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Day in Rock Report for 05/29/2017


Today's Day in Rock Stories


Rock Legend Gregg Allman Dead At 69

(hennemusic) Southern rock legend Gregg Allman died on Saturday (May 27) at his home in Savannah, GA. He as 69. The news comes a month after Allman denied reports that he had entered hospice care and two months after the singer cancelled his 2017 live schedule without explanation.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce that Gregg Allman, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia," read the statement on the band's and singer's website. "Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years. During that time, Gregg considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.

"Gregg is survived by his wife, Shannon Allman, his children, Devon, Elijah Blue, Delilah Island Kurtom and Layla Brooklyn Allman; 3 grandchildren, his niece, Galadrielle Allman, lifelong friend Chank Middleton, and a large extended family. The family will release a statement soon, but for now ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

"I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music," said Gregg's long time manager and close friend, Michael Lehman. "He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard. His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him." Read more here.

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KISS Cancel Manchester Arena Show Following Terror Attack

KISS announced that their concert which was to take place on Tuesday (May 30th) at the Manchester Arena has been canceled in the wake of the terrorist bombing outside the venue following a Ariana Grande show last week.

The band issued the following statement, "We are heartbroken by the atrocity committed against the innocent victims of Manchester. We sadly will not be able to play Manchester Arena on the 30th May.

"We have always looked forward to these shows and our local fans, but in light of recent events a cancelled rock show seems of such little consequence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those affected and all the people of Manchester at this difficult time. We are with you and you are in our prayers."

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Guns N' Roses Taught Metallica Negative Lessons

Jason Newsted looked back at his former band Metallica's epic tour with Guns N' Roses 25 years ago in a new interview and says that GNR inspired him in what he would never "want to become".

The 1992 stadium trek was riddled with problems from Guns N' Roses taking the stage late to a riot that took place in August of that year at the show in Montreal.

Metallica were first forced to cut their performance short at the ill-fated show after frontman James Hetfield was badly burned by stage pyrotechnics. Instead of rushing out to continue the show, Guns N' Roses didn't take the stage for over two hours, according to reports of the incident. But GNR then cut their set short with Axl Rose telling the audience, "this will be our last show for a long time" before walking off the stage less than an hour into their set.

Newsted reflected on the tour during an interview with Loudwire to promote his new 'RAWK' art exhibition. He said, "We chose to play first, of course, because we wanted to play on time. If we're going on at 8:01, we're on at 8:01. That's the way it's always been. That's why Metallica's still touring now and crushing everybody and selling more records."

He then added that Guns N' Roses "showed me what I don't ever want to become. Antics, pissing away of money, disrespecting people that work for you� Looking down on people who look up to you - worst thing you can do, especially in this business. I saw them do that a lot and I didn't like it."

Newsted then said of GNR, "As a band, they were powerful for about three and a half years and really had their sharp teeth and after that everything fell apart."

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Chris Cornell Laid To Rest At Hollywood Forever Cemetery

(hennemusic) Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was laid to rest during a private memorial service at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on Friday (May 26th).

The singer was found dead in a Detroit hotel following a Soundgarden concert at the city's Fox Theatre on May 17. LA Daily News reports the service opened with his song, "The Promise", from the 2017 movie of the same name.

Eulogies to the late rocker were delivered by Cornell's Soundgarden bandmates Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron, Cornell's Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and actor Josh Brolin.

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" for mourners, which included numerous members of rock royalty and Cornell's widow and two young children, according to Billboard.

Mourners included Cornell's Soundgarden bandmates, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, Joe Walsh of The Eagles, Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro, Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, guitarist Nile Rodgers, Courtney Love, Lisa Marie Presley, Billy Idol and Bush singer Gavin Rossdale, among others. Read more here.

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Paul McCartney Reveals Misunderstanding The Inspired Sgt Pepper

In part of the celebration of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" Paul McCartney has revealed the story behind the inspiration behind the landmark album.

McCartney said the following in a Q&A on his official website, "What really happened was I was coming back from a trip abroad with our roadie, Mal Evans, just the two of us together on the plane. And we were eating and he mumbled to me, asked me to pass the salt and pepper. And I misheard him. He said [mumbles] 'saltandpepper'. I go, 'Sergeant Pepper?' I thought he said, 'Sergeant Pepper'. I went, 'Oh! Wait a minute, that's a great idea!' So we had a laugh about it, then I started thinking about Sergeant Pepper as a character. I thought it would be a very interesting idea for us to assume alter egos for this album we were about to make.

"So that's what we did. And yeah, I started doing drawings of how the band might look. I sort of got this military look thing going and one of my ideas was that they were being presented by the Lord Mayor of some Northern town in a park. And in the old days they used to have floral clocks, they called them. It was like a clock that was made out of flowers. So I did drawings of the floral clock and then, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band', AKA The Beatles, getting an award. So they've got a big cup and they're getting some sort of award from the town.

"So that's where the idea came from and then I just talked to all the guys and said, 'What do you think of this idea?' They liked it and I said, 'It will mean, when I approach the mic, it's not Paul McCartney. I don't have to think this is a Paul McCartney song'. So it was freeing. It was quite liberating.

"So, you know, we didn't keep that idea up all the time, but that was the basic idea that we would make something that was very free. Something that this other band might make, instead of doing something that we thought The Beatles ought to make. It originally came from that mishearing of salt and pepper!

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Long Lost 1970s Neil Young Album Rumored For Release

(Gibson) Hitchhiker, a long-lost Neil Young album originally recorded in 1976, is reportedly coming out this summer. Stereogum reports that Neil Young fan website Thrasher's Wheat found a listing on the website of U.K. retailer Diverse Vinyl that says the album will be available on July 14, and they also recently discovered what appears to be the cover art designed by Young's longtime art director Gary Burden.

At press time, the listing is still there on Diverse Vinyl saying the album is on the Harvest label with a catalog number NYHITCH001. Hitchhiker is said to be a collection of solo acoustic songs that Young recorded at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu. In his 2014 memoir Special Deluxe, Young recalled: "I spent the night there with David and recorded nine solo acoustic songs, completing a tape I called Hitchhiker.

"It was a complete piece, although I was pretty stony on it, and you can hear it in my performances. Dean Stockwell, my friend and a great actor who I later worked on Human Highway as a co-director, was with us that night, sitting in the room with me as I laid down all the songs in a row, pausing only for weed, beer, or coke. Briggs was in the control room, mixing live on his favorite console." See Hitchhiker's rumored final tracklist here.

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New Grateful Dead Collection Coming For Summer Of Love Anniversary

Rhino records have announced that they will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Summer Of Love" with a new Grateful Dead compilation album on vinyl and CD.

The album, entitled "Smiling On A Cloudy Day", will be released on July 11th and will feature "10 songs from the band's early psychedelic period", according to the announcement.

Side one will feature the following tracks: "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)", "Cream Puff War", "Morning Dew", "That's It For The Other One" and "Born Cross-Eyed".

The side two tracks will include "Dark Star", "St. Stephen", "China Cat Sunflower", "Doin' That Rag" and "Cosmic Charlie".

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Eyehategod Launch First Tour Since Mike IX's Liver Transplant

Eyehategod hit the road last week for a new tour which marked frontman Mike IX Williams' first official trek since his successful live transplant last year.

The band kicked off the tour last Thursday (May 25th) in Hattiesburg, MS and will be on the road until June 4th with the final show in Oakland, CA at the Oakland Metro.

Williams had the following to say, "The realities of life, society, and inhumanity rear their ugly heads once again as do New Orleans' own Eyehategod. True underground outcast preachers of the End Time message and dealers of back alley filth and feedback, Eyehategod return to the road to dig a proverbial grave for the power-hungry enemies of the people." See the remaining dates here.

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Brand New, Death Cab For Cutie Lead High and Low Festival Lineup

Brand New, Death Cab For Cutie and Tegan and Sara will be leading the line up for the inaugural High and Low Festival in Southern California later this year.

The one day event will be taking place at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA on Saturday, September 9th, 2017 and will also feature performances from Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Best Coast, Bad Suns, Cloud Nothings, Pup, Coin, Citizen, (Sandy) Alex G, Now Now, Kevin Devine, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Charley Bliss and more to be announced.

Organizer Andy Serrao had the following to say about the event: "Sonically, music has highs and lows, and emotional highs and lows, and with the California topography, we have the mountains, the desert and the ocean. The name High & Low fit for us, with the vision for where we wanted to go.

"Great music has got me through every aspect of my life. With every high and every low, came a soundtrack in my head that defined my life. This festival is a good representation of artists that do this for myself, and tons of other people."

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Dethklok's Brendson Small Announces New Galaktikon Album

(Gibson) Brendon Small, mastermind behind the metal band Dethklok, has been teasing a new chapter of his popular Galaktikon saga for months. After over two years writing and recording, he has announced its August release.

The press release says: "Galaktikon II: Become The Storm follows the space-age theme of 2012's original Galaktikon album, with a conceptual storyline and a heavier, darker, more brutal sound. In addition to Brendon Small on vocals and guitar, the album will feature acclaimed musicians and Dethklok alum Bryan Beller (bass; The Aristocrats, Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai) and Gene Hoglan (drums; Testament, Death, Dark Angel). Galaktikon II: Become The Storm was co-produced by Small and Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Ulrich Wild, who also worked behind the board on the Dethklok albums.

"This record is a combination of all the sounds I've been making throughout my creative life," says Small. "It's as heavy as I want it to be and melodic as I want it to be - it's the bigger, darker record I wanted to hear. And what a way to celebrate my ten-year anniversary of making metal with Gene, Bryan and Ulrich, some of the best in the industry. I'm excited to have it live inside listeners' heads and let their imaginations take over!" here.

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