The Number 12 Looks Like You
Photo: Eyeball Records

It's impossible to compartmentalize a band as chaotic as the Number Twelve Looks Like You.

Hailing from the tainted soil of New Jersey's Bergen County, the frenzied six-piece — the masterminds behind Mongrel, which lands in stores June 19 — meld elements of extreme metal, death metal, jazz, grindcore and hardcore to create an unclassifiable sound that's poles apart from other bands'. And singer Jesse Korman says that's just the point.

"We don't want to sound like anybody else," he explained. "We stepped it up to the point where we've killed everything we've ever done previously, while a lot of bands that started out heavier have seemed to be going more melodic and easier on crowds — at least that's the trend. It seems to be the path a lot of these heavy bands are going these days, and we didn't want our fans to be like, 'Oh no, it's all just going to be melodic.' We wanted to make sure we really kicked some ass [on Mongrel]. I don't know where we fit in, genre-wise, but this record's definitely something you've never heard before. On top of being incredibly heavy, there's stuff in there that's just the catchiest stuff I've heard in so long."

The Number Twelve Looks Like You, who worked on Mongrel with producer Casey Bates (Heavy Heavy Low Low, Gatsby's American Dream) over a four-month period in Seattle, have attracted a wide array of fans since their formation in 2003. Lovers of many rock subcategories — including emo, metal, punk and hardcore — have fallen under the band's spell. And TNTLLY's fanbase is sure to swell this summer, as the band has been named as one of the acts for the third annual Sounds of the Underground Tour, along with Gwar, Shadows Fall, Chimaira and others.

"It's always funny to us, when we pull up to a show," Korman said. "We love looking forward to seeing who's going to show up, because we can never, ever figure out our fanbase — and when we think we have, we're just so wrong. It's a mutt of a crowd, but you never want to hold yourself back from more fans."

While there's no thematic link between the Mongrel and the LP artwork, Korman said the cover features a humanoid creature that suffers from schizophrenia and that it embodies the unruliness of the music.

"We tried to make every song as different as possible, so the whole theme behind the album is mongrel," he said of the album, which features 10 tracks in all, including "Jay Walking Backwards," "Alright, I Admit It ... It Was a Whore House" and "Paper Weight Pigs." "You can't really define what a 'mongrel' is — it's just a crazy mutt — and all of our songs are just all over the place. We wanted this album to be just complete chaos, with no direction at all. And I think people will be surprised that the songs are actually good. Musically, we've really touched upon some genres that have absolutely nothing to do with our scene at all. And it works, somehow."

Fans can catch the Number Twelve on the road with Horse the Band through Thursday in San Francisco.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Norwegian quartet Winds have finished mixing their fourth album, Prominence and Demise, which is scheduled for release later this year. The album is the follow-up to 2004's The Imaginary Direction of Time and features guest appearances by Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity), Agnete M. Kirkevaag (Madder Mortem), Lars Nedland (Solefald) and Øystein Moe. ... Finnish folk-metal band Finntroll will release their next album, Ur Jordens Djup, Tuesday. The album was produced by Nino Laurenne at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland, and includes "Grynyng," "En Maktig Har," "Ormhaxan" and "Korpens Saga." The latter has been posted on their MySpace Page, and they'll release a video for the song in the coming weeks. ...

Still Remains have been added to this year's Warped tour. The band has spent the last 10 months writing and rehearsing their second studio album, The Serpent, and started recording the disc at a Los Angeles studio with producer Steve Evetts (Saves the Day, He Is Legend) on January 21. ... The third album by experimental grindcore band Pig Destroyer, Phantom Limb, is scheduled for release June 12. The disc, three years in the making, was recorded at Rockville, Maryland's Omega Studios, where Bad Brains previously recorded. Baroness singer John Baizley created the artwork. A series of East Coast record-release shows are currently being planned. ... Speaking of Baroness, the Savannah, Georgia, psychedelic-metal band has entered Jam Room studio in Columbia, South Carolina to record 10 tracks for their upcoming album. Kylesa guitarist Phillip Cope is producing. ...

High on Fire are scheduled to enter a Seattle studio in May with producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden) to record their fourth album. The yet-untitled disc is tentatively scheduled for release in September and will be accompanied by a headlining tour. ... Into Eternity have been handpicked by Dream Theater to open their monthlong summer U.S. tour. Dates have been announced from July 27 in Los Angeles through August 21 in Boston, and additional shows are forthcoming. "We are blown away to be going on tour with Dream Theater," guitarist/singer Tim Roth said in a press release. "There would be no Into Eternity without Dream Theater's influence on our music. The progressive sound that we have comes directly from them." Redemption, which features Fates Warning singer Ray Alder, are also on the bill. ...

Sludgy metal duo Jucifer will launch their spring tour Sunday in Lansing, Michigan. Dates are scheduled through June 22 in Johnson City, Tennessee. The group recently shot a video for "Hennin Hardine" with director Marc Pilvinsky of Bare Ruined Films. The clip is scheduled to go to video markets in the days ahead. Pilvinsky also shot the band's recent "Pontius of Palia" video. ... North Carolina's doom-metal outcasts Weedeater have signed to Southern Lord, which will release their next album, Good Luck and God Speed, this summer. The disc was recorded in January and February and produced by Steve Albini at Chicago's Electrical Audio Studios. The album has taken the band a while; Weedeater have long been under the watchful eye of the Lord, which placed them on the Southern Lord South by Southwest showcase in 2003 and featured them on the compilation Let There Be Doom in 2004. Weedeater launch a tour today in Raleigh, North Carolina, that runs through May 30 in Atlanta.

• The Number Twelve Looks Like You
• Still Remains
• Bad Brains
• High On Fire
• Into Eternity

The Beastie Boys' MCA
Photo: Bradley Kanaris/ Getty Images

Adam Yauch hasn't been saying much about the Beastie Boys' upcoming record, even though they've been working on it for nearly a year. So when he agreed to do an interview about Build a Nation, the forthcoming album from reunited hardcore legends the Bad Brains — a Megaforce Records release he produced that lands May 7 — well, we couldn't resist slipping a couple of Beastie questions in.

"I'm not sure that I'm at liberty to divulge anything about it, but we're definitely working on it," he said of the yet-untitled follow-up to 2004's To the 5 Boroughs (see "Beastie Boys Album Preview: Political Bleats And Old-School Beats"). "We've been working on music since last spring, and we're mixing right now. Hopefully, it will come out in the spring — at least that's what we're shooting for."

As for what the album sounds like, he said simply that "we're focusing on playing instruments," and "we're not even looking at samples right now, because we're moving more in an instrument-driven direction for this one."

That's all he would say, so without further ado, onto the first new album from the Bad Brains in a dozen years, which features the group's original lineup: frontman H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson. Over the years that lineup has splintered more times than anyone can keep track of — Dr. Know and Jenifer have performed with different singers and drummers, both as the Bad Brains and as Soul Brains — but there's no denying the power of the original crew. On their first releases — 1982's self-titled LP and the following year's Rock for Light — the band played both blistering hardcore songs and smooth reggae. Later efforts found them fusing the sounds into a bruising but soulful form of hard rock.

"When they get together and start playing, there's definitely some magic in the air," Yauch explained. "I was psyched to produce the record, and they still sound so incredible."

Yauch, who continues to cite Bad Brains as a chief influence on his own music, said that during a phone conversation with Jenifer, the bassist "mentioned they were planning to get back together and record some stuff, and I told him they were welcome to come down to [the Beasties' Oscilloscope laboratories and studio in New York], and that I'd work with them if they were into that, and it just came together."

MCA said he had helped inspire a Bad Brains reunion more than a decade ago when he tried to persuade the band to ink with the Beasties' now-defunct Grand Royal label. "They ended up doing a deal with Madonna [a reference to Maverick Records, then co-owned by the singer] and made that record [1995's God of Love]," he said. "This just sort of came together — I guess it was just the right time for it to happen."

The arrangement is the latest culmination of the two groups' long history, which stretches back to the early 1980s. "It was definitely a long process, and it happened over the course of many years," Yauch said. "I just got to know them a little bit back in the hardcore days. We used to open up for them when we first started out. I think maybe it was our third show; H.R. was there and he started slam-dancing into everybody and got the whole audience excited — and when I say 'the whole audience,' I'm talking about all 15 people that were there. Afterwards, I was talking to him for a minute, and he asked us to open for them at [then-hotspot] Max's Kansas City. That was a pretty exciting moment, playing a show with those guys."

And when it came to producing a band he's idolized for so long, Yauch said he let the fan in him come out.

"I talked to them a bit on the phone, and I told them the stuff I was most excited about was the early punk stuff, rather than the later stuff, like [1986's] I Against I, where they were fusing the reggae elements with the rock stuff. I liked it when it was more separate, when the dubs [reggae songs] were dubs and the rock tracks were more hardcore. And I think they took that to heart a bit in the writing process.

"I was pretty involved in getting the sounds right on this record," he added. "I always loved the way [Bad Brains] sounded. That's the way they're meant to sound — the way they sounded live in those days, when the amps were really overdriven, on the verge of exploding. There was something about that level of energy. That's what I was striving for. A lot of the later records, to me, were a cleaned-up version of [ Bad Brains]. I just wanted to capture that raw sound they're known for."

Fans will be able to catch both the Beastie Boys and Bad Brains this summer, Yauch said. While no definitive touring plans have been nailed down yet, both will be taking the stage for this year's Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Washington, on May 27.

Where do the Beastie Boys rank in MTV News' "Greatest Hip-Hop Groups of All Time"? Ch-check it out ...

• Beastie Boys
• Bad Brains

The Revolution Smile kick off this week. Well, at least the Flawless version. After releasing two independent albums, the band's debut on Fred Durst's label, Above the Noise, hits shelves this week. Produced by David Sardy (Marilyn Manson) and mixed by Andy Wallace (Korn, Nirvana), Above the Noise is the Revolution Smile's riff against all the cookie-cutter music out there. And singer/guitarist Shaun Lopez must really believe in his work because at one time he refused an invitation to play with Limp Bizkit.

Bad Brains' Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs features 23 tracks from the quintessential hardcore band's history. Also included are previously unreleased tracks. Meanwhile, sisters Kim and Kandy Johnson, better known as JS, release their album Ice Cream. Dubious semantic associations aside, "Slow Grind," "Love Angel" and the "Ice Cream" remix are among the tracks produced by R. Kelly. Continuing in the grand tradition of seduction using ice cream as a metaphor for sex, the girls sing, "Come and get a scoop of my ice cream, baby/ JS got the flavors that I know will drive you crazy."

Two CD/DVD releases come out this week. First up, the Misfits' Project 1950, which features 10 songs and live footage, while Nickelback re-release their 2001 album, Silver Side Up, with a DVD, Live From Home, which shows the band performing live at a homecoming show in Edmonton, Alberta. Also on the disc are videos, interviews and a brand new song.

Finally, how could we not give a special shout-out to Frank Stallone's In Love in Vain, his ambitious foray into singing the songs of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin? Oh yeah. That's how.

Out Tuesday, July 29:

• Daevid Allen's Universe of Errors - Ugly Music for Monica (Weed)
• Amy Allison - No Frills Friend (Diesel Only)
• Android Lust - The Dividing (Projekt)
• Avia - I See That Now (NuTone)
• Bad Brains - Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs (Caroline)
• Balzac - Beyond the Darkness (Rykodisc)
• Bled - Pass the Flask (MCA)
• Blue Rodeo - Palace of Gold (Rounder)
• Boss Bytch - Twisted (Diamond Productions)
• Britny Fox - Springhead Motorshark (Spitfire)
• Hiram Bullock - Try Livin' It (ESC)
• Big Al Downing - One of a Kind (Hayden's Ferry)
• Capture the Flag - Start From Scratch (Go Kart)
• Defari - Odds and Evens (High Times)
• Echo 7 - One Step Away (De Goot/Universal)
• Exhumed - Anatomy Is Destiny (Relapse)
• Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets - Which Way Is Texas? (Bullseye Blues & Jazz)
• Joe Jackson - Night and Day (A&M)
• Jazzupstarts - Are You OK? (NuTone)
• JS - Ice Cream (DreamWorks)
• Kalmah - Swampsong (Century Media)
• Labyrinth - Labyrinth (Century Media)
• Yo-Yo Ma - Obrigado Brazil (Sony Classical)
• Kate McGarry - Show Me (Palmetto)
• The Misfits - Project 1950 (Rykodisc)
• Mob Figaz - Mob Figaz (Warlock)
• Nevermore - Enemies of Reality (Century Media)
• Nickelback - Silver Side Up/Live at Home (Roadrunner)
• Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance (Century Media)
• Paint It Black - CVA (Jade Tree)
• Regurgitate - Deviant (Relapse)
• Revolution Smile - Above the Noise (Geffen)
  Read: "Revolution Smile Mock 'Return Of Rock,' Promise Something New"
• The Sabians - Shiver (The Music Cartel)
• Dan Sartain - Dan Sartain Vs. The Serpientes (Swami)
• The Sleepy Jackson - Lovers (Astralwerks)
• Sprites - Starling, Spiders, Tiger & Sprites (W.A.R.)
• Squirtgun - Fade to Bright (Honest Don's)
• Frank Stallone - In Love in Vain (Simba)
• Dave Stryker and Steve Slagle - The Stryker/Slagle Band (Khaeon World Music)
• Swollen Members - Balance Instrumentals (Battle Axe)
• T-Mack - Out Tha Frame (Diamond Productions)
• Teen Idols - Nothing to Prove (Fueled by Ramen)
• Tora! Tora! Torrance! - A Cynic's Nightmare (The Militia Group)
• Tuatara - The Loading Program(Fast Horse)
• Tina Turner - Country My Way (K-Tel)
• Unearthly Trance - Season of Seance, Science of Silence (The Music Cartel)
• Chris Von Sneidern - The Wild Horse (Innerstate)
• Carla Werner - Departure (Columbia)
• Whatever It Takes - A Fistful of Revolution (A-F)
• Patti Wicks - Love Locked Out (MAXJAZZ)
• Zs - Zs (Troubleman Unlimited)
• Various artists - Arabian Travels 2 (Six Degrees Travel Series)
• Various artists - The Best of Caribbean Party Rhythms (Victory World)
• Various artists - "Freaky Friday" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Holiday Remixed (Basic Lux)
• Various artists - "Le Divorce" soundtrack (Grandstand)
• Various artists - Reggae Singers Revenge (Jammin/Lightyear)
• Various artist - Survive & Advance Vol. 3 (Merge)
• Various artists - Unleaded Reggae Diamond (Adex/Lightyear)
• DVD - Black Label Society - "Boozed, Bruised & Broken Boned" (Eagle Vision)
• DVD - India.Arie - "Music in High Places: Live in Brazil" (Image Entertainment)

August 5:

• Jeff Beck - Jeff (Sony)
• Blues Traveler - Truth Be Told (Sanctuary)
• Smash Mouth - Get the Picture (Interscope)
  Buy Now: Get the Picture (Interscope)
  

August 12:

• Pat Benatar - Go (Bel Chiasso)
• Dashboard Confessional - A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  Read: "Dashboard Confessional Singer Heals Scars, Stops Singing The Blues On New LP"
  Buy Now: A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (Vagrant)
  

August 19:

• Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks (Astralwerks)
• Neil Young - Greendale (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  Read: "Summer Music Preview: Neptunes' Star Trak Presents ... Clones"
  Buy Now: Neptunes Presents: Clones (Arista)
  
• Bow Wow - Unleashed (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Unleashed (Columbia)
  

August 26:

• Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (Disney)
  Read: "Hilary Duff: Not Just For Kids"
  
  
• Peter Frampton - Now (33rd St.)
• Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From (Arista) Read: "Eve, D'Angelo Can Testify: Anthony Hamilton Is 'Hellified Powerful' "
  Buy Now: Coming From Where I'm From (Arista)
  
• Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  Buy Now: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (La Face)
  
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - Songs in the Key of Poop (Warner Bros.) Read: "Eminem Enemy Triumph Previews LP; Beefs With Bow Wow, Benji"

September 2:

• Mariah Carey - Remixes (Sony)

September 9:

• John Mayer - Heavier Things (Sony) Read: "John Mayer Tries Hip-Hop With Help From Roots' ?uestlove"
• Seal - Seal (Warner Bros.)

September 16:

• Elvis Costello - North (Universal)
• Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance (Interscope) Read: "Bubba Sparxxx Softens Bumpkin Image, Teams Up With Justin For A 'Hootnanny' "
  
• Carnie Wilson - For the First Time (KMA)

October 7:

• Jin - Almost Famous (Virgin) Read: "Ruff Ryders' New Dog: Jin"

• Revolution Smile
• Bad Brains
• Nickelback
• The Misfits
• JS

Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha has joined A Perfect Circle. Although Iha didn't contribute to the band's new album, Thirteenth Step, he'll be onstage for the band's 12-date club tour, which begins July 26 in Denver. ... Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith will play detectives in a still-untitled action comedy scheduled to begin production in early winter. Pinkett Smith's husband, Will Smith, will produce the movie. ...

Beyoncé Knowles' upcoming musical comedy, "Fighting Temptations," will now hit theaters on September 19. The film — in which Beyoncé co-stars with Cuba Gooding Jr. — was expected to arrive in August. ... 'NSYNC and Vanessa Carlton will judge the new teen category in the annual International Songwriting Competition. The winner receives a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. ... "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is writing "I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But ...," a book offering his insight into the music industry. It's scheduled for publication December 2. ...

Don't know why Bad Brains are often called "America's Clash"? Then hearing singer H.R.'s political lyrics rendered atop a mix of punk and reggae on the hits collection Banned in DC: Bad Brains' Greatest Riffs is essential. Banned drops July 29. ... Vanessa Carlton will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Major League Baseball's All-Star Game on Tuesday in Chicago. Thirty-nine outs later, Amy Grant will sing "America the Beautiful" for the seventh-inning stretch of the 74th Midsummer Classic. ...

Ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon is finishing up a new solo album with producer Stephen Street, who worked on the first five Blur records, according to his Web site. Meanwhile, Blur start the second leg of their North American tour this weekend in Minneapolis in support of Think Thank, the Britpop band's first album since parting with Coxon. ... Gene Loves Jezebel have set an August 12 release date for their next album, Exploding Girls. The group is planning a U.S. tour for the fall. ...

Puretunes.com, a Spanish music download service launched in May that claims to abide by Spanish copyright laws, is the current focus of the RIAA's efforts to curb piracy. According to Reuters, the RIAA has filed suit against the company, claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition, and also alleges that Puretunes deceived its customers into believing the service was approved by Spanish recording artists. ... Big-name acts like the Rolling Stones, the Dixie Chicks and Cher have boosted concert ticket sales, which are up 24 percent so far this year. According to tour-industry trade magazine Pollstar, sales seem to be recovering from the slump they have been in since 2000; however, unfavorable weather may slow the outdoor concert and festival sales that are the heart of summer shows. ...

They're "feeling good, feeling great" and feeling like changing their minds. Outkast have switched up their original singles plans for the double LP Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. "She Lives in My Lap" will still be one of the first two initial offerings, but "Ghetto Musick" will be the second half of the double whammy. The album's release date has also been reset for September 9. ... "Awww baby"? More like "Awww fooey!" When Ashanti celebrated the release of her #1 album, Chapter II, at New York's Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, many of her invited guests cried foul over being forced by security to stand outside in long lines. VIPs Usher, Joe Budden, Fat Joe and Irv and Chris Gotti made it inside to partake in the revelry. ...

On August 5, A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese will release a jazz-influenced solo record called Strip Search on Magna Carta. Bass player Mike Elizonzo and guitarist Michael Ward join Freese on the album. ... Techno fans will have to wait two more weeks for Kraftwerk's new album, Tour de France. (After 17 years, what's another 14 days?) The LP's release date has been moved from July 22 to August 5. The electro duo's last album of new material was 1986's Electric Cafe. ... Speaking of delays, the State Property gang is still going to all be there, just a week later than expected. State Property Presents the Chain Gang Vol. II has been pushed back one week to August 12. ...

07.09.2003

Now that her first world tour has drawn to a close, Avril Lavigne and her fans can relive the memories with a live CD/DVD package due this fall. Expected in late September or early October, My World features songs recorded during the trek as well as video footage shot onstage and off. ...

Talk about elitist. Not everyone can hear Royksopp's remix of Coldplay's "Clocks," which will serve as the band's next single in the U.K. Only 1,000 copies will be made available there, but online at the band's official merchandise hub, www.coldplayshop.com, 100 fans will be "allowed" to purchase the song, if they're lucky enough to win a random drawing. Another 20 copies of the tune will be made available in the same fashion to the band's official fan club, In My Place. ... 3 Doors Down have signed on for "Experience Live at the Sky Church," a five-part concert series that will air in September. According to their Web site, 3DD — currently on tour with Our Lady Peace — have added dates to their summer tour and will continue on the road well into September. ...

Christina Aguilera's previously unreleased "That's What Love Can Do" will be featured on a new compilation available only at Target stores. Justin Timberlake is also included on the six-song sampler. ... While finalizing their DVD, Weezer are also writing and demoing songs for a new album, the follow-up to last year's Maladroit, which Rick Rubin is slated to produce. Fans who can't wait can catch new Weezer material on the Petra Haden benefit 7-inch (a live version of "Why Bother?"), as well the upcoming Green Day tribute A Different Shade of Green ("Worry Rock") and the Buddyhead-assembled compilation Gimmie Skelter ("You Won't Get With Me Tonight"). ...

Hanson will showcase several songs from their upcoming fourth album on an acoustic tour beginning August 9 in Towson, Maryland. The 13-date outing wraps August 28 in West Hollywood. ... Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and associate Killah Priest, Ruff Ryders newcomer Jinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Planet Asia will participate in the next in Hip-Hop Summit, which will take place July 24-26 at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle. For the first time the event will include an expo. ... Actor-turned-rapper Vishiss hasn't let the cancellation of UPN's "Platinum" slow him down. The Detroit native is following his first single, "Battle Rhyme"/"Killin Spree," with a collabo featuring Planet Asia and DJ Revolution. ...

Silken-voiced rapper Q-Tip is recording his third, as-yet-untitled LP. The former member of A Tribe Called Quest recorded but never released the album Kamaal the Abstract, but his solo debut, Amplified, came out in 1999 and featured the single "Vivrant Thing." ... "Beef," a documentary on rivalries between rappers, will drop on DVD in September. Narrated by actor Ving Rhames, "Beef" covers famous battles between KRS-One and MC Shan, Jay-Z and Nas, Tupac and Biggie, and the headline-grabbing feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent. ... Sarah McLachlan will be featured on the first single from Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' debut solo album, Checks, Thugs and Rock 'n' Roll, due in September. "It's transforming," the Run-DMC rapper said. "It's gonna change music, not just rap." ...

Jazzy Jeff is reprising his producer role for Jill Scott's second studio album, due later this year. "Her first album allowed her to go all over the world, so she got a lot of knowledge, she got a lot of good, she got some bad," he said. "She's just really telling her story, and that's what I love." ... DJ Premier is launching his own record label, Year Round Inc. "It's bringing back the rawness of hip-hop," the Gang Starr turntablist said. "It doesn't sound like a lot of the stuff that's out now. ... We call the new stuff Tinkerbell music because it doesn't have the raw sound what hip-hop sounds like. It doesn't sound like it's from the ghetto these days." ... Similarly, Grandmaster Flash is launching his own imprint, Adrenaline City Entertainment, and writing a book about DJing. "I'mma do it like if I'm talkin' to my 3-year-old daughter. You know, 'Once upon a time ...' " he said. "I'm gonna start from the beginning, 'cause so many of you guys in the media start things in the middle or from the end. It's gotta go back to the Kool Herc years, 'cause there was somebody before me." ...

Kid Capri has signed four artists to his new No Kid'n Records, including rappers Red Handed and R&B singer Natalie. The pioneering hip-hop DJ has also launched his own clothing line, Rogish Street Threadz, and bought a tour bus. "I do 250 shows a year," he said. ... Finch will hit the studio in October to record their second album. "We are going to spend the summer writing," guitarist Randy Strohmeyer said. "We are slow writers. We spent a year writing What It Is to Burn." ... Ben Harper graced the stage twice Tuesday night at the three-hour, double-encore Pearl Jam concert at Madison Square Garden. During the first encore, Eddie Vedder beckoned Harper to the mic during the improv ending to "Daughter," and later, during the second encore, Vedder and Harper alternated lyrics to "Indifference." ... A public memorial will be staged in early August for Barry White, who passed on Friday due to kidney failure. Organizers have yet to settle on a location. ...

• A Perfect Circle
• Queen Latifah
• Beyoncé
• *NSYNC
• Bad Brains

Soul Brains, the "new" group composed of the original members of Bad Brains, is currently in the last two weeks of its current tour East Coast tour, after which they plan to head into a studio to start work on a new record, the Brains' first since 1995's "God of Love."

The Soul Brains/Bad Brains reunion got its start after a West Coast tour last November went off without a hitch, prompting the band to map out additional dates on the East Coast.

Shortly before Soul Brains' New York show, MTV News Online sat down with the band that launched a thousand hardcore and reggae fusion outfits, and H.R. cryptically explained the reason behind the name change from Bad Brains to Soul Brains.

"Well, the band never really 'had' that name [Bad Brains]," H.R. said before he began referring to the group in the third person. he continued, "trying to help brothers and sisters out. [Prior to this tour] they came to me on bended knee and said, 'Yo, tribal Judah, we want to be with you.' That's the way it's always been, and now they've declared their name as Soul Brains." [28.8 RealVideo]

At the New York show, the band rifled through a 75 minute set in front of a tumultuously adoring crowd, and evenly divided its set between punk and reggae numbers from Bad Brains' 20-year repertoire -- with the more aggressive material, such as "Pay to Cum" and "Attitude," comprising the entire first-half of the concert.

Soul Brains had been working on new material prior to the recent shows, and reps for the band claim that they have been approached with several offers for new record deals. The Soul Brains tour is scheduled to wind down on March 14 at the House of Blues in New Orleans.

• Bad Brains

After a successful 12-date outing on the West Coast last November, Soul Brains -- a.k.a. the artists formerly known as Bad Brains -- have announced plans for an additional two week tour, slated to kick off in Washington, Missouri on February 27.

The group -- comprised of original Bad Brains guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, drummer Earl Hudson and vocalist H.R -- will be playing vintage Bad Brains tunes on the tour, and hasn't actually written any new material together. There are also no immediate plans for Soul Brains to head into a studio after the road outing concludes on March 14 in New Orleans.

According to a source close to the band, the slight name change from Bad Brains to Soul Brains was H.R.'s idea, because the frontman didn't want to be associated with anything "bad" or negative.

Soul (Bad) Brains haven't released a new studio album since 1995's "God of Love," and split up in July of that year after H.R. attacked a concert-goer in Lawrence, Kansas, with a mic stand. Since then, the members of Soul Brains, including H.R., have focused their time on a variety of projects and solo efforts.

The source also said that the fluidity of the Brains reformation has a lot to do with the "hands-off" approach many of the band's associates are taking with the planned tour, realizing that "in order for this thing to exist, it's important that H.R. be allowed to take the reins and see where it goes."

For more information about the punk and reggae fusion reunion, be sure to check out the band's just-launched official website at www.soulbrains.com. Meanwhile, the dates for Soul Brains' upcoming tour are:

• 2/27 - Washington, MO @ Calvin Opera House
• 2/28 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
• 3/1 - Woodstock, NY @ Joyous Lake
• 3/2 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
• 3/3 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
• 3/4 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 3/5 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
• 3/6 - Mt. Snow, VT @ TBA
• 3/7 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Birch Hill Nite Club
• 3/8 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 3/9 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Abyss
• 3/10 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
• 3/11 - Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
• 3/12 - Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
• 3/14 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues

• Bad Brains

The Long Beach Dub All-Stars, the new group featuring former Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh and bassist Eric Wilson, have started working on their new album, tentatively titled "Burn Unit," due out in January.

• Bad Brains

MTV's Artist of the Week 02.04.08: Bad Brains

• Bad Brains