I love April Fools day. It’s usually a day of laughter as you pull harmless pranks on your friends and family. Very challenging to do this year, with the world quarantined and all. Like most celebrations, we’ll have to rain-check it this year.. damn. Well, at least we got music…
Ozzy Osbourne has been forced to cancel his trip to Switzerland to see a doctor who specializes in treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Ozzy was scheduled to travel this month for radical treatment to help him live with his progressive neurological condition. But his wife Sharon revealed on The Talk that as movement around the world has become more restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ozzy had no choice but to call off the trip for now.
Sharon explained, “We’re just hanging in, like everybody else, just trying to stay away and be quiet and just hold it in there. But I honestly find this such frightening times. I just think it’s a really, really frightening time to be alive . . . I cry every day when I watch the death toll go up and more and more people catch this virus and I’m just devastated by it. For me, I’m heartbroken.”
Ozzy had previously canceled his 2020 tour plans, even before the spread of the virus, in order to head overseas for treatment of his Parkinson’s disease and other health issues. His new album, Ordinary Man, came out at the end of February.
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Foo Fighters have rescheduled the remainder of their April/May Van Tour 2020.
Foo Fighters have rescheduled the rest of their 25th anniversary tour. Previously, only shows in the April portion of the trek were moved, but now the May shows have shifted as well. Most of the dates will now take place in October, although one, a headlining slot at the Boston Calling festival, has been canceled along with the rest of that event.
The trek will see the band playing in the same cities it visited during the Foos’ very first tour in 1995, when the group hit the road in a Dodge van.
Frontman Dave Grohl told us a while back about the Foos’ growth as a live act: “The first tour we did, we were playing to maybe, I don’t know, 500 people a night or something like that, you know. And then that turned into doing theatres and so you get to that stage where you’re playing to 1,200 people and you’re like, ‘Man, I could do this for the rest of my life, this is great.’ And then you get to the point where you’re playing to like 5,000 people a night, and then you start selling out arenas and you’re like, ‘God, I can’t believe that we’ve gotten to this point.’ And then you start selling out stadiums, and it just keeps on getting better, you know.”
This year is supposed to feature an extended celebration of the Foos’ 25th anniversary, including the “Van Tour,” a massive all-day stadium event in Washington D.C. on July 4th and a brand new studio LP. All those plans are, for now, up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcome to No Fun Mondays. Going to release a cover song every week until we’re let back out into the world.
This week’s song: “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” by Johnny Thunders https://t.co/NcWRbHMdgA
Love BJ pic.twitter.com/71iOIU8Ew5
— Green Day (@GreenDay) March 30, 2020
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has unveiled a brand new cover of Johnny Thunders‘ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory.” Armstrong revealed that fans can expect a new cover to arrive every week for what he’s calling No Fun Mondays. He said he’ll keep doing it “until we’re let back out into the world.”
Last week Armstrong released a cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now,” saying on Instagram, “While we’ve all been in quarantine I’ve been reflecting on the things that matter the most in my life. Family, friends and of course music. I figure if we have to spend this time in isolation at least we can be alone together.”
Green Day was among the first acts to cancel live dates as the coronavirus began its march across the globe. The punk trio had originally planned to perform in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Taipei, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan through March. It’s unclear when the dates will be rescheduled.
Depending on what happens, the band is slated to play a string of European festivals in late May and early June before kicking off the Hella Mega tour, also starring Fall Out Boy and Weezer, in mid-June. Green Day’s 13th album, Father Of All Motherf**kers, came out last month.
Metallica has posted the second concert in its new online series, “#MetallicaMondays.” The show was recorded on on September 8th, 2017 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France.
The band is streaming a complete live show for fans on the group’s YouTube channel and on Facebook every week during the current health crisis.
The band said in a statement, “While we’re all doing our part and staying home, we find ourselves missing live music, so how about we dive back into a few of our favorite shows at a socially responsible distance?”
Bassist Robert Trujillo told us a while back that Metallica has always strived to give fans the best show possible: “Bringing the show to life on the big stage is always great with Metallica. You know, there’s a lot of creative energy and focus that goes into that. Visual production, bringing it to life, while trying to create, you know, as much as possible something that’s intimate…just get out there and, you know, make it happen visually and sonically.”
Metallica has been largely out of the public eye since last fall when the band canceled an Australian tour and announced that frontman James Hetfield had returned to rehab for the first time since 2002 to battle his addictions.
Although Hetfield has been out of rehab since early 2020, Metallica was forced to postpone a South American tour and cancel appearances at three North American rock festivals due to the onslaught of COVID-19.
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale performed a solo set from his house as part of the Billboard Live At-Home series. Broadcasting via Billboard‘s Facebook page, Rossdale delivered a handful of classics and covers including “Machinehead,” “The Only Way Out,” Bob Dylan‘s “Lay Lady Lay” and more. The set served as a benefit for the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Brothers Mikey and Chris Carvajal of the band Islander recently lost their aunt Tia Lolin to COVID-19 and have recorded a cover of R.E.M.‘s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” in response. Part of the proceeds will go to the NYC Low-Income Artist + Freelancer Relief Fund, an organization helping out artists and freelancers during the pandemic.
Finally, we want to wish a Happy Birthday to Volbeat frontman Michael Poulson and the human dynamo, Arejay Hale of Halestorm! Stay safe out there, and wash your hands!
