Q&A: Alice Cooper Plans Classic Rock Covers Album

Alice Cooper has always incorporated covers into his live show, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has never done an album of other's people music. He plans to change that soon by recording an album of songs inspired by his legendary onetime drinking club, the Hollywood Vampires, a group that included John Lennon, Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson and more.

Cooper himself has been sober for three decades. Thinking back to those early days of rock & roll excess he says, "It was another life." But he remembers it well, reflecting here on trying to save Jim Morrison, his healthy rivalry with guys like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and David Bowie and his thoughts on young artists such as Justin Bieber. Cooper spoke with Rolling Stone at the John Varvatos charity event in West Hollywood last weekend.

You were just talking to Joe Perry earlier. I know you guys are old friends.
We did some writing together back in the Eighties for a movie and it happened to be at [manager] Shep [Gordon]'s house, which was one of the most haunted houses ever. And in the end, it's not like the movies, where you hear stuff in the basement and you say, "Let's go see what that is" – we both ran out of the house. We took off because it sounded like somebody moving furniture in the basement. And then Shep goes, "Oh, they wrote The Amityville Horror there." I went, "Oh, thanks, that's information I could've used before."

500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Alice Cooper, 'Love It to Death'

You have dates coming up with Marilyn Manson. Have you toured together before?
No. In fact, the very first time I met him was in Transylvania. It was the weirdest thing. We had jousted in the press before a little bit ,and we realized we were doing a show together in Transylvania, a big outdoor show, two miles from Dracula's castle. He walked by the dressing room and I said, "Hey, come here." We finally met face to face, and what we talked about was marriage, which was interesting. I've been married 37 years.

And after the tour you start the covers album?
We do a thing in our show, which is a tribute to Hollywood Vampires, my drinking club. And it was Keith Moon, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Micky Dolenz – a very eclectic bunch of drunks. Half of them are dead, so we do four songs in the show in tribute to them. We do "Break On Through," "Revolution," "My Generation" and Jimi Hendrix's "Foxey Lady." I just kind of said, "We've never done a covers album, let's think about that." So [Bob] Ezrin and I are kind of bouncing it around right now.

What are some of the wish-list songs?
I would keep it right to about '73, '74. I don't want to just go anywhere. I want to keep it right in that sort of drunk era, so it's specific. I would say "Break On Through," that's a really good rock track there. The other ones, think of it – Harry Nilsson, there's a lot of good stuff there that could be rocked out. I think of songs as being clay. Take a song like "Jump Into the Fire" and take that to a harder level, and that'll work.

When will the album be out?
I think it'll be out next year. When the tour's over in December then we'll go right in the studio.

Can you look back on that time now with perspective?
It was another life, honestly – a different life. Bernie Taupin and I are best friends, and Bernie was a vampire. He was a last-man-standing, good British drunk. And we sit and talk about it, both of us. I've been sober now 30 years, and I go, "It was another life." But it was all artists, and that was the cool thing about it. It was all guys that were competing with each other in a really good way. I wanted to hear Bowie's new album, I wanted to hear Iggy's new album, I wanted to hear Lou Reed's new album. To me, it was almost more of a theatrical movement than it was competition.

I had a conversation a couple of years ago with Nick Cave, and we were talking about people having to make their own mistakes.
I feel sorry for young bands. They don't have a chance to make mistakes. One strike and they're done. We got to make mistakes. We got to make albums that bombed right along with albums that were the Number Ones.

You also got to fuck up in public, but now the pressure is so great. Look at Justin Bieber – who didn't see that "rough week" coming?
He came into Phoenix, comes up on stage, turns his back to the audience and throws up. I said, in the press, "Justin, just as a note of professional rock & roll, never turn your back when you throw up. Let the audience see you throw up . . . Because that's a moment they're gonna remember." Make sure the lights are on you when you throw up. If he rides this thing out and still makes records, he's gonna be a seasoned artist in about 10 years, 'cause he makes good records now, but he's got to survive the next 10 years. The excess is gonna come at him so quick.

You got to make those mistakes. You survived it. But with so many public tales of those that didn't make it, what are your thoughts when you see someone like Amy Winehouse?
Hey, Jim Morrison – nobody could talk Jim Morrison out of dying. I was a drunk, but I was a lightweight compared to him, and nobody could talk him out of where he was going. Jim was gonna go there and that was it. Same with Amy. I don't think anybody could've talked Amy out of where she was going. The true artists are always out on a limb. They're always the ones that are just maybe gonna die.

How did you survive?
I had to wake up one morning and throw up blood and realize that was a pretty good sign God was saying, "That's about enough out of you. You could still rock & roll, but you're gonna have to do it a different way." Because I was dying. Doctor said, "You got two more weeks before you join Jimi, Jim and all the boys." I said, "I want to stick around and make records." So I had to stop. Same with Iggy, same with Lou, same with Steven [Tyler] and Joe. They're here because they got in the crossroads and made the right choice. If not, we would've been dead, all of us.

But, as you say, some of them couldn't be stopped.
I think the early guys, the Jim Morrisons, the Janis Joplins, just did not want to see 30. Twenty-seven was the expiration date. And it really came up a lot of times, 27, and I guess they said, "That's too close to 30, I'm just gonna burn out." First of all, rock & roll and heroin, it's not gonna work. Anything with a needle involved is not gonna work, and you add that to a little schizophrenia and a little bipolar, you got Syd Barrett and you got Brian Wilson. Two geniuses. Brian's producing and I've always loved him, I consider him a genius, but what could he have been doing now? He would've been doing amazing stuff. But on top of being schizophrenic and bipolar he's doing acid and speed. That's just like pouring coals on the fire.

Why do today's musicians do it?
It's some kind of defiance. "I know it's gonna kill me, but I'm gonna do it." I always tell kids, I can't think of one guy that I know that took a lot of drugs and sat back and said, "That was a good idea." Now, if they're still alive they're going, "OK, I wrote some good songs when I was smashed out of my mind, but I was really lucky to get through it."

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Q&A: Alice Cooper Plans Classic Rock Covers Album

Alice Cooper has always incorporated covers into his live show, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has never done an album of other's people music. He plans to change that soon by recording an album of songs inspired by his legendary onetime drinking club, the Hollywood Vampires, a group that included John Lennon, Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson and more.

Cooper himself has been sober for three decades. Thinking back to those early days of rock & roll excess he says, "It was another life." But he remembers it well, reflecting here on trying to save Jim Morrison, his healthy rivalry with guys like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and David Bowie and his thoughts on young artists such as Justin Bieber. Cooper spoke with Rolling Stone at the John Varvatos charity event in West Hollywood last weekend.

You were just talking to Joe Perry earlier. I know you guys are old friends.
We did some writing together back in the Eighties for a movie and it happened to be at [manager] Shep [Gordon]'s house, which was one of the most haunted houses ever. And in the end, it's not like the movies, where you hear stuff in the basement and you say, "Let's go see what that is" – we both ran out of the house. We took off because it sounded like somebody moving furniture in the basement. And then Shep goes, "Oh, they wrote The Amityville Horror there." I went, "Oh, thanks, that's information I could've used before."

500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Alice Cooper, 'Love It to Death'

You have dates coming up with Marilyn Manson. Have you toured together before?
No. In fact, the very first time I met him was in Transylvania. It was the weirdest thing. We had jousted in the press before a little bit ,and we realized we were doing a show together in Transylvania, a big outdoor show, two miles from Dracula's castle. He walked by the dressing room and I said, "Hey, come here." We finally met face to face, and what we talked about was marriage, which was interesting. I've been married 37 years.

And after the tour you start the covers album?
We do a thing in our show, which is a tribute to Hollywood Vampires, my drinking club. And it was Keith Moon, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Micky Dolenz – a very eclectic bunch of drunks. Half of them are dead, so we do four songs in the show in tribute to them. We do "Break On Through," "Revolution," "My Generation" and Jimi Hendrix's "Foxey Lady." I just kind of said, "We've never done a covers album, let's think about that." So [Bob] Ezrin and I are kind of bouncing it around right now.

What are some of the wish-list songs?
I would keep it right to about '73, '74. I don't want to just go anywhere. I want to keep it right in that sort of drunk era, so it's specific. I would say "Break On Through," that's a really good rock track there. The other ones, think of it – Harry Nilsson, there's a lot of good stuff there that could be rocked out. I think of songs as being clay. Take a song like "Jump Into the Fire" and take that to a harder level, and that'll work.

When will the album be out?
I think it'll be out next year. When the tour's over in December then we'll go right in the studio.

Can you look back on that time now with perspective?
It was another life, honestly – a different life. Bernie Taupin and I are best friends, and Bernie was a vampire. He was a last-man-standing, good British drunk. And we sit and talk about it, both of us. I've been sober now 30 years, and I go, "It was another life." But it was all artists, and that was the cool thing about it. It was all guys that were competing with each other in a really good way. I wanted to hear Bowie's new album, I wanted to hear Iggy's new album, I wanted to hear Lou Reed's new album. To me, it was almost more of a theatrical movement than it was competition.

I had a conversation a couple of years ago with Nick Cave, and we were talking about people having to make their own mistakes.
I feel sorry for young bands. They don't have a chance to make mistakes. One strike and they're done. We got to make mistakes. We got to make albums that bombed right along with albums that were the Number Ones.

You also got to fuck up in public, but now the pressure is so great. Look at Justin Bieber – who didn't see that "rough week" coming?
He came into Phoenix, comes up on stage, turns his back to the audience and throws up. I said, in the press, "Justin, just as a note of professional rock & roll, never turn your back when you throw up. Let the audience see you throw up . . . Because that's a moment they're gonna remember." Make sure the lights are on you when you throw up. If he rides this thing out and still makes records, he's gonna be a seasoned artist in about 10 years, 'cause he makes good records now, but he's got to survive the next 10 years. The excess is gonna come at him so quick.

You got to make those mistakes. You survived it. But with so many public tales of those that didn't make it, what are your thoughts when you see someone like Amy Winehouse?
Hey, Jim Morrison – nobody could talk Jim Morrison out of dying. I was a drunk, but I was a lightweight compared to him, and nobody could talk him out of where he was going. Jim was gonna go there and that was it. Same with Amy. I don't think anybody could've talked Amy out of where she was going. The true artists are always out on a limb. They're always the ones that are just maybe gonna die.

How did you survive?
I had to wake up one morning and throw up blood and realize that was a pretty good sign God was saying, "That's about enough out of you. You could still rock & roll, but you're gonna have to do it a different way." Because I was dying. Doctor said, "You got two more weeks before you join Jimi, Jim and all the boys." I said, "I want to stick around and make records." So I had to stop. Same with Iggy, same with Lou, same with Steven [Tyler] and Joe. They're here because they got in the crossroads and made the right choice. If not, we would've been dead, all of us.

But, as you say, some of them couldn't be stopped.
I think the early guys, the Jim Morrisons, the Janis Joplins, just did not want to see 30. Twenty-seven was the expiration date. And it really came up a lot of times, 27, and I guess they said, "That's too close to 30, I'm just gonna burn out." First of all, rock & roll and heroin, it's not gonna work. Anything with a needle involved is not gonna work, and you add that to a little schizophrenia and a little bipolar, you got Syd Barrett and you got Brian Wilson. Two geniuses. Brian's producing and I've always loved him, I consider him a genius, but what could he have been doing now? He would've been doing amazing stuff. But on top of being schizophrenic and bipolar he's doing acid and speed. That's just like pouring coals on the fire.

Why do today's musicians do it?
It's some kind of defiance. "I know it's gonna kill me, but I'm gonna do it." I always tell kids, I can't think of one guy that I know that took a lot of drugs and sat back and said, "That was a good idea." Now, if they're still alive they're going, "OK, I wrote some good songs when I was smashed out of my mind, but I was really lucky to get through it."

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Jeff Mangum Plans Occupy Wall Street Fundraiser

Lee Ranaldo performs in Washington, DC.Josh Sisk/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

After making a surprise appearance at Zuccotti Park last year to support the Occupy Wall Street movement, former Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum will be a part of the self-described telethon "The People's Bailout" November 15th at New York's Le Poisson Rouge. He'll be joined by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, comedian Janeane Garofalo, The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead and more.

"The People's Bailout" seeks to raise $50,000 for Strike Debt, an organization affiliated with the Occupy movement. Rolling Jubilee will host the telethon's webcast, and tickets go on sale November 2nd at 10 a.m. EST. For more information, visit the event's page.

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Jeff Mangum Plans Occupy Wall Street Fundraiser

Lee Ranaldo performs in Washington, DC.Josh Sisk/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

After making a surprise appearance at Zuccotti Park last year to support the Occupy Wall Street movement, former Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum will be a part of the self-described telethon "The People's Bailout" November 15th at New York's Le Poisson Rouge. He'll be joined by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, comedian Janeane Garofalo, The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead and more.

"The People's Bailout" seeks to raise $50,000 for Strike Debt, an organization affiliated with the Occupy movement. Rolling Jubilee will host the telethon's webcast, and tickets go on sale November 2nd at 10 a.m. EST. For more information, visit the event's page.

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Deadmau5 Plans Break: 'I'm Basically Pretty Miserable Right Now'

Superstar DJ Deadmau5 plans to "unplug for a wee bit" and take some time off, he wrote in a post on his Tumblr.

"I'm basically pretty miserable right now," the Canadian producer wrote, "and need to pull the fuck back and figure out whatever the fuck it is I do." 

While Deadmau5 promised he won't cancel any scheduled shows and said he plans to still write and release new material, he noted, "I'm just gonna slam on the breaks for a bit and force myself to endure some quiet time." 

The post did mention an upcoming release – "heads up for something crazy real soon," he wrote – and Deadmau5 implied that the down time was necessary for work-related reasons: "best I just chill the fuck out a bit and just get it done, and get it done RIGHT, until I'm 100% satisfied with it." 

"Then our regularly scheduled program shall continue," he added. 

Be sure to check out our report from the inaugural Veld Music Festival in Toronto, which Deadmau5 headlined along with Avicii.

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Exclusive Q&A: Glenn Frey on His Solo LP, the Eagles' 40th Anniversary Plans

Glenn Frey of Eagles performs in Universal City, California.Lester Cohen/Getty Images For City Of Hope

It's been almost 20 years since Glenn Frey released his last solo album, Strange Weather. In that time, he's taken bit roles in TV shows and movies, worked on various charity projects, raised a family and played a lot of golf. He also reunited with a little group called the Eagles in 1994. They crossed the world on many tours and, in 2006, released the album The Long Road Out of Eden. Frey's schedule has left little time for a solo career, but on May 8th he's releasing After Hours, a collection of classic love songs that includes Forties standards like "Sentimental Reasons" and "My Buddy" alongside more recent tunes, like "Caroline, No" by the Beach Boys and "Same Girl" by Randy Newman.

We chatted with Frey about the new disc and what the future holds for the Eagles - including a new documentary about the group and a History of the Eagles retrospective tour tentatively planned for 2013. 

It's been a long time since the last Glenn Frey solo album. Why the delay?
Well, I've been pretty busy, obviously, with the Eagles. I'm also raising a family. My son is nine. I have two kids that have just now gone off to college. So those are big responsibilities. That takes me away from it. I've also been especially busy with the Eagles in the past five or six years. Obviously, there's more to life than making records. But this record is something I've been carrying around with me for a long time. I remember when I first head Harry Nilsson's album, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, and he did Gershwin and Cole Porter. And of course Linda [Ronstadt] made her two records with Nelson Riddle. They were beautifully orchestrated, beautifully sung, great material. I just loved everything about those records.

For me personally, a lot of this music is something that was played around my house before Elvis. This is the music that was on the radio, the big band stuff. And then when I moved to California, I met J.D. Souther. He was a big jazz buff, and he turned me on to music I hadn't heard before, from Miles Davis to Ray Charles to Lee Morgan to Horace Silver, and I loved it.

How did you select the material that you wanted to cover?
I'd pick a song that I really liked, and the record started in the control room with the piano, myself and my producers, Richard Davis and Michael Thompson. We'd say, "What about 'My Buddy'? What about 'Sentimental Reasons'?" And they'd say, "Yeah, that's a great song. Is there a version we should listen to?" And I'd say, "Yeah, just Nat King Cole, and that's it." We'd listen to the song, we'd find a key, we'd pick a tempo, and we'd sit there and I'd sing the song in the control room with the guys. It had to be a good marriage. It had to be something that suits my voice. We tried some songs that didn't work. I won't tell you what they are. 

But that's mainly the criteria. Just pick a great song. And you know, as a songwriter myself I have so much admiration and respect for this material. I know how difficult it is to write songs. So I think I bring a certain degree of reverence because of that. But basically it was just, "How's the song sound with me singing it?" And we picked the ones that we thought sounded the best. 

I'm sure it's daunting to tackle a song as flawless as "Caroline, No."
Sometimes an album just develops a life of its own. In that case, I didn't want it to be all songs from the Forties. I wanted it to be a record for piano. And of course the melody is so beautiful and the chord changes are so rich and perfect. That's the thing about every song in this record. Nothing is out of place.

I see that you're doing a brief tour to support the disc. Are you going to mix Eagles songs into the set?
I have to. You start out and you play them some familiar songs so they're starting to get their money's worth right away, and then sort of in the middle of the set I think I can move into playing about five, six, seven songs from this record. And then feather out of that and play some other songs at the end that they all know. But the funny thing about this is, with just a couple of exceptions, everybody knows some of these songs.  

I've heard Joe Walsh say that the Eagles are planning a 40th anniversary tour for this year. Is that the case?
Well, that sounds great, doesn't it? Actually, it's just kind of the way that things fall. This is more of a planning year for us. We went through a four-year touring cycle with Long Road Out of Eden, and this year we're playing some places where we've never played before. That's been sort of our goal now – at least once a year, go to a place where we haven't played. Last year we went to China and to Taiwan. We went to Iceland, we played some places . . . South Korea . . . some places we've never been. This year it's South Africa, it's Dubai. We're going to play Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year. Just a handful of shows this year. 

We're working on a two-DVD documentary of the history of the Eagles. It's a time-consuming project. We hired a fantastic director – Alex Gibney, he won the Academy award for Taxi to the Dark Side, about Guantanamo. He also directed Smartest Guys in the Room, the Enron documentary, which was also nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. So he's helming this whole mission that we have right now, and there's a couple of other things I can't actually talk about. But as far as touring goes, we haven't decided to do that yet. We might wait until this documentary come out and then do a tour we can call "History of the Eagles."

Joe was talking about a set list that goes chronologically through the history, with a lot of archival video getting incorporated into the show.
That's exactly . . . yeah. I could see us doing that. I just don't see us doing that this year. I see us getting ready to do this. Maybe when September comes around we can sort of look and say, "OK. Let's go out next year and let's do" – like you said. That's my idea, but whether it happens or not we gotta just wait and see. We just do one year at a time with the band. It seems to be the best way to take everybody's temperature and see what we're up for doing each year. It just didn't fall that we were going to be doing some big 40th anniversary tour – it may be better to sweep that 40 number under the carpet. People will look at the map and they'll figure out that we're really, really old. The Stones are doing the 50th, and the Beach Boys. So maybe we should stay out of that.

The fans would love to see Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon back on stage with you guys at some point on that tour. Do you think that's possible at some point?
Well, I think . . . I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to say that's hard for me to envision right now but, like I said, I don't know yet. I have to think about all of this stuff but, obviously, my head is somewhere else for the next couple of months. Like we usually do, the four of us will sit down some place on the road and we'll get in a dressing room or get into somebody's hotel room and we'll go, "Well, here's what I think we should be doing" or, "Here's what are options are this year. What do you think?" and we'll talk about it. That conversation will probably take place sometime this year.  

Does it ever just shock you to look at the sales stats and see just how many records the Eagles have sold?
I don't get up every morning and say, "God dang! Eagles Greatest Hits is now past 30 million! It's unbelievable!" But, you know, it boggles the mind somewhat. You have to adjust when things like this happen. You just have to keep perspective. As long as I keep taking out the garbage and cleaning up after the dogs and taking the kids to school, I'll have perspective. I don't get to bask in the afterglow much. I told the guys in my band, "The reason I like coming out there is because people do what I say, and this is the only place where that happens."

It's very gratifying to think that we've found this place and that we are where we are. And, believe me, we understand how we got here and we have a lot of appreciation for our fans and all the people who bought our music. If one-fifth of the Eagles fans in the United States buy this record because they wondered what I did and then were introduced to this kind of music, that would be fabulous. This record is more about the music than it is about me. That's really the way I feel about it. I just feel lucky that I've been able to make this record and have an opportunity to introduce this music to some people that maybe haven't listened to it much.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Exclusive Q&A: Glenn Frey on His Solo LP, the Eagles' 40th Anniversary Plans

Glenn Frey of Eagles performs in Universal City, California.Lester Cohen/Getty Images For City Of Hope

It's been almost 20 years since Glenn Frey released his last solo album, Strange Weather. In that time, he's taken bit roles in TV shows and movies, worked on various charity projects, raised a family and played a lot of golf. He also reunited with a little group called the Eagles in 1994. They crossed the world on many tours and, in 2006, released the album The Long Road Out of Eden. Frey's schedule has left little time for a solo career, but on May 8th he's releasing After Hours, a collection of classic love songs that includes Forties standards like "Sentimental Reasons" and "My Buddy" alongside more recent tunes, like "Caroline, No" by the Beach Boys and "Same Girl" by Randy Newman.

We chatted with Frey about the new disc and what the future holds for the Eagles - including a new documentary about the group and a History of the Eagles retrospective tour tentatively planned for 2013. 

It's been a long time since the last Glenn Frey solo album. Why the delay?
Well, I've been pretty busy, obviously, with the Eagles. I'm also raising a family. My son is nine. I have two kids that have just now gone off to college. So those are big responsibilities. That takes me away from it. I've also been especially busy with the Eagles in the past five or six years. Obviously, there's more to life than making records. But this record is something I've been carrying around with me for a long time. I remember when I first head Harry Nilsson's album, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, and he did Gershwin and Cole Porter. And of course Linda [Ronstadt] made her two records with Nelson Riddle. They were beautifully orchestrated, beautifully sung, great material. I just loved everything about those records.

For me personally, a lot of this music is something that was played around my house before Elvis. This is the music that was on the radio, the big band stuff. And then when I moved to California, I met J.D. Souther. He was a big jazz buff, and he turned me on to music I hadn't heard before, from Miles Davis to Ray Charles to Lee Morgan to Horace Silver, and I loved it.

How did you select the material that you wanted to cover?
I'd pick a song that I really liked, and the record started in the control room with the piano, myself and my producers, Richard Davis and Michael Thompson. We'd say, "What about 'My Buddy'? What about 'Sentimental Reasons'?" And they'd say, "Yeah, that's a great song. Is there a version we should listen to?" And I'd say, "Yeah, just Nat King Cole, and that's it." We'd listen to the song, we'd find a key, we'd pick a tempo, and we'd sit there and I'd sing the song in the control room with the guys. It had to be a good marriage. It had to be something that suits my voice. We tried some songs that didn't work. I won't tell you what they are. 

But that's mainly the criteria. Just pick a great song. And you know, as a songwriter myself I have so much admiration and respect for this material. I know how difficult it is to write songs. So I think I bring a certain degree of reverence because of that. But basically it was just, "How's the song sound with me singing it?" And we picked the ones that we thought sounded the best. 

I'm sure it's daunting to tackle a song as flawless as "Caroline, No."
Sometimes an album just develops a life of its own. In that case, I didn't want it to be all songs from the Forties. I wanted it to be a record for piano. And of course the melody is so beautiful and the chord changes are so rich and perfect. That's the thing about every song in this record. Nothing is out of place.

I see that you're doing a brief tour to support the disc. Are you going to mix Eagles songs into the set?
I have to. You start out and you play them some familiar songs so they're starting to get their money's worth right away, and then sort of in the middle of the set I think I can move into playing about five, six, seven songs from this record. And then feather out of that and play some other songs at the end that they all know. But the funny thing about this is, with just a couple of exceptions, everybody knows some of these songs.  

I've heard Joe Walsh say that the Eagles are planning a 40th anniversary tour for this year. Is that the case?
Well, that sounds great, doesn't it? Actually, it's just kind of the way that things fall. This is more of a planning year for us. We went through a four-year touring cycle with Long Road Out of Eden, and this year we're playing some places where we've never played before. That's been sort of our goal now – at least once a year, go to a place where we haven't played. Last year we went to China and to Taiwan. We went to Iceland, we played some places . . . South Korea . . . some places we've never been. This year it's South Africa, it's Dubai. We're going to play Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year. Just a handful of shows this year. 

We're working on a two-DVD documentary of the history of the Eagles. It's a time-consuming project. We hired a fantastic director – Alex Gibney, he won the Academy award for Taxi to the Dark Side, about Guantanamo. He also directed Smartest Guys in the Room, the Enron documentary, which was also nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. So he's helming this whole mission that we have right now, and there's a couple of other things I can't actually talk about. But as far as touring goes, we haven't decided to do that yet. We might wait until this documentary come out and then do a tour we can call "History of the Eagles."

Joe was talking about a set list that goes chronologically through the history, with a lot of archival video getting incorporated into the show.
That's exactly . . . yeah. I could see us doing that. I just don't see us doing that this year. I see us getting ready to do this. Maybe when September comes around we can sort of look and say, "OK. Let's go out next year and let's do" – like you said. That's my idea, but whether it happens or not we gotta just wait and see. We just do one year at a time with the band. It seems to be the best way to take everybody's temperature and see what we're up for doing each year. It just didn't fall that we were going to be doing some big 40th anniversary tour – it may be better to sweep that 40 number under the carpet. People will look at the map and they'll figure out that we're really, really old. The Stones are doing the 50th, and the Beach Boys. So maybe we should stay out of that.

The fans would love to see Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon back on stage with you guys at some point on that tour. Do you think that's possible at some point?
Well, I think . . . I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to say that's hard for me to envision right now but, like I said, I don't know yet. I have to think about all of this stuff but, obviously, my head is somewhere else for the next couple of months. Like we usually do, the four of us will sit down some place on the road and we'll get in a dressing room or get into somebody's hotel room and we'll go, "Well, here's what I think we should be doing" or, "Here's what are options are this year. What do you think?" and we'll talk about it. That conversation will probably take place sometime this year.  

Does it ever just shock you to look at the sales stats and see just how many records the Eagles have sold?
I don't get up every morning and say, "God dang! Eagles Greatest Hits is now past 30 million! It's unbelievable!" But, you know, it boggles the mind somewhat. You have to adjust when things like this happen. You just have to keep perspective. As long as I keep taking out the garbage and cleaning up after the dogs and taking the kids to school, I'll have perspective. I don't get to bask in the afterglow much. I told the guys in my band, "The reason I like coming out there is because people do what I say, and this is the only place where that happens."

It's very gratifying to think that we've found this place and that we are where we are. And, believe me, we understand how we got here and we have a lot of appreciation for our fans and all the people who bought our music. If one-fifth of the Eagles fans in the United States buy this record because they wondered what I did and then were introduced to this kind of music, that would be fabulous. This record is more about the music than it is about me. That's really the way I feel about it. I just feel lucky that I've been able to make this record and have an opportunity to introduce this music to some people that maybe haven't listened to it much.

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Malawi Officials Blast Madonna's School Plans

Madonna performs during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

The government of Malawi has accused Madonna of refusing consultation over her plans to build 10 new schools in the impoverished African nation. Malawi's Ministry of Education spokeswoman Lindiwe Chide told Reuters that the government was "fed up" with the pop icon, complaining that she did not inform authorities when she scrapped plans for a girls academy due to the alleged mismanagement of funds. "Now she decides to announce that she plans to build 10 schools without getting authority from us again," Chide said of the singer's partnership with the non-profit organization buildOn. "We now feel like this is all about propping up her global image and not in our interest."

"She has no mandate to decide where she wants to build a school because she doesn't know our needs and where we want new schools," Chide told Reuters. "She first needed to consult us, get permission from us before doing anything."

"This is simply not true," Trevor Neilson, the head of the Global Philanthropy Group, fired back in a statement released by Madonna's spokesperson. "The government of Malawi has been fully updated on Madonna's effort to provide funding for ten schools to be built in communities where there are no schools." According to Neilson, Madonna's Raising Malawi organization had communicated with Malawi's Minister of Education and that buildOn had discussed the project with local officials and "cleared all plans for school construction with them."

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Malawi Officials Blast Madonna's School Plans

Madonna performs during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

The government of Malawi has accused Madonna of refusing consultation over her plans to build 10 new schools in the impoverished African nation. Malawi's Ministry of Education spokeswoman Lindiwe Chide told Reuters that the government was "fed up" with the pop icon, complaining that she did not inform authorities when she scrapped plans for a girls academy due to the alleged mismanagement of funds. "Now she decides to announce that she plans to build 10 schools without getting authority from us again," Chide said of the singer's partnership with the non-profit organization buildOn. "We now feel like this is all about propping up her global image and not in our interest."

"She has no mandate to decide where she wants to build a school because she doesn't know our needs and where we want new schools," Chide told Reuters. "She first needed to consult us, get permission from us before doing anything."

"This is simply not true," Trevor Neilson, the head of the Global Philanthropy Group, fired back in a statement released by Madonna's spokesperson. "The government of Malawi has been fully updated on Madonna's effort to provide funding for ten schools to be built in communities where there are no schools." According to Neilson, Madonna's Raising Malawi organization had communicated with Malawi's Minister of Education and that buildOn had discussed the project with local officials and "cleared all plans for school construction with them."

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R.E.M.'s Peter Buck Plans Solo Album

RUNE HELLESTAD/UPI Photo/Landov

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck has begun work on his first solo album. Scott McCaughey, longtime R.E.M. sideman and regular Buck collaborator in the Minus 5 and the Baseball Project, confirmed the news in an interview on the KIRO 97.3 radio show Seattle Sounds, noting that the guitarist's material was going to be pretty "out." McCaughey offered few details about the record, but said that it's possible Buck –who never sang on R.E.M. records – would sing on the album, if not in concert.

It's unclear when Buck will finish the record, much less release it, but McCaughey says the guitarist is considering putting the album out only on vinyl and declining to release it as a download.

Buck's solo album is likely to be the first record released by a member of R.E.M. since the band disbanded last year. Frontman Michael Stipe has made it clear he has no interest in recording new music, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mills has not announced plans for a new project.

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R.E.M.'s Peter Buck Plans Solo Album

RUNE HELLESTAD/UPI Photo/Landov

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck has begun work on his first solo album. Scott McCaughey, longtime R.E.M. sideman and regular Buck collaborator in the Minus 5 and the Baseball Project, confirmed the news in an interview on the KIRO 97.3 radio show Seattle Sounds, noting that the guitarist's material was going to be pretty "out." McCaughey offered few details about the record, but said that it's possible Buck –who never sang on R.E.M. records – would sing on the album, if not in concert.

It's unclear when Buck will finish the record, much less release it, but McCaughey says the guitarist is considering putting the album out only on vinyl and declining to release it as a download.

Buck's solo album is likely to be the first record released by a member of R.E.M. since the band disbanded last year. Frontman Michael Stipe has made it clear he has no interest in recording new music, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mills has not announced plans for a new project.

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Tom Morello Plans 'Flash Mob Dance Party' For Occupy SXSW

Tom Morello performs during Occupy Wall Street in New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Tom Morello is teaming up with the Occupy Austin movement for a special SXSW showcase this Friday night at the Swan Dive in Austin, Texas. "SXSW has a lot of specialty shows – record companies, vodka companies, promoters and things like that," Morello tells Rolling Stone. "I thought it was important that at a music gathering of that size, to have a place where the rebels, revolutionaries, rockers, rappers and the 99 percent could gather and have a mighty SXSW throw down."

Occupy SXSW came about when Morello reached out to the Occupy Austin people about doing a show during the festival. "With all things Occupy, it is a democratic process," says Morello. "I basically said 'What do y'all want to do, how can I best serve?' and so they made a wish list of things and I was able to say yes to, ironically, about 99 percent of them."

"Their intention is to have this flash mob dance party that's going to arrive at the venue," Morello explains. "Due to the fact that it's an official SXSW show, a lot of the space inside is reserved for badge holders, but there will certainly be a healthy Occupy presence in the venue, and also a contingent outside the venue. I promise you, they will all be served musically."

Morello will perform with his band, the Freedom Fighter Orchestra, for the main set, and Wayne Kramer and friends will play a show in support of Jail Guitar Doors, a nonprofit organization that works to bring instruments into prisons for rehabilitation purposes, earlier on the bill.

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Tom Morello Plans 'Flash Mob Dance Party' For Occupy SXSW

Tom Morello performs during Occupy Wall Street in New York.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Tom Morello is teaming up with the Occupy Austin movement for a special SXSW showcase this Friday night at the Swan Dive in Austin, Texas. "SXSW has a lot of specialty shows – record companies, vodka companies, promoters and things like that," Morello tells Rolling Stone. "I thought it was important that at a music gathering of that size, to have a place where the rebels, revolutionaries, rockers, rappers and the 99 percent could gather and have a mighty SXSW throw down."

Occupy SXSW came about when Morello reached out to the Occupy Austin people about doing a show during the festival. "With all things Occupy, it is a democratic process," says Morello. "I basically said 'What do y'all want to do, how can I best serve?' and so they made a wish list of things and I was able to say yes to, ironically, about 99 percent of them."

"Their intention is to have this flash mob dance party that's going to arrive at the venue," Morello explains. "Due to the fact that it's an official SXSW show, a lot of the space inside is reserved for badge holders, but there will certainly be a healthy Occupy presence in the venue, and also a contingent outside the venue. I promise you, they will all be served musically."

Morello will perform with his band, the Freedom Fighter Orchestra, for the main set, and Wayne Kramer and friends will play a show in support of Jail Guitar Doors, a nonprofit organization that works to bring instruments into prisons for rehabilitation purposes, earlier on the bill.

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Tiesto Plans 'Club Life - Volume Two Miami' Mix

Tiesto Plans 'Club Life - Volume Two Miami' Mix

Tiësto is set to release a new mix album, Club Life - Volume Two Miami, on April 24th through his own label, Musical Freedom. It's the second part of the DJ and producer's series of mixes based on the city and its dance music culture. "I picked Miami because it’s one of my favorite cities in the world," says Tiësto. "There’s so much to do, the club life there is amazing, it’s a very glamorous city."

The mix will feature brand new remixes of several familiar tunes, including Coldplay's hit "Paradise," Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and the Naked and Famous' "Young Blood," which Tiësto reworked alongside Dutch producer Hardwell.

Artwork for the album will soon be revealed on Tiësto's ClubLifeMiami.com site, and other announcements regarding the record and the DJ's upcoming tour will be highlighted with the #TiestoClubLife2 hashtag on Twitter.

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Tiesto Plans 'Club Life - Volume Two Miami' Mix

Tiesto Plans 'Club Life - Volume Two Miami' Mix

Tiësto is set to release a new mix album, Club Life - Volume Two Miami, on April 24th through his own label, Musical Freedom. It's the second part of the DJ and producer's series of mixes based on the city and its dance music culture. "I picked Miami because it’s one of my favorite cities in the world," says Tiësto. "There’s so much to do, the club life there is amazing, it’s a very glamorous city."

The mix will feature brand new remixes of several familiar tunes, including Coldplay's hit "Paradise," Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and the Naked and Famous' "Young Blood," which Tiësto reworked alongside Dutch producer Hardwell.

Artwork for the album will soon be revealed on Tiësto's ClubLifeMiami.com site, and other announcements regarding the record and the DJ's upcoming tour will be highlighted with the #TiestoClubLife2 hashtag on Twitter.

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Black Sabbath Reunion Plans Reworked

Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath appear at a press conference at Whiskey A Go-Go in West Hollywood.

In a major blow to Black Sabbath's reunion plans, the band has announced it will now play just one European show, at the U.K.'s Download Festival in June. Due to guitarist Tony Iommi's ongoing treatment for lymphoma, the remaining European shows will be billed as "Ozzy & Friends," featuring Sabbath's Geezer Butler and longtime Ozzy collaborator Zakk Wylde, as well as select special guests, including Slash.   

An official statement on the changes makes no mention of the band's reunion album with producer Rick Rubin, which presumably remains on track. However, this is the latest stumbling block for reunion plans that have been hampered by Iommi's illness and an ongoing spat with original drummer Bill Ward, who is currently out of the picture after demanding the band present him with a "signable" contract.

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Black Sabbath Reunion Plans Reworked

Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath appear at a press conference at Whiskey A Go-Go in West Hollywood.

In a major blow to Black Sabbath's reunion plans, the band has announced it will now play just one European show, at the U.K.'s Download Festival in June. Due to guitarist Tony Iommi's ongoing treatment for lymphoma, the remaining European shows will be billed as "Ozzy & Friends," featuring Sabbath's Geezer Butler and longtime Ozzy collaborator Zakk Wylde, as well as select special guests, including Slash.   

An official statement on the changes makes no mention of the band's reunion album with producer Rick Rubin, which presumably remains on track. However, this is the latest stumbling block for reunion plans that have been hampered by Iommi's illness and an ongoing spat with original drummer Bill Ward, who is currently out of the picture after demanding the band present him with a "signable" contract.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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