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Monday, March 29, 2010

Rock News for Monday, 29th March, 2010

Detroit legend Bob Seger plans Fall tour

His last studio release 'Face The Promise' and subsequent tour impressed a hard old rocker like me, even though the guy had been off the scene for what seemed a lifetime to many of his fans ...

Yes, Bob Seger looks like like following up where he left off, when he finished his last tour that took him through dates from 2006 into 2007, a sure sign that his old faithful fans had missed him.
Last Friday 26th March, he told local another Detroit radio legend, DJ Dick Purtan who after 45 years in broadcasting, was retiring from WOMC-FM (104.3), that he wants to tour again this Fall and Seger added, “And of course we'd play here.”
Dates look like being in or around October, so keep checking to see if you want to catch him.
I can vouch that it was a very impressive show last time around, when I caught him at the Palace of Auburn Hills. My review of that show - from my time writing for http://www.classicrock.about.com/ - can be found here:

Read the story from Detroit's Free Press here on current Seger talk:
Bob Seger's site can be found here: www.bobseger.com/ 

ROBERT PLANT AND THE BAND OF JOY TO TOUR U.S.A
JULY SHOWS TO INCLUDE MATERIAL FROM NEW ROUNDER ALBUM

Burlington, MA – Robert Plant has confirmed a 12 city North American tour. Beginning in July, this 1st leg of shows which will be followed by further dates in the fall will preview material from a new album. Featuring a diverse group of musicians - Patty Griffin, vocals, Darrell Scott, multi instrumentalist/vocals, Byron House, Bass/Vocals, Marco Giovino, drums and percussion/vocals, including co-producer Buddy Miller, guitar/vocals. The album is set for release on Rounder, late summer/early fall.

Kicking off in Memphis on July 13th (see full tour schedule below) the tour will feature Plant and the ’Band of Joy’ - the same musicians who also appear and play on the album.
Says Plant: “It’s been a blast working on these new songs…and I’m enjoying such creativity and vitality. It’s been a remarkable change of direction for all of us and as a group we all seem to have developed a new groove.”

In recent weeks Plant has been in the studio working on the planned release, which will be his first since 'Raising Sand,' the multi-platinum, 6-time Grammy® winning collaboration with fellow Rounder artist Alison Krauss. Krauss has most recently been recording with her longtime band Union Station, and will be touring with them this summer. The pair do not expect to announce a new album or tour in the coming year, though when asked about the collaboration, Plant says: “Oh yes, Alison and I get together quite often … and sometimes we dance.”
**On sale dates will vary throughout March & April. See below for ticket links and information to purchase.

Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy Tour Dates:
July 2010
13 Memphis, TN - The Orpheum Theater
15 Little Rock, AR - Robinson Center Music Hall
16 Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater
18 Albuquerque, NM - Sandia Casino Amphitheater
20 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
21 Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
23 Dallas, TX Meyerson Symphony Hall
24 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
26 Austin, TX - Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
28 Mobile, AL - The Saenger Theatre
30 Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
31 Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheater

Serpentine stirs thing up with 'A Touch of Heaven.'

UK AOR band, Serpentine featuring ex-Shy and TNT man Tony Mills on lead vocals, appear to be causing all kinds of a stir here and there, although I can't say I've heard the new album, 'A Touch Of Heaven,' so personally I can't comment.
The guys over at UK's Classic Rock magazine stumbled on the band offering a free download from the album, a track called 'Whatever Heartache.'
Go here for details on that:
Meantime here's the press release on their album, from label AOR Heaven:

SERPENTINE's debut offering 'A Touch Of Heaven' is the culmination of two and a half years of work and dedication of a band founded by trio Gareth David Noon, Gareth Vanstone and Chris Gould. When Noon returned from a vacation in 2007, an excited Vanstone informed him of the availability of axe-slinger Gould. Noon recalls: "Gareth Vanstone and I had been writing rough material for a few years with no actual goals. It wasn't actually until 2007 when we set up a jam session with Chris Gould that the whole thing actually started to take shape, and Serpentine was truly formed. It was strange actually because Chris and I had fleetingly met before then at a Judas Priest gig in 2006. He happened to be a friend of Vanstone's brother and he heard some of our rough demos. We met up on a Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon we had finished a basic cut of our first song. It was instant chemistry."

Fast-forward to the winter of 2008 and a chance encounter at a recording studio in Blackwood, South Wales between Gould and Shy drummer Bob Richards, which was to be the catalyst for Serpentine to hit top gear and get the band off the ground after 18 months of songwriting as a trio. Less than a month later, Tony Mills (Shy/TNT) and his world reknowned, stratospheric vocals became the voice of Serpentine, and the band spent the next few months completing the demos for what has become the band's debut album, 'A Touch Of Heaven'. In the summer of 2009, the band - with new members John Clews (Guitar) and Charlie Skeggs (Drums) in tow- decamped to M2 Studios in Staffordshire to begin reshaping their rough demos into what can be heard on the record, with Mark V Stuart (Magnum) and Sheena Sear twiddling the knobs behind the desk.

'A Touch Of Heaven' is to be released in 2010 by Marquee Avalon in Japan and AOR Heaven in Europe in February and March respectively. We hope you enjoy it.
Tracklisting:
1) A Touch Of Heaven
2) Whatever Heartache
3) Lonely Nights
4) For The Love Of It All
5) Let Love Rain Down
6) In My Blood
7) Fashion
8) We Belong
9) Love Suicide
10) Unbreak My Heart
*11) Bridge To My Heart (Japanese Bonus Track) 

Scorpions to be inducted into Hollywoods Rock Walk 

Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, James Kottak and Pawel Maciwoda of The Scorpions will be inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at noon. The Scorpions - who have sold over 100 million records worldwide - will be honored by fans with a special ceremony at Guitar Center in Hollywood.

This marks a very special occasion for the Scorpions: with the March 23 release of their new album, 'Sting in the Tail' (via Universal Music Enterprises) and a three-year, five-continent mammoth tour, one of the most successful rock bands in the world will be ending their career. It will be the most adventurous if not greatest project of the band: hundreds of shows, hundreds of thousands of fans, countless miles on a plane and tour bus.

It has been 35 years since the original formation of the legendary German hard rock band Scorpions drove their rickety red VW bus from one small pub to another, from one back yard to another, in their home state of Lower-Saxony to unpack their equipment and rock on. Five years earlier, in the little town of Sarstedt, Rudolf Schenker had given the band its name. From the very beginning the band showed signs for a promising career.

From an “Echo” for “Life Achievement” (2009) and “Best National Band” (1994) to the “World Music Award” (1994), there aren’t many noteworthy awards the Scorpions have not received. The accomplishments throughout their career have built a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow: they drew more than 150,000 spectators between Manaus and Rio on the last big South America tour, sold out stadiums in Greece last summer, jam-packed venues in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mumbai and performed at “Monsters Of Rock.”

Hollywood’s RockWalk is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues and R&B. The Scorpions handprints will reside alongside the handprints, signatures, and faces of other equally accomplished musicians and innovators such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, John Lee Hooker and Earth Wind & Fire among numerous others.

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