Mike Portnoy quits Dream Theater..(No shit, it’s a sinking ship…)

Let’s do the math ..Dream Theater is a typical musicians’ band…technical and overrated..What, 1 radio hit in 25 years??? Well, Avenged SevenFold is like #1 right now all over the world..of course I would jump ship too….(chuck)

Drummer Mike Portnoy of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has released the following statement:

“I am about to write something I never imagined I’d ever write.

“After 25 years, I have decided to leave DREAM THEATER… the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.

“To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision…it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so….

“After having had such amazing experiences playing with HAIL!, TRANSATLANTIC and AVENGED SEVENFOLD this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in DREAM THEATER.

“Please don’t misinterpret me, I love the DREAM THEATER guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them… it’s just that I think we are in serious need of a little break.

for the rest:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145749

Wow..Castro says Communision doesn’t work..

Finally, it only took him a lifetime of keeping his people in chains, poor and bondage….

I am glad he finally woke up, so I guess when he dies its FREE CUBA!! and next is Tibet?…..(chuck)

HAVANA – Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba’s communist economic model doesn’t work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.

The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel’s brother Raul, the country’s president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba’s 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.

Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba’s economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore” Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.

He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg’s account.

Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother’s toes.

Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Castro’s invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran’s nuclear program, also reported on Tuesday that Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.

Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.

The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen’s food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices.

for the rest:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_fidel_castro

Yep, this guy is gay…

Let’s see. Your a body guard for a famous hot chick… check… your single…check…she is single…check…and she drops her clothes off in front of you several times, shows you her mommy parts and you pass on it and you now want to sue her for sexual harrassment? …yep, it’s confirmed…YOU’RE GAY!!!! If not you could have told your grand kids you bagged one of the biggest stars of the early 2000’s…but instead you want in her pocket and not in her pants and she threw “it” at you….Your kids, if you have any will always question your sanity and sexuality….I mean look at the photo dude, I am not into blondes at all and she can’t sing but she’s rich and you have to work for a living so if I was in your shoes I would have done what Fred Durst did he  “HIT ME ONE MORE TIME!!!”….so…You my friend, are a dumbass and you’re GAY!!

Here’s the story from TMZ…

TMZ has learned … a bodyguard who claims to have been sexually harassed by Britney Spears is filing a lawsuit today, claiming Britney repeatedly exposed herself to him and abused her children.

According to the suit, a copy of which TMZ has obtained, Fernando Flores claims Britney made “repeated unwanted sexual advances” toward him by exposing herself in front of him in her home.

Flores alleges, on one occasion — in a scene right out of “Legally Blonde” — “She was wearing a white lace, see-through dress.  She walked over close by [Flores], intentionally dropped her cigarette lighter on the floor, bent over to retrieve it and thereby exposed her uncovered genitals to [Flores].”  The lawsuit goes on, “The incident caused [Flores] shock and disgust.”

The suit then goes on to describe another alleged instance where Britney summoned Flores to her room, where she was standing naked. The suit claims, “After an awkward silence during which [Britney] just stood naked before [Flores], [Flores] asked Spears if she needed anything.  After some hesitation, Spears asked [Flores] to get her two bottles of 7 Up.”

One time after allegedly exposing herself, the suit claims Britney said, “You know you liked it.”

And the suit says, “In addition to exposing herself to [Flores], Spears engaged in numerous sex acts in front of [Flores].”

Here’s the rest..

http://www.tmz.com/2010/09/01/britney-spears-lawsuit-bodyguard-fernando-flores-child-abuse-sexual-harassment/

Ladies and Gents “Welcome ElviSS Simmons”…..

and I can’t even get a job playing in a real band….:( (chuck)…

http://www.elvisssimmons.com/

Fall Music Festival – A Benefit Concert for Riley Children’s Hospital

The 2010 Fall Music Festival will be Saturday, September 11th at the Vanderburgh 4 H Center.  All ticket sales will benefit Riley Children’s Hospital.

The concert will be a family-friendly event, and will feature many of the area’s finest musicians representing a variety of musical genres. Musical artists include: Carl Rodenburg, Calabash, The Funk, Shawn Needham and the Black Sheep, Andrea Wirth, Marvin Daniels Band, The Strolling Tones, Dang Heathens, Charlene Blay and the 2nd Edition, Logan Dyer & Friends, and more.

Music will begin at 12:00 noon and continue through 10:30pm. Local vendors will be invited to sell art and produce. Concessions will be available.  Please bring seating. The festival will take place rain or shine. All activities will be in open-air shelters. Advance tickets are $5 at Moore Music, Patton Music, & Joe’s Records. $7 the day of the event. Children 10 and under are free.

For more information please contact Logan Dyer (812) 453-0129. Or email fallmusicfestival@yahoo.com.

Giant hay bale kills former ELO cellist

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100907/od_nm/us_edwards_elo_odd

 LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van. Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road. He died instantly in the freak accident on Friday afternoon. Police said they used photographs and YouTube footage to identify Edwards and are investigating whether the bale may have fallen from a tractor working on farmland near the road. Edwards, who played with the band between 1972 and 1975, is believed to have swerved into another vehicle as the bale crushed his cab. (Reporting by Paul Casciato; Editing by Steve Addison)

Vince Neil talks about his autobiography and getting laid…

“I’m forty-nine years old. I’m five-foot-nine, 170. The spandex is over. I’ve had three plastic surgeries. Still, who do you think gets laid more, me or you? But time does change a man. I ain’t twenty-one anymore.

“It’s a miracle we survived at all. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s and uncooked hot dogs do not make for a particularly well-balanced diet. We are all very lucky we didn’t kill ourselves. It might look like we were trying to do that, but speaking for myself, death was never my intent. I just wanted to feel good, you know? I was just looking for that kick, that high…

“These days I’ve got businesses to run. I like the action. Something to get your heart pumping. Healthier than a syringe full of cocaine powder like I was doing back in ’81 with my girlfriend Lovey, that’s for sure…

“But you got to admit…those days are a lot more fun to talk about…”

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145627

BeetleJuice! BeetleJuice!..Beetle…oh never mind it won’t work…R.I.P OTho

Actor Glenn Shadix, best known for his role as Otho the interior decorator in the ’80s cult favorite, ‘Beetlejuice,’ died this morning, The Birmingham News reports. The actor died following a fall at his home in Birmingham, Alabama, his sister, Susan Gagne, told the newspaper.

Gagne revealed that her brother was “having mobility problems” in recent years and had likely fallen out of his wheelchair and “hit his head in the kitchen.” She thinks the hit to the head was responsible for his death. The character actor was 58.

In addition to Beetlejuice, Shadix starred in two more Tim Burton films over the years: he was the voice of the mayor in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and played Senator Nado in Burton’s 2001 remake of ‘Planet of the Apes.’ He also had small roles in ‘Heathers,’ ‘Demolition Man’ and ‘Multiplicity.’ Prior to retiring from Hollywood, Shadix did voiceover work for many years.
Shadix’s sister said the actor retired four years ago and returned to Birmingham to be closer to his family. He is survived by his sister, Gange, and spouse Jon Jong.
http://www.popeater.com/2010/09/07/Glenn-Shadix-beetlejuice-actor-dead/

STYX October 14, 2010 Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight In Evansville

They are playing both classic albums in their enterity! This show will be great and I bet it rocks but the Grand Illusion is Dennis DeYoung will not be performing with them and as far as I am concerned….His voice made Styx, but in the end..I will probably still go 🙂 (chuck)

STYX is very happy to announce that for the first time ever, they will perform TWO of their classic albums live, in their entirety, in an exclusive and limited tour this Fall!  Read the press release below for details!

I agree with Joe Perry about “American Idol”

Joe Perry speaking…

It’s a reality show designed to get people to watch that station and sell advertising. It’s one step above (‘Teenage Mutant’) ‘Ninja Turtles’.

Technically speaking, after the gig in Vancouver (on Sept. 16), I don’t have a job with AEROSMITH. We know these are the last shows for awhile. And I really do mean awhile. I don’t know when we’ll be out there again, the five of us, so we’ll be playing with everything we’ve got.”

On learning through the media that singer Steven Tyler was up for a second job as a judge on the reality TV singing competition “American Idol”:

“(The whole group) sat down not too long ago, when we decided to do this tour, and we basically laid out plans for the next two years. And when you’re sitting there talking about that and one of the band members knows full well he’s signed a contract that’s taking him out of the music business for up to seven months of the year — that kind of throws a wrench into things . . . It’s all very well to say, ‘I’m going to go off and do this and it won’t interfere with the band . . .’ but there’s only so many weeks in the month and so many months in the year.”
“I’m not going to sit around for two years waiting for him to come back to AEROSMITH. (You’ve got) four guys that are great together, and if you find the right singer, there’s no reason you can’t go and entertain people.”

here is the link:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145630