Fatal Metallica Bus Crash- Great White Fall- Meet Ozzy- Stripping Pumpkins- Rush- U2- Pavement- Sonic Beck Tortoise- Coldplay Recording- Maiden Anniversary- more

Parlour to Parlour returns with a special new episode featuring Providence, RI band The Brother Kite. Check it out here -

Them Crooked Vultures Cancer Benefit for Eagles of Death Metal Star

Them Crooked Vultures have announced a benefit show to aid Eagles of Death Metal bassist Brian O'Connor who has been diagnosed with cancer, and is undergoing treatment in Los Angeles. He had surgery yesterday and will begin chemotherapy in three weeks.

Here is the announcement: When Brian alerted members of his vast family of bands of his diagnosis, a human chain of support formed immediately. Members of Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures and Rage Against The Machine, all touring in various locations around the globe, mobilized to take the load off Brian, so he could focus on preparing his mind and body for what lay ahead.

Brian has no health insurance, so the first order of business was to organize a London show and an LA show to raise money for his medical expenses. Them Crooked Vultures announced the London show today; they have added a July 5 Brixton Academy date to their European festival run. Details for the Los Angeles show are being finalized now and will be announced soon. - more on this story

Metallica's World Magnetic Tour Expands Again, With More To Come

When Metallica tours, they really tour. The band's epic World Magnetic tour has expanded once again with some additional dates, but the band warns that only a couple more further additions to the outing will be forthcoming.

Here is what the band had to say: The World Magnetic tour is indeed starting to wind down . . . just a couple more announcements to go, so keep an eye out here.

Wow . . . you guys are nuts and we are nuts about you!! It's still mind boggling to us that 13 shows in Australia sold out in less than an hour! So guess what??? We're coming BAAAACCCK! We spent the last couple of weeks trying to put a schedule together in September that would include yet another visit . . . the third one, the prequel if you will. It works out that on our way to Japan we can do just that, so look for us AGAIN on September 15 in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena and September 18 in Sydney at Acer Arena. - more on this story

Ozzy Denies Firing Zakk Wylde

Ozzy Osbourne has gone on the record about his new band lineup but also once again addressed his very public parting with Zakk Wylde. BW&BK has the report:

With a band made up of drummer Tommy Clufetos, bassist Blasko, keyboardist Adam Wakeman, and new guitarist, Gus G., Ozzy talks about the change that came with the departure of Zakk Wylde. "It's not changed that much, apart from the fact that I thought I was beginning to sound like, um … what's his band called? Zakk's band. My brain, it just started on the left side. Black Label Society. I started to sound like Black Label Society."

Ozzy insists that Wylde wasn't fired. "I don't want anyone to think for one minute that I fired him. I never fired him. He never left. There was nothing to leave. Because all he was doing was his gig and mine. It kind of got to us crashing into each other. But I had to let go, because it's me rather than him." - more on this story

Concert Biz in Big Trouble

It looks like the recession has hit the concert business in a big way. Billboard reports: that the industry is facing what could be its worst summer since the mid-1990s as a slew of A-list acts ranging from the Jonas Brothers to Kings Of Leon battle slumping ticket sales.

Artists such as Christina Aguilera, the Eagles, U2 (due to Bono's back surgery), Rihanna, John Mayer, Limp Bizkit, and the Go-Go's have canceled either shows or entire tours.

Rumblings of a tough year for touring began a couple of months ago, with predictions ranging from "mediocre" to "bloodbath." Two main culprits may be at fault: ticket prices and traffic. At the center of the storm is Live Nation, which controls the majority of summer touring, particularly at the amphitheater level. - read more at Billboard

Steve Miller At A Crossroads With Kenny Chesney

Steve Miller will be sharing the stage with longtime friend Kenny Chesney on CMT's hit show Crossroads.

Performing each other's songs and sharing stories on the popular series, the two icons filmed the show in Nashville at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

The show will air Friday, July 9th at 10pm/9pm central. Songs featured in the hour long episode will include Miller's classics such as "The Joker" and "Abracadabra," as well as "You Got Me Dizzy" from the new album BINGO! The performance will also include Chesney hits "Living In Fast Forward and "I Go Back." - more on this story

Sebastian Bach To Clash With SpongeBob SquarePants

Sebastian Bach isn't a stranger to TV. He had a recurring role on "The Gilmore Girls," but now he is getting animated for a clash with SpongeBob.

Nickelodeon will wrap up Independence Day weekend with the premiere of a new SpongeBob SquarePants special, "The Clash of Triton," on Monday, July 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

The half-hour special features celebrity guest stars Victoria Beckham as Queen Amphitrite; John O'Hurley as her husband, King Neptune; and Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) as their rebellious son, Triton. Following the special, a week of all-new SpongeBob episodes will premiere Tuesday, July 6, through Friday, July 9, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. - more on this story

Saving Abel Get High With Miss America

Saving Abel's new album, Miss America, has entered the Billboard album chart at 24. This is the highest position the band has held with any album on the Top 200.

Released June 8, 2010, Miss America and the band's presence in the marketplace, has been delivered a level of critical mass that documents the arrival of Saving Abel.

The lead single "Stupid Girl (Only In Hollywood)" is flying up the rock charts, currently bulleted at 12, while the accompanying video is in rotation on MTV2. Last week the band announced plans for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) on August 2. - more on this story

Behind the Video: Hanson (With Weird Al)

Today Zac Hanson tells us the story behind the song "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" and the how they came to work with Weird Al on the video for the track which comes from their brand new album "Shout It Out." Here is Zac with the stories:

"Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" originally started as a chorus. We didn't know where it was going to go, and it sat around for a long time. In the past, we've had a lot of ideas that have stuck around and you just keep singing them and singing them. The idea eventually came about of it as a kind of "done me wrong" soul song. Someone found a similar loop to my drum part and we started rocking out to that, and then I went and jumped on the drums. It really came together once we all settled around the idea of what the song was really about. So much of it is based around the groove and chorus, and the verse was just about the attitude. Once we got the attitude of the song, it was easy.

As for the music video, working with "Weird Al" was kind of the perfect icing on the cake. He's the king of parody – he's known for being the best, and nobody does it better than him. Having him be a part of the video was huge. It just awesome because… he's "Weird Al"! We're fans of him like millions of other people around the world, but to have him be a part of a parody video that we were doing was awesome. He's known for doing such a good job with his videos, and we kind of felt like that was the ultimate "nod" of sorts, like "we did it."

Now that you know the story behind this video, you can watch it for yourself on Hanson's - Myspace

Foo Americana Fighter

Foo Fighters lead guitarist Chris Shiflett may be all about rock n' roll with his day gig, but he's feeling a little bit country with his new project.

Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants will be releasing their self-titled debut album on Le Coq Napoleon/RCA Records On 7/13/10.

This new album is steeped in his love for classic country artists (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings), rockabilly (Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran), and deep-rooted rock bands (The Rolling Stones, The Replacements). - more on this story

Anberlin Set New Album Release

Anberlin fans mark your calendars for September 21st. That is when Universal Republic will released their new album, Dark Is The Way, Light is a Place.

Here is what the label has to say about the effort: The band recorded it at Nashville's renowned Blackbird Studio with Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine), who won the GRAMMY award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical earlier this year.

"Impossible" - the driving lead single that soars with an exhilarating pop Foo Fighters vibe as it captures love's tug of war - will go to radio in mid-July. "We Owe This To Ourselves," another track from Dark Is The Way, Light is a Place, will be the main song used on ESPN's X-Games this summer. - more on this story

Meet Glenn Danzig

Wanna meet Glenn Danzig? You will have your chance at three in-store autograph signings that will be held during his current tour.

The special appearances include Saturday June 19 at Vintage Vinyl in NJ, Monday, June 21 at Newbury Comics in Boston, MA, and Thursday, June 24 at Record Exchange in Boise, Idaho. See the tour itinerary below for more information.

Glenn Danzig, at the forefront of the hardcore/dark metal movement for nearly three decades, recently announced a special nine-city concert trek that kicked off yesterday in Norfolk, VA. - more on this story

Volbeat Coming To America

Volbeat will return to North America this August for a two-week cross country tour.

The tour will begin in New York City with an appearance on August 13 at the Gramercy Theatre, then the band heads to Canada for a one-off show in Toronto, and finally back to the States where they play throughout the Midwest before heading towards the west coast.

Dommin is the opening act on all dates. The Sleeping are direct support 8/13-20. Direct support for the West Coast dates is not yet confirmed. - more on this story

Nevermore Set Career High, Top Heatseekers Chart

Nevermore's new album, The Obsidian Conspiracy, has debuted at the top of the Billboard Heatseekers chart and scored a No 125 bow on the Billboard Top 200 charts.

This is their highest charting debut ever and just further proves the band's massive influence and stature within the metal genre. The disc also debuted at #88 on the Canadian Billboard chart.

Warrel Dane (vocals) further states: "We are so lucky to have such amazing and diehard fans and we can't thank them all enough for going out the first week of release to support us while helping us achieve the highest Billboard chart entry of our career. It's an amazing feeling to see such impressive sales in this ever changing retail climate and this is just the beginning for us as we're planning on touring the world extensively to support this release. We are taking off to Europe tomorrow but will be travelling around all of North America this fall playing our most extensive headlining set ever, so be sure to come out and hang with us. We promise that it will be a night you will never forget. Thanks again for all of the support and see you all soon." - more on this story

Singled Out: Intervurt's Union Square

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Paul O'Keeffe from Intervurt tells us about the first of three songs from their new album, "Union." Today Paul checks in with the story behind "Union Square":

Union Square: Written in a Manhattan Hotel room on our first visit to NYC to meet with Mark Plati. in virtually half an hour. It's loosely based on the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that killed over 140 workers in 1911. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and spur the ' Garment Workers' Union, union square came from that. And the notion that no matter what you do sometimes there's no-one to come save you!! It's also about hard work not always paying off and as people we can only be pushed so far and take so much. It was one of the last songs written for the Album and is a standout for the first single. Also Marks riff is irresistible.

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

Opeth Added to Bloodstock

Opeth have been added as the final headliner for the 10th anniversary of the Bloodstock Open Air. The festival will take over Catton Hall in Derbyshire, UK on August 13th, 14th and 15th.

Here is what the fest folks have to say about their latest addition: With a lineup boasting headline appearances from Children Of Bodom, Fear Factory, Twisted Sister, plus a special guest slot filled by Meshuggah, Bloodstock can now confirm the final headline slot for Bloodstock Open Air 2010. The Friday night will be closed by Swedish prog-metal superstars Opeth, who headlined back in 2008.

"We're pretty excited about coming back to play the Bloodstock festival with Opeth", states frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. "Myself and Axe will of course be double-fisting since we gonna cause some havoc with Bloodbath as well. We got asked to play since Heaven & Hell cancelled and even though we obviously feel that we cannot possibly match their magic or fill the void, it will be like a personal tribute show to the memory of Ronnie Dio. So needless to say I'm honoured to play, it will be intimidating and emotional I believe. We'll deliver as usual of course but yeah, I will be thinking about Dio, that's for sure." - more on this story

Hades Attacks The Cursed Misery

The latest Mars Attacks Podcast features interviews with Dan Lorenzo from Hades, Non-Fiction, and The Cursed, and an interview with Joe and John from Misery.

Items covered with Dan include his history in all of the bands listed above, Hades playing The Bang Your Head Festival in July, the likelihood of releasing new music with any of his bands, and his love for basketball.

The interview with the guys from Misery is a primer for the release of the debut album on Super Metal Records. A follow up interview will be conducted when said album is released. Being that they are a new band to most, the interview was conducted to help people familiarize themselves with the band. As a result, we cover how the band got together, and transitioned into the band they are today. We also discuss what it was like working with Life Of Agony's Joey Z on their independent release, and their upcoming debut album among other things. - listen here

Stooges' Mike Watt Completing New Punk Opera

(Artist Statement) mike watt (minutemen, fIREHOSE, solo artist, Stooges' bassist, missingmen and secondmen leader) sez: "I'm finishing my third opera ("hyphenated-man") w/bass brother tony maimone at studio g in brooklyn now."

"the 'third opera' for watt (me) is called 'hyphenated-man' and it is w/tom watson and raul morales (mike watt + the missingmen) - different proj than 'my shubun no hi.'"

It was recorded in the middle of the "prac'n the 3rd opera" tour 2009 in brooklyn, at tony maimone's studio g ("tony was incredible pere ubu bassist and hero for me in early punk days on bass") - more on this story

Phish App an iHit

The Live Phish app is a smash iHit. Within 48 hours of its debut, the app was the no. 1 Top Paid Music App on the iTunes Store.

Fans purchasing the $3.99 app at iTunes will receive a free MP3 show download at LivePhish.com (a $10 value) and can access free streams of entire Phish concerts from the LivePhish.com archives.

The Live Phish app comes on the heels of the launch of the band's North American tour at Chicago's Toyota Park last Friday - a show that is currently streaming for free in the app. - more on this story

Danger Is My Middle Name Announce New EP

Here is some news that proves that bands can do it on their own and succeed: Danger Is My Middle Name will be self-releasing its Giant Killer EP on August 10.

With a rabid fan base in cities such as Minneapolis, Iowa City, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Dayton, St. Louis, and Northwest Indiana, the band has managed to win over audiences on the strength of its no-nonsense, classic pop-punk hooks and quirky, original riffs, so much so that the band has more than 60,000 digital downloads, and has delivered breakout performances at Warped Tour, SXSW, Milwaukee's Summerfest, Florida Music Festival, and other tours across the country.

To stand out among the post-pop-punk excesses of the Chicago music scene, Craig Miller was told every band needs a great story. But Danger Is My Middle Name is not about concocting a story or relying on any gimmick. Instead, the band's "story" is of like-minded musicians meeting, writing together and playing together, and it worked. The lack of artifice suits the members of Danger Is My Middle Name (vocalist/guitarist Gabe Atkins, bassist Craig Miller, guitarist William Cox) just fine. - more on this story

The Great Classic Metal Awakening Coming

You would expect a new metal band looks back to the days of Slayer and Metallica would be made up of veteran musicians. You would be wrong. Great Awakening, a group of young metalheads, hope to revive the classic metal sound. Read on to find out how: A long time ago metal was real, raw, angry, fast, and full of attitude. Bands like Slayer and Metallica started a great awakening, building their armies in the underground and over throwing bands like Ratt and Cinderella, who put more hairspray and make-up into their music than riff.

Today metal bands sing about breaking up with their girlfriends. They de-tune their guitars to make their music sound heavier than it is. They scream through the verse and whine through the chorus, and they replace solos with breakdowns.

It's time again for a new awakening, a Great Awakening. It's time for a new Slayer, a new Metallica, and a new Megadeth to come forward and form a new army. They call themselves Great Awakening because they are on a mission to make heavy metal what it used to be. - more on this story

Hardcore Punkers Throwback Are Coming

NoEX Records continue to champion the cause of Hardcore Punk with their latest signing: Throwback was signed to the label recently at the famous Canal Club in Richmond Va.

"As the label looked to increase our footprint in this exciting genre everywhere we went we heard the name Throwback, it made our job a lot simpler" stated NoEX CEO Jay Burton.

Throwback is from Waldorf, Maryland and has spent the last 2 years building an impressive fan base with shows in the MD, DC and Northern Va areas. Throwback wowed the fans at this year's Tri-State Punk Fest in May. A debut album is currently in the works for release later this year. Keep an eye out for Throwback. - more on this story

Tomorrows Bad Seeds Getting Warped

Tomorrows Bad Seeds are wrapping up their tour with The Expendables, Bib B and Dirty Penny, where they are playing nightly to sold-out crowds and building their legion of fans city by city.

They will jump on the Warped tour beginning on July 5th in Maryland Heights, MO and will play parts east on the outing through the Monmouth Park Racetrack Oceanport, NJ stop on July 18th.

They are touring in support of their sophomore album Sacred for Sale, which hit stores on May 25th, 2010. On the day of the release of their sophomore album Sacred for Sale, Tomorrows Bad Seeds (TBS) rocketed to Number 11 on the iTunes Rock Chart! - more on this story

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals Go Top 20

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals' new self-titled album from Hollywood Records/Ragged Company has made an impressive top 20 debut on the Billboard Top 200.

The album made an even more impressive showing on Billboard's Rock Album Chart coming in at #3.

They did well digitally as well, entering the Billboard's Digital Album Chart at #9 and are currently #4 on iTunes Rock Album chart. The band is currently on a headlining tour. - Grab the dates here.

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound Announce Dates With Sleepy Sun

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound are hitting the road with fellow San Francisco natives Sleepy Sun.

The trek will stretch from Northern California to Los Angeles, to the desert between Palm Springs and Joshua Tree (a hop skip and a jump from antiMusic HQ) and wrap up in San Diego.

Assemble Head are touring in support of their third album "When Sweet Sleep Returned" which was released in April 2009 on Tee Pee Records. - more on this story

Ike Reilly's Rock N Roll High School

Ike Reilly has released his new music film, "Good Work (If You Can Get It)," which was shot at the old Libertyville High School and features local students and an homage to one-time Libertyville resident Marlon Brando

Here is the official announcement: To celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, Ike Reilly has released a music film for the song "Good Work (If You Can Get It)." The tune "Good Work" is off of Reilly's latest album, the critically-acclaimed "Hard Luck Stories," and the film features members of the Libertyville High School Choir.

Filmed at Reilly's old high school in Libertyville, IL, and directed by Reilly's friend and collaborator Brooks Ruyle, the piece features Reilly as a janitor killing time in the school he once attended while an "after-after, party-party" rages elsewhere and summer begins. - more on this story

Tera Melos Are Now Pop Rats?

Tera Melos are unleashing rats this fall. Not literally, but Patagonian Rats the band's first proper full-length, which is packed with wily melodies and scurrying rhythms.

Have Tera Melos gone pop? Well, no....but yes. Much like the band's intricate and complex song structures, it's not quite that simple. Tera Melos' songs have traditionally been densely packed with so many wild shifts of time signature and chord structures that guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Nick Reinhart jokes they were sounds that, "only wizards could decipher."

Patagonian Rats is packed with melodic hooks and jabs that on paper might seem to defy the band's experimental edge. There's even clear and distinct vocals throughout -- a first for the band, where vocals, if any, were previously awash with distortion and layered in the mix. But, particulars aside, Patagonian Rats is the type of album that sticks with you. - more on this story

Footage of Disco Ensemble Rocking 150K Fans

Wondering what Disco Ensemble are up to? How about playing in front of nearly 150,000 people at the Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring) and Rock im Park (Rock in the Park) festivals, which are two simultaneous rock festivals held over two days.

It's the largest festival in Germany and one of the largest in the world. To put it in perspective, Bonnaroo 2010 had an estimated audience of just shy of 90,000 people.

This year the band shared the stage with the likes of Muse, Them Crooked Vultures, Jay-Z, The Gossip, The Hives, The Editors, and Gogol Bordello. Check out video footage of the band performing in front of a sea of people - here

Little Steven Beach Party

Little Steven is planning a Beach Party this Friday, June 18, when he will beat the heat by spinning his favorite beach songs on his nationally syndicated show Little Steven's Underground Garage.

From The Beach Boys, to Dick Dale, to Jan and Dean, surf's up in the Underground Garage. Alongside the classics will be brand new music from TAB the Band, The Grip Weeds, Alejandro Escovedo, Jersey favorites Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and more.

Van Zandt will also honor The Dahlmanns' "Holiday Road" as this week's "Coolest Song in the World." Find out where and when you can listen - here.

Doro Pesch Goes Nuclear

Doro Pesch has inked a new deal with Nuclear Blast Records who will release a 2 DVD/CD set entitled 25 Years In Rock featuring the entire 25-year anniversary concert at the ISS Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The jaw-dropping performance includes a career-spanning set list and guest performances in front of 10,000 fans as well as a China special, out takes from DORO's 2,500th gig and more. The release is planned for November 2010. Further details to be unveiled soon.

Commented Pesch: "I'm absolutely happy to be a part of Nuclear Blast now and am looking forward to putting the pedal to the metal together!" - more on this story

Ozzy, John 5, Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai Items Up for Charity Auction

Items from some big names in rock are currently up for grabs in an auction for the Fur & Feather Animal Sanctuary. Here are the details:

Besides the love of music, rockstars have a soft spot for our four legged furry friends. With the help from so many artists and actors with their charitable donations of instruments and signed memorabilia, Fur & Feather Animal Sanctuary comes closer to breaking ground in the next year for the first fully solar and wind powered, no-kill animal sanctuary. The sanctuary will also provide the community with a low-cost animal clinic, education and cultural center.

Currently on the eBay auction block is a Yamaha bass signed by Bass-master Billy Sheehan, guitar virtuoso John 5's famous 666 strap by Red Monkey from 5 tours with Rob Zombie signed and dated, Ozzy's autobiography "I AM OZZY" signed by OZZY, legendary ax-slinger STEVE VAI'S custom made silver outfit by famed rockstar couturier Terri King. It was worn on the Ultra Zone tour in the late 90's, Halloween 2's movie prop w/ signed Michael Myers photo from TYLER MANE, and a Schecter Diamond Series Delux guitar signed by ALL the mainstage bands from OZZfest 2006 including Ozzy, Zakk Wylde, Bls, Hatebreed, Disturbed, Lacuna Coil, System Of A Down and more! - more on this story