DJ Lethal Taps Korn, Sugar Ray, STP Singers For Solo LP DJ Lethal

Korn's Jonathan Davis, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland are expected to lend their voices to the upcoming solo debut of Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal, due in the spring on Flip/Geffen.

Also planned for the album's star-studded guest roster are rappers Eminem, Method Man, Xzibit, and Dilated Peoples, as well as Staind singer Aaron Lewis and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, according to Eric Hunter, head of A&R at Geffen Records.

"Some of the tracks will gear themselves more toward a hip-hop flavor and some will be more rock-oriented," Hunter said on Thursday. "Obviously what ties it all together will be Lethal and his unique beats and music."

The vocals for the album haven't been recorded, but DJ Lethal has been working on the music sporadically during the past year, in between touring with Limp Bizkit and recording the band's new album, "Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water," due this fall.

"With Limp Bizkit, [Lethal] is often the final element, working his magic over somewhat finished material," Hunter said. "On this album, he is able to create entirely his own material, with the guest artists adding their additional flavor."

DJ Lethal (born Leor DiMant), 30, first made his beats heard in the Los Angeles hip-hop group House Of Pain, which also featured Everlast. Lethal met Limp Bizkit when the group opened for one of House Of Pain's final shows in 1996, and he joined the band's lineup shortly thereafter.

08/01/00

Limp Bizkit Under Fire For Ticket Giveaway 'Chaos'

CHICAGO - Rap-rock band Limp Bizkit, currently on a free, Napster-sponsored tour, are under fire again amid reports of "chaos" during a ticket giveaway for Thursday's show in Villa Park, Ill.

While local police and promoters say the claims are overblown, witnesses have sounded a different tune. One fan, 22-year-old Doug Mason, said, "Whoever ran the fastest and pushed the hardest got the tickets."

Mason, from the Chicago suburb of Fox Lake, said the scene was "pretty crazy" outside the Odeum Sports and Expo Center, where an estimated 5,000 fans rushed to obtain the 3,500 wristbands that would get them into the concert later that night.

"It definitely could've been organized better," Mason said, adding he saw one young woman hit in the head with a glass bottle.

"Stuff was being thrown all over the place," said Dave Richards, program director for WKQX (Q101-FM), radio sponsors for the Villa Park stop of the Back to Basics tour, which also features rappers Cypress Hill. "Limp Bizkit is great, but they're all about organized chaos. They don't mind all this. It draws more attention to their band.

"There was just not enough security, not enough organization."

Scramble Contained Quickly

Bizkit fan Brian Dugan discovered that firsthand, saying he was pushed out of his wheelchair twice by zealous fans in their mad dash for tickets.

"A lot of people were wanting to get out of the line," said Dugan, 20, of Gurnee, Ill. "I know I was. But I had four or five guys behind me watching out for me and keeping people from pushing forward when I fell down. It could've been a lot worse if they weren't there."

Local promoter Scott Gelman said the scramble for tickets was contained within 10 minutes, although he said "there needs to be a better way to distribute these tickets than first-come, first-serve."

"There were too many people in too small of a space," said Gelman, vice president of Jam Productions, which promoted the Villa Park and Minneapolis shows. "It was a little chaotic at first, but I feel as if we had adequate security there. But we had more space the next night [Friday] in Minneapolis and no problems."

When asked whether the current setup of giving away tickets could lead to more severe safety problems in the future, Gelman refused comment.

Despite his concerns, Gelman said the situation in Villa Park was "never ugly," a contention backed by that city's police chief.

"We were prepared for disorder, and it did not occur," said Chief Ron Ohlson. "We heard of only one incident where someone was hit by a plastic bottle and received a cut, but that's it. To me, it seemed orderly. And from the comments I've heard, it was an orderly procedure."

Limp Bizkit manager Peter Katsis was traveling and was unavailable for comment.

There have been no other reports of such problems in other cities where the tour has stopped, and a publicist for Napster, the beleaguered online MP3-trading post sponsoring the tour, said its security plan was a sound one and didn't need changing.

"I think it's been remarkable how smoothly this has all gone," said Vickie Starr, a publicist with Girlie Action in New York. "There's a fine line between crowd control and security and police out-of-control, and I think we've maintained that line. Things have gone pretty much without a hitch."

Starr said the Villa Park scene may have led to an "unusual situation" but one that was taken care of promptly. "Whenever you have a large group of young people gathered, there's gonna be a few troublemakers," she said.

The tour is scheduled to end Aug. 14 in Orange County, Calif., the last date on Limp Bizkit's U.S. trek.

Los Angeles Venue Located

Elsewhere in California, the band's plan to play a show in Los Angeles is closer to happening. After several months of searching, Limp Bizkit have found a Los Angeles venue despite reports that several venues turned down the band out of safety concerns.

Limp Bizkit's management refused to name the venue or the date, although the Los Angeles Times reports the show there will happen Aug. 12.

Limp Bizkit's third LP, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, is scheduled for release this fall. The band topped the charts last year with Significant Other, featuring the hits "Nookie" and "Rearranged".
Source: sonicnet