On Sunday night (Sept 2), Starship performed at a concert in  Norfolk Nebraska with Boston and Survivor. Following the show, lead guitarist Mark Abrahamian complained of not feeling well, and went back to the dressing room to eat and call his  fiance. He was on the phone when he  collapsed and was was raced to hospital where he died of a heart attack at the age of 46 .

“Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head” will be released on September 25. It’s a tribute to Deep Purple’s landmark album “Machine Head”, and it features a number of artists performing tracks from it. “Smoke On The Water” is handled by  Carlos Santana & Jacoby Shaddix with a second version by the Flaming Lips , “Highway Star”  is covered by  Chickenfoot,  and Iron Maiden deliver “Space Truckin”.

John Lord, former keyboard player for Deep Purple died today (Monday July 16) after suffering a fatal pulmonary embolism following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Last month, he cancelled a scheduled live performance to continue treatment but assured fans he’d be back at work soon. Lord Joined Deep Purple in 1968.  He was also a member of Whitesnake before returning to a  re-formed Deep Purple  and had been enjoying a solo career until his illness became too serious.  He died in London England at the age of 71.

Aerosmith’s new album “Music From Another Dimension” was originally to have been released in the Spring before the band went on tour.  Then the release date was changed to August 29.  Now we’ll have to wait a little longer. No reason has been given, but the band was still in the mixing stage when they recently hit the road to begin the Global Warming Tour. They won’t have much time to work on the album until the summer leg is over on August 8. We’re told that  the new release date will be in November.

A few months ago, organizers of the London 2012 Olympics asked The Who’s management if Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon would consider playing during the closing ceremonies.  Daltrey and Townshend seem interested but Moon was noticeably silent. The organizers must have forgotten that he died in 1978.

Having cleared that up, The Who will perform at the closing ceremonies as one of four bands representing  Britain over the past 50 years. George Michael, Take That and rising pop star Emilie Sande will also perform. The concert will take place August 12 at London’s Olympic Park.

Bob Welch was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday (June 7) at his home in Nashville. Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974 and went on to  form the band Paris in 1976 and record the hits “Ebony Eyes” and “Sentimental Lady”. A spokesperson confirmed that Welch’s wife Wendy found her husband and that he had left a suicide note. Welch had recently undergone spinal surgery but had learned that he wouldn’t recover and didn’t want to burden his wife with caring for him. He was 65.

The Ottawa Folk Festival takes place Sept 6-10 at Hog’s Back Park featuring folk, roots, blues and pop with workshops and vendors on-site. Included in the line-up this year:  Bon Iver, Ben Harper, Great Big Sea,  Matthew Good,  Matt Mays  Kathleen Edwards and many others.  A special 99$ festival pass offer ends Friday June 8 at midnight. Get more details HERE.

     Joe Walsh’s first solo album in 20 years is streaming online now at the Rolling Stone website.  Analog Man is the first solo record from the Eagles and James Gang guitarist since 1992′s Songs For A Dying Planet.  You can listen to it now, and purchase it June 5th.

Now that Steven Tyler’s American Idol duties are over with for another season, Aerosmith is getting ready to hit the road. They were supposed to have a new album out by now, but recently let fans know that it wasn’t coming until September. The official date and title have now been revealed. “Music From Another Dimension” will arrive on August 28. The first single “Legendary Child” has already been released and is also featured in the new movie “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”.

Rogers Waters has been on the road with The Wall Live tour since 2010 and has often said that after the final date in North America, he was pulling the plug on the extravaganza.  That final date would have been in Philadelphia on July 14, but Waters has just added a new gig a week later in Quebec City. The Quebec City show will mark 22 years to the day that The Wall was performed in Berlin, and Waters himself announced that the new performance will feature more pyrotechnic effects, more lighting effects and a surround-sound system to “shake the entire site”. The set will include the biggest wall yet. In Water’s words, “This one will be different. It’s going to be 800 feet wide, to make it the widest wall ever. When we did it in Berlin the end of the wall tapered off. Here it’s going to look like it disappears, so we get a Great Wall of China effect”.

Tickets for the outdoor show go on sale June 5. There are priority wristbands available for those who register on RogerWaters.com.

It sounds like it’s going to be the ultimate finale to the road trip. Or as Waters puts it, “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do outdoors theatrically. If you don’t come there’s something f******g wrong with you”.