New Van Halen Album One Step Closer

The fan website says the mixing process began in July and wrapped up last month. The VHND rumor indicates the album will be mastered in mid-September with the intention of having that stage completed by the end of the month. more on this story

Temple of the Dog Reunion at Pearl Jam Festival

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam celebrated their 20th Anniversary on Day 1 of their PJ20 Destination Weekend Saturday night in Alpine Valley.

Julian Casablancas, Josh Homme, Glen Hansard, Liam Finn, Dan Peters, Dhani Harrison and Chris Cornell all joined PJ for the main set, whose highlight was the Temple Of The Dog reunion with Cornell as part of the night's encores.

TOTD was formed as a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, who passed away following a heroin overdose in 1990. MLB's lineup included guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, who would go on to form Pearl Jam following MLB's demise. More details and video here, plus you can check out a lot more videos from Pearl Jam's full set here

Hear Jani Lane's Final Song

(hennemusic) What is believed to be Jani Lane's final recording has surfaced and you can listen online. Liberty N' Justice have released "Sin," with the former Warrant singer on vocals; the track also features Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper), JK Northrup (King Kobra) and Bill Leverty (Firehouse).

"Sin" will be part of Liberty N' Justice's double CD, "The Cigar Chronicles," due out next year.

The song's release was initially delayed out of respect for Jani's family, following the singer's death August 11 under mysterious circumstances. A portion of "Sin's" proceeds will be going to charity in the name of Jani Lane. Listen to it here

Guns N' Roses U.S. Tour Plans Taking Shape

(hennemusic) Another US date for Guns N' Roses has been announced with rumblings that more U.S. shows will be announced soon (but as yet unconfirmed).

Following recent news that the band is set to play Miami on October 29, The Orlando Sentinel reports GNR will perform at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on October 28.

GNR's last US concert appearance was when the band headlined the closing night of the Rock 'N Rev Festival at the 70th annual Sturgis Bike Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota on August 13, 2010. more on this story

Green Day Singer Kicked Off Airplane For 'Pants On The Ground'

(Rock News Desk) Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was forced to leave a flight before takeoff after refusing an attendant's request to pull up his trousers. The musician posted an angry tweet after being kicked off a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Burbank from Oakland, California. But the company say Armstrong has resolved his issues with them.

Eyewitnesses told Fox News how the singer and a companion were boarding the plane when an attendant asked him to wear his sagging trousers higher. He asked the attendant if there weren't "better things to do than worry about that?"

He was told he could be ordered off the flight if he continued to refuse. When he insisted he just wanted to get to his seat, he and his companion were escorted back to the departure lounge. more on this story

Buffalo Springfield Reunion Tour Delayed Again

(Gibson) Buffalo Springfield's 30-date reunion tour has been postponed again. Originally set to take place this fall, the tour was first pushed back to early 2012. Now, it appears it will happen later next year, according to Rolling Stone.

"This delay happened for a multitude of reasons," said David Spero, Richie Furay's manager. "The plan is still to tour next year. There's not a timeline at this point. Buffalo Springfield is at the top of Neil's list of priorities. It's just a matter of finding a time that works for everybody."

Original Springfield members Furary, Stephen Stills and Neil Young got back together in the fall of 2010 for a show at Young's Bridge School Benenfit. Then, they played six shows and Bonnaroo earlier this year. more on this story

Bled Guitarist In Motorcycle Accident- Red Hot Chili Peppers No 1- Runaways Member Dies- Fastway Return- Manson Born Villain- Soulfly Escape Plan- more

(Lambgoat) The Bled guitar player Robbie Burbidge was involved in a motorcycle accident this weekend, suffering a broken elbow. Though hospitalized, Burbidge is conscious and apparently alright otherwise more

(BBC) Red Hot Chili Peppers land their fourth number one on the UK album chart with their latest offering, I'm With You more

(Classic Rock) Laurie McAllister, the last bassist in The Runaways, has died at the age of 53, due to complications brought on from asthma.McAllister joined the band in November 1978, appearing on what turned out to be the band's final tour. more

(p.o.d.) Due to Tropical Storm Lee, Sunday's Rock Allegiance show at The Wharf in Orange Beach, AL has been moved to Thursday September, 8 at 4pm. All tickets previously purchased will be honored.

(Classic Rock) Fastway, featuring guitarist 'Fast' Eddie Clarke, will put out Eat Dog Eat through SPV/Steamhammer on November 14. It's their first studio record since 1990's Bad Bad Girls. more

Robin Staps of The Ocean had this bad news for fans: "Our upcoming U.S. tour just fell apart. We had been confirmed for quite a while for a direct support slot on a good 6-weeks U.S. tour in October and November, and yesterday it was decided that this tour is now being postponed to late November into December. We are not available at that time. Our flights to the U.S. have already been booked for weeks, and we've been left high and dry again… somehow we're just not lucky over there it seems!"

(The 1st Five) Fishbone are set to release new material since 2006′s Still Stuck In Your Throat. The new EP, Crazy Glue, is set to be released on October 11 via the DC-Jam label. more

(superLOUD) Marilyn Manson announced his new album's title, Born Villain, on his official website last week. The 6 minute NSFW "Born Villain" video trailer can be viewed at bornvillain.com. The accompanying album is expected to be released this Fall. more

(MU) Mushroomhead have announced that they will be the featured headline act appearing on the 2011 'Slaughterhouse Roadshow' United States tour. The band will be joined by Psychostick, Motograter, Blue Felix, Ventana and Tenafly Viper to round out the bill. more

(PR) Absu will embark upon an exclusive four-show upper East Coast US live exhibition this November invading Richmond, Brooklyn, Reading and Boston. more

(superLOUD) Butch Walker's new autobiography, Drinking with Strangers: Music Lessons from a Teenage Bullet Belt, is set to hit stores on October 25th more

(SRX) Snow, featuring original members Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot, Ratt) on guitar, Tony Cavazo (Quiet Riot, Hurricane) on bass and Stephen Quadros on drums (7th Sun, Showtime Networks, Pride Fighting Championships) are set to begin a new chapter in their joint musical history. more

(PNO) In a recent interview with PunkVideosRock, Bert McCracken of The Used revealed that the band has left Warner Bros. and started their own label, Dental Records. Their new album Vulnerable has been tapped for a February release more

(Noisecreep) On Soulfly's 'Omen,' Max Cavalera teamed up with The Dillinger Escape Plan's vocal maniac Greg Puciato for the song 'Rise of the Fallen.' That collaboration went so well that the duo are working together once again on an as-yet unnamed project. more
more on this story

Alice Cooper To Debut New Band Lineup With Rare Club Show

Alice Cooper will debut his new band lineup at a special performance at the Whisky a Go-Go in Hollywood on Thursday, September 15, 2011, 9:00pm. Here is the official word with details:

Cooper will take the stage of the legendary rock venue, on the Sunset Strip, for the first time since Alice Cooper the band performed there live in 1969 with Led Zeppelin.

"The Whisky had an option for a return engagement, but we got busy and it just slipped our minds. No, seriously, the Whisky gig we did with Led Zeppelin is something we all talk about to this day. It's going to be amazing to go back as a straight ahead LA bar band... We might even take requests. I figure, if we could do it in London, we can do it at the Whisky. And it's LA, so you never know who else might show up..." more on this story

Iggy Pop Injury Delays Stooges Tour

(rock nyc) Due to Iggy Pop's injury sustained during The Stooges Aug 27th headline appearance in Romania, the band is forced to postpone their upcoming US shows.

After several days of rest at home the need for medical attention became apparent. Dr. Frank Smith of the Cayman orthopedic group has confirmed a pair of fractures in the metatarsals of the singer's left foot. Iggy has been asked to cool it for 6 – 8 weeks.

Says the singer, "I hate this, I hate like hell to cancel or postpone anything. I only saw the doctor because it hurt so ******* much and I couldn't fix it myself. Please be patient, I am so excited about these dates on the left coast." more on this story

Iron Maiden's Paul Di'Anno Running Free Again With Post Prison Live Return

(hennemusic) Former Iron Maiden frontman Paul Di'Anno has returned to the concert stage.

Di'Anno made his live comeback at the Festa Della Birra Di Fabrica in Rome, Italy on August 27, his first gig since an early release from a UK prison in May.

Paul served just over two months of a nine month sentence for benefit fraud. In March, Di'Anno (real name Paul Andrews) plead guilty to eight counts of benefit fraud amounting to more than £45,000; he was expected to serve at least four-and-a-half months in prison before being eligible for parole. more on this story

Ronnie Montrose Predicts Reunion With Sammy Hagar

(Rock News Desk) Guitarist Ronnie Montrose hopes he and former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar can find the time to perform together again.

Hagar fronted the band for hit tracks Bad Motor Scooter and Rock Candy, and sang on the band's first two albums, Montrose and Paper Money. He left in 1974 to pursue a solo career and later joined Van Halen before winding up in supergroup Chickenfoot. But Montrose is hoping the pair can get together once more – although he doesn't believe they'll record any new material.

"There will never be any recording or touring in that sense, but Sammy and I still talk," He tells Bakersfield.com. "He's busy doing his thing and I'm doing mine. We may do a reunion show for fun, and literally at this point in our lives it would be just for fun." more on this story

Pantera: Anselmo Hurt By Vinnie Paul's Refusal To Talk

(Rock News Desk) Former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo says drummer Vinnie Paul's refusal to communicate continues to hurt him years after the pair stopped talking.

Paul severed all links with Anselmo after his brother, guitarist Dimebag, was shot dead on stage with new band Damageplan in 2004, a year after Pantera split.

In an unfortunate coincidence an article was published the same week in which the singer bad-mouthed his former bandmates using language which Paul felt was unforgivable in the light of Dimebag's death. The drummer also felt previous statements by the singer could have motivated the man who committed the atrocity.

Dime's long-term girlfriend Rita Haney recently revealed she's started talking to Anselmo again, and admitted it had caused bad blood between her and Paul. See what Phil had to say here

Rolling Stones Legend Keith Richards Saves Radio Station

(Gibson) The Rolling Stones owe a lot to rock radio, and guitarist Keith Richards feels indebted to the musical medium – so much so that he's saving a radio station from going under. A spokesman for Richards has confirmed the founding member of the Stones has donated $4,860 to help save a station struck by lightning.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports that the 67-year-old rocker sent the payment to the Isle of Wight's Angel Radio – which spins tracks from 1900 to 1959 – to help the station repair its transmitter, which was destroyed when it was hit by lightning in July, pushing the station off air for three days.

Director and program controller Bev Webster says they had broadcast a serious appeal for funding to help fix the transmitter and "couldn't believe it" when the Richards came to the rescue. Speaking with Isle of White County Press, she said, "I don't know if Keith listens to us on the Internet, or maybe he tuned in when The Rolling Stones played the Isle of Wight Festival a few years ago, but we couldn't believe it when we received his check in the post." more on this story

Sting Writing Musical

(Gibson) Sting is working on a musical about his hometown of Newcastle. The show, titled The Last Ship, will feature music and lyrics by Sting, along with a book by Brian Yorkey – a Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright, according to NME.com.

"It's Sting's first foray into writing for musical theater, so we wanted to start having him meet actors and hear them sing at the earliest possible point," Yorkey said. "I won't say the score is complete, because the score's not complete until God knows when. But he's written a couple dozen, maybe 20, 24, amazing new songs for the show. He's writing great theater music. It's very, very distinctly Sting but it also is theater music. It's not just pop music transposed into the theater."

The Last Ship is set in the 1980s and characters include a priest and a former shipyard worker who becomes "an industrial titan." more on this story

More Lou Reed and Metallica Details

(Gibson) There's now an album cover to go with the project Lou Reed and Metallica have been working on. The artwork for Lulu features a heavily made-up, armless and legless mannequin. The album title is spelled out in what could be blood… or perhaps it's just ketchup.

In addition, a couple more Lulu songs titles have been revealed, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. "Frustration" and "Little Dog" the previously named "Junior Father," "Pumping Blood" and "Mistress Dread." The album's five other songs remain a mystery.

Lulu is due out November 1 in North America and October 31 in the rest of the world. more on this story

Ray Davies Pens Kinks Musical

(Rock News Desk) Kinks frontman Ray Davies has written a musical to be performed by school pupils, based on his band's songs.

Children from the John Ruskin School in Cumbria, England, performed Child's Play for the first time yesterday in London. The story follows three couples from different social classes living through recent events including the death of Princess Diana and the world financial meltdown.

The producers say Davies' musical "provides a commentary on the aspirations and disappointments through the decades of modern Britain." more rock news

Linkin Park Secret Show A Huge Success

(hennemusic) Linkin Park hooked up with 1,100 fans last Wednesday night to help raise more than $350,000 for a benefit for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief.

The band played the intimate Mayan Theater in Los Angeles at an event initially billed as a secret show; to gain access to the rare event, fans needed to raise $500 or more in order to win a pair of tickets.

"It's a really exciting night tonight. We're performing a show with the B'z from Japan, [the] biggest rock band in Japanese history," singer Chester Bennington told MTV News before the gig. "It's an honor to be able to play with these guys, and it's especially an honor to be able to give back to the Japanese community that's been so devastated and been so great in supporting us." more on this story

Lacuna Coil Set New Release and Tour

Lacuna Coil have announced the European release of the first single from their forthcoming album plus a tour of their native Italy.

"Trip The Darkness," the first digital single off Lacuna Coil upcoming album "Dark Adrenaline" will be released in Europe on October 17th.

Lacuna Coil has also announced an extensive tour throughout Italy. Not only will their Italian fans be able to enjoy some of the very first dates of their "Darkness Rising" tour, but also see the band on some more intimate club shows, according to Century Media. more on this story

Blink-182 Explain 8 Year Absence

(Gibson) Blink-182 are back with a new album, Neighborhoods (out September 26), and a cross-country tour. So, what took the guys so long to put together the album – their first collection of new material in eight years? According to bass player Mark Hoppus, the band needed to get reacquainted as friends and bandmates, and that's chiefly what took so long for the reunion to happen.

"I think it took, first of all, reconnecting as friends after not having spoken for about five years. And then it took getting back into the studio as well as getting back out on the road," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"It definitely took time for us to kind of put all of these different pieces back together to run the business appropriately," added frontman Tom DeLonge.

Hoppus went onto assure fans that Blink-182 is "our priority" – well above any band members' side projects – and that the guys plan to stick around for the long haul. more on this story

Drive A Robbed

(ESM) Drive A were the victims of a bizarre bus break-in last week in downtown Chicago, while on a break from their run on the Rock Allegiance Tour with Puddle of Mud, P.O.D., Red and Crossfade.

This past Tuesday night, as band members and crew slept on their bus while parked in an underground garage located in an area frequented by transients, an unidentified person entered the vehicle and made off with money, food, booze, clothing and an iPod, while leaving their gear untouched.

The band is taking it in stride, as front Bruno Mascolo explains, "I guess to make it in music these days you have to fully commit yourself, even if it means your home away from home being raided by homeless people on occasion. That being said, the next homeless person that asks us for change, we will be checking his pocket for our ipod. I'm just glad everyone is okay." more on this story

Tesla Forced To Make Hard Decision

(Rock News Desk) Tesla singer Jeff Keith says the band were heartbroken when they realised they had to sack Tommy Keoch because the guitarist just couldn't stay off drugs.

The band recently released an album featuring tracks recorded by Skeoch in 2005, just before Tesla kicked him out. That followed the founding member's original departure a decade earlier, also due to addiction issues. Keith tells Noisecreep the band reunited in 2000 for a short run of shows but it led to bigger commitments. "Fast-forward to 2003 and we all agreed that we wanted to make a new studio album," says the singer. "So we wrote and recorded one. Then we went out on a tour with the Scorpions – and things with Tommy started to fall apart."

"Everyone in Tesla has been through their own substance abuse issues, but Tommy got in too deep again. So the band told him that the only way we'd be able to make this work is if he was clean and sober." more here

Hear Axel Rudi Pell Turn Dio Classic Into A Ballad

(Freeman) Noisecreep is hosting an exclusive premiere of Axel Rudi Pell's ballad version of the Dio classic "Holy Diver."

Here is what he had to say about the track: "As everybody knows, my soul mate and friend Ronnie James Dio sadly passed away last year. It was very clear to me I needed to use one of his songs to pay him tribute. It had to be a song, which was very easily recognizable as one of his tunes and therefore I picked "Holy Diver". Of course the original track isn´t a ballad, so I decided to re-arrange the song completely and we made a Piano version out of it, featuring some Orchestra strings, a Cello and a clean and melodic guitar solo. Johnny gave his very best vocal performance and after the track was finished, there were lots of tears in some eyes..."

"Holy Diver" is one of the tracks on Pell's forthcoming album, The Ballads III, which is set to hit stores on September 27th. Listen here

Anthrax Invited Himself Onto Megadeth Album

(Rock News Desk) Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna has revealed how he invited himself onto a Megadeth record during an elevator ride with Dave Mustaine.

"One time I was in the elevator with Dave Mustaine and he was working on a record, and I turned round to him and said, 'So when should I show up in the studio to do some vocals? When are we going to do something together, man?," Belladonna tells EspyRock. "He was asking about the new Anthrax album and I was like, 'Hey, I don't know anything yet, no-one has told me about anything yet.' But he says, 'But you're working on it, or something like that, right?'

'So I ask him when am I going to show up on his record, and he just looked at me and laughed like it wasn't possible. Why would any of that be not possible?" more on this story

Sebastian Bach Clears Up Internet Breakup Comments

(Rock News Desk) Sebastian Bach says his comments about the Internet being involved in the break-up of his marriage were made in jest – although he admits they weren't funny.

The former Skid Row singer explains: "Nobody was responsible for the demise of my marriage except me. Sometimes I say things in interviews because I'm trying to make you laugh, or trying to be funny. But some things aren't funny."

He's apologised to his ex-wife and current girlfriend for saying: "It takes a strong girl to be with a rock'n'roller, or a girl who can't work a computer." He adds: "I shouldn't have said that and I should own up to being a jerk. That's reality. I shouldn't blame others for the things I do – I should take responsibility for the things I do." more on this story

Elvis Vs Arista

(Rock News Desk) The estate of Elvis Presley is suing the star's German record label for $9m in unpaid royalties dating back to 2002.

Arista Music is accused of withholding money generated from ringtones, download and app sales based on the King's back-catalogue.

It's also been accused of exploiting Elvis when, in 1973, it cut a deal which meant he was only paid $10 a year for resales of 1000 recordings. more on this story

Coen Brothers Making Film About 60s Greenwich Village Music Scene

(Gibson) Filmmakers the Coen Brothers are making the '60s Greenwich Village folk music scene the topic of their next movie.

As reported by Rolling Stone, Joel and Ethan Coen's latest project, Inside Llewyn Davis, will be based loosely on the life of Dave Van Ronk, a central figure in the nascent scene that produced Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and other legendary singer-songwriters.

The film will follow "Davis"'s struggles as an aspiring musician in New York City at the height of the early '60s protest movement. A release date for the film, described as "heavily fictionalized," has not been set. In addition to directing the movie, the Coens are co-producing the film with producer Scott Rudin and executive producer Robert Graf, both of whom they collaborated with on the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. more on this story

Transfer's Album Coming in Roctober

(SKH) Fresh off two wins at the San Diego Music Awards, Transfer have set an October 11th release date for their debut album, Future Selves.

The band take their cues from what they describe as the "five basic food groups" of rock'n'roll: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Stones, drawing further inspiration from the likes of My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire.

"We love bands with big dynamics and big songs," says guitarist/vocalist Matthew Molarius. "Experimenting with songwriting, using a variety of instrumentation, Incorporating cellos, strings and horns, as well as huge, ballsy blues and heavy soul." more on this story

Singled Out: The Horrible Crowes (Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem and Ian Perkins)

Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon and his friend Ian Perkins' new group The Horrible Crowes release their debut album, "Elsie," today. To celebrate we asked Brian to tell us about the song "Behold The Hurricane." Here is the story:

Behold the Hurricane came about with a riff I had been playing around with for a couple of days on tour, and it sounded like a good idea. We wanted to have a song on the Elsie record that was upbeat enough to catch a listener on the first try and then be really depressing on the lyrical side.

That probably comes from listening to the Smiths as a young man. There's nothing Ian and I like more than a good pop song that's about something awful happening.

I was really proud of that song when we finished it. Lyrically, I felt it was the first song that I had achieved saying something profound and moving with very few words.

At least very few words for my writing.

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

. Pearl Jam: PJ20 Festival (Day One)

This was not your standard music festival or even your typical Pearl Jam show. This was more like a convention of die-hard Pearl Jam fans and music geeks gathering to celebrate the band they love dearly with the band hoping to turn their fans on to some great music in the process. - Read the full Pearl Jam: PJ20 Festival (Day One) review

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