Marilyn Manson recently shot scenes for "Beat the Devil," the next film from director Tony Scott ("True Romance"), which co-stars Gary Oldman ("Bram Stoker's Dracula") and James Brown. "I am proud to have gotten a signature from the Godfather of Soul on my very own Bible," Manson posted on his Web site. ... Sebastian Bach has signed to star in a year-long national tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar," beginning November 1 in California, according to the hard rocker's Web site. The former Skid Row frontman has previously appeared on stage in Broadway's "Jekyll & Hyde" and "The Rocky Horror Show." ...

Robbie Williams emerged victorious from a case to evict a cybersquatter who was using www.robbiewilliams.info to direct users to Oasis' Web site, according to Reuters. Howard Taylor of Southampton, England, who said his intention was to use the URL as a fan site for Williams and made the Oasis link as a joke, was required by the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization to transfer the site to Williams. ... Eleven previously unreleased tracks by crooner Jeff Buckley will be released on October 15. The album, Songs to No One, was culled from demos and live performances Buckley recorded with Gods and Monsters founder Gary Lucas. ...

Guitarist Erik Rutan has parted ways with death metal standard bearers Morbid Angel in order to focus on Hate Eternal, a project he formed in 1996. "Being in Morbid Angel for the past nine years has been the greatest time in my life," Rutan said in a statement released via Earache Records, home to both bands. ... Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted will be releasing a split CD from two of his long-running projects — IR8 and Sexoturica — through his own Chophouse imprint, according to the label's Web site. IR8 features Newsted, Tom Hunting of the Bay Area thrash band Exodus and Canadian Strapping Young Lad mastermind Devin Townsend, while Sexoturica includes Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser. ...

The Rolling Stones played a surprise gig in Toronto on Thursday at the Palais Royale, treating lucky fans to such Stones classics as "Wild Horses." The band has been rehearsing at a Toronto school for its upcoming world tour that kicks off on September 3 in Boston. ... Sheryl Crow, Sting, John Mellencamp and Don Henley have been confirmed to play both "Music to My Ears: In Celebration of Timothy White" concerts on October 7 in Boston and October 8 in New York. The concerts, benefiting the family of the late Billboard editor-in-chief, will also feature James Taylor and Billy Joel in Boston and Jimmy Buffet and Brian Wilson in New York, among others. ...

Course of Nature, newcomers who are currently touring with Nickelback, will appear in season premiere of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" on the WB on September 20. In the episode, Sabrina encounters the band (fronted by Melissa Joan Hart's real-life boyfriend Mark Wilkerson) at their rehearsal space, playing their single "Caught in the Sun." ... Glenn Lewis' duet with Amel Larrieux, "What's Come Over Me," will be the third single from the "Barbershop" soundtrack, due August 27. Lewis' Hennessy Privilege Music Tour with Kelly Price and Dave Hollister kicks off September 25, ... Eddie Money, Loverboy and Survivor will hit the road on what is being dubbed the Triple Shot of Rock Tour. Opening night is August 22 in Cleveland. ...

08.16.02

Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has pushed the release of his debut solo album, Now or Never, back a week to October 29. "Help Me," the first single from the LP that features tracks written by Carter, the Matrix, Mark Taylor, Steve Mac, Max Martin and Rami, will hit radio on August 20. ... P. Diddy has started his own market research company, called Blue Mindset, which will release a national survey on a different topic each week, according to the Associated Press. Last week's debut poll was a survey on the national economy, while this week's was about September 11. ... 8Ball & MJG, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boys and Lady May are going on the road together for the Grey Goose Vodka Music Tour. Starting on September 17 at New York City's BB King's and ending on October 14 at Club Level in Miami, the tour has 19 confirmed dates so far. ...

LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a benefit concert featuring the Hives, Jimmy Eat World, Sugarcult and Pete Yorn on August 28 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Tickets and updates of performers are available at Lifebeat.org, the organization's official Web site. ... India.Arie played a free show in New York's Bryant Park on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press. The thousands of fans who turned out for the event were treated to a preview of some new songs from the songstress' follow-up to Acoustic Soul, due next month. ...

On the heels of the release of their second single from The Guest, "Lonely Day," Phantom Planet will headline an East Coast U.S. tour beginning September 2 in Chicago and ending in Plainview, New York, on September 20. They will then tour as the opening act for Elvis Costello & the Attractions beginning September 23 in Seattle and wrapping up October 7 in Houston. ...Nickelback lead the nominees for the Prairie Music Awards in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with four honors including Entertainer of the Year. Prairie Music Week kicks off on September 26 and ends with a bang with the awards show on September 29. ...

Melissa Auf Der Maur's new project Hand of Doom, a Black Sabbath tribute band that features the ex-Hole/Smashing Pumpkins bassist on lead vocals, will release their debut album on October 22. The band also boasts Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age) handling Ronnie James Dio's lead vocals on "Mob Rule," Pedro Yanowitz (ex-Wallflowers/ Natalie Merchant drummer) behind the kit, Guy Stevens on guitar, Joey Garfield as DJ and Molly R. Stern on bass. ... Kevin Murray, the California senator working closely with Don Henley and the Recording Artists Coalition, has pulled back the state bill he introduced in January that would have abolished the music industry's exemption to a state law that prevents contracts from lasting more than seven years. Murray now plans to introduce a broader legislative package on artists' rights next year that will address accounting practices and health care and pension benefits.

• Marilyn Manson
• Sebastian Bach
• Robbie Williams
• Jeff Buckley
• Loverboy

Loverboy's<BR> Mike Reno
Photo: Sony

Despite the November death of bassist Scott Smith, who was washed overboard from his sailboat by a huge wave off the coast of San Francisco, Loverboy will continue their winter tour.

The remaining members of the rock band, which formed in 1979 and recorded such radio hits as "Workin' for the Weekend," are auditioning new bass players, according to a tour spokesperson. The group has five shows booked for February and March, including two nights at the Sunset Station Casino outside Las Vegas.

Smith, whose body was never found, presumably drowned after his 37-foot sailboat was overturned by a wave just south of the Golden Gate Bridge on November 30 (see "Loverboy Bassist Presumed Drowned"). The 45-year-old Maple Ridge, British Columbia, native was traveling with fiancée Yvonne Mayotte and friend Bill Ellis, who both survived the accident.

Loverboy — Smith, vocalist Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, drummer Matt Frenette and keyboardist Doug Johnson — disbanded for a time in the '90s but regrouped to release 1997's VI and tour North America for several years.

The band's singles included "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," "Turn Me Loose," "Lovin' Every Minute of It" and "Heaven in Your Eyes," which appeared on the "Top Gun" soundtrack. Loverboy's greatest-hits package was certified gold in 1998.

A Loverboy live album, tentatively titled Live, Loud and Loose, completed with producer Al Quaglieri last summer, is scheduled for release this spring on Sony/Legacy, according to band manager Lou Blair. The album will also include remastered performances from 1981 to 1986.

• Loverboy

Public and private searches have been called off for Loverboy bassist Scott Smith, 45, presumed drowned after being swept overboard by a giant wave that washed over his 37-foot sailboat off the coast of San Francisco late Thursday afternoon. At press time, Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean, drummer Matt Frenette and keyboardist Doug Johnson were in seclusion in Vancouver after visiting with Smith's family at his home in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Loverboy formed in 1979 and went on to sell millions of pop-rock albums that spawned major hits in the '80s, including "Turn Me Loose" [RealAudio], with its trademark extended bass intro supplied by Smith, "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," "Workin' for the Weekend" [RealAudio], "Lovin' Every Minute of It," and "Heaven in Your Eyes," from the "Top Gun" soundtrack. They disbanded for a time in the '90s, but were inspired to regroup and record a new album when a Sony Classics greatest-hits package was certified gold in 1998. They released a new album, VI, and took on a touring schedule that ranged from 60 to 90 concerts a year in the United States. The band had wrapped up a number of dates in the fall and had planned a few more for December. Smith, his fiancée, Yvonne Mayotte, and friend Bill Ellis were sailing the vessel, the Sea Major, from Vancouver to a marina south of Los Angeles, where he and Mayotte planned to be based for the winter. They also planned to spend time in Mexico. The accident occurred just south of the Golden Gate Bridge, two to three miles offshore. Ellis told the Vancouver Province that Smith was at the wheel and he and Mayotte were below deck when a wave hit, sending the boat over on its side. Ellis and Mayotte were able to make their way to the deck quickly, but found Smith gone, along with the ship's wheel, torn off by the force of the wave.

Smith was wearing two sweaters and a pair of track pants; he was not wearing a life jacket. Ellis told the paper that he immediately began to throw flotation materials over the side, hoping Smith would be able to grab onto something. He put in a distress call and began trying to turn the boat around, but subsequently failed to find any trace of Smith. A helicopter was on the scene within 20 minutes, followed closely by two Coast Guard vessels, but they could not spot the bassist.

The Coast Guard called off its hunt Friday afternoon, but a private search continued until dusk on Saturday. According to an area Coast Guard report, the seas were heavy, the winds were calm and there was slight fog in the area on the day of the accident. The water temperature was estimated to be around 50 degrees. Marine guidelines state that the average expected survival time under such conditions is two to three hours.

Smith was an avid and experienced sailor, having owned boats similar to the Sea Major since the band hit big in the early 1980s. He had owned the vessel for about 18 months.

The boat was docked in the San Francisco Bay Area while Smith returned to Vancouver to perform at a benefit concert November 25, which raised $62,500 Canadian for a local Diabetes Foundation. Smith had flown back to San Francisco and the trio had set sail just two hours before the accident. The band's photographer, Dee Lippingwell, said Smith, a quiet but humorous man dedicated to his two teenage sons, was in great spirits at the benefit concert and was looking forward to the trip south and cementing his relationship with Mayotte, 31, his girlfriend of eight months. Details of a memorial service for the musician, to be held in Vancouver, will be announced soon, according to Loverboy manager Lou Blair. "We're trying to regroup everybody," Blair said. "We've got people traveling still. We have two entities to consider here before making any decisions, the family as well as Loverboy." Blair declined to comment on the future of the band, but he did confirm that a live album, completed with producer Al Quaglieri last summer and scheduled for release between March and May on the Sony/Legacy label, would likely go ahead as planned. The album will include remastered performances from 1981 to 1986.

• Loverboy

An ambitious classic rock festival this June in North Dakota will feature Cheap Trick, Loverboy, Steppenwolf, Blue Oyster Cult, Joan Jett, Badfinger and Kansas among many others.

Performance magazine reports that the Rockin' The Hill Festival is scheduled to run from June 25 to 28 at Lake Metigoshe near Bottineau, North Dakota.

Regional talent will be on a secondary stage the first day with the name artists performing 12-hour days for the duration. The festival will be offering camping facilities, shuttle buses and other amenities. The concert area is designed to hold 40,000 people.

The promoters told Performance they expect the average age of the attendees to be around 39.

• Cheap Trick
• Joan Jett
• Loverboy