Steven Adler Idol?- Death at ex-Grateful Dead Show- Guitarist Rushed To The Hospital- Guns N' Roses Surgery- Billy Joel Won't Tell All- Arcade Fire- Kid Rock Tour- more

* Given that this is April 1st we can't be totally sure all of these stories were 100% legit. Most came from late Thursday but a few from the UK like the Grateful Dead story and the Adler story were from early Friday. We'll let you know if any turned out to be April Fools...

Velvet Revolver Confirm Recording With Corey Taylor

(Rock News Desk) Duff McKagan has revealed that Velvet Revolver recorded some tracks with Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor but that doesn't mean he'll become a member of the band.

At the turn of the year VR spokesmen said they were close to making a decision on who'd replace sacked singer Scott Weiland and bring the band out of a three-year hiatus. Rumours suggested it was Taylor, but he made no comment at the time, simply saying: "To be continued." VR guitarist Slash later admitted Taylor was in the frame, and McKagan confirmed there had been discussions.

Now the bassist reveals the band actually recorded together. He tells MusicRadar: "We recorded a bunch of songs with Corey. I think he's f**king great – he's the best voice of a new generation, the best rock'n'roll voice out there. He's got a lot of positive energy and I'd be proud to do anything with him. more on this story

AC/DC Drug Conviction Overturned

(Rock News Desk) AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd's conviction for possession of cannabis has been lifted after he appealed the ruling.

Rudd, real name Phillip Witscke Rudzevecuis, was fined $250 last year when he pled guilty to the charge of having 25g of the substance on his boat in his home town of Tauranga, New Zealand.

But lawyer Craig Tuck, told the court that any conviction would make it difficult for him to enter countries including the US, Canada and Japan, and that meant the relatively small offence would have an unreasonably large affect on his career. more on this story

Police Recommend Charges Against Vince Neil

(hennemusic) Vince Neil's alleged outburst at his ex-girlfriend and others last week may cost him another criminal case in Sin City.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Las Vegas police are recommending a charge of battery domestic violence to the district attorney's office after the March 24 incident when Neil allegedly poked ex-girlfriend and entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs in the right shoulder leaving a bruise, a police spokesman said.

Jacobs was with several friends who witnessed the Motley Crue frontman's obscenity-laced tirade on Jacobs and the poking. A photo of the bruise was posted on the gossip website TMZ.com. more on this story

Big Audio Dynamite Return

(Gibson) The original Big Audio Dynamite recently played their first gig since 1989. One-time Clash legend Mick Jones told BBC 6 Music: "I had to learn the lyrics but it came back quite well because once you sing the first line then rest all comes back. It's like riding a bike!"

Jones explained that the band have remained friends over the years. "The advantage is that we haven't become estranged from each other," he said.

"We've always remained friends and we all hang out and go to BBQs and that sort of thing. It wasn't like a 'Who are you?' reunion." more on this story

Original AC/DC Singer Dropped From Bon Scott Tribute

(Gibson) Original AC/DC singer Dave Evans has been dropped from the upcoming Long Live Bon Scott tribute show, which debuts May 25 in Melbourne, Australia. As reported by Undercover.fm, representatives of the Bon Scott Foundation objected to the inclusion of Evans, despite the singer's assertion that he and Scott were always on good terms. "To me, it's an insult," Evans told Undercover News. "Bon would be rolling in his grave."

Evans was a founding member of AC/DC, along with Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Colin Burgess and Larry Van Kriedt, when the band formed in 1973. Scott replaced Evans in October 1974, but Evans claims to have had no hard feelings. "I never had a problem with Bon," he said. "He had an opportunity to take my place and become the singer for AC/DC. I would have done the same thing."

Scheduled participants in the tribute include Rose Tattoo's Angry Anderson, Screaming Jets' Dave Gleeson, Swanee's John Swan and The Choirboys' Mark Gable. more on this story

Joe Bonamassa Hits Career High

Joe Bonamassa's new album, Dust Bowl, earned the blues master his highest Billboard debut to date.

Dust Bowl sold 14,420 copies its first week in stores placing the album at no. 37 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart and at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart (his seventh consecutive album to debut at no. 1) and no. 5 on the Indie Chart.

Bonamassa currently has three titles in the Blues Chart's Top 10. Accompanying "Dust Bowl" is his 2009 live album "Joe Bonamassa: Live From The Royal Albert Hall" at #5 and 2010's studio album "Black Rock" at #8. more on this story

3 Doors Down Set A Date

3 Doors Down have announced a July 19th release date for their 5th studio album, Time of My Life (Universal Republic).

The album was recorded in Los Angeles, with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (Daughtry, Flyleaf, Hoobastank, Three Days Grace).

"We went into the studio with a goal in mind: we wanted to make a record this time that could really take us up a couple of notches," said front man Brad Arnold. more on this story

Yes Set New Album Release

Yes have announced that their new album, Fly From Here, will be released by Frontiers Records in July.

This marks the first album in ten years with 2-time Grammy Award winning producer, Trevor Horn. Horn and Yes bassist Chris Squire re-discovered the track Fly From Here which has never been recorded as a studio track.

"Chris and I were talking one evening about a song 'Fly From Here' that we never recorded," explains Trevor Horn. "I said I was prepared to spend two weeks with 'YES' recording that song. When I arrived in America to record it, I was taken prisoner by the band and only allowed my freedom again in return for producing the whole album. It was an offer I couldn't refuse!!!" more on this story

Motorhead's Lemmy Suggests Music Biz Is Killing Itself

(Rock News Desk) Lemmy says nothing has changed for ground-level musicians, despite the current music industry's problems – and things are just as bad as they've always been.

He believes big business continues to suffer because it failed to take advantage of the internet era. But while the touring circuit is believed to be in a healthier state than the recording environment, Lemmy says he hasn't seen any major changes in the four decades he's worked there. He tells Metal Insider: "The industry these days is dying, isn't it? They have no idea what happened to them – they don't know what hit them. They couldn't work with the internet so they tried to prosecute it, which is really f**king dumb. It seems like they just keep f**king up. Every turn they make is the wrong turn, and they're going to be out of business in ten years."

But while many acts believe the opportunities presented by the online world are beneficial to musicians, Lemmy's is less convinced, because it doesn't change anything for working bands. He says: "It's the same now and it's always been the same. There's always people robbing bands: agents rob you. Managers rob you – we've got a good one now but we've had lots of band ones. The promoters rob you. They'll tell you, 'It hasn't sold out,' and you can see that it has. But what are you going to say? They've got all their guys with them and there's only five of you." more on this story

Slayer Reign in Sneakers

(Gibson) Who knew that when Slayer's legendary album Reign in Blood was released that it would go on to inspire a pair of shoes? That's right, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that thrash classic, Nike SB, in collaboration with Brooklyn Projects, is releasing official Slayer sneakers.

The Reign in Blood Dunk shoes will be available starting June 6 in select skate shops, according to BraveWords.com.

Meanwhile, Slayer are in the midst of a European tour and have a run of Big Four dates scheduled for summer. more on this story

Aerosmith Tough Love Details

(Gibson) A new Aerosmith compilation, Tough Love: The Best of the Ballads, will be released by Geffen Records on May 10, Blabbermouth.net has reported. The release appears timed to capitalize on intense interest in the band sparked by Steven Tyler's role as a judge on TV's American Idol.

In early February, The Hollywood Reporter noted that sales of Aerosmith's "greatest hits" collections had increased 250 percent in recent weeks. In particular, the band's 1994 compilation, Big Ones, saw increased sales of 260 percent following the show's premiere on January 19. Similarly, 2004's Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith got a 146 percent boost after the show's second week. Two other Aerosmith compilations registered surges of 137 percent and 147 percent, respectively.

For the new collection, Geffen appears to have expanded the definition of the ballad by including such rockers as "Rag Doll" and "Love in an Elevator." Tracklisting

Becoming the Archetype Singled Out Week: Path of the Beam

Becoming the Archetype's brand new album 'Celestial Completion' hits stores this week. To celebrate the release we asked members of the band to tell us about some of the tracks on the album. Today guitarist Daniel Gailey tells us about "Path of the Beam":

Path of the Beam was the second or third song written for CC and the first song that I wrote in its entirety for the band. I helped out with some other riffs on the record but this song's definitely got my fingerprints all over it. I had some old riffs saved on my computer that I had been trying to incorporate into a song for a while, just no transitions to make them flow together. By the time we started running through the few riffs we had for the song at practice, and I heard the way it was all supposed to sound with the whole band, the rest just kind of fell into place.

I would go into further detail about how this song all came together but it's a pretty boring process, so I'll spare you the boredom. This was my first time recording in the studio, so after hearing the final product I am beyond stoked for this release! A lot of people ask me what the lyrics are about in the new songs, and to be honest, since I'm a guitar player I tend to listen to more of the composition than the lyrics. Jason tells me that Path of The Beam has something to do with riding motorcycles in space. I don't know.. sounds kind of ridiculous to me. I mean, have you ever thought about how hard it would be to ride a freakin motorcycle on the moon?! That's crazy.

Anyways, I think this song holds true to some of the classic BTA riffs but you can definitely tell that I have put my own personal spin on this song in particular. A lot of people will comment on the "breakdowns" in this song and how they are "super gay" blah blah blah. Say what you will about about that, but let's not put terms on things. I like writing heavy music, and this song is heavy. End of story.

I hope you all enjoy Celestial Completion, and that we get to meet each and every one of you on our journey of dominating the world! I know we seem like scary men who eat boar heads and bathe in tiger blood (32nd Charlie Sheen reference I've used today) but truth be told, we're just a bunch of laid back band dudes who participate in Hawaiian shirt day, listen to Randy Newman, and enjoy conversations about tearing through Mars on a Harley, so come say hi!

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

Watch New Video From Duff McKagan's Loaded

(hennemusic) A new video has surfaced from Duff McKagan's Loaded. "Dead Skin" comes off the group's new album, "The Taking," which will be released on April 19 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The CD was recorded at a Seattle-area studio with veteran rock producer Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera, Deftones).

Eagle Rock Entertainment will also re-release Duff McKagan's Loaded's 2009 album "Sick," in May. This special reissue of the CD also packs a bonus DVD, featuring 11 tracks from a live set at The Garage in Glasgow filmed in December 2008. Check out the new video here

Arch Enemy Giving Away New Song

Arch Enemy are giving fans a free download of the brand new track, "Yesterday Is Dead And Gone."

The song is the first to be revealed from their forthcoming album, Khaos Legions, which is slated to hit stores on June 7th.

Fans can gave the free download at the band's record label, Century Media's website here

Eric Clapton Inspired Robbie Robertson's New Album

(Gibson) More than 40 years after Robbie Robertson and The Band helped inspire Eric Clapton to ditch Cream and opt for a rootsier approach, Slowhand returned the favor. Robertson said his new album, How to Become Clairvoyant, came about after a hang-out session with his buddy.

"It started out with Eric Clapton and I just hanging out and kicking around some ideas and telling stories, playing a little bit of guitar and writing a little tune together," Robertson told Spinner.com. "We didn't have any particular purpose in mind, it's just that we'd known each other for a long time and that's what we do. We didn't really think about it much – we were off doing other stuff – and then I came back to it by accident a couple years later. I heard the stuff again and realized, 'Wow, we dug deeper than what I thought. Some of this sounds like the beginnings of something special.'"

Clapton invited Robertson to London so the two of them could see if, indeed, there was "something special." "Turns out, because the majority of the songwriting was mine, it just leaned in my direction," he said. "It could have been his record, a duet record – though I kind of hate duet records now that I think about it – or it could have been my record. So after we finished writing these songs he told me that this was really my record and he would just play on it." more on this story

Sammy Hagar's Surprise Late Night Jam

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar rocked The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Wednesday night with an interview and surprise performance.

Hagar was on hand to talk about his new autobiography, "Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock," which just debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction hardcover best sellers list.

Sammy spoke with Leno about various parts of his career, including the headline-grabbing Van Halen sections, as well as his first-hand experience with aliens. watch it here

Anniversary of Marvin Gaye's Murder

(Gibson) On this day in 1984, Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father at his parents' home in Los Angeles. Gibson takes a look back: The '80s had not been kind on '60s and '70s soul superstar Marvin Gaye. In 1980, he left America for Belgium, owing some $8 million in back taxes to the IRS. Some concerts were arranged to help pay off the massive debts and then, with the money he received for leaving RCA and signing with CBS, he reduced the debt somewhat, but his life was still in turmoil. Fighting mental and drug problems in Europe, Gaye was one day told by a friend that he needed some sexual healing. It was comeback time.

"Sexual Healing" turned into Gaye's ­biggest-selling single ever. It also signaled his return to America. But by 1984, the demons were back. Despite the return to musical glory, Gaye still owed too much money and the mental health and drug addiction issues were far from healed. Friendships and relationships were in tatters and Gaye was becoming increasingly paranoid. He told his friends that he feared killers were following him and scored himself a bulletproof vest.

After the Sexual Healing tour finished, Gaye opted to stay at his parents' house in Los Angeles. Problem was, Marvin and his father had along history of antagonism dating back to Marvin's childhood. Doped up, Gaye had taken to carrying a gun in his bathrobe pocket, and his growing paranoia had seen him give his father a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson. more on this story

Iron Maiden: Blaze Bailey Following The Paul Di'Anno Playbook?

(Rock News Desk) Blaze Bailey has dumped his band in order to tour by hiring local backing bands, just the way fellow ex-Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno operates, say his former bandmates.

Guitarists Jay Walsh and Nico Bermudez, alongside brother and bassist David Bermudez, have reacted to Bailey's surprise announcement that he was shutting down the Blaze Bailey Band for "financial and medical reasons."

And they blame the change in direction on the frontman's "self-appointed girolfriend manager." The dismissed members tell Blabbermouth: "We feel it's only fair to let people know the true reasons why the band ended. more on this story

Kill Bono For Your Own Good

(Gibson) The title of Irish music critic Neil McCormick's book, and now movie, Killing Bono, came from a conversation with the U2 rock star. The Daily Express reports that the author and Bono's school friend told TV show, This Morning, that, "at a certain point, he was getting hard to know because I was in the Wembley Coach and Horses [pub] and he was in Miami doing duets with Frank Sinatra.

"He was telling me about all these things," McCormick said. "I said, 'I don't wanna hear it. The problem with knowing you is you've lived my life.' He said, 'That's because I'm your doppelganger. If you want your life back you'll have to kill me.'

"In there, a little light bulb went off… he told me I should call it Killing Bono. He left a message on my answerphone one day, saying, 'Hey it's Bono, you have to kill me – it's for your own good.'" more on this story

See James Durbin Do Elton on American Idol

(hennemusic) James Durbin kept the rock alive on American Idol this week, during Wednesday night's Elton John-themed show.

Durbin rocked out a version of "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," one of the heaviest tracks off of 1973's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" double album.

Following the departure of two contestants on Thursday night's results show, the Santa Cruz Kid survives another week and moves on as part of the Top 9. See it here

Better Left Unsaid Announce New Member As They Prep for Mushroomhead Tour

Better Left Unsaid have announced that Corey Cabral has joined the band as their new bass player.

Corey spoke about joining Better Left Unsaid: I am very pleased and honored to be a part of the Better Left Unsaid family. I have nothing but the up most respect the guys and have always been a fan of the band and it's accomplishments to date. The future for this band is even brighter and I can't express how happy I am to be a part of it. I look forward to coming into this band swinging and ripping up the Hed 2 Head II tour and showing the country what we are made of! I can't be thankful enough for this opportunity and I can't wait to share the stage with these guys!

The band is pumped and ready for their cross country trek with Mushroomhead and Hed PE, which starts on April 15th in Agoura Hills, CA and runs through June 10th with the last show in West Hollywood, CA at The Key Club. Front man Adam Raffety gave his thoughts about Better Left Unsaid's upcoming tour: "I am overly excited for the upcoming Hed to Head Tour! To be sharing the same stage as the guys in HED P.E. and Mushroomhead on a nightly basis, not to mention having the ability to mingle and shake hands with both old fans and new is an amazing opportunity for us. It's very humbling to have the ability to see the fans in each town, night after night while doing what we love." more on this story

How a New York Doll and Guns N' Roses Stars Became Compulsions

Compulsions frontman Rob Carlyle told Rocksalt.mx how he ended up in a band with Sami Yaffa from Hanoi Rocks and The New York Dolls; and Frank Ferrer and Richard Fortus from Guns N' Roses.

He explained, "In 2003, I drafted Frank and Richard to record a bunch of songs with me after seeing them play together in other local bands. I wanted them in The Compulsions but Richard had already started playing in Guns N' Roses and it wasn't long before he moved from New York to LA.

"Then Frank started playing with Guns, too. So for the next few years I tried building another perfect line-up with different players around town. But obviously that didn't work out too well because now that GN'R has some downtime, I've been calling on Frank and Richard, again. Both of them had played together with Sami before and it was Richard who recently recommended Sami." Read the full interview here

Gypsyhawk Defending Good Times Tour

Gypsyhawk have announced that they are hitting the road once again beginning on May 6th in what the band has dubbed the "Defending Good Times Tour"!

The trek will begin in San Francisco, CA and end in El Paso, Tx. The Southern California road- warriors are covering the entire US this time around.

Gypsyhawk are touring in support their Creator-Destructor Records debut, "Patience and Perseverance". more on this story

Bitch Magnet Announce Reunion

(Big Hassle) Bitch Magnet, the pioneering post-punk band from the 80s (and some of the 90s), will reunite at All Tomorrow's Parties "Nightmare Before Christmas" festival, which will take place Dec 9-11 at Butlins Holiday Camp in Minehead, UK.

The show will mark Bitch Magnet's first live performance since 1990, and the first onstage appearance of the band's original recorded lineup - Orestes Morfín (drums), Sooyoung Park (bass and vocals) and Jon Fine (guitar) - since 1989.

Bitch Magnet was formed in the fall of 1986 by Fine and Park, when the two were sophomores at Oberlin College. In 1987, they convinced Morfín - then known as Orestes Delatorre - to sign on. more on this story

Born Of Osiris Denied Entry Into Canada

(Band Statement) Born Of Osiris are regretful to announce that they have been denied entry into Canada and therefore will be unable to perform alongside August Burns Red on all dates, but have hopes to make it up to all their Canadian fans soon.

Lee McKinney (guitars) further states: "Due to some very unexpected problems at the border, we were unable to cross into Canada. We were forced to turn around and head home and could not be more bummed about this.

"We are so sorry to everyone who had already bought tickets to the shows in hopes to see us. We were excited to get to play a lot of places we haven't been to before throughout Canada with some great bands. We will try again to make it out to Canada in the near future, and will do everything within our powers to ensure we make it across next time." more on this story

Manchester Orchestra Web Event Today

Manchester Orchestra have announced a live performance and interview from Red Bull Studio in Los Angeles today (4/1/11) at 5pm EST/2pm PST.

Tune in to RedBullUSA.com/livesessions for the broadcast. Want behind-the-scenes chatter? Join in @redbullstudioLA and ask your questions for the band. Include the hashtag #RBstudio.

The band's new single "April Fool" will be available on iTunes this coming Tuesday, April 5. Their new album, Simple Math, will be available everywhere 5/10 via Columbia Records/Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. more on this story

Bootsy Collins N Buckethead

There is now visual evidence of Bootsy Collins teaming up with Buckethead with the release of the "Minds Under Construction" video.

"We are civilized animals, right? Then why do we continue to slaughter for sport? What if you were a Chicken, how would you feel? I grew up in a Chicken Coop and I was not a Chicken at first, until I was faced with your World!" - Buckethead

"Honor thy Father and thy Mother was once said, but then someone said: What if I don't know your Father? A still voice said: Does that makes him the devil? He is still someone's Father, his name has been changed, but his story is the same. Why hate when we should Celebrate. In this world of two's, you got the Mourning Son, and the Daughter of the Night. They both equal light once you make it through the night. Now, wake the funk up!" - Bootsy Collins

Say what? Watch the video and try and figure it out