--Steven Tyler Among Special Guests For Mick Fleetwood's Restaurant Opening

Mick Fleetwood will have some high-powered help in celebrating his new restaurant in Maui.  The Fleetwood Mac drummer will formally launch Fleetwood's on Front Street with a series of Grand Opening events this week.  MauiNews.com says Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is on board for Thursday's concert, which will also serving as a charity benefit.  Mick says Steven is "ecstatic" about taking part in the event, explaining that the singer "desperately wanted to be here and help out."  Money raised will go to Maui's Childhelp, an organization that provides assistance to abused, neglected, and at-risk kids.  Blues star Jonny Lang will also perform.

The celebration begins Wednesday with a private event featuring the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band.  Other events include a fundraiser for Lahainaluna High School, and a free concert on Saturday from King Paris, featuring former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Rick Vito.


--Lynyrd Skynyrd Celebrating New Album With In-Store Appearances

Lynyrd Skynyrd is back with a new album.  "Last of a Dyin' Breed" arrives Tuesday, and the band will be making a number of in-store appearances to support the release.  On Tuesday the group will be in their home state of Florida, meeting fans at the Walmart on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park.  Johnny Van Zant and company will make a stop at the FYE on Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville, Georgia Thursday evening, and be on hand for a signing session at the Walmart on Perdido Beach Boulevard in Orange Beach, Alabama Saturday afternoon.  Skynyrd also has one in-store date set for next week.  They'll be at the Walmart on Highway 51 North in Millington, Tennessee on August 31st.  "Last of a Dyin' Breed" is Lynyrd Skynyrd's follow up to their 2009 effort, "God & Guns."


--Metallica Unveil Deep Purple Cover On Website

Metallica is sharing their contribution to the upcoming tribute album honoring Deep Purple's "Machine Head."  The band has posted their version of "When A Blind Man Cries" on their website. Metallica admits their choice was rather obscure.  The song was recorded with the rest of the "Machine Head" material but wasn't included on the original 1972 album.  It was released as the B-side to the single "Never Before," and later included on the 25th anniversary edition of "Machine Head."

"Classic Rock Magazine" is behind "Re-Machined - A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head."  The special release will come with a 124-page magazine packed with interviews from participating artists and Deep Purple members.  Chickenfoot, Iron Maiden, and Black Label Society are some of the other stars featured on "Re-Machined," which will be available on September 4th.


--Green Day Teams Up With "Angry Birds"

Green Day is joining forces with "Angry Birds Friends," the Facebook offshoot of the popular smartphone game.  The California punk-trio has announced plans to make their own edition of the game, featuring a new song called "Troublemaker."  The game will also include evil pig characters inspired by the band's members and ten levels of action.  The band's latest single "Oh Love," which was first released in July, is also featured in the game.  Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says in a statement that the band became addicted to "Angry Birds" when they first starting playing it.  

Many are taking the new "Angry Birds Friends" game as a sign that Green Day's upcoming album trilogy, "¡Uno!," "¡Dos!" and "¡Tré!" may not be as serious or political in subject matter as other albums like "American Idiot."  So far "Oh Love" and "Troublemaker" indicate that fans of Green Day's early punk days may be in luck.  The "Angry Birds" game will be released later this fall.  "¡Uno!," the first album in Green Day's upcoming album trilogy, will be released on September 25th.


--Godsmack Singer Explains Vocal Injury

Godsmack frontman Sully Erna is back in action, and he's offering fans a little more information about the vocal issue that put him on the sidelines earlier this year.  The singer says he and the band were forced to cancel a string of European shows because of what turned out to be an infection in the back of his throat.  Erna adds that he was exhausted at the time, and had been pushing himself a little too hard.  But while the problem was bad enough to force him to "shut it down," it didn't cause any permanent damage.  Erna says this was the first and only time he's ever had vocal problems in his career, and he doesn't expect it to become a habit.

Godsmack, meanwhile, is currently on the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival tour along with Shinedown, Staind, Papa Roach and Adelitas Way.  They kicked off the trek last week, and are scheduled to stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, tonight.


--Sebastian Bach Explains Reconciling Friendship With Jon Bon Jovi

Sebastian Bach says he and Jon Bon Jovi are "friends again."  He recently told ArtScenics TV that he and the Bon Jovi frontman buried the hatchet a few years ago.  Bach says he and Jon had been good friends when Bon Jovi offered to take Skid Row on the band's first tour, but Jon put conditions on the partnership that sparked the rift.  He explains that Skid Row had to sign a deal giving Jon a cut of the profits if the band became a success.  Sebastian admits he "was bitter about that for a while," but eventually realized the Bon Jovi tour likely played a key role in Skid Row's rise to fame.

However, while the matter was resolved in his mind, he says facing Jon again was a different story.  Bach recalls that he was with Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose at a London restaurant when their waitress pointed Jon out to them.  He notes Jon was understandably nervous seeing him approach, because they'd "had words."  But Sebastian says he just opened with a casual "How's it going?," which led to hugs and Jon joining him and Axl for "about 15 bottles of red wine."  He adds that they've kept in touch, and calls Jon "a great guy."


--Eddie Vedder, Natalie Maines Release Duet Supporting West Memphis Three

Eddie Vedder is still supporting the West Memphis Three.  This past Sunday marked the first anniversary of their release from prison, and the Pearl Jam frontman marked the occasion by releasing "Golden State," his collaboration with Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines. The track was recorded during a performance at the West Memphis Three Rally in Little Rock, Arkansas, back in 2010.  "Golden State" is available now on iTunes, and all proceeds will benefit the WM3 Fund, a trust set up to provide financial assistance for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr.  The three men were controversially convicted as teenagers in the 1993 murders of three young boys, and ultimately spent 18 years behind bars before being released.


--Russian Authorities Search For Additional Pussy Riot Members

Authorities in Russia are on the hunt for more members of a controversial punk rock band.  They are looking for more members of the group known as Pussy Riot as criticism mounts over jail sentences already meted out to some of the musicians.  Three members of the group have been sentenced to jail over a protest against Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a church in Moscow.  Officials say five people took part in the demonstration.  Members of the group who were not on trial have resolved to put on more protests.


--Today's Birthdays

Former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes is 60.
Former Journey drummer Steve Smith is 58.
Kenny Rogers is 74.  
Former Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie is 55.
System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian is 45.
The Prodigy frontman Liam Howlett is 41.


--Today In Rock History

In 1972
Jefferson Starship's Grace Slick was maced in a scuffle with police following a concert in Akron, Ohio.  The band's equipment manager is said to have started the ruckus by calling the police "pigs."

In 1976
Elvis Presley's record sales had passed the 400-million mark.

In 1990
Elvis Presley's first drivers license and a collage made by John Lennon were among the articles sold at an auction in London.

In 2005
Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille was released from police custody after posting 50-thousand-dollars bail following a night in jail.  He'd been arrested a day earlier after being accused of assaulting a former girlfriend.

In 2006
Psychic Uri Geller took legal action over the ownership of Elvis Presley's first house, filing a lawsuit because he believed he placed the winning bid when the property went up for auction on eBay three months earlier.  The seller instead sold the house to music producer Mike Curb.

In 2008
Gary Glitter was finally London bound.  The disgraced rocker, who had been deported from Vietnam after serving 33 months following a child molestation conviction, spent the previous two days searching for an alternate homeland in either Thailand or Hong Kong, but neither country would allow him entry.

In 2010
The town of Cridersville, Ohio renamed itself "Snidersville" for the day in honor ofTwisted Sister frontman Dee Snider.  On this day Snider led a group of motorcyclists from Lima, Ohio to "Snidersville" as part of a fund raiser for the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies.