Dave Grohl’s new album, Sound City: Real To Reel, won’t be released until next week, but you can check out one of the tracks, an instrumental called “Mantra,” in the video below.

The video, which was posted to YouTube yesterday, shows Grohl (in drumming mode) in his studio with two members of his Sound City Players ensemble, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme on bass and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor on keyboards.

Sound City: Real To Reel will be out March 12, courtesy of Roswell Records (Listen to the entire album here). The album is the soundtrack to the Sound City documentary, which is already available. For more information, check out the film’s website, soundcitymovie.com.

Grohl’s Sound City Players will perform at SXSW March 14.

Dave Grohl and his Sound City Players, a new ensemble that sometimes includes John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, hosted an all-star jam session on Hollywood Boulevard last night for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The Foo Fighter and the CCR frontman launched into a powerful rendition of CCR’s 1969 single, “Fortunate Son,” trading verses and singing harmony on the chorus.

The group, which has been making the rounds lately with a host of high-profile appearances, is part of Grohl’s Sound City project, which was spawned by his new documentary about Sound City, a legendary Los Angeles-area recording studio.

Sound City Players will perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas, March 14. Forgerty’s new album, Wrote a Song for Everyone, will be out May 28.

Soundgarden have posted a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot for their new video, “By Crooked Steps.” You can check it out below.

The video, which was conceived and directed by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, depicts Soundgarden cruising around the streets of LA with a sly cop played by Deadmau5.

“I had an idea. I got a copy of the record and the third song ‘By Crooked Steps’ was a signature, instantly recognizable Soundgarden song,” and the rest was history,” Grohl said. The official video can be seen tomorrow, January 29, via Vevo.com. Be sure to check out soundgardenworld.com.

King Animal is Soundgarden’s first album in more than 15 years. It was co-produced by the band and Adam Kasper at Studio X in Seattle and was released November 13 via Loma Vista Recordings/Republic Records.

Soundgarden are on a winter 2013 tour in support of King Animal. Check out the dates below.

Winter 2013 Tour Dates:

Jan 29 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater (SOLD OUT)
Jan 30 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater (SOLD OUT)
Feb 1 Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
Feb 2 Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Feb 6 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (SOLD OUT)
Feb 7 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater (SOLD OUT)
Feb 8 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theater (SOLD OUT)
Feb 10 Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Feb 12 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Feb 13 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre (SOLD OUT)
Feb 15 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern (SOLD OUT)
Feb 16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern (SOLD OUT)
Feb 17 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern (SOLD OUT)
May 18 Camden, NJ @ MMR-BQ
May 19 Columbus, OH @ Rock On The Range

Swedish cult heroes Ghost will release their sophomore album, Infestissumam, in the spring. But right now, preorders are being taken for the strictly limited 10″ clear vinyl version of lead single “Secular Haze,” which features as its B-side Ghost’s cover version of ABBA’s “I’m A Marionette” with none other than Dave Grohl handling production duties and sitting behind the drum kit. The group has been playing the cover live (without Grohl) at recent concerts. You can preorder the 10″ now at Swedish webshop Bengans.se.

The song will appear on Sound City: Real To Reel, the soundtrack to Grohl’s upcoming documentary, Sound City. The track also features Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Scott Reeder, formerly of Kyuss. The soundtrack also includes contributions from Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Rick Springfield, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine, Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and more.

The song comes of the band’s first release in over 15 years, King Animal.

The band is posting photos from the film shoot on their Twitter account. Some are below.

Last night on Saturday Night Live, Sir Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana performed their new track, “Cut Me Some Slack,” for the second time in four days.

The collective, which features McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear (“Sirvana,” anyone?), originally debuted the song last Wednesday night at the 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Fans of the heavy, raw-sounding tune with the strong “Helter Skelter” vibe will be happy to know that the studio version of the track is now available on iTunes at this location. You can hear it via the YouTube player below.

The song is part of Sound City — Real to Reel, the soundtrack album for Grohl’s highly anticipated documentary about Sound City, the famous California recording studio.

The film is set for a February premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It also will become available through video-on-demand services as the Sundance projector starts rolling. The soundtrack album, which is available now for pre-order on iTunes, will be released March 12. Check out the full track listing below.

McCartney’s other Saturday Night Live contributions last night included a performance of “My Valentine,” with Joe Walsh on lead guitar, and “Wonderful Christmastime,” his 1979 Christmas tune, which featured a live children’s chorus. As he did Wednesday night, McCartney donned a slide and a Baratto cigar box guitar when performing “Cut Me Some Slack.”

Sound City — Real to Reel Tracklist:

01. Dave Grohl, Peter Hayes, and Robert Levon Been, “Heaven and All”
02. Brad Wilk, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl, and Tim Commerford, “Time Slowing Down”
03. Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Stevie Nicks, and Taylor Hawkins, “You Can’t Fix This”
04. Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Rick Springfield, and Taylor Hawkins, “The Man That Never Was”
05. Alain Johannes, Dave Grohl, Lee Ving, Pat Smear, and Taylor Hawkins, “Your Wife Is Calling”
06. Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Rick Nielsen, and Scott Reeder, “From Can to Can’t”
07. Alain Johannes, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl, and Joshua Homme, “Centipede”
08. Alain Johannes, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl, and Joshua Homme, “A Trick With No Sleeve”
09. Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear, “Cut Me Some Slack”
10. Dave Grohl, Jessy Greene, Jim Keltner, and Rami Jaffee, “Once Upon a Time… The End”
11. Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme, and Trent Reznor, “Mantra”

Last night, as advertised, Paul McCartney was joined onstage at the 12-12-12 benefit concert by the surviving members of grunge giants Nirvana — Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and live guitarist Pat Smear.

Instead of Sir Paul leading the band through a medley of Bleach tunes, McCartney donned a slide and a cigar-box-style resonator guitar for a new song called “Cut Me Some Slack.” You can watch footage of the performance below.

“Recently some guys asked me to jam with them,” McCartney said, before being joined by Grohl and crew. “So I showed up like you do, ready to jam. And in the middle of it these guys kept saying, ‘We haven’t played together for years.’ Then it finally dropped… I finally understood I was in the middle of a Nirvana reunion.”

Grohl, Novoselic and Smear haven’t performed live together in more than 18 years.

Other performers last night included The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Roger Waters, who was joined late in his set by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who contributed to a stirring rendition of the Pink Floyd classic, “Comfortably Numb.”

All of the proceeds from last night’s show will go to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund, which is still working to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. For more information on how to donate, head here.

QOTSA frontman Josh Homme announced the departure of drummer Joey Castillo earlier today to Radio 1′s Zane Lowe, which coincided with the band posting the below picture to Facebook indicating someone named Dave tracking drums on the new album. Considering Grohl previously played on the band’s 2002 album, Songs for the Deaf — not to mention the fact that Grohl and Homme are bandmates in Them Crooked Vultures — all signs seem to point to the head Foo laying down tracks for the new Queens of the Stone Age record.

While there is no timetable for the release of the follow-up to 2007′s Era Vulgaris, a Tweet from the band suggests the album will be out ahead of the band’s mid-June appearance at the U.K.’s Download festival. A fan asked if there would be a new album out in time for the festival, with the band responding, “Fuck yes there will be.”

The full letter reads:

“Hey everyone…

“Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!) We truly never could have done any of this without you…

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn’t think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But… I can’t give up this band. And I never will. Because it’s not just a band to me. It’s my life. It’s my family. It’s my world.

“Yes… I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it’s a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band. So, sometimes it’s good to just… put it back in the garage for a while…

“But, no gold watches or vacations just yet… I’ll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I’ve ever worked on. Get ready… it’s coming.

“Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami… I’m sure we’ll all see you out there… somewhere…

“Thank you, thank you, thank you…

“Dave”

Foo Fighters released their latest album, Wasting Light, last Spring.