News Of The Week Roundup: Week 28, 2021

Last week felt long for me and work was crazy. There was lots of news on all sorts of subjects.

From the "What fresh hell is this?" file:

Passenger traveling through Atlanta on flight from Nigeria contracts monkeypox https://t.co/vnfiRh9qBL

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 16, 2021

COVID-19 is surging again in pockets of America - mainly southern states. With the Delta variant being pretty serious, this is no good.

U.S. hits highest number of daily new coronavirus cases in the world again, with nearly 80,000 https://t.co/FuACO70Zh2

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 17, 2021

CDC eviction moratorium expires in 2 weeks as #DeltaVariant surges. Meanwhile, “COVID-19 vaccines don’t seem to be reaching those in high-eviction neighborhoods.”https://t.co/nZ95wtsTZ5 cc: @CDCDirector

— Diane Yentel (@dianeyentel) July 18, 2021

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida have reached the highest level since March 4 https://t.co/Vp1tDs4Ck2 pic.twitter.com/Z4ljnhOq8Q

— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) July 17, 2021

NEW: Number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 tops 24,000, highest since May

— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) July 17, 2021

Great retail sales numbers this past week:

*US Commerce Jun Retail Sales +0.6%; Consensus -0.4%

*US Jun Retail Sales Ex-Autos +1.3%

*US Jun Retail Sales, Ex-Autos & Ex-Gas +1.1%

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) July 16, 2021

And I leave you with this:

In 1976, more than 100 marijuana plants sprouted in the Anaheim Stadium playing field in Los Angeles after The Who performed there.

— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) July 16, 2021

Lexxi Foxx Quits Steel Panther

Bassist Lexxi Foxx has left Steel Panther. The band announced the departure via their social channels with some story about Lexxi taking care of pets instead. This is pretty sad since the chemistry of the four guys in Steel Panther helped make the shows so fun and funny. Lexxi (Travis Haley) was an original member of the band and has been making music with the outfit for more than 20 years.

The End of an Era - Thank You, Lexxi Foxx.

Full story HERE: https://t.co/hNiPhJWKP7 pic.twitter.com/HrkCd41zDF

— Steel Panther (@Steel_Panther) July 17, 2021

Lzzy Hale Makes Gibson History

How has Gibson not had a female ambassador until now? Lzzy Hale of Halestorm is the brand's first. Good for her. She will help with the Gibson Gives initiative, which is the charitable arm of the guitar maker. Halestorm is going on tour this fall. I haven't seen them live in years and I'd like to see them in concert again.

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale Joins Gibson As First Female Brand Ambassador - https://t.co/XpPZ7XiUsW https://t.co/7s4stlWlxx

— Lzzy Hale (@LZZYHALE) July 16, 2021

Cinderella Bandmates Remember Jeff LaBar

In a joint statement, Cinderella bandmates Tom Kiefer, Eric Brittingham and Fred Coury remember guitarist Jeff LeBar who passed away yesterday. The trio writes:

"Heavy hearts cannot begin to describe the feeling of losing our brother Jeff. The bond between us over decades of creating music and touring the world is something that we as a band uniquely shared. Those memories with Jeff will be forever alive in our hearts. It’s unimaginable that one of our band brothers has left us. We’re sending his wife Debinique, his son Sebastian, family, and friends our deepest condolences."

Still no word on the cause of death. I'll be spinning Cinderella today for sure!

Cinderella pay tribute to late guitarist Jeff LaBar https://t.co/w8xD2TXh52

— Classic Rock Magazine (@ClassicRockMag) July 15, 2021

Here's a classic intro to MTV's Headbanger's Ball featuring all four members of Cinderella. Blast from the past!

Farewell Jeff LaBar

This is some lousy news. Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar has died. No cause of death has been released and his son made the announcement on social media.

Honestly, this one is a shock and seemingly comes out of left field. At the time of this writing, there's been no official statement from anyone in the Cinderella camp.

CINDERELLA Guitarist JEFF LABAR Dead At 58 https://t.co/0U1iztHbHS pic.twitter.com/7sZftiyPok

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) July 14, 2021

AXS TV Looks Into Who Really Invented The 'Metal Horns'

There's a documentary series on AXS TV right now that is looking into the mysteries of music. Tomorrow night, the series tackles the subject of who really invented the metal (or devil) horns - perhaps the most iconic gesture in all of music. I'm still of the mind that the honor goes to Ronnie James Dio, but maybe the rock doc will sway me. The trailer below is great and engaging. It is over three minutes long.

Everyone loves throwing up the horns, but where did the iconic symbol come from? 🤘 #MusicsGreatestMysteries pic.twitter.com/7YCvGrfu0N

— AXS TV (@AXSTV) July 10, 2021

Harsh, But Fair

From a new interview with Loudwire, Chris Jericho of Fozzy says about Vince Neil:

"I'm disappointed to see Vince the way he is, because I think if he lost some weight and did some training and came out there and was in some semblance of shape, a) his voice will sound better just from that alone, and b) people would go, 'Holy shit! Did you see Vince Neil? He looks great."

Blabbermouth has way more from the interview - click to it below. Chris actually goes on to say a lot of nice things about Vince and gives him some advice on who to approach to get fit. I am pulling for Vince and think he can lose weight if he wants to - but no one can force that on you. It's like any other life change: it has to be made by the individual - and for all the right reasons - to work (and stick).

CHRIS JERICHO Says 'It's Disappointing' To See VINCE NEIL So Out Of Shape Before MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'The Stadium Tour' https://t.co/2aGAvjMcm0 pic.twitter.com/UpYBP7bDQV

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) July 11, 2021