Pearl Jam Festival- Prince Surprise- Doro To Front Dio Disciples- AC/DC Turn Down Gig Offer- Lacuna Coil Begin New Album- Paul Rodgers All Stars- Mastodon- more

On this day in 1969, The Who's Pete Townshend spent the night in a U.S. jail for assaulting a man during a Who gig at The Fillmore East. What Townshend didn't know was the man who jumped onto the stage was a plainclothes policeman trying to warn the audience that a fire had broken out. Townshend was later fined $30 for the offense. Find out what else happened on this date in music history here

Aerosmith Snub American Idol

Contrary to comments by frontman and American Idol judge Steven Tyler it appears that Aerosmith will NOT be performing on the show's season finale. RockAAA has the details:

The Boston Herald reports Aerosmith representatives told the show's producers Friday night that it isn't going to happen. Sources close to the band told the Herald that the four other members of Aerosmith weren't interested in playing the gig, despite Steven Tyler's repeated pronouncements that the rockers would perform at the finale.

While no official reason was given for taking a pass on the highly rated national TV gig, Joe Perry posted on his facebook page today (May16), "Not playing Idol cause we were never asked by producers. Brad has gig that night with Hendrix Exp. Its not logistically possible." more on this story

Weiland Says Velvet Revolver Was For The Money

(Rock News Desk) Scott Weiland admits he joined Velvet Revolver purely for the money – and although he liked the band's music he didn't think it was his best work.

The singer joined ex Guns n'Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum alongside guitarist Dave Kushner in 2003, after he left Stone Temple Pilots. They recorded two albums together before the band kicked him out for his continuing drug addiction issues.

In his biography Not Dead And Not For Sale, published next week, Weiland says his first reaction to being invited to join was. "Sounds like a lot of egos – sounds like a lot of trouble," he writes. "They put some songs on a CD and my wife said, 'They think you'll like what they're doing.' I didn't; it sounded like Bad Company and I never liked Bad Company. A week or so later another CD arrived with songs custom-designed for me. The tunes had STP written all over them." more on this story

Pink Floyd Reunion A One-Off

(Gibson) Pink Floyd's surviving members reunited on stage in London Thursday night, playing powerful renditions of "Comfortably Numb" and "Outside the Wall" during the second night of Roger Waters' six-night stand at the O2 Arena.

This was only the second time that Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason have played together in the past three decades – the first being at their Live 8 performance in 2005. Keyboardist Richard Wright has since died, succumbing to cancer in 2008. Together, Waters and Gilmour tackled "Comfortably Numb," which seemed to make the crowd anything but. Towards the end of the night, as Waters played "Outside the Wall," both Gilmour and Mason appeared on stage. Reprising the same role he played on Pink Floyd's 1980/1981 tour, Gilmour played his solo atop the Wall.

Fans hoping that last night marks the beginning of a Pink Floyd reunion shouldn't hold their breath. "I should also remind you that tonight is most definitely a one-off," said Gilmour's blog yesterday. "David is not repeating his special guest performance at a later occasion, I'm sorry to disappoint those of you with fingers crossed and tickets for later shows." Check out video of last week's reunion

Recording From Cliff Burton's First Metallica Gig Online

(The Metal Den) TMD has obtained historic live audio of Metallica performing at The Stone in San Francisco, California on September 18, 1982.

It is late bassist Cliff Burton's debut gig with the future rock n roll hall of fame act and undoubtedly the passion can be heard from the first frenetic note played by the young, rowdy lineup.

Widely considered the greatest metal bassist of them all, Cliff Burton would ultimately be killed in a freak bus accident on September 27, 1986. Check it out

Why Mike Portnoy Wasn't Right For Avenged Sevenfold

(RockAAA) Avenged Sevenfold's frontman M Shadows says that ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy could never have been a permanent replacement for the Rev.

Portnoy stepped into the breech after the death of original member Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan in 2009, recorded their 2010 album Nightmare and played on the subsequent tour, but relationships became strained leading to his departure earlier this year.

Speaking to Ultimate Guitar Shadows said that Portnoy was a godsend at the time but wasn't a good fit for the longer term although he has no hard feelings: "Yeah, we're on good terms — it just got a little out of hand for a while there with us. And the way he runs his camp is a little different than we run ours. It couldn't co-exist in that way and I'm really happy for him — I'm happy on a bunch of different levels. The Rev wrote those parts, Mike elaborated on them, and the record did really well. To me that's a success all the way around.

"Mike helped us out in a time of need and he really stuck true to what Jimmy's parts were, which we were really thankful for that" More from M here

Fleetwood Mac Will Be Back

(Gibson) In a recent interview with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Fleetwod Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks revealed that Fleetwood Mac will tour together again in 2012. But she'll first ride out the release of her new solo album, In Your Dreams, and the release of Lindsey Buckingham's solo album after that.

"When [my new] album and Lindsey's album come to a stop then Fleetwood Mac will gather again and we'll either make another record or we won't and we'll just go on tour," said Nicks, who released her first solo record in 10 years on May 3.

Buckingham's album, which Nicks calls her "favorite thing he's ever done," is due out in September and will be called Seeds We Sow. Nicks' own solo album debuted an #6 on the Billboard 200 chart this month. more on this story

Bob Dylan Sets The Record Straight

(Rock News Desk) Bob Dylan has spoken out about the recent press stories about whether he was censored during his recent tour of China.

In a rare personal statement on his website Dylan says: "First of all, we were never denied permission to play in China. This was all drummed up by a promoter – my guess is that the guy printed up tickets and made promises to certain groups without any agreements being made. If anybody had bothered to check with the Chinese authorities, it would have been clear that they were unaware of the whole thing."

Dylan then addresses suggestions that, when he did finally tour the Communist state, he was subject to censorship by the government. "The Chinese had asked for the names of the songs I would be playing. There's no logical answer to that, so we sent them the set lists from the previous three months. If there were any songs, verses or lines censored, nobody ever told me about it. We played all the songs we intended to play." He ends with an unusual call to action

Anniversary of Ronnie James Dio's Death

A year ago today Rock and Roll lost a giant voice when Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer. There was an outpouring of tributes from the metal community but we mark the anniversary of his passing by republishing this moving tribute from his Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell band mate Terry "Geezer" Butler:

It's impossible to express in mere words the relationship Ronnie and I, Wendy and my wife Gloria had. He was much more than a friend, fellow musician, band mate. If I have a soul, then he is part of it.

I truly believe God, fate, destiny, whatever it's called, brought us together again in 2006, after not seeing each other for 14 years, to do one final tour, which turned into 3 major tours and an album. We were having a blast together, enjoying each other's company more than we had ever done before, talking about maybe doing one more album, when fate intervened again.

We were planning on doing a 2 or 3 part North American tour, after having toured South America and Europe in Spring /Summer 2009, but on the first leg of the North American tour, Tony's hand ligaments were in a bad way, Vinny's shoulder became dislocated, and Ronnie was having terrible stomach pains. We decided to cut the tour, get healthy, and carry on the following year. Tony and Vinny had successful procedures to fix their ailments, but Ronnie's stomach pains were worsening. I saw him at the Dio Halloween party, but he wasn't drinking, unusual for Ronnie who liked his tipple. He was telling me he had made an appointment with a specialist, to see what it was….. more on this story

Gene Simmons Daughter in a Four Car Pile-up

(Rock News Desk) KISS star Gene Simmons' daughter was involved in a four-car pile-up last week – but escaped from the wreck with just cuts and bruises.

Sophie Simmons, aged 18, was sitting in traffic while driving her Dodge Charger when another car struck her from behind, shunting her into the vehicle ahead.

She was wearing her seat-belt but the driver's airbag did not inflate so she hit her head on the steering wheel. She was taken to hospital for checks but later released in good spirits, and is expected to make a full recovery. more on this story

Rob Halford Speaks Out on KK Leaving Judas Priest

(Gibson) With their farewell tour kicking off in just a few weeks, Judas Priest have been rehearsing intensively—a job made more challenging due to the abrupt exit of guitarist and founding member K.K. Downing in April. Downing issued a press release stating that he left because of a breakdown in his relationship with members of the band and the group's management. Frontman Rob Halford addressed the topic with Spanish metal journalist Rafa Basa (as reported on Blabbermouth), who asked the metal god why he thought Downing timed his departure right before the group's farewell tour.

"It's a great question. I can't answer it. You have to get in touch with K.K. and ask him that question, 'cause I can't answer it. I think we've tried to be as honest and as straightforward as we can be on both sides of the discussion, and it is very emotional. I mean, you could just as easily [have asked] that same question—which you may have done—when I was away from the band, and Ripper, my good friend Ripper, was holding the mic for me. You just have to carry on. I think more than anything, it's just kind of difficult, 'cause it's a farewell tour. Why is it happening now? Well, you've got no control over life, have you? [Laughs] You can't control life and these things happen. So you just have to accept them and see what your options are. So that's the way it is.

"Of course, it will never be the same without K.K., like I'm sure a lot of people said it was never the same without me. But you can't just grind to a halt, you can't just stop everything—that would be ridiculous. We have obligations to our fans and to promoters and to everybody else, and to our record company, and we wanna fulfill them and be professional and do the right thing, which is what I think we are doing."

Halford confided that the departure hit him and the rest of the band on a personal level.

Toto One-Off

(Noble) Toto have announced a rare one-off UK concert at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday 26th June, 2011.

Toto will perform all their classic hits from a career that spans 34 years. Fans can expect to hear all the greatest hits including Hold The Line, Rosanna and Africa.

The current line-up features Joseph Williams (lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Simon Phillips (drums), and Nathan East (bass guitar). more on this story

Singled Out: Heart-Set Self-Destruct's Monster

Today Dave Naruszewicz from Heart-Set Self-Destruct tells us about their new single "Monster" from their forthcoming album "Of Nightmares". Here is the story:

Hey there. This is Dave from the band Heart-Set Self-Destruct from Chicago . Our newest single "Monster" was just released to radio recently and to my surprise, a number of people have been asking what the song is about. Monster is really mostly about analyzing one's self from an outside perspective. It's about realizing that for good or bad - you are always going to be you and no one is ever going to change that. For me, Monster is a very personal song, because it is my apology for not being able to be the person the girl I loved wanted me to be. I could never please her because she didn't understand my life choices and my passion for something she could never touch – my music. I constantly felt like I was playing catch up with her and trying too hard to be someone I'm not. Lines like "I can not swim to save myself, I'm drifting off. I'm sleeping under water forever in hell," are a pretty good reminder of my struggle to survive in a dying relationship. What's messed up is I still love this girl, but haven't talked to her in forever because I know I will just get caught up in nothing again.

The interesting thing about "Monster" is that we wrote it in about 45 min. It was one of those situations where everyone was on the same page and the feel was there. I was able to explain my emotions and say everything I wanted to say with out really having to think about it. It just happened. We started recording it the next day with the other songs we had planned on recording.

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

Aerosmith Headed South

(hennemusic) Given the strange vibe that Steven Tyler's American Idol gig has brought to the Aerosmith camp, who knows if the band will be on speaking terms with each other off stage, but together they will be playing a series of shows in Latin America this fall.

The tour kicks off October 22 in Lima, Peru. Aerosmith first played in Latin America in 1977 and last year's electrifying tour through South America left fans begging for more.

"I'm looking forward to sweating up a storm with the crazy Latin American fans," says Tyler. more on this story

Kiss Kruise

(hennemusic) KISS have announced their first-ever "Kiss Kruise." "Kiss: Wet, Wild & Rockin'" is setting sail October 13-17, 2011 from Miami to Half Moon Cay and Nassau, Bahamas on board the Carnival Destiny.

KISS will be hosting the trip, complete with a live show in an intimate indoor venue and an acoustic "Sail Away Concert" (no make-up!!) to keep the party going as the ship leaves port.

There's also a bunch of on-board activities, KISS-themed nights, costume contests and other things to keep fans entertained. more on this story

Sebastian Bach Goes Unplugged and Addresses Arrest

(hennemusic) In the wake of Sebastian Bach's arrest for marijuana possession overnight Monday, Bach played a concert Thursday night at the Crocodile Rock Café in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Prior to the evening gig, Bach and crew stopped by the studios of Lehigh Valley radio station WZZO-FM 95.1 for an in-studio appearance and brief performance for about 30 contest winners. Alongside Bach were guitarists Nick Sterling and Johnny Chromatic, as the trio played acoustic versions of a pair of Skid Row hits and a new, unreleased track called "Awake," which he's been playing in his live sets for some time.

Asked about his recent run-in with the law, Bach simply laughed that "it was a long night. I went to sleep. That's the end of the interview," he said with a laugh. But he did say he drove to Allentown "all the way from New Jersey." Watch the unplugged performance here

Dave Stewart Duets With Stevie Nicks, Martina McBride and Colbie Caillat on New Album

Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart has announced the release of a new album, The Blackbird Diaries, which will hit stores on Tuesday, June 28th 2011

The Blackbird Diaries is set to feature all new material, including duets with Stevie Nicks, Martina McBride and Colbie Caillat. The album also features The Secret Sisters and an assortment of musicians on the album including guitarist Tom Bukovac, drummer Chad Cromwell, bassist Michael Rhodes, steel guitarist Dan Dugmore and Mike Rojas on piano.

"This was my favorite time ever in the studio. I wrote most of the songs on the spot and recorded all of them in one incredible session lasting 5 days and nights!" Dave remarks. "I made an unusual film of the process that not only features all the musicians and performers but also gives away some of my writing secrets which involves both a well known fortune teller and hypnotist who allowed themselves to be filmed in session with me." more on this story

Bret Michaels Explains Poison's Volatile Chemistry

(Gibson) Bret Michaels spoke to The Arizona Republic about the volatile chemistry that's somehow sustained Poison for all these years.

"You couldn't put four more different people in a room and try to make a band, so when that chemistry is on and it works, it's unbelievably great," said Michaels.

"There's just this fire and this energy. And when it goes bad, it goes horribly bad. We've had knock-down drag-out fistfights on stage. But now? Today? Even though we still have four completely different personalities, I think we're getting along a lot better." more on this story

Johnny Depp's Keith Richards Pirate Tale

(Gibson) After the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out in 2003, Johnny Depp said that the inspiration for his character, Captain Jack Sparrow, came from Looney Toons skunk Pepe Le Pew and Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards. Now, with the fourth Pirates movie about to debut, the actor revealed he was worried about the rock star's reaction.

"It was very strange initially, you know, when the character's main ingredients came up," he told NME.com at the London premiere for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. "I was a little worried at what Keith Richards was gonna think. I didn't fear Pepe Le Pew but I was a little worried about Keith. Because for a good portion of the time I was spending with him, I was sponging as much of him as I possibly could for the character. And when he found out what I'd been doing, it could've gone either way, but he was very nice about it, like 'I had no idea mate!' He was very sweet about it."

Of course, Richards went on to join Depp in future Pirates installments, appearing as Jack's dad, Captain Teague. The guitarist appears in the new film as well. "To be able to then bring him into the fold and bring him into the film and do scenes with him was amazing," Depp said. "It's one of those things you know has been seared into your brain and will never leave. It's one of those moments: 'I'm really lucky to be here at this moment, and I'm really lucky that I'm aware that I'm lucky." more on this story

Coverdale Talks Whitesnake and Retirement

(Rock News Desk) David Coverdale says one of the main reasons behind making new Whitesnake album Forevermore was to extend his touring career, which he admits can't go on indefinitely.

And the singer says he'll know when it's time to retire. The band are currently experiencing a massive resurgence with positive reviews for the album and the long-awaited release of a live DVD from their Monsters of Rock show at Donington in 1990.

Coverdale tells Backstage Axxess: "The reason I've put out a new record is so I can tour as much as I can before retiring. It'll just be a matter of common sense for me to step down when I can't get the notes only dogs can hear." more on this story

Tremonti Now At Peace In Creed

(Rock News Desk) Creed managed to overcome the issues which caused their split by not bringing them back up when they reunited, says guitarist Mark Tremonti.

And instead, they chose to focus on how fortunate they felt to have a second chance. It's a far cry from the acrimonious times following their 2004 disintegration, when Tremonti suggested no amount of money in the world would get them back together.

"Things change – the bottom line is, it wasn't about money," Tremonti tells Music Radar. "You look back at the videos and you remember touring the world and selling out all of these places. Six years have gone by: we've had kids, we've grown up, and the wounds have all healed. more on this story

Trujillo Joining Metallica Hasn't Helped Suicidal Tendencies

(Rock News Desk) Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir says the band haven't picked up any fans through former collaborator Robert Trujillo joining Metallica.

Muir says: "We've done shows and met younger people who have been like, 'Oh dude, I brought my little cousin to check you guys out, and now he loves you.' I've never heard someone say, 'Dude, Metallica's my favourite band so I've come to see you guys.'"

ST are planning to release a long-awaited album next year but Muir says they won't be celebrating their 30th anniversary in any special way. more on this story

Former Wings Guitarist Talks Paul McCartney

(Gibson) Laurence Juber joined Wings just as the Paul McCartney vehicle was beginning its descent. Joining the band in 1979, Juber played on the album, Back to the Egg (including its hit single, "Coming Up"), before the group folded in 1981. Three decades later, the master guitarist continues to entertain with his mostly acoustic work. His most recent album, LJ Plays The Beatles, Vol. 2, finds Juber tackling some of his old boss's best-loved works, including "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby" and "Here, There and Everywhere." Juber spoke with NWITimes.com about Macca's masterful ability as a songwriter.

"Paul is remarkable," Juber said. "I think, to have been a Beatle and go beyond that, and I think Paul has. Amongst his solo work, he has written songs that are the equal of what he did with The Beatles."

He continued, "You can put Paul in the [George] Gershwin, [Harold] Arlen, Jerome Kern kind of category," he added. "I don't know that there is another British songwriter that has established such a wide repertoire of music. Paul's music has transcended its time and place." more on this story

How Queensryche Got Their Name

(Rock News Desk) Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield says the band didn't come up with many alternatives when it came to naming themselves.

He explains: "We started as a covers band playing Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, all the fun stuff. But with Geoff Tate singing with us we were able to play the more challenging songs. We were called The Mob but that didn't last long.

"We finished the four-song EP and realised we didn't have a name. So someone suggested we combined the words from our tune Queen of the Ryche, and that was it. more on this story

Elvis Hit Songwriter and Ed Wood Muse, Dolores Fuller Dies

(Gibson) Dolores Fuller, the shapely actress immortalized in films by (and about) director Ed Wood, passed away last Monday at her home in Las Vegas after suffering a stroke. She was 88.

Fuller began her acting career with an uncredited role in the classic Frank Capra comedy, It Happened One Night, but made her legend—for better or worse—in the films of director Ed Wood, whose Glen or Glenda featured Wood himself as a cross-dresser who borrows Fuller's clothes, somewhat mirroring the personal lives of the real-life couple. The relationship was later portrayed in the Tim Burton film, Ed Wood, with Sarah Jessica Parker playing the role of Fuller.

After she left the movie industry, Fuller got into songwriting. Through Fuller's connection with film producer Hal Wallis, she began contributing songs to Elvis Presley films, including Blue Hawaii, Girl Happy, Kissin' Cousins and Spinout. "Rock-A-Hula Baby," which she co-wrote with Bob Weisman and Fred Wise, went to #1 in the U.K. in 1961. Fuller went on to write songs for Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and other '60s hit-makers. more on this story

Ringo Deathstarr Announce Tour Including Trail of Dead Dates

Ringo Deathstarr has announced a North American summer headlining tour as well as a West Coast stint supporting Trail Of Dead.

The band will be doing headlining dates from June 25th in Minneapolis and will hit the East Coast and parts of Canada routing back to Texas for mid July.

The band who recently released their full-length record Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon/AC30) in March has just returned from a tour of Japan which was preceded by a European run. more on this story

Preteen Metal Heads Battle for Success

(Rock News Desk) You buy the instrument, you learn the basics, you find a group of like-minded people and start a band. For many, that's where it ends. If you get as far as the pay-to-play and battle of the bands stage, you're doing better than most. But it's still a minefield. Imagine how it must feel if you're ten years old.

The Dragon Slayers are a duo from southern England in just that position. Last night they played in the semi-final of a national competition with a £100,000 top prize.

So let's leave aside the pros and cons of band battles (like it's a war) and let's just hear what our junior giant killers think of their rock'n'roll experience so far… Read what they had to say here

Skatalites Star Lloyd Knibb Dies

(Gibson) Lloyd Knibb, the influential drummer for the Jamaican band, The Skatalites, died from liver cancer Thursday. He was 80. According to his wife, Enid, he had been receiving treatment in the United States before returning to Jamaica this week.

Knibb, who became a driving force behind the development of the ska beat, was an original member of The Skatalites, a band created in 1964. Twice nominated for Grammys, the band broke up in the '60s but reunited 20 years later in New York. Over the years they recorded 15 studio albums, as well as a slew of live and collaboration albums. Among their most notable songs is "Guns of Navarone."

Knibb last performed with the band in April. His manager, Ken Stewart, who was traveling back to Jamaica with Knib, posted on Facebook: "I can only hope we make it back so he can enjoy his family and friends and see his homeland one more time." He is survived by his wife, five children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. more on this story