Led AC/DC Santana- Dio Memorial Concerts- Slash Faces- Rogers Waters Expands The Wall, Plans Retirement?- Korn TV- Free Reznor- KISS Miniature Golf- Hurt's Hurt- more

Anyone who presents a receipt at the door This Sunday Night, May 30th @ Cat Club in Hollywood for an online donation to the Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund from http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/will get in FREE for a very special set in honor of Ronnie James Dio's music with a an all star lineup performing the music of Rainbow ~ Black Sabbath & DIO. -

Topless Photo of Paramore's Hayley Williams Posted Online

Can you say oops? Paramore's singer Haley Williams's Twitter followers received an exciting update on Thursday night when a nude photo of Haley was posted on her page at the short attention span social media site.

Haley Williams reportedly discovered that the topless photo was posted to her Twitter account and quickly removed it but she's learning the hard way that once it's on the internet, it stays there with the photos already circulating online. But it appears her lawyers were working late sending out take down notices to various sites.

Hayley's later posted a Twitter post where she said, "well… my night just changed drastically. got hacked," according to Right Celebrity, who also report that "the twitpic quickly got over 5,000 views before being removed." - more on this story

Gene Simmons Criminally Cleared of Mall Assault but Faces Sexual Assault Claim

Gene Simmons has been criminally cleared of one assault claim and now faces a civil claim for another one. The Los Angeles district attorney's office will not charge Simmons with an alleged assault of a couple in a mall, but a makeup artist counter-sued Simmons on Wednesday claiming sexual assault.

AP reports that the mall couple, Nathan and Cynthia Marlowe claim Simmons choked them and "took their video camera after they started filming the star, while Simmons told police that Marlowe shoved the camera in his face and that he feared for his family's safety."

They are still suing Simmons for "$25,000 in damages for claims of assault, battery and emotional distress, including damage to their sex life." How the alleged incident damaged their sex life is anyone's guess. But speaking of sex, Simmons was sued on Thursday by a make-up artist who claims that the KISS star sexually assaulted her. This is the same woman that Simmons took legal action against earlier this month (see story here). In his suit, Simmons asked the court for a judicial declaration that no assault took place and that ESPN makeup artist Victoria Jackson did not suffer any damages or injuries attributable to him.

You can read the AP report for details on Jackson's claims against Simmons - here

Serious Injury Sidelines Anarbor

Anarbor has bad news for their fans on Thursday; Greg Garrity was seriously injured causing the band to pull out of the Beyond the Blue tour in Japan. Slade gave fans this update:

I regret to inform you that we will not be playing the Beyond the Blue tour this year. We are very sorry about this incident. Thursday morning Greg was injured very badly, it would be best for us to fly home for him to get the medical & family support that he needs. We have done everything in our power to proceed with the tour, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do.

If you are attending the shows, kick rock music is giving away free pens in Osaka and Nagoya in our regard and has made a special Anarbor stickers for the fans going to the last three shows in Tokyo. Once again we are very sorry and we will be back very soon. For updates on how Greg is doing you can visit our website www.Anarbor.net and this Tumblr. Kick Rock Music has promised to bring us back to Japan as soon as possible. - They have a photo here, plus a place to send Greg your best wishes

Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour Stars Tonight

Dave Matthews Band kick off their North American tour tonight with the first of two shows at The Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT.

With preparations underway for its 20th consecutive summer tour, the group recently told fans that they will be taking next year off. "We feel lucky that our tours are a part of so many people's lives," Dave Matthews Band said in a statement posted on its website earlier this month. "We're excited to make this summer one of our best tours yet, and look forward to returning to the road in 2012."

The group will headline the closing dates of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN (6/13), the HullabaLOU Festival in Louisville, KY (7/25) and the Mile High Music Festival in Commerce City, CO (8/15). - more on this story

Rush's Moving Pictures/2112 Classic Albums DVD/Blu Ray Coming in September

(BW&BK) Eagle Vision has confirmed a September 28th release date for the Classic Albums DVD/Blu Ray/Deluxe Edition release of Rush's legendary Moving Pictures and 2112 albums.

The video goes into the studio with singer/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart, along with producers for interviews and rare performances of material that shaped the band's career such as 'Tom Sawyer', 'YYZ', 'Limelight' and '2112'.

Rush has announced the upcoming release of their eagerly anticipated new single. 'Caravan' - which will be featured on the legendary band's forthcoming album, Clockwork Angels - will be available at all DSPs on June 1st and serviced to radio simultaneously. - more on this story

Singled Out Classics: Thy Will Be Done's 'Was And Is To Come' Feat. Jesse David Leach (ex. Killswitch Engage, Seemless)

Welcome to a very special Memorial Day Weekend Singled Out! where J. Costa from Thy Will Be Done tells us about one of the most popular tracks from the group's debut album, 'Was And Is To Come." J gives us the inside story to "Preserving The Sacred" which features a guest appearance from former Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach. Here is the story:

I'd have to say the roots of "Preserving The Sacred" started on the set of the movie 'Outside Providence" in 1997. The movie, which starred Alec Baldwin, was set in Rhode Island and also filmed in various locations in and around Providence. Jesse and I are both in the film, though he's got a substantially larger role than myself. The both of us were, at that time, residents of Rhode Island. I knew of him, but didn't know him personally. Both of us were involved in the local music scene; (he was in Corrin then while I was in Kobalt), though I didn't recognize him with the "long hair weave" they had given him for his role because he had a buzzed head at the time.

Filming had been occurring for much of that Fall/Winter and the ice was broken when we were on lunch and I was at a table using the floor as double-bass with my feet and doing blast-beats with my index finger on the edge of the table. Jesse asked if I was a drummer, I told him I wasn't and immediately started talking music. Thus the proverbial flood-gates were thrust open.

Fast forward to Jesse leaving Killswitch Engage. I remember the phone call and him telling me the news, as well as suggesting I audition for the vacant spot. (And yes, while I was invited as one of 9 or 10 people by the band to audition, that's Another Story. Back to the issue at hand) After his departure from the band I got to spend my more time with him and his wife doing backyard cookouts and such. Around the same time KOBALT were going to be recording some new demos, and he was just getting involved with Seemless (I think they were using the name Driven or The Drive or something like that at the time), he and I had been talking about doing a collaboration.

Jesse and his wife came to a KOBALT rehearsal one night to hear this song that our guitar player at the time and I had written and arranged. I had already written most of my verse parts and had the pre-chorus we would trade-off on completed. We both sat in the middle of the room around a milk-crate hovering over some paper. We finished the lyrics that night and even hashed out some takes. I'll tell you what, there was a certain energy in that room that night. Every one's faces turned towards the two of us as we roared through the tune. I remember Jesse's wife getting goosebumps and showing us after we ended the song. The original recording (analog on 2" tape) appeared on a Kobalt demo, but we rerecorded the song years later for Thy Will Be Done's national debut release through Stillborn Records. I remember asking Jesse if he wanted to do it again, his reply, "I was hoping you were going to ask".

The song is special to me in the sense that it is a collaboration with another artist that I don't just think of as my brother, but an inspiration as well. It needed to be on the Thy Will Be Done debut because it recaptures a point of both our separate lives and where it intersects; reflecting our unbridled passion for music as well as serve as a reminder of why we make it.

You can catch Thy Will Be Done on Fear Factory's Fear Campaign Tour, which also features Prong and Silent Civilian. Grab dates and more - right here!

Premature Danzig

Danzig 's Deth Red Sabaoth will be released on June 22, but those fans who have a ticket to any of the east coast dates scheduled prior to June 22 (see below) will be able to buy the new album at the show, before it's available in stores.

But wait, there's more - those who purchase Deth Red Sabaoth at one of these special Danzig shows will also receive - as long as they last - a collector's edition CD single with two versions of the album's first single, "On A Wicked Night," complete with exclusive art work. Only a limited number of the CD singles will be available, so once they're gone, they're gone.

On this special nine-date trek, Glenn Danzig will be joined onstage by long-time Danzig cohort guitarist Tommy Victor (Prong, Ministry), drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative), and former Samhaim bandmate, bassist Steve Zing. Danzig plans to dig deep into his career-defining catalogue and perform tracks from Danzig, Lucifuge, How the Gods Kill, and on up to the present, including several new songs from Deth Red Sabaoth. - more on this story

Hellyeah Stampede Details

Hellyeah will release its sophomore album, "Stampede", in North America on July 13. The band will offer "deluxe" and "super deluxe" editions of the album.

The "super deluxe" edition of the CD will feature the album itself, a bonus DVD, a limited-edition lenticular 3D cover with an expanded booklet, a Hellyeah bull skull, instant downloads of the album tracks "Cowboy Way" and "Hell Of A Time" on June 1 and an Mp3 download of the full album on June 29, two weeks prior to its official release date.

The standard "deluxe edition" will contain the album, a bonus DVD, instant downloads of the album tracks "Cowboy Way" and "Hell Of A Time" on June 1 and an Mp3 download of the full album on June 29. - more on this story

Victory Offering Free Metal Digital Sampler for Memorial Day

Victory Records and VictoryMetal.com are releasing a free Memorial Day Metal digital Sampler. A fist full of metal from Victory's heaviest artists will be available for download throughout the entire weekend.

Leading the sampler's illustrious mix, metal rockers, Sister Sin leak their rock anthem "Outrage" from the new, never-before-heard album True Sound Of The Underground, hitting the streets June 22nd. Metal superstars, and freshly-signed Ill Nino debut an unreleased track from their upcoming Victory Records debut.

This sampler will also include first-listen opportunities from the upcoming releases of All Out War, Corpus Christi, Grave Maker, Pathology, and Wretched, but not forgetting label-favorites Between The Buried And Me, Taproot, Emmure, Carnifex, Destropy and more! - Get it here

Grateful Dead Duo Hitting The Road As The Rhythm Devils This Summer

Grateful Dead stars Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart are the Rhythm Devils, and when the veteran percussionists take to the road this summer, even the most Deadicated of fans will be in for some big surprises.

"The music is quite different," says Kreutzmann. "It's real groove-based. It has lots of percussion and electronics. It's very danceable. It's gonna be quite a mix up there."

Hart says, "This music will take you to a very special place, I think. It's like a super friendly rhythm snake that has wrapped itself around the world a few times and now it's coming our way. It's electric; it's got rhythm, has words and flies. It's the Rhythm Devils." - more on this story

Neurosis' Enemy Of The Sun Expanded for Reissue

Neurot Recordings are exceptionally proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Neurosis, and once again issue their classic album, Enemy Of The Sun, to the masses.

2010's reissue of Enemy Of The Sun bears a fully redesigned package by visionary artist, Neurosis live visual master Josh Graham, and will be released worldwide on August 30th, 2010.

It was Enemy Of The Sun LP, that would be the album to take the pulsing, hypnotizing monoliths Neurosis was crafting down to much darker, and much, much heavier territory for the rest of the band's still-growing roster of masterpieces. Still to this day, critics and fans of heavy and experimental metal hold this release to be one of the harshest, spine-chilling, mind-warping releases in history, and countless acts have cited Enemy... as "the one that changed everything" for them. - more on this story

Big Head Todd and The Monsters Announce New Album in Tour

Big Head Todd and The Monsters will release their brand new studio album, Rocksteady, on July 20th.

They will hit the road for a summer tour in support of the new album. The trek will include big shows at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium and others.

Rocksteady, their eighth studio album, offered the band a chance to return to its grassroots beginnings and an opportunity to draw on a surprising body of influences. - more on this story

Kylesa To Enter The Studio This Weekend

Kylesa will enter the studio on May 31 to begin recording the follow-up to the album "Static Tensions."

The new album is the band's debut for Season of Mist Records. The sessions will take place over the month of June at the legendary Jam Room in Columbia, SC with Phillip Cope at the helm as producer.

The band is very excited about the new material, with writing ongoing since January of this year. After the completion of the recording the band will return to Europe supporting Converge through August, with US touring plans to be announced shortly.
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Blues Legend Elvin Bishop Announces New Album and Tour

Elvin Bishop will celebrate his slide work on his new album Red Dog Speaks, which will be out June 15 on Delta Groove Music. Catch him on the road this summer and fall.

Red Dog Speaks follows 2008's The Blues Rolls On, which earned him a Grammy nomination and four 2009 Blues Music Award nominations. Red Dog Speaks features five new Bishop originals plus songs by Jimmy Cliff, Otis Spann, Leroy Carr, and others.

The title track tells the story of his '59 Gibson Stereo ES 345 guitar, nicknamed "Red Dog." The album proves full of hooks and humor as well, such as on Bishop's "Fat And Sassy." Buckwheat Zydeco lends his accordion to "Blues Cruise" which also features excellent guitar work by Tommy Castro and Ronnie Baker Brooks; the track was recorded live on the high seas. The traditional gospel tune "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" gets the Bishop slide treatment. He plays solo on "Clean Livin'," a reflection on his younger lifestyle and a highlight of the album. - more on this story

OneRepublic Playing the Today Show This Morning and Bon Jovi Stadium Gig This Weekend

OneRepublic will take the Today Show stage for a special summer concert this morning. Tune in to NBC at 8am to see the band debut their new single "Secrets" on the plaza.

Fans and visitors are encouraged to come out for the live performance. Viewing is on a first-come, first-served basis outside TODAY's window-on-the-world studio, located at 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Fans should arrive by 6 a.m. for best viewing.

After the TODAY show performance OneRepublic will play the New Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday, May 29th opening for Bon Jovi! June will take the band through a tour of Europe and July brings them back to the states for a string of US headlining - dates

Minus The Bear Summer Tour Plans

Minus The Bear are wrapping up their current U.S. tour this weekend but they will be back on the road again this summer.

Kicking off with a handful of Canadian shows in June, the band will then make their way east before returning to their hometown of Seattle in July.

The band says on their website, "This first leg of the OMNI tour has been awesome. Thank you everyone for making it so great. We truly appreciate your support. Oh, and watch out for some European news soon!" - more on this story

Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere Team Up Again

On June 15th Steve Cropper (Booker T. and the MGs) and Felix Cavaliere (the Rascals) will release their second collaborative Stax Recording Midnight Flyer via Concord Records.

Following up their critically acclaimed 2008 release Nudge It Up a Notch, guitarist Cropper and vocalist Cavaliere's new album, Midnight Flyer, portrays the songwriting prowess of two titans of blue-eyed soul's golden age.

Midnight Flyer, recorded in Nashville and mixed by the legendary David Z, is the followup to Nudge It Up a Notch, the 2008 maiden voyage by Cropper and Cavaliere that scored critical acclaim from the music and mainstream press. The San Francisco Chronicle called Nudge It Up a Notch "an unexpected delight," while Blues Wax heralded the project as "one of the great surprises of 2008, and further evidence of Concord's genuine commitment to the revamped Stax imprint." - more on this story

Daath Entering the Studio Next Month

Daath will enter the studio early next month to begin tracking their third full-length release.

Drummer Kevin Talley (ex-Chimaira, Dying Fetus) begins tracking in Atlanta on June 7th with producer Mark Lewis (All That Remains, Trivium, Devildriver) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitars) at the helm.

Guitarist Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler comment about the writing process for the new DAATH effort: "Here we are in the studio once again. It almost feels like we never left. Less than half a year ago we were putting the finishing touches on Avalanche of Worms. Usually after you finish an album you take time away from creating in order to tour, but in this case we jumped right back into recording. - more on this story

Semi Precious Weapons Album Details

Semi Precious Weapons has released the tracklisting for their Interscope debut You Love You, which will hit stores on June 22nd.

Produced by Jack Joseph Puig (Green Day, Beck), the nine tracks range from explosive anthems to piano-driven ballads, all showcasing the band's unapologetic embrace of all things filthy, dangerous and glamorous, according to the press release.

Tracklisting: 1. Semi Precious Weapons 2. Put A Diamond In It 3. Magnetic Baby 4. Statues Of Ourselves 5. Sticky With Champagne 6. I Could Die 7. Leave Your Pretty To Me 8. Rock N Roll Never Looked So Beautiful 9. Look At Me - more on this story

Singled Out: Black Sunshine's Tears (Filter/ Theory of a Deadman)

Black Sunshine released their self titled debut this week and to celebrate we asked the band's mastermind Matt Reardon to tell us about some of his favorite tracks from the album. Today he tells us about the song, "Tears". We now turn it over to Matt for the story:

"Tears" is without a doubt the most personal track on the album and deals with the tragic death of my sister's son at the tender age of 19. If you go here you can read how truly special this kid was and always will be. It sets the tone for the first verse line "have you ever heard the sound of an angel cry" The tune was written with John Davis of F5 fame who I have often collaborated with. When the initial riff came out in a jam session all I could think about was Christopher and immediately left to write what had been spinning in my head for months . He was more like a little brother to me and every night I sing this song he is with me.. I missed him by minutes at his apartment the day he drove off and was killed and the "what if" question is forever etched in my mind. When I was writing the lyrics I heard in the background Old Man by one of Chris and my favorite songwriters Neil Young. "love lost such a cost so the Young man said" It hit me hard the fact that Christopher just had gotten to meet his real father for the first time after a long kept childhood secret was revealed. "I know I might be treading a thin red line…at least you got to know the color of your fathers eyes" This track was and always will be therapy not only for myself but for my sister and family.

When we were recording the track In LA we had Bob Marlette play the intro on piano…the guy is incredible on keys…well actually on most instruments, he also layed the bass track. Then we got super indulgent and started putting massive orchestral arrangements etc etc all over. During the final mix down knowing how much Christopher, a singer/songwriter himself, loved just acoustic and voice we decided to make it raw. The acoustic intro was played on my beat up first acoustic he loved so much and the tone came from not using a guitar pick but opting for a quarter. I had read somewhere Van Halen did that on "ice cream man" and we have to thank Thomas Laufenberg for laying down the intro. John Davis played all the rhythm tracks on Marlette's go to Les Paul through a Bogner head. Dave Smalls from F5 layed down the drums at Henson studios and I added some fairy dust guitars and some acoustics underneath. At the last minute Bruce Somers and I put some strings in at the end to keep the songs emotions lifting higher and higher. My Sister raises thousands every year in his honor by running marathons where people sponsor each mile. At Christmas she spends all the money on toys and goes into the under privileged neighborhoods and gives out Christmas gifts at random…bikes, dolls, train sets, shoes, clothing…the look on kids faces is priceless….and Christopher would be proud!

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

Your Demise Begin Recording New Album

Your Demise are currently holed up recording in Reading, UK, working on the follow up to 2009's "Ignorance Never Dies."

The band have been writing in California after months of touring and return to the studio with long time collaborator Jon Mitchell at Outhouse Studios and take a brief break from recording to play this year's Slam Dunk festival this weekend alongside New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio.

Guitarist Stu Paice notes: "The new songs are a very big progression, the best stuff the band has ever written by far. It's a big step up in sound - I think the most important thing is that band is 100% proud for the first time for the album we have produced!" - more on this story

Derelict Launch Video Tour Diary

Derelict have posted the first installment of their video tour diary online. The footage was shot during their current "Northern Shores" Canadian tour.

The band is currently touring in support of their new album "Unspoken Words," which was mixed and mastered by Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy, The Agonist) and released on Year of The Sun Records.

Since the release of "Unspoken Words," the group has toured relentlessly across Canada opening for some of the hottest bands on the circuit, including Job For A Cowboy, Ion Dissonance, The Last Felony, Threat Signal and Canadian metal legends Martyr. - Watch the video diary here

Gloominous Doom Team Up With Jucifer For Tour

Gloominous Doom have just announced a string of live summer tour dates with Jucifer.

They'll be kicking things off in Washington, DC on June 1st, rolling up and down the East Coast, and heading back home to their beloved backwoods on June 30th.

Gloominous Doom's new album, The Feature, is now available from DRP Records, and comes jam-packed with the quartet's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor, razor-sharp riffs, thrashing mayhem, punk attitude, death metal ferocity, low-slung reggae grooves, and just a dash of drag-racin' PBR-guzzlin' redneck flair. Oh, and cowbell - lots of cowbell! - more on this story

Gwar front-thing Oderus Urungus Holding Press Conference Today

Gwar have recently and secretly returned to North America to begin the final preparations for a host of promo events and concert appearances in their continuing two-year long 25th Anniversary.

After a lightening-quick four-month break spent in the band's hulking south-pole fortress ("fighting penguins..." claimed Gwar front-thing Oderus Urungus, "and working on a new album..."), the band reportedly made landfall late Wednesday evening, arriving in their signature bat-shaped helicopter at an undisclosed location.

In order to publicize their pressing agenda (and display the pressing of genitals), the band (GWAR) announced that on Friday, May 28th, at 10:00 p.m. E.S.T. Oderus Urungus will hold an web-based press conference, which can be viewed at gwar.tv, where he is expected to mouth-off about the insignificance of humanity and make a long and complicated set of demands. - more on this story

Neuraxis Complete The Writing of Their Next Album

Neuraxis have finished writing for their upcoming album and offer a final update before entering the Wildsound Studio next week with producer Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy, The Last Felony, The Agonist) to start the recording process for their 6th studio album. Vocalist Alex Leblanc comments:

Time for an update... First of all, the writing is finished. We decided to add an extra song and I love it. A brutal, in-your-face song that's going to surprise a lot of people. Overall this album has a much darker and twisted feeling that will bring shivers down your spines.

Rob really outdid himself writing the new album. His ideas are sick, his riffing is more intense than ever and his songwriting is just better overall. I think this album is really going to make him shine and put him among one of the best in his genre. - more on this story

They Might Be Giants Spring/Summer 2010 Tour

They Might Be Giants will play Washington state's Sasquatch! Music Festival this Memorial Day weekend and Bonnaroo on June 13.

The band recently played two sold out benefit kids' shows in the Boston area as well, with proceeds going to Boston By Foot (www.bostonbyfoot.org).

The band has played a series of successful kids' shows in support of Here Comes Science, their 2009 release. - more on this story

Undertones Catalog Going Digitial

Union Square Music will make the Undertones' four albums available digitally on June 28, 2010. Included will be The Undertones (1979), Hypnotised (1980), Positive Touch (1981) and The Sin of Pride (1983), the Teenage Kicks EP, as well as a never-before-released Best of the Undertones compilation.

The Undertones emerged from Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1977, as part of the U.K. punk and new wave scene. Inspired by radio, records and the Ramones, five Derry teens (Feargal Sharkey, brothers John and Damian O'Neill, Billy Doherty and Mickey Bradley) had never been in bands before.

Straight out of a local pub, The Casbah, the band recorded Teenage Kicks, their debut EP, which caught fire on John Peel's BBC Radio One show and got them signed to Sire Records in the U.S. "Less interested in fashion, anarchy, or politics than in the heady joys of a great pop song, they fused irresistible, hooky tunes with the fierce passion of teenage rock & roll believers, and came up with a handful of instant classics," observed All Movie Guide's Mark Deming. - more on this story

Buddy Blaze Teams with Sugarland's Scott Patton For New Signature Guitar

Buddy Blaze Fine Stringed Instruments has teamed up with Sugarland's Scott Patton to unveil its new signature model guitar, the Generator. The guitar will be unveiled to a national audience this morning on ABC's Good Morning America as part of their Summer Concert Series.

The new Buddy Blaze Generator features a custom graphic designed by renowned graphic designer, Stephen Jensen. The Steam Punk Generator artwork was created to specifically compliment Sugarland's "The Incredible Machine" tour.

The guitar will be part of the handmade ALII Series with plans for a second model to be added to their value priced production line in the near future. - more on this story