With the Mike Portnoy saga finally put to bed (or so we thought), along came another. The Chad Smith episode got under way. It all started this month with Chad saying that he wouldn’t be able to tour with Chickenfoot in 2011 due to his commitments with the Chili Peppers.

From one band seemingly in search of a new drummer to another finding one, My Chemical Romance unveiled former The Bled sticksman Mike Pedicone as Bob Bryar’s replacement.

In keeping with the comings and goings theme, Lordi parted ways with drummer Kita for perhaps the greatest reason ever. The tub thumper was sacked for taking his mask off. Seriously. He got the boot after he revealed plans to enter Eurovision with his new band. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was entering the Eurotrash singoff without his stage gear. A rookie mistake.

Elsewhere, the first lady of percussion Evelyn Glennie announced a mammoth trip to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro all in the name of charity. The trip came to an end later in the year, with Evelyn reaching the summit, raising a shed-load of cash in the process.

From Los Angeles to Grimsby? Steven Adler confirmed a batch of UK tour dates for 2011, and it’s fair to say he’s not venturing to the usual tour stop offs. Instead, the likes of Grimsby, Sutton and Bilston will be treated to Adler’s Appetite in February.