Van Halen [ tickets ]--a band that has made more headlines over the past decade for its offstage drama than for its musical endeavors--is continuing that trend, this time for reportedly deciding to neither perform during, nor appear on stage to accept, its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

According to Launch Radio Networks, rockers Velvet Revolver [ tickets ] will perform in Van Halen's place, and VR frontman Scott Weiland and guitarist Slash will speak on the band's behalf. The report indicated that it remains unknown whether any of Van Halen's past or present members will attend the event.

Former members--David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar andMichael Anthony--have hinted in recent weeks that they would likely be on hand, but uncertainty has reigned in the wake of the recent announcement that a summer 2007 Van Halen reunion tour that would have re-teamed Roth with founding members Eddie (guitar) and Alex (drums) Van Halen--along with Eddie's 15-year-old son, Wolfgang, filling in for Anthony--has been indefinitely postponed.

In related news, VH1--perhaps smelling the chance for some unprecedented fireworks--announced today (3/1) that it will carry the first-ever live broadcast of the induction ceremony, which will take place March 12 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The live program will air at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on VH1 Classic and MHD (MTV Networks' high-definition music channel), and a two-hour highlight edition will premiere March 17 at 9 p.m., according to a press release.

Grunge-rockers Pearl Jam [ tickets ], who helped make a name for themselves as part of the lineup during Lollapalooza's 1992 sophomore edition, are expected to headline this summer's incarnation of the festival, according to Jim DeRogatis, music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

The event--which has been recast in recent years as a stationary, one-off happening in Chicago's Grant Park--takes place Aug. 3-5. The official lineup has not yet been revealed, but DeRogatis reports that Pearl Jam will be among 130 acts scheduled to hit the stage during the three-day affair.

Guster [ tickets ] has announced an April 10 release date for an eight-song EP dubbed "Satellite," which takes its name from band's latest single. The cut, which appears on the group's latest full-length set, last year's "Ganging Up on the Sunj," is one of eight songs housed on the forthcoming EP, which will also include an "electronica-inspired remix" of the cut created by up-and-coming producers The Astronauts, according to a press release.

Rounding out the EP will be four previously unreleased originals, as well as a pair of live covers (The Beatles' "Two of Us" and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart") featuring "non-singer/drummer Brian Rosenworcel's vocal stylings."