Click Here To Bookmark our new address DayInRock.com

Van Halen Reunion Rumors Abound
BW&BK reports: Reports from MelodicRock.com suggest that the VAN HALEN rumor machine is now in full gear. A representative of the site has posted the following: 

"A few very positive developments from the last few days. The first development comes from SAMMY HAGAR's own website administrator. She has remained tight-lipped since I broke news of Hagar's move back to Van Halen on November 20. But this week she was again asked two questions - 1. Is Sam working with Van Halen again? and 2. Is the rumored Best Of Vol 2 a reality?" Her reply: "Number 1 and 2 you'll hear soon..."

Ok, then this... from Grant Fisher of the now closed VHND. He posted this e-mail he received: "A friend of mine named (removed) has been friends with Sammy Hagar for years. Anyway, he told me tonight that it's official that Sammy is back with Van Halen and that Sammy is playing some show in Walnut Creek, CA and he is going to make the announcement."

And finally, A&R guru John Kalodner responded to a question e-mailed to him via his site:

Q: Looks like we may see the return of Van Halen with Sammy Hagar! Do you think they will sign with Sanctuary or try for Warner Bros. again?? Plus do you think we will see a Best Of Vol.2 before we see any new material? And will we have to wait till fall 2004 for VH to return?

John's answer: "I'm not sure about any of this. I think Sammy may be back with Van Halen, but I'm not positive. I think there may be one or two new songs for a second volume of Best Of. I would love to sign them to Sanctuary, but they may want to stay with Warner Bros. I would love for them to tour again. Nothing is definite and we'll just have to wait and see what lies ahead for Van Halen." Click Here for the Full Story 

Mars Volta On Tour
The PRP reports: The Mars Volta will be shipping their track "Televators" to radio on February 10th. In touring news, the band have firmed up their itinerary, dates are as follows:

January 07th Tokyo, JPN - Shibuya AX
January 08th Nagoya, JPN - Club quattro
January 10th Tokyo, JPN - Club quattro
January 11th Osaka, JPN - Club quattro
January 15th Auckland, NZ - Galatos
January 16th Auckland, NZ - Ericsson Stadium (Big Day Out)
January 18th Gold Coast, AUS - Gold Coast Parklands (Big Day Out)
January 22nd Sydney, AUS - The Metro
January 23rd Sydney, AUS - Sydney Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
January 24th Sydney, AUS - Sydney Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
January 26th Melbourne, AUS - RAS Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
January 28th Melbourne, AUS - The Hi Fi Bar
January 30th Adelaide, AUS - Royal Adelaide Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
February 01st Perth, AUS - Claremont Showgrounds (Big Day Out)
Click Here for the Full Story 

Rush Guitarist Police Brutality Suit
MTV reports: Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson may sue Naples, Florida, authorities for police brutality following a New Year's Eve fight with cops at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel restaurant, according to a source close to the normally mellow Canadian rocker.

During the melee, police broke the 50-year-old Lifeson's nose and zapped him four times with a stun gun. After being treated for his injuries, Lifeson (born Alex Zivojinovich) was taken to Collier County Jail, where he was photographed in a black jacket and blood-spattered tuxedo shirt. The guitarist spent two nights behind bars before posting $14,500 bail on Friday. Click Here for the Full Story 

Soundtrack of our Lives
NME.com reports: THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES will release a new album and single this spring.

After an inactive 2003, the Swedish psychedelic rockers put out a Christmas single at the end of the year. �Jingle Hell (Stuck In The Chimney)' / �X-mas (Ich Habe Keine Angst)' is still available to download via tsool.net.

Now, the band have announced that the comeback single proper will be called �Karmageddon', although no release date is set. The single was previously titled �Ecstasy'.

The band's fourth album, expected in March, has the working title of �Origin'. Click Here for the Full Story 

Liars Wrong
press release reports: LIARS will release their new album, They Were Wrong So We Drowned on February 24, 2004 through Mute. The album was recorded by David Sitek (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio). This is the follow up to They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top; a striking debut from one of the most talked about bands recently. 

The new album explores themes of witchcraft, folklore, mayhem and paranoia, exemplified by the songs "Broken Witch," "There's Always Room on the Broom," "They Don't Want Your Corn, They Want Your Kids" and "Hold Hands and it Will Happen Anyway." LIARS recently played these new songs at an unannounced packed show (with TV on the Radio, Young People) at the Knitting Factory on Sept. 27, 2003. The tribal beats and visceral energy unleashed elicited an almost ritualistic reaction from the crowd. They responded by surrendering themselves to mere instinct and impulse in a truly primeval manner, dancing, jolting, and flailing under the beguiling spell of the new songs. Known for their frenzied live performances, LIARS have headlined their own national tour as well as have played with Sonic Youth, John Spencer Blues Explosion and Yeah Yeah Yeahs who they are currently touring with in Australia. Click Here for the Full Story 

Urge Overkill Reunite
Aversion reports: After six years out of the spotlight, Urge Overkill announced a string of four dates that start later this month. 

Best known for its cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, Urge Overkill eventually broke up on 1997. No word has been issued if the act will play or record beyond the dates it announced. 

Urge Overkill's tour dates are: 

Jan. 15 - The Casbah, San Diego
Jan. 16 - Troubadour, Hollywood
Feb. 5 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, N.J.
Feb. 6 - The Bowery Ballroom, New York 
Click Here for the Full Story 

Ted Nugent Political Speaker?
Blabbermouth reports: Jon Gambrell of The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Ted Nugent will talk about his political views for this year's Conservative Week at Miami University. 

His speech is scheduled for February 19 and will be sponsored by Miami's College Republicans.

Matt Nolan, a junior political science and history major and president of College Republicans, says that choosing Nugent was perfect for the largely apolitical student body. 

"When you hear people talking about politics, they just don't care," the 21-year-old from Salem, Wisc., said. "Part of the reason we wanted to bring him is because some people don't like him. We want to counter the liberalism that dominates college campuses." 

Miami senior Tamara Matheson, president of the campus group Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said that she objected to Nugent's active role in campaigning for expanded rights for hunters and gun owners, but respected the fact that Nugent uses all of the animals he kills.

"I understand where he's coming from, especially with the antibiotics used on huge corporate farms," she said. "It still doesn't make it right." Click Here for the Full Story 

Get Damageplan Now
siN's metal news reports: Elektra have issued the following 'Press Release' regarding recent signing DAMAGEPLAN

"Straight from the evolving legacy of Pantera, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell have formed DAMAGEPLAN - the new hard rock and heavy metal sledgehammer built upon devastation and straight up ass kicking. DAMAGEPLANmusic speaks for itself and they wouldn't have it any other way - you can listen to three tracks right now on the band's official website: http://www.DAMAGEPLAN.com

If you must own those tracks immediately, you can purchase them on Apple iTunes for only 99 cents per track.

Now, if you don't already know, DAMAGEPLAN is made up of:
- Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul from Pantera still commanding the guitars and drums
- Patrick Lachman from Halford and Diesel Machine who destroys the microphone with lethal vocals
- Bob Zilla...the man who possesses bass skills like a true monster

'New Found Power' by DAMAGEPLAN - In-Stores February 10th Click Here for the Full Story 

A Perfect Prediction
We can confirm that A PERFECT CIRCLE is starting to book some more shows for the first part of 2004. The first tentative date is March 26th at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. Support will either come from CURSIVE or MARS VOLTA. - Click Here for the Full Story 

BioKittie
Blabbermouth reports: BIOHAZARD guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei and KITTIE bassist Jennifer Arroyo have joined forces in a brand-new band called RODEK.

The five-piece group, which is completed by Karl Bernholtz (vocals, THE GROOVNIX), AJ Marchetta (guitars) and Dan Lamagna (drums), finished recording several demo tracks at UndergroundSound studios in South Amboy, New Jersey (owned by Graziadei and BIOHAZARD drummer Danny Schuler). Click Here for the Full Story 

311, Seal Rehash The 80s
Billboard reports: A slew of 1980s modern rock classics are reborn on the soundtrack to the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore comedy "50 First Dates." Due Feb. 3 via Maverick, the set features such artists as Seal, Black Eyed Peas and 311 covering the likes of Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure and Spandau Ballet, respectively.

Veteran U.K.-based reggae outfit UB40's remake of the Police smash "Every Breath You Take" will be the first radio single released from the soundtrack. Other covers include 311's version of the Cure's "Love Song," Seal's take on Echo's "Lips Like Sugar" and Ziggy Marley's interpretation of the Cars' "Drive."

Wyclef Jean and Eve team up on the Outfield's "Your Love," while Jason Mraz reinvents Modern English's "I Melt With You," Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath takes a solo turn on the Psychedelic Furs' "Ghost in You" and the Black Eyed Peas revamp Spandau Ballet's "True." Click Here for the Full Story 

Rock Reads
A little over a month ago we posted the two press releases that follow. I had a chance to read both books over Christmas and thought I'd repost the press releases for those that might have missed them the first time. Both make for great rock reads (or in the case of Lisa's book is it rock reed?). 

Billy McCarthy is best know for his work with Chicago rockers D'molls who put out a couple of albums on Atlantic records in the late 80's and shared the stage with Guns N' Roses, KISS, Cheap Trick and more. His brings a lot of his experience with the darker side of the entertainment industry into his book. 

Lisa Reed is the wife of long time Guns N' Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed. Dizzy joined GNR while the group was recording Use Your Illusion I&II and aside from Axl is longest running member still in the band. Lisa's book reads a little like a rock n roll tell-all but also captures the seductive allure of fame and the consequences of getting personally caught up in the crazy world of music. 

Check out the press releases below and click on the full story links to learn more about the books and how to get your hands on them. 

GNR Wife Authors Book 
press release: Lisa Reed has a new book in stores. That last name may seem familiar to you, Lisa is married to long time (and current) Guns N' Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed. Here is the press release about the book: 

Lisa Reed
Lisa Reed is by vocation a sensational writer, by profession a teacher of children with special educational needs and, through her marriage to Dizzy Reed of Guns n' Roses, she is right at the centre of Californian rock. 

A true Californian, where she still resides, Lisa is the mother of two beautiful daughters. 

Sabra's Soul
From the heart of the California rock music scene comes this story of much more than just love and betrayal. 

Does Sabra know who she is? She thinks she is a loving mother and a trusting wife, but her husband Logan, a powerful figure in rock music, seems consumed by commitments to his latest band, 23 Mystique. Sabra begins to feel that something is missing, to feel a yearning for something more. Is she too trusting and too slow to spot Logan's lapses in behaviour? 

When Sabra meets the pop idol of her sub-teen daughters, things begin to change. She can't believe the attraction growing in her for this youthful figure, her junior by several years. 

Lisa Reed paints a picture of virtue and vice in this tale of love, lust, betrayal and drug-induced psychosis, set amidst the glitter of the rock scene. It is not fate that leads these people on but their own actions. Can they help it and where does it lead? 

Who better than Lisa Reed, with her access to the centre of rock, to weave this tense plot as it descends from the social whirl into the deadly serious. If you are a successful rock star, this is a book for you, and if not ... well, read on and dream. 

Health warning: this book contains salacious sex scenes demanded by its setting. 

Sabra's Soul is available in online bookstores such as www.amazon.com or direct from the publisher at www.twentyfirstcenturypublishers.com, or you may order a copy in your local bookstore by quoting ISBN number 1-904433-07-3. Click Here for the Full Story 

D'Molls, The Devil & Shakespeare 
Press Release Billy McCarthy.com: Press Release: Chicago rocker Billy Mccarthy( A.K.A Billy Dior/D'molls) signs book deal with independent publisher Benbella Books; 

The Devil Of Shakespeare is a fascinating commentary on the underbelly of the entertainment industry; 

Chicago musician Billy McCarthy, who frequently works with elite members of the music industry, has started singing a whole new tune and is focusing his creative energy in a new direction. Novels. Billy McCarthy, who has signed a deal with BenBella Books, is about to release his much-anticipated first novel, THE DEVIL OF SHAKESPEARE. 

For McCarthy, going from drummer to author hasn't been a leap, but the next natural step in the evolution of his creative instincts. "It's all about beat, drama and timing," McCarthy explains. "Storytelling, like rock & roll, has to have a pulse. When I write, I hear the rhythm of the narrative in my head, just like I hear the rhythm of the music when I play. My goal is always the same whether I'm the musician trying to excite an audience or the author trying to engage the reader-keeping it straight and simple, but keeping it thunderous." 

THE DEVIL OF SHAKESPEARE, is already generating a buzz with critics and is receiving a great deal of attention from insiders. Before the manuscript was even complete, one of Chicago's top local papers, The Daily Southtown did a feature on McCarthy's pending contribution to the local literary scene. 

Writing this book has not only allowed McCarthy to explore a new creative side, but also given him the chance to shed insight into the world of celebrities and media, with which so many people in this society are obsessed. 

"This book, though I wrote it to be entertaining, also communicates a strong message about fame. I wanted it to inspire readers to look deep inside their own psyches when it comes to who they look up to and why," said McCarthy. Click Here for the Full Story