US man, sister reunite thanks to Facebook, boy

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A man has been reunited with his sister 65 years after the siblings were separated in foster care thanks to a 7-year-old friend who searched Facebook.

Clifford Boyson, of Davenport, Iowa, met his sister, Betty Billadeau, in person on Saturday.

Billadeau drove up from her home in Florissant, Missouri, with her daughter and granddaughter for the reunion at a hotel in Davenport.

Boyson, 66, and Billadeau, 70, both tried to find each other for years without success. They were placed in different foster homes in Chicago when they were children.

Then 7-year-old Eddie Hanzelin, who is the son of Boyson’s landlord, got involved.

Eddie managed to find Billadeau by searching his mom’s Facebook account with Billadeau’s maiden name. He recognized the family resemblance when he saw her picture.

“Oh, my God,” Boyson said when he saw and hugged Billadeau.

“You do have a sister,” Billadeau said.

“You’re about the same height Mom was,” Boyson said.

Billadeau’s daughter, Sarah Billadeau, 42, and granddaughter, Megan Billadeau, 27, both wiped away tears and smiled during the reunion.

“He didn’t have any women in his life,” Sarah said. “We’re going to get that straightened out real fast.”

Boyson said he’s looking forward to visiting Billadeau near St. Louis and meeting more family.

“I’m hoping I can go and spend a week or two,” he said. “I want to meet the whole congregation. I never knew I had a big family.”

Eddie, who enjoys messing around with his family’s iPad, said he’s glad he was able to assist in making the reunion happen and that he learned about helping others at school.

“Clifford did not have any family, and family’s important,” the boy said.

Near the end of their tearful reunion Boyson and Billadeau presented Eddie with a $125 check in appreciation of his detective work.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Led Zeppelin’s Celebration Day confirmed

Led Zeppelin will release the movie of their 2007 reunion show under the title Celebration Day on DVD and as a cinema feature.









The 2hr4min production will play in selected theatres across the world on October 17 following premieres in London, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities. Tickets for the public screenings will be available on September 13 via LedZeppelin.com.
Celebration Day will then go on sale in video and audio formats on November 19.
Over 20 million people applied for 18,000 tickets when Led Zeppelin announced they’d play London’s O2 Arena to celebrate the life of Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun.
Drummer John Bonham’s son Jason performed with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, leading to plans for further shows together, which then ground to a halt when frontman Plant decided not to remain involved.
The Celebration Day announcement came after Led Zeppelin spent five days teasing fans with online countdown images and teaser sound clips.
Meanwhile, the band have been named as recipients of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. The organisation says the band “transformed the sound of rock and roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures, infusing blues into the sound of rock and roll and laying the foundation for countless rock bands.”

Celebration Day tracklist

01. Good Times, Bad Times
02. Ramble On
03. Black Dog
04. In My Time Of Dying
05. For Your Life
06. Trampled Underfoot
07. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
08. No Quarter
09. Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You
10. Dazed And Confused
11. Stairway To Heaven
12. The Song Remains the Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock And Roll

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Sebastian Bach on a Skid Row Reunion: 'I Would Do It for the Fans'

In a letter briefly posted on his official Facebook page, Sebastian Bach said he is willing to reunite with his former band Skid Row. "For the fans, I would be willing to put my ego aside and do something that would be special for the people who put us where we are today," he wrote. "I do not personally want it myself. But its not always about 'what I want.' If the fans really want to see us together, I would do it for the fans. Sometimes you can do things for people other than yourself."

Bach felt compelled to post the letter after current Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger attacked him in a recent interview, saying a recent tweet by Bach about a possible Skid Row reunion was an attempt to "get attention."

"My little fingernail has forgotten about more attention it has received than my replacement will ever receive for his whole life's work," Bach wrote. "I answered a tweet from someone on my Twitter account with the response '4 out of five of us would reunite.' That was all. My one tweet made news the world over."

Sebastian Bach left Skid Row – who scored big hits with "Youth Gone Wild," "18 and Life" and "I Remember You" – in 1996. They reformed in 1999 with Solinger and a new drummer and have continued to tour on a regular basis ever since. In countless interviews over the past 15 years, Bach has said he has no interest in a reunion.

Bach does say now that Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan is the only member of the band to not respond positively to his offer for a possible reunion. "Of course they could change their mind in public," Bach wrote. "But in private that is the truth, and the one thing the fans know about me is that I am not afraid to say what the truth is. Never have been."

Towards the end of his note, Bach addressed his ex-bandmates: "If you want to try and get out of the Internet bulls*** and come together for the sake of the fans, you can give me a call."

(You can read the complete letter - which Bach has taken down from his Faceboom page - here.)

source: rollingstone.com

Black Sabbath drummer says may pull out of reunion

LONDON - Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has said he will not participate in the British heavy metal band's reunion recordings and tour unless he is offered a "signable" contract.

The statement on his website casts further doubt on the much-hyped return of the veteran rockers, who announced last November that the original line-up were getting back together to write and record their first album in more than 30 years.

They also unveiled plans for a world tour in 2012.

But last month, guitarist Tony Iommi was diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma and, to accommodate his treatment, the band moved from the United States to Birmingham in Britain to continue writing and recording.

The founding members of the heavy metal pioneers were Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Iommi, Geezer Butler on bass guitar and Ward.

"At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the Black Sabbath album and tour," Ward said on his website.

"However, I am unable to continue unless a 'signable' contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band."

He said he worked with the other Black Sabbath members "in good faith" last year and agreed to appear alongside them at the November press conference in Los Angeles.

"Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another 'unsignable' contract was handed to me."

He said he was keen to play on the new album and tour, and was already packed and ready to leave the United States for Britain to join the band.

Ward described feeling "lousy and lonely", but added that he stood to lose his "rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician" if he signed the contract offered to him.

"If I'm replaced, I have to face you, the beloved Sabbath fans. I hope you will not hold me responsible for the failure of an original Black Sabbath lineup as promoted."

He also said his motives were not "greed-driven" and that he was not holding out for a big pay day "like some kind of blackmail deal."

Black Sabbath have sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide, and, like other veteran acts with a large fan base, a reunion tour and recording could prove highly lucrative.

The quartet released their last studio album of all original material in 1978 with "Never Say Die".

Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979, leading to changing line-ups for several years. The original foursome reunited for a 1998 release and played sporadically together in the early 2000s. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com