Odds & Ends: Anthrax, Sound City Players, Billy Talent & More

Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players supergroup has booked another show, Anthrax reveals the name of its temporary guitarist, and Billy Talent cancels a string of dates scheduled to begin this week.

The Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty and the rest of the Sound City Players will take the stage together for more than just one night. In addition to the previously announced (and sold-out) show in Park City, Utah, Jan. 18, the band made up of musicians from the “Sound City” documentary will play the Hollywood Palladium Jan. 31.

The show is scheduled the same day the Dave Grohl-directed film about the famed Van Nuys, Calif., recording studio is being screened at select movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada. Additional screenings are scheduled in February. “Sound City” premiers during the Sundance Film Festival, which is scheduled Jan. 17-27 in Park City.

Photo: John Davisson

DeLuna Festival, Pensacola Beach, Pensacola, Fla.

The lineup for both Sound City Players shows is quite similar including Rick Springfield, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Lee Ving, Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave and more. The Hollywood show lineup does not list Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. Instead, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes will be there.

Tickets for the Hollywood show go on sale Jan. 16.

Anthrax has quickly found a new guitarist to help the band out on its upcoming tour dates following the news of Rob Caggiano’s departure. Shadows Fall guitarist Jon Donais is the man for the job.

An announcement from Anthrax notes that Donais is temporarily filling in, rather than being a permanent addition to the lineup.

Upcoming Anthrax dates include festival appearances in India and Australia in February and March, as well as the Metal Alliance Tour that begins March 22 in Southern California, featuring Exodus, High on Fire, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail.

Earlier this month Caggiano revealed he was leaving Anthrax after two stints with the band, saying “my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now.”

Photo: Sascha Teschner

Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf, Netherlands

Billy Talent has called off its European tour, which was scheduled Jan. 18-26 and included gigs in Spain, France, Italy and Belgium. A post on the band’s website said the dates are canceled “due to a death in the family.” The punk rock band added “We promise we will make it up to you but right now we need to be with our families. We’re so sorry. Much love from the bottom of our hearts.”

Lastly, for a bit of totally random news – Stevie Wonder is apparently late on some major tax payments to the State of California. TMZ got its hands on the two tax liens, which each amount to $20 tax, plus $49 in collection costs for a grand total of $138. Hope he can afford it.