It's going to be a rough two months for high-energy Plus-44 drummer Travis Barker. The human drum machine has been ordered to rest his right arm for eight weeks after breaking it while shooting the video for the title track from Plus-44's upcoming debut, When Your Heart Stops Beating, and exacerbating the injury during a recent seven-show European promo tour, according to a statement from Barker's spokesperson. "I had the worst pain in my arm the day after we filmed our video, and I really thought nothing of it," Barker wrote on his MySpace page. He had it checked out by doctors in London and L.A. and said tests showed "I'd been playing with a broken arm for three weeks and/or [had a] possible tumor in my arm." Barker says he's attempting to learn how to drum with one arm for Plus-44 shows, "so don't count me out yet." In other Barker news, he plays drums on the first single from hip-hop newcomers LAX. Jazze Pha produced the track, "Ride Like This," which is due on the youngsters' self-titled debut, in stores in January. ...

Barker's estranged wife, Shanna Moakler, and Paris Hilton each filed police reports charging battery Wednesday morning after an incident at the Hollywood nightclub Hyde, The Associated Press reports. Moakler claims that Hilton's ex, Stavros Niarchos, shoved her down some stairs, while Hilton -- who has been romantically linked to Barker in tabloid reports -- charges that Moakler punched her. Police photographed both women and will interview club patrons who witnessed the incident, an officer told the AP. ...

Hilary Duff and her beloved Chihuahua Lola will appear in the new video game "The Sims 2: Pets," due October 17. "I've logged hundreds of hours playing the 'Sims' games, so I jumped at the chance," Duff said in statement. ... The album cover for The Information isn't the only make-it-yourself item Beck has planned: He's also letting fans customize their own T-shirts at his upcoming shows. Fans will be able to choose from four different colors of blank tees, along with iron-on decals, and the shirts can be pressed at the respective venues. ... Dave Matthews has signed on to set aside his nice-guy image to play a villain on the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Matthews -- who will be credited as David Matthews -- will be featured in the drama "Lake City" alongside Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity. The film begins shooting Monday in Virginia. ...

Camp Freddy -- the cover band featuring ex-Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland and Matt Sorum -- will appear on NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" Thursday (October 5), with Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash and Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen in tow. The band will perform its rendition of the Cheap Trick hit "Surrender," which appears on the forthcoming soundtrack to the Jessica Simpson comedy "Employee of the Month." ... Mastodon have been booked as musical guests for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" next month. Look for the band to make its U.S. network television debut November 1. Mastodon is on tour through Saturday in Atlanta, and will then head to Europe on a run opening for Tool. ...

P.O.D. are marking the end of their relationship with Atlantic Records with the November 21 release of Greatest Hits (The Atlantic Years). The compilation will feature the previously unreleased "Here We Go" as well as the new song "Going in Blind," inspired by a true story of a child murder. "Man, if something like that happened to one my kids, I don't know if my faith is strong enough," singer Sonny Sandoval said of the single, for which P.O.D. will shoot a video. "It sparked this whole idea of walking that line of faith." While P.O.D. contemplate their next move, Sandoval and his cousin Wuv have formed a reggae side project called Southtown Generals. "That's just the vibe around here when you get a bunch of musicians hanging around," Sandoval said. ...

RealNetworks previewed its revamped Rhapsody 4.0 download service to the press on Thursday, along with the first line of Rhapsody MP3 players, the Sansa e200R. Those players come in 2 GB and 8 GB sizes and will be preloaded with 30 hours of music from a host of major-label artists. The company also announced a 10-year deal with the Best Buy Digital Music Store, which will offer both subscription and pay-as-you-go downloads. The new RealNetworks service and players will be available starting October 15. ...

While he's cheated death numerous times in the past, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards admits to being embarrassed about the bizarre tree-sitting incident that almost did him in last April. According to Reuters, Richards said he was simply on vacation in Fiji, sitting on a tree stump -- not climbing a tall palm tree, as previously reported -- when he fell and hit his head. The incident led to emergency head surgery in New Zealand that postponed the Stones' summer European tour and spurred rumors that Richards might never play guitar again. "It's embarrassing, really," Richards, 62, says in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. "I was sitting on this gnarled shrub about 6 feet off the ground. I was wet -- I'd been swimming. I hit the ground the wrong way, my head hit the trunk and that was that. ... It's not the first brush with death I've had. I guess what I learned is, don't sit in trees anymore." ...

Aluminium, an album of avant-garde orchestral covers of songs originally recorded by the White Stripes and Jack White, will be available beginning November 6 exclusively through Alumiiinium.com. (The album is not a Jack White side project, as had been previously reported, but was co-produced by composer/arranger Joby Talbot and XL Records founder Richard Russell and features British classical musicians.) Only 3,333 numbered CDs and 999 numbered LPs are being released, although the album will also be available in download form. Choreographer Wayne McGregor is using tracks from Aluminium in a new composition that he is putting together for the Royal Ballet in London. A toy is also being released with the album. ...

Jeffrey Borer, the former owner of a private jet company who admitted to secretly taping Michael Jackson as the singer flew to surrender in a child-molestation investigation in 2003, was sentenced Wednesday to six months of home detention, three years of probation, 150 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, according to the AP. Borer and co-defendant Avrel Jett Reeves admitted that they installed cameras on one of Borer's jets in order to tape a "professional entertainer" with the intention of selling the recordings; Reeves was sentenced in July to eight months in prison and ordered to spend six additional months in a halfway house and pay a $1,000 fine.

10.4.2006

She missed New York's Fashion Week, but now Jennifer Lopez is eyeing a different week to show off her new clothes. The singer/actress/designer will premiere her latest JLo and Sweetface gear during Fashion Week Miami Beach, which runs October 11-15 in Florida. Lopez's JLo line will be on the runway at Tents at the Fifth on October 12 -- with an afterparty to follow at the Funkshion Lounge. The Sweetface collection will debut October 14 at the Hotel Nash. ...

Jay-Z will star in a series of promotional spots for the NBA on TNT. The commercials will give "an introspective look into the mind of the entertainment mogul," according to TNT. ... After landing the Billboard #1 spot for the third time in his career with Release Therapy, Ludacris is set to host and perform on "Saturday Night Live" next. The rapper/actor will appear on the November 18 episode. ...

Australia and New Zealand's Big Day Out music festival will celebrate its 15th year with a lineup topped by Tool and including homegrown heroes Jet, as well as My Chemical Romance, the Killers and Muse. The 2007 tour kicks off January 19 in Auckland, New Zealand, and is slated to run through a February 4 show in Perth, Australia. Also on the roster are the Violent Femmes, Peaches, Spank Rock and the Sleepy Jackson. ...

On November 2, Gorillaz -- already the world's most famous animated band -- will look to get even more famous with the release of their official autobiography, "Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre." Published by Riverhead Books and featuring illustrations by band co-creator Jamie Hewlett, "Ogre" follows the band from its earliest days to its world-uniting weeklong stint at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. Among the nuggets of childhood info: As a child, bassist Murdoc attended Sodsworth Comprehensive School and was in a band called Burning Sensations, and a young 2D found solace in George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." For more information, fans can check out the band's official site, Gorillaz.com. ...

AFI will return to the East Coast later this month for five club gigs. The band invades Rochester, New York, on October 28, followed by shows in Sayreville, New Jersey (October 30); Washington, D.C. (November 1); Providence, Rhode Island (November 2); and Albany, New York (November 4). The Explosion will join the band for all five dates, while A Static Age and the Loved Ones will also handle opening-act duties for select shows. AFI are currently working on their first full-length DVD, which will boast live footage captured last week in Long Beach, California, as well as behind-the-scenes clips, all the band's videos and interviews with members of AFI's Despair Faction fan club. The band is seeking photo submissions from fans for inclusion on the DVD. Visit AFireInside.net to learn how to take part. ...

The final few shows at New York's CBGB are being detailed this week. On Thursday, the Pietasters, Big D and the Kids Table and the Lost City Angels will take the punk club's fabled stage for an evening of ska tunes. Agnostic Front, Murphy's Law and Sick of It All have been booked for Sunday. Bad Brains are playing three nights, with Avail and the Dub Trio joining them on Monday, the Bouncing Souls opening for them Tuesday and another gig slated for October 11. The Dictators, the Sic F---s and the Bullys play CBGB one last time on October 13. And on October 15, the venue's final night in business, Patti Smith will take the stage for a sold-out evening of tunes. ...

Meat Loaf was the clear choice to play Jack Black's dad in the upcoming Tenacious D film "The Pick of Destiny," the singer/funnyman tells Playboy in its November issue, out Friday. "We look alike, obviously. ... But it was mostly his energy that inspired us to cast him. Just watching him sing is an education in rock." Black revealed that getting the Meat man to show off his pipes onscreen was easier than one might think. "We basically said, 'Will you sing in the movie, yes or no?' He said, 'For you guys, yes, because I like your stuff.' " "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny" hits theaters November 17. ... Princeton University will host a hip-hop symposium Friday featuring noted professor Cornel West, rapper Talib Kweli, California Representative Maxine Waters and former Source editor Bakari Kitwana. The Center for American Progress-sponsored panel discussion is open to the public and will address the role of hip-hop in post-9/11 America. BET host Jeff "Cousin Jeff" Johnson will serve as moderator. For more information on the event, visit Princeton.edu. ...

Atreyu, who spent this summer on Ozzfest, have signed with Hollywood Records. The band's previous outing, A Death-Grip on Yesterday, was released on Victory Records in March and has sold more than 210,000 copies. "As a group of friends playing music, our main goal is to grow and spread our brand of metallic rock around the world," frontman Alex Varkatzas said. "We try to progress and grow on each album we record. We feel that Hollywood Records is the perfect place to continue to grow, while maintaining our freedom to do whatever the hell we want with our songs." ... Pete Yorn and the Brand New Heavies have been added to the Voodoo Music Experience lineup and will join already-announced artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, My Chemical Romance and Wu-Tang Clan at New Orleans' City Park for the October 28-29 event. Yorn and the Heavies are each scheduled to perform on the Experience's second day, which will be headlined by Duran Duran. ...

The reopening of Cincinnati's historic downtown Fountain Square will be celebrated on October 14 with a night of music from Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek, Los Lobos and OK Go. The city's favorite funky son, former Parliament-Funkadelic bass master Bootsy Collins, will host the festivities. ... Meeting Teddy Geiger on his latest tour may be as easy as bringing some reading material along to the concert. The November issue of Seventeen -- with Geiger on the cover -- will serve as a meet-and-greet pass to the first 50 fans who show up to the venue. Carry a copy of the magazine, show up at least two hours before the gig starts and you could chat with the singer/songwriter before he takes the stage. Geiger's tour hits West Hollywood, California's Troubadour on Thursday.