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Stooges Ready Album, Jack White Joins In
IGGY POP is currently locked away with the reunited STOOGES writing new material for the band's upcoming album. Produced by STEVE ALBINI (NIRVANA, PIXIES, PJ HARVEY), the as-yet-untitled album, due next year, will be the Stooges' first in over thirty years. JACK WHITE has also been enlisted to produce several cuts. Since reforming in 2003, the Stooges have only played sporadic dates, but the band will schedule a proper tour to coincide with the release. The band is already set to appear at the Nightmare Before Christmas Festival, December 8th through the 10th in Somerset, England, curated by SONIC YOUTH's THURSTON MOORE.
Bright Eyes Launch Mini-Tour
Indie folk darling CONOR OBERST is taking his BRIGHT EYES outfit to Canada this summer for a ten-stop mini-tour before the band's June 16th appearance at Bonnaroo. Beginning June 4th in Victoria, British Columbia, the band will make stops in eight Canadian cities before closing out the run June 14th in Toronto. Following their Bonnaroo gig, the band will return to Omaha, Nebraska, for a June 17th hometown show at Memorial Park. The group -- Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and longtime collaborator MIKE MOGIS, and trumpet player NATE WALCOT -- is in the studio working on the follow-up to 2005's simultaneous release of I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and Digital Ash In a Digital Urn. The new album features guest spots from singer-songwriter M. WARD and SLEATER-KINNEY drummer JANET WEISS, and is due in spring of 2007.
My Morning Jacket Play With the Pops
Reverb rockers MY MORNING JACKET will appear alongside KEITH LOCKHART and the BOSTON POPS ESPLANADE ORCHESTRA on June 21st and 22nd at the Boston Symphony Hall for a night of "contemporary pop and rock musicians accompanied by the full Boston Pops Orchestra."
Jackson Inks Record Deal . . . In Bahrain
MICHAEL JACKSON has inked an exclusive recording deal with Bahrain-based Two Seas Records, a joint venture between the embattled King of Pop and Prince Abdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa. Jackson is currently recording in Bahrain, where he has resided since last summer after being acquitted of child molestation charges in the U.S. A new album is slated for release in late 2007. U.K. record executive Guy Holmes will become the CEO of Two Seas and serve as Jackson's personal business manager. Holmes is now head of Gut Records, the label that produced the CRAZY FROG ring tone "Axel F," which beat out COLDPLAY to top the U.K. chart . . . In other Jackson news, a lawsuit filed against the singer by Joseph Bartucci Jr. has been thrown out of a New Orleans court. In the suit, Bartucci claimed that he was sexually and physically abused for nine days inside Jackson's limousine at the 1984 New Orleans World's Fair. Bartucci claims he suppressed the memory until 2003, when it was triggered by a television program discussing allegations of child molestation against Jackson. The judge gave no reason for the dismissal.
White Stripes Sued for Their Stijl
The WHITE STRIPES are being sued for a share of royalties by a man who claims he helped shape the duo's sound. JIM DIAMOND worked with the band on their first two albums and is listed as a co-producer on the band's self-titled first album and as a sound mixer on 2000's De Stijl. Diamond has filed suit in Detroit's U.S. District Court, claiming he is entitled to a share of the income generated from those releases. The White Stripes deny Diamond's claims, and have stated in court documents that they paid Diamond thirty-five dollars an hour for time in his Detroit recording studio. A hearing is set for June 12th.
George Michael Allegedly Hits and Runs
GEORGE MICHAEL is currently under investigation by London authorities after the pop singer allegedly collided with two parked vehicles on Sunday, and then fled the scene. Michael has yet to be questioned about the incident. In February, the former WHAM singer was arrested for possession of cannabis after he was found hunched over the wheel of his parked car.
Etheridge and Partner Expecting Twins
MELISSA ETHERIDGE's partner Tammy Lynn Michaels is expecting twins this fall, according to a statement on the singer's Web site. For the past five years, the couple, who married in Malibu in September 2003, have been raising Etheridge's two children from a previous relationship with Julie Cypher. Bailey Jean and Beckett were conceived through artificial insemination, thanks to a donation from folk star DAVID CROSBY. This time, however, Etheridge made clear that the couple had opted for an anonymous donor. Etheridge was recently given a clean bill of health after undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer.
Postal Service Man Goes Solo
JIMMY TAMBORELLO, one half of electro-pop duo the POSTAL SERVICE, will release Mistake, Mistake, Mistake, Mistake on July 11th. Tamborello, who also records as DNTEL and was a member of the synth-pop group FIGURINE, will release the album under the pseudonym JAMES FIGURINE. The record features KINGS OF CONVENIENCE's ERLEND OYE and RILO KILEY's JENNY LEWIS, among other guests. The Postal Service's Give Up (2003) has sold over 750,000 copies.
Velvet Revolver Guests on "Nashville Star"
On April 25th, VELVET REVOLVER's SCOTT WEILAND and DUFF McKAGAN will appear as guest judges on the USA Network's Nashville Star, country music's take on American Idol. The episode will also feature a guest performance by country star HANK WILLIAMS JR. and an appearance by ASHLEY JUDD, who will present her sister WYNONNA, the host of Nashville Star, with a career achievement award.
Black Crowes Plug In For Summer Outing
The BLACK CROWES are hitting the road this summer for a nine-week jaunt that will include stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Nashville. Accompanying the Crowes will be ROBERT RANDOLPH AND THE FAMILY BAND and DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS. The brothers ROBINSON are currently in the middle of their Brothers of a Feather acoustic tour, which wraps April 26th in Los Angeles. The Crowes' DVD, Freak 'N' Roll . . . Into the Fog, released in March, debuted at Number Two on Billboard's Music Video Chart.