Eric Ellis, who was the guitarist for Bury Your Dead from 2004-2008, is on trial in Florida for racketeering. All the crimes he's alleged to have a part in happened in 2009-2010, after Ellis had already left the band. Weirdtown.

Says The Florida Times-Union:

Maynard Kenneth Godwin once wore dog tags signifying him as “The Boss” and still has a tattoo of the TV-inspired Jacksonville gang for which he took the title, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Along with selling drugs and stolen merchandise, he assigned positions and duties to members of the Guardians and had dog tags identifying their roles. One of those members, tagged as an associate, sat behind Godwin Thursday as a rare double jury trial got under way in federal court in Jacksonville.

Prosecutors said Godwin, 32, and Eric Steven Ellis, 27, are the last men standing of a group of violent robbers and drug dealers who terrorized residents in home invasions from Ponte Vedra Beach to Beauclerc, robbed banks and beat people. Four of the defendants have already pleaded guilty.

I wrote this poem for a ninth grade English class. I just found it while going through old boxes. My teacher liked it! She gave me a B.

A pox on you, Steve Miller.
Though I'm known as a joker, too.
I'm not a Space Cowboy whose spurs
dig deeply into my private space, like yours.

I also want to fly like an eagle,
away from small talk,
and any unwanted pregnancies
that I'm going to be a part of.

So don't keep on a rock'n me baby,
please don't keep rock'n me baby.
Baby baby baby baby
take the money and run.

In 1989 David Copperfield,
draped a big old jet airliner.
"Abracadabra," he yelled out
that airliner was gone.

The only sport anyone should play is football. What you do is play a kazoo for hours, until the wax paper disintegrates and you are just yelling through a plastic tube. The most important thing is to ignore anyone without a saliva-covered plastic tube, because those people don’t know shit about football.

Holy whoa, it's just been announced that Wisconsin's Die Kreuzen will reunite to play a show commemorating classic bands from Milwaukee. No listing yet for the Oil Tasters to be on the same bill, drag.

It's well known that the first Die Kreuzen 7", Cows & Beer is brutally brilliant, and their self titled LP on Touch & Go (TG04!) is one of the best hardcore records ever. Audiences seem to be divided on the latter work of Die Kreuzen, which is a college rock blend of Hüsker Dü-ish flail jams.

Regardless, if you're going to be in Milwaukee in late May, you'd be a fool to miss this show. Go to the Mars Cheese Castle while you're at it! Eat some cheese curds!

More info on this show here, here, and here.

Well, SHIT!! The original Black Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, FIRED from the reunited group!!! So, there goes that...no proper Black Sabbath reunion.

From Ward's statement...

At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the Black Sabbath album and tour. However, I am unable to continue unless a "signable" contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band. Last year, I worked diligently in good faith with Tony, Ozzy and Geezer. And on 11/11/11, again in good faith, I participated in the L.A. press conference. Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another "unsignable" contract was handed to me.

The place I'm in feels lousy and lonely because as much as I want to play and participate, I also have to stand for something and not sign on. If I sign as-is, I stand to lose my rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician. I believe in freedom and freedom of speech. I grew up in a hard rock/metal band. We stood for something then, and we played from the heart with honesty and sincerity. I am in the spirit of integrity, far from the corporate malady, I am real and honest, fair and compassionate.

Okay, so it doesn't SOUND like he was fired, but has withdrawn his participation. Still, fingers are pointing to Ozzy's manager, and wife, Sharon Osbourne...once Don Arden's daughter, ALWAYS Don Arden's daughter.

• Jagjaguwar

Take your pick. Personally, I don’t hate the Grammy-nominated band, because it’s a waste of time and energy I could channel into more productive pursuits (though that pseudo-French name drives me up the wall). I find their music perfectly pleasant, but too innocuous to get worked up about one way or the other.

Toronto pop critic Carl Wilson* sums things up nicely at Slate's Music Club:

Part of rock’s problem is that without a pungent sense of irony it tends to skew either superearnest or supergoofy (or both). Which brings me round, if only because you asked, to Bon Iver. I see the appeal of Justin Vernon’s traffic-stopping falsetto and deft arrangements, but I can’t handle the overbearing self-seriousness, which seems to obviate the need for the music to have any kind of forward momentum, melodically or rhythmically—his songs not only don’t go anywhere, they don’t seem to start out anywhere.

*I first met Wilson at the same time I met Larry Mizell Jr., at the 2010 EMP Pop Conference. I'm sorry that it's since moved to Los Angeles and New York. The Pop Con returns to Seattle in 2013.

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Remember when the internet was all a twitter with rumors about Jon Bon Jovi being dead? Well the dude responsible for the rumors has come clean to explain he got the idea to spread the lie after seeing the beloved Jersey-boy star in an Advil commercial. The gossiper is now apologizing via press release... while also trying to get a little press for his band:

Philadelphia native, Jeffrey Goho, took responsibility for the hoax, saying the rumor rapidly spread across major social networking and microblogging platforms, originating from his [Bon Jovi's] appearance in an Advil commercial to his supposed demise. Mr. Goho apparently had enough of the singer/songwriter's business endeavors in the tri-state area stating that he "felt as if Jon Bon Jovi had lost site of the true reason he became a household name... his musical contributions."

Recent reports from Philadelphia Soul Team President, Ron Jaworski, state that Mr. Goho wrote a formal apology to minority owner, Richie Sambora, in an effort to reach Jon Bon Jovi himself. Mr. Goho, lead singer of the Philadelphia-based hard rock group, MINUTIA, was quoted, "I never thought the rumors would spread so rapidly." Mr. Goho also states, "I am truly sorry for any and all damage that I may have caused Jon and his family. Furthermore, I can only hope that he continues to bring prosperity to the Philadelphia region and surrounding areas."

Hilarious!

New video for the Good Sin x 10.4 Rog: "All for You."

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