Phil Anselmo, ex-Pantera frontman and current singer for Superjoint Ritual, joined sludge-metal outfit Eyehategod onstage Monday night during the band's set at New York's CBGB. Anselmo played guitar with the group, according to a CBGB employee, in what was his first public appearance since the murder of his Pantera bandmate "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott in December. ...

Though their set will not be televised, Good Charlotte are on the bill for the September 8 free concert celebrating the opening of the NFL season. The band will perform alongside Kanye West and Maroon 5 outside the Los Angeles Coliseum. ... Ludacris has signed Field Mob to his Disturbing Tha Peace imprint. The Albany, Georgia, duo's third release, Light Poles and Pine Trees, is due in November and will feature Luda, Bun B, Bone Crusher, Jazze Pha, Bobby Valentino and Ciara, who guests on the second single, "So What." The first offering is titled "Friday Night," while another track, "Georgia" (which samples Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind"), is also garnering radio play in the South. ...

There's more legal trouble this week for Mystikal. The "Shake Ya Ass" rapper, who was convicted of sexual battery in early 2004 and is currently serving out a six-year prison sentence in Louisiana, was charged on Friday with two counts of failing to file federal income-tax returns, according to The Associated Press. The Internal Revenue Service claims Mystikal didn't file in either 1998, when he made more than $820,000; or 1999, when he brought home more than $930,000. If convicted, Mystikal could be sentenced to two more years behind bars. ... Whatever you call it -- purple rain, sizzurp or lean -- apparently too many people in Houston are sipping on it, and officials are looking to put a stop to it. Six Houston-area pharmacists who dodged a verdict for illegally peddling prescription cough syrup back in May are facing jail time once again. The pharmacists are accused of distributing 2,500 gallons of codeine-fortified cough syrup -- a substance that largely fueled the "chopped-and-screwed" movement in hip-hop -- in a little over a year, according to the Houston attorney general's office. ...

Every teenage private investigator needs a killer soundtrack to follow his or her, um, private investigating, and Veronica Mars is no exception. So it's probably a good idea that Nettwerk Records is planning to release the "Veronica Mars" soundtrack, featuring 14 tracks by artists like the Dandy Warhols (performing the UPN show's theme, "We Used to Be Friends"), Tegan & Sara and Spoon. The album is due in stores on September 27. ... Avril Lavigne is auctioning off concert tickets, autographed photos and other items to benefit Health Care for All - California, a nonprofit organization supporting single-payer-model approaches to universal healthcare. Details are available at AuctionsForChange.com. ...

"A Girl Like You" singer Edwyn Collins was finally allowed to return home after spending six months in a hospital following brain surgery to repair two brain hemorrhages, according to a BBC News report. In a note on his Web site, Collins, who recently took his first steps, said he was feeling "fine" and thanked fans for their support. ... The Gorillaz are checking into the Habbo Hotel virtual hangout. The band will be fielding questions from thousands of "Habbos," the visual avatars of hotel guests in attendance, during an interactive Q&A session on August 24. Also, 24 lucky Habbos will be selected to conduct private one-on-one interviews with each of the bandmembers. ...

Spearhead leader Michael Franti has announced the lineup for his seventh annual 911 Power to the Peaceful music/art fest in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The September 10 concert -- the theme of which is Bring 'Em Home -- will feature sets from Spearhead, Jean Grae, Saul Williams, Anti-Flag, Zap Mama's Marie Dauln and J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science. Among the guest speakers are Woody Harrelson and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. The social justice-themed event is also adding an extreme-sports element this year, with an ecologically correct skate ramp made from "forest stewardship certified" wood, which will be donated to a local high school after the concert. ...

Ryan Seacrest will co-host and executive produce the 34th edition of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" special live from Times Square in New York on December 31. Seacrest signed a deal with ABC that will eventually find him taking over as sole host. ... Leonard Cohen is suing his business manager, claiming she stole more than $5 million from him over the course of seven years. His lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this past week, claims Kelly Lynch misappropriated money beyond her standard 15 percent cut by gaining control of nearly all of Cohen's royalty income, arranging to sell it, and devising "unnecessarily complex corporate structures" that allowed her a bigger percentage. Cohen also names Richard Westin, a tax lawyer, in the suit. ...

08.15.2005

Kanye West, Maroon 5, Green Day, Santana and Trisha Yearwood are among the artists slated to perform a series of free concerts to kick off the NFL's 2005-2006 season, The Associated Press reports. The concerts will be held in three cities across the country: outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the first Super Bowl; Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, home of the current Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots; and in Detroit, where the next Super Bowl will be held on February 4. The televised special will precede the season opener between the Patriots and the Oakland Raiders on September 8. ...

Justin Timberlake is writing songs with his longtime friend/ Nashville songwriter Matt Morris. Morris, who co-wrote five songs on Christina Aguilera's Stripped, said that the two will hit the studio in the next couple of months, and that their creations run the gamut from R&B to Southern rock to pop music and could end up on either Timberlake or Morris' album at this point. "Writing with Justin is one of my favorite things," Morris said. "He's got incredible instincts, unmatched by anyone I've worked with." The two have written at least an album's worth of songs, about 15 to 20, he said, but since the subject matter is so personal, discussing them "should be reserved for close friends and therapists," he laughed. ... Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, George Lopez and "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez are among the 25 most influential Hispanics in America, according to the cover story in the August 22 issue of Time magazine. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and newsman Jorge Ramos also make the list. ...

A collection featuring Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Usher, Jamie Foxx and Mary J. Blige tackling Luther Vandross classics is about to hit stores. So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, due September 20, includes Blige performing "Never Too Much," Usher doing "Superstar," Beyoncé singing "So Amazing," John Legend performing "Love Won't Let Me Wait," Keys duetting with Jermaine Paul on "If This World Were Mine," Foxx singing "Creepin' " and Elton John performing a duet with Vandross on "Anyone Who Had a Heart." "His legacy will live on forever and I'm happy that I could contribute to that," Usher said. ... Who says only rappers can release mixtapes? Former President Bill Clinton will be putting out a CD compilation of his own, The Bill Clinton Collection: Selections From the Clinton Music Room, according to The Associated Press. The 11-track disc -- the first in a series of compilations containing Clinton's favorites -- will feature tunes from John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Judy Collins. The album is slated for release in the next four to five weeks. ...

David Banner will now drop his third studio album, Certified, on September 20. Guests on the record include Twista, 8Ball, Dead Prez and Jadakiss. ... Tommy Lee is getting naked once again -- but this time, it's for animal rights. Following his ex-wife Pam Anderson's lead, the rocker sheds all for a PETA-sponsored poster for New York nightclub Home, which is instituting a "no fur" door policy this week. On the poster, alongside the slogan "Ink, Not Mink," Lee says, "Be comfortable in your own skin and let animals keep theirs." "A lot of hip-hop artists wear fur and they think it's a status symbol," Lee said. "That doesn't register. I just see dead animals." The poster was shot by Paul McCartney's daughter Mary. ...

Rob Thomas is hitting the road for his first full-scale solo tour. The two-month trek kicks off October 5 in Albany, New York, and wraps December 10 in Detroit. Before heading out, Thomas will take the stage at the Fashion Rocks concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 8, which will be broadcast the following night on CBS. ... Garage-rock duo the Kills are back with a new album. Sort of. On Tuesday, they'll release Run Home Slow, an EP featuring remixes of tunes from their second album, No Wow, and a couple of tracks previously unavailable in the U.S. Starting on September 8, the Kills will hit the road with Bloc Party, on a North American tour that'll run through the end of September. ... Punk innovators the Damned will hit a British recording studio next month to start work on their next LP -- the follow-up to 2001's Grave Disorder, according to a posting on their Web site. ...