The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
The Current Music News

Today’s Music News: Gene Simmons apologizes for comments about depression

by Staff

August 18, 2014

A couple of updates on stories we've been following:

  • Film Allman LLC, the production company that was overseeing the making of a Gregg Allman biopic struck by disaster when a train accident took the life of a camera assistant, has been cited by federal safety officials for exposing its workers to risk. The citation, which the company has 15 days to contest, comes with a recommended fine of $74,900. (Reuters)

  • The Jabberwocky Festival situation is only getting messier. The planned London festival was canceled just a few days before its planned start this past weekend, and ticket-buyers seeking refunds are caught in a litigious crossfire among festival organizer ATP, the Zeitgeist publicity company, and Dash Tickets. Zeitgeist and Dash are suing ATP, everyone says the refunds are someone else's responsibility, and ATP has issued a statement pleading for an end to all the "mudslinging." Meanwhile, many of the acts slated to play the festival booked other London gigs over the weekend, so fans weren't left entirely high and dry—even if they had to pay for the bands twice. (Pitchfork)

Since New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote about having a bad trip with a pot brownie in Colorado, Willie Nelson has offered to take her under his wing. She's welcome to get high on his bus anytime, says Nelson, noting that with the generosity of his fans, there's never a shortage of weed to go around. "We played up in Northern California last year," he told Rolling Stone, "up there where all the good weed grows. I think when we left the concert, there were probably eight or 10 pounds of weed on the stage."

The famously bescarved Stevie Nicks has invited fans to design a new shawl for her. The winner will get $2,000 and a photo of Nicks wearing the garment—and they'll even get the shawl back. (Rolling Stone)

In a sort of real-life Almost Famous, filmmaker Marcus Haney faked his way into over 50 music festivals. His documentary about the experience, called No Cameras Allowed, has been picked up by MTV for an August 29 premiere. (Consequence of Sound)

If it ever came biopic time for the Stooges founder, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe thinks he'd make a good Iggy Pop. (SPIN)

Riley Keough, the 25-year-old daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is engaged to be married to Australian stuntman Ben Smith Petersen. Last year, Keough co-starred in Justin Timberlake's steamy "TKO" video. (Billboard)

Will Katy Perry be the halftime star of Super Bowl XLIX this February in Arizona? Billboard has noticed a telling hole in the superstar's schedule.

In local music news, Zimmy's—the Hibbing eatery that served for decades as an unofficial Bob Dylan shrine before closing recently—has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds to reopen, with a goal of $200,000.

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.