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Imagine one of the biggest hip-hop outings in history taking shape this summer. It would be dubbed the Triple Threat Tour and feature multiplatinum acts Ja Rule, Jay-Z and P. Diddy. To top it off, each would bring with him his musical family. Representing with Ja Rule would be Ashanti and the rest of Murder Inc. Jay would “Roc the Mic” with his boys Beanie Sigel, Cam’ron and Memphis Bleek. And Diddy and his Bad Boy crew would do their thing. Keep imagining; although it was almost a reality, the tour has been called off. Last week, while promoting her… Read more »

Veteran British electronic duo Pet Shop Boys has lined up a spring/summer world tour due to kick off May 14 in Miami. The trek crosses over to Europe beginning June 12 in Madrid and concludes with 12 dates in the group’s U.K. home base. It comes in support of the pair’s eighth EMI studio album, “Release,” which debuts this week at No. 5 on the European Top 100 Albums chart. The set is due April 23 in North America. As previously reported, the group’s planned Wotapalava tour was canceled last July due to poor ticket sales and the failure to… Read more »

Goo Goo Dolls have begun confirming dates for a North American tour in support of their latest Warner Bros. album, “Gutterflower,” released this week. The first six dates begin May 23 in Houston and will be preceded by a May 3 show at the Astoria in London. The group is in the midst of an extensive slate of promotional appearances for “Gutterflower,” including a taping tonight (April 12) for VH1’s “Storytellers” and a stop at “Last Call With Carson Daly.” Tomorrow, the Goos will make a previously announced appearance at Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif. The group is… Read more »

Lenny Kravitz must be a firm believer in the theory that says a simple, direct approach is most effective. Why else would he call a tour to support his latest album, the rather uncomplicatedly titled Lenny, anything other than the decidedly descriptive Lenny Live? For his first full-scale North American road trip in almost three years, Kravitz, following a European tour and fueled by his current single, “Stillness of Heart,” is set to visit 33 cities beginning July 12 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, according to his publicist. The nearly two-month jaunt winds down September 2 in Phoenix. The last time… Read more »

A new batch of compact discs designed to defeat Napster-style piracy is coming soon to record-industry insiders. BMG, one of the world’s five major labels, said on Monday it would start issuing promotional CDs – the free discs distributed to critics, retailers and other insiders weeks before the official release – with technological countermeasures to prevent copying. The major labels, which include Vivendi Universal, Sony Music, EMI Group, AOL Time Warner’s Warner Music and Bertelsmann AG’s BMG, hope that copy protection measures will prevent users from “ripping,” or copying the music into the easily traded MP3 format. “The first benefit… Read more »

It appears that the Eagles are planning a multi-date summer tour of the U.S. this year. The band, which played Europe last year but hasn’t mounted a proper North American outing in a couple of years, is putting together about 30 dates, and it should all kick off May 31 in Reno, Nevada, according to Billboard. The report adds that it will be a tour of secondary markets, with stops expected in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; St. Paul, Minnesota; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon; Louisville, Kentucky; Birmingham, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; the annual Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin;… Read more »

Murder Inc. Records star Ja Rule revealed that he isn’t surprised that his labelmate Ashanti landed at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart, but he was shocked by how well Ashanti’s album sold. “I’m not surprised, you know? It kinda shocked, you know, the number 503 (503,000), you know, but we knew she was going to do pretty well, so we’re all very happy and she’s crushing them right now,” he said. “I really think it’s the biggest first-week debut ever for a female R&B artist, so we’re holding some weight over here right now, definitely.” Ja Rule… Read more »

Disturbed vocalist David Draiman has some pretty strong views about religion and art, but over the past year he’s found himself scrutinizing and re-evaluating both. He still values his Jewish heritage, but has felt the sting of its methodology. He remains dedicated to his musical career, yet has been frustrated by his inability to have a life outside of show business. These experiences, along with the overall shroud of insecurity triggered by 9/11, inform Disturbed’s upcoming record, Believe, which the band is currently working on in a Chicago studio. “All the songs revolve around the theme of belief,” Draiman said… Read more »

The first rule when you’re about to drop $75 to $150 on a concert ticket should be “Do your research.” Anyone who expected a straightforward greatest-hits retrospective from Prince at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall Tuesday night will have to write their pricey ticket off as a fine for laziness. After all, any artist who is as unpredictable as Prince has historically been should warrant no less than a quick Google search for set lists. Therein, the scientific fan would find that “Little Red Corvette” and “When Doves Cry” aren’t bloody likely. Rather, much of the One Nite Alone Tour… Read more »

Those WWF Smackdown spots just wouldn’t be the same without P.O.D.’s “Alive,” Creed’s “My Sacrifice” and Kid Rock’s “Cocky” blaring in the background. In many cases, shots of wrestlers powerbombing, chokeslamming and clotheslining one another are more captivating than the images in real rock videos. Let’s face it, loud rock and wrestling go together like salted bacon and farm-fresh eggs, the aggressive tones and violent visuals feeding off each other, creating a charged symbiosis of pumping testosterone. With over-the-top sound and sight, all you need is a sweat-and-blood-soaked rag under your nose to create the ultimate sensory experience. “Wrestling and… Read more »