Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers defended the band's use of backing tracks during live shows, saying in an interview with Rock Feed that 90 percent of rock artists do the same thing.

Myers explained, "I can't bring a 25-piece orchestra on tour with me, but there's a 25-piece orchestra on 'Second Chance,' which is one of our biggest songs, so if I can have it in there . .. " He added, "We have songs where we don't even play to a click track -- we do it both ways."

He continued, "Everything you see us playing on stage we're playing. But you know what? Yeah, if there's a shaker on a song that adds an element of energy to the song, we're gonna put a shaker in there. Instead of having to pay some dude to play a shaker . . . we're gonna do that."

Myers admitted, "In other genres of music, there's a lot of people who use tracks that aren't playing anything up there, which is a bit ridiculous . . . Could we go up there, just the four of us, and put on the best rock show ever? Of course. But that's not how we wanna do it."

The guitarist insisted that he could "safely say" that 90 percent of rock acts use backing tracks onstage.

Shinedown frontman Brent Smith told us a while back that delivering a great live show is always Shinedown's first priority: "We want to give them the most incredible performances night after night, and play as diligently, as hard, as mean, as aggressive, as loving, as caring and as thoughtful as we can to our audience. We just want the music to speak for itself. I think as long as that happens, then everything will be fine."

Shinedown recently postponed its "Deep Dive" tour dates from spring to summer. The newly rescheduled trek will now begin on July 31st in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Weezer has shared a new online game tied to the band's song "The End Of The Game," a track from the group's upcoming LP, Van Weezer. The eight-bit game is described as an "ode to the boss levels that are notoriously impossible to beat" in Eighties and Nineties games like Street Fighter II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Punch Out.

After you pick your player -- one of the four members of Weezer -- you're transported through all 100 levels of the game in a flash before facing off against the final boss, a giant alien. While the alien is beatable, it turns out the actual final boss is a walk across a booby trap-filled path to a treasure chest that's impossible to reach.

The band noted, "It's the perfect game to play while #stayingathome because you can't beat it. Really. We've tried. And it's not just cause we aren't that good at video games."

The song "The End Of The Game" came out last fall, while Van Weezer is due out May 15th. As of now, Weezer is still scheduled to embark on the Hella Mega stadium tour with Green Day and Fall Out Boy this summer in Europe and North America, unless the COVID-19 pandemic forces the tour to be postponed.

Canadian act The Glorious Sons have shared a new song called "Don't Live Fast." The group revealed, "We wrote and recorded this song a few months back, because back then it looked like we might not have the time this year. Look at us now. This song is called 'Don't Live Fast,' and I think it means a lot more now."

The new tune is the latest in a series of fresh songs that the Glorious Sons have been sharing almost daily while in self-isolation. Using the moniker "Isolation Songs," tracks have included "Where We Used To Love," "You Stay Young," "Everything Blue," "Conditional," "Nothing Dies," "Quarantine In A Rental Car" and others.

Frontman Brett Emmons told us that his songs aren't always inspired by what's happening around him: "Obviously I draw from things, but I don't think necessarily, specifically at the time. I think most songwriters kind of, whether they want to or not, wear their influences on their sleeve."

Until the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, the Glorious Sons have been on the road steadily behind their 2019 album A War On Everything, which features the current single "Closer To The Sky."

Even the Prince of Darkness is taking precautions against catching COVID-19. Ozzy Osbourne and the rest of his family are practicing social distancing at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelly Osbourne shared a photo last Thursday (March 26th) of her parents, Ozzy and Sharon, sitting around a pool several feet apart from each other while wearing face masks and gloves.

She wrote in an accompanying message: "Today was the first time I got to see my parents in almost 3 weeks!!! Even though i did not get to hug them.... at this point I will take what I can get. They are doing well and are save and sound for now. Thank you so much for your continued well wishes love and support. We will get through this together. I love you all. stay safe."

Ozzy canceled his 2020 tour plans last month, before the pandemic began spreading in earnest, in order to head overseas for treatment of his Parkinson's disease and other health issues. He and Sharon are more susceptible to the disease due to their ages.

Ozzy's first solo album in a decade, Ordinary Man, also came out last month. The LP's producer, guitarist and co-writer, Andrew Watt, recently revealed that he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Muse singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy has taken to Instagram to pay tribute to his cousin, who is an emergency room doctor in the U.K.'s National Health Service.

Bellamy wrote, "Very proud of my cousin Dr. @clairelbellamy saving lives on the front lines in A&E/ER with the #nhs…" He added that he was sending his cousin any personal protective equipment he had to help with the effort to get medical professionals more supplies.

The frontman said, "I'm sending her (for her and her colleagues) spare masks and stuff from our garage/#burningman supplies (hoping fedex can get it through from the US). Have a rummage through your garage and see what you can find to help #nhsheroes #clapforourcarers #healthcareforall."

Bellamy recently became part of a new group called the Jaded Hearts Club. Bellamy plays bass in the band, which features members of Blur and The Last Shadow Puppets. The act has released its debut single, a cover of the Isley Brothers track "Nobody But Me."

Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders revealed in a new interview with comedian James Veitch that the British band has started to work on music for its seventh studio album.

Helders said he was currently in London "to write with Alex (Turner, frontman)," adding, "We're all going to go (to the studio) together this time and see if there's anything worth recording."

Helders also admitted that Arctic Monkeys are often reluctant to play their older material live these days, explaining, "Some of it feels fine to still play, some of it feels like we're doing karaoke of our own songs -- like a bit of a caricature. It doesn't feel as genuine playing it anymore, I'd rather they just have the memory of a version where we really meant it, rather than we'll do this for you."

Arctic Monkeys' latest album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, came out in May 2018. It followed up 2013's AM, their biggest U.S. release to date, which featured the Modern Rock hit "Do I Wanna Know?"