ZZ Top New Album in Spring of 2012
Dec 12, 2011 - I’ve always wondered how long these guys would sport the long shaggy beards, but I have come to realize that those hairy love sculptures ain’t never going away and neither is their music! Huge ZZ Top fans have been waiting in anticipation for the release of a new album and the project has been talked about for a few years now.

ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons gave another update for fans to pine over with a new interview recently with Rolling Stone.  He says that the hectic touring schedule has kept them out of the studio but when they get the chance they work hard with producer Rick Rubin.

"When you add up the days in the studio, it hasn't allowed us much time to do much else than plug straight into an amp and play as a trio,” says Billy. “We're still not afraid to experiment when time allows, but these are things that don't normally pop up in a ZZ session. It's just, go in and get it."

“Presently, it would be safe to say that by spring of the year 2012” is when fans can look forward to some new ZZ in their collection, according to Gibbons.

ZZ Top’s last album was “Mescalero” released in 2003. MORE

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Dec 9, 2011- Well, after much consideration let it be known the class of 2012 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced. Congrats to first time nominee Guns N’Roses and previously nominated groups Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys who all made the grade.

It turns out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ended up letting in seven of the total 13 acts nominated. Inductees Donovan, Laura Nyro, Freddie King and The Small Faces/ The Faces will also be rising to the occasion.

 All of this will be wrapped up in this year’s ceremony scheduled for April 14, 2012 in Cleveland and tickets will go on sale Dec 17th. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will also be celebrating that whole week with special events and the impressive opening of their new library and archives. The word isn’t out yet whether Guns N’ Roses and Beastie Boys will be performing at the event but it looks promising for The Red Hot Chili Peppers since they are already touring the U.S. in 2012. MORE

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Play First U.K. Gig in 20 Years
Dec 6, 2011- I remember when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was my staple in music back in the early 90’s. I loved singing to the tunes Free Fallin and I Won’t Back Down as they played over and over again my mind.

It’s cool when I heard the band has just confirmed to headline its first major U.K. gig in 20 years! This will all come together as the rockers headline the Isle Of Wight Festival scheduled for June 22-24 of next year.

Festival promoter John Giddings described Petty and his band The Heartbreakers as "one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers won 2 grammys back in 1999 and were induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 2002.

Also to perform at the festival is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band, Elbow and Biffy Clyro. The Isle Of Wight Festival ran for two years after its launching in 1968 then came back in full force in 2002. MORE

Lionel Richie Honored with Humanitarian Award
Dec 5, 2011- It is no surprise that today, iconic superstar Lionel Richie is set to receive from the Harvard Foundation at Kirkland House, the 2011 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award.

Richie has written and recorded many billboard hits and has co-written a few songs aimed solely to benefit hunger victims in Africa and also for the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. He also gives back in supporting and helping to raise funds and world awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

"The students and faculty of the Harvard Foundation are pleased to present the 2011 Humanitarian Award to Mr. Lionel Richie in memory of the late Reverend Peter J. Gomes," said Dr. S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation. "Richie is one of our nation's most creative musical artists, who has inspired many through his artistic and philanthropic endeavors. Reverend Gomes would be proud of the selection of the legendary musician, Lionel Richie, for this singular honor. We are honored to have him as our special guest on the Harvard campus."

Each year the Harvard Foundation presents the Humanitarian Award to an individual who has gone above and beyond and in leading by example has been a huge inspiration for all of us. The Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award was created to give props to the life and work of Reverend Peter J. Gomes, Minister in the Memorial Church and the Plummer Professor of Christian morals. Gomes, along with President Derek C Bok came together and founded the Harvard Foundation. MORE

George Michael Recovering from Pneumonia
Dec 2, 2011 - Oh no, is what I thought when the news came out that George Michael was recently stricken with respiratory complications in Vienna, Austria. It was so bad that George has to cancel his show two hours before it was about to start, get himself into an emergency room and looked at fast!

The 48 year old pop singer was diagnosed with a lung infection and on the insistence of doctors rest is his only option. He cut out a number of shows on his ‘Symphonic’ tour to fight the illness and then decided to pull back completely.

With all the rumors floating around that Michael’s health might be deteriorating, his supposedly new boyfriend Fadi Fawaz says the singer is “getting stronger” as he battles pneumonia.Our thoughts are with you as you get better cause you “gotta have faith!” MORE

Man Sues After Forgetting Why He Loves Playboy Mansion
Nov 30, 2011- This lawsuit might make sense if Playboy was built around watching men’s hairy butts. It appears that a man who attended the “Leather Meets Lace” party at the Playboy Mansion recently thinks the admission charge is unfair.

According to TMZ, Steve Frye is suing on behalf of all men who allegedly had to pay $1000 for admission while “gorgeous ladies” did not!  Frye claims the double standard is sex discrimination and offering these women free admission “promotes harmful, negative stereotypes.”

Maybe these guys forgot why they all go to the Playboy mansion, it’s certainly not to hang out and look at the paintings! Oh, and one last thing that puts this all in left field is that proceeds from this event went to charity. MORE

Death of the CD Expected By 2013
November 23, 2011 - Industry insiders are saying that the compact disc may be a thing of the past within 2 years! I remember when that little shiny disc wiped out the cassette tape and I thought that would never happen.

According to Side Line Music Magazine, the CD is set to expire by 2013 and will be in motion to start elimination sometime into 2012. The only CD’s that will be out there will be limited edition prints from major record labels. Here we are now left wrapping our minds round streaming and digital download options with retailers such as iTunes and Amazon. The truly bad news is a digital download has inferior sound to a CD, so once again I guess speed kills.

The magazine tried to get a statement from some of the big labels to confirm the extinction of the CD and no one would come forward but some employees and associates of the labels said indeed things are in the works.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Back in 2012
November 22, 2011 - If you click on the official website of Springsteen you will see that it indeed confirms a new album and tour are in the works for 2012.

Excited European fans can see Springsteen and The E Street Band from the middle of May until the end of July and the U.S. and world tour dates are still in the making.

The tour will be E Street’s first in three years and without the incredible presence of Clarence Clemons, who died last June from a stroke at age 69. There has been no word on who is going to fit in his shoes. Also, original keyboardist Danny Federici died in 2008 at age 58 from melanoma.

As for the new album? Springsteen says the band is “incredibly excited” for the new year and the music for the new album is “almost done” untitled, and with no release date yet determined.

The Boss and the boys are pumped about everything they are planning for 2012. We just have to stay tuned!  MORE

The Doors Lost Song Found
November 21, 2011 - Well, what do you know! A newly found track by The Doors discovered just in time for the 40th anniversary reissue of the band’s 1971 release, “L.A. Woman.”

The Doors producer, Bruce Botnick recently discovered the lost track “She Smells So Nice” while rummaging through the album’s session tapes for the reissue due Jan 24, Rolling Stone reports.

The two-CD set includes a bonus disc featuring covers of Willie Dixon’s “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further” and Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want).” The second disc of the L.A. Woman reissue includes eight ‘never heard before’ versions of songs from the album.

“L.A. Woman” was The Doors 6th album and the last one recorded before Jim Morrison’s death. The album was released in April, 1971 and Morrison died in July, 1971.

Interestingly “L.A. Woman” was also the album that separated the band to their long time producer Paul Rothchild who didn’t like the bands direction. He was quoted as saying the project only had two good songs, the hits, “Riders on the Storm” and the title track. He later called the album “dog meat.”

Are The Police Returning?
Nov 16, 2011- Well, if you’ve got the main member of the band saying no then that’s a big fat no! In an interview with Billboard Magazine, Sting, vocalist/bassist of the band (that was most popular in the 70’s and 80’s) can’t see the trio getting back together again. “You know, it's something I am very proud of but I’m not sure there would be a reason to open it again except for nostalgic reasons, and I think we did that” in 2007-2008, he said. “I thought we did it very successfully. The timing was perfect. Everybody was happy to see us. So you know say, ‘OK, let’s close the book….”

 Here’s a double whammy too for Sting fans as he says they shouldn’t expect a solo album anytime soon either. Ouch!

Right now Sting is promoting his 25 Years box set, one-CD greatest hits album and iTunes app. “It’s hard to know what the new model is. I think the app is the new model,” says Sting. “People are going to stop buying CDs. People are going to stop selling and making them, so I am looking for different ways to get music to people, and the application at the moment seems to be the favorite.” Looks like Sting is just moving with the times. MORE

Want to Get Rid of Kim Kardashian? Sign the NO MORE KARDASHIAN Petition
November 16, 2011 – Want to get rid of Kim Kardashian? Take all the cameras out of the room. Your problem will be solved.

Enough is enough is what many people are saying about Kim Kardashian and her publicity-seeking clan. Well, maybe you can do something about it or at least get a message across.

Someone with the log-in name janesmith is targeting the Kardashian’s and E-Online. Here is her message;

I am asking people to sign a petition that will be forwarded to E! Online to request that the show ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ ends.

Please sign. However, if you leave comments, no foul language, belittling etc should be used. Example, what you see on comment boards.

I need for everyone to post this link to Facebook.. Twitter.. Email. This will close November 30th. We need several thousand to be heard!

Also please forward this link. We need many signatures!

Sign the petition here. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-more-kardashian.html

Rumors Are True: Black Sabbath Reunion
November 16, 2011 - Let it be known that Black Sabbath gives full props to producer Rick Rubin for getting the band back together. Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Lommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward confirmed that the rumors were indeed true. The band is in fact getting back together to hit the studios after Christmas to start recording their new album. Wow, the first album in 33 years and all this excitement is set for release in fall of 2012 and will of course coincide with a world tour.

Lommi says the experience is “like putting on an old glove” and Osbourne pipes in that they have written seven or eight songs. These guys mean business! To help mark the 10th anniversary at next year’s Download Festival in England the band is already scheduled to make an appearance there.

Sabbath did try to bring a new album back into the works in 1999 but that fizzled out and the band was last seen together on stage in 2006 when they were honored into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

So cheers, long live Sabbath! - MORE

Will The Rolling Stones Tour for 50th Anniversary?
November 14, 2011 - Whenever a band goes to reissue an album, we are always left wondering whether or not they will go on tour to promote it!

This is definitely the case with the Rolling Stones who are promoting the release of two “Some Girls” projects: a reissue of the 1978 album, containing 12 tracks from the original sessions; and, "Some Girls Live in Texas 1978" on DVD and Blu-ray.

This is all good when the band is talking 1978, but what about now? The Stones are being hit with the big question if they will put together a tour to mark their 50th Anniversary. Fans are talking since Keith Richards also told Rolling Stone Magazine that he is planning to meet with Charlie Watts and Ronnie Woods later this month in a London studio. "We're just going to play a little together, because we haven't played for three or four years," Keith explains. "You don't necessarily want to rehearse or write anything – you just want to touch bases. That's a good start: me, Charlie and Ronnie. Mick's welcome, and I'm sure he'll turn up, but right now we just want to get our chops down."

I get a feeling if the moment moves them anything is possible and the fans are always standing by. MORE

What’s My Name Again? Townshend of the Who Recalls Fight with Daltrey
November 14, 2011 - Pete Townshend recalls the moment when Who band mate Roger Daltrey, punched him so hard with one strike that he lost his memory for two days! Can you say ouch!

The fight apparently took place when The Who were finishing the last touches on their album Quadrophenia released in 1973. Daltrey was hanging out in the studio to wrap up some final mixes and Townshend already felt he was done with it.

The guitarist tells the Times: “I walked into the studio having not slept for two days after doing the final mixes. I had been in my big Mercedes limousine drinking brandy. Roger was in the studio, having waited for me for the last five hours.” ‘We’ve done it!’ I shouted at him. “Yeah? Well I’ve been here since one o’clock and I’m going.’ Roger said. “‘You can’t fucking go,’ I said. He pushed me out the way. I spat at him – and I got knocked out,” said Townshend. Pete recalls coming around an hour later and his memory non-existent for two days! Now that’s a punch!

Townshend recently put together a new edition of Quadrophenia and he personally feels it was the last great album by The Who. He also says once Daltrey gets back from his solo band tour he hopes they will hit the studios again together. READ MORE

Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter
November 7, 2011 – Michael Jackson fans are cheering in the streets right now. Dr. Conrad Murray has just been found guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter.

All twelve jurors found Michael Jackson’s last doctor responsible for his death.

A sentencing date was set for November 29, 2011. Murray was denied bail for his own safety and for the safety of the public. He was led away in handcuffs.

A “Journey” Reunion Ain’t Gonna Happen!
November 4, 2011 - Whenever I see the words in print “Journey “and “Steve Perry” I wonder if this is going to be it, are we finally going to see a reunion or something? Well, let it be known that according to Steve Perry (former lead singer of Journey) that just ain’t gonna happen! Even with a new Journey package in stores now with “Greatest Hits Volume 2” and the song “Don’t Stop Believin” playing like a mantra in our ears?

In a phone chat about this project to The Associated Press Perry says,’  "It's like any emotional, committed relationship. At some point, they seem to all have a shelf life and bands are no exception."  He also admits that "Life has moved us all on in different places in our lives. They're doing what they're doing — they have been since '98. And I've been doing what I'm doing, which is living my life and having a personal life.”

Being out of the spotlight, Steve says that he is in a good space and does not totally rule out touring again, it just won’t be with Journey.  Well,  I guess this case is closed, but I won’t stop believin!- By Shannon Edwards

Update: At the 2011 Billboard Touring Awards on Nov 10 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York Journey will receive the “Legend Of Live” Award. Guitarist Neal Schon will be there to pick up the honor.

How many of you follow Journey since Steve Perry left the band?  Who was your fav. lead singer of Journey? take a poll?  MORE

Michael Bublé Works Harder for What He’s Got!
November 4, 2011 - Here is a Canadian crooner who has won over the hearts of many with his genuine voice, captivating smile and boyish looks. The singer has sold over 35 million records worldwide and has won many awards during his solo career.

Michael works harder for what he’s got and realizes how much he could lose, especially while sitting at the top of his game. ''I’m more afraid of failure now than I have ever been,” Bublé told British magazine GQ. “It's only recently I've understood the maths of what make artists go up and down. They make too much money. They have too many people blowing smoke up their ass. You have to have that fear and desperation. Always want to do something better.”

Buble’ is now getting set for the festive season promoting his new Christmas album, which is no doubt going to be another hit. The 36-year old performer feels very fortunate to have many devoted fans and consistent record sales.

Brian Johnson from AC/DC  On The Road Solo With a New Book
November 1, 2011 - AC/DC fans would be quite pumped if the band were to tour in 2012, but one thing that is for sure is that the lead singer Brian Johnson will be on the road! He is set to do some gigs in February to promote his newly released book “Rockers and Rollers: A Full Trottle Memoir.”  

The cool think about this book signing stint is that it’s a speaking and live performance combined event. Johnson will share stories from his book and two of his buds from Skid Row, guitarist Scotti Hill and bassist Rachel Bolan will be joining in.

Brian’s book details his life history and his passion for and love of cars. The lighting and production will bring the stories to life and will be done by Cosmo Wilson who also worked with Johnson on the AC/DC world Tour.

Brian Johnson was born in Dunstan in Gateshead in 1947. He joined AC/DC in 1980 and lives in Sarasota, Florida. READ MORE AND GET THE TOUR DATES

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