Bruce Simon, IceBergRadio, reports that REO Speedwagon is marching forward with its new studio album. The band has chosen the acoustic-based song "I Needed To Fall" as the first single from the project, and they've been previewing the track for a few weeks now at both the official speedwagon.com and myspace.com/reospeedwagon websites. No release date has been set for the album, which had a working title of Happy Ending, but they should be just about done with mixing the last songs and writing the liner notes, and a photo session was booked for this week.
On his kevincronin.com website, REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin promised that information about the release, some in-store appearances, and their 2007 tour plans will be announced very soon. He added, "There is a lot of energy in the air here in REO land... This is fun!"
This will be the first set of new material from REO Speedwagon since 1996, when the album Building The Bridge was released.
According to Howie Edelson, IceBergRadio, The film version of the life and times of the Who's late drummer Keith Moon is finally back on track, and due out in 2009. The movie, which will be titled See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked For Your Pleasure, is being spearheaded by the Who's frontman Roger Daltrey, who has been developing the project over the past decade, with Mike Myers portraying the infamous Moon.
Producer Nigel Sinclair told tonight.co.za that, "Roger's dream was to have Mike as the creative force to pull this film together." Moon died in 1978 at age 31 of an overdose of Chlormethiazole, a drug prescribed to him by doctors to curb his manic alcoholism.
Roger Daltrey told us he feels that Moon's life was nothing short of cinematic, and wants the film to focus on Moon's offstage life: "I think there's a great film to be made out of the life of Keith Moon. There was... He was an incredibly complicated character. I think he was definitely a frustrated genius. I want to show people everything they didn't know about Keith. It's not a band story at all -- it's about a drummer on his days off."
Apart from his virtuosic drumming, Moon has gone on to be remembered as one of Britain's most outlandish wits and characters -- often adapting new and off-beat personas for days on end.
Prior to his death, the Who were debating forcing Moon out of the band due to his debilitating alcoholism.
Moon died on September 7th, 1978 after attending a preview of the movie The Buddy Holly Story thrown by Paul and Linda McCartney, on what would have been Buddy Holly's 38th birthday. At the party after the screening he was photographed talking with McCartney and his future Who replacement Kenney Jones.
Bruce Simon from IceBergRadio reports that ZZ Top's got a special date on their schedule in the spring. The band is set to play a children's benefit show at Palmetto Arabian Farms in Timmonsville, South Carolina, on March 8th, according to local TV station WIS. It's being billed as Rock With The Top For Kidzz, and tickets, which go for $200, will be on sale tomorrow (Wednesday, January 10th). Proceeds from the event will be used for the young patients at McLeod Children's Hospital in nearby Florence, South Carolina. For more information, go to rockforthekidzz.com.
