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Today in 1973 marks the anniversary of the very first live performance by KISS.  Gene Simmons managed to score the group a three-night stand (two sets a night) at The Popcorn Club, from January 30 through February 1, for a flat fee of $150. The group played to three people during their first set and no more than 10 over the course of the evening. The next two days were hardly better.  Perhaps you remember, a few days later, February 03, KISS played the University of Manitoba…and that show has the distinction of being where the first piece of KISS memorabilia was sold.  Make sure you join us tonight (January 30) for Turntable Classics…Howard has the first side of the debut album from Kiss.

While we’re talking KISS memorabilia, if you missed out on the original line of KISS action figures introduced in 1977, this is for you. Figures Toy Company has announced a line of KISS action figures made in the image of those collectibles.  In addition to recreating the original 12-inch toys that were popular in the late ’70s, Figures will produce the four original KISS members (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss) in 8-inch versions.  The next editions in the works will feature the band in the Sonic Boom, Dressed to Kill and debut album eras. Both editions, which feature the band’s Love Gun-era looks, will be available starting in March.

There’s a lot of talk about the new Van Halen, and how much of it is old stuff from the mid to late seventies.  Sammy Hagar is throwing his opinion into the mix…when asked how he feels about Van Halen coming back, he says, “Oh, I’m okay with those guys doing whatever they want to do. What I’ve heard so far, I wasn’t impressed with at all, personally. I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and and re-record it instead of writing new songs. Who is VAN HALEN today? I don’t know, I don’t think the fans are going to be happy with it. I couldn’t care less if it’s the biggest album of the year; that wouldn’t be important to me. What is important to me is that, as artists, why would you do that?  I think there’s zero inspiration and zero creativity. If there was any, they would write new songs.”  In a completely SEPARATE interview, David Lee Roth says he and the band “have tried to do a sort of collaboration with our past. We can’t be the same people — too much has changed — but there’s interesting experimentation in the era-spanning synthesis of self.”

Once again Bruce Springsteen fans are furious with Ticketmaster after being left without tickets due to their website problems. Friday’s on-sale dates for his New Jersey and New York City shows left most fans waiting through an endless 15 minute countdown to be connected to completing their order — with many fans either left there indefinitely or eventually disconnected.  Back in February 2010, Springsteen fans scored a victory against Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s Ticketmaster unit for 2009′s bait-and-switch scam in which ticket buyers were sent to online “legal” scalpers charging over 10 times of the seat’s face value.

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This makes me so happy, because a world without new Neil Young is no world I want to live in…Neil Young and longtime backing band Crazy Horse have completed a new album — with another one currently in production. Young announced the first new album with the band since 2003′s Greendale on Sunday while speaking during a masterclass at Park City, Utah’s Slamdance Festival with director Jonathan Demme. The two were on hand to discuss their most recent film, Journeys. When Young mentioned the current work with Crazy Horse, the audience burst into applause.  And rightly so!  No word on when those albums will be released.

Out today is the Doors’ L.A. Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition. Included on the two-disc set is first new, completely unreleased song in 40 years, called “She Smells So Nice” — an outtake from the album’s 1971 sessions, which were the band’s last with Jim Morrison.  The expanded reissue features a bonus disc of alternate takes, along with two songs left off the original album — “She Smells So Nice,” and “Rock Me.”

Roger Waters has married his longtime girlfriend Laurie Durning. It’s Waters’ fourth time down the aisle; the couple have been together since 2004.  Waters confirmed the couple’s January 14 wedding during an interview with Howard Stern last week.

Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon are teaming up with CBS to give away a trip to New York, $500, and…a colonoscopy?  Um…pardon?  Apparently Sharon & Ozzy have joined forces with the New York-Presbyterian Hospital to create the CBS Cares Colonoscopy Sweepstakes.   One lucky, and simultaneously unlucky, winner will receive airfare to New York City, $500 to play with, and hotel accommodations.  Oh yeah, they’ll also get a camera crammed in their rectum.  No word on whether it will be filmed by CBS, or if Ozzy will be there helping out the procedure.

In 1981, KISS released a concept album entitled “(Music From) The Elder”.   Do you remember that album?  It was supposed to be the soundtrack to a movie — a movie which, due to the relative commercial failure of the album, was never made.   Now, thirty years after the album’s original release, independent filmmaker Seb Hunter announced plans to produce a “post-apocalyptic road movie” based on “(Music From) The Elder”, with production slated to begin this summer.  For more information, visit ElderTheMovie.com.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band launch the first US leg of the 2012 ‘Wrecking Ball’ World Tour on March 18 in Atlanta. Bruce Springsteen’s 17th studio album ‘Wrecking Ball’ will be released on Columbia Records on March 6.  Nothing this way…these are mostly east coast dates like New York and New Jersey…the closest to us is Detroit.  But…that’s good news!!!  Getting closer to Winnipeg!  Check out brucespringsteen.net for details.

Iron Maiden will release the new live package, “En Vivo!” on March 27 and they have released a trailer to give fans a look at to expect.  Maiden were recorded and filmed live on April 10, 2011 in front of over 50,000 fans at the Estadio Nacional, Santiago during the Round The World In 66 Days leg of The Final Frontier World Tour.  Check out the trailer below!

It’s officially announced…Bruce Springsteen’s new album will be called WRECKING BALL and will be released on March 06…it’s his SEVENTEENTH studio album.  Still no word on a North American tour, but I suppose first things first…get the album deets out, blow everybody away with the first single which is called “We Take Care of Our Own”, and THEN release those dates.

It’s never to late to admit that you maybe made a mistake…even if it was 25+ years ago.  Roger Waters spoke candidly about Pink Floyd during a recent interview. When asked about parting ways with David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and the late Rick Wright in the mid-’80s, he explained: “It was character forming.” When Waters was presssed and asked if the band was wrong to regroup and perform Floyd material on the road without him, Waters — who viciously battled Gilmour and Mason in court over the group’s name — admitted: “No I don’t think so. I think I was wrong to think they were wrong.”  A reconciliation of sorts?  Roger Waters will be in Winnipeg on May 31 and June 01…the first show is sold out, but the second one is still good to go.

Is Vince Neil REALLY thinking of hanging up his Motley Crue hat?  He was interviewed the other day and was asked about the future of the band.  Vince said, “Eventually it’s time to call it quits. I’ve been sitting on my boat in the Bahamas for the last month and just thinking about the future. There’s a lot of really cool things coming up in my mind, and it might be the time to just kind of bow out. But I haven’t made a decision a hundred percent yet. It’s just a thought that’s been going through my head.”  This after they just decided to do a residency at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas February 03 – 19.

And finally, out in select stores is the brand new AC/DC pinball machine!!!  This sounds SO wikkid cool…there’s a ball shooting CANNON in the game, a TNT detonator, and something called “the Devil’s jukebox”, all while one of twelve AC/DC tracks belt out of thew speakers.  It sounds like it rules…you can get more info at sternpinball.com…but expect the game to set you back, oh, almost $6000.

The folks at MelodicRock.com have reported that the deluxe edition of Van Halen‘s new album, A Different Kind Of Truth, will contain a bonus DVD called The Downtown Sessions, featuring brand new acoustic performances of the songs “Panama,” “You And Your Blues,” “You Really Got Me” and “Beautiful Girls.”  It’s due in stores in February.  Still no official woprd on when tickets will be available for the May 17 show here in Winnipeg….we’ll let you know as soon as we can!

In other Van Halen news, Eddie Van Halen has donated 75 electric instruments from his personal collection to schools in Los Angeles and the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports music education in public schools.  The instruments will go to schools that need guitars to meet the demands of students.  Of the donation, Eddie says, “Music education and families are dealing with the economic times, and I wanted to help them.  If I can help a kid discover a liking, or even a passion for music in their life, then that’s a wonderful thing.  Music has provided a good life for me and hopefully it can help make life better for others with this donation”.

Metallica is working on a 3D film. They posted a statement that read: “We’re here to tell you that, yes, there is indeed a 3D project in the very early stages of production! We wish we could tell you more right now, but we don’t have all the finer points nailed down just yet. What we can tell you is that we are planning on being in a theatre near you sometime in 2013 and as you hear us say ever so often, this will be the space for all the details as we finalize them.”

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. A statement on Tony’s website reads, “His bandmates would like everyone to send positive vibes to the guitarist at this time.Iommi is currently working with his doctors to establish the best treatment plan — the ‘Iron Man’ of Rock & Roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery”.

A group of irate die-hard Rolling Stones fans calling themselves the “Rolling Stones Liberation Front” have released a set of demands for the band’s rumored 50th anniversary tour. Ultimate-Guitar.com posted the requests in full, saying, “if these demands aren’t met, they’re threatening non-violent, disruptive action to force home their campaign.”  Their six demands are:  play smaller venues, lower ticket prices, a set list overhaul, get rid of the horns and backup singers, no opening acts, and all fans…take responsibility of yourself.

We all waited anxiously on January 03 for the promised announcement of a Van Halen tour…no such announcement made.  What WAS announced was that Van Halen will be performing an intimate show at a little club in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village on Thursday night.  Speculation is that this is the show that will kick start the tour, and more tour dates will be announced shortly thereafter.

Also in the band dysfunction category, CCR broke up in 1971 due to John Fogerty allegedly being controlling, manipulative, etc.  Doug Clifford and Stu Cook have both gone on record this week to say that they have zero interest in reuniting with Fogerty, despite Fogerty seeming to have a change of heart this past summer when he stated on the record that he would be open to the idea of a reunion.  Clifford and Cook said that the time for reconciliation has long passed, with Cook explaining, “Leopards don’t change their spots. This is just an image-polishing exercise by John. My phone certainly hasn’t rung.” Clifford went on to say: “It might have been a nice idea 20 years ago, but it’s too late.”

Representatives for Pink Floyd have flat out denied that the band’s surviving members — Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason — would be reuniting this summer in London to close out the 2012 Olympic games. A spokesperson told the Floyd tour site outsidethewall.net:  “This is all simply not true. Roger Waters’ tour is in full swing this summer with more shows expected to be released for August in North America, and David Gilmour is working on a new album to possibly be toured in late 2012-2013. These sorts of rumors are spread about like mad every few months and it really disrupts the band members focus on their current projects.”

And Slash has been honored for his music skills with the Guitar International 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.   The award praise artists who “have deepened our passion for our favorite music, as well as entertained and inspired guitarists around the world.”