This Week's Top Stories

Here are the top stories from this week's Day in Rock and the top Day in Rock digest stories

Van Halen Expand North American Tour

(hennemusic) Van Halen have added three more shows to their upcoming North American tour in support of their forthcoming album.

New dates include Manchester, New Hampshire; University Park, Pennsylvania; and St. Louis, Missouri.

The band has confirmed a total of 48 shows kicking off February 18th in Louisville, Kentucky through June 26th in New Orleans, Louisiana. - more on this story

KISS' The Elder Movie Finally Being Made?

(hennemusic) A film inspired by the 1981 KISS concept album "(Music From) The Elder" may be coming to the big screen.

The album was intended to be the soundtrack to a movie — a movie which, due to the relative commercial failure of the album, was never made.

30 years after the album's original release, U.K.-based writer, musician and independent filmmaker Seb Hunter has announced plans to produce a "post-apocalyptic road movie" based on '(Music From) The Elder'", with production slated to begin this summer. - more on this story

Guns N' Roses Have Big Plans

(hennemusic) Guns N' Roses wrapped up their Chinese Democracy tour with two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2011.

In a new interview with Philadelphia 76ers reporter Matt Cord, bassist Tommy Stinson sheds some light on what's next for the band.

"I can't say officially, but we're leaving again in two weeks," said Stinson. "We're playing some stuff. It's all big stuff. When I call you in two weeks and tell you, you're gonna go, 'I wanna come!' It's gonna be awesome though." - More from Tommy here.

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder Set For Solo Tour

(Banana 101.5) Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will be taking his solo act on the road for a brief tour beginning in April.

His first true solo outing came in the form of 2008′s 'Into the Wild' soundtrack, for which Vedder performed every song. He followed the well-received soundtrack with the first Eddie Vedder album 'Ukulele Songs' this past May and embarked on a brief solo tour early last summer.

Vedder's camp announced today that he will again tour the U.S. unaccompanied by Pearl Jam this spring. At last report, the band was set to finish recording their tenth record around the same time Vedder will embark on the 13-date tour. - more on this story

Metallica Add More Black Album Tour Dates

Metallica's summer vacation just keeps getting longer with the band announcing two additional dates to their upcoming summer trek where they will be playing their self-titled (Black) album in full.

On Monday the band had these details: We'll be kicking off our European trek this year by starting in Prague, Czech Republic on May 7, 2012 at Synot Tip Arena, followed the very next day by a visit to Belgrade, Serbia at Usce Park on May 8th.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 'Black Album' is on the agenda (of course!) in keeping with the theme of the summer, and these will be the first two performances of it in its entirety. - more on this story

Ozzy Misses Zakk Wylde Roast

(Gibson) Zakk Wylde was roasted at Guitar World's Rock and Roll Roast at City National Grove of Anaheim on January 19.

Rolling Stone reports Wylde was targeted by Corey Taylor, Duff McKagan, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Chris Jericho and others. Taylor told Rolling Stone: "We've all known each other for a while, we all love each other. So let's just rip the crap out of each other."

Sharon Osbourne was happy to host the event and explained that she's known Zakk for many years. She said: "I've known him since he was 18. He calls me 'mom,' and I feel like his mom. So I can be disrespectful, horrible, mean to him for two hours and get away with it."

Since Ozzy was unable to make the event, because he's busy working on the new Black Sabbath album, Sharon passed on his thoughts about Zakk. "Ozzy is very proud of Zakk – very, very proud. He's proud of the man he's become – he's sober and fabulous."

- See photos from the event

Pulp Coming To America

Pulp reunited last year but American fans will get their first chance to see the group this spring when they make a limited number of appearances in the U.S.

Pulp announced this week plans to play Coachella, The Warfield in San Francisco, and Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The shows will involve all the original members of the band -- Nick Banks (drums), Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Steve Mackey (bass), Russell Senior (violin, guitar) and Mark Webber (guitar) -- and they will be playing songs from all periods of their career. - more on this story

Five Finger Death Punch and Soulfly Tour

Five Finger Death Punch are hitting the road in March for a North American tour focused on Canada and the Western United States.

Five Finger Death Punch have tapped Soulfly as direct support, and the tour will also feature Windowpane and Persist.

5FDP will headline Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and more, while also playing a special Las Vegas hometown show alongside other western-US markets. - more on this story

Lamb Of God Announce New Resolution Tour Leg

Lamb Of God plan to head across the Atlantic this spring for the European leg of the Resolution tour.

The tour encompasses all of the major European festivals as well as a number of headline theater and club shows.

In addition to Europe, the tour will include Lamb of God's return to India and Israel, which were two highlights on the 2009/2010 Wrath tour. - more on this story

Portugal. The Man and The Lonely Forest For Jagermeister Tour

Portugal. The Man have been announced as the headliners as this year's Jagermeister tour that will feature support from The Lonely Forest.

The North American trek is set to kick off on April 3rd and will hit 26 cities across the United States.

John Gourley, lead singer of Portugal.The Man said, "We were planning on taking a short break from the road, but Jägermeister presented an opportunity for us to visit a handful of cities that we have not been to in ages, so we jumped at the chance to play these shows." - more on this story

Puscifer To Rock Kimmel

Puscifer will be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 16th ahead of the kick off of their North American Tour.

The second leg of the band's North American tour in support of their latest album, Conditions of My Parole, will kick off on Feb. 23 at The Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Tex.

Puscifer's touring band members are Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis, Carina Round, Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl. - more on this story

Alice Cooper To Drop The Puck For Phoenix Coyotes

(hennemusic) Longtime Phoenix resident Alice Cooper will be the guest of honor at a Phoenix Coyotes home game next month.

Alice will be on hand to drop the puck for the February 18 match between the Coyotes and the Dallas Stars.

The Coyotes will be giving away Alice Cooper bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans in the door as part of military appreciation night. - more on this story

Janus Announce New Album and Tour With Chevelle and Middle Class Rut

Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group have set a March 27th release date for Janus' sophomore album, Nox Aeris, and the band is hitting the road with Chevelle and Middle Class Rut on February 24th.

The record's title, which is Latin for "night air," comes from the 14th Century, a period where a third of the European population was killed off by the plague. Then, people believed going outdoors at night would cause them to succumb to the Black Death. While writing Nox Aeris, Janus found this idea to be an apt metaphor for their own journey, preconceived notions of their own being flipped around as they became a bigger, more established band since the release of Red Right Return. Nox Aeris reveals who Janus is and what they've gone through.

The album's first single "'Stains' explores what can happen when you don't follow your heart, the marks left on your spirit when you become someone you're not. "It embodies what I was trying to say on the record," says singer David Scotney, "it's a dark point of view, but represents a cathartic process of self-healing." - more on this story

Ben Kweller Taps Sleeper Agent For Tour

Ben Kweller has invited Sleeper Agent to support him on a spring tour of North America.

The tour is set to kick off March 20th in Hartford, CT and will wrap up on May 1st in Denver.

Sleeper Agent have also announced that they will perform both weekends of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on April 15th and 22nd. - more on this story

Limited Edition Alex Harvey Book Coming Next Month

Alex Harvey: Last of the Teenage Idols, a limited edition photobook is set to be released on February 4th. Here are the official details: In 1974 a young photographer in Cleveland, Ohio, met the Sensational Alex Harvey Band – and the encounter led to a lifelong, award-winning career. Twenty-five years later a young journalist met the surviving members of SAHB – and that encounter led to another award-winning career.

Alex Harvey, known to many as 'the last of the teenage idols,' took his band from the slums of 1960s Glasgow to the stages of the world. Their unique brand of Vaudeville-inspired concerts and theatrical musical compositions made them one of the most respected live acts of the era.

Their onstage energy was so powerful it brought fans of Slade, the Who, and many others to heel. They opened the Reading festival in 1973 and headlined it in 1974 – the first band to perform such a feat. They even survived the punk revolution, when leading lights including the Sex Pistols proclaimed their admiration for Alex. SAHB were the darlings of the celebrated TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test and, in the mid-1970s, they were the biggest-grossing live act in the UK. - more on this story

The Belle Brigade, Good Old War and Family of the Year Tour

The Belle Brigade plan to hit the road this spring with Good Old War and Family of the Year.

The North American trek will also include a stop at this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

The tour will kick off on March 8th in Knoxville, TN and will wrap up on April 27th in Philadelphia, PA. - more on this story

Here's Little Richard Getting Expanded Reissue

(Conqueroo) Here's Little Richard, Concord Music Group's expanded reissue of the original Specialty Records album from 1957 is set to hit stores on April 17, 2012.

Rock 'n' roll may date back to Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" in 1951 and perhaps further to blues/swing hybrids of the 1940s. But many would contend that Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio in new Orleans in September 1955, was the first great rock 'n' roll record. "Tutti Frutti" kicks off Here's Little Richard.

In addition to the original recordings of Little Richard's best known hits — "Long Tall Sally," "Ready Teddy," "Jenny Jenny," "Rip It Up," "Slippin' and Slidin'" and more — the Concord remastered reissue features two bonus tracks (Specialty demo recordings of "Baby" and "All Night Long") and two videos (screen tests of "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally"). The set contains liner notes by R&B musicologist Lee Hildebrand, as well as the notes from the original LP. - more on this story

Scale The Summit Kick Off Tour This Week and Announce Vinyl Release

Scale The Summit will be hitting the road for their first-ever headlining tour this week and have also announced a special vinyl release.

The Their Strings Are Voices tour kicks off in the band's hometown of Houston on Friday, and will wrap its way through the U.S. before concluding on February 20 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Support will be provided by Elitist at most shows.

Prosthetic Records will release Scale The Summit latest album, The Collective, on vinyl next month. - more on this story

NME Dub Noel Gallagher Godlike Genius

(Gibson) Former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher will be given the Godlike Genius Award at the 2012 NME Awards.

The leader of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will be celebrated at the ceremony on February 29 at London's O2 Academy Brixton, according to NME.

In response to the accolade, the guitarist/songwriter/vocalist said: "I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God." - more on this story

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Blasted For National Anthem Performance

Aerosmith frontman and American Idol judge Steven Tyler finds himself on the other side of the table of judgment for his singing performance.

Ultimited Classic Rock reports that Tyler took the field yesterday (Jan. 22) to bust out The National Anthem before the Baltimore Ravens / New England Patriots AFC title game and his performance left much to be desired.

Early reviews of the performance were not much better, with one football fan taking to Twitter with this post: "Steven Tyler's national anthem before the Patriots/Ravens game couldn't have been any worse if John Madden farted it through a harmonica." - Read more and watch the performance and judge for yourself

Van Halen's David Lee Roth Explains Tattoo

(hennemusic) Van Halen's David Lee Roth has issued a new video as the singer shares his inspiration for the lyrics to "Tattoo."

Released last week, the song is the first single off VH's forthcoming album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", due February 7.

"'You best believe that needle hurts you'," quotes Roth from the song, "And depending on where you get it…whoa! ...that's a rite of passage. And it should cuz it really forces you to consider what's permanent to you. What is it you really want to remember and what is it that you really want to say to folks around you." - more on this story

Megadeth Legend Studying To Become A Pastor

(Gibson) Megadeth's David Ellefson is studying to become a Lutheran minister. In a lengthy profile by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the thrash-metal bassist revealed that he's an online student at suburban St. Louis's Concordia Seminary, studying under the school's Specific Ministry Program.

Long-term friends of Ellefson are not surprised by the news, given that Ellefson took his faith very seriously while attending his local Lutheran church as he was growing up in Minnesota. "I came from a good family, not a broken home," Ellefson told the Post-Dispatch. "That became a model for me, and I saw church at center of it."

Ellefson has even written songs for the Lutheran church he currently attends, using lyrics from the Old Testament. "For a Christmas service, I remixed some classics, not quite in a Megadeth fashion, but in a pretty heavy rock fashion," he said. - more on this story

Nickelback Fight Online Critics With Sarcasm

Nickelback apparently can take criticism and give it right back. Loudwire reports: As music fans hit Nickelback with insults on Twitter, they responded back with their own smarmy responses, quickly getting people to notice and comment on the entertainment value of it all.

Even rocker Chris Daughtry weighed in, saying to the band, "Your replies to the haters are killing me! Hilarious!"

In addition, the band doled out some constructive criticism in response to some of the insults, replying directly to people with comments like, "that one's a little stale, try harder next time." - See Nickelback's greatest twitter war hits here

Red Hot Chili Peppers Add Over A Dozen New Tour Dates

Red Hot Chili Peppers continue to roll out dates for their North American I'm With You World Tour, with the latest batch added for April, May and June.

Due to multiple foot injuries sustained by lead singer Anthony Kiedis, and subsequent surgery, the tour will now kick off on March 29th in St. Petersburg, FL, and crisscross the continent throughout 2012.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are touring in support of their current album I'm With You, which has received a Grammy nomination for "Rock Album of the Year." In addition, the band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. - more on this story

Etta James Loses Fight With Cancer

(Gibson) Singing great Etta James, famous for "At Last" and many other hits, has died, CNN reports. She was 73.

Her long-running friend and manager Lupe De Leon said she died from complications from leukemia and had her husband and sons by her side in Riverside, California. She would have turned 74 next Wednesday. The singer had been battling a number of health issues in recent years, including dementia and hepatitis C.

"This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world, De Leon said. "She was a true original who could sing it all – her music defied category. I worked with Etta for over 30 years. She was my friend and I will miss her always." - more on this story

Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood For CMT Crossroads TV Special

(hennemusic) Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood will share the stage in a CMT Crossroads special airing live from Indianapolis on February 4, the night before Super Bowl XLVI.

CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood From the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair Grounds.

Tyler and Underwood previously performed together in 2011 at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. - more on this story

Hard To Find Jimi Hendrix Recording Being Released

(BM) Sundazed Music and Experience Hendrix, L.L.C are teaming up to release a series of new 7" picture-sleeve vinyl singles featuring unique and hard-to-find vintage performances by Jimi Hendrix.

The ongoing series launches in April with an initial release that combines a pair of historically significant recordings from two different Hendrix 1967 BBC sessions. One is a raucous reading of Bob Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?".

Hendrix recorded his version on October 17 for BBC Radio's Rhythm and Blues show. Dylan's original version, one of history's most notable and enduring musical enigmas, wasn't released on a legitimate album for more than 10 years after its first issue. This Jimi Hendrix Experience version was a highlight of the BBC Sessions double album issued by Experience Hendrix/Sony Legacy in October 2010. - more on this story

Motley Crue's Mick Mars Rocks On Despite Debilitating Disease

Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars hasn't let a debilitating disease keep him from performing and recently addressed the topic of how he handles it in a recent interview.

Loadwire reports: Mars suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis, an inflammatory condition that mainly affects the joints of the spine, making life increasingly difficult and incredibly painful for the person afflicted with it.

"I am able to keep touring," Mars told Classic Rock Revisited in a recent chat. "It is one of those things that I call an inconvenience. Of course I have days that are worse than others and there is always some amount of pain with my hips. There are good days and bad days but it is more of an inconvenience than anything else. I don't feel sick." - more on this story

Chickenfoot TV

(hennemusic) Chickenfoot wrapped up their week-long European tour on Thursday at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The trip was part 2 of the band's Road Test Tour, as they break in new drummer Kenny Aronoff while Chad Smith has returned to his regular gig with new Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Düsseldorf gig – in support of "Chickenfoot III" - was filmed for German TV by WDR's (German public TV) series "Rockpalast"; the episode will premiere on February 27. - more on this story

The Doors Would Have Changed Had Morrison Lived

(Gibson) The Doors would likely have taken a theatrical turn – and perhaps focused on film work – had Jim Morrison survived, keyboardist Ray Manzarek has revealed.

In an interview with M – Music and Musicians, Manzarek said, "My guess is we would have done more theater venues, playing smaller places for a week at a time, preparing the theater with laser lights and speakers under the seats so that we could swirl the sound throughout the auditorium. We would probably have done theatrical presentations that included dancers and actors with recitations. We would have combined film and music. We all had big ambitions. I wanted to make movies starring the band."

Manzarek also lamented the fact that the public has a skewed perception of Morrison. "People don't want to hear about how smart he was, how he was a real poet," Manzarek said. "They just want dirty stories." - more on this story

Abigail Williams Extend North American Tour

Abigail Williams have decided to extend their North American headline tour following news that Dark Funeral pulled the plug on their trek last week where the band was set to act as direct support.

Their camp sent over these details and dates on Friday: On top of the run of eight headlining dates the band already announced, which kicked off Friday in Las Vegas, thirteen newly-booked shows across the East Coast and all the way through the Midwest were just confirmed this week.

Additional tour dates are likely to be confirmed so stay tuned for further developments. For now check out the band's full tour itinerary as it stands, including the monstrous twenty-seven city March Of Death this March when death metal legends Deicide will tour the entire continent with support from ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, Jungle Rot and Lecherous Nocturne. - more on this story

Glenn Five Speaks Out On Leaving Anvil

(Rock News Desk) Departed Anvil bassist Glenn Five says Robb Reiner never stopped reminding him he wasn't a real member of the band – and while frontman Lips Kudlow didn't say as much, he agreed with the drummer's viewpoint.

Five announced his departure this week after sixteen years in the outfit who spent decades in the doldrums before the movie Anvil: The Story of Anvil helped propel them back towards the big-time.

Kudlow responded by accusing him of trying to sabotage their plans by leaving at the worst possible moment, while adding he and Reiner had been expecting the move for some time. But the bassist says he wanted to remain a musician rather than be a film star, and felt he had to get out of the band before a proposed movie sequel begins shooting. - more on this story

Enuff Z'Nuff Releasing Anthology and Album With Jake E. Lee Stateside

(superLOUD) Enuff Z'Nuff founding bassist Chip Z'Nuff entered the WXAV 88.3 FM radio studios for an interview where he revealed upcoming plans for a massive 4-disc anthology release of his band.

Featuring 44 songs, including 22 previously unreleased, Chip appears to be raiding his extensive vaults to give fans a lot of material in the upcoming year.

Z'Nuff also revealed that the band has inked a deal with Cleopatra Records for the release of Dissonance, their 12th studio album. Dissonance has so far only been put out in Europe and Japan, but should finally come out in their home country of the US this April or May. The album features guitar work on several songs from legendary Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee, including a solo on the emotional ballad "Joni Lynn," which can be heard - here.

Godfather of Rhythm and Blues Johnny Otis Dies

(Gibson) Songwriter and bandleader Johnny Otis, whose 1958 hit, "Willie and the Hand Jive," was covered by Eric Clapton on the latter's 461 Ocean Boulevard album, has died at age 90.

Dubbed "The Godfather of Rhythm and Blues," Otis formed his first band in the mid-'40s and scored his first big hit with the song, "Harlem Nocturne." In addition to having his own chart successes, he composed Etta James' first hit, a song titled "The Wallflower," which charted in 1955.

He also penned the 1961 Gladys Knight and the Pips hit, "Every Bit of My Heart," and produced the original version of "Hound Dog" in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley made the song famous. Otis also served as a talent scout for vintage rhythm and blues labels, an occupation that saw him discover or advance the careers of such figures as Little Esther, Big Mama Thornton and Jackie Wilson. Otis continued to tour well into his 70s, even as he become an ordained minister and opened a church in Los Angeles. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. - more on this story

Dying Fetus Set For Headlining Tour

Dying Fetus have mapped out a series of headlining and co-headlining North American tour dates which kick off next month.

The tour stars February 26th and runs through March 14th. The first leg of the tour will see DYING Fetus headlining with support coming from: Job For a Cowboy, Volumes and Last Chance to Reason.

The second leg will feature a co-headlining bill with Dying Fetus and The Faceless. Support will come from Goatwhore, Volumes and Last Chance to Reason. - more on this story

Emmure Announce New Album and Tour

Victory Records have set an April 10 released date for Emmure's fifth full-length album, Slave To The Game.

The group is currently recording with producer Joey Sturgis, who previously worked with the band on 2011's Speaker of the Dead. On the personnel front, the band have added drummer Mark Castillo (ex-Between The Buried And Me and Bury Your Dead).

Emmure will support Slave To The Game with a full North American tour this spring, hitting 31 cities with We Came As Romans and more beginning in March. The band was recently announced to this year's Bamboozle line-up for the May 19th date. - more on this story

Roger Waters Marries Longtime Girlfriend

(hennemusic) Roger Waters has married longtime girlfriend Laurie Durning. It's Waters' fourth time down the aisle; the couple have been together since 2004.

NME reports Waters confirmed the couple's January 14 wedding during an interview with Howard Stern last week.

"Well, actually, I need to bring you up to date because I just got married on Saturday to Laurie, she's gorgeous," Roger told Stern. "Yeah, I couldn't be happier. We did [the pre-nup]. We've been living together for 10 years, I think we sort of know now that we like getting up together in the morning and going to bed at night." - more on this story

Archer Black To Deliver Forgiveness Is A Weapon Next Month

(Sub) Archer Black have set a February 7th release date for their debut album, Forgiveness Is A Weapon, the first full-length release for the newly formed Post Planetary record label.

Archer Black is led by Dustin Morgan, the longtime bass player of The Autumns, who brings a wealth of musical experiences to this new project.

Morgan has previously toured the U.S. and Europe (where he met Archer Black band mates, Drummer Steve Elkins and Guitarist Madison Megna) with The Autumns, travelled to Central America to play in composer Eldad Tarmu's Middle Eastern jazz ensemble, recorded in Los Angeles with noted jazz saxophonist Benny Golbin, and most recently appeared on stage in New York and Los Angeles with French cult icon SoKo. - more on this story

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