Yes guitarist says don't feel too bad for vocalist replaced by Montreal singer
TORONTO - Yes guitarist Steve Howe says fans shouldn't feel too bad for ousted singer Jon Anderson, and is warning audiences against "musical terrorism" during the band's 40th anniversary tour with new Canadian vocalist Benoit David.
Howe said he hopes fans won't give David a hard time in Anderson's absence, and cautioned them against heckling.
He called hecklers "idiots" and said it makes no sense to show up to a concert if you can't enjoy it.
"They're basically disruptive people who pay their money and then go spoil it for everybody, it's almost like musical terrorism," Howe said in a telephone interview from Montreal.
The U.K. band's plans for a world tour were halted in June when Anderson was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure and was told he couldn't work for at least half a year without further endangering his health. Dates in 25 cities were cancelled.
But a month ago the band announced that David - who had been singing in a Montreal-based Yes tribute band - would be the new lead vocalist and that the tour was back on track.
Anderson subsequently posted a statement on his website saying that he was "disappointed and disrespected" and hadn't even had a personal conversation with his bandmates about being replaced. The statement has since been taken down.
Howe said the band was sympathetic to Anderson's condition but decided their fans couldn't wait any longer, particularly since tour plans had previously been delayed for years due to the singer's solo pursuits.
"Jon put an announcement out and said, 'Oh, it's not really Yes, they've not been kind to me,' and that's nonsense," Howe said, adding that the band still hopes that Anderson can hit the road again in 2009 for the European leg of the tour.
"We've been kind to him, we've been considerate, we've not let him down, but he started up a movement to boycott the tour. But it's not working, we're getting great ticket sales, people want to come and see us."
Howe said "it's going to be a really big yawn if there are (hecklers), and we will attempt to silence them, because it's not fair."
"You're not allowed to go to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and shout out, 'Get the other violinist, we don't like this violinist,"' Howe said. "You pay your money and you go and see your show - you don't go to disrupt the show."
"You've got a lot of happy people and then you've got some crass person who thinks he's got the God-given right to spoil it for everybody else."
Yes is scheduled to launch its tour at Hamilton Place Theatre on Nov. 4 and play Toronto's Massey Hall the following night. Cancelled shows in Quebec City and Vancouver have not yet been rescheduled.
Is Hugh Hefner going bankrupt?
Hugh Hefner has fuelled reports he's facing bankruptcy after opening the doors of his infamous Playboy Mansion to the public - for a fee.
Last month, Hefner was reportedly advised to dismiss employees in his Los Angeles and New York offices to avoid financial ruin.
Hefner's spokesperson Elizabeth Austin would neither confirm nor deny the financial problems at the time, stating: "It is our policy not to comment on corporate matters such as employee issues."
The Playboy boss has since extended an invitation to the exclusive parties held at the mansion, charging $5,000 to $25,000 a ticket, depending on the celebrities in attendance.
Hefner, whose Playboy Enterprises owns the mansion, pays a reported $700,000 annually in rent for the pad.
A company spokesperson denies Hefner's recent split from girlfriends Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson are related to his finances, adding the girls "are not even on the payroll. So, they would be the last to go."
BNL star's day in court delayed
TORONTO - The next U.S. court appearance for Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page on drug possession charges has been delayed.
Page was due to appear in court in Fayetteville, N.Y., on Oct. 14 but his Buffalo-based lawyer says the case will resume on Oct. 28. Mark Mahoney says there's an dialogue ongoing with the district attorney's office on how the case could be resolved.
He says it's taking some time because there are three defendants and three lawyers involved.
Page was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11.
Court documents allege Page admitted to snorting cocaine in his girlfriend's upstate New York apartment last month.
Page was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison.
Completely Unnecessary Bull Durham Sequel Coming
When Kevin Costner says he thinks a movie doesn't need to be made, you have to listen to the guy. I mean, he thought Waterworld and The Postman were necessary works of art--- can't we trust him when even he's willing to show restraint? But apparently Costner's contention that Bull Durham doesn't need a sequel is no match for some producers, who are hard at work getting Bull Durham 2 ready to shoot next summer.
Moviehole picked up on a story in the The Durham Herald-Sun, the hometown paper of a city clearly glad to have movie crews returning. Because the script is still in the works, apparently none of the original cast have been contacted, including Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.
I don't think I need to tell you my exact feelings on a sequel to a 20-year-old movie that seems to have done OK standing on its own over the decades. Good for the people of Durham for getting some film industry money, but do the rest of us really have to be faced with yet another unnecessary sequel?
Guns N' Roses to release new album next month
NEW YORK (Billboard) - More than a decade after its conception, Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" will finally see the light of day before year's end, sources close to the situation told Billboard.
The set will be a Best Buy exclusive and will be available Sunday, November 23, rather than the usual Tuesday.
In the run-up to release date, album track "Shackler's Revenge" will debut in the video game "Rock Band 2," while a portion of "If the World" is playing over the end credits in the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe film "Body of Lies."
In addition, GNR's seminal 1987 full-length debut, "Appetite for Destruction," will be reissued on vinyl on October 28 via Interscope.
The band's last new studio albums were the simultaneously released "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" in September 1991. A covers set, "The Spaghetti Incident?," followed in 1993, and featured some of the last GNR recordings from original guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.
This spring, soft drink manufacturer Dr Pepper offered to send a free can of the beverage to "everyone in America" (excluding ex-GNR members Slash and Buckethead) if "Chinese Democracy" were to arrive anytime during the calendar year 2008. A Dr Pepper spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Could Megan Fox Be Any More Perfect?
Los Angeles (E! Online) - Sure, Megan Fox may not be obtainable. We get that. It's understood. That fantasy went buh-bye a long time ago.
Nevertheless, the girl continues to make it harder and harder to stop worshipping the bed she rolls around on.
It seems that behind all those sexy photo spreads and come-hither stares, there lies, quite simply, a nerd.
"Megan's a bit of a geek," Fox's How to Lose Friends & Alienate People costar, Simon Pegg, tells OK! magazine. "She was a fan of [my zombie movie] Shaun of the Dead."
He also points out that while working with the 22-year-old starlet, she often shared her appreciation for comic books.
Here's hoping a love for football, buffalo wings and Guitar Hero are not too far behind.