Killsmith Week: Day 3 "Beware of the Dog"

"Beware of the Dog". It's probably my oldest song on the record from the standpoint that probably the groove of it and the chords originated actually back right after Platinum God. I mean they've been around that long. But I changed the lyrics an awful lot. I mean I like to have a little dynamics so I wanted to have an acoustic song on this cd. And I thought, I probably will in the future. That's also why I liked that song "Human Evolution" because it's a little bit different than the others as far as musically. I like dynamics in a piece and from that standpoint I wanted something acoustic that sounded powerful and still had, well, it's not exactly a love song with an acoustic guitar. I don't think the Eagles would have had this on their album "Hotel California", but I don't know, maybe they would. (laughs). - more

Axl Sics FBI On GNR Leaker

antiMusic reports: The FBI took a break from investigating terrorist and criminals to go after a blogger who leaked some songs from the allegedly forthcoming Guns N' Roses album. Rolling Stone has the story: Last week, the Internet was rocked when California blogger Kevin Skwerl posted nine newly leaked Chinese Democracy tracks, including three previously unheard songs allegedly from Guns n' Roses long-awaited album.

Skwerl — who used to work in the distribution department of Universal Music and is now a Web designer — runs the blog Antiquiet, and says he received the tracks from "an anonymous online source."

Yesterday Skwerl was surprised to find himself face to face with two FBI agents who paid a visit to his day job. "It was kind of an ambush," Skwerl tells Rolling Stone. "When I came back from lunch they were waiting in the lobby for me. It's a little creepy they know where I work." Two young FBI officers, who Skwerl describes as "Mulder and Scully types," questioned him for 15 minutes about where he got the tracks and made plans to visit his house at 7:00 a.m. this morning. - more on this story

Teen Arrested For Wearing Rock T Shirt

Blabbermouth reports: Australia's Herald Sun reports that a Gold Coast teenager has been charged by police for wearing a blasphemous t-shirt degrading Jesus.

The boy, 16, was stopped by police in Biggera Waters after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt which claims "Jesus is a Cunt" and depicts a nun masturbating.

It is a t-shirt for English extreme metal band Cradle Of Filth. The teen was charged with offensive behaviour under the Summary Offences Act 2005 for public nuisance on Monday. - more on this story

DMX Arrested Again, Bee Gees May Reunite, Vines Set US Release, Trail of Dead Records, Smashing Gish Box, Forgotten Idol To Marry and more

antiMusic reports: It's Wednesday must be time to report that DMX was arrested again. The Pete Doherty of hip-hop was arrested earlier this week on a warrant for having no valid driver's license. Go here if you care to learn more details.

Robin Gibb has said he and brother Barry may return to the stage as The Bee Gees, five years after their brother and bandmate Maurice died. Robin Gibb told the BBC he is "very open" to a comeback if Barry "feels comfortable with it". more

The newly reformed legendary progressive art-rock band Curved Air have released a new CD entitled 'Reborn'. It was recorded during preparation for their international concerts that commenced with a highly successful concert on June 13th 2008 at Isle of Wight festival. Dates for Curved Air are still coming in and include Malta's Jazz-Rock Festival in Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta on July 20th., and the Rock and Roots Festival at Ross on Wye UK on Saturday August 24th. Further Scandinavian, UK and Italian dates are being set for a European tour in October /November and the band are planning to visit Japan and the US in 2009.

The Vines' upcoming album, "Melodia," will be sold on CD exclusively in the United States by Insound beginning July 19.

Get Loaded for free. Duff McKagan's band Loaded are offering up their 2001 Dark Days album as a free download. You know you want it. And the price is just right! Grab it here

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead is launching its own label, Richter Scale Records, in association with Justice Records, which is distributed by Fontana/Universal. The band's next album is due in January 2009 more

SmashingPumpkins.com has another small byte of information for you regarding your favorite first Smashing Pumpkins album: plans are currently underway that will lead to the eventual release of a pre-Gish/Gish box set! What is to be included on here, no one knows for sure but it should be noted that its release is expected to coincide with the Gish tour sometime in 2008... more

BS Update- Why anyone would possibly care about this is beyond us but here is the latest in the drama that is Britney Spears: TMZ has learned the Commish has awarded Britney overnight visitation with her boo boos. more

At least one person still loves Ruben Studdard: He won the affection of millions of people on "American Idol," but this weekend, Ruben Studdard is giving his heart to one woman. A representative for the former "Idol" confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that Studdard, 29, plans a Saturday wedding. more

Chavis Records is thrilled to announce the signing of DC4 featuring Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint, Odin), Rowan Robertson (Dio), Shawn Duncan (Odin), and Matt Duncan. EXPLODE, the latest effort from DC4 saw a very limited release by the band earlier this year and now with an all new package design, and new artwork on the inside, will see a full scale release later this year.

Swedish rockers The Windupdeads will release their self-titled debut October 7th, 2008 on One Eleven Records. The Windupdeads is a collection of deliciously moody, artful and emotionally forthright indie-rock songs, each one instantly ingratiating, earnest and sharply-performed. more

About 3,000 tickets are still unsold for this year's Glastonbury Festival, a day before gates are due to open. It is likely to be the first time for 15 years that the legendary Somerset event has not sold out in advance. more

A new Beatles movie depicts surviving band members, widows and their producer reuniting to rise above a reputation for discord and collaborate on a lavish stage show with Cirque de Soleil. more

The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Killers, Iggy and the Stooges and Gang Of Four are among the bands that will headline the US Download Festival this summer. The festival is set to take place in three cities with a slightly different lineup at each location. - more

Winehouse Has A Big Mouth Dad, Not Emphysema

Hecklerspray reports: Believe what you read and you'll think that Amy Winehouse's lungs are nothing more than gunk-filled peanut-sized husks that barely work at all.

But that's all nonsense - even though her father Mitch spent the weekend telling anyone who'll listen that Amy Winehouse has been struck down with emphysema, it actually turns out that Amy hasn't so much got emphysema as might get it one day in the future if she doesn't stop smoking - something that could probably be said for all smokers everywhere.

Turns out that Amy Winehouse doesn't have emphysema after all - she's got the easily-reversible first traces of something that could potentially lead to something like emphysema. The sniffles, basically. - more on this story

Coldplay Viva La Hit

PR reports: Coldplay's latest album, Viva La Vida, debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with over 720,000 copies sold in its first week of release in the U.S. Viva La Vida has topped the U.K. album chart for the second week in a row, where it is the fastest-selling album of the year, and No. 1 rankings continue to come in from around the globe including Japan, Australia, Canada, France and Germany.

Coldplay will perform on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" tomorrow, June 25th, and on the "TODAY" show on NBC this Friday, June 27th. The band will also appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on July 17th.

Already the biggest album pre-order in iTunes history, Viva La Vida also set the record for highest first-week album sales ever on the iTunes® Store worldwide. Today the album's title song surpasses "Clocks" as the band's biggest-selling single to date on the iTunes Store.

"Viva La Vida" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last week, marking Coldplay's first Hot 100 No. 1 single ever, and it debuted this week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles chart. - more on this story

Singer Denies Joining Velvet Revolver

Blabbermouth reports: Former MTV VJ and The Panic Channel frontman Steve Isaacs has denied that he has been jamming with the remaining members of Velvet Revolver as the frontrunner to fill the group's vacant singer slot following the recent departure of Scott Weiland.

During a brand new interview with MusicRadar.com, Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum revealed that the band "tried out a couple of guys," adding, "We have a guy right now that we're still...sort of checking it out, feeling it out, letting him work with us. I'd rather not (say who it is) — just because I don't want it to get out that he might be the guy. I mean, we like him, he's awesome."

After Internet speculation started gaining strength that he may be the "guy" Sorum is talking about, Isaacs posted the following message on his official blog: "I got an odd email congratulating me about singing for the Velvet Revolver guys, which took me by surprise 'cause, well… I'm not. - more on this story

Fans Rejecting Madonna Bilking

antiMusic reports: Turns out that the "Material Girl" is no Babs. Or is she simply no longer in Vogue? Idolator has the story: The New York Post is reporting that while tickets for Madonna's upcoming shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and one show at the just-across-the-Hudson Izod Center have sold out, ticket sales at other venues in the States have been soft.

The Post's Brian Garrity pays particular attention to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which holds 43,000 people but has only sold 27,000 tickets to her November date there so far. (Spot checks of Ticketmaster pages for shows in Boston and Houston also showed that tickets were still available in those markets as well.) Sure, one could cite this as more evidence that the lousy economy is resulting in even those artists who can charge $575 for a VIP package not being as able to make the "earn your money on the road" strategy work as well as it has in the past.

So with sales of her final Warner album, Hard Candy, stalling in the mid-500k range and ticket sales to her road spectacles faltering in the U.S., what does this mean for Live Nation, which shelled out $120 million to have Madonna in its back pocket a few months back? - more on this story

More Info on Ex Korn Head's Solo CD

ABC reports: Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch is back to making music with his debut solo album, Save Me From Myself, which will be released September 9 on Driven Music Group (distribution by Ryko/Warner Music Group), the label he co-founded with music execs Greg Shanaberger and Mark Nawara. The first single, "Flush," will be serviced to radio the last week of June and will be available July 8 for purchase exclusively on iTunes. Fans can hear a portion of the track on Head's Myspace page.

Save Me From Myself was produced by Head, who recorded the music off and on for the past two years in Phoenix, Arizona. It features renowned musicians Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, David Bowie) and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails), and was mixed by Ralph Patlan and Bob Clearmountain.

The album is a testimony of Head's life as he battled with drug addiction and leaving Korn, and finding spirituality. It will leave no doubt in everyone's mind that Head, as a founding member of Korn, has not lost his passion for the heavy sound that originally helped make his former band famous. The album will remind listeners of Head's dominant influence in the nu-metal sound that projected Korn to the top of the music charts for over a decade. Save Me From Myself can only be described as a heavy metal epic, with a positive message. - more on this story

Staind CD To Be in Malls Soon

Blabbermouth reports: Springfield, Massachusetts natives Staind will release their brand new record, "The Illusion of Progress", through Roadrunner Records in Europe on September 8.

"The Illusion of Progress" was produced by Johnny K (PLAIN WHITE T'S, KILL HANNAH, DISTURBED) and recorded in the home studio of STAIND vocalist Aaron Lewis, with the original band lineup, including Mike Mushok (guitar), Jon Wysocki (drums, percussion) and Johnny April (bass, vocals).

The band calls the new project the "most musical CD" it's recorded to date, and has been treating its fans to a series of intimate, behind-the-scenes "webisodes" documenting the recording process. - more on this story

Limp Solo Release

PR reports: Former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland and his band Black Light Burns is preparing for the release of Cover Your Heart and The Anvil Pants Odyssey, a combination CD and DVD package on August 5, 2008 on I Am: Wolfpack/YMA Music Group.

Packed with reinterpreted songs of bands including Duran Duran ("Hungry Like the Wolf"), The Jesus Lizard ("The Art of Self Defense"), Sisters of Mercy ("Lucretia My Reflection") and PJ Harvey ("Rid of Me"), Cover Your Heart is a deconstruction and reconstruction of music that the band has loved and appreciated.

"This is a short list of just some of our favorite songs," Wes explains. "It was really a culmination of years of ideas for cover songs and never getting around to doing it. But as soon as the thought of a covers album came about, it was like pulling a cork out of a dam. We had to stick it back in as fast as possible because we were soaked in like four seconds." - more on this story

King of Bling Going to the Clink

TMZ reports: Can you ice out a prison cell? Hip-hop bling king Jacob the Jeweler has just been sentenced to two and a half years in the federal pen for lying to investigators looking into a multi-state drug ring.

43-year-old Jacob Arabov copped a plea last October to doctoring records and lying to the Feds. Prosecutors had asked that he get three years, but a judge, citing Jacob's work with charities, gave him a break. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and pay a $2 million forfeiture payment to the government.

In court Jacob said "I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me. I will carry this shame for the rest of my life."
- more on this story

Sevendust Tour Lineup Expands

PR reports: Florida Hard-Rockers, Soulidium have just announced that Alter Bridge and Nonpoint will be joining their tour with Sevendust for a run of dates starting 7/29 in Providence, RI.

Supporting their debut album, Children of Chaos, Soulidium have already garnered raves from the Horror community for their video for "The Light" which was also included on the Saw IV soundtrack. - dates

Phantom Planet Map Out Summer Plans

PR reports: Phantom Planet has unveiled its summer tour schedule, including both headline shows as well as a major cross-country run alongside FBR labelmates, Paramore. The news comes amid a flurry of promotional activity and critical acclaim surrounding the California-based band's just-released label debut, "RAISE THE DEAD."

The headline dates will kick off on July 8th at Seattle, Washington's El Corazon, with additional stops in Seattle, Portland, and Orangevale, California. Next, Phantom Planet will pair up with Paramore for the "The Final RIOT – Paramore Summer Tour '08," beginning on July 29th at Henderson, Nevada's Henderson Pavilion. The multi-act bill – which also includes Jack's Mannequin and Paper Route – will then travel North America through an August 30th finale at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut. - more on this story

The Ataris Working on New Music, Announce More Dates

antiMusic reports: Kris Roe from The Ataris checks in with this update: Hey everyone. It's been awhile. Just thought I'd bring you all up to speed with The Ataris. Been very busy recording a ton of new demos for what will be the next record from The Ataris. Been doing all the demos at a great little studio in Muncie, Indiana called Gallows Studios.

The songs are coming along awesome! Have about 10-15 new songs and hope to write a handful more before finally recording in the fall. Still working on a bit more lyrics, Have a lot written but just need to piece them all together now. The music is just very melodic, raw, catchy, upbeat, sing along rock songs... Kinda like Minneapolis in a train wreck with early 90's Chapel Hill passed out drunk in the alley behind Gilman ST. ...Something like that. whatever. It's just flowing naturally and feels pretty great so far.

Heading out for the Canada leg of the "Blue Skies, Broken Hearts..." acoustic tour in July then possibly taking the tour to Europe / U.K. in late August - September. - The Canada dates are listed below. Keep checking back at myspace.com/theataris - you may log on soon and see some new demos posted. So if you have not added us yet. Make sure that you do!! Things are just beginning... - more on this story

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