Pulse of Radio reports Black Sabbath was supposed to be one of the headliners of this year's Coachella Festival, several industry sources have told Billboard. The legendary metal act, whose original line-up reunited late last year to record a new album, was forced to pull out of the event one day before the official bill was announced when guitarist Tony Iommi was diagnosed with an early stage lymphoma cancer. It was not made clear which of the show's three headliners — the Black Keys, Radiohead or Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg — was added at the last minute when Sabbath dropped off. Man, I really hope this doesn't derail the reunion altogether. Tony's 63. Hopefully he will recover, but depending on what treatment he has to undergo, it could take months of recovery. We're bummed. But ya know, we've waited this long, what's a few extra months?….I love the scuttlebutt on this new Van Halen record, “Tattoo.” Have ya heard it? Rolling Stone says it was originally an old song the band did from the 70's with a lyric and name change, and a new arrangement. I dunno, I agree with the critics it's not so great. I mean, if you were expecting an explosive Van Halen return, man, this ain't it. Rumors are this album is actually a collection of old tunes that Eddie has had in the closet and pulled out for this album to accompany a tour where they will most certainly perform their greatest hits. Saw them in 2007. Thought the tour was great, despite no Michael Anthony. This time around, I wonder if any new Van Halen disciples will come to the party…..Pulse of Radio also reports, when asked about the current state of rock music, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said in a new interview with Billboard.com that “it's easy to think rock 'n' roll has gone away when you're in a country like America.” Grohl explained, “There's always gonna be rock 'n' roll bands, there's always gonna be kids that love rock 'n' roll records, and there will always be rock 'n' roll. I travel all over the world and play music, and it's easy to think rock 'n' roll has gone away when you're in a country like America. (We just) did a tour of Australia and New Zealand where we were pulling 40,000-50,000 people a night, selling out stadiums. To me, that means rock 'n' roll is alive and well.” Grohl went on to say, “In America, rock 'n' roll isn't in the forefront of the mainstream as it is the rest of the world. England is another country where rock bands are hugely successful: you hear them on the radio, they have hits and play stadiums, and it's almost like it's bigger than it's ever been. But for whatever reason, here in America there's not as much focus on rock 'n' roll bands.” I say we just need to do what we do on the radio, on the net and in the clubs, theaters and arenas to prove to the industry ROCK IS NOT DEAD! So if can just stop perpetrating the concept, maybe things could improve! I think it will…..Rock Access reports footage of Seether performing “Remedy” from their recent Guitar Center Sessions can be streamed here. The full performance will air on Sat, Jan 14th at 9pm on DirecTV’s Audience Network…..Killswitch Engage has announced it will accept audition demos through its website as the band begins its search for a singer to replace Howard Jones. The latter recently left the group after 10 years after going through a string of personal problems. Anyone interested in auditioning should send an MP3 or song link, a photo and a brief description of themselves to the management email address provided in the contact section of KillswitchEngage.com. There's been speculation, meanwhile, that original singer Jesse Leach could return to the group, although he has denied it. (Thanks to our new weekend affiliate in Flint, Banana1015.com)…Later today a huge tour will be announced. I will give you initials: NB, with S, B and MDD. Complete details will be revealed soon, so keep an eye on the Road Rage page this afternoon…Starseed are from South Africa! I thought they were British! Well, they sort of with family from Scotland. But we had a great time yesterday in the studio with Russell and Andrew Spence of the band and you need to find out about this band. Their album, “Peace Machine,” drops in late Feb, single “Shine” is available now digitally. Love their sound. Here's their site: www.planetstarseed.com. Check it out!
