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B Sides for 01/16/2015



Motley Crue Recruit Jackass Director For The Dirt Movie
(hennemusic) The Motley Crue biopic, "The Dirt" - based on the band's 2001 autobiography of the same name - has landed a new production deal with Focus Features after years of planning under Paramount Pictures.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project still sees director Jeff Tremaine (the Jackass movies) on board with a screenplay written by Rich Wilkes and Tom Kapinos.

Tremaine's last project - 2013's Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa - grossed over $102 million in the States alone. Motley Crue will act as co-producers on the film alongside Amanda Adelson. Read more here.

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Exodus Drummer Open To Working With Megadeth
(Classic Rock) Exodus drummer Tom Hunting isn't certain he'd follow bandmate Gary Holt down the road of pulling double duties with the thrash icons - although he wouldn't say 'no' if he was offered a job with Megadeth.

Guitarist Holt remains with Slayer after having stood in for Jeff Hanneman in the two years running up to his death. And Dave Mustaine's outfit are in the process of recruiting a new lineup after the departures of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover.

But Hunting tells Capital Chaos TV: "If Dave called and wanted to do some work, I would certainly listen. If he needed a drummer for recording and I was available, I would certainly entertain the idea."

He adds: "I believe in my own band and what we're doing right now. I've never been one of those guys that floats around between bands. I want to do what I do with Exodus and have a normal life - do normal things like chop wood, have a wife, spend time with my family. Sh*t like that." here.

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Pink Floyd's Nick Mason Calls Out Apple Over U2 Giveaway
(Radio.com) Pink Floyd's Nick Mason is still upset about that surprise U2 release. But he's not mad at Bono and the guys, he's got a bone to pick with Apple. In a new interview with GQ, Mason talks about the "U2 debacle" stating he thinks "it's been interesting seeing how badly that went down," as in that surprise release that ended up on everyone's iTunes.

But Mason is quick to admit that if he was offered the same deal, he would have taken it. "If Apple had come to me and said, 'Nick, we want to release your album in exchange for �50m', I couldn't have thought of a better idea," he said. "Radiohead did something similar a few years ago [2008's In Rainbows], and it worked. But this has backfired."

Mason says this isn't "an anti-U2 tirade," but he does think that for as much criticism as the band got, Apple should get more. "It highlights a vital aspect to the whole idea of music in the 21st century," Mason explained. "What's also interesting is that Apple seem to have got off scot-free. No-one's blaming them. Apple has done great things, but it has also contributed to the devaluation process. That said, iTunes is already beginning to look rather pass�, and instead it's Spotify that looks like the future." Read more here.

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The Scorpions Frontman Says New Album Tells Their Story
(Classic Rock) The Scorpions have spoken about their new album, Return To Forever, the follow-up to 2011's Comeblack, and published a lyric video for the single We Built This House.

"In the end, it tells our story, says Klaus Meine. "We've built this house called Scorpions brick by brick and often quite arduously. From the first days in Hannover, the first concerts abroad, until this very day. We've weathered severe storms, but the house withstood everything, turned out to be weather proof and stable. However, building the house was never just cumbersome, but joyful as well. The joy of music, the joy of having experienced and still experiencing it all, the joy of - and the thankfulness for - the fans' affection. We have been working hard for this dream, but we're thankful as well for having been able to live it, and for still being able to live it today."

The album marks half a century since the band's formation in provincial Hannover. "It's really remarkable", says Rudolf Schenker, "how well and mostly unharmed we've survived those years, in which our kind of music seemed to have gotten out of style completely. When the grunge wave hit the shore, we simply went to Asia to tap new markets and gain new fans. We were able to continue playing and keep on winning new friends for our music."

Check out the video here.

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Steve Hackett Worked With Real Wolves On New Album Cover
(Prog) Steve Hackett says he was nervous doing the cover shoot for upcoming album Wolflight. Speculation has grown that the artwork featuring Hackett and four wolves was created using Photoshop. But the guitarist says it's genuine and that initially he was apprehensive about getting close to the animals.

The Genesis legend says on his website: "People have wondered if I really was with wolves on the cover picture for the forthcoming album Wolflight. The answer is yes I was!

"I felt pretty nervous at first when, on entering a large, grassy area, we were confronted by several full-sized wolves. But the owner reassured me that because they saw him as the alpha male I would't be harmed. Apparently, it would not have been so safe if he'd not been there.

"Amazingly, the wolves didn't feel threatened when I picked up a cub and started to play with them. In fact, I had the feeling they were proud that I was so charmed by their little brood. It was even possible to feed the wolves without them biting my hand." Read more here.

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Queen Release Backstage Video Tour
(hennemusic) Queen guitarist Brian May is hosting a backstage video tour of rehearsals for the band's just-launched European tour with Adam Lambert. Shows began in Newcastle, England on Tuesday and will wrap up late next month with 3 UK arena shows.

"Here's a lightning behind-the-scenes tour of Queen + Adam Lambert in rehearsals," explains May. "I took my selfie stick, but also a small camera team, to capture some atmosphere as we prepare for the next part of our continuing live work with the amazing Adam Lambert on vocals."

"It's also an advert for my new Video Channel," he adds, "which features a section specially devoted to this kind of 'live camera' stuff, plus sections to communicate Stereoscopy, Astronomy, Music, and my efforts to achieve justice for animals."

Watch the video here.

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Gotthard Featured In Ghost On The Road Documentary Series
(Classic Rock) Swiss rockers Gotthard are the latest band to feature on the Ghost On The Road documentary series. The episodes were created by FreqsTV with the aim of giving an intimate portrait of what life on the road is like for bands.

In the latest short film, Gotthard's frontman Nic Maeder and bassist Marc Lynn talk about being disconnected with the world while on the road, the importance of teamwork between band members and crew and why they continued following the death of original singer Steve Lee, who was killed in a traffic accident in 2010.

Lynn says: "It gives you a certain way of life. It gives you ups and downs with emotions as you miss your home, your partner and family. But on the other hand every evening you have a highlight and missing these things gives you new stuff to write to create new songs."

Watch the episode here.

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Aerosmith's Joe Perry Looks Back At His First Les Paul
(Gibson) Aerosmith's Joe Perry recently reminisced with Music Radar about a number of guitar-related topics. The first Gibson he owned, he noted, was "a Les Paul, a '68 reissue." "I really like the P-90 sound, so I [eventually] gravitated toward Juniors," he observed. "But the Black Beauty and a few others were my main guitars for a long time. Somewhere along the line there, somebody probably walked into the dressing room and said 'Hey, listen to this' and it blew me away, and I ended up using it pretty much exclusively through the 70s."

Perry also offered details about selling his cherished Les Paul in 1979, and then having it come back to him years later. "Many people had it," he explained. "And finally Slash had it. I suppose it could have gotten in the way of our friendship, because he used it in a lot of pictures, and I can see why it was hard for him to let go of it. Totally by surprise, he gave it back to me. He showed up on my birthday with it."

Perry no longer takes his original Les Paul on the road, opting instead to take a replica produced by Gibson's Custom Shop. "As it turns out, Gibson made a run of relics and copied the guitar right down to the tee, so I bring one of those on the road with me because that guitar is just too collectible to take any more damage," he explains. Read more here.

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Steel Panther Rock Jimmy Kimmel
(hennemusic) Steel Panther performed a pair of tunes on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday. Steel Panther are currently playing North American dates and will head overseas for a UK tour in March.

The group played the singles "If You Really, Really Love Me" and "Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World" from their latest album, "All You Can Eat."

Last fall, the band were guests on Judas Priest's North American shows; the pair teamed up for a performance of "Living After Midnight" at the run's final stop in Tacoma, Washington in late November.

Check out the Kimmel appearance here.

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Flood Of Red Release 'Cutting Limes' Video
(Prog) Flood Of Red have released a video for their track Cutting Limes, taken from second album Throw. The follow-up to 2010 debut Leaving Everything Behind was launched last year via Superball Music - and it's just become available on vinyl.

Keyboardist Dale Gallagher, who directed the promo, says: "I'd the idea for a long time so it was great to finally try it out. It almost alludes to dark 80s pop videos - I think the final product is great, especially considering that we didn't have a budget."

The Scottish outfit toured the UK with Maybeshewill last year, and travel across Europe with Intersphere in April. Check out the album's track details and watch the new video here.

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Yossi Sassi Releases Video For Duo Track With Michael Kobrin
(Prog) Former Orphaned Land guitarist Yossi Sassi has launched a video for Once, his acoustic duo track with Michael Kobrin. It was composed by the pair and features Kobrin on guitar while Sassi accompanies on bouzoukitara - a hybrid of bouzouki and guitar he invented himself.

He bowed out of the Israeli prog metal outfit last year, saying: "I always strive to be creative, innovative, compose the next authentic thing and devoted my life to fuse the East and West.

"If there's something stronger than our past it is our future, as we evolve and understand what's right for us in the path ahead." Sassi launched second solo album Desert Butterflies last year. Watch the video here.

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Singled Out: Matt MacKelcan's Here's To The Night
Today singer/songwriter Matt MacKelcan tells us about the song "Here's To The Night" from their new album "From Where I Stand," which was released late last year. Here is the story:

I have an extra strong connection to this song, probably because it was the very first one written for my new album. The chord progression came naturally and quickly. The melody is really nice and simple, which seemed just about right to get things going. I started on the acoustic guitar to get the feeling I wanted with the rhythm and attack. I tinkered with the lyrics and made changes to the chorus and bridge alongside the multi-talented musical director and guitarist Aaron Tap, who is also my producer and co-writer.

To back up a step�the whole idea stemmed from a few different pieces that just came together. Early on, I knew I wanted to approach the song as 4 different scenes intertwined with a nostalgic feel, capturing or recounting those times when we're smack in the middle of certain moments. The chorus pays tribute to that good ole 'carpe diem' message. It's an enjoy-the-time-now kind of anthem, live it fully as you are with whomever you're sharing the ride. It acknowledges that in our quest for happiness and fulfillment, there will be bumps in the road but it is all these moments collectively that make up the stories of our lives. So don't get too bogged down or you'll miss the big stuff!

We tracked Drums at The Lab in Van Nuys, where the super talented Nick Amoroso found a great groove. I've worked with Nick in the past and he has an incredible ability to help compliment the song, really bringing it alive. Aaron strutted more of his great stuff on electric guitar and bass work. We recorded the vocals, acoustics and harmonies for extra electrics at Aaron's cozy Quail Top studio in North Hollywood. Both places have such a good vibe, and to top it all off, we were fortunate enough to get the critical final touches by mixing engineer Jason Schweitzer (put it this way: one of us two has won a Grammy and it's not me�) and master of mastering Hans Dekline.

In the end, I was thrilled with how everyone involved approached the recording process and the way "Here's to the Night" turned out.

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

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