Dee’s Thanksgiving tweet:
It’s a go! Dee Snider’s Rock & Roll Christmas Tale will be taking the stage at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place in Chicago next holiday season, November 4, 2014, through January 4, 2015.
The story, written by Dee (who will also be taking the stage as a performer), follows the fictional heavy metal bar band Däisy Cütter, who are looking to make it big even though the ’80s are over. The band readies themselves to take the ultimate step, and in mythic rock tradition, sell their souls to the devil in exchange for success beyond their wildest metal dreams! But every time they try to seal the infernal pact, their headbanging anthems turn into warm-hearted carols.
Group tickets for 10 or more are now on sale by calling Broadway in Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Individual tickets for Dee Snider’s Rock & Roll Christmas Tale will go on sale at a later date; visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com for more info.
Lita Ford and her former Runaways bandmate Cherie Currie have just released their new holiday song,“Rock This Christmas Down”. The tune marks the first time the duo have recorded together in 36 years. Said Lita of the song, “We so rocked it! What I didn’t know is that I’d be singing it as a duet with my long lost sister, Cherie Currie. I am blessed to have her back in my life, and what an appropriate time and song to rehash an old friendship — Christmas!”
“Cherie hopped a plane from Chicago to L.A., and drove straight to the studio and threw down her vocal track on this rocking song. Needless to say, it was magic and history in the making. We were left with such a smoking track for everyone to hear, every Christmas, every year! Let’s ‘Rock This Christmas Down’!”
Added Cherie, “I have dreamed, literally, of seeing Lita again for over three decades. Even after all that time I still thought of her often. The Runaways was something that was always left unfinished to me. Especially when it came to Lita, but I only knew her as a child. What floored me more than the unbelievable gift of working with her again was the woman she had become.
She is the bravest, kindest, strongest, most loving human being I have met. Lita asking me to be a part of this amazing song and a part of her astonishing life has filled that void, that hole I had in my heart that maybe we both shared. It is now filled with love, support and admiration for a dear and wonderful friend whom I am so proud to say is Lita Ford. ‘Rock This Christmas Down’ has the flare of our Runaways legacy but it’s pure Lita. It rocks like only she can. We took a dim, negative and unfinished past and turned it into a positive future. It doesn’t get any better then that. I know this will be the best Christmas I have had in decades. Thank you, sister!”
Don’t count on Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister retiring anytime soon despite his ongoing health issues (diabetes and heart irregularities). When asked by Revolver magazine if he had any plans to settle down, the almost-68-year-old replied, “No, I ain’t done yet with the music. After I get better, we’re gonna try to tour again, and if I can’t do that full-on, I want to do another album with [rockabilly act] Head Cat, and, of course, I want to do a couple more Motörhead records.
But the next thing I’ve got coming out is my solo album, which is almost done. I still want to do a track with [Skunk Anansie singer] Skin before I put it out. There are two tracks with the Reverend Horton Heat, two with The Damned, a track with [Foo Fighters’] Dave Grohl, and a track with Joan Jett. Right now, we’re thinking of calling it False Teeth For The Deaf. It’s all just great rock and roll, that’s the only way to describe it. Some of it is bluesy and some isn’t. It’s not Motörhead, but obviously there are elements in common.”
Have a look at Saxon’s new video for “Frozen Rainbow” (acoustic version). The tune is a reworking of their own 1979 classic, and appears on their new album, Unplugged and Strung Up.
Also re-recording their own works: Danish rockers Pretty Maids. A new album is slated for release sometime in the spring of 2014 and will feature both reworked songs as well as brand-new tunes plus a DVD.
Check out Warrant founder/guitarist Erik Turner performing an acoustic version of the band’s “I Saw Red” with his 12-year-old son, Noah, on vocals. Joining Erik and Noah are actor/musician Leo Howard and guitar teacher Marty Schwartz.
Cinderella’s Tom Keifer has just released a video for “The Flower Song”. The song is off his debut solo album, The Way Life Goes, which was co-produced by his wife, Savannah. Says Tom, “Women are God’s greatest gift to our world, truly beautiful inside and out. ‘’The Flower Song’ is about recognizing your one true love in a world filled with so many amazing women. It can be dizzying. But then, you see the one. A miracle! I thank God every day for my miracle, inspiration and one true love, Savannah.”
Iron Maiden LLP, the UK-based holding company of metal icons Iron Maiden, has been named as one of the U.K.’s fastest growing music entities. The Guardian estimates the firm’s earning power in the $16 million to $32 million per year range, and it appears on the London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain list.
Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain is a golf nut…with his own balls! The official Iron Maiden Shop has a three-pack of Titleist DT Solo golf balls emblazoned with mascot Eddie and drummer Nicko’s printed signature.
Metallica’s two-day Orion Music + More festival won’t be happening in 2014. The band will be touring throughout Europe during the time Orion normally happens, and there is no confirmation (yet) it will happen in 2015 (or if it will return to Detroit).
The festival debuted in Atlantic City in 2012, and moved to the Motor City in 2013.
King’s X singer Dug Pinnick was recently hospitalized after a gig in Charlotte, NC, due to complications and extreme pain from his hernia surgery that took place in July. The band had to cancel a date in Virginia the following day.
Wrote Dug on his Facebook page, “[The doctor] says I have to go to an infection specialist to address a lymph node problem. There will be a series of tests over several weeks. He suggests that if I sing and play bass that I sit down while doing it. So I’m heading back to L.A. to take care of it. And to get on with my life.”
Lillian Axe is gearing up to release a limited-edition box set called Convergence through CME Records sometime in early 2014. The set will include all of the band’s releases, from their self-titled debut up to 2012’s The Days Before Tomorrow, along with a bonus CD of unreleased material and other special features. All boxes will be hand numbered and autographed by guitarist/founder Steve Blaze.