The city will pay $1.25 million to a man who spent 14 years behind bars before being cleared in the notorious murder of a bouncer at the former Palladium nightclub.

A Manhattan federal judge yesterday signed off on the deal with David Lemus, who had filed a $50 million suit against the cops and prosecutors who locked him up for the 1990 shooting.

Lemus, 40, and another man, Olmedo Hidalgo, were found guilty in 1992, but their convictions were overturned in 2005 after evidence surfaced tying two other men to the killing of Marcus Peterson outside the East 14th Street hot spot.

All charges were dropped against Hidalgo, who was deported to the Dominican Republic. Lemus, who now lives in Florida, was acquitted after a 2007 retrial.

"No amount of money can fairly compensate Mr. Lemus for spending his youth being shuffled from prison to prison," said his lawyer," Steven Schiesel. [NY Post]

DOWNLOAD: Deer Tick - Baltimore Blues No.1 (live) (MP3)

King Khan & BBQ @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Tim Griffin)

The rumor started spreading as early as 7 p.m. that Arish "King" Khan and Mark Sultan weren't going to show up for their nearly sold-out show Thursday night at Off Broadway in St. Louis.

The duo that comprises the King Khan & BBQ Show missed its early evening soundcheck and were M.I.A. and incommunicado throughout the night. Even as the eager crowd filed into the packed venue and witnessed a pair of impressive (though clearly stalling) opening acts, the chatter was that the headliners hadn't been heard from since they left Nashville--their previous tour date-- around 11 a.m. Thursday morning.

At approximately 11 p.m., local concert promoter Joey O'Farrell grabbed the mic and sheepishly delivered the news: The King Khan and BBQ would not be performing. No, he didn't know where they were or what had happened. Yes, Off Broadway was offering a full refund to anyone who wanted it.

Then Deer Tick singer John McCauley took the stage and delivered an impromptu set of classic rock and roll covers...

According to O'Farrell and Off Broadway owner Steve Pohlman, Khan and Sultan were arrested somewhere between Nashville and St. Louis. The charge is rumored to be drug possession, but neither party could offer any specifics. [St Louis Riverfront Times]

John McCauley was there because his fiance is a member of Those Darlins who are on tour with KK & BBQ at the moment. Those Darlins were one of the above-referenced opening acts.

Those Darlins & BBQ & King Khan running (from the law)

King Khan & BBQ were last in NYC for two end-of-October shows. From there they hit the road and played shows along the way to Austin where they were scheduled to play Fun Fun Fun Fest on Sunday. That show didn't go as planned either. The rain that plagued the 2nd day of the outdoor festival caused the stage they were supposed to play on to get super wet (The Strange Boys who played before them mentioned the possibility of getting electrocuted while they were playing). King Khan didn't want to play on the wet stage, so the festival staff quickly dried it, but not in enough time. Instead the duo played a free show that night at the venue Red 7. I went to that, partly because they played right before forgetters (who were awesome) at the same venue (though in a different room). King Khan and BBQ was fun though I could barely hear them because I was deaf from just having seen Danzig.

@ Red 7 on 11/8: seconds earlier KK asked someone to stick their fist in this girl....

No word on whether King Khan & BBQ are actually in jail or whether they'll be at their show in Lawrence, KS tonight (11/13). Hopefully they're OK. Stay tuned. All dates below.

UPDATE (12:30pm): King Khan & BBQ definitely were in jail. They have been released, but their tour manager is still behind bars. The KS show is cancelled.

UPDATE (1:00pm): the KS show isn't completely cancelled! King Khan & BBQ just won't be there. Jessi Darlin says "we're still planning on playin' the craziest fuckin' show in hopes of lifting any KKBBQ fans spirits and keepin' this badass tour on the move. We are so proud to be playing with this band and just want to keep the tour rollin'."

UPDATE (7:00pm): Tour manager Kristin Klein has been released from jail and charged with driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance, possibly mushrooms.

In related news, Deer Tick is releasing an iTunes Exclusive, four-song EP called "More Fuel For The Fire" on December 1st. The above free MP3 (which was also just released by the band) is not on it. The track list, cover art, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ in jail - Deer Tick replaced them @ Those Darlins show in St Louis last night ++ releasing EP, MP3"

"A group of DJs allegedly used stolen credit cards to buy their own songs on iTunes and Amazon, boosting their chart ratings and netting them nearly £200,000 in royalties.

The nine musicians are believed to have provided 19 songs, described by police as of 'indeterminate quality', to a distribution company which uploaded them to the music websites.

They then used 1,500 stolen or cloned US and British credit cards to buy almost £500,000-worth of the songs.

As the tunes soared up the charts, more and more people bought them and the DJs even came to the attention of big record producers - until they were arrested yesterday. [Metro.co.uk]

I've wondered about this before - not buying your own music with stolen credit cards, but buying your own music at all to boost yourself into the charts. In this day and age when you only need to sell 30,000 records to be in the Billboard Top 10, it seems reasonable to believe that others have at least considered it.

DOWNLOAD: Shunda K - Free Alpha (MP3)

"Yo Majesty" @ Highline Ballroom - Jan 27, 2009 (by Village Slum)

Shunda K, aka one half of Yo Majesty, has been busy lately. To quote an email I was CC'd on before the current "Yo Majesty" tour...

Im looking to set up Shunda K afterpartys' after each YM show date as an attempt to promote my solo career and also give other acts an opportunity to promote themselves as I dont mind sharing...da stage dat is. All of the dates thus far are below, let me know where you can help. The venues Im looking for should be able to hold at leat 150-200 persons'

The tour is now underway and "Yo Majesty" played Highline Ballroom in Manhattan on Tuesday (1/27). The Shunda K afterparty was at Europa... ONE PROBLEM WITH THAT...

"Yo! Majesty was supposed to be embarking on a world tour that would push the critically hailed lesbian Christian rap duo out of the underground once and for all.

Instead, half of the Tampa, Fla.-based group, singer/rapper Jwl B, is behind bars in Florida on an assault charge and apparently out of the crew for good.

"It's unfortunate for her, but for me it's actually a burden off my shoulders," rapper Shunda K (also known as LaShunda Flowers) said of her longtime partner's recent incarceration. "It started being ridiculous the things she was doing. It's actually divine intervention. I'm not sad. I'm relieved."

Shunda K says Jwl B, her partner in rhyme since 2001, has crossed one too many lines - personally and professionally - and is out of the group. But the drama is not stopping K, who started the duoin 1998 - she performs Wednesday at Harpers Ferry in Allston.

"Now Yo! Majesty can be what it's supposed to be," she said, "and that's a relief for the people, instead of coming to a Yo! Majesty show and you're feeling the tension between Jwl and me on stage. I just thank God for what's going on."

K, an openly gay Christian, says life on the road with Jwl has been difficult, with disputes over money, creative control and women sometimes erupting into physical altercations. [Boston Herald]

So I guess that means Shunda K played Highline Ballroom on Tuesday, and Europa too. In case you're wondering, Jwl B is the topless one jumping in the air, and that harmonious holiday picture was just posted to their MySpace for Christmas (which was a little over a month ago).

More pictures from the Highline show (now with only men taking their shirts off) @ Village Slum. More tour dates (lots of them) (mostly billed as Yo Majesty) (and some Shunda ones) below...

Continue reading "Jwl B is in jail & out of Yo Majesty... Shunda K & friends played Highline Ballroom & Europa?"

Conventional wisdom has it that CDs are selling in ever-decreasing numbers, but there's one place where business is booming: prison. A Los Angeles company called Pack Central started selling music to The USA's incarcerated in 2003, and is now doing $1 million of business every year. [Music Radar]

Racy photos of Miley Cyrus are popular in prison too.

Louis Jay Pearlman (born June 19, 1954) was known in the entertainment business for being the manager of famous boy bands the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync.

In 2005 it came to light that Pearlman had bought his way to fame by running one of the biggest and longest running Ponzi schemes in American history, leaving more than half a billion dollars in debts. On May 21, 2008, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. [Wikipedia]

* Pitchfork gave British Sea Power a U.2.
* Chart Attacks says Yeasayer Beat MGMT In Blogger Band War
* Chart Attack declares Cat Power's indie cred dead
* Appeals Court Upholds Isley's Sentence
* Stone Temple Pilots Reunites For Ohio Festival
* The Game is going to jail on a gun charge
* New Mr Men character is French and rude

British Sea Power's new video for the song "No Lucifer" that seems to sample a bit of Arcade Fire is below....

Continue reading "a few more things (STP, The Game, Cat Power, Isley, etc)"