Month: January 2021

The Flaming Lips have officially performed the “World’s First Space Bubble Concert,” taking place at The Criterion in the group’s hometown of Oklahoma City.

The audience was safely split up into 100 different giant, inflatable hamster balls, while each band member had their own individual translucent sphere up on stage. The setlist consisted of 13 fan favorites, including “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1”, “She Don’t Use Jelly”, “Race for the Prize”, and “Do You Realize??”. The gig also featured the live debut of “Flowers of Neptune 6”, off the group’s most recent album American Head, and a cover of the Daniel Johnston classic “True Love Will Find You in the End”.

The Flaming Lips Perform First Bubbled Live Show: Watch

Via pitchfork.com

Both the band and audience at the Oklahoma City performance were enclosed in space bubbles for…

01/23/2021 1:23 PM

 

Editorial credit: 3 song photography / Shutterstock.com

Ratt has undergone numerous lineup changes (and fought in court over which members own the legal rights to the band name) since it’s last album, Infestation, was released over 10 years ago. A new album was expected to be released sometime soon; however singer Stephen Pearcy is suggesting that will not happen unless the surviving classic lineup gets back together to write and record it.

Said Pearcy via Blabbermouth, “I wouldn’t want to put a Ratt record out there without the original guys. I mean, it just wouldn’t make sense. We’ve tried it.” This is a change since Percy’s statements back in October, who then said that new Ratt music was on the way and that he had been writing with guitarist Jordan Ziff, who joined the group in 2018 after longtime axeman Warren DeMartini stepped down.

Pearcy acknowledged the shift in the band once guitarist Robbin Crosby left in 1991 (he later died in 2002). Said Pearcy, “He was my right-hand man creating this monster. And I knew it — I knew once he was out, we would be going through motions. It’s all cool, and it’s great, but how many replacements can you have in a band and still consider it legit? So if we’re going to have something on plastic, so to speak, forever, I’d rather have the original band do a record and just not do a Ratt record until that day comes — if it ever happens.”

Stephen Pearcy Wants Classic Ratt Reunion for One Last Album

Via ultimateclassicrock.com

Singer says he’s on speaking terms with Bobby Blotzer and Warren DeMartini. Continue…

01/23/2021 9:33 AM

 

Editorial credit: J.A. Dunbar / Shutterstock.com

Heart singer Ann Wilson has released a new single titled “Tender Heart.” 

“Tender Heart” is the follow-up to Wilson’s recent cover of Steve Earle’s 2004 track, “The Revolution Starts Now”, which marked Wilson’s first release since her 2018 solo album, “Immortal.”

Said Wilson, “This song is for the soul whose heart is blindsided by reality, but is still soft and innocent. I hope people will identify with this song and feel they are not alone.” You can stream “Tender Heart” at the link – here.

Ann Wilson Returns With ‘Tender Heart’

Via www.broadwayworld.com

Legendary rock singer and songwriter Ann Wilson has announced today’s premiere of a…

01/22/2021 11:22 AM

 

Editorial credit: Tony Norkus / Shutterstock.com

Trapt drummer Michael Smith has announced that he has made the decision to quit the band due to issues that he says are ‘primarily political.’  Trapt lead singer Chris Taylor Brown made headlines on social media after being heavily critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as spreading misinformation regarding the coronavirus pandemic and was eventually booted from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter due to his use of hate speech.

Smith said, “After playing drums for Trapt for the past couple years, I have decided to step down from the band. This is definitely a bittersweet decision. There have been some ongoing issues (primarily political) throughout 2020 that many of you may know about, others may not. If you’re curious, it’s just a google search away. I respect everyone’s right to have an opinion on politics. But at the end of the day, I am a musician and my job is to play and create music. So that is what I plan on doing.”  He added, “It has been one of the best periods in my life the past couple years. But when it comes down to it, I do not agree with a lot of things morally and the publicity the band has received, mainly this past year in 2020…It is time for me to move on and pursue other avenues and projects. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported my musical journey thus far…”

Trapt Drummer Michael Smith Quits Band, Issues Statement

Via loudwire.com

01/23/2021 10:13 AM

 

Editorial credit: En Fuego Photography / Shutterstock.com

Ghost’s Tobias Forge joined The Hellacopters on Swedish TV for a cover of a classic Rolling Stones hit. Donning his Papa Emeritus IV persona, Forge teamed up with The Hellacopters for a performance of the Stone’s “Sympathy For The Devil” on “Pa Sparet”, a quiz show on the Swedish network SVT,

In Ghost news, Forge revealed last fall that he was planning to enter the studio this month to begin recording the next Ghost album, saying, “The actual recording will last around six weeks and then there’s two to three weeks of mixing and mastering. So sometime in March the record should be finished, but it won’t be released until after the summer. As it looks now, knock on wood, we will then go on tour. We won’t release an album until we know that we are actually going on tour. The album release will coincide with the start of a tour.” 

Watch Forge’s performance with the Hellacopters – here. 

Ghost’s Tobias Forge Covers Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” with the Hellacopters on Swedish TV: Watch

Via consequenceofsound.net

Forge performed as Papa Emeritus IV, the latest persona to take over as Ghost’s…

01/22/2021 5:08 PM

 

Editorial credit: Stewart Marsden / Shutterstock.com