3/6: BACK FROM THE CRUISES, UFO, BACK LIVE ON SIRIUSXM, TMS, MORE

Back from the latest cruise I hosted called The Lebrewski. The music was a bit outside my core world of hard rock but it was a great change of pace and I saw so many cool new young rock bands and some old ones as well. I was also made very aware of how wide reaching what I do is because many on this cruise were fans of my shows and I greatly appreciate that. Most people that like rock like a wide range and that was clearly evident and very cool to see. Saw some old school bands like Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot (who’s new young lineup is supercharged and heavy), and also some cool new younger bands like Stolen Rhodes, Hollis Brown, Raelyn Nelson, and Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown. Tyler is currently the opening act on the entire AC/DC world tour and a great young talent to watch for sure. Also huge shout out to Thee R&R Residency, a GREAT 70’s hard rock cover band from Nashville that kicked ass on Lebrewski and Monsters Of Rock! Also watched some of OAR who I once interviewed when I worked for MSG. I of course prefer harder music personally, but have great respect for these guys for what they do. It really was a fun change of pace for me. Huge thanks to Larry Morand and all at On The Blue cruises. I’ve worked with these guys since they started and will host 4 cruises for them this year alone (MOR W in October is next!). It’s a pleasure to work with great people who treat me so well. Exciting things TBA in rock cruise world going forward for sure! Also congrats to all my fans who won free cabins and I met around the ship!

I am back live this Monday on SiriusXM 39 TRUNKNation. Been a couple weeks away because of my schedule so much to catch up on. Live 6-10P ET.

This Wednesday I make my first ever trip to Kansas City to host UFO at Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino. Hope to see you there. I will have books and merch for sale. Please note. Tix and VIP Meet & Greet tickets are on sale now.

I will also be in Seattle and Portland very soon. Please see info on the home page. Also with Don & Jim in Pitt soon!

Can’t thank everyone enough for the TMS support. Great story in news thanks to LA Weekly. As soon as there is news I’ll let you know. We are searching ALL outlets for the best new home possible.

I will be attending the GnR shows in Vegas. Maybe a special event somewhere before the first night. Keep an eye on this space for details. More news soon.

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

THE NEW AGE OF GOLD RECORDS

GoldLP640

Steve Knopper of Rolling Stone reports:

For 58 years, going gold was a simple matter: Sell 500,000 copies of your album or single, get a shiny record to hang on your wall. But thanks to new guidelines the Recording Industry Association of America introduced in early February, it just got easier — and more complicated.

Now, along with actual sales, the formula factors in listens on streaming services, as well as YouTube plays, and counts 10 digital-track downloads as the equivalent of one album sold; 1,500 plays on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or any other streaming service now count as one album sale, meaning that an LP with 750 million streams would be credited with a gold record. (The rule changes only affect albums; the RIAA began taking into account streaming data for gold and platinum singles in 2013.)

…The RIAA’s new math reflects a sea change in listening habits. Streaming revenue grew from $500 million in 2012 to more than $1 billion in 2014. Ten years ago, 90 percent of the albums on Billboard’s Top 200 sold enough copies to go gold or platinum; in 2014, just 30 percent of them did the same. Billboard updated its charts to include streaming data in 2014.

“We can’t be the same program we were 58 years ago, and even three years ago,” says Liz Kennedy, the RIAA’s gold and platinum director. “We’ll have to continue to adjust over time.” Peter Paterno, attorney for Dr. Dre, Metallica and Van Morrison, adds, “If they stick to [sales], they’re not going to have any charts in five years. If you don’t include streaming, you’re not painting an accurate picture of what’s going on.”

Not everybody is thrilled with the new rules. Larry Stessel, a former executive for major labels Sony, Mercury and EMI, says, “Streaming, to me, is no different than radio airplay, so to count it in a certification on sales doesn’t make any sense. It makes it less meaningful. There are still artists like Adele who can sell 8 million copies.”

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

FAMED L.A. MANAGER VICKY HAMILTON RELEASES “APPETITE FOR DYSFUNCTION”

vickyhamilton640

At 22, Vicky Hamilton left her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and arrived on the Sunset Strip as a wide-eyed blonde with an ear for rock & roll, “I was back home interviewing Tom Petty for Three Rivers Review,” says Hamilton, “He told me I was a ‘real California girl,’ and that’s all it took.” It was 1981, and Hamilton arrived at the center of Hollywood, where the scene was erupting with spandex, sex, cocaine, Aqua Net hairspray and madcap visionaries.

Hamilton discovered Guns N’ Roses and became their first manager and surrogate mother, living in her apartment as Axl Rose ducked a rape charge. “I was basically harboring a fugitive,” she says, “Axl ended up crashing on my couch for six months.” Hamilton then negotiated the band’s contract with Geffen Records. In 1986, she was let go and forced to sue the band to recoup the $25,000 she’d borrowed to bankroll them.

Hamilton now shares her stories in a memoir about a woman who rode the crazy train with some of rock’s wildest frontmen, and matched their hard-partying ways. Sober for 15 years, Hamilton spent that last seven excavating her private collection of photos, flyers, contracts, letters, and interviews to create a revealing look into her fascinating life.

Her book includes new details about her turbulent relationship with Axl Rose and Poison’s Bret Michaels, her experience as an A&R rep for Geffen, and above all, Appetite for Dysfunction, is the story of her rise and fall, and how she regained her life by becoming a Grammy Award winning executive that helped relaunch the career of June Carter Cash in 1999.

Steven Adler (drummer, Guns N’ Roses), “Vicky was probably the best thing that happened to us in the early days. She dealt with us when nobody else would, and made everything happen for us. I’m grateful for that.”

Appetite For Dysfunction: A Cautionary Tale is now available through Amazon and other online book retailers.

Limited edition autographed pre-release editions and other merchandise may be ordered through Hamilton’s website.

AppetiteForDysfuctioncover-640

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

MULTI-PLATINUM CANADIAN ROCK ARTIST LEE AARON RETURNS WITH HER NEW ALBUM TITLED “FIRE AND GASOLINE”

LeeAaron640

Ever timeless, seemingly ageless, and artistically fearless, Lee Aaron has sustained a three-decade strong career based on the powerful songwriting and vocal delivery that are at the heart of Fire and Gasoline (Big Sister Records/ILS/Caroline). Featuring songs like the title track Fire and Gasoline, Wanna Be, Heart Fix and Bitter Sweet which evoke the influences of Led Zeppelin, Heart, Bowie, The Runaways and Fleetwood Mac while weaving in and out of Aaron’s unique artistic vision. It is a vision that has led her to sales of close to a million copies in Canada alone, multiple awards and nominations, and a fervent following around the world. Iconic videos for songs like Metal Queen, Whatcha Do To My Body, Hands On and Some Girls Do were staples of MuchMusic in Canada, and continue to rack up massive views on YouTube, bringing Lee Aaron classics to a new generation.

Fire and Gasoline was recorded at Vancouver’s The Farm studio (better known to rock aficionados by its former name, Little Mountain Sound) with acclaimed west coast engineers Ben Kaplan (Mother Mother, Hedley) and vocal engineer/keyboard guru John Webster (Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Cult). Their Gold- and Platinum-certified ears give Fire and Gasoline a contemporary sonic sheen while also honouring the energy of the “off the floor” approach of real musicians interacting in real time.

The album is available for pre-order now, here.

Tom Boy, the first video and single, was penned for Aaron’s daughter and was inspired by the fearless, unself-conscious energy of pre-teen girls. The video features Aaron’s daughter (on guitar) along with her school friends as Aaron’s backing band. “It was incredibly cool watching the girls pick up the song as well as the instruments in an afternoon and give the performance they did. Off camera, we were all eating pizza and clowning around and that joy translated onto the screen. It really captures the essence of the tune.” Lee, a fan of vintage film and video, wanted the girls to have that ‘Jailhouse Rock’ look.

You can view the video below.

Fire and Gasoline is truly a classic rock n’ roll album, with an emphasis on “class.”

This summer Lee Aaron will be performing to crowds of thousands at major music festivals across Canada, and is looking towards select live dates in Europe as well.

Fire And Gasoline
track listing:

Tom Boy
Fire And Gasoline
Wanna Be
Bitter Sweet
Popular
50 Miles
Bad Boyfriend
Heart Fix
Nothing Says Everything
If You Don’t Love Me Anymore
Find The Love

For further information, please visit LeeAaron.com.

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

ANTHRAX’S HARROWING VIDEO FOR “BLOOD EAGLE WINGS” MAKES ITS GLOBAL PREMIERE ON ROLLING STONE

anthraxliveshot640

The video for Blood Eagle Wings, the epic eight-minute track from Anthrax’s just-released album For All Kings, makes its world premiere at RollingStone.com Check it out here.

Anthrax’s 11th studio album, For All Kings, was released on February 26th and is already exploding at retail, radio and press. The album is #1 on the Amazon Best Sellers Metal Chart, #1 on iTune’s Metal Chart, and the #1 best-selling album at Best Buy so far this week. For All Kings is the #1 Breakout Album at Street Pulse and the album’s first single, Breathing Lightning, debuted at #36-bullet on the Mediabase Active Rock Chart, and at #38-bullet on BDS. The UK’s Metal Hammer called it “riffing majesty,” Pop Matters said it is “a solid and powerful next step for this classic and innovative band,” and About.com named it the #1 Best Heavy Metal for February.

Anthrax has just kicked off a tour in South America with Iron Maiden.

AnthraxForAllKingscover640

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

ANGEL TO APPEAR AT THE VEGAS ROCKS! HAIR METAL AWARDS

ANGEL promo 1978-640

Legendary Rock Group Angel will appear at the 2016 Vegas Rocks! Hair Metal Awards in Las Vegas on May 15th.

The group will receive the Glam Rock Legends Award in honor of their contributions and influence in music. Accepting the award will be Punky Meadows, Frank DiMino, Gregg Giuffria, Barry Brandt, and Felix Robinson. This will be the first time all band members have been onstage together since 1980.

From Frank DiMino, “It’s going to be lots of fun and we’re all looking forward to seeing one another! It’s been way too long.” Kalish Management confirmed the members are not performing at the event.

The show will be held at the Eastside Cannery Hotel & Casino. Also appearing are Twisted Sister, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, Doro Pesch, Kip Winger, and more. For more info visit vegasrocks.com.

Angel biography:

The band was formed in 1975 by guitarist Punky Meadows and bassist Mickie Jones in Washington, D.C. After becoming the house band at Bogeys the group built a strong following and eventually managers and record companies started to come around. Gordon Fletcher, a writer and reviewer for Rolling Stone and Creem Magazine would frequent the club and took notice of the band. Fletcher invited Gene Simmons from KISS to see them perform. Simmons was not only impressed, he was “blown away”.

That summer, Angel signed a management contract and relocated to Los Angeles. Their manager financed the recording of their first album with producers Big Jim Sullivan and Derek Lawrence. Casablanca Records signed them to a multi-album deal upon the recommendation of KISS without hearing a single note or seeing the band live. On October 23rd, 1975 their debut album was released and Angel was voted best new band by the reader’s poll of Circus Magazine. During that same year, they were awarded a gold record for the best and most promising new band in Japan. Their legendary live performances included an elaborate stage show incorporating magic tricks by magician Doug Henning, pyrotechnics, smoke, an incredible light show, a larger than life talking angel named Gabriel, members mysteriously appearing and disappearing onstage, and angelic all-white costumes. Many critics labeled them a glam band due to their flamboyant image. The progressive rock style from the first two albums would eventually evolve into mainstream hard rock on the 3rd and 4th albums. Later, due to record company pressure, the band adapted a more commercial rock sound with strong melodies and pop sensibilities as evidenced on their 5th album.

The group released a total of eight albums: Angel which includes their signature song The Tower, Helluva Band, On Earth As It Is In Heaven, White Hot Sinful, Live Without A Net, An Anthology and In The Beginning. Their television appearances included American Bandstand, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, and The Midnight Special.

The White Hot album included a version of The Rascal’s Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore which became the band’s highest charting single reaching #44 on Billboard. Angel toured non-stop for years with such names as Rush, Aerosmith, Styx, Ted Nugent, Blackmore’s Rainbow, Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest, Peter Frampton, and many others. The group traveled to Japan for a highly successful tour which included two nights headlining the legendary Budokan. Upon arriving at Narita Airport they were greeted by hundreds of screaming fans.

In the film Foxes starring Jody Foster, Angel appeared as themselves and their songs 20th Century Foxes and Virginia were included on the film’s soundtrack. Wild and Hot from the Sinful album was used in the KISS film, Detroit Rock City. Finally, in 1980 the band decided to call it a day. Years later a revamped version of the group was formed featuring DiMino and Brandt along with several new members. This resulted in a new album and live shows in Europe and the USA.

Since the band’s heyday each member has moved on to various music projects and business ventures. Frank DiMino became a well-respected vocal coach and in-demand session singer receiving a platinum album for his vocal contribution in the blockbuster film Flashdance. In 2015 he released his solo album Old Habits Die Hard under the moniker Dimino. Keyboardist Gregg Giuffria formed the AOR bands Giuffria and House of Lords resulting in several hit singles and international success. Bassist Felix Robinson toured with 707 and played on White Lion’s album Fight To Survive. Drummer Barry Brandt played on many LA sessions with different artists. Guitarist Punky Meadows whom Frank Zappa immortalized in the song Punky’s Whips will release his debut solo album in May, 2016. Tragically, founding member and original bassist Mickie Jones passed away from cancer in 2009.

ANGELlogo640

Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest

1 633 634 635 636 637 1,079