No Guns N' Roses Hall of Fame Jam

Paul spilled the GNR news when he was asked on Twitter if he had any idea how long the Rock Hall ceremony was going to be this year with so many inductees; "Guns N' Roses will not be performing, so not as long as you would think," was Shaffer's reply. more on this story

QOTSA's Oliveri Pleads Not Guilty In S.W.A.T. Team Standoff

(TMZ) Former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri insists he wasn't packing heat OR drugs during a tense standoff with a S.W.A.T. team in L.A. last summer -- pleading "not guilty" yesterday to all five charges stemming from the incident.

TMZ broke the story ... Nick was arrested last July -- after a fight with his girlfriend escalated into a four-hour standoff with police. Oliveri was booked on felony domestic violence -- and after police searched his home, they say they found a fully-loaded rifle.

According to the charging docs, police also found cocaine and methamphetamines during the search. Oliveri was charged in August with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, 2 counts of possession of a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor count of resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer.

A pre-trial date has been set for April 13th. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years behind bars. more on this story

Metallica Expand Orion Festival Plans

(hennemusic) Metallica has issued a preview/trailer for their upcoming Orion Music + More festival which has been expanded since the original announcement. The event is set for June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, will feature Metallica headlining alongside more than 30 artists personally selected by the band.

As part of their 2012 tour, Metallica will play their classic "Black" album in its entirety on one of the nights for the first time ever in the U.S., and perform the "Ride The Lightning" album on the other night. Metallica bills the inaugural Orion Music + More as "more than just music, the festival will also feature a lifestyle element showcasing the band's individual interests - and allowing fans to interact directly with each of the band members."

"We've added the Damage Inc. stage which will headlined by our friends Suicidal Tendencies and Sepultura and will feature lots of cool, heavy, thrash and punk bands that many of you have not had a chance to experience yet including Torche, Red Fang, Kyng, Landmine Marathon, and more," announced Metallica in their latest festival update.

See who else has joined the lineup and check out the video here.

Former Van Halen Singer Praises New Album

(hennemusic) Two former Van Halen singers have been sharing their opinions on the band's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth," with opposite results.

Now with Chickenfoot, Sammy Hagar has been slamming every aspect of the group's efforts to move forward without him, seemingly still reeling and angered over his 1996 and 2004 splits with the Van Halen brothers.

At the other end of the spectrum is Gary Cherone, of both Extreme and Hurtsmile, who recorded 1998's "Van Halen III" with the group and performed on tour with them. "This record, for me, it's the best thing since 'Fair Warning,'" Cherone tells the Boston Phoenix. "[First single] 'Tattoo' is the only misstep. You wait 28 years to hear Van Halen, and in the context of the record, it's not the best song by far. Off the top of my head, I'm thinkin' of 'China Town,' if that was the first thing you heard, or 'As Is,' or 'Honeybabysweetiedoll.' Any of those three? People would've been like, 'Are you f**ing kidding me?' " He has more to say here.

Pearl Jam Expanding Boundaries With New Album

(Banana 101.5) Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard gives an update on the band's currently in-the-works album, revealing that they're "not in a rush" to finish the disc right away and are instead focusing on breaking new musical ground.

"We've recorded some songs, and we're going to record and write some more. You never know, it might be that we're a song away or two, or it might be that we're going to record six or seven more songs. I think the main thing is that were not in a rush and there's no urgency to it.

"The most important thing is that we put something out that continues to expand our boundaries rather than trying to follow what we've done in the past. I think it's a good time to hopefully continue to experiment, and continue to shake it up." He has a lot more to say here.

Steven Tyler Takes Credit For Aerosmith Success on 60 Minutes

(hennemusic) Aerosmith will be featured on 60 Minutes this Sunday evening. The segment will include an interview CBS host Laura Logan conducted with the band in between shows in Bogota, Colombia, where she followed them on tour.

In a one-on-one session, sat down with singer Steven Tyler to let him know that his bandmates — Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer — told her that he was too much a perfectionist and could be cruel at times. "They're 100 per cent right," replied Tyler. "I've said many things to all those guys that I should never have said, that I didn't mean."

Asked for further comment, Steven added, "You know what? I'm going to be big-headed right now, okay? I think my perfectionism and my busting everyone's chops is what got this band to where it is today. In the end, I get a really good song and in the end, I get the hits. Yeah, I'm that good." Check out the preview clip here.

March Madness For The Black Keys

The Black Keys' new single, "Gold On the Ceiling," is being used as the musical backdrop for this year's NCAA March Madness tournament.

March Madness kicks off next week across the four networks of TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

Right now fans can check out a longform version of the The Black Keys's promotional spot that was done for the tournament right here.

Rolling Stones Celebrate 9 Million Facebook Fans

(Gibson) The Rolling Stones Facebook page has just passed the 9 million mark and guitarist Keith Richards has posted a picture of himself holding a card saying "9,000,000 Stones Fans."

The post thanks the fans, saying, "Thanks to everyone of you Facebookers who like the Rolling Stones. It's only rock and roll but we love you!"

Still no word on whether The Rolling Stones will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their getting together with a tour or a concert this year. more on this story

Korn's Jonathan Davis Becomes J Devil For Solo Release

(Banana 101.5) Korn frontman Jonathan Davis is currently working on his solo debut, which will be a foray into electronic music and be released under the name of his DJ alter ego "J Devil."

Korn injected their nu-metal sound with dubstep on their 2011 album 'The Path of Totality,' now singer Jonathan Davis will take one step further into the world of Electronic Dance Music.

Davis also explains that the EP isn't limited to just one specific genre of EDM, "It's all these different genres," he says. "I love electro, I love jungle, I love drum and bass, I love dubstep, so it's a mixup of all that stuff." more on this story

Counting Crows Giving Away Song From New Album

We were sent this info: Counting Crows will release of their first new album in over 4 years, Underwater Sunshine, on April 9th.

Underwater Sunshine is the first album on the band's own label and will be distributed by Cooking Vinyl. The band have asked fans to design the new album package.

Produced by Counting Crows and Shawn Dealey, Underwater Sunshine features a collection of songs, both familiar and obscure Interpreted by the band. Fans can download a free download of their New song "Mercy" on countingcrows.com/

Alter Bridge On Adele's Tail

(Randex) Preorders for Alter Bridge's Live At Wembley, the band's second live CD/DVD, hit no 2 in the Top 100 on the Blu Ray Music Videos & Concerts chart at Amazon.com, just beneath Adele.

For the seventh day in a row, Live At Wembley, with a street date of March 26, 2012, has been in the Top 10 of Amazon Bestsellers in the Blu Ray Music Videos & Concerts chart, ahead of video offerings from other music giants in the Top 10 such as Iron Maiden, Whitney Houston and Tony Bennett.

LIVE AT WEMBLEY, distributed in North America through EMI Label Services, includes every key Alter Bridge track from their three studio albums, including "Isolation," "Ghosts Of Days Gone By," "Wonderful Life," "Watch Over You," "Broken Wings," "Rise Today," "Open Your Eyes" and many more, and was captured in late November during the Fall 2011 European tour at the historic Wembley Arena. more on this story

Marduk Plan Summer Tour With 1349, Withered, and Weapon

Marduk will be heading back to North America this summer for a headlining run with 1349, Withered, and Weapon.

Marduk will be releasing their 12th studio album, Serpent Sermon , in early summer 2012.

The track-listing, artwork, and release date for the album will be revealed in the coming weeks. more on this story

Zakk Wylde Still Considered A Son By The Osbournes

(Gibson) It comes without saying that guitar icon Zakk Wylde is very tight with the Osbourne clan. In fact, Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, says the Osbournes are so fond of Wylde that he's "like our oldest son."

"When we first met Zakk, he was 18 years old," Sharon told Revolver TV at the debut Rock & Roll Roast earlier this year. "He was the most beautiful 18-year-old you've ever seen. He was just a fantastic kid. He is like our oldest son. That's what Zakk will always be. He's family."

Later, Sharon was asked why the Les Paul Bullseye player deserved to be honored as a "guitar god" by friendly contemporaries, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Jericho, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and more at the ceremony. "He's just got it," Sharon said. "He has that 'it' factor that makes you a star. You know, you can't define it, but he has this presence and he has this sound, as soon as he gets on that guitar, one note, you know who it is. And that's what makes guitar heroes – you know, that distinctive sound. And he has this strength that so few players today have, and that presence. And he's … nuts. [Laughs]" more on this story

Monkees' Michael Nesmith Remembers Davy Jones

(Gibson) In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Michael Nesmith has been remembering Davy Jones and the Monkees experience.

In Nesmith's opinion, Jones and The Monkees were synonymous. "For me David was The Monkees," he said. "They were his band. We were his side men. He was the focal point of the romance, the lovely boy, innocent and approachable. Micky was his Bob Hope. In those two – like Hope and Crosby – was the heartbeat of the show."

Nesmith didn't feature in the last Monkees tour but the country-rock pioneer still plays concerts and has been busy developing a virtual world music project at his Videoranch website. more on this story

Gibson Guitar Launches Artist in Residency Program

(Gibson) Gibson Custom is starting an Artist in Residency program in Nashville. James A. Willis, the program's inaugural artist, has been profiled in American Art Collector, Art & Antiques and RefuelMagazine.com. Following his residency, he will remain an integral part of the program as chairman and help in the selection process of future artists.

"This program is dear to our heart and it wonderfully combines our love of music and art," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "We believe that having artists here will promote a great symbiotic relationship – and that they will inspire us and, hopefully, we will have the same impact on them."

Artists selected will receive housing in the Nashville area, studio space and a materials budget. Artists interested in participating in the program should e-mail samples of their work with a short essay as to why they should be considered to:customartistresident@gibson.com. more on this story

Holy Grail Hitting The Road With Dragonforce

Holy Grail will be playing support for DragonForce on a spring tour that kicks off at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival on April 21.

In addition, the group, who just completed a successful tour of Australia, will play four shows at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas next week as part of a short tour alongside Saviours.

While in Austin, HOLY GRAIL will play two showcases -- Prosthetic's official label showcase, as well as another presented by MetalSucks -- in addition to two prominent day parties. more on this story

Set It Off Team Up With Divided By Friday For Tour

Set It Off will be hitting the road this Spring for co-headlining North American tour with Divided By Friday.

Equal Vision sent over this additional info and dates: Set It Off has also announced new tour dates with Life On Repeat and Glass Cloud (ft. Jerry Roush, ex-Of Mice & Men/Sky Eats Airplane and Joshua Travis, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza) following their appearances at SXSW.

All three bands will perform at the recently announced Equal Vision Records Showcase on Friday, March 16 at Lucky 13 (418 E 6th St, at Neches St). Co-headlining the showcase will be Say Anything and We Came As Romans. more on this story

The Day The Clash Hit The Top

(Gibson) On this day in 1991, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" gave The Clash their only U.K. no. 1 single after the track was used for a Levi's TV advertisement. The track was first released in 1982 from their Combat Rock album. Gibson takes a look back:

Although it's common for groundbreaking bands to gain more appreciation long after they've made their mark, it doesn't often happen that they have their biggest hit a few years after their breakup. But that's exactly what happened to The Clash on this day in 1991.

Part of the original first wave of British punk in the late '70s, The Clash progressed as artists and musicians at warp speed. Like a lot of punk acts, they quickly brought in reggae elements – but Joe Strummer, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon continued to explore other music styles from Jamaica, such as dub and ska. In a few short years, they had brought together a menagerie of musical styles (rockabilly, punk, folk, reggae, rock, R&B, dub, pop and even hip-hop), and expertly hopped between genres on albums such as 1979's London Calling and 1980's Sandinista!

Although the boys continued to push boundaries on 1982's Combat Rock, the record also included some of The Clash's most radio-friendly material. The heavy-handed "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and the danceable "Rock the Casbah" were each worldwide hits, especially the latter, which hit the Top 10 in the U.S. and Australia. Yet, in the long term, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" would end up becoming a signature song for the band and their only chart-topper.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" was written by guitarist Mick Jones, who also sang lead vocals on the song (something he did from time to time on Clash recordings), moving frontman Joe Strummer to backing vocals. While many fans have assumed the song is about Jones impending split with The Clash (he was "dismissed" in 1983), the guitarist wrote the song about his troubled relationship with singer Ellen Foley, known for her work with Meat Loaf.

Strummer might have been forced into the background on this tune, but he added an interesting touch – singing in Spanish. "On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish,'" he remembered later. "We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals."

With its distinctive riff, indecisive lyrics and Spanish backing vocals, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" did very well in the U.K. (where it rose to #17) and the U.S. (where it became The Clash's second charting single). It's easy to understand why it became a concert staple during the band's tours to support Combat Rock. more on this story