Author Archives: Shane Lou

Jack White Delivers First-Ever Solo Acoustic TV Performance on “The Tonight Show”

Third Man Records/ColumbiaJack White stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday night to promote his new album, Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016, which was released on Friday. The singer/songwriter stopped by the desk to chat with the host and later performed two songs from the album, “Love Is the Truth” and “You've Got Her in Your Pocket,” both of which marked the first time White has ever appeared on television with a solo acoustic performance.

White joined the host wearing a black suit with a white polka-dotted pocket square. The singer was lively and funny chatting with host Jimmy Fallon.

White’s new acoustic album prompted Fallon to kick off the interview by asking what the singer’s favorite acoustic albums are. White immediately answered Nashville Skyline by Bob Dylan and then added “anything by Blind Willie Johnson” – a blues artist active in the '20s and '30s.

Fallon then talked about a box set that White curated, The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, which features 800 songs by 172 artists and comes in a wooden box and features six 180g vinyl LPs pressed on burled chestnut colored vinyl, which Fallon said are so nice he doesn’t play them: “I'm afraid to play it because it's just so so gorgeous, I eat dinner off it. That's what we do.”

White conclude the interview with the story about the song, “Love is the Truth,” which was written to accompany a Coca Cola commercial. He said, “It was written with a piece a Japanese artist, Nagi Noda, did. It was a beautiful piece they put together and it was with Coca-Cola, and they asked me to write music to the piece that she had made, and I thought it was sort of a moment that could reach maybe a huge audience across the world, but Coca-Cola ended up not liking the commercial and only played it one time.” The song has never been commercially released until now.

White returned later to play both songs.

Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 is out now on White’s label, Third Man Records/Columbia.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters’ Major Announcement: We’re Not Breaking Up

ABC/Travis BellThe Foo Fighters' major announcement on Wednesday night was surely a relief to fans who were on the edge of their seats for 24 hours.

Amid speculation that the band was breaking up and that frontman Dave Grohl was going solo, the Foos on Tuesday night teased on social media that a major announcement was forthcoming.

That announcement came Wednesday night in the form of a seven-minute YouTube video that made clear early on that rumors of a split were false.

The video begins with a series of media headlines regarding Grohl's recent performance at the Oscars and his group's supposed breakup. We then see Grohl playing a sunglasses-wearing prima donna that's convinced by Foos producer Butch Vig that he should go in a different direction as a musician. "Something cool and hip," he explains.

Grohl explores becoming an electronic music artist and leaves his bandmates behind -- "I'm setting them free. It's a win-win situation," he says -- but he struggles to adapt to his new life as a keyboard player.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Foo Fighters -- Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shiflett -- get together and explore their options. They brainstorm names of potential new singers, ranging from Sammy Hagar to Gwen Stefani to Phil Collins, before settling on former boy-band member Nick Lachey. They play an acoustic version of "Everlong" as Nick sings along, with hilarious results.

The clip concludes with a message from the Foo Fighters: "For the millionth time, we're not breaking up. And nobody's going f***ing solo!"

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Grammy Winners List

The Recording AcademyHere are the winners in some of the top categories for the Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Monday night:

Record of the Year
"Uptown Funk" -- Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

Song of the Year (Award to Songwriter)
"Thinking Out Loud" -- Ed Sheeran

Album of the Year
1989 -- Taylor Swift

Best New Artist
Meghan Trainor

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Uptown Funk" -- Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Best Pop Solo Performance
"Thinking Out Loud" -- Ed Sheeran

Best Pop Vocal Album
1989 -- Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern -- Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap

Best Dance Recording
"Where Are Ü Now" -- Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber

Best Rock Album
Drones, Muse

Best Rock Song
  (Award to songwriter)
"Don't Wanna Fight" -- Alabama Shakes, songwriters (Alabama Shakes)

Best Rock Performance
"Don't Wanna Fight" -- Alabama Shakes

Best Alternative Music Album
Sound & Color, Alabama Shakes

Best R&B Album
Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard

Best R&B Performance
"Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)" -- The Weeknd

Best R&B Song (Award to Songwriter)
"Really Love" -- (D'Angelo And The Vanguard)

Best Rap Performance
"Alright" -- Kendrick Lamar

Best Rap Song
 "Alright" -- Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"These Walls" -- Kendrick Lamar featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat

Best Urban Contemporary Album
Beauty Behind the Madness -- The Weeknd

Best Country Album
Traveller -- Chris Stapleton

Best Country Solo Performance
"Traveller" -- Chris Stapleton

Best Country Song
"Girl Crush" -- Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
"Girl Crush" -- Little Big Town

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me (Various Artists)

Best Song Written for Visual Media  (Award to Songwriter)
"Glory" (Common & John Legend)

Best Music Video
"Bad Blood" -- Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

X Ambassadors Guitarist Noah Feldshuh Charged with DWI

Nick WalkerX Ambassadors guitarist Noah Feldshuh was charged with driving while intoxicated following an arrest in Ithica, New York, on December 27, according to a news release from the Ithica police department.

Police claim they saw a vehicle stopped "in the middle of the roadway, stopped on a crosswalk, for no legitimate reason." Officers conducted a traffic stop, allegedly discovered Feldshuh intoxicated and arrested him.

Feldshuh, 27, allegedly had a blood-alcohol content level of 0.16 percent, according to police.

A court date is set for January 21.

X Ambassadors are best known for the 2015 hit "Renegades."

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Has Axl Rose’s Appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Been Cancelled?

Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesAxl Rose's scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night may have been cancelled.

The Guns N' Roses frontman had been listed as a guest on the ABC late-night show's website early Monday afternoon. However, his name was removed later in the day. It's unclear why the change was made.

All this comes amid swirling rumors that Guns N' Roses' classic lineup, including Axl and Slash, will reunite to headline the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April and a subsequent football stadium tour.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Guns N’ Roses Announced as Coachella Headliner

Ke.Mazur/WireImage via Getty ImagesThe Guns N' Roses reunion is official.

It was announced Monday night that the band will headline the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 16 and 23.

Slash shared a Guns N' Roses/Coachella photo on social media, confirming what had been rumored for several days -- that he will reunite with Axl Rose and company at the event.

LCD Soundsystem will headline the festival on April 15 and 22, joined by the likes of Ellie Goulding and Of Monsters and Men.

Aside from Guns N' Roses, the April 16 and 23 lineup will feature Ice Cube, Disclosure, Zedd, CHVRCHES, Silversun Pickups and more.

Calvin Harris will headline April 17 and 24; the bill will also include Sia, The 1975 and more.

Passes for Coachella go on sale Wednesday morning. More info is available on Coachella.com; you can check out the complete lineup there, too.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Mötley Crüe Bids Farewell at Final Concert in LA

Credit: Paul BrownMötley Crüe's last ride ended with a particularly scary one for drummer Tommy Lee, whose drum kit roller coaster malfunctioned and left him hanging upside down midway through the final stop on their farewell tour at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Thursday.

“It looks like the roller coaster is broken, well f*** the roller coaster! Come on guys, help. Come get me," said Lee as road crew members scurried up the structure to free him. "I can’t believe this is happening on the last night. I knew something wasn’t right when I took off.”

The drum kit was set right, Lee climbed down the roller coaster as guitarist Mick Mars performed a solo, and the kit was rolled back to the stage so Lee could resume playing, according to Billboard magazine.

The drum roller coaster mishap delayed the New Year’s toast by three minutes. The band rang in 2016 with the title track from 1989’s Dr. Feelgood.

The set also included Crüe staples like “Wild Side” and “Kickstart My Heart,” as well as a cover of The Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK.”

The quartet closed their 34-year-long career with the ballad “Home Sweet Home."

Early on in the show, lead singer Vince Neil thanked everyone who helped put the show together, mentioning that the roller coaster alone took two crews to assemble. 

“Most of all, I want to thank you motherf****** for coming out and spending New Year’s Eve with us. Now let’s get to the music,” Neil added, choking back tears.

Bassist Nikki Sixx told the crowd, “Maybe a year from now, somebody’s gonna look at you and say, ‘Remember that band Mötley Crüe? They were pretty cool,’" according to the music and entertainment magazine.

"And you know what you’re gonna say? ‘Well f*** you because I was at their last concert ever!’” he added.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Motörhead Frontman Lemmy Kilmister Dead after Battle with Cancer

Jeff Hahne/Getty ImagesMotörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has died at the age of 70.

An announcement was made Monday evening on the official Facebook page for the British heavy metal legends.

"There is no easy way to say this...our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer," the post begins. "He had learnt of the disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made it’s way down the street, with his family.

"We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words," the post continues. "We will say more in the coming days, but for now, please...play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy’s music LOUD.

"Have a drink or few. Share stories. Celebrate the LIFE this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself. HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT."

The post concludes, "Born to lose, lived to win."

Various celebrities have tweeted their memories of Kilmister, including Ozzy Osbourne, who wrote, "Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side."

Metallica tweeted, "Lemmy, you are one of the primary reasons this band exists. We're forever grateful for all of your inspiration. RIP."

Kilmister battled a range of health issues in recent years, including diabetes, and underwent pacemaker surgery.

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, who turned 70 on Christmas Eve and was known for his distinctive mutton chops and gravelly voice, was a founding member of Motörhead, which launched in 1975 and has released more than 20 albums, including Ace of Spades, featuring the title track, and the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.

Prior to his run with Motörhead, Kilmister was a member of the English rock band Hawkwind.

Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

NFL Confirms Coldplay Will Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show

Credit: Julia KennedyIt's official: Coldplay will headline next year's Super Bowl halftime show.

The NFL formally announced Thursday night that the British rockers will perform during the Super Bowl 50 halftime show at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 7.

The NFL noted that frontman Chris Martin is designing a show that will echo elements of its "On the Fifty" campaign, focusing on the past, present and future of the league. Other, as-yet-unnamed artists will take part.

Coldplay -- whose new album, A Head Full Of Dreams, is out Friday -- will also be featured in a behind-the-scenes miniseries on Pepsi.com, beginning January 11, about the making of the halftime show. Pepsi is sponsoring the halftime show.

Katy Perry headlined this year's Super Bowl halftime show.

Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Listen to Coldplay’s New Song with Beyoncé

Julia KennedyColdplay's collaboration with Beyoncé for their new album, A Head Full of Dreams, has been unveiled.

"Hymn for the Weekend," debuted by the BBC, is a catchy tune in which Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Bey join forces on the vocals. They both sing the lyric, "Drink for me, drink for me," in the chorus.

The song concludes with Beyoncé singing a few times, "And we shoot across the sky."

A Head Full of Dreams, out Friday, also includes appearances by Beyoncé's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, plus Martin's ex Gwyneth Paltrow, Noel Gallagher and Tove Lo.

Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.