Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Surviving Members Of The Doors To Reunite
(hennemusic) Guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore of The Doors will reunite later this year to pay tribute to keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who passed away May 20 after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer.
"We're going to do at least one show for Ray and have a big send-off," Krieger tells Rolling Stone. "That's either the start or the end of it, I don't know."

Densmore had a falling out with his Doors bandmates after Krieger and Manzarek began touring in 2002 under the moniker of the Doors Of The 21st Century, which lead to a lawsuit over the use of the Doors name, and a $40 million countersuit against Densmore for his refusal to approve licensing of band songs for commercials.

"That's what you do – if someone sues you, you sue them twice as hard back and hope that they drop the suit," Krieger said. "It was a very stupid idea. We had the worst lawyers." more on this story



Steven Tyler Reveals What Put Aerosmith Back In The Saddle
(Classic Rock) Steven Tyler says Aerosmith's journey to Japan in 2011 was the saving of the band's career. The experience has been captured in documentary movie Rock For The Rising Sun, which will be shown in Vue Cinemas across the UK on July 16 ahead of a DVD release the following week.

They were still reeling from a series of fall-outs that saw the frontman hospitalised with a broken collarbone, his return to drinking and drug-taking, and his bandmates inviting other vocalists to take his place.

But he believes their Japanese trip, made soon after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of the nation, put Aerosmith back on the road to success.

Tyler tells Rolling Stone: "We were all such a bad place that we didn't realise our self-worth. It took going to Japan for the band to realise its own magic again. We thought, 'Holy sh*t, we've got to do a f**king record right now!' So that tour helped us to a new album." more on this story




King's X Fans Pay For dUg Pinnick's Surgery
(Classic Rock) King's X mainman dUg Pinnick has undergone successful surgery for a hernia after fans paid for the operation. Pinnick says: "Hernia surgery was a success; I'm waiting to be released."

He's needed medical attention for years but couldn't afford it due to a lack of medical insurance. But supporters rallied round and raised $26,000 from 599 contributors via a GiveForward crowdfunding drive.

He previously explained: "I'm overwhelmed with the amount of love people have shown by contributing. I have avoided this for way too long and I know I have to fix this immediately." more on this story





Alice Cooper Throws First Pitch At Blue Jays Game
(hennemusic) Alice Cooper threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Rogers Centre in Toronto Wednesday night as the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Detroit Tigers.

The rocker is in the city promoting his current Raise The Dead tour, which hits Rama, ON (which is a few hours north of Toronto) today (July 4, 2013).

Alice recently wrapped up a series of summer dates with Marilyn Manson; billed as the Masters Of Madness tour, the pair of shock rockers hit US cities together throughout the month of June. more on this story




Megadeth Release 'Super Collider' Video
(Classic Rock) Megadeth have released a video for their track Super Collider. It's taken from their latest album, of the same name, which was released last month – and it's one of those tracks, like Symphony Of Destruction, which appears to have split their fans.

Mainman Dave Mustaine recently said: "The song kind of came from that Symphony Of Destruction corner of my mind. You can't always play aggressive, thrashy stuff.

"Sometimes those aren't even songs; they're like musical rams. But because I'm not a pop guy, I'm also not really comfortable playing sing-along songs.

"To me, Super Collider made sense like a normal song — a verse-chorus-verse-chorus kind of thing. It's written the way a real songwriter would write the song, instead of just taking all these musical twists and turns." Watch it here.




Lou Reed Rushed To Hospital
(Radio.com) Lou Reed is in recovery after being treated for dehydration at a Long Island hospital over the weekend. It was the latest in a string of recent health scares, including a liver transplant back in May.

The Velvet Underground rocker was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital early Sunday morning (June 30) for treatment, reports the New York Post. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone reports that Reed returned home Monday (July 1) afternoon. While Reed was admitted, a source at the hospital confirmed his admittance and told the Post, "everything's fine."

The incident came only ten days after appearing on stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France, his first outing since the liver transplant.

Following the surgery last month, he wrote to fans via Facebook to assure them he was "stronger than ever." "I am a triumph of modern medicine, physics and chemistry," he wrote.

His wife, artist Laurie Anderson, shed light on the gravity of the situation, telling the Times of London after the surgery that Reed's health may never return in its full capacity. more on this story




Motorhead Address Lemmy's Health Issues
(hennemusic) Motorhead have issued a statement regarding Lemmy's health status, following news that the band have canceled the remaining shows on their summer European festival tour following doctor's orders.

The legendary frontman recently suffered a hematoma (where blood collects outside of a blood vessel), which caused Motorhead to pull out of three earlier dates; this came on the heels of news that the bassist had been fitted with a defibrillator because of heart problems.

"Regretfully, Motorhead announces it has had to cancel its remaining six summer festival appearances," said the group. "The band hate to let their fans down by missing any shows, but they expect to be back in full force this Fall."

"As you may have heard, earlier this Spring Lemmy had some medical maintenance for the long-term good," continued the band. "He was, at that time, advised to rest, but once feeling better, he of course resumed his life as usual. He has since been advised that he should immediately take some more time to rest." See what Lemmy had to say here.




Aerosmith's Steven Tyler To Undergo Surgery
(hennemusic) Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has revealed that he will undergo knee surgery later this year. "My knee is giving out," the singer tells Rolling Stone.

"I had ACL reconstructions, and in November I'm getting knee replacement surgery. It'll take me about three or four months to recover . . . I've had so many operations on my knees and feet that just to be standing is a miracle. But to turn around and do one of my spins where I don't fall, that's the sh*t! But hey, all these years have taken their toll on me."

Tyler's health issue came up while the singer was promoting Aerosmith's forthcoming DVD release, "Rock For The Rising Sun," as well as his thoughts on working on his first solo album.

Tyler has been writing with his longtime collaborator Marti Frederiksen and hopes the album will come out in October or November of 2014. "It might be hard to decide when I write a song whether or not it should go on an Aerosmith album," he says.

"What is a Steven Tyler solo album? Is it a bunch of songs like 'Dream On?' That's already on an Aerosmith album. It'll just be a different people playing it. I don't know. I just want to have some fun." more on this story




Dimebag Darrell Almost Joined Megadeth
(Radio.com) To many metal fans, a band that featured both Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine and the late 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott of Pantera would have been a dream pairing. And it almost happened.

In our Radio.com news interview, Mustaine explained that he invited Darrell to join Megadeth, but Darrell said that he was a package deal with his older brother, Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul (Vincent Paul Abbott).

Megadeth had just hired a different drummer (Nick Menza), so Darrell had to decline the offer. "It would have been pretty monstrous," Mustaine admitted.

Mustaine, though, remained friends with the brothers. This summer, for instance, Vinnie Paul's current band Hellyeah will be on the bill of the 2013 edition of Megadeth's traveling heavy metal festival Gigantour. This year's tour also includes Newsted (the band of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted), Device, Death Division, and Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society. (Wylde joked with Radio.com about the lineup: "It's like a high school reunion gone wrong!")

Megadeth's new album Super Collider is the band's first for a major label (Universal Music, via their imprint Tradecraft Records) since 1999′s Risk. It's also the second new Megadeth album in a row to feature original bassist Dave Ellefson, who played on the band's first nine albums. For years, Ellefson was involved in a bitter lawsuit with Mustaine, but, happily, they have resolved their differences.

"Dave's a good friend of mine," Mustaine confirmed to Radio.com. "Unfortunately he got some bad direction and followed it. He apologized. I forgave him. That's the kind of guy I am." Stream the full interview here.




KISS Concert Canceled Due To Flood
(hennemusic) The July 13th KISS show in Calgary has been cancelled due to damage from devastating flooding in the Canadian city. The Calgary Herald reports KISS and other concerts at the Scotiabank Saddledome by Carly Rae Jepsen, Tim McGraw and Dixie Chicks – all scheduled as part of the 2013 Calgary Stampede – have been scrapped while the city tries to get back on its feet.

Calgary Stampede chief executive Vern Kimball said the four concerts couldn't proceed due to the damages the facility suffered during the recent flooding.

"We understand that this news is disappointing and we're disappointed too as we wanted to present our guests and our fans with an awesome concert experience," said Kimball.

"It became evident late (Monday) to the Stampede and the Flames that the services necessary for an acceptable concert experience just weren't available given the current status and limitations of the building." more on this story





Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe To Publish Memoir
(Classic Rock) Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe will publish a memoir about his year of hell after he was arrested, jailed, tried and finally acquitted of the murder of fan Daniel Nosek.

Blythe spent five weeks in a Prague prison last year and was finally dismissed in March. The drama came close to bankrupting the band, who were unable to work while Blythe fought for justice.

Now he says: "While I've dreamed of being a published author almost since I began to read, I never imaging my first book would centre around such a sad topic.

"Sometimes, though, life provides you a story that needs to be told. I will tell it with the respect and dignity all involved deserve. This will be a good read, I promise you – and I hope some good comes out of it." More rock news.





Guns N' Roses Add More Intimate Dates
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses have announced a pair of intimate Canadian club shows this month. The band will play the Metroplis in Montreal on July 14 and Toronto's Sound Academy on July 15.

The shows come on the heels of the band's performance at Festival D'Été (Quebec City Summer Festival) in Québec City that will be taking place on July 12th.

The festival, which runs July 4–14, is billed as Canada's biggest outdoor artistic event; other acts playing during the 11-day festival include Rush, Def Leppard, Foreigner and the Black Keys. more on this story





Church Refuses Rolling Stones Lyric Quote On Tomb
(Classic Rock) "It's only rock'n'roll - but I like it." Those words, written by the Rolling Stones in 1974, have come to represent a feeling shared by many rock fans – an understated declaration of undying love for the music, echoing the famous football fans' mantra that to some, it's a matter of life and death… while to others, it's more important than that.

But the Church of England have decided that the iconic lyrics are too flippant, and they've told the sons of a late rock fan they can't have "It was only rock'n'roll" engraved on his tomb.

Darren and Rick Clapham wanted the words to be an epitaph for musician Charles, who recently passed away and was buried at All Saints Church in Standon near Stoke-on-Trent. They also wanted to describe his death by saying he "finally fell off his perch."

But a Church of England court judge has decided against them. Stephen Eyre says: "I would be prepared to authorise an inscription going beyond the recording of Mr Clapham's age at death, and his attributes as a loving father and grandfather.

"What is essential is that any such inscription gives a message which conveys something of Mr Clapham's character – without being capable of being seen as inconsistent with the Christian Gospel." more on this story





Rival Sons Announce Tour Dates With Sammy Hagar
Rival Sons are gearing up to be native sons once again as they have mapped out a series of U.S. tour dates, including a number of shows with Sammy Hagar, following their success overseas.

The band will be kicking off the 14-city tour on August 20th at Loveland, CO. Prior to the tour they will be performing at the Telluride Festival on July 13th.

Several of the summer tour dates will see the band supporting Sammy Hagar on his "Four Decades of Rock" tour. Hagar and Rival Sons frontman Jay Buchanan are both natives of Fontana, CA, which recently honored Hagar with a street named after him.

Rivals Song will be touring in support of their latest album, "Head Down," but they caught Sammy Hagar's ear with a previous release a few years back.

"These guys are the real thing," says Hagar. "Their first CD was great, showing off a lot of styles from the 60's, 70's and 80's. These boys have done their homework…now road-tested. The Sons have made a CD (Head Down) that truly lives up to the band's name. This is a giant step from a great previous CD…not easy.

"But for those that like classic rock but are tired of the same old songs, I highly recommend this CD…and even better, go see 'em live--they deliver."

Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday had this to say about the summer trek, "Well, we're finally hittin' our homeland for a handful of tour dates. Ask and ye shall receive! And what a cool thing to get to go out and support a legend…and super cool fella like Mr. Sammy Hagar! I think this one's gonna be a blast." more on this story





Five Finger Death Punch Guitarist Talks New Album
(Gibson) Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook is on top of the rock world. After all, not only is his band co-headlining the 2013 Mayhem Festival with Rob Zombie this summer, but the group is also releasing two albums this year: "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell," Volumes 1 and 2.

How did the writing and recording process for "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell" differ from how you went about creating your previous release, "American Capitalist?" We did a lot of preparation for this record.

I remember at the start of the "American Capitalist" record, we came off the road, and two weeks later, we were getting back together and trying to come up with the first song. I just remember thinking, "Hey, it would have been great if we could have done some preparation."

So, for this record, we started writing songs last year. We have a portable studio on the road, and we were deliberately trying to prepare in advance to have something to pick from when it came time to start working on the new album. It turns out that we had about 9 or 10 songs ready to go on day one. Those songs were recorded pretty quickly. Not completed, but the basic tracks were recorded, and then we just started writing more material, and before we knew it, we were at 20-something songs.

Tell me about the decision to release the album in two separate installments. The conversation turned to, "What should we do? Should we whittle this down to 12 songs?" We're getting better at making records, so now, we're kind of looking at all this material and saying, "I like all of it! I don't think there is any weaker half of the batch." We thought, "Well, let's release all of it. Let's make two records." So, that's what we did.

What should we expect from Volume 2 of this release, and how does it fit with Volume 1? That's a good question, because Death Punch have two kinds of distinct flavors. There's the really brutal, heavy metal, face-peeler stuff, which I like. And then there's the more aggressive, melodic blend, like "Coming Down" or "Bad Company."

We certainly could have made two different records, and the title would have made sense, meaning one record being the brutal record and the other record being the more melodic record. But, we decided against that, and what we ended up doing was spreading the material out evenly across both records so that it wasn't black and white, night and day.

We decided to shuffle the songs equally so both albums had the same potency. We didn't want one record to outshine the other or to have one record be heavy and one record be soft. We wanted it to be one evenly spread out, potent package. We wanted it be one consistently spread out group of songs.

You have some cool guest appearances on this album, including Rob Halford on the single, "Lift Me Up." He's such an awesome guy. I still get a little nervous when a living legend walks in the room, and you're like, "He's Rob Halford!" What happened was "Lift Me Up" was a song I had started and one of my ideas. I brought it to the band, and everybody liked the song, and someone mentioned that it sounds like an old Judas Priest song.

They were like, "I wonder if we could get Rob Halford to do guest vocals? That would be cool!" We're kind of at the level now where we've sold some records and we have some plaques, and we're kind of doing stuff that's fun again. Just whatever we want to do. Kind of like when you do it the first time: You're not thinking of business or record deals. So, we sent him the track. Turned out he loved it. He thinks, "It's a hit," and he wants to come to Las Vegas and sing the second verse. So, we were all thrilled. More of the interview.






Steve Van Zandt Unsure About Bruce Springsteen's Tour Plans
(Gibson) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band wrap up their tour in support of last year's Wrecking Ball with two shows in Ireland at the end of July. Aside from a festival gig in South America in September, no more dates have been scheduled.

Rolling Stone asked E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt if the Boss has any more tour dates lined up: "I really, really don't know," said Van Zandt. "I know that Bruce is off in August. But what happens in October-November, I don't know. I really don't. I would tell you, but I don't know. It's possible we've passed the point where it's even possible now. I'd always heard that the tour was ending in September. I've heard that for the last year and a half. Then you start hearing rumors on the street. Half the time they're true, so I never know."

If the touring behind Wrecking Ball is indeed done, it's more likely that Bruce will start working on a new album. Bruce did record with the E Street Band earlier this year while they were on tour in Australia.

Finally, Van Zandt said: "I've been saying this for 40 years, certainly since Darkness on the Edge of Town, but he literally always has an album in his pocket. He usually has two of them." more on this story






Avenged Sevenfold and FFDP Headlining Aftershock Festival
(Gibson) The Aftershock Festival announced an expanded lineup to their second annual installment yesterday. The northern California festival is set to take place at Discovery Park near downtown Sacramento on September 14 and 15.

Among the additions are Five Finger Death Punch, who will co-headline the second night along with previously announced Avenged Sevenfold. "We're excited to take the new albums out on the road so fans can hear some of the new music live," said Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody. And what better way to kick off our fall tour than with a massive festival like Aftershock?"

Retro hair metal rockers Steel Panther, who will play during the festival's first day, are also set to kick off the festival at a pre-show on September 13 at Ace of Spades in Sacramento. The pre-show is free for all festival ticketholders.

Saturday, September 14: Korn, Megadeth, Shinedown, Papa Roach, Skillet, Testament, In This Moment, Steel Panther, P.O.D., Pop Evil, Thousand Foot Krutch, Otherwise, Love And Death, We As Human, Heaven's Basement, Girl On Fire, Nothing More

Sunday, September 15: Avenged Sevenfold, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, A Day To Remember, Asking Alexandria, Halestorm, HIM, Falling In Reverse, All That Remains, Filter, Device, Miss May I, SOiL, Airbourne, Eye Empire, Gemini Syndrome, Butcher Babies. more on this story






Herman Rarebell Recruits Dokken, Jack Russell and More For New Album
(Classic Rock) Former Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell has released a brand new guest-star-studded studio album called Acoustic Fever featuring a lot of famous hard rock voices.

The album features guests contributions from John Parr, Doogie White, Tony Martin, Gary Barden, Don Dokken and Jack Russell, among others.

Rarebell says: "I'm really happy to have all those great singers on my album and I'm also thrilled that they said 'yes' to doing this. I look forward to meeting you all on the Acoustic Fever Tour." More rock news.




Nick Cave Movie Coming
(Classic Rock) Nick Cave announced that he is the subject of a drama-documentary movie following the 20,000th day of his life which is set to be released theatrically in 2014.

The unscripted production was shot while he worked on new album Push The Sky Away and features cameo appearances by Ray Winstone and Kylie Minogue.

As the subject matter of the film suggest, it will be entitled 20,000 Days On Earth. It was directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. More Rock News




War Hero Was Kicked Out Of Nirvana And Soundgarden
(Classic Rock) Jason Everman could have been forgiven for thinking he'd blown any chance of success in life after he was fired from Nirvana, then Soundgarden. But he went on to a decorated career in the US Special Forces, where he's regarded among those who know of his achievements as a hero.

In a detailed personal piece, the New York Times reports how Everman picked up a guitar while attending therapy in his junior high school years, and described discovering punk as the "first defining event of my life."

He got the gig with Kurt Cobain's fledgling outfit through early drummer Chad Channing in February 1989, and paid the $606.17 they owed for their debut album Bleach. Bassist Krist Novoselic recalls: "Jason was very generous. We had some great shows with him – but then things went south really fast. The fun stopped."

Cobain didn't actually dismiss the guitarist; instead the band just cancelled their tour and went home in silence. The frontman later described Everman as a "moody metalhead" – and never repaid the Bleach money, even though the record went on to sell over two million copies. more on this story




Fall Out Boy Held Captive In Mental Hospital In New Video
(Radio.com) In the fourth of eleven episodes, Fall Out Boy takes fans deeper into their twisted horror story, with each clip set to a track from Save Rock and Roll, released back in May.

The series began with the band being abducted in "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up). Then, with "Phoenix," it got darker as members were tortured, humiliated and in the case of singer Patrick Stump, dismembered by leather-clad super models.

In "Alone Together," we find the band held captive in some sort of dimly-lit mental hospital, where much of the torture takes place. Pete Wentz tricks and kills one of his captors allowing him to escape a strait jacket and save his bandmates one at a time. Unfortunately, escape from the facility doesn't come as easy as he'd hoped. more on this story




My Ruin Take Fans Behind The Scenes Of Their New Album
My Ruin have released a new behind the scenes studio video for the making of their brand new studio album, 'The Sacred Mood' and frontwoman Tairrie B sent over some more details about the effort.

The album was produced by My Ruin's Mick Murphy along with Joel Stooksbury and was recorded at Soundtrack Black Studio in the hills of East Tennessee where My Ruin previously recorded their 2011 album 'A Southern Revelation'.

Tairrie B had these details about the album, "The atmosphere of the new album is heavily drenched in the heat of the South where it was recorded and fueled by insomnia filled nights in Los Angeles where it was written.

'The Sacred Mood' is a subtle reinvention for My Ruin. In an industry that is ever changing, we're not a band who pays attention to the current trends. We've found our sound and we simply do what we do while staying true to our roots. I think our fans appreciate our integrity and we appreciate our fans. We offered the last album as a free download where people could donate to the band if they wanted and it was a great success but we are taking a different approach with our new album which we are self releasing once again.

"Unfortunately, we have learned over time that most record labels are not for us and we seem to do better on our own as a DIY independent band which is what we have always been, today more than ever with our eighth album 'The Sacred Mood' as a testament to our staying power and dedication to our music." Check out the behind the scenes video here.




Satriani, Joe Perry, Marty Friedman, Johnny Depp on New Steve Hunter CD
Steve Hunter (Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, David Lee Roth, Jack Bruce and Aerosmith) has released his guest-packed fifth solo album, "The Manhattan Blues Project."

The new album features guest appearances from Joe Satriani, Tony Levin, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry, Marty Friedman, Michael Lee Firkins, Phil Aaberg, 2Cellos, and Tommy Henriksen.

Hunter had this to say about the effort, "This album has been inside me trying to get out for a long time, I wanted to show the other side of New York, the soulful side plus it also says a lot of what I have always wanted to say on guitar.

"I wanted to show the other side of New York, the soulful side. Plus it also says a lot of what I've always wanted to say on guitar."

Joe Satriani adds, "I am honored to play along side legendary guitarist Steve Hunter on his stunning new album, check it out!"

The album features primarily new songs written by Hunter but also features two covers: an instrumental version of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill", (Hunter performed on the original album version in 1977) and a cover of the Gaye classic "What's Going On".

Hunter decided to undertake the project after he got off the road with Alice Cooper in 2011 and quickly decided to call on his special guests to join him on the album.

You can listen to preview clips of all of the tracks and purchase the CD or digital album here.




F**ked Up and U.S. Girls Supergroup Smartboys Release New Songs
Smartboys, the new group featuring Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk from F**ked Up and Tim Westberg from U.S. Girls, have followed up their debut single release by unleashing two new songs.

The new songs "Receiving the Bribe" and "The Wrench of Recollection," were released yesterday by White Iris Records and the group is giving fans a taste of the music with the online premiere of "Receiving the Bribe" here.

We were sent these details about the group: Over the course of F**ked Up's existence, Falco and Haliechuk wrote a collection of songs together informed by the late `70s punk of The Undertones, The Testors, Jet Staxx, Twink and others.

Teaming up with vocalist Tim Westberg (U.S. Girls, My Mind), the group adopted the name Smartboys and released their debut 7" single in May. For their follow-up release they traveled to Brooklyn to record at White Iris Studios with producer and Black Iris Music/White Iris Records founder Daron Hollowell.

"Jonah and I filled each other in," Haliechuk recently explained to MTV Hive. "Jonah's parents are jazz teachers and he reads music and does some stuff that I can't do. But, I have a more intuitive way of writing and fitting in a way that they wouldn't be able to."




The Acacia Strain Launching No Way Out Summer Tour
The Acacia Strain camp sent over word that the band will be launching the "No Way Out" North American headlining tour this summer and have announced the initial dates for the trek.

The tour will be kicking off on August 13th in Chicago and will feature support from various bands during the trek. Here is the breakdown: Within The Ruins (8/21-9/18) Xibalba (8/13-9/1 & 9/6-9/18) Fit For An Autopsy (All Dates) and American Me (8/21-9/18).

The No Way Out tour will also be the first official headline tour for the band's new lineup: Vincent Bennett (vocals), Kevin Boutot (drums), Jack Strong (bass) and new guitar players, Richie Gomez (ex-Molotov Solution) and Devin Shidaker (ex-Oceano). more on this story




Against Me! Singer Announces Solo Dates
Against Me!'s lead singer Laura Jane Grace will be launching a handful of solo acoustic concerts this summer under the banner of "Laura Jane Grace Sings The Transgender Dysphoria Blues."

The tour will include six stops and will kick off on Saturday, August 10 at MilkBoy in Philadelphia, PA and include shows in Boston, Providence, Washington, DC, Brooklyn and New York, NY.

Grace will be offering fans a musical bonus when they purchase tickets. The tickets will include a download link of the digital version of "True Trans," a new limited edition 7" that will feature two new Against Me! songs and will be available at the show.

The two songs are acoustic versions of tracks that will be appearing on Against Me!'s forthcoming album, "Transgender Dysphoria Blues."

Fans will also be able to see Against Me!'s perform at this year's Riot Fest in Chicago, IL the weekend of September 13-15 and in Denver, CO on the weekend of September 21-22. more on this story




Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx Celebrates Sobriety Birthday
(hennemusic) Famous for his past battles with alcohol and substances, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is celebrating the anniversary of his sobriety and posted a message to fans about the milestone.

"F**k yeah," writes Nikki on Tuesday. "Today is my sobriety birthday. By letting go of self and ego, working a program that connects you to a higher power and giving back to those still struggling are just some of the important things you learn through sobriety. You get to repair the damage done from drink, drugs and horrific behaviors that broke people's hearts who loved you."

"For me," he continues, "taking away the substance just gave me a honest view of who I had become and then the healing started. I do believe without any program to help, many are just dry drunks and there is always a danger of them going out again. I've been there. It's not pretty.

"This is no joking matter to me so I take it seriously. I also love that I get to live in the moment by not carrying around all that baggage (in my head ) from years ago." more on this story




Hawthorne Heights Singled Out Week: Ohio Is For Lovers
Earlier this week Hawthorne Heights's Eron Bucciarelli told us about a song from their new album "Zero" and today he tells us about one of band's biggest hits, "Ohio Is For Lovers" which you are likely to hear as they headline the Warped Tour this summer. Here is the story:

This is perhaps our most well known song and also perhaps the most understood song we've ever written. For being so successful for us, it was ironically written at the last minute a week prior to entering the studio. Even after we recorded it, we didn't expect it to be a single, hence the placement of it as track 8 on our first album (as opposed to the more traditional track 2 or 3 for the first single). We all expected Silver Bullet to be the lead-off single. The label didn't care for the slowed down tempo and felt it lost something from the blistering fast demo which they had essentially signed us off of. Perhaps if we had kept the same tempo, things would've turned out differently for our career. Who knows?

We've gotten a lot of grief over the years from the lyric "cut my wrists and black my eyes" as many take it at face value as a call to self-harm. This really couldn't be further from the truth and despite attempts to explain it in various interviews the explanation seems to go unnoticed by fervent critics and perhaps a big portion of our fanbase. That seems to be how media works - retractions are always page two. We by no means endorse harming oneself and have worked with organizations such as To Write Love On Her Arms and Take Action to raise awareness of the problem and let people know there are alternatives.

Ohio Is For Lovers is a song about heartache. It's about being away from loved ones for the first time, like we knew we would be while in the studio for a month making our first record. Ohio Is For Lovers is as much an endorsement of self-harm and suicide as is Romeo And Juliet. Perhaps with time people will dig a little deeper.