Being a rock star is a dangerous job. Besides the cliches that we all think of – including excessive partying and adrenaline rush risk taking – musicians are known to go to extremes onstage. This can lead to scary mishaps, like misfired pyrotechnics or dangerous prop malfunctions. Alice Cooper knows a thing or two about […]
Honestly, there has been no rhyme or reason to Paul McCartney‘s choice of album opening songs. In some cases, like 1973’s Band on the Run, 1975’s Venus and Mars and 1984’s Give My Regards to Broadstreet, McCartney led with big hit singles. Other times, as on his ’70s band Wings‘ debut Wild Life and the […]
Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens dazzles fans every night with a nylon-string guitar solo that ever-so-slightly teases bits of Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway to Heaven” and Van Halen‘s “Eruption.” It’s a fitting homage, considering Eddie Van Halen inspired Stevens to perform a classical solo in the first place. “Oddly enough, the way that I ended up doing a nylon […]
Vince Gill has detailed the unique challenge of performing with the Eagles at the Sphere. Gill, who joined the band’s lineup in 2017 following the death of Glenn Frey, recently appeared on Shred With Shifty, the podcast hosted by Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett. During their conversation, Shiflett asked Gill how he handles the Sphere’s […]
Genesis were in the midst of trying to figure out a path forward as vocalist Peter Gabriel was planning to leave. It was Jon Anderson of Yes who gave them an important assist. The signs of a potential fracture first appeared as the band were working on songs for 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. […]
Stone Temple Pilots rode many a chaotic wave with vocalist Scott Weiland throughout their initial existence and parted ways with the singer for the final time in the early part of 2013. Bassist Robert DeLeo and guitarist Dean DeLeo had worked outside of the band’s normal setting a couple of times, first with 1997’s Talk […]
Were the ’80s really the greatest decade ever in music? We posit that question on the back cover of our new book, 501 Essential Albums of the 80s (Motorbooks/Quarto Group), and certainly that case could be made – though other 10-year spans can make their own claims to that distinction. With portable hardware such as […]
Bob Dylan does not often perform with guests, but he made an exception Thursday night when guitarist Billy Strings joined him for “All Along the Watchtower.” The collaboration took place in Spokane, Washington. Both Dylan and Strings are currently touring on the same bill as part of Willie Nelson‘s annual Outlaw Festival. You can watch […]
A New Jersey bar has come under fire for canceling a Bruce Springsteen cover band’s scheduled performance following the Boss’ recent criticisms of President Donald Trump. No Surrender, the eight-piece band that’s been covering Springsteen and other classic rock acts for more than 20 years, was slated to perform at Riv’s Toms River Hub in Toms […]
Metallica has expanded their M72 world tour into 2026, announcing a series of European dates for next spring and summer with support from some of metal’s heaviest hitters. The European leg will begin on May 9 in Athens, Greece, and conclude on July 5 in London. Four cities — Frankfurt, Budapest, Dublin and London — will feature two consecutive shows as […]