NEW: Live Chat on AFINewsHQ

We've added a new live chatbox at the top of the left sidebar. We think this will be a great way to discuss the latest news with other fans and to submit tips instantly. The chat works great; it even supports links and profile images. Up to 25 people can chat simultaneously.

You can either sign-up to chat or chat as a guest. Sign-up is a breeze, just click here and you'll be chatting in no time!

New Blaqk Audio song: Ill Lit Ships

Live 105, a radio station in the Bay Area in California, has reportedly been playing a new Blaqk Audio song called "Ill Lit Ships." According to this page on the station's Web site, the song is playing in the 9pm time slot on Sundays. Be sure to let us know if you hear this song on Live 105.

Thanks to Kelly for pointing this out! This story was originally posted on BrightBlackHeaven.com. Start requesting the song by texting "Blaqk Audio-Ill Lit Ships" to 36105 or call 415-478-LIVE!

Update: Kelly has now given us this description of the song: "Some of the lyrics that were refrained enough for me to catch were 'It’s your smile that hurts me' and 'You let them by [buy???] you.' It sounded like good old Davey to me. Musically, I noticed that there was a lot of acoustic piano, or at least what sounded like acoustic piano. The eletronic beats were there as well, sort of slow-paced. I wish I could remember more. I guess we’ll hear it more in the future, though!"

Update 2: We have contacted Live105 and asked for information about the song. They replied saying: "Its brand new music from their forthcoming second album! due out this late summer most likely. Thanks for listening Mike!"

Update 3: Our reader Drew has e-mailed the DJ (Aaron) who initially played the song and he says that Ill Lit Ships will be played on Sunday, February 14 during Live 105's "Soundcheck" segment, which airs from 7-10pm PST. To listen live, visit Live105.com.

Southern Courier Interview with Davey

Davey recently spoke to the Southern Courier about AFI's live shows. He said:

“Of course the music is important and the music informs the live shows, but in a way it is almost more important that the live performances are as if not more satisfying.”

Benjamin Grey does Backing Vocals on BBH

Benjamin Grey from the band Scarlet Grey just tweeted this: Just finished singing crucial backing vocals... New Blaqk Audio is going to be special. XXX.

Davey and Jade have stated that the new Blaqk Audio album Bright Black Heaven will be released after AFI is done touring on Crash Love. The backing vocals are often the last stage in recording an album.

Blaqk Audio Still Recording In Studio

The band This Is Hell tweeted yesterday that "two of the @AFI dudes are in the studio next to us recording their side project. I'm going to challenge them to a basketball game for money."

It appears as though Davey and Jade are using the breaks in between AFI tour legs to record Bright Black Heaven, the next Blaqk Audio album. We'll keep you posted on their progress.

New Zu Boutique Shirts out today

The new Zu Boutique shirts by Davey are out today. The cost for these new shirts, "V" "X" "?", are $63.00 each. For more information on these shirts go here.

DF store, membership to open in early March

Gavin has replied to a thread regarding the re-opening of the DF exclusive store. Gavin said: "Very early in March is the last I heard. It's likely that DF registration reopening will happen then as well."

This is not written in stone, but it at least gives us an idea.

Details for Live Chat, Beautiful Thieves "Making Of"

On February 11 at 7:00 p.m. EST, AFI will be holding a live chat on their Facebook page powered by Livestream. The band is inviting fans to submit questions via the Facebook page. During the live chat, AFI will answer selected questions and talk with fans.

The "Making Of Beautiful Thieves" video will also be revealed on February 11. This is said to feature "never before seen performance and interview footage."

Editor's Note: Two days ago we reported about a live chat occurring at midnight on February 4. That was according to an e-mail blast sent out by VeronicaSawyer.com on February 3. The information in the blast was almost entirely false, as no live chat was held and the video was never featured on Myspace Music to our knowledge. The new information in this post is correct, because it comes from an official press release.

"Beautiful Thieves" video on iTunes

The Beautiful Thieves music video was released today on iTunes for $1.99. You can get it here.

Thanks to Kevin for pointing this out!!

In Transmission: Cold Hands and It Was Mine

Episode 8 of Buzznet's In Transmission series has been posted. This week's episode is a 2-parter featuring interviews with the entire band about Cold Hands and It Was Mine. Part 1 can be found here, and Part 2 can be found here.

Adam talks about how Cold Hands is his favorite song drumming-wise and "pissed-off" theme of the song. Hunter discusses his alarmingly complicated style of bass playing on the song, Jade talks about the deceiving sparseness of the guitar, and Davey reflects on the theme of the song.

On the subject of It Was Mine, Davey talks about the different vocal recording style of Crash Love, and Jade talks about the problem of transferring songs from the studio to a live setting.

For links to all previous episodes of In Transmission, see the left sidebar. Next week's episode will be miscellaneous interview footage, followed by a few episodes of Adam and Davey talking about life on the road.

Beautiful Thieves Video Premieres on MTV, KROQ

The Beautiful Thieves music video was premiered today at 9:23pm PST. It is now official and is on their official website. The music video is on MTV.com, and the director for this video is Travis Kopach. The music video has apparently been premiered on KROQ as well. To view it click here.

AFI - New Music - More Music Videos

Guitar Signed By Davey Up For Charity Auction

Soneone on eBay has put an Ibanez 6-string guitar signed by Davey Havok up for auction. 100% of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, a group currently helping to aid victims of the Haiti earthquake. Take a look at it here.

New Zu Boutique Shirts On Saturday

Zu Boutique has made a tweet saying: "New countdown timer now up at http://www.zuboutique.com - 3 new shirts designs are on the way!"

The timer is set for the shirts to be released this Saturday.

Faith No More Joins AFI/Gallows Gig In Melbourne

Faith No More will play alongside AFI and Gallows at the previously announced February 24th show at Festival Hall in Mebourne, Australia. Previously purchased AFI and Gallows tickets will still be accepted.

Update: our writer Deb, who is in Australia, has told us that "The Soundwave organisers have made a grave mistake and didn't account for the thousands of FNM fans that missed out on tickets to their sideshow. So what do they do? Bump AFI from the headlining spot (the one that I and thousands others have paid $70 for) and give them a (I assume 45 min) support slot."

"Thieves" Video on MySpace, Midnight Live Chat

In a blast e-mail (see it HERE if you didn't receive the e-mail) sent out to subscribers of VeronicaSawyer.com, AFI revealed that tomorrow at 3:00 pm UK time, the music video for Beautiful Thieves will be playing "exclusively" on the MySpace Music homepage.

Also, the blast said that the band will be holding a live chat on their Facebook page at midnight UK time on February 4, and that questions can be submitted starting at 4pm UK time.

Update: The questions we had earlier about which day "tomorrow" is referring to have now been resolved. VeronicaSawyer.com is meant for UK fans, so all of these times are in UK time. Therefore, everything is indeed taking place tomorrow: February 4.

Beautiful Thieves 7" Single in April

In a blast e-mail (see it HERE if you didn't receive the e-mail) sent out to subscribers of VeronicaSawyer.com, AFI revealed that a Beautiful Thieves single will be released on "super-limited" 7" vinyl in April. They promise more information to follow, and we will post that here as we get it.

Beautiful Thieves was revealed as the next single from Crash Love by Adam in an interview with AFI News HQ a few months ago, and was released to radio on November 23, 2009. There are also radio promos floating around on eBay.