Band Escapes Recording Studio Fire

I went into the main room and saw smoke coming in from the door. I opened the door and immediately got ash smoke and fire in my face. Two guys that owned an auto body shop right across from the studio yelled, "Get out of there, the building's on fire!!" as they were trying to put the fire out with a hose. At this point, we realized we were trapped inside a burning building, since the front door was un-usable. We were half panicking and half trying to get our act together so we could get our asses out. The back door, which was the only other exit to the building, can only be opened with a screwdriver and a hammer, which Dan courageously handled, and eventually opened. Misha and I grabbed our guitars before storming out, and started to think of all of our equipment. As we ran out and looked back at the building and saw a huge cloud of smoke and ash, I knew we wouldn't be able to go in and get any more gear. - more on this story

Did Homeless INXS Singer Shoot Himself In The Foot?

antiMusic reports: Remember JD Fortune? He won the lead singer spot in INXS on the reality TV show Rockstar. Last week we told you how Fortune gave a disturbing interview where he recounted how he was sacked by the group at a Hong Kong airport after a world tour and is now homeless. The band has a different take on things and it appears that Fortune may have talked himself out of the gig by making those disturbing claims.

"Not only are we shocked by the claims, even the place the supposed incident was to have taken place is a mystery," said a statement issued by the INXS camp. The BBC reports: The band's reaction to Fortune's comments came via their "creative director and global business strategist", CM Murphy. He said the group were "horrified" by the interview, and disputed Fortune's portrayal of their behavior.

"The band have always stated to me that Fortune's services could potentially be contracted again when INXS next tour. In fact, he was next on my list to call regarding a very big recording project I am putting together for INXS at present," Murphy added.

"I guess I have no reason to call him now." - Read the BBC report

Rapper Arrested For Fat Burger Fight

AP reports: Police say rapper N.O.R.E. was arrested following a fight with a customer at a Miami Beach hamburger restaurant.

The 31-year-old performer was formerly known as Noreaga. His real name is Victor Santiago. He was arrested early Sunday. Police say Santiago, of New York, caused a disruption at the Fatburger by yelling at another customer, ripping up a bouquet of flowers and throwing a cup filled with a yellow liquid at the customer.

Authorities said the rapper punched the man in the face, and yelled "Do you know who I am?" - We don't either, but read more if you do

More Details About Smashing Pumpkins, A Perfect Circle, Fountains Of Wayne, Cheap Trick, Hanson Super Group

PR reports: The debut, self-titled album by Tinted Windows will be released April 21st on S-Curve Records. Tinted Windows are: Taylor Hanson (lead vocals), James Iha (guitar), Adam Schlesinger (bass), and Bun E. Carlos (drums).

Taylor Hanson is best known as a member of Hanson, the multi-million-selling trio of brothers from Tulsa who have been recording and touring since 1992. James Iha was one of the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins, and has also been a member of A Perfect Circle and a solo artist. Adam Schlesinger is in the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. Bun E. Carlos is the drummer of the legendary Cheap Trick, with whom he has played since the group's inception in 1974.

The band will be making several appearances at the upcoming South By Southwest Festival in March. They will also perform select club shows starting this spring, and will appear at the Bamboozle festival at New Jersey's Meadowlands. A performance on The Late Show With David Letterman is scheduled for April 20th. More dates will be announced shortly. - more on this story

Lost Beatles Song Or Hoax?

antiMusic reports: An 11-minute Beatles track has made its way onto YouTube. The song is reportedly an unreleased track from the White Album sessions where alternate versions of the two songs featured made it onto the final release.

The YouTube page proclaims: "This amazing 11-minute version of Revolution has surfaced in the last few days. It's truly astounding and bridges the gap between Revolution #1 and #9."

However, Beatles fanatics are calling into the question the authenticity of this track. Some going as far as to call it a hoax. Check it out and decided for yourself at - YouTube

T-Pain Death Threats- 53% Say Coldplay Stole Song- Gay Pete Doherty Video- MetallicaFest Bands- Kings of Britain- KISS Komics- Covers Of Bodom- AFI To Rock and more

antiMusic reports: R&B singer T-Pain canceled a concert in Guyana after receiving what a promoter calls "credible death and kidnapping threats." more

Joe Satriani's legal action against Coldplay has been one of the talking points of music in 2009. Satriani claims that Coldplay's 2008 song Viva La Vida copied "substantial portions" of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly. And a 53% majority of a MusicRadar readers agree with Satriani. more

Organizers say Bruce Springsteen will headline Glastonbury, Britain's leading summer music festival. Glastonbury chief Michael Eavis says the 59-year-old rocker will play the prestigious Saturday night main-stage slot on June 27.more

Pete Doherty has released the music video for his new single, 'Last Of The English Roses', online. The video for the song, set for release on March 9, features an inner-city football match featuring the Babyshambles man, plus a gay kiss at the end. watch the video

Thin Lizzy, Machine Head, Alice In Chains, Avenged Sevenfold and The Sword have been confirmed for the Metallica-headlined inaugural Sonisphere festival, set to take place on August 1-2 at the legendary Knebworth Park, United Kingdom. full list of bands

Kings of Leon's double triumph at the BRIT Awards last week delivered a big sales boost on the new U.K. charts Sunday (Feb. 22). The Hand Me Down/Sony BMG quartet returned to No. 1 with the album Only By The Nightmore

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley's "Kiss Kompendium", a compilation of all KISS comics featuring the adventures of the band's four superhero characters defeating evil with comic icons like Spiderman, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and Wolverine, will be released on October 27 via Collins Design more

Puscifer, one of the side projects of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, has vaguely announced on their website that they are planning a stop at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on April 4th, 2009 as a follow-up to their debut shows.more

Dredg, Torche and From Monument to Masses will be touring together in April. Both Torche and Dredg have new releases scheduled this year. Torche will be releasing Healer / Across The Shields on March 13, 2009 and Dredg will release The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion on May 19, 2009dates

Following a brief search, This Is Hell has now found a replacement for departed drummer Dan Bourke. Now joining the group is Dennis Wilson. (not the Beach Boy, which would be a neat trick since is dead). more

A restraining order against Britney Spears' former manager and an ex-boyfriend has been temporarily extended to give a Los Angeles judge more time to hear arguments in the case.more

Lacuna Coil has revealed the tracklisting for their forthcoming new studio album, 'Shallow Life.' The album is scheduled to be released on April 20th in Europe and the day after in North America.check out the listing here

Dark Empire has parted ways with vocalist Jens Carlsson (Persuader, Savage Circus). Band leader/lead guitarist/death vocalist Matt Moliti commented: "This decision was a long time coming and it was a hard one to make, since Jens is a great dude to work with. With him living in Sweden and the rest of us in the New Jersey, it is impossible to do any kind of gigging" more

Vreid will support resurrected Pestilence on their upcoming European tour. more

New York based rock band BulletProof Messenger are the first wildcard band to perform at ArenaFest 2009. SellaBand is continuing to seek bands to perform at ArenaFest. To sign up bands from Europe and North America should visit arenafest.sellaband.com

Primal Fear return to Atlanta to co-headline the ProgPower USA Showcase on September 10th of this year. Progressive metal stalwarts Vanden Plas will co-headline the evening with an exclusive US performance. more

Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Journey have confirmed a concert at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland on Friday, June 12th. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 27th at 9 AM more

Obi Best has a brand new video "Green and White Stripes," directed by Max Goldblatt, who also helmed the video for MGMT's "Boogie Down." Obi Best is fronted by Alex Lilly, best known for her turn as back-up singer in retro/pop group The Bird and the Bee. The track is off their new album Capades - in stores today! video

Bassist Henkka Seppälä (a.k.a. Henkka T. Blacksmith) of Finnish metallers Children Of Bodom has told FemaleFirst that the band is planning on releasing a collection of covers sometime in the fall.more

Sugarland will embark on their first European tour in March, traveling to seven countries for gigs in 11 different European cities before returning to the U.S. to open for Keith Urban.more

Screw 32 has announced their plans to do a reunion, though no date has yet been confirmed.more

Dinosaur Jr. have signed with Jagjaguwar. The band is currently working on their second post-reunion album.more

The Chariot have announced their next full length. The record is titled Wars And Rumors Of Wars and is due out May 5, 2009.more

AFI bassist Hunter Burgan revealed that the band's next album will be "more in-your-face" than previous discs. "This is definitely more of a rock album -- more immediate and definitely more of a focused, direct approach musically," he told Blender.more

Mark DiDia has been appointed EVP/General Manager, Island Records. In this newly created position, DiDia will oversee all day-to-day operations of Island Records. DiDia comes to Island from Columbia Records, where he was Executive Vice President/General Manager. Prior to that, he was EVP/GM at Capitol Records, Hollywood Records and Def American Recordings He began his career in music at rock stations WXRK (K-Rock) in New York, and WYSP in Philadelphia, which lead to him being tapped as head of Promotion for Geffen Records.

On Saturday, February 28th, country singer Shane Wyatt will make his national TV debut on an episode of CMT's series "My Big Redneck Wedding", hosted by Tom Arnold. The episode titled "Gary and Leann" airs at 2:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (all times are Eastern).more

The Senate Judiciary Committee's first hearing on the proposed merger between live entertainment giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment is set for today. If they let it go forward, it would be interesting to keep an eye on campaign contributions to the Senators on that committee. - more about the "hearing"

Tupac Camp Speaks Out About Biopic Battle

antiMusic reports: The Tupac camp, a.k.a. Amaru Entertainment, sent us over their official statement regarding the controversy surrounding the biopic about the late rapper:

We at Amaru Entertainment would like to clarify some of the recent media reports concerning a lawsuit filed by Morgan Creek Productions. This lawsuit has no merit. We felt it was important to bring the story of Tupac Shakur, one of music's most remarkable icons, to life onscreen and, in realizing this vision, we sought to find the best partner who would be true to Tupac's vision and bring his unique story to life on the big screen. In doing so, we have taken every step to ensure that our partner in this process is committed to the integrity of Tupac Shakur's legacy and, more importantly, that they are the right people. To that end, we have been in discussions and negotiations with several major studios and production companies, including Morgan Creek Productions.

However, at no time did we have an agreement with MorganCreek. - more on this story

Last.fm Deny Handing Over User Info To RIAA

Billboard reports: Last.fm founder Richard Jones responded forcefully Monday(Feb. 23) to accusations that the company had given user data to the RIAA in order to track illegal downloads of U2's upcoming album, "No Line On the Horizon." Jones' refutation follows a similar denial made by the RIAA on Saturday.

"I denied it vehemently [in] the Techcrunch article, as did several other Last.fm staffers," Jones wrote today in a post on the company's blog. "We denied it in the Last.fm forums, on twitter, via email. Basically we denied it to anyone that would listen, and now we're denying it on our blog."

Another staffer, Russ Garret, issued "a full and categorical denial" on Last.fm's forum. "We'd never personally identify our users to a third party - that goes against everything we stand for. [Click here A lot more details plus info on what info they actually do share. Billboard's Antony Bruno also wrote an interesting editorial about the larger issues at play with this story. It's a worthy read that can be found - here]

Iggy Pop's Pitching Insurance That Denies Musicians

NME reports: The car insurance company who currently feature Iggy Pop in their £25 million advertising campaign are refusing to give insurance to musicians.

TV adverts for Swiftcover see Pop endorsing the company by saying "I got it Swiftcovered. I got insurance on my insurance. Do it. Get a life. Get Swiftcovered".

However, UK musicians who applied to get insurance from Swiftcover have been told that their occupation means they are ineligible because they are classed as entertainers. - more on this story

Ticketmaster Agrees To Stop Directly Scalping Tickets From Their Site

Submitted News reports: Ticket giant Ticketmaster has reached a national settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General in which it agrees to stop linking customers to TicketsNow, a subsidiary agency that sells tickets at scalper's prices.

Attorney General Anne Milgram said Ticketmaster has agreed to run a lottery that will make 2,000 tickets available at face value to customers who complained about the way Ticketmaster handled the Feb. 2 sale of tickets to Bruce Springsteen's shows May 21 and 23 at the Izod Center at the Meadlowlands.

More than 2,200 fans complained to the Attorney General that they were redirected from the Tickemaster website to TicketsNow even though tickets were still available at face value. - more on this story

Singled Out: The Alternate Routes

antiMusic reports: Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Tim Warren, the lead singer of The Alternate Routes, tells us about "The Future's Nothing New" from their brand new album "A Sucker's Dream" (In stores today!). We now turn it over to Tim for the story:

"Lyrically, the song came together in a very random way, before we came up with the music. I asked the band to throw out one word each for 'the who, the what, the when, the where and the why'. Everyone blurted out something and that's where we started. I then strung all these together to form what became the song. The music of 'Future's Nothing New' is unique as it's the first song we wrote with Chip sitting behind the drum set. For a band who writes a lot of songs while we're traveling, what's unique about this,
is that we wrote it during some time OFF from the road, and at a time when we didn't NEED new material. We just wanted to write something new and interesting and the song came together very quickly.

The theme of 'future's nothing new' is to enjoy the moment that you're in - 'You need a little bit of lovin, just trying to get the good rush, but if you really saw it coming would it matter all that much?' The tool box we use is a convenient ode to the daily grind that we all are in. It's about just trying to break out of your own mode every once an a while - to feel human, and to feel special. Character wise, and as seen in our video, the song is a story about an attractive fortune teller who is board in her own ability to see the future, so she instead takes an interest in a guy, who she meets every night because her attraction to the guy provides the only experience she can't predict. "

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!

Wait there is more!

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