Blog Posts by Matthew Perpetua

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has lost his home in New Jersey as a result of flooding from Hurricane Irene this weekend. The rocker's Lincroft, NJ house was knocked off its foundation after surging waters from Irene snapped a nearby bridge, which tumbled into the singer's garage.

The singer's basement was completely flooded, resulting in the destruction of irreplaceable Skid Row master tapes and live recordings, as well as his extensive collection of Kiss and Skid Row memorabilia. Luckily for Bach, his comic book collection and his father's artwork were safe on a higher level of his house. Bach plans to salvage what he can from the house before having it destroyed.

Photos: Random Notes

"I have been holding on to my house since December, when my divorce papers were filed," Bach wrote in a message to friends and fans on Facebook. "I just could not let go of the only home I had ever known. Well, God has other plans for me it seems. He has made His decision for me. My home has

The announcement of Beyoncé's pregnancy at last night's MTV Video Music Awards was a happy occasion for pretty much everyone except Clint Eastwood, who may have to put his remake of A Star Is Born featuring the R&B queen on hold indefinitely. The film, which was scheduled to shoot in February despite lacking a male lead, will either be put off until after the singer gives birth, or whenever the prolific Eastwood gets around to it (should he choose to take on another project in the meantime).

This could be positive news for the production, though. Since Eastwood and Warner Bros. were having a hard time casting a male lead, the extra lead time may give them a chance to land one of their reported top choices, such as Will Smith or Christian Bale.

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Esther Gordy Edwards, an executive who built Motown Records along with her brother Berry Gordy Jr., died on Wednesday at the age of 91.

Edwards, who started out with the label as a manager for many of its acts, was an executive at Motown for nearly 30 years. She later went on to become senior vice president, corporate secretary and director of Motown International Operations.

Photos: A Tribute to Motown Great Nick Ashford
When Berry Gordy Jr. sold Motown to MCA in 1988, Edwards remained in Detroit to collect artifacts and memorabilia of the label, which led to the founding of the Motown Historical Museum, located at the company's old headquarters on West Grand Boulevard.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Pitbull has responded to a lawsuit filed by Lindsay Lohan, who claims that the rapper disparaged her name in his recent hit "Give Me Everything." In a statement on his official website, the Miami rapper says that the line in question - "I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan" - was not meant to be taken so harshly. "When I mention Lindsay Lohan in the record it's really a positive message," he wrote. "When I say I got it locked up, if you play at the park, if you from the neighborhood, when they say you got it locked up, that means you run that area."

"I was very surprised when I found out about the lawsuit," says Pitbull. "To me it was very ironic, to be honest with you. At first I read it and I thought, 'It's gotta be a joke.' [But] come to find out that's it's very realistic."

Lohan's lawsuit asserts that Pitbull's lyrics have caused her "irreparable harm." The rapper insists that he did not mean to hurt her career, and has invited Lohan to appear with him on stage at the MTV Video

Keith Richards has written one of the best-selling rock memoirs of all time. The Rolling Stones guitarist's book, Life, has sold over one million copies since its release last year, equivalent to going platinum in the music world.

Richards earned a huge payday for the book, raking in more than $7 million for his advance. In addition to being a massive commercial success, Life also fared well with critics, earning positive reviews nearly across the board.

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Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Cyndi Lauper is set to open a 30-bed housing facility for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth in Manhattan on September 1st. The True Colors Residence, named after her 1986 hit "True Colors," will be located on West 154th St. near Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Harlem. The residence, the first permanent housing facility of its kind in the city, was conceived by the singer, her manager and the West End Intergenerational Residence, a non-profit focused on providing housing for homeless families and the elderly.

Lauper, a longtime supporter for LGBT rights, was moved to pursue this project because up to 40 percent of homeless youth in the city identify as LGBT. "These young people often face discrimination and at times physical assault in some of the very places they have to go for help," she wrote in a letter seeking donations for the residence. "This is shocking and inexcusable!"

Photos: Random Notes
The True Colors Residence is a new energy-efficient building with 30

Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O will premiere her new "psycho-opera" Stop the Virgens at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn on October 12th as part of the Creators Project multimedia arts series. "I'm hoping to create an original live experience. It should feel like a psychedelic ride laced with catharsis," O said in a statement. "This piece isn't aiming to be all about spectacle or abstraction, though there is a good helping of both in the production."

The project, which was co-created by O along with design director KK Barrett, will be directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp and feature musical direction by her YYYs bandmate Nick Zinner and frequent collaborator Sam "Squeak E. Clean" Spiegel. Other Karen O associates contributing to the show are YYYs drummer Brian Chase, actress Lili Taylor, keyboardist Money Mark and members of the Greenhornes and Raconteurs.

Photos: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Rock Chicago
Stop the Virgens is set for eight performances at St. Ann's Warehouse, concluding with

OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder has signed on to become the first franchisee of Southern Hospitality BBQ, a Memphis-style barbecue restaurant and bar based in New York City. Tedder, clearly a big fan of specialty bourbons and smoked meats, has already opened a second location with restaurant founder Eytan Sugarman in the Hell's Kitchen restaurant.

"I have been involved with Southern Hospitality BBQ in New York for some time, and I'm looking forward to taking this relationship to the next level," Tedder said in a statement released on Monday.

Photos: Random Notes

Tedder intends to bring the restaurant chain to Denver, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Phoenix, Palo Alto and Washington, D.C. Tedder is joined in the franchise venture with Accredited Members Holding Corp., an investment research and consulting firm from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage