Ex-Korn Guitarist Open to Reunion

Former Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch said that enough time has passed that he would keep an “open mind” about reuniting with his former bandmates. Head recently spoke to Legendary Rock Interviews (via Blabbermouth), about his feelings about Korn.

When asked about getting back together with Jonathan Davis and the gang, Head replied: “You mean like a big, classic rock, Motley Crue reunion tour thing? [laughs] It would have to be a situation where we all agree on things and be for a real purpose and some concrete, higher-power reason. I’m happy right now doing my stuff and I feel really content doing it and those guys are really busy and content doing their thing. I have no plans to do such a reunion, but if it were for the right reasons and we all felt the same way about it I would definitely keep an open mind about it.”

Head went on to say that he’s on good terms with the guys in Korn, on a personal level.

“I am very happy for those guys and proud of that music and totally past the point of holding an ill will for any of them,” he said. “I just hung out with Jonathan and his wife the whole night a few months back and hung out with Fieldy sometime after that when I was out on tour with my band. It is without a doubt all good. I have nothing but good vibes for them and I’m sure we will always stay in touch.”

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Velvet Revolver’s Dave Kushner Talks About Reunion Show

Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner has revealed that the idea for the band’s one-off reunion show, set for next Thursday (January 12) at L.A.’s House of Blues, was triggered by the death of his best friend, musician John O’Brien. In a just-published interview with Rolling Stone, Kushner said all the members of Velvet Revolver readily agreed to do the show – a testament to the great affection his bandmates had for O’Brien.

“We did a benefit show for this thing called ‘Road Recovery’ – me, Duff [McKagan], Slash and Matt [Sorum] – in New York, and that’s when I asked those guys individually if they would agree to do it,” Kushner said. "Once they said [yes], I got in touch with Scott [Weiland], and he agreed.”

In addition to Velvet Revolver, the concert will feature Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Tom Morello and other guests. All proceeds will go to O’Brien’s widow and children. Each performer, including Velvet Revolver, will perform a three-song set. Kushner said he realizes that all eyes will be on Velvet Revolver, who will be performing with Weiland for the first time in four years. “I knew from the beginning it would be newsworthy, and that was kind of the plan,” Kushner said. “If you’re gonna do this, and you want to raise some serious money, then you [have to] put all caution aside.”

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No Creedence to CCR Reunion Hopes

Two former members of Creedence Clearwater Revival say fans shouldn’t get too excited about John Fogerty’s recent claim that he would consider an offer to get back with the band if one was put to him.

In July 2011 Fogerty told the Calgary Herald, “Realizing that it doesn’t really kick up a big firestorm of emotion, it kind of suggests that at least if someone started talking I’d sit still long enough to listen.” But bass player Stu Cook tells Uncut Magazine in the February issue that there will be no such reunion. “Leopards don’t change their spots,” Cook said. “This is just an image-polishing exercise by John. My phone certainly hasn’t rung.” Drummer Doug Clifford added, “It might have been a nice idea 20 years ago, but it’s too late.”

In the ’90s Fogerty sued Cook and Clifford to stop them touring under the name Creedence Clearwater Revisited (the courts ruled in Cook and Clifford’s favor), and he refused to appear with them at their induction at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Fogerty recently performed the band’s Cosmo’s Factory and Green River albums in their entirety at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

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Axl Rose Talks Hall of Fame Induction, Guns N’ Roses Reunion

Guns N’ Roses will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, and Axl Rose has been speaking about it.

In a rare interview with The Los Angeles Times, Rose says: “I’ve got mixed emotions about what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually really is. But at the same time, there’s a lot of people – the fans – that it just means something to them, and they’re happy. It’s like you won the Heisman or something.”

Rose says he doesn’t want to turn the original band’s Hall of Fame induction into a forum for his gripes against his former bandmates. Axl says, “People don’t want that associated with their awards shows, even if you have a big audience. In one way it might be right, but it usually backfires on whoever does it. So I really don’t want to spoil it for everybody else – or take the beating.”

And Axl has yet to commit to an Appetite for Destruction-era GN’R reunion for the awards show. “There is no plan yet. There really is no plan. We’re still busy with this [current GN’R] lineup. We’re gonna be busy – we’re gonna be busy all next year. We’ll be putting out new stuff as soon as we can figure out what our deal is with labels, blah blah blah.

“All these managers, they all believe in one thing: sell a reunion tour and get their commission,” he added. “It’s just a phone call. It’s a half a day’s work, or however long they want to keep the bidding war going. They get their commission and they don’t care if it falls on its face.”

Separately, Slash has said he has not yet committed to attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It will be held on April 14 in Cleveland.

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Steven Adler on a Guns N’ Roses Rock Hall Reunion: ‘I Don’t Foresee It’

Guns N’ Roses are among this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor they’re receiving on their very first year of eligibility. Such as event seems like cause for, at long last, a full-fledged, Guns N’ Roses reunion, but according to drummer Steven Adler, the guys have no official plans to get back in the same room together, even for a cause as big as the Hall.

When asked if he thinks all five Appetite for Destruction-era members of Guns N’ Roses will show up for the induction, Adler told Rolling Stone, “Absolutely not. But, as far as I know, there is a God and a higher power, and it’s possible. Unfortunately, I don’t foresee it. You figure that time could heal all wounds, but some people just REALLY hold a crazy grudge.”

Axl Rose seems cool with Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin and Adler. The hope is that he’ll patch things up with guitar great Slash.  “He should be cool with Slash!” Adler exclaimed. “The real shame about the ending of the Guns N’ Roses when I got kicked out wasn’t just that I got kicked out, but Slash and Axl stopped working together. They are the Keith Richards and the Mick Jagger! The Steven Tyler and Joe Perry!

“For 20 years, because of some STUPID grudge, which I guarantee you that neither of them could even tell you what it was. They don’t even know! I just had lunch with Slash two days ago. He loves Axl. He holds no grudges towards him. Twenty years of great music wasn’t created because of some stupid grudge. That’s a shame.”

Here’s to hopes of a legendary grudge being put to rest – for one night, at least – in the name of rock and roll! Read more about this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees here.

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Rod Stewart Faces Reunion Question

With ’70s band the Faces to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, original singer Rod Stewart has spoken about possibly re-joining his old colleagues for a show or two.

Stewart told Rolling Stone, “Oh, yeah! I’d love it. If they’re all available I’ll definitely make myself available.”

The band also included guitarist Ronnie Wood, keyboardist Ian McLagan, drummer Kenney Jones and late bassist Ronnie Lane.

“It’s something that I would want to do, but it’s getting a commitment from Ronnie [Wood] who is hanging onto what the Stones are going to do. He’ll suddenly say, ‘Hey, let’s tour next week!’ I’ll say, ‘Hold on Ronnie, I've got commitments! I’ve got commitments for the next year.’

“If we all sat around and said, ‘Let’s do it next summer, or let’s do it for charity’ or whatever reason, I would do it. It’s not totally ruled out.”

Watch this space.

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Happy Mondays Plot Reunion for 2012

First the Stone Roses, and now Factory Records legends, The Happy Mondays, are planning a reunion for next year.

According to the Sun newspaper Shaun Ryder, founder of The Happy Mondays back in the ‘80s has got the band back for a documentary movie. The newspaper quotes a source as saying, “"Shaun and his brother Paul have a notoriously patchy relationship but they're willing to sort things out for the sake of the band.

"The Mondays have had offers from film companies, including Film4 and Sky, who want to follow them for the reunion. There will be gigs next summer and a re-release of their classic album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. A DVD will also be released of the comeback shows and the documentary."

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Marty Friedman ‘Absolutely Not’ Interested in Megadeth Reunion

Lightning-quick axeman Marty Friedman recently sold all of his prized Megadeth-era guitars to help raise money for Japanese earthquake victims. Friedman, who is now based in Tokyo, told LineaRock.com that he was practicing in his studio when the 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit the country in early March. “I was in the studio with my band in Tokyo,” he recalled. “So the studio was going upside down and everything; it was crazy. It was very, very scary — frightening.”

The guitars aren’t the only thing Friedman has shed from his storied past. The guitarist has also left behind any desire to reform with Dave Mustaine and company, even to take part in the 20th anniversary celebration of the band’s classic Rust in Peace album.

"Absolutely not. The past is the past. I mean, it was a wonderful album and I'm sure [the current lineup of Megadeth is] doing a great job playing it. So many fans want to hear [those songs performed live], that's for sure. Every time I do a guitar clinic, I'm signing that record like it's going out of style and they want me to play stuff from it. I'm so happy about the great impact that that record has and I'm sure they’re making a lot of fans happy doing it, so I support them 1000 percent. But it's not something that I'm really interested in re-doing right now."

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Rod Stewart Talks Faces Reunion

Rod Stewart has explained the reason for his refusal to participate in the recent Faces reunion. According to the Daily Express, Rod wants Ronnie Wood to quit The Rolling Stones.

Stewart told Billboard: “The trouble with Ronnie, we get together and we mess about, but the thing is, he is still committed to the Stones. Talking for myself and the rest of the band, we need a commitment, not just, ‘Well, I’ve got next month off.’ It doesn’t work like that. It’s not very professional.

“If he can give us the time, then I’ll commit to that as well. Until he’s finished with the Stones, whenever that will be, I can’t commit to it. I’d love to. I really would love to.”

Meanwhile, the Faces (who currently include Wood, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Mick Hucknall and Glen Matlock) have gigs planned in July.

Faces tour dates:

July 2 – Cornbury Festival, Oxfordshire, U.K.
July 8 – Bospop, Weert, Netherlands
July 9 – TWC, Werchter, Belgium
July 23 – Hurtwood Park, U.K.
July 30 – Fuji Rock Festival, Japan

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Las Vegas Beatles Reunion Set for June

A sizable chunk of the Beatles family will assemble in Las Vegas on June 8 to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles-themed show, Love. According to USA Today, surviving band member Paul McCartney will attend the celebration, along with John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, George Harrison’s widow, Olivia Harrison, Harrison’s son, Dhani Harrison, producer George Martin and his son, Giles Martin (who co-produced the Grammy-winning Love soundtrack with his father).

Ringo Starr is unable to attend due to tour commitments, but will send a videotaped message to be played during a special show. Roughly half of the audience for the special performance will be personal invitees of the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil camps. McCartney will host a private party afterward featuring his favorite DJ, Chris Holmes.

Since its premiere in June 2006, Love has played to packed houses and critical acclaim. Based on its success, Cirque du Soleil launched another popular music-based show, Viva Elvis, in 2009, and has scheduled upcoming projects featuring the music of Elton John, Michael Jackson and Danny Elfman over the next three years.

Cirque du Soleil Senior Vice President Jerry Nadal enthused, “Tapping into all these different fan bases has meant a great expansion for us. For the first year or two, we got a lot of hardcore Beatles fans who had never seen a Cirque show. They said, ‘Wow, that's Cirque? I want to see another one.’”

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Pink Floyd Reunion an ‘Outside Possibility’

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason recently spoke to Rolling Stone about last week’s semi-reunion involving him, Roger Waters and David Gilmour. The three surviving Floyd members joined up for a performance of “Outside the Wall” at Water’s London concert (Gilmour and Waters also teamed for “Comfortably Numb”). It was only the second time the three have performed together in the past 30 years – the first being at Live 8 in 2005.

“It was really nice to be sort of part of it and to show support for Roger, not that he really needs it,” Mason said. “I suppose it’s nice to have Roger wanting to register David and myself as part of it, in a way. It was sort of a mutual thing: it was nice to be recognized but also very nice to lend support to Roger and make it clear that we’re not sort of punching it out in these auditoriums. We’re not critical of him doing it.”

The event encouraged fans to hope for a full-blown reunion of the three remaining Floyd members (keyboardist Rick Wright died in 2008). And Mason’s not closing the door on that plan. According to him, Gilmour is the only one who’s hesitant to do it.

“I think particularly at the moment David has other issues to worry about,” Mason said. “But also people change from when they are interested in doing something to when they’re not. I think that we will just have to wait quietly to see if Dave ever does come around to it. I think there is an outside possibility even if it’s, you know, another Live 8.”

But, don’t expect to see Mason appear on stage at any more of Waters’ performances of The Wall.

“It was a very nice thing to do but it could become a bit cliche if we kept climbing to the top of the Wall and kept hugging each other onstage,” he said. “I mean, I think enough is enough. I mean, we’re English after all. We don’t do that hugging thing a lot.”

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Brian Wilson ‘Considering’ Beach Boys Reunion

There have been rumors circulating for nearly a year that the three surviving, original members of The Beach Boys would reunite to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary this year. Now, Brian Wilson has said that he’s open to the idea.

“I’m considering it,” Wilson told BBC6 Music. “I don’t know yet but I’m considering it. Nothing’s really holding me back. I just don’t know if I want to be around those guys, you know. They’re zany guys. They’re crazy.”

The other, “zany” guys that Brian would be joining are guitarist Al Jardine and singer Mike Love, who continues to tour as The Beach Boys along with long-running member Bruce Johnston. Fellow founding members (and Brian’s brothers) Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson have passed away.

In 2010, Love had announced that a reunion tour was in the works before retracting his statement. Jardine also told Rolling Stone magazine that the reunited band would “definitely” do a show that might be free. Stay tuned.

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Ray Davies Wants Kinks Reunion

Ray Davies has said that he will take part in a Kinks reunion, despite his brother Dave saying that he felt Ray was not interested. Ray Davies told Rolling Stone: “I’m seeing Dave next week,” said Ray. “I hear that Dave is saying stuff in the press like, ‘I’ll do it, but Ray doesn’t want to do it.’ This is me saying, ‘Ray will do it if Dave does it.’”

Despite problems between the Davies brothers over the years, The Kinks had planned to reform 10 years ago, but when original bass player Pete Quaife took ill, the plan was scrapped. After Quaife’s death last year both Dave and Ray Davies have been talking  about a Kinks reunion.

“I was just listening last night to some tracks I did with Mick [Avory], our original drummer, and they were sounding good,” Ray said.

Ray also explained the health issues that forced him to cancel several U.S. dates last year: “The doctors wouldn’t let me fly because I had blood clots in my lungs. It was scary. I don’t want to dwell on it, but mortality flashed in front of me.”

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