Get Guitar Hero: Van Halen Early

On September 1, living room legends will rock any way they want in Guitar Hero 5. The entire set list is at players' finger tips from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from more than 80 of the biggest rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend, plus more than 25 artists from a variety of music genres that will be making their music video game debut. Players take complete control as Guitar Hero 5 allows gamers to personalize and customize how they experience music by being able to play with any in-game instrument combination -- multiple vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the game's all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never been easier. Players can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly, without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero® series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style, new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new surprises and challenges that will fire up long-time fret board fanatics and create a new generation of addicts. - Please visit this link for full offer and redemption details.

KISS The Musical On Tap For Vegas?

Blabbermouth reports: Singapore's The Strait Times reports that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the legendary rock band KISS will make appearances in a Las Vegas live theatre extravaganza co-produced by Singapore entertainment company Storm Lion.

This was announced on Tuesday (August 11) by Storm Lion and its Los Angeles conference at The Arts House in Old Parliament Lane in Singapore.

Called "Kiss: Carnival Of Souls", the live show is a brainchild of Stanley and Simmons. Set against a dark carnival, the show, named after one of the group's albums, embarks on a journey seeking true love. - more on this story

Elton John To Guest on New Alice In Chains Album

PR reports: Among the many highlights on Black Gives Way To Blue, the highly anticipated new album from Alice In Chains, is a special guest performance by Elton John. The two rock legends collaborated on the album's stunning title track, "Black Gives Way To Blue," a heart-stirring tribute to Alice In Chains' late lead singer Layne Staley. The album arrives in stores September 29.

"We were thinking about adding piano to the track and a friend suggested we call Elton," recalls guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. "I remember laughing and saying, 'Yeah, I'll get right on that.' But I decided it was worth trying and wrote Elton an email explaining what that song means to us—that it's a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We sent him the track and got a call shortly after saying he thought it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it. We were blown away. Elton John is a huge influence on me as a songwriter and having him on that song is an amazing honor for us."

"I've long been an admirer of Jerry Cantrell and when he asked me to play on 'Black Gives Way To Blue,' I was very flattered and couldn't resist," says John. "It was a great recording session with Alice In Chains for a beautiful song. " - more on this story

What Does a Foo Zeppelin Queen Sound Like?- Bon Jovi Names New CD- Nine Inch Nails Forced To Cancel Show- Buckcherry Touring With KISS and more

antiMusic reports: Them Crooked Vultures - the new supergroup featuring John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) - have posted a new song snippet called 'Nobody Loves Me And Neither Do I' on YouTube here

The final installment in Heath Ledger's engrossing career, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, won't make it to U.S. theatres until Christmas, but you can score a peek at the trailer for director Terry Gilliam's hotly-anticipated film here. The film also stars Tom Waits who plays the Devil.

It appears that producer John Shanks has confirmed the title of Bon Jovi's upcoming record will be 'We Weren't Born To Follow'. It's due out on or around November 10th according to Tony K more

Nine Inch Nails has been forced to cancel their Taipei, Taiwan show on August 12. Due to "circumstances beyond their control," production and venue issues forced the promoter to cancel the band's performance at Nan-Kang 101. more

Soulfly has announced that they will be hitting the roads of the United States this Fall. Joining them on the tour will be Prong, Cattle Decapitation and Mutiny Within. Only a few dates have been confirmed so far, with more to be announced shortly. more

Candiria have released the first video in a series of promotional videos for their upcoming four-volume set of rarities of remixes, Toying With the Insanities. The first installment of the promotional series, which contains a sneak peak at a remixed track, can be viewed here.

To celebrate Silversun Pickups' headlining tour dates this summer, Dangerbird Records is giving fans a chance to win tickets to every tour date from the label's Twitter account (@dangerbird). To enter to win, fans should simply follow @dangerbird and Tweet in photos inspired by some of the band's best lyrics. For example, via @dangerbird: Win tix to SSPU Edmonton: tweet @ us with a photo inspired by the lyric "I swear any moment you will hear my spirit explode" #SSPUtix * Find each city's assigned lyric and full instructions here

Buckcherry are keeping things busy this fall by releasing an enhanced version of Black Butterfly on September 8, a live album, Live & Loud 2009, on September 29, and embarking on a tour with KISS.more

A finalist in MTV's Best Bay Area Breakout Awards, The New Up will release the EP, Better Off, next Tuesday, August 18th

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play Born To Run in its entirety in Chicago on September 20 as expected, but the band has also revealed they will play the whole album in order on November 18 in Nashville.more

The folks that brought us yesterday's Liskfest "rumor" now says, NOFX, Rise Against and Underoath are not confirmed or rumored to be playing Liskfest 2.0. Sorry about that, we'll refrain from using info from this PR firm in the future.

Monday night, at an impromptu gig at a New York City bar, Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie had a simple message for fans worried about the band's recent personnel shifts: "Don't Stop Believin'! when he jammed the Journey hit. more

Hardcore/metal crossover pioneers D.R.I. will return to the stage in November. The group has been on hiatus for several years now, having played their previous North American show in September of 2004. Further touring plans were sidelined when founding member Spike Cassidy was diagnosed with colon cancer, which he has been fighting since (and is doing well) more

Ozzy Osbourne and Ace Frehley made surprise appearances with Camp Freddy, the Los Angeles-based "jam" group featuring Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Billy Morrison (ex-The Cult, Circus Diablo), Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver, ex-Guns N' Roses), Donovan Leitch (son of legendary folk singer Donovan), and Chris Chaney (ex-Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morrisette), during the August 1 ESPN/X-Games party at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California. more including video

Used Kids have offered up their new full length Yeah No available for download via If You Make It. The download is free but the band is asking fans to throw them a donation if they enjoy the music. more

Kittie has announced that they will be joined on their forthcoming tour of North America by SOiL, Arkaea and Straight Line Stitch. The tour is to support Kittie's forthcoming new studio album, "In The Black" which will be released on September 15th through E1 Records. more

For the 3 or 4 people who might care: Former Britny Fox frontman "Dizzy" Dean Davidson will release a new studio album, entitled "Sermons Of The American Tabloid", in late 2009/early 2010 via Greenplanet Records.more

American Head Charge lose their head: American Head Charge is hanging up its hat and disbanding. Citing singer Cameron Heacock's "inability to continue on a musical career path," the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based group is changing its name and beginning the audition process for a new vocalist. -

Jet Singer Still Hospitalized

10th St reports: Jet's Nic Cester is currently undergoing further tests and evaluations after his on stage collapse at Q The Music Club Live At Hard Rock Cafe Monday night.

The Aussie rocker is suffering from dehydration and severe low blood pressure and is being held in hospital for a second day awaiting test results.

Josh Klemme from Tenth Street Entertainment, the band's management company in New York says, "JET is just completing their second trip around the world in support of the upcoming release of Shaka Rock. Hopping from airplane to airplane, city to city and country to country could compromise anyone's health. Nic's drive to give it his all and get up on stage to perform despite feeling ill is a testament to how strongly he and the band feel about "She's A Genius" as a single and Shaka Rock as an album." - more on this story

Phish Comeback Album Details

PR reports: Joy, Phish's first studio album in five years, will be released on September 8th. Joy will be available in three configurations: CD, vinyl (two 180 gram discs in a striking double gatefold sleeve) and as part of the Joy Box, a limited edition deluxe box set. In addition to the new CD, the Joy Box will contain 10 individual drawers, which hold limited edition posters designed for each of the album's 10 songs, plus Party Time, a second complete album, a hardbound book with lyrics, artwork and more and a DVD capturing live performances from the first half of Phish's sold-out summer 2009 tour. The DVD features the band performing each song from Joy, with footage from the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, the tour's opening dates at Fenway Park in Boston and many other stops. The Joy Box will ship in early October.

Fans can now pre-order any version of Joy at the band's online store, Phish Dry Goods (http://drygoods.phish.com/). Those who pre-order the vinyl or the Joy Box will receive a free MP3 download of Joy on September 8th. And fans pre-ordering any configuration at Phish Dry Goods will automatically be entered to win a travel package for two (including air fare, hotel and tickets) to Phish's Festival 8, which will take place October 30th, 31st and November 1st at The Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA. Phish will play eight sets - including a Halloween performance wherein the band dons a "musical costume," performing an album by another band - during the three-day celebration, which, as its name implies, is the band's eighth festival. As with previous Phish festivals, fans will enjoy on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations. For ticket information and additional details about Festival 8, visit http://www.phish.com/festival8/.

Working with Steve Lillywhite, who produced Phish's 1996 Billy Breathes and albums by U2, Dave Matthews Band and the Rolling Stones, the band recorded Joy in April and May of 2009 at Chung King Studio in New York City. A loose yet focused vibe is apparent from the first notes of the album's opening track and lead single, "Backwards Down The Number Line," which was cut live in the studio - solos and all - and left entirely intact. In contrast, the epic 13-minute, 29-second "Time Turns Elastic" was recorded section-by-section, in more than 260 takes. Throughout, Phish strikes a remarkable balance, keeping a strong sense of songwriting while allowing its trademark improvisations room to stretch out. In fact, Joy includes more improvisations than most of the band's previous albums. For that reason, says bassist Mike Gordon, "in some ways, I think this one is more for our fans than any of our other albums." - more on this story

Motorhead's Lemmy To Give Away Samantha Fox in Lesbian Wedding

Tony K reports: This is the type of stuff you couldn't make up in your wildest imagination. Your horniest imagination. Your most twisted and insane imagination. Imagine back in 1989 telling someone that Samantha Fox would one day marry another woman, (possibly in Siberia no less) and that Lemmy would give her away.

Well, it's happening. Samantha Fox plans on marrying her long time partner/manager Myra Stratton.

Fox, told OK! magazine: "I'll tell you who's definitely coming - Lemmy from Motörhead. We might get him to give me away, and we might get Liz Mitchell from BONEY M to do the ceremony - she's a pastor now." - more on this story

Morrissey Boycotts Himself

MusicRadar reports: Don't buy the upcoming archival box sets of Morrissey singles. That directive, strangely enough, comes from the former Smiths singer himself.

Those Morrissey collections, coming this fall from EMI/HMV/Parlophone, are titled The 7" Singles '88-'91 and The HMV/Parlophone Singles '91-'95.

You'd figure that most artists would love nothing more than for fans to snatch up any and all bits of catalogue. Not the Moz, who says he won't make a dime off such reissues. Furthermore, he claims that he hasn't been asked for approval for their release. - more on this story

Is The Verve on the Rocks?

MusicRadar reports: The Verve's reunion has come to an end, according to reports, with the band's Nick McCabe and Simon Jones forming a new band, The Black Ships.

In a post on his MySpace blog, guitarist McCabe told fans: "The Verve seems to be on holiday and shows no sign of not being on holiday. I've been hesitant to breach Official Secrets-style policy with any missives from the, well, from any front, basically. Don't ask me anything about the big V".

A source claiming to be close to the band has told The Mirror [so take it with a pound of salt] newspaper: "As far as Nick and Simon are concerned The Verve no longer exists. They think Richard was just using the reunion as a vehicle to get his solo career on track. - more on this story

Shins Sack Drummer For Being Crap

MusicRadar reports: Former Shins drummer Jesse Sandoval revealed the real reason for his departure from the band earlier in 2009. Sandoval now tells The Portland Mercury: "I was fired".

He didn't punch bandmates or anything. Sandoval was fired because he wasn't able to play the drum parts for the band's new songs.

He admits: "I have a slower learning curve than polished musicians. There were some drumbeats that [Mercer] tried to do, that he asked me to do, and I just couldn't do them. - more on this story

Sea Wolf Preview

Filter reports: With the release of Sea Wolf's sophomore record, White Water, White Bloom, a little over a month away, anticipation for new material is palpable.

To hold curious and eager fans over, Dangerbird Records is offering a taste of the cinematic journey that Sea Wolf's music undeniably possesses with the free download, "Stanislaus".

A featured bonus track on the vinyl version of the record, "Stanislaus", continues in the melodic tradition that remains Alex Brown Church's signature.

White Water, White Bloom drops September 22 courtesy of Dangerbird Records. - Grab it here

The Chieftains Live DVD

Kayos reports: Switzerland's legendary Montreux Jazz Festival has always boasted a variety of talent, in all musical genres. In 1997, it proudly hosted a feast of Irish culture, when The Chieftains graced the stage.

On September 1, Eagle Rock Entertainment, through its Eagle Eye subsidiary, will bring this special performance to DVD, when Live At Montreux 1997 hits stores.

Bringing a unique aesthetic to the Montreux stage, The Chieftains effortlessly engaged the crowd on this night. Celebrating a stellar 35-year career at the time, they brought their seemless blend of Irish culture, folk, pop, and classical influences to the festival. Complete with special appearances from step-dancers and bagpipe players, this is a set that gave a whole new flair to the jazz festival. - more on this story

Singled Out: Edgewise

antiMusic reports: Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today vocalist Mike Stacy and guitarist Johnny Peralta from hard rockers Edgewise tell us about "Slave" one of the songs featured in the Sponsored Songs giveaway of songs from a 1001 bands! We now turn it over to them for the story:

Vocalist Mike Stacy: "Slave was really a song that re-defined the sound of our music. Johnny and I had been playing together since 2001 in a band called Subtitle. I don't know if there was an ex out there somewhere with a voodoo doll or just karma but Subtitle was a cursed band. We must have gone through half a dozen drummers, a handful or bass players, and a second guitarist over a five year period. Then just when things were rolling I managed to fall off a fence and take a concrete post in the throat. I lost my voice for a month and I couldn't sing for almost a year. Once again our band fell apart in that time. Amazingly, Johnny never gave up on the fact that I was his singer and I would be back and sure enough about 9 months later we were writing again. Slave came out of those first sessions and it really was the defining song of our sound in Edgewise.

The song itself is about being a Slave to the technology of our world. A lot of people think it's a relationship song but this one isn't meant to be. It's about how technology connects us in more ways than ever and yet I think we all feel somehow more alone and isolated than in the past. People would rather poke you on Facebook or send you a text than drop by and talk. We're all slaves to our cell phones, the Internet, and the next new thing that we have to buy. The song's aggression comes from being pissed off about it all. The lyrics reflect the frustration of being tied to cell phones and PDAs and wanting to throw it out the window but being unable to because everyone else is also tied to them. You simply couldn't function in our world without technology anymore. If you listen to the lyrics with this in mind you will come away with a different impression of the song. Things like the line "Come to me, to come undone" is saying let's interact like humans again and undo ourselves from this web of technology or in the bridge "See I belong, it's wasted" we're saying yea you are connected and in touch with everyone but you're sitting at your computer alone aren't you."

Guitarist Johnny Peralta: "The song is basically about being a slave to technology. Every time a person's cell phone rings, guaranteed there are at least 20 people around that person who reach for their cell phones. People can't leave the house without them.

It's funny, we recorded Slave a couple years ago but never really released it until this year. Now that we have it's causing a bit of a stir for us. The song was selected for the Sponsored Songs program, made possible by Microsoft Windows, and has been downloaded over 1000 times now for free. We've also been asked to do a music video for the track which is currently in the works."

For anyone who would like to download Slave for free you can find it here

Visit Edgewise at - http://www.edgewise.ca

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