Halloween in New Orleans at VOODOO EXPERIENCE 2009--the ultimate weekend for entertainment in America.

Eminem. KISS. Jane's Addiction. Widespread Panic. The Flaming Lips. Justice.

These are just a few of the more than 150 artists confirmed for this year's VOODOO EXPERIENCE, Friday, October 30, Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1. The 11th annual VOODOO EXPERIENCE--and the third to coincide exactly with Halloween--will once again celebrate music, as well as New Orleans' bohemian culture, arts and cuisine.

This year's line-up will be anchored by performances from Eminem--in his first full performance in over four years and only scheduled concert of 2009--and KISS, one of the most influential and successful rock and roll bands of all-time. They'll join the reunited Jane's Addiction--with all of the original members--along with the previously announced Widespread Panic who'll perform as part their annual Halloween tradition (1997-2002) of live shows in the city.

New Orleans' signature fall music event will offer three days of entertainment at the historic City Park locale set amidst lush lagoons, bayous, one of the largest collections of mature oak trees in the world--all in the shadow of the New Orleans Museum of Art and just minutes from the historic French Quarter and Central Business District.

Throughout the years, the VOODOO EXPERIENCE has brought together a collection of talent that has bridged the social, economic and generational gaps by creating a unique event with a commitment to every genre of music while at the same time celebrating the sounds of the region. Three distinct performance areas--Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival--and eight stages each highlight a unique side of the personality of New Orleans.

The 2009 VOODOO EXPERIENCE line-up is as follows (with day-to-day schedules to be confirmed in the fall): KISS; Eminem; Jane's Addiction; Widespread Panic; The Flaming Lips; Justice; Gogol Bordello; Wolfmother; Eagles of Death Metal; The Black Keys; The Pogues; Ween; Silversun Pickups; Janelle Monae; The Cool Kids; Meat Puppets; Mutemath; Q-Tip; Fischerspooner; Brand New; D12; American Bang; Generational; Earl Greyhound; Squirrel Nut Zippers; Black Lips; Mates of State; All Time Low; Robert Randolph & the Family Band; The Knux; George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic; JJ Grey & Mofro; Alejandro Escovedo; Shooter Jennings; Down; Drive-By Truckers; Eric Church; Ledisi; Rebirth Brass Band, New Orleans Bingo! Show; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave All Stars; Big Sam's Funky Nation; Benjy Davis Project; Papa Grows Funk; DJ Soul Sister; Rotary Downs; Andrew Duhon & The Lonesome Crows; MarchFourth Marching Band, Amanda Shaw; Cyril Neville's Blues Revue with Tab Benoit, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone; Beausoleil; John Mooney & Bluesiana; Quintron & Miss Pussycat; Fleur De Tease; Suplecs; Little Freddie King; Preservation Hall Stars with Special Guests; The Happy Talk Band; Lil Brian and the Zydeco Travelers; Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship?; Ratty Scurvics; Mynameisjohnmichael; Loose Marbles; Luke Winslow King; Dan Dyer; Walter "Wolfman" Washington & The Roadmaster with the Dirty Dozen Horns; New Orleans Klezmer All Stars; Glasgow; Leroy Jones Group; Mas Mamones; Zydepunks; White Bitch; The Vettes; Lucy's Walk; Erick Baker; Sarah Quintana; TBC Brass Band; Bones; Legends to Nancy; Leo Jackson and the Melody Clouds; Brother Taisuke Mass Choir; Leroy Jones Group Katey Red, Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby with DJ Papa.

Additionally, festival producers announced in mid-April that they would absorb all ticket surcharges saving attendees approximately 15% on each purchase. This comprehensive ticket price applies to ALL tickets sold for this year's VOODOO EXPERIENCE.

As the exclusive broadcast partner of the VOODOO EXPERIENCE, Fuse will bring viewers live on-air coverage, online content, interviews and companion programming all leading up to a one-hour special of the biggest performances and best moments from the 2009 VOODOO EXPERIENCE airing on Saturday, November 7, 2009.

For a limited time, three-day weekend tickets are $169, ALL IN with no additional fees; LOA Lounge VIP pass are $475, ALL IN with no additional fees and are available via Ticketmaster.com and thevoodooexperience.com. 2009 Partners include: Toyota, PlayStation, Miller Lite, Southern Comfort, American Spirits, fye Music Stores, Vtech and Marriott New Orleans. Media partners include Fuse Television, Billboard.com, Rollingstone.com, Spin, Filter, Nola.com, OffBeat, Where y'at, Antigravity and New Orleans Magazine. - MSOPR.COM

With Chris Cornell's solo career floundering on the heels of his most recent hip hop-oriented album, Scream, many fans have been pushing for the reunion of his former band Soundgarden.

Now it seems fans might finally be getting their wish. At least according to Shinedown singer Brent Smith, who in a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine said, "There's talk of a reuniting of Soundgarden in the States soon. I know actually someone specific who told me that, who is actually specifically in their organization. Kind of told me that they're talking about it."

According to Blabbermouth, a Soundgarden reunion tour is on the books for the summer of 2010.

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayill, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron got onstage together for the first time since 1997 during a Tom Morello Justice Tour show in Seattle earlier this year, with grunge icon Tad Boyle sitting in on vocals.

"If I was there, I probably would've gotten up onstage," Cornell told the Washington Post. "They were just getting up there and doing it for fun, and I think that's great. The only thing I didn't like is that I wasn't there to see it."

Asked about the possibility of a reunion, Cornell said, "You never know."

The title, release date and complete track listing for Beastie Boys' eighth studio album have been confirmed: Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will be released September 15 by Capitol in multiple configurations including a 5.1 surround mix and will consist of the following compositions:

1. Tadlock's Glasses
2. B-Boys In The Cut
3. Make Some Noise
4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack
5. OK
6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)
7. Say It
8. The Bill Harper Collection
9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)
10. Long Burn The Fire
11. Bundt Cake
12. Funky Donkey
13. Lee Majors Come Again
14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament
15. Pop Your Balloon
16. Crazy Ass Shit
17. Here's A Little Something For Ya

The first Beastie Boys headline date confirmed to follow the album's release, the band's debut stand at the famed Hollywood Bowl, has sold out. Further dates will be announced as they are confirmed.

Meanwhile, Beastie Boys recently began a summer festival mission with a set at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester TN that blew the crowd of 70,000-plus out of their Birkenstocks and caused devil sticks to spontaneously combust. The performance featured an appearance by Nas who joined the Boys for the live debut of the new record's "Too Many Rappers," as well as a rare appearance from Country Mike for an acoustic rendition of "Heart Attack Man."

The mission will continue throughout the summer and will include upcoming appearances at the All Points West and Lollapalooza festivals, the latter of which will be preceded by a just-announced intimate Beastie Boys show at the Congress in Chicago on Thursday, August 6.

Finally, the last installment of the deluxe, remastered, expanded and altogether awesome Beastie Boys catalogue reissues will be dropping in advance of the new record: the band's multi-platinum 1998 opus Hello Nasty will be given the 2-CD/vinyl box set/multi-format treatment beginning with an August 17 pre-order/digital release and will hit stores August 25. Preceded by the universal smash "Intergalactic," Hello Nasty crashed into the #1 spots of charts worldwide upon its July 1998 release, with first week sales of nearly 700,000 in the U.S. alone. Buoyed by the launch of the 360 in the round tour, Hello Nasty would yield B Boys classics "Body Movin'," "Three MCs and One DJ," "Remote Control," "Super Disco Breakin'" and more, win two Grammys, see the band presented with an MTV Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award, and ultimately sell some 7 million copies worldwide.

As previously announced, pre-orders for the expanded, remastered multi-format Ill Communication will begin July 6, with a physical release of July 14.

For a complete list of deluxe reissue configurations, as well as upcoming Beastie Boys festival and headline appearances, check Beastieboys.com.

To see the album art for Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, CLICK HERE

Alberta rockers Nickelback may have picked up a leading three trophies at the MuchMusic Video Awards last night, giving music critics across the country another reason to groan, but in the end it was all about Lady Gaga's "flaming boobies."

The critically unpopular group, who picked up three Juno Awards back in March, went into the televised street-oriented awards show -- which saw thousands of fans take over the blocks surrounding MuchMusic's Toronto Queen and John Sts. headquarters -- with a leading five MMVA nods, tied with R&B Toronto newcomer Danny Fernandes.

Nickelback's trio of trophies were for best video and best rock video for Gotta Be Somebody while the clip also got the nod for best post production.

"Wow," said frontman Chad Kroeger, arriving on the red carpet with his bandmates in a bullet-proof van to find out they'd already won two awards before the official show even began.

"I give it all to the fans. The fans have stuck with us, they've been amazing. We're just trying to sustain it."

Added guitarist Ryan Peake: "Couldn't be a better band for this (bullet-proof) vehicle." Fernandes, whose debut disc, Intro, was produced by Palestinian-born, Ottawa-based rapper Belly, picked up a single trophy for best pop video for Private Dancer and busted out a dance move as a presenter alongside MuchMusic veejay Sarah Taylor.

Piano-rockers The Midway State, whose members hail from Collingwood and Thornhill, Ont., were surprise double winners, picking up two MMVA trophies for best independent video for Never Again and Ur Fave new artist for the same song.

Montreal pop-punk band Simple Plan won Ur Fave video for Save You.

Teen-pop sibling act the Jonas Brothers, who were also co-hosts for the evening, opened the show with their hit song, Burnin' Up, which later won the award for Ur Fave international video, and were immediately followed by St. Catharines, Ont., post-hardcore-screamo act Alexisonfire performing Young Cardinals in a wild contrast of music styles.

And while the trio of brothers can certainly sing -- they returned to sing their current hit, Paranoid, to screaming female fans -- a skit later in the show with celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton fell totally flat.

"You guys truly are the greatest fans in the world -- we love you so much," said Nick Jonas, upon accepting their award.

When it came to international winners, many were on hand to pick up their hardware as they were also MMVA performers.

Lady Gaga picked up best international video (artist) for her breakout single, Poker Face.

"You guys make it so hard to live anywhere else," said Lady Gaga in a gold braided outfit and matching headband.

"To God and the gays!"

But she really had people talking when she later transformed the MMVA stage into a New York subway station and wore a revealing black leather and silver studded ensemble that barely covered her nether regions for her performance of LoveGame/Poker Face that also included dancing NYPD officers and sparks flying out of a metal frame bra she was wearing by the end of the song.

Black Eyed Peas, who currently have the No. 1 album in Canada with The E.N.D., won for best international video (group) for that album's first single, Boom Boom Pow, which they also performed with female singer Fergie decked out in hot pants, thigh-high boots and long fake finger nails on one hand.

Kelly Clarkson also blew the roof off the joint -- okay so there was no roof outside -- with her big-voice and hit song, My Life Would Suck Without You, as she performed barefoot in jeans.

One Canadian group who did well last night was Billy Talent. The Toronto pop-punk outfit picked up the international video award (Canadian) for Rusted From the Rain, the first single from their new album, Billy Talent III, due later this summer, and performed the song during the MMVAs broadcast on an elevated platform.

"I don't have any flaming boobies," said Billy Talent frontman Ben Kowalewicz as he picked up the award, in reference to Lady Gaga's eye-popping performance which had just occurred.

By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media

To watch the entire MuchMusic Video Awards show, CLICK HERE

"Burn It Down", a brand new song from Los Angeles metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, can be streamed using the widget below (courtesy of MetalInsider.net). The track comes off the band's second studio album, "War Is The Answer", which is due to be released worldwide in late August.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory recently stated about the band's upcoming sophomore album, "The new record has been co-produced by Kevin Churko, who was heavily involved with OZZY's [OSBOURNE] 'Black Rain' album.

"In terms of the overall style, I would say that we've continued the journey we started on the first album, so there's a healthy balance of melody and aggression, and as always we concentrated on writing strong metal songs in the traditional sense. There's some epic moments on the record, and there's some straight-up home-wreckers, too. All I can say is, those who liked our first album are going to LOVE this one!"

Bathory told The Pulse of Radio that he wasn't worried about coming up with material for the band's second studio effort. "We have a lot to say," he said. "I tell you what, we're not going to be hurting for material for a long time probably. We have like three, four albums worth of stuff. So it's not gonna be an issue. It's pretty much just the mechanical part of like, you know, like properly recording the songs. You have to go to a good studio, you know what I mean, you have to spend some time. But all the material, yeah, we have a lot of stuff."

The band's next album will follow up its 2007 debut, "The Way Of The Fist", which has sold around 331,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The CD produced three singles, including "Stranger Than Fiction" and "Never Enough".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH was recently forced to cancel a series of June dates in Europe due a combination of events; these involve both personal matters plus the necessity to finish mixing the tracks for "War Is The Answer".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH still played the Download festival on June 13 at Donington Park, United Kingdom. However, this was the only date the band could keep on this current run due to the above-mentioned conflicts.

To get the wigit to stream "Burn It Down" CLICK HERE

Living Colour will release their first new studio album in five years entitled The Chair In The Doorway on September 15 via Megaforce Records. The legendary downtown NYC rock band, who exploded out of CBGB's in the late '80s, landing all over MTV, the cover of Rolling Stone and stadium stages around the world with their Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum debut album, Vivid, are back and "fierce" as ever.

Original members Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun and (since 1993) Doug Wimbish gathered at Sono Studios outside of Prague in The Czech Republic during the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 to write and record what would become The Chair In The Doorway. The results stretch from the modern soul anthem "Behind The Sun" to the politically-charged, heavy rock of "DecaDance" to the sacred steel blues of "Bless Those." The artwork for The Chair In The Doorway was compiled from thousands of contest entries by fans from around the world.

"We feel like this is the best record we've made yet and we couldn't be more excited to be releasing it with the legendary Megaforce Records," says guitarist Vernon Reid. "Some of our favorite bands were or are Megaforce artists, Metallica, Bad Brains, Anthrax, Black Crowes, so it's an honor to be part of a label with a great legacy."

Living Colour will announce plans for a world tour shortly. With dates set to begin in September, it will include their first North American tour in four years along with performances in South America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

The Chair In The Doorway Track listing:

1. Burned Bridges
2. The Chair
3. DecaDance
4. Young Man
5. Method
6. Behind The Sun
7. Bless Those
8. Hard Times
9. Taught Me
10. Out Of Mind
11. Not Tomorrow

The other week in Los Angeles, I visited NME's old friend, glam grunge survivor and latterday Hollywood conduit, Ms Courtney Love. I've been following the production of her long-awaited new album 'Nobody's Daughter' ever since she picked up her career again in 2006 after the last round of troubles.

Yes, it's been a long time. Yes, she's on her third producer, fourth studio, and lord knows how many bass players. But along the way, extraordinary things have been afoot. What began as an attempt to reinvent herself as an MOR adult-rock artist with power-ballad queen Linda Perry at the helm was abandoned when it became apparent that that is just not how this lady rolls.

Next, she headed to London, with the intention of finding a band. The only survivor from that initial line-up comes from the most unlikely of sources - Micko Larkin, from sometime Albion reprobates Larrikin Love. She scooped him up, took him to the Chateau Marmont and set about polishing the talent she saw into her new Eric Erlandson.

She's still kept a bunch of the songs she wrote with Perry (and, indeed, longtime compadre Billy Corgan). But when she began writing with Larkin (whose talent she looks like having been right about), it became obvious that the 'Rock Courtney' was back in action, and that this music could only come out under one name, HOLE.

Micko will be lead guitarist, and Hole bassist Melissa auf der Maur, though working on projects of her own, has returned for backing vocals, and may play bass on tours next year. The album is as good as done, with the rest of the touring line-up for now remaining TBC.

Now, there will be plenty of people who throw rocks at Courtney for bringing back a modified version of Hole for the same reasons that they threw rocks at Corgan for bringing back Smashing Pumpkins. I would raise them that Courtney and Billy are the essences of Hole and the Pumpkins for the same reasons that Liam and Noel are the essence of Oasis. Does anybody question the authenticity of an Oasis without Tony McCarroll, Bonehead and the other one? Thought not.

In any case, 'Nobody's Daughter', the fourth Hole album, is likely to be released at the end of the 2009/early 2010 through a TBC label, with production by Michael Beinhorn. Check back tomorrow for a first-listen round-up of some of the tracks. But for now, an update from the studio.

To set the scene: it is midnight at the Henson Studios in West Hollywood. Three hours previously, Courtney rolled into Studio B for another night session, excitedly showing off her 'first pair of leather pants in 20 years'. The room is adorned with photographs of the album's muses, from Father Ted's Father Jack to Elvis Presley. Micko has been instructed to research Hole's cover of 'He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)' and Metallica string-tribute band Apocalyptica.

What followed was a three-hour playback/external monologue covering subjects ranging from The Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, insurance fraud, Russell Brand, and dressmaking. She revealed that she is still acting as indie shrink to Ryan Jarman ("I told him, 'You know what selling out means? It means there are no tickets left for Madison Square Garden!"). She revealed that she is planning to "unleash" Florence and her Machine on America ("I played with her in London and she handed me my ass").

She revealed some exciting plans for a touring festival of the US next year (more details of which soon). And she revealed all manner of unrepeatable gossip about the galaxy of Hollywood stars that now make-up Courtney's peer group. And then, after donning some handmade clothes, she prepared to address her public...

To Courtney's left are her, ahem Doll Parts, the porcelain muses that have guided her through the making of the album. To her far left is Micko himself. It's worth repeating a text message we received the following morning, after we had left them to work:

"OMG.OMG. OMG. Tonight was EPIC. This Micko is a genius. I owe [Queen Of Noize/Florence's manager] Mairead Nash my life. Fuck Jack. Fuck Josh. Fuck Me. Fuck Everyone."

Over to you, Courtney...

-Dan Martin NME.COM

Collective Soul launch a new headlining tour just as their newest album, "Collective Soul (Rabbit)," is released. Due in stores on August 25th (their first for Loud & Proud / Roadrunner Records), the album was written and produced by the band and the first single, "Staring Down," will be available via all major digital retailers on June 16th. "Welcome All Again" will be available June 30th digitally.

"Collective Soul (Rabbit)" is the band's eighth studio album. One of rock's most enduring acts, they have amassed nineteen hit singles in their 16 year career, seven of those reaching the #1 spot on Billboard magazine's radio charts. Most recently, Collective Soul were featured on the multi-platinum selling "Twilight" soundtrack and their song, "Hollywood" (from their 2007 Top 25 album "Afterwords"), was featured prominently in "American Idol's" Fall 2008 season for several weeks. Collective Soul frontman, Ed Roland, later collaborated with winner and longtime fan David Cook on his debut album.

Collective Soul will perform in the following cities:

August 7 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Club*

August 11 Mt Clemens, MI Emerald Theatre*

August 13 Newport, RI Newport Yachting Center*

August 14 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino*

August 15 Chatham, ON Chatham Rockstock

August 17 Danbury, CT Ives Concert Park*

August 20 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom*+

August 25 New York, NY Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza*+

August 28 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte*+

September 1 Houston, TX House of Blues+

September 2 Dallas, TX House of Blues+

September 4 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

September 11 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

September 12 Wendover (Reno, NV) Peppermill Hotel Casino

*With Safety Suit

+With Black Stone Cherry

Interview: Stone Temple Pilots

Scott Weiland remains alternative rock's most powerful voice. Something of a rock n' roll poet, the Stone Temple Pilots frontman has always had something to say, even if he's said it through a shroud of lyrical mystery.

Is he being coy or cryptic? Is he thinly veiling some secret to life in classics like "The Big Empty?" Is he fucking with us? No, he's really just being true to himself, and isn't that what any great poet does?

When everyone else zigged, Weiland zagged. In the early '90s, his peers donned flannel and ripped jeans, while he was sporting dapper suits. After Stone Temple Pilots' highly influential rock epic Purple, he and his band mates ventured into the realm of pop psychedelica on Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop, deviating from the mid-90s hard rock template they helped create. In 2004, Weiland brought life, vibrancy and fire to Velvet Revolver, giving the Guns N' Roses vets a new edge. Then he gave us 2008's Happy (In Galoshes), his most personal offering yet. A poppy and dark rumination on love, it's hard not to feel Happy. Weiland keeps giving too. Right now, he's holed up in a Los Angeles studio working on Stone Temple Pilots' next masterpiece, while running his label Softdrive and preparing for St. Jude's Rock N' Roll Hope Show at the West Hollywood House of Blues on July 1st.

He spoke to ARTISTdirect.com in this exclusive interview about St. Jude's Rock N' Roll Hope Show, Softdrive Records, new Stone Temple Pilots and much more. He might've even revealed a secret or too. Or did he?

Where in the world are you right now?

I'm in the studio working on new STP music. It's coming along really, really well! We have about 18 songs written, and vocals are written on about ten of them.

Your most recent solo record, Happy (In Galoshes) truly felt boundless. Was there something especially liberating about the process behind that album?

Definitely! I've played in bands for most of my life, ever since being a teenager. At the age of 16, I formed my first band. Being in a band, you write songs and you make decisions based on a democratic process. I guess not every band does, but for the bands that I've been in, it was that way. I find it tends to work like that as long as the actual members are talented and they have something to say--whether it's musically or socially. This record, in the same sense of 12 Bar Blues, my first solo album, gave me the opportunity--whenever I was feeling that desire--to create in that arena which was not a rock band. It gave me the chance to do whatever I wanted to do with my partner Doug because we have our own studio. We could get as sonically "out there" as we wanted to and tap into all of our different musical influences. We also got to use all of the various forms of instrumentation that we have here in the studio. It's a fun place to hang out, write and work without a lot of pressure.

That fun and free vibe definitely comes across, but the album has some of your most poignant and powerful lyrics in songs like "Crash." It can be bright, but it's really heartfelt.

Yeah, the record was really written over a period of the last ten years since I've known Doug. It seemed like the majority of the writing sessions took place during times when Mary and I were separated. For the most part, I'd say about 90 percent of the songs were about her and my relationship with her--whether I'm directly or metaphorically speaking. There are songs written about my brother as well because he passed in the last couple of years.

Some of these songs had the same vibe as Velvet Revolver's "The Last Fight" from Libertad which you also dedicated to your brother.

Yeah, I think where we were trying to go as a band on Libertad was a natural place. We weren't trying to force anything. We were just getting to know who we were on the first record, Contraband. After touring for over four years straight, we were writing songs on the road and during rehearsals for tours. We knew what kind of record we wanted to make. We knew it wasn't just about straight-ahead punk rock, rock n' roll. We knew the record that we were going to make was going to have more depth to it, and we were going to tap more into our other influences. Just like STP, the guys in Velvet Revolver also have a lot of different influences. Duff and I have a lot of very similar influences just like Matt Sorum too.

Happy is a free record, musically and lyrically. I didn't instantly get into it, but after listening to it more and more, it became one of my favorite records that you've ever done.

I appreciate that, thank you. The songs inspire that reaction of, "What the fuck is that?" [Laughs] You know? On your second and third listen, you realize that underneath all of the layers of craziness, there are basically pop songs.

In some ways, it feels like it simply picked up where Shangri-La Dee Da left off in 2001.

Yeah, it was kind of like that. Shangri-La kind of picked up where 12 Bar Blues left off.

Before that you made Tiny Music which took STP in a whole different direction after Purple.

Which is all sort of a mirror for who my biggest influences are as writers, recorders and producers, and that's The Beatles. I don't think that they were ever afraid to take a chance in the studio. I was just watching this documentary on them again. They're boundless in their musical freedom and musical integrity. In the '60s to be doing that, they were the first ones. The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson were doing amazing stuff back then and there was a lot of other amazing music going on, but I really think The Beatles were. Bob Dylan even said it himself, "These guys are where it's at. They're the ones that are at the forefront of rock n' roll."

The Beatles could have the most beautiful melodies, but there was always a hint of uneasiness or darkness thinly veiled. When listening to one of STP's songs like "Seven Caged Tigers," you see the beauty, but you feel that darkness. You capture that too.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

When you can be in the middle of those two extremes and say something, that's the mark of a true artist.

You're getting what we're about and what we set out to do. That's the best compliment that you can get really.

People need to exist within those two extremes because everyone feels both of them every day. Only true artists will ever capture that middle ground.

Yeah, that's true. I think to capture every element is where it's at really--everything in between, sonically as well as emotionally.

How did everything come together with the St. Jude Rock N' Roll Hope Show?

We were approached and asked if we would be interested in doing it. Of course, we were! More than that, we're grateful to have the opportunity. My mother survived cancer. I know what a debilitating disease it is. She actually was a survivor. Forms of cancer that attack young people, like Leukemia, doctors don't seem to have had as much headway in finding a cure as they've had with the fight against breast cancer. You don't know why that is. It's just one of those things that doesn't seem fair. None of it seems fair. For the first time, I had my cancer check-up because now I know that it runs in the family. It's a scary thought. To think that kids at a such a young age have to deal with that and the idea of death is horrible. Yet, they're courageous to do it and be able to get through it.

Every show means something to you, but to get up on a stage and play a benefit like this must be especially powerful.

Yeah, the only time we do benefits is when we really feel a connection to them. We did a Katrina benefit with Velvet Revolver. We've done very few benefits with STP. There are benefits everywhere and you could spend your whole entire life playing them. If you pick the ones you feel are really important, you have the opportunity to really make an impact and raise some money.

St. Jude has been so crucial. To be a part of their legacy must be an honor.

Definitely! It's funny, actually when I saw "St. Jude" on the paper, at first I thought it was Sts. Simon and Jude because that was the church I went to when I lived in Huntington Beach [Laughs]. I was like, "Whoa! Oh, it's St. Jude's Children's Hospital." So I'm familiar with St. Jude [Laughs].

What was your initial idea behind Softdrive Records? It seems really artist-driven, natural and exciting.

It is. We have some great people that work with us. My partner Doug, Dan, Carly, Eric and John. We have interns that come in and work their asses off all the time. It's a label that's really passionate about the artists on the label. When we tell these artists that we're going to work hard for them, we mean that we're going to work hard for them. I remember the feeling I got when I got signed for the first time, and that's the reason I wanted to form a record company because I wanted to bring others that feeling of what it felt like to get signed, make my first record, go on tour and hear my song on the radio. Those are the reasons behind starting this.

Where did the inspiration behind the Softdrive webisodes come about?

That's something we had done before with Velvet Revolver. Our friend Rocko does that, and he actually directed "The Last Fight" video. He's quite a filmmaker. He's also a producer. He edited all of that stuff together and shot a lot of it as well.

Do you feel like you're in one of the most creative spaces you've ever been in between the new Stone Temple Pilots, Softdrive and your solo work? Are you on fire?

I think I definitely am. I come to the studio, and I work every day. The whole idea is to get a song done a day--at least to rough it out. Most of the time, we get pretty close to getting a finished vocal done, not necessarily a mastered vocal, but a finished complete demo vocal done with harmonies, backups and everything.

How have you grown as a lyricist? Have your ideas or perspective changed?

Definitely because in the '90s I was so overwhelmed with my heroin addiction, and so a lot of the stuff was just from my point of view. Now, I tend to look at some of the greats like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. I look at their storytelling. I try to tell stories. Every song doesn't have to be narcissistically written about how I feel on that day.

Are you taking a cinematic approach?

That's been the goal. That's the new challenge.

Going back to a song like "The Big Empty," you've always done that though.

Yeah, but there are times when I did it and there were times when I didn't. As a whole, there are some new songs that really tell stories. I've chosen some interesting characters to write about. I don't want to give anything away, but you'll get to hear it, and you'll hear it probably before 99.9 percent of everybody else hears it [Laughs].

I look forward to it very much! Are there any filmmakers or novelists that particularly inspire you?

Yeah, I could run down a whole list of people, but I think art is art. I've been painting a lot lately. I think that's one of the things that has opened up my creativity again because I just finished a solo album after getting off a tour, then I went on tour for my solo album and then I came back and started writing for this STP record. I felt like I didn't know where to go which direction to go in so I started drawing, sketching and painting again. It's opened up a whole vast array of ideas. My stuff is kind of abstract. My favorite artist is Egon Schiele. He's a Dutch artist, and his work is modern. You'll have to check him out.

Right when you got back into the studio with STP, did music instantly begin pouring out of you?

Definitely, there are a lot of songs written.

Was the reunion tour last summer particularly fun? I'll never forget the Hollywood Bowl show.

I think that show was one of our best shows on that tour. There were some really good shows. I think we perhaps toured two months too long because we were doing the "Greatest Hits" set really. Once we get out on the road when our new album comes out, we'll start playing a lot more of the new material mixed in with the old material, and that will reinvigorate the band and everyone will feel a lot more inspired.

Last summer to see a song like "Sin" come to life on stage was amazing because it felt like you guys were improvising and adding more of a psychedelic vibe. That vibe had always been improvised but it was amplified.

That was the idea! We're playing with smaller amps and going with smaller amp sounds, not just relying on a wall of Marshalls to create sounds that were actually created by an amp that you could put in the passenger seat of your car right next to you.

Would you ever want to publish your lyrics in a book?

There will be some. It's funny because there's that book about the most often misinterpreted words from songs. We're in it [Laughs]. In "Plush," it says, "Where are you going for tomorrow? Where are you going with the master plan?" [Laughs] A lot of people misinterpreted that one there.

You've always had a great sense of style--almost like the Sinatra of alt rock. How intertwined are style and performing on stage?

I see style and rock n' roll as hand-in-hand. If you look at The Beatles, The Stones, those guys knew how to dress. Bowie is my ultimate fashion icon. It was all part of the same thing. It's just something that feels like a natural thing for me. It's a natural part of rock n' roll.

What's next?

We have Softdrive releases planned through the year. Tommy Joe Wilson's record is out, and we're working hard on that. We partnered up with a management company and another label Nashville because we are obviously not a Nashville-influenced label, but he was just too good to pass up on. Something to Burn is a band that we have going to coming out soon. Their release is out September 18th. The Color Turning is slated for August 4th. We have a few shows lined up with STP, we'll finish the record and then we'll be out doing our thing, touring for awhile once the record comes out. It'll probably be a Christmas release

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN were honored with the "Golden God" and "Best UK Band" awards at last night's Metal Hammer Golden Gods event, which was held at the IndigO2 venue in South London, England.

SLIPKNOT also picked up two awards -- "Best International Band" and "Best Live Band" -- while DEF LEPPARD won the Legends gong.

Metal Hammer publisher Chris Ingham says, "With the launch of the Revolver Golden God Awards in Los Angeles this year, the Golden Gods have made the final transition to become the most important rock and metal awards in the world. We have always been proud defenders of the faith in the U.K. and we'll continue to honor the metal greats no matter what."

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best New Band: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
Best Underground Band: BEHEMOTH
Best Metal Label: Roadrunner
Spirit Of Metal: SAXON
The Dimebag Darrel Shredder Award: Herman Li/Sam Toteman (DRAGONFORCE)
Event Of The Year: Download
Legends Award: DEF LEPPARD
Best Breakthrough Act: AMON AMARTH
Best Album: LAMB OF GOD - "Wrath"
Metal As Fuck: ANVIL
Inspiration: EMPEROR
Riff Lord: Steve Vai
Best Live Band: SLIPKNOT
Best International Band: SLIPKNOT
Best UK Band: IRON MAIDEN
Golden God: IRON MAIDEN

To check out photos from the ceremony CLICK HERE and HERE

It Might Get Loud: A new electric guitar-themed documentary is hitting cinemas in New York and Los Angeles on August 14.

Who hasn't wanted to be a rock star, join a band or play electric guitar? Music resonates, moves and inspires us. Strummed through the fingers of The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White, somehow it does more. Such is the premise of It Might Get Loud, a new documentary conceived by producer Thomas Tull.

It Might Get Loud isn't like any other rock'n roll documentary. Filmed through the eyes of three virtuosos from three different generations, audiences get up close and personal, discovering how a furniture upholsterer from Detroit, a studio musician and painter from London and a seventeen-year-old Dublin schoolboy, each used the electric guitar to develop their unique sound and rise to the pantheon of superstar. Rare discussions are provoked as we travel with Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White to influential locations of their pasts. Born from the experience is intimate access to the creative genesis of each legend, such as Link Wray's "Rumble's" searing impression upon Jimmy Page, who surprises audiences with an impromptu air guitar performance. But that's only the beginning.

While each guitarist describes his own musical rebellion, a rock'n roll summit is being arranged. Set on an empty soundstage, the musicians come together, crank up the amps and play. They also share their influences, swap stories, and teach each other songs. During the summit Page's double-neck guitar, The Edge's array of effects pedals and White's new mic, custom built into his guitar, go live. The musical journey is joined by visual grandeur too. We see the stone halls of Headley Grange where "Stairway to Heaven" was composed, visit a haunting Tennessee farmhouse where Jack White writes a song on-camera, and eavesdrop inside the dimly lit Dublin studio where The Edge lays down initial guitar tracks for U2's forthcoming single. The images, like the stories, will linger in the mind long after the reverb fades.

It Might Get Loud might not affect how you play guitar, but it will change how you listen. The film is directed and produced by An Inconvenient Truth's Davis Guggenheim, and produced by Thomas Tull, Lesley Chilcott and Peter Afterman.

To watch the trailer for It Might Get Loud CLICK HERE

Smashing Pumpkins May Have Tapped 19-Year-Old Unknown As New Drummer

Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan said he was looking for some new blood when he announced open auditions earlier this year to replace departed drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. And, according to Pumpkins fan site Hipsters United, the great Pumpkin -- at this point the only remaining original member of the band -- might have found his man in unknown 19-year-old drummer Mike Byrne.

Corgan blogged on Friday that he has found the band's "drummer of the future," explaining that he's still on target to release new music in October. "I've worked with him so far for one week, and all indications are really good that he's the man for the job," Corgan wrote of the unnamed drummer. "Going to work with him some more before it becomes official. Whoever takes the job has quite big shoes to fill, no doubt about it."

Smashing Pumpkins rep Mitch Schneider confirmed to MTV News on Tuesday (June 9) that Corgan is working with Byrne in the studio on demos. "I think he's an incredibly gifted drummer, and so far things are going really well," Corgan said, according to Schneider's statement.

The Hipsters United site quickly dug up some evidence that Corgan was referring to Byrne, who reportedly sits behind the kit for Oregon band Moses, Smell the Roses, in his blog post. Among the evidence is that the Berklee College of Music freshman -- who was just 1 when the band's debut album Gish was released -- wrote on his MySpace page in mid-May that he was "with the Pumpkins till next Saturday." He then updated his status on Monday to say, "Mike is off for another couple weeks at Pumpkin camp."

Ben Spees, a friend who is recording the latest Moses album, Tweeted on Friday about Corgan's blog post, writing, "Billy Corgan posted about Mike in his blog. Drummer of the future."

If he does make the lineup, Byrne -- who reportedly has had only four years of drum lessons -- would be the youngest member of the band, led by 42-year-old Corgan. New guitarist Jeff Schroeder is 35, and new bassist Ginger Pooley is 29. A spokesperson for the Pumpkins had no comment at press time.

Either way, it would be a big step up for Byrne, whose band just played a May 29 house show in Beaverton, Oregon. He appears to be having some fun with all the speculation, judging from the gig Moses posted on MySpace for December 31, 2010: "Billy Corgan's House w/Frank Zappa and David Crowder Band." The cost of the gig? $10,000.

MTV.com

Los Angeles, CA - Legendary rock band ALICE IN CHAINS has signed an exclusive worldwide deal with EMI's Virgin Records and are gearing up for the release of their first new studio album in more than 10 years. The band and producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) began recording last October at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and recently finished mixing at Henson Studios in Hollywood. The highly anticipated album is scheduled for release this September.

Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez reunited in 2005 at a benefit for victims of the tsunami in Indonesia. They began touring with new guitarist/vocalist William DuVall the following year.

"It's been a meaningful journey and a hell of a story," says Cantrell. "We're very excited to have a home at Virgin/EMI and are looking forward to writing new chapters in the book of Alice."

"We're in a good place," adds Kinney. "We've made a record that we're really proud of, we've got a team in place that's passionate about the music and we're excited for the fans to hear the new songs."

"Alice In Chains has had a big hand in the evolution of music and I still can't believe we get to work with them," says Rob Stevenson, president of Virgin Records. "This music is going to remind people what we've all been missing."

"There is a tremendous sense of excitement and dedication within EMI around the world as we head into this album release," Added Jeff Kempler, EMI's COO of New Music for North America and the UK, "Alice In Chains' place in rock history is undeniable and when people hear this remarkable new work it will be clear how timeless, potent and visionary this band is."

Alice In Chains were among the headliners at the recent Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, OH. Next up is a July 18 show with Kid Rock at Comerica Park in Detroit, to be followed by festival shows with Metallica overseas, including an August 1 date at Marlay Park in Dublin and an August 2 show at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth. Earlier this year, the quartet took a break from recording to perform a string of shows in Australia with Nine Inch Nails.

Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide and achieved 11 top 10 hit singles.

www.aliceinchains.com/

Green Day will be the musical guest on NBC's Last Call With Carson Daly for four straight nights this week, starting with tonight's show. To close out their Last Call stint, the Bay-area punk rockers will appear as their alter egos the Foxboro Hot Tubs during Friday's episode. Elsewhere, click here to watch video performances from Green Day's May 19 club concert in New York that celebrated the release of the 21st Century Breakdown album.-NBC.com: Last Call With Carson Daly

Soundtrack to Highly Anticipated Summer Sequel Features Music From Linkin Park, Green Day, Nickelback, The Fray, Taking Back Sunday, Cheap Trick And Others

Reprise Records will release the soundtrack to the hotly anticipated feature film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on June 23rd -- the day before the film, the sequel to the 2007 Oscar®-nominated summer blockbuster Transformers, hits theaters nationwide.

The film's director and executive producer Michael Bay asked Warner Bros. Records' multiplatinum rock band Linkin Park to provide the sonic backdrop to the live-action robot fantasy film. Not only did the band write and record the film's theme song, entitled "New Divide," specifically for the soundtrack, they were also asked by Bay, Oscar®-winning composer Hans Zimmer, and award-winning composer Steve Jablonsky to contribute to the score. "New Divide" is currently available for purchase on iTunes.

Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Album also features music from Green Day (who contribute "21 Guns" -- a song from their new album 21st Century Breakdown), Taking Back Sunday, The Used, The All-American Rejects, Cavo, The Fray, Staind, Nickelback, Cheap Trick and more.

In addition to the original soundtrack, Reprise will be releasing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Score, which will also be released on June 23rd.

Opening in theaters on June 24, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro, will be Linkin Park's second project with Bay. The first Transformers film featured the band's smash hit single "What I've Done," which rocketed to No. 1 on both Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts. The double-platinum-selling track was one of five top ten hit singles that appeared on the group's most recent album, Minutes To Midnight, which sold more than six million copies.

In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, debuting June 24, 2009, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. Dream Works Pictures and Paramount Pictures Present In Association with Hasbro A di Bonaventura Pictures Production A Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production A Michael Bay Film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro. The film is directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. Based on Hasbro's Transformers™ Action Figures. Produced by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Ian Bryce. Executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner, and Mark Vahradian. This film has not yet been rated.

The track listing for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Album is as follows:

1. Linkin Park "New Divide"

2. Green Day "21 Guns"

3. Cavo "Let It Go"

4. Taking Back Sunday "Capital M-E"

5. The Fray "Never Say Never"

6. Nickelback "Burn It To The Ground"

7. The Used "Burning Down The House"

8. Theory Of A Deadman "Not Meant To Be"

9. The All-American Rejects "Real World"

10. Hoobastank "Don't Think I Love You"

11. Staind "This Is It"

12. Avenged Sevenfold "Almost Easy"

13. Cheap Trick "Transformers™ The Fallen Remix"

THE BLACK CROWES announce their 2009 'Stuck Inside Utopia" Tour.

'Stuck Inside Utopia' begins August 25, 2009 and continues its run through the end of the year.

The shows will feature over two hours of music culled from the forthcoming new release and the band's deep catalogue. Widely known for varying their nightly set lists performing new material, deep album cuts, rarities and covers in addition to their hits, THE BLACK CROWES, consistently deliver a fresh and unpredictable live show.

Chris Robinson, lead singer for the Black Crowes: "The Black Crowes fearlessly continue to search for the self made utopian ideals that make rock and roll music the last true real American adventure."

Critical acclaim and popular success has seen THE BLACK CROWES sell over 20 million albums worldwide. They are time and again hailed as one of Rock and Roll's best live acts.

THE BLACK CROWES are: Chris Robinson (vocals), Rich Robinson (guitar, vocals), Steve Gorman (drums), Sven Pipien (bass), Adam MacDougall (keyboards) and Luther Dickinson (guitar).

Tickets go on sale for most dates on June 12, 2009 and are available at the box office and through www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets on sale now for Wolftrap in Vienna, VA and The Melody Tent in Hyannis, MA.

TOUR DATES

AUGUST
Tue, August 25 @ Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap/The Filene Center (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale Now)
Wed, August 26 @ Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale Now)
Thu, August 27 @ Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion (w/Levon Helm Band - On Sale 6/12)
Sat, August 29 @ Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Event Center (w/Levon Helm Band - On Sale 6/13)
Sun, August 30 @ Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live (An Evening With - On Sale 6/12)
Mon, August 31 @ Lancaster, PA - American Music Theatre (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/20)

SEPTEMBER
Wed, September 2 @ New York, NY - Rumsey Playfield @ Central Park Summerstage (w/Levon Helm Band and Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/12)
Fri, September 4 @ Westbury, NY - Theatre at Westbury (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/12)
Sat, September 5 @ Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony Summerstage (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/12)
Sun, September 6 @ Virginia Beach, VA - American Music Festival (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale TBA)
Tue, September 8 @ Bridgeport, CT - The Klein (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/14)
Wed, September 9 @ Jim Thorpe, PA - Penn's Peak (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/13)
Fri, September 11 @ Utica, NY - Saranac Brewery (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/12)
Sat, September 12 @ Rama, Ontario - Casino Rama (An Evening With - On Sale 6/14)
Sun, September 13 @ London, Ontario - Centennial Hall (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/12)
Wed, September 16 @ Providence, RI - Lupo's (An Evening With - On Sale 6/12)
Thu, September 17 @ Burlington, VT - Higher Ground (An Evening With - On Sale 6/12)
Fri, September 18 @ Kingston, NY - Ulster Performing Arts Center (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/16)
Thu, September 24 @ Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma State Fair (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/11)
Fri, September 25 @ Huntsville, AL - Big Spring Jam (Festival w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale Now)
Sat, September 26 @ Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/19)
Mon, September 28 @ Oxford, MS - The Lyric (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/19)
Tue, September 29 @ Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/19)
Wed, September 30 @ Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/19)

OCTOBER
Fri, October 2 @ Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/19)
Sat, October 3 @ Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre (w/Truth & Salvage Co. - On Sale 6/14)

Stay tuned for the announcement of more 2009 dates.

For the latest information regarding all things TBC, go to blackcrowes.com.

CONVERSE ANNOUNCES
FALL 2009 MUSIC FOCUSED
PRODUCT COLLABORATIONS
WITH AC/DC AND METALLICA

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.-June 2, 2009 - Converse launches its Fall 2009 collection of collaborations with legendary rock and metal artists AC/DC and Metallica. Iconic band graphics and visuals inspire this unique collection of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoe designs that celebrate two distinct bands that broke musical barriers and brought their inspired originality to music fans globally. With a rich musical heritage, Converse has collaborated with a wide range of groundbreaking artists and musical visionaries of the past, present and future.

AC/DC
In the 70's when rock-and-roll was fading and needed a jolt of power, AC/DC surged onto the scene, showcasing a sound that disrupted the status-quo. In the age of stadium rock, stripped down, pure rock-and-roll was rare, and that basic form of rock combined with AC/DC's thunderous bass, wall-of-sound guitars and arresting vocals was unheard of. The Fall 2009 AC/DC collection is inspired by albums and concert graphics, and is a showcase of a discography and visual history of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Chuck Taylor All Star shoes serve as the canvas for amazing designs each with subtle detail and sonic graphics and logos.

Chuck Taylor All Star shoes are the foundation of the collection. A monochromatic black version is a simple, cool tribute to the landmark album Back in Black, complete with stitched band and album logos. Another model in ultra-premium leather includes "Back in Black" embossed on the upper, iced outsoles and a black band logo bumper on the shoe's sidewall. Graphics from Those About to Rock and the iconic image of Angus and the words "Lock Up Your Daughters" are both a rocker's dream. The Highway to Hell album rounds out the AC/DC Chuck Taylor All Star collection with a super premium high-top with the band logo both on a side bumper and visible through its clean iced-outsole.

AC/DC Chuck Taylor All Star high top shoes are available in black, black/multi, red/white and black AC/DC print canvas versions. Shoes in this collection have a MSRP of $50 - $80 and will be available nationwide at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in June.

Metallica
Pioneers in the world of rock, Metallica tore up the metal scene from the get-go in the 1980s, and brought it back down to earth with an aggressive sound and a style that was antithetical to the excesses of rock music at the time. Relentless, heavy and hard, the sound and style of Metallica not only changed metal; it made them one of the most influential bands of all time. Converse's collaboration with Metallica combines all of the speed and volume of the band, with the spirit of disruption and originality of the Chuck Taylor All Star shoe.

High-tops serve as the perfect backdrop for some of the most classic graphics and logos in music history. Ride the Lightning album graphics look simple and clean with appliqué embossed patch graphics on the classic Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker. Subtle details like logo tongue patches and midsole graphics take the band's iconography a step beyond.

Metallica Chuck Taylor All Star high top shoes are available in black/multi and white/black. Shoes in this collection have a MSRP of $50 and will be available nationwide at specialty retailers, department stores and online at www.converse.com beginning in July.

About Converse
Converse Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc. Established in 1908, the Converse brand has built a reputation as "America's Original Sports Company"™ and has been associated with a rich heritage of legendary shoes such as the Chuck Taylor® All Star® shoe, the Jack Purcell® shoe and the One Star® shoe. Today, Converse offers a diverse portfolio including premium lifestyle men's and women's footwear and apparel. Converse product is sold globally by retailers in over 160 countries and over 40 company-owned retail locations in the U.S. For more information, visit Converse on the web at www.converse.com.

Pearl Jam could not have picked a bigger platform on which to debut their new song, "Get Some," than Conan O'Brien's first "Tonight Show" episode. And the veteran Seattle band did not disappoint, ripping through the blistering track for the first time in public.

The song will appear on the group's forthcoming ninth studio album, Backspacer, due in the fall, which finds them reuniting with longtime producer and friend Brendan O'Brien for the first time in more than a decade.

"Launching a show like this takes a lot of hard work, and one of the things that has sustained me over the past three months was knowing that at the end of our first show, I would get to watch a performance by one of the greatest rock bands in the world," Conan O'Brien gushed as he introduced Pearl Jam.

The band performed another new song called "The Fixer" last week, during a private show at Seattle's Showbox theater that was filmed for a Target commercial, according to Billboard.com. The commercial, filmed by director Cameron Crowe, is part of an exclusive retail deal for the album, which will not be distributed by a traditional record label. Longtime Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis told Billboard that in addition to Target, he is working on deals with an online retailer, a mobile partner, a gaming company and a network of independent retailers. As usual, the CD will also be available through the band's fan club, Ten Club.

"Target ended up allowing us to have other partners," Curtis said. "We'll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan. ... We wish we could tell the whole story right now, but all the deals aren't done. Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition."

While the Showbox gig in front of 300 hired "extras" was intended to cull footage for the Target ad, Curtis said the three or four songs that were filmed at the show may also be used for a project Crowe is working on in connection with the band's 20th anniversary.

Some blogs immediately took PJ to task for cutting a deal with a so-called "big box" retailer after a career spent kicking at the big boys, but Curtis explained that there's more to the agreement than meets the eye.

"Everyone's making assumptions because Target is a big corporation," he said. "It's important to remember we just got out of this 18-year relationship with [former record label] Sony, and I'm pretty sure they are a bigger corporation than Target. We have the freedom to pick our partners and more control than we've ever had before. We're excited to choose who we're in business with."

Looking at the exclusive deal signed by AC/DC to sell their comeback Black Ice at Wal-Mart last year and Radiohead's efforts to self-release In Rainbows, Curtis said he wanted to take those lessons and create a plan that was "multi-dimensional to address old and modern ways of fans accessing music. It will allow all of our fans to have the same access. ... All we've been searching for forever is independence and control over our own stuff. The way of releasing records is changing every day. This is the best way we could do it ourselves in America. Right or wrong, we'll figure that out and make it better the next time." -MTV.com

According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.

Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.

Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right -- he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."

Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."

Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."

Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."