Michael Monroe has been a consummate workaholic ever since his early days fronting Finnish glam-punk band Hanoi Rocks as a fresh-faced twentysomething. The singer launched a solo career in the mid-’80s and subsequently collaborated with several rock ‘n’ roll heavy hitters, including Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens and E Street Band alum Steven Van Zandt. The latter produced […]
Matt Sorum said Velvet Revolver started by taking a lesson from Aerosmith, and he expressed regret that the Guns N’ Roses offshoot wasn’t able to stick to their agreement. Formed in 2002 by Sorum, Slash and Duff McKagan, and featuring singer Scott Weiland, the supergroup secured acclaim quickly but wasn’t able to maintain it. “When we all got […]
Canada-based animator Gerald Potterton – known in the rock world for his work on the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine movie and the 1981 cult classic Heavy Metal – has died at the age of 91. The National Film Board of Canada announced that he died in a Quebec hospital, saying in a statement, “Gerald came to Canada […]
Neal Schon appeared on America’s Got Talent Wednesday night and performed the Journey classic “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The guitarist played the song alongside the 2019 winner of America’s Got Talent, pianist and singer Kodi Lee, and singer Teddy Swims. You can watch their performance below. Schon recently recalled the experience of crafting “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which appeared on 1981’s Escape. “Jonathan [Cain] wrote the lyrics ‘don’t stop believin” with […]
Demi Lovato guitarist Nita Strauss said there are no hard feelings between her and former employer Alice Cooper, and she hasn’t ruled out a return to the shock-rocker’s band. “It’s an interesting thing that everyone’s picked up saying it’s a ‘departure’ but I don’t feel, necessarily, that I left,” Strauss told Louder. “I took a step back and […]
A lot has changed since Saturday Night Live’s first episode aired on Oct. 11, 1975. For one thing, the show was then called NBC’s Saturday Night since sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, of all people, had snapped up producer Lorne Michaels’ first choice of name for his mercifully short-lived comedy-variety show on ABC, Howard Cosell’s Saturday […]
The Fixx‘s Shuttered Room was a slow burn to success. The 1982 album included songs like “Stand or Fall” and “Red Skies,” which are now fan favorites and staples of the band’s live set. But MCA Records, the group’s label at the time, didn’t quite know what to make of their latest signing. The band refused to get […]
Sammy Hagar says he wrote a new song called “Thank You” using a guitar lick that Eddie Van Halen showed him in a recent dream. “I shouldn’t be hyping it now,” Hagar tells UCR. “Nobody knows this but Michael Anthony, Jason [Bonham] and Vic [Johnson]. About two months ago, I had this dream and Eddie […]
In early August 2021, it was announced that drummer Charlie Watts, for the first time, would not be participating in the Rolling Stones‘ upcoming tour. “For once my timing has been a little off,” Watts said in a statement at the time. “I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on […]
R.E.M.‘s debut EP, Chronic Town, landed in stores on Aug. 24, 1982. It’s safe to say music was never the same, although such historic hyperbole felt very far away upon the release of the five-song record. That’s because Chronic Town feels beamed in from another planet — a planet shrouded in murky atmospheres, Southern mysticism and […]