Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler
appeared in
Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday. The judge dismissed
felony drug possession charges against Adler after he successfully
completed a court-ordered drug program.
Donna Quinter, wife of Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, was arrested on
Friday on charges that she defrauded a public housing in New York City
of $135,866 in government rental subsidies. Quinter, a former
flight attendant, has lived in Bell Canyon, California since marrying
Dolenz in 2002. She is expected to be arraigned on larceny
charges in Manhattan court shortly.
Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler, 61, broke his shoulder and received
stitches in his head and back after falling off the stage's catwalk
while performing "Love In An Elevator" at the annual motorbike
enthusiast gathering in Sturgis, South Dakota on Wednesday.
The accident happened at the midway point of the show and Tyler was
air-lifted to the hospital. The band has postponed their
summer tour and there is no word on when they plan to resume
shows. Meanwhile, guitarist Joe Perry plans to release his
new solo studio album, Have Guitar Will Travel, in November.
UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way will start recording his next solo album
when he gets out of the hospital. Way is currently battling
with hepatitis and is undergoing several weeks of severe drug
therapy. He has even talked about bringing one of his doctors
(who is also a popular musician in India) into the studio to record a
couple songs.
In a recent mailing to fans, the Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch said
that he is "rapidly recovering" from cancer surgery that took place
over a week ago. He's avoiding pain medications which could
slow his healing but is preparing for "the next line of treatment"
which will include 7 weeks of radiation therapy.
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine's surgery on his neck and vertebrae last week
went well and a full recovery is expected.
The Twilight soundtrack gained one spot on the Billboard 200 albums
chart to #32. Chickenfoot's self-titled debut climbed 2
places to #38.
Michael Jackson's Number Ones continues to top the Billboard
Comprehensive and Catalog charts selling 339,000 copies.
Jackson holds 9 of the top 10 spots on the Catalog chart.
Simply Red's classic 1985 hit "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)" climbed
a spot to #6 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart.
Boys Don't Cry's "Don't Call Me A Country Singer" has continued its
ascent into the FMQB AC40 chart's top 10 climbing 2 places to
#9. It is the highest charting independent release.
Michael Jackson's The Essential retains the #1 spot on the U.K. Albums
chart. A-ha's Foot Of The Mountain debuted at #5.
Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five's The Motown Years dropped a
spot to #8. Jackson's Thriller fell 5 places to
#11. Jackson's Off The Wall dropped 4 spots to #16.
Jackson's The Collection fell 12 places to #26. Jim Reeves'
The Very Best Of Jim Reeves dropped 8 spots to #34. Jackson's
King Of Pop fell 9 places to #36. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits
re-entered the chart at #38. Bruce Springsteen & The
E Street Band's Greatest Hits dropped 7 spots to #39. Michael
Jackson & The Jackson Five's The Very Best Of Michael Jackson
& The Jackson Five fell a place to #40.
Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" fell 6 places on the U.K. Singles
chart to #22.
Paula Abdul has announced that, after 7 years, she will be leaving
American Idol. Contract talks between the singer and Fox
television executives stalled as she was seeking a hefty pay raise for
the new contract. They plan to have other female artists as
guest judges for this season's auditions and the producers will search
for a permanent 4th judge to fill Abdul's spot.
Drummer Carmine Appice will release a double-disc compilation,
Conquering Heroes, by his Guitar Zeus project via Fuel Records on Aug.
18th. The set includes contributions by many guitar greats
including: Mr. Big's Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Journey's Neal
Schon, Dixie Dregs' Steve Morse, Whitesnake's Doug Aldrich, Queen's
Brian May, King's X's Ty Tabor, former Guns N' Roses' Slash, Ted
Nugent, the Cars' Elliot Easton, Motley Crue's Mick Mars, Mountain's
Leslie West, Stevie Salas, Ozzy Osbourne's Zakk Wylde, Ratt's Warren
DeMartini, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora, Denny Laine, Dweezil Zappa,
Dio/Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell.
Ministry will release a remix album, The Last Dubber, of their final
album, The Last Sucker, on Sept. 15th via 13th Planet Records.
Those wondering if the insurance policy Michael Jackson had taken out
for his London concert series would cover his cancellations now have an
answer. No. Jackson's $17 million policy covering
the first 13 shows had several clauses that would prevent payout
including if he were found to have illegally possessed drugs or was
involved in the "illicit taking of drugs." According to
Rolling Stone magazine, Michael Jackson's sister LaToya has taken
possession of computer hard drives that contain almost 100 of the
singer's unreleased songs including recent collaborations with Ne-Yo,
Akon and will.i.am. The Jackson family reportedly headed over
to the singer's Holmby Hills, California house to claim all of its
contents hours after his passing. Estate lawyers plan to send
out letters to recover the hard drives so that the contents can be
logged. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff
has also approved several deals involving his estate including
Jackson-themed calendars, school supplies, posters and a commemorative
coin with some others to be decided next week. Meanwhile,
Jermaine Jackson's rendition of "Smile" that he sung at his brother's
memorial will be released on iTunes in an audio and video version.
"Weird Al" Yankovic has released, "CNR," his latest single from his
upcoming album, Internet Leaks. The song, which parodies
Chuck Norris facts (using Charles Nelson Reilly instead) to White
Stripes' "Icky Thump," can be purchased at iTunes and a video for it
can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGmD2wk8m4
Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has written 3 songs that will be
included in the upcoming film Get Him To The Greek, a spinoff of the
2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Paul McCartney fan? Like free music? Quickly head
over to http://www.paulmccartney.com/features.php and get McCartney's
"Great Day" which is available only for a limited time. The
song (originally released on his 1997 Flaming Pie album) is currently
featured in the Adam Sandler film, Funny People.
Josie Cotton has been busy in the studio recording material for a new
album that could be released before the end of the year.
Madness have released their latest single, "Sugar And Spice," from
their Liberty Of Norton Folgate album. The song can be
purchased at Amazon.com and iTunes.
Eddie Van Halen is expected to tape an appearance on Two And A Half Men
this week. The episode, to air on Sept. 21st, will see the
guitarist play himself and his guitar. Meanwhile, Guitar
Hero: Van Halen will be released on December 22nd.
Former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske has been collaborating with
vocalist Amanda Somerville on a new album due out early next year for
Frontiers Records.
Nowhere Boy, the Sam Taylor-Woods-directed John Lennon biopic about his
early life, will be released in the U.K. in December. The
film has also been chosen to close this year's Times BFI London Film
Festival on Oct. 29th.
Bon Jovi have been working on their new studio album. The
first single from the disc is due out on Aug. 31st and the album on
Nov. 10th.
The Flaming Lips have released their new EP, Songs From The Future
Album Embryonic, via iTunes. A preview of some of the tracks
can be heard at their MySpace page.
Julian Lennon will see his long-out-of-print albums (1984's Valotte,
1986's The Secret Value Of Daydreaming and 1989's Mr. Jordan) will be
reissued by Noble Rot on Sept. 8th.
According to a post on their official MySpace page, industrial rock act
Skinny Puppy are planning a new studio album and tour for later this
year.
Bob Dylan has recorded several songs for for an upcoming Christmas
album to be released later this year.
New Model Army's 11th studio album, Today Is A Good Day, will be
released on Sept. 15th. The band plans to preview a new track
from the album each day at their MySpace page starting Sept. 2nd and
they will give away a free exclusive download at their official Web
site for those that sign up for all forthcoming downloads (at
NMADownloads.co.uk.)
Country singer Lorrie Morgan has signed on for a Broadway-bound
production of the hit movie Pure Country that is expected to open early
next year.
Them Crooked Vultures are rumored to be releasing their debut album,
Never Deserved The Future, on Oct. 23rd. The band is made up
of Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones
and Queens Of The Stone Age's John Homme.
Eagle Records plan to release the double-CD The Best Of Rory Gallagher:
Crest Of A Wave on Aug. 25th.
Cherry Red Records imprint Cherry Pop will be reissue Fun Boy Three's
1982 self-titled debut album on Sept. 21st and will include 6 bonus
tracks (including "Just Do It" which was previously unavailable on
CD.) Also due out in September is the new book, You're
Wondering Now: The Specials From Conception To Reunion by Paul Williams.
Who vocalist Roger Daltrey recently told Billboard.com that he is
working on ideas for a new solo album that would be his first since
1992. He also mentioned that he believes bandmate Pete
Townshend has "every intention of writing more new Who stuff."
German songstress Nena will release a new single, "Wir Sind Wahr,"
(translated to We Are True) on Sept. 4th. The song is the
first single from her new album, Made In Germany, due out on Sept. 25th.
Alice Cooper has started work on his follow-up to 2008's Along Came A
Spider. Plans are to head into the studio early next year and
finish work on it before heading out on the road.
John Mayall will release his 57th studio album, Tough, via Eagle
Records on Sept 15th.
Winger have been working on their 5th studio album, Karma, which could
be out as early as October via Frontiers Records.
A club hit earlier this summer, Katrina & The Waves' "Walking
On Sunshine (Sleazesisters Anthem Mix)" has now been made available for
purchase at iTunes and other major digital music retailers.
The song appears on the new compilation Gayfest 2009.
Egyptian Lover has released a new single entitled "Freaky D.J." and it
can currently be purchased at iTunes.
Smokey Robinson has recorded collaborations with Carlos Santana, Joss
Stone and India.Arie for his new studio album, Time Flies When You're
Having Fun, due out Aug. 25th.
Tears For Fears will see their 5th studio album, Raoul And The Kings Of
Spain, remastered and reissued with several bonus tracks on Aug. 17th
in the U.K.
Spinal Tap will release a new DVD, Unwigged & Unplugged: An
Evening With Christopher Guest, Michael McKean And Harry Shearer, on
Sept. 1st. The 35-song set was filmed during their May 31st
performance in Milwaukee.
Cherry Red will reissue Animotion's 1984 self-titled debut and 1986's
Strange Behavior on Aug. 17th and feature 5 bonus tracks each
(containing several remixes and alternate versions.)
Former Mighty Lemon Drops guitarist David Newton has produced the debut
album for Los Angeles' The Happy Hollows due out in October.
Meliah Rage have announced that their new studio album, Masquerade,
will have its release date pushed back to Aug. 25th. It can
be pre-ordered at MetroCityRecords.com.
Sun Records recording artist Billy Lee Riley, 75, lost his battle with
stage 4 colon cancer on Sunday. According to his wife Joyce,
"He was actually feeling better lately. So the very end was
unexpected. But, he went peacefully." Riley was an
early performer at Sun and played on the original Jerry Lee Lewis hit
"Great Balls Of Fire." From 1956 to 1979 he released many
singles including "Red Hot" and "Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll"
and worked as a studio musician for The Beach Boys, Dean Martin and
Sammy Davis Jr. In 1983 he released the single "Southern Man
/ My Guitar" and was re-discovered in 1992 by Bob Dylan launching
another round of recording leading him to a Grammy nomination for
1997's Hot Damn!