Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon recently posted
some
updates on his MySpace page. "Hey everyone, thanks for the 'feel
better' vibes!! Actually I did fall down in Atlanta and fractured the
radial bone in my elbow. Luckily I have been able to play
guitar and do the Tesla shows with some pain. But-----The
reason I was going to reschedule the LA FHB show was because the doctor
told me not to lift any equipment and put extra pressure on my
arm." Having to lift and haul his gear for the show put the
Mar. 26th show in peril but it seems that they have found their way
around the issue.
U2's No Line On The Horizon fell 2 places to #3 on the Billboard 200
albums chart on sales of 132,000 copies. Chris Cornell's new
solo album, Scream, debuted at #10 on sales of 26,000 copies.
The Twilight soundtrack climbed 2 spots to #14. Charlie
Wilson's Uncle Charlie fell 4 places to #33. Bruce
Springsteen's Working On A Dream dropped 16 spots to #35.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" fell 7 places to
#18 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Carrie
Underwood's cover of Motley Crue's 1985 single "Home Sweet Home" earned
this week's Hot Shot debut award coming in at #21.
U2's No Line On The Horizon retains the #1 spot on the U.K. Albums
chart. Annie Lennox's The Collection debuted at #2.
The Dubliners' The Very Best Of The Dubliners debuted at #16.
Bette Midler's The Best Bette fell 5 places to #21. The
Everly Brothers' 50 Years Of Hits debuted at #23. Tina
Turner's The Platinum Collection dropped 11 spots to #25.
U2's U218 Singles fell 10 places to #27. ABBA's Gold:
Greatest Hits dropped 3 spots to #31. Roger Whittaker's The
Golden Age Of Roger Whittaker: 50 Years Of Classic Hits fell 8 places
to #35. Lionel Richie & The Commodores' The
Definitive Collection re-entered the chart at #36.
Covers abound on the U.K. Singles chart.
Jenkins/West/Jones/Gibb's Comic Relief version of "Islands In The
Stream" debuted at #1. The Saturday's version of Depeche
Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" fell a place to #3. Eminem,
Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" dropped 5 spots to
#21. Annie Lennox's "Shining Light" enters the chart at #39.
According to a March interview with a German music magazine, Keith
Emerson has said that ELP will reunite for a tour next year.
Madonna has announced plans to head into the studio to record two new
songs for an upcoming 'greatest hits' collection due out as early as
September. The collection is expected to be the last album
under contract with Warner Bros. Records. Meanwhile, the
singer has said she may adopt another child from Malawi.
Europe have announced that the new studio album they've been working on
will now be titled Last Look At Eden.
Safire has plans to release her new single, "Exotique," in the U.S. on
Apr. 28th. The singer had previously been writing and
producing other artists until now and will do a few shows to promote
the release.
Bruce Hornsby recently composed the score to the upcoming Spike
Lee-directed documentary, Kobe Doin' Work, about basketball star Kobe
Bryant.
John Mellencamp has announced a few of the projects that he's been
working on. A video for "A Ride Back Home" has been shot
(which features guest vocalist Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town) and
should be online (and possibly CMT and VH1) soon. He hopes to
work with T-Bone Burnett on his next album. A possible 4-CD
box set has been in the works and could be surfacing soon.
Lastly, a CD/book package of, Ghost Brothers Of Darkland County, his
musical collaboration with Stephen King will surface prior to the
show's opening next April.
Tangerine Dream have released, Flame, their new 8-track EP (in their
Cupdiscs series) at their Eastgate Music Shop.
Sweet Sensation have again announced that they've broken up.
(We actually reported about this in our 6/16/08 newsletter which
stated: According to a post at their official MySpace page, Sweet
Sensation has called it a day. "This is a very sad time. Thanks to all
the fans that have supported Sweet Sensation through the years." A
public statement about the end of the group will be released by
management shortly.)
A 20th anniversary reissue of 1989's Slip Of The Tongue, a 25th
anniversary reissue of 1984's Slide It In and an expanded special
edition of last year's Good To Be Bad, are in the plans for Whitesnake
as they prepare for the U.S. leg of their world tour with Judas Priest.
Bob Dylan will release his new studio album, Together Through Life, at
the end of April via Columbia Records.
Metallica will release their new single, "Broken, Beat &
Scarred," on Apr. 3rd in a variety of digipack versions. The
versions are expected to include live tracks from their September
performance at London's O2 Arena.
John Squire recently told BBC Newsnight that despite rumors of the band
reuniting, they will not play together again. And when asked
of the chances they would reunite, he responded, "None
whatsoever." For those doubting him, he placed a photo of a
piece of art he's created (saying a very similar thing) on
www.JohnSquire.com. A spokeswoman for Ian Brown has also
denied tabloid reports of a reunion.
Basia release their new studio album, It's That Girl Again, this
week. The song, "Blame It On The Summer," has been released
as a single in the U.S. and was the the #2 most added song according to
Radio & Records' Smooth Jazz chart.
Neil Young has premiered the latest video, "Cough Up The Bucks," off
his new album, Fork In The Road, on MySpace.com. This is the
4th low-budget hand-made video from the album and more are in the works.
Duran Duran have entered the recording studio with producer Mark Ronson
to work on their 13th album. The band collaborated with
Ronson last summer on re-workings of their classic songs.
Henry Rollins has landed a role on the FX television drama series Sons
Of Anarchy in the second season of the show for a six-episode story
arc. Production is expected to begin next month.
Two songs ("Whores" and "Chip Away"), among those re-recorded by Jane's
Addiction with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Alan Moulder
producing, appear on the new 6-track EP being given away for free at
Ninja2009.com. The digital release includes two tracks from
Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails and Street Sweeper who will be
touring together this year.
Loud & Proud have announced that they have signed a worldwide
deal with Lynyrd Skynyrd for the release of their first new studio
album since 2003's Vicious Cycle due out later this year.
A DVD chronicling Bad Company's last reunion performance (Aug. 8, 2008)
in Hollywood, Florida, is on the way. The band have also
announced that they plan a tour later this year.
Blue Oyster Cult's Eric Bloom, Richie Castellano and a few other
members went into the headquarters of Mythic (who created the online
game Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning) to record the song "Kiss My
Axe (While I Drink My Beer)!" in celebration of the launch of The
Slayer character in the game. Bloom (who plays the game)
co-wrote and sings on the track. The song can be downloaded
at www.warhammeronline.com/music/index.php
Fred Schneider of the B-52's has a new project called The Superions
with Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall. They have released their
first single, "Totally Nude Island," that you can check out at their
MySpace page.
A new double-CD compilation, Alfa Matrix Re:covered - A Tribute To
Depeche Mode, is on the way. The set has many of the Alfa
Matrix label artists covering songs by the band including appearances
by Front 242's Jean-Luc De Meyer on several tracks. More
information can be found at Depeche-Mode-Tribute.com.
Rick James will be celebrated with the release of, I'm Rick
James! The Definitive DVD, a collection of classic
performances by the late soul-pop-punk-funk artist due out Mar. 24th
via Hip-O/Motown/UMe. A reissue of his Anthology CD will
surface on Apr. 14th.
John Doe And The Sadies will release their album of country and rock
music entitled Country Club on CD and limited-edition LP on Apr. 14th.
During her appearance on Tuesday night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, Belinda
Carlisle talked about her elimination on the eighth season of ABC's
Dancing With The Stars. "My spirit isn't crushed.
I'm fine. Totally fine." She and professional dance
partner Jonathan Roberts competed in a special "Dance Off" that was
mixed into home viewer votes to reach an outcome. "I love my
partner, I wish I could have done better for him," she said.
Former Fine Young Cannibal vocalist Roland Lee Gift has returned with a
new single, "Crushed," which is available now via iTunes.
The Humans (Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong) will release
their debut album, We Are The Humans, in May. They are set to
debut the material at Tartufest in Estonia on May 1st and record the
concert for a possible live release.
Mick Jones of The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite and Carbon Silicon has
opened the exhibition The Rock & Roll Public Library.
The exhibit opened at Chelsea space this week and includes a general
collection of books, magazines, videos, ephemera, toys and games which
"mark out his life, times, and influences." Customized stage
clothes, recording gear, posters, books, boxes of correspondence,
photographs and song lyrics from his west London archive will be on
display.
Madness are working with director Julian Temple on a film that will be
part live concert performance, documentary and theatrical
piece. Filming is expected to wrap up soon and their new
studio album, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate, is due out in May.
The Breeders will follow up their 2008 album, Mountain Battles, with a
4-track EP, Fate To Fatal, on Apr. 21st.
Demon Music Group's Edsel label will reissue Midge Ure's 3rd and 4th
solo albums, Pure and Breathe, as a 2-on-2 set early next
month. Both will be expanded and include 13 bonus tracks
including non-album B-sides.
Last year, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris had suggested the band were
close to disbanding and would walk away after the next
release. During a recent interview with MetalHammer.co.uk,
guitarist Adrian Smith revealed that the band have decided to keep on
recording and performing after experiencing a shift in opinion during
their 35th anniversary.
Fans are being asked to visit GoAnimate.com to create their own Willie
Nelson animated adventures as part of their promotion of Nelson's Naked
Willie album.
3 may be Prince's lucky number. 3 new releases via Target, 3
nights in a row on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and now 3
back-to-back performances at separate venues in Los Angeles on Mar.
28th.
Billy Sheehan's new solo album, Holy Cow!, due out Apr. 14th via Mascot
Records will include guest appearances by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and
King's X's Dug Pinnick.
16 songs by Pearl Jam will make up the complete soundtrack to the
two-part 6th season finale of CBS' Cold Case to air on May 3rd and 10th.
Eagle Rock Entertainment will release That's What Happened: Live In
Germany 1987 on DVD on Apr. 28th, The video captures Miles
Davis' performance in Munich showcasing work from his Grammy
Award-winning album, Tatu, as well as unique interpretations of Cyndi
Lauper's "Time After Time" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature."
Rex Brown confirmed that a Pantera box set is in the works during his
Mar. 6th appearance on the Jim Rome show.