--Van Halen's Eddie Van Halen Has Emergency Surgery; Japanese Tour Postponed

Van Halen's Eddie Van Halen is recovering from what's being described as "a severe bout of diverticulitis."  A post Wednesday evening on the group's Facebook page says the guitarist underwent emergency surgery for the condition.  He's not expected to need any additional operations and is expected to make a full recovery.  However, Eddie will be laid up for the next four to six months.  Consequently, Van Halen won't be returning to the road this fall.  The band had a Japanese tour slated for November.  The group is said to be rescheduling that trek and planning more dates for 2013.

Van Halen returned to the spotlight this year following their reunion with founding frontman David Lee Roth.  In February, the band released "A Different Kind of Truth" and launched a tour behind the album.  Van Halen completed the first leg of their North American trek, which ran from February through June.  The tour's proposed second leg was to run from early July through late September but was scrapped in May.  At the time Van Halen explained the band had been too ambitious with their scheduling, and cancelled the summer dates simply because they needed a break.


--Journey's Tampa Appearance Not Romney's Doing

Journey is set to perform in Tampa on Thursday.  But the group's reported 500-thousand-dollar payday for the gig apparently isn't coming from Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.  Journey is slated to play a benefit for Citizens Helping Heroes at Liberty Plaza.  While the concert is taking place in conjunction with this week's Republican National Convention the show isn't an official convention event, and a spokesman for the Romney campaign tells BuzzFeed.com they didn't hire Journey for the show.


--Former Dio Bassist Arrested For DUI, Illegal Prescription Drug Possession

Former Dio bassist Jimmy Bain is facing drug possession and DUI charges.  TMZ.com says his ordeal began with a minor traffic accident in Burbank, California Tuesday night.  The rocker's behavior at the scene led responding officers to believe he might be intoxicated, so they gave him a field sobriety test -- which he failed.  Police also say they found some Vicodin on Bain that didn't belong to him.  As he was being booked for misdemeanor DUI and felony possession of prescription medication, cops discovered that Bain also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on a prior drug-related charge.  However, Bain was still granted bail, and released after posting 60-thousand-dollars.


--Chris Cornell Pulls Out Of Jay-Z's Made In America Festival

It turns out Chris Cornell won't be making anything at Jay-Z's Made in America Festival this weekend.  The Soundgarden rocker announced this week that he won't be able to perform at the Philadelphia event due to a "scheduling conflict."  Cornell was set to take the stage this Sunday.  However, his latest cancelation doesn't mean he won't be onstage at all this coming weekend.  He plans to join the National at a campaign for President Obama in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Made in America is scheduled to get under way that same day.  The two-day event will still feature performances from Jay-Z, Pearl Jam, Skrillex, Drake, Miike Snow, Run DMC, Passion Pitt and more.  The full schedule is available at MadeInAmericaFest.com.


--Stone Sour Planning "Fan Casting Call" For New Video

Members of Stone Sour are gearing up for the band's latest video shoot, and they're asking fans for a little help.  Frontman Corey Taylor says production on the clip for two new songs -- "Gone Sovereign" and "Absolute Zero" -- will get under way in the coming weeks.  He also tweeted that there will be a "casting call" for a couple thousand fans as soon as they figure out where they'll be shooting the performance video, which he promises will be "sick."  Both tracks are from the first half of Stone Sour's forthcoming two-disc concept album, "House of Gold and Bones."  "Part One" is slated to hit stores on October 23rd, while "Part Two" is due out sometime next year.


--Rockers Supporting Jailed Russian Band In Hand-Delivered Letter To Moscow

Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, and Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos are some of the celebrities continuing to put pressure on the Russian government to honor the rights of the punk band Pussy Riot.  They are just some of the stars who have signed a petition letter launched by International USA and the former New York City club CBGB.  But CBGB owner Tim Hayes tells "Rolling Stone" that they've had a hard time getting their document into the hands of Russian authorities.  He explains that when Amnesty International went to the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC to deliver the petition -- which includes 100-thousand signatures -- they were "physically escorted" from the building, and embassy staff "threw the petitions on the curb."  Hayes says that prompted him to take more direct action.  He and CBGB co-owner Louise Parnassa traveled to Moscow to personally hand the celebrity-signed letter to the prosecutor.

Hayes admits the mood in Russia is currently very tense.  He adds that the protest staged by the group that landed three band members in jail isn't simply the actions of a few radical musicians.  Hayes explains that Pussy Riot is really just a symbol of a large-scale movement he equates to Occupy Wall Street, and Russian authorities are "closely monitoring" the situation.


--Today's Birthdays

Former Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody is 62.
The Specials bassist Horace Panter is 59.
DJ and remix artist Paul Oakenfold is 49.
Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen is 41.
Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett is 38.
Former Panic! At the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross is 26.


--Today In Rock History

In 1963
The Beatles' collarless jackets went on sale in England.

In 1970
Jimi Hendrix played his last gig in Britain.  It was on the last day of the Isle of Wight festival.

In 1973
Two years after Jim Morrison's death, the Doors broke up.

In 1981
The Rolling Stones released the album "Tattoo You."

In 1988
Bruce Springsteen and wife Juilanne Phillips divorced.

In 1989
Guns N' Roses Izzy Stradlin was arrested after creating a disturbance on an airplane.  He allegedly urinated on the floor, verbally abused a flight attendant, and smoked in the non-smoking section of the jet liner.

In 2000
Slipknot's concert in Dublin was cancelled because the National Parents Council of Ireland made a formal complaint against the band.

In 2004
Kris Kristofferson was named as an inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  The famed singer-songwriter, perhaps best known for penning Janis Joplin's hit "Me and Bobby McGee," was formally introduced to the Country Hall during the Country Music Association Awards ceremony ten weeks later.

In 2006
Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" topped Britain's Planet Rock radio's listener's poll of the best guitar solos.

In 2008
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was the headliners for the second day of the Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary Celebration concerts.  Other performers at the multi-day event included ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Dr. John, War, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

In 2010
Slash filed for divorce from his wife, Perla.  The couple reconciled two months later, and Slash stopped the divorce proceedings.