Rock News Review: February 2024
2/1 Former Hootie & The Blowfish frontman turned Country star, Darius Rucker, is arrested for possession of a controlled substance in the Middle Tennessee area. “Darius Rucker is fully cooperating with authorities related to misdemeanor drug charges,” states Rucker’s lawyer. The singer is released on a bond of $10,500.
2/2 MusiCares Person Of The Year benefit gala honors Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The singer/frontman is honored for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation which has worked to break the cycle of hunger, poverty and homelessness.
2/2 Disturbed frontman David Draiman goes after Westboro Baptist Church members who protest the band’s show in Kansas City saying Disturbed play “devil music.” Draiman calls that “horseshit.”
2/2 Wayne Kramer, co-founder, guitarist, and singer for Detroit’s legendary MC5 dies at the age of 75.
2/4 Beartooth share a five-minute official documentary titled “Below The Surface.” In the film, Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo reflects his efforts to make a positive change in his life.
2/4 Guitarist Nita Strauss performs the U.S. national anthem prior to the “Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum” in L.A.
2/4 Paramore win the Best Rock Album honor for “This Is Why” at the 66th annual Grammy Awards in L.A. Metallica’s “72 Seasons” takes the Best Metal Performance trophy while Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance awards go to boygenious for “Not Strong Enough.”
Also, U2 provide the first live performance broadcast from the Sphere in Las Vegas when they perform “Atomic City.” Bono then announces the winner of the Best Pop Vocal category – Taylor Swift.
2/5 Alice Cooper unfurls “Alice’s Attic,” a relaunch of his syndicated radio show “Nights With Alice Cooper.” The new program has a mix of classic and some obscure Rock plus Cooper’s stories and commentary.
2/7 Metallica receives the “Rock Tour Of The Year” honor at the Pollstar Awards ceremony held at the Wiltern Theater in L.A. Billboard reports that Metallica’s ’23 tour grossed $125.8 million, with 1.2 million tickets sold over 19 shows.
2/7 Mojo Nixon, singer, songwriter and radio host who rocketed from the lunatic fringe of ’80s underground music to national attention with his rabble-rousing shots at celebrity culture and snarky social commentary, dies at age 66.
2/8 R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, bassist Mike Mills, guitarist Peter Buck and drummer Bill Berry, appear onstage together for the first time in seventeen years. Bandmembers, who do not perform, are attending a concert in Athens, GA to support actor Michael Shannon and musician Jason Narducy’s tour playing R.E.M.’s “Murmur” album.
2/10 Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner, Jane’s Addiction, Peter Frampton and Lenny Kravitz are nominated for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s Class Of 2024.
2/10 Paramore (frontwoman Haley Williams pictured) are named Record Store Day Ambassadors. They are an indie band after a 20-year tenure with Atlantic Records. Record Store Day celebrates and promotes indie music retailers.
2/12 Tennessee’s State House Republicans pass a resolution honoring the Grammy achievements of Paramore, (Best Rock Album) but fail to recognize fellow Tennessee African American Allison Russell (Best American Roots Performance for “Eve Was Black”).
Days later, Paramore frontwoman Haley Williams calls the decision “blatant racism” and says the band will not accept ‘any acknowledgment or honor from the TN House’ until Russell is also recognized.
2/14 An open letter signed by Disturbed’s David Draiman, KISS bassist Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne’s wife/manager Sharon Osbourne, along with 400 entertainment leaders, is released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace in support of the European Broadcasting Union’s public commitment to include Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. The letter comes in response to demands that Israel be disinvited from the contest due to the Israel/Hamas conflict.
2/14 Sleep Token announce they have signed with RCA Records (leaving the Spinefarm imprint). Led by vocalist Vessel, the band says the signing represents a “new era.”
2/15 Marilyn Manson’s penalty for pursuing failed defamation and emotional distress allegations against actress Evan Rachel Wood and artist Illma Gore increases significantly when L.A. County Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet orders Manson (Brian Warner) to pay an additional $169,408 to compensate Gore’s lawyers. That, plus the $326,956 Manson must also pay for Wood’s legal fees, puts the total in the neighborhood of a half-million dollars.
2/17 Daughtry’s “Artificial” tops Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The band has had eight entries in seventeen years but this is their first #1 on the chart.
2/18 Lenny Kravitz receives the Music Icon Award during a ceremony at the People’s Choice Awards in Santa Monica, CA. “My music wasn’t Black enough. It wasn’t white enough. It didn’t fit nicely inside the box, or sound like what was on the radio at the time,” says Kravitz. “Music is about bringing us all together. And the whole reason I create and perform music is to amplify love.”
2/18 Jelly Roll begins a run as a mentor on Season 22 of American Idol.
2/21 Foreigner’s founding guitarist Mick Jones announces on social media that he is living with Parkinsons disease, While Foreigner are on a North American farewell tour, Jones has not performed with the band since ’22.
2/21 The trial of three men arrested in July ‘20, charged with attempting to sell pages of hand-written lyrics to songs from the Eagles’ “Hotel California” album (and allegedly lying about the origins of the ownership) begins in New York Supreme Court.
Craig Inciardi, former curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Glenn Horowitz, a dealer of high-end rare books, and Edward Kosinski, owner of a memorabilia business, are accused of trying to “possess, transport, store, and sell such manuscripts.” All three claim they are innocent.
2/21 A sexual assault lawsuit filed against Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is dismissed. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rules that Tyler’s actions in ’75 didn’t present a “serious risk of physical injury” to the plaintiff – the then 17-year-old model Jeanne Bellino. Tyler allegedly fondled and groped her twice. She brought the case forward last November as part of New York City’s Victim of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
2/22 Pantera (Phillip Anselmo, Rex Brown, Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante) play Madison Square Garden for the first time.
2/23 Former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars releases his debut solo album, “The Other Side Of Mars.” In ’22, Mars retired from touring with Mötley Crüe due to his ongoing battle with ankylosing spondylitis.
2/23 Former KISS guitarist, Ace Frehley, issues his eighth solo album, “10,000 Volts.”
2/24 Papa Roach’s ballad “Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark)” is their tenth #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The track supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s “Talk Away The Dark” campaign.
2/27 Sepultura announce the departure of drummer Eloy Casagrande and name Greyson Nekrutman as his live replacement for the band’s upcoming farewell tour. Casagrande had been with the Sepultura since ’11.
2/27 Adema part ways with singer Ryan Shuck, who joined the group in ’19.
2/28 Avenged Sevenfold’s immersive interactive concert, created in collaboration with AmazeVR, is released on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest.
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