12/2 KISS close out their “End of the Road” farewell tour with the second of two shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. At the end of the concert, KISS introduces avatars “a combination of LED screen projection and lasers, as way the KISS brand will continue. “The band will never stop,” says frontman Paul Stanley in a promo video. “We don’t own the band. The fans own the band. The world owns the band.”
12/3 Myles Goodwyn, singer/guitarist of April Wine, dies at the age of 75. April Wine sold over 10 million recordings worldwide and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in ’10.
12/5 Denny Laine, a co-founder of both the Moody Blues and Wings, dies from interstitial lung disease at the age of 79.
12/6 Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch (KoЯn) and his longtime personal manager, David W. Williams, announce the launch of XOVR Records (pronounced Crossover Records).
12/7 Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and Foo Fighters “Everlong” surpass a billion streams on Spotify. 2023
12/7 The 1953 Fender Precision bass played by ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill sells for $393,700 at Julien’s Auctions. It’s the second highest bass sold at auction behind Paul McCartney‘s Yamaha BB-1200 that went for $471,900 in ‘21.
12/8 The Tom Petty estate settles their dispute with RR Auction over offering “allegedly stolen” property that belonged to the late singer. Under threat of legal action, the items (clothes, autographed pieces and limited editions) were removed from the auction block and returned to the estate.
12/8 Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl partners with The Big Umbrella Foundation to serve hundreds of meals to Melbourne’s homeless population. The Foo Fighters are touring Australia in support of their “But Here We Are” album.
12/9 Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke slams venues who take a cut of a band’s merchandise sales following a show the previous night at the Armory in Minneapolis. Radke takes to social media to state that the venue’s business practices were so upsetting that he “refused to sell . . . merch” there.
12/10 Kid Rock says that he is no longer boycotting Anheuser-Busch over the company’s Bud Light teaming up trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote the brand. Rock made headlines in April for using an assault rifle to destroy multiple cases of Bud Light in response to Mulvaney’s social media posts. Bud Light saw a deep drop in sales due to the controversy as beer drinkers abandoned the brand.
12/10 Kid Rock says that he is no longer boycotting Anheuser-Busch over the company’s Bud Light teaming up with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote the brand. Rock made headlines in April for using an assault rifle to destroy multiple cases of Bud Light in response to Mulvaney’s social media posts. Bud Light saw a deep drop in sales due to the controversy as beer drinkers abandoned the brand.
12/11 Drummer Hayley Cramer announces her departure from Pop Evil. She joined the band in ’16.
12/14 Metallica play its first concert in Saudi Arabia when they headline the opening night of the three-day Soundstorm festival in Riyadh.
12/14 A signed Eddie Van Halen Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar goes on the auction block where it sells for $110,000. The axe belonged to Jason Becker, a rising guitar phenom who recorded two albums and had stints with David Lee Roth, before being diagnosed with ALS in 1989. He has to part with the instrument in order to raise money for his ongoing care, which costs more than $100,000 a year.
12/15 A lawsuit claims Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee sexually assaulted a woman in the cockpit of a helicopter during a trip from San Diego County to Van Nuys, CA, in February 2003.
12/15 Original AC/DC drummer Colin Burgess dies at age 77. He played on the original version of AC/DC’s debut single, “Can I Sit Next To You Girl.” The band later re-recorded the track with drummer Phil Ruud for the band’s second album.
12/17 “I think people get too worked up about the RRHF (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame),” posts Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx via X. “If you get in that’s cool and if not, it’s not a big deal. It’s an award. None of us hopefully make music just for awards.” Mötley Crüe has been eligible since 2006.
12/17 Queen guitarist Brian May says the band is not behind the recent increase in copyright strikes (a policing practice used to halt copyright infringement) issued against Queen + Adam Lambert concert videos posted to YouTube and other platforms.
12/19 Rock-oriented singer Huntley (Michael Huntley) is the Season 24 winner of “The Voice.”
12/21 Spencer Elden, who appeared as a naked 4-month-old baby swimming toward a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana’s iconic ‘91 “Nevermind” album, can proceed with his legal claim of child pornography against the band following a federal appeals court ruling.
12/22 Bring Me The Horizon part ways with keyboardist Jodan Fish, who joined the band in ’12.
12/23 Slipknot, KoЯn, Nickelback and Smashing Pumpkins are among the artists included in Kentucky senator Rand Paul’s annual report on wasteful government spending for receiving funds under the Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant designed to “provide a lifeline to small entertainment businesses nationwide.” “We have no way of determining how these blank checks were used,” writes Paul.
12/27 Heart play its first concert in more than four years at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland, CA. They open with “Bébé Le Strange” and close with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven.”
12/30 Arch Enemy announce they have “amicably” parted ways with longtime – 9 years – guitarist Jeff Loomis. The band says Joey Concepcion is his replacement.
12/31 Green Day take the stage during ABC’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” and call out Donald Trump’s supporters by changing the lyrics to their ‘04 hit “American Idiot.” Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sings “I’m not part of the MAGA (‘Make America Great Again’) agenda” rather than the original line, “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”
