All the Axl news you can take.
Mood:  spacey
Topic: Heavy Metal

First, June 30th:

GUNS N' ROSES frontman AXL ROSE has blasted Swedish police for blackmailing him into co-operating with their demands.

The singer was being held in a Swedish jail after being arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning (26JUN06) for allegedly biting a security guard during a drunken brawl.

After agreeing to pay a fine of 40,000 kronor (US$5,500/UK3,000), he was released from jail. He was also ordered to pay 10,000 kronor (US$1,360/UK756) in damages to the security guard.

But tour manager MERCK MERCURIADIS says the star only admitted to the "violent conduct" because he was physically mistreated as well as threatened with up to three weeks behind bars if he didn't. Rose would have missed the tour had he not complied.

Mercuriadis says, "We are in the middle of a tour.

"The Swedish authorities were very aware of this, yet continually threatened us over a 12-hour period with between five days and three weeks incarceration without bail if Axl did not 'co-operate'.

"They were fully aware that there were millions of dollars at stake, not to mention the hopes of tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets to see Guns N' Roses." "The point is, the police report should not be taken at face value, and if one were to be explicit, this experience is tantamount to being held for ransom.

"If the context were any different, Axl would probably have preferred to spend the time in jail in order to ensure that all the facts were a matter of public record."

Courtesy of pr-inside.com

Second, Axl does what he does best on July 22nd, causing a riot.

AXL ROSE sparked a riot at a concert after refusing to appear on stage until he had been given a full roast dinner.

The GUNS N' ROSES singer kept the crowd at Newcastle's Metro Arena waiting on Thursday night (19JUL06) for over an hour in the sweltering heat as he tucked in to his meal.

His behaviour didn't go down too well with the thousand strong audience, who started jeering and throwing objects at the empty stage.

Concert goer SASKIA GREEN says, "It was really hot and the crowd was booing because he was taking forever. A security guard said it the delay was caused by Axl demanding a lamb dinner before he went on - very rock 'n' roll." COLIN REVEL, manager of the Metro Arena, confirmed the bizarre request for the British delicacy and said, "Only a roast dinner would do."

Courtesy of www.pr-inside.com

Tommy Lee In Bathroom Brawl
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: Motley Crue bad-boy in bathroom fight?
Topic: Hard Rock
Bad boy rocker Tommy Lee provoked a "pushing match" in a Los Angeles night club on Tuesday after television hunk Johs Duhamel reportedly rushed him taking a pee.

The Motley Crue drummer was in a bathroom cubicle at hotspot Bella when the star banged furiously on the door, urging the occupant to hurry up.

When told who was using the toilet, Duhamel allegedly sneered, "Tommy who? Tommy Lee, who cares?"

Onlookers say an enraged Lee marched out of the cubicle and initiated a "pushing match" which reportedly left Duhamel sprawled on the floor.

Lee's publicist confirmed the spat to the New York Daily News, but denied any physical violence, adding, "Tommy remained and finished his dinner" while Duhamel was evicted.

The TV star's rep insisted she finds it difficult to believe her client would become embroiled in a fight.

Courtesy of www.sfgate.com

Holiday Themed Twisted Sister Album
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Hair Metal
Twisted Sister are celebrating their 30th anniversary by signing to a new label, Razor & Tie, and putting out a new album. What the band is calling its final disc, A Twisted Christmas -- featuring metal versions of holiday classics including "Deck the Halls" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" -- is due October 17.

Twisted Sister are currently recording and have had to cancel performances at European festivals this summer to have the LP completed for the holiday season.

Courtesy of www.mtv.com

Damnocracy Demos Online
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Demos from Vh1's Supergroup now online thanks to vocalist Sebastian Bach.
Topic: Heavy Metal
It is more than a little frustrating to watch the show & see little to no footage of the band actually playing music. When I say on the show "well we jammed for 6 or 7 hours today" but they show none of it, it drives me nuts! The whole infamous "fight scene" with Evan & myself actually occured after dinner, late at night, & by the time we got into the mayhem it was 2 or 3 in the morning. When you have a full jam room in the house it is fun to get loose have a few drinks & jam. But all that occured after a full day of playing music stone cold sober... which is not on the show!

So here are 3 demos that I did on my laptop... extremely low quality & zero production ... if we ever cut these tunes, they would probably sound nothing like these demos .... but I figured that if they can show me completely rotted out of my skull on the show, I can share with you these crude but rocking demos that we did while in Vegas. These songs are not done at all. I don't know if they ever will be. I am not a producer or an engineer. Hopefully we can cut these songs for real someday! I will be posting remixes & more DAMNOCRACY music here so stay tuned.

Only 2 episodes left ! Sunday nights at 10 on vh1!!!!!!
Sebastian

Courtesy of www.myspace.com/damnocracy

Slash---No Gn'R Reunion
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: Hair Metal
If Slash were ever to look at his Caller ID and see Axl Rose's name, what would he do?

"Oh, I'd answer it," the former Guns N' Roses guitarist said recently. "But I know he would never call me. I've actually sent him Christmas cards, just to be cordial, but he never returns anything."

In other words, rumors from last month that Saul "Slash" Hudson would perform with Rose and his new GN'R in New York were just that. In March, just two months before those gigs, Rose filed suit against his former bandmate to confirm his "ownership of his own creative works" in response to an action Slash and former GN'R bassist Duff McKagan had filed over royalties.

"I don't know where [the rumors come] from, but I haven't dealt with Guns N' Roses any more than I have in the last 10 years," which is not much at all, Slash said. "So it's not really a thing with me. I have, in the foreseeable future, no re-involvement with that band whatsoever."

Instead, Slash is fully focused on his multiplatinum new band, Velvet Revolver, and their forthcoming second album, the follow-up to 2004's Contraband.

"We're in preproduction and it sounds amazing," Slash said. "I'm just really excited 'cause hopefully we'll get this thing out before the year's over. The material is amazing and ... we've grown so much as a band."

While frontman Scott Weiland has called the material a concept album and bassist McKagan said the band will record with a variety of producers, all Slash would reveal is that the LP is coming together naturally, and "it's not phony in any way, shape or form, and the band's whole-heartedly into it."

Well, that and the album title.

"I don't want to say [anything specific about] the songs, but the name for the album is Libertad, which is Spanish for 'liberty,' " Slash said. "It's something that we feel strongly about: liberty, freedom, you know ..."

Slash did take a break from writing Velvet Revolver material to pen a song and score some music for the just-released movie "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

"It's one of those things where you don't really know what you're doing, but they feed you what you need to see, certain scenes," Slash said. "It's easy to [write rock material] when you're watching cars going on their sides at breakneck speeds."

In the end, Slash reported that he enjoyed watching the film's action scenes, but not quite as much as he enjoyed the footage he saw on TV of Rose getting into a fight with Tommy Hilfiger.

"I thought that was pretty funny," Slash said. "That sounds about right."

Courtesy of www.vh1.com

Pink Floyd Founder Dies
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: Co-founder of 60's British band Pink Floyd dies at 60.
Topic: Classic Rock

LONDON - Syd Barrett, the troubled Pink Floyd co-founder who spent his last years in reclusive anonymity, has died, the band said Tuesday. He was 60.

A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for years.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd _ David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright _ said they were "very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death."

"Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire," they said in a statement.

Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Waters, Mason and Wright, and wrote many of the band's early songs. The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced, multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene. The 1967 album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" _ largely written by Barrett, who also played guitar _ was a commercial and critical hit.

But Barrett suffered from mental instability, exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behavior grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 _ five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, "Dark Side of the Moon" _ to be replaced by Gilmour.

Barrett released two solo albums _ "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" _ but soon withdrew from the music business altogether. An album of previously unreleased material, "Opel," was issued in 1988.

He reverted to his real name, Roger Barrett, and spent much of the rest of his life living quietly in his hometown of Cambridge, England. Moving into his mother's suburban house, he passed the time painting and tending the garden. His former bandmates made sure Barrett continued to receive royalties from his work with Pink Floyd.

He was a familiar figure to neighbors, often seen cycling or walking to the corner store, but rarely spoke to the fans and journalists who sought him out over the years.

Despite his brief career, Barrett's fragile, wistful songs influenced many musicians including David Bowie _ who covered the Barrett track "See Emily Play."

Bowie said in a statement posted on his Web site that Barrett had been a "major inspiration."

"His impact on my thinking was enormous," Bowie write. "A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed."

The other members of Pink Floyd recorded the album "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to their troubled bandmate.

It contained the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" _ "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun." The band also dwelt on themes of mental illness on the albums "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall."

The band spokeswoman said a small, private funeral would be held.

Only-Rock, Back & Running
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: Only-Rock is back up and running.
Topic: Only-Rock News

After over a month of techincal difficulties, Only-Rock is back up and running. Whosever fault it was, I take full responsibilty and apologize. Even still, I am doing my best to get Only-Rock back in a positive and productive direction.

 For more information, please see the Only-Rock newsboard on the homepage (only-rock.tripod.com/home). There is also a list of expected finish dates for all of the summer projects. The first one to be completed was the O-R Monthly Special page. Many of you know that it has been having some extreme techincal difficulties over the past few months, and I believe I have fixed all of them. Also, I have updated the page with the new special, Hair-Metal v. Grunge and have added links to all of the old stories. This project was finished 1 day ahead of schedule. The next project to be finished will be educating all of the visitors that rely on Only-Rock for their source of music news. Since the Rock News Blog has been down, those visitors that rely on us for their news have been out in the cold of the news occuring in the metal world. All of the important news articles will be posted by July 24th. Then the Rock News Blog will resume normal operation as the best source for metal news and Only-Rock website notices.

Stay tuned to Only-Rock's Rock News Blog for more information and updates. Thanks, The Only-Rock Staff.

Rockstar: Supernova
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: More news on the upcoming CBS Reality series.
Topic: Hard Rock
Dave Navarro is using his celebrity to add more star power to the already shining Rock Star: Supernova.

As an executive producer and host of the CBS reality-TV hit, which paired Toronto singer J.D. Fortune with INXS last summer, he's enlisted a few of his friends to help pick this year's winner.

"We are going to have a weekly guest judge that I'm bringing from my own personal Rolodex -- Macy Gray, Slash, Rob Zombie and Moby," says Navarro. "They are going to give their opinion of who they think should stay and who should go."

This season, the band Supernova -- made up of Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke -- will chose its lead singer from 15 of the best rock singers the world has to offer.

Navarro says because the group, unlike INXS, has no back catalog of songs, it will be up to the bottom three finalists, who'll be forced to perform one more time for the band during the weekly elimination shows, to decide what song they'll sing .

"What they chose and how they perform it will say more to Supernova than if they had to do one of their songs because if someone picks a Duran Duran song, I am simply going to say, 'You want to join Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke and that's the song you choose?'

"They are really going to have to rely on who they are as opposed to fitting into something that the band is."

As part of another change this season, the weekly behind-the-scenes episode will be streamed exclusively on the web on MSN. The unscripted drama, available at rockstar.msn.com, will allow viewers to follow the contestants as they interact in the Rock Star house.

While Navarro has met this season's finalists, which include two Canadians, Jenny Galt from Vancouver and Toronto's Lukas Rossi, he refuses to weigh-in on their odds of making it to the end.

"I am really taking a page out of last season -- I never spoke with INXS about who I believed was the best singer for their band. It really was left up to them," he says, adding viewers should also not expect him or co-host Brooke Burke to be too harsh in their criticisms of the weekly performances.

p "With rock 'n' roll it's really about the individual who brings what they have in their heart. This is something that can't be taught -- you either have it or you don't.

"That's why, last season, our comments were not as critical as some people would want them to be -- I can't tell someone to wear a different dress or put their hair up and that will make their performance better.

"On a pop show you can get away with that, but this is really about the individual and what's going on inside them."

Finding undiscovered talent is the reason Navarro has now started up the internet radio station called Spread Radio Live (spreadradiolive.com) and signed on for another season of Rock Star, despite having a seemingly full-plate.

"I believe rock 'n' roll deserves a place on primetime television and I have a real interest in helping unsigned artists get their craft heard.

"To me (Rock Star) is a great avenue, not only for the winner, but for the 15 individuals to get to do what they love to do in front of millions of people."

While Navarro has no problem switching the conversation to his new band, The Panic Channel, which will release its debut album on Aug. 15, and it's upcoming tour, one thing he won't discuss is his rumoured rocky marriage to Carmen Electra.

"The truth is, I was put on the phone today to discuss Rock Star and that is not on the agenda," he says. "Every time I respond to it, it gives more fodder."

Rock Star: Supernova debuts on CBS and Global July 5 at 9 p.m. and will air twice a week, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Courtesy of www.calgarysun.com

New Tour Dates For Tracii Guns, Faster Pussycat, Bang Tengo, Steven Alder
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: From Glam-Metal.com
Topic: Hair Metal
Tracii Guns band new tour dates
The Tracii Guns band featuring original L.A. Guns vocalist Paul Black have announced the following dates.

July 8 Scottsdale, AZ -Venue of Scottsdale
July 9 El Paso, TX -Lucky Devils
July 11 Austin, TX -Flamingo
July 12 San Antonio TX -Sanctuary
July 13 Laredo TX -The Warehouse
July 14 Austin TX- The Back Room
July 15 Dallas TX -The Galaxy Club

for more info check out www.tracii-guns.com





FASTER PUSSYCAT, STEVEN ADLER and BANG TANGO will be teaming up for a U.S. tour this summer.
Confirmed dates are:
Jul. 19 - The Cheyenne Saloon - Las Vegas, NV
Jul. 20 - Hubbas Pub - Aurora, CO
Jul. 21 - Knickerbockers - Lincoln, NE
Jul. 22 - The Chrome Horse Saloon - Cedar Rapids, IA
Jul. 23 - Star Central - Columbia Hts, MN
Jul. 25 - Hi Fi Club - Cleveland, OH
Jul. 27 - Westown Theatre - Bay City, MI
Jul. 28 - Rpms Rock Club - Bridgeville, PA
Jul. 29 - Fire Station 8 - Gaithersburg, MD
Jul. 30 - The Haunt - Ithaca, NY *
Aug. 01 - The Webster Theater - Hartford, CT
Aug. 02 - Bottoms Up - Queens, NY
Aug. 04 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
Aug. 05 - Planet Rock - Myrtle Beach, SC
Aug. 10 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL
Aug. 11 - County Line Saloon - Melbourne, FL
Aug. 12 - Bourbon Street Nightclub - New Port Richey, FL
Aug. 15 - Granada Theatre - Dallas, TX
Aug. 16 - Meridian - Houston, TX
Aug. 19 - El Craneo Bar - Chihauhua, Mexico *
Aug. 21 - Venue Of Scottsdale - Scottsdale, AZ
Aug. 22 - Crossroads - Fresno, CA
Aug. 23 - Downtown Brew - San Luis Obispo, CA
Aug. 25 - Bellagio - Garden Grove, CA
Aug. 26 - Angels Roadhouse - Yucaipa, CA
Aug. 27 - Safari Sams - Hollywood, CA

* STEVEN ADLER and BANG TANGO only

Judas Priest, Phantom Of The Opera?
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Judas Priest Create A Metal Concept Album To Be Released in 2007
Topic: Heavy Metal
Some people believe he had foreseen the rise of Hitler, the Kennedy assassinations and the terror strikes of 9/11, but it's safe to say that 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus never saw this one coming: Nearly 450 years after his death, heavy-metal icons Judas Priest are writing a concept album about the legendary soothsayer.

The bandmembers, who have been working on their ambitious undertaking for more than three months, have already written 90-plus minutes of music. After they massage the tracks into final form, add solos and write lyrics, the band will choose a co-producer and begin recording. Priest hope to finish the project by the end of the year in time to release it in the first quarter of 2007.

Like a Puccini opera, the piece will flow seamlessly, with no breaks between tracks, but frontman Rob Halford said clearly identifiable songs will address approximately 20 key moments in the life of the man born Michel de Nostredame. Touch-points will likely include the writing of his famous 1,000 quatrains, the death of his first wife and children from plague, his second marriage, his brief imprisonment and his death.

"Nostradamus is all about metal, isn't he?" Halford said. "He was an alchemist as well as a seer -- a person of extraordinary talent. He had an amazing life that was full of trial and tribulation and joy and sorrow. He's a very human character and a world-famous individual. You can take his name and translate it into any language and everybody knows about him, and that's important because we're dealing with a worldwide audience."

In addition to digging new lyrical ground for Judas Priest, the album will contain musical elements that might surprise their fans. "It's going to have a lot of depth," the singer explained. "There'll be a lot of symphonic elements. We might orchestrate it, without it being overblown. There may be a massive choir at parts and keyboards will be featured more prominently, whereas they've always been in the background before."

At the same time, Halford insisted the group won't abandon its heavy roots. For every atmospheric keyboard or choral arrangement, there'll be a headbanging passage to rattle the roof. "Essentially, Priest will always present ourselves as a metal band, so it will still be the band you know and love," Halford said. "There are some monster metal riffs that could span the Grand Canyon, and we still always find it a kick to come up with something that just burns out your speakers."

Halford discovered Nostradamus as a teenager and immediately became interested in his vague predictions and the way his followers interpreted them to pinpoint specific historical events. But it was the band's manager, Bill Curbishley, who predicted a concept record about Nostradamus could be a magical move.

Curbishley, who had previously worked with the Who on their rock opera Tommy, brought his idea to Priest in Estonia at the end of their 2005 tour. He viewed the extravaganza as a way to follow up the tremendous buzz of their comeback album Angel of Retribution, the first Priest record in 14 years to feature Halford.

"He was sitting there going, 'Well, what do the guys do next?' and this is what he came up with," said Halford. "The challenge of going into the studio to do a follow-up on a great studio album is immense anyway, and Priest are constantly trying to achieve and go one step further, so when Bill brought this up, we were all like, 'Let's go. Let's do it.' "

The yet-untitled LP will be Judas Priest's first concept effort and the first release they'll perform in its entirety on tour. Halford is convinced the material and narrative are sufficiently compelling to keep fans from missing the cavalcade of hits they've grown used to.

"The songs are going to be great," he said. "If you know anything about Priest, you know that we've made the characters come to life in songs like 'Painkiller,' 'The Sentinel' and 'The Sinner,' and now we're just taking that storytelling side of Priest that people love and cherish and putting all into a single project so it all comes to life in one dimension."

While they haven't yet worked out the details, Judas Priest plan to deliver their Nostradamus saga in a theatrical environment complete with intricate stage sets, special effects and possibly live actors. "We'll use the great things you see in Vegas and that are going in theater and put that into Priest along with pyro and everything else," Halford said.

"It will be like a heavy-metal 'Phantom of the Opera' -- a nonstop flow of great music, and I'll be doing more costume changes than Cher."

Courtesy of www.vh1.com