Bon Jovi Releases Official 'Because We Can' Video

As bands go, Bon Jovi is near the top when it comes to riches. The band can afford to make real videos, with real directors and real actors. Bon Jovi tapped acclaimed director Fisher Stevens for the clip to promote the single "Because We Can." Gotta say, I'm not impressed. Come to think of it, I don't like the song much either.

"Because We Can" is off the forthcoming album What About Now, due out March 26.

Tom Keifer Releases Full Version of 'Flower Song'

Tom Keifer just premiered a new solo song. The track, called "Flower Song," debuted on USA Today's website earlier this week. It’s the first single from his long-awaited, solo album The Way Life Goes. That album is finally due out April 30. Be sure to click the link to hear the complete new song. Soundcloud would not allow me to directly embed into this site.

Tom is going out on the road for his first-ever solo tour. He'll play 14 cities in small venues. The tour will act as a preview of his long-awaited solo disc The Way Life Goes. He'll play Cinderella tunes as well. Here's the tour dates:

Feb. 09 - Winston-Salem, NC - Ziggy's
Feb. 11 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
Feb. 13 - Philadelphia, PA - JC Dobbs
Feb. 15 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
Feb. 16 - Salisbury, MA - Blue Ocean
Feb. 17 - Portland, ME - Asylum
Feb. 19 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Feb. 22 - Lincolnshire, IL - Viper Alley
Feb. 23 - Lexington, KY - Busters
Feb. 24 - Detroit, MI - Magic Bag
Feb. 26 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
Feb. 27 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater
Feb. 28 - White Marsh, MD - House of Rock

Journey To Do 'CMT Crossroads' Special with Rascal Flatts

Journey will join together with Rascal Flatts for a CMT Crossroads special Saturday night. The live concert will take place at the New Orleans Sugar Mill. The performance will air at 11 pm ET as part of a weekend of Super Bowl fun.

CMT Crossroads pairs country artists with rockstars for a special concert experience.

This isn't the first time a band we love has gone country crossover. Bon Jovi teamed up with Sugarland. Steven Tyler teamed up with Carrie Underwood. Taylor Swift took on Def Leppard. My favorite Crossroads ever was recorded back in 2008 when Alison Krauss teamed up with Robert Plant. That show was special because the duo performed songs from their album Raising Sand while also doing their own respective hits.

When the Journey clips hit YouTube, I'll post some here for us to discuss. 

A Cautionary Tale From Brazil

Friends, there was tragedy in Brazil yesterday. A massive fire at the Kiss nightclub left 233 dead and scores more injured. Most of the victims died from asphyxiation and smoke inhalation. Authorities think the fire was started by pyro from a band's stage show.

The Kiss club is located in Santa Maria, Brazil, near the Uruguayan and Argentine borders.

We've been here before, haven't we? Some witness reports say the main door was locked when the fire started. Others say that wasn't the case. (There are reports that some security guards didn't know what was going on and many thought people were skipping out on their bar tabs.) At any rate, there were not enough exists to handle the over-capacity crowd at the club and panic set in. Many were trampled while trying to escape. Others couldn't escape because a pile of bodies blocked their way. Fire officials say that the fire was so big and spread so fast, there was little they could do to stop the blaze.

The singer of Gurizada Fandangueira shot a flare from a machine called Sputnik which allegedly started the blaze. According to Billboard, the band is known for its pyro show. The band's accordion player was killed in the blaze.

The use of pyro in a closed space was not permitted in the Kiss club. The club's operating license was expired.

This is a cautionary tale for all of us. 1) When you go to a see a band in a club, take 10 seconds and locate all the exits. Remember: a crowd in a panic will always run for the door of original entrance. If you know all the exists, you have options. 2) If a band starts shooting off pyro in an enclosed space (or something else as equally dangerous/stupid), leave. 3) If you go in to a club, see that it is packed to the brim and there's no space to move, consider hanging out by the door. 4) Finally, discuss with your friends that if something goes down, you all head for the exists. Don't wait for each other. Just get out. This advice might seem insane, but these are rules I live by after The Station/Great White disaster of 2003. This Brazil fire will only make me more vigilant.

Watch Steven Adler Pay Tribute to John Bonham

Last Thursday at NAMM, a lot of drummers got together to pay tribute to late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The event was called Bonzo Bash NAMM Jamm 2013. There are a lot of cool performance videos of the show. I really liked the clip featuring Steven Adler because he's so happy. Check it out.

Welcome to Rockville 2013 Lineup Announced

This year, the third annual Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville expands to two days--April 27 & 28, 2013--at Jacksonville’s scenic Metropolitan Park along the beautiful St. Johns River.

The region’s biggest rock event will feature headlining performances from Alice In Chains and Limp Bizkit (marking the band’s first hometown show in over a decade), as well as Jacksonville legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. The power-packed lineup for Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville also includes: 3 Doors Down, Shinedown,Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Bullet For My Valentine, Halestorm, Buckcherry, Hollywood Undead, Skillet, All  That  Remains,  Device  (featuring  David  Draiman  from  Disturbed),  Asking Alexandria, Escape The Fate, Filter, In This Moment, Steel Panther, Motionless In White, Pop Evil, Otherwise, Saving Abel, Nonpoint, Red, Young Guns, Thousand Foot Krutch, Gemini Syndrome, Girl On Fire, and more.

A special Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville ticket presale will take place on Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30 at select Metro PCS stores. No ticket service fees will be charged during the presale. The regular ticket onsale begins Friday, February 1 at 10am EST at www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com, all Ticketmaster locations and select Metro PCS stores.

Two-day General Admission tickets will be just $99.50 plus service fees and single day General Admission tickets will be $54.50 plus service fees. A limited number of two-day VIP tickets and hotel packages will also be available. For full details, visit: www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com

"After selling out the last two years of Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, I now see that the city is ready to bring a full-fledged two-day rock festival to downtown Jacksonville and make it a staple in North Florida music for years to come,” says Danny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. “We have great radio partners at ROCK 104.5 and X102.9 providing amazing support to the city and event which will make this year’s festival more massive than ever."

Metropolitan Park offers a scenic, spacious site for Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville that’s just a few hours drive from cities including Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville, Savannah and Tallahassee, and is easily accessible by plane from around the country. Metropolitan Park is a premier 27-acre recreational facility along the beautiful St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville, Florida at 1410 Gator Bowl Blvd.

Monster  Energy’s  Welcome  To  Rockville  is  produced  by  Jacksonville  native Danny Wimmer (one of the partners in the massively successful Rock On The Range and Carolina Rebellion festivals) of Danny Wimmer Presents. The festival is fueled by Monster Energy. Additional sponsors for the event include F.Y.E.,Metro PCS, Beacon Audio and Revolver Magazine.

Monster  Energy’s  Welcome  To  Rockville  kicks  off  the  2013  World’s  Loudest Month. Created in partnership by AEG Live, Right Arm Entertainment and Danny Wimmer Presents, the World’s Loudest Month features the biggest names inrock music performing in five distinct U.S. concert atmospheres: Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rockfest, Rock On The Range, and Rocklahoma. In 2012, the World’s Loudest Month featured over 100 artists playing for more than 200,000 rock music fans across the country on five consecutive weekends, confirming that rock music is as vital as ever.

As part of the 2013 Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville expansion, the festival will feature a large media and radio tent to accommodate local and national radio and press outlets from around the country.

For more information on Monster Energy’s Welcome To Rockville, visit: Website: www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/welcometorockville Twitter: @RockvilleFest

Bon Jovi, 'What About Now' -- New Song

Bon Jovi has a new song called "What About Now." The song is the first single from the band's upcoming album by the same name. What About Now will be out March 26, 2013.

Check out the song. Discuss.

Well, since the BBC pulled the song - here's a 30 second demo.