KISS: Coming Alive For the 15th Time 50 Years Later

KISS are dipping into their vaults for another live album, their 15th. The often bootlegged KISS - Destroys Anaheim '76 was captured on August 20th, 1976 at Anaheim Stadium on a bill that included opening sets from Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, and Montrose, and Flo and Eddie, complete with KISS make-up, introduced the band. You can watch the video on YouTube.

Eddie Kramer, who produced 1975's Alive!, recorded the show and mixed the album from the original multi-track tapes. Peter Criss, the band's founding drummer, looked back fondly on that show in an interview in 1996 with Goldmine magazine, saying, "That’s my favorite gig of all gigs with KISS, because it was the biggest. It was so exciting. I remember going down to the stage in golf carts, getting closer, and hearing the roar of the crowd and these people stomping on these metal seats through this huge stadium and the echo. I’ll never forget that sound. My heart pounded like it was gonna go through my chest. When I hit that stage and those bombs went off, forget about it...” The album contains 14 songs, starting with "Detroit Rock City," during which Gene Simmons fell down the stairs while taking the stage, and ends with "Black Diamond." And, it also includes Ace Frehley's guitar solo, Simmons's bass solo, and Criss's drum solo. KISS - Destroys Anaheim '76 is available to pre-order at ShopKISSOnline.com, and will ship on August 21st -- 50 years and a day after the show.

In other KISS-related news, Peter Criss went to see Sammy Hagar last week at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey and posted photos on his website from his backstage visit.

GODSMACK, MOTLEY CRUE: More Smack Talking

There's another Godsmack and Motley Crue beef happening, more than 15 years after the first one. This time it was retired Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin talking about the band

recently switching drummers from Wade Murff to Mike Mangini. Larkin said that Godsmack doesn't use backing tracks and he claimed that the Crue does.

He says, "You see Nikki Sixx up there. He's not really singing, he looks away, but you still hear his voice. Well, it's a track playing. But, in order for those things to happen, the band has to be on a click track -- and the band doesn't have to. It's just us, the drummer. We're on a click so it's always the same every night." Apparently, Larkin's claim got to Sixx who tweeted “Who’s this Shannon Larkin hater? It’s funny how so many B- and C-level bands seem to spend more time talking about us than writing songs people actually remember. Maybe it’s jealousy, maybe it’s insecurity, maybe ticket sales are a little slow. Either way, borrowing someone else’s spotlight has never been much of a long-term career strategy. "I genuinely feel for musicians who never figured out that the best publicity is writing great songs—over and over again, decade after decade for fans not critics...Anyway, maybe he’s needs to take a nap before he does more press.”

The Crue and Godsmack have a history that goes back to them both appearing the 2009 Crue Fest 2 tour. Sixx and Sully Erna traded shots at each other in the press which led Godsmack to pen the song “Crying’ Like A Bitch" about Sixx and his bandmates.

ROLLING STONES: Sprinkle a Little "Charm"

The Rolling Stones not only released two more songs off their new album Foreign Tongues last week -- "Jealous Lover" and "Divine Intervention" -- but they previewed another. If you watched the video for "Jealous Lover" all the way through, then you heard 27 seconds of "Mr. Charm" starting at 3:52 over the closing credits. Steve Winwood plays organ on the song, one of nine on the album he contributed to.

DOOBIES & SANTANA: Defining Oneness

Unlike some package tours where there's little to no interaction on stage between the acts, this summer's Santana and The Doobie Brothers Oneness Tour is living up to its name as

Michael McDonald explains. "The bands have kind of melded together on this tour. Some of the guys are coming out and playing on our set. We're joining Carlos [Santana] on his set. And it's very spontaneous. The songs change up almost every night, and Carlos will just throw something out in the middle of the show and we all just kind of hang on for dear life. But the audience hangs in there with us and everything from The O'Jays to Buddy Miles, we're just throwing stuff up in the air and see who catches it. So, it's been a lot of fun." Members of the Doobies have joined Santana on The O' Jays' "I Love Music," Buddy Miles's "Them Changes,"

Dino Valenti's (Quicksilver Messenger Service) "Let's Get Together," and John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Woman," while Santana band members have sat in with the Doobies on "Long Train Runnin'" and "Takin' it to the Streets." And this tour has seen the Doobie's do McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" for the first time since 1982. The Oneness Tour

continues Wednesday in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Metallica Covers Tom Jones' "Delilah" In Stadium That Banned The Song

Metallica may be well into middle age, but that teenager's sense of rebellion is still alive and well in them. Sunday night at Cardiff, Wales’ Principality Stadium, the band played a song that had previously been banned in that venue; one of Welsh superstar Tom Jones' biggest hits, "Delilah." You may be wondering: how could a song that was a hit for balladeer Tom Jones in the 60's be banned? The problem is the lyrics, which describe a man discovering his cheating wife and shooting her dead. The 1968 hit was turned into a stadium singalong by fans, until it was banned in 2023. The Welsh Rugby Union stated at the time, "The WRU condemns domestic violence of any kind." Enter Sandman...uh, Metallica. The band has been playing locally relevant songs and artists everywhere their "M72 World Tour" takes them, and, playing Wales, that was the song they chose. They never indicated whether then knew the classic was banned or not, but the fans sang along at the top of their voices, so it was definitely well-received. Check out a video of the performance (CAREFUL! Crowd noise may contain profanity) here.

Former Metallica Bassist Jason Newsted Opens Up About Painkiller Addiction

Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is getting candid about a painkiller addiction he faced for over a decade. The musician told Spin that he dealt with neck and spine issues in the mid to late 90s, leading him to take Vicodin to get through the days. He said the height of his addiction was from 2004 to 2008 and it resulted in him having back-to-back surgeries within that timeframe.Newsted said he goes into more detail about his journey in his upcoming memoir. He has yet to reveal the title and publishing date.

New Grateful Dead Exhibit Opening in San Francisco

A new exhibit dedicated to the Grateful Dead is opening in San Francisco."Forever Grateful" will open at the Haight Street Art Center and feature a collection of artwork, instruments and memorabilia celebrating the band's legacy. It includes over 400 pieces made up of paintings, vinyl records, photographs and more. The opening weekend will also feature a performance from Grahame Lesh and Friends on Saturday. "Forever Grateful" runs until September 20th.

BILLY MORRISON, OFFSPRING: Dexter Sings About "Change"

Billy Morrison will release his new solo album Hollow on August 7th. The album features "Becoming," Morrison's collaboration with Sully Erna of Godsmack and Nuno Bettencourt

of Extreme plus the new single "Never Gonna Change," which features vocals from Dexter Holland of The Offspring. Check out a lyric video for that track on YouTube. Other guests on Hollow include Chad Gray of Mudvayne, Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, Billy Idol

guitarist Steve Stevens and Marilyn Manson.

Elijah Blue Allman’s Wife Drops Divorce And Wants To Be His Conservator

Elijah Blue Allman’s wife, Marieangela King, has called off their divorce. “Page Six” says that King filed a declaration in the ongoing conservatorship case, which Allman’s mom

Cher initiated earlier this year. In the court filing, King says, in part, that Allman “has a drug problem,” and that she believes that “decisions regarding his future should be made with a complete understanding of his current circumstances, treatment, support system and wishes.” King has requested that she be able to review conservatorship documents and that she wants to be the conservator. Cher has attempted, and failed, at becoming her son’s conservator.

Tidal To Label AI-Generated Music, Ban Royalties From AI Songs

The music streaming service Tidal will begin to label music wholly or substantially created using AI. The company made the announcement Monday, adding that those specific songs will not be eligible for royalties. Tidal will also ban AI-generated music associated with "fraudulent activity," a category that includes songs impersonating established artists and efforts to "deceive listeners." The policy goes into effect July 15th.

IN OTHER NEWS

After surpassing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to become the highest-grossing music bio-pic of all-time, the Michael Jackson bio-pic, Michael, is now the highest-grossing bio-pic of all-time with $977 million after surpassing Oppenheimer at $965 million.

Bob Dylan has parted ways with two longtime bandmates. Acoustic guitarist Bob Britt, a member since 2019, says he quit, and Doug Lancio, his electric guitarist since 2021, has been replaced with Julian Lage. Dylan takes his tour to New Braunfels, Texas today (Tuesday).

Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he's been working on a memoir for about five years and so far "I’ve got 130 chapters. Some are one page and some are five pages. It’s that kind of a read." And in Metallica news, they are expanding their Metallica Scholars Initiative program to over 90 schools for its eighth year. The band and its All Within My Hands Foundation are giving $3.3 million, their largest grant ever.

Rush posted a video on Instagram of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson bantering onstage last Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. Lifeson joked about having to spend so much time in his hotel room as the first show on Wednesday was postponed to this Saturday due to "unforeseen travel and border-related delays impacting [their] touring production following [their] shows in Mexico City." Show three is this Tuesday.

Foo Fighters covered The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" during their show in Liverpool, England on Saturday.

REO Speedwagon singer Kevin Cronin recently joined Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band on stage in San Jose, California during “With a Little Help From My Friends.” He posted photos and video of the night on Instagram, saying, “It was a surreal night for this life-long Beatle fan … and proof that dreams do come true!” At Ringo’s final show in Los Angeles, he was joined on “With a Little Help…” by Jackson Browne, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, and former Toto

keyboardist David Paich. Toto’s Steve Lukather is part of the All-Starr Band.

In a new interview clip on Instagram, Lindsey Buckingham says he and Stevie Nicks would not have had the success they’ve had without the help of the late producer and engineer Keith Olsen.

Billy Joel’s latest video on his YouTube channel is a performance of “Allentown” from his June 8th, 1984 show at London’s Wembley Arena.

Another exhibit of Chrissie Hynde’s artwork will go on display in Edinburgh [pr: Edin-boro] in August. Chrissie Hynde: On Canvas will include portraiture, still life and abstraction. It will run from August 1st to the 28th at Harvey & Woodd.

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