#WhatsHappening for June 27, 2018

Happy hump day, friends. Hope your week is going well. If it's not, look on the bright side- the weekend is only two days away and- for many of you, next week will be a short one!

Ya know, at first glance, Blood Orange Sparkling Water seems like something I'd enjoy. The reality is quite different- it's fucking terrible.

I see where Joe Jackson died earlier today. Let the revisionist history begin.

Actually, The Onion probably put it best:

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not really a comic book guy, but that I enjoy the hell out of the majority of the comic book movies. That part of the geek in me is glad to see that the DOJ has given preliminary approval to the Fox-Disney merger. Too bad Avengers 4 is already well into shooting- because it'd be awesome to see the X-Men on the battlefield.

A Los Angeles jury has found in favor of former Beats business partner Steven Lamar and agreed with his assertion that he was due royalties on all generations of the company's Studio headphone line.

In a verdict that's surely already in the process of being appealed, the jury ordered Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine to pay Lamar $25 million as a result of the breach of contract suit, deciding that Lamar had fulfilled his contractual duties to the company. Iovine and Dre argued that Lamar was only entitled to royalties from the first headphone model.

Personally, I like my $22 JVC earbuds. I had Beats software on one of my laptops and never noticed even a little bit of sound improvement, so I can't imagine paying the outrageous price they ask for the headphones.

The Prince estate has signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment for exclusive distribution rights to 35 Prince's previously released albums. 

The gives SME's Legacy Recordings division the immediate worldwide rights to Prince catalog released between 1995-2010, with other eras following in years to come. 

Among the titles included in the first phase are The Gold Experience, Emancipation, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, The Rainbow Children, 3121, Musicology, and Planet Earth .

Additional album titles from the 2014-2015 are included in the deal, beginning in 2019 and Prince's non-soundtrack albums (everything but Purple Rain, Under the Cherry Moon, and Graffiti Bridge) join the deal in 2021.

Birthdays today include: Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies (57); Lorrie Morgan (59); Gilson Lavis of Squeeze (67); Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys (76); and Music Box Dancer artist Frank Mills (76). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for June 24, 2018

Good Sunday afternoon, friends and neighbors. Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend and staying cool! Thanks to a very annoying headache that seems to be vacillating between tension and migraine- along with just a general malaise- I'm spending my Sunday watching season two of Luke Cage. I'm still enjoying the series, but- much like season one- I'm finding the widespread use of a certain racist pejorative unpleasant, and it's coming from quite a few characters I'd think would be averse to its usage.

I'm not sure if you guys know what I do during the week as my "regular" job, but I work in the sign industry. I've had a hand (literally) in every facet of the business- from back in the day when signs were painted plywood to today's digital signs (think the modern scoreboards at your local ballpark/stadium) and pretty much everything in between.

And, as I'd be the first to tell you, I'm far from perfect.That said, I don't recall ever fucking one up like this. I feel sorry for everybody involved- from the designer to the installer, because they all went home with their asses sore after the boss saw this one. Then again, patrons were probably so busy grumbling about over-priced, mediocre food that they didn't even notice the goof.

Don't forget to join us this Saturday for a star-spangled edition of Saturday Night Karaoke, live and loud at the Iron Horse Tavern in Historic Downtown Norcross. We start the party at 10pm.

A source "close to the family" has told Billboard Joe Jackson has been hospitalized in Las Vegas, battling a terminal cancer. TMZ says the oft-maligned father of one of pop's best known family of musical giants is resting and surrounded by his wife, "some" of his children, and grandchildren.

After five years of trying, Kenny Rogers has finally sold his Atlanta-area home for just shy of $2.4 million. 

Rogers bought the six-bedroom house in 2012 and had initially asked nearly $5 million for the property, which includes eight full bathrooms, four half-baths, 10 fireplaces, a double-island, eat-in kitchen, a conservatory, a game room with full bar, a movie theater with stadium seating, and 13,000 square feet of space. Oh yeah, there's a one-bedroom/one-bathroom apartment above the garage for visitors or live-in staff, too.

No word on whether bad plastic surgery was included in the deal

Birthdays today include: Mario Calire of The Wallflowers (45); Glenn Medeiros (48); Curt Smith of Tears For Fears (57); Andy McCluskey of O.M.D. (59); Astro of UB40 (61); Jeff Cease of The Black Crowes (61); John Illsley of Dire Straits (69); Jeff Beck (74); and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac (76). #MusicalBirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for June 22, 2018

Hey kids- happy Friday. Hope your week has been smooth sailing.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow night for another rocking edition of Saturday Night Karaoke, live and loud at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross. The insanity kicks off at 10pm.

Bad Wolves, who I mentioned last week for their cover of the Cranberries' Zombie, has donated $250,000 to the family of Dolores O'Riordan.

The band presented O'Riordan's son Taylor, step-son, Donny Jr., and ex-husband, Don Burton, with a check during their show in New York City. Bad Wolves singer Tommy Vext told ABC News that giving them the check was "an honor" and "overwhelming."

"Giving back this check to them makes it all feel so right and feel so good," added drummer John Boecklin.

The band says they will continue to play the song while touring and hope to raise $1 million for O'Riordan's children by the end of the year. 

"We're touring relentlessly and gruelingly for basically the rest of the year to try to make that goal happen," Vext said. "We have some really cool bands taking us out to help champion the cause, so it's a cool thing."

Metallica has donated their Polar Music Prize proceeds they were awarded by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf last week to three charities.

Fifty percent of their prize money has been given to Stockholm City Mission, 25% to the World Childhood Foundation, and the remaining 25% to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music- who also won a Polar Music Prize of their own.

Managing director of the Polar Music Prize, Marie Ledin, told Billboard that "many of the Polar Music Prize Laureates over the years have donated their prize money to charity. It’s not something we ask of them, but we appreciate their generosity. I know my father, Stig Anderson, would be very happy and proud to know of our Laureates’ great charitable donations."

Anderson founded the prize in the late 1980s after a career in music that included managing ABBA and songwriting.

Birthdays today include: Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies (48); Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones (54); Jimmy Somerville of Bronski Beat (57); Alan Anton of Cowboy Junkies (59); Gary Beers of INXS (61); Derek Forbes of Simple Minds (62); Cyndi Lauper (65); Alan Osmond of The Osmonds (69); Todd Rundgren (70); and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles (71). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for June 18, 2018

Hey, hi, howdy folks. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I took advantage of there not being any karaoke Saturday and enjoyed a long weekend that included a trip to Zoo Atlanta. Monkeys, gorillas, and orangutans- oh my! And other critters, too.

Chris Cornell's daughter Toni posts a tribute to her dad on Father's Day.

Meanwhile, Tommy Lee's son posts an embarrassing video of his dad with a vaguely threatening caption. All class, that family. I won't be sharing that one.

The Mesa County, Colorado Sheriff's Department is investigating a shooting at the Country Jam Festival over the weekend, with the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reporting that a 30-year-old attendee of the show shot himself Friday evening.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office says investigators are looking into how the man was able to bring a weapon into the festival after increased security measures this year that include searches of bags and the prohibition of backpacks or other large bags.
I'm gonna take a stab here and say alcohol was involved.

A man accused of crashing his van into a group of music festival attendees has turned himself in to police after fleeing the scene of the incident in Limburg in the Netherlands. 
Police say driver was charged with manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in connection with the pre-dawn crash near the Pinkpop festival's campsite. No motive has been found, and it's unclear whether the crash was intentional or an accident. One person was killed and three others injured. The survivors were reported to be in very serious condition Monday afternoon.

Lauryn Hill has named more supporting acts to her upcoming tour's US dates.
The tour, which kicks off July 5 in Virginia Beach, will feature guests Nas, MIA, Dave Chapelle, A$AP Rocky, SZA, Busta Rhymes, Dave East, Jo Mersa Marley, Talib Kweli, Bambaata Marley, Shabazz Palaces, Patoranking, Tierra Whack, Protoje, Kelela, Raury, and Iman Omari- with more supporting acts expected to be announced. 
Big Boi, De La Soul, and Victory will join Hill for her Atlanta stop on August 3rd.

Birthdays today include: Blake Shelton (42); Silkk The Shocker (43); Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men (48); Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses (55); Alison Moyet (57); and Sir Paul McCartney (76). #MusicalBirthdays

Well, damn...

Matt "Guitar" Murphy (1929-2018)

#WhatsHappening for June 15, 2018

Hey, hi, howdy guys and gals. The week is done- time to settle in for what'll hopefully be a great weekend for you.

Rock 'n roll pioneer D.J. Fontana died at home in Nashville Wednesday night, according to his wife, Karen. She told the Associated Press that he'd been having complications from a broken hip he suffered in 2016. He was 87.

Fontana played with Elvis Presley during the height of the King's popularity, playing drums with Elvis' backing band from the mid-50s until the late 60s after first joining them during one of Presley's appearances on Louisiana Hayride.

Priscilla Presley called Fontana "a tremendously talented musician and a wonderful man" while Karen Fontana said her husband "treated everybody like everybody was his friend."

Fontana was the last surviving member of Elvis' original core of musicians from his backing band and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg said Fontana "was my hero, and he made me become a drummer. I was 5 years old when I saw him and Elvis and Scotty and Bill play Hound Dog on television and it just swept me away."

Can you believe it was 30 years ago this week that Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl was released?

Blink-182 has postponed the third round of their Kings of the Weekend shows at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas due to a medical emergency- announcing yesterday on Facebook that Travis Barker was suffering from blood clots in his arms.

This is the third time the band has cancelled shows this month, after backing out on scheduled gigs at the Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, the Colosseum Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa. "Unforeseen circumstances" was the reason, such as it is, for those cancellations.

Barry Manilow's Las Vegas opening has been put on hold, too. Manilow was taken to a Vegas hospital yesterday and diagnosed with a bronchial infection. 

pic.twitter.com/N8h1yzE7v0

— Barry Manilow (@barrymanilow) June 14, 2018

Clint Holmes and Earl Turner will co-headline in Manilow's place and ticket-holders can either receive a full refund or use their ticket for the replacement show.

Birthdays today include: Billy Martin of Good Charlotte (37); Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm (42); Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol (42); Ice Cube (49); Rob Mitchell of Sixpence None The Richer (52); Michael Britt of Lonestar (52); Scott Rockenfield of Queensryche (55); Terri Gibbs (64); Garry Roberts of Boomtown Rats (64); Steve Walsh of Kansas (67); James Smith of The Stylistics (68); Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (69); and Ian Matthews of Fairport Convention (72). #musicalbirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for June 13, 2018

Hey kids- happy hump day!

Another reminder- Saturday Night Karaoke's taking a weekend off. If you don't get enough music from seven hours of the Bluesberry Festival, well- there's always next week! See you then.

Oh, 1980s... You were ridiculous.

The United States District Court has ruled in two year long legal battle between In Miami Productions and Cristina Braun over the Menudo name, finding that it belongs solely to Menudo International, LLC, which bought the trademark in May 2016 with plans to relaunch the franchise.

The company plans to relaunch the band- which kicked off the careers of Ricky Martin and Robi "Draco" Rosa- with former Sony Latin president Oscar Llord working as chief operations officer. Lord said in a statement that he thought there "has never been a better time for Latin music, and the Menudo brand and formula has the potential to dominate the very lucrative pre-teen space."

The last performing version of the group was disbanded in 2009.

Cover songs seem to be all the rage right now- with Weezer's take on Africa and Rosanna by Toto making news recently, so I thought we'd take a look at some other recent offerings that I like. Yes, some of these are a year old. Shut up.

Gary Clark, Jr.'s Come Together, is probably the best part of the otherwise mediocre Justice League movie. (Well, I mean, Gal Godot- sure, but...) Of course, it could just be the Beatles' fan in me that makes me like it.

Avenged Sevenfold's cover of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were is a different story. Love the original, but I'm ambivalent towards this cover. It's not that it's bad, it just doesn't really do anything for me.

Let's just go ahead and get this out of the way- no one is ever going to do a cover of this song that makes me forget just how fucking powerful Dolores O'Riordan's voice was, or how passionately she belted this one out- and Bad Wolves knew it. That's why they'd asked her to record with them on their cover- something she was scheduled to visit the studio for on the day she died. Bad Wolves decided to record the song anyway- and have given all their share of the songs' sales to O'Riordan's children. Here's their version of the Cranberries' Zombie.

I really like this version of Whitesnake's In The Still of the Night performed by Halestorm. Lzzy Hale's vocals are easily on par with David Coverdale's work on the original. Honestly, I think they actually surpass his effort.

What is it about Phil Collins' songwriting that makes for good, hard edged rock covers? I mean Disturbed's version of Genesis' Land of Confusion is fucking awesome- and this cover Collins' solo hit, I Don't Care Anymore by Hellyeah will rock your face, too.

Speaking of kick-ass covers, how eight year old Yoyoka Soma making Bonzo proud with her nearly note-perfect playing on Led Zeppelin's Good Times Bad Times?

Oh, and here she is tearing it up on Immigrant Song, too.

Birthdays today include: Raz B of B2K (33); Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (48); Soren Rasted of Aqua (49); David Gray (50); Michael Einziger of Incubus (55); Paul DeLisle of Smash Mouth (55); Rolf Brendel of Nena (61); Howard Lees of Heart (67); and Dennis Locoriere of Dr. Hook (69). #musicalbirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for June 11, 2018

Hello, cats and kittens. Hope you all had a great weekend. Now, off the races.

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin have reunited to do some writing- but it's their biography they're working on, not new music. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin is due out in October to mark the band's 50th anniversary.

The book was announced on the band's official Twitter account last week, with a post featuring a picture of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones holding a draft copy of the book.

A press release described the book as "the only official illustrated book to be produced in collaboration with the members of the band" and will also feature photographs of Jones, Page, Plant, and John Bonham "on and offstage, in candid moments and in the recording studio."

"This definitive 400-page volume includes previously unpublished photos," the press release continues, "the  artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives and contributions from photographers around the world."

Photo: John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page photographed in May 2018 with their working draft of the book "Led Zeppelin By Led Zeppelin". Published in Oct. by @ReelArtPress to celebrate fifty years since the formation of the band. Pre-order here: https://t.co/kMdbJEDy2x pic.twitter.com/3GnYcfMt4p

— Led Zeppelin (@ledzeppelin) June 8, 2018

As for a musical reunion, in February Robert Plant told Planet Rock that he "very much (doubted) it. You’ve just got to face facts. We’ve gone past the 10th anniversary of the O2 gig (referring to the group's 2007 show where Jason Bonham filled in for his father on drums), where we managed to do one serious concert. That’s the only thing that we’ve done for such a long time, so I very much doubt we’ll do anything else. I really think the time has gone."

Just a reminder, no Saturday Night Karaoke this week. Join us on June 24th at the Tavern.

A Cleveland man has filed a lawsuit against Justin Bieber after a June 8, 2016 incident at the Westin Hotel in the city. Footage of the incident appeared online that appears to show Bieber pushing someone before a fight breaks out. 
The suit accuses Canada's biggest douchebag of assault, battery, and damages to personal property and says when the man took Bieber’s photo, his "demeanour dramatically changed" with the singer becoming "irate" and "aggressively threatening." The man also says Bieber used racial slurs during the altercation.

Birthdays today include: Dan Lavery of Tonic (49); Joey Santiago of the Pixies (53); Robert Birch of Stereo MC's (57); Kim and Kelley Deal of The Breeders (47); Donnie Van Zandt of 38 Special (66); Frank Beard of ZZ Top (69); and Glenn Leonard of The Temptations (71). #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for June 8, 2018

Hey kids- you made it. Happy Friday!

Don't forget to join Mark for Saturday Night Karaoke, loud and in your face tomorrow night at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross.

If you're single and horny (and British), NME has come up with a list of the music festivals that are most likely to get you laid, and the Wireless and Bestival gatherings came out on top (boy, there's just no good way to write that, really). Glastonbury doesn't make the cut. The complete list is here.

Prince fans are in the midst of the a three day celebration of what would've been the music legend's 60th birthday this weekend in Mankato, Minnesota- where Purple Rain was filmed.

The festival includes a bus tour of filming locations, a screening of the 1984 movie and live music- with 60 butterflies being released in Prince's honor, and organizers say that members of Prince’s family will be present.

A bench and street sign honoring Prince will be dedicated during the celebration, while portrait artist Moises Suriel will begin working on a mural for the city featuring Prince leaning on a red Corvette. The festival activities are free, but a donation to help fund the mural's completion is requested.

Speaking of festivals- the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is in full swing this weekend, and it's under more clouds than just bad weather after a man was found dead in his car at one of the event's camp sites.

No cause of death has been determined, and festival organizers report that the man's car was running and the heat was on. (Sorry, to me that means drugs because it's June and it's the south. It was ninety-two here today- 88 in Manchester, where the festival is held. If you've got the heat on, you're insane or high.) A spokesperson for the Coffee County Sherrif's Department said they don't suspect foul play, but the case remains under investigation.

Birthdays today include: Alex Band of The Calling (37); Nicci Gilbert of Brownstone (48); Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran (56); Mick Hucknall of Simply Red (58); Bonnie Tyler (67); Boz Scaggs (74); and Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night (76). #MusicaBirthdays 

#WhatsHappening for June 4, 2018

Good Monday evening, kids. Hope your weekend was good.

Courtney Love is being sued by her daughter's ex-husband,  who has alleged that Love conspired to have him murdered. The civil complaint, filed in Los Angeles County, claims the conspiracy was undertaken in order to take possession of Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E guitar used during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged appearance in 1993, which is said to be worth millions.

13 Reasons Why actor Ross Butler is also accused of being a part of the conspiracy, as is former Britney Spears manager Sam Lutfi- who was accused of kidnapping, attempted murder, false imprisonment, extortion, and supplying drugs to Frances Bean Cobain.

Since Cobain and Isaiah Silva split in 2016, the guitar has been a point of contention in the couple's divorce settlement. Love calls the guitar a "treasured heirloom of the family" and said "it's not (Silva's) to take," though Silva claims in court papers that Cobain gave him the guitar as a gift 2014.

I gotta tell you, reading through the rest of this story- which involves kidnapping, death threats against Silva and his daughter, and veiled references to Kurt Cobain's mother reportedly saying that Love was involved in her son's death (something pretty much everyone else has said, too)- it's probably not a good idea to get on Courtney and Frances' bad side.

TMZ reports that Janet Jackson called Malibu child welfare authorities to check on her one year-old son- who was staying with her ex-husband at the Nobu Hotel. Jackson was reportedly worried that her ex- Wissam Al Mana- was using drugs while the child was present. 

Police said they found no one in danger and suggested that the parties handle the matter personally.

(Pssst... Al Mana... you might want to read that story above this one...)

Dolly Parton has signed on with Netflix for an eight episode scripted anthology based on her songs. 

Parton will serve exec producer and appear in the as yet untitled series.

Parton said she "always enjoyed telling stories through my music. I am thrilled to be bringing some of my favorite songs to life with Netflix. We hope our show will inspire and entertain families and folks of all generations, and I want to thank the good folks at Netflix and Warner Bros. TV for their incredible support." 

Birthdays today include: Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band (44); El DeBarge (57); Roger Ball of Average White Band (74); Michelle Phillips of Mamas & The Papas (74); and Nancy Sinatra (78). #MusicalBirthdays