Link-O-Rama …

MySpace and Rock The Vote team up to award prizes to the band that gets the most fans to register to vote – Wired News / Listening Post

founder talks about this year’s festival, cites Leonard Cohen’s performance as a personal highlight – The Independent U.K.

Did a firecracker sour the Beatles on touring? – The Sydney Morning Herald

Their influences range from Velvet Underground to washing machines. They boast a world-wide fan club, yet they’ve only performed five times around their hometown. Who are they? They’re The Trons, New Zealand’s latest robot band – The West Australian

Music producer Pharrell Williams reportedly plans to use skin grown in a test tube to cover tattoos – The Mirror U.K.

New archaeological research indicates music was performed in caves 12,000 years ago. Keith Richards has yet to comment – Discovery Channel

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

One of the more unique American bands, Donna The Buffalo, updates today with new dates for September. Known for playing zydeco, folk, reggae, bluegrass and whatever else grabs their attention, look for the band from Trumansburg, New York, to play places like Atlanta, Georgia, on September 19 at Variety Playhouse; St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 20 at Jannus Landing and Falls Church, VA, on September 27 at State Theatre.

The latest update for Dave Mason shows the artist adding December shows in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. New dates on the calendar include December 1 in NYC at B.B. King’s Blues Club; December 3 in Ridgefield, CT, at Ridgefield Playhouse and December 4 in Foxboro, MA, at Showcase Live!.

Ani DiFranco adds new listings for Europe and the U.K. today. Her October calendar now includes October 17 in Girona, Spain; October 26 in Paris and October 29 in London.

And 38 Special adds a couple of new stops – September 26 in Wheeling, WV, and october 3 in Batesville, AR.

During the past couple of hours we also updated the schedules for Apocalyptica, A Cursive Memory, Black Seeds, Klee, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Tony Furtado, Tony Trischka, Umphrey’s McGee and Willy Porter.

And that’s where things stand at the halfway mark on this first day of July. Don’t miss Your Latest Update, coming up around 3 pm (PDT), from Pollstar.com!