Thomas, still a member of Matchbox Twenty, is currently promoting a brand-new solo album called Cradlesong. INXS, on the other hand, are currently without a lead singer - this after reality TV show winner JD Fortune quit/talked his way out of the band under rather bizarre circumstances earlier in the year.

The production, based on the Bay Area punks' 2004 concept album of the same name, will premiere at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California in September. But Armstrong hopes that the musical will eventually hit the silver screen, too -- just like a certain campy cult classic.

Artisan News Service recently caught up with Hagar and Anthony to get their thoughts on the induction. "You know, it was a pretty bittersweet thing for me," said Anthony "It was uncomfortable. It was one of the greatest nights, you know, one of the biggest accolades a person in the business can have. To be recognized for everything that we've done. I remember turning to Sammy, I think R.E.M. was playing and we were going, 'Man, it should have been us.'"

Speaking to the press at an awards ceremony, Bruce described Led Zeppelin reunion gig at the 02 Arena as "lame" and chided them: "You're crap and you'll never be anything else. Cream is 10 times the band Led Zeppelin is."

Bennington began working on Dead By Sunrise back in 2006, explaining, "I came up with a few songs that felt and sounded really good, but I knew they weren't right stylistically for Linkin Park. They were darker and moodier than anything I'd come up with for the band. So I decided to work on them on my own rather than turn them over and have them transformed into Linkin Park tracks."

The U.S. tour will hit a total of nine cities, including three dates in New York City. Ticket prices and on-sale dates will vary city to city, but some tickets go on sale as early as this Saturday, August 1.

The singer explains that when he said Def Leppard were better than Poison, he didn't mean Poison literally � and that, as a member of Def Lep, he's entitled to think his band is better than everyone.

Garbage's Shirley Manson is set to feature as a playable character in the forthcoming 'Guitar Hero 5' computer game. Watch a video demo of the game and behind-the-scenes footage of its creation exclusively on NME.COM here

And another Manson is in the news: According to the New York Post, Charles Manson had a guard bring Phil Spector a note of invitation to the cult leader's cell, presumably with the intention of initiating some sort of working relationship. more

AFI have announced that they will play a series of shows in the US this autumn. These will be the band's first shows since they performed at Live Earth in July 2007. more

Ex-Panic! At The Disco members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker have unveiled their new band, The Young Veinsmore

The proposed merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter, should be closely scrutinized by the Justice Department, according to the chair of a Senate antitrust subcommittee and 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. more

Jello Biafra has unveiled a new band called Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. The band's other members include Billy Gould (Faith No More), Kimo Ball (Freak Accident), Ralph Spight (Victims Family), and Jon Weiss, and will release their debut entitled The Audacity of Hype on October 20, 2009 through Alternative Tentacles. more

Grave, has parted ways with bassist Olivier Pinard. the band is currently seeking a replacement. The band comments on the decision, 'For musical and schedule reasons, Olivier Pinard has part ways with the band. That being said, we are immediately looking for a new bassist to fill the missing spot.'more

Sky Eats Airplane and singer Jerry Roush have gone their separate ways. Here's a statement from the band: "After touring for the past two years together, SEA and our singer Jerry Roush have decided to part ways. We hate to see him go, but our creative differences make this the best option for everyone."more

Lawyers for the victims of the Station nightclub fire (Great White) had hoped that their clients would be getting their settlements this summer. Now it looks like the victims will be lucky if they get their money by the end of the year. more

3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold will tie the knot on September 12. The singer got engaged to fianc�e Jennifer Sanderford in late 2008. After the wedding, Arnold says 3DD will begin recording a follow-up to their 2008 self-titled effort.more

This week's Parlour to Parlour features Silian Rail, a guitar-drums instrumental indie rock duo from the Bay Area that strips down and combines the best elements of bands like Tristeza and Tortoise. check it out here

After canceling the rest of their headlining tour due to a death in the family, and then rescheduling part of the tour, Fake Problems has canceled four shows that were set to happen from August 2-6 in Alabama and Florida.more

Wanna watch a new video interview with Edgar Winter? Go more, the link for the interview is on the left hand side of the site.

Bruce Springsteen will play Born To Run in its entirety on September 20 at Chicago's United Center.more

The latest episode of "Talking Metal," contains an interview host Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy conducted with Brendon Small of Metalocalypse and Dethklok. Topics include Dethklok's "The Dethalbum II," King Diamond, Metallica, Mark Hamill, and Gibson guitars. Pictures as well as the podcast can be downloaded here

Metallica performed the "Death Magnetic" track "Suicide & Redemption" for the first time ever Monday night (July 27) at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed here

An up-tempo, tongue-in-cheek tale about the price paid for loving a woman who loves designer labels, the song was penned by Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and singer-songwriter Brett James. "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You" was #1 Most Added in its first and second weeks at radio and is already 15* on the Billboard Country Singles chart.

Phil � who suffers from a rare condition called cardiogenic syncope (which means that the heart sometimes fails to pump enough blood to the brain, resulting in the sufferer blacking out) � wrote in a July 27 message, "Saturday's episode was different than the previous. I felt it before we went on and probably should've gotten oxygen before 'Halo'. Three of the four [onstage] collapses have happened during that song.

The first leg of Ska Is Dead IV toured the western half of the U.S. earlier this year playing to packed venues from Denver to Hollywood. The upcoming tour is no exception and is quickly shaping to be the strongest lineup to date.

The programs include the Irish band's roof-top performance on top of BBC Broadcasting House in London in February 2009.