Five Times August Week: Up To Me

antiMusic reports: This week we celebrate the DIY spirit of Brad Skistimas, better known as Five Times August, who not only turned down major label deals to stay indie but does everything on his own resulting in over 100,000 in sales at online digital stores like iTunes, placed nine songs from his album on television shows like MTV's "Laguna Beach," the CW's "One Tree Hill," etc. And he has become the very first unsigned artist to have a CD carried by retail giant Wal-Mart. This week we asked Brad to pick five of favorite songs from the "Independent" album and tell us a little bit about them.

Here is Brad to tell us about " Up To Me": At the time that I wrote this song I didn't think anybody would really relate to it because it had so many personal lyrics. Turns out most young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 relate to it because they're going through the same break up. I was having trouble letting go of someone and in the midst of all my blaming her, the excuse that came out of her mouth was it was my fault for feeling hurt. She literally said "it's up to you to make yourself feel better about this" and as soon as that hit me the song wrote itself.

Have a listen for yourself and if you like what you hear, support true Indie music by picking up the Five Times August CD or buying the download! - check it out here

Van Halen Reunion Dates

This will be the first time that Roth will tour with Van Halen in 22 years (The 1984 tour). The group revealed that they have been rehearsing together for the past four months. The first 25 dates were announced today for the tour which will kick off on September 27th in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets for select dates on the tour go on sale beginning this Saturday, (August 18th) through LiveNation.com.

Roth also addressed what fans may expect as far as the setlist and took the opportunity to poke a little fun at his short-lived radio career. "We decided to do everything you'd expect, but make it high speed, low drag. Everything that got me fired from radio."
- more about the reunion and more importantly the dates!

Coldplay Smackdown

The smackdown occurred at the Changes Karaoke bar in Seattle last Thursday night when a man took the stage and started to sing Coldplay's hit song "Yellow" angering a woman in the audience who shouted "Oh no, not that song. I can't stand that song!" 

She then jumped up on stage and punched the man in the face in an attempt to stop him from singing the song, said the police report according to Gigwise. The 21-year-old woman was then dragged outside and went crazy punching a bar employee in the face twice.- more on this story

Wilco Chicken Pox

The band was set to play Duluth, Minnesota on Tuesday and Winnipeg, Canada on Wednesday but have dropped the gigs so that guitarist Nels Cline can recover from the dreaded childhood disease. The Duluth show has been rescheduled for September 4th, no word yet on when the Winnipeg makeup show will happen. 

The band's website staff issued the following statement: We're sorry to report that our good friend and Wilco guitarist extraordinaire Nels Cline has recently contracted a rather nasty case of the CHICKEN POX (not sure that should be in all caps... but judging from the gruesome details in email correspondence we've had with NC, we'll leave it so).- more on this story

Queensryche Identity Theft

Scott C. Moughton, reported to be a one time guitarist for Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate's solo project is wanted by police in Lynnwood, Wa for identity theft, possession of a controlled substance and forgery. 

Investigators say Moughton used a stolen identification to buy a $71,000 Lexus in May from a dealership in Lynnwood and believe that the used the victims information on the Internet to get pre-approved for the auto loan.- more on this story

Mega Ministry Finale

The final Ministry album, "The Last Sucker", will hit stores on September 18th with a farewell tour to follow early next year, according to Blabbermouth. While the tour won't happen for some months, Al has revealed who will be joining him on the outing. The final live version of Ministry will be: Al Jourgensen on Vocals, Jimmy Degrasso (Megadeth, Y&T, Suicidal Tendencies) on Drums, David Ellefson (Megadeth, F5, Temple Of Brutality) on Bass, Tommy Victor (Prong) on Guitar, Sin Quirin (The Revolting Cocks) on Guitar, John Bechdel (Fear Factory, Killing Joke) on Keyboards- info on Al's post Ministry plans

Pumpkins, Velvet Revolver Invade LA

The festival, now dubbed L.A. Invasion, will take place on September 15th at the Home Depot Center at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The retooled Smashing Pumpkins will head the bill which will also include the Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Kid Rock, Chris Cornell, Cypress Hill, Hot Hot Heat, Against Me!, Paramore and (a corporate sellout we won't mention by name).

Tickets go on sale Saturday- more on this story

U2 Movie Coming

Produced by Daniel Lanois – who has co-produced a number of the bands albums - 'Here Is What Is,' will highlight what goes on behind the scenes as U2 put their material together. 

Speaking about the project, Lanois admitted that "the mystery of the recording studio is what keeps me coming back." 
- more on this story

Nightwish American Tour Plans

The first outing will kick off on October 18th in New York and run through November 15th in Florida. The tour will hit a lot of major markets but if they are skipping your town this go around there is hope as Blabbermouth reports the band is planning to return to the US next spring for another leg on the tour.

Dates for the spring out are not known yet but you can catch them this fall at these - dates.

What To Buy

What To Watch

Def Leppard, who perform on 'Live with Regis and Kelly' on Wednesday; Good Charlotte, who visit 'Live with Regis and Kelly' and 'The Sauce' on Thursday.

- more listings here

Oasis DVD Coming

The film was directed by Baillie Walsh and screened in select UK theaters last year. It follows the band through 26 different countries, playing shows that reached over 2 million people. 

The first disc of the DVD set includes audio commentary from the band members, outtakes, a Q&A session with fans, unreleased photos and fan-shot footage of several concerts- read more and find out what's on the second disc

Winehouse Snubs Stones

Of course she has a good excuse for pulling out of gigs, she was admitted to a hospital last week. Some reports over the weekend said that she suffered an overdose and is being treated in a hotel. The BBC contacted Winehouse's PR person who declined to comment. So read into that what you will.- find out who answered the call to replace her

Rush Plan UK Special Edition

Comprised of Special Tour Edition packaging, including a stunning 28-page full colour booklet, Disc 1 (CD) will feature the original stereo mix of the studio album, while Disc 2 (DVD) will include tons of interactive features audio mixes in 96 kHz/24-bit hi-resolution stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound.

The DVD disc will also include "Rush: The Game of Snakes & Arrows", a unique 45-minute video documentary on the making of the album, MP3 files of every audio track, wallpapers, buddy icons, screensaver and a scrollable dialog written by Neil Peart that provides additional discovery into the creation of the songs. - more info and tour dates

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