California Rumor

Former members of Sublime, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, were recently faced with a preliminary injunction in California last week which forbids them to perform or record under the original band name. The estate of the band’s late singer Bradley Nowell are legally pushing to uphold his wishes for Sublime to not continue without him. A rep for the estate said “The point we tried to make is that we encourage these gentlemen to go out and play. We think they’re great musicians. We just don’t think it’s appropriate to call a group that doesn’t have Bradley and has a new lead singer Sublime. It’s consistent with Brad’s intentions that we seek to protect the name. The court agreed that Bud and Eric and the new lead singer didn’t have the right to go out and call themselves Sublime.”

Popular 90s punk band Sublime performed at California’s Smokeout Festival over the past weekend and late lead singer Bradley Nowell’s estate was not happy about it. It was the band’s first show since Bradley died back in 1996 from a drug overdose and his family is upset that they aren’t taking on a new name to perform under. His family released a statement saying “It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark Sublime under his own name. As Brad's heirs, and with the support of his entire family, we only want to respect his wishes and therefore have not consented to Bud and Eric calling their new project Sublime… and now with great reluctance feel compelled to take the appropriate legal action to protect Brad's legacy. Our hope is that Brad's ex-bandmates will respect his wishes and find a new name to perform under.” The band’s remaining members include Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, along with new singer Rome Ramirez.

California, US: U2 have confirmed via video blog that their sold-out concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California, Sunday 25th October 2009 will be streamed free, in full and live on YouTube. It's the first time a show of this size will be streamed live.

The Rose Bowl show is the penultimate U2 show this year - with more to come in 2010 - and already is set to host the venue’s biggest ever audience of over 96, 000 fans. The 360˚ Tour, which has been critically acclaimed and “re-invents rock’n’roll”*, will now boast unique access for fans worldwide - as fans in territories yet to be visited by the tour, or not at all, will be able to enjoy the whole show online. Managed in partnership with Live Nation, this sell-out tour has broken attendance records in most venues it has visited - its success due in part to increased capacity coupled with a lower ticket price and great sight lines afforded by the stunning in-the-round stage set. Visit U2.com or youtube.com/u2official for details of how to join in this ground-breaking on-line event.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness said - "The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time. As we're filming the LA show, it's the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 - this time U2 can go to them, globally."

YouTube will be streaming live across five continents. The show will be available in the usual You Tube way, as video-on-demand, following two full replays - after the live stream - on both U2.com and You Tube.

"YouTube is thrilled to be able to provide our global audience with a live streaming performance from one of the world's greatest bands" - Chris Maxcy, Director of YouTube Partner Development. "We are always looking for new ways to connect fans around the world with their favourite artists, and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that."

CRASH LOVE will be released September 29 on DGC/Interscope. First single "Medicate," for which the band is currently shooting a video, is already available on iTunes both as a single download and as part of an 18-song CRASH LOVE deluxe edition featuring multiple bonus tracks both from the CRASH LOVE sessions and the AFI vaults.

AFI recently added another leg of dates to its first series of live shows in the U.S. since its July 7, 2007 Live Earth appearance. The tour commences October 2 in Minneapolis with additional dates running up through a November 22 appearance at Stubbs Amphitheater in Austin, TX.

Produced by Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee, CRASH LOVE is AFI’s eighth album and arguably the band’s most focused, direct and ambitious effort to date. CRASH LOVE follows up two consecutive platinum AFI albums, 2006’s DECEMBERUNDERGROUND which entered the U.S. chart at #1 and 2003’s SING THE SORROW. AFI’s discography also includes the full lengths THE ART OF DROWNING (2000), BLACK SAILS IN THE SUNSET (1999), SHUT YOUR MOUTH & OPEN YOUR EYES (1997), VERY PROUD OF YA (1996) and ANSWER THAT AND STAY FASHIONABLE (1995).

AFI FALL 2009 U.S. DATES:

10/02/09 - Minneapolis, MN - Epic

10/04/09 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall

10/05/09 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s

10/07/09 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

10/08/09 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights

10/10/09 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom

10/11/09 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Zoo

10/13/09 - Hartford, CT - The Webster

10/14/09 - Providence, RI - Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

10/16/09 - Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall

10/17/09 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

10/19/09 - Richmond, VA - The National

10/21/09 - Scranton, PA - Scranton Cultural Center

10/23/09 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion

10/25/09 - Boston, MA - House of Blues

11/03/09 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom

11/04/09 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant

Actress Jennifer Garner played pranks on funnyman Ricky Gervais during the filming of their latest movie.

While on the set of The Invention of Lying, Garner, 37, played a trick on the 48-year-old comedian by breaking all his on-set rules.

Gervais's rules included: no chewing gum, no talking on mobile phones, no snorting and no standing in his line of vision while shooting.

Co-director Matthew Robinson said: "In the middle of taping, Jen's cell phone went off, and she pretended it had happened accidentally. Ricky got really annoyed.

"All of a sudden, Jen started chewing gum and Ricky's going, ‘What are you doing?' And then she snorted. He didn't catch on until the entire crew started laughing."

According to the New York Post, the Jackson family and the owners of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch have decided to turn the famed property into a Graceland-style amusement park to celebrate the King of Pop. A source close to the late singer’s family says “This is important to Jermaine — he is really pushing for this. He has a big vision for Neverland as a museum, tourist attraction and concert venue.” The park could open as early as Christmas. Nearby residents can’t imagine construction to that extent in their quiet neighborhood. Nearby resident Elizabeth Farnum said “I'm pretty sure anyone who lives on the road would say that, that it wouldn't be a popular idea. Our experience is that a majority feel that way.”

Sci-fi movie District 9 has gone straight to number one in the US box office.

The debut film from director Neill Blomkamp opened with an estimated $37 million in sales.

The Sony/Tristar film about an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth knocked Sienna Miller's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra into second place. Miller's movie earned $22.5. million last weekend.

The Time Traveller's Wife, starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, opened in third spot, earning $19.2 million in sales.

Inglourious Basterds director Quentin Tarantino wants to work with Angelina Jolie after working with her partner Brad Pitt.

The 46-year-old said: "I would love to work with [Angelina]. It just has to be the right character."

Pitt, 46, appeared as Ltn Aldo Raine in Tarantino's new flick and he previously starred alongside Jolie when they met during filming of the 2005 flick Mr & Mr Smith.

Asked if he would like to film Pitt and Jolie in a movie together, Tarantino said: "If I were lucky enough and could write something that's appropriate, I would love it if they wanted to."

Pitt also said he would like to star alongside partner Jolie again. He said: "Come on... of course I would!"

Source: Splash News

Michael Jackson's family and closest friends viewed the superstar in his open coffin the night before his star-studded funeral

"He looked like himself. He looked like he just was laying there sleeping," says Jackson's cousin David Fossett. "He looked peaceful."

Fossett, 50, says relatives gathered around the casket, "talked to each other and cried" during the viewing at Forest Lawn on Monday night.

Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, were not among those gathered, but mourners mourners went back to the Jackson home in Encino, California, after the viewing.

"It was a somber mood," Fossett says. "Though he's this big entertainer, he's still our family."

Fossett, who still lives in Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, says he and some other relatives stayed the night at the Jackson home.

He said that the next morning, the family formed the convoy to the 40-minute private service.

About 70 relatives gathered at Forest Lawn, where Jackson's cousin Wendell Hawkins conducted a Jehovah's Witness service, according to Fossett and another cousin, Myron Hawkins.

Jackson's three children, Paris, 11, Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, seven, were crying during the service. "They lost their father," Fossett says. "They were sad."

But the kids were comforting each other, holding each other's hands and hugging.

During the service, Jackson's elaborate, gold casket was closed, with a spray of flowers on top.

Michael Jackson’s memorial service could cost Los Angeles taxpayers USD$1.4million after a website to recoup costs crashed.

City chiefs set up the donation site for Jackson fans that wanted to help pick up the tab to relieve financial pressure caused by the event.

The site started taking money on Tuesday morning but failed for more than 12 hours after receiving massive amounts of traffic.

So far the city officials say they have received just $17,000 in donations but are hoping for more after the site was fixed.

The overall cost for policing and cleaning up after the memorial came to $1.4 million, a spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today.

The amount includes salaries for the more than 3,000 police officers deployed to secure the streets around the L.A. Staples Center plus traffic control and cleanup costs.

Before the event the estimated cost had been as much as $3.8 million.

That number was based on 750,000 fans flocking to Staples Center but only a small fraction of that number turned up.

The singer of the newly reunited No Doubt has recently confessed that being a parent and working is exhausting her. Gwen Stefani said: "I am exhausted, I'm not going to lie, with the babies and the records, the tour, designing. There's so many things going on." However, she also added: "I'm good. I'm happy and so grateful that we're still able to be doing this so that makes it all worth it." It seems that Gwen Stefani is getting a bit of the taste of being a soccer mom… well, only a bit of it, because she isn’t working two jobs and not having enough time to spend with her kids or nobody else to look after them.

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, the Dave Matthews Band's first studio album in four years, will be released on June 2nd by RCA Records. On Friday, June 5th, Dave Matthews Band will perform on NBC's "TODAY" show on Rockefeller Plaza, marking the first morning television appearance in the band's career.

With its celebratory spirit and lyrical ruminations on fragile mortality, the album pays tribute to saxophonist LeRoi Moore, the band's fallen partner. Moore passed away in the summer of 2008 while the group was on tour and midway through making the album. "When Roi died, it shook the whole band and left us saying, 'What do we do now?'" recalls Matthews. "We knew that first of all, we had to finish this record that he was already in love with. So all of us went back in with the attitude 'We can't mess around with this one, because this one is an ode."

When the remaining members regrouped in a New Orleans, LA studio in early 2009 to complete the album, they found they were able to integrate much of the material Moore had recorded during their 2008 sessions in Charlottesville, VA and Seattle, WA. "It's so powerful to have Roi here with us for one last time on an album," says violin player Boyd Tinsley. Guitarist Tim Reynolds, trumpeter Rashawn Ross and saxophonist Jeff Coffin also played on the album and will join the band on tour.

Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), Big Whiskey has been hailed by Rolling Stone as the group's "heaviest album yet, both musically and emotionally," which went on to note: "Throughout, Carter Beauford beats out elaborate, propulsive groves; bassist Stefan Lessard lays down Flea-style funk bass lines; violinist Boyd Tinsley plays cresting, intense runs; and Matthews mirrors Moore's saxophone lines with scatlike singing." Billboard, in a cover story on Dave Matthews Band, praised Big Whiskey

With all the ex swapping that goes on in Hollywood, everyone must be a walking Petri dish of everyone else’s germs. The latest ex-swap to happen was between Cameron Diaz and Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. The two were spotted cozying up to each other while having lunch at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood recently. Mind you, Adam is Jessica Simpson’s ex. Jessica also dated John Mayer who also once dated Cameron. It’s just one big messy circle. That can’t be good for anyone’s ego. I wonder if there are any comparisons made or asked to be made in these types of situations.

Blackouts plagued Cannes and riot police stepped in to keep French electricity and gas workers off the Croisette, reports say.

The screening of Antichrist, a movie by Denmark's Lars von Trier that contains sexual mutilation, was affected.

Reports say audiences at the screening, which preceded one of the blackouts, were already gasping from the movie's graphic content.

A screening of I Love You Phillip Morris, where stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor were in attendance, was darkened when protesters managed to cut power.

The workers were marching to protest nationalisation of the electric and gas industries.

Source: Splash News

The singer has requested that her hotel room in London be smoke-free in the sense that no one should have ever smoked in it before… this among a myriad of other requests including DVDs with Marilyn Monroe, celebrity magazines, 100 watt light bulbs, humidifiers and what have you. A source said the following about Britney Spears’ long list of requests: "Britney may only be staying in the city for two weeks but she knows exactly what she wants. She'll be bringing all her own pillows for ultra comfort and her security will sleep outside her suite every night." Actually, Britney Spears doesn’t appear to know what she wants since she’s making all of these requests… the stripper pole, the oxygen chamber and so on. Or is she just blowing off the steam of a little misplaced parental authority?

Now that’s a beach party!!!

Sophia Bush, Solange Knowles and Bow Wow got a beachfront concert from Good Charlotte as part of a new advertising campaign.

The stars, along with AnnaLynne McCord, Brody Jenner and Cody Linley, are the new faces of fashion line Op’s ‘Summer of Music’ campaign.

The stars were shot together at Westward Beach in Malibu, California.

Source: Splash News

New Kids On The Block are hitting the road again in support of their album The Block! Donnie, Jordan, Joey, Danny and Jon will kick off the “Full Service Tour” on May 28th in Atlanta, playing shows through July 18th in Houston. Jabbawockeez, the champs from season one of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew,” will join NKOTB on the road for what promises to be the hottest party of the summer.
Check out the new video of Donnie on the homepage of NKOTB.com discussing what to expect on the new tour. The clip features plenty of live footage and the guys’ signature dance moves.
Dates for NKOTB’s Full Service Tour:

May 28: Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheatre)
May 29: Birmingham, Ala. (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
May 30: Tampa, Fla. (Ford Amphitheater)
May 31: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cruzan Amphitheater)
June 2: Charlotte, N.C. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
June 3: Raleigh, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion )
June 5: Virginia Beach, Va. (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
June 6: Camden, N.J. (Susquehanna Bank Center)
June 7: Washington, D.C. (Nissan Pavilion)
June 10: Scranton, Pa. (Toyota Pavilion)
June 11: Pittsburgh (Post-Gazette Pavilion)
June 12: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater)
June 13: Holmdel, N.J. (PNC Bank Arts Center)
June 14: Buffalo, N.Y. (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
June 16: Saratoga, N.Y. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
June 18: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun)
June 19: Boston (Comcast Center)
June 21: Toronto (Molson Amphitheater)
June 23: Cleveland (Blossom Music Center)
June 25: Detroit (DTE Energy Music Center)
June 26: Chicago (First Midwest Bank Amphitheater)
June 27: Cincinnati ( Riverbend Music Center)
June 28: INDIANAPOLIS (Verizon Amphitheater)
July 1: St. Louis (Verizon Wireless)
July 2: Memphis, Tenn. (Mud Island Ampitheater)
July 3: Wichita, Kans. (Hartman Arena)
July 7: Seattle (White River Amphitheatre)
July 9: San Francisco (Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord)

U2.com today confirms that the U2 360¡Æ tour will open at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona on 30th June. The U2 360¡Æ Tour is sponsored by BlackBerry¢ç and it is the band¡¯s first stadium outing since the Vertigo Tour 05/06 and follows the release of their acclaimed album, No Line On The Horizon. Their 12th studio album, No Line On The Horizon is already number 1 in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Japan and the Czech Republic with further chart positions to be announced this week.
Produced by Live Nation Global Touring, U2 360¡Æ will visit 14 cities across Europe including dates in Milan, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Dublin, Chorzow, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, London, Sheffield and Glasgow before finishing at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 22nd August. The European tour will be followed by dates in North America beginning at Chicago¡¯s Soldier Field on September 12th, 2009.

EUROPEAN TOUR SCHEDULE:

30-JUNE BARCELONA, SP NOU CAMP
07-JULY MILAN, IT SAN SIRO
11-JULY PARIS, FR STADE DE FRANCE
15-JULY NICE, FR PARC CHARLES EHRMANN
18-JULY BERLIN, DE OLYMPIC STADIUM
20-JULY AMSTERDAM, NL ArenA
24-JULY DUBLIN, IE CROKE PARK
31-JULY GOTHENBURG, SE ULLEVI

06-AUG. CHORZOW, PL SLASKI STADIUM
10-AUG. ZAGREB, HR MAKSIMIR STADIUM
14-AUG. LONDON, UK WEMBLEY STADIUM
18-AUG. GLASGOW, UK HAMPDEN PARK

Kanye West is on the cover of the new issue of Details and in the accompanying interview, it’s pretty obvious that the rapper is way too into himself. He said “Put this in the magazine: There's nothing more to be said about music. I'm the fucking end-all, be-all of music. I know what I'm doing. I did 808s in three weeks. I got it. It's on cruise control. . . . Man, we talked about music for God knows how long! Now let's talk about how my fucking sweater didn't come back right from Korea. That's what's interesting me.” Somebody needs to feed him a big helping of humble pie.

Madonna has topped Billboard’s Top Moneymakers for 2008 by raking in an impressive $242,176,466 which makes her the highest earning artist in the music business for last year.

Last year Madonna released her newest album ‘Hard Candy’ while also taking the world tour Sticky and Sweet. All of that has resulted in the pop diva earning $242 million and most probably that’s why she had no hitch in paying former husband Guy Ritche a staggering $50 million as part of the divorce settlement.

Second on the list was Bon Jovi with $157 million in total earning, next up was Bruce Springsteen earning a grand total of $156 million and rounding off the top 5 were The police with $109 in their pockets and at fifth is Celine Dion $99 million.

Arizona has finally given DMX his jail sentence. He has pleaded guilty to the charges to three criminal cases against him. A judge has ordered the troubled rapper to serve 90 days on drug, theft and animal cruelty charges. DMX, also known as Earl Simmons, has been held in custody since December. He was not given credit for the time he has already served and upon his completion of the jail sentence, he will be put on supervised probation for 18 months. He has also agreed not to own any animals or posses firearms. Is he not getting any psychiatric treatment? Because I think he needs to work out his problems in the head too.

50 Cent's is all set to get underway with his 1st big screen project to be made under his new film production banner and the rapper will be seen in action with actor Nicolas Cage.

The movie is a prison drama wherein 50 Cents, real name Curtis Jackson will play the role of a boxer who is sent to prison.

OK guys I like "Face Off" "Moonstruck" and "Raising Arizona" A LOT. "Rumble Fish" was great. "Valley Girl" I like better than "Leaving Las Vegas" but "The Family Man" was amazing. I always get mixed up: Was he in "The Outsiders?" The Orchid one was kinda different but he has done MANY MASTERFUL characters. Yet I think  "Gone in 60 Seconds" was brilliant and the movie I would like to repeatedly see.

But this was in the past, I think there are very good part of older actors to play but Nicolas just keeps repeating himself so often with these action roles that you cannot expect anything else.

Britney Spears turns the power on, flipping a candy cane switch to light the tree on stage at the ‘Light of the Angels’ Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at the LA Live entertainment complex last Thursday, December 4, in Los Angeles. The 27-year old pop princess was joined by councilwoman Jan Perry and the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa. LA Live is a $2.5 billion dollar project and is only three years into construction. There’s still a way to go as the Cineplex won’t be ready before next year. And yet they’re already racking up some celebrity appearances. Talk about ambition.

Britney Spears’ camp has just released a message on her MySpace page. “Are you Britney Spears Biggest Fan? Then please join us at the Virgin Megastore Times Square on Monday December 1st as we celebrate the release of Britney’s brand new CD, “Circus”. Starting at 9:00PM sign up for our Britney Spears Biggest Fan contest where you must prove to us why you are Britney’s Biggest Fan. Contestants may sing, dance, imitate, or even profess their love for Britney Spears. All contestants will be judged by a panel of judges including: Heatherette’s Richie Rich, Project Runway’s Daniel Vossovic, and other guest judges. The contest begins at 10:00PM until 11:30 with special prizes including autographed items and a pair of tickets for Britney’s Good Morning America performance

Breaking ups is hard to do but do you have to be a beast about it? A couple of concertgoers caught Madonna’s show, the show at the night her divorce to husband Guy Ritchie was announced, and they say that the Queen of Pop backhandedly dedicated a song to her soon-to-be ex. She dedicated the song ‘Miles Away’, said to be written about Guy to begin with, to “Anybody who knows someone who is emotionally retarded. The crowd naturally went wild after that. You can bitch and all but it certainly doesn’t look good on you when you do it in front of the rest of the world.

Britney Spears and choreographer Wade Robson are going to have a reunion for her upcoming world tour which will kick off in the spring. Wade said “She reached out to me and said she wanted to get the old team back together, so we’ll go into rehearsals in January for a March start.” If you’re not familiar with the choreographer, he was responsible for the fantastic dances on the hit FOX reality competition ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

The stunning singer Rihanna presented a wonderful and energetic performance for the “Justin Timberlake and Friends Concert” at Planet Hollywood Theatre in Hollywood on October 17, 2008.

The concert was organized to raise charity for the benefit of Shriners Hospitals for Children, which is an organization “dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate.”

Lately, Rihanna’s hit song “Umbrella” was declared the catchiest song ever during a fresh survey by OnePoll.

The second position for the catchiest song ever was clinched by Abba’s “Dancing Queen”.

Rihanna also looked gorgeous on stage.

Christina Aguilera showed off just what she can do with her patented four-octave vocal range with a performance at the Trump International Hotel and Tower Dubai party at The Tar Estate, Bel Air, California recently. The bash was thrown by none other than Donald Trump himself along with His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem at the private estate. The hotel is set to be a 62-story stainless steel and glass luxury hotel and residence. It will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah with a scheduled 2011 opening date. Who has a party two years in advance? Oh well, it’s the Donald. Need I say more?

Not only is there a huge baby boom in Hollywood, it happens to be a twins baby boom! There was Marcia Cross, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie and now, there’s Lisa Marie Presley. ET confirmed the news that the 40-year old daughter of The King is expecting twins this fall with her hubby Michael Lockwood. Expectant grandma Priscilla Presley said “It’s a shock because you think, ‘twins, oh my gosh, what are we going to do with them?’ Lisa Marie wanted it really to be kept a secret for a long time, you know, and I think women should, because they should be able to announce what they’re having and when it’s time to make the announcement.”

After a 4 year whirlwind of writing, recording, and touring, Temecula, California’s Finch have returned with a self-titled EP featuring the band’s potent blend of jagged guitars, propulsive arrangements, and vocalist Nate Barcalow’s always infectious vocal melodies.

Produced by Jason Cupp (The Elected, The Valley Arena) at Sage & Sound Studios in Hollywood, songs like "Daylight" and "From Hell" find the quintet forging their unique writing style ahead while keeping a foot firmly planted in the energy and urgency of their older material.