While no official cause of death has yet been released, it is believed that Brown died on Wednesday (May 16) at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore after being admitted earlier this month with pneumonia.
 
Credited as being the ‘godfather of go-go,’ Brown is best known for his song ‘Bustin’ Loose,’ which helped to launch Washington D.C.’s vibrant and upbeat ‘go-go’ scene, so named because, “the music just goes and goes.”

 
While the talented guitarist never made a huge imprint on the global scene with his band the Soul Searchers, his influence is long-reaching with several acclaimed artists citing him as an inspiration. In recent times rapper Nelly sampled Brown’s ‘Bustin’ Loose’ for his 2002 smash hit ‘Hot In Herre’ while fellow rapper Eve used ‘Blow Your Whistle’ in her song ‘Tambourine.’
 
Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has paid tribute to the fallen guitarist: “Go-go is D.C.’s very own unique contribution to the world of pop music. Today is a very sad day for music lovers the world over.”
 

 

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Tremonti has taken his music writing to uncharted grounds for the new album, and says it will be a, “ harder, heavier record” than what he has released with Creed or Alter Bridge in the past. So far, it seems Tremonti’s change of style has paid off; the albums first single ‘You Waste Your Time’ broke its way into the iTunes top 10 charts in just one day.
 
The esteemed axeman commented on the song’s favorable response in an official statement. “I am overwhelmed by the positive response the song has received already. I never imagined it would hit the Top 10 so quickly and that is a testament to the amazing fans I have. I couldn’t have gotten anywhere in my career without them and want to thank each and every one of them for their support. I can’t wait until they hear the rest of it,” he said.
 
Accompanying Tremonti on the album is Eric Friedman on rhythm guitar, Garrett Whitlock on drums, and Brian Marshall on bass.
 
‘All I Was’ is set for release on July 10th via Fret 12 Records.
 

 
‘All I Was’ track list:
 
‘Leave It Alone’
‘So You’re Afraid’
‘Wish You Well’
‘Brains’
‘The Things I’ve Seen’
‘You Waste Your Time’
‘New Way Out’
‘Giving Up’
‘Proof’
‘All I Was’
‘Doesn’t Matter’
‘Decay’

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‘The Industrialist’ is the second Fear Factory album to feature Cazares since his return to the fold for their 2010 release ‘Mechanize,’ and one of many concept albums released by the band since the mid 90s. However, this  time around, the axeman says the metal veterans are looking at things from another point of view. “We’ve always been presenting the concept of man versus technology and man versus machine. The past records have been about the perspective of the human, but this one is about the automaton, which is a robot.”
 
Cazares elaborated further on the concept of ‘The Industrialist.’ “The concept is about his perception, what the automaton sees, what he feels and what he learns. He’s basically a robot that collects memories and stores them. He’s fighting for his life, and for other automatons. We as humans built the automaton to help us for everyday life, but he basically turns against humans. And that’s what the story is about.”
 
Just as with ‘Mechanize,’ Cazares used 7-string and 8-string, “Ibanez guitars with Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups, going to Line 6 Pod HD direct into the computer” for the new record. As a user of  7-string and 8-string guitars for many years, Cazares is quick to defend the guitars from those who say players don’t make use of the extra strings. “For me, it’s the lower tuning and the tension. If I wanted to tune my 7-string lower, I have to get the thick strings, and the tension would be really sloppy. So for me, using the baritone 8-string definitely helps out with the tension on the low strings.”
 
The guitarist added that 8-string guitars helped him to the write slow, ultra heavy segments featured in ‘The Industrialist.’ “Obviously you want to try to be heavy. I only use the 8-string on the slower songs. When I use it to play fast, it doesn’t always come out that great. So I only use it on the slower songs. For me, I can do a lot more harmonies, a lot more octaves with the low F to the higher strings, and it opens up my playing quite a lot. I use a lot of harmonies on the songs, and the 8-string works perfectly for that purpose.”
 
Unlike ‘Mechanize,’ which contained elements of thrash and speed metal all the way through it, ‘The Industrialist’ sees Fear Factory return to their roots. “On this record, our approach was that we used a drum program on the computer. Basically, me and Burton decided to take control of creating the record ourselves, of course, with the help of Rhys Fulber, our producer,” Cazares explained. “But in the beginning, we decided to do it ourselves so that it would be more of us, more of Fear Factory, and less thrash. A lot less guitar solos, but very ripping, very fast and hard-hitting. I think this record is more classic Fear Factory.”
 
Cazares also talked about the departure of Byron Stroud and Gene Hoglan, as well as the bands two new inclusions, bassist Matt DeVries and touring drummer Mike Heller. “I didn’t feel like it was a big change at all. I mean, of course we miss them as friends, because we toured with them for the last three years, but everybody does their thing. Byron is playing in 3 Inches Of Blood now and Gene is playing in .. every band [laughs]. Gene is one of those drummers that everybody needs. You’re lucky if you get him, you know what I mean? Right now, he’s doing Testament, he’s doing Dethklok, he’s doing a lot of stuff. But I do believe we have really good, solid players in Mike Heller and Matt DeVries. The band sounds really tight and solid, and I’m really happy about it. I wouldn’t pick shitty musicians.”

Click here to read the full interview.
 
‘The Industrialist’ is set to drop June 5.
 

 
Fear Factory are currently on tour in support of the forthcoming album. Upcoming dates are listed below.
 
5/17/2012: Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL (NEW)
5/20/2012: Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
5/23/2012: Yost Theater – Santa Ana, CA (NEW)

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Buddy said that players in today’s day and age have a distinct advantage over their predecessors, thanks to the advances in modern technologies. “I didn’t have the technology that you guys have. You can go buy instructional videos and things like that. I had to take a 7″ record and figure it out in my own ear, mind, heart what everyone was doing…” He added, “So now you have that advantage with that, you should be much better than me.”
 
The esteemed guitarist explained that the key to becoming a better guitar player, as with anything, is persistence and a positive mindset. “As much time as you can spend, not only with guitar but with everything else that you wanna do, the more time you spend with it the better you are. And don’t ever let yourself tell you that you’re not improving.”
 
Buddy added that he wasn’t even aware of his capabilities until he was told about them by a couple of guitar gods. “I was in a rut until someone else told me. I didn’t know who in the world I was until I heard from the late Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and I said, ‘what? I didn’t know I was doing anything.’ And they said, ‘Oh yeah man, you were standing out.’”
 
Despite the compliments of many of guitar’s greats, the ever humble blues legend prefers not to be known as the maestro that he is. “I didn’t go out and say, ‘yeah man that’s me, I did that, I made that. I still don’t do that….When I gotta prove to someone who don’t know who I am that Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton have said something good about me, I gotta go out show you the reason they said something good about me [laughs].”
 

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Sonic Youth shocked their massive fanbase late last year when they announced that the bands fronting power couple, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore were divorcing and as a result, Sonic Youth would be going on indefinite hiatus. Now, more than half a year later, it seems not much has changed. “None of us are talking to each other about doing anything anytime soon. Obviously there are a lot of personal issues being worked out. I think that’s going to be that way for a while,” Ranaldo explained.
 
The revered guitarist did, however, add that fans can expect to get their hands on some Sonic Youth releases in the near future. “We’re working on a bunch of archival projects and things like that. As far as new performances or new recordings, I don’t think anything like that is gonna happen anytime soon.”
 
With Sonic Youth out of action, Ranaldo has wasted no time in filling in his now open schedule. In March this year, he released his debut, song-orientated solo album ‘Between the Times and the Tides,’ proving to the world he was capable of writing a complete song, and not just adding the occasional riff. The guitarist said that he drew influence from several musical greats when writing the record. “Some of it I think harkens back to earlier periods of my life in terms of being wrapped up in certain singer-songwriters — whether it’s Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen or David Crosby or Neil Young, or whoever — as opposed to a band dynamic.”
 
Ranaldo added that he was intent on following in the footsteps of those who have released solo albums that truly represent who they are. “There’s no doubt that I was thinking along the lines of people like that, or more contemporaries of mine — people like Sean Marshall or Bill Callahan — people that are really writing records on their own, and then bringing them into their musical group to work on them.”
 
While it may seem logical to assume that Ranaldo saw the break from Sonic Youth as being the perfect opportunity to get a solo record out, he explained that the idea of the album was conceived long before Sonic Youth went on hiatus. “I think some people are under the impression that my record got made after Sonic Youth decided to go on hiatus or whatever. That’s not the case at all. This record was made during a long period where I wasn’t completely active and I had the opportunity and some time free to write some songs. This record was done before I knew anything about [Gordon and Moore] having marital difficulties or whatever. … We played our first show — and this was a few months after the record was finished — the day after [Gordon and Moore] announced their split, which was kind of weird.”

Click here to read the full interview.
 

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The song, which features all five of Walk Off The Earth’s members playing the one guitar, recently passed 107,000,000 views on YouTube and has also been certified Platinum in Canada, after the single version of the cover song sold over 165 thousand copies.
 
The success of the clip has seen Walk Off The Earth’s popularity grow in staggering proportions; the groups recent YouTube clips of covers of the Weeds theme song ‘Little Boxes’ and The Beatles ‘From Me To You’ have each gotten over 3 million views, while their most recent cover of Nirvana’s ‘Polly,’ which is also now available on iTunes, has already topped 1 million views.
 
In a statement on their website, Walk Off The Earth thanked fans for getting behind them. “We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for buying our music. It helps us on our mission in taking over this shitty music industry. We are definitely rattling a few cages lately and it’s a direct result of the passion and support of the WOTE fans…you guys are sic!”
 
Walk Off the Earth is currently in the final phase of recording their debut album on Columbia Records and are preparing to embark on a U.S. tour. Dates are listed below.

Click here to purchase ‘Somebody That I Used To Know.’

 
Click here to purchase ‘Polly.’
 

 

 
Walk Off the Earth tour dates:
 
5/30 -Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN
5/31 – Juanita’s, Little Rock, AR
6/1 – KXT Summer Cut, Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas, TX
6/2 – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, Austin, TX
6/3 – House of Blues Bronze Peacock, Houston, TX
6/14 – El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
6/15 -Slim’s, San Francisco, CA (2 shows)
6/16 – Central Coast Oyster Festival, Morro Bay, CA
6/17 – Sound of Music Festival, Burlington, ON
6/23 – Elevation Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria
6/28 – Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
6/29 – Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI
7/8 – Bluesfest, Ottawa, ON
7/9 – Festival D’ete, Quebec, QC
7/13 – Common Grounds Music Festival, Lansing, MI
7/27 – Hillside Festival Guelph, ON
7/29 – Rock the Peach Music Festival, Penticton, BC
8/4 – Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
8/10 – Fredrock Festival, Fredricton, NB
8/23 – Coca Cola Events Center, Oklahoma City

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In an interview with Tone Deaf, the former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist said, “what’s the criteria for guitar solo after it goes over thirty minutes? If you keep doing the same thing over and over again is that still considered a guitar solo?”
 
Slash added that he wasn’t even that impressed by the length of time DiDonato played, saying he expected the record to be at least three times longer than what it actually was. “I’m actually surprised it’s that short. I thought it would be way longer. Somebody solo-ing for a week…I pictured in my head some guy sitting around for three days.” He did, however, add,“God bless him for hanging in there.”
 
Regardless of Slash’s opinion, David DiDonato is the official world-record holder for the ‘Longest Guitar Solo’ and to prove it footage of his performance has been released and can be viewed below.
 
In other news, Slash has released another teaser video for his upcoming ‘Guitar Center Sessions’ special. This time, Slash and his band Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators can be seen performing an unplugged version of the song ‘Not For Me’ from his upcoming solo album ‘Apocalyptic Love.’

‘Apocalyptic Love’ is out May 22, but can be heard in its entirety right now by clicking here.
 

Video streaming by Ustream
 

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Official statement: “This museum-quality collection has been produced to the highest standards to be framed and displayed as pieces of art. Under strict supervision, each silver gelatin black and white photograph has been traditionally printed by hand from negative in a laboratory dark room on Ilford premium quality fibre-based paper, the color photograph is printed on Fuji Crystal archival paper. Jimmy Page and each photographer have worked closely together with the dark room technicians and printer to produce this highly-collectible collection.”

 
The photographs available in the historical collection feature Page in his hey-day, performing with Led Zeppelin in Copenhagen in 1970, Earls Court Arena in 1975, Chicago Stadium in 1977 and at Oakland Coliseum, California in 1977.
 
The launch of the collection comes just one week after the announcement that Page has become the 100,000th portrait to be archived by the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Click here for more info.
 

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Speaking with Minneapolis radio station 93x this morning, the iconic axeman said that Weiland’s statements were crazy. “He’s out of his mind,” he said. “There’s been a common rumor going around, I know that he’s been positive on that subject. Maybe they know something I don’t know.”
 
Slash added there was almost no chance of Weiland returning to the band. “I have absolutely no intention of going back to that…We have no intention of going backwards.”
 
Weiland, who was kicked out of Velvet Revolver in 2008, recently told ABC News Radio that he and his former bandmates had patched up their differences and would be continuing on from where they left off. “We’ve all grown a lot. We’re able to put egos and differences and old…conflicts aside and so that’s really cool.” He even added that the group had begun working on a new album.

Meanwhile, Slash has launched the video to ‘You’re A Lie,’ the first single from his forthcoming solo album ‘Apocalyptic Love.’ Click here to check it out.
 
‘Apocalyptic Love’ track list:
 
1) Apocalyptic Love
2) One Last Thrill
3) Standing in the Sun
4) You’re a Lie
5) No More Heroes
6) Halo
7) We Will Roam
8 ) Anastasia
9) Not for Me
10) Bad Rain
11) Hard & Fast
12) Far and Away

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In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Richards said, “I spoke to Mick and he said it’s something that he said yes to many months ago, so he’s just doing it.” He added, “He’s on his own.”
 
Richards isn’t even 100% sure whether he will watch the show. When asked if he would be, he replied, “Probably.”
 
While fans haven’t yet had the chance to see the legendary duo on stage together for the first time since the Stones ‘A Bigger Bang’ tour ended in August 2007, it is only a matter of time before they do. The band has been rehearsing for their much talked about 50th anniversary celebrations, which will now be taking place next year.
 
Richards explained that even though technically 2012 marks the bands fiftieth year, the members see it differently. “Charlie [Watts] didn’t actually join until January,” he said. “We look upon 2012 as sort of the year of conception, but the birth is next year.”
 
Richards added that the reason why the band decided to delay the celebrations was simple. “Basically, we’re just not ready,” he said, adding that 2013 is the new goal. “I have a feeling that’s more realistic.”
 

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