We’re still locked down, but thank goodness we still have music. Cheers to our friends in Otherwise for putting together this music video for “Crossfire!”
Now a look to the music news of the day:
Fountains Of Wayne bassist and songwriter Adam Schlesinger has died at the age of 52 due to complications from COVID-19. He had been hospitalized due to the coronavirus for the past week and was on a ventilator.
Scheslinger formed Fountains Of Wayne in 1995 with guitarist Chris Collingwood. The band released two albums with little impact, although Scheslinger gained recognition for writing the Oscar-nominated title song to the 1996 movie That Thing You Do!
The group scored a major alternative hit in 2003 with “Stacy’s Mom” from its third LP, Welcome Interstate Managers. The track’s raunchy video featured model Rachel Hunter.
After Fountains Of Wayne disbanded in 2013, Schlesinger continued working as a songwriter, contributing tunes to the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — for which he earned three Emmys — and writing the Tony-nominated score to the 2008 Broadway musical Cry-Baby.
Scheslinger once told us how song ideas come to him: “I think a lot of times they’re inspired by some real-life thing, or you start by thinking about some real-life kind of setting. A lot of times the stories just write themselves in the sense that you just start putting lines together and you’re not exactly even sure where it’s gonna end up. I mean, I don’t really map it out too much beforehand.”
Scheslinger, who was divorced, was survived by two daughters. Representatives for Scheslinger, his family and Fountains Of Wayne had not issued a statement at press time.
Shinedown singer Brent Smith spoke to Medium about the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world and how it might affect the band’s touring plans. The band recently rescheduled its “Deep Dive” spring tour from April and May to August and September.
Smith explained, “We had 30-plus dates of touring to do this year, with a lot that was scheduled for April and May. Our booking agent had the foresight to know how serious this was going to be and rescheduled the tour to August and September. We’re optimistic, but right now the smartest thing to do is to listen to the professionals.”
The singer added that the band was working in the studio when the outbreak really took hold in the U.S. and didn’t initially realize what was happening. He remarked, “That’s when we started looking at our phones, social media and the news and realized that just in that short time we’d been in the studio, s**t had hit the fan.”
For Shinedown, this pandemic hits especially hard. Smith told us a while back that Shinedown is at its best on tour: “I think everybody that knows Shinedown is basically aware of what this band is, is that we are a touring band and that’s really where, in a lot of ways, our strengths lie. That’s who we are. We’re blessed to be able to be on the road as much as we are, we hopefully, you know, in our mindset, write songs that people want to hear, and we just love to tour.”
Shinedown reached into its archives last month to make available a never-before-heard song called “Atlas Falls.” The track will benefit Direct Relief, a non-profit humanitarian aid organization that is providing personal protective equipment and essential medical items to health workers responding to coronavirus. The song is available now for download with the purchase of a special T-shirt.
Ozzy Osbourne‘s daughter Kelly told Entertainment Tonight that her father had one stem-cell treatment in Panama a few weeks ago to treat his Parkinson’s disease. She explained, “Seeing, after one treatment of stem cell, what has happened and the progress that he’s made is mind-blowing.”
She added, “He wants to get up. He wants to do things. He wants to be a part of the world again. He’s walking better. He’s talking better. His symptoms are lessening. He is building the muscle strength back that he needs after his spine surgery.”
Ozzy has told us before that he’s often wondered how he’s still alive: “I went to my doctor a while ago and he says to me, ‘You know what? You’re a testament to what the human body can take.’ You know, Keith Richards, he smokes, he drinks vodka like there’s no tomorrow, he used to do heroin, you know, I don’t know how that guy’s sucking in air.”
Kelly added that Ozzy is finally feeling well enough to get out of the house, but is now forced to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But she continued, “Everything is starting to fall into place now, and it has given us so much hope. We are very grateful to the doctors that are helping him.”
Due to travel restrictions, Ozzy had to cancel a trip to Switzerland he was taking this month to see a doctor who specializes in treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Ozzy had previously canceled his 2020 tour plans, even before the spread of the virus, because of his health issues.
My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero is spending his time in self-quarantine by filming video tutorials to show how fans to play some of the band’s biggest hits.
Iero has already streamed guitar tutorials for My Chemical Romance’s “Ghost Of You” and “Welcome To The Black Parade” as part of Fender’s “Artist Check-In” series.
My Chemical Romance split up in 2013 but last fall rumors began to circulate that the band was getting back together. That was confirmed with a December show in Los Angeles, followed by the announcement of spring and summer dates in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, along with a fall North American trek.
All dates are now on hold, however, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.
We’re doing our part in staying home and so should you! We’re also thrilled to be releasing a limited run of “Stay at Home” Merch Bundles where we’ll be donating the proceeds to the @MusiCares #COVID19 Relief Fund. Seriously, STAY HOME!
🛍: https://t.co/Y4libJNtmK pic.twitter.com/sY9jntj0ny
— Beartooth (@BEARTOOTHband) March 31, 2020
Beartooth is the latest band that is using merchandise to promote social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis. The band is offering a kit for sale consisting of a specially designed hoodie, fleece blanket, deck of cards, bottle opener and a tote bag. The proceeds will benefit the Grammy Awards’ MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.
The band wrote, “We’re doing our part in staying home and so should you! We’re also thrilled to be releasing a limited run of ‘Stay at Home’ Merch Bundles where we’ll be donating the proceeds to the @MusiCares #COVID19 Relief Fund. Seriously, STAY HOME!”
The MusiCares COVID-19 fund was created to help people in the music industry survive during the pandemic. It directs funds to people who are out of work due to the cancellation of tours and live events. There are also links to other resources musicians or workers in related fields can use, organized geographically and by specific need.
Beartooth is among a number of acts that are spearheading efforts to raise money during the pandemic. Avenged Sevenfold, Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills and Thursday have also launched campaigns, while Bandcamp waived its digital distribution fees for a weekend, raising over $4 million for artists.
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said he’s sitting on “four or five CDs of riffs” that he would like to properly record. When asked by Guitarist about plans for new music or solo material, Iommi explained, “I’ve got loads of stuff…I’d like to put some stuff down, but it won’t be a touring band.”
Iommi hinted that he’d like to gather an all-star lineup of musicians for such a project, as he did with his self-titled 2000 solo LP. That project featured contributions from Dave Grohl, Philip Anselmo, Billy Corgan, Ozzy Osbourne and more.
He told us at the time that he enjoyed working with multiple singers on that album: “I wanted those people on the album for what they do and what they can contribute to it, their side of it, and to do what they felt was right for that track. So they’d done all the lyrics and all the melody lines, and it worked out really good. There was no egos, no, ‘I wanna do it this way …,’ or nothing like that. I gotta say it all went very, very smooth.”
The metal legend said he was encouraged to pursue a new project by an old friend, explaining, “Actually, (Queen guitarist) Brian May came over and I gave him four or five CDs of riffs, and he’s going, ‘You’ve got to do an album with these, just put them out like that.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that. I’m going to do them properly.’”
Iommi retired from touring after Black Sabbath ended its farewell tour in February 2017, citing his struggle with cancer a few years earlier and the rigors of life on the road. But he remains open to the occasional live appearance as well as more recording.
Well, that’s a wrap for now. Stay safe, and remain indoors..
