OZZY OSBOURNE SAYS FINAL TOUR DOESN'T MEAN RETIREMENT
Ozzy Osbourne insisted in an interview with Rolling Stone that he is not retiring from music at the end of his upcoming "No More Tours 2" tour, but is instead saying goodbye to long global treks in favor of select shows. He explained, "I'm not retiring. It's 'No More Tours,' so I'm just not doing world tours anymore. I'm still going to be doing gigs, but I'm not going on tour for six months at a time anymore. I'd like to spend some time at home."
The Black Sabbath singer -- who also said farewell to that group a year ago this week -- said he simply wants to spend more time at home with his ever-expanding family, admitting, "I just need to slow it down a little. I enjoy being a grandfather. I don't want to go through another generation of Osbournes without seeing them grow up."
- Ozzy's son Jack and his wife Lisa just welcomed their third daughter into the world last weekend, giving the 70-year-old Prince of Darkness a total of eight grandchildren now.
- Ozzy's final world tour kicks off this spring with dates in Mexico, South America and Europe, coming to North America in August. It's slated to last until 2020.
- He said this week at a press conference that he has "eight or nine" song ideas for a new album, which he may work on once the tour is completed.
- He and his wife/manager Sharon Osbourne also indicated that Ozzfest will continue as an annual destination festival even if Ozzy himself doesn't play, and that the singer could entertain the idea of doing a residency somewhere.
Story source: Rolling Stone and Loudwire
SIDE NOTES: Ozzy was asked at a press conference if he would be okay with sending an Ozzy hologram out on tour after he eventually passed on. Holograms of Ronnie James Dio, Elvis Presley and Frank Zappa are all making the rounds, with more to come. Ozzy responded, "If I'm gone, I don't have a say in the matter."
CHECK IT OUT: Here is footage of Ozzy and Sharon's press conference:
HALESTORM BASSIST SAYS NEW ALBUM IS 'BEST STUFF WE'VE EVER DONE'
The members of Halestorm keep beating the drum in interviews for their upcoming fourth album which is expected out later this spring. Speaking with Little Falls, Minnesota radio station FM94 about the yet-to-be-titled LP, bassist Josh Smith said, "It's the best stuff we've ever done. It's amazing. It'll be out this year. I can't tell you when, but we're finishing it up at the moment. As soon as we get off tour, we go right back in the studio, get back to work and hopefully we're finishing it up shortly thereafter."
- Halestorm has been working on its fourth studio effort outside Nashville with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with Rush, Korn, Alice In Chains, Deftones and others.
- He also produced Halestorm's third covers EP, ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP, which came out in January 2017.
- The new Halestorm set will follow up 2015's Into The Wild Life, which some fans criticized for veering too far into pop music territory.
Story source: Blabbermouth
PEARL JAM BASSIST PREPPING SOLO ALBUM
Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone that he will release his third solo album, titled Heaven/Hell, in March. Ament is the second member of the group to issue a solo effort in the past year, following drummer Matt Cameron's solo debut Cavedweller in late 2017.
Ament did not indicate an exact date for the release or whether he would tour behind it. Pearl Jam itself has been writing its 11th studio LP and is heading out on European and North American tour dates this spring and summer.
- Ament did discuss his favorite 2017 albums in the article, naming records by St. Vincent, The War On Drugs, LCD Soundsystem, Mogwai, At the Drive-in, Portugal. The Man and The xx among his top albums of last year.
- In addition to a full month of European dates, Pearl Jam will play two shows apiece at Seattle's Safeco Field, Chicago's Wrigley Field and Boston's Fenway Park, in addition to a gig in Missoula, Montana. It's not clear whether more North American dates are in the works.
Story source: Rolling Stone
DID YOU KNOW?
- Jeff Ament's other side projects over the years have included Three Fish, Tres Mts. and RNDM.
- His first solo album, Tone, came out in 2008, while his second, While My Heart Beats, followed in 2012.