Johnny Ramone Cancer Battle
Blabbermouth reports: Rolling Stone magazine is reporting that RAMONES guitarist Johnny Ramone is in a Los Angeles hospital battling prostate cancer. "Johnny's been a champ in confronting this, but at this point I think the chances are slim," drummer Marky Ramone told the magazine. "John never smoked cigarettes, he wasn't a heavy drinker and he was always into his health. It just proves when cancer seeks a body to penetrate, it doesn't matter how healthy you are or how unhealthy you are. It just seeps in and there's nothing you can do." 

Johnny Ramone, 55, whose real name is John Cummings, was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, and it has now spread throughout his body, Rollingstone.com quoted Marky Ramone as saying. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Durst Denies Avril Dis
Blabbermouth reports: LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst has told an Illinois radio station that Avril Lavigne was "making s*** up" when she told Rolling Stone magazine that Fred "took took a private jet out to one of my shows, expecting me to bang him" after an initial meeting at MTV's "mtvICON: Metallica" tribute concert. 

Asked to respond to Avril's comments, Fred told The Stone Age of Illinois' WWCT Rock 96.5 FM, "Maybe she's in denial. I don't really know her, but I guess she's cooler than I thought since she can just get on and make up some s*** and talk s***, so.. maybe she's as cool as everyone else out there. [see full story for info on the full interview]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Testament Axe Breaks Leg
Blabbermouth reports: TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson took a bad fall down a flight of stairs and fractured one of his legs in two places Sunday (June 13) at a club in Slovakia where the band were performing as part of their European tour. Peterson, who is said to be "okay and in good spirits," may require surgery. [see full story for a follow up story and how the band plan to handle the current tour]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Nightwish Top Charts
Blabbermouth reports: NIGHTWISH have sold in excess of 80,000 copies of their new album, "Once", in Germany during its first week of release to debut at No. 1 on the German album chart. "Once" has also topped the charts in Greece, Finland and Norway. In Sweden, the album entered the chart at No. 2 while in Austria it came in at No. 4. 

NIGHTWISH have sold more than 30,000 copies of "Once", in Finland � enough for the CD to be certified platinum in the group's home country. A U.S. release date for the album has yet to be announced.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Blabbermouth also has news on NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DIABLO Perform At Finland's SAUNA OPEN AIR, EINHERJER: 'Blot' To Receive U.S. Release, DEATHCHAIN To Embark On European Mini-Tour, THOUGHT CRIME Call It Quits, SKUMLOVE: New Remixes Available Online and more click here to check it out

Prince Sues Fan
AP reports: Prince is denying allegations that he instructed his bodyguard to assault a college student who took the musician's photo at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. 

Prince filed a counterclaim Monday in Hennepin County District Court, alleging the student invaded his privacy and violated trademark and copyright law. 

Anthony Fitzgerald of Edina sued Prince and his bodyguard in April for damages of at least $50,000. Fitzgerald claims he was assaulted at the airport Dec. 29 and that his new digital camera was confiscated when he took a photo of Prince as the rock star was getting off a plane. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Rivers Cuomo Does John Denver
Day in Rock reports: Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has apparently caught the MySpace craze. You can check out his space for blog entries but more importantly music! Cuomo recently posted a covers of John Denver's "Annie Song", "Tomorrow" from Annie and Ann Poonkasem's "Invincible" for his fans to enjoy. (see a theme?) See the full story link to check out Rivers space at My Space and let him fill up your senses with the songs. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Ray Charles Public Service
MTV reports: Ray Charles fans wishing to pay their final respects to the legendary musician will be able to do so on Thursday. A public memorial and viewing for Charles is scheduled to take place in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: MTV also has news on Britney Cancels Tour, A Beastie Boys Lyrical Guide To The 5 Boroughs And Beyond, William Hung Squeezes Into A Body Suit For Latest Video, Usher, Alicia Keys Record Duet, Ray Charles, 50 Cent, Fantasia Barrino, T-Boz, Incubus, Polyphonic Spree & More click here to check it out

Amy Lee Talks Up New Songs
MTV reports: "Just because there's still singles coming off from the last album doesn't mean we're not working on this new one at the same time," Evanescence singer Amy Lee said. "It's just kind of buying us time, I guess, more than anything. And we're taking our time and I'm having fun writing. It's my favorite part." 

Lee has a hard time describing her own music, but she thinks her new songs are darker than most of the material on Fallen. 

"It still sounds like me, but I've been in a spooky mood lately, so I think it's gonna be kinda spooky," she said. "I'd like to use more organ. I wanna make it heavier and softer at the same time." 

"I want to go in a lot of different directions we didn't go on Fallen," she continued. "I want to get different emotions across. Obviously I think there's a spectrum of emotions on Fallen, but I think it's still limited in a lot of ways." [see the full story for the indepth interview by MTV's Corey Moss]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Alanis Gets Engaged
AP reports: Isn't it ironic? Alanis Morissette, who made her name with poignant, angry songs about wrecked relationships, is engaged. The 30-year-old singer says her boyfriend, actor Ryan Reynolds, has asked her to marry him, according to Us Weekly magazine. The couple hasn't set a date yet. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Stevie Ray Vaughn Double DVD
Soul Shine reports: Blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn played the famed Montreux festival in Switzerland twice with very different results. On August 10 a double disc DVD of the performances will be released. "Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985" will include songs that do not appear on the CD by the same name. The DVD will also feature a documentary about the famous music festival and interviews with Jackson Browne, John Mayer, Tommy Shannon, and Chris Layton. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Soul Shine also has news on Burning Brides Get Hi-Tech, Emm Gryner To Tour With The Cardigans, A.C. Newman North American Tour, SCENE 2004 Music Festival, Ted Leo Tours and Records, The Doors Welcome Astbury and more click here to check it out

Chimaira DVD
The PRP reports: Chimaira are said to now be eyeing a tentative October 26th release date through Roadrunner/Island/Def Jam for their DVD/CD package, "The Dehumanizing Process". The live portion of the outing will be mixed in 5.1 surround by Colin Richardson (Fear Factory, Machine Head). - Click Here for the Full Story 

Carnal Forge Not Dead Yet
The PRP reports: Carnal Forge have set an August 10th North American release date through Century Media for their new album "Aren't You Dead Yet?". - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: The PRP also has news on Hope For Our Worst, Postman Dates Posted, A Perfect Track Listing, One With The Release Date, Hed Back To Planet Earth, Guitarist Revolts, Touring Till The End , Society's Love And Murder, Into The Dates and more click here to check it out

The Revolution Smile Goodbye to Guitarist
Digital Noise reports: The Revolution Smile have announced that they have parted ways with guitarist Tim McCord. 

The band are currently searching for a temporary guitarist on their upcoming Warped Tour dates in July.. [see full story for a link on how you can fill the slot]- Click Here for the Full Story 

(hed) games
Digital Noise reports: (hed)p.e., who recently announced that they had changed their name to just (hed), have now announced that they will be changing their name back to (hed)p.e. 

Band frontman Jahred made the announcement on the band's official webite, www.hedrocks.com. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Digital Noise also has news on The Used Announce Hometown Show, Dropkick Murphys Announce European Tour Dates, Track Listing for Evergreen Terrace's "At Our Worst" Revealed, More Dates Announced for Kittie Tour, Sparta Drop Off Lollapalooza to Join Incubus Tour, Sevendust and Nonpoint Team Up for Summer Tour and more click here to check it out

Family Picnic Tour
siN's metal news reports: As exclusively reported here, STATIC-X will be heading out on a full US tour that will kick off late July / early August. 

We can now reveal that the band will be heading out on a 3 week stint, as part of the 'Family Picnic Tour', which will see support coming from TRUSTcompany, SOiL (on some dates), LO-PRO, and MOLOTOV. Routing has been confirmed, and dates and venues should be revealed soon. It's also rumored that the first 2,000 ladies that appear at any show along the tour will get in for free. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: siN's metal news also has news on Sevendust / Nonpoint - First dates, Scarlet, Hopesfall, and Nora - UK tour set, Slayer - Canadian set list revealed , ZAO, Drowning Pool, Flaw, Dropbox - Tour coming together, and more click here to check it out

Euro iTunes
NMC reports: On June 15, Apple® launched its revolutionary iTunes® Music Store in the UK, France and Germany giving music fans there the same large online catalog, a la carte pricing, free previews, one-click purchasing and downloading, and groundbreaking personal use rights that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world. With Apple's legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iMix playlist sharing, and breakthrough pricing of just €0.99 and £0.79, the iTunes Music Store is a great way for Mac® and PC users in the UK, France and Germany to legally discover, purchase and download music online. Apple also announced that it will launch a European Union version of the iTunes Music Store in October of this year. [see the full story for more information than you can possibly ever use on this story]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: NMC also has news on Blink-182 on Blink-182, New Found Glory Concert Alert, Alicia Keys and Usher Hook Up, Yeah Yeah Yeahs De-Evolutionize, Kanye Designs Grandma's Jesus and more click here to check it out

Bono Teams With Bon Jovi For Special Olympics
ArrowFM reports: There's some do gooders in the neighborhood. U2 frontman is fighting the war against AIDS in Africa and Jon Bon Jovi is raising funds for John Kerry. But when these wonder twins get together there's gonna be some activity. That'll be the case when Bono and Bon Jovi join such esteemed figures as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Muhammed Ali and singer Vanessa Williams as this year's Special Olympics Global Ambassadors. I just hope Bono and Bon Jovi don't get in trouble for throwing things at the back of Arnold's head while giggling like little school girls. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: ArrowFM also has news on Two Fans Die At Bonnaroo Festival, Kravitz Saves Jagger's Joint, Clapton: A 20th Century Master, Rock Scraps For A Lazy Tuesday, Stars Gather to Mark Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and more click here to check it out

Rocket from the Crypt Reissue
Pitchfork reports: Rocket from the Crypt's 1993 album "Circa Now!", is getting the reissue treatment. The reissue disc will feature four bonus tracks and is set to hit stores on July 6th. 

Bonus tracks: Lamps for Sale - Crazy Talk - Flight of the Hobo- Over the Rail [see the full story for a lot more details and a full track listing, plus find out how Interscope supposedly paid $102,000,000 for RFTC, in fine Pitchfork fashion!] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Pitchfork also has news on Pixies release first new song in 13 years, The Faint ready new album for fall, The Apes issue new EP on Birdman, Beulah announce plans to break up after free New York concert in early August and more click here to check it out

The Music Preview
Knifeparty reports: The Music will be releasing one track off their upcoming album which is still untitled at this point. The song Welcome to the North will be available on their site on Monday, June 21. The album is scheduled to hit shelves in September and it will be preceded by a single called Freedom Fighters set to hit earlier in September.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Knife Party also has news on Fall Out Boy, Tiger Army, Name Taken, Matchbook Romance, DJ Rossstar, Coheed and Cambria, Hidden In Plain View and more click here to check it out

Bjork Sets Release Date
AZ Central reports: Bjork is eyeing a late August release date for her next Elektra album, "Medulla." The set is tipped to feature contributions from experimental electronic duo Matmos and Japanese beatboxer Dokaka. A handful of cryptic audio samples from the album can be heard on Bjork's official Web site. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Embrace Coldplay Song
Ananova reports: Chris Martin is reportedly to write Embrace's comeback single. According to NME the Coldplay front man has written the song Gravity for the Brighouse band as a thank you for the help they gave his band in its early days. Now it will be the first song to be lifted from the band's much-delayed new album, due out in September. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Duran Duran Fall Release
liveDaily reports: Duran Duran's founding lineup, which reunited last year, is set to issue its first new album since 1983's "Seven & the Ragged Tiger" in October. 

The as-yet-untitled album was written in the south of France and recorded in London, where the group is currently working with producers Rich Harrison (Beyonce, Usher) and Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Pearl Jam). - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: liveDaily also has news on Glen Campbell, Gavin DeGraw, Beulah, Britney Spears calls off tour due to injury, Stars to come out in force for Ray Charles memorial and more click here to check it out

Silly News: As If Jessica Wasn't Enough
WB reports: From her first ever performance on "TRL" to her new MTV gig, "The Ashlee Simpson Show," Jessica Simpson's little sister has hit it big. She's got a new album coming out, a commercial on TV with her big sis and now her own show. 

You can compare the Simpson sisters for yourself when "The Ashlee Simpson Show" debuts Wednesday night on MTV, right after the premiere episode of the new season of "Newlyweds." [see full story for more] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Glen Campbell Jailed
Reuters reports: Singer Glen Campbell was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 days in jail for extreme drunken driving and leaving the scene of a accident last year, court officials said. 

Campbell, 68, will be allowed out each day for 12 hours on work furlough under a plea deal that was formally approved during a brief hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court. He also was placed on two years probation and must perform 75 hours of community service under the sentence, which begins July 1. [see full story for more] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Jacko Payoffs
CBS News reports: Court TV is putting a dollar figure on the settlement Michael Jackson gave to his first accuser. 

Court TV's Diane Dimond says she's acquired a copy of the final settlement Jackson made to the boy who accused him of molestation in 1993. The document, dated January 1994, says Jackson set up a trust fund worth more than $15 million. 

Court TV quotes unnamed sources as saying the boy got a seven-figure payment up front. It says each of his parents got $1.5 million, and the family's lawyer was given $5 million expenses. - Click Here for the Full Story 

38 Special Drivetrain
press release reports: After more than two decades together, 38 Special is still playing more than 100 shows per year. And at every one of them, thousands of audience members are completely blindsided by the power and muscle of the band's performance. 

So when the group went in to record Drivetrain (July 27, Sanctuary Records), its first full studio album in years, it sought to capture that live energy on disc. And as a result, 38 Special, over twenty-five years later, has never sounded so powerful and in your face. Having had its share of success in the pop realm - selling some 15 million albums - the group sought to make this album all about attitude. It sounds rude, Barnes says, and it was meant to. [see full story to check out the band's home page for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Wednesday Media
Today's multimedia pick comes from Burning Brides. These guys are turning heads with their new CD and on the road supporting A Perfect Circle. We have two songs for you to check out from them!

click the full story link to get more current selections from our Mandatory Media section! - Click Here for the Full Story