While The Smashing Pumpkins certainly aren’t a goth band, frontman Billy Corgan wears his goth appreciation on his sleeve. From his solo debut, 2005’s TheFutureEmbrace, to the Smashing Pumpkins’ entire aesthetic, Corgan has often dipped his toe into the world of goth. So it came as a nice surprise when Corgan finally met goth legend, The Cure‘s Robert Smith. READ MORE: Smashing Pumpkins add headline shows to their already-stacked 2024 North America tour While Corgan eventually became close friends with Smith, even collaborating with him on TheFutureEmbrace, the pair met in peculiar circumst ..read more

American rock band Heart opened up for Van Halen a multitude of times back in the 1980s, and sibling-bandmate duo, Nancy and Ann Wilson, remember their times of touring with the group as pretty crazy. According to the sisters, Van Halen’s own sibling-bandmate pairing of Alex and Eddie Van Halen would swing between “fisticuffs” and emotional hugs, all of which was amplified by the culture of “imbibing” which was so prolific among rock artists of that era. READ MORE: Sammy Hagar says this song is Van Halen’s Stairway to Heaven Speaking to Howard Stern (via American Songwriter), Nancy recalls ..read more

Blur took to the main stage at Coachella last Saturday during the festival’s first weekend, and were met with silence by the crowd when frontman Damon Albarn tried to encourage them to sing along to Girls & Boys. Fans have since taken to social media to declare that the crowd were undeserving of the band’s set, though it seems popular hit Song 2 was a little better received. READ MORE: Blur’s Damon Albarn calls Arctic Monkeys “the last great guitar band” The first weekend of Coachella, which is hosted in Indio, California, began last Friday and wrapped up on Sunday, with the next i ..read more

Following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court on 11 April, former Saxon bassist Steve Dawson has been jailed for five years for a history of child sex offences. The bassist was found guilty at an earlier hearing on 21 March. The court ruled Dawson, aged 72, guilty of the repeated abuse of a six-year-old girl in the 1990s, as well as four counts of indecent assault of a child under 14. He was given a five-year custodial sentence on Thursday. READ MORE: “It’s not going to beat me yet”: Saxon’s Graham Oliver on being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease In a statement shared by Doncaster Free Press ..read more

Two things are guaranteed at Coachella: chart-topping tunes and flawless fashion looks. With the festival so intertwined with aesthetics, artists know their set has to look impressive – even if it disguises the authenticity of their sound. As the first Coachella weekend comes to a close, guitarist Mateus Asato has criticised solo artists who value big production over their touring band. READ MORE: “When I really play, I just try to go like crazy”: Mateus Asato digs deep into his signature guitar style Taking to Instagram over the weekend, Asato posed the question: “Why [do] solo artists kee ..read more

Taylor Swift is at the top of her game right now, and it’s likely the dream of many music makers to be able to write a song with her. Well, Grammy-winning songwriter Dan Wilson has plenty of glowing feedback on what it was like to write alongside the pop star. Wilson has also written with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Jason Mraz, Pink and more artists across his career, but one interesting observation he’s made about Swift in particular is her “Bowie-esque” approach to crafting songs. READ MORE: A Taylor Swift fan was going to sell a signed guitar to pay for her wedding – until fellow Swifti ..read more

Van Halen III producer Mike Post has claimed that the record was never meant to be an Eddie Van Halen solo album, only a project done in “Eddie’s way”. READ MORE: “The sound was like from hyperspace” Uli Jon Roth on what it was really like to see Jimi Hendrix live Speaking on The Hustle podcast, Post reveals that he was hired by the late guitarist to produce the record due to his clean track record with addiction and substances. “I know he hired me because he respected me musically and because I was much, much, much more technical than him. [I’m] not even in the same fucking universe i ..read more

$899/£899, taylorguitars.com The Taylor Guitars 50th Anniversary GS Mini-e Rosewood SB is an acoustic guitar that’s smaller than its name. Okay not really, but this latest anniversary edition to commemorate five decades of Taylor certainly is a mouthful. It’s also an interesting guitar that reflects the interesting approach that Taylor has taken to its anniversary instruments – rather than release one unobtanium-level fancy dan commemorative model, the brand has created an entire range of limited-run instruments that run the gamut from Builder’s Edition instruments and high-end classics throu ..read more

Devin Townsend  has reminisced upon the intense naivety he felt when he was first thrust into the music business at just 19 years old touring with Steve Vai. READ MORE: Devin Townsend’s first trip to LA shattered his view of stardom  At the start of his career, the Canadian polymath joined Vai’s band, taking him from rural Canada to arena tours with Aerosmith and slots on The Tonight Show. Though it might seem like the stuff of dreams, it opened his eyes to the ugly realities of the music industry and how music had been commodified. “When I moved to Los Angeles and joine ..read more

Although Twisted Sister have been firmly against reuniting in the past, the tides might be changing – well, if someone can cough up enough money to make it happen. READ MORE: Dee Snider says he wrote Twisted Sister’s ‘Stay Hungry’ in 45 minutes  The band hasn’t been active since they officially said farewell to fans with a final tour in 2016, but now, singer Dee Snider has said they’ve had some attractive offers to reunite that have tempted him somewhat. “As a result of all the bands retiring and dying, the offers get bigger and bigger for the holdouts to come back,” says Snider in an ..read more