Geddy Lee appeared on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend and said he and Alex Lifeson have discussed performing with another drummer, but there’s nothing concrete and he didn’t reveal any names. Geddy’s My Effin’ Life in Conversation tour in support of his memoir, My Effin’ Life, is in Detroit Monday followed by the finale on Thursday in his hometown of Toronto. It then heads to the U.K. for five dates starting December 10th in Wolverhampton. At Sunday's show in Chicago the guest interviewer was Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil who is from the suburb of Park Forest.
The Beatles’ new song, “Now and Then,” is number-one on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart. They now have the distinction of having the longest gap between their first and second appearance on the chart. Their debut was in 1996, when the chart launched, with their first re-recorded John Lennon demo, “Free as a Bird,” which peaked at number-11.
U2 marked World AIDS Day, December 1st, by having the Sphere in Las Vegas, where they’re in residency, lit up in red. Echo and the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant offered a quick review of U2’s show at the Sphere in Las Vegas on X. He writes, “It's hard to put into words how exhilarating it was. It was a perfect marriage of art, music & imagination. They skillfully walked a fine line. It could have easily been all about the amazing projections, but they shone through.”
Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” was parodied on Saturday Night Live this weekend in a sketch about disgraced New York Congressman George Santos, who was expelled from Congress on Friday. It was titled “Scandal in the Wind.”
April Wine singer and primary songwriter Myles Goodwyn has died at 75. The cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
A lengthy New York Times Magazine profile on Michael Stipe this weekend explains why the former R.E.M. singer made barely any progress towards finishing his debut solo album in 2022 and 2023 and how he’s renewed his commitment to getting it done. We learn that he plans not to have any electric guitar on the record and that he’s currently working on songs called “I’m the Charge” and “Time Keeps Changing” for it. Also, that he’s considering doing multiple versions of its songs – some of which may not feature him.
Joe Satriani says that as the guitarist for Sammy Hagar’s The Best of Both Worlds tour next summer he’s “going to try to get close to the sound of each of [the] eras" of the late Eddie Van Halen’s live performances as possible. But he cautions that Eddie “played them one way on the album, and then every night he played them live…he changed them. He just kept reinventing the parts and the chords and how he would embellish it and how he would solo over it. If you've been tasked with the job of imitating him, it's like, ‘Well, which moment?'"
Tesla have announced the Keepin’ It Real tour, which will span 17 dates, eight in January and nine on a second leg in March. It kicks off on January 11th in Immokalee, Florida and ends March 23rd in Reno. Go to the band’s official website for tickets and more info.
Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden has released a video from his upcoming solo album, The Mandrake Project, which is due out March 1st. Check out "Afterglow of Ragnarok" on YouTube.
Motley Crue have announced a New Year's Eve show at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California. Tickets go on sale Friday.
Peter Frampton has announced another leg of his Never Ever Say Never tour. It starts March 3rd in Greensboro, North Carolina and wraps up April 14th in San Diego. Tickets go on sale Friday.