Category : LATEST NEWS

SAXON FRONTMAN BIFF BYFORD ON TOURING WITH HOLOGRAMS, “I DON’T LIKE IT, THERE IS SOMETHING A BIT WRONG WITH IT”

Saxon frontman Biff Byford spoke with Lords Of Metal. Highlights from the interview appear below.

LOM: You know, in the past few years so many legends have passed away, and of course it’s a part of life, as sad as it is. You have turned 67 a few weeks ago and fortunately you are still in a great shape and still going strong. But having had so many fellow musician friends passing away made you more aware of your own mortality, so to speak?

BB: I think it’s made me more nostalgic to look back at the old days, you know? I think it’s quite sad that all three original Motörheads have died in such a short period of time. And with Eddie it was definitely a shock, because he seemed alright. But you know, when your name’s on the bullet, there’s not much you can do about it really.

LOM: With so many bands retiring and so many legends passing away, do you think that the legacy of heavy metal will pass onto and still live on through a new generation of bands or will it slowly be the end of the story?

BB: I mean, let’s be honest, the majority of the big media had pretty much ignored a great deal of the newer generation and the main focus was on the bigger bands, until Ronnie James Dio died and gave everybody some sort of wake-up-call…I think at some point there is going to be – well, maybe not metal in general – but some sort of “rock explosion” again in the next four or five years. There are definitely some good bands out there.

LOM: So you don’t think that in ten years we’ll be only looking at holograms?

BB: Haha! Well, I really don’t like this hologram thing. I’d rather a watch a DVD instead. Fortunately there aren’t that many people interested in that kind of thing. So I don’t think they’d be doing arenas or anything. But, I don’t know, the technology has to improve a lot to make it interesting. I think it’s more a curiosity thing that people want to see it, and I’m not sure if they will continue to go and see it. I don’t know. Personally I don’t like it. There something a bit… wrong with it with me. I’m really not interested in it to be honest, and I don’t think it’s going to be a big thing. Maybe if they did that in Las Vegas and they’d put Elvis on, maybe that work. Though I’m not sure if Elvis would have liked that.

LOM: …Having released twenty-two studio records, many live albums and DVDs and having rocked the world for over forty years, and also with so many colleagues retiring, has it crossed your mind that you’d wish to call it a day in the next couple of years?

BB: Nope, not really, haha. At least not me, personally, maybe some of the other guys have, I don’t know. So hopefully we’ll have a couple of good years ahead of us still…

Read more at Lords Of Metal.

Saxon released their 22nd album, Thunderbolt, on February 2nd.

source: lordsofmetal.nl

RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW “MEMORIES IN ROCK II” ON 2CD+DVD, VINYL AND DIGITAL FORMATS OUT APRIL 6TH

In 2016, guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore made his much-anticipated return to rock music, with a new line-up of his landmark band Rainbow. They delivered three powerhouse concerts in the UK in 2017, which are now captured on Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow: Memories In Rock II-to be released on April 6th as a 2CD+DVD set, vinyl, and digital formats via Minstrel Hall Music.

Memories In Rock II boasts two CDs of live performances, and a DVD with bonus interview footage only. The setlist includes classic tracks drawing from both Deep Purple and Rainbow, such as Spotlight Kid, I Surrender, Mistreated, Man On The Silver Mountain/Women From Tokyo, Perfect Strangers, Black Night, and Smoke On The Water. Additionally, the set includes Rainbow’s first new single since 1996: Waiting For A Sign, with Ronnie Romero on vocals. This will be released as a digital single on March 16th.

Complementing the live material, Memories In Rock II delivers a backstage pass via a DVD of exclusive interviews with the new line-up – Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie Romero, Jens Johansson (keyboards), Bob Nouveau (bass), Dave Keith (drums), Lady Lynn (backing vocals) and Candice Night (backing vocals, as well as frontwoman of Renaissance rock band Blackmore’s Night). Rounding out the interviews are the crew members that brought these shows to life.

Fans have waited for the return of Rainbow – a promise that these shows delivered in spades. Blackmore’s blazing fret work and soaring solos once again proved why he remains one of the most respected and celebrated guitarists of all time. For those who were not in attendance on these nights, here’s your ticket: the ultimate Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow LIVE experience!

Memories In Rock II tack listing:

CD1:

Over The Rainbow
Spotlight Kid
I Surrender
Mistreated
Since You’ve Been Gone
Man On The Silver Mountain / Woman From Tokyo
16th Century Greensleeves
Soldier Of Fortune
Perfect Strangers
Difficult To Cure
All Night Long
Child In Time

CD2:

Stargazer
Long Live Rock’n’Roll / Lazy
Catch The Rainbow
Black Night
Carry On Jon
Temple Of The King
Smoke On The Water
Waiting For A Sign (brand new song)

For more information on Ritchie Blackmore, please visit:

facebook.com/ritchieblackmore
blackmoresnight.com

JUDAS PRIEST MEMBERS ROB HALFORD AND IAN HILL DISCUSS GLENN TIPTON’S PARKINSON’S BATTLE

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford and bassist Ian Hill have reflected on the moment guitarist Glenn Tipton told them he couldn’t carry on due to his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

They exclusively tell Classic Rock, “As we said in the statement, Glenn’s been battling with this for 10 years, he’s been touring for 10 years, writing for 10 years, recording for 10 years – and it was only until last Thursday that he came to the conclusion that it was not going to be,” says frontman Rob Halford.

He continues, “He said, and this is typically Glenn, ‘I can’t do this because it’s not right for the band. If I go out, it’s not right for the band.’ He’s always thought about the band, always thought about the band first, so we know how difficult it was for him to make that decision and I think we were all relieved that he’s been able to find some balance and harmony in making that decision.”

Bassist Ian Hill reports that they went through a similar situation with the guitarist when they were rehearsing for their Redeemer Of Souls tour four years ago and adds, “When he started then, he was shaky, but, as we went through, he was getting better every day.”

He continues, “At the end of the second week, he was ready to go. He put in a superb performance on the last tour, and we were all hoping that was going to happen again. But after the first week, it was obvious to all of us that it wasn’t getting any better.

But Glenn being Glenn, he’s nothing if he’s not a scrapper. He will fight tooth and nail to make it happen and in the middle of last week, in the middle of rehearsals, he had to admit it. We were all hearing this and we were living it with him. We felt every note.

He came in and he made the bravest decision anybody will ever make, saying, ‘I can’t do it any more.’ There wasn’t a dry eye in the control room where we were sitting at the time.

It’s not like he’s been stupid and fell off his motorbike or got whacked out on some drug – it’s not a stupid decision he’s made, he just can’t do it. He said, ‘Guys, my brain is telling my hands to do something and they’re not doing it’ and he had to admit that to himself as well as us.”

Hill confirms that the band will be taking Tipton’s equipment on the road with them so he can join them onstage for some songs, and adds, “When he was doing the album he was fine – he was okay for 10 minutes or so to run through a song. But standing there for two hours and after a while you can see he’s got no stamina there.

But who knows? Strides are being made in medical science all the time, so we’re all hoping and praying that somewhere along the line somebody comes up with something that at least controls his symptoms if nothing else, so he can get out and at least play through a few songs with us on stage.”

Firepower will launch on March 9th through Columbia Records, with tour dates set to commence from mid-March.

source: Classic Rock via teamrock.com

URIAH HEEP GUITARIST MICK BOX ON THE BAND’S LONGEVITY, “IT SHOWS THAT GOOD MUSIC WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME”

Greg Prato of the Long Island Pulse spoke with Uriah Heep co-founder and guitarist Mick Box. The interview appears in its entirety below.

L.I. Pulse: Could you have ever predicted that the band would last this long?

Box: I had no idea. Starting off, you think you’re lucky if you’ll get a three-to five-year run. And here we are 49 years down the line. It’s amazing. It shows that good music will stand the test of time.

L.I. Pulse: What can fans expect from [the upcoming 25th studio album] Living the Dream?

Box: Another Heep album. We’ve never tried to be anything other than what we are, which is a good solid rock band with good songs, good melodies and some good lyrics, too…The songs are all important to Uriah Heep, and I think we’ve got another 10 of those to give to everyone.

L.I. Pulse: Uriah Heep toured with quite a few renowned bands in the 70s like Rush, Kiss, Deep Purple, ZZ Top and Peter Frampton.

Box: It was the height of our era of success at the time in America so most of those bands supported Uriah Heep. It was wonderful. We gave them the opportunity for our fans to be turned on by them…It was a bit of a whirlwind at the time because we were running around like mad people. We had whole hotel floors and bodyguards and Learjets. It was a complete…maniac bubble. But it was very exciting. I’m lucky to come out the other end—most people haven’t.

L.I. Pulse: How would you compare touring in the 70s to today?

Box: It’s a lot easier because we have big tour buses and things like that. Whereas before, especially in America and Canada, you had to fly everywhere on the day of the gig. That was very taxing indeed.

L.I. Pulse: Which tracks do you enjoy performing the most live?

Box: July Morning is always a big one because it’s quite epic. It’s got the guitar parts and the high vocal and good melodies and good lyrics. It’s got a lot of dynamics in it. It kind of sums up what Heep is all about. But then again, you do Easy Livin’ and you see their fists going in the air, you get excited.

L.I. Pulse: Is it true that the setlist on the current tour runs the gamut from the first album all the way to the latest?

Box: All the way. It’s a good musical journey through Uriah Heep’s career starting with the first song we ever recorded [Gypsy] all the way through. It’s an exciting rock show. It will bring a lot of memories back for a lot of people, I’m sure. But also, I’m hoping it will be new to a lot of people, too.

For those local to the Tri-State area, Uriah Heep will be preforming at the Gramercy Theater on February 22nd.

source: lipulse.com

STYX, JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS TO CO-HEADLINE U.S. SUMMER TOUR KICKING OFF MAY 30TH WITH TESLA

Legendary rockers Styx and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts are teaming up with Tesla for a summer U.S. tour that begins May 30th in Irvine, CA at the FivePoint Amphitheatre.

Tickets for various cities of the tour, produced by Live Nation, will go on sale starting Friday, February 16th at 10am local time at livenation.com. Styx and Tesla will be offering VIP packages via their own exclusive pre-sales beginning Wednesday, February 14th at 10am local time at styxworld.com and teslatheband.com. Fans can explore Joan Jett & The Blackhearts VIP packages available at the time of ticket purchase and at vipnation.com.

Check out this video to learn more about the tour.

Styx, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts and Tesla tour dates:

May:

30 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre*

June:

1 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion*
2 Sacramento, CA Toyota Amphitheatre*
4 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
5 Denver, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre**
7 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena
9 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Presented by Huntsman
10 Dallas, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
12 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
13 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
14 Raleigh, NC Costal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
16 Atlanta, GA Verizon Amphitheatre**
17 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
27 Boston, MA Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
28 Syracuse, NY Lakeview Amphitheater
29 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Hershey, PA GIANT Center

July:

3 Montreal, QUE. Place Bell at Laval
4 Toronto, ONT. Budweiser Stage
6 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
7 Chicago, IL Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
8 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
10 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
11 Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
13 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live*
14 Pittsburgh, PA KeyBank Pavilion
15 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center

* For these shows, VIP packages will be available starting Wednesday, February 21 at 10am local time, and general on-sale will be Friday, February 23rd at 10am local time.

** Not a Live Nation show. Atlanta show’s general on-sale is February 16th at 9am local time.

JUDAS PRIEST GUITARIST GLENN TIPTON TO CURTAIL TOURING SCHEDULE DUE TO TEN-YEAR-OLD PARKINSON’S DIAGNOSIS

Ten years ago Glenn was diagnosed to have the onset of the early stages of Parkinson’s – from then until recently Glenn has lived his life as the great heavy metal guitar player he has always been, maintaining by his own definition a standard of quality and performance that is incredibly important

Right now Glenn is able to play and perform some of the Priest songs that are less challenging but due to the nature of Parkinson’s progression he wants to let you all know that he won’t be touring as such-

True to the metal spirit of ‘the show must go on’ Glenn has requested Andy Sneap to fly the flag on stage for him.

“I want everyone to know that it’s vital that the Judas Priest tour go ahead and that I am not leaving the band – it’s simply that my role has changed. I don’t rule out the chance to go on stage as and when I feel able to blast out some Priest! So at some point in the not too distant future I’m really looking forward to seeing all of our wonderful metal maniacs once again”

Rob, Richie, Ian and Scott have this to say:

“We have been privileged to witness Glenn’s determination and steadfast commitment over the years, showing his passion and self belief through the writing, recording and performing sessions with Priest – he is a true metal hero!

We are not surprised by Glenn’s insistence that we complete the Firepower tour and thank Andy for joining us to make Glenn’s wishes become real – as Glenn has said we also can’t wait to have him with us at any time any place on the road…..
We love you Glenn!”