Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister is reportedly being investigated by German authorities for apparently wearing
a Nazi cap in a recent photo published in a newspaper prior to their July 5th Wacken Rocks Seaside performance.
Under German law it is a crime to wear any "anti-constitutional propaganda" or specifically attempt to
propagate Nazism. Kilmister is a war memorabilia collector.
Bravada International has filed an $11 million lawsuit against Back-Lite for using the Red Hot Chili Peppers logo
(that Bravada owns the merchandising rights to) on a jacket at the request of an individual customer.
Former Village People lead vocalist Victor Willis, 57, had surgery on Monday at a San Diego, California, hospital
to remove nodules on his vocal cords. He is currently recovering with plans to reschedule dates of his tour.
According to a post on her Web site, Bjork has been forced to cancel some of her latest shows due to a "bug"
she's been battling. "Sadly, due to medical issues with her voice, has to cancel the show in Helsinki."
The Barbershop Harmony Society inducted The Oak Ridge Boys as honorary members during their 70th annual convention
in Nashville on July 3rd.
The National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta will honor Lee Greenwood with their Patriotism Award during a ceremony
later this fall. The award is given to those showing extreme patriotism for America.
The voting panel for the 2008 International Songwriting Competition have been announced and they include Chaka
Khan, Neil Finn, Weird Al Yankovic, Robert Smith and Black Francis.
Olivia Newton-John has married John Easterling in a private ceremony in Cuzco, Peru, on June 21st. A second ceremony
was held a week later on Jupiter Island in Florida. Friends and family were told about the nuptials during their
July 4th barbecue at the singer's Malibu, California, home. This is the second marriage for both. Easterling is
the founder and CEO of Amazon Herb Co.
Motley Crue's Saints Of Los Angeles fell 12 places to #16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Journey's Revelation
dropped 2 spots to #19. The Offspring's Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace fell 15 places to #38.
Madonna's "4 Minutes" featuring Justin Timberlake dropped 3 spots to #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles
chart. New Kids On The Block's "Summertime" climbed 3 places to #36.
Neil Diamond's Home Before Dark fell a place to #4 on the U.K. Albums chart. The Best Of Neil Diamond climbed 6
places to #10. Paul Weller's 22 Dreams fell 6 places to #13. Eddy Grant's The Very Best Of Eddy Grant: Road To
Reparation debuted at #14. Dolly Parton's The Very Best Of Dolly Parton climbed 2 spots to #21. Petula Clark's
Then & Now: The Very Best Of Petula Clark fell 4 places to #23. Madonna's Hard Candy dropped 4 spots to #24.
Aerosmith's The Very Best Of Aerosmith re-enters the chart at #32.
Madonna's "4 Minutes" featuring Justin Timberlake fell 3 places to #17 on the U.K. Singles chart. Her
new single, "Give It 2 Me," climbed 7 spots to #18. Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat
It" featuring John Mayer climbed a place to #26. (Mayer seems to be nostalgic as he's also released his cover
of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" as a U.S. single.)
T'Pau's Carol Decker & Lazy Grace have released a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" as a
digital download single at major online retailers.
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars recently talked to Blender magazine about the degenerative disease Ankylosing Spondylitis
he has had since he was 19. "If I could go places I would, but I'm stuck. This stuff won't allow me to move
my head, so I can't drive. It's quite an inconvenience." He also said that this debilitating form of arthritis
has shrunk him from almost 5'9" to just over 5'3" now.
Patty Smyth and Scandal plan to reunite for the first time since 1984 to record a new studio album. Original members
Smyth, guitarist Keith Mack and keyboardist/guitarist Benjy King are working with new members Tom Welsch on bass
and drummer Eran Asias for the reunion. Scandal did reunite for VH1's Bands Reunited in 2004 and in 2006 the toured
with Rick Springfield in the We Are The '80s tour.
Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske has been working on his second album from his Place Vendome project. The album
is due out at the end of the year or early 2009.
Foreigner's former frontman Lou Gramm has concluded the recording of his first Christian rock album that he hopes
to release in the fall. Meanwhile, his former band release No End In Sight: The Very Best Of Foreigner this week
which features their new single, "Too Late," which can be heard at their official MySpace page.
Swing Out Sister will release their ninth studio album, Beautiful Mess, on Sept. 8th in the U.K. The first single
from the disc, "Something Every Day," will be released as a digital download on Sept. 1st.
According Jay Aston's recent interview with Spin LA, Gene Loves Jezebel have been writing new material with plans
to record in August/September. Aston also mentioned his hopes to resolve his legal issues with his twin brother
Michael (who has the rights to the band name in the U.S.) to avoid touring hassles.
Todd Rundgren will release his new studio album, Arena, in the U.K. on Sept. 29th. According to Rundgren, the album
"is a definite return to riff-oriented rock."
Bon Jovi's concert on Saturday in Central Park will be free. New York City distributed 60,000 tickets to the show
(with each person limited to 2 tickets.) The New York Post reported shortly after that they had found 267 of the
tickets on sale at eBay from $0.99 to $1,500 a pair despite a warning that they could not be resold. eBay was made
aware of the situation by the city's lawyers. More than 250 listings for tickets were still on sale at the site
at press time.
Exodus have re-recorded their classic thrash metal 1985 album, Bonded By Blood, that will be titled Let There Be
Blood when released. The band have been re-energized by this and plan to start writing their next studio effort.
Toyah's official Web site has announced that her new studio album, In The Court Of The Crimson Queen, will be released
in September. The disc will initially be available for purchase starting Sept. 12th during the U.K. tour of the
musical Vampires Rock (in which she guest stars as The Devil Queen.)
Stevie Wonder is featured on harmonica on Raphael Saadiq's new single, "Never Give You Up," from Saadiq's
upcoming album, The Way I See It, due out Sept. 16th.
Ozzy Osbourne and his family are planning a return to television in a prime-time variety hour in the works for
the Fox network in the 2008-2009 season.
A new Johnny Cash album is on the way... well, not so new. Johnny Cash Remixed will head to stores on Oct. 14th
and feature Cash classics infused with the sounds and technology of hip-hop and dance utilizing the original master
recordings.
Magnum vocalist Bob Catley will release his new solo album, Immortal, on Sept. 19th via Frontiers Records.
David Lee Roth has denied reports that Canadian police saved his life after he had an allergic reaction to nuts
while driving. According to the singer, "I had no encounters with the police. The only thing I'm allergic
to is criticism."
The newly reformed It Bites plan to release their new studio album, The Tall Ships, later this year (which can
be pre-ordered at their Web site) and have announced some U.K. tour dates starting in September.
German industrial act Die Krupps plan to reissue double-CD versions of their 1982 album, Volle Kraft Voraus!, and
1992's I at the end of August.
Swiss hard rock act China will see the release of Best Of China at AORHeaven.com. The set will contain 13 of their
early tracks and 3 brand new songs.
Steve Wynn has plans to release, Crossing Dragon Bridge, his first new solo album since 2001's Here Come The Miracles
on Sept. 9th.
German metal act Chronical Diarrhoea will see their 1988 album, Solomo Says..., and 1990's The Last Judgement reissued
as a single disc on Sept. 30th via MVD.
The Rules Of Hell will be released on July 22nd. The 5-disc boxed set collects all of vocalist Ronnie James Dio's
work with Black Sabbath (3 studio albums and the double-disc Live Evil.)
The New Kids On The Block are the latest recording act to have visited Michael Jackson in his Las Vegas studio
to collaborate on tracks. No word on where the fruits of the sessions may surface.
Reba McEntire has released a video for her latest single "Every Other Weekend." The video can be seen
at her Reba.com Web site and it stars Joanna Garcia and Steve Howey from her sitcom Reba.
SleazeRoxx.com have posted amateur video footage of Warrant's July 5th performance at Sunset Station Hotel &
Casino in Henderson, Nevada, at http://www.sleazeroxx.com/news08/0706war.shtml. Reports from the show claim returning
vocalist Jani Lane was intoxicated but you can make your own decision by watching the video.
Demon Music Group's Edsel label will release an expanded 2-CD version of the Thompson Twins' Here's To Future Days
in the U.K. on Aug. 4th.
Uriah Heep plan to release, Wake The Sleeper, their first new studio album since 1998's Sonic Origami on Aug. 26th
via Noise/Sanctuary Records.
Ektro Records has announced they will reissue Thor's 1985 album Live In Detroit which will include exclusive bonus
tracks. It can be purchased online at EktroRecords.com.
Lyle Lovett has been talking with his band about recording the follow-up to 2007's It's Not Big, It's Large later
this year or early next year. Lovett will also appear in the upcoming film, The Open Road, for which Charlie Sexton
is scoring the film (and has recorded a song with Lovett for the soundtrack.)
Nils Lofgren will release his new solo album, The Loner: Nils Sings Neil, on July 22nd which will pay tribute to
15 on Neil Young's greatest songs.
A new collection, Kiss Best: Kissology, will be released in Japan on Aug. 27th containing re-recorded versions
of the band's hits featuring the group's current line-up (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and
drummer Eric Singer.)
According to Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, the new music that their are working on sounds like "something
like if John Lennon got together with Miles Davis and they discovered computers." The group will be one of
the performers at VH1 Rock Honors tribute to The Who which will be broadcast on the network on July 17th.
Time Life has released a new DVD culled from the series of concerts by some of the U.K.'s biggest acts in an effort
to raise money for England's Teenage Cancer Trust charity. TCT: Concerts For Teenage Cancer Trust At The Royal
Albert Concert Hall includes performances by The Who, Judas Priest, The Cure, Paul Weller and many others.