Turns out that dementia isn’t the only life threatening health condition plaguing AC/DC co-founder/ex-guitarist Malcolm Young. UK-based magazine Q reports that he was diagnosed with lung cancer sometime after the band’s 2008 Black Ice tour. Luckily, it was discovered early and he had a successful operation. Malcolm was also diagnosed with a heart issue, which resulted in the installation of a pacemaker…which he suprisingly revealed to singer Brian Johnson during a dinner. Says Brian, “This is typical Malcolm — he got a hold of my hand and went… [bangs repeatedly on his chest]. He says, ‘Pacemaker. F***ing good, mate.’ He scared the sh*t out of us! And there’s a twinkle in his eye, he was tickled pink. It’s like he was showing us a new fuzzbox or something!”
Wanna see AC/DC try to get a bunch of stiffs in fancy dresses and tuxes on their feet and rockin’ out? The band will be among the live performers during the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 8, 2015, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). On the other end of the spectrum, they are also slated to headline two weekends at the Coachella Festival in Indio, CA on April 10 and April 17. Another band on the lineup is Steely Dan. What? Is this 1979?
The Quiet Riot documentary film Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back is scheduled to premiere on Showtime on January 29. It’ll be available to purchase on May 19 via iTunes. The film chronicles the rise, fall and resurrection of Quiet Riot, with the full cooperation of drummer Frankie Banali. In 2010 and at a crossroads, Frankie forged ahead and made a new life for himself and his daughter. The film captures the journey which is at times both tragic and hilarious. It chronicles Frankie’s emotional trials to try to fill the void left by the unexpected death of singer Kevin DuBrow and get the band back together. Director Regina Russell (now engaged to Frankie) followed the band for four years and scored interviews with many of the integral characters in the group’s history.
Regarding the making of the film, Frankie told Indiewire.com, “Whether it was intentional or not, Regina forced me to deal with Kevin’s death. Before the film was all said and done, I can’t tell you how many mornings I would sit in my office and thought Kevin was calling when the phone started to ring. She made it possible for me to finally let go, not to stop missing Kevin, but to let go and accept the fact that he’s gone. He’s not coming back, and although he died because of his choices in life, I don’t fault him for that. I will always regret that Kevin’s gone, but it’s out of my control. Regina helped me to accept the fact that he’s not coming back, and to enjoy what we had. There’s value in that.”
Sweet & Lynch, a newly-formed band featuring singer/guitarist Michael Sweet (Stryper), guitarist George Lynch (Lynch Mob, Dokken, T&N), bassist James LoMenzo (White Lion, Megadeth) and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake) is gearing up to release its debut album, Only To Rise, on January 27.
Says Sweet of how the band got together, “Sweet & Lynch was born as the brainchild of Serafino Perugino, President of Frontiers Music. He asked me to basically sing on this record and then I suggested producing it and co-wrote the songs with George. It’s an incredible combination of classic ‘70s and ‘80s. You will hear some flavors of Journey, Bad Company, Dokken, Van Halen and Stryper.”
Soothe a baby headbanger to sleep with a lullaby version of Megadeth’s “Symphony Of Destruction”. Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star has been busy releasing baby-friendly versions of well-known metal bands, and Lullaby Versions Of Megadeth is the latest. On the album are sleep-inducing yoga versions of “A Tout Le Monde,” “Angry Again,” “Holy Wars,” “Hangar 18,” “Peace Sells” and more.
Ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler plans to unveil a fine art collection called “50” created via SceneFour’s “Rhythm-On-Canvas” medium. The collection debuts on February 6. Drummers who have also released art collections using the medium include Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward, Def Leppard’s Rick Allen and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo. Special drumsticks light up in specific ways, meant to bring to mind a painter with paintbrushes of different colors.
David Lee Roth recently shaved his head and joined the Foo Fighters on stage during last Saturday’s gig at the Forum in Los Angeles. Here he is belting out “Panama” and “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love” .
Read our story for more, here.
See the unveiling in this clip below:
What was the first speed metal song? Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann says it was by his band. Said Wolf to Mariskal Rock (transcribed by Blabbermouth.net) when asked if Accept was an influence on early thrash metal bands, “Well, according to a lot of people, a lot of journalists, it has been, because we wrote the first speed metal song ever [‘Fast As A Shark’], and a lot of other musicians have told me that. And definitely, we have a big influence on a lot of people’s career. I mean, there’s a lot of people that we never even expected to hear this from, but who said to me over the years, ‘You know, when I heard [Accept’s 1982 album] Restless And Wild back in the ’80s, it changed my life and it made me become who I am as a musician.’ So a lot of musicians took that as a starting point to form their own careers.”