Mauri Tapia, the artist behind Los Retros, has been charged with deeply disturbing crimes before his show in Los Angeles. In a report from The Los Angeles Times, he was arrested on October 8th, with bail set at $3 million. The Ventura County Superior Court charged him with four felony counts of unlawful acts with a child under the age of 10. Currently, there’s been no plea deal taken, and Tapia remains in jail.

Additionally, the reports deemed the singer to be in a “trustworthy position” with the minor and abused it accordingly. His next court date is slated for October 22nd.

Mauri Tapia was slated to perform at the Stones Throw 30 music festival in LA as part of the label. However, he was promptly removed for “unforeseen circumstances” at the time. The label addressed the damning allegations, admitting they had no clue about them when removing him from the show. Now that they know, they’ve taken all the steps necessary to remove Tapia from the label and distance themselves from his work.

“We take these allegations extremely seriously and will continue to assess the situation as more information becomes available,” they said in a statement on Instagram.

Mauri Tapia Charged With Heinous Crimes Against a Minor

Los Retros was a prominent band on Stone’s Throw and one of the most prominent Latino bands working today. They netted 2.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with their song “Someone To Spend Time With” sitting at over 271 million streams.

The band’s bio revealed that they started as a trio with Mauri Tapia as the frontman. Most of the recordings typically took place at his house. By 2022, the other two members of the band left, leaving him as the sole person in Los Retros.

“His goal from the start has always been to record and compose songs that sound as if they were made in previous generations. Although he was born in 2000, his favorite selection of music is inspired by video games he grew up playing,” the bio read. “Having sounds that usually resembled Jazz Fusion and genres from the 70s-80s.”

Ever since Mauri Tapia headed the band by himself, he handled every aspect of the music completely on his own. Every piece of musical engineering, singing, and instrumentation was solely his work.

Currently, past members of Los Retros haven’t made a statement about the allegations.

Photo by Josh Brasted/FilmMagic

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Politics have made rock royalty beef now more than ever. During a recent concert, James Hetfield seemingly threw shade at the Macklemore controversy by affirming that they’re not like that. Instead, they’re politically neutral and don’t want to convince any fans to feel strongly about anything in particular. Just have fun and rock out at their shows. “Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bulls**t,” he shared.

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame found this perspective to be essentially useless. What kind of artist makes it a point to not say anything at all? Consequently, he called Hetfield a “prick” on the latest episode of The Katie Halper Show.

“He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick,” Waters said of the Metallica frontman. “He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him, I don’t even know, because he’s a nobody. He may have a few hundred million dollars or whatever, but he’s a prick.”

Additionally, Roger Waters slammed Hetfield for his artistry, claiming that Metallica aren’t real musicians. “I heard them playing acoustic instruments and it was appalling,” he scoffed.

In the war between the two rock legends, the Osbourne family made their loyalties very clear by calling out Waters. For a limited time, they released a shirt that says ‘Another Prick In The Wall’, in reference to the Pink Floyd classic. Then, you can see Ozzy Osbourne peeing a rainbow on it.

The Osbourne Family Stood up for Metallica in Their Feud With Roger Waters of Pink Floyd

Waters is also on the record for not liking Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath that much either. In a 2025 interview with The Independent Ink, he shrugged off their music in the aftermath of his death. Moreover, he recalled the “idiocy and nonsense” that Osbourne publicly spouted over the years.

“I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did, I have no interest. I couldn’t care less,” Roger Waters said at the time. “Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him, in his whatever that state that he was in his whole life. We’ll never know, we didn’t, you know? Although he was all over the TV for hundreds of years with his idiocy and nonsense.”

Naturally, the Osbourne family was quick to defend Ozzy from the onslaught from Roger Waters. As captured by PEOPLE, Jack Osbourne revealed that his dad never quite cared for the Pink Floyd singer. “Hey @rogerwaters. F**k You. How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become,” he wrote on Instagram. “The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bulls**t in the press. My father always thought you were a c**t – thanks for proving him right.”

Photo by KMazur/WireImage

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Before YouTube, there were music video countdowns on television. In the late 90s and early 2000s, millennials were glued to the television when TRL came on MTV. We’d leave school in a mad dash to get home so we could catch the newest music videos. You never knew what video was about to debut, or what interviews you were about to witness. You’d sling your backpack to the floor, and homework had to wait until TRL was over. This era of “appointment television” made music videos much more exciting, and here are the rock videos that we’d race home to watch.

“The Hardest Button To Button” by The White Stripes

This video is arguably the most memorable from The White Stripes, even though they released multiple iconic videos in the early 2000s. This one particularly stands out for its unique effects. They utilized 32 identical Ludwig drum sets and 32 identical amplifiers to move the duo frame-by-frame along to the beat.

This concept was so unique that The Simpsons created their own parody. Bart Simpson’s drum set creates a new identical drum set with each beat of the song, just like the music video. As he scoots through Springfield, he eventually encounters Jack and Meg White at an intersection, and they collide. The duo then threaten and chase Bart Simpson until they fall off a broken bridge and land on a floating trash barge. You just had to be there; it was amazing.

“No One Knows” by Queens Of The Stone Age

In the early 2000s, Dave Grohl had already proven that he can play the frontman role. Internally, the Foo Fighters were experiencing a dip in creative ambition, and things got tense while recording a new album. They weren’t happy with the way their new album was turning out, and they didn’t know what to do about it. Instead of fixing the issue immediately, Dave Grohl unexpectedly recorded a Queens Of The Stone Age album, making a grand return to the drums. He then toured with the band, shocking everyone, including his own bandmates in Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl appeared on Queens Of The Stone Age’s 2002 rock masterpiece, Songs For The Deaf. Their single, “No One Knows”, showcased how Dave Grohl was still among the greatest rock drummers, returning to the kit with even heavier yet more concise chops. It was very exciting watching this music video on MTV, spotting Grohl behind the drum kit again.

“One Last Breath” by Creed

The combination of CGI and one of the most defining bands of the early 2000s generated this iconic music video. It doesn’t get more early-2000s than this. Younger generations will never fully understand how it blew our minds back then. There’s no denying Creed’s place at the forefront of early 2000s rock. They were at the top of the mountain, much like how the band stands high on their individual CGI pillars in this music video.

Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis via Getty Images

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Legendary rock frontman David Surkamp has died. He was 73. No cause of death has been disclosed. The late singer was well known for being one of the original members of Pavlov’s Dog. They were a groundbreaking progressive rock band that formed in the 70s.

Surkamp’s bandmate Abbie Steiling confirmed his passing in a heartfelt and lengthy memorial shared on the Pavlov’s Dog Facebook page. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the unexpected passing of our creative force, lead singer, and dear friend, David Surkamp,” she wrote. According to the post, Surkamp died on October 13, 2026.

“David leaves behind a legacy of endless creativity, unmistakable artistry, and a body of music that has touched lives across generations and around the world,” Steiling continued. “But anyone who knew and loved him knows that his legacy reaches far beyond the songs.”

David Surkamp was an original member of Pavlov’s Dog

The violin/mandolin player added, “David had a profoundly poetic spirit and a romantic heart that found its way into every note, every lyric, and every performance. His music was deeply emotive, reaching straight into the hearts of listeners, giving voice to longing, to love, to beauty, and to the bittersweet ache of it all.”

“He always allowed the musicians around him to shine in their strengths, generous with the spotlight and appreciative of what each brought to the music,” Steiling penned. “No matter what life held for him, he came alive onstage. Even on his hardest days, when the lights came up and the count-off began, he was a consummate performer. If he was playing music, it was a great day.

Steiling went on to write, “As we grapple with the magnitude and shock of this loss, we take comfort in the incredible community that surrounded him: his family, his wonderfully enduring friendships, and the global family brought together through Pavlov’s Dog and the music he gave to the world.”

“David’s heart held so much love for his wife Sara,” she added. “And we hope he has found peace with the love he has missed so dearly.”

“There are no words sufficient for a loss of this magnitude. We are heartbroken. We are grateful,” Steiling wrote. She then concluded, “We will carry David, his music, and the memories created with us always. Our deepest condolences are with Saylor, Evan, and the Surkamp family, as well as the Pavlov’s Dog family, as we walk together through this difficult time of grief.”

At this time, no funeral or public memorial information has been shared.

Photo by Mark Sullivan/Getty Images

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Brandon Flowers has been associated with the indie rock scene since The Killers debuted in 2004. But lately, the frontman has been dabbling in country and folk, a noticeable departure from his typical Las Vegas-style rock. On his latest solo album, Thrasher, released in August 2026, Flowers dove headfirst into country folk-style storytelling. The result had him convinced that rock music is on a downward trend.

Speaking with Pollstar magazine in October 2026, Flowers shared these insightful, if not alarming, thoughts. What do you do when a Millennial indie rock icon says the world isn’t interested in rock music anymore? When asked if rock as a genre was doing better than before, Flowers gave a firm, “No.”

He continued, “It’s almost dying. We’re living in a post-rock world.” However, while he “[doesn’t] think it’s going to ever die,” it’s become clear that “we’re past it.”

Building off of that comment, Flowers explained his reasoning for rock’s current state. With music production becoming so accessible these days, it’s easier than ever to make music. Whenever, wherever, and however, people are creating music for better or worse.

Brandon Flowers Says Rock Music Is a Dying Genre Because Music Is Being Turned Into Content

Brandon Flowers continued, “I think it’s too easy to make content and to make music, and there’s just not enough self-reflection going on or enough growth happening before we’re trying to put ourselves out there.”

There’s no denying the truth in that statement. With social media, streaming platforms, and recording software, it’s never been easier for someone to record a song in their bedroom and then immediately upload it. Although Flowers’ statement is a bit surface-level, it touches on a crucial aspect of music. At some point, constantly uploading first- or second-draft songs becomes less about making music and more about making content.

Being a musician becomes an online identity instead of an art form. Not to say that all hyper-independent bedroom-produced internet music is bad. But there’s an element of it that can lead to the commodification of music.

Additionally, the link Brandon Flowers makes becomes clear when you consider strictly online musicians who don’t play their music live. When it’s one person with GarageBand on a laptop, it’s harder to determine the good ideas from the bad. Everything ends up online, and amateur musicians are often laid low by hubris before they even learn the ropes. Truly, Brandon Flowers makes a good case for slowing down and taking our time.

“You’ve got to hone what you’re doing and make sure that it’s good enough, get out there and play, and know what it feels like to have something be great or have something suck instead of just releasing things,” Flowers concluded. “That would be one thought about it.”

Photo by Denise Truscello – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

The post Is Rock Music Dead? This Early 2000s Indie Frontman Says ‘Almost,’ and We Can’t Argue With His Logic appeared first on VICE.

Avenged Sevenfold had a big Singapore show this week, and they didn’t show up alone. The band actually had 16-year-old America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal open for them. Then later they brought her back out during their set to play a pair of songs with them.

Royal is a guitar savant who won the American competition series on her incredible skill and musicianship. On Oct. 13, 2026, she popped in for A7X’s concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium to play a few songs.

‘AGT’ winner Nene Royal played “Bat Country” and “Unholy Confessions” with Avengend Sevenfold

During her opening set—as reported by Consequence—Royal played a handful of killer rock covers. She played Muse’s “Hysteria”, Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, and Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name”. She also delivered renditions of System of a Down’s “I-E-A-I-A-I-O” and The Cranberries’ “Zombie”.

After Avengend Sevenfold took the stage, they invited Royal back out to play two of their most popular songs with them: “Bat Country” and “Unholy Confessions“. Check out footage below.

Nene Royal has really taken the rock world by storm since her big AGT win in September.

Speaking about her victory on the Today Show, she confessed, “I was so shocked because the moment just went completely black.” She continued, “There’s so, so many emotions that at once, shock or happiness—everything—and my body just reacted before my brain did.”

“I just focused on each round and tried to make every performance better than the last time,” she later added. “Maybe after the Golden Buzzer, I started thinking like, ‘Wow, maybe I really do have a chance,’ but I still never expected to actually win.”

Nene Royal is planning to work on some new, original music

Royal also shared how the AGT judges reacted to her win. “(They) just came to me and said, like, ‘I’m very proud of you, and just be yourself, and you know your life is going to be changed,’” she recalled.

As for what is next, Royal said she’s ready to focus on some original music. “My next thing for me is doing some of my own songs,” she confessed. “Or making (an) album, and also making some tours.”

Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images

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