Rock band dumps some cash on city

Rock band dumpssome cash on city
The Dave Matthews Band wants to make amends after one of its tour bus drivers was accused of dumping human waste on sightseers on the Chicago River, but the band stopped short of accepting responsibility for the incident.
The Illinois Attorney General's office sued the band and the driver after the Aug. 8 incident, alleging that the driver emptied the vehicle's septic tank while crossing a bridge over the river, dousing more than 100 tour boat passengers with raw sewage.
The band said it had contacted the boat owner and tour operator to try to identify the affected passengers. The band also said it suspended the driver and is donating $50,000 each to the Chicago Park District and a nonprofit group that protects the Chicago River.
"We hope by reaching out and helping now this will help demonstrate our commitment to step up if we are found to be the responsible party," the band said in a statement posted on its Web site.
Singer Ashlee Simpsongets caught lip-syncing
NEW YORK -- Ashlee Simpson was a lip-syncing laughingstock Sunday after she got caught using prerecorded vocals on live TV.
In a humiliating appearance on "Saturday Night Live," Simpson held a microphone at her hip while her voice boomed from the speakers -- then inexplicably blamed her band for making her look like a karaoke coward.
Westchester County teen Mari Vievering laughed out loud when she saw the flub.
"I'm glad she finally got caught. She's so bad," the 16-year-old said. "You've got to kind of feel bad for her. You're supposed to be a singer and you're not, and then you get caught."
Simpson was expecting to "sing" her song "Autobiography," so she and her band looked confused when her hit "Pieces of Me" started playing instead -- complete with vocal track.
She awkwardly tried to dance away from the moment, then quickly exited stage left, while the band gamely tried to play along until the show abruptly cut to a commercial.
At show's end, Simpson used her last few seconds of airtime to pass the musical buck.
"I feel so bad! My band started playing the wrong song! And I didn't know what to do!" she squealed. "I'm sorry! It's live TV! Things happen! I'm sorry!"
The show has been renowned for nearly 30 years for attracting top musical acts -- and for sparking controversy.
Simpson's walk-off ranks with other unexpected music moments on "SNL": Elvis Costello stopping and changing songs on live TV, and Sinead O'Connor tearing up a picture of the pope.
Simpson's representative did not return a call for comment Sunday, and "Saturday Night Live" spokesman Marc Liepis would not say much.
Today's birthdays
Former baseball player Bobby Thomson is 81. Former American League president Dr. Bobby Brown is 80. Actress Jeanne Cooper is 76. Actress Marion Ross is 76. Actor Tony Franciosa is 76. Country singer Jeanne Black is 67. Singer Helen Reddy is 63. Rock singer Jon Anderson (Yes) is 60. Singer Taffy Danoff (Starland Vocal Band) is 60. Rock musician Glen Tipton (Judas Priest) is 56. Actor Brian Kerwin is 55. Rock musician Matthias Jabs is 48. Actress Nancy Cartwright ("The Simpsons") is 47. Country singer Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) is 46. Rock musician Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 42. Actress Tracy Nelson is 41. Actor Michael Boatman is 40. Singer Speech is 36. Actor Adam Goldberg is 34. Rock musician Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) is 34. Country singer Chely Wright is 34. Violinist Midori is 33. Actor Lamont Bentley is 31. Actor Ben Gould is 24. R & amp;B singer Young Rome is 23. Singer Ciara is 19.