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AEROSMITH GUITARIST BRAD WHITFORD SAYS THE BAND “FEEL[S] A LITTLE BIT ABANDONED BY [SINGER STEVEN TYLER],” CONFIRMS NEW MUSIC AND TOUR DATES FROM WHITFORD ST. HOLMES

Gary Graff of Billboard reports:

Scratch Aerosmith off the list of groups planning to tour in 2016 — at least in North America.

The group was slated to play in both early 2016 and during the summer, but that’s been put on ice by frontman Steven Tyler and his solo album plans, according to guitarist Brad Whitford. “Steven doesn’t want to do it,” Whitford, who’s readying a new album of his own with Ted Nugent singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, tells Billboard. “It’s unfortunate. We kind of feel a little bit abandoned by him. I guess he seems to think his solo career is going to go great guns, and he doesn’t seem to realize that — in my opinion — his fans around the globe want to see him in the context of Aerosmith and don’t really care for whatever he thinks he’s gonna do…I don’t know if he gets that but, hey, that’s what he wants to do. I can’t put a gun to his head. It’s just pretty disappointing.”

Tyler has been recording his country-leaning album in Nashville, with plans for a 2016 release. His first single from the set, the Dann Huff-produced “Love Is Your Name,” came out in mid-May and peaked at Number 19 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and he’s been making the rounds of the assorted country music awards shows.

…The reunited Whitford St. Holmes — which the two launched in 1980 and released one self-titled album the following year — hits the road November 12th in Milwaukee for a 10-date tour. It’s a bit of a silver lining for Whitford and will see the release of a new album, Reunion, in the near future.

“Derek and I now live in the same town [Nashville] and we’ve been great friends since the mid-’70s, and once we were hanging out here together it was just the natural evolution of us sitting around and creating music and we just got to the point of, ‘Wow, we’ve got to do something with this,'” Whitford says. They recorded Reunion over a two-week period at Castle Recording in Franklin, Tenn., with Beau Maxwell and a band that includes Tesla drummer Tony Luccketta and Aerosmith touring keyboardist Buck Johnson, among others.

“It’s a classic rock album — modern classic rock,” Whitford says.

…Whitford and St. Holmes wrote all nine songs for Reunion and plan to return to the studio after the tour to start recording more material they’ve come up with.

Read more at Billboard.

ARMORED SAINT DEBUT “AN EXERCISE IN DEBAUCHERY” VIDEO

Los Angeles, California’s Armored Saint has had a banner year with the release of their seventh studio album, Win Hands Down, which is a vintage crush of classic power propelled by a cathartic blast of life in the year 2015. They played massive European festivals, crushed the masses across North America co-headlining with metal legends Saxon and now wrap-up the year with a very striking new music video for the blistering new track, An Exercise In Debauchery, shot by Brian Cox (Hollywood Undead, Prong). View the video below courtesy of Loudwire.com.

John Bush (vocals) states, “I’m so happy with the way this video turned out. The song has a heavy subject matter and the video compliments it perfectly. There’s also a feeling of campiness which makes the viewer fade in and out of being uncomfortable and having a chuckle. The actors did a great job and personal props to my neighbor Sharon who let it all out as the police officer. Oh yeah, the band looks bad ass as well. Debauchery indeed.”

Joey Vera (bass) further adds, “We’re psyched to play these upcoming shows. First at M15 in Corona, CA. We haven’t played Riverside County in a long time, so this is gonna be sick! Then after Thanksgiving, we head out to Europe for two headline shows and two festivals with legends Accept. What a great way for us to end this year. We’re cooking up more shows for 2016, so we’ll see you all soon!”

Armored Saint tour dates:

Nov. 14 – M15 – Corona, CA (headlining show) http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2087485
Dec. 1 – De Helling – Utrecht, Netherlands (headline show with Diablo Blvd support)
Dec. 2 – Colos-Saal – Aschaffenburg, Germany (headline show with Diablo Blvd support)
Dec. 4 – Waterkant X-Mas Bash – Hamburg, Germany
Dec. 5 – Ruhrpott Metal Meeting – Oberhausen, Germany
Feb. 22 – Monsters of Rock Cruise – Miami, FL

ALL STAR TRIBUTE TO KISS GUITARIST ACE FREHLEY SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 12TH IN LOS ANGELES

In 2013, Izzy Presley started ACK! A Tribute To Ace Frehley in Minneapolis along with Pentagram drummer Minnesota Pete Campbell, and since Izzy has relocated to Los Angeles he has taken his show with him.

He is debuting the band in Hollywood on Thursday November 12th with an all star cast. The band itself features Mike Dupke (Formerly of W.A.S.P.), Barry Pointer from Lucky Strike Live, and Dylan Wilson from Richie Kotzen’s band. Johnny Martin of Adler and Chad Stewart from Faster Pussycat were unavailable to do the show due to scheduling reasons but will be playing with the band in the future.

The show will also feature an all star jam that will not only feature the aforementioned performers, but also Chris Wyse of Ace Frehley’s band, Rafael Moreira from Paul Stanley’s Solo Band, dUg Pinnick of King’s X, Alex Kane of the legendary Life Sex & Death, former Faster Pussycat bassist Eric Stacey, Tempest Crane from the Minneapolis icons All The Pretty Horses, Courtney Cox from Femme Fatale and The Iron Maidens, Robbie Rist – yes Cousin Oliver of the Brady Bunch – Emily Dickinson, Tiny Biuso, Howie Simon, Stephen Chesney, Patrick Stone, Zach Throne, Jim Wilson, and more with some other surprises in store.

The show will be opened by Los Angeles based Los Lizzy, a tribute to Thin Lizzy and starts at 10pm. Best part….NO COVER!

RITCHIE BLACKMORE ANNOUNCES HIS BANDMATES FOR HIS EUROPEAN ROCK SHOWS

As previously reported, founding Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, has announced that he will be playing three rock shows in Europe under the name of Ricthie Blackmore’s Rainbow.

Blackmore has finally revealed who will his bandmates. Sharing the stage with the legendary guitarist will be Lords of Black singer Ronnie Romero, Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, Blackmore’s Night drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau.

While some fans may be underwhelmed by the news, this lineup will keep the focus on Blackmore, which is what the tour is all about.

Blackmore is particularly excited about introducing Romero to a larger audience.

“The singer I found is very exciting,” Blackmore told Billboard in September, before he announced the lineup. “He’s a cross between [former Rainbow frontman Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So, this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Listen to Romero cover of Deep Purple’s Stormbringer in the video below.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and guests are scheduled to play at two Monsters Of Rock festivals in Germany on June 17th and 18th and one UK show on June 25 in England at Birmingham Genting Arena. More dates are expected to be announced. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow will perform “the classic rock anthems of Rainbow and Deep Purple,” according to show announcements. Blackmore reportedly plans to film and record the performances for future release.

[Dana’s note: Thank you to Todd, for passing this news along.]

additional source: guitarplayer.com

DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY DISCUSSES HIS BIGGEST INFLUENCES AND THE WINERY DOGS

Dennis Gast of Music Insider Magazine spoke with Winery Dogs drummer Mike Portnoy. Excerpts from the interview appear below.

Dennis Gast: I am a huge fan, so I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about what first inspired you to begin playing?

Mike Portnoy: Well, I was a music fan from the minute I was born. My dad was a rock ‘n’ roll DJ, and he surrounded me with music from the minute I was born. I grew up with The Beatles, The Who, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and all that stuff in the late 60s and early 70s. I think I inevitably became a musician, because I was such a music fan from the beginning.

It was probably Keith Moon who made me gravitate toward the drums. When I saw the movie The Kids Are All Right, when it came out in the theaters in 1979, seeing Keith Moon and how amazing and charismatic he was, I think that’s what made me become a drummer.

Gast: So would you say Keith Moon is your biggest influence?

Portnoy: He is certainly one of the “Big Four” for me: Keith Moon (The Who), John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Ringo Starr (The Beatles) and Neil Peart (Rush). In the early days Keith was probably my biggest drum hero, but then once I discovered more progressive music, I went through a huge Neil Peart phase, and for several years he was my biggest hero. There are so many drummers who inspire me.

Gast: Considering how many musicians you have already played with over the years, do you have any bucket list artists you would still like to work with?

Portnoy: Sure, of course. I mean, the last five years, since leaving Dream Theater, I have been able to check off a lot from that list, because everyone I work with now is someone I have wanted to work with. Billy, Richie, Steve Morse in Flying Colors. I just did the Metal Allegiance album with the guys from Anthrax, Slayer, Pantera and Megadeth. So, I am slowly knocking off the bucket list.

Of course, there are those dream artists, the ones who I will probably never work with. For me, these guys are like Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Pete Townsend (The Who) or Paul McCartney (The Beatles). These are the “dream guys” who I may never cross paths with, but to work with any of those guys would be an absolute check off of the bucket list.

Gast: Having played with so many great musicians over time, when did the three of you in The Winery Dogs first cross paths?

Portnoy: I first saw Billy play when he was in Talas back in the early 80s. They were a staple in the New York bar and club scene. I was still a teenager, and I would sneak into clubs and see Talas play, and I had never seen anyone play bass the way Billy does. That was the first I had seen or heard of Billy. Then, we first played together in the early 90s, while we were working on a Rush tribute album. That’s how my relationship with Billy began.

As far as Richie goes, I never really knew about his ability as a singer and guitar player, I just knew him as the replacement guy with Mr. Big and Poison. So a few years ago I was turned onto some of his solo material, and I was just blown away by what he does. Then, Eddie Trunk introduced the two of us, and that’s how that relationship started.

Gast: I read somewhere that you guys started your own “band camp” called Dog Camp. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Portnoy: We did it the last two summers in New York, and basically, it is like a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy camp kind of thing, where people from all ages and levels of musicianship are welcome to come. The last two summers we did it, and it was a lot of fun. The campers get to see us play in a very intimate setting, but we also conducted master classes and clinics and had guest musicians helping us out. It’s just a very intimate and cool learning environment.

Gast: Are there plans already in the works for a third record?

Portnoy: Yes, of course, but we are still at the early stages of support for Hot Streak, so this cycle will go until at least the end of next year.

Read more at Music Insider Magazine.