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Day In Rock 3/17: Axl Kicks the Bucket?- Punk Voter Censored- Avril Vs. Hillary Duff- Love Court Drama- DA to Question Lisa Marie- Dr. Bono- EU Approve Piracy Gestapo- New York Dolls Reunion- Broken Blink- Donnas- Darkness- Soulfly- Machinehead- Ben Fold- Prince - Bad Religion- Puddle of Tears- more
by Keavin Wiggins
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The Day in Rock Wednesday antiMUSIC.com's look at Today's Top Rock News Stories From Across the Web

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Axl Kicks the Bucket?
Blabbermouth reports: Rumors of guitarist Buckethead's departure from GUNS N' ROSES have gained strength in the recent weeks, with many speculating that GNR singer Axl Rose's alleged decision to resume taking guitar lessons will result in him taking on some of the guitar duties himself during the band's upcoming live performances. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Punk Voter Censored
Aversion reports: Propagandhi's contribution to the upcoming Punk Voter compilation was yanked off the track list after Fat Wreck Chords took issue with liner notes. 

After the band refused to revise its liner notes for the song, "Free John Hinkley," which criticized financier George Soros from liner notes. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Avril Vs. Hillary Duff
Chart Attack reports: While Lavigne has already told a few media outlets that her new album is more "mature" than her 2002 debut Let Go, she apparently hasn't grown out of the all-too-common teenage pasttime of making catty remarks about other girls. In the current issue of Newsweek, Avril takes shots at America's current sweetheart, Hilary Duff. 

"I read that I was supposedly mad at my fans for dressing like me," Newsweek quotes Lavigne as saying. "They quoted Hilary Duff saying, 'Avril needs to appreciate her fans more and blah, blah, blah.' I'm like, excuse me? First off, it's not even true. I never said that. And second, who the hell cares what she has to say about my fans? Whatever. Hilary Duff's such a goody-goody, such a mommy's girl." 

After Lavigne admitted that she hadn't actually met Duff, she took on a mocking tone and added, "But I'm sure she's really nice and really sweet. I'm sure she's all smiles." - Click Here for the Full Story 

Included because catfights are fun, and no, this is not a 'passive-aggressive' endorsement of Advil.

Love Court Drama
Ananova reports: Rock star Courtney Love showed up two hours late for a hearing on drug charges and was reprimanded by the judge in Beverly Hills, California, after talking out of turn in court. 

Love's attorney Michael Rosenstein won a delay of the preliminary hearing after arguing that witnesses needed to be brought in from out of state and that he had not received drug samples for testing. 

But the brief proceeding was marked by interjections from Love, who claimed to have prescriptions for the drugs and at another point seemed to fire and immediately rehire her lawyer. 

"I have the pill bottles on me," she claimed. 

At another point she said to her attorney, "You're fired." 

"Miss Love, you're not doing yourself any favours," Superior Court Judge Elden Fox said. 

"Rehired," Love said. 

[see the full story for more info.] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Is she going an insanity defense?

DA to Question Lisa Marie
Much Music reports: Lisa Marie Presley raised eyebrows recently when she told an interviewer that she recalled "seeing things going on that I couldn't do anything about" while married to Michael Jackson. It now seems that the comments caught the attention of prosecutors in the sex abuse case against Jackson. UK tabloids are reporting that Presley will be questioned by police when she returns to California. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Dr. Bono
Rueters reports: U2 frontman Bono will deliver the commencement address May 17 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 

The artist will also receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the ceremony. Bono is expected to discuss his work with Debt AIDS (news - web sites) Traffic Africa, which aims to raise awareness and funds to fight the continent's war against the disease. - Click Here for the Full Story 

EU Approve Piracy Gestapo
Wired reports: The European Parliament approved a controversial piracy law that would allow local police to raid the homes and offices of suspected intellectual-property pirates, search their financial records and even freeze suspects' bank accounts. 

The European Union's directive covers selling everything from pirated CDs and counterfeit toys to fake Chanel and Viagra. 

Organizations that suspect their intellectual property has been violated can obtain search-and-seizure orders and injunctions. The measure passed last week by a vote of 330 to 151, but not without some last-minute brokering by European Parliament President Pat Cox. Various industry groups had pushed for a tougher directive that would have included the threat of criminal sanctions. Consumer-rights groups such as the European Consumers' Organization charged that the law was overly broad and would re-create the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in Europe. - Click Here for the Full Story 

That headline is a 'passive-aggressive' stab at over reaching anti-piracy laws. Having law enforcement officers conducting a search when piracy is suspected is one thing but to gave that right to intellectual property owners is entirely another. Piracy is a serious problem but are such extreme measures necessary? 

New York Dolls Reunion
NME reports: MORRISSEY has hinted at his plans for this year's MELTDOWN festival. 

Speaking to NME.COM over the weekend the former Smiths star said that the surviving New York Dolls are reforming for their first show since the �70s, and other acts likely to appear include Franz Ferdinand, Sparks and Elton John. 

As Morrissey is curating the festival, he will also make a live appearance. [click full story link for more info on the event] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Broken Blink
NME reports: BLINK-182 have said they will continue with their US tour eventhough drummer TRAVIS BARKER broke his foot. 

As previously reported, the band pulled out of shows in Japan, Australia and Hawaii after the accident. 

The band honoured Saturday's (March 13) show at Adelaide Entertainment Centre with Barker playing in a cast but shows scheduled for March 16-18 at Sydney Hordern Pavilion and March 19 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre are affected. [see full story for a statement issued to NME by Travis] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Donnas Camp
MTV reports: While working on the follow-up to 2002's Spend the Night, the Donnas have been chosen as "spokesgirls" for Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, a company that makes guitars and basses in pink and baby blue that are lighter and have thinner necks, to give 11 girls the chance to follow in their footsteps. Two-week scholarships to the DayJams Rock Music Day Camps around the country will be awarded this summer.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Expensive Darkness
Blabbermouth reports: THE DARKNESS have asked for a massive £1million fee (approx. $1.8 million) to play this year's Glastonbury Festival, according to NME.com. 

The figure is a far cry from the £75 (approx. $136) they were paid to play their Friday morning opening set last year. 

Today festival organizer Michael Eavis told the Daily Mirror: "It's incredible how much things change in a year." 

"When we booked them last year they were just a pub band no-one had heard of. We paid them £75 but they were thrilled to be given the opportunity." 

Since THE DARKNESS' appearance at the festival last year, the group's debut album, "Permission To Land", has sold 1.2 million copies in the U.K. alone. In addition, the CD has achieved gold status in the U.S. for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Signingfly
BW&BK reports: SOULFLY leader Max Cavalera will be signing copies of the band's new record, Prophecy, at Zia Records Exchange (2510 West Thunderbird, Phoenix, AZ) at midnight on March 30th. 

As previously reported, the limited edition two-CD set with special packaging will feature material recorded live at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden on June 15th, 2001. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Machinehead Destruct
RIFTrock reports: Machinehead will be playing headlining dates in the United States along with Arch Enemy and God Forbid on their upcoming Weapons of Mass Destruction Tour. The tour will begin in late April and run through May. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Ben Fold Summer
Press Release reports: Ben Folds hits the road with a new album due out this summer. Folds will start the spring off playing a series of solo piano college campus gigs. After spending the summer of 2003 on the Lottapianos Tour with Tori Amos, Ben is back to showcase songs from his upcoming release as well as compositions from his recent EP's and esteemed catalogue of albums. Last winter saw Ben Folds dive into uncharted waters and accomplish something no other artist has. Using the speed of digital technology, Folds released two solo EP's � speed graphic and sunny 16 along with a group project called The Bens, featuring Ben Folds, and fellow Ben's - Ben Lee and Ben Kweller. The music was sold on the Internet and available to fans within only a couple weeks after its recording via www.attackedbyplastic.com.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Prince Crowned
Herald Sun reports: PRINCE was crowned as musical royalty on Monday as he joined the late George Harrison and six other inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Also honoured were Texas group ZZ Top, singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, English rock-jazz fusion band Traffic, rocker Bob Seger, R & B group The Dells, and Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. 

Prince kicked off the festivities with an electrifying performance of Let's Go Crazy, Sign 'O' The Times and Kiss that brought the star-studded audience to its feet. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Bad Religion Strikes Back
I Ate Your Microphone reports: The tracklisting has been revealed for Bad Religion's upcoming new album "The Empire Strikes First", tentatively due out on June 08th through Epitaph. It will be as follows:
01. "Overture"
02. "Sinister Rouge"
03. "Social Suicide"
04. "Atheist Peace"
05. "All There Is"
06. "Los Angeles Is Burning"
07. "Let Them Eat War"
08. "God's Love"
09. "To Another Abyss"
10. "The Quickening"
11. "The Empire Strikes First"
12. "Beyond Electric Dreams"
13. "Boot Stamping On A Human Face Forever"
14. "Live Again - The Fall Of Man"
- Click Here for the Full Story 

Incucharity
Net Music Countdown reports: Incubus has raised $19,183 to date for their pet charity, the Make Yourself Foundation. The foundation was launched last year as a non-profit organization funding various causes and that are important to the band. Incubus personally donate a portion of the proceeds from touring, record royalties, online auctions of Incubus concert tickets and memorabilia, and special events to the foundation, and hopes to raise $1 million this year. - Click Here for the Full Story 

20K down and 980K to go. 

Puddle of Tears
Net Music Countdown reports: Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin, known most recently for his drunken non-performance in Toledo, says he's writing songs that are making even him cry these days. 

In spite of all the attendant glory that comes with being a rock star, Scantlin says there's a down side. "I've been going through a little struggling time in my life right now," he says. "When I get off the road I'm just sitting in a house trying to figure out how to be normal again, and then when I get back on the road I'm trying to figure out how it is to live on the road again." 

He recently wrote a song during a soundcheck called "Galvanic," which he says has amazing emotion. "I cried when I heard it on the playback," he says. - Click Here for the Full Story 

He cried when she smacked his ass too.

Stxy Frampton
liveDaily reports: Classic rockers Styx and Peter Frampton join forces for this summer's VH1 Classic Summer Hits concert tour, which also will feature special guest Nelson. 

The outing gets underway on May 6 in the Cleveland area, and is due to wrap up in Virginia Beach, VA, on June 27. Tickets for a number of shows are on sale now, with many others due to hit the box office this month, according to promoters. 

Hard Rock Cafe has signed on as the tour's sponsor. - Click Here for the Full Story 

Bare Godsmack
Rockdirt reports: Dan Aquilante of the New York Post reviewed Godsmack's unplugged album 'The Other Side', calling it "one of the most daring records a metal band could have turned in because it strips the music bare, leaving the band nothing to hide behind." He added, "This is a terrific album that illustrates a completely new side of a band known for thrashing metal grooves. The melodies are well-crafted and avoid the conventional trap of verse-chorus-verse pop."- Click Here for the Full Story 

Equal Time: Linkin Park
liveDaily reports: [we got a few complaints when we featured a segment of a negative review of LP. So in the interest of equal time here is a review from Gabriel Sheffer over at liveDaily that thought they were yummy =) ] Whether you're talking about a soul, pop, hip-hop, or rock hit, invariably, every great song must have one essential, life-giving element: a super-sized chorus. On Monday night (3/15), Linkin Park served up plenty. 

The band's ingredients included two vocalists--one jabbing through the rhythm section's monster sound, the other warping melodies or wailing away. Both were stacked on a plate of turntable wick-wacks and a heap of effects. Yum. 

Postponed five weeks from its original date, Monday's show at The Forum had Linkin Park mesmerizing a frantic, downright eager Los Angeles audience. For 90 minutes, the band blended one mind-numbing explosion of emotion, distortion, and melody into the next. On this, the final night of its Meteora tour, the six-piece rocked with pure, balls-to-the-wall elation. - Click Here for the Full Story 

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