Firewater is about to hit the road in support of the new album "The Golden Hour". Here is the record company hype about the CD, plus the lineup and dates: In 2005, Firewater's Tod A embarked on what would become a 3-year sabbatical through the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. Recording with a single microphone and a laptop in his pack, he captured performances with a vast array of musicians across India and Pakistan -- and eventually Turkey and Israel.

Writing songs about the world he left behind in the US ("This Is My Life") and politics ("Borneo," "Hey Clown"), his acerbic wit shines on The Golden Hour, elucidating both the beauty and the absurdity of his world.

According to a press release, "Mark Hernandez is one of the most dynamic and solid drummers in hard rock/heavy metal today. His aggressive attack and technical ability shine. Mark has proven himself over and over from his time in one of the most respected thrash metal bands of all time, VIO-LENCE, and more recently with HEATHEN and the rebirth of DEFIANCE. Mark will be one of the most watched drummers in hard rock and heavy metal for years to come."

According to Die, "Simon has been an integral part of Die and our music as frontman since the birth of the band, and he will be missed by us and many others. We support Simon in this difficult decision (it's tough to reach 30) and we wish him and Fairytale Abuse all the best in the future."

The deal marks the first time in its seven-year history that Bonnaroo has ever aired on a national television network and will include live on-air programming and on-demand content, as well as extensive marketing and promotion. This year's Festival will feature performances by Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West and Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, along with more than 100 other bands.

Here is the press release: Still jamming as hard and heavy as ever over 35 years since his smashes "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" captured an era in pop history and redefined the possibilities of fusing blues with rock, Edgar Winter (www.edgarwinter.com) continues to defy musical trends by traveling along the Rebel Road. A fresh, dynamic extension of the multi-talented singer, songwriter, keyboardist and saxophonist's classic musical vibe, the perfectly titled album�yes, he still calls his projects "albums"�brings his four decade career full circle with the help of Slash, country superstar Clint Black (on vocals and harmonica) and Winter's equally legendary guitarist brother Johnny Winter. Beyond the all-star contributions, the 11-track collection marks a flourishing of the creative relationship between Winter and Curt Cuomo, who has worked extensively with classic rocker Eddie Money over the past ten years and whose credits include "Pyscho Circus" among numerous songs with Kiss. Cuomo, who first worked with Winter as co-writer of "You Are My Song" on 1999's Winter Blues, co-produced Rebel Road with Winter and is a co-writer on nine songs; he also contributes percussion, vocals and organ work.

Each year, Monolith hand picks an impressive lineup of indie favorites and blog darlings, which for 2008 includes Denver's own Devotchka and French electro-buzz-band Justice as headliners.

Bach: I think it's funny that when Scott Weiland left Velvet Revolver, the last thing he said was, "I think Sebastian Bach would be a good choice for you guys." I think that's because he's alluding to the fact that you can't get away from Guns N' Roses. They're like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. I'm sure he felt frustrated in trying to fill Axl's shoes. Axl texted me right away and asked if I was joining Velvet Revolver, and I said, "No, not that I know of." Axl has been so nice to me, I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize our friendship. I'm in the middle of all these huge rock icons who are calling me at the same time, and I'm sitting there thinking, "How does this f**king happen to me?" Axl said to me, "Dude, the way that you sing is rare." The way that Axl sings is rare too. There's not a lot of guys anymore that can sing in the range that we sing in.

Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan responded to Weinman's statements in an interview with MTV.com. "I never even remember meeting these guys, and I think we know anybody that's even in the room during our soundchecks, so that's shocking to me, because I would think that we would have met them if they were standing there during our soundcheck," Donegan said.

Carrie Underwood was named top female vocalist for the second year in a row and 18-year-old Taylor Swift, country music's hottest young star, snagged her first award and stole the show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a wardrobe-changing, water-drenched performance.

Here is a follow up on the legal fight over the release of those early Beatles live recordings: In a document filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fuego Entertainment filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by Apple Corps. The 21-page document declares, among other things, that Fuego's use of excerpts of the recordings is a non-actionable fair use and that the Beatles had no protectable rights in live performances in 1962. more on the case

Warrant is looking for fans... to design their new DVD. Warrant is putting together a new DVD full of vintage concert footage, backstage antics, interviews, unreleased music. Here's your chance to be a part of it.. and save them the money they would pay an artist! They are looking for a fan to name the DVD and design the artwork. To be fair, they do have some decent prizes for the winnerdetails

Lacuna Coil vocalist Cristina Scabbia has confirmed that she will be performing with Finnish instrumental sensations Apocalyptica at this years Download Festival on Sunday, June 15th. more

The RIAA's legal campaign against file traders had an off week; a judge awarded former defendant Tanya Andersen over $100,000 in court costs and lawyer fees on Wednesday. The figure is about a third of what Anderson and her attorney had originally sought, but remains the largest award to a former P2P defendant since the beginning of the RIAA's litigation effort began. more

It turns out the Yellow Brick Road is actually paved with gold! Sir Elton John will receive $5.2million for a one hour performance, according to reports. The singer is set to appear at a special private concert for a Russian businesswoman. more

The release date for Tesla's "Comin' Atcha Live! 2008" DVD has been changed to July 15. It was originally scheduled for June 24.

Skew Siskin have issued the following update: "Randy Black is leaving Skew Siskin due to ongoing colliding schedules. As many of you know, he's the drummer of Primal Fear and Dusk Machine if you take a look at his MySpace page (recommended) you'll understand straight away that it wouldn't be possible for him to get all bands under one hat, especially around autumn. We therefore took Randy's advice to look for a permanent drummer and agreed that this is the way it should go. more

The world's spotlight on China with the Olympics coming up, Brain Failure, the punk band reigning on the top of China's rock world, and hip-hop's revolutionary Public Enemy, have teamed up and recorded a song to shout out their message to the world. Having Public Enemy's bass player Brian Hardgroove as their producer and Chuck D singing, "A Box On The Broken Ball" turns the people's eyes to China's severe pollution coming from the fast economic growth, and even to global warming and the recent abnormal weather changes. A press conference will be held on April 26 in Beijing to announce the news globally! Brain Failure's third album "Made In China" will be released this Autumn, including "A Box On The Broken Ball". But you can get the single on iTunes now. Brain Failure Myspace

Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars doesn't like the sound of having to continue paying palimony to an ex-girlfriend he is suing, so he is asking a judge if he can suspend the payments until trial, court papers show. Mars maintains that two delays in the start of the trial from January to the current Sept. 15 date have virtually assured Robbie Mantooth of continuing to receive money to which she might not otherwise have been entitled if the musician wins his case. more on the trouble with groupies

In tribute to the 35th anniversary of singer/songwriter Jim Croce's death, the artist's three studio albums will be reissued on CD in September via Rhino.