http://www.92citifm.ca

Fleetwood Mac will start their first tour in five years Sunday night in Pittsburgh at the Mellon Arena. Dubbed the Unleashed tour, it’s the first time that the Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks line-up is touring without a new album. Mick Fleetwood says, “There was not time to do it and we weren’t focused on doing that. We’re enjoying it, and we’re paying much more attention to digging up some of the other songs…and it’s really a celebration about the body of work this band has had in the last 30 years or so.” Buckingham adds, “It’s a very clear day for Fleetwood Mac right now, [and] we’re just having a great hang.” Like their last tour, the line-up is a four-piece with Christine McVie having retired from performing. The tour runs through May 31st in San Diego.

As part of 92 CITI FM’s exclusive presentation of the U2 A to ZED Weekend…92 CITI FM will be spinning the new disc from U2 tomorrow night (Friday February 27, 2009) @6pm with Cosmo!

All access vips…go to www.92citifm.ca to win your copy.  CD in stores Tuesday March 3, 2009.

Tomorrow (Friday February 27, 2009) will mark the 42nd anniversary of Pink Floyd’s debut release “Arnold Layne”.  Written by founder Syd Barrett, the single drew sharp criticism for its subject matter (a vagrant panty sniffer who was known for stealing laundry off the line).  Despite reaching a respectable #20 on the British charts, the single was perceived to be too far removed from society and disappeared quickly.  The single failed to chart in North America.  In retrospect, “Arnold Layne” is today considered as one of the greatest psychedelic pop songs of the era.  Original copies now exchange hands in the hundreds of dollars on ebay!

Ozzy Osbourne will perform on A-B-C’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 27th.

Motley Crue‘s Crue Fest Two: The White Trash Circus will kick off July 19th in Camden, New Jersey and run through September 5th in Darien Lake, New York. The lineup of bands joining the Crue this summer will be announced March 16th before the band’s show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The closest date for Winnipeg Crue fans is July 24 for the North Dakota State Fair in Minot (Crue only).  More information here:

www.pollstar.com

Styx, R-E-O Speedwagon and 38 Special will hit the road this summer on the Can’t Stop Rockin’ tour. Tommy Shaw of Styx is calling it the “rock and roll stimulus package” as ticket prices are as low as 13-50 on select dates for three great American bands. It kicks off May 13th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in celebration, Styx and R-E-O have teamed up to record a new single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by Shaw and Kevin Cronin from R-E-O. It will hit radio next month and be available for download via I-Tunes. The tour is dedicated to raising awareness about hunger among American school children by partnering with Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit organization that provides weekend meals to school children in need. Fans attending the tour will be able to help buy food for this valuable effort. For more information, visit the band’s websites: Speedwagon.com; StyxWorld.com and 38Special.com.

Veteran rock act Def Leppard will return to the U.S. this summer, Billboard.com can reveal. Joining them on all 40 dates will be Poison and Cheap Trick. Live Nation will produce the tour, which begins on June 23 in Camden, N.J. 

No confirmation at this time for Canadian tour dates.

For anyone growing up in Canada – particularly here in the west – the name CHILLIWACK resonates especially strong when recollecting familiar sounds that were blasting out of your car or transistor radio in the day.  Until now, the only legitamate release on cd (now long out of print) was a greatest hits compilation on the Solid Gold label.  While it did give creedence to the hits (atrociously edited), it denied the consumate fan the means to enjoy those other wonderful songs released on the original vinyl.  PACEMAKER MUSIC is an independent domestic label dedicated to preserving Canada’s musical heritage with a good couple of dozen reissues already under their belt.  They will soon be re-releasing the first four (4) Chilliwack albums with original artwork. 

In addition, the label announced they will be reissuing for the first time on compact disc the first official collection of A&B sides from WITNESS INC.! Originally from Saskatoon and later based out of Winnipeg, Witness Inc. featured future Streetheart frontman Kenny Shields.  Their recorded output is comprised of five (5) singles totalling 10 sides recorded between 1967-1969.  Rare and expensive and nearly impossible to find for the seasoned collector (…I know, I have but one of the five).  Chances are these recordings were culled from new vinyl masters (likely long lost), however it is commendable that someone is finally taking measures to preserving such a rare and uncharted chapter of this country’s musical heritage.  No official release date has been given.

for more visit their website:

http://www.pacemaker.cd/

Also check out:

www.kennyshieldsandstreetheart.com