Rock Report 11-24-21

An original Eric Clapton guitar — a 1968 Martin acoustic used by the musician in his short-lived ’70s act Derek and the Dominos — was the highest-selling item among a recent auction of rock memorabilia by Julien’s Auctions, last week’s “Icons & Idols: Rock ‘n’ Roll” sale.

The Clapton axe, initially expected to fetch anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000, ultimately went to the highest bidder for $625,000. The top selling axes behind it were guitars owned by U2’s the Edge, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Elvis Presley and Amy Winehouse.

Tool’s Justin Chancellor is the star of a new Christmas commercial in promotion of his brand new Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal — and it also features an appearance from bandmate and drummer Danny Carey.

The bassist was cast as… pretty much everyone in the advertisement, including a child who opens a Christmas present to find the pedal, then shreds on his bass along to “Carol of the Bells.” The rocker also portrays the child’s mother, Santa Claus and an elf. The other elf is played by Carey. It’s a little disturbing to be honest, but we love every second of it.

For those who love their rock memorabilia, Julien’s Auctions has some definite finds in store for their upcoming Icons & Idols: Rock ‘n’ Roll auction taking place next month. Some of the highlights include a teenage photo of Kurt Cobain along with one of the Nirvana frontman’s popular drawn illustrations and the iconic mask from Quiet Riot’s metal breakout Metal Health album. They join artifacts from Guns N’ Roses, Eddie Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson and plenty more heading to the auction block.

Reports say that the Quiet Riot “asylum” ‘Metal Health’ mask has sold for $50,000 at auction. It was originally estimated to sell for $8,000.