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. The Day in Rock - antiMUSIC.com's look at Today's Top Rock News Stories From Across the Web

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Viper Drummer Sidelined

BW&BK reports: Drummer Renato Graccia from Brazillian metallers VIPER has issued the following update:

"Unfortunately, after the December 1st concert in S�o Paulo, I started feeling pain in my back and right leg. After a number of acupuncture sessions and some painkillers that did not work, I passed through several exams and I have found out that the problem is a bit more serious.

Because of that, I won't be performing any musical activities for now, which includes the next concerts of the All My Life tour. But, show must go on! During the next days we will be defining the drummer that will replace me while I recover. - more on this story

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Alicia Keys Tour

FMQB reports: Alicia Keys has announced her 2008 North American tour dates, in support of her hit record As I Am.

Keys will tour Europe, beginning February 25, and kick off the North American trek in Hampton, VA on April 19.

Alicia Keys tour dates:
Apr-19 Hampton, VA
Apr-20 Philadelphia
Apr-22 Pittsburgh
Apr-24 Chicago
Apr-26 Columbus, OH
- more dates

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Behind the Eels

PR reports: Already got your hands on Meet The EELS and Useless Trinkets, but find your craving for EELS growing stronger than ever? Secretly hoping for some quiet reflection time with frontman, Mark Oliver Everett aka E?

Your prayers have been answered! E took some time away from his busy schedule and sit down and reflect upon the last 10 years of his musical existence.

Whether he's commenting on his penchant for coving Prince classics, finding inspiration from Nina Simone's cover of "I Put A Spell On You" or revealing Pete Townsend as his hero, E's thoughtful remarks solidify what an exciting journey the last decade has been. - EELS Behind-The-Scenes

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7 Inch Suicide

PR reports: The time has come once again to dust off your turntables, replace your rusty needles and get ready to spin some jamming tunes because Suicide Squeeze Records is proud to announce the continuation of their limited edition 7"series.

This year's series will feature 7" releases from HEALTH, The Coathangers, School of Seven Bells, Black Moth Super Rainbow and Dave Bazan with more to be announced shortly. All releases are limited to 2,000 copies and will be available via the Suicide Squeeze online store as well as mom and pop shops throughout the U.S. - more on this story

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The Motion Sick Five City Tour

PR reports: Named SPIN Magazine's "Band of the Month" for their first release, Her Brilliant Fifteen, and currently at #140 on the CMJ charts, Boston-based band, The Motion Sick, embark on a five city tour running February 27th-March 8th.

Integrating pop melodies with socially voyeuristic lyrics in Kurt Vonnegut style prose with their second CD, The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait�, released January 1, 2008, lead singer, Mike Epstein, observes, "Vonnegut approaches almost all of his stories with a sort of self-deprecating confession of the whole plot right away and then weaves together the revealed pieces. You're never really reading the book waiting to see what happens, but rather waiting to see how it happens. The tone of his wit is something I admire and strive for and his narrative writing fits with the fatalist concepts in many of our recent songs." - dates

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3 Southern Support for Chevelle

PR reports: Woodstock, NY's prog-rockers 3 are pleased to announce live performances with alternative rock trio Chevelle in March. 3 will be joining Chevelle on March 10, 11, and 12 for shows in North Carolina and Virginia.

3 will be playing to support the February 18 re-release of 2007's The End Is Begun. The audio CD will feature the 13 previously released explosive, mind boggling tracks as well as a bonus track; 3's spin on the classic Pink Floyd song, "See Emily Play."

The bonus DVD will feature live performances of the songs "Monster", "Bramfatura" and "Amaze Disgrace" (all songs from the band's 2004 Metal Blade Records release, Wake Pig) from the Metal Blade 25th Anniversary show from Worcester, Massachusetts. Production videos of the songs "All that Remains" and "Alien Angel" will also be included on the bonus DVD. - dates

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Brian Jonestown Massacre Set Release

Punknews.org reports: San Francisco's Brian Jonestown Massacre have announced that their new album, My Bloody Underground will be released on March 31 on band leader Anton Newcombe's A Records.

NME reports that the album was recorded in both Liverpool and Reykjavik last fall. - more on this story

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Onslaught Lose Member

Blabbermouth reports: Guitarist Alan Jordan of the reactivated British thrashers ONSLAUGHT has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"It is with immediate effect that I will no longer be a part of ONSLAUGHT. I had the best part of three very happy years with the band and recorded what I considered to be a great album and DVD, both of which I'm very proud to be a part of.

"Some internal circumstances within ONSLAUGHT changed and certain ideas were moving in a very different direction to what I envisaged. - more on this story

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Own Jim Morrison's Doors

Jam! reports: The latest in a series of doors being auctioned off from a house where Doors singer Jim Morrison once lived has been painted with a "Love Her Madly" theme, a reference to one of the band's big hits.

"The Jim Morrison Home Legacy Series" enlists artists to use doors collected from a Clearwater, Fla., home that belonged to Morrison's grandparents as their canvases. The doors are then donated to various causes.

The latest, taken from the master bathroom, will go up for auction on EBay Saturday after being unveiled during a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert dedicated to the band's music. Proceeds will benefit the orchestra and an anti-gang initiative - more on this story

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Bill Cosby Now A Rapper

Contact Music reports: Comedian BILL COSBY is set to record a hip-hop album, despite his stance as a long-time critic of certain forms of rap music.

The 70-year-old will address current social issues, such as parenting, teen pregnancy and drug abuse on State Of Emergency - his 35th album since releasing his first comedy LP Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow in 1963.

The actor will reportedly completely avoid the use of profanity in his lyrics [sh*t and here we were hoping to hear Cosby say "motherf**ker" at long last.] - more on this story

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Ludo's You're Awful, I Love You coming

PR reports: The five-man conspiracy known as Ludo bring four years of insane hard work, coast-to-coast survival touring, and endless trips back home to St. Louis with YOU'RE AWFUL, I LOVE YOU, their major label album debut on Island Records, due to arrive in stores February 26th 2008 with lead single "Love Me Dead".

YOU'RE AWFUL, I LOVE YOU was recorded in Los Angeles over the course of eight weeks with producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Train, Faith No More). Described by band's Andrew Volpe as "their healthiest, most-ten-toed musicbaby yet," the new album follows up its two indie predecessors � Ludo's self-titled debut album of 2003 (recorded in St. Louis, "in roughly 14 days"), and 2005's mini-album EP Broken Bride (on Redbird Records).

Ludo's slavishly devoted legions of fans are logging on to the Ludo video thing channel, checking out their latest episode 13 which includes new track "Love Me Dead" Toothbrush video. In addition to tracks from their first two albums � "Hum Along" from Ludo; and "Pt. I: Broken Bride" and the monumental "Save Our City" from Broken Bride � the site also previews two tracks from YOU'RE AWFUL, I LOVE YOU, "Drunken Lament" and "Love Me Dead." - check the video things here

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The Two Man Gentlemen Heavy Petting

PR reports: The Two Man Gentlemen Band will release their third album, 'Heavy Petting,' just in time for Valentine's Day. Comprising two finely dressed young men, Andy Bean on banjo and The Councilman on bass, this NYC duo plays high-energy tunes in a hot jazz, Tin Pan Alley, vaudevillian swing style.

'Heavy Petting' is an album about love. But this isn't your typical record of ballads and gentle lyrics. The Gentlemen expertly relate love to topics like The Depression, Prohibition, even their favorite sport, badminton. Sings Andy Bean on the toe-tapping "They Can't Prohibit Love," "That firewater in the moonshine dug a hole right through my liver/ But your lovin' makes every single one of my organs quiver." You will come across a few naughty innuendos, but never fear, The Gentlemen utter nary an indecent word.

The love song trend continues with tunes like "When Your Lips Are Playing My Kazoo," "Heavy Petting" and "A Gentleman Knows How To Love." The Gentlemen also deliver a heartfelt, piano-driven ode to Newtown Creek, New York City's notoriously polluted stream. Another gem, "Unicycle Blues," finds Andy Bean crooning woefully about an altercation in which his lover cuts his tandem bicycle in half. - "Heavy Petting" MP3

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Antagonist Inked

PR reports: Prosthetic Records is pleased to announce the signing of Southern California metal band ANTAGONIST. Earning their keep in the local and national scene since 1998, and with two prior full-lengths to their credit, ANTAGONIST has already logged time hit the road with the likes of Light This City, The Faceless, Winds of Plague, Silent Civilian, and fellow SoCal metallers The Funeral Pyre, among others.

The band's Prosthetic Records debut, set to be titled 'Exist,' will be produced by Fred Archambault (Avenged Sevenfold, The Confession, Deftones), and is the follow-up to 'An Envy of Innocence,' which saw a 2006 release via Dwell Records. Tentatively slated for a summer 2008 release, 'Exist' will be recorded starting March 1.

"We're very happy and excited to finally announce our signing with Prosthetic!" guitarist/vocalist Carlos Garcia says. "These guys have treated us like family since day one and they really believe in the music we're making. We're all very anxious to enter the studio and even more pumped to get out on the road and play all the new ---- for everyone." In addition, the band has issued a video statement in reaction to the deal - here

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Gran Ronde Debut

PR reports: Gran Ronde will unveil what lurks inside its SECRET ROOMS on April 8 when Filter Recordings (Magnet, Amusement Parks on Fire) releases the band's debut full-length album. A glimpse into the Los Angeles foursome's brooding rock will be made available February 5 on iTunes with the five-track introductory EP, ON AND ON.

Recorded in the band's hometown with veteran producer/mixer Mark Needham (The Killers, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon) and James Bairian (Giant Drag, Dirty Little Secret), SECRET ROOMS and the ensuing EP (which only share title track "On and On") are the end result of years of honing their singular vision. Over the course of the LP's 10 tracks, the band covers diverse territory from radio ready romp "Say Say Say," complete with a peanut butter-sticky chorus, to "Gold," a slow psychedelic dirge that begins with an intriguing, ghostly keyboard line. "Wisdom," on the other hand, is all jangly guitars and lovelorn sentiment. The album will also include "Fist Fight," a track that received attention on London's XFM radio station, subsequently leading to the band's first shows overseas.

Disciples of the mood-laden U.K. guitar bands such as Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Oasis, Gran Ronde has gathered an impressive local following due to incessant gigging, including headlining shows at the Troubadour and Spaceland and performances alongside The Walkmen, Silversun Pickups, We Are Scientists, Cold War Kids, Stellastarr* and Mystery Jets. Most recently Gran Ronde were main support on Razorlight's national fall tour. A short run of shows, coalescing in Austin at the South by Southwest Music Festival, will coincide with the EP release. - more on this story

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Enter Shikari US Tour Plans

PR reports: UK Sensations Enter Shikari have announced they will make their SXSW debut this March.

The band will also play the infamous Coachella Valley Music Festival on April 26th.

Before their SXSW and Coachella debuts Enter Shikari will return to the U.S. with a string of dates in February. The band will share the stage on their West Coast trek with Aiden, Madina Lake and A Static Lullabye. - more on this story

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.... Lenny Kravitz - It's Time for a Love Revolution

It's Time for a Love Revolution is far from a sound revolution for Kravitz. Where he fails at innovation he more than makes up with enthusiasm and the bright joy of good groove, something that's been lacking in his music for a few years now. (4 stars) - Read the full Lenny Kravitz - It's Time for a Love Revolution review

.... Holly Ramos - Racehorse

Would you welcome the artist into your home, then into your heart, and simply soak up whatever notes, words, thoughts, and feelings pouring out of her? If that artist is Holly Ramos, the answer is a loud, sincere and wholly (or Holly) appreciative YES. (4 stars) - Read the full Holly Ramos - Racehorse review

.... Bloodhorse - Bloodhorse EP

If you like your metal fun but still really f*cking heavy, there is nothing wrong with this one! Short, sweet, and full of good times, the Bloodhorse EP will appeal to anyone who likes the Sword or traditional doom metal with a rawer, more modern sheen. - Read the full Bloodhorse - Bloodhorse EP review

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