Rare Eddie Van Halen Song Goes Online

Parts of "All Fired Up" were later re-used for "A.F.U.(Naturally Wired)", a track that appeared on Van Halen's 1988 album, "OU812." Listen to the song.

The Fifth Beatle Movie Coming

(hennemusic) "The Fifth Beatle", a biopic about the band's manager Brian Epstein, will start production next year and will become the first-ever feature film about The Beatles to secure music rights to their songs granting unprecedented access to the Lennon/McCartney music catalog.

Based on Tony Award winning producer Vivek J. Tiwary's recently-released graphic novel of the same name, the project will be directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On, The Break-Up).

"From the moment I read Vivek's graphic novel, I knew I wanted to be the person to bring Brian's story to the big screen," said Reed. "I'm a lifelong Beatles fan, obviously, but it's Brian's fascinating life that really blew me away and drew me to this project. He's the ultimate outsider who, against all odds, became the ultimate insider. He was responsible for shepherding the most popular artistic expression of "love" in the history of modern culture, and yet he wasn't allowed to express his own love during that time." more on this story

Nine Inch Nails Streaming New Concert Film

(Classic Rock) Trent Reznor has released an 80-minute concert film shot during Nine Inch Nails' Tension 2013 tour and are streaming it online. He reactivated the band at the beginning of the year and released new album Hesitation Marks in September. By that time the outfit had already experienced a number of lineup changes – but now Reznor says he wants things to remain in flux.

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session he explains: "When we commit to a touring cycle, it usually is at least a year long, and can start to feel stale after X amount of time. What I'm doing this cycle is making each leg of the tour have its own identity. The festival run we did over the summer was very different from the Tension tour we just finished.

"We're currently rehearsing with a new incarnation of the band for what's ahead – this keeps things fresh from a musician's perspective, but also keeps things interesting for fans in an era where every show ends up on YouTube.

"The setlist and presentation moving forward will be very different from what we just did. That's part of the incentive behind releasing the Tension footage now: it was one very specific look at Nine Inch Nails in the fall of 2013." Check out the stream here.

A Day To Remember Sell Almost 100K Albums Without Label

A Day To Remember have sold almost 100,000 copies of their new album "Common Courtesy" without the help of a record label after fighting a legal battle with their former label. Their camp sent out these details:

On October 4th, a federal judge ruled in an injunction hearing that the band could legally release the album. Since their fans had been waiting for new music, the band opted to pre-release their album as soon as they possibly could direct to fans on October 8th.

Neilsen Soundscan verifies that the band sold 40,550 copies through their own digital direct to fan presale as well as 52,324 albums through traditional retail outlets such as Best Buy, iTunes and Hot Topic. In total, the new album has sold 92,874 copies in the US alone.

The album will not debut on the Billboard chart this week due to the untraditional nature of this release but the band is very thankful for the overwhelming support and loyalty of their fans. Had Common Courtesy been eligible the band would have had a Top 10 debut this week.

"This proves that the days of needing huge record contracts are over, and that all that really matters are the fans," remarked lead singer Jeremy McKinnon. "Thank you for the support."

David Bowie Surprises Fans With New Video Debut

(Radio.com) For years David Bowie had been quiet. Some fans just assumed he had retired. But in the wee hours of January 8 — his birthday, as it happens– he announced the imminent release of his first album in a decade, The Next Day. He then released — with no prior adieu — a single and video for "Where Are We Now?"

Yesterday morning (December 5), Bowie again, with no heads-up given, debuted a new video for "I'd Rather Be High (Venetian Mix – Wasted Edit)."

The video, featuring what appears to be vintage footage of soldiers celebrating their return home from war, reflects the lyrics in the seemingly anti-war song: "I'd rather be high/I'd rather be flying/I'd rather be dead/Or out of my head/Than training these guns on those men in the sand."

As for Bowie, the footage of him singing the song is filtered and warped. He's present, but not but not as present as compared to his recent clips for "The Next Day" or "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)." Or even his recent Louis Vuitton ad.

This year has seen Bowie pull off the unusual trick of maintaining a pop culture buzz for months on end without making a single promotional appearance or even performing. Instead, he has promoted his art with more art as in the aforementioned videos, as well as a clip for a remix of "Love Is Lost." That remix, done by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, was part of a batch of extra songs that made up the 2 CD/DVD expanded edition of The Next Day, which helped to keep Bowie in the news. more on this story

Gene Simmons of KISS To Host Rock Camp

(hennemusic) KISS bassist Gene Simmons will host a spring 2014 edition of Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas. Set for March 27-30, 2014, Simmons will be joined by KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer, Sebastian Bach, bassist Dave Ellefson of Megadeth and guitarist Steve Stevens (Billy Idol).

Rock Star counselors include Lita Ford, drummer Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath) and more to be announced. "Mentoring adult and young rockers at the fantasy camp has always been an amazingly rewarding experience for me," said Simmons. "I enjoy teaching and handing over lessons I've learned from the business to young and upcoming talent."

The Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp is the world's only place where real people get the life-changing experience of meeting, writing songs, recording and performing with their musical heroes. more on this story

Bruce Springsteen Manuscript Fetches Almost $200K

(Radio.com) What is one band's trash is some fan's treasure. This holds true for Bruce Springsteen, whose handwritten, working lyric sheet for his 1975 hit "Born To Run" sold for a hefty $197,000 at Sotheby's in New York City.

The lyric sheet, which dates back to 1974, was written in his hometown of Long Branch, NJ. The lyrics are written in blue ink on an 8 1/2-by-11 sheet of ruled notepaper. Sotheby's states the manuscript at one point in time belonged to Mike Appel, Springsteen's former manager and producer.

Springsteen's stream-of-consciousness style of writing can be seen in the lyrics on the manuscript, such as those in the excerpt below:

"This town'll rip the (out your) bones from your back / it's a suicide trap (rap) (it's a trap to catch the young) your dead unless / you get out (we got to) while your young so (come on! / with) take my hand cause tramps/ like us baby we were born to run." Possible lyrics on the margins of the manuscript include words like "Wild" and "Angels", as well as a word resembling "velocity". more on this story

Marty Friedman Releases New album Teaser

Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman is giving fans an early preview of his new solo album with the release of a tease for the effort, which he is currently wrapping up work on.

The album will be entitled "Inferno" and Friedman expects to release it worldwide in the spring. To get a taste of what is to come, you can check out a one minute teaser here.

"I'm extremely proud of the work I've done with Cacophony and Megadeth, but I was never interested in stopping there," Friedman says. "'Inferno' is the album that fans of my work with those two bands have always wanted me to make. I've finally made it, and completely on my own maniacal terms."

"Inferno" will feature a number of contributions from special guests including Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho, Revocation's David Davidson and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

The album will also feature Friedman's first songwriting collaboration with Jason Becker since the pair played together in Cacophony. "On the guests' songs, each would write a song from scratch, and then I would arrange it and add my parts to it," FRIEDMAN says. "That way, we were both invested in it, and it's a little bit of a deeper experience than just banging out a guest solo."

As for what fans can expect, Friedman told Guitar World that is will feature "the most intense writing and playing I can do," with the goal of "go(ing) completely ape-sh*t and smok(ing) everything else I've ever done."

"I wanted to create a new landmark to which my future music will be compared," Friedman says. "That idea of just going completely balls-out -- knowing what the full potential of my music and my playing could possibly be, and actually making it a reality -- was what drove me through the whole process."

Robby Krieger and John Densmore Host An Evening With The Doors

(Gibson) The Doors' Robby Krieger and John Densmore held a joint question-and-answer session Thursday (Dec. 5) at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles, following a screening of the 2012 documentary film, Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman.

Titled "An Evening with The Doors," the event featured remembrances of keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who died this past May, and singer Jim Morrison, who would have celebrated his 70th birthday this Sunday (Dec. 8).

"It makes me sick to think about all the cool stuff we might have come up with in all this time, had Jim lived longer," observed Krieger, in anticipation of the event. "I often wonder why so many great people pass on at such an early age. Could it be that when you're gone, you stay at that age for eternity? If so, the joke's on us."

The screening was part of Film Independent at LACMA, a film series produced by Film Independent and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and presented by The New York Times. more on this story

The Answer Expand New Horizon Tour

(Classic Rock) The Answer have confirmed 32 more tour dates in support of recent album New Horizon. Their journey kicks off in February and takes in the UK, Eire and Germany, with the album's title track released as a single on March 23.

The Irish outfit's fourth album was produced by ex Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson and received acclaim on release in September – Classic Rock said: "New Horizon delivers in style and Cormac Neeson's gravel-gargling vocals are stunning throughout."

Neeson himself says: "The first part of the New Horizon tour was absolutely fantastic, and we're back in a big way. We're really looking forward to getting out to perform in some towns and cities where we haven't been for a few years. It's a true 'Road Less Travelled' tour." more on this story

Periphery Tease New EP

(Prog) Periphery have investigated the full range of the band members' writing styles by allowing each of them to mastermind their own track – and the results will be released on a seven-track EP entitled Clear next month.

It follows the launch of second album Periphery II in July, with the US outfit's third full-length disc, currently underway. "It's rare when you have a band where every member is capable of writing and producing music; Clear is an experiment to explore the different styles," Guitarist Jake Bowen says. "With each member controlling their own track the recording enabled us to go down any path we chose in terms of style and sound.

"Every track contains a melodic theme established on the intro, Overture, and the common thread links all the songs together, even though they sound wildly different."

Hear a preview teaser here.

Seasick Steve Plans Charity For Dogs Concert

(The Blues Seasick Steve has announced he'll play a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of a charity for dogs. His show takes place on May 23 and all proceeds will be donated to UK organisation Dogs Trust.

Steve, whose latest album Hubcap Music came out in April, says: "I couldn't think of a better place than the Albert Hall to play a little get-down music and raise some money.

"I'm gonna have a few friends come by and we're gonna shake them old rafters. I hope you can come on down – it's for a good cause and we're gonna have fun." more on this story

Petter Carlsen Premieres Collaboration with Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh

(Prog) Prog presents the premiere of "Built To Last", Petter Carlsen's collaboration with Anathema vocalist Vincent Cavanagh. It's taken from Carlsen's album Clocks Don't Count, which will be released in the UK on January 27 via Function Records. The work has been hailed for its "poetic melancholy."

Anathema have shown their support for Carlsen by taking him on their last European tour as support act, during which he opened 55 shows in 17 countries.

The Norwegian will support Wisdom Of Crowds – side-project of The Pineapple Thief's Bruce Soord and Katatonia's Jonas Renkse – at the Jazz Cafe in London this Sunday, December 8.

Listen to the song here.

The Delta Saints Offering Free Album Download

(The Blues The Delta Saints are offering their album Death Letter Jubilee as a free download for a limited time.

The Nashville five-piece – who list their interests on Facebook as "whiskey, women and woes" – launched their debut full-length record earlier this year after releasing two previous EPs.

The band explain: "'Tis the season for giving! That's why, for a limited time, we are giving away our full length album for free via Noisetrade.com."

Ger more details and view their video for the title track here.

Boston's Tom Scholz Reveals His 10 Essential Albums

(Gibson) Boston's Tom Scholz has always followed a simple premise: if something works, don't change it. Since releasing Boston's classic debut album in 1976, the veteran guitarist has sometimes frustrated fans with his legendary perfectionism, but the long stretches between albums have always been worth the wait. Boston's latest LP—Life, Hope and Love—is no exception. Roiled in 2007 by the tragic death of vocalist Brad Delp, Scholz elected not to replace the singer, but instead took a "vocalist by committee" approach for the new disc. Just as important, Scholz's trademark guitar sound—rife with beautiful tone and soaring sustain—remains a thing of wonder.

"I have only two [electric guitars] and they're both old Les Paul gold tops," Scholz said, in 2002. "Somebody told me that these two guitars were made for only six months—during half of 1968--so there are very few in existence. The amazing thing is that I bought two of them, without knowing that the second one was also from 1968, from that six-month period. I just needed a second guitar before we went on the road, so I snatched it up."

Regarding the new Boston album, Scholz says, "These are all songs from the heart, each of them taking many months of effort to write, arrange, perform and record, always up to the demands of Boston's harshest critic, me. They have all been meticulously recorded to analog tape on the same machines and equipment used for Boston's hits for the past 35 years." Not surprisingly, Scholz's ten favorite albums are, without exception, guitar-based classics. Below, he shares his thoughts about several of those LPs.

1) Jeff Beck: Truth

2) Led Zeppelin: I

3) Led Zeppelin: II

4) James Gang: Rides Again

Tom Scholz: "I knew Jeff Beck's Truth album inside out. The same was true of the first two Led Zeppelin albums and Joe Walsh's James Gang's Rides Again."

5) Iron Butterfly: Heavy

"In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida is hideous, but this album was really cool. The last cut was called the 'Iron Butterfly Theme.' It was an instrumental, in a very strange time signature. That was the song that got me interested in playing guitar."

6) Kinks: Greatest Hits

7) The Yardbirds: Having a Rave Up

8) The Who: Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy

9 The Who: The Who Sell Out

"My interest in pop music was really limited. If it hadn't been for The Kinks and The Yardbirds and The Who, back in the '60s, I probably never would have gotten involved in music. Those first Kinks singles were amazing. 'All Day and All of the Night' and 'You Really Got Me' were real favorites."

10) Blue Cheer: Blue Cheer

"Very few people have heard of this group. Their claim to fame was that they were the loudest band in the world." more on this story

Nick Moss Giving Album Fan Funding Another Try

(The Blues Nick Moss is hoping his Indiegogo campaign will raise enough money to release his tenth album – after a previous Kickstarter scheme left him with nothing.

And he's particularly keen to launch new record Time Ain't Free because it marks a departure from his previous nine outings, following a 'eureka' moment while his band supported Lurrie Bell on tour.

Moss says: "We started doing these new tunes on the Lurrie tour and it was amazing to see the reaction. It was as if they were thinking, 'Yeah, that's what you're supposed to be doing.'"

The guitarist – who's been nominated for a Blues Music Award 16 times but never won – has raised nearly $8000 of a hoped-for $20,000 via Indiegogo. He'll be able to receive whatever pledges are made this time round, whereas Kickstarter doesn't take payment unless the target figure is reached. more on this story

Crowbar Announce UK Tour

(TeamRock Radio) Crowbar have announced that they will be launching tour of the UK starting in February that is set to feature their new lineup and a refocused Kirk Windstein.

Windstein quit Down in October in order to focus full-time on his own band's 25th anniversary year. His move came just weeks after Down bassist Pat Bruders left Crowbar to turn his concentration in the other direction.

Windstein, who later announced Jeff Golden as his new bassist, reflected on the changes by saying: "I respect Pat's decision because it's impossible to give 100% to two bands. I'm giving my all to Crowbar and he's giving his all to Down," he said. "No drama, just great music being written by all – and that sounds pretty awesome to me!" more on this story

Blueneck Playing Only Headline Show Of The Year Tonight

(Prog) Blueneck will play their only headline show of the year at the Garage in London tonight (December 6) – and they've promised to bring an energy inspired by their recent experiences in strife-torn Greece.

The Prog-sponsored concert will feature new video work by renowned artist Lasse Hoile, known for his creations for Steven Wilson, Opeth, Dream Theater and others. View some sneak-preview stills below.

Frontman Duncan Attwood tells Prog: "We're just back from Greece where we warmed up for London. Outside the Athens venue we saw fascist and anti-fascist protest marches clashing – and I think the aggression outside made for a particularly on-edge and passionate show. more on this story

Peter Guralnick Blues Documentary Titles Expanded as eBooks

(The Blues Music author Peter Guralnick's first two blues documentary titles have been released as ebooks with extended audio and video material. Feel Like Going Home, first published in 1971, featured unique interviews with Muddy Waters plus profiles of Skip James, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis and others, and was once described as "the most loving book about American popular music."

It's extended with audio of some of Guralnick's original interviews, including those with Waters and Wolf, plus a video discussion of Lewis with late guitarist Roland James. Lewis is also the subject of a new chapter in the book.

Lost Highway appeared in 1979 and concentrated on artists who helped define the American sound including Ernest Tubbs, Bobby Blue Bland, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard and others.

Find out what fans can expect from the new versions here.

Grand Magus Release 'Triumph And Power' Lyric Video

(Classic Rock) Grand Magus have released a lyric video for their track Triumph And Power. It's taken from their seventh album, also called Triumph And Power, to be released on February 3 via Nuclear Blast.

The Swedish hard rockers say: "It's a metal triumph of Viking power. This is our strongest album yet – it has the northern feel and the power and melody that has become our mark of excellence. Fans of true metal will take this album to their hearts."

Grand Magus will be launching a tour of the UK in March, including an appearance at Hammerfest in Pwllheli, Wales. Grab the dates and check out the video here.

Super Adventure Club 'Turns Out My Brain Was My Other Brain' Video

(Prog) Super Adventure Club have created a video for their track Turns Out My Brain Was My Other Brain. It's taken from their third and final album, Straight From The Dick, out now via Armellodie Records. The Scottish three-piece split up after a farewell show in September as a result of drummer Neil Warrack's relocation to Hong Kong.

Frontman Bruce Wallace said after the emotional Glasgow show: "Well, that's it. F**k off, you've had your lot! I'd just like to say thanks to those who were there for making it so lovely tonight. Thanks to everyone who has supported us at any time. It's been a damn good five-or-so years and I'm glad I spent it making noise with Mandy Clarke and Neil Warrack. Here's to new happenings…"

Warrack tells Prog: "Recording the first album was an explosive and out-of-control experience, and the second seemed like a collection of the work we'd done over a long period of time. This album, in contrast, seemed wholly organic affair. We'd rekindled our love of writing music – we concentrated on having a bit of fun and not worrying about 'where it was all going.'

"All of a sudden we had an album in our hands and it was exactly what we wanted. It sounded like Super Adventure Club, warts and all. It's a completely honest record, despite the fact it may look like complete tomfoolery to the untrained eye." Watch the video here.

Singled Out: Celleste's Join The Infestation

Today Celleste, who is known for mixing parts of 40s Cabaret style music and 70s rock, tells us about her latest single "Join The Infestation" and the story behind the music video for the song. Here is the story:

Everything about "Join The Infestation" was fast... I told my producer (Eric Dick) that I wanted us to write an up-beat and playful tune. The next day, the basic structure for the song came to him in about five minutes. I loved it right away and instantly had a melody idea in mind and then together we wrote the lyrics. Fifteen minutes later, ninety percent of the song was done and soon after it was recorded and mixed…it was just one of those things.

For the video, Eric and I were directing and shooting on our own and already had a concept mapped out. At the last minute, an amplifier company unexpectedly called and said "I've got forty guitar amps about to be shipped to a famous musician who will remain unnamed! You can use the amps for your video and film it in a studio right next door to my shop… but the catch is you need to shoot this in the next six days before the amps go out!" It was an amazing opportunity and we had to make it work.

We took three days to re-write the storyboard, re-schedule the shoot, shop for clothes & props and rent all the necessary gear. On day four, we packed up the car, drove an hour to the set location, set up all day long and slept four hours. Then it was two days straight of shooting with no sleep. The band and I danced our asses off in a maze of guitar amps and had a blast. It was a pressure situation with a crazy deadline, but I was really happy that we achieved the feel-good and fun vibe that we wanted for this song! Watch the video here.

Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more right here!