Rock Report 9-30-21

Zakk Wylde, the Black Label Society bandleader, teamed up with Death Wish Coffee to make a brew so robust it’s said to be strong enough to wake the dead. Death Wish says Wylde’s blend is “forged from the volcanic soils of Indonesia.

At least that’s the claim made in a new press release for the coffee, Valhalla Java Odinforce Blend, that emerged on Tuesday (Sept. 29). Not coincidentally, Tuesday is National Coffee Day in the U.S. and Canada. There’s also an International Coffee Day on Oct. 1.

Johnny Ramone’s iconic white Mosrite has sold for nearly a million dollars at auction. The instrument was used on nearly every Ramones album, plus an estimated 1,985 live shows.

“John Cummings [aka Johnny Ramone] originally purchased this guitar between October 23, 1977 and October 30, 1977, to replace his original blue Ventures II slab body, which was stolen from the Sire Records van (with rest of the band’s gear) on the night of October 22, 1977, after the band’s show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago,” the RR Auction description reads. “Ironically, this guitar had been offered to Cummings earlier in 1977, but he passed on it feeling it was too expensive at $500, which was a little less than 10 times what he paid for his original Ventures II in 1974.”

Scorpions fans have been patiently waiting for news concerning the band’s next album and the group has given the first key details about the upcoming set, announcing that the title will be Rock Believer and that it will be arriving in February 2022.

Though the group did not confirm a firm release date, they also revealed that the first song from the Rock Believer album would be coming soon. How soon? October 2021 is the target for the first track, so it’s time to get ready for new music. The group recorded the album live in one room primarily at the Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany.