Rock News Review: January 2024

1/5 The Smashing Pumpkins announce on Instagram that they are conducting an open audition for a new guitarist following the departure of Jeff Schroeder, after sixteen years with the Pumpkins. Applicants submit a tape and resume.

1/5 Corey Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour) cancels his North American solo tour. “For the past several months my mental and physical health have been breaking down, and I reached a place that was unhealthy for my family and I,” Taylor writes in a post.

1/8  On what would have been David Bowie’s 77^th birthday, the city of Paris names a street after the music icon, “Rue David Bowie” is in the capital’s 13th district on the left bank. 

1/9 Kingdom Come/Scorpions drummer James Kottak dies at the age of 61. 

1/10 Jelly Roll (Jason DeFord) appears before a Senate Committee urging the passage of legislation to combat the supply and distribution of fentanyl. A one-time drug dealer who served time in prison, the “Need A Favor” singer calls on lawmakers to get the FEND Off Fentanyl Act bill through Congress.

1/12 Code Orange cancel tour dates due to guitarist Dom Landolina’s unspecified health challenges. He’s been “dealing with serious health issues over the past year that have led to his inability to play, perform and live comfortably,” posts the band on social media. 

1/14 “Paradise City” becomes the third Guns N’ Roses song to join Spotify’s “Billions Club.”  The first two were “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” Spotify recognizes all songs that have garnered over a billion streams on the platform. 

1/15 Singer/television personality Kelly Clarkson honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. (on MLK Day) on her self-titled talk show by performing a cover of U2‘s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” a song U2’s Bono wrote in part about the civil rights leader. 

1/16 Former Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars scores a victory in his ongoing legal battle with the band when a Los Angeles judge agrees that Mötley Crüe had unjustly “refused” to reveal wide-ranging business dealings as they sought to oust Mars from the band.  As a result, the judge rules that Mars is now entitled to have the band cover his legal bill.

1/16 Smashing Pumpkins announce they have received over 10,000 submissions in an open audition to replace guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

1/19  Sleater-Kinney issues “Little Rope,” their eleventh studio album. It’s the band’s first album since the departure of longtime member Janet Weiss (vocals, drums, and harmonica) in ‘19.

1/19 “The Greatest Night In Pop,” a documentary that chronicles the all-star recording session for the ‘85 charity single, “We Are the World,” premieres at the Sundance Film Festival before going to Netflix. It’s estimated the song helped raise over $63 million (in ’85 dollars) for humanitarian aid in Africa. 

1/19 Comings and goings. Mercyful Fate adds bassist Becky Baldwin replacing Joey Vera. Meanwhile, Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce (lead guitar/backing vocals/keyboards) steps away from the band to focus on his family. 

1/20 More goings. Sabaton part ways with their longtime guitarist Tommy Johansson. “After 7 amazing years, our guitarist, Tommy, has decided to leave Sabaton to pursue his own path,” reads a band post.

1/21 Johnny Ramone’s estate files a lawsuit in a Manhattan court over actor Pete Davidson’s planned Ramones movie. Linda Ramone, Johnny’s widow, claims that Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh “covertly developed an unapproved and unauthorized Ramones-based biopic.” Ramone and Leigh share ownership of the Ramones intellectual property with Linda claiming that a movie can’t move forward without her approval. 

1/23 Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths, demands presidential candidate Donald Trump stop playing “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” without permission at his rallies. “Consider this shit shut right down right now,” Marr writes on X.

1/24 Slipknot frontman and solo artist Corey Taylor shares a video message addressing concerns over his well-bring after he cancels a North American tour. He decides to take a break and focus on his mental and physical health and spend time with his family.

1/28 The trailer for “Despicable Me 4,” featuring Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” airs during the AFC Championship (football) game.

1/28 San Francisco’s Journey performs “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Be Good to Yourself,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” (changing a lyric to reference S.F. rather than Detroit) during halftime at the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. 

1/29 Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows quits X, the social media platform once known as Twitter, because “it just simply doesn’t interest me at this point.”

1/29 Marilyn Manson is ordered to pay Evan Rachel Wood’s legal fees — a sum of $326,956 — after a judge dismisses a large portion of Manson’s defamation lawsuit against his former fiancée. Manson (Brian Warner) filed the defamation suit against Wood following her accusation of sexual abuse by the performer. 

1/30 Rob Zombie’s bassist Matt Montgomery (a.k.a. Piggy D.) announces his departure from the band. “It was an honor to entertain you for the last 18 years,” Montgomery posts on Instagram.

1/30 Bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson rejoins Rob Zombie just hours after Montgomery announces that he is exiting the band. Blasko was a member of Zombie’s band from ’97 through ’06.

1/31 Arch Enemy’s video for “The Eagles Flies Alone,” originally released in 2017, surpasses 100-million views on YouTube. 

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