September 13, 2002
Rod Stewart's Son Gets Jail Time

The son of rocker Rod Stewart was sentenced yesterday (Sept. 12) to 90 days in jail and ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to attacking a man outside a Malibu, CA restaurant. Sean Stewart, 22, was arrested Dec. 5 after he was seen kicking the man in the face and stomach, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement.

Actor Dean Cain and his brother broke up the fight. They followed Stewart after he fled in a car and reported the attack to police.

Stewart was also sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $5,600 to the victim. He could've faced four years in state prison.

In a separate case, Stewart was ordered in June to enter a drug rehabilitation program after pleading guilty to possessing a controlled substance near the Viper Room nightclub in West Hollywood.

Rod Stewart, meanwhile, is readying his J Records debut, It Had To Be You ... The Great American Songbook. The set will feature renditions of standards such as "It Had To Be You," "These Foolish Things," "Moonglow," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," and "The Way You Look Tonight." Its release has been moved to Oct. 22, a week later than its originally scheduled date.

Columbia/Legacy will release the box set, Freedom: Songs From the Heart of America, on Nov. 19. Featuring timeless recordings from Bruce Springsteen ("Chimes of Freedom"), Bob Dylan ("The Times They Are A-Changin'"), and Johnny Cash ("Song of the Patriot"), the three-disc, 65-song set will serve as a companion to "Freedom: A History of US," an upcoming eight-hour PBS series hosted by Katie Couric. Columbia/Legacy has also planned a single CD soundtrack for January 2003 that shares its title with the series.

Drawing on Columbia's deep catalog of American recordings, the Freedom box will consist of tracks selected for the series as well as songs inspired by the narrative of the program. The set houses well-known compositions such as "The Star Spangled Banner" (performed by Duke Ellington), "Shenandoah" (from Jerry Garcia and David Grisman), and "Erie Canal" (by Suzanne Vega and one time Del Fuego Dan Zanes.)

Album producers worked in tandem with series producers Kunhardt Productions to find music to fit the themes of the program while standing on its own as a collection of music celebrating freedom in America. Such examples include Simon & Garfunkel's "America," Sly & the Family Stone's "Stand," the Isley Brothers' "Fight the Power," Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer," and Woody and Arlo Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."

Freedom: Songs From the Heart of America will include a deluxe booklet with many historical photos featured in the PBS series, as well as an introductory essay by Joy Hakim, author of Freedom: A History Of US, the book on which the series is based. Actor Christopher Reeve, who lends his voice to the series, will also contribute a brief essay to the boxed set.

- John D. Luerssen, N.Y.

September 11, 2002
Classic Rockers Raise Funds For Sept. 11 Victims

Classic rock veterans will join together again to stage a pair of concerts to benefit victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., Billboard Bulletin reports. Rock to the Rescue concerts featuring Styx, Bad Company, Foreigner, and others, will be held Oct. 19 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., and Oct. 20 at Gund Arena in Cleveland.

"We had such a good time last year that we thought we'd do it again this year," Styx lead singer Tommy Shaw said in a statement. Shaw conceived the idea for last year's Volunteers for America concerts in Atlanta and Dallas, held shortly after Sept. 11 to raise money for survivors and victims' families. "It was an extremely emotional yet rewarding experience for all of us involved and we're looking forward to this year's Rock to the Rescue concerts."

Edgar Winter, REO Speedwagon, Survivor, Sam Moore of Sam and Dave, Felix Cavaliere, Grand Funk Railroad's Mark Farner, Eddie Money, and John Waite have also signed on for the shows, produced by TBA Entertainment.

Tickets for both shows go on sale Saturday (Sept. 14) at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster. Proceeds will go to the Port Authority Police World Trade Disaster Survivors Fund.

"A year has passed since the horrific events of last September 11th and I still cannot fully integrate it into my life's experiences," REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin added. "I have watched the various televised retrospectives and they are so powerfully real that they have a way of overwhelming me. No matter how many times I see those images, there is a part of me that is as shocked and angry and sad as I was a year ago. The feelings have not faded... Maybe they never will... The Rock to the Rescue benefit concerts will let the people of New York and New Jersey and all around the country know that we have not forgotten."

Last year's Volunteers for America concerts raised $550,000 for the Port Authority Police Department, according to TBA Entertainment's Charlie Brusco. "That was definitely a good start but our mission is to continue the fundraising efforts for the families of the victims of the Sept. 11th tragedy."

- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

September 10, 2002
Santana Wraps Up 'Shaman,' Readies Retrospective

Santana will release Shaman, the follow up to 1999's 11-million selling Supernatural, Oct. 22 through Arista. The disc features three songs penned by matchbox twenty frontman Rob Thomas voiced by three different singers, plus collaborations with Latin rock band Ozomatli and opera great Placido Domingo, according to the artist's official Web site. Vocalist Michelle Branch is featured on the first single "The Game of Love," which arrives Sept. 23 at U.S. radio outlets. She also appears in the video, shot last month in Chicago.

"There are many great artists, producers, and writers that have helped to create this masterpiece of joy," reads a post on the site. "A few songs like 'Adouma,' 'Foo Foo,' 'Victory Is Won,' and 'Aye Aye Aye,' have been played on the last few Santana tours. All of these songs feature members of the Santana Band." Ozomatli appears on a rock song titled "One of These Days," while Domingo adds his voice to "a very inspirational track" dubbed "Novus."

On the same day Shaman hits stores, fans will also be able to purchase The Essential Santana, a 33-track, two-CD retrospective chronicling the first 20 years of Carlos Santana's recorded output. Beginning with excerpts from his band's 1969 eponymous debut ("Soul Sacrifice," "Evil Ways") and wrapping with "The Healer" (a 1989 collaboration with late blues icon John Lee Hooker), The Essential Santana houses the bulk of the guitarist's top-40 singles.

Santana's 1970s smashes like "Black Magic Woman," "Everybody's Everything," and "Oye Como Va," rest alongside early '80s chart fare like "Winning" and "Hold On." Also featured are the guitarist's mid-1980s world music efforts like "Veracruz" and "Blues for Salvador."

Santana has begun lining up fall tour dates, beginning Sept. 29 in Las Vegas. Shows are set through Oct. 12 in Los Angeles.

Here are Santana's tour dates:

Sept. 29: Las Vegas (MGM Grand)
Sept. 29: Las Vegas (Rain in the Desert)
Oct. 1: Albuquerque, N.M. (Journal Pavilion)
Oct. 2: Phoenix (Cricket Pavilion)
Oct. 4: Concord, Calif. (Chronicle Pavilion)
Oct. 5: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
Oct. 8-9: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl)
Oct. 11: Chula Vista, Calif. (Coors Amphitheatre)
Oct. 12: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)

- John D. Luerssen, N.Y.

September 10, 2002
Copeland, Astbury Join Doors For Long Haul

Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Cult vocalist Ian Astbury (singing the late Jim Morrison's parts) weren't just temporary additions to the Doors' lineup for last weekend's show in Fontana, CA. As Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek tells Billboard.com, "Stewart is drumming from here on out. Ian is singing from here on out. We're not doing a TV show. We're playing live music. This is the new Doors lineup for the 21st century."

As previously reported, Copeland is filling in for drummer John Densmore, who is battling the hearing disorder tinitus but may participate in sessions for the Doors' first new studio album in more than 30 years. "We will go into the recording studio in the year 2003," Manzarek says. "We're going into composition [of new material] next week."

A North American/European tour is also in the works for next year, and while Manzarek says it is too early to predict how extensive the jaunt may be, he promises it "will definitely not be 60 cities." The Doors have one more show on their schedule for now: a Sept. 29 concert at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario, just outside of Toronto.

Three days earlier, Manzarek will join pianist George Winston for a duet concert in New York in support of Winston's upcoming Doors covers album, Night Divides the Day. Both artists will be playing separate pianos simultaneously. "Then he'll do one solo piece and I'll do one solo piece within the context of the concert," Manzarek says. "What he's going to play is his choice. What I'm going to play is not a Doors song!"

- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

September 10, 2002
Rock Vets To Celebrate Harrison's 60th

In addition to a posthumous studio album from Beatles guitarist George Harrison, the coming months will bring a Harrison/Beatles tribute album under the moniker Songs From the Material World. According to a label spokesperson, the set is due from Koch on Feb. 25, which would be the late Harrison's 60th birthday. Among the confirmed participants are the Byrds' Roger McGuinn, the Kinks' Dave Davies, Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, and John Lennon's son Julian Lennon.

Various artists are expected to team up on Harrison's White Album standard "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," while McGuinn will tackle "If I Needed Someone" from Rubber Soul. Todd Rundgren, Mountain's Leslie West, Donovan, Al Kooper, They Might Be Giants, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, Ultravox's Midge Ure, and the Smithereens are all tipped to participate.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Songs From the Material World will be donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation, which raises funds for cancer, AIDS, and leukemia research. Harrison died last Nov. 29 of cancer.

As reported here yesterday (Sept. 9), the artist's final studio album, Brainwashed, is due Nov. 19 via Dark Horse/EMI. The set was produced by Harrison and his son Dhani in tandem with Electric Light Orchestra principal Jeff Lynne.

- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

September 9, 2002
Bon Jovi CD To Feature Ticket Access

In an effort to drive sales of Bon Jovi's new album Bounce -- due Oct. 8 from Island Def Jam (IDJ) -- the label is offering early access to tickets to the band's upcoming world tour to consumers who buy the CD, Billboard Bulletin reports. Each copy of the album will come with a serialized code in the packaging. Consumers need to register the code at Bonjovi.com to access pre-sale ticket offers. Tickets to the tour go on sale to the general public later in the month.

CD purchasers registering with the site also will receive other bonuses including downloads of unreleased tracks and contests. IDJ executives say the idea behind the initiative is to reward fans who purchase the album, the theory being that the added value benefits will motivate consumers to buy it instead of download it. To that end, new albums by Eminem, the Dave Matthews Band, and Queens Of The Stone Age have in recent weeks been bundled with free DVDs.

The IDJ program is the first widespread serialization initiative featuring a major act. Company executives said that with CD recognition technology largely unable to distinguish between legitimate product and burned discs, serialized codes became a more attractive option to ensure only album purchasers could access the bonus material.

No dates have yet been unveiled for the Bon Jovi tour, but, as previously reported, the group will play its first U.K. club gig in more than a decade Sept. 18 at London's Shepherds Bush Empire.

- Brian Garrity, N.Y.

September 9, 2002
Final George Harrison Album Due In November

The studio album former Beatles guitarist George Harrison was working on prior to his death last November will be released this fall. Brainwashed, produced by Harrison and his son Dhani in tandem with Electric Light Orchestra principal Jeff Lynne, is due Nov. 19 via a new partnership between Harrison's own Dark Horse imprint and EMI. The set features 11 Harrison originals and an as-yet-unannounced cover. It will be his first new studio set since 1987's Cloud Nine, which featured the No. 1 hit "Got My Mind Set on You."

"Before we started working on the album, George and Dhani had collaborated extensively on pre-production," Lynne said in a statement. "George would come round my house and he'd always have a new song with him. He would strum them on a guitar or ukulele. The songs just knocked me out.

"George constantly talked about how he wanted the album to sound," Lynne continued, "and there was always that spiritual energy that went into the lyrics as well as the music."

Harrison's original working title for the project was Portrait of a Leg End. Traffic member Jim Capaldi and veteran session drummer Jim Keltner laid down backing tracks for the set, which is expected to feature such songs as "Valentine," "Pisces Fish," and the title cut, "Brainwashed," a caustic rock soliloquy about his former manager.

"I need to get that last song out of my system," Harrison told late Billboard editor in chief Timothy White in 1999. "To have someone sit at your table with your family every night and then betray your trust is one of the worst experiences imaginable. Sometimes songwriting is the only way I can respond to the outside world, to exorcise its demons."

As previously reported, Harrison collaborated with his son on one final song before his death, "Horse to the Water." The track appeared on bandleader Jools Holland's album, Small World Big Band, bearing the forbidding copyright "R.I.P. Limited 2001."

- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y

September 6, 2002
Doors Draft Stewart Copeland For Reunion Shows

No drummer, no problem. The Doors have snagged former Police drummer Stewart Copeland to fill in for the ailing John Densmore at a show tonight (Sept. 6) at the California Motor Speedway. As previously reported, the show will feature the Cult's Ian Astbury on vocals. It comes as part of motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary Open Road tour; Stone Temple Pilots, Nickelback, and George Clinton will play later in the weekend.

Densmore is suffering from the hearing disorder tinitus and will not play tonight; his status is uncertain for a Sept. 29 concert at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontatio. Copeland was unveiled to the public Tuesday during a surprise, four-song show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, which has since been broadcast on an L.A. radio station.

As has been rumored for months, the Doors' official Web site confirms the band is planning a U.S. and European tour for spring 2003, with the group's first studio album in 30 years set to follow. "Already Robby, Ray, and John have been writing new songs," the site says. The three surviving members have also leant a commentary track to the DVD The Doors Soundstage Performances, due Oct. 22 from Eagle Vision.

Meanwhile, Manzarek will join pianist George Winston for a previously announced Sept. 26 duet concert in New York. Winston's album of solo piano Doors covers, Night Divides the Day, is due Oct. 8 from Windham Hill.

- Lars Brandle, London; Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

September 6, 2002
Aerosmith May Sing The Blues On Next Album

The Aerosmith touring machine, which rolls into Camden, N.J., tomorrow (Sept. 7) with Run-D.M.C. and Kid Rock, is once again flying high in support of the recently released Columbia greatest hits package O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits. While happy to be back on the road, the band is already looking forward to its next studio project. Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton tells Billboard.com it will be a back-to-basics affair that will challenge its members and, they hope, inspire longtime fans.

"We're going to delve back into our musical roots and try recording some blues songs and maybe some blues-based rock riffs," says Hamilton. "So, everybody is turning back inward toward their individual instruments with that in mind. It's funny because I've been doing it on my own but now when we get on stage together, I see everybody else doing it."

A bluesy rock album would return Aerosmith's focus to the exact inspiration that brought it together in the first place. In fact, for this high-powered quintet, such an adventure will be like traveling back in time, including recording the album to tape ("I'm sure we'll wind up using a combination of tape and hard disk," says Hamilton) as well as utilizing another antiquated studio technique.

"We want to really try to get everybody in a room at the same time," Hamilton says. "It's funny because it triggers all of the competition and uncomfortableness that we've always had going into the studio, and it's going to mean everybody is going to have to be open, vulnerable, and brave, and go in there and do that process like we used to do it."

As Hamilton told Billboard.com this spring, "the band definitely is interested in getting into projects that are not the once-every-two-years, blockbuster, career making or breaking album-type mode that we've been in." As such, this upcoming album could be viewed as a rejuvenation of Aerosmith's spirit. "We're probably going to take a bunch of blues songs, cover them, learn to play them together, and see about using stuff like that," he says. "But I think in that process, it's going to generate new ideas. We've been calling it a blues album but really it's just going to be an Aerosmith rock album and maybe a lot of blues."

Aerosmith's current tour, originally scheduled to end in November, is going to be extended through the end of December, which means the band hopes to start recording by the first of the year. "The way we want to do it, it will probably be out in the spring," says Hamilton. "But no promises."

- John Benson, Cleveland

September 5, 2002
Roger Waters Joins White Benefit Concerts

Former Pink Floyd principal Roger Waters has been added to the bill for the Music To My Ears concerts to benefit the family of late Billboard editor in chief Timothy White. As previously reported, the shows are set for Oct. 7 at Boston's FleetCenter and Oct. 8 at New York's Madison Square Garden. The Boston lineup also features Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, John Mellencamp, Sting, and James Taylor; those artists, minus Taylor, will also play in New York along with Jimmy Buffett and Brian Wilson.

Waters is working on a rock album for release next year. Work also continues on his longtime project Ca Ira, an opera inFrench and English.

Autographed Fender and Martin guitars and front row tickets to the Music To My Ears shows are among the items available at an online auction via Ticketmaster. All artists are donating their services for the concerts, which are being promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment in Boston and Clear Channel and Metropolitan Entertainment in New York.

Net proceeds from both concerts will benefit Timothy White's widow, Judy Garlan White, and the couple's sons Alexander and Christopher.

- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

September 5, 2002
Dead, Phish, Allmans Members Slated For Jammys

The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and the Allman Brothers/Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes are among the artists who have signed on to perform at this year's third annual Jammy Awards. Weir will not only be on hand with his band Ratdog for the Oct. 2 event at New York's Roseland Ballroom, he will also accept a lifetime achievement award on behalf of the Dead.

Haynes' Gov't Mule is also on the bill, while Gordon will perform with noted acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke just days before the Oct. 8 release of the pair's debut Private Music album, Clone. Gordon and Kottke will also launch a short U.S. tour in November in support of the project.

The Relix magazine/Jambands.com-produced event will also boast performances by the B-52s' Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson, the Tom Tom Club (featuring the Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz), Rusted Root, moe., the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Particle, and Robert Randolph & the Family Band.

Jammys executive producer Peter Shapiro tells Billboard.com that "three to five more artists" will be added in the coming weeks, and that "hopefully some surprises" will materialize that evening. "We plan to pair musicians who don't usually play together and see what happens," Shapiro says.

The show is planned to run for about five hours, with "about eight pairings of musicians on the main stage," and a side stage where a house band and some of the artists will also perform. "The Jammys are really a reason to get us all together to celebrate this music," Shapiro adds.

As previously reported, Widespread Panic leads the field with five Jammy nominations, including live performance and live album of the year nods. As a solo artist, Phish guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio is nominated for three awards, as is Gov't Mule; Dead member Phil Lesh, moe., Keller Williams, and Randolph are each up for two Jammys.

- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

September 5, 2002
Gilmour Video Brings Solo Shows Home

A video document of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's three-night solo stand at London's Royal Festival Hall in January will be released Nov. 5 on DVD/VHS via Capitol. David Gilmour in Concert features guest appearances by Floyd's Rick Wright, former Soft Machine drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt, and ex-Boomtown Rats leader Bob Geldof, who was also the star of the film version of Pink Floyd's rock opera "The Wall."

The VHS version is a 16-track collection, while the DVD edition boasts a number of extras, including three additional tracks: the Elvis Presley standard "Don't," Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," and Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18." Also featured is footage of Gilmour rehearsing in his home studio, lyrics, a featurette detailing the artist's guitar work, and a rendition of Pink Floyd's "High Hopes" with a full gospel choir.

Additionally, both the DVD and VHS will contain footage from a June 2001 performance as part of London's Meltdown festival, an event curated by Wyatt and the inspiration for Gilmour's January concerts. The intimate performances saw Gilmour backed primarily by pianist/composer Michael Kamen, guitarist Neill MacColl (Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith), bassist Chucho Merchan (Pete Townshend, Wyatt), cellist Caroline Dale (Sinead O'Connor, Page & Plant), jazz drummer Nic France, and Pink Floyd's saxophonist Dick Parry. Vocalist/keyboardist Sam Brown, who has toured with Pink Floyd, led the choir.

Here is the track listing for David Gilmour in Concert:

"Shine on You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5"
"Terrapin"
"Fat Old Sun"
"Coming Back to Life"
"High Hopes"
"Je Crois Entendre Encore"
"Smile"
"Wish You Were Here"
"Comfortably Numb"
"Dimming of the Day"
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond Parts 6-9"
"A Great Day for Freedom"
"Hushabye Mountain"
"Dominoes"
"Breakthrough"
"Comfortably Numb (Reprise)"

- Todd Martens, L.A.