2005

Rambo is coming out of hiding and looking for some fresh blood.

After a 17-year layoff, Sylvester Stallone is ready to reprise his role as everyone’s favorite muscle-bound Green Beret for a fourth installment in the popular 1980s film franchise.

After protracted legal wrangling, the rights to Rambo were snapped up in 1997 by Miramax’s genre division, Dimension Films. But a planned Rambo IV stalled. Now, with Miramax heads Harvey and Bob Weinstein exiting Disney, they have sold the sequel rights for the intrepid character to Nu Image/Millennium Films, and the project is finally moving forward.

In addition to breaking the old red bandanna out of mothballs, Stallone, 58, will write the screenplay.

“I’ve signed the deal and I have the old headband, machine gun and bow and arrow ready to go. I am looking forward to showing movie fans the real action hero again,” Stallone said in a statement.

To read more visit yahoo.com.

Following through on a pledge to not tour North America until later this summer, the White Stripes have revealed an initial round of dates. The tour will begin Aug. 6 in George, Wash., and has shows on tap through an Aug. 29-31 stand at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater.

There are also multiple-night engagements lined up at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, as well as an Aug. 22 show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Denver. More shows will be added.

As previously reported, the Stripes are in the midst of a 12-date tour of Central and South America ahead of the June 7 release of their new Third Man/V2 album, “Get Behind Me Satan.”

Before the North American run, the Stripes will spend three weeks in June and July playing in such far-flung European locales as Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Riga, Latvia.

Here are the White Stripes’ North American tour dates:

June 10: Atlanta (Music Midtown Festival)
July 29: San Diego (Street Scene Festival)
Aug. 6: George, Wash. (Gorge Amphitheatre)
Aug. 7-8: Vancouver (Orpheum Theatre)
Aug. 10: Portland, Ore. (Keller Auditorium)
Aug. 12: Berkeley, Calif. (Greek Theatre)
Aug. 15-18: Los Angeles (Greek Theatre)
Aug. 19: Phoenix (Dodge Theatre)
Aug. 22: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks)
Aug. 23: Kansas City, Mo. (Starlight Theatre)
Aug. 24: St. Louis (Fox Theatre)
Aug. 26-27: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
Aug. 29-31: Chicago (Auditorium Theatre)

Source billboard.com.

Modern rock act 311 will release its next studio album, “Don’t Tread on Me,” July 26 via Volcano. According to a post from vocalist Nick Hexum on the band’s official Web site, songs tipped to make the final cut are “Solar Flair” (“a super slow and heavy rap rocker”) and “It’s Getting OK Now” (“a fast punk song”), as well as “a handful of reggae-influenced tracks.”

311 has begun lining up dates for a summer tour, which will run from July 27 to Sept. 18. A handful of shows will feature Papa Roach and/or Unwritten Law, and 311 is also confirmed to appear July 30 at San Diego’s Street Scene festival.

Here are 311’s tour dates:

July 30: San Diego (Street Scene Festival)
Aug, 2: Tucson, Ariz. (Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre)
Aug. 5: Las Vegas (Skin Pool Lounge)
Aug. 6: Salt Lake City (USANA Amphitheatre
Aug. 7: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks)

Source billboard.com.

Circus Maximus in Rome, London’s Hyde Park and the Eiffel Tower in Paris are among the venues that will host Live 8, a series of concerts being organized by Bob Geldof, the driving force behind the Band Aid and Live Aid campaigns for African famine relief.

The July 2 concerts, which will be free, also will be held at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and in Philadelphia, organizers said.

Performers include Coldplay, Madonna, Paul McCartney, R.E.M. and U2 in London; Will Smith, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder and P. Diddy in Philadelphia; Crosby, Stills and Nash, Lauren Hill and Brian Wilson in Berlin; Jamiroquai, Youssou N’Dour, Yannick Noah and Placebo in Paris; and Duran Duran in Rome.

The events are aimed at raising awareness of poverty in developing countries just days before G8 leaders meet in Britain. Organizers didn’t immediately announce the full lineup for the concerts or where the Philadelphia incarnation would take place.

They said there were plans for concerts in other cities in G8 countries, but didn’t give further details. Japan, Canada and Russia are the three other nations in the G8.

Source billboard.com.

Oscar Brown Jr., a legendary rhythm & blues and jazz singer, died Sunday (May 29) at age 78 following a two-month illness, his son said.

The songwriter and playwright had been hospitalized in April and again in mid-May complaining of pain and paralysis in his legs. He had emergency surgery on May 16 to address an abscess on his lower spine, Napoleon Brown said.

Brown was known for such compositions “The Snake,” “Signifyin’ Monkey” and lyrics for Miles Davis’ “All Blues.” The son of a prosperous attorney and real estate broker, he began performing on radio as a teenager. His first album, Sin and Soul, came out in 1960. He appeared with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly.

Brown wrote more than a dozen plays and musicals. He was also active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, running unsuccessfully twice for political office — first for the Illinois legislature and later for the U.S. Congress.

Source billboard.com.

Big Head Todd & The Monsters have announced their summer tour dates. Amongst the travels, the band will offer two free shows, beginning wtih a performance at the Ribfest in St. Louis, MO. The band will be playing a June 4th show in their home state of Colorado at Red Rocks with supporting act Love45.

Tour Dates

05.29.2005 – St. Louis, MO – Ribfest @ Soldiers Memorial FREE SHOW!!
06.04.2005 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks
06.17.2005 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre
06.19.2005 – Lawrence, KS – Wakarusa
06.24.2005 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Park Zoo
06.25.2005 – Sioux Falls, SD – Summer Jam
06.26.2005 – Superior, WI – University of Wisconsin
07.02.2005 – Sun Valley, ID – Freedom Fest
07.03.2005 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s
07.04.2005 – Itasca, IL – Hamilton Lakes
07.08.2005 – Minneapolis, MN – Basilica Block Party
07.09.2005 – Des Moines, IA – Simon Estes Amph.
07.21 – 7.22 – Cabo San Lucas, MX – Cabo Wabo/Finesterra
07.28.2005 – Salt Lake City, UT – Galavan Center
07.29.2005 – Sparks (Reno), NV – The Nugget
07.30.2005 – Sparks (Reno), NV – The Nugget
08.03.2005 – Paso Robles, CA – Midstate Fair
08.05.2005 – Saratoga, CA – Saratoga Winery
08.06.2005 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
08.07.2005 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
08.12.2005 – Three Forks, MT – Rockin’ the Rivers
08.24.2005 – Isle of Palms, SC – Windjammer
08.25.2005 – Isle of Palms, SC – Windjammer
08.26.2005 – Isle of Palms, SC – Windjammer
08.27.2005 – Nashville, TN – WRLT Festival
09.03.2005 – Naperville, IL – Last Fling Festival
09.04.2005 – Indianapolis, IN – FREE SHOW!!
09.16.2005 – Deadwood, SD – Deadwood Jam