Category : LATEST NEWS

GUITARIST RITCHIE BLACKMORE EXPLAINS WHY HE CHOSE NEW MUSICIANS FOR HIS RAINBOW COMEBACK, SAYS “I PREFER TO DISCOVER NEW MUSICIANS WHO CAN ADD A FRESH APPROACH TO MY MUSIC”

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore explains to Dutch Magazine, Aardschok, why he decided on lesser known musicians to help him perform Rainbow and Deep Purple classics at three European shows this summer. Blackmore’s answers were transcribed by blabbermouth.net.

Blackmore said, “The whole idea was to find good musicians. Of course, there were many familiar names around, but this idea didn’t appeal to me. Unlike many others, I prefer to discover new musicians who can add a fresh approach to my music. It’s great to present new musicians to the public.”

He continued, “The singer Ronnie Romero is complete unknown. He’s 34 and I’m sure that he’ll have a great career in this scene. He is orginally from Chile, but lives in Spain. Bassist Bob Nouveau is from Connecticut, and Jens is a known and respected keyboard player. It’s very easy to work with him, because he’s so experienced.

With drummers, I always tend to be very selective. For instance, I do not like to work with showmen. On stage, I need a groove and a lot of these so-called ‘famous’ drummers often rely more on the show element than on feel. I know many guys who can make their sticks fly and use sixteen bass drums, but who are mediocre when it comes to music. David Keith, however, has a great feel for rhythm.”

Regarding the song selection for the upcoming shows, Blackmore said: “The setlist will be Rainbow songs for about 70 percent, including Stargazer, because apparently that’s a song everybody wants to hear. About 30 percent will be Deep Purple songs. We will focus on the best-known songs. The Dio era will be a central part of the show, but we will also play songs from the Joe Lynn Turner and Graham Bonnet periods. As far as PURPLE is concerned; we will play the Gillan era but will also play something from the David Coverdale period.”

Blackmore also addressed the possibility of further shows being announced if the upcoming dates go well.

He said: “I deliberately chose to only give three concerts, to see if I’m still able to do this. Of course, there have been a lot of attractive offers, especially from Sweden and Finland. However, we must remember that I have already planned a German tour for Blackmore’s Night in July. As you know, after I suspended the activities of Rainbow, I became very interested in playing renaissance music. To move back to the electrics from the acoustics won’t be easy. I’ve rarely played rock music in the last years, and before these shows I have to cut my nails short. Because when I play this other music, I need long nails. Five days after the last Rainbow show, there’ll already be the first Blackmore’s Night show, so it’s unclear if I will have enough time to grow my nails back. If it won’t work so fast, I have to rely on false plastic nails. I never had this problem before, but I’m glad that I can [do something to] help me out.”

He went on to say, “If we enjoy ourselves and the audience gives us a positive vibe back, then I won’t rule out the possibility of continuing. However, the second round of dates will probably take place in 2017. But the crucial factor will be the chemistry between the musicians and the audience reaction. These shows will be recorded on video, so that we can release it later on. But my heart will always belong to renaissance music.”

METALLICA TO RELEASE LIVE RECORDING “LIBERTE, EGALITE, FRATERNITE, METALLICA!” FOR RECORD STORE DAY, ALBUM HONORS THE VICTIMS OF THE TERRORIST ATTACK AT LE BATACLAN

Metallica will commemorate the terrorist attack at France’s Bataclan venue with the release of a live album recorded there in 2003.

The charity title is their contribution to this year’s Record Store Day, which takes place on April 16th – and they’ve been named global ambassadors for the event.

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Metallica! was recorded at the Paris club in 2003, 12 years before 89 people were killed as the Eagles Of Death Metal performed there. All proceeds from the release will be donated to the Give For France fund.

Drummer Lars Ulrich says, “Independent record stores are part of Metallica’s DNA. They have been pivotal in shaping each one of us into the music fanatics we’ve all become. We could not be any prouder to be Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2016 – we’re looking forward to screaming from every rooftop about everything independent record store and beyond.”

Their 2015 offering, a replica of their No Life Til Leather demo cassette, was 2015’s biggest-selling RSD item. Find out more on this year’s event.

additional source: classicrock.teamrock.com

DEF LEPPARD’S PHIL COLLEN DISCUSSES DELTA DEEP AND HIS FAVORITE STONE TEMPLE PILOTS SONGS

Greg Prato of Alternative Nation spoke with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen about his side project, Delta Deep, with Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Robert DeLeo and his favorite STP tunes. The interview appears in its entirety below.

Alternative Nation: How did the idea come up to play with Robert DeLeo?

Phil Collen: A friend of mine, Chris Epting, who I had wrote a book with [Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard, and Beyond], he said, “Do you know Robert DeLeo?” And I said, “No, but I’m a huge fan! A huge STP fan. Loved the songs, loved the songwriting, and everything he did.” He says, “Well, he’s a disciple of Motown-James Jamerson and those guys. That’s really what he does. And funk and blues and jazz. That’s really his thing.” He introduced us, I played him the demos for Delta Deep, and he said, “Oh man. This is going to be great.” And that was it, really. And the same deal with Forrest Robinson, the drummer-he used to play with India.Arie and TLC and the Crusaders and all these other acts. And hip-hop stuff in Atlanta, he had done a bunch of that, as well. It just fit perfectly. And I loved Robert’s songwriting, as well, which is another thing that hopefully we’ll get to do on the next Delta Deep album – we’ve got a bunch of stuff written already, but we haven’t written anything together. So that’s going to be a blast.

Alternative Nation: How it playing with Robert, stylistically?

Phil Collen: Obviously, because he’s in a rock band…the big difference is it’s like, funk on steroids. It’s not your typical soul or groove or blues band, because me and Robert are from hard rock bands. Alternative, metal, whatever you want to call it. And what’s really interesting about Forrest Robinson is the fact that he’s from Memphis, he’s played with all these…the Crusaders is a jazz group. But when I first met him, what he said, “All I really want to play is double kick drum metal.” I said, “Really?!” Never judge a book by its cover. Because I thought he was like a groove guy, which he is, but that’s what he loves playing. So when Debbi [Blackwell] gets out and sings over the top of it, it reminds me of early Zeppelin. It’s got a feel like that. I didn’t really expect that – I thought it was going to be more subdued, it was going to be a bit of a groove and bluesy, but it turned into this other thing. It’s got element of Zeppelin, Def Leppard, STP – only it’s this soulful, funky, rock thing. It’s a very muscular version of that. Like I said, playing with Robert is a joy. We’re basically a three-piece – guitar, bass, and drums. And there’s so much going on that you’ll fill all of the gaps – and not just all with notes, but with aggression. And that’s the one thing that I always love. I have another band, Man-Raze, and we’ve got two albums out. Paul Cook is the drummer, and he’s the drummer from the Sex Pistols. I loved Paul Cook’s drumming. I loved the Sex Pistols album [Never Mind the Bollocks…]. I always wanted that aggression in something. So we pretty much got that down, and again, with Man-Raze, it was that thing, it was the aggression. A lot of people miss out on that. It’s like a lot of rock bands are kind of wimpy or whatever and don’t quite have that thing. But this is…steroidal and muscular are the only words to describe it!

Alternative Nation: What are some of your favorite STP songs or albums?

I love the Purple album. I think that’s just great. Obviously, Interstate Love Song is such a great song. But even when I first heard them, when I heard Sex Type Thing and Wicked Garden, I just loved the vibe of it, it was just amazing. All the way up the last album, actually. Even stuff like Sour Girl. I loved the fact that they were so different and had this very artistic frontman, and they actually combined elements of Zeppelin and the Beatles, and still made it sound fresh – not like a karaoke band. A lot of people go, “I’m influenced by the Beatles and Zeppelin,” and they just sound like a karaoke. But, STP sounded like STP, but you could still hear those influences. It’s amazing.

Delta Deep will be embarking on their 2016 Sugar Shack Tour. See the dates below and to hear a sample of Delta Deep’s, Bang The Lid, click here.

Track Listing for their Live Album:

Black Dog
Bang The Lid
Miss Me
Treat Her Like Candy
Black Coffee
Burnt Sally/Rock Me
Whiskey
Shuffle Sweet
Private Number
Take Me Home For Xmas
Mistreated
Down in the Delta
Feelit

For more information, visit deltadeep.net.

Delta Deep’s East Coast Sugar Shack Tour itinerary:

March 28 Howard Theatre Washington, DC
March 29 Ortlieb’s Lounge Philadelphia, PA
March 30 Wonder Bar Asbury Park, NJ
March 31 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA

April 3 BB Kings New York, NY
April 5 Cavern Club at Hard Rock Café Boston, MA
April 6 Daryl’s House Pawling, NY
April 8 YMCA Boulton Center Bay Shore, NY

source: alternativenation.net

VINTAGE GUITAR READERS HONOR JOE SATRIANI AS “ARTIST OF THE YEAR,” GUITARIST CELEBRATES HIS 30 YEAR CAREER WITH “SURFING TO SHOCKWAVE” TOUR STARTING THIS WEEK

The accolades for Joe Satriani continue to pour in as Vintage Guitar Magazine, which is celebrating 30 years of publication, has announced the winners of this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, including Satriani as “Artist of the Year.” Winners are featured in the magazine’s April issue, available now.

In late November, Joe attended the 11th Annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Award ceremony in London where he took home the award for “The Maestro” and was honored to present Brian May of Queen with the “Living Legends” award as well. Then, in January, Guitar World magazine announced their annual “Readers Poll” for which fans chose Satch as “Best Shredder” as well as presenting his 15th studio album, Shockwave Supernova with the “Best Shred Album of the Year.”

Released this past August, Shockwave Supernova scored the guitarist his highest chart debut at number 19 on Billboard’s Top 200 Current Albums Chart. In addition, the album also debuted at number three on the Billboard Rock Chart and ranks as the highest charting all-instrumental rock album on Billboard’s Top 200 in the SoundScan era.

Satriani’s touring band remains Marco Minnemann on drums, Bryan Beller on bass and Mike Keneally on keys & guitar. The North American Surfing to Shockwave Tour begins this week, on February 25th in Seattle, WA and continues through April 24th where it will wrap up in Vancouver, BC, see all tour dates below

Tickets and exclusive Joe Satriani meet & greet and VIP packages are available now, for details please visit satriani.com.

In other Satriani news, the guitarist recently confirmed that Chickenfoot, the band that also includes singer Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Chad Smith, have recorded a new song and are set to play a one-off concert in the US in May. Read more here.

Surfing to Shockwave tour itinerary:

February:

25 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
26 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
27 Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV
28 Fox Theater Oakland, CA

March:

1 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
2 Fox Tucson Theatre Tuscon, AZ
3 Fox Performing Arts Center Riverside, CA
4 Pearl Concert Theater @ Palms Casino Las Vegas, NV
5 Talking Stick Resort Ballroom Scottsdale, AZ
7 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
8 Abraham Chavez Theatre El Paso, TX
9 The Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
10 House of Blues Houston, TX
11 Laurie Auditorium San Antonio, TX
12 Orpheum Theater New Orleans, LA
14 Iron City Birmingham, AL
15 Saenger Theatre Pensacola, FL
16 Parker Playhouse Ft. Lauderdale, FL
17 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
18 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL
19 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL
21 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC
22 Knight Theater Charlotte, NC
23 Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA
24 The National Richmond, VA
25 Sandler Center Virginia Beach, VA
26 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
29 College Street Music Hall New Haven, CT
30 Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY
31 The Vets Providence, RI

April:

1 Tilles Center Brookville, LI
2 Lincoln Theatre Washington, DC
4 Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ
6 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA *
8 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, Ontario
9 UAB Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY
10 Hard Rock Cleveland, OH
12 Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA
13 Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI
14 Pabst Theatre Milwaukee, WI
15 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL
16 The Fitzgerald Theatre St. Paul, MN
21 Grey Eagle Event Centre Calgary
22 River Cree Casino Enoch, AB
24 Venue to be announced Vancouver, BC

*New date confirmed – on-sale November 24th

SAMMY HAGAR EXPLAINS WHY HE REACHED OUT TO EDDIE VAN HALEN ONLINE, “I DON’T WANT TO BE BURIED WITH ANY REGRETS…NO MORE ENEMIES FOR ME”

As previously reported, singer Sammy Hagar tweeted Eddie Van Halen on his birthday, prompting the guitarist to respond in kind.

Now, Hagar explains why he decided to extend an olive branch, to his former bandmate. He tells Classic Rock Report, through kshe95, that the recent deaths of rock icons Glenn Frey and David Bowie were the motivating factor.

He explains, “It just makes you stop and think that, you know, with my relationship with Eddie Van Halen and stuff that’s always been in the toilet, it makes you say, ‘I don’t want to be buried with any regrets or bad vibes like that.’ It makes you want to be just friends with everybody and say, ‘Hey, look, forget it.’ Even if you don’t want to be in a band together, just let’s be friends. No more enemies for me. You don’t want to go to your grave with enemies. So that’s what it’s done for me. It woke me up and said, ‘no more enemies.’ And before I die, I won’t have any, if I have my way.”

Hagar remains busy with several projects, including The Circle and Chickenfoot, both of which also feature ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony.

additional source: kshe95.com

SINGER JOE LYNN TURNER ON RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW SHOWS, “I THINK THE FANS DESERVE BETTER THAN A COVER BAND”

Former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner was a recent guest on Eddie Trunk’s Sirius/XM show, Eddie Trunk Live, where he discussed his former bandmate Ritchie Blackmore. Excerpts from the interview appear below as transcribed by blabbermouth.net.

The singer criticized Blackmore by stating that he is “making a mistake” by using replacement musicians at this summer’s [Rainbow] concerts and arguing that “a man of [Blackmore’s] status, an icon, really deserves a lot more.”

When asked by Eddie if Blackmore’s announcement that Turner would not be involved with the Rainbiw comeback “stung” him at all, the singer said, “Well, I was shocked, only because for over a year… See, the truth is I wanted an authentic lineup for Rainbow. I think the way that it should have gone down is an authentic lineup. I was talking to [bassist] Bob Daisley, [drummer Bobby] Rondinelli, [bassist] Roger Glover, [keyboardist] Don Airey… There’s a whole bunch of guys out there that were really willing to sort of get involved with this… open up their schedules and get involved. And, apparently, Ritchie didn’t wanna do that. So I spent a good year of my time working that out with Carole Stevens, his manager. And I was shocked, because I’ll tell you why. She was putting my name out there — and I have all the e-mails to prove this, by the way — she was putting my name out there, and it was… even in German, with a big agency out there in Germany, saying, ‘Joe Lynn Turner and Ritchie Blackmore this June, 2016, together again. The perfect pair. Blah blah blah.’ And she was getting feedback from it.”

He continued, “I’m honestly flabbergasted, because it made so much sense, especially with the deal that was presented to him. It made so much sense… number one, for the fans. You know, I’ve read a couple of things he said. He said he was doing it for nostalgia. Well, if he was doing it for nostalgia, why wouldn’t he do it the right way? So I don’t understand that contradiction sometimes. If we were gonna do it for nostalgia, we would have done it with an aggregate of guys that were authentic. And, to me, that’s the way to come out. We would have honored Ronnie Dio’s era [Rainbow vocalist from 1975 until 1979], we would have gotten Graham Bonnet [Rainbow vocalist from 1979 until 1980] up there, Doogie White [Rainbow vocalist from 1994 until 1997] up there. To me, it was gonna be a Rainbow extravaganza, and it was all set. A few songs from these guys, a few songs from those guys… It would have been great. We would have [Ritchie’s son] Jürgen Blackmore out on guitar… family. It was just gonna be a big party, and he just didn’t go for it. So I’m still scratching my head.”

Turner added, “I thought it was a classless thing to do that Ritchie by announcing in [the French newspaper] Le Parisien [that he was going out and playing Rainbow and Deep Purple songs with a new singer]. I had to laugh. [Ritchie] said [to Le Parisien], ‘[Joe Lynn Turner] doesn’t know it yet.’ And the first thing I said was, ‘Well, I think he’s making a mistake, but he doesn’t know it yet.’ What I mean by that is, Ritchie’s allowed to do whatever he wants to do, and he always does. I have no sour grapes about this, so let that be told. But I think a man of his status, an icon, really deserves a lot more. And what we were trying to put together, and we had a turnkey operation with Live Nation, the biggest festivals of the summer; we had UMG — that’s Universal Music Group, for those out there that don’t know — we had Universal [express an interest in releasing] box sets; we also had Rock Fuel Media, a huge video company, going to put out a DVD and the whole thing. I wanted to do a new album — at least four cuts — and maybe redo some other, older cuts in a new way, sort of update them. So this was a huge package and it was gonna be a big deal. And apparently he didn’t wanna do that. So it was a shock to me that somebody would turn down not only an incredible way to, sort of, go out in style, but also to make a whole bunch of money for himself, because he was set to make quite a bit of money on this one. So I wish him well. Like I said, I’ve got no sour grapes. I’m very busy and very fortunate and blessed, and I thank everyone out there for that love and support all these years that keeps me going. But I really wish he had done it a different way for the fans. I think the fans deserve better than a cover band.”

…The singer also revealed that he has had no communication with the guitrist since Rainbow’s return was officially announced. He said, “No, I haven’t spoken to him since then. You’ve gotta understand something: he doesn’t talk to people; he talks through people. I talked to Dr. Drew Thompson, I talked to Carole Stevens… I talked to these people instead of him. He always puts them in front of him so he doesn’t have to actually converse with me — or converse with anyone, for that matter.”

He continued, “The one thing I will say I’d like to defend a bit is the fact that everybody thought I was delusional, and I know I wasn’t delusional at all; I was talking to [Ritchie’s] camp, and they were telling me this was gonna happen. So all these people that came out and said, ‘Oh, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’ And, ‘It’s all wishful thinking.’ No. That’s not the truth at all. This really was going down, and as people can see, it is going down.”

Blackmore is scheduled to perform Rainbow and Deep Purple material at three shows this year in Europe. The U.K. concert will take place on Saturday, June 25th at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. The performance will be Blackmore’s first U.K. rock show in over 20 years. The two concerts in Germany will take place at the Monsters Of Rock festival on Friday, June 17th at Freilichtbühne in Loreley and on Saturday, June 18th at Festplatz am Viadukt in Bietigheim-Bissingen. Blackmore said more shows might be added, depending on the success of the booked dates.

additional source: blabbermouth.net