Aerosmith Album Target Doubt

But he adds: "All I know is that when I listen to them, they sound like Aerosmith songs." More music news.

Marshall Tucker Band's Member Stuart Swanlund Dies

The Marshall Tucker Band sent over the sad news that longtime member Stuart Swanlund died in his sleep of natural causes at his Chicago home this past Saturday, August 4, 2012. They provided these details:

Swanlund joined The Marshall Tucker Band in 1985 where his slide guitar work added a new dimension to the band – on newer material as well as standards like "Searchin' For A Rainbow," "Can't You See," and "Fire On The Mountain."

"Stuart, or 'Stubie' as we called him, was the longest standing member of The Marshall Tucker Band from 1985, onward," says Marshall Tucker Band founding member Doug Gray. "He recently took a hiatus from the road due to health problems and even with those issues, Stuart's enthusiasm onstage never waivered. Our thoughts and prayers are with Stuart's family and those who knew him. We have lost a great friend." more on this story

Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe Speaks Out After Release From Czech Prison

Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe has addressed fans following his release on bail from a prison in the Czech Republic. Here is what he had to say:

Greetings. This is D. Randall Blythe, checking in from my beloved hometown of Richmond, VA, United States of America. I was recently released on bail from Pankrác Prison in Prague, Czech Republic, after over a month of incarceration. Now that I am out for the moment, I would like to say a few things.

1. While in prison, I had minimal knowledge of how my case was viewed anywhere but the Czech Republic. I was told by my attorney that I had a lot support from peers in the music industry, my hometown, fans, and of course my family. I cannot express how emotional it made me upon my release to read about even a fraction of the voices that were raised on my behalf. From legends in my music community, to fans across the world, and even people who were previously unaware of my existence but sympathized with my plight- I am truly humbled. I cannot thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers. I would especially like to thank the people of Richmond, VA, for standing by me. In the 48 hours I have been home, many people I have never met before have stopped me on the street, waved and smiled as I passed by, or said hello in a restaurant. All have said "We are glad you are home, Randy". You all make me proud and grateful that I call Richmond home. more on this story

Judas Priest Planning New Music

(hennemusic) Judas Priest wrapped up their farewell Epitaph tour in May, and now the band is planning to regroup to start to work on some new music.

Frontman Rob Halford tells Billboard that the group is "ramping things up to get back into full writing and recording mode" back in England. He and guitarist Glenn Tipton have "a tremendous amount of material in the vaults already," and they expect new guitarist Richie Faulkner, who replaced co-founder KK Downing in 2011, to make a contribution as well.

"As we were proceeding on this world tour he was taking this little mini-studio into his dressing room and we could hear him riffing away," Halford recalls. "It's going to be really thrilling moment to get together in a new writing dimension, Glenn and myself and Richie, putting all of these ideas together. We'll see what we can do over the next couple of months, look at everything, lay it all out and then start the hard work of picking out the best material." more on this story

Travis Barker To Over Come Fear After Nearly Dying In Plane Crash

(Classic Rock) The promoter of Blink-182′s Australian tour has said all three members of the band will appear during the shows.

His statement seems to confirm drummer Travis Barker's vow to beat his fear of flying, which originally forced him to say he wouldn't be attending.

Barker nearly died in a plane crash in 2008 which killed four others and led to the later death of his friend DJ AM. More music news.

Taking Back Sunday Map Out Tell All Your Friends Anniversary Tour

Taking Back Sunday will continue celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their debut, Tell All Your Friends, with a new North American tour.

The two-month full US tour, which will feature special guests Bayside as main support and a variety of openers along the way, will begin in Cleveland, OH, on October 4 and will run through November 23, where the band will make an appearance at New York City's Terminal 5.

Along the way, the tour will visit major markets across the U.S. including Chicago, IL, on October 6, San Francisco, CA, on October 21, Los Angeles, CA, on October 25, Washington, DC, on November 11 and Philadelphia, PA, on November 14. The tour will feature Tell All Your Friends in its entirety as well as other favorites from the band's extensive catalog. more on this story

Lynyrd Skynyrd Release New Three-Disc CD/DVD Set

Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are advised to head to Walmart today as the band are releasing a brand new three-disc CD/DVD set, Southern Surroundings, exclusively at the retailer today, August 7, 2012. Their camp sent over these details:

The deluxe collection will include a CD featuring 14 of the band's greatest hits, featuring "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special," "That Smell" and a live "Free Bird"; a seven-track DVD-Video from a live performance on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test, and a 10-song DVD-Audio/Video boasting 10 classic songs newly mixed in 5.1 surround sound by Grammy-winning producer Elliott Scheiner.

The BBC DVD features live performances of "Double Trouble," "I Ain't The One," "Call Me The Breeze," "I Got The Same Old Blues," "Every Mother's Son," "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" from a performance originally broadcasted on November 11, 1975. more on this story

John Butler Giving Away His Ocean

John Butler today celebrates 12 years of touring and playing his noteworthy track "Ocean," by issuing an official video and giving away a re-recording of the track, tying into his latest live double-disc release, Tin Shed Tales.

This special re-recording was captured in 'The Compound', his studio in his hometown of Fremantle, Western Australia in February 2012. Having performed the track to a worldwide audience over the past 12 years, 'Ocean' is today available FREE as an MP3 or as a video stream. Get it here

John Butler had this to say: "OCEAN" is a very interesting aspect of my life. It is part of my DNA. It conveys all things I can't put into words. Life, loss, love, spirit. As I evolve so too does "Ocean".

The song was first recorded as part of my first album/cassette, "Searching For Heritage", which I sold when I busked, then for my first self-titled studio album 12 years ago.

The song has been watched online incredibly over 25 million times in various formats, nearly always live, be it from Music Max Sessions or from one of the many festivals I have had the pleasure to play.

I'd like to thank you for your continued support over all these years; it means so much to me. I would like to thank you by offering this first studio recording of "Ocean" in over a decade as a free download. I recorded it in my favourite studio, The Compound here in Fremantle, Western Australia, a studio you helped me build.

This marks just another fleeting moment in a career that is very much ongoing. I look forward to bringing you many new songs and albums into the future and continuing this amazing journey with you ALL.

Thank You,
JB

Gibson Settle With Feds

(Gibson) After many weeks of negotiation, Gibson has settled all issues with the US government and the Department of Justice. CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz commented, "We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve. This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars. An important part of the settlement is that we are getting back the materials seized in a second armed raid on our factories and we have formal acknowledgement that we can continue to source rosewood and ebony fingerboards from India, as we have done for many decades."

Despite the fact that, "...the government acknowledges that Gibson has cooperated with the Government and the investigation conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service", Gibson was subject to two hostile raids on its factories by agents carrying weapons and attired in SWAT gear where employees were forced out of the premises, the production was shut down, goods were seized as contraband, and threats were made that would have forced the business to close.

CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz commented, "We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact a caring human being representing the government. Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means with the full force of the US Government and several armed law enforcement agencies costing the tax payer millions of dollars and putting a job creating US manufacture at risk and at a competitive disadvantage. This shows the increasing trend on the part of government to criminalize rules and regulations and treat US businesses in the same way drug dealers are treated. This is wrong and it is unfair. I am committed to working hard to correct the inequity that the law allows and insure there is fairness, due process, and the law is used for its intended purpose of stopping bad guys and stopping the very real deforestation of our planet".

Gibson will publish the agreement and the attached Statement of Facts that both the Government and Gibson agreed to so anyone can independently draw their own conclusions here.

Five Finger Death Pitch For Singer Of New Offshoot Band

(Classic Rock) Former Five Finger Death Punch bassist Mark Snell has formed a new band called My Acumen.

The group features former bandmate Darrell Roberts, Zach Broderick of Nonpoint and Jeff Fabb of In This Moment.

Snell is currently recruiting a frontman for the outfit and hopes to discover "fresh new talent," saying: "We don't care if you're tall, short, fat, skinny, black or white. We want someone who wants to be in the project and will be very positive about it. But we're not looking for a screamer – can you sing like Chris Cornell?" Email skylynemedia@gmail.com for more information. More music news.

Aerosmith's Joe Perry Gets Military Air Briefing

(hennemusic) Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry visited the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs on August 1 before the band performed in Denver.

The U.S. Army reports Perry received an overview brief of the command's Friendly Force Tracking Mission Management Center (MMC) from Joe Piscitelli, an SMDC employee. "This is the real deal," Perry said during the briefing. "It's really amazing what you are doing here."

Piscitelli, who works MMC operations support training and security for SMDC, is credited with naming Perry's album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel," during a 2009 contest that included nearly 2,000 suggested titles. more on this story

Sebastian Bach In Contract Dispute With Guitarist

(hennemusic) Sebastian Bach guitarist Nick Sterling is sitting out the last couple of shows on the singer's current North American tour due to an apparent contract dispute.

"Unfortunately, I will not be performing tonight at Nokia Live," Sterling wrote on his Facebook page before Sebastian's Los Angeles concert on Friday. "There were some contractual issues that we just couldn't work out. No hard feelings."

Friday's concert was being broadcast live by AXS TV, formerly known as HDNet. more on this story

Lollapalooza Headed To Israel

Lollapalooza is expanding to Israel and will debut in the country at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, on August 20-22, 2013. Organizers sent over these details:

Israel will join Chile and Brazil as the third international location for the legendary festival, in addition to the US festival in Chicago.

Lollapalooza Israel will be the first-ever large-scale international music festival in the country and will provide the same world-class experience that fans across the globe have come to expect, beginning with the location. The festival will take place just a few minutes from vibrant downtown Tel Aviv, in The Yarkon Park, which stretches for hundreds of acres along the Yarkon River and is the largest and most popular park in Israel. Tel Aviv is widely recognized as an international culture capitol and is known across the world for its art, architecture, and bustling nightlife. more on this story

Skeletonwitch Abomination Fall Tour Expanded

Skeletonwitch have expanded their upcoming "U.S. Abomination" headlining tour.

The have also announced some venue changes and additional special guests added to select shows.

Skeletonwitch will be touring in support of their latest release, "Forever Abomination". Grab the new dates and support info here.

Former Demon Hunter Guitarist Shoots Down Satanic Accusations

Former Demon Hunter guitarist Ryan Helm has addressed speculation that his new group Damien Deadson is satanic.

Helm had this to say: "Normally I would not even address such petty ridiculous accusations, but this rumor has gotten so out of control that it is starting to affect me on a financial level.

For the record; I, Ryan Helm am not a Satanist, and neither is my band Damien Deadson. None of the lyrical content or meaning is Satanic, or even remotely evil or even promotes evil or harm spiritually or physically.

"Hopefully this can put to rest any doubts, fears, and rumors of me, my band, and band mates being Satanist. Now, can we all just get back to playing metal?"

Led Zeppelin 2 Fall Tour

Led Zeppelin 2, the tribute band fronted by Yakuza's Bruce Lamont, will be hitting the road this fall for a North American tour.

The tour is set to commence on September 5 in Toledo, Ohio and roll through nine cities, including two nights in Allston, Massachusetts, with additional dates to be added soon.

Comments Lamont: "We're super stoked to hit the East Coast this Fall. We have some songs we're gonna debut for the first time and other surprises. See you out there!" more on this story

Hank3 To Kick Off North American Tour Leg This Week

Hank3 will kick off the third leg of his 2012 North America tour on Friday, August 10th in Fort Worth, TX.

The tour begins at the Rail Club and will hit several western states up until September 4th when it comes to a stop in Boulder, CO at the Boulder Theater.

Late last year, Hank3 released four new records to fans simultaneously—an action unprecedented in his career. These titles include Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown, Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin. Hank3's U.S. tour is his chance to commemorate these new albums. more on this story

Jane's Addiction Expand North American Theatre of the Escapists Tour

Jane's Addiction have added a new Rocktober leg to their North American Theatre of the Escapists Tour.

The band has announced several new west coast dates to the trek, expanding it until October with a final hometown show in Los Angeles at a to-be-determined venue.

The tour will wrap with 6 shows in California, including stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara. more on this story

Tiger Army Expand Octoberflame

Tiger Army are taking things up a notch for the fifth installment of their Octoberflame, expanding the annual event this year to include six dates in five cities, including the Bay Area, Southern California and Arizona.

"I can't believe it's coming up on five years since the first Octoberflame," commented bandleader and founding member Nick 13. "I feel like there's a real legitimacy in hitting the five-year mark with any kind of a festival, as so many never make it past the first few."

Octoberflame V kicks off with a two-night stand in San Francisco, followed by shows Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Pomona and Tempe. This will be the first time Tiger Army has performed in the Bay Area in four years and their first show in LA since 2009's Octoberflame II. more on this story

B Sides

Singled Out: Wake Up Lucid

Today Ryan Bana from Wake Up Lucid tells us about the title track to their brand new album "Feel It" which hit stores today (8/7). Here is the story:

Feel It is a song that we had been trying to figure out for about a month. We had tried doing different arrangements and different beats to figure out what would really make it feel complete. We all liked the rhythm that it had but it still didn't feel like the energy that the song had was coming through.

I think it was the third track that we recorded the first day and we did 2 or 3 takes of it and it just felt like something was still missing. As an experiment we turned everything up to 10, every pedal I had was clicked on and at full volume and there was just this screeching feedback as we waited to start. We ran through it and the whole vibe in the studio changed, you could feel the electricity throughout the room. The guitar pickups were so hot they picked up the vocal and you could hear the line "Hello can you hear me, can you feel it now" come through the guitar amps. This is the take that is on the record.

This changed the whole session and that was the energy we wanted the entire record to have, that one experiment just shaped the whole sound we were going for. We re-recorded the first two songs from that day and decided right there this record had to be called Feel It.

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

Steel Panther Preview New DVD

(hennemusic) Steel Panther are offering fans a preview of their forthcoming DVD, "The British Invasion."

The mostly Spinal Tap-like footage features on and off stage action, including a behind the scenes look at the band.

Panther will announce a release date and more details – including track listing – soon. Check out the preview here.

Watch KISS Shout It Out Loud

(hennemusic) KISS continue their summer tour of North America with Motley Crue. On Wednesday, the pair of classic rockers pulled into Louisville, Kentucky for a show at the KFC Yum! Arena.

KISS have issued video of their Louisville performance of "Shout It Out Loud," their classic from the 1976 album, "Destroyer."

KISS are releasing an updated version of the album – "Destroyer: Resurrected" – on August 21. Watch the video here.

Video From The Black Keys' Lollapalooza Performance Goes Online

(hennemusic) The Black Keys rocked Lollapalooza 2012 on Friday night in Chicago and video from the set has been posted online.

The Keys delivered an energetic 90-minute performance at Grant Park, a stop on their "El Camino" tour.

The Keys head to Europe for a series of dates starting August 9 at the Way Out West festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. Watch video here.