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Guns N' Postponements 
BraveWords.com reports: A representative of Universal Music has revealed to BW&BK that the previously announced GUNS N' ROSES' Greatest Hits album that was due out on November 25th through Geffen has been pulled from the labels release schedule.

A reason for the cancellation was not given and whether or not the disc will be rescheduled is yet to be seen.

The disc would have included the following tracklisting: 'Welcome To The Jungle', 'Live And Let Die', 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door', 'Sweet Child Of Mine', 'November Rain', 'Patience', 'Paradise City', 'Civil War', 'You Could Be Mine', 'Don't Cry' (original), Yesterdays', 'Ain't It Fun', 'Since I Don't Have You' and 'Sympathy For The Devil'. .-- Click Here for the Full Story

We are waiting on confirmation from Geffen about this. Amazon still shows this disc for pre-order. 

The Darkness Silenced
Aversion reports: Glam-metal screeching is hazardous to your health: Darkness singer Justin Hawkins lost his voice. 

The singer was diagnosed with laryngitis and a swollen gland, a combination of conditions that forced the band to cancel three shows in its native United Kingdom earlier this week. 

"I've often felt a little hoarse of a morning, but usually my hour-long pre-show warm-up blows away the cobwebs. Yesterday was different, and I didn't realise how serious the problem was until around 8.30pm when my voice disappeared altogether," Hawkins wrote on the band's web site. 

The band was touring to support its Permission to Land (2003, Atlantic)- Click Here for the Full Story

iTunes Sells a Million in 3.5 Days
tinfoil music reports: Apple® today announced that Windows users have downloaded more than one million copies of its new iTunes� for Windows digital jukebox software in just three and a half days since its launch last Thursday, and over one million songs have been purchased and downloaded by iTunes users in the same period.. -Click Here for the Full Story

Ozzy The Weakest Link?
From Blabbermouth: Sky News reports that Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he wished he had accepted the chance to appear on "The Weakest Link".

Anne Robinson took the show to the States and did a run over there.

Ozzy said: "I did get an offer but I could not decide if she would just make a fool of me.

"But all in all I think I am quite good at those sort of shows, so now we're talking about me doing the U.K. version."
.- Click Here for the Full Story

Drummer Sues Hendrix
Reuters reports: Drummer Buddy Miles is suing the estate of Jimi Hendrix and several record labels for millions of dollars, alleging he was not paid royalties for his collaborations with the guitarist more than 30 years ago. 

The drummer in Hendrix's short-lived Band of Gypsys, Miles, 56, said in the suit filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, that he received virtually no money for his work. 

The band was formed in 1969 and Miles left a year later. He said his collaborations with Hendrix produced 38 songs that he either performed on or co-wrote, including "Vodoo Child," "Rainy Day Dream Away," and "Machine Gun." 

"Buddy helped Jimi co-write songs during the course of their friendship and partnership," said Brenton Horner, a lawyer for Miles. 

As an unknown in 1965, Hendrix signed a one-page contract to create an album for Ed Chalpin, a principal in independent label PPX. Hendrix, Miles and bassist Billy Cox formed the Band of Gypsys, one of the first all-black rock bands, to make an album to fulfill Hendrix's obligation to PPX, according to the suit. 

Horner said there was a "verbal understanding" between Miles and Hendrix that they would share proceeds of the songs, but their professional relationship got sidetracked. Horner said Miles left the band after Hendrix's manager sabotaged a performance in Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 1970, by slipping Hendrix LSD backstage prior to the show, rendering him unable to perform. Hendrix died in September 1970. Click Here for the Full Story

More Unreleased Strummer
Billboard reports:  Joe Strummer's recording career isn't likely to end with this week's Hellcat/Epitaph release of "Streetcore," his posthumously completed third album with the Mescaleros. According to his former Mescaleros bandmate Martin Slattery, the ex-Clash frontman left behind reels upon reels of homemade recordings, some of which date back several years. 

Slattery told Billboard.com that Strummer left behind a slew of eight-track recordings captured in his home studio in Plymouth, England. 

"There's loads of reels that haven't been listened to properly yet, all these tapes that he kind of doodled around on," he said. "We've listened to bits of it and found some kind of stuff that relates to what were doing, but nothing totally new. But I'm not sure whether they've all been completely listened to." 

Because the recordings were done on tape -- and because some predate the formation of the Mescaleros in the late-'90s -- they are being copied and archived by a Strummer family friend. The studio where these recordings were made is pictured in the "Streetcore" liner notes. 

In addition, there are a number of unreleased Clash recordings that now stand a better chance than ever of seeing daylight. According to a source, when the Legacy label reissued the Clash catalog in the late-'90s, Strummer opposed the inclusion of any extras and rarities on the various albums. The singer apparently didn't like the idea of his fans having to buy the albums twice in order to score the new material. Click Here for the Full Story

Corgan Blindsided
The PRP reports: Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan fame will be guest appearing on a track from Blindside's upcoming new album, "About A Burning Fire". Corgan recently tracked some guitar parts for the bands new song "Hooray, It's L.A.", which will show up on the new effort, due out early next year through 3 Points/Elektra..- Click Here for the Full Story

Elliot Smith RIP
NME reports: Singer-songwriter ELLIOTT SMITH has died, according to reports.

Fan websites and various radio stations claim that the singer passed away yesterday (October 21) at the age of 34. The official cause of death is currently unclear.

Born in 1969, Smith loved music from an early age. He released five albums, the most critically acclaimed in the mid-90s, titled 'Either / Or' and 'XO'. 

His most mainstream success however came when his song 'Miss Misery' from the film Good Will Hunting' was nominated for an Academy Award in 1997.

At the time of his death Smith was working on a new album, which had a working title of 'From A Basement On the Hill', which was set for completion later this year.

A UK spokesperson for the singer is currently unable to confirm the reports. This story will be updated as more details emerge.
- Click Here for the Full Story

Flawed Drummer
The PRP reports: FLAW have parted ways with their drummer Chris Ballinger and are currently seeking a replacement. Auditions will be held over the next thirty days in New York City, NY, those interested "must be young, aggressive, tasteful and familiar with drum duties in a genre such as Flaw. Must be ready to tour relentlessly as the band will begin touring in January 2004. NO DRAMA!" Those who think they are right for the role can contact the bands management at [email protected]. At present FLAW are in the studio tracking their upcoming new album with producer David Bottrill (Tool, Mudvayne). The drumming duties are being handled by a studio/session drummer. Songs tentatively set to be recorded for the album include:

"You've Changed"
"Twenty"
"Endangered Species"
"Final Cry"
"Turn The Tables"
"Medicate"
"Decide"
"Many Faces"
"One Step At A Time"
"Can't Forget"
"Not Enough"
"Recognize"
"World's Divide"
"Wait For Me"
The as-yet untitled effort will be released early next year through Republic/Universal.
.-Click Here for the Full Story 

Skynyrd Gibson
Billboard reports: Gibson Guitar's Custom Division has created a signature model dedicated to late Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins. 

Crafted to replicate the 1958 Gibson Explorer that Collins used, the edition is limited to 100 guitars and carries a suggested list price of $11,716. Full details can be found on the Gibson Web site (http://www.gibson.com). 

Collins, who co-wrote such tunes as "Tuesday's Gone," "Free Bird" and "That Smell," died of pneumonia in 1990, aged 37, a few years after being paralyzed in a car wreck that killed his girlfriend.- Click Here for the Full Story

Van History DVD
Blabbermouth reports: A brand new VAN HALEN DVD, "The Van Halen Story: The Early Years", is slated for release on November 25 through Passport Video.

"The Van Halen Story: The Early Years" (view cover here) chronicles the rise of four young musicians from their formative years to their transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. Witness the group's gripping tale told by the people who were there when it began - the childhood friends, fellow musicians, roadies, bodyguards, producers, and the band themselves. Rare footage and never-before-seen photos help document their remarkable story.

An amazing documentary about the formative years of one of the best rock and roll bands ever, the DVD covers all the years with David Lee Roth, and concentrates mostly on the club days and the first world tour..- Click Here for the Full Story

Crossroads Justice
AP Reports: The Mississippi Supreme Court has ended a legal battle over the photographs and songs of bluesman Robert Johnson, saying his son is the sole heir to the royalties. 

Johnson, a traveling musician who recorded "Cross Road Blues," "Rambling on My Mind" and "Hellhound on My Trail," is considered the first modern bluesman, linking the country blues of the Mississippi Delta with the city blues of post-World War II. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. 

Johnson died in Leflore County in 1938 at age 27 without leaving a will. He died nearly penniless, but his music now enjoys international acclaim and has stacked up royalties. - Click Here for the Full Story

Rocktober Song of the Day

**Press Releases**
Snippets from some of the press releases that have come in over the past 24 hours

Amen Killing Joke
Amen, named 'Best Live Band in the World, 2003' by the UK¹s Metal Hammer magazine, will join up with Killing Joke beginning Thursday, October 30 in Cleveland, Ohio for twelve U.S. dates.   These dates will mark the first time Amen has toured the U.S. in nearly three years. Amen will include in their set songs from their upcoming CD, tentatively entitled 'Death Before Musick' which will be released next Spring on EatUrMusic/Sony, the label launched by System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian.

Huge in the UK for the past several years, Amen recently sold out their entire British tour three weeks before they set foot on English soil, despite the fact they hadn¹t released a new CD there in nearly two years. In addition, the group was the only unsigned act to play the Main Stage at last year¹s Reading Festival.  Amen has been a fixture on the UK media¹s 'Best' lists -- Metal Hammer named the band's 2000 album 'We Have Come for Your Parents' one of the Top 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, and Kerrang!'s Readers Poll pegged the band as the #1 Best Unsigned Band earlier this year. The NME called Amen 'one of the most exciting bands to grace these shores since Nirvana,' and even Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols commented that Amen was 'far more pissed off than the Pistols ever were.' 

Amen¹s line-up is:  Casey Chaos/vocals; Matt Montgomery/guitar; Rich Jones/guitar; Scott S. Sorry/bass; Luke Johnson;drums, and the band¹s tour dates are as follows:

OCTOBER
30  Agora Theatre, Cleveland, OH
31  Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI

NOVEMBER
 1  Metro, Chicago, IL
 2  The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
 3  Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis, MN
 5  Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO
 6  DV8, Salt Lake City, UT
 8  Berbati¹s Pan, Portland, OR
 9  Showbox, Seattle, WA
13  Slim¹s, San Francisco, CA
14  El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
15  The Scene, San Diego, CA

Indie Disty
Orchard Global Media Group (GMG) announced today that it has finalized a high seven-figure equity investment by a private fund investing exclusively in independent music.  

The Orchard, founded in 1997 by legendary songwriter, producer, and Sire  Records Co-founder Richard Gottehrer, and artist manager Scott Cohen, was the first company in the history of the music business to provide access to traditional retail distribution for independent artists and smaller independent labels.  Today, The Orchard boasts the largest catalog of independent music in the world, with over 120,000 tracks from 2,500 labels representing music from 48 countries, and every sub-genre.

"We are thrilled to have Greg join us to lead the company into the new  digital music era," said Gottehrer, who will remain chairman of the  company.  "He is a talented and capable executive with the right mix of  skills to move the company to the next level.  We are also excited to  finally be in a position financially to realize the vision of The Orchard - which is to ensure that artists throughout the world have a level playing field for distributing their music, in any format, anywhere." 

"Our first order of business is getting right with the artists and labels that have patiently stuck it out with us despite the challenges The Orchard  faced over the past several years," said Scholl  "After receiving funding,  we paid out a substantial amount to our artists and labels.  We are in the  process of implementing clearer policies about payment terms, along with making technology investments that will allow artists who use our service complete transparency into their accounts - what is where, what sold when, 
and what was paid when."

Other priority initiatives include cementing business relationships with all of the existing and planned Digital Music Service Providers (DMSPs), and working with exclusive referral partner Loudeye (NASDAQ: LOUD) to ensure titles are encoded, loaded into the services, and made available for sale in a timely manner.

"It is thrilling for Scott and I to finally see the right pieces in place to make our vision for The Orchard a reality," said Gottehrer.  "This is the most exciting time in my 40 years as part of the ebb and flow of the music industry - it's like the birth of rock and roll, all over again."
 

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