Now that Gwen Stefani's finished with her first New York fashion show, she's planning to get back to work on music once again. She's heading to Los Angeles to begin rehearsals for her upcoming solo tour, which kicks off October 16 in Phoenix. "I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be unbelievable," she said. While "the set list is set," she's hoping to throw a few of her new songs into the show. "I would love to try to roll a little bit of 'Orange County Girl' in there. We'll see. Anything can happen in rehearsals. I don't even know how long the show can be right now." While in town for rehearsals, she's also going to slip in a guest appearance in Pharrell's video for his new single, "Can I Have It Like That," which is shooting on Friday and Saturday. Stefani's also got a new single of her own; she's picked "Luxurious" to be her follow-up to "Cool." ...

Some of music's biggest names have visited Homer Simpson's Springfield over the years, including Blink-182, Mick Jagger, 'NSYNC, U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Smashing Pumpkins and even Bette Midler. Now, you can add Metallica to that list. According to the band's Web site, Metallica were in the studio this week to record their voices for an upcoming episode of "The Simpsons," which is scheduled to air sometime in May 2006. ...

Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, Jack Osbourne, Wilmer Valderrama, Emmy Rossum, and the cast of MTV's "Laguna Beach" were among the stars partying away at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Tuesday night to celebrate Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood issue on newsstands now. Hilton arrived hand-in-hand with pal Kimberly Stewart, while Duff brought along boyfriend Joel Madden and his brother Benji. Meanwhile, Richie came to support her fiance, Adam Goldberg, a.k.a. DJ AM, who was spinning for the bash. ...

([article id="1510057"]Check out photos from the Teen Vogue party here.[/article])

Still hoping for a chance to get on "American Idol"? If you live in Greensboro, North Carolina, or Las Vegas, you may just get your wish, as they're holding two more auditions for the fifth season in those cities, on October 3 and October 10, respectively. These will be the last chances to try out (replacing the previously announced audition in Memphis, Tennessee, where auditions were canceled in the wake of Hurricane Katrina). Check out idolonfox.com for more info. ... Nick Lachey and Brandy have both scored development deals with the WB. The channel is looking for projects to revolve around each of the singer/actors, who both have TV roles under their belts (Brandy on "Moesha," Lachey for six episodes of "Charmed"). Lachey also previously shot a pilot for ABC that has yet to be picked up, and has guest-starred on "Hope & Faith," "I'm With Her" and "American Dreams." The WB says that the process should take about a year, and that it'll likely have something to screen by April or May of next year. ...

One more blow for Chris and Irv Gotti in their drugs-and-money-laundering case -- the bookkeeper for Murder Inc., Cynthia Brent, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (September 21) as part of a plea bargain. Brent fessed up to structuring financial transactions to avoid currency reporting requirements -- basically, breaking down cash deposits for the label in amounts less than $10,000 so the bank wouldn't report them. The charge carries a sentence of up to five years, but she's expected to only receive a sentence of six to 12 months. The charge also carries a fine of $250,000, but there's no word yet if she'll have to pay that as well. A sentencing date has yet to be set. The Gotti brothers' trial begins on October 17. ... Hypnotize, the companion piece to System of a Down's Mezmerize, will hit stores on November 22, and feature 12 new cuts: "Attack," "Dreaming," "Kill Rock 'n' Roll," "Hypnotize," "Stealing Society," "Tentative," "U-Fig," "Holy Mountains," "Vicinity of Obscenity," "She's Like Heroin," "Lonely Day" and "Soldier Side," which completes "Soldier Side Intro," the first track on Mezmerize. The album's going to be available in DualDisc form, with behind-the-scenes footage chronicling the making of both records. ...

In celebration of the Beastie Boys' 24th anniversary, Capitol Records is readying Solid Gold Hits, the band's first greatest-hits collection. The 15-track album features everything from early cuts like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" to tunes from last year's To the 5 Boroughs, and all points in between. The album is due in stores on November 8. ... Madonna fans can breathe a sigh of relief -- Madge is putting all the rumors to rest about what songs will be on her forthcoming Confessions on a Dancefloor album by posting the track list on her Web site. Besides first single "Hung Up," the album, due November 15, will also contain the dance-worthy tunes "Get Together," "Sorry," "Future Lovers," "I Love New York," "Forbidden Love," "Isaac" and "Push." There are even two songs back-to-back called "Jump" and "How High." ...

Smash Mouth's Steve Harwell, Poison's C.C. Deville and original video vamp Tawny Kitaen (who made all those Whitesnake clips so steamy) are joining the cast for the sixth season of VH1's "The Surreal Life," along with "Jeffersons" star Sherman Hemsley, Playboy TV's Andrea Lowell, and Alexis Arquette. "Brady Bunch" mom Florence Henderson also joins the show, not as a roomie, but as the cast's on-call therapist/advisor. The new cast will also choose a cast member from a pool of "reality hunks." The new season is slated to start in January. ... It's a long way from living in your car to fronting a world-famous rock band. Just ask Canadian singer J.D. Fortune, who was chosen as the new lead singer for Australian rock band INXS on Tuesday night in the final episode of the group's summer-long "INXS: Rock Star" reality show. The tattooed former Elvis impersonator won the competition to front the band and will hit the studio immediately to begin work on INXS' first new album in more than eight years, Switch (due November 29). "J.D. has a slightly dangerous edge and will bring a sense of spontaneity to our live show," INXS guitarist Tim Farriss said. The first single from the album, "Pretty Vegas," which Fortune co-wrote with INXS guitarist Andrew Farriss, was released on iTunes Wednesday. ...

The Bloodhound Gang are giving fans a sneak peek at their latest boobies-and-fart-jokes opus, Hefty Fine, through MySpace.com. From now until the album hits stores on Tuesday, anxious fans can stream the entire album for free on the band's MySpace page. ... Alkaline Trio lead singer and guitarist Matt Skiba is giving away an iPod as part of a promotion he's doing with PETA. Skiba's recorded a pro-vegetarian voicemail greeting for the animal-rights group, which can be downloaded at peta2.com, where fans can enter to win the free iPod as well. Part of Skiba's message says, "Your friend can't come to the phone right now. Maybe they're busy doing something useful with their time like spreading the word about how the meat and dairy business are killing and torturing millions of animals each year, destroying the environment, and then lying to you about it." ...

Spencer Tweedy is officially joining the family business, but he's taking a very different approach than dear old dad. The 9-year-old son of Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy is currently appearing in a national TV ad for Quaker Oats with his band, the Blisters. The group -- which appeared on the soundtrack to "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" -- wrote an original song for the commercial, which was directed by Academy Award-winner Errol Morris ("The Thin Blue Line") and also features Spencer's little brother, Sammy. ...

09.20.2005

Kelly Clarkson has rescheduled several tour dates she was forced to cancel earlier this month due to a lingering case of bronchitis. The new dates, which include shows in Texas, Washington, Nevada and California, will kick off December 7 in Hidalgo, Texas, and wrap December 18 in Spokane, Washington. ...

Last week Missy Elliott tore an Achilles tendon while rehearsing for TV Guide's Emmy party. A no-show surely would have been understood, but Missy sucked it up and on Sunday she not only appeared at the publication's shindig, she got onstage on crutches and performed. Missy is scheduled to go under the knife this week to repair the damage; there is no word yet on how long it will take for her to recover from the surgery. Elliott's rep says the rapper is in good sprits and resting. ...

Cassidy's murder trial is set to begin on January 18, according to the rapper's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr. Cassidy has been incarcerated in a Philadelphia prison ever since turning himself over to police there on June 17; he was charged with the first-degree murder of 22-year-old Desmond Hawkins and the attempted murders of two other men, both charges stemming from the same April 15 shooting incident. ... Another of Perri's clients, Beanie Sigel, will be back in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday morning for the start of his attempted-murder trial. Beanie's being retried for the crime, as his first trial ended in a mistrial in April 2004, after the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. ...

System of a Down have set a November 22 release date for Hypnotize, the second half of their double album, Mezmerize/ Hypnotize. ... A 22-track Nirvana compilation, Sliver, is slated for release on November 1. The album will feature tracks from last year's With the Lights Out box set as well as three previously unreleased songs, according to a band spokesperson. ... Courtney Love just can't seem to catch a break. After being sent to rehab for the next six months, she was slapped with another lawsuit on Friday, while her mother is preparing to release a tell-all. Kristin King, whom Love pleaded no contest to assaulting in an April 2004 incident, has filed a civil suit against the singer in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. King, who already received $2,705 in restitution from Love as part of her plea bargain, is seeking unspecified damages. Meanwhile, therapist/writer Linda Carroll's forthcoming tome, called "Her Mother's Daughter: A Memoir of the Mother I Never Knew and of My Daughter, Courtney Love," promises to reveal the singer's "true history," including her mood swings as a baby, her dark moods and paranoia as she was growing up, and the source of the mother and daughter's estrangement. It's due January 17, 2006. ...

The Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Gorillaz, Death Cab for Cutie, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Common, David Banner and Rilo Kiley are among the slew of nominees for mtvU's second-annual Woodie Awards, which honor the music voted best by the college crowd. The Arcade Fire top the list with five nominations, including Woodie of the Year (Best Artist), Left Field Woodie (Most Original Artist) and Road Woodie (Best Tour). The Bravery will be battling Motion City Soundtrack, the Decemberists, Matisyahu and Paul Wall for the title of the Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist), while Coldplay, U2 and Common are all up for the Good Woodie, for artists who have made the greatest social impact in 2005. You can cast your vote for your favorites at mtvu.com before October 28; winners will be announced during a ceremony to be taped at New York's Roseland Ballroom on November 2 and to air on mtvU November 10. ...

On November 15, Green Day will release "Bullet in a Bible," their live DVD featuring moments from their two-night stand at the massive Milton Keynes Bowl in England. The DVD -- directed by frequent collaborator Samuel Bayer -- features 14 tracks spanning the band's career, from their first hit, "Longview," to a nine-minute performance of "Jesus of Suburbia." The DVD will also include backstage footage and interviews with the band. ... Fort Minor, Mike Shinoda's hip-hop side project, will release two tracks, "Petrified" and "Remember the Name," to various online stores on October 4. A 12-inch single is being shipped to club and radio DJs. ...

VH1's Hip Hop Honors is doing a little more than just uniting En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa to perform their 1993 hit, "Whatta Man" -- it also convinced En Vogue to give it another go. Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson and Terry Ellis -- the original quartet -- are getting the group back together again, though official plans for a new record or tour have yet to be announced. Their performance can be seen Monday at 9 p.m. ET on VH1. ... Detroit rapper Hush, a former Mississippi resident who has cousins affected by Hurricane Katrina, is hosting a benefit for the American Red Cross on October 9 at Detroit's Emerald Theater. D12's Proof and Swift will be special guests. ...

Incubus just entered the studio to start recording their sixth album, but in the meantime, fans can hear some of guitarist Mike Einziger's original music in the score for the just-released documentary "Flow," about surfboard maker Al Merrick and the Channel Islands Surf Team. Singer Brandon Boyd, who was named MVP of Sunday's Surfrider Celebrity Surf Jam in Huntington Beach, California (he and Einziger's team won), narrates the movie, which also includes some Incubus songs. ... When Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, launched the "Stop the Bop" fundraising campaign for Hurricane Katrina victims, they were counting on students' hatred of Hanson's "MMMBop." The song was played over the PA every day until the five-figure goal was reached, at which time the blasting of the track finally ceased. What students didn't expect, though, was for Hanson themselves to get involved. When they heard about the campaign, the brothers matched the funds raised and donated a copy of their latest album, Underneath, to every student. ...

The late Joey Ramone was awarded the Heeb Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Jewish Music Awards Monday night in New York. Ramone's mother accepted the honor on behalf of her son, who died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Others receiving the soon-to-be coveted Golden Bagel were Edan for Best Hip-Hop, Rashanim for Best New Klezmer Band and Golem for Best Jewish Punk Band, who expressed some surprise that anyone considered them a punk band. Matisyahu won for Best New Approach, the meaning of which was never actually made clear; he beat out Peaches, Perry Farrell and A Silver Mt. Zion for that honor. ... Jon Bon Jovi appears on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Wednesday to contribute a check for $1 million to her Angel Network to help Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their lives. "The band and I want you to continue your good deeds," he tells her on the show. "You can steward this so that it gets to the people that need it." The show is syndicated, so check local listings to catch it. ...