Black Sabbath Reunion in Jeopardy

Now the reunion is facing another problem with drummer Bill Ward threatening to pull out unless he is given a "signable" contract.
Ward took to his official website to issue a statement about where things are at for him. He wrote: Dear Sabbath Fans, Fellow Musicians and Interested Parties, At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the Black Sabbath album and tour. However, I am unable to continue unless a "signable" contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band. more on this story

Unreleased Pantera Song Coming

(Banana 101.5) According to drummer Vinnie Paul the final unheard piece of music recorded by Pantera will be released on their upcoming reissue of 'Vulgar Display of Power.'

In a recent interview with Loudwire , Pantera/Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul revealed that there is still one unheard Pantera song that will appear on the upcoming 'Vulgar Display of Power' reissue:

"The reissue has a song called 'Piss,' which I had forgotten about it. Some parts of it were taken for other songs, and at the time, it was the only song that did not make the record. In Pantera, we never had songs that didn't make the record. If we were going to write 11 songs, then we'd write 11 quality songs." more on this story

It's Motley Crue Day in Las Vegas

To mark today's launch of Las Vegas' first hard rock residency, "Motley Crue In Sin City," Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has proclaimed today Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 as "Motley Crue" Day.

The Motley Crue In Sin City residency will run from February 3 through 19--at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The band will perform four shows a week. Super Bowl, Valentine's Day and President's Day fall within these dates. more on this story

Paul McCartney To Get Walk of Fame Star

(Gibson) Paul McCartney will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week.

The ceremony will take place Thursday, February 9 at 2 p.m. in front of the Capitol Records Tower at 1750 N. Vine Street in Hollywood. McCartney's star will be located next to those of a few old pals, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, according to Music-News.com.

McCartney will also be named the MusiCares Person of the Year the following day at a gala dinner and concert featuring Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, Duane Eddy, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Sergio Mendes, and Katy Perry. McCartney will close the event with a performance. more on this story

Bruce Springsteen Performing At The Grammy Awards

(Gibson) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been added to the list of performers appearing on the 2012 Grammy telecast, according to Spin.

Springsteen will join other scheduled performers at the Staples Center (airing February 12 on CBS), including Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Adele, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry.

The show also will feature special collaborations between Coldplay and Rihanna, Glen Campbell, Blake Shelton and the Band Perry, and Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean. more on this story

Dave Grohl Sitcom Coming

(Gibson) Nirvana drummer/Foo Fighters frontman/funny video star/Muppets cameo actor Dave Grohl is about to add sitcom co-creator to his resume. The rocker will executive produce a new series for the FX cable network, according to Deadline.

Comedian Dana Gould (a former writer on The Simpsons) is working with Grohl on the comedy show, which will focus on a superstar band that, as a final attempt to stay together, go into therapy together. Gould will write and star in the series.

Gould is a fan of Grohl's music and approached him about collaborating on the project. Of course, Grohl has made his views on band therapy well-known: "I believe one of the reasons we've managed to stay together [is] because we just don't tell each other everything," he once told the NME. more on this story

Bootsy Collins Joins Experience Hendrix Tour

Bootsy Collins has been added to the 2012 edition of the Experience Hendrix concert tour which kicks off next month.

Collins will join the tour on March 13 in Orlando, continuing through the March 23 performance date in Thackerville, OK. Bootsy is a true Hendrix fan and was, in fact, the voice over actor who covered Jimi's lines in the recent Voodoo Child documentary.

The musical lineup for the tour has now expanded to include blues great Taj Mahal, legendary Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and left handed guitarist extraordinaire Eric Gales will be joining the Experience Hendrix tour for the final six dates while the participation of such phenomenal artists as Buddy Guy, Dweezil Zappa, Billy Cox, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, David Hidalgo & Cesar Rosas [Los Lobos], Keb' Mo, Eric Johnson, Brad Whitford [Aerosmith], Chris Layton [Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble] and The Slide Brothers having been announced earlier. more on this story

Slash Almost Done With New Album

(hennemusic) Slash tells fans that he will complete the recording of his second solo album next week.

Slash and his touring band - Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (Sin City Sinners, formerly of Age Of Electric), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of Theory Of A Deadman) – have been holed up at Barefoot Studios in LA with producer Eric Valentine getting the project together.

There's now light at the end of the tunnel, according to Slash. "[It] looks like we'll be finished recording next week. Then mixing begins. It's all going on," he posted.

Naturally, there will be a tour, with Slash confirming that he'll be one of the headliners at the Download Festival in June. more on this story

Another Member Leaves Anthrax Tour

(Rock News Desk) Anthrax bassist Frank Bello has become the third member of the thrash giants to leave their current tour.

He's joined drummer Charlie Benante, his uncle, at the bedside of Benante's terminally-ill mother.

The rhythm section's departure follows guitarist Scott Ian's absence due to a viral infection for a number of shows last week. Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson from tour mates Testament stood in until Ian returned to the road. Their drummer Gene Hoglan is covering for Benante while Armored Saint's Joey Vera will appear in Bello's place. more on this story

Supertramp's Roger Hodgson Launching Solo Tour

Supertramp's Roger Hodgson is hitting the road later this month for his Breakfast in America Tour.

The tour will be kicking off with two sold out shows at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, CA on February 24 and 25.

Hodgson and his band will perform Supertramp classics on the tour like "Breakfast in America," "The Logical Song," "Dreamer," "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home," and "School." more on this story

Paradise Lost Album and Tour Coming

Paradise Lost will release their new studio album, Tragic Idol, on April 23rd in Europe and April 24th in North America via Century Media Records.

Tragic Idol features artwork designed by Parisian artist Valnoir, who has not only worked on this band's release, but also with artists such as Morbid Angel, Laibach, Ulver, Watain, and more than 150 others.

The band will be touring the UK this April, performing tracks from their forthcoming album Tragic Idol. To celebrate the event, Paradise Lost will have a very limited number of VIP tickets available (10 per show), which you can purchase online from the band's official website. In regards to this tour, vocalist Nick Holmes comments: "This is a pretty extensive UK tour for us, I'm speechless and excited. It's nice to know there's a WH Smith in every town we play." more on this story

Vera Farmiga To Play Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie In New Film

(Gibson) Oscar-nominated actress Vera Farmiga has signed on to play Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie in Randall Miller, Rad Rosenberger and Jody Savin's upcoming feature film, The Drummer.

The film follows the last six years of late Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson's (played by Aaron Eckhart) life, including Wilson and McVie's "passionate and tumultuous" six-year relationship before Wilson's passing in 1983.

Miller and Savin are stoked to have both Farmiga and Eckhart onboard the musical project. "Jody and I are thrilled to work with Vera," Miller told Hollywood Today, "Her commitment to every nuance will illuminate the character and having Aaron and Vera on-screen singing together will be pure magic." Rosenberger added that the filmmakers are "thrilled that Vera brings her special musical talents to our film. She is a superb actor and we can't wait to see and hear her as Christine McVie." more on this story

Classic Cult Song in Super Bowl Ad

(hennemusic) A classic from The Cult will be featured in a Super Bowl commercial this weekend.

A new ad for Budweiser features a mashup of The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary" with rapper Flo Rida's Top 10 hit "Good Feelin'".

The one-minute ad is a celebratory romp through several decades of great times in America that begins with the end of Prohibition in 1933. more on this story

Duff McKagan and Alice in Chains Call On Fans For New Radio Show

(Banana 101.5) Former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney are joining forces to host a new radio program and are asking their fans to get involved.

The two hard rockers/Seattle residents announced their new joint venture on the Alice in Chains Facebook page and while details are scarce at this point — they did reach out to their would-be audience for participation:

"The guys will be doing a segment where they'll answer questions submitted by fans. What we need is for you to email us a brief question about anything: music, movies, food, travel, advice, or even their mutual disdain for milk. We're looking for anything that will get a little conversation going, and also answer the burning questions you've been dying to ask. So keep it short and to the point, include your name, and email us today at askseanandduff@gmail.com"

more on this story

Hoppus Talks Up Blink-182's New Album

(Gibson) Blink-182 have never been a meek bunch, so it should come as no shock that Blink bass player/vocalist Mark Hoppus says the group's most recent release, "Neighborhoods," has some of the best Blink songs to date.

In a chat with NME, Hoppus asserted that the album – which was the pop-punk band's first in eight years – was the product of a ton of hard work, chiefly because the guys felt pressure to cook up something extra special after reuniting. "We'd been gone for five years, and by the time we put out Neighborhoods it had been eight years since our last record, so we didn't know if people would care or not," he said. "But the response has been great, and people love the record, so I couldn't be happier about it."

Hoppus also elaborated on the feverish buzz that the trio are already working on a follow-up to Neighborhoods. "I've started writing. We haven't, as a band, started getting together and working on new material yet, but we're always writing. I have no idea [of the sound], it's still so new. When Tom and Travis get their hands on it, it changes completely." more on this story

Ringo 2012 Arrives Next Week

(Gibson) Ringo Starr's new solo album, Ringo 2012, comes out on Tuesday (February 7) and he aims to send a positive message with it: "If there's a choice, I choose the positive," he said. "Me being negative is not going to make the world better."

Starr recorded the album in the guesthouse of his Los Angeles home, and the set packs five original tracks, remakes of his own "Wings" and "Step Lightly" and a cover of Lead Belly's "Rock Island Line."

He says the collection came together effortlessly. Writing songs, he says, "is not a struggle. I don't think any song took more than two hours. On [his 2010 release] Y Not and this, it started with me holding down a key on the synthesizer, a note and some sort of rhythm pattern. Then I play drums to that and maracas or piano and a bit of guitar. There's no song yet. It's like working in reverse, writing the song after the arrangement." more on this story

The Cult Frontman Defends Metallica and Lou Reed Collaboration

(Rock News Desk) The Cult singer Ian Astbury has defended Lulu, the collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica that was universally panned by fans and critics.

He explains: "Lou Reed is a 67-year-old man. He is one of our greatest laureates and he's not well right now. He's getting frail and fragile.

"He's chosen Metallica to be his muscle so he can come out one more time and make a statement of what's happening in his internal life. There are some phenomenal moments on the album, by anybody's standards." (Rolling Stone) More rock news

AC/DC's Brian Johnson Rides Highway To Help

(Rock News Desk) AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson raised money for the Highway To Help foundation, which helps families affected by pediatric cancer, by taking part in a car rally at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

The car driven by Johnson and his team finished 32nd after 672 laps. Johnson likened race car driving to playing in a band, saying:

"It's pretty much the same – you've got the crew behind you telling you to go out there and keep it smooth. It's a big high, it's a wonderful feeling." More rock news

Bleeding Through Frontman Says Metal Has Short Shelf-Life

(Rock News Desk) Bleeding Through frontman Brandan Schieppati can't see another metal band ever making it big, and warns that playing such music "not a career move".

He says: "I think people are too busy celebrating the short term, rather than the long term, and that's disconcerting. I hear about bands dropping out of high school because someone told them they had to tour full time to become rich.

"Metal and punk has a short shelf-life – no one is buying records anymore. So you're going to throw away your education away so someone else can make money off of you? It's just wrong." (Noiscreep) More rock news