AVION TAKES FLIGHT

Former Tories frontman Steve Bertrand has formed a new band called Avion. After working on a number of solo tunes over the past year, Bertrand decided he want to be part of a band dynamic again, so recruited a number of local LA musicians, including drummer Jamie Wollam, to finish his songs. The band has signed a deal with Image Entertainment to release an album in March 2004 and will shortly be shooting a video for first single "Seven Days Without You".

Look for an interview with Steve revealing more about Avion’s new material soon!

VONRAY CALL IT A DAY

They keep coming – bands who record a decent debut album but fail to make enough of an impact to avoid getting the chop at their record label. Vonray are the latest modern rock band to suffer this fate, and as front man Vaughan Rhea indicated on Vonray’s website, the end of the band’s deal with Elektra also means the end of the road for Vonray.

"This is not a big surprise to me and others on the inside, since the label just pretty much stopped all promotion for the band about six months ago," he said. "It’s a fickle, "here today, gone later today" business, especially in the pop arena. I am really glad to have my life back and to have all the debt off my shoulders but I will miss all the friends we’ve gained along the way.

He added: "Although there are talks of regaining our masters, offers to sign to another label, and generally moving on using the momentum we’ve gained with Elektra, I’ve elected to stop performing and pushing the Vonray band. I must admit I have grown to really dislike this business; at least the business side of it all. Heck, the only thing I really enjoy is the 45 minutes on stage. With the connections gained in New York and Nashville with publishing houses, I look forward to writing songs for others in many genres of music. "Inside Out" as of now has been spun 100,000+ times nation-wide, went to #31 on the top forty and has provided a cool income for the family. I couldn’t ask for more. Thank you all."

THE BATCHELOR FINDS A GIRLFRIEND IN JULY FOR KINGS

We haven’t had the joys of the ABC reality TV series "The Bachelor" here in the UK, but the current star of the show, Bob Guiney, will shortly release an album "3 Sides" on Wind-Up Records, with the first single being a cover of the July For Kings tune "Girlfriend".

JFK frontman Joe Hedges revealed more over at www.julyforkings.com.

"This one is juicy. I've known about this for a little while, and Wind-Up was kind enough to give me a heads-up and ask permission. It is certainly weird for me, but it's a huge opportunity for me as a songwriter. My ultimate goal is to sustain myself by writing songs and if "Girlfriend" is a big success for Bob, I may be able to focus less on how I'm going to pay my damn cell phone bill and more on writing songs! Hopefully, those songs can be successful for July For Kings!"

July For Kings nearly signed with Wind-Up before opting for a deal with MCA a couple of years back, and staff at the label obviously loved the song and saw potential in it (and the obvious tie-in value of the song’s title) for Guiney’s music career. Hopefully it can provide a much-needed boost to a talented band who really do deserve it.

Guiney himself has something of a musical history, as before he gave up a musical career to become an accountant, he was in the band Fat Amy which showcased for Wind-Up Records five years ago.

To listen to Guiney’s version of "Girlfriend", click www.bobguiney.com


THE CALLING IN LEGAL WRANGLE

Two former members of The Calling have filed a lawsuit against lead singer and guitarist Alex Band and Aaron Kamin.

The Calling are finishing up work on an a follow-up album to their smash-hit debut, "Camino Palermo" but former bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood have thrown a spanner in the works by suing Band, Kamin and the band’s management, citing fraud and mismanagement in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Mohler and Wood claim they are owed a share of the band’s royalties plus cash from merchandising and tour income, after playing on three tracks on The Calling’s debut album, "Nothing’s Changed", "Things Don’t Always Turn Out That Way" and "Final Answer" and touring with the band. But they allege they have only been paid $26,000 for their work, and claim they have been told they will only receive a further $700 each.

SWIRL 360 SIGN WITH ATENZIA

LA-based pop-rockers Swirl 360 have signed a deal with Swedish label Atenzia Records. The duo, which previously released "Ask Anybody" on Polygram in 1998, will enter the studio with Melodine frontman and producer extraordinaire Evan Frankfort, for an album release in early 2004. Having been impressed by Swirl’s self-released EP last year and having heard some of the new demos already, it should be one to look out for. Meanwhile, in further Atenzia news, 40 Ft Ringo will release the "Inside Your Head" EP on December 6th, featuring tracks which never made the cut on their excellent debut, "Funny Thing"

PRIME STH RETURN

You may remember Swedish rockers Prime Sth from a couple of years ago who collaborated with Max Martin on the song "I’m Stupid (Don’t Worry About Me)" on their "Underneath The Surface" album. Well, the band is currently finishing up work on a new album at Decibel Studios in Stockholm. Release in Scandinavia is set for January 2004, with a European release in spring. By all accounts, the album will herald a change in style for the band, from the aggressive modern sound to a more organic, approach.


GORAN OF THE GUFS PLANS SOLO RELEASE

The Gufs frontman Goran Kralj is planning a solo release. Details are sketchy at the moment, but Kralj, who teamed up with Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas on The Gufs’ "Give Back Yourself" from the "Holiday From You" opus, has been working on solo material for a couple of years now. He wrote the poignant "Where Are You Now?" after the 9/11 tragedy, and a couple of other solo tunes, "Ready To Fall", "Last To Know" and "Long Last Look" surfaced on a compilation of Milwaukee artists last year. Expect other highly polished pop-rock tunes such as "Until You’re Gone" and Closer To Me" when the as yet untitled album is released in early 2004.

MATCHBOX TWENTY RELEASE NEW EP

Rob Thomas and co in the ever-excellent Matchbox Twenty have released a new EP, cleverly titled "EP". The six-song release features brand new song "Suffer Me" as well as live versions of tracks including "Disease", "Push" and "All I Need". I saw the band on their recent UK tour and they put on a great show, so the EP will be well worth picking up, especially as it also features bonus footage and interviews.

NINE DAYS FRONTMAN’S NEW EP

Nine Days frontman John Hampson isn’t letting major-label frustrations get him down. His excellent new five-song EP “Seventeenminutesandthirtysecondsinthedark" is now officially on sale at www.johnhampson.com and is available in the US and worldwide. John is also touring in support of the EP.

Meanwhile, as the wrangles over the unreleased album 'So Happily Unsatisfied' continue with Epic, John and the rest of Nine Days have been hard at work in the studio recording a brand-new album that is tentatively set for an independent release on November 20th.

Go to the reviews section for a review of 'Seventeenminutesandthirtysecondsinthedark' and look for an interview with John on Reyno-roxx.com shortly.

BUTCH WALKER TOURS, PRODUCES AND RECORDS

Does Butch Walker ever stop? Not content with recording his own set of new tunes due for release early next year under the title 'Letters', everyone’s favourite modern rocker has also been busy in the studio with Sevendust, producing their new release 'Seasons'.

Rumour has it that Walker is also writing and producing new tunes for teen sensation Avril Lavigne for her upcoming record.

Oh, and in between all that, Butch has also been racking up the miles on a solo acoustic tour at various cities in the US. Who says getting dropped by a major is the end of your career?

EUROPE REUNITE (AGAIN)

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, but following the disappointing sales last year of Joey Tempest’s excellent (and most recent) solo album, Swedish rockers Europe have announced plans to reunite for a new album and tour.

The original members of the band last performed together on New Year’s Eve 1999 in a shameless cash-in on their classic anthem 'The Final Countdown', but have recently have been collaborating on new material which Tempest described in Swedish newspaper 'Aftonbladet' as, “fresh and hard but still with typical Europe melodies.”

I only hope that the new material is injected with more of the modern rock influences heard on 'Joey Tempest' and less of the cheesy hard rock of the band’s past. Somehow I doubt it, though.

JULY FOR KINGS UPDATE

Joe Hedges, lead singer of July For Kings dropped me an email this week to let me know about the latest news in the JFK camp. “Hey Andrew, since the last time I wrote, we're still showcasing for labels and feeling optimistic. We've got new songs and new tour dates as always.  The songs aren't available yet, but the dates can be found here: www.julyforkings.com/tour

We've settled on Dan McQuinn as our drummer, not in a permanent capacity yet, but indefinitely until we're absolutely sure.  There's a new energy about the band that's making everyone perform a little harder.” The band may have been dropped by MCA in the summer, but I am not alone in being glad that the band are persevering.

JUDGE DISMISSES CREED LAWSUIT

Four fans that filed a class-action lawsuit against Creed have seen the case dismissed by an Chicago judge.

The suit arose after the fans attended the Florida band’s December 29th 2002 concert in Chicago at which they claimed lead singer Scott Stapp was so drunk he was unable to give a satisfactory performance. They wanted refunds for their tickets and parking costs.

However, because Circuit Court Judge Peter Flynn dismissed the suit "with prejudice," the fans may be able to file a new complaint if they decide to do so.

RADFORD RETURN

Who remembers Radford? Well, whether you do or don’t, the California-based band, is making a return on Universal Records, and a new album, 'Sleepwalker' will be issued shortly.

Radford, fronted by Londoner Jonny Mead, were best known for their song 'Don’t Stop' and for an appearance on the 'Teaching Mrs Tingle' soundtrack, but the band apparently broke up after less-than-impressive sales of their debut album.

However, a new single 'Fake A Smile' has already gone to radio, and the band has plans to relaunch its website at www.radfordband.com

STROKE 9 DROPPED

Finally, as the Universal Records door opens for Radford, it has closed for Stroke 9 who have been dropped by the label.

The San Francisco rockers found fame with debut album 'Nasty Little Thoughts', but failed to replicate the success of that album with the strong follow-up 'Rip It Off'. Stroke 9 still plan to tour and will release a new single 'Please Don't Leave Me Out' as they look record a new album for release independently.