Firewater Hit The Road

Firewater's touring band contains members of Skeleton Key, Lounge Lizards, Balkan Beat Box, PJ Harvey, and John Parish's band; and hail from the four corners of the globe: NYC, Tel Aviv, London and Denpasar - dates

Forbidden Drummer

Blabbermouth reports: Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans Forbidden have tapped Mark Hernandez (Heathen, Defiance, Re:Ignition, Vio-Lence, Torque, Technocracy, Social Unrest) to play the drums on the band's upcoming European tour.

According to a press release, "Mark Hernandez is one of the most dynamic and solid drummers in hard rock/heavy metal today. His aggressive attack and technical ability shine. Mark has proven himself over and over from his time in one of the most respected thrash metal bands of all time, VIO-LENCE, and more recently with HEATHEN and the rebirth of DEFIANCE. Mark will be one of the most watched drummers in hard rock and heavy metal for years to come."

Commented Glen Alvelais (guitar): "Mark is a bro from the Bay Area. I've been waiting for the opportunity to jam with him for years, and here we are. Mark came in the first day and blasted through five songs like it was nothing!!"
- more on this story

Die Lose Their Voice, Find A New One

Blabbermouth reports: Vocalist Simon Pedersen has left the Danish metal band Die in order to focus on his other group Fairytale Abuse and his family life.

According to Die, "Simon has been an integral part of Die and our music as frontman since the birth of the band, and he will be missed by us and many others. We support Simon in this difficult decision (it's tough to reach 30) and we wish him and Fairytale Abuse all the best in the future."

The band continues, "The search for a new singer ended quickly when we found Søren Christensen, a young musician with a voice that we all believe will be a perfect match for Die. - A sample of their new singer and info on the new album

Liz Phair To Perform Exile Live

PR reports: In celebration of the 15th year anniversary of the groundbreaking album, Exile in Guyville and its long awaited reissue a day earlier, Liz Phair will acoustically perform the entire album on June 25th at the Hiro Ballroom in New York. Tickets for this special event will go on sale this Wednesday and details on further events in Chicago and San Francisco will be announced shortly.

Exile in Guyville, which was out of print, will be available on CD, vinyl and - for the first time ever - in digital format. The special reissue package will include three never-before-released songs from the original recording sessions: "Ant in Alaska," with Phair simply accompanying herself on guitar, "Say You," which features Phair and a full band, and an untitled instrumental with Liz on guitar. Phair has also just completed a new, 80-minute DVD, "Guyville Redux," for the reissue. - more on this story

Bonnaroo Will Be Televised

PR reports: Fuse, the national music television network, has signed a three-year agreement with the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, to become the exclusive television partner of the Festival, which takes place on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, June 12-15.

The deal marks the first time in its seven-year history that Bonnaroo has ever aired on a national television network and will include live on-air programming and on-demand content, as well as extensive marketing and promotion. This year's Festival will feature performances by Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West and Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, along with more than 100 other bands.

With more than six hours of programming, fans will get an insider's view into Bonnaroo like never before. "Fuse Live from Bonnaroo," will provide viewers with live primetime weekend coverage from the grounds of the 2008 Festival, including highlights of each day's performances taken from the main stage, artist interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes access. - more on this story

Edgar Winter Still A Rebel

antiMusic reports: Edgar Winter apparently has a new album called Rebel Road, at least that's what we gathered from the press release that follows though no release date was mentioned and we couldn't find any additional info on the release (even on his site). But when it hits it promises to be an all star affair with guest spots from Slash, Clink Black, and famed songwriter Curt Cuomo. Edgar is currently on the road and will join Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band next month.

Here is the press release: Still jamming as hard and heavy as ever over 35 years since his smashes "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" captured an era in pop history and redefined the possibilities of fusing blues with rock, Edgar Winter (www.edgarwinter.com) continues to defy musical trends by traveling along the Rebel Road. A fresh, dynamic extension of the multi-talented singer, songwriter, keyboardist and saxophonist's classic musical vibe, the perfectly titled album—yes, he still calls his projects "albums"—brings his four decade career full circle with the help of Slash, country superstar Clint Black (on vocals and harmonica) and Winter's equally legendary guitarist brother Johnny Winter. Beyond the all-star contributions, the 11-track collection marks a flourishing of the creative relationship between Winter and Curt Cuomo, who has worked extensively with classic rocker Eddie Money over the past ten years and whose credits include "Pyscho Circus" among numerous songs with Kiss. Cuomo, who first worked with Winter as co-writer of "You Are My Song" on 1999's Winter Blues, co-produced Rebel Road with Winter and is a co-writer on nine songs; he also contributes percussion, vocals and organ work.

The first stops along Winter's infinitely winding, heavy grooving Rebel Road this year include dates this summer with Winter's longtime hero Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band - a lot more including dates and some words from Edgar

Aimee Mann Release Party and Tour

PR reports: Aimee Mann has collaborated with critically acclaimed visual artist Gary Taxali on her 7th solo release @#%&! Smilers, to be released on June 3, 2008 on her own SuperEgo Records.

Taxali has contributed 17 original illustrations for the packaging of the CD, art directed by Aimee Mann and Gail Marowitz, and designed by Marowitz and Ed Sherman. Los Angeles art gallery La Luz De Jesus will host a showing of the 17 new artworks which will kick off with a combined art show and CD release party on May 31st at 8 pm. Both Taxali and Mann will be present to sign copies of the new CD. - more on this story

Monolith Fest Lineup Expands

PR reports: Today, Monolith Festival announces additional artists to an already stellar lineup. The festival, returning to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14, debuted in 2007 as the first multi-day, multi-stage festival ever held at Colorado's beloved outdoor venue and was instantly adopted as an indie fan favorite and a staple of the summer festival season.

Each year, Monolith hand picks an impressive lineup of indie favorites and blog darlings, which for 2008 includes Denver's own Devotchka and French electro-buzz-band Justice as headliners.

Today, Monolith the addition of Atmosphere, Hercules and Love Affair, Foals, Does it Offend You, Yeah? Port O'Brien, Pomegranates, Colour Revolt, KaiserCartel, Candy Coated Killahz, Jukebox the Ghost, American Bang, The Chain Gang of 1974, Joshua Novak, Erin Ivey, The Wheel, Paperbird, Noah Harris, Lynsey Smith, Scratch Track, David Moore, LoveLikeFire, and Dave Beegle to an already stacked lineup. - more on this story

Bach Doesn't Want Velvet Revolver Gig

antiMusic reports: Australia's I'm With The Band recently conducted an interview with former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach where discussed Scott Weiland's snide comment that Velvet Revolver should hire Bach as their new singer. Here is part of what he had to say:

Bach: I think it's funny that when Scott Weiland left Velvet Revolver, the last thing he said was, "I think Sebastian Bach would be a good choice for you guys." I think that's because he's alluding to the fact that you can't get away from Guns N' Roses. They're like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. I'm sure he felt frustrated in trying to fill Axl's shoes. Axl texted me right away and asked if I was joining Velvet Revolver, and I said, "No, not that I know of." Axl has been so nice to me, I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize our friendship. I'm in the middle of all these huge rock icons who are calling me at the same time, and I'm sitting there thinking, "How does this f**king happen to me?" Axl said to me, "Dude, the way that you sing is rare." The way that Axl sings is rare too. There's not a lot of guys anymore that can sing in the range that we sing in.

I'm With The Band: Would Axl be unhappy if you were to sing for Velvet Revolver? Bach: I think it would be awkward. I opened for two GUNS 'N ROSES tours. Axl sang on my record and I sing on "Chinese Democracy". We're very close friends. For me to join a band and then sing all of his songs would be kinda weird. But "Angel Down" is what's in my heart and I can't wait to get out there and tour it. That's what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future. - more on this story

Disturbed Deny Being Posers

Metal Underground reports: Last week, Australia's Beat magazine ran an article on New Jersey's Dillinger Escape Plan, in which guitarist Ben Weinman said he'd once witnessed one of Disturbed's soundchecks and that they were "practicing where they were going to walk and when they were going to put their leg up on the monitor and pose. That was weird for us. There are times where I don't even know where I am."

Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan responded to Weinman's statements in an interview with MTV.com. "I never even remember meeting these guys, and I think we know anybody that's even in the room during our soundchecks, so that's shocking to me, because I would think that we would have met them if they were standing there during our soundcheck," Donegan said.

"That's funny. When we do a bigger production, there may be certain lighting cues for certain highlights of the show, but I wouldn't call it 'posing,' just a cue for our lighting guy, so he can add more drama to the set. If [Dillinger] sold some records, and were at the level we're at, maybe they'd see that, for bands like Kiss and Metallica, there are certain highlight points during a set that you want to focus on. If I'm going to go over to one spot and do a guitar solo, my lighting guy may need to know that, so he can focus in on that. - more on this story

Chesney Whines About Award

Reuters reports: Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year for the fourth straight time at the 43rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday -- but said backstage that organizers had devalued the top prize by making it a "sweepstakes" up for vote on the Internet.

Carrie Underwood was named top female vocalist for the second year in a row and 18-year-old Taylor Swift, country music's hottest young star, snagged her first award and stole the show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a wardrobe-changing, water-drenched performance.

This year marked the first that the academy let fans choose the top entertainer award -- reflecting the "American Idol" era of entertainment. [yeah, let the record company hacks pick the awards! You can't let the actual fans to make the selection.] Read Kenny whine here and more on the awards. - more on this story

Coldplay Relief, Beatles Legal Challenge, Warrant Looking For Fans, Lacuna Coil Apocalyptica, Elton's 5 Million Dollar Gig, Motley Paternity- RIAA Lose One, more

antiMusic reports: Happy Monday, here are some quicks to get your week started: Coldplay have donated a piano to the flood victims of a village in the Cotswolds. The band gave St David's School in Moreton £3,072 so it could buy a new piano. The school lost all of its musical equipment in the summer floods of 2007.more

Here is a follow up on the legal fight over the release of those early Beatles live recordings: In a document filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fuego Entertainment filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by Apple Corps. The 21-page document declares, among other things, that Fuego's use of excerpts of the recordings is a non-actionable fair use and that the Beatles had no protectable rights in live performances in 1962. more on the case

Warrant is looking for fans... to design their new DVD. Warrant is putting together a new DVD full of vintage concert footage, backstage antics, interviews, unreleased music. Here's your chance to be a part of it.. and save them the money they would pay an artist! They are looking for a fan to name the DVD and design the artwork. To be fair, they do have some decent prizes for the winnerdetails

Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia has confirmed that she will be performing with Finnish instrumental sensations Apocalyptica at this years Download Festival on Sunday, June 15th. more

The RIAA's legal campaign against file traders had an off week; a judge awarded former defendant Tanya Andersen over $100,000 in court costs and lawyer fees on Wednesday. The figure is about a third of what Anderson and her attorney had originally sought, but remains the largest award to a former P2P defendant since the beginning of the RIAA's litigation effort began. more

It turns out the Yellow Brick Road is actually paved with gold! Sir Elton John will receive $5.2million for a one hour performance, according to reports. The singer is set to appear at a special private concert for a Russian businesswoman. more

The release date for Tesla's "Comin' Atcha Live! 2008" DVD has been changed to July 15. It was originally scheduled for June 24.

Skew Siskin have issued the following update: "Randy Black is leaving Skew Siskin due to ongoing colliding schedules. As many of you know, he's the drummer of Primal Fear and Dusk Machine if you take a look at his MySpace page (recommended) you'll understand straight away that it wouldn't be possible for him to get all bands under one hat, especially around autumn. We therefore took Randy's advice to look for a permanent drummer and agreed that this is the way it should go. more

The world's spotlight on China with the Olympics coming up, Brain Failure, the punk band reigning on the top of China's rock world, and hip-hop's revolutionary Public Enemy, have teamed up and recorded a song to shout out their message to the world. Having Public Enemy's bass player Brian Hardgroove as their producer and Chuck D singing, "A Box On The Broken Ball" turns the people's eyes to China's severe pollution coming from the fast economic growth, and even to global warming and the recent abnormal weather changes. A press conference will be held on April 26 in Beijing to announce the news globally! Brain Failure's third album "Made In China" will be released this Autumn, including "A Box On The Broken Ball". But you can get the single on iTunes now. Brain Failure Myspace

Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars doesn't like the sound of having to continue paying palimony to an ex-girlfriend he is suing, so he is asking a judge if he can suspend the payments until trial, court papers show. Mars maintains that two delays in the start of the trial from January to the current Sept. 15 date have virtually assured Robbie Mantooth of continuing to receive money to which she might not otherwise have been entitled if the musician wins his case. more on the trouble with groupies

In tribute to the 35th anniversary of singer/songwriter Jim Croce's death, the artist's three studio albums will be reissued on CD in September via Rhino.

Red Lasso Clip of the Day - Death Cab for Cutie: We have a new feature for the Day in Rock. Our buddy Monkeyboy from 94WYSP in Philly is going to check in with a Red Lasso clip of the day where he'll give us the link to a TV performance we may have missed. Today's clip is from Death Cab for Cutie appearance on Letterman from 5/13/2008. After your done with the video you can check out 94wysp.com for their live 24/7 stream on the web. - Now here is the clip.

. Aimee Mann - @#%&! Smilers

What do you do when the one of the greatest, yet probably the most overlooked, songwriters in the music business puts out a new album? You buy it, of course! And you shouldn't need to read my review of the record to run out and get it either. (4.5 stars) - Read the full Aimee Mann - @#%&! Smilers review

. Severe Torture - Sworn Vengeance

All-in-all, Sword Vengeance is a competent brutal death metal album that contains enough originality to make it enjoyable but not enough to make it classic. Put sarcastically, this is one album that is not wholly Severe but then again not quite Torture. - Read the full Severe Torture - Sworn Vengeance review

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