Rock's most powerful chicks will hit the road together when No Doubt, Garbage and the Distillers kick off their tour October 9 in Minneapolis. Though the itinerary has not been finalized, a spokesperson said the arena outing will wrap around Thanksgiving. ... While in Jamaica for a performance at the 2002 Reggae Sumfest over the weekend, Ja Rule negotiated a plea bargain in an obscenity case stemming from his performance at last year's Sumfest. Ja plans to plead guilty and is expected to pay a fine of roughly $80. ...
Ja Rule, along with Busta Rhymes, Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown, Stone Temple Pilots, Wyclef Jean, Sevendust, Bad Religion and Melissa Etheridge, among others, will play the Street Scene Festival in downtown San Diego from September 6 to 8. ... Before he hits the Street scene, Busta will join Default, Filter and Run-D.M.C. on the bill at this year's Gravity Games, which run from July 31 to August 4 in Cleveland. The event will feature over 250 athletes competing in bike, freestyle motocross, street luge, skateboarding, in-line skating and wakeboarding events. ...
Ryan Adams will release Demolition, a collection of 13 demo recordings from studio sessions over the last two years, on September 17. Some of the demos will be previewed on his Web site, www.ryan-adams.com, before the album is due. ... David Gray's as-yet-untitled new album is due November 5. Photos of Gray working on the record are posted on his Web site, www.davidgray.com. ... Jewel is holding a contest to find a director for her next video, the title track from This Way. Details are available at www.soulcitycafe.com. ...
Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue has accepted an advance of over $1.3 million from Britain's Hodder & Stoughton to write her autobiography, according to the BBC. The book, which will co-written by Minogue's friend William Baker, will be called "La La La Kylie," and it likely won't come wrapped in a flimsy white sheet. ... Doug E. Fresh has penned the children's book "Think Again," which will be accompanied by a CD single produced by Prince Paul when it hits shelves in September. LL Cool J's "And the Winner Is" is part of the same series. ... Uncle Kracker's second album, No Stranger to Shame, has been pushed back to a September 24 release date, according to his label. He's planning a headlining tour following his stint on the road with Kid Rock, Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. ...
The Great White Way will get a little deffer when Russell Simmons' "Def Poetry On Broadway" opens in November. A theatrical presentation of HBO's "Def Poetry Jam," which has been staged in San Francisco since June 25, will feature eight poets discovered through the series, addressing themes that, as Simmons puts it, "should be talked about but aren't." ... Jay-Z, Damon Dash, Tyra Banks and Dick Gregory were among Simmons' guests at his benefit party in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York, on Saturday. ...
Early recordings by Metallica, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse and Corrosion of Conformity are just some of the gems to be found on Metal Blade Records' nine-CD 20th Anniversary Box Set, which comes out October 22. Other artists in the package include Thin Lizzy, Bitch, Mercyful Fate, Manowar, Trouble, Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Gwar and Six Feel Under. ... Death metal's Marduk have just released a limited edition box set of their own, titled Blackcrowned, which includes two CDs, a booklet and a video. ...
07.26.02
Ja Rule may spend more time behind bars than onstage when he arrives in Jamaica to perform at the 2002 Reggae Sumfest with Ashanti on Saturday. Jamaican police plan to arrest the Murder Inc. rapper for failing to appear before a local magistrate last September on charges of profanity at 2001's Sumfest. ... Usher, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube are among the artists scheduled to play in a celebrity basketball game August 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to raise funds for the Magic Johnson Foundation. Actors Michael Rapaport, Bill Bellamy and Mekhi Phifer and NBA stars Allen Iverson, Gary Payton and Paul Pierce will also take part. ... Queens of the Stone Age and ... And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead have doubled the size of their fall tour, which kicks off August 30 in Washington, D.C. and now ends October 1 in Denver. ...

Russell Simmons is hosting a benefit party at his house in the Hamptons Saturday to honor Martha Stewart, Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City" and Black Enterprise magazine publisher Earl Graves for their support of the arts in New York City public schools. Simmons expects 700 people to attend and hopes to raise $1 million for his Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, which provides disadvantaged urban youth with access to the arts. ... Gary Binkow, a Hollywood producer whose résumé includes the 1997 parody "Plump Fiction," has sued Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, claiming they stole his idea for "The Osbournes." In the suit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Binkow said he had several meetings in 1999 and 2000 with the couple to discuss "a real-life docu-sitcom" about the family. ... Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions will launch a two-month tour on August 7 in Sacramento, California. The former Mazzy Star singer and her band are supporting their debut album, Bavarian Fruit Bread. ...
Local H will premiere the video for "Hands on the Bible" on eBay on Friday (July 26), the last day fans can bid on a concert from the Chicago duo via the auction Web site (the current high bid is $9,100). "Bible" is the second single from the band's fourth album, Here Comes the Zoo, released in March. ... 311 are recording their seventh studio album at their own Hive Studios with producer Ron Saint Germain, who worked on last year's From Chaos and 1995's 311. The group will finish the album after touring with Jay-Z this fall and release it next spring. ... Liberation, the debut album from the Pharcyde's Tre' Hardson, is due September 10. Guests on the record include Saul Williams, Jurassic 5's Chali 2na, Brand New Heavies' N'Dea Davenport, MC Lyte and the Dilated Peoples' Evidence. ... They Might Be Giants are selling a 21-track rarities album at their shows and on their Web site (www.tmbg.com) called They Got Lost. The collection includes music the duo composed for ABC's "Brave New World" series. ... Gene will play four U.S. dates beginning September 2 at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle in support of their new album, Libertine, which was recently bumped up to an August 6 release date. "Let Me Move On," the album's first single, is available as a free MP3 download at the band's Web site (www.genemusic.com).