Bee Gees Legend Robin Gibb Dead at 62

His website has set up a comment page for fans to pay their respects here and antiMusic's Kevin Wierzbicki offers up his personal remembrance of Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb and how a few years ago Robin impressed him and made him a true believer during a trip to Aruba. You can read that here.

Sabbath Drama Sabbath

It has been a dramatic week for Black Sabbath. The band had a falling out with original drummer Bill Ward, removed his images from their website (by request of Ward's attorney according to the Sabbath camp) and played a hometown reunion gig for charity, all the while bassist Geezer Butler issued a statement announcing Ward's replacement and addressing the controversy. Ward followed up with a statement of his own.

Butler posted an open letter to fans on his website. Here is what he had to say: I feel sad to see the Sabbath reunion becoming a bit of a soap opera on the internet. It has been a very tough year for us as a band, having announced our reunion plans, only for Tony to be diagnosed with lymphoma, leaving us no choice but to postpone the proposed Sabbath tour, and then for Bill to go public on his site about an un-signable contract. None of us knew how Tony was going to respond to his intensive chemo therapy, and radiotherapy. Ozzy and myself flew to England to be with Tony, and on his "good" days, we'd meet at his home studio and put ideas together for the upcoming album, all sitting down together, no drummer involved, just 3 of us quietly putting together ideas. We thought that when we had enough songs together for a full band rehearsal, we'd move back to L.A and put the whole thing together with Bill. Unfortunately, to our surprise, Bill issued a statement on his site saying he'd been offered an un-signable contract. He hadn't told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us let alone in public. We had the idea of keeping just one show in this year, hoping that Tony would be well enough for that show, and that things with Bill would be sorted. As you may expect, a one off show at Donnington Festival (Download) costs an absolute fortune to stage, involving over 50 people, transport, air fares, hotels, meals, agents, promotors, accountants, lawyers etc, so none of us, expected to make much money from it- it was a one off Sabbath show for the fans, before we go into recording the new album. Apparently, this wasn't acceptable to Bill's representatives, they wanted an amount that was so unrealistic that it seemed to have been a joke. So we resigned ourselves to doing Download without Bill, hoping he'd change his mind and at least make a guest appearance. We started rehearsals a few weeks ago with Tommy Clufetos, the drummer who will be on the Ozzy and Friends Tour. Brilliant drummer and good bloke. It was decided we'd better do a warm up show, to break the ice since we haven't played together live. The O2 Academy was available in Birmingham, where we were rehearsing, so we decided on that, and to make a donation to Help For Heroes Charity, since we'd be ironing out any glitches we may have. Then Bill put out a further statement saying he'd been ready to play the Birmingham show , but he was expected to have to do it "for free"- well, I think that's basically how you raise money from gigs for charity – you play them "for free".

All I am saying is that there are two sides to everything. I do hope to play with Bill again some day. For whatever reason; it wasn't meant to be this time. Bill's made his decision, and I have to respect that. Hopefully this painful year will be worth the wait for the new Sabbath album and end in joy and happiness for all.

Yesterday, Ward posted a response on his site

Roth Explains Van Halen Tour Postponement

(hennemusic) In a new video entitled "Public Relations," Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth offers up details of why the group postponed 31 newly-announced dates of its "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour without explanation last week.

"The band is getting along famously, better than we have in quite some time, and I think the shows reveal that through the miracle of YouTube," begins Roth. "I think we're one of the few bands who relishes you bringing whatever camera — if you can carry it in and pull the trigger on it yourself, then please do. And through the eye of YouTube, you can see that we're having ourselves a hell of a time, and I think that translates into the music."

"As usual, we bit off way more than we can chew when it came to scheduling," Dave continues. "The band is winning, but our schedule has been sidelined for unnecessary roughness. If we continue past July 4th and all the way into Australia and Japan, then we're asking for the robot zombie tour." He leaves it on a good note for fans about the future. Watch it here.

Nationwide Fan Hunt for New Metallica Album?

(Classic Rock) Lars Ulrich is intrigued with the idea of hiding copies of a new Metallica album somewhere in every ZIP code across the United States, and urging fans to go and find them. It's an illustration of how the drummer feels the band aren't finished stretching themselves, and how they want to continue trying new things to keep their music fresh.

Ulrich tells Rolling Stone: "I still don't feel we've challenged ourselves enough. We still talk about 'the next album.' We can do whatever we want with our music. 'We've hidden a new Metallica CD in each ZIP code in America. Go find it!' There's nothing but options."

There are 43,191 area codes in the current US ZIP directory. But even if that idea doesn't come to fruition, Ulrich insists there's plenty more to be done by the 30-year-old thrash outfit. And he's still glad they recorded controversial album Lulu with Lou Reed, despite its hugely negative response. more on this story

Crowded House Star Dead at 45

Former Crowded House drummer Peter Jones has died after a battle with brain cancer. Jones spent two years in the band in the 90s. He was 45 years old.

Crowded House posted this statement on their website, "We are in mourning today for the death of Peter Jones. We remember him as a warm hearted, funny and talented man, who was a valuable member of Crowded House. He played with style and spirit. We salute him and send our love and best thoughts to his family and friends."

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn also posted a message on Twitter that reads, "I am very sad to hear tonight that Peter Jones has died . ..a great man and a wonderful drummer . RIP Pete."

Anselmo Addresses Possible Pantera Reunion Using Zakk Wylde

(Banana 101.5) Although stating that Pantera should leave the 14 years they had together untouched by a partial reunion, drummer Vinnie Paul recently stated that if the band were to come together once again, Zakk Wylde would be the only man who can fill the spot of "Dimebag" Darrell. "I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight," began Paul. "If [a Pantera reunion] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]."

Vinnie Paul isn't the only Pantera member who spoke about the possibility of Zakk Wylde manning guitar duties. Frontman Phil Anselmo, who recently spoke to us about his love for Dimebag, responded to Vinnie Paul's comments during an interview with Grand Rapids radio station WGRD 97.9.

"That is an interesting question, if anything like that would ever possibly happen," says Anselmo. "Vince and I would have to sit in the same room, hash out whatever differences that we have, and as far as Zakk Wylde goes, I am not too sold on that 'cause we have to hash some crap out too. That day has not come yet, and until that day comes, I can comment further on that, but till then it is just talk. It would be rough not to see Dimebag on stage to my left, I would feel naked." more on this story

Bono Denies Billionaire Reports

(Classic Rock) U2 frontman Bono has shouted down reports that the floatation of Facebook on the stock market made him a billionaire on Friday.

His private equity firm Elevation Partners bought a 2.3% share in the social media giant in 2009, which cost them $90m – but was valued at $1.5bn last week.

But he suggests he's made the relatively small amount of between $4m and $10m, and adds that it would be impossible for him to become more wealthy than ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who's topped the rock rich list for years with an estimated worth of £660m ($1.1bn). more on this story

Jack White Eyes World Record

(Gibson) Jack White is determined to gain a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Having been refuted in his claim that he and former White Stripes bandmate Meg White staged the shortest concert in history – the "performance" consisted of one note and a cymbal crash – White says he will now attempt to establish a record for "most metaphors in a single concert."

In a statement posted on his website, White writes: "Third Man Records encourages all attendees of said concerts to please not interfere or interject with any metaphors that they witness during the show as to not disqualify or worse yet, trivialize the metaphor in question. In addition, all concert attendees are encouraged to entice as many metaphors to occur during the show that they possibly can, as long as they don't endanger themselves or Mr. White."

With tongue firmly in cheek, White also writes: "The attempt may prove very exhausting and at times even dangerous, but the results could prove to be glorious and possibly even vainglorious." more on this story

Jeff Beck Jams With Mick Jagger on SNL

(hennemusic) Mick Jagger rocked the season finale of Saturday Night Live over the weekend. The Rolling Stones frontman proved to be very adept at comedy, having fun with his opening monologue and participating in several skits.

The musical highlights were many, and they started with Jagger joining Arcade Fire for "The Last Time." Midway through the program, things kicked into musical overdrive when the Foo Fighters jammed some thundering versions of a couple of Stones classics, including "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It)."

Late in the episode, Jeff Beck sat in with Mick for a 2012 US election blues number, with Beck wailing on his six-string. Check out video here.

Dave Matthews Band Kick Off Summer Tour

It's not officially summer yet, but that didn't stop the Dave Matthews Band from launching their summer tour last Friday in Texas.

The tour, which marks the band's first since 2010, will include visits at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY (June 8 & 9) and the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL (July 20 & 21). Along the way, the band will headline the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, AL on May 20 and the inaugural River's Edge Music Festival, held on historic Harriet Island - just across the Mississippi River from St. Paul, MN - on June 24.

Continuing its Labor Day weekend tradition, Dave Matthews Band will perform on August 31, September 1 & 2 at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA, where the group has headlined 40 shows since 1997. The tour will come to a close with a trio of California shows: Chula Vista's Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre (September 7), Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (September 8) and Mountain View's Shoreline Amphitheatre (September 9). more on this story

Afghan Whigs Offer Free Download of First New Song in Five Years

The Afghan Whigs have released their first new recording in over five years and have made the song available as a free download on their website.

Originally recorded in 1970 by Marie "Queenie" Lyons, the band's version of "See And Don't See" is the first new recording in over five years from the recently reunited group and is available as a free download at: here.

The Afghan Whigs will perform "See And Don't See" when they make their first television appearance in over a decade on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tomorrow, Tuesday May 22nd. more on this story

Sammy Hagar Comments On Van Halen Tour Postponement

(hennemusic) On Thursday, Van Halen postponed 31 newly-announced dates of its "A Different Kind Of Truth" tour without explanation. Former VH singer Sammy Hagar, still very bitter over his two departures from the group, chimed in with his thoughts while doing a charity event in Atlantic City on Friday.

"They're hard people to get along with, those brothers," the Denver Post reports. "Otherwise I'd still be in the band."

"I'm surprised it took this long" for the tour to experience major difficulties, he added. "I predicted this was going to happen a lot sooner. I lost money on that bet!" more on this story

Gypsy Lee Pistolero Plans Solo Album

Gypsy Lee Pistolero will be releasing a new solo album, 'The Good, The Mad and The Beautiful', this fall via Pledge Music. We were sent these details:

As former founder, frontman & songwriter of Gypsy Pistoleros, he left his own band on the eve of the Greatest Hits album launch party a few weeks ago, totally disillusioned the constraints of a band.

Lee stated "Days after leaving my own band I pulled in my old White Trash UK writing partner guitarist/Bassist/producer( Clever tosser) Mark Westwood ( Camoora, Neo, Shadowland, Arena,etc) and we have madly put together 20 plus new songs, all the great songs I'd been saving for 'God knows what?'. All the great ideas & songs that couldn't be done within the constraints of bands & labels, sales,etc, we have begun demoing. Lee Evans ( Leeroy Pistolero) has the drum duties, and Kris Jones is on trumpet. more on this story

Drug Busts Down at Rock Festivals

(Classic Rock) Drug busts at UK rock festivals are plummeting, while arrests for substance offences are increasing at other weekender events.

Figures revealed by police authorities show £3.95 worth of illegal drugs were discovered for every person attending the last Glastonbury festival – a total of £44,869 among its 177,000 attendees.

Meanwhile, £1062 worth of drugs were confiscated at Download, adding up to just 1.5p for each of the 70,000 people there. The figure at the combined Reading and Leeds Festival was slightly lower: 1p per punter, from a total of £1601 found among a crowd of 162,000.

But the figure at Sonisphere was only £413, which is just over 0.5p split among its 60,000 fans. more on this story

B Sides

Black Sabbath Reunion Show Footage Goes Online

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath rocked their hometown of Birmingham Saturday night and video from the show has been posted online.

The event marked the first time the band had played the city in more than a dozen years, and acted as a warmup show to the group's upcoming headline appearance at Download next month.

Original Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were joined by Ozzy's drummer Tommy Clufetos for the show as Bill Ward released a statement this past week declining to participate in the reunion based on a current contract offer.

Rolling Stone reports much of the audience's focus was on guitarist Iommi, still receiving treatment for lymphoma, with the first emotional chant of "Tony! Tony! Tony!" going up immediately after opening song, "Into the Void." Check out video here.

Slash Soundchecked

(hennemusic) Slash continues to work hard to get the word out about his new solo album, "Apocalyptic Love," which hits stores Tuesday.

The guitarist and his band performed a half dozen tunes as part of the Walmart Soundcheck series, playing a mix of classic and new material, including his current single, "You're A Lie."

Slash is on the road playing shows to introduce the new music to fans; this week, the band play Grand Rapids, MI (Thu), Rock On The Range in Columbuis, OH (Sat) and Camden, NJ (Sun). Check out video here.

The Cult Rock Old and New Songs On Jimmy Kimmel Live

(hennemusic) The Cult return this week with the Tuesday, May 22nd release of their new album, "Choice Of Weapon."

Co-produced by Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age, U.N.K.L.E.) and longtime collaborator Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith), "Choice of Weapon" was made in several studios, including the band's own Witch Mountain, as well as spots in New York City, Los Angeles and the California desert.

On Friday, the band stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to play their current single, "For The Animals," as well as one of their classic cuts. more on this story

Metallica Release Sonisphere Footage

(hennemusic) On May 10, Metallica headlined the Sonisphere festival in Warsaw, Poland and the band have shared some video from the show.

The show was the second date on the band's current 2012 European Summer Vacation Tour, a trek that features Metallica performing their 1991 self-titled ("Black") album in its entirety.

The band are now sharing some video from the Sonisphere stop, including James Hetfield in the Meet & Greet, "Creeping Death" in the Tuning Room, and "The God That Failed" from the show. Check out the video here.