Guns N' Roses Main Priority Is Making New Album

He went on to reveal that GN'R frontman Axl Rose already has loads of tracks recorded for the new LP. "I mean, Axl has tons and tons of stuff recorded as it is. I mean, he sits there in his hotel room and he'll play me hours of stuff. And I've written over 10 songs – I think 12 songs now – for him that he really likes," he said. "And I think now that we're off tour, we're gonna kind of start talking about, 'Hey, let's start piecing together what we feel would be the next best Guns N' Roses record.' It's absolutely everybody's goal to get out an album within a reasonable amount of time. That is everybody's focus." more on this story

Duff McKagan Clarifies Reunion Tweet

(Rock News Desk) Duff McKagan wishes he'd thought twice before sending a tweet which landed him in hot water with both Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver fans.

The bassist was so delighted when he heard Swedish hardcore punks Refused were reforming for this year's Coachella festival he sent a microblog update – and it was misinterpreted by his followers. When he sent the line "Refused reunion? Now we are talking!" people assumed he was either discussing GnR's potential regathering for their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or last night's three-track charity show with sacked VR singer Scott Weiland.

"I found out one of my favorite all-time bands were getting back together this year. Refused, after 14 years apart, are seemingly playing a handful of American and European festivals this spring," McKagan says in his Seattle Weekly column. "In my enthusiasm regarding this news I tweeted 'Refused reunion? Now we are talking!' Think before you tweet." more on this story

Quiet Riot Singer Fired While Awaiting Brain Surgery

(Rock News Desk) Sacked Quiet Riot singer Mark Huff has lashed out at his former bandmates from his hospital bed, saying the first he knew of his dismissal was when he read a public announcement.

The frontman says he's disgusted at the band's actions in replacing him with former Montrose singer Keith St John. But drummer Frankie Banali says it wouldn't be in Huff's interests to publicise the reason for his sacking.

Soon after Quiet Riot announced their move Huff took to his Facebook page and said: "As I sit in hospital and wait for my brain surgery, I have been let go. And nobody's had balls to tell it to my face. I have to read the news in a post that's not even directed to me. WTF?" More from Huff and a response from a QR member here.

Black Sabbath's Iommi Overwhelmed By Fan Support in Cancer Fight

(Rock News Desk) Tony Iommi says he can't wait to start his fightback against cancer. And even though lymphoma is the worst Christmas present he's ever had, he's glad to keep working on the Black Sabbath reunion album.

The band confirmed on Monday the guitarist was suffering from the disease which affects the immune system. It's thought he was diagnosed early and although he'll have to endure extreme treatment, his chances of recovery are good.

"I just wanted to say how overwhelmed I am with all your messages of support. Thank you so much," Iommi says. "It's not what I wanted for Christmas – that's for sure – but now I can't wait for the test results to come in and get going with the treatment." more on this story

Former Danzig Star Restrains Woman Who Restrained Him

(TMZ) Ex-Danzig bassist Jerry Montano is getting one massive security upgrade on his Facebook account ... thanks to an L.A. judge -- who just blocked an ex-hookup from contacting him on the social networking site for the next 3 years.

TMZ broke the story ... Montano obtained a temporary restraining order against Priscilla Caputo last month, claiming he met the girl on Facebook ... but she flew off the handle when he tried to stop seeing her ... and trashed his apartment.

The restraining order -- extended on Wednesday -- also requires Caputo to stay 100 yards away from Montano at all times.

Here's the twist -- Caputo also filed her own request for a restraining order against Montano, claiming he assaulted her ... and a judge granted that one too.

Nothing says love like reciprocal restraining orders. more on this story

Foo Fighters To Rock The Grammy Awards

(hennemusic) The Foo Fighters are among the first list of performers announced for the 54th Grammy Awards in February.

The Foos are nominated for six (6) Grammys, including Album Of The Year and Best Rock Album for "Wasting Light"; Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Walk"; Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for "White Limo"; and Best Long Form Music Video for "Foo Fighters: Back And Forth."

Joining the rockers in the first batch of performer confirmations are Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift. more on this story

Clutch Working On New Album

(Banana 101.5) Clutch frontman Neil Fallon recently revealed that the band is at work on the follow-up to 2009′s 'Strange Cousins from the West,' but also said they're not in a hurry to finish it.

As Antiquiet reports, Clutch may be returning with their tenth studio album this year but as vocalist Neil Fallon recently told Horns Up Rock — the stoner-rock quartet "are slowly taking our time with it, there's no rush."

Fallon further said that while the recording process has begun, they prefer to road-test new material and have already debuted a couple of new songs which currently have the working titles 'Newt' and 'Puerto Vallarta.' Video of one of the new songs and the interview.

Seether TV Special This Weekend

(Banana 101.5) Seether are the featured artist on the next installment of 'Guitar Center Sessions' and have offered up a preview in the form of an extended take on their 2005 hit 'Remedy.'

The band will next appear on 'Guitar Center Sessions,' a program which simply features a band playing their hits in a Guitar Center. Seether will be performing song from their recent album 'Holding on to Strings Better Left to Fray' as well as select hits from their back-catalog.

The full performance will air on Direct TV's Audience Network January 14th at 9pm. Check out the preview here.

Paul McCartney Wants To Launch His Own Magical Mystery Tours

(Gibson) Paul McCartney is looking to stretch out his creative Wings and get into the tourism business.

The Beatles singer says he "wants to give something back to the locals" of his hometown of Liverpool, North West England, in the form of a special sightseeing production.

"I would really love to start a sightseeing business. I have my own magical mystery tours of the city, my own special route I go on and I think other people would love it, too," he said, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. "I want to give something back to the locals."

The "Let It Be" singer certainly has the funds to start up his own tourism business. It was recently released that he pulled in $45 million in 2011, nearly doubling his earnings of $25.7 million in 2010. His company also took in a pre-tax profit of $19.7 million, which was up over 2010. more on this story

Dave Grohl Predicts Rock Resurgence

(Gibson) Foo Fighters Dave Grohl says that today's musical climate reminds him of 1991, the year grunge broke.

"The late '80s was full of over-produced pop that kids had nothing to grab hold of," Grohl said. "They had no way of connecting to a hair metal band singing about strippers in a limousine on Sunset Boulevard. Who can relate to that?

"Then you had a bunch of formulaic pop songstress [stuff], and music was boring. And then a bunch of bands with dirty kids got on MTV and rock and roll became huge again. And I feel like that's about to happen." more on this story

Led Zeppelin 2 Tour Starts Tonight

Led Zeppelin 2 will kick off their 2012 touring season tonight with the first of two special shows in Chicago.

The short run will commence with two consecutive (and SOLD OUT) nights at Chicago's House Of Blues where the band will play a 1971 and 1975 Led Zeppelin sets.

As an extra treat for fans, the band recorded a cover of the Yardbirds' "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" from 1966. It's one of the few Yardbirds tunes to feature both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck on twin lead guitars as well John Paul Jones on bass. Led Zeppelin never played this song live thus Lamont and his cohorts reworked the track LZ2 style with session bassist Scott Lucas from Local H. more on this story

John Stamos To Join Beach Boys Reunion Tour?

(TMZ) John Stamos wasn't even born when the Beach Boys first got together ... but the actor tells TMZ ... he's been invited to play with the band on their upcoming 50th Anniversary Reunion tour.

Seems he was celebrating last night ... 'cause a boozy Stamos (but not boozy in a bad way) was hangin' at the Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd. when he revealed, "[The Beach Boys] asked me to be a part of the show ... I feel very honored."

The former "Full House" star performed with the band on a pretty regular basis during the '90s ... and participated in a few gigs in the past couple of years.

The band is reportedly set to kick things off at the Grammys next month ... followed by a 50-date tour.

So, how do good things keep happening to Stamos? Jesus loves the guy ... seriously, watch the clip here.

MxPx Set New Album Release

MxPx have set an April 3rd North American release date for their new album, Plans Within Plans.

It's been over four years since the release of their last album, Secret Weapon. Since then, the band has released a covers album On The Covers II (Tooth & Nail Records) in 2009 and also re-vamped their record label, Rock City Recording Company, in the same year.

The band also had time to release their Left Coast Punk EP and a holiday album Punk Rock Christmas both in 2009 as well. Two years later, the band released a music documentary, Both Ends Burning (December 1, 2011) that features footage from the band's 2008 world tour all the way to the band's sold-out Seattle show in March 2011. more on this story

Top Unsigned Band in America No Longer Unsigned

The Las Vegas band that Fox News declared the top "Unsigned Act in America" will have to give up that title as they have landed a record deal.

Century Media Records announced that they have signed Otherwise to a deal and sent over these details: The band's song "Soldiers" became the first track by an unsigned artist to occupy the No. 1 spot on Sirius Radio's Octane channel (where it currently maintains the peak position) and has sold more than 10,000 singles on iTunes in the past month alone.

"We're so stoked to have signed with Century Media," says vocalist Adrian Patrick. "We have a very unique history with the label, so it feels like a natural fit for us. They were the first company to present us with a huge opportunity back in 2010, so it's extremely synchronistic for us to be given the chance to make a mark with our own music now, on this label. It's been a long, dark road to get to this point... it feels damn good to finally start seeing the light." more on this story

James Durbin Plays Conan

(hennemusic) James Durbin performed on Conan O'Brien's TBS late night talk show on Thursday night.

Durbin and his band performed "Love Me Bad," the current single from his "Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster" album.

The newly-married rocker wed longtime girlfriend Heidi Lowe on New Year's Eve. Check out video of the performance here.

Rival Sons Kick Off Evanescence Tour Tonight

Rival Sons are hitting the road tonight for the kick off of another round of touring with Evanescence.

Having already joined Evanescence on the road in October last year, Rival Sons are pleased to be teaming up with the band once again for the 2012 tour, which also features Electric Touch.

Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday comments: "Our friends in Evanescence have graciously invited us to come back out on the road with them again. This time it's a quick run through the south. Not only are we happy to be joining back up with them, we are really stoked to be finally returning to the south after such a long time. more on this story

The Decemberists Releasing Double Live Album

The Decemberists have set a March 13 release date for We All Raise Our Voices To The Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11).

The release is a 20-track live double-album (and triple-vinyl set) culled from the band's 2011 tour supporting their album The King Is Dead.

With songs spanning their entire first decade as a band—from their debut EP 5 Songs through each of their six LP's—We All Raise Our Voices To The Air is the first-ever live album from the band. more on this story

Ween's Gene Ween Going Solo With Rod McKuen Album

Aaron Freeman, better known as Gene Ween of Ween, has set a April 10th release date for his solo debut, 'Marvelous Clouds'.

The album features 13 heartfelt interpretations of songs written by 20th century poet/songwriter, Rod McKuen.

'Marvelous Clouds' reunites Freeman with Ben Vaughn, who produced Ween's classic '12 Golden Country Greats.' more on this story

Sons Of Bill Giving Away Song From New Album

Sons Of Bill have set a March 27th release date for their new album Sirens and are offering a free song download from the effort.

The album was produced by long-time fan, and fellow Virginian, David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven).

To get fans excited, Sons Of Bill has released new song "Santa Ana Winds," a haunting tale set to a fury of piano and power chords, for free download here.

Lamb Of God Set For Album Release Week In-Store Appearances

Lamb Of God will be holding in-store signings in New Jersey, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

The events are to celebrate the January 24th release of their brand new studio album, Resolution.

The in-stores will last 90 minutes on a first come first served basis and will take place during the album's release week. more on this story

Lita Ford To Deliver Living Like A Runaway This Spring

Lita Ford's new album "Living Like A Runaway" is tentatively set for a May 2012 release under her new record deal with SPV/Steamhammer.

Lita spoke about her work with Gary Hoey on the album and the meaning of the album's title: "Gary Hoey and I wanted to approach this record by getting back to basics. We want to strip away all the electronics and plug-ins and keep it to vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Going back to basics is going back to what punk, metal and The Runways was for me.

"Living Like A Runaway" means freedom and empowerment. To do what I want and to pursue my dreams while answering to no one." more on this story

The Day Johnny Cash Rocked Folsom Prison

(Gibson) On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash played a show, which was recorded for his forthcoming live album, at Folsom Prison, near Sacramento, California in front of 2,000 inmates. Gibson takes a look back:

Johnny Cash had his share of troubles and vices in his lifetime, but he never did prison time. Despite this, nobody in music history is more associated with the clink than the Man in Black. It's interesting that Cash is much more tied to the struggles and frustrations of prison life than the legions of pop, rock and country music stars who have actually had to serve a sentence.

The legendary country singer first learned of prison life – particularly, life in Folsom State Prison – through the movies. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force Security Service in 1953, when his unit watched the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. It was that movie that inspired Cash to write one of his early songs, "Folsom Prison Blues," in which he imagined what a prisoner felt like. After signing with Sun Records, "Folsom Prison Blues" became Cash's second single – a #1 country hit and a Top 40 pop hit in 1955.

Although Cash had never been in prison, he apparently captured the feeling of being incarcerated perfectly. The song became very popular with those doing time, who wrote letters to the country star thanking him for writing the tune and sometimes asking him to come perform at their prisons. By 1957, he obliged some inmates, by performing at Huntsville State Prison. The event went over so well that Cash continued this practice, playing concerts at prisons around the U.S. He had the idea for recording a live album at one such show, although the proposal was rejected by the country executives at Columbia Records. more on this story