The nature of Whitford's medical condition and surgery have not been specified. However, in true show-must-go-on tradition, Aerosmith will hit the road with guitarist Bobby Schneck, who has performed with Green Day, Weezer and Slash as a temporary replacement.

The band and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) began recording last October at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and recently finished mixing at Henson Studios in Hollywood. The highly anticipated album is scheduled for release this September.

Classic Rock Revisited: Eddie Van Halen told RollingStone.com that Michael quit Van Halen and was not fired. Michael: I am so far past that� I wish that he would be too. Unfortunately, he is a bitter guy. At my age, at this point in my life, I don't want to be bitter. I want to hang around positive people, and I could not find three more positive guys than the guys I am playing with now. Why keep rehashing the past? They were asking Eddie questions that had nothing to do with that. They said, "Have you heard Chickenfoot?" And he goes, "Yeah, but by the way, Michael Anthony wasn't fired; he quit." It had nothing to do with anything. I never quit the band. At one point, I was forced to make a decision to sit on my hands, at home, and do nothing for a number of years, or go out and play some shows on a tour with Sammy and Dave [Lee Roth]. What would you do? I felt that I was doing those guys a service by going out and flying the Van Halen flag and letting people know that Van Halen is still here. My last name is not "Van Halen." People tend to forget you. I didn't want people to go, "That is that guy that used to play in Van Halen. What's his name again?" The fans wanted to hear that music.

Yorke will play on the Obelisk Arena at noon (BST) on Sunday July 19 � the final day of the Suffolk bash.

Although suicide is suspected (Sagadeev apparently hung himself with a telephone cord), an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of death.

Lemonheads founder Evan Dando is suing General Motors, saying the auto giant copied one of his songs for an ad. more

Lil Wayne's long-awaited Rebirth album, which is said to be more Rock-focused, is finally set to come out on August 18. Weezy recently told MTV News that production is finished on the album, after it was pushed back several times.more

Officials in Gainesville have renamed the city's downtown plaza after rock 'n' roll legend and former Florida resident Bo Diddley.more

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, co-founders of the rock band KISS, made a surprise stop at the at the 39th annual Wal-Mart shareholders meeting Friday (June 5) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, fueling speculation that the next KISS album will be a Wal-Mart exclusive.more

Soul Embraced has announced the departure of guitar player Devin Castle. As a result, the group has also cancelled their upcoming shows.more

13th Planet Records, the label helmed by Al Jourgensen of Ministry, has released a free digital EP for fans. Included in the download are unreleased songs, remixes and videos from Ministry, Revco, Prong, Burton C. Bell's Ascension of The Watchers, False Icons and Stayte. The download is available here

Pet Shop Boys have announced a tour of North America, set to kick off in Montreal on August 29.more

50 Cent has settled his lawsuit against an engineering firm over repairs and renovations to a Connecticut mansion he bought from boxer Mike Tyson in 2003, a court official said Friday.more

The Tony Awards will include a few bona fide music stars among the usual song-and-dance numbers. Elton John, Dolly Parton and Poison will help toast Broadway's finest at Sunday's ceremony, performing with the casts of top-nominated shows "Billy Elliot The Musical," "9 to 5 The Musical" and "Rock of Ages."more

Huntingtons have released their new album, Punk Sounds via Amazon. The record is a benefit for the Pierce Family (Huntingtons drummer, Mikee Pierce's wife has stage 3 brain cancer). and all proceeds from the album will go to the familymore

The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger has backed a campaign to re-open the Walthamstow EMD cinema in London � where his band played in the 1960s.more

Thirty-eight previously unreleased recordings from groups such as the Who, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane will be included on a boxed set commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival.more

The 2009 Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival in Seattle adds The Black Eyed Peas to the bill, along with Metric and Soulsavers featuring Mark Lanegan.more

On August 11th, Winds Of Plague return with their new Century Media Records full-length release, "The Great Stone War"more

Blabbermouth.Net has learned that Ola Hudson, the mother of former Guns' Roses and current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, passed away Friday, June 5 around 6:00 p.m. PST after a battle with lung cancer. She was a professional costume designer named who tailored outfits for such acts as John Lennon, Diana Ross and the Pointer Sisters. more

After a few years of inactivity, Thorp Records is now back in action and has announced the addition of six new bands to their roster.more

Paolo Nutini has hit Number One in the UK albums charts Sunday Night with his new effort 'Sunny Side Up,' knocking Eminem from the top of the chart more

Hackneyed have finished the recordings for their new album "Burn After Reaping," due on August 14th via Nuclear Blast Records. more

The new album is, after 36 years, the conceptual follow-up to 1973's Blue Ridge Rangers, the first release from Fogerty following the break-up of Creedence Clearwater Revival. That album yielded two Top 40 hits: "Jambalaya" and "Hearts of Stone." As with the earlier album, the repertoire featured in The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again consists of 12 songs, both classic and arcane, that illustrate the influence country and roots music have long had on Fogerty and his own songwriting.

Last week's debut of "No Service Fee Wednesday" generated a sales spike 500% higher than the average number of tickets sold on a typical Wednesday, as music fans everywhere took advantage of Live Nation's no service fee offer, which helped more concertgoers get to more shows for less money.

Cleveland metal outfit Chimaira's fifth release, "The Infection" (Ferret Music), isn't for the faint of heart�or the casual heavy music fan. Produced by longtime producer Ben Schigel and mixed by the mighty Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall), every downstroke feels like a bludgeon to the face, every snare hit a pistol-shot to the chest. Topped off with keyboardist Chris Spicuzza's dark electronics and singer Mark Hunter's this-means-war growl, "The Infection" clearly finds the band at the top of their powers. Given the amount of sonic territory "The Infection" covers, the band's power and vision remains consistent. While the individual members will pledge allegiance to disparate-sounding bands ranging from Carcass, Slayer and Nine Inch Nails, the commonality they share is 100-percent Chimaira.

Throughout the evening, the band performed new songs from their highly-anticipated new album "21st Century Breakdown," a selection of which can be found at the full story link.