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Day in Rock Report for 12/30/2016


Today's Day in Rock Stories


Ronnie James Dio Hologram Tour Plans Moving Forward

It looks like plans for a tour featuring the hologram of legendary metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio are going forward, according to EyeIllusion CEO Jeff Pezzuti.

The company produced the hologram that was featured during the Dio's Disciples' set at the Wacken festival this past summer. Pezzuti reveals in a new interview that plans are in the works for a tour.

"For the tour, he's going to have different looks," Pezzuti tells Talking Metal via Loudwire. For the Wacken appearance the company used Dio's appearance from "somewhere around '88, the Dream Evil era. For this next tour, we're going to be somewhere later than that for certain songs and maybe earlier than that for other songs."

Pezzuti promises that the forthcoming tour will be "an over-the-top, mind-blowing experience. We are going to have both live singers with Ripper Owens and Oni Logan as part of the show, as well as Ronnie appearing throughout the show at different parts, some duets." Read more here.

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Elton John Will Reportedly Perform At George Michael Funeral

(Gibson) Multiple sources are reporting that Elton John is set to perform at a funeral for late pop singer George Michael. The music icon passed away on Christmas Day, with his death attributed to heart failure.

As noted by NME.com, two ceremonies are being planned for the '80s star - a private service for friends and family, and a public ceremony for fans. John will reportedly perform "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," reprising the duet he sang with Michael at London's Wembley Arena in 1991. Released later that year, the track went on to reach #1 in both America and the U.K.

"I am in deep shock," said John, in a post on Instagram upon learning of Michael's death. "I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family, friends and all of his fans." Read more here.

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Former Scorpions Star Has $50,000 Worth Of Gear Stolen

(hennemusic) Former Scorpions drummer James Kottak reports that thieves have stolen more than $50,000 worth of gear from his personal storage locker, he revealed in a series of Facebook posts Wednesday

Kottak wrote, "I want to thank the a@$holes who broke in to my storage unit and stole a lifetime of leather/stage clothing, 13+ guitars, etc...also, all my gold & platinum album awards, etc.

"Thanx...karma is coming for you but I wish you no harm and forgive you for your sins. The peeps who stole this $50,000.00+ items will be judged...I forgive you.

"Mostly, my guitars are gone and I am heartbroken," he added. "It's just things but they are memorable things. If anyone has any info, pls contact me privately...thank you."

Last month, Kottak - who joined the Scorpions in 1996 - thanked fans for their support through his battle with alcoholism and his continued efforts in recovery. Read more here.

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Axl Rose Explains How He Landed AC/DC Gig 2016 In Review

(hennemusic) Axl Rose Explains How He Landed AC/DC Gig was a top 16 story of May 2016: Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose reveals how he landed the gig with AC/DC to step in for longtime lead singer Brian Johnson for their remaining world tour dates.

Rose will make his debut with the Australian rockers this Saturday, May 7 in Lisbon, Portugal after AC/DC postponed the remaining spring US tour show following news that Brian Johnson was advised by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss.

"I called the day I read about it in the news, that there was a situation going on with Brian's hearing," explains Rose in an interview with BBC 6 Music. "I called a guy who's their production manager right now�because I knew there was going to be a problem with having dates on sale and dates sold and stuff like that.

"So if I could help, and if I was able to do it, and they were interested, I'd love to help. And that's how it started. I wasn't looking at it like, 'I'm singing for AC/DC.' I was looking at it like, 'y'know, if I can, and if they think I'm able to do it."

Rose wasn't sure if would be able to sing some of the songs in the set. "A lot of the Back In Black stuff is really challenging," he reveals. "I'm not here in any way out of any disrespect to Brian. I can't take anything away from his singing at all. He's a great singer and it's really challenging to sing it. I'm just trying to do it justice for the fans."

The Guns N' Roses leader is very aware of the unique situation that both he and AC/DC are experiencing as they prepare for the 12-date European spring run.

"I'm happy and excited in one sense, but I think it would be inappropriate to be celebrating, in a certain way, at someone else's expense," says Rose. "That's not what I'm here to do. It's an unfortunate situation."

AC/DC auditioned Rose and in Atlanta in March alongside tribute band singers from Texas and North Carolina. Guitarist and solo founding member Angus Young says he had spoken to Johnson extensively before he decided to leave the group.

"In his heart he wanted to finish [the tour] but because of that hearing factor he had to make the decision," he told the BBC. "It's a hard thing to do, and he'd had the problem since we kicked off touring. It was his call. It was a shock to us too. The last thing you want to do is walk away from something, but you don't want someone in a tragic situation; being deaf, or any other affliction." Read more here

AC/DC have also released a video inviting fans to their debut performance with Axl Rose in Lisbon, Portugal this Saturday, May 7. "Lisbon, here we come," says sole remaining founding member and guitarist Angus Young. "We're really excited to be here in Portugal. We're here to give you a great rock show, so we hope to all see you all there."

"Absolutely," agrees Rose. "We are very excited to be there."

"And we'll see you on Saturday," adds bassist Cliff Williams.

The short preview clip was filmed in the band's rehearsal facility in the city, where fans have been camped outside recording audio of the sessions ahead of the European tour launch. Watch the video and read more here.

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Metallica Considered Making Lars Lead Singer 2016 In Review

Metallica Considered Making Lars Lead Singer was a top 16 story of May 2016: Metallica at one point in their early career briefly considered making drummer Lars Ulrich their lead singer. This is according to the band's former manager Jon 'Jonny Z' Zazula.

It's been well documented that frontman James Hetfield was nervous about his singing abilities in the early days of the band and the group considered brining in another singer, including Armored Saint and former Anthrax vocalist John Bush.

But one surprising person that the band considered was band cofounder Lars Ulrich. Zazula, who managed the band in 1982, tells Metal Hammer, "Lars and I planned a lot of stuff. But James wasn't the most confident of singers. I don't think he felt comfortable.

"At one point there was even talk of Lars becoming the frontman." But Zazula quickly added, "For about five seconds." As history records, Hetfield got over his nerves and the band went on to recording their debut album "Kill 'Em All." Read the original report here.

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Stone Temple Pilots Address Scott Stapp Rumors 2016 In Review

Stone Temple Pilots Address Scott Stapp Rumors was a top 16 story of May 2016: Former Creed frontman Scott Stapp made headlines after he hinted in an interview that he might be the new lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots, but the band was quick to set the record straight.

"I'm excited to be back out on the road and also been working on a new album with a new group of guys," Stapp said in the interview (via Radio.com). "Guys from some pretty well-known rock bands that you guys will know.

"I can't really share the details about it, but there's a lot of good things going on that I can't tell you till later in June when we'll be making the announcement. This other band I'm jamming with is it's own band with its own band name."

He was then asked if the band he was talking about was Stone Temple Pilots, who have been looking for a new singer, and Stapp replied, "I can't say man, I can't say ' I can't confirm or deny."

Stone Temple Pilots had no problem addressing the question directly. They tweeted, "Despite recent comments, Scott Stapp is not, nor has he ever been considered as the singer for STP." Read the original report here.

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Megadeth Icon Nick Menza Dead At 51 2016 In Review

(Classic Rock) Megadeth Icon Nick Menza Dead At 51 was a top 16 story of May 2016: Former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza has died aged 51. The sticksman reportedly died from a heart failure while performing onstage with his band Ohm at The Baked Potato in Los Angeles.

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine said (via Twitter): "Tell me this isn't true. I woke at 4am to hear Nick Menza passed away on May 21 playing his drums with Ohm at the Baked Potato. #nickmenzarip."

His death was confirmed in a post written by his friend Allen Hall, which was shared on Menza's official Facebook page. It says: "We lost an amazing talent and fantastic person yesterday. Nick Menza was the nicest and most sincere guy you should ever hope to meet.

"He would take the shirt off his back to help you if you needed it. He had a passion for artwork, not just metal music." Read the original report here.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis Rushed To The Hospital 2016 In Review

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis Rushed To The Hospital was a top 16 story of May 2016: Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis was rushed to the hospital on May 14th ahead of the band's planned performance at the KROQ's WeenieRoast in Irvine, Ca.

Bass player Flea told the crowd at the annual event, "Anthony is on his way to the hospital right now and we're unable to play this evening. We are devastated about it. We're really sad. We love you so much. We live to rock.

"We live to f-ing dig deep into the depths of our hearts and rock. But unfortunately there's a medical thing that happened and he needed to deal with it."

The band revealed on Sunday (May 15th) that Kiedis was suffering from intestinal flu and they have also been forced to cancel their iHeart Radio performance on Tuesday, May 17th in Burbank, Ca.

They had the following to say, "Due to Anthony Kiedis' hospitalization from complications from the intestinal flu on Saturday evening, the Red Hot Chili Peppers regretfully must postpone their upcoming concert for iHeart Radio on May 17th. They would like to extend their gratitude to the fans for the outpouring of well wishes. Anthony is expected to make a full recovery soon." Read the original report here.

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Original Alice Cooper Band Reuniting For New Album 2016 In Review

(hennemusic) Original Alice Cooper Band Reuniting For New Album was a top 16 story of May 2016: Alice Cooper has revealed plans to reunite with his original band for his next studio album. Formed in 1968 with members of the Phoenix, AZ group The Spiders, the Alice Cooper Band featured Cooper, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith.

The lineup went on to record 7 albums of classic material - including 4 platinum records - before splitting in 1975, following which Cooper launched a solo career with "Welcome To My Nightmare."

Now Cooper says he's been working with the surviving members (Buxton died in 1997 of complications from pneumonia at the age of 49) on new material that seems to have recaptured some of their old sonic magic.

"I've always liked the idea that Alice Cooper has always been a Detroit rock band," Alice tells The Weekender. "We've always been a hard rock band, guitar rock, and I'll never give that up. But every once in awhile, though, there's just a flavor of what album do we want to go to here to give it that flavor. And it seems to be going toward the 'Killer' album.

"And I kind of go, that album, let's revisit the sound of that album and what we were kind of thinking. You can never go back and totally recapture it, but you can certainly look at the elements that made that album work the way it did."

"I wrote three or four songs with Neil Smith and Mike Bruce," Cooper continues. "And so we worked together in Phoenix for about two weeks just writing songs and demoing songs. And you never know which ones are going to make the album, but I said let's do that.

"Dennis Dunaway wrote two or three things. We haven't seen those yet, but I know Dennis has always written great stuff. It's fun to go back and work with guys you haven't worked with in awhile. It's not trying to recapture your youth. It's trying to recapture a sound. And it's a very elusive sound." Read more here.

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Eagles Of Death Metal Fan's Ear Bitten Off At Concert 2016 In Review

(Metal Hammer) Eagles Of Death Metal Fan's Ear Bitten Off At Concert was a top 16 story of May 2016: An Eagles Of Death Metal fan had his ear bitten off at the band's show at Toronto's Opera House. Canadian author and radio broadcaster Alan Cross was given the information about the incident between two unnamed men, which was later confirmed by the venue's general manager.

A member of the crowd told Cross: "Some guys just got into a fight in front of us and the one guy bit off the other guy's ear. I am not joking - it was the most f***ed up thing I have ever seen."

Aux.TV later confirmed the story after speaking with Opera House general manager Athena Ellinas-Towers. She said: "I didn't witness anything, but there was a confrontation between two individuals. It was brought to my attention by the medical team." Read more here.

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David Bowie Left Surprise In 'Blackstar' Album Artwork 2016 In Review

(Radio.com) David Bowie Left Surprise In 'Blackstar' Album Artwork was a top 16 story of May 2016: Rock legend David Bowie released his last album Blackstar on January 8th, a week before his unexpected passing. While fans have had the album in heavy rotation since Bowie died, there's a certain surprise they missed.

A reddit user discovered that when you leave the gatefold of the Blackstar project in sunlight, the all-black cover has a starlight design. The user discovered the cover changed after sitting in the sun for a couple of hours. The star design only appears after being placed in sunlight. Exposing the cover to other lights, such as black lights or normal room lighting, doesn't reveal the hidden design.

What's really cool about the secret design is it doesn't last for too long. Just like the nighttime sky, the stars fade after a couple of hours. Check out a picture of it here.

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Ritchie Blackmore Addresses Rainbow Album And Tour Speculation 2016 In Review

(Classic Rock) Ritchie Blackmore Addresses Rainbow Album And Tour Speculation was a top 16 story of May 2016: Former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has bad news for fans hoping that his new version of Rainbow will record an album and launch a tour following their previously announced special live appearances.

Blackmore says in a new interview that he has no plans to continue the project beyond their three special concerts in June and he remains committed to his Renaissance-themed band Blackmore's Night.

His comments come after Rainbow bassist Bob Curiano said the band were ready to record any time they were asked, and former singer Joe Lynn Turner said the band's legacy would be tarnished if no studio work was undertaken.

Asked if there's any chance of a world tour, Blackmore tells SpazioRock: "No. Also, there will not be any new studio album. I thought I'd just get back to playing the old songs one more time. My commitment lies with Blackmore's Night - this is just a few dates for fun." Read more here.

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Slipknot's Corey Taylor Appeared In Sharknado 4 2016 In Review

(Metal Hammer) Slipknot's Corey Taylor Appeared In Sharknado 4 was a top 16 story of May 2016: Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has revealed that he has a "weird cameo" in Sharknado 4, which is set to premiere on the Syfy Network on July 31st.

The latest installment of the surprise hit series, "Sharknado: The 4th Awakens." will include returning stars Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and David Hasselhoff and Taylor reportedly plays a Shark World hotel security guard in the film, which is set five years after the previous film in the series.

Taylor confirmed his involvement in an interview with Loudwire but refused to share many details. He said, "I shot a weird cameo for Sharknado 4 which is awesome. The thing is, I don't get eaten by a shark. That's all I can tell you about it."

He also talks about a possible future in acting: "I would love to do more acting. In fact, if anyone's listening, I would love to audition for your weird indie horror movie. I'll be zombie number six - and I'll bring my own lunch." Watch the interview here.

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Blink-182's Hoppus Denies Tom DeLonge Claims 2016 In Review

(TeamRock) Blink-182's Hoppus Denies Tom DeLonge Claims was a top 16 story of May 2016: Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has denied claims made by the band's estranged frontman Tom DeLonge in a Facebook post that the pair recently met, with Hoppus saying they haven't spoken for over a year.

In a Facebook post earlier this week, DeLonge, who split with the band last year, insisted he still had a future with Blink and claimed he had spoken with Hoppus over the last few days.

But Hoppus says he actually hasn't had contact with DeLonge in 18 months. The bassist tells Kevin Kline Live (via Rolling Stone): "I haven't even spoken to Tom in a year and a half."

And when asked if working with DeLonge at some point in the future was on the cards, Hoppus responds: "That is something so far down the road to even be a possibility. Read more here.

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Fan Raising Money To Buy Dave Grohl 2016 In Review

(Radio.com) Fan Raising Money To Buy Dave Grohl was a top 16 story of May 2016: A big fan of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is making news in an unusual way. The fan has set up a GoFundMe campaign aimed at raising enough money to buy the musician.

The campaign's description, reads, "I'm [Grohl's] biggest fan and figured I can round up enough scratch to purchase him so we can hang out and high five and s-. Heck, I may give him a bro-hug or two as well."

If you're wondering if Grohl is even for sale in the first place, fear not, the campaign addresses those concerns, stating, "I'm not 100% the amount I'm asking for will buy him.

"Hell, I'm not even sure if it's legal to purchase another human being without being some central part of a 20/20 tv special. But, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try, right?" Read more here.

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Paul McCartney Tributes Prince In Minneapolis 2016 In Review

(Radio.com) Paul McCartney Rocks Prince Classic In Minneapolis was a top 16 story of May 2016: The Beatles were a huge influence on Prince so it is only fitting that Paul McCartney paid tribute to the legendary musician by performing one of his biggest hits during a show in Prince's hometown.

McCartney gave his best rendition of "Let's Go Crazy" before a crowd in Minneapolis. "Minneapolis, Prince. Prince, Minneapolis. It goes together," he said in a nod to the musician's hometown.

"Here's to the man," McCartney said. "Loved that guy. Thank you, Prince, for writing so many beautiful songs, so much music." Check out video footage that McCartney shared of the performance here.

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Van Halen's Future Pondered By David Lee Roth 2016 In Review

(hennemusic) Van Halen's Future Pondered By David Lee Roth was a top 16 story of May 2016: David Lee Roth discusses his possible future with Van Halen on the latest edition of the frontman's online streaming series The Roth Show. The main theme of the episode is how Roth spent his time living in Japan over the past few years, including learning the language as well studying various martial arts.

"It's not like my career path is going to get altered," explains Roth. "I sort of know what the next ten summers are going to bring - Eddie Van Halen aside, those are ups and downs.

"I don't know when we're going to tour but I have a sense that we will; I don't know that we're going to record again - when that'll happen - but I have a sense that it's gonna happen."

Things appear to be quiet in the Van Halen camp since the group closed out their 2015 tour in support of "Tokyo Dome Live In Concert" with a pair of shows at the Hollywood Bowl in early October. Watch the episode here.

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Motley Crue Ended On Bad Terms? 2016 In Review

(Classic Rock) Motley Crue Ended On Bad Terms? was a top 16 story of May 2016: Former Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee says ex-colleagues Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil haven't made contact with him since their final show. And he reports that bassist Sixx unfollowed him on Twitter the next day.

Motley Crue completed their last tour on New Year's Eve after signing a legal document making it nearly impossible for them to ever stage a reunion.Lee tells Rolling Stone: "After the final night we had a big party backstage, and I never saw the other guys. We never even said goodbye. F***ing strange as hell.

"If you're getting divorced you still give your ex a hug, or flip her off or something. Give me a sign - let me know you're alive! I think f***ing Nikki unfollowed me on Twitter the next day. I was like, 'Wow, okay, dude.'"

The drummer believes his band ended their creative period during the making of 2008 album Saints Of Los Angeles. "Everybody did their part separately," he says.

"It was a really strange process and I was like, 'This is not really how it works.' The record came out okay, but that's when I started realizing we'd kind of hit the wall." Read the original report here.

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Aerosmith Considered Replacing Steven Tyler 2016 In Review

(Classic Rock) Aerosmith Considered Replacing Steven Tyler was a top 16 story of May 2016: Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford says the band have considered touring without frontman Steven Tyler. The singer has been in Nashville working on his upcoming solo country album since last year. And when asked if they could hit the road with a guest vocalist, Whitford says it's something the band have discussed.

He tells Metal Rules: "Absolutely, we have considered it - but whether it will happen I don't know. I think it would be great." Tyler's side-project has been a bone of contention amongst his Aerosmith bandmates, as it resulted in them cancelling most of their 2016 tour plans, according to the guitarist.

Whitford, who released Reunion from his collaboration with former Ted Nugent Band singer Derek St Holmes, admits their studio sessions felt "like a vacation" from Aerosmith as they work so well together. here.

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