Pennsylvania metal band War of Ages is putting some miles on their van next month as they embark on a US tour with Times Of Grace (which includes former members of Killswitch Engage) and Straight Line Stitch. The bands will hit both coasts and a good chunk of the space between over the course of just 27 days. Get all the details here.

War of Ages released their last full-length, Eternal, last April on Facedown Records.

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Maryland pop-punkers Life On Repeat have announced some tour dates for spring 2011.  The band will play three shows with Conditions, as well as several dates with Divided By Friday and Sent By Ravens. The upcoming tour dates can be found here.

Life On Repeat, who were forced by unforseen circumstances to cancel a slew of shows back in November, appear to be ready and eager to hit the road, with guitarist Andrew Baylis stating,

“We’re so stoked on the new record and the new sound we have achieved and can’t wait to hit the road in February and March.”

The album, which is currently unnamed, is due out later this year from Equal Vision Records.

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Blink 182 and Transplants drummer extraordinaire Travis Barker has unveiled the cover art for his solo debut, titled “Give The Drummer Some.” The cover <= was designed by Pushead, who was behind the artwork for both The Misfits and Metallica.

Barker is apparently setting himself up for a busy year, with both his solo album due and a new release from both Transplants and Blink 182. Barker’s solo album contains more collaborations than most people could possibly comprehend, including Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Slash.

“Give The Drummer Some” is due out on March 15.

Cover songs are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.  We here at Dying Scene love hearing punk bands do their own take on other band’s songs.  Sometimes they pull off amazing interpretations of old classics, sometimes they’re not much more than humble tributes to a fellow artist, and other times they’re just downright laughable renditions of otherwise great songs.  Good or bad.  Intriguing or mundane.  We’ll let you be the judge.

This week it’s Streetlight Manifesto covering The Dead Milkmen song “Punk Rock Girl”  Check the cover and compare it to the original right here.

The cover song appears on “99 Songs of Revolution” which was released in 2010 through Victory Records. The original version appears on Dead Milkmen’s 1988 album “Beelzebubbar”.

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Gainesville, Florida’s Douglas Shields and The X-Factors are releasing their vinyl debut on Jeremy Records in the form of a 4 song 7-inch titled “Obsessed Unicorn.”

You can listen to “Schwan Dolphin,” the first track on the album on their bandcamp page.  If you like what you hear you can pre-order the album right here.

For Fans of: The Weakerthans, The Thermals

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Melissa Etheridge is reportedly stepping in to Billie Joe Armstrong’s shoes to play St. Jimmy in the “American Idiot” musical. Armstrong will be on leave between February 1st and February 6th, during which time Etheridge will flex her acting skills as the signing drug dealer.

Director Michael Mayer spoke to the New York Times and stated:

“This character is seductive, thrilling and dangerous. Melissa Etheridge is all that and so much more.”

The musical is based on the 2004 Green Day album by the same name, which chronicles the ups and downs of St. Jimmy and all of the lives he touches and changes.

New Jersey’s Senses Fail announced that they have hired a new guitarist to replace Garrett Zablocki. He issued a statement about his departure:

“After nearly a decade of being a founder and member of Senses Fail, I’ve decided leave the band to attend college full time. I will still be playing music on the side, but I will no longer be doing it full time. I never thought playing guitar and writing songs in my basement would bring us to stages around the world, five albums recorded and experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. The stories I can tell over a beer with a friend are endless because of what we accomplished through the years. I wish Buddy, Dan (Trapp) and Jason (Black) the best of luck as they continue Senses Fail on into the future.”

The band hired Matt Smith of Strike Anywhere to take Zablocki’s place. The band is headed out on a US tour with The Ghost Inside, Man Overboard, and Transit. Check out the dates here.

Their most recent album, The Fire came out October 25th.

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Once upon a time (in high school), I went to a cafe where a local alternative radio station was doing some sort of promo event. The DJ had a stack of CD singles on a table and we could take whatever we wanted. So I grabbed The Aquabats “Super Rad!” and something else. I played that single nonstop. The track is just straight-up goofy, bouncy ska.

In the 14 years since “Super Rad!” (along with the rest of The Fury of The Aquabats!) came out, the band has evolved, grown, changed and – dare I say it? – matured, but hasn’t lost its fun-loving, goofy edge.

They aren’t afraid to play around with different musical styles, to experiment and manipulate their sound. There is no better example of this than the second track on the album, “B.F.F.” (for the sake of not sounding like I’m excessively emotional about this record, I’m going to leave the exclamation points off from here on out). It opens with some synth notes, and some extremely poppy-sounding vocals. And some “woo hoo” in the background. The lyrics are the same old wacky Aquabats, but the sound is very un-ska-like. They even throw in some deliberate auto-tune, Kanye-style, toward the end. And it works. The group is clearly unafraid to experiment and push themselves outside of the boundaries of what a ska band “should” sound like.

“Radio Down” is another example of their departure from straight-up ska. The song does have a ska beat to it, but also offers up a hip-hop verse from Biz Markie and some sampled Billy Idol lyrics (“with the record selection and the mirror’s reflection I’m dancing with myself”).

Fret not, Aquabat purists. Songs like “Poppin a Wheelie,” “The Shark Fighter” and “Food Fight on the Moon” definitely hold up to the sound of their past albums, and “Pink Pants” features some vocals from none other than Strong Bad (yes, that Strong Bad). The band hasn’t lost their sound, but they’ve taken it to another level, played with it, and used it to mess with everyone’s heads. Which, if you ask me, fits perfectly with what The Aquabats have always done.

Massachusetts pop punk act Maker has canceled two dates on their winter tour. Said the band:

“Sorry to anyone who was coming out to our PA show tonight and our NJ show tomorrow, we had to cancel them due to some personal things, but we will be playing the Meatlocker Saturday in NJ.”

Maker released out a split album with The Story So Far on Pure Noise Entertainment on November 23rd. Two songs from the split are streaming here.

Make Do and Mend talked with French-language music site Alternativ News about touring, moving and making their newest album, End Measured Mile.

The album came out in October and is currently streaming on the Panic Records site.

Alternativ News has the interview in French, as well as an English translation if you scroll to the bottom of the page. Check it out ici.