NEWS

Washburn Guitars announced today the addition of the Preacher Guitar to the Paul Stanley Signature Series. The new line combines the distinctive style and tone of Kiss' iconic frontman with Washburn's commitment to craftsmanship and customization. The Paul Stanley Preacher comes in four models, allowing for a wide array of features and designs for musicians to choose from. Each instrument will allow guitarists worldwide to harness the legendary, rock-driven tones of the Star Child himself. All the guitars in the series feature a mahogany-set neck and body, Grover 18:1 tuners, and are the result of intense collaboration between Paul and Washburn.

Phillip Rudd, who was born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis, pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault when he appeared in Tauranga District Court yesterday. The self-employed musician pleaded guilty after police reduced the charge from the more serious offence of male assaults female, which attracts a prison sentence of up to two years. But Judge Robert Kerr discharged Witschke, 53, without conviction.

Austin Winkler, lead singer of the Oklahoma City-based rock group Hinder, faces a Jan. 2 court date on a driving-while-intoxicated citation after he was stopped for driving with no headlights at 11:30 p.m. Patrolman Anthony Zaffarano said in a report that, after he stopped the sport-utility vehicle Winkler was driving, "I could smell a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle."

Rocker Dave Mustaine has turned Santa Claus for a group of San Diego, California-area children who face Christmas without home or parents after a successful charity campaign left him filling sacks with toys. The Megadeth frontman teamed up with Hasbro toys after fans helped him raise cash to buy gifts for military kids with parents serving overseas at Christmas or killed by the war in Iraq.