Apr 20, 2006 6:03 PM

Mariah, Green Day, Ben Harper and More

Pop diva MARIAH CAREY is writing and record twenty original ring tones only available this summer through a joint Pepsi promotion for Motorola Phones. Carey will also appear in a national TV spot for the venture, set to air next month, and kick off her summer tour with an intimate July 29th performance in Los Angeles for Pepsi contest winners. Mariah must have a beef with JACK WHITE: The WHITE STRIPES frontman and RACONTEURS member penned a tune for a Coke ad that leaked this week at youtube.com.

Green Day, Fiona, Death Cab Salute Costello

GREEN DAY's BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, singer-songwriter FIONA APPLE and Seattle indie outfit DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE will take the stage with ELVIS COSTELLO at Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal for VH1's Decades Rock Live on May 19th. The program, which features tributes to legendary musicians by younger stars, has previously featured performances by BONNIE RAITT, CYNDI LAUPER, NORAH JONES, BEN HARPER, ALISON KRAUSS, VELVET REVOLVER frontman SCOTT WEILAND and ANI DiFRANCO. A March taping featuring HEART with special guests ALICE IN CHAINS, DAVE NAVARRO, CARRIE UNDERWOOD and RUFUS WAINWRIGHT will air on VH1 Classics on May 5th. Tickets for the May 19th taping are available at decadesrocklive.com/tickets.

Proof Funeral Could Land Swift In Jail

An arrest warrant for D12 member SWIFT was issued on Wednesday after the rapper missed a court date, instead appearing as a pallbearer at the funeral of fellow D12 member PROOF, who was killed in an April 11th shootout in Detroit. Swift (Ondrew Moore), was to appear in court to address charges that he violated his probation -- which stems from a driving while intoxicated charge last October -- by testing positive for alcohol last week. Yesterday, the judge in the case said, "While I recognize the importance of attending a funeral . . . there is a requirement that you make some effort to comply with a court order," according to the Associated Press. He has set Swift's bail at half a million dollars. The rapper could face more than three months in prison if convicted of violating his probation.

Korn Show Their Family Values . . . Again

This summer KORN will relaunch the Family Values Tour with the DEFTONES, STONE SOUR, FLYLEAF and DIR EN GRAY on board for the main stage of the thirty-city trek. Except for the confirmed July 27th kick off date in Virginia Beach, Virginia, more tour specifics are pending. The traveling rock festival is expected to hit up major outdoor amphitheaters, with lawn tickets selling at $9.99 a pop. Korn's latest, See You On the Other Side, has sold more than 1.7 million copies since its December release.

Roy Orbison Haunts Rock Hall of Fame

Haunting and Yearning: The Life and Music of ROY ORBISON, an exhibition featuring rare records and memorabilia from the legendary singer, is on showcase through October 29th at Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Personal artifacts like clothing, instruments and Orbison's model plane collection are also on display. Orbison, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and died of a heart attack a year later at the age of fifty-two, would have turned seventy on April 23rd.

Tours

Emo-garage rockers WE ARE SCIENTISTS will open for the ARCTIC MONKEYS on their North American summer tour, beginning May 27th in Vancouver . . . Brother-sister duo the FIERY FURNACES have added sixteen North American dates to their summer tour, beginning June 8th in Detroit, and wrapping the June 30th in Washington, D.C. Their new album, Bitter Tea, hit stores this week . . . Swedish pop singer JOSE GONZALEZ will hit the road with Argentinean singer-songwriter JUANA MOLINA and the cheery pop of PSAPP (pronounced "sap") this summer, beginning June 16th in Los Angeles . . . O.A.R will headline a summer run with JACK'S MANNEQUIN beginning June 8th in Phoenix. The Maryland-based jammers will also open six nights for DAVE MATTHEWS BAND in August and September . . . Percussion heavy six-piece RUSTED ROOT start a twenty-one date trek June 30th in Indianapolis, Indiana . . . Pop rockers BLUE MERLE have announced that they are disbanding. The band, who is splitting "to pursue individual paths in music and life," performs their final show at this weekend's Rites of Spring Music Festival in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

Frank Black Reaching for Pink Cigars

Former PIXIES frontman FRANK BLACK and his wife Violet welcomed their fourth child, daughter Lucy Berlin Thompson, this morning in Eugene, Oregon. Black bragged that his daughter is "gorgeous" with "lips like Angelina Jolie." In other Pixies news, a new book entitled Fool the World: the Oral History of a Band Called Pixies is now available in stores. It chronicles the rise and fall of the influential rockers -- from their inception in the mid-Eighties to their ultimate demise and the unexpected reunion tour in 2004, also the subject of a recent documentary, loudQUIETloud -- using interviews with the band along with producers, studio owners, music executives and artists who worked with them. The book also features interviews with big-name artists like BONO, BECK and PERRY FARRELL, who were heavily influenced by the Boston quartet. In addition, Fool the World features new cartoons by Trompe Le Monde illustrator Steve Appleby, and photographs from long-time Pixies photographer Simon Larbalestier.

Abba Hits the Big Screen

TOM HANKS' Playtone production company has signed on to produce a big screen adaptation of Mamma Mia!, the musical based on the songs of Seventies Swedish pop sensations ABBA. The agreement was reached between Playtone, the shows producer Judy Craymer and ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. No director or cast have been selected, but the movie is expected to be released in 2007. Mamma Mia! is currently playing in more than ten countries worldwide.

Steely Dan Teams with Michael McDonald for Summer Tour

Seventies studio rockers STEELY DAN will hit the road this summer for a co-headlining tour with their former keyboardist/back-up singer and Doobie Brothers frontman MICHAEL MCDONALD and his band. The tour will open July 8th in Chicago, making stops in Nashville, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, before closing September 2nd in Detroit.

Ben Harper Sticks Around for Last Call

BEN HARPER has been tapped as the musical guest for an entire week of NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly. The soul-inspired folk singer will tape his performances, to air May 2nd through May 5th, next week in Los Angeles. Tickets for the tapings are available at www.benharper.net. Harper is currently on tour in support of his Virgin Records double-disc Both Sides of the Gun, which debuted at Number Seven on the charts. Harper recently added a slew of French dates to his current tour, which began April 19th and will run through September 15th in Atlanta.

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