Police Investigating B.B. King Murder Claims
(Classic Rock) Two of B.B. King’s daughters have claimed he was poisoned to death by members of his management team, according to court papers. Las Vegas police confirmed that homicide detectives were investigating the claims.
Patty King and Karen Williams made legal documents available to the Associated Press in which they allege executive LaVerne Toney and personal assistant Myron Johnson killed their father.
King died on May 14, aged 89. Plans for his burial have been put on hold as his body has been returned to a mortuary pending the results of an autopsy, which may take up to eight weeks.
Duff McKagan On Guns N’ Roses Break Up and Possible Reunion
Duff McKagan spoke with WIND-FM’s Hunter and Michaels morning show about the break up of the original lineup of Guns N’ Roses and also his views on the possibility of a reunion.
McKagan had this to say about the break up, “I think every band is different, for sure. With our band, it was a lot of things. We just got really big. Once we started getting big, we got really big really fast. And there’s no ‘how-to’ instructional manual for that thing, what happens to your life. We just fall into every kind of stupid typical thing that we thought we’d never fall into.”
He also had this to say about the possibility of a reunion, “It could happen, and it could not. And I think it would be wonderful, one day, if we reconciled, first and foremost. That alone would be cool.”
Sebastian Bach Says Bolan Is Skid Row’s Bill Ward
(Classic Rock) Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has described bass player Rachel Bolan as ‘the band’s Bill Ward.’ Bach – who was sacked by Skid Row in 1996 – says Bolan is the only member of the band who has a problem with him. Comparing the situation to that which exists between Black Sabbath’s estranged drummer Ward and frontman Ozzy Osbourne, Bach hints that jealousy could be at the heart of Bolan’s dislike of him.
He tells Metal Injection: “I’ve talked to all of those guys except the bass player, and he is the one that has it in for me. Some of these musicians like to use this term ‘lead singer’s disease,’ and I think that’s a way of dealing with the extra attention that the frontman gets.
“And it’s not just Skid Row – it’s Aerosmith, Van Halen, Kiss and Black Sabbath. I guess Rachel is, like, the Bill Ward of Skid Row. I think that’s really what it is. Because I haven’t given that guy any reason to dislike me in 19 years.”
Trent Reznor Part Of Batman: Arkham Knight Game
(TeamRock Radio) Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor is behind the music for upcoming video game Batman: Arkham Knight. He’s listed as music consultant on the title, set to be launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 23.
Producers have released a trailer for the game last week featuring NIN track The Wretched, and tweeted: “Please join us in thanking Trent Reznor for his vision.”
It’s been suggested by fans that he was instrumental in getting directors Tim and Jeff Cronenweth to work on the project, after collaborating with them on Gone Girl and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – the latter winning Reznor a Grammy.
Slash Interview About Performing With Michael Jackson Animated
(Radio.com) The latest Minimation, where Radio.com animate interviews with legendary artists goes back to last year when Slash spoke to them about going on tour with Michael Jackson. He clashed with MJ’s guitarist over one issue, and it wasn’t about who gets to solo first.
In last week’s Radio.com Minimation, Slash told us the story of how he ended up playing guitar on Michael Jackson’s 1991 album, Dangerous. The two artists hit it off pretty well. MJ was used to playing with great six-stringers (he’d worked with Eddie Van Halen and Steve Stevens on previous albums). And Slash was used to working with eccentric singers (perhaps you’ve heard of one W. Axl Rose?).
And so, Slash did a few shows with the King of Pop as his special guest. Of course, MJ already had a guitar player – namely Jennifer Batten, a face-melting soloist in her own right. But no matter how good you are at your instrument, when you’re in Michael Jackson’s band, there are rules you must follow. Such as, taking part in on-stage choreography. So, it’s understandable that she figured, he she had to learn to dance, Slash would as well.
Slash, who at the time was a member of Guns N Roses, the baddest band in the land, was pretty firm on his stance: He was not going to dance. As he told Radio.com, Batten was “losing her mind about it.”
At that point, Michael got involved, taking her down to “the sports bathrooms” (i.e. the locker rooms) and moderated. Spoiler: Slash didn’t learn choreography.
But Batten wasn’t the only person annoyed by Slash performing with Jackson; if a recent interview by Guns’ former manager is accurate, the Jackson/Slash shows led to Slash exiting GNR.