The latest from The Q Music Department

with your host, Music Director Scott James

Here, Q Music Director Scott James will keep you up-to-date with the world of Q Music, from upcoming tunes to listen for to rockstar visits.

Scott would love to hear your thoughts about the news here or the music you hear on The Q, so please, give him a dingle.

Q Music update

Friday, February 3, 2012

Drummer Bill Ward Threatens To Quit Black Sabbath

The Black Sabbath reunion has hit another speed bump.  Last month guitarist Tony Iommi announced that he'd been diagnosed with lymphoma, after which the band moved their recording sessions to London and reportedly pulled out of a planned Coachella headlining gig.  Now drummer Bill Ward has issued a long statement indicating that he won't participate in the reunion unless he's presented with what he refers to as a "signable contract" which "reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band."

This isn't the first time Ward has publicly battled with Black Sabbath's management team.  In 2004, Sharon Osbourne announced that Faith No More's Mike Bordin would be filling in for Ward on the Ozzfest tour.  "Last week, I did receive a proposal which allowed no room for negotiation," Ward said at the time.  "It was a cul-de-sac proposal, in my opinion, where the only answer was yes or no."  The two parties eventually came to an agreement before the tour, and Ward did participate.

Ward was also going to play drums in the Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath reunion (billed as Heaven and Hell) in 2006, but he backed out for unknown reasons. 

Below is the complete text of Bill Ward's letter.

Dear Sabbath Fans, Fellow Musicians and Interested Parties,

Q Music update

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Today's Rockline Theme Thursday

Eight years ago today, world+dog recoiled in shock and terror, ocean levels dropped five feet, aircraft fell out of the skies and all of the volcanoes on Earth erupted as Janet Jackson experienced a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show, and one of her breasts (adorned with a nipple shield) was exposed on national television for about one half of one second. 

CBS later fell all over itself apologizing, and was fined a record $US550,000 by the US Federal Communications Commission, which also increased future fines per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000.  The FCC received about 540,000 complaints from citizens.  And kids everywhere were reminded of a very important lesson:  the human body is something of which we should be ashamed rather than proud.

Hooboy.  Today on your Rockline Theme Thursday, I'll be looking for songs which mention body parts in their titles.  If there's one you'd like to hear, send me an e-mail request, and then join me at noon as we celebrate our bits on Rockline Theme Thursday.

Q Music update

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Lost George Harrison Guitar Solo Found After 43 Years

A long-lost guitar solo originally recorded for Here Comes The Sun has been discovered after more than four decades.  NME reports that George Harrison's solo, which was ultimately left off the 1969 tune, was unearthed by his son Dhani, Beatles producer George Martin and his son Giles during a visit to Abbey Road Studios.

Dhani and the Martins were listening to the original multitrack recordings made for Here Comes The Sun when they happened upon the solo.  George Martin remarked that he had forgotten all about the electric solo, while Dhani said he never knew it existed. 

You can hear Harrison's rediscovered electric work at about the one minute mark in the video below.

The tapes also appear to contain some extra instrumentation which was ultimately discarded during the final production of the Abbey Road album.

Q Music update

Monday, January 30, 2012

An Aerosmith Update From Joe Perry:  Everything Old Is New Again

Aerosmith are polishing up their first studio album in eight years, and getting ready to return to the road this summer, says guitarist Joe Perry.

"We're in the middle of a bunch of stuff," Perry tells the QMI Agency.  "I'm out here [in Hollywood] finishing up the Aerosmith record that we started last summer.  Hopefully we'll have it done in the next month or so.

"And we're definitely touring this summer.  We're gonna put tickets on sale in February or March and we're going on the road in June.  Everybody's lined up.  We're ready."

As for the new album, the band reteamed with producer Jack Douglas, who worked with them on some of their biggest records in the 1970s.

Part of the "Jack Effect" was to recreate the vibe of some of their earlier work.  But was it a success?

"It definitely has a feel like some of the early stuff," says Perry.  "We've tried to bring that back.  People are always asking for something that sounds like the old stuff, but you can't rewrite Mama Kin or Same Old Song And Dance.  All you can do is go in and start from the same place you started when you made those records.  So we just went in with Jack and we all worked on the record.  There's a song or two that the band helped write, and Tom wrote and Brad has a track on there.  So from that point of view, it's a lot more like an early Aerosmith record.  We were all in the room when we were pulling these songs together and recording them.  Every way that we used to make our records, that's what we did to get this to where it is.  Right down to what we're doing now, which is going over the tracks and bringing them up to speed.  Steven is finishing up the lyrics and we're just going to put the finishing touches on it."

The new album is expected this spring.

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The Kind Of Rush Hour I Like

Here comes another music holiday:  Intergalactic Prog Metal Day, also known as Rush Day, will be celebrated this Wednesday (2-1-12, natch), according to BraveWords.

In celebration of Rush, their landmark album 2112 and the numerous bands which have been influenced by Rush ever since, there are some special events planned.

"Rush's 2112 is probably the first album that can rightfully be called progressive metal, so it's only appropriate we blast the album from the rooftops, from our cars, from our [portable digital media players], from everywhere -- to celebrate this landmark album and Rush's incredible longevity and lasting influence," says Jeff Wagner, author of Mean Deviation: Four Decades Of Progressive Heavy Metal.

Wagner also has big plans for 2112 -- the year, not the album.

"We're only a hundred years away now until 2112," he said.  "I'll be waiting in my hypercube, ready for the big one."

As part of the celebrations, The Q's Ron Larson will play the 2112 album in its entirety on Wednesday 2-1-12.  Start time:  21:12, of course.

Van Halen: A Different Kind Of Truth (So Far) 

Ahead of the new Van Halen album release on Tuesday February 07, we've been hearing previews from the disc.  Here are all of them, collected in one lump, as it were.

The most recent preview is She's The Woman, which was the only new song on the setlist at their recent Café Wha? gig for media hacks in New York City.  And it's actually vintage material: it was one of the tunes they recorded for their Gene Simmons-bankrolled demos in 1976, and it was redone for their Warner demos the following year.  The original version of the song contains riffs which were later heard in Mean Streets, from 1981's Fair Warning album.

Big River has also been floating around the Van Halen universe since the mid 70s -- originally titled Big Trouble (the title is the only thing it has in common with Big Trouble from David Lee Roth's 1986 solo debut Eat 'Em And Smile), it was also produced for the Gene Simmons-era demos, redone in 1977, and then redone again during the 1982 Diver Down sessions.  It was slotted for inclusion on that album or 1984, but appeared on neither of them. 

Here's the original demo-ish version of Big Trouble: 

Bullethead sounds to be a bit of a heavy riff rocker -- there's no known original studio or demo version floating around, but the unreleased original was performed on New Year's Eve 1978 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood.  Apparently it was written in one day during 1977 in the band's rehearsal hut: the basement of David Lee Roth's parents' house.  Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love was written the same day.

An dennnnn ... here's the track being played live at the Whisky A Go Go: 

  China Town was the fifth preview released, and again, they're rocking out on this one. 

The Trouble With Never: 

Stay Frosty: 

Blood And Fire: 

And the 1984 Eddie Van Halen instrumental, written for Cameron Crowe's The Wild Life -- on which Blood And Fire is based:

Q Music update

Friday, January 27, 2012

Live From The Q Music Hut:  New Queen?

In October of last year, it was announced that the surviving members of Queen would be recording a new album, using demos of Freddie Mercury vocals which had at one point been lost.  Brian May confirmed that he and Roger Taylor were working their way through a stack of the band's old material to compile a selection of unreleased music for the new album -- which may also include some duets Freddie recorded with Michael Jackson.  If not, those duets might appear on yet another album.

Meanwhile, some new music showed up at the Rock Research Center yesterday.  It's a tune called I Like It, and I played it at 940am today.  The streaming version appears below, along with some listener feedback.

Q Music update

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Today's Rockline Theme Thursday On The Q

Some of the biggest hits in rock are recycled -- that is, they're performed by someone other than the artist who originally wrote and performed them.  Such tunes are popularly known as covers, and we're going to be playing a shwack of them on Rockline Theme Thursday today.  If there's one you'd like to hear, fire me an e-mail request and then join me at noon as we go undercover on The Q's Rockline Theme Thursday.

Congratulations to Gord Wright, who figured out who recorded the mashup tunes first, and picked up his choice of three CDs from The Q's Prize Canoe:

After Midnight -- JJ Cale

All Along The Watchtower -- Bob Dylan

Blinded By The Light -- Bruce Springsteen

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You -- Joan Baez (Anne Bredon wrote it and performed it live, but Joan was the first to record it)

Wild One (Real Wild Child) -- Johnny O'Keefe & The Deejays

Knockin' On Heaven's Door -- Bob Dylan

Woodstock -- Joni Mitchell

Route 66 -- Nat King Cole (Bobby Troup wrote it, but Nat was the first to record it)

La Bamba -- Richie Valens

Big Yellow Taxi -- Joni Mitchell

Boy, Joni's gonna get a nice royalty cheque today ...

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Bachman & Turner Land Roles In Will Ferrell Film

Great White North rock icons Randy Bachman and Fred Turner have scored roles in a new film starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.  The rockers will appear and perform in Dog Fight, which is being directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers), according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

In the film, Ferrell and Galifianakis play North Carolina congressional candidates battling for the same seat.  Guitarist Randy Bachman and bassist Fred Turner show up to play their hit Takin' Care Of Business at the winner's celebration rally.

"It was really hard work, long days and about 200 people on set," says the band's manager Gilles Paquin.  "But it's one of the biggest movies of the year and it's great positioning for the band."

The film also stars John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Dylan McDermott.  It's due for release later this year.

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Live From The Q Music Hut: 7Horse

Remember Dada?  They came out of nowhere (okay, actually, they came out of California) in 1992 with their Puzzle album, which coughed up a sizeable hit called Dizz Knee Land.  That, unfortunately, was pretty much the high point for the band, although they've developed quite a reputation as an awe-inspiring touring act.

Two of the members of Dada -- Phil Leavitt and Joie Calio -- have a new project called 7Horse.  They take some alt-country, mix it up in a bucket with a generous helping of dirty blues, and stir the whole thing with a few shots of whiskey and controlled substances -- and the results are pretty surprising if you're expecting anything remotely resembling the pop-rock flavor of Dada's songs. 

Check out the first single from 7Horse's Let The 7Horse Run album, Low Fuel Drug Run; it's all about a late night race across the desert to return a rental car on time, and I'm interested in hearing your comments on it.

Q Music update

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Steven Tyler And Joe Perry Rock Out With Jay Leno

 

Last Friday night, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno featured Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, along with his fellow American Idol judge Randy Jackson -- both of whom were on the show to promote the launch of Season 11 of Idol.

Following their beakfest, Tyler and Jackson teamed up with Joe Perry for a rendition of Aerosmith's Chip Away At The Stone, which was originally released in 1978 as the only single supporting the Live! Bootleg album.

Perry will be back in Leno's hut this Monday night to help flog Amnesty International's latest music project, Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International, for which Perry recorded his version of Dylan's Man Of Peace.

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More NewOld Stuff From Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth

With the new Van Halen album coming Tuesday February 07, music from it keeps dribbling out. 

The latest is a 90 second preview of a track called Blood And Fire; according to some ostensibly informed sources, Eddie Van Halen wrote it as an instrumental back in 1984, for the soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe film Wild Life.  The track was originally called Ripley (because, like Top Jimmy -- which was also called Ripley at one point -- Eddie played it on a Ripley guitar), and only a segment of it was used for the film.

Here's the preview of the new remix, followed by the original.

Q Music update

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tales From The Man Cave Episode 01

Last night, Young The Giant appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and did a couple of tunes.  I thought they were doing an admirable job, so I backed it up, recorded the gig and formulated an evil plan to feature things from The Cave on a semi-regular basis.  Perhaps once in a while I'll solicit your feedback on Cave items, and -- wouldn't you know it -- the debut edition is one of those once in a while occasions. 

Young The Giant are from Irvine California and were previously known as The Jakes.  Their first single, My Body -- which is damn catchy -- made it all the way up to number five on the Billboard alternative chart, and Amazon.com tagged their eponymous album as the third best of 2010.

I've had these cats under consideration for a while now, for inclusion on The Q's playlist.  Take a look at the video below, and if you have any comments, send me an e-mail with your thoughts.  Should we play 'em, or should we eschew 'em?

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Q Music update

Monday, January 23, 2012

Van Halen Vancouver Concert Info

Van Halen play Rogers Arena Monday May 07 with special guests Kool & The Gang.  Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am via Live Nation or charge by phone at 1 855 985 5000. 

Tickets are also available at Ticketmaster outlets and the Rogers Wireless Box Office.  Text TICKETS to 4849 for full event listings and special offers. 

For details on American Express Front Of The Line access to advance tickets, go here.  VIP packages, which include premium seats, exclusive merchandise and more are available through VIPNation.

Ticket prices are $29.50, $59.50, $89.50 and $149.50 inclusive of HST.

Q Music update

Friday, January 20, 2012

Score:  AC/DC Get Their Own Pinball Machine

AC/DC fans with some cash to throw around now have a pinball machine to call their own.  Stern Pinball Inc. has revealed its newest model, and the contraption honors the legendary rockers with plenty of AC/DC-esque goodies.

The machine features 12 classic AC/DC chart toppers including Back In Black, Highway To Hell and You Shook Me All Night Long.  It has two individual ramps, a pinball-shooting cannon, eight drop targets and cartoon animations of band members.

"The combination of classic rock and pinball can't go wrong," says Gary Stern, founder, CEO and chairman of Stern Pinball.  "The music and play of the AC/DC machine delivers nothing less than the ultimate rock experience [that] both AC/DC fans and pinball players can appreciate."

If this sounds purpose-made for your games room, you can get one for your own bad self, if you have some disposable loot: $US5,699 to $8,499, depending on the version.  You can find out more about the game at the Stern Pinball website.

If you're watching my hastily slapped together video below, hit it up fullscreen in 720p; there are some pretty awe-inspiring graphics on this machine.

Q Music update

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Springsteen Returns With "Wild" New Album

Bruce Springsteen is about to announce his 17th studio album and a US tour with The E Street Band.  Springsteen's manager Jon Landau tells Rolling Stone that the record is an ambitious "big-picture piece of work.  It's a rock record that combines elements of Bruce's classic sound and his Seeger Sessions experience, with new textures and styles."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, some of the music was played for Sony recently, and a spokesthing described the songs as having "unexpected textures -- loops, electronic percussion ... influences and rhythms from hip-hop to Irish folk rhythms."

The disc was produced by Ron Aniello, who has previously worked on albums by Candlebox, Jars Of Clay and the last LP by Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa.  Members of The E Street Band play on the album, along with a variety of outside musicians including Tom Morello and possibly former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has often recorded on Aniello's projects.  "It was an experimental effort with a new producer," says Landau.  "Bruce and Ron used a wide variety of players to create something that both rocks and is very fresh."

According to Landau, the record has "social overtones" -- although it was largely written before Occupy Wall Street began, and doesn't directly address the movement.  The LP also has a "very pronounced spiritual dimension," adds Landau.  "It extends and deepens the vision that has animated all of Bruce's work."  According to The Hollywood Reporter's source, [Bruce] gets into economic injustice quite a bit.  He feels it's the angriest album he's ever made."

The E Street Band will spend most of this year on the road, including spring and fall US runs and a summer European tour.  Dates haven't been announced, but concert business sources say the band has arenas booked starting in March, including an Austin show around Springsteen's Thursday March 15 keynote at the South By Southwest festival.  One question floating around is how the group will address last summer's death of saxophonist Clarence Clemons, Springsteen's onstage foil for four decades.

Yesterday, Amazon.com posted details about a new single called We Take Care Of Our Own -- the artwork for which appears above.  It debuted on The Q this morning, and here's the streaming version.

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Today's Rockline Theme Thursday On The Q

Are you hot, or not?  Either way, I have you covered on Rockline Theme Thursday today, because I'm going to be looking for songs with "hot" or "cold" (or both) in their titles. 

If there's one you'd like me to play for you, fire up your e-mail application of choice, toss me an e-quest, and then check in with me at noon, as we expand and contract on The Q's Rockline Theme Thursday.

Q Music update

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Guitar Collection: George Harrison iOS Application Coming Next Month

 

Bandwidth Publishing have hooked up with the George Harrison Estate to create a special iOS application celebrating the guitarist and his historical guitar collection.  The Guitar Collection: George Harrison application will be released via the iTunes Store on Thursday February 23 -- two days prior to what would have been George's 69th birthday.

Paraphrasing the media release:

The application brings George's private guitar collection to life through photographs, detailed descriptions, audio and video content. 

For the first time, with the help of 360° imaging by photographer Steven Sebring, fans can see the scratches, dings and worn threads on the guitars almost as if they were holding the instruments themselves.  As well, George will introduce many of the guitars via audio recordings, and play sections of songs.

The history of each guitar is laid out in great detail, including the origin of the guitar, when and how it became part of George's collection, modifications he made to it, and why each was so important in creating his distinctive sound.  Songs from his catalog are organized by the guitars used on each track, which allows punters to appreciate the personalities of each instrument.

The video section of the application contains footage of Ben Harper, Josh Homme, Mike Campbell and Dhani Harrison, each playing and showcasing the guitars and exploring their feel and tone.  As well, Conan O'Brien and Dhani discuss what makes these guitars so exceptional.  Also in the video section, guitar great Gary Moore shares his views on what made George Harrison such a distinctive and influential guitar player.

The application will sell for $9.99; a preview appears below.

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Steven Tyler And Joe Perry To Perform On The Tonight Show

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler will be a guest on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno this Friday, along with American Idol compatriots Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest, to promote the new season of Idol, which starts tonight.

Tyler, who's also scheduled to perform a song, will be joined by none other than his favorite Aerosmith sparring partner Joe Perry, who will be in the city working on the long-awaited new Aerosmith album.  Tyler's fellow Idol judge Randy Jackson (briefly a member of Journey) will also take part in the performance.

In other Aerosmith/Tonight Show news, Perry announced on Twitter that he'll make a return visit ten days later, on Monday January 30.  He told fans, "Performing 'Man Of Peace' on Jay Leno Jan 30th for Amnesty International with some friends @RudyTanzi Paul Santo & Dave Hull (sic)."

Perry's solo performance is in conjunction with the release of Chimes Of Freedom:  The Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International, which features his cover of Man Of Peace, from Dylan's Infidels album.

Q Music update

Monday, January 16, 2012

Tony Iommi Issues Statement On Cancer Diagnosis

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has issued a statement after revealing last week that he's been diagnosed with cancer.

Word came out last Monday that Iommi had been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma and that Black Sabbath would be moving the recording process for their new studio album from Los Angeles over to the UK so that he can undergo treatment.

In a statement on his website, Iommi wrote: "I just want to say how overwhelmed I am with all your messages of support, thank you so much.  Well it's not what I wanted for Christmas, that's for sure, but now I can't wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment."

He continued: "It's really good that the guys are coming over so that we can continue working on the album as things are going great in the studio.  Not much else to say at this time, so thanks again."

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Joe Walsh Guests On Ringo Starr's New Album

Ringo Starr's new album Ringo 2012 is now available for preorder at the official Ringo Starr Store, Amazon and the iTunes Store. 

Ringo talks about one of the tracks, Wings:  "This is a song I first recorded on Ringo The 4th, back when an album meant vinyl.  These are different days, and it's one of those songs I always wanted to revisit.  I wrote Wings with Vinnie Poncia in New York, and he doesn't know I've done this yet.  I'm going to surprise Vinnie and send it to him.

"I had Joe Walsh come over and play, and nobody can top Joe.  Joe is the best, and he plays all over Wings.  Joe was always family, even before we became related, but now he can't say no.  I'm on Joe's next record too, if he ever finishes it.  For the last two years, I've been listening to a lot of reggae, so this album has a reggae feeling to it..  What can I tell you?  I'm a product of my environment.  I always loved the sentiment of this song, and I'm glad we finally got it right."

Listen to Wings below.

Q Music update

Friday, January 13, 2012

DJ Ashba: New Guns N' Roses Album Is "Absolutely Our Main Priority" 

What's likely to be one of the most anticipated albums of the foreseeable future is under construction.  Fresh off their North American arena tour, Guns N' Roses are poised to bring their gritty brand of rock back to the forefront.

According to Guns N' Roses and Sixx:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba, getting out a new stream of songs is the band's "main priority".

"I can't give anybody a definite date, because I'm not gonna give anybody false hope.  But what I can say is [making a new album] absolutely is our main priority," Ashba told Mama's Fallen Angels via Blabbermouth.  "And I cannot wait to get [working on the album]."

He went on to say that frontguy Axl Rose already has loads of tracks recorded for the new disc.  "I mean, Axl has tons and tons of stuff recorded as it is.  I mean, he sits there in his hotel room and he'll play me hours of stuff.  And I've written over ten songs -- I think twelve songs now -- for him that he really likes," Ashba said.  "And I think now that we're off tour, we're gonna kind of start talking about, 'Hey, let's start piecing together what we feel would be the next best Guns N' Roses record.'  It's absolutely everybody's goal to get an album out within a reasonable amount of time.  That is everybody's focus."

Q Music update

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Today's Rockline Theme Thursday On The Q

Today in 1969, the album which introduced us to heavy blues-rock, and arguably contains some of the finest guitar work of the decade, was released.  Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut disc initially received negative reviews, but now stands as a defining moment in rock and roll, ranked at number 29 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list. 

So, on your Rockline Theme Thursday today, I'm going to be looking for songs which exemplify the art of rock and roll guitar.  If there's a tune you'd like me to play for you, send me an e-mail request, and then join me at noon as we get the axes out on The Q's Rockline Theme Thursday.

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Speaking Of Guitars ...

In a collaboration with the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, Eddie Van Halen has donated 75 guitars to Los Angeles area schools.  "Music education and families are dealing with the economic times," Eddie said in a statement, "and I wanted to help them."

Eddie says that playing music has provided a good life for him, and he hopes to pass along that gift.  "Music kept me off the streets and out of trouble and gave me something that was mine that no one could take away from me," he said.  The guitars came from his personal collection.