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For The Record: Quick News On Ozzfest, 'American Idol,' Pharrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ashanti, The Clash & More

Ozzfest moves up kickoff date; eliminated 'Idol' heads to 'The O.C.'; Pharrell working with Velvet Revolver.

This summer's Ozzfest won't kick off on July 1 in San Francisco, as had been previously announced. Instead, the 11th incarnation of the annual metal festival will get started on June 29 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. Namesake Ozzy Osbourne will be headlining just 10 of this year's dates, including the kickoff in Auburn. System of a Down, Disturbed, Atreyu and Lacuna Coil are among the bands on the festival's bill. ...

Eliminated "American Idol" finalist Lisa Tucker has returned to her Orange County home in real life, and now she'll be at home on TV thanks to a guest role on "The O.C." Tucker, who is a senior at John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, California, starts production next week on an episode called "The Party Favor," in which she attends Harbor High School's senior prom. Her guest stint on "The O.C." is scheduled to air April 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. ... Velvet Revolver have enlisted an unusual collaborator for their second record: the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams. Pharrell has also written a song with singer Scott Weiland for his second solo album. ...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' forthcoming double album Stadium Arcadium is now available for preorder via iTunes, thanks to a new partnership between Apple and the band's label, Warner Bros. Fans won't be able to download the full LP until May 9, when the record lands in stores, but they'll have access to the first single, "Dani California." The preorder also entitles fans to bonus content, including an iTunes exclusive audio interview, a video chronicling the making of "Dani California," and a digital booklet. Those who preorder the album will also receive a special code by e-mail to purchase tickets for the band's forthcoming fall trek before the general public sale date of May 13. ...

MySpace has teamed up with Wind-Up Records for a contest that begins Thursday in which unsigned artists will get a shot at having their music appear in the upcoming movie "John Tucker Must Die" and on its soundtrack album. The winner will be chosen May 26 by a panel of celebrity judges and will score a $10,000 production budget for a professional recording of their song. The movie stars Ashanti, Jesse Metcalfe, Sophia Bush, Brittany Snow and Jenny McCarthy. The soundtrack, due July 18, will feature songs from the All-American Rejects, Nada Surf, Ben Lee, OK Go, People in Planes and Motion City Soundtrack. ... Disturbed have rolled out 11 additional North American tour dates. There's no word yet on which band will open the shows. The U.S. gigs include stops in Waterloo, Iowa, on May 20; Rapid City, South Dakota, on May 22; Billings, Montana, on May 23; Duluth, Minnesota, on May 28; and Sioux City, Iowa, on May 29. ...

Watch what you sing -- that's the latest lesson in the war on terror. Specifically, watch what you sing out loud in a cab. British anti-terror detectives escorted a man from an airplane Thursday after a taxi driver became suspicious when the passenger sang the Clash's "London Calling," according to a Reuters report. The man, 24-year-old Harraj Mann, was taken off the London-bound flight after the taxi driver told detectives that Mann had been singing along to the song, which features the lines "Now war is declared -- and battle come down," after plugging his MP3 player into the cab's music system. Mann, who was questioned and released, said he also played songs by Led Zeppelin and the Beatles during the ride. ...

Cameron Diaz has been awarded undisclosed damages in a civil suit she filed against John Rutter, a photographer who tried to sell the actress topless photos that he snapped when she was 19, The Associated Press reports. A judge also dismissed a countersuit against the actress filed by Rutter and approved a permanent injunction prohibiting the sale of the images. Diaz filed her suit against the photographer close to three years ago, after he tried to sell the shots to her for $3.5 million before offering them to other prospective buyers. She claimed Rutter forged her signature on a release form. Rutter is serving four years behind bars following his conviction last year on forgery, perjury and attempted grand larceny charges connected to the case. ...

In other photog/celeb legal news, Enrique Iglesias has been served with a suit after an alleged altercation between photographer Angel Mora, his pregnant wife, and the singer's bodyguards. Mora claims in Friday's assault, battery and malicious prosecution lawsuit that Iglesias ordered his bodyguards to grab their cameras when he and his wife started shooting pictures of the singer and date Anna Kournikova at a restaurant in August 2002. Mora claims that the bodyguards allegedly struck both him and his wife, who gave birth four days later. Mora also says Iglesias and his bodyguards lied to the police to get him and his wife arrested (criminal charges were later dropped). Mora's seeking damages to pay his attorney's fees, bond and lost wages. ...

Gene Pitney, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and is best known for his early 1960s hits "Town Without Pity" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart," died Wednesday after a performance in Cardiff, Wales. Pitney was 65 and was not ill, the AP reports. Police do not suspect foul play. "We don't have a cause of death at the moment, but it looks like it was a very peaceful passing," Pitney's tour manager, James Kelly, told the wire service. "He was found fully clothed, on his back, as if he had gone for a lie-down. It looks as if there was no pain whatsoever." Pitney is credited with helping the Rolling Stones break the American market thanks to his endorsement of the band. ...

Pearl Jam have announced the second leg of their upcoming U.S. tour, which will kick off June 23 in Pittsburgh and end July 22 in George, Washington. The trek will include some dates with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (June 26 and 27 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and July 2 and 3 in Denver) and Robert Pollard (June 23 and 24), but otherwise Sonic Youth have been tapped as openers. Petty's own trek, which celebrates the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary, starts June 9. ...

India.Arie's prepping her first new album in four years, called Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, due June 27. Her first single, "I Am Not My Hair," features remixed collaborations with Akon, Swizz Beatz and Jazze Pha. Arie will perform at the National Black Mayors Conference in Memphis on April 29. ... Rick Springfield -- once known as Dr. Noah Drake on "General Hospital" -- is getting sudsy once again. The actor/singer is opening the 33rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards with a mix of his hits (including "Jesse's Girl"). The event, which will be hosted by Tom Bergeron and Kelly Monaco, will be broadcast from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on April 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. ...

Turns out Diddy's Unforgivable fragrance wasn't a stinker -- since launching in December, it's become the best-selling men's fragrance in U.S. department stores. "Sean Combs helped us capture his lifestyle in a bottle and now everyone wants a piece of it," said Estée Lauder/ Sean John Fragrances President John Demsey. Added Diddy: "When we set out to create this fragrance ... I wanted to create a scent, package it, and promote it in a way that has never been seen before. ... I launched it like an album, and we have hit number one!" ...

Hank Williams Jr. surrendered to Memphis police Tuesday on a warrant issued over an alleged assault of a 19-year-old hotel waitress last month. The waitress said she was waiting on Williams when the singer asked to kiss her and lifted her off the ground in a choke hold, according to The Associated Press. No charges were filed until an arrest warrant was issued on Monday. Williams' lawyer claimed the charges came after the singer refused to respond to a letter from the waitress' lawyer seeking "an outlandish amount of money."

04.04.06

One of the songs on Pink's new album, I'm Not Dead, is about her experience in an abusive relationship, she reveals in the new issue of Seventeen. The magazine's cover star explains inside that she delved deep into her past on "Long Way to Happy" because she knows the impact of that pain. "It affects your entire life and you never truly get away from it. You can just be completely ripped apart." Pink said the experiences of friends who have endured similar struggles also inspired the song. "I don't know why there's so much abuse in the world, I really don't," she said, "but I have friends who've been molested by family members, I have friends who have been raped, [and] I've had my own sh--. It's just painful." Pink explained that she doesn't regret the experience "because I have this platform to talk about it and share it with people. And I am so strong because of it and so much wiser. I know better now and I wouldn't take any of it back." ...

As Marion "Suge" Knight waits for a Los Angeles judge to decide whether the court will seize his Death Row Records assets, the rap boss filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday morning (April 4) in an effort to avoid losing control of the label. A spokesperson for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles confirmed the action in Knight's name, but additional information on which assets the business filing listed was not available. ... Shakira, whose Barefoot Foundation aids children in Colombia, was honored for her humanitarian efforts at the United Nations on Monday with an award sponsored by Woman Together, a nonprofit organization that provides loans to help low-income women produce textiles. The ceremony featured a fashion show with clothing made in part by women from Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Peru, India, Bangladesh, Morocco and Brazil. "Let's not forget at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America," Shakira said after receiving her award. Model Karolina Kurkova was also honored for her work protecting children. ...

Dave Matthews Band fans can finally (well, legally anyway) download the group's music. iTunes announced Tuesday that the band's entire catalog is now available through the online store. Fans can purchase individual tracks or download full albums. ... System of a Down's Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan are heading to Washington, D.C., for three days in late April to lobby congressional leaders to end their complicity in Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide. Events will include a demonstration outside the gates of the Turkish Embassy on April 24 and an April 25 congressional screening of "Screamers," a documentary by Carla Garapedian about the band's campaign for Armenian Genocide recognition. ...

Northern California's U.S. attorney's office announced two guilty pleas Monday as a result of last year's "Operation Remaster," an undercover sting that targeted large-scale suppliers of pirated music, software and movies, according to a statement from the Recording Industry Association of America. The Remaster raids in October hit 13 spots in California and Texas, resulting in the seizure of 500,000 CDs, 1 million CD inserts and 5,500 "stampers" -- metal discs used to press multiple CD copies. ... The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry hit out at file sharers in Europe early Tuesday, bringing 2,000 cases in 10 countries, according to a Reuters report. Among the countries targeted were Portugal, where officials blame file sharing by college students for contributing to a nearly 40 percent dip in CD sales over the past four years. ...

Marky Ramone, the Misfits' Jerry Only and John Cafiero, Black Flag's Dez Cadena and the Voidoids' Ivan Julian have formed a new group called Osaka Popstar. The band's debut album is due May 23 and features the single "Wicked World" written by Daniel Johnston, who also contributes vocals on Osaka Popstar's cow-punk version of "Man of Constant Sorrow." ... Classic rockers the James Gang, featuring Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, will reunite this summer for their first tour in 35 years. The James Gang Rides Again outing kicks off at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on August 9 and is currently slated to wrap up September 9 in San Diego. The group is best known for the hits "Funk #49" and "Walk Away." ...

The lineup has been revealed for this year's HFStival, set for May 27 and 28 in Columbia, Maryland. Kanye West will headline the concert's first night, with Counting Crows topping May 28's bill. Others who've been confirmed to perform include Cypress Hill, Matisyahu, Rise Against, Matchbook Romance, the Misfits, OK Go, Cute Is What We Aim For, Dashboard Confessional, Coheed and Cambria, the Strokes, Yellowcard, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, AFI, H.I.M., Boy Sets Fire, Blue October, Flyleaf and Damone. ... Hot off a sold-out tour with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, New York indie-rockers Elefant will hit clubs for a headlining tour in May. The three-week excursion will include supporting acts Sound Team, Aberdeen City, Voxtrot and Silversun Pickups. Their new album, The Black Magic Show, will be released April 18. ...

Martin Gilks, an original member of the British alternative pop band the Wonder Stuff, died Monday following a traffic accident. The drummer, dubbed the "Groove Controller" in the band's early days, reunited with the group (which disbanded in 1994) for a string of U.K. reunion dates in 2000. He declined to participate in a new Wonder Stuff lineup that launched in 2004, concentrating instead on Furtive Mass Transit, the management company he'd set up with his brother. Gilks was 41. ... British singer Sandi Thom earned more than just a global audience of more than 100,000 people when she webcast her living-room performances for 21 consecutive nights. She received several label offers and ultimately signed with RCA/ Sony BMG.

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