Jackson Autopsy Reveals "No Foul Play," Cause of Death
Unknown
The Los Angeles Coroners Office held a press
conference today to announce that Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed no
indications of foul play of evidence of physical trauma. However the cause of
death cannot be determined until a toxicology report and other tests are
completed in four to six weeks, a spokesperson for the Coroners Office said. He
also confirmed that Jackson had been taking unspecified prescription
medications. The autopsy lasted an estimated three hours, the norm for cases
like these, the spokesperson said. Jackson's body will be released to his
family.
Police Department is still
searching for Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with the
singer when he fell unconscious, according to the person who made the 911 phone
call requesting an ambulance to Jackson's home. Murray's car was seen being
towed away from Jackson's Los Angeles residence by the LAPD, who believed that
the automobile might contain "medications pertinent to the investigation." An
LAPD detective added the police wanted to interview Murray regarding Jackson's
death.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Murray, a
cardiologist from Texas, was hired by AEG Live, the concert promoter that
undertook the production of Jackson's planned This Is It! run of concerts at
London's O2 Arena. Jackson's adviser Dr. Tohme Tohme told the Times Murray was
brought to Los Angeles by AEG Live less than two weeks ago and that the
physician had planned to accompany Jackson and the production to London next
week. Jackson first met Murray when the doctor treated the singer for a cold
last year in Las Vegas.
"I don't know the exact arrangements, but AEG
paid [Murray] and he was going to go with [Jackson on tour],' Tohme said. The
LAT adds that Murray has a history of money problems stemming from three
judgments filed against his company Global Cardiovascular Associates, totaling
$435,000.
Paul McCartney Comming to Atlanta, Boston and Washington,
DC
What began as Paul
McCartney christening the New York Mets' new Queens stadium is beginning to
develop into a mini tour as Sir Paul has added shows in Boston, Washington,
DC, and Atlanta, Georgia, to his summer schedule. And his Website implies
more dates are on the way: "Look out for more news on additional dates here
on PM.com very, very, soon..." The Atlanta concert on August 15th will be a
benefit to raise money for the upkeep of the city's Piedmont Park, which
will host the concert.
Piedmont Park
was founded in 1887, but local authorities in recent years have struggled to
find the funds to maintain it. In 2007, the Dave Matthews Band and Allman
Brothers attracted 50,000 concertgoers to the park for a benefit show, and
Macca's August 15th concert is expected to eclipse that crowd, the AP
reports.
Additionally, McCartney has also
booked an August 1st concert at Washington, DC's FedEx Field, home of the
Washington Redskins. According to a press release, Paul's set will be stocked
with Beatles, Wings and solo career hits, plus some songs from Paul's side
project the Fireman and their new album Electric Arguments. The concert will be
McCartney's first in the nation's capital since October 2005, however the
Beatles' played their first-ever concert in America at the Washington Coliseum
in 1964. Tickets for the FedEX Field show go on sale tomorrow, June 26th.
McCartney's pair of shows at Boston's Fenway Park (where Phish and Dave Matthews
Band recently performed) go down August 5th and 6th.
McCartney's headlining set at
Coachella was his most recent stateside gig before he announced a pair of shows
at New York's new Citi Field. The structure is a replacement for Shea Stadium,
where the Beatles played their legendary concert in 1965; McCartney helped Billy
Joel play the last-ever gig there before it was demolished. McCartney's shows at
the new stadium are July 17th, 18th and 21st.
"The Road to Woodstock": The Stories Behind Rock History
With the 40th
anniversary of Woodstock approaching in August, organizer Michael Lang
reveals the madness behind throwing the historic festival in his book with
Holly George-Warren, The Road to Woodstock. The book hits stores June 30th,
but Rolling Stone has a first look: Lang recounts his first meeting with
dairy farmer Max Yasgur, who provided the upstate New York venue for the
festival. He remembers courting Bob Dylan, and why the legend didn't hit the
stage at Woodstock. Lang explains how managed to hang on to the Grateful
Dead and the Who, and recounts how Sly and the Family Stone took the event
to epic heights.
Aerosmith's New York Opening Act: "Guitar Hero" Fanatic
Before Metallica took the stage for their epic set at
Austin's Stubbs during SXSW this year, a crew of expert
Guitar Hero aficionados performed game versions of the
band's blistering songs. Now a 28-year-old Staten Island man
named Paul Cataldo is getting his turn in the spotlight: the
couch rocker will open for Aerosmith at New York's Jones
Beach Friday night by performing the Guitar Hero version of
"Sweet Emotion" in front of the crowd of 17,000, the Daily
News reports. Cataldo, a YouTube contest winner, put on a
Steven Tyler-style top hat and vintage Aerosmith shirt for
his audition video. He admits "Walk This Way" is his
favorite of the band's songs, "But I didn't want to try
anything too difficult, and I wanted a song I could do
justice to. It's the one that I did the best."
Eminem, Kiss to Headline Voodoo
Eminem will take the stage for
his first major concert event in four years Halloween
weekend in New Orleans, at the 11th annual Voodoo Music
Experience, according to an official press release. Kiss,
Jane's Addiction and the Flaming Lips have also been named
as headliners. The event's eight stages will also feature
appearances by Widespread Panic, Justice, the Black Keys,
Wolfmother and Silversun Pickups (full lineup below).
Promoters will be picking up the tab for all ticket
surcharges, giving fans what organizers describe as a 15
percent savings. The festival takes place October 30th and
31 and November 1st.
Kiss; Eminem; Jane's Addiction;
Widespread Panic; The Flaming Lips; Justice; Gogol Bordello;
Wolfmother; Eagles of Death Metal; The Black Keys; The Pogues;
Ween; Silversun Pickups; Janelle Monae; The Cool Kids; Meat
Puppets; Mutemath; Q-Tip; Fischerspooner; Brand New; D12;
American Bang; Generational; Earl Greyhound; Squirrel Nut
Zippers; Black Lips; Mates of State; All Time Low; Robert
Randolph & the Family Band; The Knux; George Clinton &
Parliament Funkadelic; JJ Grey & Mofro; Alejandro Escovedo;
Shooter Jennings; Down; Drive-By Truckers; Eric Church; Ledisi;
Rebirth Brass Band, New Orleans Bingo! Show; Trombone Shorty &
Orleans Ave All Stars; Big Sam's Funky Nation; Benjy Davis
Project; Papa Grows Funk; DJ Soul Sister; Rotary Downs; Andrew
Duhon & The Lonesome Crows; MarchFourth Marching Band, Amanda
Shaw; Cyril Neville's Blues Revue with Tab Benoit, Big Chief
Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone; Beausoleil; John Mooney &
Bluesiana; Quintron & Miss Pussycat; Fleur De Tease; Suplecs;
Little Freddie King; Preservation Hall Stars with Special
Guests; The Happy Talk Band; Lil Brian and the Zydeco Travelers;
Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship?; Ratty Scurvics;
Mynameisjohnmichael; Loose Marbles; Luke Winslow King; Dan Dyer;
Walter "Wolfman" Washington & The Roadmaster with the Dirty
Dozen Horns; New Orleans Klezmer All Stars; Glasgow; Leroy Jones
Group; Mas Mamones; Zydepunks; White Bitch; The Vettes; Lucy's
Walk; Erick Baker; Sarah Quintana; TBC Brass Band; Bones;
Legends to Nancy; Leo Jackson and the Melody Clouds; Brother
Taisuke Mass Choir; Leroy Jones Group Katey Red, Big Freedia,
Sissy Nobby with DJ Papa.
Guitar Gods Crank It Up for New Documentary "It Might Get Loud"
Jack White is one of the stars of a new film about guitar
gods, but six-strings are fundamentally unimportant, he
surprisingly tells Rolling Stone after a screening of It
Might Get Loud. "It doesn't matter if it's a guitar or a
sitar or a keyboard or a synthesizer," he says. "We're
getting into something better than that, deeper than that."
(Check out the film's trailer below.)
It Might Get Loud is the stirring new documentary on three
master guitarists of different generations: Led Zeppelin's
Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge, and the White Stripes' and the
Raconteurs' White. (Click for a sampling of the multifaceted
White's various projects.) Both Page and White attended the
film's premiere Friday at the Los Angeles Film Festival
(ahead of its official August 14th release), where it was
met with a standing ovation. The doc was directed by Davis
Guggenheim, who won a 2007 Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth,
and examines the work and
inspirations of these rock
guitarists, culminating in a three-man "summit" on a Warner
Bros. soundstage early last year where they chatted passionately
about music and jammed on one another's signature tunes. In one
scene, all three play wild bottleneck slide guitar on Zeppelin's
"In My Time of Dying." (Click for classic photos of Page and Led
Zeppelin onstage and off.)
"It Might Get
Loud" Trailer
"You could find other guitarists
that were virtuosos, and you could find other guitarists that
are legends, but you may not find three that are all searchers,"
Guggenheim said of his subjects. "Each one of them is still
searching and still trying to figure out what it means to make
music."
The film also follows each of the players to the sources of
their inspiration. Page is shown at home playing air-guitar to
an old 45 of Link Ray's "Rumble." The Edge is seen listening to
old The Joshua Tree demo tapes in his kitchen, then at U2's
studio in Dublin working on new material, heavy with gadgets and
effects - the scenes also reveal the guitarist's creative
struggle and thoughtfulness during the writing process. And
White is a biting, almost surly presence, preferring guitars
that are bent, broken or cheap. "I want it to be a struggle," he
tells Page and the Edge in the film. "Technology is the big
destroyer of emotion and truth."
Friday, Page and White held a press conference in Beverly Hills
with the director and producers. (Two nights before, Page was
spotted at White's show with the Dead Weather at L.A.'s Roxy
Theatre.) "What was really fascinating about this was that we
were all really self-taught guitarists so we'd all have
interesting characteristics," said Page, in a black leather
jacket. "It's not like where you're part of an orchestra, where
everyone has been taught the same way. This is really strong
with character."
After the press conference, Page, White and Guggenheim spoke
with Rolling Stone about a potential soundrack, volume and
letting it bleed.
Bon Jovi Launch Summerfest With Two-Hour Career-Spanning Set
"I
smell trouble in the air, baby," announced Jon Bon Jovi just
two songs into his namesake band's 130-minute performance at
Milwaukee's Summerfest on Thursday. "Trouble with a capitol
T."
But playing a to a
packed Marcus Amphitheater (capacity: 23,000) on the opening
night of Summerfest - an 11-day festival that features
700-plus bands performing on 11 stages - Bon Jovi and Co.
caused about as much trouble as Rod and Todd Flanders
combined. It's hard for the New Jersey quartet to shake
their good-guy sincerity, and why should they? Bon Jovi, for
one, sounded like a hopeless romantic, singing: "You were
born to be my baby"; "I won't lie to you"; "God, it's good
to see you smile."
This common touch goes a long way to
explaining the band's enduring appeal. Of course, having been
around for 26 years, the group has made certain concessions to
time. Bon Jovi, still fighting trim at 47, can no longer hit the
same high notes he did in the group's heyday and blocked in time
for a needed breather midway through the lengthy set, allowing
Sambora to take the raspy lead on "I'll Be There For You."
Bon Jovi walked the stage at a
casual pace, occasionally swiveling his derriere to-and-fro
(eliciting countless shrieks) or sparring with unseen enemies,
throwing a series of left hand jabs. The one time he ventured
into the crowd he seemed to regret it instantly. "Ladies, I
ain't scratch and sniff," he cracked, ambling back onstage. "I'm
getting too old for this shit."
But while the concert did feature
a couple of notable clunkers ("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" sounded
oddly like a disjointed garage band slogging its way through a
half-formed cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret"), the group
remained sharp. Drummer Tico Torres, sporting a pair of black
gloves, worked his kit like a bantamweight fighter on a
propulsive "Keep the Faith." Sambora grimaced his way through
countless solos - his facial contortions making it seem as
though the electricity were passing through his guitar strings
and directly into his body. The quartet were also joined by
rhythm guitarist Bobby Bandiera and bassist Hugh McDonald
(almost a dead-ringer for David Letterman in this light).
For his part, Bon Jovi evoked
memories of '83 on the synth-heavy "Runaway," channeled Toy
Story's Woody on "Raise Your Hands" ("Reach for the sky!") and
led an a cappella sing-along of "Livin' On a Prayer" that
briefly gave the venue the feel of a hairspray-saturated,
open-air cathedral. "We're just getting started," he shouted
triumphantly as Summerfest's fireworks hit their climax,
igniting the sky in a shower of sparks. Then three songs later
it was over. Even nice rock stars are prone to exaggeration.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" Drafts Gorillaz Animator For Cinematic Trip Through Band's Career
As
if the The Beatles: Rock Band trailer and the idea of
rocking out as the Fab Four on the Shea Stadium and Ed
Sullivan Show stages wasn't enough of a lure to convince
gamers to throw down for the Beatles-based title on
September 9th, Harmonix, MTV Games and Passion Pictures
director Pete Candeland have revealed the jaw-dropping
opening cinematic from TB:RB at the game's official Website.
Opening on the cloud-filled
skyline of Liverpool, the clip descends into the
subterranean clubs where the Beatles first played, then
segues into an homage to A Hard Day's Night and the Fab
Four's arrival in America at the height of Beatlemania.
John, Paul, George and Ringo suddenly find themselves in
Sgt. Peppers uniforms as the video explores the band's
psychedelic phase, and the quartet ride a giant rhinophant
(rhinoceros/elephant) while an army
of penguins and other weird creatures march to the tune of "I Am
the Walrus." And it only gets better from there.
The opening cinematic also contains
dozens of little Easter Eggs for eagle-eyed Beatles experts. For
instance, as the group flies over New York City, a yellow
submarine can be seen under a bridge. In the Liverpool segment,
concert posters promoting bands like "Carry That Weight" and
"Blue Jay Way" can be spotted. As the Beatles load into a car to
escape their fans, a lovely meter maid ("Lovely Rita") is
briefly seen in the background. It's like Where's Waldo? or the
opening sequence of The Simpsons, except insanely cool.
If the style seems reminiscent of
the Gorillaz's videos, it should come as no surprise that
director Candeland served as an animator for the Damon
Albarn-fronted cartoon band, collaborating with Gorillaz artist
Jamie Hewlett to create the videos for "Clint Eastwood," "Rock
the House" and "Feel Good Inc."
Bruce Springsteen's Manager Responds to Jersey Ticket Flap
Bruce Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, has fired back at
claims by Ticketmaster that suggest ticket-sale problems at
two recent New Jersey concerts were caused by the nearly
2,300 tickets that were withheld from the public. The latest
battle between Springsteen's camp and Ticketmaster began a
week ago, when the Newark Star-Ledger investigated Bruce's
May 21st concert at New Jersey's Izod Center and found only
108 of 1,126 prime seats were offered to the public. That
news prompted Ticketmaster's Barry Diller to tell the New
York Post, it was "minimally fair-minded" to point out the
problem since "Bruce Springsteen has been one of our most
vocal critics on our ticketing policies." In an
1,100-word letter posted on Springsteen's official Website,
Landau has responded by lashing out at Ticketmaster for
botching the initial onsale of the New Jersey shows - and
explaining that holding back tickets for
friends, family and media is a common practice. "We do hold
significant numbers of tickets when we play New Jersey, New
York and Los Angeles, as does every arena headliner," Landau
writes. "Unlike some Ticketmaster managed artists, no
tickets are held for high dollar resale on TicketsNow, or
through any other means."
Somehow, a new flurry of interest has been created around Thrill
Hill's ticket holds for the recent Izod Center shows. These are
the same shows that became such a subject of controversy when
they went on sale on February
6th. The new theory is that Bruce's holds were the problem on
February 6th, and not Ticketmaster's already acknowledged
failures on that day. But the truth is that Bruce's holds had
nothing to do at all with the breakdown of
Ticketmaster's system.
These are the undisputed facts about February 6th. On that
morning, when our fans went to buy their Bruce and Band tickets
for the face value of $95, they were in many cases immediately
linked to Ticketmaster's wholly owned
ticket reselling company TicketsNow, where prices were many
times higher than $95. We call this "bait and switch." As a
result, an undetermined but large amount of money flowed into
TicketsNow (and eventually Ticketmaster)
even though there were still tickets at normal prices yet to be
made available on Ticketmaster. We perceived this to have been a
major abuse of our fans, complained about it mightily, and added
that because of behavior like this, the pending merger of the
number one ticketing company and number one management company
(both owned by Ticketmaster) with the number one venue owner and
operator (Live Nation) might not be such a hot idea.
How do we know that all this is true?
1. On February 6th, when the ticket fiasco occurred,
Ticketmaster's CEO wrote to Bruce, myself, and our fans to
generously apologize, which apology we promptly and graciously
posted on our site. The letter stated that the
problem was the product of an inexplicable "glitch."
2. The volume of complaints received by New Jersey Attorney
General Anne Milgram exceeded anything ever experienced before
and she ultimately secured a consent degree from Ticketmaster,
in which they promised that some of
their practices ("glitches") with regard to its sister company
TicketsNow will never be repeated.
3. The CEO of Ticketmaster openly testified as to their
responsibility for these "glitches" in front of Committees of
Congress.
Based on all of the above, we can safely conclude that on
February 6th, Ticketmaster transferred legitimate requests for
tickets at face value over to their TicketsNow site, where they
could charge people hundreds and hundreds more dollars for the
same ticket. The amount of additional profit generated by
scalper type prices through this now famous "glitch" remains
unknown. Whether this was merely an extremely profitable
"glitch" for Ticketmaster/TicketsNow or something else, we have
no way of knowing.
Last Sunday, June 14, the Newark Star Ledger ran an article
entitled "Springsteen withheld best tickets from the public at
NJ concert, records show." This is the same article that the
Star Ledger runs whenever we do a few indoor shows in New
Jersey. It suggested that we were in someway responsible for the
Ticketmaster/TicketsNow problem. On Thursday, June 18, Hits
Magazine ran a summary of this article, On Friday, June 19,
Ticketmaster's Chairman attacked Bruce personally in the New
York Post, in an article called "Ticket Blitzkrieg." In this
article, Ticketmaster's Chairman deploys by implication
Ticketmaster's new line: despite their apology, despite the
consent decree with Attorney General Milgram, and despite their
testimony in Congress, the ticket catastrophe was actually
Bruce's fault.
Of course, the only thing wrong with the Chairman's spin is that
it's flatly untrue. He is merely using the time honored
tradition of blowing smoke to distract attention away from
Ticketmaster's already acknowledged responsibility for their
"glitches" on February 6th, the on-sale date of the two Izod
Center shows.
Now lets talk a little about Thrill Hill's ticket practices.
Perhaps the first thing to be said is that when we play New
Jersey, our fans know that we are usually going to do more than
two indoor shows in order to ensure, among other things, that
during the course of a tour, Springsteen tickets will be
plentiful so as many fans as possible will have a chance to get
great seats (hence the five upcoming shows at Giants Stadium.)
As our fans also know, we have kept all of our tickets under
$100 and do all that we can to ensure that as many as possible
are sold at face value.
Yes, we do hold significant numbers of tickets when we play New
Jersey, New York and Los Angeles, as does every arena headliner.
These holds are used by Bruce, his band members, and longtime
members of his extended organization, their families and close
relations; by the record label for its staff, for reviewers, and
for radio stations; by charities who are provided with tickets
for fund raising purposes, such as special auctions; for service
people who help us on a year-round basis; and for other similar
purposes. Unlike some Ticketmaster managed artists, no tickets
are held for high dollar resale on TicketsNow, or through any
other means.
Where are the Bruce holds? The 2,000 to 3,500 tickets closest to
the stage are on the floor and more than 95% of them go to the
public, making the basic premise of the Star Ledger headline
inaccurate. Secondly, with regard to seats held in the best
sections on either side, we always blend guest seats with fan
seats so that there are never any sections consisting entirely
of guest seats.
In addition, it is well known that we sometimes release a
significant number of excellent tickets on the day of the show
at the box office, which can only be bought with direct entrance
to the venue. It's known as the "drop." Many think that is done
on purpose to help combat the scalpers who prey on fans at the
last minute. That is a good thought.
(Also, in connection with the Izod Center shows in particular,
we released some of our holds to Attorney General Milgram to go
into the lottery she created to help deal with people who were
penalized by the Ticketmaster/TicketsNow "glitch" on February
6th.)
Those are our ticket practices, as they have evolved over more
than 30 years of experience. Does anyone seriously imagine that
any element of these practices caused Ticketmaster to redirect
ticket requests to TicketsNow for the Izod Center shows? What
would our incentive have been? It's not we who earned vastly
larger sums when fans paid way over the face value of the
tickets. It was Ticketmaster/TicketsNow.
Final thoughts: We have no interest in having an ongoing
conflict with Ticketmaster/TicketsNow or anyone else. That has
not been part of our history. And it is generally not our
purpose to spend time on this site on matters of this kind. But
we do get upset when we see fans being taken advantage of, as
they were on February 6th. So, when that stuff stops happening
(and the Ticketmaster/TicketsNow problems surrounding our recent
show in Washington D.C. shows that these issues are far from
resolved) we will stop complaining. And when the facts cease to
be misrepresented, we
will stop explaining.
Kiss "Days From Finishing" New Album, Walmart Deal In the Works
Kiss are wrapping up their first new LP since 1998's Psycho
Circus, guitarist Paul Stanley revealed in a post on the
band's official Website yesterday. "We're about four days
from finishing the new Kiss album. Eleven tracks, and it IS
everything I've told you. It IS classic. It IS all written
within the band. And IT ROCKS BIG TIME!," Stanley writes.
In news that will likely distress old school Kiss fans,
Stanley also revealed that guitarist Tommy Thayer and
drummer Eric Singer will both handle lead vocal duties at
some points on the album. "The songs, sound and playing will
knock your socks off. You will all be as proud and excited
as we all are," Stanley added. When Rock Daily spoke to
bassist Gene Simmons in March, the God of Thunder described
the LP as having a "classic '70s rock & roll vibe. Meat and
Potatoes." "There's nothing to prove to anybody," Simmons
said. "We're not interested in musical trends or anything
else. We're too long in the tooth for that." No release date
has been announced yet.
However, when Kiss do release their
new album, it will apparently be a Walmart exclusive. Simmons
revealed the news to an unlikely source - actress Denise
Richards - during a Sirius XM visit. The promotional blitz will
include Walmart dedicating an area of their stores to the band
and dubbing it "Kiss Korner," Simmons told Richards in the video
posted at Blabbermouth. Rumors of a deal along the lines of
AC/DC's massively successful exclusive with the retail giant
first emerged after Simmons and Stanley attended an Arkansas
Walmart shareholders meeting on June 5th.
Rob Halford on Recording at Ringo's, Opening for Led Zeppelin
To
mark the impending 30th anniversary of Judas Priest's
landmark British Steel, the band will be rocking the album
in its entirety this summer while on tour with Whitesnake.
They also have a new live disc on the horizon, July 14th's A
Touch of Evil: Live, and a lifetime of heavy metal advice to
share. Rolling Stone caught up with frontman Rob Halford,
who talked about breaking through in America, recording at
Ringo Starr's house, opening for Led Zeppelin and the best
spot to nab bondage gear. Read the whole Q&A here:
