PowerBlogs: Rumour Mills

Smashing Pumpkins are holding open auditions for a bassist and a keyboardist.

Their current bassist, Ginger Pooley, is leaving the band to raise her new baby.

Billy Corgan says he’s heartbroken that Pooley is leaving, but respects her decision to put her family first.

The band did not have a permanent keyboardist but Corgan says he wants someone who is a fan of and can play in the style of Jon Lord of Deep Purple and Rick Wakeman of Yes.

Smashing Pumpkins found a drummer, Mike Byrne, through open auditions.

(Interested musicians can send their age, resume and Web links to their performances to either PumpkinsBassgmail.com or PumpkinsKeysgmail.com by March 31st.)

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Pink Floyd has gone to court to fight for digital rights.

The band’s lawyer, Robert Howe, tells a London court the band’s contract prohibits selling tracks in ways other than the original configuration of the band’s albums.

Pink Floyd’s label, E-M-I, claims the rule applies to physical albums, not the Internet.

Pink Floyd is also disputing how royalties for online sales are computed.

Yesterday’s hearing is the start of an expected lengthy legal fight.

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Kiss wants younger fans.

They’re working on a half-hour T-V comedy for children based on the Kiss personas.

The series doesn’t have a title yet, and details on what the show will be about have not been revealed.

Gene Simmons says like all things Kiss, they intend to make it a very special show for their fans.

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Simon and Garfunkel are getting back together for a series of concerts, but only a handful are in the U-S.

They will play the New Orleans Jazzfest in April, then kick off a tour of Canada April 29 in Vancouver.

The only U-S dates are Fargo, St. Paul, Detroit and Madison, Wisconsin.

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The Goo Goo Dolls are ready to release their ninth studio album.

It’s called “Something For The Rest Of Us,” but the release date has not yet been set. They will preview some of the new songs on tour beginning April 6 in Augusta, Georgia.

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Devo will perform a new song tomorrow on Nickelodeon’s “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

They will perform “Watch Us Work It.”

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It looks like the Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part One might come out a year after its initial September 2009 release date. Adam “M-C-A” Yauch, who had surgery and radiation treatments for a salivary gland tumor last summer and fall, tells Entertainment Weekly that he’s getting his energy back and that “we may or may not [release it] depending on how my health is come September. We want to, but we have to play it by ear.”

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A London tabloid says Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is thinking of getting married for a third time. A so-called source tells the Daily Express that Ronnie thinks 30-year old Ana Araujo could “be the woman to make a life with… She’s such a positive influence on him, and they’re very relaxed in each other’s company. They’re happy enjoying the simple things in life, like staying in, making meals and watching films.” The source adds that they could get married as early as this summer.

Wood divorced wife number-two, Jo, last November.

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Look for three releases from The Doors over the next month. The first two are vinyl editions of Absolutely Live and Live in New York, both of which come out on Tuesday. The third is the soundtrack to When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors. The C-D is due on April 6th, and the film opens in select markets on April 9th. The soundtrack contains narrator Johnny Depp reading several selections of Jim Morrison’s poetry, 14 songs from The Doors’ catalog and interview clips with all four band members.

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Korn will hit Alaska and Canada on a brief tour later this month before they head to South America for two weeks in April. The band will be debuting tracks from its as-yet-untitled studio disc that’s out in June.

They’ll be in Vancouver March 29th at the Queen Elisabeth Theatre.

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Switchfoot will appear on N-B-C’s Tonight Show With Jay Leno on St. Patrick’s Day. They’ve also extended their Hello Hurricane tour by a week and will now wrap things up in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 30th.

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The release of Godsmack’s new disc, The Oracle, has been moved up to May 4th.

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Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament are the latest subjects on I-Tunes’ Celebrity Podcast Playlist. It can be downloaded for free through I-Tunes.

Judas Priest are marking the 30th anniversary of their “British Steel” album with a special re-release.

The Legacy Edition will include the original remastered album with two bonus tracks, a D-V-D of the band performing the album live last year on tour, and a new “Making of British Steel” interview.

The original album came out in April 1980.

The Legacy Edition of “British Steel” hits stores on May 11.

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Andrew W-K is working on a book and you can probably guess already what it’s about — partying.

He says it won’t be fiction, but about him and his ideas.

He calls it the literary equivalent of whatever he’s done as a performer.

He also owns a club in New York, and he says he created an atmosphere where everybody is cool and it’s fun to dance.

As if that’s not enough, Andrew W-K is also releasing his “lost” third album, “Close Calls With Brick Walls.”

It was only released in Asia.

He’s also offering an album of rare tracks called “Mother of Mankind.”

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Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl is going to use his time off the road from his other band, Them Crooked Vultures, to start work on a new Foos album. They’ve tapped Butch Vig to produce their seventh disc. It’s the first time Vig and Grohl have worked together since Nirvana’s Nevermind.

Grohl tells Rolling Stone that the Foos will be recording the album at his home in Encino, California and that “I think this could be our heaviest album yet.”

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A-C/D-C singer Brian Johnson is one of a number of artists who’ve lent their talents to Love and Peace - Greatest Hits for Kids, which is out next Monday. Johnson sings on “If I Had a Hammer.” Other artists include Willie Nelson, Donovan, Taj Mahal, Faith Hill and Los Lobos.

Johnson is on the road with A-C/D-C, who wrapped up an Australian tour last night in Perth. Up next is Japan starting in Tokyo on Friday.

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New Jimi Hendrix music is in stores today. Valleys of Neptune is a compilation of 12 songs that were never officially released. These are the final studio recordings of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience, done over four months in 1969. Janie Hendrix, C-E-O of Experience Hendrix, says, “Valleys of Neptune offers deep insight into his mastery of the recording process and demonstrates the fact that he was as unparalleled a recording innovator as he was a guitarist.” Among the 12 songs is a cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.”

In addition to Valleys of Neptune, Legacy is also releasing today deluxe versions of Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Electric Ladyland and First Rays of the New Rising Sun.

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Jimi Hendrix will be one of the performers at this year’s Glastonbury Festival in England. A video by director Julien Temple of Hendrix performing “Bleeding Heart,” from his new album, Valleys of Neptune, will be shown on the festival’s Pyramid Stage. Interspersed with Hendrix performing are Glastonbury audience shots, giving the impression that he’s performing.

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Roger Waters has reached out personally to try to help earthquake victims in Chile. He sent a letter to a disc jockey there that was published in a local newspaper. It says, “I can send money, and I will. Let me know the best ways to collaborate — perhaps on a personal or local level or a check to the largest institution?… Not all, but many Americans have seen telethons hosted by celebrities to raise funds and now have ‘earthquake fatigue.’ Not that I blame them, they do their best, but I think disaster relief should not be an issue for charities and individuals. It should be a global obligation.”

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Jack Johnson previewed his upcoming To the Sea album at a press and radio event last night at Brushfire Records’ L-A studio the Solar Powered Plastic Plant. After previewing six songs — “You And Your Heart,” “At or With Me,” “When I Look Up,” “From the Clouds,” “Turn Your Love” and “To the Sea” over the studio’s speakers, Johnson, keyboardist Zach Gill and drummer Adam Topol did an acoustic performance of two more songs from the album — “No Good With Faces,” and “Hey Little Girl” — and old favorite “Better Together.” The album comes out June 1st.

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The Alabama House of Representatives’ Tourism and Travel Committee is recommending that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” be the new state song, replacing “Stars Fell on Alabama.” More than 100 artists have covered the 1934 anthem, including Jimmy Buffett, but according to Florence, Alabama’s Times Daily, the feeling is that most residents don’t know the song. The committee will make its final vote today, at which point the bill will go to the full house. The state senate would then have to vote on it before Governor Bob Riley signs it into law.

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A shelved 15-year-old compilation with rare tracks by Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys and Queens of the Stone Age/Them Crooked Vultures singer-guitarist Josh Homme has found new life on the Internet. Exiled in the Land of the Free: An Album for Leonard Peltier was scheduled to come out in 1995. It was supposed to raise funds for Peltier and the effort to get his murder conviction overturned, but it never was released. A man who says he was “an A-and-R assistant at Sony Music” found the unmastered version of the album in his files and has posted it for free download at Sites.Google.com/Site/ExiledInTheLandOfTheFree.

Peltier is a member of the American Indian Movement who was convicted of the 1975 murders of two F-B-I agents. Rage’s “Freedom” is about Peltier.

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Guns N’ Roses are planning three intimate private shows in Brazil and Argentina during their current South American tour, Reuters reports. The shows are set at secret locations in Sao Paulo on Thursday and Buenos Aires on March 30th. A third show is also being planned for Rio De Janeiro. The organizer of the shows says the shows will be help in venues that hold about 150 people.

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Tom Morello is doing the score for Iron Man 2.

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Gene Simmons, in his KISS make-up and costume, recently met actress Sophia Loren during the taping of a German T-V show. He posted a picture of the meeting on his website, GeneSimmons.com, saying it was “the moment of a lifetime.”

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Serj Tankian will do his Elect the Dead Symphony with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Chastain Park Amphitheater July 9th in Atlanta and with an orchestra put together by The Greek Theater July 30th at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

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Drowning Pool’s new album will be self-titled. It’s due out at end of next month.

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Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy will release his solo debut, Lazarus, on June 8th.

It takes modern technology to hear a 41-year-old album correctly.

Chicago’s debut album, “Chicago Transit Authority,” is being reissued as a music-only D-V-D in Quadraphonic sound.

The disc is intended for play in D-V-D players connected to a surround-sound system and does not contain a stereo mix.

The album was mastered with the original four-track Quad mixes from 1969. The Quad version of “Chicago Transit Authority” comes out March 23rd.

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Jamaica is planning to open a museum to honour its musical heritage.

Among the items that will be included are the one album Bob Marley produced before he became famous and a cassette with a 1977 jam session between reggae great Peter Tosh and the Rolling Stones.

A date for the museum’s opening has not yet been set.

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The film about Anvil didn’t have a shot at an Oscar, but it did win a Spirit Award. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” won best documentary Friday.

The Spirit Awards honour independent film.

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Peter Gabriel always wanted to do an album of covers, but he had to make it interesting.

For his new album, “Scratch My Back,” he covers other musicians’ works and they cover his.

Gabriel says Paul Simon did a beautiful version of “Biko” with acoustic guitar and cello, and Lou Reed did “Solsbury Hill” with a fuzz guitar in what Gabriel calls typical Lou style.

Gabriel also had a no drums or guitar rule on himself.

He says the worst thing you can say to artists is that they can do whatever they want, and rules make things creative.

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Just weeks ago, the future of Aerosmith was up in the air, and now they’ve announced their second tour in two weeks. Before hitting Europe in June, they’ll tour South America in May. The Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour will hit Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil between May 18th and the 29th.

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Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has finally sold his suburban Boston home after having it on the market for close to two years. Sitting on 17 acres, the 62-hundred-square-foot home in Marshfield Hills, Massachusetts overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and the North River. It has four bedrooms, a recording studio, a carriage house, a pool, a Koi pond and three garages.

Kramer put the house up for sale following his 2007 divorce from his first wife, April. He’d originally asked five-million, but the Wall Street Journal reports that it sold for two-point-seven-million.

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Rolling Stones fans, be on the lookout for new music. Keith Richards tells Rolling Stone they have “no definite plans,” but adds that he “wouldn’t be surprised if we did some recording later this year.”

He’s less enthusiastic about touring, “I don’t know how the rest of them feel about roadwork at the moment. Maybe we’ll search for a different way for the Stones to go back on the road. Maybe not the football stadiums anymore. Maybe something different. You can’t go around there in lemon-yellow tights forever.”

Richards has also dispelled the recent report that he is on the wagon. “Listen, the rumors of my sobriety are greatly exaggerated. And we’ll leave it at that.”

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Two of the three surviving members of The Traveling Wilburys were on hand last Thursday in Los Angeles at the launch party for a book on the band. Tom Petty, sporting a cane because of a broken toe, joined Jeff Lynne and George Harrison’s widow Olivia. Also at the soiree were Ringo Starr, his brother-in-law Joe Walsh, Wilburys drummer Jim Keltner, Eric Idle, Gary Wright and others. Wilbury Bob Dylan wasn’t there. The fifth member was the late Roy Orbison.

The Traveling Wilburys is a fine-bound book published in a numbered, limited edition of three-thousand copies, each signed by Lynne and presented in a cloth-bound slipcase. Each book is accompanied with a uniquely numbered lithograph of the lyrics to “Handle With Care,” handwritten by Harrison.

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In celebration of David Gilmour’s 64th birthday this past Saturday, the U-K’s Royal Mail unveiled another Pink Floyd stamp — this one featuring the cover of Floyd’s 1994 album, The Division Bell, and available in a 10-stamp sheet. It’s presented as a seven-inch record sleeve with the lyrics to the song “High Hopes” set against a background of the metal heads from the Division Bell cover.

You can order one at RoyalMail.com. And you can see Floyd playing “High Hopes” on their website, PinkFloyd.co.uk.

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Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne will be in Liverpool on October 9th to help celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday. The Liverpool Echo reports that Liverpool’s mayor invited them to take part in the festivities.

It’s no secret that Ozzy is a huge Beatles fan, writing in his recently published autobiography, I Am Ozzy, “Thanks to Beatlemania, it seemed all right that I didn’t want to work in a factory.”

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Dave Matthews will headline the Music Saves Mountains concert on May 19th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Proceeds will go to the Natural Resources Defense Council and its campaign to end coal-mining mountain-top removal in Appalachia.

Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller are also on the bill.

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Legendary English record producer Steve Lillywhite is stepping up his campaign to take over Simon Cowell’s American Idol judge’s chair after this season. Lillywhite — who’s worked with such superstar acts as U-2, Dave Matthews Band and The Rolling Stones — began lobbying for the position last month with a YouTube video in which he trumpets his qualifications.

Last week, Lillywhite told the website Express After Dark that he’s planning a second video. “I watch that now and think, ‘Oh, God, what a little twit you are!’ So I’m going to do another one.” He compares his efforts to “a presidential campaign.”

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The Allman Brothers Band has canceled the last five shows of their 13-night New York residency at the United Palace Theater. A statement on the band’s website says, “Due to an unforeseen family matter, the Allman Brothers Band shows scheduled for March 22nd to the 27th have been cancelled. The shows scheduled for March 11thto the 20th will take place as planned. Refunds are available at point of purchase.” The Allmans will be on N-B-C’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night.

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The Warped Tour 15th Anniversary Celebration concert is coming to D-V-D and C-D on March 30th. The collection features highlights from the show in Los Angeles last fall with performances by Blink 1-82, Rise Against, Bad Religion, Pennywise and Pete Wentz and the Decaydence All Stars (which featured members of Panic at the Disco). The D-V-D also includes archive footage from past Warped Tours.

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Blink 1-82 drummer Travis Barker has once again paid tribute to his late friend and collaborator D-J A-M — this time with a tattoo. The ink runs from his hip to his knee and says “In Memory Of” with D-J A-M’s lightning bolt logo floating in some clouds that have sunbeams coming out of them. Barker posted a picture of the tattoo on his Twitter page.

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Ted Nugent will appear at the National Rifle Association convention on May 15th and 16th in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Buddy Guy has been tapped to open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in New York and Philadelphia this summer. Other guests on the Petty tour include C-S-N and Joe Cocker.

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Limp Bizkit, Alice in Chains and 3 Doors Down are among the headline acts at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, April 30th through May 2nd.

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Queensryche plan to take their Queensryche Cabaret show — which they debuted last month in their home state of Washington — on the road for a few dates.

My Chemical Romance is down a drummer.

The band writes on its website drummer Bob Bryar left the band four weeks ago.

They don’t say why, only that it was a painful decision and they wish him the best of luck.

No word on who will replace Bryar.

My Chemical Romance has been working on a new album.

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The editors of England’s Classic Rock magazine are “speechless” at what Aerosmith are charging for tickets to their June 15th show in London. All seats, including standing room and the upper tier of the O-2 Arena, are going for about 160 dollars each (106 pounds).

Aerosmith will tour Europe in June and July, and there’s talk of dates in South America.

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Two Metallica fans who organized a boycott of the band’s May 22nd concert in Tel Aviv, Israel have called it off after promoters agreed to lower the price of tickets. Tomer Mussman and Rotem Horovitz created a Facebook page to initiate the boycott after learning that the cheapest tickets cost around 160-dollars, which they claimed was significantly higher than anywhere else in the world. The promoters agreed to cut the price range for tickets to 80-to-160 dollars.

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When Paul Rodgers re-joined Bad Company for one show in Florida in 2008, which resulted in the new C-D and D-V-D Hard Rock Live, it came just as he was preparing to go on tour with Queen. He tells us it was “tough” switching gears going from one group to another. But, he adds that reconnecting with Bad Company was “like putting on an old pair of Levi’s.” Rodgers and Bad Company will tour the U-K in April.

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Slash is joining such celebrities as Salma Hayek and John Leguizamo in designing limited-edition Dora the Explorer backpacks. The backpacks will be auctioned off around the world for children’s charities. Proceeds from the U-S auctions will benefit the Children’s Defense Fund.

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Black Country, the new group featuring Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes (of Deep Purple), Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian (of Dream Theater), is in search of a new name. Bonamassa tells Australia’s Undercover magazine, “There is a band already called Black Country, and their legal representatives have already reminded us of that fact.”

The now nameless band is putting the finishing touches on its debut album.

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Boston’s Tom Scholz has never been a fan of American Idol, but he’s taken a rooting interest in Siobhan Magnus. Scholz writes on the Boston website, BandBoston.com, “Last December I heard a young girl from Cape Cod singing Christmas songs for kids at a little event… I was mesmerized by her ability to bring these simple songs to life… Siobhan has done all of this by herself, starting from nothing, and no matter how far she gets in the competition, she has already earned herself a place in many people’s hearts, and I doubt anyone deserves it more.”

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Iron Maiden will return to the road this summer with Dream Theater as their opening act. The tour starts June 9th in Dallas and wraps up July 20th in Washington D-C.  They’ll be in Vancouver June 24th.

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Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison will spend the band’s break touring as a member of Rob Zombie’s band. Jordison will make his public debut with Zombie April 8th at the Revolver Golden Gods Award in Los Angeles. Zombie has two major tours booked this year — the Gruesome Twosome tour with Alice Cooper in late April and early May and the Rockstar Mayhem Tour with Korn in July and August.

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Framing Hanley’s second album, A Promise to Burn, is due out May 25th.

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Killswitch Engage canceled their show Thursday in Tucson, Arizona so fill-in vocalist Phil Labonte of All That Remains could rest his voice.

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Breaking Benjamin’s Dear Agony has been certified gold for sales of 500-thousand copies.

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KISS’s appearance last month on A-B-C’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was a ratings success — it had a 32-percent increase in adults ages 18 to 49 over the week before.

Nickelback are once again a multiple nominee at the Juno Awards, Canada’s version of the Grammys. They’re up for the Fan Choice Award as well as Rock Album of the Year for Dark Horse.

Three Days Grace are also nominated for Rock Album of the Year.
Thousand Foot Krutch are up for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.
Rush and Iron Maiden are up for Music D-V-D of the Year.
Kings of Leon are nominated for International Album of the Year.
The Junos take place April 18th in St. Johns NL.

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Jon Bon Jovi is taking part in President Obama’s United We Serve initiative by debuting a video tonight at his band’s show in Los Angeles. In the video, Bon Jovi makes a call to service to millions of fans. He is also featured in a 60-second T-V P-S-A that includes images of the president and first lady serving.

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Train’s Pat Monahan will be among the performers at the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony March 15th, the Associated Press reports. Other performers announced include Chris Isaak, Faith Hill, Maroon Five’s Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael, Ronnie Spector, Fefe Dobson, Eric Burdon and Peter Wolf.

Among those slated for induction at the ceremony are ABBA, Genesis, The Stooges and Jimmy Cliff.

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Weezer fans, set your D-V-Rs for next week. Rivers Cuomo and company will appear on Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba on Tuesday to perform an original track called “All My Friends Are Insects.” (The episode also features a special remix segment arranged by Blink 182’s Travis Barker.) And on Thursday the band will perform their medley of M-G-M-T’s “Kids” and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” on Last Call With Carson Daly.

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Jeff Beck was one of the many guitarists who saw It Might Get Loud, a documentary in which Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White talk about their love of the guitar, their styles of playing and more. Beck tells us it was “a bit close to the Spinal Tap thing. A bit close.” He said he might have been interested in being featured in it but nobody asked him. Beck starts a tour of Australia at the end of the month.

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Though Abbey Road appears to have been saved, E-M-I is selling off another fabled London studio. Olympic Studios — where classic music by The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Eric Clapton and U-2 was recorded — has been sold to a real estate developer, according the U-K’s Independent.

Not famous as Abbey Road, the Southwest London building closed last year. But even in its final years, top artists used Olympic — U-2 cut their album No Line on the Horizon there in 2008.

Here’s a partial list of Olympic’s greatest hits:

The Yardbirds’ “For Your Love”
Mille Small’s “My Boy Lollipop”
The Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man” and “All You Need Is Love”
The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Honky Tonk Women”
Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”
The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” and “Best of My Love”
The Who’s “Who Are You”
Eric Clapton’s “Lay Down Sally,” “Wonderful Tonight” and “Promises”
London’s Telegraph reports that the unnamed buyer is considering building a multiplex movie theater on the site.

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Anberlin are in a Nashville studio working on the follow-up to 2008’s New Surrender. The band is recording with Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), but will get only a couple of weeks in the studio this month. They’ve got a tour of Brazil that starts March 24th.

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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen and his Raven Drum Foundation have created Resiliency Radio — an interactive show designed to empower, educate and inspire people who’ve experienced trauma. Allen is the host, interviewing celebrity guests as well as people working in healthcare, mental health and related fields. Check it out at BlogTalkRadio.com/Resiliency-Radio or listen in at 347-843-4903.

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Whitesnake singer David Coverdale says E-M-I may be planning a deluxe version of the album he cut with Jimmy Page in 1993, Coverdale-Page.

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The Allman Brothers Band will perform on N-B-C’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon next Tuesday, two days before their run of 13 shows at the United Palace Theater in New York.

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John Paul Jones guests on the new album from Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Propellor Time, which is due out April 6th. The Venus 3 includes R-E-M’s Peter Buck on guitar.

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Broken Bells’ James Mercer says his other band, The Shins, will start work on a new album next month.

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Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee has settled on A Public Disservice Announcement as the title for the second disc from his side project Methods of Mayhem. It’s due out in May.

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Rise Against have released an I-Phone app through I-Tunes.

Evanescence drummer Will Hunt is recording and will be touring with Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society this spring, so he isn’t working on the new Evanescence album. The drum duties will be filled by a familiar name — Will Hunt. This Will Hunt is a friend of singer Amy Lee’s from Dallas and he’s been writing songs with her over the past year. Lee tells Rolling Stone, “This is going to be really hard to get across without people getting confused because they have the same exact name. But we’re actually doing a two-drummer thing for the next tour. Basically ‘Thing 1′ and ‘Thing 2′ — we’re gonna have to figure out some kind of plan for just knowing who’s who.”

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Can Gene Simmons be the answer to our financial troubles? He writes on GeneSimmons.com that he’s “partners in a new venture that promises to change the financial face of one of the most important aspects of people’s lives. We are soon going to be announcing the venture on television and in the business press.”

Simmons is on a promo tour of Europe with KISS to pitch their tour there in May and June.

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Brad, the side project of Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, will debut material from their upcoming album Best Friends during a show in Seattle on April 14th.

The show features an opening set by Satchel and a guest appearance by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. That means that all the living members of Gossard and Ament’s pre-Pearl Jam band Mother Love Bone will be performing at the gig, spurring rumors that the group might play a few songs with Brad singer Shawn Smith filling in for the late Andrew Wood.

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It looks like the highly anticipated Soundgarden reunion shows will be accompanied by the band dipping into its vaults. First up is a re-issue of their debut Sub Pop single “Hunted Down” and “Nothing to Say” as a seven-inch single for Record Store Day on April 17th.

The band’s site is also giving away a download of a live version of “Spoonman” from 1996. A note with the download says, “On this ‘96 tour, we recorded all the from the West Coast run, to one day release as a live album. We never got around to mixing those shows until recently and we were surprised at how crazy cool it all is!”

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With the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games just wrapped up, some are looking ahead to the 2012 Summer Games in London. There’s already talk of an official song being written for those games, and Muse have already thrown their hat in the ring. Drummer Dominic Howard tells the B-B-C, “Since it’s here in London, sure. We’ve got a new song, so maybe we could use that.”

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A warrant has been issued for former Warrant singer Jani Lane connected to a 2009 D-U-I convciction, according to T-M-Z. Lane was scheduled to appear in court on February 23rd, but failed to show.

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Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has his own phone app. It’s a game called Hit Hard — after his autobiography — and has 15 levels of his favorite beats to compete on.

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Ozzy Osbourne, while on a book signing tour in Florida, received the key to the city of West Palm Beach the other day.

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has moved some of its archives — photos, videos, contracts, press kits, posters, flyers, business records, manuscripts, lyrics, letters and other music documents — to Cuyahoga Community College, about two miles southeast of the Cleveland museum.

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Z-Z Top singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons has been nominated for an Academy of Country MusicAward for Vocal Event of the Year for “Honky Tonk Stomp” with Brooks and Dunn. The awards will be handed out on April 18th.

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Flyleaf have contributed the new song “Break Your Knees” to Healing 4 Haiti, a charity record commissioned by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.

Slayer guitarist Kerry King says he’s in a scary band and he wants scary tattoos.

Tommy Lee recalls going down the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and seeing someone famous getting a tattoo at any moment.

Chester Bennington of Linkin Park says he loves seeing middle-aged women who would turn their noses up at a tattoo 20 years ago now say, “I’m getting a tattoo! Yay!”

They’re all featured in Revolver magazine’s tattoo issue, which also has articles on “The Most Painful Spots to Get Tattooed” and “The Most Ridiculous Rocker Tattoo Fails.”

The issue is out today.

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Stone Temple Pilots are putting out their first new album in almost a decade.

The self-titled album will come out May 25th.

S-T-P will introduce the new material when they play March 18th at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

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After a couple months of rumors, it looks like Eric Avery has once again left Jane’s Addiction. Avery wrote on his Twitter, “That’s it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane’s Addiction experiment is at an end” after the band did the last show of their Australian tour Monday.

Avery’s departure had rumored since January when word got out that ex-Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan was with the band for some writing sessions. Avery was not part of the band’s previous reunion tours since their initial split in 1991 and only rejoined his former bandmates in 2008.

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Eric Clapton welcomed country star Vince Gill on stage in Nashville over the weekend. Gill sat in on four songs during the acoustic set — “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” “Running on Faith,” “Layla” and “I’ve Got a Rock n’ Roll Heart” — and the encore of “Crossroads.”

Gill will perform at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in suburban Chicago in June. He’s played at the previous two Crossroads festivals.

Clapton, with special guest Roger Daltrey, is in Tulsa, Oklahoma tonight.

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Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh are among the artists giving away live songs to inspire fans to talk about climate changes. The tracks are available on Best of Bonnaroo, which can be had as a free download at MusicForAction.org. Before downloading the music, visitors are asked to E-mail their senators, the president or their local newspapers about climate change.

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Guns n’ Roses frontman Axl Rose has warned fans not to buy tickets for shows that don’t exist. He writes on his Twitter, “There are no new Guns n’ Roses shows added to our current on-sale itinerary. This means no shows in Panama, Costa Rica or Guatemala regardless of anyone’s claims or ticket sales… If you have purchased tickets to any suggested new dates please contact your place of purchase for refunds.”

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A benefit show last week starring Robert Plant at London’s Abbey Road studio helped raise 300-thousand dollars for Cancer Research U-K. Plant did a few songs, including a cover of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” Also on hand were George Martin and John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, both of who made speeches about the charity.

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We Are the Fallen — the band featuring three former members of Evanescence — has titled its debut album Tear the World Down. It’s due out May 11th. We Are the Fallen will make their North American concert debut March 26th in Philadelphia at the start of their opening run for Him.

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Dave Grohl has an interesting choice to play him in the Nirvana film biography that’s in the works. He tells People, “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m crossing my fingers that Shelley Duvall plays me.” Grohl goes on to explain that her look in the Jack Nicholson thriller The Shining “is my face, you cannot get any closer than that.”

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Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Rush are among the classic rock acts who made the list of the greatest live albums of all time. In a poll conducted by U-K radio station Planet Rock, Thin Lizzy is tops with Live and Dangerous, followed by Purple’s Made in Japan.

Led Zeppelin have two albums on the list — The Song Remains the Same and How the West Was Won.

Rush has the most entries with three All the World’s a Stage, Exit Stage Left and Rush in Rio.

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Hall and Oates bassist T-Bone Wolk has died.

He suffered an apparent heart attack on Saturday at the age of 58.

Daryl Hall calls Wolk one of the most sensitive and good human beings that he has ever known.

John Oates says any instrument Wolk touched resonated with a sensitivity and skill level that he has never experienced while playing with any other musician.

Wolk had played with Hall and Oates since their “Private Eyes” album in 1981.

He’s the only one who doesn’t dance in the “Private Eyes” video.

Wolk also played with the “Saturday Night Live” band and performed on albums by Bette Midler, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello and Avril Lavigne.

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The fashion side of Elvis is on display at Graceland.

The exhibit called “Elvis Presley: Fashion King” showcases Elvis’ handmade shirts and casual suits, as well as his scarves, top coats and hats.

His 220-diamond necklace and 11.5-carat diamond solitaire ring is also on display.

The exhibit runs through March 2012.

Graceland is also running an exhibit on Elvis’ life before the fame and a separate one on the evolution of his stage costumes.

They put on quite a show at last night’s closing ceremonies at B-C Place Stadium.

It got started with figure skater Joannie Rochette carrying in Canada’s flag to a thunderous ovation.

The 24-year-old Quebecer won a bronze medal less than a week after her mom Therese died of a heart attack.

Then they poked fun at the gaffe made during the opening ceremonies when one leg of the Olympic cauldron failed to rise, leaving torchbearer Catriona Le May Doan with nothing to light.

A parade of Canadian actors, including William Shatner, Catherine O’Hara and Michael J. Fox, delivered tongue-in-cheek essays on the Canadian condition.

There were marching Mounties in mini-skirts, dancing canoes and giant inflatable beavers and moose.

And there was some great music — Michael Buble crooned, Avril Lavigne strutted, Nickelback rocked and Neil Young performed “Long May You Run” before the Olympic flame was extinguished.

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Founding Survivor guitarist Frankie Sullivan is suing former singer Jimi Jamison for using the band’s name without permission.

The Chicago Tribune reports Sullivan says Jamison used the Survivor name to promote his appearances with Orleans and John Cafferty in February.

He’s asking for damages and a share of the proceeds from the concerts.

Both Sullivan and Jamison had claimed rights to the name Survivor, but a court granted it to Sullivan in 1999.

Jamison rejoined the band in 2000 and had agreed to use the name only for biographical purposes.

Jamison could not be reached for comment.

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R-E-O Speedwagon and Pat Benatar will spend the summer together.

They will perform as the “Love on the Run” tour starting June 24th in Uncasville, Connecticut.

They last toured together 15 years ago.

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum owns a lot more memorabilia than what’s on exhibit.

Later this year, you’ll be able to see that other stuff too.

The Rock Hall is moving photos, recordings, albums, scrap books and other items three kilometres away from the museum in Cleveland to a building it shares with the Cuyahoga Community College.

The other building will have things like Jim Morrison’s first poem, video from the 1981-82 Rolling Stones tour and personal letters from the Grateful Dead, Whitney Houston and Patti Smith.

Aging L-P records will be digitized and available for listening.

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Jon Bon Jovi won’t be spending his down time on tour whooping it up at swanky bars and celebrity parties.

He’s going to hang out with alcoholics and the homeless instead.

Bon Jovi says their tour in support of the band’s new album, “The Circle,” will also be a fact-finding mission for him and his charity.

He plans to visit homeless shelters, a program for alcoholics in Seattle and a squatters village in Sacramento.

Bon Jovi says he’s looking for ideas for his work with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.

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So much for those rumours that U-2 was bleeding money on its “360 Degrees” tour.

U-2 top Billboard’s 2010 Money Makers list, earning more than 108- (m) million dollars last year.

Bruce Springsteen is in second with 57- (m) million, followed by Madonna with 47- (m) million.

A-C/D-C made 43- (m) million, and Britney Spears earned 38- (m) million.

Billboard compiled the list based on money earned from tours, C-D and digital sales, publishing royalties and other income.

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Joel Madden of Good Charlotte will play a key part at the Oscars.

People magazine reports he’ll be the house D-J for the night.

Producer Adam Shankman says he chose Madden because he wants a party atmosphere.

The Oscars are on Sunday.

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Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney says he’s glad the group’s original bassist Mike Starr is trying to get his life together and conquer his drug addiction, he’s just not happy that Starr has chosen V-H-1’s Celebrity Rehab as the way to do it. Kinney acknowledges the good work that the show’s addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky has done and continues to do, but is troubled that some of the show’s scenes are “creatively edited so that they have more drama.” He also is upset that “life and death” struggles with addiction are trivialized by being “put on T-V [as] entertainment for other people to watch.” He tells us he doesn’t “think it helps anyone for it to be put on television” and that he “[doesn't] support the show at all.”

Starr will also be appearing on Season 2 of the Celebrity Rehab follow-up show Sober House, which begins airing on March 11th.

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Just days after Eric Clapton ended a mini-tour with Jeff Beck, he started a run through the Midwest and Southeast with special guest Roger Daltrey last Thursday. Instead of opening with an acoustic set as he did on the Beck dates, Clapton started plugged in, moving the acoustic numbers to the middle. He also extended his set from 10 to 15 songs. Daltrey opened with a 45-minute set, but did not sit in with Clapton.

Next up is Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow night.

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A federal judge in New York ruled last week that Ozzy Osbourne can proceed with his lawsuit against Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi over use of the Sabbath name, according to the New York Post. In papers filed last May, Osbourne notes that Iommi took sole ownership of the band’s name in a filing with the U-S Patent and Trademark Office, and he’s suing for 50 percent interest in that trademark. Iommi’s lawyer argues that Osbourne singed away his rights after quitting the band in 1979. But Osbourne’s lawyer says that agreement was a “red herring” that was “repudiated” when he rejoined the band in 1997.

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Shinedown are among the all-star acts who’ve contributed songs to Almost Alice, the collection of tracks inspired by director Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland. But bassist Eric Bass says they might never have written “Her Name Is Alice,” except for Johnny Depp. They heard a rumor that Depp is a Shinedown fan and had encouraged the soundtrack producers to approach them. Bass jokes, “For my credibility and coolness factor, I’d like to think that’s true.”

Almost Alice comes out tomorrow. Alice in Wonderland will be in theaters Friday.

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Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry spent Thursday watching the “healthcare summit” with his wife Billie. He writes on his Twitter page, “What no one is talking about is the high amount of profits the insurance companies make and the pharmaceutical companies… If those issues were controlled, would we even need this summit? I needed a knee brace for my knee. Found out it would cost less than 50 dollars if I could buy it. Insurance co-pay was 200 dollars.”

Perry also writes about the problems Toyota is having, saying this is a good time to buy American and “take advantage of helping our country. Great incentives and low prices now.”

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Pete Wentz is using his downtime during Fall Out Boy’s hiatus to do some good. He’s been named a spokesperson for UNICEF, focusing on the charity’s work in bringing clean drinking water to undeveloped areas. Wentz says, “The reality is, the lack of clean and accessible drinking water kills 41-hundred children under the age of five every day, and as a new father I have become highly attuned to the needs of children everywhere.”

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Former Saturday Night Live, Hall and Oates band, session bass player and producer T-Bone Wolk died of a heart attack on Saturday. He also worked with Carly Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Harry Nilsson, Roseanne Cash, Elvis Costello and Billy Joel.

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The Used, Five Finger Death Punch, Less Than Jake and Story of the Year will perform at the 15th annual Extreme Thing Sports and Music Festival on March 27th at Desert Breeze Skate Park in Las Vegas.

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Victory Records has announced plans for limited-edition colored-vinyl re-issues of Taking Back Sunday’s Tell All Your Friends and Atreyu’s Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. The discs will be available in April.

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The video for Gorillaz’ new single, “Stylo,” will debut on YouTube tomorrow.

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Jack White’s Third Man label will open a “pop-up” store at the South by Southwest music festival from March 17th through 20th. The shop will feature exclusive items and a Third Man Branding Station, where, White promises, “you bring it down, we’ll brand it with the Third Man logo.”

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Morrissey has lent his classic “Every Day Is Like Sunday” to the animal-rights charity Four Paws, which is using it in an anti-rabbit farming campaign.

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A video of John Lennon, with an imitated voice, is being used in an ad for Citroen cars in the U-K.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are releasing their first studio album in eight years.

It’s called “Mojo” and if you buy a ticket to their tour this summer, you’ll get a download of the album free.

Fans who buy tickets online will get a code to download two tracks from the song, “First Flash of Freedom” and “Good Enough.”

When the album comes out sometime this spring, fans will get a code for the rest of the album.

At the end of the tour, they’ll get a selection of live tracks from the tour.

The band will hit the road beginning May 6th in Raleigh, North Carolina.

They’ll play in Vancouver June 8th at G-M Place.

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The Rolling Stones will reissue their “Exile on Main Street” album with never-before-heard tracks.

Two of the 10 songs are alternate versions of “Soul Survivor” and “Loving Cup.”

The other songs were recorded during the same era but didn’t make the original album.

The reissue comes out May 18th.

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Jimmy Buffett is getting into the glasses business.

Buffett has teamed up with Orange21 for a line of Margaritaville brand eyewear.

The line of glasses will come out this summer.

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Ace axeman Yngwie (ING’-vay) Malmsteen wants to make sure his fans take proper care of their cigars.

He’s offering a limited-edition humidor with Malmsteen’s picture on the lid.

Details are at YngwieMalmsteen-dot-com.

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Aerosmith seem to be over their problems enough that they’re hitting the road again — but not in North America.

Joe Perry announces on the band’s website that the rumours are true.

They announced a European tour that begins June 10th in Sweden.

Aerosmith had to cancel their American tour last summer after Steven Tyler fell off a stage in Sturgis, South Dakota.

The band’s future has been uncertain since then.

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Peter Gabriel’s next album has no guitar or drums on it.

“Scratch My Back” only has voice and orchestral arrangements on it.

The album is part of a project in which Gabriel and other musicians remake each other’s songs.

This album contains Gabriel’s interpretations of songs by David Bowie, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Lou Reed, Talking Heads and Neil Young.

“Scratch My Back” is out Tuesday.

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Don’t look for Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck to release a C-D or D-V-D from their recent four-city, six-date tour. A spokeswoman for Clapton tells us that there are no plans for any type of release. Clapton started another leg of touring last night (Thursday) in Pittsburgh with Roger Daltrey as his opening act, and Beck hits the road next month starting in Australia.

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Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil will release Tattoos and Tequila, his first solo studio disc in 15 years, this May. Two members of Slaughter were in Neil’s backing band, and the album will reportedly include covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and The Sex Pistols’ “No Feelings.” VinceNeil.net is offering a free download of the title track.

Neil’s last solo studio album was 1995’s Carved in Stone.

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The Cult have recorded a new E-P with producer Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age). No release date has been set.

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The first single from Slash’s self-titled solo album, “By the Sword” with vocals from Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale, will be released on Tuesday.

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The Eagles have added more dates to their spring tour — May 20th in Denver at the Pepsi Center; May 22nd in Ontario, California at the Citizens Business Bank Arena; and May 23rd in Chula Vista, California at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater.

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Jack White will be producing the debut album for his wife, model-actress Karen Elson. The disc, The Ghost Who Walks, will be released this summer on White’s Third Man label.

Stone Temple Pilots have set a June 1st release date for their as-yet-untitled sixth studio album. It’s the quartet’s first album since 2001’s Shangri-La Dee Da and was produced by Don Was. The quartet will debut material from the album during a performance at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas next month.

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It took Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy a week to finish laying down drum tracks on Avenged Sevenfold’s new album. Portnoy announced last week that he was doing the session to pay tribute to A-7-X’s late drummer, Jimmy “the Rev” Sullivan.

Guitarist Zacky Vengeance writes on the AvengedSevenfold.com that he and Portnoy got matching “deathbats” tattoos because “Mike realized that our fans and friends are considered family. Being a fan isn’t always easy because it means you’re not only gonna laugh with us, but cry with us and defend us on occasion. If you’re part of the family, it’s for life.”

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Just three days after finishing his six-date tour with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton will hit the road with special guest Roger Daltrey. The tour starts tonight in Pittsburgh and runs through March 13th in Orlando. This is the second of three tours this year in which Clapton shares the bill with another famous classic rock act from the U-K — he’ll tour Europe in May and June with Steve Winwood.

Clapton’s band this time out includes two keyboard players, bass, drums and two background singers, as he handles all the guitar duties. One of the keyboard players is Chris Stainton, who has played with Clapton for many years. Clapton tells us, “He’s kind of like my security blanket. When he’s there I know I’m alright.”

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It’s Pink Floyd’s turn to have their music featured in the C-B-S drama Cold Case. The March 14th episode will include extracts of seven songs — “Comfortably Numb,” “Hey You,” “Mother,” “Marooned,” “Wish You Were Here,” Time” and “The Thin Ice.”

Other artists whose songs have been used in Cold Case include The Doors (last Sunday), John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, U-2, Bob Dylan, Santana, Bob Seger and Pearl Jam.

Mellencamp’s “Someday the Rains May Fall” will be featured on the March 9th episode of N-C-I-S, also on C-B-S. The song is from his upcoming album, No Better Than This, and was also part of last year’s N-C-I-S: The Official T-V Soundtrack — Volume Two.

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10 Years are hitting the studio this month with producer Howard Benson (Flyleaf, Seether) to finish work on their third album. The disc, titled Feeding the Wolves, is due out in the late spring and is their first since 2008’s Division.

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Guitar Hero 5 was scheduled to make available three Black Sabbath songs available for download last week, but they have been delayed. A post on the game maker’s Twitter account says, “We hope to have the content available for download at a later date, so stay tuned!” The three tracks from the Master of Reality album are “After Forever,” “Into the Void” and “Sweet Leaf.”

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Yesterday we told you that Kinks frontman Ray Davies re-recorded the band’s “Better Things” with Bruce Springsteen for his (Davies) upcoming collaborations album. Davies tells New Jersey’s Star-Ledger, “In early January, I came to New York and did it… Bruce took about two or three hours and Jon [Bon Jovi on 'Celluloid Heroes'] about the same, but they were well-prepped and I was very impressed. I’m thrilled to have done the tracks with those two guys.” He hopes to have the album out at the end of the year or early next.

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A deluxe edition of Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger will be available exclusively on I-Tunes starting March 16th. The collection covers the original album, the In Valley E-P, exclusive footage from their fall 2009 acoustic tour and 10 unreleased live tracks.

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Tracks by Arcade Fire, Peter Gabriel, Death Cab for Cutie and Muse are covered by opera singer Renee Fleming on her new album Dark Hope. The disc, due out in the late spring, was produced by David Kahne (Regina Spektor, The Strokes) and also includes yet another version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

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Former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes will do a live chat on his website (GlennHughes.com) this Sunday.

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KISS will do a rare club show next Tuesday at the O-2 Academy Islington in London.

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Robert Plant will perform at London’s Abbey Road Studios tonight at a benefit for Cancer Research U-K. Joining him will be singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman and the London Oriana Choir.

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The Chickenfoot D-V-D, filmed last year in Tempe, Arizona and scheduled for release later this year, is expected to contain an hour’s worth of additional bonus footage and features.

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A Pantera best-of compilation, 1990-2000: A Decade of Domination, will be out March 30th.

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Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and solo guitarist John 5 will be featured in Fender Presents John 5: Professor of Shredology: Insight From One of Hard Rock’s Greatest Guitarists at L-A’s Grammy Museum on March 31st.

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Mick Jagger debating youth culture on a British public-affairs program in 1967 is one of the rarities that will appear on an upcoming Rolling Stones D-V-D.

“Rare and Unseen” will also contain rare footage of Brian Jones in 1964, Keith Richards at the Berlin Film Festival and several local T-V reports that were thought lost.

“Rare and Unseen” will come out April 20.