Bon Jovi Turning To Metallica For Inspiration For 2026 Tour
There's not a lot of similarities between Metallica and Bon Jovi, other than that their careers run along the same timeline. However, as Jon Bon Jovi plans his 2026 tour, he's drawing inspiration from the legendary thrash band. In an interview with the UK's "Planet Rock," Bon Jovi explained how Metallica playing back-to-back nights with totally different set lists on their "M72" tour resonated with him. "...I talked to Lars (Ulrich). I said, "So let me get this straight. If you're only doing 'Master Of Puppets' on one night and 'One' on one night, is the audience mad that they're not there (the next night)?' And he goes, 'Nope. We have enough songs that it works.' And I went, 'I'm digging that concept.' So not that we're gonna do that, but I have enough songs and enough hits, I could do two separate entire shows and have hits on both sides. So, I'm having a lot of fun putting together shows that are multiple-night kind of shows."
SOUNDGARDEN: Back to Their Roots for Album
Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd has revealed that the band has reconnected with an old producer for the album they're making with Chris Cornell's final recordings. Shepherd told
Bass Magazine that Terry Date, who helmed 1989's Louder Than Love and 1991's
Badmotorfinger, is producing these songs that were the subject of a long legal dispute between the band and Cornell's widow Vicky. Shepherd also talked about what it's been like for him working on some of these songs. He says, "The first song we did together, 'The Mighty One' – seems when you first hear the demo, it’s not powerful at all. And then when you start playing it you’re like, Holy hell! I blistered my hands trying to play those parts." "I was like, Thanks, Cornell. He and Kim [Thayil] always throw some wild riff in there that you have to nail. It’s just intuitive for them. I’ve always been amazed by those two, and that song is just whomping. These songs have been flooring me with how powerful they are."
ROBERT PLANT: Chats With Colbert
Robert Plant appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday night, but not as a musical guest. Plant sat down to chat with Colbert about his new band Saving Grace and the "dreamworld" he inhabits when he's home in the U.K. And with Colbert being such a huge Lord of the Rings fan, they also spoke about Plant's multiple references to it when writing lyrics for Led Zeppelin and their mutual love of J.R.R. Tolkien. Watch both interview segments on YouTube.
PAUL McCARTNEY: Turd on the Run?
Call it a turd on the run? Or perhaps with a little dump? In any case, a story in Paul McCartney's new oral history Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run has caught the eye of some early readers.
Wings drummer Denny Seiwell (SEE-wull) claims that McCartney and his then-wife Linda mailed a music critic their daughter Stella's turd following a negative concert review. Seiwell says in the book, "We take [the critic] along to the sound check. We let him backstage. We let him on the bus. We let him see how we live and all that. He didn’t stay for the concert. He flew home.” That critic didn't see the show yet wrote up a “full-on review” of the show. Seiwell says, “And he slagged it. Everything about it. The way we lived. The way we traveled. The way we sounded, the way we da-dada-dada.” “Stella was a baby at the time. So Paul and Linda took one of those little plastic soap dishes from the hotel we were in, and they got one of Stella’s turds, put it in the soap dish, wrapped it up, and sent it to him.” Seiwell concludes, “You heard that from me. I don’t care if they want it to be known or not. I thought it was the perfect response to a crude British pressman.”
Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run is out now, with a companion best of album, Wings, out in multiple variations on Friday.
ELTON JOHN: Gets Super Rare Vinyl
Elton John has been gifted an incredibly rare piece of vinyl from his career -- the original acetates (test pressings) of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Elton posted on Instagram, "Every so often, there are acts of kindness that remind you there are still a lot of good people in this world. Alex Rodriguez, the vinyl record curator for Coachella and owner of Record Safari in Los Angeles, recently came across the original acetates from the first recordings of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. "They’re still in their Trident Studios sleeves, in beautiful condition -- a real piece of history. Instead of selling them or keeping them for himself, Alex reached out and offered to return them to me personally. While they’d be valuable to anyone, to me these recordings are truly priceless, and I am incredibly grateful for his kindness, generosity, and his love of music. "Thank you, Alex. This is a gesture I’ll never forget."
Rodriguez commented on the photo of himself with Elton and the acetates, "It’s so totally awesome to return it to you! Even when people doubted I could get it back to you I believed! My gut feeling told me you would want this back, mostly because I know you are a fellow record collector/aficionado! Thank you for the kind words, definitely one of the coolest memories to hold on to! I knew the future of this acetate lied beyond the yellow brick road!"
Guns N’ Roses to reissue their first official live album ‘Live Era 87-93’ on vinyl
Guns N’ Roses is set to release a vinyl reissue of their first live album, Live Era 87-93, on Friday November 21st. The album has been remastered from the original stereo analog master tapes for the first time since 1999. The reissue will be available in multiple configurations, including a 4 LP 180-gram black vinyl with slipcase and poster, and a multi-color 4 LP Premium Edition. A deluxe 4 LP edition features revamped artwork with full color graphics, expanded into two premium gatefold jackets housed in an exclusive foil art slipcase, a poster, and an exclusive turntable mat. Limited edition picture-disc vinyl is also available. Fans can preorder the reissue and check out new merch on the band's website at gunsnroses.com.
The Killers, Guns N’ Roses, Tyler, The Creator & Deftones to Headline Tecate Pa’l Norte 2026
The 15th edition of the Pa’l Norte festival in Monterrey, Mexico will feature headliners including The Killers, Guns N’ Roses, Tyler The Creator, and Deftones. The festival, known for its diverse musical lineups, will take place March 27-29 at Parque Fundidora and will feature over 100 acts across eight stages. Ticket sales begin next Tuesday November 11 through Ticketmaster, the event is expected to draw around 100,000 music fans per day.
New Doors Podcast Announced
A new podcast is being dedicated to The Doors. "Really? The Doors" will be hosted by writer Naomi Fry and will include guest appearances from Billy Idola and Doors drummer John Densmore. Fry says her goal is to look at The Door through a wider cultural lens, adding that "this podcast isn't a straightforward biographical podcast," but "the work of enthusiasts rather than historians.""Really? The Doors" is set to premiere on November 12th.
VAN HALEN: Wolfgang Talks Roth's "Kid" Comments
Wolfgang Van Halen has finally spoken up about David Lee Roth's lengthy rant about him.
Roth posted the monologue in January 2024, saying that the late Eddie Van Halen’s son benefited from nepotism and that Wolfgang tried to throw Roth’s guests out of Van Halen shows. Roth referred to Wolfgang as “this [effing] kid" throughout the rant. Wolfgang spoke about the rant -- without mentioning Roth by name -- to Rolling Stone, saying, “I didn’t put a two-hour-long YouTube rant of completely unfounded lies about said person out of nowhere. I don’t know what I did, but that’s certainly where I sit... “I’ve always been a punching bag. It is just whatever… I’m a 34-year-old married man with a third album. I’m not a kid.”
IN OTHER NEWS
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is raffling off an autographed mahogany Gibson SG that he used for writing and playing at home to raise money for Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital. That is where he received treatment for lymphoma from 2012 to 2016. Iommi, who will announce when the raffle starts on his social media, is hoping to raise $200,000 for the hospital.
The Gene Simmons Band and Chevy Metal featuring guest appearances by Rikki Rockett of Poison and Robby Krieger of The Doors will perform at the annual Love Ride in Glendale, California on Sunday. The event, hosted by Jay Leno, will raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and Adopt the Arts.
Yes will release a Super Deluxe Edition of 1973's Tales of Topographic Oceans on February 6th. The 12-CD, two-LP and Blu-ray set features a newly remastered version of the original double album on both CD and vinyl, plus a selection rarities and previously unreleased studio and live recordings.
Lots of artists have signature guitars, basses, amps and even picks, but Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses has gone even deeper into his instrument. He's teamed up with Seymour Duncan for a line of signature bass pickups. Check out a video of Duff talking about them on YouTube.
Brian May joined Benson Boone on stage at London's O2 Arena Tuesday night. They did the same two songs they performed earlier this year at Coachella -- Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Boone's own "Beautiful Things."
Chicago performed a shortened version of "25 or 6 to 4" on Dancing With the Stars Tuesday night. Watch it on YouTube.
Bruce Springsteen was one of the honorees at the New York Public Library's Library Lions gala Monday night in New York City. Springsteen performed a solo acoustic version of "Thunder Road" at the event.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons contributed trivia about KISS's "Rock and Roll All Nite" for a new Vevo "Footnotes" about the song's video, which was released in 1989 to promote the collection Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. Watch it on YouTube.