Former Men At Work guitarist Ronald Strykert,
51, was
arrested on Feb. 13th by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies
following an outstanding bench warrant for making criminal death
threats toward former bandmate Colin Hay in December 2007.
Strykert had denied making the threat but failed to appear in court
last May on his arraignment on the misdemeanor charge. Hay
has said that he doesn't believe the guitarist would carry out the
threat.
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars won a $212,000 default judgment against
ex-girlfriend Robbie Mantooth on Monday in Los Angeles Superior
Court. Mantooth alleged that Mars violated the terms of their
palimony settlement. The judge also ruled that she must pay
Mars nearly $80,000 in attorney's fees and nearly $60 a day in
additional interest until the judgment is paid in full.
Meanwhile, Tommy Lee has clarified earlier reports about his helicopter
pilot flying erratically. Lee said, "This house was on fire
about 30 minutes outside of Van Nuys airport, where we were going to
land. So there was this house on fire, you could see all this
smoke coming up. And I said, 'F*#@! Let's go over there and
check it out.' But we were so far away from them. I
still don't understand. Like, there was no way we (were) that
close."
According to Budstikka.no, AC/DC's performance at Norway's Telenor
Arena near Oslo on Feb. 18th ended in violence as fans venting their
anger, over long traffic jams and standstill traffic on the way out, on
police officers throwing bottles at patrol cars and tearing down fences
erected to control the crowds.
Roger McGuinn, Guy Clark and Glen Phillips are taping an episode of the
new PBS series Legends & Lyrics in Nashville on
Saturday. In an earlier episode taping, Kip Winger was
presented with an honorary plaque and an historic United States of
America flag by the the government of the United States in recognition
of his musical composition "Blue Suede Shoes" honoring the service and
sacrifice of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
Dolly Parton will be presented with an honorary doctorate from the
University of Tennessee during the school's May 18th spring
commencement ceremony in honor of her career as a performance,
philanthropist and education advocate. She plans to release
her new children's book, I Am A Rainbow, on May 14th. Her new
musical, 9 To 5, is scheduled to open on Broadway in April.
President Barack Obama will present the Second Library of Congress
Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Stevie Wonder on Feb. 25th at a
special concert in the White House in celebration of African American
History Month and air on PBS the following evening.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Grammy Award-winning Raising Sand
earned the title of Greatest Gainer this week on the Billboard 200
albums chart surging 67 places to #2 on sales of 77,000
copies. Bruce Springsteen's Working On A Dream fell 4 places
to #6 on sales of 65,000 copies. The various artist
compilation Grammy Nominees 2009 climbed 3 spots to #9. The
Twilight soundtrack fell two places to #20. The Mama Mia!
soundtrack dropped 10 spots to #40.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" fell two places on
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart to #3.
UB40's Love Songs climbed 16 places to #3 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Luther Vandross' Lovesongs gained 23 spots to
#4. Bette Midler's The Best Bette climbed 26 places to
#6. Bruce Springsteen's Working On A Dream fell 6 spots to
#7. Luciano Pavarotti's The Duets gained 5 places to
#10. Roger Whittaker's The Golden Age Of Roger Whittaker: 50
Years Of Classic Hits fell 4 spots to #15. James Taylor's
Covers dropped 2 places to #25. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits
fell a spot to #37. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss'
Raising Sand re-entered the chart at #39.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" retains the #4
spot on the U.K. Singles chart. Morrissey's "I'm Throwing My
Arms Around Paris" debuted at #21.
Jimmy Barnes new album, Live At The Enmore, was recently released via
iTunes to help raise money for the victims of the Victoria bush
fires. It went to #1 on the iTunes album chart last week.
Smithereens frontman Pat DiNizio has been working on his next project,
Mr. Smithereen Goes To Town: Confessions Of A Rock Star. The
limited edition set will compile two DVDs (containing his current 2009
U.S.A. Living Room Tour and the rocku/documentary 'Confessions Of A
Rock Star: The Movie'), one CD (entitled Pat DiNizio: Confessions Of A
Rock Star: The Soundtrack), a first edition copy of DiNizio's first
book and a bonus surprise (a ticket to his 2009 Memorial Day concert in
Scotch Plains, New Jersey.) The band have an album in the
works paying tribute to the Who's Tommy. Meanwhile, DiNizio
has been talking to The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
about possibly opening a club that would see them bring in master level
training classes taught by a who's who of rock recording artists.
According to a post by bassist Tom Hamilton, Aerosmith have brought
producer Brendan O'Brien aboard for work on their new studio
album. The band members have been listening to each other's
songs and sharing ideas with plans to narrow things down.
Meanwhile, Joe Perry is recovering from his knee operation and playing
a lot during his recuperation.
According to longtime Spandau Ballet manager Steve Dagger, the band
will be reuniting. Dagger told the Sunday Express, "It's
true. We're not making announcements yet, but yes basically
the boys are back in town. Not just a nostalgic re-run of the
old, but a fresh slant on what Spandau Ballet are all about."
The band had been caught up in a royalties lawsuit in 1999 which made
the possibility of a reunion seem highly unlikely. Full
details are expected during a press conference aboard the HMS Belfast
on the River Thames (a WWII vessel on which the band launched their
career 3 decades ago.)
Metallica are planning to release, The Complete Metallica, a
career-spanning digital box set as a digital download via iTunes on
Mar. 31st and will include all nine of their studio albums, their
double album of covers, a live album and a few songs they've
contributed to soundtracks.
Duran Duran have started writing material for their follow-up to 2007's
Red Carpet Massacre. No word on when recording will commence
but they expect 2009 to be very busy.
INXS vocalist JD Fortune was recently interviewed by Entertainment
Tonight Canada. He told that after 23 months touring with the
band, he has been given the boot. He also showed the TV
cameras his car which he's been living out of in order to help finance
his solo album, The Death Of A Motivational Speaker. A
spokesperson for the band refused to comment on Fortune's alleged
dismissal.
It was bound to happen. NOW That's What I Call Power Ballads!
will be released on Mar. 24th. The collection includes songs
by Poison, Journey, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Heart, Cheap
Trick, Bad English, Night Ranger, Survivor, Sheriff, Scorpions,
Slaughter, Extreme, Boston, Tesla, Warrant and Queensryche.
Chris Isaak will release, Mr. Lucky, his first new studio album in 7
years on Feb. 24th. The album includes duets with Trisha
Yearwood and Michelle Branch. The first single from the album
is "We Let Her Down" which is available now at iTunes.
Isaak's new weekly television series, The Chris Isaak Hour, debuts on
A&E's Bio Channel on Feb. 26th. Musical guests
scheduled for the show so far include Stevie Nicks, Chicago and Glen
Campbell.
Prosthetic Records has announced the release of Testament's Live At
Eindhoven '87 on Apr. 14th.
Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor has confirmed rumors that he has been
working in the studio with the recently reformed Jane's Addiction on
new material. Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails are
expected to tour together later this year. Jane's Addiction
have also announced that they will anchor the lineup at the eighth
Sasquatch! Music Festival.
Four Eyes featuring Mark DeCerbo have released Anthology 1977-1990 on
Feb. 13th which contains unreleased songs that feature performances
from Greg Kihn and many others.
A&E have picked up, Hammertime, a new half-hour reality series
centered on MC Hammer, his wife and 5 children.
Survivor are currently working in Los Angeles and Chicago studios on
their new studio album anticipating a late 2009 release. The
album will be their first with vocalist Robin McAuley who joined the
band in 2006.
Ministry will release, Adios...Puta Madres, a 13-track live CD
featuring performances from their final world tour, C U LaTouR 2008, on
Mar. 31st via 13th Planet Records.
Krokus have signed a deal with Sony Music that will see the original
line-up reunited with the label that they worked with during the
1980s. The first fruits of the worldwide contract will be
their new studio album they've been working on.
George Strait will perform with Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton and
Julianne Hough for the opening of the Dallas Cowboys' new $1.1 billion
stadium.
Sir Paul McCartney has agreed to headline the grand opening weekend of
The New Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on
Apr. 19th.
Stacey Q has been collaborating with Jon St. James and Skip Hahn (of
Echo Junkies) and Shawn Winstian and Shane Condo (of Hydra Productions)
on material for her upcoming studio album. She currently
appears on two tracks on, Liquid, the Hydra Productions debut
album. Other featured vocalists on Liquid include: Tiffany,
Gioia Bruno (of Exposé), Jade Starling (of Pretty Poison)
and Kim Esty.
Eagle Rock Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing
Blu-Ray DVD versions of Asia's 25th anniversary reunion tour, Paul
Rodgers' Live In Glasgow and Jeff Beck's Performing This Week...Live At
Ronnie Scott's on Mar. 31st.
According to former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, the recent
release of the band's albums via Rhino has likely closed the book on
any ideas of a reunion. When it comes to a possible live
album, he told Billboard, "I don't think we've got the quality
takes. I think the best live record we could make is to
gather up all the bootlegs, put them together and make it on our
own. Those would actually make more sense."
Y&T have locked themselves away in the studio to write material
for their next album. According to reports from the band,
they're very excited about their new creations.
Staffers at Universal Music Australia inadvertently made U2's new
album, No Line On The Horizon, available digitally over a week before
the intended release. The songs have already been uploaded to
P2P sites worldwide. In an effort to combat the leak, the
band are streaming the album on their MySpace page.
UFO have announced that they have plans to release their new studio
album, The Visitor, on June 2nd in North America.
Reba McEntire will appear on CBS' The Price Is Right on Apr. 3rd to
promote the 44th annual ACM Awards. McEntire will host the
show which airs on the same network 2 days later.
Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist
James Iha, Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger and Hanson's
Taylor Hanson have formed the new project, Tinted Windows.
Their debut album has been recorded and is expected out this spring.
Human League vocalist Phil Oakey has recorded guest vocals on the song
"This Used To Be The Future" which will appear as a bonus track on the
special edition of the Pet Shop Boys new album, Yes, in March.
Former Survivor frontman Jimi Jamison will see his latest album,
Crossroads Moment, released in the U.S. on Apr. 12th.
Ziggy Marley has enlisted his mother Rita, sister Cadella, daughter
Judah, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Toots Hibberts and several others to
assist him in the recording of his first children's album, Family Time,
produced by Don Was and due out May 5th via Tuff Gong.
Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy is coming to Rock Band as a full album
of downloadable content this spring according to an MTV Games
spokesperson.
W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless has placed his Malibu home on the
market for just over $1.7 million. The home sits on a nearly
3 acre estate with a guest house, an outdoor barbecue area and 'wine
cave.'
Worry over the status of singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty was reported
earlier in the week as a missing persons report was being
filed. A statement was made by his solicitors later to U.K.
Channel 4 news, ""Contrary to reports Gerry is extremely well and has
been living in Tuscany for the last six months......he continues to
compose and record new songs and music......and he hopes to release a
new album of his most recent work in the summer of this year."
John Foxx has collaborated with former Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin
Guthrie on a new album, Mirrorball, that is due out on May 4th.
Prince has launched his new Web site, lotusflow3r.com. Click
on the cassettes on the bottom right of the screen to hear a few songs
from the upcoming project.
Martha And The Muffins have been working on a new studio album,
Delicate, which is due out later this year.
Rod Stewart recently booked time at Daptone Studios to work on some new
material. The problem is that the studio was robbed of a lot
of equipment that could put the session in jeopardy.
Former Electric Light Orchestra bassist Kelly Groucutt, 63, died of a
heart attack on Thursday. Groucutt had left the band after
the recording of Secret Messages in 1983 but continued working with
spin-off bands The Orchestra, Orkestra and ELO Part 2. He had
also released his self-titled solo debut album, Kelly, in 1982
featuring former bandmates Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy and Mik Kaminski.
Chuck Mangione's longtime saxophonist Gerry Niewood, 65, died on Feb.
12th in the crash of Continental Flight #3407 near Buffalo, New
York. He was a much sought after studio musician (for Grover
Washington, Jr., Thelonious Monk and many others) during the 1980s as
well as releasing his own solo album.