Riverboat Gamblers and Strung Out kick off a co-headlining tour at the end of this month. However, RG vocalist Mike Wiebe will not be on this trek, though he is still in the band.The band issued a statement that read, in part, "In the spirit of full transparency, we want to address a change you’ll notice on the upcoming tour – The most important thing to us is our family and their health—both mental and physical. When one of our brothers is in dire need of assistance, we support him and stand by him 100% of the way, no questions asked. Mike Wiebe is following doctor’s orders and has been advised to sit this one out and focus on his mental well-being and treatments." John Matthew Walker of Ignorance Park and High Heavens will handle vox for tbis trek. You can see the statement and details below.

Recently, Chuck D of Public Enemy announced a new band with John Densmore of The Doors. The group was titled doPE. The problem, though, is that Dope has been an industrial band since 1997, and quite wisely, registered their trademark years ago. (Acey Slade, who plays with The Misfits at live shows, is also in Dope). A few weeks ago, Edsel Dope of Dope saw Chuck D's new group and politely stated that he already owned the Dope name and Chuck's use of it might cause confusion.Well, there is not going to be any big brawl. As per Chuck D: "“We would like to send a special shout out to Edsel Dope from the band Dope for giving us his blessing, surrounding the trademarked usage of the name Dope for our no country for old men collaboration. We appreciate his love and support.”

Codefendants have announced the cancellation of their upcoming tour of Australia. The tour was set to begin on February 12. The band announced this in an Instagram post which reads, ”Australia… we’re gutted to report that the tour has been cancelled. For 2 months we’ve been jumping through every hoop thrown at us and calling constantly but the Government has not issued us the needed visas to play in Australia so we’re stranded with no other option but to cancel. Please forgive the last minute announcement but we were really holding out hope to the last possible second it would come through but alas, our hands are tied. Our deepest apologies to all the fans out there that have been stoked to see us. We will try again in the future. As for now, Oztix will be getting refunds out to you all ASAP. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes to try and make this happen. Please still head out to these shows even though we can’t play. There are great bands going up and it’s not fair that they and the venues suffer because of the government's actions. 

Support real shit.” Codefendants will be releasing their new album Lifers later this year and released This Is Crime Wave in 2023. Check out the post in full below.

They Might Be Giants have a new album coming out. It's called The World Is to Dig and it is out in April. The record is out via the band directly. No cover or tracklist has been revealed. You can hear the lead single, "Wu Tang" below.

Emails between the CEO of talent agency Wasserman Group, Casey Wasserman, and Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in the latest release of the Epstein files. On February 5, Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast posted an open letter on Instagram calling for Wasserman to step down, that the agency change its name, and that her name and Best Coast’s be removed from the website. Her statement reads in part, ”Ghislaine Maxwell is not a neutral character in a messy story — she is a convicted sex trafficker who helped facilitate the abuse of minors. As an artist represented by Wasserman, I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation. Casey's response, that these emails are 'deeply regretted,' is not enough. Regret without accountability is just damage control — an attempt to move on while the rest of us are expected to sit with the discomfort of our careers being publicly tied to him. Artists are tired of swallowing scandals like this. We are tired of learning, over and over, that men who control access, resources, money, and so-called safety in our industry are given endless grace. This letter is my public refusal to accept that this is 'just how things are.' It is a refusal to continue lining the pockets of people so closely tied to shady business and toxic, deeply harmful people. I do not want my name on the website of a man who was ever a personal friend of an accomplice to a literal pedophile, or associated with Jeffrey Epstein himself.” Cosentino is referencing the statement that Wasserman sent out to multiple news outlets (including The Athletic) which reads in part, “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.” Multiple artists on the agency’s roster, including Beach Bunny, Automatic, Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells, and Water From Your Eyes have released statements on social media. Wednesday, Sylvan Esso, Chappell Roan, Chelsea Cutler, and Samia have announced that they are leaving the agency. Wednesday’s Instagram post reads in part, ”It’s also important that we acknowledge the team of people we work with at the Wasserman agency as decent and trustworthy people with whom we’ve worked with for several years dating back to a time prior to their connection with Wasserman. Given the circumstances we feel strongly that we need to begin the process of extracting ourselves from Wasserman. Continuing to be represented by a company led by and named after Casey Wasserman goes against our values and cannot continue. For the sake of his staff we hope that he steps down from the company and it is rebranded, but until that happens or we find a new home at a new agency we will not continue to be associated with Wasserman.” Chappell Roan announced her departure from the agency in an Instagram story that reads, ”As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman. I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values. I have a deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists and I refuse to passively stand by. Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity. This decision reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.” As of today, February 10, the music roster on the Wasserman website has been replaced with a contact form. You can see the posts from the artists in full below.

Motorists have released a video for their new song “The Damage”. The video was directed by the band, edited by Craig Fahner, and shot by Shelby Wilson. The song is off their upcoming album Never Sing Alone which will be out on March 6 via We Are Time Records. Motorists released Touched by the Stuff in 2024. Check out the video below.