The estate of Spirit guitarist Randy California raised a lawsuit two years ago, stating that the band's 1967 instrumental Taurus was the source of the opening sequence from Zeppelin's 1971 classic.
California had said in interviews before his 1997 death that he had no doubt his work had been copied. But Page last year dismissed the suggestion as "ridiculous," and in February declared that he'd never listened to Taurus until confronted with the lawsuit.
Michael Skidmore, representing California's estate, said that Page could have heard the piece while the two bands toured the US together in 1968 and 1969.
Led Zeppelin's legal defense has not been based on the alleged similarity between songs, but on whether the Spirit party have any right to act over the matter. It's argued that California wrote Taurus under a contract that surrendered all rights to his work, and that he dismissed any claim in a 1991 interview in which he said: "I'll let them have the beginning of Taurus for their song without a lawsuit."
Zeppelin further argue that the chord progression at the core of the argument is so well-used that it doesn't warrant legal protection. However, Central District of California Judge Gary Klausner has ruled that the pieces are similar enough to let a jury decide whether Plant and Page are liable for copyright infringement, while dismissing claims against bassist John Paul Jones and the band's record label. Read more
here.
Cheap Trick's Robin Zander Offers To Sing For AC/DC
(Radio.com) Cheap Trick's Robin Zander has offered to fill in for AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson. AC/DC was recently forced to re-schedule ten shows of their U.S. tour after Johnson had "been advised by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss." In the same statement, the band promised to make up the dates in April, likely with a guest vocalist. "I'd love to do that," the singer told Rolling Stone. "But I'd want the blessing of Brian [Johnson]. I wouldn't go there as a slap in the face to him. But if he said, 'Go ahead,' I would do it. And I'd donate the money to somebody. "They're AC/DC. People want to hear those songs. Sure, they want to hear them with Brian. But if Brian isn't there, they can get someone else. I don't know what else to say, but I know I'd be heartbroken if something happened to me and I couldn't sing in Cheap Trick." Read more
Guns N' Roses Joined By Special Guest At Reunion Show
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses were joined by guest Sebastian Bach for a performance of the 1987 track "My Michelle" at their second reunion show in Las Vegas, NV on April 9 and video of the jam has been posted online. "I think I speak for Las Vegas when I say one thing: Thank you for making us so happy, Guns N' Roses," the former Skid Row frontman told the crowd. "Is this great or what?" Longtime Axl Rose pal Bach has performed the "Appetite For Destruction" track at GNR shows in recent years, and this time he had full run of the stage as Rose remained in his Dave Grohl-loaner throne since reportedly breaking his foot during the band's club show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on April 1. "Huge thank you to Dave Grohl for the use of his rock Throne!," tweeted Rose "An amazing gesture! Words rn't enough!! Makes all the difference up there!" The show marked the third reunion performance by Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan alongside Richard Fortus, Dizzy Reed, Frank Ferrer and Melissa Reese. Check out the video
Vince Neil Reportedly Denies Alleged Battery Of Autograph Seeker
(hennemusic) Former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil reportedly denies dragging an autograph seeker to the ground by her hair after being charged with misdemeanor battery in an alleged incident in Las Vegas, NV on April 7. TMZ originally reported that Neil and Nicolas Cage were inside the Aria Hotel when a woman approached the actor for an autograph. Neil allegedly got behind the woman, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground. Now, sources close to the singer tell TMZ that the unidentified woman was "very aggressive" in her efforts to get an autograph from the pair, who were having lunch in the hotel. Neil reportedly admitted that he was annoyed and "pushed past her" but insists he did not grab her by her hair. Las Vegas police have reviewed the hotel's surveillance video and determined Neil did enough damage to warrant a citation. The rocker is scheduled to appear in court on June 17 and could face a maximum sentence of six months in jail if convicted, according to local police. Neil and Cage made headlines following the alleged incident when they were involved in scuffle outside the venue after hotel security had held them for an hour and police had already ticketed him for battery. See video
Study Examines Why People Hate Nickelback
(TeamRock Radio) A study has been conducted to find out why people hate Nickelback. Finnish doctoral student Salli Anttonen is researching the concept of authenticity in music at the University of Eastern Finland. Her paper Hypocritical Bullsh*t Performed Through Gritted Teeth: Authenticity Discourses in Nickelback's Album Reviews in Finnish Media finds that negative feedback directed towards the band has risen as they've become more commercially successful. Anttonen tells Buzzfeed: "They were a good case in point because they are so widely accused of lacking authenticity. She adds that critiques were "not about the sound, but what values are attached to the sounds." She wrote that "by nullifying Nickelback's authenticity, critics are actually authenticating themselves." Anttonen also says that critics seek to assert their authority by ridiculing Nickelback in the media as they see themselves as protectors of authenticity and originality in rock music. She adds: "The fact that the compositions suit the radio charts is a problem for critics. So then the songs are not authentic self expression, or have been made with commercial purposes in mind, rather than expressing your deepest emotions." Read more
The band still expects to play tonight's show (April 12th) in Atlanta. They released the following statement on Monday, "With great disappointment we are forced to cancel tonight's show in Biloxi, Mississippi due to a back injury to our drummer Nick Pierce. Our plan right now is to get Nick his needed treatment and hopefully be back on the road to continue with the Fury Tour tomorrow in Atlanta.
"Apologies to all who were looking forward to seeing us play for the first time in Mississippi. Be assured that if Nick could have played, he would have. We'll see you next time Biloxi!"
Nick Pierce adds, 'My sincere apologies to all the fans who will be missing Unearth in Mississippi. I've been battling a chronic back issue over the last 4 years and this tour it hit me hard. Currently I'm at a spine clinic getting treatment so I can finish out the rest of the Fury Tour. Again, sorry to all the fans who will be missing us and we hope to make it up to you in the near future."
Slaves Announce They Have Broken Up
(TeamRock Radio) Slaves (US) say that Sunday night's (April 10th) show in Santa Cruz, California, was their last. They posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying: "Tonight in Sacramento and tomorrow in Santa Cruz are the last Slaves shows ever. Come send the band off with us." The breakup comes less than two weeks after guitarist Alex Lyman quit the band, saying his departure was "a big relief." No further statement has come from the band (not to be confused with the British two-piece) who had planned a 2016 European tour which was due to start with an appearance at the Download festival on June 11. Read more
Official Keith Emerson Tribute Concert Announced
(Prog) A memorial show has been announced in honor of late keyboardist Keith Emerson. The Official Keith Emerson Tribute will take place at the Los Angeles El Rey Theatre on May 28th. The event will feature performances from Keith Emerson Band, Eddie Jobson (U.I/Roxy Music), Brian Auger (Oblivion Express), Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr's All-Star Band), CJ Vanston (Spinal Tap) and Toto's Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather. Other acts include Ed Roth (Annie Lennox), Jonathan Sindelman (Alan White Band), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Bros.), Mick Mahan (Pat Benatar), Troy Luccketta (Tesla), Joe Travers (Zappa's Universe), Travis Davis (Keith Emerson Band, CTA), Mike Wallace (Boy's Club), Marc Bonilla (Toy Matinee, Keith Emerson Band). Tickets can be pre-ordered on the official website. It comes as Emerson's former ELP bandmate Carl Palmer launched a crowdfunder for a show in memory of the keyboard icon. Read more
Metallica Classic Gets Unusual Makeover
(Classic Rock) Metallica anthem Enter Sandman has been turned into a folk song by a band consisting of four sisters, who say they're impressed by its "poetry." Colorado outfit SHEL have released a video for their take on the 25-year-old track, which first appeared on the thrash icons' 1991 Black Album. It went platinum when released as a single and remains a main feature of their live set to this day, having notched up nearly 1200 performances by James Hetfield and co. SHEL singer Eva Holbrook says: "When recording Enter Sandman, I said a prayer to the gods of rock that I wouldn't be struck dead, or mysteriously electrocuted, for whispering the lyrics to a Metallica song. "I've survived to say that I'm truly blown away by the poetry of the song." The cover version will appear on Shel's second album, Just Crazy Enough, out next month. Check it out
Josh Homme Vs. Autograph Dealer In Surfaced Video
(Radio.com) Video surfaced on Monday (April 11) of Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme berating a man who claimed he was a fan seeking an autograph. It turns out, however, the man asking for Homme's signature was an autograph dealer, and he wanted Homme to put pen to paper in order to turn around and sell that ink for profit. In the video, the man tells Homme he's a teacher. Homme responds, "You f-ing loser, you're full of sh-." He explains once again how he only takes photographs. "What else do you f-ing need?" he asks. It sounds as though there's more to the story that the video doesn't show. Jarrett Koral, a fan who claims to have been mere feet away clarified the incident via Facebook, explaining how the man requesting Homme's autograph had some expletive-laden things to say, too. "Thought I'd say- I was at this in Detroit and was right next to Josh when this happened. TMZ cut out the angry comments made by the 'fan'/autograph hound, and it's unfair to Josh that they did that. Josh wasn't signing autographs because there were obvious eBay sellers there (multiple items, lying to get stuff signed for their kids, etc), but he said he would take pictures with everybody." Watch
Ritchie Blackmore Comments On Deep Purple's Rock Hall Induction
(hennemusic) Ritchie Blackmore has made his first public comments on Deep Purple's induction into the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in New York on April 8. The band were honored at the event alongside fellow inductees Cheap Trick, Steve Miller, Chicago and N.W.A. The Rock Hall chose to induct most of Deep Purple's first three lineups, including Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Rod Evans, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Blackmore did not attend the ceremony following word that the present day lineup of the group refused to perform with former members at the event. "Obviously, as you know from the post here," wrote Blackmore on his Facebook page, "I have my reason for not attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, although I appreciate the award. "However, I do think that they should've given an award to Joe Lynn Turner for when he was in Deep Purple for his singing and writing on 'Slaves And Masters' - a great record, one of my favorites." Former Rainbow singer Turner stepped in as frontman for Deep Purple and the 1990 album after longtime vocalist Ian Gillan was fired in 1989; Turner remained in the lineup until August of 1992, when Gillan returned to the group in time for their 25th anniversary tour in 1993. Read more
Alice Cooper Expands North American Tour
(hennemusic) Alice Cooper has extended his 2016 North American tour with the addition of 19 new dates. Following a series of spring concerts starting April 29 in Biloxi, MS, the "Spend The Night With Alice Cooper" run returns in August and October for more shows across the continent. Cooper's 2016 tour schedule sees him juggling dates with his supergroup Hollywood Vampires, featuring Johnny Depp and Aerosmith's Joe Perry. The band recently revealed dates for their first extended tour, which presents a mix of US and European shows. Cooper has confirmed the group have begun working on a follow-up to their 2015 self-titled debut, which featured a collection of covers of tracks by The Who, John Lennon, T. Rex and more. See the tour dates
65daysofstatic Announce No Man's Sky Soundtrack
(Prog) 65daysofstatic have announced they'll release the soundtrack to video game No Man's Sky this summer. Titled No Man's Sky: Music For An Infinite Universe, it's set to launch on June 17 via Laced Records. The album will feature 10 new tracks along with an additional collection of "soundscapes and sound designs" which will also feature in the Hello Games title, which will be released for PlayStation 4 and PC on June 24. The band say: "Being involved with No Man's Sky is as unlikely as it is exciting. Two years of our lives have disappeared into a black hole and we've been spat out into another dimension. "The project has pushed us to explore new processes and techniques, to rethink our relationship with our own music and to essentially soundtrack every narrative thread of a 'choose your own adventure' novel that exists only in our minds. "We're really proud of the results, and can't wait to release the album and play it live." In addition, the Sheffield outfit have released a stream of the track Supermoon. Hear it
Hatebreed Streaming New Song 'A.D.'
(TeamRock Radio) Hatebreed have released a lyric video for their track A.D. The song comes from their upcoming album The Concrete Confessional, which is set for release on May 13. Singer Jamie Jasta says: "A.D. was a way that I could voice my frustration about the loss of opportunities available to the average guy. With the government and big business drowning in corruption and greed, the average person is being squeezed, so achieving the American dream is becoming less and less real. "We all need to pay closer attention to what our elected leaders are doing. Start locally, in your own community, make your representatives accountable." They'll kick off tour with the European Impericon Festival later this month, which includes appearances at Manchester Academy and London's O2 Forum on May 2 and May 3. See the dates and stream the song
Rival Sons Preview New Song 'Thundering Voices'
(Classic Rock) Rival Sons have released a snippet of their track Thundering Voices. It'll feature on the band's fifth album Hollow Bones, out on June 10 via Earache Records. Guitarist Scott Holiday previously revealed the band wanted to challenge themselves while recording the follow-up to Great Western Valkyrie. He had the following to say: "We tried to make something that's familiar and sounds like us, because that's what we are and that's all we can really make in the end. But we also tried to challenge ourselves and our listeners." Rival Sons are currently on the road with Black Sabbath, with the next date on the tour scheduled for Perth, Australia, on April 15. See the dates and check out the song preview
Flotsam And Jetsam Streaming New Song 'Iron Maiden'
(TeamRock Radio) Flotsam And Jetsam have released a lyric video for their track Iron Maiden. It features on the band's upcoming self-titled release, which is due out on May 20 after they signed a deal with AFM Records. It'll be the band's first new studio material since 2012's Ugly Noise. They issued a re-recorded version of their second album No Place For Disgrace in 2014. Flotsam And Jetsam said: "We're looking forward to playing the music on this album live, which hasn't been a luxury for the band on past releases, as well as debuting our new stage look." They've announced a handful of European dates which are scheduled for August. See the dates and check out the new song
Serj Tankian Reveals 1915 Soundtrack Release Plans
(Prog) System Of A Down's Serj Tankian will release his soundtrack for the film 1915 later this month. The score was used on the 2015 film which commemorated the centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It'll be released on April 22. Speaking of the project, Tankian tells Billboard: "The most important thing I learned is communication with the director, because before you write a single note of music, that's the most important part. Unless you know what palate they want to use, then you're just wasting a lot of time doing things that may not work for the film. "The first thing I wanted to do was get a sense of what's the sound you're looking for, what are the emotions you're trying to portray, what's the story you're trying to tell? Once I got that down and we agreed on the instrumental elements, then I was able to explore in detail that world." Read more
The Who Bluegrass Opry UK Dates Announced
(Classic Rock) Bluegrass band The Hillbenders will bring their acclaimed version of The Who's rock opera Tommy to the UK in July. They'll deliver five performances of Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry, after having met mastermind Pete Townshend in Nashville last year. The 75-minute show reproduces the 45-year-old original album in full, featuring what's described as "a perfect mix of virtuoso musicianship and rock star vocals." Hillbenders' mandolinist Nolan Lawrence says: "We wanted to pair bluegrass with the other music we grew up with - rock'n'roll." See the dates and check out a song
Unearth The Kings Streaming 'The Southern Necessity Mini-Album
(TeamRock Radio) Unearth The Kings have made their new mini-album 'The Southern Necessity' available as a stream. The band - who feature members of earthtone9, Cars On Fire and Axewound - funded their EP a successful Pledge campaign, which included the chance to be the recipient of a personalised riff, a drum lesson from sticksman Jason Bowld and, distressingly, your name to be bellowed during coitus by the member of your choosing. Says guitarist Owen Packard: "Unearth The Kings was an experiment to see if we could write an album totally full of riffs - and nothing else. We just wanted to make a record that was 100%, unapologetic metal. When we were writing it, we just kept saying 'What would Pantera do?'. And now you can listen to the whole thing for free. Ta-f***ing-da!" He adds: "We sold two of the 'coitus' packages. They got a very nice certificate to frame - and to explain to visiting relatives." Listen to the album in full
Haken Streaming New Song 'The Endless Knot'
(Prog) Haken have released a lyric video for their track The Endless Knot. It features on the band's fourth studio album Affinity, which is out on April 29 via InsideOut. It's the follow-up to 2013 album The Mountain and their first new music since 2014 EP Restoration. The band say of the track: "The Endless Knot explores ideas of human survival instinct and the power of unity in the face of extinction. Musically, you could say this is new territory for us as we've taken sounds from dance and electronica music and blended them with our own brand of rock/metal. "The end result hopefully gives the song a nice and upbeat, energetic feel. The visuals loosely follow the life-cycle of a star and Miles Skarin at Crystal Spotlight did an awesome job with the animation on this one." Stream the song and read more
Bent Knee Announce New Album, Release 'Leak Water' Video
(TeamRock Radio) Bent Knee have announced details of their third album entitled Say So. The follow-up to 2014's Shiny Eyed Babies will launch on May 20 via Cuneiform - and the Boston outfit have given a taste of their new material by releasing a video for their track Leak Water. Guitarist Ben Levin tells Consequence Of Sound: "Leak Water is written from the perspective of a little girl whose mother is pulling her through a painful morning beauty ritual. With this in mind, for the music video we wanted to feature a little girl singing the lyrics while being thrown around in some way." He adds: "The video was directed by Greg Bowen, who also created the album art for Say So. Greg makes amazing art in just about any medium you can imagine, and we decided to take advantage of his range by stylising this video like a collage." Watch the video
Public Service Broadcasting Announce Two New Releases
(TeamRock Radio) Public Service Broadcasting have announced they'll launch a remix album of The Race For Space in June and an exclusive Record Store Day offer this month. They'll issue The Race For Space/Remixes on vinyl, CD and digital on June 17. They're also releasing 2000 picture disc vinyl copies of track The Other Side for Record Store Day on April 16, lifted from the 2015 album. Mainman J Willgoose Esq says: "Even back when I was still writing this album, I was imagining the kind of remixes we could get and the artists who we'd ask. "I couldn't be happier with how it's turned out; I think this is a really interesting and fresh - and in some cases mildly bonkers - reinterpretation of our songs. I'm looking forward to sharing it with our fans." Read more
Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes Announces New Album 'It Is What It Is'
(The Blues) Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes has announced he'll release his new album It Is What It Is on June 17. The follow-up to 2013's All Night Long will be released through Holmes' own label, Blue Front Records. He also made track Buddy Brown available to stream. The singer is described as, "The embodiment of raw country blues and is regarded as the last of the Bentonia, Mississippi bluesmen. Jimmy is the last person taught the blues by Henry Stuckey, the man who taught Skip James and Jack Owens. His music evokes the dry, ghostly sounds of his mentors." Holmes has scheduled a string of dates in support of the album this year, including an appearance at New Orleans Jazz Festival in April and a mini-tour in Bolivia in South America later this summer. Stream the song and see the dates
Singled Out: Everybody Panic's No One Gets Out Alive
Everybody Panic are turning heads with their latest single "No One Gets Out Alive" from their Attack EP. We caught up with guitarist Provo Provenzano during their tour with Powerman 5000 and Hedpe to learn about the song. Here is the story: Our latest single No One Gets Out Alive was recorded at the haunted Robert Lang Studios (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Mastodon) in Seattle, WA and mixed by Ulrich Wild (Deftones, White Zombie, Static X). This was one of the last songs we wrote for the EP and it still needed a little work when we got there. I definitely think the vibe of the studio played a huge part in the final feel of the track. We were basically in a cave with no windows or outside light for 12 hours or more a day. So that "dark" feel definitely creeped into the music and some of the lyrics. Once the track was done we were all really excited about it but didn't think it would be one of our singles. We sent the album around to our team to start discussing singles and it was unanimously that song. So now here we are the track is gaining traction at rock radio, we're shooting a music video for it with our friend Clark Deal and on our tour with Powerman 5000 and Hedpe banging our heads off to this track every night! Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the band and the EP
Click here to read today's full Day in Rock report
On the Blue: New Horizons Cruise Day 1: Marbin Gets the Fun Started
Hot In The City: Prog Band Tu-Ner Coming to Phoenix
Sites and Sounds: Daytona Beach Ready to Rumble with Welcome to Rockville
Watch The Beach Boys Official Documentary Trailer
Ringo & His All Starr Band Announce Fall Tour
The Night Flight Orchestra Inks Deal With Napalm Records
Little Feat 'Can't Be Satisfied' With New Video
The Melvins Stream 'The Making of Tarantula Heart' Mini-Documentary
Watch Babylon A.D.'s 'Wrecking Machine' Video
The Exies Reveal Never Before Seen Footage With 'For What It's Worth' Video
The Allman Brothers Band Legend Dickey Betts Dead At 80