May 05, 2006 5:10 PM

T.I., the Dears, Tommy Lee and More

Rapper T.I., whose personal assistant was fatally shot earlier this week following a show in Cincinnati, will resume his national tour in New Orleans next Tuesday. The Atlanta rapper will also reschedule the St. Louis performance cancelled due to the shooting. Three other members of the Atlanta rapper's entourage were wounded in the gunfight that erupted at an after-hours party for T.I. and his protege YUNG JOC.

Dears Ready Release, Be Your Own Pet Prep Tour

Moody Canadian rock outfit the DEARS will release their new album, Gang of Losers, in August. Fans can hear one track, "Fear Made the World Go Round," through Sunday on the band's MySpace page. A full Canadian tour is in the works for September . . . June will be a big month for Nashville punks BE YOUR OWN PET. Not only will the barely-out-of-high-school foursome's self-titled album drop on June 6th -- on indie guru THURSTON MOORE's label, Ecstatic Peace -- but the crew will also launch a month-long national tour, some opening for Moore's band, SONIC YOUTH. The kids hit the road June 1st in Cincinnati and wrap on June 30th in Seattle. Watch for them at Lollapalooza in August.

Tommy Lee, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin Lend a Hand

U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan will soon be receiving care packages from the unlikeliest of senders -- TOMMY LEE. The rocker teamed up with Operation AC, an organization that sends supplies to troops in the Middle East, to send copies of his latest solo album, Tommyland: The Ride, as well as PlayStation games and portable DVD players, to a entire battalion after hearing that a shipment of their personal items had been stolen en route . . . ALICIA KEYS will perform at the Cancer and Fertility Society's inaugural Living Hope ball in New York on May 12th. Proceeds from the event will help build a cancer and fertility center at the New York Downtown hospital. Keys is currently set to star in the upcoming film adaptation of the best-selling book The Nanny Diaries, alongside SCARLETT JOHANSSON . . . COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN will headline the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation's 11th annual fundraiser in Beverly Hills on May 20th. Martin became a second-time proud papa when his son, Moses, was born last month.

Fats, DiFranco Jazz Fest Performances Going Online

Just because you couldn't make it to this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival doesn't mean you can't hear it in (almost) real time. More than 100 recordings dating from this year's performances at the famed fest back to 2003 are available as both downloads and CDs through jazzfestonline.com. Notable 2006 releases include sets by ANI DiFRANCO and hometown hero FATS DOMINO, whose May 7th show will close the festival.

Piano Man Rushes Out Live Garden Set

BILLY JOEL is planning a June 13th release for 12 Gardens Live, a two-disc set of his unprecedented twelve sold-out nights at New York's Madison Square Garden earlier this year. The shows were part of the veteran piano rocker's first major solo tour in eight years . . . And in other release news, Forever Neil Diamond, a collection of well-known covers of NEIL DIAMOND tunes hits stores May 23rd. The decade-spanning disc includes recordings by the MONKEES ("A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"), URGE OVERKILL ("Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"), UB40 ("Red, Red Wine") and BOBBY WOMACK ("Sweet Caroline").

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