This Week’s SHAZAM Winner!!
Congrats to Mike Cislo in Columbia Falls, MT who listens to KBBZ – The Flathead B-98, and is this week’s Shazam contest winner, scoring a House of Hair t-shirt!
Be sure to Shazam the House of Hair Request of the Week when you hear it each week. Whip out your cell phone and open the Shazam app to get info on the song and register to win an official House of Hair t-shirt, too! One winner will be chosen randomly each week.
METAL NEWS
KISS’ Gene Simmons Gives Tearful Tribute at Chuck Berry Memorial Service
Chuck Berry, who died March 18 at the age of 90, was laid to rest last Sunday in his hometown of St. Louis with an all-day “celebration of life”.
This public memorial was followed by a private service for friends and family that featured live performances, as well as speeches from a variety of people who figured in Berry’s life. These speakers included Marshall Chess (son of Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records, Berry’s first record label); many of Berry’s bandmates from throughout the years; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president Joel Peresman; and Kiss’ Gene Simmons. Simmons’ speech was a surprise. “I hadn’t planned on coming up here and saying anything,” he said. “These shades are going to help me a lot, because in the back of them are real tears.”
Watch Simmons entire speech, here.
John Geils, Guitarist of the J. Geils Band, Dead at 71
J. Geils, the guitarist who lent his name to the J. Geils Band, was found dead at his home in Groton, Massachusetts, on Monday. He was 71.
According to the New York Times, his death was confirmed by the Groton Police Department, whose officers found him after they were asked to check on Geils, whose full name was John Warren Geils Jr. A preliminary investigation showed that he appeared to have died of natural causes.
Geils is best known for the J. Geils Band’s Number 1 hit, “Centerfold,” which spent six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1982 and 25 weeks on the chart cumulatively. The band followed up that success with “Love Stinks” and “Freeze-Frame,” the title track to its 1981 album.
Ozzy (left) announcing with unidentified officials at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Photo courtesy TMS.
Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne and his son, Jack, served as Honorary Race Directors for last Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. The role included the command of “Drivers To Your Cars” and riding in one of the official Chevy SS pace cars that led the field to the green for the start of the race.
It seem Ozzy had never been to a NASCAR race, and wanted to check that off his bucket list. Osbourne and his son were filming segments for their reality TV series Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour, which airs on The History Channel.
Judas Priest Raises Money for Charity with “Hell Bent for Leather” Jacket Exhibition
Judas Priest is collaborating with Parliament Tattoo Studio in London for their “Hell Bent For Leather” exhibition of hand painted leather biker jackets by some of the worlds greatest tattoo artists. They are all inspired by the band’s albums and song titles. Each of the 17 artists taking part in the exhibition selected their favorite Judas Priest song or album title from which to create their artwork – painting directly onto the back of biker jackets using specially designed acrylic leather paint.
Following the events, the jackets will be auctioned off online along with a signed certificate of authenticity from Judas Priest. The proceeds will benefit both The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. Get the details here.
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler Uses “Janie’s Got A Gun” To Support His Charity Janie’s Fund
Steven Tyler has collaborated with Soundwaves artist Tim Wakefield to produce unique and distinctive digital artworks on canvas created from the re-recording of “Janie’s Got A Gun” to be sold to support Tyler’s Janie’s Fund. All pieces are numbered and signed by Steven Tyler and Tim Wakefield. Purchase the artwork here.
ON TOUR
Vince Neil To Headline Free Memorial Day Weekend Block Party at Las Vegas Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino
Just in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of rock’s biggest anthem “Girls, Girls, Girls,” Vince Neil will take center stage and transform Downtown Las Vegas’ 3rd Street with Mötley Crüe’s biggest hits on Saturday, May 27. Additionally, the Grand Casino will host a special Blackjack Tournament where 10 lucky gamblers will get the chance to play one hand against Vince Neil for a chance to win their share of $5,000 in cash.
Free general admission tickets for the Vince Neil concert can be downloaded at www.downtowngrand.com/events. Ticket holders must be 21 and over. First come, first served; based on availability.
Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer will take his solo band back on the road beginning later this month. Tour dates are here.
Keifer has also uploaded guitar-cam and piano-cam videos of three songs that will be included in his 2017 live set .Check it out here.
NEW RELEASES
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi reports the band are working on a film documentary for their last The End tour, and there is also a possible live album on the way.
NBC News reports that Iommi is in “the process of mixing the sound from the final Sabbath shows in Birmingham for a possible live album.” The guitarist adds: “We’ll actually be doing a documentary. My job at the moment is to have a listen to what we’ve done.”
Ellefson Coffee Co., the boutique Coffee brand of Grammy-winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, held the Grand Opening of their first retail store in David’s hometown of Jackson, MN on April 7. Check out the video, here.
Dokken’s George Lynch, in a new interview with AllThatShreds.com, says that a new Dokken live album with three new studio tracks, as well as a live DVD, is expected in early 2018.
“A Dokken live album coming out with three new studio tracks on it as well as live DVD,” he says. “That will be coming out probably in the beginning of 2018. And then Lynch Mob also has a live album and a DVD coming out at some point. So yes, I’ve got a lot of things in the pipeline which is very confusing.
Don Dokken, George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and “Wild” Mick Brown last reunited as Dokken for six shows in Japan in 2016.
KnuckleBonz is creating a second edition statue of Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister — this one depicts the rock legend during the classic 1980s era of Motörhead. Each one is hand-painted and numbered and limited to only 3000 pieces. The first statue of Lemmy in the Rock Iconz series sold out in 2015 for $125 each. Pre-orders are available now at knucklebonz.com.
Warrant have released a video for their new cover of Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink,” included as a bonus track on the band’s new studio album, Louder Harder Faster due for release on May 12. Watch the video here.
Warrant have also released the audio for album track, “Devil Dancer.” You can listen to it here.
Warrant’s current lineup features original members, Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, Joey Allen, and Steven Sweet along with singer Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Cry Of Love).
Metalheads Say The Damnedest Things
“We’re way better now. We can sing properly. We were kind of busking it a bit then, shouting and screaming, and trying to get it in tune. Now, I’m a better singer this year than I was last year, and a way better guitar player. Our bodies don’t just break down because we’re old, they start breaking down because we stop using them—they atrophy.
“On a side note, last December, I got to play with Jeff Beck in Japan. He plays all the time, and I was just blown away. I’m on stage, watching him, playing along with him, and he improves all the time because he keeps playing. I know a lot of guys from that era who don’t really do that. The same with athletes—you see NFL players quit, and then a year after, they’re like twice their size when they were playing. They’re just not active. So, it’s really about that… staying inspired and staying in shape. That’s the big difference with us… It just keeps getting better and better, and for me, it’s really exciting.”
~ Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on how the band plays better than 30 years ago, in an interview with the Long Island Pulse.
Last Week’s Third Dee-Gree
SAXON – “Rock The Nations”
KING’S X – “Over My Head”
KIX – “Cold Blood”
Answer: X is in all the band names