Drag The River Tour

Punknews.org reports: Alt-country supergroup Drag The River, which features alumni of ALL, Armchair Martian, Hot Rod Circuit, have expanded their reunion into a full tour.

As previously announced the band will play in Colorado alongside Scott Reynolds' new act 40Engine, but we can now confirm February visits to Boston, Providence and several cities in California. Click below for the details.

The band is supporting the release of their final album, You Can't Live That Way, which is due on January 22. - dates

Post Death Band Looking for Vocalist

antiMusic reports: The members of Members of Death are forming a new band and are in need of a vocalist. Metal Underground has the report: Guitarist Shannon Hamm (ex-DEATH, CONTROL DENIED) has issued the following update: "Jonathan Lee (drums; ex-Death drum roadie for Richard Christy on The Sound Of Perseverance tour), Scott Clendenin (bass on Death's The Sound Of Perseverance), Bobby Koelble (guitarist on Death's Symbolic album), and myself (guitar) have begun the writing process for a new metal project which is sure to be revolutionary!

At this point we've not yet decided on a name, however, we are currently accepting demos, recordings, promos, or whatever from anyone who may be interested in auditioning for the vocalist position. This way we will already have an idea of who we want by the time the record is complete.
Unfortunately, we really aren't sure yet what direction the vocals will take, so send anything you have. We are wide open, male or female, no particular preference. However, we all really like the vocals of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE if it is any help in the elimination game. - more on this story

Resident Jacko?

antiMusic reports: This one is for all the Jacko fans that bitch we never post positive news about the self proclaimed King of Pop (Not true, we have posted positive stories on him. Though they are hard to come by.) Seems Michael Jackson might be doing a month long residency at the 02 Arena. Contact Music has the details:

Pop superstar MICHAEL JACKSON is reportedly set to announce plans for a one-month residency in London, netting him a whopping $30 million (GBP15 million) for the series of gigs.

The Thriller singer - who is currently working on a new album with the likes of rapper/producer will.i.am - was last month (Dec07) said to be poised to return to the U.K. for his live comeback with a tour to rival soul star Prince, who played 21 dates in the British capital last summer (07). And new reports claim Jackson will play 30 dates at London's O2 Arena later this year (08) - earning $1 million (GBP500,000) a night - more on this story

Tokyo Blade Reunite

BW&BK reports: Metalzone.gr has revealed that the lineup for NWOBHM legends TOKYO BLADE includes founding lead guitarist Andy Boulton, former ARREST lead guitarist Bryan Holland, current OVERLOADED vocalist Chris Gillen and drummer Lorenzo Gonzalez and former MINDCANDY bassist Frank Saparti.

The band are currently booking a European tour with confirmed dates in November 2008 on the NWOBHM Festival II in Athens (November 8th), Greece and the Keep It True Festival (November 14) in Germany.

The band recently started rehearsals with an eye on writing and recording a new studio album. - more on this story

RIP O.G. Style

Contact Music reports: Hip-hop veteran ERIC 'O.G. STYLE' WOODS has died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. The rap pioneer was rushed to St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Texas on Wednesday night (02Jan08), but had to be put on life support after slipping into a coma following a brain haemorrhage.

Various internet reports claim Woods' heart stopped several times while in the coma, but he was kept alive by the life support machine in order to allow visiting friends and family to say their goodbyes.

Woods' condition failed to improve overnight and on Thursday (03Jan08), his wife gave permission for doctors to take him off life support. He passed away late on Thursday (03Jan08), aged 37. - more on this story

The Pendletons Back on the Road

PR reports: Athens, GA sensation The Pendletons are back on the road after a month of some much-needed down time. Touring behind their breakout debut, Oh, Me!, the band has continued to gain a rampant fanbase of dancing revelers.

The tour will kick off in hometown Athens, and more dates are expected to be added in the next week, including Brooklyn and New York City shows. The band is also confirmed to play the annual South By Southwest music conference in Austin, TX.

Frontman Adam Saunders was most in need of some relaxation, having spent the summer in an LA studio with The Whigs, cutting all the bass parts as well as guitar and vocals for the band's upcoming Mission Control, out January 22nd on ATO Records. - dates

Suffocation and Napalm Death for Europe

Metal Underground reports: SUFFOCATION and NAPALM DEATH will team up for a European co-headlining tour in May/June 2008. Also appearing on the bill will be WARBRINGER.

The dates are as follows:

May 08 - Dordrecht, Holland @ Bibelot
May 09 - Zaandam, Holland @ De Kade
May 10 - Berlin, Germany @ SO36
May 11 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Gelsenkirchen Amphitheatre (Rock Hard Festival)
May 12 - Hasselt, Belgium @ Muziek-O-Droom
May 13 - Paris, France @ La Locomotive
May 14 - Rennes, France @ Antipode
May 15 - Biarritz, France @ Atabel
May 16 - Durango, Spain @ Plateruena
- more dates

MC Hammer Starting Dance Video Site

Jam! reports: MC Hammer hasn't topped the music charts since the early 1990s but the former rap star says he has another hit in him - only this time around he'll produce it as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.

Hammer, whose real name is Stanley Burrell, is choreographing a new career as co-founder and chief strategy officer of DanceJam.com.

The website, scheduled to debut in mid-January, will try to upstage YouTube and become the Internet's hub for sharing and watching dance videos. - can't click this for more on this story

Withered Ink with Prosthetic

PR reports: Prosthetic Records is proud to announce Atlanta's WITHERED as the latest addition to the label's ranks. The band's forthcoming effort, 'Folie Circulaire,' is scheduled for a late-spring release and will be produced by Phillip Cope (Kylesa, Baroness, Black Tusk) through Prosthetic.

"We're very excited to start this new chapter for Withered by joining the Prosthetic Records family," guitarist/vocalist Mike Thompson says. "We've put a lot of time and consideration into deciding which label we wanted to work with for our next album and Prosthetic have really proven their commitment to WITHERED's music and metal in general. It can be difficult to find a label that understands your band AND has the resources to help cultivate your music without compromising it. This is a natural step for Withered and we are quite eager to contaminate and disgrace everything Prosthetic Records has to offer." - more including tour dates

Radiohead Top UK Chart

BBC reports: Radiohead have entered the UK album chart at number one with In Rainbows, while X Factor winner Leon Jackson has the top single for a third week.

The indie band released In Rainbows for download in October, with fans invited to pay what they thought it was worth.

However, this week was the first opportunity to obtain the album on CD. - more on this story

Konichiwa Bitches, Robyn is coming to the US!

PR reports: Check out Robyn's fresh new rhymes during her upcoming US tour dates in support of her new Rakamonie EP, to be released digitally on January 29th, 2008.

The UK has already showed their love for Robyn and the EP, as her track "With Every Heartbeat" reached #1 in the charts there. It's a treat she's coming over for these February concerts as it's been a couple of years since she's been in America.

Robyn's full-length album is tentatively scheduled to drop in April, more details to come! US Rakamonie EP Tracklisting: 1. Konichiwa Bitches 2. Cobra Style 3. Be Mine (Ballad Version) 4. With Every Heartbeat with Kleerup (Acoustic Version) 5. Jack U Off

US Tour Dates:
Feb 5 Highline Ballroom New York, NY
Feb 7 SF Popscene San Francisco, CA
Feb 9 Troubadour Los Angeles, CA
- Myspace

Hurt Tour

PR reports: Capitol Records rock quartet HURT has announced plans to headline new dates beginning January 11th at the Hawthorne Theatre, Portland in support of their multi-faceted sophomore album Vol. II, released on Sep. 25th and entered the Billboard New Artist chart at #1.

"This is one of the all time great rock albums, certainly in recent years...Everything is quality...This sounds like they recorded it playing live too, really organic. Remarkable! Such beautiful, powerful and dramatic Rock and Roll," said Rockline's Bob Coburn.

Vol. II continues where its 2006 predecessor Vol. I, which spawned two top 20 active rock hits with "Rapture" and "Falls Apart" left off, furthering their signature post-grunge alt-metal sound with a melodic melding of aggression and frustration with soaring harmonies, quieter interludes and intelligent, affecting lyrics. The album was produced by Eric Greedy (Ringo Starr, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Barbra Streisand), who was also at the helm for Vol. 1. - more on this story

Britney Meltsdown and Loses Kids

antiMusic reports: It's not a nighttime soap you are watching, it's the meltdown of pop singer Britney Spears. The poptart took her public meltdown far beyond her "head shaving" insanity with a stand off with police and being hospitalized for observation of her mental state, according to reports, as she loses custody rights to her children.

Wenn reported: BRITNEY SPEARS has been classed as a "special needs" patient following her admission to a Los Angeles hospital, after it emerged she locked one of her young sons in a room with her at her Los Angeles home. The troubled singer, 26, was admitted to the city's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday evening (03Jan08) following a major stand-off with police at her Beverly Hills mansion after she refused to hand over her two boys to ex-husband Kevin Federline after a scheduled visit. Her court-appointed monitor called for emergency services after witnessing Spears' apparent mental breakdown.

AP reported on Friday, "A court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of Britney Spears' two little boys Friday to ex-husband Kevin Federline and suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights."
- more on this story

.... MorleyView: The Chubbies<

With over 10 years of history and over 25 or so records, it was time to give The Chubbies their due. I got to speak with Jeannette again a few weeks ago and find out some more about The Chubbies and the newly released The Official Greatest Hits. - Read the full The Chubbies MorleyView

.... Havoc Unit - hIV.+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)

Quite a number of …And Oceans fans were baffled by the group’s sudden moniker change after a decade of successful cacophony. The newly-found Havoc Unit did the dramatic adjustment to show a new essence in their mechanical assault. - Read the full Havoc Unit - hIV.+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia) review

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