Andrews Rock Blog

If y0u have any plans on being in Europe this Summer, you could have the chance to catch Kiss on their Alive/35 2008 tour. Of course, Ace and Peter aren’t in the band any longer, their spots, make-up, and platforms taken over by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer respectively. That you means that while you won’t be seeing the original line-up, you will be seeing a more technically proficient version of the band.

While I’m guessing we’ll see Kiss in North America in the fall, if you just can’t wait check out this linkfor info on tickets for this European tour, along with the dirt of a bevy of opportunities like meet and greets and sound-checks, all guaranteed to make you wish you decided to be a member of the Carpenters Crew rather than the Kiss Army. It would be way cheaper.

Todays bonus code is: ALIVE

My favourite album of 2006 was the New York Dolls “One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This”. I didn’t know any of the Doll’s earliest material but this album was chock full of clever lyrics and catchy choruses. Tonight the Dolls returns to Toronto for a gig at the Phoenix Concert Theatre. While I hate GA shows and having to stand up for hours, I’ll do it tonight in the name of rock and roll!

Here’s a taste of what I’ll be hearing tonight.

Todays bonus word is: DOLLS 

The news just came out that Aerosmith will be featured in the next Guitar Hero game, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

Check out the press release below for all the details. And if you’re looking for the weekend bonus code, check the Rock Star post.

Santa Monica, CA – February 15, 2008 – Fire up the fret board, crank the amp to 11 and get ready to rock this way with Activision, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith®, the first game built around the legendary music of America’s Greatest Rock ‘N Roll Band: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Slated for release this June, this latest installment from the franchise with the #1 best-selling video game in 2007, puts players in the shoes of Perry (guitar), Whitford (guitar) and Hamilton (bass), as they rock out alongside frontman Tyler and drummer Kramer. Gamers will experience Aerosmith’s GRAMMY® winning career, from their first gig to becoming rock royalty, in a way that no other entertainment vehicle offers.

To celebrate this historic, ground-breaking collaboration, Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock fans will have the opportunity to download and jam to Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” The song will be available for free from February 16-18 on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. For more information, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

“Having a game built around Aerosmith has been a huge honor and really a great experience for us,” says Joe Perry. “We’ve put a lot of ideas into the game so that fans can have fun interacting with our music, getting inside our body of work and learning about the band’s history.”

Steven Tyler says, “Any band that can go from ‘Don’t Want to Miss A Thing’ (Aerosmith’s #1 smash hit) to the ass-kicking ‘Sweet Emotion’ to the cheekiness of ‘Love in an Elevator,’ to the classic ballad ‘Dream On’ shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies.”

Perry adds, “On a larger scale, it’s cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games. It’s great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats-and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands. It’s what’s happening now, and it’s only going to build more momentum in the future. It’s a massive change for the music business.”

“We are extremely excited that Aerosmith chose to team up with Guitar Hero, bringing one of the world’s all-time best-selling artists together with one of the biggest video game brands, to deliver a new and unique interactive way for our customers to connect with artists and their music,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane. “This partnership will give Aerosmith, a band that has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, a powerful and innovative platform to reach their fans and new audiences.”

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith brings these quintessential rock legends to the interactive realm to create the ultimate gaming experience. As fans progress through their careers in the game, they can rock out to scores of Aerosmith’s greatest hits, as well as songs from celebrated artists that the band has either performed with or has been inspired by in some way. Venues from historical moments during the band’s illustrious career offer the experience of “sweet emotion” and further capture the essence of the band’s rise to fame.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.

Did you watch either season of “Rock Star”? That was the CBS show hosted by Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke where a band auditioned singers. INXS was the first season, while Gilby Clarke, Tommy Lee, and Jason Newstead formed a “supergroup” called Supernova for season 2. I didn’t see the INXS season, though I caught the the band on their tour at Massey Hall - it was pretty good. The missus and I did watch “Rock Star: Supernova” back in the Summer of 2006, and actually thought it was a pretty decent show (though without question the wrong dude one - see who I thought I was tops below).

Yesterday reports came out that, according to producer Mark Burnett, he is talks with various bands about potentially bringing the show back for a third season. Are there any bands you think could use the “Rock Star” treatment. I used to think Van Halen was going to go that route prior to their reunion with Diamond Dave. I’m pretty glad that they didn’t.

Here’s this weekend’s bonus code: SUPERNOVA 

After over a year on the road, the Police will take their final bows for good this summer. It was announced today that Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers will do a run of amphitheaters and arenas between May and July in North America and then close the door on their reunion. Elvis Costello and the Imposters will serve as the opening act this time out, which means none of us will have to sit through another set by Fiction  Plane if we decide to go.

The Police’s reunion tour has been one of the most succesful in rock history, just like everyone anticipated. Truth be told, when I saw the band last year at Air Canada Centre, they really left me feeling cold. I just didn’t feel any spark from any of the musicians. Did you catch the Police on tour last year? Did you like them? Would you go again?

Here’s today’s bonus code: STING

I don’t listen to my ipod every day, but the other morning on my way to work I decided I wanted to listen to some music that I haven’t spent much time with. The album I picked was a gift from my pal known as The House That Rock Built. THTRB knows my musical tastes pretty darn well, and when he handed me this cd as my birthday present a few weeks back all I could do was smile.

The album is called “Fear of A Blank Planet” and it comes from a U.K. band named Porcupine Tree. Those of you who are fans of the prog rock have probably come across these guys. The album is great, and features guest appearances from Robert Fripp from King Crimson and the one and only Alex Lifeson of Rush. 4 songs over the course of my 40 minute commute. That’s how I like my prog

You can find out more about Porcupine Tree’s “Fear of A Blank Planet” at their myspace page here. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Todays bonus code is: FEAR

Ok, so the Who have had something like 250 reunions since they first said farewell back in the early 80’s. Does it really matter? Sometimes you just can’t stop the rock. When Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend toured in 2006 for their “Endless Wire” album it was arguably their most satisfying run since the glory days of the 70’s. Now Pete’s released the band’s tentative plans for the coming year. A few festival gigs in the summer, the possibility of working with producer T-Bone Burnett on new material, and looking ahead to 2009, something to commemorate the 40th anniversary of “Tommy”.

Hopefully the guys will come up with new material as solid as “Endless Wire” and continue to proove the naysayers wrong about Daltrey and Townshend going on as “The Two”.

Any thoughts on the Who these days? Have you seen them live in the last few years? What did you think? Here’s a clip from the Who live at Leeds in 2006.

Your bonus code for today is: WIRE

Did you watch the Grammys last night? I thought it was an alright show, but if I’m totally honest I thought that there were very few great rock moments throughout the show. I thought the Fogerty/Little Richard/Jerry Lee Lewis performance was way to freaking boring. I also thought seeing Robbie Robertson sitting in the crowd as the only one representing the Band was really very sad. Now maybe Levon Helm didn’t make it on camera, but if the guy decided not to show because of his ridiculous longstanding feud with the guy who WROTE the songs, I’d just say, Levon, get over it.

There were two Grammy highlights for me. I thought Foo Fighters did a kickass version of “The Pretender”; I even dug the orchestral segment conducted by John Paul Jones (and Jason Bateman referring to anyone who didn’t know who JPJ was as “morons” was priceless).  You can take a look at that one below.

My other highlight was not a rock one; the Time’s performance with Rihanna was super funky, groovy, and energetic. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Depending on your personal feeling the above headlight might be a good thing. According to my wife’s secret crush Gene Simmons, don’t look for any new music from “the hottest band in the world” any time soon.

The Demon was quoted as saying “There’s no new Kiss material because there’s no record industry. Any band who tries to do new material is trying to climb a slippery mountain. Every day record companies are folding. It’d be nice to have new Kiss songs, but what’s the business model? Do you just put songs on the Internet for free? Then what?”

I think that’s a defeatist attitude, but one the doesn’t surprise me too much. Gene doesn’t like to fail, and sales stats for the last Kiss studio album, 1998’s “Psycho Circus” weren’t over the moon, even with it marketed as the first with original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley in nearly 20 years (and for the record, Peter only plays drums on one track on the album, “Into The Void”). If nobody’s buying that album, nobody is going to buy a Ace and Peterless Kiss album in 2008.  

But to take you back to the days when Gene did care about new albums and tunes, I give you this classic video from the “Revenge” album. The song’s title also happens to be this weekend’s bonus code.  You should be able to figure it out from there.

Have a great weekend!

I love the Rolling Stones. Back in August of 2005, I waited 17 hours in line to get a ticket to see them play the Phoenix. It was well worth it. The memory of being so close to Mick and Keith is one that is still vivid in my mind. The Stones can do very little wrong in my book (except for maybe 3/4 of the “Dirty Work” album but nobody’s perfect), especially when in comes to concert flicks. The “Four Flicks” and “The Biggest Bang” DVD’s are the epitome of concert sets for the 21st Century. But now, for the first time since AT THE MAX in 1991, the Stones return to the big screen with the new movie “Shine A Light”. With Martin Scorsese directing the Stones in New York’s intimate Beacon Theatre, you just know this one is going to be good. The movie premiered in Berlin yesterday ahead of its release in theatres and IMAX this April and got rave reviews.

You can check out the trailer below, then let me know if you’ll be checking out “Shine A Light” when it hits screens.

Todays bonus word, good until midnight is: SHINE