Today's Day in Rock Stories

Stone Temple Pilots Reveal New Singer And Stream New Song

Grohl and the Foo Fighters were in the city ahead of a November 15 show at the same venue. "What a great night Tulsa. Thank you Dave Grohl for coming out for Paradise City!," posted Guns N' Roses on their social media sites after the show.

The fourth single from "Appetite For Destruction", the song reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 while the record went on to become the biggest selling debut album of all time with more than 30 million copies sold worldwide.

"We dedicate this live album to our brother Chester who poured his heart and soul into 'One More Light'," says the surviving members of Linkin Park in a joint statement. "After we finished recording the album, we joked with Chester that - since he had delivered so many stunning performances in the studio - he had set the bar extra high to produce that alchemy on stage each night. Not surprisingly, he welcomed the challenge.

"The shows we played together during the early summer of 2017 were extraordinary. Chester shared with us that he felt this was the best tour we had ever done. The camaraderie and joy we experienced on stage reflected our deep connection with each other, with our fans, and with the music."

"Every night before walking out onto the stage," continues the band, "we would huddle, get focused, and share whatever last-second remarks popped into our heads. Chester always took it upon himself to turn the name of the city where we were playing into a first-rate run. This was our ritual. Best of all, it was a moment to express our gratitude that we were living our dream.

"Chester never forgot to express his appreciation to our crew - the men and women who traveled the world with us, making our dream into reality night after night. Without them, these shows would not have been possible"

The joint tour will kick off in Canada on Jan. 27 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and continue through Feb. 11 in Rochester, New York. For ticket information, head to StoneSour.com and HalestormRocks.com.

In a letter to Steely Dan's fans published by Rolling Stone, Becker's widow details that the timeline from discovery of the issue, during a routine medical checkup, to his passing was less than four months, while also expressing thanks for the outpouring of support the family has received.

"As Walter Becker's wife of many years, I wanted to share with his fans some information regarding his death that has not previously been reported," Delia begins. "I realize this is overdue, and I hope you will understand why. For me personally, his death was a devastating blow, as I know it was for many of you. I am just beginning to emerge from its heartbreaking impact.

"Walter died in the course of being treated for an extremely aggressive form of esophageal cancer. The cancer was detected during one of his annual medical checkups and its presence came as a grim surprise to Walter, his doctors and to me. It seemed to have come out of nowhere and had spread with terrifying speed.

"Walter chose an intense regimen of chemotherapy at Sloan Kettering though, between the cancer's aggressiveness and the overwhelming toxicity resulting from the chemotherapy treatments, Walter died less than four months after the cancer was detected.

"Walter passed peacefully in our New York City home, surrounded by his family, his music, and a blustery rainstorm - one of his favorite sounds - blowing outside the window. In keeping with his wishes, he was cremated without ceremony or memorial in New York City.

"Hallelujah" was originally an acoustic song I wrote while living in Oklahoma City back in 2011. I was struggling to come to terms with my parent's divorce, my mother's mental health and personally nursing an intense relationship with psychedelics trying to cope with it all. I remember writing it as a critique on what I viewed as my father's hypocrisy in getting remarried only months after the divorce and his insistence that all I needed was to have faith. I was young, angry and completely at a loss as to what to do with it all.

When we began writing Apartment Living, we revisited "Hallelujah." The guys had heard it often when we first met, playing it wildly to our close friends in coffee shops.

I don't remember what made us decide to revisit Hallelujah as a full band, and as the music was forming it became clear that something in me had shifted. Yelling the original lyrics at the top of my lungs at practice, I realized all that anger I had once felt had subsided. In that time between its inception and the current my family and I have since been reconnected, and I had been softened through their love, and the love of other who I had met along the way.

We reworked the song,
shared ideas, shared lyrics;
Argued, bargained and compromised.
We wrote a song we love to listen to as much as I hope you will love hearing it.

What resulted, to me, felt like a new step for us as a band and as friends. The song is personally one of my favorites on Apartment Living and to play live. While this doesn't give you much insight in to the meaning of the lyrics in the current state of "Hallelujah," these are the defining moments that breathed life in to the final cut.

Thanks for having us,

Zane

The tune originally appeared on the band's second album, "Paranoid", which delivered the group their first UK No. 1 while reaching No. 12 on the US Billboard 200.

Originally entitled "The End Of The End", the 2017 package has been renamed simply as "The End." Directed by Dick Carruthers (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Oasis), the project presents the last concert under the Sabbath brand by three-quarters of the original lineup in their hometown of Birmingham, England this past February.

While 2018 will be the tour's final bow, Lyman hints at something big happening in 2019 to mark the tour's 25th year. "The enduring spirit of the Vans Warped Tour remains as bright as ever, continuing to inspire creativity and ambition in new and exciting ways as we prepare for a 25th anniversary celebration in 2019," he revealed. "I truly look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during this final cross country run, and getting to thank you for your support on this wild adventure. Until then, take care and be safe."

The new effort sees Perry collaborating with guest vocalists Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, David Johansen and Terry Reid, and others including Johnny Depp, Zak Starkey and his own sons Tony and Roman Perry.

A cover of the 1960s protest song, "Eve Of Destruction", and a pair of instrumentals round out the set, including "Spanish Sushi", which was produced and arranged by The Perry Boys with Joe on guitars and bass, Roman adding synthesizer programming and Tony handling drum programming. "It's going to be interesting to see what songs people gravitate to," says Joe, "because there's such a wide variety of tunes."

In the video, a love story plays out during a Dia de los Muerto celebration. Brendan Walter and Mel Soria directed the vibrant video replete with skulls, smoke machines and a masquerade party. The band take center stage in the video, playing for a crowd of Day of the Dead revelers.

"When we set out to make a video for 'Pleader,' Joe (Newman) sent the following one line brief to director Isaiah Seret: 'a Welsh mining love story; a tidal wave of earth,'" the band revealed to NPR.

However, it's the first question that should hit home the hardest with guitarists and fans of the instrument. When asked about the best piece of advice he'd ever received, Gibbons said, "B.B. King laid quite a simplistic statement on me: Learn to play what you want to hear. When you're trying to learn an instrument, chances are you find yourself at the feet of a teacher who may have an idea of what you should learn. But if you learn to play what you want to hear in your head, you are steps ahead."

"As a British band, it's one of those things that it's very lovely to be nominated, but we don't quite culturally understand it, the guitarist told Esquire. "It's a very American thing. Us Brits are very bad at celebrating ourselves."

O'Brien added, "It's in our DNA to be a little ambivalent with award ceremonies. We haven't had great experiences. I would never want to disrespect anything because obviously some amazing artists have been nominated. But if I'm honest, I don't understand it."

When considering the artists nominated, which includes numerous Brits, including Depeche Mode, Moody Blues, Judas Priest, Eurythmics, Dire Straits and Kate Bush, O'Brien said that the list is lacking in American music and especially in hip-hop.

Frontman Gavin Rossdale was inspired to pen the politically-charged song after seeing the violence and civil unrest that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year.