Sammy Hagar Slams Van Halen- Family and Friends Say Goodbye To Jani Lane- Rush Time Machine DVD- Mike Muir Album Coming- Dimmu Borgir Warning- more

(AP) A year after Tommy Stinson's online auction raised nearly $50,000 for children ravaged by last year's earthquake in Haiti, the Replacements bassist is getting ready to help out again more

Def Leppard Vs 'Moron'

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott has lashed out at a fan who criticised their choice of songs on tour while they were trying to get to grips with the death of the singer's father.

Joe Senior, who'd actively supported the band since their earliest days, died last month. But he'd insisted they kept to their touring schedule despite his illness, and Elliott has admitted "I wasn't at the top of my game" during the difficult period.

Now he's called one supporter a "moron" for emailing him to complain about the band's setlist on the shows they did just after his dad passed away. "The guy accused me of being a fraud because on the first four gigs we did after the break we did exactly the same set," Elliott tells Spinner. "I wasn't going to say to the guy, 'Well, you know, my father just passed away – let's just keep it simple for the first week then we can get into the experiments.'" He goes off from there and moron is the tamest word he used

Amy Winehouse Death Still A Mystery

(Gibson) Toxicology reports show that no illegal substances were found in Amy Winehouse's body at the time of her death. According to Metro.co.uk, while traces of alcohol were found in Winehouse's system, there was nothing illegal and the cause of death is still not known.

The singer's publicist said in a statement: "Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy's system at the time of her death.

"Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death."

Results of the inquest are expected in October. more on this story

Public Memorial For Jani Lane Today

(hennemusic) A public memorial is being held today (Wednesday Aug 24) in Los Angeles for former Warrant singer Jani Lane, who passed away August 11 under mysterious circumstances.

The memorial concert is happening at the Key Club in Hollywood, and will feature performances by fellow metal rock bands, including Great White, Quiet Riot, Enuff Z'Nuff and L.A. Guns. 300 free tickets will be given out at the Key Club box office starting at 10:00 a.m. today.

Long time friend Marq Torien – leader singer of BulletBoys, spoke about Lane following his passing. "[Jani] was a very good friend of mine, a close friend. We'd done a lot of touring together and pretty much came up the ranks in Los Angeles together in bands," said Marq. "It's just a really, really sad day for all of us, because he was an amazing songwriter. He basically couldn't fight those demons inside that were taking him down. There's been some really close friends of ours passing away. It's a huge loss to the rock community. Time's moving by so quickly and there's only a few of us left. When you lost a cat like that, it's such a…He was a really great songwriter and he really loved music and his personal life just seemed to kind of swallow him up." more on this story

Ozzy's Kids Fuel Black Sabbath Reunion Rumors

(Rock News Desk) Ozzy Osbourne was notably absent at the premiere of his documentary movie this week, fuelling rumors he's in England working with the original lineup of Black Sabbath.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne was shown in Hollywood at a charity event for MusiCares, and while his son Jack, who filmed and produced the movie, was there, the star of the show wasn't.

Daughter Kelly Osbourne said: "My dad is doing something that is very, very exciting. But I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you. He's just finished a tour but he's doing something very exciting."

Jack said: "I can neither confirm or deny who he is with or where he is."

more rock news

Thirty Seconds To Mars Unplugged EP

EMI sent over word that Thirty Seconds To Mars released a digital EP this week with 4 tracks from their MTV Unplugged performance.

The set includes "Hurricane," "Kings & Queens," "Night Of The Hunter" and their inspiring rendition of the U2 classic "Where The Streets Have No Name." Unplugged: Thirty Seconds To Mars premiered July 20th across MTV Music Group's multiple platforms and screens. A video album bundle of the MTV Unplugged performance will be available on August 30th.

Don't miss Thirty Seconds To Mars this Sunday at the 2011 VMA's. The band is nominated in 3 categories for their controversial and sexual short film "Hurricane" including Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Direction for Bartholomew Cubbins, the nom de plume of Jared Leto. Both a censored and explicit version of the video can be viewed at the band's website.

Death Cab for Cutie, Trey Anastasio Band Lead Langerado Music Festival Lineup

Death Cab for Cutie, Trey Anastasio Band, Ben Harper, Ween, and Thievery Corporation lead the lineup for this years installment of the Langerado Music Festival.

This year's Langerado Music Festival will take place at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL once again with a diverse line-up of 38 acts for two days, October 8-9.

Langerado fans will get a healthy dose of jam band and modern roots artists, along with inspired indie rock and electronica acts including Arctic Monkeys, G. Love & Special Sauce, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Wolfgang Gartner, Etienne De Crecy – Live Show, Ghostland Observatory, Das Racist, Portugal. The Man, Friendly Fires, Childish Gambino, Smith Westerns, Super Mash Bros., Savoy, Mates of State and The Whigs.

String Cheese Incident Announce Fall Tour

The String Cheese Incident will hit the road for their first multi-city tour in four years.

"Roots Run Deep" 2011 begins Thanksgiving weekend and travels through southern and eastern U.S. historic venues including Atlanta's legendary Fox Theatre, a return to the newly re-opened Georgia Theatre, Nashville's landmark Ryman Auditorium (with a special acoustic first set), and a two-night stand at New York City's magnificent United Palace.

The String Cheese Incident has only made limited appearances since 2007, so "Roots Run Deep" affirms the band is back together and ready to rock. more on this story

OK Go Premiere Muppets Video

(BH) OK Go and The Muppets have teamed up to create the music video for the "Muppet Show Theme Song," from the Muppets: The Green Album.

The song, written by Jim Henson and Sam Pottle, opened and closed "The Muppet Show" for five seasons in the UK and US, from 1976-1981. The new track was produced by OK Go and mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT).

Says singer Damian Kulash, "I'm so excited about working with the Muppets that I can hardly sleep. Collaborating with your idols is a huge thrill no matter what, but when your idols are fictional characters it seems downright impossible. The 10-year-old me was pretty good at imagining outrageous futures, but this surpasses even his capacities." more on this story

Judas Priest Help American Idol Land Emmy Nomination

(hennemusic) The Season 10 finale of American Idol featured one of the coolest hard rock/mainstream TV moments of 2011 as metal gods Judas Priest stormed the stage to play a couple of classics with newcomer James Durbin.

Sure, the finale featured other moments, like Steven Tyler singing an abbreviated version of Aerosmith's "Dream On" (backed by Stone Temple Pilots), Lady Gaga, and some other match-ups that didn't quite work, but for rock fans, it was Priest that stole the show and left everyone else in the dust.

The Idol finale was watched by about 30 million viewers; the episode was submitted to represent the show for one of the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in the category "Reality - Competition Program," and it earned a nomination. Idol is up against So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, The Amazing Race, Dancing With The Stars and Top Chef. more on this story

Pinback's Zach Smith Hitting The Road With His Systems Officer Project

(PMA) Pinback and Three Mile Pilot multi-instrumentalist Armistead Burwell Smith IV aka Zach Smith will take his Systems Officer project on the road for the first time in September, treating West Coast fans to a string of performances.

Joining Smith on this outing are new (and permanent) S.O. recruits, Pinback drummer Chris Prescott and Temporary Residence Ltd. label mate Kenseth Thibideau.

Systems Officer is the solo guise of Armistead Burwell Smith IV, the songwriter and founding member of Pinback and Three Mile Pilot. more on this story

ZZ Top Tribute Album To Feature Nickelback, Steven Tyler, Daughtry and more

(hennemusic) The music and legacy of ZZ Top has been part of the world's musical landscape for over 40 years.

On October 11, "That Little Ol' Band From Texas" is being honored with "A Tribute From Friends," a high-profile salute from fellow rockers, including Nickelback, Steven Tyler, Wolfmother, Daughtry, Filter and more.

The album features 11 classic ZZ Top songs interpreted by top-flight artists working in a broad range of musical genres. All of the album's tracks have been newly recorded specifically for the project. These include Filter's performance of "Gimme All Your Lovin'," Grace Potter & The Nocturnals' take on "Tush," as well as Wyclef Jean's "Rough Boy," "Legs" from Nickelback and Wolfmother's interpretation of "Cheap Sunglasses." more on this story

Evile Preview New Album

Evile have set an October 18 North American release date for third studio album, Five Serpent's Teeth.

A 15-minute preview of the album, featuring one-and-a-half blistering minutes of each song, is available to listen to here.

Five Serpent's Teeth was recorded at Parlour Studios in Kettering, UK, with producer Russ Russell (Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir), who also helmed the band's highly regarded 2009 release Infected Nations. more on this story

Anthrax Reunited For Wrong Reasons

(Rock News Desk) Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante admits their 2005 reunion with classic-era singer Joey Belladonna was a mistake – and he's not surprised the frontman didn't remain with the band at the time.

The thrash giants are poised to release Worship Music, their first album with Belladonna since 1991′s Persistence of Time. But Benante believes the singer had good reason not to stick around six years ago.

He tells Radio Metal: "I think the reunion tour was done for the wrong reasons. At the time we were with a different organization, and Joey didn't agree with them. He didn't like the people involved with the band at the time. And I don't blame him, because we didn't want to stay with them either." more on this story

Downspirit Begin New Album

(Freeman) Downspirit have begun working their sophomore album, tentatively to be recorded later this fall.

The band states: "Currently we are busy sorting out all kinds of ideas, riffs, harmonies and will be creating another blasting monster that will blow out your ears and crack your stereos! Being on the road a lot inspires us a lot to deliver you the real deal, ....it's gonna be a lotta work, but it's gonna be freaking awesome and sexxxy! We can't wait to let you hear!!!!"

The band will embark on a European Tour with Sinner & Voodoo Circle starting Sep 21st. more on this story

TesseracT Find Their New Voice

(Band Statement) TesseracT have hired Elliot Coleman (Sky Eats Airplane and Zelliack) as their new lead vocalist, replacing Dan Tompkins.

TesseracT bassist, Amos Williams, makes the introduction: "We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce somebody special, Elliot Coleman. Some of you may know him as a member of Zelliack, Sky Eats Airplane and Of Legends, or maybe from OMNOM, or Haunted Shores. Well now he's part of TesseracT! We're very excited about working with Elliot as we feel he has a great talent and personality, as well as, and most importantly a voice that transcends the norm and continues the TesseracT tradition of taking things to the next level."

Elliot's catalogue of work is as impressive as it is extensive including numerous appearances with Haunted Shores and a guest spot on Periphery's track "Race Car". He most recently played bass in Washington DC tech metallers Of Legends, but as a passionate vocalist, he jumped at the chance to front TesseracT. Elliot comments: "I'm very much excited to be a part of the juggernaut that is TesseracT. I know I have big shoes to fill as Dan is a fantastic vocalist, but i'm confident that we'll be producing some great new music in the coming year and i'll be adding some new flavours to this ever evolving machine" more on this story

The Jim Jones Revue North American Tour

The Jim Jones Revue will kick off their North American fall tour on September 1st in Vancouver.

The Jim Jones Revue will be touring in support of their new album, Burning Your House Down, which was released through Punk Rock Blues Records on August 16th.

Burning Your House Down was produced by Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds/Grinderman). more on this story

Tom Waits Releases Private Listening Party Video

Tom Waits has released a private listening party video for this upcoming album, Bad As Me, his first studio album of all new music in 7 years.

The video is classic Waits but before we get to that, hennemusic has a little more info about the new album:

Due October 25, "Bad As Me" is being billed as a pivotal work that refines the music that has come before and signals a new direction. Waits worked with a veteran team of gifted musicians and longtime co-writer/producer/wife Kathleen Brennan.

Read more and check out the video more on this story

Jaron and The Long Road to Love and Joe Firstman Tour

(EBM) Jaron and The Long Road to Love are hitting the road this fall for a tour where they will be performing in over 60 cities nationwide.

Joining him for the trek will be former band leader for Last Call With Carson Daly, Joe Firstman.

The tour kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 3 in Los Angeles, Calif. at Hotel Café and includes stops at smaller-capacity venues in order to bring the show closer to fans. more on this story

Blondie TV Special This Weekend

Blondie will be featured in the next episode of the Guitar Center Sessions music series this Saturday, August 27th.

Guitar Center Sessions features exclusive performances and intimate, conversations conducted by Nic Harcourt.

The episode premieres Saturday, August 27th at 10pm ET/PT in 2D hi-definition on DIRECTV'S Audience Network (channel 239) and in 3D on DIRECTV'S n3D powered by Panasonic.

An exclusive clip of Blondie's performance of "Mother" from the episode can be seen here

Sugar Ray & the Bluetones Set New Album Release

Sugar Ray & the Bluetones have set an October 18 release date for their new album called Evening.

Evening is the band's fifth album for Severn and first release since My Life, My Friends, My Music in 2007, which was nominated for Blues Music Awards as "Album of the Year," "Instrumentalist – Harmonica," "Instrumentalist – Bass Player" and "Song of the Year" (for "Last Words of a Fool"). Joining Sugar Ray Norcia (vocals, harmonica) are guitarist "Monster" Mike Welch, drummer Neil Gouvin, bassist Michael "Mudcat" Ward and pianist Anthony Geraci.

"We approached this one like Hank Williams made records," says Norcia about the sessions. "I went in with my lyrics, just rough sketches of the songs and the great musicians in the Bluetones, who always play something exciting. This album's mostly original and in the Chicago blues vein. Last time, I used a full horn section, so My Life, My Friends, My Music was more jump blues-oriented. For this one, I wanted to keep things spare and gritty." more on this story

The Ready Set Announce Feel Good Release

The Ready Set has announced an October 11, 2011 release date for a new EP called Feel Good Now.

Feel Good Now, released via Sire/Decaydance records, features the track "Hollywood Dream", which premieres today on iTunes.

The physical version of the EP contains two bonus tracks, hit single "Young Forever" and a new track, "Operator". more on this story

Beach Boys Mastermind Brian Wilson Goes Disney

(rock nyc) Disney Pearl Records will release 'In the Key of Disney' featuring Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson's covers of songs from movies like Toy Story 3, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Pinocchio on October 25th.

'The Beach Boys sound and the Disney people make a fantastic collaboration,' said Brian Wilson, 'I tried to do justice to all their songs.'

According to the Guardian, Wilson said 'he tried to bring the songs' original composers "to the fore", making an instrumental medley out of songs from Snow White and pumping Dumbo's 'Baby Mine' full of vocal harmonies. 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King', from the Lion King, is now a Bo Diddley rock number.' more on this story

Mayday Parade Plot The Noise Tour

(ILG) Mayday Parade has announced a North American fall headlining tour dubbed The Noise Tour.

They will be hitting the road in support of their third full-length album, the eponymous Mayday Parade, which comes out on October 4th.

The Noise Tour kicks off October 13 on the East Coast, and features support from We Are The In Crowd, There For Tomorrow, You Me At Six and The Make. more on this story

Butch Vig Didn't Know How To Deal With Kurt Cobain's Mood Swings

(Rock News Desk) Nirvana producer Butch Vig says he didn't know how to deal with Kurt Cobain's mood swings while he and the band were recording their iconic Nevermind album.

The twentieth anniversary of the landmark release has reminded Vig about the difficult times he endured in April 1990, when he recorded demos with Nirvana, and the following year when they tracked the record.

It propelled the band into superstardom – but also laid the foundations of their demise with Cobain's suicide in 1994. "They rolled up in a van for that first session. They're driven 1900 miles non-stop and they probably hadn't taken a bath or a shower in three or four days," Vig tells Rolling Stone. "Kurt was charming and witty, but he would go through these mood swings. He'd be totally engaged – then all of a sudden a light switch would go off and he'd go sit in the corner and completely disappear into himself. more on this story

The Casualties Cancel Tour

(Band Statement) The Casualties regrettably have to cancel their upcoming tour throughout Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, which were scheduled for 9/8 - 9/23.

The SoCal and Japan tours remain in tact. Jake Casualty states: "We regret to inform everyone that due to issues beyond our control we will be forced to cancel our tour of Australia and South East Asia.

"It's a great disappointment, but it will just make us work harder to clear up any outstanding issues and we will make up the dates when everything is resolved." more on this story

Tribal Seeds Announce Fall Tour

Reggae rockers Tribal Seeds have announced the dates for their upcoming North American fall 2011 tour.

The shows will span over 25 dates in two months, kicking off in Tucson, Arizona at The Rock on October 12, 2011.

Of the tour, the band shares, "We look forward to bringing a new show with songs from our latest EP 'Soundwaves' and new twists to some of our older fan favorite songs. Fans might get sneak peak of some brand new unreleased stuff as well! Have to come out and see for yourself!" more on this story

Run For Cover Records Mixed Signals Delayed

(ES) The release date for Run For Cover Records Mixed Signals compilation has been pushed back a week, from August 30th to September 6th.

The compilation, featuring a lineup consisting of the influential Boston-based indie's own artists, as well as friends of the label, commemorates Run For Cover's 50th release.

Mixed Signals will be released on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Vinyl and CD formats will be accompanied by a 28-page, perfect-bound black and white booklet with photos, lyrics and liner notes from each band. CDs will be exclusively available from Hot Topic for $4.98, as well as from bands on the road. more on this story

The Safety Fire Go InsideOut

As The Safety Fire prepare to hit the road for a UK with Rise To Remain next month, work comes that the group have inked a deal with InsideOut Music. Here is what they sent over:

As a part of the ever-growing UK progressive metal scene, The Safety Fire features Sean McWeeney on vocals, Lori Peri on bass, Calvin Smith on drums, and Derya Nagle and Joaquin Ardiles on guitar.

"It's been an exciting year for us so far and signing with InsideOut Music has taken everything to another level. We are working with some amazing people who are fully supportive of the band, and ready to help propel us on to the next stage of our career. We are all so hyped!" - The Safety Fire more on this story

Anniversary of a Queen's Classic Bohemian Rhapsody

(Gibson) On this day in 1975, Queen started recording "Bohemian Rhapsody" at Rockfield studio's in Monmouth, Wales – the song was recorded over three weeks). Freddie Mercury had mentally prepared the song beforehand and directed the band throughout the sessions. Brian May, Mercury and Roger Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for 10 to 12 hours a day, resulting in 180 separate overdubs. Gibson looks back:

Roy Thomas Baker must have thought Freddie Mercury was completely mad when he brought him the song that would eventually be the single for Queen's 1975 album, A Night at the Opera. Baker told the BBC that Mercury sat down at the piano and played him the gorgeous, tragic opening and then stopped abruptly and said, "And this is where the opera section comes in!" And indeed, the "opera section" helped make "Bohemian Rhapsody" unlike anything ever recorded. When the band convened (on this date in 1975), they were given a song in three basic movements: an opening ballad, a comic-tragic operatic middle and a thunderous rock ending.

"'Bohemian Rhapsody' was totally insane," Baker later told MIX, "But we enjoyed every minute of it. It was basically a joke, but a successful joke. [Laughs] We had to record it in three separate units. We did the whole beginning bit, then the whole middle bit and then the whole end. It was complete madness. The middle part started off being just a couple of seconds, but Freddie kept coming in with more 'Galileos' and we kept on adding to the opera section, and it just got bigger and bigger. We never stopped laughing." more on this story