Richie Sambora, who is sitting out of Bon Jovi's world tour, has broken his silence regarding his absence -- without actually giving the reasons why he's all but quit the band. Jon Bon Jovi revealed to The Evening Standard that not-discussing the reasons for Sambora playing hooky from the tour is getting tiring, explaining: "It's getting more and more difficult every day to not just sit here and say something. . . Because all I can say is this -- it's for personal reasons. He's been through it before, fortunately for us the same guy who filled in last time was available this time. Life goes on, so if someone chooses not to be here. . . unlike if this were, God forbid, The Edge, and he for some reason couldn't make a U2 show, (then) it would be very difficult to just step in."

Bon Jovi added: "You have a choice -- you either figure it out, go and grow, not only survive but thrive. Or, you say, 'I hate my brother and I'm gonna quit the band.'"

Sambora took the bait and in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, said, "I don't have any major problems in life right now, I love my fans and I feel bad for them at the moment. Bottom line. My opinion is Jon wants to see if he can pull off stadiums by himself. He is making it very difficult for me to come back. Enough with the trash talking!"
He went on to add: "Jon needs to stop talking about me publicly. I am fine working very hard on my fashion company Nikki Rich and this is a private matter.'"


JUST OUR OPINION

This is the deal -- these guys gotta stop calling this a "personal" or "private" matter. It's the furthest thing from being that. Richie Sambora being too trashed to make a string of dates last Bon Jovi tour -- that was a BUSINESS matter. He had to call in sick to work. That's BUSINESS. Personal matters have nothing to do with huge corporations like Chrysler, Google -- or Bon Jovi. They just don't.
They should be honest and just tell the truth -- either Sambora's back on the bottle or he wants more money, or as equal a say as Bon Jovi -- because that's really it. It's one or more of those three things.
Whatever the issues are, they can't be that pressing. Sambora's looking pretty lame in all this. Jon Bon Jovi's making it hard for you to go to work playing stadiums??? Really??? In 1976 Keith Richards took the stage the night his infant son died; do you think whatever's troubling Richie about his multi-million dollar cake walk gig is more of a deterrent to taking the stage than that???
Could YOU do this at work??? Y'know, decide that you're just not gonna go anymore and still keep your job??? Bon Jovi, who maintains that he's just a hard-workin' Jersey guy, should fire his ass already. They look stupid.

The Doors' co-founder and keyboardist Ray Manzarek died on Monday, May 20th in Rosenheim, Germany at the RoMed Clinic following a long battle with with bile duct cancer. He was 74. Manzarek was surrounded by his wife Dorothy and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek. Manzarek is survived by Dorothy, their son Pablo, his wife Sharmin, and their three children Noah, Apollo, and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. An official statement posted on TheDoors.com stated: "The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek's name at www.standup2cancer.org."

Doors guitarist Robby Krieger said in a statement: "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today. I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

Doors drummer John Densmore said in a statement: "There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."

Ray Manzarek was born Raymond Daniel Manczarek, Jr. on February 12th, 1939 on the South Side of Chicago and was of Polish decent. In 1962 he moved to Southern California to study at the Department of Cinematography at UCLA, where he first met fellow student and future partner Jim Morrison, along with his wife of 45 years, Dorothy Fujikawa. Together with Morrison, Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, the quartet formed the Doors in 1965 and between 1967 and 1971 released six studio albums -- The Doors (1967); Strange Days (1967); Waiting For The Sun (1968); The Soft Parade (1969); Morrison Hotel (1970); and L.A. Woman (1971) -- before Jim Morrison's death on July 3rd, 1971 in Paris.

Manzarek changed the face of rock keyboard playing, with his early signature sound being a combination of a Vox Continental organ -- and later a Gibson G-101 Kalamazoo combo organ -- with his left hand playing the basslines on a Fender Rhodes electric piano "bass unit," which featured only the keyboard's lowest notes. Although the Doors eventually added a studio bassist to their sessions, Manzarek handled the bass duties via his keyboards for the band's live appearances with Morrison.
Following Morrison's death, the Doors soldiered on with Manzarek and Krieger taking over vocal duties on the band's 1971 set, Other Voices, and its follow-up, 1972's Full Circle. Following that, Krieger and Densmore split to form the Butts Band. After a short-lived mid-'70s collaboration with Iggy Pop, Manzarek formed Nite City with future Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, and produced and collaborated with the likes of Philip Glass, Echo & The Bunnymen, X, and poet Michael McClure, among many others.
In 1978 Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore reunited to compose and record music to Morrison's poetry for the An American Prayer album. Manzarek collaborated frequently with Robby Krieger. In 2002 the pair began touring as the Doors Of The 21st Century, which went through various name changes -- including Riders On The Storm -- until the pair settled on Manzarek-Krieger or Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger of The Doors, following a bitter five-year battle against John Densmore and the Morrison estate over the use of the band's name.
In 1998, Manzarek published his memoir, Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors. He followed the autobiography in 2001 with The Poet In Exile, which supposes what would've happened had Jim Morrison faked his death -- as many fans believe. In 2006 he published his second novel, the Civil War-based, Snake Moon.
The Doors' stats remain among the most impressive of the rock era, selling over 100 million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum, and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone.
FRIENDS AND FANS REACT

Joe Perry wrote: "I am very saddened by loss of Ray Manzarek now he's with Jim. They mean as much to me today as they did 40 years ago."

Slash wrote: "The Doors represent the LA sound to me. It was the 1st band I remember hearing when I came from England; 'Light my fire,' I'll never forget."

Alice Cooper wrote: "Ok it is OFFICIAL. Ray Manzarek is dead. Mind blown. RIP Ray."

Flea wrote: "Wow. Ray manzarek. Bless his heart. One of a kind rock original. Grateful to have jammed with him once. R.I..P."

Weird Al Yankovic wrote: Oh man. So terribly sad. We lost a great one. #RIPRayManzarek

Elijah Wood wrote: "The End. Sad to hear of Ray Manzarek's passing."

CHECK IT OUT: The Doors on April 28th, 1969 performing "Wishful Sinful" live on PBS Critique:

CHECK IT OUT: Ray Manzarek fronting the Doors on May 3rd, 1972 while performing "Love Me Two Times" on Germany's Beat Club:

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony are in the studio with ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, where the Red Rocker is working on a new album. The three musicians, of course, comprise three-fourths of the lineup of Chickenfoot, although they are apparently not making a new Chickenfoot record at the moment. Joining them on guitar is Neal Schon of Journey, who also played with Hagar in the early Eighties act HSAS.

In a clip posted online, Hagar calls the current group of musicians a "new and improved" version of HSAS.
The initials of the four musicians' last names also happen to spell out HSAS. The original lineup of that act, which issued one live album in 1984, featured Hagar, Schon, Kenny Aaronson on bass and Michael Shrieve on drums.
Chickenfoot, which also includes guitarist Joe Satriani, has released two albums, 2009's self-titled debut and 2011's Chickenfoot III. Drummer Kenny Aronoff replaced Smith for touring purposes in 2011 when Smith had to return to duty with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 2012, Rod was all set to play with the Faces -- Ron Wood, Ian MacLagan, and Kenney Jones -- during their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, marking the first time he and the group joined forces since 1993. At the 11th hour, Rod fell ill and was advised under doctor's orders not to travel. Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, who's been his replacement over the past few years during Faces gigs, as always, wowed the crowd who at this point are used to Rod not showing up to the reunion gigs.

Now Rod says that 2014 looks like the year that he'll finally commit to playing with his former-bandmates, telling The Sun: "Well, we were on for it but he got nabbed back by the Rolling Stones, didn't he? But let them have him, because my eyes are on next year. I'd really like a reunion of the Jeff Beck Group AND the Faces with Ronnie. Imagine that? We've got the UK tour coming up with the residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas after that then we can start thinking about the Faces."
Over the past decade, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood have teamed up in the studio for a supposed joint album, which at one point was said to be tentatively titled, You Strum - I'll Sing. A while back we asked Rod if there's any chance we'll see him and Ron Wood teaming up for new sessions

Although Don Henley is busy prepping for the upcoming Eagles tour, he took time out to talk about his upcoming solo project, called Cass County, which is his first new album in 13 years, and will be released in September. Cass County, which is Henley's fifth solo album, was co-produced by Henley's longtime collaborator, former Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers drummer, Stan Lynch.

Henley spoke to Jam! Music and shed some light on the album's title and back-story: "That's the name of the rural county I come from in northeast Texas. The album was recorded mostly in Nashville, with some additional recording done in Texas and California. The material on it is a reflection of a part of my musical foundation -- songs I heard on the radio and on my parents' record player in the '50s and '60s."

Although the album has one foot planted firmly in the past -- Henley maintains that the album is relevant for his audience today, explaining, "It's not exactly a 'retro' album, but neither does it reflect much of what's going on in 'modern' music. It's primarily a record for grown-ups -- people who've done some living. It explores the landscape of memory and experience. There are a few cover songs on the album, but most of the content is new, original material."
Henley went on to add: "The mood of the country has changed since the '60s. I think there's always a place for a little social commentary -- after all, that is one of the basic principles of rock, folk, blues and country music -- but you can't hit people over the head with it; you can comment, but you can't preach."

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

I love to read stories like this when famous people like Dave Grohl meet their Idols!  This is from Jeff Giles from the website "Ultimate Classic Rock" It's a great read.

No matter how successful a person might be in his chosen field, he can still have heroes who make him feel like a kid again. Just ask Dave Grohl, who had what sounds like a deeply emotional experience when meeting up with the members of Rush for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Speaking with the Pulse of Radio, Grohl admitted that inducting Rush into the Hall — and later performing with them on stage for a version of ’2112′ — was “one of the most special nights of my life.”

Calling the performance “terrifying” and “amazing” in equal measure, Grohl recalled, “When I got ’2112′ when I was eight years old, it f—ing changed the direction of my life. I heard the drums. It made me want to become a drummer.” Naturally, all that history meant meeting Rush drummer Neil Peart proved particularly special; as Grohl put it, “This man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone’s life. He said, ‘So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?’ And he made me a coffee, man. And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine and I started f—ing crying because my hero made me a f—ing coffee.”

A conversation about Dave Grohl inducting Rush into the Rock Hall seemed like as good a time as any to point out that his former band Nirvana will be eligible for that honor next year. “Wow. I didn’t even know that. Interesting,” he responded. “Well, hopefully they make us wait as long as Rush did, because did you see all their f—ing fans out there tonight?”

The Allman Brothers Band are taking the show on the road this summer for a series of 15 concerts. The band has just added stops in August and September in Scranton, Pennsylvania; Chicago; Hartford, Connecticut; Gilford, New Hampshire; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Alpharetta, Georgia; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Mansfield, Massachusetts; and Wantagh, New York. Steve Winwood will open for the band on a handful of shows.
 The Allman Brothers Band tour dates (subject to change):

August 16, 17 - Scranton, PA - The Peach Music Festival at Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain
August 17 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain
August 20, 21 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
August 23 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center (with Steve Winwood)
August 24 - Hartford, CT - Comcast Theatre (with Steve Winwood)
August 27 - Gilford, NH - Meadowbrook (with Steve Winwood)
August 28 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center (with Steve Winwood)
August 30 - Raleigh, NC - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
August 31 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (with Steve Winwood)
September 2 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre At Encore Park
September 4 - Virginia Beach, VA - Farm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach
September 6 - Mansfield, MA - Comcast Center
September 7 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon At Jones Beach Theater

Van Halen played its first show of 2013 and first since last spring on Saturday night (April 20th) as one of the headliners at the Stone Music Festival in Sydney, Australia. The band has not played live since canceling 31 North American dates last summer, citing exhaustion. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen was then sidelined for four to six months after undergoing surgery for the inflammatory intestinal affliction diverticulitis.

The group opened its 20-song set with "Unchained" and proceeded through a solid list of hits and fan favorites, ending the night with "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and "Jump." Only three songs from its 2012 album, A Different Kind Of Truth -- "She's The Woman," "Tattoo" and "China Town" -- were performed during the evening.

• Van Halen will next play three shows in Japan in late June before coming home to appear at the annual Rock USA festival, scheduled for July 17th through July 20th in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

CHECK IT OUT: Watch Van Halen perform "Unchained" in Australia:

Here's "Hot For Teacher":

And here's more footage of the band doing "Jump":

Heart finally gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the ceremony at L.A.'s Nokia Theater. Jason Bonham will induct the band, which in addition to sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, will include the classic 1975 to 1979 Heart lineup featuring lead guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, longtime guitarist/keyboardist Howard Leese, and drummer Michael DeRosier.

The members of Rush hope that their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday nigh will pave the way for more progressive and heavy rock acts to get inside the doors. Bassist Geddy Lee said, "I hope this means other great bands like Yes will follow suit. Deep Purple was on the ballot this year, and I was hoping they'd get in with us. We wouldn't be the band we are without Deep Purple's existence."

Guitarist Alex Lifeson added that he hoped Rush's long-awaited inclusion "opens the doors for bands like the Moody Blues and King Crimson . . . it's odd to have (a Hall of Fame) where there seem to be guidelines for who's acceptable and who's not." Thursday's event will be filmed and broadcast on HBO on May 18th.