A roundup of the latest news from the world of classic rock & metal including news on Steven Adler, Vixen, Van Halen and Kiss
Former GNR Drummer Steven Adler and Mom Appear on “Good Day LA”
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler and his mother, Deanna Adler recently appeared on “Good Day LA“, morning TV in Los Angeles, to talk about Deanna‘s long-awaited tell-all book, “Sweet Child Of Mine: How I Lost My Son To Guns N’ Roses“, which came out on January 24.
Deanna watched her son endure continuing addiction, legal battles, financial ruin, two heart attacks, multiple suicide attempts, a debilitating stroke, and numerous stints in rehab after being kicked out of Guns N’ Roses in 1990. She appeared on the second season of the reality TV show, “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew“, on which Steven was a cast member. Steven reportedly started doing drugs when he was 11.
Speaking about the difficult time his mother had controlling him during his childhood years, Steven said: “She didn’t lose me to rock and roll. She lost me because I was a drug addict, and I was a rebel, and anything that… Most kids are this way — if your parents tell you to do something, you do the complete opposite. So, when she would tell to go to bed at nine o’clock, I’d go to bed, but I’d open my window and I’d go out and I’d go to the arcade and I’d hang out with my friends and with girls. I always did what I wanted to do.”
Steven Adler‘s own autobiography, “My Appetite For Destruction: Sex, And Drugs, And Guns N’ Roses“, came out in July 2010.
Eddie Van Halen Helps Bring Music Back to Schools
Eddie Van Halen was interviewed on CNN this week, about his charity work with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which supports music education.
“Music is such a necessity. It touches people’s souls,” he said. “Music is the universal language to me. It transcends everything. My whole life has been music. I could not imagine anything else.”
“It really hit me when I graduated high school, you sign everybody’s yearbook and everybody asks you, ‘So what college are you going to?’ Uh… ‘Hey Al [Eddie‘s brother, Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen], I think we better stick to what we know.'”
Van Halen said music helped him survive and pay the rent ever since. Several years ago, Van Halen donated 75 of his personal guitars to Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” the charity’s president and CEO Felice Mancini told CNN. “The kids share the guitars, they learn, they graduate and then the instruments stay in the school.”
The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation donates 1,800 new and refurbished musical instruments each year to low-income schools, providing more than 10,000 children with a musical education.
Vixen Drummer, Slaughter Singer Pay Tribute To Lemmy With “Kilmister” Video
VIP Aftershow, featuring the metal sister team Roxy Petrucci (drums) and Maxine Petrucci (guitar), have released a lyric video for its debut song, “Kilmister“, a tribute to iconic Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. The track features a guest appearance by Slaughter vocalist Mark Slaughter and Michael Pisculli on bass.
KISS Gives Surprise Makeup-Free Performance At “All-Star Salute To The Oregon Military”
Photo credit: Cameron Edney Photography
KISS gave a surprise make-up-free performance February 18 at the “All-Star Salute To The Oregon Military” charity event. The event raised $1.4 million toward completing the construction of the $20 million Oregon Military Museum named after KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer‘s father, Brigadier General James B. Thayer.
The event also featured music from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Band, which included Alice Cooper, Robby Krieger of The Doors, Danny Seraphine from Chicago, Will Lee from “The Late Show With David Letterman” and others.
