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On this day in 1985, David Bowie and Mick Jagger recorded a version of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 1964 hit "Dancing In The Street." for the forthcoming 'Live Aid' fundraising event. The single went on to become a No.1 U.K. hit. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here more on this story

Paul Simon Sidelined By Illness

(Gibson) Sickness forced Paul Simon to cancel his London gig last night. According to the NME, the folk and rock legend was due to play the Hammersmith Apollo but has postponed his performance to tonight, June 29, because of a throat infection.

He had told his Glastonbury audience at the weekend, "I've got a throat infection so if I'm not at the top of my game, that's the reason."

In a statement, management said: "Paul Simon wishes to apologize profusely to all his fans for any inconvenience this has caused and would like to stress that he only has their best interests at heart and wants to deliver the best show possible. Doctors have advised him to completely rest his voice." more on this story

Johnny Depp Guitar Chops On Par With Slash and Brian May?

(Gibson) Alice Cooper was more than a little impressed by his special guest guitarist at London's 100 Club on Sunday night. Cooper introduced Johnny Depp as a blues player from Kentucky. According to Music-news.com, he said:

"So when I introduced 'Johnny D from Kentucky, a famous blues player' and he comes up, he had his head down and everyone was like, 'who's that guy?' Then you could see the little light bulbs going on in their heads one by one and the girls at the front were going 'That's Johnny Depp!'"

Cooper called the Hollywood actor a great guitarist, saying: "I'd work with him again, I mean, the guy is a valid guitar player. We told him anytime he wants to come up and play, feel free. We've always given that kind of privilege to any great guitar player, like Brian May. He's in the same place as Brian May or Slash. He's a great guitarist." Judge for yourself here

Metallica Show Will Go On

(RockAAA) The Chronicle Herald reports that, over the past week, Halifax Regional Municipality threatened to withhold permits necessary to run the July 14 Rock The Hill event with Metallica in an effort to pressure the concert promoter to repay the $359,000 lost in the cash-for-concerts debacle.

Harold MacKay, whose wife, Michelle, officially heads MacKay Entertainment, responded by contacting his lawyer David Coles. It appears the city blinked in the standoff.

At 4:25 this afternoon, HRM issued this news release. "MacKay Entertainment Inc. and Halifax Regional Municipality are very pleased to confirm that Rock the Hill is going forward as planned. In recent days, issues have been raised with respect to the provision of services associated with the concert. Any outstanding issues have been resolved. We look forward to residents and visitors enjoying a great time at a great concert in a great city." more on this story

Korn, Chevelle, Hinder, Duff McKagan To Save The Rock

(Harder Beats) PDX Rock Fest "Save The Rock" will take place on August 28th at Washington County Fairplex and feature performances by Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Queensryche, Chevelle, Hinder, All That Remains, Duff McKagan, Like A Storm, among others.

Rock fans in Portland will unite for a day long celebration to "Save the Rock" after recently losing their only Active Rock station in Portland.

Korn's Jonathan Davis offered "We've always loved playing in Portland. We heard about the radio station going away and we wanted to help. We know there are some die-hard Korn fans there and we are coming to support them and stand up for rock music." more on this story

Weezer and Paramore's Hayley Williams' Rainbow Connection

Earlier this week told you that some rockers were taking on songs from the Muppets for the new movie. Today we have details about each track.

Muppets: The Green Album will be released on August 23rd and will feature OK Go, Weezer, The Fray, Alkaline Trio, My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, Matt Nathanson and Amy Lee. Here are the song descriptions Disney sent out:

1. A raucous rock version of "The Muppet Show Theme" performed by the award-winning quartet OK Go.

2. "The Rainbow Connection" - The Oscar-nominated ballad from "The Muppet Movie" (1979) sung by veterann rock band Weezer and Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams.

more

Halford Going HD

(hennemusic) Metal God Records and Rob Halford have announced a new 5.1, multi-camera, HD live-concert film, "Halford Live At Saitama Super Arena," which will debut worldwide October 10 and October 11.

"Halford Live At Saitama Super Arena" features Rob Halford on vocals, Roy Z. on guitar, "Metal" Mike Chlasciak on guitars, Mike Davis on bass and Bobby Jarzombek on drums.

The DVD contains fifteen 5.1 Surround Sound audio recordings spanning The Metal God's Halford, Fight and Judas Priest catalog. The Blu-ray release features exclusive footage with Rob Halford commentary. more on this story

Black Country Communion Plan Blu-Ray

(RockAAA) Supergroup Black Country Communion haven't played that many shows yet, so fans got some good news from bassist Glenn Hughes via Twitter this week...

"Yes puppies: we are filming Blu-Ray on tour..will be released in October: we are building a foundation: GH"

BCC are bassist/vocalist Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Sabbath), blues rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater). more on this story

Mastodon Take On Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and Fraggle Rock

(Gibson) Mastodon have released a new song via the Adult Swim Singles Program, a 10-week event loaded with new music. As part of the program, the Atlanta metal band have unleashed "Deathbound," which comes from the Crack the Skye sessions.

In conjunction with Adult Swim, Mastodon have also released a video for "Deathbound," which parodies elements of children's programming – including Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Fraggle Rock and other Muppets-related shows. Check out the video below.

Also, Mastodon have revealed some of the song titles for tracks on their new album, The Hunter, due in October. The list includes: "Curl of the Burl," "Dry Bone Valley," "Blasteroids," "The Octopus Has No Friends," "All the Heavy Lifting" and "Stargasm." more on this story

Original Yes Frontman Jon Anderson Announces North American Summer Tour

(Glass Onyon) Original Yes frontman Jon Anderson has announced select concert dates this summer in support of his critically acclaimed new CD release 'Survival & Other Stories'.

Jon Anderson, best known for his work with YES, Vangelis and Kitaro, as well as his innovative solo efforts, recently completed a successful tour of the east coast in the US.

The new leg of the tour will concentrate on the northwest US and several dates in Canada, and promises to deliver an exciting mixture of material from Jon Anderson's prolific solo career, collaborations with Vangelis and classic YES songs, along with new compositions from his new CD 'Survival & Other Stories'. more on this story

KISS and ZZ Top Make Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time List

Gibson's countdown of the Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time is getting down to the nitty gritty with today's picks for No 21 to No 30. Here are a couple highlights:

30. ZZ Top: Known affectionately for years now as that "Little ol' Band from Texas," Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill have proved themselves one of the greatest American bands of all time. From their bar-room blues beginnings to arenas, stadiums and conquering the MTV world with slick and witty videos, ZZ Top have never stopped rocking. They're America's answer to The Rolling Stones, but with better beards. – Andrew Vaughan

26. KISS: "You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest band in the world… KISS!" And for a while there, they actually were the hottest band in the world – if not through record sales but sheer touring spectacle. KISS' remarkable, bombastic – outrageous – live shows forever upped the ante, and to this day, they have yet to meet their equal. America's Fab Four – Paul, Gene, Ace and Peter – created a new paradigm for live concert theatrics, and they changed the game forever. – Sean Patrick Dooley See today's full list here

All Wood And Doors Features Members of The Doors, The Eagles, Monkees, Little Feat, Wings and more

James Lee Stanley and Cliff Eberhardt "All Wood And Doors" is set to be released on July 12th and features an all-star guest list. Here is the official word with the details:

All Wood and Doors, is an acoustic guitar album like no other -- 12 Classic Doors songs sung and played by Cliff Eberhardt and James Lee Stanley; accompanied by: Peter Tork (Monkees), Timothy B Schmit (Eagles), Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings), Paul Barrere (Little Feat), Scott Breadman (Rippingtons, Lindsay Buckingham), Chad Watson (David Arkenstone, Janis Ian), and very special guests John Densmore and Robby Krieger.

Fans of The Doors, acoustic guitar aficionados, as well as Crosby Stills & Nash, Buffalo Springfield, Rubber Soul, the Eagles, or classic Beach Boys harmonies are in for a real treat. more on this story

Gaslight Anthem sideband The Horrible Crowes Set Album Release

Gaslight Anthem sideband, The Horrible Crowes' debut album, Elsie, will be released on September 6th, 2011 via SideOneDummy Records.

The album features twelve tracks, including 'Black Betty & the Moon,' which can heard on the band's Facebook. The album has been described by front man Brian Fallon as he and long time Gaslight Anthem tour mate Ian Perkins' "experiment with the darker side of soul music."

Fallon elaborates saying "The two of us had this ritual where we'd go into the back of the bus at the end of the show and just start showing each other records like PJ Harvey, Afghan Whigs and Joan As Police Woman. One day we were just like, 'let's write some songs and see what they sound like' and it turned out that it sounded great." more on this story

Dropkick Murphys To Rock Fenway Park

(AMM) Dropkick Murphys will rock two hometown shows on September 8 and 9 at Boston's Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox (pending city approval.)

A portion of the proceeds from the two Dropkick Murphys at Fenway with Special Guests The Mighty Mighty Bosstones shows will benefit the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund--which helps support families of victims of 9/11 throughout the state--as well as the band's charity The Claddagh Fund. Special guests The Mighty Mighty Bosstones will perform at both shows, with additional opening acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

Dropkick Murphys bassist/vocalist/founder Ken Casey comments, "We feel honored and privileged to share a connection and friendship with the Boston Red Sox. Our involvement in the 2004 and 2007 championship seasons are some of the greatest highlights of our career and our lives. But to be invited by the Sox to join the select few who have performed full concerts at the park is truly a dream come true!" more on this story

When Pink Floyd Met The Beatles

(Gibson) Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason recently talked about his memories of the first time the guys in Floyd bumped into The Beatles. Mason remembers being wowed by the chance to meet the biggest band in the world, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.

He said the encounter happened in 1967, when Pink Floyd were working on their debut LP, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and the Fab Four were putting together Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

"We were recording in Abbey Road, the temple of greatness, and they were recording 'Lovely Rita,'" recalled Mason in an interview the Wall Street Journal. "They were God-like figures to us. They all seemed extremely nice, but they were in a strata so far beyond us that they were out of our league." more on this story

Todd Rundgren Up Close And Personal Concerts

(Noble) Todd Rundgren will get up close and personal with four rare UK concerts in October 2011.

Todd will be performing "An Evening with Todd Rundgren", universally described by the US press as "The greatest hits tour his fans have been waiting to see for years."

Dates include HMV Ritz, Manchester on Saturday October 1st, and the London Jazz Café on Monday October 3rd, Tuesday October 4th and Wednesday October 5th. more on this story

Lenny Kravitz Going Rap

(Gibson) On his new album, Black and White America, Lenny Kravitz has incorporated more hip-hop into his music than ever before. Guests include Jay-Z and Drake and the singer-guitarist wrote a song with R&B/rap producer Swizz Beatz.

"It's all music, you know?" he told Billboard.com. "I only go where the music takes me, so if I hear it in the track, I'll do it. I won't do something for the sake of, 'Well, this is hip now.'

"When I wrote 'Boongie Drop' I heard a rap in the middle, and I immediately heard Jay's voice and we had collaborated twice before, so I called him and when I went to New York I put him on the track. And then I got on the phone with Drake for ["Sunflower"] before he had even heard the track and he said, 'Yeah, I'll do it. I'm a fan and I love your work and I would love to be on it.' So that was cool." more on this story

Sammy Hagar Birthday Bash Announced

(hennemusic) The annual Sammy Hagar birthday bash in Cabo is on the horizon, and Sammy is spreading the news:

"Redheads...….the 2011 Cabo Wabo Cantina Birthday Bash dates are set. Sammy and the Wabos will be playing the Cantina October 7, 9, 11 and 13th.

"Tickets will be available at Redrocker.com on July 26, 2011. The ticketing system will be similar to what we did last year." more on this story

Funeral For A Friend, Junius and More Tribute Hum

(PUR) Pop Up Records will release Songs Of Farewell And Departure: A Tribute To Hum on September 6th 2011 in digital and CD formats.

Digital will be available from all your favorite retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, etc. while the physical copies will be sold via PopUpRecords.com and StickFigureDistro.com.

Pop Up Records has assembled a diverse cast of bands to pay tribute to one of the 90's most beloved space rockers HUM, and there is good reason to be excited. more on this story

KISS Minis Raises 129K For Japan Relief

(hennemusic) The world watched in horror as the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan; so KISS partnered with MINI USA and unleashed the power of The KISS Army to battle the elements with dollars – and plenty of them.

KISS and MINI USA raised $129,000 during an eBay online charity auction of four custom-painted and autographed MINI Countryman vehicles. After shipping, all proceeds will be donated to UNICEF to help children in Japan and other emergency efforts around the world.

And the initiative keeps on giving… KISS vehicle wraps based on the auctioned designs are still available for purchase through Miniusanews.com or local MINI dealerships. MINI USA's proceeds from those sales will continue to help those in need. more on this story

Indie Alternative To Lollapalooza, Wicker Park Fest Lineup Announced

(Sub) Can't afford Lollapalooza or Pitchtodorks? Wicker Park Fest is your ticket! What began as a quaint neighborhood shindig eight years ago has blossomed into The Can't Miss Music Event of the season taking place on Saturday, July 23 – Sunday, July 24.

Above all else, Wicker Park Fest is known for live music of the highest quality. It's become one of the most highly anticipated music events of the summer in Chicago – and at a fraction of the cost ($5 donation) as the rest of the big guns. W

ith three stages of live action and over 40 bands, there's something for everyone, every genre. This year's full roster includes

Middle Class Rut Premiere New Video

(Press Here) Yesterday MTV2 premiered Middle Class Rut's new video for their track, "Busy Bein' Born".

This is the second single from their debut album, No Name No Color (Bright Antenna/ Independent Label Group)

Their debut single, "New Low," reached #5 at Alternative Rock Radio. Check out the video for "Busy Bein' Born" here.

Basement Announce Dates With Such Gold and Daylight

(ESM) Basement have announce summer tour dates this August with Such Gold and Daylight.

The tour will kick off in Buffalo, NY on August 9th, head out west to F**king Awesome Fest in Detroit and then make it's way back East to the coast before heading north to New England. The tour will wrap up in Wilkes-Barre, PA on August 28th.

Basement has toured with both Such Gold and Daylight in UK/Europe and could not be more excited to be touring in America for the first time. Their debut LP, I Wish I Could Stay Here will be available from Run For Cover Records on July 5th. They will be following up the release with a UK tour supporting Title Fight as well as an appearance at Hevy Fest. more on this story

The Chariot Long Live on Vinyl

The Chariot have set a August 2nd release date for the new vinyl LP version of their latest release, Long Live.

Long Live was released on November 22nd, 2010 and is the band's fourth full-length album to date.

The new 180 gram weight vinyl LP comes with exclusive silk-screened, hand-numbered jackets. Hot Topic will exclusively carry a white version of the vinyl with black spatters, numbered 1 through 1,000. The GOOD FIGHT store, the band (on tour), and your favorite local vinyl retailer will carry black with white spatters, numbered 1,001 through 2000. more on this story

Satellite's Wojtek Szadkowski To Release Strawberry Fields DVD

(MMP) Wojtek Szadkowski, o leader of the prog-rock band Satellite, returns this Autumn with a DVD release of his surprising project Strawberry Fields!

On the 20th of April 2011, at Wyspiański Theatre in Katowice, Poland, Strawberry Fields presented to their audience the band's very own, unique, subtly simple, magic and, at times, trip-hop-like brand of prog music, crowned with Robin's – the band's lead singer's – mesmerizing, sensual voice.

Szadkowski and Robin were accompanied on stage by the former's fellow musicians from the band Satellite – Sarhan Kubeisi (guitars), Jarek Michalski (bass) and Krzysztof Palczewski (keys) – and together they presented their fans with a genuine musical feast by performing songs from Strawberry Fields' debut album "River's Gone Dry" as well as one previously unreleased song. more on this story

Singled Out: Jake Dreyer's Drawing of the Three

Today Jake Dreyer tells us about "Drawing of the Three" from his brand new "In the Shadows of Madness" EP. Here is the story:

I began writing "Drawing of the Three" around ten months before the song was finished. I had just gotten back from a vacation and picked up my guitar when the first two minutes of the song, as they appear on record, poured out of me. I demoed the parts out using a webcam and then left the song alone for a few months until it was time to finish up the writing for In the Shadows of Madness. In April, I had just gotten off a tour and while on the road I had religiously listened to Al Di Meola's Elegant Gypsy EP. While warming up for the shows on those dates I would try and figure out some of Al's alternate picking runs just to break up the monotony of the regular pre-gig warm up routine. During this time I had really come to enjoy his Latin influence and thought that a clean Latin section would be a really cool contrast to the heavy progressive first half. With that in mind, I began arpeggiating a chord progression and playing a rhythm that had a somewhat mainstream Latin feel. I thought the parts fit together in a certain way and acted as if they were two separate scenes in a story. Now, you are probably asking yourself Drawing of the Three, isn't that a Stephen King reference? The answer is a 100% yes. Although, King's story didn't really influence the actual writing of the song more so than the cover of the book, after I had finished writing the Latin section I was lost on where I wanted the song to go. I wasn't sure what I should do next. After a frustrated writing session that was going nowhere I walked into my room at around four am and on top of a shelf was a copy of Drawing of the Three. The title and the artwork just triggered some form of inspiration and I knew that the song should be a trilogy and that to conclude there needed to be an entirely new section written. I went back into my "studio" (Not a studio, just a room where my guitars, amps and a computer with Adobe Audition downloaded) and started grooving on the one note 7/8 bridge that transitions out of the Latin section. After that, the next riffs followed similar to how the intro riffs had ten months prior. The sweeping arpeggio section was something I had written a few years earlier for fun and I really liked how it all fell into place within the song. When I brought this song into pre-production I had originally had it as a fadeout after the arpeggios. The producer of the EP, JJ Crews was not digging the fadeout and literally sang back to me what wound up becoming the half-time feel outro. The recording of this particular song is something that really stands out. It was such a cool feeling hearing this song being brought to life by having the drummer, Adam Sagan and bassist Noah Martin lay down their individual parts. Adam had so many great ideas for what he wanted to do that we spent two full days just going over the arrangements before tracking his drums and trying out all his ideas. One moment in particular about the drums was that there is this ridiculous fill he does right before the doom esque sounding outro and for about an hour and half Adam was cutting that fill and each take he would do something new that would be better than the previous. JJ and I were in the control room and kept on telling Adam "Man, we got it! Were finished with this track!" and Adam would come back with "No way! I got something better" and sure enough he would blow away the previous take. The main pivoting guitar theme that is heard during the first section was written on the spot during the tracking of the guitars. JJ and I both agreed that there needed to be a guitar line over this "verse" rhythm to make it a little less boring. I remember us putting the progression on a loop and one of the first melodies that came out was the theme that's heard… Judging from the mail I get regarding this particular song it has a Love or Hate effect on listeners. I think I am partial to this tune, because it happened to be one of those rare occasions where the song turned out pretty much as I as I had imagined it. I knew from the beginning I wanted this to be an adventurous song that would introduce different peaks, valleys and hopefully emotions to the listener. If anything else, I hope the seven minutes at least takes people on a journey of some kind.

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