Ice Cube has signed on to play the leader of a biker gang in an upcoming Warner Bros. movie with the working title "Torque." The rapper/actor will shoot this film this summer before promoting his fall releases, "Barbershop" and "Friday After Next." ... System of a Down's video for "Aerials" will premiere on MTV2 on July 11 and air once an hour all day, according to the band's Web site. The video, directed by bassist Shavo Odadjian, will premiere on MTV on July 12. ... Cartoonist and writer Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama," will curate a U.S. edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in June 2003 at UCLA. This is the first time a non-musician has been chosen as the creative organizer of the event, which has crowned the likes of Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Autechre and Steve Albini for its events in both America and the U.K. ... Asesino, the band featuring former Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares and Static X bassist Tony Campos, will open for Static X on their upcoming tour. ...
John Mayer will play a few dates beginning July 16 in Baltimore before pairing up with Guster for a co-headlining tour from July 22 in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to September 12 in Pelham, Alabama. ... Coldplay will promote their new A Rush of Blood to the Head, due August 27, with a U.S, tour beginning August 6 in Boston and wrapping August 20 in Los Angeles. The first single, "In My Place," debuted on radio late last month. ... Björk's new greatest hits album, due September 3, will include a new track, "It's In Our Hands," which she performed on her last tour. Past favorites "Human Behaviour" and "Army of Me" are among the other selections. ...
Michael Jackson and his partners at Sony Music have agreed to pay $157 million to buy the country music publisher Acuff-Rose, which has a 55,000-song library, according to Reuters. The Jackson/Sony venture (Sony/ATV) has 300,000 songs in its stable, including the copyrights and catalogs for music by the Beatles, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and Pearl Jam, among others. ... Orbital will release the best-of collection Work 1989-2002 on August 20. Tracks include "Are We Here?," "The Box" and the new "Frenetic." ... Walking With Thee, Clinic's 2001 album, will be re-released by Universal on August 6. The title track will hit radio on July 23. ...
Canadian rock import Default kick off their headlining tour July 23 in Rochester, New York, with Trik Turner and Injected accompanying them on most dates. The outing will roll through most of the U.S., hitting both the Rolling Rock Town Fair in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a joint show with Hootie & the Blowfish, Robert Cray and the Wailers in Baltimore before winding down with three dates in Australia in mid-October. ... Steamy crooner Keith Sweat will release Rebirth on August 13. ... Alanis Morissette filed a lawsuit Monday against the operator of www.alanis.net, according to Reuters. Morissette claimed that Russell Smith used her name to sell various goods and services without her permission, ranging from candy to tours of Alcatraz Island. ...
Billy Bob Thornton has lent his singing skills to the new Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash album, "Distance Between," slated for an August 27 release. The singer/actor, reportedly a longtime Bastard's fan, dropped by the studio to join the group on a cover of "Long Black Veil," a traditional Appalachian song. ... A Berlin, Germany, court ruled Tuesday that the 14th annual Love Parade festival would be allowed to go on as planned on July 13, according to Reuters. A Berlin resident had asked the court to stop the dance-oriented festival, claiming that it violated the city's noise pollution laws. ... Legendary Austin music club the Hole in the Wall closed Sunday after 28 years. The lease expired at the venue, which launched the careers of Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle and others. ...
07.02.02
Foxy Brown is hoping to complete a collaboration with Nelly Furtado before she turns in her upcoming album, Il Na Na 2: The Fever. P. Diddy is executive producing the project, which features production work from the Track Masters, Dave Kelly and her younger brother, Gavin. ... Nelly, Triple Image, 3rd Faze and 3rd Storee have signed on to perform at 'NSYNC's Challenge for the Children IV celebrity basketball game scheduled for July 28 in Orlando, Florida. Other stars expected to attend the charity event include Usher, Brian McKnight and Taye Diggs, among others. ...
IMX's Batman is working on a solo album for Interscope. "It doesn't sound like IMX at all; it's got my own flavor in it," he said. ... Meanwhile, IMX are joining B2K beginning Tuesday (July 2) for a few weeks of warm-up dates for the Scream 2 Tour, which kicks off July 25 in Memphis. Fans should expect quite a production on the outing, which will also feature Bow Wow, as B2K said they plan to use a lot of props and pyrotechnics. ...
Mr. Cheeks is launching his own clothing line called GLS, short for Ghetto Lifestyle. "We gonna put some things out we like to see that we feel comfortable in, like suits," Cheeks said. ... Pearl Jam's new album is slated for a November release, and they're still working on the record's title, artwork and track list. The band also plans to release an album of B-sides and rarities sometime next year. ... Doggy's Angels are recording the follow-up to their 2000 debut, Pleezbalevit, for release early next year. Snoop Dogg will again be on board as executive producer. ...
Chris Rock's wife, Malaak Compton-Rock, gave birth to their first child, a girl, in New York on Friday, according to the Associated Press. The couple named her Lola Simone. ... A Vespa ET2 scooter autographed by the Who's Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle is being auctioned off at www.virginmega.com with proceeds benefiting the Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Entwistle, who died on Thursday. The three bandmates had originally signed the scooter to help promote the Virgin Megastore 2002 Best of British campaign, a month-long commitment to supporting U.K. artists and their work.