This was not expected to be the time when the next VH tour would be announced, but some lines got crossed and the information was brought during the Q&A.

Zakk's Twitter account was updated on Wednesday with this message: "Sorry... calling this a roller coaster ride would be an understatement. Zakk's still clotting and we just can't get the meds therapeutic. Thanks for all the prayers and Get Wells. I will keep you updated. God Bless."

Guitarist Rab Allan admitted they hadn't seen him since last Friday and were starting to worry. He says, "We did a festival in Italy and came back and the last I've seen of him was at the airport. The last we heard of him was after we got off the plane on Friday. I emailed him but he didn't reply. We thought he would turn up at the Mercury Prize at the last minute."

Rock Band � the Beatles' version of which is released today � and Guitar Hero both award points to players using plastic controllers who follow the button-pressing sequence on screen, based on well-known songs by world-class bands. The bands make money from the tie-in and other bands make money and gain exposure for having their songs used as rounds of the game. But while it's generally accepted as a good way to encourage people to discover new music, it's less effective at encouraging people to start their own bands, say Wyman and Mason.

Speaking to the BBC during the recording of a charity single, Wyman says: "It makes less and less people dedicated to really get down and learn an instrument. I think it's a pity � so I'm not really keen on that stuff."

He says in a statement, "The dates in India were to be with Dizzy Reed, Eric Dover (Slash's Snakepit) and myself as well as Gilby Clarke's bassist Muddy Stardust. Those dates moved to October (NOT NOVEMBER and not in the city of Bengaluru) and Dizzy Reed CANNOT and WILL NOT be in India for any event as far as I am aware of. At least not any event involving me. (Kids, don't try to read into that, but I simply don't speak for GN'R in any way, shape or form)."

Introduced by a mutual friend in January, Curiel and Buckner began exploring the idea of making music together. Curiel called in his longtime friend Loeffler, with Rossi joining the crew in June. The innovative band's MySpace page features the spanking new musical gems "Live Again" and "Where I Want to Be." Both songs give a glimpse of the anthemic rock Daylight Division will be unleashing when their forthcoming album debuts in 2010. The songs feature inspired musicianship, combining one part strut, one part sincerity and all parts rock.

"We've always loved heavy music with no loyalty to any genre, style, approach or 'fashion' and this tour is just a taste of that non-allegiance," says Norma Jean frontman Cory Brandan. "Arsonists are an insane band from Santa Cruz. The Chariot are our good friends from our home state of Georgia. I'm really looking to hearing the songs from their new record live. We may even join each other on stage once in a while. Horse The Band is such a different sounding band. You can tell they really love what they do and have fun doing it. That's something we love about any band."

Those diehard fans - at least those who actually managed to walk away with product in hand - said they were more than happy to open their wallets for the latest and greatest Beatles package, even if they've bought into the hype before.

Having spent the last 4 months in Seattle's Avast! Recording Co and Electrokitty Recording studios, working on their highly anticipated fourth studio album, the band is looking forward to debuting their new material to fans in a live setting.

I've long had a fascination with rivers in songs. I think it comes from my love of Bruce Springsteen's "The River", or maybe "Suzanne's place by the river" in Leonard Cohen's beautiful old standard. The mystic "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead may have also played a part. Nearly everyone grows up with a river near by, so I guess its easy to visualize a scene when a song is set there. In songs, "the river" seems to hold this mythical status, as if it were a place of baptism and cleansing, where someone comes of age. It holds a ceremonial quality if you will.

The idea of the mythical river acted as the lynch pin to Hooting and Howling. I had the opening verse� "Carry me hooting and howling to the river to wash off my hands of the hot blood the sweat and the sand. Any rival who goes for our girls will be left thumb sucking in terror and bereft of all coffin bearers"� The river here is in a sense, holy water, purifying you of all the bad you have done. I was however, struggling to get any further than this.

I have at home, a very messy, but quite fascinating demo of the first time we started to play the song together last summer. As we played, amongst the rubble of ideas and potential parts, this twinkling glass-like riff started to develop, first through Tom on the keyboard, then through Benny on guitar. It was a sort of eureka moment, something to cling to. Not that we knew it at the time, our booked rehearsal slot quickly ran out and we had to pack up and leave. We wouldn't return to the song for six months.

It was now December, a week before Christmas day I seem to remember. We had a studio in place, ready and waiting for the New Year and the recording of Two Dancers. We were in a state of controlled panic, knowing there were a few pieces missing in the album but having little time to fill them. Laurence Bell, the head of Domino Records came up to see how we were getting on, perhaps checking we weren't about to piss his investment away. Amongst a few other ideas he heard, we played him this really rough demo of the then untitled Hooting and Howling. Immediately a light bulb went off above his head. Even though it was basically a riff with me screaming over the top, he nodded his head and said assertively "Keep going with this one." We left for the pub, festive drinks were in order.

That afternoon, though slightly wobbly legged, we started to play the idea again. Very quickly the whole thing crystallized. The title, the arrangement, the structure, the chorus, the intro and the outro all came together as if they had always been there, like fossils that we were simply uncovering. I realized I didn't need any more words or parts, this is pop man! The refrain does all the work for you.