Developers of the long-promised songwriting and band creation software tool Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll may be beaten to the punch by Pete Townshend. In late April, Townshend will introduce the Method software for composers.

“You enter data about yourself, you share some stuff about how you feel, and you get back a piece of music,” Townshend told the gathering. “There was no computer in 1971 big enough or powerful enough to do what I wanted it to do, and of course, there was no Internet.”

Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll developer Michael Fingeroff is not worried. “The Method sounds like an interesting tool, but what we have in development will take into account the personal data and feelings of rock visionaries dead and alive.”

To illustrate his point, Fingeroff added, “Let’s see the Method compose new songs by a supergroup, for instance, consisting of Hendrix, Bonham, and Entwhistle. With Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll, this will be a reality.”

Wilco is cool with an early “leak” of their upcoming album, Sky Blue Sky. In fact, they’ve decided to capitalize on what most of the industry considers a akin to a capital crime with an authorized live streaming broadcast of the album this Sunday, March 11, on the band’s official website.

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Wolfgang’s Vault, the Internet home of famed Filmore East/West promoter Bill Graham’s archives, is fighting back against the legal teams for Classic Rock artists who are claiming copyright infringement regarding the site’s selling of merchandise and offering of streaming audio performances. With no legal grounding, we say, Go get ’em, Wolfgang’s Vault! You paid for Graham’s archives. Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, and Santana have made us pay long enough. Come to think of it – what business does The Dead have worrying about this stuff? Weren’t they rock’s original enablers of bootlegging?