As Britney Spears tries to move on from her little adventure in Las Vegas, she starts rehearsals this month for her upcoming tour, now dubbed the Onyx Hotel Tour. So what's the Onyx Hotel? As a post on the singer's Web site explains, it's a "unique, mysterious hotel powered by an onyx stone," where guests who enter shine their own light into the gemstone and make their fantasies come to life. "It's a vibrant, whimsical place where wondrous dreams are realized, and the darkest of secrets are revealed," the post reads. Fans will have to wait until March 2, when Spears kicks off the tour in San Diego, to find out how that works. ... Meanwhile, Britney will always have Vegas, and Vegas will always have her ... on wax. Spears' likeness at Madame Tussauds has been given wedding regalia of a sort -- in the form of a veil, a bouquet and a garter belt, making it an instant tourist attraction, where men have been getting down on one knee to propose. ...

The flow of information in the Michael Jackson case is now up to a judge. The district attorney's office filed a request this week for a gag order to prohibit Jackson, his attorney Mark Geragos and others with connections to the case from talking to the media. Geragos plans to file a motion opposing the gag order on Monday. The media, on the other hand, is fighting for access for more information, as six news organizations -- CNN, FOX News, CBS, ABC, NBC and The New York Times -- have jointly filed papers requesting that certain court documents be unsealed. Meanwhile, an attorney representing the family of Jackson's accuser has filed a formal complaint about the leak of a confidential child-welfare agency memo, which was posted on the Smoking Gun Web site last month. ...

Josh Groban has joined the Super Bowl pre-game lineup, the NFL announced Thursday (January 8). Groban will perform "You Raise Me Up" accompanied by an 80-person choir prior to Beyoncé's rendition of the national anthem. The Super Bowl, which takes place February 1 in Houston, will be televised on CBS at 6 p.m. ET. ... A Perfect Circle will launch a spring tour on March 18 in Salt Lake City. Dates run through April 16 in Chicago. No support acts have been announced. Next week the band will begin its European tour. ...

On Tuesday, Station club fire survivor Joe Kinan left a rehabilitation center in Boston to continue his recovery at home. Kinan, who is the last survivor to leave the hospital, suffered major burns over much of his upper torso and arms and lost fingers and parts of his nose and ears in the blaze. ... Fans can see as well as hear Incubus when the band's sixth album, A Crow Left of the Murder, drops February 3. A limited number of copies will include video clips of the band's performances on last summer's Lollapalooza Tour and at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit concert in October. ...

Mandy Moore played a brief surprise set Wednesday night at the relatively intimate Knitting Factory, following the Hollywood premiere of her romantic comedy "Chasing Liberty." Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, in stark contrast to the gown she was wearing just a few hours before, Moore apologized to the crowd for losing her voice as she made her way through six songs from her recent covers album, Coverage. ... The owner of a Baja Fresh restaurant franchise in Austin, Texas, has decided against demolishing a wall painted with a popular mural by local artist Daniel Johnston. Why does anyone care? Both the artist and the mural, titled "The Frog," were a favorite of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who once wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of the mural (www.hihowareyou.com). After protests by numerous locals, the restaurant owner, John Oudt, decided to stop the wall's demolition. ...

Electronic producer Danger Mouse has plans to create The Grey Album, a mash-up record that combines the vocals from Jay-Z's recently released The Black Album with new beats crafted from samples of the Beatles' classic The White Album. Danger Mouse is calling this an "art project/experiment" and does not have official plans to distribute the work in stores when it is completed in February. ... "The Beatles' First U.S. Visit," a new DVD due February 3 in the U.S. and February 9 internationally, will feature never-before-seen footage of the band's 1964 two-week tour of the United States. Albert and David Maysles shot the documentary, which is being released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the tour. ...

Avenged Sevenfold, IMA Robot and the Beautiful Mistake are the latest additions to this summer's Vans Warped Tour lineup. The annual summer trek, whose marquee acts include New Found Glory, Coheed and Cambria and Bad Religion, kicks off June 25. Meanwhile, the inaugural Warped Tour Japan has added Andrew W.K. to its bill. That trek, which features the Bouncing Souls, Poison the Well and Thursday, begins Saturday in Tokyo. ... Jason Mraz, Shelby Lynne, Joe Jackson, the All-American Rejects, John Doe, Clem Snide, Morcheeba and DJ sets by Tommy Lee, Perry Farrell and Sasha are just a few of the musical attractions at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, talking place January 15-25 in Park City, Utah. The Metallica documentary "Some Kind of Monster" and "Dig," a documentary on the parallels and sometimes tumultuous relationship of the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre, are among the music-minded film highlights. ...

MC5's Wayne Kramer, Faith No More's Billy Gould, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath and Anti-Flag's Christopher Barker, who is a cofounder of the Underground Action Alliance, are hosting a rally for their Punkvoter organization Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, home of the first caucuses, January 19. "I'm coming to Iowa to carry a message of change to punk rockers, and to all young people, that government policies are out of control," the anti-Bush Kramer said in a statement. "Come to the aid of our country now. Hear the facts and work together to influence change." ... Aerosmith and Cheap Trick will hit the road together starting in March and running through June. The only announced show is April 18 in Quebec, but more dates will be announced soon. Aerosmith will be touring behind their upcoming blues record, tentatively titled Honking on Bobo, and Cheap Trick will be supporting their 2003 album, Special One. Both discs were produced by Jack Douglas, who has worked on and off with both bands since the '70s. ...

Singer/songwriter Howie Day continues to tour in support of his second album, Stop All the World Now. A 13-date trek begins February 6 in Washington, D.C., after which Day will take the stage with Barenaked Ladies for a one-off show on March 5 in Lexington, Kentucky. ... Not many besides Fantômas fans can appreciate the brilliance of an album that contains just one song. Delirium Cordia, which has been pushed back to a January 27 release date, is just that -- one epic, 55-minute opus that can only stem from the twisted minds of singer Mike Patton; the bassist in his former band Mr. Bungle, Trevor Dunn; Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne; and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. ... Vast's third album will be the first release on Carson Daly and former Loud Records co-owner Jonathan Rifkind's 456 Entertainment. The LP, titled Nude, is due February 24. …

01.07.04

He's a semi-pro basketball player now, but Master P is making a play to be a rap artist again. He's readying the release of a new album, Good Side Bad Side, which will include a DVD movie of the same name, a practice he promises with all future No Limit releases. In the meantime, he's finishing two other flicks, "Uncle P," in which he co-stars with his son Lil' Romeo, and "Still Bout It," the sequel to his 1997 movie, "I'm Bout It." ...

In collaboration with MTV's Choose or Lose, Rock the Vote will host their annual Rock the Vote Awards on February 7 at the Hollywood Palladium. The pre-Grammy bash/fund-raiser will feature performances by the Black Eyed Peas and N.E.R.D. ... Tracks from nominees for the 46th annual Grammy Awards are packaged on the compilation 2004 Grammy Nominees CD, due January 20. The 21-track album includes Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love," Coldplay's "Clocks" and Eminem's "Lose Yourself," among others. ... The Rooney concert may be sold out in the OC, but you can rock out with Marissa, Ryan and the rest of the gang from the TV series "The O.C." right from your living room. The band will appear as special guests on the FOX show on Wednesday (January 7). ...

A solo song by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and a previously unreleased 1971 performance of "All the Madmen" by David Bowie will be included on the soundtrack for the movie "Mayor of the Sunset Strip." The flick tells the story of Los Angeles DJ Rodney "On the Roq" Bingenheimer, who helped break numerous bands over the years. The album comes out March 18 and the film hits screens March 26. ... The estate of late Beatles guitarist George Harrison has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the doctor who treated Harrison in his final days. The suit, which was filed on Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court, claims Dr. Gilbert Lederman coerced the rock legend to autograph a guitar for the doctor's teen son, and further asserts that the doc had to help Harrison hold the pen and guide it across the instrument. ...

The overweight lover will be in the house this spring. After producing records for everyone from Cash Money to Ludacris to P. Diddy, Jazze Pha has finally decided to release his debut, Big Love, in the next few months. Helping the rotund performing producer on his LP are Snoop Dogg, Nelly, T.I. and Big Boi. ... Ghostface, who's dropped the "Killah" from his moniker, will drop his next album, The Pretty Tony Album, on March 2. This will be Ghost's first album for his new label, Def Jam. The video for the leadoff single, "Run," which features Jadakiss, is being shot in New York this weekend. ...

The Black Crowes are no more, but the Robinson boys seem to be flying high. Guitarist Rich Robinson plans to debut new material at a handful of tour dates beginning January 15 in Trenton, New Jersey. He'll be backed by a trio that includes drummer Bill Dobrow of his first post-Crowes project, Hookah Brown. Brother Chris, meanwhile, is readying a band of his own. The unnamed project features Stone Temple Pilots' Eric Kretz and brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo. And on Wednesday, Chris' wife, actress Kate Hudson, gave birth to Ryder Russell Robinson (8 lbs., 11 oz.) in Los Angeles. ... For those about to face off in the squared circle -- as well as those who just like to watch -- the WWE has got just the thing to fire you up. WWE Originals, due January 13, features original songs by top pro wrestlers, including Chris Jericho, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T and Kurt Angle. The set also features a DVD on the making of the album. ...

Frank Black, in the process of getting his old band the Pixies back together, is set to deliver the keynote address at the fourth annual DIY Convention: Do It Yourself In Film, Music & Books, taking place February 5-7 in Hollywood. Black will speak about his career, the state of the entertainment industry and his plans for 2004. ... '80s hard rockers Tesla will release the new studio album Into the Now on March 9. The band has been working with producer Michael Rosen for the past two years and has concocted 12 songs, including the tracks "Look @ Me," "Heaven Nine Eleven" and "Mighty Mouse." ...

Thin Lizzy will return to the road at the end of January. The first date is January 30 in Salt Lake City, and the band will headline through February 7 in Spokane, Washington. The group will be joined the next day by Deep Purple, and the rock legends will continue to tour together through March 1 in New York. ... Now that he's joined Ozzy Osbourne's band, former Rob Zombie bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson has parted ways with Page Hamilton's newest incarnation of Helmet. Guitarist Chris Traynor will be handling bass duties in the studio for the time being. ...

Sense Field have decided to call it quits. "Each of us is ready to go off on our own and try different paths in life. There are no hidden reasons for the split," reads a statement on their Web site. The California band, which featured singer Jonathan Bunch and guitarist Chris Evenson from the seminal hardcore band Reason to Believe, released two full-length albums through Revelation, a record through Warner Bros. and two through Nettwerk, including last year's Living Outside. ... Dope bassist Sloane "Mosey" Jentry has quit the band to settle down with his girlfriend, according to a post on the band's Web site. He has been replaced by Powerman 5000's Adrian for Dope's tour, which starts January 9 in Columbus, Ohio. Dates run through February 21. Following the tour, the band will seek a full-time replacement. ...