Paramore just hit the road on the Honda Civic Tour, and while Hayley Williams, as usual, deals with the assumptions surrounding being the only girl in the band, and the guys, well, get ripped doing P90X, the band’s going to be giving you an inside look at their life on tour all August long on Posted.mtv.com. Check out Paramore’s first update below — a blog post from Hayley. And stay tuned for more photos, videos, blog posts and updates from Paramore.

So what’s up everybody? Right now, I’m sitting in a trailer home which is currently doubling as our dressing room. The boys just finished doing P90X. Have you seen this? Have you heard about this? Anyways, I was watching them do all these intense moves that are meant to help them achieve the perfect six pack, all shirtless and sweaty… then I got to thinking how many girls (and boys!) might wish they were in my shoes. You know, just watching a bunch of half-dressed sweaty guys get buff. I mean, to me this is just a normal day. Besides, I just think it’s funny.

In every interview we’ve ever done, I get asked the question, “What’s it like being the only girl in the band?” or some other version of it. It’s not that it’s annoying, it’s just that I wonder what’s so fascinating about it. (Other than watching the guys do P90X, right?) But I guess, sadly enough, I do recognize that it’s still pretty rare to see a girl fronting a band and commanding a stage. Have you ever wondered why it’s so difficult for girls to get into scene and be taken seriously? I have.

+ Read more of Hayley’s blog after the jump.

When we started touring, there were next to no young women fronting bands like ours. And as lonely as that felt sometimes, I loved the challenge. I looked up to anyone who could control a crowd and not feel sorry about it. Usually those people were men who were twice my age. So, when we took the stage I’d forget about the fact that I was 16 and forget that I was one of the only girls in the scene. I would try and win over as many people as I could for the greater good of Paramore, all in the short 25 minutes we got to play. In many cases, this worked. Maybe it helped that I looked like a teenage boy? There were, however, the odd nights where pretty much all I was good for was a sounding board for various meatheads who’s chivalry peaked at “Take of your top!”. At 16 years old, I thought they must be crazy anyways… cause well, yes, I looked like a teenage boy. I stood my ground and never walked off any of those stages. Never let nobody get the best of me. Cause I knew that I wanted to do something important… mainly, make it in a world where people aren’t supposed to make it. It’s supposed to be tough but I never cared and neither did the guys. And here we are 5 years later. We’re playing a whole hour longer than we did when we started, and the crowds are a lot bigger. I can’t be too sure but I think this is what they call “making it.” Nah, you know… I am absolutely sure. Why? Because I’ll never forget where we came from. I’ll never forget how it was lonely. How it was a challenge. How I loved playing the game and winning every night. The women who have earned this dream aren’t much different than I am. And maybe not that different from you either. We all want to make it in a world where people aren’t actually supposed to make it.

Check back later cause I’ll be posting all the time. I like to type.

Hayley

FreeCreditScore.com scoured the country to find the hottest new band. After a  long and hard search, here are the four finalists vying for a chance to perform on the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards tour and have their music featured in the new FreeCreditScore.com commercial. Now it’s up to you to vote and to help decide which band will win! Each brings a unique style and sound to the table, so check them out and decide for yourself!

Evolove: This L.A. alternative rock band, which formed after meeting on Craigslist, prides itself on engaging performances throughout the West Coast at venues such as the Viper Room, Universal CityWalk and The Hollywood Palladium. Evolove’s vocals are fronted by lead singer Lucy Levinsohn and sound similar to the likes of Flyleaf and Rise Against. The group’s debut album, 2012: Countdown to the End, was released in October, along with videos for tracks “Toyshop Girl” and “2012.”

I Love Monsters: These New Yorkers named their band after a little boy they saw crossing Sixth Avenue, finger in nose, sporting a shirt that read “I Love Monsters.” The indie-rock group considers its sound to be a mixture of dance rock with pop. Influences include The Arctic Monkeys, Weezer, Phoenix, The Get Up Kids and The Beatles. A dream came true for the guys when they were given the opportunity to play at the Gramercy Theatre, and they have also recently released their Rescue EP.

The Poets Dance: The Poets Dance is an electro band from Chicago. Its sound has a unique twist of progressive club rock and synthesizers, along with percussion. The group has strutted its stuff on Midwest stages such as The Red Lion, Chubby Rain and Penny Road Club. Its inspiration comes from bands such as Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Angels & Airwaves and A Love Like Pi. Combining a passion for dance music with a poetic-like sound is how this group named its band and describes its style.

The Victorious Secrets:
This gang from Sterling Heights, Michigan, entered a rock competition in Detroit merely to see if they could win. When they did, they decided to take their music a little more seriously. The newfound band has won over a loyal following with their pop-rock sound and original style. The boys are launching their EP this summer and use The Beatles as their inspiration. Since their official formation, The Victorious Secrets have performed at The Fillmore Detroit and Comerica Park.

You have from now until August 9 to select your favorite among the four finalist bands.  Who will be the Free Credit Score band AND join the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards tour? Get clicking and find out!

We’re just one week away from the release of “Green Day: Rock Band,” as one of the biggest acts in the world conquers an all-new medium: video games. It features 47 of the Berkeley boys’ greatest tracks, including all of Dookie, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown.

Recently, Buzzworthy had a chance to talk with Green Day about the game, the group’s all-time best MTV memories and some of the more painful events that have gone down while they were out on tour. We also asked them about the songs that aren’t included in “Green Day: Rock Band.” Of the songs that didn’t make the cut, only two are Green Day songs. One is “Stop Drop and Roll” by their recent side project The Foxboro Hot Tubs, and the other, as Mike Dirnt notes, is a Who cover. The last song that Billie Joe offers up is “Hungry Hungry Models” by The Network -– a band long rumored to be Green Day in disguise, though Green Day’s never confirmed its involvement in the group. Interesting … very interesting.

Watch Green Day discuss the music of “Green Day: Rock Band,” video games, plus their all-time favorite MTV moments, their sickest tour injuries and more in this exclusive interview. In the meantime, check out new “Green Day: Rock Band” video mods for “Know Your Enemy,” “Last of the American Girls” and “21 Guns.” And don’t forget: “Green Day: Rock Band” drops Tuesday, June 8!

1. Metric water bottle ($14): Dancing up a storm works up quite a thirst. Thankfully, Metric offers these handy — and eco-friendly — water bottles so you can hydrate while you express your “Stadium Love.”

2. The Avett Brothers skull flower slip mat ($10): Do you get all emotional every time you think of The Avett Brothers? Me, too. That’s why I thought this slip mat was so unique. Not only can you spin Ave Bros. on the 1’s and 2’s, but you can channel their lovelorn musical energy when you’re taking a break from the wheels of steel, too. All Avett, all the time.

3. Never Shout Never custom-beaded bracelet set ($15): By offering me this friendship bracelet, Christofer Drew totally wants to be my bestie, right? Right? RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT? [Bugs eyes, puts hands on hips, starts to breathe heavily in and out.]

4. Black Eyes Peas knuckle ring ($24.95): Good thing BEP tour manager Polo Molina wasn’t wearing this little piece of hardware when he allegedly punched Perez Hilton in the kisser. That would’ve left quite a mark.

5. Lady Gaga bubbles ($5): Sure, the label says that these magical bubbles are supposed to erase the line between audience and performer — or some kind of pretentious jargon like that — but I really think that Gaga is just expressing her love for Don Ho. “Tiny bubbles … in the wine … make me feel happy … make me feel fine.”

Led Zeppelin have been turning down festival reunion offers left and right, and now we know why: Robert Plant will hit the road with his resurrected Band of Joy project this summer — and he’s currently recording a new album slated for release in early summer or late fall. The first leg of the 12-date tour kicks off July 13th in Memphis before wrapping up July 31st in Miami; a second leg is scheduled for the fall. As Zep fans probably know, Plant and drummer John Bonham were members of Band of Joy prior to joining Led Zeppelin.

For his new record and tour, Plant has rounded up an ace group of roots musicians and session players: Patty Griffith on vocals, multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, guitarist and co-producer Buddy Miller, drummer Marco Giovino and bassist Byron House. “It’s been a blast working on these new songs… and I’m enjoying such creativity and vitality,” Plant said in a statement. “It’s been a remarkable change of direction for all of us and as a group we all seem to have developed a new groove.”

The upcoming release will be Plant’s first LP since 2007’s Raising Sand, his multiplatinum, Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss. With Krauss busy working on recording and touring with her own band Union Station, Plant doesn’t plan to tour or record with her this year, although he does promise there will be an eventual follow-up to Raising Sand. “Alison and I get together quite often… and sometimes we dance,” Plant added.

Ticket info and on-sale dates for the trek can be found at Ticketmaster. Check out the dates tour below:

Robert Plant and the Band of Joy
July 13 – Memphis, TN @ The Orpheum Theater
July 15 – Little Rock, AR @ Robinson Center Music Hall
July 16 – Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theater
July 18 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sandia Casino Amphitheater
July 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theater
July 21 – Tucson, AZ @ Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
July 23 – Dallas, TX @ Meyerson Symphony Hall
July 24 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 26 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
July 28 – Mobile, AL @ The Saenger Theatre
July 30 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
July 31 – Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Amphitheater

Related Stories:

• Led Zeppelin Turn Down Offer to Headline Download Festival
• Rarely Seen Led Zeppelin Images Surface in New Photo Book

Which is kind of funny, since Neon Trees are based in Provo, Utah. Such is the charm of their updated New Wave sound, which can recall the great works of Duran Duran and The Psychedelic Furs as well as more modern purveyors of dance-friendly rock like The Killers.

We had to get to know the band behind this incredible song. The foursome, whose debut album, Habits, is in stores now, are an insanely personable bunch.

In this episode of “The 5,” the members of Neon Trees — Tyler Glenn, Chris Allen, Branden Campbell and Elaine Bradley — talk about the origin of their band name and how that name unintentionally led to Branden joining the band. Neon Trees also does a quick bit of Lady Gaga-karaoke to explain how Elaine and Chris were once an item (a “Bad Romance” that actually ended OK). They also go into detail about their various hometowns and the roads that led them to Utah.

Check out the interview below as well as their video for “Animal,” which is the jam.

• Beck’s next Record Club project will feature St. Vincent, the Liars and Os Mutantes, Pitchfork reports, though it’s unclear which classic album they’ve tackled.

Check out a gallery of rock stars’ video game avatars.

The Rock Band Network isn’t just beneficial to musicians but for indie music fans as well: Hardcore gamers are invited to join the network as a “peer reviewer,” meaning they’ll be able to test out the songs, leave feedback and help shape the final versions that will appear on the Network. New Rock Band Network tracks will debut exclusively on XBox 360 for 30 days before moving on to other consoles. Since its beta launch in January 2010, 4,300 gamers have already signed up for Rock Band Network, which should keep you occupied while you wait for the release of Green Day: Rock Band.

Related Stories:

• “Green Day: Rock Band” Video Game Due in 2010
• “Rock Band Network” to Sell User Tunes as Playable Songs for Game
• “Rock Band” Franchise Exceeds $1 Billion In Sales Before Beatles Game Arrives

James Taylor and Carole King flesh out their Troubadour tour, 30 Seconds to Mars declare This Is War on a spring trek and Steve Miller Band make plans to spend another summer singing “The Joker” and other hits. Full dates for all three jaunts are below.

James Taylor and Carole King
May 18 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
June 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
June 23 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
June 25 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
June 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mellon Arena
June 28 – Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Mohegan Sun Arena
June 30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
July 7 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
July 9 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
July 10 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
July 12 – Sun Valley, ID @ Sun Valley Center For The Arts
July 14 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
July 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ EnergySolutions Arena
July 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand
July 19 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
July 20 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center

30 Seconds to Mars
Apr. 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Theatre
Apr. 10 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
Apr. 11 – Tucson, AZ @ Pima County Fair
Apr. 13 – Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre
Apr. 15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
Apr. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
Apr. 17 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Apr. 18 – Toronto, ON @ The Sound Academy
Apr. 20 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Apr. 21 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
Apr. 23 – Washington, DC @ TBA
Apr. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Apr. 25 – Charlotte, NC @ Uptown Amphitheatre
Apr. 27 – Miami, FL @ The Fillmore
Apr. 28 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
Apr. 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
May 1 – Frisco, TX @ Pizza Hut Park
May 4 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
May 6 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
May 7 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
May 8 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Rail Event Center
May 10 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
May 11 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
May 13 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
May 14 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
May 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theater

Steve Miller Band
Mar. 2 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
May 21 – Henderson, NV @ M Resort Spa Casino
May 22 – Palm Springs, CA @ Morongo Casino
May 23 – Tucson, AZ @ Pima Fairgrounds
May 28 – Robinsonville, MS @ Grand Casino Tunica
May 29 – Bossier City, LA @ Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
May 30 – Little Rock, AR @ Riverfest
Jun. 4 – Summerside, PEI @ Credit Union Palace
Jun. 5 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Metro Centre
Jun. 7 – Corner Brook, NL @ Pepsi Centre
Jun. 8 – St. Johns, NL @ Mile One Centre
Jun. 12 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Atlantic City Hilton
Jun. 13 – Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Resort Casino
Jul. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Grant Park
Jul. 15 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield Winery
Jul. 16 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater
Jul. 24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park
Jul. 25 – Louisville, KY @ Churchill Downs
Jul. 27 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap
Jul. 29 – Asheville, NC @ Biltmore Estate
Jul. 30 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul. 31 – Orange Beach, AL @ Amphitheater at the Wharf

Yoko turned to the BAM crowd with a coquettish grin. “I knew what I was doing,” she cracked. Then she leaped into the white-noise boogie of “Don’t Worry, Kyoko” from 1969’s Live Peace in Toronto with rusted shrieks and air-raid-siren whoops as Sean and Clapton played twin grinding slide guitars over a steady thundering rhythm section: original Plastic Ono bassist Klaus Voorman and drummer Jim Keltner, who played on John and Ono’s 1972 album Sometime in New York City.

Coming two days before her 77th birthday, “We Are Plastic Ono Band” was a two-set revue of Ono’s musical life, with the first half focused on her new album, Between My Head and the Sky. The second part featured friends and disciples performing songs from her previous records, as far apart in temper and touch as “Mulberry” – a wordless memoir of Ono’s World War II childhood in Japan, in raw ecstatic yelps to the free-guitar discord of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon – to Bette Midler’s canny rearrangement of “Yes I’m Your Angel” from Double Fantasy into a saucy sister of “Makin’ Whoopee.” You could almost hear the clinking of martini glasses amid the brass and penthouse-party piano.

The connective momentum in Ono’s art is her declarative instruction and participatory assurance, from the early-Sixties action works shown in a biographical film at the start of the night – Cut Piece; the ceiling painting with a microscopic “Yes” at the center – to recent songs in the first set like the victory mantra “Rising” and “Higa Noboru,” a ballad from the current album. “I write/I light/My message/On an invisible wall/Of prison cell hell,” she sang in the latter, in a tender but direct voice to Sean’s firm piano work. And inside the extreme confrontation of records like 1970’s Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band and 1971’s Fly was always a love of surging rhythm. At BAM, her new Plastic Ono Band – led by Sean, now 34, and including drummer Yuko Araki and Yuka Honda on keyboards – updated the railroad racket of Ono’s 1972 single “Mind Train” with percolating dancefloor electronics. Ono shimmeyed to the beat as she wailed.

Performance artist Justin Bond turned “What a Bastard the World Is” from 1973’s Approximately Infinite Universe into a blur of gender: a man dressed like a 1920s ingenue, singing a song of feminist outrage, in a hard deep tenor dotted with girl-ish flutter. Paul Simon and his son Harper, made a short poignant medley of “Silverhorse” from 1981’s Season of Glass, the album Ono made after John Lennon’s death, and his “Hold On,” from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band record. Played like a pair of traditional English folk ballads, with familial harmonies and two acoustic guitars, the songs captured, without melodrama, the weight of Ono’s loss and her faith in unbroken connection.

The three-song set with Sean, Clapton, Voorman and Keltner was hardly as ragged as that ‘69 Live Peace show. But it was good rough fun – Voorman was beaming all through “Yer Blues,” the only Beatles song of the night – and Clapton soloed in the Approximately Infinite Universe blues “Death of Samantha” with sharp tortuous cries, like the song was an old Mississippi Delta lament.

The evening ended with Ono and Sean leading a full-cast singalong to “Give Peace a Chance.” But the audience gave its own encore too: a spontaneous rendition, for Ono, of “Happy Birthday.” Her “Yes” piece had come to life.