Bluebird - As a band, we don't write music for shock value and a lot of people that I've told this story to at interviews have sensationalized it.

In an exclusive statement to TheDirty.com Walker said, "I was just back at my room and at about 5:30 in the morning, I got a knock at the door, I opened it and 3 guys with guns were there, they cracked me in the head a few times knocking me unconscious.

He was 34 years old. According to the surviving members of PEPPERMINT CREEPS, "the cause of death is still unknown" and will likely take several weeks to determine. Commented the band: "[We] were with him for two weeks on the road. He was the happiest we have seen him in such a long time. He was doing what he loved the most.

Among the crimes committed by the show are "Wentz's repeated references to his wife and (impending) kid" and a crowd that finds Blink-182 more important than The Who. After all, how could "Baba O'Riley" compare to "What's My Age Again?"

"She seems to be fine in herself, but they are taking their time to be sure," her spokesman said.

Jesse James Dupree, the chain-saw wielding lead singer from multi-platinum Jackyl, will release Rev It Up and Go-Go on Mighty Loud Records July 15th. The tunes on Rev It Up range from one extreme to the other. The first half of the cd features the intense hard rock you'd expect for the wildman, while the second half is -----kicking country that sounds like a retro radio show. The Dixie Inc band features members of The Kentucky Headhunters, Doubledrive and Blackberry Smoke. wanna taste and more info

Attn: NYC Futureheads fans. The band is playing a Brooklyn Vegan Secret Show at Pianos tonight (Wed) So if you missed buying a ticket to the sold out show at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, you have another chance to see them and it won't cost you a thing. more info

To all of you in Canada expecting to see Blacklisted live this week, sorry, but the band was denied entry into the country on Sunday. Details regarding the denial haven't been disclosed, but according to the group, "We are now banned forever from entering Canada." more

On Tuesday June 24 Los Angeles will be host to the first-ever American appearance of the multimedia London art rock group CIAM at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. The following night (June 25), CIAM will be performing publicly for the first time at Tangier in Los Feliz. The group seeks to be more than a band, but rather, in the words of founding member Jeff Shapiro, an "art and music movement." CIAMySpace

Eye Alaska re-released their debut EP, Yellow & Elephant, on iTunes Tuesday. The release includes re-recorded tracks plus a bonus song titled, "Cheetah and The Tiger." The re-release coincides with the much anticipated nationwide release of Yellow & Elephant in retail stores July 22, 2008.

One of our old writer's once joked that all you needed to be a rapper was a drum machine and the ability to cuss to the beat. Looks like all you need now is a cell phone. Check it: Ludacris has teamed up with Disney- backed company VoodooVox create a "mobile recording studio" for WeMix users. The partnership allows members to use any phone as a microphone, and lay down original vocals, tracks, and beats and instantly broadcast original content recordings worldwide. Any user can call in from any phone and record their demo for all to hear.

Metal Blade's Fresh Meat Tour which was to feature Rose Funeral, Epicurean, The Destro and The Absence has been cancelled. more

Documents unsealed from the R. Kelly child pornography trial include claims from the prosecution's star witness that an employee of the R&B star threatened her. more

Beck and the Black Crowes will headline the annual San Diego Street Scene festival, scheduled for September 19-20. more info

The intimate biographical portrait of Clash frontman, vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primal lyricist Joe Strummer (b. Aug. 21, 1952 � d. Dec. 22, 2002) underscores his passion for the music, and his instincts as a committed social and political activist. His body of work, alongside his partners in the Clash, led the band to be inscribed in rock history as "the only band that mattered" then � and the only band that really matters now.

Originally released on 1993's Slaughtahouse, the track called for a "death to the wack MC's" and the gangsta rap era. The original video featured Masta Ace and crew rhyming in an actual slaughterhouse.

The as-yet-untitled record is said to feature the band's "most dynamic material to date," combining strong tension and release, abundant guitar solos and a bulldozing power-groove.

Fear Factory is currently on hiatus while the band's frontman, Burton C. Bell, focuses his attention on the Ascension Of The Watchers project, which recently inked a deal with Ministry mainman Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records.

The line-up regrouped last year and recorded three songs for the compilation 'Black Sabbath: The Dio Years', but when they wanted to tour, Sharon Osbourne, beholder of all legal things Sabbath, refused to allow them to use the Black Sabbath name. [surprise, surprise. Maybe she's saving it for a stupid reality show?]

But things have changed. How about buying an album from a popular band for just $2 bucks? According to Billboard, "To support the new Coldplay album 'Viva la Vida,' Amazon will feature each of the band's past four albums for $2, with 'Brothers and Sisters' going for only $1."

That's not all, they also have a promo called Friday Five where they sell five different albums for $5.00 bucks. While they are offering deals, eMusic with is filled mostly with the obscure indie stuff you never heard of, is jacking up their rates. Read more about both here

This past week my best friend, and partner here at Strangeways, Daryl Rabidoux, was involved in a serious car accident that has left him in the hospital with a list of serious injuries. Daryl sustained two punctured lungs, many broken ribs, a torn liver, a fractured sternum, and head trauma from the accident.