Journey To Do 'CMT Crossroads' Special with Rascal Flatts

Journey will join together with Rascal Flatts for a CMT Crossroads special Saturday night. The live concert will take place at the New Orleans Sugar Mill. The performance will air at 11 pm ET as part of a weekend of Super Bowl fun.

CMT Crossroads pairs country artists with rockstars for a special concert experience.

This isn't the first time a band we love has gone country crossover. Bon Jovi teamed up with Sugarland. Steven Tyler teamed up with Carrie Underwood. Taylor Swift took on Def Leppard. My favorite Crossroads ever was recorded back in 2008 when Alison Krauss teamed up with Robert Plant. That show was special because the duo performed songs from their album Raising Sand while also doing their own respective hits.

When the Journey clips hit YouTube, I'll post some here for us to discuss. 

A Cautionary Tale From Brazil

Friends, there was tragedy in Brazil yesterday. A massive fire at the Kiss nightclub left 233 dead and scores more injured. Most of the victims died from asphyxiation and smoke inhalation. Authorities think the fire was started by pyro from a band's stage show.

The Kiss club is located in Santa Maria, Brazil, near the Uruguayan and Argentine borders.

We've been here before, haven't we? Some witness reports say the main door was locked when the fire started. Others say that wasn't the case. (There are reports that some security guards didn't know what was going on and many thought people were skipping out on their bar tabs.) At any rate, there were not enough exists to handle the over-capacity crowd at the club and panic set in. Many were trampled while trying to escape. Others couldn't escape because a pile of bodies blocked their way. Fire officials say that the fire was so big and spread so fast, there was little they could do to stop the blaze.

The singer of Gurizada Fandangueira shot a flare from a machine called Sputnik which allegedly started the blaze. According to Billboard, the band is known for its pyro show. The band's accordion player was killed in the blaze.

The use of pyro in a closed space was not permitted in the Kiss club. The club's operating license was expired.

This is a cautionary tale for all of us. 1) When you go to a see a band in a club, take 10 seconds and locate all the exits. Remember: a crowd in a panic will always run for the door of original entrance. If you know all the exists, you have options. 2) If a band starts shooting off pyro in an enclosed space (or something else as equally dangerous/stupid), leave. 3) If you go in to a club, see that it is packed to the brim and there's no space to move, consider hanging out by the door. 4) Finally, discuss with your friends that if something goes down, you all head for the exists. Don't wait for each other. Just get out. This advice might seem insane, but these are rules I live by after The Station/Great White disaster of 2003. This Brazil fire will only make me more vigilant.

Watch Steven Adler Pay Tribute to John Bonham

Last Thursday at NAMM, a lot of drummers got together to pay tribute to late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The event was called Bonzo Bash NAMM Jamm 2013. There are a lot of cool performance videos of the show. I really liked the clip featuring Steven Adler because he's so happy. Check it out.

Welcome to Rockville 2013 Lineup Announced

This year, the third annual Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville expands to two days--April 27 & 28, 2013--at Jacksonville’s scenic Metropolitan Park along the beautiful St. Johns River.

The region’s biggest rock event will feature headlining performances from Alice In Chains and Limp Bizkit (marking the band’s first hometown show in over a decade), as well as Jacksonville legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. The power-packed lineup for Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville also includes: 3 Doors Down, Shinedown,Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Bullet For My Valentine, Halestorm, Buckcherry, Hollywood Undead, Skillet, All  That  Remains,  Device  (featuring  David  Draiman  from  Disturbed),  Asking Alexandria, Escape The Fate, Filter, In This Moment, Steel Panther, Motionless In White, Pop Evil, Otherwise, Saving Abel, Nonpoint, Red, Young Guns, Thousand Foot Krutch, Gemini Syndrome, Girl On Fire, and more.

A special Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville ticket presale will take place on Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30 at select Metro PCS stores. No ticket service fees will be charged during the presale. The regular ticket onsale begins Friday, February 1 at 10am EST at www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com, all Ticketmaster locations and select Metro PCS stores.

Two-day General Admission tickets will be just $99.50 plus service fees and single day General Admission tickets will be $54.50 plus service fees. A limited number of two-day VIP tickets and hotel packages will also be available. For full details, visit: www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com

"After selling out the last two years of Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, I now see that the city is ready to bring a full-fledged two-day rock festival to downtown Jacksonville and make it a staple in North Florida music for years to come,” says Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. “We have great radio partners at ROCK 104.5 and X102.9 providing amazing support to the city and event which will make this year’s festival more massive than ever."

Metropolitan Park offers a scenic, spacious site for Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville that’s just a few hours drive from cities including Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville, Savannah and Tallahassee, and is easily accessible by plane from around the country. Metropolitan Park is a premier 27-acre recreational facility along the beautiful St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville, Florida at 1410 Gator Bowl Blvd.

Monster  Energy’s  Welcome  To  Rockville  is  produced  by  Jacksonville  native Danny Wimmer (one of the partners in the massively successful Rock On The Range and Carolina Rebellion festivals) of Danny Wimmer Presents. The festival is fueled by Monster Energy. Additional sponsors for the event include F.Y.E.,Metro PCS, Beacon Audio and Revolver Magazine.

Monster  Energy’s  Welcome  To  Rockville  kicks  off  the  2013  World’s  Loudest Month. Created in partnership by AEG Live, Right Arm Entertainment and Danny Wimmer Presents, the World’s Loudest Month features the biggest names inrock music performing in five distinct U.S. concert atmospheres: Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rockfest, Rock On The Range, and Rocklahoma. In 2012, the World’s Loudest Month featured over 100 artists playing for more than 200,000 rock music fans across the country on five consecutive weekends, confirming that rock music is as vital as ever.

As part of the 2013 Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville expansion, the festival will feature a large media and radio tent to accommodate local and national radio and press outlets from around the country.

For more information on Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, visit: Website: www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/welcometorockville Twitter: @RockvilleFest

Bon Jovi, 'What About Now' -- New Song

Bon Jovi has a new song called "What About Now." The song is the first single from the band's upcoming album by the same name. What About Now will be out March 26, 2013.

Check out the song. Discuss.

Well, since the BBC pulled the song - here's a 30 second demo.

Good News for Glam: Bowie's Back!

Editor's note: today's guest post is written by Brynn Alexander.

If we're talking about the kings of old-school, dyed-in-the-wool Glam, you really can't get any bigger than David Bowie. From the early days of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie has always been synonymous with glam, inspiring multiple generations of fans to explore ever-deeper corners of artistic self-expression.

Bowie's been silent on the music front over the past decade, which led many to believe that he had quietly slipped into retirement. Given that he's 66 now, it was doubtful that he'd ever come back with new material, but in a year where both Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac are putting out comeback albums, classic rock fans are learning to expect the unexpected.

And sure enough, in one of the biggest surprises likely to happen to music this year, David Bowie does in fact have a new single out! It's called "Where Are We Now?" and although the first impression is that it's kind of depressing, upon repeat listens the melancholy takes on layers of beautiful meaning, in true Bowie style.

There's more to this surprise than just a new single, though. An entire full-length album entitled The Next Day is due to hit retail outlets in March, and even though it was only announced earlier this month, it's a collection of songs that's been two years in the making. Tony Visconti had been working with Bowie in secret as he wrote and recorded the songs, and they used only musicians they knew and trusted so that there would be no chance of the news leaking to the internet. In these days of TMZ and social media, that's no small feat, and it was indeed a very big surprise when Bowie announced the news.

As for the tone of the album, despite the slow, introverted nature of the new single, Visconti insists that it's the only song like that, and the rest of the album is primarily straight-up rock. According to Visconti, there are elements of classic Bowie on the album, as well as more modern and innovative aspects that are likely to appeal to younger fans.

The Next Day will officially be released on March 8, so Bowie fans have less than two months to wait for what is likely to be one of the strongest releases of 2013.

When she's not busy seeking out new music and artists, BJ spreads her love for music across the web as a blogger for Best Show Tickets.

Rock on the Range Lineup Announced

COLUMBUS, OH:  America’s premier destination rock festival Rock On The Range--which has expanded to three days this year--will hit hard with performances from some of rock’s biggest names.  The 2013 line-up features Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, Bush, Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Cheap Trick, Bullet For My Valentine, Volbeat, Lamb Of God, Skillet, A Day To Remember, Buckcherry, Halestorm, Hollywood Undead, All That Remains, Device (with David Draiman), Steel Panther, Sevendust, Sick Puppies, Asking Alexandria, Pop Evil, In Flames, Clutch, In This Moment, Black Veil Brides, The Sword, Ghost, Motionless In White, Red, Deuce, Middle Class Rut, Big Wreck, Oleander, Otherwise, Red Line Chemistry, Young Guns, Thousand Foot Krutch, Mindset Evolution, Tracer, Beware Of Darkness, Heaven's Basement, American Fangs, Love And Death, Gemini Syndrome, and more. 

“We're really looking forward to returning to Rock On The Range with a batch of brand new killer Alice tunes to play for everyone!” says Jerry Cantrell, Alice In Chains.

“Head is back!!,” says Korn’s Jonathan Davis. “Rock On The Range is going to start it all off!!  Get ready, we are going to hit it hard!!”

“Bush are thrilled to be playing Rock On The Range with such great bands,” says Bush’s Gavin Rosdale.  “We look forward to seeing you all out there.”

“This massive lineup has scratched our seven-year itch!” says Gary Spivack, co-executive producer of the event for Right Arm Entertainment. “Getting Soundgarden for their first Ohio play in two decades and having seminal acts Alice In Chains, Korn, Volbeat and Papa Roach return along with bands new to ROTR that include Smashing Pumpkins and Bush, and everything in between--the spectrum of rock n roll is covered…three days of constant energy.  Rock On The Range is truly where rock lives.”

Now in its seventh year, ROTR will again take place at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH on Friday, May 17, Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, 2013. With the addition of a full slate of artists performing on Friday, festival organizers are also adding a series of additional enhancements for ROTR 2013, including the new ROTR Comedy Tent.

“Our goal with ROTR is to constantly create new and interesting ways to expand the event and give even more value to our fans,” comments Joe Litvag, co-executive producer of the event for AEG Live. “In 2013, we’ve added a comedy tent within the site that will be curated by The Funny Bone comedy club.  Having a slate of incredible, up-and-coming comedians to riff on the rock experience will be a great change of pace for the weekend. The site layout is also changing dramatically in 2013 to create better event flow, to add more interactive fan activity to the festival, and to allow even more people to experience the higher caliber of talent on the second stage this year.”

As a special limited offer, pre-sale weekend tickets startat a low price of $89.50 (plus fees), for Stadium GA tickets only, from Wednesday, January 30 through Thursday, January 31 at 10pm EST. Additionally, a limited number of  Stadium GA “4-ticket packs” are also available for $299--a savings of nearly 25%--beginning on Wednesday, January 30, while supplies last. 

Pre-sale tickets are available at www.RockOnTheRange.com. Tickets go on-sale to the general public Friday, February 1 at 10am ET.  Rock On The Range is again offering premiere VIP Packages, Hotel and Ticket Bundles and Camping packages.  Details and prices for VIP, Hotel, and Camping packagesare online at www.RockOnTheRange.com. Visit the website, www.facebook.com/rockontherange, and www.twitter.com/rockontherange for the most up-to-date information.

"Rock On The Range strives to deliver an outstanding lineup for an affordable price and this year is no different" said Ryan Smith, General Manager of Crew Stadium, co-executive producer of Rock On The Range.  "With the creation of the special $89 pre-sale ticket and 4-pack bundle, rock fans can see over 40 of their favorite bands for an unprecedented value."

Presented by Right Arm Entertainment, AEG LIVE and Crew Stadium, Rock On The Range is a multi-stage music and lifestyle event featuring a potent lineup of bands on three stages and is proud to be sponsored by Monster Energy, Jägermeister, f.y.e., and U.S. Army.  The nationally renowned festival, centrally located in the heart of the country, has annually drawn weekend crowds in excess of 70,000 since its inception in 2007.

www.RockOnTheRange.com

www.facebook.com/rockontherange

www.twitter.com/rockontherange