Last night, I was at Alicia Keys‘ studio called Jungle down on 27th St. The place is state of the art and beautiful. A modern baby grand piano with plexiglass top was in one of the rooms which was being used as a reception area. Why was I there? I was invited to listen to the forthcoming Rebel Soul album from Kid Rock, aka Bobby Ritchie. The man himself was there to talk about each song as he played them for us in the control room. It was quite the event, I must say. I was blown away by the tracks, every one of them, from the new single “Let’s Ride” and the title track, to a trippy auto-tuned song with a Pink Floyd overtone called “The Mirror,” featuring the guitar playing of a kid from LA named Blake Mills (he’s currently on tour with Fiona Apple.) Mind boggling great player! The tunes, compared to his last Born Free album, are way more Kid Rock, less country, more rock, more FUN! A nod to his hometown in a song called “Detroit, Michigan” which would make Ahmet Ertegun proud with shout outs to all the greats from the Motor City from Seger to Aretha, Marvin to the Supremes. It rocked. There’s the song perfect for the strip clubs called “Cucci Galore.” A country fueled number called “Cocaine & Gin,” a pick-up song “Happy New Year,” and even a tune he would want played at his funeral called “Midnight Ferry” and one he would perform when he’s inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called “God Save Rock & Roll.” There’s a song about an island in the lake near his home dubbed “Redneck Paradise,” and two pure fun songs “3 Catt Boogie (ahhh-ahhhh)” and “The Chickens in the Pen.” I chatted with him for a bit and look forward to when we can have him by the hardDrive studios. Kid Rock is back, make no mistake! And as parting gifts, we got to have Rebel Soul cocktail glasses, Badass Beer t-shirts and bottle openers. Look for the album 11/19/12….Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has agreed to a rare live interview on the Oct 24th edition of ABC-TV’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. The reclusive singer is appearing on the show to promote the band’s upcoming residency at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, which begins on Halloween, Oct 31st and runs for 12 dates through Nov 24th. There will be a one-hour tape delay on the interview, which is customary for Kimmel’s show. This will be Rose’s first TV interview since a pre-taped Nov 2011 appearance on VH1’s That Metal Show. In related news, plenty of seats are still available for the Vegas gigs, which could explain Rose’s Kimmel stint….Pearl Jam, the Black Keys, A Perfect Circle and the Killers lead the lineup confirmed to perform at Lollapalooza‘s Brazilian and Chilean editions, scheduled for the weekends of March 29th and April 6th respectively. Also appearing will be Queens Of The Stone Age, Deadmau5, Passion Pit, Franz Ferdinand and others, including local acts. The festival’s first foray into Israel, scheduled for next August in Tel Aviv, has yet to unveil its lineup….Oklahoma City’s Hinder will release its fourth album, titled Welcome To The Freakshow on Dec 4th. The first single, called “Save Me,” arrives at iTunes and rock radio on today. The new disc, which is said to experiment with pop and country alongside the band’s usual hard rock style, will follow up 2010’s All American Nightmare. A lyric video for “Save Me” has been posted at YouTube….Neglected to mention we hung out with Jake Scherer of New Medicine in Vegas, who told Lou he too had to drop off a tour (although in his case, only for 5 shows of the Carnival of Madness Tour) due to emergency appendix surgery. Guess that’s going around this summer! And I talked to Danko Jones, whose 6th album, Rock & Roll is Black & Blue, is out next Tuesday and one I really would love for you to check out. He’s an amazingly talented dude, who has podcasts, writes books and does a an international syndicated show. He’s aces! ….Check out the new Slash video for their song “Bad Rain” at www.slashonline.com. It’s an awesome, albeit naughty, animated piece. Well done, boys! Slash is heading to the UK and Europe beginning shows on the 7th. Over the weekend, he won a RadioContraband Award for Best Comeback Artist (although I was kinda scratching my head on that, since he never left!)….See Road Rage for a late fall tour for Killswitch Engage with Shadows Fall and Acaro (thanks Chris!)….Happy 41st today to Jim Root of Stone Sour and Slipknot! He’s recouping from his appendix surgery!
