Former Playboy bunny and Missing Persons
vocalist Dale
Bozzio started her trial on Feb. 23rd fighting 3 misdemeanor counts of
animal cruelty and 9 additional misdemeanor charges.
Testimony began with Bozzio's neighbor who observed the house had dead
cats
lying around and live animals surrounded by filth. Bozzio
claims that she left the cats in the care of a friend who never showed
up and plans to call on Duran Duran and other music industry associates
to help her fight the charges. The trial resumes on Mar. 9th.
Bruce Willis is being sued for $4 million over a breach of contract for
dropping out of starring in and directing the proposed film, Three
Stories About Joan. His attorney claims the lawsuit is
"without merit" and that the companies who are suing Willis didn't
fulfill their own responsibilities (by failing to deposit money into
Willis' escrow account prior to starting production.) Willis
filed his $8.7 million counter-suit against the film's producers (among
nearly two dozen defendants) on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior
Court. Meanwhile, Willis has signed on to star with Tracy
Morgan in the upcoming Kevin Smith film, A Couple Of Cops.
Monkees multi-instrumentalist Peter Tork, 67, underwent extensive
surgery on Wednesday after he was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic
Carcinoma, a rare form of head and neck cancer. In a
statement released on his Web site, "It's a bad news, good news
situation (on the tongue) that there isn't a lot of experience among
the medical community about this particular combination. On
the other hand, the type of cancer it is, never mind the location, is
somewhat well known, and the prognosis, I'm told, is good."
Comedian/actor Robin Williams, 57, will undergo heart surgery to
replace an aortic valve. There had been some speculation over
his health after the cancellation of his four performances scheduled
for Florida. His 8-day Broadway run of his solo show, Weapons
Of Self-Destruction, has also been postponed. The remaining
dates of his 80-city tour have been pushed back to the fall.
A statement was released by the actor: "I'm so touched by
everyone's support and well wishes. This tour has been
amazing fun and I can't wait to get back out on the road after a little
tune-up." Williams released 3 comedy albums (1983's Throbbing
Python Of Love, 1986's A Night At The Met and 1988's Pecos Bill) during
the decade as well as sang a version of the Beatles' "Come Together"
with Bobby McFerrin (in whose "Don't Worry, Be Happy" video he
appeared) for the 1998 tribute album, In My Life.
Fatboy Slim (a.k.a. Norman Cook) was admitted to a southern England
rehab center on Monday to deal with alcohol addiction.
According to his manager, he had been fighting a drinking problem "for
some time" and decided to check himself in voluntarily.
Michael Jackson held a press conference in London on
Thursday. "This is it! I just want to say that
these will be my final shows, performances, in London." The
singer expects his dates at the O2 Arena to be his only performances
this year, playing "the songs my fans want to hear." "The man
is very sane, the man is very focused, the man is very healthy," said
AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke during a Q&A session after
delivering a keynote address at the Billboard Music & Money
Symposium in New York City. "I think he has been dragged
through the mud." Meanwhile, American Idol is planning a
Michael Jackson week for their top 13.
The 40th annual Country Radio Seminar was held in Nashville this week
and Alabama vocalist Randy Owen was presented with the Country Radio
Broadcasters' artist humanitarian award. Merle Haggard was
honored with a career achievement award. He was expected to
perform but has been fighting lung cancer and was dealing with
pneumonia at the time.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand fell 7 places to #16
on the Billboard 200 album chart. The Twilight soundtrack
retained the #17 spot. Bruce Springsteen's Working On A Dream
fell 5 places to #18. Charlie Wilson's Uncle Charlie dropped
18 spots to #20. Chris Isaak's Mr. Lucky debuted at
#29. Van Morrison's Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl
debuted at #33. The various artist compilation Grammy
nominees 2009 fell 15 places. The Mamma Mia! soundtrack
climbed 5 places to #38.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" fell 3 places on
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart to #8.
Morrissey's Years Of Refusal fell 9 places to #12 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Bette Midler's The Best Bette dropped 6 spots to
#17. The Pet Shop Boys' PopArt: The Hits climbed a place to
#18. Erasure's Total Pop debuted at #21. Roger
Whittaker's The Golden Age Of Roger Whittaker: 50 Years Of Classic Hits
dropped 6 spots to #24. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits climbed 4
places to #30. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising
Sand re-entered the chart at #31. Bruce Springsteen's Working
On A Dream dropped 8 spots to #32. UB40's Love Songs fell 7
places to #34. Luciano Pavarotti's The Duets dropped 5 spots
to #37. U2's U218 Singles re-entered the chart at #39.
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent's "Crack A Bottle" fell 3 places on
the U.K. Singles chart to #12. U2's "Get On Your Boots"
dropped 8 spots to #20.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum have announced plans to open
the exhibit From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music
of Bruce Springsteen on Apr. 1st. Various memorabilia is
expected to be shown during the run through the spring of 2010.
Midnight Oil will reform for a few benefit concerts to aid flood and
bushfire charities. The Australian shows in Melbourne and
Sydney will also include performances by Icehouse, Split Enz and
Hunters And Collectors.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will reportedly pair up to perform at
least one song together on Apr. 4th at New York's Radio City Music Hall
for a David Lynch Foundation benefit show. The foundation
promotes transcendental meditation in schools. The last time
the former Beatles performed together was a tribute to their late
bandmate George Harrison in 2002.
Spinal Tap are in the midst of recording their new studio album due out
on May 26th. The disc is expected to feature studio versions
of the live tracks on "This Is Spinal Tap" as well as some new
songs. The band launch, Unwigged & Unplugged: An
Evening With Christopher Guest, Michael McKean And Harry Shearer, their
30-date, 6-week theater tour in Vancouver on Apr. 17th.
Prince has reportedly signed a deal to release a 3-CD set at Target
stores (and their Web site) on Mar. 29th that will include his two new
albums (LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND) and, Elixer, the debut of protege
Bria Valente (on which he appears.)
Charlie Sexton, Doyle Bramhall II and (former Double Trouble rhythm
section) Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton have reunited Arc
Angels. The band are planning to tour, release a DVD this
year and work on their first album in 17 years.
A new reality series hosted by Darryl "DMC" McDaniels entitled The
Kings Of Rap is in development from IME Entertainment. The
positive-themed hip hop competition will offer aspiring musicians the
chance to earn a record deal if they can create music that anyone can
listen to without being offended.
Bono recently told Rolling Stone that U2 are working on another album,
Songs Of Ascent, that will be a quieter, meditative "companion" release
to No Line On The Horizon, on... the horizon. Rolling Stone
has said that it could be out next year, the New York Times and the
Observer have said that it could be released later this year.
The song, "Every Breaking Wave," could be released as the first single.
Sudden Death Records has released a new 20-track anthology, News
Weather And Spores, by Vancouver punk act The Spores.
Bon Jovi have a book on the way, Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful, in
time to celebrate their 25th anniversary that will contain unpublished
photos and text by the band.
Mute Records will release a 20-track collection, The Best Of DAF, on
Mar. 30th. The band (fully named Deutsch Amerikanischen
Freundschaft) have reunited behind the release for their first
extensive touring since the early 1980s. The digital release
will include 3 bonus tracks.
Nine Inch Nails' world tour with Jane's Addiction will precede plans by
Trent Reznor to "make NIN disappear for awhile."
Henry Rollins will return to Los Angeles' airwaves on Mar. 7th on KCRW
to host a Saturday-night show from 6pm to 8pm. He expects to
play "a great mix of all kinds from all over from all time."
Rollins had previously hosted a show on Indie 103.1 in the same area
and moved on to filming a documentary series on IFC.
Ian Gillian's first new studio album since 1997, One Eye To Morocco,
will be released in the U.K. on Mar. 23rd.
Madonna has reportedly teamed up with designer Christian Audigier to
design a collection of clothes for his Ed Hardy line.
Audigier is currently working on Michael Jackson's wardrobe for his
upcoming tour.
The Lotus Eaters have been working in the studio on their follow-up to
2002's silentspace with producer Steve Power.
Neil Young plans to release his new studio album, Fork In The Road, via
Reprise on Apr. 7th. He has also been involved in the
Lincvolt Project (of which the new album shares similar themes) that is
a joint effort between Young and biodiesel pioneer Johnathan Goodwin to
create a commercially viable electric power system for
automobiles. A documentary about the project is in the works.
Rhino Bucket plan to release their new album, The Hardest Town, via MVD
Visual and Acetate Records on May 5th. Former Kix guitarist
Brian "Damage" Forsythe makes his debut with the band on the disc and
it features former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright.
Pulp vocalist Jarvis Cocker plans to release his Steve Albini-produced
sophomore solo effort in June via Rough Trade Records. A few
U.K. tour dates have been announced to coincide with the release.
Former Clock DVA member Dean Dennis' new project, Kibuka, will release
their debut album, Dystopia, via the Kodama label.
Stevie Wonder's first live concert DVD, Live At Last - A Wonder
Summer's Night, will be released on Mar. 10th. The footage
was filmed over two nights at London's O2 Arena last fall.
Remastered and expanded double-CD versions of The Damned's 1985 album,
Phantasmagoria, and 1986's Anything have been released in the U.K.
Phish have reportedly recorded 20 new demo songs for what is expected
to be their next album. The band, who are currently unsigned,
are considering releasing it independently. They will also
make high quality recordings of all 3 of their performances this
weekend as free MP3 downloads at LivePhish.com.
Morrissey's 1994 album, Maladjusted, and 1995's Southpaw Grammar will
be reissued (on May 4th and Apr. 27th respectively) with previously
unreleased tracks as well as new liner notes and a new track orders by
the singer. Meanwhile, Morrissey reportedly was interrogated
by U.S. immigration officials in Atlanta when entering the country to
launch his world tour. He had canceled his first dates of the
tour due to illness.
Bob Dylan has announced that his currently-untitled 10-track studio
album will be released at the end of April. Some track titles
have been announced. Most of the recordings were made while
he was working on the soundtrack to My Own Love.