Reclusive Guns N' Roses leader W. Axl Rose answered questions from fans on two separate Guns message boards on Thursday (December 11th) and another on Friday (December 12th). Posting on the sites MyGNR.com, ChineseDemocracy.com and Here Today...Gone To Hell!, Rose responded to fan queries about the new Chinese Democracy album, his low profile and whether a reunion of the original Guns lineup was ever possible. Rose also announced that a video for the song "Better" would arrive next week, with "monumental promotion" to begin soon. He mentioned the possibility of touring in passing but gave no specifics.
Some of the more interesting items are below (thanks to Blabbermouth for collating).

When asked about rumors of another two or three albums worth of material left over from the 15-year Chinese Democracy sessions, Rose replied, "For now, we'll concentrate and keep our focus on this album, but I will say I've always thought of it as a double... The issues are a bit more complex than anyone would like."

On Kanye West's new album outselling Chinese Democracy in their first week of release: "I met Kanye at the Versace awards. He was very gracious. I love 'Gold Digger' and told him so ... Before our release, I sent him a message that any nonsense from the media had nothing to do with us and wished him the best. I'm humbled we've done as well as we have considering."

On possibly suing Dr. Pepper over the "free soda" stunt: "Maybe the guy who got it rolling originally meant well, but it turned out sour and maybe it's just me, but he seems like maybe he wants a bit too much attention."

When asked why the original lineup fell apart and why it took Chinese Democracy so long to come out, Rose writes, "What I can say now is you've been told a lot of things in order for others to promote themselves that factually they cannot back up in regard to either. They are complicated legally, financially and have devoured a good portion of my life. ... The record Chinese Democracy you may have is nothing short of a miracle in almost each and every way that either it or I exist, in my opinion, under the bizarre and ugly conditions of the last over 15 years."

As for whether the original lineup could ever get back together, Rose says, "You've been lied to and misled for such a long time that sorting through all that here is virtually impossible ... that doesn't give you what you want, so this dance just goes on and on."

Rose also mentions that he was recently sued by former Guns members Slash and Duff McKagan over a merchandise matter related to his ex-manager, and denies that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

While most of the exchanges are friendly, Rose does mix it up with a couple of edgier fans. When one criticizes him for his reclusive nature, Rose replies, "Your misconceptions and fantasies along with your misguided sense of entitlement don't dictate my actions."

3 Doors Down has confirmed its first tour dates of 2009, according to Tunelab Music. The band will kick off a string of gigs on January 22nd in Reading, Pennsylvania with Hinder along as support on at least the first three dates. Only seven shows have been announced so far, with more on the way.

The Mississippi-based act is currently finishing up a run of shows that were rescheduled earlier this fall when singer Brad Arnold had to rest his voice. Guitarist Chris Henderson told us that Arnold and the rest of the guys give it their best every night even when not in the best shape: "You just gotta suck it up and go, man. It's the only way I can explain it. I don't know any other way. If Brad's having a bad night, you're just gonna hear a bad rendition of our song. Even on a bad night, he sounds really good."

3 Doors Down is touring in support of its self-titled fourth album. The group next plays in Greensboro, North Carolina on Wednesday (December 17th) before wrapping up the year in Atlanta on the 20th.

Newly announced 3 Doors Down tour dates (subject to change):
January 22 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center (w/ Hinder)
January 24 - Johnson City, TN - Freedom Hall (w/ Hinder)
January 27 - Tallahassee, FL - Leon County Civic Center (w/ Hinder)
January 28 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
February 13 - Lafayette, LA - Cajundome
February 14 - Boosier City, LA - CenturyTel Center
February 24 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

Death Cab For Cutie recently reissued its 1998 debut album, Something About Airplanes, in a special 10th anniversary package featuring a bonus live disc recorded that same year in the band's hometown of Seattle. Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard told RollingStone.com that he thought the record has held up pretty well, with only his vocals making him cringe a little: "My singing voice has changed a bit over the last ten years. When I first started singing in high-school bands, my voice was kind of nasal-y and twangy. There's some remnants of that on the record. I'm not so much embarrassed by it but it's certainly cringe-worthy."

Gibbard also said he was pleasantly surprised with the live show unearthed for the bonus disc, explaining, "I couldn't imagine us sounding as good as we did ten years ago. Not to toot our own horn, but if you put that thing on, we actually sound pretty good."

Death Cab For Cutie just completed its last shows of 2008 in support of its latest album, Narrow Stairs, which debuted at Number One on the Billboard chart when it was released earlier this year, a first for the group.

The band's only scheduled date so far in 2009 is a performance at Miami's Langerado Festival on March 7th.

Former Papa Roach drummer Dave Buckner has filed a lawsuit against the band, claiming that he has not been receiving his fair share of the group's earnings. According to TMZ.com, Buckner's suit claims that his relationship with the remaining members of the band has become "strained and antagonistic," adding that all aspects of the group's business have been conducted "without making a fully accurate and complete accounting to (Buckner), and without paying him his share of income and other proceeds from the group's activities, in violation of their fiduciary and contractual obligations to him."

Papa Roach permanently split with Buckner at the beginning of 2008, following a year-long period in which he went to rehab twice. He was replaced by ex-Unwritten Law drummer Tony Palermo, who also subbed for him in 2007 while he was detoxing.

Despite that, frontman Jacoby Shaddix told us last spring that he and Buckner were "still friends" and even entertained the idea that the drummer could return one day: "It's hard to say never, you know? I mean, I've played music with this dude for 15 years, you know, like, this is my brother, you know. So never say never."

Papa Roach's new album, Metamorphosis, arrives in March of 2009 and will follow up 2006's The Paramour Sessions.

The band plays a Phoenix radio festival on Tuesday (December 16th) and a headlining gig in Las Vegas on the 19th. They'll join Avenged Sevenfold and Buckcherry on the road beginning January 28th in West Valley City, Utah.

Guitar World magazine has published its list of the "100 Worst Guitar Solos" at its website, with tracks from Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and many other guitar legends all making the list. Topping the poll, however, is Poison's C.C. DeVille, whose solo spot from the band's 1991 concert album, Swallow This...Live, is deemed the worst ever. Although not making the Top 10, just about every major rock act, including Metallica, Korn, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, the Smashing Pumpkins, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack and even AC/DC, all make the full list, which can be seen at GuitarWorld.com.

The Guitar World editors write, "After two decades of kissing ass, Guitar World tips over a few sacred cows in a definitive guide to guitar parts that blow. Guitarists, no matter how good they are, are bound to have the occasional bad night or hit the odd bum note. Legends like Hendrix, Page, (Kirk) Hammett and (George) Harrison have had their share of uninspired moments and times where ambition exceeded their technique. It's really no big deal. Unless you're caught on tape, that is."

The Top 10 "Worst Guitar Solos," according to Guitar World:
1. Poison - "Guitar Solo" (from Swallow This...Live!, 1991)
Guitarist: C.C. DeVille
2. Blue Cheer - "Summertime Blues" (from Vincebus Eruptum, 1968)
Guitarist: Leigh Stephens
3. Carlos Santana - "The Game of Love" (from Shaman, 2002)
4. Cream - Falstaff beer 1967 radio spot
Guitarist: Eric Clapton
5. The Beatles - "All You Need Is Love" (from Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)
Guitarist: George Harrison
6. Black Flag - "Thirsty and Miserable" (from Damaged, 1981)
Guitarist: Greg Ginn
7. Ted Nugent - "Wango Tango" (from Scream Dream, 1980)
8. The Rolling Stones - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (from It's Only Rock 'n Roll, 1974)
Guitarist: Keith Richards
9. Manowar - "Sting of the Bumblebee" (from Kings of Metal, 1988)
Bassist: Joey DeMaio
10. Lenny Kravitz - "American Woman" (from 5, 1998)

Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz has dismissed rumors that he and wife Ashlee Simpson plan to sell the first pictures of their newborn son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, to a celebrity magazine for as much as $2 million. Writing at his Friends or Enemies blog, Wentz said, "Like every celeb couple we were offered mounds and mounds of money by mags from here to Guam to pimp out the baby. We just don't want to go down that road with him. We are not placing judgment on those that do as they often use the money in a very charitable way. However, we have made the decision to not sell Bronx's baby pictures right now."

Wentz compared paparazzi fever for the pics to a "bounty on our heads," adding, "There is a danger when there are cameras being held over walls and into our backyard. We are followed day and night and that was fine when it was us but we are going to do our best to shelter Bronx from that as much as possible."

Wentz said that the couple understand the "curiosity" about the baby, but "not the viciousness that comes along with it when it becomes so insatiable."

He also wrote that the couple will eventually share Bronx with the world, and thanked those "who have allowed us relative privacy in letting us just be a family for now -- and to enjoy all the happiness he's brought us."

Wentz and the rest of Fall Out Boy release their new album, Folie A Deux, on Tuesday (December 16th).

U2's next studio album, No Line On The Horizon, is not the only musical project the Irish supergroup is cooking up for 2009. Singer Bono and guitarist The Edge were hired a while back to write the songs for Spider-Man, a Broadway musical based on the Marvel Comics superhero. Actress Evan Rachel Wood was recently cast as Spider-Man's love, Mary Jane, and told us what she thought of the music she has heard: "It's amazing. Bono and The Edge are doing the music, so they're like rock songs. And I think it's some of the best stuff they've done. I didn't know how they were gonna be able to write for the stage, you know, but it's really great. It's really, really good."

Spider-Man is being directed by Julie Taymor, who was behind the successful Broadway adaptation of Disney's The Lion King.

There's no word yet on who will play Spider-Man or when the production will premiere.

Wood can be seen in the new independent film The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke. She recently ended her nearly two-year relationship with shock-rocker Marilyn Manson.

U2 pushed back the release of No Line On The Horizon from late 2008 to the first half of 2009 because the band wanted to add more songs to the disc.

Sammy Hagar has stripped his name from the third and most recent Cabo Wabo Cantina, which opened in August in Fresno, California. Hagar, who also has Cantinas running in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and South Lake Tahoe, Nevada performed at the Fresno Cantina last month.

Pollstar ran a statement from Hagar saying, "This is a really unfortunate situation. I developed the Cabo Wabo Cantina concept as a place for everyone in the community to come together and have a great time with exceptional food, drinks and music. Contrary to comments from other parties inferring otherwise, the license has been terminated and the location will no longer be a Cabo Wabo come 2009. I have always stood for providing an exceptional experience for my fans and associating myself with like-minded business partners... If the owners of the current license in Fresno intend to keep the location open... it will not be under the Cabo Wabo brand."

Hagar had entered into a licensing agreement with developer Milt Barbis' Fresno Rock Taco LLC, which owned and operated the new Cabo Wabo. The problems sprang from Fresno's Granite Park development, which has been slow going in building a food and recreational center, which Cabo Wabo would have been a cornerstone of. The facility is reportedly millions of dollars in debt with rumors of the city's 420-acre development winding up in foreclosure.

Travis Barker has thrown himself back into work after spending nearly three months recuperating from the severe burns sustained in a September 19th small plane crash. Barker just released his own remix of rapper Jay-Z's "Jockin' Jay-Z," which he produced and played on just before the accident. Barker is also either playing on or producing tracks by T.I., Cee-Lo Green, and Flo Rida and is also thinking about a solo album. There's no word on the status of the second album from his band Plus 44. (MTV.com)

Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has posted an update on the debut album from Chickenfoot, the new band teaming Anthony with ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Joe Satriani. Anthony wrote, "Chad and I just got back this week from recording in the San Francisco area, and I am pleased to say that the basic tracks are finished and smokin'...Right now Joe is sprinkling some guitar magic on everything, and next week Sam will be doing vocals. Then I'll be back up there to slather some background vocals on everything. I can't wait for all of you to check it out!! Look out 2009!!!" (Blabbermouth)

Bullet For My Valentine scrapped the last two shows on its European tour after the band developed flu symptoms. The affected gigs were scheduled for December 11th in Denmark and the 13th in Luxembourg. A post at the group's website said, "The band would first and foremost like to apologize to all the fans who have bought tickets to the concerts. They will be flying back home to the U.K....to be with their families to get some well-earned rest so that they can come back stronger and harder in 2009." (Blabbermouth)

A four-hour video remix of the Radiohead song "Videotape" is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for the Missing People charity. The remix appears on a VHS cassette and has been signed by all five members of the band, who gave producer/remixer James "Pedro" Rutledge their full support for the project. This is the only copy of the remix available. The auction ends on December 21st. (NME.com)

Members of Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd, Velvet Revolver, the Cult and other acts are slated to appear on Monday night (December 15th) at a launch party for Gibson Guitars' new Dark Fire model. The event will take place at the Gibson Beverly Hills Showroom and will feature a performance from spoof metal act Steel Panther, who will test-drive the limited edition guitar onstage. Also expected to show up are ex-Guns N' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke, guitarist Steve Stevens and others. (Gibson.com)