BILLY JOEL: New York Knicks State of Mind

Onetime Madison Square Garden franchise Billy Joel is supporting the arena's second longest franchise, the New York Knicks, in their quest to win the National Basketball League Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. He's licensed the use of the title of his song "New York State of Mind" to fashion lifestyle brand Sportige for a line of Knicks merchandise that includes a hoodie and T-shirt, each with the Knicks logo and the words “New York State of Mind.”

It's the first in a series of Joel collaborations that will tie in with other New York teams and venues through 2026, and it's available online at Sportiqe.com/Collections/Billy-Joel-X-Knicks or at the NBA store in New York. Game two of the NBA Finals is tonight (Friday) in San Antonio with the Knicks leading one game to none.

SAMMY HAGAR: Yeah, About Those UK Shows...

You have to hand it to Sammy Hagar for realizing the size of venues he can and can't fill. Case in point: his shows next month in England. Originally booked into arenas in Manchester, London, Leeds and Birmingham, he downsized to theaters in Manchester and London and eliminated Leeds and Birmingham, while adding Wolverhampton. At the time of the change in April, he said, "After waiting 30 years to come back [to the UK], we really wanted to get this right. Several factors pushed us toward revising this tour, but after wrapping our Las Vegas residency last month at Dolby Live, where the sound, the technology, and the more intimate size really let us connect with the audiences, it was clear that we wanted to deliver an experience like that for our fans in England." Well, now he's come clean as to the real reason for the change in an interview with England's Total Rock. "I love the fact that we get to do three shows in London. I love the fact that we've moved it to a smaller venue so it'll be full instead of playing some big giant place that holds 12,000, there's only 6,000 people there. The ambiance of that is so much different, and that's why we changed it. Guilty as charged — we didn't sell it out. I thought, 'Oh, we'll sell that out, no problem.' I'm an honest guy."

And Hagar's reason for returning to England is because when he performed last July at the final Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne show, Back to the Beginning in Birmingham, he felt there were many in the audience who didn't know who he was. Prior to that show, the last time he played in England was in 1995 with Van Halen. Hagar starts the U.S. leg of his tour

next Saturday, June 13th, in Maryland Heights, Missouri, just outside his biggest market, St. Louis. The tour rehearsals are underway, which is why his bassist Michael Anthony won't be in Santa Monica, California this Saturday for the 10th annual Walk & Play L.A. to help his team,

Rex and the Heartbeaters, raise money for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles in memory of his late grandson Rex. So far they've raised close to $33,000, and you can help by pledging to donate at CHLA.org and following the links to Walk & Play L.A.

RUSH To Kick Off First Tour In 11 Years

RUSH is set to kick off their first tour in eleven years. The "Fifty Something Tour" also marks their first outing since the 2020 passing of their drummer Neil Peart.The trek begins with a four day run in Los Angeles, starting on June 7th, and wraps up with two shows in Vancouver on December 15th and 17th. The band plans on playing their classics at each show, but will also mix up the setlist for shows in the same city. Last minute tickets are still available.

RUSH: Re-Enter...Stage Right

Just about 11 years after Rush did their final show, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will return to the stage this Sunday at The Forum in Los Angeles for the start of their Fifty Something

reunion tour. Augmented by Anika Nilles in place of the late Neil Peart on drums, and Loren Gold, who toured with The Who and Chicago, on keyboards, Geddy says "it will be a show along the lines of what we've done in the past" spread over two sets, but this time with tributes to Peart who died from brain cancer on January 7th, 2020 at 67.

GL: “We’ve been talking about certain songs that we feel really give us the vision of Neil. And we'll pick those songs in each set of the two sets. So twice a night we will pick a song to play sort of for him and we’ll present a visual tribute behind us, to Neil, whether it be to his lyrics or just to his playing or whatever. Take a moment, play these songs with him in mind, so the whole audience and us can remember him.” AL: "A celebration of who he was as a person and a drummer. Not so sad anymore.”

Having rehearsed upwards of 40 songs over the past year, Geddy adds that they will "change the set everyday a little bit. About 40-percent of the set will be different from night to night to night to night." But re-learning all those songs didn't come easy, as Alex explains. "I don't think we realized how hard they are to play or how complicated and challenging our music is. When you do it every day for 40 years, you know you just do it. You don't think about it. But not playing those songs for quite a while, it was challenging just to break them down and you waited for muscle memory to take over. Because, you know, often you'd start and you know you're in the wrong position and you can play it but it doesn't feel right. And after a little while suddenly your hand goes to the right spot without thinking about it. Once that happens, the whole process becomes smoother." While Sunday is the first show of the tour, they already have one performance in front an audience under their belt, having opened the Juno Awards

(Canada's Grammys) on March 29th in Hamilton, Ontario with "Finding My Way," the first song off their 1974 self-titled debut album. So, after keeping their plans to reunite a secret and surprising everyone with their announcement last October, Rush have been doing their final rehearsals this week at The Forum in L.A., which is where they did their last show with Neil Peart when they wrapped up their R40 tour on August 1st, 2015. "It's not an accident that we chose L.A. to carry on, and it'll be, I think, quite an emotional moment." While Geddy thought starting their comeback at The Forum was a good idea, he's since had second thoughts, telling Classic Rock magazine it was a “massively stupid idea, because we’re going to be so emotional already, that first show without Neil, and then to be in that building. What the [bleep] was I thinking?” Emotions aside, Geddy adds, "I’ve got one goal, and that’s to be better than I was 10 years ago, which is tough. It’s a real challenge.” Rush will do four shows at The Forum, which is in nearby Inglewood, California -- part of L.A. County -- through June 13th.

Geddy posted a video on Facebook showing him rehearsing with his vocal coach and a special guest, Dottie Wasserman, his Norwich Terrier.

THE BEATLES: Sanction Their Day

Ringo Starr celebrates his birthday every July 7th by asking his fans to say “peace and love” wherever they are at noon their time. Well, now The Beatles have gotten in on the act by sanctioning June 25th as Global Beatles Day, the goal of which is to celebrate them and their music, and to share their message: “All You Need Is Love.” Global Beatles Day was launched in 2009 by lifelong fan Faith Cohen, but it wasn't until this year that new Apple Corps CEO Tom Greene formally acknowledged the day, telling Faith that "more than ever, the message of The Beatles, and of 'All You Need Is Love,' speaks to something vital for community, connection and the power of bringing people together. That is what makes Global Beatles Day so special. It asks nothing more than for people, wherever they are, to stop, listen and share a little joy."

As for why June 25th, it was on that day in 1967 that The Beatles performed “All You Need Is Love” on the BBC’s worldwide Our World program, the first live multinational multi-satellite television production. And to commemorate the event, they will release a colorized version of the performance, which will be the first official time the performance has been posted online.

Pete Townshend Asked Peter Frampton To Tour As A Member Of The Who - Then Ghosted Him

In the world of rock "what ifs," this one is a big one. In the new documentary "Frampton" (which premiered at the Tribeca Festival yesterday), Peter Frampton tells of the time Pete Townshend called him up and asked him to tour with the Who in his place. "He said, 'I’ve got this idea. I want to not tour anymore, but I still want to write and be in The Who and I’ll write the songs and I wonder what you thought if you took my place in The Who on the road,'" Frampton recalled. "I said, 'Really? Have you spoken to Roger [Daltrey] and John [Entwistle]

about this?’ He said, 'Eh, no, but I’m gonna talk to them tomorrow about this.'" At the time, Frampton's career was at a low point, he'd been dropped by his label, and he was in serious debt. Then...nothing. After three weeks of being ghosted, Frampton finally caught up with Townshend. "I said, 'You never called me back, I got nothing going on in my career and I blah blah blah,'" Frampton recalled. "I berated him because 'you left me in the lurch there.'" It took awhile, but the two legends are all good now. They ran into each other at a Bruce Springsteen concert. "I saw Pete talking to Bruce before he went on for the second half, and so I just went over and I stood next to Pete," Frampton says. "He suddenly realized someone was standing next to him, looking at him, staring at him, and he looked around me and he smiled, and he kissed me on the top of my head. So, we’re friends now, from then on." No word yet on when the documentary will be widely available.

Chris Robinson Addresses "USA" Controversy

When Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes upset some fans after a verbal back-and-forth over the crowd's "USA" chant, the headlines were immediate. Now we're hearing from the singer himself. Robinson defended his actions, saying to "Ultimate Classic Rock," "One of the [things] this country [was] founded on is being able to say whatever you want. And that's both sides of whatever you pick." He added the situation was way overblown. "I think the whole thing was, of course, blown out of context so people can get clicks and people can stir up the animosity and philosophies or how you feel about life...It doesn't matter. In a week, something else will come up that [will stir up] the hornets' nest." He also addressed what some people may take away from the incident. "No matter what I ever would say or do or feel about things, there's no way I would disrespect our veterans. I'm a person that I wish we had moved along as a species not to have violence be the way that we resolve conflicts. But for the people who've put their lives on the line and made that sacrifice and dedication, I wouldn't do that," Robinson explains. "I can see that for exactly what it is. Other than that, you know, I have to speak my mind. But I don't have an agenda or anything."

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: They're Disrespecting My Albums

Ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer seems a little bit irked that his former bandmates have basically memory-holed the two albums he made with them. Klinghoffer replaced John Frusciante in 2009 and made two albums with the Chili Peppers, 2011's I'm With You and 2016's The Getaway, before Frusciante rejoined in 2019. Guitar World asked if Klinghoffer is bothered that those albums are now “ignored by the band.” At first, he replied diplomatically, “Not really. It’s a funny thing. I guess it’s particular to the way John views the band when he’s not in it, and it makes sense to me. They have enough music that they don’t need to look to some of the other records. “I guess it’s just something unique to that band, you know? Having such a revolving door there, and such a strong presence in John. He’s kind of the preeminent guitar player, you know? He’s the one who made the work with them where they experienced their global fame.” But then Klinghoffer added that there seems to be “a little bit of a slight disrespect to the records that aren’t the John records. Once John’s back in the picture, it’s like the other records don’t exist. That’s the only weird thing to me, because those records were important at the time, you know? They were important enough to go and play them around the world.”

ALICE COOPER: Snake Bitten

If you've ever been to an Alice Cooper show, then you know that his act includes a boa constrictor. Well, employing a reptile is not without consequences, and Cooper has had quite a few of them, one of which occurred 49 years ago this Friday, June 5th, 1977. On that day, the boa died after being bitten by a rat it was trying to eat. This led Cooper to hold a public audition to replace the snake. But wait, that's not all. There was one that urinated on stage, and what he says was the funniest occurred in 2004 when the one named Alice ate the heating pad in its cage, which was plugged in, prior to a show in Wallingford, Connecticut. "We called up the vet and he says, 'Well, unplug the plug.' Okay. 'Don't try to pull it out 'cause it'll pull his stomach out.' So, we took him to the hospital, put him to sleep, opened him up, took the heating pad out and he's in a petting zoo now doing fine." Cooper's show went on that night as planned with a borrowed yellow anaconda filling in.

Triumph Shares Update Regarding Mike Levine's Health

Triumph are giving fans an update regarding Mike Levine's health.The cofounder and bassist hasn't been able to join the band on their current reunion tour due to health issues.In an interview with WPHD personality Tigman, Gil Moore said "it's just an ongoing process," and "there's a slim chance we'll still see him before the end of the run."Triumph's reunion runs through June 10th, when the band performs in Quebec for a makeup date.

Soul Asylum Announce Tour Dates, MPLS Unplugged Live Album

Soul Asylum are gearing up to hit the road for a world tour coinciding with the release of "MPLS Unplugged," a live album commemorating their 1993 MTV "Unplugged" performance. The band will perform in the U.K and Europe before heading to North America. The U.S. dates begin on July 13th in Oroville, California, and wrap up in Clear Water, Florida, on November 21st. Soul Asylum's album, "MPLS Unplugged," will be out on August 28th. Tickets for the tour are available now.

Richie Sambora Sings "Livin' On A Prayer" At Daughter's Wedding

While Richie Sambora may no longer be in Bon Jovi, that doesn't mean he's forgotten the words to their songs. The guitarist posted a video clip from his daughter Ava's wedding last month, where the newlyweds (and the rest of the guests) danced and sang as dad led a performance of "Livin' On A Prayer." Should Richie have messed up the lyrics, the crowd had him covered, as there aren't too many people that don't know all the words to the 1986 classic tune.

IN OTHER NEWS

After teaming with the Red Devils Mexican baseball team for six exclusive caps and a special edition jersey, The Rolling Stones will release three special vinyl editions of their new album,

Foreign Tongues, in collaboration with FIFA to coincide with the upcoming World Cup tournament. And their new song “In the Stars” is featured on the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Album. Foreign Tongues will be released on July 10th.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer drummer Carl Palmer will take part in the inaugural Prog Rock Prom, Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man on July 18th at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The show features the BBC Concert Orchestra performing songs by ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance and others.

Slash and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers assist composer Bear McCreary on the song "Cool Kids." Check it out on YouTube. McCreary's new album, The Singularity: Ekleipsis, will be out on July 31st, and also includes an appearance by Stewart Copeland of The Police.

Congratulations to Alice Cooper band guitarist Nita Strauss and her husband-manager Josh Villalta on their first child, Maxwell James, who was born on May 28th.

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is once again warning fans about “fake posts by profiles on Jethro Tull-related pages.” He posted a video on Instagram, captioning it, “We have concerns that some people may take offense at this false information and in some cases, part with money for merchandise or meet and greets with Ian. Please report any erroneous posts to the relevant platforms to help combat this plague of misinformation.”

Warren Haynes has shared a live cover of The Grateful Dead's "Shakedown Street" from his upcoming orchestral album Dreams & Songs, which is due out later this year. Check it out on YouTube.

Violet Grohl made her TV debut on Jimmy Fallon Wednesday night. Check out her performance of "Bug in the Cake" on YouTube.

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