MK Magazine News

An Evening In Chicago With MY RUIN From MK

Details will be coming in the next 2 days. Alex Zander and Tairrie B of MY RUIN are working on putting together a special show the day after MY RUIN's SOLD OUT show with SOiL at the Metro on March 22.

www.myruin.com

QUIZNO's Springmonkeys Now Labelled 'Obscene' By Clear Channel

Singing Quizno's Mascots Lose Endorsement Deal

By Tim Case from www.adultbeat.com

In a surprise move today the Quiznos Corporation has dropped the Spongmonkeys, those bizarre singing mascots that resemble flattened toothy hamsters. The characters saw their popularity soar recently due to a series of television commercials in which they wore hats, sang "We Love The Subs", and hawked the restaurant chain's new southwestern sandwiches.

The Spongemonkeys were deemed "obscene and disgusting" by Clear Channel Communications representatives on Thursday. Clear Channel President John Hogan said today, in a prepared statement, "It's obviously one of the most disgusting displays of broadcasting the American public has been subjected to in years. They simply ooze sexuality -- and what the hell ARE those things, anyway?"

The action against the self-proclaimed "Kings of the Moon" came after Clear Channel announced its new "Zero Tolerance" policy toward material deemed in violation of federal broadcast decency standards. Earlier this week, broadcasters Howard Stern and "Bubba the Love Sponge" faced similar sanctions.

In a statement released by the Spongmonkeys' publicist, they have announced that they will continue to perform, in violation of the FCC and Clear Channel actions, at http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/

10,667 Children Report Abuse by Priests

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 10,600 children said they were molested by priests since 1950 in an epidemic of child sexual abuse involving at least 4 percent of U.S. Roman Catholic priests, two studies reported on Friday.

The two studies, which were commissioned by U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002, said the abuse peaked with the ordination class of 1970, from which one in 10 priests was eventually accused of abuse.

The report revealed that 10,667 children were allegedly victimized by 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002, but said the figures depend on self-reporting by American bishops and were probably an undercount.

The Archdiocese of Boston on Thursday released local figures from the reports, saying 7 percent of its priests were accused of abuse in the last 50 years.

A group of academics at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York conducted one of the reports. It said 97 percent of the dioceses filled out its surveys.

The other report, on the causes and context of the crisis, was written by a team of prominent Catholic lawyers, judges, business people and bishop-appointed professionals on a national review board.

It used interviews with 85 bishops and cardinals, Vatican officials, experts and a handful of victims.

The 145-page report looked at the culture in Catholic seminaries, where priests are trained, and chanceries that it said tolerated moral laxity and a gay subculture.

While the report made recommendations for reform, it did not say if church doctrine or rules needed to be changed.

"The problem facing the church was not caused by church doctrine, and the solution does not lie in questioning doctrine," said the review board's report.

Between 1950 and 2003, 162 priests were accused of molesting minors, the archdiocese of Boston said, citing the John Jay report. (Additional reporting by Sinead Carew)

Study: 4,392 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse

This has been going on for generations and the system wants to stifle Howard Stern. -AZ

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

WASHINGTON - A national, church-sanctioned study documenting sex abuse by U.S. Roman Catholic clergy found that about 4 percent of clerics have been accused of molesting minors since 1950, a diocese said Thursday.

The Diocese of Yakima, Wash., said in a news release that the survey compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found 4,392 of the 109,694 clergy who served over that five-decade period faced allegations of abuse.

The survey was overseen by the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel the bishops formed at the height of the abuse crisis. The review board had a Friday morning news conference scheduled in Washington to discuss the report and a companion study on how the abuse crisis developed.

Dioceses nationwide received 10,667 abuse claims since 1950, according to the news release. Of those, claims by 6,700 were substantiated. About 3,300 were not investigated because the accused clergymen were dead.

Another 1,000 or so claims proved to be unsubstantiated, the diocese said.

The national report also tallied abuse-related costs at $533.4 million.

A source who has read both the John Jay tally of abuse cases and the report on causes provided some other findings to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The causes report places much of the blame on bishops, saying "moral laxity" in disciplining offenders created an atmosphere that allowed the crisis to occur.

The report acknowledges that some bishops recognized the gravity of the problem early on and spent years lobbying the Vatican to change church law so they could move faster against abusers.

The study also said the bishops were sometimes ill-served by the therapists and lawyers they sought out for guidance.

Still, there have been widespread reports of bishops who sheltered abusers and the review board used harsh language to criticize churchmen who failed to act. It said these bishops were guilty of "neglect" and insensitivity toward victims that allowed the "smoke of Satan" to enter the church, the source said.

The raw numbers of abuse claims and accused clergy are higher than previously estimated by the media, victims groups and church officials.

Estimates of the number of guilty clerics have varied dramatically. Church officials have said anywhere between 1 percent and 3 percent of clergy abused minors.

The Rev. Andrew Greeley, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, put the number at 4 percent. Psychologist Richard Sipe, a former monk who researches sexuality in the priesthood, said it could be as high as 5 percent.

The bishops have apologized repeatedly for any wrongdoing and have enacted several reforms to protect children since the long-simmering abuse problem erupted more than two years ago in Boston. The discipline policy they adopted in June 2002 bars sex offenders from all public ministry.

The bishops authorized the new, landmark studies to restore trust in their leadership. No other profession or religious group has exposed itself to such scrutiny on the abuse issue, even though molestation is an acknowledged problem among coaches, teachers and clergy of other faiths.

The prelates said they wanted to undertake the investigation to demonstrate their willingness to confront abuse in the church.

Victims, however, say the bishops acted only under intense public pressure and said any study by the church is bound to underestimate the number of abuse cases.

In Boston, where the national crisis began with the case of rogue priest John Geoghan, officials said Thursday that 162 archdiocesan priests — about 7 percent of those who served over the last half-century — had been accused of abuse.

But plaintiffs' attorney Mitchell Garabedian scoffed at the count.

"We have an entity here that has allowed the wholesale sexual abuse of children by clergy, and to allow them to count the numbers just doesn't make any sense," he said. "There is a huge credibility problem here

All Systems Halt To Perform At (SONY RECORDS) BATTLE OF THE BANDS Chicago March 6

All Systems Halt

9:30 PM

All Systems Halt to play Emergenza’s battle of the bands, Saturday March 6 @ The Note (1565 N. Milwaukee). $15 dollars at the door – 10 band face off! First band starts at 7:30 PM. Come out and support our friends. This is a Sony Records Showcase.

A limited number of tickets are available through MK Magazine for $10 if you pay by pay pal. Email alex@mk-magazine.com for details

The Darkness GO GOLD (500,000 Units Sold) IN USA

THE DARKNESS's debut album 'PERMISSION TO LAND' has reached gold status in America.

The band, who have sold 1.2 million copies of the album in the UK, also reached number two in the Napster and Apple iTunes download chart with single 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'.

DAWN OF THE DEAD" WEBSITE GOES LIVE

With the "Dawn of the Dead" remake heading our way next month some of us remain pessimistic, especially based on the slue of weak attempts at recreating classic horror. But the trailer looks pretty damn good. And it has created some excitement, namely one staffer in Indiana-side. And the new official website for the film has definitely stoked that excitement to blazing. The site features plenty of goodies, including the trailer, a timeline of zombies in pop culture, a do-it-yourself zombie autopsy, a survival guide and plenty of other information about the film. See: www.dawnofthedeadmovie.net

Opera Singer Releases RAMMSTEIN-Inspired Solo CD

from: www.nynewsday.com
with thanks to Blabbermouth.

Bass sensation Rene Pape, fresh from the release of a Solo CD inspired by a German pop band, sings in "Don Giovanni" at the Met Monday

BY STACEY KORS

Candlelight reflected off dozens of disco balls at a recent CD-launch party at the Avalon dance club in downtown Manhattan. In a music video of the title track, a handsome man with almond-shaped eyes and a close-cropped goatee stared out through a sooty apartment window and sang, in German, "My heart is bleeding."

This wasn't pop, it was Pape: operatic bass René Pape (pronounced POP-uh), who at 39 is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after singers in the world. Two weeks after releasing his first solo CD, an edgy new symphonic song cycle based on the lyrics and music of a popular Industrial metal band, the versatile Pape appeared in his first major recital: a marquee-name evening of Schubert lieder with Renée Fleming, Anne Sofie von Otter, Matthew Polenzani and James Levine at Carnegie Hall. Pape opens Monday in his first Mozart opera at the Met, singing Leporello in its new production of "Don Giovanni."

His new CD, "Mein Herz Brennt," is a work by Torsten Rasch based on music by the Industrial metal band Rammstein. "It's not music I would listen to every day," admits Pape of the source material, "but it's very interesting - and I really liked the idea of turning Industrial metal music into contemporary orchestra music."

It's an unusual, even risky, choice for a debut solo CD. Yet, it's somehow fitting for the suave Pape, whose arresting good looks, molten voice and commanding stage presence play equally well in an opera house or a rock arena, like the one where "Mein Herz Brennt" had its Berlin premiere.

"I'm known as an opera singer," the Dresden-born bass says over cheesecake at Cafe Fiorello across from Lincoln Center, "but I also want to show my interest in other things. I'd like to do everything on CD - jazz, Broadway, Beatles - not just sing these things in the living room or the shower."

Pape has been singing professionally since he was 23. Three years later, he was the youngest bass in the long history of the Salzburg Festival to sing Sarastro in "The Magic Flute."

It wasn't until the late 1990s, however, that Pape's stentorian yet mellifluous singing began to develop an expressiveness and maturity that caused critics and audiences to pay special attention. His performance as King Marke in the Met's "Tristan und Isolde" in 1999 was an unequivocal triumph, praised for its striking combination of supreme dignity and raw emotion. Over the past few seasons he has become a Met favorite, singing everything from Wagner to Verdi, from Beethoven to Bizet.

"René's voice is just beautiful," says "Mein Herz Brennt" composer Rasch. "It goes from the finest pianissimo to the most shattering power. He has an amazing range in transmitting a certain state of mind, be it sadness, anger, joy, whatever."

Yet, Pape's success as a soloist was unexpected. As a child, he belonged to the Dresdner Kreuzchor, one of the world's oldest, finest boys' choirs - but one whose members rarely graduate to opera careers. "When I went to the high-school music conservatory," recalls Pape, a tenor at the time, "they said, 'You have an OK voice, but the highest level you will get to will be a member in a professional chorus.'"

As Pape grew, so did his voice. It also changed register, first to a baritone, then to a booming bass. He got a job in the ensemble of the Berlin Staatsoper in 1988 and was soon appearing as a guest artist on the international opera circuit.

With a voice more authoritative than its years, Pape was regularly cast as priests, fathers, gods and kings - roles usually reserved for older men. "Many critics said, 'This guy has a nice voice but is much too young to sing these roles,'" he remembers. "But I played them, with my age and with my energy. And after a while it worked, and people began to believe my interpretations."

Of course, Pape also enjoys playing younger characters, such as Don Giovanni's crafty manservant, Leporello. "I like Giovanni," says the bass, who has yet to debut in the title role, "but I also love Leporello. He has to be everybody. He has to be a friend, a servant, a stupid man and a wise man. He has to do many things, which is great. It never gets boring.

Maybe later, he will tackle Giovanni. "It's always done like that: first singing Leporello, then later on Giovanni," he says, "but really, I don't care." Pape won't say whether his debut as Don Giovanni is in the works, though with his reputation so stellar, the question isn't whether so much as when. He will make his debut in the role of Méphistophélès in Gounod's "Faust" at the Met next season, and in Vienna he will sing King Philip in his first French-language production of Verdi's "Don Carlo."

Pape plans to keep adding roles to his roster: perhaps Wotan in Wagner's "Ring" cycle or Hans Sachs in "Die Meistersinger." "Things like that will come, but you also have to wait - not just physically, but also vocally," he cautions. "You have to grow up a little."

Despite his leading-man looks, Pape doesn't mind the relative scarcity of romantic roles for basses in the operatic repertoire. "If there would be romantic leading roles, of course I'd do them," he says.

On the other hand, he adds, "the romantic roles, which are mostly sung by tenors, are usually stupid characters. Nothing against my colleagues, but in the end, everybody suffers because of the tenor. Either he dies, or his wife dies, or his love dies. So I'd rather play the fathers and the gods."

Life, however, doesn't have to imitate art.

He recalls an occasion when an interviewer asked Plácido Domingo what he thought about Pape. "He said that the tenors may get the girls onstage, but in real life the basses get them. I think that's funny.

"But you know," adds the strapping bass, who is single, "it's true."

Howard Stern Vents On Clear Channel Radio Suspension

from: www.ap.org

NEW YORK - A day after the nation's largest radio station chain suspended shock jock Howard Stern's show for alleged indecency, Stern vented on the air Thursday with uncharacteristic restraint.

"They are so afraid of me and what this show represents," he said.

Clear Channel Radio suspended Stern from six stations — the only outlets among its 1,200 stations that air the show — after an on-air interview Tuesday with socialite Paris Hilton's ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon during which a caller used a racial slur. Salomon is the man involved in the hotel heiress' infamous homemade sex video.

Stern's show is still being carried on stations owned by a rival radio network, Infinity Broadcasting, that distributes it to major markets nationwide. In 1995, Infinity paid the largest cumulative FCC fine to date, $1.7 million, for various violations by Stern's radio show.

The six Clear Channel stations involved are in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., Rochester, N.Y., San Diego, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky.

"Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it," Clear Channel's president and CEO, John Hogan, said in a news release Wednesday. "It was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African-Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency."

Stern said Thursday morning near the beginning of his show that he wasn't even sure he should talk about it.

"I could blow my stack, but ... ," Stern said, trailing off. "A caller used the N word, and I hung up on him."

Hogan was scheduled to testify along with top officials from television networks at the second congressional hearing this month on broadcast indecency in the wake of the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 1.

"Janet Jackson is now forgotten and I'm on the front page of every newspaper," said Stern. "I can't imagine the pressure they're putting on this guy."

Clear Channel said Stern's show would not air until officials are assured it will conform to acceptable broadcasting standards.

KISS: New Book Focuses On Band's Songs And Recordings

The new KISSFAQ book "KISS & Related Recordings Focus: Music! The Songs, The Demos, The Lyrics, and Stories!" has been completed and will be published in the next few weeks (anticipated shipping second week of March).

Covering over 1800 songs, demos, and lyrics, from KISS and its associated past and present members the "KISS & Related Recordings" focus digs deeper, where the "KISS Album Focus" wasn't able to go, into the recorded history of KISS. At 250 pages, the scope of this monstrous work digs into the obscure works of Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, Bruce Kulick, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer.

Research also uncovered a previously unknown Eric Carr pre-KISS recording. Tons of songs, including some radio/TV sessions, are detailed.

Advance discounted pre-orders are being offered through www.kissfaq.com now.

Clear Channel Suspends Stern's Radio Show

By JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The nation's largest radio station chain announced Wednesday it was suspending shock jock Howard Stern's radio show after issuing new rules to limit indecency and address criticism of what airs on TV and radio.

Clear Channel Radio said it suspended broadcast of Stern's show after assessing the content of his show Tuesday.

"Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content and Howard Stern's show blew right through it," John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, said in a news release. "It was vulgar, offensive, and insulting, not just to women and African Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency."

Hogan said the show would not air on Clear Channel stations until officials are assured it will conform to acceptable broadcasting standards.

Attempts to reach Stern's spokesman for comment late Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Under pressure from regulators and lawmakers, some TV networks are delaying live broadcasts to delete offensive material and doing more to let parents know how they can block specific programs. The National Association of Broadcasters says it will hold a conference on indecency next month.

The rules issued by Clear Channel Communications came on the eve of the second congressional hearing this month on broadcast indecency. Hogan is scheduled to testify along with top officials from TV networks.

Congress is considering increasing the maximum fine for indecency from $27,500 to $275,000, a move that the Federal Communications Commission endorsed even before the tumult over singer Janet Jackson's exposed breast during the nationally televised Super Bowl halftime show.

"In the history of broadcast indecency, there have been these moments where it makes headlines," said Jeremy Lipschultz, a professor of communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. "In the short term, broadcasters become much more careful. You're going to see people playing it safe. The long-term problem is the same one we've had, which is it's very difficult in the end to precisely define what is indecent or not. "

Under FCC (news - web sites) rules and federal law, radio stations and over-the-air television channels cannot air material containing references to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children may be tuning in. The rules do not apply to cable and satellite channels and satellite radio.

Responding to an FCC query, CBS, NBC and Fox said they would run advertisements promoting the V-chip — technology built into a TV set to prevent children from watching certain shows — air live programs on time delays and remind affiliate stations that they can reject network programs unsuitable for their communities. ABC had yet to respond.

Clear Channel's new policy includes companywide training about indecency, possible fines against DJs, and automatic suspensions for anyone accused by the FCC of violating indecency rules on the air, company officials said.

The initiative came one day after the company fired the DJ known as "Bubba the Love Sponge," whose show drew an FCC-record fine of $755,000. The program aired in four Florida cities and included graphic discussions about sex and drugs "designed to pander to, titillate and shock listeners," the FCC said.

"Clear Channel is serious about helping address the rising tide of indecency on the airwaves," said Mark Mays, president and chief operating officer. "As broadcast licensees, we are fully responsible for what our stations air, and we intend to make sure all our DJs and programmers understand what is and what is not appropriate."

Mel Karmazin, president of Viacom Inc., discussed indecency issues during a conference call last week with officials and station managers of the company's Infinity Broadcasting radio subsidiary. Infinity, which owns 120 stations, asked them to increase efforts to avoid indecent programming, such as using a seven-second delay on shows with live talk, spokesman Dana McClintock said.

Infinity, owned by Viacom, in 1995 paid the largest cumulative fine to date, $1.7 million, for various violations by Stern.

Prong Charts At #12 (at CMJ) For Loud Rock Radio Airplay

source www.cmj.com/industry/chart_preview.php?id=4

Thanks to Ron Marks and Dan Laudo

As reported here yesterday, the latest album from PRONG was released Tuesday 2/24/04

see www.prongmusic.com for more info on PRONG.

CMJ Charts for this week

1 GOD FORBID Gone Forever Century Media

2 PREMONITIONS OF WAR Left In Kowloon Victory

3 CANNIBAL CORPSE The Wretched Spawn Metal Blade

4 DAMAGEPLAN New Found Power Elektra

5 ICED EARTH The Glorious Burden Hunter-SPV

6 PROBOT Probot Southern Lord

7 HYPOCRISY The Arrival Nuclear Blast

8 THE END Within Dividia Relapse

9 GOREROTTED Only Tools And Corpses Metal Blade

10 INTO ETERNITY Buried In Oblivion Century Media

11 RED TAPE Radioactivist Roadrunner-IDJMG

12 PRONG Scorpio Rising Locomotive

13 CONTAMINATED VI VARIOUS ARTISTS Relapse

14 MASTODON March Of The Fire Ants [EP] Relapse

15 APARTMENT 26 Music For The Massive Atlantic

16 SCARS OF TOMORROW Rope Tied To The Trigger Victory

17 REMEMBERING NEVER Women And Children Die First Ferret

18 LOSTPROPHETS Start Something Columbia

19 GLASS CASKET We Are Gathered Here Today Abacus

20 DEICIDE Scars Of The Crucifix Earache

Justice Department Launches Attack On The Adult Business

from www.lukeford.com

Aug. 28— Rob Zicari and his fiancée, Janet Romano, are facing the first major federal prosecution for obscenity in more than a decade. They face 10 counts relating to the production and distribution by mail of obscene materials, and each could get 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $2.5 million.

We're facing more time than the guy that they just arrested that was trying to sell the surface-to-air missile," said Zicari.

On April 8, law enforcement seized five movies produced by Zicari's California-based company, Extreme Associates, which bills itself as "The Hardest Hard Core on the Web."

One of the confiscated movies, Forced Entry, features three graphic scenes of women being spat upon, raped and murdered. Extreme Teens #24 has adult women dressed up and acting like little girls in various hard-core pornographic scenes. We can't even tell you the title of one of the films.

‘There’s Nothing Wrong With What We Do’

Most Americans would probably find the content of the films disgusting. Zicari doesn't disagree — but he says to each his own.

"There's nothing wrong with what we do," said Zicari. "[W]e're not drug dealers or murderers, you know. We make movies. That's it."

But for the Bush administration, that's enough.

"Obscenities have always been a priority of the attorney general," said Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania. "[A]nd he has asked each U.S. attorney to make that our priority as well."

Buchanan is the lead prosecutor on the case against Zacari. So jurors in Pittsburgh will have to decide if Zicari's movies fit the legal definition of obscenity.

"The material depicted in the videotapes produced by Extreme Associates is extremely vile, degrading and extremely offensive to women," Buchanan said.

The nature of Extreme Associates' movies makes it an ideal target for Attorney General John Ashcroft's Justice Department's opening salvo in its long-anticipated war on obscenity.

Ashcroft had planned on launching the anti-obscenity initiative back in 2001, but was sidetracked by the 9/11 terror attacks. Now the issue is once again a priority for the Justice Department.

"I can tell you that as long as I'm chief of the section, the section will work very hard to prosecute obscenity cases along with child pornography, another important focus for us," said Andrew Oosterbaan, chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

"This is about a priority for the country. This is something the country wants prosecuted and therefore we're prosecuting it."

Hard to Watch = Difficult to Defend

The Justice Department has chosen its target wisely. Zicari's films are difficult to watch — which may make them difficult to defend.

To meet the legal definition of obscenity, a film has to depict sex in an offensive and prurient fashion with no artistic value. It is this subjectivity that worries some in the industry.

Paul Fishbein, president of Adult Video News, a trade journal for the adult entertainment industry, is well aware of the conflict presented by the films of Extreme Associates. "They're horrible, unwatchable, disgusting, aberrant movies that I'd have to vote were not obscenity because the First Amendment is pure and has to remain pure," he said.

"The funny thing about my business is I don't force it on anybody," said Zicari. "The only people that are going to be forced to watch my movies are the 12 people that sit on that jury."

The Bush administration says that overall, adult films today are far more offensive than ever before. It places much of the blame with the Clinton administration for, it claims, not making obscenity prosecutions a priority.

People inside the multibillion-dollar porn industry say community standards have become more accepting in recent years, pointing to the success of Boogie Nights, a drama about 1970s adult filmmakers, several years ago.

Pleasing the Christian Right

Many anti-obscenity activists are members of the Christian right, a group that generally admires Ashcroft and is a key constituency in President Bush's re-election campaign.

Zicari vows that he'll fight this to the end. But it's unlikely that his prosecution will be the last.

"The current prosecution of Extreme Associates should put the pornography industry on notice that the U.S. Department of Justice is vigorously enforcing the federal obscenity laws," said Buchanan.

Zicari and Romano were arraigned Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Both pleaded not guilty

Trent Talks To Rolling Stone About New NIN Record

from www.rollingstone.com

Trent Reznor recently spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the group's upcoming fourth album, "Bleed Through", which is currently being recorded in Los Angeles.

"It's more song-oriented [than 1999's 'The Fragile']," Reznor said of the album which he hopes to complete by the summer for a late 2004 release. "It's much more lean. It's going to be twelve good punches in the face — no fillers, no instrumentals, just straight to the point.

"It's a complicated concept record," Reznor added, "but reduced to just simple songs. It's not epic in its scope. It's minimal and a bit brutal."

NIN plan to hit the road in the next few months to preview the new material. "It's been forever since we played," Reznor said. "I'm re-energized right now, my life's in order, and I'm ready to combat the shitty music that's out right now."

New PRONG "Scorpio Rising" CD Released Today

The long awaited new album from PRONG was released today from Locomotive Records.

It is available everywhere so get your hands on this treat and hear how the big dogs play it. This is not music for wimps or that flavor of the week nu metal. This is the real deal from one of the masters who helped write the book.

Tommy says of the new album on the bands official site www.prongmusic.com

"Scorpio Rising" emerges from poison and corruption. This emergence I hope will be as special to old fans as well as new, as it has been for the exclusive club involved in its making."
TRACK LISTING

1 Detached

2 All Knowing Force

3 Embrace The Depth

4 Reactive Mind

5 Regal

6 Inner Truth

7 Avoid Promises

8 Siriusly Emerging

9 Assurances

10 Out Of This Realm

11 Letter To A "Friend"

12 Entrance Of The Eclipse

13 Red Martial Workings

14 Hidden Agendas

More "Batman" Casting & News

From Dark Horizons:

The Bat news just keeps on coming it seems from avenues all over with several new revelations over the weekend.

The most notables came from Batman on Film who indicate that Oscar nominee and "Last Samurai" actor Ken Watanabe has won the role of lead villain Ra's Al-Ghul in the Chris Nolan film. An announcement about his casting is expected to hit the trades shortly. The site also indicates that the role of Harvey Dent does appear in the script and will be played by an actor whose previously worked with Nolan before - both Guy Pearce and Al Pacino have previously been rumoured for the part.

There's also a pretty cool description of the Batsuit: "It is made of silicone and a material similar to the "Spider-Man" costume. It has a armored look to it around the chest area. There is no yellow oval--the Bat symbol is like it is in the current comics. It may be part of the chest armor. The suit is dark, but not totally black. From the description that I got, it's dark gray. The cape, cowl, boots, and gloves are black. I've heard two descriptions for the ears. One report said that they are shorter than they were in the previous films. Someone else told me that they are "Kane-style;" based on the orginal look of Batman back from 1939. I've also heard two reports on the eyes. I've heard it had lenses, and I've heard it didn't. I'm sure that costuming experienced with both. The utility belt will have pockets, but with a sleek look to it (nothing like what Adam West wore)".

The title is also tipped to be announced this week with "Batman Begins" looking certain to be the new title.

Finally its been confirmed that whilst shooting will take place at Shepparton Studios, the nearby giant Cardington Hangar facility once used for the construction of airships, is also being used. They're currently building set(s) in it with shooting inside of it aiming to begin in April.

ALL SYSTEMS HALT To Play EREGENZA FESTIVAL This Saturday

ALL SYSTEMS HALT To Play EREGENZA FESTIVAL This Saturday

The Note 1565 N. Milwaukee St. - Chicago Tickets are $10 advance or $15 at the door. Showtime is 8PM.

Come out and support our friends. This is a Sony Records Showcase.

The Line Up Includes:
WATERSTREET Rock
EMOVAL Melodic Metal
FIRST CLASS Melodic Punk Rock
8 PER SECOND Indie Rock
PSYCHIC LUV CHAIN Hard Rock
ABERRANT Hard Rock
ALL SYSTEMS HALT Gothic Metal
THE REGELS Rock
CHAPTER SEVEN Rock
KONG FUZI Instrumental

www.allsystemshalt.com

Official: GENE SIMMONS Is An Asshole'

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has set "Asshole" as the title of his highly anticipated solo album, due on April 20 through Simmons Records/Sanctuary Music Group. The title track, "Asshole", will be the first single released to rock radio on April 15. This release will mark the second solo album from Simmons since his self-titled platinum solo album in 1978.

Produced by Simmons, this forward-thinking, genre splitting effort, is an ambitious musical tour-de force through Simmons' psyche, revealing yet another side to the multi-talented artist. "Doing a solo record is important because I write so many different kinds of songs," Gene said. "I literally have hundreds of songs that are demoed up that aren't right for KISS, and some songs that weren't used on KISS records I still like, like 'Carnival Of Souls' and 'Sweet & Dirty'. In assembling the album, I went and reviewed over a hundred songs that I had lying around, and then it was by process of elimination I determined what would go on the record. But at the end of the day, above and beyond style, I had to like the songs."

Like his 1978 self-titled solo album, "Asshole" is a model of versatility, drawing together an eclectic swath of styles including hard rock, blues, thrash, neo-psychedelia, BEATLES-esque pop, rap, prog-rock and even power ballads. "My taste is eclectic and all over the place," Simmons said. "I love all kinds of artists, from PATSY CLINE to THE BEATLES, Motown to HOOBASTANK. As for the record's stylistic diversity, I'm a child of THE BEATLES. They created this sort of hybrid white version of American music. They could do it all — LITTLE RICHARD, country, pop, soul, psychedelia. They had no rules. That had a major effect on me and that influence comes through on the record."

Transcending genres and confounding expectations, Asshole" resounds with a surprise at every turn. Like the artist's self-titled solo effort, a number of musical luminaries join in on the fun. Bob Dylan and Gene co-wrote the album's "Waiting For The Morning Light". Frank Zappa and Gene share co-writing credit on "Black Tongue" and the Zappa Family, Dweezil, Ahmet, Moon, Gail and Frank Zappa himself sing and play guitar on the song. Other guests featured on the album include Dave Navarro, ex-KISS members Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer, new Simmons Records/Sanctuary Music Group signing BAG, as well as Gene's longtime live-in Shannon Tweed and their two children, Sophie and Nicholas.

Track listing is as follows (order subject to change):

01. Asshole
02. Carnival of Souls
03. If I Had A Gun
04. Weapons
05. Waiting For The Morning Light
06. Whatever Turns You On
07. Sweet & Dirty Love
08. Beautiful
09. Dog
10. Now That You're Gone
11. Black Tongue
12. I Dream A Thousand Dreams
13. Firestarter

RAMMSTEIN: New Single Due In March

According to Herzeleid.com, the German magazine Sonic Seducer is reporting that the new RAMMSTEIN single will be called "Rosenrot" (Rose Red). The single is reportedly due at the end of March.

In other news, the rumors of a possible musical collaboration between RAMMSTEIN and the Russian pop duo T.A.T.U. have once again surfaced. A T.A.T.U. fan site, Tatysite.net, issued the following update on Feb. 18:

"Director of group TATU, Sergey Bobza, is now negotiating with famous German group RAMMSTEIN to record a song. Germans have shown interest to TATU girls after having seen their performance at Eurovision. The musicians liked Lena and Yulia so much that it gave them the idea of a joint project.

" 'The representative of the German group will arrive this week to show us a song that they suggest to record in common,' [Bobza said]. 'It has not been played anywhere and I don't know what it sounds like. I only know that the composition is about Moscow.'

"Members of group RAMMSTEIN have imagined all the details, composed the song and then sent it to TATU's management, newspaper 'Life' writes. Negotiations should take place next week, but the trip of Lena Katina and Sergey Bobza to Singapore could change the schedule."

RAMMSTEIN keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz revealed in an online posting back in May that his then-favorite song would probably be called "Moskau" (Moscow). The fact that a cooperation between RAMMSTEIN and T.A.T.U. was never completely ruled out by RAMMSTEIN's management makes this latest rumor plausible.

CELTIC FROST Propose Double-CD Anthology

CELTIC FROST have posted the following message on their official web site:

"Sanctuary Records, London, have approached their German office in Berlin, the former Noise Records (and original label of CELTIC FROST in the 1980s), with the intention to compile a two-CD slipcase 'Anthology' covering CELTIC FROST's career.

Steve Hammonds of Sanctuary London also proposed that he would compile the respective track listing. Although it was apparently not intended by the London office to involve the band in such a significant project, the inquiry was forwarded to us by Sanctuary's Berlin office. We are extremely grateful for this."

On Thursday, February 19, 2004, the band responded as follows:

"We had a detailed discussion last night about the idea of releasing a CELTIC FROST anthology. While we are generally sceptical of such proposals (not least because of last year's unspeakably cheap, inappropriate and unauthorized 'Are You Morbid' compilation CD, released via 'Delta Deluxe Records') we also believe that an anthology can be made into an exciting, fresh, convincing and valid product, if it is done right.

"The aforementioned 'Are You Morbid' compilation CD received ridicule and utterly bad reviews. Very deservedly so. It was not only a product of which the band had not been informed about and the timing of which was completely ill-advised, but it conveyed the very obvious aura of a quick-shot, money-greedy, low-attention-to-detail release.

"Yes, a record company cannot realistically pay attention to every act's little peculiarities, but in the case of CELTIC FROST, such shoddiness simply won't fly. Not with the target audience, not with the media, and certainly not with the band. CELTIC FROST's reputation exists solely because we care for quality, originality and art. The entire 'brand of CELTIC FROST' is based on that. The very reason for this anthology (namely that the name CELTIC FROST is still ever-present in the scene and as an influence quoted by many of today's major bands) is rooted is this distinction. Had CELTIC FROST's own work been assembled as haphazardly as the aforementioned compilation, the band's name wouldn't amount to anything. If a record company ventures to release quick-shot CDs with our band's name on it, it will be more than evident to even the most simple-minded rock fan on this planet that the band has not been involved with such a CD and therefore doesn't back it, and that such a CD is designed with the mere intention of wringing money from wallets that have already paid for the very same music once before (albeit with a better packaging/presentation).

"We, at least, don't really feel like screwing our audience like that.

"We have decided to propose to you a full cooperation between the band and record company on this anthology. It will be the only way this proposed 2-CD set will look and feel authentic to the public and media, and a way to make it enticing and worthy enough for people to seriously think about spending their money on it. It will enable the record company to promote the CD under the banner of 'produced in cooperation with the band', since it will be a true CELTIC FROST release. And it is the only way we feel able to back such an anthology. We will not stand for a single further unauthorized CD with our name on it, and we will go out of our way to make this known in a most public manner and on a truly global scale if this is to happen again with this anthology.

"We therefore propose the following:

- The 2-CD anthology be divided into one CD of HELLHAMMER and one CD of CELTIC FROST.

- HELLHAMMER has so far not been reasonably represented on CD, and this presents a significant potential due to that band's underground reputation and influence on today's hard music. We are also very proud of HELLHAMMER's legacy and enthusiastic about the importance and intensity of the band's body of work.

- We will submit the full track listing for both CDs and can do so as early as next week.

- We are in possession of HELLHAMMER demo tapes (and the rights thereto), which have never officially been released on CD. While the quality of these recordings is extremely basic, it will be a major selling point of the anthology if we include a handful of demo tracks. The administrative details for this can surely be worked out between band and record company.

- The HELLHAMMER CD would of course also feature selected songs recorded by HELLHAMMER for Noise Records in 1984.

- The CELTIC FROST half of the anthology: we can put an exciting one together in our sleep.

- We will submit the entire artwork for the CD. One side of the booklet will feature CELTIC FROST cover art, the other HELLHAMMER cover art. We will submit some photographic material which has not yet been widely seen. There are also a number of HELLHAMMER photographs in our possession which have never been released. We will include a few lines of explanatory text for each song featured on the CDs (timeframe, recording circumstances, trivia etc.), plus some brief anthology liner notes and detailed credits.

- All CELTIC FROST songs will be taken from the Noise Records re-issue sessions of 1999 (the very detailed remastering performed at that time improved the sound quality significantly). The HELLHAMMER demo tracks would have to undergo only a basic mastering.

- The name of the anthology will be 'Innocence and Wrath - An Anthology' (after one of CELTIC FROST's classic songs of 1985).

- The gestation of this project would probably benefit if we would work as much as possible with the Berlin office, as we have enjoyed a very fruitful cooperation for the re-issue CDs.

"Please think about these ideas and let us know your thoughts. All subsequent details could be worked out in the coming days/weeks.

"Best regards, CELTIC FROST"

'All-Star' KISS Tribute Band Performs At Norwegian ALARM AWARDS

BLACK DIAMOND BRIGADE a one-off collaboration between Knut "Euroboy" Schreiner (TURBONEGRO, guitar), Billy Gould (FAITH NO MORE, bass), Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven (SATYRICON, guitar), Torgny Amdam (AMULET, vocals) and Tarjei Strøm (RALPH MYERZ, drums), performed at the Alarm Awards in Bergen, Norway on February 14.

According to the group's official web site, "the band opened the show with BLACK SABBATH's classic 'War Pigs'. After playing the song's intro for 45 seconds, they kicked off with [a cover of KISS'] 'Black Diamond' and totally kicked ass!"

As previously reported, BLACK DIAMOND BRIGADE's version of "Black Diamond" (Windows Media) is one of the tracks featured on the compilation CD, entitled "Black Diamond", due in Norway on February 23 through Universal Records. Also included on the album are original recordings by BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, DIAMOND HEAD and MOTÖRHEAD.

BLACK DIAMOND BRIGADE's song was released as a CD single (inclunding a video clip) and a limited-edition picture single (300 copies only) last month and managed to climb to position No. 6 on the official Norwegian charts before dropping down to No. 7 the following week.

Fake Ace To Be Joined By Fake Peter On KISS Japan Tour

According to a posting at KissFanShop.de, a Japanese radio station has reported that Eric Singer will be sitting behind the kit for KISS' upcoming tour of Japan, which is scheduled to take place in late May.

As previously reported, the following is a list of currently confirmed dates for KISS' Japanese tour:

May 27 – Tokyo, JPN @ Budokan
May 28 – Tokyo, JPN @ Budokan
May 29 – Tokyo, JPN @ Budokan
May 31 – Osaka, JPN @ Castle Hall

A possible concert in Nagoya may be announced soon. Tickets go on sale on March 6. Australian dates are expected to take place earlier in May, with a U.S. summer tour tentatively scheduled to kick off in June.

Did Sgt. Pepper Kill Rock 'n Roll?

From Amsterdam, Holland

For 60's obscurities from all over the world.
Check-out and tune-into the radio-stream at www.beyondthebeatgeneration.com

DIGITAL PLAYGROUND FEATURED IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES" COVER STORY

Digital Playground is featured prominently in The New York Times February 20th cover story, “Women Tailor Sex Industry To Their Eyes” by Mireya Navarro. The article acknowledges that women make up 40% of Digital Playground’s retail sales.

On page 14 the article continues stating, “Nations Sex Industry Is No Longer Men’s World as Female Entrepreneurs Move In,” and quotes Digital Playground President Samantha Lewis, “Women are fueling the growth.” With over 1,000 words dedicated to female owned sex businesses and the new classy products being created with women in mind, the article confirms Digital Playground’s established role in the growth of the sex industry and its’ worldwide markets. Joone, Digital Playground’s founder, is elated, “The New York Times is one of the most respected and trusted sources of news in the world and with a print circulation of over 1.6 million readers, this detailed article is positive and informative and I’m honored they chose Digital Playground to represent the adult film industries’ push to include a female demographic.”

After an informative interview with Digital Playground President, Samantha Lewis The New York Times reporter Mireya Navarro writes, “Experts say demand by women – both heterosexual and lesbian – is driving the growth of all sorts of sex-related ventures, from stores, catalogs and sex toy companies to adult websites, pornographic films and cable television shows.” The article attributes much of the new female audience to the anonymity of the Internet. Samantha Lewis says, “ This is the third time we have been featured in The New York Times, the second time in 6 months. They have always been very supportive and this article clearly negates the negative press that is being stirred up by John Kerry’s recent political campaign to abolish adult entertainment.” Even Rush Limbaugh was talking about Digital Playground’s Samantha Lewis and her take on the sex industries’ rising female demographic this morning on his radio show. Previous NY Times articles have touted Digital Playground’s contributions to advancing technology, specifically visual effects and Joone’s internationally acclaimed and awarded Virtual Sex line.

Adam & Eve, a leading distributor of Digital Playground products and one of the worlds’ largest mail order companies, was also mentioned in today’s NY Times article, as 30% of their business is women. Meredith Christopher, Merchandiser for Adam and Eve, states, “We have found that women would rather see videos with production values that rival those of mainstream films. That means exotic locations, attractive men AND women, plus an actual story as opposed to the wall-to-wall, 'in your face' videos that have long dominated our industry. This is why a product like Digital Playground's Beat the Devil sold so well for us. The videography, the screenplay, and costuming are just as important as the performers and the action. It doesn't hurt that Digital Playground’s Jesse Jane is a knockout and the fastest rising star in the business.”

Virtual Sex and Jesse Jane are trademarks of Digital Playground, Inc., and all rights are reserved worldwide.

OZZFEST 2004: Lineup, Tour Dates Announced!

The organizers of the annual Ozzfest announced the details of this year's festival at a press conference held at Avalon in Hollywood, California. The lineup is as follows:

Main Stage:

OZZY OSBOURNE
JUDAS PRIEST
SLAYER
DIMMU BORGIR
SUPERJOINT RITUAL
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

Second Stage:

SLIPKNOT
HATEBREED
LAMB OF GOD

Rotating:

ATREYU
BLEEDING THROUGH
LACUNA COIL
EVERY TIME I DIE
UNEARTH
GOD FORBID

Additional artists are expected to be announced later.

Twenty-six cities are scheduled for the trek, which starts on the East Coast, heads west to California, then takes the southern route back to wrap up in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 4. Tickets go on sale February 28.

Ozzfest tour dates, according to Ozzfest.com:

Jul. 10 - Hartford, CT @ ctnow.com Meadows Music
Jul. 12 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center
Jul. 14 - Wantagh, NY @ Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Th.
Jul. 16 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul. 18 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
Jul. 20 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
Jul. 22 - Nashville, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
Jul. 24 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
Jul. 27 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
Jul. 29 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Jul. 31 - Devore, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen
Aug. 03 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
Aug. 05 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Center
Aug. 07 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 10 - Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 12 - Maryland Heights, MO @ UMB Pavilion
Aug. 14 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Aug. 17 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Center
Aug. 19 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Aug. 21 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center
Aug. 24 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
Aug. 26 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
Aug. 28 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion @ Star Lake
Aug. 31 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion @ Walnut Creek
Sep. 02 - Tampa, FL @ Tampa Bay Amphitheatre
Sep. 04 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre

The Doors Return To Chicago and Minnapolis For Live Performances

The Doors of the 21st Century - led by founding members RAY MANZAREK and ROBBY KRIEGER plus singer IAN ASTBURY, known for his rich baritone voice in the Cult and is rounded out by Angelo Barbera on bass and Ty Dennis on drums are scheduled for 2 Midwest concert appearances.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for Auditorium Theatre in Chicago for Fri, 03/19/04
and Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis, MN in Sat, 03/20/04. Tickets for the Chicago show are $75.00 - $110.00 for ORCHESTRA, $75.00 for 1ST BALCONY, $45.00 - $75.00 for 2ND BALCONY and $35.00 - $45.00 for GALLERY SECTION. Box seating is $75.00.

National Press Takes Notice of Chicago's Sunwheel Psychedelic Release Party

Both www.stonerrockchick.com and www.fredala.com have followed the MK's scoop and are posting news of the Sunwheel Psychedelic Release Party on their websites giving the event national attention. Fly PR from Los Angeles who represent Sunwheel Psychedelic are doing a bang up job working the debut from Chicago native GW Miner.

The disc and subquesent presskit was mailed to hundreds of entertainment magazines and newspapers and the release has been well received. Miner played all of the instruments, wrote, mixed and produced all of the material.

Sunwheel Psychedelic are currently auditioning Chicago area bass players and drummers to take the show on the road. Interested parties should email gwminer@mindspring.com or contact MK through this website.

The event slated for March 18th at Chicago's LIARS CLUB is a 21 and over event from 9-11PM where free beer will be server to attendees. Sponsors include, MK Magazine, Oui Magazine, Chain Whipped, There will also be tons of free swag and of course.......free beer!!!!!!! Brought to you by Sunwheel Psychedelic and Fly PR (LA)

Liars Club is at 1665 W Fullerton Ave. Chicago 773-665-1110
www.sunwheelpsychedelic.com

Paris Sex Tape Goes Wide

by Joal Ryan eonline.com

Paris Hilton's sex-tape partner wants to make two things perfectly clear: All those grainy bootlegged clips of him being serviced by the hotel heiress? Not his doing.

But that brand-new, full-length, pay-per-view download with "stunning crisp images" of him being, well, you know...? His doing.

"I didn't think this tape was going to be this giant. This tape is [worth] way too much money. And it's a beautiful tape," Rick Salomon said Tuesday. "Everyone's going to enjoy it, I think."

Maybe not quite everyone.

Conceded Salomon: "Paris Hilton's not going to be too stoked, no."

The potential source of her consternation: TrustFundGirls.com, the new site established by Salomon and his brother Jim for the purpose of hosting--and selling--the most notorious celebrity sex tape since Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee went boating. (Warning: The site's front door leaves little doubt as to the adult nature of the content inside.)

For a price ($50 for five plays over a five-day period), fans of intimate theater can watch "over 37 minutes of high quality footage"--as well as those aforementioned "stunning crisp images"--of Hilton and ex-boyfriend Salomon engaging in the not so simple life in a May 2001 romp.

Salomon said he expects to make "anywhere from thirty to one hundred million dollars" from the sale of downloads. He couldn't comment on whether Hilton, now a Fox reality TV star who turned 23 Tuesday, signed off on the pay-per-view venture, or whether she was to receive a cut of the profits. Calls to Hilton's reps were not returned Tuesday. (Salomon's lawyer, Marty Singer, refuted as untrue a claim from the Hilton camp last month that his client had offered to drop a lawsuit against the family in exchange for their okaying a pay-per-view deal.)

TrustFundGirls.com had its nationwide coming-out party last Wednesday on Howard Stern's radio show. (Stern raved about the picture quality.) At the time, Salomon's name wasn't linked to the site. He said he wanted to test the response--"make sure it was giant."

Without citing specific numbers, Salomon said that response has indeed been giant and that he's ready to promote the site "full blast," including outing himself as the tape supplier.

"All's I know [is], I got the rights. It's my video. I shot it. I own it. My camera. My video," said Salomon, who, for the record, shot said footage with "some Sony" digital camcorder.

To hear Salomon (late of an annulled marriage to ex-Charmed star Shannen Doherty) describe it, his journey to Internet porn peddler is a last resort and, in some ways, a bid to clear his name.

"Everybody said I did this tape. Everybody thought I did it. I've just been getting ridiculed forever, and now I did it," Salomon said. "[But] I didn't do it in the beginning."

The "beginning" was last November, when a three-minute snippet of the video debuted on the Internet. Lawsuits followed: Hilton sued a Panamanian company for allegedly illegally obtaining the full-length footage. Salomon sued a Seattle company for planning to distribute the tape. And he sued Hilton, her parents and her now former publicist for slander. (His rift with the ex-flack was recently settled.)

"They tried to bury me," Salomon said, taking offense at any intimations that Hilton was exploited, underage or unaware she was being videotaped.

What also got to Salomon, he said, was talk that he was responsible for leaking the footage.

"I got a color version. If I released the tape, I would have released the color version," he said. "Why would I release the black-and-white version?"

Salomon said he was surprised when his original tape was, as he claims, duped and offered for sale by an ex-housemate--although it sounds as if Shannen Doherty was even more surprised. "Shannen was saying, 'They got the tape! They got the tape!' She's screaming, crying like a wounded animal. I'm, like, It's impossible. It's impossible," he said.

According to Salomon, the onetime guest, Don Thrasher, took the tape from its hiding place--a closet ceiling--copied it, then returned it. Thrasher was named in Salomon's lawsuit against Marvad Corp., the Seattle company that acquired the bootleg. Thrasher has since been sued by Marvad, as well. He could not be located for comment Tuesday.

Salomon said Thrasher used to be one of his best friends ("He was at one of my weddings"), but that he should have guessed something was up the night Pamela Anderson and celebrity photographer David LaChappelle stopped by his house for a visit.

"They were watching [the Paris Hilton video], and [Thrasher] was reciting the words," Salomon said. "I remember looking at him, going, How does this kid know my tape so well?"

The Anderson screening aside, Salomon said he didn't make it a habit of publicly exhibiting the tape ("I probably showed it a couple times in my whole life."). He said he made an exception for Anderson because of her own well-documented camcorder experience.

AVN (Adult Video News) Online Magazine editor Tom Hymes said he thinks the Hilton-Salomon tape has a shot at surpassing the Anderson-Lee opus for the title of most-watched porn tape ever.

"It has larger, or longer, legs than I ever expected," Hymes said.

Hymes said he watched the full-length Hilton tape two days ago.

"I think it's fascinating to watch, least of all for the sex. The most interesting part is the insight into the celebrity," Hymes said. "Their relationship is so uniquely infantile."

If that's not exactly a rave, Salomon, a self-described independent movie producer who currently is "just sort of cruising," feels good about his latest venture.

"There's been nothing but bad things happening to me [since the tape was released]," Salomon said. "[I figured] I might as well just make a ton of money and go surfing."

Burned by bad publicity, Salomon is not burned out on the concept of camcordering life's more private moments.

"I enjoy videotaping, actually," he said with a laugh. "It's sort of fun."

VOTE FOR MARAZENE For MECA Music Conference / Band Featured On The MATRIX "REVOLUTIONS" DVD

Marazene has entered the MECA music conference, please vote for them via the link below. We need your support!!

Just enter Email, band name, and the website www.Marazene.us and confirm it.

MK Magazine endorses the bands plight and has our support.

VOTE FOR MARAZENE!!!!
The band with the most votes will get:

- A guaranteed showcase slot at one of 20 Chicago-area venues during the conference (May 12-15, 2004)
- Complimentary Conference registrations for all band members
- A FREE 1/4 page ad in the MECA Conference booklet

Vote at

www.chicagogigs.com/meca

Next show:
Sunday March 14th with DOPE
@ Oasis One Sixty in Chicago Heights
Age restrictions: ALL AGES
Go to www.Marazene.us for ticket info and directions!!

NEWS:
3 tracks from MARAZENE's debut album will be featured on the MATRIX "REVOLUTIONS" DVD scheduled for release this spring as well as their debut album.
T-shirts and stickers are coming soon!

You can find free 3 song sampler disks at all Marazene shows. Debut full length album coming shortly.

Marilyn Manson Settles Suit

DETROIT - A civil lawsuit accusing shock rocker Marilyn Manson of sexual assault has been dismissed after the two sides reached a settlement, according to an attorney for the plaintiff.

Security guard Joshua Keasler (wuss) was working on the stage during a July 2001 performance in Detroit when Manson allegedly approached him, wrapped his legs around the guard's neck and gyrated against him while wearing only a leather thong and panty hose.

Keasler had sued Manson in U.S. District Court in Detroit for sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Both sides agreed not to release terms of the settlement, Keasler's attorney John D. Nickola said in a statement. The lawsuit was dismissed Jan. 28.

"I can now go on with my life and try to close this unhappy chapter," Keasler said.

A message seeking comment was left Tuesday evening for the attorney who represented Manson when he pleaded no contest in 2002 to disorderly conduct and assault and battery in the same incident.

Oakland County prosecutors originally charged Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, with sexual conduct and assault and battery. District Judge Gerald McNally threw out the sex charge.

In the criminal proceedings, Manson, 35, was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and costs.

Manson is known for his outrageous and controversial stage performances. He has broken wine bottles on his chest during performances and ripped a Bible. Band members take their first names from pop culture icons and their surnames from famous serial killers. Though their record sales have significantly decreased over the years and Manson's fan base and popularity has waned, the band continues to our and record material every few years and attract protests in many arts of the country.

Report: Nu Metal Bands Dramatic Sales Drop

The New York Daily News is reporting that three of the biggest nu metal acts of the last four years — LIMP BIZKIT, KORN and P.O.D. — have slumped in sales and shrunk in power, hobbled by a trend in rock radio to favor lighter, artier or more retro-oriented bands.

P.O.D. has suffered the most dramatic fall. The San Diego-based mega-metal band's last release, "Satellite", moved 2.7 million copies in 2002. Its previous work, 2000's "Fundamental Elements of Southtown", went platinum. But the foursome's "Payable on Death" CD has fallen to No. 186 after just 13 weeks, selling just over 400,000 copies, without the momentum to go much further.

LIMP BIZKIT's "Results May Vary", is lumbering in the low 80s on the charts. True, in that time the album has slowly sold 1 million copies, but the macho act's last work, "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water", moved that many copies in its first week. "Starfish" went on to record 6.5 million in sales, keeping pace with BIZKIT's 1999's "Significant Other", which topped off at a staggering 7.4 million.

Tickets sales for last year according to Pollstar are favoring acts like KISS and Aerosmith who were awarded the most creative tour of 2003.
Meanwhile, a host of "baby" bands are breathing down those older groups' necks. Most notable decidedly '70s-style acts, Jet, and The Darkness. The Darkness is the first band to break in 2004, selling steady in the upper quarter of Billboard's Top 200 Album chart.

All rock radio needs now is for a woman to enter the fray. And with Courtney Love's CD just out, this anti-testosterone trend may only increase.

HANOI ROCKS Singer Says U.S. Deal Was A 'Happy Accident'

In a recent interview with ElectricBasement.com, HANOI ROCKS frontman Michael Monroe explained how the band got their latest CD, "12 Shots on the Rocks", issued in the U.S. on Liquor and Poker Music.

"Well, this person who was working with us who did the deal, and who is not working with us anymore, [laughing] he actually just went ahead and did it when I told him not to sign anything," Michael said. "It was kind of like, hopefully, a happy accident, because they [Liquor and Poker] seem like they're cool and stuff. We were gonna shop the album and this guy just went ahead and did the deal. Just like that! Obviously, he's not working with us anymore, but he had signed some fax deal that they could have the record, and they're putting it out, so we're not gonna go to court for this. It's our first move back in the states and we have a dispute over the record [laughs]. That's gonna do wonders for our careers, with our reputation being that everyone thinks Andy [McCoy, guitar] is this half-dead junkie and probably think I'm dead or whatever. Screw that. But they seem like an up-and-coming, new, possibly a hot label in the future. At least now there is a buzz. It's great to have somebody that is really excited about the record than to be on a major label where you get lost. It's like, 'Sorry, we don't have time for you now, we've got J.Lo.' Until you sell a million records is when they start listening to you and by that time you don't want to have nothing to do with them anyways. But it seems like they're [Liquor and Poker] really into it and I think it could be good for both if everything goes well and everybody does the right thing. I'm hopeful, optimistic."

For complete interview click here:

www.electricbasement.com/interview_hanoirocks_febuary2004.htm

New Rules Follow Chicago Club Stampede

By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - In the year since 21 people died in an overcrowded nightclub, bouncers across the city keep a closer count of people passing the velvet rope, fire inspectors make more surprise checks and laws have tried to make a night on the town a safer prospect.

Even at small neighborhood bars like Estelle's Cafe and Lounge, where lines were unheard of before the deadly stampede at the E2 nightclub across town, doormen use hand-held clickers to keep track of patrons and find themselves telling people they'll have to wait — the bar's already at capacity.

"I would definitely say there was more freedom with the occupancy before E2," doorman Al Myers said Saturday. "Now, I have to have two clickers to keep track of who is coming in and who's leaving. Before, I could just wing it."

Crowding is exactly what the city has been trying to avoid since the E2 tragedy in the early hours of Feb. 17, 2003. A security guard trying to break up a fight released pepper spray, sparking a panic that sent hundreds of club-goers surging toward the already crowded stairwell leading to the street.

In addition to the people killed, 57 others were injured, some trampled as the crowd pushed toward the exit. Some 300 relatives and friends of the victims held a memorial outside the still-closed South Side club early Tuesday and read aloud the names of the dead on the one-year anniversary.

In the year since, fire inspectors have dropped in on the city's clubs for more than 2,000 unannounced inspections; new rules require all exits to be clearly marked; even 911 centers are better prepared to head off another disaster.

"We've seen less violations," said First Deputy Fire Commissioner Charles Burns Jr., who added that the inspections would continue indefinitely. "We see public building owners and managers getting the message."

Today, city procedures have changed to tighten control over nightclub crowding, and club-goers across the city say they are paying more attention to their surroundings.

"I think about (E2) every night," 22-year-old Lupe Lopez said Friday while unwinding at the Funky Buddha Lounge. "When I go to a new place, I look for exits."

At least 16 clubs have been temporarily shut down because of overcrowding — about one a month over the past year and four in January alone — though the clubs were allowed to reopen the following night.

"These people have to be given the benefit of the doubt" that inspectors may have arrived when it was unusually crowded, explained fire department spokeswoman Molly Sullivan.

After the city shut down the Funky Buddha Lounge for a night in May, the doormen started using clickers to more accurately track the number of people coming in and out, said the club's manager, Stephanie Christian.

"It's actually been easy to comply," she said.

The city also approved a package of reforms last fall, including requiring every club to visibly post information on safety exits and evacuation routes. The city also banned the indoor use of pepper spray.

A new computer system now allows police officers to call up information on the spot from the building department about court orders involving a specific address.

The city's 911 center also has been updated. There were about two dozen phone calls from E2 the night of the stampede, but many callers didn't know the name of the club or its address, so each 911 operator had to start over with the search. Now, as soon as five calls come in from one location, the information appears on a large screen in the center so everyone there is aware.

Building Commissioner Norma Reyes said her department had inspected 300 taverns, nightclubs and restaurants since the tragedy to ensure the buildings were up to code and had adequate exits. She said the department has 90 to 95 percent compliance in correcting the violations it finds.

"The bottom line is the changes have made Chicago's large gathering places safer than they've ever been," City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges said.

SUNWHEEL PSYCHEDELIC Poster Art Unveiled

Displayed here is one of three posters designed by artist Tom Tretter for the March 18th SUNWHEEL PSYCHEDELIC release party for the debut "Burning Doves".

The event is for those 21 and over with ID from 9-11 PM and there is NO COVER. Free beer will be served to attendees and sponsors are providing free cd's t-shirts and more.

Here is another image that is appearing on the posters created by Tretter.

see www.sunwheelpsychedelic.com

A review of the disc can be read here:

www.stonerrockchick.com/cdreviews/reviewDisplay.php?reviewID=447&type =retro

Report: 11,000 Clergy Abuse Claims Filed

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

NEW YORK - A draft of the upcoming national survey of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic priests has been viewed by CNN, which reported Monday that 4,450 clergy have been accused of molesting minors since 1950.

The draft survey said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. churchmen during that period, CNN reported.

Robert S. Bennett, a prominent Washington attorney and member of the National Review Board, the lay watchdog panel the bishops formed to oversee the study, refused comment on the statistics CNN reported.

He emphasized that the study is not complete and no definitive numbers have been tallied. Drafts are circulating only among board members and researchers for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, which is conducting the survey, he said.

No bishops have seen the John Jay study, said Bennett, who also is overseeing the board's investigation into the causes of the clergy abuse scandal. The results of both inquiries are to be released Feb. 27.

"Both the National Review Board report and the John Jay study are still in the process of being written," he said. "People should wait until then to draw their conclusion."

Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was traveling Monday and could not immediately be reached for comment, said his spokesman, David Spotanski.

A woman who answered a phone line at John Jay's research center would not give her name and said the college had no comment.

The bishops commissioned the unprecedented study as part of a series of reforms meant to restore trust in their leadership. The national survey won't break down statistics by individual diocese, but some bishops are releasing local figures to fulfill their pledge of transparency.

Reporters from The Associated Press have been tracking those numbers, and have found that 84 of 195 U.S. dioceses have reported claims so far — with 1,413 clergy accused of abuse since 1950.

That statistic is already much greater than previously estimated by victims' groups and the media. It is not known how many priests worked in those dioceses during that time, but the number is expected to be in the tens of thousands. The dioceses have reported 2,990 abuse claims so far.

The draft survey said 78 percent of those abused were between the ages of 11 and 17, and that more than half the accused priests had a single allegation filed against them, CNN reported.

It said the report blames the sex abuse crisis on the bishops' failure to grasp the gravity of the problem, their misguided willingness to forgive and their emphasis on avoiding scandal, among other things.

Victim advocates say the survey ultimately will underestimate the number of cases because the report is based on self-reporting by bishops.

TYPE O NEGATIVE Side-Project Forced To Search For New Band Name

The new side-project featuring Johnny Kelly and Kenny Hickey from TYPE O NEGATIVE along with Rob Traynor from DUST TO DUST, have been forced to resume their search for a band name after learning that SKYND ("skinned") was already taken.

Despite not having a name as of yet, the three are well into writing what is being described as "a solid catalogue of killer skull-smashing tracks."

As previously reported, DUST TO DUST drummer Steve Tobin has been working with TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele in a separate side-project, the details of which have yet to be revealed. Hickey has contributed guitar solos to several songs on DUST TO DUST's recently released sophomore effort, "Sick", which is available through Traynor's own Psyclone Records.

In other DUST TO DUST-related news, Rob Traynor has become the proud father of two "beautiful" babies, a boy and girl, Thomas and Taylor Traynor. Both were born on January 17 at 7:34 and 7:35 p.m., respectively.

Infamous Paris Hilton Video In It's Entirety At Trustfundgirls.com

From www.avn.com

LOS ANGELES - As Howard Stern announced last Thursday on his nationally syndicated radio show, there’s a new and improved version of the infamous amateur porn tape starring Rick Solomon and Paris Hilton in circulation, available only at Trustfundgirls.com. The 38-minute video ends with Hilton performing oral sex on Solomon in a full-color static profile shot of a five-minute long scene.

A man who identified himself as the owner of the rights to the video provided AVN.com with a password to unlock the Windows Media encryption that protects the video. “Mike” was the name assigned the man claiming to own the rights by Howard Stern’s staff – not one that the man chose to be identified by. He declined to give his real name or even to choose a pseudonym.

In fact, as with Stern, there was little information that the owner of the rights could provide. He refused to comment on the following: the amount he paid for the video; if he paid for the video; if royalties were involved; how he obtained the rights; if it were Solomon, Hilton, or both who offered him the video; if he had a background in adult; where he was from; or where he lives – though for the moment he is in Europe.

He did state that he did not obtain the video from Don Thrasher, Solomon’s friend who had sold the rights to the tape to the Marvad group, claiming that he was representing Solomon.

“There have been a lot of idiots in this deal and I’m not talking about the two people in the video,” he told AVN.com. “There aren’t any third parties. There is no cameraman, no producer, no writer - there’s only two people that I’m concerned with and I’m not commenting on what or even if either party had to do with this - I’m just saying that I have the rights.”

Anyone can download the 141Mb Windows Media file hosted at Trustfundgirls.com, but a password is required to unlock the video. Passwords are being sold for $50 and will allow the user to watch the video up to five times in five days – but only on the same computer that the video was first viewed upon. After the first license purchased, the buyer can obtain as many licenses as he wishes at the rate of $25 each, although each license is only good for five viewings.

The owner of the rights to the tape defended the pricing of the video.“I don’t really know if it’s worth it, that’s up to each individual I suppose – but it’s better than a lap dance and a couple of drinks in my opinion,” he said.

The video starts with a woman who certainly could be Hilton holding the camera, taping a POV tease of her own nude torso in the bathroom. It is difficult to ascertain that the woman in this section is indeed Hitlon.

Then the infrared footage, of which two minutes had already been released, begins About 20 minutes of the video was shot in in infrared - the footage is dark, green, and grainy. And while the images at Trustfundgirls.com are better than what was previously available, it’s still difficult to ascertain that it is indeed Paris Hilton having sex – especially since at one point when the woman in the infrared scene scrambles off the bed to answer her phone, Solomon sounds as if he says, "Fuck you Anita."

The owner ascertains that he is “1000 percent certain” that even that grainy footage is Paris Hilton. But the identity of the woman in the infrared portion of the video is a moot point – given the clarity of the picture for the blowjob scene that closes the video, where it is virtually undeniable that Hilton is giving Solomon a blowjob.

Solomon, giggling as he does throughout the video, is seated as Hilton gives him a blowjob in an approximately five-minute scene shot with one static angle. At one point Solomon tries to pull Hilton’s head further down his penis, but she rebuffs him. The scene ends with Hilton taking the money shot on her chest.

And just before the oral scene, Hilton is seen in a softcore sex scene with Solomon that is also in full color. Approximately 18 minutes of the video were shot in full color. The rest is the full version of the night vision clips previously released.

Even at $50 for only five plays, the Hilton tape could shape up into a fortune for a man who claims to own the rights. After just one appearance on the Howard Stern radio show, the rights holder claims that, “It appears that almost immediately we were doing major league volume in terms of data traffic volume. I’m not saying we had an ‘unprecedented’ amount of traffic – but we are transferring a serious amount of data.”

“If Bill Gates made a $100 billion selling software, I should be able to make a 100 million selling 'hardware,'” he quipped.

The rights owner isn't the only one who thinks the Hilton video is worth a lot of money; there's already Websites claiming that they have the video - but Solomon doubts anyone can offer you the same video at the same quality that Trustfundgirls.com does - he's not syndicating it to anyone.

The rights owner does not have any qualms about releasing the video despite Hilton’s public statements that she objected to it having been released.

“My opinion is that the cat’s out of the bag. Once in you are in a photo performing fellatio that everyone can see – well, it’s a little late to be worried about the video,” he said, referring to stills pulled from the two-minute clips that were put in circulation by the Marvad Corp. The company was planning to sell the video at SexBrats.com.

Hilton filed a lawsuit for $30 million against Panama-based Kahatani Ltd. earlier this week for “illegally distributing” the video. Kahatani Ltd. is presumably the company through which Solomon runs his Internet gambling business. The man who claims to own the rights states that he is in no way involved in that lawsuit.

For now, all that is really known is that for $50 you can watch Paris Hilton, the woman who is famous for being famous, give a decent, if uninspired, blowjob to Rick Solomon. Maybe one day the full story of how Trustfundgirls.com obtained this video will come to light.

“In the fullness of time it is hard to ultimately keep a secret – but I’m not going to tell anyone,” the mysterious rights owner said. “But secrets are only ever kept when only one person knows them.”

U.S. Plans to Escalate Porn Fight

By Richard B. Schmitt, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has quietly installed an outspoken anti-pornography advocate in a senior position in its criminal division, as part of an effort to jump-start obscenity prosecutions.

The Bush administration's election-year move follows three years of heat from the Christian right, which believes that Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, a longtime friend and ally, has fallen down on the job when it comes to fighting smut.

Now, the appointment of a tough new cop on the porn beat and other recent moves by the department to bolster obscenity cases are galvanizing conservatives, while leaving representatives of the adult-entertainment industry to wonder whether they have become a political football.

Officials said the appointment of Bruce A. Taylor, who worked in the department during the heyday of its anti-porn efforts in the late 1980s and early '90s, shows that Justice is serious about cracking down on porn after what critics called lax enforcement by the Clinton administration.

In his resume, the 53-year-old Taylor, who got his start as a Cleveland city attorney in the 1970s, lists his involvement in more than 600 obscenity cases as a prosecutor or a legal advisor.

The defendants in those cases constitute a who's-who of adult-entertainment industry tycoons, including Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt and Reuben Sturman, a onetime comic-book salesman turned porn magnate.

In a survey two years ago, Adult Video News, a trade publication based in Chatsworth, identified Taylor as one of the top "enemies" of the industry. The story was titled: "These Are the Folks Who Want to Put You Out of Business."

Sunwheel Psychedelic Chicago Release Event "FREE BEER!"

FLY PR ( Los Angeles) and MK Magazine (Chicago) present the official
Sunwheel Psychedelic (www.sunwheelpsychedelic.com) listening party Thursday
March 18th 9PM - ? at Liars Club 1665 W Fullerton Ave. Chicago. This event
to praise the bands first release "Burning Doves" is a 21 and over event and
attendees will be treated to all the FREE BEER you can drink. There will be
lots of swag/giveaways as well as a meet and greet with GW Miner the bands
founder.

See www.sunwheelpsychedelic.com

The CD is getting some raves online and in print.

Read a review of the album here:
www.stonerrockchick.com/cdreviews/reviewDisplay.php?reviewID=447&type=retro

Poster art for the event was done by Tom Tretter.

For more info call the Liars Club 773-665-1110

Former WHITE ZOMBIE Bassist Explores Her Artistic Side

Former WHITE ZOMBIE and current ROCK CITY MORGUE bassist Sean Yseult recently had her first art opening at the Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, on Gallery Row of New Orleans, Julia Street. Yseult and fellow post-modern artist Louis St. Lewis' joint exhibit "Strangers in Paradox" received rave reviews, and one of Sean's pieces will be on display at the Rawk Show in Austin, Texas during South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW).

Before she picked up her first bass guitar, Yseult studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, then at Parson's School of Design in New York, where she specialized in photography and graphic arts.

The Times-Picayune art critic Doug MacCash recently had the following to say about Sean's contributions to the "Strangers in Paradox" exhibit: "Yseult recreates deliberately imperfect antique photos (with flaring light leaks, gaps in the negatives, etc.) that she surrounds with thick, gilded frames. Her subjects are diaphanously dressed young women, reclining in the limbs of live oaks, floating Ophelia-like in pools of water and striking other picturesque poses. Her faux-antique photos have the dreamy, gently erotic tone of vintage French champagne ads. But Yseult pushes her period photos abruptly into the 21st Century by back-lighting them like drive-through restaurant signs."

In other news, ROCK CITY MORGUE's new record is currently in production and should be available by the end of March or early April. The new four-song EP, titled "These are Dark Days", will be released on CD and 10" vinyl through Antidote Records. The track listing includes "Disconnected", "Trouble", "Don't Leave Me Haunted", and "People Are Wrong".

DAWN OF THE DEAD REMAKE STILLS AND TRAILER AVAILABLE

Set for a March 19th release the remake of the classic DAWN OF THE DEAD will be in theatres. The original film which was perfect in everyway is just the latest bastardation of great horror films which just proves our point that there are no creative forces at work in Hollywood or at least being retained by the big studios.

I've yet to see one attempted remake of the horror standards that come close to capturing the feel of the original. With the exception of Savini's treatment of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, which was already in the family and had on his and Romero's names attached to it.

Next up is the remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES. Will it ever end?

The following is from www.darkhorizons.com/2004/dawnofthedead.php

Plot: An unexplained plague has decimated the world's population and yet, the dead aren't dying. They've become zombies, stalking endlessly in a constant quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living. A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as a last bastion of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource (both within and without) in their against-all-odds fight to remain alive and human.
Cast: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Barry, Lindy Booth, Ty Burrell, Jayne Eastwood, Michael Kelly, Jake Weber, Kevin Zegers

Director: Zack Snyder
Producers: Marc Abraham, Michael Messina,
Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Richard Rubenstein,
Armyan Bernstein, Dennis Jones
Writers: James Gunn, George Romero

SOiL Record Release Show

Record Release Show
94.7 The Zone presents THE SOiL CD RELEASE PARTY at the Metro in Chicago, IL. Tickets went on sale last Saturday-February 14th!

march 22nd @ metro SOiL
WWW.SOILMUSIC.COM

The GREAT ViXXXen Hunt