Duran Duran has created an exclusive video podcast series that gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the band’s latest album Red Carpet Massacre, as well as a glimpse of the creative process surrounding the video “Falling Down.” In-studio footage with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland launches this week and will be featured on the front page of MSN Music. Additional podcasts are being released throughout the entire month of May with 4-5 new episodes featured each week. Exclusive backstage interview footage with Nick Rhodes captured by Zune prior to the band’s first U.S. tour date in Seattle will be rolling out in weekly installments as well.

Duran Duran fans can link to the band’s profile in the Zune online music community through http://www.zune.net/duranduran by creating their own Zune Card, a profile that automatically updates to reflect what they or their friends are listening to and provides a vibrant method of music discovery. Zune is the only digital entertainment brand that delivers an all-in-one experience featuring a portable media player, online store + music community, and DRM-free Mp3s. With Zune Pass, consumers can explore millions of tracks for the price of one CD ($14.99) per month.

Red Carpet Massacre Tour (U.S. 2008)
May 14 Chicago, IL Rosemont Theatre
May 15 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre
May 17 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
May 18 Orlando, FL UCF Arena
May 19 Boca Raton, FL Mizner Park Amphitheatre
May 21 Raleigh, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre
May 22 Philadelphia, PA Mann Center for the Performing Arts
May 24 Paradise Island, Bahamas Atlantis
May 27 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
May 28 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
May 30 New York, NY Central Park Summerstage
May 31 New York, NY Central Park Summerstage

Dolly Parton is hopping mad at The Howard Stern Show, which last week manipulated recordings from one her audio books into sexually graphic sound bites that made Dolly appear to say terrible things about Kenny Rogers, Johnny Carson and Linda Ronstadt. In a statement, Dolly reacts, “I have never been so shocked, hurt and humiliated in all my life. I cannot believe what Howard Stern has done to me. In a blue million years, I would never have such vulgar things come out of my mouth. They have done editing or some sort of trickery to make this horrible, horrible thing. Please accept my apology for them and certainly know I had nothing to do with this.”

Dolly also hints that there may be legal action, noting, “If there was ever going to be a lawsuit, it’s going to be over this. Just wanted you to know that I am completely devastated by this.”

[AristoMedia]

The Pharmacy is currently planning a massive tour of Europe for the fall. Beyond that, who knows where you might end up seeing the trio. Check out the group’s MySpace page and you’ll see they’ll play just about anywhere upon request: “Email us and we’ll probably play for you at your homecoming party, Cliffside generator show, barn, BART station, children’s TV show, etc., etc.”

Choose Yr Own Adventure isn’t the only new Pharmacy related record out now. Life-long friends The Terrordactyls recently released the Mike Bowers EP, also on Don’t Stop Believin’ Records, covering five Pharmacy songs using their signature classical guitar, toy pianos, and kazoos to take the edge off The Pharmacy’s old school spazz punk stylings by transforming them into perfect campfire songs. Have a listen to The Terrordactyls take on The Pharmacy HERE.

More about The Pharmacy:

Scott Yoder and Brendhan Bowers made plenty of noisy racket in the local garages and teen centers while growing up on Vashon Island, Washington. They moved across the Puget Sound to Seattle and booked their first tour as The Pharmacy (with then-member Joey Seward) in 2003 and have kept the show pretty much on the road ever since. In 2006 Joey left for more metal pursuits and classically trained pianist and fellow Vashon kid Stefan Rubicz joined on keyboards. Since then The Pharmacy have transformed from the synth-heavy overdrive of their 2005 debut album B.F.F. through the drizzly sunshine of the “Overcast Summer” 7-inch at last landing on the off-kilter psychedelic pop of Choose Yr Own Adventure. Replete with epic instrumentation - viola, violin, cello, harpsichord and horns all make an appearance - Choose Yr Own Adventure has been years in the making, re-vamped re-recorded and re-written over time.
The Pharmacy In The Press:

“…quirky, Beatles-informed tunes filled with quick tempo changes, fuzzy vocals, and cowbells. It’s cluttered like a scrapbook and yet catchy as hell.” – Brian J. Barr, Seattle Weekly

“…a drunk, less intellectual They Might Be Giants.” – threeimaginarygirls.com

“[The] wonderful new video for The Pharmacy’s “Little Toys [on a Shelf]” proves that the band is having much more fun than you are.” – Seattle Sound Magazine

“The Pharmacy is the band that won’t die. Thank Christ. Their new record, Choose Your Own Adventure, is finished… it’s the strongest stuff the band has done yet—weaving their less polished, basement sensibilities with playful keyboards and harmonies.” – Megan Seling, The Stranger

“I believe that, if the current path is any indication of the future, all pharmacies will have to be renamed because the term “great music” will unequivocally be associated with Seattle’s The Pharmacy. I mean, if The Pharmacy [the band] keeps giving us songs like “Mirror,” no longer will pharmacies be known as the place where you acquire prescription drugs and other useful necessities. A “pharmacy” will instead evoke strong, polished, tempo-wavering melodies, creeping up to catch you through hook-laden guitars and delightfully varied keys.” - A Limerick Ox

The Pharmacy Live w/ Japanther:

05/14 Tallahassee, FL @ Charles Mansion*

05/15 Pensacola, FL @ Sluggo’s *

05/16 New Orleans, Louisiana @ Big Top*

05/17 Austin, TX @ Red 7 *

05/19 Las Cruces, NM @ The Farm *

05/22 Flagstaff, AZ @ Stab Mountain *

05/23 Long Beach, CA @ Babe’s Warehouse*

05/24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell *

05/25 San Francisco, CA @ Thrillhouse Records *

05/25 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern *

05/27 Eugene, OR Shady Pines *

05/28 Portland, OR @ Exit Only *

05/29 Olympia, WA @ Midnight Sun *

05/30 Seattle, WA @ Sonic Boom Records - Ballard

05/30 Seattle, WA @ Booty Cave *

05/31 Silverdale, WA Jackson Hall

06/27 Seattle, WA Bend-It Fest @ Cal Anderson Park

Inspired by the energy and experience of their performance with their Crüe Fest cohorts Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt at the press conference to announce their upcoming summer tour,Mötley Crüe extended the production for their upcoming CD, returning to the studio this week to record one more track for their first studio album in over a decade, Saints of Los Angeles. The album, which has a new release date of June 24th, follows the story of the band’s NY Times best-selling memoir The Dirt, a no-holds-barred tell-all that features every gritty detail of the group’s exploits as one of the world’s biggest rock bands.

Says Sixx, “Before our performance at the press conference, we were firing on all cylinders at sound check just jamming out, and that’s when the new idea came. We quickly laid it down and went to the studio to record it, and liked it so much we pushed back the release one week so that we could get it onto the album – it now has 13 tracks. It’s the ultimate song to end the record with and begin the new chapter of our career.”

Produced by Live Nation, Crüe Fest is a touring rock festival embracing the lifestyle of rock. With the lineup including Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt, “Crüe Fest ‘08” will undoubtedly be the summer’s loudest show on earth. The trek kicks off July 1st in West Palm Beach, Florida and works its way across North America for over 40 dates throughout July and August. Tickets, band profiles and exclusive content from all of the Crüe Fest bands will consistently be uploaded at www.therockvine.com.

Crüe Fest U.S./Canada Tour Dates:

July 1 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre
July 3 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
July 5 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte
July 6 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
July 8 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
July 9 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 10 - Sarnia, ONT - Bayfest
July 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Susquehanna Bank Center
July 13 - Washington, DC - Nissan Pavilion
July 15 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 16 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
July 18 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
July 19 - Milwaukee, WI - Marcus Amphitheater
July 20 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
July 22 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 23 - San Antonio, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 24 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center
July 26 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
July 27 - Denver, CO - Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 29 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
July 31 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavilion
August 1 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
August 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Glen Helen Pavilion
August 5 - Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
August 6 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
August 8 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre
August 9 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
August 11 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
August 13 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
August 14 - Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
August 15 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
August 17 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
August 19 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Amphitheatre
August 20 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
August 22 - Boston, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
August 23 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
August 24 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
August 28 - Toronto, ONT - Molson Amphitheatre
August 29 - Albany, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 30 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
August 31 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion