Afro-Punk Festival

Afro-Punk Festival 2008 will be free and open to the public - more on this story

Hippy Days Revisited DVD

PR reports: On June 24, hot on the heels of last year's A Night At The Family Dog DVD, Eagle Vision will release Go Ride The Music & West Pole. This 2-DVD package, comes straight from the estate of Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph J. Gleason (1917-1975).

It was a rock'n'roll era that will never be forgotten. This one city, at this one time, captured the hearts and souls of a generation like never before and none since. San Francisco. The late 1960s.

Both discs originally aired as one-hour television shows and were produced and hosted by Gleason in an effort to show that something was really happening here and most viewers didn't know exactly what it was. Go Ride The Music features Jefferson Airplane performing at an intimate indoor venue and Quicksilver Messenger Service performing live in concert in the open air. There are also cameo appearances from David Crosby and Jerry Garcia. - more on this story

Vegas Gig For Jacko?

TMZ reports: Michael Jackson could become the next Celine Dion, and we're not just talkin' wardrobe.

TheVegasEye reports the guys who just bailed Jacko out of Neverland debt may be angling to put him on stage in Vegas.

These money men run Colony Capital, a group that owns the Las Vegas Hilton. Colony just forked over the green M.J. needed to keep Neverland out of foreclosure. - more on this story

Last of the Good Guys

UMe reports: They're called One Flew South, but Royal Reed, Chris Roberts and Eddie Bush, whose debut album is appropriately titled Last of the Good Guys, actually had to fly north to launch their career. A Decca Records conference room, three voices and 20 minutes were all that was required to land the group a recording deal. Now, nearly eight months later the vocal group, who worked with some of music's most prominent songwriters including Marcus Hummon and J.D. Souther, is ready to release their debut album May 27th.

"With beautiful echoes of the great harmony groups like Poco, Eagles, even The Beach Boys; One Flew South are the new kids in town," says legendary songwriter J.D. Souther who contributed his collaborative songwriting talents to One Flew South's debut Last of the Good Guys and who co-wrote such Eagles' classics as "Best of My Love" and "Heartache Tonight." Adding "It's been my good fortune to work with excellent writers and singers and these guys are right in that vein of turning good melodies into the harmonic adventures you hope for when you write these kinds of songs."

Regardless of the time it took for One Flew South to land their recording and publishing contract, they are no overnight success. Rather, the three Nashville based vocalist-songwriters have been involved in the music business for years prior to hitting upon a perfect combination and bringing back to life a band starring three superbly matched vocalists whose harmonies are unparalleled. - more including a link to a preview

36 Crazyfists Leak

PR reports: Alaskan metalcore quartet 36 Crazyfists are giving fans a taste new album, The Tide and Its Takers, a FULL WEEK before it hits streets on May 27. The album is streaming in its entirety on the band's official MySpace page.

Fans can check out the hard-hitting new album that produced by guitarist Steve Holt, The Tide and Its Takers is the band's Ferret Music debut.

36 Crazyfists will be making their first appearance on a major US festival tour when they play this summer's inaugural Overpriced Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. The festival features Slipknot, Disturbed, and Dragonforce headlining, with 36 Crazyfists landing a spot on the Hot Topic Stage. The tour kicks off on July 9th in Seattle, WA. - click forth and listen

Cursed Talk of Hades

PR reports: The latest episode of "Talking Metal" contains an interview hosts Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy conducted with Hades, Non-Fiction, and The Cursed guitarist, Dan Lorenzo, and Bud Friendly.

Topics include Dan's bands, Soundgarden, KISS, Jeff the Drunk from the Howard Stern Show, and the Plasmatics.

Additional podcast topics include the new Talking Metal on fuse "Bonus Features Part 1" program airing on fuse On Demand, Don Dokken, Del James, Bumblefoot, Rush, In This Moment, Beatallica, Lochinvar, and the late Paula Smith. Photos as well as the podcast can be downloaded at this - location

The Pink Spiders Tour

PR reports: Fresh off an appearance on the FOX network's wildly popular reality show "Hell's Kitchen" (viewed by 11.25 million people), The Pink Spiders are excited to announce a June headlining tour and their second appearance on the pop-culture phenomenon that is the Warped Tour.

"After spending so much time last year in the studio, it's good to be back on the road taking the stage every night and seeing the fans again," states singer/guitarist Matt Friction.

In a direct display of love for those loyal fans, the SPIDERS will be selling a limited edition tour EP, titled Subterranean, to bridge the gap between their acclaimed major label debut, Teenage Graffiti, and their new album, coming later this year. Subterranean, a mix of new tracks and unreleased B-Sides, is available exclusively at the band's merch table this summer. - more on this story

The Black Box Revelation Is Coming To America

PR reports: Belgium's The Black Box Revelation will impact on U.S. shores this summer with its first US tour and the release of its raw and blistering debut full-length Set Your Head On Fire. The album was produced by Triggerfinger drummer Mario Goossens and mixed by Greg Gordon (Wolfmother, Jet, Soulwax.)

The young duo consisting of 18 year old Jan (guitar/vocals) and 16 year old Dries (drums) are friends from Brussels who began playing together as The Mighty Generators (when they were 12 and 14 years of age) but soon kicked out their bass player, rechristened themselves and eventually finished second in their country's influential Rock Rally contest in 2006. - more including dates

10 Years Reach Top 15

PR reports: 10 Years landed a Top 15 debut on Billboard's Top Album chart this week, coming in at #12 with their new album Division. The new CD also grabbed the top spot on iTunes coveted rock page and currently sits at #7 on the Top Albums.

It also garnered the #1 spot on the Top Hard Music Chart, #2 on the Top Alternative Album Chart and #3 on the Top Current Rock Album Chart rallied by their soaring hit single "Beautiful." The single was launched at radio in early February and was the #1 Most Added single at Alternative and Active Rock radio.

10 Years will share the Revolution stage with multiple other bands on the raucous trek, including metal icons Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights, and Armor For Sleep. - more on this story

Birdmonster Summer

PR reports: FADER Label, the recording branch of The FADER, is pleased to announce From The Mountain To The Sea, the second full-length release by San Francisco indie rockers Birdmonster. FADER Label will unveil the much-anticipated follow up to 2006 's No Midnight on August 5, 2008 through Sony/RED Distribution.

Spearheaded by Peter Arcuni, the new album stands to be the band's most compelling work to date. Writing in the isolated wilderness of the Pacific Northwest gave Birdmonster an environment clear from distractions to focus on a more natural approach to songwriting from the ground up. On Iditarod, the band's tribute to the Alaskan race that stretches from dense forest to desolate tundra, Peter compares the treacherous race to feelings of love, loss and the unfamiliar. - more on this story

Coldplay Announce 3rd Free Show

antiMusic reports: Yesterday Coldplay announced that they will be playing a third free show next month in addition to the previously announced shows in London and New York.

According to the announcement on their website they third show will happen on June 17, at the Espacio Movistar in Barcelona, Spain. Details of how to get tickets will be announced on Coldplay.com soon.

The band recorded part of their forthcoming album, 'Viva La Vida," in Barcelona. The album is set to hit stores in the U.S. on June 17th, the same day as the new Barcelona show. - more on this story

Ringo Beheaded

TMZ reports: Vandals beheaded a Liverpool garden sculpture of Ringo Starr, knocking the bushy Fab Four down to three.

The Edward Scissorhands-esque plants took 18 painstaking months to grow, only to have Ringo's head chopped off last week.

The rest of Ringo's decapitated leafy body was brought into a nursery for repair and growth. Somewhere in England Heather Mills is buying a pair of shears. - Poor Ringo, he's the Rodney Dangerfield of rock n' roll. Check out the photo here

Idol Battling Cancer, Paramore Sings for Walmart, Alanis Saves The World With Video!, Spiritualized Preview, Crystal Gayle Skelton Gala, Bowie Musical Denial, and more

antiMusic reports: Here are today's quicks: "American Idol" finalist Luke Menard has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a representative for the singer's a capella group Chapter 6 confirmed. "Luke had a lingering cough and was having trouble breathing deeply, so he went to the doctor to have it checked out," Jane Victor told CBS News. more

Soundcheck arrives in San Jose for an exclusive audience with Tennessee pop punks Paramore. Fronted by enigmatic lead singer Hayley Williams, the buzzed-about new band get candid about crossover sounds and the Deep South - and perform tracks from their critically acclaimed album, 'Riot!' Check out their full performance on Soundcheck

Alanis Morissette has just released a new video for her single "Underneath." This video follows Alanis on a journey that shows the parallels between saving the world and saving the heart [the press releases wording, not ours]. "Underneath" will appear on the forthcoming Flavors of Entanglement due out in the US on June 10th.

As of midnight Spiritualized's new album Songs In A&E is up for streaming on the band's myspace page in its entirety. Go and make sure you check it out for it's only going to be up for the next week. The album is in stores May 27th.

The FADERtoday announced the second edition of the quarterly digital-only F2 series. To be available as a free download on iTunes and at TheFADER.com, each F2 supplement will focus on one genre and five of the emerging artists who serve as the genre's modern day emissaries. This second edition focuses on the "New Rock" genre highlighting emerging artists such as Jay Reatard, White Denim, Russian Circles and more.

Crystal Gayle will perform at the Red Skelton Gala on Saturday, June 14, 2008 at the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center in Red's hometown of Vincennes, Indiana. Crystal, who is known for her signature hit "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue," will be accompanied by her full touring band and will provide an evening of timeless music and entertainment to benefit the completion of the Red Skelton Museum and Education Center. Once completed, the Red Skelton Museum and Education Center will strive to bring much needed revenue to Knox County, Indiana. ticket info

Now comes a soundtrack to a show we never heard of: iCarly - Music From and Inspired by the Hit TV Show will debut four original songs performed by iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove, including the iCarly theme song, "Leave It All to Me" (featuring Drake Bell), which recently charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The album includes three additional new tracks performed by Miranda Cosgrove, including future singles "Stay My Baby" (written by Max Martin), "About You Now" (written and produced by Dr. Luke) and "Headphones On". iCarly - Music From and Inspired by the Hit TV Show also will feature songs from top artists like Avril Lavigne, Natasha Bedingfield, Good Charlotte, Sean Kingston and a brand-new, exclusive song from The Naked Brothers Band, stars of the Nick hit live-action series of the same name. "Leave It All to Me" stream

BLABBERMOUTH.NET has received word that former PHANTOM BLUE guitarist Michelle Meldrum — who has spent the past few years as the leader of her own band called MELDRUM — has died as a result of possible cerebral/brain hemorrhage (although the exact cause of death has not yet been determined/revealed). more

Bowie Plans Musical? Not So Much. Turns out that Gigwise report from the other day which they said was based on "reports" was actually based on "a report" from The Sun. And as such turned out to be bollocks. We do apologize for posting that bit of misinformation. It looked legit but had we known the source we would have warned you so you could take it with a pound of salt. With that said, the BBC has the follow up: David Bowie has denied reports he has given permission for his songs to be used in a musical version of his 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth. The Sun said last week Bowie was teaming up with "top director" Peter Schaufuss on the project. But Bowie's record company RZO Music said on his website it had licensed "absolutely no material" to the Danish theatre impresario. more

In other news, the winner of the latest edition of Dancing With The Stars is... who gives a damn? But prosecutors played the sex tape at the center of R. Kelly's child pornography trial in open court Tuesday, just hours after opening statements in which they accused the R&B singer of choreographing and starring in a video featuring "vile, disturbing and disgusting sex acts" with an underage girl. more

Wonder just how screwed up the House of Representatives is? They can't even get a simple thing like declaring a Frank Sinatra Day right. House members didn't get around to voting until Tuesday on a resolution supporting May 13, 2008 — last Tuesday — as the day honoring the late singer and Academy-Award-winning actor. Making up for lost time, the House voted 402-3 to do just that. Great job! Now let's vote every last one of them out of office and start fresh. more on the house of fools' vote

Speaking of government incompetence, try this one on for size: Drug charges against Whitney Houston stemming from a marijuana-related incident in 2000 have reportedly been dropped. The misdemeanor possession charges had been pending for eight years, since police allegedly caught the singer carrying marijuana at a Hawaiian airport. more

Actress Scarlett Johansson's debut album, released on Tuesday, is drawing fire from music critics. And rightly so, is she even singing on it? Or is she just talking with too many effects on her voice, which is then buried in the mix. If she can't sing then what's the point? She shouldn't feel too bad, Rolling Stone gave her 2.5 stars more than she deserved. Then again, RS did call the insipid and illiterate "music" of Missy Elliot genius and trashed Led Zeppelin's debut. If you want an album by a talking actor, then go buy William Shatner's album. It is far superior and actually enjoyable. Plus he doesn't try to con you by alluding to it being "art". more of the trashing of Scarlett

Here is WYSP's Monkeyboy with today's Red Lasso clip of the day: P.O.D. perform Tell Me Why on Leno 5/7/2008. - Check it out here

. Quick Flicks: Metal

Kevin takes a look at some new metal releases: Metalmania 2007, iCrusher Complete, Society 1, Metallica and the Dawn of Thrash - Read the full Quick Flicks: Metal review

. Fueled by Fire - Spread the Fire

The retro thrash movement just keeps getting hotter and hotter. Speed metal revivalists Fueled by Fire are no exception, and Spread the Fire as such flies the flag for oldschool thrash metal with reckless abandon. - Read the full Fueled by Fire - Spread the Fire review

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