Apr 13, 2006 5:53 PM

From Cash to Beck

Personal File, a double-disc of previously unreleased JOHNNY CASH material, will hit stores May 23rd. The forty-nine tracks were recorded at the late country legend's House of Cash office studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, in the Seventies and Eighties, and feature a mixture of traditional folk, gospel and Irish tunes, as well as Tin Pan Alley hits and covers. Also in the works from Cash's repertoire is the June release of Live in Denmark, a DVD of a Cash stage revue from the Seventies, and the reissue of The Johnny Cash Children's Album, due May 4th, with four bonus tracks that did not appear with the original release.

Tommy Lee's Searching for a Vein

MOTLEY CRUE drummer TOMMY LEE has been sitting out the final tour dates of his metal band's Carnival of Sins tour in order to recuperate from the tendonitis in his right wrist. DARK NEW DAY drummer WILL HUNT has been sitting in for Lee while he heals via anti-inflammatory injections. Last October, Lee suffered burns when pyrotechnics malfunctioned during a show. The tour wraps Thursday in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Beatles Being Remastered for Digital Release

The entire BEATLES catalog is being digitally remastered for online distribution, according to a statement by Neil Aspinall, the band's former road manager and managing director of Apple Corps, submitted to London's High Court earlier this month in conjunction with an ongoing Apple copyright battle with Apple Computers. A spokesperson for Apple Corps confirmed that the catalog would be available through online music services, but gave no concrete date for the launch.

Pink, McKay Join the Fight For Animals

PINK will lead a PETA campaign against fast food chain KFC, dubbed "Kick the [KFC] Bucket," by starting a global petition via her Web site PinksPage.com. The pop star, whose latest effort, I'm Not Dead, sold 126,000 copies in its first week out, is campaigning for more ethical, modernized treatment in the slaughter of the fried chicken chain's birds . . . In other animal activism news, eccentric piano chanteuse NELLIE McKAY is taking a note from MORRISSEY and refusing to tour Canada until the country bans their annual seal slaughter. A longtime animal rights advocate, McKAY will debut on Broadway next week in the BERTOLT BRECHT musical The Threepenny Opera, also starring CYNDI LAUPER and ALAN CUMMING.

Kylie Poised for Comeback

KYLIE MINOGUE has been invited to headline the 2007 Glastonbury Festival, one of the U.K.'s premiere summer music events. The Australian-bred pop singer had to cancel her 2005 Glasto stint after being diagnosed with breast cancer and has not publicly performed since . . . In other festival news, performances by BLACK CROWES, JET, STEVE EARLE AND THE DUKES, KEANE, BLOC PARTY, the DECEMBERISTS, JASON MRAZ and JOHN PRINE, are among those featured on the 2005 Austin City Limits festival DVD/CD compilation, due June 20th.

Korn, Dem Franchize Boyz Get Mashed

Oscar-winning rap group DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ is collaborating with KORN for a Linkin Park/Jay-Z-style mash-up. The Atlanta rap crew is combining "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" with Korn's "Coming Undone" in a Los Angeles studio this week. No word yet on when the mash-up will see wide release.

Latin Grammys to Hit Big Apple

The 2006 Latin Grammy Awards, now in their seventh year, will be held in New York City for the first time ever. Past Latin Grammy Awards locations include Miami and Los Angeles. The live broadcast of the event will air Thursday, November 2nd, from Madison Square Garden on Spanish-language broadcasting station Univision.

Son Volt Gear Up for Tour, DVD

SON VOLT, led by former UNCLE TUPELO co-frontman JAY FARRAR, will release its first concert DVD, Live: 6 String Belief, on May 23rd. The DVD, recorded with the band's current lineup -- guitarist/vocalist Farrar, drummer DAVID BRYSON, bassist ANDREW DUPLANTIS, keyboardist DERRY DEBORJA and guitarist CHRIS FRAME -- during a 2005 Asheville, North Carolina, performance, also features a career-spanning Farrar interview. Beginning April 28th in Scottsdale, Arizona, Son Volt will return to the road for a spring tour that includes eight co-headlining stops with Southern rockers DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS.

Rhymefest, Pollard Join Chicago's Intonation Fest

RHYMEFEST, former GUIDED BY VOICES frontman ROBERT POLLARD, the SWORD and ERASE ERRATA are among the artists that have been added to the second Intonation Music Festival lineup. The indie music fest, being held at Chicago's Union Park June 24th and 25th, will also feature BLOC PARTY, DEAD PREZ, the STREETS, the STILLS, the BOREDOMS, LUPE FIASCO and ANNIE. Passes are currently on sale at intonationmusicfest.com.

Love's Arthur Lee Battling Cancer

ARTHUR LEE, singer of the influential Sixties band LOVE, is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Lee is currently in his third week of chemotherapy. To help with the singer's estimated $100,000 medical bill for the treatment -- he is without health insurance -- an all-star benefit concert is in the works that will hit New York, Los Angeles and London. Although no artists have been confirmed, ROBERT PLANT and JACK WHITE have reportedly been approached. For more information, visit thelovesociety.com.

Gene Pitney Remembered at Funeral

Some 300 people attended services for the late singer-songwriter GENE PITNEY, held Wednesday in Connecticut. Pitney was found dead in his Cardiff, Wales, hotel room on April 5th, while on tour in Europe. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, whose classics include "24 Hours From Tulsa" and "Town Without Pity," was buried at Somers Center Cemetery, and is survived by his three sons and wife Lynne.

Beck, Cat Power Feeling the Summer Heat

BECK has announced seven May and June U.S. live dates, beginning May 24th in Davis, California. He'll also hit up San Francisco and Santa Cruz in California; Athens, Georgia; Bend, Oregon; Bellevue, Washington; and Austin, Texas. Beck is tapped as the June 17th headliner of the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee . . . CAT POWER (a.k.a. CHAN MARSHALL) has added additional dates to her spring run. The singer-songwriter, known for her conflicted feelings about live performance, will play Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in June. Last winter, Cat Power canceled her winter trek due an undisclosed illness . . . Fresh off a month-long trek with fellow Brit JAMES BLUNT, the BOY LEAST LIKELY TO return for two weeks of North American stops kicking off May 31st in Seattle and running through June 13th in New York.

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