Link-O-Rama …

Mark Ronson signs deal with Interscope – Associated Press

Music industry is still a “man’s world” – Utica Observer-Dispatch

Somewhere, someplace, someone is celebrating 8-Track Tape Day – Crescent News

South Carolina woman pays $654 to be first to ride the Led Zeppelin Rollercoaster – The Guardian U.K.

The unflappable king of cool that is Bryan Ferry – Telegraph U.K.

Q&A with Hayden – Detroit Free Press

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

ZZ Top hook up with Brooks & Dunn for some August shows. Dates include August 1 (Albuquerque, NM), August 8 (Vancouver, BC), August 26 (Syracuse, NY) and September 6 (Raleigh, NC).

The Von Bondies fill in a few May openings. Now on the schedule is May 22 (San Diego), May 27 (Portland, OR), May 29 (Seattle) and May 31 (Vancouver, BC). The band also plays Boise and Minneapolis in June.

And The Rocket Summer update today with a summer U.K. tour. Dates include July 1 (Portsmouth), July 4 (Brighton), July 8 (Nottingham) and July 11 (Manchester).

During the past couple of hours we also updated the schedules for The Quakes, The Hidden Cameras, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Sadies, Smash Mouth, Prairie Oyster, Matt Andersen, Insane Clown Posse, Eve 6, Dokken, David Allan Coe, Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, Alan Parsons Live Project and Travis Tritt.

And that’s what’s happening at the halfway mark. More fresh touring data coming up in Your Latest Update, scheduled for around 3 pm (PDT), from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

Today is April 11th In 1961, Bob Dylan made his first professional appearance in New York’s Greenwich Village, sharing the bill with bluesman John Lee Hooker. Dylan sang an arrangement of “House of the Rising Sun” and his tribute to Woody Guthrie, “Song to Woody.”

In 1965, the Beatles and The Rolling Stones shared the bill at the “New Musical Express Poll Winners’ Concert” in London.

In 1970, Paul McCartney announced what he called a temporary break with the Beatles, which proved to be permanent. McCartney cited personal differences, which were later revealed to be disapproval of Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s wife, and of Beatles’ financial adviser Allen Klein. A week after his announcement, McCartney released his first solo album.

Also in 1970, guitarist and vocalist Peter Green, one of the founders of Fleetwood Mac, announced he was leaving the group to follow his religious beliefs. Green’s departure put an end to Fleetwood Mac’s blues leanings, and the band turned to a more melodic rock sound. Green stayed out of music until the late ’70s, when he made two solo albums.

In 1981, rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli. They met eight months earlier when Bertinelli’s brother dragged her to a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. The couple announced on July 2nd, 2002, that they were splitting after 20 years together.

In 1985, a court ruled that the rock group Boston had the right to record for MCA instead of CBS. The legal dispute had blocked the release of the band’s third album for more than five years.