BRET MICHAELS Announces Super Cruise!

"Can’t Guarantee The Weather, But I Can Guarantee You’ll Have The Time Of Your Life”

Rock Hard

Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 02:28:07 EST

POISON frontman BRET MICHAELS has announced the Bret Michaels Super Cruise, due to launch November 10th - 14th in Cozumel, Mexico. Complete details can be found at the event's official website, found here. Cabins can be booked now at this location.



Michaels: “I’ll be on board the entire time playing two full concerts. I’ll be bartending and most importantly hanging with the fans. Can’t guarantee the weather but I can guarantee you’ll have the time of your life.”

Check out the official facebook page and for Twitter updates.

South Bend Tribune's Tom Conway recently issued the following report:

Less than a year ago, Bret Michaels was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered the Poison singer had suffered a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him.

"It was totally life-changing, as you might expect," Michaels says. "The doctors said, 'If you have children, you need to bring them down.' Those are words you never want to hear. It transcends scary. It's really the deepest, most wrenching kind of fear."

"When I got out of the hospital, I feel like a lot of people expected me to sit at home and wait for the sky to fall, and that's not me," he says. "If anything, the experience said to me, 'Life is short and life is fragile, so you better go live it.' ... Rock and roll has been my life. It has truly been my savior. So for me, getting back on tour probably saved me, at least on a mental/spiritual level. If I sat around the house letting the world pass me by, my soul would have deteriorated. There would have been nothing left of me."

Michaels claims an accident at the 2009 Tony Awards show caused the brain hemorrhage. He declined comment on the lawsuit he filed last month against CBS and the show's producers.

"That's for the lawyers right now," he says. "It's pretty complicated and I'm not one to spill my legal life out to the world."

After his solo concert tour, Michaels will reunite with his Poison bandmates this summer for a co-headlining tour with fellow glam metal band MÖTLEY CRÜE. Poison - with more than 25 million albums sold worldwide and such hits as 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' and 'Nothin' But A Good Time' - is celebrating 25 years in the music business this year. Michaels says it doesn't surprise him that they are still together.

"I think I did imagine a lifelong career with them," he says. "Life is about loyalty to me. You stick together. I'm still amazed by Poison and by what we've done together in our career so far. We turned nothing into something. And we never faked it."

Michaels says the members of Poison - C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall and Rikki Rockett - don't have any plans to record any new music, but they are releasing a double CD retrospective of their greatest hits, Double Dose Of Poison: Ultimate Hits, next month.

"As far as writing all-new material, I'm not sure when that will happen," Michaels says. "But I'm sure that it will one day. I love writing music and I love those guys as though they're my brothers. When the time is right and the inspiration hits, I'm sure we'll all find ourselves back in the studio together."

Read the full report at this location.

Barry Bonds found guilty of obstruction

ESPN.com news services

SAN FRANCISCO -- The jury in the Barry Bonds case convicted the seven-time MVP of obstruction of justice, but the defense and prosecution agreed to a mistrial on the other three remaining counts.

ESPN.com's Mark Fainaru-Wada is live from the courtroom during the Barry Bonds perjury trial. Follow along with our up-to-the-minute Twitter coverage.

The guilty verdict on obstruction of justice means the jury believed Bonds hindered a grand jury's 2003 sports doping investigation by lying.
The judge, after speaking to the jury foreman, said she believes the mistrial is the proper decision given that the jury believes it has reached a crossroads.
The eight women and four men returned the verdict after four days of deliberations. The jury worked behind closed doors since rehearing some testimony early Monday.
Bonds was charged with three counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction.
Prosecutors allege that Bonds lied when he denied knowingly taking steroids and human growth hormone. A third count of making a false statement charges that Bonds lied when he said no one other than his doctor ever injected him with anything.
Bonds' case is the culmination of a federal investigation that began in 2002 into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which distributed performance-enhancing drugs to athletes.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Davies Brothers To Meet To Discuss Kinks Reunion

4/13/2011 8:25 AM ET

A long-awaited Kinks reunion may be in the works, with the band's chief members, Ray and Dave Davies, speaking again. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Ray revealed that a reunion may be possible and that he will be meeting with his brother to discuss it. "I'm seeing Dave next week. I hear that Dave is saying stuff in the press like, 'I'll do it, but Ray doesn't want to do it.' This is me saying, 'Ray will do it if Dave does it.'"

Kimberly Stewart Pregnant With Benicio Del Toro's Child

Kimberly Stewart Pregnant With Benicio Del Toro's Child

4/12/2011 9:26 PM ET

Kimberly Stewart, daughter of singer Rod Stewart, is pregnant with the child of Benicio Del Toro, according to a report by Life and Style Magazine. However, the pair are not in a relationship, the report said. A representative for Stewart says that the two are looking forward to the birth of the child. "Kimberly is pregnant," the rep said. "Benicio is the father and is very supportive. Although they are not a couple, they are looking forward to the arrival of the baby."

Eddie Van Halen Makes a Wild Child Out of Valerie Bertinelli — Twisted Tales

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

From Spinner.com:

Thirty years ago, the hard rock powerhouse known as Van Halen was just coming into its own, and by April of 1981, the original group was already in deep trouble. At the end of the month, Van Halen would release its fourth album, ‘Fair Warning’ and the last track, sung by frontman David Lee Roth, was called ‘One Foot Out the Door.’
The timing of the band’s self-titled debut, which came out in 1978, gave Van Halen an odd, tenuous connection to punk rock (“Homegrown Punk,” read the headline of an L.A. Times feature). In truth, the band had been together since 1972, when young brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen, born in the Netherlands, started an L.A. rock group with Roth, the guy who rented them their sound system. After toying with several names (Mammoth, Rat Salade, the already-taken Genesis) and the backing of Kiss’ Gene Simmons, the band settled on naming itself after the brothers.
Following the monster success of the band’s first two albums, Roth would stick around until 1985, when the band replaced him with ex-Montrose belter Sammy Hagar. But Roth and Eddie Van Halen were already at odds by the time of ‘Fair Warning.’
A few weeks before the album’s release, on April 11, 1981, the prodigious guitarist got married to Valerie Bertinelli. Given his bride’s line of work — she was a young actress famous for her long-running role as sensible Barbara Cooper on the Norman Lear sitcom ‘One Day at a Time’ — it might have been easy to assume that Eddie’s newfound domesticity was causing the rift in the legendarily hard-rocking band.
Instead, the unlikely couple lapsed into a reckless rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle together. In a TV interview not long after their wedding, Bertinelli said she and her husband had taken a little of “each other’s personality.” He’d calmed down a little, she claimed, while she was getting a little wilder. To change her image, she was taking more “adult” roles, starting with the lead in the made-for-TV movie ‘I Was a Mail Order Bride.’
By the time Hagar joined the group, as he recounts in ‘Red,’ his best-selling new memoir, the Van Halens were living in squalor in a modest two-bedroom house with a filthy recording studio in the garage. They had to blow ashes off the mixing board just to plug in. They called the studio 5150 (also the name of their first album with Hagar) — police code for dealing with a crazy person.
On her TV show, Bertinelli acted opposite Mackenzie Phillips, the notoriously troubled daughter of Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips, who played the rebellious Cooper sister, Julie. In reality, Bertinelli’s struggles with drugs and alcohol kept pace with those of her former acting partner.
Eddie Van Halen’s well-documented appetite for self-destruction is one big reason ‘Red’ is selling so well. As it turns out, Bertinelli matched him blow for blow. Cocaine abuse made her dread mornings. “It took me years after stopping the cocaine before I was able to enjoy a sunrise and enjoy the sound of birds,” she told Oprah Winfrey a few years ago.
By then, she and her beloved Edward were divorced, their marriage a casualty of mutual indulgence. They have since both remarried, with each attending the other’s second wedding. Meanwhile, their son, Wolfgang, who turned 20 in March, has been Van Halen’s bassist since 2006. He’s the pride and joy of the twosome CNN once called “the ultimate good girl-bad boy coupling.”

WHITESNAKE'S "FOREVERMORE" SLITHERS IN TO TOP 50 ALBUM CHARTS WORLDWIDE:

Whitesnake's brand new album Forevermore released worldwide on Frontiers Records, has made its worldwide debut bowing in the Top 50 of multiple countries' album charts. In the United States, Forevermore comes in at #48 on the Billboard Top 200 Current Album chart and arrives even higher in numerous European countries. Forevermore charts at #6 in Sweden, #11 in Finland, #15 in the Czech Republic, #16 in Germany, #17 in Switzerland, #27 in Austria, #41 in Italy and #42 in both The Netherlands and Poland, respectively.
Forevermore finds founder/singer/songwriter David Coverdale and company returning to their no-holds-barred, bluesiest, sexiest rock n' roll roots and is the band's 11th studio album. Forevermore was recorded, produced and mixed by Los Bros Brutalos (Coverdale, Doug Aldrich and Michael McIntyre). Whitesnake is David Coverdale (vocals), Doug Aldrich (guitars), Reb Beach (guitars), Michael Devin (bass) and Briian Tichy (drums).
Formed in 1977, and steered by the legendary David Coverdale, Whitesnake carry a rightful reputation as one of the world's leading rock n' roll bands. Coverdale's blues roots, combined with a feral sense of rockin' and rollin', have consistently shaped the 'Snake's sound along with Coverdale's love and appreciation of impeccable musicianship.  Whitesnake's ascent to the very top of the rock n' roll heap was confirmed with 1987's self-titled mega-platinum album, which saw two massive Top 10 hits, two #1 singles with “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love” and a virtual 24-hour domination of MTV around the world.
For more information please visit: www.whitesnake.com / www.frontiers.it.

Steven Tyler Will Publish His Memoirs Worldwide On May 3

Aerosmith

The Rolling Stones

Steven Tyler

Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler will publish his memoirs worldwide on May 3, promising to share "all the unexpurgated, brain-jangling tales of debauchery, sex & drugs, transcendence & chemical dependence you will ever want to hear."

His book, "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?," comes out at a time when the 63-year-old singer's job as a judge on TV show "American Idol" is winning him new, younger fans who may not be familiar with his sordid past.

It will be published by News Corp's HarperCollins, the firm said on Tuesday.

Tyler previously wrote about his life in the 1997 memoir "Walk This Way," on which he and his bandmates collaborated with Steven Davis. Tyler worked on his book with David Dalton.

Steven Tyler Q&A: The Wild Man of of 'Idol'

In the last 14 years, Tyler has split with his second wife, been to rehab clinics, undergone throat surgery, disclosed that he has Hepatitis C, and endured a nasty public feud with his bandmates. His first wife also died in that time, he became a grandfather, and Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

His book will be "the unbridled truth, the in-your-face, up-close and prodigious tale of Steven Tyler straight from the horse's lips," he said.

Tyler, who was born Steven Victor Tallarico in Yonkers, New York, in 1948, rose to fame in the early '70s when Aerosmith broke through as America's answer to the Rolling Stones. Indeed the perpetually amped Tyler and laconic guitarist Joe Perry fashioned themselves on Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, respectively, earning the moniker the Toxic Twins.

With hits such as "Dream On," "Walk This Way" and "Back in the Saddle," the band sold out arenas everywhere. But the wheels fell off by the late '70s as drugs took over. Perry and fellow guitarist Brad Whitford quit for a few years, and Aerosmith became another sad rock 'n' roll casualty.

But by the mid-1980s, with a new manager on board who forced them to go to rehab, Aerosmith started an unlikely comeback, helped by popular MTV videos and a resurgence in the popularity of hard rock.

But the last decade has been tough on the band, which has struggled to record a follow-up to its last album of original material, 2001's "Just Push Play." Long-time fans worried that Aerosmith was singing too many ballads, and were dismayed when their hard-living heroes played a Super Bowl half-time show with fresh-faced boy band 'N Sync.

Internal tensions boiled over in 2009 when Tyler fell off the stage during a concert and his frustrated bandmates threatened to hire a new singer to replace him. Tyler hired a separate management team and barely communicated with the other members while he made his own plans for life outside the band.

But the filial bonds appear to have grown back, and the band has slowly been working on a new album, while Tyler shares his spirited opinion on "American Idol," the top-rated show in the United States.

ON THIS DAY IN ROCK HISTORY

On this day in 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" at Pythian Temple studios in New York City. Written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, the song was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights. Considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map around the world, Haley's version was used over the opening titles of the film Blackboard Jungle and went on to become a worldwide #1.

On this day in 1966, Jan Berry, of Jan & Dean, was almost killed when he crashed his Porsche into a parked truck a short distance from Dead Man's Curve in Los Angeles. Partially paralyzed and suffering brain damage, Berry was able to walk again after extensive therapy.

On this day in 1967, Mick Jagger was punched in the face by an airport official during a row at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. Jagger lost his temper after the Stones entourage was being searched for drugs, resulting in them missing their flight.
On this day in 1975, David Bowie announced his second career retirement, saying, "I've rocked my roll. It's a boring dead end, there will be no more rock'n'roll records from me." Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

GOO GOO DOLLS CONFIRM TOUR DATES FOR SUMMER 2011:

Goo Goo Dolls have extended their American tour with dates that will take the band across the U.S. through late August including cities that they have not played in some time. The band's current album, Something For The Rest Of Us, continues to garner global critical praise:
“'Something For The Rest of Us' flows with emotional rock anthems" - USA Today
“Anthemic rock really doesn't come much better than that of the Goo Goo Dolls. Twelve soaring radio anthems to make you smile” - Kerrang! (U.K.)
“'Something For The Rest of Us' displays both emotional and musical heft and dynamic ebbs and flows” – Billboard
More than ever, the songs of John Rzeznik seem to resonate deeply into the common consciousness of us all reflecting the universal emotional fallout of our times in song. It's no wonder the Goos have broken the record for The Most Top 10 or higher Hits in Radio History, per Billboard Magazine.
Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, and drummer Mike Malinin are on the road now. Don't miss Goo Goo Dolls live this summer with Special Guests Michelle Branch and Parachute.
Full date details plus ticket information at: www.googoodolls.com.

JAVIER BARDEM OFFERED ROLE IN "DARK TOWER" MOVIE SERIES

011 12:21 PM ET

(RTTNews) - Javier Bardem has been offered a starring role in the three-movie, multi-miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's book series "The Dark Tower."

The Spanish actor (who received an Academy Award for his performance in the Coen brothers film "No Country For Old Men" and was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2010 role in "Biutiful") is currently in talks for the role of Roland Deschain, the last member of a knightly order that must find the Dark Tower on his quest to reunite all universes.
The first installment of the series (which will condense the seven-novel epic into film and television formats) is set to be scripted by Akiva Goldsman and adapted and directed by Ron Howard and is slated for release in the fall.
Howard had previously revealed that Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Daniel Craig ("James Bond"), Hugh Jackman ("X-Men"), and Viggo Mortensen ("Lord of the Rings") had been considered for the role of Deschain.

HOP STAYS #1 AT THE BOX OFFICE

4/11/2011 10:39 AM ET

(RTTNews) - In a weekend with an eclectic set of new releases that struggled at the box office, animated film "Hop" easily finished atop the charts for a second consecutive weekend with $21.70 million. The only new release to earn $5,000 per theater was sports drama "Soul Surfer," as the others, "Arthur," "Hanna" and "Your Highness," all had difficulty tapping into their target demographics.

After its second straight weekend as the top movie at the box office, "Hop" has now brought in an impressive $68 million domestically. Though it should start seeing a sizeable decrease with competition for family audiences coming up, "Hop" is already a rare commercial success for an animated distributor outside of Buena Vista and Paramount. With a relatively modest production budget of $63 million, Universal's "Hop" should be able to cross $100 million domestically and could even see some decent overseas figures as well.
Not doing nearly as well over the weekend was the widest release "Arthur," a remake of a popular Dudley Moore comedy from the early 1980s. The 2011 edition got off to a dubious start at the box office by earning $12.61 million over the weekend at 3,276 total theaters - good for a paltry per theater average of just $3,848. Unless "Arthur" really turns it around in the next couple of weekends, it will end up a fairly disappointing release for distributor Warner Brothers, not to mention another example of how hard it is to market British-based humor to American audiences.
Doing slightly better in a smaller release was action-thriller "Hanna," which brought in $12.32 million at 700 fewer theaters than "Arthur." Though its per theater average of $4,861 isn't exactly eye-popping, it also isn't terrible for a quirky, somewhat limited action release in the middle of April. With very positive critical reviews, "Hanna" could even gain some strength in the coming weekends and end up as a quiet success for distributor Focus Features.
But while "Hanna" and "Arthur" really struggled to find the wide audience they were appealing to, sports drama "Soul Surfer" got off to a surprisingly strong start for distributor TriStar. "Soul Surfer" racked up $11.10 million over the weekend at just 2,214 theaters; only last week's "Insidious" has earned more money over a weekend in 2011 with a release of less than 2,500 venues.
"Soul Surfer" tells the story of a young female surfer who came back to the sport after losing her arm in a shark attack when she was 13 years old. Though it seemed that "Soul Surfer" was aimed more for niche audiences, it now appears that the story is resonating with a much wider audience than expected and it should end up as a nice earner for TriStar.
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FREE DOWNLOADING NOT AN EFFECT ON MUSIC/MOVIE INDUSTRY!

Industry failure not down to pirates, say financial experts

Labels lie to hide incompetency, new study suggests as it states “downloads’ effects on sales are statically indistinguishable from zero”

---

…Or is it? LSE suggest otherwise

A study of the music industry by leading financial body the London School of Economics concludes that filesharing has not contributed to the collapse of the music business in any way – and suggests industry chiefs are lying when they say it has.
Bosses of the music and movie industries have focused on blaming pirate activity for all negative financial results, and have ignored the fact there’s a decline in leisure spending across the world, says the LSE. They conclude that pirates are not to blame for a drop in sales. Instead, people are simply spending less on leisure pursuits because they’re faced with higher bills, lower pay rises and less job security.
And the report points out that people who don’t own computers – and therefore can’t share files – have stopped buying music at exactly the same rate as those who do.
Citing an earlier report the LSE quotes: “Downloads have an effect on sales that is statistically indistinguishable from zero.”
While bosses avoid tackling the real causes of the industry’s decline, it will continue, they say: “Household budgets for entertainment are relatively inelastic. Downward pressure on leisure expenditure will increase due to rising costs of living and unemployment, and drastic rises in the costs of public services.”
The LSE report suggests the introduction of strong laws against online piracy will not prevent the music business from collapsing – and that bungling bosses are only wasting time and dwindling resources by claiming otherwise.
Mathew Lasar of Ars Technica says: “The content industry has won a key aspect of the war: the argument that filesharing has hobbled the music and movie businesses, hurts artists and costs jobs.
“The LSE’s paper argues that everything the content industry says about filesharing is wrong. It suggests filesharing is the future, and that revenue downturns can be explained by other forces.”
A different study does indicate that filesharing could be responsible for 20% of lost income – but also finds the other 80% is a result of the music industry’s own sales techniques in offering music in a massive range of formats from digital singles to video game add-ons.
Legal filesharing is on the increase across the world – the LSE says income from digital streams has increased by over 1000% between 2004 and 2010 to $4.6bn.
In January industry pressure group the BPI let slip that their position on filesharing is based on the assumption that, without pirates, sales would never drop.
Commenting on UK figures which showed physical album sales were down by 12% in 2010 while digital album sales were up by 30%, BPI boss Geoff Taylor said: “Legal downloads should be able to offset the decline in CD sales.”

Poison's Rikki Rocket Interview

POISON Drummer RIKKI ROCKETT - "We Have Learnt So Much In Our Career It Amazes Me That We Are Not Putting All Of Those Things Together Into An Album"

Rock Hard

Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 10:37:41 EST

By Mitch Lafon
 
When POISON released their first album back in 1986, the hip rock critics panned the band and gave them less than a year to exist. Well, twenty-five years later the band rolls on and drummer Rikki Rockett looks back on his time in Poison with pride and looks forward with eager anticipation. Bravewords.com caught up with the affable skin man to discuss rock’s greatest guilty pleasure, Poison.
 


Bravewords.com: You’re on tour this summer with MÖTLEY CRÜE. Fans have been clamoring for this double bill since 1986, but the Motley guys never seemed to take Poison seriously and often put down the band. Has that negative energy passed or will this tour truly be a battle of the bands?
 
Rikki Rockett: “I never had the negative energy and, honestly, I’ve always been a Mötley Crüe fan. Let me put it to you this way, recently, I read this article about motorcyclists from an outsider’s perspective and if you don’t ride a motorcycle you think all motorcycles are the same. You don’t know the difference between a Harley, Yamaha or a Triumph until you’re in it and then all of a sudden everything seems so different. So for a fan that loves ‘80s music they don’t care about… They like a TESLA song, a Motley song, a BON JOVI song and they don’t understand the nuances between the images or this and that. Your general overall fan just likes good music. They like good songs and you can’t have just one band in your playlist. In fact, most don’t even have one genre in their playlist. Most people like everything. If, for example, you look at my wife’s playlist she’s got everything from Motley to MAROON 5 to country. You can’t live by bread alone. I think too many bands get wrapped up in this stuff. I had a beer one time with Lars Ulrich and at the same time there was a cover story in Hit Parader about METALLICA versus Poison. I said to Lars, ‘are we fighting?’ and he said, ‘not that I know of’. People get too twisted about this stuff. What’s worst is when the band starts to get twisted about it too. I don’t know where this stuff comes from. We’ve always gotten along with Motley, but we went through this little period of time where there were some differences and I do understand Motley going ‘we started earlier in rock and if the whole ‘80s thing is coming down – we need to separate ourselves away from it if we want to continue to have a career.’ I get that, but I do think that if you turn tail and run from who you are that can be devastating.”
 
Bravewords.com: Especially, when fans grew up loving your music and that image. Is there really a difference between Home Sweet Home and Every Rose Has It’s Thorn?
 
Rockett: “No, not really. A good song is a good song. Mötley Crüe and Poison have been through similar circumstances. The nuances are subtle from a fan’s perspective and the main thing is fans are going to love this.”
 
Bravewords.com: Absolutely and fans are going to get a three hour show filled with about forty top ten hits.
 
Rockett: “Absolutely and these tours work because fans can bank on getting a lot of bang for the buck. That’s why, for example, STYX and JOURNEY go out together. They may not be the hippest bands on the planet, but it doesn’t matter because you get great music and you know you’re going to get great music. Whereas when people see a bunch of newer bands… you might see eight of them on a bill but, at best, get six good songs. That’s why packages like ours work in this touring market. There’s not a lot of money to go around and we’ve done everything we can to keep tickets prices down.”
 
Bravewords.com: Do you adjust your set list at all because Mötley Crüe is coming on after you? Do you include more of the faster songs and pull out some of the ballads?
 
Rockett: “You know what Mitch, we haven’t sat down as a band and talked about it yet.”
 


Bravewords.com: What would you like to do?
 
Rockett: “I’d like to do everything. Obviously, we have to keep our hits in there because people want that, but I would probably open up with Let Me Go To The Show, drag some of the older stuff out and just challenge ourselves a little bit more. Motley is going to have a bigger show because they’re headlining, so I’d rather focus on our songs and what the fans really want. I’ve been reading on Facebook what the fans really want and they want something different in the set. We need to write down all the hits we need to cover, but from then on change almost everything. Do all different stuff to what we’ve been doing over the last years. Leave out all the cover songs and just do Poison songs.”
 
Bravewords.com: As a fan, I think that would be the best thing. If you’re going to play only (maybe) twelve songs, I don’t need to hear your cover of THE ROMANTICS or KISS. I’d rather hear 'Back To The Rocking Horse', 'Play Dirty' or 'Blame It On You'.
 
Rockett: “That’s a great idea by the way. 'Blame It On You' is really a fun song to play.”
 
Bravewords.com: Quite frankly, you could just play the entire first album from start to finish and you’re done.
 
Rockett: “I would love for us to book a couple of special shows where we just go and do the whole Look What The Cat Dragged In album. Then, in the encores, we could do a couple of the other hits from the later records, but just cover Cat from top to bottom. We could do the choreography and everything. Obviously, we can’t do everything like it was 1986 nor should we try, but we could be similarly energetic.”
 
Bravewords.com: Do you think this idea is something the band would consider doing at some point? Isn’t this is the 25th anniversary of Look What The Cat Dragged In?
 
Rockett: “You know Mitch, that’s exactly what this is and this is exactly what I’ve been trying to get the band to do. I think we should lead the tour with this or end the tour with it. In the situation that we are in with Motley, I think we need to mix up all of our songs for now, but if we did some of our own shows; I think that exactly what you and I are talking about would be great. I would love it. I would really love it. I think fans would go crazy and we could do the set-up the same way and I could build a kit… By the way the kit I built for this year’s tour is a knock-off from the original Open Up and Say Ahh kit.”

Bravewords.com: Speaking from a fan’s perspective, I think this would be a great way to celebrate the beginnings of the band. I would love to hear 'Blame It On You' (like I said before), but also 'Cry Tough' and '#1 Bad Boy'…
 
Rockett: “I would absolutely love it. I wish to God I could re-record those songs because I play so much different now. The core of who I am is the same, but I would put so much better of a spin on it now and throw those little things in that I just didn’t know back then. They always say that you should really go out on tour first, play all your songs and then come home and record them, but that’s not how we work in the music business. We do exactly the opposite, so you don’t always get all those choices. We were on a budget on that record. We were banging out four tracks a day.”
 
Bravewords.com: The whole album took only twelve days…
 
Rockett: “Yeah. That included pre-production and all that. We just had no time. Our main idea when we went in to do that record was not to have a technically proficient record because we just didn’t have the time for that, but what we needed to make it do is freaking ‘party’ (and that’s what we needed to do with our videos as well). We just didn’t have the budget. You don’t want to plant tomatoes in the desert. You plant a cactus in the desert. We decided to take what we knew would grow in that environment and did the best we could with it and that’s why I think that record works. That fervent feel of it is contagious. Believe me, we were not at the best place in our lives when we made that record. We had been turned down by every record company and here we were settling… well, at that time we considered it to be settling for an independent, but when I look back I’m glad we did because it put us in the driver’s seat. At the time, we didn’t have any money. We couldn’t play any gigs for a while because we were concentrating on putting together songs for the album (writing and all that stuff). We disappeared from the circuit so we couldn’t bring any money in. We were dirt poor Mitch. We didn’t have anything and we weren’t at the best place in our lives, but our music ‘partied’, we lived in that and we decided to make a record that felt like that because if it lived in us maybe it would live in other people too. It worked.”
 
Bravewords.com: It did work. It’s been twenty-five years since I first bought it and I’m still not fed up with it yet. I put it on the other day and listened to it from top to bottom. You simply cannot put on that album and only listen to one song. You have to play the whole album. To me, it’s still magical. If you ever play one of those albums shows – make sure you capture it on film and put it out on Blu-ray. You’ll be able to update the sound like you mentioned before, but without having to re-record the album.
 


Rockett: “Mitch, maybe you should manage us (laughs).”
 
Bravewords.com: Speaking of albums – isn’t it time for a new Poison album? I see Bret running around doing solo album after solo album and I keep thinking ‘wouldn’t it be great to have CC, Rikki and Bobby on those tracks’. I want some new Poison…
 
Rockett: “You know Mitch - here’s the thing that drives me crazy, we have learnt so much in our career… in our twenty-five years, yet it amazes me that we are not putting all of those things together (that we have learned) into an album. We could make a really great record at this point. I know I’m a better player than I was even ten years ago. I know everybody is better. Everybody has had more experiences… I can’t tell you how overdue a new record is. I am so with you on that. That’s what I wanted to do this past summer quite honestly and then we could be going out on this tour with a new record. It’s never to late to make a new record in my opinion and maybe it would be really good to do it after we come off of this. We could go back out headlining next year with a new record. I’d love that. It’s time… it’s time.”
 
Bravewords.com: Do you think it’ll happen? Doesn’t it get to be annoying to be nothing more than a heritage act at this point (and I don’t mean to be negative)?
 
Rockett: “YES! Absolutely it does. Bret is doing a lot of his own stuff right now, so he feels like he’s not being a heritage act. He’s spending a lot of time on his own stuff and that makes it fairly difficult to work around.”
 
Bravewords.com: I listened a lot to RATT’s new album (Infestation) that came out last year and the guys hit a home run. Then, you hear the new ACCEPT album and it’s another home run. There’s no reason why Poison can’t hit a home run.
 
Rockett: “I really wish that Ratt album would get some play because it’s a great record. Blotzer is playing the best I’ve ever heard…it’s a great great record…”
 
Bravewords.com: And Pearcy couldn’t have sounded any better. As for Poison, what can fans expect apart from concerts?
 
Rockett: “It’s up to us to make a record. We’re in control of that and that’s what would turn the corner for me.”
 
Bravewords.com: It’s long overdue… Will you make another solo album to keep the creative juices flowing?
 
Rockett: “I’m going to continue to try and convince the band to do another Poison album, but I, for the first time, have decided to think about working on a side project. I really want to do something and I’ve been talking to a few people and if this tour didn’t happen that’s what I’d be doing this summer. Obviously, I’m going to have to put it on hold for a little while. I’m all about keeping the focus on Poison, but if Poison is not working next year then that’s what I’m going to be doing and I’m going to have fun with it. I’ve never stepped outside of Poison and tried something in a serious way, but if I do – I’m going to give it everything. I’m not going to half-ass it…”
 
Bravewords.com: By side project – do you mean another solo album or a new band?
 
Rockett: “It’ll be a new band. The solo record was a fun project, but as a solo artist I wouldn’t go out and make a covers record. I would make an album of songs that I wrote. That album was just something I wanted to do and it was a fun thing. I though about going through all the eras of music and I think it would be really fun to step up and do an early punk record of covers. Not in any serious way, but just something fun to do. I made Glitter For Your Soul in my little studio to reconnect to some of those ‘70s artists. I reached out to all those people and made friends that I still have to this day. Life is about having these new experiences.”
 
Bravewords.com: If you do a side-project, would it be an extension of Poison music or will it be the Rikki Rockett jazz album?
 
Rockett: “It would be a straight ahead rock record very much like BAD COMPANY. That’s my favorite type of rock to play. I like all kinds of stuff – I’m truly a music fan, but this is what naturally comes out of me so why fight it? I love to stretch out and try new things, but I do know who I am and you’re not going to get a Rikki Rockett jazz record because there isn’t a single jazz fan that would take me seriously, but there’s no reason why I can’t throw some influence in there if I want to. That’s all I need to do to make myself feel good about that challenge.”
 
Bravewords.com: Poison has been around for twenty-seven years or so now – what was the magic that made you last so long? I remember reading Circus or Hit Parader back in the day and you were supposed to be the next one-hit wonder if that…
 
Rockett: “I have two answers for that. It’s like when you have that damn car that for some reason just keeps running even though everything about it was supposed to have broken down. If you really examine it though, first of all, we have a slew of hits and secondly we built a huge following through touring. Every step that we took somebody said, ‘this will be the last step Poison takes’. ‘They’ll have a flop on their second record (the sophomore flop),’ and then the second one happened and we did even better. Every step that we took was really digging into the roots of what makes a rock band work and be successful. It’s touring and reaching out to the fans – on the first headlining tour Mitch, we played every single ‘B’ market… we played ‘C’ markets. Our thinking was, ‘if they’re not coming to us then we’re coming to them’. That was our goal – to hit every city in the United States and that’s what we did. Besides the hits, that’s eighty percent of why we’ve lasted. Same thing with Metallica and I have all the respect in the world for Metallica because they beat the trail. They would do two or three year tours.”
 


Bravewords.com: As far as touring goes – you’re essentially a US-only band. You don’t head over to Asia, Europe or Australia often if at all. Is there a plan to hit those markets this year or next?
 
Rockett: “There’s an offer for a couple of shows in Australia, but I don’t know that we could afford to make it make sense right now. You have to put together a proper tour. We don’t want to go over there and disappoint people.”
 
Bravewords.com: Does Poison continue forever and do the occasional tour here and there or is there a five year plan to retirement?
 
Rockett: “At this point, we have no desire to quit.”
 
Bravewords.com: As long as fans keep showing up – you’ll keep playing.
 
Rockett: “I think so. I know I will. This has been my baby for a really long time and I really love it. By no means am I bored with it, but maybe we could make new songs because I’m a little bored playing the same songs over and over again. Besides that I enjoy it. It’s a struggle at times too and you could say we’re a comedy of errors, but if it weren’t so funny it would be tragic.”
 
Bravewords.com: I really do hope that you can get together and make a new album. Finally, how is your Rockett Drum Works company doing (Rockettdrumworks.com)?
 
Rockett: “It’s going great. I’m finally getting into that spot, where in a year, I can be big enough to support my guys but not this huge company where there are all these board meetings just to do one little thing. Right now, I can turn on a dime and do anything I need to do. I’m in a really great position right now.”
 
For more:
Website: RikkiRockett.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/RikkiRockett
Facebook: Facebook.com/RikkiRockett
Blog: Rikkirockett.wordpress.com





Credits are as follows:

Photos: (c) 2011 Robin Perine Photography (RobinPerine.com)
Stylist: Eliza Black
Designs: Marc Vachon (MarcVachon.com) & Tattoo Knuckle Gloves

Ben Stiller In Talks To Star In 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/9/2011 5:41 PM ET

James Thurber's 1939 short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" will be made into a film starring Ben Stiller. A previous film version, directed by Danny Kaye, premiered in 1947. The new production has suffered from undisclosed script problems; but, writer Steve Conrad ("The Pursuit of Happyness") has done a re-write with which Stiller was reportedly pleased. Several male leads previously showed interest including Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Keanu Reeves Says It Was “Horrible” Being Accused Of Fathering A Fan’s Child

Saturday April 9, 2011

 

KEANU Reeves says it was “horrible” being accused of fathering a fan’s children.
The Henry’s Crime star was accused of being the dad of at least one of Canadian woman Karen Sala’s four adult children and while DNA tests proved she was lying, Keanu admits it was an awful experience.
When asked what the craziest thing a fan has done to him, Keanu said, “Accuse me of being a father. I had to go to court. It was horrible. I didn’t do it. I’m not the dad.”
In 2009, Karen claimed Keanu used hypnosis and disguised himself as her ex-husband to impregnate her.
The 46-year-old actor had been advised to take a paternity test by his attorney when Karen went to court in Ontario, Canada, to claim he owed her child support payments.
She had asked for $150,000 per month in child support — retroactive from June 1988 — and $3 million a month in spousal support, retroactive from November 2006.
Keanu has always maintained he has never met the woman.

Bob Seger: New Album Is "Half Done"

April 8, 2011 Bob Seger has been hard at work on his first album in five years, and he has six new songs recorded. Now his dilemma is whether to keep including new material that has yet to be written, or use some older tunes that he just never officially released in the past. But in the meantime, he is enjoying being back on the road with his band for a few months before he starts writing again in June. "Last fall I put out this album Early Seger Vol. 1. It was a real rush job, but it got me looking through all this old stuff. I found that I had 45 to 55 things that no one had ever heard of before," Seger told Rolling Stone at a recent show in Ohio. "All last summer I was working on Volume 2 because the first one just had 10 songs on it... as I worked on them I said, 'You know, I’m going to put the band together and see what these would sound like if we played them live.' As we played together it just kind of kindled the old flame. One of the last things I found going through the archives was 'Downtown Train,' which we cut in 1989. We put that together and I re-sang it and edited it a little bit and we added timpani and the girls and everything, and it really sounded good. So about two months ago I said to my manager, 'If you put this on the radio, is that enough for me to go do a couple of months and see if I still like touring?' In May, I’m going to be 66, so I don’t know how many more years I’ve got a chance to do this. I thought if they played 'Downtown Train' on the radio we could buy some time for a new album perhaps in the fall." Seger added that the new album is about "half-done." "I have three other brand new songs on it, and then I’m torn, because I really like some of this old stuff, 'Downtown Train' being one of them. I’m thinking about maybe a mix of old and new for the next record," he said. "I'll start writing again around June 1. If the song-writing gods smile on me, it will all be new. If they don't, it will be a mixture of new and old – and the best of the old. That's what it will be, whatever the best songs are is what I'll put out." Seger also explained that he is having a good time onstage with his band, but that his age is starting to take its toll. He said that playing a full-on Rock show at this point in his life is sometimes surreal. "Our biggest problem is that we have too many songs. I worked up 36 songs and I can't fit them all in. We did 26 songs in Saginaw the other night and it was just too long. We're cutting it down to 24," he told the magazine. "But it's real fun up there. I'm paying the price though. I've got a real stiff neck and sore back. Other than that, I'm enjoying it." Seger's tour continues on April 9 in Buffalo. He will do a three-night stand in Detroit in late May, and wrap up the trek with a show in Cleveland on May 26.

JANI LANE To Release New EP Soon

Rock Hard

Posted on Friday, April 08, 2011 at 20:16:39 EST

Former WARRANT frontman Jani Lane has issued the following update:

"I will be back on the road by June. In the mean time I'm staying holed up in my studio writing for myself and other artists. I will be releasing a remastered and possibly rerecorded version of JABBERWOCKY by September. Tired of hearing basterdized versions floating all around the world... guess its time to put it out there properly.

I'll also be releasing a five-six song EP on my new website Janilane.net . This is, in my humble opinion, some of the best songs I've ever written (I'm not the only one who has said this)! I'm planning a RADIOHEAD type experiment where I will make the entire download free, give you a chance to check it out and several ways to kick me back what you think its worth... or tell me it sucks and to go back to the drawing board! Hope you all have a great spring break and see you this summer!!"

SAMMY HAGAR To Guest On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Rock Hard

Posted on Friday, April 08, 2011 at 20:27:51 EST

According to the Late Night TV Page, SAMMY HAGAR (CHICKENFOOT, ex-VAN HALEN, MONTROSE) will guest on the Tuesday, April 19th edition of NBC-TV's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon promoting his new book, Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock. The show airs at 12:35 AM (EST) (early Wednesday morning, April 20th).

Hagar is singing the US National Anthem for the first time tomorrow (Saturday, April 9th) - with bandmate JOE SATRIANI - at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA.

PAUL STANLEY To Appear On The Doctors

Rock Hard

Posted on Friday, April 08, 2011 at 20:32:29 EST

Paul Stanley, the driving force behind KISS, "the greatest rock band of all time," will appear on the nationally-syndicated television show The Doctors on Thursday, April 14. Paul will discuss his work with the non-profit House Research Institute, his own hearing loss and his efforts to prevent noise-induced hearing loss amongst teens. Check your local listings for air times or go to Thedoctorstv.com for further programming information.

Prince To Play 21 Nights In LA

Prince 

 

Prince will continue his residency-style "Welcome 2 America" tour with a whopping 21-date stand in Los Angeles, beginning on April 14 at the Forum. The artist made the announcement via a phone call on George Lopez's show last night (watch the video below).


Video: Prince on "Lopez Tonight"

"I will be starting a 21-night stand next Thursday the 14th at the L.A. Forum with [his band] the New Power Generation and a whole gang of special guests," Prince said. "I'm gonna blast the roof off that place, I promise!" A rep for the singer later clarified to the Los Angeles Times that not all of the dates will be at the Forum, and said detailed will be available soon.

Prince then said he'll appear on Lopez's show on Wednesday night to discuss the residency further. More information was not available at press time; information about the shows had not yet appear on the Forum's website.

Since December, Prince has played residency-style concert series in the New York area, North and South Carolina, and Oakland, California. Many of the hits-heavy shows have featured guest appearances -- ranging from Cee Lo Green, Sheila E. and Carlos Santana to, er, Kim Kardashian and Leighton Meester -- and a series of stellar opening acts, including Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and more.

Manny Ramirez Retires Under Steroid Scrutiny

NEW YORK -- Tampa Bay Rays slugger Manny Ramirez told Major League Baseball on Friday that he is retiring after being notified of an issue that arose under MLB's drug policy.
The commissioner's office announced Ramirez's decision in a statement but did not say whether he tested positive for a banned substance. Ramirez tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug during spring training and retired rather than face a 100-game suspension, sources told ESPN.com. Ramirez previously served a 50-game suspension for violating the drug policy while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Major League Baseball recently notified Manny Ramirez of an issue under Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," the statement said. "Rather than continue with the process under the Program, Ramirez has informed MLB that he is retiring as an active player. If Ramirez seeks reinstatement in the future, the process under the Drug Program will be completed."

SweetSpot: Hall Of Famer?

Is Manny Ramirez a Hall of Famer? ESPN.com's David Schoenfield says absolutely, although the steroids issue will certainly put a chokehold on his candidacy when he comes up for election. Blog
• Karablog: Retirement fantasy reaction

MLB said it would have no further comment. A second positive test under the program results in a 100-game suspension, and a third test results in a lifetime ban.
"The Tampa Bay Rays were informed today by the Commissioner's Office that Manny Ramirez has decided to retire after being informed of an issue under the Drug Program," the Rays said in a statement. "We are obviously surprised and disappointed by this news. We will have no further comment on this matter, and our fans and organization will carry on."
The Rays purchased the contract of Casey Kotchman from Triple-A Durham to replace Ramirez on the roster.
Ramirez left the team earlier this week to attend to what the Rays called a family matter. Manager Joe Maddon said on Thursday that he expected Ramirez to be available for Friday night's game at the Chicago White Sox, but he never showed up.
"I just approached the team and talked to them straight up about it," Maddon told ESPNChicago.com. "I believe in that. I don't believe in trying to dissemble the truth in any way. So we talked about it in a very forthright manner and because of that I think we're going to actually do good by it. I think you can take something like this, which on the surface has all negativity stamped all over it like a postage stamp, but at the end of the day this can be something that really brings us together."
Ramirez played in only five games for the Rays, with one hit in 17 at-bats.
Rays outfielder Johnny Damon said he began hearing late Thursday that Ramirez wouldn't be returning to the team, but he didn't know the reason.
"I am surprised," Damon said. "This spring he played well."
The 12-time All-Star agreed to a $2 million, one-year contract with the defending AL East champions in the offseason, hoping to re-establish himself as one of the game's feared hitters.
The 38-year-old outfielder-designated hitter struggled with injuries but still hit .298 with nine homers and 42 RBIs in 90 games for the Dodgers and White Sox last season. He's a career .312 hitter with 555 home runs in 18-plus seasons, including some of his best with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox.
It was after signing with the Dodgers, though, that his reputation was sullied.
The erratic Ramirez performed well on the field and became a fan favorite, with "Mannywood" signs popping up around town, and wound up signing a $45 million, two-year contract to remain with the Dodgers. But in May 2009, he was suspended for testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a banned female fertility drug that is often used to help mask steroid use.
According to a report in The New York Times later that summer, Ramirez also tested positive for performance-enhancing substances during MLB's anonymous survey testing in 2003. Ramirez was a member of the Red Sox during that time.

Manny Among Boys

Manny Ramirez was one of the greatest right-handed hitting outfielders in MLB history. His adjusted on-base plus slugging of 154 trails only Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio among right-handed batters that played at least 1,000 career games in the outfield.

Highest OPS+, RHB Outfielders

MLB History
Hank Aaron	155
Willie Mays	155
Joe DiMaggio	155
Manny Ramirez	154
Frank Robinson	154
*Minimum 1000 games at OF

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"I'm shocked," said Colorado's Jason Giambi, who has acknowledged taking steroids during his own career. "He always kind of portrayed that he was out there but he knew how to hit, man. He was unbelievable when it came to hitting."
His retirement comes as baseball, which has been working hard to put its so-called Steroids Era in the past, has another of its great hitters, Barry Bonds, on trial in San Francisco. Bonds is facing federal charges that he lied to a grand jury in 2003 by denying that he willfully used performance-enhancing drugs.
The Rays, winless through their first six games, hoped the Manny they signed this season would be the same Manny who was MVP of the 2004 World Series when he was with the Red Sox.
"Might have been running out of bullets," said Philadelphia Phillies manger Charlie Manuel, who worked with Ramirez in Cleveland. "Father Time was catching up to him."
At his best, Ramirez was one of the game's great hitters, finishing in the top five in MVP voting four times. He led the American League with a .349 batting average in 2002, finished second the following year and had an AL-best 43 home runs in 2004.
At his worst, Ramirez was criticized for his lackadaisical nature, particularly in the outfield. More than once, managers and teammates complained that Ramirez didn't seem to care about playing defense or wouldn't hustle down the line after a hit.
"A lot of people don't take it really seriously when they talk about Many Ramirez," White Sox third baseman Omar Vizquel told ESPNChicago.com. "But the guys who have been in the lineup with him and know how he works, his work ethic, he shows up at 2 o'clock every day, he takes extra batting practice every day and it doesn't matter if he went 5-for-5 the day before. He was constantly in the gym lifting weights. His work ethic was very, very good. And some people look at him on the field like, 'Who the hell is this guy? What is he doing?' There are actions that he does on the field that really don't reflect what type of player he was. But he was just an amazing guy."
Giambi said Ramirez's approach to hitting was never in question.
"It was just impressive to watch," he said. "He always played that he was aloof, but he really knew how to play the game. You could talk hitting with him and his work ethic was pretty unbelievable. He would be in the cage, hitting off breaking-ball machines, and I think that's a part of him that people didn't see, that he put his time and effort into hitting."
Damon refused to discuss whether Ramirez's reputation has been tainted by drug use, instead choosing to focus on his performance on the field. They were teammates on the Red Sox from 2002-05 and together helped the franchise win the 2004 World Series, its first since 1918.
"It's unfortunate," Damon said. "I don't know everything that's been brought up. All I know is he's a great teammate and a great player."
Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington was more somber in his assessment of Ramirez's career.
"Until the past couple of years, I thought he was on his way to the Hall of Fame," Washington said. "I don't think many guys got as many big hits in their careers as he has. There weren't many guys who had as big an effect on a game as he had.
"You hate to see greatness all of a sudden just fade," he said.

Def Leppard Unveil Tracklisting For New 'Mirrorball' Live Album

April 7, 2011

 




Def Leppard, Britain's greatest arena rock band, are set to release a brand new live album, 'Mirrorball', this summer featuring a mix of live Def Leppard classics (recorded throughout The Sparkle Lounge Tour), three brand new studio songs and a bonus DVD that contains energetic live performances and intimate backstage footage captured on the road.

'Mirrorball' is Def Leppard's first ever live album and features rock classics such as "Animal", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Photograph", "Nine Lives" and "Rock Of Ages". The album also brings together three brand new studio tracks -- "Uundefeated", "Kings Of The World" and "It's All About Believin'" taking their place with ease within this classic setlist.

'Mirrorball' will also be available online, marking the first time the band's music will officially be made available for digital purchase. Def Leppard will also be releasing their new community based website in May, which is being developed to be the ultimate Def Leppard fan experience and go- to destination for all things on the band.

Full 'Mirrorball' tracklisting is as follows:

DISC 1:
1. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
2. Rocket
3. Animal
4. C'Mon C'Mon
5. Make Love Like A Man
6. Too Late For Love
7. Foolin'
8. Nine Lives
9. Love Bites
10. Rock On

DISC 2:
1. Two Steps Behind
2. Bringin' On The Heartbreak
3. Switch 625
4. Hysteria
5. Armageddon It
6. Photograph
7. Pour Some Sugar On Me
8. Rock Of Ages
9. Let's Get Rocked
10. Action
11. Bad Actress
12. Undefeated (new studio track)
13. Kings Of The World (new studio track)
14. It's All About Believin' (new studio track)

Also set for release this summer is Leppard's first coffee table book titled "Def Leppard - The Definitive Visual History", with exclusive photos by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin. The book is released on the 1st June 2011.

Def Leppard remain one of the world's biggest and most successful live acts. The band last played the UK and Eire in 2009 - headlining Download festival that year after a hugely successful sold out UK Arena tour in 2008. 2011 will see Def Leppard headline Download Festival for the second time in three years. The band will also play Arena shows in both Dublin and Belfast with legendary special guests Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy. Full details below:

Tues 7th June 2011 - The Odyssey Arena, Belfast, N. Ireland
Wed 8th June 2011 - The O2, Dublin, Eire
Fri 10th June 2011 - Download Festival, UK

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards (Def Leppard are one of only five rock bands to have two consecutive 10 million plus selling albums in the U.S. - the others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Van Halen) to their credit, Def Leppard - Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) - continue to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the bar for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group's spectacular live shows, filled with powerful melodic rock anthems, continue to sell out venues worldwide. Their epic live show and arsenal of hits have become synonymous with their name, leading Def Leppard to be heralded as an institution in both the music and touring industry.

'Mirrorball' will be released through Bludgeon Riffola/Mailboat Records. For dates, see below:

Germany / Switzerland / Austria - June 3
UK & Europe - June 6
North America - coming this summer, exact date to be announced

KISS start work on new album

KISS have begun work on their new album.

On his website, Eric Singer posted a photo of his drums in a studio setting, along with the caption, “Rehearsals have begun for the new KISS record !”

“Sonic Boom,” released in 2009, was the band’s first studio album in more than a decade. Vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley produced that album, and he will perform the same duties on this one.

“Paul knows more what a KISS record should sound like than anybody, to be honest with you, so he is going to lead the charge and produce it again, and we are all really excited about it,” guitarist Tommy Thayer told BackstageAxxess.com in January.

Gene Simmons is pleased with where the project is, at this point. “KISS pre-production for new studio album going great. New songs. New energy. Paul doing a great job,” Simmons Tweeted on Thursday.

Blink-182 'More Than Halfway Through' New Album, Says Travis Barker

Artists in this Article

blink-182

Travis Barker

Lil WayNE

Transplants

Currently on the road with Lil Wayne to promote his first solo album, "Give the Drummer Some," Travis Barker predicts he'll do another record of his own -- but that might not be for a while with new blink-182 and Transplants projects on the horizon.

"They're all very different," Barker tells Billboard.com about his assorted activities. "It's easy for me to separate them. When I was finishing my album, I was starting on the blink album, starting on a Transplants record, but they're separate and all three are so different that it was really easy to go in and write for each of them...nothing was sounding similar."

Travis Barker: Inside His Hip-Hop Passion Project

Barker says blink-182, which reunited in 2009 after a four-year split, is "a little more than halfway through" its next album, which bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge are working on in Los Angeles while Barker is on the road. "Right now I get a lot of stuff sent to me over the Internet, so when I get home I can do my thing," explains Barker, who finishes the Lil Wayne tour on April 29. "I talk to Mark through e-mail every day."

At this point, Barker adds, "It's hard to say what everything's going to sound like because it's not finished. It does feel exactly where it should be, where we left off with the self-titled (album in 2003). They feel like they could be disc two of that album, so far."

The album's title and timetable is up in the air right now, but Barker notes that, "I believe we're planning on turning it in in July and out hopefully in the summer. I think a summer tour and summer album would be nice, but I can't really say anything yet."

Transplants -- Barker's band with Rancid's Tim Armstrong and Skinhead Rob Alston -- started working on their third album and follow-up to 2005's "Haunted Cities" shortly before the blink-182 reunion. And, according to Barker, the trio has continued to work together when schedules align.

"I think we have 16 songs already," he notes. "We're very, very quick with writing, and spontaneous. I think we plan on maybe writing 30 songs and picking 12 to 15 and putting them out. The others will be featured on deluxe editions and B-sides and other cool things we plan on releasing."

Travis Barker Jams with RZA, Raekwon, Tom Morello in 'Carry It'

There's no word on a Transplants release date, either, but Barker is confident that album can surface this year along with blink-182's. Meanwhile, he's perfectly happy being on the road with Lil Wayne and his Young Money/Cash Money cohorts.

"I've never seen arena rap in my whole life," Barker marvels. "I've seen arena rock forever, and I've been to small hip-hop shows, but this is a trip to see. Wayne's filling arenas all around the world and just killing it. It's pretty awesome, man. I'm pretty proud of him and just seeing how far the whole thing has come, you know?"

Shinedown New Somewhere In The Stratosphere CD/DVD Details

. Shinedown has provided the details for their forthcoming live, multi-disc CD/DVD collection, "Somewhere In The Stratosphere," which will arrive on May 3rd.The collection – which received its title from a member of the "Shinedown Nation" fan community – will include material filmed and recorded on Shinedown's two 2010 headline tours: the inaugural "Carnival Of Madness" tour, in which they topped a lineup that included Chevelle, Puddle Of Mudd, Sevendust, and 10 Years; and the "Anything & Everything" acoustic tour, which featured stripped-down versions of both chart-topping hits and fan favorites alongside intimate conversations with the audience about the stories behind the songs.
"SOMEWHERE IN THE STRATOSPHERE" showcases both the energy of their electric show and intimacy of their acoustic sets with a CD/DVD dedicated to each tour (see attached track listing).
Frontman Brent Smith: "The Carnival of Madness and Anything & Everything tours were some of the most intense and rewarding shows we've ever played. 'SOMEWHERE IN THE STRATOSPHERE' allows us to relive those special times with all the fans that came out, and share the experience with those that we didn't get to see on the road."
A Premium Pack will also be available, allowing fans to choose from the Standard or Deluxe album, plus a poster and t-shirt. The deluxe version of the multi-disc CD/DVD set includes an expanded 16-page booklet with the four discs each packaged in die-cut baby jackets and housed in a special box. "Somewhere In The Stratosphere"

CD/DVD 1
Somewhere In The Stratosphere –
Madness
LIVE from Washington State (Electric)
Intro
Sound Of Madness
Devour
I Dare You
Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide
If You Only Knew
Diamond Eyes
45
Burning Bright
Heroes
The Crow & The Butterfly
Her Name Is Alice
Save Me
Left Out
Simple Man
Fly >From The Inside
Second Chance

CD/DVD 2
Somewhere In The Stratosphere –
Anything and Everything
LIVE from Kansas City (Acoustic)
Heroes
Save Me
If You Only Knew
Sound of Madness
Shed Some Light
45
I Dare You
Times Like These
The Crow & The Butterfly
Burning Bright
Devour
Call Me
Fly
With A Little Help
Simple Man
Second Chance