With eight nods, the Donnas lead the pack of nominees for the 26th annual California Music Awards, taking place Memorial Day weekend in Oakland. Queens of the Stone Age, who racked up six noms, Beck, Counting Crows and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among the artists with multiple nominations. ...

50 Cent will shoot two videos next weekend. The first, for the song "21 Questions" featuring Nate Dogg, will be directed by Dr. Dre. The second clip, "Many Men," will be directed by "Wanksta" director Jessy Terrero. ... Like many burgeoning stars, late Drowning Pool frontman Dave Williams once vowed to buy his parents a house when he became famous. He died of a heart attack last year before he could realize his dream, so Drowning Pool's label has made a $250,000 contribution to a fund called The House That Williams Built, which will enable Williams' parents to purchase a new home. ...

Longtime Offspring drummer Ron Welty has left the band. After more than 15 years of rocking with Dexter Holland and the boys, Welty has decided to pursue his own project, Steady Ground. "I wish [them] the best of luck moving forward, and it's time for me to focus on my own thing," he said. A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese will play on the Offspring's next album, due before the end of the year. ... Even though they didn't win a Grammy, Bowling for Soup can console themselves with the fact that the recognition earned them a spot on the Vans Warped Tour. The Texas group will hitch its wagon to the trek from its start on June 19 in Boise, Idaho. This year's punk-rock summer camp also features Rancid, AFI and the Used. ...

John Mayer, the Nappy Roots, Wilco, Big Star, 3 Doors Down, Evanescence and LL Cool J are among the artists performing on one of four stages near the mighty Mississippi River for the annual Beale Street Festival in Memphis, Tennessee, taking place May 2 to 4. ... The 2003 Essence Music Festival will go down July 3-5 in New Orleans. Helping to celebrate the festival's ninth year will be Nelly and the St. Lunatics, P. Diddy and the Bad Boy Family (New Edition, Faith Evans, Carl Thomas and Loon) and old-schoolers Biz Markie and Doug E. Fresh. ... Possible topics of conversation may include Iroc-Zs, the old scene at Seaside and why both New York pro football teams play in the Garden State when Jersey boys Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi get together to share a stage in Red Bank, New Jersey, on April 29. The concert, which also features Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera and Gary "U.S." Bonds, will raise money for the Rock and Roll Music Fund. ...

03.20.03

Eminem is skipping the Oscars and now he's skipping out of your neighborhood video store as well. His "8 Mile" DVD, released Tuesday, has already sold 2 million copies, earning $40 million in first-day sales and setting a record for both a March DVD release and an R-rated movie. ...

Jermaine Dupri is wasting no time rebuilding his So So Def imprint. One of his longtime artists, Da Brat, has her new LP, Limelight, Love and Nightclubs, scheduled to drop on July 29. Meanwhile, his newest signees, ATL MC Bone Crusher and Anthony Hamilton, who sings on Tupac's "Thugz Mansion" and Nappy Roots' "Po' Folks," are scheduled to release their debuts on April 29 and July 8, respectively. ...

Although he's claimed to have given up the weed, Snoop Dogg can still get nice. The rapper made a wish come true for 17-year-old Branson Walker, an Ohio teen suffering from a terminal kidney disease. Meeting the Long Beach lyricist Tuesday was the first of three wishes the Special Wish Foundation granted for the boy, who, along with his family, was flown to Los Angeles for a taping of Snoop's TV show "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle." Afterward, Snoop gave the boy the diamond-encrusted platinum cross necklace he was wearing. ...

Call it the re-remix. With the permission of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly, Twista has added a verse on the "Ignition" remix. Although chances of the track popping up on an album are slim, it is getting play on Chi-town stations. ... After producing Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around, Rick Rubin isn't exactly resting on his laurels. The helmer of classic albums for the Beastie Boys (Licensed to Ill) and Slayer (Reign in Blood) is wrapping up work on the Mars Volta's debut LP and Palo Alto's second album, while beginning pre-production of Weezer's follow-up to last year's Maladroit. ...

Jude Law ("Artificial Intelligence: A.I.," "Road to Perdition") is slated to portray the late Beatles manager Brian Epstein in an upcoming flick, according to London's Sunday Times. To prepare for the role of the man who helped the Beatles achieve fame, Law recently purchased Epstein's letters and journals. ... Paul McCartney's "Back in the U.S.S.R." is a work of fiction, since he's never been to the country. That's about to change when Macca performs his first concert in Russia on May 24 before an audience of 100,000 in Moscow's Red Square. ...