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If you thought that drum circle in Golden Gate Park was big, time to step it up a notch as some big name drummers are ensembling a full scale drum event of a different kind.
Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick), Alan White (Yes) and Michael Derosier (Heart), are calling all drummers to Tacoma Narrows Airport in Tacoma, Wash., March 29 to make an attempt at setting a world record for simultaneous drumset playing.The event takes place from 1-3 p.m. and hopes to break the previous Guinness world record of 120 drummers drumming at one time. Each drummer is responsible for bringing his/her own equipment, which consists of at least a bass drum, snare drum, drum throne, hi-hat with cymbals and at least one tom, and a carpet or rug for the floor. In addition to their world record goal, the group is also raising money for the Rotary International’s Polio Plus program. All money collected will go to the program, which seeks to rid the world of Polio by 2005. Check out the rotary8.org Web site for full details and how to register for the event. There is a $10 entry fee.
Source Pollstar.com.

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, the longtime bassist with Bob Marley & the Wailers, received the green light from London’s High Court to mount a claim over the band’s royalties, potentially worth millions of pounds.Barrett is suing Universal-Island Records Ltd and Island Def Jam Music Group, claiming that both he and the estate of his late brother, drummer Carlton Barrett, have not been paid years’ worth of royalties due to them under two recording agreements made in the 1970s. In the ongoing claim, Barrett says he and his brother, together with other members of the Wailers at various times, entered into partnerships with Marley on the basis that profits would be shared equally between Marley, on the one hand, and the remaining partners on the other.Therefore, he claims that Marley entered into recording agreements in 1974 and 1975 as their agent and they were party to those agreements, but Island and its parent Universal Music Group have failed to account to them for any share of the royalties they are due on the albums made under those agreements: “Natty Dread,” “Live!,” “Rastaman Vibration,” “Exodus,” “Kaya,” “Babylon by Bus,” “Survival,” “Uprising,” and “Confrontation.”
Source Billboard.com.

R.E.M. will launch a 26-date North American Tour, it

Always turning new albums out at a steady pace, and just a year since the release of “Are You Passionate,” Neil Young has finished a new studio album with help from Crazy Horse members: bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina. Frank (Pancho) Sampedro was reported to not be involved, which does not make this a full scale Crazy Horse record. The album is due out later this year. Neil Young has begun confirming dates for a summer North American tour backed by Crazy Horse. A spokesperson says the trek is still being booked, but so far, three dates are set: June 8 in West Palm Beach, Fla., June 9 in Tampa, Fla., and June 23 in Toronto. Young and Crazy Horse will also appear at the second annual Bonnaroo festival, to be held June 13-15 in Manchester, Tenn. Young begins a 20-date solo acoustic tour of Europe April 22 in Stockholm.
Source Billboard.com.

Another item of interest for Beatles fans. The London home where Beatle John Lennon lived from the ages of 5 to 23, and where many of his most beloved songs were born, is being opened to the public. Last year, Yoko Ono purchased the semi-detached home and has donated it to the National Trust. It has been restored to how it looked when Lennon had lived there in the 50

Sonic heavyweights colide. In addition to a previously announced Wilco/Sonic Youth show at New York City

The Dead have announced the first leg of their summer tour as part of “Summer Getaway 2003.” Joan Osborne will be adding vocals and filling in the spot where Susan Tedeschi sang during last November

After assaulting us with his new electric adventure called Zwan, Billy Corgan has gone acoustic. Recording in the vain of the Beatles “Let It Be,” Corgan

Say what you want about

Widespread Panic

Radiohead’s sixth Capitol studio album will be titled “Hail to the Thief.” The 14-track set, one of the most anticipated albums of the year, will arrive June 10 in North America and a day earlier in Europe. It will be preceded by the commercial single “There There,” which will be released May 26.
Produced by the band with longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, the new album features a handful of songs that have already been unveiled to the public in some form. Frontman Thom Yorke played “There There” and “Sail to the Moon” during his solo performances at last October’s Bridge School Benefit outside San Francisco, while “A Punch-Up at a Wedding” was performed live by the full band last year and during an Internet Webcast in December. For a full list of tracks on the new release, visit Billboard.com

Tuesday, on the thirtieth anniversary of Pink Floyd

Former Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo leader Jay Farrar will be releasing his second solo album, Terroir Blues on May 20th. The new 23 track recording will be Farrar

“Chicago” won best picture at the Oscars last night and became the first musical since “Oliver” in 1968 to win best picture. It also took home Oscars for best supporting actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), art direction, costume design, sound and film editing. “Chicago” had led all films with 13 nominations. Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his performance in “The Pianist” as did Roman Polanski as Best Director for the film based on Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman. Best Actress went to Nicole Kidman for her role as Virginia Woolf in “The Hours,” and gave a weepy acceptance speech. Chris Cooper won best supporting actor nod for his performance as a scraggly orchid thief in “Adaptation.” Rounding out the major categories, Eminem won for Original Song in 8 Mile for Lose Yourself. For a full list of winners, visit CNN.com

Earth Day festivities are underway in San Francisco. The We The Planet festival is set for April 20 at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park. There will be music, speakers and on-site demonstrations of conservation efforts. Alanis Morissette, Bonnie Raitt (in a special acoustic performance), Cake, Concrete Blonde, The Coup, and De La Soul are confirmed artists on the bill, with additional performers expected to be announced. Also taking the stage are several speakers, including festival organizer Julia Butterfly Hill of Circle Of Life, Van Jones, Randy Hayes and Spoken Word by Youth Speaks.Billed as a sustainable event, We The Planet is putting its words in action by showing how it’s using green energy, recycling, compost and environmentally friendly promotional materials. As an example, the staging and sound production will be powered by bio-diesel fuel in standard generators.
Source Pollstar.com.

Alternative music pioneers Sonic Youth have announced a number of new shows beginning with an April 12 benefit concert at the Anthology Film Archives in New York. Proceeds from the gig will be donated to the family of filmmaker Stan Brakhage, who died March 9.
Beyond previously announced appearances at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., and the second Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, N.H., the group will also appear at the Primavera Festival on May 24 in Barcelona and the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 15 in Pittsburgh. And although the full schedule for the series has yet to be announced, Sonic Youth is set to join Wilco for a June 26 concert as part of the annual Central Park Summer Stage event in New York.
Source Billboard.com.

In case you are running any version of Windows on your PC, take notice. Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday warned about a serious flaw in all versions of its popular Windows software that could allow hackers to seize control of a person’s computer when victims read e-mails or visit Web sites.
Microsoft assessed the problem’s urgency as critical, its highest level, and urged customers to download a free repairing patch immediately from its Web site, www.microsoft.com/security.
Source CNN.com.

In the tradition of the Great Went in 1997 and the Lemonwheel in 1998, the Loring Development Authority Friday gave permission for Phish to put on a show in Limestone, Maine this August. Executive Director Brian Hamel says he’ll negotiate the agreement for the show to be held at the former Loring Air Force Base in the most Northeastern corner of the continental United States. This will most likely be a multi-day festival with 3 sets performed by the band each of the two days. It will be the first festival developed by the band and it

Overshadowed by the U.S. recent strike against Iraq, the U.S. Senate narrowly rejected oil drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday. Development of the millions of barrels of oil beneath the 100-mile coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska has been a key part of President Bush’s energy plan. Environmentalists contended drilling there would jeopardize a pristine area valued for its wildlife. All but five Democrats voted against refuge drilling. There were eight Republicans who joined the Democrats in favor of barring oil companies from the refuge.
Source CNN.com .

A new album that will feature Dave Matthews without Carter Beauford, Boyd Tinsley, Steffan Lessard and Leroi Moore will be released by the Dave Matthews Band