Steve Hackett Weds Girlfriend

British rocker Steve Hackett wed his girlfriend in a star-studded ceremony on Saturday 6/4.
The former Genesis guitarist, 61, married partner Jo Lehman in front of friends and family in Hertfordshire, England.
His Genesis bandmates were on the guest list for the ceremony, along with Yes guitarist Chris Squire and musician John Wetton.
It will be Hackett's second marriage - he was previously wed to Brazilian painter Kim Poor. They divorced in 2008 after 32 years as man and wife.
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PHIL COLLINS - "GENESIS Are No Longer"

RECENT BILLBOARD INTERVIEW WITH PHIL COLLINS

It's a rainy day in New York, and London-born, Switzerland-based Phil Collins is making the most of his time stateside. The 59-year-old singer/songwriter/drummer has brought his two youngest sons with him for a summer vacation. They've visited the Alamo in San Antonio-collecting artifacts from the 1836 battle is Collins' abiding passion these days, a hobby he can clearly afford, having sold 11.2 million albums as a solo artist during the Nielsen SoundScan era alone, while Genesis has moved 9.3 million albums in the same period.

But he also has a new record to promote: "Going Back," a collection of vintage soul covers, will be released on Atlantic Sept. 28 in North America and Sept. 14 in the rest of the world. It was recorded with musicians including three alumni of legendary Motown session players the Funk Brothers-and one of the music teachers from his 9-year-old son Nicholas' school.

"I wanted to keep it a low-key, low-profile album," Collins says of the self-produced set. "I wanted it to be fun."

There were other, more practical reasons for keeping the recording simple. While he has a hearing ailment that has "leveled off," a nerve-induced problem with the grip on his left hand meant Collins had to tape his drum sticks to his hands during recording. He doesn't think he'll fully play the instrument ever again. Which makes the cover image of "Going Back" all the more poignant: a photograph of a well-scrubbed 12-year-old Philip Collins, poised over a drum kit.

In an interview with Billboard, Collins reveals his love of Motown and why Genesis is finally over.

How did the idea for this album come about?

I didn't really have any desire to make another record. I figured it would be the most difficult thing to do; to do another record and then still maintain the time that I want to spend with my kids. As soon as you start making a record, things start getting lined up: the promotion, possibly even a tour. So I was ready to do nothing. But Tony Smith, my manager, mentioned as an aside one day, "Why don't you think about doing a Motown covers album?" And I thought, "Actually, that is something I've always wanted to do." And it sounded like it could be fun. So I started to work on demos in my studio at home. That took about nine months.

What are some of the songs you recorded?

The first song I decided to do was [Holland-Dozier-Holland's] "In My Lonely Room." One of my favorite bands in the '60s growing up was [British R&B group] the Action, and they did that song in their set, and it was the B-side of their first single. When I worked with Lamont Dozier in the '80s on the music for "Buster" [the 1988 British film in which Collins took the lead role], he'd mentioned that "In My Lonely Room" was one of his favorite songs that they had written, because he'd written most of it himself. And it was a darker choice-not many people knew the song.

How did you go about creating an album of Motown and soul classics that didn't sound like it was made in 2010?

We tried to use the technology of today to get it to sound like the technology of yesterday. We did a lot of research into how they recorded things back then. In fact, when we were mastering the record in New York, at Universal Mastering East, that studio coincidentally is the storage venue for all the Motown masters. So as a treat they gave me two or three songs to listen to in isolation-I could hear the drums on "Dancing in the Street." That was incredible.

You've said that these 18 tracks are "pretty much the Action's set list." What was it about that band that spoke to you so much?

I wish I knew. [Initially] they only did covers, but they did this material in their own way, but still holding the original material with reverence. And they had a fantastic drummer, Roger Powell, from whom I take an awful lot of influence. And we'd always go down and see them at [legendary London venue] the Marquee because we knew we were going to hear the songs we liked and new songs we could then take back to play in our school band. They were thought to be one of the next big things-they were produced by George Martin at the same time as he was working with the Beatles, which was unusual for him. They were without a doubt my biggest influence.

In your first band, Flaming Youth, then in Genesis, you didn't have the opportunity to explore this side of your musical tastes.

No, never. That's one of the reasons I did this record. Those couple of pages were torn out of my book. You usually go through a phase, certainly in America, where you're a bar band or playing clubs, and you're trying to infiltrate the material you've written quite slowly in amongst the covers. I remember seeing Yes doing the same thing-when they started they were an incredible band. But I was just never in that situation, because Genesis never did anybody else's material.

As your solo career took off in the early '80s, you were also putting in time producing other artists, notably Eric Clapton.

I met Eric in the late '70s when I was working with John Martyn, and we became firm friends. We were kind of country neighbors [living outside London]. I used to gravitate to his house pretty much every day. We used to go to football together, we played music, played pool and billiards into the night, did lots of naughty things . . . It was great fun. I don't think he actually knew what I did though. And one day I was playing Hammersmith Odeon. And I invited Patti Boyd, who was then his wife, and Eric to the show. And he was kind of blown away when he found out that I was actually in his business.

How did your relationship become a professional one?

Eventually, because I was starting to become pretty well-known for the sound of my records as well as anything else, he rang me up one day and said, "Do you fancy producing my record?" He said, "[Producer] Tom Dowd's been talking about trying to get some Phil Collins sound on the record somehow. And I thought, "Well, I know you, so I might as well miss out the third man and go straight to the boss." That became "Behind the Sun."

You also drummed with Robert Plant on his first solo U.S. tour and famously played both the London and Philadelphia Live Aid shows in 1985. Were those kinds of gigs as exciting to you as being in the studio and recording?

Oh, yeah. Doing stuff with Robert and Eric was far more exciting for me than working with Genesis, frankly. I even played on something with [Pete] Townshend, for an artist that he was producing. And that was around the time that Moony [Who drummer Keith Moon] died. And I remember saying, "If you ever need a drummer, I'm there. I'll leave Genesis in a moment if you needed me for the Who." I would have died for that job.

You won an Academy Award in 1999 for "You'll Be in My Heart" from "Tarzan," as well as seven Grammy Awards and two Golden Globes. And this year, Genesis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and you received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Which of your plaudits means the most?

The Oscar was well up there. It's not often that an English drummer gets an Oscar. So I'm very, very proud of that. But the Johnny Mercer Award is from your peers, and it's a songwriting thing, so it's not a bullshitty award. Some awards you get if you turn up and show your face.

What key changes have you noticed in the industry in the 40 years since you joined Genesis?

To see a lot of the smaller labels disappear or get gobbled up by the bigger labels, that's a shame. It was a bit of a shock at first to see the demise of the record stores. But to me, I'm still having to do the same things I had to do 10 or 20 years ago. Although the amount of records that it takes to chart-that's a big surprise. I grew up in the day when the Beatles sold 1 million singles in a week. And all you've got to do now is sell about 10,000 singles and you're in the charts.

What does the future hold for Genesis?

I think Genesis are no longer. I don't foresee me doing any more Genesis shows. Not because I don't like it or don't want to. But it doesn't fit in with my life and wanting to be with the boys, and taking onboard [my other interests like] the Alamo and writing a book about that. And the other stuff that I'd like to do-and that includes doing nothing as well. But also, I can't physically play the drums. I don't want to sound like a spoiled kid, like I've had my stuff and I don't want to do it anymore. But I have done it all my life, and now I'm enjoying another side of life.

You set up the release of "Going Back" with a short run of shows in Philadelphia and New York and at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival earlier in the summer, and you've said you might do more if the album does well. Beyond that, would you consider doing a greatest-hits tour?

Well, I would say, "Never say never." But I don't think I would do it in a traditional touring way. If I ever did anything else like that, it would be a couple of weeks on, three weeks off.

Will you do another album of original material?

I haven't got the material yet. That kind of thing starts to answer itself when you sit down in the studio and try to write. I've got two or three things that I really like that I've already written. They're very dark, very sad, some of them. But I'm still at the same point that I was: If something was to come up behind me and surprise me, I'd put it out. Whether I'd put it out in the traditional way is another question.

SOURCE: RNRCOLA

PHIL COLLINS Discusses The Future Of GENESIS

Phil Collins is putting the finishing touches on a new Motown covers collection despite suffering severe nerve damage to his hands that has made drumming nearly impossible. “The first time I picked up the drum sticks after my neck surgery, they flew across the room because I couldn’t grip them,” he says. “When I play, I’ve had to tape the sticks to my hand. It’s like wearing a condom. It’s very strange. It really cramps your style.”

The nerve damage has made more than just drumming difficult for the 59-year-old musician. “I can’t let go of the spoon or the knife when I eat,” he tells RS. “I can’t open a car door. I won’t get gruesome with you, but there’s a lot of things I can’t do. I’m left handed. I’m having an operation soon and there’s a good chance of it improving over time.”

Chapter & Verse: photos from Genesis’ oral history.

Collins’ medical problem makes another Genesis reunion unlikely. “He has to play the drums and play some quite complicated things,” says Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks. “It’s one of the many reasons it won’t happen.” But Collins says he still hopes to one day perform again with the Peter Gabriel-lead lineup of Genesis. “My hands are way down to picking the order of that possibility,” he says. “Three years ago I didn’t know I’d be in this position and three years from now it may not be like this. I think the main thing is Peter’s schedule and the speed he works anyways.” Banks agrees, noting, “I think if it we were to do The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway there’s always multimedia stuff that makes it possible now. It would be opening a huge can of worms, not just musical but getting out and playing it.”

In the meantime, the band is overjoyed to be one of the few progressive rock bands inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Read our full report from this year’s induction ceremony.) “Whoever is deciding these things, obviously they change,” Collins says. “Now there’s obviously a couple of people there saying ‘Guys we’ve ignored all this other stuff’ which is why you’ve got Abba and the Hollies and us. Very diverse. Jimmy Cliff is somewhere in there. Much more diverse than just rock & roll I think this year. ”

Source: RNR

PHIL COLLINS Discusses The Future Of GENESIS

Phil Collins is putting the finishing touches on a new Motown covers collection despite suffering severe nerve damage to his hands that has made drumming nearly impossible. “The first time I picked up the drum sticks after my neck surgery, they flew across the room because I couldn’t grip them,” he says. “When I play, I’ve had to tape the sticks to my hand. It’s like wearing a condom. It’s very strange. It really cramps your style.”

The nerve damage has made more than just drumming difficult for the 59-year-old musician. “I can’t let go of the spoon or the knife when I eat,” he tells RS. “I can’t open a car door. I won’t get gruesome with you, but there’s a lot of things I can’t do. I’m left handed. I’m having an operation soon and there’s a good chance of it improving over time.”

Chapter & Verse: photos from Genesis’ oral history.

Collins’ medical problem makes another Genesis reunion unlikely. “He has to play the drums and play some quite complicated things,” says Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks. “It’s one of the many reasons it won’t happen.” But Collins says he still hopes to one day perform again with the Peter Gabriel-lead lineup of Genesis. “My hands are way down to picking the order of that possibility,” he says. “Three years ago I didn’t know I’d be in this position and three years from now it may not be like this. I think the main thing is Peter’s schedule and the speed he works anyways.” Banks agrees, noting, “I think if it we were to do The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway there’s always multimedia stuff that makes it possible now. It would be opening a huge can of worms, not just musical but getting out and playing it.”

In the meantime, the band is overjoyed to be one of the few progressive rock bands inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Read our full report from this year’s induction ceremony.) “Whoever is deciding these things, obviously they change,” Collins says. “Now there’s obviously a couple of people there saying ‘Guys we’ve ignored all this other stuff’ which is why you’ve got Abba and the Hollies and us. Very diverse. Jimmy Cliff is somewhere in there. Much more diverse than just rock & roll I think this year. ”

Source: RNR

March New Bytes

• The organizers of ProgPower Europe 2010, have announced that Norwegian newcomer ASPERA has been added to the current line-up. So far 7 bands have been confirmed: ASPERA (norway), LEPROUS (norway), OCEANS OF SADNESS (belgium), PROGHMA-C (poland), SACRUM (argentina), SERENITY (austria), THE DUST CONNECTION (the netherlands). Within the next 2 months they will have a complete line-up. Check out www.progpower.eu for all details.
• It was announced this month that the official Genesis site is shutting down soon. UltraStar which is the host for the website along with the band and thier management have decided to close the site soon. When that will be is unkown at this time.
• "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage" is the title of the long-awaited RUSH documentary produced by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Banger Films Inc. which will receive a red-carpet premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on Saturday, April 24. All three members of RUSH — singer/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart — will be on hand for the event.

Genesis Comments On Gabriel's Non Attendance For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

From Billboard:

Peter Gabriel's Genesis bandmates are giving him the benefit of the doubt for bowing out of next month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Gabriel will not attend the March 15 affair because it conflicts with orchestra rehearsal dates for his upcoming European and North American concerts to promote his new album, "Scratch My Back." "(Gabriel) rang up and said, 'Look, everyone's going to say I'm trying to snub you and all the rest of it,' " Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks tells Billboard.com. "I said, 'Well, just tell them we didn't want you to come, so we're snubbing you!'

"No...I mean, it's a fair enough thing. It would've been lovely if he could've come, but I understand his problem," Banks adds.

Guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford says Gabriel was "very keen" about the induction and feels the singer's absence is "a very legitimate excuse. I know he would (come) if he could, but it's just the wrong timing."

Gabriel's decision has effectively scuttled any hopes of Genesis performing at the ceremony, though a full complement of Genesis members will be there, including: drummer-turned- frontman Phil Collins, who's still rehabilitating from spinal surgery and is unable to play; guitarist Steve Hackett, who left the band in 1977; and longtime touring members Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer. "I think at my age, any accolade is enjoyed," says Rutherford, who turns 60 in October. "It's nice to be inducted into something."

Neither Banks nor Rutherford expect the induction to inspire any sort of renewed Genesis activity, however. The group last toured in 2007 and has not discussed anything further, although Banks notes that "we never rule it out." But he adds that he "can't see us doing any writing again, but in terms of just (playing live), it's always a possibility. "

Rutherford, meanwhile, says that "the last tour was a nice kind of moment; it made us appreciate the band and each other as human beings. It kind of reminded us how much fun we'd had. And you never know what will happen; it depends on who's standing in five years' time or something like that."

The Genesis members are staying busy on their own, however. Besides Gabriel's project, Collins is recording an album of Motown songs that's due out this fall; he's also slated to receive the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 17. Hackett is collaborating on a project with Yes bassist Chris Squire, while Banks, who issued a remastered and expanded version of his 1979 solo debut "A Curious Feeling" last year, is working on a classical piece. Rutherford, meanwhile, has reactivated Mike & the Mechanics with British singer Andrew Roachford, among others, and expects to have a new album finished by May.

Peter Gabriel Says He Won't Reunite With Genesis at Rock Hall Induction

From Rolling Stone Magazine:

In two months Genesis will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but fans hoping to see Peter Gabriel sing with his former band for the first time in nearly 30 years are probably in for a disappointment. “As far as I know, I’m definitely not going to sing,” Gabriel tells Rolling Stone. “I learned at our last reunion [in 1982] that you can’t just get up there. You have to rehearse.” Gabriel is actually not even positive he’ll be able to attend the March 15th induction ceremony in New York, since he’ll be in the midst of rehearsing for a European solo tour. “I’m trying to find a way to do it,” he says. “It’s not easy. If I can work it out, I’ll go.”
Chapter & Verse: photos from Genesis’ oral history.
Five years ago Gabriel held a meeting with the classic Genesis lineup of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett to discuss a possible staging of their 1974 prog-rock epic The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. “Initially I was open to it,” Gabriel says. “But then it seemed to be growing. I know what it’s like once you’re in it — these things tend to expand. I always describe it as going back to school, since this was a school group for me. It’s a fun place to visit and see your old friends, but its not a place you want to live.” Might he be open to a reunion show at some point in the future? “Phil has had trouble with his wrists and his back, so it’s pretty unlikely,” he says.
The group is actually more likely to collaborate on a possible movie project, Gabriel says. “The only thing that might happen is that some people talk about a film of the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. If it is to happen, we might work together on that. We’ll see.”
For more from our interview with Peter Gabriel, including info about his upcoming solo tour and his new covers album Scratch My Back, check out the next issue of Rolling Stone, out February 3rd.

News Bytes For December

• Dave Kerman (drummer for 5UU's, Present, Ahvak, Thinking Plague) will join the Belgian chamber music group Aranis in 2010, playing on their forthcoming fourth album and touring with them in Europe. http://www.generalrubric.com/dkerman/main.html http://www.aranis.be/eng/group/index.html The first performance of this line-up will be in De Singel (Antewerpen) the 27th of March 2010.
• The band Asia is pleased to announce that they are currently recording their second reunion studio album and the follow-up to 2008's acclaimed "Phoenix" album. The legendary Roger Dean is onboard to design the cover artwork, while the renowned Mike Paxman is in the producer's chair. The album is due for completion in mid-February, so keep an eye on the official Asia website for more details! http://www.originalasia.com/
• Cuneiform Records has announced its upcoming January 2010 release list featuring: Radio Massacre International - Time & Motion; Algernon - Ghost Surveillance; Univers Zero - Clivages; New York Art Quartet - Old Stuff; Brown vs Brown - Odds and Unevens
• GENESIS will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, the Hall of Fame Foundation has announced.
• Porcupine Tree's The Incident finished in the #1 position in the GlobalProgressive Rock Network's Top 100 of 2009. This was the 2nd straight Porcupine Tree release that was voted #1 by the programs listeners around the world. http://www.gagliarchives.com/09top100.html
• The band Yang has just released its new album "Machines", self produced as the previous one "a complex nature" which was released by Cuneiform Records in 2004. It is distributed by Wayside Music in U.S.A., Musea in France, and is available: http://yanggroup.fr
• It has been recently reported on David Minasian's site that Andrew Latimer of Camel is recovering well, and getting back to work. David is currently producing two projects with Andy: A forthcoming DVD of Camel's Farewell Tour recorded in Santa Cruz, California in 2003, and Minasian's forthcoming release as well. For more info check out the blog at:http://davidminasian.blogspot.com. It's also noted that Andrew may be performing some concerts dates.

GENESIS Preps Live Collections As Hall Of Fame Vote Nears

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks isn't taking his tuxedo to the dry cleaner yet. But he's hoping that the British prog rockers, who are on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, wind up collecting trophies at the March 15 induction ceremony in New York City.

"It'll be great if it does happen," Banks tells Billboard.com, "but I can't really tell whether we're going to be one of the ones that goes there. It would be good to happen, I think. It would be nice."

A Genesis induction would, of course, create the potential for a reunion of the Peter Gabriel-fronted 1970-75 lineup, with Phil Collins on drums, that's been rumored for the past five years. Collins recently announced he has a back condition from years of wear and tear that prohibits him from drumming and could complicate such a performance, but Banks says "we'll face that particular hurdle when we get to it." It does, however, render any other future Genesis reunion "a long shot," according to the keyboardist. "I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it."

While the Hall of Fame announcement looms, Genesis is giving fans plenty to tuck into. A new 10-disc box set, "Genesis Live 1973-2007," comes out Sept. 29 featuring four of the group's five concert sets, an open slot for "Live Over Europe 2007," unreleased material from 1973 and 1975, and video footage, all remastered.

Banks, who's been active in compiling Genesis' series of box sets since 2007, says he "wasn't so sure about doing the live stuff" in this fashion but is happy with the result. "I think it's fun to hear the (music) in different versions for fans who like the stuff, anyhow," he explains. "As a first introduction to Genesis I think the studio albums are definitely better, but it's quite interesting to hear how we did these very complex pieces live. They take on a bit more fluency, I think."

Genesis' next release will be a 2010 box that compiles the group's concert videos. There will be no duplication from the box sets, Banks says, but there will be some previously unreleased material, including 40 minutes of "home movie" footage that Collins shot during the making of the 1983 "Genesis" album. Like the new live box, it will feature an empty slot for the "When in Rome 2007" DVD.

Banks, who's also releasing a remastered version of his 1979 solo album "A Curious Feeling," adds that Genesis is still planning to start making individual concerts from the archives available on its web site, though no firm plan is in place yet. "At some point we will do it," he promises. "We've just spent a lot of time recently doing all this other stuff, but I think it will happen. Whether any quality control goes into it, I don't know, really. Perhaps you hang it out, dirty laundry and all. Maybe somebody can get ahold of all this stuff and make a compilation of all the worst bits and stick them together and see what it sounds like. I think it would be quite funny!"

RNR Cola