Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Sammy Hagar Open To Van Halen Reunion
Sammy Hagar doesn't appear to hold any grudges against Eddie Van Halen and is in fact open to reuniting with Van Halen under the right circumstances, which would he hints include Michael Anthony taking part.
Hagar was asked by Vegas Rocks what he would say to Van Halen if they met today. He responded, "Well, right now I'd say, 'Wow. Great. I've seen some pictures of you recently. You look like you're healthy and doing great.

"I'm really proud of you and I'd like to see you continue doing that. Here's my phone number. Call me up if you wanna hang and just have some fun and goof off.'"

"And whatever that led to," he continued, "I wouldn't say, 'Hey, let's get together and do it again,' because you would have to do that slow, because I would never do it again under the last circumstances. But I would do it again under different circumstances.

"So it'd be like that. And then I would also say, 'And also here's Mikey's [Michael Anthony] phone numbers with mine.'"

Check out the video interview to hear more including what he would do if he knew it was his last day on earth here.



Kid Rock Selling Summer Tour Tickets For $20
Kid Rock will be going old school for his upcoming North American summer tour by only charging fans $20 for tickets in all sections of the venues.

The tour is set to kick off on June 28th in Bristow, VA and will conclude on September 15th in Tampa, FL. The trek will feature rotating support from Kool & The Gang, ZZ Top, and Uncle Kracker.

Apart from the bargain price tickets, Kid Rock's camp says they will be "lowering prices on everything from parking to beer to merchandise for every show in every city." He will be offering $20 tour t-shirts as well.

"Everyone knows the economy is still hurting people across the country, but I didn't want that to be a reason why everyone couldn't get out and enjoy themselves on a summer night," says Kid Rock. "So we're going to throw the biggest and best party ever, with prices across the board that are reasonable and transparent. No hidden fees, no gimmicks.

"We're not sparing any expense on this tour, we're going over the top as always, but that doesn't mean we're going to ask the fans to pay more. If this works we're going to play to packed houses of fans who appreciate what we're doing. If it doesn't, might be a long summer. But someone has to go out there and fight these high prices and change things up, and I'm lucky enough that I can afford to take a pay cut. $20. Best night ever."

Fans will be able to purchase the all-in $20 tickets at participating Walmart and Live Nation box office locations where they will not pay any additional fees or parking charges, etc. In addition, Kid Rock will be reserving the first two rows for every show as free upgrades for lucky fans that will be selected at random. more on this story



Gene Simmons of KISS Plotting New TV Series
It appears that KISS star Gene Simmons may be returning to television where he will be hosting a hidden camera comedy series called "Busted."

Simmons teamed up with eOne (Entertainment One: The Walking Dead, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) for the show which they are currently pitching.

The premise of the show is basically a rock star centered take off on the MTV's Punk'd theme where Simmons "goes on tour with some of the biggest bands in the world and gives audiences an all-access pass to backstage practical jokes," according to Deadline.

"When you're on tour, you get bored," Simmons told MIPBlog about the show in a new video interview. "And when you get bored, pranks happen", he teased, before telling one tale of a poor roadie who got his birthday cake laced with laxative. Watch the full interview here.



Former Metallica Star Jason Newsted Completes New Album
(Gibson) Jason Newsted (ex-Flotsam and Jetsam, Voivoid and, oh yeah, Metallica bassist) has completed recording his first full-length album with his new band, the sensibly titled Newsted.

The album will enter the mixing phase later this week, and release is targeted for some time later this year. The Newsted line-up includes drummer Jesus Mendez Jr, guitarist Jessie Farnsworth, and Staind guitarist Mike Mushok.

"It was obvious from the word go that Mike is one of us," Newsted says of Mushok'. "Professional, focused, happy and grateful to be able to make our beautiful noise together!"

Mushok said he loved Newsted's Metal EP, and jumped at the chance to be involved in the band while Staind were on break. "It was perfect timing," Mushok said. "All I could say was 'Hell yeah! I'm totally down for this!'"

The Metal EP sold over 6,000 copies in the USA in its first week of release in January, landing at #62 on the Billboard 200 chart. more on this story






Fleetwood Mac Releasing New EP
(Radio.com) Fleetwood Mac kicked off their 50-stop North American tour in Columbus, Ohio, last week by delivering a mix of their biggest hits, a few unexpected gems from their decades-spanning career… and an announcement of a forthcoming EP.

Though it had been three years since Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie took the stage together, they played as if no time had passed since their last tour.

Buckingham proved why he's still one of the most revered guitarists in recent decades as he wailed through their catalog, often while fans in the front row ran their hands along his guitar in almost prayer-like devotion.

Nicks, donning her trademark black outfits and shawls (which came and went in quick on-stage changes), proved why she's a cultural icon. Sometimes with a tambourine in hand, others while tugging at the black straps hanging from her mic stand, and just a few times while spinning in her trademark circles, she sang flawlessly.

The first surprise in the set list came early on: Four songs in, they did a brand new song, "Sad Angel." Buckingham noted that it is on their new EP, which would be out "in a few days." Nicks later referred to the EP, calling it their "little baby record." more on this story



Iron Maiden and Megadeth Plan American Tour and One-Off Festival
Iron Maiden will be launching a North American mini-tour with support from Megadeth this September which will include a new heavy metal festival in Southern California.

The seven-date tour will kick off with the band's very first concert in Raleigh, NC on September 3rd and will conclude with The Battle Of San Bernardino on Friday the 13th that will also feature Anthrax, Testament, Overkill and Sabaton at the San Manuel Amphitheater (formerly the Blockbuster/Glen Helen Pavilion) in San Bernardino, CA.

After the U.S. dates the band will be heading to Brazil to once again headline the Rock In Rio Festival. 70,000 tickets to the September 22nd event sold out within hours.

Frontman Bruce Dickinson had this to say, "As Maiden fans know, we're going back to Brazil to headline Rock In Rio again, so we thought that on our way down south we should certainly stop off and do a few more shows in the U.S. We especially wanted to try and play some more cities we've not visited for a while, so we're really excited about seeing our fans again in places we've not been to in over a decade, and in some cases even longer! We hope they will remember us!

"We can't wait to launch the Battle of San Bernardino for our Southern California fans! It really will be a day to remember for south Cal Metal fans. Friday 13, 13 too! Double Trouble!!

"We'll be bringing with us the same full production we had on the Maiden England Tour in North America last year so fans can expect to see the huge lightshow, stage set, various incarnations of Eddie, plenty of pyro and all kinds of other exciting stuff."
Steve Harris adds, "We know how popular the History of Maiden Tours are with fans of all ages and we love visiting cities we haven't been to in many years as it gives us a chance to play to new audiences. We had a huge amount of fun with the set list for this Maiden England Tour when we opened in North America last year as we got to play songs we had not played in a very long time like 'Seventh Son,' 'The Prisoner' and 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers,' as well as fan favourites like 'The Trooper,' 'Aces High,' 'The Clairvoyant,' 'The Number Of The Beast,' 'Wasted Years' and 'Run To The Hills.' That opening leg of the tour was so enjoyable for the whole band, we're really looking forward to coming back to see our fans again and a lot of new faces too! " more on this story




Fall Out Boy Streaming Full 'Save Rock and Roll' Album Online
(Radio.com) As it's become almost expected in the increasingly digital-driven music industry, Fall Out Boy has posted an online stream of each of their fifth album, Save Rock and Roll, one week ahead of the album's official release date of April 16.

Tracks from the new album were posted individually on FOB's official SoundCloud account. They confirm collaborators like Courtney Love on "Rat A Tat" and Detroit rapper Big Sean on "The Mighty Fall."

The title track even features none less than Sir Elton John. Talk about an epic comeback – no surprise considering this is Fall Out Boy's first album of new material since 2008′s Folie Á Deux.

"Rock and roll to me represents an attitude," bassist Pete Wentz said in an exclusive interview with Chicago radio station B96. "It represents something inside you. That's why we got into playing music. That's why I wanted to be in the band.

"So you can take it as an ironic thing or you can take it the way it is. We just wanted to do something that was fun and dangerous for us. We didn't need to do the band again, we wanted to do it because it was fun." more on this story




Ozzy Osbourne Promises Mindblowing New Black Sabbath Album
(Gibson) Ozzy Osbourne says forthcoming Black Sabbath album 13 is "mindblowing" and "the album we should have made after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."

Speaking to Australia's Triple M radio station, Ozzy stated about Sabbath's June-released CD: "The album is mindblowing... I'm so over the moon about the way the album turned out.

"We wrote 16 songs, and I put it on my CD player, expecting me to be unhappy with the end result, but this big grin came on my face and my hair on the back on my neck [stood up]… It's better than my wildest dreams; it's so good."

Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler are joined by RATM drummer Brad Wilk on the album. Songs include "End of the Beginning," "God is Dead" and "Epic."

Osbourne was full of praise for producer Rick Rubin. "I'd run into him from time to time over the years, and he goes, 'Any chance of Sabbath reforming? If you do, I would love to produce the album,'" Ozzy said. "And he did such a great job on the album. I know if you're a Sabbath fan, you will not be disappointed. It's so Sabbath-y, it's scary. It's the album we should have made after [1973's] Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

"It's very, very heavy… I'm so excited about it." more on this story






Kataklysm's Max Duhamel Taking Break From Band To Battle Demons
Kataklysm drummer Max Duhamel has announced that he won't be taking part in the recording of the band's forthcoming album, "Waiting for the End to Come," so he can focus on fighting his alcohol addiction.

Duhamel issued a brutally honest message for fans that explains why he is taking some time off. He writes, "Hello everyone, it is with an a extremely heavy heart that I announce today that I will not be performing on the new Kataklysm album, I have been struggling with many personal issues the last year but lately, the main one has been alcohol, it's been affecting my body in a very negative way to the point that when I came home after the Ex Deo tour we just did, I tried to stop drinking for few days and it's been very hard without having any withdrawal symptoms, I've also lost a lot of weight as some of noticed recently and I'm not in good shape."

"I've heard the new material my brothers have written and its truely incredible stuff, it's really some of the best music the band has ever done but It's going to be a very demanding album and my state of mind and body is not ready to confront this big task right now, I need to clean my body and my mind and come back focused to Kataklysm and I don't know how long this will take ..., the guys have reached out to help in anyway they can which I can't thank them enough .. I'm truely blessed to have them as a family, so as I start my road to recovery I send this message to all of you and thank you for all the support.

"It's time to take my life in my hands and take responsibility, I will not be attending the Juno Awards ceremony in two weeks for Ex Deo nominations but I will close my contract with the shows in May that are left, ExtremeFest, Beastival in Germany and Metalfest Czech Rep. will be my last shows until I'm ready again to come back in full form, you guys deserve the best of me...see you later."





Rob Zombie To Headline Sturgis
Sturgis just got heavier with the addition of Rob Zombie as a headliner of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip during hard rock night on August 7th.

Zombie will be headlining that night of the music festival taking place during the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Mastodon and Machine Head were previously announced for that night's concert.

"Rob Zombie is a living icon with so many highly acclaimed accomplishments behind him we have no doubt he'll make an impact fans will remember for years to come, " says Rod Woodruff, owner of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. "Fans are absolutely thrilled to have Rob Zombie join the Chip's festival lineup this year."

The 32nd annual Sturgis Buffalo Chip motorcycle and music festival takes place August 2-11, 2013 during the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally.

In addition to the hard rock night lineup, the festival also feature performances from Kid Rock, Toby Keith, ZZ Top, Halestorm, Brantley Gilbert, Queensrÿche and Sublime with Rome.





Bigelf Recruit Mike Portnoy For New Album
Bigelf are back! The band have recruited former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy to play on their forthcoming album and have inked a new record deal with InsideOut Music who will be releasing the album later this year.

It appears that rumors of the bands demise were premature. Damon Fox explains why the group fell under the radar and their return:

"Finally! Bigelf lands on a planet whose atmosphere is synonymous with progressive rock and heavy metal. One of my all-time favourite quotes is, 'Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid...' I'm ecstatic that InsideOut/Century Media and Mike Portnoy have joined 'forces' with Bigelf.

"First, I want to elaborate on what has been happening 'inside' the band since 2010, there have been numerous rumours on the internet that I fired everyone in Bigelf, this is completely untrue.

"After the juggernaut of 'Cheat The Gallows' came to a halt, the business and personal infrastructure of Bigelf imploded and an unexpected hiatus occurred leaving the band in complete disarray. A myriad of personal, financial and domestic matters had enveloped myself as well as certain members of the group. There also comes a time when deep down inside it just doesn't feel right anymore, and one has to face the music that the end is near. Transparency no longer exists and with that, clarity and perspective are lost. I'm speaking for myself now but clearly this was a mutual feeling and I believe it was obvious amongst the band. Subsequently, Ace Mark decided to move on and left Bigelf in the summer of 2011, and a request by the remaining members for a dissolution of business followed. To put it simply, we went our separate ways without malice.

"I had been keeping in close touch with Mike Portnoy after his very public and difficult departure from Dream Theater. At this time, my musical future seemed quite bleak and I was very vocal to Mike about not being able to sustain the band any longer on my own. He implored me to carry on and to not let Bigelf slip away, his encouragement and enthusiasm meant the world to me. Recognizing that I needed some new allies, I asked him if he would help fight the good fight and lend his extraordinary drum majesty to the new Bigelf record and he readily agreed. Also...sharing a passion for all things rock & roll, my good friend Duffy Snowhill climbed aboard the Viking ship for another round of thundering bass guitar and for that too I am grateful. more on this story





Guns N' Roses For Tots
Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star have set an April 30th release date for latest rock for tots release, "Lullaby Versions Of Guns N' Roses."

The album will feature lullaby renditions of Guns N' Roses hits which focuses mainly on music from the original "Appetite for Destruction" and the "Use Your Illusion I & II" lineups and albums.

The album includes child friendly versions of "Welcome To The Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," " November Rain," "Paradise City," "Don't Cry," and more. more on this story




Rolling Stones Confirm Second Hyde Park Concert
(hennemusic) As expected, The Rolling Stones have officially announced a second concert at London's Hyde Park, set for Saturday, July 13.

The Stones' first Hyde Park show on Saturday, July 6 sold out within minutes of going on sale last week. Tickets for the July 13 date go on sale 9am this Friday, April 12.

Support for the July 13 show features Jake Bugg, Tom Odell and The 1975. Both concerts are part of the band's "50 & Counting" tour. more on this story





Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Gives QOTSA More Cowbell
(Banana 101.5) Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder once again joined Queens of the Stone Age for their cowbell-driven hit 'Little Sister,' this time at the Chilean outing of Lollapalooza.

This isn't the first time it happened. Both Queens of the Stone Age and Pearl Jam played Alpine Valley, Wisconsin for PJ20. A multitude of guests joined PJ on stage throughout the weekend, of whom Joshua Homme was one.

Vedder returned the favor the following day, joining QOTSA on lead cowbell for 'Little Sister.' Watch the Lollapalooza Brazil performance here.





Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson To Added 'Lighted Stage' Screening
(hennemusic) Ahead of Rush's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles on April 18, band members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will attend a screening in the city of the documentary, "Beyond The Lighted Stage."

The screening will also be attended by the film's directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen ("Metal: A Headbanger's Journey," "Iron Maiden: Flight 666").

The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the Rush members; the evening is hosted by veteran DJ Jim Ladd at The ArcLight Cinema in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 16th at 7pm. Check out the trailer.





Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Halestorm Tour
Alter Bridge have announced that they will be launching fall tours of the UK and Europe. Halestorm is set to join them on both treks and Shinedown will be part of the UK leg.

The UK tour will kick off on October 16th in Nottingham and will include stops in Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester.

The European tour will begin on October 24th in Paris and will conclude on November 16th in Lisbon. "Thrilled to be returning to the UK with Shinedown and Halestorm later this year," said Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy. "I'm looking forward to reconnecting with the part of the world that embraced Alter Bridge from the start."

"We are truly honoured to be playing with Alter Bridge in the UK this year," adds Shinedown's Brent Smith. "We are such big fans of the band, and admire them greatly. Rock'n'roll is a way of life for all of us in Shinedown, and we are so excited to be apart of such an amazing tour."

"I'm so excited to be sharing the stage with our friends in Shinedown and Alter Bridge," notes Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale. "I'm so lucky to be the 'little sis of rock' on this tour. All of these men have been so influential to my life, and are tremendous performers. Anyone attending one of these shows better be prepared to leave the building barefoot, because the lot of us are gonna rock your socks off." more on this story





John Fogerty Added To Tim McGraw's TV Special Lineup
John Fogerty has been added to the lineup for the ACM Presents: Tim McGraw's Superstar Summer Night Special all-star concert.

The concert will be filmed on Monday, April 8, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and CBS will air the special on Sunday, May 19 at 9:00-11:00 PM on CBS-TV.

A couple weeks later on May 28th, Fogerty will release his new album "Wrote A Song For Everyone," which features his collaborations with other noted musicians recreating 12 classic songs from his career as a solo artist and with Creedence Clearwater Revival.

His camp sent over these additional details: The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and was recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville except for "Proud Mary" which was recorded in New Orleans with Allen Toussaint and the Rebirth Brass Band.

Fogerty recorded "Fortunate Son" with Foo Fighters at their 606 studio using "the" legendary Neve recording console featured in Dave Grohl's documentary Sound City.




Black Star Riders Guitarist Explains Why They Are No Longer Thin Lizzy
(hennemusic) Black Star Riders guitarist Scott Gorham explains in a new interview why the band decided to change their name after touring for the past three years as Thin Lizzy.

"There was a definite reason for that," guitarist Scott Gorham tells Bloodstock Radio's Michelle Livings. "The writing process took about a year to get 18 songs down. About four months into the whole writing process, I kept thinking about it, 'do I feel comfortable recording an album under the name Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott is not there?'

"And I just found myself feeling increasingly 'no I don't feel comfortable with that idea.' I brought this up to Brian Downey, the drummer, and I said 'what do you think?' He said 'I feel exactly the same way, probably even longer than you have.' So, let's talk to the rest of the guys."

"Went to [vocalist] Ricky [Warwick] and [guitarist] Damon [Johnson] and the others…unbeknownst to all of us, we were all thinking the same thing but nobody wanted to be that first guy to bring the subject up. At that point, we knew that the only way we were going to be able to carry on and record these songs and put them out as an album was we had to stop Thin Lizzy. We had to create a new band, a new personality." Watch the interview here.




The Black Crowes and Tedeschi Trucks Band Summer Tour
The Black Crowes and Tedeschi Trucks Band will be teaming up this summer to launch a North American co-headlining tour.

The tour will feature support from The London Souls and is set to kick off on July 19th at The Woods Amphitheatre at Fontanel in Nashville.

The trek will focus on the East Coast and Midwest markets and include stops in Alpharetta, GA- Charlotte and Raleigh, NC- Columbus, OH- Gilford, NH- Boston- Canadaigua, NY- Pittsburgh- Holmdel, NJ- Wantagh, NY- Philadelphia, PA- Indianapolis, IN- Chicago, IL- Rochester Hills, MI. more on this story





Queens of the Stone Age Streaming New Song Online
(Banana 101.5) Queens of the Stone Age debuted 'My God is the Sun,' which we now know is the first single from their upcoming album '…Like Clockwork,' during Lollapalooza Brazil. Now the band has pushed the studio version of the track to YouTube.

We've been waiting almost 6 years for new music from QOTSA and that day has finally arrived! The first single from their upcoming sixth studio album has just dropped on the internet and showcases the desert/robot rock proprietors at their finest.

Blending just the proper amount of melody, groove and their signature brand of weird — Queens of the Stone Age are back… and they brought Dave Grohl with them to play drums.

'My God is the Sun' marks the first song unveiled from '…Like Clockwork,' and was released just in time to keep us occupied until the album hits stores June 4th.

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Rolling Stones Expand 50 and Counting Tour
The Rolling Stones have expanded their tour plans. A few days after announcing dates for their 50 and Counting Tour, the Rolling Stones have announced additional dates and their frontman hints that more may be on the way.
"Normally when you announce a tour like this, you announce part of it, you leave it to be, you see what happens, you might do a date here and another date there. You don't want to be completely hand fast, so you do leave some dates in between," Mick Jagger said in an interview last week according to AP. "So we'll see what happens."

Apparently they didn't have to wait long, as the band added three North American dates to the trek already and are rumored to be adding a second date at London's Hyde Park after the 65,000 tickets for the announced show sold out in minutes.

The newly announced North American dates include two more shows at Chicago's United Center on May 31 and June 3 as well as a second concert at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto that will take place on June 6.

A UK tabloid is reporting that "a spokesman for the band confirmed they would add a second Hyde Park date, expected to be just one or two days after the first performance."

The band had additional good news for fans; they will be selling a block of tickets for under a $100. They announced that they will be offering "over a 1,000 tickets at $85 (including service charges). Some will be among the best seats in the house in the Tongue Pit, with others spread around the arena. Tickets will be sold as a pair. You will find out your seat location when you pick them up the night of the show. Other tickets range from $150- $600 (plus service charges)." more on this story




Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Van Halen) Dead at 61
Legendary producer and engineer Andy Johns has died at the age of 61 after being hospitalized last week. Johns worked on landmark albums including Led Zeppelin's IV, Physical Graffiti, House of the Holy, and the Rolling Stones 'Exile On Main Street,' 'Goats Head Soup' and 'Sticky Fingers.'

Andy was younger brother of producer Glyn Johns and got his start as a tape operator at Olympic Studios, where he was able to work with Jethro Tull, Humble Pie, and Rod Stewart.

Johns would later go on to work on albums from Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Glenn Hughes, The Steve Miller Band, Creed, Cinderella, Godsmack, Bon Jovi, Frehley's Comet, Gary Moore, McAuley-Schenker Group and more

The cause of death has not been reported but Billboard.biz reports that former L.A. Guns guitarist Stacy Blades confirmed that Johns had died. Blades had been working on a project with Johns until he was hospitalized last week.

You can read Billboard's eulogy for a more in-depth look at John's career here.




Former AC/DC Member Dies
(Classic Rock) Former AC/DC and Rose Tattoo bassist Neil Smith has died after a battle with cancer. He was 60. His family say in a statement:

"Neil is now in peace. There is not a person out there who has met him and not felt like their lives were better for the experience.

"He was a loving and devoted father, a loyal friend and all round generous person. He was larger than life, and his passing will be felt.

"Thanks to all his friends for their support and love, especially during the final stages of his life." More rock news.




Black Sabbath Announce Tour
Black Sabbath have announced plans to hit the road this fall in support of their forthcoming reunion album, 13, their first with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978.

The new album features original vocalist Ozzy along with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and will be released in June. Original drummer Bill Ward did not participate due to a contract dispute.

The band will be launching a tour of the UK and Europe on November 20th in Helsinki. The tour will include stops in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic.

The UK leg is set to kick off on December 10th at the O2 Arena in London and will feature stops in Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. more on this story




Bon Jovi: Did Richie Sambora Jump Or Was He Pushed?
(Classic Rock) The status of Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora remains unconfirmed after he dropped off the band's world tour at short notice last week.

TMZ suggests it's the result of a long-running contractual dispute between Sambora and mainman Jon Bon Jovi, while the New York Post claims the singer's wife forced the move because the guitarist refused to clean up his act, saying he didn't believe in rehab. Both reports cite "sources close to the band."

Meanwhile, Sambora himself has simply stated via Twitter: "Thank you everyone for your concern. I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon." more on this story





Paul McCartney Adds More North American Tour Dates
Paul McCartney is releasing dates for "Out There" tour in drabs and just announced two additional dates for the spring tour of North America.

The new stops include his return to the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK for his first show at the venue since he played the venue's 1st anniversary show in August 2009.

McCartney will also be returning to the site of the Beatles very first U.S. concert when he plays FedExField in Washington D.C. on July 12th.

He had previously announced shows in Austin, TX at the Frank Erwin Center and in Boston, MA at Fenway Park. more on this story




Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins Playing Iggy Pop in CBGB Movie
(Gibson) With Foo Fighters recently on hiatus, drummer Taylor Hawkins has had time on his hands. He used the break in FF's schedule to shoot a film role as Iggy Pop for an upcoming movie about the historic New York punk club CBGB.

The film will take a look at many key figures in the club's history, from the musicians who played there like the Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith and others, to the club's owner, Hilly Kristal, who is portrayed by actor Alan Rickman in the movie.

The first look of Hawkins as Pop, which was released by Rolling Stone, can be seen here. Hawkins poses with Malin Åkerman, who will portray Blondie's Debbie Harry in the movie. No release date has been set for the movie as of yet, but the CBGB film is expected to arrive sometime in 2013.

Hawkins' respite from Foo Fighters was a short: he's recently played with Dave Grohl's Sound City band, and Foo Fighters are already writing the band's next album. See the photo here.





Tom Araya Assures Fans That Jeff Hanneman Is Still Part of Slayer
(Classic Rock) Tom Araya insists Jeff Hanneman is still very much a member of Slayer and hopes the absent guitarist is working on new music.

The frontman suggests that speculation over stand-in Gary Holt joining full-time has been fuelled by the thrash giants' internal communication problems.

Slayer's Kerry King recently said he'd be "okay" if Holt replaced spider-bite victim Hanneman on a permanent basis. Earlier this week Holt himself said he'd never consider the move if it meant he'd have to quit his own band Exodus.

The issue has been made more complex with the absence of drummer Dave Lombardo over a contractual dispute. Asked if the thrash giants find themselves in a "then there were two" situation, Araya tells Andrew Haug: "It's not really two – Jeff isn't in the picture but he's part of the picture. It's taking him a lot longer than he even thought, I think. He can play, he can work out material, but it's surprising him that it's taking as long as it is to get back.

"Even though no one's seen him, Jeff's still part of the band." He goes on to talk about the new album and Jeff's involvement




Hate Member Dies In His Sleep
Slawomir "Mortifer" Kusterka, the bassist for the Polish death metal band Hate, died in his sleep following the band's concert in Germany this weekend.

The band told fans: "At night 5th/6th April near a German town of Munchberg, our friend, best comrade and longtime bass player unexpectedly passed away.

After the show in Stuttgart last night he went to sleep and never woke up. We found him lifeless early in the morning and immediately called an ambulance. He was reanimated, but to no avail.

"Results of Slawek's autopsy should be known soon. In this situation, we decided to cancel the remaining shows and return home. We gave detailed testimonies to the German police.

"We are shocked and shattered by his sudden, unexpected death. We mourn together with Slawek's family and friends." more on this story




David Bowie In The Running For Time Magazine's Influential People List
(Gibson) Time magazine is famous for publishing its annual Time 100 issue, which pays homage to a variety of luminaries from different industries that the magazine names "the most influential people in the world." Now, the magazine is letting readers vote on who they think should make this year's top 100, and when it comes to musicians, David Bowie is among the candidates.

Bowie is really the only rocker in the running, as the rest of the nominees from the music industry include Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, PSY and Sharon Jones.

Celebrities outside of the music world up for the honors include Pope Francis, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ben Affleck, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Jimmy Kimmel, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jon Hamm and Paula Deen, among others. Voting runs through April 12, and the top 100 will be announced on April 18. more on this story






Anthrax Frontman Sings National Anthem At Bulls Game
(hennemusic) Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna was on hand to sing the U.S. national anthem at the Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic game on Friday at the United Center in Chicago.

Anthrax are currently on the road headlining the Metal Alliance tour, along with Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail.

The band recently released an eight-track EP, "Anthems," which pays tribute to the classic songs by some of Anthrax's favorite bands from the 1970s.

On the project, Anthrax cover tracks by AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Rush, Thin Lizzy, Boston and Journey.

Video of Belladonna's performance can be seen here.




Deep Purple Explain Canceled Concert
(Classic Rock) Deep Purple have explained why they cancelled their concert in Nepal last month. They say promoter Richard Coram of Talent Brokers failed to pay the agreed fee at the agreed time.

Frontman Ian Gillan says: "I want to assure everyone that our management and agency bent over backwards to make this work. But every promise from the promoter was broken.

"We are truly miserable that we couldn't get there and would love to come over at the first opportunity."

In other news, Classic Rock has announced a limited-edition hardback version of the magazine featuring Deep Purple. Details here.





Everybody In Skid Row Has A Beef With Sebastian Bach?
(Classic Rock) Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan says it's not true that a fallout between he and Sebastian Bach is preventing a classic lineup reunion.

Bach last year said that only one member of Skid Row was refusing to let a reunion take place. But Bolan says: "We just choose to ignore his comments because it really doesn't matter."

Bolan insists that both Snake Sabo and Scotti Hill both have their own reasons for not wanting to work with Bach again.

"I'd really rather not talk about him – but I can say I think everybody has a beef with him, honestly," Bolan tells Legendary Rock Interviews. "I know what it's like from this side, Snake, Scotti and myself; and I know all of our feelings towards that." more on this story




Judas Priest To Appear on Rockline
(hennemusic) Judas Priest will promote the launch of their new live DVD, "Epitaph," with an appearance on the US nationally-syndicated radio show Rockline with host Bob Coburn.

Priest are scheduled to be the special guests on the May 15th episode of Rockline, which starts at 8:30pm PT/11:30pm ET. More info here

"Epitaph" will be released on May 28th and was recorded at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on May 26th, 2012, which was the closing date of the band's Epitaph World Tour, a trek they billed as their last "large scale" world tour. more on this story




Mike Tramp Rules Out White Lion Reunion
(Classic Rock) Mike Tramp has ruled out working with White Lion again for two reasons - he doesn't think founding guitarist Vito Bratta will get involved, and he doesn't want to sing like he once did.

The singer – whose last outing with the hard rock band was 2008′s Return Of The Pride – is currently promoting his solo album Cobblestone Street, released on May 8. He accepts it's a departure from what fans might expect – but believes they'll have to get used to it.

Tramp tells Rock Meeting: "The thing that's been difficult is you have to answer a question that Vito should be answering. And the answer is 'no.' He's not going to get back up on stage.

"I didn't want to do White Lion after the band broke up. The sound of White Lion represents who Mike Tramp was at that time." more on this story




Metallica Attaching Vert Ramp To Damage Inc Stage at Orion Fest
(hennemusic) Metallica continue to roll out more details for the 2013 edition of their Orion Music + More festival, set for June 8 and 9 at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI.

"We're bringing the Vans Vert Ramp to Detroit and attaching the Damage Inc. stage to it this year at Orion Music and More," posted the band.

"Watch riders tear up the 30-foot wide Vert Ramp while live band (and very special guests) perform during demos!" more on this story





Singled Out: Meeting Of Important People
Today Josh Verbanets from Meeting Of Important People tells us about their new single "Keep Your Eyes On Me" from their brand new album "My Ears are Having a Heart Attack", which is being released this week. Here is the story:

""In Meeting of Important People, I write a lot of "character songs" that are supposed to be sung from the point of view of someone else, not necessarily my own voice or perspective. KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME is our new single, and fits into this category:

I had the idea to do a dance song, you know-- one that orders people to GET UP AND SHAKE IT or GET OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR, but in a way that it could sound equally like someone having fun or instead like someone's insecure girlfriend/boyfriend ordering them around. It always seemed to me that most of the point of dancing in public is to get people to look at you anyways, so I wrote the lyrics from the perspective of someone being bossy at the club, ordering everybody around them to give them attention-- or they're leaving.

The kick drum was recorded as a loop, which just repeats throughout the song to give it that dance feel, and the rest of the drums were played "live"... we ended up with kind of a demented island-sounding song, which I think is perfect for the lyrics. When we perform this song live, we do a big breakdown and try to get everybody to clap and sing along right before the final chorus, sounds like some excellent arena-rock.""

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


KISS Star Paul Stanley Deaf In One Ear
KISS legend Paul Stanley revealed in an article for CNN that he was born "virtually deaf" in his right ear. CNN has republished the article, which was original published in 2011, to coincide with the band's upcoming world tour as they celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Stanley told CNN, "I was born with a Level 3 Microtia, which is a congenital deformity of the cartilage of the outer ear, and occurs in approximately 1 out of every 8,000 to 10,000 births.

"There is no ear canal and no direct path to the inner workings of the ear. Except for bone conduction, I'm virtually deaf on my right side, as there is no access for sound to enter.

"I've had an implanted hearing aid for years now. This is a device that is usually given to children at an early age or to adults who have lost their hearing due to a medical condition. This has been an ongoing adjustment for me as my brain has never processed sound coming in from my right side.

"In the beginning, it was incredibly taxing and extremely confusing. It would be like you are suddenly developing an eye in the back of your head. That said, it has settled in quite a bit and I have to say, it has enhanced my day-to-day activities.

"People often ask if my hearing problem has had any impact on my career. It's sometimes hard for people to understand that you don't miss what you've never had. When blind people speak about seeing or colors, it's very personal to them." Read the rest of what he had to say here.




Motley Crue Plan Another Residency
(hennemusic) Motley Crue are returning to Las Vegas for a second residency in Sin City and will announce the news today according to a friend of the band.

Crue pal Robin Leach of VegasDeluxe.com tweeted the news on Monday evening, writing, "Motley Crue returns for Hard Rock residency Sept 18 Oct 6. Look for trashed hotle room theme and a dangerous set whole new production."

Leach later added, "#MotleyCrue show will be confirmed tomorrow with tickets on sale this Friday. Not April 1 joke but still exclusive."

In February of 2012, the Crue became the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency in Las Vegas, playing a series of shows at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. more on this story




Bob Ezrin Tried To Make Pink Floyd Rap
(Classic Rock) Producer Bob Ezrin tried to introduce rap music to Pink Floyd album A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, he's admitted.

But David Gilmour hated the idea and vetoed it, meaning the band's 1987 record – their first without Roger Waters – was recorded without elements of the then cutting-edge pop movement.

Ezrin tells ZME Music: "I became fascinated with rap – I'm an early adopter. I brought some in when we were doing A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. I brought some to David Gilmour, going, 'Boy, I think this stuff with a rock beat would be awesome.'

"He said, 'Oh my God, that would be terrible!' He couldn't believe it. He hated the idea."

Meanwhile, the producer has also admitted he refused his first invitation to work on Deep Purple's new album, Now What?! – and only changed his mind after he saw the band live. more on this story




The Dillinger Escape Plan Stream New Album Preview
The Dillinger Escape Plan are giving fans an advance listen to their new album over a month before the album is officially released.

The band posted a new video online that preview every track on the new album, One Of Us Is The Killer. The album is set for release on May 14th. You can check out the preview here.

And as a fan commented on the video page, with a new album that means the band will be hitting the road with a new tour to promote the effort.

The band will be launching their North American tour on April 22nd, ahead of the album release. The tour will also feature sets from The Faceless and Royal Thunder. more on this story





Nine Inch Nails, Mumford & Son, the Cure Lead Lollapalooza Lineup
(Radio.com) The line-up for this year's Lollapalooza music festival has officially been announced, featuring headliners Nine Inch Nails, Mumford & Son, the Killers and the Cure, making their first-ever appearance at the fest.

"The first time I ran into Robert Smith of The Cure was 1997 in New York City," said Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane's Addiction and the festival's founder, in a press release. "We were both going into the same club; and it was Halloween. I was dressed as myself and so was he. I am so happy the Cure have finally arrived at Lolla in Chicago."

The announcement was made more than a week ahead of the original release date of April 9 after the line-up was leaked when a poster revealing the acts hit the internet late last week.

This year's line-up is packed with heavy-hitters and fan favorites, including Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Phoenix, the Postal Service and Vampire Weekend.

Check out the complete Lollapalooza 2013 line-up here.




Geoff Tate's Queensryche Lose Producer
(Classic Rock) Geoff Tate's Queensryche album Frequency Unknown has hit another stumbling block as Billy Sherwood has bowed out of remixing the record.

He made the announcement days after he was supposed to have started work on the project, explaining that he doesn't have time for it.

Sherwood was hired by Tate's record label after fans complained about the quality of the original mix as heard in preview clips. They confirmed Frequency Unknown would be released as planned next month, then Sherwood's version would appear at a later date.

But the bassist and producer has said: "I'm in the middle of many projects, both studio productions and live stuff – Prog Collective 2, Steve Miller tribute, William Shatner solo record, starting a Doors tribute soon, playing live in a few days with Eddie Jobson in Mexico.

"I also just got an interesting offer to play bass with a prog icon for a few gigs in June. I will announce who when it gets closer." more on this story




Skid Row Releasing their First New Material in Seven Years
(Classic Rock) Skid Row will release their first new material in seven years when their EP United World Rebellion Chapter One is launched on April 15.

It's the first in a series of planned EP releases, of which bassist Rachel Bolan says: "When we put the band back together, we needed to reintroduce Skid Row as relevant without relying too much on past success.

"We sunk our heart and soul into it, letting people know we weren't doing it for lack of nothing better to do." He adds: " I like the idea of a steady flow of new music, as opposed to releasing a full-length album then riding it for the next two years." More rock news.




Paul McCartney Jams With Rolling Stones' Ron Wood
(Gibson) Paul McCartney joined Rolling Stones' Ron Wood at the Ambassador Theatre in London during a concert staged by McCartney's son, James.

Wood accompanied the younger McCartney on guitar throughout the set, while at one point James' famous Dad surprised everyone by leaping onstage to play piano during one song.

After wrapping up his performance cameo, Sir Paul rejoined the audience, which included his daughters, Stella and Mary, and his wife, Nancy.

In other McCartney news, the former Beatle recently announced that a live version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" – originally circulated as a radio promo single in 1976 – will be released on 12-inch vinyl for Record Store Day on April 20. more on this story






ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons To Record With The Moving Sidewalks
(Radio.com) Over the weekend, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons revisited his youth by reuniting with his pre-ZZ band, The Moving Sidewalks, for their first concert in 44 years at New York's B.B. King's.

The band has one more show scheduled for April 28 at the Austin Psych Fest, but their story won't end there thanks to one of their more famous fans, fashion designer John Varvatos.

Gibbons told Radio.com that Varvatos (who posted a photo from Saturday night's show on his Facebook page) convinced him to hit the studio with his former band.

"After speaking with John," he said, 'You know a couple of shows, that's okay, but they're going to evaporate.' I said, 'What are you recommending?' He said, 'You know what I'm recommending! Get in the studio!' So, in the not-too-distant future, we've made arrangements to take some of the re-arranged originals and cover those, and we're in the process of maintaining the momentum by writing new material."

The shows are to promote the band's recently released The Complete Moving Sidewalks and Gibbons says he was surprised by the continued interest in the band. But even more importantly, he was surprised that the chemistry was still there. more on this story




Local H Resuming Tour As Singer Recovers From Brutal Attack
Local H will be returning to the road after they were forced to cancel a series of dates because frontman Scott Lucas suffered vocal cord damage in a vicious attack in Russia in February.

The band will kick off the reinstated tour this Thursday, April 4th, at The Waiting Room in Omaha, NE. The band also plans to reschedule the canceled dates.

Lucas told fans about the brutal attack in the following Facebook post: "Here's what happened: A month ago, after a date in Moscow, I was assaulted and robbed. The attacker came up from behind and put me in a chokehold until I passed out. When I came to, I was in a stairwell with all of my pockets empty. No phone, no wallet, no cash, and (worst of all) no passport. Nothing. Even my hat and glasses were gone. It wasn't until I found someone to ask for help that I realized something else was gone - my voice. When I opened my mouth to ask that person to call me a taxi, nothing but a scratchy croak would come out. I touched my throat and could feel that more damage had been done than I initially thought. A purple bruise began to form. I was having trouble swallowing. Russia...........

"When I got back to the states, I just figured that resting my voice and taking it easy would allow everything to return to normal. I'd lost my voice before and I knew the drill : shut the f**k up (basically). But it soon became apparent that this time my voice wasn't going to just heal itself and I had to see someone. The folks at MusiCares hooked me up with a voice doctor who found that one of my vocal cords had been damaged." more on this story




Eddie Van Halen Explains Why He Went Hip-Hop
Eddie Van Halen surprised fans when he revealed that he had collaborated with LL Cool J on two tracks on the veteran rapper's new album, Authentic, which will be released on April 30th.

Now the legendary rock guitarist has spoken out about the collaboration and what inspired him to team up with LL Cool J. His camp says that Eddie didn't know what to think of the invitation at first but once he met LL the two hit it off instantly and he agreed to do it.

"The thought of me playing guitar to hip hop was definitely left of center, but I was intrigued and I agreed to meet and listen to what he had," says Eddie. "I was not only inspired by the songs I heard, but LL's enthusiasm, his down to earth personality, the freedom he gave me to co-create and his willingness to, for the very first time, sing the chorus on 'We're The Greatest'. It was like a breath of fresh air that I needed as an artist and an individual."

Eddie adds, "the diversity of the songs on this album and the other artists he has collaborated with is outstanding, appealing to multiple genres of music and maybe even creating a few of our own. I feel blessed to not only have had the opportunity to work with LL but also to call him a great friend." more on this story




Led Zeppelin: Sound and Fury Set For Release
(hennemusic) "Led Zeppelin: Sound and Fury", a new digital book by noted Zeppelin photographer Neal Preston, will be published on April 15.

The in-depth, illustrated digital coffee-table book is created and designed especially for iBooks, providing an unprecedented and comprehensive glimpse into the world of Led Zeppelin through the lens of the famed photographer.

Blending images, interviews, and information to allow readers inside access into some of the greatest moments in rock history, "Sound and Fury" features hundreds of photos of the band from throughout their career (including over 100 that have never been seen before), audio introductions, written pieces, hi-definition video interviews, ephemera, commentary from contemporary artists, technical camera info, band discography, and more.

"Sound And Fury" includes a written introduction by Stevie Nicks. More details.




New Beatles Auction Record Set
(Classic Rock) A signed copy of the Beatles' Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band's album has been sold at auction for $290,000, breaking a previous record.

The item, believed to have been autographed by the Fab Four soon after its released in 1967, was estimated to have been worth just $30,000.

The previous record for the band's memorabilia was $150,000 for a signed copy of 1964 release Meet The Beatles. More rock news.





AC/DC Legend Bon Scott Named 2nd Greatest Australian Singer
(hennemusic) AC/DC legend Bon Scott has been named the second greatest Australian singer of all-time in a new survey of Aussie singers.

The Daily Telegraph reports Scott landed at No. 2 behind pop singer John Farnham on the list, which was compiled after a survey of Aussie singers.

"Bon's combination of cheek, wit and balls made everything he did unforgettable," said Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus. "He was also a brilliant songwriter. Do I really need to say any more about the genius of Bon Scott? We were very lucky to have him."

Scott was AC/DC's vocalist from 1974 until his death in 1980. He recorded six albums with the band – from 1975's "High Voltage" to 1979's "Highway To Hell." Who else made the list?




Yes Expand Tour Plans
(hennemusic) Progressive Rock legends Yes have added more dates to their 2013 tour due to overwhelming demand.

The newly added dates start May 19th with 6 shows in Brazil and one each in Chile and Argentina. The new North American dates launch July 6th in Paso Robles, CA and wrap up August 14th in Rosemont, IL.

The tour marks the first time since 1973 that Yes - bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Jon Davison - have performed an album onstage in its entirety.

The current trek sees the band performing 1971's "The Yes Album", 1972's "Close To The Edge" and 1977's "Going For The One" from beginning to end. more on this story




Rush Look Back At Rock History
(hennemusic) Rolling Stone have released video of Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson taking a recent tour of their offices as the two rock legends look back at other rock legends.

The clip shows the pair spending time at the "cover wall," highlighting and discussing various artists as they review the collection from the magazine's 46-year history.

Lee and Lifeson reminisce about seeing Led Zeppelin in Toronto in 1969 and meeting them many years later, drummer Neil Peart's audition for the band, seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and, where they were and what they were doing the day John Lennon was murdered.

Rush return to action this month with a full calendar of events, including their April 18th induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live. more on this story





Def Leppard Aim To Surprise In Vegas
(Classic Rock) Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has admitted the band have their work cut out trying to surprise fans during their Las Vegas residency.

The band is midway through a series of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino, where they're performing classic album Hysteria in full. And Elliott accepts that means most people think they know what they're going to get during the evening.

In the video, showing scenes from Def Lep's final rehearsal, he tells Fuse: "Once we start Hysteria everyone knows what they're going to get. So we have to make a conscious effort, knowing they don't know what they're going to get for the first half of the show.

"With eleven performances we can do literally eleven different sets. We're going deep – the first album, which we don't visit too often; a couple of tracks from High And Dry which haven't been played in years, or have never been played." Watch the video and read more here.




John Lydon Looking Forward to Chinese Prison
(Classic Rock) John Lydon is surprised that Chinese authorities approved his PiL tour after demanding to read every lyric he's ever written.

"They have either incredible good taste or they have no idea what I'm going on about," he says. "I can't wait to find out."

"I hope their prison food is better than elsewhere. I've been in jails all around the world. I'm due an update." More rock news.




Krokus Mistaken For Beatles Songwriters
(Classic Rock) Krokus bassist and producer Chris Von Rohr has been inundated with congratulation for having written Beatles classic Help, because the band covered it on their new album Dirty Dynamite.

"A lot of people don't know that song," he reports. "They come to me and tell me, 'Wow, great new Krokus ballad here,' and I have to tell them that that's unfortunately not written by us.

"Not everybody young knows Help. And it's good to tell the young people: 'Hey, listen to the Beatles stuff – they wrote the best songs in the world, ever.'" More rock news.




Anthrax's Benante Not Bothered By Not Cashing In On Innovation
(Classic Rock) Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante isn't upset that he's given credit for a number of heavy music innovations, but doesn't make the money.

He says: "There have been many times when I've been namechecked and people will say, 'He's the guy who started that.' But it doesn't bother me that others might have reaped the financial rewards for the seeds I was responsible for sowing. It happens to a lot of people in this business.

"You can always be on the cusp of something great, but just be a bit too early with it. The SOD thing was very influential – it showed hardcore bands that you can play what you want to play and make money doing it.

"It definitely helped a lot of those hardcore bands to reach a certain level of success and popularity. The blast beat on the SOD. song Milk had a big impact on rock drumming." More rock news.





Singled Out: Deap Vally
Today Lindsey Troy from Deap Vally tells us about the song "Lies" from their debut EP, "Get Deap," which is set to be released next week on April 9th. Here is the story:

Julie got a me delay pedal for Christmas a couple years ago. I locked myself in our rehearsal space for a few hours and played around with my new toy. I came up with the guitar riff for the chorus during those few hours.

I was seething from a romance that had recently crashed and burned. I was in my car on my way to band practice a few days later and I started to come up with the lyrics. I showed the idea to Julie when we got the our rehearsal space and she dug it, so we jammed it out and finished the song together. We had most of the song fleshed out and were just jamming on the music when Julie grabbed the mic and in a smoky Diana Ross speaking voice says "I thought we agreed / you wouldn't have the need to spread your seed / but it's a fact / you broke your contract". It was on.

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




Tesla Guitarist Frank Hannon Releases New Video
(Classic Rock) Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon has released a new music video for his track The Hills Of California, and you can watch the video online.

It's taken from his solo album Gypsy Highway, which was released in 2010. He says of the work: "The storytelling style of songwriting has always been fascinating to me.

"Singing is a whole another world for me – it took me a long time to find my voice as a lead singer and feel comfortable exposing my soul that way.

"I wrote, sang and played all the instruments and it is definitely an acoustic-type album that shares a lot of my roots and life experiences from the heart." Watch the video here.




James Bond Inspired One of David Lee Roth's Bad Habits
(hennemusic) David Lee Roth has posted a new episode of The Roth Show. This time out, the Van Halen frontman discusses his personal history with alcohol and cigarettes; the singer reveals he took up smoking after seeing Sean Connery as James Bond in "Goldfinger."

Roth has been visible lately doing press interviews to promote the few Van Halen concert dates on the 2013 calendar.

First up for the band is an April 20 gig at The Stone Music Festival in Synday, Australia, marking VH's first visit to the country with Roth.

Van Halen then play three concerts in Japan in June, and they have a single US show set for July 20 at the Rock USA festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Watch the episode here.




Vanderhoof's Metal Church On Wikimetal
The latest episode of the Wikimetal podcast features an exclusive interview with Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. They sent over these details:

Vanderhoof, the guitar player and founding member of Metal Church, spoke with the podcast about the group's history as well as all the band's break-ups.

Kurdt also talked about Metal Church's next album and the show they're doing in São Paulo, on the Live N' Louder festival.

You can listen to the full episode here or you can listen to the interview portion here.




Vampire Weekend Celebrate Easter With Steve Buscemi
(Radio.com) Vampire Weekend spent this weekend with revered character actor Steve Buscemi to take part in this year's New York City Easter Parade.

Buscemi and the band marched in the parade bearing a colorful Easter-themed banner, handing out chocolate Easter eggs to the crowd, according to Pitchfork. The Boardwalk Empire star even used a bullhorn for an impromptu rendition of the band's most recent single, "Diane Young."

Vampire Weekend also took to their Instagram account to post a picture of Buscemi holding up a copy of the New York Post's feature story regarding the band's recent controversy regarding the burning of two Saab 900 series cars for the "Diane Young" lyric video, much to the chagrin of enthusiasts of the new-defunct automaker.

The band preempted the collaboration with a tweet last week, stating that member Chris Baio "has been working on a family tree for months and just discovered he is a distant cousin of actor Steve Buscemi." more on this story





Looking Back At Nirvana's Kurt Cobain 19 Years After His Death
(Gibson) Kurt Cobain, the legendary frontman of '90s grunge band Nirvana, took his own life in his Seattle-area home 19 years ago this Friday (April 5). He was just 27.

On this anniversary week, we recall the impact he had on popular music via some choice quotes: On being a "Sub Pop" band before signing to DGC for Nevermind, as told to Dirt in 1990.

"Well, when someone walks up to me and says, 'You're my favorite Sub Pop band,' I think -- geez, we're you're favorite out of five bands? What about the rest of the country? I don't know. It just scares me. I wonder whether they like us because we're a Sub Pop band or because we're ourselves."

On being called an "alternative" or "underground" band via Recalling Memories of Kurt Cobain in 1991: "What's alternative? What's counterculture? What's cool? Who knows? Who cares? If chasing cool is important to you, you're an idiot! What can you say about people who wait to be told what to like, what to do and how to do it? It's like apathy in action… Look at the mediocrity and blatantly unacceptable stuff we do to each other and the planet. Look at what we accept in our lives by just saying it's out of our control, we can't do anything about it, and it's not our fault. I'm not into ambition or salesmanship, we're not some new trend. We never meant or tried to be cool, or be a "buzz" band. It never even entered our minds."

On the difference between Bleach and Nevermind, as told to Kerrang! magazine (via NirvanaClub.com) in 1991: "I think we've been focusing on dynamics a lot more on this record [Nevermind]. With the Bleach album, everything was just straight ahead and simple, and it becomes boring to play that kind of music all the time so we decided to break things down without songs. I mean, we showed signs of doing that on Bleach, but I think we're way more focused now with both of the elements of soft and pretty and hard and aggressive."

On MTV thinking Nirvana is a metal band, as told to Guitar World in 1992: "That's fine; let them be fooled! I don't have anything against Headbanger's Ball, but it's strange to see our faces on MTV."

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock

We have a shorter report than normal today due to the Easter holiday.


Rolling Stones Tease Big Tour Announcement?
(hennemusic) The Rolling Stones spent the weekend teasing what could possibly be the impending announcement of their rumored spring North American tour.

Under the heading #StartMeUpWednesday, the band released an image of the theme on a billboard in San Francisco, as well as a photo of song lyrics displayed on a message screen on a train platform in Chicago.

As part of the teaser campaign, the Stones also posted a video on Sunday that featured lyrics from 10 songs projected on the side of an anonymous building.

Pollstar recently reported that the Stones had confirmed AEG Live as the promoter for an 18-date arena tour of North American starting in early May, with official news to be released in early April. See the video and billboard here.



Willie Nelson May Appear On New Megadeth Album
(hennemusic) Could Willie Nelson end up playing on the new Megadeth album? Dave Mustaine ran into the country legend in Austin, TX., Thursday night and posted a photo of the two.

"Willie Nelson is in the restaurant I am eating at," tweeted the guitarist. "I just met him! How cool is this???" Dave is in the city doing some house-hunting.

Later, Mustaine re-posted the image, writing, "I'm talking to Willie about a guest appearance on 'The Blackest Crow'" … a track from the forthcoming album, "Super Collider." Check out the photo here.




Paramore Premiering New Album Over Four Nights This Week
(Radio.com) Paramore is returning to the music scene in a big way this spring, with the band releasing its first album in four years on April 9. But the Tennessee rockers' self-titled fourth album won't just drop via CD and download - Paramore will premiere the new songs with a very unique online presentation.

"Starting Monday (April 1), we're going to be premiering our album over four nights, on Paramore.net," frontwoman Hayley Williams said in a video announcement on YouTube.

"Each night, for four nights, we're going to show you one side of the album. So, for instance, Monday night we're going to show you side A. Tuesday night, we'll show you side B, and then so on and so on."

"There's four sides, so four nights," added guitarist Taylor York during the brief video announcement, revealing that the vinyl version of the release will be a double-album affair. more on this story




Robert Plant and Johnny Rotten In Forthcoming Film
(hennemusic) Robert Plant, Johnny Rotten and Patti Smith are set to appear in a new film by director Terrence Malick. Ryan Gosling spoke to Indiewire about the film, which follows two intersecting love triangles within the music scene in Austin, Texas.

Plant lives in Austin with Patty Griffin. It is expected that Robert's role will be a cameo of some sort, but no further details are available at this time regarding his participation or a proposed release schedule.

Indiewire asked which Malick film he was going to appear in – two pictures were shot last summer. "I'm in the music one," said Gosling. "[Michael] Fassbender, Val Kilmer, Patti Smith, Robert Plant, Johnny Rotten, the Black Lips, just I mean every day was unlike anything."

Gosling also explained how the approach to the film also took an interesting turn from the conventional. Read about that here.




Metallica Star Jams With Anthrax
(hennemusic) Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett joined Anthrax at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco Thursday to perform the AC/DC classic "TNT."

Hammett's appearance on the tune follows Slash's guest spot with the band in Hollywood this past Wednesday to jam the same song.

The song is featured on Anthrax's newly-released EP of covers called "Anthems." In addition to the AC/DC classic, "Anthems'" also features Rush's "Anthem", Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak', Boston's 'Smokin', 'Big Eyes' by Cheap Trick, Journey's 'Keep On Runnin', as well as the album version and a special remix of Anthrax's "Crawl", from the band's 2011 album, "Worship Music."

Anthrax are currently on the road headlining the Metal Alliance tour, along with Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail. Check out video of the jam here.




Iron Maiden Legend Clive Burr Laid To Rest
(hennemusic) A funeral service for former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr was held on Monday, March 25 at the City Of London Crematorium in London, England.

Burr died on March 12 in his sleep at his home at the age of 56 after suffering from multiple sclerosis for many years.

Burr joined Maiden in 1979 and performed on the band's first three albums: "Iron Maiden" (1980), "Killers" (1981) and "The Number Of The Beast" (1982). Prior to that, he was a member of Samson.

At the time of his passing, Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris commented, "This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time." more on this story




Bon Jovi Provide Theme Song For TV Series
(Gibson) Bon Jovi fans who tune into the Discovery Channel's upcoming seven-part "North America" series are in for a surprise, as the group's track "Army of One" has been selected to be the theme music for the show.

"Bon Jovi's 'Army of One' captures the daring, wild spirit of Discovery's upcoming landmark television event that presents our homeland as an extreme world all within one continent," said Eileen O'Neill, group president of Discovery Channel and TLC, in an official statement.

"Army of One" appears on Bon Jovi's latest full-length, What About Now. The series, which actor Tom Selleck will narrate, premieres on the Discovery Channel at 9 p.m. ET/PT on May 19. more on this story






Famed Music Venue In Danger
(Classic Rock) The future of Hammersmith Apollo as a live music venue is under threat from a property developer who wants to turn it into a giant furniture warehouse.

Sheik Farhi Erl Pitts, who made his riches building and furnishing skyscrapers in Dubai, has tabled a £75 million bid for the iconic West London venue, which is owned jointly by AEG Live and Eventim.

"I have great affection for the Hammersmith Apollo – or Odeon, as I prefer to call it," said Farhi Erl Pitts. "As a rock fan myself I have seen many great gigs there, including Kiss in 1976. But with the live music scene in the doldrums, I believe the Apollo's days in its current guise are numbered."

Talking about his plans to convert the Apollo into a giant furniture warehouse, Farhi Erl Pitts said: "This part of West London is currently undergoing massive redevelopment and regeneration, with many new houses and apartments being built. I feel there will be great future demand in Hammersmith and its environs for furniture of all shapes and sizes.

"But I will do my best to preserve some of this great building's rock'n'roll identity," he vowed. "Our bed department, for example, will be called No Sleep Til Hammersmith. I will also sub-let part of our floorspace to World Of Leather, and get my good friend Rob Halford to attend the grand opening. Plus any band who recorded a live album there will be able to claim a free three-piece suite." more on this story




Megadeth Plan Another Gigantour
(hennemusic) Megadeth have nailed down the lineup for this year's Gigantour. "[I] finalized the bands for Gigantour 2013 and have to admit, I am hella impressed!!," posted Dave Mustaine. "Details coming soon."

Mustaine personally selects the artists for the festival, which Megadeth first founded in 2005. Gigantour made its return last year for the first time since 2008 with a bill that included Motorhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil.

Megadeth recently completed recording their forthcoming album, "Super Collider," which will be released on June 4. more on this story




6-Year-Old Drummer Takes On Van Halen Classic
(hennemusic) A new video that's sure to go viral features a 6-year-old drummer rocking Van Halen's 1984 classic, "Hot For Teacher."

Known as Avery Drummer, Avery Molek is a Washington, PA-based musician who can be seen nailing Alex Van Halen's drum parts on the tune.

In addition to doing covers, Avery has played 15 shows all at the age of 5. Six shows were solo 1-hour concerts & 9 shows were playing in 4 different live bands spanning in 4 states. Most notable were The Hard Rock Cafe, The Illinois State Fair & Sturgis Fest "Bike Week" in Michigan.

Avery has posted videos of himself performing classic tracks by KISS, Motley Crue, Jimi Hendrix and Guns N' Roses. Check out the Van Halen jam here.




Sebastian Bach Premieres 18 and Life Video From New DVD
(Classic Rock) Sebastian Bach has premiered a video for 18 And Life, taken from the ex-Skid Row frontman's new live package ABachalypse Now.

The ABachalypse Now Ultimate CD/DVD Edition comprises two CDs and a DVD, and includes footage from last year's GrasPop Festival in Belgium, Hellfest in France and the Nokia show from Los Angeles, as well as bonus music videos.

If you don't want the full-on the bumper fandango, ABachalypse Now is also available as a standalone DVD, with a running time of approximately 160 minutes. Both are available via Frontiers.

Today's Day in Rock News!

Today's Day in Rock


Van Halen's David Lee Roth Insured His Private Part
(Radio.com) In an interview earlier this week, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth surprised no one by revealing that he'd had his private part insured by Lloyd's of London.
Addressing a rumor that he had his entire body insured, he pointed out that he had, in fact, only insured "Little Elvis." He mentioned that this was a case of, "Get out of the way of a good rumor."

He said that before the band went on an early tour, "We had to insure [guitarist] Edward's fingers, since he will be using those a lot on the road, and [drummer] Alex Van Halen's elbows. So I said, 'What about Little Elvis? We're going to be using him a lot." more on this story



Leaked Lollapalooza Poster Lists Nine Inch Nails, The Cure As Headliners
(Radio.com) Are Nine Inch Nails and The Cure going to be at Lollapalooza? A leaked photo of this year's poster says they will be.

According to The Chicago Tribune, "multiple industry sources" confirmed that the picture, which hit the web late Wed and early Thurs (March 27-28) via various music-related Twitter accounts and blogs like Slicing Up Eyeballs, is the official lineup of the festival.

The lineup listed on the poster for the three-day Chicago festival, taking place from August 2-4, lists The Cure and Nine Inch Nails as two of the headliners.

Nine Inch Nails have already announced six tour dates and on the band's site they note that "more dates are coming soon." With no shows scheduled during Lolla, it wouldn't be that surprising if they made an appearance at the festival. more on this story



KISS and Hello Kitty Team Up For TV Series
(hennemusic) The KISS branding machine continues to work in overdrive as news surfaces that the band are teaming up with Hello Kitty for a new TV series.

The program has a working title of "Kiss Hello Kitty" and is now in development for The Hub, and KISS bassist Gene Simmons will be one of the executive producers, reports USA Today.

The show will feature "four Kiss x Hello Kitty characters living their rock 'n' roll dreams and bringing pink anarchy to every situation they are in."

"Knowing and viewing The Hub as I do daily with my three children, it is the perfect home for us to bring the Kiss Hello Kitty juggernaut to yet another generation," says frontman Paul Stanley. more on this story




Fall Out Boy Plan Save Rock and Roll Tour
(Radio.com) Some bands announce a new tour with a basic, to-the-point press release that lays out the dates to be played and nothing more. Fall Out Boy does things a little differently.

In a video released yesterday (March 28), a myriad of snippets from other videos are used to announce the tour. Included: Gene Simmons of Kiss, Bill Clinton, Peter Griffin of Family Guy, John F. Kennedy, The Joker (Heath Ledger's version), Conan O'Brien and many more.

"We are proud to announce the Save Rock and Roll Tour, coming this September to a city near you," the spliced-together clips spell out. "Tickets on sale April 5 and 6."

The video notes that the September tour will be the "last chance" to see Fall Out Boy in 2013. The band is already in the middle of a spring and summer tour that includes dates in North America, Europe and Asia, and will remain in the United States through June 30 before leaving the country and coming back for the first date, in Uncasville, Conn. on Sept. 5. Watch the video here.




LL Cool J Discusses Eddie Van Halen Collaboration
(Radio.com) LL Cool J unexpectedly posted a photo to his Facebook page that showed him sitting in the control room of a studio… next to Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen hasn't guested on too many albums in recent years, so this came as something of a shock.

Radio.com sat down LL, who talked about working with the guitar legend, who is one of many guests on his upcoming album, Authentic:

"Working with Eddie was just amazing," he said. "I just really wanted to work with the best, work with people that I respect, people that I look up to, people that impress me, people that I believe are truly super talented… and even more talented than myself. I feel like Eddie falls in that category. Now Eddie Van Halen has officially done a hip-hop record. And I have officially worked with one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived."

The song is called "We're The Greatest," but the famously un-humble MC was quick to point out that the lyrics may not (necessarily) be self-referential.

"It's speaking about all of us," he told Radio.com. "It's not necessarily about me and Eddie per se. It's about people that kinda get tossed aside, forgotten about, kicked down, and then they make a comeback in life and they regain that ground that they had lost, and then some. So that's why it opens up like (he raps the lyrics):

'Knock knock, who's there, the one, remember me? / I'm looking kinda different these days/ Don't you agree?/ You're boy's doing it big this year. Didn't you see?/ The hell with the Devil, there's no sympathy…' Read what else he had to say here.




Behind The Scenes Of Def Leppard's VIVA! Hysteria
(hennemusic) A new video report by Fuse TV gives fans a behind the scenes look at Def Leppard's "VIVA! Hysteria."

The UK rockers are in the second week of their Las Vegas residency at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where they'll perform 11 shows between March 22 and April 13.

"VIVA! Hysteria" features two sets from the band at each performance: the first is a wild card collection of songs that will change from night to night; the scond presents the band's iconic 1987 album, "Hysteria," from start to finish.

Prior to the launch of the series, Def Leppard released a newly recorded version of the song "Hysteria."

The new single is the latest song re-recorded by the band as they were unable to come to an agreement with their former record label over digital rights fees. Check out the behind the scenes video




Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon Radio Play Coming
(Classic Rock) A play based on Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 to mark the album's 40th anniversary.

Entitled Dark Side, it was written by long-term fan Sir Tom Stoppard and the cast includes Bill Nighy and Rufus Sewell. It's set for broadcast on August 26.

Floyd guitarist David GIlmour has read the script and says he found it "fascinating." He adds: "I can't wait to hear it come to life with the great cast performing it, and our music woven into it. I can't think of a better way to celebrate The Dark Side Of The Moon's 40-year anniversary."

Stoppard admits he'd been thinking about writing the work since the album was released in 1973. "I had no idea for a long time what I would do," he explains. "Finally I found some time, sat down and listened to the album for the thousandth time, picked up from the beginning and kept going. more on this story




Rolling Stones Getting Standard Pay For Glastonbury
(Classic Rock) The Rolling Stones are getting the "bog standard" fee for headlining Glastonbury, organiser Michael Eavis has confirmed.

Fans will be able to see Mick Jagger and co plus hundreds of other acts for around half the price of a standard ticket to the Stones' 50th anniversary concerts last year.

And when the veterans take to the stage on June 29 they won't be receiving preferential treatment in terms of money.

Eavis tells the BBC Today programme: "There's a bog standard price for the headliner – we get headliners for a tenth of the normal price. They're not being paid very much.

"Headliners are always good to us because they want to do it. They get TV and huge record sales straight after the show." more on this story




Slash Jam's AC/DC Classic With Anthrax
(hennemusic) Slash joined Anthrax at the House Of Blues in Hollywood Wednesday night to rock out on an AC/DC classic. The pair teamed up for "TNT," one of the tunes featured on Anthrax's newly-released EP of covers called "Anthems."

"Just went to see Exodus & Anthrax," Slash tweeted after the show. "Missed Exodus though. Anthrax is kicking ass. Played TNT w/them. Good Xs!"

Anthrax are currently on the road headlining the Metal Alliance tour, along with Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail.

In addition to the AC/DC classic, "Anthems'" also features Rush's "Anthem", Thin Lizzy's 'Jailbreak', Boston's 'Smokin', 'Big Eyes' by Cheap Trick, Journey's 'Keep On Runnin', as well as the album version and a special remix of Anthrax's "Crawl", from the band's 2011 album, "Worship Music." Watch video of the Slash jam here.





Smashing Pumpkins Begin Working On New Album
(Gibson) Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins have spent a good deal of time touring in support of their current full-length, Oceania, but they're ready to start looking ahead to the future. Earlier this week, Corgan dropped the news via Twitter that he and his band have official started work on the next Pumpkins album.

"Excited to announce today's our 1st official day of writing for new SP album. Wish us luck!" he tweeted.

Gibson's Anne Erickson recently had the chance to chat with Corgan about how he gets that characteristic Pumpkins tone. "I think if you want to get the Gibson end of the Pumpkins sound, you take any amp that has a pretty good pre-amp in it, and the treble is probably not going to go any higher than about 3 o'clock," he said. "You want the treble on 2 or 3 o'clock. You don't want the highs too cranky. You want to scoop the mids a bit, so the mids are probably somewhere in the range of 10 o'clock, and then the bass is in the range of 3 o'clock.

"So, you want bass but not too much bass, you want treble but not too much treble and you want to scoop the mids, and that's pretty much where you start. And crank the pre-amp all the way up." more on this story






ZZ Top Plan American Spring Tour
(Gibson) ZZ Top have lined up a number of tour dates in the U.S. after they have just wrapped up a tour of Australia, which included dates with Guns N' Roses.

After the U.S .dates, they are heading to Europe for a short summer tour, before heading back to the US for a pair of summer festivals, including Bonnaroo, and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

On top of that, guitarist Billy Gibbons will reunite with the Moving Sidewalks, his band from the late '60s, for two shows — March 30 in New York City, and April 28 for the Austin Psych Fest in Austin, Texas.

"Keep on keepin' on!" Billy Gibbons told the Compass news, "We put this band together with nothing in mind but getting out there and playin' some of that low down rockin' blues. Moreover, we have to keep it on the move. We don't know anything else."

New ZZ Top tour dates:

5/2 — Newkirk, Okla
5/3 — Concho, Okla.
5/4 — Memphis, Tenn
5/8 — Wallingford, Ct.
5/9 — Morristown, N.J.
5/10 — Crewe, Va.
5/11 — Atlantic City, N.J.
5/13 — Lancaster, Penn.
5/14 — Englewood, N.J.
5/15 — Westbury, N.Y.
5/17 — Hampton Beach, N.H.
5/18 — Lynn, Mass.
5/19 — Baltimore, Md.
5/21 — Knoxville, Tenn.
5/25 — Biloxi, Miss.
6/13 — Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo)
8/1 — Costa Mesa, Calif.
8/4 — Sturgis, S.D. (Motorcycle Rally)






Jay Pepper Admits It May Be Time To Bring Curtain Down On Tigertailz
(Classic Rock) Tigertailz guitarist Jay Pepper has shared his frustration over the turmoil that's surrounded his band over the past five years.

He and bassist Pepsi Tate restarted the Welsh outfit in 2004 – but their plans were derailed when Tate was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in 2007 after they'd released two new albums, Bezerk 2.0 and Thrill Pistol.

Since then Pepper has remained with the band as frontman Kim Hooker returned then left again, amid a revolving-door progression of other musicians. Yesterday original drummer Ace Finchum announced his second departure, calling the organisation a "bloody mess."

With bassist Jason Sims having recently dropped, Pepper admits it could be time to "bring the curtain down" – but he's not yet sure.

He spoke to Classic Rock about the ups and downs of the band's recent incarnation. Read that here.



Beware Of Darkness Release Howl Video
(Classic Rock) Los Angeles-based Beware Of Darkness are preparing to release their debut full-length album Orthodox via Bright Antenna Records and have released a video for the song "Howl".

This new power trio is made up of songwriter and guitarist Kyle Nicolaides, drummer Tony Cupito and bass general Daniel Curcio.

On first listen, Orthodox is a mindless good time aimed somewhere between the gut and a dirty dive bar. It is not, however, a thoughtless endeavour. In actual fact, it turns out it's a (deep breath now) "heady meditation on death and its implications for the living".

"I remember being 13 or 14 and being in school one day, and having that realisation that I'm going to die," says frontman Nicolaides. "That's kind of why I started writing songs and working really hard in high school. It was weird, because there was a motivation for me. I had read an article about a local girl who had just died in a car crash. You realise, that man, it could happen any time.

"The working title was Bleak," he reveals. "It became Orthodox. I kept writing that word down in my journals. Once I finally looked up what it meant, it made sense and it fit. The first half means right and true, the second half means belief. Check out the video and read more.



Gibson Make Strategic Investment in TEAC
(Gibson) Gibson Guitar Corp. announced early this morning an agreement to make a strategic investment into Japan's TEAC CORPORATION.

TEAC is one of the world's top names in audio and visual equipment, and a leading producer of data storage equipment and related products. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

Gibson has entered into an agreement, signed today, with Phoenix Capital in which two investment funds operated by Phoenix Capital have agreed to sell to Gibson all the shares they own in TEAC Corporation, or 157,447,000 shares, (54.4% of the issued and outstanding shares), at a price agreed between the parties of 31 JPY per share. As this will result in Gibson acquiring over one third of TEAC, Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Law requires Gibson to undertake a tender offer process.

Thus, Gibson, through a special purpose vehicle, will make an all-cash tender offer to purchase 157,447,000 shares of TEAC common stock for 31 Japanese Yen per share in cash. Gibson will purchase a maximum of 157,500,000 shares. The tender offer period is scheduled to commence on April 1, 2013 and will remain open for 21 Japanese business days.

Today, TEAC's Board of Directors issued a press release supporting the tender offer. more on this story






Singled Out: The NowhereNauts
Today The NowhereNauts producer Kevin March tells us about their current single and title track to their latest album "Warned You". Here is the story:

Songwriting with The NowhereNauts is a collaborative effort between Sofie, Anders, Hunter, Tony and myself. "Warned You" was developed in one of our collaborative writing rehearsal sessions back in May 2011 as we started looking forward to recording our second album. The song's inception began with the guitar intro riff Hunter started playing, and we built the song off of that spark. I was immediately excited to hear a song that could build off of this simple, mesmerizing guitar hook; almost like a drone. So we began with everyone jamming trying to develop the part using dynamics as the focus for the song to create an emotional rollercoaster. I joined Tony on floor toms as he played around the drum kit so we could keep the tribal vibe that the guitar part invoked. (We recorded the song this way in the studio too; me playing alongside Tony on the same kit). Anders began by moving around melodically on the bass and discovered a part that supported the guitar and drums (almost like a trombone or tuba would do as support in a New Orleans brass band—especially in the outro of the song)—this was getting very exciting. Sofie started improvising vocal melodies and some lyrical ideas. Once I heard that we essentially had three parts, we created a song form and played straight for about thirty minutes focusing on dynamics. We then recorded an instrumental version so that everyone could develop other melodies and lyrical ideas. What I found when listening back to the initial jam session recordings was that Sofie had some really interesting vocal melodies, and the hook "I, I, I," was there along with the words "I warned you." I took lines that I thought she was saying and made them more personal and emotional and added some rhythmic syncopation and wrote the verse lines " I warned you, I wear my heart on my sleeve more than most" then Sofie wrote " I want you, I use my heart as a lure more than most," and then I suggested "I want you" and to use both "I warned you" and "I want you"---the song now had a vulnerability to it giving it more emotion. Tony added the melody and lyrical hook that is used in the 2nd chorus over the "I, I, I" and I shaped it to make it more mellifluous and sang it in the studio: "And I want somebody to, and I want somebody to hold you." I wrote the melody and lyrics for the sing-a-long anthemic outro "Goodbye" and then Sofie brought into the studio the final lyrical part "You're mine" and that solidified the song as the voice of a femme fatale, which inspired the video too. Carl Glanville took the production to a whole new level when he mixed the song using Sofie's vocal range, the dynamics, space, and then the instrumental and vocal sonic density at the end to take the listener for a ride!

Note: I record every rehearsal when we are in writing mode because I never know what is going to be captured, and most likely we will forget what we just did. Because creativity is very linear, and thinking forward, you can't depend on the memory at this stage to get you back to a great idea or even remember how it sounded. Recording writing sessions takes the stress out of remembering, and allows the writer to freely create ideas, that can be examined and "rediscovered" later.

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



Thirty Seconds to Mars Literally Go Up in the Air With Lyric Video
(Radio.com) Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto has called the band's upcoming album Love Lust Faith + Dreams a "brand new beginning," backing up that statement with first single "Up in the Air," a swift rocker with slight electronic undertones.

The song was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket that docked at the International Space Station, so it seems only fitting that space continues to play an integral role within the song's new lyric video. The video features footage taken from the International Space Station as it orbits Earth, while the song's lyrics flash onscreen.

A proper music video for "Up in the Air" was shot in early February, with the guys putting out a casting call for "a female bodybuilder, a voluptuous male, natural redheads and a person who can perform tricks on a pogo stick." The clip also reportedly features American Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney. We'll have to see if she's actually impressed by the band. Watch the lyric video here.




Led Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy Turns 40
(Radio.com) Radio.com continue their Not Fade Away series with a look at Led Zeppelin's 1973 classic "Houses Of The Holy," which turned 40 this week (March 28).

The "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to recording albums can be a dangerous one for rock bands. On one hand, it leaves many possibilities open. On the other, it can result in albums that sound haphazard and unfocused. In 1972 and 1973, Led Zeppelin was one of the most powerful forces popular music had ever known. At the peak of their artistic and commercial powers, they were looking to expand their horizons. After exploring the spectrum of the blues, from the dirt floor acoustic sounds of the Delta to the rave-up electric sound of the Chicago (notably artists from the Chess label, namely Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Buddy Guy), they began looking elsewhere for inspiration while keeping one foot firmly entrenched in blues.

Opening with the rocker "The Song Remains The Same," Robert Plant sang, "Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go," would become something of a mantra for the singer, who to this day still explores new genres from bluegrass to Egyptian music. The song's title, which would also end up as the name of their 1976 concert film and live album, set the tone for the album. Although they would try different styles on the album, it was still identifiably Zeppelin.

Rolling Stone revisited the album in 2003, giving it a belated five-star review. In the review, writer Gavin Edwards noted that "The Rain Song" was inspired by George Harrison, who lamented to John Bonham that Zeppelin didn't have any ballads (apparently he missed "Thank You," "That's The Way" "Tangerine" and "Going To California"). Instead of locking Harrison in a room with Zeppelin's II, III and their untitled fourth album, they locked down and created one of their most tender moments: "The Rain Song." The song really showed the band's growth, and Jimmy Page took a quantum leap forward as a producer. Instead of using layers of guitars to create something fearsome (a la "Whole Lotta Love"), this time he created something of beauty and sadness, and one that still feels fresh today. A lot of the credit for that also goes to Robert Plant, who restrained some of his machismo on the song. The "golden god" wasn't always the easiest singer to relate to and he didn't attempt to be, but when he sings "Upon us all, a little rain must fall," he was. It has one of his finest performances ever. more.




Trucker Diablo Release Drive Video
(Classic Rock) Classic Rock have proudly to premiered Trucker Diablo's new music video for their new single Drive. It's taken from the rising Irish stars' second album, Songs Of Iron, due out in May via Ripple Music and Bad Reputation.

They're one of Black Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick's favourite new bands – he's referred to them as "hardworking, fantastic musicians and players, and a really great bunch of guys."

Drive has already proved popular at Trucker Diablo's many live shows, including tour support with Terrorvision last year. See them for yourself with The Treatment at Rock City, Nottingham, this Sunday (March 31). Watch the video here.




The World of Guitar According to Paul McCartney
(Gibson) Paul McCartney seems to have found another gear. Last year he undertook his record-breaking "On the Run" tour, staged several memorable one-off appearances (including a stunning Olympics Opening Ceremony concert) and released a terrific new album, Kisses on the Bottom. 2013 is shaping up to be just as busy. A few days ago, the legendary former Beatle announced that a new world tour – dubbed "Out There!" – will kick off June 22 in Poland. Plus, a new studio album is in the works. With this swirl of activity simmering, we decided to gather some choice commentary from Sir Paul on a range of topics. Below, he talks about his love of guitars, his approach to bass playing, and why "nicking" great riffs is not a bad thing to do.

On getting his first guitar, as told to Guitar Player (1990): I bought a right-handed guitar, a Zenith, an old acoustic which I've still got. I sat down at home with a little chord book and started trying to work it out. It didn't feel good at all … very awkward. It was only when I saw a picture of Slim Whitman in a magazine, holding his guitar the "wrong" way, that I thought, "Oh, he must have turned his strings around." So I started on that problem, which is always the nut. I used to actually take matchsticks and build up the bass nut. It was only later that I was able to buy a left-handed guitar.

On his favorite guitar part as a Beatle, as told to Guitar Player (1990): I like "Taxman" just because of what it was. I was very inspired by Jimi Hendrix. It was really my first voyage into feedback. It was just before George was into that. In fact, I don't really think George got too heavily into that kind of thing. George was generally a little more restrained in his guitar playing. He wasn't into heavy feedback.

On how he and Lennon wrote songs together, as told to Drowned in Sound (2012): We had a kind of system, which was: you just sat with a pad of paper and a pencil, and you sat at your guitar or your piano, and you make a song, and within about three hours, you should have finished the song. That's how we always did it.