Mark your calendars (UPDATED) - On Wednesday January 19th, Atlanta's music scene will have a multi-venue benefit for the victims of the horrendous earthquake & tsunami that devastated South Asia. Atlanta Music Unites, a new group formed by local musicians and industry professionals, seeks to raise donations to help everyone overseas that have fallen victim to this tragedy. The Hard Rock Cafe' will have a silent memorabilia auction hosted by 96 Rock & Metalsome Monday's English Nick during their benefit show with unique, rare items from a wide range of BIG artists, past and present (just trust us on this one!). All of the proceeds from the auction, just like the Atlanta Music Unites shows, will be donated to the American Red Cross. The benefit will take place across music venues in the city from January 16 - 20, culminating in a grand finale concert January 20th at Earthlink Live featuring Bonecrusher , Da Brat , Sleepy Brown (who collaborated on Outkast's "The Way You Move"), and more acts to be announced. The event will be hosted by Tamara of UPN's Atlanta Tonight and feature appearances Keep on checking AMG's Concerts page for a list of benefit shows that week as they come in. Tickets for 10 High , Andrews Upstairs, Velvet Underground, and Vinyl's benefit shows are available through Ticket Alternative, with the service fee also being donated to Atlanta Music Unites. A package deal for tickets to the finale show will also be available soon. Click here to get your tickets and help out a great cause. For more information, visit www.atlantamusicunites.org.

There are many ways you can donate and make a difference - Here's a list of just several places. We're not trying to get on our soapboxes, but just think about how you can help people much less fortunate than you at the moment...

American Red Cross | Habitat for Humanity International | CARE | UNICEF | United Nations World Food Program

AMG's back from the holidays ! - We all hope you had a lovely end of 2004 and that you're ready for 2005! If you want to check out a re-cap of some our favorite CDs & concerts of 2004, then click here to read who rocked our writers' worlds. If our "Best of.." list is too much for your short attention span, then make sure you check out Zack Arias' (our favorite photographer!) recap in his 100 favorite photos of 2004 - six of the images are actually from Atlanta Music Guide events! You also have a chance to submit your favorite photo, and the image that receive the most votes wins the band a free promo shoot. When you vote, you are also entered to win a framed 16x20 photo of any image in the gallery. Check out all of the photos & cast your vote at Usedfilm.com.

Be on the lookout for Atlanta Music Guide 's 2004 wrap up as we divulge what shows, bands, cds, etc. we loved about this great year - complete with highlights from our writers and photographers! Let's kick this year in the ass and make 2005 even better....

The holiday season is definitely in full force! Last night, local label Brash Music threw an incredible holiday party to celebrate a great year in the Atlanta music scene. Congrats are abound to them, as their artist Pleasure Club (fronted by James Hall) had their single "Hey Hey Hey" added in regular rotation added on 99X.

Attention all wannabe rockstars - reality tv and rock 'n roll are now combining forces. (Scary!) Mark Burnnett, the creator of Survivor and The Apprentice , is now teaming up with INXS as they search across the world for a new man or woman to front the band. This search will be documented through the show INXS Rock Star , and they are holding auditions in Atlanta. To qualify, you must be a singer/songwriter 21 & up. The open auditions take place January 20th at Smith's Olde Bar from 8am-4pm. For more information, visit the official INXS Rock Star website.

Relapse Records recording artists MASTODON's latest release Leviathan has been named as Revolver Magazine's 2004 "Album of the Year". The year-end Revolver list was determined via a poll of the magazine's editors and contributing writers. Leviathan was released on August 31st, 2004 to exceptional fan and critical acclaim. The follow up to the band's heralded Remission album, Leviathan entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #139 and continues to see strong sales. The band is currently on the road alongside SLAYER and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE as part of the 2004 Jagermeister Music Tour. The full list of Revolver's 2004 "Albums of the Year" can be found in the magazine's February, 2005 issue - on stands December 7th.

Lazyeye has announced it will be playing on the Jay Leno show backing Ludacris for a performance of Luda's new song Get Back on Tuesday December 14th. The following night the band play The Late Late Show . The band also has a new drummer, Rico Jordan. Lazyeye will be playing the 10 High along with Family Force 5 on Friday December 11th, right before they jet to Los Angeles. Tickets are only $7 and available from www.ticketalternative.com - For more info visit www.lazyeymusic.com

A huge thank you to everyone who made it out to our benefit at Vinyl on Friday, along with Second Shift , Avenge Vegas , and Noisemaker's Fife for letting us hold a food drive during their show & kicking ass! Click here to check out the photos from Friday night, taken by our favorite Atlanta photographer, Zack Arias. Zack is the one responsible for making Atlanta music look good, so if you're in a band & need that awesome press shot or that live rock photo, he's the one that can make it happen. We managed to get 250-300 cans (the barrel we had was full!) to the Atlanta Community Food Bank with your help, and it was so successful that we've decided to do it again next month, right in time for all of those December holidays!

REMINDER- Our second installment of holiday concerts & benefits at Vinyl is taking place *this* Saturday! Join the Atlanta Music Guide with our friends in Blue Epic , The Californias , The Rantings of Eva , and Modern Skirts as we rock away the cold weather. Tickets are only $8.00 for a night of incredible music if you bring 2 cans of food for the Atlanta Community Food Bank . Bring 5 cans of food, and join us from 8-9pm for a VIP pre-party with the bands. What's best - if you're of age, you'll get a wristband for FREE BEER ! It can't get much better than that. We hope to see you out and about that night for a night of great music and great causes! www.vinylatlanta.com

On the heels of the Motley Crue reunion, there have been talks of a reunion from Queen, obviously sans-Freddie Mercury. They are currently planning a European tour for 2005 with Bad Company lead singer Paul Rodgers fronting the group.

The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame announced its five inductees for the "Class of 2005." The group comprises of U2, The O'Jays (who had eight #1 R&B hits), Percy Sledge, The Pretenders, and Buddy Guy. Frank Barsalona, who founded the Premier Talent Agency, and Sire Records co-founder and chairman Seymour Stein, will also be inducted for their contributions to the music industry.

A horrendous tragedy occurred last night in Columbus, Ohio when "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, former guitarist for Pantera was murdered on stage during his current band, Damageplan's, performance. A 25 year old gunman opened fire during the concert, striking Abbott point blank multiple times, and then turning his fire on the crowd, injuring five other people. The shots only ceased once a policeman nearby heard about the incident and killed the gunman, who was holding an audience member hostage at the time.

Check out the latest additions to our Features section - a live show review and CD review of two legends in their own respective rights, Ms. Loretta Lynn, the cole miner's daughter, and So Cal punks Social Distortion. A new interview with The Donnas is also up for viewing. And if you haven't read up on our featured band of the month,The Californias, then make sure to do so! Click here to see all of the recently updated features.

The nominees for the 47th Annual Grammy Awards were announced today, and rapper/producer Kanye West received the most nods with 10 nominations for his songs from "The College Dropout." Following him in the nominations category is Green Day with 6 nods for their album "American Idiot," whose title track is the only alternative/rock song nominated for Record of the Year. The nominees for the rock-oriented categories include Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Green Day, The Killers, Hoobastank, Franz Ferdinand, U2, and Velvet Revolver. For the full list of nominees, visit www.grammy.com.

Rumors and a strong buzz have been circulating across the internet as to the lineup for the 2005 Coachella Festival. Although the lineup and dates have yet to be announced, publications such as Billboard and Pollstar are stating that the concert will take place April 30 and May 1. The festival will also reportedly feature established acts including David Bowie, R.E.M., Wilco, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, and Interpol, along with hipster darlings like Franz Ferdinand, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Shins, Bright Eyes, and many many more bands. Last year's lineup for the annual Indio, CA festival included Radiohead, The Pixies, The Cure, and The Flaming Lips, so this supposed lineup sounds quite possible...

According to Billboard.com, Canadian indie rockers Hot Hot Heat have completed Elevator, the band's follow-up to their successful disc Make Up The Breakdown with producer Dave Sardy, who has worked with acts such as JET, The Walkmen, & The Dandy Warhols. The CD is slated for release in April 2005, with the band's single,"You Owe Me an IOU" out in March. www.hothotheat.com

My 80's is Better Than Yours is a compilation disc featuring local Atlanta artists set for release in early 2005. The CD features covers of popular 80's tunes such as "Metro," "Holiday Road," "Devil Went Down to Georgia," and more. Featured bands on the disc include Civil Circuit, Y-O-U, Homeroom, Royal 7, Pacifico, Nuclear Saturday, GoodNight City, and Unicorns! the Musical. The CD's proceeds will go to Aid Atlanta, a local organization providing education and support services for people living with HIV. An album release party is also in the works. For more information, visit the CD's music page at Myspace.com.

After winning Open Mic Madness in 2002, Bain Mattox's music has received much acclaim and attention from many local publications and Southeast crowds, along with snagging the Atlanta Music Guide Music Award for "Best Frontman and Singer/Songwriter." Mattox and his band will wrap up 2004 in Atlanta as they play their last Georgia show of the year this Saturday December 4th at Vinyl. Doors are at 9pm, and opening up the show will be The Paper Champions and Bishop Don. Click here to purchase your tickets in advance. For more information, visit www.bainmattox.com.