Rejoice The Afters fans, rejoice!  “Light Up the Sky,” the new single from the group The Afters is finally available for download on the iTunes music store.  To download it via iTunes, click here.

Who says that there isn’t such thing as a free lunch?  House of Heroes is giving away a free download of their new song “Independence Day for a Petty Thief.”

Ok, well there is a catch.  In order to download the song, you MUST have a Twitter account that you are willing to allow the band to access.  Once you agree to the terms, the band will instantly send out a Tweet to your network, alerting them of the free offer.

If that doesn’t sound too invasive to you, click here to access the free download.

Other artists feel that “leaking” an album can lead to good things.  That must be why you can listen to Born Again, the brand new album from the Newsboys in its entirety online.

To listen in its entirety, click here.

According to bassist Dan Gartley’s blog, the band has just completed shooting video for the new music video.  Locations included dirt roads in the outskirts of Toledo OH, a seedy motel, a wheat field, and inside “Full Moon Fever,” the bands tour bus.

The music video, produced by Nathan Corrona, is slated to be released mid August.  So that means for now, we’ll just have to deal with over the top fan renditions this one.

Drummer Yuri Ruley has decided to call it quits after eighteen years of playing the drums for punk-rock group MXPX.  According to sources, Ruley would like to focus more time on his family life.

Now, don’t get too excited, future drummers of America!  MXPX has already found a replacement in Chris Wilson of The Summer Obsession.  Wilson will sit-in on drums on select dates in the near future.

In other MXPX news, the group is going to start scaling things back a bit and reduce their number of dates on the road.

When asked about the changes, guitarist Tom Wisniewski said, “Touring costs have sky-rocketed and companies have limited their marketing dollars, resulting in most bands being barely able to cover current road costs.  I had no choice but to limit my availability on the road to get a full time job to support my family, but will continue to perform select MxPx dates and continue making music.”

Is it just me or is it hard to believe that MXPX has been playing for 18-years now?

UPDATE: Ticket details for the Sin City show have been announced.  Click here to purchase tickets to see Ruley’s final performance with the group MXPX.

(For a second there, I thought that the guy in the bottom right was giving us the middle finger.  Still, I’m not exactly sure what he’s trying to tell us with that fist!)

The new single from the band THE AFTERS, “LIGHT UP THE SKY,” will be featured on MTV’s “THE HILLS” TONIGHT (6/22) at 10/9p (ET/CT).

BREAKING NEWS:  Avalon members Greg and Janna Long have accepted positions as Worship Leaders with Woodlands Church, located outside of Houston, TX.

Avalon has been through a lot of changes in recent years (ie: the departure of Melissa Greene, Jody McBrayer, Michael Passons, Cherie Adams, and Nikki Hassman), but fans will be happy to know that Greg and Janna will continue with the group.

Clear Channel, the nation’s largest broadcasting company, is featuring Skillet on their iheartradio website.  Check them out as the “Featured Rock Artist” here.

The Winter Jam concert tour, conceived by Newsong around 1995, will hitting the road in about two months, bring with them Third Day, Newsboys, Fireflight, Tenth Avenue North, Newsong, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and Revive.  Tony Nolan will handle the speaking aspects of the show.

1/8/2010 in CHATTANOOGA, TN at McKenzie Arena
1/9/2010 in FAYETTEVILLE, NC at Crown Arena
1/10/2010 in CHARLOTTE, NC at Time Warner Cable Arena
1/15/2010 in JACKSONVILLE, FL at Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
1/16/2010 in TAMPA, FL at St. Pete Times Forum
1/17/2010 in DULUTH, GA at Arena at Gwinnett Center
1/22/2010 in ST. CHARLES, MO at Family Arena
1/23/2010 in CHAMPAIGN, IL at Assembly Hall
1/24/2010 in DES MOINES, IA at Veterans Memorial Auditorium
1/28/2010 in READING, PA at The Sovereign Center
1/29/2010 in CLEVELAND, OH at The Wolstein Center
1/30/2010 in UNIVERSITY PARK, PA at Bryce Jordan Center
1/31/2010 in NORFOLK, VA at Scope Arena
2/4/2010 in CINCINNATI, OH at Cincinnati Gardens
2/5/2010 in COLUMBUS, OH at Schottenstein Center
2/6/2010 in GREENSBORO, NC at Greensboro Coliseum
2/11/2010 in AUGUSTA, GA at James Brown Arena
2/12/2010 in MOBILE, AL at USA Mitchell Center
2/13/2010 in GREENVILLE, SC at BI-LO Center
2/14/2010 in NORTH CHARLESTON, SC at North Charleston Coliseum
2/18/2010 in ROANOKE, VA at Roanoke Civic Center
2/19/2010 in COLUMBIA, SC at Colonial Life Arena
2/20/2010 in CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA at John Paul Jones Arena
2/21/2010 in NASHVILLE, TN at The Sommet Center
2/25/2010 in TULSA, OK at BOK Center
2/26/2010 in DALLAS, TX at American Airlines Center
2/28/2010 in KANSAS CITY, MO at The Sprint Center
2/27/2010 in OKLAHOMA CITY, OK at The Ford Center
3/4/2010 in MACON, GA at Macon Coliseum
3/5/2010 in TALLAHASSEE, FL at Leon County Civic Center
3/6/2010 in KNOXVILLE, TN at Thompson-Boling Arena
3/7/2010 in MEMPHIS, TN at FedEx Forum
3/11/2010 in FORT WAYNE, IN at Allen County Memorial Coliseum
3/12/2010 in MOLINE, IL at iWireless Center
3/13/2010 in LEXINGTON, KY at Rupp Arena
3/14/2010 in BIRMINGHAM, AL at BJCC Arena
3/18/2010 in TUPELO, MS at BancorpSouth Center
3/19/2010 in LITTLE ROCK, AR at Verizon Arena
3/20/2010 in BOSSIER CITY, LA at CenturyTel Center
3/21/2010 in VALLEY CENTER, KS at Intrust Bank Arena
3/25/2010 in GRAND RAPIDS, MI at Van Andel Arena
3/26/2010 in YPSILANTI, MI at EMU Convocation Center
3/27/2010 in NORMAL, IL at Redbird Arena
3/28/2010 in LOUISVILLE, KY at Freedom Hall

Complete event information is available at http://www.jamtour.com/.