McNeal, was arrested in Los Angeles last month but has been out on $250,000 bail. On Friday he faced a preliminary hearing to face the felony charge issued against him for oral copulation/sexual penetration of a child under the age of 10.

Authorities in Los Angeles believe there may be additional victims and have made the case public in an effort to locate additional children who may have been victims. McNeal was previously arrested in 2009 on a separate charge of attempted molestation of a young girl, but the status of that case is not clear.

Prosecutors on Friday requested that the judge assigned to the case increase McNeal’s bail to $1.5 million but the judge rejected their request and kept bail at $250,000.

California criminal defence attorney, David E. Wohl, who does is not involved with the case, commented to Fox News that although there would no doubt be concerns from the community about the bail conditions it was not uncommon for a case of this type.

“It’s always a concern, especially to the victims, that an alleged child molester has been released on bail,” Wohl said. “Bail however, is a constitutional right in most cases, and this one is no exception. He will be watched closely by authorities, rest assured.”

Cake and their representatives have declined offers to comment on the charges, but Mike Doughty has told reporters that he is shocked and appalled by the charges. “I was devastated to hear of the arrest,” he told a local television station.

“There is nothing in my experience of Pete that indicates he’s a monster. I’m horrified to note that, of course, that’s always what people say. But someone accused of child molestation usually gets labeled as a monster permanently, regardless of what a jury decides.”

“I beg everybody to remember that, even if he’s innocent, and acquitted, this could ruin so much of his life.”

Attorney Wohl says that if convicted of the full charge McNeal would face a minimum 25 years to life in prison. “Mr. McNeal’s got plenty to be worried about,” he said. “There is no latitude for the judge, that sentence is mandatory.”

“If he’s convicted of a ‘lesser’ offense, for example oral copulation with a child 10 or younger, he faces 15 years to life in prison.” Arraignment is scheduled for 10th February in Los Angeles.

Amongst those sideshows were those for M83 who had sold out two shows at the Prince Bandroom. Supporting the french electro outfit were local Melbourne band Teenage Mothers who are well known in the local music community for their interesting on stage antics.

But apparently those antics went too far for Anthony Gonzalez, frontman for M83, who unceremoniously kicked them off the sideshow tour after the first Melbourne show because their lead singer James ‘JK’ Kennedy ‘looked like a junkie’ after inhaling nitrous oxide onstage.

Kennedy regularly includes the skit into the band’s set and according to the band using ‘soda bulbs’ is not illegal. Despite this M83′s management were adamant the band not be allowed to play anymore shows, cancelled their guestlist, and barred them from the venue. The band were replaced by a DJ for the rest of the tour.

Now Teenage Mothers guitarist Raph Brous has hit back at Anthony Gonzalez and M83, labelling them hypocrites and claiming on their first meeting Gonzalez tried to recruit Brous to find marijuana and other illicit drugs for himself and his bandmates. Brous has published a full account of what happened in an interview with Mess+Noise and on his Facebook page.

You can read the full account below:

Among other things, I play guitar in Teenage Mothers. It’s post punk. We like stark, meaningful lyrics and abrasive guitar noise. We recently recorded our debut album with Jim Sclavunos from Grinderman / The Bad Seeds. So we were surprised when M83 requested us for main support on their sold-out Australian tour. They’re a French electro-dance band, so we seemed an odd choice. They offered peanuts ($250 per gig), but we said yes because we like their music.

Our lead singer, James ‘JK’ Kennedy, is unusual. He’s a political activist in the Occupy movement. He left school at 15 to be a pro skater, then he quit the Nike team and taught himself to read aged 23. During our gigs, he likes doing backflips and inhaling soda bulbs (nitrous oxide). It’s not a contrived act. It’s simply JK being himself.

On October 10th last year, I emailed Anthony Gonzalez (M83 frontman) and his manager. I told them about our lead singer’s unusual behaviour, including his fondness for soda bulbs. They made no comment.

Last Thursday was the tour’s first show. At soundcheck, Anthony Gonzales met our singer JK. Anthony immediately asked JK to hook up marijuana and other drugs for the members of M83.

That night, our crowd response was great. JK inhaled several soda bulbs onstage. Apparently a few audience members voluntarily took soda bulbs too. That’s not illegal. Soda bulbs are available from supermarkets and catering suppliers. You can buy them over the counter.

After the show, we had a drink with Anthony backstage. He was friendly and I gave him an inscribed copy of my novel. Everyone got on well.

The following afternoon, we soundchecked for the second Melbourne show. Then, thirty minutes before our set, we were suddenly kicked off the entire tour. Under orders from M83’s vindictive tour managers, the venue staff pushed us onto the street. Our guest list was cancelled and our friends were kicked out too (some of them had travelled a long way to the gig). Security guards barred us from entering the building. It cost us hundreds of dollars. It was humiliating and unfair.

I attempted to compromise. I promised that in Sydney, JK would not bring any nitrous oxide onstage. But that wasn’t enough for M83. They wanted to punish us.

So M83 kicked us off the Sydney show too. They knowingly made us waste ten airline tickets (return airfares for five people). We had been advertised on the Laneway Festival website and streetpress. A lot of people were expecting to see us.

Why were we suddenly kicked off and replaced with a crappy DJ?

M83’s tour manager claimed that we were ‘disrespectful’, because our lead singer inhaled a soda bulb onstage. So apparently M83 is a fundamentalist cult that requires abstinence from fun? Before the tour, I clearly informed M83 about our singer’s antics.

Outside his band room, I confronted Anthony Gonzalez and his tour managers. Anthony told me why he shafted us, kicked out our friends and wasted everyone’s time and money. His exact words were:

‘Your singer looks like a junkie. I don’t want people who look like that around me. This is an important time for me’.

Anthony Gonzalez is a hypocrite. He asked our singer to find him illegal drugs, then he kicked us off because he thinks that our singer ‘looks like a junkie’. In fact, James Kennedy is not a heroin addict. He has never been a heroin addict. He’s a fit young man. How many junkies can do backflips off a stage?

Anthony Gonzalez makes stupid assumptions based on appearances. In his arrogant bubble, individuality is condemned as ‘disrespect’. What else can you expect from a guy who hogs the limelight, excluding his long-term band members from all publicity shots?

I don’t enjoy writing this account. I truly respected Anthony Gonzalez. But people are asking why we got kicked off the tour. Why shouldn’t Anthony be exposed for his abusive conduct?

So much for rock n’ roll. M83 should have chosen a boring DJ as their support. Playing with them is our worst experience as a band.

The use of the riff has let a bad taste in the mouth of the group’s management who have revealed that they did not authorise the use of the song for the advertisement and will be seeking legal advice on whether the use constitutes a breach of their copyright.

“Thank you everyone for making us aware of the Oikos Greek yoghurt TV ad that aired during the Super Bowl (today) featuring a song that sounds extremely similar to Zebra,” said a post on the band’s Facebook page. “John Butler and his management were not aware of this usage until (today) and we will be seeking advice as how to address the issue.”

The Superbowl is watched by over 100 million people in the US and the limited advertising spots during the game cost around $3.5 million per 30 seconds. The yoghurt drama was the second controversy of the Superbowl after halftime entertainer M.I.A. landed in hot water with broadcasted NBC and the NFL for ‘flipping the bird’ during her performance.

The company that ran the ad, Oikos Greek Yoghurt, have responded to the backlash from music fans saying “A question about the music in our Super Bowl commercial has been brought to our attention. We are working to fully understand and address the situation. We apologize for any concerns this has caused John Butler Trio’s band members and fans.”

Another Australian band, Men At Work, found out the hard way recently about copyright infringement when a judge ordered the band pay 5% of earning plus royalties stretching back to 2002 for ripping off the melody from  ’Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree’.

Watch the yoghurt advertisement and the music video for ‘Zebra’ below and let us know whether you think they ripped the song off.

The Black Keys latest record El Camino may have catapulted them to fame, illustrated by the fact they are now headlining Coachella, but the record is actually the band’s seventh studio LP.

Their first, The Big Come Up, was released all the way back in 2002 and the band didn’t manage to have a top 100 hit until 2006′s Magic Potion, their fourth LP.

Compared to Lana Del Rey, who has came out of seemingly nowhere in the last few months to release her debut LP Born To Die. The record has shot up the charts and reached number one in the UK in the first week of sales, as well as topping the iTunes charts in over 11 countries.

Now fresh from a stinging attack on MTV for getting their name wrong on an award, and calling Nickelback ‘watered-down, post-grunge crap, horrendous shit‘, The Black Keys are back to offer their view on the seemingly overnight success of Lana Del Rey and her like.

Apparently back on speaking terms with MTV, guitarist Dan Auerbach said “On some level, we’ve seen that Lana Del Rey thing since we first started, like, all of a sudden this new band would be headlining festivals.”

“We’re like, Wait, how did they get that? We’ve been here for two, three, four, five years and we’re still working our way up,” he continued. “But then they’re gone. Just as quickly as they get up there, they disappear.”

“It’s different for everybody. It took us a really long time to get on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and it took her a shorter amount of time,” drummer Patrick Carney added referencing the infamous SNL performance by Del Rey that was panned by fans and critics alike.

“But I honestly feel bad for a lot of bands that are starting out with the way things are. … The trends kind of flip over so fast — something’s cool and not cool and it all happens within two to three months.”

Del Rey has been fighting back against attacks on her credibility and prowess as a singer ever since the Saturday Night Live performance, and yesterday indicated that due to the pressure she ‘probably’ wouldn’t write another record.

Saturday Night Live over the weekend responded to the Del Rey feedback with cast member Kristen Wiig doing a spot on impression of Del Rey during the ‘weekend update’. You can watch the skit below.

Walls, released in April on Mom+Pop/Shock Records, garnered glowing critical acclaim and saw An Horse continue to keep a relentless pace on the road through Australia, Europe and North America, where they performed at Bamboozle Fest, Osheaga, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Rolling Stone Weekender and CMJ. 2012 will continue to be a busy year for the duo.

TICKETS ON SALE 9AM WEDNESDAY 15TH FEBRUARY, $15+BF!

Wednesday 25th April Rosemount Hotel Perth
www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX, www.heatseeker.com.au 08 6210 7270, www.oztix.com.au 1300 762 545

Thursday 26th April Jive Adelaide
www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX

Friday 27th April Corner Hotel Melbourne
www.cornerhotel.com.au 03 9427 9198

Saturday 28th April Oxford Arts Factory Sydney
www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX

Sunday 29th April The Zoo Brisbane
www.oztix.com.au 1300 762 545

Axl has become a legend of rock n roll, fronting the troubled Guns N Roses who delivered a slew of amazing records before infighting led the band to self-implode leaving it a skeleton of its previous glorious existence.

Born in the deeply religious community of Lafayette, Indiana, Rose escape his upbringing as soon as possible when he moved to the city of sin, Los Angeles, at age 20 in 1982. A short three years later he started a little rock band called Guns N Roses that seemed to epitomise the sleaze of the clubs they played in the cities famous Sunset Strip.

In 1987 the band released their debut album Appetite For Destruction which went on to sell over 28 million copies and became the classic rock n roll album for a generation around the world.

In 1991 the band returned with their iconic double albums Use Your Illusion Part 1 & 2 which contained perhaps one of their most iconic songs, November Rain, which went on to score the band a number three hit on the Billboard singles chart.

But a short 6 years later the band had completely fallen apart, with legendary guitarist Slash deciding it was time to move on along with a number of other original members. Unperturbed, Axl continued on what would become a journey that took over a decade to the record that many said would never happen, Chinese Democracy.

Unfortunately even a decade of anticipation was unable to deliver Axl and his band of merry men the kind of commercial success he enjoyed in the nineties, with Guns N Roses failing to deliver a top 10 hit since the band imploded. Later this year however Axl will get some of the recognition he no doubt thinks he deserves when he and some of his original bandmates are honoured as Guns N Roses are inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame.

But regardless of what anyone says, and pretty much everything that can be said has about Axl, no one can deny that he’s done it his way. He’ll no doubt be enjoying today with a bottle of Jack in one hand and his middle finger in the other pointing out to the rest of the world.

We’ll leave the final comment to former bandmate and longtime rival Slash who sent Axl a birthday message via Twitter:

From City and Colour, Kaiser Chiefs to Public Enemy and more, this will be one fun techni-colour spectrum of artist-all-sorts handpicked for GTM fans to enjoy this May.

Now in its eighth percussive year, the GTM tribe of 75,000 strong across the land will hold up the sky for another gathering culminating in a happiness explosion of epic proportions.

Promoter Stephen Halpin relayed in anticipation of the 2012 events saying ”I’m really excited about this lineup. So many fresh locals, festival favourites and breaking internationals to keep the outdoor stages rocking and the Moolin Rouge banging. Looking forward to checking out Chiddy Bang, plus Mutemath and The Maccabees who are making their first tours of Australia. I’m sure everyone will give them a friendly GTM welcome.”

See below for the lineup and ticket sale dates.

Groovin The Moo 2012 Lineup
360, Adrian Lux (SWE), Andrew W.K One-Man-Party Tour (USA), Beni, Big Scary, Bluejuice, Chiddy Bang (UK), City and Colour (CAN), Digitalism (GER), The Getaway Plan, Gold Fields, Hermitude, Hilltop Hoods, Kaiser Chiefs (UK), Kimbra, The Maccabees (UK), Matt Corby, Muscles, Mutemath (USA), Naysayer & Gilsun, Parkway Drive, Public Enemy (USA), Purple Sneakers DJs, San Cisco, Wavves (USA) with more local and triple j unearthed artists to be announced!

The official 2012 Groovin The Moo tour diary:

Saturday 5 May 2012 – Bendigo VIC

Bendigo’s Prince of Wales Showground 42 – 72 Holmes Rd, Bendigo VIC 3550

Sunday 6 May 2012 – Townsville QLD

Murray Sports Complex – Townsville Cricket Grounds Mervyn Crossman Dr & Murray Lyons Cres Idalia QLD 4811

Saturday 12 May 2012 – Maitland NSW

Maitland Showground Blomfield St, Maitland NSW 2320

Sunday 13 May 2012 – Canberra ACT

The Meadows, University of Canberra Kirinari St Bruce ACT 2617

Saturday 19 May 2012 – Bunbury WA

Hay Park (off) Parade Rd Bunbury WA 6230

TICKET PRICE: $99.90+ B/F

GROOVIN THE MOO 2012 TICKET ON SALE DATES:

Tues 14 February (from 9am local time) – Bendigo VIC

Wed 15 February (from 9am local time) – Maitland NSW

Thurs 16 February (from 9am local time) – Townsville QLD, Canberra ACT & Bunbury WA

GTM is a licensed all ages (16 + recommended) event. GTM recommends parents should consider whether the event is appropriate for their child and recommends that any children under 16 years of age who attend the event are accompanied by their parent or guardian. Persons who are 18 years of age or older and wish to purchase alcohol MUST have photographic ID. No pass outs will be issued at any of the five GTM events.

TICKETS AVAILABLE:

By logging onto gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au | By calling 1300 438 849 (GET TIX) By visiting selected MOSHTIX outlets – check gtm.net.au for an outlet in your local area

The split is reportedly amicable and Boge will be playing a string of shows as a farewell to fans of the band that also will conveniently  coincide with the release of a compilation best-of.

Boge was one of the founding members of the band who have sold an estimated 200,000 records, but has been more involved with side project Thousand Needles In Red in recent years. The band have released four studio EPs/albums, the latest of which was 2008′s Final Conversation of Kings which reached #2 on the ARIA charts.

The band have also achieved a number of milestones in their career including three Gold-certified records, two top five albums, and six top 100 singles. You can read the statement issued by the band below:

The Butterfly Effect wish to inform their fans and media that singer Clint Boge is officially leaving the band to pursue other musical interests. The remaining members of the band, Ben Hall, Kurt Goedhart and Glenn Esmond will continue to work together and will announce their intentions in the not too distant future.

Clint’s departure is an amicable one and the band are giving fans a chance to see them perform together for the last time on the club circuit by announcing the “EFFECTED” national tour starting late April 2012. To celebrate 10 years of recordings The Butterfly Effect is releasing an “EFFECTED” compilation CD of their best work in April and signed copies will be available at shows on the tour. Tickets go on sale as from February 13 with details available on www.thebutterflyeffect.com.au.

The broadcast is perhaps better known around the world however for halftime entertainment and the advertisements that run during the breaks in the most expensive advertising slots in the world worth an estimated $3.5 million for a 30-second spot.

The halftime entertainment made headlines internationally a few years back when Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performed a duet that featured the infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’, and since then broadcasters have been decidedly more conservative with their choices including The Who, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney.

It’s a list Australian sporting fans can only dream of, although admittedly The Who did perform at the Grand Prix a few years back. Instead we got Meatloaf at our biggest sporting event, the AFL Grand Final, a performance that has provided excellent fodder for Australian media ever since.

This year after the success of last year’s show featuring the Black Eyed Peas, organisers opted for the controversial-in-the-80s option and booked Madonna to perform a medley along with some more contemporary performers such as Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO, and Cee Lo Green.

The setlist kicked off with Madonna classic ‘Vogue’ before segueing into a medley including her classic Like A Prayer as well as her new single ‘Give Me All Tour Luvin’ off her forthcoming twelfth studio LP MDNA. The single features vocals by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A, but it was M.I.A. who has caught the attention of the American public and has threatened to overshadow the rest of the show.

American news media whipped into overdrive immediately after the broadcast after it was pointed out that M.I.A. not only ‘flipped the bird’ at the camera but shouted out expletives during her solo. Even more amusing is that despite a delay put on the broadcast after the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ incident, NBC were unable to react in time which can be seen when the screen blurs one second too late.

“We apologize for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime,” NBC spokesman Christopher McCloskey said. “It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late. The NFL hired the talent and produced the halftime show. Our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.”

The NFL is reportedly furious at the British singer with spokesperson Brian McCarthy telling reporters that the singer M.I.A. did not do anything similar during rehearsals and the league had no reason to believe she would pull something like that during the actual show.  ”The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans,” McCarthy said.

So what do you think? Watch the broadcast of the show below and let us know what you think. M.I.A’s ‘hand gesture malfunction’ occurs around 8:17 in to the video. Also check out our slideshow of the worst halftime performances in sporting history.

The news is bittersweet however as organisers have also broken to sad news that previously announce headliner Fat Freddy’s Drop has been forced to pull out of the festival along with Modeselektor. According to FasterLouder, organisers hope to replace the headliners as soon as possible and are “waiting on a couple of juicy acts to sign on the dotted line” before they can announce them.

They aren’t the only changes being made to the festival. Promoters announced to fans in August that they would be moving from mid-February to early March to help combat the extreme heat experienced by patrons in earlier years. You can see the lineup so far below.

Playground Weekender 2nd lineup:
Shapeshifter
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
Steve Bug
LTJ Bukem
Amirali (LIVE)
Cameras
Pluto Jonze
Paper Scissors
Kirk Degiorgio
Guerre
Lunars
Fait Accompli
March of the Real Fly
The Smith Street Band
Bomb the Music Indus…try!
The Walking Who
Bitrok
The Bennie
Catcall
Milhouse
The Fighting League
Wordlife
Morgda
Brenton Catz
Nic Scali
Brahn
Mia Lucci
Le Brond
Sam Roberts
Murat Killic

Joining:
Chic Feat Nile Rogers
Boy and Bear
Roots Manuva
Unkle Sounds
Manchester Orchestra
Black Lips
Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti
Bonobo (Live)
Neon Indian
Lanie Lane
The Orb
Bomb The Bass
Seekae
Greg Wilson
Damian Lazarus
Cuban Brothers
Canyons
Hudson Mohawke
Lee Burridge
Art Department
Rustie
Danny Daze
Kirk Degorgio
Northeast Party House
Toucan
Millions
Nantes
Elizabeth Rose

Playground Weekender 2012
2nd March 2012 – 4th March 2012
Del Rio Riverside Resort
Webbs Creek, Wisemans Ferry, NSW Australia