Month: September 2022

The ‘Van Halen Stage’ was recently erected in Eddie Van Halen’s hometown of Pasadena, the same California city where the iconic ’80s band Van Halen was formed 50 years ago. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held unveiling the memorial pavilion stage at a newly constructed community park and recreation area. A children’s playground and dog run will be among the other permanent fixtures surrounding the stage.

It was initially planned for the stage to be named solely after the late guitar legend, however, at the request of his family, it was named after the entire band. The guitarist was first honored by his hometown with a memorial plaque after the one-year anniversary of his passing.

Eddie Van Halen passed away on Oct. 6, 2020, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer. The band Van Halen was formed in 1972, consisting of Dutch-born, Pasadena-raised brothers, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, along with David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony.

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Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation will bring its ‘Helping Hands Concert & Auction’ back for its third year, taking place on Friday, December 16th at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles and featuring performances by Metallica and “special guests.”

Tickets will be on sale to the public from 10 am local time Friday, September 23rd with a two-ticket limit per customer via AXS. As always, all proceeds from the event — tickets, fees, and auction items — will “go directly to help those in need.”  The livestream benefit show back in November 2020 raised funds for partners at Feeding America and the American Association of Community Colleges, as well as various COVID and disaster relief efforts via Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.

The All Within My Hands Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation focused on creating sustainable communities by tackling issues including hunger and workforce education, established in 2017 as a way for the Metallica family to give back to communities that have supported the band.  To date, All Within My Hands has donated over $5.8 million to critical local services and the fight against food insecurity, working with partners around the world to feed more than 10 million people. In addition, the foundation’s Metallica Scholars Initiative has pledged a total of $5.9 million in grants benefiting 33 community colleges across the USA.

To learn more about the All Within My Hands Foundation, visit their official website.

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Ozzy Osbourne has debuted a new three-part video for the making of his newest LP, Patient Number 9. The first installment of the behind-the-scenes series is out now via Osbourne’s YouTube page. The series was created and produced by Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, with interviews conducted by renowned British journalist Phil Alexander.

Following the release of Patient Number 9, Osbourne is giving fans an inside look into the making of the project with a three-clip video series, featuring interviews and in-studio clips with some of the featured performers. The next two installments will drop on consecutive Fridays and the mini-series concludes with exclusive interviews with Ozzy and the album’s producer, Andrew Watt. Sharon Osbourne, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Osbourne’s longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses), and Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) also offer insight into the making of the album.

Patient Number 9 marks Osbourne’s 13th solo studio album, and features appearances from guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, McCready Wylde, Smith, and the late Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters. Old friend Trujillo plays bass on most of the album’s tracks, with McKagan and Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) appearing on select tracks as well.

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Paramore is officially back with their first single since 2017, titled “This Is Why”. The band made the announcement in a brief statement posted to social media, revealing the title and a pre-save link, along with the release date of September 28.  The cover art sees the trio with their faces pressed up against a fogged-up window. No further information has been revealed about the song.

‘This Is Why” will be Paramore’s first new music since the acclaimed After Laughter in 2017.  The band also announced a new tour in July, which will take them through North America in October and November, and will mark their first live dates since 2018.

You can pre-save “This Is Why” – here.

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“Nothing Compares,” a documentary about the life and career of Sinead O’Connor, will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Sept. 23 for a one-week run that qualify it for Academy Award consideration. The film’s theatrical release will come days ahead of the docu’s Sept. 30 Showtime streaming and on-demand debut.

Directed by Kathryn Ferguson, the 97-minute film traces O’Connor’s rise to worldwide fame after “Nothing Compares 2 U” was released in 1990, as well as the Irish singer’s eventual exile from pop mainstream after she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live” in 1992. The docu also examines other headline-grabbing controversies.

The film is Ferguson’s documentary feature directorial debut. She shares: “In 2018 in Ireland, we were gearing up to the abortion referendum, and we just had the equal marriage referendum a few years prior, so it just felt absurd that Sinead’s voice wasn’t part of the conversation. She was somebody who had been so bold and brave and who really kicked the door down, particularly (in Ireland). I felt like she needed to be part of the conversation, and it felt quite urgent.”

Take a look at the trailer for ‘Nothing Compares’ – here.

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