The Donnas were booted from their own after-show party at New York's Belmont Lounge on Friday when the gals got a little too drunk and rowdy. The Strokes were there to witness and partake in the revelry, but the Used's Bert McCracken, who attended the show, couldn't make the late night soiree. ...

In an effort to increase the set time for bands, the fifth annual March Metal Meltdown will be extended to three days instead of the usual two. The heavy metal festival, set for March 7-9 in Irvington, New Jersey, will feature '80s British metalheads Status Quo; Fozzy, featuring pro wrestler Chris Jericho; and hometown heroes Overkill, among many others. ...

Though she's known to take years between albums, Icelandic songstress Björk will follow-up her 2001 album Vespertine with a potential new album this summer, tentatively called LakeExperience, according to an oblique message on her official Web site. In the stream-of-consciousness post, Björk said that she has recorded "song a day. song a day. for how many days. I do not know. but some days." Work-in-progress video snippets of new material featuring shots of coffee cups and laptops are available at www.bjork.com. ... Faith Hill will perform a free concert for about 8,000 soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Thursday. Fort Bragg is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, and anyone with military I.D. may be admitted. ...

Blur have announced that former Verve guitarist Simon Tong will accompany them on the road when they tour this summer. He will not, however, be joining as a full-time member. Blur have been without a guitarist since original axeman Graham Coxon left last year before the band started recording in Morocco. Singer Damon Albarn played guitar on most of the record, which comes out later this year. ... If you think this year's Lollapalooza lineup is too radio-friendly, you might want to check out Ipecac Records' traveling road show, which will feature the Melvins, Tomahawk and Skeleton Key. The U.S. tour is tentatively scheduled to begin in late April or early May and additional bands may be announced in the coming weeks. ...

Are the Flaming Lips the new go-to band for cred? First it was touring with Beck, then it was a Top of the Pops performance with Justin Timberlake. Now the Chemical Brothers are testing this theory -- the British dance duo recently revealed plans to collaborate with the Oklahoma pop oddities on at least one new track on their upcoming, as-of-yet untitled album, according to their fan Web site Planet Dust. ... On Friday, the recording industry filed an opposition to Verizon Internet Services, Inc.'s motion to postpone a judge's ruling that the ISP must surrender the name of a person suspected of being the source for thousands of unlicensed song files. A federal judge had agreed to a subpoena filed by the RIAA in July that would force Verizon to give up the offender's identity. Verizon opposed that order last month. ...

Hold onto your mullets: Def Leppard are getting ready to play the U.S. The first of 17 scheduled shows is March 21 in Pittsburgh, and the dates run through May 4 in Atlanta. ... Pigface, the Chicago industrial outfit revolving around ex-Ministry member Martin Atkins, are auctioning off an onstage wedding during their upcoming U.S. spring tour to promote their new album, Easy Listening. Fans can bid to win the chance nuptials on eBay until Valentine's Day. ...

02.07.03

The first gold and platinum plaques of 2003 were doled out by the recording industry, for album sales of 500,000 and 1 million, respectively. Queens of the Stone Age, the White Stripes and Baby a.k.a the #1 Stunna were each awarded their first gold records. ...

Producers/songwriters Kiyamma Griffin and Floyd Howard filed an $11 million lawsuit against Mary J. Blige, MCA Records and the singer's Mary Jane Productions on January 24 that alleges fraud and breach of contract, among other complaints. They claim they've never been paid royalties for contributions to the tracks "Sexy" and "No Happy Holidays," from 1999's Mary; and "Flying Away," "Destiny" and "2 U," from 2001's No More Drama. ... An array of artists, including Blige, Musiq, Mark Anthony, India.Arie and Eric Clapton pay homage to Stevie Wonder on the tribute album Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs, due March 18. The 14-track LP features selections from Wonder's best albums, such as 1976's Songs in the Key of Life and 1973's Innervisions. A cover of "That Girl" by R&B singer Joe and rapper Mr. Cheeks began appearing at radio last week. ...

LeAnn Rimes was forced to postpone her upcoming European tour after she and husband Dean Sheremet were hospitalized for severe cuts and bruises they suffered in a car accident with a drunk driver. Rimes was returning from filming a guest appearance on NBC's "American Dreams" on January 31 when the accident occurred in Hollywood. She was treated and released from a local hospital, and the driver was arrested for driving under the influence. ...

Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins and his promoter friend have started a label called Western Tread, based in their hometown of Phoenix. The imprint's first release will be a vinyl version of Jimmy Eat World's eponymous, self-titled LP that features the bonus track "Splash, Turn, Twist." It will be followed by an EP by the duo the Format, who will release a full-length debut next year on Elektra Records. The label's first full-length LP, due in early summer, will come courtesy of Phoenix's Reubens Accomplice. ...

Bret Michaels' fast-approaching 40th birthday (on March 15) has put him in a reflective mood. On April 22 the Poison vocalist will release Songs of Life, a solo album that looks back on all of the major events in his life, from the birth of his daughter Raine to the death of his uncle in Vietnam. ... Jagermeister tour participants (Hed) Planet Earth are set to release their third album, Blackout, on March 18. The LP follows 2000's Broke. The album's title track surfaced at radio this week. ...