DMX had a book-signing party on Tuesday night at studio 54 in New York to celebrate the release of his autobiography, "E.A.R.L." The book's co-author, Smokey D. Fontaine, X's longtime producer Dame Grease and Island/Def Jam head honchos Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles were among those who attended. ...

Nickelback have canceled the last week of their U.S. tour -- a string of

Budweiser-sponsored "surprise" theater dates -- due to a throat infection

suffered by guitarist Mike Kroeger, according to a spokesperson. The group

will make up the shows in early January, with the rescheduled dates to be

announced soon; they will, however, still play a few weeks of European shows,

beginning with a November 20 date in Hamburg, Germany, and winding up at the

Point in Dublin, Ireland, on December 4. ...

Ozzy Osbourne, Moby, Wyclef Jean, Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Linkin Park's Brad Delson appear in a 15-minute educational film from the Better Hearing Institute entitled "Listen Smart - Safely Handling the Power of Sound," which discusses the dangers of long-term hearing damage from playing and listening to loud music. The film, aimed at grades 7-12, was created to

spread the word about noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and is being distributed to schools in the U.S. and Canada. ...

In a chat on msn.com on Tuesday, U2's Bono said the group had written the "the roughest ... mother of all rock 'n' roll tunes" for their upcoming

album, a track tentatively titled "Full Metal Jacket." In addition to saying

the song was so good it is "a reason to make a record," guitarist the Edge

revealed that he's a big fan of the Neptunes and would "love" to work with

the production team in the future. ... Nick and Aaron Carter were guests on a recently filmed episode of "Sesame Street." Nick has told reporters in the past he is a huge Big Bird fan. ...

Jane's Addiction, Underworld, Jimmy Eat World, Murderdolls, Xzibit and Sparta

have joined the lineup for the Big Day Out 2003 festival, which

kicks off in Auckland, New Zealand, on January 17. They join a roster that

already includes Foo Fighters, the Vines, Wilco, Kraftwerk, PJ Harvey, Deftones, the Living End, Millencolin and Frenzal Rhomb. ...

Guns N' Roses have canceled a December 8 date at the First Union Arena in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, citing "routing issues," according to the venue. The group is still scheduled to kick off its North American tour on Thursday at General Motors Place in Vancouver. ... Slipknot/ Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor will make a rare solo appearance this Friday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The man whose guttural bark brutalized seminal 'Knot classics like "Wait and Bleed" will perform Stone Sour's sensitive ballad "Bother," reportedly backed only by a string quartet. ...

The world tour in support of Pearl Jam's upcoming seventh studio album,

Riot Act (November 12), will kick off in earnest on February 8 in

Brisbane, Australia, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. After four more

Australian dates, the tour will jump to Japan for five dates, ending with a

March 6 gig at the Shimin Kaikan Hall in Nagoya. The Healers, the new band fronted by former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, will open the Australian shows. … Pearl Jam, who were already scheduled to play a hometown benefit show at Seattle's Key Arena on December 8, just added a second night (December 9). ...

Insane Clown Posse have hooked up with Grokster for what they claim is a

first-of-its-kind promotional pact between a major recording artist and a

peer-to-peer file-trading network. The deal, coinciding with the Clowns'

final-joker-card-revealing new album, The Wraith: Shangri-La, runs

through November 26 and will give Juggalos a chance to win such items as

"Wraith" leather jackets, novelty stand-ups, autographed posters, baseball

caps and T-shirts. ... Moby has recorded a message for a People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hotline (888 VEG-FOOD) concerning a common Thanksgiving tradition. "Each year the Butterball turkey company sponsors a turkey talk line to answer questions about proper cooking techniques," the message says. "Please join me in calling Butterball to let them know that there is no proper way to kill and cook these beautiful birds." ...

Bay Area, California, metal merchants Machine Head have invited fans to name their forthcoming live album. The lucky fan who sends the winning suggestion to contest@machinehead1.com anytime before November 22 will receive credit in the album, an autographed copy and the band's entire back catalog. ... Concrete Blonde singer Johnette Napolitano will release her first solo album, Sketchbook, later this month on the band's official Web site. The first 2,500 copies will be numbered and autographed. ... Meanwhile, Semisonic singer Dan Wilson has released his first solo material -- the two-track Ballroom Sessions -- on his band's Web site. Wilson is recording a full-length album, which will include collaborations with Sheryl Crow, the Honeydogs' Adam Levy, and his brother Matt Wilson. ...

11.05.02

Avril Lavigne will bring some girl power to the 2002 Billboard Music Awards (December 9) when she shares the stage at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas

with fellow performers Puddle of Mudd, Creed and Nelly. Among the artists scheduled to appear at the event so far are Nick Carter, Lil' Romeo, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Justin Guarini and JC Chasez, according to a Fox Television spokesperson. ...

Ashanti will play Dionne Warwick and sing "Walk on By" on the December 15 episode of the NBC drama "American Dreams." Other artists who have appeared on the show, which revolves around "American Bandstand," include Nick Carter, Michelle Branch and Usher, whose episode will air Sunday. ... Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams will headline the inaugural

Inspirational Soulfest 2002 on November 16 at the New Birth Missionary

Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia. Also performing at the event, which will be hosted by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan, are New Edition's Johnny Gill, LaTocha Scott of Xscape and Tank. ...

Less than a week ago, we said to make sure you use a pencil when marking your calendar for the thrice-changed release date for the Rob Zombie-led Ramones tribute album, We're a Happy Family. The street date for the LP, which features contributions from Metallica, Eddie Vedder and U2, among others, has moved back to its former due date of December 24. ... On Sunday in Los Angeles the Rolling Stones unveiled their latest line of

Rolling Stones Rockware, created by designers Chrome Hearts (leather

jackets, platinum jewelry), Agent Provocateur (lingerie) and Buddhist Punk

(custom surfboards, coat of arms, T-shirts). The new duds will be on sale at

the band's official Web site beginning November 9. ...

Jimmy Eat World will release a low-dough ($7.98) DVD-EP on November 26 with all the videos from their recent album, as well as live and studio recordings as a

preview of their upcoming full-length DVD. The band's covers of Prodigy's

"Firestarter" and George Michael's "Last Christmas" are slated for release as

a vinyl-only 7-inch through Better Looking Records sometime in December. ...

Jimmy Eat World's singer, Jim Adkins, became a dad on October 29 when his wife, Amy, gave birth to a 7-pound, 5-ounce boy, Jackson Christopher. ...

Eat the Day have encouraged potential vocalists to continue contacting them, despite an online post from bandleader/former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland announcing that the group will soon "be meeting with an actual real human bean [sic] that sent us a recording of his amazing voice." Borland noted that "this whole going public with the singer search wasn't such a bad idea after all." ...

Black-haired, black-clothes-wearing Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly will sit in with black-haired, black-clothes-wearing hard rock outfit Danzig for an upcoming European jaunt that's scheduled to begin on November 21 in London. "I have nothing but great memories of when Type O toured with Danzig in 1994," Kelly wrote on Type O's official Web site, "and I'm really looking forward to creating some new ones on this adventure." ... Speaking of Type O Negative, Kelly's bandmates will continue working on their forthcoming sixth studio album in his absence at System's Two Studios in Brooklyn, New York, with keyboardist Josh Silver again producing. ...

Singer/songwriter Ben Lee's new Dan the Automator-produced album, Hey You, Yes You, will be released November 18 via EMI Australia. Despite the closing of his U.S. label, Grand Royal, and his current lack of a stateside record deal, Lee will support the album in America when he opens several shows for Vanessa Carlton. ..