Here’s a look at what’s going on in today’s rock news.
Friday, April 7th:
-Mick Mars has filed a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe in order to gain access to their books, as he claims his percentage of tour profits was cut from 25% to 5% after he announced he would no longer tour due to severe arthritis in his spine joints and ligaments. Mick also says they decided to “unilaterally” remove him from the band after he said he would still record with the band or do limited performances. He also claims that all of bassist Nikki Sixx’s parts are pre-recorded and that he didn’t “play a single note on bass” during their Stadium Tour last year. The rest of Mötley Crüe – or at least their lawyer – have responded to Mick Mars’ lawsuit against the band. Sasha Frid called the lawsuit “unfortunate and completely off-base”, and says the band “did not owe Mick anything” but still offered him a “generous compensation package”. Frid also supported claims that Mars’ guitar playing had begun to slip during last year’s reunion tour.
-Rush’s Geddy Lee will publish his long-awaited memoir later this year. On Friday, Lee revealed the book’s title, My Effin’ Life, and release date of November 14th. Lee began working on the book during the pandemic lockdown, when he was “struggling in the aftermath” of bandmate Neil Peart’s death. He previously published Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass in 2018.
-Linkin Park have shared another previously unreleased song from the Meteora sessions. On Friday, the band dropped “Massive”, featuring Mike Shinoda on lead vocals. The song appears on the new 20th anniversary edition of Meteora, which is out today.
Thursday, April 6th:
-Get ready for a new album from Greta Van Fleet! The band has announced that their next album, “Starcatcher,” will be out on July 21. The band made the announcement on Thursday with the release of the song “Meeting the Master.” “Starcatcher” will be the band’s follow-up to 2021’s “The Battle at Garden’s Gate.”
-Even though frontman Fred Durst was sick, Limp Bizkit still managed to put on a show on Wednesday. Durst and company decided to go a different route at the show in Frankfurt, Germany. The band kept things going thanks to some loyal and brave fans willing to go up on stage and perform. You can check out plenty of videos of the performances online now!
-Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix is loving that the band’s song “Last Resort” is in the Season 2 premiere of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.” In a new interview, Shaddix was asked if he has seen the show and said, “No, I have not, but everybody tells me I’ve gotta watch it.” He went on to explain, “And what a great placement for us. And what a cool opportunity to feature that classic track years later. What’s rad about it is our old-school music and new-school music is grabbing this new generation of rock fans. And having placements like that, in ‘Yellowjackets’, which is an iconic piece of entertainment for the people, and our music is in it? That’s a good sign.”
-In an interview with TotalRock, rock drummer Vinny Appice, gave his thoughts on the band Pantera reuniting to perform. The Pantera worldwide tour will feature surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals), Rex Brown (bass), Zakk Wylde (guitar), and Charlie Benante (drums). Appice, who formerly played with Brown in Kill Devil Hill, said about the band, “People love the music; people love to hear it. So I’m happy they’re doing it this way. I think they waited; they could have [done] it earlier. But I think it’s great.” The group will perform as the headliners at several big festivals in South America, Asia, North America, and Europe.
Wednesday, April 5th:
-Krist Novoselic On Playing Bass For Paul McCartney Sharing a stage with Paul McCartney would be a daunting task for any musician – especially if you play the same instrument he does. Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic learned that lesson firsthand when he and bandmates Dave Grohl and Pat Smear recorded “Cut Me Some Slack” with McCartney in 2012. Novoselic said he was thrilled to play with McCartney but “kept thinking ‘Please don’t make me play bass guitar… That’s like being asked to do karate with Bruce Lee”. Despite his fears, Novoselic says that “everything started clicking perfectly” – and the song would end up winning a Grammy award the following year.
-The microphone used by The Beatles at the Get Back recording sessions in London is up for sale. The AKG D25 Microphone has an estimated value of $75,000. The microphone can be seen in much of the footage in the The Get Back Sessions documentary series directed by Peter Jackson. The condition of the mic is good and its authenticity has been confirmed through several certificates, including a “letter of provenance from Chris Hewitt, a collector and purveyor of vintage sound equipment.”
-Kirk Hammett and Gibson are sharing their new collaboration. The guitar company and the Metallica guitarist have recreated Hammett’s beloved 1979 Gibson Flying V. The Kirk Hammett 1979 Flying V from Gibson Custom Shop is now available worldwide through premium Gibson dealers and via Gibson.com. Only 200 were hand-made.
-Mike Shinoda says that Linkin Park came close to putting out “Lost” a couple times before the Meteora 20th anniversary box set that’s due out Friday. Shinoda told Vulture that “We made 20-something tracks for Meteora. We knew the album was going to be 12, and ‘Lost’ was the 13th track. In terms of tone, it had too much in common with ‘Numb,’ so we put it to the side, with the intention of putting it out.” Shinoda says that the band didn’t really consider it for their next album, Minutes to Midnight. “We wanted to completely reinvent the band. In 2007 or whatever, the idea of going back to an old demo would’ve been the opposite of what we were supposed to do.”
-Hulu has released a trailer for ‘Til Death Do Us Part Kourtney & Travis, a two hour documentary about Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Kourtney Kardashian getting married. The film covers the three ceremonies that the couple had in Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, California and Italy in 2022. It debuts on Hulu April 13th.
Tuesday, April 4th:
-More famous names have been added to an upcoming tribute to musician Jeff Beck. Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood will be joining the tribute concerts scheduled in May. They’ll join artists such as Rod Stewart, Billy Gibbons, Gary Clark Jr., and actor-musician Johnny Depp for the shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Beck died at the age of 78 in January.
-Foo Fighters have announced another show, this time for a new Washington D.C. venue! The band will headline the opening of The Atlantis on May 30. The club is owned by the same company as the legendary 9:30 club, which Foo Fighters helped re-open post-pandemic shutdown. Since the club has a 450-person capacity, you’ll want to keep checking for more info at TheAtlantis.com
-Disturbed is getting ready to film a music video for “Don’t Tell Me.” The tune is from the band’s recently released eighth studio album, “Divisive” and is a duet with Ann Wilson, from Heart. It is the first time the band has included a guest feature on an LP. Guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist John Moyer both posted to social media yesterday saying that they were about to shoot the clip in Miami.
-The Lynyrd Skynyrd band members and estates have been discussing what should happen to the group and the music that is celebrating 50 years of generational history in American rock and roll with the recent passing of original founding member Gary Rossington. With Gary’s unexpected passing, the current members, led by Johnny Van Zant, the singer for the past 36 years, were not sure if they would continue. After much thought, it was decided to continue to perform live shows, and preserving the music is in the best interests of the fans and all parties involved.
-On April 14, Metallica’s new album 72 Seasons will be released, and James Hetfield has now given fans a preview of the vinyl and digipak CD versions of the album’s packaging. In a video posted to social media, Hetfield is seen opening a box of vinyl. Full-size images of each member are included inside. The pictures are colored a steely grey to indicate that these individuals have seen much more than just 72 seasons of life. In a different video, Hetfield turns to the digipak CD and rips off the plastic to reveal the back cover, which contains the 72 crib bars layout. If you closely examine the yellow CD in the center of the booklet’s five-panel display, you can see the runtimes for each of the CD’s 12 tracks.
Monday, April 3rd:
-Incubus is hitting the road this summer on a 29-date U.S. tour. The tour will be in Chicago on July 30th at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island. Badflower and Paris Jackson – that’s right, the daughter of Michael Jackson – will join the tour as supporting acts. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 7th.
-Twenty one pilots is pressing their 2022 “MTV Unplugged” performance. The band posted the news to social media writing, “Our MTV Unplugged performance will soon be yours to listen to and wear. The deluxe vinyl, deluxe compact disc, and some merch is coming April 21st but you can pre-order all of that now.” Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun did the MTV series last June.
-Steven Tyler is filing new legal papers in the ongoing lawsuit that alleges he committed sexual assault of a minor. In the new filing, the rocker’s lawyers argued that complaints against him are inadmissible because the victim, Julia Halcomb, had given her consent. They also claim he was further protected by his position as her legal guardian. CBS reported that the singer’s filing claimed that his “actions were legitimate, justified and in good-faith,” and that Holcomb had not “sustained any injury or loss by reason of any act or omission” as a result of his actions, and was therefore not entitled to damages. Events detailed in Holcomb’s suit appear to connect with events in the ‘70s, which have been detailed in Tyler’s memoir. The Aerosmith frontman said he “almost took a teen bride” and her parents had signed over legal guardianship to him. “He wrote, “With my bad self being 26 and she barely old enough to drive and sexy as hell, I just fell madly in love with her.”
-Bring Me The Horizon has a new YouTube series that recaps their European tour. The first episode sees the band hit Germany, where they meet Rammstein singer Till Lindemann, who gifts them some Rammstein alcohol. There’s also live footage both of the show and a couple of snippets of new material, with Jordan Fish calling for more “stabbiness” in the tunes.
