Flavor Flav Arrested for Assault With A Deadly Weapon

He's currently being held on $23,000 bail. more on this story

Adam-12 Star Helps Shock Jock Catch Mail Thief

(TMZ) Shock Jock Tom Leykis helped police catch an alleged mail thief -- all with the help of Officer Jim Reed from that 70s show "Adam-12"!!!

Leykis -- who has hosted the controversial "Tom Leykis Show" for years -- tells TMZ, he first spotted the alleged mail thief a couple weeks ago outside his L.A. home.

According to Leykis, the guy had his hand stuck in his neighbor's mail box while wearing an oven mitt -- and Leykis snapped a few pics.

The guy took off -- but Leykis says he filed a police report and circulated his photos to his neighborhood watch ... helmed by the neighborhood watch captain Kent McCord ... aka Officer Jim Reed!!! (Seriously)

According to Leykis, the mail thief returned this weekend ... and thanks to his photos, a neighbor recognized the guy and called police, who then arrested the suspect.

We're told cops expect to make another arrest ... because they believe the man had a mail-stealing accomplice as well. The mail theft is still under investigation. more on this story

American Idol Producer Says Mariah and Minaj Feud Is Real

(TMZ) "American Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe is adamant ... the bitter feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj is as real as it gets -- and his proof lies in simple logic.

Nigel was out in L.A. yesterday when we asked for the final word -- did he or did he not stage the feud for ratings??? -- and Nigel replied, "I have no idea why I would be doing it [for ratings] five months before the show went out."

He added, "I would only do ANYTHING for ratings a month before the show went out. They've got my timing wrong." Watch video here.

Britney Spears' Lawyers To Refute Lutfi's Claims

(TMZ) Britney Spears' lawyers will come out of the gate swinging in Sam Lutfi's lawsuit against her and her family ... refuting his argument that the singer was on drugs and he was trying to save her.

Sources connected with the case tell us ... lawyers for the conservatorship will scoff at Lutfi from the get-go, noting that he is suing her because he claims she signed a contract making him her manager.

Their point -- how can someone deep into drugs be competent enough to sign any contract, and what's the point of signing a contract if she's too wasted to perform?

Lutfi claims Britney was on meth and other drugs and he worked 24/7 to rehab her, to no avail. Lawyers for Britney and Lynne Spears will make the case that Sam was like a sleazy drug pusher and fame whore who fueled Britney with drugs to control her and isolate her from her friends and family. more on this story

Katt Williams Was Detained In Gun Investigation

(TMZ) Katt Williams was hauled in by LAPD early Wednesday morning for a possible gun violation at a Hollywood night club and was later released without any charges.

Law enforcement sources tell us police got a call around 1AM that someone was brandishing a gun at Supper Club ... and when officers arrived on scene a witness identified Katt as the suspect.

We're told police did not find a gun on Katt, but when they found one in his car -- Katt and two other members of his entourage were taken into custody for questioning.

Police have since released one of the men, and booked another on an unrelated traffic warrant.

We're told the gun was unregistered and police are trying to find out who owns it.

Katt tells us it was all just a misunderstanding. more on this story

INXS InTheStudio For Kick Anniversary

The latest episode of the syndicated radio show InTheStudio celebrates the 25th anniversary of INXS' breakthrough album "Kick". The show sent over these details:

Kick dominated the U.S. charts with four Top 10 singles, including "New
Sensation", "Devil Inside", "Never Tear Us Apart" and the # 1 "Need You Tonight".

In this week's InTheStudio program INXS band mates Tim and Andrew Farriss, Kirk Pengilly and the late Michael Hutchence discuss their early beginnings in Perth & Sydney, their endless world touring, and the importance of famed producer Chris Thomas on Listen Like Thieves and the 10 million seller Kick.

Andrew Farriss describes to InTheStudio host Redbeard one of the INXS front man's innate traits. "I recognized in Michael this bohemian thing immediately. He had an ability to be able to walk out of a room and not want to walk back in again. Michael was always walking from one door to the other, like a gypsy." Listen to the episode here.

M. Ward To Play Leno and Releases New Video

M. Ward will be making his The Tonight Show with Jay Leno debut on October 23rd when he and the band perform his new single on the show.

M. Ward has also premiered the video for the single, "Me and My Shadow", which comes from his seventh solo album, A Wasteland Companion. The video, directed by the award winning comedy writer Scott Jacobson, features Ward and a hard working teenage popstar and includes a special cameo appearance from Conan O'Brien and Amy Sedaris. Watch it here.

Ward also has three live dates coming up. He will be performing with his band in Los Angeles on October 21st, and will be playing a special solo show in Chicago on October 25th and for Roll Over Beethoven: The Life and Music of Chuck Berry in Cleveland on October 27th. more on this story

VRIJ Featuring Junkie XL To Be Streamed Live On YouTube

(MSO) This Friday (October 19th) Dutch electronic dance event VRIJ will be streamed live on YouTube.

The sold-out event is taking place at the Concert Hall in city center Amsterdam during this year's Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), will feature a performance by Junkie XL and will be streamed world-wide at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT here.

Junkie XL will present selections from his new album Synthesized during the live performance. Set for release on November 27 via Nettwerk Records, this is his first album in four years and the sixth full-length LP in his 15-year career. more on this story

Pinback Celebrate Album Release With New Video

Pinback have premiered their brand new music video for the track "Sherman," which comes from their new album, Information Retrieved.

The video, largely inspired by the low-budget sci-fi films of the Cold War era, was directed by Matt Hoyt without any CGI special effects. Watch it here.

Pinback will hit the road in support of their new touring touring the east coast this fall before beginning a rare European tour along with bassist/vocalist Zach Smith's group Three Mile Pilot in December. They will conclude their tour with newly set west coast dates in January.
more on this story

Outasight Releases New Video With Chiddy

Outasight (aka Richard Andrew) has delayed the release of his debut album, Nights Like These, but is tiding fans over with the release of a new video.

The album is now set to be released on November 27th and this week released a new video for the track "Shine," which features Chiddy of Chiddy Bang. Watch it here.

The "Shine" video was directed by Rex Arrow in New York City and produced by E. Dan and Big Jerm for ID Labs. more on this story

Jason Crabb On Marie Osmond's New Show Today

Jason Crabb is set to appear on today's episode of "Marie," Marie Osmond's new daytime show on the Hallmark Channel.

Jason will perform and share a few moments with Osmond during the show today, October 18, 2012.

Marie Osmond commented: "I have to tell you, the day Jason came on my show, boy ... he sang and serenaded us and he just melted the hearts of everyone on my show. I love Jason, we all had so much fun! He is a wonderful person!" more on this story

Singled Out: Royal Canoe

Today Royal Canoe tells us about the song "Show Me Your Eyes" from their brand new album "Purple and Gold". Here is the story:

I find that it's usually difficult to "plan" a songwriting session that generates quality material unless there's a certain amount of spontaneity involved. We found ourselves in one of those situations in June when we gave ourselves a really short window of time (at least for us) to write and record a couple "summery?" tracks that we wanted to release while it was still hot outside. Somehow the first two ideas we worked on ended up sticking, which was nice. "Show Me Your Eyes" was built around a loop a couple of us made after filling our drum pad sampler with some pretty unrelated samples from my iTunes: the drum hits are cut from Led Zeppelin, the piano note from a John Cage recording, the guitar chords are pitched and reassembled from a CCR intro and the bass note is pulled from a classical piece that I can't remember. We just passed the pad back and forth, trying ideas, until we realized we had something pretty exciting. If you solo each part separately, the sounds all seem to be coming from different places and from different keys, but together they work.

We often fret over really insignificant parts for days and got caught up in minutiae, for better or worse. But for this song after that initial loop was written the rest of the song was completed without a lot of second guessing. Our songwriting is more a matter of finding a collection of sounds and textures that create a vibe then picking chords and jamming. We've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years trying to flesh out this process and there was an organic nature to the way things came together on this track that was encouraging to us.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

Florida Georgia Line Songwriters Penned Song for New Jason Alden Album

Canaan Smith and Tyler Hubbard of the band Florida Georgia Line comment about having their song on Jason Alden's new album Night Train, which was released this week.

"I wrote this song with Tyler one day back in college at Belmont," Smith says. "I never thought it would be cut by someone as great as Jason Aldean."

He adds "I think he did a killer job. I respect Jason's ability to stretch himself and push the envelope as far as songs and production go." more on this story

Mike Epps Got Richard Pryor's Widow Blessing For Film Role

(TMZ) Actor Mike Epps personally reached out to Richard Pryor's widow before agreeing to play the comic legend in a new movie, TMZ has learned -- and it might've been the smartest thing he's ever done.

Jennifer Pryor tells TMZ, she was touched by the gesture -- saying, "That was very sweet and respectful that he called me first. I am happy that they picked him. He is a real good guy."

FYI -- Epps is slated to appear as Pryor in the new film about jazz legend Nina Simone. But Mike Epps wasn't just being polite, he also made a real smart move ... because Jennifer tells us, thanks to Epps' courtesy call, she's now considering the comedian to play Pryor in an upcoming Richard Pryor biopic.

The Pryor movie is still in development, but Jennifer -- who's acting as a producer on the film -- says she believes Epps is one of the few actors capable of an "authentic portrayal" of Pryor.

As for the one person she does NOT want to play Pryor. Jennifer tells us, "Having Eddie Murphy play Richard Pryor would be like having Al Jolson play Malcolm X." (Jolson is an early 20th century white actor known for his blackface performances.)

We literally have no idea why Jen's got a thing against Eddie Murphy, but she says Pryor would NEVER have wanted Murphy to play him -- "He would want someone authentic like himself." more on this story

Michael Jackson's Father Flashed Handgun To Awards Show Crowd

(TMZ) Joe Jackson FLASHED A HANDGUN to a room full of people at a recent event in Vegas ... and told the crowd it's just like an American Express card ... he doesn't leave home without it.

The bizarre moment all went down while Joe was at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino in Vegas this weekend to be honored at the Black Music Awards.

Joe was introduced by his friend -- Majestik -- who told the crowd a story about Joe confronting Michael Jackson's bodyguards two weeks before MJ's death.

During the alleged confrontation, Majestik says Joe flashed his gun at the guards and said -- "If I hear you all givin' my son drugs or doing anything illegal with my son ... I'ma kill all of you."

When Majestik turned the mic over to Joe -- JJ corroborated the story ... saying, "It's very true. Every word he said."

Then Joe told the crowd ... "I carry a piece everywhere I go ... I'm gonna show it to you."

Joe proceeded to open up his suit jacket, revealing a handgun holstered by his hip. Joe explained, "I've been threatened a lot of times and so I need to be safe." more on this story

Lance Armstrong Dropped by Helmet Company

(TMZ) The bike helmet company that crafted Lance Armstrong's $15,000 helmet for the 2010 Tour de France -- and launched a full line of Lance Armstrong helmets -- has DROPPED the disgraced cyclist in the wake of the doping scandal, TMZ has learned.

A rep for Giro Helmets tells TMZ, "We will not be continuing our sponsorship of Lance Armstrong moving forward. We continue to support the cancer community through our association with LIVESTRONG."

Giro's not the first company to boot Armstrong -- Nike announced it would no longer be sponsoring him either, claiming Armstrong "misled" the company for more than a decade.

FYI -- the U.S. Anti-Doping released a report last week, detailing Armstrong's direct involvement in what it called "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Armstrong -- who's been banned from pro cycling for life -- still denies the doping allegations. more on this story

Kobe Bryant Spotted At Lunch With Vanessa

(TMZ) Another positive sign for Kobe Bryant's marriage -- the NBA star took his estranged wife Vanessa out on a romantic lunch date on Wednesday.

The two went to PDM Bakery and Cafe in Newport Beach, CA yesterday afternoon looking and acting very coupley -- despite the fact their divorce is still pending.

Sources tell us ... Kobe and Vanessa split the Tuscan chicken sandwich (served hot) and tortilla soup combo meal -- and washed it down with a pair of iced teas.

We're told the Bryants hung out at the restaurant for about an hour ... and couldn't have been nicer.

Vanessa filed for divorce back in December ... but it seems like they're all but reconciled these days. Not only did Vanessa support Kobe in London during the Olympics, she also attended the Lakers pre-season game last night. more on this story

Yacht Plan Anniversary Show and Land New Comedy Show

Yacht have landed a new comedy show and will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary in Los Angeles at the Echoplex on Dec. 8th. Their camp sent over these details:

The performance will feature material from all eras and line-ups of the band, with special guests, surprises and prizes and party favors for the audience.

Secondly, the members of Yacht are pleased to announce they are currently developing a comedy show for Amazon Studios, called Support. Expect to see the pilot online early next year. more on this story

Dan Cummins Releasing New Album Next Week

Stand-up comedian Dan Cummins has set an October 23 release dates for his third album, Hear This! We were sent these details:

Over the past few years, Dan Cummins' absurd observations and dark autobiographical stand-up has been featured on The Late, Late Show, The Tonight Show, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central Presents and in his own one hour Comedy Central special, Crazy With A Capital F.

He's also provided guest commentary for shows like G4's The International Sexy Lady Show, and World's Dumbest… series on TruTv. His first two CDs, Crazy With A Capital F and Revenge Is Near, have been played on satellite and internet radio, after both made a Top 20 debut on the Billboard Comedy Chart. more on this story