Week of March 17, 2025
Happy Rock Birthdays to Gia DeSantis (ex-NPR), Jeff Kilgour (The Syndicate), Squiggy (The Music Experience), Mike Monterulo (TKO) (March 21); Alex Auxier (Victory Amps), Toby Morrell (Emery), and Mike Liguori (Roadrunner Records) (March 22).
MATT PINFIELD: “Guys, I’m Alive!”
Matt Pinfield is out of his coma. In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, radio veteran and longtime friend of team #HAPPENS talked about the stroke he suffered in January and gave an update on his health. The former MTV personality and ex-SiriusXM host told the publication he's "recovering and am going to come back swinging." "I was unresponsive for two months," he said. "Friends were thinking they were coming to see me for the last time. The doctors never expected me to speak or to walk again.” The Hollywood Reporter says he has been released from the ICU
BEARTOOTH’s ‘Hated’ Goes Gold
BEARTOOTH's "Hated" was just certified GOLD by the RIAA. The band, masterminded by frontman Caleb Shomo (who plays all of the instruments on their albums), previously earned a gold plaque with "In Between" in 2020. That song, released in 2014, was eventually certified platinum in September 2024. "Hated" appears on Bearooth's 2016 Red Bull Records album, Aggressive. Beartooth will co-headline this year's inaugural Summer of Loud tour alongside I Prevail, Parkway Drive, and Killswitch Engage. Support on the trek on various dates comes from The Devil Wears Prada, The Amity Affliction, TX2, Alphawolf, Kingdom of Giants, and Dark Divine.
Week of March 10, 2025
Rock birthday wishes to Caity Babs (SiriusXM), Tom Beaujour (author/journalist) (March 13); Dave Holmes (ex-MTV) (March 14); Mike Catherwood (ex-KROQ) (March 15); and Jay Ruston (producer) (March 16).
OTHERWISE Goes Gold
Las Vegas hard rock band OTHERWISE earned their first gold single on Valentine’s Day last week, with the RIAA certification of “Soldiers.” The song was the first-ever from an unsigned artist to go to No. 1 on SiriusXM’s Octane. The track eventually appeared on the band’s True Love Never Dies album, released by Century Media Records in 2012.
SLEEP THEORY No. 1 At Active Rock
This week, SLEEP THEORY’s “Stuck In My Head” is No. 1 on Mediabase’s Active Rock chart. The band’s debut album, Afterglow, is out May 16 on Epitaph Records.
Week of February 17, 2025
Happy birthday wishes to Livia Tortella (Black Box), Steve Zapp (ITB) (Feb 17); Borivoj Krgin (Blabbermouth) (Feb 18); Hayden Tree (Crown The Empire), Aissa Juarez-Leiker (SoFi Statdium) (Feb 19); Agustin Mota (10th Street) (Feb 20); Matt Ash (Raw Power) (Feb 21); Tim Zahodski (Better Artists) (Feb 22); and Bam Bino (In De Goot) (Feb 23).
Ghost Earn Two New Plaques
Ghost has two new certifications from the RIAA: 2016's "Square Hammer" is now platinum, and 2018's "Rats" is now gold. Loma Vista released both singles.
Drive 96.9/94.9 Barstow Becomes Highway Rock Las Vegas
Drive 96.9/94.9 KHDR Lenwood/Barstow and KHRQ Baker, California is now Highway Rock. The stations cover the 1-15 corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas, with increased coverage over Las Vegas via 99.7 KHYZ-HD3. Learn more about Highway Rock here.
Mistress Carrie Joins Lazer 99.3 & 98.5 WLZX Springfield
Mistress Carrie, a 22-year Boston radio veteran, has joined Lazer 99.3 & 98.5 WLZX Springfield, MA, for mornings starting Friday, February 14th. Carrie hosts The Mistress Carrie Podcast, Cocktails in the War Room, and The Mistress Carrie Radio Show. "Big announcement!' Carrie wrote on Instagram. "I'm taking over the world one stock station at a time! ‘Mornings with Mistress Carrie’ starts tomorrow."
