Amid a plethora of concert-based Kosovo aid, poster-child for the sensitive Nineties guy Duncan Sheik is taking a different route in helping the ravaged Balkan state. Rather than playing Robin Hood with an album and/or benefit, Sheik is literally taking his music to the war-torn nation. Assisted by WarChild USA, Sheik traveled to Albania this week, where he plans to hand out guitars and drums to displaced refugees. Hopes are that the instruments will find their way into the hands of some musicians among the refugees, some of whom might join Sheik for a performance. "I'm honored that WarChild has asked me to help them with their efforts in bringing relief to the crisis in Kosovo," Sheik said in a statement. "I feel it's very important that we understand what's happening in the region and, through the healing power of music, do whatever we can to stop the suffering of children.". . .

In a less-alternative humanitarian effort, the WarChild Foundation and Luciano Pavarotti will host a "Pavarotti and Friends" benefit on June 1st in Modena, Italy. Initially scheduled to benefit only the children of Guatemala, Pavarotti has taken a page from the book of Michael Jackson and extended the scope of the all-star performance to also include the children of Kosovo. Speaking of Jackson, the Prince of Pop, along with Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Joe Cocker, B.B. King, Lionel Ritchie and Boyzone are among the artists penciled in to perform at the benefit. Spike Lee will serve as the artistic director. In addition to proceeds collected from the performance, a live album and film will be produced from the event, as well as a limited edition medal from the Bank of Italy to mark the occasion. . .

The Offspring weren't making any friends with the World Music Theater, Q101 or the Red Hot Chili Peppers Saturday night in Tinley Park, Ill. During the band's set at Q101's Jamboree radio festival, frontman Dexter Holland explained the group decided not to put any Offspring T-shirts on sale at the amphitheater because the World wanted too big a cut of profits. Second, and slightly more egregious, Holland encouraged the estimated 30,000 fans to fire garbage on stage during the band's coda "Self-Esteem." And they did while the band played on -- until ten minutes after they exited stage left. The barrage of aerodynamic cups of beer and water bottles delayed the Chili Peppers' show-closing set for an extra twenty minutes, eventually shaving a neat ten minutes off the venerable funk act's expected hour-long show. Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis, now sporting shorn white-blonde locks, apologized for the delay, explaining they were late because "the singer from Offspring was backstage sucking [pro wrestler] Randy Savage's dick." . . .

Looks like Freddie Mercury will get the last lick on the reforming Queen. While his bandmates regroup without him, Mercury was granted a dose of symbolic immortality today (May 24) when the British Royal Mail announced he would appear on a new set of postage stamps next month. Each month, the Royal Mail releases a four-stamp set in their Millennium Series, which is designed to chronicle "the achievements of the last thousand years of British History." Mercury, a closet philatelist himself, will grace a 19p stamp. He joins Little Tramp Charlie Chaplin, football (theirs, not ours) hero Bobby Moore and a Dalek (for those who chose sunshine over television in the Seventies, a Dalek is one of Dr. Who's robotic nemeses) in the June series of Royal Mail Millennial stamps . . .

Don't ask us why, but the upcoming Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young reunion tour has been besieged with enough rumors to bring the whole mill crashing down. This past weekend, radio stations from Toronto to San Francisco were reporting that tour dates were definitely off, "The band are quarrelling," stated KFOG, San Francisco's Adult Rock station. "And they've not only canceled the dates, but they've pulled the album." When we reached David Crosby's spokesperson, Michael Jenson, he told us that no such thing was happening. "First of all, I've heard the album, and it's fantastic," said Jensen, "And secondly, as far as I know, the tour is on. It's been pushed back a little, but it's still on." A representative from Reprise Records echoed the sentiments, explaining that Heartland is still scheduled for an August 17 release. The tour was originally set to begin on July 31 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, and run through October 31, but it now appears that it won't begin until mid-September. David Crosby posted the following message about the rescheduled dates on his Web site over the weekend, cautioning fans not to blame Neil Young. "[A]s far as I know from Neil, Stephen, and Graham the tour is still very much on . . . it was delayed due to health issues with one of our kids and they come first . . . when I can explain more about that I will . . . as soon as we know what's up with the tour timing we will tell you here I promise . . . I have a CD of five mixed songs with me and they are going to knock your socks off . . . no point in slagging Neil . . . he is making great music and this is definitely not his fault . . . I am going to go mooch off Nash in Kauai for a couple of weeks and love to you all . . .Croz" . . .

What's with all these newly discovered Beatles' tunes? This week, Variety reports that a never-before-heard George Harrison track, "In The First Place," has just been unearthed, and will be released commercially next month. British director Joe Massot found the song while compiling a new audio track for his 1968 cult film, Wonderwall. The track was produced by Harrison, using a backup band under the elusive moniker Remo Four, who are thought to be Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Harrison's then-best friend Eric Clapton. The song reportedly sounds uncannily like Harrison's "Blue Jay Way," and will not only be included on Massot's director's cut of the film -- which will be premiered June 25 at the American Cinematheque's Mods & Rockers Festival at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater -- but will also be available for sale online at Massot's Pilar Production's Web site.

ANDREW DANSBY, BLAIR R. FISCHER and JAAN UHELSZKI
(May 24, 1999)