Kid Rock will join forces with FOREIGNER and GRAND FUNK RAILROAD for a U.S. tour this spring summer. JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING will appear on select dates, with a special appearance by Trey Lewis at all shows.

The 24-city “Bad Reputation Tour” will kick off on April 6 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, making stops across the U.S. in Nashville, Boston, Chicago, and more before wrapping up with two shows in Detroit where Kid Rock holds records for most shows in a single season and highest ticket sales in the state of Michigan.

FOREIGNER’s Mick Jones said: “We are so looking forward to touring again with our good friend Kid Rock. Our 2015 tour across the U.S. introduced FOREIGNER to a whole new audience and I will never forget the wonderful times we had with him on his ten-show sold-out run in Detroit. I remember so well standing side stage watching some of his electrifying performances. I wrote ‘Dirty White Boy’ as a tribute to Elvis [Presley], but it also serves as a tribute to Kid Rock. I look forward to dedicating that song to him every night during the tour.”

“Bad Reputation Tour” dates:

Apr. 06 – Evansville, IN – Ford Center^
Apr. 08 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center^
Apr. 09 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center^
Apr. 15 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena^
Apr. 16 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena^
May 20 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center#
May 21 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena#
Jun. 10 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre^
Jun. 11 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre^
Jun. 15 – Atlanta, GA – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood^
Jun. 17 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion^
Jun. 18 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek^
Jun. 24 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion*
Jun. 25 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*
Aug. 05 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center*
Aug. 06 – Burgettstown, PA – Pavilion at Star Lake*
Aug. 12 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center*
Aug. 17 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center*
Aug. 19 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
Aug. 20 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
Aug. 24 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center*
Aug. 26 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live*
Aug. 27 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center*
Sep. 16 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre*
Sep. 17 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre*

* With FOREIGNER
^ With GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
# With JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING
All dates feature special appearance by Trey Lewis

Tickets go on sale on Friday, January 28 at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster.com.

Kid Rock is a multi-platinum award-winning American rock ‘n’ roll icon. His music has been characterized as a melting pot of musical genres; from rap-rock in the ’90s with singles “Bawitdaba” and “Cowboy” to the multi-chart hit “Picture”, a collaboration with Sheryl Crow, to the global smash hit “All Summer Long”, which charted at No. 1 in eight countries across Europe and Australia. Rock has sold almost 30 million records worldwide and has earned a reputation as one of the hardest-working acts in rock ‘n’ roll, blowing the roofs off arenas and stadiums on countless cross-country tours and treks around the globe. Kid Rock holds the Michigan record for most tickets sold with 150,000 for a run of ten consecutive sold-out shows, and set the Little Caesars Arena attendance record in his hometown of Detroit with 86,893 attendees in six sold-out shows. His newest album, “Bad Reputation”, will be released in conjunction with his 2022 tour. Kid Rock is also a passionate supporter of those who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to many other charitable causes.

DJ Ashba, who joined GUNS N’ ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck, spoke about his time with the Axl Rose-fronted outfit in a new interview with Mark Dean of Antihero Magazine. The guitarist said: “I didn’t know what to expect. I was hoping that one day Slash would come back, and the reason I took the gig is that, honestly, I was — no disrespect to Buckethead [former GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Brian Carroll, who was in the band between 2000 and 2004] or anybody — but seeing a guy run around with a chicken bucket on his head, it’s, like, to me, that took the coolness out of the band that I grew up loving, and that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to get in there and try to do whatever I could do to get justice, bring back that reckless rock and roll vibe of what Slash was all about and GUNS N’ ROSES was all about. To me, it was in a sense losing that thing that I loved about the band. And I love Buckethead as a guitarist. No disrespect at all — it’s just, in my opinion, he didn’t really fit the band.”

Asked if he was disappointed when he found out that Slash was returning to GUNS N’ ROSES and his time with the band was over, Ashba said: “Absolutely not. Actually, Axl wanted me to stay on board, and it’s one of those things where I was playing most of the Slash parts, and if he was coming back, that was great news for me as a fan and even better news for me as a musician, because it was never my band. I was just basically filling in till the big guy came back. But it allowed me to really experience a band on a level like no other, and I learned a lot of stuff about performing live on that magnitude. To me, it was great news, because I was going to go off and do what I’m doing now and that was to create and carve my own path.

“I’ve always been a big, big believer in not following in people’s footsteps, and I get more pride and joy [out of doing my own thing],” he continued. “Even if this thing never gets to that level, at least I’m cutting my own path and doing something really unique and, to me, as an artist, that’s awesome.”

Read the entire interview at Antihero Magazine.

A year ago, GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus talked about what it was like to work with Buckethead for a couple of years in the early 2000s. The eccentric musician, who wears a fried-chicken bucket on his noggin and talks only through a hand puppet, quit GUNS N’ ROSES in 2004 after becoming fed up with GUNS’ inability to complete an album or tour, his manager told MTV at the time.

“Bucket is very musical, but I think a lot of guys like that — phenomenal, prodigious talent — they’re not necessarily… I think Bucket’s music is great,” Fortus said. “What he does on his own, he’s out there, but he did understand how to make three guitars work, and that’s a very difficult thing. And he would lay out and just stand there and be weird and Bucket-y, and then he would come in on the choruses, and it would be huge. He got that; he understood that. [He’s] a phenomenal talent. But the thing is, socially, guys like Bucket spend so much time in their bedroom practicing that they don’t really — it’s just different for them socially.

“Being in a band, you’ve gotta relate to people,” Fortus continued. “And I think Bucket struggled with that. I always got along with him, but I think he really had a tough time with that.”

Ashba issued a statement in July 2015 saying that he was leaving GUNS N’ ROSES “to dedicate myself to my band SIXX:A.M., my adoring wife and family, and to the many new adventures that the future holds for me.” He later claimed that he was approached about being part of GN’R’s “Not In This Lifetime” tour, but that he declined, citing his desire to pursue SIXX:A.M. full time.

Only Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan from GN’R’s “Appetite For Destruction”-era lineup are taking part in the band’s current reunion. They are being joined by keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer. Also appearing with them is second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Ashba recently launched a dance/rock hybrid called GDM (Guitar Dance Music) with his ASHBA project. His latest release is a single called “Bella Ciao”, a modern-day EDM-driven makeover of the Italian folk classic. The song marked Ashba’s first release of 2021 and followed a series of tracks that were released in late 2020 through Edgeout Records/UMG/UMe, including “Hypnotic”, “Let’s Dance” and “A Christmas Storm”.

pic.twitter.com/HbaA7EUoRF
— Tracii ⨁ ???? (@TraciiGuns) January 24, 2022

BEARTOOTH has postponed its previously announced European tour with MOTIONLESS IN WHITE and STRAY FROM THE PATH to next year due to the ongoing restrictions resulting from the recent COVID-19 surge.

The trek, which was originally scheduled to kick off next month, will now take place in March and April 2023.

All original tickets remain valid for the rescheduled dates.

Earlier today (Monday, January 24), BEARTOOTH issued the following statement: “For us, there’s nothing worse than having to write a statement like this – but due to the ongoing COVID 19 restrictions, we have made the painful decision to reschedule our UK/EU tour dates.

“We had planned the biggest and best show to date, and we still look forward to bringing the same energy to you all in 2023.

“We are as frustrated as you are, but all original tickets remain valid for the rescheduled dates – and we promise that your patience and understanding will be rewarded. We have also added a couple of new dates to the tour in some cities we weren’t able to visit previously.

“More good news: we are already announced for a handful of European festivals in June. Over the next two weeks we will announce some more festivals and headline shows. So we will see many of you this Summer.

“Thank you all so much for your support.”

2023 tour dates:

March 09 – Frankfurt, DE @ Jahrhunderthalle
March 10 – Zurich, CH @ Volkhaus
March 11 – Luxembourg, LU Den Atelier
March 12 – Paris, FR @ Le Cabaret Sauvage
March 14 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
March 17 – Manchester, UK @ Victoria Warehouse
March 18 – Birmingham, UK @ Academy
March 19 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
March 21 – Tilburg, NL @ 013
March 23 – Cologne, DE @ Palladium
March 24 – Munich, DE @ Zenith
March 25 – Vienna, AT @ Gasometer
March 28 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
March 29 – Stuttgart, DE @ Porsche Arena
March 30 – Hamburg, DE @ Sporthalle
March 31 – Leipzig, DE @ Hause Auensee
April 01 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle

BEARTOOTH’s latest album, “Below”, was released in June 2021 via Red Bull Records. Singer Caleb Shomo stated about the LP: “‘Below’ is by far my favorite album I’ve made to date. It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it was as honest as I could be about how I felt. I hope everyone is ready to strap in for a wild ride of headbanging and rocking.”

In July 2020, Shomo told “Mosh Talks With Beez” about the musical direction of the new BEARTOOTH songs: “The easiest way I’ve been trying to explain this record to people without giving too much away is if ‘Disease’ was AC/DC, this record is BLACK SABBATH. It’s a lot more influenced in dark stoner rock, heavy power groove. Obviously, there’s still a lot of fast [stuff] and some punk rock and all that, but I’ve really been exploring with the stoner metal side of guitars and guitar tones and doing different tunings and lots of fuzz and chaos and layering the fuck out of my guitar tracks.

“The whole point, for me, of this mix and the sonics of this record is as big and loud and fucking sonically devastating as I can possibly get it,” he said. “So on a breakdown, for example, where on ‘Disease’ it would just be left guitar, right guitar, bass down the middle, this is literally… That little clip I posted [on Instagram ] is I think eight guitars, three bass tracks. Just experimenting — just doing dumb stoner shit and just trying my fucking best. Yeah, that’s the goal — is just sonic devastation, for sure.”

UK/EUR 2023 Update pic.twitter.com/pMU7QIfldo
— Beartooth (@BEARTOOTHband) January 24, 2022

THE DEAD DAISIES have announced the return of drummer extraordinaire Brian Tichy to the musical collective of Glenn Hughes, Doug Aldrich and David Lowy.

Brian first joined THE DEAD DAISIES in 2013 during the U.S. “Uproar” tour and has regularly played with the band ever since, including highlights in Cuba, in Poland with an immense orchestra at the Woodstock Festival (Poland) and performed on the “Revolución” and “Make Some Noise” albums. He is also known for playing with WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER and OZZY OSBOURNE, among others.

Said Tichy: “Well, what a nice way to start off 2022. I’m excited to get behind the drum kit and do some powerful, groovy rocking with my good friends Doug Aldrich, Glenn Hughes and David Lowy in THE DEAD DAISIES. Looking forward to seeing you all out on tour this year.”

Lowy stated: “We are thrilled to have Brian return to the DAISIES fold. He is an exceptional drummer and it’s great to have him taking command of the engine room. Tommy has decided to step away from THE DEAD DAISIES to pursue his own solo projects. We’re really looking forward to getting into the studio and hitting those global stages in 2022.”

The band added: “A huge thank you to the amazing Tommy Clufetos for rocking out with us. It was awesome to have him as part of the band in 2021. We wish him well.”

THE DEAD DAISIES’ latest album, “Holy Ground”, was released in January 2021. Recorded at La Fabrique Studios in the south of France with producer Ben Grosse, the LP is the band’s first to feature Hughes, who joined the group in 2019 as its new bassist and vocalist, replacing John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY).

Drummer Deen Castronovo (JOURNEY) announced his exit from THE DEAD DAISIES in January 2021, two days after the band’s publicist revealed that Clufetos would rejoin THE DEAD DAISIES when they hit the road in support of “Holy Ground”. Clufetos previously toured with THE DEAD DAISIES in 2015.

MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his getting sober last July, spoke about his journey in a new interview with Fox News. He said: “I love being sober for many reasons. Somebody told me recently, ‘Man, you look pretty good with everything you’ve been through.’ [Laughs] It was a journey. I was six years sober. I didn’t quite get it. I mean, I got it, but I slipped and went out one day and then I was four years sober. And then I slipped. I didn’t want to go back and forth. I checked myself into rehab 20 years ago because I wanted to get it. And then I wanted to pass that message on. I want them to see what recovery can look like.”

Sixx struggled with substance abuse for years and was even supposedly declared clinically dead after a heroin overdose in 1987 made his heart stop for two minutes. The 63-year-old has since become actively involved in a recovery “program,” which he credited for helping him transform his life and relationships.

“By letting go of self and ego, working a program that connects you to a higher power and giving back to those still struggling are just some of the important things you learn through sobriety,” Sixx wrote when he celebrated nine years of sobriety in July 2013. “You get to repair the damage done from drink, drugs and horrific behaviors (that broke people’s hearts who loved you.”

The rocker, who detailed his near-fatal drug addiction in the best-selling book “The Heroin Diaries”, added: “For me, taking away the substance just gave [me] an honest view of who I had become and then the healing started. I do believe without any program to help, many are just dry drunks and there is always a danger of them going out again. I’ve been there. It’s not pretty. This is no joking matter to me, so I take it seriously.”

Asked by The Guardian about a diary entry in “The Heroin Diaries” where he described himself as an “alcoholic heroin and coke addict getting into pills” and how he spent Christmas Day 1986 naked under the Christmas tree, clutching a shotgun, Nikki said: “Well, if you shoot enough cocaine, you go into a kind of psychosis, and I believed people were coming to get me. Scary place, let me tell you. It reads like some kind of a dark horror story or bedtime thriller. But in real life, the trauma that psychosis puts your body through is on a cellular level. You believe that you’re going to have an experience even though it’s not really happening. I can remember those, because you come out of them, and it’s scary. But you can only imagine what it would be like to be insane and not come out of it, or a version of that, like dementia.”

Sixx is not the only member of MÖTLEY CRÜE who has battled alcohol addiction. Singer Vince Neil’s 1984 drunk-driving accident killed HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley and seriously injured two others. He spent 15 days in jail and received five years probation.

“It was rough for everybody after that accident,” Neil told USA Today in 2020. “I tried to stay sober for a few years, but it’s tough when there’s no support system around you. They were still doing coke and drinking and carrying on, and I just couldn’t be a part of it.”

Photo courtesy of Jason Shaltz / SiriusXM

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has paid tribute to his father-in-law, iconic rock singer Meat Loaf, who died on Thursday (January 20) at the age of 74.

Earlier today, Ian took to his social media to write: “There are so many stories to tell, and I know they will all be told over time. For now, what I know is that Meat’s legacy will live on through his family – Pearl, Amanda and Revel. Their forever love for their father/grandfather (Papa Meat) outweighs the heaviness of their hearts.

“Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love, we feel it.

“I love you Meat.”

Ian and his wife, Meat’s daughter Pearl Aday, celebrated their eleventh wedding anniversary on January 15.

Scott and Pearl met in 1999 when ANTHRAX was out on the “Maximum Rock” summer package tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE, which featured Pearl as one of its back-up singers. Their son Revel Young Ian was born in June 2011.

Aday was named after the infamous Janis Joplin and is the god daughter to Maria Muldaur. In addition, she and her band have opened for VELVET REVOLVER.

When asked what it was like having the iconic Meat Loaf as his father-in-law, Ian said in an interview: “It’s like having anyone as your father-in-law. It’s not like he’s on stage when you’re hanging out with the guy. We actually had dinner with him last night, and all we talked about was fantasy football. He’s just a regular guy who happens to be a legendary rock star.”

Meat Loaf’s amazing career spanned six decades and saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide and star in over 65 movies, including “Fight Club”, “Focus”, “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Wayne’s World”.

His “Bat Out Of Hell” remains one of the 10 top-selling albums of all time.

The Dallas-born singer’s real name was Marvin Lee Aday.

His 1993 hit “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” earned him a Grammy Award.

“Bat Out Of Hell” was also adapted as a stage musical, written by longtime collaborator Jim Steinman.

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In a new interview with “The Chuck Shute Podcast”, KING’S X frontman Doug “Dug” Pinnick talked about his years in the metal Christian closet and the relief he felt after making a clean break with religion.

“Being told that if you’re gay, it’s an abomination, and God hates that more than anything else other than blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “According to the Bible, a man shall not lay down with another man; it is an abomination. So I’m told that all my life and I’m gay. So I wouldn’t tell anybody. One time I decided, ‘Well, I’m gonna do like Jesus did: I’m gonna go fast for three days and ask God to change me.’ And I went and sat in a trailer out in the country and fasted and didn’t eat and just drank water for two days. And I prayed and prayed and cried and begged God to change me, and I didn’t feel a thing. And I stopped and I went, ‘I give up.’ And all I could think of in the back of my mind is the scriptures that people say, ‘Don’t give up on God’ and ‘God’s not done with you’ and ‘You have to wait on God’ and ‘You can’t get things in God’s timing.’ So anything that I would do that didn’t work was my fault.

“See, religion for me was nothing but oppressive,” he continued. “They wouldn’t let me do anything. I remember sitting in church with my great grandmother at four or five years old, in the front row, hearing the pastor screaming and yelling about if you dance, you drink, you smoke cigarettes, you’re going to hell, the demons are gonna get you. I went to bed every night scared to death, as a child, thinking that the devil was gonna come and bother me. I used to have nightmares all the time, wake up screaming.

“For me, religion was abusive,” Pinnick added. “And other people, it’s not like that, and I’m fine with that. But for me, it is. And when someone comes to tell me that, ‘Oh, God loves you and He died for your sins,’ in my mind I just wanna say, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ But instead I just have to be like I want everybody else to be — accept the person for who they are and what they believe and love ’em, because it doesn’t matter. Love covers a multitude of sins — even the Bible says that. Well, somebody said that it came from the Bible. I’m not sure, so don’t quote me.”

The biracial 71-year-old went on to blast hypocrisy-, money-, and popularity-minded Christians who crave adulation, alienating unbelievers with their pride and greed.

“I believe there are many, many, many, many true believers who I admire and applaud,” Pinnick said, “but I do believe that there’s many, many, many, many who are just evil people who are only out for their own personal gain — evil narcissist people who are using religion for… I mean, when a guy says, ‘Give me your money, ’cause God wants me to have an airplane.’ You’ve got [Jimmy Swaggart] and all those people asking for your money, they’re just bullshit; they’re just liars. They are a bunch of narcissists who have found a way to bleed people dry. I have such a disgust for them. And I have a sadness for people who believed it, and still believe it. I have a sadness for ’em — not a distaste; I have a sadness. And I have to stay away because I’m that type of person they will not accept. And it’s sad to me. But that’s life.”

Pinnick, who kept his homosexuality quiet with all but his closest friends, eventually came out in a 1998 interview in Contemporary Christian Music magazine.

“It was a big mess,” he told LA Weekly in 2002. “Our records got banned from the Christian bookstores; I got hate mall. But they had put me on a pedestal and just expected so much out of me, and I just finally couldn’t do it anymore. I hated myself. I had a big panic attack and thought about killing myself. Then I thought, I can’t do that. I’m too chicken. It was time, and I decided that if I was going to come out, I was going to come out to my ‘family.'”

KING’S X recently completed work on its first studio album in 14 years.

2008’s “XV” was KING’S X’s highest-charting album since 1996’s “Ear Candy”.

KING’S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including Pinnick’s two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by drummer Jerry Gaskill.

In October 2019, KING’S X canceled all of its previously announced tour dates for the year so that Gaskill could undergo undisclosed heart “procedures.”

In 2005, VH1 included KING’S X in its list of “100 Greatest Artists In Hard Rock.”

In a new interview with “That Fuzzing Rock Show”, former QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate was asked how he keeps his voice in shape more than 40 years into his singing career. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Practice, honestly. [Laughs] Just keeping up with it. It’s something that you have to keep using when you’re a singer. And I think as a musician in general — if you don’t practice, you get slow and you get out of shape. So you have to keep up with it every day. That’s pretty much what I do. I try to live a moderate lifestyle, with, of course, some exceptions. ‘Cause I’m getting ready to go do the Monsters Of Rock cruise at the end of the month, and that’s always an exception because you just can’t get away from the party; it’s all around you. [Laughs]”

Tate’s current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE’s “Empire” and “Rage For Order” albums.

1986’s “Rage For Order” introduced a much more polished look and sound for QUEENSRŸCHE. The album featured keyboards as prominently as guitars, and the group adopted an image more closely associated with glam rock or glam metal than with heavy metal (of which glam metal was a subgenre). A video was filmed for the song “Gonna Get Close to You”, originally recorded in 1984 by DALBELLO.

Released in 1990, “Empire” included the hit ballad “Silent Lucidity”, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard singles chart, helped propel “Empire” to No. 7 on the album chart and earned two Grammy Award nominations.

Prior to the launch of the trek in early 2020, Tate told MisplacedStraws.com that he would take the “Empire 30th Anniversary Tour” to “as many countries as I can and playing the album in its entirety, which I’ve never done before. So that’ll be real fun. In fact, I think there’s some songs on that album that I’ve never, ever played live before, so it’ll be a treat — for me, as well, I think, for the audience too,” the former QUEENSRŸCHE singer said. “I’m really looking forward to that.”

Tate told Eonmusic that one song from “Empire” that was rarely performed live is “Anybody Listening?” “When QUEENSRŸCHE was together, we never really put that song in our set,” he said. “We just had a hard time playing it, for some reason; it just never jelled or felt right. And I’d really like to play that song again, and play it right.”

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums “Operation: Mindcrime” and “Operation: Mindcrime II” in their entirety live.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of “Operation: Mindcrime” on European and U.S. tours.