Category : LATEST NEWS

RANDY RHOADS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION DECEMBER 4TH – 6TH

Come celebrate the late, great Randy Rhoads birthday with his family this week at Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio and her husband Richard D’Argenzio’s wine tasting room in Burbank.

The Randy Rhoads Birthday Tribute weekend starts Thursday, December 4th and ends Saturday, December 6th – open from 3pm to 9pm daily. This will be a weekend to remember for all fans and friends alike. You will get to meet the whole Rhoads family, taste the Randy Rhoads wine, and see personal memorabilia that has not been shown for public viewing.

The D’Argenzio winery, has for several years, produced a special wine in the name of Randy Rhoads with all proceeds of this wine going to fund the Randy Rhoads Foundation to assist kids in learning music.

A special note from the Rhoads family:

“The Rhoads family wishes to thank you all for all the heartfelt support and love for Randy. We also thank you for keeping his memory alive.

Happy Birthday to my loving son and our dear brother~

Delores Rhoads, Kelle Rhoads and Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio~”

Randy Rhoads is best known for his tour of duty with Ozzy Osbourne and his band, then known as The Blizzard of Ozz. Once Rhoads had officially joined, the band headed into the studio to record their debut album, titled Blizzard of Ozz. Propelled by Rhoads’ neo-classical guitar work, the album was an instant hit with rock fans, particularly in the USA. They released two singles from the album: Mr. Crowley and the hit Crazy Train. Rhoads left us March 19th, 1982 in a tragic plane crash leaving us a huge void in music. His legacy of brilliant music will live forever in the hearts of the people – He was a true hero and legend.

Please join us December 4th through December 6th and pay respects to Randy Rhoads and his family for his birthday at the:

D’Argenzio Tasting Room
1204 W. Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA 91506
818 846 8466
3pm to 9pm

For more information on Randy Rhoads click randyrhoads.us or dargenziowine.com

GUITARIST GEORGE LYNCH IMPLIES THAT DON DOKKEN’S GREED LED TO THE DEMISE OF THE BAND

Guitarist George Lynch was recently interviewed by Stuart Bull of Guitar Interactive. The interview appear in fours parts below, but an excerpt appears below as transcribed by blabbermouth.net.

When asked about the breakup of the classic Dokken lineup in 1989, Lynch said, “Here’s the things that happens in a band… especially in our era, in the ’80s, and I don’t know, even now probably… But if you have a record deal, or a master deal, for a certain amount of time, and you have increasing record sales, and then you get to the point where the deal ends, your managers come in and renegotiate and you get paid. Then you’re set for life — possibly. That’s when everything changes. That’s what you worked for those however many years. This is where all your… Everything you’ve invested in time and energy, you get paid back for. And the singer [Don Dokken], at that point, decided that he wanted it all, he didn’t wanna share it with [the rest of] us, and he let us know that. So after this [Monsters Of Rock] tour [in 1988 with Van Halen, Metallica and Scorpions], where we were gonna go out and play in front of hundreds of thousands of people and get paid lots of money, I’m gonna try to take the whole thing and run with it, and you guys are gonna get left in the dust, and if you’re lucky, I might hire you [to play in my band]. And you have to go on stage like that.”

He continued, “The reason that we were on fire before that — we were so dedicated, we kept persevering — was because we were all working for something. It wasn’t even for the money, it was just to get to that point. And success on all levels — musically and financially, so we could be secure, and all these things, for all the right reasons. And we took care of each other, and we were an equal-split band, and I fought for that. And by Monsters Of Rock, when Don announced that he was gonna, basically, try to grab the negotiation brass ring and keep it to himself, that backfired on all of us. Financially, it backfired on all of us, ’cause we didn’t get that massive… At that point, I think, that year Motley Crue got a 25-million-dollar deal, Anthrax got a 12.5-million-dollar deal, we would have been fine. Basically, we had a lot of leverage. We were gonna be a free agent, so it was really a shame. It just didn’t go right for anybody. So I went on to form Lynch Mob, which did pretty well.”

Lynch Mob is set to release their Sun Red Sun EP on December 9th. To read more about the EP, please click here.

George’s other project with Stryper frontman Michael Sweet, Sweet & Lynch, will be releasing their debut album, Only To Rise on January 27th, 2015. The band recently released a video for the song, The Wish which can be viewed here.

AC/DC DRUMMER PHIL RUDD IN TROUBLE AGAIN, BREACHES BAIL BY SCUFFLING WITH WITNESS

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd appeared in a New Zealand court today after breaching his bail conditions, reports the New Zealand Herald.

Rudd is facing charges of threatening to kill and drug possession, and is forbidden to have contact with any of the complainants or witnesses named on the charge sheets, the Herald said. He breached a non-association condition by having contact with a witness in the city of Tauranga earlier today, according to the report.

Rudd reportedly got into a scuffle with the witness in his pending but was released again without facing further charges.

Rudd’s lawyer Paul Mabey said Rudd appeared in court Thursday accused of breaching his bail conditions by associating with a witness. Mabey said it was a “chance meeting” and Rudd was released again on bail with no new charges.

Last month, police charged the 60-year-old drummer with threatening to kill, which comes with a maximum prison sentence of seven years, as well as possessing methamphetamine and marijuana. He has pleaded not guilty.

Columbus Coffee cafe owner Leo Rojas said Thursday that he witnessed Rudd curse and try to punch a larger man on the sidewalk outside the cafe.

Video courtesy of the Associated Press.

source: PostStar.com

AEROSMITH DRUMMER JOEY KRAMER TO OPEN A COFFEE CAFE IN MASSACHUSETTS

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer is looking to get into the coffee shop business.

The Hall of Fame rocker, who already has his own coffee brand, will open the brick and mortar Joey Kramer’s Rockin & Roastin’ Café in early 2015 in North Attleboro, Massachusetts according to a press release.

The café will be about 1,500 square feet and located at the intersection of Routes 1 and 1A. Kramer promises a “rockstar edge” for the coffeehouse while “classic rock-and-roll music videos and legendary concerts play on screens in the background.

source: boston.cbslocal.com

SWEET & LYNCH PREMIERE VIDEO FOR “THE WISH” FROM THEIR UPCOMING DEBUT “ONLY TO RISE”

Sweet & Lynch are releasing the first official video from their upcoming debut album, Only To Rise. The video is for the album opener The Wish and premiered on Ultimate Classic Rock. The video shows Michael Sweet and George Lynch performing the song together amongst imagery that corresponds with the song’s lyrics. The video was shot in Los Angeles and was directed by Devin DeHaven, known for his work with Rick Ross, Whitesnake, Kiss and R. Kelly to name a few. The video can be seen below.

“After almost a year of talking about the Sweet & Lynch album we’re extremely proud to premiere the first music video, The Wish, states Michael Sweet. “The song takes you back to a time when guitar heroes ruled the airwaves and melodies soared. The thought was to bring back the late 70’s/early 80’s with a modern twist and remind people of one of the best eras in hard rock/metal.”

Only To Rise is scheduled for release on January 23rd in Europe and January 27th, 2015 in the United States via Froniters Music SRL. Backing up Sweet & Lynch on this new musical adventure is bassist James Lomenzo and drummer Brian Tichy. Sweet & Lynch recently launched a pre-order for the new album via PledgeMusic. The pre-order features various bundle packages for fans and is live at: pledgemusic.com/projects/sweetlynch and on Amazon.

“George and I are proud of how this album turned out and we’re counting the days for the release,” adds Sweet. “We’re equally as proud of the fan base out there. So many people have been there through thick and thin and this album is a testimony to the perseverance of working hard and working even harder. George, Brian, James and myself gave 110% to every note played and sung and we hope that it shows.”

From the opening notes of The Wish to the drum solo finish on the album-closer Only To Rise, it is evident that this musical partnership between Michael Sweet’s unmistakable voice and George Lynch’s signature guitar tone has yielded incredible results. Songs Dying Rose, Me Without You and Strength In Numbers showcase the diversity that permeates throughout the entire album. Sweet & Lynch released a lyric video for the 9/11 inspired track September which can be seen here.

Only To Rise was produced by Michael Sweet who also produced the last Stryper album, No More Hell To Pay, which received massive fan praise and critical acclaim alike.

Plans are currently being worked out for Sweet & Lynch to play a few live shows in the Spring of next year, making this different than any other supergroups that record together but never play live. More information will be announced in the near future. If the past records of these four musicians are any indication, no fan will want to miss these shows.

Visit Sweet & Lynch on the web at:

facebook.com/SweetLynch
pledgemusic.com/projects/sweetlynch

AC/DC DRUMMER PHIL RUDD PLEADS “NOT GUILTY” ON THREATENING TO KILL AND DRUG CHARGES

Lars Brandle of Billboard reports:

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has entered a not-guilty plea to charges of threatening to kill and possession of drugs.

The 60-year-old has been on bail since his arrest early last month in New Zealand. He was excused from appearing in Tauranga District Court on Tuesday, and his plea was entered by his lawyer.

A dishevelled-looking Rudd was initially charged in November with trying to procure a murder. The charge was soon dropped, but Rudd still faces charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. The first of those charges carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Judge Tom Ingram said the matter would likely be heard at a judge-alone trial next year. Details on the “threatening to kill” complainant and three other witnesses remain suppressed on the judge’s orders.

The veteran rocker made headlines in late November when he arrived late for a court appearance, clowned around by jumping on the back of one of his security guards outside the courthouse, and sped off in a black sports car.

Rudd was turfed from the group in 1983 but returned in 1994. He was conspicuously absent from recent band publicity photos and was missing from their October 3rd video shoot for Play Ball. Instead, Bob Richards sat behind the kit.

AC/DC’s Rock or Bust was released last week in the Australia, and in the States today (December 2nd). A 2015 tour will follow, with or without the services of Rudd.

source: billboard.com