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News Breakers: Paul, Scarlett, Jacko, Menudo, Two Gallants
McCartney registers name as trademark; Johansson recording album; Billy Bush meets Jackson in Dublin; Latin boy band to be reincarnated; Two Gallants show turns into melee.
Sir Paul looks to trademark name
McCartney and estranged wife Heather Mills.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is looking to cash in on his name by registering it as a trademark for use on an abundance of items, including vegetarian food, meat, fish, poultry, fancy dresses, overalls, waistcoats, hosiery, dressing gowns, bath robes, sports clothing, and swimwear. McCartney's company, MPL Communications Ltd., filed the application. MPL Communications was set up by McCartney to handle his recordings after the breakup of the Beatles. Anyone who objects now has three months to lodge objections with the Trademarks Registry. Then a trademark judge will decide whether the marks meet the legal criteria to be registered. Companies and individuals apply to register names and logos as trademarks in order to identify the commercial source or origin of goods and services and set their business and its products or services apart from those of others.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson recording album
Starlet Scarlett Johansson, the star of such films as Lost in Translation and Match Point, is making moves in the music business, according to Fox News. The 21-year-old actress is currently recording an album entitled Scarlet Sings Tom Waits, with a possible release next spring for Rhino Records' Atco label, the network reported today. Not surprisingly, the album will feature covers of Tom Waits songs.
Johansson flexed her vocal chops on a cover of George Gershwin's "Summertime" for the compilation, Unexpected Dreams: Songs from the Stars, which was released in April.
Jackson, Will.i.am. working in Ireland
Michael Jackson
When he's not tossing heat-seeking inquiries at stars on the red carpet at the entertainment industry's plethora of awards shows, Access Hollywood's Billy Bush writes a blog for the show's Web site. In the latest edition, Bush, a cousin of President George W. Bush, chronicles his recent visit with Michael Jackson and Black Eyed Pea Will.i.am in Ireland, where Jackson has been living in recent months. Bush said Jackson declined to be interviewed extensively on camera, but was instead filmed listening to beats with Will at the studio where the pair are currently recording.
"Michael Jackson was nervous and antsy," Bush wrote. "He was truly torn. He wanted to stay and keep jamming and have some fun, but he also wanted to leave before, from his perspective, he got crucified by another TV interview." Bush described Jackson as looking fit and healthy, saying, "When the music was rolling and he didn't have me asking him questions, one could see sparks of life and energy. He hummed a little and at one point got up and walked to the back of the room where he could move a little to the music...he was almost dancing."
Menudo set for multimedia update
Menudo
Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band that became a phenomenon in the 1980s and spawned "La Vida Loca" of Ricky Martin, is being reincarnated for the digital age. Epic Records said today that it will sign a bilingual version of the Latin-pop phenomenon. Auditions have not yet begun, but the group's first album already is slated for release in late 2007. Epic has taken an equity stake in the Menudo brand, which investment group Menudo Entertainment acquired in 2003. MTV and producer Ben Silverman's company Reveille will coproduce 10 episodes of a reality show documenting the band's development. The show will debut on MTV in the fall of 2007.
Unlike the bubble-gum pop of Menudos past, the new five-person group will have a Latin-infused R&B sound. Johnny Wright, who has managed acts from New Kids on the Block to 'N Sync and Justin Timberlake, will manage the new Menudo. Formal auditions for boys ages 15 to 19 will begin at San Juan's Coliseo de Puerto Rico Saturday and will continue in San Diego, Orlando, Chicago, and other locations in coming months. MTV Tr3s, the new channel aimed at US Latinos, will give audition news and updates, as well as air a Road to Menudo special before the series debuts on MTV.
Two Gallants show turns into melee
An officer took Two Gallants guitarist Adam Stephens to the ground.
One wouldn't normally associate the lo-fi indie folk rock of Two Gallants with a Taser-laden melee, but that's apparently what went down in Houston last Friday night. The San Francisco duo was performing a set at Walter's nightclub when a police officer responded to a noise complaint. What happened after that depends on who's talking. Houston Police Sgt. Nate McDuell told the Houston Chronicle that Officer G.M. Rodriguez approached management about the noise complaint, filed by a neighbor, and the volume was turned down, but it went back up as the officer was leaving.
Rodriguez then went on stage and approached Two Gallants guitarist Adam Stephens, who police said used a sexual obscenity and shoved the officer with his shoulder. Stephens denied this to the Chronicle, and several people in the audience have taken to the Internet with written and video accounts of the incident that show Rodriguez taking Stephens to the floor of the stage, at which point mayhem ensued. In the moments that followed, a 14-year-old got Tasered, Stephens was Tasered twice, some of the band's musical equipment was damaged, and at least six patrol cars arrived at the scene. Rodriguez reportedly suffered bruises and cuts on his arms and at least four people were arrested, including drummer Tyson Vogel.
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