DMB Sued For Dumping Waste in River
KVIA.com reports: The state of Illinois has sued the Dave Matthews Band for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of liquid human waste from a bus into the Chicago River. 

The foul liquid doused a tour boat filled with passengers. 

The lawsuit accuses the band and one of its bus drivers of violating state water pollution and public nuisance laws. And it seeks 70-thousand-dollars in civil penalties. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

X-tina Vs. Britney?
MuchMusic reports: [Silly news? You bet, but everyone loves a good cat fight]Christina Aguilera trashes Britney Spears in an interview with US magazine, saying, "She's not trailer trash, but she sure acts that way." The singer also reportedly mocks Britney for buying her own engagement ring, which Aguilera says looks like something from a home shopping channel. [more] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: MuchMusic also has news on MJ Evidence Admitted , Bush Vs. Diddy?, Bush Vs. Janet?, Kylie Vs. Jazz? and more click here to check it out

Jacko Death Threat Arrest
E! reports: Lots of action in the Michael Jackson case--both in and out of the courtroom. 

The case took an unexpected detour to Canada over the weekend, when a man from Kitchener, Ontario, was arrested and charged with making a death threat against Jackson. Adrian Poffley, 26, is accused of sending an email to the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, on Aug. 16, hours before Jackson was to appear there. The note touched off heightened security at the site. Authorities quickly traced the note back to Poffley. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Metallica Vinyl Box
antiMUSIC reports: Hardcore Metallica fans get out your wallets; this is a true collector's item. Billboard is reporting that Metallica will release a very special box set on Oct 26th. Not only is it a traditional box set, e.g. vinyl, but they are also being released as very limited numbered edition. Only 5,000 copies will be released by Elektra/Rhino Vinyl. 

The set is appropriately titled "Vinyl Box" and will feature special editions of the group's first four studio albums, the "Garage Days Re-Revisited" EP and the "Creeping Death" picture disc. [more] - Click Here for the Full Story 

108 Ozzfest Arrests
Blabbermouth reports: Law enforcement officials announced Monday (August 23) that 108 arrests were made at the Ozzfest concert Thursday (August 19) at Blossom Music Center in Cleveland, OH, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. 

Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander and Cuyahoga Falls Police Chief John Conley said the arrests were made by a special detail made up of the Summit County Drug Unit and Falls narcotics division. 

The majority of the charges were drug-related misdemeanors, mostly for illegal possession of marijuana. One person was arrested for possession of psilocybin (mushrooms). - Click Here for the Full Story 

This seems to be happening a lot, so people you must learn not to take drugs with you to SharonFest. 

Source: Blabbermouth also has news on MASTODON: New Music Posted Online, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD: Studio Report, QUEEN Album Gets Official Release In Iran, MISFITS' JERRY ONLY Weighs In On DANZIG Vs. NORTH SIDE KINGS Feud DARKTHRONE's FENRIZ Explains Lack Of American Bands On 'Black Metal' Compilation and more click here to check it out

QOTSA Feud Continues
MTV reports: After staying relatively quiet in the wake of his ousting from Queens of the Stone Age, ex-bassist Nick Oliveri has shot back at his former bandmate Josh Homme on the new record by his former group the Dwarves. The track "Massacre" on the disc Dwarves Must Die features Oliveri cackling in the background as lead singer Blag Dahlia sings the lines "This one goes out to Queens of the Trust Fund/ You slept on my floor and now I'm sleeping through your mother----in' album." - Click Here for the Full Story 

Stefani Delay
MTV reports: Though Gwen Stefani had originally planned to release her debut solo album this summer, she's now looking toward a mid-November release for the record. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: MTV also has news on Man-Breast-Hugging Dresses, Manly Groupies Make D12's 'My Band': VMA Lens Recap, Backstage With Usher: Flying Fruit, Autographs And Nap Time, A Visit With Adam Sandler, Chris Rock And Nelly In Prison, Miami After Hours: Fat Joe And The Terror Squad Hunker Down In Jerusalem, Franz Ferdinand, Killers, Wilco, Ghostface Make First Round Of Shortlist Prize and more click here to check it out

Warped 05
Punkbands.com reports: MTV News spoke with Warped Tour head honcho Kevin Lyman at the event's recent 10th anniversary show in Foxboro, Massachusetts. According to the article in a summer touring season that has been marred by poor ticket sales and cancelled events (re: Lollapalooza), this was the most successful Warped Tour ever. The total attendance this year reached 650,000, up 20 percent from 2003. 

At the show Lyman confirmed two bands for the 2005 edition of the tour: The Transplants and My Chemical Romance. About the Tim Armstrong sideproject Lyman commented "I think they'll be amazing. They were so good on the last record, but they never really got to tour behind it. So their whole plan this year is to put out a record, and then play it on the Warped Tour." [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Norma Jean Throat Return
Punkbands.com reports: When Norma Jean fontman Josh Scogin left the band just a week after their debut release, Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, was hitting stores, a distraught hardcore following wondered if they'd ever have the chance to see the powerful lead singer strut his stuff across a stage again. While Bless The Martyr, which features Scogin's ferocious vocals, has gone on to sell over 47,000 copies, Scogin has been busy making his own waves with new band, The Chariot. 

Currently in the studio with Matt Goldman in their hometown of Atlanta, GA, The Chariot are set to release their debut album, "Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead, and Nothing is Bleeding," this November 16th. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Takedown Sounds
The PRP reports: Atreyu, My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World, Funeral For A Friend, Eighteen Visions, finger eleven and more are among those set to show up on the soundtrack to the upcoming video game "Burnout 3: Takedown". [see full story for a link to all the details] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Evergreen Terrace DVD
The PRP reports: Evergreen Terrace will be releasing a new DVD effort entitled "Hotter, Wetter, Stickier, Funner" through Eulogy on November 16th. The effort will include a full live set from the bands 2003 winter tour, plus 'tons of footage from the road, in the van, and backstage.' - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: The PRP also has news on Round The Other Side, Enhanced Engine, Samples Within, Atlantic Plagued, You Cloud Me, Vaguely Online, Back On The Market, Kwellerlomaniac and more click here to check it out

Devo Sims
Aversion reports: Mark Mothersbaugh, former Devo front man, will provide the soundtrack for the upcoming Sims 2 video game. 

Mothersbaugh, who led Devo through artsy post-punk and new wave, will lend his songwriting skills to Electronic Arts' upcoming game package. He will contribute additional music to upcoming add-on packs [more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Unreleased Clash
Aversion reports: [If you missed it before, Aversion has a new article on the new Clast offering]Clash fans will be given a rare treat with the revamped release of London Calling. 

Five previously unreleased songs will make the expanded London Calling feature the first unheard material to be taken out of the vaults since 1991's Clash on Broadway boxed set (Epic). Epic Records will reissue the punk classic, which was originally released in 1979, as a three-disc set in its Legacy Edition premium series Sept. 21. [see full story for more details!]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Aversion also has news on New York Dolls Plan Live Album, No More Shows at Chicago's Fireside, Pete Doherty Attacked this Weekend, Foo Fighters Sort Out Next Album, Bike Wreck Messes Up Helmet Tour Mustard Plug Needs DVD Material and more click here to check it out

Dr. Lou Rawls
AP reports: Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls, who's helped raise more than $200 million for the United Negro College Fund during a quarter-century, is getting an honorary doctorate from one of the nation's oldest black universities. 

Wilberforce University will honor Rawls Saturday for his "lifelong service to the education of historically disadvantaged populations." The presentation will be made to Rawls during a concert performance at nearby Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio. [see full story for more] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Spector Hires Mob Lawyer
AP reports: Music producer Phil Spector has hired an attorney who used to work for mob boss John Gotti to defend him on murder charges after his previous attorney resigned from the case. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Real Boost
Afterdawn.com reports: One week after the announcement of significant price reductions, the Real Networks is already able to show impressive results. Since they began selling music for US$0.49 per song (or $4.99 for most albums) they already sold 1M music tracks. 

Recently Real Networks has been weaving an aggressive strategy, clearly aimed towards the market dominating Apple iTunes. It's besides price reductions, they have introduced Apple iPod compatibility and signed deals with universities. [see full story for including Apple's response]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Dylan Memoirs
Reuters reports: The famously private Bob Dylan, whose background and music are the stuff of legend, will shed light on his life and four-decade career as a singer-songwriter in a memoir to be published this autumn, his publisher said on Tuesday. 

Dylan's "Chronicles: Volume One" (Simon & Schuster), the first of a planned three-book series, is a first-person narrative from the 63-year-old music icon, who rose to fame in the early 1960s and whose musical style ranged from folk and blues to rock, country and gospel. [see full story for more info]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Prince DVDs
NMC reports: Prince fans will be happy to know that two Prince movies were released for the first time on DVD today. 

In "Grafitti Bridge," the 1990 sequel to "Purple Rain," fans can watch Prince and The Time's Morris Day fight over a night club called Glam Slam. 

In the 1986 film noir "Under the Cherry Moon," watch for actress Kristen Scott Thomas of "The English Patient" and The Time's Jerome Benton. 

A special two-disc edition of the 1984 Prince classic "Purple Rain" also hits shelves today in honor of the film's twentieth anniversary. [see full story for bonus material info]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Hoobastank Goes Double Platinum
NMC reports: Hoobastank's been having a great year with their chart-topping album, "The Reason," and now the band has another reason to celebrate. 

"The Reason" has just been certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) -- that's two million records sold in the US. [more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: NMC also has news on Guitar Auction For Hurricane Victims, Ashlee Simpson's No Longer in the Shado, Switchfoot Up for San Diego Music Awards, R. Kelly and Jay-Z to Tour and more click here to check it out

Tucker on Leaving Morbid Angel
Metal-Rules reports: German zine www.metal1.info has posted a new interview with ex-Morbid Angel vocalist/bassist Steve Tucker where he comments on this departure from the band. 

"I didn't feel that I wanted to be a part of Morbid Angel any longer. There were some issues I had with people's commitment and desire. I play from the heart and could never do anything that wasn't 100% real to me. So I felt it was time to go do something else." [see full story for a link to the full interview]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Wacken DVD
Metal Rules reports: Wacken Open Air is a yearly metal festival held in the small farming town of Wacken, Germany.The festival started out 14 years ago and has now amassed an attendance up to 35,000 people and is the largest metal gathering in Europe. Crash Music is proud to release the live concert two DVD set. 

The DVD includes performances by many well known metal gods such as Twisted Sister, Saxon, Nile, The Crown, Testament, Vader, In Flames, Gamma Ray and many more! Also includes backstage and behind the scenes footage of the Wacken Open Air festival. The DVD was shot in 5.1 Suround Sound for exceptional audio quality. [see full story for tracklisting]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Metal-Rules also has news on SYL Hit The Studio--Update From DEVIN TOWNSEND, DORO - Single Enters German Charts, ENSLAVED - New Album ISA, Kataklysm - Re-release Dispute, Cessation Of Life Announce Festival Appearance and more click here to check it out

Uli Jon Roth Paid 200K To Play
Electric Basement reports: Guitar legend ULI JON ROTH talked with Electricbasement.com about his storied career with the SCORPIONS, ELECTRIC SUN and his own projects. He is also coming to the U.S. to tour for the first time in years, sharing the bill with MICHAEL SCHENKER and GEORGE LYNCH. He explains the daunting nature of the last U.S. tour, several years ago, "We had 16 people on the road-eight of them on stage and with a really low budget. For America, the record company didn't help. It was Columbia back then. They said, 'Great album, but let's promote the next one.' My manager talked me into promoting the album against my better judgment. So we had credit cards and no money. 

"But with so many people on tour, it was tough. I thought we'd lost $30,000, but it was more like $200,000. And back then, I wasn't really switched on in terms of finance. I let management do everything. They didn't tell me the truth. [see full story for the entire interview]- Click Here for the Full Story 

PS Anyone checking out the Hollywood show tomorrow night, get there early as Heaven & Earth are set to open at 8:30pm. 

Queen of Iran
Ananova reports: Queen has become the first rock act to have an album released in Iran. 

Western music is strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime. 

Mercury, who died in 1991, was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles made Queen one of the most popular bands in Iran. 

The greatest hits album contains hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, The Miracle and I Want to Break Free, but reportedly omits a number of Queen's love songs. 

The cassette, costing less than $1 (55 pence), comes complete with translated lyrics and an explanatory leaflet. 

It tells Queen fans that Bohemian Rhapsody is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Ananova also has news on Faithless announce UK tour, Jamelia up for three MOBO awards, Girls Aloud to cover Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Kylie to try her hand at jazz, Goldfrapp pull out of Creamfields and more click here to check it out

Taking Back The Clubs
liveDaily reports: New York rockers Taking Back Sunday will hit the stage at clubs in nearly three dozen cities in the coming months as they continue to back their sophomore album, "Where You Want to Be." 

The quintet's busy schedule--which opens Sept. 28 in Iowa City, IA, and runs through November--comes in the wake of the just-concluded Vans Warped Tour, which visited about 50 cities. [see full story for more including support info and the dates]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Beastie Warm Up
liveDaily reports: Beastie Boys headline this weekend's "MTV2 Presents: A LIFEbeat Benefit" concert in Miami, a show that serves as a warm-up for the group's ever-growing fall tour. 

The Aug. 28 performance at Miami's Crobar Nightclub--which is part of MTV's Video Music Awards week and benefits LIFEbeat--will also feature De La Soul, DJ AM and DJ Samantha Ronson. [see full story for more including the latest dates for the tour... yes there are some new ones.]- Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: liveDaily also has news on Morrissey hunts down more 'Quarry' tour dates, Melissa Etheridge maps fall theater gigs, Briefly: Helmet, RNC entertainment, Godsmack, StormAid, R.E.M. unveils opening acts for fall tour, Keith Urban sets up fall headlining tour and more click here to check it out

Darkness Arena Plans
Xfm reports: Xfm can confirm that the mighty Darkness much rumoured winter UK arena tour will definitely be taking place, and it will include the band's biggest ever gigs to date. 

As rumoured, the band will be undertaking a huge eight date jaunt starting off at the Nottingham Arena, taking in Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff and Birmingham, and ending up in The Darkness' first headlining date at the Wembley Arena in London. [see full story for the dates and info on the new DVD] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Source: Xfm also has news on Wet Wet Wet For Reading , British Sea Power Head To Xfm For TDK, The Zutons To Win The Mercury?, New Embrace Single Available Early, Prodigy Album Receives Remix Treatment and more click here to check it out

Sludge Attacked
Metal Sludge reports: [What follows is part of an email that Stevie Rachelle sent over.] On Friday, August 20th, at approximately 12:35 p.m. Eastern Time, Metal Sludge's server stopped responding to requests during the flow of otherwise normal Internet traffic, becoming inaccessible for the better part of the past 3 ½ days. :( 

Preliminary findings indicate that Metal Sludge's server has been (likely) a victim of what is known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. A DDoS attack is a hacker tactic in which a Web site's servers are bombarded with fake packets of requests for information. When the server responds, the attackers' system steps up the barrage by sending more requests. The affected Web site's server struggles to keep up with the increasingly overwhelming number of requests, which ultimately crashes the system. It's essentially Cyber Terrorism. DDoS attacks have been used to temporarily shut down the Web sites of CNN, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon.com, Datek, Citibank, MTV, Al Jazeera, Microsoft, the RIAA, and, now, Metal Sludge. :| [See the full story link for a posting on the Enuff Z'nuff message board that features the entire email.] - Click Here for the Full Story 

Dog Media
Electric Artists reports: We told you about Ozzy recording a theme for the new A&E show "Dog the Bounty Hunter". The kind folks at Electric Artists passed on a link to a preview video that features the Ozzy song and a guest appearance from Lynyrd Skynyrd. Check out the full story link to view it. The show premiers next Tues Aug 31st at 10PM on A&E.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Bayside Changes
Victory Records reports: Bayside are alive and well, but there are a few changes to the line-up to announce. Leaving the band are Jim Mitchell (drums) and Andrew Elderbaum (bassist) and joining in their places are Nick Ghanbarian on bass and John Hallihan on drums, both are from Long Island and debut with the band this friday, August 27th at the Empress Ballroom in Danbury, Connecticut. 

Official Statement from Bayside on Line-up Changes: We're sorry to announce that Andrew and Jim will no longer be playing in Bayside. They both have their personal reasons for leaving the band and if they wish to make them public they will. Jim and Andrew were great to make music with and are still good friends of ours. We want to wish them the best of luck in everything they choose to do from here. Andrew and the rest of us have decided that he will still be involved in the writing process. We are real excited to start working with John and Nick. They are absolutly incredible musicians and great guys. Jack, Nick, John and Myself are all very excited to begin a new chapter in the Bayside Saga. Thank you to Jim and Andrew for everything they have been to us and done for us. - Click Here for the Full Story 

As I Lay Dying & Cattle Decapitation Nominated
Metal Blade reports: As I Lay Dying is nominated for Artist of the Year and Cattle Decapitation's Humanure is nominated for Best Hard Rock Album in the San Diego Music Awards. Click the full story for more and to vote.- Click Here for the Full Story 

Vadar On Last Rites
Metal Blade reports: VADER will be featured on the 8/30 episode of Music Choice's Last Rites- the only death, thrash & black metal show on television! For more information click the full story link- Click Here for the Full Story