Taco Bell has announced a program called Feed the Beat for up-and-coming touring musicians. Bands can receive $500 in Taco Bell Bucks good toward Fourthmeals, the late night meal between dinner and breakfast. This is a good way to get some free food after a late night gig and bands aren't required to do anything in return.

Bands must sign up by August 31, 2007. For details, go to http://www.tacobell.com/feedthebeat/

One of the biggest arena attractions in rock music, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), will once again take to the road this holiday season for what will be its largest-ever tour, more than 90 cities coast-to-coast over a ten-week period beginning November 1st.

Established in 1996 by producer/composer/lyricist Paul O'Neill, TSO has been a true rock mega-success, both on record and the concert stage. The band's four CD releases, including the holiday-themed Christmas Eve & Other Stories (1996), The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004), have sold more than 5,000,000 units, over 900,000 in 2006 alone. TSO's 2001 DVD release, The Ghost of Christmas Eve, also achieved platinum status.

TSO's 2006 Winter Tour was its most successful to date, playing to over 1,000,000 fans at 80 concerts, generating revenues in excess of $40 million. Since its first Winter Tour in 1996, TSO has been one of the concert businesses' most successful acts, consistently rating in the Top 10 for both gross revenues and audience attendance.

For ticket sales and more information on TSO, please visit: www.trans-siberian.com.

Historic Concert Tour Marks First of its Kind for Van Halen in 22 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA - Beginning this September, in what promises to be the most exciting live tour this year, Van Halen will embark on a national concert tour throughout the U.S. and Canada with its original lead singer David Lee Roth for the first time in 22 years.

Considered by fans and media alike as one of the most highly anticipated tours in rock and roll history, Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen will perform with Eddie's son, Wolfgang who joins the line-up as the band's bass player. Van Halen and Roth have not performed or recorded together since 1984's classic multi-platinum album 1984 and subsequent tour, making this tour truly a historic event.

On August 7th, 2007, Epic/Legacy Recordings will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Joe Satriani's Surfing with the Alien with the release of a new expanded edition of this groundbreaking album. This two-disc set includes a CD of the newly remastered CD and a DVD of a previously never-before-seen live show filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1988. It will also feature new liner notes written by Joe and special deluxe packaging featuring photos, notes and other memorabilia from Joe's personal archive.

The original release of Surfing with the Alien represented a watershed event modern instrumental rock. The music was thoughtful and yet accessible to mass audiences which resulted in brisk sales. Satriani's success charged the path for modern instrumental rock artists and his virtuosic playing also helped inspire many instrumental guitarists who would also take up the same torch and leave the lead singers behind.

If you don't already own Surfing with the Alien, this is a must have for your library. If you do own the original CD, now may be a great time to upgrade to the remastered disc and also get the live DVD of the Montreux Jazz Festival show. Either way, you won't want to miss this release!

Tracy from West Harrison, IN!!! Congratulations and enjoy the iPod Shuffle!!!

In other news, the Volume 1 of the InstrumentalJams Newsletter will be going out in about two weeks - please keep an eye on your inbox for it.

And, if you haven't dropped by InstrumentalJams.com recently, please stop by and visit. I've been adding content all the time and have much more in the works. My goal is to make the site the premier destination to discover instrumental rock music, especially indie acts that the mainstream media often overlook. If you know of any indie acts who might be interested in having a free profile page, have them drop by and contact me!

By Justin Powell

The motto of instrumental band LoNero is "No Excuses" and after hearing their music you immediately know why. They have gone against the grain of popular music by delivering their own unique style of rock that is hard-hitting and, yet, melodic. The band was founded by guitarist Bill Lonero and includes William Baglivo (guitar), Mike McKaigg (bass), and Steve Spicer (drums).

LoNero have also gone against the music industry by taking an independent approach to releasing and promoting their music. They have forged a close, grassroots relationship with their fans which stands in sharp contrast with many established acts. LoNero has taken their music and their career into their own hands and are making "no excuses".

The band took time out of their busy schedule - touring and promoting their new album Relentless - to be interviewed by InstrumentalJams. They are a cool bunch of guys and they offer some interesting insights into their rising career. Without further ado, here's LoNero:

Has there been any question that digital music and the Internet represent the future of the music industry? According to the market research firm NPD Group, Apple Inc.'s iTunes online store just became the third-largest music retailer in the United States based on units sold. ITunes now sells more music than giants Amazon.com and Target Corp.

The NPD survey shows that iTunes had a 9.8 percent market share in the first quarter, behind leader Wal-Mart's 15.8 percent share and Best Buy's 13.8 percent. Online retailer Amazon.com's share was 6.7 percent, followed by Target's 6.6 percent.

Morris County, NJ - June 15, 2007 - Despite the huge base of instrumental rock fans, music publications and web sites are often focused on broader genres of rock music. Fans looking to discover new instrumental artists or discuss their favorite instrumental songs have often had to wade through the vast amount of artists that feature vocals. A new web site called InstrumentalJams.com provides fans with a resource and community specifically focused on instrumental rock.

InstrumentalJams.com was created by online entrepreneur Justin Powell - who also happens to be a huge fan of instrumental rock. "When I first began exploring instrumental rock, I found that information on artists and new music was lumped in with vocal-oriented music," says Justin. "A while later, I stumbled on instrumental guitarist Andy Timmons and was amazed that I hadn't discovered him earlier. I decided right then that I needed to start a web site focused purely on instrumental rock."

Instrumental guitar wizard, Don Moore, took time out of his busy schedule to chat with InstrumentalJams.com about his inspirations, recording first album and his future plans.

Don is a great guy and it was a real pleasure to speak with him. Click the play button to listen to the full interview!

Genesis and TheMusic.com are teaming up to offer the a series of live recordings called the Genesis Encore Series Europe 2007. Each show of the Genesis European Tour will be recorded from the soundboard and then made into 2-CD sets. The CDs will be manufactured and are not CD-Rs. The Encore Series CDs can be purchased as a complete set (all 23 shows from the European Tour) in either a Collectors Edition Box or a Deluxe Limited Edition numbered Road Case.