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Day in Rock Report for 04/25/2016


Today's Top Stories


Guns N' Roses Dedicate Coachella Performance To Prince

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses returned to Coachella on April 23 for an encore performance as headliners during the annual festival's second weekend and videos from the show have been posted online.

The seventh show of the group's reunion tour featured two debuts: "Out ta Get Me" from 1987's "Appetite For Destruction" and "Used To Love Her" from 1988's "Lies."

Rumors circulated ahead of the show that Guns N' Roses might deliver a tribute to Prince, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 57. "I had a bootleg laser disc�do you know what a laser disc is?," Axl Rose asked the crowd after explaining the band didn't have time to fully prepare a proper tribute. "A laser disc is like a big Frisbee, a CD of Purple Rain. Duff is a huge fan. Anyway, we don't want to dedicate a song; we'll dedicate the whole show any everything to the memory of Prince."

Duff McKagan offered his own personal tribute by playing a white bass during the show that featured a purple decal of Prince's symbol. The Coachella appearance wraps up the spring preview of Guns N' Roses reunion run, which will launch a summer stadium tour of North America at Ford Field in Detroit, MI on June 23. Read more and check out the videos here.

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Metallica Revisit Their Garage Days

(hennemusic) Metallica revisited their garage days by returning to the San Francisco Bay area house they called home in the 1980s as part of a Record Store Day celebration on April 16.

Joined by friends, family and crew, the group returned to 3132 Carlson Boulevard in El Cerrito, CA for a homecoming event that included a proclamation from Mayor Greg Lyman recognizing their roots in the city.

"This is unbelievable to be back in this place," James Hetfield told the crowd. "I think we've all kind of forgotten a lot of stuff that's happened in our history and this is a great way to jog our memories and to see people's faces here, as well.

"We are so grateful for everyone that's here and has been a part of this with us. We're just extremely grateful to still be rocking and playing after all these years, doing what we love doing�that doesn't happen to everybody."

In 1983, Metallica relocated to the Bay Area from Los Angeles as a condition of bassist Cliff Burton joining the band. The new lineup went on to write and rehearse much of 1984's "Ride The Lightning" and 1986's "Master Of Puppets" in the garage at what became known as the "Metalla-mansion."

"A couple of years ago," drummer Lars Ulrich said, "we thought it would be cool to come over and see if we could buy the garage from the people who lived here, and we were going to put it inside HQ over in Marin, but the garage is long gone.

"Whoever's got the garage, please return it, because maybe we would finish the new record quicker if we were in that garage." Check out the video here.

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Aretha Franklin Biopic Going Forward

(The Blues) Aretha Franklin's biopic is set to finally go ahead after producers agreed to give her full creative control. The project has been in development for at least five years, with Straight Outta Compton producer Scott Bernstein at the helm.

And although the actress who'll play the starring role has been chosen, her identity hasn't yet been revealed. Franklin tells AP: "We're ready to sign for the movie. We've agreed on all the key points - there's very little left now. They've given me creative control and that's all I wanted."

She tells People: "I've talked to the person that's going to play me. I'm not going to say who I chose, but I've talked to her. She's ready and I'm happy with her." Read more here.

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Latest News


Jimmy Page Recovers Stolen Guitar

(Gibson) Like Peter Frampton's Gibson Black Beauty, Jimmy Page's own Bigsby B7-loaded model was thought lost forever. Page had played the 1960 guitar on many of his pre-Led Zeppelin sessions in the 1960s and it made a rare appearance at Zeppelin's Royal Albert Hall live show in January 1970.

But the guitar was reported stolen from an airport in April 1970 and was presumed lost. Bigsby.com claimed a few weeks back the guitar had been tracked down and returned to Page with the help of renowned collector Perry Margouleff. The story has now been validated by former Led Zeppelin roadie Henry 'The Horse' Smith, who confirmed the news via a Facebook Q&A:

"Glad to announce the Black Beauty is now back in the hands of Jimmy thanks in part to Perry Margouleff," Smith stated. "This happened just a few months ago. It was a happy day for me to see Jimmy get this back." Check out a video Page playing the guitar here.

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Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Brian May Lead Cancer Charity Auction

(Classic Rock) Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Queen's Brian May are among the celebrities who are auctioning off their own ties and scarves to support Cahonas Scotland during Testicular Cancer Awareness Month.

On now through Sunday, April 24, the annual Loosen Up! charity auction will raise funds for the male cancer awareness charity while providing fans with the opportunity to own autographed items individually signed by a wide range of stars.

Cahonas Scotland Founder and Chair, Ritchie Marshall explains: "This is the fifth year we have hosted our auction. Over the years, the Loosen Up Auction has attracted fantastic support - from award winning-actors and music artists to the top stars in sport and TV favorites, and we expect this year to be just as popular." Read more here.

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Pearl Jam Honor Prince With 'Purple Rain' Cover

(Radio.com) Since news broke on April 21st that Prince passed away, the number of musical tributes honoring his legacy continue to grow. From classic rockers to contemporary artists, many are sharing exactly what the iconic musician meant to them and how he influenced their own music.

Pearl Jam played "Purple Rain" during their show in Columbia, South Carolina the very night of Prince's death, but not before Eddie Vedder spoke from the heart.

'The shocking news of the day was losing an incredible musician," Vedder said. 'All of us on this stage can tell you: That guy loved music so damn much. He never stopped playing, never stopped writing, never stopped recording, never stopped creating."

The crowd cheered loudly while Vedder continued, 'He was dripping with songs. They'd go into the shower after he took a shower and there'd be three songs laying there. And of course, I'm talking about Prince. All of us up here were incredibly fortunate to see him a number of times over the years. Some of us got to meet him a bit. He was an intense cat. If there was anyone I thought would be playing when he was 80 or 85, it was gonna be Prince. Today was a real shock."

"People know him from the ways he looked, and the different ways he looked, and different things he said - a lot of incredible things to remember him by. But I gotta tell you, and you just saw some great guitar playing. Prince was probably the greatest guitar player we've ever seen," Vedder said, echoing similar comments from many other musicians.

Watch the band's rendition of "Purple Rain" here.

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Unearth Release 'Never Cease' Video

(TeamRock Radio) Unearth have released a video for their track Never Cease and announced a European summer tour. Never Cease is taken from the New England metal outfit's most recent album, 2014's Watchers Of Rule.

Their European tour includes a performance at Bloodstock festival on August 14. Unearth say: "Europe, we are excited to be coming back this August to play the festival circuit. We'll be throwing some club dates between the fests, so stay tuned for updates and announcements on those.

"We are also releasing a new video for Never Cease that was put together with footage from our European tour last spring. We want to thank Lukas Hambach from Frameshock Productions for shooting and editing the video." Watch the video here.

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Volbeat Go Behind-The-Scenes Of 'The Devil's Bleeding Crown'

(Classic Rock) Volbeat describe the birth of their track The Devil's Bleeding Crown in a new behind-the-scenes video. The Danish rockers released a lyric video for the track this month and in a new clip they explain how they played the song to live audiences to gauge reaction before committing to recording it for upcoming sixth album Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie.

Frontman Michael Poulsen says: "So far it's been working very well. It's a great way to test the new songs as well as getting a first feel of how it works on stage. And sometimes that's enough to find out if the song's a keeper or not."

Drummer Jon Larsen adds: "It's a typical Volbeat track. I guess you could almost call it our signature sound. The reaction so far has actually been great. It seems like people are loving it."

Poulsen explains that the band only played half the track for North American audiences, saving the whole track for crowds in Denmark as a treat for local fans. Watch the video here.

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Chris Cornell Streams Cover of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U'

(Classic Rock) Chris Cornell has released a cover of Prince's track Nothing Compares 2 U. The Soundgarden frontman has been playing the track on his acoustic tour dates and has made the cover available to stream after Prince's death at the age of 57 last week.

Cornell, who was one of the first to pay tribute, says: "Prince's music is the soundtrack to the soulful and beautiful universe he created, and we have all been privileged to be part of that amazing world.

"I performed his song Nothing Compares 2 U for the first time a couple months ago. It has a timeless relevance for me and practically everyone I know.

"Sadly, now his own lyrics in this song could not be more relevant than at this moment, and I sing them now in reverence as I pay tribute to this unequaled artist who has given all of our lives so much inspiration and made the world so much more interesting." Check out the stream here.

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Hatebreed Release 'The Concrete Confessional' Behind The Scenes Video

(TeamRock Radio) Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta describes the importance of demos as part of the songwriting process for the band's forthcoming album The Concrete Confessional in a new behind-the-scenes video.

Due May 13 via Nuclear Blast, the group's seventh record was produced by longtime collaborator Zeuss. Jasta sees the demo process as a way to fully flesh out ideas before hitting the studio, even when the band members create material individually.

Jasta explains: "It wasn't like we all got in the room at the same time and ran through everything, but we did make sure that we all got in the room to demo everything out once we had the basic ideas. And then we were able to live with the demos a while.

"Certain ideas showed themselves later in the process and I think that's why it was important for us to have me and Chris Beattie put all our ideas together and then choose from the best ones�the ones that would really hit hard." Read more and watch the video here.

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New Model Army Announce New Album And Tour

(TeamRock Radio) New Model Army have announced their 14th studio album will be titled Winter. In addition, Justin Sullivan and co have revealed the first live dates in support of the record, with more to be added in the future.

A statement reads: "For now, the band remain tight-lipped about its contents - except to say that they're really looking forward to getting out and playing it live.

"So here's the first part of the tour - obviously there are many countries and cities not on this list that we are looking to include as the tour continues in 2017." See the dates here.

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Donovan, Ginger Baker, Squeeze Lead On Track For Summer Lineup

(TeamRock Radio) The 50th anniversary of the UK's first ever rock festival is to be marked this summer at the Royal Windsor Racecourse. In 1966, bands including The Who, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds and Cream, played at the National Jazz and Blues Festival at the Berkshire location.

And organizers have lined up an event titled On Track For Summer to celebrate the anniversary. The special event will take place over the weekend on July 23-24.

The Saturday will see sets from Donovan, Ginger Baker, The Manfreds, Chris Farlowe, PP Arnold, The Move, Cliff Bennett, Beth Rowley, Norman Baker and Molly Marriott. The Nice guitarist Davy O'List will also pay tribute to his former bandmate Keith Emerson, who died last month aged 71.

The Sunday bill features Squeeze, The Feeling, Quantic, Flook and Health, with further names to be announced. Read more here.

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Beartooth Release Video For 'Aggressive' Title Song

(TeamRock Radio) Beartooth have released a video for Aggressive - the title track from their upcoming second album. Aggressive is released on June 3 via Red Bull Records and can be pre-ordered now in various formats.

Aggressive was recorded in frontman Caleb Shomo's home studio with assistance from songwriting partner John Feldmann and engineer David Bendeth, who handled mixing.

According to the band, "the resulting songs have as much in common with stomping metalcore as old-school punk, vintage screamo and harder-edged pop punk, combining circle pit-inducing bangers with soaring choruses and bridging raw authentic intensity with accessibility." Watch the video here.

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Janis Joplin Role Brought Cat Power To Tears

(The Blues) Narrating the late Janis Joplin's personal letters for a movie reduced Cat Power to tears, she's revealed. Power, real name Chan Marshall, speaks in a promo clip about her work on Janis: Little Girl Blue, which will be aired on US TV in an extended format on May 3.

It was released in cinemas in 2015 after eight years' development by director Amy Berg. Power says: "In high school I had imitated Janis a few times, and when I did the letters, I knew it was going to be difficult.

"I remember the last letter - I couldn't catch my breath because I was crying. For her to still apologize for who she was, and what she couldn't be for her family, was really hard. When she passed, she still didn't feel like she accomplished what she wanted." Watch the full interview here.

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Wolverine Preview Forthcoming Album 'Machina Viva'

(Prog) Wolverine have released a teaser video for their upcoming album Machina Viva. The band's fifth album arrives on July 8 via Laser's Edge/Sensory - their first record with the label.

Swedish outfit Wolverine recorded the album in various studios around their home country, while it was mixed at at Spacelab Studio in Germany by Christian 'Moschus' Moos.

The follow-up to 2011's Communication Lost is said to be "harmonious, yet portentous and sullen" and will include 14-minute track The Bedlam Overture and the "dark electronic landscapes" of Machina. Check out the trailer here.

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Dave Arcari Announces New Album and EP

(The Blues) Dave Arcari has scheduled the release of his album Givers & Takers for August - and he'll lead it with the launch of an EP called Hellbound Train on June 10.

The four-track title is his first release in three years, with the exception of digital-only track McPherson's Lament in January. Arcari had the following to say:

"I've been working on a bunch of new songs for a while, but despite plans to record and release them long before now, things have been so busy on the road there just hasn't been time - not that I can complain about that!"

He commences a UK tour on June 9, with further European, UK and US dates to be announced. See the dates and the EP tracklisting here.

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KISS Release Extended Trailer For KISS Rocks Vegas Movie

(Classic Rock) KISS have released an extended trailer for their upcoming concert movie KISS Rocks Vegas. It's to be screened in cinemas across the world on May 25, including footage that won't appear in any other version.

The concert film was shot during a concert that was part of the band's residency at the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas back in November of 2014.

The band had this to say: "Fans can expect sky high flames, ear-bursting volume and a few drops of blood! Join with fans around the world - feel like you are in Vegas." Watch the trailer here.

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Iced Earth, Ensiferum, Kataklysm, Unearth Headbangers Ball Tour

(Classic Rock) Iced Earth will tour Europe in December with Ensiferum, Kataklysm and Unearth, they've confirmed. The MTV Headbangers Ball trip features dates in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Organizers says in the announcement that the tour will "embody the cutting edge and timeless essence of pure f***ing metal" - just like the TV show it's named after.

Iced Earth mainman Jon Schaffer recently announced that the band's new studio and headquarters, Independence Hall, was nearing completion, after he sold some of his equipment to fund its development. Read more and see the dates here.

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Ayreon Catalog Goes Digital Via Mascot

(Prog) Ayreon have signed a deal with Mascot Label Group. The project led by multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen have hooked up with the label for the digital release of seven of the band's albums.

1995's The Final Experiment, 1996's Actual Fantasy, 1998's Into the Electric Castle, 2000's Universal Migrator Part 1: The Dream Sequencer and Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator, 2004's The Human Equation, and 2008's 01011001 are now available via all major digital platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.

Lucassen says: "At first I didn't feel the urge to change labels. But in the back of my mind was the feeling that I really liked the atmosphere and the people at Mascot." Read more here.

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Delain, Evergrey And Kobra And The Lotus Announce Tour

(TeamRock Radio) Delain have announced a European headline tour which is set to kick off in October. Evergrey and Kobra And The Lotus will be the support acts on the tour.

The Dutch metal outfit hit the road in support of this year's EP Lunar Prelude, which spawned the single Suckerpunch, and their upcoming, as-yet-untitled fifth album - set for release later in 2016.

Delain say: "Delainers, we're coming to perform for you again. This fall we'll do an extensive European headline tour." Check out the dates for the fall trek here.

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Gryphon Co-Founder Richard Harvey Leaves The Band

(Prog) Gryphon co-founder Richard Harvey has announced that he has left the band to concentrate on his other projects - but they'll keep going without him, they've announced.

The multi-instrumentalist started the medieval and Renaissance-inspired outfit in the early 1970s with Brian Gulland, and they were later joined by Graeme Taylor and Dave Oberle.

Their initial stint came to and end in 1977, and Harvey pursued a career in film and TV soundtracks. They regrouped in 2009 for what was planned as a one-off concert, then returned to action in 2014.

Gryphon say: "With deep regret and great sadness, we have to announced that Richard will no longer be able to continue as a member." Read more here.

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Kerbdog Announce UK Tour

(TeamRock Radio) Kerbdog have announced dates for a short UK tour this autumn. Frontman Cormac Battle, guitarist Billy Dalton, bassist Colin Fennelly and drummer Darragh Butler will regroup to play Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Cardiff during a week-long run in October.

The band say: "We'll be hitting some old favourites along with a few places we haven't been in a while. Really excited to announce these dates. Pity it's only five - we tried to hit as many places around the country as possible in a short time!"

The 2016 dates mark the first live shows from Kerbdog since a handful of gigs last summer. The Irish outfit last played an extensive series of concerts in 2014 in support of their third full length and first live album Congregation. See the dates here.

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Bruce Springsteen Pays Tribute To Prince With 'Purple Rain' Performance

(Radio.com) Bruce Springsteen has always been an artist to pay tribute to both his heroes and peers. Sadly, he's had to do that a number of times on his current tour, covering the Eagles' "Take It Easy" in tribute to Glenn Frey; he's also covered David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel."

This past week, at New York's Barclays Center, he opened his show with a cover of Prince's "Purple Rain." Springsteen and Prince started their careers in the '70s, but became pop superstars in the '80s; in the summer of 1984, both artists had hugely successful albums: Springsteen with Born in the U.S.A. and Prince with Purple Rain.

The respect was mutual between the two artists: in a 1990 Rolling Stone article (via Backstreets), Prince said, "I'm not real into Bruce Springsteen's music, but I have a lot of respect for his talent."

The article went on to say that the two artists occasionally exchange notes; in recalling a Springsteen concert he saw from backstage, Prince said, "I admire the way he holds his audience -- there's one man whose fans I could never take away." Read more here.

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WWE's Triple H Excited About NXT At Download Festival

(TeamRock Radio) WWE's Triple H has exclaimed his excitement about NXT's upcoming shows at Download Festival in June, as well as revealing that he's working to make sure he can get to Donington himself to catch some metal legends.

The Executive Vice President of WWE - who founded NXT as a developmental division for the company - revealed to Hammer last year that we could see the brand make its way to UK festivals, and with its appearance at Download officially confirmed, the 14-time world champion says that the NXT superstars are as excited as he is.

"Our NXT guys are excited to be able to go and watch some of the bands," he laughs. "[When we did Aftershock Festival in the States] it was great to see the crossover, because the bands would get done playing, and the first thing they'd want to do would be to go over and see the NXT matches." Watch the full interview here.

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Singled Out: Karma To Burn's 62

West Virginia heavy rockers Karma To Burn recently released their 'Mountain Czar' EP and to celebrate we asked Evan Devine to tell us about the song "62". Here is the story:

Every song has a story. What about an instrumental song? Its hard to pinpoint one source of inspiration for any song with Karma to Burn. Every song is the end result of new and old experiences. As a result, every song has a short and long story behind it, even if there are no words in the song itself. The short story of '62' starts in Morgantown, West Virginia, our home city. It was sometime during the summer of 2015, right before we were planning to leave the country. We were rehearsing at our practice space when Will started playing the intro riff to '62', and Eric and I immediately started playing along. Every song starts with a simple riff that catches everyone's ear, then we follow it and see where it goes. I think it took us about 3 or 4 practices before we had the basic structure down. Before we could finish writing '62', we were on a plane to Europe.

For the recording of our latest EP 'Mountain Czar' we traveled to Biel, Switzerland, our home away from home when we tour Europe, and the location for the recording of our last two albums. We were touring and recording; traveling on the weekends playing shows, then returning to Biel to write in the studio during week days. Playing consecutive shows is much less tiring than starting and stopping like we were, but it was nice to have an apartment to come back to once we got out the van at the end of the weekend. The apartment was maybe the nicest we've all collectively lived in, but also the emptiest. It had just been vacated by the previous tenant, so we only brought what we needed for the next month - 3 beds, 3 chairs, a table, a stereo, a guitar, a bike, and a baseball and two baseball gloves.

We also brought over two mostly finished songs, and picked up writing 62 where we left off in Morgantown. The schedule was tight with all the traveling we were doing, but we managed to finish the writing just in time for drum tracking. 63 was written over various nights at the apartment, and fleshed out right towards the end of the writing period. The Tom Petty cover just fell right into place, especially with the timing of getting our friend Steff to compose and sing her parts. Right after the tracking was done, it was time for everyone to travel back to the US.

We had 4 months off, the longest break we've had from touring since I joined the band in 2012. During that time we caught up on sleep and life off tour. Will, on the other hand, traveled back to Switzerland a month after getting back to house sit for some friends. It was during that period that the video for '62' happened. Our good friend Robbie from Snakehill Productions planned out the entire video shoot. I think they filmed for a week at various locations around Biel. The final product is a cool representation of a time for Will, the city of Biel, and the band, even if we weren't in the video. Our Swiss friends have made us feel very at home, and without their help you might not be reading this.

Two continents, two cities, two studios, one record. That's the story for 62, and the rest of the 'Mountain Czar' EP. See you on the road.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

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