Big Rig ROCK Report 3.24

David Lee Roth Sets Second 2025 Concert Date

David Lee Roth now has two shows on his schedule in 2025. The singer's second show this year is set to take place on September 12th in Saratoga, California. It was previously announced that Roth will be playing in Columbia, Maryland on May 3rd.While he has yet to make an official announcement about the second show, tickets on the Mountain Winery website go on sale on March 28th. The two shows mark Roth's first time performing live since 2020, when he opened for Kiss in Lubbock, Texas.

KISS Isn't Done Quite Yet

It seems like the "farewell tour" wasn't really goodbye after all. According to an e-mail sent to followers of the recently updated KissOnline.com website, KISS will perform an unmasked live show as part of the three-day Kiss Army Storms Vegas event, celebrating the fan club's 50th anniversary. The email also reveals that former KISS member Bruce Kulick will be performing as part of the festivities. The event is scheduled to take place November 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. In addition to Kiss' unmasked performance, the e-mail notes that a full schedule of activities will be announced shortly.

Gene Simmons Cancels 17 Solo Shows

Gene Simmons is canceling 17 dates on his upcoming solo tour. No reason for the cancellations has been given but it's said not to be linked to his health. While the shows are being described as postponed, tickets are being refunded. Meanwhile, Kiss has announced that they'll be performing an unmasked show in November as part of the Kiss Army fan club's 50th anniversary celebrations.

NEIL YOUNG: Pulls Plug on Free Ukraine Show

Neil Young has pulled the plug on the free concert he was going to give in Ukraine to kick off his summer European tour. Young wrote on his website, “Our concert in Ukraine is cancelled. We had a good venue, close to a shelter, but the changing situation on the ground was too much. I could not in good conscience take my crew and instruments into that area. My apologies to all. Ukraine is a great country with a good leader. Slava Ukraini.” Young and his new band The Chrome Hearts will start their European jaunt June 18th in Sweden.

Bruce Springsteen added to big 'People Have the Power' Patti Smith tribute show in NYC

Bruce Springsteen has been added to the lineup for the People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith concert at Carnegie Hall this Wednesday March 26. The event will feature a star-studded lineup including Michael Stipe, Susanna Hoffs, and more, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Smith's album "Horses." General admission tickets are sold out, but VIP tickets are still available. Springsteen collaborated with Smith on the hit song "Because the Night," which was originally an unfinished track from Springsteen.

Dire Straits Releasing Expanded "Brothers In Arms" Re-Issue

The best-selling album of Dire Straits' career, "Brothers In Arms," is getting a special 3-disk reissue to mark the 40th anniversary of the landmark album. The set will include the original album, along with a previously unreleased live recording from the August 16 San Antonio stop of the band's 1985 world tour. The reissue comes out May 16. 

Jack Black And Dave Grohl Team Up For New Song

Dave Grohl and Jack Black are teaming up for a new song. The duo recently shared a song titled "I Feel Alive," which has Black taking on vocal duty while Grohl sits behind the drums. The track is part of the upcoming live action "Minecraft" movie, which hits theaters on April 4th. Black and Grohl previously collaborated on Tenacious D's 2001 self-titled debut album on their 2018 album "Post Apocalyptic."

                      

ROCK HALL: Fan Vote Recap - Week Six

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Fan Vote has stayed the same over the past week, as the 14 artists on the ballot are all in the same positions as the previous week. 

With close to 1.75 million votes cast, the complete order and number of votes, rounded up, is as follows:

1.Phish - 243,000

2.Bad Company - 180,000

3.Billy Idol - 175,000

4.Soundgarden - 158,500

5.Cyndi Lauper - 156,000

6.Joe Cocker - 152,000

7.Chubby Checker - 134,000

8.Black Crowes - 113,000

9.Mariah Carey - 103,000

10.Joy Division + New Order - 84,000

11.The White Stripes - 79,000

12.Outkast - 77,000

13.Oasis - 77,000

14.Mana - 27,000

You can vote once a day through April 21st at RockHall.com. The top five artists selected by the public will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to determine the 2025 Inductees. The Class of 2025 will be announced in late April with the ceremony set for the fall in Los Angeles.

Tommy Shaw Says He Spends More on Bird Seed Than He Did On Drugs

Tommy Shaw of Styx discussed the band's upcoming album, Circling From Above, comparing his investment in feeding birds to his former drug habits. The band had some nervous moments before telling their record label about the concept record inspired by a starling. Shaw revealed that the album was inspired by his life on a wildlife sanctuary, where he spends as much money on bird seed as he used to spend on cocaine. Despite initial concerns, the label showed enthusiasm for the project, with the band feeling fortunate that things went their way.

Jon Bon Jovi said Michael Jackson's pet chimp showed up at a party with a cigar and 'wreaked havoc'

Michael Jackson's chimp Bubbles had a wild night of partying with Jon Bon Jovi and his band during a Tokyo tour in the 1980s. Bon Jovi shared how Bubbles wreaked havoc in the hotel room, partying like a rock star and causing chaos. The band even played a prank by kidnapping Bubbles and spending time with him in a hotel bar before safely returning him to Jackson's bodyguards. The incident left hotel staff confused but relieved that the chimp was unharmed after the wild night of partying.

The Sex Pistols Play A Secret London Show As "The Spots"

The Sex Pistols are still flipping the bird at anyone and everyone. Last week it was announced that the legendary London venue the 100 Club would be featuring a performance from the Spots, and hardcore fans of the Pistols knew what that really meant. "Spots" is an acronym famously used by the punk legends to play under-the-radar gigs that stood for "Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly." So when the "unknown band" took the stage, the house was packed. Frank Carter and Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and Steve Jones (Johnny Rotten is estranged from the band and is sitting this one out) performed the band's iconic "Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols" album in its entirety as they ready for their first official performance at Royal Albert Hall tonight. 

ELTON JOHN: Play in a Club, Not on TV!

Elton John thinks that televised singing competitions have had a bad impact on musicans just starting out. He told Rolling Stone U.K. that the best training musicians can get is "just keep trying to play live. That’s the way you improve as a musician and songwriter. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 40 people. The more experience you get playing to nobody, the better. Because when I played in Musicology, we played to hardly anybody sometimes. "That experience stood me in great stead for when I became Elton John because I had backbone. And backbone is so important, because the worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live. You get put on stage, you go, and you can’t do it. That’s the worst thing. American Idol -- just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.”

JOHN CAFFERTY: Returns After Almost Four Decades

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band are returning with their first studio album in 36 years. It's called Sound of Waves, and Cafferty says that his friend Bruce Springsteen was the person who convinced him he should write some new songs. Cafferty's last album of original material was the Eddie and the Cruisers 2: Eddie Lives Soundtrack in 1989. There's a live video for one of the album tracks, "Day in the Sun," on YouTube now. Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will open some shows on Rick Springfield's I Want My '80s tour starting May 29th in St. Augustine, Florida.

IN OTHER NEWS

Former Guns n' Roses drummer Frank Ferrer thanked fans for the "outpouring of love" since the news broke that he was out of the band and had been replaced by Isaac Carpenter from

 Awolnation. Ferrer wrote, "I will have immense gratitude and love always for Axl [Rose] and the band while at the same time, disappointment that this chapter came to an end. It has been an incredible 19 years. Guns n' Roses has given me life-changing memories and experiences."

Slash joined Dorothy on stage Friday night at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. He guested on a cover of “Key to the Highway” and two Dorothy originals—“Gifts from the Holy Ghost” and “Tombstone Town.”

Dead & Company opened their new residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Thursday by breaking out a cover of The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin’” for the first time. The song was a staple of Grateful Dead setlists from 1988 to 1990.

Paul McCartney posted an upgraded to 4K video of “Venus and Mars”/“Rock Show” from the Wings Around the World tour to YouTube to mark the 50th anniversary reissue of Venus and Mars. 

The Brothers, the group featuring the remaining members of The Allman Brothers Band, have shared a video of "Trouble No More" from 2020 to promote their shows at Madison Square Garden on April 15th and 16th. Check it out on YouTube.

Peter Wolf sat down for an interview with Jordan Klepper on The Daily Show Thursday night to talk about his memoir Waiting on the Moon. Check out an extended version of their conversation on YouTube. Waiting on the Moon also debuted at number-five on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best sellers list.

Another track from Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young Volume One is out. Check out Eddie Vedder's take on "The Needle and the Damage Done" on YouTube. The album comes out on April 25th.