WEEKLY MUSIC NEWS

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KISS To Tour With DEF LEPPARD? - Dec. 2, 2003

According to KissKollector.com, KISS manager Doc McGhee has confirmed that KISS are in talks with DEF LEPPARD about possibly touring together next year. As reported here yesterday, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has told the Associated Press that KISS will take a break from touring following their final dates with AEROSMITH later this month and will return to the road in April. A September 2004 European outing is also possible, according to McGhee.

In related news, former KISS drummer Eric Singer (ALICE COOPER, BLACK SABBATH) played a few songs with QUEEN in South Africa for 46664 - The Concert, hosted by Nelson Mandela, at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. Other acts on the bill included EURYTHMICS, BOB GELDOF, BEYONCE, PAUL OAKENFIELD, THE CORRS and PETER GABRIEL. People were treated to over five hours of performances by international artists, plus a speech from Nelson Mandela. The concert, inspired by former president Mandela, aimed to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as funds for South Africa.

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SHARON OSBOURNE: I Cheated On OZZY With RANDY RHOADS - Dec. 2, 2003

Imdb.com reports that OZZY OSBOURNE's marriage nearly collapsed in the early 1980s — after wife Sharon Osbourne cheated on him with his band's guitarist Randy Rhoads.

The shocking revelation was made public by Sharon in the family's new tome "Ordinary People: Our Story", which charts their incredible lives through the eyes of all members of the Osbourne clan — including children Aimee, Kelly and Jack. And Sharon, 51, admits that the subject of her infidelity with Rhoads — who died in a plane crash in 1982 — is off limits as far as her husband is concerned, because he finds the incident too painful to deal with.

Sharon writes, "When I talk about the early days of the love affair between Ozzy and me, I have to be honest — it wasn't just the two of us. Randy was a vital part of the tale. When Ozzy and I weren't speaking we turned to Randy, and when we were on loving terms he was there too.

"On the road we often ended up in the back of the tour bus together, watching TV and dozing off without thinking anything of it. Not that we were having sex with each other. There was one time I was with Randy. Ozzy knows about it but has never wanted to discuss it. That's his way of dealing with it. But don't read any dissatisfaction into it. Ozzy knows the one-time occurrence was loving, not lustful. And he was just as in love with Randy as I was. He still cries when talking about Randy. So do I."

In the book, Ozzy writes: "You couldn't have illustrated the two of us better than the way we dealt with the devastation of losing our best friend.

"I wanted to drink myself into the grave next to him. Sharon wanted to get back to work. Three weeks later she started auditioning new guitar players — not to replace Randy. We couldn't replace him.

"In a way, we've never lost Randy completely. We continue to play his music and every year on March 19, the day of the plane crash, Sharon and I light a candle for our friend and cry."

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HANOI ROCKS Slam 'MOTLEY CRUDE' Over Box-Set Title: 'How Low Can You Go?!' - Dec. 2, 2003

Finnish rockers HANOI ROCKS have slammed former pals MÖTLEY CRÜE over the title of their recently released box set, "Music To Crash Your Car To, Volume 1".

In 1984, CRÜE frontman Vince Neil was arrested on drunk-driving and vehicular-manslaughter charges after a late-night liquor run turned into a tragic accident that killed his passenger, HANOI ROCKS drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, in addition to seriously injuring two people in an oncoming car.

Neil, who was found to be well over the legal blood-alcohol limit, served 30 days in jail and forked over $2.6 million in restitution.

When questioned about the moniker by Entertainment Weekly, CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx explained that it was meant as a "sarcastic statement towards a lifestyle" and didn't make the connection between it and the accident until Neil (who couldn't be reached for comment by the magazine) expressed misgivings. But by that point, the four-disc compilation was already on the shelves.

That's little consolation for HANOI ROCKS members Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy. "The despicable title by the 'Motley Crude'… is the most tasteless and murderous gimmick to cash in on the past that we've ever heard of," they wrote in a statement faxed to EW from Finland. "There's nothing 'cool' or 'funny' about death… How low can you go?!?"

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BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION Set North American Release Date For Debut Album - Dec. 2, 2003

BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION, the new band featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns, vocalist London LeGrand, and drummer Scot Coogan (ex-PAUL GILBERT, ONI LOGAN/ROWAN ROBERTSON, SINÉAD O'CONNOR), have set a March 9, 2004 release date through Sanctuary Records for their debut album, "Here Come The Brides".

The CD, which features contributions from previous members John Corabi (ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE, UNION) and Kris Kohls (ADEMA), contains album-quality demos recorded during the pre-production sessions for what was supposed to be the group's "proper" full-length debut. All songs were produced by Stevo Bruno at Klown Records in Santa Monica, California and were mixed by producer Steve Thompson (KORN, METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES). "Shut the Fuck Up" has been used in a skateboard video shot by Drew Stone of Stone Films.

The complete track listing for "Here Come The Brides" is as follows:

01. Shut The Fuck Up
02. I Don't Care
03. Two Times Dead
04. Brace Yourself
05. I Got A Gun
06. Life
07. Natural Born Killers
08. Revolution
09. Only Get So Far

Sixx was the founding member and primary songwriting force behind MÖTLEY CRÜE, the most successful hard rock band of the 1980s. After bursting out of and then dominating the Los Angeles hard rock and heavy metal scene that exploded more than 20 years ago, Sixx and MÖTLEY CRÜE have sold more than 40 million copies of landmark albums such as "Shout at the Devil", "Theatre of Pain", "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood". Their wild, decadent, rock-star lifestyle became legendary — shaming all previous, supposed masters of excess.

Guns shot to fame with his band L.A. GUNS. The band's 11 albums have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. Their biggest hit single was "The Ballad of Jayne". Guns was a founding member of GUNS N' ROSES but left and was replaced by childhood friend Slash. He has worked with the likes of MOTÖRHEAD, Johnny Thunders and the MISFITS, and he co-founded the supergroup CONTRABAND with UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. Guns' skills and diversity has led to a great deal of work as a session guitarist in L.A.

Coogan, after hitting some dead ends, got his big break when he landed the gig as the touring drummer for the boy band ALL 4 ONE. He also became an in-demand session player and touring drummer for other artists. Coogan has played with Pete Yorn, Sinead O'Connor and OTEP to name a few. Guns saw him play and after an electrifying studio jam, he was hired on the spot.

LeGrand is a total unknown, but he is obviously something special to hold his own with Sixx, Guns and Coogan. His restless, vagabond background and frustrating music experiences in Georgia ultimately led to a move to L.A. where he met Sixx and Guns. He won't be anonymous for much longer as the frontman for BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION, which Sixx calls a "band of underdogs."

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ROB ZOMBIE Working On New Album - Nov. 26, 2003

Rob Zombie has begun work on the follow-up to 2001's "The Sinister Urge", according to an online post by one of the moderators of the singer/filmmaker's official discussion forum. "[Rob] has stated that in no way will the album conflict with the [filming of the] sequel to [the 'House of 1000 Corpses' movie], which, by the way, will start shooting right after Christmas," the post reads. "All I can get out of him about the musical direction [of the upcoming CD] is that it will be 'dark and heavy'."

Speaking to MTV.com in early September, Zombie appeared to be non-committal with regards to his recording career, stating "I would like to make more records and do stuff, but it becomes a time thing."

In addition to finishing the script for the sequel to his directorial debut, "House Of 1000 Corpses", Zombie stated that he was looking at more film projects, including a third script of his own. "Well, there's a couple of different movies, and I don't know which one could be possibly the next one," he told Launch. "You know, I'm working on a script now that's not finished, and I am up to direct possibly another script that someone else wrote. Neither is confirmed yet at this moment, so I can't really say which is next. But I mean, I'm definitely, you know, looking towards the next thing."

A retrospective of Zombie's musical career on CD and DVD, titled "Past, Present, And Future", was released in September. The CD featured hits from both Zombie's solo albums and his earlier band, WHITE ZOMBIE, as well as two brand new songs, "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Girl On Fire".

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MÖTLEY CRÜE: 'MTV Icon', 'Farewell' Tour Set For 2005 - Nov. 27, 2003

MÖTLEY CRÜE's webmaster has addressed the group's persistent reunion rumors with the following message posted on the band's official web site:

"MÖTLEY CRÜE reunion tour rumors have been posted all over the Internet the last few days. The reports have the band touring anywhere from this December to sometime in 2004. With all of these inconsistencies, who knows for sure what's really going on? I spoke with [bassist] Nikki [Sixx] [Wednesday] afternoon to see if we could get a better idea of what MÖTLEY CRÜE has planned for the near future.

"According to Nikki, the 'MTV Icon' special has been pushed back to February 2005. The movie, which is based on the band's autobiography, 'The Dirt', will be released in the first quarter of 2005 and will be supported with the band's farewell tour. The band and all associated management companies have been working for quite a while to make all of this happen. Nikki also hopes the band will be able to release one last studio album for the tour. Please check future posts in Nikki's diary page on Motley.com for additional information about all of these projects."

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OZZY's Daughter: MTV Have Made My Father A Laughing Stock - Dec. 3, 2003

TeenMusic.com reports that Ozzy Osbourne's eldest daughter Aimee has slammed the producers of her family's reality MTV series — claiming they have turned her father into "a laughing stock".

The 20-year-old is furious that her mother Sharon and siblings Kelly and Jack agreed to take part in the fly-on-the-wall show because she predicted that it would ruin her dad's musical heritage by portraying him as a "clown".

Aimee — who has never appeared in the hugely-popular series — says, "I thought it was a big mistake to make 'The Osbournes' TV show and told my mom: 'They're going to make so much fun of you guys.' Today I look at it knowing everything I feared has come true."

"The first time I saw it and the way they edited it to make my dad look like a clown, I wanted to cry."

"They made him out to look totally incapable and I hated it. My mom, of course, won the argument. She won, in that the show became more successful than we all would have thought — but not in the way my dad is laughed at every day."

"Now he is a laughing stock and known as a stuttering alcoholic. After all his years of hard work and touring, this is how he's being remembered and appreciated."

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Striking a balance between top-selling artists and critical favorites, the Recording Academy rewarded both the expected names and some surprising choices with the announcement on Thursday morning of this year's nominees. Leading the pack, with six nods apiece, were Beyoncé, Jay-Z, OutKast, and ubiquitous producer-musician Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes. Missy Elliott, Eminem, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Luther Vandross, and the late Warren Zevon scored five nominations each. Unexpected choices included Broadway chanteuse Heather Headley and alt-rock veterans Fountains of Wayne among the Best New Artist hopefuls.

The nominees were announced at a star-studded press conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, with names read out by such performers as Williams, Kenneth ''Babyface'' Edmonds, Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Evanescence's Amy Lee, Stacie Orrico, Steve Vai, MC Lyte, Brad Paisley, and Moby (who couldn't help but include a jibe at President Bush while reading the name of nominee Barbra Streisand). The 46th annual Grammy ceremony will be held at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Feb. 8 and will air live on CBS.

A list of nominees in the major categories follows:

Album of the Year
''Under Construction,'' Missy Elliott
''Fallen,'' Evanescence
''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,'' OutKast
''Justified,'' Justin Timberlake
''Elephant,'' White Stripes

Record of the Year
''Crazy in Love,'' Beyoncé with Jay-Z
''Where Is the Love,'' Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake
''Clocks,'' Coldplay
''Lose Yourself,'' Eminem
''Hey Ya,'' OutKast

Song of the Year
''Beautiful,'' Christina Aguilera
''Dance With My Father,'' Luther Vandross
''I'm With You,'' Avril Lavigne
''Keep Me in Your Heart,'' Warren Zevon
''Lose Yourself,'' Eminem

New Artist
Evanescence
50 Cent
Fountains of Wayne
Heather Headley
Sean Paul

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OZZY OSBOURNE To Duet With JESSICA SIMPSON On Christmas TV Special - Dec. 5, 2003

MTV announced yesterday (Dec. 4) that "The Osbourne Family Christmas Special" will air on Thursday, December 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The 60-minute special, hosted by the Osbournes from their home in Beverly Hills, will take holiday specials to a bizarre level, with a wide range of celebrity guests joining in on the festivities, including Jessica Simpson, who duets with Ozzy on "Winter Wonderland", and newlyweds Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra, who are shown baking holiday cookies. Former "The Man Show" host Adam Corolla teams with Jack Osbourne to whip up cranberry sauce, while Kelly Osbourne serenades the guests with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

"The Osbournes are surprisingly traditionalist when it comes to the holidays-they love all the old holiday TV showcases and wanted to create a new television tradition with their special," said Lois Curren, Executive Vice President, Series and Movie Development, MTV. "Where else are you going to find 20 tons of fake snow, ice skating elves, reindeer, carolers, Tracy Morgan dressed as Santa, and Britney Spears all in one holiday extravaganza — only at the Osbournes."

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JASON NEWSTED Leaves OZZY OSBOURNE, Is Replaced By ROB ZOMBIE Bassist - Dec. 4, 2003

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted has officially left OZZY OSBOURNE and has been replaced by ex-ROB ZOMBIE bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson. Newsted, who was with the band for less than a year, left due to undisclosed reasons.

"It's still settling in," Nicholson told MTV.com about his new gig. "It's something I never would have imagined. After playing with Rob Zombie, I was ready to go, 'OK, this is as far as I'm taking this bass-playing thing. This is the end of the road.' I was ready to kind of hang it up.

"But when this came around, it was very odd," he added. "I was almost like, 'There is no possible way that this could happen.' "

At least one other bassist — FEAR FACTORY's Christian Olde Wolbers — jammed with Ozzy, guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Mike Bordin in recent weeks, but Nicholson was hired after successfully completing two auditions.

"The first audition was a little intimidating, to say the least," Nicholson said. "Granted, I know Zakk and I've been on Ozzfest before. The situation wasn't uncomfortable, it was just intimidating, playing these songs that I had never played. But the second audition, I was a lot more prepared.

" 'Into the Void' is my favorite BLACK SABBATH song and Ozzy called it out," he continued. "At that moment, I realized, even if I don't get the gig, the fact that I got to play 'Into the Void' with Ozzy was the coolest moment of my life!"

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ALICE COOPER Signs Deal To Host Radio Show - Dec. 5, 2003

United Stations Radio Networks, Inc., (USRN) an independent leader in original network radio programming, has announced it has signed a deal with legendary rocker ALICE COOPER whereby the performer will host a weeknight shift targeted to classic rock stations. United Stations will work closely with Cooper to develop the creative content of the program. The announcement came from United Stations EVP/Programming Andy Denemark from the network's New York City headquarters.

"Nights with Alice Cooper" is the latest addition to a rapidly growing field of evening daypart programming and it is the first such entry into the evening daypart arena for the network. Beginning on Monday, January 26, 2004, the show will be delivered to affiliates via satellite for five hours per night and is intended to provide programming for the 7pm to Midnight time period, Monday through Friday. The music playlist for the show will be comprised of upbeat classic rock and the broadcasts will be populated by Alice Cooper and a cast of characters who will be introduced to the program and evolve over time. Cooper, who resides in Arizona, will have the show emanate from a mysterious location in the Arizona desert.

In making the announcement, USRN's Denemark pointed out that the introduction of this series is in response to current trends in radio. "We've been monitoring the success of various evening programs in other formats and felt that rock radio is one format where nights really have potential. When Alice Cooper approached us with a desire to do radio, the fit was just a natural." Denemark added that, "A lot of us remember when nights at rock radio were really fun and interesting — it's our intention to do that again."

"I'm really intrigued by the notion of radio," said Alice about his new nighttime gig. "It's a medium that lends itself to great theater right alongside the music, and I'm really looking forward to shaping something new and working side by side with a lot of my old friends on the station side."