Alice In Chains Mike Starr Found Dead

Police say they were called to a Salt Lake City residence yesterday afternoon, where they found the musician's body. A cause of death has not been revealed although investigators do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances. more on this story

Phil Collins Not Retiring- No Foul Play in Mike Starr's Death- Cirque du Def Leppard- Motorhead Day- Dance Gavin Dance Scam Apology- Anthrax Spinoff- CKY- more

The Day in Rock Digest for 03/09/11: NME has this update: Phil Collins "has no intention" of retiring from music, according to his spokesperson. Collins recently hinted that he is ready to leave music behind for good, with the singer/drummer even going as far as to tell FHM: "I don't think anyone's going to miss me." more

Def Leppard's frontman Joe Elliott says that on the upcoming tour, the band's fans could expect more elaborate staging than in recent live shows, saying the new stage act has some "Cirque du Soleil"-like elements and elaborate lighting. more

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the police do not suspect foul play in yesterday's death of former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr. "The cause and manner of death are going to be determined by the medical examiner's office," Salt Lake City police Sgt. Shawn Josephson said. more

Yesterday was officially Motorhead Day in the city of Austin, Texas. Mayor Lee Leffingwell has released a proclamation which states: "Be it know that, whereas, the Live Music Capital of the World welcomes the band Motorhead to our City for one of the many stops on its US Tour".... more

Dance Gavin Dance frontman Jonny Craig has now publicly addressed recent revelations that he scammed a handful of fans out of substantial amounts of money. Here you go: "I want to apologize for my recent behavior. My actions regarding taking advantage of fans was inexcusable. I'm in the process of paying everyone back so please forgive me." more

You can now check out three songs from CKY's B-Sides and Rarities (out March 22). Listen to "Afterworld" here. Alternative Press has an exclusive stream of "Don't Hold Your Breath " here and you can check out "All Of You " here

Steven Adler (Guns N' Roses, Adler's Appetite) had this to say about the sad passing of former Alice in Chains member Mike Starr: "I love and will miss my brother Mike Starr and I'm doing whatever it takes to not hurt all my friends and family that way!! Peace and love my brother Mike Starr!!!" You can read the reaction from other stars here.

Gallows entered the studio this past weekend to begin writing and recording the follow up to their Warner Music Group album, Grey Britain. The notorious band was dropped from their major label after a big advance which saw people drawing comparisons to the Sex Pistols' famous "rock and roll swindle." more

Former Anthrax singer Dan Nelson has joined forces with Dan "Shaggy" Hoffman and Joe Post in a brand new Levittown, New York-based "rock / blues / punk / metal / hardcore / fun" band called Farewell To Washington. more

Paul Rodgers, who toured and recorded with Queen and Bad Company, has announced the some US summer tour dates more

According to Johnjohnsaidit.com, in a surprise decision, a federal judge in Washington has ruled that the state's publicity rights law violates the US Constitution. The case involved the estate of Jimi Hendrix battling against a vendor, HendrixLicensing.com, which sold items designed to capitalize on the fame of the rock legend. more

Hydrogyn guitarist Jeff Westlake has joined forces with Jeff Boggs, Keith Ramsey and Matt Scheen in a new project called Ura-Kia. The band has been holed up in the studio for the past 10 days and is nearly done recording its self-titled debut album more

Shirley Manson, lead singer of alt-rock group Garbage, has hinted in a Facebook note that the band may be finishing up their follow-up to 2005's "Bleed Like Me." more

Hate will be forced to miss the first date of their North American tour. The show in question is set for to night at Jaxx in Springfield, VA. more

Dream Theater, who are hard at work recording their next album, have announced two UK dates in July. more

End of a Year has officially changed their name to End of a Year Self Defense Family. Astute followers will note that the band has been playing live under the moniker for some time, and have even printed merchandise items with the name. However, as frontman Patrick Kindlon explains more

The new documentary "Better Than Something: Jay Reatard" will be screened across a number of festivals and events this year beginning next month at the Memphis International Film & Music Festival and the Nashville Film Festival. Wanna preview? Go here

Saves the Day has signed to Razor & Tie after almost a decade long off-and-on relationship with Vagrant Records. more

Hate Eternal and Origin will co-headline a summer tour that will also include Vital Remains and Abysmal Dawn. more

Mikey "Erg" Yannich revealed his new project in an interview with The 1st Five. In it, he notes that he is working with Jon Weiner of The Dopamines on the band which is called New Low more

Gigan, the band formed by guitarist Eric Hersemann (ex-Diabolic, Hate Eternal), will release its sophomore album, "Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes", on June 7 via Willowtip Records more

Vera Mesmer's Christopher Mesmer (ex Reveille) Nadja Mesmer (ex Coal Chamber) and Bones Elias (Julien K/Dead By Sunrise) are celebrating the release of their first video and single "Back From The Dead" tonight! antiMusic, Happenin' Harry and Robin Perine are hosting the premiere and release party tonight at Aqua in Beverly Hills! The band gave us the story behind the song and video in today's Singled Out (here) but you can see it in person and join the party tonight! All the show details can be found here

On this day in 1966, The Beach Boys started recording "God Only Knows" (off Pet Sounds), which became a U.K. #2 when released as a single with "Wouldn't It Be Nice."

On this day in 1981, Robert Plant played a secret gig at Keele University, England, with his new band The Honeydrippers.

On this day in 2007, Brad Delp, lead singer of Boston, committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning at his home in the New Hampshire town of Atkinson. Boston had a 1976 U.S. #5 single with "More Than a Feeling" and the U.S. #1 single, "Amanda," 10 years later. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

AC/DC, Ozzy, Iron Maiden Coming to American Idol

(hennemusic) Last week's hell-raising cover of the Judas Priest classic, "You've Got Another Thing Coming," by James Durbin, brought metal to the American Idol stage in a big way.

Durbin has more metal in store for the reality show. "He put his foot in the door; I want to try and put my foot straight through the door," says James.

"He did some rock, I liked it. I want to do some metal like Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Ozzy, Sabbath." What does he think about the Adam Lambert comparisons?

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry End Feud

(hennemusic) Everything's cool in Aerosmith-land. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have finally reconnected, according to a Monday night Twitter post from the lead singer and American Idol judge.

Tyler posted: "AeroFreaks rejoice... Joe [Perry] and I sent smoke signals, shot the s*** and chewed the fat for the last year, but just smoked the peace pipe for an hour today. On our way to rockin' your fkin worlds this summer by locking ourselves away somewhere w/guitars and drums..."

Aerosmith, without Perry, hooked up about a month ago for the first in a series of planned writing sessions for a new album; Joe was unable to join the week-long workshop at the studio of co-writer Marti Frederiksen due to other commitments. more on this story

Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger Tour

We have some big news for fans of 70s and 80s melodic rock: Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger are teaming up for a summer tour. The Journey camp sent over the following word about the tour and their forthcoming album:

Journey, one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, is gearing up to unleash their latest album of brand new material, Eclipse. The album will be released in the U.S. and Canada on May 24 exclusively at Walmart and beginning June 3 in Europe on Frontiers Records. To follow the release of Eclipse, Journey will launch the "Eclipse Tour" with Foreigner, and special guest Night Ranger, beginning July 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT.

"I'm in love with this record, which I haven't said about one of our albums for a long time," says founding member and lead guitarist, Neal Schon. "It's a rock record and it sounds amazing." Commenting on the upcoming tour, Schon continued, "We've got a lot of hits to play and there's plenty of time to do some new stuff too, so we're gonna mix it up. We haven't toured with Foreigner for over 10 years, so we're really looking forward to this run." more on this story

Why R.E.M.'s Not Touring

(Gibson) Although the R.E.M.'s new album, Collapse Into Now, is being released today in the U.S., guitarist Peter Buck said the alt-rock legends have no plans to tour to promote the record. He recently explained why to Beatweek.

"I'm not really sure that touring sells records," Buck said. "What sells records anymore? It seems like less and less people are buying albums, so do what you want."

Although the guitarist said that he, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills wouldn't be touring immediately, he didn't completely rule out live appearances in the near future. "We'll just see what happens," he said. "But it does seem like we've toured a lot in the last eight or 10 years more on this story

Mustaine Sank Megadeth Diamond Head Super Project?

(Rock News Desk) Diamond Head mainman Brian Tatler says Megadeth's Dave Mustaine is too embarrassed to reconnect with him over a collaboration project the pair began but never finished.

The idea collapsed in its early stages due to the 2002 accident which led Mustaine to believe his career was over. But NWOBHM star Tatler hopes they'll be able to finish the job eventually.

"He feels embarrassed that he kind of let me down. But he split Megadeth up when he had that arm injury – he sold all his equipment, his amps and everything," He tells Bravewords. "I imagine it was quite stressful, quite a shock to the system to be told, 'You might not play guitar again'. So obviously he had to put our project on hold." more on this story

Singled Out: Vera Mesmer (Reveille/Coal Chamber/Julien K/Dead By Sunrise)

Theatrical alt-rock outfit Vera Mesmer's Christopher Mesmer (ex Reveille) Nadja Mesmer (ex Coal Chamber) and Bones Elias (Julien K/Dead By Sunrise) are celebrating the release of their first video and single "Back From The Dead" this week and frontman/ songwriter Christopher Mesmer is more than willing to chew your ear off about the music if you give him the chance. Here's a bit of the story behind "Back From The Dead":

"This song came from a short story I'd written about revenge. We all fantasize about it, but most people feel loads of guilt when and if they achieve it. The character in "Back From The Dead" is poisoned by his lover for possession of a sort of treasure. Though he was supposed to die he wakes up in the desert with a fury and comes back to town and finds the lover with another man and the treasure. Needless to say he's mad enough to seek his revenge haha. He happens to be one who feels justice more than guilt and since I think most daydream about it it's a good little story for people to live vicariously through knowing full well that eye for an eye may not be the wisest of mantras."

"The music I felt had to have a pretty linear pulse drum wise for the most part to keep the story moving. The song was originally written on a piano trying to put the words and chords together. In some of it's first versions the song came across too polished and it felt like a constant struggle to balance it out so that it still had a strong sense of music but had a grit to help convey the tale of this jilted guy. It eventually worked out but only after five distinct demo versions and tracking then removing a Dhol drum section, an acoustic guitar in a rubber box and assembling a stomp chorus in the hallway. Trial and error often leads to a both success and exhaustion."

"The video was such a huge undertaking for us writing out the storyline in a visual way and really deciding what each scene should feel like. Oddly enough ultimately the snowy January desert and a Hollywood strip joint won out! The Vicente and Fernando (Cordero) are such a good time to work with and brilliant with their direction. I had loads and loads of fun trying my hand at acting out this character I'd created. Though Nadja will tell you I was actually choking her in her death scene, I still say she liked it and it's all in the name of good art, but mainly that she liked it haha."

Darker? "The next short film music video that we're putting together is going to be a little darker, a little sexier and a little seedier. We've essentially got a built in video for every song on the EP because they're so story heavy. You don't need a concept, just a location and some time to write out the scenes."

antiMusic is co-hosting the video premiere party tonight in Beverly Hills (details here) but if you aren't in So Cal, you can check out the band, the video and learn more about them and their upcoming EP right here!

Initial Experience Hendrix Tour Dates Announced

This year's edition of the Experience Hendrix concert tour will launch in May with an all-star lineup paying homage to Jimi Hendrix.

This year's tour will include performances by Billy Cox, Steve Vai, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Keb' Mo, Eric Johnson, North Mississippi All Stars, Brad Whitford [Aerosmith], Living Colour, Ernie Isley, Chris Layton [SRV & Double Trouble], Indigenous and many additional special guests to be announced.

Experience Hendrix bassist Billy Cox -- who first befriended Hendrix in the 101st Airborne Division of U.S. Army, played in both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys and performed with Hendrix at such landmark festivals as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight -- is delighted to play a part in the current tour saying, "It's a thrill for me to play Jimi's music for audiences now as it was in the 1960s." more on this story

Duff McKagan's Loaded, Puddle of Mudd, Rev Theory Showcase

Duff McKagan's Loaded, Puddle of Mudd, Filter, Rev Theory, 10 Years and Sinai are all going SXSW.

The bands will be part of a SXSW showcase that takes place Friday, March 18th, 2011 (music begins at 8PM) at Austin Music Hall (Nueces and 3rd Street).

The show will be FREE for those with SXSW badges/wristbands and is also open to the public - $10 at the door, night of show for non-badge/wristband holders. more info here

Tommy Lee Backtracks on Rob Zombie Directing Motley Crue Movie Claim

(Rock News Desk) Tommy Lee has distanced himself from stating Rob Zombie was going to direct the movie version of Motley Crue's book The Dirt.

The drummer allowed the rumour to take flight after carefully allowing the idea to come out at an interview. He's been forced to clarify his quotes after Zombie said he wasn't involved in the project.

Last week Lee said: "We finally got a director – Rob Zombie is going to direct. Things are moving forward." Following Zombie's strong denial Lee now says: "I would love to have Rob direct The Dirt, but as far as I know that's not happening. I haven't heard that anyone has been picked yet – the drummer is always the last to know." But is he simply using a trick used on his band to make it happen?

Coheed and Cambria's Second Stage Revisited

(Equal Vision) Coheed and Cambria's debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, is set to be released on vinyl for the first time as part of their 10th anniversary celebration.

A transparent green vinyl "VIP Bundle" (limited to 3000) was put on pre-order last month at MerchNow.com, and is now nearly sold out. Two more pressings of the record will be made available on April 5 – one exclusively to independent record stores on white vinyl and limited to 1000. The other will only be available on Coheed's Neverender: SSTB tour dates - it will feature a variant cover, be hand numbered on black vinyl, and limited to 1000.

On New Year's Day, Coheed and Cambria announced they would be performing The Second Stage Turbine Blade in its entirety in 23 cities across the US and in Toronto, Canada. The "Evening with Coheed and Cambria" format will also feature a rare 30-40 minute acoustic set and an extra set of songs from the band's other albums. Several of the shows have already sold out. more on this story

Robert Plant and Peter Frampton Headed To Montreal Jazz Festival

(Gibson) Robert Plant and Peter Frampton will perform at this year's Montreal International Jazz Festival at the end of June.

Bravewords.com reports that Plant and his Band of Joy will play the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts on June 24, one night before the official opening of the festival.

Peter Frampton will revisit past glories when he plays the entire Frampton Comes Alive! album at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on June 30. Those who prefer their jazz without the rock and roll will be excited to see Return to Forever (Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Frank Gambale and Jean-Luc Ponty) on June 26 at the same venue. more on this story

Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith and Phil Collen for Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp

Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp's next Camp dates will be May 10-15, 2011 in Hollywood with Sammy Hagar headlining the event.

Other rock star guests include Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phil Collen of Def Leppard. Here is the official pitch:

he Doors at London Fog. The Red Hot Chili Peppers at The Roxy. Buffalo Springfield at Whiskey a Go Go. Lots of rock stars got their start in Los Angeles. And now it's your turn. Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp is returning to Hollywood this May 10-15, 2011 to let music lovers of all walks of life learn from, jam with and perform alongside their musical idols. It all culminates in a once-in-a-lifetime live performance when the Campers and their rock star counselors hit the stage at the legendary House of Blues in Hollywood. more on this story

Chris Cornell Unplugged

(Gibson) Although he's been busy working up new Soundgarden material with his reunited bandmates, Chris Cornell is also preparing for a solo acoustic tour in April. As previously reported, his Songbook Tour begins April 1 in Austin, Texas, and continues through May. Cornell recently spoke to Spin.com about unplugging and going it alone.

"An acoustic show is all about you, and any little nuance or mistake is amplified," he said. "I think Johnny Cash was quoted as saying, 'It's the scariest thing you could do as a musician.' I'm very nervous about it, but I love the intimacy. Once you sit in front of people and start playing songs, it's all on you. No matter what happens, it's entirely your responsibility the entire time. I like that intensity."

Cornell said that Soundgarden never played MTV Unplugged because there are only a handful of the band's songs that would have worked in that format. Still, he had high praise for some Unplugged installments. "One of them was Elton John, because he has the ability to just sit down at the piano and play for three hours and blow you away. It's just him and a piano. I prefer watching his MTV Unplugged than any of his other concert footage," he said. more on this story

Alice Cooper Band Legend Talks To Gibson

(Gibson) In an era in which few things shock anymore, it's hard to imagine that, in the early '70s, parents were up in arms over the shock-rock theatrics of the original Alice Cooper band. Today, as evidenced by their forthcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the group is recognized more for their classic songs than for their cartoon-gore stage shows. From 1971 to 1975, the Alice Cooper band lineup of Cooper, Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce delivered a stream of time-capsule worthy hits, including "School's Out," "Be My Lover," "I'm Eighteen," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Elected." Bruce, who wrote or co-wrote each and every one of those riff-rock classics, recently spoke with us about the Rock Hall induction, his love of SGs, and the much-talked-about reunion of the surviving members of the original band.

How did you first learn about the Rock Hall nomination? That was an amazing week. I had gotten a call a couple of weeks earlier from [producer] Bob Ezrin, asking if I wanted to record one of my songs for the Welcome to My Nightmare sequel, which is scheduled to come out this Halloween. Neal and Dennis had each already contributed a song. I said, "Yeah, that would be great!" It was the 25th anniversary of our working with Bob. I spent a week in the studio, recording those three songs. A few days later, Neal called and said he had talked to [Cooper's manager] Shep Gordon, and that we had been nominated for induction. It was amazing, after all this time. Alice's late assistant, Brian Nelson, always said that when Iggy Pop got in, we wouldn't be far behind. Sure enough, that's how it happened.

Alice has always maintained the band broke up because he wanted to keep the theatrics, and the rest of you didn't. But the Battle Axe album, which you and Neal and Dennis made afterwards, was pretty theatrical. I suppose Alice had to say something, and that explanation was as good as any. We had been together for a long time, working together and even living together. We needed a break. Also, Glen started having some personal problems that really affected the band. I think Glen sort of lost his love of what we were doing. The music wasn't sustaining him like it was us, and he went off on a wrong track. Alice, I think, didn't want to continue with a new guitar player, which would have changed the chemistry of the group. It really took the wind out of my sails when Alice told us he didn't want to work with us any longer, but looking back at it now, I don't think we could have gone on. There needed to be some time for growth, and that was difficult to do, as a band. Check out the rest of the interview here

Muse, QOTSA, Trapt, Saliva and More For New Guitar Hero Mega Pack

Activision have released an all-new nine song mega pack for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and the Guitar Hero music library.

The new mega pack includes "Supermassive Black Hole" from Muse, "Sorrow" from Bad Religion and "Headstrong" from Trapt.

The pack also includes "Little Sister" by Queens Of The Stone Age, "Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades" by Brand New, "Psycho" by Puddle Of Mudd, "She's A Genius" by Jet, "Always" by Saliva and "Headstrong" by Trapt. more on this story

Happy Mondays Frontman To Tell All (That He Remembers)

(Gibson) Shaun Ryder, singer with seminal '90s band The Happy Mondays, has signed a deal to write his autobiography for Transworld.

However, as The Daily Express reports, Ryder admits to not remembering too much of his own musical past.

"I've been mithered [asked] for years to write my autobiography, but I've always said no because the timing never felt right," he said. "Plenty of other people have had their say on Happy Mondays, and now just felt like the right time to tell it like it really happened." more on this story

Face To Face Reunited for New Album and Tour

A reunited Face To Face will release their new album "Laugh Now... Laugh Later" (Antagonist Records/Century Media) on May 17.

It's the band's eighth studio album and first since 2002's "How To Ruin Everything." "Laugh Now... Laugh Later" was produced by Trever Keith and Scott Shiflett, recorded by Joby Ford and mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion).

Supporting the new album, Face To Face will launch their first headlining tour since 2003, starting in Vancouver on April 27 and hitting nearly every major city in the United States and Canada. more on this story

Backwoods Payback Cancel Tour Due To Medical Emergency

(Earsplit) Backwoods Payback, who were slated to kick off their tour with labelmates Lo Pan today, have been forced to pull out of much of the trek due to a medical emergency.

The band will play the first four shows of the tour but will be unable to continue past March 12.

Said guitarist/vocalist Mike Cummings in an official statement: "It is with heavy hearts that we are forced to drop off our tour to and from SXSW with our brothers Lo Pan, but due to a serious medical emergency we will be unable to continue past March 12. We are deeply sorry to be missing these shows and the hang sessions that always follow. Seems like the motto has never rang more true than now......we drop out to live." more on this story

The Band's Robbie Robertson Plans Autobiography

(hennemusic) Robbie Robertson has stories. Plenty of stories. As one of the architects of The Band, who went on to legendary heights following the initial guidance of Ronnie Hawkins, Robertson has had an exemplary music career.

Now, Robbie's getting set to put his stories down on paper for history's sake, telling Reuters that he will begin work on his autobiography in a few months.

This new effort follows a couple of aborted attempts with ghost writers, but Robertson remains excited at the prospect of getting the job done. "I'm very excited about doing it," Robertson told Reuters. "I just have to roll up my sleeves, get a cabin in the woods and do it properly." more on this story

Green Day Idiots Wanted

(Gibson) Green Day have announced a new open casting call for a touring version of their Broadway hit, American Idiot. The auditions, held by Dancap Productions in various cities in America and Canada, began this past Saturday in Los Angeles.

Now, a Toronto audition has been added to the audition schedule. An ad on the musical's Facebook page says that the production is "seeking male and female rock singers early-late 20s for the upcoming national tour of American Idiot."

The Tony Award-winning American Idiot has been a hit on Broadway since it opened last April. The play includes such Green Day hits as "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends." more on this story

State Line Empire's First Record With Slash

(Gibson) "Drive Me," the new single by San Mateo, California, rockers State Line Empire, hits iTunes today. The group were the winners of Guitar Center's "Your Next Record with Slash" contest.

As a result, the former Guns N' Roses axeman visited the band as they worked on their new EP, Octane, and laid down guitar parts for the record's lead single.

State Line Empire were handpicked by Slash and producer Mike Clink (Guns N' Roses, Megadeth) from more than 12,000 entries. Among the other prizes the band received was a Gibson Slash Appetite Les Paul. more on this story

British Rock's Influence on Rush's Alex Lifeson

(Gibson) Rush guitarist, and Gibson Signature Artist, Alex Lifeson recently spoke to the U.K.'s Express & Star about how English bands were a huge influence on him and his group. Lifeson said that touring the U.K. for the first time "left a big impact on us."

"The first time was, I guess in '76, when we were a relatively unknown band. I remember how exciting it was to come to the root of where our hearts lay in terms of music," he said. "There was The Who, for sure, and earlier on, the Stones. For me it was always more the Stones than, say, The Beatles."

Lifeson went on to name-check some of the other legendary British bands. "But there were all those other great bands from the '60s. The Searchers were amazing, The Zombies were incredible," he said. "And then over the years came Cream, The Who, Zeppelin of course, Jeff Beck and then Yes – it just goes on and on and on. That really was where our musical tastes were centered. And I think that was more a Canadian thing as well. I think generally Canadians lean more towards the U.K. than they did to America. We had the benefit of absorbing from both sides." more on this story

Black Stone Cherry Set New Album Release

Black Stone Cherry's third album, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, will be released by Roadrunner Records on May 31st, 2011.

This is the first time Black Stone Cherry has not recorded in the South, this time taking up residence in Los Angeles to work with famed producer Howard Benson (Theory of a Deadman, Daughtry, Three Days Grace).

The new surroundings allowed them to strengthen their relationships as both band members and friends, ultimately a detail that sets Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea above previous recordings. more on this story

The Day The Clash Hit The Top

On this day in 1991, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" gave The Clash their only U.K. no. 1 single after the track is used for a Levi's TV advertisement. The track was first released in 1982 on the band's Combat Rock album. Gibson takes a look back: Although it's common for groundbreaking bands to gain more appreciation long after they've made their mark, it doesn't often happen that they have their biggest hit a few years after their breakup. But that's exactly what happened to The Clash on this day in 1991.

Part of the original first wave of British punk in the late '70s, The Clash progressed as artists and musicians at warp speed. Like a lot of punk acts, they quickly brought in reggae elements – but Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon continued to explore other music styles from Jamaica, such as dub and ska. In a few short years, they had brought together a menagerie of musical styles (rockabilly, punk, folk, reggae, rock, R&B, dub, pop and even hip-hop), and expertly hopped between genres on albums such as 1979's London Calling and 1980's Sandinista!

Although the boys continued to push boundaries on 1982's Combat Rock, the record also included some of The Clash's most radio-friendly material. The heavy-handed "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and the danceable "Rock the Casbah" were each worldwide hits, especially the latter, which hit the Top 10 in the U.S. and Australia. Yet, in the long term, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" would end up becoming a signature song for the band and their only chart-topper. more on this story

Meet Disturbed Proteges Art of Dying

(Gibson) Hard rock quartet Art of Dying are big in Canada, as they well should be – after all, that's where they're from. But thanks to a rough-and-tough, never-stop work ethic and a little luck (in the form of heavy metal group Disturbed taking the band under their wings), the guys are making a big dent in the U.S. mainstream rock contingent.

On March 22, Art of Dying release their major-label debut, Vices and Virtues, their first ever album to come out on Disturbed's Intoxication Records imprint thought Reprise. Howard Benson (Papa Roach, P.O.D., Daughtry) and Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan produced the album, and it's packed with appropriately heavy-yet-melodic songs: lead single "Die Trying" works a snakelike, catchy melody through drill-press riffs while "Raining" (featuring Three Days Grace vocalist Adam Gontier) shows a thick, melody-driven take on hard rock.

In this Gibson.com interview, frontman Jonny Hetherington checks in about what it's like to be under Disturbed's heavy music thumb and why he's stoked for this spring. Check it out here

Taddy Porter Deliver Long Slow Drag

Taddy Porter's new single "Long Slow Drag" hit national radio yesterday, March 8, 2011.

The band, who have toured with Drive By Truckers, NERD, RJD2 and Slash, have also recently embarked on a solo jaunt across the country, including a stop at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX and the Rocklahoma festival.

"This is a really exciting time in our career," said guitarist Joe Selby, "Our fans are growing with each passing show and are so enthusiastic and warm. We can't wait to play for the crowds in Austin at SXSW." more on this story

Rainbow, Uriah Heep's Mark Clarke Releases Solo Album

(Glass Onyon) Colosseum, Natural Gas, Rainbow, Uriah Heep member Mark Clarke has released his debut solo album, Moving To The Moon, via ItsAboutMusic.com.

Encompassing all the styles of music he has worked with the past 40 years, Mark Clarke's new solo album is a must for collectors and music enthusiasts worldwide. It's a masterful collection of extremely well recorded and performed tracks that rival any from the bands he's played in.

"From the opening track right through to the closer this album begs to be listened to over and over again and even memorized note for note. I've had the pleasure of hearing it more times than most people would hear almost anything in their collection and it keeps getting stronger with each listen. We're very proud to be the exclusive distributor of this album from one of the nicest and most talented guys in the world." Dean Sciarra – President / ItsAboutMusic.com more on this story

Blur Star Shares on Pancake Day

(Gibson) To mark Pancake Day in the U.K., Blur bassist and now Sun newspaper food critic, Alex James has offered some tips for making perfect pancakes.

"Today is Pancake Day. The idea behind Shrove Tuesday was to use up all ingredients in the store cupboard before fasting for Lent," he wrote. "This is my kind of cooking, and there's always a great sense of anticipation leading up to Pancake Day.

"The perfect recipe is 4 oz. (119 g) of plain flour, a pinch of salt, two eggs and half a pint of skimmed milk. You also need a little butter for cooking. Sift the flour through a sieve, which is actually quite satisfying, and then make a little well for the eggs. Like a volcano. Whisk in the eggs and fold in the milk so the consistency is like thin cream – you're in business. more on this story