Music News Page 1027

Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano is in preparation for another solo album titled "Scarred". The album will be released May 29 through Hybrid Records.

In her fourth solo project, Johnette works with Nine Inch Nails' contributor Danny Lohner and Rachel Stamp's producer Will Crewdson. In the album, she will cover Coldplay's "The Scientist" and Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties".

Jazz band Soulive is switching label again. This time, they are signed to Stax Records that will release the group's ninth album "No Place Like Soul" on July 31.

Known for a constant change of label the band will probably seek a new direction like it did under Concord Records in 2005. The probability is higher with the addition of new vocalist Toussaint.

After making a blast in 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, Finland's rock band Lordi will bring the same success to North America and Asia. In support of full-length version of 2006's "The Arockalypse", the band will tour in Japan for 4 dates and in East Rutherford, US for 2 dates.

Japan's leg begins April 9 in Tokyo and ends April 13 in Nagoya. The band will then fly to New Jersey for The Bamboozle Fest on May 5-6. My Chemical Romance will join them in the May 5th show while Linkin Park joins in the next. After that, Lordi will headline 2007 Ozzfest that starts July 12 in Seattle, WA and wraps up on August 30 in West Palm Beach, FL.

Tony Bennett is back in business after his recovery from flu. He will be fit enough to appear in a number of shows scheduled for him this week.

His publicist said he is regaining his health and will be back performing this Thursday in Tucson, Arizona and two Las Vegas nights. "His doctor did feel he should rest for three or four days, so we took that advice, and he's done so, and he'll be back on his regular schedule," a spokeswoman told Reuters. "It was just a bit of the flu, like we all get. A couple of days rest, and he's fine and raring to go."

It looks like the reunion of The Smashing Pumpkins will not come full circle. Former member James Iha has confirmed his absence from the reunion.

Revealing that he has no interest in re-tying the knot with the newly reunited band, Iha said that he is too busy with his own schedule. "I'm writing for a solo record, which I'm going to record this year, and working on my indie label Scratchie Records," he said.

Pete Doherty released the video of him playing guitar while his girlfriend Kate Moss watching him. It was explained by Doherty as their eagerness to make music together.

"We're trying to write songs together and trying to get signed," the Babyshambles singer said. "It takes a long time to get signed these days and we thought we would post stuff on my website to speed things up a bit. That clip is about a month old and I've got a few more to post online as well."

Red Hot Chili Peppers is set to headline Hullabaloo Festival. The band along with other artists such as Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, actor Woody Harrelson and jazz bassist Charlie Haden will appear at Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on May 5.

In its third cycle, the festival is conducted in benefit of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a school of music co-founded by RHCP's bassist Flea and the school's dean Keith Barry. Part of the tickets sale will be used to aid more than 100 economically weak students by providing them musical instruments and music lessons.

Despite many artists saying 'yes' to Princess Diana's anniversary concert, Kaiser Chiefs boldly said 'no'. The new wave band refused to perform at the memorial concert because they believe it is 'hypocritical'.

"It's fine if you're doing something like Live 8, which is raising awareness or events that raise awareness over green issues. That's all right. But a lot of them are doing it to sell more records," frontman Ricky Wilson said. "I'm not disrespecting her (Diana), but can you imagine someone like Kasabian playing at the concert? Elton John can do it - he knew her. I didn't know her. It would be hypocritical."

American alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls will visit UK in a number if shows. During the summer they will play at 7 different venues that include three festivals.

Kicking off at Oxegen Festival, Ireland on July 7, the band will stop at Scotland on July 8, Sheffield on July 10, Manchester on July 11 and London on August 16 before performing two-night shows at V festival on August 18-19.

Dame Shirley Bassey's new single "The Living Tree" has a rather long story behind the making. The single did not simply pop out of the materials accumulated for her new album.

It all started when she coincidentally met two London based writers and musicians Catherine Feeney and Nikki Lamborn in 2005. Bassey was exercising in Monte Carlo Hotel's gym when the two handed her their fourth album as duo Never the Bride titled "Surprise". Feeny's and Lamborn's main idea was to get Bassey interested in one track "The Living Tree". Bassey put it into consideration, but the CD stayed in her gym bag for some time.

After the big bang of debut album "Here for the Party" (2004), Gretchen Wilson went through sophomore album syndrome for 2005's "All Jacked Up". With the third titled "One of the Boys", she hopes to bring the 'Redneck Woman' sensation back.

The country singer took 2 years preparation to release the third album which is due May 15 via Columbia. With the help of Mark Wright and John Rich, she produces this record mostly by herself. "I've always wanted full ownership," she said. "I've been like that from the beginning." She then added that all of the songs are self-written except for two.

Redman may be Def Jam's hottest artist in the past years, but his work was nowhere in sight after 2001's "Malpractice". Releasing "Red Gone Wild: Thee Album" on March 27, 2007, the rapper has his explanation why it took 6 years to make this piece.

"Since I dropped my last album, the game done flipped and evolved. …I wasn't willing to sacrifice all my years of banging out hard and providing that underground s*** just to get into the new groove," he said in an interview. Still staying under Def Jam's flag, he also encountered an internal problem. "My label was going through a shift, and there was no one behind the steering wheel that I was really comfortable with to let my project go," he added.

Seeing the good prospects Take That has achieved in the early of their reunion, Robbie Williams is reportedly interested to make the band comes full circle. Williams see that it is inevitable that he will complete the line-up in near future.

On April 7 the singer's mother Jan Williams said that she believed her son would re-join the group. Jan told local newspaper Stoke Sentinel, "On the question of him doing something with them, I feel that will happen," she declared. "It would be something he wanted to do."

Punk rock band Social Distortion is back to active mode by announcing tour dates and also seventh album plan. The legendary band is up for a North American Spring Tour on April 12 in Ventura, Calif.

The first date is reported to be a sold out and so do the dates in Chico, Calif., Vancouver, B.C., Calgary, A.B. and Edmonton, A.B. Within the 22 dates jaunt, the band will visit Memphis, Winnipeg and Kansas before wrapping up in Tucson, AZ on May 10.

Bruce Springsteen received a standing ovation in the event dubbed "Celebrating the Music of Bruce Springsteen". He made a surprise appearance in the end of the show by singing "Rosalita" that immediately invited roars from the audience. They leaped from their seats and continued to cheer on him for the last 30 minutes.

Held on April 5 in Carnegie Hall, the event presented Bruce performing 3 songs, two of which are played acoustically. The rock and roll legend said in the middle of the show "The good news is...I'm not dead yet!" and then he made a tribute to blues singer Odetta who sang his classic "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" earlier.