Really Randoms

As if Billie Joe Armstrong doesn't have enough on his mind . . . Not only is the Green Day vocalist/guitarist demoing new songs for the follow-up to 1997's Nimrod and explaining to his pals why he didn't want to open up for the Rolling Stones, somehow he's found time to finish recording an album with his *other* band, Pinhead Gunpowder. The record, titled Shoot the Moon, will see the light of day on Adeline Records, the label Armstrong co-owns with Limp (and former Screw 32) guitarist Doug Sangalang and Jim Thiebaud, a founder of Real Skateboard, one of the pre-eminent board makers in the world. Perhaps to prove their punk mettle, the label's offices are located at the Real Skateboards warehouse, on Adeline Street, in Berkeley, California. If you don't believe us, their logo is a street sign. The album will contain six originals and a Replacements cover . . .

When Lucinda Williams released her critically acclaimed Car Wheels on a Gravel Road last year, she spent a lot of interview time defending why the album was so long in the making while steadfastly denying that she was a crazed perfectionist, decrying one New York Times Magazine profile of her in which she felt unfairly portrayed as "this neurotic nut." Now, we were willing to side with her until her sold-out show last night at New York's Irving Plaza. After flubbing a minor line in two songs ("Drunken Angel" and "Greenville"), Williams joked that she'd probably get a bad review that would read, "After a couple of false starts ..." The audience, which earlier had sung a belated happy birthday to the singer/songwriter (who turned forty-six on Tuesday), laughed along with her and probably didn't even notice or care about the slight slip-ups. But they must have bugged Williams crazy for the rest of the evening, because when she came back for a long encore, she ran her band through both songs again. "Sometimes it pays to do things twice," she beamed afterward. And sometimes you seem like a nut. But it's all part of the charm -- and repeats notwithstanding, the show rocked . . .

Watch out, Ken, you've got competition -- and he's a madman. On Feb. 8, Todd McFarlane Toys will proudly unveil the action figure that every cookies-and-milk mommy wants her impressionable tyke bringing to the playground this spring: Ozzy, and we ain't talkin' 'bout the better half of Harriet. Just months after introducing a set of Kiss figures, the Spawn animator is returning with a pliant Ozzy Osbourne, complete with manic looking eyes and black cape. Edible bats and snakes are not included, however the plastic Iron Man will be sold with a comic book and limited edition magazine based on the Iron Man's current tour. And with just the right amount of hair spray and magic marker, industrious little rockers can transform Barbie into Lita Ford for a recreation of the "Close My Eyes Forever" duet. In other Ozz news, the legendary frontman has cancelled three dates of the Sabbath Reunion tour to rest his vocal chords, according to his publicist. The dates are as follows: 1/28 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia (rescheduled for 2/18); 1/29 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. (rescheduled for 2/19); at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. (until further notice). Despite the problems with his vox, the Ozzmeister isn't suffering too much. SFX, the behemoth concert promotion company, just purchased half of his wife Sharon Osbourne's management company and, in addition to guaranteeing to promote the Ozzfest for the next five years, they will also bankroll Osbourne's new label. It isn't the first time Mr. and Mrs. Osbourne have had their own imprint. The couple launched Ozz Records in 1997 and released just one record, Ozzfest Live, before folding their tent eight months later when their distributor, Red Ant, reportedly pulled financing . . .

What sets When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens apart from the scores of other self-help books on the shelf of your local Barnes & Noble? The writer is one Bev Cobain, a psychiatric nurse specializing in teen depression and the cousin of yes, the late Kurt Cobain. And yes, Kurt's suicide did play a role in inspiring Bev to write the book. Published by Free Spirit Press, it carries a list price of $13.95 . . .

If it sings like a duck and it looks ... well, if it looks vaguely duck-related, chances are that diehard Journey fans will be willing to fork over big bucks in order to grab a piece of it for themselves. Don't take our word for it -- head on over to the bizarro-world reaches of the Journey Fan Network site, where a monstrously-sized garage sale is currently taking place. Plenty of (Steve) Perry-phernalia is up for grabs at the site, from live tapes to unusual tour merchandise; but if you're really looking to impress the prog-lover in your life, you're guaranteed to score points by ponying up for the original artwork for the band's Trial by Fire album. Interested? Well, all you need do is take a deep breath, sit down, whip out that checkbook and whip off $15,000 -- which might sound expensive, but if you think about it, it's really a much better investment than 1,000 copies of the album itself. On the other hand, a mere five grand will reserve the original artwork for Journey's "Message of Love" single. Personally, we'd hold out for a pair of those nifty spandex jeans that Perry used to parade around in -- preferably in zebra print. You can browse the whole shebang at http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jsparina/ . . .

Lights, camera ... Bono. The Million Dollar Hotel, the Wim Wenders-directed/Mel Gibson-starring film co-written and co-produced by U2's renaissance frontman, is scheduled to begin shooting Feb. 2 in Los Angeles, according to the film's production office. Scripted by Bono, German director Wenders and writer Nicholas Klein, the futuristic film will feature Gibson playing a bald detective investigating the murder of a billionaire's son at a flop house. Bono himself is slated for a role alongside actress/model/singer Milla Jovovich and Jeremy Davies. Bono is also credited for the music and screenplay, confirming speculation last October that U2 would contribute to the soundtrack. Stay tuned for further details as they develop . . .

Although the Smashing Pumpkins camp is mum, the New York Daily News has reported that Billy Corgan met with Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz last month with an eye to letting Ovitz and his two partners, Rich and Julie Yorn, guide the fortunes of the Pumpkins under the aegis of their newly formed AMG company. As previously reported, the Pumpkins left Q Prime last November, explaining that the band's vision did not jibe with that of the management company; they have limped along without management ever since. It looks like Ovitz smells blood at Q Prime, since he's already made overtures toward the firm's highest profile client, Madonna. According to the Material Mom's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, Madonna had a tete-a-tete with Ovitz at an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village recently, but it's unclear if Ovitz's offer went down well with her margarita pizza . . .

We don't want to actually suggest that Alanis Morissette is living her own personal, A Star Is Born, but ever since she started dating actor Dash Mihok his fortunes have taken off. He snared a part in The Thin Red Line, and now he's been offered a part as a series regular in WB's answer to Ally McBeal -- Felicity. Mihok will make his small screen debut on Tuesday (Feb. 2) playing "Lynn," a member of the university swim team. We guess that means that Mihok won't be doing the dog paddle in New Orleans this Saturday, when Morissette kicks off her North American tour at the Lakefront Arena . . .

Kula Shaker's second album, Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts, due out on our shores on March 30, has been pushed back until June 1. While the album will still be released in the U.K. on March 8, as planned, the psychedelic popsters have decided to do a month-long tour in England and Japan just to get the record off to a rousing start, which leaves little time for Stateside. But by all accounts, the Bob Ezrin-produced opus is worth waiting for . . .

Everyone wants a piece of Fatboy Slim, and Psygnosis are no exception. The company, one of the leading lights of the entertainment software industry, has designed a high-speed racing game for Sony PlayStation console called "Rollcage," and they thought Mr. Slim (or Norman Cook, to the cognoscente) would be perfect for it, so they licensed multiple tracks from Cook's 1998 album You've Come A Long Way Baby. Inexplicably, the company has also decided to use one of Nico's tracks as well -- which in our estimation, just might put you asleep at the wheel. Damian Harris, founder of Skint Records, was especially pleased -- and not just with the big check that Psygnosis is sending his client. "I usually play driving games when I'm listening to demos, and Fatboy Slim tracks are always the best to drive to, so having them on the game makes perfect sense" . . .

A source within the Neil Young camp confirms that Young will mount a small acoustic tour in either March or April, but so far no dates are written in stone. As for that much-heralded box set, originally expected to include five discs, Young has gotten a little more ambitious and expanded his original vision; the package now will reportedly contain eight CDs, three of which will comprise an entire classic live concert from the Grunge Godfather's golden years . . .

Hollywood's latest trend of casting pop stars in films is set to continue with Southern California's digestible punk outfit the Offspring. The quartet is set to make their big screen debut come April 23 in Columbia Pictures' horror/comedy/teen flick Idle Ways, which stars Devon Sawa and Vivica Fox. Dexter, Noodles and the rest of the gang were cast in the role of "band." Their part sees them playing a high school dance where an apocalypse of sorts takes place. According to the Offspring camp, the boys re-recorded the Ramones classic "I Wanna Be Sedated," as well as their own track, "Beheaded," for the film, though neither version is set to be included on the soundtrack . . .

Upon calling Capitol Records to get to the bottom of nasty rumors that the Jesus Lizard, one of Chicago's most dangerous bands, had broken up, we got the disturbing news that the group no longer resides on the label. We'll keep you posted . . .

Blur and the Counting Crows have been kind enough to offer their loyal subjects appetizers from their forthcoming albums, so smile and nod in approval. Featured on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack, due out March 2, will be "Coffee and TV" from Blur's forthcoming 13 and "Colorblind" from the Counting Crows third studio effort, reportedly titled This Desert Life. Other previously unheard contributions include "Comin' Up From Behind" by Marcy Playground, "Trip on Love" by Abra Moore, "Addictive" by Faithless, and "Ordinary Life" performed by Kristen Barry and produced by the now-defunct Sneaker Pimps. The film, which stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, will hit theaters on March 5 . . .

Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath, indeed. Although his precise hemoglobin loss remains uncertain, Deftones bassist Chi Cheng did add to the gore and guts of Monday's Black Sabbath show in Houston with an advanced toe infection that forced him into a hospital shortly after the amplifiers quit buzzing. Eager to rub elbows with His Majesty Ozzy Osbourne, Cheng had bitten back the pain during his first-ever opening gig for Sabbath before calling a doctor and ultimately undergoing emergency surgery on his left foot. The iron man bass player apparently contracted an infection in Australia earlier this year. Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega will fill his slot on the Sabbath tour through Feb. 23, when the Deftones plan to begin work on a new studio album. Never say die . . .

Sometimes, when life imitates art, it does a pretty good impression of a Salvador Dali painting. We experienced one of those "I sees it, but I don't believes it" moments just today, when we got wind of the news that Yes yowler Jon Anderson has been working on a musical collaboration with none other than closet prog-rocker Sherman Helmsley -- who's best known for playing George Jefferson on the long-running sitcom The Jeffersons. The pair have been pals for quite some time, it seems, and they've been working on what's being described as -- perish the thought -- a rock opera called Festival of Dreams for the past several months. Helmsley apparently is going to be responsible for the project's music while Anderson handles the lyrics, which, unfortunately, rules out the possibility of songs being interrupted with a heartfelt "Weezy!" here and there. While the pint-sized actor is actually not a musical novice -- he cracked the charts at the onset of the hip-hop era with a beat-fest titled "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" -- the song cycle is his first foray into full-fledged art-rock. On a similarly crossover-oriented note, we hear that Queen Latifah has signed a production deal to host her own talk show, a package that's being described as a "younger, hipper version of Oprah." On the bright side, the Queen could have pitched it as "Howie Mandel with ovaries." Now that would be scary . . .

Inspired, no doubt, by the suit former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke brought (and won) against singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr for unpaid royalties last year, Spandau Ballet members Tony Hadley (vocals), John Keeble (drums) and Steve Norman (saxophone) are suing guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp for money they claim Kemp owes them -- in fact, the three members claim they haven't received a single royalty check in the past ten years. Kemp's brother Martin, who played bass in the band and is now a cast member on the highly rated U.K. show EastEnders, is not part of the suit . . .

All work and no play makes Bono a dull boy. That's why U2's frontman took a break from recording the band's next album to attend the opening of Johnny Depp's new Paris nightclub, Le Man Ray, which the actor co-owns with Michael Keaton and Sean Penn. While Depp didn't attend the festivities, his newly clean and sober ex-girlfriend, Kate Moss, did. Also in the house, old school rocker Mick Hucknall of Simply Red ...

Lollapalooza took another blow against a possible return when the Amelia Earhart of rock & roll, Guns n' Roses, officially ended negotiations with tour organizers to headline the summer festival. "It just doesn't coincide with our schedule," said a source close to the band. "It's not a no on necessarily a conceptual side. The time they were to start the thing [July or August] doesn't really fit what's going on for us." The source added, however, that the Gunners will be on the road some time this year. Why is that so hard to believe? . . .

Since the English aren't forced to fill all those dormant brain cells with tales of lewdness, lasciviousness and Lewinsky, they've got more free time to ponder life's truly important questions -- like what the title of the next Suede album might be. As meaningless as that riddle might be to upstanding Americans who think of really expensive dry cleaning when they hear the word, Suede have Limeyland at the edge of their collective seat by deciding to portion out the disc's name one letter at a time. Thus far, "Wheel of Fortune"-styled missives from the mincing mavens have indicated that the album's title will begin with an "H," followed by an "E"- which leaves a wide variety of possibilities, our favorite being "Hey, if we paint the damn letters on our bare butts, maybe America will finally notice us" . . .

Thou shalt not steal a truckload of electric guitars, drum kits and amplifiers from three of the most ruthless, reckless and vengeful heavy metal acts around. A group of hooligans flouted this first commandment of rock & roll on Jan. 23 when they swiped the eighteen-foot equipment and merchandise truck for Fear Factory, System of a Down and Spineshank from outside the bands' Philadelphia hotel in broad daylight. Dumbfounded by the insurrection, the touring trio has postponed at least ten concerts throughout Canada and the Midwest while they wait for word from Pennsylvania police. The ministers of metal hope to reschedule those dates in March, however they may be too busy cracking thug heads . . .

Jurassic metal band Iron Maiden are celebrating their twentieth anniversary this year, and they've decided to mark the occasion with a $31 million bond issue. According to sources in the U.K., the band's management company, Sanctuary, is in the final stages of issuing bonds through a big name investment bank, securing the bonds with the Iron Maiden back catalog, much like David Bowie did in 1997 when he raised more than $53 million on the New York Stock Exchange by selling bonds backed by the income still generated from his early albums. Turns out they may be celebrating the occasion by getting rid of singer Blaze Bayley. After last year's show in Buenos Aires, guitarist Janick Gers commented that this would be Bayley's last tour with the band. Apparently none of the band, which currently includes Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Nick McBrain and Gers, would travel in the same van as Bayley, nor did they have more than the briefest of conversations with him . . .

Robert Plant has showed up for the third time to see Led Zeppelin tribute band Fred Zeppelin. Last month, he dropped in to see the band in Wolverhampton, England, and not only stayed to the very end, but bought two of the band's T-shirts. One for himself, and the other, a gift for Jimmy Page . . .

True, most fans who scurried to Ticketmaster last week to procure seats for the Mumia Abu-Jamal benefit concert in East Rutherford, N.J., were probably more concerned with moshing along to the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine than the cause they were furthering. Nevertheless, in a nod toward freedom of choice, authorities at the Continental Arena, where the benefit is scheduled to take place on Thursday (Jan. 28), have provided a means for ticket-buyers in opposition to a final appeal for convicted cop-killer and former Black Panther/award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal to get their money back. "Money is being refunded to those who object to where the money is being spent," clarified John Samerjan, vice president of public affairs at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. "There was some indication that some people weren't clear when tickets were being purchased -- and [this is] one of those shows where tickets were being purchased by parents for some of the younger fans -- about what the purpose of the concert was until the spate of publicity last week [concerning police opposition to working the event]." After some discussion with N.J. Governor Christine Todd Whitman, the Continental Arena, which is supported in part by public funding, made arrangements through Ticketmaster to provide point-of-purchase refunds before Wednesday, Jan. 27. Of course, with such monster headliners, whatever tickets are returned will undoubtedly be snatched up as quickly as they were the first go-round. "We presume that even if tickets are returned, [the arena] will be sold out," assured Samerjan. Still, he says, "This is a new one for us" . . .

It seems there's never a dull moment in the Wu-Tang Clan camp. No sooner does resident rapscallion Ol' Dirty Bastard come home after a week in jail on charges of attempted murder than the whole Wu camp is revealed in a Sunday New York Post article to be under federal investigation for gun-running. The article claims that, although the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms remains mum on the matter, city police and federal sources suspect "at least two" Wu-Tang members of buying guns out of group leader RZA's family home town of Steubenville, Ohio, and bringing them to N.Y. for "protection, for their friends, and to sell." Last August, Wu-manager Walter Free was charged with assault and found in possession of a semi-automatic pistol that traced back to the Ohio steel town. Mook Gibbons of Wu-Tang Management was unavailable for comment at press time, though another employee denied knowledge of the federal investigation or the Post story. ODB, meanwhile, is out on bail but due to return to court in early February for alleged shooting at a cop in Brooklyn on Jan 15. A paraffin test to determine if he had indeed fired a gun (no firearm was recovered by police) has yet to be returned . . .

We're not sure whether it's a case of forgive and forget, but Megadeth have just recorded a version of Metallica's "Call of Ktulu" for the new album that they're cutting in Nashville. And why not, it was co-written by Dave Mustaine before he was unceremoniously ousted from the band back in 1983. According to Megadeth's spokesperson, we can look for the new offering this summer . . .

While Keith Richards was rehearsing in San Francisco and Oakland in advance of the launch of the Rolling Stones' "No Security" tour at the Oakland Arena tonight (he even brought his father Bert along for luck), he won a zoning battle back in England. The guitarist and his neighbors in the English oceanfront village of West Wittering successfully fought to prevent a logger from building a road near their property -- although Richard's country home is far off the beaten path. The fifteenth-century home is surrounded by a moat, and is all but inaccessible to callers. In other Stones news, the group recently called off its much-rumored surprise show in the San Francisco Bay Area. A spokesperson at VH1, which was sponsoring the event, told us that the date was scotched because Mick Jagger felt beleaguered by all of the publicity surrounding his divorce . . .

Ordinarily, we wouldn't advocate rummaging through the garbage of total strangers, unless there looked to be some leftover clam dip -- which we can never get enough of -- for the taking. A whole gaggle of folks, however, seem to have no compunction about raiding the trash bins of the rich and famous, and the resultant finds will be auctioned off this coming weekend. The bid-fest, which will be held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, collects trinkets and throwaways from stars both huge and microscopic, and -- in the way only obsessive collector-dom can -- makes them all equal in the eyes of potential buyers. Among the items being put up for grabs at the event are a sealed package of plastic costume jewelry, which Madonna is said to have left behind in an Italian hotel room earlier this decade, as well as a Post-It note (no doubt containing some Hindu wisdom -- or a reminder to pick up the dry cleaning) from the desk of Alanis Morissette. Not surprisingly, old prescriptions are plentiful in the catalog: Courtney Love, apparently feeling the side effects from that nose job, required a good deal of a nasal spray known as Astelin, as evidenced by the Payless Drug receipt auctioneers will be hawking. And if you've been hankering to own a piece of history -- at least that minuscule part of it devoted to folks like Billy Ray Cyrus, Fabian or Mickey Rourke -- you're also in luck. We'd consider heading down to check out the merchandise ourselves, but lengthy perusal of the goods revealed not so much as a single skate-lace from the closet of Tonya Harding. Dang . . .

It's been a banner year for Jimmy Page. Not only were Page and Plant nominated for a Grammy, but the guitarist is a dad again at the ripe old age of fifty-five. According to the U.K.'s News of the World, Page has a new son named Asher. Someone spotted Page picking up snapshots of the tyke at a shop near his upscale home in Thames at Windsor.

The RSN Staff
(January 29, 1999)