Studio A Audio Recording & Production

Bassist Alan Davey’s upcoming Hawkestral album will feature recordings by Ginger Baker, Mick Taylor and William Shatner, among others

ByKORY GROW 

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Bassist Alan Davey joined space rockers Hawkwind in 1984 — more than a decade before Post Malone was born — but he felt such a kinship with the pop star’s Number One hit “Circles” that he decided to redo it with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee Todd Rundgren. Violinist L. Shankar also sits in.

Davey’s version, an instrumental, is naturally trippier and more psychedelic than Post’s, with Shankar taking the lead on most of the song before Rundgren plays a freewheeling solo toward the end. The one-off track is credited to Hawkestrel, Davey’s consortium of Hawkwind alumni, and it’s coming out ahead of the group’s 2020 LP.

Davey recently told Billboard the Post Malone cover came about because the song reminded him of his own “Cosmic Doll,” which he wrote in 1985. “I started playing it in the house and started to hear, ‘Oh, I can do this with it and that with it … ‘” he said. “Before I knew it, I was recording it. Three hours goes by and all of a sudden you’ve written this piece of music for no reason. Then I approached Cleopatra [Records] with it, and they were like, ‘Wow, this sounds like Post Malone meets [Hawkwind’s 1975 record] Warrior on the Edge of Time!’ — which is kind of relevant because I’m making music with all these old Hawkwind members. Everything goes around in circles, I guess.”

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Hawkestral’s debut, The Future Is Us, came out earlier this year and it featured guest recordings by former Hawkwind members, including Nik Turner, Simon House and Paul Rudolph, among others, as well as several now-deceased members such as Huw Lloyd-Langton, Ginger Baker and Lemmy Kilmister. Davey, who was a member of Hawkwind from 1984 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2007, told Billboard his new record will feature contributions from Baker, Carmine Appice, Mick Taylor, Arthur Brown and William Shatner.

In This Article: Hawkwind, Post Malone, Todd Rundgren

Country legend celebrated 50 years of Grand Ole Opry membership with an NBC tribute

BySTEPHEN L. BETTS 

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Dolly Parton’s 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member was given the network TV treatment Tuesday night, with the Tennessee native and entertainment icon joined on an NBC special by guests and friends including Emmylou Harris, Toby Keith, Hank Williams Jr., Dierks Bentley, Margo Price, Lady Antebellum, and Chris Janson. Parton, who became a member of the long-running radio show in 1969, reminisced throughout the show about her young life in East Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains as well as her history-making career, which has taken her around the globe countless times since she left home on a bus bound for Music City one day after graduating from high school in 1964.

Among the musical highlights of the two-hour special were the show-opening “Islands in the Stream,” sung by Lady Antebellum, Price’s version of “The Seeker,” Janson’s fiery “Muleskinner Blues,” and Harris’s gorgeous take on “To Daddy,” a hit for her in 1977. But it was Parton’s own rendering of her songs that formed the emotional core of the tribute, and she delivered them in true Dolly fashion, accompanied by self-deprecating humor and sentimental gratitude.

Two of those songs, “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene,” have personal stories from Parton’s life so closely associated with them you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone unfamiliar with those tales, but Parton manages to make these performances as spellbinding and notable as the event itself. She prefaces “Coat of Many Colors” with the story of its success and how her attempt to give her mother, the seamstress who made young Parton’s outerwear, a portion of the song’s proceeds in the form of a mink coat was rejected in favor of cold, hard cash.

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“A lot of it’s based on truth… a lot of it ain’t,” Parton says of her songwriting in the introduction to another of her most enduring hits, the tale of auburn-haired “Jolene.” “It’s based on a thread of truth, but it was so frayed by the time I got finished with it, it didn’t even matter,” she says of the 1973 breakthrough. Whatever the real story, the song has since become of the most iconic in Parton’s canon, and serves as the inspiration for one of the dramatic tales in her just-released Netflix series Heartstrings.

Dolly Parton: 5 Years at the Opry is now available to stream at NBC.com.

“I was being ironic in my own English way by suggesting it is something I am glad about,” the Who guitarist wrote on Facebook

ByANDY GREENE 

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Pete Townshend has taken to Facebook to quell a firestorm of criticism that erupted when he told Rolling Stone writer Stephen Rodrick that he “thanks God” that Keith Moon and John Entwistle are no longer around.

“They were fucking difficult to play with,” Townshend said. “They never, ever managed to create bands for themselves. I think my musical discipline, my musical efficiency as a rhythm player, held the band together.”

Understandably, the comments generated headlines all across the globe and stunned many people. “I understand that a lot of long-time Who fans will be hurt by the way it comes across as a headline,” Townshend wrote on Facebook. “I only hope that they know me well enough that I tell the truth as much as I can, but I also tell both sides and the upside is missing in the headlines.”

While not artful, he says that the comments merely reflected the frustrations he felt while attempting to perform music with such gifted, idiosyncratic musicians. “No one can ever know how much I miss Keith and John, as people, as friends and as musicians,” he wrote. “The alchemy we used to share in the studio is missing from the new album, and it always feels wrong to try to summon it up without them, but I suppose we will always be tempted to try. To this day I am angry at Keith and John for dying. Sometimes it shows. It’s selfish, but it’s how I feel.”

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He went on to explain that his comments weren’t meant to be taken literally. “I was being ironic in my own English way by suggesting it is something I am glad about,” he wrote. “I can be grateful to be free as a player and writer, but sad about losing old friends. It does feel ironic, and it also makes me angry.”

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Near the end of the lengthy statement, he apologized to the families of his departed bandmates. “To those family members of Keith and John, especially Chris Entwistle and Mandy Moon, I apologise for the headlines,” he wrote, “and for carelessly providing the words that were used — but in the past three months I have done so many interviews I am losing focus and patience. I forgive myself. I hope they can forgive me too. I loved their dads and still do.”

In This Article: Pete Townshend, The Who

Remember when Mick Mars said on That Metal Show that he’d invite everyone to see Motley Crue for free if they ever went on a reunion tour? Remember when the video resurfaced last week? The guitarist posted a statement on his social media today, commenting on the “joke.”

Motley Crue were very adamant about their future when they embarked on their “final tour” back in 2014, and they even signed a “cessation of touring agreement” to mark its end. Now, with all of the success of their movie The Dirt and the demand for them to reunite, they’re back.

“While I was clearly joking about the free tickets that night on TMS, I was also deeply convinced that we would never ever be touring again,” the guitarist wrote. “I would never have expected to be facing a whole new generation of fans demanding to see us play.”

Mars even admitted that the tour “comes at a weird place in time,” primarily because his solo record is nearly finished. “But, I put our fans first,” he reassured. “Anyways, I am eating a lot of crow and humble pie this Thanksgiving for those remarks and accept that some of you see this as me being dishonest. I said what I said and I was wrong. Peace.”

Crue are reportedly plotting a 2020 stadium tour with Def Leppard and Poison. Stay tuned for the official announcement.

Read More: Mick Mars Issues Statement on Free Motley Crue Tickets ‘Joke’ | https://loudwire.com/mick-mars-motley-crue-tour-free-tickets-statement/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart sported an Exodus shirt during some recent promotional stops behind his upcoming movie Jumanji: The Next Level. Does that mean the movie star is a fan of the classic thrash metal band? Probably not, said Exodus and Slayer guitarist Gary Holt.

As longtime metal fans are probably aware, Holt is somewhat of a T-shirt aficionado himself. The musician made waves back when he wore a shirt emblazoned with the charge, “Kill the Kardashians.” It was mostly a response to the reality TV family’s appropriation of vintage metal duds — which is most likely the same scenario currently at play with Hart. However, the guitarist is letting it slide this time since he’s such a big fan of the actor. See Holt’s response to the tee toward the bottom of this post.

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“Yes I’ve seen this!” the musician commented last week (Nov. 23). “Haha! Is he a fan? I highly doubt it, more likely his stylist bought it for a small fortune at some vintage tee shirt shop, if it’s not a modern bootleg.”

Holt continued, “How do I feel? Eh. Another dude using metal shirts to look edgy. Who knows? BUT. I’m a HUGE Kevin Hart fan, so I give him a pass cause he makes me laugh my ass off!”

The shirt in question boasts an Exodus logo designed for the group’s tours circa 1987. Pictured on the garment beneath a skull with arrow crossbones is the phrase, “Welcome to the Cannibal Bar and Grill.”

But Holt is probably right that Hart’s t-shirt is more a fashion statement than music genre endorsement. After all, the actor was also recently spotted wearing a Led Zeppelin tee at a Los Angeles Lakers game.

It all begs the question if metal should be a fashion statement at all. Still, that hasn’t stopped current music superstars such as Billie Eilish from getting in on the trend and creating new metal-like merchandise.

Read More: Kevin Hart Wears Exodus Shirt, Gary Holt Gives Him a Pass | https://loudwire.com/kevin-hart-exodus-shirt-gary-holt/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Doug Lubahn, the studio bassist for The Doors who performed on three of their ’60s albums, has passed away at the age of 71.

The classic rock legends announced the news of the bass player’s death on social media, sharing an image of the late rocker along with a message expressing their gratitude for the impact he had on The Doors and rock music all together. “Our condolences go out to the family, friends, and fans of Doug Lubahn. Doug made indelible contributions to rock and roll, and especially to The Doors. He played bass on Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, and Soft Parade,” wrote the band.

Prior to joining The Doors in the studio, Lubahn was a member of Los Angeles psychedelic rock outfit Clear Light, who released released only one record, a self-titled 1967 effort. He was recruited for three successive Doors albums — Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968) and The Soft Parade (1967).

Lubahn would go on to form the short-lived jazz rock group Dreams, later joining Pierce Arrow for a pair of albums as bassist and co-lead vocalist before moving on as Riff Raff’s bass player and lead singer on their lone album, Vinyl Futures. 

Lubahn remained active, next joining Billy Squier’s band for the Emotions in Motion and Signs of Life albums and subsequent tours. The same year Signs of Life was released (1984), he contributed to Ted Nugent‘s Penetrator record.

Our condolences to the Lubahn family and all who knew Doug. Rest in peace.

Read More: The Doors Studio Bassist Doug Lubahn Dead at 71 | https://loudwire.com/doors-bassist-doug-lubahn-dead/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral