MUSIC NEWS: THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
BLACK SABBATH - THE END
Legendary British rock band Black Sabbath practically shook the foundations of the close to sold out show at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg last night. Ozzy still has it vocally (except for a few rare moments) and guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler sounded like anything but geezers impressing with their digital dexterity. Drummer Tommy Clufetos abused his kit without mercy and gave all the drum solo fans a major rush.
Opening band Rival Sons from Los Angeles also impressed with their obviously Led Zeppelin influenced material. Both the lead vocalist and drummer are obviously big fans.
---
GRAMMY EVENT
Rihanna, Dave Grohl and Chris Stapleton have been added to the list of performers honouring Lionel Richie at a pre-Grammy event next month.
The Recording Academy announced Thursday that Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, Ellie Goulding and Leon Bridges were also added to the concert naming Richie the 2016 MusiCares person of the year.
The event, scheduled two days before the 2016 Grammy Awards, will be held Feb. 13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Previously announced performers include Stevie Wonder, Pharrell, John Legend, Luke Bryan, Usher, Lady Antebellum, Lenny Kravitz and Demi Lovato. Jimmy Kimmel will host the event.
The Grammys will air live Feb. 15 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
---
BLACK KEYS
Special guests at this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will include The Black Keys, Rob Thomas and Metallica's Lars Ulrich.
N.W.A., Chicago, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick and Steve Miller are the Rock Hall's 2016 class and will be inducted on April 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Tickets for general public go on sale Feb. 5, the Rock Hall also announced Thursday.
More than 900 voters picked the soon-to-be inductees. Artists are eligible for inclusion 25 years after the release of their first recording.
Performers and presenters at the ceremony will be announced at a later date. The event will air on HBO in April.
JOSEPH FIENNES-MICHAEL JACKSON
The actor who played Shakespeare in ``Shakespeare in Love'' will play Michael Jackson in a one-off TV comedy. Joseph Fiennes will portray Jackson in ``Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon,'' about a road trip Jackson is rumoured to have made with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando after the 9-11 attacks. Fiennes is white and Jackson was black, which is only adding to the uproar in Hollywood about opportunities for non-white actors. Sky Arts, which commissioned the program, says it gives producers creative freedom to cast roles as they wish. Fiennes' agent did not return a request for comment. The show will air sometime this year, but an American network was not given.
---
TYLER FARR
Tyler Farr has been silenced. Farr is cancelling his shows for the next few months while he recovers from surgery to remove a polyp on his vocal chords. That will include dropping out of the Lee Brice tour that starts next month. Farr first became aware of the problem when he came down with bronchitis while on tour with Jason Aldean last summer. Farr has had classical voice training, and he says he believed he was putting his training to work every night. He is on vocal rest and plans to do aggressive therapy to heal his voice.
---
DEF LEPPARD
Def Leppard will be the first artist to debut a video through the ``Guitar Hero'' video game. Def Leppard will premiere the video for ``Dangerous'' on ``Guitar Hero Live.''
Guitarist Phil Collen says, ``MTV doesn't really exist anymore, so it's cool there's another medium to represent the song now.'' Def Leppard had to postpone several shows recently because singer Joe Elliott lost his voice. Collen says they are hoping he will be ready for their Friday show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
---
B.O.B VS. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
B.o.B is engaged in one of the oddest rap feuds ever. He's going up against astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson about whether the Earth is flat. B.o.B tweeted what he believes is evidence proving the earth is flat. Tyson challenged his evidence, and B.o.B responded with a diss track saying NASA pays Tyson to perpetuate the myth. Tyson responded by enlisting his nephew, a rapper who goes by Tyson, to create his own diss track. Neil DeGrasse Tyson appears on the track in a spoken-word segment reading his tweets to B.o.B.
---
ROSTAM BATMANGLIJ
There may not be a more amicable parting in music than multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij leaving Vampire Weekend. Batmanglij tweeted this week he wants to stand on his own as a songwriter and producer. He says he will continue to collaborate with singer Ezra Koenig on Vampire Weekend projects. Koenig writes on Instagram they agreed years ago that their collaboration was not dependent on being in the same band.
Koenig says the next Vampire Weekend record will include ``a lot of familiar faces in the studio but also some fresh, new ones.''
---