Today's Day In Rock News!!

Opeth Frontman Suffers Serious Head Injury
Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt suffered a serious head injury this week which sparked rumors across the web.
Akerfeldt took to the band's Facebook page to fill fans in on what happened and to dispel the rumors. He wrote:

"Hi guys! I'm writing from beyond the grave. Seriously, I was not in a car crash and I haven't broken my arm. All that happened is I hit my head in mastodons tour bus as I was getting a new pair of (red) underwear out from my suitcase. Wish the story was more rock and roll, believe me. Anyways I split my head open down to the skullbone and had to be taken to the emergency. They gave me a bunch of shots in the wound, cleaned me up and stapled my head shut with 8 metal staples. Head is sore and if I smile it feels like the wound is gonna burst open again, but I'll be on stage by tomorrow again. I feel extremely disappointed that we couldn't play at the myth in Minneapolis, but paramedics told me I couldn't. We will reschedule the show for our next trip to the USA. So all rumors of me being in a car crash are false. I did crash my head into a car though, well…a bus really. Sorry for disappointing our fans in Minneapolis but I hope you understand. See you next time. Best. Mikael Facebook link.



McCartney, Springsteen and Vedder Guest On Jimmy Fallon Album
(Gibson) How many people can say they've released an album that included contributions from Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews? Not to mention Justin Timberlake, Big & Rich?

Perhaps the only person who could pull together this impressive and eclectic lineup is Jimmy Fallon, who has performed with each of the stars on his NBC talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The comedian/musician is compiling those collaborations into a new album, Blow Your Pants Off, according to Rolling Stone.

In additions to team-ups with McCartney (on "Scrambled Eggs") and Timberlake ("History of Rap"), the album will feature Fallon's rock parodies, such as his version of "Charles in Charge" as Bob Dylan and his David Bowie/Tim Tebow mash-up "Tebowie." The album will be released on June 12. more on this story





Axl Inspired Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Jam
(hennemusic) When Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose issued a public statement last month declining his participation in the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, it upset longtime fans, made headlines, and – according to Slash – motivated the former members of the group to get up on stage and play the event.

In a new interview with Madison.com, Slash discussed the Rock Hall experience. "It was a really nice event all around, and it was a special moment for all the guys that showed up," said the guitarist. "It was a nightmare going into it, but when it actually happened it was like, 'This is pretty cool.'"

Asked about his initial reaction to Axl's letter, Slash revealed "The funny thing is we never would have played had he never written it. I think at one point he alluded he was at least going to go, and so we hadn't really prepared to play at all. We were just going to show up as almost an obligatory thing — more for the fans than anything. But that letter set a fire that was like, 'Okay, (bleep) it. We're going to go play.' So it really almost didn't happen. And if it hadn't been for that special letter it wouldn't have." more on this story



Metallica Want Rick Rubin For New Album
(Classic Rock) Metallica aim to stick with producer Rick Rubin to work on the album they'll record in 2013.

He wasn't involved in Lulu, last year's collaboration with Lou Reed, but he worked on 2008′s Death Magnetic and its little-brother follow-up Beyond Magnetic.

"He's a different kind of producer. He's challenging. He's a very cut and dried, to-the-point kind of producer – but he's also very open to lots of ideas." Frontman James Hetfield tells Metal Hammer. "The main thing for us was getting to the core and essence of Metallica, and that's the reason we chose to work with him. He gets the best out of artists who have been around for a while, I believe. That's what we wanted him for." more on this story



ZZ Top Preview New Song In Eliminator Era Styled Commercial
(hennemusic) ZZ Top has partnered up with Jeremiah Weed to bring fans a glimpse of the band's first new single in nine years.

The Texas band is seen playing "I Got To Get Paid" in the new campaign for the Connecticut-based Jeremiah Weed Distilling Company.

The commercial has the look, sound and feel of a vintage 1980s ZZ Top video, complete with flashing lights and plenty of girls dancing around. Check it out here.



Ozzy Osbourne Diary Of A Madman Tour DVD Coming
Eagle Rock has set a July 17th release date for a new DVD release of Ozzy Osbourne's Speak of the Devil.

This show was filmed at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in California on June 12, 1982 as part of the delayed continuation of the "Diary Of A Madman" tour following the tragic death of Randy Rhoads a few months earlier.

The audio has been digitally restored and remastered and is now available in DTS and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time. Speak Of The Devil includes the classics "Mr Crowley" "Over The Mountain" "Crazy Train" "Flying High Again" "Iron Man" "Paranoid" "Goodbye To Romance" and many more. more on this story



The Afghan Whigs Reunion Show Details
The Afghan Whigs have announced the location of their first show together in 13 years and announced a late night TV appearance. We were sent these details:

On tour in support of their album 1965, The Afghan Whigs rolled into New York City on September 29th 1999 for a private show at the club Hush. No one knew it at the time, but it turned out to be the band's last show ever, until now…

The Afghan Whigs will come full circle and make their return to the stage back in New York on May 23rd at the Bowery Ballroom. Very special guest Joseph Arthur will open the show. more on this story



Free Pondered Olympic Reunion
(Classic Rock) Free considered reuniting for the London Olympic Games this summer, Paul Rodgers has confirmed.

If they'd regrouped for the opening ceremony it would have been the first time he, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Andy Fraser shared a stage since 1972. But the singer doesn't believe it will take place because of difficulties replacing guitarist Paul Kossoff, who died in 1976.

In the next edition of Classic Rock, due out on May 23, Rodgers says: "There was talk of possibly something connected with the Olympics, but I don't see it coming together now." more on this story



Soundgarden Eye New Album Release This Fall
(hennemusic) Soundgarden fans are enjoying "Live To Rise," the band's first new song in 15 years. The tune is featured on the soundtrack for the film, "The Avengers," which opened this past weekend.

Now, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell gives Rolling Stone an update on the band's full new album, their first with new material since 1996's "Down on the Upside."

The as yet-to-be-titled album will be mastered in a week's time so, in Cornell's mind, "it's done. It'll be out in probably October," he says. "I would say September but I'm just guessing October. We're pretty much done with everything." "Live to Rise," a riff-heavy rocker, while not necessarily representative of the entire album's sound, the singer says, would "work just fine on it." more on this story



Vernon Reid and Jack Bruce Supergroup
(Gibson) Living Colour guitar virtuoso Vernon Reid has formed a new group, and it includes some pretty impressive names.

Spectrum Road, which specializes in jazz-rock, also features Cream bassist Jack Bruce, Medeski Martin and Wood keyboardist John Medeski and Santana drummer (and Carlos's wife) Cindy Blackman Santana. Their self-titled debut comes out on June 5.

Reid spoke about the group's unique sound with Rolling Stone. "[It's] definitely a jazz-rock thing but it has a rock edge, because one of the architects of modern rock [Bruce] is in the band and he's singing these tunes," Reid said. "It's kind of an odd combination of jazz-rock as we know it. John Medeski is such an odd keyboardist and so quirky, and one of the beautiful things is his use of the Mellotron on the record, because the Mellotron is not associated with jazz-rock and fusion to a large degree. It's more associated with King Crimson, Yes and the Moody Blues. It gives the thing a different feel and sonic signature."

Spectrum Road will play Bonnaroo on June 9, followed by sets at the Playboy Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. more on this story





Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Forced To Adjust His Headbanging
(Classic Rock) Last year at the age of 49 Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine found himself struggling with a back problem that left him in agony and has limited his ability to keep headbanging on stage.

"Something had broken in the back of my neck," he recalls. "I had a bone fragment in my spinal column the size of an eraser. The pain had me on my knees, sobbing. My hand went numb. My ring and pinky finger were not communicating with my brain. But the surgery was a complete success.

"The act of headbanging, when it started, was to play guitar, stand in a wide posture and move your head up and down. Now I move my torso a little bit more and get the desired effect. I make the necessary adjustments I need to keep myself healthy. It's been a blessing in disguise." more on this story



Blur Frontman Damon Albarn Plans New Solo Album
(Gibson) While Blur frontman Damon Albarn ponders the future of Blur, he has been talking about a new solo album project. NME reports that the singer told the BBC's Front Row that the project will be "under his own name."

Albarn said: "This week we're mucking around with these Russian synthesizers in a very loose mind of doing some kind of record under my name. I suppose you could call it a solo record, but I don't like that word. It sounds very lonely – solo. I don't really want to be solo in my life. But yeah, I'm making another record."

In the same interview he explained that while he finds the Olympics experience "too corporate," Blur are playing the Hyde Park Olympics show for London. more on this story





Halestorm Make Chart History
Halestorm have become the first female fronted band to score a number 1 hit on the Active Radio charts.

The band claimed the top spot with their new single, "Love Bites (So Do I)," which comes from their new album, "The Strange Case Of…".

Halestorm will be hitting the road this summer for a North American headline tour, festival appearances, a series of European dates, and a number of support slots alongside Avenged Sevenfold. more on this story



Between The Buried And Me Planning Evolutionary New Album
(MetalSucks) MetalSucks have published a new interview with Between The Buried And Me bassist Dan Briggs about his new jazz-fusion project Trioscapes, which hit stores this week.

Towards the end of the interview, Briggs elaborated on what the next BTBAM record, which has now been completely written, will sound like:

I think when people hear what we've been writing for the last few months, they're going to realize that we have evolved. [Laughs] It's really hard to describe this record because I'm still taking it all in. Good lord, it was a lot of fun to write. We pushed it. We pushed it pretty hard. The Trioscapes stuff really helped me because I feel like it unlocked me back into the world of really, really pushing myself and opening myself up to new ideas.

Walter, the saxophone player in Trioscapes, is 20 (seven years younger than me) but he's a wealth of musical knowledge far beyond the influences of what I have. I've showed him a lot of stuff, but it's different stuff. It's stuff that people in our world are very accustomed to. He's never heard of Meshuggah, for example. He blows my mind with some afro-beat stuff that's out of this world that I've never heard before. It gets me thinking in a new way and all of a sudden I'm hearing rhythms a little differently and melodies a little differently. I can bring that to Between the Buried and Me and raise a few eyebrows with those guys. They're like "why not? Let's try it". It's pretty cool stuff.

Read the full interview here.



Stryper Add North American Tour Dates
Stryper have added a couple of North American dates to their upcoming world tour.

The tour will kick off tomorrow, May 10th at Tailgaters in Bolingbrook, IL just outside of Chicago.

The new dates will take place in Orlando, Florida on July 26th and in Nashville on July 27th. more on this story

More on Stryper - Stryper Music - Stryper Tour Dates/Tickets - Stryper CDs, vinyl and rarities
Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves Released
(Sub) Rush drummer Neil Peart and producer Nick Raskulinecz have teamed up with music software developer Sonic Reality to create the new "Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves" sound collection.

Over 600 grooves performed by Peart are now available in a variety of loop formats such as Rex, Apple Loops, Acidized Wave, R.A.W., Stylus RMX and more to come. Musicians can use these drum grooves to write their own music, practice, jam or play Rush covers inside their computer recording software or iPads and mobile devices.

"When we did the Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1 Series we wanted to present a digital recreation of Neil's amazing DW kit so it could be played from any midi controller such as a keyboard or an electronic drum kit" says Sonic Reality CEO Dave Kerzner "But for Vol. 2 we now also have the isolated drum tracks of Rush songs performed by Neil and cut up into 1-2 bar patterns that can be re-arranged and used in new music made by any musician or songwriter." more on this story



InAeona Kicking Off Spring Tour
InAeona will be kicking off their North American spring tour tomorrow night in Hamden, Ct.

The six week tour will wrap up with a home town show on June 16th, at Radio in Boston.

InAeona are touring in support of their latest release, a split 12" with Seattle's, He Whose Ox is Gored. more on this story



Royal Thunder, Valient Thorr and Holy Grail Tour
Royal Thunder will be hitting the road for a tour with Valient Thorr and Holy Grail this Summer.

The band is hitting the road in support, CVI, the band's debut album, which will be released on May 22 via Relapse Records.

"Finally! We get to tour with our new album,CVI, coming out before we hit the road," said Parzonz about the six-week U.S. trek. "I've seen Valient Thorr several times and every time they make me smile from ear to ear. To be doing this run with them , the Kick Ass and Holy Grail is sure to be a good time." more on this story

More on Royal Thunder - Royal Thunder Music - Royal Thunder Tour Dates/Tickets - Royal Thunder CDs, vinyl and rarities
Rival Sons Release CD/DVD Deluxe Edition of Latest Album
Earache have released a special CD/DVD deluxe edition of Rival Sons latest album, Pressure & Time.

The Pressure & Time deluxe edition comes housed in a newly designed slipcase and features a host of extra material, essential for die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

Included are two incredible bonus tracks, "Company Man" and "Life For This Road", plus a bonus DVD more on this story



B Sides


Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry Jam
(Gibson) If you're one of the lucky few in attendance at Monday (May 7) night's Dark Shadows premiere party in Los Angeles, you got to see a one-of-a-kind performance. Three rock legends and one rock star actor teamed up to play some rock classics for a VIP audience, according to a post on Alice Cooper's website.

Alice Cooper (who has a small role in Dark Shadows) and pals served as the house band for the party, joined by Dark Shadows star Johnny Depp on his TV Yellow Les Paul Special. Before long the gang was playing Cooper's biggest hits, with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry joining in on his Gibson Les Paul.

As if that wasn't enough star power, Perry's pal Steven Tyler hit the stage to lead the whole group through "Come Together" and "Whole Lotta Love." Check out fan-shot footage of the band playing the Led Zeppelin classic here.





Elvis Costello & The Spinning Songbook Premieres
Elvis Costello & The Spinning Songbook premiered this week in High Definition PPV and starts May 24 on VOD.

The PPV concert will be available throughout May and June at various times in both SD and HD.

Elvis Costello and The Imposters' unique concert style wows audiences when he allows his set-list to be chosen by The Spectacular Spinning Songbook, a monumental game-show type wheel spun by fans. more on this story



Kasabian Guitarist, Will Ferrell, Gerard Butler, Mike Myers For Soccer Aid
(Gibson) Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno will play at the hallowed Manchester United Stadium, Old Trafford, for the Rest of the World in a celebrity charity soccor game against England.

Soccer Aid raises money for UNICEF U.K. and was put together by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2006. Soccer stars and celebrities from England and around the world will play on May 27 and the game will be will be broadcast live on ITV in the U.K.

Music-News reports that Pizzorno will be in a squad alongside celebrities
Will Ferrell, Gerard Butler, Mike Myers, James McAvoy, Patrick Kielty and Gordon Ramsay as well as ex-soccer stars Edwin van der Sar, Roy Keane, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam. more on this story





The Day The Guess Who Took American Woman To The Top
(Gibson) On this day in 1970, The Guess Who started a three-week run at no. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "American Woman."

It was the group's sixth Top 30 hit and only chart topper. The song was born by accident when guitarist Randy Bachman was playing a heavy riff on stage after he had broken a string, the other members joined in on the jam.

A fan in the audience who had recorded the gig on tape presented it to the group after the show and they developed it into a full song.

Today's Day In Rock News!!

Outkast's Andre 3000 To Play Jimi Hendrix in Biopic
(Classic Rock) A biopic telling the story of Jimi Hendrix's rise to fame is set to start shooting in Ireland this month, starring Outkast rapper Andre 3000.
A report by the Irish Film & Television Network says the movie will be called All is By My Side. It will document the guitar icon's move to England during 1966 and 1967.

It covers the period from Hendrix being discovered in a New York club by Keith Richard's girlfriend Linda Keith and his tie-up with manager Chas Chandler, through to the recording of debut album Are You Experienced. more on this story



Head Reunites With Korn
(Gibson) Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch recently rejoined the band on stage to perform the song "Blind." It's the first time he's performed with the band in seven years.

Vocalist Jonathan Davis introduced Welch on Saturday by telling the audience at the Carolina Rebellion festival that the space to his right on stage had been lonely for a long time. "I want to bring out one of my dearest, oldest and most beloved old friends to come out and have some fun with us," he said, before Welch strode out on stage with his guitar held over his head.

Welch left Korn in 2005 to focus on his sobriety and his faith. Since leaving the band, he has released two autobiographies and released a solo album, Save Me From Myself. more on this story





Original Dio Band To Reunite?
(Classic Rock) Former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell has revealed plans to reboot the original lineup of Dio with new singer Andy Freeman, who he vows will "do justice" to the fallen frontman's legacy.

The Def Leppard and Thin Lizzy axeman had a rocky relationship with the former Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away in 2010. But the guitarist has always insisted he was proud of the work he did on the first three Dio albums.

Now he's confirmed a reunion with drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Claude Schnell, two months after they jammed together. That was brought about when Campbell jammed Rainbow in the Dark with Steel Panther in January. Details here.



Def Leppard and Poison Tour Expanded
Def Leppard have expanded their summer Rock of Ages tour plans with Poison and Lita Ford.

The band have added six additional dates to the North American trek with new dates set for Omaha, Buffalo, Dallas, Santa Barbara, plus Mexican dates in Monterrey and Mexico City.

The tour is set to kick off on June 20th in Salt Lake City, Ut and will wrap up on September 15th in Santa Barbara, CA. more on this story



Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Angry About Rock Hall Dishonor
(Classic Rock) Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jack Sherman has slammed his ex-bandmates for freezing him out of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. And he insists the decision not to invite him and Jane's Addiction axeman Dave Navarro was taken by the band rather than event organisers.

Sherman appeared on the Chilis' first album and contributed material to their second. Navarro later spent five years in the band and recorded One Hot Minute with them.

But it seems that wasn't enough to have them inducted into the Hall of Fame – only late founding guitarist Hillel Slovak, veteran John Frusciante and current six-stringer Josh Klinghoffer were included.

"That's being dishonoured. I'm being dishonoured. And it sucks," he told Billboard. More details and the reported reason for the snub.



Wolfgang Making A Lot of Van Halen's Decisions
(Classic Rock) Wolfgang Van Halen may be only 21, but he calls a lot of the shots in his dad's band. A rare interview with the bassist reveals how he's responsible for a wide range of decisions including rehearsal sessions and live set lists.

Wolfgang started working with father Eddie in 2005, a year before he became the official replacement for original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony.

"I kind of come up with the set lists. When we've got a song that we haven't done, it's like, we should probably run through this before the show and figure out the count of it. Because Dad, for some reason, counts in odds. He'll land on three instead of four. I have to look at him sometimes.," he tells Esquire. more on this story



Slash Launching Summer Tour and Performing on Jimmy Fallon
Slash has announced plans to hit the road this summer for a North American tour and also an appearance on Jimmy Fallon.

Slash will be touring in support of his new album, Apocalyptic Love, which will be released on May 22nd.

The tour is set to kick off on July 12 and will conclude August 4 and will feature support from Monster Truck. more on this story



Guns N' Roses Kick Off New Tour Leg This Week
Guns N' Roses will kick off a European tour leg this Friday with back to back nights in Moscow.

The band will then team up with Thin Lizzy for a string of dates across the UK starting on May 17th in Dublin and wrapping with a two night stand at London's 02 Arena on May 31st and June 1st.

From there, Guns N' Roses will hope over to the European mainland for almost six weeks of dates.
more on this story



Madina Lake Attacker Found Not Guilty
(Classic Rock) Chicago rock band Madina Lake have been left "baffled and shocked" after the man accused of nearly killing their bassist was found not guilty in court.

Matthew Leone has required two years of near-constant medical attention following the brutal beating he received in June 2010, when he went to help a woman who was being assaulted herself. He had to have part of his skull removed and lost most of his teeth. He expects he'll experience symptoms, including vertigo, for the rest of his life.

Justin Pivec, her husband, was found not guilty of attempted murder by Cook County Judge Vincent Guaghan. Matthew's brother, frontman Nathan, says: "We're utterly baffled and shocked." He has a lot strong words



Dream Theater's Petrucci Reveals Solo Band Lineup
(Gibson) Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci will perform with bandmate Mike Mangini on drums and Dixie Dregs bass player Dave LaRue on the South American G3 tour in October with Joe Satriani and Steve Morse.

It will be a G3 homecoming of sorts for LaRue, who performed with Joe Satriani during the Super Colossal era, and has worked with Morse since 1988.

LaRue is also a member of progressive rock supergroup Flying Colors, who count among their ranks Morse and – how's this for a small world – former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. more on this story






Into Eternity's Former Guitarist Rob Doherty Dies
Into Eternity revealed to fans that their former guitarist Rob Doherty had died. The cause of death was not mentioned.

On Sunday band's website updated fans with the following: He played on the band's 2004 album Buried In Oblivion. Into Eternity mainman Tim Roth says that "he was a special part of our band. Our condolences go out to all of Rob's family and friends, and to all those, who Rob's music touched."

Doherty's band mates in Final Darkness issued the following statement: "It is with incredible sadness that we must say good bye to our brother Rob – you will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved you…thank you for being a part of our lives. May you find peace my friend…" more on this story



Sick of It All Lead CBGB Fest Lineup
Sick of It All are set to lead the lineup for the CBGB Fest, which will take place this summer.

The event will take place at Webster Hall New York City on July 6th and will celebrate the famed New York City venue.

Webster Hall announced via Facebook that the festival will also feature Cro-Mags, Vision of Disorder, Absolution and Sai Nam.




Judas Priest' Ian Hill Also Pondered Retirement
(Classic Rock) Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has considered following guitarist KK Downing into retirement – and the band's last remaining founding member says he'd give them his blessing if they went on without him.

Downing's departure came as a bombshell to fans when it was announced last April, four months after he'd made his decision. Priest brought in Richie Faulkner as his replacement and announced their current world tour would be their last.

The bassist says his ex-bandmate's decision to retire caused him to think along similar lines – but like many musicians from his era, the idea frightened him. "I thought of not doing it, not playing," he reports.

"It terrifies all of us, I think... more on this story



Pantera's Rex Brown Completes Black Sabbath Circle With New Band
(Classic Rock) Former Pantera bassist Rex Brown is enjoying life as a member of Kill Devil Hill and for him it completes a circle that opened twenty years ago.

Back then he stood offstage and watched in awe as drummer Vinny Appice performed with Black Sabbath. Now he's onstage with his friend after Appice invited him to record a few tracks with Kill Devil Hill, but he joined the band full-time instead.

"What's crazy about the whole thing is the first time I met Vinny was at the 1992 Monsters of Rock tour. That was the first time I met Dio too," Brown tells SkullsnBones.com. "I remember Pantera went on and did our thing, and then it was someone like Warrant or something, then Black Sabbath. You got to remember what year it was, but it was just unfair for them to have Warrant in between our two bands. Fans were throwing bottles at them – it got ugly." more on this story



Famed Rock Photographer Jim McCrary Dead at 72
(Gibson) Top rock photographer Jim McCrary, best known for his iconic Tapestry album cover for Carole King, died on April 29. He was 72.

Billboard reports that while he was a staff photographer for A&M Records, McCrary took photographs of numerous rock and pop legends such as Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, Phil Ochs and B.B. King.

He also took the famous Nudie suit shots of country rock cult band The Flying Burrito Brothers. more on this story





Johnny Ramone Decided When To Die
(Classic Rock) Johnny Ramone decided the moment to let himself succumb to cancer, says his widow. The punk outfit's founding guitarist, one of only two members to appear in all its lineups, died in 2004 surrounded by his closest friends.

His wife Linda Cummings Ramone recently helped publish a book made out of his final recorded conversations, when he knew he wasn't going to survive his illness.

She tells Fuse: "The day Johnny died, he still knew exactly what was going on. Eddie Vedder was sating at the house and Johnny said to me that morning: 'I don't want you and Eddie to go to lunch. I want you to be here.'" A lot more here.



Movie Helping Soundgarden Comeback
(Classic Rock) Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell says there's no credibility issue with licensing tracks to movies and in fact it's the future for any band who wants their music to be heard.

The band's new song Live to Rise features in the soundtrack of superhero blockbuster The Avengers (Avengers Assemble in some markets). Cornell says it's an illustration of the "new landscape" facing modern artists.

He tells Rolling Stone: "It has become kind of the cheap way that bands with any version of credibility have to get their songs out in front of people." more on this story



B Sides


Video From Metallica's 2012 Summer Vacation Tour Opener Posted Online
(hennemusic) Metallica rocked Prague Monday night on the opening date of their 2012 European Summer Vacation Tour.

The event also marked the first time Metallica performed their 1991 self-titled (aka "Black") album in its entirety.

Metallica delivered their album classic with a twist: they played the songs in reverse order, closing their regular set with "Enter Sandman." more on this story





Watch Wolfgang Van Halen Play Eruption
(hennemusic) More video from Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen's photo shoot for Esquire magazine has surfaced.The father/son duo were interviewed by the magazine while in New York early this spring to play two shows at Madison Square Garden.

While two of the three new clips feature some guitar noodling by the guys, there is video of Wolfgang playing his father's iconic guitar solo, "Eruption."

Granted, the guitars aren't plugged in, so it's a video camera microphone picking up the audio, but you can hear the younger Van Halen tapping his way through the legendary piece while Eddie looks on. more on this story



Chickenfoot Share More Rehearsal Footage
(hennemusic) Chickenfoot launched their 2012 Different Devil Tour Friday night at the first of two shows in Lake Tahoe.

Last week, the band shared some rehearsal video. Monday, Chickenfoot issued some more rehearsal footage from singer Sammy Hagar's studio, The Foot Locker.

The video features some live material, plus a band meeting with their new E.D.C.F.R.N.R. (Environmental Design Coordinator For Rock And Roll) about the tour's stage production. more on this story




Starbucks Customers Inspire Walter Trout Song
(Classic Rock) Walter Trout was inspired to write a song on a napkin in a Starbucks' branch when he realised no one in the room was talking to each other.

And the bluesman says it's the perfect illustration of his theory that communication technology actually makes it more difficult for people to express themselves.

Trout sketched the idea for the song Lonely on his 21st album Blues in the Modern Daze during a coffee stop with his band. "I was standing there waiting and there people standing beside me, and they're yelling in my ear. I thought they were all mentally ill, talking to themselves, before I realised they were all talking on phone implanted in their ears," He tells Classic Rock Revisited. "I looked around – nobody else in the place was talking. They were all staring at computers. No one was talking to person next to them."

Today's Day In Rock News!

Black Sabbath's Iommi and Deep Purple's Gillan Releasing Album
(Gibson) Last year, rock heavyweights Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) teamed up to form WhoCares and release a pair of songs to raise funds to rebuild a music school in Armenia. Now, the guitarist and singer have set a release date – June 22 – for an entire WhoCares album, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.

The album will feature the two WhoCares tracks (which also feature Jason Newsted, Nicko McBrain, Linde Lindstrom and Jon Lord), along with rareities from Iommi and Gillan's vaults. Other songs include a Deep Purple studio jam, an unreleased song from Gillan's band Repo Depo, two unreleased songs from Iommi and Glenn Hughes, b-sides and radio performances.

"As I said once in the song 'Razzle Dazzle' – 'It's a real fine line between an orgy of destruction and a wonderful time,'" Gillan said. "The destruction of conformity in this case: Some of these pieces never really fit into their contemporary program and got sidelined or forgotten, and some of the album tracks never had much exposure. As the tracklisting for this album came together I noticed many of the titles had character similarities; a combination of freshness as they finally felt the sun on their backs and rebellion in a 'yeah told you so' kind of way. And that adds up to a wonderful time. And that adds up to more money for the music school we are building in Armenia." more on this story





Aerosmith Film New Video
(hennemusic) Aerosmith's Steven Tyler continues to juggle his American Idol gig with his band duties.

Tyler was on hand for both Idol shows last week, as usual, but his weekend plans were focused on Aerosmith, according to a tweet by the rocker late last week. "Shooting our first video (in a while) tomorrow," Steven wrote, as the band were set to team up with director Casey Patrick Tebo on Friday.

Tebo got in the act, as well, expressing his thoughts via Twitter: "Huge shoot tomorrow with @IamStevenT @JoePerry @joeykramer @THaerosmith. Gonna show the world who's still the baddest band in the land." more on this story



Coldplay's Chris Martin Has Hearing Disorder
(Gibson) Coldplay's Chris Martin has revealed that, like fellow rock star Pete Townshend, he's been suffering from a hearing disorder for the past 10 years.

Gwyneth Paltrow's rocker husband told the Daily Mail that he suffers from tinnitus (a ringing sensation brought on by loud noises damaging cells in the ears). And he wants to warn others of the danger of loud music. "Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don't think about until there's a problem.

"I've had tinnitus for about 10 years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn't got any worse – touch wood. But I wish I'd thought about it earlier." more on this story





Video of Slash Debuting New Song Is Posted Online
(hennemusic) Slash launched his US tour Thursday in Baltimore; the trek is in support of his new album, "Apocalyptic Love," which is due May 22.

The 20-song set at Rams Head Live! featured a cross-section of tracks from Slash's career, including his new single, "You're A Lie."

The show also featured the live debut of "Standing in The Sun," a tune from the forthcoming release. Check out video here.



Ska Pioneer Lloyd Brevett Suffers Fatal Stroke
(Gibson) Lloyd Brevett, who co-founded the influential ska band, The Skatalites, died Thursday (May 3) at age 80, BBC News has reported. The legendary double bassist passed away in his native Jamaica after suffering a stroke.

Formed in 1964, The Skatalites forged ska from elements of R&B, jazz and mento (a Jamaican brand of folk music). The distinctive style, for which Brevett provided the backbone, laid the groundwork for reggae.

Spokesperson and friend Maxine Stowe told the Jamaican Observer that Brevett's health had deteriorated rapidly following the tragic death of his son, Okeene Brevett, in February. The younger Brevett was shot and killed outside the family home, just hours after accepting a Jamaican music industry award on his father's behalf. more on this story





Black Sabbath Sell Out Home Town Show in 10 Minutes
(hennemusic) On Saturday, May 19, the mostly-reunited Black Sabbath will play their first hometown show in 13 years at Birmingham's 02 Academy.

The date serves as both a warm-up for the band's June 10 date at Download, while also helping deliver proceeds from the event to the Help for Heroes project.

The Sunday Mercury reports the heavy metal legends sold out their homecoming show in 10 minutes. more on this story




New Song Didn't Come Easy For Soundgarden
(Gibson) Soundgarden Frontman Chris Cornell told The Hollywood Reporter that "Live to Rise," from the soundtrack to the film, The Avengers, the band's first new song in 15 years did not come easily.

"This song came arduously," he said. "It's different, because it has to be a Soundgarden song. It has to resonate with every band member. Writing a song for the Avengers film, it has to be lyrically not specific to the movie or the story, but it has to work with it. It wasn't so easy. But it turned out absolutely a Soundgarden song."

Cornell went on to explain the impetus behind writing songs for films. "In this day and age, you don't have the monolithic record company with seemingly limitless resources and multimillion-dollar profits," he said. "They don't exist. Which is why a partnership like this exists. The movie company does have that, and they will promote it." more on this story





South Park's Matt Stone Give Rush Canadian Honor
(hennemusic) Rush were among the honorees at the 20th Anniversary Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Gala in Ottawa this weekend.

The Ottawa Citizen reports South Park co-creator Matt Stone took to the stage to recognize Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. Stone grew up in Littleton, Col. idolizing the rock band from "this far off land called Canada."

"I remember buying their cassettes, tearing home on my BMX, running inside and throwing them into my Walkman, and sitting down to my drum set and just destroying my mom's afternoon," Stone recalled. "Rush was definitely the first band I ever loved." more on this story



The Cult To Perform On Jimmy Kimmel
(hennemusic) The Cult return May 22 with their new album, "Choice Of Weapon." On Friday, May 18 - four days before the new project hits stores - The Cult will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Then...three days after "Choice Of Weapon" is available, the band kick off a North American tour, starting May 25 in San Diego.

The Cult are currently promoting "For The Animals," the new single from the forthcoming album. more on this story




The Black Keys To Play 'Dirtbags' On Comedy Central Show
(Gibson) The Black Keys are set to guest star in a forthcoming episode of Comedy Central's Workaholics. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, the rock duo's Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney will play a couple of "dirtbags" waiting for their case to be heard in small claims court.

Their characters will be fitted with "oddly long ponytails," sources told EW. Auerbach and Carney are fans of the slacker comedy and befriended actor Adam Devine, one of the show's stars.

Devine, in turn, is an avid fan of the Black Keys' music. The duo's song, "Lonely Boy" was featured in an episode last fall. The episode guest starring Auerbach and Carney is set to air sometime this summer. more on this story






Singled Out: CrashScene
Today Jacen Ekstroms and Troy Healy from CrashScene tell us about "I Fall Apart" and "Don't Tell Me What To Do" from their new self-titled album. Frontman Jacen Ekstroms starts us off with the current single "I Fall Apart". Here is the story:

T-Roy went in to the studio early in the day with Jason Darr ( producer) and showed him the guitar riffs and song idea he had. When I showed up later in the day they were working on the chorus, and as fate would have it I had been working on a chorus and some lyrics for another song. The second I heard what they already had I knew this chorus idea I had would work with this song.

The song I Fall Apart is about a relationship that ends abruptly without one of the parties being emotionally ready for it to end, either because of infidelity or circumstance and for that reason one of them have a hard time getting over it. All it takes is seeing that other person out at a club or a Facebook post about them or someone letting you know what they have been doing to make you relapse and puts you back in the messed up state you were in when the relationship ended, like another personality. And as everyone knows the only way to heal a broken heart is time. It will get easier and easier until you no longer "Fall Apart" when their name is on your heart .....

Now guitarist Troy Healy tells us about "Don't Tell Me What To Do":

This song I believe was the identifying moment when Jacen and myself realized that we both jell well together and really compliment each others writing style. This was our first song together. Jacen already had a plethora of songs ready for the record. I wrote the guitar parts in California and then flew to Vancouver Canada to start tracking. Jacen happened to be flying into Vancouver from a Bif Naked tour, so he came straight from the airport to the studio. We started to write the vocal parts and it was going great but the pre-chorus needed some loving. It just wasn't coming together, so we decided to do a complete turn around and came up with that awesome hook. That was a defining moment for that song, and it made all the difference in giving it that creepy crazy out of control vibe that we were looking for right into that big chorus. I Love those moments!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you check out the video fro I Fall Apart right here!




The Day The Rolling Stones Gave Us Brown Sugar
(Gibson) On this day in 1971, The Rolling Stones released "Brown Sugar" in the U.S., where it went to #1. The track, recorded at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama, went to #2 in the U.K. Gibson takes a look back:

"I never would write that song now. I would probably censor myself. I'd think, 'Oh God, I can't. I've got to stop.'I can't just write raw like that." – Mick Jagger to Rolling Stone, 1995

In a songwriting career filled, to that point, with lyrics about spending the night together, trying to "make some girl," little chemical helpers for mother and giving a wee bit of sympathy to old Lucifer himself, this may have been the single where Mick Jagger went too far. "Brown Sugar" hit on everything from slavery to rape to oral sex to BDSM to (then-taboo) interracial sex, but it has somehow managed to endure, nonetheless, as one of the most popular tracks in rock and roll history.

Usually, the Glimmer Twins of Jagger and Richards were true partners at songwriting, with Richards doing much of the music and Jagger the lyrics, though the lines have often blurred in both directions. "Brown Sugar" was different. For one thing, Jagger was half a world away from his counterpart when he came up with the idea. Sitting in his hotel room in Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, Jagger was nursing a hand injury caused by a backfiring pistol on the set of the film, Ned Kelly. With some discomfort, he began strumming the chords that would eventually form the musical backbone of "Brown Sugar."

The original rough lyrics were about a white woman who has sex with one of her black servants, but Jagger wasn't happy with them. By this point, the Stones had convened at the legendary Muscle Shoals Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It was early December, 1969 and Jagger was, by now, deeply involved with actress-singer Marsha Hunt. Whether or not she was his inspiration for the lyrics of "Brown Sugar," we may never know (it's also been theorized that the real "Brown Sugar" was the lovely Ikette, Claudia Lennear). Whatever the spark, Jagger wrote the final lyrics in a heartbeat inside the studio

Today's Day In Rock News!!

Rock Is Dead?
(Gibson) According to Jack Black, rock is dead… or at least on extreme life support. The actor/rocker was inspired by a dearth of quality rock bands to write "Rock is Dead" on Tenacious D's new album, Rise of the Fenix, according to Rolling Stone.
"When you think about rock at its origin, and you think of The Beatles and millions of kids screaming as loud as they can and running as fast as they can towards The Beatles, there's no one who is that kind of lightning rod, who commands that kind of power and has that kind of creative magma," he said. "I contend that the last band to really have that kind of power, I'm gonna say, was Nirvana. Who since Nirvana has been as big as Nirvana, in that way?"

That's not to say that Black isn't still a huge rock fan and that he doesn't have some modern favorites. "My counterpart Jack White, whatever he does is always worth checking out – and his archnemesis, the Black Keys, are also tremendous," Black said. "The Foo Fighters. I loves me some Foos. But it does get thin after that." more on this story




Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx: The New Howard Stern
(Gibson) Rockers aren't known for being morning people, but Nikki Sixx is about to take over morning radio at a legendary rock station. Dallas-based radio station 97.1 The Eagle KEGL-FM and Premiere Networks have dropped the news that Nikki Sixx's syndicated radio show, Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx, will move to mornings starting on Monday, May 7. Sixx will air a customized version of the radio show for Dallas-Ft. Worth listeners weekday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m.

Sixx says he can sense an emotional reaction from his listeners when he's on the air. "Radio is an opportunity to say something into a microphone, and whether you play a song or say something provocative or funny, it makes people have an emotional reaction," Sixx told Gibson.com. "They feel something. They feel good. They feel bad. They feel angry. They feel disappointed. You have an opportunity to change something, and for me, that's where radio has always been a bit like magic.

"When I turn on the radio, it creates a mood, and I really enjoy that. Kerri Kasem, my co-host, and I do seven shows in four days, and it's very organized. It's a lot of work, and it's the most fun I've had outside of playing rock and roll. We laugh every day. No matter what you're going through, you have to deliver. If you're going through a high, you have to control that, and if you're going through a low, you have to control that, because that part of your life is personal and you always have a responsibility to entertain them." more on this story





Sex Pistols Reject Olympics Offer Over Censorship
(hennemusic) The Sex Pistols have turned down a request by the organizers to perform at the closing ceremony of the upcoming London Olympics.

Pistols frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) tells Billboard the reason they passed was due to censorship.

"They came after us for that, but their approach was wrong," says Lydon. "Censorship mattered more than the content of the Pistols. If you're going to be celebrating what is great about Britain, the honesty of the Sex Pistols is one of those things. If you censor the words of any one song, you're killing the honesty and I couldn't tolerate that. From my point of view we said we didn't want nothing to do with them. Such is the world we live in." more on this story

More on Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols Music - Sex Pistols Tour Dates/Tickets - Sex Pistols CDs, vinyl and rarities
Rush Honored For Lifetime of Artistic Achievement
(hennemusic) Rush are in Canada's capital, Ottawa, this week to receive a very prestigious honor. The legendary band are among the winners of a 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Award, a recognition of lifetime artistic achievement.

Each artist honored receives a cash award of $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

The Canadian Press reports Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart joined their fellow recipients on Thursday for a visit to the House Of Commons to watch their Members Of Parliament (MPs) in action. more on this story



Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger For Saturday Night Live Finale
(hennemusic) Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will host and perform on the May 19 season finale of Saturday Night Live.

Billboard reports Jagger's appearance will mark the rocker's first time leading the late-night NBC comedy show and will be his third time as the musical guest.

Jagger previously made a cameo in a skit in which Jimmy Fallon played his reflection, and appeared as Keith Richards on a "Weekend Update" skit with Mike Myers – who was playing Mick. more on this story



Aerosmith's Joe Perry Explains CSI Songs
(hennemusic) Music by Aerosmith's Joe Perry was featured on this week's CSI. Perry wrote two instrumental tracks for the episode, titled "Dune And Gloom."

Joe did some advance press for the show on when he visited KCAL9 Wednesday to talk about the experience.

"I met Phil Conserva from CSI about a week and a half ago," says Joe, "and we talked about music in general, and then he said he had this particular episode that started off with a truck scene and a lot of enery and he wanted to get some music that matched it." Read more and watch the clip here.



Unreleased Levon Helm Song For Charity
(Gibson) An unreleased track from Levon Helm, the legendary drummer/vocalist with The Band who passed away on April 19, is now available for download.

The Daily Express reports that "Toast to Freedom" was recorded shortly before his death. It's available for download with all proceeds going to charity.

The track was recorded at Helm's studio in Woodstock and features vocals from Ewan McGregor, Kris Kristofferson and Carly Simon. more on this story






Slash Feels Liberated With New Band
(hennemusic) Slash launches a series of US dates last night in Baltimore to promote the May 22 release of his sophomore solo effort, "Apocalyptic Love."

Slash's band – Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz - have formed a cohesive unit and are now going by the handle "Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators." The guitarist tells the Orlando Sentinel about the vibe and experience of working on the project. "This has been really liberating for me," says Slash. "The first solo album was the first time, really, that I was on my own to stretch my wings without the democratic, diplomatic situation you have to have in a band. That went right into working with these guys."

"It's nonconfrontational, nondramatic," he added. "I've never been in a situation like that where there's no reason to have an issue about anything. I haven't had this much fun in a band situation since Guns started." more on this story




Alanis Morissette Returning With New Album
(Gibson) Alanis Morissette is back with her first studio album in four years, Havoc and Bright Lights, out August 28. The album's first single, "Guardian," is set to reach iTunes on May 15.

So, what should fans expect this time around? "This record, as always, is a snapshot of what I currently obsess about, care about, and what strikes me at four in the morning in my most introspective moments," Morissette said of the new disc in a statement. "It is my emotional, psychological, social and philosophical commentary through song."

She's even "giddy" to share the new songs with her followers. "I am giddy and nervous and beaming for the chance to begin to share it all with you...," Morissette wrote on her official website. "Let these fun games begin again." more on this story





Alice Cooper Band Veteran Dick Wagner Looks Back
Former Alice Cooper guitarist/musical director Dick Wagner is featured guest on the latest edition of The Decibel Geek Podcast.

In this long form discussion, the veteran guitar maestro reflects on what it's been like being on the inside of rock history for 40+years. Appearing on more than 200 albums and garnering more than 35 Gold and Platinum albums, Wagner has quite a story (or in this case, many stories) to tell as he gives us a glimpse of the fantastic historical essays that await you in his recently released (and soon to be hardcover-released) e-book entitled Not Only Women Bleed: Vignettes from the Heart of a Rock and Roll Musician.

Wagner gives us the inside story on Alice Cooper's (and his own) substance abuse trouble in the 1970's and early 1980's. You'll hear about Alice's state of mind during the recording of 1983's bizarre DaDa album as well as the strange fitness routine Cooper incorporated into his daily life when the two first met.

From Aerosmith's Get Your Wings to KISS' Destroyer & Revenge albums, Wagner has appeared on some very well-loved tracks without receiving credit for his playing. Does he harbor any ill-will for not receiving his just desserts? You'll hear his unfiltered take in this interview.

Dick also shares his take on what he and the Alice Cooper band thought of a young upstart named KISS surpassing them on the charts.

This episode features some stories from Wagner's personal archive that must be heard to be believed. Stories of all facets of pop culture colliding at specific times. Strange bedfellows indeed.





Michael Schenker Reunited With Scorpions Bandmates For Temple of Rock Tour
Michael Schenker will launch his Temple of Rock tour of the UK next Wednesday, May 9th.

These shows mark the first time Schenker's touring band will feature two ex-Scorpions members – Herman Rarebill (drums) and Francis Buchholz (bass).

Vocalist Doogie White (ex-Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen) and MSG keyboardist, Wayne Findlay complete the line-up. more on this story



The Rocket Summer Expands Tour and Releases Free Live Album
The Rocket Summer has expanded the upcoming North American tour plans and released a free live album.

The tour is in support of the forthcoming full-length album Life Will Write The Words, out Tuesday, June 5.

The second leg will kick off Tuesday, June 19 in St. Petersburg, FL--with support from The Scene Aesthetic and special guests States--including a June 25 stop at New York's Highline Ballroom. more on this story



August Burns Red World Tour Plans
August Burns Red are taking their live show to Europe, South America and Philadelphia this summer.

The band will play a string of European Festival and headlining dates throughout the summer that will see them hit 13 countries in 4 weeks before returning stateside to support the Refused at Philadelphia's Riot Fest, followed by a return to South America.

"I can say with all sincerity that ABR has never looked forward to a European tour as much as we are looking forward to our upcoming run in June/July," says guitarist JB Brubaker. "We haven't done the 'festival circuit' since 2009 and that was one of our favorite overseas tours to date. I'm pumped to have the opportunity to play alongside some legendary bands and in front of some massive crowds!" more on this story




Elton John Pens Forward To New Rick Wakeman Book
(Glass Onyon) Elton John penned the forward to the new book, 'Caped Crusader, Rick Wakeman In The 1970s,' which was written by Dan Wooding.

The book, the authorized biography of Rick Wakeman, who is arguably the world's greatest rock keyboardist, is lavishly illustrated with dozens of photos from Wakeman's extraordinary career which includes the time his career took off when he joined the folk group, Strawbs, in 1969, and played on three of their albums.

But the ultimate accolade - the biggest break of Rick's career at that time - came shortly afterwards when a giant picture of Wakeman filled the front page of the Melody Maker in London, England, with the headline, "Tomorrow's Superstar?" more on this story




The Darkness To Deliver New Album This Summer
The Darkness have set a August 21st released date for their comeback album, Hot Cakes.

Hot Cakes was produced by the band's Justin and Dan Hawkins with long-time collaborator Nick Brine and mixed by Bob Ezrin.

The Darkness kick off an Australian tour this week (May 4) before returning to the U.S. May 18 for select dates and three festival appearances: Saturday, May 19 at InfieldFest (Baltimore, MD), Sunday, May 20 at Rock On The Range (Columbus, OH) and Saturday, May 26 at Rocklahoma. more on this story




B Sides


Singled Out: Barren Earth's As It Is Written
Today Kasper Mårtenson from Barren Earth tells us about the song "As It Is Written" from their sophomore album "The Devil's Resolve". Here is the story:

Our second album, The Devil's Resolve, has been out for about 6 weeks now. Many questions have been asked about the album as a whole, but many questions have also popped up concerning a certain individual song, namely 'As It Is Written'. This particular track stands out for a number of reasons. Firstly, with its 7:30 length it is the longest track on the album. Secondly, with its lengthy prog interlude it is arguably the album's most adventurous song. And thirdly, with its inclusion of a bag pipe it manages to add unexpected colours to the album's sonic palette.

The main theme of As It Is Written was written long before Barren Earth was even in existence. I actually remember playing the melody to our bass player Olli-Pekka Laine already back in 2003 saying that I'd like to do something with it. But it wasn't until 2010 that I actually got serious with it and started writing the rest of the piece.

The first part of the song has a relatively normal structure in terms of having a verse, a pre-chorus and a chorus. But once the first part was completed, I decided to take the track into a completely unknown territory. I felt the opening half was strong, and knew I wanted to return to those same themes towards the end of the song, but in between I wanted something totally different.

At this point I stopped thinking in terms of riffs or sequences, and concentrated more on the melody itself. With conscious avoidance of repetition it was a question of seeing how long a melody could be carried. I didn't quite succeed in relinquishing all repetition, since there clearly are certain repetitive fragments, but by and large it starts at point A and ends about 50 seconds later at point B, after which it is then repeated with full force by the whole band, as opposed to the solo piano the first time around. Call it prog, if you like.

After the middle part is over, the song returns to the familiar territory of the opening section. But in an attempt to keep things interesting, I decided that instead of overtly repeating the main melody in the end, I'd rather put a keyboard solo there. And so I did, although much to my chagrin many people seem to think that it's a guitar solo. No it bloody isn't! It's a freaking Mini-moog!! The confusion is probably due to me using a pitch-bending technique usually more associated with guitarists than synthetists. Nevertheless, a synthesizer solo it is. And certainly the longest that I've ever played, at least on record.

I had a vision on what kind of vocals I wanted. Originally I wanted growling on the verse, clean singing on the pre-chorus, and then growling again for the chorus. But presenting this idea to Sami Yli-Sirniö he said: 'You can't be serious.' He had a totally opposing view on how the vocals should go, and proceeded to give a demonstration. Over the years I've come to trust Sami's vision, so I decided to try it his way. And it bloody worked! Thanks Sami, you were right.

Because the main theme of the song has a pretty strong Scottish folk feel to it, the song's working title was 'Scotland'. Actually, we still refer to it as Scotland, not as 'As It Is Written'. While rehearsing it, it wasn't long before somebody suggested, tongue in cheek, that we get a bag pipe player. But when the song was reaching its final stages we came more serious about the pipes, and sure enough decided to get hold of a bag pipist.

With the inclusion of the bag pipes I knew there was a risk of sounding cheesy. But now I find it safe to say, that we managed to avoid the realm of the cheesiness, and the bag pipe is just the right addition for the piece.

The song is dedicated to Scotland. Hawp ye lik' oor tribute!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!




Van Halen Going To The Dogs
(hennemusic) Van Halen have gone to the dogs. David Lee Roth has issued videos of his herding sheepdogs, which the singer trains and enters in national competitions. Roth also shares stories and some footage of his pals during the band's current live show in support of "A Different Kind Of Truth."

Eddie Van Halen was spotted in New York a couple of months ago with his traveling companion, a Pomeranian named Kody.

Now, Kody Van Halen has his own Facebook page. The site is filled with tales (tails?) and images of the Pom on tour with Eddie, including plenty of shots of the two of them catching naps on the road. more on this story




The Sheds Release Self Doubt Video
The Sheds have released their new music video for the song "Self Doubt," a track from their Self/Doubt EP.

The video also features cameos from members of the band Hundredth and Casey Jones.

The Sheds will be a part of the Tonight We Unite Tour 2012 featuring The Casualties, Nekromantix, Down By Law, Lower Glass, Brats and more. Watch the video here.




Maps & Atlases Deliver Remote & Dark Years Video
Maps & Atlases have debuted their new music video for the song "Remote & Dark Years", which comes off sophomore full-length Beware & Be Grateful.

The video was directed by George Salisbury, the principal art director and video director for the Flaming Lips. Watch it here.

Maps & Atlases will embark on a headlining tour this spring in support of Beware & Be Grateful. They hit the road on May 11th in Chicago. more on this story



Job For A Cowboy Deliver Imperium Wolves Lyric Video
Job For A Cowboy have released a new lyric video for their new song "Imperium Wolves."

The tracks comes off the band's latest release, Demonocracy, released in North America on April 10. Watch it here.

Job For A Cowboy will be part of the Summer Slaughter Festival 2012 with Cannibal Corpse, Between The Buried and Me, The Faceless, Periphery, Veil of Maya, Goatwhore, Exhumed and Cerebral Bore

Tim Abrigg Jr. Rants/Raves:: LAST OF A DYING BREED TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21, 20...

Tim Abrigg Jr. Rants/Raves:: LAST OF A DYING BREED TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21, 20...: LAST OF A DYING BREED TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21, 2012; LYNYRD SKYNYRD’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM SINCE GOD & GUNS BASSIST JOHNNY COLT, ORIGINA...

LAST OF A DYING BREED TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21, 2012; LYNYRD SKYNYRD’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM SINCE GOD & GUNS

LAST OF A DYING BREED TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21, 2012; LYNYRD SKYNYRD’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM SINCE GOD & GUNS

BASSIST JOHNNY COLT, ORIGINAL MEMBER OF THE BLACK CROWES, JOINS LYNYRD SKYNYRD

NEW YORK, NY (May 2, 2012) - Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records announced today the release of Last Of A Dying Breed from Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band’s first studio album since the September 29, 2009 release of God & Guns which debuted at #18 on the Billboard Top 20 and gave the band their highest debut since 1977. Last Of A Dying Breed reunites the band with producer Bob Marlette who produced God & Guns.

“It was great to get back in the studio with Bob for this new album,” said Gary Rossington “we kind of went back old school this time. All of us playing together in the studio as a band, tracking songs and creating licks. We had a lot of fun and the music really flowed for us, so that’s when you know you are on to something good. We can’t wait to let the fans hear these songs and play ‘em live.”

Led by core members Gary Rossington (guitar), Johnny Van Zant (vocals) and Rickey Medlocke (guitar), along with longtime drummer Michael Cartellone, Lynyrd Skynyrd have recorded an album that continues the tremendous legacy that began over 35 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, a legacy that was halted for a decade after the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, including Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines. Since then, the band tragically lost Billy Powell, Ean Evans, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson and Huey Thomasson, yet they rock on.

Joining Lynyrd Skynyrd will be bass player Johnny Colt, an original member of the Black Crowes who has also played with Train and Rockstar Supernova. When asked about receiving a phone call from Rickey Medlocke on behalf of Lynyrd Skynyrd to join the band, Johnny said, “What else do you say to Medlocke, Rossington and Van Zant? We’re talking southern rock royalty. We’re talking Lynyrd Skynyrd. The only thing out of my mouth was when and where!”

With a catalog of over 60 albums, sales beyond 30 million worldwide and their beloved classic American rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama” having over two million downloaded ringtones, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations.


Lynyrd Skynyrd will be on tour throughout the summer in North America and Europe. View a complete list of dates here.

North American tour dates as follows:


5/4/2012 Pier Six Concert Pavilion Baltimore, MD
5/5/2012 Celebrate Virginia Live Fredericksburg, VA
5/11/2012 Virginia State Park Pavilion at Hooper Park Crewe, VA
5/12/2012 Harrahs Chester Downs Chester, PA
5/18/2012 Shooting Star Casino Mahnomen, MN
5/19/2012 Treasure Island Resort & Casino Welch, MN
5/25/2012 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, IN
5/26/2012 Riverfest Amphitheatre Little Rock, AR
7/6/2012 Maddies Place Kahnawake,
7/7/2012 Buffalo Hill Village Varysburg, NY
7/8/2012 Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY
7/13/2012 Toyota Park Bridgeview, IL
7/14/2012 Jackson County Fairgrounds Jackson, MI
7/19/2012 Great Jones County Fair Monticello, IA
7/20/2012 Jamboree in the Hills Belmont, OH
7/21/2012 FunFest @ Johnson Memorial Stadium Kingsport, TN
7/22/2012 Bayside Toyota Pavilion Saint Leonard, MD
8/3/2012 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC
8/4/2012 Time Warner Pavilion @Walnut Creek Raleigh, NC
8/9/2012 Buffalo Chip Campground Sturgis, SD
8/11/2012 Fortune Bay Resort and Casino Tower, MN
8/16/2012 Sands Bethlehem Event Center Bethlehem, PA
8/17/2012 Oakdale Theatre Wallingford, CT
8/18/2012 Havelock Country Jamboree Havelock, ON 8/24/2012 CenturyLink Center Bossier City, LA
8/25/2012 Amphitheater at the Wharf Orange Beach, AL
8/31/2012 Memphis Botanic Gardens Memphis, TN
8/1/2012 Turner Field Atlanta, GA
10/4/2012 Paul Paul Theatre Fresno, CA
10/5/2012 Stockton Arena Stockton, CA
10/6/2012 The Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
10/27/2012 Simple Man Cruise 2012 Miami, FL

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Current Line Up:

Gary Rossington- Guitar
Johnny Van Zant- Vocals
Rickey Medlocke- Guitar
Mark "Sparky" Matejka- Guitar
Michael Cartellone- Drums
Johnny Colt - Bass
Peter Keys - Keyboards
Dale Krantz Rossington- Honkettes Backing Vocals
Carol Chase- Honkettes Backing Vocals

Today's Day In Rock News!!

Velvet Revolver Reunion Possible?
Velvet Revolver have made headlines with speculation over who they will pick to replace Scott Weiland and now it seems the door is open to the perfect replacement: Scott Weiland.
Both Weiland and Matt Sorum have made recent comments which show they are open to the idea of reuniting. According to Blabbermouth, Sorum was discussing the recent one-off reunion at a benefit concert with KCAL Radio and said of Weiland, "It was cool, man. We hadn't played together in a long time. We soundchecked a few songs. We only played, like, three songs. But it was cool to be on stage and play music again. It was like riding a bike. Everyone had a good time and we raised some money for a really sad situation. John O'Brien passed away and left a pregnant wife and another child. And a lot of people turned out for the show… Amazing turnout."

He added, "We had a good time. Me and Scott worked out some stuff backstage and had talked, and that was nice. He came up to me and he was real humble and really cool. 'Cause stuff happens when you're out on the road and people are tired and you say shit. Everything is on the Internet now; you can't get away with anything.

"Being in the music business for as long as I have been, I'm still learning lessons. We were out on the road for 18 months. And we got tired and things happened. There's a lot of pressure. You think you'd always wanna do it differently, but stuff goes the way it's gonna go; I can't explain it."

He then went on to discuss the possibility of a reunion and seemed open to it but was clear that with Slash putting out a new album and touring it is not something they are focused on. Read more of his comments here.

Meanwhile, Scott Weiland seems very receptive to the idea of reuniting with Velvet Revolver and also remaining in Stone Temple Pilots. He told Rolling Stone, "If Maynard [James Keenan] can do it with A Perfect Circle and Tool, then there's no reason why I shouldn't go and do it with both bands." You can read the Rolling Stone article here.



Jack White Tops The Charts
(hennemusic) Jack White scores the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 for the first time this week with his solo debut, "Blunderbuss."

Billboard reports White hit the top with sales of 138,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It's the rocker's first US No. 1 – earlier this week, he debuted at the top of the UK charts. more on this story



Metallica's Lars and Lou Reed Almost Came To Blows
(Classic Rock) Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says his band weren't ready for the "spiteful" backlash after they released Lulu, their art-metal collaboration with Lou Reed.

He believes the heavy criticism was unfair on Velvet Underground icon Reed and describes him as a "sweet man" – before explaining how the pair nearly came to blows during recording sessions.

Tensions boiled over during recording when Ulrich felt he had to tackle Reed over his attitude to an undisclosed topic. "I had to point something out about how things were functioning in the outside world," says the drummer. "He got hot and bothered. He challenged me to a street fight, which is a pretty daunting proposition because he's an expert in martial arts, and is never too far from a sword. Find out what happened



Lost Randy Rhoads Interview Unearthed
(Classic Rock) Randy Rhoads was aiming to do create something unique with his guitar playing in the months leading up to his death. A long-lost interview reveals that while he loved playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band, he found the limitations of his heavy metal show frustrating, and hoped to move far beyond them.

He died on tour aged 25 in 1982 when an airplane joyride went tragically wrong. US journalist John Stix had recently interviewed him twice, and the results are published in the current free online edition of iGuitar magazine. Rhoads said: "Everything happens so fast in this band that I haven't had enough time to really think what I want to do," he said. "For instance, I do a solo live and I do a lot of these things that Eddie Van Halen does, and it kills me that I do that. It's just flash – it impresses the kids and I'm trying to make a name as fast as I can."

"I wish I could take time and come up with something that nobody has done. Unfortunately, it will take me a few years." Asked if he was able to achieve anything that made him proud, Rhoads said: "I can't. I experimented with a few things and tried to get some classical things in, but I couldn't get it in with this set. It calls for flash. more on this story



Guns N' Roses Jam Featured In Rock Hall TV Special Promo
(hennemusic) HBO have issued a promo video for their upcoming broadcast of the 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Guns N' Roses original lineup - Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler - along with later additions Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed, were officially inducted as part of the Class Of 2012, which also included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beastie Boys, The Small Faces/The Faces, Donovan and Laura Nyro.

Former GNR members Slash, McKagan, Adler, Sorum and Gilby Clarke were on hand to perform (Clarke was not inducted) a few classics for the Cleveland crowd; the guys were joined by Myles Kennedy (Slash, Alter Bridge) on vocals. Check out the promo here.



Journey Would Reunite With Steve Perry for Final Tour
(Classic Rock) Journey mainman Neal Schon says the only way Steve Perry could return would be as part of their farewell tour. And he insists current singer Arnel Pineda would remain part of the band if that happened.

Perry fronted the AOR giants from 1977 to 1987 then again from 1995 to 1998. He was replaced by Steve Augeri followed by Jeff Scott Soto. Pineda was hired in 2007 after Schon heard him performing Journey tracks on YouTube.

Schon, speaking at the premiere of band documentary Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey, tells the Huffington Post: "I don't think there's any way not to have Arnel at this point. Who can say never? You can never say it's never going to happen," he said. "But if that situation ever came up, I think it would be the both of them. And I think it would be at the point where it's a farewell tour, and we're done. That's the only appropriate way to go about it." more on this story




Slash Will Pick 20 Unsigned Bands To Open His Tour
Slash has teamed up with Guitar Center for the latest On Stage program where they will be giving twenty unsigned bands the chance to open for Slash on his upcoming tour. They put out these details:

In the fourth installment of Guitar Center On-Stage, twenty bands hand selected as Slash's opening acts will perform at stops on the tour closest to their hometown.

At the closing of the tour, one of the opening bands will be named by Slash as the grand prize winner of Guitar Center On-Stage. more on this story




Lynyrd Skynyrd Releasing New Album This Summer
(RR) Lynyrd Skynyrd will be releasing their new studio album, Last Of A Dying Breed, on August 21st via Load & Proud Records.

The album reunited the band with producer Bob Marlette who produced their 2009 effort, God & Guns.

"It was great to get back in the studio with Bob for this new album," said Gary Rossington "we kind of went back old school this time. All of us playing together in the studio as a band, tracking songs and creating licks. We had a lot of fun and the music really flowed for us, so that's when you know you are on to something good. We can't wait to let the fans hear these songs and play 'em live." more on this story



Zakk Wylde Excited About Playing With Ozzy Again
(Gibson) In a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Zakk Wylde talks about the forthcoming Ozzy and Friends tour. Wylde play guitar with Ozzy Osbourne, as original Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is unable to commit to a full tour following recent cancer treatment.

"It'll be awesome, man. I love all the Sabbath songs, stuff like 'Into the Void' was always slammin' – the song is amazing and so heavy. The Jake [E. Lee] stuff, the Randy [Rhoads] stuff like 'Flying High Again,' 'I Don't Know' – they're all awesome.

"Playing with Ozz is like being in your favorite covers band and getting to write your own stuff as well. Randy, he wasn't a huge Sabbath fan, so him playing all the Sabbath was like 'alright' but me, I'm a Sabbath freak. I'm playing my favorite music." more on this story





Van Halen Didn't Develop Famed Technique?
(Classic Rock) Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett believes it's a matter of fact he introduced the finger tapping technique later made famous by Eddie Van Halen. But he's not bitter the American is better known than him for the effect, even though iconic VH track Eruption appeared seven years after Genesis were heard tapping.

Hackett tells Music Radar: "I'm the inventor of tapping on record. We haven't found anyone who tapped earlier than me, unless somebody did it in the 1930s – but I doubt it.

"Eddie is a fine player, of course, and he's the one who named the technique. When you see old films of Genesis from 1971 on, you can see me using the technique. It's there on many recordings, as well. The important thing is that you play as fast as you'd like, but you do it all on one string – and you have to use a finger from your picking hand instead of the pick." The story gets even more interesting when he explains what inspired him to develop the technique.



Neal Schon Reunited With Steve Smith on New Album
(Gibson) Journey's Neal Schon has told Ultimate Classic Rock that he has a new guitar-centric album nearly ready. It reunites him with his former Journey bandmate, drummer Steve Smith. Schon describes the album as "one of the most rockin' records I've made."

He says: "I'm proud of the record, but I kind of winged it. I walked in and I didn't have anything prepared at all. I just had an open slate with a bunch of paintbrushes [in the form of] guitars and amplifiers."

Schon says that Smith would lay down some tracks, upon which he would then expand. "And then I'd say 'can you go have lunch or something for half an hour and then come back and I'll be done.' So I'd map it out and put a rhythm guitar down, arrange the thing the way I heard it in my head and then Steve would come back and he'd listen to it.

"He'd write down my arrangement and then he'd go out and replay the drums to my new arrangement and a click and play it like it was a full band playing. He's just amazing like that. And then I went back and I replayed some of the rhythm guitar [parts], some of them I kept. And then I'd start playing solos, even without bass, just freelance soloing and then I played the bass on it to go with the solos, so it came about in a different kind of way, but when you listen to it, it sounds like a really connected trio with keys here and there." more on this story






Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters Book Second Show
(hennemusic) Robert Plant has announced a summer concert date in London. Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters will be performing at the HMV Forum in London on Thursday, July 12.

The new date marks the second show for Plant and his new lineup, which features members of his former backing band, Strange Sensation, along with regular collaborator Justin Adams.

Plant debuts the new group next Tuesday, May 8 at the Gloucester Guildhall in Gloucester, England. more on this story



Sammy Hagar Plans To Celebrate 40s Years of Rocking
(hennemusic) 2013 will mark 40 years since the release of the debut Montrose album with Sammy Hagar on vocals, and the Red Rocker has announced what may be the first of many huge bashes to celebrate his four decades in rock.

Hagar's September 1 date at the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey's in Stateline, Nevada is being billed as featuring everything "from Montrose to the Beach Bar Rum Bash."

Sammy says "This is a prototype to the type of thing I want to take on the road next year, so I promise it to be the party of a lifetime!" He has a lot planned, grab the details here.


Flyleaf Holding Benefit for Family of Late Soundman
Flyleaf will hold a benefit concert in honor of their longtime soundman Rich Caldwell on May 20, 2012 at The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, TX.

The band explains in the announcement: Caldwell was in a fatal car accident near his home in College Station, TX. As soon as the band heard the news, they wanted to do something to both honor his memory and raise money in order to support his family. Caldwell is survived by his wife Katy and two-year-old son Kirby. All proceeds from the show will go directly to Katy and Kirby aiding them in the aftermath of this tragedy.

For Flyleaf, their friend and brother's light still shines brilliantly. Beyond his talents behind the board, he was a crucial part of the band's family. They did everything together, and his spirit and memory will forever be a part of Flyleaf. more on this story




Singled Out: Manafest's Human
Today global rock star Manafest tells us about the song "Human" from his brand new album "Fighter". Here is the story: 'Human' is my favorite track on the album from music to melody and lyrics.

I had just finished a tour and my producer Adam's schedule had been constantly booked, so trying to get a session in was tricky. Being fresh off the tour my wife wanted me to relax, but I knew I needed to get in the studio. We got in a small argument which ended up with me buying her flowers and heading to work. In spite of the recent argument I was inspired to write the song 'Human' which is about how as people in relationships we are not perfect and do make mistakes. Some people hold a high bar to someone else and then end up being hurt because that person doesn't live up to their expectations. That's where forgiveness and learning to work through things for the long term comes in.

Human says "I never said I was an angel, I never said I wouldnt break down. But I'll keep on climbing if you're by my side. 'Cause the truth is we're all only human."

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!




Dave Grohl Talks Sound City Film
(Gibson) Dave Grohl is directing and producing the forthcoming feature documentary Sound City, about the iconic recording studio in Van Nuys, California.

Grohl's connection to Sound City began with the 1991 recording of Nirvana's Nevermind. Grohl was, of course, the drummer on the album. In a press statement, Grohl says: "Sound City is a film about America's greatest unsung recording studio. Deep in California's sun-burnt San Fernando Valley, it was the birthplace of legend. It was witness to history."

Grohl says he conceived the movie after purchasing the Neve 8028 recording console from Sound City Studios in 2011. That console, built in 1972, is regarded as a "crown jewel" of analog recording equipment and has been used for recording Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, Guns N' Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica and many others. more on this story





Bon Scott Late For First Big AC/DC Gig
(Classic Rock) Former AC/DC bassist Mark Evans says one of his lasting memories of Bon Scott is his late arrival for one of their breakthrough concerts.

Evans was with the Aussie giants through their pub-rock era and appeared on their first four albums. And he says it was impossible to stay angry with the Scottish singer, who died in 1980 and was replaced by Brian Johnson.

"I distinctly recall the first time we were headlining in London, at the Hammersmith Odeon. That is a great venue, a great indicator that you're on your way. It's a serious gig," Evans tells Bass Musician. "We were getting ready to go on – and Bon wasn't there. Earlier in the day he had decided to take the subway to the gig. Bon being Bon, he had a few drinks beforehand so he was feeling a bit relaxed. Needless to say he got on the right train going the wrong way. More of the story here.




B Sides


Soundgarden Release Live To Rise Video
(hennemusic) Soundgarden have released the video for "Live To Rise," the band's first new song in 15 years.

The track is the first single from the soundtrack for the new film, "Marvel's The Avengers," which opens Friday.

Also featured on the soundtrack are tunes from Shinedown, Rise Against, Bush and Five Finger Death Punch, among others. Watch the video here.



Video of Roger Waters The Wall Tour 2012 American Opener Online
(hennemusic) Roger Waters launched his 2012 North American tour of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" in Houston on Tuesday and video clips from the show have surfaced online.

"The Wall Live" tour had previously toured the continent in the fall of 2010; this year's edition will play almost 40 shows across the continent by the time in wraps up July 14 in Philadelphia.

"The Wall Live" tour continues this week with shows in Austin (Thu) and Tulsa, OK (Sat). In the meantime, you can watch videos from Tuesday's show here.




Chickenfoot Share Rehearsal Footage Online
(hennemusic) Chickenfoot are gearing up to kick off their 2012 Different Devil tour with two shows in Lake Tahoe on May 4 and 5.

On Tuesday, Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Kenny Aronoff hooked up and shared the following:

"With no advance notice we decided to just jump onto a Google+ Hangout On Air to share a glimpse at whatever was going down at the rehearsal studio while we get ready for the Different Devil 2012 Summer Tour starting Friday & Sat in Tahoe. The Hangout echo cancellation did some nasty things to the audio so this is a re-upload, but otherwise is unedited raw as-it-happened. The song performed is "Up Next" from Chickenfoot III." Check out the video here.




Motley Crue Singer Possessed?
(Classic Rock) Motley Crue singer Vince Neil lived through an "overwhelming experience" as he and a TV crew tried to capture the spirit of Frank Sinatra in an old Las Vegas hotel.

Neil was special guest on Ghost Adventure as he brought a group of female friends to party with him in the ninth-floor suite used by Sinatra in the days when he performed in the Riviera Hotel and Casino.

The paranormal investigators recorded evidence of three ghostly voices, several noises and lights – and at one point Neil appeared to be possessed by the spirit of someone who may have died on the premises. more on this story




Anniversary of Les Harvey's On Stage Death
(Gibson) On this day in 1972, Les Harvey, guitarist with Stone the Crows, died after being electrocuted on stage during a gig at Swansea University, Wales. He was the brother of Scottish singer Alex Harvey and a member of the Alex Harvey Soul Band. Gibson takes a look back:

Stone the Crows could have been one of the biggest British bands of the '70s. They had powerhouse blues vocalist Maggie Bell, regarded by many as an equal of Janis Joplin. They had a manager with more than a few connections in the business (a certain Mr. Peter Grant, who also managed Led Zeppelin), and they had one of the finest young guitarists on the blues and rock scene, Les Harvey, younger brother of Scottish rock legend Alex Harvey.

Alex Harvey, of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band fame, played a key role in the development of the group that would morph into Stone the Crows. He put his younger guitar-whiz brother in touch with Maggie Bell and she joined his band, the Kinning Park Ramblers. When that band split, Bell and Harvey formed Power and toured Europe 's army bases extensively. Talking to Chris Welch for a Stone the Crows album reissue, Maggie Bell recalled meeting Les Harvey: "He had a group called the Kenning Park Ramblers. That was in the days when his older brother Alex was doing the Star Club in Hamburg. Leslie was just a youngster like myself and we used to go to all these far away, obscure gigs around Scotland. Anyway, we all went to Germany and earned enough to buy ourselves a reel-to-reel Revox tape recorder!" more on this story




Sainthood Reps Deliver Monoculture Video
Tooth & Nail Records' Sainthood Reps have released a new music video for their track "Monoculture".

The video is dark and gritty and follows a group of skateboarders as they cause trouble on the streets of NYC.

Sainthood Reps recently toured with mewithoutyou and is currently on the road with La Dispute, Balance and Composure, and All Get Out

NIGHT RANGER TO ROCK BROKEN SPOKE CAMPGROUND SUN, AUG. 5:

The legendary rock band Night Ranger will perform Sun., Aug. 5 at the Broken Spoke Campground at Sturgis once again making Broken Spoke the place to be Jul. 30 – Aug. 12 for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2012!
“Classic Night Ranger...” Three simple words that could start their own chapter in the complex history of commercial hard rock, as the core trio of Jack Blades, guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer/vocalist Kelly Keagy are responsible for penning a handful of the '80s landmark hits, from one of the most defining and immediately recognizable epic power ballads of all-time in “Sister Christian” and the similarly-slowed tempos of “Sentimental Street” and “When You Close Your Eyes,” to the guitar-driven radio juggernauts “(You Can Still) Rock in America” and “Don't Tell Me You Love Me.”
Don't forget that Broken Spoke Tent Camping starts at just $129 and includes free access to private and clean showers, the World's Largest Biker Pool, hot tubs, unforgettable contests, emcee Jack Schit, live entertainment at the ride-through Broken Spoke Saloon including Night Ranger, country music star Joe Nichols, Uncle Kracker, the Kentucky Headhunters, Truth & Salvage Co. and more announcements to follow.
For more information, please visit: www.brokenspoke.com.

Today's Day In Rock News!!

Queen Reject Freddie Mercury Hologram Idea
(Gibson) After the "appearance" of late rapper Tupac Shakur via hologram at the Coachella Festival, fans have been chatting about who they'd like to see resurrected for a live show.
According to Billboard.com, when asked at a press conference about the possibility of Freddie Mercury getting the same treatment with Queen, Roger Taylor said:

"I don't think I want to. Were somebody [else] to use a hologram of Freddie, I would have no objection... It just doesn't sit too well with me. I don't want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend. It's the real one or no hologram for me. But I think it's an amazing effect when used properly – obviously in darkness." more on this story




Slayer Guitarist Still Recovering From Spider Bite
Slayer issued an open letter to fans letting them know how Jeff Hanneman is progressing in his recovery from a serious spider bite. They write: Slayer fans everywhere - it's time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman. As you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated, and we didn't know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really bad shape. It's been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he's had several painful skin grafts, he's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of all, he's been playing guitar.

We were all excited when he joined us onstage for the encore a year ago at The Big Four show at Coachella. Since then, we've given him all the time and support he's needed to continue his rehab so he can come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we all want him to. While Jeff's been doing some writing and has been coming to rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more time to continue his rehab.

While we want him back onstage with the band, all of us support his decision. So, we're very grateful that Gary Holt will continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.' We also wanted you to know that we've been doing some writing and recording for the next Slayer album - we've tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we're off the road later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the UK in May and June, and then we'll all see you on this Summer's Mayhem Festival.



Aerosmith's Joe Perry Tracks In Tonight's CSI
(hennemusic) Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has composed two exclusive instrumental tracks to air during CSI: Crime Scene Investigation tonight, Wednesday, May 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"It was really exciting that CSI gave me this opportunity to contribute to the show," said Perry. "The first piece is pure adrenalin rock 'n roll. The second gave me a chance to work for my DJ son Roman, who contributed some of his electronic dance music."

Perry's music will be heard in the first act of "Dune and Gloom," in which off-road trucks are engaged in competition when a bomb goes off mid-race. The CSI team then arrives to investigate. more on this story



Shinedown, Godsmack and Staind for Uproar Festival Tour
Shinedown, Godsmack and Staind lead the lineup for this summer's installment of the Uproar Festival tour.

Adelitas Way will round out the mainstage performers, with the second and stages set to feature P.O.D., Deuce, Fozzy, Redlight King, Mindset Evolution, In This Moment, Thousand Foot Krutch, Candlelight Red.

"This is our first year on the Uproar Festival, and we are honored to be sharing the stage with all the bands...Trust me this is one tour you do not want to miss," says Brent Smith of Shinedown. more on this story



AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Sabbath Stars For Zeppelin's John Bonham Birthday Bash
Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy announced that he is taking part in a birthday tribute bash for late Led Zeppelin legend John Bonham.

The tribute is follow up to the previous tribute concerts, Bonzo: The Groove Remains The Same, and will take place on Bonham's birthday on May 31st at the House Of Blues in Los Angeles.

Portnoy isn't the only star who has signed up. The show is set to feature current and former members of AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Korn, Alice Cooper, Whitesnake and more. more on this story




Allman Brothers Band Announce Dates With Santana and Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Allman Brothers Band will be returning to the road this summer for a series of shows including a run of co-headlining dates with Santana.

The band has confirmed six co-headlining dates with Santana as well as one-off festival dates, their own Peach Festival in Scranton, PA and dates with moe. and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

"It is a delight and an honor to finally share the stage, and the music, with Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and The Allman Brothers Band," says Carlos Santana. "This is something that we've hoped to make happen for many years." more on this story



Pearl Jam Making Progress On New Album
(hennemusic) Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard is sharing news about the band's next studio album.

"We really want to finish a record this year," Gossard tells Billboard. "[It's] now between half and three quarters done, but we got some new material and we're excited about hopefully doing some more work on that later in the year."

Among that new material, he divulges, is a brand new hard-edged rocker by fellow Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, "that's fantastic that reminds me of Motorhead. I hope that that one is in the mix coming up." more on this story



Death Cab for Cutie Summer Tour
The Death Cab for Cutie camp sent over word about their upcoming North American summer tour plans.

The North American tour will kick off with a pair of Canada Day Weekend shows with The Tragically Hip – slated for June 30th at The Commons in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and July 1st at Burl's Creek in Barrie, Ontario – and then continue through late July.

Among the schedule's many highlights is a July 17th headline date at Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium, and a series of festival performances including Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 5th, Des Moines, Iowa's 80/35 Music Festival on July 7th, Chicago's annual "The Taste of Chicago" on July 12th, Cincinnati's Bunbury Music Festival on July 15th, and Dover, Delaware's Firefly Music Festival on July 22nd. more on this story



Late Slits Singer Ignored Breast Cancer?
(Classic Rock) John Lydon says his stepdaughter Ari Up didn't have to die of breast cancer in 2010 and she effectively killed herself using the disease.

Up, real name Arianna Foster, was lead singer with punk outfit the Slits and worked with Nina Hagen, Lee Scratch Perry and as a solo artist before passing away at the age of 48.

But Sex Pistol Lydon, who's been with Up's mother Nora Foster since 1978, believes Up chose not to seek proper medical assistance. "She knew she had cancer and she deliberately ignored it, and went for lunatic left-wing crackpot theories. And that will kill you stone dead every single time," Lydon tells Sky Arts. more on this story




Deep Purple Want To Make New Album Count
(Classic Rock) Deep Purple are facing the fact they won't keep going for ever and that's reflected in the band's attitude to their upcoming album.

Guitarist Steve Morse says they'll soon gather to start work with producer Bob Ezrin on their 19th studio record. And because the end of the road will be sighted in time, he believes it's "really important" to get the project right.

He tells Glide Magazine: "It's probably going to be more of an extravaganza. Everybody realises we're not going to do this forever, so to me it feels like this is a really important album to do well." more on this story




Sublime with Rome, Cypress Hill and Pepper Tour
Sublime with Rome are teaming up with Cypress Hill and Pepper for North American tour this summer.

The tour kicks off July 11th at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA and will wrap on August 30th in 30 St. Augustine, FL.

Sublime with Rome will be touring in support of their 2011 album release "Yours Truly". more on this story



Duran Duran To Represent England at Olympics
(Gibson) Duran Duran will represent England at a London concert this July, the same day of the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, according to NME.

The Hyde Park show also will feature Paolo Nutini representing Scotland, Stereophonics representing Wales and Snow Patrol representing Northern Ireland.

On August 12, Blur will headline a Hyde Park concert marking the conclusion of the London Olympics, alongside New Order and The Specials. more on this story





Gregg Allman Medically Cleared For Tour
(hennemusic) Gregg Allman has been cleared by doctors to begin his book tour next week, as expected.

Last week, Allman announced that he was delaying the start of the trip to undergo diagnostic cardiac testing at the Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, after experiencing arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat) following a recent hernia operation.

Gregg will launch his new autobiography, "My Cross To Bear" - which was published Tuesday – on May 8 in Atlanta. There are currently six stops on the book tour, including Nashville, Chicago and Los Angeles. more on this story



Iron Maiden Singer Launching Airline Business
(hennemusic) Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is launching a major commercial airline maintenance repair and overhaul operation in South Wales.

Wales Online reports Dickinson's Cardiff Aviation will be based at the Twin Peaks hangar at St Athan in the of Vale of Glamorgan.

"We're coming into this enterprise with the knowledge that we'll also be bringing business to South Wales," says Bruce. "A cautious projection is that we'd expect to create up to a thousand jobs within 18 months based on the level of interest and commitment from aircraft manufacturers and operators." more on this story



Chris Robinson Brotherhood Kick Off Tour This Week
Chris Robinson Brotherhood are hitting the road tomorrow to kick off a length North American tour.

The trek kicks off May 3 in New Orleans and includes a stop at Memphis' Beale Street Festival May 6, with dates booked into October.

The group's debut album Big Moon Ritual will be released via Silver Arrow/Megaforce Records on June 5, the same day the band is confirmed to perform the album's "Rosalee" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." more on this story



Whitechapel Set New Album Release
(Freeman) Whitechapel have set a June 19th release date for their new self-titled studio album.

The album was engineered and mixed by Mark Lewis (Black Dahlia Murder, DevilDriver), who also handled production duties alongside the band. The album artwork was created by Aaron Marsh of Forefathers Group with art direction provided by Whitechapel.

Whitechapel are set to tour with Miss May I, After the Burial, Within the Ruins, and The Plot in You as part of the "Recorruptor" kicking off May 3rd in Louisville, KY and running through May 17th in Portland, ME. Immediately following the tour, the band is set to play at this year's Bamboozle Festival is Asbury Park, NJ on May 18th. more on this story



B Sides


Joe Bonamassa Giving Away New Song
(Gibson) Joe Bonamassa has released the first single and the official music video from his brand-new solo album Driving Towards the Daylight.

The official music video for the title track "Driving Towards the Daylight" can be viewed here and you can get a free download of the song here.

Bonamassa's label J&R Adventures is airing 10 episodes of the new reality mini-series that features 3-4 minute webisodes with interviews and footage of Joe and his band. more on this story





Neil Young and Crazy Horse Release New Video
(hennemusic) Neil Young and Crazy Horse return with their new album, "Americana," on June 5. Neil has just released the first video for the project; it's for "Oh Susannah."

It's the group's first album together since 2003's "Greendale," and their first with the full Crazy Horse line-up of Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina and Frank "Poncho" Sampedro since "Broken Arrow" in 1996.

The songs on "Americana" are all classic American folk songs, including "This Land Is Your Land," "Gallows Pole," "Tom Dooley" and "Clementine." Watch the video here.




Accept's Hoffmann Reflects On Comeback
(Classic Rock) Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann feels honoured that counterparts in bigger bands look on him as a hero but he wouldn't mint trading the adulation in for a fatter bank balance. And he hopes the band's two acclaimed albums since they reformed have forever silenced those who doubted the German outfit could pull off a comeback.

Accept returned in 2009 with new singer Mark Tornillo after former frontman Udo Dirkschneider opted not to take the mic again. They released Blood of the Nations the following year and Stalingrad came out earlier this month.

Hoffmann tells BraveWords: "I don't think you could have more scepticism than we had. We got hit pretty hard by the wave of naysayers and criticism. I had to tune out at one point because I couldn't stand the comments any more." more on this story



The Day Nirvana Began Nevermind
(Gibson) On this day in 1991, Nirvana booked into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, for 16 days. On a budget of $65,000 and with Butch Vig producing, the band started recording what would become the Nevermind album. Gibson looks back:

Nearly 20 years after its release, the impact of Nirvana's groundbreaking album Nevermind still reverberates in the music industry. It can be strongly argued that it is the single-most influential album in the history of recorded music. Hyperbole? Not even remotely, not when you consider just how suddenly the paradigm of popular rock music that had remained relatively static from the mid-'80s through very early '90s, was shattered by an album – in particular, a song – from a little-known alternative band from Seattle.

Formed by singer-songwriter-guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, Nirvana released their debut album Bleach in 1989 on the indie Sub Pop label. Their drummer at the time, Chad Channing, was replaced in 1990 by former Scream drummer and future Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl. Cobain and Novoselic had seen Grohl perform at a Scream show, and they were more than impressed.

At the time, Cobain had been growing weary of the heavier rock sound so prevalent in the grunge scene in Seattle. He'd been listening to groups like R.E.M. and the Pixies, and his writing was evolving as he experimented with infusing more melody into his songs. In 1990 Nirvana released the single "Sliver," which Cobain later remarked "was like a statement in a way. I had to write a pop song and release it on a single to prepare people for the next record. I wanted to write more songs like that."

Nirvana's Sub Pop indie label was having a tough time financially, so the band began kicking around the idea of signing with a major label. There was interest on a number of fronts, especially from the Geffen Records imprint DGC Records, who eventually signed the band. By the spring of 1990, Nirvana was shoring up songs for the second album. Deciding to use Butch Vig as their producer, and with a recording budget of $65,000, they went into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California on this day in 1991. more on this story





Singled Out: Genre Peak's Wear it Well
Today Martin Birke from Genre Peak tells us about the song "Wear it Well" from their brand new album "Redux," which features Mick Karn of Japan fame. Here is the story:

Genre Peak's track "Wear it Well" came about when Martin Birke and Mick Karn had been discussing ways for Karn to join the band in 2007. After approaching Karn to join Genre Peak as a full time member of the band, when Chapman Stick player Daniel Panasenko departed the band in late 2006, it soon became clear that money, travel and lack of label funding wouldn't allow Genre Peak to blossom with the new line-up of Birke (electronics/vocals), Stephen Sullivan(guitar-synths/guitars) and Karn(bass) as a touring trio.

Karn had been living in Cyprus and Birke was across the globe in Sacramento, CA. So plan B was developed for Mick to record his parts for the new album (Preternatural) at his home by sending the track sessions by post. Birke presented the instrumental of "Wear it Well" ,made up of parts from an existing album track called "Wear Your Ruin", to Mick who then recorded a very thick stereo bass track to it. Birke brought in Canadian singer Tara C. Taylor to sing the vocals whose soft lilting voice provided a lighter contrast the heavily synth-layered sound together with co-producer and guitarist Christopher Scott Cooper's engineering and superb mixing talents the track became a strong and very well constructed complete song. Beginning with voice samples and electronica elements the track does a linear build of beats, bass and synths to the ending of overdriven guitars and emotionally charged vocals. "Wear it Well" became the most purchased album track of Preternatural in 2008-09 and was naturally selected for the new Genre Peak compilation "Redux".