An unspecified illness to Nine Inch Nails'
mainman
Trent Reznor has forced the rescheduling of their second of 4
performances in Los Angeles (on Sept. 3rd) in what are to be the band's
"final shows."
Former Pantera and current Down bassist Rex Brown will go under the
knife for the removal of his gallbladder and polyps on his pancreas
later this week. He's expected to be side-lined for about 5
weeks after the operation.
Guitarist Zakk Wylde gave fans an update on his treatment for several
blood clots via Twitter. "I spent three days in a hospital in
Eugene, Oregon where they gave me a 24 hour drip of Heparin where they
could monitor me. The next two days I received shots of
Heparin into my stomach. Each shot lasted 24 hours.
I was given a cat scan where they found three clots. I was
told each one of the clots passed through my heart. I just
received an ultrasound. My left leg has a clot above the side
behind my knee, my calf and running into my heel. My right
leg has a clot in between my calf and ankle. In a couple of
days I'll have another CT scan to see how my lungs are doing."
It seems that Eddie Van Halen's recovery is going well as he recently
issued an update: "Wolfie, Alex and I rehearsed today and had
a blast. We played a bunch of songs that we didn't play on
the last tour like "Drop Dead Legs," "Girl Gone Bad" and "Outta Love
Again!" And just jammed a bit. Haven't played these
songs for a long time but they sound f'ing amazing!"
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has alleged that Van Halen worked
with scalpers during their fall 2007 tour in order to make an extra $1
million.
Tammy Wynette will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of
Fame on Oct. 18th during their annual awards ceremony.
Wynette, 55, passed away in 1998 from a pulmonary blood clot.
Reba McEntire's Keep On Loving You fell 5 places to #6 on the Billboard
200 albums chart selling 42,000 copies. George Strait's Twang
dropped 5 spots to #7 selling 41,000 copies. Neil Diamond's
Hot August Night/NYC fell 17 places to #23. Queen Latifah's
Persona debuted at #25.
Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson's "Say
Hey (I Love You)" climbed 18 spots to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100
singles chart.
Michael Jackson's The Essential dropped 2 places to #8 on the U.K.
Albums chart. Neil Diamond's Hot August Night/NYC debuted at
#14. Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again: The Very Best Of Vera Lynn
debuted at #20. The Stone Roses' The Stone Roses fell 12
places to #23. Michael Jackson's Bad dropped 8 spots to
#27. U2's No Line On The Horizon fell 8 places to
#28. Michael Jackson's Thriller dropped 8 spots to
#31. Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five's The Very
Best Of Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five stayed at
#34. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits fell a place to
#36. U2's U218 Singles dropped 10 spots to #38.
Luther Vandross' 2003 single, "Dance With My Father," re-entered the
U.K. Singles chart at #38. The song peaked at #21 on that
same chart nearly 6 years ago.
Michael Jackson was given a private version of his televised public
memorial service on Thursday. Jackson's family arrived nearly
2 hours late pushing back the services. New York City
councilwoman Letitia James has asked that Brooklyn's Hoyt-Schermerhorn
subway station be renamed in honor of Jackson or have "Jackson" added
to the name. The station was where filming of the Martin
Scorsese-directed "Bad" video took place. A petition drive is
being planned as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority prohibits
station plaques but is developing naming-rights guidelines.
John Mellencamp has been very prolific the last few years and he isn't
slowing down. He has just completed recording his new studio
album, No Better Than This.
Manowar will release their Hell On Earth V live DVD on Nov.
27th. The video will cover their recent world tours through
Germany, Norway, Spain, Finland, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Canada and
the U.S. featuring new and classic songs never captured on camera
before.
Rolling Stones spokeswoman Fran Curtis has denied reports that drummer
Charlie Watts, 68, has quit the band. Reports had surfaced
saying that Charlie Drayton from Keith Richards' Expensive Winos
project would fill in on future Stones dates. Meanwhile,
Richards told Rolling Stone that he'd like to start working on a new
record next year and that he's recorded some new songs with Jack White.
Former Survivor vocalist Jimi Jamison has co-written the new Green Bay
Packers team song, "Bring On The Heros."
Y&T are taking a break from writing new material for their new
album and are hitting the road this fall. Plans are to
release the album in the spring.
Slayer will release their new studio album, World Painted Blood, on
Nov. 3rd in 3 different versions (limited edition CD with multiple CD
covers, deluxe edition CD/DVD and a high-quality, 180-gram vinyl
edition.)
Original Honeymoon Suite keyboardist Ray Coburn has parted ways with
the band. Peter Nunn, who replaced Coburn until their 2007
reunion, is returning to the band and some tour dates are planned.
The Vibrators have been in the studio recording their new
album. The 14-track release is expected out before Christmas
via the Captain Oi label.
Sting has recorded a version of his song "Come Again" (which debuted on
his 2006 album Songs From The Labyrinth) with Grammy-winning violin
virtuoso Joshua Bell for Bell's upcoming album, At Home With Friends,
due out Sept. 29th via Sony Classical.
Hüsker Dü drummer and co-songwriter Grant Hart has
announced the release of, Hot Wax, his first new solo album since
1999's Good News For Modern Man on Oct. 6th via Con D'or Records and
MVD Audio.
Despite a problem with her voice (which has been wrote off as her
having danced through rather than sing the first chorus of "Million
Dollar Bill") during her comeback performance on ABC's Good Morning
America on Tuesday, recording industry specialists believe Whitney
Houston's first new studio album in 7 years, I Look To You, will debut
at the top of the Billboard 200 chart selling over 200,000 copies.
Europe have announced the debut of their new video for "New Love In
Town" at Youtube.com/EuropeTheBandTV on Sept. 5th.
Ace Frehley has released, "Outer Space," as the first single from his
new album, Anomaly, as a digital download exclusively at iTunes.
Blaze Bayley has just finished touring with his band and now is heading
into the studio to work on their new album. They recently
released a double live album and live DVD, The Night That Will Not Die,
in Switzerland and a new book, At The End Of The Day, is due out Sept.
25th.
Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers will be one of the musical guests
during the inaugural week of NBC's The Jay Leno Show on Sept.
17th. Hornsby is expected to perform "Space Is The Place" off
his upcoming album, Levitate, with Eric Clapton. One of
Hornsby's twin sons, Russell, raps on the song. Levitate
heads to stores on Sept. 15th.
Metro City Records have announced a tentative Sept. 15th release date
for Meliah Rage's new studio album, Masquerade.
Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour wrapped in Tel Aviv, Israel
earlier this week. Grossing $408 million, the tour is the
biggest grossing tour by a solo artist and is second overall to the
Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang tour of 2005-2007 (which grossed $558
million.)
Italy's Ryan Paris has launched a 25th anniversary celebration of his
career as a singer/composer. A remixed version of his 1983
international hit, "Dolce Vita," has been released in Europe and shot
straight up the charts to #10. The original version of the
track also surfaced on an 80s compilation that peaked at #2 on the
album charts. Paris has also donated two of his songs to The
Prince's Trust (allowing them to use the songs "Ancora" and "Baila
Baila" to raise funds for charity.) He has also been
approached about recording a double album of new material and has two
new songs that are scheduled for release. One of the new
tracks, "Alive," appears on the soundtrack to a new short film by
Spanish director Carles Congost.
Lita Ford fans can visit www.litaxx.tv to preview and get a free
download of, "Crave," the first single off of Lita Ford's new studio
album, Wicked Wonderland, due out Oct. 6th.
U2 have signed on to be the musical guest for the season premiere
episode of Saturday Night Live on Sept. 26th.
The Scorpions have been working on their new studio album that, if
everything goes as planned, will be released in the spring.
Until then, a new DVD, Amazonia: Life In The Jungle!, will be released
in October. Rudolf Schenker's official autobiography, Rock
Your Life, will be released in Germany (and in German) on Oct. 14th --
an English version is planned.
The Carpenters' 40th anniversary double-disc collection, 40/40, will be
released on Oct. 20th and include two songs ("Now" and "Your Baby
Doesn't Love You Anymore") released in 1983 after Karen Carpenter's
death.
Dead Kennedys' guitarist East Bay Ray will release his
electronic/ambient album, Labyrinth, on Sept. 15th at iTunes, Napster,
Rhapsody, Amazon.com and other digital download retailers.
Alison Moyet will release a new collection, The Best Of Alison Moyet:
25 Years Revisited, on Oct. 19th in the U.K. Timed with her
tour of the same name, the set comes in a standard and deluxe double-CD
package containing new versions of key tracks from her catalog...
including new renditions of the Yaz classics "Situation" and "Midnight."
Schoolly D has finished work on his long-awaited 10th album,
International Super Sport, and a release date has yet to be
announced. Although, a record release party will be held on
Sept. 14th at the Blender Theatre in New York City.
Tim Finn has announced plans to release a new compilation covering his
career with Split Enz, Crowded House and his solo years. The
double-CD 35-track set includes 4 new recordings ("So Deep," "It's Only
Natural" featuring Bic Runga, "Stuff And Nonsense" featuring Missy
Higgins and "Weather With You" featuring brother Neil and nephew Liam
Finn) and is due out in October. Meanwhile, Finn has been
recording several other new songs for another unnamed project.
Neil Young will release, Dreamin' Man, a new live album culled from
complete live solo acoustic performances in 1992 of his Harvest Moon
album. The album will be labeled Neil Young Archive
Performance Series #12 when released on Nov. 2nd.
Anvil will see the re-release of their 1989 live album, Past And
Present: Live In Concert, on Sept. 21st via Metal Mind Productions
(except in North and South America.)
Depeche Mode plan to release a new live DVD/CD early next year to be
recorded during their current Tour Of The Universe.
Mark Knopfler will release his 6th solo studio album, Get Lucky, on
Sept. 15th with U.S. and European tour dates next year to support
it. Proceeds from the first single, "Remembrance Day,"
benefit the Poppy Appeal which supports the present and former members
of the Royal British Legion.
Former Swedish Erotica/Therion vocalist Mats Levén is
half-way through writing and recording new material for his upcoming
solo album.
More details have surfaced about ZZ Top's new DVD, Double Down Live,
which is due out Oct. 20th via Eagle Rock. The double-disc
set is split up with a performance from 1980 on one disc entitled
Definitely Then and a collection of performances last year titled
Almost Now.
The Melvins plan to release, Chicken Switch, a 15-track remix album via
Ipecac Recordings on Sept. 29th. The project had been rumored
since 2003 and is finally surfacing.
Mr. Big release their new reunion live CD and DVD, Back To Budokan, on
Oct. 27th in the U.S. (and Oct. 16th in Europe.) The
double-CD version includes two new songs, a cover of Argent's "Hold
Your Head Up" and the original song "Next Time Around."
A new 20-track Queen retrospective, Absolute Greatest, is on the way
via Hollywood Records on Nov. 10th. The set will come in a
standard CD version, double CD special edition, limited edition book
version, LP box set and digital download versions of the standard and
double CD special edition.
Bad Lieutenant's debut album, Never Cry Another Tear, will be released
on Oct. 6th via their own Triple Echo Records imprint. The
album will initially be available for a one-week period as a digital
download exclusively at Amazon.com. Starting Oct. 13th, the
physical CD will be exclusively released at Amazon.com for 1
month. Starting Nov. 10th, the album will be distributed to
all other retail outlets in a partnership with Original Signal
Recordings. The first single, "Sink Or Swim," is available as
a free download for a limited time at their www.badlieutenant.net Web
site.
Journey founding bassist Ross Valory has a new non-musical project
called Mouth Man. The 'animated apparel' line has to be seen
to be understood so check it out at www.mouthman.com or check out the
video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f74xMkiUybY
Rob Zombie will release his new animated film, The Haunted World Of El
SuperBeasto, on Sept. 12. He also plans to release a new
studio album in November. His latest film, Halloween II,
heads to theaters today and he has reportedly begun writing the script
for a remake of The Blob.
BBC4 has announced a documentary in the works, entitled Synth
Britannia, that will follow the beginnings of the synth revolution of
the late 1970s and early 80s. Vince Clarke, Martin Gore,
Bernard Sumner, Phil Oakey, Martyn Ware, Gary Numan, Daniel Miller,
Andy McCluskey, Neil Tennant and many other have been interviewed for
the project. It is expected to surface in the U.K. around
winter. You can find the trailer at http://tiny.cc/ndR5T on
YouTube.
Dr. Jones' new retrospective collection, Songs 1987-2009, has been
released and can be purchased at
http://drjonesmusic.co.uk/catalog.0.html.
Dead Or Alive's Pete Burns has co-written two new songs ("The Art" and
"Never Marry An Icon") with London-based production team, The Dirty
Disco. Burns has recently been working on a new Dead Or Alive
album with manager/producer Steve Coy.
Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee has taken some time off from the road to
appear in the latest installment of the Swedish version of the reality
series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! Matt Sorum has
signed on to fill his spot on Motorhead's world tour.
Marillion will release Less Is More via Racket Records on Oct. 2nd in
Europe. Less Is More is made up of new acoustic arrangements
of songs from their previous albums.
Keyboardist Jake Brockman, 53, died in a collision on Tuesday when his
motorbike hit a converted ambulance near Kirk Michael.
Investigations into the crash are on-going. Brockman had been
associated with the Liverpool band Echo And The Bunnymen as early as
1984, playing keyboards on some songs in the studio and then on their
1987 self-titled album. After the 1989 death of drummer Pete
de Freitas (in a motorbike accident) and departure of vocalist Ian
McCulloch, he formally joined the band for the 1990 album,
Reverberation, playing mellotron and farfisa. Brockman would
join drummer Damon Reece (who had replaced de Freitas) in the band
B.O.M. and released the album Bom Bom Shevaya in 1996. The
band issued a statement: "Our thoughts are with his wife, family
& friends."
Keyboardist/composer Guy Babylon, 52, died of a heart attack while
swimming on Sept. 2nd. Babylon surfaced on Luis Cardenas' 1986 album
Animal Instinct. In 1988, he co-wrote and performed on Siedah
Garrett's #1 U.S. dance hit "K.I.S.S.I.N.G." He followed that
by joining Sir Elton John's band (which he was a member of for 21
years) debuting on John's 1989 Sleeping With The Past album.
He would work on albums by John, Dwight Twilley, Ray Charles, Al
Stewart, B.B. King, Chuck Negron and several soundtracks.