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Pearl Jam Help the Wrongfully Imprisoned
PEARL JAM will donate one dollar from every ticket purchased for their Philadelphia concert on Saturday to the Innocence Project. Partnering with the band's charity, the Vitalogy Foundation, the nonprofit will use the donation to help free the wrongfully incarcerated through DNA testing. Since the organization's inception in 1992, more than 175 innocent people have been exonerated in the U.S.
Heath Ledger to Play Bob Dylan
Joining the cast for the BOB DYLAN biopic I'm Not There are new Hollywood power couple HEATH LEDGER and MICHELLE WILLIAMS. Shooting for the TODD HAYNES-directed (Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven) flick will begin in July. CATE BLANCHETT, CHRISTIAN BALE, JULIANNE MOORE and RICHARD GERE are also on board for the project. Last week, Dylan, who is also working on a new album, wrapped a jaunt with MERLE HAGGARD AND THE STRANGERS.
Rapper Beanie Sigel Shot by Robbers
Rapper BEANIE SIGEL was shot this morning in Philadelphia during an attempted robbery involving five unidentified males traveling in two cars. The culprits reportedly pulled up on Sigel, 32, before unleashing gunfire that stroke him in the upper arm. Sigel, who was released from prison last August after serving a year for a gun charge, was hospitalized for a few hours and on his way out he assured reporters, "I got shot. I'm cool." Sigel's attorney has said the crime appeared to be "a random act of violence."
Two Diddy TV Series in the Works
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS has signed on to star in a TV adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun for ABC, slated to air in 2007. Combs will reprise his 2004 Broadway lead role as Walter Lee, which helped garner two Tonys for the production. Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment and MTV have also signed on for a reality series, with Diddy executive-producing, that follows street dance groups from around the country as they train, perform and try to make a living.
DMB's Tinsley Is Crazy for Tennis
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND violinist BOYD TINSLEY has been tapped by ESPN2 to compose the theme music to this year's Wimbledon Tennis Championships, set for June 25th through July 9th in London. Tinsley, a tennis devotee himself, hosts his own annual hometown tournament each year in Charlottesville, Virginia, and founded the Boyd Tinsley Tennis Program, which provides instruction and equipment to underprivileged kids. The violinist recently made a large contribution to the University of Virginia to help build a new tennis facility.
Bad Day for Pussycat Dolls, Good Day for Barbie
Toy manufacturer Hasbro has nixed a collection of dolls based on the sparsely clad strippers-turned-pop-act the PUSSYCAT DOLLS. The second largest toy maker claims that the Dolls are inappropriate to market to children due to their suggestive lyrics and barely-there outfits. The pop group, whose debut, PCD, has sold over a million copies, recently wrapped the 2006 Honda Civic tour with BLACK EYED PEAS.
The Subways, Lansing-Dreiden Hit the Road
After canceling their own summer tour, U.K trio the SUBWAYS will open for TAKING BACK SUNDAY's summer trek, kicking off June 22nd in Jackson, New Jersey . . . Shoegazers LANSING-DREIDEN will embark on a mini-tour in support of this month's release, The Dividing Island. Kicking off June 9th in Washington, D.C., the spring run wraps at the end of the month . . . Singer-songwriter BEN JELEN will tour with his band the ZODIAC 7 beginning June 3rd in Los Angeles. Jelen is working with producer LINDA PERRY for his next effort, tentatively titled East . . . MATCHBOOK ROMANCE will open for YELLOWCARD when the emo rockers hit the road for the summer, this Sunday, in Columbia, Maryland.
El Din, Mickey Hart Collaborator and Oud Player, Dead at 76
HAMZA EL DIN, who played the oud (a small, pear-shaped, multi-stringed instrument) and helped revive the musical culture of the ancient Upper Nile kingdom, Nubia, died Monday of complications from surgery. He was seventy-six. Born in Egypt and learned in the region's musical culture, El Din eventually relocated to America, where he took the stage at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. He worked with the GRATEFUL DEAD's MICKEY HART, who produced his album, Eclipse. El Din also helped the jam-band pioneers organize their epic 1978 concert at the Great Pyramids of Egypt.