People must be very bored these days. The rumor mill went into overdrive this month stating that Drummer Travis Barker had been found dead in his home. Sometimes-wifey Shanna Moakler posted a bulletin on her MySpace refuting the hoax.

“I’m not quite sure who would start such a sick rumor, even if it was done as a joke. I am happily laying next to my husband who is alive and well and it brings me great pleasure to stop a rumor as horrific as that. It is indeed FALSE.”

On November 15th, reports sweeped the Net claiming the Blink-182 drummer had been found dead in his garage.

It has been announced on the Official Placebo Band web site that Placebo have parted company with their drummer of 11 years, Steve Hewitt, due to personal and musical differences.

Brian Molko has commented “Being in a band is very much like being in a marriage, and in couples - in this case a triple - people can grow apart over the years. To say that you don’t love your partner any more is inaccurate, considering all that you’ve been through and achieved together. There simply comes a point when you realize that you want different things from your relationship and that you can no longer live under the same roof, so to speak.”

The split is said to be amicable and a sad time all band members. Steve Hewitt replaced Robert Schultzberg behind the drum kit in 1996 whilst the band were promoting Placebo’s eponymous debut album and went on to record the following 4 studio albums ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, ‘Black Market Music’, ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’ and most recently ‘Meds’.
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Foo Fighters frontman and ex Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has spoken of his desire to drum for the newly reformed Led Zeppelin. The star explained to NME.com that he is “at their beck and call,” should they want to get in touch about performing with him.

“Ah, if I got that call, what the f–k do you think I’d be saying?” Grohl said. “I’d say, ‘Hey [Foo Fighters bandmates] Chris and Taylor, let’s take a little break for a few days, I’ll see ya later!’ But I don’t expect that to happen.”

Grohl explained that, although getting to play with Led Zeppelin would be unlikely, he would at least be trying to get into the band’s forthcoming gig at London’s O2 Arena on November 26.

He also acknowledged the contribution of Jason Bonham, son of original Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who would perform with the band at the gig.
“Jason should be the one,” he said. “Everyone knows that. He’s a f–king phenomenal drummer.

Courtesy of NME.com

It was confirmed today during a press conference by promoter Harvey Goldsmith that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin will reunite in aid of the Ahmet Ertegun education fund for a show at the O2 Arena in London on 26 November 2007, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums.

Led Zeppelin fans the world over unite!

Amongst all the speculation and rumour of reunion tours, Led Zeppelin are to enter the digital edge and offer an exclusive download only album of specially selected tracks on the internet.Entitled “Mothership”, the collection which will include such anthemic hits like ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘Dazed and Confused’, will be available on Apple’s iTunes and will be the band’s first venture into selling using the internet.

The best-of collection Mothership is due out November 13 and will be followed a week later by new versions of the “The Song Remains the Same” DVD and its soundtrack. Each release will have additional content, some of which has been previously unreleased.

More news to come on this as it happens!

Will they or won’t they, after the flurry of global news reports that Led Zeppelin were set to reform to play a tribute concert in memory of their former record boss, Ahmet Ertgun, with the possibility of a world tour to follow. It seems yet again that those flames of hope have been well and truly doused.

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“I think people tend to expect a certain sound from us,” says Kings of Leon’s drummer Nathan Followill, “but on this record, we tried to throw them for a loop.”
Indeed, it’s not business as usual on the Nashville-based quartet’s ambitious, eclectic new album Because Of The Times. Where Kings of Leon’s last release, 2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, was “a fuzz-encrusted rocket of controlled violence,” as Rolling Stone put it, packed with emphatic two-minute bursts of raunchy guitars, brawny drums, and growled vocals, Because Of The Times finds the Followills (brothers Nathan, Caleb, and Jared, and their first cousin Matthew) opening up, relaxing the rules, and reveling in the joys of their newfound musical freedom.

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According to some reports Led Zeppelin are preparing to perform a one-off reunion show in memory of their former record boss, Ahmet Ertgun.

The legendary rock trio will be joined by Jason Bonham - son of the great John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham - for the London concert, which is rumoured to be a trial date for a possible subsequent world tour.

If all goes to plan then this will be the first time the three surviving members have played together in over 20 years, with their last full on stage appearance was back in 1985 for a Live Aid performance aided by Phil Collins.

A source said: “Page, Plant and Jones spoke and agreed to do the memorial concert. They are waiting for a definite date.

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