Guns N' Roses Announce New Tour Dates

Special thanks 2 all the fans, r production, video, security, transpo, catering, merchandise, wardrobe, personal n' biz crews, Sebastian n' the Sebastian Bach Band, Maria Bach, Danko Jones, all of r's n' their roadies, techs, the Shot Girls, r personal friends, family n' guests who came out 2 support us, Lucky Beer (Aussie), Bubbles n' all the TPB's (unbelievable ending!!), thanks 4 ALL the positive press n' reviews, it's more than greatly appreciated!! - more on this story

Pantera, King Diamond, Gryn Supergroup Backed by Beatles Producer

Arms Of The Sun, a project featuring Rex Brown (Pantera, Down) on bass, John Luke Hebert (King Diamond) drums, Lance Harvill on vocals and guitar, and Ben Bunker (Gryn) on guitar, has completed work on thirteen tracks that were produced and mixed by Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera, Soundgarden).

The material is set for a late February release through Extreme Music, which provides class-A production music to all major networks and studios, ad agencies and production companies, including FOX, HBO, NBC, BBC, MTV, SKY, ABC, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Turner Entertainment Networks, Universal, Lions Gate, Miramax, Sony Pictures, Touchstone and Disney, to name a few.

Arms Of The Sun recorded the music, written by Lance Harvill, late last year at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin. The project is executive-produced by Sir George Martin (The Beatles) and Mark Ross for the Grandmaster Series, which celebrates four of the world's top producers spanning from the '60s through the '90s, including Sir George himself, Terry Date, Jack Douglas (Aerosmith), and Hugh Padgham (The Police). - The band's official site (coming soon)

Limp Slash Zombie on the Range- Paramore Temp- Indie Phoenix Rises- Music Fans Choice Channel Coming- Sabbath 40th Anniversary Special- MGMT and more

More than 38 bands will come together for the fourth annual Rock On The Range, set for May 22 and 23 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The lineup will boast the return of the reunited Limp Bizkit, and first-timer "Rangers" Rob Zombie and Godsmack and the festival solo debut of Slash. more.

Speaking of Slash, his new solo touring vocalist aka Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy is currently working on a solo album – and Slash does a guitar solo on it. more

"The Broken," Coheed and Cambria's first new song released to the public in over 2 years, is now being streamed on the Coheedandcambria.com homepage here

Paramore guitarist Josh Farro is sitting out their forthcoming tour dates due to marriage commitments. Farro tells fans that their guitarist Taylor York has drafted his brother Justin to fill in. more

Phoenix have nabbed the #1 single at Modern Rock radio with "1901." Phoenix is only the fourth band signed to an independent label to reach #1 in the Modern Rock chart's 20+ year history, following The Offspring, Everlast and Silversun Pickups more

On February 13, 1970 Black Sabbath released their first album - the self-titled Black Sabbath. This Saturday, February 13th, 40 years after it's release, Rock 50 will celebrate with an hour long special featuring this groundbreaking album. The special will include the entire album and interviews with Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward. High noon, February 13, Rock 50" with Mike Stark on WPMD.org. more

Speaking of Black Sabbath, drummer Bill Ward aims to release three albums this year. Details here

Tony K takes Bon Jovi to task in a new open letter where he asks the band to not just promise to mix things up on tour, but to really do it. Check that out at the Screen Door

Warner Music Group posted a narrower-than-expected loss on Tuesday as strong sales in Britain and France helped overcome declining demand for traditional music discs in the United States and Japan. more

MGMT will release their sophomore album, Congratulations, on April 13. The duo co-produced the follow-up to their debut, Oracular Spectacular, and it features nine songs more

RealNetworks today unveiled plans to spin off the Rhapsody America music subscription service into an independent company. more

Music and video network Music Choice is going the crowd-sourcing route with a new music video network called SWRV. The network lets viewers decide which music video will play next by sending in their vote from either a mobile phone or computer more

Violent Divine will release their third album, Release The Hounds, via Swedmetal Records on March 11th. more

Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Sky Eats Airplane, Motionless In White, Sleeping With Sirens, Attila, and Get Scared will team up for the "Death From Above Tour" this spring dates

U2's latest tour has been voted the year's best stage show by crews who work on major gigs around the world. The 360 Degree tour, which used a groundbreaking "claw" stage, was named live production of the year at the Total Production International Awards. more

Snow Patrol have announced details of their only UK shows of 2010 – set to take place in Bangor and Glasgow in June. more

Born From Pain has announced the impending addition of drummer Igor Wouters to their line-up. more

Los Angeles, CA's 16 will see the reissue of their debut album "Curves That Kick" and legendary 1996 release "Drop Out" this March via 16 Relapse Records. more

A reader wrote in today suggesting that Aerosmith should hire Cinderella's Tom Keifer to fill Steven Tyler's shoes. The Day in Rocker comments, "He already stole Steven's style and show, why not make it official?" Another reader suggested that they hire Justin Timberlake who "would fit great with the style of their recent CDs." Ouch! Sorry, no serious suggestions were sent in today. Maybe tomorrow? -

With Ellefson Back In Megadeth, LoMenzo Leaves On The High Road

(Rock Radio) James LoMenzo has no hard feeling over his departure from Megadeth, resulting in the return of original bassist David Ellefson. While it's still not clear whether LoMenzo or mainman Dave Mustaine instigated the change, both say they're delighted with the way things have turned out – and Mustaine reveals that 'Junior' has already recorded a track with the band.

LoMenzo says on his Myspace page: "My heart is full with your kindness and well-wishes. This is the richest part of my years with the mighty Megadeth. I'm truly excited about the two Daves getting back together. I think it will be great for fans."

"Anyone who knows me knows I love doing all kinds of things musically, so I'm excited for what's ahead and very grateful for all the great music, fantastic shows and the many friends and fans I've come to know over the past four years. Stay tuned and I'll let you know what's next when it's next." - Dave Mustaine (as usual) had a lot to say. Read that here

Bonnaroo Announces 2010 Lineup

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The ninth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 10 - 13 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2010 lineup will total over 125 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days.Tickets are on sale now exclusively at bonnaroo.com!

Perhaps bringing you the most diverse and ambitious lineup to date, the 2010 event draws world-class acts from a staggering range of musical worlds. This year the festival features the Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, Flaming Lips performing Dark Side Of The Moon, The Dead Weather, Phoenix, John Fogerty, Jimmy Cliff, Tenacious D, Zac Brown Band, Avett Brothers, Norah Jones, LCD Soundsystem, Tori Amos, The National, Jeff Beck, Michael Franti, Against Me!, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Baaba Maal, The Melvins, Thievery Corporation to name but a small portion of the deep lineup.

Wonder's Bonnaroo performance marks a rare festival appearance for the legend, whose illustrious songbook continues to be as influential and significant today as ever. Bonnaroo veterans Kings of Leon are the first band in the history of the festival to start on a tent stage and work their way up to the coveted headlining slot. They were first booked to play a tent stage early in the day in 2004. They have gone on to perform at Bonnaroo several times, each appearance bigger than the last. This will be one of the very few appearances the band will make in 2010. - more on this story

Wanna Meet Ozzy?

As we told you yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography, I Am Ozzy," landed on the bestseller list. But if you still haven't picked up a copy, the Ozzman is heading out for more book signing gigs, so you may have a chance to get the book and meet Ozzy. Here is the book pitch we were sent along with the new book signing dates:

Take what you thought was "rock and roll excess," double it, and you still would not be anywhere near the dizzying life of Ozzy Osbourne. Born into a life so poor that the entire family slept in one room, music was his salvation, and his band Black Sabbath went on to change the musical landscape forever. The inevitable sex and drugs came along with along with the rock and roll lifestyle, and Ozzy soon fell into an epic relationship with booze and chemicals.

The stories of Ozzy's days on the road are now those of legend—biting the head off of a live bat, the tragic plane crash that took the life of his best friend and writing partner—but few know about the real heartbreak he suffered during those days of hard living. I AM OZZY (Grand Central Publishing Hardcover; $26.99; January 25, 2010) is the heavy metal pioneer's unbelievable story told, for the first time, in Ozzy's hilarious, witty, and inimitable voice. In the end it was love that saved him: the love of his wife Sharon and kids Aimee, Kelly, and Jack. - book tour dates

Hammerfall Announce North American Tour

Hammerfall will be invading North America! Touring the U.S. and Canada in support of their Billboard charting 2009 album, No Sacrifice, No Victory (#38 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart), the 27-show tour is set to kick off in West Springfield, Virginia on March 5th with the finale planned for April 8th in Houston, Texas.

Powerglove will be opening for the first 18 dates on the tour; Los Angeles' Echoes of Eternity and Havok will open the remainder of the tour following the Hollywood show. Dates are below.

This will be HAMMERFALL'S first North American in supports of No Sacrifice, No Victory tour and with new guitarist Pontus Norgren and new bassist Fredrik Larsson (an original band member who played on their 1997 debut, Glory To The Brave). - more on this story

Ray Davies Tap The 88 For Tour

After performing to sold-out crowds in Fall 2009 to support his new album The Kinks Choral Collection, the iconic lead singer of The Kinks, Ray Davies returns to this side of the pond for a rare month-long tour with support from The 88. (See dates below).

Feeding American audiences a hefty dose of Kinks hits including "You Really Got Me", "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Waterloo Sunset".

Davies first will perform some of his solo work with Bill Shanley backing him on guitar followed by Davies being backed by The 88 to close out the night. - dates

Droid Lose Their Voice

Droid singer James Eason has announced that he has left the band and is currently exploring other projects in the music world. His statement on his departure can be read below.

"I have spent the last 10+ years in the band Droid so this is no easy decision for me. To make it simple the past 10 years in Droid have had their great and memorable moments and their not so memorable moments.

I have chosen to move on in positive direction... This being said, my # 1 Priority has and always will be to make music and give 100% commitment of myself to my music. Music is my #1 priority and always has been...I stand strong in my commitment. My #1 regret is that the Droid fans have had to wait soooooooooooooo long for a 2nd record, and then receive this news. Where ever I end up I promise to make up for their super long wait. You can count on that, I will always stay true to my word…

I am looking for musicians who are driven, focused and hungry - these are the kinds of musicians I am looking for to play with as of now… Any interested musicians or bands please feel free to contact me; I can be reached at droidmetal@yahoo.com." -

Ray Charles' Genius + Soul = Jazz

Ray Charles was best known for his work in the idioms of R&B, rock 'n' roll and even successful forays into country. But he also recorded influential jazz albums, including the groundbreaking Genius + Soul = Jazz originally released in 1961, and continuing into the '70s with My Kind of Jazz, Jazz Number II and My Kind of Jazz Part 3. On April 6, 2010, Concord Records will release a deluxe edition two-CD set featuring digitally remastered versions of all four albums including encyclopedic liner notes by Will Friedwald, jazz writer for The Wall Street Journal and author of several books on music and popular culture, along with original liner notes by Dick Katz and Quincy Jones.

Genius + Soul = Jazz was recorded at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, in late 1960. The producer was Creed Taylor; arrangers, Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns. Ray Charles played the organ with three vocals ("I've Got News for You," "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" and "One Mint Julep") and band members included members of the Count Basie Orchestra: Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Billy Mitchell, Frank Wess, Freddie Green, and Sonny Payne among others. Issued originally on ABC Records' legendary Impulse jazz label, the record ascended to the #4 spot on Billboard's pop album chart, and spawned the very first singles on Impulse, heretofore an album label. "I've Got News for You," rose to #8 R&B and #66 on the Hot 100. In addition, Charles' version of "One Mint Julep" charted #1 R&B and #8 pop, and his rendition of the blues standard "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" reached #25 R&B and #84 pop.

As annotator Friedwald states, "Genius + Soul = Jazz . . . was a bold and innovative album, but, at the same time, a direct step forward from his earlier work." Although Basie himself does not appear on the album, the Count was a major model as Charles assembled a full-scale, working orchestra. Basie also influenced his use of organ in a jazz context, and Charles was happy to record at the Van Gelder studio, where Jimmy Smith had recorded his classic Blue Note albums. Truly, as Dick Katz wrote in his original January 1961 liner notes, "The combination here of rare talent plus uncommon craftsmanship has produced a record that showcases the timeless quality and innate taste that is uniquely that of Ray Charles." - more on this story

The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter Coming in May

(Nightwatcher) Blues rock guitar legend Johnny Winter's authorized biography "Raisin' Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter", by author Mary Lou Sullivan is scheduled to hit the shelves May, 2010.

Sullivan spent hundreds of hours with Winter on exclusive, one-on-one, no holds barred interviews for his biography. From toughing it out in Texas to his appearance at Woodstock, his affair with Janis Joplin, stadium-filling tours, a devastating fall into heroin addiction, and a triumphant road back to stardom, Raisin' Cain is a raucous roller coaster of a story.

With 400 pages and 56 photographs - including photos from Johnny's personal collection - this biography paints an intimate portrait of both the man and the musician. - more on this story

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Bonus

With merely weeks leading to the March 9 release of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's fifth studio album, Beat The Devil's Tattoo, iTunes is making it available for pre-order starting today, February 9. Upon purchase, the single, "Beat The Devil's Tattoo," will be available for instant download with added bonus, "Annabel Lee," being offered exclusive to this pre-order period, otherwise only available on the vinyl pressing, the Japanese release, and iTunes UK. All versions of the LP purchased through iTunes, pre-sale or otherwise, will include "1:51," a cult/fan favorite that has not been released until now.

This album sees the band return to the rootsy, back porch country sound of Howl, perfectly dusted over their signature wall-of-shoegaze fuzz. In a sense, the duo of bassist Robert Levon Been and guitarist Peter Hayes has started over, with a new vision, new drummer Leah Shapiro as well as a new label - their own Abstract Dragon, in partnership with Vagrant Records. Their newfound confidence and inspiration appears to have rejuvenated them, and their songs bleed with raw intensity. Like the title of the album, a phrase gleaned from Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story, "The Devil In The Belfry," BRMC stands on the edge of darkness, but never dives in.

The trio's extensive tour begins February 26 in Sacramento and culminates in Toronto April 11, after a stop at Webster Hall in NYC April 8. San Francisco fans will get a special treat, as the band salutes their roots with an intimate performance at Slim's, their original stomping ground, the night of the album's release. Upon the tour's announcements, shows are beginning to sell out, including two nights in current hometown Los Angeles, with a third added due to popular demand. - more on this story

Killing Time Take Three Steps Back

For the first time in over a decade, New York City's influential hardcore punk outfit, Killing Time, is celebrating the release of a brand new studio album, Three Steps Back, out today on Dead City Records.

Three Steps Back is Killing Time's first full-length album since releasing The Method in 1997, and it can be purchased through the Dead City Records webstore (www.DeadCityRecords.com), and most major digital music retailers.

"This album has been such a huge part of our lives for the past two years," explains Killing Time drummer, Anthony Drago. "We put a lot of ourselves into it. I'd say about ten years of pent up New York Hardcore aggression. We are all extremely psyched to finally have it out there." - more on this story

Close Your Eyes Next Week

The newest member to the Victory Records family, Close Your Eyes, is patiently waiting for February 16, 2010 to arrive when their debut album, We Will Overcome, finally hits shelves.

"It speaks a story of our struggles, trials, and the things we need and love," says guitarist Brett Callaway. "We don't limit ourselves or work with any restrictions. We write what we feel."

We Will Overcome shapes a chapter in the lives of this quintet. The release of We Will Overcome will be preceded by the first single, "Song for the Broken," which will hit college radio on February 23rd and active and alternative outlets soon after. A video shot in the band's hometown of Abilene, Texas for the single, will be released in accordance with the album on February 16, 2010. - more on this story

Ninjaspy Recording New Album, Announce Tour Dates

It was a whirlwind ride through 2009 for Vancouver's Ninjaspy. After signing to Japanese label Zestone Records, the band enjoyed a Canada-wide tour (Victoria to St. John's), a personal invitation from Kevin Lyman to perform at Warped Tour in Vancouver, an appearance at Taste of Chaos in Calgary, numerous spins on MTV Canada, and more recently on Absolute Underground TV. Ninjaspy's MySpace plays have also just approached the 250,000 mark and they couldn't be happier.

The band has finally had a well-deserved rest and are ready to head back into The Farm/Nimbus Studios to record the follow-up to their highly successful debut Pi Nature which is now available in record stores nationwide via Scratch Distribution.

The new album will once again be produced by GGGARTH Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gallows) and co-produced/engineered by Ben Kaplan (Atreyu, Hedley, Haste The Day). - more on this story

The Weakerthans Set Live DVD-CD Release

Indie rock heroes The Weakerthans new DVD-CD Live at the Burton Cummings Theater, set for release on March 23, offers a jubilant testament to the Winnipeg band's considerable creative powers as both literary minded songwriters and charismatic live performers.

Founded in 1997 the band has deep roots in the thriving North American indie scene. The band is revered for both their powerfully melodic folk punk sound and the vivid and inspired imagery of the lyrics - their beloved song "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" is told from the point of view of a depressive's wise and knowing cat.

The live DVD was recorded in April of 2009 as the band toured in support of their triumphant album Reunion Tour with an expanded line-up featuring trumpet, violin and female vocals, playing songs from all four acclaimed releases in front of an adoring and enthusiastic hometown crowd. - more on this story

Locksley Return With New Album

On their 2007 debut Don't Make Me Wait, unsigned, Wisconsin natives, Locksley found success with a fresh and exciting mix of garage-pop and brit-rock. The band's forthcoming, follow-up album finds them exploring their American musical roots with bits of Swing, 50's Doo-Wop, 60's Soul and early American-Punk coming together to create something uniquely and confidently their own.

Locksley returns with their new album Be In Love (Feature Records) on March 16th, 2010. Prior to arriving in stores, the album will be available digitally beginning on February 23rd. The four-piece band features brothers Jesse and Jordan Laz (rhythm guitar and bass respectively), Kai Kennedy (lead guitar) and Sam Bair (drums).

"We've broadened and narrowed our outlook on this album" Jesse remarked. "We added a third vocalist and songwriter in Jordan, which was big and we were listening to and pulling from a larger variety of music than before. At the same time, we cut a lot of fat in our parts and tightened up the arrangements quite a bit so the album ends up feeling more focused than the last one, even though it's spread out over more voices." - more on this story

The Temper Trap Tour

The Temper Trap will return to the U.S. for their first headlining tour in support of their critically acclaimed debut album, Conditions, out now on Glassnote/Columbia.

The London-based band, showered with praise across the States throughout the last year, will play dates from coast to coast in March and April.

2009 was an incredible year for the band, as the single "Sweet Disposition" became ubiquitous through usages in the sleeper hit film 500 Days of Summer, a multimedia platform Rhapsody advertising promotion, scoring numerous national TV shows, and was most recently featured in a Chrysler branding campaign. - more on this story

The Spill Canvas Announce Spring Tour

The Spill Canvas are gearing up to hit the road this spring for a five-week tour that begins April 21st in Cedar Falls, IA.

The band will perform new songs, including those from their latest digital release Abnormalities, which came out January 12th on Reprise Records.

"We decided to, once again, push ourselves beyond our comfort zone as musicians and songcrafters," says vocalist/guitarist Nick Thomas. "Honesty and simplicity remained the mantra on which we based the entire new musical direction." - more on this story

Fanfarlo Announce Tour and Letterman Appearance

Fanfarlo have announced more North American headlining dates for March and April with Lawrence Arabia and Robert Francis as support.

The band whom are just finishing up a string of European headline shows will be back in America next week to make their national television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday, February 15th. They will then kick off their headline tour at Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre on February 20th.

Following the February run Fanfarlo will head back to the UK for a run of dates with Mumford and Sons before returning for a series of SXSW shows and the second leg of their headline tour which begins March 27th at the Loft in Atlanta. - more on this story

Roky Erickson Album Details

The artwork and song list for legendary musician Roky Erickson's new album True Love Cast Out All Evil has just been disclosed.

The art direction was done by Will Sheff who produced the album and whose acclaimed band Okkervil River backed Erickson in the studio. The cover features a stark Todd Wolfson portrait of Erickson. The album comes out on 04/20 on Anti-Records.

Will Sheff was recently in Austin hanging out with Roky and they were followed around by a videographer. You can view a suitably impressionistic snippet of them at the legendary Austin store Toy Joy here.

- tracklisting

The Baked Potato's 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival

The world-famous The Baked Potato Jazz Club announces a two-day jazz festival celebrating their 40th anniversary of providing Los Angeles with the best in live jazz and hosting the greatest jazz legends of all time.

The Baked Potato's 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival is set for Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23 at the Anson Ford Amphitheater and will feature performances by Larry Carlton, Yellowjackets, The Jazz Ministry, Steve Lukather and Special Friends, The Michael Landau Group, Don Randi & Quest, Lee Ritenour and Friends, The Baked Potato All Stars, O.H.M, Scott Henderson Trio, VOLTO!, Holdsworth, Pasqua, Haslip, Novak, John Daversa Big Band, and Mitch Forman. Tickets are on sale now at www.thebakedpotato.com.

Opened in 1970, the world-famous The Baked Potato is the oldest jazz club in California and a Los Angeles historical music landmark, known for hosting internationally-known jazz greats such as GRAMMY-award winning musicians Larry Carlton, Yellowjackets, Al Jarreau, Michael Landau and Steve Lukather before they got their start. - more on this story

Sister Hazel 5th Annual Hazelnut Hang

Sister Hazel has announced its fifth annual Hazelnut Hang at the Windjammer in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, for June 4 – June 6, 2010.

The Hazelnut Hang, which the band created as a way to interact more closely with their fans, is a weekend gathering of fans, friends, and the band members to share music, food, and fun, with plenty of time to hang out together. There will be two ticket packages available to Hang attendees, each offering fans different goodies.

All details are available beginning today at www.rockridgemusic.com/hazelnuthang, as are lists from the band about why they love hosting the Hang and photos of past gatherings. Tickets go on sale on February 18th at www.the-windjammer.com. - more on this story