Subj : Rock News To : All From : Piper Christian Vierik Date : Thu May 29 2003 06:49 pm OZZY ON THE OUTS Ozzy Osbourne is leaving Sony Music after 23 years because its Epic label dropped his daughter Kelly after her debut album, "Shut Up," sold poorly, reports The New York Post. "Sharon Osbourne (Ozzy's wife and manager) and Sony mutual- ly agreed that Kelly Osbourne would depart the label after former CEO Tommy Mottola resigned this past January," read the official Osbourne statement. "We've had 23 great years together. We've shared many great successes, but sometimes you have to search out fresh blood to get fresh ideas, which is a philosophy that every record company, especial- ly Sony, understands." The Post quoted insiders who main- tain Epic dropped Kelly last month "with no forewarning." Kelly reportedly had nearly completed a second album. TRAIN ON TIME Taking a break from rehearsals for their upcoming summer tour, Train played an unannounced show at the club Sweet- water in Mill Valley, Calif., last week. The all-acoustic set previewed songs from the band's upcoming (June 3) Columbia Records release "My Private Nation," including "All American Girl," "Get To Me" and the album's first single, "Calling All Angels." Train also played back cata- log hits such as "Drops of Jupiter" and "Meet Virginia," plus a couple of covers -- The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" and Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On." Though the show was unannounced, word traveled fast and within minutes of Train's hour-long set, Sweetwater was at full capacity, with many fans peering into the club's windows from the sidewalk. "Calling All Angels" is currently No. 1 on the Billboard AAA Monitor, and top 10 on the Billboard Top 40 Adult and Modern Adult charts. The video for "Calling All Angels" debuted in the top 10 of VH1's weekly count- down after less than a full week in rotation. On June 3 Train will perform a free outdoor concert at Tower Records on 4th Street in Manhattan. The band will kick off a major headlining U.S. tour with a hometown show at San Francisco's Warfield Theater June 27. NO SKIDDING Skid Row bass guitarist Rachel Bolan has taken up car rac- ing. Bolan, a longtime fan of motor sports, recently start- ed competing in races in the Legends Series, which is sanc- tioned by a Charlotte, N.C., based organization called 600 Racing. Several speedways throughout the South hold Legends Series races on weekends. "I'd been in a couple of celebrity races the past few years and I loved it," he said. "I've been a racing fan since I was a kid. The Legends Series is very competitive. It's real racing. The cars can reach speeds of 100-plus mph. I officially started racing in March." The Legends Series cars are uniquely designed 5/8-scale replicas of classic NASCAR vehicles. The semipro division, which Bolan participates in, is the novice class and it includes drivers who are new to the sport as well as experienced driv- ers who race when their schedule permits. 600 Racing built Bolan a 1937 Chevrolet sedan replica for him to race. It's powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engine. Legends Series cars are designed to require very little maintenance, and Bolan's car only needs a two-man crew. Most Legends Series cars cost between just $10,000 and $15,000. "You can even haul one of these cars in the bed of a pickup truck," Bolan said. "You just forget about everything else when you're in that car focusing on the race. It's an amazing feeling." UNDERGROUND DEVILLE Singer/Songwriter Willy DeVille performed two shows of his classic and new material at the Village Underground in New York last Friday backed by Seth Farber (piano, vocals) and David Keyes (bass, vocals). DeVille, the founder, leader and principal songwriter of Mink DeVille, reprised some of the soulful Cajun R&B material that came out of the mid-70s New York punk scene. DeVille first broke in the United Kingdom with the hit "Spanish Stroll" in 1977 and contin- ued to release albums through the mid-80s, when Willy be- gan to perform and record under his own name. His solo single "Storybook Love" was nominated for an Oscar after it appeared in the film "The Princess Bride." DeVille also played most of the material from his latest album, "Live In Berlin." Piper Christian KC8TEZ --- SBBSecho 2.00-Win32 * Origin: Scanner Enthusiasts BBS - scannerbbs.dyndns.org (1:229/658) .