Anne Erickson holds bylines in several Gannett publications as well as Ultimate Classic Rock, Gibson Guitar, Premier Guitar, Guitar Edge and beyond. She's also a radio DJ and is currently working on-air on Townsquare Media rock station Banana 101.5-FM and is the programmer and managing editor of Audio Ink Radio. She holds a master’s degree from Michigan State University. Interview highlights: Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins, Ozzy Osbourne, Maynard James Keenan from Tool and A Perfect Circle, Alice Cooper, Skillet, RED, As I Lay Dying, Cake.
Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, a New York native, played an emotional rendition of his classic song, ‘The Sound of Silence,’ at the Twin Towers Memorial Service this morning to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.
Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider will trade spouses with rapper Flavor Flav on the upcoming TV show 'Celebrity Wife Swap.' You’re probably familiar with the original 'Wife Swap,' where regular guys and gals trade spouses for a while and realize nobody else can handle their quirkiness and odd behavior other than their current partners.
Slash fans are about to get a dose of the curly-haired guitar idol live onstage, brought right to their living rooms. Slash just performed a special homecoming show at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent -- where he grew up -- and the gig was taped for a DVD release, set to drop in October.
Styx fans got a bit of bad news earlier this month, when guitarist Tommy Shaw announced there was practically no chance he’d ever let former frontman Dennis DeYoung rejoin the band.
But, Styx die-hards, don’t lose heart yet. It turns out, DeYoung holds no animosity towards his former bandmate, and he even says (albeit begrudgingly so) that a reunion might not be out of the picture.
As we recently reported, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have already been through seven different guitarists, thought the departure of John Frusciante really might be the end of the band. Luckily, they kept on, and are now delighted with how new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has brought fresh ideas to the band.
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars’ upcoming solo album will feature some hard-rock heavyweights, says Andy Biersack of the glam-rock band Black Veil Brides. Biersack is among the artists set to appear on the disc.
Motley Crue singer Vince Neil is helping a noble cause, the Skylar Neil Foundation, by selling an autographed portrait of himself.
Sir Elton John has a pretty gloomy view of the music industry, saying it’s “disappearing” because of the lack of artist development, resulting in musicians being dropped from labels if they don’t instantly score a No. 1 selling album.
With MTV’s launch on Aug. 1, 1981, the music video took on a whole new level of importance. Classic rock bands like Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith met the challenge straight on with epic, often uber-expensive short films that ran over and over on the small screen. Since then, every genre and generation has seen its video favorite, from Nirvana’s zombie-like cheerleaders in 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' to Foo Fighters’ hilarious cross-dressing routine for 'Everlong.'
