Rock Star: KISS TV Show Coming?

The show previously aired during the summer for two seasons on CBS. It is a bit unusual for a network for be "promoting" a summer show in February so we are a bit skeptical. However, the band have been hyping another one of their major announcements (see here), so who knows? Of course that could just be about another tour or their latest merchandizing scheme. - You can see this 'screen shot' here (notice you can't read the web address)

U2 Tap Lenny Kravitz, Interpol, and The Fray for 360 Tour

U2 are bringing their 360 World Tour back to North America in June and on Saturday they announced some of the support acts for several of the dates. Here is what they had to say:

When the 360 Tour returns to North America in June, Lenny Kravitz will be first up on stage each night for the shows in Salt Lake City, Anaheim and Denver. (Tickets for the June 3rd Salt Lake City show go on sale this Monday.)

The Fray will be opening in Oakland, Seattle and Edmonton. Interpol will be on the bill for the shows in Minneapolis, E.Lansing, Toronto, Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia. - dates

Alice In Chains Star Disgusted By VH1s Celeb Rehab

As may know, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr is part of the latest "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" on Vh1. Blabbermouth had a report last week with one of Starr's former AIC bandmate's take on the show. Here it is: Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell slammed "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" in an interview with an Atlanta radio station.

Speaking about the show, Cantrell said, "That particular show, I think it's a real travesty and a shame to put people in a really vulnerable situation like that and make it entertainment for people to see . . . It's just kind of disgusting to me, actually. It's nothing I back. I totally back Mike, and I back his efforts to get clean and remain somebody that I and the band really care about — he's a friend of ours, you know, and we wish him the best. But that show's not really cool."

Referring to the drug-related death of original Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley in 2002, Cantrell also said, "Addiction is no joke, and we know that first hand. We lost a good friend of ours to that as well. Mike deserves a better life." - more on this story

Legendary Gig Captured on Double Album Featuring McCartney, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Elton, Tears for Fears, Robert Plant and More

On March 23, Eagle Rock Entertainment will drop a British bombshell, when the Live at Knebworth 2CD hits stores.

On June 30, 1990, the best of the Brits flooded the Knebworth House in Hertsfordshire to perform a benefit concert for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School Of Performing Arts. Heralded as "The Best British Rock Concert Of All Time," this aggregate of talent included Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Elton John, Phil Collins, Genesis, Dire Straits, Tears For Fears, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, and Status Quo. All performing free of charge to support the charities, this incredible line-up was amassed from recipients of the prestigious Nordoff-Robbins' Silver Clef Award, which recognizes acts who make outstanding contributions to the British music industry.

Originally released on Polydor in 1990, this 20th anniversary re-issue will continue the tradition on giving back, as sales will raise funds for both Nordoff-Robbins (the UK's leading independent provider of music therapy) and the Brit School of Performing Arts. - more on this story

Psychostick Announces Tour with Green Jelly and Nashville Pussy

Underground comedy/metal band Psychostick has announced that they will take part in the Parental Advisory Tour with Green Jelly and Nashville Pussy. The tour kicks off in Orlando, FL, on March 25th and will run through June 7th.

"Our fans have been suggesting a tour with Green Jelly since forever," says Psychostick vocalist Rob "Rawrb" Kersey. "Having Nashville Pussy headline the whole thing will only make this tour even better. We're looking forward to the run and think our fans will really dig it."

This tour marks the debut of Psychostick's new bassist, Matt Kyzmeck. "Billy Rymer, the drummer from Dillinger Escape Plan, recommended Matt to us," says Psychostick drummer Alex Preiss. "He [Matt] passed with flying colors and we're very excited to bring him aboard!" Former bassist Jimmy Grant left Psychostick in December 2009 for undisclosed reasons. - more on this story

Hangout Festival To Feature Trey Anastasio, Zac Brown Band, John Legend, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Flaming Lips, Alison Krauss and more

The Hangout Beach Music and Arts Festival is thrilled to announce an incredible lineup for its inaugural year including performances from Trey Anastasio and TAB, Zac Brown Band, John Legend, Ray LaMontagne, Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Flaming Lips, and Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas.

The 3-day music and arts festival is scheduled for May 14th - 16th and is sure to be an experience like no other. Located directly on the sandy white beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama, The Hangout Beach, Music and Arts Festival is the first major music festival of the summer festival season. A full confirmed lineup is listed below with more bands to be announced in the coming weeks.

Watching this caliber of performers directly on the beach will truly be a unique experience. There is just nothing like it, said A.J. Niland, of HUKA Entertainment. This will be one of the biggest beach parties this area has ever seen. With performances taking place on four stages, and two main stages on the beach, the festival hopes to bring the Gulf Coast into the national music scene. In addition, festival organizers have other activities still to be announced. Attendance will be limited to 35,000 people per day. - more on this story

Murder By Death Spring Tour

Just in time for the April 6 release of their fifth full-length record, Good Morning, Magpie, Bloomington, IN's Murder By Death are hitting the road for a full headlining tour of the US this Spring.

The 6-week-long excursion kicks off in St. Louis on March 31, and winds down in Chicago on May 15. The tour follows a stop down at SXSW in mid-March, where the band drops in for the Vagrant Records showcase at La Zona Rosa on March 19. Supporting Murder By Death on their headlining dates are Ha Ha Tonka and Linfinity.

The band recorded and self-produced the record this past December at Bloomington-based Farm Fresh Studios, and later had Trina Shoemaker mix the tracks. The effort follows their 2008 Vagrant debut Red of Tooth and Claw. - more on this story

New Frontiers for Whitesnake

Frontiers Records is very proud to announce the signing of legendary rock band Whitesnake. David Coverdale and band are gearing up for their latest endeavor.

Whitesnake has already started composing new material that promises to deliver one of the finest chapters in Whitesnake's career. "We are off to a very good start, with the new songs taking positive shape. It feels good,
fresh & exciting," explains Coverdale.

The next release already feels like a solid, natural progression to their last opus, the successful, critically acclaimed 'Good To Be Bad' album, awarded by the influential Classic Rock magazine as "Best Album of the Year" in 2008. "As always, we want to take it to the next level," states' Coverdale. "I feel that with the last album we achieved a strong Whitesnake 'cocktail' that comfortably embraced & mixed all the previous musical aspects & styles of the band's history, while taking our identity a little further... all on one album..." - more on this story

David Ford To Let The Hard Times Roll in April

British troubadour David Ford is set to release his third album Let The Hard Times Roll on April 20, 2010 via Original Signal Recordings.

Let The Hard Times Roll is Ford's third and boldest album, containing some of the most upbeat, rocking songs he's ever written, like the genuinely boisterous "She's Not The One." The album represents the era in which it was created, so there's an underlying tension that runs throughout, as on opener "Panic," all strained nerves in its urgent bass groove, blistering electric guitar, and piano that keeps time like a wound clock; the pensive lament "Waiting For The Storm;" and dissatisfied barroom choral "Nothing At All." Already known for his searing political anthems ("State Of The Union" off 2006's I Sincerely Apologise For Any Trouble I've Caused; "Requiem" off 2008's Songs For The Road), the sultry, swaying backroom stomp "Surfin' Guantanamo Bay" and the solemn accordion and banjo-based elegy "Stephen" are among his most scathing and pointed indictments.

Yet relief and hope also weave through the album - in songs like the melodic, rolling ease of "Making Up For Lost Time" and the stately and inspiriting "Call To Arms" - which underline the fulfillment found in fundamental pursuits like love, friendship, honesty, music, and community. And there are a few love songs, too - the haunting, desolate beauty of fan favorite, piano and strings ballad "To Hell With The World" and the blithe swing of "Sylvia" - with charming, dark edges only Ford could pen. - more on this story

Singled Out: Drink Up Buttercup

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Jim Harvey (Singer/Guitarist) of Drink Up Buttercup tells us about "Young Ladies" from their brand new album "Born And Thrown On A Hook" which comes out on 3/2. We now turn it over to Jim for the story:

Getting drunk and having sex with lots of people seems to be a popular thing among certain sectors of people in their 20s. College kids. Kids working crappy jobs who wish they were in college.

Some people just put themselves in situations where sex with a random seems to be the logical outcome at the end of the night. For others it's a hobby. Others still treat it as sport, collecting nights with members of the opposite (or same) sex like trophies.

Although bedding as many people as possible isn't something that I'm particularly interested in, being a person who (like most) does in fact love sex, I thought it would be fun to explore the subject. Young Ladies, in short, is about the lengths that people will go through to get laid.

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

Tommy James (With And Without The Shondells) Reissued

On April 20, 2010, Collectors' Choice Music, which released the 40 Years singles retrospective in 2008, will begin to reissue the individual Roulette Records albums by Tommy James & the Shondells and Tommy James solo.

The first batch contains I Think We're Alone Now, Gettin' Together and Travelin' by the band, and James' own My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar from 1972, recorded in Nashville with many of the city's notable players.

Ed Osborne once again annotated the reissues, featuring extensive interview material from the Niles, Michigan native who is very candid about working with Roulette owner and convicted mobster Morris Levy. The band had a remarkable run on the charts with singles like "Hanky Panky," "Say I Am (What I Am)," "It's Only Love," "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mirage," "I Like the Way," "Gettin' Together," "Out of the Blue," "Get Out Now," "Mony Mony," "Somebody Cares," "Do Something to Me," "Crimson & Clover," "Sweet Cherry Wine," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "Ball of Fire," "She" and "Gotta Get Back to You" among others. - more on this story

The Nighthawks Up for Three Wammies

The Nighthawks, one of the nation's premier roots music bands of the past four decades, have garnered three nominations for the 24th Annual "Wammies" Music Awards celebration, to be presented on February 28 by The Washington Area Music Association at the State Theatre.

The DC-based Nighthawks have been nominated for three awards in the "Blues/Traditional R&B" category for band of the year and recording of the year for their American Landscape album released in 2009; plus the band's guitarist, Paul Bell, has been nominated for best instrumentalist. The Nighthawks were enshrined in the Association's Hall of Fame back in 1989.

American Landscape has become one of the band's most critically acclaimed and best- selling albums. In addition to universal praise from the press and multi-format radio play, the CD was ranked #20 on the top blues albums of 2009 based on airplay charts compiled by Living Blues magazine. - more on this story

Everything But The Girl's Tracey Thorn Sets May Release for New Solo Album

After pausing an 18-year career with partner Ben Watt in best-selling alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl (1982-2000), followed by a self-imposed hiatus to start a family, Tracey Thorn re-emerged in 2007 to a wave of critical acclaim with the glittering autobiographical folk-disco of Out of the Woods, her first solo album since 1982's indie classic A Distant Shore. Now she is back with another: the starkly beautiful Love and Its Opposite on Merge Records.

Partnering again with Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson (who worked on much of Out of the Woods), Thorn has created an album that is striking in its simplicity. "It's a record about the person I am now and the people around me," she observes. "About real life after forty."

Recorded in Berlin and London, the ten-song collection boasts eight original compositions and two covers (a duet with Jens Lekman on Lee Hazlewood's "Come On Home To Me" and a poignant reading of The Unbending Trees' "You Are A Lover"). The album also features guests such as Hot Chip's Al Doyle, The Invisible's Leo Taylor, Nashville songwriter-drummer Cortney Tidwell and Lost Valentinos' guitarist Jono Ma. - more on this story

Omega Crom Promise Blood, Steel and Fire in April

Omega Crom gear up to unleash their signature genre of Ripping Metal on the world with their debut album, "Blood, Steel and Fire," which drops officially April 5th on Reversed Records.

The Vancouver-based metal lords have been an integral part of the underground scene for many years, building a solid following thanks to their self-created genre of Ripping Metal: a progressive blend of power metal, aggressive death, shred and thrash.

Produced in collaboration with Juno award-winning engineer Rob Shallcross (Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, GWAR, Darkest Hour, Fattooth). Omega Crom's debut features their classic, seamless combination of punchy rhythms, melodic guitars, ripping solos, flowing harmonies, intense bass guitar attacks and relentless double kick thrash beats. - more on this story

Steel Train Announce Album and Tegan and Sara Tour

Steel Train is very excited to announce a new album and North American tour with Tegan and Sara. The 8-week tour that began in Massachusetts on February 12th, will give Steel Train a chance to debut new songs from their upcoming summer release (on a soon to be announced record label).

The premiere track from the band's new album will be the edgy TURNPIKE GHOST, which lead singer and songwriter Jack Antonoff says, "Is a return to where we come from. We grew up playing legion halls and firehouses and the sound systems were always so bad we had to go ape s*** to put on a real show, and somehow that inspired the music and lyrics to reflect all that madness." TURNPIKE GHOST is now available for free download on the band's official website - www.steeltrain.net. Steel Train is also proud to announce their performance at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday, April 17th.

Produced by Steven McDonald (Be Your Own Pet, Imperial Teen), Steel Train's new album is the follow up to their record, TRAMPOLINE, which saw the band perform on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and share the stage with The Silversun Pickups, Ben Folds, Gomez and Say Anything, and appear at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, to name a few. - more on this story

AM Taxi Hitting The Road

AM Taxi gets ready to hit the road…hard. The guys will be touring in support of Spill Canvas late Spring with additional dates for this Summer's Warped Tour, starting June 24 through August 15.

AM Taxi are one of the few groups booked for the entire prestigious concert series prior to releasing an album. They've already been out on the road with the likes of Sum 41 and The Ataris, while opening for The Offspring at Summerfest in Milwaukee, so they're more than up for the task.

"Our goal is to take that 45 or 60 minutes and let people get away for a little bit," says lead singer and guitarist Adam Krier, "maybe even convert some of 'em to AM Taxi fans. And, if they dig what we're doing, maybe they'll check out some of the stuff that influenced us." - more on this story

Truck America Festival Announce Initial Lineup

The first ever Truck America Festival is delighted to announce the first trailer-load of artists confirmed for this inaugural gathering at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY on Friday, April 30 - Sunday, May 2nd 2010. The three day festival celebrates the stateside arrival of one of the UK's great independent music institutions.

As well as the previously-announced special appearance from upstate NY legends MERCURY REV, founders Joe and Robin Bennett are pleased to deliver a batch of the finest independent artists from both sides of the pond; from Brooklyn the energetic White Rabbits and the doomy majesty of Hopewell; top-drawer country-rock from Joshua Tree resident Tim Easton and Canada s hardest working band The Sadies, a dose of upstate folk from Mike & Ruthy and Ida; and from back home in Blighty The Joy Formidable, plus Neil Halstead of Slowdive / Mojave 3.

Also joining Robin & Joe's new project Dusty & The Dreaming Spires will be the many varied delights of stateside acts Cat Martino, The Silent League, Common Prayer, Oxygen Ponies, Brandon Patton, Atlantic / Pacific and The Shoestring Band plus many more performing live on three stages (The Barn, The Roadhouse and The Main stage in a large heated tent).

In addition to there will be Workshops, Films, Kids Activities, Jam Sessions and a healthy dose of English Camping for those who don't book a room. - more on this story

Pirate Love Announce US Dates

With a sound so unique that it deserves its own genre name, Oslo's Pirate Love takes Scandinavian indie rock to a whole new level. Black Vodoun Space Blues is not only the title of the band's latest release, but is also the most fitting genre name for Pirate Love's raw, mind-bending sound.

Signed to Kong Tiki Records, Pirate Love takes its cues not only from 60's garage punk, rockabilly, and goth, but is also equal parts sex, drugs, and violence. Their signature sound is most reminiscent of Jesus and The Mary Chain, The Cramps, and The Horrors.

Having played various music festivals in both Norway and North America with such colossal acts as Serena Maneesh, Pirate Love is no stranger to the stage. The band will be bringing its electrifying live show to Austin this March for a string of SXSW shows and securing themselves as the wildest and most twisted showstoppers at this year's festival. Instead of basking in the SXSW afterglow, Pirate Love will then be extending the face melting invitation to the rest of the East coast as they tour alongside the UK's garage punk rockers Thee Vicars. - more on this story

Miles Kurosky Previews Solo Album With Video Release

Miles Kurosky, the former Beulah frontman, is releasing a video for "Dog in the Burning Building," a track off his much-anticipated solo debut, The Desert of Shallow Effects.

Slated for a March 9 release on Majordomo/Shout! Factory, this is Miles's first release since Beulah split up 6 years ago.

The video was created by Fran and Will Krause, the animators who created the award-winning "Upstate Four," for which Miles wrote the soundtrack. Check out the video - here

Bettie Serveert Set March Release

Dutch indie rockers Bettie Serveert are back with a new album, Pharmacy of Love. Out March 23 via Second Motion Records in the US, Pharmacy of Love marks Bettie Serveert's first release in four years.

With the band employing a "back to basics" approach, Pharmacy of Love captures the kind of raw, contagious energy that has long characterized Bettie Serveert's live shows.

Recorded earlier this year in a Belgian recording studio, founding members Carol van Dyk (vocals/guitar), Peter Visser (guitar) and Herman Bunskoeke (bass) were joined on the new album by special guest Joppe Molenaar (of the Dutch band Voicst) on drums. - more on this story