Pete Townshend, Ron Wood, Angus Young, and Billy Gibbons were asked by Guitar World magazine to name the “Most Spinal Tap Moment” of their careers.

Townshend recalled a few classic Keith Moon tales, one of which, not surprisingly, involved a car and a hotel: “Keith Moon, God rest his soul, was Spinal Tap incarnate. Most people know the story of how he drove his Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool. See more… »

If you live in the States and plan to get some new guitar gear in the near future, Musician’s Friend is doing another one of their rebate actions. During the month of October they are rolling out hundreds of instant and mail-in rebates on guitars, guitar gear and other musicians’ stuff. So, if you are planning to get some new gear, this might be the right moment.

Here you go: http://www.jazzguitar.be/jazz/rebates.php

Phish will reunite next year for their first shows since 2004. The band will perform on March 6th, 7th and 8th in Hampton, Virginia at the Hampton Coliseum and will announce a full 2009 itinerary early next year. Phish’s legendary November 1998 stand at the Hampton Coliseum was released as the boxed set Hampton Comes Alive. See more… »

Basic blues….

CHECK IT OUT!

Recenly folded rockabilly recyclers The Cruiser’s manager and bass player Billy Cuthbertson tells us he’s off to Australia this week to find a drummer he can trust with the groove, and on his return nearer December will be looking to recruit a switched on, reliable rockabilly guitar player. Lots of gigs waiting he reckons, with Hua Hin a likely focus for gigs once the new band is formed. Former Cruisers drummer Neon Leon is reportedly in Amsterdam while guitarist Prin has left to stake his claim as a Thai jazz guitar hero and feed his new kid.

Metallica’s ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, remained at Number One on the Billboard album chart for the third straight week, with the disc selling another 132,000 copies since arriving on September 12th. Although sales figures released on Wednesday (October 1st) indicated a 61 percent drop from the previous week, the CD has still racked up total sales of 959,000 copies. Death Magnetic is also only the second album of 2008 to top the chart for three straight weeks, following Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through The Static. See more… »

BangkokJungle is happy to report that our sponsored band, Billy the Mountain - the thinking man’s rock band, are still charting in the US with music from their Drifting To Valhalla opus, and building a very loyal and growing fan base purely on the strength of their fine original tunes. Check out the charts on what is a very eclectic music site and well worth a visit for a massive overview of what’s going down in the parallel universe of independent artists.

Friend of the band - Dublin-based Alan Begley is also charting there with two of his great songs riding high, and the mighty ‘Shame’ destined to be a classic of it’s kind. ‘CLICK’ on his pix to hear him.

Now that the iron filings have settled on Metallica’s new album, let’s look at a recent comment that Lars Ulrich made in a Guardian interview. The modest Dane claimed, “[E]veryone expects us to continue to release albums that define the genre, to ’save’ metal.” Eh? This begs at least two questions: Does metal need saving? And, if so, does anyone really expect a bunch of rich, middle-aged, hug-therapy addicts to do the saving? See more… »

Oasis has announced the details of a new North American tour that will begin on December 3rd in Oakland, California and wrap up on December 20th in Washington D.C. The trek will mark the band’s return to those shores since a run of dates was cut short earlier this month after guitarist Noel Gallagher was assaulted onstage by a concertgoer in Toronto. The group was forced to scrap the last few gigs of that jaunt, as well as several European shows, while Gallagher recovered from hip and rib injuries sustained in the incident. Oasis will release its seventh studio album, titled Dig Out Your Soul, on October 7th. More cool Rock Talk here NEWS

Pete Townshend took time out to answer fans questions on www.thewho.com and lay to rest any plans on the Who recording an album of R&B covers. Townshend wrote, “As for recording an album without my songs, what would be the point of that? There are millions of musicians who can play other people’s music better than I can. Let them cover other people’s songs. I’m a composer. Covered in warts, arthritic, deaf, battered, bitter and tired. I’m ready for my best work.” See more… »

What not to do in prison…!

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is furthering his education while his band is on its two-year hiatus. The 45-year-old musician is taking classes as an “undergraduate visitor” at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. The Los Angeles Times reports that Flea is enrolled under his real name, Michael Balzary, and comes to campus several times a week for courses in theory, composition, and jazz trumpet. See more… »

Movie legend Paul Newman died today of cancer, aged 83.