MÖTLEY CRÜE IN SIN CITY - THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS BAND LAUNCHES LAS VEGAS' FIRST-EVER HARD ROCK RESIDENCY:

Three decades after beginning its iconic journey of debauchery and decadence, Mötley Crüe has announced plans to invade Las Vegas with the city's first-ever hard rock residency: Mötley Crüe In Sin City. The world's most notorious band will he heading to the world's most notorious city where they will perform an extended run--starting February 3 through 19--at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, December 3 at www.motley.com, www.thejointlasvegas.com, www.ticketmaster.com and the venue box office. VIP seating and packages will also be available. The shows are produced by AEG Live.
2012's Mötley Crüe In Sin City show is sure to leave the loud impression that what happens in Vegas will be heard around the world. Vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee have big plans for Mötley Crüe In Sin City to create a never-been-done before and incredibly interactive Vegas experience. Exact details about the show­expected to supersede the band's high standard of production­are being kept under wraps for now to keep an element of surprise for fans. The engagement falls during a holiday-packed time in the calendar year: Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day and President's Day. Last night the band officially announced the news on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight.”
“It is a dream come true for me especially living in and loving Las Vegas,” says singer Vince Neil. “I am thrilled that a guy like Piers Morgan would help kick it off!" Adds drummer Tommy Lee, “I don't know about you, but when I think of Mötley Crüe I think of filthy sex, drugs, a REALLY big show and way too much fun... sounds like Las Vegas doesn't it? A match made in heaven!!!”
“We are very excited to announce our upcoming partnership with legendary rockers Mötley Crüe,” said Paul Davis, vice president of entertainment at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “The one-of-a-kind production will be the most unique, interactive, fan-driven concert experience the band has ever created. Mötley Crüe is a perfect fit for the Hard Rock and we can't wait for this unforgettable residency to begin!”
Adds Bobby Reynolds, Vice President of Booking for AEG Live Las Vegas, “We're thrilled that Mötley Crüe is creating their most notorious show ever and bringing it to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in notorious Las Vegas. This concert experience is going to represent what the fans love most about Mötley Crüe, the Hard Rock and Las Vegas: good times, rock n' roll and a stage show like no one has ever seen before!”
Tickets, starting at $45 (plus applicable service fees) will be available Saturday at 10am at the Hard Rock Box Office, www.motley.com, www.thejointlasvegas.com, or www.ticketmaster.com. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is also offering ticket and room bundles via www.hardrockhotel.com.
For more information, please visit: www.motley.com.

Today's Day In Pop

Today's Full Report


Adele Biggest Seller Of the Century
(popmusiclife) The Official Charts Company reports Adele's "21" has become the UK's biggest-selling album of the 21st Century in just over 10 months.
"21" bumps Amy Winehouse's second album, 2006's "Back To Black," out of top spot, after the late singer took the title herself back in August.

To date, "21" has sold 3.4 million copies in the UK, compared to 3.3 million of "Back To Black." more on this story

Lady Gaga Explains Marry The Night Video
(popmusiclife) Lady Gaga recently sat down for an interview with video site Vevo. The pop icon discussed the making of her epic video for "Marry The Night," which clocks in at just under 14 minutes.

"The video is autobiographical," says Gaga, "so it's a completely true story that's been filtered through the lens of my artistry. Something I believe we all have inside of us is the ability to look back on memories and fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again."

It was Gaga's vision that created the video, while she also doubled as director on the project. Check out the video interview and the video here.

LAPD Want To Question Johnny Depp
(TMZ) The LAPD has some questions for Johnny Depp -- and now, they're trying to track the actor down for an interview .... after his bodyguards allegedly beat up a disabled woman last week.

TMZ broke the story ... 52-year-old Robyn Ecker filed a police report after the Iggy Pop show in L.A. Thursday night -- claiming she was minding her own business when she accidentally danced too close to Depp's table ... and his bodyguards tackled her.

Robyn claims she was seriously injured during the alleged attack -- and even went to the hospital to get herself checked out.

Law enforcement sources tell us, the LAPD would like to speak to Johnny and his bodyguards about the police report -- and are currently making attempts to interview all of them. more on this story

John Rich Too Drunk To Fly?
(TMZ) Country singer John Rich was 86'd from a Southwest airplane on Sunday ... after crew members determined he was too inebriated to make the trip from Vegas to Nashville ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on the flight tell us ... the "Big & Rich" singer appeared drunk as he was boarding the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 10:50 AM. Hey, it's Vegas ...

We're told Rich got into a verbal argument with a couple of passengers BEFORE boarding the plane ... and continued to display drunken behavior once he was allowed inside the main cabin.

Crew members approached Rich, determined they could not permit him to stay on the flight, and asked him to get off the plane. We're told the singer was cooperative and calm as he exited the aircraft.

A rep for Southwest confirmed a passenger was kicked off the flight, but would not release the person's name.

The rep tells us, "Our crew assessed the situation and determined that the passenger was not fit for travel under governing federal aviation regulations."

The statement continues, "The customer was rebooked on a later Southwest flight out of Las Vegas, but chose to make alternative travel arrangements. We have processed a refund for the customer and his travel companion." more on this story

Justin Bieber Appears On The X Factor
(popmusiclife) Justin Bieber continues to be everywhere these days, as he works hard to promote his "Under The Mistletoe" holiday album.

On Sunday, Bieber appeared on the UK version of X Factor, singing "Mistletoe," the first single from the new collection.

During the pre-taped performance, Justin took time to flirt with judges Kelly Rowland and Cheryl Cole while singing directly to each of them at center stage. Justin jokingly apologized after the song, calling his flirting "just a habit." watch it here.

Scotty McCreery Debut Goes Gold
American Idol Scotty McCreery's debut album, Clear As Day, has been certified gold for sales of more than 500,000.

The album currently sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, a spot it has held for an impressive five weeks since its Oct. 4 release.

"It's huge!" Scotty says of his first gold album. "Every artist dreams of a gold album and works hard for it, so it's a major accomplishment to have your debut album go gold. This is just incredible. more on this story

Shelby Lynne To Unplug for Letterman Tonight
(Sub) Shelby Lynne has been eliciting rave reviews on her cross-country tour for her solo acoustic performances.

Now she'll bring that intimacy to "Late Show with David Letterman," tonight, December 6th, performing the title track of her new album, Revelation Road, solo, accompanied simply her own acoustic guitar.

Last week on "Tavis Smiley," she spoke about the highly personal journey the album has taken her on. Fans can check out the interview here.

X-Factor Contestant Denounces Death Threats
(TMZ) "X-Factor" cast-off Drew Ryniewicz is lashing back after some deranged fans threatened to kill Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger last week -- telling TMZ, she has no hard feelings against the judges for dumping her ... and her fans shouldn't either.

As we previously reported, Paula and Nicole received an avalanche of death threats on Facebook and Twitter after they agreed to vote the 14-year-old off Thursday night.

Among the threats ... "F**K you paula you dumb c**t you voted off the most talented person on your f**king show. i hope you die you DUMB B***H."

The judges were shocked by the firestorm of hatred -- and Drew tells us, she was too ... "That's not what I represent and that's not what I want my fans to represent."

Drew adds, "No one deserves death threats." more on this story

Kate Major Wasn't Really Missing After All
(TMZ) Call off the search party ... Kate Major has been found -- and it turns out ... she was never really missing in the first place.

As TMZ first reported ... Major was taken from rehab to a nearby hospital in Florida Saturday night, after suffering a seizure -- but when the rehab facility called to check on her hours later ... the hospital had no record of her.

Kate's rep and family were completely freaked -- but it was a false alarm ... because Major was in the hospital after all ... just under a false name for privacy reasons.

Major's rep tells us ... word got back to Kate that she was considered MIA, so she called her father and told him everything was fine. Mystery solved. more on this story

Jo Dee Messina Plans New Song, TV Appearances and Christmas Show
Jo Dee Messina will be releasing a new single early next year but you can catch her all over TV before then and playing a special show in Nashville for Christmas.

She will be featured in an upcoming episode of HGTV's "Celebrity Holiday Homes" airing Sunday, December 18 at 8pm ET/PT. Also featured on the episode are actors Wayne Brady and Alison Sweeney. Designer Matthew Haly transformed Messina's Nashville home with embellished natural materials, such as wood, tree branches and berries.

"It was amazing to have HGTV come in the house to decorate," Messina explains. "I guess living in my home and seeing it everyday, I overlook decorating possibilities. I was blown away by what they came and did to the house. It was just, so beautiful." more on this story

Charlie Sheen To Save His Kids Following Brooke's Drug Bust?
(TMZ) Charlie Sheen has returned from Colombia -- and TMZ has learned, he's now on a mission to save his kids ... after mommy Brooke Mueller was arrested for cocaine possession last week.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ, Brooke had custody of the 2-year-old twins the night of her arrest -- leaving them in the care of a nanny while she went out clubbing.

Brooke and the kids are currently on their way back from Aspen now -- but we're told, Charlie plans to take care of them as soon as they're home ... and Brooke's parents will help.

According to sources, Brooke's going to take some time for herself while she tries to "get better."

Brooke has struggled with substance abuse issues for years -- and most recently sought addiction help at an alternative treatment facility in Mexico. more on this story

Bombay Bicycle Club To Start Tour On Valentine's Day
Bombay Bicycle Club will kick off a North American headlining tour on Valentine's Day 2012.

Kicking off in San Diego on February 14th, the cross country run will wrap on March 10th in Philadelphia and includes gigs in New York City and Chicago.

Bombay Bicycle Club's new album, A Different Kind of Fix, is set for physical release in the U.S. on January 17th, 2012 via A&M/Octone. more on this story

David Guetta Scores A First At Grauman's Chinese Theatre
EMI announced that David Guetta became the first DJ and music artist to be handprinted at the legendary Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood over the weekend.

To celebrate Guetta's status as the world's best-selling DJ of all time, the Chinese Theatres selected the French-born Guetta as the inaugural artist in its musicians-only handprint series "Handprints Homage."

Guetta attended the ceremony, which took place inside the newly opened Grauman's Ballroom, and performed a jubilant set at the space on December 3rd. more on this story

Big Head Todd and The Monsters Launching Club Tour
Big Head Todd and The Monsters plan to kick off 2012 with almost three months worth of club appearances including some special full album shows.

The band begins the winter club tour – their first in over three years – at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse. For the show the band will play a very special first set featuring their breakout album, Midnight Radio, performed live in its entirety.

Only a handful of select markets on the winter tour will offer this special performance - which debuted last summer at the band's sold-out show at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre – including New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; Austin TX and others. more on this story

Hot Chelle Rae North American Tour
Hot Chelle Rae plan to kick off their new year with a North American headlining tour with support from Electric Touch.

The group are hot off their win as "Favorite New Artist" at the American Music Awards and the release of their brand new album Whatever.

The 33 + date headlining tour will kick off February 10th in Metarie, LA and wrapping May 5th in Atlanta, GA. more on this story

Battle for Michael Jackson's Hand and Footprints
(TMZ) Michael Jackson's family is on the hunt for an incredibly valuable piece of rock -- containing the King of Pop's hand and footprints -- but the guy who currently owns it ain't giving it up without a fight.

MJ left the impressions back in 1984 for a Vegas hotel -- which had commissioned the piece for a "Walk of Fame"-type exhibit in front of the property.

The exhibit never materialized, and the concrete slab ended up gathering dust in the hotel basement -- until it was auctioned off years later ... and a guy named Andy Wilson picked it up for a pretty penny.

Now, the Jackson family has caught wind of the relic -- and they want to reclaim it, insisting the slab is the rightful property of the MJ estate. We're told they're even willing to pay Mr. Wilson $25,000 plus a cut of any merchandising profits they make off the item.

But Andy ain't budging -- telling TMZ, $25,000 just won't do ... and he's willing to wait as long as it takes to get a better deal. more on this story

Jay and Silent Bob Special One Night Only Nationwide Event
Kevin Smith: Live From Behind Featuring "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old" will hit 300+ movie theaters nationwide as a one-night-only event on Thursday, February 2 at 9:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. PT / 9:30 p.m. Alaska & Hawaii.

This special three-hour event will begin with Smith and frequent co-star and long-time friend, Jason "Jay" Mewes, hosting their highly rated podcast, "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old." Smith will then tackle a wide variety of topics and issues during a live, fan-generated Q&A with theater audiences across the country (fans will have the opportunity to submit questions and interact live via social media networks).

Tickets for Kevin Smith: Live From Behind Featuring "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old" are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website (theaters and participants are subject to change). more on this story

Michael Lohan To Have Heart Surgery
(TMZ) Michael Lohan's life is in the hands of doctors ... who are performing surgery on Mike's heart in an effort to unclog an important artery ... this according to Lohan's rep.

TMZ broke the story ... Lohan had trouble breathing and speaking a couple of weeks ago ... and docs believe the trouble stemmed from Mike's ticker.

Now, the rep tells us ... Lohan is currently undergoing a procedure to "repair a blockage."

Once Lohan is stable, the rep says Mike will return to his court-ordered treatment center -- where he will continue to participate in a domestic violence intervention program.

Today's Day In Rock

Metallica Want Ozzy and Motorhead's Lemmy For 30th Anniversary
Metallica kicked off their week long 30th anniversary celebration last night with the first intimate club show at the Fillmore in San Francisco and they may have some very special guests for upcoming shows if frontman James Hetfield gets his way.
The other three shows will take place on December 7, December 9, and December 10, with special guests and events, rare songs, varied set lists and more, according to Blabbermouth who also report that Hetfield said in a interview that he hoped Ozzy Osbourne and Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister would be among the guests at the shows.

James Hetfield reportedly also said of the shows, "It is a fan celebration — everyone who's come along the Metallica ride for 30 years — and we're constantly wanting to give to the fans what they don't normally get from some other band or some other connection," he said. "So these four shows at the Fillmore are something like that."

Red Hot Chili Peppers Announce More Tour Dates
Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced more dates for their previously announced North American leg of their I'm With You World tour.

The 2012 arena tour is the band's first full-scale tour of the U.S. since 2007 when they hit the road in support of 2006's Stadium Arcadium.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are touring in support of I'm With You, which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart and No. 1 on Billboard's Rock and Alternative album charts, as well as on the Top Internet Albums and iTunes Top Alternative Albums chart. more on this story

Alice in Chains Hope For New Album Next Year
(hennemusic) Alice in Chains are moving forward with work on a new album, but are keeping their options open in terms of the timeline for the project with guitarist Jerry Cantrell hoping to release the effort next year.

"Whenever we're done," Jerry Cantrell said during an ESPN chat. "Schedules in music, I know people have done it and say you need an album out by this date and you're talking about album tour, it can burn you out quickly. It did with our band. We've been fortunate to be partnered up with companies that respect the process. We're never really forced to make music. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't.

"We've been writing a lot. I also had shoulder surgery earlier this year. I'm at the tail end of rehabbing that. That put us back a little bit. But we have some stuff. We'll do some writing. Hopefully we'll have it out next year. We'll put it out when we feel that it's worth putting out." more on this story

Ministry Reunite For New Album
(Gibson) It was one of the shortest break-ups in music history: Ministry will return with a new album titled Relapse on March 3 via 13th Planet Records, and fans can follow the sessions via a series of candid behind-the-scenes videos.

The videos, viewable at the 13th Planet Records YouTube channel, give fans a sneak peek into everything from band meetings to recording sessions, where very important matters are discussed such as the right way to play a fast riff and how much Ministry founder Al Jourgensen likes cargo pants.

Ministry's current live line-up includes longtime Ministry guitarist and Rigor Mortis alumni Mike Scaccia, Prong's Tommy Victor and Aaron Rossi, Soulfly bassist Tony Campos and Fear Factory keyboardist John Bechdel, in addition to Jourgensen. more on this story



Guns N' Roses Cancel Another Show
(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses canceled their concert Monday night at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

At statement read: "Due to production issues, the DeSoto Civic Center is unable to host the scheduled concert for GUNS N' ROSES set to take place on Monday, December 5, 2011. We apologize for any inconvenience to ticket purchasers."

This marks the second recent GNR show to be canceled due to "production issues"; the band's November 23 gig in Albany was also shut down close to the day of the event. An explanation of those issues here.

The Happy Mondays Plan Reunion
(Gibson) First the Stone Roses, and now Factory Records legends, The Happy Mondays, are planning a reunion for next year.

According to the Sun newspaper Shaun Ryder, founder of The Happy Mondays back in the '80s has got the band back for a documentary movie. The newspaper quotes a source as saying, ""Shaun and his brother Paul have a notoriously patchy relationship but they're willing to sort things out for the sake of the band.

"The Mondays have had offers from film companies, including Film4 and Sky, who want to follow them for the reunion. There will be gigs next summer and a re-release of their classic album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches. A DVD will also be released of the comeback shows and the documentary." more on this story



Mitch Ryder Announces First Album In 30 Years
Mitch Ryder will release, The Promise, his first new album in 30 years, on February 13, 2012. We were sent the following details:

Before Jack White, Ted Nugent, Bob Seger or Iggy Pop, Detroit's number one rock export was Mitch Ryder. Fronting the Detroit Wheels, Ryder spun out a string of rock 'n' soul hits — "Jenny Take a Ride," "Devil With a Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Sock It to Me, Baby" — in the mid-'60s that landed in the charts alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Ryder's new album, The Promise (his first U.S. release in nearly 30 years), due out February 13, 2012 on his own Michigan Broadcasting Corporation label, finds him in prime form. The disc's dozen tracks feature eleven full-bodied originals plus a live cover for the Motown classic "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted." Ryder teamed up with acclaimed producer Don Was (a fellow Detroit native) to create a record that's full of soul yet grounded in rock: music that acknowledges the past while looking forward. Ryder says he writes all of his songs from personal experiences. "When I am in the writing mode, I don't listen to other music. I just shut down and draw on what my mind and my soul tell me to do." more on this story

Anthrax and Testament Team Up For New Tour Leg
Anthrax and Testament will once again team up in the New Year for another North American leg of their co-headlining tour.

The dozen-plus dates that come on the heels of the bands' five-week Fall trek that packed venues from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, will kick off in Las Vegas on Sunday, January 22 and will take in some fifteen cities over a three-week period. Anthrax will close all shows and Death Angel will again be main support on all dates.

"The first leg of the tour with Testament and Death Angel was an amazing way to end a great year for Anthrax," said Anthrax's Scott Ian, "and it went above and beyond my expectations! Sold out shows, raging crowds and EPIC war dances! So we figured what better way to start 2012 than to continue this thrash-fest into the new year!!! Thank you all for giving us this privilege to come and play for you. See you soon!" more on this story

The Darkness Plan American Invasion
The Darkness have announced plans for their North American invasion following their reunion across the pond earlier this year.

The Darkness reunited for at the Download Festival in June and has made stops in Sweden, Spain, Japan and Italy culminating this week with 14 sold-out U.K. shows.

From Lowestoft, Suffolk, frontman/guitarist Justin Hawkins says, "We literally cannot wait to hit back in the U.S. and Canada. We loved it last time and we're sure to love it again. See you there!" more on this story

Kill Devil Hill Streaming First New Album Song Online
We've told you about the metal supergroup Kill Devil Hill and now you can finally hear them!

Revolver Magazine is streaming of "Time and Time Again," the first track from Kill Devil Hill's self-titled debut album here.

Kill Devil Hill is the 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

Ben Kweller To Release New Album On His Own Label
Ben Kweller will launch his own label, The Noise Company, with the February 7, 2012 release of his new album, Go Fly A Kite.

We were sent these details: The Noise Company has signed on with the Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) to distribute all of its releases.

JT Signed to Mercury Records when he was 15, and then ATO when he was 20, Kweller, now 30, is interested in being in a situation in which he has complete control. Kiko Velez, Head of A&R at The Noise Company says, "Ben has released successful records with a variety of inspiring partners and has gained a great deal of wisdom and experience." Velez continues, "That experience combined with a large and loyal fanbase, puts him in an ideal position to take advantage of the unique landscape of today's music industry." more on this story

Matt Sorum Explains Problem With Guns N' Roses Rock Hall Reunion
(hennemusic) More Guns N' Roses reunion talk has surfaced courtesy of drummer Matt Sorum. The band's status for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame will be known within a few weeks, when the 2012 inductees are announced.

The nomination, in the group's first year of eligibility, has raised all kinds of talk about what could happen if GNR are to be inducted, including a full-scale reunion of the original lineup.

"You never know," Sorum tells Sydney's Triple M radio. "Usually the way it works with Guns N' Roses is that it's gotta be about Slash and Axl first, which has been a little bit of a problem. Duff played with Axl and actually Duff (and his band Loaded) was gonna go out on tour with Axl."

As for Matt, the drummer says, "I haven't seen Axl for about six years." more on this story

Former Black Sabbath Vocalist Releasing New Project
(Gibson) Former Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin has teamed up with Italian guitarist and producer Dario Mollo for The Third Cage, an album of melodic metal to be released in January 2012.

The pair had previously worked together on the first The Cage album, for which Mollo (who bares an uncanny physical resemblance to Eric Clapton in about 1972) had already recorded the tracks. Martin came in and worked his lyrical and vocal magic on the completed songs. Another collaboration was released in 2002. The new album was recorded in Mollo's new studio, equipped with a green screen room for video shooting.

This writer has had a preview of The Third Cage and can report that it's melodic and heavy, and that the audio quality and guitar tones are outstanding. Martin and Mollo say the songwriting, the sound and the video production of this new project are all interwoven, and fans will be able to hear - and see - the results when the album is released in North America on January 20, and Europe on January 24 via Frontiers Records under the name Mollo/Martin. more on this story



Sixx:A.M. Unplugged
(Banana 101.5) Sixx:A.M. have been teasing an upcoming release called '7′ with a teaser video of a piano driven take on 'This Is Gonna Hurt.' Fans' suspicions were confirmed when they officially announced the seven-track EP '7′ that will feature stripped down versions of the band's tunes.

The band not only let the cat out of the bag over the weekend, but also decided to stream all seven tracks ahead of it's December 13th release. Speaking to Noisecreep about the project, vocalist/guitarist James Michael said:

"I've always loved the concept of taking a song that is already successful and familiar with listeners, and doing something different with it to change its focus." More including a preview

Ringo Recruits Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Joe Walsh for New Album
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Joe Walsh, Don Was, Edgar Winter are just some of the special guests on Ringo Starr's new album which will hit stores in North American on January 31, 2012 and the rest of the world the previous day.

Titled simply "Ringo 2012" and produced by Ringo, it was recorded in LA and mixed in England by Ringo and Bruce Sugar, and features 9 songs. Of the 9 tracks two are covers, "Think It Over," and "Rock Island Line" and two are new versions of his own songs, "Wings" and "Step Lightly."

Joining Ringo in the studio for Ringo 2012 were musicians (in alphabetical order): Michael Bradford, Ann Marie Calhoun, Matt Cartsonis, Steve Dudas, Charlie Haden, Amy Keys, Kelly Moneymaker, Richard Page, Van Dyke parks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Bruce Sugar, Benmont Tench, Joe Walsh , Don Was, Edgar Winter. more on this story

New Lamb Of God Song Now Online
Lamb Of God have released their new song 'Ghost Walking,' the first single unveiled from their forthcoming album, Resolution, in stores January 24th, 2012.

The song began airing yesterday on commercial and satellite stations as well as online at Metalsucks.net.

The official 'Ghost Walking' video will begin airing on VEVO and all other video outlets today. Check out the song

Rolling Stones, Heroin and Some Girls
(hennemusic) While there are certainly more well-publicized drug issues in the Rolling Stones' family, drummer Charlie Watts spoke with BBC 6 about his challenges during the making of "Some Girls."

"I was lucky that I never got that hooked on it, but I went through a period of taking heroin," said Watts. "I used to get off it whenever I went home. The thing with my marriage still had to go a bit wobbly and my wife noticed I wasn't the same."

Charlie recalled one particular incident from the 1978 sessions. "I fell asleep on the floor during [the recording of] Some Girls and Keith woke me up and said, 'You should do this when you're older'. Keith telling me this! But it stuck and I just stopped...along with everything else." More including audio of the interview.

Geddy Lee Explains Rush Time Machine Inspiration
(hennemusic) Rush continue to do interviews to promote their recently-released CD/DVD set "Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland."

The project captured the band live in the Ohio city that first showed radio support to the group. Bassist Geddy Lee spoke with Billboard about what moved Rush to perform their 1981 classic, "Moving Pictures," in its entirety on the tour.

"We thought that was the perfect time, and the perfect album to do that with," says Geddy. "Because I guess it would be considered our quintessential album, and it was the 30th anniversary of that album being released. It also gave us the opportunity to play an 11-minute song on that album called 'The Camera Eye,' which we had never really embraced as a live song." Can fans expect more classic album shows?

Chris Cornell To Rock Leno
(hennemusic) Chris Cornell is coming to a TV screen near you. While touring to promote his new "Songbook" album, the Soundgarden frontman has made several TV appearances, and he's added another one to the list.

Cornell will perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday, December 16.

The program airs at 11:35 PM EST; the musical guest traditionally appears in the last 10 minutes of the show…around 12:25 AM EST. more on this story

Gibson Announce Pro Audio Division
(Gibson) Gibson Guitar has moved heavily into pro audio with the creation of the Gibson Pro Audio division. The division will offer professional grade equipment, including loudspeakers, headphones, monitors, DJ gear, mixers, accessories and more.

Gibson has created the Gibson Pro Audio division by acquiring the esteemed Stanton Group, which includes some of the most respected audio manufacturers in the business – Cerwin Vega!, KRK Systems and Stanton DJ. Cerwin Vega! was responsible for the world's first solid-state amplifier in 1957. KRK Systems began in 1986 as a high-end monitor manufacturer. Stanton DJ was originally founded at Stanton Magnetics in 1946 by Walter O. Stanton, the inventor of the easily replaceable phonograph stylus, and grew into an industry leader in DJ audio equipment.

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar, said, "This new division is perfectly aligned with our core. It expands our reach to fellow music lovers and allows us access to 20 in 20 consumers instead of the one in 20 we currently hit. Stanton produces some of the best pro audio equipment in the world and we're incredibly excited to be working with the very talented team at Stanton as we take Gibson into the future." more on this story



Primal Fear Release New Video
Primal Fear have set a January 24th North American release date for their new album "Unbreakable".

Fans can get their first taste of the effort now as the band shot a video in Nurnberg, Germany for the song "Bad Guys Wear Black".

The video has premiered on Frontiers' Records official YouTube Channel. You can watch it here.

Los Campesinos! Winter Tour
Los Campesinos! will kick off 2012 with an extensive North American tour that begins in mid January.

The band, which recently released its fourth album entitled Hello Sadness via Arts & Crafts, kicked off the album release by playing four very special, U.S shows in November.

This time around, they're making sure to hit a wider array of cities to bring their fans these new songs in the flesh. more on this story

White Arrows Announce Dates With Naked and Famous
White Arrows will once again team up with Naked and Famous for a handful of dates this month.

White Arrows and Naked and Famous spent a lot of time together on the road this fall for a North American tour and have now announced plans to play some California dates together.

White Arrows have also announced other dates this month include a KROQ sponsored show in Los Angeles. more on this story

You Me At Six Teaming Up With The Swellers For Tour
You Me At Six will start the New Year with a North American co-headlining tour with The Swellers.

You Me At Six will be touring to support the upcoming U.S. release of their album SINNERS NEVER SLEEP, on Virgin Records in stores January 24th.

The 17-date run begins in Cleveland Heights, OH on January 24th at the Grog Shop, and will close on February 14th in Los Angeles, CA at the Troubadour. The coast-to-coast run will be making stops in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles. more on this story

Joey Stuckey Honored By His Hometown
(Glass Onyon) Truly one of the hardest working people in the music industry, 2011 has been a landmark year for blind recording artist, engineer, producer and inspirational speaker Joey Stuckey.

With the release of his latest acclaimed CD 'The Shadow Sound' in February of this year, Stuckey has been hitting the road performing and speaking all over the country – October alone saw Stuckey in Hawaii, Los Angeles and Nashville.

However, October was a landmark month because Joey was honored by a non-profit organization in his hometown of Macon, Georgia where he serves as the official music ambassador. The organization "New Town Macon", a non-profit tasked with revitalizing the downtown area of Macon, presented Joey with a special recognition award for his contribution to his community. Joey has been instrumental in shaping Macon's musical landscape. Stuckey was also recognized for his active role in preparing for Macon's future. more on this story

Anniversary of Roy Orbison's Death
(Gibson) On this day in 1988, rock and roll legend Roy Orbison died of a heart attack at age 52. Gibson takes a look back: A few days before his death on this day in 1988, Roy Orbison was asked in an interview about his legacy. And his answer was simple: "I just like to be remembered…" In fact, he has been. More than 20 years after his death, Orbison still is one of the icons of his generation, among superstars like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Some people will remember him for "Oh, Pretty Woman," the song that made history and was part of one of the most recognized soundtracks ever (Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, 1990). Even some rock fans will associate that song with Van Halen's version that became their second Top 20 pop hit in 1982. Later, Orbison cited that version as one of his favorites.

But his legacy goes beyond that one hit. Roy Orbison wrote "Oh, Pretty Woman" in 1964, and it was his sixth smash song in the early '60s. Orbison's first hit was "Only the Lonely," which reached #2 in 1960. Later, he got a series of hits that included "Running Scared" (#31, 1961), "Crying" (#2, 1961), "Dream Baby" (#4, 1962) and "In Dreams" (#7, 1963). He was successful not only in the U.S. but in England, where he toured with The Beatles. more on this story



Singled Out: Rebelution's Sky Is The Limit
Today Rebelution tells us about their new single "Sky Is The Limit" from their forthcoming new album "Peace of Mind". Here is the story:

This song was written to remind ourselves of the journey we took to get here. We have a connection with our listeners who continue to inspire and encourage us to play.

Most people have positive things to say about our music and lyrics but in the case we encounter a negative comment we have "Sky is the Limit" to help us push through.

In a way, the song was written so that we could perform it and have this feeling of invincibility; to send a message to all the haters out there that we're going to continue to make the music we love.

Tommy Lee sued by: chauffeur, guide, butler, valet, cook, nanny & bodyguard?

Tommy Lee Described as a Chintzy Boss
By MARIMER MATOS


LOS ANGELES (CN) - A former assistant claims rocker Tommy Lee stiffed him for overtime, illegally docked his pay, refused to reimburse him for business expenses, charged him rent on a place he didn't live, and defamed him in the music business, costing him jobs with other rock bands.

Michael Anthony Sullivan sued Tommy Lee and Mayhem Touring in Superior Court.

Lee, a drummer, in 1981 was a founder of the glam metal band Motley Crue, which has sold more than 80 million albums. He also is a founding member of the rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem and an electronic music DJ.

Sullivan says he began working as Lee's assistant in 2005, fulfilling a welter of roles, including "procurer, Man Friday, chauffeur, guide, bookkeeper, attendant, door-keeper, agent, butler, valet, attendant, cook, runner, shopper, nanny, bodyguard, maid, nurse and nursemaid."

Sullivan says he was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Lee found Sullivan so useful that he required him to stay at his residence so that he was always available for service," the complaint states. "However, after requiring Sullivan to stay at the home and obtaining the benefits of Sullivan's presence in his home, in 2009, Lee began deducting $1,000 from his wages every month for 'rent.' Lee continued to deduct the $1,000 'rent' payments from Sullivan's wages during the six months prior to Sullivan's termination, even though Sullivan no longer lived in Lee's home."

After describing the range of chores he performed, including "babysitting for Lee's two children and tending to the needs of Lee's elderly, infirm mother," the complaint continues: "In general, while acting as Lee's assistant at home, Sullivan estimates that he regularly worked more than eight hours per day. Furthermore, although Sullivan was frequently required to make purchases for Lee and his family members with his own funds, on many occasions, Lee failed to reimburse Sullivan for these work-related expenses. Instead, Lee regularly and improperly deducted wages from Sullivan's paychecks for work-related expenses. For example, in addition to improperly deducting rent payments from Sullivan's paychecks after he no longer lived in Lee's residence, Lee regularly and improperly deducted wages for cell phone charges that were associated with work-related phone calls Sullivan had made on Lee's behalf. Lee also improperly deducted wages from Sullivan's paycheck to cover the insurance deductible for an accident that Sullivan had been involved in while taking Lee's car to a mechanic to repair its faulty brakes."

Sullivan says Lee and Mayhem Touring paid him the same weekly salary regardless of how much he worked, which at times exceeded 100 hours.

"Indeed, rather than properly compensating Sullivan in accordance with the applicable labor laws, defendant Lee docked Sullivan's wages for various reasons. For instance, defendant Lee often docked Sullivan's wages when he chose to work remotely from a location other than Lee's home, when Lee was out of town. If Sullivan happened to be late to work, Lee would dock plaintiff's wages. Indeed, if Lee was upset with Sullivan for any reason, he would often find a reason to dock his pay. Lee's practice of docking plaintiff's wages confirms that the parties understood that plaintiff was a non-exempt employee," according to the complaint.

"In addition to failing to compensate Sullivan for all hours worked at overtime wage rates, Lee also failed to provide Sullivan with a paid ten-minute rest period for every four hours worked. Furthermore, there existed no policy allowing Sullivan to take a 30-minute unpaid meal period for every five hours worked. In fact, often when Lee's schedule was particularly busy, Sullivan was forced to eat on the run if he was able to eat at all.

"Sullivan's employment with defendants ended on or about March 31, 2011. After the termination of his employment, Sullivan has learned that defendant Lee has been and is currently engaged in a campaign of disparagement against him and that Lee has defamed Sullivan to various individuals in the music industry in which they both work. Lee's disparagement of Sullivan began shortly after the termination of Sullivan's employment, when Lee was on tour in South America with Motley Crue and continues to date. These documented remarks include, but are not limited to stating that plaintiff is untrustworthy and performed illegal and improper acts while employed by Tommy Lee. These disparaging and defamatory remarks are false and were made solely with the purpose to disparage and in order to interfere with plaintiff's ability to earn a living in the music industry. Lee's statements have damaged Sullivan's reputation and have interfered with Sullivan's existing and potential employment opportunities and business associations. Indeed, due to Lee's irresponsible and defamatory comments, plaintiff lost at least two jobs, both tour manager positions with prominent rock bands. The first position, with the band Godsmack, would have lasted a minimum of five weeks and Sullivan would have earned an income of $3,000 per week. The second position was to be the tour manager for the band Bush."

Sullivan says the Bush job would have paid $3,000 a week for 11 weeks, and that he lost that one too "due to Lee's defamatory statements and interference."

Sullivan seeks unpaid overtime and his unreimbursed business expenses, compensation for lost profits and business opportunities, and punitive damages for defamation, intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, violations of business and labor laws, and emotional distress.

He is represented by Alan Harris with Harris & Ruble.

Bizkit binned by label

Low sales of Gold Cobra get band dropped – but Durst says being unsigned band is best thing for them


Limp Bizkit have been dropped by record label Interscope after their comeback album yielded disappointing sales.

Gold Cobra was their first release in over six years and featured the return of wayward guitarist Wes Borland.

Despite strong anticipation it hasn’t lived up to expectations – but frontman Fred Durst says the band were right to do things their way.

He tells Poolside With Dean Delray: “It was a record for us to do for ourselves, for core faces, for some of the people we know in the industry.

“It wasn’t our step forward to make a big, pop, smash radio record. We didn’t want to make that record at that time. We’ve been working to re-navigate where we’re going to take Limp Bizkit.

“Finally we have been able to get off our label and become independent.”

Durst maintains the band’s future is in no danger, and they’ll return to the studio on their own terms at some point in the future. Meanwhile they’re planning to steer clear of their home nation for a good deal of the time.

“We do very, very good on our touring,” the frontman reports. “We mainly tour outside the United States. It seems like inside they’re waiting on a hit and the rest of the world doesn’t operate that way.

“So I’m waiting until we can really give them something they can sink their teeth into and then they can be reminded about how ill Limp Bizkit is live.”

Today's Day In Rock

Queen Abandon New Freddie Mercury Album Plan
(Rock News Desk) Queen have shelved plans to make a new album featuring recordings of Freddie Mercury's voice before he died.
Guitarist Brian May last month said he and bandmate Roger Taylor were aiming to go through their archives in order to build a record based on tracks laid down by their iconic singer before his death in 1991.

But now Roger Taylor says it's not going to happen. "I've got to tell you: there won't be an album," The drummer tells Ultimate Classic Rock. "There's just not enough. And the last thing I want to do is have a sort of barrel-scraping exercise."

But fans may still hear new songs.

Hear Pink Floyd In The Studio Special
(hennemusic) For more than two decades, US radio show "In The Studio" has been serving up artist interviews, performances and cool rock talk.

Hosted by Dallas-based DJ Redbeard, the show recently offered up a 2-hour special on Pink Floyd's latest 'best of' collection, "A Foot In The Door."

The album presents a mix of Floyd material, representing albums from 1967's "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" to 1987's "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason," with emphasis on 1973's iconic "Dark Side Of The Moon."

The ITS special features interviews with David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and comments from the late Rick Wright. Listen here.

Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys Plan Arena Tour
Arctic Monkeys have announced plans to launch a North American arena tour with the Black Keys in March.

Kicking things off in Cincinnati on March 2nd, Arctic Monkeys will be criss-crossing the continent, playing some of the largest venues in America including a stop at New York City's famed Madison Square Garden.

Arctic Monkeys will be hitting the road in support of their latest album, Suck It and See, which was released by Domino in June. more on this story

Bruce Springsteen Jams With Bob Seger
(hennemusic) Bob Seger played Santa Claus to his fans Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"Just because you've been good little boys and girls this year we have a little Christmas treat for you," Seger told the crowd. "Mr. Bruce Springsteen!"

The New York crowd reacts with huge applause and a round of "Bruuuuuuuuuuce!" before the two rock legends kick into Seger's classic, "Old Time Rock & Roll." Check out video of the jam here.

First Video From Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu Released
(hennemusic) The Lou Reed/Metallica project "Lulu" has released its first video. Short of calling it a single, "The View" has been the band's focus track since the album launched, having performed the track live on various European tv and radio programs.

The black and white clip was directed by Darren Aronofsky, and shot at the Metallica HQ in the San Francisco Bay area.

"The first time I heard 'The View' I was stunned," Aronofsky said. "I had never heard anything like it. Half was all Lou. The other half all Metallica. It was a marriage that on the surface made no sense, but the fusion changed the way I thought about both artists and morphed into something completely fresh and new. I couldn't stop listening to it. Lou's crushing lyrics, and the band's incredible licks." Read more and watch the video here.

Limp Bizkit Leave Interscope
(Rock News Desk) Limp Bizkit have parted ways with record label Interscope after their comeback album yielded disappointing sales.

Gold Cobra was their first release in over six years and featured the return of wayward guitarist Wes Borland. Despite strong anticipation it hasn't lived up to expectations – but frontman Fred Durst says the band were right to do things their way. He tells Poolside With Dean Delray: "It was a record for us to do for ourselves, for core faces, for some of the people we know in the industry.

"It wasn't our step forward to make a big, pop, smash radio record. We didn't want to make that record at that time. We've been working to re-navigate where we're going to take Limp Bizkit.

"Finally we have been able to get off our label and become independent." more on this story

B.B. King Movie Coming
(Gibson) British director Jon Brewer is working on a full-length movie about the life of B.B. King. The blues legend, born Riley King, has sanctioned the project and given extensive input. B.B. King: The Life of Riley is due in theaters May 2012.

"B.B. is still giving everything to it, and he has a big history," Brewer tells Guitarist magazine. "It was an absolute privilege to be asked to make this film – it's B.B. King's life!"

Talking of B.B's life so far, Brewer says: "One aspect tops all others. There's this little boy who loved going to school, didn't so much love going to church, but so respected his mother and did what his mother told him. And suddenly she was fading; he saw his mother die, that then led to how he relied upon his grandmother and worked the land, who was also fading in years so they could eat. And then she died – as a nine or 10 year old, his life had been crushed. more on this story



Legendary Howlin' Wolf Guitarist Hubert Sumlin Dead at 90
(Rock News Desk) Influential blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin has died at the age of 80. Named the 43rd greatest player of all time by Rolling Stone, and Sumlin was best known for his years in Howlin' Wolf's band.

He kept touring after Wolf's death in 1976 and was on the road as recently as last month, when he celebrated his birthday at a show in New Jersey.

Those influenced by his work include Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Read more about Hubert's influential career.

Guns N' Roses Add Another Tour Date
Guns N' Roses have expanded their North America tour plans once again. This time added a new date in Vegas.

The band is set to ring in the New Year at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on December 31st but Vegas fans that weren't able to score tickets to the show at the intimate venue are in luck.

The band has added a second show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel that will take place the day before the New Year's Eve show. more on this story

Paul Bostaph Leaves Testament
Paul Bostaph has officially parted ways with Testament following his previously announced 'serious injury' which kept him from recording the band's next album.

Testament frontman Chuck Billy confirmed the departure and the possible reason: "I, Eric, Alex, and Greg want to congratulate our brother, forever, Paul Bostaph on his new band, BlackGates. And while 'The Hands of Mayhem' will be sorely missed from our band, we wish him the ultimate success in everything that he does in his future."

Testament is now actively seeking the heaviest drummer on the planet, reads a statement from the band. Details will be announced soon. Testament's new album, The Dark Roots of Earth, will be released next Spring and will featuring drumming from Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (Fear Factory, Dethklok), as well as Chris Adler (Lamb of God) on a couple of bonus tracks.

Former Shins Members Return With Sad Baby Wolf
Former members of the Shins have resurfaced in Sad Baby Wolf, who has released their first two singles. Here are the details we were sent:

At a point in every mans life, a crossroads will be met. In late 2010, Marty Crandall had been "let go" from the iconic indie-rock band the Shins and was met with the decision of either calling it a day or moving forward with this thing called music. Thankfully for us, he chose the latter. Touching base with some friends from his hometown (Albuquerque, New Mexico), that included fellow former Shins guitarist Neal Langford, brother Maury Crandall on drums, guitarist/vocalist Jason Ward and Sean McCullough on bass, Sad Baby Wolf quickly, and rather effortlessly came to life.

As their first release, the guys of SBW decided to release not one, but two singles in the same vein as a classic 7". On the front end is the boisterously rock-rooted stomper "8th Level," while on the flip side is the more psychedelic, drone-rock inspired "Survival Guide." Sad Baby Wolf is undoubtedly a project in and of itself, yet there may be some familiar harmonies and/or guitar tricks that are sure to make those nostalgic hearts grow fond.

Both songs are set to appear on Sad Baby Wolf's debut full-length, which is tentatively scheduled for release in early spring 2012.

Listen to the singles and learn more about the group here.

Beatles App Launched
(Gibson) Rolling Stone magazine has released an iPad app for The Beatles. It mirrors the paper book The Beatles: The Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide book, published in summer 2011 by Rolling Stone.

The Beatles app costs $9.99 ­– the same as the print version – and is not currently available on Android. The app contains the same content as the print book and has 122 pages with over 60 photos. However, it was redesigned for the iPad and as such, is not considered a "digital replica." The app contains 30-second sound samples (via iTunes) for every Beatles album song and the ability to purchase each song through iTunes.

It also features interviews from Jim James of My Morning Jacket, James Taylor, Liam Gallagher, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Stevie Nicks, Liz Phair, Steven Van Zandt, Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Graham Nash, Bob Weir and others, as well as a guide to the best non-album Beatles tracks. more on this story



Kid Rock, The Fray and Death Cab for Cutie For Live From The Artists Den
Kid Rock, The Fray and Death Cab for Cutie are all set to rock PBS on the fourth season of Live from the Artists Den, which will premiere nationwide on public television beginning February 3, 2012

Aside from Kid Rock, The Fray and Death Cab for Cutie, the new season will also feature Adele, Iron and Wine, and Amos Lee with special guests Calexico.

There's something for every music fan in our new season," says Artists Den Creator and Executive Producer Mark Lieberman. "We kick off with a rare, intimate look at Adele, the biggest star in music this year, and finish with Iron and Wine reimagined as an 11 piece band in a historic Atlanta theatre. Generous invitations from such remarkable locations as Graceland, the Brooklyn Museum, and more helped inspire our best season yet." more on this story

Green Day Idiot For The UK
(hennemusic) Green Day's "American Idiot" musical will tour the UK in late 2012. The performance will visit eight cities on a tour that begins next October.

Things kick off October 9 at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre, and run until early December, with a final week-long stint at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo. The musical will also have a two-week long run at Manchester's Palace Theatre.

The show is based around songs from Green Day's last two studio albums, "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown." more on this story

Huge Metallica Fan Shakira Includes Cover on New DVD
(hennemusic) Shakira turned a lot of people's heads when she performed a Metallica cover during her last world tour.

The Colombian pop icon did a very subtle, quiet version of "Nothing Else Matters" in her set. The song originally appeared on Metallica's 1991-self titled "black album"

"I used to be a huge Metallica fan when I was 15, 16 years old," says Shakira. "I remember I was graduating from high school back then and I used to sing 'Nothing Else Matters' all day long. I am still a very huge Metallica fan, though. [And] I thought it would be kind of surprising to include it in my repertoire for this tour."

Shakira's verison of the Metallica track is featured on her new concert DVD, "Shakira, Live From Paris." Check it out here.

Sebastian Bach, Billy Idol and Steve Stevens Jam With Camp Freddy
(hennemusic) Camp Freddy have returned to The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood for their annual Christmas residency. The jam band features Billy Morrison (Billy Idol/The Cult), Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction/The Panic Channel), Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses/Velvet Revolver), Donovan Leitch (son of legendary folk singer Donovan), and Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction/Alanis Morrisette).

CF play four Friday shows this month, and fired things up this weekend; as usual, the band sold out their residency shows quickly. "Well that didn't take long! 48 hours to be precise," writes Morrison. "If you didn't get a ticket, there's always next year, because we have now officially sold out all four residency shows at The Roxy for December. Now comes the task of putting together the set lists and making sure we blow the roof off the place every night. I know we are all really happy to be headed back to the Roxy for the fifth year in succession – we'll see some old faces, and hopefully some new ones as well. Come prepared to have a f**king good time – we want to see the place shake. Thanks to all for making it a huge success already and here's to a good Holiday season on the Sunset Strip."

Friday's opening night featured guests including Sebastian Bach, Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), Frankie Perez, Billy Idol and Steve Stevens. Check out some video here.

KISS Kruise To Sail Again
(hennemusic) KISS have announced the return of the KISS Kruise. Scheduled for Halloween 2012, KISS will release more information in the next few weeks.

October 2011 saw the first-ever KISS Kruise set sail from Miami, FL, to Half Moon Cay and Nassau, Bahamas on board a well-known ship brand.

KISS hosted the recent trip, complete with a live show in an intimate indoor venue and an acoustic "Sail Away Concert" (no make-up!!) as the ship left port in Miami. more on this story

Sixx: A.M. Tease Next Move
(Banana 101.5) As guitarist D.J. Ashba told us recently, there is a lot of new music on the way from his band Sixx: A.M. Turns out we may actually hear some before year's end — the band just released a teaser trailer for what could be a remix or acoustic-style release.

Perhaps taking a page out of the his other band's playbook — Motley Crue also teased their just-announced residency at the Hard Rock in Vegas through social networking sites — Nikki Sixx and friends have been dropping clues about a mystery project via Facebook. First saying "Something is coming for you this December," then posting an image of the band's name with overshadowed by a red number seven, followed by a video of the image with a stripped-down piano-led version of their current single 'This Is Gonna Hurt.'

The video also spotlights the date 12/13/11, which falls on the typical day for new releases — Tuesday. What exactly fans will be getting that day is unknown at this time, but it's always fun to guess. more on this story

Springsteen, Elbow and Noel Gallagher To Rock Isle of Wight
(Gibson) More big names have been announced to play next summer's Isle of Wight Festival. Headliner Bruce Springsteen will be joined on the island by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Elbow, Biffy Clyro, Example, Noah & The Whale, The Vaccines and Madness.

Elbow will play on Friday, June 22, while Saturday, June 23 features Scottish trio Biffy Clyro and Madness.

On Sunday, June 24, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will play as special guests to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the day's headlining act. more on this story



Johnny Marr Banned From The Roads
(Gibson) Former Smiths man and guitar guru Johnny Marr has been banned from driving. According to the Daily Mirror in England, the king of the jangly guitar was caught speeding at 72 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone.

Marr had been speeding through Manchester in his Audi A5 back in April when he was pulled over by police.

His lawyer, Gwyn Lewis, appeared in court on Marr's behalf, saying, "It was something he deeply regrets and it is the first time he has been banned from the roads." more on this story



Spawn Of Possession Complete New Album
Spawn Of Possession have completed work on their third full-length album, Incurso, which will be released by Relapse Records next Spring.

Earsplit sent over these details: Featuring current and former members of tech-titans Necrophagist and Obscura, Spawn Of Possession's excellent Cabinet debut was released by Unique Leader Records in 2003. But when Noctambulant followed three years later via Neurotic Records, the album's unabridged, relentless technical death metal urgency instantly made the name Spawn Of Possession stick into the minds of metallers worldwide like a rusty cleaver. It has now been over five years since the release of Noctambulant, and diehard fans are ravenous for the next installment of this now cult favorite act's expanding discography.

Earlier this year Spawn Of Possession entered Pama Studios in Kristianpoel, Sweden, with engineer Magnus Sedenberg, to track their debut for Relapse Records. Devastating riffs, jaw-dropping time-signatures and improbably complex songwriting coalesce to create an opus of next-level death metal on Incurso , which the band promises to be their most supreme work to date, and more devastating than ever.

BUCKCHERRY Ready To 'Push The Boundaries' On Next Record

According to The Pulse Of Radio, BUCKCHERRY guitarist Keith Nelson told Gibson.com that the band wants to "push the boundaries" of its sound on its sixth studio album, which the group is writing now and plans to record early in 2012. Nelson explained, "We're not going to make an experimental jazz record, but I don't think it's going to be anything like the last five records we've made. We want to push it. We want to make something different."

The guitarist added that BUCKCHERRY has big plans for its next effort, saying, "We're working out some stuff and really taking the idea of making a recording and encompassing a lot of different things. It's an ambitious effort on our part, but we're shooting for the stars on this with everything around the record, from the concept to the packaging. We're really just trying to take it to the next level."

Nelson said that the group hopes to have the album available by late spring.

Meanwhile, BUCKCHERRY recently did some dates opening for GUNS N' ROSES, which Nelson called "a phenomenal experience for us."

Asked about his favorite memory from the shows, Nelson recalled, "There were a lot of good memories, but Axl Rose — before they went on stage and after we were done — got us all together and gave us really nice gifts for being a part of the tour and was really gracious. He was really sweet and nice. So, actually, meeting him and his generosity was probably the most memorable thing."

BUCKCHERRY's next album will follow up 2010's "All Night Long".

The Los Angeles-based band recently teamed up again with Childhelp, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, to shed light on the growing child abuse epidemic in the United States via a public service announcement called "Hope."

Also featured in the spot were Betty White and Shaquille O'Neal.

The band has been working with Childhelp since 2009, raising more than $10K for the organization's programs and services.

"All Night Long", sold around 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.

BUCKCHERRY's fourth studio CD, titled "Black Butterfly", opened with around 47,000 units back in September 2008 to land at No. 8.

Dokken signs with Frontiers, new record written.

Dokken signs with Frontiers, new record written.


Frontiers Records is excited to announce the signing of Dokken for the worldwide release of the band's forthcoming studio album in the spring of 2012.

The cooperation between Frontiers and Dokken started with the release of the band's CD Lightning Strikes Again in 2007. The album marked a return to Dokken's signature style with melodic hooklines and blazing guitar riffs that epitomized the band's sound on such records as Tooth & Nail, Under Lock & Key, Back for the Attack and Dysfunctional.

"So far we have written 10 songs in only 8 weeks." says singer Don Dokken. "Usually we spend a year or more on our music. I can't explain why this time it came so fast, it just happened. So far the music is very uptempo and heavy, of course we know our fans like the classic Dokken sound and this is where our new music is headed. It's been a band of brothers doing what we love: 'music'".

Dokken plans to finish their new recording by the end of February and go out on the road in June. In a perfect world we would like to release the new album before the summer and then play the festivals in Europe. "Then hopefully we can jump on a package tour in the US", tells Don Dokken. "We want to give everyone a great CD that will keep all music fans Rokkin' during these troubled times!"
Dokken is now formed by Don Dokken on lead vocals, Jon Levin on guitar, Sean McNabb on bass and Mick Brown on drums.

Formed in 1978, Dokken is one of the bands that defined the American Hard Rock trademark sound of the 80's. They have been nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989 and sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Their next album will be their 11th original studio release.

WebLinks: www.frontiers.it / www.dokken.net.

Denver promoter details the story about him putting a gun to Axl Rose's head?

Thursday, 01 December 2011

Barry Fey on that time that he held a gun to Axl Rose's head and how the business has changed
By Dave Herrera

So what's your favorite story?

I guess my favorite story... oh, God, that's hard. Dave, that's really hard -- and I'm not being cool - but the one I had most fun with is debunking the story that's not true.

What's that?

The Axl Rose story, as told by Lars Ulrich. You've heard about that one, right? That story is, I guess, the most famous of the stories. We had Guns and Metallica at Mile High. And there was 48-49,000 people there. It was a big tour, and they alternated closing. One night, one band would close, and the other night the other one.

This one, Metallica opened, and... the whole story's in the book, but I'll tell you... Metallica opened, and I went out - it was a great set - I went backstage for the opening number of Guns. I went out, and they played "Welcome to the Jungle." I'm walking out - I'm going to give you the language, and you clean it up however you want; I'm just telling you how it happened - I'm walking backstage, and this guy comes running out and says, "Barry, Axl just left."

I said, "'The fuck are you talking about, 'Axl left'?" So I ran backstage, and I found out that he had come down off the stage, got into the limousine and left the site. So I said to... I went up to - his name was Big John; he was the guy who ran the limo company - and I said, 'You don't work for him; you work for me.' I said, 'You ever want to see another fucking dime of this company's money, you get that car back here.' And he said, "What?" I said, "Yeah. The only way he gets out of that car is if he jumps out. And if he jumps out, you leave him in the street. But you get that car back here."

So he gets on his little telephone. People are getting a little pissed by this time. Guns is up there just jamming, right? They played "Welcome to the Jungle," and then they didn't do anything; they were just jamming, and people were getting a little pissed off. In fact, I found out that they were taking their Guns N' Roses T-shirts back to the concession stand and throwing them at them and saying, "Give me a Metallica shirt."

So I went into the Guns and Metallica dressing room. So Guns sends down an emissary -- and this I know for sure because I was standing there within three feet - and he tells Lars, "Would you guys consider coming back up and jamming with us, because the crowd's going to get out of line?" So Lars tells him, word for word, "You bozos don't have enough money in your collective bank accounts for me to get back on that stage."

So at that point, I left the dressing room, went back out to the parking lot and got my .357 out of my glove box and put it in my back pocket. So I go out there, and I don't know what I'm going to do, because, you know, he had caused a riot in Montreal, I believe, by leaving and not coming back. Well, a few minutes later, the car comes back, and Axl gets out and talks to his manager - his name was Doug Goldstein; he was a glorified security guy; he use to do their security, and he took over their management. But how do you manage, manic depressive heroin addicts? That's a pretty good trick. I don't know how you do that.

So he [Axl] comes and talks to his manager and goes right up on the stage and gets back into it. So I put three of my, what do you want to call 'em, security, goons, thugs -- the toughest ones I have - at the top of the stairs and three Denver cops at the bottom. My instructions are: "The only way he gets out, if he leaves again, is that way," and I point to the crowd. Doug Goldstein says, "Barry, you can't do that. Axl will get so pissed." I said, "I don't give a fuck about him, and I don't give the same about you. I care about them," and I pointed to the people.

So that, basically, is what happened. But Lars tends to tell a different story, and Lars has far more credibility out in the industry than I have. He swears I put the gun up to Axl's temple and said, "Get on that fucking stage or you're going to die." It [his .357] never left my pocket. But every time he sees me today, he says, "Barry, are you packing today?" So that was that story.

Of course, that also was Slash's bachelor party that night. It was downtown at the Embassy Suites, which is no longer there. They were handing out little tickets - a blue ticket, like if you wanted a blow job, a yellow ticket if you wanted to get laid, a red ticket if you wanted to do both. It was a crazy night. And it turns out, I found out later, the reason Axl left was because he had a fight with Slash on the stage. But you know, I didn't really care. I just... I wasn't going to let him get away with that.

And Lars says to me, "Don't tell me you wouldn't have shot him." I said, 'Oh if he's not going to go on, he's going to get shot." But it didn't have to happen. So that's a great story, but it's true. That's the way it is. If you hang up with me and call Lars, he'll tell you the story, "Yeah, Barry put this fucking gun to his head." Didn't happen.

We thank our friends at Denver's WESTWOOD blog. Go check out the entire story.

VAN HALEN demanded 'NO Brown M&Ms' find out why?

Thursday, 01 December 2011



Van Halen's 1980 Tour Rider:
Why They Demanded The Brown M&Ms Be Picked Out
By Ben Westhoff Wed., Nov. 30 2011 at 4:45 AM

Barry Fey is a Denver-based concert promoter who has booked just about every giant rock band you can think of, and often for the first time in America. His new memoir Backstage Past speaks on his efforts bringing groups like U2, The Who, and The Rolling Stones stateside.

It's also got plenty to dish, much of it concerning the temperamental and downright oddball behavior of rock stars. The below excerpt explores Van Halen's contract rider circa 1980, which delves into one of history's burning questions: Why didn't they want the brown M&Ms?

From Van Halen's 1980 contract rider:

Munchies
• Potato chips with assorted dips
• Nuts
• Pretzels
• M & M's (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)
• Twelve (12) Reese's peanut butter cups
• Twelve (12) assorted Dannon yogurt (on ice)

Supplies
• Forty-eight (48) large, bath-size cloth towels
• One hundred (100) cups for cold drinks (16 oz., waxed paper)
• Fifty (50) styrofoam cups (minimum 10 oz.) for hot drinks
• Forks, knives and spoons (metal, not plastic)
• Serving utensils, corkscrew, bottle and can openers
• Salt and pepper (in shakers)
• Tablecloths
• Napkins (paper)
• Two (2) large bars Ivory soap
• One (1) large tube KY Jelly

I did several shows with Van Halen over the years and in 1980, I had three shows in Colorado. The first one was at the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo on March 30th which was a warm-up for the summer World Invasion Tour of Europe and North America. I brought them back in September for two shows at McNichols Arena on the 12th and 13th.

The Pueblo show was the first time I'd heard about the brown M&Ms. There are different stories about it, but one I was told is that the band wanted to make sure its contract rider, which detailed every little thing from trash bags to what kind of foods would be served to the roadies and at what time; virtually nothing was left to chance. So, someone suggested they put in "no brown M&Ms" as a gotcha; if there were brown M&Ms, then whoever was supposed to read the rider didn't and other important details, like the tube of K-Y Jelly, might have been overlooked.

In their Pueblo dressing room, the band found brown M&Ms and the boys, who had proven that they didn't need much of an excuse to damage hotel rooms and the like, tore up the college's dressing room. Tore it up so badly that the University banned not only Van Halen, but all rock concerts at the school.

Just because I enjoyed being a smart ass, I guess, four years later when I booked Van Halen to headline The US Festival (more on that in another chapter), I bought a big, silver chalice, had it filled with ONLY brown M&Ms, walked into Van Halen's dressing room and put it down on the table. The guys--Eddie and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth--laughed their asses off.

A great read from our friends at LA WEEKLY.

FOO FIGHTER SCORE DOUBLE AWARDS FROM NIELSON:

The folks from Nielsen's Entertainment division recently caught up with the Foo Fighters backstage at their sold-out Madison Square Garden concert last month to honor them with two awards – the first recognizes the band's more than four million (U.S.) radio plays, captured by Nielsen BDS: And the second is in recognition of the band's more than 10 Million (U.S.) album sales, tracked by Nielsen SoundScan.

DON'T BE SILLY!! BLAME IT ALL ON THE BEACH BOYS!!:

Ok, now it's just getting silly. Rolling Stone magazine journalist Andy Greene is reporting that the "iconic band" that was set to appear at the Grammy Nominations concert was infact the Beach Boys!
Here's what has been written today:
"What happened? "There was the expectation that the artist involved and we would be ready to announce," Grammy President Neil Portnow told the Telegraph. "We were genuine about the intention and discussion, but the time frame has moved."
Many people thought that Van Halen was supposed to be the band, largely due to the fact that the Grammys sent out this not-so-subtle Tweet on November 3rd: "Who do u predict the reuniting band will be @ GRAMMYnoms? Does this hint make u wanna 'Jump' & 'Dance The Night Away?'" This seemed to confirm beyond any doubt that Van Halen was the band, but what many people missed is that the Tweet also linked to a Hitfix story that guessed it was Van Halen. The fine folks at the Grammys merely sent out that Tweet to get people talking, and the Van Halen song titles were a reference to the HitFix prediction. They wanted to open up a whole Twitter-wide guessing game.
Unfortunately, all it did was make everyone think that Van Halen were locked in. According to industry sources I've spoken to, Van Halen were never - at any point - lined up to appear at the Grammys special.
It's hard to be 100 percent certain, but I'm extremely confident that it was supposed to be the Beach Boys. Their 50th anniversary reunion tour this summer is one of the worst-kept secrets in the music business right now. The Los Angeles Times agrees with my assessment. "Sources close to the show said that talks with the band – reportedly the Beach Boys – fell apart in the 48 hours leading up to the nomination show," the paper reported this morning. "There's hope, however, that the Beach Boys will still be available for the Feb. 12 Grammy Awards."
Read more: www.rollingstone.com/music/news/iconic-group-reunion-at-grammys-nominations-concert-doesnt-happen-20111201#ixzz1fKgd5QW6.

Give me a break!
The Beach Boys? Are you serious?!! I might be willing to accept this but for two glaring points that simply don't stack up.
1 - This rumor was widely reported in national and international press for weeks now. No one in the Van Halen camp thought it worthy of shooting down? Why not? They have shot down just about everything else in the past decade. Allowing this rumor to whip fans into a frenzy for so long without saying a word - if they were not ever involved - is simply a monstrous disrespect and dereliction of duty of care to long suffering fans.
2 - What of this Grammy sent tweet - "@ #GRAMMYnoms? Does this hint make u wanna 'Jump' & 'Dance the Night Away'?"
Now, forgive my possible ignorance here, but I'm not aware of ANY other act that has ever had two hit songs called Jump and Dance The Night Away! Now, if the tweet had read something like "Does this make you want to 'Dance, Dance, Dance'...'It's About Time'?", then one could be forgiven for mixing the two bands up. (Dance Dance Dance being a Beach Boys 1964 hit and It's About Time being a 1992 album cut, and a 2004 Van Halen w/Sammy cut!).

Like I said yesterday, this will al be brushed aside as if it was never planned. Van Halen are unlikely to appear at the Grammy's Feb 12, as why would that organization go through all this again? Ok, time to just accept this and move on...

Today's Day In Pop

Today's Full Report


Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey Release Christmas Video
(popmusiclife) Justin Bieber has issued the latest video from his "Under The Mistletoe" album. Justin teams up with Mariah Carey for a take on "All I Want For Christmas Is You," as the two romp around a department store at holiday time.
Mariah is seen wearing her best Santa outfit, revealing the trim figure she's regained since giving birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe earlier this year. Mariah originally recorded the track for her 1994 holiday record, "Merry Christmas," and then redid it for last year's sequel, the "Merry Christmas II You" album.

Bieber officially debuted the video during his appearance at Rockefeller Center on Wednesday evening. Check it out here.

Lady Gaga Releases Epic Marry The Night Video
(popmusiclife) Lady Gaga has released her new epic music video for the song "Marry The Night."

The 14-minute story begins with the previously-released teaser clip of a post-op Gaga entering a room at a clinic, and takes viewers on a wild ride from there.

We won't say much more so as not to provide spoilers….sit back and check it out for yourself here.

Anniversary of Michael Jackson's Thriller Video Premiere
(Gibson) On this day in 1983, MTV aired the full 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video for the first time. Gibson takes a look back: The early years of MTV were an exciting time…well, for some. There were old school musicians who resisted it, claiming the music — and not image — should do the talking. Right or wrong, that mindset generally worked against established acts. Others, though, realized the potential of the music video and took advantage of, in essence, a three-minute commercial to run in an endless playlist for an entire generation of youth.

Michael Jackson was certainly among the latter group. While the cable channel's first year or so was largely devoid of artists of color, Jackson helped break down that wall with theatrical spectacles chock-full of elaborate choreography and sets, set ablaze by Jackson's own electrifying stage persona. Jackson exploded onto MTV in 1983 with "Billie Jean," followed in quick succession by "Beat It" and the Paul McCartney collaboration, "Say Say Say." As Jackson eyed the release of the last single from the Thriller album, he decided to do something more elaborate — much more elaborate.

The title track of the Thriller album was written by Rod Temperton, who had previously written the hits "Rock with You" and "Off the Wall," among other tracks, for Jackson. The song's horror-themed lyrics gave it an almost cinematic tinge from the outset. Producer Quincy Jones, Jackson and Temperton worked for eight weeks in the studio to do the composition proper justice, bringing in scream king Vincent Price to record the track's creepy voiceover. The result was a dance-funk masterpiece. But that was the music. The video would require an equally expansive eye. more on this story



The Battle for Bob Marley's Name
(TMZ) Bob Marley's widow is smoking mad over a relative pimping out the family name to sell everything from concerts to fish, poultry, energy drinks and booze -- and she's suing to stop him.

Rita Marley and nine of Bob's kids filed a federal lawsuit against Richard Booker -- Bob's bro from another father ... for trademark infringement and unauthorized use of Marley's likeness.

According to the suit, Booker's been real busy -- registering the trademark "Mama Marley" to sell ... among other things ... fish, fish and chips, fish cakes, fish croquettes, fish fillets, fish mousse, and fish sausages. Yes, Bob loved him some fish.

In addition, the suit claims Booker is using Marley's name and image to market an annual concert in Miami, known as the 9 Mile Music Festival. For those not in the know ... 9 Mile is the Jamaican town where Bob was born and buried.

Bob's family says they have the rights to all things Marley and want all of Booker's profits. They also want a judge to order Booker to stop all future use of the name.

Interestingly, next year's headliners at that 9 Mile Music Festival include Stephen, Damian and Julian Marley -- all plaintiffs in the suit. more on this story

Hear Tori Amos' Latest In A New Way
Tori Amos has set a December 13th release date for Sin Palabras, the instrumental version of this year's Night of Hunters album.

It will be available at all digital retailers. On Night of Hunters, Tori created a 21st century song cycle with variations on themes by Satie, Granados, Chopin and other great composers.

Sin Palabras provides a completely new listening experience and perspective on the compositions by stripping the vocals and putting Tori's adventurous arrangements and virtuosic playing, along with that of The Apollon Musagete Quartet and the Berlin Philharmonic clarinet soloist Andreas Ottensamer, at the forefront. more on this story

Soulja Boy Facing Eviction
(TMZ) A rough year for Soulja Boy is about to get rougher -- he's been served with an eviction notice, TMZ has learned.

Soulja's 2011 has included ... lying about buying a private jet, pissing off the military with one of his songs and getting arrested for allegedly carrying weed and a gun in a briefcase.

Now TMZ has learned the rapper, real name DeAndre Way, has not paid his November rent for his Atlanta pad -- a whopping $4,725 -- so he's been served with eviction papers. Soulja has until December 5 to pay up, or risk getting thrown out.

A rep for Soulja had no comment. more on this story

Bruno Mars Scores Six Grammy Nominations
Bruno Mars has scored six nominations for the upcoming 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

The evebt will be held on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS from 8-11:30 pm (ET/PT).

His 24x-worldwide platinum debut album, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," was nominated as "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album," while the #1 smash hit, "Grenade," was named in both the "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" categories, as well as for "Best Pop Solo Performance." more on this story

Vh1 Plan TLC Movie
VH1 will kick off a new series of biopics with a feature film about R&B/hip-hop/pop trio TLC.

They sent over these details: The two surviving members of the group, Chilli and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, have signed on as consultants and executive producers for the movie. Acclaimed screenwriter Kate Lanier ("What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Beauty Shop) has signed on to pen the bio-pic.

The gifted trio TLC, which was comprised of Chilli, Watkins and the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, achieved instant commercial success with their first album, Ooooooohhh… On The TLC Tip in 1991 which sold over 6 million copies worldwide and spawned numerous Top Ten singles. But it was the release of their second album; CrazySexyCool in 1994 that elevated them to superstar status, that album sold over 22 million albums worldwide to date and propelled TLC to become the most successful female group in history. They went on to record Fanmail selling over 10 million albums and 8 Grammy nominations before Lopes' untimely death in 2002. more on this story

Kesha Releases Stray Dogs PSA
(popmusiclife) Kesha is lending her support to help street dogs. The pop star has recorded a PSA (public service announcement) for Humane Society International as they work together to help better the lives of stray dogs.

"I'm a street dog defender and I hope you will become one too," says Kesha. "Most of us has seen them hiding under parked cars or running out of the way of traffic. Millions of stray dogs roam the streets looking for food, shelter and a kind hand. Mother dogs not only struggle to feed themselves, but also their whole litter of puppies. These dogs too often are treated like they're a nuisance, becoming victims to poisoning, electrocution, and shootings."

"Humane Society International works with local organizations and governments in the developing world to create humane and effective animal control programs, putting an end to the ongoing cycle of cruelty towards these animals. Join us in being a voice for these dogs around the world." Check out the PSA here.

Steve Aoki Plans Deadmeat Tour
Steve Aoki will be hitting the road this winter for his Deadmeat Tour in support of his forthcoming album Wonderland.

The Deadmeat Tour has AOKI partnering with dubstep's hottest new producer and Dim Mak label mate Datsik.

The pair will travel across North America throughout winter 2012 and perform at some of the most renowned theaters and concert arenas, including the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the Fillmore in Denver, Boston's House of Blues, Montreal's Metropolis and New York City's legendary Roseland Ballroom (Los Angeles details are forthcoming). more on this story

SL Jones Offers Up Free MP3 Ahead of New Mixtape
SL Jones has set a December 14th release date for his latest mixtape project entitled, Flight Risk.

The 12-track project will serve as a follow-up to the Little Rock, Arkansas, rapper's Don Cannon-hosted mixtape, The Number 23, and will serve as SL's most cohesive, focused effort to date. While guests will be light, the mixtape will include production from a list of A-grade producers, including Lex Luger, Shawty Redd, Sonny Digital, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Metro, and more, including Young L, who lent his production efforts to the mixtape's first leak, "Gas Station."

While SL hails from the Rock, it was his occasional stints out in the Bay that influenced the title and direction of this latest track. "'Gassing' in the Bay Area, that's just some slang, the same way someone might say, 'Oh, you're going in on that track'," notes SL. "With Young L being from the Bay, and the song just being straight bars, it made perfect sense."

With the beat, something of a minimalist masterpiece, Young L highlights the low end sparingly – but when it does hit, it hits hard, a concoction of 808's and distorted, rumbling bass that lets SL get creative with his dexterous, winding delivery. "The beat is so wide open, so I just decided to use different flows," explains SL. "F**k a hook; this is the kinda beat where everything sounds good on it."

Download "Gas Station" here.

Luke James Announces Dates With Robin Thicke
Luke James has been added as support on several dates of Robin Thicke "Love After War" Tour.

Luke James is set to join "Love After War" Tour at stops in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Luke James will release a free pre-album entitled #LUKE on December 22, 2011, followed by the release of his debut solo album, Made To Love, in 2012. more on this story

Kim Kardashian Angry Over Kris Humphries' Made For TV Marriage Claims
(TMZ) Kim Kardashian is telling friends ... she's incredulous over Kris Humphries' claim that she used him as a disposable groom just to get a pop on her reality show.

Kim is bragging -- and on this one she has a right to brag -- she and her mom are marketing geniuses, so why would she set herself up to be skewered in the media by dumping her husband after only 72 days? Kim acknowledges the split has been rough on her image and she would never have intentionally self-destructed.

And, Kim says, if this were really a wedding truly made for TV, she would have made it "way better," telling friends, "I'm no dummy. The divorce would have been just as dramatic and dragged out as the wedding."

Kim is telling friends Kris' latest move is "pathetic," adding, "Why fight over any of this?" more on this story

Judge Gives CSI Star Ultimatum In Domestic Violence Case
(TMZ) An angry judge just ripped Gary Dourdan a new one ... after learning the former "CSI" star illegally texted his former GF ... allegedly.

Dourdan pled not guilty to felony domestic violence charges for allegedly breaking Nicole Vail Cannizzaro's nose.

Immediately after Dourdan was arrested last month, the police got a restraining order which prohibited the actor from contacting his ex, but the D.A. claims Dourdan violated that order by texting her.

Judge Keith Schwartz told Dourdan, "I don't mess around with domestic violence cases ... You understand?"

The judge issued a 3 year restraining order and gave Dourdan an ultimatum -- stay the hell away from her, or he's going to jail ... NOW. more on this story

Comic Writer Goes After Cowboys & Aliens
(TMZ) You can't legally own the exclusive right to produce a cowboy movie. And you can't legally own the right to produce an alien movie. But a comic book writer claims he does own the combo and that's why he's suing the producers of "Cowboys & Aliens."

Steven Busti claims he created the concept for "Cowboys & Aliens" way back in 1994 -- 17 years before the movie was produced.

Busti wrote a comic called "Cowboys and Aliens" that was published in a comic book called, "Bizarre Fantasy." Busti's story line goes like this ... aliens landed on planet Earth and invaded the Old West. That's pretty much the same concept for the 2011 movie and the graphic novel published by the film's producers 5 years earlier. Busti alleges many other similarities as well.

So the question -- Did the producers know about Busti before they penned the graphic novel and the movie? Well, according to a lawsuit filed today in federal court in Texas, Busti notes back in 1994, his "Cowboys and Aliens" was featured in Comic Shop News on the same page that also featured a story about Scott Mitchell Rosenberg -- who produced the 2011 film. So there!

Busti is suing for copyright infringement and is seeking unspecified damages. Worth noting ... as poorly as it was reviewed, the movie made over $100 million.

So far, no word back from any of the producers. more on this story

Kate Major Won't Be Prosecuted For Battery
(TMZ) Michael Lohan's Achilles' Heel, Kate Major, will NOT be prosecuted for battering a passenger on a Delta flight ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us ... the L.A. City Attorney had a meeting with Kate's lawyer, Trent Copeland, today and prosecutors decided not to file the case. We're told the City Attorney was impressed that Kate was trying to solve her problem by checking into rehab. Copeland also made it clear ... Kate was apologetic for her conduct.

As we first reported, Kate was arrested and escorted off a flight from LAX to Tampa after accosting another passenger in first class. We're told Kate was drunk.

And get this ... Kate was on her way to Tampa, because she had a court date over a restraining order she sought against Michael Lohan for allegedly beating her up. more on this story

The Deadly Spawn Millennium Edition Coming To Blu-ray
MVD announced that the cult classic film The Deadly Spawn will see a "Millennium Edition" debut on Blu-ray this January 24th courtesy of Elite Entertainment.

Here is the synopsis: In The Deadly Spawn, two campers in the New Jersey woods have their outdoor fun interrupted by the arrival of a meteorite crashing nearby. They go to investigate the crater, but are suddenly attacked and devoured by alien parasites who have hitched a ride to Earth.

After finishing off the campers, the hungry space monsters head for a nearby town, where they make their domain in the basement of an old house and soon begin polishing off one hapless inhabitant after another. Four young teenagers, plus one pre-teen boy, try to find a way to stop the angry space monsters before they reproduce and literally eat humanity.