Back in Black: Murder for Hire Charges Dropped Against Phil Rudd

So right after AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd was arrested on charges of trying to procure a murder, drug charges and death threats, the murder for hire charges have been dropped and the prosectors have conceded that there was not enough evidence to proceed. So basically he's gone from singing "Dirty Deeds" to "Back in Black."

Cause I'm back on the track
And I'm beating the flack
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now
I'm just makin' my play
Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way

Seriiously, now Rudd is thinking about restitution (and justly so)
From ABC News.com

 Rudd's lawyer Paul Mabey said the damage to his client had been incalculable and he was considering possible remedies.

"The charge alleging an attempt to procure murder should never have been laid," Mabey said in a statement, adding "Mr. Rudd has suffered unnecessary and extremely damaging publicity as a result of widespread and sensational reporting of a very serious allegation, which on any basis was never justified."

Mabey said Rudd would defend the other charges against him.

Bill Hodge, a law professor at the University of Auckland, said the events suggested police had overreached.

"Usually you'd expect police to lay a basic charge, a holding charge," he said. "Then, maybe when they've got more witnesses and evidence, they could go for a more complicated charge. I don't understand the rush."

Hodge said Rudd could have a good case for seeking financial damages if the case against him fell apart altogether, but he may have little recourse if convicted on the threatening to kill charge.

Yesterday it seemed AC/DC had been caught off guard and they had started thinking about the tour and record release without Rudd as they released the following statement:
"We have no further comment. Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album 'Rock or Bust' and upcoming tour next year."

It still hasn't been officially stated whether or not he'll be on tour with the rest of the band. It seems like the drug charges may stick so who knows what the future will hold.

You can get more on the ABCNews.com article 

Contest: Go on Tour With Korn

Good hearted rockers Korn are dedicating their time/selves to a pretty cool charity. It's not a sweepstakes -- more of a raffle where you pay to enter, but the prizes are pretty cool and the charity, "Little Kids Rock," is a good cause.

The website to enter the contest is here http://www.omaze.com/experiences/korn

Should you win, you and a friend will:

    Hang out with Munky on the tour bus, have dinner, and then jam with the band backstage.

    Join Korn for their ‘Prepare for Hell’ tour and get all-access passes for two shows, including seats on stage.
    Get flights and 4-star hotel accommodations at both tour stops

There are all sorts of support levels for the Little Kids Rock charity, as as you might imagine the more cash you pony up the cooler the prizes are.

Starting off with a $10 donation, you get 100 entries in the contest and a digital thank you card. Your contribution will help provide one student with 4 months of music lessons.

They have various levels going up to the "World Changer" level (for $25,000 so dream on) which gets you 25,000 entries. At this level you also get to go get tattooed with Korn! Your good deed will be providing 1,000 students with music lessons for a year.

About Little Kids Rock (that's right, this IS for a charity after all)

Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit that is dedicated to unlocking children’s inner music-makers by revitalizing music education programming in public schools. The organization partners with school districts to train public school teachers to run their innovative “Modern Band” curriculum and donates all of the accompanying instruments and resources necessary to teach popular music. Little Kids Rock began as a schoolteacher’s vision to give his students access to music education that is relevant to them while diminishing budgets for the arts made that more and more difficult to do. What began as a single after-school guitar class has since exploded into a national movement that is bringing free, weekly music lessons to more than 135,000 public school children due to the efforts of nearly 1,200 teachers nationwide. To date, Little Kids Rock has served over 320,000 students. For more info please visit www.littlekidsrock.org.

Anyway, this is a pretty cool contest. Go check out the  different prize levels and help a most excellent charity!

Billboard: Ozzy Osbourne Pays Tribute to Randy Rhoads at Classic Rock Honours

Last Tuesday night's Classic Rock Honors featured some press for the Osbournes (of course, because Ozzy and family are like the first family of rock). Of course they were mainly talking about future stuff like  "the first Ozzfiesta, a five-day event similar to a musician cruise," but without being stuck on a boat. The Ozzfiesta will take place May 27-31.

But of course some of the other news was The Ozzman's touching tribute to legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads.

While the focus Tuesday was on the future, for both Ozzy and Sabbath, the frontman looked back to Billboard in a moving tribute after the ceremony. He was honored for Blizzard of Ozz, which allowed him to recall his late great guitarist Randy Rhoads. Speaking to Billboard after the event, Ozzy talked about the impact Rhoads had on him and why he wouldn't be here today without Rhoads. 

"He was like a lightning bolt that came into my life, changed everything, he was a wonderful, wonderful guy. He was a very patient guy, he knew what he wanted to do, he was very focused and he was just a true musician," Ozzy said of Randy. "On days off when we were touring, he would get the yellow pages and phone up a classical guitar teacher and have a lesson in his room every day. He was a special guy. I kind of knew, I remember saying to someone, 'He ain't gonna make old bones.' I don't remember why I said it, but I kind of knew he wouldn't make old bones. In the journey of life, I'm a believer in what's meant to happen. But if I could have him back I'd love to see him again. One day we'll meet again." 

Accepting the award, Ozzy said he'd have no career without Rhoads, and afterward he elaborated. "I was in a very bad place, my alcoholism was f---ing rampant, my drug abuse...He came in and he said to me, 'Why do you drink so much? Why don't we just make music?' 

There you have it. More on how Randy saved Ozzy and what a special guy he was. Gives more truth to the old saying "Only the good die young."

Get the whole story on Billboard.com 

Dirty Deeds? AC/DC Drummer Arrested for Attempting to Procure a Murder

Apparently AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd may have taken some of their songs a little too seriously.* He was arrested in New Zealand on charges of trying to have two men killed early (locally) on November 5. He appeared in the Tauranga District Court and did not enter a plea. He was released on bail and will be back in court in 3 weeks.

He is also facing drug charges, charged with possession of methamphetamine (really? METH? Dude, you're so much better than that) and possession of cannabis (well obviously it was the meth that made him freak out and order someone killed. Name one violent pothead). New Zealand police have not given out any information about Rudd's arrest or who the intended victims were. According to New Zealand news outlet The Sun, Rudd was "accused of procuring murder" between September 25th and 26th.

This has not been a great year for AC/DC as earlier this year it was revealed that Malcolm Young was suffering from dementia and would no longer be in the band. However the band is planning a world tour and has a new record/ cd/ mp3 collection/ whatever the kids are calling it these days coming out on December 2. Many of AC/DCs fans have expressed concerns about the tour being affected, however The Guardian points out that Rudd has not been involved in a lot of the band's activities lately.

Rudd was a notable absentee from AC/DC’s recent promotional material in the lead-up to the release of the band’s first album in six years. The first image released to promote the album, Rock or Bust, did not feature Rudd and he was absent from two video shoots over the past few months. Lead singer Brian Johnson reportedly told fans Rudd was not at one of the video shoots because of a “family emergency”.(see the full article from the Guardian here) 

AC/DC has not released a statement on the events yet (probably because their publicists/record labels etc are too Thunderstruck to comment) but you can keep an eye on the news section of the band's website.


*Don't get your panties in a bunch, this comment is a joke. After suffering through the "Ozzy makes you kill yourself", "Judas Priest makes you kill yourself" and general "Heavy metal is statanic bullshit that was popular in my youth, I would never imply that simply listening to (or making music) makes you do bad things. However there is something to be said about writing songs based on life experiences...

Buckcherry announces new video on Vevo -- "Somebody Fucked With Me"

Rockers Buckcherry, most famous for their anthem "Crazy Bitch" claimed to be the theme song of crazy metal chicks everywhere (inluding this one) and their party all night song "Lit Up" announced their new video on Vevo today.

The video is for the song "Somebody Fucked with Me" and feedback seems to be pretty good with this one. It's the perfect song for one of those days when you're just over it all and want to just say "fuck it" and walk away from it all. You can watch the video on Vevo right here: http://vevo.ly/V4joJR

Buckcherry released an EP by the name of "Fuck" on August 19. In keeping with the theme, the first single was "Say Fuck It."

The band is currently on their fall tour with the following dates:
Oct 03 Austin’s Fuel Room Libertyville, IL
Oct 04 Mickey’s Bar Lancaster, OH
Oct 05 Louder Than Life Festival Louisville, KY
Oct 07 The Machine Shop Flint, MI
Oct 08 Club 3D Beckley, WV
Oct 10 Horseshoe Casino Robinsonville, MS
Oct 11 The station bar & grill Broussard, LA
Oct 14 Hurricane Harry’s College Station, TX
Oct 15 Howlin’ Wolf New Orleans, LA
Oct 17 Warehouse Live Ballroom Houston, TX
Oct 18 Sunken Gardens Amphitheatre San Antonio, TX
Oct 19 Pharr Events Center Pharr, TX
Oct 21 Speaking Rock Ent. Center El Paso, TX
Oct 22 Top Deck Farmington, NM
Oct 25 The Love Ride Castaic, CA
Nov 01 Maverick Stadium Adelanto, CA
Nov 06 Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA
Nov 07 The Ranch San Miguel, CA
Nov 09 Phoenix Int. Raceway Phoenix, AZ

Buckcherry performed on the Rockstar Uproar tour this summer and toured with Kid Rock back in 2013. They are a feel good party band and put on a pretty good show, so if you get a chance you should check them out when they come to your city.

Update: Wayne Static's Death Not Drug Related According to Publicist

Following the announcement of Wayne Static's death, the Internet was full of speculation that it was death related. Of course this usually happens when a rock star dies suddenly, however, his publicist has put out the following press release stating that his death was not related to drugs.

Today is a sad day in the music industry – Front-man and founding member WAYNE STATIC of STATIC-X passed away quietly in his sleep at his home last night. The couple [Wayne Static and Tera Wray] was getting ready to leave for a Fall/Winter tour this morning. They were to have left the night before on Halloween, but decided they would head out early in the morning November 1st. The couple, known for partying heavy, had left hard drugs in 2009 and had not touched them since. Static’s first solo album – Pighammer – was a tribute to his new non-drug life and hoped it would help others to get clean from hard chemical drugs. More official information about his passing will be released in the following days. This is not a drug related incident or an O.D. Please be courteous to his family and wife and leave positive messages.

Read More: Wayne Static's Death Not Drug-Related According to Statement | http://loudwire.com/wayne-static-death-not-drug-related-according-press-release/?trackback=tsmclip

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Sad news from the Static-X website Facebook page this morning. Wayne Static, the band's founder, has passed away at the age of 48. The band's Facebook page states that no further information is known at this time. From wikipedia:

Static-X rose to fame with their debut album Wisconsin Death Trip, which went platinum in 2001.[1] Their sound incorporates elements of nu-metal, industrial metal, and groove metal. Static-X self describes the genre of music as "Evil Disco".[2] Static-X has released six studio albums, one compilation album, one EP, 12 singles, 12 videos and a guitar tab book titled Static-X Guitar Anthology. Static-X's sound shares much in common with their industrial metal influences, using heavy distortion, electronic keyboards, pounding bass riffs, and fast-paced, aggressive vocals. Songs sometimes apply heavy use of synthesizers and insertion of samples, such as snippets of movie dialogue. For example, A Dios Alma Perdida samples spaceship drone sound effects and alien chatter from the film Laserblast. A new element used on their Cannibal album is the presence of guitar solos; which weren't prominent in prior albums. The style in which Static-X's music is played is also known, much as the Nu Metal band 'Orgy', as "Static Metal".

Sadly he had been touring with fellow rockers Drowining Pool, Powerman 5000 and American Head Charge. They had been offering VIP packages for $75 with the price going up to $125 the day of show. At this time there has been no statement about what will go on with the tour. Static was also known for his crazy hairstyle; his hair was held up in a vertical position. Most photos of him feature the "static" look. More recently, in 2011, Static had released a solo album called "Pighammer." Static formed a new line-up consisting of Brent Ashley on bass, Sean Davidson on drums and Ashes on guitar. This lineup toured on what they called the "Noise Revolution Tour" in 2012. Static's death currently a trending topic on Facebook. You can follow the story more here: https://www.facebook.com/topic/Wayne-Static/108512842506638?source=whfrt&position=1&trqid=6077076199591128284 The following is a post from his Facebook page of video from a Stanton Show June 16, 2013.

Post by Wayne Static.

RIP Wayne, you will sincerely be missed by rockers everywhere.