Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe OLD FEUDS Simon and Garfunkel fought bitterly during a rehearsal for their onstage reunion at the Grammy awards show, reports the New York Post. The duo "bickered like ex-spouses" said Page Six, "and almost didn't make it onto the stage later for the Grammys, where they appeared together for the first time in 10 years." The Post quotes sources who claim Garfunkel told Simon: "You don't play for me -- you play for yourself! We have to play in sync." The stage manager cleared the stage, the Post reports, and the duo returned to their dressing rooms to cool off. The Post quoted Simon spokesman Dan Klores as saying the sources were "liars," but one Post source countered: "It happened. I was one of the people cleared from the stage. It is a shame because they would make a ton of money if they did a tour, but they looked very uncomfortable in each other's presence." Advertisement Advertisement SKYNYRD PRO WAR Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose early work included a song protesting the Vietnam war, has adopted a hawkish stance toward Iraq. Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke is taking a hard-line stand for a war against Saddam Hussein. "Those of us with access to the media have an obligation to be heard at times like this," he is quoted as saying in Launch.com. "The only message Iraq and the rest of the world is getting lately is these anti-war protests, and that is not necessarily the sentiment of all the American people. I believe it's important that Hussein realize there are those of us who fully support what our government is doing. If anything, that gives us the best opportunities to negotiate without actually going to war. "Don't get me wrong -- I don't want to see people killed and maimed, but peace only works when both sides are thinking about it, and how can you believe that Saddam Hussein is interested in peace?" he added. PETTY BASSIST PASSES Bassist Howie Epstein, 47, formerly with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died Sunday in Santa Fe, N.M. Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano reported a female companion who brought Epstein to the hospital said he had been using heroin. Advertisement "We are deeply saddened at the news of Howie's passing," Petty said in a prepared statement. "It's difficult to put into words how much we loved him and will miss him. The world has lost a great talent and a kind and gently soul. We can only take solace in knowing he is now at peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his many friends." Epstein joined the Heartbreakers in 1982, replacing original bassist Ron Blair, and left last year, citing "ongoing personal problems." NEW METALLICA BASSIST Rob Trujillo has been named the new bassist for Metallica. Trujillo has played with Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne. Trujillo replaces Jason Newsted, who left in 2001, and recorded on the new Metallica album, "St. Anger," due out June 10 on Elektra Records. Producer Bob Rock has been filling in on bass since Newsted's departure. Metallica hits the road for the Summer Sanitarium tour with Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Trujillo toured with Metallica when he was in Suicidal Tendencies in 1993. "The last two years of just being the three of us have taught me so much about myself, about James and Kirk and about Metallica," drummer Lars Ulrich noted. "To welcome Rob into Metallica in 2003 after all the growth and soul searching we've been through for the last two years, feels ... awesome. Being at full strength again is at this moment indescribable." Advertisement ALL A BLUR Blur has a new album, "Think Tank," ready for release May 6. "It's an album about love and politics," Damon Albarn told Rollingstone.com. The album was recorded last year in Morocco and England. One new track, "Brothers and Sisters," "starts off like John Lee Hooker and ends up like Grandmaster Flash," Albarn said. Another, "Out of Time," which features a Moroccan orchestra, will be the first single, due in April. "Think Tank" was produced by Blur and Ben Hillier, with additional production from Fatboy Slim, who produced two tracks, including "Crazy Beats," and William Orbit. After Graham Coxon quit the band two months into the sessions, Albarn took over the guitar work. "There was nobody else to do it, so I had to," he said. "It was really difficult, but with that massive change came a new vitality."
