Today's Day In Rock!

KISS and Motley Crue Tour Coming
(hennemusic) KISS and Motley Crue will be teaming up for a North America tour this summer according to Crue frontman Vince Neil.
The official tour announcement is expected next week, but Vince Neil revealed the news to his pal Robin Leach at the Las Vegas Sun.

"It's going to be really cool because KISS is bringing their full stage show, and Motley will be bringing our full stage show," said Vince, "so you are going to see two huge headliners at the same time. It's going to be one of the biggest tours of the summer, if not the biggest." more on this story


Slash Recording With Steven Adler
Slash will reunite with his former Guns N' Roses bandmate Steven Adler in the recording studio tonight (March 15th).

Slash posted the news to Twitter yesteday, "Looking forward to laying down some guitars on a song for Steven Adler's new record tomorrow night.

He also had a fun tweet about a special preview of his upcoming solo album, "Apocalyptic Love." He wrote, "Played the new record for my snake, Sam. 1st time he's been active in a month. I hope that's a good sign."


Rolling Stones Delay Possible 50th Anniversary Tour
(Gibson) Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have confirmed that there will not be a 50th Anniversary Rolling Stones Tour in 2012. The rock legends said that they aren't quite prepared to go globe-trotting, according to Rolling Stone.

However, it appears that the Glimmer Twins have their sights set on something in 2013. Richards suggests that a tour next year is actually more appropriate for the 50th anniversary.

"The Stones always really considered '63 to be 50 years, because Charlie [Watts] didn't actually join until January," Richards said. "We look upon 2012 as sort of the year of conception, but the birth is next year." more on this story




Van Halen Full Concert Video Stream
(hennemusic) Footage of a complete Van Halen show from their current tour has surfaced. Fan-filmed video of the band's February 22 gig in Indianapolis gives viewers the ability to check out a full 2012 Van Halen concert.

The Indy date was the third show on the tour, following the February 18 opening night in Louisville, Kentucky and a February 20 concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The 24-song set (including solos) featured a variety of tracks from the Van Halen catalogue, rarely-performed songs like 1981's "Hear About It Later" and 1984's "Girl Gone Bad," and four tunes from the new "A Different Kind Of Truth" album. Read more and watch the video here.


Bruce Springsteen Scores No. 1 Debut
Bruce Springsteen's new album "Wrecking Ball" squeaked out a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The album had first week sales of 196,000 according to SoundScan, just 1,000 units over Adele's blockbuster album "21" which has been No. 1 for 23 non-consecutive weeks.

The No. 1 debut is also historic for Springsteen, giving him a tie with Elvis Presley for the third most No. 1 albums in history with ten each. The Beatles hold the record at 19.

Read Billboard's report to see what other titles made the chart this week, here.


Metallica Rev Up Expanded Orion Fest Plans
(hennemusic) With more than 30 artists on the bill this June, Metallica's upcoming Orion Music + More festival in Atlantic City has the music angle more than covered.

Metallica will be playing their classic "Black" album in its entirety on one of the nights for the first time ever in the U.S., and performing the "Ride The Lightning" album on the other night.

Now, Metallica has announced details of the Orion Custom Car + Motorcycle Show, curated by frontman James Hetfield. Over 300 of the best Customs, Hot Rods, Muscle Cars and Custom Motorcycles will be on display at the Orion Custom Car + Motorcycle Show inside the festival grounds throughout the weekend. more on this story


Billy Corgan Smashing Posers
(Gibson) Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan lamented the state of alternative rock in a one-on-one conversation with writer Brian Solis at South by Southwest earlier this week, asserting that "posers" have replaced authentic artists.

"[Artists who achieve breakthrough success today] have grown up thinking that being famous is the goal," he said. "Not to be respected, not to be dangerous." Corgan went on to say, "Don't call it rock 'n' roll. I was part of a generation that changed the world – and it was taken over by posers."

In a subsequent interview, conducted at SXSW's Samsung Blogger Lounge, Corgan talked about the impact social media has had on the music industry. "The music business is shamefully behind the curve as far as understanding the effects that social media has on the business," Corgan said. "They just treated it like it was a curse and a plague upon them. And I was one of the first people to stand up and say, 'No, this is a great thing.'" more on this story




Lamb of God and Devildriver Supergroup Offer Free Songs Download
Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton took to his Twitter page to tell fans about a new project with Devildriver frontman Dez Fafara and offer fans two song downloads from the group.

Morton laid out the news in the following series of tweets: good evening! the name of the project is: Born Of The Storm. songs written by me & Dez Fafara. (Kevin Talley played drums on these demos!)

the 1st song i will share is called "Nowhere Fast". 1st gtr solo is a guest appearance by Ryan Lake of Alabama Thunderpussy. the 2nd is me!

so...w/out further adieu...here is "Nowhere Fast" by Born Of The Storm : http://www.mediafire.com/?h9h5g68nzlpcycn

the next song i will share with u is called "Dust". it once again features Kevin Talley on drums & is a rare chance to hear me rock a bass!

so...for your listening pleasure...here is "Dust" by Born Of The Storm. we hope you enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?kzbq3y14rkzdg17


Agnostic Front Cancel Tour
Agnostic Front have been forced to cancel their upcoming concerts in Southeast Asia for financial reasons.

The band broke the bad news to fans with the following announcement: "We are very sorry to announce that due to overwhelming expenses to be able to play Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore we unable to make it this time. We thought we could make it happen but it didn't work out.

"We will make some more arrangements in the future with more time to make these shows happen but as of today, those dates are cancelled. We are sorry to announce this. Cheers to our fans there and we will look forward to a next time."


Slipknot's M. Shawn Crahan Releasing Book
M. Shawn Crahan of Slipknot will release his debut art book of photography entitled, 'The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey,' on June 19th.

MSO sent over these details including an excerpt from Metallica's Lars Ulrich's forward to the book and a Q&A with Crahan: The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey is a large-format art book collection of explorations in darkness and light from SHAWN's experimental photography, his second and equally powerful artistic outlet which he has honed for over a decade. Weird, wired, paranoid, endlessly imaginative and cancerously prolific, he's created thousands of dangerous representations of reality through eye-gouging Polaroids in numerous artistic styles throughout this hand-picked collection of images.

Lars Ulrich of Metallica wrote the forward for the The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey. Here is an excerpt: "Throw yourself into clown's world, throw yourself into clown's book, throw yourself into clown's images, throw yourself into the whole f**king thing. Let go of the bungee cord, do away with the safety net. Just go for it, and let the journey take you wherever the journey's going to take you. And as you're going on that trip through this book, occasionally imagine clown next to you. Imagine hearing his voice in your head talking about what these images and experiences have meant to him and where he was going with it. And you will end up on one f**k of a ride, that I can guarantee you will be unique, spellbinding, and potentially life altering. This book is everything that art should be." more on this story


Quiet Riot Find Their Voice
Quiet Riot announced to fans on Wednesday that they have found their new lead singer and he will make his live debut with the band later this month.

In a Facebook post believed to be written by drummer Frankie Banali, they made the announcement: I spoke several weeks ago with my friend and vocalist Keith St John to once again thank him for lending his talents to Quiet Riot during our time of need. Keith stepped in on very short notice so that Quiet Riot could meet our live dates in February. Keith knocked it out of the park with great vocals and performances and we are forever in his debt.

Quiet Riot takes this opportunity to introduce our new vocalist Scott Vokoun and we look forward to seeing all of you on tour! more on this story


Slash Vs Alice Cooper for Top Gear
(hennemusic) Slash made an appearance on BBC's car show, Top Gear, recently, to promote the upcoming release of his new album, "Apocalyptic Love," due May 22.

A good chunk of the session was, obviously, spent discussing cars."My first car, that I paid for with my own money, was a Honda CRX," said the guitarist. "It was a cool looking little car. And then I gave it to my brother and I got a 1996 427 Corvette Coupe."

After an extended conversation with one of the show's hosts, Slash was shown doing a timed lap for the segment "Star In A Reasonably Priced Car."

Watch the video to see how Slash's lap time stacks up against other guest drivers, including Alice Cooper here.


Gwar and Municipal Waste Tour Starts Tomorrow
Municipal Waste will hit the road tomorrow to provide direct support to Gwar on their "Return Of The World Maggot" Spring tour.

The tour kicks off tomorrow, Friday March 16th in Richmond, Virginia with a benefit show for the Smoot Family Fund established to help support the widow and unborn child of recently fallen GWAR member Cory "Flattus Maximus" Smoot.

Municipal Waste's new album The Fatal Feast will be released in North America on April 10th and in Europe on April 13th. more on this story


Rush's Alex Lifeson Limited Edition Prints for Charity
(hennemusic) The Kidney Foundation of Canada has announced the sale of Limited Edition Prints by Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Beyond his work as guitarist for Rush, Lifeson is also a visual artist whose original paintings regularly sell for thousands of dollars. This charity venture is a rare opportunity to own one of his paintings at a very reasonable cost.

A signed, limited edition of 250 prints have been made. The print is on high quality, heavy stock, and each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the Executive Director of the Atlantic Canada Branch of The Kidney Foundation of Canada, confirming that the print that you have purchased is one of only 250. more on this story


James Durbin Returning To American Idol
(hennemusic) American Idol season 10 finalist James Durbin is reportedly be returning to the program next month.

James is said to be returning to Idol for a special performance; he'll be rocking the weekly results program on Thursday, April 12.

Last fall, Durbin released his debut album, "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster," and has been playing showcases around the States to build his fan base. more on this story


Melechesh Set New EP Release
Melechesh will release a new digital EP, Mystics Of The Pillar II, on April 27th in Europe and on May 1st in the US.

Vocalist/guitarist Ashmedi had this to say about the EP: "We recorded two different ending version of 'Mystics of the Pillar' - this one changes tempo and picks up steam. Why? Because we felt like it, a song with two different endings is not too common in this day and age.

"Last minute we chose one to be included on the album, thus the second version was not mixed and mastered till a much later date. We also decided to release a couple of instrumental versions to our songs, namely 'The Epigenesis' title track which is a 12-13 minute epic and Sacred Geometry both are multi faceted and work perfect just as instrumental works. We actually have an instrumental version of the entire album mixed and mastered so enjoy these couple of tracks." more on this story


Tank To Deliver War Nation in June
(MMP) Tank will release their new album "War Nation" on June 4th in Europe and June 5th in USA (via MVD).

Apart from the new album, TANK will also release their first ever live DVD later this year. Recordings were made while opening for Judas Priest in 2011 and during the bands show at Stodola Club, Warsaw on March 9th 2012.

The set list will include fan favourites such as 'This Means War' 'Echoes of a Distant Battle' 'Power of the Hunter' and ' The War Drags Ever On' plus future classics such as 'Judgement Day' and 'Phoenix Rising'. more on this story


End Of September Coming in May
Ulterium Records will release End Of September's self-titled debut album on May 11th in Europe and on May 22nd in North America.

Ulterium Records have posted an album teaser at YouTube to give potential fans a taste of what is to come. Check it out here.

According to the label, End Of September have been able to successfully create a mix between melodic metal and more modern metal that not many bands have more on this story


Liam Gallagher Plans To Play Oasis Songs at Beady Eye Shows
(Gibson) Talking to British radio station Xfm, ex-Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has said that his new band, Beady Eye, will be playing Oasis songs live this summer.

Gallagher said: "We're doing Fuji Festival in Japan, which is in July. And we will be dropping Oasis songs for anyone who's bothered.

"We were always going to do it, but we thought the album needed to stand on its own. We've done some good gigs, we've done some s--t gigs. And it's time to drop them in now. Everyone else is. I feel they're just as much my songs as they are Noel's. And if people don't like it, go to the bar or f-- off. If they do like it, jump up and down, let's have a good time." more on this story




Singled Out: Namesake's Worlds Away
Today Will Crafton from Namesake tells us about their brand new single "Worlds Away" which comes from their forthcoming album. Here is the story:

This was actually a last minute song added to the album. We were short a few songs and we were pushing to put one together as soon we could. What we didn't expect was to write the debut single for the album! Brad and I were literally sitting in a room stumped. He started playing a riff and I was really digging it. We started doing our usual song writing routine. I would hum some melodies and put lyrics to it later. We got a bunch of catchy melodies and later that night I sat alone in my room and came up with the story. I had just gotten through some hardships with a girl, in which I felt like i didn't know her anymore. We had grown so far apart that I felt like we were on different planets, thus, "Worlds Away" was born.

I spent the next few nights writing the lyrics, going through every emotion that crossed my mind during our time together, unfortunately the whole relationship was a struggle. We fought a lot over stupid stuff, her parents hated me for no legitimate reason, and it seemed like everything was against us. I guess that's why we tried so hard to make it work, but it was broken from the start.

My head was spinning over this song, it truly was an emotional roller coaster for me to write it. The lyrics came easy though, basically because I had lived the entire thing and it was still fresh on my mind. Eventually I was able to put the story to a close, leaving myself and her on different parts of the galaxy. But despite how far away we were from each other, I could see her world from a distance, and she will always be able to see mine.

Today's Day In Rock!

Fight Stops Van Halen Concert
(hennemusic) David Lee Roth laid down the law Tuesday night at a Van Halen tour stop in New Hampshire when things got out of hand in the audience.
During Van Halen's performance of the Roy Orbison classic, "(Oh) Pretty Woman," at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, a fight broke out amongst fans in the front section of the floor.

Roth stopped the band and dealt with the issue. "Knock off the f-ing fighting. F- you!," declared Roth from center stage, to the applause of fans. "What do you think this is, a f-ing mosh pit? You've got all the best looking women on the f-ing east coast here and all you can f-ing think of is f-ing fighting?!?"

"Ladies, I'm on your side, yeah," Dave added, to more applause. Fans reports say that venue security stepped in to clean up the mess, as Roth instructed the band to restart the song. "Alex...start it back at the top...let's do the whole thing over again." Check out video here.


Doobie Brothers Michael Hossack Dead at 65
Sad news from the Doobie Brothers as their longtime drummer Michael Hossack died Monday at his home in Dubois, Wyoming after a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

The band issued the following: His family was by his side. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and loved ones. We will miss him greatly.

"Mike was a one-of-a kind guy and a long-time member of the Doobie Brothers. He was a fighter and fought the big battle with cancer and he was a close personal friend of mine and I speak for Mike's family and the entire band when I say he will be greatly missed." -Bruce Cohn (Manager) more on this story


Guns N' Roses Conclude Tour With Stones and Aerosmith Rarities
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses wrapped their "Up Close And Personal" Tour on Monday night at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood.

The third and final Los Angeles show had a few surprises for fans, including the band's covers of The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" – played for the first time since 1993 - and "Mama Kin" by Aerosmith, last performed in 1992.

The mini-US tour of intimate theatres gave fans a chance to see the band in smaller venues than the standard arena-sized event. Check out video from the Hollywood show here.


All Else Fails Giving Away Lost Album
All Else Fails are offering fans a free download of their lost album "Ruins Punk For Everyone." Before we get to the link, here is the background on the album:

Last year while All Else Fails were on tour across Canada in promotion of their album "The Oracle: What Was, Is And Could Have Been", the band had the unfortunate luck of having AEF vocalist's Barrett Klesko's laptop stolen when their tour van was broken into. On that laptop, stored for future release to fans was a sixteen track album recorded years ago.

Thought to be lost forever, rough mixes and all have been discovered in the murky depths of the Suicidal Bride Records vault. Now back with a vengeance, AEF are proud to share with fans a FREE DOWNLOAD of their latest release "All Else Fails - Ruins Punk For Everyone". more on this story


Rock On The Range Festival Lineup Announced
Rock On The Range festival have announced their full daily line-up for the sixth annual event which takes place on May 18-20 at Columbus Crew Stadium.

Incubus, Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch and Slash lead the Saturday bill and Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Megadeth and Anthrax close out Sunday (the full schedule for this potent lineup covering the rock spectrum is below).

This year, ROTR will be hosted by hard rock aficionado Jose Mangin of Sirius XM and "Headbangers Ball." more on this story


Aerosmith's 60 Minutes Profile and Extra Footage Streams
Good news for Aerosmith fans that missed the band's special profile on 60 Minutes this past Sunday.

You can now watch the full profile online and 60 Minutes have also posted bonus footage with material that did not make the final segment on TV.

60 Minutes sent us over the following video. First up is the actual segment that viewers saw on Sunday night and the second is the bonus footage. Watch them here


Gwar's Oderus To Rape The TV Airwaves Once Again
Lock up your gerbils and garden gnomes because Gwar front-thing Oderus Urungus is returning to the television airwaves as a wanna-be sports commentator on the Dan Patrick Show next week. We received the following warning from the Gwar camp:

That's right, Oderus in all his fetid glory will enter the man-cave, meet the Danettes, and bask in the glow that is sure to emanate from the luminary figure that we all know Dan Patrick to be! Oderus will share the mike with the man who actually got to touch the Super Bowl trophy and Brooklyn Decker's hand. The appearance is scheduled for Monday March 19th and the show airs from 9:00 AM EST from 12:00 PM EST.

"I'm not gonna lie. I am a big Dan fan, and a proud member of the Dan-nation. I find his smarmy charm most ingratiating. I also hope he can help me with my hair," said the warty one, reached at his Antarctic abode. more on this story


Children Of Bodom Plan Special 15th Anniversary Release
Children Of Bodom will be celebrating their 15th anniversary with a special look back on May 22nd when they release Holiday at Lake Bodom (15 Years of Wasted Youth), a CD+DVD career retrospective.

The release will spotlight specially selected songs from every one of the band's albums (1997's Something Wild, 1999's Hatebreeder, 2000's Follow the Reaper, 2003's Hate Crew Deathroll, 2005's Are You Dead Yet?, 2008's Blooddrunk and 2011's Relentless Reckless Forever) plus newly recorded (and undeniably fun) cover songs and detailed liner notes penned by the members of COB themselves.

The DVD portion of the package will include "candid touring and backstage footage from around the world" plus the never before seen music video for Relentless Reckless Forever's "Shovel Knockout". more on this story


James Taylor and Stevie Wonder Classics Get Limited Edition Reissues
(Sub) This week saw the release of 24-Karat Gold CD reissues of James Taylor's 1971 album Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon and Stevie Wonder's 1973 Innervisions.

Both recordings will be available as limited, numbered editions that will be sold through online and brick-and-mortar retailers alike; however, Wonder's groundbreaking Innervisions will be limited to a run of 3000 units due to contractual restrictions, rather than the company's usual run of 5000 units.

Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon was Taylor's third album, following his 1986 Apple Records debut and the 1970 Warner Bros. LP, Sweet Baby James, which was his commercial breakthrough and the record that, with Carole King's Tapestry, ignited the singer-songwriter movement. The LP proved as popular as its predecessor, ascending to No.2 on Billboard's chart, where it remained for four weeks (its overall chart stay was just under a year). Taylor took home a Grammy in 1972 for Best Male Vocal Performance for Mud Slide Slim's chart-topping single, his rendition of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," which was also named Song of the Year. Also included were the To -40 hit "Long Ago and Far Away" (which features King on piano), the country lament "Hey Mister, That's Me Up on the Jukebox" and the ballad "You Can Close Your Eyes," which has been covered by, among others, Linda Ronstadt, Sheryl Crow and Richie Havens. more on this story


Iron Maiden Preview En Vivo!
(hennemusic) Iron Maiden have offered up a preview of their new live package, "En Vivo!" which arrives on March 26 (March 27 in North America).

Maiden were captured live on April 10, 2011 in front of over 50,000 ecstatic fans at the Estadio Nacional, Santiago during the Round The World In 66 Days leg of The Final Frontier World Tour.

In addition to the Blu-Ray, the 2DVD will initially be available as a Limited Edition double DVD in Collectors Steel book case and Double Vinyl Picture Disc. As well as a traditional 2CD Soundtrack album, En Vivo! will also be available as a Digital Download, CD soundtrack album and Digital Download Video.

Fans can now check out "Blood Brothers," the first clip released from the package here.


Holy Moses Lineup Change
Holy Moses sent over word that they have had a lineup change after parting ways with guitar player Michael Hankel and have replacement him with Peter "Pete" Geltat.

The band had the following to say about the change: "Hey metal heads, we got some news for you. For us a change became necessary. We all together as the band Holy Moses had to separate from our long-time comrade and guitarist Michael Hankel.

"This difficult decision is based on personal reasons and we please ask you to respect that this is a matter between the band and Michael, so we won´t explain this in detail. Even though musicians are part of the public in general there are some things which have to stay private. We thank Michael for everything he did for the band and wish him all the best for his future with Dew Scented and Erosion. more on this story


Meat Loaf To Appear on Leno Tonight
Meat Loaf is set to appear on tonight's (Wednesday, March 14) episode of the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Meat Loaf will perform the song "The Giving Tree" from his new album Hell In A Handbasket which hit stores yesterday.

"This is the most personal record I've ever made," said Meat Loaf. "It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment."


The Birth of Bon Jovi
(Gibson) On this day in 1983, Jon Bon Jovi formed the band Bon Jovi. Gibson takes a look back: Born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on March 2, 1962, Jon Bon Jovi's parents were both retired Marines. After the military, his father, John Francis, settled into work as a barber, while his mother, Carol Sharkey, became a florist. John, Sr. was of Sicilian and Slovak descent, while Carol came from German and Russian stock (it's been claimed by Jon himself that Frank Sinatra's blood runs through his). Jon attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey during his freshman and sophomore years, but transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.

Jon spent a great deal of his youth pursuing music. He played in local bands with friends and his cousin, Tony Bongiovi, who owned a fairly renowned recording studio in New York called The Power Station. During that time, he played in a number of bands, and while his grades suffered because of a general lack of interest school, his passion for music knew no bounds. By 16, he was steadily gigging in various local clubs and musical hot spots, and it was in one of these early bands, an outfit called Atlantic City Expressway, where he met keyboardist and future Bon Jovi bandmate, David Bryan.

Like his future superstar bandmate, Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora was also born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, though a few years earlier on July 11, 1959. Richie's father, Adam, was a factory foreman, while his mother, Joan, worked as a secretary. Raised Catholic, Richie grew up in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where he started playing guitar at the age of 12, shortly after the untimely passing of one of his musical heroes, Jimi Hendrix. Raised on '60s rock and blues, he was a big fan of the guitar gods of the day, including Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Johnny Winter and, later, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Perry. Richie was also a big fan of Spanish classical guitar, elements of which would inspire some of his future work.

Jon and Richie's musical destinies were on a collision course. more on this story




New Jack White Song Online
(hennemusic) Jack White's debut solo effort, "Blunderbuss," is due out on April 24 and you can check out one of the songs online.

Last month, the former White Stripes frontman released the first single from the project, "Love Interruption."Now, White is offering up a second track for fans to preview.

"Sixteen Saltines" is a rocker that Jack premiered during his March 3rd appearance on Saturday Night Live. Check out the song here.


Super Water Sympathy Giving Away New Song
Super Water Sympathy are giving away a track from their just released debut album "Vesper Belle".

To get a taste of the band's sound they are offering their single "Cherokee" as a free download here

Super Water Sympathy is set to hit the road for a nationwide tour in support of the album. In July, they will be performing as part of the Warped Tour after Tour founder, Kevin Lyman "played the record for 30 people this week, to see if [he] was crazy to think they were so good…[he] was not." more on this story


Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Big Head Todd and Cracker Tour
(MHP) Big Head Todd & The Monsters sent over word that they will be join Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler and Cracker for the Last Summer On Earth Tour.

Launching July 6th at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre in Toledo, OH, the tour hits more than 30 arenas and amphitheaters across the country.

But first, Big Head Todd & The Monsters continue with their winter/spring club tour; their first in over three years. For select stops along the tour, the band has been performing their breakout album, Midnight Radio, live in its entirety. more on this story


In The Studio For Men at Work's 30th Anniversary
The syndicated radio show In The Studio celebrates the 30th anniversary of one of Men At Work's debut Business as Usual with a special online edition this week.

In 1966 The Monkees held the record for most weeks by a debut album at #1 in the U.S. That was until 1982, when an unknown group from the Melbourne Australia pub scene called Men At Work managed to occupy the peak slot in America for 15 weeks! Thirty years ago, the songs "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" followed the Business As Usual debut album from Men At Work to #1 sales in the U.S., something never before done by a rookie band, not even the Beatles.

And the phenomenon repeated worldwide, eventually racking up more than 15 million albums sold and a Grammy award in early 1983 for 'Best New Artist'. In the online-only "Medium Rare" feature, former Men At Work singer/songwriter Colin Hay shares with show host Redbeard what he believes were the driving forces behind their meteoric success. "We had the right songs, the right sound, we had the right kind of identifiable image that people seemed to like... All these things kind of made us successful. You can say it was because of this, it was because of that, it was because of all those things, but I think more than anything else, it was simply our time." Listen here.


The Trews Plan North American Tour
The Trews plan to return to North America for another round of tour dates this spring in support of their fourth full-length studio album, Hope & Ruin.

After a successful residency at the end of 2011 and a few shows in January, the band returns on April 17 and will kick off a 16-city tour in Bridgeport, CT.

They will play throughout the northeast hitting Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Nashville and more before wrapping up in Louisville on May 18. more on this story


Job For A Cowboy Present The Leads Are Weak
Job For A Cowboy have posted the first of a series of instructional video posts featuring guitarist Tony Sannicandro.

Dubbed "The Leads Are Weak," the mini clips offer playing tips and an up-close look at Sannicandro's skill and technique. Clip #1 showcases the solo From "Signature Of Starving Power" off the band's Gloom EP. Check it out here.

The band will begin a five-and-a-half week North American road journey as part of the Metal Alliance Tour next week. The tour will commence on March 15 in Austin, Texas at South By Southwest 2012. The band will be joined by The Faceless, Dying Fetus, 3 Inches Of Blood, Impending Doom, Wretched, and headliners, Devildriver. more on this story


Oh, Sleeper Releasing Game App
Oh, Sleeper will release a new game for iPhone and iPod Touch called "Stand Your Ground" at the App Store on March 20th. We were sent these details:

The side-scrolling arcade-style game focuses on the character of Gage Ryan, a warrior dispatched to lead an army against the forces of savage darkness in a barren post-apocalyptic Earth. Players will fight through multiple levels of challenging enemy forces and strongholds, earning resources along the way which can be used to summon allies and more. And what game would be complete without power ups? "Stand Your Ground" has plenty that can be used to obliterate all the enemies on the screen. Complete with a deep storyline and a rich cast of characters, "Stand Your Ground" will appeal to fans of games like Swords and Soldiers, Plants vs Zombies, Patapon, and even Golden Axe.

"We are so pumped to release this project to the masses," explains Oh, Sleeper frontman Micah Kinard. "This adventure allows the gamer to step into the boots of a warrior, pick up his axe, and traverse through the storyline of our latest album, Children of Fire. We are always looking for ways to allow our listeners to delve deeper into our concepts and we think 'Stand Your Ground' is the perfect way to do this. Plus, who doesn't love video games!?" more on this story


Heartless Bastards Lead The Outlaw Roadshow
(60CM) Heartless Bastards are set to headline The Outlaw Roadshow this Saturday March 17th in Austin.

Springing from the minds of music blogger Ryan Spaulding of Ryan's Smashing Life (rslblog.com) and Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, The Outlaw Roadshow will feature 3 stages featuring 19 emerging bands, all hand-picked by Ryan and Adam after a blizzard of pinballing mp3 email exchanges and phone calls ("Seriously dude, you have GOT to check out...").

Duritz and Spaulding first met in 2008. "Ryan's Smashing Life was my favorite music blog" says Duritz, "I wanted to do interviews with great blogs for our last record - not just big print publications - so I called him up. That's how we met." The two became fast friends, inseparable geeks and true believers in the future of indie music. They wanted to help young bands and, in The Outlaw Roadshow, Adam and Ryan created an event where music fans come for the show, stay for the music, and leave with the echoes of new favorite bands ringing in their ears. The Outlaw Roadshow runs from noon to 7 pm at Rusty's Austin (405 E. 7th Street). more on this story


Koffin Kats North America Tour
Koffin Kats are hitting the road this month for a North America headlining tour in support of their new album, Our Way and The Highway.

The band will kick off their headline trek on March 30th in St. Louis, MO and will wrap up on June 16th in Chicago.

The band will also play a show next Friday (March 23rd) in Flint, Michigan at the Machine Shop with Sponge. more on this story


Barren Earth Release New Album
Peaceville Records have released Barren Earth's sophomore album, The Devil's Resolve, this week.

The Devil's Resolve was mixed by Dan Swanö (Opeth/Katatonia) at Unisound and the artwork was created by Paul Romano (Mastodon).

The Devil's Resolve can be purchased now through the Peaceville Records web-store as a special edition CD, complete with two bonus tracks and slipcase cover, or on limited edition vinyl or digitally at iTunes. more on this story


Singled Out: Mike Ruocco's Too Late
Today Mike Ruocco tells us about his new single "Too Late" from his forthcoming solo album. Here is the story:

"Too Late" for me was one of those happy accidents. One of those songs where everything happened really naturally and everything felt right. The lyrics came fast and the music came even faster. Why? Because it's a song about people and life experiences. Sure it's a song that can be looked at as a relationship song, like many other songs but the difference is in the message. "It's not too late". There have been many times in my life (and I am sure many other peoples lives as well) where you feel like your relationship, your health, your job or even a friendship has bottomed out or reached it's end. It's at those moments that you have to dig deeper and work harder to make things work. It's about believing that you have the drive and power within yourself to better your situation. It's about embracing change... Change for the better. It's about recognizing we can be wrong and that's OK. It's what we do with these moments that defines us. It's how we evolve. More than anything, if something or someone is important to you... It's not too late, it's never too late.

Today's Day In Rock!

DevilDriver Member Hospitalized
DevilDriver bassist Aaron Patrick has reportedly been hospitalized with pneumonia and will be forced to sit out at least the first few shows on the Metal Alliance Tour, according to media reports.
Gun Shy Assassin reports that Patrick's former Bury Your Dead bandmate Chris Towning will be filling in for him on the dates.

The Metal Alliance Tour kicks off on Thursday in Austin and Devildriver is being supported by The Faceless, Dying Fetus, Job For A Cowboy, 3 Inches of Blood, Impending Doom, and Wretch. more on this story


Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Tweet Was Bogus
(hennemusic) There's been an interesting development in the story of Paul Shaffer, Guns N' Roses and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

On Thursday, many music news sites (incl. hennemusic) reported a tweet by Rock Hall induction ceremony musical director Paul Shaffer that said GNR "will not be performing" at the April 14 event.

Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986. Now, a spokesperson for Shaffer says that, although the post came from his account, Paul did not send the tweet himself. "Please know this tweet did not come from Mr. Shaffer, as his Twitter account is in conjunction with his syndicated radio feature with our network, and all tweets are handled by one of our staff members. No one is exactly sure what will happen at the induction ceremony, and we apologize for the inadvertent tweet." more on this story


Cotton Mather Reunion Shows
Cotton Mather are reuniting for a series of home town shows this week in Austin, Texas.

The band will play the shows in celebration of the deluxe re-issue of the their influential 1997 album Kontiki, starting with a headlining spot at the yearly Art Disaster event at Beauty Bar on Tuesday, March 13th.

NME recently named Kontiki as #2 on it's list of "100 Great Albums You Never Heard," and NPR's "All Things Considered" will air a story today (Tuesday) all about the history of the influential album. more on this story


Dee Snider Changing His Tune For New Album
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider will release his new solo album Dee Does Broadway on May 8th on Razor & Tie.

The album features Dee's take on several Broadway classics. The new album will coincide with the release of his first ever autobiography, Shut Up and Give Me The Mic (Gallery Books) on May 8th.

The label sent over these details: Dee Does Broadway features several special guest stars, including Broadway and television icon Bebe Neuwirth on the Damn Yankees song "Whatever Lola Wants," Broadway legend Patti LuPone on a West Side Story Medley "Tonight/Somewhere," pop icon Cyndi Lauper on Sweet Charity's "Big Spender," Clay Aiken of American Idol on the Guys and Dolls classic "Luck Be a Lady Tonight," the stars of the Broadway hit musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon, and Nick Adams) on South Pacific's "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame," Mark Wood of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra playing violin on the Phantom of the Opera ballad "Music Of The Night," as well a special rendition of "The Joint Is Jumpin" from Ain't Misbehavin' with Dee's oldest son, Jesse "Blaze" Snider. Songs are also featured from classic Broadway shows including Cabaret, Chicago, The Threepenny Opera, Anything Goes, and Sweeney Todd. more on this story


Van Halen Keep Surprising Fans
(hennemusic) The Van Halen tour continues to surprise long time fans with the addition of rare songs being switched in and out of the band's set.

Sunday night in Boston, Van Halen rocked "Hang 'Em High," from the band's 1982 album, "Diver Down."

Fan reports suggest the band actually soundchecked the track last week in Philadelphia, along with the 1979 classic, "Bottoms Up!" which has yet to make an appearance in the show. Check out video here.


The Day The Sex Pistol's Snubbed The Rock Hall of Fame
(Gibson) On this day in 2006, The Sex Pistols refused to attend their own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Blondie, Herb Alpert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miles Davis and Black Sabbath were also inducted. Gibson takes a look back: It was another big music night at the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Awards. The 21st annual induction ceremony took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

First up was a show opening tribute to Wilson Pickett, featuring Solomon Burke, Leela James, Marc Broussard and the E Street Band's Clarence Clemons. Then it was time for the awards. Honorees in 2006 included Black Sabbath, Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Sex Pistols and jazz legend Miles Davis, while A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss were given Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Thirty years had passed since punk kicked down the doors of the rock and roll establishment, and both Blondie and The Sex Pistols rolled back the years for some punk attitude and awkward controversy.

The Blondie eruption was unexpected. When the band reformed in '99, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein did not include former members Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison and Gary Valentine. After their induction, Infante asked to join the current line up on stage. more on this story




Rush To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
(hennemusic) Rush will be honored with The Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th annual Revolver Golden God Awards in April.

Prog-rock pioneers Rush, who will release their 19th studio album, "Clockwork Angels," in May, join a list of past honorees that includes Motley Crue, Lemmy Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD and Ozzy Osbourne.

The award will be presented by Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, whose new record, "Rize of the Fenix," hits stores on May 15. more on this story


All Star Rolling Stones Tribute Concert
(Gibson) An all-star cast of music stars, past and present, will tip their caps to the musical legacy of The Rolling Stones in concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The show takes place on Tuesday, March 13th.

Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Ronnie Spector, members of TV on the Radio, Marianne Faithful, the Mountain Goats, Ian Hunter and many others will recreate every single track on the Stones' hits compilation Hot Rocks: 1964-1971.

It's mostly a mystery as to which artists will play which songs. A few have tipped their hands: Rosanne Cash hinted that she will sing "Gimme Shelter" with John Sebastian and Earle told Billboard that he's playing "Mother's Little Helper," because it's the first song he learned on guitar. more on this story




Pennywise Announce First Album With New Singer
(Gibson) Pennywise will release their 10th studio album, All or Nothing, on April 27 via Epitaph Records.

All or Nothing is the veteran punk band's first release with new singer Zoli Téglás (Ignite), who stepped in for already-booked live dates in 2009 when longtime vocalist Jim Lindberg was unable to make the shows due to documentary-making commitments. A few months later Lindberg announced his resignation and Téglás was brought on board permanently.

This writer spoke to guitarist Fletcher Dragge last week, who said the All or Nothing recording sessions were not without their dramas and arguments, but that things are far more amiable than they were when Lindberg was around. more on this story




Eddie Vedder Solo Tour
(hennemusic) Eddie Vedder has announced summer dates for a solo tour of Europe and the UK.

Supporting his "Ukelele Songs" release, the Pearl Jam frontman's first solo shows in the region make up a limited four-city run.

Dates kick off in Amsterdam on July 25th and wrap up with a performance at Sudoeste Festival in Portugal on August 3rd. more on this story


Lacuna Coil Tap Otherwise For Dark Legacy Tour
Otherwise are hitting the road with Lacuna Coil on their 2012 North American Dark Legacy Tour.

Otherwise has been confirmed as direct support for the tour, which will feature Lacuna Coil playing over two hours of material spanning their entire catalog.

Otherwise are currently wrapping up a month on the road with Pop Evil, and following the "Dark Legacy" tour will play a number of radio festivals including Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion and Welcome To Rockville. more on this story


Prince's Purple Rain Focus of New Book
Hal Leonard have set an April 10th release for John Kenneth Muir's new book 'Purple Rain: Music on Film'. The publisher sent over this background:

The opening scene of Oscar-winning Purple Rain marks the exact moment movie and music fans first encountered and likely fell in love with the inscrutable, ultimately unknowable Prince.

This low-budget film unexpectedly debuted at the number-one slot in the box office and went on to win multiple awards. Now, 25 years after this beginning of the "Purple Age of Prince" (as Tavis Smiley put it), Prince remains that same inscrutable Kid standing semi-obscured in the mist, and Purple Rain is still recognized prominently on critical top-ten lists. more on this story


Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball Debuts At No 1 in UK
(hennemusic) Bruce Springsteen's new release, "Wrecking Ball," debuts at no. 1 on the UK album charts.

The Official Charts Company reports Springsteen secured his 9th UK #1 album with sales of 74,000 copies.

The Boss held off a new release by the Military Wives, who landed at #2 with 56,000 in sales. more on this story


Six Feet Under Summer Tour
Six Feet Under plan to return to Europe in August to play some exclusive festival gigs as well as selected club shows.

Six Feet Under will be embarking on the trek in support of their forthcoming album Undead, which is set to be released in May.

Dew-Scented are set to open for Six Feet Under on the tour which kicks off on August 12th in Berlin. more on this story


Malice To Deliver New Album in May
(Freeman) Malice have set a May 22nd North American release date for their new album "New Breed of Godz" which will be released worldwide by SPV / Steamhammer.

Original members Jay Reynolds (guitars), Mick Zane (guitars) and Mark Behn (bass) entered the Silver Cloud Studios in Los Angeles together with new singer James Rivera (Helstar) and new drummer Pete Holmes (Black N´Blue) to re-record 8 of their classics plus 4 new songs.

The producer was Joe Floyd (Warrior) who also was involved in producing records of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. The album is scheduled for a May 22nd release in the US/Canada, a May 25th release in Germany and a May 28th release in Europe. more on this story


Rocklahoma Lineup Announced
Rocklahoma organizers have announced the full lineup for this year's festival which takes place over Memorial Day Weekend.

Rocklahoma will run from May 25-27 at "Catch the Fever" Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK. The Rocklahoma lineup is as follows:

Rob Zombie, Chickenfoot, Creed, Megadeth, Slash, Queensrÿche, Chevelle, Jackyl, Theory of a Deadman, Hellyeah, Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Volbeat, The Darkness, 10 Years, Cavo, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Pop Evil, Trivium, Red, Redlight King, Art of Dying, Aranda, Janus, New Medicine, James Durbin, Eve to Adam, Falling In Reverse, Rival Sons, Anti Mortem, Gypsy Pistoleros, Lillian Axe, Wildstreet, Firstryke, Black Tora, Sunset Riot, The Glitter Boys, Fist of Rage, Switchblade, Scarlett, S.E.X. Department, Ragdoll, Down & Dirty, Hessler, Lynam, Diemonds, Ruff Justice, Soulicit, Rocker Lips, Mine Enemies Fall, Echo Vendetta, A Good Fight, Sweatin' Bullets, Through the Thorns, Absence of Ink, For the Broken, EchoFuzz, Shotgun Rebels, Stun, Dagger, Unwritten Rulz, Desi & Cody, David Castro Band, McCuin, We the Ghost, Tiranico, Baron Von Swagger, TwoFold, Aformatic, Delay the Day, and Jamco Industries.


Madness Announce North American Tour Dates
Madness will bring their brand of British ska rock back to North America next month with the launch of a West Coast tour.

The West Coast dates also include the highly popular Coachella Music Festival in Indio, Calif. on April 13.

This tour marks the first time the band has toured in North America in more than five years. more on this story


The Bouncing Souls New Album Details
The Bouncing Souls will release their new studio album, Comet, on June 12th in both physical and digital formats.

Comet was produced by the legendary Bill Stevenson at the Blasting Room (Rise Against, Hot Water Music, Descendents) in Ft. Collins, CO.

The Bouncing Souls are prepping worldwide tour plans for 2012, including a hometown Bamboozle appearance on May 20 in Asbury Park, NJ, with fellow Jersey band Bon Jovi, as well as U.S. and European headline runs this summer more on this story


Between the Buried and Me Offshoot Trioscapes Set Release
(MBR) Trioscapes new album, Separate Realities, will be released on May 8th in North America and on May 7th in Europe.

Trioscapes started in the summer of 2011 when bassist Dan Briggs (Between the Buried and Me) contacted Walter Fancourt (tenor saxophone/flute) and Matt Lynch (drums) about working up a rendition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra classic "Celestial Terrestrial Commuters." The group also messed around with a few original ideas with the intent of playing a one-off live show.

However, after rehearsing the material and playing the show, the group decided the music was so demanding and fun to perform that there should be more of a future for the project. A few more songs were written near the end of the summer and a full length album was recorded the first week of October with Jamie King in Winston-Salem, NC. Trioscapes combines elements of 70s fusion with progressive rock, dark syncopated grooves, a flare for the psychedelic, and an unabashed love for both quirky Zappa-ish melodies and thunderous abrasive trade-off lines. more on this story


Michael Stanley Releases New Album
(Glass Onyon) 70s rocker Michael Stanley has released his new studio album 'The Hang' on ItsAboutMusic.com.

From the mid '70s to the mid '80s, the Michael Stanley Band enjoyed a strong and fiercely loyal following, touring with some of the superstar bands of that period including Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Foreigner and The Doobie Brothers.

With over 70 minutes of music, the latest CD from Michael Stanley features twelve new original compositions and covers of songs written by Dire Strait's Mark Knopfler and songwriter extraordinaire Patty Griffin. Once again the album was mixed by legendary Bill Szymczyk and features the talents of Michael's road band, The Resonators throughout. more on this story


Black Cobra Join Corrosion Of Conformity, Torche and Gaza Tour
Black Cobra will be hitting the North American road this June with Corrosion Of Conformity, Torche and Gaza.

The trek will begin June 1st in Charlotte, NC with 18 dates confirmed through June 23rd at press time.

This stateside trek will follow Black Cobra's scheduled European tour also supporting COC along with Zoroaster, which kicks off on April 4th and leading up to the band's performance at the annual Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. more on this story


Scissormen Walking and Talking the Blues Next Week
(Gibson) Nashville-based blues duo Scissormen have a reputation for bridging the oldest traditions of recorded blues and modernist sonic invention. A great example from their new CD+DVD set BIG SHOES: Walking and Talking the Blues – available on Tuesday, March 20 – is the original song "Tupelo."

BIG SHOES embraces a 90-minute feature film by the acclaimed roots music documentarian Robert Mugge, about the band and its leader Ted Drozdowski, who also writes for Gibson.com. The recording of "Tupelo" is from the 72-minute live concert CD that's part of the set, and the song is also performed on stage at the Key Palace Theater in Redkey, Indiana, in the film.

To achieve the song's unusual sound, Drozdowski started with a variation on open G tuning (D-G-D-G-B-D) with the two high strings both tuned to D to achieve a chorusing effect. He also employed a vintage '80s Digitech DDS-1000 digital delay and played .10 gauge strings with a steel pinky slide and employed all five bare fingers of his right hand for picking, using the nail of his index finger for downstrokes. more on this story




Singled Out: Dark Empire's A Plague in the Throne Room
Today Matt Moliti from Dark Empire tells us about the song "A Plague in the Throne Room" from their brand new album "From Refuge to Ruin". Here is the story:

Believe it or not, the main guitar theme for "Plague" started as a gentle acoustic guitar/piano interlude, with the melody played in the lower notes of the guitar part, and performed much slower as well, more like a ballad. It sounded nice, but then idea struck me "what would happen if I took this piano part, sped it up, and played it as a guitar lead?" The result was badass, and I instantly knew this was going to be the first track of the album.

Since it was to be the album opener, I decided for "Plague" to serve as a meeting ground between the familiar elements of our previous album, Humanity Dethroned, and the darker, more progressive elements that are found throughout the rest of FRTR. To that end, though, there are still some 70's progressive rock influences here, in some subtle and not so subtle ways. The use of mellotron choir in the chorus and violins in the bridge melody should be obvious, but a less apparent influence lies in that the bridge melody is found later on in the album, during the chorus of "Black Hearts Demise." This idea comes from Genesis, who would reprise melodies from the front of the album in songs at the end of the album to create a "bookend" feel. Speaking of the bridge, that is also the oldest riff on the album, dating back to around 2007.

Lyrically, the song lends itself to the concept of deterioration (in society, government, personal relationships, etc), which is the prevalent theme throughout FRTR. In this case, it speaks of the deterioration of government, and of the corruption within it. It's obvious that most people these days are dissatisfied with the way things are being run, and I wrote the lyrics to express that dissatisfaction in a way that people could relate regardless of where their personal beliefs lie.

Today's Day In Rock!

Van Halen Returned Thanks To Wolfgang
(hennemusic) Valerie Bertinelli may no longer be married to Eddie Van Halen, but she's still keeping her eyes on the band's current tour because their 20-year old son, Wolfgang, is currently handling bass duties on the trip.
This week, Bertinelli spoke with WRIF Detroit about the "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour, providing some insight for fans. When asked about the backlash over Wolfgang being on board instead of former VH bassist Michael Anthony, Valerie said, "I loved Mike, too. I thought he was a really nice guy. Still do. But the only way this tour is happening is because Eddie gets to play with his son Wolfie. Otherwise this tour wouldn't be going on. It really wouldn't."

"This brings joy to Ed," continued Bertinelli. "That's what he wants to do now — just have fun playing. As great as Mike is, this wouldn't be happening if Mike was still in the band. There would be no tour, there would be no album, there would be no nothing." more on this story


John Mayer Throat Issues Return Forcing Him To Cancel Tour
John Mayer has been forced to scrap his upcoming spring tour in support of his album Born And Raised and go on an "indefinite hiatus from live performing" after a recurrence of granuloma on his throat.

Mayer broke the bad news to fans in a blog post on Friday: "During rehearsal on Tuesday, it came to mind that I should see my throat doctor because something didn't feel/sound right. I went in for a visit on Wednesday and a scope of my vocal cords revealed that the granuloma has grown back where it had mostly healed. This is bad news. Because of this, I have no choice but to take an indefinite break from live performing. Though there will be a day when all of this will be behind me, it will sideline me for a longer period of time than I care to have you count down."

"I want to explain this a bit more in depth than I have in the past, because I know there's some confusion as to what this condition is; a granuloma forms and continues to snowball because it's in a spot where the vocal cords hit together and there's no way to really give it a chance to heal without a good stretch of time and some pretty intensive treatment. In short, it's one giant pain in the ass." more on this story


Def Leppard, Poison and Lita Ford Tour
Def Leppard tours have become a right of summer with the band teaming up with fellow hard rock hitmakers for the past several years and 2012 will be no different with Def Leppard once again teaming up with Poison for a summer trek with Lita Ford opening.

The first leg of the North American tour is set to kick off on June 20th in Salt Lake City and 18 dates have been announced which will wrap up on July 22 in Cadott, Wisconsin. Def Leppard is billing this as the first leg of the tour, so more dates are expected.

"We had such a good time going out with Poison in 2009 that we thought it only right to do it again," said Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott. more on this story


Duff Discusses Possibility of Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Jam
(hennemusic) Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan spoke to Rolling Stone about the March 20th release of the paperback edition of his autobiography "It's So Easy: and Other Lies," and the conversation turned to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony next month in Cleveland.

As for GNR reuniting to perform, "I think it would be killer," begins Duff. "Do I hope to? That's a tricky question. It would be awesome. You have those day dreams like, "We'll go up and play 'Nightrain' and 'Brownstone' and throw down the microphone and drop off! That'll be killer!' But I doubt that'll happen."

"There's been no communication about anyone playing," he says. "There was probably a day in the mid-1990s where I would have tried to gather the troops, but I'm just not that guy anymore. It's too frustrating to change anyone else…I'm not even sure I'd want to change how anyone else sees a situation. But I'm going." What does he think about the Rock Hall?


American Idol Appearing on Aerosmith Album
(hennemusic) The Aerosmith/American Idol connection has moved to another level with a former contestant appearing on the band's forthcoming album.

Following her appearance on Thursday night's episode, last year's Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina revealed that she will be a guest on Aerosmith's new album, due for release later this spring.

On Friday, Alaina tweeted: "Yesterday: returned to idol & then went to the studio to record background vocals for the new Aerosmith record.



Homme And Reeder Vs Kyuss Lives!
Former members of Kyuss have been touring under the moniker of Kyuss Lives! but that group is now facing legal problems from their former bandmates who put out the following statement:

Kyuss members Scott Reeder and Joshua Homme have been forced to file a federal lawsuit against John Garcia and Brant Bjork a/k/a Kyuss Lives! The suit alleges trademark infringement and consumer fraud by Kyuss Lives!

Quote from Reeder and Homme: "It sucks. To think we went to a meeting in January solely to help them with their request to continue Kyuss Lives! With open arms, we made every attempt to help them continue Kyuss Lives! respectfully. Only to discover while they looked us in the eye, Kyuss Lives! management and band had filed federal documents in 2011 in an attempt to steal the name Kyuss. more on this story


Guns N' Roses Star Challenges Hulk Hogan
(hennemusic) Wrestler Hulk Hogan is taking on all challengers these days as he promotes his latest product endorsement.

Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal stepped up to appear in the latest webisode of "Challenge Hulk Hogan."

Bumblefoot challenges the wrestling legend to make up a song on the spot, and the Hulkster obliges. watch it here.


Bob Marley Is This Love Church Burns Down
(Gibson) The building in London where Bob Marley filmed the video for his 1978 single, "Is This Love," has been destroyed by fire. As reported by BBC News, 40 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Christ Apostolic Church in King's Cross Thursday night (March 8).

The fire started on the ground floor of the three-story building and spread quickly to the roof. The building was previously home to the Keskidee Center, thought to be the U.K.'s first cultural center for the black community.

Marley chose the center as the setting for the video, which featured a young Naomi Campbell, then just seven years old. The center closed in 1991 due to funding problems, and the building was subsequently purchased by the Christ Apostolic Church. more on this story




King's X Raising Medical Funds For Jerry Gaskill With Live Album
Sleaze Roxx Reports fans can get their hands on a new King's X live album while helping raise medical funs for the band's drummer Jerry Gaskill who remains in ICU, recovering slowly from a heart attack he suffered on February 25th.

As medical bills mount up, many King's X fans have asked how they can help. Now you can give Jerry $20 toward his uncovered medical expenses by going to www.molkenmusic.com or www.kingsxrocks.com and receive a free download of the new King's X live album 'Burning Down Boston'. 100% of all gifts collected go directly to Jerry Gaskill.

Recorded live in Boston on June 12, 1991 at The Channel, the digital album contains 14 tracks including "It's Love", "I'll Never Get Tired Of You", "Visions" and much more. more on this story


Unaired Aerosmith 60 Minutes Footage Posted Online
(hennemusic) 60 Minutes has offered up some bonus footage of Aerosmith that the producers weren't able to fit into the regular broadcast this weekend.

Among the exclusive web clips is a look at host Laura Logan's backstage tour with Steven Tyler, a lot of discussion with band members about group dynamics and personality issues, the group's history with drugs and self-implosion, and how they create new music in the studio.

The Boston band has teamed up with long time producer Jack Douglas for their first album of new material since 2001's "Just Push Play"; the project is expected to be released this spring. Check out the bonus footage here.


Slash Releases New Webisode
(hennemusic) Slash has issued the 6th webisode in his series about his forthcoming new album, "Apocalyptic Love." Slash's new album will be released on May 22; the first single, "You're A Lie," is out now.

This time out, the footage shows Slash and the band working with photographer Travis Shinn.

"He's an exceptional photographer," says Slash, "which is why I wanted to do this session with him." Watch it here.


Pearl Jam Recording Experimental Album
(Gibson) Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard says the band's new record is coming along well. The guitarist suggests that the forthcoming release is an experimental album.

"The most important thing is that we put something out that continues to expand our boundaries rather than trying to follow what we've done in the past," he told Rolling Stone. "I think it's a good time to hopefully continue to experiment, and continue to shake it up. So that people can go 'Wow, that's kind of weird for Pearl Jam,' and then 10 years later they can go, 'Oh, that's my favorite period.' Which is always kind of what happens. You try something and at first everybody doesn't necessarily understand it, and then you look back and you go, thank God we tried something new, because it really opened a door up for us to be able to do this and this and this beyond that."

Gossard added that he likes the imperfect feel of the tracks the band has recorded so far. "This record is refreshingly cool because it's just us in the studio screwing around, not taking it too seriously. I think that's one of the biggest problems in rock is people thinking too much, putting too much emphasis on getting things perfect or completely sorted out. Sometimes that sound of not having everything sorted out is kind of cool." more on this story




Steve Lukather Talks Tours With Satriani, Vai and Ringo
(Gibson) In two weeks, Steve Lukather will join Joe Satriani and Steve Vai for the first series of G3 dates in five years. In a wide-ranging interview with Music Radar, Lukather says he's honored by the chance to share the stage with two "genius-level players."

"I'm not like those guys," Lukather humbly asserts, although his fans would surely disagree. "Joe and Steve, they're killers. I sing and I play, I do whatever, but I don't do that level of guitar thing that they do. Thank goodness G3 isn't a competition. I would surely lose that fight if that were the case."

Lukather says he's similarly honored to have been asked to play with Ringo Starr on the All Starr Band tour, set to kick off on June 14. "He's my third Beatle," Lukather said. "I've played with both Paul and George. The Beatles were my arm-twist to life, so to come full circle like this is surreal. When I was a kid, thinking of just being near a Beatle was an unattainable dream." more on this story




The Raconteurs Live Blu-Ray and DVD Coming
Eagle Rock have set a June 19th DVD and Blu-Ray release of The Raconteurs' Live At Montreux 2008.

This is the first ever video release by The Raconteurs and features tracks from both their top 10 albums including the singles "Steady, As She Goes", "Many Shades Of Black", "Broken Boy Soldier", "Salute Your Solution" and more.

The Raconteurs were formed in 2005 by Jack White of The White Stripes, acclaimed solo artist Brendan Benson and drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence from The Greenhornes. Their debut album Broken Boy Soldiers charted at No.2 in the UK and follow up Consolers Of The Lonely went in at No.8. Both albums were also Top 10 in the USA. This performance from Montreux in 2008 was part of the tour in support of their second album. The setlist is split between songs from the two albums and includes covers of Terry Reid's "Rich Kid Blues" and the old Charley Jordan track "Keep It Clean". more on this story


Chris Robinson Brotherhood Set Album Release
Chris Robinson Brotherhood will release their debut album Big Moon Ritual, on June 5th and companion album The Magic Door will follow in September. A CRB tour will be announced shortly.

Here is the background: In 2011, after more than 20 years of intense gigging and recording, Chris Robinson set off to shape something new, a fresh rock mythology, a breathing kaleidoscopic thing stuffed with chooglin' soul, bedrock boogie and shuffling wisdom birthed in intimate clubs and amongst the tall trees of the Golden State and eventually taken nationwide as the Chris Robinson Brotherhood evolved.

What began as an experiment without expectations turned into a 118-show journey for Robinson (lead vocals, guitar), Neal Casal (guitar, vocals), Adam MacDougall (keys, vocals), George Sluppick (drums) and Mark Dutton (bass, vocals) that surprised these seasoned pros as music of unshakeable solidity and exuberant reach poured out of them, a New Cosmic California sound with tendrils reaching to the original Fillmore West, Topanga Canyon and outwards towards far horizons

RUSH AWARDED CANADA'S HIGHEST ARTISTIC PRIZE:

Rush awarded Canada's highest artistic prize, effectively putting the band on par with poets and concert pianists by John Semley March 6, 2012
Toronto prog-rock trio Rush may be something of an inside joke, treasured by Canadians with a taste for Geddy Lee's falsetto vocals, Alex Lifeson's noodly riffs, and Neil Peart's 11-minute drum solos, yet largely misunderstood abroad as being too nerdy or something. Indeed, fans have been lamenting Rush's notable absence in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for years, as if Canada needed some dusty museum of rock history for validation. Who needs the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when you can have a Governor General's Performing Arts Award?
Awarded to Canadians for distinguished work in the arts, the prestigious award—with recipients announced earlier today in Calgary—pitches Rush straight into the ranks of highest-order Canadian artists like Gordon Lightfoot, Oscar Peterson, Leonard Cohen, Christopher Plummer, and Cirque De Soleil. According to the CBC, this year's other winners include Indian-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, Newfoundland-born writer and comic Mary Walsh, and classical concert pianist Janina Fialkowska. Good for them, and good for all. But there's something especially terrific about a band that wrote a song called “By-Tor And The Snow Dog” being rewarded with a nation's highest artistic honour. And it comes with a free commemorative medallion! And $25,000 Canadian dollars! So cue up Grace Under Pressure and raise your star-child flags, Rusheteers. Today is your Bastille Day.
ArticleLink: www.avclub.com/toronto/articles/rush-awarded-canadas-highest-artistic-prize-effect,70437/

Today's Day In Rock!

No Guns N' Roses Hall of Fame Jam
(hennemusic) Paul Shaffer has some bad news for Guns N' Roses fans: the group will not be performing at their upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame next month in Cleveland.
Outside of his day job as bandleader for the David Letterman show, Shaffer has also been the musical director for the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986.

Paul spilled the GNR news when he was asked on Twitter if he had any idea how long the Rock Hall ceremony was going to be this year with so many inductees; "Guns N' Roses will not be performing, so not as long as you would think," was Shaffer's reply. more on this story


QOTSA's Oliveri Pleads Not Guilty In S.W.A.T. Team Standoff
(TMZ) Former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri insists he wasn't packing heat OR drugs during a tense standoff with a S.W.A.T. team in L.A. last summer -- pleading "not guilty" yesterday to all five charges stemming from the incident.

TMZ broke the story ... Nick was arrested last July -- after a fight with his girlfriend escalated into a four-hour standoff with police. Oliveri was booked on felony domestic violence -- and after police searched his home, they say they found a fully-loaded rifle.

According to the charging docs, police also found cocaine and methamphetamines during the search. Oliveri was charged in August with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, 2 counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count of resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer.

A pre-trial date has been set for April 13th. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years behind bars. more on this story


Metallica Expand Orion Festival Plans
(hennemusic) Metallica has issued a preview/trailer for their upcoming Orion Music + More festival which has been expanded since the original announcement. The event is set for June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, will feature Metallica headlining alongside more than 30 artists personally selected by the band.

As part of their 2012 tour, Metallica will play their classic "Black" album in its entirety on one of the nights for the first time ever in the U.S., and perform the "Ride The Lightning" album on the other night. Metallica bills the inaugural Orion Music + More as "more than just music, the festival will also feature a lifestyle element showcasing the band's individual interests - and allowing fans to interact directly with each of the band members."

"We've added the Damage Inc. stage which will headlined by our friends Suicidal Tendencies and Sepultura and will feature lots of cool, heavy, thrash and punk bands that many of you have not had a chance to experience yet including Torche, Red Fang, Kyng, Landmine Marathon, and more," announced Metallica in their latest festival update.

See who else has joined the lineup and check out the video here.


Former Van Halen Singer Praises New Album
(hennemusic) Two former Van Halen singers have been sharing their opinions on the band's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth," with opposite results.

Now with Chickenfoot, Sammy Hagar has been slamming every aspect of the group's efforts to move forward without him, seemingly still reeling and angered over his 1996 and 2004 splits with the Van Halen brothers.

At the other end of the spectrum is Gary Cherone, of both Extreme and Hurtsmile, who recorded 1998's "Van Halen III" with the group and performed on tour with them. "This record, for me, it's the best thing since 'Fair Warning,'" Cherone tells the Boston Phoenix. "[First single] 'Tattoo' is the only misstep. You wait 28 years to hear Van Halen, and in the context of the record, it's not the best song by far. Off the top of my head, I'm thinkin' of 'China Town,' if that was the first thing you heard, or 'As Is,' or 'Honeybabysweetiedoll.' Any of those three? People would've been like, 'Are you f**ing kidding me?' " He has more to say here.


Pearl Jam Expanding Boundaries With New Album
(Banana 101.5) Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard gives an update on the band's currently in-the-works album, revealing that they're "not in a rush" to finish the disc right away and are instead focusing on breaking new musical ground.

"We've recorded some songs, and we're going to record and write some more. You never know, it might be that we're a song away or two, or it might be that we're going to record six or seven more songs. I think the main thing is that were not in a rush and there's no urgency to it.

"The most important thing is that we put something out that continues to expand our boundaries rather than trying to follow what we've done in the past. I think it's a good time to hopefully continue to experiment, and continue to shake it up." He has a lot more to say here.


Steven Tyler Takes Credit For Aerosmith Success on 60 Minutes
(hennemusic) Aerosmith will be featured on 60 Minutes this Sunday evening. The segment will include an interview CBS host Laura Logan conducted with the band in between shows in Bogota, Colombia, where she followed them on tour.

In a one-on-one session, sat down with singer Steven Tyler to let him know that his bandmates — Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer — told her that he was too much a perfectionist and could be cruel at times. "They're 100 per cent right," replied Tyler. "I've said many things to all those guys that I should never have said, that I didn't mean."

Asked for further comment, Steven added, "You know what? I'm going to be big-headed right now, okay? I think my perfectionism and my busting everyone's chops is what got this band to where it is today. In the end, I get a really good song and in the end, I get the hits. Yeah, I'm that good." Check out the preview clip here.


March Madness For The Black Keys
The Black Keys' new single, "Gold On the Ceiling," is being used as the musical backdrop for this year's NCAA March Madness tournament.

March Madness kicks off next week across the four networks of TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Right now fans can check out a longform version of the The Black Keys's promotional spot that was done for the tournament right here.


Rolling Stones Celebrate 9 Million Facebook Fans
(Gibson) The Rolling Stones Facebook page has just passed the 9 million mark and guitarist Keith Richards has posted a picture of himself holding a card saying "9,000,000 Stones Fans."

The post thanks the fans, saying, "Thanks to everyone of you Facebookers who like the Rolling Stones. It's only rock and roll but we love you!"

Still no word on whether The Rolling Stones will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their getting together with a tour or a concert this year. more on this story




Korn's Jonathan Davis Becomes J Devil For Solo Release
(Banana 101.5) Korn frontman Jonathan Davis is currently working on his solo debut, which will be a foray into electronic music and be released under the name of his DJ alter ego "J Devil."

Korn injected their nu-metal sound with dubstep on their 2011 album 'The Path of Totality,' now singer Jonathan Davis will take one step further into the world of Electronic Dance Music.

Davis also explains that the EP isn't limited to just one specific genre of EDM, "It's all these different genres," he says. "I love electro, I love jungle, I love drum and bass, I love dubstep, so it's a mixup of all that stuff." more on this story


Counting Crows Giving Away Song From New Album
We were sent this info: Counting Crows will release of their first new album in over 4 years, Underwater Sunshine, on April 9th.

Underwater Sunshine is the first album on the band's own label and will be distributed by Cooking Vinyl. The band have asked fans to design the new album package.

Produced by Counting Crows and Shawn Dealey, Underwater Sunshine features a collection of songs, both familiar and obscure Interpreted by the band. Fans can download a free download of their New song "Mercy" on countingcrows.com/


Alter Bridge On Adele's Tail
(Randex) Preorders for Alter Bridge's Live At Wembley, the band's second live CD/DVD, hit no 2 in the Top 100 on the Blu Ray Music Videos & Concerts chart at Amazon.com, just beneath Adele.

For the seventh day in a row, Live At Wembley, with a street date of March 26, 2012, has been in the Top 10 of Amazon Bestsellers in the Blu Ray Music Videos & Concerts chart, ahead of video offerings from other music giants in the Top 10 such as Iron Maiden, Whitney Houston and Tony Bennett.

LIVE AT WEMBLEY, distributed in North America through EMI Label Services, includes every key Alter Bridge track from their three studio albums, including "Isolation," "Ghosts Of Days Gone By," "Wonderful Life," "Watch Over You," "Broken Wings," "Rise Today," "Open Your Eyes" and many more, and was captured in late November during the Fall 2011 European tour at the historic Wembley Arena. more on this story


Marduk Plan Summer Tour With 1349, Withered, and Weapon
Marduk will be heading back to North America this summer for a headlining run with 1349, Withered, and Weapon.

Marduk will be releasing their 12th studio album, Serpent Sermon , in early summer 2012.

The track-listing, artwork, and release date for the album will be revealed in the coming weeks. more on this story


Zakk Wylde Still Considered A Son By The Osbournes
(Gibson) It comes without saying that guitar icon Zakk Wylde is very tight with the Osbourne clan. In fact, Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, says the Osbournes are so fond of Wylde that he's "like our oldest son."

"When we first met Zakk, he was 18 years old," Sharon told Revolver TV at the debut Rock & Roll Roast earlier this year. "He was the most beautiful 18-year-old you've ever seen. He was just a fantastic kid. He is like our oldest son. That's what Zakk will always be. He's family."

Later, Sharon was asked why the Les Paul Bullseye player deserved to be honored as a "guitar god" by friendly contemporaries, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Jericho, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and more at the ceremony. "He's just got it," Sharon said. "He has that 'it' factor that makes you a star. You know, you can't define it, but he has this presence and he has this sound, as soon as he gets on that guitar, one note, you know who it is. And that's what makes guitar heroes – you know, that distinctive sound. And he has this strength that so few players today have, and that presence. And he's … nuts. [Laughs]" more on this story




Monkees' Michael Nesmith Remembers Davy Jones
(Gibson) In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Michael Nesmith has been remembering Davy Jones and the Monkees experience.

In Nesmith's opinion, Jones and The Monkees were synonymous. "For me David was The Monkees," he said. "They were his band. We were his side men. He was the focal point of the romance, the lovely boy, innocent and approachable. Micky was his Bob Hope. In those two – like Hope and Crosby – was the heartbeat of the show."

Nesmith didn't feature in the last Monkees tour but the country-rock pioneer still plays concerts and has been busy developing a virtual world music project at his Videoranch website. more on this story




Gibson Guitar Launches Artist in Residency Program
(Gibson) Gibson Custom is starting an Artist in Residency program in Nashville. James A. Willis, the program's inaugural artist, has been profiled in American Art Collector, Art & Antiques and RefuelMagazine.com. Following his residency, he will remain an integral part of the program as chairman and help in the selection process of future artists.

"This program is dear to our heart and it wonderfully combines our love of music and art," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "We believe that having artists here will promote a great symbiotic relationship – and that they will inspire us and, hopefully, we will have the same impact on them."

Artists selected will receive housing in the Nashville area, studio space and a materials budget. Artists interested in participating in the program should e-mail samples of their work with a short essay as to why they should be considered to:customartistresident@gibson.com. more on this story




Holy Grail Hitting The Road With Dragonforce
Holy Grail will be playing support for DragonForce on a spring tour that kicks off at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival on April 21.

In addition, the group, who just completed a successful tour of Australia, will play four shows at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas next week as part of a short tour alongside Saviours.

While in Austin, HOLY GRAIL will play two showcases -- Prosthetic's official label showcase, as well as another presented by MetalSucks -- in addition to two prominent day parties. more on this story


Set It Off Team Up With Divided By Friday For Tour
Set It Off will be hitting the road this Spring for co-headlining North American tour with Divided By Friday.

Equal Vision sent over this additional info and dates: Set It Off has also announced new tour dates with Life On Repeat and Glass Cloud (ft. Jerry Roush, ex-Of Mice & Men/Sky Eats Airplane and Joshua Travis, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza) following their appearances at SXSW.

All three bands will perform at the recently announced Equal Vision Records Showcase on Friday, March 16 at Lucky 13 (418 E 6th St, at Neches St). Co-headlining the showcase will be Say Anything and We Came As Romans. more on this story


The Day The Clash Hit The Top
(Gibson) On this day in 1991, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" gave The Clash their only U.K. no. 1 single after the track was used for a Levi's TV advertisement. The track was first released in 1982 from their Combat Rock album. Gibson takes a look back:

Although it's common for groundbreaking bands to gain more appreciation long after they've made their mark, it doesn't often happen that they have their biggest hit a few years after their breakup. But that's exactly what happened to The Clash on this day in 1991.

Part of the original first wave of British punk in the late '70s, The Clash progressed as artists and musicians at warp speed. Like a lot of punk acts, they quickly brought in reggae elements – but Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon continued to explore other music styles from Jamaica, such as dub and ska. In a few short years, they had brought together a menagerie of musical styles (rockabilly, punk, folk, reggae, rock, R&B, dub, pop and even hip-hop), and expertly hopped between genres on albums such as 1979's London Calling and 1980's Sandinista!

Although the boys continued to push boundaries on 1982's Combat Rock, the record also included some of The Clash's most radio-friendly material. The heavy-handed "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and the danceable "Rock the Casbah" were each worldwide hits, especially the latter, which hit the Top 10 in the U.S. and Australia. Yet, in the long term, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" would end up becoming a signature song for the band and their only chart-topper.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" was written by guitarist Mick Jones, who also sang lead vocals on the song (something he did from time to time on Clash recordings), moving frontman Joe Strummer to backing vocals. While many fans have assumed the song is about Jones impending split with The Clash (he was "dismissed" in 1983), the guitarist wrote the song about his troubled relationship with singer Ellen Foley, known for her work with Meat Loaf.

Strummer might have been forced into the background on this tune, but he added an interesting touch – singing in Spanish. "On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish,'" he remembered later. "We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals."

With its distinctive riff, indecisive lyrics and Spanish backing vocals, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" did very well in the U.K. (where it rose to #17) and the U.S. (where it became The Clash's second charting single). It's easy to understand why it became a concert staple during the band's tours to support Combat Rock

Today's Day In Rock!

Hagar Rips Into Van Halen Again
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has been making a habit of slamming the new Van Halen album, something the Red Rocker did for months before the record was even out.
Now that he's heard some of it, Sammy still thinks the band missed the mark. "I don't listen to much new music unless I hear a new song on the radio, and the last bands that did that to me were the Black Keys and Kings of Leon," Hagar tells the Boston Phoenix. "When I heard 'Tattoo,' that single — and I saw the video because everybody kept sending it to me like, 'My god, have you seen this?' . . . 'Oh my god, you must be laughing your ass off!'— it wasn't a song that made me run out and buy their record. And so I haven't heard it. I haven't downloaded it, I haven't done anything."

Hagar didn't discuss why he's had a change of plans on this in recent months: he told Rolling Stone last fall, "I'll be the first guy waiting in line at the record store, if I could find one anymore. I'll be really curious [to hear the new VH]." Read that here and more


Aerosmith May Debut New Song on American Idol
(hennemusic) While promoting his work on the current Experience Hendrix tour, Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford is sharing his excitement about the band's new music, along with some interesting details.

"I think people are going to see a lot of Aerosmith later in the year," Whitford told The Times News. "We've got a new song that's gonna be used in a major motion picture this summer, so that's probably the first new music fans will get to hear. We may even debut it on American Idol in May."

"We're definitely planning on touring the U.S. later in the summer," continued Brad. "As for the new CD, the music is done — we're just waiting to get some of the vocals added in." more on this story


Limp Bizkit Making Metal Album?
(Banana 101.5) In a recent conversation about the future of the Limp Bizkit, outspoken frontman Fred Durst revealed some huge expectations for their next release.

Fred Durst recently told Billboard that the follow-up to the 2011 album 'Gold Cobra' will be the "heaviest, most crazy metal record of all time." The statement may stand in stark contrast to the fact that the band signed with a rap label last week, but as he further explained:

"That will service our core and counter balance these big, fat, ginormous hip-rock songs we're going to do [with Cash Money]. We're gonna give out some mayhem and madness…to those people who really lean that way with us." more on this story


Metallica Moving Forward With 3D Movie
Metallica are making progress on their upcoming Metallica 3D feature film and selected Nimrod Antal to direct and Charlotte Huggins to produce the project.

Their camp sent over these details: The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the five members of Metallica: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans. It will begin shooting this August and will be released in the summer of 2013.

"I've been a fan of Nimróds since his first Hungarian film, Kontroll, showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away, said Metallica's Lars Ulrich. "I've watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years. Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his "thinking outside of the box" personality. Let's get on with it!!!" more on this story


Nickelback Add New Leg To North American Tour
Nickelback have added a new summer leg to their upcoming North American tour which kicks off next month.

With nine newly announced shows Nickelback will stop in 49 cities—including the just-added shows in Hershey, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Saratoga Springs, Darien Center, Charlotte, Virginia Beach and Raleigh.

Nickelback was recently nominated for four Juno Awards in their native Canada, including Group of the Year, Album of the Year for Here And Now, Single of the Year for "When We Stand Together" and the Juno Fan Choice Award. The band will perform on CTV's broadcast of THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS on Sunday, April 1st. more on this story


Jon Anderson Offered To Return to Yes
(Rock News Desk) Jon Anderson offered to return to Yes after they sacked his replacement last month and he's lambasted the prog rock outfit he co-founded for letting fans down in favour of the pursuit of money, adding they're not interested in making new music.

Yes sacked Anderson in 2008 and he maintains they did it because he was too ill to tour. Tribute artist Benoit David took his place – but in February he revealed he'd been dismissed without being told, also because he was ill.

"I've told them that since I an healthy again that I would get back with them," Anderson tells the Dallas Observer. "I told them that i wanted to create new music, but they don't want to do that. They just want to go on the road and make money. They don't care for the integrity of the band.

"I feel they have let a lot of fans down – they're just in it for the money." more on this story


Ace Frehley For Tattoo & Horror Festival
(Gibson) Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is to be the guest of honor at the Full Moon Tattoo & Horror Festival, set to take place April 6-8 at the Nashville Convention Center in Tennessee.

The 11th annual event is a three-day convention featuring celebrity appearances – including Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead series – tattoo artists, plus comic and movie vendors.

Frehley is also working on yet another memoir. He recently told IHeartGuitar, "I've started working on a new album, I'm writing a new book… there are a lot of good things on the horizon. At this point, I think [the next book is] just going to be an extension of [Ace's 2011 memoir] No Regrets.

"There's so much I left out because of the deadline, but after talking with so many different people I've got so many stories that have eluded me over the years. And there just wasn't enough room to put them into No Regrets, and I was past the deadline as it was. But I think I'm going to come out with something in the effect of like a 'No Regrets II.'" more on this story




Sammy Hagar Announces 2012 Birthday Shows
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar has announced the dates for his annual series of birthday shows in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The Cabo Wabo Cantina will be rocking to celebrate Sammy's 65th birthday this fall, with shows on October 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th.

Hagar reports that tickets will be handled similar to last year and further details will be announced as the dates get closer. more on this story


Rush's Clockwork Angels Release Date Leaked
(hennemusic) Amazon has posted a May 29th release date for "Clockwork Angels," the forthcoming new album by Rush.

The band's 20th studio effort is also set for a May 23rd release in Japan, according to online music retail sites in that country.

Rush drummer Neil Peart recently shared some insight into the sessions for the new project. "In recent years I have been working deliberately to become more improvisational on the drums, and these sessions were an opportunity to attempt that approach in the studio," wrote Peart. "I played through each song just a few times on my own, checking out patterns and fills that might work, then called in Booujzhe [aka producer Nick Raskulinecz]. He stood in the room with me, facing my drums, with a music stand and a single drumstick—he was my conductor, and I was his orchestra. (I later replaced that stick with a real baton.)" more on this story


Melvins Van With Kurt Cobain's KISS Drawings Up For Grabs
(Gibson) An old tour van used by sludge rockers The Melvins, and featuring a KISS drawing by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, is being auctioned on eBay.

The "Melvan," a 1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal Van, was used by alt-rock cult act The Melvins and has appeared in many books on Cobain and Nirvana, as it features a pen drawing of KISS on the side done by Kurt. The seller claims, "the KISS Mural on the side was hand drawn by Kurt Cobain using Sharpie markers shoplifted from the Thriftway grocery store in Montesano, Washington."

The van also features the Black Flag logo on the side (stencilled by the current owner, "Ben") and "NOTALENT" and "MEAN MACHINE" spray-painted on the body.

The seller claims that passengers have included Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana; Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Matt Lukin of The Melvins; and Greg Hokanson, drummer for Kurt's first band Fecal Matter. He also claims that the original registration expired in April 1994, the month Cobain died. more on this story




Original Bad Company Lineup Playing Summer Music Festivals
The original line-up of Bad Company have announced their first appearances on the European continent since 1975.

The band, Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, and Simon Kirke, will hit the road for a short run of European festival dates for this summer.

Commencing on June 9, the ensemble will take the stage at the Sweden Rock Festival in Solvesborg. Additional appearances will include five German Rock The Nation Festival performances in Berlin (6/11), Stuttgart (6/12), Augsburg (6/14), Trier (6/15) and Monchengladbach / Cologne (6/16). more on this story


Mastodon Planning Two Record Store Day Releases
(Banana 101.5) Mastodon will appear on two different record store day releases, both of them being split vinyls. The first will have the Georgia metal band covering a song by Canadian indie-rock vocalist Feist, while the other side contains her returning the favor.

The same setup is true of the second split vinyl, where Mastodon will trade 'Black Tongue' to The Flaming Lips in exchange for 'Spoonful Weighs a Ton.'

A Flaming Lips YouTube channel recently posted a brief preview of what is identified in the clip as Mastodon's take on 'Spoonful Weighs a Ton.' There is a brief echo of vocals at the top of the video which do sound legitimate but there is not enough to authenticate the sample — guess we'll find out in April. Have a listen here.


Classic Van Halen In The Studio
(hennemusic) While the modern version of Van Halen is currently on the road supporting their new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth," syndicated radio series In The Studio is taking a look at the band's classic era on this week's program.

"In The Studio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands" examines the early best of Van Halen. With the recent release of a new record - which debuted at # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart - the radio series felt it was a good time to take a look back at the original David Lee Roth-led era.

Along with Michael Anthony and Roth, brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen also discuss the band's opposing forces inside and outside of the band during those early years. more on this story


An Evening With Primus Tour
Primus will be hitting the road this spring for An evening with Primus, with each show featuring two full sets.

The tour is in support of their latest album, Green Naugahyde, and kicks off on May 3rd in Columbia, MO, and wraps up on June 24th in Modesto, CA.

In conjunction with the tour, ATO Records will release a limited edition 10" single, with live versions of "Jilly's On Smack" and "Eyes of the Squirrel." The vinyl, which will be wrapped in a green naugahyde sleeve, will be available at independent record stores in late April. more on this story


Jon Stewart Interviews Bruce Springsteen For Magazine
(hennemusic) The next issue of Rolling Stone magazine will feature a Bruce Springsteen interview conducted by Jon Stewart.

"It's not at all surreal," Stewart tells Rolling Stone with heavy sarcasm, referring to his friendship with the legendary rocker. "It's very hard to reconcile sitting and fishing in a little pond in New Jersey with a guy that you spent many years hitchhiking the New Jersey I-95 corridor to see in Philadelphia back in the day. The only band I think I've seen more than Bruce Springsteen is the Springsteen tribute band Backstreets. I try not to let him know how pathetic I truly am."

The pair have sat down before to chat on Stewart's The Daily Show, but the magazine session allowed them the benefit an extended conversation. The two men get the space to speak at length about Springsteen's new album, "Wrecking Ball." more on this story


Meat Loaf To Appear on Leno and PBS
Meat Loaf will performing of his new song "The Giving Tree" live on the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on March 14th.

The performance coincides with the March 13 release of the new Hell In A Handbasket Cd (Sony/Legacy). Meat Loaf will also sit down that week for an interview on PBS' "Tavis Smiley Show" (airdate TBA).

"Hell In A Handbasket is the most personal record I've ever made," said MEAT LOAF. "It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment." The album, produced by Paul Crook, is an expression of life's metaphors, driven by excellent musicianship, and of course, the passionate vocals of Meat Loaf. "Making this album was a great experience," said Meat Loaf, "and I hope my fans enjoy hearing it as much as I did making it." more on this story


Job For A Cowboy Heading Out On Metal Alliance Tour With Devildriver
Job For A Cowboy are hitting the road next week for this year's Metal Alliance Tour of North America.

The live rituals will commence on March 15 in Austin, Texas as part of South By Southwest 2012 and consume 35 more cities through April 21.

The band will be joined by headliners Devildriver, The Faceless, Dying Fetus, 3 Inches Of Blood, Impending Doom and Wretched. more on this story


Neil Young Journeys Launches in Late June
(hennemusic) Last year, Neil Young hooked up with director Jonathan Demme to capture the music icon on the road.

The result is "Neil Young Journeys," a new film set for release June 29. Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey Hall, where he played the last two nights of his solo world tour.

Demme was on hand to capture the journey and both shows, highlighting new songs from the album "Le Noise" (2010), produced by Daniel Lanois, mixed with classics like "Ohio" and "I Believe in You" and previously unreleased songs "Leia" and "You Never Call." more on this story


L.A. Guns Shoot Three Music Videos for Hollywood Forever
(SPR) L.A. Guns spent a few days in Los Angeles shooting three videos to support their forthcoming album Hollywood Forever, and are releasing a video for the song "You Better Not Love Me" online next week.

With videographer Jack Foster behind the lens, the band shot indoor scenes at the Circus Disco in Hollywood. With an LED logo in the background, the band meshed theatrics with its expected rock energy on the big stage.

Later, additional scenes were shot in L.A.'s colorful Little Mexico and the landmark Hollywood Forever cemetery. Videos for "Requiem (Hollywood Forever)," and "Aranga Nigre" were also shot. more on this story


Tonight Alive Cancel Tour Over Medical Issues
Tonight Alive have canceled their upcoming North America tour with Go Radio and SXSW appearances due to having to attend to serious unspecified medical issues.

We were sent these details: The band are extremely disappointed, but would like to assure fans that they will still be performing at Vans Warped Tour this summer as scheduled. Go Radio will proceed as scheduled with their headlining U.S. tour with This Providence, Tyler Carter and Simple As Surgery.

As a thank you to fans who've shown their support for the band, Tonight Alive are giving away three acoustic tracks, "Breaking & Entering," "Let It Land" and "What Are You So Scared Of?," which can be downloaded here.


Sammy Hagar Remembers Ronnie Montrose
(Gibson) Guitarist/singer Ronnie Montrose passed away on March 4, and colleagues have been paying tribute. Sammy Hagar got his break as lead singer for (the band) Montrose. In a heartfelt interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar says…

"For me Ronnie's passing is the end of an era. Ronnie Montrose gave me my first break as a songwriter, as a front man, as a recording artist and as a touring artist, and for that I will always be grateful. The first Montrose album was the first album I ever recorded and it still stands as one of the best recordings I have ever been a part of. I wrote songs with him, but it was his trip.

"He's the guy that got me to sing with him. I had no experience whatsoever; I just wrote the first four songs in my life, which were 'Bad Motor Scooter,' 'Make It Last,' 'One Thing on My Mind,' and 'I Don't Want It,' played them for Ronnie upon first meeting, shook my hand, and said, 'Let's start a band.' I went from zero to a hundred…"

Hagar adds, "What I learned from Ronnie Montrose, I still utilize today when I step on a stage. I try to keep the energy up and the entertainment high." Lita Ford pays tribute here.




Singled Out: Judge Smith's Orfeas
Today Judge Smith, who was part of UK '70s prog band Van der Graaf Generator, tells us about the song "Orfeas" from his new solo album "Wolfman George". Here is the story:

'Orfeas' is a Songstory, that's to say it's intended to tell a coherent story with music, in this case the a retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus, the magical musician who travels to the Land of the Dead in search of the lost Eurydice. In my version, he is a guitar hero instrumentalist, and this track is an extract from one of his stage shows. John Ellis (Vibrators, Stranglers, Peter Hammill's 'K' Group) is the star guitarist, and his band features, among others, David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator) Saxophone, and Gigi Cavalli Cocchi (Ligabue, C.S.I.) Drums. The music I wrote for them features guitar and sax playing harmony melody lines, and their numbers showcase Orfeas' killer solos.

My 'Orfeas' Songstory also features 70's New Wave pop-star Lene Lovich as Eurydice, and uses several entirely different types of music to carry the narrative. Death Metal, Modern Classical music for string quartet, classic Trance and Flamenco guitar all feature, as well as the instrumental Guitar Rock of the 'George Orfeas Band', and almost every one of the seventeen musicians involved is a long-time friend and collaborator of mine. As far as I know, no one else is making work quite like this.

AN EARLIER KIND OF VAN HALEN REVEALED 'INTHESTUDIO':

Dallas, TX - March 6, 2012. North American syndicated rock radio show InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands examines the early best of Van Halen. With the recent release of A Different Kind of Truth, debuting at # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, the first full album with David Lee Roth in 27 years and the first without bassist Michael Anthony, it seemed a fitting time to take a look back at a simpler time in the band's multi-platinum and complex career. Former member Michael Anthony describes to show host Redbeard the head space the band was in during much of those early years.
“We weren't really thinking about the money at the time. I think we were having so much fun doing what we were doing and being as new to it... As long as I had a roof over my head, I didn't care. They (Warner Bros.) were letting us record and go out and play our music and that was all we cared about.”
Yet by 1982, Van Halen had become a series of contradictions, and here in 2012 are equaled only by Pink Floyd as the longest-running soap opera in rock. Original members Eddie and Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony dish on the opposing forces inside and outside of the band during those years. InTheStudio is syndicated on over 50 radio stations throughout North America. The Van Halen/ InTheStudio program will air the week of March 5th. To find out where to hear this show or to stream it online, visit: www.inthestudio.net/this-week-in-the-studio/van-halen-2. Direct Link to InTheStudio affiliate station list www.inthestudio.net/radiostations.