KUSF Moves to Online Only Format Radio Broadcast Rights Sold to Classical Public Radio Network

The University of San Francisco (USF) announced today that KUSF, the university’s radio station, is moving to an online only format, effective immediately. The university has reached an agreement to assign the FCC license for radio frequency 90.3 FM to Classical Public Radio Network, which is launching a non-commercial classical music station in the Bay Area. CPRN is owned by University of Southern California.

Read the press release from USC and Entercom Communications.

The call letters KUSF were not sold, and the KUSF logo and all music inventory will remain USF property. All KUSF staff will be offered similar positions at KUSF.org.

The move to online-only distribution gives KUSF a powerful opportunity to grow its worldwide audience. Previously, the station was limited to 100 online listeners at a time, but capacity will be increased to accommodate thousands of listeners.


The station will go dark briefly for necessary engineering work. It is possible the electrical work could take several days.

As it shifts to an online-only format, USF will focus on the station’s primary purpose as a teaching laboratory for students. The university is evaluating ways to improve the student learning experience and enhance its curriculum in digital media and audio production. USF is also pleased to announce that CPRN will make internships available to qualified USF students interested in radio broadcasting.

USF will invest the proceeds from the sale to support its mission, and will continue to offer a valuable learning experience for its media students. USF is pleased that it can also help ensure the long-term presence of high-quality classical music programming in the Bay Area.

The sale must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

DARKEST HOUR, BORN OF OSIRIS: 'Atticus Metal' Tour; Tour Dates Revealed

Atticus Black clothing is a name now synonymous with metal showcasing the hottest new talent via their highly successful "Atticus Metal" tour. The third annual "Atticus Metal" tour looks to feature the most devastating and dynamic lineup yet, with DARKEST HOUR co-headlining with BORN OF OSIRIS. AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT will round out the stellar bill. SLEEPING GIANT will be special guests on all West Coast dates and look for other special openers on other shows depending on the region. This monstrous trek, which kicks off on February 25 in Washington, D.C. at the 9:30 Club will also serve as DARKEST HOUR's record-release show.


The dates are as follows:

Feb. 25 - Washington, DC - 930 Club (DARKEST HOUR CD-release show)
Feb. 26 - Virginia Beach, VA - Skate High
Feb. 27 - Greensboro, NC - Greene St
Feb. 28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel
Mar. 01 - Joliet (Chicagoland), IL - Mojoes (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 02 - Sauget (St. Louis), IL - Pop's (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 03 - Covington, KY - The Madhatter (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 04 - Detroit, MI - Harpos (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 05 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 06 - St. Paul, MN - The Station (w/ IN THE MIDST OF LIONS)
Mar. 07 - Iowa City, IA - Blue Moose
Mar. 08 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground
Mar. 09 - Colorado TBA
Mar. 10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound (w/ NORMA JEAN, STICK TO YOUR GUNS)
Mar. 11 - Reno, NV - The Alley
Mar. 12 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades

California Metalfest V To Feature AS I LAY DYING, SUICIDE SILENCE, WINDS OF PLAGUE

California Metalfest V is scheduled for March 19th at The Grove in Anaheim, CA. Thus far, the following ten bands have been confirmed:
AS I LAY DYING
SUICIDE SILENCE
WINDS OF PLAGUE
BORN OF OSIRIS
DARKEST HOUR
AFTER THE BURIAL
AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK
SLEEPING GIANT
THE HUMAN ABSTRACT
THE GREAT COMMISSION
Further details and ticket information can be found here.

Metal 2 The Masses winners ACHREN to release BOA DVD

Scottish 'Blood Metallers' Achren have been confirmed as the Bloodstock-Open-Air 2010 UK Metal 2 the Masses prize winners.
Their spell binding performance of brutal death metal proportions captivated the gathered masses in the New Blood Stage at this years festival, and the
band have now been confirmed to perform at the 2011 Wacken-Open-Air festival on the Metal Battle stage.

Formed in 2003, Glasgow based Achren's brand of metal is crushingly heavy and uncompromising. Filled with raw and razor sharp riffs, death metal growls, black metal screams, and pounding drums they create a unique and commandeering sound which over the course of their first two demos and subsequent releases have forged the term 'Blood Metal.' Consistently touring the UK over the last few years to great live acclaim, the band have build a steady fanbase around the country.

Frontman Scott ' The Metal 2 the Masses initiative has given us a great chance to take the band to a different level. The whole team at Bloodstock work so hard to make it the best metal festival in the UK and we can't thank everybody enough for providing us with this great opportunity.'

The band also filmed the whole Bloodstock-Open-Air set for release on DVD in January 2011 and their as yet untitled album is now complete and ready for a spring release in time for further Summer Festival appearances.


To find out more please check out http://www.achren.com

Dates Revealed For Norma Jean, Stick To Your Guns, Impending Doom, Of Legends Tour

Full dates have now been released for the upcoming “Explosions II Tour” which will see Norma Jean headline with Stick To Your Guns (who will join the bill on March 03rd) Impending Doom and Of Legends rounding out the bill. Here’s where you can catch it:

02/24 Dallas, TX – The Loft
02/25 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
02/26 Houston, TX – Warehouse
02/28 Lubbock, TX – Tequila Nights
03/01 Albuquerque, NM – Launch Pad
03/02 Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
03/03 Pomona, CA – Glasshouse
03/04 San Francisco, CA – Slims
03/05 Sacramento, CA – Boardwalk
03/06 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
03/07 Seattle, WA – Neumos
03/09 Boise, ID – The Venue
03/10 Salt Lake City, UT – Club Sound
03/11 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
03/12 Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
03/13 Minneapolis, MN – Station Four
03/15 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
03/16 Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
03/17 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls
03/18 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
03/19 Worcester, MA – Palladium Upstairs
03/20 Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
03/22 Richmond, VA – Canal Club
03/23 Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
03/24 Tampa, FL – State Theatre
03/25 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

Listen To The New Social Distortion Album‏

Next Tuesday the 18th marks the street date of Social Distortion's latest release Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes but you don't have to wait! Head over to socialdistortion.com now and stream the entire album for free. With every 100k streams, the price of the album will drop $1 on Amazon.com. It can go as low as $7.99 – but only if you stream! You control the price! Head over to the page, check out the record and tell your friends. Share on Facebook or Twitter from the page and automatically be entered to win a signed Epiphone guitar from Social Distortion.

Second Leg Announced For DISTURBED/KORN Tour

According to The Pulse Of Radio, DISTURBED and co-headliners KORN have announced the first few dates of the second leg of the "Music As A Weapon V" tour, just a few days before the Friday (January 14) kick-off of the first leg in Bloomington, Illinois. Following the first leg's wrap-up on February 12 in Lubbock, Texas, the trek will resume four weeks later on March 8, also in the Lone Star state. Just seven gigs have been confirmed, with more to be unveiled.

DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan told The Pulse Of Radio why his band decided to share headlining status this time around with KORN. "With such a tough economy and tours, you know, being a little more difficult to encourage the kids to come out, we thought it would be better to get another heavy hitter, somebody who's been around as long as KORN and who's just as big, you know," he said. "So we thought it would be great to kind of team up and add for a more powerful tour by having two big headliners."

The "Music As A Weapon" bill will also feature SEVENDUST and IN THIS MOMENT.

Tickets for the first leg are already on sale, while tickets for the second leg go on sale this weekend.



The first 1,000 tickets from each show will be sold at a $5 discount during the on-sale weekend to reward early ticket-buying fans.

Newly confirmed "Music As A Weapon" dates (subject to change):

March 08 - Belton, TX - Bell County Expo Center
March 09 - Las Cruces, TX - NMSU Pan American Center
March 11 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Convention Center
March 12 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
March 13 - Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
March 15 - Portland, OR - Memorial Coliseum
March 17 - Yakima, WA - Yakima Valley SunDome
March 18 - Missoula, MT - Adams Center

Helmet To Headline the 2011 Metalliance Tour

The 2011 Metalliance Tour has officially been announced. The tour sponsored by Revolver Magazine, Loudtrax.com, Brooklyn Vegan, Mosh Potatoes Cookbook and Giddy Up! Sauces is proud to announce HELMET, SAINT VITUS and CROWBAR for its inaugural line up. The festival tour will run through the U.S. from March 17th through April 5th.

Legendary alternative metal band HELMET will perform their 1992 platinum-selling release of Meantime in its entirety. The Interscope Records release gave the band mainstream attention with songs like “Unsung” and “In The Meantime”. With the band’s renewed success after getting back together in 2004, this tour will be one of the most anticipated of 2011.



One of the most highly influential Doom Metal bands in America, SAINT VITUS are regarded as one of the first bands of the genre starting out as early as the 1970′s. The band featuring Scott “Wino” Weinrich, bassist Mark Adams, guitarist Dave Chandler and drummer Henry Vasquez have influenced so many bands in Doom and Metal . “Saint Vitus is more than ready to infect The Metalliance Tour! We’ve been wanting to do something like this for some time now…so prepare for destruction!!” says lead guitarist Dave Chandler.The band has done a handful of shows and some European Festivals but this will be their first full US tour in over a decade.

CROWBAR front man Kirk Windstein concludes, “Wow! This tour is gonna rule! I’ve loved Helmet since the beginning and loved St. Vitus even longer. With the new Crowbar record having hit the streets by then, look out! This bill will bring just what we need to crush each city with an avalanche of stylistic thunder!”

Bassist PHIL KENNEMORE Dies At 57

Y&T Bassist PHIL KENNEMORE Dies At 57




Guitarist/vocalist Dave Meniketti of long-running California rockers Y&T has released the following statement:

"It is with profound sadness and disbelief that I tell you that my best buddy for 37 years, [Y&T bassist Phil Kennemore], passed away this morning, January 7, 2011 at 1 a.m. at Stanford Hospital. Bravely and steadfastly battling the horrible spectacle of lung cancer, at the end he was surrounded by his family members, and the Y&T family up until his final breath.

"All the beautiful things that I could say about my buddy Phil could never be summed up in a short sentence or two, and I promise that I will be back to say so much more about how I feel about him and his talents in due time. But for now, at 3 a.m., after just having returned home from his passing, let me at least put this out there.

"Phil Kennemore was not only a sweet and passionate man with his life, friends and family, but as an artist, he also had that rare ability to say what was on his mind with the most eloquent, clever, and to-the-point lyrics, yet could turn it on its head in a second with some other viewpoint on reality and nail the point dead center. He was able to do what very few can — say the things that others have been thinking, but could never quite seem to put into words. He has always had a keen knack for doing that.

"As a musician, with those huge fingers, his bass playing was always loud, strong, and deep, filling the largest or smallest of stages equally.

"He had an amazingly strong life force that has influenced everyone who ever had the opportunity to be called a friend of his. I am forever grateful for our lifelong friendship, that was always in place throughout the worst and best of times. I will miss his sense of humor, his amazing wit, but most of all I will always miss not seeing him to my left on the stages I will play from this moment forward.

"Yes, he was one of the class guys on this planet, and in this business, and I will always do what I can to spread the legacy of Phil Kennemore across the globe on every stage that I land on.

"You know how much I love you, Phil, and you knew how much your fans and fellow musicians loved and respected you. There was nothing left unsaid. You had a rich and wonderful life and I can only tell you that I was happy to have been alongside you every step of the glorious way.

"Cheers to you, Phil.

"Your friend forever, Dave."

Phil Kennemore was 57 years old.

Y&T organized a special New Year's Eve benefit concert for Kennemore at the Avalon in Santa, Clara, California. The event featured guest appearances by members of such acts as QUEENSRŸCHE, TESTAMENT, DOKKEN, KEEL and HEAVEN & HELL.

Y&T's first studio album in 13 years, "Facemelter", was released in Europe on May 21, 2010 via Frontiers Records.

DEFTONES To Tour U.S. With THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

DEFTONES will embark on a U.S. tour with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN in April/May. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Apr. 14 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
Apr. 16 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
Apr. 18 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Apr. 22 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Apr. 25 - Kansas City, MO - Harrah's
Apr. 26 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
Apr. 28 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Apr. 29 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
Apr. 30 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
May 01 - Detroit, MI - Fillmore Theatre
May 04 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
May 05 - Hampton, NH - Hampton Beach Casino
May 06 - Providence, RI - Lupo's
May 07 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre
May 09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
May 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
May 11 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
May 13 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater
May 14 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater

More shows will be announced soon.

DEFTONES has issued an exclusive remix of the title track from the band's "Diamond Eyes" CD to benefit DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng, who remains in a semi-comatose state after being injured in a November 2008 car crash. A message at Cheng's fundraising site said, "(DEFTONES guitarist) Stephen Carpenter's project SOL INVICTO has decided to offer their official remix of 'Diamond Eyes' exclusively on OneLoveForChi.com to help in raising funds needed for Chi to go to the East Coast. The track is available for a donation of 99 cents. 100% of all proceeds go to benefit Chi Cheng."

Cheng's family is trying to raise money to send Cheng to a doctor on the East Coast who has had success with reviving semi-comatose patients.

Cunningham recently gave The Pulse Of Radio an update on Cheng's condition. "He's still just trudging along, you know," he said. "It's extremely slow. Trying to keep it in people's minds, you know, I mean, you know, it's been nearly two years now, people, like anything, you know, you just move on to the next. So that's where we're concentrating now, you know, and just trying to keep people aware of it. But he's just there, and it's pretty wild, man, you know."

The latest single and video from "Diamond Eyes", which came out last May, is "You've Seen The Butcher".

Longtime DEFTONES friend Sergio Vega continues to play bass with the band in Cheng's absence.

SECOND LAZARUS A.D. SINGLE 'BLACK RIVERS FLOW' AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING NOW AT NOISECREEP.COM‏

Wisconsin thrash metallers LAZARUS A.D. and AOL’s Noisecreep.com are pleased to debut the new title track ‘Black Rivers Flow’, cut from LAZARUS A.D.’s upcoming full-length release of the same name. The track is available for streaming now at this link. The band’s recently released first single, ‘The Ultimate Sacrifice’ can be heard now on www.lazarusad.com.
“This time in the studio, we decided to record what was going on behind the scenes during the recording of Black Rivers Flow,” states bassist and vocalist Jeff Paulick. “We compiled over 50 hours of footage and edited this into six episodes that show you a side of the band rarely ever scene. We hope this gives everyone a deeper understanding of what went into the recording of Black Rivers Flow.”

LAZARUS A.D.’s highly anticipated upcoming album, Black Rivers Flow, was recorded in July and August 2010 at Belle City Sound with Chris Djuricic and was mixed and mastered by James Murphy at Safehouse Production. The album hits stores on February 1st, 2011.



Track listing for Black Rivers Flow:
1-American Dreams
2-The Ultimate Sacrifice
3-The Strong Prevail
4-Black Rivers Flow
5-Casting Forward
6-Light A City (Up In Smoke)
7-Through Your Eyes
8-Beneath the Waves of Hatred
9-Eternal Vengeance




LAZARUS A.D. is set to tour the U.S. this winter on the North American Retribution Tour alongside thrash metal legends Death Angel. Joining the tour will be Early Man, Bonded by Blood, and Hexen.

Baker Street singer Gerry Rafferty dies at age of 63

Rafferty was reputed to have earned £80,000 a year from the royalties on Baker Street. Clip courtesy of United Artists/EMI
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Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty has died at the age of 63 after suffering a long illness.

His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel.

Rafferty had battled a drink problem and spent time in hospital in Bournemouth with liver failure.

He was born in Paisley and began his musical career as a busker on the London Underground.
Solo career

Rafferty died peacefully at home, with his daughter Martha at his bedside.

It is understood his funeral will be held in Paisley later this month.

Rafferty had recorded and toured with Billy Connolly as part of the Humblebums, before forming Stealers Wheel with his friend Joe Egan in 1972.

Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also appeared on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992.

Baker Street charted in the UK and US in 1978 after Rafferty began his solo career and still achieves airplay on radio stations around the world.
Greatly missed

Music journalist and BBC Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini said it was a cruel irony that Baker Street, about Rafferty's unhappiness with being a star, brought him more of the fame he hated.

Gambaccini said: "He just wasn't of the constitution to deal with the music business, or to respect it.

"And thus he found fame and artistic success incompatible, and he became a wanderer, a lonely man, allegedly a drinker. And now we have this unhappy end."

Musician and BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson said Rafferty would be greatly missed.

"I'm deeply saddened to hear that Gerry has lost the battle with his failing health," he said.

"His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me.

"Many of us had hoped his recent album Life Goes On in 2009 would lead to a full-time return to writing and performing for a lyrical and highly gifted artist."

WHITECHAPEL Parts Ways With Drummer

Knoxville, Tennessee's WHITECHAPEL has parted ways with drummer Kevin Lane and has reportedly replaced him with Ben Harclerode of the Glendale, Arizona band KNIGHTS OF THE ABYSS. Lane is said to have returned home to Kingsport, Tennessee and is planning to go back to school.

WHITECHAPEL has selected Rocketown in Nashville, Tennessee as the location for the video shoot for the track "Breeding Violence", taken from the band's latest release, "A New Era of Corruption". The clip will be filmed on Saturday, January 8 with director Scott Hansen, who has previously worked on videos for ILL NIÑO, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, WILLIE NELSON, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and A DAY TO REMEMBER, among others. WHITECHAPEL will play a full set for its fans and will be joined by THE TONY DANZA TAP DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA.

Commented WHITECHAPEL guitarist and founding member Alex Wade: "Nashville has always been a second hometown for us and with the success of the show there on 'The Corruptour', naturally we'd love to shoot our music video for our awesome Nashville fans. Our good friends in THE TONY DANZA TAP DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA will be opening the show so come out and get a shot of being in our video; it's gonna be a fun night!"

Come out to join WHITECHAPEL and be a part of the band's new music video; the $10 all-ages show starts at 7 p.m.

WHITECHAPEL will embark on its first-ever European headlining tour in April 2011 with support from THE ACACIA STRAIN and IMPENDING DOOM.

WHITECHAPEL's third album, "A New Era Of Corruption", sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 43 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on June 8 via Metal Blade Records, the CD was recorded at Audiohammer studios in Sanford, Florida with acclaimed producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER).

WHITECHAPEL's previous album, "This Is Exile", opened with 5,900 copies in July 2008 to land at No. 117.

TESTAMENT To Perform First Two Albums In Their Entirety On 70000 TONS OF METAL Cruise

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers TESTAMENT will play two very unique shows on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which is set to sail from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on January 24, 2011 and return four days later. The first set will see the band perform its classic debut album, "The Legacy" (1987), in its entirety. At the second show, they will play another iconic masterpiece: 1988's "The New Order".

The festival billing is as follows:

AGENT STEEL
AMON AMARTH
BLACKGUARD
BLIND GUARDIAN
CRIPPER
DARK TRANQUILLITY
DEATH ANGEL
DESTRUCTION
DUSKMACHINE
ENSIFERUM
EPICA
EXODUS
FEAR FACTORY
FINNTROLL
FORBIDDEN
GAMMA RAY
ICED EARTH
KORPIKLAANI
MALEVOLENT CREATION
MARDUK
MOONSPELL
NEVERMORE
OBITUARY
RAGE
RAVEN
SABATON
SANCTUARY
SAXON
SODOM
SONATA ARCTICA
SWASHBUCKLE
TESTAMENT
TROUBLE
TÝR
ULI JON ROTH
UNLEASHED
VOIVOD
WITCHBURNER

SAXON will also play two unique shows. One night they will perform the "Wheels Of Steel" LP in its entirety and on a different night, for the second show, they will play "Strong Arm Of The Law" from start to finish.

70000 Tons Of Metal will sail Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean "Majesty of the Seas" from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011.

Make no mistake, 70000 Tons Of Metal is not your grandma's cruise. It's also not one of the cruises that share the ship with normal cruise guests. This is an all-ship heavy metal cruise! Can you imagine that? A whole luxury cruise ship full of metalheads? And since there is no backstage area you will have the opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It's like everyone has a backstage pass and you might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done!



Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$249 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, all meals and non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks at the on-board restaurants and 24-hour room service!

For more information, go to www.70000tons.com.