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Daily Music News Report for 06/24/2016


Day in Rock Part 2



Dave Grohl Saved By Taylor Swift At Paul McCartney's House

(Classic Rock) Dave Grohl has recalled how Taylor Swift saved him from embarrassment at a party held by Paul McCartney - when the Foo Fighters mainman was too high to get away with jamming a song.

McCartney had just played a brand-new song on piano, but Grohl can't play the instrument. And although there were guitars in the room, they were all left-handed, meaning Grohl couldn't play them either.

He told the story during a solo show at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France last week. Grohl said: "Just so you know, Paul McCartney is the baddest motherf***er in the world. He's not only the coolest, he's the best.

"He started playing this song and he's blowing everyone's mind. A new Paul McCartney song - weird! He finishes, and everyone looks at me, and they're like, 'Go on, Dave, play a song!'

"I'm like, 'I don't know how to play piano.' I look around and all the guitars are left-handed. I'm screwed." He described Swift's offer to play the piano as "like Batman when you need him," and then told how he took a left-handed bass from the wall and tried to work out a way to accompany her. "It's like one of those nightmares where you're running backwards, always late," he said.

Then it struck him: "I know this song. What the hell is this? And she was playing Best Of You. As if I weren't high enough - that blew me into outer space! Taylor Swift, Best Of You, Paul McCartney� I lost my mind." Watch the video here.

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Tom DeLonge Inserted Into Blink-182's New Video By Fan

(Radio.com) Some Blink-182 fans really miss Tom DeLonge. So much so that one of them inserted him into the band's newest music video for "Bored to Death" in a new online clip.

Victor Hemsley, an intrepid YouTube user, edited together Blink's new video with DeLonge's video for Angels & Airwaves song "New World." DeLonge first shared that video back in April of 2015. It showcases him wandering the streets with his guitar and later smashing that instrument into other gear.

Blink's new lyrics seem to line up with DeLonge's scenes. "There's a stranger staring at the ceiling," lead singer Mark Hoppus sings in one verse. At that moment, the video shows DeLonge walking along a street at night looking bereft.

In an interview with Radio.com, Hemsley explained that the idea was hatched when he found himself watching a 20 second clip using the same footage posted to a band fan site--Tom DeLonge edited into Blink's "Bored to Death." The Eugene, Oregon video production student thought it was funny and decided to take it one step further and make an entire video. "Honestly, I did it just to make myself laugh." Hemsley figured only a few of his friends would ever see the video. "I'm a huge Blink fan. They've my favorite band for at least ten years or more."

"At first I was really upset about it," says Hemsley of the band's breakup. I couldn't imagine the band without Tom DeLonge. But I think I warmed up to the idea of Matt Skiba pretty fast. And, honestly I'm super excited for the future of Blink-182. I didn't make the video in spite of Tom or to fuel any fires. He's still one of my favorite musicians of all time." Read more and check out the alternative take on "Bored to Death" here.

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Fall Out Boy Stream Their Version Ghostbusters Theme Song

(TeamRock Radio) Fall Out Boy's take on Ray Parker Jr's original Ghostbusters theme tune is available to stream. Fall Out Boy teamed up with rapper Missy Elliott on the song, which will feature on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie reboot.

Ray Parker Jr, recorded the original track for the 1984 smash hit film. The 2016 version - which features an all-female cast of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones - is released on July 15.

FOB play at this year's Reading and Leeds festivals and also appear on the same bill as Biffy Clyro at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park on August 27. Stream the song here.

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Alice In Chains Ponder Post Guns N' Roses Tour Plans

(Classic Rock) Alice In Chains frontman William DuVall says that the band will start thinking about their sixth album following their stadium tour with Guns N' Roses.

The follow-up to 2013's The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here will be their third release since he replaced of the late Layne Staley in 2006. They'll be on the road with Axl Rose's band until mid-August.

DuVall tells WRIF (via Blabbermouth): "I know we'll be probably talking about that kind of thing over the next few months. It's still early yet - we've got to get through this tour first."

He adds: "We make a habit of starting pretty much with a clean slate every time we've gone in. That challenges you. We'll have to see how it manifests this time. But we're not there yet." Read more here.

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Twisted Sister Release You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll Live Video

(Classic Rock) Twisted Sister have released a video of a live version of their 1983 track You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. It's taken from their upcoming Metal Meltdown - Featuring Twisted Sister Live At The Hard Rock Casino - Las Vegas DVD, which was filmed in the city last May. The show was dedicated to the memory of Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero, who had died two months previously, and featured Winery Dogs and Flying Colours Mike Portnoy behind the kit.

"Twisted Sister's late drummer, AJ Pero was literally the beating heart of our band, says frontman Dee Snider. "When the heart stops, the body is dead. But we needed to go on just a little longer to honour our fallen comrade and, with the help of the incredible Mike Portnoy, we did it for AJ."

"The decision to continue performing all the summer shows in 2015, not to mention the concert that this performance celebrates, was in jeopardy over the days immediately following A.J.'s sudden death," says guitarist JayJay French. "In the end, I believe we did what A.J. would have wanted us to do and Mike Portnoy was a very big part of that decision in both an emotional and artistic way.

"This performance captured herein just two months after A.J.'s death really was about our way to help memorialise the great A.J. Pero. The front four (Dee, Eddie, Mark and I) have had no one but A.J. behind us since 1982. This concert has A.J.'s influence permeating through our bloodstream in ways that I will never forget and when we cut to A.J.'s drum solo on the rear projection screen, We were all emotionally overwhelmed. Not since our reunion for NY Steel in 2001 (to honour and raise money for the families of the NYC police and fire department who died on 9/11) have I been moved to tears." Watch the video here.

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Five Finger Death Punch Made Major Changes To Help Moody's Battle

(TeamRock Radio) Five Finger Death Punch have changed their habits on the road to help frontman Ivan Moody battle "his demons." The vocalist has been struggling with substance abuse and guitarist Zoltan Bathory says the whole band made changes to help their colleague cope.

Bathory tells Metal Hammer: "You have to change the habits on the road - what happens, what's on the rider. You have to take off all the alcohol - even mouthwash. It's about trying to eliminate all of the triggers.

"He's been battling his demons, and when you're in a rock band, it can be really difficult to be on the road. If you have any kind of addiction or addictive personality, everybody wants to hang out and party. People are going to come up to you and say, 'Hey man, let me buy you a drink,' or 'Let's hang out.' For them, that's a big thing. They don't realize that to us, it was the same thing yesterday, and the day before that, and the past 300 days before that.

"But you don't want to be rude - it's just hard for people to understand that." Read more here.

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Randy Bachman Wrote 'American Woman' On Stage

(Radio.com) Randy Bachman tells WCBS-FM's Scott Shannon that he wrote the classic songs "Taking Care Of Business" (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and "American Woman" (The Guess Who) on stage.

"This magic was happening on stage, like when I wrote 'American Woman' on stage." The Guess Who had been playing a show outside of Toronto near the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo in a curling rink where they placed plywood on the ice in February.

"I broke a string on my Les Paul' I had no roadie, no tech, no spare guitar, no tuner; so Burton [Cummings] said, 'We're taking a break.' I got on my knees in front his piano to tune to the piano, put the string on my guitar, and as I was tuning it up I went [hums opening chords to 'American Woman']. And the whole audience - who was all talking, there was no music - their heads snapped around. I went, 'Oh my god, I have to keep playing this riff," says Bachman. "I was alone on stage. Then I got the drummer on stage. And I got the bass player. Finally, the last guy on stage was Burton Cummings and he said, 'What is this? It's great.' I said, 'Sing anything. Sing something.' Because when you sing something weird it helps you remember the notes your playing." Read more here.

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FOES Release 'The Everest' Music Video

(Prog) FOES have premiered the video for their track The Everest exclusively via Prog. The track is taken from the Liverpool-based band's upcoming, as-yet-untitled debut album, which is currently being recorded with Alex Loring of Empress AD producing and is scheduled for release later in 2016 via Basick Records.

FOES guitarist Joe Danher says: "The Everest is titled as such as it deals with a great obstacle. I read an account of an ordeal described as 'the Everest of trauma' and it stayed with me.

"In this case, the obstacle is loss and bereavement. The song itself serves as an assurance to a loved one - no matter how deep their grief, their resilience and strength of character will see them through." Watch the video here.

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Marillion's Steve Rothery Limited Edition Postcards From The Road

(Prog) Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery has opened pre-orders for his career-spanning book entitled Postcards From The Road. It'll be shipped in July and is the first of three planned volumes showcasing Rothery's photographic diaries.

The project has been 15 years in the making and is said to detail what life is like on the road for a touring musician. It begins with "Steve's early life in Whitby, North Yorkshire," and gives "insights into the early days of Marillion through to Fish's departure in 1988 and the subsequent rebirth of the band with Steve Hogarth."

Postcards From The Road is limited to just 3000 copies, spans 180 pages and is presented as a hardback coffee table book. It contains more than 400 photographs from Rothery's career throughout the 80s and early 90s. Read more here.

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Converse All Star Shoe Mashed Up With Wah Wah Pedal

(TeamRock Radio) A creative design agency have developed a Converse All Star shoe with a built-in guitar wah wah pedal. Critical Mass developed new technology that allowed them to built the effects pedal into the sole of a Converse Chuck Taylor sneaker and they've named it after Chet Atkins - the guitarist who pioneered use of the wah wah pedal.

Staff at Critical Mass say: "We wanted to make Chucks even more rock'n'roll. So we thought, why not turn one into a wah wah pedal? Having the idea was the easy part, the difficult part was learning to make it.

"The amount a wah wah pedal moves up and down is measured by something called a potentiometer. In order to allow the Converse, as it flexes, to act as a wah wah pedal, we needed to replace the potentiometer with something called a flex sensor." Read more and check out a video here.

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Volbeat's Michael Poulsen On Challenges Of Lineup Changes

(Classic Rock) Volbeat's Michael Poulsen says that band lineup changes can feel as challenging as a troubled marriage. The group split with original bassist Anders Kjolholm in November last year - but the guitarist and vocalist says that he and his bandmates have always worked hard to stay together.

He tells Full Metal Jackie (via Blabbermouth): "It's not always fun to change members or lose a member or whatever happens. We always try to stick together, but sticking together as a band, it's the same challenge that's being in a marriage or something like that.

"Some people are meant to stay together - others really have to work on it. And it's the same thing with bands. Sometimes it works - other times, you have to fight for it. We do everything we possibly can to stick together, but, you know, we have one life and everybody needs to do what they have to do." Read more here.

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