Bret Michaels Doesn't Rule Out Future Poison Reunion:
Earlier this week, drummer Rikki Rockett of Poison laid the blame for an aborted 40th anniversary Poison tour squarely at the feet of lead singer Bret Michaels and his excessive salary demands. Days later, Michaels responded on his Facebook, calling Rockett his friend and saying he always considered the core of the band to be himself, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall and Rockett, while adding that he also makes "no bones about loving the BMB (Bret Michaels Band) and will always have both in my life." He also left the door open for a future Poison reunion. "Bottom line - I love music, I love the fans and I’m always forever grateful. Onward & upward and let’s all focus on the positive in 2026, and the potential of a future reunion." In a statement to "People" magazine about Michael's post, Rockett responded, "I’d love for that to happen!"
RUSH: New Music?
Geddy Lee is not opposed to him and Alex Lifeson as Rush recording new music with drummer Anika Nilles, who will back them on tour this summer and fall in place of the late Neil Peart. In an interview with Music Radar, Lee says, "My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush's history, was to put some music together. Now, I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex, but when we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something with Alex — but all of that went on hold now because there's too much work. There's too much work to do for this tour to even think about that. But, if we manage to survive the tour, and go back to Canada and have a rest, who knows what'll happen, but I suspect some music will eventually come out... "It would be fun to see what [Anika] can do in a creative situation. Like, that would be fun. But it's all speculation until it isn't, so…"
Rush, who released their last album in 2012, Clockwork Angels, have announced 58 shows in three countries (U.S., Canada and Mexico) on their Fifty Something tour. It starts on June 7th
with the first of four shows at the Forum in Inglewood, California, where they played their last show on August 1st, 2015. It runs through December 17th in Vancouver, Canada.
67M Year Old Triceratops Skull Named After Ozzy Osbourne
The owners of fossilized remains of a dinosaur skull are paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. The Triceratops skull, which is about 66-to-68-million-years-old, was named after the rock star. The Geoworld Paleontological Laboratory says the fossil "instantly evokes the gesture of the horns," which is a recognized symbol in rock culture and "in line with the mystical themes of the music of Black Sabbat." The Triceratops skull is set to go on public display at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show later this month.
Def Leppard Releases New Single "Rejoice"
Def Leppard surprised fans yesterday with the release of a brand new single. "Rejoice" doesn't appear to be a lead single from a new album, but instead seems to be a one-off. Singer Joe Elliott says of the track, "I said to Phil [Collen] one day, 'I’ve got this idea for a lyric where the narrator is at absolute rock bottom and wants to rise up to a higher level. Do you have a musical piece that might match with that?’ And he said, ‘As it happens, yes I do.'"
MEN AT WORK: Not a Political Rallying Cry
It's not just in the U.S. where politicians and organizers of rallies play songs without permission from the artist. In Australia, organizers of March for Australia -- a series of protests in many Australian cities over discontent towards perceived mass immigration in Australia -- have used Men at Work's "Down Under," which is a no-no for the band's Colin Hay, who also wrote it. He says, "’Down Under,’ a song I co-wrote, does not belong to those who attempt to sew xenophobia within the fabric of our great land, our great people. “’Down Under’ is ultimately a song of celebration. It’s for pluralism and inclusion; unity, not division. Go write your own song, leave mine alone.” He signed his message, “Colin Hay (immigrant).” Hay and the current version of Men at Work will perform tonight on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote their summer tour, which starts on July 16th in Pompano Beach, Florida and runs through August 20th in Los Angeles.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Metallica have teamed with Dr. Martens for a new line of shoes. The 1460 boot uses artwork from the band's 1988 Damaged Justice tour and the 1461 shoe features artwork from the 1986 Damage Inc. tour. Both go on sale January 29th.
Neal Schon of Journey posted a note on his social media wishing Steve Perry a happy 77th birthday on Thursday. He wrote, "We always have had amazing chemistry from the very beginning...God bless you brother." And Perry posted a note thanking everyone for their "birthday wishes," and acknowledging his parents for having him.
A Gibson SG guitar donated by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi to Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital Charity sold for $60,000 at auction.
Joe Walsh’s 2025 VetsAid benefit concert in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas raised $600,000 in grants that will be distributed to national and community veteran’s organizations. In addition to Walsh, the show featured Vince Gill, Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Nathaniel Rateliff and others.
Alex Lifeson of Rush's pedal company Lerxst has a new release to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band's live album All the World’s a Stage. Check out the Lerxst ATWAS Wah/Volume Pedal in action on YouTube.
The Jim Dunlop company has released a new guitar pedal inspired by Iron Maiden. The Killers Cry Baby Wah pedal features artwork from the band's 1981 album. Metallica's Kirk Hammett, who uses Dunlop pedals, posted a video about it.
The trailer for the documentary Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It is out now on YouTube. The film will open on February 20th at the Film Forum in New York City followed by select theaters across North America later in the year. Preston died in 2006 at age 59.