Live4MusiC

Guns N’Roses have finally confirmed they don’t care how long they keep fans waiting before their shows.

Axl Rose’s band kicked up another storm of protest after hitting the stage at Rock in Rio two hours late last weekend. It followed a number of other high-profile delays with crowds kept standing for anything from 20 to 120 minutes after the published showtime.

In the past Rose has suggested there are real reasons for the delays, which he doesn’t want to get into.

But at the weekend a statement was posted on the band’s Facebook page, written in the usual Rose style.

He said: "Love it Hate it Accept it Debate it – You want 8 o’clock shows go find F-R-I-E-N-D-S or hit a cinema somewhere.. or you wanna be informed go catch the 10 o’clock news.. this is Rock N’ Roll!

"Treat yourself don’t cheat yourself thinking you’re gonna go to school or work or whatever you ‘normally’ do the next day. Oh and remember before you get high and never want to come down. ‘you can have anything you want but you better not take it from me!’

"This is Guns N’Roses and when the time is right the stage will ignite. Looking forward to sharing that with rockers soon!"

While many fans approved of Rose’s message, others were less supportive.

One replied: "Being Guns n’Roses still doesn’t allow you to disrespect your fans. And don’t hide behind rock’n'roll. You either commit yourself or don’t! Those tickets weren’t given away for free."

Another said: "We need our jobs – that’s how we pay for the tickets."

And another added: "I know the rock’n'roll lifestyle dictates you don’t cater to anyone. But we fans are the ones who made you a star. We’re the ones who stand in line for hours for tickets and buy your music and merchandise. Maybe you don’t have to grow up – but we did! We have families and jobs to pay for, and once in a while a concert. I wish you would get off your ass and work a real job for one day, then maybe you would appreciate what you’ve got."

One poster said simply: "I know you’re coming on after ten. But why not put it on the ticket?"

Dee Snider (Twisted Sister, vocals): "Thank you, Steve Jobs. You rocked our world... and you never played a note."

Guns N' Roses: "When people say it's not about the possessions but how you're remembered - they are talking about people like Steve Jobs. RIP."

Bret Michaels: "He showed great strength and perseverance through his illness and continued to be an innovator all the while remaining positive while fighting his battle with cancer. I can only thank Steve for his innovation, inspiration and creativity while touching all of our lives in some way shape or form."

Lamb of God: "RIP Steve Jobs."

Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe, bass): "RIP Steve Jobs. Steve was of his era what Thomas Edison was to the beginning of the 20th century. You made all our lives a better place."

Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe, drums): "RIP Mr. Jobs! Excuse me... Mr. Incredible!"

Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit, vocals): "RIP Steve Jobs! True visionary."

Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, guitars): "I feel stupid, but I have to say it: What an impact Steve Jobs has had on my life. My iPhone may just be the most useful tool I own. Bummer."

Papa Roach: "R.I.P. to Steve Jobs - one of the greatest innovators and visionaries, ever."

Billy Graziadei (Biohazard, guitars-vocals): "RIP, Steve Jobs, he was an inspiration to all of us who dropped out of school and made something of ourselves! He single-handedly changed the world with his vision! When you leave your mark on the world, you live forever! Kings never die!"

Godsmack: "RIP Steve Jobs... you sure did make your mark on this earth, and a brilliant one indeed!"

According to Contact Music, Lady Gaga is in talks with May to take over the role of Queen’s lead singer. Brian May offered the following statement to the Daily Expressregarding the situation: "We talk about going out on the road all the time but there’s a bit of a singer problem to put it mildly. We get a lot of offers to work with other people. I worked with Lady Gaga and she’s very creative and is someone we’ve talked about singing, fronting the band with. She’s not just a singer, she writes her own material."

Queen’s influence on Gaga is apparent. The "Poker Face" singer’s flamboyance evidently owes a lot to the theatrics of Mercury, and her stage name is even a play on Queen’s 1984 hit single "Radio Gaga". May is reportedly considering the reality TV outlet as another avenue for finding a new vocalist: "We have talked about doing duets with other people and in a strange way I almost pressed the yes button. We were debating the idea of a TV show where we have all these guest stars. We didn’t press it today but we are still looking at it. Lady Gaga has said she would like to do something with us."

You can download Bon Jovi songs on iTunes, but don't expect the band to be too happy about it.

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi, whose band soared to prominence with its 1986 album Slippery When Wet, reminisced in the Sunday Times Magazine about his days as a kid in New Jersey, falling in love with music -- and ripped Apple CEO Steve Jobs for taking that opportunity away from a new generation of listeners.

"Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it," he said (via MSN), thinking back to his record buying days. Then came the less fanciful: the blame.

"God, it was a magical, magical time. I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."

Interestingly, his criticism isn't about illegal downloading or any skewed road to success; instead, Bon Jovi is complaining about the actual experience of listening to music, which he thinks has been downgraded by iTunes downloads and iPods.

Apple's iTunes Store has become the number one music vendor in the country; on February 24th, itsold its 10 billionth song download. Of course, most downloads come in single song form, not a full album, and album art work certainly is less prominent. For his part, the rocker's band has released special editions of albums with bonus songs on the service (such as 2009's The Circle), though that may be in order to keep up with the times, not so much a celebration of online downloading.

- HuffingtonPost 

For the first time in more than three decades, a live music festival took place in Afghanistan on Saturday.

The six-hour music festival, Sound Central, featured bands from Australia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. The event, held at the Babur Gardens, was a rare moment for the conservative Muslim country where music was outlawed under the Taliban regime.

This was not, however, your typical music festival. No alcohol was served, the only food available was kebabs, and the music stopped twice so that the call to prayer could be heard from nearby mosques, according to a report by Reuters. The music ranged from indie to blues and even death metal.

While the location of the event was kept secret until the very last minute to deter any acts of violence, more than 450 attended the festivities. Even since the Taliban was toppled in 2001 by the U.S.-backed Afghan forces, music still has a long was to go to acceptance by some. Music shops have been attacked in cities throughout the country.

"Rock and roll will change the world, and we hope it will change Afghanistan too," the guitarist from the Uzbek band Tears Of The Sun, Nikita Makapenko, told Reuters. "This is historic, and it's just the beginning."

An Australian photojournalist, Travis Beard, organized the event after he moved to Kabul and joined a band. He wanted to showcase the musical talents in the area.