Today's Day In Rock

Sammy Hagar Disappointed With New Van Halen Song
(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar speaks out on his former band, Van Halen, including his thoughts on their new single, "Tattoo."
"I personally don't think that what they have just released, what I have seen and heard, is great at all," Sammy tells Cack Blabbath in Manchester. "It should be better than it is but hey, it is what it is and at least they got together and at least they came out with something, that's all I can say, you know. God bless them but I was expecting a lot more."

Hagar was asked if the VH reunion with David Lee Roth was motivated more by music or money. "Well, I'm not going to speculate why anyone does anything, but I'll tell you what, they waited so long and they're so not fan friendly, and as big as Van Halen was in the past…," Sammy began. "That's what we used to argue about when I was in the band, I got thrown out because I didn't want to do a Greatest Hits record. I said 'Why the f**k, we're the biggest band in the world, every album we've done since I've been in the band has been at number 1, we've sold out every arena on the planet, now why would you want to sell them the same old record again and give them two new tracks? Why do you want to do that to the fans?'" He's not done.

Kid Rock Addresses Smoking Controversy
(Banana 101.5) It has been a couple of years since smoking indoors at any public venue has been allowed in the state of Michigan, but that didn't stop Kid Rock from lighting a cigar inside the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom last Friday. The native Michigander was there to watch a Travis Tritt concert but ended up angering a 58-year old man with asthma by disregarding the anti-smoking policy about 15 minutes into the performance.

Reports have said that the upset concert-goer plans to file a report with the health department regarding the incident, which may have prompted Rock to offer this response when speaking with TMZ:

"My most sincere apologies to the patrons I may have offended, and a big middle finger in advance to all the haters and attorneys who will somehow try to find an easy paycheck in all this. I doubt I'm the first one to ever make a bad decision while being intoxicated." more on this story

Godsmack, Staind and Halestorm Tour
Godsmack confirmed the rumors that they are teaming up with Staind for a tour this Spring and also announced that the trek will include Halestorm.

On Tuesday Godsmack posted a message about the tour on Facebook and put a call out to fans to help name the trek. They wrote:

"It's official. Godsmack Staind and Halestorm are all going out on tour this Spring and we're asking for you, the fans, to help to name the tour! All you have to do is post your tour name suggestion in the comments section below. Thursday we will reveal the top 5 contenders from each band's pages and ask you to vote for your favorite. The winning tour name will be announced on Monday, 1/23. We will also be announcing the official tour dates sometime next week is well, so be on the look out!"

Read suggestions and post your tour name here.

Daughtry Set For The Break The Spell Tour
Daughtry are hitting the road for the first North American leg of their Break The Spell Tour in March

Named after their latest album, the "Break The Spell Tour" will kick off the first leg on March 20 in Buffalo, NY and continue through April 30 when it concludes in New York, NY.

Daughtry will be supported on the trek by SafetySuit and singer-songwriter Mike Sanchez. Frontman Chris Daughtry says: "We recorded a hard-hitting rock album that is primed to blow the doors off these great theaters. Fans who come out are going to get an incredible show every night." more on this story

Metallica Add New Summer Vacation Tour Date
Fans across the pond will be celebrating a Metallica Black Album summer in 2012. The band has been rolling out the dates and this week jokingly announced the latest addition with this message:

We're baaaaccckk!! Welcome to the 2012 edition of the "one show at a time" tour announcements. Today's installment finds us traveling to Paris on May 12 as we continue to extend our summer vacation with a show at Stade de France.

And in keeping with the theme of the summer, we will be performing the 'Black Album' in its entirety... just another anniversary to celebrate! More from Tallica here.

Iron Maiden Releasing Double Album and 2 Disc DVD and Blu Ray
Iron Maiden fans mark your calendars for March as EMI and UMe have announced plans for the release of "EN VIVO!," a live Blu-Ray, 2DVD Set and Double Soundtrack album.

UMe will release EN VIVO! on March 27th in North American, while international fans will get the release from EMI a day earlier, apart from the live album and video the second DVD disc contains a full length documentary called "Behind The Beast." Here are the details Iron Maiden released.

"EN VIVO!" was filmed on 10th April 2011 in front of over 50,000 ecstatic fans at the Estadio Nacional, Santiago during the Round The World In 66 Days leg of The Final Frontier World Tour, and captures a magnificent performance by the band, ardently embraced by the legendary Latino passion and energy of their Chilean fans. With spectacular stage backdrops, dynamic musicianship and a literally jaw-dropping appearance by Eddie, this live show encapsulates to perfection the heart and soul of Iron Maiden 2011. more on this story

Judas Priest To Release 17 Disc Complete Albums Collection Box Set
Christmas is coming a month late for Judas Priest fans as Columbia/Epic/Legacy have announced a January 24, 2012 release of a massive new box set.

The 'The Complete Albums Collection' box set which includes all 17 studio and live albums Priest recorded with the classic line-up of Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill.

Included will be brand-new remasters of Priest's first two albums, 1974's 'Rocka Rolla' and 1976's 'Sad Wings of Destiny' (which have never been released before as authorized remasters by the band). The 2009 live compilation, 'A Touch of Evil... Live,' features in the box set but it is the only compilation that appears in 'The Complete Albums Collection.' more on this story

Robbie France of Diamond Head and UFO Dead at 53
Diamond Head announced on their website this week that former drummer Robbie France died on Saturday January 14th. He was 53 and the cause of death was not announced at press time.

Robbie was the drummer for Diamond Head from 1983 to 1985 and during his career he also played with UFO, Carnival, One Nation and Wishbone Ash.

Ultimate Classic Rock report: France was born in England but moved to Australia at age 11. There he studied at the National Academy of Rudimentary Drummers and eventually became a music teacher at the Australian Academy of Music. more on this story



NIN's Lohner Remixes Evanescence, Linkin Park, The Cure For Underworld
Lakeshore Records digitally released the soundtrack to Underworld Awakening at iTunes and Amazon Digital this week and will follow up with the physically release on January 31.

The Underworld soundtracks have boasted top-notch lineups of rock, goth and industrial acts remixed for the soundtracks by Danny Lohner, a former member of Nine Inch Nails. He returns this time under the moniker of Renholdër (re d.lohner backwards) to remix tracks from Evanescence, Ministry, Linkin Park, The Cure and The Naked and Famous.

Also returning to the Underworld clan are Wes Borland's Black Light Burns, Lacuna Coil, William Control (the side project of Aiden's front man wiL Francis), Linkin Park (whose Chester Bennington contributed a track to the Underworld: Rise of the Lycans soundtrack), and three tracks featuring Geno Lenardo (ex-Filter guitarist), one of which is a collaboration with Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf on the lead track and it's corresponding video, "Heavy Prey" which will premiere tomorrow on Rollingstone.com. Check out the soundtrack album preview video here.

The film—due in theatres nationwide this Friday, January 20--is the first of the Underworld series to be shot in 3D. more including tracklisting


Korn Set for Second Leg of Their Path of Totality Tour
Korn will hit the North American road next month for the second leg of their Path of Totality Tour.

The new leg kicks off on February 23 in Detroit, running through the Midwest before heading back West and wrapping up on March 4 in San Francisco.

Kill the Noise will provide support on certain dates, while Korn's own Jonathan Davis will also debut his brand new DJ set as his J Devil alter ego. more on this story


Meat Loaf Going To Hell In A Handbasket in March
Legacy Recordings have set a March 13, 2012 North American release date for the Meat Loaf's new studio album, Hell In A Handbasket.

Performing with Meat Loaf on Hell In A Handbasket is The Neverland Express, his long-time backing ensemble, featuring John Miceli (drums, percussion), Patti Russo (lead and backing vocals), Paul Crook (electric and acoustic guitars), Randy Flowers (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals), David Luther (saxophone, vocals), Justin Avery (piano, organ, keyboard, vocals) and Danny Miranda (electric and upright bass).

The new Meat Loaf tracks on Hell In A Handbasket include "All of Me," "The Giving Tree," "Live or Die," "Blue Sky/Mad Mad World/The Good God is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly" (special appearance by Chuck D), "California Dreamin'" (duet with Patti Russo), "Party of One," "Another Day," "40 Days," "Our Love and Our Souls" (duet with Patti Russo), "Stand in the Storm" (special guest appearances from Trace Adkins, Lil Jon and Mark McGrath), "Blue Sky" and "Fall From Grace." more on this story


George Harrison iPad App Coming
Bandwdth Publishing are teaming up with the George Harrison Estate to release a special iPad app celebrating the fame Beatles guitarist and his historical guitar collection.

The Guitar Collection: George Harrison iPad app will be released through iTunes on February 23, two days before Harrison's birthdate. Watch a video previewing the app's features here

The app brings George Harrison's private guitar collection to life through photographs, detailed descriptions, audio, and video footage. For the first time, with the help of unique 360° imaging by photographer Steven Sebring, fans can see the scratches, dings, and worn threads on the guitars as if they were themselves holding the instruments. more on this story


Rival Sons Announce Headlining Tour
Rival Sons are heading back to Europe for a headlining tour which is set to kick off on March 30th in Hamburg, Germany.

Following the band's hugely successful debut European tour last year, Rival Sons are returning in 2012, performing around the UK with Black Stone Cherry in March, followed immediately by their own headlining European tour.

Rival Sons drummer Michael Miley comments: "Hell ya! Europe here we come again! We are so stoked to be coming back so soon. The autumn tour was epic; so good to share our music and meet you all. See you soon and bring 10 friends this time. Peace!" more on this story


Black Sabbath and Pantera Supergroup Kill Devil Hill Debut Album Details
Black Sabbath and Pantera supergroup Kill Devil Hill have set a March 27th North America release date for their debut album.

The album will be available in a standard CD edition, iTunes digital download, and Double Gatefold LP.

Kill Devil Hill is he new project featuring acclaimed drummer Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Dio) and bassist Rex Brown, (Pantera, Down) guitar slinger Mark Zavon and lead vocalist Dewey Bragg. more on this story


Dark Funeral Postpone North American tour
Dark Funeral announced via a posting on their official Facebook page on Tuesday that they are postponing their upcoming North American tour which was due to kick off on January 29th.

The posting reads: Dear Fans, friends and supporters of Dark Funeral, It is with great regret that we have to inform you today that our North American Tour has to be postponed.

Due to circumstances and events way beyond our control, there is no other way but to postpone these dates. And yes, our triumphant return to the United States Of America is definitely not cancelled, but postponed. more on this story



Railroad Earth North American Tour Starts This Week
Railroad Earth will be kicking of their North American tour this weekend with two concerts in Charlottesville, VA.

The tour includes stops throughout the Southeast, Midwest and all along the East Coast, before heading to the Pacific Coast in early March. With key dates booked in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, New York City, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

Railroad Earth have also booked additional dates following the tour including a two night stand in Wakarusa Ozark, AR and appearance at the Four Corners Folk Festival. more on this story



Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Announce Tour Dates
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will break out of the studio in March to play a select run of dates showcasing some of the new music they have just recorded.

In other news, band has created a tumblr site here that will feature things that they find on the web as well as special pieces of content from within, that haven't yet been exposed.

They will be updating it consistently as a central place to dive into the community that is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros more on this story


Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour Members Form New Band
Members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour have teamed up to form a new metal supergroup called Iron Reagan and fans are being offered their first taste of the group's music.

The group is made of Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste, No Friends), LandPhil Hall (Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse), Ryan Parish (Darkest Hour, Suppression, City of Caterpillar) and Paul Burnette (Darkest Hour, Crack Head)

IRON REAGAN just released a free 4 song demo available on their bandcamp page. The Demo was recorded in Richmond, Virginia by Landphil and Mastered by Mammoth Sound.

Iron Reagan will be playing their first show this Sunday in Richmond, VA at Strange Matter with Weekend Nacho's, Full of Hell and others. Check out the demo here.



Angels & Airwaves Change Tour Date
Angels & Airwaves' sold-out show on January 26 at the Music Box in Los Angeles has been moved to January 23 at the Avalon in Hollywood.

A limited number of additional tickets for the Avalon will go on sale on January 18 at 10 am PT.

AVA is preparing to kick off a busy two weeks that will include five intimate Southern California tour dates, plus TV and Web performances.

The band will start with a show at House of Blues in Anaheim on Sunday, January 22, followed by the Avalon and then Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara on January 25 and the Belly Up in Solana Beach on February 1. A fifth show was recently announced for the Glass House in Pomona on February 2

At 3:00 pm PST on Tuesday, January 24, fans are invited to take a virtual front row seat when AVA performs at the "Red Bull Sound Space at KROQ" via www.kroq.com/soundspace



Dr. John Recruits Black Keys Member to Produce New Album
(Gibson) Dr. John has recruited The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach to produce his next album. The album, to be called Locked Down, will be released in April.

Auerbach said that Dr. John "inspired me every single day we were in the studio together: musically, spiritually, cosmically ... something special seemed to be happening and everyone involved could sense it. For my money, Mac's [Mac Rebennack is the Dr.'s real name] one of the greatest who ever was and who ever will be ... I'm so honored to have had this opportunity to work with him."

Dr. John's kids introduced the roots music legend to The Black Keys' music and he and Auerbach worked with a group of young musicians at his own studio in Nashville. more on this story




Coldplay Scored Top Rock Album of 2011
(Gibson) Coldplay only released their fifth album Mylo Xyloto in October but managed to top the 2011 U.K. rock album sales chart by some distance.

NME.com reports that according to The Official Charts Company in the U.K., Coldplay had the biggest-selling rock album of last year with Mylo Xyloto, at over 900,000 copies sold.

Noel Gallagher's debut solo album wasn't too close to Coldplay's record, but it did come in second with 500,000 units sold. Trailing Gallagher were Florence and the Machine, Foo Fighters and Mumford and Sons. more on this story




The Boxer Rebellion North American Headline Tour Details
The Boxer Rebellion will be hitting the road this Spring for a North American headline tour.

Beginning on Friday, April 6, in Tucson, AZ, at Club Congress, the tour will take in nights at notable venues across the U.S. and Canada such as The Parish in Austin, TX, on Tuesday, April 10, Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY, on Friday, April 27, The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA, on Tuesday, May 15, and El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, on Friday, May 18.

After the tour's completion, the band will also be making a very special appearance in Mexico City, Mexico, on Saturday, May 19. more on this story



Dropkick Murphys Add St. Patrick's Day North American Tour Dates
Dropkick Murphys have added two additional Boston shows to their annual St. Patrick's Day North American Tour.

The new dates will take place on Wednesday, March 14 at House Of Blues and Sunday, March 18 at Brighton Music Hall.

On March 6, Dropkick Murphys will release the Going Out In Style: Fenway Park Bonus Edition CD--an expanded version of the critically acclaimed Going Out In Style--on the band-owned Born & Bred Records more on this story



Jeff Loomis Releases Details About New Album and NAMM Appearances
Former Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis has locked himself in the studio for the past few months perfecting his sophomore solo record, to be released later this year and has announced some details.

After his departure from Nevermore and the release of his solo debut -- Zero Order Phase in 2008 -- fans have been craving a new album. With a number of influential musicians appearing on the upcoming release, Jeff Loomis is more than ready to deliver.

Details on two NAMM appearances have also been announced. JEFF LOOMIS comments: A couple of years ago I achieved my childhood dream of releasing a solo album. With the releasing of my second record coming up, I'm proud to announce another dream come true...or should I say dreams...Marty Friedman, Tony MacAlpine and Chris Poland have all done guest solos for it. These guys must have given me hundreds of blisters on my fingers when I was a kid trying in vain to emulate their work. Hell, I'm still trying to figure out some of their solos. To have three guitar players that I looked up to as a young player and still hold in such high regard is simply amazing. I can't thank those guys enough. more on this story



Diamond Plate To Rock With Anthrax
Diamond Plate will play their very first shows outside of North America with three concerts in the UK this March.

Diamond Plate are due to support Anthrax at two special shows in March in London and Oxford, followed by a main stage slot at Hammerfest in Wales.

Diamond Plate lead guitarist Konrad Kupiec comments: "We couldn't be more honored to announce that our first UK appearances will be supporting the legendary Anthrax. Playing in the UK and playing with one of our biggest idols seemed like two separate goals this early in our careers; to see them happen together so soon is almost surreal and we're excited as hell. more on this story



Vampires Everywhere! Enter The Studio
Vampires Everywhere! are entering the studio to begin working on their sophomore album which will be released by Hollywood Waste Records.

The band has spent the last few months in pre-production for their sophomore effort and Michael Vampire reveals who will be teaming up with the band for this release, as well as the musical direction of the upcoming album:

"We are excited to announce that we entered the studio yesterday to start recording our second album for Hollywood Waste Records!! We will be co-producing the record with Mike Sarkisyan & Tommy Decker from Grammy nominated alternative-metal band Spineshank and we couldn't be more pumped about it. We're changing it up a bit from the last album but our fans will still love it. The new record will be darker and more message driven and will abandon ALL autotune effects! I want this record to have a 90's industrial shock rock feel with a mixture of 2012 technology. We plan on releasing the record around Van's Warped Tour. See you there!!" more on this story


Dave Alvin's Eleven Eleven Expanded
Yep Roc Records have set an April 17th release date for an expanded edition of Roots rocker Dave Alvin's album Eleven Eleven.

The expanded edition of Eleven Eleven boasts nearly three hours of music and will include two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "Signal Hill" and "Never Trust A Woman," a live performance DVD, a live recording of Eleven Eleven, and a repackaging of the original full-length album. Alvin hits the road this spring in both the U.S. and the U.K.

"Starting in May 2011, my great band, The Guilty Ones and I hit the highways and performed in every bar, theatre and joint that we could get into across America," says Dave Alvin. "As you might guess, I love playing with this band and I think it shows in the live performance that was recorded last summer at The Ark in Ann Arbor. I'm happy to be able to release this to you on DVD in a new swanky package of Eleven Eleven. We'll be back on the road in both the U.S. and the U.K. soon. Look forward to seeing you out there." more on this story


Ned Evett Releases New Adrian Belew Produced Album
(Kayos) Ned Evett has released his sixth solo album, Treehouse, which was produced by Adrian Belew.

Ned Evett is the winner of the 2003 North American Rock Guitar competition (which resulted in a PBS documentary). He opened for Joe Satriani (who calls Ned "a monster guitarist") on a mammoth six month international tour that started in 2010. Trained classically, he plays his own invention, a fretless glass guitar, in a unique fingerpicking style (no guitar picks were used in the building of this Treehouse).

The compositional prowess exhibited by Ned Evett on Treehouse is proof positive he is so much more than the brilliant guitarist upon which he's made his reputation. His goal going in was to spotlight his unique vocals and songwriting. Consider that goal accomplished. Evett has reached way down deep into the heart of human emotion, chronicling his relationship with the open road and the losses sustained in an effort to create such a profound work. "Don't Despair," for instance, contains a universal message tinged with regret yet with hope for the future.

One-Liners Today!

Axl talks jury duty plus latest from Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Riot, Zakk Wylde, NIN, Journey, Bulletboys, Kate Bush


Axl Rose has said he enjoyed his experience of jury duty. The Guns n’Roses frontman spent four days following a trial and found it “relatively painless.” He reports: “I was fortunate that everyone in the courthouse and jurors were all really great. Plus I got to see daylight from a different prospect.” It’s assumed he managed to turn up in time each day.

Jerry Cantrell’s health problems are behind delays to the new Alice in Chains album, their second with singer William DuVall after their triumphant 2009 comeback Black Gives Way to Blue. The guitarist says: “I had shoulder surgery. I had to get some bone spurs and torn cartilage taken care of, so that put me back a little. But we’ve been writing through the whole process.” The new record is due in the second half of the year. (Rolling Stone)

Dave Grohl says the music industry wouldn’t be in so much trouble if record labels insisted on releasing albums as good as pop singer Adele’s current record. The Foos frontman explains: “Everyone’s so shocked that it’s such a phenomenon. I’m not. You know what that record’s huge? Because it’s fucking good and it’s real. Now imagine if all records were that good. Do you think only one of them would sell? Fuck no – all of them would. The music business would be on fire.” (Billboard)

Riot‘s reunion shows may take place without Mark Reale after the guitarist was forced back into hospital with Crohn’s disease, which he’s been fighting for most of his life. The band say: “We ask fans and friends to pray for Mark’s speedy recovery and to support us in our efforts to bring you the Riot reunion shows that have been so long in the making. Your good wishes will make it to his bedside until he is able to return to the stage.”

Zakk Wylde says his dad’s retirement and subsequent boredom taught him the importance of having something to get out of bed for in the morning. The Black Label Society mainman recalls: “When my dad retired from General Motors, that was the worst thing that ever happened to him. He was lost. Once he got a job up at a gas station, and he was back talking with people again, he had a reason to get up. I’m grateful for everything I have – I don’t need a tragedy to happen to realise how blessed I am.” (AU Review)

Trent Reznor admits he’s playing call-my-bluff with his creative talents over the potential of a new Nine Inch Nails album. He says: “My voice as a songwriter feels like it needs to speak up. I think I have something to say that feels unique to who I am right now. It’s all kind of hypothetical right now – when I sit down with a notebook and a mini-recorder is when my bluff will be calles, and then it might not happen at all.” (NME)

The first wild grey wolf in California for 80 years has been named Journey after the rock band. The animal was tracked by scientists over an 800-mile trip from Oregon until it decided to settle down and is now establishing its own territory. Conservation group Portland Wild ran an online contest to give it a name, and Journey was chosen because the spirit of Don’t Stop Believin’ applies to the wolf’s importance to natural heritage.

The Bulletboys reunion looks to have imploded after their show in Hollywood on December 30. Drummer Jimmy D’Anda has lashed out at frontman Marq Torien, saying: “He wants to continue without the original members so he can maintain control of the name. His contract states the guys and I are on a trial basis for a year, then if he thinks we’re deserving we can buy a portion of the name. That’s unacceptable. Either we’re a band or we’re not.” But Torien replies: “Contrary to what Jimmy says I am more than willing to share everything equally. The original members sold out the group and the name 18 years ago. Despite their sellout, my fair and equal offer remains on the table. I hope to work this out where everybody can be happy.”

The Kate Bush fan who flew to her home from the US with an engagement ring, hoping to marry her, has been deported from the UK. Frank Tufaro, 32, broke into Bush’s home in Devon while she was away, and was arrested after neighbours contacted the police. Detained under the Mental Health Act, Tufaro stated he hadn’t intended to break in, adding: “It was so bitter and cold – I’ve never broken a law in my life but I decided to break a window pane and let myself in so I wouldn’t freeze to death. I was inside for about eight minutes before I realised I had to leave.” The Border Agency says: “A 32-year-old man was removed from the UK to the United States. The incident which led to his arrest is purely a police matter.”

Today's Day In Rock

Van Halen Make Top 20 Debut
(hennemusic) Van Halen's new single "Tattoo" has debuted in the Top 20 on the Billboard radio charts.
Billboard reports "Tattoo" – the first track from the band's "A Different Kind Of Truth" album, due February 7 – enters the Billboard Rock Songs chart at #16.

The song arrives with 4.6 million first-week audience impressions on 78 stations, according to Nielsen BDS. more on this story



Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Steven Tyler To Rock Leno This Week
(hennemusic) Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has confirmed that he and Steven Tyler will play The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this Friday, January 20.

The pair will be joined by bassist and American Idol judge Randy Jackson for the performance.

Perry confirmed the information via Twitter last Friday, in response to a fan inquiry. Joe also said he'll be on the Tonight Show again on Monday, January 30. more on this story

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Fighting For His Domain
(hennemusic) This is what happens when you forget to renew your website domain. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder is fighting to regain control of the web domain eddievedder.com, according to Fusible.

A complaint (WIPO Case Number: D2012-0035) was filed last week with the World Intellectual Property Organization over the domain name.

According to WHOIS records, Fusible reports Pearl Jam owned the domain name back in the mid-2000s up through late 2010, when the name switched over to Whois privacy. more on this story



Head Open To Korn Reunion
(Gibson) Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch said that enough time has passed that he would keep an "open mind" about reuniting with his former bandmates. Head recently spoke to Legendary Rock Interviews, about his feelings about Korn.

When asked about getting back together with Jonathan Davis and the gang, Head replied: "You mean like a big, classic rock, Motley Crue reunion tour thing? [laughs] It would have to be a situation where we all agree on things and be for a real purpose and some concrete, higher-power reason. I'm happy right now doing my stuff and I feel really content doing it and those guys are really busy and content doing their thing. I have no plans to do such a reunion, but if it were for the right reasons and we all felt the same way about it I would definitely keep an open mind about it."

Head went on to say that he's on good terms with the guys in Korn, on a personal level. "I am very happy for those guys and proud of that music and totally past the point of holding an ill will for any of them," he said. "I just hung out with Jonathan and his wife the whole night a few months back and hung out with Fieldy sometime after that when I was out on tour with my band. It is without a doubt all good. I have nothing but good vibes for them and I'm sure we will always stay in touch." more on this story



Five Finger Death Punch and Soulfly Tour
Soulfly let it unofficially slip that they are teaming up with Five Finger Death Punch for a North American tour this spring.

Loudwire has the details: Although no official word from Five Finger Death Punch just yet, Soulfly posted the dates on their website, listing Five Finger Death Punch as part of the tour.

The dates kick off in mid-March and run through April, with possibly more dates to come. More including the dates.



Soundgarden Accidentally Leak Download Festival Lineup
(Rock News Desk) Soundgarden have accidentally revealed more details about the 2012 Download Festival bill than they were supposed to when they confirmed their own appearance at the iconic UK event.

The Seattle outfit revealed Little Angels have reformed for the festival's tenth anniversary while Machine Head, Biffy Clyro, Anthrax, Trivium, Lamb of God, Devin Townsend Project, DevilDriver, Ugly Kid Joe and August Burns Red are already signed up.

When Soundgarden announced they'd be appearing at the three-day festival, a band representative uploaded a picture of an early-stages promo poster to their Facebook page, which gave away more than organisers Live Nation intended. more on this story



L.A. Guns Reteam With Andy Johns For New Album
(Gibson) The Phil Lewis-led L.A. Guns – not to be confused with the Tracii Gunns version – have signed with Cleopatra Records and will begin recording a new album with legendary producer Andy Johns.

In addition to his work with Led Zeppelin, Andy Johns co-produced Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Joe Satriani's The Extremist and Chickenfoot's debut. He also produced the last three L.A. Guns albums.

The album will be released on CD and vinyl as well as a digital version with iTunes-exclusive tracks. The band is planning a nine-month world tour to support the album.

The current L.A. Guns lineup is Lewis, Steve Riley, Stacey Blades and Scotty Griffin. "We've been waiting a long time to get back in and record," Lewis says. "Our last album, Tales From the Strip, was incredibly well-received and we're looking forward to putting out something even better! With today's uncertain musical landscape, it's great to have a label like Cleopatra Records behind us. We've been friends with Brian Perera (Cleopatra Records owner and founder) for a long time, and are really looking forward to working together on this and many more projects with him in the future." more on this story




Marilyn Manson Replaces Chris Vrenna
(Banana 101.5) Marilyn Manson recently waved goodbye to drummer Chris Vrenna, who left the band to focus on other projects.

The band has decided to move forward with veteran rock drummer Jason Sutter as the man behind the kit.

His first gig with the band will be during Manson's appearance at the Soundwave Festival next month. more on this story



Megadeth's Dave Ellefson to Release New Book
Megadeth co-founder Dave Ellefson has announced the Spring release of "Unsung," his brand new book featuring original lyrics and images never before published.

His site had these details: Dark, light, inquisitive and inspirational, "Unsung" expresses a uniquely diverse side to David's creativity. He enthuses that, "as a musician, my past lyrical work has always been set to music. But, with this new book I set out to explore a new medium using both words and images as the canvas for an exciting new mosaic of storytelling."

"Unsung" is also David's first venture into the realm of self-publishing. As a result, he encourages the reader to utilize these original lyrics under license from him for their own songs. In this manner, song-writers of all levels can actually become a co-writer with David. This is truly an innovative way for fans and musicians to co-create with one of Metal music's most iconic and inspirational artists! more on this story



Inside AC/DC's Bon Scott Era From Mark Evans
Former AC/DC bassist Mark Evans is sharing more insights from his new book Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside Of AC/DC.

On writing his book Dirty Deeds: "The band tends to be a little secretive. They're private sort of guys. And it's just paying back all the support from over the years and for people who ask me what it was like to be in the band. So yeah, I just wanted to put fans in the band like it was back in the Bon Scott days. We had a whole lot of fun, let me tell you."

On recording classic AC/DC albums like Let There Be Rock: "From the week I joined them, we'd be doing six, seven, eight gigs a week. So our scheduling was really tight, and we didn't have a lot of time. To record the albums, or at least the ones I was involved with, T.N.T., which was half of the international version of High Voltage, Dirty Deeds, and Let There Be Rock, all those albums, there was only two weeks put aside for each album to record." more on this story



Abigail Williams' New Album Streaming In Full
Abigail Williams are streaming their third album full-length album, Becoming, online in full ahead of the January 24th North American release.

The LP will be available for streaming from now until the album's release next week, you can check it out here.

Becoming was recorded in various warehouses throughout Los Angeles, with the lineup for the album including returning guitarist Ian Jekelis, studio drummer Zach Gibson (ex-The Black Dahlia Murder) and as always, vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron, who handled all mixing, mastering, production and engineering duties.



Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football League Auction
(hennemusic) The Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football League launched its 3rd annual charity auction on eBay last Friday morning.

The ten-day-long auction includes collectible items donated by league participants such as custom-made black denim pants, jacket, and studded belt worn by Jerry Cantrell during the Alice in Chains Blackdiamondskye Tour.

Plus a glove personally worn and autographed by Randy Wolf; a Mad Men script signed by the cast of the show, autographed items from Vinnie Paul, Duff McKagan, Heart's Ann Wilson and more. more on this story


Jeff Scott Soto To Deliver Damage Control in March
(Gibson) Vocalist Jeff Scott Soto's fifth studio album, Damage Control, will be released on March 23 in Europe and March 27 in North America.

Soto describes the album as heavy, AOR, hard rock with a focus on riffs and melodies. "I feel Damage Control is more of a return to what my fans would expect to hear from me," Soto says. "It's a perfect blend of my first two solo albums with Frontiers Records; Prism and Lost in the Translation, but also mixes in some of my favorite moments of my past bands such as Talisman and Soul SirkUS."

In addition to his current bandmates, the album features appearances and co-writing collaborations by guests including Jamie Borger and Nalley Påhlsson of Treat, Casey Grillo of Kamelot, Joel Hoekstra of Night Ranger and Y&T founder Dave Meniketti. On the latter, Soto says "Y&T drummer Mike Vanderhule played drums on a track and suggested I bring Dave on but, as he is a long time friend and one on the 'wish list' of people I would have loved to have, I didn't want to get an excuse that he was too busy or not interested, to my surprise I got neither... he was willing to do it and I was not only grateful but beyond pleased to work with another musical hero!" more on this story




KISS' Peter Criss Receives Drum Legend Award
(hennemusic) Original KISS drummer Peter Criss was honored Saturday night with the Drum Legend award during the grand finals of Guitar Center's annual Drum-Off event.

The Drum Legend induction, at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, honors icons in the drum world that have paved the way for today's drummers. The award is given to those that have made significant contributions to the craft and have hugely influenced players by their style and illustrious musical career.

Past inductees include John Bonham, Billy Cobham, Nicko McBrain, Steve Smith, Dave Garibaldi, Alan White, and Greg Errico. Read Peter's reaction here.



Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman In The Studio for Yes Classic
Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman are 'InTheStudio' for the 40th anniversary of YES' Fragile.

Of special note to fans, this interview contains a segment where Jon Anderson discusses how 'Roundabout' was written.

Jon Anderson also remembers, "Probably around Fragile was the time that I started to become a little bit more like a director. They use to call me 'Napoleon'. They never told me to my face (chuckles). It didn't matter, I didn't care, as long as it was happening. Later I learned the word 'catalyst'."

InTheStudio is syndicated on over 50 radio stations throughout North America. YES- Fragile/ InTheStudio show will air this week but you can stream it online here.



Michael Lee's Death Sparks Little Angels Reunion
(Rock News Desk) The seeds for Little Angels' reunion were sown at the funeral of former drummer Michael Lee, say the band. The Scarborough outfit last night confirmed they'd got back together and will play at this year's Download festival in Donington, UK, in June.

They split after a farewell tour in 1994, and didn't gather again until Lee's memorial service. He'd left the Angels in bad blood in 1991 after his bandmates discovered he'd secretly auditioned for the Cult. He toured the world with Ian Astbury's outfit and went on to play with Page and Plant, among many others. He died of an epileptic seizure in November 2008 at the age of 39.

Now Jepson, Bruce and Jimmy Dickinson, Mark Plunkett and Mark Richardson are raring to go once again – although they haven't said how far their plans have progressed. more on this story



Murder Death Kill and Hammerfist Tour
Murder Death Kill are teaming up with Hammerfist for a tour of the West Coast of the U.S. next month.

The tour is set to kick off on February 5th in Fresno, Ca and will wrap up on February 13th in San Francisco.

Murder Death Kill's music video for their track "Abomination", which was directed by Scott Hansen (Whitechapel, Evergreen Terrace), is set to debut later this week. more on this story



Gibson Announce Donovan NAMM Appearance
(Gibson) Folk-rock legend Donovan will be making an appearance at the Gibson Guitar booth at the 2012 NAMM Show. Donovan is planning to stop by the booth (#303AB) at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

Donovan is teaming up with Gibson to locate his prized J-45 guitar (seen in the photo), which was stolen from him. It's the instrument that the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee used to write many of his hits, which include "Sunshine Superman," "Mellow Yellow" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man."

Donovan will join many other world-renown artists, including Joe Bonamassa, Dave Navarro and Brian Wilson, who are making appearances at the Gibson booth during the NAMM show. For a full schedule of events, click here.





Exhumed and Anaal Nathrakh Tour
Exhumed are teaming up with Anaal Nathrakh for a short tour of the UK this March.

The trek follows Exhumed's tour of Brazil with Aborted and the Grind Over Europe Tour 2012 with label-mates Rotten Sound and Magrudergrind.

Exhumed are touring in support of their latest album, All Guts, No Glory, which was issued last year by Relapse Records. more on this story



Cannibal Corpse Set New Album Release
Metal Blade have set a March 13th North American release date for Cannibal Corpse's twelfth studio album, Torture.

Torture was again produced by Hate Eternal's Erik Rutan at his own Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida as well as Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, and features the maniacal cover art by longtime Cannibal Corpse artist, Vincent Locke.

While Torture marks the latest progression in the band's sound, it also witnesses a return to what drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz accurately terms "the frenzied attack of Butchered At Birth (1991) or Tomb Of The Mutilated (1992)," infusing the band's advanced musicianship with the raw savagery that haunted their earlier releases, and in the process conceiving the definitive Cannibal Corpse record. Adds bassist Alex Webster on the outcome of the record: "We're extremely happy with how Torture turned out. Erik Rutan did an amazing job with the production, and the songwriting and performances may be our strongest yet. We can't wait until our fans get to hear the whole thing!" more on this story



Evergrey Release A Decade And A Half of Music Today
SPV/Steamhammer have released Evergrey's long awaited two disc greatest hits collection, "A Decade And A Half".

The exclusive deluxe package features previously unreleased songs, live tracks and an extensive booklet.

Since The Band Arrived On The Scene With Their First Album In 1998, Progressive Melodic Metallersevergrey Have Brought Out Eight Studio Albums And One Live Release. more on this story



Riot Guitarist Remains Hospitalized
Riot have issued this health update about Mark Reale: Due to complications arising from treatment for Mark's illness, he remains hospitalized in San Antonio and will not be healthy enough to appear as scheduled. Mike, Tony, Bobby and Don have, at the strong urging of Mark's family, decided to perform the shows without Mark on guitar.

We are receiving updates on his condition several times daily, and Mark is currently undergoing procedures to stabilize him. His father, in addition to several dedicated friends of the band and the family, are at Mark's side constantly as doctors work to restore him to health. In accordance with the family's wishes, no further details are being released at this time.

While we are saddened by these developments, Riot's music has been Mark's lifeblood for over 30 years. We have struggled with idea of performing without him, and we are continuing to prepare with heavy hearts, but the entire Riot organization has agreed on the importance of bringing our music to the fans who have supported us for so long. more on this story



Warbringer To Tour With Iced Earth and Symphony X
(CM) Warbringer will hit the road later this month with Iced Earth and Symphony X for a North American tour.

In regards to this upcoming trek, the band comments: "It's a new year and we're looking forward to getting back out there and touring the US and Canada, especially getting back to some of the markets we didn't hit on the headline tour.

"These will be big shows and a long tour and we're excited to share the stage with Iced Earth and Symphony X, and performing for some of their fans who may have not seen Warbringer yet."

LEGACY RECORDINGS CELEBRATES SCORPIONS WITH STATESIDE RELEASE OF TWO NEW TITLES:

Legacy Recordings is proud to announce the domestic release of two essential new titles from the seminal metal band Scorpions: Comeblack, a new album of classic rock covers and fresh performances of signature repertoire recorded earlier this year, and Get Your Sting and Blackout - Live in 3D, available on Blu-ray disc, an 11-camera 3-D concert film recorded in Saarbrucken, Germany on April 15, 2011 during Scorpions current farewell tour. Launched by guitarist Rudolf Schenker in 1965, Scorpions forged metal, rock and pop into a sound that's come to signify an entire genre through hard rock anthems like "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and hits like "Send Me An Angel," "Wind of Change" and "Still Loving You," selling more than 100 million records in the process.
Last year, Scorpions announced that the group's Get Your Sting and Blackout tour, an epic ongoing worldwide rock 'n' roll odyssey in support of 2010's Sting in the Tail, would be the group's last before retirement. The tour is slated to run through 2012 with a string of historic farewell blowouts and festival performances scheduled Europe culminating with shows at the Wacken Open Air festival (August 4, 2012) and Munich's Olympiahalle (October 13, 2012).
Wanting to create a truly memorable concert film to do justice to power of the live show and the high energy emotional impact of the final tour, Scorpions chronicled the sold-out concert on April 15, 2011 in Saarbrucken, Germany with a state-of-the-art 3D production. Helmed by director Gerd F. Schultze (who's worked on 3D films with Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams, Joe Cocker, Carlos Santana and German superstar Peter Maffay), Get Your Sting and Blackout - Live in 3D puts the viewer into the VIP box at the ultimate Scorpions concert. In addition to 100 minutes of pure Scorpions music, Get Your Sting and Blackout - Live in 3D includes more than half-an-hour of behind-the-scenes bonus material.
"The preview audience was absolutely euphoric and stunned by the intensity and the never-before-witnessed power and intimacy in which they were able to experience the Scorpions' fantastic concert," said Gerd Schultze following a theatrical screening of the film. "The people left the screening with a completely new and never-before-seen concert experience and wanted to watch it all over straight away. Part of the reason is, that we have managed to create an unbelievable 3D depth with a specially developed method, which is very pleasant to watch. Using the new camera technology, we managed to translate 3D in the cut and montage technique in a style that will meet the expectations of a first class product even in ten years time. It makes you feel like you're sitting in the VIP lounge amidst the audience through this 11 camera 3D concert staging and its monstrous 5.1 surround and stereo sound. At the same time, The Scorpions perform their unbelievably powerful and visually unique show with all their hits live in your living room. This is pure dynamite ... fasten seat belts and take off ... into the third dimension."
"Saarbrucken was a very good choice," wrote the band in a press statement, "our fans were simply sensational and gave us the chance to thank them for their many years of support."

Get Your Sting and Blackout - Live in 3D - Blu-ray. The Set List: Intro, Sting In The Tail, Make It Real, Bad Boys Running Wild, The Zoo, Coast To Coast, Loving You Sunday Morning, The Best Is Yet To Come, Send Me An Angel, Holiday, Raised On Rock, Tease Me, Please Me, Dynamite, Kottak Attack, Blackout, Six String Sting, Big City Nights, Still Loving You, Wind Of Change, Rock You Like A Hurricane, When The Smoke Is Going Down.

At some point during the Get Your Sting and Blackout tour ("We can't remember the day, the month or the hour"), Scorpions, enjoying the success of Sting in the Tail and the emotional rejuvenation of the farewell tour ("Screaming fans everywhere we went!") decided to record one last classic album. "The idea to go back to the studio was born out of pure excitement," said the band who cut an album mixing covers of rock 'n' roll standards that informed and inspired the Scorpions alongside new productions and performances of the songs in the band's core catalog that have proved the most meaningful to the members.
The result, Comeblack, is, according to the band, "an encore for our die-hard fans, to thank them for all the support for so many years. At the same time, this is a tribute to legendary bands from the sixties, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, who have inspired us to follow our dreams. We hope you like it as much as we do... Rock on and ... Comeblack."

Scorpions - Comeblack - tracklisting: Rhythm of Love, No One Like You, The Zoo, Rock You Like A Hurricane, Blackout, Wind of Change, Tainted Love (Gloria Jones/Marc Almond), Children of the Revolution (T. Rex), Across the Universe (The Beatles), Tin Soldier (Small Faces), All Day and All of the Night (The Kinks), Ruby Tuesday (The Rolling Stones).
WebLinks: www.the-scorpions.com / www.legacyrecordings.com.

Today's Day In Rock

Guns N' Roses Main Priority Is Making New Album
(Gibson) Now that Guns N' Roses have completed their North American tour, Guitarist DJ Ashba says that releasing a new album is the band's "main priority."
"I can't give anybody a definite date, because I'm not gonna give anybody false hope. But what I can say is [making a new album] absolutely is our main priority," Ashba told Mama's Fallen Angels (via Blabbermouth). "And I cannot wait to get [working on the album]."

He went on to reveal that GN'R frontman Axl Rose already has loads of tracks recorded for the new LP. "I mean, Axl has tons and tons of stuff recorded as it is. I mean, he sits there in his hotel room and he'll play me hours of stuff. And I've written over 10 songs – I think 12 songs now – for him that he really likes," he said. "And I think now that we're off tour, we're gonna kind of start talking about, 'Hey, let's start piecing together what we feel would be the next best Guns N' Roses record.' It's absolutely everybody's goal to get out an album within a reasonable amount of time. That is everybody's focus." more on this story



Duff McKagan Clarifies Reunion Tweet
(Rock News Desk) Duff McKagan wishes he'd thought twice before sending a tweet which landed him in hot water with both Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver fans.

The bassist was so delighted when he heard Swedish hardcore punks Refused were reforming for this year's Coachella festival he sent a microblog update – and it was misinterpreted by his followers. When he sent the line "Refused reunion? Now we are talking!" people assumed he was either discussing GnR's potential regathering for their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or last night's three-track charity show with sacked VR singer Scott Weiland.

"I found out one of my favorite all-time bands were getting back together this year. Refused, after 14 years apart, are seemingly playing a handful of American and European festivals this spring," McKagan says in his Seattle Weekly column. "In my enthusiasm regarding this news I tweeted 'Refused reunion? Now we are talking!' Think before you tweet." more on this story

Quiet Riot Singer Fired While Awaiting Brain Surgery
(Rock News Desk) Sacked Quiet Riot singer Mark Huff has lashed out at his former bandmates from his hospital bed, saying the first he knew of his dismissal was when he read a public announcement.

The frontman says he's disgusted at the band's actions in replacing him with former Montrose singer Keith St John. But drummer Frankie Banali says it wouldn't be in Huff's interests to publicise the reason for his sacking.

Soon after Quiet Riot announced their move Huff took to his Facebook page and said: "As I sit in hospital and wait for my brain surgery, I have been let go. And nobody's had balls to tell it to my face. I have to read the news in a post that's not even directed to me. WTF?" More from Huff and a response from a QR member here.

Black Sabbath's Iommi Overwhelmed By Fan Support in Cancer Fight
(Rock News Desk) Tony Iommi says he can't wait to start his fightback against cancer. And even though lymphoma is the worst Christmas present he's ever had, he's glad to keep working on the Black Sabbath reunion album.

The band confirmed on Monday the guitarist was suffering from the disease which affects the immune system. It's thought he was diagnosed early and although he'll have to endure extreme treatment, his chances of recovery are good.

"I just wanted to say how overwhelmed I am with all your messages of support. Thank you so much," Iommi says. "It's not what I wanted for Christmas – that's for sure – but now I can't wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment." more on this story


Former Danzig Star Restrains Woman Who Restrained Him
(TMZ) Ex-Danzig bassist Jerry Montano is getting one massive security upgrade on his Facebook account ... thanks to an L.A. judge -- who just blocked an ex-hookup from contacting him on the social networking site for the next 3 years.

TMZ broke the story ... Montano obtained a temporary restraining order against Priscilla Caputo last month, claiming he met the girl on Facebook ... but she flew off the handle when he tried to stop seeing her ... and trashed his apartment.

The restraining order -- extended on Wednesday -- also requires Caputo to stay 100 yards away from Montano at all times.

Here's the twist -- Caputo also filed her own request for a restraining order against Montano, claiming he assaulted her ... and a judge granted that one too.

Nothing says love like reciprocal restraining orders. more on this story

Foo Fighters To Rock The Grammy Awards
(hennemusic) The Foo Fighters are among the first list of performers announced for the 54th Grammy Awards in February.

The Foos are nominated for six (6) Grammys, including Album Of The Year and Best Rock Album for "Wasting Light"; Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Walk"; Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for "White Limo"; and Best Long Form Music Video for "Foo Fighters: Back And Forth."

Joining the rockers in the first batch of performer confirmations are Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift. more on this story

Clutch Working On New Album
(Banana 101.5) Clutch frontman Neil Fallon recently revealed that the band is at work on the follow-up to 2009′s 'Strange Cousins from the West,' but also said they're not in a hurry to finish it.

As Antiquiet reports, Clutch may be returning with their tenth studio album this year but as vocalist Neil Fallon recently told Horns Up Rock — the stoner-rock quartet "are slowly taking our time with it, there's no rush."

Fallon further said that while the recording process has begun, they prefer to road-test new material and have already debuted a couple of new songs which currently have the working titles 'Newt' and 'Puerto Vallarta.' Video of one of the new songs and the interview.

Seether TV Special This Weekend
(Banana 101.5) Seether are the featured artist on the next installment of 'Guitar Center Sessions' and have offered up a preview in the form of an extended take on their 2005 hit 'Remedy.'

The band will next appear on 'Guitar Center Sessions,' a program which simply features a band playing their hits in a Guitar Center. Seether will be performing song from their recent album 'Holding on to Strings Better Left to Fray' as well as select hits from their back-catalog.

The full performance will air on Direct TV's Audience Network January 14th at 9pm. Check out the preview here.

Paul McCartney Wants To Launch His Own Magical Mystery Tours
(Gibson) Paul McCartney is looking to stretch out his creative Wings and get into the tourism business.

The Beatles singer says he "wants to give something back to the locals" of his hometown of Liverpool, North West England, in the form of a special sightseeing production.

"I would really love to start a sightseeing business. I have my own magical mystery tours of the city, my own special route I go on and I think other people would love it, too," he said, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. "I want to give something back to the locals."

The "Let It Be" singer certainly has the funds to start up his own tourism business. It was recently released that he pulled in $45 million in 2011, nearly doubling his earnings of $25.7 million in 2010. His company also took in a pre-tax profit of $19.7 million, which was up over 2010. more on this story



Dave Grohl Predicts Rock Resurgence
(Gibson) Foo Fighters Dave Grohl says that today's musical climate reminds him of 1991, the year grunge broke.

"The late '80s was full of over-produced pop that kids had nothing to grab hold of," Grohl said. "They had no way of connecting to a hair metal band singing about strippers in a limousine on Sunset Boulevard. Who can relate to that?

"Then you had a bunch of formulaic pop songstress [stuff], and music was boring. And then a bunch of bands with dirty kids got on MTV and rock and roll became huge again. And I feel like that's about to happen." more on this story



Led Zeppelin 2 Tour Starts Tonight
Led Zeppelin 2 will kick off their 2012 touring season tonight with the first of two special shows in Chicago.

The short run will commence with two consecutive (and SOLD OUT) nights at Chicago's House Of Blues where the band will play a 1971 and 1975 Led Zeppelin sets.

As an extra treat for fans, the band recorded a cover of the Yardbirds' "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" from 1966. It's one of the few Yardbirds tunes to feature both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck on twin lead guitars as well John Paul Jones on bass. Led Zeppelin never played this song live thus Lamont and his cohorts reworked the track LZ2 style with session bassist Scott Lucas from Local H. more on this story

John Stamos To Join Beach Boys Reunion Tour?
(TMZ) John Stamos wasn't even born when the Beach Boys first got together ... but the actor tells TMZ ... he's been invited to play with the band on their upcoming 50th Anniversary Reunion tour.

Seems he was celebrating last night ... 'cause a boozy Stamos (but not boozy in a bad way) was hangin' at the Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd. when he revealed, "[The Beach Boys] asked me to be a part of the show ... I feel very honored."

The former "Full House" star performed with the band on a pretty regular basis during the '90s ... and participated in a few gigs in the past couple of years.

The band is reportedly set to kick things off at the Grammys next month ... followed by a 50-date tour.

So, how do good things keep happening to Stamos? Jesus loves the guy ... seriously, watch the clip here.

MxPx Set New Album Release
MxPx have set an April 3rd North American release date for their new album, Plans Within Plans.

It's been over four years since the release of their last album, Secret Weapon. Since then, the band has released a covers album On The Covers II (Tooth & Nail Records) in 2009 and also re-vamped their record label, Rock City Recording Company, in the same year.

The band also had time to release their Left Coast Punk EP and a holiday album Punk Rock Christmas both in 2009 as well. Two years later, the band released a music documentary, Both Ends Burning (December 1, 2011) that features footage from the band's 2008 world tour all the way to the band's sold-out Seattle show in March 2011. more on this story

Top Unsigned Band in America No Longer Unsigned
The Las Vegas band that Fox News declared the top "Unsigned Act in America" will have to give up that title as they have landed a record deal.

Century Media Records announced that they have signed Otherwise to a deal and sent over these details: The band's song "Soldiers" became the first track by an unsigned artist to occupy the No. 1 spot on Sirius Radio's Octane channel (where it currently maintains the peak position) and has sold more than 10,000 singles on iTunes in the past month alone.

"We're so stoked to have signed with Century Media," says vocalist Adrian Patrick. "We have a very unique history with the label, so it feels like a natural fit for us. They were the first company to present us with a huge opportunity back in 2010, so it's extremely synchronistic for us to be given the chance to make a mark with our own music now, on this label. It's been a long, dark road to get to this point... it feels damn good to finally start seeing the light." more on this story

James Durbin Plays Conan
(hennemusic) James Durbin performed on Conan O'Brien's TBS late night talk show on Thursday night.

Durbin and his band performed "Love Me Bad," the current single from his "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster" album.

The newly-married rocker wed longtime girlfriend Heidi Lowe on New Year's Eve. Check out video of the performance here.

Rival Sons Kick Off Evanescence Tour Tonight
Rival Sons are hitting the road tonight for the kick off of another round of touring with Evanescence.

Having already joined Evanescence on the road in October last year, Rival Sons are pleased to be teaming up with the band once again for the 2012 tour, which also features Electric Touch.

Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday comments: "Our friends in Evanescence have graciously invited us to come back out on the road with them again. This time it's a quick run through the south. Not only are we happy to be joining back up with them, we are really stoked to be finally returning to the south after such a long time. more on this story

The Decemberists Releasing Double Live Album
The Decemberists have set a March 13 release date for We All Raise Our Voices To The Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11).

The release is a 20-track live double-album (and triple-vinyl set) culled from the band's 2011 tour supporting their album The King Is Dead.

With songs spanning their entire first decade as a band—from their debut EP 5 Songs through each of their six LP's—We All Raise Our Voices To The Air is the first-ever live album from the band. more on this story

Ween's Gene Ween Going Solo With Rod McKuen Album
Aaron Freeman, better known as Gene Ween of Ween, has set a April 10th release date for his solo debut, 'Marvelous Clouds'.

The album features 13 heartfelt interpretations of songs written by 20th century poet/songwriter, Rod McKuen.

'Marvelous Clouds' reunites Freeman with Ben Vaughn, who produced Ween's classic '12 Golden Country Greats.' more on this story

Sons Of Bill Giving Away Song From New Album
Sons Of Bill have set a March 27th release date for their new album Sirens and are offering a free song download from the effort.

The album was produced by long-time fan, and fellow Virginian, David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven).

To get fans excited, Sons Of Bill has released new song "Santa Ana Winds," a haunting tale set to a fury of piano and power chords, for free download here.

Lamb Of God Set For Album Release Week In-Store Appearances
Lamb Of God will be holding in-store signings in New Jersey, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

The events are to celebrate the January 24th release of their brand new studio album, Resolution.

The in-stores will last 90 minutes on a first come first served basis and will take place during the album's release week. more on this story

Lita Ford To Deliver Living Like A Runaway This Spring
Lita Ford's new album "Living Like A Runaway" is tentatively set for a May 2012 release under her new record deal with SPV/Steamhammer.

Lita spoke about her work with Gary Hoey on the album and the meaning of the album's title: "Gary Hoey and I wanted to approach this record by getting back to basics. We want to strip away all the electronics and plug-ins and keep it to vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Going back to basics is going back to what punk, metal and The Runways was for me.

"Living Like A Runaway" means freedom and empowerment. To do what I want and to pursue my dreams while answering to no one." more on this story

The Day Johnny Cash Rocked Folsom Prison
(Gibson) On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash played a show, which was recorded for his forthcoming live album, at Folsom Prison, near Sacramento, California in front of 2,000 inmates. Gibson takes a look back:

Johnny Cash had his share of troubles and vices in his lifetime, but he never did prison time. Despite this, nobody in music history is more associated with the clink than the Man in Black. It's interesting that Cash is much more tied to the struggles and frustrations of prison life than the legions of pop, rock and country music stars who have actually had to serve a sentence.

The legendary country singer first learned of prison life – particularly, life in Folsom State Prison – through the movies. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force Security Service in 1953, when his unit watched the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. It was that movie that inspired Cash to write one of his early songs, "Folsom Prison Blues," in which he imagined what a prisoner felt like. After signing with Sun Records, "Folsom Prison Blues" became Cash's second single – a #1 country hit and a Top 40 pop hit in 1955.

Although Cash had never been in prison, he apparently captured the feeling of being incarcerated perfectly. The song became very popular with those doing time, who wrote letters to the country star thanking him for writing the tune and sometimes asking him to come perform at their prisons. By 1957, he obliged some inmates, by performing at Huntsville State Prison. The event went over so well that Cash continued this practice, playing concerts at prisons around the U.S. He had the idea for recording a live album at one such show, although the proposal was rejected by the country executives at Columbia Records

Favorite David Bowie Songs List Is Flawed!

Life On Mars has topped a list of David Bowie’s most-loved songs. The poll was created by UK website Digital Spy to celebrate the singer’s 65th birthday this week. The top ten and their percentage of the votes are as follows:

1. Life on Mars? (21.4%)
2. Heroes (12.5%)
3. Ashes to Ashes (7.3%)
4. Let’s Dance (6.1%)
5. Starman (5.9%)
6. Space Oddity (4.6%)
7. Changes (3.3%)
8. Ziggy Stardust (3.3%)
9. The Man Who Sold the World (3.2%)
10. Magic Dance (2.5%)

VAN HALEN - US RETAILERS GET PREVIEW & JAPANESE RELEASE:

Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth album has appeared for pre-sale around the world in the past few days. Australia will get the first taste of the album officially, with the February 3 release. In Japan the date is February 8 - the only bonus Japanese fans will get is a SHM-CD format disc plus a free poster with each CD or CD/DVD ordered. If interested, pre-order via CD Japan.

In related news, I heard from one retailer in the US that was invited to a playback of the album. He commented to me: "Overall, heavier than I expected. Highlights were China Town, Stay Frosty (think Ice Cream Man), Big River, Beats Workin' (reminds you of DOA in the verse). She's The Woman is a great track, we all thought it was a better track than the single."
Security for the presentation was super tight though - with the exec from Interscope flying in especially with a coded CD and then taking it back with him when he left. Seems the powers that be are doing everything possible to prevent a leak of the album.

Today's Day In Rock

Dave Grohl Explains What Is Killing Music
(Banana 101.5) Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recently addressed what he believes to be "the problem with the music industry," calling it more a lack of quality than a lack of interest.
Recently Grohl spoke with Billboard and was asked about the problems plaguing the industry, to which he responded: "Someone asked me recently, 'What do you think the problem with the music industry is?' I said, 'take the Adele record, for example. It's an amazing record and everybody's so shocked that it's such a phenomenon. I'm not. You know why that record's huge? Because it's f—ing good and it's real. Now imagine if all records were that good. Do you think only one of them would sell? F— no! All of them would. If all records were that good the music business would be on fire, but they're not.'"

Grohl was also quick to dismiss the journalistic cliche that his beloved rock & roll is dead: "There's always gonna be rock'n'roll bands, there's always gonna be kids that love rock'n'roll records, and there will always be rock'n'roll. I travel all over the world and play music, and it's easy to think rock'n'roll has gone away when you're in a country like America. We just got back from a trip Down Under, we did a tour of Australia and New Zealand where we were pulling 40,000-50,000 people a night, selling out stadiums. To me, that means rock'n'roll is alive and well." He's not done!



Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Postponed By Injury
We have bad news for Red Hot Chili Peppers fans. The group have been forced to postpone their North American tour due to multiple foot injuries sustained by lead singer Anthony Kiedis.

Kiedis recently underwent surgery to remove a crushed sesamoid bone and correct a detached flexor tendon in his foot and is expected to make a full recovery.

Tickets for the postponed dates will be honored at the rescheduled dates. The band is touring in support of most recent album I'm With You. more on this story

Velvet Revolver One-Off Reunion Opens Door To More?
(Rock News Desk) Velvet Revolver's reunion with sacked singer Scott Weiland is a deliberate attempt at grabbing headlines, admits guitarist Dave Kushner. But now they've confirmed a one-off show together in Los Angeles this week, there's the possibility to working together again in the future.

Kushner understood a reunion with Weiland would generate headlines, and admits that was his prime motive in calling the singer up. "If you're gonna do this, you want to raise some serious money, then put all caution aside. Because we hadn't played with Scott in a long time, I said 'look, let's just do three songs.' It's not too much of a commitment."

But the guitarist accepts the show will put thoughts of a more permanent arrangement into many people's heads, especially since VR have tried without success to replace the singer since he returned to Stone Temple Pilots. "As for more shows, everyone's got other commitments," Kushner says. "But I think everyone's like, 'Let's get this thing done and get through this'. Then we'll see." more on this story



Steven Tyler Talks New Aerosmith Album
(hennemusic) Steven Tyler provided an update on the new Aerosmith album during an American Idol press conference for the Television Critics Association on the weekend.

"All of it's been written but I've got to lay lyrics on it and I haven't had a lot of time," said Tyler, reports the Hollywood Reporter.

"What I've listened to so far knocked me out. I know a good song and I know what gets played on the radio. I'm not that pretentious to say we've got hits, but we've got something and that's all that matters." more on this story



Experience Hendrix Tour Adds Dates and Taj Mahal and The Doors Krieger
The Experience Hendrix Tour has been expanded not only with new dates but with some extra star power from Taj Mahal, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and Eric Gales.

Here is the official word with more details: These unique concerts bring together an all-star line-up of musical greats playing homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix.

In addition to the performances initially announced concerts will now take place in Denver, Wichita, Tulsa, Colorado City, Springfield, MO, and Orlando, Florida. Demand for tickets has now created unprecedented second show on March 25 in Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. more on this story

Biohazard Giving Away New Album
Biohazard will be giving away their new album "Reborn In Defiance" as a free download starting next week. We were provided these details:

The first such promotion ever launched, the record will be available for free download off of Revolver Magazine's website revolvermag.com starting January 20th 2012 as well as through the technology offered by Repudo.com.

Fans can check into Biohazard "Containment Zones" (record stores, venues, and more) across the United States using the Repudo app on their smart phones and download the new record directly to their phones or send it to their email inbox. more on this story


Nickelback, Seether, My Darkest Days and Bush Tour
Nickelback have announced a massive North American tour which will also feature Bush, Seether and My Darkest Days.

The trek kicks off on April 10th in Moline, Illinois at the i wireless Center and dates are confirmed through June 26th at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.

Nickelback will perform songs from the recently released seventh studio album, Here And Now, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 following its November 21, 2011. more on this story



Refused Reunite
(Rock News Desk) Legendary hardcore band Refused have plans to reunite at this year's Coachella Festival in April.

It will be the hardcore veterans' first show since splitting in 1998. The band say: "In the fourteen years since our band came apart, there have been offers, but a reunion has just seemed irrelevant to us. Too much other sh*t to do. Finally, after a decade and a half hiatus, the four of us suddenly started making new music in assorted constellations.

"Coachella got in touch and one of us basically said 'let's just do it one last time.' We wanna do it over, do it right, for the people who have kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes. More rock news



Cotton Mather's Lost Album To Be Released
Cotton Mather fans who have wanting to get their hands on the group's hard to find 1997 album Kontiki will be getting a Valentine's Day gift from the band as they have announced plans to finally give the album a proper release.

"People have certain assumptions when they hear 're-release,'" says Harrison. "But, if our US label at the time only printed two thousand copies and sent it to rarified writers and overseas, was it ever released in the US at all?"

Truly, it seems that most everyone that got to hear Kontiki, an album that has since gone on to be considered an influential, albeit hard-to-acquire classic, were those it actually influenced. In the US, early supporter Britt Daniel of Spoon talked about Kontiki as an inspiration and Little Steven Van Zandt of the E-Street Band gave it generous play on his nationally syndicated radio show. While the record never had a chance commercially in America, in the UK the album was an instant smash in the press, earning raves from Mojo, Uncut and The Guardian upon its European release. When Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis discovered the record, they talked about it in interviews, and ultimately invited Cotton Mather on tour. more on this story



Deftones and Far Supergroup Crosses Set New Release and Live Dates
(Banana 101.5) Crosses, the side project featuring Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, Far's Shaun Lopez, and Scott Chuck, will be following up their debut EP with yet another short form release later this month and will be playing some live shows.

Last August Crosses quietly surfaced with a free download of their debut EP '†††.' The debut was just the first chunk of 16 completed songs the band plans to release via EP, they also contributed the track 'The Years' to the soundtrack for the popular 'Batman: Arkham City' video game.

Now Crosses have dropped the unusual trailer for the next EP release '††' — which will be available January 24th. It has also been reported that Deftones have a new album planned for 2012, as does Moreno's other side project Team Sleep. Crosses also have some live dates



Alice In Chains Working On New Album
(hennemusic) As previously reported, Alice In Chains are hitting the studio this year to record a new album.

Rolling Stone now reports guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell confirms the band will be working on the follow-up to 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue," which was their first album featuring new singer William Duvall.

"We started writing last year," Cantrell told the magazine at the recent Dimebash tribute in L.A., the annual show in honor late guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. More from Jerry here.



Dream Theater Deep Purple Supergroup Flying Colors Set Debut
Flying Colors, the new supergroup headed up by Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) and Steve Morse (Deep Purple) will release their self-titled debut album in the UK on Monday March 26th, followed by a US release on Tuesday March 27th.

The group also features Dave LaRue, Neal Morse and Casey McPherson and began with a simple idea: virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joining together to make new-fashioned music the old fashioned way.

Portnoy shares, "This album has bits and pieces of what you'd expect from each of us. However, the sum of all its parts led to brand new, unchartered territory for all involved." more on this story


Neil Peart Gives New Rush Album Update
(hennemusic) In a new essay by Rush's Neil Peart entitled "At The Gate Of The Year," the drummer reflects on his life as he enters his 60th year, recounting some of his stories from 2011 during a time of reflection over the recent holiday season.

Along the way, Neil provides some enthusiastic insight into the recording process for the forthcoming Rush record, "Clockwork Angels." Here's a sample of Neil's Rush news update: Most recently, I had been recording in Toronto with my bandmates, from mid-October until early December. We completed the songwriting and arranging for the album, Clockwork Angels, we started back in late 2009—before going "on hiatus" for the Time Machine tour, and playing 81 shows in North America, South America, and Europe. (Some hiatus.)

While Alex and Geddy were finishing the writing and arranging in one smaller room of the studio, over in the big room I was working with The Mighty Booujzhe, recording my drum parts. As we prepare to start mixing in the New Year, it is too early to say anything about the results. (I once described mixing as "the end of waiting," while Geddy calls it, "the death of hope.") More here.


Alter Bridge Fan Left Empty Handed
(Rock News Desk) A young Alter Bridge fan says his first-ever rock concert experience has been ruined after he bought a live recording of the show after the event, but got home to find the memory stick was blank.

When his dad complained to the company behind the sale, they claimed they'd mailed a replacement FIVE DAYS before the show they attended.

Eddie Trainer of Glasgow, Scotland, took his son Elliot to see the band on November 27 last year. Elliot, who was 16 at the time, purchased a £20 live recording on USB stick in the venue from Aderra Media Technologies. When they arrived home Elliot discovered the stick was blank. Find out what happened next.


Pelican To Release New Music This Spring
Pelican have set an April 10th released date for a new four song EP called Ataraxia/Taraxis. We were sent this background on the release:

With members now residing in separate cities, the EP represents a new chapter in the band's evolution with a reenergized focus on composition and the utilization of the recording studio as a creative tool in the songwriting process, yielding one of the most diverse efforts in the band's prolific discography.

The four new songs highlight the manifold sonic strengths of the band by delving into moments of triumphant melodic rock, smokey doom, ambient soundscape, acoustic desert-folk, and minimalist electronics. In contrast to the EP's origin as the product of four different recording studios, including stints with engineers Sanford Parker (Twilight, Circle of Animals, Nachtmystium) and Aaron Harris (ISIS), the carefully crafted track listing boasts a cohesive narrative flow, lending the release an epic feel worthy of a full album. more on this story



Tigertailz Lose A Member
(Rock News Desk) Tigertailz have announced that they have parted ways with bassist Sarah Firebrand. The band has this to say about the split:

"The last thing the band needed right now was another line-up change, but unfortunately as a band we're not functioning and a change was needed to move forward. We would like to thank Sarah for all she's done and wish her all the best for the future. Our priority is the longevity of Tigertailz and to raise as much money as possible for the Amser Justin Time charity which helps people suffering from pancreatic cancer."

Firebrand says: "I am very disappointed at the decision, but I would like to thank the band for giving me this opportunity. I'm especially delighted to have been part of the 20th anniversary Bezerk live album. I look forward to my next exciting musical adventure." More rock news



John Fogerty Says Other Members Killed Creedence Clearwater Revival Reunion
(Rock News Desk) John Fogerty was prepared to open the door for a reunion of Creedence Clearwater Revival, but says it was his former bandmates, and not him, who prevented it happening. And now there's no chance of the much-vaunted gathering taking place.

CCR split in acrimony in 1972 and rhythm guitarist Tom, John's brother, died in 1990 without having made peace with his sibling. The last time all four members played together was at Tom's wedding in 1980, but in the following decade relations worsened through a series of legal actions.

While survivors Stu Cook and Doug Clifford had campaigned for a reunion in the past, they appeared to go off the idea. So when Fogerty started sending positive signals, the pair seemed not to believe there was no ulterior motive. It all plays out here.


Joe Bonamassa and Slash Receive Guitar International Awards
(Gibson) Guitar International feted Gibson heroes Joe Bonamassa and Slash last week with major awards. Joe Bonamassa was voted Guitarist of the Year in honor of his new album Dustbowl and Black Country Communion's world tour and live DVD.

"Though still a young 34 years of age, this guitar slinger has accomplished more than most players could imagine to achieve in a lifetime, and 2011 was a testament to the hard work, dedication and hours spent in the practice room and on the bandstand by this guitar great," Guitar International said in a statement.

And our man Slash was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. "A guitarist who has revived his career (twice, with his recent solo albums after Velvet Revolver's demise), played with Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper and many more music icons, and held his commitment to rock over his entire career certainly deserves Guitar International's Lifetime Achievement Award. And with his impeccable track record, one can only assume Slash has much more rock 'n' roll in the tank." more on this story




Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Announce American Dates
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have announced plans to return to the North American this Spring for select tour dates.

The new dates will kick off in Washington, DC on March 28th and will include performances on April 14th and 21st at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The festival takes place over two weekends in Indio, California. Other acts confirmed for the 14th and 21st include Radiohead and The Shins. more on this story



Twin Atlantic Spring Tour
Twin Atlantic will follow their North American tour with The Swellers and You Me At Six with a UK headlining tour.

They are hitting the road in support of their debut album, "Free" which was the biggest selling record by a UK rock band in 2011 according to the tour announcement.

"Our tour at the end of 2011 was incredible but we feel like we still have room to grow. It's been a slow and steady race for us over the last few years and this tour will mark our 5 year anniversary as a band! The fans that we have gathered over that time is something we are really proud of and we can't wait to have you all, along with new intrigued human beings, in the same room again so we can experience the feeling that makes being in this band so damn exciting. Perhaps new music? Perhaps a bigger show? Perhaps exploding planetsand flying cats dressed like babies? It's all a work in progress to make this our best tour yet! Ridiculous tour name to follow." - Twin Atlantic.

STEVE PERRY LENDS A HAND AGAIN:

Steve Perry is involved in another EBay charity auction - part of the proceeds this time around are going toward awareness of Parkinson's Disease. Here is the link: www.ebay.com/itm/330667616954.

Today's Day In Rock

Black Sabbath Cancel Festival Appearance Due To Iommi's Cancer?
(hennemusic) Billboard reports multiple music industry sources have told them that Black Sabbath was one of the planned headliners for this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, but was forced to pull out just before Monday's official lineup announcement due to guitarist Tony Iommi's recent lymphoma diagnosis.
Had Sabbath participated in the event, it would have been the first – or one of the first – shows for the reunited original lineup, whose 2012 tour is currently set to launch May 18 in Moscow.

Iommi, 63, is working with his doctors to determine the best course of treatment. It is unknown if further live dates will be affected by his diagnosis, including a previously announced headlining slot at the Download Festival in England in early June. more on this story


Wanna Sing for Killswitch Engage?
(Banana 101.5) Killswitch Engage are looking to continue work on their next album without vocalist Howard Jones. The band just announced that they will accept audition tapes via their website in hopes that they will find a suitable replacement.

KSE have begun the ever-daunting task of replacing a beloved vocalist. The band had started to work on new material with Jones when they realized his "heart wasn't in it," and then decided to move forward without their singer of 10 years. The singer-less metal group addressed the many questions regarding the vacant slot in a message posted to their official website:

"We've been getting a lot of inquiries about the singer position. If you are interested, please send an MP3 or a song link, a photo and a brief description of yourself to the management email address provided in the contact section of KillswitchEngage.com." more on this story



Paul McCartney New Album Details
Paul McCartney has released details about his forthcoming album, which has been dubbed titled 'Kisses On The Bottom' and is set for North American release on February 7, 2012.

We were provided the tracklisting and these details: The album is a glimpse into "the songs which inspired the songs" with a tribute to his personal favourites- plus two new McCartney compositions.

Paul has apparently had some fun with his choice of album title—while causing some confusion amongst those who have historically subjected his every move to microscopic scrutiny (with many fixating on an anatomical interpretation!). The phrase 'Kisses On The Bottom,' however, actually comes from the album's opener 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter'. Originally made a big hit by Fats Waller in 1935, the song opens with the lines 'I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter and make believe it came from you. I'm gonna write words oh so sweet. They're gonna knock me off of my feet. A lot of kisses on the bottom, I'll be glad I got 'em'. more on this story



Eddie Van Halen Donates 75 Of His Guitars To Public Schools
(HPM) Eddie Van Halen has donated 75 electric guitars from his personal collection to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports music education in public schools across the country.

Per Van Halen's request, the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation will distribute the guitars to music programs in public schools throughout the Los Angeles area where there are not enough instruments to meet the demand of students enrolled.

"Music is the universal language. It has the ability to transcend and convey every human emotion that exists without saying a word. Music kept me off the streets and out of trouble and gave me something that was mine that no one could take away from me. Music education and families are dealing with the economic times, and I wanted to help them. If I can help a kid discover a liking, or even a passion for music in their life, then that's a wonderful thing. Music has provided a good life for me and hopefully it can help make life better for others with this donation." Said Van Halen. more on this story



The Polyphonic Spree Announce North American Tour Plans
The Polyphonic Spree have announced their first North American tour dates in more than four years.

The "You + Me" tour will see the band, whose membership currently numbers 21 musicians and choir members, return to the intimate venues that they started out on a decade ago.

The tour begins February 6 in Tulsa, followed by dates across the Southeast before returning home to Texas for shows in Houston, Austin and Dallas. See below for a list of confirmed dates; East and West Coast dates will follow in late winter and spring. more on this story



Mars Volta, Animals As Leaders and Suicidal Tendencies Supergroup
Mars Volta, Animals As Leaders and Suicidal Tendencies supergroup T.R.A.M. will release their debut album, Lingua Franca on February 28th.

We received the following background: It's extremely rare to come across a new band that just flips the script of conventionality throwing caution to the wind, but the debut effort from T.R.A.M. does just that while blazing a trail of creativity that will quickly turn heads across the world. This unit will be referred to by many as a "supergroup," however the members of this dynamic unit aren't in this for any reason but to use it as a platform to further express their art without limitations or any preconceived notions.

T.R.A.M. is comprised of such renowned musically proficient artists as Adrian Terrazas (The Mars Volta) on saxophone, flute, bass clarinet and percussion, Javier Reyes (Animals As Leaders) on guitars, Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) on guitars and Eric Moore (Suicidal Tendencies) on drums. This is a group of likeminded individuals that are naturally gifted and the collaboration of their unique talents results in something truly amazing. more on this story



KISS Destroyer 35th Anniversary Edition Coming
(hennemusic) KISS are marking the 35th Anniversary of their 1976 classic, "Destroyer," next month. Universal Music in Denmark has set a February 27 European release date (Feb 28 in North America) for the Deluxe Edition of the album.

The 2CD set will feature remixes of the original LP by producer Bob Ezrin, outtakes from the original sessions, and include the record's original cover art.

The legendary cover was painted by Ken Kelly; his original version of the album cover was rejected by the record company because they felt the scene was too violent looking with the rubble and flames. In addition, the original version had the band members wearing their "Alive!"-era costumes, which were updated for the album and tour. more on this story



Angels & Airwaves For KROQ Radio and Web Special
Angels & Airwaves have added an additional date to their upcoming Southern California tour and announced a radio/web broadcast for later this month.

Serving as a launch pad for their upcoming world tour beginning in Brisbane, Australia on February 25, AVA's SoCal dates include shows at House of Blues in Anaheim on Sunday, January 22; Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara on January 25; Los Angeles on Thursday, January 26 (venue TBA); Belly Up in Solana Beach on February 1. A fifth show has just been announced for the Glass House in Pomona on February 2

AVA will perform at the "Sound Space at KROQ," fusing together an on-air broadcast with a live USTREAM webcast. At 3:00 pm PST on Tuesday, January 24, fans are invited to take a front row seat at this new "global" venue here.

"Five years of hard work are finally being realized in 2012. While it has been quite a rollercoaster ride, we are happy to have succeeded in making this a band of true 'dreamers/modernists,'" said Tom DeLonge, frontman for Angels & Airwaves. "This month, we launch our much anticipated year with a few intimate shows in Southern California, but we plan to return soon with a full not-so-secret 'LOVE' experience."



Jane's Addiction Set For Theatre of the Escapists Tour
Jane's Addiction have announced cities for their upcoming North American tour, dubbed "Theatre of the Escapists," in support of their latest album The Great Escape Artist.

The trek will feature support from Black Box Revelation and will bring the band to intimate venues, most of which are classic theatres.

"We chose to play as many of the great theatres that we could find because we wanted to immerse the audience in a unique experience unlike any they have ever seen at a rock show," says Farrell. "Expect an orgy of musical and visual delights. We like orgies, and hope you do too." more on this story



Radiohead Expand Tour Plans
(Gibson) Radiohead have added a batch of West Coast dates to their upcoming tour. The announced concert will precede the band's two-show stint at Coachella on April 14 and 21, according to Spinner.

Before then, Radiohead will bring music from last year's The King of Limbs to Seattle on April 9, San Jose, California, on April 11 and Santa Barbara, California, on April 12. The band have already announced 10 U.S. shows, beginning in February in Miami.

In addition, Thom Yoke and pals have added another date to their summer international schedule – July 25 in Taipei, Taiwan. Radiohead are already scheduled to play in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. more on this story





Sevendust Members Form New Band
(Banana 101.5) Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery and drummer Morgan Rose have put together a new band called Call Me No One and plan to hit the studio very soon.

Sevendust fans will have plenty of side projects to keep them occupied until the Atlanta hard rockers release the follow-up to 2010′s 'Cold Day Memory' — which they plan to begin writing soon with the goal of a 2013 release.

Guitarist Clint Lowery's side band Dark New Day will finally release 'New Tradition' — an album recorded in 2007 that was never released — on February 28th, right around the time he plans to enter the studio with yet another side project. more on this story



Chickenfoot Deliver Different Devil
(hennemusic) Chickenfoot have just released the third single from their "Chickenfoot III" album.

"Different Devil" surfaces just prior to the band's week-long Road Test tour dates across Europe, which begin January 12 in Manchester.

"Different Devil" represents a mid-tempo track from the band, following the first two rockers from the record – "Big Foot" and "Three And A Half Letters." more on this story



God Is An Astronaut Catalog Remastered For Their 10th Anniversary
God Is An Astronaut have remastered and repackaged their entire catalog to mark their 10th anniversary.

Digital downloads are available now, CD's will ship on January 20 and vinyl copies are expected later this year. Fans can purchase the remastered albums here.

Hailing from Glen of the Downs, Ireland, GIAA is comprised of Torsten Kinsella (guitar), Niels Kinsella (bass, visuals), Lloyd Hanney (drums) and Jamie Dean (piano/synths), who collectively have become one of the most widely celebrated underground post-rock, instrumental bands in the world, amassing a cult following of millions through word of mouth since their epic 2002 debut The End of the Beginning. more on this story



Baltic Guitar Quartet Does Metallica Classics
(hennemusic) Metallica at the Philharmonic. It happened last month at The Berliner Philharmonie, a concert hall in Berlin, Germany.

The Baltic Guitar Quartet presented an original programme at the famed German venue, where a part of the concert was performed together with double bass virtuoso Guy David Tuneh.

The unique ensemble collaborated on versions of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and "The Unforgiven." Check out video here.



AC/DC's Debut Single eBayed
(Gibson) "Can I Sit Next to You Girl?" the debut single from AC/DC, has been sold to a fan for $1,225 on eBay.

The song was only released in Australia and features vocals from the band's original singer Dave Evans.

The single was released in May of 1975 and climbed to #19 on the Australian chart. The band re-recorded the track for their TNT album. Listen to the song here.



Muddy Waters Son Releasing Debut Album
Severn Records has announced a March 20 release date for Son of the Seventh Son, the label debut from Larry "Mud" Morganfield, son of the legendary Muddy Waters. Severn Records is distributed nationally by City Hall Records.

Recorded in Chicago and produced by Bob Corritore, Son of the Seventh Son features Mud Morganfield's earthy, soulful vocals backed by a cadre of blues all-stars, including Kenny Smith on drums, Rick Kreher and Billy Flynn on guitar, Barrelhouse Chuck on keyboards, E.G. McDaniel on bass, and Harmonica Hines and Bob Corritore on harp.

"I just couldn't have done this without those cats, man," Morganfield told writer Terry Mullins in an interview published in Blues Blast Magazine. "They brought something to the studio that will forever live in my heart. It brought out the best in me. It's a great CD, some of the best work I've done so far. It's got one great song after another on it." more on this story



God Forbid Finish Album and Announce Shows
God Forbid will celebrate the completion of their forthcoming album with two northeast area headlining shows.

Guitarist Doc Coyle says of the band's desire to play shows, "With only one show in 2011 and 2 months spent in the recording studio, we have been itching to get out and play. We thought it would be a great idea to get into an intimate setting in our area for the real GF fans. Expect to hear some new songs and some old cuts that haven't played in awhile. 2012 will be a great year!"

God Forbid Headlining Shows will take place on Feb 18th - Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus (Support TBA) and on Feb 24th - Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz w/ Bound Alive, Lesson in Violence & More TBA


Mayday Parade and We The Kings Tour
Mayday Parade will hit the road next month for a North American co-headlining tour with We The Kings.

The trek will be kicking off February 2 in Louisville, Kentucky. This 4-week trek comes on the heels of a recent sold out headlining tour, and takes the band to both coasts. Downtown Fiction and Anarbor will support.

Co-produced by Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, Mayday Parade marks a return to their songwriting roots; the entire album was self-written in a collaborative effort by the five band mates. more on this story



Mike Patton Scoring New Movie
(Sub) Mike Patton (Faith No More, Tomahawk, Mr. Bungle) is set to provide the score for The Place Beyond The Pines.

Patton was selected by writer/director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) to score the film which stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes.

Patton is also currently working on a new Tomahawk album with a projected late summer release date. more on this story


Omar & the Howlers Announce Special Record Release Show
Ruf Records will release Omar & the Howlers' Essential Collection, a special 2-CD set, on February 14 and have announced a special appearance that evening.

The twin-disc pack is comprised of one CD titled "The Best of," while the second one is called "Omar's Picks," which are songs that "represent a snapshot of influences and heroes throughout my career and are special to me for one reason or another," says Omar.

Omar & the Howlers will celebrate the release of the new album with a special in-store performance at Waterloo Records in Austin on February 14 at 5PM Central Time. more on this story



Former Motograter Members Return With Riven
Former Motograter members, lead by vocalist Michael "Angel" Woodruff, have announced their new project, Riven.

Riven is an ambient hard rock/metal ensemble featuring Angel and Harris on vocals, Nosler on guitar, Hole on bass and Twitch on drums. "We're really excited about the new sound and the energy that is surrounding the band right now", says Angel, "We're able to express ourselves in ways we may not have been able to in the past".

Tour announcements will be made in the near future. Meanwhile, the band is working hard in the studio, recording with Ahrue Luster of Ill Nino, as well as promoting their arrival with FM and Internet radio interviews all over the world. Check em out here.



Prototype Catalyst Details
Prototype have released the tracklisting for their third full length album, "Catalyst," which is set for release in the coming months via Nightmare Records.

Nearly 2 years in the making, "Catalyst" is a science fiction themed concept album featuring 12 tracks and over 60 minutes of all new music.

The effort was produced by Prototype and is currently being mixed by Neil Kernon. "Catalyst" will be mastered by Alan Douches and artwork will once again be created by Travis Smith. The release date for the album will be announced soon. more on this story



Recap of First Cory Smoot Tribute Show
(Freeman) On Saturday night, January 7th, 2012, the metal community took another step in dealing with the tragic death of long-time GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot by holding the first of two events in a three-show schedule of shows designed to support the Smoot Family Foundation and honor the life of this prolific artist, who died of a heart attack this past November at the age of only 34.

Cory had played the role of Flattus Maximus in the world's most infamous band for eleven years, as well as participated in many side projects, while at the same time producing and engineering tons of records at his always busy Karma Studios. In doing so he had become a treasured part of the local and national metal scene, and they turned out in force to both events, opening their hearts to Cory's family in a completely selfless display of solidarity, respect, and generosity.

Cory's widow, Jaime, who is pregnant with Cory's child, had this message for the fans- "I want to sincerely thank ALL the friends and fans for their amazing donations and support!! Thanks to Eve and Brent for organizing the events, to the businesses that contributed raffle prizes, and to the venues and bands for making the shows awesome!! You guys made Cory, the baby and me very proud!" more on this story


Nothnegal Delay American Album Release
Nothnegal have delayed the North American release of their new album Decadence to February 28th, 2012. It will be released internationally on January 20th.

Decadence is mixed by Greg Reely (Fear Factory, Machine Head, DevilDriver) and Ahti Kortelainen (Sentenced, Sonarta Arctica). Decadence marks the first official full-length release from Nothnegal.

Nothnegal will be performing select dates in India this winter. See all currently booked dates here



J Geils Band Freeze Frame InTheStudio This Week
(Sub) The latest installment InTheStudio: The Stories Behind Historyʼs Greatest Rock Bands celebrates the 30th anniversary of The J Geils Band's No. 1 selling album Freeze Frame.

Hailing from Boston, The J Geils Band went from regionally successful club act to one of the most popular live bands of the ʻ70s. After 14 years on the road and 11 albums the # 1 Billboard single "Centerfold" gave the band its just reward, a HIT album.

Peter Wolf reminisces to In the Studio host Redbeard about what fueled The J Geils Band for all those years and how it felt to finally be on top. "One of the things about the Geils Band, we really werenʼt that ambitious about having a zillion seller or something. We never really went into rockʼnʼroll to make money, we went into rockʼnʼroll so maybe we didnʼt have to work 9 to 5.

"It was probably the happiest time in my life, because we were doing tours where every place was sold out and thatʼs a performers dream... All the touring, all the one nighters and all the driving in station wagons and sleeping in funky hotels and funky dressing rooms, finally, there was a certain sense of respect coming back to the band."

J Geils Band/ InTheStudio show will air this week. Stream it here.


Say Anything Set New Album Release
Equal Vision Records have set a March 13th, 2012 release date for Say Anything's fourth studio album.

The new album, Anarchy, My Dear, was produced by Tim O'Heir (Say Anything, Sebadoh, Superdrag).

Say Anything is currently planning an extensive North American tour. Details are forthcoming but for now they have released the tracklisting for the new album. more on this story



Dying Fetus Kick Off Tour Tonight
Dying Fetus are kicking off their South American headlining tour tonight in Buenos Aires, Argentina at Asbury Bar.

The tour runs through January 18th where it will wrap up in Armenia, Columbia at Boston Avenue Bar.

Dying Fetus are currently working on their new album, entitled "Reign Supreme" which is set to be released in mid 2012 through Relapse Records. more on this story



Prong Update On New Album
(Freeman) Prong check in as they put the final touches on Carved Into Stone, their forthcoming studio album with producer Steve Evetts.

Says guitarist, vocalist and Prong founder Tommy Victor of the making of the album: "It was hardest I've ever worked in the studio on any record I've ever been involved with."

Prong (whose lineup includes bassist Tony Campos and drummer Alexei Rodriguez) has taken a major step forward in their constantly evolving brand of sonic schematics. more on this story



Anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze
(Gibson) On this day in 1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded "Purple Haze." Jimi also signed to the new record label Track Records on this day. Gibson takes a look back:

Before it became part of the soundtrack to the Summer of Love, before it became the musical representation of an acid trip, before it became one of the greatest rock songs of all time, before it became Jimi Hendrix's signature tune… "Purple Haze" was recorded by Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding on this day in 1967.

The song that was to become The Jimi Hendrix Experience's second single was reportedly written in late 1966. According to Hendrix's manager, Chas Chandler, Hendrix was playing the riff backstage at a gig and Chandler encouraged him to put lyrics to the music. But there is plenty of debate as to when that happened or what the original lyrics contained. It's been reported that Jimi penned the words while in the dressing room of the Upper Cut Club on Boxing Day in '66. Hendrix later said that the lyrics were shortened later, but Chandler claimed that the words were recorded as written.

As far as Hendrix's inspiration for the song goes, "Purple Haze" had nothing to do with drug use. In 1969, he told NME that the song "was all about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea." The guitar legend claimed that the phrase, "Purple Haze," came from a science-fiction story. He also said that the tune was really a love song, pointing to the key lyric: "Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me."