Gregg Allman Delays Book Tour for Cardiac Testing

Gregg Allman will undergo diagnostic cardiac testing tomorrow at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonsville, Florida to determine whether he needs additional care stemming from his recent hernia operation. Allman received a liver transplant at the same facility back in 2010.

As a result of this testing, Allman will delay the publicity tour for his forthcoming memoir, My Cross to Bear. "I've been working on the book for years and am grateful for all the support I've received in putting it together," the rocker said in a statement. "As soon as doctors give me the thumbs up to go back on the road, I will be heading out onto my book tour and I can’t wait to meet all of my fans." Allman was set to appear on The Colbert Report and Piers Morgan Tonight.

Allman's summer tour with the Allman Brothers Band is not expected to be affected by this testing. The band recently sold out a run of concerts at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan and will announce more tour dates on May 1st.

An exclusive excerpt from My Cross to Bear appears in the new issue of Rolling Stone, on newsstands Friday.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/gregg-allman-delays-book-tour-for-cardiac-testing-20120426

KISS and Motley Crue Announce 'The Tour'

KISS and Mötley Crüe gathered today at L.A.'s Roosevelt Hotel to announce "The Tour," a joint summer package that kicks off July 20th in Bristow, Virginia and runs through September 23rd in Hartford, Connecticut. Each band will play about 90 minutes and KISS will close every night.

Calling it "The Tour" is a bold proclamation. But after more than 60 combined years on the road, both bands feel comfortable with living up to that title. "You will scream your head off until it’s no longer on your shoulder and then you’ll feel great. You’ll be drenched, exhausted, and completely satisfied without ever having anyone touch your schmekel," Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone.

KISS' Paul Stanley has loftier goals though, namely surpassing the band's reputation as one of the great live acts. "What we’re hoping for, and certainly I am, is whatever people’s expectations are, we blow them out of the water," Stanley told Rolling Stone. "I want people to hope for the legend that they’ve heard about and find out it’s greater than that. I think that the longer we’re around the more invincible we become."

This marks the first time the two acts have shared the same stage since Crüe opened five dates for KISS on 1982, 30 years ago. And while Crüe have since become hard rock icons in their own right, they are still the same KISS fans as back then. In a joint conversation with RS, Crue drummer Tommy Lee turned to KISS drummer Eric Singer and asked, "Are you guys gonna play 'Firehouse'?'" When Singer responded yeah cause Simmons was gonna blow fire, Lee's inner child started air drumming. "I fucking love that song," he said, tapping his hands excitedly.

The admiration and respect are mutual. "I'm a big Mötley Crue fan," Singer said. "I've always been a fan of Tommy's and a fan of the band, so I think it's really cool."

A double bill of KISS and Mötley Crüe promises to be over the top, "Elvis on steroids," it was called in the press conference. "I want people to leave and go, so this is what rock & roll is," Stanley said. "It’s dangerous, it’s loose, it’s not perfect. So whatever pop artist you see dancing around on a stage lip synching, that’s a con game and that’s not a live concert. If you want karaoke, go to a karaoke bar."

Simmons fired shots at pop singers in the press conference, saying, "We're sick and tired of girls getting up there with dancers and karaoke tapes in back of them. No fake bullshit. Leave that to the Rihanna, Smhianna and anyone who ends their name with an 'A.'"

Crüe's Nikki Sixx didn't disagree, but took the more positive route, hoping it inspires young fans to see two bands who've persevered in both up and down times. "What I would like to see people take away from it is that if you actually practice your instrument and practice writing songs and put a hundred percent into your show and every aspect of it, from your clothes to your lyrics, if your singers sing, then this is what happens – you have a long career and you get to go out and do the real deal," he told us. "It’s real rock & roll."

Lee suggested those youngsters seeing both bands for the first time will be speechless. "They're gonna be tripping, for somebody who hasn't seen either band," he said. "They're gonna be walking out of there flipped out. I would."

It was the always quotable Simmons though who summed up what people can expect from a night with Mötley Crüe and KISS. "Come out, we’ll blow shit up, go home and fuck your girlfriend, that’s it," he said. That's exactly what we'd hope for.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kiss-and-motley-crue-announce-the-tour-20120321

Creed Recording New Album, Revisiting Their Past on Tour

Creed are simultaneously looking back and ahead these days. While the band is hitting the road April 13th in Chicago for a month-long tour that will find them playing their first two albums, My Own Prison and Human Clay, from start to finish, the band is also well into working on a new album, their first since 2003's Weathered.

"We spent about three to four weeks together jamming and writing new material," frontman Scott Stapp tells Rolling Stone. "We feel five [new songs] have the symmetry and continuity within themselves and will make the record. So if you want to look at it from that perspective, we’re halfway there."

Right now there is no timeline for the record, though Stapp says, "We could begin tracking as soon as March, and [if that happens] of course we’ll have a record out this summer." Regardless, the whole band is in agreement that the top priority is making the best record they can. "We’re gonna continue to write until we feel we have the strongest, best album we’ve ever done. That’s our goal. If it takes all year to do that and the album doesn’t come out until next year, then so be it."

Given their excitement about the new record, is there a chance the band could preview some new material on the upcoming tour? "We would love to. If we get it where it needs to be, we'll definitely play it," guitarist Mark Tremonti says.

Tremonti agrees with Stapp's assessment that they have about five tracks locked in to make the record. "There's two that you might hear on the radio," he says. "There's one heavier, high-energy type of tune. And there's kind of a moodier, slower, longer finger-picked song, like 'Faceless Man.' It's kind of all over the place, but we're very happy with what we've got so far."

There will also be some clues to the new album in the older material when the band revisits the first two albums on their upcoming tour. "It just reminds you to not overcomplicate things," Tremonti says. "We'll stick to making a record formed around these big melodies that I think were always kind of the essence of the band."

Adds Stapp: "As we’re going through this material, jamming and stuff, I think it brings back the memories of how things were before the success – our relationships and how we looked at what to do, an appreciation for it all. It’s definitely rubbing off on the new music."

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/creed-recording-new-album-revisiting-their-past-on-tour-20120301

Google Brings the Noise: Adds Upcoming Concerts to Search Results

Google’s never ending quest to sort and categorize everything on the planet continues as the search engine will now inform you of upcoming concerts in the area. The venerable search engine already brings you movie showings, tell you the weather, perform calculations, and even give you currency exchange rates. Pretty soon it’s going to be faster to just say what Google’s can’t do.

Finding concerts on Google is excrutiatingly easy. Simply type the name of a band into Google, and nearby concert dates will appear below the official website of the band. According to Google’s blog post, the results come from various sources including the official website of the band. It’s also pretty smart about the search results, returning only upcoming shows that are near to your current location. So if you don’t see any results for your favorite band, it probably just means they’re not coming close anytime soon. The results will also include links to where you can buy tickets, if online purchase options are available.


source: http://www.geekosystem.com/google-concert-search/

The Beatles Release Songs as Ringtones in iTunes Store

The Beatles have signed a deal with iTunes to release ringtones for each of the songs on 1, their career-spanning collection of Number One singles. The 30-second ringtones are available in the digital store now for $1.29 each, the same price as an individual song from the band's catalog.

The Beatles' music has been available in the iTunes store since November of 2010, but only after many years of negotiations. Though the band has since sold a huge number of mp3 downloads at the digital retailer, they may have waited too long to get in the ringtone business, as the market has been in decline since smartphones and ringtone-making apps have become more popular.

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/the-beatles-release-songs-as-ringtones-in-itunes-store-20120222

Motorhead Urge Fans Not to Buy Box Set

Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister is urging fans not to purchase The Complete Early Years, a 15-disc box set compiling the band's music that is being sold for over $600. "Unfortunately greed once again rears its yapping head," Kilmister wrote on the band's official website. "I would advise against it even for the most rabid completists!"

Kilmister claimed the band has no control over what is done with this early material, and he urged fans to consider buying their latest album, The Wörld Is Yours and a new DVD, The Wörld Is Ours Vol. 1 – Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else, rather than "this outrageously expensive box set."


source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/motorhead-urge-fans-not-to-buy-box-set-20120222