August 5, 2003

Phil Spector’s million-dollar bail has been extended through the end of next month, as investigators work to build a case against the legendary record producer. In February, B-movie actress Lana Clarkson was found dead at his L.A.-area mansion from a gunshot wound.
Spector, famous for his “Wall Of Sound” production in the ’60s for acts like the Ronettes and the Crystals, was arrested on suspicion of murder on February 3, though formal charges have yet to be filed. The Los Angeles sheriff’s department is still waiting for reports from its crime lab.
Since his arrest, Spector has claimed he is innocent and told Esquire magazine he believed Clarkson shot herself in an act of suicide, though investigators ruled that out in March, declaring that a criminal act had been committed.
Source launch.com.

James Brown, Carol Burnett, Loretta Lynn, Mike Nichols and Itzhak Perlman have been chosen for the 26th annual Kennedy Center Honors.
James A. Johnson, chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, said Tuesday that all five are being honored “for the unique and extremely valuable contributions they have made to the cultural life of our nation.”
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will hold a White House reception for the honorees on December 7, followed by a gala performance at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Stars from around the world take part in the performance, but the five winners traditionally remain in the audience.
The show will reopen the Opera House, which has been closed for refurbishing since last fall.
Source cnn.com.

Louisville outfit My Morning Jacket have announced tour plans taking them through late October. They’ll follow a couple Japanese festival dates with some late-August U.K. and Ireland shows before kicking off their North American tour in earnest.
The Stateside itinerary sees them on the road from September 5 to October 24, beginning and ending in Philadelphia. Several double dates are scheduled, in New York, Louisville, Los Angeles and Austin.This is actually the second Stateside tour for the Jacket this year – the tireless band did a five-week spring jaunt in April and May, in addition to some summer festival dates.
The increasingly high-profile group signed with Dave Matthews’ ATO Records last fall, and will release their new full-length, It Still Moves, September 9.
For full list of dates, visit Pollstar.com.

Stand-up comedians and Comedy Central stars Lewis Black and Dave Attell are co-headlining a big tour set to launch September 10 in Dallas. “Comedy Central Live Starring Lewis Black and Dave Attell” finds the two funnymen taking their special brand of comedy to theatres across the States for the rest of the year.
Black and Attell will alternate the order of their performances and a special guest will perform as the opening act. Along with hosting Pollstar’s Concert Industry Awards earlier this year, Black is featured every Wednesday on Comedy Central’s hugely popular mock newscast “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
Attell is the star of the network’s “Insomniac With Dave Attell,” which features weird late-night goings-on and the people who partake of them. Meanwhile, both guys have a few shows of their own. Black has a two-night run in Atlantic City and four shows at The Improv in Southern California, while Attell’s schedule includes three-night runs in Tampa and Raleigh, N.C.

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a big ticket give-away to its annual One World One Heart Festival. The music fest is taking over the historic site of the original Woodstock Festival in Bethel, N.Y., for two days, August 23-24. Artists on the bill include Tracy Chapman and LeAnn Rimes, who are headlining, as well as Third Eye Blind, Soulive, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish fame, Terrance Simien, and Recycled Percussion.
Source Pollstar.com.