ALEX VAN HALEN: Not Done Yet

Alex Van Halen tells us he's not done playing, which some outlets had reported after he auctioned off many of his drums in June, and while he was recovering from a broken back.

"This Internet stuff is too dangerous, you know. We have several warehouses full of equipment and my drum tech suggested, you know, instead of leaving this stuff sitting here in the dark, why don't you let people enjoy it who appreciate it. So, we did, and we donated some of that to charity, so that's good. I'm a happy camper." Alex sold off over 350 lots of drum kits and accessories, personal items, record awards, autographed pieces and more.

·Among the big sellers was the gong that was part of his kit for Van Halen's 1980 Invasion Tour. It sold for $219,600.

·His gold record for Van Halen's 1984 album sold for just under $28,000.

·A set of three handwritten copies of Van Halen practice notes took in $3312.

A portion of the proceeds went to the Ride on Therapeutic Horsemanship charity to support the services they provide to those in need. His wife Stine is an equestrian. There are

still more items available, such as drum heads and backstage passes, which you can buy for a Christmas gift through the Van Halen News Desk at VHND.com.

Jon Anderson Will Release Live Album Featuring Yes Songs

Jon Anderson of Yes is putting out a live album that will feature classic Yes songs, alongside

The Band Geeks. Anderson has been playing with The Band Geeks for a few years now, including on the “Yes: Epics, Classics, and More” tour. They recorded a live show in St. Charles, Illinois in August 2023…and its going to be released as “Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks Live: Perpetual Change” next year! The release will be available as a 2CD/DVD or vinyl edition. Ahead of the release, they've dropped their recording of "And You And I" from the live show online! “Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks Live: Perpetual Change” is due out on March 14th.

REO SPEEDWAGON: A New Brotherhood

REO Speedwagon are down to their last five shows before singer Kevin Cronin goes off on his own with the same band in 2025. He's legally unable to continue billing himself as REO. "In my wildest dreams did I ever expect what's going on right now with REO Speedwagon to happen? Absolutely not. My intention was always to keep REO Speedwagon going until I was ready to hang it up, and I'm nowhere near ready to hang it up. You know, REO Speedwagon is a partnership between what we call the heritage members and I wanted to keep the band going with the line-up that we've had for 2024 and I got outvoted."

The two other "heritage" partners Cronin mentioned are the band's co-founder and now retired keyboardist Neal Doughty, and bassist Bruce Hall, whose been in the band since 1977. In November 2023, Hall took a leave of absence to undergo back surgery and Matt Bissonette from Elton John's band filled in. At the time, Cronin released a statement saying, "Bruce is our brother. And times like these test us all. We have faith that Bruce’s surgery will be successful, that he will make a complete recovery, and that he will be back to being the hard rocking bassist/singer that we all know. Bruce has our love and support, as we have encouraged him to take all the time he needs to get himself back to 100% strength...

"There is an unspoken pact in our band that we give it all we’ve got all the time, leave it all on the stage every night, and do our best to live up to my expression that, 'Rock and roll will keep you young forever.' Of course Bruce will be missed. But I promise that the upcoming shows will be a powerful representation of all that REO Speedwagon stands for, that we will exceed expectations, and as always, we will keep pushin’ on."

Cronin's efforts to work things out with Hall and Doughty proved unsuccessful. Cronin said "If it were up to me I would have kept this whole thing quiet. I never brought it in front of the fans. You know, bands have things that they got to work out and I would have preferred to just work it out man to man and person to person. But when the Internet gets involved and social media gets involved, that didn't help anything. But, it just happened. Life just happens sometimes. And once energy happens, how do you turn back? And it makes me sad in some ways because, you know, REO Speedwagon is an American institution and it's sad to to see it not be able to continue."

So starting on January 1st, Cronin, along with the same hired hands who've been performing as REO, will be billed as Kevin Cronin - Former Lead Singer/Songwriter of REO Speedwagon, and will be part of The Brotherhood of Rock tour this summer with Styx and Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 13th, at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com.

But before then, REO have shows in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday and Scottsdale, Arizona on Sunday, and then three at The Venetian in Las Vegas on the 18th, 20th and 21st.

As for the name REO Speedwagon, despite Doughty and Hall outvoting Cronin, they can't tour under that moniker unless Cronin is included.

KANSAS: That's a Wrap

Kansas wrapped up their 50th anniversary tour Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Phil Ehart, their drummer and manager who has been sidelined since February after suffering a heart attack, joined them on three songs, including the finale of “Carry on Wayward Son.” Also joining on three songs, including “Carry On…,” was original bassist Dave Hope. Their co-founder, guitarist and primary songwriter Kerry Livgren was also scheduled to join them but stayed home because his wife Vicki had broken her collarbone. He was represented by his daughter Kate who played viola on “Dust in the Wind.” And their current violin player, Joe Deninzon, did his solo on their late violinist’s Robbie Steinhardt’s white violin with his widow and daughter in attendance.

Before the show, Ehart and original guitarist Richard Williams, who's still in the band, received BMI certifications of nine million radio plays for “Carry on Wayward Son” and seven million for “Dust in the Wind.” Kansas will be back on the road January 23rd in Coconut Creek, Florida.

NEIL YOUNG: Makes a Big Discovery

Neil Young has some big news this Christmas season. He says he's found a "treasure of old songs, half of them never released." They were recorded in 1985 at Castle Studios in Franklin, Tennessee (outside Nashville). He writes on his website that as he listens to them, he's trying to remember "where I was in my life at that time and what was going on. "The first things I heard from 1983 were not that good... When I listened back to Nashville in '85, everything changed! The results were really great!

"Upon research, I find this recording, which I called 'Silver and Gold' at the time, was during the Geffen period, while I was being sued by the label for making records 'uncharacteristic of Neil Young.' Maybe that is why I didn't put it out. My next album was Life, my last album for Geffen Records. "Between my brand-new album with the Chrome Hearts in 2024 called Talkin' to the Trees, Homefires from 1974, plus this new find from 1984, I have three of what I feel are the 'kind.' I'm feeling mighty blessed to have these unheard recordings to share with you. They will be scheduled soon."

In other Neil news, he says he will do at least one fireside session this Christmas season. "[My wife, actress] Daryl [Hannah] will be filming and I will be playing a few tunes." Until then, he says they're busy getting their Christmas cards and gifts ready.

ELTON JOHN: Still Standing By His Beliefs

Elton John is in the news this week for a few things, one of which is his opposition to legalizing marijuana, which is something he first told us he was against 10 years ago, during our interview in 2014. While talking about the song "Candle in the Wind," which is about how we glamorize death and how we immortalize certain people, he brought up how he struggled with drugs and alcohol. "It was not a wise decision [for me to drink and take drugs], nor is it a wise decision to legalize marijuana because I know what it could lead to. They say, 'Oh, it's got great medical benefits.' So that's great. But to actually buy it over the counter? I'm not so sure."

And he reiterated his feelings four years later during our chat with him in 2018. "You know, it's so strong and I just think it leads to other things. I'm not in favor of it."

Elton opens up about his struggles with drugs and alcohol in his new documentary, Never Too Late, which starts streaming this Friday on Disney+. EJ says ”It's a documentary that shows my meteoric rise to fame in the first five years, culminating in playing Dodger Stadium [in Los Angeles] for two nights when I was incredibly successful, but had no basis to my life and it was all just music and fame. And then it goes 47 years later where I played three nights at Dodger Stadium where I had everything that I possibly wanted the first time around. I had a husband, two boys, and I'd never been happier. So, it just shows you that the rise to fame is so quick and so wonderful, but underneath it I was a bit of an empty shell. I was terribly lonely, I turned to drugs, and it showed the pitfalls of being successful so quickly if you don't have a basis to your life."

On Wednesday, Elton was named TIME's Icon of the Year, and that night he was on hand as the magazine hosted A Year in TIME celebration at the Current in New York City.

Elton took the stage to perform "Your Song."

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM: Follows the "Slowhand" Approach

Many years ago, Eric Clapton told us he likes to road test songs he's recorded in his car. "To see if it's got enough bass, or if I can hear all the parts properly. If the voice level is right you'll know in a car because it has to stand out, you know. That's the acid test for me, driving at speed and being able to hear everything properly." Among the cars he's used to listen back to his music are a Porsche and Range Rover.

And he's not alone. Lindsey Buckingham does the same thing. "The car is sort of the ultimate test of whether something's making sense or not. So that's another reason I love driving."

Another reason he likes to drive is to clear his mind.

BONUS VIDEO: A Green Day Coffee Log

Green Day have released a yule log video for their Punk Bunny Coffee. But it's not your typical yule log video. It runs 10 hours and doesn't feature any music. It just has all three members and the coffee's mascot drinking cups of coffee in front of a crackling fire. Watch it now on YouTube.

New Jersey Congressman Caught Faking All-Springsteen Spotify Wrapped List

A New Jersey politician has been found guilty…of lying about their Spotify Wrapped.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer has admitted he posted a fake screenshot of his Wrapped that listed Bruce Springsteen for all his top songs. He listed his top five tracks were “Thunder Road,” “Because the Night,” “Glory Days,” “Badlands,” and “The Rising.” But “New Jersey Monitor” editor Terrence T. McDonald pointed out his post seemed to be photoshopped…and Gottheimer fessed up. “This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my 12 and 15-year-old kids,” he joked, and followed up “I was only here for fun. So just relax. This was a fun holiday tweet.”

Toto, Men At Work, Christopher Cross Announce Summer Tour

They won't be sailing "down under" or heading to Africa, but the three acts that hit number one with those song titles will be touring together next summer. Toto will be joined by Men at Work and Christopher Cross for a 28-city U.S. tour in July and August. The tour kicks off July 18th in West Palm Beach, Florida and will be mostly in the eastern half of the U.S. until heading west for the final two weeks of August.Other stops include Atlantic City, Nashville and Las Vegas before wrapping up in Ridgefield, Washington on August 30th. More dates are expected to be added. The band that "blessed the rains down in Africa" will bless whatever weather Europe has to offer throughout February. Toto kicks off a solo European tour February 1st in Glasgow and wraps up with two dates in Finland, February 28th in Helsinki and March 2nd in Tampere.

ELVIS COSTELLO: Celebrates His Art and Dylan Next Month

Elvis Costello will show off his art and his love of Bob Dylan next month. He'll display his artwork at two locations of the Wentworth Gallery in Florida. Costello will appear at the gallery at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood on January 10th and at the gallery at the Boca Raton Town Center Mall on January 11th.

Costello is also among the artists taking part in Shelter From the Storm, a tribute to Dylan's Blood on the Tracks presented by The Bob Dylan Center on January 24th at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Luke Wilson will emcee the event, and the performers include Real Estate’s Martin Courtney, The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel, Robyn Hitchcock, Diana Krall, Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Sharon Van Etten and Lucinda Williams.

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale Open To Singing With Skid Row Again

Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale is still open to singing with Skid Row again, but not full time. The singer-guitarist sang for Skid Row during a handful of shows during the summer after vocalist Eric Gronwall took some time off for health reasons. In a conversation with Metal Hammer, Hale revealed she'd be open to rejoining Skid Row for more shows in the future. The musician parted ways with the band after their run of shows due to her commitment to Halestorm. Skid Row has yet to announce a full-time vocalist to replace Gronwall.

IN OTHER NEWS

Metallica’s Helping Hands Concert & Auction, which is Friday night at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, will be shown on YouTube for free on December 19th at 3 p.m. ET. Sammy Hagar is also on the bill.

Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Billy Morrison have announced the initial artists who will join their Above Ground benefit concert January 25th at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood. Helping them perform the self-titled debuts by the New York Dolls and The Cars will be Cars

guitarist Elliot Easton, Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle, Billy Idol, Duff McKagan of Guns n’ Roses, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, Josh Freese of Foo Fighters and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray. Proceeds benefit MusiCares.

PETA gave Oasis singer Liam Gallagher the 2024 Strike the Right Chord for Animals Award for adopting a rescue dog from Thailand, Buttons. Liam said, "Rescuing Buttons has been the best decision we’ve ever made. She brings so much happiness to our lives and everyone she meets… I thoroughly recommend adopting a homeless dog."

Todd Rundgren will head to Australia for six shows in March.

An eight-minute clip from the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has been released on YouTube. It shows Timothee Chalamet (Dylan) and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez discussing songwriting and singing “Blowin’ in the Wind.” A Complete Unknown will open on Christmas.

AJ