Michael Jackson (file)
Photo: Getty Images

In the wake of his client's across-the-board acquittal on Monday, Michael Jackson's lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., spoke on Tuesday (June 14) to NBC's "Today" and said the pop star will no longer share his bed with young boys. "He's not going to do that anymore," the silver-haired lawyer said. "He's not going to make himself vulnerable to this anymore."...

This weekend, Green Day will perform before 60,000 screaming fans at the Milton Keynes Bowl, in (duh) Milton Keynes, England. In order to preserve the two-night stand for punk posterity, they're making a live film — and you can help. The company producing the film, Ridley Scott Associates Films, is asking for fans attending either night's show to send in photos and videos of themselves explaining why they love Green Day to greenday@rsafilms.co.uk. Who knows, you could end up appearing in "Green Day Live at Milton Keynes," which will be available on DVD later this year. ... Primus have been added to the lineup of this summer's weekend-long Lollapalooza concert in Chicago (July 23-24). The addition was announced Tuesday afternoon by concert founder Perry Farrell during a telephone press conference. At one point, Farrell was asked what plans he has for his former band Jane's Addiction. His response? "When the sky rains money is when we're getting back together." ...

Since the release of Medulla last summer, Björk has been busy recording music for the soundtrack to "Drawing Restraint 9," which, according to her Web site, is "a visual artwork in film form made by Matthew Barney," the father of the vocalist's child. The film, which also features Björk's acting talents, tells a tale of "tea ceremonies, Vaseline, a shinto marriage and of course, the old classic whale-shapeshifting ending." The soundtrack, which hits stores July 25, will include the tracks "Gratitude," "Holographic Entrypoint" and "Antarctic Return." ... Tori Amos has lined up 26 dates for her North American Summer of Sin Tour, which kicks off August 8 in Atlanta and wraps up September 17 in Los Angeles. ...

Longhaired Louisville, Kentucky, rockers My Morning Jacket have finished recording their second album for Dave Matthews' ATO label, called simply Z. The LP features 10 tracks, with titles like "Wordless Chorus," "Gideon" and "Dondante." It was recorded in upstate New York by Radiohead and Stone Roses producer John Leckie and is due in stores on September 20. ... While they've been lauded by the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub and other Scottish indie rockers, Orange Juice remain relatively unknown in North America. Fronted by Edwyn Collins (known for his 1995 hit "A Girl Like You"), the seminal Scottish twee rockers may finally receive some Stateside notice with The Glasgow School, a compilation of their out-of-print material. Due July 26 on Domino, the deluxe 22-song package contains nine early singles released on Postcard Records, two unreleased rarities and the group's aborted first album, Ostrich Churchyard. ... Eighties staples the Violent Femmes will release a greatest-hits album on July 12, Permanent Record: The Very Best of Violent Femmes. The disc will also come with a DVD, which will feature the group's complete videography as well as live footage. ...

06.13.2005

While 50 Cent never pursued a college degree, that doesn't mean he wants his fans to follow in his footsteps. In fact, 50 would rather see young people further their education, and to that end, he's awarding 10 scholarships — together totaling more than $31,000 — to Bayside, New York's Queensborough Community College. Eight students from 50's alma matter, now called Campus Magnet High Schools, and one student each from nearby Springfield Gardens and Hillcrest High Schools will win the scholarships, being offered through 50's G-Unity Foundation. Students don't need the best of grades, either — all it takes is a C, or 70, average. Interested students have been asked to submit 500-word essays and two teacher recommendations by the June 24 deadline. The winners will be announced on July 15. ...

Bobby Brown joined his old group, New Edition, onstage for a special performance of "Mr. Telephone Man" Friday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. During the concert, which also featured Gerald LeVert and headliner Brian McKnight, special guest Brown told the audience that if he only had 10 more minutes of performance time, he would tear their collective "asses" up. Later in the night, Brown tried to sneak in a couple more minutes. He came out — uninvited — during McKnight's set and took the mic out of McKnight's hands and began singing. Brown was escorted offstage shortly after, and McKnight finished up his set without further incident. ... Hilary Duff is planning to shoot a video in Toronto for her track "Wake Up," which she worked on with Good Charlotte's Joel and Benji Madden. Marc Webb — who helmed both the "Helena" and "The Ghost of You" videos for My Chemical Romance — has signed on to direct. ...

On Friday, a week after a Los Angeles Times story questioned a conspiracy theory in the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G. that was reportedly based on questionable information from a mentally ill informant, Biggie's family dropped two people from their wrongful-death civil suit — former LAPD officer David Mack and accused gunman Amir Muhammad. According to The Associated Press, the City of Los Angeles remains the sole defendant in the case. ... The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (June 13) refused to consider whether the 1992 Beastie Boys classic "Pass the Mic" infringed on the copyright of jazz flutist James W. Newton's "Choir," according to The Associated Press. Newton filed suit against the group more than five years ago, claiming the rappers sampled his song without his full permission. While the Boys did pay a licensing fee for the six-second sample, they never paid additional fees to license the underlying composition. In its ruling, the court explained that the short song portion in "Pass the Mic" was not "distinctive enough to be considered Newton's work." ...

The rift between over-the-top Brit rockers the Darkness and mustachioed former bassist Frankie Poullain appears to have gotten larger. Last week, Poullain told reporters in the U.K. that he had not left the band, but rather that he was fired. On Monday the band fired back, releasing a statement saying all the bass tracks on its upcoming album are being recorded by guitarist Dan Hawkins, because Poullain "had yet to participate in the recording of the album when his exit from the band was announced, so no re-recording of bass parts will be necessary." The Darkness also announced on their Web site, TheDarknessRock.com, that going forward, former touring guitar tech Richie Edwards will be assuming Poullain's role in the band. ... Cave In's forthcoming album Perfect Pitch Black will hit stores on September 13 through Hydra Head Records — the band's original label home. The disc will feature a total of nine tracks, including "World Is in Your Way," "Ataraxia," "Screaming in Your Sleep" and "Tension in the Ranks." ...

Kevin "Beez" Beesley-Hammond, bassist for garage-punk band the Smugglers, suffered a heart attack last week after playing in a hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia. Beesley-Hammond was rushed to a local hospital, where an angiograph showed he had a "100 percent blockage" to one of his arteries, according to the band's Web site. He underwent surgery to remove the blockage and a stent was inserted to keep the artery open. Doctors expect he'll make a full recovery. ... Swedish fuzz-pop band the Concretes, whose song "Say Something New" is currently featured in a series of Target ads, are releasing a collection of rare singles and B-sides called Layourbattleaxedown. A cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" is included in the set, which hits stores July 26. ...

• Michael Jackson
• Green Day
• Primus
• Tori Amos
• Jane's Addiction

Photo: Elektra

• Robert Randolph & The Family Band
• The Roots
• Phish
• moe.
• Medeski Martin & Wood

Don't fret, devastated John Stevens fans, you can see your favorite polite redhead again this summer, in the flesh no less. All 12 "American Idol" finalists will hit the road for a 48-date tour beginning July 14 in Salt Lake City. Tickets for the outing, which wraps September 26 in San Jose, California, go on sale May 22. ...

Celia Cruz kept shining Thursday night at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. The deceased legend was nominated in seven categories and won three awards, as did Ricky Martin. William Hung's muse's nods included Top Male Latin Pop Album for Almas del Silencio. ...

Cats, dogs and a variety of wildlife walk, talk and frolic around Incubus in their new video for "Talk Show on Mute," the second single from their latest album, A Crow Left of the Murder. A first glimpse of the clip, which was directed by Floria Sigismondi earlier this month, is available on the band's Web site, www.enjoyincubus.com. ... The idyllic Malibu, California, rented home studio used to record Incubus' 2001 LP, Morning View, will soon house the Deftones as they create their follow-up to last year's self-titled effort. The bandmembers have spent the last few months writing their fifth album in their hometown of Sacramento, California. ...

Michael Jackson wasn't the only celeb in trouble having a second arraignment on Friday. Courtney Love appeared in a Beverly Hills, California, courtroom to enter a plea — for the second time — to felony drug-possession charges. This time, as last time, she pleaded not guilty. She's due back in court on June 4 for a pretrial hearing. ... Meanwhile, her alter-ego Japanese anime character, Princess Ai, will have her first adventure come July 6. Love's character, a royal princess from a magical kingdom caught in modern-day Tokyo, is featured in the first of a series of gothic shojo comic books, now available for preorder at http://store.comicfusion.net. ...

What better way for fans to prepare for this summer's Vans Warped Tour than by remembering the good times of last year's trek? Featuring backstage interviews and performances from Rancid, Pennywise, Sum 41, Simple Plan and others, the "Vans Warped Tour '03" DVD, boasting Dolby 5.1 digital sound, is scheduled for release June 22, three days before this year's tour kicks off in Houston. ... Revolutions, the latest album by the X-ecutioners, has been rolled back two weeks to a June 8 release. The group will hit the road to support their fourth album, which features such guests as Rob Zombie and Fat Joe, beginning June 2 in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" must be playing somewhere in the Primus camp. After reuniting for a fall tour that carried over through spring, original members Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim "Herb" Alexander have extended their tour through June 26 in Chicago. Beginning May 29 in Irvine, California, the new leg, dubbed the Hallucino Genetics Tour, will feature a complete rendition of 1990's Frizzle Fry following a conventional set. The left-field trio's last outing, the Tour De Fromage, included a performance of 1991's Sailing the Seas of Cheese. ...

04.29.2004

Jessica Simpson will sing the national anthem at this year's Indianapolis 500, which takes place on May 30. ... Just a few days after Hilary Duff announced plans for her upcoming tour, the teenage pop star added a few more dates to her summer trek. Following a couple of newly announced performances in Los Angeles, May 15 at KIIS-FM's Wango Tango show and May 16's benefit concert for Radio Disney, Duff spliced in a pair of shows in the Tri-State Area. On July 25, she'll be in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while on the following day, Duff travels to Uniondale, New York, for a show at Nassau Coliseum. ...

The White Stripes' Jack White and country legend Loretta Lynn will be making the promotional rounds together on the heels of the release of Lynn's new album, Van Lear Rose, which dropped Tuesday. The pair are scheduled to perform their duet "Portland, Oregon" on the "Late Show With David Letterman" on Monday, followed by appearances on the "Today" show and "Larry King Live." White produced, arranged and plays multiple instruments on Lynn's latest album. ... Kiss' blood-spitting bassist, Gene Simmons, will release his version of the Prodigy's 1997 hit "Firestarter" as the first single from his second solo album, A--hole, which comes out June 8. Directors Mark Klasfeld and Tony Perossian shot a video for the song on Sunday in Los Angeles. On Friday and again on May 7, Simmons will guest star as a vengeful father on NBC's "Third Watch." ...

The Beastie Boys are planning to write an anthology book. To be released in October, "Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science" chronicles the creation of "Fight for Your Right," "Hey Ladies," "So What'cha Want," "Sure Shot," "Intergalactic" and more, with photographs taken by Spike Jonze, Danny Clinch and others. The book comes with two CDs of their hits and B-sides. ... Seven albums and 122 tracks of Beastie Boys music was made available to the iTunes music store this week, coinciding with the digital release of the trio's new single, "Ch-Ch-Check It Out." The music in the store also includes 21 exclusive non-album mixes of Beasties songs. ... To celebrate the first anniversary of iTunes, which has sold more than 70 million songs so far, Apple has given its online music store some new features. The service's third generation now features radio charts from more than 1,000 radio stations, on-demand music videos, movie trailers, and the ability to play songs on up to five personal computers. Previously, users could only transfer songs to three computers. ...

The forthcoming book "Fool the World: An Oral History of the Pixies" started out as a project by a playwright who wanted to make a musical out of the alternative rock band's history, and though the book project ultimately came to fruition first, the play is still forthcoming. Author Josh Frank said the musical will premiere in New York in September. "It actually would have been better if they had not reunited," Frank said. "It's harder to produce a musical about rock history when it suddenly becomes the present again. That doesn't happen much! It's an interesting artistic problem." ... White Trash Beautiful, the fourth solo album from Everlast, is due May 25. The LP follows the former House of Pain rapper's last LP, 2000's Eat at Whitey's. ...

Before he joins Lollapalooza, Danger Mouse, the producer behind The Grey Album, is hitting the road for a six-week tour that kicks off this weekend at Coachella and wraps up in June at the Bonnaroo Festival. Danger Mouse and his rhyme partner, Jemini, will also be joined by Money Mark on the tour. ... After talking about it for months, the Dandy Warhols' The Black Album is finally available on the band's Web site. The 11-track LP was supposed to follow the group's 1995 debut, Dandy's Rule OK?, but had been shelved until now. ... Two live offerings are available on the Web site of Mondo Generator, which features ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri. The album Live at the LA Troubadour and Live at Cain's in San Diego and DVD "Live in the U.S. and Europe" will set you back $14 and $22, respectively. ...

• Incubus
• Courtney Love
• Deftones
• Ricky Martin
• Primus

Peter Gabriel from his "Sledgehammer" video
Photo: Geffen

It's hard not to smile when you see the White Stripes cast in Lego and jamming away in the video for "Fell in Love With a Girl." Will the whimsical Michel Gondry video, nominated for Breakthrough Video at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, go on to be considered one of the most innovative and influential in music video history?

If you're thinking stop-motion-animated children's toys aren't significant enough to inspire future generations, keep in mind that dancing chickens and singing fruit were among the striking images that made Peter Gabriel's 1986 video for "Sledgehammer" so legendary.

The concept that directors Stephen R. Johnson, the Brothers Quay and Nick Park ("Wallace & Gromit") executed with "Sledgehammer," which went on to win nine VMAs (including Breakthrough Video), paved the way for videos such as Primus' "Sailing the Seas of Cheese" and Tool's "Prison Sex."

"It felt pretty exciting at the time, I must admit," said Gabriel of the video, which also featured the singer's head being circled by a train and bashed with hammers. "I think Stephen and myself were determined to get something that was a bit groundbreaking, and we were extremely lucky to be able to pull in the Brothers Quay. There was a team thing about that which was really fun and exciting, so it was easy to explore lots of different ideas."

As jaw-dropping as it was at the time, music videos have evolved considerably since "Sledgehammer" was a staple of MTV's daily playlist. While time and creativity have turned techniques such as rapid-fire edits, unearthly morphing and explosions worthy of the next "Star Wars" into commonplace elements of video's vernacular, they were all, at one point, considered groundbreaking.

Indeed, had Weezer not been transported to the set of "Happy Days" in the irony-drenched, Spike Jonze-directed clip for "Buddy Holly" (1995's Breakthrough Video), Foo Fighters might not have imitated a Mentos commercial in "Big Me." And if the Smashing Pumpkins hadn't made their own version of the 1902 film "A Trip to the Moon" with "Tonight, Tonight" (1996's Breakthrough Video), 'NSYNC might never have emulated a Charlie Chaplin movie in the beginning of their video for "Gone."

When MTV first hit the air on August 1, 1981, with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," there was little indication that music videos would eventually feature Lego rock bands, a breakdancer with a giant nose for a head (the Crystal Method's "Name of the Game") or a dude stepping into a puddle and falling through the sidewalk (Maxwell's "This Woman's Work"). Those clips are all nominees for the 2002 Breakthrough Video, as are Coldplay's animated "Trouble," DMX's stark, caption-heavy "Who We Be" and Cake's novel "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," in which a seemingly random assemblage of people listens to the song on headphones and offers criticism.

Breakthrough Video winners have mostly been influential in one of two ways. Either they spawned new camera, editing or effect techniques that altered the look and feel of the video landscape, or they offered visual icons and thematic elements that were borrowed by other directors down the line.

Some Breakthrough Videos have directly inspired other media, including film. Richard Linklater's 2001 film "Waking Life" uses rotoscopic animation techniques reminiscent of those in A-Ha's 1985 video for "Take on Me." And in Joel and Ethan Coen's 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," many of the backgrounds were treated in post-production with a glazey sheen not dissimilar to the silvery desert shots in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1992 Breakthrough Video, "Give It Away." Hollywood isn't the only entity to exploit new mediums — elements from Breakthrough Videos frequently surface in television commercials.

"In the five years following [the "Sledgehammer" video], I saw a lot of advertisements that seemed influenced by what we had done," Gabriel said. "The companies are amazingly cheeky sometimes, because the ad agencies will just ask you to send copies of your work, then they rip off all the ideas and never pay you a penny. But then, that's the business."

The first VMA celebration in 1984 awarded its inaugural Breakthrough Video distinction, then called Experimental Video, to Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," which was directed by Godley & Creme. The video depicted robots carrying out pedestrian tasks, while much of the footage jerks back and forth in tandem with the scratching in the song. Elements of that editing style later surfaced in clips for Orbital's "The Box," Roni Size/ Reprazent's "Brown Paper Bag" and Swizz Beatz' "Guilty," and they're echoed in the dance routine from Daft Punk's "Around the World."

If "Rockit" raised the bar for the art of music videos, MTV's Experimental Video for 1985, Art of Noise's "Close (To the Edit)," set a new standard both conceptually and stylistically. The clip, directed by Polish avant-garde filmmaker Zbigniew Rybczynski, features long, single-edit shots of a little punk girl guiding three men in laying waste to musical instruments, such as demolishing a piano with a buzzsaw, a chainsaw and a power drill. Much of the footage is sped up and jittery, and the visuals are stark and industrial.

This creepy vibe lives on in clips such as Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People." The Prodigy have said that their video for "Firestarter" was influenced by "Close (To the Edit)," and Faith No More might have raised a glass to Rybczynski when they detonated a piano at the end of their video for "Epic."

The success of "Rockit" and "Close (To the Edit)" helped open the door for experimentation in mainstream music videos, but the vid for A-Ha's "Take On Me," the 1986 Moonman winner, was probably as influential as "Sledgehammer." The piece features a girl who steps into a comic book and is swept into another world where she falls in love with the cartoon hero. The Rotoscopic animation created a conduit for filmed characters to enter an animated environment, and vice versa. Incubus' "Drive," Limp Bizkit's "Boiler" and U2's "Elevation" have employed similar devices.

"['Take on Me'] was one of the first super, super creative videos," said director Francis Lawrence, who lensed P.O.D.'s "Alive" as well as videos by Nelly Furtado, Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child and loads of others. "It almost created the music video genre by incorporating performance into a little story with a gimmick."

The concept took a quantum leap 14 years later when Chris Cunningham took advantage of tremendous advances in digital technology to create Björk's "All Is Full of Love," one of the most stunning sci-fi videos to date. The video depicts the singer as an assembly line robot who falls in love with another female robot. But what's most remarkable are the digital effects, which convert the singer into a lifelike mechanical being.

"In my opinion, it's the most flawless video ever made," said Nathan "Karma" Cox, who co-directed Linkin Park's "In the End." "I remember watching that video and wanting to hang up my hat and get a job at a gas station. I watched it over and over and tried to figure out what was digital and what wasn't."

A similar style of digital wizardry was employed by Linkin Park DJ Joseph Hahn in the band's video for the "Points of Authority" remix. Its influence can also be seen in Basement Jaxx' "Where's Your Head At?" and even Backstreet Boys' "Larger Than Life."

Any modern music video that incorporates beautiful, reverent imagery owes a nod to R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," which was named 1991's Breakthrough Video. The provocative clip, which was directed by Tarsem Singh, depicts singer Michael Stipe as a wounded angel and is filled with lingering shots of painterly tableaux. (Singh later used some of the same techniques in his movie "The Cell.") Metallica's "Unforgiven," Stone Temple Pilots' "Sour Girl" and the intro and outro to No Doubt's "Don't Speak" refer back to "Losing My Religion."

"The portrait work in that was just amazing," said director Cox. "It felt like a work of art instead of a video. It had ascended from pop art into high art of some sort."

Also approaching high art is director Stephane Sednaoui's video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give It Away," which won a Breakthrough Video Moonman in 1992. Set in the desert, the video conveys the Peppers' colorful quirkiness in black and white as they gyrate away in gilded body paint and satyric makeup, using cinematic techniques reminiscent of '60s underground movies. Later videos that put artists in alien, arty environments include No Doubt's "Hella Good," Busta Rhymes' "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and Garbage's "Queer."

When this year's Breakthrough Video envelope is opened and the winner is announced, the victor — whether it includes Lego, a big nose, animated birds, a puddle jumper, spiraling words or amateur music critics — will surely be reflected in clips for years to come (click for the complete list of 2002 VMA Nominees).

• The White Stripes
• Peter Gabriel
• Primus
• Weezer
• The Crystal Method

Photo: Universal

As Primus' frontman, Les Claypool spent more than a decade concocting contorted musical passages and bizarre imagery to please no one but himself. In 1999, however, as his band prepared to craft Antipop, its eighth album, the bassist/vocalist found himself catering to his eclectic audience by writing what he thought they wanted to hear.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot," he admitted over the phone from his San Francisco home. "That record was the least successful one we did. It was still a great record, but it wasn't something we made simply for ourselves."

Now separated, at least temporarily, from his Primus bandmates, Claypool is diving back into selfish, improvisational songcraft with Oysterhead, the old-fashioned supergroup he formed with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Police drummer Stewart Copeland. The band's debut, The Grand Pecking Order, is a remarkably fresh-sounding disc combining each member's talents without sounding like a mishmash of their former bands.

"Our prime focus was to not bring anything preconceived to the table," Anastasio recalled. "I was excited to go into the studio and see what our blend of personalities would result in. We kind of wrote the songs on the fly, but we consciously wanted a soup instead of three appetizers."

Surreal and groovin', though less willfully weird than Primus or as jammy as Phish, Oysterhead cultivate vibrant, uncommercial music that fuses aspects of rock, funk jazz and psychedelia. "Little Faces," Pecking Order's lead track, opens with sonar beeps over a staggered marching beat, then morphs into waves of tumescent bass, funky wah-wah guitar squiggles and arguably nonsensical lyrics. Then it gets really strange. "Army's on Ecstasy" is an upbeat ditty with cartoony vocals (concerning a dosed military) and wiggy blues guitar. And the first single, "Mr. Oysterhead," sprawls and undulates to a galactic rhythm, sturdy beat and alluring array of guitar lines.

Oysterhead formed in May, when Claypool was invited by Superfly Productions in New Orleans to assemble a band for the production company's annual Jazz and Heritage Festival Superjam. He asked Anastasio, whom he knew from the jam scene, if he was interested in joining forces. After brainstorming about who would be their ideal drummer, Anastasio suggested Copeland.

"I threw his name out there half-jokingly," the guitarist recalled. "I really think he's the most important drummer in rock after John Bonham. I was a huge Police fan in high school. It turned out he had produced a track for Primus, so Les called him and he wanted to do it."

The trio convened in New Orleans, wrote seven songs in three days, then played a 3,000-seat theater in front of an audience that included director Francis Ford Coppola and "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. The show was intended to be a once-in-a-lifetime convergence, but the vibe was so strong, Oysterhead decided to write a full album.

"We recorded the show," recalled Claypool, "and Stewart was all hot to release it. I thought it was good, but the performance was kind of rough. I knew it could be so much better because I knew we had this amazing chemistry."

Claypool's instincts didn't fail him. Although there were a few ego conflicts at first, since all three bandmembers were used to steering their own ships, the music soon fell together and the band started vibing magically off each other.

"I've never had a situation where I'm writing lyrics with somebody and we're completing each other's sentences," Claypool said. "It was amazing."

"It was all about throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what stuck. But it wasn't just a lot of jamming," Anastasio added. "It was team songwriting, very collaborative."

Oysterhead begin a national tour in support of The Grand Pecking Order on October 21 in Seattle. The trek ends in Gainesville, Florida, on November 18. After that, Claypool will return to the drawing room to work on new songs for another band, Les Claypool and the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Copeland will return to producing other bands and creating film soundtracks and Anastasio will work on a variety of different musical projects he's not yet willing to discuss.

"We may go out again as Oysterhead next spring or summer," Claypool said. "It depends on how much fun we have. One of the great things about this band is we all still have our day jobs, so we don't need to hammer it into the ground."

• Oysterhead
• Primus
• Phish
• The Police

Junior Brown
Photo: Senor McGuire

The growing jamband scene's stars — Phish, the Allman Brothers Band, Ratdog and Widespread Panic — will be off jamming elsewhere when the winners of the second annual Jammy Awards are announced June 28 at Roseland Ballroom in New York. Event organizers have nevertheless lined up an eclectic group of performers for the celebration.

The Derek Trucks Band will serve as the event's house combo.

Primus' Les Claypool, Junior Brown, Spearhead's Michael Franti, the Tom Tom Club, Stanley Jordan, Soulive, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Del McCoury, Col. Bruce Hampton, the Disco Biscuits, DJ Logic, Steve Kimock, Talib Kweli and the Jazz Mandolin Project will mostly perform cover versions drawn from the improvised-music tradition. The Tom Tom Club and Franti have so far agreed to play something by Bob Marley together. Soulive, DJ Logic and Ndegeocello will also perform together at some point. The Jammys were conceived in 2000 by Jambands.com editor-in-chief Dean Budnick and Wetlands Preserve club owner Peter Shapiro. Voting for this year's winners is underway at Jambands.com and relix.com.

Jammy Awards nominees: Jam of the Year

spreadnet.org

Related Artists

• Meshell Ndegeocello
• Primus
• Junior Brown
• Tom Tom Club
• Stanley Jordan

]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1444315/20010606/ndegeocello_me_shell.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1444315/20010606/ndegeocello_me_shell.jhtml 6 Jun 2001 08:38:00 EDT Series of Primus live recordings on bassist's Prawn Song label also in works.
By Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen

Les Claypool
Photo: Interscope

Just because Primus is on hiatus doesn't mean Les Claypool is taking any time off.

In addition to polishing off the first release from Oysterhead — his band with former Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio — the bassist and singer is prepping his Frog Brigade for a summer tour, according to his publicist.

Frog Brigade, which released the concert disc Live Frogs — Set 1 on April 10, will join this year's Gathering of the Vibes on June 29. Other performers at the three-day festival include Bruce Hornsby, Soulive and Tom Tom Club. The band will then play a series of dates with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

Live Frogs — Set 1 features an eclectic mix of tunes from various Claypool projects, including Sausage's "Riddles Are Abound Tonight" and Holy Mackerel's "Running the Gauntlet," and covers including Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet." A second album, predictably titled Live Frogs — Set 2, features the band's version of the entire Pink Floyd Animals album.

Claypool also plans to release a series of Primus live recordings on his Prawn Song label.

Les Claypool's Frog Brigade tour dates, according to the band's publicist:

• 6/16 - Port Orford, OR @ Family Affaire Festival
• 6/29 - Red Hook, NY @ Gathering of the Vibes
• 7/1 - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre (with Phil Lesh)
• 7/6 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with Phil Lesh)
• 7/13 - Somerset, WI @ Float-Rite Park Amphitheatre (with String Cheese Incident)
• 7/14 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre (with Phil Lesh and String Cheese Incident)
• 7/24 - Canandaigua, NY @ Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center (with Phil Lesh)
• 7/27 - Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center (with Phil Lesh)
• 7/31 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion (with Phil Lesh)

Related Artists

• Les Claypool
• Primus

]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1443487/20010509/les_claypool.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1443487/20010509/les_claypool.jhtml 9 May 2001 10:07:00 EDT Les Claypool, Trey Anastasio, Stewart Copeland take single-show legacy into studio.
By Corey Moss

Les Claypool
Photo: Josephine Close

Oysterhead, the supergroup consisting of Primus bassist Les Claypool, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio that have played only one full show together, are emerging from their collective shell to record their first album. The trio is entering Anastasio's Vermont studio, the Barn, on Sunday (April 1) to write and record an album of original material, a spokesperson for Claypool said. Oysterhead are scheduled to record through May and will release the album in the fall on Elektra Records. Copeland formed Oysterhead for last May's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. "The New Orleans show was an incredible experience," Claypool said in a statement. "We sold out 3,000 seats in 12 minutes. Tickets on eBay were going for $2,000 a piece. Francis Ford Coppola was sitting on the side of the stage. It was just an insane scene." Claypool's other side project, Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, will release Live Frogs — Set 1 on April 10 on the bassist's own Prawn Song label. Live Frogs — Set 2, which features the band's rendition of Pink Floyd's entire Animals, which they performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last year, will be released this summer. The Brigade includes guitarist Todd Huth (Primus/Sausage), drummer Jay Lane (Rat Dog/Sausage), saxophonist Skerik (Critters Buggin', Tuatara), keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (Rat Dog) and San Francisco guitarist Eenor.

Related Artists

• Oysterhead
• Primus
• The Police
• Phish

]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1442360/20010330/oysterhead.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1442360/20010330/oysterhead.jhtml 30 Mar 2001 05:18:00 EST Widespread Panic's Dave Schools takes on bass duties for outing, band's first since Allen Woody's death.
By Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen

Allen Woody, left, Warren Haynes and Matt Abts  
Photo: Danny Clinch

Blues-rockers Gov't Mule will hit the road later this month for their first tour since the death of bassist Allen Woody last year.

Widespread Panic's Dave Schools will hold down the bass end, though no permanent replacement for Woody has been chosen, according to a statement from the Gov't Mule's publicist. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who's played with the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers, will join guitarist Warren Haynes and drummer Matt Abts on the 12-date tour of the southern United States.

The band laid down basic tracks for its next album in California in January. Tracks include "Greasy Granny's Gopher Gravy," co-written by Primus' Les Claypool, and "Lay of the Sunflower," which Haynes wrote with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

The sessions also included "Sco-Mule," featuring a performance by jazz guitarist John Scofield. The band will continue recording in New York in May, with help from Bootsy Collins and Meshell Ndegéocello on bass.

Gov't Mule tour dates, according to 360 Media:

• 3/29 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
• 3/30 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
• 3/31 - Nashville, TN @328 Performance Hall
• 4/1 - Greenville, NC @ Peace Center
• 4/3 - Birmingham, AL @ 5 Points Music Hall
• 4/4 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater
• 4/5 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
• 4/6 - Columbia, SC @ 3 Rivers Music Fest
• 4/7 - Auburn, AL @ Auburn University
• 4/8 - Gainesville, FL @University of Florida
• 5/5 - New Orleans, LA @ The Orpheum Theatre
• 5/6 - Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown

Related Artists

• Gov't Mule
• Widespread Panic
• Bootsy Collins
• Meshell Ndegeocello
• Primus

]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1441502/20010312/gov_t_mule.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1441502/20010312/gov_t_mule.jhtml 12 Mar 2001 02:27:00 EST
Ozzy Osbourne
Photo: Sony

The 1999 Ozzfest tour will live again in a concert album that will document performances by founder Ozzy Osbourne and other acts, the metal godfather's spokesperson said Wednesday (December 6).

The LP, which may also include some performances from the 2000 edition of Ozzfest, is slated for release in March. The lineup for the release has not yet been confirmed, but acts on the 1999 tour included Black Sabbath (with Osbourne, of course) as well as Primus, Rob Zombie, Deftones, Slayer, Godsmack and System of a Down.

A previously announced documentary film chronicling the 1999 outing, directed by Penelope Spheeris ("Wayne's World," "The Decline of Western Civilization"), is also scheduled to be released in some form next spring.

Osbourne, meanwhile, will not be making a cameo in the upcoming comedy film "The Bubble Boy" despite media reports connecting him with the project, according to his spokesperson.

Reports of Kid Rock's appearance in that film are also false, according to Touchstone Pictures, which is scheduled to release the movie in August 2001.

Kid Rock's reps at Atlantic Records had yet to return calls regarding his involvement in "The Bubble Boy" as of press time.

Related Artists

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Primus
• Rob Zombie
• Deftones
• Slayer

]]> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1375007/20001207/osbourne_ozzy.jhtml News Article http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1375007/20001207/osbourne_ozzy.jhtml 7 Dec 2000 07:55:00 EST Primus - Wynona's Big Brown Beaver

Wynona's Big Brown Beaver

• Artist: Primus
• Label: Interscope Records
• Director: Les Claypool
• Album: Tales From the Punchbowl

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=102974 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=102974 22 Aug 2006 12:00:00 EDT Primus - My Name Is Mud

My Name Is Mud

• Artist: Primus
• Label: Interscope Records/The Atlantic Group
• Director: Mark Kohr
• Album: Pork Soda

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=47234 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=47234 2 May 2005 12:00:00 EDT Primus - Mr. Krinkle

Mr. Krinkle

• Artist: Primus
• Label: Interscope Records/The Atlantic Group
• Director: Mark Kohr
• Album: Pork Soda

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9691 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9691 20 Apr 1993 12:00:00 EDT Primus - DMV

DMV

• Artist: Primus
• Label: Interscope Records/The Atlantic Group
• Director: Mark Kohr
• Album: Pork Soda

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9690 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9690 20 Apr 1993 12:00:00 EDT Primus - Jerry Was A Race Car Driver

Jerry Was A Race Car Driver

• Artist: Primus
• Label: Interscope Records
• Director: Primus
• Album: Sailing the Seas of Cheese

]]> Videos http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9697 http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=1008&vid=9697 14 May 1991 12:00:00 EDT