SOUNDGARDEN: Oh We've Got Stuff in the Vaults
Soundgarden fans will likely have some stuff from their archives to look forward to next year.
2026 is the 30th anniversary of Down on the Upside, and guitarist Kim Thayil tells us they're looking at an anniversary reissue for that and something for their 1989 album Louder Than Love. "We're starting work on addressing the catalog and the anniversary issue. And we got caught up in some other things. And, also Louder Than Love. We pretty much had an anniversary box for Louder Than Love in the can with Hiro [Yamamoto] and then some live stuff we had done with Jason [Everman] at the time and some demo stuff. So it was kind of ready to go and again, you know, some stuff was put on hold for a period of years and we'll revisit it." While Thayil wasn't that forthcoming about why the Louder Than Love set was delayed, it's likely due to the lengthy legal issues the band went through with Chris Cornell's widow Vicky. Those issues, which included the remaining songs they did with Cornell, were finally settled in 2023.
Possible Release Of Black Sabbath Demos Draws Response From Sharon Osbourne
Former Black Sabbath manager Jim Simpson has announced his intention to release demo tapes from the pre-Sabbath days, when the band was known as Earth. When Simpson said over the weekend that he intends to release a collection of 1969 Earth demos titled "Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes," Sharon Osbourne fired back. "As you know, the Band do not want these tapes released, not least as they haven’t heard them despite you saying you would provide copies long ago," she wrote. "You know that, as a band, Black Sabbath don’t take things lying down and you can be assured that if you go ahead with this against the Band’s wishes we will take any action where their rights are infringed, both here and in America." For now, it would appear the release of any of the demos in question has been put on pause as everyone lawyers up.
PAUL RODGERS: Collects His Rock Hall Award
Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers finally has his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trophy. It was presented to him at his home in Canada by his great niece Charlotte, whose mom, and her grandparents attended the November 8th ceremony in Los Angeles. Rodgers was scheduled to attend and to perform, but due to health issues, his doctors advised him not to fly. You can watch a video of Charlotte handing him the trophy on his Instagram page, making her the youngest presenter in the Rock Hall's history.
BRET MICHAELS: Poisoning the Well?
In 2024, Bret Michaels said Poison would be touring this year. He then changed course, saying he would take 2025 to "focus primarily on [his] health..." and that Poison would tour in 2026.
So, with many artists already announcing their 2026 tour plans, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett
says he hasn't spoken to Michaels. He tells Talkin' Bout Rock, "Bret and I do not talk, unfortunately. And that's a shame — honestly, it is. So we get bits and pieces of stuff...
"I'll set the record straight as far as Poison touring: at this point in time, there is nothing on the books for a 2026 40th-anniversary tour. And I said it months ago when we got presented a contract from Live Nation to go on tour [next year]. [Guitarist] C.C. [DeVille], [bassist] Bobby
[Dall] and I agreed. We thought it was great. We thought the money was great. We thought the lay of the land looked great. And then Bret looked at it and has not agreed to anything. So literally that is where we're at.
"I'm not trying to bash Bret. I'm not trying to start any fights… But one thing you have to understand is, for instance, the Bret Michaels [solo] band tours very differently from the way Poison tours. Poison tours the way Def Leppard and Motley Crue and Luke Bryan or whoever [tours], where we basically kiss our families goodbye for three-plus months, or however long it's gonna be, and go out on a tour bus and trucks, and we're playing five nights a week, sometimes six nights a week. And that's not how Bret tours [with his solo band]. He does weekend-warrior stuff, which there's nothing wrong with that at all..."
We reached out to Michaels for comment but have yet to hear back. Posion's last tour was in 2022 as part of The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and Motley Crue.
KISS: What Happened in Vegas Didn't Stay in Vegas
KISS reunited this past weekend for their three-day KISS Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas event at the Virgin Hotel. On Friday, they did an acoustic set, and each member of the audience was given a battery candle which Paul Stanley asked everyone to raise up and "think about somebody who is at the foundation of this band. We're talking about Ace [Frehley]. We certainly had differences, but that's what family is about. Why don't we take a moment... think about him looking down on us - from Jendell, probably - and let's have a moment for Ace."
On Saturday they did an electric set that featured their former guitarist Bruce Kulick on two songs -- "Lick it Up" and "Rock and Roll All Nite."
Other highlights included Stanley doing a cooking demonstration, a Q&A with their manager
Doc McGhee and among the things in the works are a film of their End of the Road tour, their avatar show, and a bio-pic. And Paul Stanley, during his Q&A, said they're hoping to do another KISS Kruise next year, this time on the ocean. He's also working on new music. And is not interested in KISS performing at the Sphere in Las Vegas because KISS has always been about being larger than life, and at the Sphere, the band is on a postage stamp [sized stage]."
This weekend marked the first shows for KISS since their End of the Road tour wrapped up on December 2nd, 2023, at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Alice Cooper And Criss Angel Add Welcome To Our Nightmare Shows In Las Vegas
Alice Cooper and magician Criss Angel are adding shows to their "Welcome To Our Nightmare!" partnership in Las Vegas. The two have added four new show dates after selling out the two premiere shows in one hour. The new dates are April 3rd, 4th, and May 22nd, and the 23rd. The 90-minute show is taking place at The Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.It will feature Cooper performing hits like "Poison," "I'm Eighteen," and "School's Out." Tickets are available now.
PETE TOWNSHEND: A Visit From the Original "Ace Face"
Sting, who played "Ace Face" in Quadrophenia, the 1979 movie based on The Who's 1973 rock opera, joined Pete Townshend on Sunday at the final performance of Quadrophenia, a Rock Ballet at the City Center in New York City. Sting is no stranger to his music being turned into a theatrical dance production. In 2020, Message in a Bottle, set to the music of Sting and The Police, premiered on London’s West End and has since toured the U.K., Europe and 10 cities in the U.S. last year. It was released on Blu-ray and TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) this past October 10th.
During the first show on Friday, Townshend took the stage with a guitar and sat down off to the side and played along to "I'm One" while Paris Fitzpatrick, who plays the lead character Jimmy, danced. And at the end of the performance he joined the cast for bow and saying that the show was in tribute to its choreographer, Paul Roberts, who died of cancer in September.
He also said he brought the show to New York "out of [his] own pocket. You all know how I feel about the U.S. of A, but also this city, and I really wanted to bring it here for [Paul] and for his husband Phil, and everybody in the company.” Townshend came up with the idea for the ballet after his wife, composer Rachel Fuller, wrote an orchestral score of the album, which was first performed at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2015 and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. “I heard her score and I remember saying to her, ‘I can just see dancers dancing’. It had tones of [Russian composer] Sergei Prokofiev about it..."
And ballet is not foreign to Townshend as The Who's late manager Kit Lambert was the son
Constant Lambert, the founding music director of the Royal Ballet, and as a result, Kit took Townshend to many of their productions. Townshend also took ballet lessons between the ages of three-and-a-half and five. "I was the only boy in a class of about 24 girls. And apparently, I didn't behave because I got the slipper on my bare bum in front of 24 very pretty little girls. And I'm amazed it didn't turn me into a premium pervert, and I don't dream about it and I don't ever want it to happen again."
STYX: Former Member Has Too Much Time on His Hands
Bands like Styx, REO Speedwagon and Kansas are having a hard enough time getting nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as they're not "good enough" for members of the nominating committee. But former Styx singer and keyboardist Dennis DeYoung is certainly not helping things with his continued rants against the Hall, despite the fact that he makes a good point.
In his latest Facebook post he writes, "It’s a shame that Bad Company had to wait so long to get in that it rendered Paul Rodgers unable to perform due to health concerns... "The [November 8th] Induction Ceremony clearly pointed out the tragic manner in which this joint operates. Making so many musicians wait until they're either incapacitated or dead is shameful. Joe Cocker, Warren Zevon, etc. are suddenly eligible decades after their success? Explain that. What’s changed except the Hall’s inability to let go of their clear prejudices and induct them? They now admit, when it’s far too late that they have erred. Have Joe, Warren and others recently become more popular? No. "The Hall’s initial mission statement about who qualifies was always a ruse and a joke concocted to protect their own personal choices. I’ll stop now before I need blood pressure meds. I have said this before — as someone whose band has never been considered, whatever I write ends up sounding like sour grapes..."
A case for Styx being nominated can certainly be made as they've had eight songs crack the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, along with 16 Top 50 singles. And from 1977 to 1981, they released four consecutive albums that were certified multi-platinum -- at least two-million units sold. They've been eligible for nomination since 1997, which meets the Hall's criteria of 25 years after the release of their first album in 1972.
QUEEN: On the Path to A Night at the Opera
Queen have posted episode three of their new five-part YouTube series, The Greatest.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their fourth album, 1975's A Night at the Opera, in Part Two of "The Path to A Night at the Opera," Brian May and Roger Taylor look back at the band's musical evolution over their first three albums leading up to A Night at the Opera.
Taylor says, "We wanted [the album] to be eclectic. We wanted different styles. We had things like 'Seaside Rendezvous,' which was a lot of fun. But we also had this monumentally long song, 'The Prophet’s Song.' Brian had a field day on that one.” And May adds, "I have a massive insecurity about myself as a songwriter. And with ‘The Prophet’s Song,’ it was right on the edge. I could hear something in my head, but I couldn't quite grasp it. I remember wrestling with all the different pieces -- how each chorus ends in a different way, and where does it go -- but it was a wonderful challenge to get Freddie to do that canon stuff, which he does in the middle. Freddie was very supportive in getting into those experiments.”
And it wasn't just what went on the album that May and Taylor were concerned about, but also what was released, as Taylor says they "never thought of ourselves as a singles band.
“Remember, this is the '70s, and in the '70s, particularly the BBC with Top of the Pops, they thought everything was about singles. Well, it wasn't. Everything was really about albums. [Pink Floyd's] The Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles' 'White' album (1968], a wonderful album of different, eclectic material. That’s what we wanted to do. “We never thought about making singles, or ‘This one’s a single.’ We’d just make an album then think, ‘Oh, let's try that one as a single,’ because a single was like a flag, like 'Killer Queen' was the flag for Sheer Heart Attack, and the album was consequentially very successful.” The big single off A Night at the Opera was "Bohemian Rhapsody," and Brian May remembers people around them questioning its release. "We did think it was a single, and it was hard to persuade the record company, hard to persuade our manager at the time, but eventually they all got behind it and it was put out in its entirety. It’s quite a brave thing to do when everybody’s telling you it's going to fail.”
A Night at the Opera, reportedly the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release, gave us not only "Bohemian Rhapsody," but also "You're My Best Friend," "I'm in Love With My Car," "39," and "Love of My Life." It peaked at number-four on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than three-million copies in the U.S.
A 50th anniversary edition of A Night at the Opera is out now on lavish crystal-clear vinyl with gold labels, and the single of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is on heavyweight blue 7-inch or 12-inch vinyl, a 12-inch picture disc, or blue cassette.
Limp Bizkit's Estonia Concert Canceled Over Fred Durst's Past Support Of Vladimir Putin
Fred Durst's past support for Russian president Vladimir Putin has come back to bite Limp Bizkit in their collective butts. The band's upcoming performance in Estonia in May has been canceled over Durst's past comments painting Putin and Russia in a friendly light. In 2012, Durst married Crimean-born Russian makeup artist Kseniya Beryazina (whom he has since divorced), and appeared to speak in support of Russia’s 2014 annexation of the region from Ukraine, even holding up a "Crimea = Russia" banner at a show in 2015. The singer also spoke highly of Putin, once praising him as "a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person."
IN OTHER NEWS
Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan have joined the lineup of artists on B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100, which is due out on February 6th. The two will duet on King's classic "The Thrill Is Gone." Compiled by guitarist Joe Bonamassa, the album also includes contributions from Michael McDonald, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, Warren Haynes, Paul Rodgers and many others.
Motley Crue released an unboxing video for their Theatre of Pain 40th Anniversary box set. It features Michael Berryman, who starred in the videos for "Smokin' in the Boys Room" and "Home Sweet Home." Watch it on YouTube.
Megadeth have shared another track from their self-titled album due out on January 23rd. Check out "I Don't Care" on YouTube.