Kiss' Gene Simmons and two business partners
have been
sued for fraud and slander by Allan Brown. Brown claims they
cut him out of a 2006 deal, he alleges he helped broker, between
Simmons and the IRL that led to Simmons promotion of IndyCar racing and
co-writing the song "I Am Indy." While on a personal
vacation, the contract was allegedly signed by the other
parties. Brown also claims he also was mischaracterized as
"lazy" and "rich" to racing league officials by Simmons and his
business partners. He is seeking unspecified damages in the
lawsuit. Meanwhile, Simmons is expected to give the keynote
address at the annual AARP Convention in Washington D.C. on Sept. 6th.
Great White has agreed to pay $1 million to settle lawsuits stemming
from the February 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire that claimed the
lives of 100 fans (and the band's guitarist Ty Longley.) The
group's offer to survivors and family members of victims was revealed
on Tuesday in federal court documents. As part of the
settlement, which requires the approval of more than 300 people suing,
the
band does not admit any wrongdoing. The band's tour manager,
Daniel Biechele, pleaded guilty in 2006 to 100 counts of involuntary
manslaughter and was paroled in March. Meanwhile, Station
nightclub owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian have reached a tentative
settlement of $813,000 with survivors and relatives of those killed in
the blaze.
The Phil Lewis led version of L.A. Guns had their show shortened at
Omaha's annual Septemberfest celebration on Sunday night when shots
were fired three songs into their all-ages show. Security and
police quickly called a halt to the performance and the band were taken
back to their dressing room.
Journey's new vocalist Arnel Pineda has come down with a case of
bronchitis that forced the band to postpone their Wednesday performance
with Heart and Cheap Trick at Manchester, New Hampshire's Verizon
Wireless arena until Dec. 2nd. They were expected to return
to the road in Toronto on Sept. 5th.
The GQ Men of the Year Awards have been presented with Led Zeppelin
given the outstanding achievement award, Tony Bennett honored with an
inspiration award and Primal Scream named band of the year.
Sir Elton John co-hosted the event held in London.
Stevie Wonder has been chosen as the second recipient of the Library of
Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The presentation
will take place on Feb. 23rd at the Library's Great Hall with a concert
celebrating the award to take place the following night.
The Mamma Mia! soundtrack fell a place to #5 on the Billboard 200 album
chart on sales of 78,000 copies. Journey's Revelation dropped
2 places to #31. B.B. King's One Kind Favor debuted at #37.
Michael Jackson's King Of Pop collection debuted at #5 on the U.K.
Albums chart. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits fell 4 places to
#6. The Mamma Mia! soundtrack dropped 3 spots to
#16. Billy Joel's Piano Man: The Very Best Of Billy Joel fell
7 places to #21. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Greatest Hits dropped 7
spots to #23. ABBA's 18 Hits climbed 3 places to
#24. Madonna's Hard Candy fell 3 spots to #31.
Madonna's "Give It 2 Me" climbed 5 places to #18 on the U.K. Singles
chart. Metallica's "The Day That Never Comes" surged up the
chart 17 spots to #19. Paul Weller's "All I Wanna Do/Push It
Along" debuted at #28.
The Charlatans U.K. will re-release their single, "Oh, Vanity," on CD,
7" and digital download on Oct. 20th. The single bundle can
be pre-ordered online at www.recordstore.co.uk that includes an
exclusive cover of New Order's "Murder."
Sammy Hagar has revisited his 1992 hit with Van Halen, "Right Now,"
with the release of a video for his new song, "Cosmic Universal
Fashion," the title track of his upcoming solo album. Right
now, check out the video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC9Evu7AYuk
"My Heart Can't Change" has been released as the latest single from
Taylor Dayne's new album, Satisfied. The song can currently
be picked up at iTunes.
Pato Banton has released his new studio album, Destination Paradise, on
CD exclusively through his own www.PatoBanton.com Web site.
The Jacksons were honored with a lifetime achievement award at the BMI
Urban Awards on Thursday in Los Angeles. When asked by the
Associated Press where Michael was, Marlon replied, "I don't
know. I think he's in Egypt riding a camel or something."
Sixx: A.M. plan to head back into the studio shortly to start work on
the follow-up album to The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack.
Marillion have announced that they will release their 15th studio
album, the double-disc Happiness Is The Road, on Oct. 20th via their
own Racket Records.
There may be another reason for the postponement of the release of
Morrissey's new studio album, Years Of Refusal, to February.
The singer has split with artist management firm ie:music which he has
been with since May. A U.S. label has not been secured for
release of the new album.
The Gutter Twins (a.k.a. Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan) have released
their new 8-track EP, Adorata, exclusively via iTunes. A
portion of proceeds from the sale of the collection will go to the
Natasha Shneider Memorial Fund.
U2 has pushed back their new studio album from its expected fall
release to early 2009 as they continue to write and record despite
having roughly 50 to 60 songs. Bono posted on U2.com, "I
thought a while back we might have the album wrapped by now, but why
come up above ground now if there's more priceless stuff to be found?"
According to the Web site for the upcoming Warner Bros. film Watchmen,
Culture Club's 1984 hit single, "The War Song," will be featured in the
film which is set for release in March.
Slash has announced that he's composing the score for the Mexican film,
This Is Not A Movie. The guitarist told Mojo magazine about
the English-language film, "It's dark, and jagged and a bit surreal, in
and out of reality, you know?" Meanwhile, Slash has been
announced as a presenter for the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.
Magne F of A-ha and Coldplay's Guy Berryman have recorded a song under
the name Apparatjik that will be used during the closing credits of the
upcoming television series Amazon.
Recently, Tony Hadley and Paul Young have done a few interviews and
have mentioned that they have been recording an album with Go West's
Peter Cox. The first single from that album is due out before
Christmas and the album follows in February.
Bad Brains frontman H.R. will release his new solo album, Hey Wella, on
Oct. 21st. "Didn't I Tell You" and the title track have been
released as singles via iTunes and other digital download sites.
David Bowie is planning to release iSelect: Bowie, a hand-selected
collection of his own favorite songs on Oct. 14th via
Virgin/EMI. In June, a similar set was given away in the Mail
On Sunday in the U.K.
Marty Stuart has started work on The Marty Stuart Show. The
30-minute show is set to begin airing in November on Sunday evenings on
RFD-TV and will feature Stuart, his wife Connie Smith, his band The
Fabulous Superlatives and various musical guests.
Australian singer/soap star Jason Donovan plans to release his first
new studio album in 15 years, Let It Be Me, on Nov. 10th. The
album will feature covers and original tracks with a 50s/60s theme.
German metal act Kreator have plans to release their new studio album,
tentatively-titled Hordes Of Chaos, in January via SPV.
Depeche Mode are currently working in the studio with producer Ben
Hillier on what will be their 12th studio album expected out in the
spring.
Katy Perry has reworked The Outfield's 1986 hit single, "Your Love,"
into the song "Use Your Love" with some lyric changes for her Ur So Gay
EP.
Bassist Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam will release his solo debut album,
Tone, on Sept. 16th via the band's Ten Club fan club and U.S.
independent record retailers.
Andi Sex Gang of Sex Gang Children has announced the launch of his new
online label Song & Legend at
(www.songandlegend.com). "For me as an artist, it is a final
step towards true independence and a direct link to my
audience. I consider myself, first and foremost, an artist
who will not compromise. Therefore it is logical that I
shouldn't compromise the way that my music is sold. This is
an exciting time for music where musicians can control every aspect of
their art; from presentation to artwork to pricing. Music is
for all and online labels can allow for pricing that all can
afford. We can all look forward to this new era where music
can touch more and more people across the globe."
New Order will see five of their albums from the 1980s released via
Rhino in September. All 5 albums (1981's Movement, 1983's
Power, Corruption & Lies, 1985's Low-Life, 1986's Brotherhood
and 1989's Technique) will feature a bonus disc with extended versions,
alternate versions, B-sides, remixes and other non-album tracks.
Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy has been working on the next album by his
ohGr project to be titled Devils In My Details when released on Oct.
17th via Synthetic Symphony/SPV.
Motley Crue plan to reissue their complete studio catalogue via Motley
Records/Eleven Seven Music on Sept. 30th.
Sunshine Superman: The Journey Of Donovan will be released on Oct. 7th
via SPV. The 3-hour feature-length documentary follows the
career, music and cultural impact of singer/songwriter Donovan.
Rhino plans to release the Sex Pistols live DVD, There'll Always Be An
England, on Oct. 14th. The performance from November 2007
features the group's original lineup during their reunion shows.
The four albums that make up Black Sabbath's Rules Of Hell box set
(made up of the albums Ronnie James Dio recorded with the band) will be
released individually via Rhino on Oct. 17th.
Mari Wilson plans to release, Emotional Glamour, her follow-up to
2005's Dolled Up in the U.K. on Sept. 29th.
Red Flag have announced that they will release a 5-track maxi-single,
Once Past Twice Future, in late September. Maxi-singles have
also been released for Time Is The Reaper and Halo since the release of
their latest album, Born Again.
Essence.com has a featured article on Jody Watley up. The
singer tells them a little about her new album, Chameleon, due out next
year and her launch of JodyWatleyMusicStore.com.
Hal Ketchum will release his new studio album, Father Time, in stores
on Sept. 9th.
British hard rock act Thunder plan to release their 9th studio album,
Bang!, on Nov. 7th in mainland Europe (excluding the U.K.)
The band are entering their 20th anniversary and plan a tour of the
area after the release.
Prolific Grammy Award-winning country recording artist and actor Jerry
Reed, 71, died early on Monday from complications from
emphysema. He released 29 albums prior to the 1980s and 11
albums from 1980 to 1986. Reed caught the acting bug by 1976
and notably appeared in Smokey And The Bandit (1, 2 and 3), Bat*21 and
The Waterboy.