Can Someone Say
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: Black Sabbath troubles.
Topic: Hard Rock

 On October 25, reuters.com released this statement about a so-called Black Sabbath reuinion:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ozzy Osbourne's bandmates in heavy metal group Black Sabbath have reunited without the singer for a planned tour early near year, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The threesome have joined forces with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who sang in the band during two stints in the 1980s and 1990s after Osbourne was ousted for his prodigious drug abuse, but will bill themselves as "Heaven and Hell."

Lest anyone think that Osbourne has been ostracized again, representatives for the so-called "Prince of Darkness" issued a separate statement, announcing "there is only one Black Sabbath," and that he would join forces with his old Birmingham buddies for a tour and new album late next year.

Original Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Dio "are working on a project together which has nothing to do with Black Sabbath," the statement said. "However, Ozzy wishes Tony and Ronnie much success in their project together."

The members of Heaven and Hell -- Dio, Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward -- were not available for comment. The group's spokeswoman said Dio and Iommi were in England writing songs together.

The combo takes its name from the first album Dio recorded with Black Sabbath in 1980. This lineup recorded another studio album in 1981 and a live album in 1982, after which Dio quit. He reportedly complained there were not enough photos of him in the live album artwork, while Iommi reportedly referred to the diminutive head-banger as a "little Hitler."

After a stint at the helm of a successful 1980s metal band bearing his last name, Dio briefly rejoined Black Sabbath a decade later, by which time Iommi was the only original member left and the group had lost most of its fans.

The founding foursome, famed for such jarring metal anthems as "Paranoid" and "War Pigs," buried their various hatchets in the mid-1990s for a successful series of tours, although plans for a new album never came to fruition. After years of being snubbed, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Osbourne concurrently found mainstream notoriety as a reality TV star, thanks to his role as the perpetually confused paterfamilias in MTV's "The Osbournes."

Courtesy of www.reuters.com

And to combat with the statement, Ozzy released this on his Ozzfest website:

Europe Announces Tour Dates
Now Playing: Europe's 2007 European tour announced.
16 January 2007 SPAIN, Granada, Plaza de Toros de Atarfe
17 January 2007 SPA, Madrid, La Riviera
19 January 2007 SPA, Barcelona, Razzmatazz
20 January 2007 SPA, Bilbao, Rock Star
22 January 2007 SWI, Zurich, Volkshaus
23 January 2007 ITA, Milan, Alcatraz
24 January 2007 ITA, Rome, Tendastrice
26 January 2007 ITA, Modena, Vox
27 January 2007 AUSTRIA, Innsbruck, Hafen
29 January 2007 AUSTRIA, Graz, Orpheum
30 January 2007 AUSTRIA, Vienna, Arena
2 February 2007 GER, Stuttgart, Longhorn KLA
3 February 2007 GER, Munich, Backstage Werk
4 February 2007 GER, Nuremberg, Hirsch
6 February 2007 GER, Hamburg, Fabrik
7 February 2007 GER, Bochum, Matrix
10 February 2007 UK, Newcastle, Academy
11 February 2007 UK, Glasgow, Academy
13 February 2007 UK, Bristol, Academy
14 February 2007 UK, London, Shepherds Bush Empire
15 February 2007 UK, Birmingham, Academy

Finally on-line through the bands own shop, on their own site you can now buy the first single "Always the pretenders" in two different versions directly from the band!

The bands site has now been officially KlickTracked which is a system which accounts directly to the band without any middle men and provides consumer friendly MP3s without any obstacles.

Courtesy of www.europetheband.com

Ex-Runaways Drummer Dies After Battle With Cancer
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: RUNAWAYS' DRUMMER SANDY WEST PASSES AWAY
Topic: Classic Rock

October 22, 2006

Sandy West, drummer for the influential 70s band The Runaways, died today after a long battle with lung cancer.

She left an indelible mark on rock music as a founding member of The Runaways, which featured fellow rockers Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherie Currie, and as a leading inspiration for a number of notable musicians, both male and female. Many young musicians can trace their inspiration directly to the first time they heard "Cherry Bomb."

The Runaways toured the world several times, often headlining with opening acts like Tom Petty and Cheap Trick. Their discography includes over 60 albums, singles, bootlegs and compilations. Their music has been included in dozens of rock and punk collections, has appeared in several feature films including Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway and Detroit Rock City, and has been covered by numerous bands, from The Street Walkin' Cheetahs to Guns 'N' Roses. They were nominated for the Hollywood Rock Walk, and bootlegs of Runaways performances are still highly prized amongst rock and roll collectors around the world.

After the band broke up, Ms. West continued to perform as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist with The Sandy West Band. As a solo artist she recorded a highly collectible EP CD and numerous videos, and continued to enjoy the adoration of a dedicated cult following.

She will be remembered by more than one generation of fans as a strong part of their musical landscape, but her impact was felt far outside of the music industry as a loyal friend, loving confidante and strong defender of those she loved most. Her strength as a player, passion as a person, and dedication as a friend will be remembered always by friends, fans and fellow musicians alike.

Runaways vocalist and life-long friend, Cherie Currie had this to say, "Sandy West was by far, the greatest female drummer in the history of rock and roll. No one could compete or even come close to her, but the most important was her heart. Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault. She would do absolutely anything for the people she loved. It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West was the best and I will miss her forever."

Courtesy of www.therunaways.com

From www.sleazeroxx.com

Krokus = Spinal Tap
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: Hair Metal
IT'S ONLY ROCK'n'ROLL, BUT I LIKE IT!!! (or "a day in the life of a rock band on tour" )

It's Friday, October 20th at 9:48PM in Denver/Colorado and my cell phone (Natel) rings in the other room. Glued to the TV for a "must see" show, I ignore it. 10 minutes later it rings again. I ignore it again. My wife Donna is more curious than I and checks who's number is coming up. She shouts from the other room "it's a 455 number". I shout back "it's an out of state number I do not recognize, most probably a solicitor" and further ignore it.

All day KROKUS was on my mind. Wondered how they were doing on tour. So, as I was laying on the couch, reflecting on life during a commercial break, I started thinking "...hmm, 41 is the country code for Switzerland, 49 is the country code for Germany, could this 45 be a country code of a Scandinavian country in Europe?" KROKUS plays Scandinavia, could it be that the boys in the band are calling me? But then it's slightly past 6:00 AM in Europe, no way they would be calling at this hour, since they most likely went to bed sometime around 2:00 AM and everyone would be sleeping in the bunk of their tour bus, curtains shut. Oh well, nice thought. Wish them well.

5 minutes later the phone rings again. Same number. This time curiosity gets the best of me and I pick up the phone. On the other end, a voice (that I recognize) says: "Peter, it's Marc". To my response: "Wow, great to hear from you" he adds: "Well it's sort of an emergency. I'm calling from the gas station at the Tuelso Nord exit in Denmark because our tour bus left without me towards the German border. The people here were nice enough to let me borrow the phone, since mine is in the tour bus. Along with everything else including my passport. Even if one of the band members wake up, they will think I'm sleeping in my bunk with curtains closed and won't wake me up most probably until 1:00 PM. All I have with me is my wallet and that had one of your "Globe Club" business cards in it with your phone number".

Am I dreaming this or is it for real? Must be real, because they played Friday night in Copenhagen/Denmark and they are slated to play Flensburg/Germany the next day (today). Can't resist asking how this all happened. Marc explains. The tour bus driver Andrea stops at the Tuelso Nord exit gas station to use the bathroom and to get a cup of coffee. Marc was awake and used the opportunity to step off the bus himself stretching a little, then heading for the bathroom himself, without telling the driver, assuming she would drink the coffee inside the truck stop/gas station (instead the driver took it on board, driving towards the German border). On his way out, Marc was recognized by a couple of KROKUS fans, involving him into a conversation and asking for autographs. Accommodating as he is and focused on his fans, he did not realize at this time that the tour bus had taken off without him.

I assure Marc that the "Globe Club" is the right place and the only phone number he really needs in his wallet, since we work "globally" [Denmark to Denver to Denmark/Germany] and will get a hold of someone or flag the tour bus down, one way or the other. Knowing that I have 3 hours until the bus should hit the border, I get to work. The easiest would have been to get a hold of one of the other band members in the bus. I call them all and leave messages on their voice mails. Don't have the number for the bus driver (the only one awake!). Next step: International Directory Assistance. After 2 hang-ups and an answering machine message in Danish I look for alternatives. Next step: authorities! I call the German Police Department emergency line in Flensburg (since I have no clue what border in Denmark they could be using), asking them to assist me with a telephone number for the Border Control in Denmark. I figured they could alert their officers to stop a blue Fairline tour bus!

Travelling with the singer's passport but without him. I call all band members in the bus again, hoping one might hear a ring. In the meantime Marc calls back 2 times, inquiring about my progress while local gas station employees hold him hostage and enjoy having a Rock'n'Roll personality stranded at their usually boring work place (the good part about Marc's Rock status was that they also let him use the phone to call the USA multiple times - we hope the employer is as understanding when he sees his next phone bill). Marc suggests calling the tour bus office somewhere in Germany for them to get a hold of their driver. Through the Internet I find their web site and since they won't open until 9:00 AM in the morning, I send an e-mail, hoping someone will show up for work early (does anybody still do that???).

Finally, hours later, our drummer Stefan gets up in the tour bus to use the bathroom and sees a message on his charging cell phone. The bus stops to regroup and recoup from the shock. A solution is found. They let me know that the tour manager will get a rental car and drive back about 350 kilometers to the Tuelso Nord gas station to pick up Marc "the voice" Storace.

As I call back Marc to let him know the good news, I can't help to think back to 1980 when I immigrated from Switzerland to the USA. Their then Swiss Manager Harry Sprenger visited me in Denver/Colorado and I still can vividly see him in my mind standing in my living room in Denver/Colorado, receiving a collect phone call from a Thommy Kiefer [Thommy Kiefer was a founding member of KROKUS, somewhat of a cult figure for the fans and his 30th anniversary of his passing approaches this Christmas], who was stranded at a gas station somewhere in the good 'ole USA while the tour bus was gone, headed towards Tennessee for a gig that night. Deja-Vu? WOW!

Whereas in the 80's for Thommy it definitely was "sex, drugs & rock'n'roll", for Marc in 2006 it was "coffee, fans & rock'n'roll". For me, it's only rock'n'roll, but I like it!!!

Rock On, Peter

Courtesy of www.krokusonline.com

New Metallica DVD, Guns N' Roses Collectors Box, KISS Alive
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: New video releases from some of your favorite bands.
Topic: Heavy Metal

Metallica:

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Metallica will on December 5 release a DVD rounding up all its music videos, including the entirety of the 1991 VHS "2 of One."

Alongside classic videos like "Enter Sandman," "One," "Sad But True" and "Nothing Else Matters," "The Videos 1989-2004" includes more recent clips such as "I Disappear," "St. Anger" and "Frantic."

Also featured is the previously unreleased video for "Mama Said," two versions of "One," the studio and theatrical versions of "The Unforgiven" and the trailer for 2004's "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" documentary.

Metallica is in the studio working on its next album with producer Rick Rubin. In July, the group ended its longtime holdout with the iTunes Music Store and made its music available for download via the service.

Courtesy of www.billboard.com

 KISS:

SANTA MONICA, CA - KISS's "ALIVE" series represents some of the best live rock recordings ever made. Now all three of those classic albums plus a legendary but previously unreleased performance -- the Millennium Concert from New Year's Eve 1999/2000 -- come together in the ultimate "KISS ALIVE" box set, the four-CD "KISS ALIVE! 1975-2000" (Mercury/UMe), released November 21, 2006.

"KISS ALIVE! 1975-2000" includes newly remastered versions of "Alive!" (1975), "Alive II" (1977) and "Alive III" (1993) -- all of which charted Top 10 -- as well as "KISS ALIVE: The Millennium Concert" (2000), whose tracks have never appeared on CD except for its "Rock And Roll All Nite."

Fans have waited for the Millennium Concert recording for several years. On December 31, 1999 the reunited KISS, with the original lineup, played BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada to ring in the new millennium before a crowd of 45,000. The career-spanning concert was originally intended to be "Alive IV" but the KISS+orchestra "KISS Symphony: Alive IV" appeared in 2003. Meanwhile the Vancouver concert took on mythic status. "KISS ALIVE! 1975-2000" finally fills in that gap in KISStory.

Back to the beginning, just two-and-a-half years after the first concert by bassist Gene Simmons, guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley, and drummer Peter Criss, KISS issued "Alive!" in 1975. The album won the band its first gold award and first Top 40 hit, the live "Rock And Roll All Nite." The album also included such quintessential KISS as "Deuce," "Strutter," "Hotter Than Hell," "Black Diamond" and "Cold Gin."

In 1977, KISSteria was in full effect for the band's three-night stand in August at the Forum in Los Angeles recorded for "Alive II." The double platinum set contained three live sides in addition to a fourth side of new studio recordings. Among its anthems were "Detroit Rock City," "Love Gun," "Calling Dr. Love," "Christine Sixteen" and "Rockin' In The USA" as well as the ballad "Beth." "Alive III," came in 1993. The gold album boasted "I Was Made For Lovin' You," "Lick It Up" and "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II."

"KISS ALIVE! 1975-2000" also adds a pair of bonuses: the single version of "Rock And Roll All Nite" to the "Alive II" disc and "Take It Off" to "Alive III." Deluxe packaging includes a booklet filled with photos and an informative essay written by noted KISS expert Ken Sharp.

Courtesy of www.marketwire.com

Guns N' Roses:

This DVD Collectors Box is a 2 disc set which tells the complete and extraordinary story of Guns N Roses using never-before-seen performance and interview footage, interviews with close friends, fellow band mates, family members, music biz colleagues, and close collaborators who know them best. It features numerous location shoots, unpublished photographs and a whole host of other features. Extras include digital interactive discography, interactive quiz and did you know section. Guns N Roses created a unique sound and image that nobody has matched since. This DVD goes behind that legendary story. It's a Guns N Roses collectors item of the highest order.



SKU#: DVDIS005
UPC: 823564508092
SRP: $24.95
BOX LOT: 30
RUN TIME: 120mins
LABEL: CHROME DREAMS
STREET DATE: 2007-01-30



Courtesy of mvdb2b.com

A Night At Church
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: Heavy metal... at a Canadian church. I like it.
Topic: Misc.
Canada's CTV News reports that high school metalheads gathered in a Moncton, New Brunswick church this week — not to pray, but to fight it out in a deafening battle of the bands.

Organizers at the Moncton Wesleyan Church hoped to reach out to youth who would normally stay far away from the place of worship, by mixing in a brief sermon with the heavy metal concert.

But it didn't go exactly as planned. About 800 screaming teens packed into the church, vandalizing and knocking over pews that hadn't been removed beforehand.

One person was even slightly injured. Still, organizers called the concert a success.

"A church pew can be replaced," youth pastor Mark Moore told CTV News.

"It's not something we're worried about and in the big scheme of things — in God's eye's — I think it's more important that 800 kids experienced last night."

Some teens admitted they would never have entered the church if not for the concert, and were thankful for the venue.

"It's just that they'd let us come here, for like, a free show," said one teen during the show. "We don't have to do anything. Everything's here for us."

Moore said he has no regrets about the concert, because he was able to reach out to youth by creating an environment they found comfortable.

"It's easy to be an arm-chair critic and sit at home if you're 40 or 50, and say, 'I can't believe this is happening,'" said Moore. "But I challenge you to consider."

During the concert, Moore gave the teens a sermon that highlighted the church's relaxed approach.

"Jesus Christ loves you. He does not care what you've done," he told the crowd. "I'm not trying to convert you to my religion. I'm not trying to tell you to put on a suit, get a bad comb-over, and send you off to the Christian factory."

It's unclear how many of the youth cared about — or even listened to — the sermon. But the church's senior pastor, L. D. Buckingham, said it was important to take a chance.

He admitted the approach was unconventional, but argued that was necessary to make the church relevant to a younger community.

"We're never going to do in this church what I like. We're going to do what connects with the culture and the people outside the church," said Buckingham.

www.blabbermouth.net

Chinese Democracy Out On "A Tuesday"
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: It's Coming. "There are ten Tuesdays left before January ? it will come out on one of them."
Topic: Hair Metal
In the new issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, writer Brian Hiatt reveals what he's discovered about the long-awaited Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy."

The article begins with this elusive quote from the band's manager Merck Mercuriadis, in which he essentially retreads stuff we already know: "The album will come out this year. There are ten Tuesdays left before January — it will come out on one of them."

Following the band's headlining show in San Bernadino, California, on September 23rd, frontman Axl Rose threw a party at his mansion and played the full album in his poolroom for visitors, including his friend Sebastian Bach, former singer of Skid Row.

"It was mind-blowing," says Bach, who is opening for Guns N' Roses on their upcoming North American arena tour. "It's a very cool album — it's badass with killer screams, killer guitar riffs, but it's got a totally modern sound. The word for it is 'grand.' It’s fucking epic. He's reinvented himself yet again."

The album includes some tracks that have been played live or leaked onto the Internet, including the poppy "Better" and the hard-hitting "I.R.S."

"There's this one song called 'Sorry' that's almost like doom metal with Axl singing really clean over this grinding, slow beat that is fucking mean," says Bach. "I cannot get it out of my head."

Veteran engineer Andy Wallace, who mixed Nirvana's "Nevermind," is working on the project, according to a source close to the band. "We're absolutely delighted with the mixes," the source told Rolling Stone.

On October 2th4, the band will begin its North American tour in Miami. Two dates — November 10th in New York and November 2th0 in Halifax, Nova Scotia — are already sold out, according to Mercuriadis. Additional U.S. dates will be added in early 2007, and the band will return to the States in the summer as well, he says.

Though a source told Rolling Stone that the album is due November 21st, Mercuriadis declined to confirm this. "I don't know that we will announce a release date," he says. "You just might walk into your record shop one Tuesday and find it there."

Kirk Hammet Becomes A Father
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: It's a boy!
Topic: Thrash
METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett and his wife Lani recently welcomed their first child, a son named Angel Ray Keala Hammett.

Kirk and Lani got married on January 31, 1998 in Kailua, Hawaii after his first marriage (to Rebecca) ended in 1990 during the recording of the band's "black" album.

As previously reported, Spanish METALLICA fan site CyberMETALLICA has uploaded several new photos taken during METALLICA's songwriting sessions for their upcoming album, tentatively due next summer/fall.

METALLICA's follow-up to 2003's "St. Anger" is being produced by Rick Rubin, who has previously worked with AUDIOSLAVE, SLAYER, SLIPKNOT, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.

www.Blabbermouth.net

The Death Of An Era
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: Tower Records has gone out business. Blame iTunes.
Topic: Misc.
Tower Records, the 46-year-old music retailer, has been sold to a liquidator that will close all the stores.

"I feel very sad about it," Ladd Fraternale, shopping in the country section at Tower's East Village store in Manhattan, said Wednesday. "I think they have a great selection here and the service is good."

On Oct. 6th, a federal bankruptcy judge in Wilmington, Del., approved the sale of Tower to Los Angeles-based liquidator Great American Group for $134.3 million.

While no firm date has been set for the stores to close, "Going Out of Business" signs went up this week at Tower's 89 stores in 20 states and the chain's 3,000 employees have been told they will be laid off.

The company owes creditors about $200 million and filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in August. In its filing, Tower said it has been hurt by an industrywide decline in music sales, downloading of online music and competition from big-box stores such as Wal-Mart.

CDs were 10 percent off this week, still not a bargain. At 10 percent off the list price of $18.99, Beyonce's "B'day" was selling for $17.09, compared with $9.99 on Amazon. Great American President Andy Gumaer said the discount will increase over the six to eight weeks it takes to close the stores.

At the New York store, Larry Kirwan, lead singer of the Irish band Black 47, was scouring the rock bins and mourning Tower's imminent loss.

"It's a bad day for music," Kirwan said. "It's a bad day for independent bands. ... Right from the beginning, even before we were signed with labels they carried us. They've been good to musicians."

Kirwan said taking music off the Internet is not the same as buying a vinyl LP or even a CD.

An LP or CD is "something real that's not virtual," he said. "It's like music itself. I'm not sure music is virtual. It's real and it's powerful, and I don't think you quite get the same thing from downloading."

Russ Solomon founded Tower in Sacramento, Calif., in 1960 and opened the company's landmark store on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard in 1969. As part of the bankruptcy auction, the Sunset property will be sold for $12 million.

Outside the Sunset Boulevard store, a marquee with a message and REM lyrics said it all: "It's the end of the world as we know it. Thanks for your loyalty." A mock gravestone and Halloween decoration had a single word scratched into it: "Tower."

Norman Labby, who for 20 years drove across town to go to Tower for jazz and classical albums, said he was "frustrated, angry and depressed" that Tower was closing.

"I don't own a computer, I don't know how to work one and don't plan to buy one," he said, holding a bag full of CD's and tapes. "I'm disenfranchised for the umpteenth time."

News of Tower's sale to Great American plunged workers into "immediate sadness," said Ramsey Jones, manning the third-floor cash register at the New York store.

"Business hasn't been great," Jones said. "Downloading, competition from Virgin and your Best Buys and your Wal-Marts. But the thing that people will miss is the deep catalog that Tower has. They can come here and find anything they want."

Jones, a 15-year Tower employee who also plays the drums and has worked with musicians including Vernon Reid of Living Colour, said he has made connections at Tower and met famous customers like Carlos Santana and jazz great Ornette Coleman.

"Customers are going to miss walking into a store and speaking to someone that is knowledgeable," he said. "It's like losing a family member, working here for so long."

Rock critic Robert Christgau said Thursday that Tower often attracted workers who knew about music because they were musicians themselves.

"It doesn't make me happy to see places like Best Buy and Circuit City selling records," he said in a telephone interview. "I'd much rather records were sold at a music store."

source: Karen Matthews of the Associated Press

Weekly Look Published
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Only-Rock News
Only-Rock's Weekly Look has been published. Read it at https://only-rock.tripod.com/wl . It has release dates, tour news, editorials, O-R News, and much more.