A myriad of performers from all over the world, including Nelly, Musiq and Egyptian singer Hakim, will converge on New York's Radio City Music Hall on July 11 for 7-Eleven's One World Jam: A Concert for Global Harmony. The show will both help the convenience store chain celebrate its 75th anniversary and serve as the launch for its Education Is Freedom Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships to high school students who pursue higher learning. ... Is Ashanti now a reggae sensation? The smooth songstress will appear on International Night at Reggae Sumfest's The Greatest Reggae Show on Earth, which will feature performances by the likes of Rayvon, Burning Spear and Damian "Junior Gong" Marley and run from July 21-27 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. ... Ja Rule and Shaggy were also listed on the International Night bill on Sumfest's site, though their participation could not be confirmed at press time. ...
While Godsmack have yet to find a permanent replacement for departed drummer Tommy Stewart, Amen skinsman Shannon Larkin will be behind the kit when the band plays the Rolling Rock Town Fair July 27 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Boston-based band is currently in pre-production for its third full-length LP, which is expected to be released early next year. ... Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and Black Label Society centerpiece Zakk Wylde will join Soil when they play Ozzfest in Boston on July 16 and 17. Wylde will lend his talent to Soil's performance of their track "Halo," and the collaboration will be recorded for a future Soil album. ... The West Memphis Three benefit album spearheaded by Henry Rollins and featuring Black Flag covers by the likes of Slipknot's Corey Taylor and Ice-T is slated for release on October 8 through 2.13.61/Sanctuary (see [article id="1455918"]"Slipknot's Taylor, Ice-T, Rollins Support West Memphis Three With LP"[/article]). A title has yet to be confirmed. ... When Homer Simpson goes to rock and roll fantasy camp in the fall, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards will be there to greet him, according to the Associated Press. "The Simpsons" episode featuring the pair of Rolling Stones will air in November. ...
R&B girl group 702 are currently in the studio and plan to release their third album later this year. ... Gene Kan, developer of filesharing service Gnutella, died on June 29 at the age of 25. According to the Associated Press, his death resulted from an unspecified accident and no further details are to be released as per his family's request. ... Kiss' Gene Simmons has contributed a track titled "Legends Never Die" to the new album by Doro, the former frontwoman of Warlock. Fight is due next month through SPV Records. ... Former Kittie guitarist Fallon Bowman is planning to hit the studio in August to record a 10-song demo with her new band, Amphibious Assault. Bowman, who posted a track called "Searchlight" on her group's Web site (www.spastica.net/aa), expects the album to be available in late fall or early next year. ... Paul Westerberg has lined up a month-long trek to support his latest solo album, the two-disc Stereo, released in April. The former Replacements frontman will kick things off July 25 in Los Angeles with confirmed dates running through August 18. ...
07.08.02
Barely a month after its release, Eminem's The Eminem Show was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA. Other new awards doled out this month include a triple-platinum plaque to Enrique Iglesias for Escape and shiny new platinum certifications for P. Diddy (P. Diddy & Bad Boy Records Present ... We Invented the Remix), Lauryn Hill (MTV Unplugged 2.0) and E-40 for 1995's In a Major Way. ... Gold certifications are on the way to Vanessa Carlton for Be Not Nobody and to Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz for Put Yo Hood Up. ...
Based on a cross-country trip taken after September 11, Scarlet's Walk, the first album by Tori Amos for her new label, Epic, is finished and scheduled for an October 15 release date. Amos' sixth studio LP follows last year's covers album, Strange Little Girls, and will be introduced by the first single, "A Sorta Fairytale." ... Sepultura are hard at work on a new album and will step out of their element to release an EP of covers later this year. Tracks will include "Bullet the Blue Sky" (U2), "Mountain Song" (Jane's Addiction), "Mongoloid" (Devo), and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (Public Enemy), in addition to two new songs, including "Corrupted." ... Jewel went back to her roots on July 6 to talk to summer arts campers at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy about her experiences there as a teenager, according to the Associated Press. She then played a sold-out show at Kresge Auditorium. ...

In a London Court on July 3, Adam Ant pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and possession of a firearm stemming from an incident in January that found the singer committed to a mental hospital for a month. A trial date of August 12 was set and a pre-trial hearing will take place Wednesday, July 10. ... A fire in London's Royal Albert Hall on July 5 forced an entire audience of Tony Bennett fans to evacuate the singer's sold-out show, according to the Associated Press. No one was injured in the fire, which broke out while Bennett was crooning "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and was out about a half hour later. ... Jerry Cantrell got some help from former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on the last three dates of his stint with Nickelback. Lee took the stage during Cantrell's gigs in Milwaukee; Bonner Springs, Kansas; and Omaha, Nebraska, and joined the ex-Alice in Chains guitarist for a rendition of AIC's "Man in the Box," according to Roadrunner Records. ...
Metalcore mavens Killswitch Engage have acquired Blood Has Been Shed vocalist Howard Jones following the departure of singer Jesse Leach. Jones — not to be confused with the '80s pop icon of the same name — is said to be a permanent replacement and will begin fronting the band during its upcoming tour with Kittie, Poison the Well and Shadows Fall. ... Boulder will hit the road on July 12 to support their new album, Reaped in Half. ... Zyklon, the death metal band featuring Emperor's Tomas "Samoth" Haugen (a.k.a. Zamoth) and Trym Torson, have hit the studio to record a follow up to their 2001 album, World Ov Worms.