PowerBlogs: Rumour Mills

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.”

—-

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.”

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.”

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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.”

—-

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

—-

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

—-

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.

—-

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.

—-

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

—-

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.

—-

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.

Abbey Road Studios has been declared a historical building.

Record label E-M-I had been looking to sell Abbey Road but then went back on that decision.

English Heritage, the group that oversees buildings of historical interest, had appealed to the British government to give it historical status.

The head of English heritage says Abbey Road contains the most famous recording studios in the world.

The Beatles recorded there, as have Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Oasis and the Alan Parsons Project.

—-

With Pete Townshend’s hearing problems and the future of The Who touring in question, singer Roger Daltrey is keeping his options open. He tells B-B-C 6 Music radio, “I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page. He needs a singer to drive him. I’m a great blues singer. I don’t sing the blues with the Who, but that’s what I used to be before Townshend started writing. I used to be a great blues singer.” Page plans to work on new music this year, and Daltrey will hit the road opening for Eric Clapton starting tomorrow in Pittsburgh with dates through March 13th in Orlando, Florida.

—-

The Hollies will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month by E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt. This will be the third time Van Zandt will do the honors. The first time was in 1997 when he inducted The Young Rascals and sitting in the audience was Sopranos creator David Chase, which led to Van Zandt getting the role of “Silvio Dante” on the H-B-O show. The second time was in 2005 when Van Zandt, dressed as “Silvio Dante,” inducted booking agent Frank Barsalona.

As for the rest of the artists being inducted that night:

ABBA will be inducted by Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees
Genesis by Trey Anastasio from Phish
Jimmy Cliff by Wyclef Jean
The Stooges by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day
David Geffen by Jackson Browne
Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, Jesse
Stone, Mort Shuman and Otis Blackwell by Carole King

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on March 15th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

—-

The Eagles are the top artists in the Recording Industry Association of America’s tally of the decade’s gold and platinum award achievements. They had the most total group certifications with 48. The list includes cumulative album, digital song, master ringtone and music video certifications.

Michael Jackson is the top male artist with 44.
Beyonce is the top female artist with 64.
Nickelback had the most album certifications with 25.
Country singer George Strait had the most certifications for a male solo artist with 29.
Britney Spears had the most certifications for a female solo artist with 23.

—-

Judas Priest won their first Grammy last month — Best Metal Performance for “Dissident Aggressor” from A Touch of Evil - Live — but they’re still waiting for their gramophone trophies. That’s because the Recording Academy takes them back after the show to have them engraved. Singer Rob Halford says, “It’ll be really, really cool to look at it. To have a physical object, it’s just full of impact rather than just a thing floating around in your head.”

Priest had been nominated four previous times.

—-

Ex-Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr will soon have one of his favorite guitars back 10 years after it was stolen. The 1964 Gibson S-G was stolen during one of Marr’s solo show in London by Stephen White. He was arrested after an anonymous tipster called police to say it was on display in White’s living room. White pled guilty to the theft and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

—-

Deftones’ new track “Rocket Skates” will be available as a limited edition seven-inch vinyl single on National Record Store Day on April 17th.

—-

Creed’s video for “A Thousand Faces” is now streaming at Yahoo.

—-

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer said on a New York T-V talk show yesterday that things are “copasetic” and that Aero will make a “major” announcement this week. No doubt he’s referring to their upcoming tour of South America and Europe.

—-

Gene Simmons attended the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis last week in Las Vegas.

—-

A-C/D-C now hold the record for the most tickets sold for an outdoor show in their native Australia. They sold 212-thousand-729 tickets for their three concerts at A-N-Z Stadium in Sydney, surpassing U-2’s tally of 211-thousand-747 tickets. A-C/D-C start a two-night run in Brisbane, Australia tomorrow night.

—-

A group on Facebook that asked the question “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickelback?” got its answer on Sunday — when the cucumber pulled ahead of the Canadian band, one-point-four-million fans to one-point-three-eight-million.

—-

The Almost covers Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin,” We The Kings take on 38 Specials’ “Caught Up in You” and blessthefall tackle Aerosmith’s “Dream On” on Punk Goes Classic Rock, a new compilation coming from Fearless Records. The label will offer a preview with an exclusive clip of “Free Fallin” on MySpace on March 3rd.

Whatever the future of Abbey Road, it has at least one booking — hosting the London version of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp.

It’s set for the end of May and will feature camp counsellors Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Jack Bruce of Cream, Mick Ralphs of Bad Company, Joey Molland of Badfinger and Kip Winger.

Not only do campers get to play and record at Abbey Road, but they’ll play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

—-

Paul McCartney is planning a U-S tour, but only two dates have been announced so far.

McCartney will play Glendale, Arizona, on March 28th and Los Angeles on March 30th.

—-

Saving Abel are ready to ship out to entertain troops as part of a U-S-O tour.

For security reasons, the exact dates and places can’t be revealed, but their trip will last eight days and hit three countries.

—-

Things are certainly looking up for Aerosmith. Just weeks after talking about replacing Steven Tyler, they look to be putting aside their differences with the Demon of Screamin’ and getting ready to tour South America and Europe this summer. Guitarist Joe Perry apparently has finally sat down with Tyler, writing on his Twitter page, “Steven’s looking good when we talked about South America shows. Looking forward to playing the Aerosmith shows as much as the upcoming Joe Perry Project shows.”

Perry has been watching the Winter Olympics, particularly downhill skiing and ski jumping. He writes on Twitter that he participated in those sports in high school, saying he was “not great, but did it, so I can relate to hanging it out there. Still love to ski a lot.”

—-

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong will honor punk godfathers The Stooges at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 15th. Other presenters announced today include Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Jackson Browne. Anastasio will induct Genesis, while Browne will perform the honors for former label boss David Geffen.

—-

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck wrapped up their four-city, six-date tour last night in Montreal. Beck is on the bill for Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in suburban Chicago on June 26th, but he says there aren’t any more collaborations in the offing. He tells us, “I don’t see no giveaway signs of anything like that.”

Clapton has lined up 11 dates in the Midwest and Southeast with Roger Daltrey, followed by a European tour with Steve Winwood in May and June. Beck will head to Australia and Japan in late March and April before more U-S dates starting in mid-April. Beck will release his new album, Emotion and Commotion, on April 13th.

—-

The Rocklahoma festival will return to Pryor, Oklahoma May 28th through the 30th. But the fest has gone from mostly ’80s hair metal to a more diverse lineup. Headliners this year include Z-Z Top and Godsmack. Others on the bill are:

Tesla
Buckcherry
Chevelle
Stone Sour
Theory of a Deadman
Saliva
Saving Abel
Adelitas Way
Janus
Burn Halo

—-

Ronnie Wood has apologized to his 21-year-old Russian ex-girlfriend, Katia Ivanova, for hitting her in December. She tells London’s Sun he came to her house last week and that she “forgave him,” adding that they “ate a takeaway, drank water and laughed about how crazy [their] relationship had been.” She adds that they won’t be getting back together, but will remain friends.

Wood is selling his London townhome for nine-million dollars. It has five bedrooms spread over 42-hundred square feet. He gutted the house in preparation for renovations, which never got under way.

—-

The latest Neil Young concert film, Neil Young Trunk Show, will open in theaters in 11 cities on March 19th. The film, shot by director Jonathan Demme in the fall of 2007 at Philadelphia’s Tower Theater, will be released on Blu-Ray and D-V-D later this year.

You can find a list of cities and theaters, as well as a trailer for the film, at TrunkShowMovie.com.

—-

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper are teaming up for a brief run they’ve dubbed the Gruesome Twosome Tour. It starts April 26th in Winnipeg, Manitoba and wraps up May 2nd in Casper, Wyoming.

Zombie will spend the rest of his summer on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival with Korn.

They’ll be in Vancouver May 1st at the Pacific Coliseum.

—-

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and System of a Down’s Daron Malakian have joined Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello among the guests on Cypress Hill’s new album, Rise Up. It’s due out April 6th.

—-

Guns n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan is working on a book and has been shopping it to publishers.

—-

The Offspring have set up a webcam at Offspring.com to document the sessions for their next album.

—-

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian will play a series of performances with symphonies in Europe this summer.

—-

Among the opening acts U-2 will have with them when their 360 Tour returns to North America in June are Lenny Kravitz (Salt Lake City, Anaheim and Denver), The Fray (Oakland, Seattle and Edmonton), and Interpol (Minneapolis, East Lansing, Toronto, Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia).

—-

Last Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the death of A-C/D-C singer Bon Scott and while on stage in Sydney, Australia last week the band remembered him with a video montage during “High Voltage.” Also in Sydney, St Matthew’s Church rang their bells in memory of Scott and German fans held a jam session at his grave in Western Australia.

Devo will be the band playing at the Olympics medals plaza in Vancouver tonight.

Singer Mark Mothersbaugh says they threw their “red energy dome” into the ring and got that gig, which N-B-C plans to show barring any late-breaking news.

Mothersbaugh says they’ll play outside and that will be nostalgic for them.

Devo used to practice in an unheated car wash in Akron, Ohio, when it was closed for the winter.

Devo will debut three new songs from their upcoming album, which comes out in late spring.

—-

Pete Townshend says if he can’t fix his hearing issues, The Who are over.

Townshend tells Rolling Stone if his hearing is going to be a problem, they’re finished.

He says he can’t really see any way around the issue.

The Who were planning to do a spring tour when his tinnitus returned.

Neil Young suggested an audiologist who will fit Townshend with a new ear monitor.

The Who will play a charity gig in London on March 30th and Townshend will test the monitor then.

—-

Alice Cooper is in talks for a Broadway show.

Cooper tells Rolling Stone one of his ideas is to develop his “Welcome To My Nightmare” album and tour into a show.

He says it would be set in an insane asylum and some of the people in the audience would be actors who would fly out of their seats.

If that idea doesn’t pan out, he’s considering staging his own story, which he says is similar to “Jersey Boys.”

He’s been married for 34 years and he says there’s a romantic story there of a monster with a heart of gold who is in love with the girl.

—-

Avenged Sevenfold are planning work on a new album with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy sitting in for the late Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan.

The band say on their website Portnoy was Sullivan’s favourite drummer and Portnoy said it would be an honour to take his duties.

Sullivan was found dead in his apartment in December.

Portnoy says he would have been happy to help Avenged Sevenfold even before Sullivan died, and he says he’s not trying to step into Sullivan’s shoes, he’s just merely lacing them up for him.

—-

The Offspring are letting you watch them from afar.

The band has set up a studio camera that goes live as they work on their next album.

You can view past sessions, or comment on the action through Facebook. Details are at Offspring-dot-com.

—-

Guitarist Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish is teaching budding musicians the stuff he wishes someone had taught him.

Students at the College of Charleston in South Carolina are taking Introduction to Music Management with Bryan as the professor, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

The course covers issues like ticketing, publicity, publishing, booking agents and distribution, and Bryan brings in his industry friends as guest speakers.

Bryan says the more students know about the business going into it, the better they can take care of themselves.

—-

Andrew W-K and pro wrestler Chris Jericho will co-host the second annual Golden Gods Awards, honouring the best in hard rock and heavy metal.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest will receive the Golden God Award, while Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead will receive a lifetime achievement award.

The show will tape April 8th in Los Angeles and be shown on V-H-1 Classic on May 22nd.

(Fans can help choose musicians in categories like best guitarist, best drummer, album of the year and comeback of the year at www.revolvermag.com/goldengods.)

—-

Hellyeah are about three-quarters of the way through making their second album, which they expect to release in June. They enter the home stretch today at drummer Vinnie Paul’s Dallas home, where Paul — who’s producing the disc — tells us that drinking and barbecue are major components of the sessions. Vinnie brought in a Pro Tools rig, put the drums in the game room and all the amps upstairs, then installed video monitors all over the house so everyone can see each other. He calls it a “pretty unique environment” that’s helped them “bond as a band.”

Hellyeah will kick off a U-S tour on April 25th, then play overseas for a few months before beginning a second leg of U-S dates.

—-

Like so many artists these days, Eric Clapton may make his next album a collection of covers. He tells Rolling Stone, “I covered anything I ever longed to do,” and that includes songs by Irving Berlin, Mose Allison and Fats Waller. No word on when the disc will be released, but he’s thinking of calling it Whiplash because guitarist Ry Cooder listened to what Clapton had recorded and told him, “You can’t put this out. People will get whiplash.”

Clapton’s last album was 2006’s collaboration with J-J Cale, The Road to Escondido.

—-

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck wrap up their run of six shows tonight in Montreal, after playing two shows in London and New York and one in Toronto. Although they both played in The Yardbirds in the early ’60s, Clapton and Beck never played together until the ARMS benefits for multiple sclerosis in 1983. Clapton tells Rolling Stone the reason why it took so long was “Because we were enemies. He was my replacement in The Yardbirds. I mean, there shouldn’t have been a replacement. That was why I left: ‘I’ll leave, and the whole thing will collapse without me.’ In fact, they got better with Jeff and became more successful.”

As for how this tour came together, Beck tells us it sprung from a Japanese promoter putting them together for two shows there last year. “I just thought [the idea of Eric and Jeff] probably sounds better on paper than it is gonna sound live.” But he adds that having them do their own separate set in addition to playing together justified them doing the shows.

Following tonight’s show, Clapton will tour the Southeast and Midwest starting Thursday in Pittsburgh with special guest Roger Daltrey, while Beck heads off on a world tour starting next month in Australia in support of his new album, Emotion and Commotion, in stores April 13th. He’ll be back in the U-S for more dates in April.

Beck and Clapton will share the same stage again on June 26th in Bridgeview, Illinois at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival.

The two U-S dates featured Clapton doing “I’ve Got a Rock n’ Roll Heart,” which is used in the T-Mobile commercial he stars in.

—-

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have apparently issued statements regarding the band’s festival appearance in Sweden in June. Tyler says, “The Swedish audience is like no other. We are all very excited about this.” Perry adds, “This will be our first gig on our European tour. We can hardly wait until we can kick start our tour in Sweden, and I am confident that it will be great!”

Reuters says that more European dates are on the way, but Aerosmith’s only other confirmed date is Britain’s Download Festival later in June.

—-

Although E-M-I said Sunday it will hold onto Abbey Road Studios, Andrew Lloyd-Webber has expressed interest in buying the historic studios. A spokesman for the renowned theatrical composer tells the B-B-C he’s “very interested” in the North London landmark and adds, “It is vital that the studios are saved for the future of the music industry in the U-K.”

Lloyd-Webber knows the studios well — he’s used Abbey Road to record original cast albums for such London productions as Jesus Christ Superstar.

Meanwhile, E-M-I said on Sunday it wants to retain ownership of the studios, but it is looking for a way to revitalize Abbey Road to increase revenue. The company has yet to reveal exactly what those plans are, Reuters reports. 

—-

John Mellencamp isn’t the only rocker who’s the focus of a grass-roots election campaign — there’s a push to get Ted Nugent elected governor of his native Michigan. 45-thousand people have signed the “Ted Nugent for Michigan Governor” Facebook page.

But Nugent, who toyed with the idea of running for the office in 2005, says he has nothing to do with it. He tells the Detroit News, “Concerned Michigan residents are so at a loss they can’t find anybody in the state to vote for — that’s how bad it is. When it gets right down to it, I would make a great governor because I would bring in my machete and hack away at the waste and the cronyism.”

Nugent only spends part of his time in Michigan, having moved to Texas in 2003.

—-

Zakk Wylde says his blood-clot problems of last year are behind him and he’s ready to record the new Black Label Society disc in the new studio he’s built. Evanescence drummer Will Hurt will play on the album and on some of the band’s tour, which starts in June.

Wylde says with the blood thinners he’s on, he can’t drink anymore, but he insists that quitting booze was easy. He tells us he couldn’t see spending “25-grand” to have someone tell him, “Don’t drink.”

—-

The Doors documentary When You’re Strange, which will open in select theaters in April, will be released on D-V-D in late May.

—-

Look for Chickenfoot to become animated for an episode of the Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force next month.

—-

John Mellencamp will tour this summer with one show already scheduled — Rock Fest 2010 in Cadott, Wisconsin on July 17th.

—-

David Gilmour recently laid down guitar tracks for Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry’s next album, which will be out in the spring. Also on the album is bassist Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

—-

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has announced three U-S dates for next month — March 19th at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut; March 20th at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and March 21st at the Nokia Theater in New York City.

—-

Pearl Jam will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 13th.

—-

30 Second to Mars frontman Jared Leto has posted pictures of himself getting a Mohawk on 30SecondsToMars.com.

John Mayer is apologizing for shooting off his mouth in an interview in Playboy.

Mayer had called his ex, Jessica Simpson, “sexual napalm” and like crack cocaine to him.

He had dropped a racial slur in describing how he’s beloved by the black community.

Mayer took to Twitter to apologize for his language and say he has to stop trying to be so raw in interviews.

He says he tries not to let criticism get to him, but he’s created a monster.

He says he wants to be a blues guitar player and a singer-songwriter, not a shock jock.

—-

The composer of the music used in an U-S Air Force Reserves ad that’s got The White Stripes so upset is apologizing.

Kem Kraft tells The New York Times he’s sorry his song sounded so much like “Fell In Love With A Girl” and adds it wasn’t his intention.

He says he submitted three different tracks to the ad’s producers, who liked one and asked him to beef it up.

The ad ran in select markets during the Super Bowl.

The band objected to the track and said they plan to take strong action to stop the ad.

Kraft says as far as he’s concerned, he alone is responsible for this.

The White Stripes have not responded to requests for comment.

—-

Eric Clapton will stage his third Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26th at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, the site of his 2007 festival. (The first one was a three-day affair in Dallas in 2004.) The one-day event will benefit the Crossroads Center, the rehab center he founded in Antigua. Among the artists on the bill:

The Allman Brothers Band
Z-Z Top
Steve Winwood
B-B King
Jeff Beck
Vince Gill
Sheryl Crow
Buddy Guy
John Mayer
Albert Lee
Jimmie Vaughan
Joe Bonamassa
Robert Cray
Clapton tells Rolling Stone…

About staging a third festival: “I do it because I want to hear these players. But it’s a selfish thing. I can go to one place and hear all of my favorite musicians in one day.”
Regarding this year’s diverse line-up: “I wanted to open it up a little, so it’s not so much about virtuosity as roots.”
Why this could be the last one: “I’ve convinced the business guys this is the last one. Because they’re the ones who have to deal with all of the unraveling — the agencies, managers and record companies. I’ve kind of said, ‘We’ll do three.’ I like three. I’m a ‘three’ guy.”
Tickets are 100 dollars and go on sale at 8:00 a-m [PT] on February 20th at the box office and Ticketmaster.

—-

Killswitch Engage singer Howard Jones has left the band’s tour “due to unforeseen circumstances,” according to KillswitchEngage.com. All That Remains vocalist Phil Labonte will fill in for a few shows until the band can determine what to do about the rest of the tour, which is set to run through the end of March.

—-

Paul Rodgers tells us that Joe Perry “intimated” that he join Aerosmith while the band waits for singer Steven Tyler to get off the dime, but he had no interest. “I form bands,” says Rodgers. “I formed Free with Paul Kossoff and I formed Bad Company with Mick Ralphs and The Firm with Jimmy Page. So I tend to want to form a band and then create new music within that band rather than join bands.”

The last band Rodgers joined was Queen, he explains, “That was really an exception for me” — an exception that lasted four years. Getting back to Aerosmith, Rodgers says, “I love the band and I hope they resolve all of their issues and stay together.”

Rodgers and Perry will hook up in April when The Joe Perry Project opens Bad Company’s U-K tour.

—-

Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography, I Am Ozzy, is number-two on The New York Times’ Hardcover Nonfiction best-sellers list and number-three in The Wall Street Journal.

Ozzy will capitalize on that success by doing another series of book signings starting February 18th in Las Vegas with five more through February 27th in Dallas.

—-

The all-star version of R-E-M’s “Everybody Hurts,” featuring Rod Stewart, Jon Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle and others, and produced by Simon Cowell, is the fastest-selling charity song of the century. More than 200-thousand copies were sold in its first two days on sale. Proceeds will go to The Sun’s Helping Haiti fund and the Disasters Emergency Committee.

—-

The Shins’ James Mercer and Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock are headlining the De-friending Cancer benefit tonight in Seattle. Proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the bill includes comedians Todd Barry and Eugene Merman.

Fans can expect some collaboration between Mercer and Brock, as Mercer has done guest vocals on the last two Modest Mouse albums.

—-

The fifth season of Gene Simmons Family Jewels will premiere on A-and-E on March 21st. This new season, which will feature the 100th episode, starts out on a serious note as Simmons’ girlfriend, Shannon Tweed, has a health scare and Simmons is torn between being by her side or going on tour with KISS. Other highlights include Simmons’ 60th and his son Nick’s 21st birthdays, his daughter Sophie’s high school graduation and being on tour with KISS.

—-

Depeche Mode are auctioning off special box sets of all 12 of their studio albums to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Each set includes:

A deluxe vinyl version of the album
A U-S-B key containing a digital edition of the album and a documentary about the making of the album
An original album artwork print
A framed gold C-D
A photograph signed by all members of the group who contributed to the album, including former members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder.
The auction is under way now at Hublot.com/DepecheMode and ends on February 24th.

—-

Saliva will release their first compilation disc on March 23rd. Moving Forward in Reverse: Greatest Hits features the new track “Time to Shine” and 13 of the band’s hits, including “Click Click Boom,” “Your Disease,” “Always” and “Ladies and Gentlemen.”

Saliva will release a new studio album, Take That Society, later this year.

—-

Ex-Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher won’t be facing the man who attacked him on stage in Toronto in 2008 after all. Prosecutors decided that Gallagher’s appearance at the sentencing of Danny Sullivan would likely cause a media circus, so the guitarist agreed to submit his statement in writing. Sullivan’s sentencing will take place on March 23rd.

—-

Limp Bizkit, Rob Zombie, Godsmack and Three Days Grace are among the acts who will headline the Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Slash has never played a festival as a solo act, but he will at this one.

The bill also includes Seether, Rise Against, Papa Roach, Deftones, Theory Of A Deadman, Coheed and Cambria, Puddle of Mudd, Sevendust and Helmet.

The festival will be held May 22 and 23.

—-

U-2 and Bob Geldof are among the musicians who will be profiled in a P-B-S special about Irish music.

“Music of Ireland — Welcome Home” will also feature interviews with Sinead (shuh-NAYD’) O’ Connor, Liam Clancy of the Clancy Brothers, Pete Seeger, Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains and Michael Flatley and Bill Whelan of “Riverdance.”

The special will air on P-B-S stations beginning in March.

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke may be able to start walking again in a month.

Clarke writes on his blog he had a second surgery to put in a rod, plate and screws. He was in a hit-and-run accident while riding a motorcycle on January 10th.

He suffered three broken bones in his left foot and ankle and a broken bone in his right foot.

The driver of the pickup truck who left the scene of the accident has not been located.

—-

The music of the civil rights music talked a lot about overcoming, but it just can’t overcome the snowstorm bearing down on Washington.

The White House hosted a P-B-S concert last night featuring Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, John Mellencamp, Seal, Joan Baez, John Legend and Jennifer Hudson.

The concert was supposed to be tonight but it was held a night early in anticipation of the bad weather.

“In Performance At The White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement” will air on P-B-S stations beginning tomorrow.

—-

The White Stripes believe the U-S Air Force is ripping them off.

They’ve posted a notice on their website objecting to an ad for the U-S Air Force Reserves that ran during the Super Bowl in select markets.

The White Stripes say they believe their song “Fell in Love With A Girl” was re-recorded and used without permission in the ad.

They say they take strong insult and objection to the ad, and they plan to take strong action.

They say they support the U-S military but don’t want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict.

The Air Force Reserve has issued a statement denying it’s a White Stripes song.

It says it hired a company through its ad agency to create original music for the commercial.

—-

Ringo Starr grew up as an only child, but he says he found his brothers in The Beatles.

Starr accepted his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday.

He joked it was nice that it was near the Capitol Records building, which he helped pay for.

His brother-in-law, Joe Walsh calls him the older, shorter, better-looking English brother he always wanted.

Walsh says Starr is not just the greatest drummer in rock history from the best band in rock history, but he’s the greatest guy in the world and the most kind and helpful friend you could ever want.

—-

Bassist Dave Ellefson is returning to Megadeth.

He will join the band on its tour that begins March 1st in Spokane, Washington.

Frontman Dave Mustaine says this shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness.

—-

Paramore guitarist Josh Farro is sitting out their tour of the Pacific rim so he can get married.

He posts on the band’s website he needs to take time off to plan his wedding.

He says the band has been very supportive and gracious to him.

He promises he will be back.

In the interim, Justin York, the brother of guitarist Taylor York, will fill.

—-

Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon and Weezer are among the acts headlining the ninth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival June 10th through the 13th in Manchester, Tennessee. Over 125 acts are slated to perform at the festival this year. Others on the bill include Tenacious D, The Dead Weather, John Fogerty, Rise Against, Jeff Beck, Dropkick Murphys and Against Me.

—-

Is Godsmack slamming Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx in their new single “Crying Like a Bitch?” That’s what sources at the Godsmack’s label claim. Neither act has made any official comment yet about the track, but it’s been strongly rumored for many months that Sixx and Godsmack were not on the best of terms on Cruefest Two.

Industry sources tell us that Sixx threatened to throw Godsmack off the tour because the band backed out most of their promotional requirements and only stayed on after frontman Sully Erna made a personal apology to Sixx.

“Crying Like a Bitch” is the first single from Godsmack’s new album The Oracle, which is due out in late April. 

—-

The fourth annual Rock on the Range festival will return to the Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio May 22nd and 23rd. The lineup features headliners Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Slash and Limp Bizkit. Other acts on the bill include:

Three Days Grace
Seether
Rise Against
Deftones
Papa Roach
Theory of a Deadman
Mastodon
Killswitch Engage
Coheed and Cambria
Bullet for My Valentine
Puddle of Mudd
Five Finger Death Punch
Apocalyptica
Drowning Pool
Halestorm
Sevendust
Skillet
Airbourne
Anberlin
Adelitas Way

—-

The White Stripes are considering “strong action” against the Air Force Reserve over what the duo says is an unauthorized re-recording of “Fell in Love with a Girl.” The track was featured in an ad that aired during the Super Bowl. The duo posted a video of its song alongside a link to the Air Force Reserve commercial, which has since been pulled off Air Force Reserve’s website.

The band’s statement on WhiteStripes.com that says, “We believe our song was re-recorded and used without [our] permission. The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve’s presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.” 

—-

On August 8th, 2008, the three surviving members of Bad Company — Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke — came together for a show in Hollywood, Florida. The genesis of the show was to protect the band’s trademark, but it went so well that it resulted in them doing a tour last year. It also yielded a new D-V-D / C-D set released yesterday. Bad Company Hard Rock Live is the original line-up’s first D-V-D and it contains 17 songs (16 on the C-D), including “Bad Company,” “Running with the Pack,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Movin’ On,” “Rock Steady,” “Shooting Star,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” “Ready for Love” and “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad.”

Singer Paul Rodgers tells us, “It was actually an amazing show and an amazing reaction from the audience… I loved the warmth of the reception and I think that comes across. It was unbelievable.”

Bad Company will come together again in April when they do eight dates across their native England with The Joe Perry Project opening. 

—-

Rush drummer Neil Peart has updated his website with a detailed account of his recent recording of “The Hockey Theme” for Canada’s T-S-N network. In the piece, he says, “Isn’t it funny that Rush is represented in the Motorcycling Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canadian Songwriting Hall of Fame and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame — but not yet in the ‘official’ rock pantheon?” Rush has yet to be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, despite having been eligible since 1999.

—-

Gene Simmons and his family watched Super Bowl 44 at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. His girlfriend, Shannon Tweed, is a former playmate. On his website, he writes, “On the way in, Hugh Hefner came over to greet us and take photos. The kids went off to socialize and [my daughter] Sophie noticed a board with boxes, like a checkerboard over in the corner. It was a contest. Buy a box for 10-dollars and at the end of the game the winning box wins all the money. And the winner is — Sophie! She walked out of there with 250-dollars.” As for the game, Simmons says he was rooting for New Orleans. “This is a city that has given America so much. Mardi Gras, Jambalaya, Dr. John, Professor Longhair, The Neville Brothers, the culture, the food. The horrible devastation that has hit the city by Mother Nature, the economy and all sorts of other ills would have sunk most other cities… There is such a thing as a soul of a city and for New Orleans it’s the people.” 

—-

M-G-M-T’s second album Congratulations will be released April 13th. The duo co-produced the disc with Pete Kember, a-k-a Sonic Boom of Spaceman 3. The band pays tribute to another well-known producer on the disc, as one song is called “Brian Eno.” 

—-

Z-Z Top formed in late 1969, but it was on this day in 1970 that they played their first show at the Knights of Columbus hall in Beaumont, Texas. Bassist Dusty Hill remembers it well, telling us, “We didn’t have a lot of material, but it was back in the days when there were a couple of songs they went 15-20 minutes… It was fun. Nobody knew who we were.”

Z-Z will celebrate their 40th anniversary with more dates this year starting in South America in May. 

—-

Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward is hoping to release three albums this year — one in the spring, summer and fall.

—-

Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone will make appearances in support of his artwork at the Wentworth Gallery in Short Hills, New Jersey and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania on June 5th and 6th.

Rush have gotten back to work on their first new material since 2006’s Snakes and Arrows. Drummer Neil Peart tells Canada’s Q-M-I Agency, “We feel a bit liberated by the state of the music business. Even since 2006, when we started Snakes and Arrows, the album has become less significant in these times of I-Tunes and shuffle settings and whatnot… So we decided that we’re not constrained by the patterns of the past, where you spend a year writing and recording, and the next year touring… One of our early titles for this year was ‘Research and Development.’ That’s where we’re at.”

—-

Godmsack have changed the title of their fifth studio album from Saints and Sinners to The Oracle. Frontman Sully Erna wanted to make the change after discovering that a lot of albums — especially by Spanish artists — have used the Saints and Sinners title over the years. The Oracle takes its title from an instrumental on the album, which is due out in late spring.

—-

Add another name to the Aerosmith wish list of replacements for Steven Tyler. Joe Perry tells Classic Rock magazine that they would consider the legendary Tom Jones. “He’s got a great set of pipes, so why not,” says Perry. “I’ve played with him before, and know he could bring something extra to the band. We haven’t approached him yet, but if he were interested that would be great. Imagine the interest Tom would generate.”

While Perry reportedly keeps dropping names of possible Tyler replacements, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford are planning a few dates together with the Montgomery Blues Band. The Guitar Legends of Rock and Blues will be at the Colonial Theater in Keene, New Hampshire on February 27th and the House of Blues in Boston on the 28th. Also on both bills are former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau, the Uptown Horns and Jim Belushi. Kramer will also play with Montgomery on February 19th at the Rochester Opera House in Rochester, New Hampshire.

—-

After performing during the halftime show at Super Bowl 44 Sunday in Miami, The Who’s Pete Townshend told the Associated Press, “You know, you could kind of tell from the stage the crowd is really here for the game.” But Townshend says that was okay, adding, “It was nice for that reason. It was nice to feel a part of something and not having it all to be about us… I’m not trying to be humble, but we felt like a very small piece of a huge team.”

Townshend’s bandmate, Roger Daltrey, was concerned that many of the millions watching on T-V would take a bathroom break during the Who’s performance. “It’s an honor to do it, but it’s only 12 minutes,” Daltrey tells N-M-E. “It’s kind of weird! I suppose it gives people time to take a slash [pee] and that’s about it. That’s what you do at halftime isn’t it?! You plan your toilet break!”

More than 100 million viewers tuned in to the Super Bowl, but no word on how many hit the head at halftime.

—-

Four of the five members of A-C/D-C are big smokers, which is why their concert rider requests five large glass ashtrays backstage — as well as three oxygen tanks and masks. Singer Brian Johnson tells Australia’s Herald Sun, “We usually carry that just in case. Some of the gigs we’ve been doing have been 100 degrees on the stage and there is no air in the place, so you gotta usually get back and take a couple of gulps.”

A-C/D-C start a tour of their native Australia on Thursday in Melbourne.

—-

Paramore guitarist Josh Farro is skipping the band’s Asia tour, which starts this week, so he can plan for his upcoming wedding. He’s being replaced by Justin York, the brother of other Paramore guitarist Taylor York. Farro writes on the band’s blog, “I know it’s strange having someone ‘fill in’ for me. I don’t like it anymore than you guys do, but this is the most important thing in the world to me and I trust you all will understand.”

—-

Ex-Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher wants a day in court to face the man who attacked him on stage in Toronto in 2008. Danny Sullivan pleaded guilty in November to assault causing bodily harm for the attack that broke three of Gallagher’s ribs. The prosecutor told the judge handling the case that Gallagher wanted to read his victim impact statement in person, so sentencing has been postponing until a date can be arranged when Gallagher can attend.

—-

Kid Rock has made an unusual request at his latest assault trial — that nobody should be allowed to mention any of his previous assault trials. The American Bad-Ass is being sued by three men claiming that he and his posse beat them up at a Los Angeles hotel in 2006, and he wants his notorious past kept out of the courtroom. Rock’s attorneys say his “prior criminal arrest or misdemeanor convictions” are “irrelevant and prejudicial.”

The Who provided the halftime entertainment at Super Bowl 44 yesterday in Miami. Performing on a lighted circular stage made to look like their bulls eye logo, complete with lasers and pyro, they did portions of five songs in 12 minutes. In order, they were “Pinball Wizard,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Who Are You,” “See Me, Feel Me” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Talking about performing at the world’s largest sporting event, Roger Daltrey says, “I’m completely stunned by the amount of organization to put a show on in the middle of a football pitch. You know, and you got 20 minutes to do it, get off and get the match started. It’s ridiculous.”

The camera work was a bit off at times — showing Pino Palladino playing bass during what was clearly a Pete Townshend guitar solo, and they went with an aerial shot during Daltrey’s trademark scream in “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Steve Winwood performed during the pre-game show with “Higher Love” making the T-V broadcast.

A pre-taped version of The Who’s performance, called “The Who Super Bowl S-Mashup,” is now available in the Rock Band Music Store for the Xbox 360 and Wii console. It will soon be made available for PlayStation 3. It’s priced at a buck-99.

The Colts took the field to “Won’t Get Fooled Again” while the Saints came out to “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project.

Nielsen SoundScan reports that songs played during the last five Super Bowl halftime shows by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have had a 555-percent increase in sales the week after the game.

Before The Who took the Super Bowl stage, the Will-I-Am remix of their “My Generation,” featuring Slash on guitar, was played during a Flo-T-V commercial in the second quarter. 100-percent of the proceeds from the sale of that track will be donated to Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Response Fund. It is available for a dollar-29 on Amazon.com, Dipdive.com and TheWho.com.

Pete Townshend says, “I am relieved to be able to do something visible to reach out to our friends in Haiti — and I am honored to have such a hot and credible artist like Will-I-Am working with ‘My Generation,’ a song I wrote back when times were changing, but maybe didn’t change enough. Will wants to bring hope to the music rather than just the angst and frustration it once carried, and he has enough life and vigor in him to pull this off. Let’s hope that it generates some cash down the year to help rebuild Haiti. Most of all let’s hope it lets the people of Haiti know that we love them and remember them and pray for them in our crazy way using music. Let’s hope the times do change soon.”

A few classic rock acts were featured in commercials broadcast during yesterday’s game — KISS in an ad for Dr. Pepper Cherry in which they performed “Dr. Love” with Mini KISS; Cheap Trick re-recorded a version of their classic, “Dream Police,” now called “Green Police,” for use in an Audi commercial for the A-3 T-D-I clean diesel car; and the Electric Light Orchestra’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” for Budweiser’s Select 55 beer.

—-

The Who behaved themselves while performing at the Super Bowl.

They did “Who Are You” without dropping an F-bomb.

Pete Townshend even did the windmill, even though he had said at the N-F-L press conference on Thursday he was dealing with shoulder issues from showing off so much.

Ringo Starr’s son, Zak Starkey, was their drummer.

Carrie Underwood sang the U-S national anthem before the game.

It took her about a minute and 47 seconds.

And Queen Latifah sang “America the Beautiful” with a gospel choir.

—-

Bruce Springsteen wants nothing to do with a lawsuit filed in his name against a bar in New York.

Springsteen has posted a statement on his website saying he did not know about the lawsuit filed by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers against Connolly’s Pub.

ASCAP accuses the pub of letting an unidentified band perform two Springsteen songs for profit without paying the proper licenses.

Springsteen’s representatives demanded his name be taken off the lawsuit.

ASCAP did not return a call seeking comment.

—-

Leonard Cohen is postponing his European tour for a sports injury.

His publicist won’t say what sport he was doing, only that he was exercising recently and suffered a compression injury to his lower back.

Doctors advised him to follow the same regimen of physical therapy for athletes with similar injuries, which will take four-to-six months.

The tour has been rescheduled for September.

—-

Anna Nicole Smith died exactly three years ago today.

And, three people who had been in her life recently found out when they’ll go on trial.

On Friday, a judge set August 4 as the trial date for Howard K. Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich.

There’s also a hearing set for April 23.

All three have pleaded not guilty to illegally funnelling sedatives and opiates to Smith and all three are not charged with causing her death.

Smith died of an accidental overdose of at least nine medications.

—-

Leif Garrett has been charged with felony possession of heroin.

He’d been arrested a week ago after deputies confronted him at a subway station. The deputies say Garrett admitted having black tar heroin in his shoe.

Garrett is now free on bail.

He’ll be arraigned February 24.

Back in 2006, Garrett was arrested for having heroin.

That arrest also was at a subway station.

—-

Sheryl Crow is going back to acting.

A-B-C confirms she’ll be in several upcoming episodes of “Cougar Town.” Entertainment Weekly says Crow will play Graysons new girlfriend.

Crow has done some acting.

Though the last time she was on a sitcom was last May on “30 Rock.”

She played herself.

Crow was part of the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon on January 22.

—-

Bassist Pete Wentz says news that Fall Out Boy is over has been blown out of proportion — but he’s not really sure what’s next for the band.

Singer Patrick Stump had told Spin-dot-com last week Fall Out Boy was done after Wentz tweeted he didn’t see a future for the band.

Now Wentz is saying the band members are just doing things apart but he and Stump are still on good terms.

Wentz says he’s never wanted to be a solo artist but he jokes he’s ready to make “I Quit Fall Out Boy” t-shirts.

—-

Ozzy Osbourne’s book has hit number two on The New York Times best-seller list.

His autobiography, “I Am Ozzy,” was kept out of the top spot on the hardcover nonfiction list by “Game Change” by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, a book about the 2008 presidential campaign.

—-

Despite numerous reports, Steven Tyler’s lawyer, Skip Miller, has no intention of suing Aerosmith to prevent them from working with another singer. That’s according to Pollstar, the concert industry publication, which cites a source close to Tyler who says the singer and his lawyers are not upset with the four other members of the band and that Tyler sticks to the statement he made in December, which says, in part, “I wish to set the record straight and say that I have read reports of a rumored two-year hiatus and want to be clear that this is completely false. I will enthusiastically be writing, recording and performing with Aerosmith as soon as things are handled.”

Sammy Hagar is the latest name to join the list of possible replacements for Tyler in Aerosmith. But don’t look for the “Red Rocker” to hook up with his second already existing band following Van Halen. His manager denies the report, telling Classic Rock magazine, “[Having this on] good authority must mean The Enquirer because his Led Zep gig conflicts with the Aerosmith job. Seriously, Sam is very happy to be going into the studio with Chickenfoot to start the second album in April.” Aerosmith’s camp was not available for comment.

The other singers rumored as possibilities to take Tyler’s place are Paul Rodgers, Billy Idol, Lenny Kravitz and Chris Cornell.

—-

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain will make her singing debut on a track also featuring My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way and “Weird Al” Yankovic. The 17-year-old Cobain sings on “My Space” by the duo Evelyn Evelyn, which is made up of Dresden Dolls frontwoman Amanda Palmer and Seattle musician Jason Webley. Their self-titled debut album is out March 30th.

—-

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry owns his own tour bus, which has recently been costing him a few bucks in repairs. In November the bus struck and killed a deer in Michigan, which resulted in the bus having to go into the shop. Then last week, at the end of his Canadian tour opening for Motley Crue, the heat went and Perry wrote on his Twitter page, “I could see my breath in the bus. I slept in three coats, a hat, gloves and three blankets.” The bus was fixed and Perry was back on the road Saturday night in Providence, Rhode Island. The next Joe Perry Project show is scheduled for March 26thr in Biloxi, Mississippi. In April they’ll open for Bad Company on a U-K tour.

Perry was visited backstage last week in Toronto by Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander. Check out the picture on CheapTrick.com.

The Who think they may have more work at the Super Bowl than either the Colts or the Saints.

Singer Roger Daltrey says they’ll play a 12-minute half-time show, but he’s heard that if you cut out the advertising and the down time in a football game, there’s only about 11 and a-half minutes of play.

Guitarist Pete Townshend says The Who will work longer than the players.

Daltrey has never been to an American football game before.

He says he prefers to be non-partisan, but he thinks New Orleans could use a bit of luck.

Townshend says in that case, he’ll go for the Colts.

—-

Pete Townshend believes he’s on the same side with children’s rights supporters.

Some groups have objected to Townshend playing the Super Bowl half-time show because he was cautioned by British authorities in 2003 for accessing a child porn site.

Townshend had said at the time he had not downloaded anything and it was for research because he believes he was sexually abused.

Townshend says for a family that has suffered childhood abuse, vigilance and common sense is better than vigilantism.

Townshend says he’s been an advocate in that area for more than 40 years.

He says he has his own story about abuse and adds everything that you need to know is out there on the Internet.

—-

Whatever The Who play at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, you can play on “Rock Band” almost immediately.

A special recording of The Who’s halftime performance will be available for download for “Rock Band” immediately after the game.

It will be available for XBox 360 and Wii and coming soon for PlayStation3.

—-

The music of KISS and Cheap Trick will be featured in commercials shown during Super Bowl 44 on Sunday on C-B-S.

Not only will you hear KISS in the ad for Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla, you’ll also see them performing “Dr. Love” with Mini KISS. Though Gene Simmons was in a Dr. Pepper spot as “Dr. Love,” this is the band’s first commercial. Paul Stanley says, “We drink it. We don’t endorse a lot of other products. We endorse ourselves, but here we are with Dr. Pepper and we’re proud to be here.” Look for the ad to air at the two-minute warning in the second quarter. You can see a snippet of it on KISSOnline.com.

Cheap Trick re-recorded “Dream Police,” now called “Green Police,” for an Audi commercial for the A-3 T-D-I clean diesel car. You can hear the new version at CheapTrick.com.

And a mash-up version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” will also be heard during the C-B-S telecast.

—-

Michael Jackson’s doctor is planning to surrender today.

Ed Chernoff, the lawyer for Doctor Conrad Murray, says Murray has agreed to give himself up.

But Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore says Murray’s arraignment will not take place today.

Murray has been under investigation for giving Jackson a powerful anesthetic and sedatives on the day he died.

Two law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press that Murray will be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

—-

Michael Jackson’s concert film was the top-selling home video in the past week.

Home Media Magazine reports “This Is It” sold an estimated 1.2- (m) million copies its first week.

That’s believed to be the biggest first-week sales for a music film.

It was also the fifth most-rented video of the week.

—-

Alice Cooper believes the combination of sex, drugs and rock and roll are a thing of the past.

He recalls at the height of his drug addiction, he’d wake up throwing up blood.

He says that would look cool on stage, but not in a Holiday Inn bathroom.

He says nowadays, musicians who are addicted to drugs can’t get hired — and he jokes that in the ’70s, you had to be addicted to drugs to get hired.

Cooper says if he’s hiring a guitar player who’s a druggie, he can’t count on that guitarist to be able to hold it together for seven months on tour, so he’ll look elsewhere.

Cooper has been sober for 28 years.

He’s also been married for 34 years.

—-

Men At Work singer Colin Hay says a lawsuit over their song “Down Under” is a victory for opportunistic greed and a failure for creative musical endeavour.

A judge in Sydney has ruled the flute part in “Down Under” copies the children’s song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.”

A decision on compensation will come later this month.

Hay, who co-wrote the song, says two bars of “Kookaburra” were unconsciously referenced in “Down Under” when it was first played, but by the time the song was recorded, it was unrecognizable.

—-

Runaways singer Cherie Currie is releasing an updated version of her book upon which the upcoming movie about The Runaways is based.

Currie will release “Neon Angel: A Memoir of A Runaway” on March 16th.

The book covers not only the rise and fall of the band, but Currie’s struggles with drugs, sexual assault and violence.

The movie “The Runaways,” with Dakota Fanning as Currie and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, comes out March 19th.

—-

Bon Jovi, like Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Cheap Trick have recently done, will do a few albums in their entirety on their upcoming tour, especially during extended runs in their native New Jersey and London. Guitarist Richie Sambora says, “We might do Slippery When Wet in its entirety, or Lost Highway… I’m sure we’ll do [the new album] The Circle in its entirety a few times on this tour, ’cause we’re really proud of this record. We’re going to be doing a lot of different stuff.” That stuff includes digging deep into their catalog for songs they haven’t done in a long time, including tracks off their first two albums.

As for the staging this time out, Sambora says, “We have these robots that actually move the video screens around the stage.”

The Circle World Tour starts next Thursday with the first of two shows in Honolulu. They will do 135 shows in 30 countries through August 2011. They’ll then follow it up with a greatest hits album that contains three new songs.

—-

Ozzy Osbourne’s fans didn’t like the title he picked for his next album, Soul Sucka, so he’s leaving it up to them to come up with a new one. He is going to post a list of new titles on his website and have fans vote for their favorite. The album is scheduled for a June release.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry did the same thing with his new album, Have Guitar, Will Travel. His fans sent their suggestions to his Twitter account.

Ozzy is scheduled to promote his just published autobiography, I Am Ozzy, on Chelsea Lately tonight on the E!

—-

Kings of Leon members Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill grew up with a preacher dad who traveled the country to save souls — and they’re now doing the same for him. The brothers arranged for their estranged father Ivan to enter an alcohol rehab facility because he was literally drinking himself to death. A family friend tells Star magazine “Their dad lives in Oklahoma and had fallen on hard times, working part-time as a house painter. He’s had a terrible drinking problem on and off for years but he didn’t have the money to get treatment and he couldn’t bring himself to ask his boys for help.”Even without his asking, the boys staged an intervention, and Ivan has been in treatment for more than a month.

—-

Them Crooked Vultures — the trio featuring Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age — are doing their part to help the Haitian earthquake victims. During a recent show in Australia they blew out two speakers, and instead of throwing them out, they signed them and are auctioning them off as part of two packages that also include Grohl’s drumsticks and tour merchandise. The auctions run through February 13th, with proceeds benefiting the Australian Red Cross Haiti Appeal.

—-

Slash has tapped Alter Bridge singer-guitarist Myles Kennedy as the vocalist for his touring band. Slash made the announcement this week on Facebook. Kennedy sings on one track on Slash’s self-titled solo album, and the ex-Guns n’ Roses guitarist has contributed some lead guitar to a solo disc Kennedy recorded last year.

Slash and his band are expected to hit the road shortly after his album is released on April 6th.

—-

The GrammyMuseum in Los Angeles is preparing an exhibit entitled Strange Kozmic Experience that will honor The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Before the exhibit opens in April, however, the museum is looking to add more relevant artifacts. So if you own a piece of music history that you think should be included, and would like to see your name on a plaque thanking you for the loan, E-mail a photo and description of your artifact to StrangeKozmicExperience@gmail.com. The exhibit will run for a year, followed by an international tour of other museums.

Hendrix, Joplin and Jim Morrison all died within hailing distance of 30 and within 10 months of each other — Hendrix on September 18th, 1970; Joplin on October 4th, 1970; and Morrison on July 3rd, 1971.

—-

Shinedown have finally revealed that the other big movie they did a new song for is Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, which features an all-star action cast of Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren. The film is due out August 13th.

Shinedown also recorded a new song for Tim Burton’s take on Alice in Wonderland, which is due out next month

—-

The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and The Clash’s Mick Jones are among the artists singing on a cover of Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” to raise funds for Haiti relief. The track, which is due out in England before the end of the month, will raise funds for the Dublin charity Concern Worldwide, which has been working in Haiti for 16 years.

—-

Blood Into Wine, the documentary about Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan and his Arizona vineyard, will be released on D-V-D and Blu-Ray on May 4th. The film will be screened in 14 cities in February and March, with the world premiere coming February 19th in Phoenix.