New Found Glory Guitarist May Have Cancer

Hopefully there will be an update posted on that blog when something is known. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Hayley Williams of Paramore did post a quick Twitter update on Wednesday, "Today was nuts. But @XChadballX [Chad's Twitter address] is back for the attack! Thanks everyone for your prayers and encouragment It means so much." -

Body of Missing Metallica Fan Found?- Slash N will.i.am.- Label Head McMad at Franz Ferdinand- Who's Riff Is It?- Free Down Song- Them Crooked Dates and more

We start with this sad news: The Virginia State Police are saying that human remains found on a farm in southern Albemarle County appear to be those of Morgan Harrington, 20, a Virginia Tech student who was reported missing after attending a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville on October 17. more

The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am. tells Billboard.com that he was commissioned to remix The Who's "My Generation", which will air during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast "I altered the lyric to fit my generation now and then have Slash on it," will.i.am says. more

Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine released the two-song digital bundle, "I Could Be The Only One". The two songs are Manchester Orchestra covering Kevin Devine's "I Could Be With Anyone" and Kevin Devine covering Manchester Orchestra's "The Only One". more

Authentik Artists CEO Scott Austin slammed Franz Ferdinand for complaining that they were used in a McDonalds ad. In his open letter to the band, he said in part, "The second you signed a contract with any company who was willing to take the great financial risk (and at unknown reward) of working with your self-indulgent, guitar-noodling band, you made a deal to trade your 'artistic credo' for some cold hard cash and a shot at becoming a bona fide rock star." more. You can read Alex Kapranos from FF response here.

Down are so overjoyed that their beloved New Orleans Saints are finally going to the Super Bowl, they are offering a free download of "On March the Saints" (the unofficial fight song for the Saints) here. Read what frontman Philip Anselmo had to say about this all here

Them Crooked Vultures have announced a couple more U.S. tour dates. Beginning with a show at New York's Roseland Ballroom (February 8), the group will then head to North Carolina, before ending in Georgia. more

This upcoming Monday, February 1st, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell will make an appearance at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney for a benefit concert supporting leukemia patient Todd Larsen and his family more

In a push to bring their unique blues, rock, and soul sound to the United States, Ali & The DT's just finalized their record deal with the rapidly growing U.S. interdependent label, TUN Records. Get The First Layer of Civilisation Off is set for release on April 20th 2010. Plans are already in the works for an accompanying U.S. tour set for late summer, early fall. more

The Who have launched a "name that riff" contest to celebrate the release of 'Greatest Hits' and the band playing the halftime show at this year's Super Bowl. Check it out here.

Muse have announced plans to make a Nirvana inspired tour documentary. bassist Chris Wolstenholme told Australia's Triple J radio station, the band want to do "Something a little bit more like Nirvana's Live! Tonight! Sold Out! I think that was one of the best tour documentaries I've ever watched; just life on the road and what it's like, with obviously a bit of music here and there, and other loads of other random stuff as well." more

The Paradise Lost and Sirenia tour of Australia has reportedly been postponed until later this year more

Peter Green & Friends have expanded their forthcoming UK tour to a whopping 19 dates. more

Devo is set to whip up some excitement at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when they perform live at a medal celebration in Whistler, B.C., on Feb. 22. more

Radiohead are going to cover a Peter Gabriel song in the very near future. "Thom wanted to do a version of Wallflower, which I'm very curious to hear," Gabriel said in a podcast on his official website. "I think that was an important track for him when he was 14." Peter will return the favor on his forthcoming album more

Finger Eleven are in the studio working on the follow-up to 2007's Them Vs. You Vs. Me. more

A Love Ends Suicide has apparently reformed, though they will be known as A.L.E.S. going forward. Formed in 2003, the group released their second album with Metal Blade Records before disbanding in 2006 more

Punk News has the Tracklisting for the new Pavement compilation here -

AC/DC To Rock Iron Man 2

Through a unique collaboration between Marvel Studios and Columbia Records, AC/DC's music will be featured in Marvel Studios' "IRON MAN 2," the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster film.

In addition, Columbia Records will release the album AC/DC: Iron Man 2 on Monday, April 19, 2010. AC/DC: Iron Man 2, features 15 classic AC/DC songs selected from ten of the band's studio albums, ranging from 1976 to 2008. The complete track listing can be found below.

The debut video from AC/DC: Iron Man 2 is the AC/DC's classic album cut "Shoot To Thrill," which was filmed live last month in Buenos Aires during the band's highly acclaimed Black Ice World Tour, the secondhighest grossing world tour of 2009 according to concert industry trade publication Pollstar. - more on this story

Dave Matthews Band Announce Summer Tour

Dave Matthews Band will launch an extensive North American summer tour with a two-night stand at The Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT (May 28th and 29th)

The group's Platinum-certified 2009 album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (RCA), is nominated for two GRAMMY awards - "Album Of The Year" and "Best Rock Album." Dave Matthews Band will perform at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards, held this Sunday, January 31st, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound on CBS from 8 - 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

The band will launch a month-long European tour in Hamburg, Germany on February 16th. North American tour dates are printed below. *The 8/17 show is a free concert with tickets initially being offered to those individuals who purchased tickets to the band's cancelled 2009 USANA Amphitheatre concert. Those individuals who purchased tickets for last year's concert will be contacted with details on how to obtain their free tickets. After the initial offering to the 2009 ticket holders tickets will be made available to the general public through a special offering to be announced.. - more on this story

The Drive-By Truckers Offer Free MP3 As They Hit The Road

The Drive-By Truckers announce the first part of The Big To-Do tour, screenings of their documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending, unveil the album cover for The Big To-Do and offer free MP3.

The Big To-Do is slated for release on March 16, 2010 on ATO Records. Leading up to the release the band will play some weekend runs before kicking off The Big To-Do tour with a two night stand in Atlanta and then heading to SXSW. More dates to be announced in the coming weeks. DBT and ATO Records are offering up the first single, "This F**king Job", from The Big To-Do for free more

The premiere screening of the DBT documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending, is scheduled for February 5, 2010 at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. This is a film about the redemptive power of rock-and-roll; it's about the American South, where rock was born; it's about a band straddling the borders of rock, punk and country; it's about making art, making love and making a living; it's about the Drive-By Truckers. Director Barr Weissman, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Brad Morgan will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening. - more on this story

Serj Tankian's Elect the Dead Symphony Goes Big Screen

A reader forwarded this announcement: Reprise Records and Serj Tankian have teamed up with theatrical distributor Cinema Purgatorio to present a series of nationwide screenings of Tankian's Elect the Dead Symphony — a very special orchestral interpretation of Tankian's critically acclaimed solo debut Elect the Dead. The dynamic one-off performance was recorded and filmed in HD by six cameras at the majestic Auckland Town Hall in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

The dramatic result has been captured in the Elect the Dead Symphony — a CD/DVD that will be released by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on March 9th, 2010. Confirmed screening dates are below with more in the works. Many of the shows have been suggested by fans and are being organized in conjunction with the Armenian-American community, including the Armenian National Committee of America (anca.org)

With the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at his side, Tankian's epic songs and operatic vocals on Elect the Dead Symphony take on a whole new sense of grandeur when performed by a full 70-piece orchestra, while the DVD's sweeping edits showcase the drama of the concert. This unique meshing of two very different musical worlds was a vision Tankian has long wanted to make a reality. What sets Elect The Dead Symphony apart from other successful pairings between rock artists and orchestras is that Tankian specifically rearranged his songs to be performed with only orchestral instruments. - more on this story

Bad Veins Join We Were Promised Jetpacks Tour

Bad Veins today announced a 10-date tour supporting Scottish indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks. The Cincinnati-based, indie pop duo, comprised of Benjamin Davis (vocals, guitar, keys), Sebastien Schultz (drums) and a 1973 reel-to-reel named Irene, will kick off the tour with WWPJ on February 11th at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

With 2009 coverage including Spin Magazine, Spinner, Entertainment Weekly Online and MTV.com, Bad Veins debuted their first full-length and self-titled album to critical acclaim on July 21, 2009. Among the "Best of 2009" lists, Bad Veins were spotlighted in both ABC News Amplified and ESPN's "Top 10 Albums of 2009," and the single "Go Home" was featured on USA Today's Pop Candy "Top 20 Songs of 2009."

Having already played with acts including The Virgins, The Hold Steady, We Are Scientists and VHS or Beta, among others, Bad Veins is excited to again embark on tour. "We're psyched to get back on the road, especially with We Were Promised Jetpacks," said Benjamin Davis. "Sebastien and I caught them at Monolith and were blown away. We were super excited to find out they caught our set as well, and enjoyed it enough to ask us to support their tour." Added Sebastian Schultz, ""I walked away from SXSW last year with a short list of bands that really impressed me. Topping that list was WWPJ – a band that Ben and I happened to share a showcase with early in the week. Since then, I've been a huge fan, and am thrilled we'll be playing with them in February." - more on this story

Living Sacrifice Week: Organized Lie

Metal legends Living Sacrifice return this week with, 'The Infinite Order,' their first album since regrouping in 2008. To celebrate the release singer / guitarist Bruce Fitzhugh will give us the inside story to five songs from the album. We continue today with "Organized Lie". Here is Bruce with the story:

Rocky and Lance wrote all the music on this one. When I was working on the lyrics, I extended a part for the second verse. That happens a lot, because I will hear a part that can be repeated very easily and fit it with what is already there. And Pro-Tools lets you edit or expand on stuff so easily, as long as it is coming from another part that is already recorded.

I wrote the lyrics and they have to do with the total saturation of media, news and movies that we take in day after day after day. A lot of what we take in is not good for our souls, not good for our spirit.

Preview the album and grab tour dates and more right - here

The Apples in stereo Set New Album Release

Studio-obsessed indie rockers The Apples in stereo are celebrating the start of a new decade with the release of their seventh studio album, Travellers in Space and Time, their most hi-fi and hook-laden production to date. Described by frontman Robert Schneider as "retro-futuristic super-pop," the album is the official follow-up to 2007's New Magnetic Wonder, and the band's second studio release for Elijah Wood's Simian Records. The album will be released on April 20 via Yep Roc/Simian/Elephant 6.

Travellers contains sixteen piano-driven tracks, bubbling over with vocoder harmonies and sci-fi sound effects, like 70's AM radio filtered through a UFO; including the robotic first single "Dance Floor", the four-on-the-floor dream-scape "Hey Elevator", the Hall and Oates-tinged "Told You Once", and the epic, yearning "Dream About The Future," among many instant hits. The musical theme heard in these songs is strung throughout Travellers: intense pop hooks and electronic sounds, mixed with a pumping, get-up-and-moonwalk beat.

"I wanted to make a futuristic pop record, to reach out to the kids of the future," Schneider relates. "It is what I imagine their more highly-evolved pop might sound like: shiny soul music with robots and humans singing together, yet informed by the music of our time. So we are sending a pop music message through time, hoping they will decode it and be into it." - more on this story

As Tall As Lions Tour Plans

As Tall As Lions, the New York prog-rock-jazz fusion group who has been steadily building a solid fan base since their inception in 2003, has been a touring machine, splitting a massive fall campaign supporting the likes of MUTEMATH and Minus The Bear.

Next up, the band will be embarking on a 20 date tour with Cage The Elephant, the bluesy southern rock band who radio has fallen in love with. To change the live show up a bit, the band has stripped down to its original 4-piece line up, down from 6. The band is looking to re-discover their roots and rock up the set to give long time fans a different look.

ATAL is confirmed for 2010's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA. They'll play Friday Night, April 16th alongside the likes of Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend and many more. Alternative Press listed You Can't Take It With You #7 on their "The Best Albums Of '09" list and awarded lead singer Dan Nigro the runner up spot in their "Best Vocalist" category, gushing "his soaring falsetto and multi-octave range may evoke Jeff Buckley, but Nigro brings depth and soulfulness to a scene sorely lacking both". - more on this story

One For The Team Hitting The Road To Promote Forthcoming Album

Ghosts, One For The Team's third album, will be released on Afternoon Records on March 16, 2010. On January 28th the band will embark on a two month tour.

The disc is the greatly anticipated follow-up to the Minneapolis quartet's critically acclaimed Build It Up, which came out in August of 2008 and attracted attention from NPR, MTV, Daytrotter, and even Gossip Girl. Ghosts was recorded in San Francisco at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone Studios in August and produced by singer/guitarist Ian Anderson, who made the decision to record the disc on tape.

"Recording to tape was really important to me for how the record turned out in general, Anderson says. "Nowadays you can make everything perfect during the recording process, but you can't do that on tape. The way it is is the way it is and that was really important to us as a band. A lot of the record was also done live. The sound of the tape is really warm, you can really hear the room more. There's a sense of breathing in and out." - more on this story

The Decemberists Offshoot Black Prairie Set Debut Album Release

Sugar Hill Records is proud to announce the upcoming release of Feast of the Hunters' Moon, the debut album from Portland, Oregon-based Black Prairie. Featuring three-fifths of The Decemberists and two of the city's finest folk stylists, the heavily acoustic debut was produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie) and embodies the rich sonic landscape of the Portland music scene while integrating the diverse backgrounds of its members. As described by dobroist Chris Funk, the band's sound "bridges the music of Clarence White and Ennio Morricone" in a way that defies genre characterization.

Decemberists guitarist Funk and bassist Nate Query hatched the plan to start a primarily instrumental string band while on the road. Funk began to spend time playing the square-necked Dobro guitar, and the pair recruited fellow Decemberist Jenny Conlee to play accordion. Portland musicians Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld then filled out the ranks on violin and guitar, respectively.

Black Prairie's songs consist mostly of instrumentals; their arrangements draw from bluegrass and old-time string band traditions, while Conlee's accordion and Tornfelt's violin instill klezmer and gypsy elements to the band's unique and vibrant sound. The quintet sometimes takes an almost-classical approach to composition, with songs containing multiple movements that ebb and flow in a way that differs greatly from traditional pop or bluegrass structure. The band decided it would be a shame not to make use of Tornfelt's vocal ability, so she sings on a handful of tracks. - more on this story

Martin Sexton Sets New Album Release, Plans Tour

Sugarcoating, Martin Sexton's new album due out April 6, 2010, finds the one-of-a-kind artist doing what he does best: locating larger truths within specific details of the life he's living. "I write from personal experience — my own hang-ups and quirks, good times and bad times. That keeps it real."

The Syracuse-born artist tracked Sugarcoating live off the floor in seven days with a remarkably cohesive studio band composed of what Sexton describes as "amazing players, the best you could find."

"Each song is so stylistically different from the next," adds Sexton, "I've always preferred records that range, sort of like the White Album, from 'Black Bird' to 'Helter Skelter.' At one time, industry types tried to convince me to stick with one genre, but it was like wearing a suit that didn't fit." - more on this story

Mumford & Sons Move Up Album Release

London's latest indie rock sensation Mumford & Sons announce the new, earlier release date of their debut Sigh No More. The album will be released February 16th in the US on Glassnote Records.

In conjunction with the new release date, the band will perform their single "Little Lion Man" on February 17th on The Late Show with David Letterman. There will also be an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (air date TBA.) The song has been hailed as "the hottest record in the world" by DJ Zane Lowe from the UK's influential Radio 1, and the band has been nominated in the "Best New Artist" category at the NME Awards. Furthermore, the album, Sigh No More is gold in both the UK and in Australia.

The band has several US tour dates scheduled; both the February 9th show at Los Angeles' Troubadour and the February 18th show at New York's Bowery Ballroom sold out more than a month in advance. The band will return to the US for more shows in the spring. - more on this story

Japan's Chatmonchy To Make US Live Debut

Chatmonchy are three girls from Japan who rock. The band will be making their U.S. debut on March 19 at SXSW 2010, performing at Japan Nite (venue to be announced shortly).

Playing raw, energy-infused melodic rock music, Eriko (guitar and vocals), Akiko (bass), and Kumiko (drums) have been making a buzz all across Japan since their 2005 major label debut. Now, with their latest Oricon chart-topping album "Kokuhaku" (Confession), they're ready to infect North American fans with their catchy take on girl-rock power.

On March 2, 2010 SIN/Sony Music Independent Network will release three of the band's full-lengths in a digital only format, including 2009's "Kokuhaku" (Confession), "Miminari" (Ear Ringing), and "Seimeiryoku" (Life Force). - more on this story

Austin Collins & The Rainbird Set Album Release

Singer/Songwriter/Musician Austin Collins and his band The Rainbirds, are set to release their highly anticipated record Wrong Control March 2nd, on Eight Dollar Music Records.

The band returned to the studio with producer Will Johnson (Centro-matic) to record this past October. The end result--10 tracks--seven of which were written by Collins--the others by fellow band members Dylan McDougall (lead guitarist), and Craig Bagby drummer, who supply the record's driving rhythm section.

Collins says that producer Johnson, who's been moonlighting as the drummer for the Monsters Of Folk tour, "brings the grit and pop of a Centro record to our Americana leanings." "We're obviously proud and very pleased with the album." - more on this story

Hot Chelle Rae Hitting The Road With Sherwood

Hot Chelle Rae will be playing direct support to Sherwood on the band's upcoming tour, kicking off February 17th in Los Angeles. Also on the tour will be Black Gold & Reece.

Most recently, HCR announced a handful of tour dates with Owl City and that they have been confirmed for the 2010 Warped Tour. The band will be playing 7/17-8/2 on the Kevin Says Stage.

TOUR DATES
w/ Sherwood, Black Gold, Reece
Feb-17 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
Feb-21 San Diego, CA SOMA
Feb-22 Phoenix, AZ The Clubhouse
Feb-23 Amarillo, TX Common
- more dates

The Acacia Strain DVD Preview Party

The Acacia Strain's video for "Dr. Doom" from their new double DVD, "The Most Known Unknown," is up now at Myspace Metal. The eagerly awaited DVD debut from these Massachusetts metal titans hits the streets on February 16th.

"The Known Unknown," features a sold out show at the Worcester Palladium shot in December 2008 on one disc, while the other contains footage of a show at the much smaller and more intimate Waterfront in the band's home turf of Holyoke MA, as well as three music videos, a documentary covering the formative years of the band and a "10 Seconds of Fame" bonus segment, in which select fans were given 10 seconds on camera to do whatever they wanted. The cover art was done by Paul Romano, who also did the cover of the band's album, "Continent," as well as covers for Mastodon, Trivium and many more.

To celebrate the release, the band will be throwing a preview party at 7pm on Friday, February 12th at the Worcester Palladium Upstairs, which will consist of a screening of the DVD as well as a special live performance from the band. - more on this story

Social Code Satisfied

Social Code has just released the video for Satisfied, the first single from their forthcoming U.S. debut album, ROCK 'N' ROLL, which is due out March 23, 2010 on Fifth Season Music (Fontana Distribution). The clip was directed by Colin Minihan (Theory of a Deadman). The album was produced by John Travis (Kid Rock) with additional production by bassist Logan Jacobs, mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Hinder) and mastered by Vlado Meller (The White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers).

"Satisfied" debuts this week on the Active Rock radio charts at #87 thanks to radio stations jumping on board everyday and additions to such prestigious outlets as Music Choice and AOL Radio. The song has been receiving early airplay in Canada well before today's impact date in the U.S., and already reached the Top 15 of the Rock charts thanks to airplay on over 40 stations. "Satisfied" has been on the Canadian Active Rock Top 30 for 25 weeks, making it currently the longest-running charting song (longer than Green Day, Kings of Leon and Foo Fighters). In Edmonton alone, on "The Bear," it's spun over 600 times.

The video shows the band in full performance mode, made all the more complete with a dancer doing her thing on a stripper pole. It is ROCK 'N' ROLL after all Check it out - here