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IZZY STRADLIN: WHY HE’S NOT INVOLVED IN GUNS N’ ROSES REUNION
With the Guns N’ Roses tour barreling ahead, co-founder Izzy Stradlin is nowhere near the reunion tour. He made a statement to The Wall Street Journal and wrote: “The current GNR tour has been a great success for the guys. My nonparticipation was simply – not being able to reach a happy middle ground through the negotiation process. That’s life. Sometimes things don’t work out.”
The touring lineup includes singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan and an occasional guest appearance by drummer Steven Adler. Stradlin has not taken part in any shows on the tour.
Story Source: Blabber Mouth
NEW STONE TEMPLE PILOTS FRONTMAN NAMES ONE SONG ‘OFF LIMITS’
In a recent interview, singer Jeff Gutt was asked if there is any song from the Stone Temple Pilots catalog that is “off limits” for him to sing – out of respect for the band’s original frontman, Scott Weiland. Referring to the rest of the group, Gutt replied, “Well, that’s more up to these guys, but I have a particular thing with “‘Sour Girl,” just because I feel it’s written… it’s a personal message, so I don’t know… To me, that one’s a little off limits. But other than that, I’m game.”
Drummer Eric Kretz was there as well and said of Gutt, “When he came into the audition, man, he nailed it. He actually came in and sang “Piece of Pie.” Now we get to pull out stuff in concert that we haven’t really busted into in about 20-something years.
The band’s first studio recording with Gutt was released in March.
Story Source: Blabber Mouth
ERIC CLAPTON ROCKS GREENWICH AT INTIMATE CONNECTICUT GIG
Eric Clapton performed on Saturday (May 26th) in Greenwich, Connecticut’s exclusive Greenwich Town Party. Over the years, the event at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, saw Walter Becker‘s final performance with Steely Dan back in 2016, and has attracted such A-listers over the past seven years as John Fogerty, the Doobie Brothers, Santana, James Taylor, Paul Simon, and Buddy Guy. This year’s event featured Town Party veterans the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Tickets to the Greenwich Town Party are only available to “Greenwich residents, Greenwich business owners, and employees of Greenwich companies.”
Jambase reported Clapton, whose only other North American gigs this year are a pair of October shows at Madison Square Garden, performed a 15-song set mixing his greatest hits with a clutch of familiar blues standards. Highlights included “Slowhand’s” classics “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Cocaine,” “Lay Down Sally,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “Tears In Heaven,” “The Core,” along with Cream‘s “White Room,” and such Derek & The Dominos favorites as “Layla,” “Key To The Highway” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out,” and “Got To Get Better In A Little While.” Clapton was joined Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks for an encore performance of Robert Johnson‘s “Crossroads.”
GODSMACK FRONTMAN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CELL PHONES AT CONCERTS
Godsmack frontman Sully Erna is speaking out against cell phones at concerts, but he says it’s because of the fans that he feels this way. He said, “I really want the fans to be able to experience the show as they should and not through this little four-inch screen in their hands.
He said, “I mean, I get it. I know that sometimes it’s your only opportunity to go to a show, it’s your first and only time you’re gonna see this act. But there’s also something really magical that happens when you don’t have that and you can just absorb it and sit in the moment and be able to immerse yourself into the performance and the show,”
From his point of view, when he saw iconic acts like TOTO, Tom Petty, Elton John, or Joe Walsh, he didn’t even think to pull out his cell phone. He commented, “I was just so hypnotized by the performance and the songs that meant so much to me. And I think there’s just something really amazing that happens when you allow that to happen.”