Happy Halloween from the Showbiz Kids

Donald Fagen Reveals New Details About Walter Becker's Illness (jambands.com)

Speaking to the Orillia Packet & Times, Donald Fagen revealed that his late bandmate and Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker had been sick for “at least five years” and fought his illness “valiantly” before he passed on September 3, 2017.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/20/donald-fagen-reveals-new-details-about-walter-becker-s-illness/#ixzz4wF0n5WoC

On the turntable this Sunday...Southern Accents

Southern Accents is the sixth album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records.

The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", cowritten by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video featured Alice in Wonderland imagery. "Southern Accents" was later covered by Johnny Cash for his Unchained album in 1996, on which members of the Heartbreakers play.

The recording sessions saw some tension between the band members, as each had a different vision for the album.  Originally conceived as a concept album, the theme of "Southern Accents" became somewhat murky with the inclusion of three songs co-written by Stewart, and three other songs originally planned for the album left off. Songs cut from the track list include "Trailer", "Big Boss Man", "Crackin' Up", "The Image of Me" and "The Apartment Song". These can be found on Playback, a box set released 10 years later that included familiar songs with outtakes, b-sides and other rarities. "Trailer" was released in May 2016 by another band led by Petty, Mudcrutch, on their album 2.

While mixing the opening track "Rebels" Petty became frustrated and punched a wall, severely breaking his left hand. Subsequent surgery on his hand left him with several pins, wires and screws to hold his hand together.

The album cover features an 1865 painting by Winslow Homer titled The Veteran in a New Field.

Widespread Panic Will Release Austin City Limits 2000 on Vinyl (jambands.com)

Coinciding with their upcoming Halloween run in Las Vegas, Widespread Panic will release their acclaimed Austin City Limits 2000 Halloween show on vinyl for the first time.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/20/widespread-panic-will-release-austin-city-limits-2000-on-vinyl/#ixzz4wEzF1qhU

20 Times Robert Plant Shot Down a Led Zeppelin Reunion (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Robert Plant is making the interview rounds to promote his new Carry Fire LP, and you know what that means: another barrage of questions about if or when he'd ever consider getting back together with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.

Read more @ Ultimate Classic Rock

Umphrey's McGee Open New York Run with Tom Petty Debut (jambnads.com)

Umphrey’s McGee kicked off their three-night New York-area run last night at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, with a two-set performance that opened with a nod to a late legend and featured plenty of live UM staples.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/21/umphrey-s-mcgee-open-new-york-run-with-tom-petty-debut/#ixzz4wEyEUBNH

Steely Dan Start Life Without Walter Becker (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Weeks after the death of co-founder Walter Becker, surviving Steely Dan bandleader Donald Fagen has taken the group's new lineup on the road.

Read more @ Ultimate Classic Rock

Widespread Panic Debut Tom Petty's 'You Wreck Me" in Milwaukee (jambands.com)

Widespread Panic opened up their three-night run at The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, WI, last night, and the band wasted no time in honoring the late Tom Petty on what would have been his 67th birthday.




Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/21/widespread-panic-debut-tom-petty-s-you-wreck-me-in-milwaukee/#ixzz4wEwirCkR

UCR's Classic Rock Halloween Costume Gear Guide

Halloween is almost here, and if you haven't yet decided on a costume, why not go as one of your favorite classic rockers? In some cases, it's as easy as mostly just finding the right wig, a pair of old ripped jeans and an accessory or two. But others, especially with those acts where the image is inseparable from the music, require a little bit more elaborate preparation...

Read more @ Ultimate Classic Rock

On the turntable this Sunday...Goo

Goo is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released by DGC Records on June 26, 1990; the album is the band's first on a major label after the group left Enigma Records to sign with Geffen. For the album, Sonic Youth sought to expand upon its trademark alternating guitar arrangements and the layered sound of the group's 1988 record Daydream Nation. Their songwriting was much more topical than past works and explored themes of female empowerment and pop culture. Coming off the success of Daydream Nation, Nick Sansano returned to engineer Goo, but veteran record producer Ron Saint Germain was chosen by Sonic Youth to finish mixing the album following Sansano's dismissal.

A critical and commercial success in 1990, Goo received rave reviews from rock music critics. By the end of 1990, the album had sold over 200,000 copies and became the band's highest-charting album to date in the United States, peaking at No. 96 on the Billboard 200. Although the album lacked significant radio airplay, its lead single "Kool Thing", a collaborative effort with Public Enemy's Chuck D, reached No. 7 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. Since then, Goo has been viewed as one of alternative rock's most important records, as well as being musically and artistically significant.

Dap-Kings to Lead Beatles Super Jam (jambands.com)

Lost Lake Festival will continue the SuperJam tradition started by Bonnaroo and continued by Okeechobee with their own iteration at next weekend’s festival in Phoenix, AZ.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/13/dap-kings-to-lead-beatles-superjam-at-lost-lake-festival/#ixzz4vUr8ZF59

Bob Seger Previews New LP (Rolling Stone)

Bob Seger will release a new album, I Knew You When, on November 17th through Capitol Records. The record is dedicated to the Eagles' Glenn Frey, Seger's longtime friend and collaborator, who died last year at age 67. 

Read more @ Rolling Stone

Real Estate Reveal Reasons Matt Mondanile Was Fired From Band (jambands.com)

Real Estate have released a statement revealing that former guitarist Matt Mondanile, who parted ways with the band last year, was in fact fired from the group after “allegations of unacceptable treatment of women.”

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/13/real-estate-reveal-matt-mondanile-fired-from-band-following-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct/#ixzz4vUqGMjgW

Foreigner Confirm 'Jukebox Hero' Musical (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Foreigner have confirmed that Jukebox Hero, a musical based on the band’s music, will premiere next summer.

Read more @ Ultimate Classic Rock

moe.'s Bassist Rob Derhak Completes Cancer Treatment (jambands.com)

moe. bassist Rob Derhak has completed his chemotherapy and radiation treatment to deal with his oropharyngeal cancer, which was revealed this summer and led to the band’s current hiatus.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/14/moe-s-rob-derhak-completes-cancer-treatment/#ixzz4vUpYr400

Stevie Nicks Remembers Tom Petty (UCR)

A close friend and self-professed super-fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for decades, Stevie Nicks has been looking back on her relationship with Petty and the last time they performed together.

Read more @ Ultimate Classic Rock

On the turntable this Sunday...Long After Dark

Long After Dark is the fifth album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in November 1982 on Backstreet Records. Notable for the major MTV hit "You Got Lucky", the album was also the first to feature the late Howie Epstein on bass and harmony vocals. Epstein's vocals are evident throughout the album, most notably on "Change of Heart". From this point on Epstein's vocals became an integral part of the Heartbreakers' sound.

Two other singles from the album were released, "Change of Heart" and "Straight into Darkness," with the former joining "You Got Lucky" in the Billboard top 40. "Keeping Me Alive" was one of the outtakes from the sessions for the album. A Petty favorite, "Keeping Me Alive" was eventually released on Petty's 1995 box set compilation Playback.

Bob Seger Postpones 2017 Tour (UCR)

Bob Seger has been forced to postpone all 19 dates of his current 2017 Runaway Train tour for an undisclosed amount of time due to an “urgent medical issue concerning his vertebrae.”

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Bob Seger Postpones 2017 Tour Due to 'Urgent Medical Issue'

2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees (UCR)

Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Zombies, Eurythmics, the Cars and the J. Geils Band are among the artists nominated for the 2018 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Bon Jovi, Judas Priest and 17 More Announced as 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees 

Bruce Springsteen Releasing Final Madison Square Garden Show (jambands.com)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band reunited in 1999 for their first tour since 1988, the culmination of which took place at Madison Square Garden in 2000 where the band performed ten nights to close out the run.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/07/bruce-springsteen-releasing-final-madison-square-garden-show-from-2000-reunion-tour/#ixzz4urzB1Jth

Ghost's Papa Emeritus Replaced by 'New' Frontman (UCR)

The current incarnation of Ghost came to an end on Saturday night (Sept. 30) when frontman Papa Emeritus was forcibly removed from a stage in Sweden and a “new” Papa introduced himself. The Gothenburg show was the band’s last appearance in support of most recent releases, the album Meliora in 2015 and last year’s Popestar EP.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Watch Ghost’s Papa Emeritus Replaced by ‘New’ Frontman

Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Terrapin Family Band Honor Tom Petty (jambands.com)

Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and The Terrapin Family Band honored Tom Petty with a cover of his classic “Breakdown.” The tribute took place at the outdoor space located at San Rafael, CA’s Terrapin Crossroad as part of “Shelter From the Storm: A Hurricane Relief Benefit.”

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/10/07/bob-weir-phil-lesh-and-terrapin-family-band-honor-tom-petty/#ixzz4urPwNuDx

Aerosmith Cancel Tour Dates (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Aerosmith have canceled a handful of dates while singer Steven Tyler recovers from an undisclosed illness. Tyler, who had been touring South America with the band, flew back to the U.S. last night.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Aerosmith Cancel Tour Dates Due to Steven Tyler's Undisclosed Medical Issues 

On the turntable this Sunday...Concrete and Gold

Concrete and Gold is the ninth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released on September 15, 2017. The album's first single, "Run", was released on June 1, 2017, and topped the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart the following month. The second single, "The Sky Is a Neighborhood", was released on August 23, 2017. A third song, "The Line", was released a week prior to the album's release. The album received positive reviews, and topped the US all-format Billboard 200 chart in its debut week of release, selling 120,000 copies.

Initial writing sessions only involved Grohl, who continued being in seclusion from the band, although he initially struggled, feeling "out of practice" and "creatively atrophied" due to his longer than usual break from music. Grohl rented an Airbnb in Ojai, California, so he could focus on long bouts of writing, with Grohl recounting "I brought a case of wine and sat there in my underwear with a microphone for about five days, just writing." After twelve or thirteen rough ideas were mapped out, he ran them by the band, who shared Grohl's belief that he was on the right track with the material.  Happy with his work, but feeling the material still required further development, Grohl started thinking about reaching out to a music producer.

The band ended up working with music producer Greg Kurstin on the album.  Grohl had been listening to the work of Kurstin's indie pop band, The Bird and the Bee since 2014 and was very impressed with his work, calling it "so much more sophisticated than anything [he'd] ever heard."  Grohl reached out to Kurstin, and learned that he had taken a hiatus from The Bird and the Bee to focus on his work as a music producer, producing songs including Halsey's "Strangers", Sia's "The Greatest" and "Cheap Thrills" and Adele's "Hello".  The two both were interested in the challenge presented with working together – Kurstin had never worked on a heavy rock album, while Grohl had never worked with a pop songwriter – and decided to collaborate on the album.

Recording was done at the heavily populated EastWest Studios, where the band frequently ran into, and interacted with, various other musicians in the studio building.  Recording sessions frequently culminated into large barbecuesand alcohol drinking among the other artists using the studios, often leading to Grohl grilling meat for parties of up to forty people while finishing up recording sessions. The set up lead to the band having a number of high-profile collaborations on the album. The band worked with Boyz II Men member Shawn Stockman on the album's title track and album closer, which stemmed from a chance meeting between Grohl and Stockman in the parking lot. Grohl also announced that "probably the biggest pop star in the world" would provide backing vocals on a track as well, though he refused to name who, leading to much speculation due to the number of pop stars Kurstin had previously worked with prior to the Foo Fighters.  Grohl later clarified that it was not Adele or Taylor Swift, and that the person has " been around a long time", and eventually revealed it to be Justin Timberlake. Further collaborations include vocals by Inara George on the track "Dirty Water", saxophone by David Koz on the track "La Dee Da", and vocals by Alison Mosshart of The Kills on "La Dee Da" and "The Sky Is a Neighborhood".  Additionally, Paul McCartneycontributed drums to the track "Sunday Rain" after entering the studio and recording two drum tracks without even hearing the song first, basing his performance entirely on Grohl recreating the song acoustically for him on the spot.  Concrete and Gold also marks Rami Jaffee's first credit as an official band member, having been a session and touring keyboardist for the band since 2005.

While not a formal collaborator on the album, Grohl also would travel to visit past collaborator Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age during the recording sessions as well, who was working in the nearby United Recording music studio.  The two often played in-progress material for each other, as each was working on a new approach of recording a rock album with a pop music producer, Homme doing the same thing with music producer Mark Ronson on the album Villains.

Ultimate Classic Rock: Bands That Reunited Without Their Lead Singer

“Let’s get the band back together” is a rock ’n’ roll cliché, yet it has remained a difficult task for some of the world’s most legendary groups, as you’ll see in the above list of Bands That Reunited Without Their Lead Singer.

In fact, a number of the highest-profile bands have reformed without the inclusion of the act’s most famous voice – and, usually, face – out front. To be clear, however, rock history is rife with examples of bands that traded one frontman for another – AC/DC, Van Halen, Journey, Queen and many more. But you won’t find those bands in this gallery, because none of them ever broke up.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Bands That Reunited Without Their Lead Singer 

Kung Fu Announces Fall Tour (jambands.com)

Kung Fu will hit the road for a fall tour beginning September 29 in Columbus, OH and stretching towards the end of the year, with a December 29 gig in Portland, ME.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/09/29/kung-fu-announce-fall-tour/#ixzz4uGt8yvXD

Eagle Contribute New Cover Song to Dan Fogelberg Album (UCR)

The Eagles are among the artists featured on the upcoming album A Tribute to Dan Fogelberg, which is released on Nov. 17 and available for pre-order now via Amazon and iTunes.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Eagles Contribute New Cover Song to Dan Fogelberg Tribute Album 

Primus Release New Album (jambands.com)

Primus have returned with their new album The Desaturating Seven, available to stream below.

Read more @ jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/09/29/primus-release-new-album-the-desaturating-seven/#ixzz4uFyMaot8

Tom Petty Never Abandoned His Values, Or His Band, Over a Remarkable Career (UCR)

The late Tom Petty‘s first group was a bust. Well, sort of.

The son of a Florida insurance salesman, Petty quit high school to start Mudcrutch at age 17 with Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. The three of them – later rechristened with new members as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – ended up as rock and roll legends anyway, selling millions and millions of albums. All it took was a little tinkering, a lot of patience and the ability to take a proverbial punch.

Read More of Nick DeRiso's tribute @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Tom Petty Never Abandoned His Values, Or His Band, Over a Remarkable Career 

R.I.P. Tom Petty

A family spokesman has confirmed the death of Tom Petty at age 66, following a day spent clinging to life. Various news outlets reported his death, only to retract those same headlines, as he fought to overcome an apparent heart attack on Monday.

Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Tom Petty Confirmed Dead: Daughter and Family Spokesman

Trey Anastasio Performs with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra

Last week, Trey Anastasio played the first of two special symphony orchestra shows at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, as the Phish frontman teamed up with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for a performance that featured two sets of Anastasio’s compositions reimagined for an orchestral setting.

Read more @jambands.com: http://www.jambands.com/news/2017/09/28/trey-anastasio-performs-with-the-nashville-symphony-orchestra/#ixzz4uGsBHtgj

On the turntable this Sunday...Burnin'

Burnin' is a reggae album by The Wailers, released in 1973. The sixth album by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer (the last before Tosh and Bunny departed for solo careers and the band became known as Bob Marley and the Wailers), Burnin' opens with a signature song, the call to action "Get Up, Stand Up" and includes a more confrontational and militant tone than previous records, such as in another Marley standard turned into a number one hit by Eric Clapton, "I Shot the Sheriff". The songs "Duppy Conqueror", "Small Axe", "Put It On" and "Pass It On" are re-recordings of songs previously released.