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Guns N' Roses Reunite Without Axl- Cop Bombs Rocker Neighbor's House- David Lee Roth Sues Van Halen- Rapper Rape Arrest and more top stories of 2002


12/01/2009
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Today we look at the top stories from the second half of 2002 as we continue our quick look back at some of the biggest stories of the past decade.

It's fun ready early reports knowing the ultimate outcome. Case in point is this report on the formation of Velvet Revolver from July 2002: We reported yesterday about a rumored reunion between former Guns N Roses Members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. antiMUSIC has learned from a source close to the musicians involved in this project that "it is a done deal." However, our source, another well known musician who said he would rather remain anonymous, stipulated that he was told this by one of the above mentioned members a couple of days before this new group, code named Buck N' Roses, decided not to proceed with Buckcherry vocalist Joshua Todd. So there goes the clever name. Even more fun reading the speculation on them finding a frontman

Speaking about VR frontman: According to reports at Slash's and Duff's websites Kelly Shaefer (Atheist/Neurotica) is currently working with the group as their frontman. [that soon changed] We still haven't heard back from Kelly but Slash's official site Posted some new info. Contrary to their prior announcement that Kelly has officially joined the band, they are now saying that Kelly hasn't been given the job yet. The band is still auditioning other singers and don't want to leave any stone unturned in the search for the perfect frontman for the group. more

While those Guns N' Roses alums were putting together their new band, what was their former frontman up to? You can give him a new band but you can't teach an old Axl new tricks. Perhaps Axl Rose has some deep subconscious animosity towards the GM Place in Vancouver? Back in 1993 Guns N' Roses cancelled their planned concert at the venue. Now almost 10 years later the new Guns N' Roses featuring Axl Rose were set to kick off their North American Tour at the Vancouver facility but Axl never showed up. Thousands of angry fans waiting for the doors to open at the venue began rioting once it was announced that the return of Guns N' Roses wasn't going to happen that night. more

When Joe Strummer the frontman of The Clash passed away in December of 2002, we asked several musicians to share their tributes to the legendary singer and Joe Elliot of Def Leppard was kind enough respond with these words: "I remember seeing The Clash at Sheffield Top Rank in 1977 & thinking ... Wow!!! ...compared to what was usually on at the Top Rank they couldn't really play (in the sense of what was the norm back then) but the excitement that came off the stage was phenomenal !!! ...I went in a totally different direction music wise, but nevertheless, The Clash left a lasting impression on me to the point that every time I'm on tour I end up buying "The Clash" & "London Calling" over & over again because I left them at home !!!! What a shame we won't get to see the reunion that might just have happened next March when The Clash are inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. Condolences to ALL his family, friends & fans .......RIP " More tributes here.

Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth filed suit against his old bandmates and Warner Bros. Records on Wed (Dec 11). In the suit, filed in California Superior Court for Los Angeles county, Roth claims that he has been underpaid royalties. more

Michael Tyler, better known as rapper Mystikal, was arrested on Thursday (7-18) in Louisiana on charges of rape and extortion along with two other suspects, Leland Ellis and Vercy Carter. Tyler is currently out of jail on $250,000 bail. The charges stem from a July 3rd incident at the rapper's home where his hair stylist claims that she was forced to have sex with Mystikal under a threat that he would have her prosecuted for accepting a check drawn on his account from another individual who had stolen the check out of his check book. more

It appears Metal Hammer have been busy stirring up the pot of controversy this week. Aside from the interview they ran this week where Korn's Munky stated he believed that Hilter went to heaven, Metal Hammer has also reported a new rift between Korn prot�g�'s Limp Bizkit and their former guitarist. The British metal publication says that Wes Borland will "kick Fred Durst's ass if any of his riffs crop up on the new Limp Bizkit album." more

The Clark County Coroner's Office released a statement today concerning autopsy results for the late bassist of The Who, John Entwistle. According to the statement, an autopsy revealed that a significant amount of cocaine was found in John Entwistle's body. Clark County authorities have officially ruled the death as an accident, stating that Entwistle suffered a heart attack brought on by the use of cocaine. more

The Associate Press is reporting, "The two surviving members of The Who decided Friday to resume their scheduled three-month U.S. tour despite the sudden death of bassist John Entwistle, their bandmate of nearly four decades." more

Cop Bombs Rocker Neighbor's House: If you want to talk about having a neighbor from hell, don't talk to Ozzy about throwing wood and food into his neighbors yard, instead ask Unwritten Law guitarist Steve Morris to give you his perspective and experience of having a neighbor throw bombs at his home. Morris was injured Thursday (8/29) night when a bomb exploded at his home. In a statement issued by Morris, he accuses his neighbor, a security guard and local police officer, of planting the homemade bomb that gave him a concussion and injured his eardrums more

Days after it was announced that the Police are to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the long defunct group's drummer Stewart Copeland told reporters that the band plans to reunite to perform three songs during the induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York next March more

Remember when KISS announced they were retiring after one final tour? That was a couple years ago and they are still very much alive, in fact they have called their planned retired off entirely. So what's next from the grease paint faced rockers in their quest to separate fans from their money? Yes, you guessed it, they are releasing yet another greatest hits CD. more

For those fortunately enough to skip this year's musical version of the prom (MTV VMAs), the winners were predictable, but a few surprises did occur during the broadcast. Most notably, Michael Jackson giving an acceptance speech for the "Artist of the Millennium" award. The only problem is MTV does not have that award. more

German police are investigating whether Michael Jackson committed a crime last Tuesday when he dangled his nine-month-old son over the balcony of a Berlin hotel. With fans gathered four stories below, Jackson attempted to show off his youngest child to the cheering crowd. The reaction of the hundreds of fans gathered outside the hotel was a mix of cheers and outrage as Jackson held his nine-month-old son, Prince Michael II, over the balcony railing with one hand. more

Seems that there is even more action going on behind the scenes at this year's Ozzfest than fans are seeing on the stage. It appears things got heated backstage at Ozzfest in St Louis, Mo where one of the guitarist for Adema got punched in the mouth while he was on Down's tour bus and it almost led to a showdown between Phil Anselmo and the Down boys and Jonathon Davis' little brother Marky Chavez and his group Adema. ['member them?] more

Ozzy has one less lawsuit to worry about now. Federal court Judge Christina A. Snyder dismissed the $20 million lawsuit filed by former Ozzy Osbourne band mates Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake, who filed the lawsuit in 2000 claiming that they were owed songwriting royalties for the first two Ozzy Osbourne solo albums, "Blizzard of Oz" and "Diary of a Madman". more

Drowning Pool singer Dave Williams was found dead on the band's tour bus. The quartet from Dallas, Texas has been performing as one of the main stage attractions on Ozzfest. The cause of death has yet to be determined. Williams was thirty years old. A follow article can be found here

Ian Astbury of the Cult and Stewart Copeland are now official members of the Doors along with original members Ray Manzarek and Robby Kreigar. Ray Manzarek has been making the rounds gabbing with the music press including reporters from Billboard and Yahoo's Launch media , announcing that, "This is the permanent new Doors lineup". more

And now for something completely stupid... In the we couldn't make up something this silly if we tried department, political correctness has reached a new plateau. The animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has sent a letter to heavy metal veterans Judas Priest requesting that the band change the name of one of their most popular albums, according to a report from Blabbermouth. PETA is asking that Judas Priest change the offending title of their 1978 hit album "Hell Bent For Leather" to "Hell Bent for Pleather". more

Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil had a hissy on stage during a stop on his solo tour. Neil played a few Motley Crue songs and then started playing one of his own compositions. When the crowd of about 250 didn't know the lyrics, "He said the crowd was a bunch of losers, among other things," Turczynski said. "Then he got on his bus and just left." more

Last week an arrest warrant was issued for Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil. Neil has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching record producer Michael Schuman (Stevie Wonder , the Jacksons) in the parking lot of the Rainbow in Hollywood. more

In the spirit of the supergroups of the past, two of the most important bands of the nineties have pooled their talents to create a new band: Audioslave. On November 19th, Epic Records will release Audioslave's self-titled debut album featuring former lead singer/guitarist of Soundgarden, Chris Cornell (Vocals) and Rage Against The Machine's Tim Commerford (Bass), Tom Morello (Guitar), and Brad Wilk (Drums). more

Blink-182's Travis Barker has stepped out of his main band to indulge his musical creativity outside of his own band. This project called "The Transplants" also features Rancid vocalist and guitarist Tim Armstrong. more

The long standing class action lawsuit against the five major record labels and three prominent music retailers has ended in a settlement in which the record companies and retailers have agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs. more

It appears that Ryan Adams has made an uncredited appearance on a punk album. British music magazine NME is reporting that Ryan as well as his "New York cohort Jessie Malin," appear on the limited edition punk release, "We Are F*ck You" by The Finger. more

We'll be back tomorrow with a look at the biggest stories from the first half of 2003 as our end of the decade countdown continues.



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