Tony Danza Tapdancing Extravaganza
Photo: Jim Valosik

When experimental grindcore outfit the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza hit the road, they're often shocked by the types who show up for their gigs. Of course, there's always a bunch of young longhairs there, donning their blackest accouterments. But the TDTE also attract some blue-hairs, too.

"Old ladies sometimes show up at our shows waiting for Tony Danza to come out onstage," guitarist Layne Meylain said. "I'm serious, because a lot of times, they'll put on the marquee 'Tony Danza' instead of our full name. So it'll be, like, 'Tony Danza and the Red Chord.' So these old ladies always show up looking for Tony. It's pretty funny. Apparently, old ladies love Danza."

Chances are none of the confused, AARP-eligible audience members will be picking up a copy of the Louisiana band's forthcoming LP, Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo, when it hits stores October 16. And true metal purists may stay away, too.

"A lot of people seem to have a problem with the name, because it's not a normal name for a band like us," Meylain explained. "We don't want close-minded people listening to our music."

So where did the band's name come from? "When we started out, all of our previous bands were really serious," he said. "We decided to play whatever we wanted to play, and we all have a sense of humor; we're not really serious guys. A lot of bands have these names that are all brutal, and really, these guys just grew up in the suburbs, and they still live at their mom and dad's house while they're on tour — bands with, like, the words 'death' and 'blood' in their names. We're not like that. We called the band the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza because Tony Danza is pretty cheesy, and tap-dancing is pretty awesome."

And no, Tony Danza isn't miffed by the tribute. In fact, before his morning talk show was canceled last year, the band was booked as a musical guest. Instead, Danza wound up mentioning the group in one of his opening monologues and played a clip of one of its tracks. The video now lives on in infamy on YouTube.

Only the future will tell if Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo proves to be as memorable. The LP is a straight-ahead, heavy-as-Louie-Anderson-riding-an-elephant record the band started writing material for last year. By May the set was written, and in June the band recorded its debut effort for Black Market Activities, the label owned and operated by Red Chord frontman Guy Kozowyk.

Meylain said Danza II is a concept piece about a midget named Cecil Bennett who strolls into a Louisiana dive bar for a good time — but instead is met inside with drunken patrons taunting him. When he reaches his boiling point and the verbal abuse becomes too much for him to take, "he goes out to his vehicle and comes back with chainsaws and just destroys the whole bar."

The disc also features the musings of Jesse James, an eccentric character the boys met while on tour with the Red Chord last year in North Carolina.

"You'll hear him singing at the very end of the CD," Meylain said. "We played this show and afterwards went to this kid's house. It was around 2 a.m. and I was sitting there, playing acoustic guitar in front of, like, 20 people, and they're all like, 'Oh, Jesse James is here.' And I hear this riding lawnmower, so I put down the guitar and go outside."

There, Meylain met James, "this old man with a sack of liquor who was riding down the driveway on a riding lawnmower. Dude's hammered and tells us he got a DUI, so they took his license away. So he drove down the freakin' interstate with a riding lawnmower and got another DUI — on the riding lawnmower."

James spent two hours with the TDTE dudes and sang — make that slurred — several of his own compositions. "We recorded him singing, and that's what ends the album. I think he drank himself to death like two months after that, but those kids are going to be really excited when they hear him on the record — and now, he will live on forever."

In an effort to keep James' spirit alive — and hype their LP, of course — the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza will head out on tour in October with Cattle Decapitation, Arsonists Get All the Girls and Veil of Maya. They've also booked a November trek with Full Blown Chaos, Despised Icon and the Acacia Strain.

But while those jaunts may seem like matches made in heaven, surprisingly, Meylain said the members of his band don't even listen to metal anymore.

"We pretty much listen to country when we're on the road, and we just write whatever we want to play — what's fun to play," he said. "Our influences back in the day were Pantera and stuff like that. But it doesn't matter — we always try to be innovative and invent something new, and that what we did with the new CD."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Not long after completing a tour with Marilyn Manson and Slayer, Orange County metalcore band Bleeding Through were invited to hit the road with Finnish goth-metal band H.I.M. Their tour will launch October 18 in Sayreville, New Jersey, and run through December 2 in New York. "H.I.M. is one of those bands that transcend a particular segment of people," Bleeding Through singer Brandan Schieppati said in a statement. "You see people in all walks of life wearing H.I.M. T-shirts, and we notice plenty of people at all of our shows wearing them. Even though stylistically we are quite different, the dark feel of both of our music translates to different people and grabs their attention." ... Los Angeles female-fronted Ozzfest veterans In This Moment have been tapped as the opening act for Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie's upcoming North American tour. The trek is set to launch October 18 in Seattle, with gigs booked through January 24 in Cleveland. ...

Sabbath-loving Southern-metal junkies Down will launch a tour September 27 in Reno, Nevada, with dates running through November 13 in Houston. Down III: Over the Under, the band's first album since 2002's Down II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, comes out September 25. ... Fellow Southern stoner-metal band Weedeater have plotted a tour that will start October 4 in Atlanta and end November 9 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Wilmington, North Carolina, band released its third disc, God Luck and Good Speed, in late July. ...

Alt-metal band Otep will release their third album, The Ascension, October 30. The disc was produced by Dave Fortman (Mudvayne, Evanescence) and, according to Otep, marks a concerted effort to break out of the nü-metal box some have placed them in. "We said, 'Genre limits and music fads be damned,' " frontwoman Otep Shamaya said in a statement. "Let's write music that is important to us and that motivates us. I wanted to write songs we believe in and let nothing stop us from building the album we want to make." ...

Supernova, the label owned by Today Is the Day frontman Steve Austin, has signed Complete Failure. The band, which features ex-TITD and Circle of Dead Children drummer Mike Rosswog, will release their debut for the label in 2008. "Complete Failure are the future of grind as we know it," Austin said in a statement. "Explosive and undeniable, this band is set to become an instant classic." ... It's not exactly the king of all thrash-metal collections, but Thrash Metal Warriors, which comes out October 16, features some worthwhile cuts, including a previously unreleased version of "Samurai Zombies" by Japanese black-thrash band Sabbat and "Chaos and Brutality," a new track by thrash vets Hirax. The comp also features songs by Toxic Holocaust, Kat, Slaver, Strike Master, Execution and Hatchet. ...

Five years after it faded into oblivion, the 2002 Overkill double-DVD "Live: Wrecking Everything, an Evening in Asbury Park" will be re-released. The first disc features a 21-song concert shot in Asbury Park in March 2002 and the second DVD offers the 60-minute documentary "Batmen, the Return." Overkill's new studio album, Immortalis, comes out October 9. The album will mark the recording debut of drummer Ron Lipnicki and will feature guest vocals by Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe on the track "Skull and Bones." ... Hardcore-metal purists Too Pure to Die will re-release their 2006 album, Confidence and Consequence, November 20 with vocals re-recorded by new singer Paul Zurlo (ex-Beyond All Reason). A brand-new disc is tentatively scheduled for the summer. The Iowa bangers will open the All That Remains tour, which starts Monday in Millvale, Pennsylvania, and runs through October 10 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The bill also features Protest the Hero and the Acacia Strain. ... Ambient post-metal Brits Jesu, which feature ex-Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick, will return to the U.S. on October 28 for a handful of dates with Yakuza and Torche. The triple-threat will play four shows: October 28 (Iowa City, Iowa); October 29 (Saguet, Illinois); October 30 (Lawrence, Kansas); and Halloween (Denver).

• The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza
• Otep

Otep
Photo: Capitol Records

Otep's forthcoming third full-length album, The Ascension, was written long before the Los Angeles metallers boarded a plane bound for New Orleans — where they'd track the effort with Grammy-winning producer Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Mudvayne) over the course of several months.

During the band's stay, though, frontwoman Otep Shamaya said she couldn't help but get caught up in the emotion of living and working in this forgotten, battered metropolis, left devastated in the wake of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Shamaya said the cheerless vibe that permeated this once grand city, and the hopeful spirit of the resilient survivors who continue to rebuild their lives down there, bled into Otep's new material.

"We went there for a couple of reasons: Dave was there, and we wanted to get out of L.A.," she explained. "It's very easy for bands to make records where they live, but when you go home every night, it becomes more of a job. You can't live the album all day, every day. In New Orleans, we could never escape that energy. We also really wanted to try to bring something to the economy of that area, but we didn't realize how bad it was. Nothing's happening there."

When Otep arrived, Fortman drove the band through the city's Ninth Ward, "and it was shocking. Absolutely shocking. There are entire neighborhoods that are just gone — pulverized. Boats pinned beneath houses. So that kind of seeped into the songs a bit. A part of that energy — part of the people who asked us when they saw us not to forget about them — that did seep into what we were doing. It had to. It was very important for us to include that energy in our music and remember how important art is and what it can do."

Working with Fortman on The Ascension, which hits stores March 20 and features a cover of Nirvana's "Breed," was important for the bandmembers, Shamaya said, because they are huge fans of his previous collaborations.

"We liked the sound of his albums, the tonality of them," she said. "For the type of band that I think we are, where every instrument counts, I wanted every instrument to have its own voice and tell its own story. With Dave, when you listen to the records he's made, every instrument has a clear, signature sound. That was really important for us for this album; that's what we wanted to happen."

Otep — made up of Shamaya, guitarist Karma Cheema, bassist "Evil" J. McGuire and drummer Brian Wolff — had to refocus their attention for this effort, the singer said, and forget about anything they'd done in the past.

"From my perspective, knowing a lot of bands and listening to a lot of bands, the first record — even if it isn't their best record — has this energy about it, this risk," Shamaya said. "It seems that there's this sophomore curse for most bands, but they still seem to become confident in the idea that they can write the music. But there's something missing sometimes. I wanted to refocus our attention and pretend this was our first record and really try and not look at what we know, what's worked and get mixed up in that whole corporate mentality. I wanted to fall back on our instincts and write songs that are important to us."

On her end, Shamaya feels she's grown as a growler and that, through her lyrics, she's become a better storyteller. "I just wanted to be better at what I do. I think our strength lies in our ability to be a fusion band. Every player has their own influences and own styles, and that helps us create something different and new each time."

But longtime fans shouldn't expect a complete shift in Otep's sound. Shamaya said this third set contains the same elements found on the band's previous LPs, along with several fresh sonic elements. Lyrically, the singer said she derived inspiration from her own observations on society. The track "Invisible," for instance, is a commentary on conformity, while "Perfectly Flawed" is a song that celebrates "uniqueness, and how we don't all have to look like supermodels." "Noose and Nail" is an attack "on the pharmaceutical culture in this country," while "Home Grown" addresses the issues of domestic violence. "Eat the Children" was inspired by "those mothers who've been murdering their children, sometimes in the name of God," she said.

"Sometimes," she added, "I wish I could just sit back and write a song about a sunny day or a car passing, but that's just not the way my instincts work at this point."

The rest of the week's metal news:

How's this for a killer metal package? Dimmu Borgir, Unearth, Devildriver and Kataklysm have announced that they'll tour the U.S. this spring, hitting more than 25 cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle and Los Angeles. The trek kicks off April 20 in Cleveland, with dates booked through May 29 in Atlanta. Dimmu's forthcoming album, In Sorte Diaboli, has been set for an April 24 release. ... The Red Chord are in need of a new guitarist, given Jonny Fay's departure this week. Fay said he wants to devote more time to running his New Hampshire recording studio, hence, the Chord will hold auditions in March. Those interested should make a video or audio recording of themselves playing "Black Santa," from the band's 2005 LP Clients. Touring experience is a must, and candidates should be willing to give up eight to 10 months of the year to the road. Interested? Contact the band through its MySpace page for more details. Fay, who will still contribute to the Red Chord's forthcoming album, said the decision "was not an easy [one] to make. I have loved every second of my time in this band, and I will miss it dearly. However, as long as I have been involved in music, my true passion has been recording, and I feel that the time has come for me to give it my undivided attention." ...

Mastodon's recent stroll across the Grammy Awards' red carpet caught the attention of E!'s "Fashion Police." The boys were slammed for their "greasy hair" and offending "rat tails." Not that the 'Don's about to take fashion advice from anyone, but you can watch them get raked over the proverbial coals in an arresting clip on YouTube. ... Comeback Kid, It Dies Today, This Is Hell and Endwell will be hitting the road together next month for a series of 25 gigs. The tour will get under way March 21 in Philadelphia and run through April 17 in Seattle. Parkway Drive will also be on the trek between April 5 in Metairie, Louisiana, through the Seattle date. ... Century Media's inaugural "Metal For The Masses" tour, which will be co-headlined by the Haunted and Dark Tranquillity, with Into Eternity and Scar Symmetry providing support, will launch March 19 in Orlando, Florida. The trek will make 22 stops, including Atlanta, New York, Detroit, Chicago and Seattle, before wrapping up in Hollywood on April 14. ...

Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall will play a number of off-dates during the upcoming Jägermeister Music Tour, which also features Stone Sour. The bands will be rattling the floorboards of Piere's in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on March 29; Northern Lights in Clifton Park, New York, on April 2; the Lincoln Theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 11; the Rialto Theater in Tucson, Arizona, April 26; and on April 27, the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ... Massachusetts metallers — and Ozzfest 2006 vets — All That Remains, who are on their first North American headlining jaunt, will film their February 25 gig in Philadelphia. The footage will be featured on the band's forthcoming, yet-untitled DVD, which should hit stores before year's end. The band has been compiling footage for the effort for more than two years. ... Italian black metallers Graveworm have put the finishing touches on their sixth, yet-untitled LP with producer Andy Classen (Krisiun, Belphegor) at the helm. The album will feature 10 fresh cuts, with guest appearances by Kataklysm's Maurizio Iacono and the Sorrow's Matze. Look for the disc in stores May 11. ...

Victory Records has signed South Dakota's Nodes of Ranvier. According to frontman Jon Parker, the band "could not be any more excited about the opportunity to continue to do what we love with a label that understands what it means to have humble beginnings and achieve big dreams." The band plans to hit the studio later this month to start working on its Victory Records debut, which should surface in July. ... Will Haven's reunion LP, Hierophant, has been set for a June release through Bieler Bros. In other album-release news, Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet has now been slated for an April 24 release. ... Canadian power trio Rush will release their new album, Snakes & Arrows, on May 1. The first single, "Far Cry," will hit radio in March, and a full North American tour is being scheduled for this summer. The album was recorded in fall 2006 and was co-produced by the band with Grammy-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver). ...

Prog-rock maestros Dream Theater have signed with Roadrunner Records for their next album, Systematic Chaos, which is scheduled for release in June. "This album's got all of the elements we've become known for," drummer Mike Portnoy said in a statement. "The focus on musicianship, the skull-crushing riffs, the big progressive epics and the heart-wrenching melodies are all there." A world tour will follow the album's release. ... Slipknot guitarist Jim Root and axe maestro Joe Satriani will guest on the new solo album by Rob Zombie guitarist John5 (ex-Marilyn Manson). The disc, The Devil Knows My Name, comes out April 3, and the songs are all about serial killers. "I wanted a different tone to the instrumental with twisted imagery of sounds," John5 said. "Utilizing serial killers came to light for this project while looking at their crimes and how distorted their minds work." If that's not scary enough, the disc will include a cover of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle." Backing John5 on the album is Zombie drummer Tommy Clufetos and bassist Piggy D. ...

Demiricous will enter the studio on February 15 to start recording the follow-up to their self-titled 2005 debut. The disc will be the band's first to feature new drummer Justin Boltjes (ex-The Dream is Dead). ... Canadian misanthropes Unexpect have hired a new violinist named Blaise. "His talent will undoubtedly contribute to the developing mutation of our music," the band said in a statement. Unexpect's debut, In a Flesh Aquarium, came out in 2006.

• Otep
• Dimmu Borgir
• Unearth
• DevilDriver
• The Red Chord

Lamb of God (file)
Photo: Epic Records

Considering Lamb of God were one of the first honest-to-goodness underground metal acts in recent memory to get called up to the big leagues (Epic signed them a few years back), it's only right they headline the Sounds of the Underground tour's maiden run.

The Randy Blythe-fronted Virginia thrash-metal band — fresh from supporting Slipknot this spring — will close out each and every night of this summer's other huge metal festival, and bassist John Campbell said he can't wait to see GWAR's performances and unleash some material LOG have ignored for eight years. He's just not thrilled about the band's abstinence edict.

"All of our friends who are on before us, as soon as they get offstage, they punch the clock and they're done," he explained. "They can start partying and drinking. But we're going to have to maintain a level of sobriety until after our set. So that's going to be my cross to bear this summer."

To keep things fresh for longtime fans, Campbell said Lamb of God — whose "Killadelphia" DVD landed in stores on Tuesday — have fiddled a bit with their setlist for this summer's Underground gigs. For instance, they've scrapped "Bloodletting," a staple since they recorded it under the band's erstwhile moniker Burn the Priest, and replaced it with the song "Suffering Bastard."

"We've had to take some time while we've been home, to learn how to play that song," the bassist explained, "because it's been seven, eight years since we've played that song live."

The band's also got big post-Sounds of the Underground plans. Campbell and Blythe will both be getting married, and after that, they'll start working on the follow-up to 2004's Ashes of the Wake. "We're going to start writing this fall, and [we're] looking to deliver a record early in the year, to be out mid-year 2006," Campbell explained.

"Killadelphia," filmed over two sold-out nights at Philadelphia's Trocadero, features behind-the-scenes footage and captures "the who, what and how we rolled at the time," Campbell said. While he said LOG have no immediate plans to release the concert in CD form, he's sure "that's definitely the kind of thing the marketing geniuses at Epic are probably already typing away on their calculators about."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Mötley Crüe have been added to the bill for Toronto's Live 8 concert on July 2. The lineup also includes Jet, Simple Plan, Bryan Adams and the Tragically Hip. ... New Jersey melodic-hardcore mavens Nora have lost their bassist, Chris Byrnes, to Every Time I Die. But the departure's not about to slow the Carl Severson-led band down. It's already replaced Byrnes with ex-Burnt by the Sun vocalist, original Nora guitarist and political commentator Mike Olender (check out theamericanindependent.com). The band's been busy writing new material and will take the stage for the first date of the Sounds of the Underground tour Saturday in Lowell, Massachusetts. ... The premier metalcore band of our nation's capital, Darkest Hour, will release their fifth album, Undoing Ruin, on June 28. The disc is the follow-up to the band's 2003 offering, Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation, and was produced by Strapping Young Lad mastermind Devin Townsend. ...

Arizona metalcore collective The Bled will release the follow-up to 2003's Pass the Flask with Found in the Flood on August 23. The disc will feature 10 tracks, including "Hotel Coral Essex," "She Calls Home" and "I Don't Keep With Liars Anymore." ... Literary Los Angeles headbanger Otep will show how well-versed she is in the spoken word when she appears on HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry" series August 5. Her eponymous band's currently in the middle of its Mouth of Madness tour. The final date, June 30 in Los Angeles, will feature Jada Pinkett Smith's band, Wicked Wisdom. ... Life of Agony will be the featured guests on this weekend's edition of MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Sweden's In Flames have finished their new album, called Come Clarity. The effort, being eyed for a fall release, will boast 13 tracks, including "Pacing Death's Trail," "Crawl Through Knives" and "Your Bedtime Story Is Scaring Everyone." ...

San Diego death metallers Cattle Decapitation will be playing a spate of summer dates with Some Girls and the Locust, and will release their long-awaited split with Caninus next month through Wartorn Records. The disc will feature five new tracks, including a revised version of "The Decapitation of Cattle." ... Philadelphia metalcore extremists A Life Once Lost will release Hunter on June 28. The band shot a video in April with Darren Doane (Deftones, Thursday) for the track "Vulture," which, according to frontman Robert Meadows, features "a guy on an operating table and then all of a sudden, he's jumping out a window and he lands on a car and he's being chased by people. There's a fight scene with him beating up some dudes in water. It's like an action movie. It's total madness." ... Connecticut straight-edge hardcore bashers With Honor will release their second full-length album, This Is Our Revenge, on October 18. The group is working on the album with producer Brian McTernan; its last release was a 2005 split with Distance. ...

Raleigh, North Carolina, math metalcore band Between the Buried and Me will release their third album, Alaska, on September 6. The disc was tracked with Jamie King in Rural Hall, North Carolina, and is being mixed by Matthew Ellard. The band will tour extensively this summer with Sinai Beach, the Red Chord, the Acacia Strain and From a Second Story Window. ... Canadian bashers A Perfect Murder will release their new disc, Strength Through Vengeance, on July 26. Last weekend, John Phillipe Bernier directed the video for the first single, "Body and Blood." A Perfect Murder's last album was 2004's well-received Unbroken. ... Swedish sextet Sonic Syndicate (ex-Fallen Angels) will release their debut, Eden Fire, this fall. The album was recorded at StudioMega in Bollebygd, Sweden. ...

Orange County, California, metalcore outfit Scars of Tomorrow are getting ready to enter Litho Studios in Seattle with producer Matt Bayles to work on the follow-up to 2004's Rope Tied to the Trigger, which is scheduled for release in October. The group is currently on tour with Himsa, the Agony Scene and the Esoteric through June 30 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ... Ontario, Canada, screamo band Boys Night Out have added the new song "Medicating" to their Web site. The track will be featured on their third album, Trainwreck, which comes out July 26. Their last album, Make Yourself Sick, was released in September 2003. ... Norwegian black-metal luminaries Arcturus will release Sideshow Symphonies in September.

• Lamb of God
• A Life Once Lost
• Otep
• Cattle Decapitation

Alicia Keys (file)
Photo: Getty Images

Alicia Keys will perform "America the Beautiful" prior to this year's Super Bowl, which will mark only the third time in Super Bowl history the song has been sung (Ray Charles and Vikki Carr last had the honors). Keys will be accompanied by 150 students from St. Augustine-based Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, which Charles attended in 1937. The students will sign and sing along with Keys. "I'm very excited to be playing at the Super Bowl for the first time, especially because I will be singing a song made famous by an artist I admire, miss and respect," Keys said in a statement. Super Bowl XXXIX takes place at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 6, and will be broadcast on FOX. ...

Snoop Dogg fans will soon be able to step out in style as the rapper and Pony International prepare to drop a new line of shoes like they're, well, you know. The Snoop Dogg Doggy Biscuitz footwear collection — named after Snoop's nickname for his shoes, "biscuits" — consists of four different designs, including the Snoopadoopa, "for active life and everyday wear"; Snoopafly, which is "athletic/basketball inspired"; Snoopalicious, a "casual shoe for business meetings and dressier occasions"; and "Snoopaslide," which features a bandana print for "kickin' it in the crib and lounging around the house." Jay Leno got a personalized pair of Snoopadoopas when the rapper appeared on his show in December, but the rest of us will have to wait until March to score the shoes, when the collection hits retail outlets worldwide. ... Meanwhile, Slipknot will soon have their own footwear line, care of Vision Street Wear. Fans of the masked rockers can preorder the kicks online since the shoes won't be available until April. Vision Street Wear, which already produces a line of Slipknot skateboard decks, will have five styles of sneakers available, including the "pentagram slip on" and two designs featuring images of the bandmembers' faces. ...

The Used have just finished their video for "All That I've Got," in which a boy visiting the Used Bookstore gets entranced in a storybook and ends up as part of the story, searching for the ending as he runs into various bandmembers who play themselves and assorted characters. The video, directed by Marc Webb, draws from "Alice in Wonderland," "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Neverending Story." See photos from The Used's "All That I've Got" ... "Because of Winn-Dixie," which features Dave Matthews playing a drifter, is finally going to hit the big screen after several delays. The movie — based on the children's book of the same name — also stars Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson and Eva Marie Saint, and will now open nationwide February 18. ...

It doesn't look like we'll be seeing Andre 3000 lighting a guitar on fire anytime soon. The Hughes Brothers' much-talked about Jimi Hendrix biopic that Dre had been linked to is currently a no-go. According to Allen Hughes, "The estate does not want anyone to make the film, so at this point the project is on hold." Janie Hendrix, president and CEO of Experience Hendrix, the organization that manages the guitarist's estate, said last week that the company is not currently working with anyone on a Hendrix biopic nor is it licensing music to any film at this time. ... M.O.P. and Remy Martin performed at Joe's Pub Wednesday night in New York as part of the Relief and Recovery! concert. The proceeds went to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. Rem and M.O.P. decided to get together in response to the tsunami disaster. ...

Styles P of the LOX has settled on Time Is Money as the title for his upcoming solo album, due in March. ... Martika, the Cuban-American singer who originally had a pop hit in 1989 with "Toy Soldiers," says that she's pleased with Eminem's sample of her vocal in "Like Toy Soldiers," and hopes he can do for her what he did for Dido. "I'm actually surprised he used my voice so much," she said. "And I like what he did with the military drum roll. It's tight." Martika is relaunching her career with a duo called Oppera, which she calls a "new Eurythmics" — sort of classical music, Led Zeppelin and Pat Benatar all rolled into one. "Eminem's using the song really helps our career," she said, "because the next logical question is, 'What's she doing now?' " Oppera's first single is called "So," and their debut album is due out in April. ...

Afroman's lawyers have slapped a cease-and-desist order on an impersonator named Dol Ré, who has been booking performances as Afroman and pretending to be the rapper for several weeks. In a statement, Afroman said he would have tried to prevent Dol Ré from swindling concert promoters long ago, but he didn't "because he got high." ... Goth-metal band Otep will head up the Alliance of Defiance Tour, which will also feature American Head Charge, Candiria and the Autumn Offering. The trek kicks off January 25 in Reno, Nevada, and wraps up on March 19 in Los Angeles. The band is still touring on the strength of its sophomore album, House of Secrets. ...

Thanks to a gag order, it took just about a week for Michael Jackson's lawyer to get the court to approve his response to grand jury testimony that leaked last week. Noting that the defense team strongly objects to the leak of testimony that had been ordered sealed, Thomas Mesereau pointed out that "the witnesses who testified before the grand jury were never subjected to cross-examination or impeachment by the defense. ... By law, no judge or defense lawyer was allowed to be present in the grand jury room," Mesereau said. "Furthermore, the defense had no opportunity to call its own witnesses to refute or criticize this one-sided proceeding. This case will be won in the courtroom and not through 'leaks' in the media." ...

Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden died of stomach cancer at his California home on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. He was 66. Dryden, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 for his work with Jefferson Airplane, left the band in 1970 and joined the New Riders of the Purple Sage from 1971-1978. After playing with a number of other bands for years, Dryden retired from performing 10 years ago. Dryden is survived by his three sons. Plans for a memorial concert are reportedly pending. ... Strawberry Fields, an orphanage in Liverpool, England, and the inspiration for the 1967 Beatles tune "Strawberry Fields Forever," will be closed down by the Salvation Army due to the changing demands of child welfare, according to Reuters. "It is now preferable for children to be cared for within a foster family or in a small group home, rather than within large residential institutions," the Salvation Army said in a statement on Wednesday. ...

Art Alexakis has filed for bankruptcy. According to The Oregonian, the Everclear frontman owes the IRS, the Oregon Department of Revenue and various credit-card companies just over $3 million. Alexakis complained to the newspaper that he's lost 40 pounds due to stress. ... Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett, who is also the announcer on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," has signed on to host the morning show for Southern California's Indie 103.1, which already features shows hosted by the Crystal Method and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols. "The Mighty Morning Show" debuts January 31. ... Boston trio Guster are in Nashville this week recording the follow-up to their 2003 release, Keep It Together. The new album is due out this summer. ...

01.12.2005

One of the two original compositions on A Perfect Circle's most recent release, eMOTIVe, will be the featured song in the upcoming Keanu Reeves thriller flick "Constantine." "Passive," the second single off the album, features the band's Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel collaborating with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Danny Lohner. The Brothers Strause, who handled the visual effects for "Constantine," will direct the video for "Passive." ...

As part of the monthlong celebration of the late Bob Marley's 60th birthday in February, his widow is planning to exhume his remains from where they currently lie in Jamaica and rebury them in Ethiopia, which she calls his "spiritual resting place," according to The Associated Press. Rita Marley said that her late husband's life was "all about Africa, it is not about Jamaica," and said the Ethiopian church and government support her decision. ... Wyclef Jean was in Haiti on Tuesday to launch an after-school program for children living in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil. Intended to keep kids in school, Wyclef's program provides scholarships, tutoring and sports training at L'Athletique d'Haiti Sports Academy for about 650 young children. According to a statement, Wyclef's foundation, Yele Haiti, is also planning to provide scholarships for 4,000 young people in the Haitian city of Gonaives, where floods in September killed hundreds. ...

Kelly Osbourne listened to a lot of Kraftwerk while prepping her upcoming album, and it shows. The electro-sounding single "One Word" has a new age/new wave vibe, where she intones more than sings purposefully robotic verses such as, "One word breaks the code of silence/ Silence tells me all I need to know/ One world driven into madness/ Madness driven by the depths below." Other song titles on Osbourne's still-untitled album, due out June 7, include "Secret Lover," "Edge of Your Atmosphere," "Suburbia," "Don't Touch Me" and "Entropy." ... Virgin Digital and Foot Locker recently announced a special promotion and sweepstakes to offer exclusive content from Def Jam artists such as LL Cool J, Ludacris and Ja Rule. Virgin will offer Foot Locker customers 30-day free trials and one customer will win a Flyaway Sweepstakes to attend the NBA All-Star Game in Denver with Luda. ...

If you weren't hip enough (or old enough) to join Sub Pop Records' now-defunct Singles Club in 1988, now's your chance to score the entire run of rare 45s by the likes of Nirvana, the White Stripes, the Get Up Kids, Death Cab for Cutie, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, Soundgarden and more. Someone has posted their entire collection of more than 125 singles on eBay in an auction that ends on Thursday. The bad news? Bidding has already hit $4,500. ... Bam Margera, Andy Dick, Tom Green, Tony Hawk, Shannon Elizabeth, Seth Green, Macaulay Culkin and several cast members of "That '70s Show" are shuffling the deck as part of a new hour-long weekly series called "Hollywood Poker Night," which will begin airing in March on E! The show will feature three different stars and three of their best buddies as they ante-up in their own homes and hangouts. No day or time for the show has been announced yet. ...

Akon is taking the motivation behind his music — "I just want people to learn through my mistakes, to better themselves," he explained — into the launch of Conflict Films. "We're going to death-row inmates and getting their life stories and we want to make movies about their life stories," he said. ... Following the passing of his friend Barry White, who died of kidney failure, Isaac Hayes decided to contribute recipes to a cookbook for people suffering from chronic kidney disease, titled "Kidney Friendly Comfort Foods: A Collection of Recipes for Eating Well With Chronic Kidney Disease." Hayes will appear at Cleveland's HealthSpace Cleveland Museum on Thursday to introduce some of the recipes from the book. ...

The Dillinger Escape Plan have announced plans to take to the road for eight North American shows. The band will kick off the trek in Toronto on February 1 and wind up in New York on February 9. ... Portland, Oregon, indie-rockers the Decemberists will release their third album, Picaresque, on March 22. Produced by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla, the 11-track set will include "The Sporting Life" and "Infanta," among other songs. Singer Colin Meloy will hit the road for a quick 10-date solo trip before the official Decemberists tour starts January 13 in Seattle. ...

• Alicia Keys
• Snoop Dogg
• Slipknot
• The Used
• Remy Ma

With just one major release this week, live albums from veteran rockers and new releases from smaller acts get a chance to shine.

The heavy-hitter this week is newcomer Kevin Lyttle and his R&B-tinged soca sound. Backed by the radio and television success of his ubiquitous single, "Turn Me On," Lyttle releases his self-titled debut album this week.

B.G., the rapper who popularized the all-important phrase "bling bling," releases his Life After Cash Money. Guests on the album include Snoop Dogg, Soulja Slim and Juvenile.

After the loss of two bandmembers last summer followed by talks of calling it quits, Taking Back Sunday took back control of the band and put together a follow-up to their debut album, 2002's Tell All Your Friends. Where You Want to Be hits stores this week.

Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers barrel onto shelves with live albums. Live at Benaroya Hall October 22, 2003 follows a whole mess of live LPs released by Pearl Jam last year. The Chili Peppers' Live in Hyde Park is their first release since their 2003 greatest-hits compilation.

Swedish band Sahara Hotnights are back in action after a three-year absence. The group's third studio album, Kiss & Tell, drops this week.

Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson will release his first solo album, Village Gorilla Head. The album contains material the former member of the Replacements has compiled over the last 10 years.

Badly Drawn Boy is back with his fourth album, One Plus One Is One, the follow-up to 2002's Have You Fed the Fish?

The buzz around New York band Scissor Sisters has been steadily growing for some time. The androgynous group will release its self-titled debut album of glam-inspired rock, pop and dance tracks.

Alt-country band Old 97's drop their sixth album, Drag It Up, the group's first since 2001. Indie pop rockers the Kings of Convenience hit fans with Riot on an Empty Street this week. And on the harder side of things are releases from Kittie (Until the End) and Otep (House of Secrets).

Also hitting shelves is the newest "Now That's What I Call Music!" compilation, Now 16, with tracks by D12, Outkast, Beyoncé, Christina Milian, JoJo and a slew of others.

Out Tuesday, July 27:

• .38 Special - Drive Train (Sanctuary)
• Badly Drawn Boy - One Plus One Is One (Astralwerks)
• BG - Life After Cash Money (Koch)
• Big Satan - Souls Saved Hear (Thirsty Ear)
• The Briggs - Leaving the Ways (SideOneDummy)
• The Buffseeds - The Picture Show (Sanctuary/Fantastic Plastic)
• Comets on Fire - Blue Cathedral (Sub Pop)
• A.J. Croce - Aiden James Croce (Eleven Thirty)
• Gavin DeGraw - Chariot (Stripped) (J)
  
  
• DJ Nu-Mark & Pomo - Blend Crafters (Up Above)
• Trevor Dunn's Trio Convulsant - Sister Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac)
• Eleven Hundred Springs - Bandwagon (Compendia)
• Danny Elfman - Soundtrack to "Spider-Man 2" (Sony)
• The Everyones - The Everyones (Tee Pee)
• Freddy Fender - Close to My Heart (Fuel 2000)
• Tony Furtado - These Chains (Funzalo)
• Moses Guest - Guest Motel (Aufheben)
• Anthony Michael James - Old Friends (V-Tone/Compendia)
• Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street (Astralwerks)
• Kittie - Until the End (Artemis)
• Lamia - Dark Angel (Metropolis)
• k.d. lang - Hymns From the 49th Parallel (Nonesuch/Warner Bros.)
• Alan J. Lerner & Frederick Loewe - Soundtrack to "The Little Prince" (Decca)
• Letter Kills - The Bridge (Island)
• Laura Love - You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes (Koch)
• Kevin Lyttle - Kevin Lyttle (Elektra/Atlantic)
  
  
• M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Mute)
• Malevolent Creation - Warkult (Nuclear Blast)
• Herbie Mann and Phil Woods - Beyond Brooklyn (MCG Jazz)
• Maria McKee - Live in Hamburg (Little Diva)
• The Meat Purveyors - Pain by Numbers (Bloodshot)
• Bob Mintzer Big Band - Live at MCG With Kurt Elling (MCG Jazz)
• Nedelle and Thom - Summerland (Kill Rock Stars)
• Old 97's - Drag It Up (New West)
• Otep - House of Secrets (Capitol)
• Pearl Jam - Live at Benaroya Hall October 22, 2003 (J)
  
  
• Phoenix - Alphabetical (Astralwerks)
• Pidgeon - From Gutter With Love (Absolutely Kosher)
• Doc Powell - Cool Like That (Heads Up)
• Punto Omega - Punto Omega (Metropolis)
• Mike Ragogna - Writer's Block (Collectors' Choice/ Bone People)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live in Hyde Park (Wea International)
• Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell (RCA)
• San Ilya - They Died for Beauty (EMI/Capitol)
• Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (Universal)
• Shifty - Happy Lovesick (Maverick)
• Starwood - If It Ain't Broke - Break It! (Metal Blade)
• Tommy Stinson - Village Gorilla Head (Sanctuary)
  Read: "GN'R Bassist Works Solo While Awaiting Chinese Democracy"
• Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be (Victory)
  Read: "Taking Back Sunday Are Taking Back The Summer This Year"
  The Leak: Taking Back Sunday's Where You Want to Be
  
• Tomatohead - Punch (Blossom)
• White Mud Freeway - Last Year's Junk (Bar/None)
• The Wylde Bunch - Wylde Tymes at Washington High (Red/ Columbia)
• Hans Zimmer - Soundtrack to "King Arthur" (G2/ Hollywood)
• Various artists - Caribbean Playground (Putumayo Kids)
• Various artists - Forever, for Always, for Luther (GRP)
• Various artists - Now 16 (UTV)
• Various artists - The Notorious Cherry Bombs (Universal South)
• Various artists - Soundtrack to "Motorcycle Mania" (iMUSIC)
• DVD: Moses Guest - "Edit" (Aufheben)
• DVD: Various artists - "Reggae on the River" (Sanctuary/ Ras)

August 3:

• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Live (Vanguard Records)
• Marc Broussard - Carencro (Island)
• Cherie - Cherie (Lava)

August 10:

• Alter Bridge - One Day Remains (Wind-Up)
  Read: "Life After Creed: Alter Bridge Look To A Stapp-Free Future"
• Richard Marx - My Own Best Enemy (Manhattan Records)
• Mobb Deep - Amerikaz Nightmare (Jive)
• Shyne - Godfather ... Buried Alive (Def Jam)

August 17:

• Ryan Cabrera - Take It All Away (Atlantic)
• Saliva - Survival of the Sickest (Island)
• Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (Rhino)

• Kevin Lyttle
• Taking Back Sunday
• Pearl Jam
• B.G.
• Sahara Hotnights

At the height of his beef with Jay-Z, Nas came out against the Roots for their decision to back Jay for his MTV "Unplugged" performance. But that's apparently all water under the bridge now, as Nas and the Roots' ?uestlove are pairing up to record a new song for an ad for MSN Direct's new Smart Watches. The clip was directed by — and stars — Spike Lee. ...

Ludacris and Kanye West aren't headlining stadiums yet, but they'll both be playing Chicago's Soldier Field soon. It's for the Boost Mobile Pro of Snowboarding competition, to be held March 26-27, featuring 45 of the nation's top male and female snowboarders. ... DJ Shadow, Blackalicious and their Quannum crew will trek across the country for a monthlong tour. It starts April 4 in Portland, Oregon, heads to the East Coast and then wraps up May 1 in the artists' hometown of San Francisco. ...

Velvet Revolver were all set to shoot their first video, "Slither," on Sunday in Los Angeles with Kevin Kerslake slated to direct. But during Scott Weiland's probation progress report hearing on Friday (March 5), a Pasadena judge denied the singer's request to join his bandmates for the shoot, which has since been postponed. Weiland is due back in court March 23 for another progress report. He's also due back in court March 15 to face charges of driving under the influence of drugs. ...

The Pixies will release their latest best-of compilation, Wave of Mutilation, and self-titled DVD on May 4 through 4AD records. The releases coincide with the end of their 11-city North American reunion tour. ... Joe Berlinger, the co-creator of the Metallica documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," can't get enough of the boys in black. In November, he'll release the book "Metallica: This Monster Lives," which will chronicle the three years he spent making the movie and will address many issues that were impossible to explore in a two-and-a-half-hour film. ...

Artsy nü-metal band Otep have been added to the second stage of this year's Ozzfest. The band will have a new album out this summer. ... Great White have scheduled 17 more benefit shows for the Station Family Fund. The first gig is Friday night (March 5) in Hidalgo, Texas, and the concerts run through August 15 in Bellingham, Washington. Great White were playing in a Rhode Island club last year when their stage pyro ignited the walls and ceiling, causing a blaze that killed 100, including the band's guitarist Ty Longley. ...

The Cure's Robert Smith and the Smiths' Johnny Marr make special appearances on 2 a.m. Wakeup Call, the second LP by former Nine Inch Nails drummer/producer Chris Vrenna's Tweaker persona. The follow-up to 2001's The Attraction to All Things Uncertain is due April 20. ...

03.04.2004

Britney Spears has added 17 shows to her North American tour, which kicked off Tuesday. The new dates begin June 22 in Hartford, Connecticut, and run through August 3 in Selma, Texas. Britney's March 28 concert in Miami will be broadcast live by Showtime. ...

After weeks of studio jam sessions that mimicked their nascent days playing on the streets of South Philly, the Roots have wrapped up work on their sixth studio album, The Tipping Point. The LP is due June 29 through the group's new label, Interscope. ... On Sunday night, federal agents arrested the attorney of rapper Turk, who is currently being held on charges of attempted murder near Memphis, Tennessee. Turk's attorney, Scott Crawford, was charged with obstruction of justice, bribery, attempted bribery, possession of crack cocaine and possession of an illegal handgun, according to a spokesperson for the rapper. It is unclear yet if Turk will have to find new legal counsel. ...

A Perfect Circle have added a batch of spring dates to support their second album, Thirteenth Step, which came out in September. The new shows start April 27 in Camden, New Jersey, and run through May 15 in Duluth, Georgia. ... Sonic Youth have finished their latest album, titled Sonic Youth Nurse. The band's 14th full-length studio LP, due in June, is the follow-up to 2002's Murray Street. ...

Longtime Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, who's played with the group since 1985, has quit the band because of "internal reasons." Armored Saint bass player Joey Vera will take his place for Anthrax's tour of Japan and Australia, which begins April 12 in Sapporo, Japan. Bello's last recording with the band will be the live DVD "Music of Mass Destruction," which comes out April 6. The show was recorded in Chicago in December. ... Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and salsa legend Rubén Blades are among the guests on Los Lobos' new album, The Ride, due May 4. Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack, Richard Thompson, Dave Alvin and Café Tacuba also collaborated with the iconic Latin rock band for the project. ...

On Wednesday night, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood premiered his new composition "Smear World" with the London Sinfonietta in Leeds, England. The experimental piece was part of the festival FuseLeeds04, and featured soloists Valerie Hartmann-Claverie and Bruno Perrault on ondes martenots, an instrument similar to the theremin. ... Three well-known bassists from Manchester, England, have united to form a side project that will likely be called Freebase. The group consists of New Order's Peter Hook, the Stone Roses' Mani and the Smiths' Andy Rourke. Hook is also writing new material for the next New Order album. ...

• Nas
• Ludacris
• The Pixies
• Otep
• Blackalicious

Snoop Dogg has recorded an undisclosed new song for the video game "True Crime: Streets of LA," a driving/action game due this fall. The soundtrack also features more than 50 original songs, including one from Westside Connection, as well as previously released material from Ice-T and the D.O.C., among others. ... New songs from Fatboy Slim ("Don't Let the Man Get You Down," which samples the Five Man Electrical Band's 1971 hit "Signs") and the X-ecutioners ("Like This") will be released September 30 on the soundtrack to the snowboarding video game "SSX 3." Previously unreleased remixes of N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star" and Placebo's "Bitter End" are also included, along with Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx tracks. ...

Quincy Jones is reaching out to many hip-hop producers for help on his next album. For the LP, Jones wants the producers to remix one of his classic cuts, and in turn he will rework one of their songs. Jones' spokesperson said it's too early to disclose the album's lineup, but revealed it will be hip-hop heavy. However, a rep for Alicia Keys said she will be involved in the project. ... Although he never made it into orbit, 'NSYNC's Lance Bass has been named as the 2003 Youth Spokesperson for World Space Week, October 4-10, by the Spaceweek International Association. Coinciding with Space Week, the certified cosmonaut is the focus of a contest called "Lance's Lab," in which students design a hypothetical space station for Bass to live in. Winners get the chance to meet Bass at an awards ceremony in early 2004. ...

Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison recorded two tracks with Otep for their next album, tentatively titled Suicide Trees. The group's second album will follow last year's Sevas Tra. ... Staind, Eve 6, Sevendust, Shinedown, Trapt, Socialburn and others will perform at the End of Summer Weenie Roast #9 concert, which is scheduled for October 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

"Here and Now," "Never Too Much" and "Superstar" are among the Luther Vandross hits that will be included on Live at Radio City Music Hall 2003, due October 14. The R&B star, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered in April, recorded the performance on Valentine's Day. ... Details have also surfaced on another anticipated live R&B collection, Raphael Saadiq: All Hits at the House of Blues, due October 14 as well. Saadiq and his 10-piece band recorded the album July 3 in Hollywood, where his Tony Toni Toné bandmates as well as D'Angelo and Devin the Dude made guest appearances. ...

Following the success of the July 30 Toronto concert to battle the fear of SARS, the government of Hong Kong has organized a four-week-long music festival between October 15 and November 9 to try to put an end to the hysteria surrounding the disease. SARS hit the region hard, killing 299 and infecting over 1,700 others. Headliners will include the Rolling Stones, who will play November 7 and 9, Carlos Santana, Craig David and Westlife. ... The inaugural Def Leppard convention, called "Lepcon," will take place in Las Vegas in May. The event will consist of a performance by tribute band Pyromania, raffles, auctions, contests and guest speakers. In addition, a couple whose relationship revolves around Def Leppard will get married at the event. It is too early to tell whether anyone from Def Leppard will be able to attend. Profits will go to the Raven Drum Foundation, which provides free spiritual therapy for those in crisis. ...

New York's DFA Records will release its first 12-inch-singles compilation on September 30. DFA Records Compilation #1 will feature tracks from Black Dice, the Juan Maclean, LCD Soundsystem and a previously unavailable CD track by the Rapture. ... Supporting their sophomore disc, You Forgot It in People, Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene will embark on a 28-date North American tour starting September 18 in Buffalo, New York, and finishing two months later on November 11 in San Diego. Opening the tour on various dates will be Arts & Crafts labelmates Stars and Broken Social Scene guitarist/bassist Jason Collet. ...

Perfecto Presents ... Paul Oakenfold: Great Wall, a double album of remixes, is due September 30. Tracks include Oakenfold's take on Madonna's "Hollywood," along with Björk and Dave Gahan remixes. ... Some Girls, the new project from Juliana Hatfield, her Blake Babies bandmate Freda Love and Heidi Gluck, will launch a monthlong U.S. club tour September 16 in Providence, Rhode Island. The trio are promoting their debut, Feel It, due Tuesday. ... The Juliana Theory are working on material for the follow-up to their major-label debut, Love. The LP is reportedly more in line with their earlier records than their recent prog-rock-driven output. ...

09.03.03

Missy Elliott is nearly done with her as-yet-untitled fifth album, which is due in November. Timbaland is once again on board as a producer. ... Meanwhile, a live version of Elliott's "Work It" will be released October 14 on Sessions@AOL, a compilation of tunes culled from the bi-weekly series on AOL Music and the Fuse television network. Coldplay, Avril Lavigne, Alicia Keys, Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton are also on the album. ...

Nelly shook his tailfeather with the man who invented the remix, so since he and P. Diddy are so chummy, maybe Puffy will make a new beat for one of the pimp-juice-drinking MC's hits. The captain of the St. Lunatics is currently soliciting producers for a remix album, which should contain reworkings of a selection of cuts from his two LPs, Country Grammar and Nellyville, the Tics' group effort, Free City, and Ali's solo debut, Heavy Starch. ... Obie Trice is pulling a Willy Wonka with the release of his debut album, Cheers, due September 23. Three copies of the LP will contain a "golden ticket" that entitles the bearer to chill with Eminem in the studio while he records his next album. ...

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke joined R.E.M. onstage in Vancouver on August 29 for their encore on "E-Bow the Letter" and "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." The next night at the same venue, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe returned the favor by joining Radiohead for an encore of "Karma Police." In addition, R.E.M. dedicated "Orange Crush" to Radiohead, who gifted their own "Lucky" to Stipe and friends. ... Neil Young's 17th annual Bridge School Benefit concert is set for October 25 and 26 at Shoreline Amphitheater outside San Francisco. Pearl Jam, who will be making their sixth appearance at the event, are the only band announced so far. ...

The Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council recently hosted a community get-together called Jam Master Jay Day in the Hollis section of Queens, New York, and now the group says it has the support of Queens councilman Leroy Comrie in its efforts to have 203rd Street named after the slain Run-DMC DJ. They have given up hope of the renaming becoming official by October 30, which is the one-year anniversary of the hip-hop icon's death. Instead, they want to have the change take place by January 21, which is JMJ's birthday. The Youth Council says it will meet with Community Board 12 in Queens in two weeks to further discuss the matter. ...

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has renamed his debut album Come Poop With Me. The comedy album now carries a release date of October 7 and features appearances by Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Horatio Sanz, Subway spokesperson Jared Fogel, members of the "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" house band and Conan himself. ... The Flaming Lips will open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the West Coast leg of their fall tour. The trek begins October 8 in Las Vegas and ends October 21 in Seattle. ...

Following a successful tour with this year's Ozzfest, Marilyn Manson will headline his own North American jaunt starting October 10 in Los Angeles. Dates run through Halloween in Dallas. ... The seventh annual MOBO Awards, an English ceremony to celebrate Music of Black Origin, will take place September 25 at Royal Albert Hall. Nominees include Beyoncé, Ashanti, Justin Timberlake and Kelly Rowland for Best R&B Act and 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Jay-Z and Joe Budden for Best Hip-Hop Act. ...

The Polyphonic Spree will kick off a North American tour September 19 in their hometown of Dallas. The outing, which will feature the Starlight Mints on the first leg and the Sleepy Jackson on the second, ends with a two-night stay November 23 and 24 in San Diego. ... The Special Goodness, Weezer drummer Pat Wilson's side project with former Rocket From the Crypt drummer Atom, are planning to issue their next record through punk staple Epitaph. "We are proud to announce that we've agreed in principle to sign with Epitaph Records," reads a posting on the band's Web site. ...

Crazy Town's last album, Darkhorse, debuted near the bottom of the Billboard albums chart, and now singer Shifty Shellshock has sunk even lower. Shellshock, a.k.a. Seth Binzer, has teamed up with Rick Solomon, who once dated actress Shannen Doherty, and producer Zack Bautzer to release "Beverly Hills Pimps and Ho's," a DVD series that shows some of Hollywood's hottest actresses in compromising positions. ... Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise have set a November 11 release date for their fourth album, Still Lovin' You. "It's more natural sounding with natural instruments and no loops," Bradley said of the music. "I'm trying to get back to the old 1975 vibe. A little country in it, but mostly R&B with a rock flavor." ...

Chris Slusarenko and Superdrag's Sam Powers will sit in with Guided by Voices for the group's upcoming tours of the U.S. and Europe, respectively, following the departure of bassist Tim Tobias, according to a post on GBV's Web site. ... No doubt spurned on by the band's overseas critical acclaim and #1 spot on the albums chart in their U.K. home, Atlantic Records has bumped up the Stateside release of The Darkness' debut album from early next year to later this month. The throwback hard rock band's Permission to Land will now hit U.S. stores on September 16. ...

Echo and the Bunnymen will launch a North American tour on October 23 in Boston. Dates run through November 7 in Anaheim, California. The band will follow the U.S. jaunt with a lengthy world tour. ... Barenaked Ladies' sixth studio album, Everything to Everyone, is due October 21. Members of the Blue Man Group guest on a song on the LP called "Shopping." ...

Ambient experts Enigma will release a new album, Voyageur, on September 30. ... Nü-ish metal band Static-X are inviting fans to show up on Thursday for the shooting of their video for "The Only," the first single from their upcoming album, Shadow Zone, due October 7. The band is seeking 20 males and 20 females 18 years of age or older, and the shoot is taking place at GMT Studios in Culver City, California. ...

• Snoop Dogg
• Alicia Keys
• Quincy Jones
• Staind
• Otep

Clive Davis threw Alicia Keys a birthday party Wednesday at New York's Capitale, in which he toasted her album Songs in A Minor going 10-times platinum. Keys has already started working on her next album, which she expects to be out in October. Describing the new LP, she said, "It's going to be on fire." ...

Audioslave have selected Burning Brides to open their inaugural tour, which kicks off February 21 in Denver. The Philadelphia rock trio are supporting last fall's Fall of the Plastic Empire, which includes the single "Arctic Snow." ...

Suge Knight, the controversial head of Tha Row Records, has assisted the families of two children who were killed in separate incidents on January 20 in Los Angeles. Knight is helping the family of 7-year-old Horace Ray Ferguson, who was shot in his grandmother's yard, relocate from Compton to a safer area; and the family of 2-year-old Osvaldo Martinez, who was shot point-blank while eating at a Burger King with his mother, to pay for his funeral. ...

Bruce Springsteen will show 'em who's boss when he and his E Street Band perform on their first television special on February 28. The show, titled "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," is expected to feature cuts from their Grammy-nominated album The Rising and favorites such as "Darkness on the Edge of Town," and will be broadcast on CBS. ... First football, then basketball, and now Bon Jovi will represent for all the rowdy golf fans in the house. The band and tourmates Goo Goo Dolls will co-headline Tiger Woods' sixth annual Tiger Jam benefit concert, which takes place April 19 at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center. ...

Elliott Smith fans in New York got a treat Wednesday night when the singer/songwriter played a free acoustic show in the basement level of the East Village bar Lit. Smith's show, a poorly kept secret, filled the club to capacity for the hour-and-a-half set, which mostly comprised new material ... Before there was a "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," even before there was a Gen X, there was Generation X, Billy Idol's original punk band. For fans and those requiring a crash course in vital Idol (who was known then as William Broad), the three-disc Generation X Anthology is set for release April 8 and includes singles, B-sides, live tracks and the previously unreleased Sweet Revenge LP, among other rare gems. ...

Prog metalheads Otep have lined up a one-month club tour to support the band's latest album, Sevas Tra. The trek begins February 12 in Los Angeles and confirmed dates run through February 21 in New York. Additions are expected. ... Ministry have recruited Mike Scaccia to perform with them on the upcoming tour for their new album, Animositisomina. Scaccia, who has played with the band before, will still reunite with his former thrash metal group Rigor Mortis, it just won't happen as soon as originally planned. Scaccia hopes to work on new Rigor Mortis material on the road and hook up with his ex-bandmates between legs of the Ministry tour. Rigor Mortis' debut LP will be re-released in March. ...

01.29.03

Pink is returning to the studio the first week of February to begin recording the follow-up to 2001's hit Missundaztood. The singer's spokesperson could not confirm what producers Pink will be working with, but said she will also be recording the title track for the new "Charlie's Angels" movie, which will hit radio and video outlets in May. The film, which features a Pink cameo, is due in June. ...

Simple Plan have been tapped to open all the dates of fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne's Try to Shut Me Up! Tour. The band continues to support its debut album, No Pads, No Helmets ... Just Balls, which is nearing sales of a quarter million copies, and hopes to be wearing its game face throughout the tour, which begins April 9 in Toronto and wraps May 17 in Philadelphia. ... The Library of Congress has selected Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's 1982 hip-hop classic "The Message" to be among the first 50 sound recordings to be entered into the national registry. The registry, created to preserve important recordings, also includes Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's radio "Fireside Chats" and Aretha Franklin's "Respect." ...

Pete Yorn has set an April 22 release date for Day I Forgot, the follow-up to 2001's Musicforthemorningafter. R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and Elvis Presley's backing vocalists the Sweet Inspirations have participated in Yorn's recording sessions with producer R. Walt Vincent. ... Despite the departure of co-founder John Davis a year after releasing 1999's One Part Lullaby, Folk Implosion, best known for their 1995 hit single "Natural One," have returned with The New Folk Implosion, so named for the two new members surrounding ex-Dinosaur Jr. bassist/ Sebadoh frontman Lou Barlow. The band's first tour in two years kicks off February 27 in San Francisco and runs through April 9 in Los Angeles. ...

The City of Detroit has selected techno pioneers Carl Craig, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson to produce this year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival rather than Pop Culture Media, which has produced the festival since its inception in 2000. Like previous years, the DEMF will be held during Memorial Day weekend. ... Moody and intense instrumental trio the Dirty Three are set to embark on a North American tour April 3 in Champaign, Illinois, in support of their sixth studio album, She Has No Strings Apollo. More than two dozen dates later, the trek winds down May 5 in Vancouver. ... Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins seems to be feeling a little less clairvoyant than he was last year. He's changed the name of the band's upcoming disc from Crystal Baller to Out of the Vein. The album is currently scheduled to hit shelves April 29. ...

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Otep Shamaya
Photo: Robert Mancini

Alchemical stews, Marxism, Nietzsche, the puritanical elite, the history of Sapphic poetry, Egyptian mysticism, ancient Roman graffiti and the patriarchal slant of children's toys.

A list of topics in a college course, perhaps? Nope.

Just a few highlights of a conversation with the leader of a frighteningly heavy (mental) band currently slaying 'em on Ozzfest. Don't worry, Ozzy hasn't gone all Ivy League on you, and Rob Zombie isn't trading in his shrunken heads for pointy ones.

Her stage name is Otep Shamaya, and if you believe what this scarily well read, demonic-voiced shredder proclaims, the end is nigh ... and her group, also called Otep, is the house band of the coming apocalypse.

"We have a unique message, a unique vision, and we communicate it in a way that people are hungry for. It's something authentic, something sacred. It's the sweet disease of empowerment," said singer/lyricist Otep (an anagram of "poet"), who would only give her age as "five lifetimes old."

With imagery and lyrics that make Marilyn Manson seem like Disney fare, Otep's recently released full-length debut, Sevas Tra — again with the anagrams, this time "Art Saves" — is a harrowing series of literate, intensely personal poems delivered in Otep's signature animalistic growl. That rumbling voice, used in a way typically associated with grindcore or death metal bands, is one of the few things that Otep has in common with her Ozzfest brethren.

Invited to join last year's Ozzfest as an unsigned, unrecorded act after Sharon Osbourne saw the group perform a club show, Otep honed their sound on last year's Jihad EP before being asked to join Ozzfest again this year. The only female-fronted act on the bill has drawn attention not just because its lead singer is an anomaly on the testosterone-heavy fest.

Otep said she thinks fans are feeling a visceral connection to such mythology-inspired tales of abuse as "Emtee" ("Eye remember/ Feeling the sting of childhood and injections/ Holy bruises") and the harrowing show-stopper "Jonestown Tea."

That song, a slow-building, morbid, spoken word tale about rape, murder, incest and the failure of organized religion was inspired by growing up in what the singer described as a "magnetic tar pit of negativity." Though she refuses to reveal where she was raised, Otep said the poverty and violence of her background gave her two choices: "I could either destroy myself," she said, "or the world around me. I came up with this new form of mental alchemy where I transformed these negative aspects of my life into something golden."

That alchemy — in the form of her cathartic poetry and rebel yell — is perfected in the group's mix of minor-key metal, grinding hardcore hip-hop and thrash poetry on such Sevas Tra tracks as "My Confession," "Sacrilege" and the anthem of the group's followers, dubbed Shadow Soldiers, the apocalyptic metal-hop anthem "Battle Ready."

In the latter, Otep takes on organized religion from a typically unique perspective. "Shaking up the world," she yells, "Just like the second coming of Christ/ When eye write/ Thrice divine with the goddess sight."

So, does Otep have a Christ complex? "There was a prophet who thought that if there was going to be a new messiah that it would be a woman and she'd be a Scorpio," Otep said, disappointed in herself for forgetting the prophet's name. "Well, I'm a triple Scorpio, but it's not a Christ complex, because organized religion is a lie."

While poetry and metal are not typical bedfellows, Otep's passion has clearly had a profound effect on some of her fans. In the "Poet Tree" section of the group's Web site, hundreds of poems with titles such as "Reflecting Scars," "Remedelighted," "Fragile Mind" and "Glass Heart" have been posted by the group's followers, further proof to Otep that, no matter how hard the medium, art communicates.

"I don't think the essence of the poetry is lost [in our delivery]," Otep said. "The 'Art of War' teaches you to destroy your enemy from within. We give them something no one else can, and that's something intellectual, poetic, a real thing that is also brutally savage. Our message is being communicated because the music is so powerful, because there's no other band that plays heavier than we do, and if they do, they're in for a run for their money. And there's the brutality of what I can do with my voice."

Not one to back down from a challenge, and undaunted by being one of the few women performing this kind of music, Otep then went on to call out Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Korn's Jonathan Davis and the singers of Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death. "Put them up against what I can do and see how they measure up octave-by-octave and how low they can go," she said. "Then let's go to the intelligence meter and see how far up the scale someone like Incubus rise poetically."

The gauntlet thrown down, Otep said it isn't about a competition, but, rather, a connection. "Just yesterday, this girl came up to me in tears, shaking, and thanked me for writing 'Jonestown Tea,' " she said. "When people tell me they're reading books because of what I've been singing about, I'm almost in tears because I'm so touched. We're building an underground army where each person is their own regiment. It will grow out of control."

• Otep

Ozzfest at the CTNOW.com Meadows Music Centre in Hartford, CT 07.10.2004

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