Brian Johnson's First Love In Life

Brian Johnson has just added a sweet ride to his car collection with the purchase of Jaguar F-Type Project 7 — the British company's fastest and most powerful production model to date. Speaking to the Interactive Jaguar Blog, Johnson, who moonlights as a race driver, says, "I love it. It's a proper supercar, and boy, oh boy, does it have some grunt to it. While it's blisteringly fast, I feel so safe in it. I love the steering, the handling, and those carbon ceramic brakes are amazing. The discs are as big as the wheels on my racing Mini. Just listen to that noise from the exhaust. Who needs a stereo when you have a soundtrack like this?" Jaguar only made 250 with just over 50 of them coming to the States. Johnson, who lives in Florida, says, "I literally had to beg them to buy one. Of course they asked me what color I wanted. I told them: Is there any other color than British Racing Green?" Brian Johnson on developing his love for cars. "I was lucky as a kid 'cause me father went to the junkyard and he got an old steering wheel and he put a stick in it and he put it into the bed and put the pillows up [and] he said, 'There you go. Now go on, bugger off.' And I used to drive for hours. I didn't see the wallpaper all I saw was the open road. I'd sit there for hours just pretending I was a bus driver or just driving a car anywhere, you know. It was the strangest thing. Now I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can race cars and collect them and enjoy them."

Graham Nash Passes His Lyrics Forward

Two time Rock n Roll Hall of Famer Graham Nash breaking down the journey of his new collection of Classic Rock songs. Writing songs is his way to become involved in a listeners life. To get that song there requires a filtering system that starts with him.

Billy Idol Loves His Social Media

One thing Billy Idol doesn't miss about the 1980s is the paparazzi. He tells us he prefers current social media for getting his story out to his fans over the way it was back in the day. Billy Idol on why he prefers social to traditional media. There was a bit of a wall for years and it’s broken that. And it’s fun, really, because in the old days you really had to rely on newspapers and fair reporting and those two things exactly go together. It’s fun that you can go straight to the people and chat to them and have a way of interacting that still doesn’t infringe on your privacy.” Idol performed at Saturday's iHeart '80s concert in L.A. His social media tells us that he has a pair of six-date residencies at House of Blues in Las Vegas between March 16th and 26th, and between May 4th and 14th. .@BillyIdol tells us he prefers today's social media to having to 'rely on newspapers and fair reporting.' - Tweet

Sammy Hagar's Big Interview With Dan Rather

The Red Rocker Sammy Hagar talking to Dan Rather about taking over where Diamond Dave left off. Tonight (Tuesday) you will see the newsman chat with the Red Rocker on The Big Interview on AXS TV. Hagar takes Rather on a joy ride in his new $1.2-million dollar Ferrari; he plays him a new song that he has yet to record called "Inner Child," based on family therapy sessions he attended with his wife and daughters; and they talk about Van Halen, specifically whether or not Hagar felt pressure when he succeeded David Lee Roth in 1986. Sammy Hagar on taking over for David Lee Roth in Van Halen in 1986. "I didn't feel pressure. I didn't. At the time, as a solo artist, I was really as big as Van Halen. At that time I was selling out double nights everywhere in the country - they were doing about the same. They had just hit that real big one with the song 'Jump.' [It] really kind of broke them into a different league of record sales. But everything else to us was kind of on the same level for the few years before that. They were more flamboyant going out and, you know, being rock stars, so I felt so comfortable with the music that we were playing. I was fine. Sammy Hagar chats with Dan Rather and performs a new song called Inner Child.

Geddy Lee's New Band Wintersleep

35 years ago today. Tom Sawyer and the album Moving Pictures was released. And for some? It was their first date with the trio from Canada. Geddy Lee talks about how the song came about. There was nothing special about it. Plus he's hooked up with another band in 2016 called Wintersleep. I have their first song.

Peter Frampton's Next Adventure

Music has a way of reaching beyond the moment of creation. Peter Frampton knows each piece has morphed into something new. His latest album is proof of that. Acoustic Classic's takes you on a journey through each riff and lyric in ways that reignite the true spirit of making music. Then connecting it to a passerby's life and style.

The Eagles Get Their Grammy

In addition to Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit coming together with Jackson Browne to honor Glenn Frey, they picked up the Grammy they won in 1977. After they performed "Take it Easy," as the telecast went into a commercial break, producer Ken Ehrlich stopped the band from leaving the stage and announced that he was giving them their 1977 Grammy for Record of the Year for "Hotel California." They didn't attend the ceremony that year because they weren't sure they were going to win. The actual winners of the award are Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Joe Walsh, along with former members Don Felder and Randy Meisner. Bernie Leadon had already left the band in 1977 and Timothy B. Schmit joined after the Hotel California album was recorded.

Sammy Hagar Reaches Out To Eddie Van Halen

The one part of the story that most aren't talking about. How have the Classic Rocker's reacted to the most recent losses of so many music makers? Sammy Hagar reached out to Eddie Van Halen. He talks about it. Sammy Hagar talks openly about his most recent tweet to Eddie Van Halen. A birthday wish had a deeper purpose. The deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Lemmy has been a way to reopen creative journeys once assumed lost forever. "It just makes you stop and think that, you know, with my relationship with Eddie Van Halen and stuff that's always been in the toilet, it makes you say, 'I don't want to be buried with any regrets or bad vibes like that.' It makes you want to be just friends with everybody and say, 'Hey look, forget it.' Even if you don't want to be in a band together, just let's be friends. No more enemies for me. You don't want to go to your grave with enemies. So that's what it's done for me. It woke me up and said, 'no more enemies.' And before I die I won't have any if I have my way."

Here Comes Paul Shaffer

There's life after Letterman. After 33 years Paul Shaffer's grateful for getting the opportunity to perform with the world's biggest names in music. Now he's taking the journey into the studio to write and release his own work. Paul Shaffer. David Letterman's former band leader. He's played with the biggest names in Classic Rock. Now he's getting to do it on his own. He's working on album of his own. "I'm working on my own record now for Rhino Records. Richard Gottehrer producing. I'm really excited. Good time music, that's all. Rock and roll music." Shaffer says he regularly speaks to David Letterman and denies rumors that his ex-boss has become a recluse. He says Dave was on hand to present him with an award last fall from the Little Kids Rock charity. The bandleader adds, "We did a little schtick with me in front the audience. He loved it. He's not going away." Shaffer even joked about that Santa-like beard Dave now sports. Paul Shaffer on David Letterman's beard and their absense from TV. "I love that beard, yes, well I need that beard on the top of my head, you know how it is. Both of us certainly miss being in front of an audience, I'll tell you that much." Paul's greatest regret about stepping down along with Letterman is not being able to pay tribute to the rock legends who've died since last summer. On the other hand, he's proud neither he nor Letterman overstayed their welcome. Paul Shaffer on not being able tribute to the just-deceased rock legends on nightly TV. "It's sad that we're losing so many of the greats. We got to play with them all during this period of time. And I'm just thankful I had that opportunity. We had 33 years, we did it longer than anybody ever did it and you can't be greedy."

Ace Frehley's New Collection of Covers

Ace Frehley unmasking his willingness to keep his Classic Rock locked on moving forward. Origins Vol. 1 will be out on April 15th and it features reworkings of Cream's "White Room"; Thin Lizzy's "Emerald" with special guest Slash; The Troggs' "Wild Thing" with Lita Ford; "Cold Gin," which he wrote while in KISS and featuring Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready; and Free's "Fire and Water" with Paul Stanley on vocals. The rest of the album contains: "Street Fighting Man" (Rolling Stones) Spanish Castle Magic," featuring John 5 (Jimi Hendrix) "Bring It on Home" (Led Zeppelin) "Parasite," featuring John 5 (KISS) "Magic Carpet Ride" (Steppenwolf) "Till the End of the Day" (Kinks) "Rock and Roll Hell" (KISS) Ace told Rolling Stone: "I'm really thrilled with the whole thing. I'm excited about it, and probably somewhere down the road there'll be a second volume." He will support the disc with a tour that gets underway February 26th in Houston.

McCartney Collaborates with Skype

It's a great day to go play on Skype. Paul McCartney's created some Mojis just in time for Valentines Day. He talks about the process. Paul McCartney talking about his new music. But to some people. This is anything but. Even he said, "Hmm is this for me? But its something fun and something new." So into the studio he went with Skype to compose audio Mojis for Valentines Day. He was originally resistant to the idea, but changed his mind, saying, "It turned out to be a great laugh at the same time as challenging. You’ve got to compress a musical interpretation of an expression into less than five seconds. It was like doing a huge crossword puzzle. It was great practice for me in the studio... I wanted it to sound sort of electronic so I wanted the signature to sound electronic rather than acoustic guitar, for instance. So I got the overall signature on the Moog in order to give it a modern flavor.” The Moji’s are available on Skype now.

Stone Temple Pilots Looking For New Front Man

It's almost got the same flavor of old school Classic Rock. A band searching for a lead vocalist in a very public place. Stone Temple Pilots made it official yesterday on their website. They want a new person up front and they've got to bring their best game. You have until March 7th to get them your material. Yesterday (Tuesday), Stone Temple Pilots opened their website up to anyone from around the world who thinks they have what it takes to be the band's new lead singer -- and found out there are lots of hopefuls out there. Dean and Robert De Leo tell us there are so many, in fact, that the site soon crashed due to all the submissions. But odds are, not a lot of them will make the first cut. STP guitarist Dean De Leo on what STP is looking for in a singer. “We’re looking for a lot of things. It’s a tall order. We’re looking for a lot, because we were affiliated with a couple of guys who were really, really great and really on top of their game. Artistically, we’re looking for somebody along those lines, and personally speaking, we’re looking for someone along the lines of Chester." Lead singers are famous for having big egos, but Robert says that's OK by him and Dean. STP bassist Robert De Leo on whether they’d mind a singer with a big ego. “I think it comes with the territory, you know? I think you have to be a certain kind of person to get out there and actually express yourself like that. I do. It’s just a matter of the degree that it comes in.” The De Leo brothers tell us that they've already auditioned "seven or eight" singers from the L.A. area and that their choice could still come from that group. But Dean says they felt that limited the candidate pool too much. STP guitarist Dean De Leo on why they decided to conduct a search for a new singer through their website. “L.A.’s funny, because you’re here and there’s a lot of musicians here and you hear about this person and that person and you get a chance to get together with them and try them out. But really, there’s the whole world out there. We didn’t want to do any disservice to ourself, or the band, that we didn’t exhaust our options. Playing with seven guys, as opposed to, like, being able to look at thousands and, maybe, after whittling that down, get to play with 10 more.” If you think you're STP lead singer material, you have until March 7th to submit your file at StoneTemplePilots.com.

Randy Bachman Passes It Forward

In 2008 Classic Rocker Randy Bachman sold his huge collection of Gretsch guitars back to those who created it. Today they're on display in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Randy talks about the experiences of letting them go. In 2008, Randy Bachman sold his collection of 385 Gretsch guitars to the Gretsch Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gretsch family and the Gretsch company. Randy Bachman on his passion for collection Gretsch guitars. "I think it’s called the midlife crisis. Everywhere I went I’d seek out Gretsch guitars. And I remember one day I got a call from Duke Kramer who was running Gretsch at the time and Fred Gretsch who got the name Gretsch back, he called me and he said, ‘There’s a Fender museum, there’s a Martin museum and you own my museum. Will you sell it to me?’ So we did a deal and I sold him the 385 Gretschs and I think there’s a 100 now that are on display now in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. So when I sold it I was able to buy a flat in Covent Garden.” 75 of those guitars are now on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. The exhibit, American Sound and Beauty: Guitars From the Bachman–Gretsch Collection, is the largest collection of stringed instruments ever displayed at the museum. Randy Bachman on his guitar collection on display in Nashville. "What you will see at tyhe There’s some of the coolest Gretschs you’ll ever find ’cause they go from 1928 – the old Robert Johnson-looking arch tops with the big hole in the middle and things like that up to all the prototypes. Because my deal was I’ll let you copy mine, but I want prototype one and prototype two so I can check it and see…and sometimes the switch would be in the wrong place so I tell them to correct it so it looked like the original. So that was a really big deal for me collecting those guitars.”

New Album from Roger Waters Coming

Roger Waters hinted at hitting the road again this year, but it's not looking likely, as he tells Democracy Now. Roger Waters on the possibility of touring this year "It’s very unlikely that I will start touring anywhere this year. These things take a long time. It took me about 10 months to put together The Wall tour. I still have to finish making the record." And Waters adds that he has yet to come up with a title for his new album, but says it will be about "peace and love." Roger Waters on the subject matter of the album he is working on. "It will be about peace and love. It will be about my concern for the children of the world and how they’re being slaughtered willy-nilly by whoever it is that runs everything." Roger Waters's last studio album was the 1992 release Amused to Death.

The Hollywood Vampires Will Play The Grammys

The Hollywood Vampires are about to be seen in public. They'll pay tribute to Lemmy from Motorhead at this year’s Grammy Awards. The Alice Cooper-fronted, star-packed band — which also includes actor Johnny Depp, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry — will perform at the ceremony on Feb. 15. Also on stage will be Guns n Roses drummer Matt Sorum, guitarist Tommy Henriksen and Bruce Witkin on piano and guitar. Cooper told Rolling Stone that he might lean on Lemmy’s signature style “I might do it more ‘Alice Cooper style,’ but it would still have to have that growl, that guttural voice to make it work,” he said. “I can’t picture, like, Creedence Clearwater doing that song.”

Phil Collins Remastered

Phil Collins has remastered two of his biggest success stories Face Value and Both Sides. The music package is a huge hit with fans because it reaches beyond the normal releases. He's stuffed additional discs inside that feature live songs and demos. As for a tour and new music? Believe it or not Phil openly admits that he truly wants to be with his family. He loves taking his kids to school.

Mike Reno Of Loverboy Talks Super Bowl

Last week at this time Mike Reno of Loverboy was lovin up on the Carolina Panthers because they played his song Lovin Every Minute of it after defeating the Cardinals to get into the big game. I wanted to know if he's still got that love going on. Mike Reno breaks it down.

New Album From Elton John

The world of music is talking about Elton John's new album. He's returned to his Classic Rock roots. He talks about one of the songs In The Name of You. Elton John has released another song off his new album, Wonderful Crazy Night, ahead of its release on Friday, February 5th. "In the Name of You" is a soulful track that Elton feels is in the vein of Little Feat. Elton John on his new song, "I just love the way the song builds. I love the verse, I love the chorus, I love the middle eight and the solo and the chorus to me is so hooky. Every song on this album has two or three hooks in it. It’s full of hooks and ‘In the Name of You’ is one of my favorite tracks. And that was the first real guitar-based track that we recorded. A lot of it is kind of a throwback to the ’70s in a way, but it sounds modern too. That sounds a bit Little Feat-ish that track to me.”

New Santana Hits The Air Today

The first release from Santana 4 has made its way to iHeart Radio stations across the nation. Carlos Santana has regathered his friends from the past and pieced together an incredible journey of sound. He talks about Neil Schon of Journey.