Want to carry Hilary Duff around in your wallet? The singer/actress has a new signature Visa gift card, which would allow parents to buy a pre-paid, non-refillable card in increments of $25, up to $100, so that kids can use them just like a regular Visa, even online. "Now I can easily buy stuff online without having to borrow my parents' credit card," Duff said in a statement. The Hilary Duff Visa gift card is backed by Visa's zero liability policy, and features discounts on Hilary-related merch, including concert tickets. It's available at www.hilarycard.com. ...

'NSYNC's JC Chasez caught hair metal tribute band Metal Shop's weekly gig at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California, on Monday and sunk into his seat when the band announced "JC from the Backstreet Boys" was in the house. The band then launched into a power ballad version of "I Want It That Way." Slipknot's Corey Taylor was also in attendance and was dragged onstage to sing spot-on renditions of Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast," Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." He nodded at Kelly Osbourne during the latter. ... Aretha Franklin will be feted at the ninth annual BET Walk of Fame celebration in Washington, D.C., on October 28. Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Ruben Studdard are among the artists performing at the concert honoring Franklin, which will be broadcast live. ...

Velvet Revolver have finally picked a producer -- Josh Abraham -- and are making progress on their album, due early next year. According to its spokesperson, the band -- which features former members of Guns N' Roses with Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland handling vocals -- has finished laying down basic tracks for over a dozen songs. ... The Deftones' new video for "Bloody Cape" will be posted online for 24 hours Tuesday (October 14) on the band's Web site, www.deftones.com. The song is the third single from the band's eponymous fourth album. ...

The makers of the new video game "Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home" know full well that heavy metal, punk rock and graphic violence are mutually compatible. That's why they've recruited Sum 41, Rancid, Andrew W.K., CKY, Insane Clown Posse, American Hi-Fi, Anthrax, Sepultura, Machine Head and 30 other head-banging bands to contribute songs to the game. In the chaotic game, competitors use baseball bats, tables, light bulbs and other implements of destruction to beat each other bloody. "Backyard Wrestling" is currently available for PlayStation2 and Xbox. ... In what may be a stroke of marketing genius, Marilyn Manson has released his very own Halloween mask. The unique and visually disturbing mask, which sells for $50, was handcrafted directly from his face cast. For more information and how to order one, check out www.marilynmanson.com. ...

For the classic rock fan on your holiday gift list: A Jimi Hendrix action figure will be released in November by McFarlane Toys. The six-inch doll will feature the guitar icon in all his stylish glory, including blue velvet pants, white-fringed shirt, hair scarf and, of course, left-handed six-string guitar. The regular version of the figure will retail between $12 and $15, while a boxed set will sell for $20. The set includes a stage with mic stand, two amplifier stacks and guitar effects pedals. ... Universal Music Group has partnered with eBay to sell autographed and rare music memorabilia at a fixed price and through auctions. Items will include signed instruments, handwritten lyrics, front-row concert tickets, personal music lessons and import releases from the likes of Jay-Z and Nickelback. ...

R.E.M.'s former drummer, Bill Berry, rejoined the band for two songs on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina. During the final show of the group's fall North American tour, Berry played drums for the non-album cut "Permanent Vacation" and sang backup on "Radio Free Europe." Berry quit the group in 1997. ... You know you're big when you can halt traffic in New York's Times Square, and that's exactly what Wyclef Jean is going to do on October 23. The Grammy winner will perform a seven-minute set at noon as part of a promotion for LG mobile phones. The public display will be followed by a free concert that evening at Roseland, where he's expected to play material from his new album, Preacher's Son, due November 4. ...

Widelife's "All Things," the theme song for the Bravo/NBC hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," will be released by Capitol Records as a single with additional remixes. Several radio stations have already been playing looped versions of the theme. ... During the off-season of "American Idol," judge and record producer Randy Jackson wrote a book titled "What's Up Dawg?: How to Become a Recording Star." The guide to breaking into the music business will be published in January. ...

Techno star Richie Hawtin has scheduled six North American tour dates to promote Closer, the first Plastikman album in five years. The outing begins October 25 in New York and ends November 8 in Los Angeles. ... A recording of a tribute concert for the late Beatle George Harrison will be released on DVD and CD formats on November 18. The concert was held at London's Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2002, and marked the one-year anniversary of Harrison's death. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar and others performed at the event, which was organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and Clapton. ...

Mötley Crüe fans who want more dirt than was spewed in the salacious biography "The Dirt" can look forward to the autobiography by drummer Tommy Lee. The book, titled "An Illustrated Man," will be published in the spring. ... Bastions of the D.C. hardcore scene Minor Threat are set to release their "Live DVD" on November 10 through frontman Ian MacKaye's Dischord label. The DVD captures several performances throughout the band's short but influential history, including footage from their second show, a hometown gig at Space in 1980. ...

10.13.2003

At least two Vancouver police officers have been cited in the Guns N' Roses riot that occurred at the band's kickoff tour date at GM Place on November 7, 2002. The officers are accused of using "unnecessary and excessive force," according to a report issued by the Vancouver police commissioner on Friday. One concertgoer -- who did not appear to be resisting police in footage of the incident -- had two teeth knocked out by a police baton that night, and later had to have six teeth removed as a result. …

Tiding "American Idol" fans over until the third season launches next year, Fox will air the one-hour special "American Idol: Christmas Songs" on November 25. The winners and runners-up from both seasons, plus other contestants, will perform on the show. American Idol - The Great Holiday Classics album is due Tuesday. ... Kelly Clarkson, 'NSYNC's Lance Bass and JC Chasez, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Fabolous, Ice Cube, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, Bow Wow, and Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson will be among the presenters at the 31st annual American Music Awards on November 16 in Los Angeles. ...

50 Cent won all five awards for which he was nominated at Sunday's World Music Awards in Monaco. T.A.T.U. nabbed three trophies, followed by Eminem and Norah Jones, who each took home two. ... R&B singers Joi and Truth (formerly Truth Hurts) have each signed to Raphael Saddiq's Pookie Entertainment record label. Joi previously sang with Saddiq in the band Lucy Pearl and released a solo album in 2002, Star Kitty's Revenge. Truth, meanwhile, was last on Aftermath Records but was dropped after her debut album, Truthfully Speaking, couldn't live up to the hype of its lead single, "Addictive." ...

Sharon Osbourne's father, Don Arden, the infamous manager who once handled Black Sabbath and became estranged from his daughter for nearly 20 years after she took on Ozzy as her first client when he was fired from Sabbath, is now promising to "spill the beans" about his life (and, presumably, former clients) in a tell-all autobiography. The self-described "Al Capone of Pop" plans to name the book "Mr. Big," according to www.DonArden.com. ... After a radio festival on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York and a benefit October 23 in Los Angeles, Seal will launch a headlining tour to promote his recently released Seal IV album. The outing begins November 14 in Temecula, California, and ends December 13 in Washington, D.C. ...

Josh Kelley will perform his breakthrough single, "Amazing," on the November 12 episode of "Smallville." The singer/songwriter is touring with Train now and will hit the road with Third Eye Blind in November. ... Depeche Mode's Martin Gore will release Loverman EP2, a live DVD/CD-EP on November 18. The DVD will consist of live tracks from his recent tour stop in Milan, Italy, while the bonus CD will include different versions of the Nick Cave song "Loverman" and the Nico track "Das Lied Vom Einsamen Madchen," both of which appear on Gore's covers album, Counterfeit2. ...

Smalltime shock-rockers Hell on Earth, who recently grabbed the mainstream media's attention with the announcement of the impending onstage suicide of a terminally ill fan, played an uneventful gig at the Liar's Club in Tampa, Florida, over the weekend in front of about 20 people, according to the Tampa Tribune. It's the second time the group has performed, without any suicide taking place, since the date the band first promised would include the grisly event. ...