Music blog

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — Though Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are keeping a tight lid on their nuptuals, it's looking like a wedding is imminent. Aerial photos posted Friday at several celebrity Web sites, credited to the Insight News & Features paparazzi photo agency, purport to show the Simpson family home near Los Angeles dotted with large white party tents.

Reuters - When Clear Channel wanted to launch a format-free Internet radio station called erockster, executive VP/head of online music and radio Evan Harrison turned to his old friend Eric Szmanda for ideas. Best known for playing Greg Sanders on the hit series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," Szmanda at first seems like an unlikely choice for leading such a major initiative at the world's largest radio broadcaster.

Reuters - Outside the windows of a 36th-floor conference-room suite at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the morning is gray and befit for April showers. Always the trendsetter, R&B star Usher has plucked from his wardrobe a navy blue military-style button-up adorned with gold clasps to complete his jeans-and-sneaker ensemble.

AP - Though Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are keeping a tight lid on their nuptuals, it's looking like a wedding is imminent.

Reuters - On their 2006 country top 10 single "Some People Change," Montgomery Gentry sang, "Don't give up hope, some people change." That advice could apply to the way the veteran duo is approaching its career these days.

Reuters - For musicians just getting a start, Alanis Morissette has a time-management tip from the professional trenches. "I have to check my Web site to find out what I'm supposed to be doing," she says with a laugh.

Reuters - Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness is putting his primary band on hold for a spell while he spends the next few months on the road reviving the outlaw-country sounds of his two solo records.

Reuters - Nearly four years have passed since the release of Slipknot's "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)." But members of the masked metal act have little doubt that its as-yet-untitled fourth studio effort will appease its loyal fans, known as the Maggots.

Reuters - A few years ago, Tye Tribbett made a decision to forgo a lucrative career working with music stars like Faith Hill, Don Henley and Elton John to answer God's call in the gospel music arena.

Reuters - The Lost Trailers, a band whose moniker is more than a catchy name, are finally reaping the rewards of years on the road, hard work and an innate sense of what their music should sound like.