2003

A Perfect Circle, whose second album, Thirteenth Step, arrived in stores Tuesday (September 16), has announced its fall North American tour. The current lineup which features Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White (a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez) and former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, made its live debut this past summer on a short club tour and some Lollapalooza dates.
October 31 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman ColiseumNovember 1 – Houston, TX – Reliant ArenaNovember 2 – New Orleans, LA – Voodoo FestivalNovember 4 – Pensacola, FL – Bay Front AuditoriumNovember 5 – Birmingham, AL – Boutwell AuditoriumNovember 7 – Tampa, FL – USF SundomeNovember 8 – Pompano Beach, FL – Pompano Beach AmphitheatreNovember 9 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran TheatreNovember 11 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock LiveNovember 13 – Knoxville, TN – ColiseumNovember 14 – Memphis, TN – Mid-South ColiseumNovember 15 – Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium
Source launch.com.

Stephen King, brand-name writer, master of the horror story and e-book pioneer, is receiving this year’s honorary National Book Award for lifetime achievement medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters. The prize, worth $10,000, was announced Monday by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization that sponsors the awards.
“This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in my career as a writer since the sale of my first book in 1973,” King said in a statement issued by the foundation.
“I’ll return the cash award to the National Book Foundation for the support of their many educational and literary outreach programs for children and youth across the country; the Medal I will keep and treasure for the rest of my life.”
King, who turns 56 next Sunday, will be presented the award at the annual National Book Awards ceremony, on November 19.
Source cnn.com.

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday defied Bush administration opposition and voted to rescind new regulations allowing large media companies to grow even bigger.
The Senate approved, 55-40, a resolution that would roll back the Federal Communications Commission (news – web sites) rules allowing television networks to own more local stations and permitting conglomerates to own a newspaper, television stations and radio outlets in a single market.
The measure faces a tougher battle in the U.S. House of Representatives and a threat of a veto by President Bush if it reaches his desk.
The Republican-led FCC narrowly adopted the new rules in June, which would allow television networks to own local stations that collectively reach 45 percent of the national audience, up from 35 percent.
The new rules permit one company to own a newspaper, a television station and several radio stations in a single market, lifting a decades-old ban on cross-ownership. A company would also be permitted to own two local television stations in more local markets.
The regulations were drawn up under the leadership of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who argued the relaxed limits were necessary to reflect the proliferation of cable, satellite television and the Internet offerings as well as preserve over-the-air broadcast television.
Television networks like Viacom Inc.’s CBS and News Corp.’s Fox contended they need to acquire more local stations to better compete against cable and satellite television services.
Critics, ranging from the National Rifle Association to Consumers Union as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress, charged that the rules would narrow the choices of viewpoints and cut local news coverage.
Source CNN.com.

Political singer/songwriters Steve Earle and Billy Bragg will join ex-Rage Against The Machine/current Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello next month for the Tell Us the Truth tour. Timed to coincide with the start of the 2004 presidential race, the three-week tour of U.S. clubs is slated to kick off in early November. Due to scheduling conflicts, Earle won’t join the others until Nov. 11.
Before extending to the Northeast, the tour — which will also feature Lester Chambers of the Chambers Brothers — will dip into Florida in time for the forthcoming World Trade Organization meetings in Miami, Earle tells Billboard.com. According to Earle, Morello, famed for his innovations and often unusual technique on the electric guitar, will be playing acoustic sets.
Earle says the tour is looking, quite simply, for more honesty and accountability from the mass media in their coverage of elections and the wars in Afghanistan and, especially, Iraq.
Source Billboard.com.

A DVD of consisting of rare performance footage will round out a nine-disc Black Sabbath collection due out for the holiday season. The bulk of “Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978)” will consist of remastered versions of the band’s eight original studio albums. The set will be released Nov. 4 via Warner Bros./Rhino.
The DVD boasts live performances of “Iron Man,” “Paranoid” and a cover of “Blue Suede Shoes,” plus a promotional clip for the 1970 album “Black Sabbath.”
All of the albums feature the band’s original lineup: vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Each set — “Black Sabbath,” “Paranoid,” “Master of Reality,” “Vol. 4,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” “Sabotage,” “Technical Ecstasy” and “Never Say Die!” — will be packaged in individual slip cases within the box.
In addition to the albums, the non-album studio track “Evil Woman,” originally released as a single in 1970 prior to the band’s self-titled debut, is also included.
All of the lyrics from each will be included in an 80-page book, which comprises vintage photographs, a group timeline and essays. Also included will be testimonials from the likes of Rob Zombie, Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett and Zakk Wylde, the guitarist in Osbourne’s band.
Source Billboard.com.

Former Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan announced that Zwan, the band he had started two years ago has broken up.
Corgan said his heart was always in the Smashing Pumpkins and admits he was na

David Bowie has announced US dates for his upcoming winter tour They follow Bowie’s U.K. arena outing and will continue through the new year Macy Gray is slated to accompany Bowie as a special guest on the North American leg. Additional shows are forthcoming.
The trek, titled A Reality Tour, is expected to include 17 countries over an anticipated seven months. Currently, Bowie is wowing fans in Europe on the arena outing, a marked change to his tour plans in recent years. The US portion begins December 6th in Atlantic City and includes shows at Boston’s Fleet Center and New York’s Madison Square Garden.
For a full list of the tour schedule visit Pollstar.com.

Next spring, 34-year-old Scott Rogers will begin a journey down the entire length of the 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail. Like all distance athletes, he will proceed toward his goal one step at a time. What separates Rogers from other hikers, however, is the fact that his steps will be powered by a high-tech prosthetic leg. If Rogers succeeds in the trek from Georgia to Maine, he will be the first through-hiker to complete the journey with an artificial leg. “This is the result of a lifelong dream,” said the Georgia native. “I decided that if I were ever to accomplish this, the time is now while I’m still relatively young.”
Source Outsideonline.com.

Former Beatle George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne are among the nominees on the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot.
Harrison, who died of cancer in November 2001, is already in the rock hall as a member of the Beatles. Former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney preceded him for their solo work.
Previous nominees back for another try include the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gram Parsons and Patti Smith. Other nominees include the Dells, the “5” Royales, Bob Seger, the Stooges, Traffic and ZZ Top.
Ballots were mailed this week to voting members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.
Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released. The inductees likely will be announced in December.
Soure Billboard.com.

The album blues great John Lee Hooker was working on at the time of his death will be released next month. “Face to Face,” which Hooker was completing with his daughter Zakiya, is due Oct. 28 via a previously reported licensing deal between the Hooker estate and Eagle Rock Entertainment. The album features feature guest appearances by Van Morrison, George Thorogood, Elvin Bishop, Warren Haynes, Dickey Betts, Johnny Winter and Jack Casady, among others.
The album is a collection of leftover songs that are in many cases embellished with overdubbed performances from the various guests. The raw tracks, all of which feature Hooker on vocal and guitar, were recorded during the sessions for the Pointblank/Virgin albums he released over the last decade of his life.
Source Billboard.com.