Considering that Cake frontman John McCrea has bashed chest-thumping arena rock in the past, it's strange to see his band sharing a bill with Stone Temple Pilots at the Rock For Roses concert April 12 in Austin, Texas. The show will jumpstart the 2002 Ride for the Roses Weekend, a fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. ... Following Sunday's show, the Damned have withdrawn from Rob Zombie's Demon Speeding Tour to the surprise of no one who thought the pairing of the 26-year-old punk band with Zombie's B-movie horror shtick was odd to begin with. "Unfortunately, from the very first show it was apparent that the Damned's subtle blend of gothic punk was lost on the predominately metal crowds," guitarist Captain Sensible wrote on the band's Web site. ...

Cher will play "a heavenly character" in the one-hour season finale of the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace," according to USA Today. The episode airs May 16. ... Sludge kings the Melvins have lined up nine dates (with more to come) in support of their Hostile Ambient Takeover beginning April 8 in Las Vegas. After jaunting 'cross Australia with Tool through the latter half of the month, they'll restart their Stateside outing on May 13 in Spokane, Washington. ...

Rabblerousing rocker Andrew WK, whose I Get Wet hits stores next Tuesday, will "Party Hard" as musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" April 13. The episode will be hosted by WWF superstar the Rock ... Tricky, Richard Dorfmeister and other DJs have remixed classic jazz tracks from Verve's back catalog for the upcoming album Verve Remixed. Tricky revamped Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" and Dorfmeister updated Willie Bobo's "Spanish Grease." ...

03.19.02

Sevendust will begin their spring tour with Reveille and Breaking Point on April 3 in Plainview, New York. The last date of the 23-date jaunt is July 27 at the Rolling Rock Town Fair in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. ... A rare acoustic performance by Alanis Morissette that includes "Hands Clean," "Utopia" and "Thank U" will be posted on Warner Bros. Online's Live Concert Series Web site beginning March 19. ... A spokesperson for Lil' Bow Wow says the teen rapper is planning a tour with B2K and IMX to kick off in July. Bow Wow's last big outing, aptly titled the Scream Tour, also featured B2K as an opening act. ...

R.E.M. speak out on the way paper is made in a new series of public service announcements for the Paper Campaign. "Insist that the paper you use is tree-free," singer Michael Stipe says in one the forest preservation ads. ... Oasis will release a new album this summer, and singer Liam Gallagher has told NME the disc will be called Heathen Chemistry. Confirmed songs include the title track, the single "The Hindu Times," "Force of Nature," "Songbird," "Little by Little," "Better Man," "Born on a Different Cloud," "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and "Hung in a Bad Place." ... English goth-punk legends Siouxsie and the Banshees have reunited for a handful of U.S. shows. The group will open its six-date tour on April 17 in Washington, D.C., and wind up 10 days later at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. ...

Pop singer Robbie Williams recently became ordained so he could officiate a wedding between Cult bassist Billy Morrison and his fianceé, Jennifer Holliday. Williams joined Los Angeles' nondenominational Universal Ministries, where he is now known as the Rev. Robert Williams. ... After celebrating 20 years with Soul Asylum, singer Dave Pirner will release his debut solo album in June on Ultimatum Music, home of former Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis. Pirner wrote and produced the still-untitled album over a three-year span and has described it as having an R&B feel. ...

Former Eels member Tommy Walter's Abandoned Pools have signed on to open for Garbage on their upcoming North American tour, beginning April 19 in Toronto and ending June 1 in Los Angeles. ... Pete Yorn will re-release 2001's Musicforthemorningafter on April 23 with a bonus disc featuring a new version of "Strange Condition" with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck; covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and "New York Serenade," the Smiths' "Panic," and David Bowie's "China Girl;" and videos for "Strange Condition," "For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is)," "Life on a Chain" and "June." Yorn kicks off a headlining club tour on April 2 in Santa Ana, California, before joining a Weezer trek that begins April 23 in Edmonton, Alberta. ... Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will head out on the road for their first tour in four years. The 17-date trek starts April 16 in Los Angeles and wraps up May 8 in Austin, Texas. ...

• Stone Temple Pilots
• Cake
• The Damned
• Rob Zombie
• Cher

The group, which actually beat its contemporaries the Sex Pistols and the Clash to become the first British punk band to tour in America in 1977, has set up a string of shows starting in Providence, Rhode Island on February 4.

According to "Billboard," the Damned's touring line-up will include original members Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible as well as Sisters of Mercy bassist Patricia Morrison. The group made a name for itself in England's burgeoning 70s punk scene with a manic stage presence that often involved Captain Sensible donning a tutu, former gravedigger Vanian wearing a black cape, and drummer Rat Scabies getting into dust-ups with the crowd.

In addition to the group's legacy of off-beat on-stage behavior, the Damned also produced a body of work that included punk classics like "New Rose," "Love Song," and "Smash It Up" which was recently revisited by the Offspring on the "Batman Forever" soundtrack.

If you want to catch the band, here's where Pollstar says they will be:

• 2/4 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
• 2/5 - New York, NY @ Coney Island High
• 2/6 - New York, NY @ Coney Island High
• 2/7 - New York, NY @ Coney Island High
• 2/8 - Baltimore, MD @ Bohager's
• 2/9 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 2/10 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Peabody's
• 2/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
• 2/12 - Orlando, FL @ Embassy
• 2/13 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
• 2/15 - New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
• 2/17 - Houston, TX @ Abyss
• 2/18 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Live
• 2/19 - Austin, TX @ Atomic Cafe
• 2/22 - Tempe, AZ @ Boston's Night Club
• 2/23 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
• 2/24 - Las Vegas, NV @ Huntridge Theatre
• 2/25 - West Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
• 2/26 - San Bernardino, CA @ San Bernardino Arena
• 2/27 - Ventura, CA @ Ventura Theatre
• 2/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 3/2 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
• 3/3 - Vancouver, BC @ Starfish Room
• 3/4 - Seattle, WA @ RKCNDY
• 3/8 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• 3/10 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
• 3/11 - St. Louis, MO @ Galaxy
• 3/12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Rave
• 3/13 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
• 3/14 - Columbus, OH @ Mekka
• 3/15 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
• 3/17 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
• 3/18 - Cleveland, OH @ Odeon Concert Club
• 3/19 - Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
• 3/20 - Montreal, QUE @ Foufounes Electriques
• 3/21 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Club
• 3/23 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts

• The Damned