--Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Discusses Substance Abuse

Billie Joe Armstrong is coming clean about his struggles with alcohol and prescription drug abuse.  In the upcoming issue of "Rolling Stone," the Green Day frontman says he had been dealing with the problem for years.  He admits he usually couldn't predict where he'd end up at the end of the night, and he'd often wake up the next morning on someone else's couch after a "complete blackout."  Armstrong says he doesn't even remember much of his onstage meltdown at last fall's iHeartRadio Festival, confessing that he had to ask his wife just how bad it was the next day.  And when he talked to his manager, Billie Joe says he was told to return to Oakland and check himself into rehab "immediately."

Fans can read Armstrong's full "Rolling Stone" cover story when it hits newsstands this Friday. Meanwhile the guys in Green Day have booked a trio of warm-up gigs ahead of their South by Southwest debut next month. The punk rockers announced Tuesday that they'll be playing three intimate club shows starting March 10th at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California.  They'll also hit the Marquee in Tempe, Arizona on March 11th, and Tricky Falls in El Paso, Texas on March 13th.  Tickets for all three shows are scheduled to go on sale this Friday at 10:00 a.m. local time.  Green Day will then make their way to Austin, Texas for SXSW screenings of "¡Cuatro!" and "Broadway Idiot," followed by a performance at the Moody Theater.  And at the end of March, the band is set to kick off their rescheduled tour, which they postponed last fall due to frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's stint in rehab.  The new trek starts March 28th in Resemont, Illinois.


--Black Keys' Dan Auerbach To Appear On Tonight's "Nashville"

The Black Keys may be Ohio natives, but they've since turned Nashville into a second hometown.  And to help make the move official, singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach is scheduled to make a guest appearance the ABC drama "Nashville."  He'll join Music City notables like Vince Gill, Pam Tillis and others who play themselves as guests at a star-studded birthday party.  The special episode of "Nashville" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.


--Fans Claim To Have Found Freddie Mercury's Final Resting Place

The final resting place of rock legend Freddie Mercury may no longer be a mystery.  More than two decades after the Queen frontman succumbed to AIDS, fans are claiming to have found the place where his cremated ashes were buried -  the Kensal Rise cemetery in West London.  According to the "Daily Mirror" fans apparently came across a plaque in the cemetery that reads, "In Loving Memory of Farrokh Bulsara," which was the singer's birth name.  The dates of birth and death also match up with Mercury's.  The plaque also includes a sentence in French, and is signed "M.," which fans believe is a reference to Mary Austin, Mercury's former girlfriend who inherited his London home following his death.  

So far, Mercury's estate has declined to comment, which is no surprise considering the singer's insistence on privacy during his life.


--Bob Seger Launching Tour Wednesday Night

Bob Seger is back on the road.  The rocker and his Silver Bullet Band are kicking off their "2013 Rock and Roll Never Forgets Tour" with the first of two shows in Toledo, Ohio Wednesday night.  The trek also includes a few special dates.  The March 15th stop in St. Paul, Minnesota and the March 16th show in Fargo, North Dakota are co-headlining dates with Kid Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band.  Seger will also play two shows in his hometown of Detroit on April 11th and 13th, which will feature opening sets from Joe Walsh.  Seger is slated to wrap up his 21-date trek with a performance in Buffalo, New York on April 18th.

Bob Seger's "2013 Rock and Roll Never Forgets Tour" Dates:

March 7 - Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center
March 15 - St. Paul, Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center - with Kid Rock


--No Doubt Postpone Tour Plans To Record New Album

No Doubt is putting its road trip plans on hold to spend some time in the studio.  The group announced on their Facebook page Tuesday that they're currently in Los Angeles working on the follow-up to last year's comeback record, "Push and Shove."  The band explains that during the tour for that album, frontwoman Gwen Stefani was inspired to start writing music for the next one.  They decided to start 2013 in the studio, and they say the new music has been "flowing with unexpected ease" since January.  But that means No Doubt won't be hitting the road as planned this year.  Yet they promise to keep fans updated on the recording sessions with plenty of photos and videos.  They also add that their goal as a band is to "share this new music" -- both on record and as part of a live tour -- "as quickly as possible."


--Today's Birthdays

Journey guitarist Neal Schon is 59.
Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant is 53.
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith is 56.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark singer Paul Humphreys is 53.
Former Verve Pipe bassist Brad Vander Ark is 44.


--Today In Rock History

In 1967
Pink Floyd released their first single, "Arnold Layne."

In 1970
The Jefferson Airplane was fined one-thousand-dollars for using the f-word on stage during a show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  The language violated a city ordinance.

Elvis Presley performed the first of six sold-out concerts at the Houston Astrodome.

In 1977
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was arrested in Toronto for heroin possession.  While he was convicted, he was spared jail time if the Stones played two benefit concerts for the blind.  He received a suspended sentence for trafficking charges, and was ordered to undergo treatment.

In 1991
A British coroner ruled that the January 7th death of Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark was due to an accidental drug overdose.

In 1995
Nirvana's album "Bleach" was certified Gold and Platinum.

In 1996
Green Day's album "Insomniac" and Alanis Morissette's album "Jagged Little Pill" were certified multi-Platinum, while Pearl Jam's single "Merkinball" was certified Gold.

In 2003
A lawyer for Great White's tour manager said the band had permission from owners of the West Warwick, Rhode Island club to use pyrotechnics in the venue.  During a concert a week earlier, 96 people, including Great White guitarist Ty Longley, were killed when the band's pyro display ignited a fire that completely engulfed the club in just a few minutes.  Four more victims later died from their injuries, bringing the death toll to 100.

In 2005
Pearl Jam memorabilia was among the material up for bid at a fundraising auction for the Station Family Fund, established to help the survivors and the families of the victims of the deadly 2003 Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

In 2006
Roger Waters held a press conference in Paris to announce plans for a tour during which he would offer a presentation of the classic Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety.  

In 2008
Members of Linkin Park took part in a Habitat For Humanity home building project in New Orleans.

In 2011
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for their music to the movie "The Social Network," while Randy Newman earned his second career Oscar for Best Original Song with "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3."  The ceremony also featured a performance from Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch.  She performed the Best Original Song nominee "If I Rise" from "127 Hours," which was originally recorded by Dido.

In 2012
During a show in Philadelphia, Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose apologized to fans for skipping a scheduled concert in the city ten years earlier.  At that December 2002 date, the audience sat through a two-hour set from the opening act before the official word came that Guns N' Roses wouldn't be appearing.  After the announcement the crowd broke out into a riot, and five people ended up hospitalized.