Expect A New U2 Record Says Manager

In other U2 news, for the fourth consecutive year, U2 frontman Bono and some of his famous friends walked the streets of Dublin, Ireland, on Christmas Eve, singing festive songs while collecting donations for charity. more on this story

Geoff Tate's Band Member Suffers Heart Attack

Randy Gane, the keyboard player in Geoff Tate's version of Queensryche suffered a heart attack last Wednesday (Dec. 26).

Tate informed fans with the following Facebook posting, "Please send your prayers and positive thoughts to my good friend and keyboard player; Randy Gane who is currently recovering from suffering a heart attack last night – GT."

Tate's version of Queensryche also features Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), Bobby Blotzer (Ratt), former Queensryche guitarist Kelly Gray along with Gane (Candlebox).

You can read Gane's bio on the Queensryche site here.

Rolling Stones and Beatles Considered For British Currency

(Gibson) The Bank of England have revealed that the Rolling Stones are among a handful of notable Brits that are being considered for a new £10 bill.

The Beatles are also up for consideration, along with David Beckham, and Winston Churchill. The new bill is meant to replace the current one featuring Charles Darwin.

The Stones were criticized for charging outrageous ticket prices during their recent 50th anniversary tour, with some seats going for as much as $800. If Jagger and Co. get picked for the new bill, the next time the Stones tour you might literally be paying for the tickets with the band's own money. There seems to be a possibility of more Stones dates in the future judging by comments made by former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, who was one of the guests on the anniversary tour. Guitarist Ronnie Wood, who got married this past weekend told the Telegraph that the band will never retire: "I think of Howlin' Wolf plugging in to his kidney machine, however old he was, 80 or something, and still playing. You just rock till you drop." more on this story

Daughtry Donating Song Proceeds To Sandy Hook Shootings Families

(Gibson) Rocker Chris Daughtry is donating the proceeds of the sales from one of his band's latest songs to the families of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting victims.

The emotional track, called "Gone Too Soon," arrived on Daughtry's latest album, Break the Spell. As Daughtry explains in a video clip, the track was "originally was written about someone losing a child before he or she is born, and we've gotten so many amazing comments from people from everywhere about how it's helped them through similar situations. And I just felt very strongly that this song could be used to help benefit the families."

Fans may purchase the songs via Monkeybars.net/Daughtry. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of the songs will go towards the Connecticut School Shooting Victims Fund, which was established by fellow pop-rockers OneRepublic. Fans may also make additional donations via the site. So far, the fund has raised $100,000.

"I feel so blessed that I can be a part of bringing some sort of relief to the families right now, and I hope that you'll join me," Daughtry added. more on this story

Corner Confirms Mike Scaccia Cause of Death

(Gibson) A medical examiner has determined that guitarist Mike Scaccia died of a sudden heart attack. As reported previously, the beloved guitarist, who played with the bands Ministry and Rigor Mortis, died after collapsing onstage during a performance celebrating Rigor Mortis frontman Bruce Corbitt's 50th birthday.

This past Thursday, on his Facebook page, Corbitt posted a touching remembrance of his time with Scaccia. "You know I keep thinking about all of this," Corbitt wrote. "Why this happened the way it did. Why it happened at all. What if I wouldn't have asked them to play for my birthday show? But mainly, I keep thinking of the conversations I had with Mike in recent years. Each close friendship is different... you cherish them all. I talked about things with Mike that I couldn't with some other close friends.

"So what I do know is how happy Mike was at this point in his life," Corbitt added. "He loved his wife and kids so much. He talked about them all the time. He loved his bandmates from his different bands. He loved his friends... past and present. He loved his job working for Gibson Guitars. So that gives me some kind of comfort just knowing he was enjoying his time on earth until the very end." more on this story

Nightvision's Dean Hocking Killed In Car Accident

Nightvision bassist Dean Hocking was killed in a car accident last Thursday morning (December 27th) in England.

The band issued the following via Facebook: "There is nothing we can say that hasn't been said already other than to confirm the devastating and crushing loss of our incredible bass player, Dean Hocking, tragically taken from us as a passenger in a road accident during the early hours. Needless to say he was an incredible bass player — one of the best — and an incredible bloke.

"We obviously need the time to get this round our heads but in the meantime … wherever you are … get a drink and raise it high as a toast to a fine, young, talented guy gone too soon. Turn it up to 11 and rumble the heavens our brother. We love you dude and we are gonna miss you like you'll never know. — Daryl, Dave and Bolda. X." more on this story

Pink Floyd Star Helps Save Music Shop

(Gibson) Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has stepped in to help save Foote's music store in London. Mason bought his first drum kit from the store. The drum shop was going to be forced to close when they were denied a business loan.

Says Mason to mi-pro.co.uk: "After 40 something years of playing, I still have great affection for a real drum shop. And Foote's has a special significance for me. In 1958, I headed down to the West End of London to a basement in Denman Street where a kindly man called Sid, in a white coat (maybe that's significant as well) sold me my original kit for £7.50."

Nick is buying the shop along with Rob Wilson, who has been the sales-director for Foote's for a long time. Wilson also commented on Mason's help: "At the eleventh hour, our business loan was turned down by our bank... It was a major blow to our plans, but Nick came to our rescue. Without him, and our collective of generous investors, Foote's would be no more." more on this story

Why Def Leppard Are Going Vegas

(hennemusic) Def Leppard will host their first-ever Las Vegas residency in the spring of 2013. The band will be taking over the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for an exclusive nine-show run entitled "VIVA Hysteria!", and will perform their iconic album, "Hysteria," in full, in addition to a greatest hits segment.

The shows will run from March 22 through April 10, 2013 at the Hard Rock Casino's venue The Joint.

In a new interview with Vegas.com, Leppard guitarist Phil Collen was asked what prompted the group to do the Vegas residency.

"A lot of other bands do this stuff, but I think it's a little bit more special because 'Hysteria' was one of the diamond albums, especially in this day and age there are not that many albums that achieve that kind of status," said Collen. "That's why it's so important to us, it's such a big selling album. It's a challenge as well. We've never actually done that before. We've always said, yeah, we could do 'High 'n' Dry.' 'Hysteria,' that's a lot more challenging. A lot of the songs on there are hard to sing and play at the same time." more on this story

Preview of Sammy Hagar United States Of Cabo Documentary Released

(hennemusic) A new preview has been posted online for "United States Of Cabo," an independent documentary about Sammy Hagar fans (aka Redheads) which will be released in early 2014.

The film captures intimate fan stories and experiences in an attempt to showcase the essence of what it means to be a Redhead.

The idea was born in Vancouver during the Chickenfoot Road Test Tour of 2009, with the journey beginning shortly after in Lake Tahoe, quickly spreading to St. Louis, Atlantic City, Portland and of course, Cabo San Lucas – home to Sammy's Cabo Wabo Cantina.

Featuring live performance footage by Sammy, the Wabos and Chickenfoot, the documentary is directed by Murray Wasylnuk via Vancouver's Murmer Films. Watch the preview here.

Former Ozzy Guitarist Joe Holmes Returns With New Band

(Gibson) Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Joe Holmes has released the first music by his new band, Farmikos.

Holmes was Ozzy's guitarist during for a five-year period, beginning when Zakk Wylde departed the band in the mid '90s and ending when Zakk returned. At the beginning of Holmes's time in Ozzy's band, Zakk was on the verge of becoming Slash's co-guitarist in Guns N' Roses. You can read Zakk's side of that story here.

As for Holmes, he's had quite the interesting career. Aside from several Ozzfest tours with Ozzy - and participation in the writing sessions for the Ozzman's Down To Earth album - he played with Lizzy Borden and also replaced Jason Becker in David Lee Roth's band for the A Little Ain't Enough tour, when Becker had to bow out due to his diagnosis with ALS.

Holmes's Ozzy link stretches back to his guitar teacher: one Mr. Randy Rhoads. "Not only was Randy my favorite guitar player, but he was also a really cool person," Holmes told Guitar School magazine's Jeff Kitts in 1995. "I'm not into idolizing people, but Randy was the perfect guy to look up to and want to take after." So what was it like to learn from one of metal's guiding lights? "Learning from Randy was an incredible experience," Holmes said. "At one time I stopped going to school so I could stay home all day and practice what he taught me." more on this story

Geoff Downes and Chris Braide Team Up For New Album

(Glass Onyon) Geoff Downes and Chris Braide have just released their debut collaborative album and digital single, 'Pictures of You', under the name of the Downes Braide Association (DBA).

'Pictures of You' was recorded alongside their respective commitments in 2011-12, and the song writing chemistry between Downes and Braide became immediately apparent and ultimately led to the development of 9 titles, one of which is an elaborate four-piece epic musical suite. Braide comments: "I'd wanted to work with Geoff since hearing The Age Of Plastic as a kid. The album was just great fun to make," whilst Downes added working together with Chris was " a major inspiration of monumental proportions." The album's leadoff track, 'Pictures of You', is also available as a digital only single and is accompanied by a non-album remix of the title 'Songs That Can Heal' as an exclusive bonus track.

For the uninitiated, Downes and Braide's respective song writing careers have generated multi-millions of album sales and numerous hit singles worldwide over the last 30 years for a variety of artists. more on this story

Jungle Rot Releasing Remastered Skin The Living

Jungle Rot have two releases coming out early next year. First the band will be reissuing their newly remastered 1996 classic album, Skin The Living, coming February 19th, 2013.

Front man Dave Matrise comments "We've wanted to re-issue Skin The Living for some time now and are happy that we have that opportunity. I still feel this album stands up to the test of times. Night after night on the road we hear fans screaming out the songs from the release, asking us to play and constantly asking us where they can pick up Skin The Living. This will give everyone a chance to see where it all started for J-Rot and they will have a chance to own a rare piece."

Jungle Rot will follow the reissue with the release of their eighth full length studio album on March 5th.

David Coverdale Tributes Deep Purple Bandmate Jon Lord

(hennemusic) Whitesnake leader and former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale has released a new video eulogy tribute to keyboardist Jon Lord.

The pair were Purple bandmates from 1973-76 in versions known as "Mark III" and "Mark IV" of the group's lineup.

Lord passed away July 16 at the age of 71 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Coverdale speaks fondly of his friend and remembers his first meetings with Jon - supporting Purple, joining Purple and rehearsing for the "Burn" album.

The legendary keyboard player co-wrote many of the band's legendary songs, including "Smoke On The Water," and played with many bands and musicians throughout his career. Watch the tribute here.

Heart's Ann Wilson Reacts To Led Zeppelin Tribute Reaction

(hennemusic) Heart vocalist Ann Wilson is sharing her thoughts about performing for Led Zeppelin at the band's recent Kennedy Center Honors tribute.

"I am so happy you all liked our performance of 'Stairway to Heaven' at The Kennedy Center Honors event," posted Ann. "It was our honor to be asked to do it before an audience like that. My main goal though was to please Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones...especially Plant, since all these many years he has taught me so much about singing from the soul and has given me such pleasure in his lyrics. What a high that night was. Never to be forgotten!"

Heart were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of late Zeppelin drummer John; Jason played with the group at their 2007 reunion show in London, released recently as "Celebration Day." Watch video of the performance here.

Top 12 of 2012: June

Music news is slow during the holidays, so for the rest of the year in addition to the latest news, we will be looking back at the top 12 stories for each month of 2012. Today we look back at the top stories from June.

Lamb of God Frontman Arrested For Manslaughter (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Banana 101.5) Lamb of God Frontman Arrested For Manslaughter was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe was reportedly arrested in Prague yesterday (June 28) on charges of manslaughter stemming from an incident that took place during a performance in 2010.

Metal Sucks says that there are Czechoslovakian reports claiming that the Lamb of God vocalist was picked up by authorities in Prague, prior to his band's headlining set with Skeletonwitch and All Shall Perish.

The arrest was made over a 2010 incident where a fan allegedly jumped on stage and got into a physical altercation with Blythe. The fan later died and Blythe is now reportedly facing manslaughter charges. more on this story

Metallica Frontman Helping FBI Hunt For Killer (Top 12 of June 2012)

(hennemusic) Metallica Frontman Helping FBI Hunt For Killer was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Metallica continue their efforts to help authorities solve the 2009 murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, who disappeared while attending the band's concert in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Harrington was at Metallica's October 17, 2009 show at the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia (UVA) campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. At approximately 8:30 PM, she left the arena and was unable to re-enter the facility. Morgan was last seen hitchhiking for a ride from passing traffic.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has recorded a public service announcement to encourage the public to come forward with tips. "Remember, any information - no matter how small you might think it is - could be that crucial piece investigators need to help solve the case," explains Hetfield in the new video, part of a multimedia campaign launched by The FBI and Virginia State Police on Wednesday. Read more and watch the video

Ex-Coheed Star Guilty For Bomb-Scare Drug Robbery (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Classic Rock) Ex-Coheed Star Guilty For Bomb-Scare Drug Robbery was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Former Coheed And Cambria bassist Michael Todd has been sentenced to a year's home confinement plus three years' probation after pleaded guilty to charges stemming from staging a bomb-scare drugs heist while on tour with the band.

Last August he was dismissed by the prog metal band following an incident in Massachusetts the previous month. He'd gone into a drugstore and shown staff a message on his phone which said he had a bomb. He threatened to detonate it if they didn't do as they were told, and soon left the premises with six bottles of prescription drugs.

Police followed his taxi to the Comcast Center in Mansfield, where Coheed And Cambria were about to play in support of Soundgarden. He was arrested moments before the band were to hit the stage. They played without him and later announced they'd sacked him.

Todd, 31, will serve twelve months of home confinement with GPS monitoring. Judge Renee Dupuis added three years of probation to the sentence and ordered him to stay away from the drugstore he'd robbed. Todd is also now reportedly facing cancer.

Former Fleetwood Mac Frontman Dead From Apparent Suicide (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Classic Rock) Former Fleetwood Mac Frontman Dead From Apparent Suicide was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist Bob Welch has been found dead after shooting himself at his Nashville home. He was 66.

Welch, who was with the band from 1971 until 1974, was discovered by his wife with a suicide note left nearby. He'd pulled the trigger around 12.15pm.

Law enforcement officials say the musician had been experience health issues in recent months. Don Aaron of Metropolitan Nashville Police Department reported last night: "Officers discovered Mr Welch with a single gunshot wound to the chest. There was a suicide note found at the residence. There was no evidence of foul play." more on this story

Black Sabbath Reunion Helping Iommi's Cancer Fight (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Gibson) Black Sabbath Reunion Helping Iommi's Cancer Fight was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Tony Iommi, who has recently been undergoing chemotherapy, has said that playing with the reunited Black Sabbath helped him with his illness.

According to orange.co.uk, working helped him get through the ordeal. He told Kerrang! Magazine: "It was good for me to do that. I did feel tired and sick - and it does make you sick, you start throwing up. But on the days when I felt I could do it, we were all there working."

Black Sabbath were just honored at this year's Kerrang! Awards with the Inspiration Award. more on this story

Skid Row Refused Rock of Ages Use Of Hit Song (Top 12 of June 2012)

(hennemusic) Skid Row Refused Rock of Ages Use Of Hit Song was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: The Broadway play-turned-movie Rock Of Ages opened this past weekend with disappointing results.

The Tom Cruise flick landed in 3rd place at the box office with ticket sales of just $15.1 million, placing it behind "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" ($35.5 million) and "Prometheus" ($20.2 million).

One of the songs music fans won't hear in the movie is Skid Row's hit, "I Remember You." Former frontman Sebastian Bach tells Sonic Shocks, "The fact is Snake [Dave Sabo, Skid Row guitarist] and Rachel [Bolan, Skid Row bassist], who have co-writing credits for 'I Remember You', refused to allow it to be in the movie," explains Bach. "[The producers of 'Rock Of Ages'] wanted 'I Remember You' [to be] in the play and the movie, but Snake and Rachel don't like money. [Laughs] They have an aversion to cash. They'd rather not have cash. I don't know why — you can interview them about that — but that is the truth of the matter. The play wanted the [song] and they [Skid Row members] didn't want it in the movie — because money is bad." more on this story

Hawkwind's John Harrison Dies (Top 12 of June 2012)

Hawkwind's John Harrison Dies was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: Former Hawkwind guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton issued a statement about the death of John Harrison, a founding member of the group who died in his sleep on May 26, 2012 after a long battle with Huntington disease. He would have been 70 on May 28th.

Huw issued this statement: "John was an integral part of Hawkwind's formation and eventual success. His honest, solid character and playing held the whole thing together in that first year of the group's existence (in more ways than one)! All who worked with him and have followed in his footsteps, i.e. Lemmy :) and all Hawkfans, old & young. Wherever you are owe him big time! May he Rock In Peace wherever he is now!"

Cleopatra Records says John's throbbing and inventive bass parts on the band's self-titled 1970 release laid the foundation for Hawkwind's influential sound, both then and now. After his departure from the band, John also worked successfully as a producer and staff engineer at Village Recorders in Los Angeles.

Pearl Jam Allegedly Robbed By Former Management Exec (Top 12 of June 2012)

Pearl Jam Allegedly Robbed By Former Management Exec was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: The former CFO at Pearl Jam's management company, Curtis Management, has been charged with 25 counts of first-degree theft and 8 counts of second-degree theft.

King County prosecutors filed felony charges against Rickey Charles Goodrich, who stands accused of stealing steal $380,000 from the management firm before he was terminated in September of 2010.

Seattle PI reports that "Prosecutors allege Goodrich transferred money from company accounts to pay debts held by himself and his wife. He is also alleged to have used band credit cards to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations and wine." You can read their full report for more details here.

Radiohead Postpone Tour Following Fatal Stage Collapse (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Gibson) Radiohead Postpone Tour Following Fatal Stage Collapse was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: In the wake of the stage collapse that caused the death of Radiohead drum tech Scott Johnson and injured three other crew members, Radiohead have postponed several upcoming European tour dates.

In a prepared statement, the band said new dates for the postponed shows would be announced on June 27. The collapse also destroyed the band's light show and other stage components, which the group indicated would be difficult to replace.

The statement goes on to say: "Whilst we all are dealing with the grief and shock ensuing from this terrible accident there are also many practical considerations to deal with & consequently we have to try and reschedule [shows through July 9th].

"We aim to announce the new dates for these shows on Wednesday 27th of June and will also supply information on how to obtain refunds on tickets if you cannot come to the show on the new date. We will start playing live again at Les Arenes Nimes, Bilbao BBK festival and Lisbon Optimus Alive festival. We will make every effort to offer the fans the very best show possible under the circumstances – thanks for your understanding and support." more on this story

Family Killed Going To Van Halen Concert (Top 12 of June 2012)

(hennemusic) Family Killed Going To Van Halen Concert was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: A family was killed in car crash on their way to a Van Halen concert in Dallas last week.

The Victoria Advocate reports Tuesday afternoon's three-vehicle crash claimed the lives of Felipe Garcia, 39, and his two children - Brandon, 9, and Anthony, 10, as well as Garcia's girlfriend, Christine Salazar, 42.

Garcia lost control of his 2003 Ford Explorer on the wet roadway and crossed into the southbound lane; the vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by Thomas Jimenez, of Yoakum, according to the Texas Department Of Safety report more on this story

Geoff Tate Vs Queensryche (Top 12 of June 2012)

Geoff Tate Vs Queensryche was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: It appears that Geoff Tate isn't taking his ousting from Queensryche without a fight as he says he has started legal action against the members of his former group.

Rolling Stone conducted an extensive interview with Tate where he gives his side of the story. Tate tells them, " Well, we're in a lawsuit right now and it's probably gonna get ugly. I filed a claim a couple of days ago. So it's all going to the legal system now to sort out who is what, and who owns what, and that stuff."

He goes into great details about the differences between him and the other members of the group, debunks the internet "knife" rumor and explains when he thinks the rift began. He tells RS, " I think it really began around February of this year. It mainly started with a disagreement about economics, about moving our merchandising to a third party. We had control over our own merchandising company for years and years and we ran it ourselves. It's a very successful entity, and the other three guys wanted to take it out of our hands and hand it over to somebody else and pay them more money to operate it, which just seemed liked a ridiculous business idea to me. That's really where the disagreement started."

The story doesn't stop there. Read the full interview here.

Model Arrested For Major Axl Rose Theft (Top 12 of June 2012)

(Classic Rock) Model Arrested For Major Axl Rose Theft was a top 12 rock story of June 2012: An unidentified model has been arrested in France following the theft of three necklaces worth $200,000 from Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose.

The event unfolded during a private party after GnR played in Paris on Tuesday night. Rose and some of his bandmates were performing for 130 invited guests when the woman took the jewellery. He was not wearing the items at the time.

She voluntarily reported to police yesterday morning, admitting she'd had too much to drink but saying she wasn't sure how the necklaces wound up in her possession. more on this story