'Alligator Pants' -- New David Lee Roth

Old Diamond Dave likes to surprise us.

David Lee Roth posted the track "Alligator Pants" online yesterday with no explanation or fanfare. He just dropped the track and took off! No clue if the song is related to a larger project, but enjoy nonetheless. It's catchy as hell.

Scrap That Recent Van Halen Album News

Ok so now the news is that Toto guitarist Steve Lukather won't be playing on a new Van Halen album.

Apparently Steve's quote to a Dutch newspaper was taken out of context. Lukather says he will never play guitar on a Van Halen song, ever. He did help Alex Van Halen go through unfinished recordings between the two brothers. Seems like that is all there is to Lukather working on music with Alex Van Halen.

Remember, the Van Halen brothers and Lukather are all great friends and go way back, so the idea of an album collaboration wasn't that far fetched.

So now who knows if we will ever get new Van Halen music. Just don't hold your breath.

Another Deadly Nightclub Fire - Pyro Devices To Blame

Tragedy in North Macedonia overnight - a fire broke out at Club Pulse, killing 59 and injuring 155. There were apparently 500 people in the club when the fire began.

A local pop group named DNA was performing at the club in Kocani. So far, 20 people have been arrested including the club owner. Apparently the Club Pulse didn't have a license to operate as a music venue. Band members were also arrested.

From NPR (bold mine):

The blaze broke out around 2:30 a.m. during a concert by a local pop group at Club Pulse, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told reporters. He said 39 of the dead had so far been identified.

He said, following an initial assessment, pyrotechnics likely caused the roof to catch fire. Videos showed chaos inside the club, with young people running through the smoke as the musicians urged people to escape as quickly as possible.

Less than two million people live in Macedonia and this is a massive tragedy for the small nation. You have to wonder why clubs keep allowing indoor pyro, especially after The Station nightclub fire (22 years ago now). My required reminder: always check the exist points when you enter a concert venue. Be aware of your surroundings and how the crowd is acting. If there is pyro and you are inside, it is time to get out - period.

Life Really Is Stranger Than Fiction

Nothing makes sense anymore and basically everything is upside down, so I don't know why I was even surprised to read that Gene Simmons showed up to do the weather report on a California news station the other day.

The actual meteorologist for the station is Adam Krueger from FOX 11 Los Angeles. The little hit was a nice stunt for Gene to promote his solo work outside of KISS. Plus I'll go out on a limb here and say that Krueger is probably a big fan. During the segment, Gene astutely points out the difference between Las Vegas and Los Angeles on the map. He even threw in the word "futurecast." Gotta love it. He should probably stick to music and marketing, though.

A New Van Halen Album Is Coming (Maybe?)

At first I took it as rumor that Alex Van Halen was done with retirement and working on new music. Turns out, he is working with Steve Lukather to finish up some incomplete Van Halen material. Well, material between Eddie and himself at least. Will there be vocals? Will Wolfgang Van Halen participate? So many questions.

L.A. Guns and Tom Keifer Band Announce Tour

Gonna be a fun one for the late summer! Not a whole lot of dates listed yet, but maybe we will get some more! The link in the post below has the dates so far. You can't ever go wrong with some Cinderella tunes on a warm night outside.

Currently Listening To 'Roots, Rock, Reggae'

This morning on my way into work,I popped over to the Bob Marley SiriusXM station and was surprised to hear "Roots, Rock, Reggae" featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. I hadn't heard the track in forever, so it was a nice change.

The song is on the 1999 album Chant Down Babylon, which is a Marley tribute album. Marley's vocals are intertwined with Stevn's for some interesting and great harmonies. Basically, the entire track is a vibe. Enjoy: