.

B Sides for 08/26/2014



Sammy Hagar Issues Challenge To Van Halen Brothers
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Sunday and nominated the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex, to participate in the charitable event.

"I accept Joe Satriani's challenge, but I'm gonna write a big, fat check," said Hagar, "and being a California person, I'm gonna conserve water and jump in this ice cold lake. Eddie and Alex Van Halen, I challenge you to do the same."

Hagar recently completed a summer tour and is now gearing up for his annual October birthday bash concerts at the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

More details about that and video of Hagar taking the ice bucket challenge here.

More on Sammy Hagar - Sammy Hagar Music - Sammy Hagar CDs, vinyl and rarities

Stevie Nicks Reveals New Song 'Lady'
(Radio.com) Stevie Nicks is gearing up to release her new album 24 Karat Gold - Songs from the Vault this fall, which has her unearthing old demos and unreleased tracks. She's already given fans the mid-tempo rocker "The Dealer," and now she's offering up the soft piano ballad, "Lady."

As Stereogum points out, the Fleetwood Mac singer's latest is actually an updated version of an old Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham demo called "Knockin' On Doors." On the introspective track, she sings about getting older and what her fate may be: "I know that things gotta change/But how to change them, isn't clear."

24 Karat Gold - Songs from the Vault will be out Oct. 27. But Nicks has a surprise in store for vinyl fans, who will be able to grab a copy of a limited-edition double LP on Sept. 29.

"Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story," Nicks said in a statement. "They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken hearted and the survivors. These songs are the memories - the 24 karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you."

Watch the lyric video for "Lady" here.

More on Stevie Nicks - Stevie Nicks Music - Stevie Nicks CDs, vinyl and rarities

Henry Rollins Shares More Thoughts On Suicide
(Radio.com) Last week, Henry Rollins wrote a controversial post for his L.A. Weekly column, titled "F-K Suicide." In it, he expressed admiration for the talent of the late Robin Williams talent, but said of Williams and anyone else who has committed suicide: "When someone negates their existence, they cancel themselves out in my mind�I no longer take this person seriously."

Predictably, many found this offensive and blasted the punk-rock legend across social media and websites. Rollins took to his official website over the weekend to issue an apology, and said, "I wrote something for the L.A. Weekly that they will post on Monday."

On Monday, his latest column was published, titled "More Thoughts on Suicide.": "As you might imagine, I got a few letters about my recent column about suicide," he wrote. "Actually, it was a lot of letters. For days. I read them. No matter how angry or instructive, I appreciate them all because they were written with complete sincerity."

Rollins noted that he read and responded to much of the criticism. "It was obvious that I had some work to do in order to educate myself further on this very complex and painful issue. I am quite thick-headed, but not so much that things don't occasionally permeate." He added, "I am always eager to learn something. I promise that I will dig in and educate myself on this and do my best to evolve. Again, thank you."

"I cannot defend the views I expressed," he continued. "I think that would be taking an easy out. I put them out there plainly and must suffer the slings and arrows-fair enough. I won't attempt to dodge them."

In his post, he admitted that he also suffers from depression. Read more here.

More on Henry Rollins - Henry Rollins Music - Henry Rollins CDs, vinyl and rarities

Lenny Kravitz Teases The Chamber Video
(hennemusic) Lenny Kravitz is previewing the video for "The Chamber", the lead single from his forthcoming album, "Strut." Directed by Anthony Mandler, the full video will be issued on September 4.

Due September 23, "Strut" is Lenny's tenth studio album and first since 2011's "Black And White America." "This record brought me back to a place of what I love so much about music, back to the feelings I had when I was in high school," says Kravitz.

"It's a real rock & roll record - it's raw, it's got soul and it came together really quickly." Kravitz is also scheduled to launch a world tour in support of "Strut" on October 22 in Moscow.

Check out the video preview here.

More on Lenny Kravitz - Lenny Kravitz Music - Lenny Kravitz CDs, vinyl and rarities

SIXX:A.M's DJ Ashba Release Guitar Lesson For New Song Stars
(Gibson) SIXX:A.M, the modern rock band featuring Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, Guns N' Roses' DJ Ashba and vocalist James Michael, have released "Stars," the first track from their forthcoming album Modern Vintage.

Ashba has posted a 9-minute guitar lesson video on his YouTube channel demonstrating how to play the song. In the video you'll see and hear DJ's new signature Gibson Les Paul.

The guitar features Seymour Duncan JB and Alnico II PRO humbuckers, a compound radius 10"-16" Grade-A rosewood fingerboard, a kill switch and two independent tone controls with different cap values in addition to a master volume control and three-way pickup selector.

Modern Vintage is released on October 7. You can watch DJ Ashba's "Stars" guitar lesson here.

More on SIXX A.M - SIXX A.M Music - SIXX A.M CDs, vinyl and rarities

Ghost's Biggest Influences Are ABBA and The Beatles
(TeamRock Radio) One of Ghost's Nameless Ghouls says ABBA and The Beatles are the band's biggest influences. Ghost last year released the If You Have Ghost EP featuring cover versions of tracks by ABBA, Army Of Lovers, Depeche Mode and Roky Erickson.

They have also previously recorded a cover of The Beatles' Here Comes The Sun. And the Ghoul says the band are unlikely to ever cover a heavy metal track because it would be too obvious.

The Ghoul tells Alternative Nation: "Covering an artist that sounds similar to your own band doesn't make any sense. That's already out there, so why not take another song and paint it with your own colours?

"We listen to all kinds of music. I don't think we will ever do a heavy metal cover. We love those songs and some of the bands as well. ABBA and The Beatles are probably our biggest influences."

A lot more here.

More on Ghost - Ghost Music - Ghost CDs, vinyl and rarities

Aerosmith's Joe Perry Makes Dallas TV Appearance
(hennemusic) Aerosmith's Joe Perry was a featured guest on WFAA-TV News 8 in Dallas on Saturday morning, where the guitarist was on hand to promote his line of Rock Your World hot sauces.

Perry discussed the challenges of eating healthy while on the road, as well as sharing his recipe for Steak Burritos with his Rock Your World Mango Peach Tango sauce.

Perry and Aerosmith performed at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday as part of their summer-long Let Rock Rule tour. Watch video of Perry's TV appearance here.

More on Aerosmith - Aerosmith Music - Aerosmith CDs, vinyl and rarities

Singled Out: Ryan Hobler's Near You
Folk pop songwriter Ryan Hobler shares the heart felt story behind the song "Near You". This song comes from his forthcoming album, which he is revealing one new track each month leading up to its release. Here is the story:

To be honest, "Near You" kind of wrote itself. One early New Year's Day morning, the words came pouring out. The song was done within fifteen minutes.

I wrote "Near You" for my fiancee Lauren (now my wife) not long after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Throughout her mother's treatment, I just tried to be there for Lauren however I could be. Lauren and her mother were both so strong it was amazing. But when her mother's chemotherapy started, it was devastating.

Anyone who experiences cancer through a loved one knows how unforgiving chemotherapy is on the body. It's a poison medicine that treats a poison condition. A fire to fight fire with. The stress of seeing Lauren's mother undergoing those chemo treatments was incredibly difficult. It killer Lauren to see her mother like that. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I tried to reassure her; to tell her everything would be alright. Ultimately, I wanted to make Lauren feel better. But I couldn't make her feel better. The only thing that would make her feel better would be to annihilate her mother's cancer. But I couldn't do that. We could only hope and pray the grueling schedule of chemo would do as much.

So I wrote "Near You." Quite simply, it's a song about compassion: about spending time with some one you love when he or she needs you. It's about being there for someone you love. Sometimes there are no right words. You just have to be there. So that's what I kept doing. I helped Lauren however I could. Most of the time I didn't know what to say, most of the time, I couldn't make anything better. But I could be there. The song truly was a gift for me. It reassured me to just be there for Lauren. And, thankfully, Lauren's mother finished chemo in a few months and her cancer is now in remission.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about Ryan and the upcoming album right here!

More on Ryan Hobler - Ryan Hobler Music - Ryan Hobler CDs, vinyl and rarities


...end