Music News Net

EAGLES Guitarist, Joe Walsh, Having Neighbor Troubles

MUSIC NEWS - Guitarist Joe Walsh has filed for a restraining order against an elderly neighbor who allegedly threatened him, according to California court records.  Mr Walsh's attorneys filed paperwork claiming Nassar Adhoot, who owns property near Mr Walsh in L.A. County, trespassed on Walsh's land earlier this month and struck one of the Eagles guitarist personal assistants with a piece of wood, TMZ.com reported today.

Adhoot, reportedly in his 70s, allegedly told the assistant, "You tell Joe Walsh I'm going to kill him. I'm going to shoot him," said the documents filed by Walsh in Superior Court.  There's no information on whether there was prior contact between Mr Walsh and Adhoot.  Walsh's application for a restraining order did not state if the assistant was injured in the altercation. The application asks that Adhoot have no contact with Walsh, his assistant and his wife, his maid and his gardener.

Ronnie James Dio's L.A. Memorial Service to Be Picketed by Christian Extremists

MUSIC NEWS- Today's Los Angeles public memorial service for the recently decreased rocker Ronnie James Dio will be picketed by some members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. You may have heard of these people, as the Topeka, KS church has gotten attention (and too much press) for its intolerance of gays and its picketing of soldiers' funerals.

The church's website lists a picketing schedule and says protesters will be at the 2pm Dio memorial at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in L.A. because they feel that Dio worshipped Satan.  Dio died on May 16 after a battle with stomach cancer.

Dio, born Ronald James Padavona, was a heavy metal music legend and long the subject of devil-worship claims and an easy target.   He frequently used the "devil's horn" gesture.  He had said on many occasions that he was taught the sign by his superstitious Italian grandmother as a way to ward off the "evil eye."  But some extremist Christians have taken issue with the gesture, alleging that it is a tribute to the devil.

CNN quoted Ronnie's wife, Wendy as saying ; "Ronnie hates prejudice and violence. We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know,".

Though, if you are in the L.A. area, we suggest you attend the service and display silent, non-violent support for the talented Dio !!!

Wendy Dio said the memorial will have a donation center for her husband's "Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund," named after one his songs.

UPDATE 5/31/10-  See AP news on the Ronnie James Dio memorial service.

MY MORNING JACKET Confirms Summer 2010 Tour

MUSIC NEWS- My Morning Jacket have finally released dates for their rumored USA summer tour.  Jim James and company have committed to only a brief one (we can hope for added shows, right?),  the run will start up in San Diego, CA on August 11, run thru the USA before wrapping up on August 29 in Philadelphia, PA.

In the meantime, today (May 29), they'll be on stage at the Sasquatch! Festival in Washington state.

moe. Announces Smash Hits Vol 1 Release, Free MP3s and Summer Tour Dates

MUSIC NEWS - A long way from modest their modest beginnings in a Buffalo, NY basement over two decades ago to today's multifaceted success, the members of moe. have never lost sight of the earnest,
basic goals that they aspired to from their very first concert- to deliver honest, heartfelt music and to ensure the audience has a good time.

2010 marks the 20th anniversary of moe.'s frontline of Rob Derhak (bass, vocals), Chuck
Garvey (guitar, vocals), and Al Schnier (guitar, keyboards, vocals), who continue to perform together with the addition of drummer Vinnie Amico and percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Jim Loughlin.

Rockers, RIVAL SONS To Indianapolis for the Indy500 !!

MUSIC NEWS - L.A. rockers RIVAL SONS will take part in the largest single-day sporting event in the world, the Indianapolis 500. The band will perform at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of Miller Lite Carb Day and at the IZOD Race to the Party event on Saturday (5/29) at Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis, sharing the stage with Camp Freddy.

RIVAL SONS'  song "Tell Me Something", from their rocking debut album Before the Fire is  being used heard around the nation in Izod's Indy Car Series TV campaign. Nearly 400,000 race fans will gather at the Speedway this Sunday, May 30 to celebrate speed, technology, cars and stars of the IZOD IndyCar Series. 

RIVAL SONS have been together since June 2008 and the group; singer Jay Buchanan,  guitarist Scott Holiday,  bassist  Robin Everhart  and  drummer  Michael Miley, has received acclaim for their quality mix of hard rock, swagger and blistering musicianship. 

More @ rivalsons.com and myspace.com/rivalsons

Newport Folk Festival 2010 Renews Friday Evening Kickoff Tradition, Steve Martin to Headline

MUSIC NEWS - Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers will kick off the 51st edition of George Wein's Newport Folk Festival at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport Casino (RI) on Friday, July 30, 2010, at 8:00 pm. Tim O'Brien and Sarah Jarosz will round out the evening of talented bluegrass artists. The festival continues July 31 and August 1 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. Tickets and more information are available at www.newportfolkfest.net

Martin's use of a banjo in his off-the-wall stand up routine may be a memory for some. But when the 2010 Grammy winner for "Bluegrass Album of the Year"  hits the stage with the Steep Canyon Rangers, it's certainly not a laughing matter. The well regarded North Carolina-based group lends a credible collaboration to Martin's bluegrass banjo.  With his on-stage anecdotes that have compared a song's "sadness and melancholy" to the look on his agent's face when Martin "told him I wanted to be a banjo player," concert-goers won't likely forget that Martin is one funny man. The collaboration performances have been known to mix in some of Martin's signature dry wit, but at the core is a tight band playing real bluegrass. With an upright bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, second banjo and deep Appalachian harmonies, it's enough to leave a comedy or bluegrass fan happy.

OZZY Can Still Make His Fans "SCREAM"

MUSIC NEWS - OZZY OSBOURNE was in NYC last week prepping for the June 22 release of his new album Scream (out via Epic Records) featuring the single “Let Me Hear You Scream”--visited Madame Tussauds wax museum in Times Square and didn’t miss the opportunity to bring his own wax figure to life. Watch below to see the reactions of unsuspecting tourists as OZZY makes them “scream".

JOHN PRINE's New Live Album and TV News

MUSIC NEWS- John Prine's brand new album "In Person & On Stage" is out this week on his Oh Boy Records.  "In Person & On Stage," is his new live album which showcases the remarkable continuum that Prine's catalog has become. The album features musical guests; Emmylou Harris, Sara Watkins, Kane Welch Kaplin, Josh Ritter and Iris Dement. It's definitely Prine at his best.

Visit Prine's ohboy.com/freetrack for a free download of "She Is My Everything" (live) in exchange for your email address.  

And, John Prine and My Morning Jacket's Yim Yames will perform together for the first time on Wednesday May 26 on the Late Show with David Letterman. Tune in 11:35pm ET.

REGINA SPEKTOR Makes Special White House Appearance

MUSIC NEWS - On Thursday May 27th, Sire / Warner Bros. recording artist Regina Spektor will perform at The White House for the first ever White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month. 
Spektor has said she's thrilled to join President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to celebrate the range and depth of the Jewish American heritage and contributions to American culture.

"Having moved to America from Soviet Russia as a child with my family, we dreamed of reconnecting with our religious traditions and of making America our home" said Spektor recently. "Having lived here for over twenty years, it is an unimaginable honor to be invited to the White House by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, to an event celebrating Jewish Americans, and to be counted among them. Nothing in the world could make us feel more accepted and at home!"

LiveDaily Takes its Final Bow; Noted Music Site Closes

MUSIC NEWS - Another music site bites the dust.  For almost 12 years, LiveDaily has keep the music world up to date on artist, concerts and touring news. But, as of May 21, 2010, Ticketmaster owned for the last three years, the music site LiveDaily has ceased publication.  MNN has enjoyed reading them over the years, but we did notice a decline in coverage and a change in it's focus and some all to obvious Ticketmaster leanings.

We wish the staff many new successes. 

U2's BONO Suffers Back Injury, Tour Postponed

MUSIC NEWS - Mega rockers, U2 have been reminded that time (and age) even catches up with rock stars, as they've been forced to postponed the first concert in this year's portion of their ongoing “360°” world tour as BONO, 50, sustained injuries during a tour rehearsal and had to undergo emergency surgery on his back on Friday in a Munich hospital.  No details on what happened have yet emerged.   “Bono will spend the next few days there, before returning home to recuperate,” was part of the message on U2.com . “Once his condition has been assessed further, a statement will be made regarding the impact on forthcoming tour dates.”

Paul McGuinness, the band's outspoken manager, seemed to indicate that the injury may result inadditional postponements.  "It's unfortunate that we're inconveniencing fans," he said in an audio message. "We will make plans to reistate these dates as soon as possible.   "Obviously, it's been very disruptive to our crew. We have over 400 people converging on Salt Lake City. Some of those have been told to turn around and told to stay at home until we make our new plan."

The tour was booked to begin on June 3, 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT then move to Anaheim, CA for June 6 and 7 shows, then Denver on June 12 and Oakland, CA, on June 16. No word on when when the Salt Lake City concert might take place or if other concerts will have to be postponed as well.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE May, 24, 2010 - Apparently Bono's back injury, now reported as spine surgery, is more serious than publicly announced as U2's debut gig at Britain's Glastonbury music festival has been canceled because of his medical problems.  And, as significant, concert promoters Live Nation said on Tuesday that the band's North American portion of U2's tour will be postponed until 2011.  U2 tour producer/promoter Arthur Fogel, CEO of Live Nation's Global Touring division, said in a statement,

AMANDA PALMER Added to OK Go's Webcast Event

MUSIC NEWS - Punk cabaret art/music performer Amanda Palmer will join power-pop band OK Go for a live concert webcast on Monday, May 24.  The show will be broadcast at 6pm PST/ 9 pm EST and is hosted by Ustream and Creative Allies (CreativeAllies.com), a new art and design web community from the Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.

In addition, both performers are running contests with Creative Allies: Palmer‘s contest lets her fans upload original art inspired by what it means for an artist to be unrestricted, independent and free. The contest celebrates Palmer's recent music release, after a public two–year struggle, from her former record label.

LIMP BIZKIT Cancels Summer Tour of North America

MUSIC NEWS - Limp Bizkit decided to scrap their planned summer 2010 amphitheater tour and will hold off until a likely autumn tour, performing at arenas instead.  Frontman Fred Durst made the announcement via his Twitter account this week, saying that he hoped the changes would result in "a better Limp experience" for the band's fans.

The tour was due to start on July 3 in NJ at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel and run through August 15 to end at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA.  But now, the group's North American itinerary will be a short one, with just three festival dates; May 23 at Rock on the Range in Columbus, OH- July 2 at Woodstock en Beauce in Quebec City, QC  and July 18 at Rock Fest in Cadott, WI.

BRET MICHAELS New Medical Problems

MUSIC NEWS - Bret Michaels is once again back in the hospital.  The rocker and reality TV star's website has advised that Mr Michaels suffered "warning stroke" (his doctor's terminology) and has been diagnosed with a hole in his heart  (patent forum ovale).  His publicist, Joann Mignano, has confirmed the report.

Doctors will be able to operate and correct the condition and treat Michaels, 47.  This new issue is reportedly unrelated to the brain hemorrhage he suffered last month.  BretMichaels.com said he's "up, walking, talking, continuing his daily rehab and very happy to be alive," and hopes to make a full recovery.

The Poison lead singer was due to appear this Sunday on the season's finale of "The Celebrity Apprentice" in New York, NY and was announced to make his return to the concert stage on May 28 in Biloxi, MS. 

EELS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM and WORLD TOUR:

MUSIC NEWS - EELS are prepping to release a new album entitled TOMORROW MORNING on August 24, 2010 right after they embark on a world tour that starts up August 3. EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett, aka E has described the 14 track album as the final installment of a trilogy that began with HOMBRE LOBO (June 2009) and END TIMES (January 2010).

After a four year absence from the music scene, TOMORROW MORNING (tracklist below) will be the third new EELS album in a little over a year and a half and will be released on the EELS' E Works Records label. The world tour starts in Santa Ana, CA, then takes them to Japan, Australia, Europe, USA and Canada. It will be the first time EELS have performed live since the release of HOMBRE LOBO, END TIMES and the new album.