Jay-Z and Russell Simmons are joining forces to register voters in Ohio, where the deadline for registration (October 4) is rapidly approaching. Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) will team up with Jay-Z's "Voice Your Choice" initiative to register voters outside concert venues in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland where Jay-Z and R. Kelly will perform this weekend on their Best of Both Worlds tour. ... In an effort to increase youth voter turnout across the country, HSAN and America Coming Together (ACT) will collaborate on a monthlong, 10-state Hip-Hop Team Vote GOTV Tour beginning October 1 in Washington, D.C. Two buses packed with artists, DJs and activists will depart from D.C. and will travel for 33 days through 26 cities, with one bus heading to states in the Midwest and the other to the South, ending the trip in the swing state of Florida. ...

Dave Matthews Band fans really know how to get involved. While on the road with the group this summer, the nonprofit civic group HeadCount.org registered more than 14,656 voters, setting a new record for a single concert tour. ... Metallica taught Jane Pauley how to rock for her upcoming episode of "The Jane Pauley Show," airing Thursday. After a discussion about the band's experience with group therapy and the film documenting that therapy, "Some Kind of Monster," guitarist Kirk Hammett demonstrated a few heavy-metal techniques for the host of the hour-long syndicated show, which she attempted to imitate while dressed in a leather jacket and a Metallica T-shirt. "This is the highlight of my career," she told him. "You're on my greatest-hits reel for eternity." ...

Beyoncé is headlining a charity gala for Carousel of Hope, along with Faith Hill and Josh Groban, with Jay Leno acting as master of ceremonies. The event will take place October 23 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, and will raise money for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Denver. ... Kelly Clarkson, Angie Stone, Blondie, En Vogue, Shirley Manson of Garbage and Wilson Phillips are slated to perform for Lifetime Television's annual breast-cancer awareness concert, "WomenRock!" Vivica A. Fox will host the event, which will air October 28 at 11 p.m. ET on Lifetime. ...

Lou Reed, the Roots, Macy Gray, Stephan Jenkins and Camp Freddy will perform at the third annual Vanity Fair In Concert program, benefiting Step Up Women's Network, an organization which raises money and awareness for women's issues, including breast and ovarian cancers and domestic abuse. The concerts will take place on October 21 and 23 -- the first at New York's Irving Plaza featuring Reed, the Roots and Camp Freddy; and the second at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theater with Gray, Jenkins and Camp Freddy. Actress Kyra Sedgwick will host the New York event, while Aisha Tyler will host the Los Angeles show. ... Izora Rhodes Armstead, one half of the Weather Girls (who sang the 1983 hit "It's Raining Men"), has died of heart failure. Armstead passed on September 16 at a hospital in San Leandro, California. She's also known for her contributions to Sylvester's hit "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)." ...

Lance Bass, having already visited students in Texas' Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday as part of Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology week, is expanding his tour to visit public schools in and around Los Angeles for World Space Week next week. During Tuesday's stop, Bass announced the winners of a robotics competition sponsored by Gear Up, a program that prepares low-income students for college. For World Space Week, the 'NSYNC member has a competition named after him -- "Lance's Lab" challenges students to design a module for the International Space Station. "When I talk with kids about space, they really understand that their generation is the next wave of explorers, and that's really exciting to them," Bass said in a statement. "World Space Week gives us the opportunity to fuel that excitement even more and show them the tools -- especially math and science -- that will get them there, and bring the rest of the world with them." Bass is slated to be inducted into the National Space Society's Board of Governors next week. ...

Talib Kweli celebrated the release of his new solo set, The Beautiful Struggle, Tuesday night with an album-release party at New York's Eugene's nightclub. The Brooklyn MC, who performed, even brought his mother, Dr. Brenda Greene, and godfather of hip-hop Kool Herc onstage with him for his hit single "Get By." ... Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus is putting the finishing touches on his third solo disc. Scheduled for spring 2005, the currently untitled album features the songs "Baby Come On" and "It Kills." ...

For metalheads who consider Dimebag Darrell a fashion plate, the former Pantera/ current Damageplan guitarist is launching a clothing line called Dimebag Hardware. ... Now you have another reason to visit the Web site of former Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow -- the singer has posted "Come and Gone," a previously unreleased track of the late great metal guitarist Randy Rhoads playing with Quiet Riot. ...

No Doubt's Adrian Young is following in his bandmate Gwen Stefani's footsteps and moonlighting as an actor. He has a small part in the upcoming Nick Cannon film "The Underclassman," about a young detective who goes undercover at an elite private school. The film is due out early next year. ... Photek and Jurassic 5's Cut Chemist have remixed "They," the first single from Jem, who DJed and worked for dance labels before launching her singing career. Newcomers Kid Freeze and MDK & Ayesha have also done remixes, which will be released on Jem's own CrazyWiseMusic imprint of ATO Records. ... P.O.D. guitarist Jason Truby released a solo acoustic album, String Theory, on Tuesday, available exclusively through P.O.D.'s online store. Truby shows off his skills playing a plethora of different guitars, as well as the sitar, throughout the album. ...

09.28.2004

Good Charlotte just got a lot smaller. Miniature versions of the five bandmembers are available individually at select Hot Topic and Spencer Gifts retailers, while a limited-edition, autographed box set of all five guys will be available next month exclusively online at www.killertoys.com. Guitarist Billy Martin worked with the manufacturer to create the 8" figures in the band's likeness. ...

R. Kelly won a round in court on Monday, when a Chicago judge ruled that prosecutors have to narrow the time frame in which they accuse him of making child pornography. The indictment gave a window of more than four years -- from November 1, 1997 to February 1, 2002 -- for which the act could have occurred, but Kelly's lawyers successfully argued that the time frame was so broad it prevented him from giving an alibi. Motions filed by his lawyers also suggest that the tape was made when the girl would have been of age. Kelly is due back in court on November 4. ... Cam'ron's long-delayed album Purple Haze will hit shelves on December 7, according to his spokesperson. The album features appearances by Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeekey of the Diplomats, Kanye West, Jaheim, Lil' Flip and Twista. Cam'ron also plans to release a "Purple Haze" short film in conjunction with the album. ...

Though you could previously only buy No Doubt's "Live in the Tragic Kingdom" DVD or "Everything in Time," a collection of B-sides, rarities and remixes, as part of their out-of-print box set, Boom Box, they'll be available separately starting October 12. The revamped version of "Live in the Tragic Kingdom," with added bonus footage, is due out next year. Meanwhile, the band's Adrian Young is moonlighting with the Start, filling in for three dates on their upcoming tour since they're in between drummers. Young will play with the band in Anaheim, California, on October 17; Austin, Texas, on October 23; and Dallas on October 24. ... After months of sporadically leaking track names, U2 have announced the full track list for their forthcoming album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, slated for a November 23 release. In addition to previously revealed song titles like first single "Vertigo" (which is also the lead track on the album) and "Yahweh," other titles include "Miracle Drug" and "Love and Peace or Else." ...

The son of singer Chaka Khan was arrested Friday night in Los Angeles on charges of investigation of murder, after a struggle with a gun resulted in the shooting death of an 18-year-old man. Damien Patrick Holland, 25, was fighting with the victim, whose name was not released at press time, when the gun went off. Holland was being held on $1 million bail on Tuesday (September 28). ... Jermaine Dupri has decided to diversify. The So So Def Records mogul is planning on opening the Def Cafe, a 24-hour eatery in the Buckhead section of his hometown of Atlanta, according to his spokesperson. Dupri describes the cafe as "a very upscale hip-hop healthy cafe [where you can order] wine and a turkey burger or a seafood salad." Dupri also has plans to produce a hip-hop version of the show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" through his So So Def TV, and to launch a line of toys in the likeness of himself, Da Brat, Bone Crusher and the So So Def logo. There's currently no word on when any of these projects will be completed. ...

Duran Duran will have some spiffy duds on their upcoming world tour if Giorgio Armani has anything to say about it. The Italian designer is collaborating with the bandmembers on their wardrobe, after connecting with them following their "Fashion Rocks!" charity concert at London's Royal Albert Hall last year. "They've always been known for their great fashion statements ... so when [keyboardist] Nick Rhodes got in touch ... I was enthusiastic about being involved," Armani said in a statement. Armani has come up with four looks for the band, incorporating lamé, fine-striped and white silk evening jackets, black dress shirts with ruffles, Pop Art-style geometric prints, Crepe de Chine, denim, sheer black silk shirts, and lots of sequins. ... Following in the illustrious footsteps of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, the Barenaked Ladies may get their own variety show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the band will shoot a pilot for FOX for a show tentatively titled "The Barenaked Ladies Variety Show," which will feature the bandmembers playing caricatures of themselves. ...

Flea, Vince Neil, James Hetfield, No Doubt's Tom Dumont, New Found Glory, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora and others have donated their jackets and guitar straps to make one-of-a-kind watches to benefit MAP (Musicians Assistance Program). The watches are available in Fred Segal and Barneys locations. ... Courtney Love continues to slowly add dates to her late October outing, giving rise to fans' hopes that she's rescheduling her canceled summer tour. A new Santa Cruz date on October 28 fleshes out the singer's itinerary to four dates thus far, all along the California coast. San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura shows were added last week. After playing with Love this weekend for one of his Camp Freddy shows, Dave Navarro posted on his Web site that she's doing a lot better and that she's been "a pleasure to be around and an incredible presence onstage. Undeniable." ...

If you're sick of having to sift through all those Britney and Ashlee MP3s while trying to find your favorite Vandals tune, the newly launched DownloadPunk.com is here to help. The site offers users a catalog of songs from every branch of the punk genre, including hardcore, emo, metalcore, pop punk, post punk, ska, street punk, indie rock and assorted metal sub-genres. Individual songs are available for download from 79-99 cents while full albums can be purchased from $7.99-$9.99. All downloads are available in both MP3 and WMA formats. ... Oklahoma oddballs the Flaming Lips are well on their way to completing their 12th studio album. With the working title At War With the Mystics, the album is tentatively being scheduled for a summer release and contains such song titles as "Mr. Ambulance Driver" and "Space Bible." Meanwhile, due to the Lips' accelerated recording pace, the group's long-awaited film, "Christmas on Mars," has been pushed back to a December 2005 release. ...

Martin Luther was in Los Angeles over the weekend to shoot a clip for "Daily Bread," from his recently released Rebel Soul Music. The video was directed by newcomer Marshall Tyler. The video's story line is based on the strife between Luther and his girlfriend (played by Nona Gaye) as they move into their first home together and their privacy is invaded by his band's need to rehearse there. The clip also includes cameos from actor/musician Saul Williams, actor Wood Harris, Cody Chesnutt, and ?uestlove and Black Thought of the Roots. They all play members of Luther's band in the video. ... The band best known for joke-rock anthems like "Punk Rock Girl" and "Bitchin' Camaro" are getting back together for a memorial to their late bassist, Dave Blood, who committed suicide in March. The three original members of the Dead Milkmen -- Dean Clean, Rodney Anonymous and Joe Jack Talcum -- will take the stage November 21 at Philadelphia's Trocadero. Proceeds from the show will benefit an as-yet-unnamed charity. ...

Elvis Costello is apparently not happy about the FBI's piracy warning that appears on his new album, as well as on many other LPs released since the recording industry instituted the voluntary policy earlier this year. Near the FBI's seal on copies of Delivery Man, which dropped last week, is Costello's own comment: "This artist does not endorse the following warning. The FBI doesn't have his home phone number, and he hopes that they don't have yours." ...