If you get caught pouring human excrement and urine all over a bunch of tourists, sometimes it's just best to fess up. And that's what Dave Matthews Band tour bus driver Stefan Wohl did on Wednesday (March 9), when he pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct and discharging contaminates to cause water pollution, which stemmed from an August incident in which Wohl emptied the bus' septic tank while driving across the open grating deck of the Kinzie Street bridge in Chicago. According to The Associated Press, Wohl, who managed to hit passengers on a boat below the bridge with the waste, was sentenced to 18 months probation and 150 hours of community service, and was fined $10,000, which will be paid to the conservation group Friends of the Chicago River. ...

Britney Spears is threatening to storm back on the scene, according to a recent post on her Web site: "I feel as though I have been very quiet and still lately. 'The calm before the storm' ... I can really relate to that statement right now." Then again, in the five months since she's announced she was taking a break, the singer's released a greatest-hits collection, co-directed a video, leaked a song on the radio, posed for two magazine covers (Redbook and Allure), participated in her husband's Details cover story, and started writing regularly on her Web site -- so much for being quiet. ... Madonna's follow-up to "Truth or Dare," an as-yet-untitled documentary about her Reinvention Tour, looks "very likely" to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, to be held May 11-22, according to the singer's rep. The documentary was directed by Jonas Akerlund, who chronicled her tour and the "new" Madonna. A theatrical release is planned for later this year. ...

J-Kwon has teamed up with fellow St. Louis rappers Nelly and Chingy for Louisville Slugger, the follow-up to his 2004 debut, Hood Hop. The album, due this summer, will also feature Ebony Eyez, a female rapper from the Lou who performed "Get XXX'd" (from the "XXX: State of the Union" soundtrack, due April 19) with J-Kwon at last week's Soul Train Awards. ... Moby will launch a tour in support of his upcoming double album, Hotel (March 22), on April 11 with a show in Norfolk, Virginia. The 16-date swing is currently scheduled to hit Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto and Chicago, ending with a May 8 date in San Diego, according to his spokesperson. Buck 65 will open on most of the dates. ...

Missouri's emo stalwarts the Get Up Kids announced this week through a statement posted on their Web site that they'd be throwing in the towel. "After 10 years, close to a hundred recorded songs and several trips around the world, the Get Up Kids will be playing their last shows this summer," the statement reads. "We feel it's best to let the last 10 years speak as a document for what the band was. We can look back and say that we are proud of everything that we accomplished. In the end, we will always remember this as a good time; we hope that you remember it that way, too." The Get Up Kids' final performance will go down July 4th weekend in the band's hometown of Kansas City, Missouri ... The punk rock breast-cancer benefit site Shirts for a Cure -- which helps raise money to provide financial assistance and therapy to underprivileged women fighting breast cancer -- has added a number of new shirts for sale. Exclusive tees from the bands Alkaline Trio, Coheed & Cambria, Dillinger Escape Plan, Funeral for a Friend and Head Automatica will soon join shirts from Motion City Soundtrack, the Get Up Kids, Hot Water Music, My Chemical Romance, Bouncing Souls, Thursday and Avenged Sevenfold. Check out shirtsforacure.com for more information. ...

RZA -- who has scored "Kill Bill," "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" and "Blade: Trinity" -- is stepping in front of the camera with his first full-fledged acting gig in the upcoming Jennifer Aniston/ Clive Owen movie "Derailed," in which he plays an ex-con mailroom clerk named Winston. But now that the Wu-Tang mastermind has the acting bug, what he really wants to do is direct. He's been talking to Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch and John Woo to get advice, and has his first film project already planned out. "I'm ready to come out of the can," RZA said. "I got some scripts passed over to me, but I want to do one I wrote myself, 'The Man With the Iron Fist.,' " a kung-fu movie. ... British funk act Jamiroquai will issue album number six, Dynamite, on May 24. No word on whether the album's title is a nod to the film "Napoleon Dynamite," which prominently featured Jamiroquai's song "Canned Heat" during one of the film's most memorable scenes. ...

"So What the Fuss" will be the first single off of Stevie Wonder's new album, A Time to Love, due in stores on May 3. It'll be the first studio album in a decade for the legendary singer . ... Meanwhile, Tiger Woods' annual fund-raiser for his Tiger Woods Learning Center, Tiger Jam VIII, will take place on May 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will be headlined by Wonder, according to an event spokesperson. Counting Crows will open the show. ... The All-American Rejects will be hitting the road this spring for a nine-week headlining tour kicking off March 29 in Atlanta. The band will be plugging songs from its sophomore album, still untitled, which is set to be released this summer. ...

03.08.2005

In the April issue of Allure magazine, Britney Spears admits that she let herself go in recent months and that the beginning of her marriage to Kevin Federline has been somewhat rocky. The singer said that she was grateful that paparazzi shots revealed she was gaining more pounds than usual because "it made me see that I needed to lose weight." Pointing to her stomach, she told the magazine, "As you can see, I still have the honeymoon aftereffect ... I was just lounging around and eating and laying out and just didn't have a care in the world." That didn't help the honeymoon transition into a successful marriage, she said, because "hardcore" reality set in after the first three weeks. "Before we got married, we were on tour, and we were like kids, ordering room service, saying, 'Let's go out tonight.' And then all of a sudden, you have the kids," she told the magazine, referring to Federline's children, Kori and Kaleb, "you have the diapers, get the dogs to the vet. It's this whole reality, you know. But we handled it fine, and now things are starting to go really smooth." However, she's no longer hoping to have a child of her own in the immediate future. "I'm not pregnant," she said. "It's not something I've striving for." ... [article id="1497892"](See photos of Britney Spears in April's Allure.)[/article]

R. Kelly lost another round in court on Friday, when a Chicago judge rejected his bid to declare the Illinois child-pornography statute unconstitutional (and thereby dismiss the charges against him). Kelly's defense tried to make the argument that if it's not illegal to have sex with a 17-year-old, since that's the age of consent, it shouldn't be illegal to take pictures of a 17-year-old engaging in a sex act. Cook County Assistant State Attorney Shauna Boliker, however, successfully argued that the state lawmakers broadened the scope of the pornography statute and that the charges should stand. Kelly is due back in court on April 21. ... The diamond wedding ring Michael Jackson gave to ex-wife Debbie Rowe is on the block on eBay with a starting bid of $50,000. "This beautiful ring was given to Debbie and she would love someone to have it who appreciates the beauty and intention in which it was given," reads a note on the auction site. The bidding on the platinum ring -- which has a two-carat, center-cut diamond surrounded by 14 brilliant-cut diamonds -- is being sold on a reserve basis, which means the buyer must meet an unspecified target price. There were four early bids, but as of Tuesday (March 8), no legitimate bids had been made for the sale, which ends Thursday. ...

A week after confirming their split with guitarist Tripp Eisen -- who was recently arrested on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child -- Static-X leader Wayne Static announced on the band's Web site on Monday that former guitarist Koichi Fukuda has rejoined the group. Fukuda played on the band's debut, Wisconsin Death Trip, and toured with the group for two years before leaving to spend more time with his family. Fukuda has been recording with Static-X since October and will perform live with them at the Galaxy in Santa Ana, California, on March 25. ... Hilary Duff, poet? Well, at least for one night, when she guest stars on "George Lopez" as a feminist named Kenzie who enters a poetry slam. Her episode airs Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. ...

Tweet has just finished shooting a video for the theme song to the updated version of "Kojak," which premieres March 25 on USA. Ving Rhames plays the title role. The clip for "When I Need a Man" was directed by Antti J. Jokinen (Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This"). "What I wanted to do was give Kojak a great intro," Tweet said in a statement. "I wanted to make a statement with this song -- 'Don't mess with Kojak.' " The track will also appear on Tweet's album It's Me Again, out March 22. ... Carmen Electra is going to be a sex slave -- for her new role on the Sci Fi Channel's half-hour animated series "Tripping the Rift." Electra is joining the voice cast for the second season, which debuts in July, as "Six," a sexy android whose function is to serve the carnal needs of a stumpy purple alien named Chode. She has the added value of being brainy as well, and acts as the unheeded voice of reason on Chode's smuggling vessel. ...

Several celebs are donating the clothes off their backs to benefit the Children's Defense Fund, Cure Autism Now, and the UNICEF Tsunami Relief Fund. The "Clothes Off Our Back" auction at www.clothesoffourback.org features clothing and accessories worn during the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, and movies such as "Be Cool," including Tyra Banks' Elie Saab gown, Leonardo DiCaprio's Prada tuxedo, Mark McGrath's Holland ESQ suit, Cate Blanchett's Judith Leiber handbag, Jimmy Jam's Stetson hat and Sarah Jessica Parker's Vivienne Westwood pants. ... The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers slapped an Illinois watering hole with a copyright-infringement lawsuit on Monday, after it was learned that the Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love" was performed there by a cover band back in October. Each year, ASCAP files an average of 200 lawsuits against businesses that "present musical entertainment" to the public without permission, an attorney representing the organization said. ASCAP has issued licenses to more than 100,000 music venues nationwide; one is required if a bar or club wants to bring in a cover band or DJ to perform, for example. The bar in question, 602 North in Glendale Heights, could not be reached for comment. ...

If it's good enough for Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, it's good enough for, um, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams? The British metal act and Canadian rocker will join forces this summer for the Rock 'N Roll Double-Header Tour, in which they'll play shows at 26 minor-league baseball stadiums. The tour is scheduled to kick off with a June 1 date in Portland, Oregon, at PGE Park (home of the Beavers), and end on August 10 in Lansing, Michigan, at Oldsmobile Park (home of the Lugnuts), according to a Def Lep spokesperson. The stage will be setup in the outfield and fans will be encouraged to sit on blankets on the field or watch from the stands. ... British buzz band Aqualung have the first single from the soundtrack to the upcoming Ashton Kutcher/ Amanda Peet romantic comedy, "A Lot Like Love." The band's "Brighter Than Sunshine" will be heard in trailers for the film, which traces the lives of a would-be couple as they keep running into each other over the course of seven years. Other artists featured on the soundtrack are Jet, the Cure, Travis, Butch Walker and Hooverphonic. The film hits theaters April 22, the soundtrack is in stores April 12, and Aqualung's first U.S. album, Strange and Beautiful, drops March 22. ...

Mandy Moore will soon add another stamp on her passport when she plays host for a series of events benefiting UNICEF in Japan. Moore, who has already been tapped to be the face of Coach's international spring advertising campaign, will travel to the land of the rising sun next month to cut the ribbon at the handbag and accessory brand's flagship store in Nagoya. The limited-edition Coach Scribble Signature wristbands will serve as a ticket to the charity concert at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on April 9, which will feature Moore as well as N.E.R.D. ...