Here & There …

You know how the record labels are always talking about how important it is for their artists to get paid? Well, guess who’s suing who – Associated Press

Speaking of lawsuits, looks as if Prince and the Village People are going to sue torrent site Pirate Bay – AFP

Boston’s Tom Scholz asks Republican presidential nominee candidate Mike Huckabee to drop “More Than A Feeling” from his appearances – Los Angeles Times / Top Of The Ticket (registration may be required)

Q&A with Roger Daltrey – Reuters

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason performs in grade school’s new music room – Islington Tribune

The Spice Girls “by the numbers” – The Chicago Tribune

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Eddie Vedder must be feelin’ a tad restless. Pearl Jam’s frontman is doing a short run of dates on the west coast come April in Vancouver, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, L.A. and San Diego.

Reggae man Gregory Isaacs has a very extensive March run. Touring coast-to-coast catch him in cities like Seattle, Boulder, Chicago, Cincinnati, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.It’s cowbell time once again as Blue Oyster Cult updates with some new show listings. New shows include 6/22/08 in Newton, IA, 7/13/08 in Patchogue, NY, and 8/2/08 in Jefferson City, MO.

It’s the Saw Doctors across the pond as the folk rock band from Ireland plays the Emerald Isle in April as well as shows in Brussels, Buxton, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Berlin and Bonn.

And we have a big bunch of Mike Doughty dates for March and April! Stops include Asheville, Nashville, and Atlanta in March and Philadelphia, New York and New Haven in April.

During the past couple of hours we also updated the schedules for Peter Mulvey, Midnite, Ryan Montbleau, Saxon, The Buckinghams, Tony Furtado, Iron & Wine, Hamell On Trial, Ellis Paul, Enter the Haggis, Connie Kaldor, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Chris Duarte Group and Alan Parsons Live Project.

And we’re at the halfway mark, the 50 yard line, the … the …., oh, heck, insert your own sports metaphor here. What we’re trying to say is our day is half over and we have more fresh tour data coming up shortly. Check out the latest concert information in Your Daily Update, scheduled for around 3 pm (PST), from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

In 1965, singer Nat King Cole, whose warm ballad style was popular for a quarter of a century, died of lung cancer in Santa Monica, California. He was 47. Cole first gained fame in the early 1940’s as a jazz pianist. He formed the King Cole Trio, featuring Oscar Moore on guitar – a group which lasted until 1951, when Cole went out on his own.

In 1969, hairdresser Vickie Jones was arrested in Fort Myers, Florida for giving a phoney Aretha Franklin concert. Jones apparently was sufficiently realistic – it was reported that no one asked for a refund.

In 1977, Sid Vicious, real name John Ritchie, replaced Glen Matlock as bass guitarist in the Sex Pistols.

In 1992, Michael Jackson was crowned an African king in a ceremony in the Ivory Coast village of Krinjabo. But Jackson managed to insult his hosts by removing his royal robe immediately after the ceremony. A local newspaper said Jackson’s “communication talents are lacking.” It was only one of a series of gaffes and other troubles that caused Jackson to abandon his African trip after a week. He was in Africa to shoot scenes for his “Return to Africa” video.

In 1997, Victor Willis, the original lead singer of the Village People, was jailed in Reno, Nevada on robbery and drug charges. A woman claimed Willis had stolen her money and jewelry. The charges were dropped three weeks later after police couldn’t find his accuser. By the way, Willis played the cop in the six-member disco group.