Band Arrested For Stealing Vegetable Oil- Nevermore's Sheppard Recovering From Brain Surgery- Bob Seger Excited About New Album- Dillinger Public Enemy Plan- more

On this day in 2001, a stretch of road on Highway 19 in Macon, Georgia, was named Duane Allman Boulevard, near where the Allman Brothers guitarist died aged 24 in a motorcycle crash on October 29, 1971. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

Sammy Hagar Compares Eddie Van Halen To Charlie Sheen

(hennemusic) Sammy Hagar continues to make headlines this week as this report from hennemusic shows: Sammy Hagar's making the rounds to promote his new book, "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock," and at least one person who won't be pleased about the book – or the accompanying headlines - is one Eddie Van Halen.

The day of the book's release, Hagar had a full slate of media interviews, including Howard Stern and ABC-TV's "Good Morning America." On both shows, Sammy made comparisons between troubled actor Charlie Sheen and former bandmate Eddie Van Halen.

"I don't know what's going on, but, boy, there's a similarity in the way they look and everything," Hagar said before adding. "I don't know how you get like that." more on this story

Dude, Where's My Motley?

We once joked that Ashton Kutcher of Dude, Where's My Car? fame would be perfect to play Tommy Lee in the film version of Motley Crue's The Dirt. It appears that the screenwriter of the film agrees. Dude! Gibson has the report: Neil Strauss, the author who co-wrote the Mötley Crue biography The Dirt, was recently interviewed about the book's possible transition to feature film. According to BraveWords.com, Strauss told MTV that he hopes the movie gets made.

"I know they're looking at a few different directors for it," he said. "I gotta say, the screenplay is amazing. I really hope they make it. I think it will be great. I think they're just scared because it's obviously going to be a hard R-[rated] movie. I think they're worried they won't make enough money off it."

Although Strauss didn't have any ideas for casting the film, he did offer screenwriter Rich Wilkes' ideal candidates. "Here's who he sees: Brad Pitt as David Lee Roth, Jared Leto as Vince Neil, Jack Black or Philip Seymour Hoffman as Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Patrick or Justin Timberlake as their first manager, Sam Rockwell as Mick Mars, Ashton Kutcher or Russell Brand as Tommy Lee," Strauss said. "He's got it all thought out. That would be amazing." more on this story

Irony Alert: Napster Founder May Buy Metallica's Record Label

(Rock News Desk) Metallica's record label could soon be owned by the man who co-founded Napster, the website destroyed after Lars Ulrich and co went into battle against it.

In 2000 the thrash giants launched legal action against Sean Parker's online service, the first major player in the MP3 download market. The case was settled out of court but involved banning 300,000 people from using Napster, a move which annoyed many of Metallica's fans. Ulrich later admitted it was a badly-advised episode in his life, and he wishes he'd dealt with the situation differently.

Warner Music Group continued the legal battle and Napster was finally shut down in 2002. But Parker became a billionaire as part of the team which made Facebook successful – and is now poised to make a bid for the ailing record label, which is currently seeking offers over $2.5bn. The 31-year-old is in talks with investors Ron Burkle and Doug Teitelbaum about becoming part of a consortium deal. more on this story

Screeching Weasels Abandon Head Weasel

(Rock News Desk) Four members of punk band Screeching Weasel have left the band after frontman Ben Foster attacked an audience member at a bad-tempered show in Texas last week.

Video footage showed Foster, stage name Ben Weasel, losing control in an already tense environment after a women threw beer at him, followed later by an ice cube. He tried to jump into the crowd to attack her, but was pushed back by security staff before being manhandled by the venue promoter. As a crowd of house crew surrounded him on stage, he waved at the audience and the band left the stage.

Voices have been raised against Foster's actions at the important South by South West festival in Austin, despite his quick apology. He said: "Whatever my feelings are about fans crossing the line like that, I wish I could have that moment back and deal with it in the same spirit as I did the preceding 60 minutes. Since I can't, an apology is all I've got and I sincerely hope those people will accept it." more on this story

Vince Neil Denies Drinking and Driving Reports

(hennemusic) Has Vince Neil really learned anything about drinking and driving? That's the question on the minds of onlookers who have witnessed the Motley Crue singer drinking at Las Vegas hotels following the recent completion of his house arrest and incredibly short 10-day jail sentence for a DUI there last June.

John Katsilometes of Las Vegas Weekly's The Kats Report says Neil's car has been spotted parked prominently at the valet of a couple of the singer's favorite Las Vegas hotels, the Las Vegas Hilton and the Palms, on nights when Neil has been reportedly been seen drinking champagne by guests at both hotels.

"Insinuations of me drinking and driving are completely false," Neil told The Kats Report in a text message. "Last I heard, it is not illegal to have a drink in this city. I am not on probation or under any drug and alcohol rules. I am not required to check in or submit to any type of testing. I did my time and am getting on with my life." more from Vince here

Singled Out: Tommy Shaw

Today rock legend Tommy Shaw tells us about "The Next Right Thing," the lead track from his brand new solo bluegrass album, "The Great Divide," which hit stores this week. Here is the story:

"The Next Right Thing" was actually a part of a phrase, our mantra, when we started creating this album. Brad (Brad Davis, one of the producers of the album) and I were looking at how we might frame the entire project. What kinds of parameters should we follow?

Because it was my first time creating a body of bluegrass songs, I wanted to be respectful to the form, not be the Rock Guy coming in like a bull in a China shop and saying "Let me show y'all how this is done…" So early on I said, "If we just keep doing the next right thing, we can't go wrong."

We said it every day. It wasn't long before I realized, "This is the title to a song." Not long after that, as luck would have it, I picked up a guitar and out came the verse, then the chorus. Serendipity.

Oh, and that voice you hear singing with me on the chorus? That's Dwight Yoakam.

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

Ozzy Osbourne Hockey

(hennemusic) Hockey fans are only about 3 weeks away from the best time of the year, as the NHL Playoffs are on the horizon. As many races are still to be decided, three NHL teams have already clinched playoff spots as of this week: the Vancouver Canucks, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals have already stepped up with a promo for their playoff run and, for a little inspiration, they had Ozzy Osbourne star in their campaign.

With a guest appearance from the Ozman himself, "Let Me Hear You Scream" serves as the soundtrack; the song has been used as one of the team's re-entry videos when the players come back on the ice after intermissions this season, so Caps fans are already in the rock n' roll loop. Check it out

Metallica Not Going 3D (At Least Officially)

Yesterday's big news that Metallica would be going 3D ran into a bit of a snag. The company making the claim apparently doesn't have the right to produce the films. Here is what Metallica had to say about the matter on their website:

You may have seen some recent news linking us with Writers Group Film Corp. and their subsidiary Front Row Networks . . . we're here to let you know that their claim of acquiring unique live video footage for future release is totally FALSE. We don't even know who these guys are!

We're certainly into new technology and think 3D is super cool . . . as always, you'll read it here first when we've got 'Tallica release news. more on this story

Def Leppard's Joe Elliot Plans More Down 'N' Outz Moonlighting

(Gibson) With Def Leppard prepping a new live album and a tour, it's somewhat remarkable how much outside work the Leps are taking these days. Vivian Campbell is touring with Thin Lizzy. Phil Collen is working with Sex Pistol Paul Cook and former Girl bandmate Simon Laffy in Man Raze. And Joe Elliott continues to crank out new music with his own side project, Down 'N' Outz.

The group, which features Elliott and members of The Quireboys, released a debut album last year, titled My ReGeneration. The album was a collection of covers of songs by Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter and British Lions. Now, the band are eyeing further releases.

"Originally, we said the second album would be more of the same, but including Mott the Hoople songs which the first one didn't," Elliott told VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner. "The third one would've been a combination of artists from the same era and the fourth one was going to be [original] stuff. But I think we might just jump straight to the fourth one and make it the third one." more on this story

Stone Sour's Avalanche Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow

(Gibson) The first-ever Avalanche Tour featuring rock bands Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, Halestorm and Art of Dying kicks off Friday, March 25, in Milwaukee.

The trek continues on through Nashville, Little Rock, Tampa, Atlanta and more cities before wrapping up May 8 in Jacksonville, Florida. Tickets are on sale now at the Avalanche Tour website.

Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor says the trek is primed for the modern rock music fan. "[The Avalanche Tour will] be our first headlining run in America in a while. And it's gonna be a good show," Taylor said in an interview with RockBand.com. "It's definitely going to be geared more towards the active rock crowd, but at the same time, it's just one more thing that we can say that we've done. I mean, we've never needed anything like that to go out on our own, but at the same time, we're still building." more on this story

Wishbone Ash Spring Tour

Wishbone Ash are hitting the road this spring for a tour in support of a new DVD and ahead of their forthcoming album. Here is the official word with the details:

The group returns to several familiar venues along with select new stops on the three-week tour (tour dates listed below). The DVD, 'This is Wishbone Ash,' is a rockumentary offering a "fly on the wall" glimpse of the creative process, as the band records tracks for the upcoming CD release and prepares for a concert.

Wishbone Ash plans a late spring-early summer US release for the new CD (working title: 'Searching for Satellites'). The album features brand new tunes from the pen of founding member Andy Powell (guitar, lead vocals) and Muddy Manninen (guitar, backing vocals), with input from bassist Bob Skeat and drummer Joe Crabtree. more on this story

Paul Stanley of KISS Hearing Loss Event

(hennemusic) Did you know that Paul Stanley of KISS was born deaf in his right ear? Did you also know that 1 out of 5 teens has a hearing loss? That's a 30 percent increase just in the last 15 years.

Stanley has teamed-up with the non-profit House Research Institute on a major initiative called "It's How You Listen That Counts," to educate millions of teens around the world on preventing noise-induced hearing loss.

Paul will be drawing the attention of teens in NYC and LA to hearing health issues through an after-school event called Sound Rules! more on this story

Bruce Springsteen and Def Leppard Inspired the New Lady Gaga Album

(Gibson) Lady Gaga recently credited Bruce Springsteen and Def Leppard as being a big influence on her new album, Born This Way. The singer chatted away on an interview with the Musicians@Google series, according to Rolling Stone.com.

"I'm actually really obsessed with Bruce Springsteen," she said. "My father used to play a lot of Bruce Springsteen records when I was a kid, and he was blue collar America. And in a way, I related to Bruce because I watched my father, a blue collar American citizen, relate to Bruce and I think that in a social way, my fans feel blue collar. They feel like they're the underdogs that will someday be the winners. And I took the influence of Bruce on my father in my life to create this album."

Gaga is so into The Boss, that she got E Street Band member Clarence Clemons to play on one of the album's tracks, "The Edge of Glory." And the Def Leppard angle?

Allman Brothers Band Legend and Steven Martin on This Week's Hoppus on Music

This Friday's Hoppus on Music has some big names visiting the Blink-182 star's show on Fuse TV.

Butch Trucks, drummer and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, sits down to chat with Mark.

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers are also on hand for a performance on the Hoppus stage! Later, Steve sits down for an interview with Mark. more on this story

Black Country Communion New Album Details

(Noble) Black Country Communion, the super group featuring Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin), and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater), has announced the tracklisting for their sophomore album.

Produced by Kevin Shirley, the album, which is simply entitled "2", will be released in the U.K. on June 13th via Mascot Records, and June 14th in the U.S. on the J&R Adventures label.

Black Country Communion have also announced that theywill embark on a UK tour this July that will take in concerts at Llandudno Cymru Arena (23rd July), London's High Voltage Festival (24th July), Leeds O2 Academy (26th July), Newcastle O2 Academy (27th July), Glasgow 02 Academy (29th July), and the Manchester Academy (30th July). tracklisting

Foreigner Announce Special Show

Razor and Tie sent over this news: Foreigner will be performing an exclusive show at the P.C. Richard & Son Theater in New York City on March 30th as part of iHeartRadio Live, a production that features private performances and interviews.

The band will be playing selections from Foreigner 4 and other songs from their repertoire of sixteen top thirty songs and radio favorites. Videos from the show will be available on Q1043.com and iheartradio.com. Released in 1981, 4 was Foreigner's fourth studio album and features the hit singles "Urgent," "Waiting for a Girl Like You," and "Juke Box Hero."

This summer Razor & Tie will release a Foreigner live DVD featuring the band's greatest hits filmed in Chicago in March. Razor & Tie will also release a new studio album of Foreigner hits, including classics such "Hot Blooded," "Cold As Ice," "Double Vision," "Waiting for a Girl Like You," and "I Want to Know What Love Is," to name a few. The live DVD performance will be featured in a PBS TV national broadcast in the summer. more on this story

Bret Michaels Taught Charlie Sheen How To Smash Up Hotel Rooms

(hennemusic) During a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Poison's Bret Michaels talked about Charlie Sheen, as the two had a film production company which produced Showcase Entertainment's feature "A Letter From Death Row," as well as Miramax/Dimension Films' "No Code Of Conduct," - which Michaels wrote, directed and starred in. They also produced the feature film "Free Money," starring Marlon Brando and Mira Sorvino.

"Charlie and I flew down to Super Bowl in Miami," said Bret, "and we had the party of a lifetime – a 3-day-er – and I professionally showed him how to bust up a hotel room because he wasn't doing a good job at first."

"He was learning," continued Michaels, "and I said, 'You gotta really let it out man! You gotta let it out and bust all this stuff'…so he showed me how to do films and make money, and I showed him how to lose a lot of money by smashing up hotel rooms." more on this story

Economists Say File Sharing Didn't Kill The Music Biz

Our friends at Explore Music had this interesting report: Up until now, the prevailing argument for the spectacular collapse of the recording industry involved cries of piracy and mountains of blame heaped upon P2P file-trading.

But now comes along a research paper from the London School of Economics that says "Wait a second. Piracy and file-sharing are factors, but there's more to it than that."

The LSE's Department of Media studies says we also have to look at the global recession, the higher cost of living and having less money to spend on entertainment. more on this story

Evergrey Announce North American Tour

Evergrey have announced a North American tour for this fall that will feature support from Sabaton, Powerglove, Blackguard and The Absence.

The tour kicks off with Evergrey's acoustic set at this year's Prog Power Festival in Atlanta, GA on September 14th and runs through October 12th in Dallas, TX.

Evergrey front man Tom Englund commented on the upcoming North American tour: "Finally Evergrey are touring North America again! We can´t wait to spend some time in the USA and Canada together with our fellow country-men in Sabaton! On top of that we also bring Powerglove and The Absence, and on some shows Blackguard!" more on this story

R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe Phones It In

(Gibson) Michael Stipe has let us into one of the secrets of his songwriting. He writes his R.E.M. songs on his cell phone.

According to Music-News.com, he told Absolute Radio's Dave Gorman: "My notepad is my iPhone, and in fact I recorded and wrote this entire record on my phone. I love technology for that; it's so much easier than having scraps of paper everywhere. Of course I write lyrics that I hope would someday see the light of day, more times than not that never happens.

"I see things when I hear music and it's usually a landscape, and my job as the lyricist is to people that landscape with stories and with narrative and with ideas and with words." more on this story

Dave Grohl Excited About Touring With Motorhead

(Gibson) It's pretty hard to make the Foo Fighters blink, but their new opening act even has frontman Dave Grohl sweating a bit. Speaking with MTV.com, Grohl talked about the specter of following Motorhead on a spate of upcoming shows.

"We're going to do some shows with Motorhead... unfortunately we have to go on after them," Grohl joked. "We actually played with Motorhead at Hyde Park once, and Lemmy's a good friend, and Phil [Campbell] the guitar player, too. They're just fun to be around, and they're legends, and I'm a huge Motörhead fan, so it's an honor to have them come out and do gigs."

"I'm psyched, man," he continued. "It's going to be fun. Biffy Clyro's playing first. It's like a real rock bill, you know? It's nice to have a rock-and-roll show, and I can't wait." more on this story

Gwar Crack-a-Thon and the Gwar-B-Q

Lock up your gerbils, hobbits and any farm animals you wish to protect from being violated and/or barbequed by Gwar as the group have made a big announcement... make that two:

Gwar today announced the official dates for two of the year's biggest events on the Gwar calendar-the Crack-a-Thon and the GWAR-B-Q!

On June 3rd, 2011, Gwar lead singer and media darling Oderus Urungus returns as your host for the Crack-a-Thon! He will be joined by his host Balsac, the Jaws of Death (who insists he is also a full host), on June 3rd, 2011, 10:00 pm E.S.T., streaming LIVE on http://www.crackathon.com from Alleykatz in Richmond, Va.! more on this story

Alter Bridge Top Greatest Guitar Solo Poll

(Rock AAA) Alter Bridge duo Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy have scooped top place on a recent poll to find the greatest guitar solo in history over at musicradar.

The poll hosted by Guitarist Magazine took nominations from readers and whittled them down to the most popular twenty before asking for public votes.

Tremonti and Kennedy were understandably blown away by the results, but Kennedy was modest as ever: "Thank you! Really honoured to have even been included among such iconic solos. A little uncomfortable with the idea that it was voted the 'best'. I don't necessarily agree that our solo deserves that title – at least my half" more on this story

The Downtown Fiction Announce Album and Tour

The Downtown Fiction has announced the details for their debut album which will be released in April by Photo Finish Records.

Produced by Stacy Jones (Plain White Tee's, American Hi-Fi) with additional production from Bill Lefler (Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes) and Adam Richman, "Let's Be Animals" arrives in stores and at all online retailers on April 26th while the lead track off the album, "Thanks For Nothing," will premiere on iTunes on April 5th

The group will herald the album's release with a US headline tour. The "Let's Be Animals Tour 2011" will kick off on April 19th at The Firebird in St. Louis and then traverse the US through mid-May. more on this story

Preserving and Protecting the Frank Zappa Archives

"Preserving and Protecting the Frank Zappa Archives" to be presented at 45th Annual Association for Recorded Sound Collections in Los Angeles.

On Thursday, May 12 at the annual Association For Recorded Sound Collections conference, Gail Zappa and Joe Travers will provide an in-depth discussion on the legendary composer Frank Zappa's bountiful archives.

Hosted by the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive at The Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles, Zappa and Travers will talk about their respective roles in preserving the archive, take questions from the audience and present rare material. more on this story

Therefore I Am, Shipwreck A.D. Supergroup Ghost Thrower Announce EP

Equal Vision have set a April 19th release date for Get Miserable, a new EP by Ghost Thrower.

The Boston-based band is comprised of Travis Alexander [formerly of Therefore I Am] on vocals and guitar, Nick Webster [ex-Shipwreck A.D.] on bass, Robbie Rose [ex-Bravo f***ing Bravo, Lunglust] on drums, and Ben Anderson on guitar.

Featuring two new songs and remixed/remasted versions of three previously released songs, the Get Miserable EP will be available through digital retailers, such as iTunes and Amazon, and on 7" vinyl at shows. more on this story

Vampires Everywhere! Cover Katy Perry

Vampires Everywhere! are now offering fans a chance to hear an exclusive song via their Facebook page.

Head here and click 'Like' to hear the band cover Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream".

Vampires Everywhere! are also hitting the road heavily in support of their forthcoming album, 'Kiss the Sun Goodbye', which comes out on May 17th. more on this story