Slash Says Heavier Velvet Revolver Coming- Ozzy University- Alice Plans Nightmare 2- Arcade Fire Return- John Mayer Illness- Fans Remember Slipknot's Paul Gray- more

LA readers, here is something that might interest you: First Fridays, the new, live, monthly comedy and music variety show starting June 4th, 2010 @ 9:00PM at the fabulous LIFE on Wilshire featuring the band Old Blues Eyes lead by Mark DeCarlo. Entrance is free, food is scrumptious, and drinking is encouraged. Giveaways include FREE BAR TAB for the night's winning Band-E-Okee table. LIFE on Wilshire is located at 1521 N. Vine St. Hollywood, CA. more -

Metal Parking Lot Brawl

No this is not a story about an updated version of the classic "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" film, it's about a real brawl outside of a metal show. Here is the story the band involved with the brawl sent over: And Hell Followed With were involved in a wild brawl last weekend outside of a venue in Spokane, WA.

Guitarist, Kyle McIlmurray recalls the scene: "There was some drunk guy pushing kids around. The guy was clearly belligerent and getting really dangerous so one of the bands went to inform the club owner of what was going on with this dude. Instead of immediate action against the drunk guy, the band gets an earful about how unprofessional they're being and find out that the guy is a friend of the owner. Of course our pals in the band aren't going to sit down and take this so during one of their song breaks, the singer went on a long rant about the owner and his own unprofessionalism.

"Finally, after the band finished, the owner came up on stage and announced that if anyone wants to buy the band's mercy, they had better do it right then, because they were being kicked out of the club in 15 minutes. In fact there was a crew of gutter punks that the owner called whom were stirring up s*** outside while waiting to go and kick out the band. - more on this story

Aerosmith Tap Sammy Hagar For U.S. Tour Dates

As we told you yesterday, Aerosmith have announce summer tour dates in the U.S. We later received word about who you can expect to see playing with them on the outing.

Aerosmith have selected Sammy Hagar and the Wabos to open eleven of the sixteen upcoming Cocked, Locked, Ready To Rock U.S. Tour dates. [See more on this story link below for the dates]

The J.Geils Band will open the August 14th show at Boston's Fenway Park, which sold out in a record 23 minutes. - more on this story

Metallica To The Rescue

Metallica posted this cool news about a band member helping the family of one of his biggest influences. Here is what they had to say: Jaco Pastorius has long been regarded as one of, if not the, most influential bass guitarist of all time and as some of you may know, is Robert's personal hero.

So upon overhearing a phone conversation that Jaco's legendary "Bass of Doom" had resurfaced after being missing for over twenty years, but was tied up in an ugly legal battle, Robert instinctively offered to assist the Pastorius family in its recovery. The happy ending is that the bass is with Robert and the Pastorius family...a true piece of musical history.

Like so many other musical greats, Jaco Pastorius died young, only 35, but his legacy has lasted the test of time. With his pioneering techniques, charismatic and outrageous stage performances and his unmistakable singular style, Jaco left behind a musical legacy that has continued to inspire and influence ongoing generations worldwide. - more on this story

Trail of Dead Begin Work On Their Next Album

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have entered a worldwide deal with Superball Music for their next album and their Richter Scale Records Imprint.

Already a partner with Superball in Europe, this new deal comes on the heels of Justice Records closing its doors earlier this year and means that …Trail of Dead's next album will be released Stateside on Superball Music as well.

The band recently started working on their seventh studio album and the follow up to 2009's critically acclaimed The Century of Self – due out early 2011. - more on this story

Anthrax, Fall Out Boy, Every Time I Die Supergroup The Damned Things Make Live Debut

The Damned Things, the supergroup their label says we're not supposed to call a supergroup featuring Anthrax members Scott Ian (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Rob Caggiano (rhythm, lead guitar, vocals), Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley (lead vocals), and Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman (rhythm, lead guitar, vocals) and Andy Hurley (drums, percussion), made their live debut last night (June 1st) at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.

Not from New York? You can now check the band online and also see them in Europe this summer. The band launched their MySpace page last Friday and the page picked up more than 25,000 plays over the holiday weekend for the rough mixes of "We've Got A Situation Here" and "Ironiclast," two tracks from their upcoming debut album on the Island Records, which was produced by Trohman and Caggianoi, and recorded mostly in Brooklyn, where Anthrax lives, with side trips to Buffalo, NY (Buckley's home), and Chicago (Trohman, Hurley) – will be announced in the weeks ahead.

The Damned Things will be at Rock Am Ring in Nurburgring, Germany, on June 4th, kicking off a round of European shows. They will be stopping for shows in Denmark (Rock Im Park, June 5th); Brussels (Vk, June 6th); Amsterdam (a free show at Melkweg, June 8th); London (Heaven, June 10th); and Copenhagen (Copenhell, June 12th); before wrapping it up at the Download Festival in Donnington (UK), June 13th. - more on this story

Metric's New Video Harkens Back To Scorpions Hit

Metric have release a brand new music video for "Stadium Love," the fifth official music video from Fantasies.

The synthetic vocals, keyboards and guitars lead the way as the band intersperse footage of wild animals fighting.

The simplicity of the video production continues as the band spend most of the video playing inside of a cage ala the Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane" video. - You can check out the clip here

Nevermore Announce Their Return To The U.S.

Nevermore have announced their first U.S. headlining tour in almost three years, which kicks off on Sept. 23rd and runs through Nov. 5th.

This bill also features Warbringer, Mutiny Within and Hatesphere in the support slots.

Nevermore will be touring in support of their new album, The Obsidian Conspiracy, which hits stores in North America on June 8th. - more on this story

L.A. Guns Singer Tributes Fat Chicks

SplitScreen Entertainment has announced "Whole Lotta Love" a new album that will feature all-new recordings of popular songs praising the fuller female figure, originally made famous by some of the biggest names in rock and pop music.

These anthems to abundance will be performed by renowned rock & rollers from yesterday and today, along with a select few rising stars. In direct opposition to the "no fat chicks" mantra espoused by some, "Whole Lotta Love" will be a star-studded celebration of large and lovely ladies.

Starting off the salute with a regal flourish is Queen's arena rock classic "Fat Bottomed Girls," sung by Phil Lewis of Hollywood warhorse L.A. Guns. A favorite song from his youth in the UK, Phil lends an appropriately British flair to this beloved ode to the amply endowed derriere. - more on this story

KISS Looking for Unsigned Bands To Open For Them

KISS and Guitar Center On-Stage are giving unsigned bands and artists the opportunity to open for KISS on their upcoming North American tour, The Hottest Show on Earth.

One band from each of twenty-two markets across the United States will be chosen to play at a KISS show. A video announcement can be viewed here.

At the conclusion of the tour, KISS will choose the best of the twenty-two bands to receive the grand prize that includes a $10,000 Guitar Center shopping spree. Now through September 1, 2010, bands across the country are invited to register at - GCOnstage.com

Bad Religion Begin Work On New Album

Bad Religion are marking their 30 year anniversary by heading into the studio to record a new studio album.

"While we're celebrating our 30th anniversary as a band this year it's also a time when Greg and I have embarked on new creative pursuits which have informed our songwriting process. I'm a new parent again and Greg a new author having just completed his first book Anarchy Evolution," says Gurewitz. "So the songs are a distillation of where we've been and who we are now...a natural evolution of creativity."

Working again with producer Joe Barresi (Queens Of The Stone Age, Tool), Bad Religion entered the studio armed with 16 songs that are filled with deeply personal experiences, cautionary tales and a developing worldview, spanning the gauntlet from their signature high energy punk rock to a more introspective melodic sound. - more on this story

Light This City Offspring Heartsounds New Album and Tour

Heartsounds will release their new album Until We Surrender on June 15 and will kick off a tour in support of the album in late June.

Formed from the ashes of now defunct melodic death-metal band Light This City, Heartsounds consists of founding members Laura Nichol (guitars/vocals) and Ben Murray (guitars/vocals) who after growing tired of banging heads decided to return to their true love...punk rock.

"Laura and I have always been fans of punk rock from before we even started listening to heavy metal," says Murray. "From the time we were 13 years old our favorite bands have been Bad Religion, Strung Out, Propagandhi, etc. We had never stopped enjoying and following punk rock, so when we were tired of playing melodic death-metal it was obvious what direction we wanted to strive for musically. The passion and emotion that we can express through punk rock is definitely unlike any other genre of music, and we are having the time of our lives so far!"
- more on this story

Lords of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult Reunite For Summer Tour

Lords of Acid and The Thrill Kill Kult will share a stage for the first time in fifteen years as the two outfits embark on a second incarnation of The Sextacy Ball kicks off July 13 at Seattle's Studio 7.

The Belgian-based Lords of Acid features electronic wizard Praga Khan and a new cast of miscreants and mischief makers. The Thrill Kill Kult includes original members Charles Levi, Sinderella Pussie and Jacky Blacque.

The 29-date U.S. tour finds the two bands joined by Sacramento-based band Blownload and DJ Deathwish from VampireFreaks.com. - dates

Chris Isaak World Tour and Live Album

Chris Isaak began his worldwide tour on May 26th with stops in Russia, Europe and the U.S., and now comes word that the "Chris Isaak Live at the Fillmore" CD will be out on June 15th.

"Chris Isaak Live at the Fillmore" was recorded in October 2008 at the world famous Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Brilliantly recorded live with state-of-the-art sound and production, the CD features 17 classic Isaak songs and captures the essence of a live Chris Isaak show including his unique repartee and quick wit. The album cover and booklet feature Isaak's original artwork and includes several live photos that capture the energy of the event.

"The one thing I always hear from my fans when we visit after my live shows is, 'why don't you do a live record?' So folks, here it is. And when you get sick of listening to me live in your living room, come on down and see me and the boys in concert," stated Isaak. - more on this story

Psychostick and Look What I Did Announce The Pay Off the Van Tour

Psychostick will hit the road this summer on a headlining tour with Look What I Did with a simple goal in mind – they want to pay off their van.

"From a business standpoint, it is always best to minimize your expenses. By doing that, it is significantly easier to tour without having a huge amount of money due every month," says Psychostick drummer Alex Preiss. "Wait...I'm supposed to be a rocker...what I meant to say was: we just want to party!"

The "Pay Off the Van Tour" will be Look What I Did's second tour with Psychostick. The bands, along with Powerglove, joined forces in May/June 2008 for the "Terrible Shirt Tour." The Look What I Did's February 2010 album, "Atlas Drugged," was produced by Brian Virtue (Deftones, Chevelle, 30 Seconds to Mars) and released on Modernist Movement Records. - more on this story

Kings of Leon, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir Lead Outside Lands Fest Lineup

The lineup for the third annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival has been announced. The festival will take place in San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Park August 14 - 15, 2010.

Like the first two years, major national headliners such as Kings of Leon, Furthur Featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket, Phoenix, Social Distortion, Levon Helm and Al Green, will perform alongside the best emerging artists in the world, including Gogol Bordello, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Janelle Monáe, Tokyo Police Club, The Temper Trap, Pretty Lights, Dawes and more. The complete announced lineup is listed below. More acts will be announced soon.

Saturday's headliners Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, both members of the Grateful Dead, played Golden Gate Park frequently in the late 60's and early 70's. Furthur's headlining slot will mark the first time that Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will perform together again in the Park since Bill Graham's memorial tribute, 'Love, Laughter and Music' in 1991. After three years of non-stop touring off their latest and hugely successful album, Grammy Award-winning band Kings of Leon will play on Sunday evening in Golden Gate Park for the first time ever. - more on this story

Molly Hatchet Hitting The Road This Week

Molly Hatchet's latest studio effort Justice hit stores yesterday and the band will hit the road later this week.

To Bobby Ingram, brain, guitarist and main songwriter of American Southern rock act Molly Hatchet, the term 'Justice' is more than just a word. To him, this basic concept expresses his whole philosophy of life. Justice, fairness, trust between friends, family members, parents and their children: what could be more important? - more on this story

Singled Out: 8mm's Los Angeles

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today 8mm frontwoman Juliette Beavan tells us about "Los Angeles" from their brand new album "Love and the Apocalypse". We now turn it over to Juliette for the story:

We had just finished reading Cormac McCarthy's, "The Road". Sean and I both love his writing and were floored by that book. In a weird way, I find that there's a lullaby-horror feeling throughout McCarthy's books that just enchants and terrifies me.

Anyway, around that time, Sean was sitting at the piano, playing this beautiful, swaying piece that sounded like the lullaby of the Apocalypse, and when I sang the first line, "It draws the faithful to their knees...",
I realized that it's all the same; Love, relationships, the Apocalypse.... it's about the destruction of desire, really... it's just a matter of scale.

The working title of the song was "Home" and given that our home is this glittering city that is the capital of desires and disasters, we decided that "Los Angeles" seemed only appropriate as the title.

So, yeah, that's how an Apocalypse book inspired a break up song! And yes, it's on the same ep with a song called "Life is Good", which makes perfect sense to us.

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

Joe Bonamassa To Do It Again This Fall

He just wrapped a successful UK tour but Joe Bonamassa will return again this October when he will embark on another nationwide UK tour.

Bonamassa is hailed as one of the most gifted blues guitarists of his generation. Last year he was voted Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2009 Classic Rock Awards, and is championed by Eric Clapton.

His new studio album Black Rock features a duet with the legendary B.B. King on the track Night Life. The album entered the UK album chart at number 14 and number 1 in the Independent Album chart. Bonamassa also hosts his own weekly UK radio show on Planet Rock. - more on this story

Marionette Announce Fall Tour

Marionette have announced a U.K. headlining tour in October and have also posted video footage online from their recent farewell show for their recently departed vocalist.

Commented bassist and founding member Mikael Medin: "U.K. fans get ready for some monster shows on our headlining run this October. We took three trips to the U.K last year, each being better than the last. Those seeing us for the first time will get a proper evening with Marionette.

"In addition to extended sets, including fan favorites from Enemies and Spite, we'll play songs we haven't tried out on the road in quite some time. Fans will also see that we've worked hard to upgrade all elements of our show. We'll be announcing more shows in the coming weeks. - more on this story

Chimaira Announce Coming Alive DVD/CD Set

Chimaira have announced a July 20th release of their DVD/CD set, Coming Alive on Ferret Music. This release includes a four-part documentary filmed over the course of a year and a half while the entire package includes over 7 hours of exclusive content.

The DVD, filmed entirely in HD, showcases Chimaira in the studio while recording, The Infection, and chronicles their recent, worldwide touring season. Coming Alive is an in-depth look into Chimaira's life and music in the studio and on the road.

Not only does the DVD set include this documentary piece, another section, Chimaira XMAS: Live Concert Film, celebrates the 10th annual Chimaira Christmas show in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on December 30th, 2009. 13 HD cameras capture Chimaira releasing their fury for their hometown crowd on a dark and snowy night in December. - more on this story

The Static Jacks Supporting The Futureheads and We Were Promised Jet Packs

The Static Jacks have kicked off a new string of tour dates where they are supporting The Futureheads and We Were Promised Jet Packs.

The band is touring is support of their debut LP, Laces, which was produced by Andrew Maury (RAC).

The Static Jacks (vocalist Ian Devaney, guitarists Henry Kaye and Michael Sue-Poi, bassist Spencer Kimmins, and drummer Nick Brennan) are a rare and refreshing act. This young quintet from Westfield, NJ has embraced the D.I.Y. approach and each member is involved with every single aspect of recording and releasing music, no matter how small. - more on this story

Help Dark Age With 10 Steps To Nausea

(Band statement) Dark Age are launching a special video contest and need your help. The band's idea:

"We are planning to do a video for the song '10 Steps To Nausea' from our current album Acedia (out now on AFM Records). We want to something different from the normal (and usually boring) performance clips you see all the time; we want our fans to be a part of the clip.

How? Just switch on your webcam (or a digi cam) and film yourself going crazy to '10 Steps To Nausea.' Use your imagination, You can do a crazy performance alone or with your friends ... indoors, outdoors, whatever comes to your mind is welcome. - more on this story

Stereo Skyline Debut Coming in July

Stereo Skyline will release their debut full-length album, Stuck On Repeat, on July 20th.

Grabbing one of the coveted slots on the Alternative Press "100 Bands You Need to Know in 2010" list, the band follows in the tradition of fellow Islanders Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, but with more of a pop appeal.

Through catchy melodies and heartthrob lyrics, Stereo Skyline's popularity has continued to grow among teen hearts at a rapid pace which has translated into a substantial online following for a band so young (singer/songwriter Kevin Bard is only 19 years old). "If we are having fun singing it, you should have fun hearing it" says Kevin. "There is just too much negative music floating around." - more on this story

Ramming Speed Sons of Thunder Tour

Ramming Speed will embark on their "Sons of Thunder" tour this coming Sunday in Reykjavik, Iceland before heading to Europe for the next two months.

Featuring multiple festival appearances and one off shows with the likes of Magrudergrind and Municipal Waste, the tour will bring the band from Iceland to Slovakia.

In tow will be Speed's latest vinyl offering, "Always Disgusted, Never Surprised" (Punks Before Profits), the Candlelight Records debut "Brainwreck" and it's freshly repressed slime-green vinyl version (Brutal Panda Records). The newly repressed version of 'Brainwreck' is limited to 300 copies - more on this story