VIP packages available for North American dates at vipnation.com.

Special guests for the colossal stadium shows have also been revealed including ZZ Top on the El Paso, TX and San Antonio, TX dates; Deftones on the St. Louis, MO and Minneapolis, MN dates; Sturgill Simpson on the Denver, CO, Little Rock, AK, and Miami, FL dates; Royal Blood on the Vancouver, BC and George, WA dates; LĪVE on the Winston-Salem, NC and Hershey, PA dates; and Our Lady Peace on the Montreal, QC, Ottawa, ON, Winnipeg, MB, and Edmonton, AB dates.

The sold out leg of their European stadium tour continues May 27th in Dublin, Ireland before steamrolling on to enthrall audiences across the UK, Europe, and Israel.

Citi® is the official pre-sale credit card of the Not In This Lifetime Tour. As such, Citi® cardmembers will have access to purchase pre-sale tickets beginning Tuesday, May 30th at 10 a.m. local time until Friday, June 2nd at 10 p.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass® program. For complete pre-sale details visit CitiPrivatePass.com. AT&T is sending customers to the front of the line with AT&T priority pre-sale ticket access beginning on Thursday, June 1st at 10am local time through Friday, June 2nd at 10pm local time via the AT&T Thanks program. For complete presale details visit att.com/frontoftheline. Tickets for the new dates go on sale to the general public starting Saturday, June 3rd. For more information please visit livenation.com.

Following the group’s 1985 formation, Guns N’ Roses injected unbridled, unrivalled, and unstoppable attitude into the burgeoning Los Angeles rock scene. The spirit went on to captivate the entire world with the release of their 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction –the best-selling U.S. debut ever, moving 30 million copies globally. In 1991, the seven-time platinum Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II occupied the top two spots of the Billboard Top 200 upon release. Over the course of the past decade, Guns N’ Roses have performed sold out shows and headlined festivals worldwide following the critically acclaimed release of 2008’s RIAA platinum-certified Chinese Democracy. Six studio albums later, Guns N’ Roses are one of the most important and influential acts in music history and continue to set the benchmark for live performances connecting with millions of fans across the globe. Guns N’ Roses’ are Axl Rose (vocals, piano), Duff McKagan (bass), Slash (lead guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboard), Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar), Frank Ferrer (drums), and Melissa Reese (keyboard).

Guns N’ Roses – Not In This Lifetime Tour 2017:

Europe:

May:

27 Dublin, Ireland Slane Castle
30 Bilbao, Spain San Mames Stadium

June:

2 Lisbon, Portugal Passeio Martimo De Alges
4 Madrid, Spain Vincente Calderon Stadium
7 Zurich, Switzerland Letztgrund
10 Imola, Italy Greenfield
13 Munich, Germany Olympiastadion
16 London, United Kingdom London Stadium
20 Gdansk, Poland Stadion Energy Gdansk
22 Hannover, Germany Messe
24 Werchter, Belgium Classic
27 Copenhagen, Denmark Telia Parken
29 Stockholm, Sweden Friends Arena

July:

1 Hämeenlinna, Finland Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto
4 Prague, Czech Republic Letnany Airport
7 Paris, France Stade de France
10 Vienna, Austria Ernst Happel Stadion
12 Nijmegen, Holland Goffert Park
15 Tel Aviv, Israel Hayarkon Park

North America:

July:

27 +St. Louis, MO The Dome At America’s Center
30 +Minneapolis, MN U.S. Bank Stadium

August:

5 **Little Rock, AK War Memorial Stadium
8 **Miami, FL Miami Marlins Stadium
11 ++Winston-Salem, NC BB&T Field at Wake Forest University
13 ++Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
16 Buffalo, NY New Era Field
19 ^Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
21 ^Ottawa, ON TD Place Stadium
24 ^Winnipeg, MB Investors Group Field
27 Regina, SK New Mosaic Stadium at Evraz Place
30 ^Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium

September:

1 *Vancouver, BC BC Place Stadium
3 *George, WA The Gorge
6 ***El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium
8 ***San Antonio, TX Alamodome

October:

8 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
15 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
22 Boston, MA TD Garden
26 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
29 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

November:

2 Detroit, MI Little Caesers Arena
6 Chicago, IL United Center
10 Houston, TX Toyota Center
14 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
17 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
21 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
24 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
25 Los Angeles, CA The Forum

***with ZZ Top
+with Deftones
**with Sturgill Simpson
*with Royal Blood
++with LĪVE
^with Our Lady Peace

Guns N’ Roses online:

Official Website
Twitter

LIVE TO REPLACE SOUNDGARDEN AT ROCKLAHOMA ON MAY 27TH

With the original lineup together after an eight-year hiatus, and coming off of an incredible performance at Rock On The Range last weekend, Live has been added to the Rocklahoma lineup for Saturday, May 27th. Live will be stepping in for Soundgarden, who are unable to perform due to Chris Cornell’s untimely passing. Following Live’s performance, there will be a brief tribute to Chris Cornell. For the current Rocklahoma band performance times, please visit www.Rocklahoma.com.

Ed Kowalczyk of Live said, “Although we all wish it were under different circumstances with regard to the passing of the incomparable Chris Cornell, Live is honored and excited to perform at Rocklahoma this weekend. Chris and Soundgarden will forever inspire us and we’ll do our best to celebrate and express our sincere gratitude for everything they have given us with our concert. Best wishes to all, and see you Saturday night.”

“It’s been a challenging week for everyone, as Chris Cornell was such a meaningful individual and artist to us. But our belief is he would want us to move forward. We are truly honored to have Live join the Rocklahoma lineup for the very first time, and appreciate the band making themselves available for this unexpected performance,” commented Joe Litvag of AEG Presents, executive producer of Rocklahoma.

Festival producers also announced that a portion of the proceeds from the festival and live guitar auctions will be donated to the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation.

The 11th annual Rocklahoma, presented by Bud Light, takes place May 26, 27 & 28 at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. The festival features the best current rock artists and classic bands, led by Def Leppard, Live, and The Offspring, plus dozens more on three stages, as well as a campground stage with music all night long.

The Rocklahoma campgrounds are now open and will remain open until Noon on Tuesday, May 30. Note: Camping is only available with weekend ticket purchases.

For more information, please click here.

MR. BIG STREAM “1992”

As previously reported, Mr. Big will be releasing their new album, Defying Gravity, on July 7th. The band is streaming a new song song called, 1992, from the record, which can be streamed below.

In addition to releasing a new CD, Mr. Big will be also be hitting the road. See the dates, for the first leg of their tour, below.

5/31 Milwaukee, WI Potowatami Casino

6/2 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
6/3 Wetland, MI The Token Lounge
6/6 Warrendale, PA Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
6/7 Newton, NJ Newton Theatre
6/9 Uncasville, CT The Wolf Den/Mohegan Sun
6/10 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
6/12 Nashville, TN Basement East
6/14 Lexington, KY Manchester Music Hall
6/16 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live
6/17 Houston, TX Scout Bar
6/19 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads Saloon
6/22 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
6/23 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club

To read more about Defying Gravity, and to view a track list, please click here.

Mr. Big online:

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter

DIAMOND HEAD GUITARIST BRIAN TATLER ON METALLICA COVERING “AM I EVIL”, [THE BAND] HELPED US GET OVER TO AMERICA AND REACH AN AUDIENCE THE WE OTHERWISE WOULDN’T HAVE”

Ruben Mosqueda of Metal Titans spoke with Diamond Head guitarist, and founder, Brian Tatler. Highlights from the interview appear below.

MetalTitans: There are parallels between UFO and Diamond Head stateside; both acts caught the collective ear of American Metal musicians and cite Diamond Head as a direct influence. While you didn’t sell millions of records you have the respect of several metal acts. That’s got to be gratifying.

Brian Tatler: It’s really flattering to be influential on any musician. I think it was something about our songs that people really liked. I think our music was ahead of its time and sounded unique.

I have to add that I love UFO and love Michael Schenker; I agree that they are a highly influential band and I thank you for including us with them. I have to say that we didn’t even sell records like UFO who were a gigantic band compared to us. I think you almost have to go out of your way to find a Diamond Head record; because we didn’t get any exposure in America. We were a ‘word of mouth’ kind of band.

MetalTitans: In America the first taste of Diamond Head was second hand, as Metallica covered Am I Evil. They recorded it and at one point it made it onto a pressing of Kill ‘Em All.

Brian Tatler: I think it was Lars [Ulrich] that called us in ‘84 saying that the band [Metallica], planned on putting Am I Evil as the B-side of Creeping Death [in Europe]. I’m not sure if they issued that in America. It was released in Europe on a big indie label called Music for Nations. When their deal with Megaforce Records ended and they signed with Elektra Records Kill ‘Em All was reissued with Am I Evil and Blitzkrieg as bonus tracks. That was just am added bonus for us. The biggest accolade for us when they put all the Diamond Head covers on the Garage, Inc.. album. That was amazing. I knew then that they were going to reach a lot of people. [laughs] Garage, Inc. has sold something like 5 million copies.

MetalTitans: The royalties off the songs covered by Metallica must be incredible.

Brian Tatler: Oh, they’re fantastic. Thank you, boys. [laughs] Metallica helped us get over to America and reach an audience that we otherwise wouldn’t have [reached]. Borrowed Time was released in America in ‘82 but I don’t believe that Canterbury [‘83] was ever released in America. Like you stated earlier, it wasn’t until the mid-80s that Lightning to the Nations [Behold the Beginning] was released on Metal Blade [Records]. I feel that without Metallica we would have been a really obscure New Wave of British Heavy Metal band.

MetalTitans: In ‘93 something really cool took place where Metallica asked Megadeth and Diamond Head to support them in the U.K. I remember reading about that in Kerrang! Magazine or another import magazine. That’s all we had in those days.

Brian Tatler: In ‘93 there was a big festival called National Bowl in Milton Keynes; it was as you stated Metallica headlining, then Megadeth, there was another band [The Almighty] then Diamond Head opened the show. We all played on the same stage; it 2011 we played a few shows opening for the Big 4. We opened shows in the U.K. and in France–that was great.

MetalTitans: Let’s do which do you prefer; The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

Brian Tatler: Beatles. I just love the songs. I’ve become a bit mad about The Beatles in the last few years. I’ve always loved them. My brother who’s 6 years older than I got me into guitar was in love with The Beatles. I recall he was in The Beatles fanclub and used to get the flexi discs for Christmas and stuff like that. I really appreciate their songwriting. They were so original and they broke down so many barriers. They simply paved the way for the rest of us. I listen to and watch anything related to The Beatles because there’s master craftsmanship happening there.

MetalTitans: [Led] Zeppelin or [Deep] Purple?

Brian Tatler: Zeppelin. [laughs] Zeppelin are my favorite band. They’ve been my favorite band since the 70s. Again, it’s about the songs; I think Jimmy Page has written some incredible stuff. There was a brilliant chemistry between all four guys in that band. I think that’s four of the most amazing four people to ever go into studio and make some amazing records. I love the entire catalog from top to bottom; I think I’ve almost overdosed on Zeppelin, really! [laughs] I don’t play the records much anymore because I’ve heard them so many times. They’re in my DNA.

Read more at Metal Titans.

In other Diamond Head news, the band recently announced U.S. tour dates, view their itinerary here. The band also released a new self titled album on April 22nd. Watch the video for, All The Reasons You Live, below.

source: metaltitans.com

CHRIS CORNELL’S WIFE QUESTIONS WHETHER MEDICATION PLAYED A ROLE IN THE SINGER’S DEATH

Vicky Cornell, the wife of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, issued a statement on May 19th remembering her late husband, who died the morning of May 18th at the age of 52, and speculated whether his suicide was the result of taking too much of his anxiety medication.

“Chris’s death is a loss that escapes words and has created an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled. As everyone who knew him commented, Chris was a devoted father and husband. He was my best friend,” Vicky wrote.

“His world revolved around his family first and, of course, his music second. He flew home for Mother’s Day to spend time with our family. He flew out mid-day Wednesday, the day of the show, after spending time with the children. When we spoke before the show, we discussed plans for a vacation over Memorial Day and other things we wanted to do.”

However, following Soundgarden’s concert Wednesday night, Vicky noticed a change in her husband’s demeanor when they talked on the phone after the show.

“When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him,” she continued. “What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life.”

An attorney for the Cornell family, Kirk Pasich, reiterated Vicky’s belief that an extra dosage of Ativan, an anxiety medication often employed by recovering addicts, altered Chris Cornell’s mental faculties after the Detroit show. Pasich added that the Cornell family is “disturbed at inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally took his life.”

“Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris — or if any substances contributed to his demise,” Pasich said. “Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages. The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”

Pasich added that side effects of Ativan include “paranoid or suicidal thoughts, slurred speech and impaired judgment”; Vicky Cornell noted her husband’s slurred speech following the Detroit concert in her statement.

She added, “The outpouring of love and support from his fans, friends and family means so much more to us than anyone can know. Thank you for that, and for understanding how difficult this is for us.”

Hours after Cornell’s death at a Detroit hotel, a medical examiner’s report confirmed that the singer had died by suicide.

additional source: rollingstone.com

SINGER CHRIS CORNELL’S DEATH RULED A SUICIDE

As reported earlier, singer Chris Cornell passed away yesterday. There were questions raised as to whether the death was a possible suicide, as the vocalist was found with with a band around his neck.

Unfortunately, a new report by the Associated Press, reveals that to be the case. The medical examiner determined that singer did die as a result of suicide by hanging.

Cornell played his final, sold-out performance with band Soundgarden on Wednesday night in Detroit. He reportedly ended the set by singing a cover of Led Zeppelin’s In My Time of Dying which include the lyrics, “In my time of dying, I want nobody to mourn/All I want for you to do is take my body home.”

Cornell leaves behind a wife and three children. He had one child, Lillian Jean, in 2000, with his first wife Soundgarden manager Susan Silver. They divorced in 2004, and then in the same year, he married Vicky Karayiannis. Together, they had two children, a daughter in 2004, and a son in 2005. In the philanthropic realm, the couple co-founded the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to support homeless, abused and impoverished children.

additional sources: people.com and billboard.com