Sources in the U.K. say that Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kaye will be hauled into court by his former bassist, Stuart Zender. Zender is not planning to sue the entire band, according to reports, since he lays the blame at the feet of Kaye, who handed him his walking papers last year. At the time of his departure, both sides claimed that the split was amicable, stating the reason for Zender's leaving was the impending birth of the child he had with All Saint's singer Mel Blatt. Now, Zender claims he's owed thousands of dollars from the band, and is publicly trashing the cat with the hat, calling Kaye "a greedy fucker." In other Jamiroquai news, Kaye has just been enshrined in wax. The singer spent the day posing for sculptors who will fashion his likeness for London's Rock Circus. The band's next effort, Synkronized, comes out in June . . .

Duff McKagan did little to distinguish himself from his former Guns n' Roses bandmates with a painfully loud and linear punk-metal set on Saturday night (March 20) at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Loaded with songs from his new side-project, Duff McKagan's Loaded, McKagan prodded through a set of guitar-clogged, cacophonous drek, only stopping to apologize for the group's sloppy chops and plug his forthcoming album, which he had for sale in bootleg form at the venue. Still, you almost felt bad for the guy when he looked up to see the already sparse crowd had nearly disappeared -- undoubtedly to find legal representation for that loss-of-hearing suit . . .

Ally the Nude Guitar Tech pulled double duty on Friday night at SXSW -- once as an assistant for L7, the band she's a fan club president for, and earlier for OtherStarPeople, which includes a former member of L7, Precious (formerly Jennifer) Finch. Of course, her first love, L7, got the arguable benefit of her naked predilection: Midway through the riveting band's set at Stubb's, a stonefaced Ally walked on stage to hand singer/guitarist Donita Sparks a fresh guitar, wearing nothing but a straw cowboy hat and two tiny strips on black tape on each nipple. By the way, Ally, who's in dire need of few Tae Bo classes, is a natural redhead . . .

The RSN Staff
(March 22, 1999)