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On this day in 1987, Bon Jovi were at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Livin' on a Prayer." It made it to #4 in the U.K. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

Black Country Communion Hit By Studio Fire

(Rock News Desk) Glenn Hughes is delighted that a fire in producer Kevin Shirley's Malibu studio didn't stop Black Country Communion complete recording work on their second album.

The blaze broke out in Shirley's Cave establishment, where he's worked with the likes of Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Journey. The producer says: "I opened up this morning to thick, acrid smoke and a sideboard aflame. Miraculously there were no guitars lost, no masters affected and the studio is smelly but otherwise okay.

"We lost some furniture and need a big clean-up, but this is what's known as 'dodging a bullet'. Along with a baby rattlesnake outside the studio door last night, I think it's just too much energy in the Black Country Communion stuff." more on this story

Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax Plan More Big 4 Shows

(Gibson) The Big Four's slate of 2011 shows is expanding. The thrash giants, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, appear to have more shows planned this year, in addition to the three they've already set.

"If you've been following along, you know that the 'Big Four' of Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and 'Tallica already have two shows scheduled in Europe in July... well, the party is expanding," read a post on Metallica.com. "We're here today to tell you about and addition to the European vacation with a show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Veltins Arena on July 2, 2011."

"Keep watching here for a couple more announcements in the coming weeks," the post said. As of now, the four metal giants will play April 23 in Indio, California, July 2 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, July 8 at Sonisphere U.K. and July 9 at Sonisphere France. more on this story

Linkin Park To Resume Tour Following Singer's Hospitalization

We have some good news for Linkin Park fans. Chester is feeling better and is ready to get back on the road. Here is the official word from the LP camp:

After having to cancel and postpone several shows due to illness of co-lead singer Chester Bennington, Linkin Park will resume its A Thousand Suns world tour at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Saturday February 19th.

Bennington was hospitalized last week with a viral infection and complications from treatment but has been cleared by his physicians to return to the stage. more on this story

The Who's Roger Daltrey Talks Retirement

(Gibson) The Who's veteran frontman Roger Daltrey is gearing up for his performance of Tommy for the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at London's Royal Albert Hall next month.

According to Music-news.com, Daltrey doesn't think he'll be performing for much longer: "I've probably got two or three years left to do that kind of music and I want to make the most of it, because again I've been given a gift, use it, use it or lose it, so I'm going to do Tommy at the Albert Hall.

"I'll start painting then. I do a bit of daubing in my spare time, but I know that when I start that seriously it's going to have to be serious, there won't be room for anything else." more on this story

Avenged Sevenfold Announce Welcome to the Family Tour

Avenged Sevenfold will hit the road this spring for the "Welcome to the Family" Tour, which kicks off on April 22nd and continues through May 21st.

The tour will feature special guests Three Days Grace on each stop of the tour. Also appearing will be Sevendust from April 22nd through May 1st and Bullet For My Valentine from May 3rd through May 20th.

During the tour, Avenged Sevenfold will headline four major festival appearances: Edgefest in Little Rock, AR, on April 23rd, the first-ever Carolina Rebellion in Charlotte, NC, on May 7th, Lazerfest in Des Moines, IA, on May 15th, and Rock on the Range in Columbus, OH, on May 21st. more on this story

Gus G. Wants To Return To Classic Ozzy Sound

(Gibson) Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. recently spoke with the Broward-Palm Beach New Times about what he and The Prince of Darkness might have in store for the next Ozzy album.

"I've made a lot of riffs and some demos," he said. "We have been going back and forth, talking about it. But it's kind of too early to say anything, because we're still on the road. I don't know what the plan is once this tour is done. I'm feeling inspired, so if I get the call to go back in the studio with Ozzy - we just have to wait and see."

Gus, who contributed to Osbourne's most recent album, Scream, said that the Ozzy demos don't sound anything like the work he does with his band, Firewind. "If I would make another Ozzy album, I would like to make the ultimate Ozzy album - marry the classic stuff but with the new era," he said. "I'm just very inspired by the Randy [Rhoads] and Jake [E. Lee] albums. I'm writing in that vein and some more Sabbath-y riffs." more on this story

Singled Out: Bobaflex's Bury Me With My Guns On

Today Marty McCoy from Bobaflex tells us about their brand new single "Bury Me With My Guns On," which comes from their forthcoming new album "Hell In My Heart". Here is the story:

The single Bury Me With My Guns On was a very different writing experience compared to any other song Bobaflex has tackled in the past.

The inspiration comes from one of my favorite controversial graphic novels The Preacher where a man re-writes the rules of the universe by shooting the creator and causing hell to freeze over. At the time HBO was discussing turning the novel into an animated series and we really wanted to be apart of that. So one night during a long nonsensical dream I wake up and the song just starts writing itself. I don't even remember most of the lyrics until I read them on the scratch pad the next morning. The HBO series never happened, but the song did.

When I brought the tune to the band the next morning It was already finished and the guys were some how playing the perfect accompaniment that I needed to express the words on the page. Weird...I think so.

Thanks for listening,

Marty McCoy

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

You Might Appear In The New Beavis and Butthead

(Rock News Desk) The new series of Beavis and Butt-head won't rely on the old format of the cartoon pair watching music videos because the format has lost its power, says the president of MTV.

Instead, they'll watch reality TV and YouTube clips – meaning fans of the show could wind up being the subject of the comeback cartoons' cult commentary.

Chief executive Van Toffler tells Rolling Stone: "The shows will feature self-contained segments with the boys in different situations like they used to be. But this time they'll watch reality shows and user-generate YouTube in addition to music videos. more on this story

The Cars Release New Video

(hennemusic) A full, new track from The Cars has surfaced. After a few song clips were posted by the band last year, we now get the real deal: a full video for "Blue Tip," from the band's forthcoming album, "Move Like This."

The tease clip for "Blue Tip" was posted by The Cars on Facebook back in October.

"Move Like This" was recorded last year in Los Angeles and upstate New York by the entire surviving band: Ric Ocasek, drummer David Robinson, guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboard player Greg Hawkes. Gareth "Jacknife" Lee (U2, R.E.M.) produced five tracks; the band did the rest. Watch the video here

Hear Rush's Moving Pictures In A Whole New Way

(Gibson) A 5.1 remix of Rush's Moving Pictures album will be released on April 5, according to MusicTap.net. The Canadian rockers' 1981 album will be available in both a CD/DVD set and a CD/Blu-ray set.

Producer and sound engineer Richard Chycki worked on the project, and recently wrote about the process on his blog.

"It really was an amazing experience to spread the original tracks of such a classic CD into the 3D world of surround. (The car speeds off, goes behind and banks a sharp right in rear BTW). The listening experience is drastically enveloping and coupled with songs and performances that epitomize this band. It's definitely a great time to re-discover Rush," he wrote. "After discussion with the band, the goal here was to pay serious homage to the production of the era so a considerable amount of time was spent researching and working through effects, etc. that matched the original but would fare well in the 5.1 world. And of course, placement was also a critical issue." more on this story

Ozzy Suffers Flashbacks

(Rock News Desk) Ozzy Osbourne stopped using LSD when he was still with Black Sabbath but he suffers flashbacks to this day, he's revealed.

The Prince of Darkness regularly finds himself "freaking out" at the smallest things, and says the drug which defined the psychedelic 60s era isn't something he can recommend.

Ozzy tells Monsters And Critics: "I still get the after-effects. I call them my 'wobblers'. In a flash every little problem freaks me out and becomes the end of the world." more on this story

ZZ Top To Be Honored By Texas

(hennemusic) That little ol' band from Texas sure made a name for themselves, and their home state. Now, ZZ Top will be honored with some hardware for their contributions to Texas culture.

The Houston Press reports ZZ Top have been announced as one of the recipients of the 2011 Texas Medal of Arts.

The awards spotlight and celebrate the creative excellence, exemplary talents and outstanding contributions by Texans in selected categories, ultimately saluting the best in Texas. more on this story

Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell Could Have Been A Stryper Song?

(Gibson) In a recent interview on RockConfidential.com, Stryper frontman Michael Sweet talked about the Christian band's latest, decidedly non-Christian covers album, The Covering. According to Sweet, the idea to do a covers album was suggested by his wife after the band had added brought a little Priest to their recent sets.

"We were doing covers way back in the day before we were Stryper," Sweet said. "Over the years we'd always sound check with a cover or two. We started adding [Van Halen's] 'On Fire' to the set in '91. Recently we started adding [Judas Priest's] 'Breaking The Law.' My wife Lisa was backstage one night and said, 'You guys oughta do a covers album. Look at the response you get live.' That's what really got me to thinking and we talked about it as a band. We agreed that now would be the perfect time to do these because the four of us would be able to go in and have some fun, loosen up and show people where our roots lie. Add to that, a lot of people over the years have asked us about doing a covers album. It just felt like the right time and having my wife suggest it confirmed what we had been thinking for years. We went in and did it, so props to her!"

As for some of the material, including the Dio era Sabbath classic, "Heaven and Hell," Sweet thinks fans should give the lyrics a listen before condemning the music. "There were some songs we were thinking about and decided we probably shouldn't. There were some Ozzy songs, some Maiden songs, some Priest songs. We tried our best to be appropriate with the lyrical choices. Some may argue, 'How can they justify doing a Sabbath song?' If you read the words to 'Heaven and Hell,' those are lyrics that Stryper would've written. There's nothing wrong with those lyrics. They're absolutely dead-on the money."

Watch Stone Sour Rock Jimmy Kimmel

(hennemusic) Stone Sour rocked Jimmy Kimmel's show this week. The band performed "Hesitate," from their latest album "Audio Secrecy."

Singer Corey Taylor has been in the rock news lately, as his name was rumored to be among the potential candidates for the open vocalist slot in Velvet Revolver. VR have not made any announcement about their final decision on the issue, but Slash has confirmed that Taylor was the most recent rocker the band honed in on for the gig.

Stone Sour head to Japan for a series of dates starting this weekend, before they kick off The Avalanche Tour across the States next month; the package includes Theory Of A Deadman, Skillet, Halestrom and Art Of Dying. Check out the video here

Bono Denies Endorsing Violence

(Rock News Desk) U2 frontman Bono says anyone who thinks he or his band are in favour of violence have to be "barking mad."

The U2 singer has reacted after news of his support for an apparent South African race-hate song ricocheted around the planet earlier this week.

Now the frontman says his comments have been used inappropriately. "It's kind of a bit mad, to be honest," he states. "U2 are famous for songs of non-violence." more on this story

Green Day Release Cigarettes & Valentines Video

(hennemusic) Green Day have offered out a "lyric" video for a track from their upcoming live album, "Awesome As F**k," due March 22.

Originally recorded in 2003, "Cigarettes & Valentines" was the title track from an unreleased album by the band. What should have been the follow-up to 2000's "Warning," was reportedly stolen from the studio and the master tapes were gone.

Rather than re-record the project, Green Day started over from scratch, and went on to create the legendary "American Idiot" set in 2004. Check out the video here

Richard Ashcroft Announces New Album, Live Dates and TV Appearance

We'll be seeing and hearing a lot from The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft in the near future.

He will release his first solo album in four years, United Nations of Sound, on March 22 through Razor & Tie.

To celebrate the release, Ashcroft will be performing two special shows in the U.S. – March 23 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York and March 24 at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston (part of the Jim Beam Live Music Series) – marking his first performances in America since 2008. more on this story

Rush's Alex Lifeson Tributes Gary Moore

(Gibson) In the early 1980s, two of hard rock's heavyweight acts joined forces for an epic tour. Rush was on the road promoting Signals, their follow-up to the immensely popular Moving Pictures. Gary Moore was on tour supporting his hard and heavy Corridors of Power album. For fans of monster guitar play, there wasn't a better ticket to be found anywhere.

With Moore's recent and sudden passing, we asked Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson to share some of his memories of the talented guitarist. "Well, we were connected in a number of ways historically," recalled Lifeson, "'cause we worked a lot with Thin Lizzy in the early days, too. But Gary had already left the band at that time, for the first time, but we were well aware of Gary's playing and his influence on the scene, particularly in Britain at the time. And in the early '80s, he came on tour with us. And I think… I want to say we probably did two runs together. And my recollection of him is that he was a very sweet, gentle guy – quick to smile and really a lot of fun to be with, but so absolutely passionate about the instrument and about playing.

"And it's really sad to see somebody like him go at a young age – it really is a young age. You know, he was the type of guy that [you thought] would be around forever and ever, playing like Les Paul, for example. You would always be able to go see Gary play in some little club or something, you know, in downtown New York or London, Soho… Ronnie [Scott's] or something like that. It's really a shame."

Read Gibson.com's complete interview with Lifeson here

Elvis Costello's Wheel of Fortune Rolls On

(Gibson) In 1986, Elvis Costello embarked on a tour during which he kept a spinning wheel with song titles on stage. In between each performance, an audience member would spin the wheel and Elvis would perform whatever tune came up. For his upcoming tour, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is bringing back the wheel.

So far, Costello and the Imposters have announced 13 dates for their Revolver Tour. Each show will include songs selected by a spin of the wheel, which will feature 40 "hits, rarities and covers," according to a press release.

The audience member who spins the wheel will have the choice of stepping into a go-go cage and dancing during the performance, or enjoy refreshments at the onstage lounge. The wheel on the tour poster indicates a mixture of old and new Costello material, including "Accidents Will Happen," "National Ransom," "Spooky Girlfriend" and "Alison." more on this story

Rod Stewart Refuses To Rehearse With Stevie Nicks

(Rock News Desk) Stevie Nicks will have to live with compromise ahead of her tour with Rod Stewart, says the British singer, because she likes to rehearse and he doesn't.

Stewart has just become a dad for the eighth time after wife Penny Lancaster gave birth to a boy called Aiden on Wednesday. The proud dad already has plenty on his plate for this year including his upcoming tour with Nicks and a long-awaited album with former bandmate Jeff Beck.

He reports: "In the Faces we never rehearsed. I always liked there to be an element of risk in any show. When things go wrong I love it – so we'll have to meet in the middle." more on this story

The Bouncing Souls Record Store Day Special Release

The Bouncing Souls will have a special release for fans on Record Store Day. NYC's Generation Records announced the release of The Bouncing Souls - Live At Generation Records.

The 12-inch vinyl LP showcases 11 tracks from the band's celebrated acoustic performance at the store on Record Store Day 2009.

It includes fan favorites like "Lamar Vannoy," "Quik Chek Girl," "Joe Lies," "Gasoline" and a special cover of Sick Of It All's "Good Lookin' Out." more on this story

Zakk Wylde Helps New Band

(Rock AAA) Godsized guitarist Neil Fish has revealed how a chance meeting and a brass neck earned his band the chance to open for metal giants Black Label Society across Europe.

The unsigned band met BLS mainman Zakk Wylde at the High Voltage Festival last July and passed him a copy of their CD.

They thought nothing more of it until they had a call from the band's management offering them the chance to open for the band on their current European tour. Fish admits it is a dream come true for the fledgling four-piece while he also reveals they have Wylde's 16-year-old son Jesse to thank for the opportunity of a lifetime. Fish exclusively talks to RockAAA here

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus' Talk Show Returns

Blink 182's Mark Hoppus talk show, Hoppus on Music, is coming back for another season. Here are the details we were sent:

Returning on February 18th, musician and producer Hoppus, along with his co-host Amy Schumer will continue to take viewers through everything in the world of music with a fun and humorous twist.

On Friday, February 18th, Mark will treat fans to a performance from The Damned Things more on this story

Robert Cray Leads Blues Hall of Fame Class of 2011

(Gibson) The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee, announced its 2011 inductees for the Blues Hall of Fame. The class of 2011 is led by Robert Cray, who helped to reignite the blues on the national scene in the 1980s and whose soulful guitar work has been a dominant force in blues ever since. Other inductees include singer-guitarist John Hammond, singer-songwriter Denise LaSalle, vocalists Big Maybelle and Alberta Hunter, and singer-songwriter J.B. Lenoir.

In addition, several non-musicians are being recognized as well for their work in the field, including Vee-Jay Records pioneers Vivian Carter and Jimmy Bracken, noted African American educator John W. Work III, blues historian and revivalist Samuel Charters and producer Bruce Bromberg.

Influential works are also being celebrated with inductions, including John Broven's celebrated book, Walking to New Orleans: The Story of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues. The singles, "Ain't Nobody's Business" (Supreme, 1947) by Jimmy Witherspoon, "Five Long Years" (J.O.B., 1952) by Eddie Boyd, "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" (Paramount, 1931) by Skip James and "Love in Vain" (Vocalion, 1937) by Robert Johnson will also be inducted, as will the albums Night Beat by Sam Cooke, False Accusations by Robert Cray, and The Real Folk Blues by Howlin' Wolf. more on this story

Anniversary of The Replacements' Bob Stinson's Death

(Gibson) On this day in 1995, American guitarist Bob Stinson from The Replacements died from a drug overdose, his body was found in his Uptown, Minneapolis apartment. Gibson takes a look back: Legend has it that The Replacements were formed because Bob Stinson was trying to prevent his younger brother Tommy from getting into trouble. In 1978, 19-year-old Bob gave 11-year-old Tommy a bass, to keep him off the streets of Minneapolis.

Actually, they weren't called The Replacements yet (the band was called Dog's Breath), but some key pieces were there. Bob on guitar, Tommy on bass and Bob's friend Chris Mars on drums. Mostly, their practice sessions were an excuse to play Aerosmith and Yes covers, drink alcohol and get high. That is, until Paul Westerberg joined the group.

Westerberg had been working as a janitor, and would stop by to hang out during rehearsals. Eventually, he was invited to join the band, and he became Dog's Breath's lead singer. Although drugs and alcohol were still present, Westerberg began bringing original material to the group and stressed the importance of practicing his punk rock songs until he was satisfied. more on this story

Hull Announce Special Vinyl Release

(Submitted) Hull will release their Viking Funeral EP, initially self-released in 2005, on vinyl via Science of Silence Records this spring.

The limited edition wax version will come in 180 gram blood red/black swirl vinyl with the song on one side, a laser etched image on the other and a parchment insert with the detailed Viking Funeral saga as well as a sticker and digital download info all wrapped in a Viking Funeral poster and wax-stamped with the band's logo.

To get your hands on the Viking Funeral vinyl and a sampling of some new tunes, don't miss HULL on their upcoming SXSW tour with Batillus. more on this story

Big Plans For Robert Johnson's 100th Birthday

Legacy Recordings plan to celebrate Robert Johnson's 100th birthday in a big way. Here is the news: May 8, 2011, marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, who, according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in a midnight bargain that has haunted the music world for three-quarters of a century.

The 'deal' brought forth Johnson's incandescent guitar technique and a run of 10-inch 78 rpm singles for the Vocalion, Oriole, Conqueror and Perfect labels recorded in San Antonio in 1936 and Dallas in 1937.

Those songs have become a cornerstone of Columbia Records' identity, and will be celebrated on two Centennial releases from Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. more on this story