A double dose of ZZ Top arrives CD and DVD formats October 20.  Each Double Down Live disc is culled from concerts nearly 30 years apart. The '08 concert performance in Essen, Germany done for the Rockalast TV series features all but one song fromt the blockbuster album Deguello, along with tunes from the blues-boogie infused Tres-Hombres and Fandango.  Disc 2, captured during the Texas trio's European tour last year, includes a couple of more recent Top tunes but draws mostly from the band's stripped down earlier period, bringing back the bad-ass sound the band has returned to live that made ZZ Top such a great band to begin with.  The DVD features interview segments and behind the scenes shots of the band on the road in Europe. Get the track list here.
Eagle Rock Entertainment

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Ron Wood should soon be able to pursue his widely publicized romance with Katia Ivanova as an unmarried man.  Citing a News Of The World report, the Daily News says the Rolling Stones guitarist and Jo Wood have agreed to settle the divorce she filed for after Wood struck up an affair with the 20 year old waitress.  The agreement will apparently cost Wood nearly $20 million, plus their home in Kingston, UK which is worth nearly that amount.  The couple's $6+ million dollar home in Ireland could also end up in her name.  If finalized, the divorce marks the end of one of the more durable marriages in Rock.  London bookmakers and Vegas odds makers can now give their full attention to how long the affair or eventual marriage with Ivanova lasts.
Daily News 

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The anniversary of the release of Born To Run, the 1975 album that turned the E Street Band from a group you could catch in clubs for as little as $5 into one of the world's leading stadium attractions was marked about a week ago. Springsteen celebrated the early success of that release by replacing his ride with a Corvette. He can now afford to live anywhere he likes. A reminder of how Spartan things were for The Boss in those days is up for sale in the West End section of Long Branch, New Jersey.  The simple bungalow Bruce is said to have lived in when he wrote a number of the songs for Born To Run is listed for sale for $299,000.  Get a look at it and find out more here.
RedBankGreen.com    RedBankOrbit.com

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All hours parties, TV sets splashing down in pools (Keith Moon of the Who once parked a car in the swimming pool of a Michigan hotel), and sleep deprived guests made many less than welcome in hotels.  The Rolling Stones once filed suit against a host of New York hotels the band contended had blacklisted the group.   So the idea of a motel chain doing a promotion to attract touring bands is a surprise.  Motel 6 is betting their offer of up to 6 weeks of free lodging for bands on tour will put emerging group members on their best behavior and earn the chain credit among younger travelers.  The Rock Yourself To Sleep promotion launches in September. 
Examiner.com

Suggestions of foul play in the drowning death of Brian Jones 40 years ago have swirled around for years.  British authorities now say that new evidence has come to light that warrants further review of the circumstances of the death, which went into the official record as death by misadventure.  A police spokesman said that the new information was under review, but the BBC report indicates that a new investigation into the case has not been opened as of yet.  Jones died at 27 in the pool on his Cotchford Farm home in Sussex, a former residence of AA Milne, the writer of Winnie-The-Pooh, about a month after learning that the band had decided to replace him.
News.bbc.co.uk

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Bruce Hornsby has landed a spot in the premier week of the Jay Leno Show on NBC.  He will be joined on the September 17 edition of the new prime time show by Eric Clapton, who also guests on the new Hornsby album, Levitate, (story) which gets released Sept. 15.  The Leno move to a 10p Eastern time slot premiers Sept. 14.

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Artimus Powell got the verdict he hoped for Friday (8/28) when a jury in St. Johns County Florida pronounced him not guilty on three charges he faced related to a 1993 plea he entered in a case involving improper sexual contact with a minor.  As a result of the original case, Powell was required to register as a sex offender.  He was arrested for failing to do so in Florida last November when he applied for a drivers license in St. Augustine.  Powell maintained he was still a resident of North Carolina at the time.  The not guilty verdicts on all charges came after less than four hours of deliberation.  Powell attributed the outcome to his fate being "...in the hands of six people that really paid attention."
St. Augustine Record

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A good indication of just how massive and complex the stage U2 is using on its current tour is came with the announcement that a 3 hour change in the kickoff time of a Jets football game  required the concert slated to take place two days earlier to be rescheduled to be sure the crew would have enough time to get the stage off the field.  The Sept. 25th Giants Stadium date has been changed to the 23d.  The show on the 24th remains on that date.  The Claw, as the stage has come to be known, is the largest and most technically advanced concert tour stage ever assembled.  The band is using three of them, each transported by a huge fleet of trucks.

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Jeff Beck, members of Journey, Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith veteran Steve Winwood, Chris Hillman of the Byrds, blues greats James Cotton and John Mayall, reggae master Toots Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals  and eclectic mainstay Tom Waits are among the more than 50 artists and music industry insiders grading the song writing talent for this year's International Songwriting Competition.  With $150,000 in prizes including $25k to the writer of the top overall song, the contest is certain to get the attention of aspiring writers in all 21 song categories.  Get entry info here.
Songwritingcompetition.com

The Can't Stop Rockin' Tour won't, as Styx and REO Speedwagon are adding additional dates to one of the summer's most affordably priced tours.  Styx will have a few days off between August 29 and September 4, when it picks things up with REO in Bismark, ND before embarking on a series of dates on their own during the rest of September.  The October schedule includes an even number of solo and co-headlining shows featuring Styx and REO in the south before the two groups close things out together with a pair of Ohio dates in November.

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John Paul Jones, Nirvana & Foo Fighter Dave Grohl and Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme got off to a roaring start a few weeks ago with a midnight club show in Chicago (story).  YouTubers had shaky footage of the super group online just minutes after hitting the stage.   Even with the crappy video and sound quaility of those recordings you could tell that that this group is a slam dunk.  Now, the band has posted some top notch rehearsal session footage that gives even more reason to look forward to an album and tour - hopefully several of both.  Check it out here.

The irony of a musician who famously proclaimed "...hope I die before I get old"  writing a new collection of songs about growing old is not lost on Pete Townshend, who says his band will "...take on aging and mortality using the powerfully angry context of Rock & Roll."  Floss, expected to be out in 2010, draws on the approach the Who used on its landmark releases Tommy and Quadrophenia to tell the story of a former club musician who is compelled to return to performing after one of his old songs gets used in a car ad campaign, bringing the fame and recognition that had eluded him in his youth.  Townshend believes the project will have meaning for multiple generations because it addresses relationships between parents, children and grandchildren.  The Who plan to take the show on the road in 2011.
New York Daily News

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The Lone Star State accomplished what Canadians couldn't (story) when 1,859 six string toting Texans at a festival eclipsed the record of 1802 set in Germany.  Expect the Germans to appeal - the new record was reached with acoutstic guitars, while the record that fell and the subsequent attempt to beat it involved electric instruments.  Two nice notes about the new record: Guitarist #1803 played a Gibson Les Paul in tribute to the guitar pioneer who died recently at 94 (story), and proceeds from the event and the auction of that guitar went to the Welcome Home Project, a campaign that provides music therapy for wounded troops.
Gibson.com

A visit to an ER after a Montana concert and follow-up treatment at a Spokane, Washington hospital did not solve the blood clot problem for Zakk Wylde.  Now hosptialized in Eugene, Oregon, Wylde has been forced to cancel the remainder of his Black Label Society tour while doctors seek to solve the problem.  A post on the Twitter account tied to the guitarist said that blood clots had been detected in both lungs as well as a leg.

Bob Dylan can be so hard to understand in concert that well known songs are half over before fans recognize them.  So Bob doing voice commands for a GPS company may be about as useful as a blind guide dog.  You could end up in some real interesting places, though.  What may have been just a joking comment made on his satellite radio show has created enough of a stir that the man known for No Direction Home could end up riding shotgun even if he was kidding. 
PrefixMag.com

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Drummer Richie Hayward is suffering from severe liver disease that has forced him to go on hiatus from Little Feat while he undergoes tests and treatment.  In a statement posted on the Little Feat web site, Hayward indicated that a liver transplant may be necessary to get him back on his feet and behind his band mates.  In the meantime, Gabe Ford will be keeping the beat for the Feat.
Hayward, who has no medical insurance, has plenty of friends organizing fundraisers to help offset costs of the medical crisis he is confronting.

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Bad blood between Zakk Wylde and Ozzy Osbourne has been in the news lately (story).   Now, Wylde is apparently dealing with a blood issue of his own.
Blabbermouth.net reports the guitarist was taken to a Montana hospital emergency room following the Black Label Society concert in Missoula (8/19). for treatment related to a blood clot.  No official word has come from the guitar great other than a reference on a Twitter account linked to his name with a post from Spokane, WA indicating he was headed to a hospital there "...to see what's going on with these blood clots."
 
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The long and turbulent history of Aerosmith has no shortage of remarkable comebacks, but some think the series of misfortunes that hit the band over the last 6 months, culminating with Stephen Tyler breaking his shoulder in a fall off the stage in Sturgis, may ground the band for good.  Tyler also fueled speculation about the group's future with his recent decision to retain separate management.  A Boston Herald story cites an unnamed "band sources" as calling the lead singer "...a liability for the band" and saying the group has given him an ultimatum to sober up.  They titled an album Nine Lives for good reason.  Question is, did the 9th just end?  No, according to Joe Perry on posts to his Twitter site.
BostonHerald.com
 
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The South Street Seaport on Manhattan's East Side will be the setting for a free performance by the Blue Ridge Rangers two days after the release of the album reintroducing an alternate ID Fogerty created after folding Creedence in the early 70's.  Fogerty was the Blue Ridge Rangers on the 1973 debut - playing all of the instruments.  This time around, he has assembled a full band that includes masterful stick man Kenny Aronoff, who spent more than a decade drumming for John Mellencamp, and guitarist Billy Burnette, a veteran of several Fleetwood Mac tours.  The Rangers follow up the free show with an appearance September 3 on the Late Show with David Letterman.
JohnFogerty.com

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Fans in the Latino Heritage section at the San Francisco Giants home game tomorrow night (8/25) will receive a Carlos Santana bobblehead doll that plays a clip from Oye Como Va.  Partial proceeds from each ticket sold will go to the Milagro Foundation, an organization Santana and his former wife, Deborah, founded to help children and people at risk throughout the world.  Santana has also arranged with the Hard Rock for a portion of the proceeds from his extended engagement at The Joint, the concert venue at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Resort & Casino to go to programs and services supported by the foundation.
PR Newswire

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Roger Waters has been up front and active in opposing the barrier Israel erected in an effort to stem attacks originating in the Gaza Strip.  He recently narrated the film Walled Horizons, a 15 minute documentary against the controversial barrier that isolates Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.  Waters contends the wall imprisons them, saying, "It fills me with horror, the thought of living in a giant prison."  The film premiered on Wednesday, marking the 5th anniversary of a declaration by the International Court of Justice that the barrier is illegal.  Waters vowed several weeks ago that he looks forward to a repeat of the live performance he did as the Berlin Wall came down when this one is dismantled.
AFP
 
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Awareness the end was near was something a lot of his contemporaries did not have the benefit or curse of before they checked out.  Dan Fogelberg chose to use knowing he was facing death as an opportunity to revisit some unfinished songs he might otherwise have not gotten back to.  Fogelberg, who died of cancer at the end of 2007, asked his wife to release his last album after his death.  Love In Time came out in digital form August 13, on what would have been the singer's 58th birthday.  It will have a regular release on Sept. 22.
PR newswire

 
You Tube has made video on demand so ubiquitous that it is almost more surprising to find something is not available than is.  Still, given the tight lid the Stones managed to keep on the movie documenting the Exile On Main Street tour, it was a surprise to learn from Prefix Magazine that the movie had been leaked online.  The fact that even a band comfortable flaunting its excesses did not want it seen gives you a good idea of how wild some of the footage captured by Robert Frank was.   Wat.tv was rolling the film in two segments.
Prefixmag.com
 
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Neil Young is releasing massive amounts of material from all phases of his career.  Young's Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y band mate Stephen Stills is following suit, joining Young in releasing a box set retrospective and separate archival discs.  a collection featuring songs from Manassas, the band Stills formed with Byrds & Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman, gets a Sept. 22 release. He will follow that with a performance recorded just last fall in the UK.  Live At Shepherd's Bush will come out on CD and DVD on Oct. 27.
Billboard.com
 
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A stroll through a neighborhood in Long Branch, New Jersey last month gave the writer of Like A Rolling Stone a rare first hand experience of being treated "...like a complete unknown".  Stopped by police while strolling and looking at houses the afternoon (7/23) of a Jersey ballpark concert with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, the legendary singer was asked by a 22 year old officer who he was and why he was there.  When his name and explanation did not register and he was unable to produce ID, Dylan was told to get in the patrol car.  Dylan politely obliged and was driven to the hotel the tour was using, where officials vouched for him.  Earlier this year Dylan remained incognito while visiting the house John Lennon live in as a child [story].  Telegraph.co.uk   
 
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As frustrating as the last several weeks have been for Aerosmith and its fans, they have been just as tough on ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard & Dusty Hill were ready, willing but unable to rock as cancellations due to medical problems involving Aerosmith members turned one of the most anticipated tours of the summer into a series of worst case scenarios.   Aerosmith's decision to pack it in [story] left ZZ Top with a decision to make. They wasted not time, announcing today that they will resume touring without Aerosmith.  Billy Gibbons promises a "down n' dirty Rock & Roll show - no frills and no holds barred."  Sounds good to us.         8-14-09
 Examiner.com
 
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Anniversaries of cultural events are usually only noted by the people who attended them.  That something like a half million people descended on Max Yasgur's dairy farm 40 years ago this weekend got Woodstock enough coverage to guarantee it would be remembered by more than just those who were there.  But it was the fact that things went so  totally wrong but end up so wonderfully right that turned Woodstock into an event known to hundreds of millions around the world to this day.  By all accounts, Woodstock Now & Then, which premiers Monday (8/17) at 8 (E), does a commendable job of documenting the festival.
 Historychannel.com
 
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HTML clipboard The backward stumble and resulting tumble the off the stage of the lead singer during the band's set at the Dakota motorcycle rally was the final calamity of a tour with an unprecedented number of them [stories].  Tyler, who was criticized for keeping the nature of an earlier injury that postponed of 7 shows under wraps, is being more candid this time, saying that after sound problems developed during the set he "wanted to go out into the crowd to continue the show... I was doing the Tyler shuffle  and then I zigged when I should Have zagged... AND I slipped, and as I live on the edge... I fell off the edge!"  The fall broke Tyler's left shoulder and earned him 20 stitches in the back of his head.  8-14-09
Eonline.com
 
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HTML clipboardLes Paul was not an imposing man, but his contribution to the music world was enormous.  The pioneer in designing and and advancing electric guitars passed away today (8/13), ending a life and career that was remarkable by a number of measures.  His own name adorned the guitar of choice for many of the greatest guitarists of our time, and the man was equally admired for his own playing ability by Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons and countless others.  He performed regularly at Iridium, a Manhattan Jazz club, until days before his passing.  Get an eye and earful of the genius of Les Paul here.   8-13-09
 Gibson.com                  

Iconic Rocker named 2010 Person Of Year by recording industry charity

Rolling Stone interview shows Cream drummer as cranky and off the wall as ever

Extreme heat blamed for Dylan, Mellencamp cancellation in Arizona.  Bereavement cited in southern Def Leppard Cheap Trick postponements

Power trio featuring Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme tears it up in Windy City debut

HTML clipboard Daughter of Mick jagger sheds top for denim bottoms
Mick Jagger had vivacious woman lusting after the him for much of his career.  It would be interesting to know how the Stones lead singer feels about his teenage daughter using her sex appeal to her own career advantage.  Georgia May Jagger, the daughter of Jagger and Jerry Hall, is featured in a series of ads for Hudson Jeans, appearing in some with nothing on above the waistline.  The charismatic and very attractive 17 year old does not bare all - but the photos reportedly leave little to the imagination.  Get a preview here.
Telegraph.co.uk   Hudsonjeans.com 
 
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Plans revealed for a Christmas album

Joe Perry says the troubled tour's latest problem could sideline Aerosmith weeks or months

Don Henley, Timothy B Schmit and The Boss featured as Blue Ridge Rangers

Steven Tyler reportedly falls off stage during Sturgis Rally set in South Dakota

Sir Paul joins ranks of rockers playing left field in Boston

New band combining John Paul Jones, Foo Fighter and Josh Homme reportedly set to debut

Eddie Van Halen plays himself in season premier of Two An A Half Men