AFROJACK Amsterdam

Bret Michaels Drafts KISS, Pantera, Van Halen + Aerosmith Members for New Album

A duet with Miley Cyrus must have triggered some sort of collaboration fever for Bret Michaels. For his new album, ‘Get Your Rock On,’ he broke out his rolodex and lined up a veritable who’s who of rock ‘n’ roll luminaries, including members of KISS, Pantera, Van Halen, Aerosmith and more. Michaels discussed the guest appearances during a recent interview with the Arizona Republic, calling the end result a “really amazing record” and running through a pretty impressive list of the special guests he brought into the studio:

I’ve got Ace Frehley from Kiss and Michael Anthony from Van Halen. I redid ‘Nothin’ But a Good Time’ and played everything on it but the lead guitar and bass. Ace Frehley plays the solo and Michael Anthony plays bass. Then, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” has Joe Perry from Aerosmith and Hugh McDonald from Bon Jovi. And it’s got Loretta Lynn singing it with me. Then, Jimmy Buffett, me and him did ‘Margaritaville’ live.

Believe it or not, the guest list doesn’t end there. Michaels also cut the title track — which will be repurposed as ‘Get Your Ride On’ for Supercross and ‘Get Your Drive On’ for NASCAR — with Def Leppard‘s Phil Collen. And then he got Pantera’s Vinnie Paul to contribute for a song. And then he covered ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ with the current version of Lynyrd Skynyrd. As Michaels promised during the interview, “I put a lot of hard work into this.”

Michaels will be touring with Poison this summer on the band’s double bill jaunt with Def Leppard, but he’ll still presumably make a little time to promote ‘Get Your Rock On,’ due out in June.by jeff giles

Kiss Drummer Peter Criss Set To Publish Autobiography

The rock & roll library just keeps expanding! The latest to add his life to the ever-increasing stack of life stories is none other than Peter Criss. The once (and forever) Kiss drummer will issue ‘Makeup To Breakup’ on October 23 via Scribner, which is an imprint of the publishing giant Simon & Schuster. A press release assures us “‘Makeup To Breakup’ will be Peter Criss’ unvarnished and eye-opening life story. From sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll to multiple brushes with death.”
Speaking with Artisan News, Criss said of his bio, “It’s about my life. Of course, it’s about drugs, sex and rock and roll, but it’s about my parents, my growing up, getting through Brooklyn, going through gangs, getting into drugs, getting out of them, getting through cancer. I’m four years free of cancer now. I’m doing great.”
Criss, who is also working on a new album, is getting some help putting the book together from noted author Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman, who has previously worked on books by Howard Stern and Anthony Kiedis, as well as penning his own books on Bob Dylan and Abbie Hoffman among others.

“I hope you enjoy the ride.” Criss said of the book, “The best of all is I get to share my true feelings of my love for God, family, friends and fame. It’s been a wonderful life.”by dave swanson

Def Leppard, Poison announce summer 2012

English rock band Def Leppard and American based band Poison announced they will be hitting the road together this upcoming summer for the 'Rock of Ages' tour. The 2012 North American tour begins June 20 in Salt Lake City, UT, and ends July 22 in Cadott, WI. Def Leppard, Poison, and Lita Ford will all be performing in Chicago, IL on July 19 at the Allstate Arena.

Def Leppard and Poison's 2012 'Rock of Ages' tour consists of them performing 18 shows over a month long time span. Female rock musician Lita Ford will open all shows.

"We had such a good time going out with Poison in 2009 that we thought it only right to do it again!" says singer Joe Elliott in an issued press release.

Def Leppard will be touring in support of their live album Mirror Ball: Live & More, which was released June 3, 2011 via Mercury Records. The album contains live versions of classic Leppard hits such as "Rock of Ages," Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Foolin" and will feature their soon to be released single, "It's All About Believin'."

Tickets for Def Leppard, and Poison's 2012 'Rock of Ages' summer tour go on sale Friday, March 16 at noon via Ticketmaster. Tickets for the Chicago show at Allstate Arena are priced at: $95, $79.50, $59.50, and $29.50.

For more information visit: www.defleppard.com

Def Leppard / Poison 2012 North American Tour Dates:

w/ Lita Ford

June 20 - Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheater

June 22 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

June 23 - Las Vegas, NV @ Red Rock Amphitheatre

June 25 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center

June 27 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center

June 29 - Atlanta, GA @ Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood

June 30 - Tampa, FL @ Tampa Bay Times Forum

July 2 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center

July 3 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

July 6 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena

July 7 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre

July 10 - Baltimore, MD @ Merriweather Pavilion

July 11 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center

July 13 - Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Pavilion

July 16 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre

July 17 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum

July 19 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena

July 22 - Cadott, WI @ Rock Fest 2012

Kiss and Motley Crue 2012 Summer Tour

by: Matthew Wilkening 3 hours ago

Jo Hale / Michael Buckner, Getty Images

Kiss and Motley Crue will team up for a formidable tour this summer, and based on what Crue singer Vince Neil is saying about the joint production, their respective road crews are going to have their hands full.
“It’s going to be really cool because KISS is bringing their full stage show, and Motley will be bringing our full stage show,” the world’s newest strip club owner tells the Las Vegas Sun. “So you are going to see two huge headliners at the same time. It’s going to be one of the biggest tours of the summer, if not the biggest.”
It’s hard to argue that, and we’re dying to see these two masters of over-the-top stagecraft try to top each other. We’re setting the over/under on flying musicians at three — at the very least, figure you can count on Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Tommy Lee to defy gravity at some point during the evening.
According to the article, an official announcement about the Motley Crue / Kiss tour should be coming sometime next week. Hmmm… perhaps that’s why Kiss is scheduled to perform on the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ show on Tuesday, March 20th?

Van Halen Brothers Attend Church

It’s possible New Life Christian Center pastor Mark Granville would have been thrown off his game last week, had he only recognized the famous faces hanging on his every word from the front row. Alex and Eddie Van Halen took in mass at the Trenton, N.J. church, but Granville had never heard of them.
Trentonian columnist L.A. Parker wrote about the visit in the paper last Wednesday. It starts with him getting a phone call about some group called “The Van Halens,’ and ends with a few photos. “Granville offered his final “amen” before a small NLCC group moshed Eddie and Alex,” Parker writes.
A member of the church is a longtime friend of the band’s, but the brothers also wanted to check out University of Philadelphia student named Monique McLean, who “appears to have a strong future in dance.” Neither rocker offered much in the way of an interview afterwards.
“You have to get real close,” Parker says Alex Van Halen told him when he tried to ask a question, “because I can’t hear a word you’re saying. I’m almost deaf after all of the years.” Granville’s sermon was on faith and truth, a fitting topic for the ‘A Different Kind of Truth’ album makers.

It’s a good thing neither brother stepped in for confessional. Pastor Granville may have retired.by bill dukes