Rock News: Music's high and low notes

IDOLS ON TAP

Fans of "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson will have to wait until next spring to hear the album she gets to record as part of her prize. They will get to hear the performances that led to her victory, however, on "American Idol: Greatest Moments," out Oct. 1 on RCA records. Clarkson will have four songs on the collection, runnerup Justin Guarini gets two and the other eight finalists get one each. All 10 perform on a cover of the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'." The album was compiled by producer Steve Lipson, who oversaw the final weeks of the show's performances. Clarkson's debut single, "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This," came out earlier this week.

YES ON TOUR

Progressive rock pioneers Yes start the second leg of their North American tour Oct. 24 in Clearwater, Fla., with returning band member Rick Wakeman joining vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, and drummer Alan White in what most fans consider the classic Yes lineup.

"Touring with Rick (Wakeman) again has been a lot of fun for us," Squire said. "The band is playing better than ever and the fans have really been responding well to the shows. We are really looking forward to the next leg of this tour, as we feel we're just getting started."

To date, the band has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, including the classics "Fragile" and "Close To The Edge." The band is touring in support of the recently released five-disc boxed set, "In A Word: Yes (1969- )."

Yes also has released a new DVD, "Yessymphonic Live," a live concert from their 2001 tour featuring a full symphony orchestra. Shot in high definition in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the DVD features rare behind-the-scenes material as well as more than two hours of Yes performing the hits live.

BLUES TRAVELER LIVE

Blues Traveler is set to release a live album, "What You and I Have Been Through" Oct. 22 on iMusic. The live set is the band's second since its inception in 1988. The disc opens with a version of "The Star Spangled Banner" performed as a harmonica solo by member John Popper before an emotional crowd of New Yorkers shortly after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

The 11-track CD, recorded during tour dates in November and December 2001, features tracks from throughout Blues Traveler's career. Guest artists Radioactive and Carl Young, respectively, contribute to the songs "The Path" and "Rage." Other songs include Blues Traveler staples, such as "Carolina Blues," with its signature guitar work by guitarist Chan Kinchla; and "Slow Change," from their club days in New York City. Each member is featured in this "best-of-the-tour" CD, from drummer Brendan Hill and Tad Kinchla's unique solos on "All Hands" to Ben Wilson's keyboard solo on "Pattern."

D.O.A. PLANS 25TH BASH

In 2003, Canadian punk pioneers D.O.A. enter their 25th active year as a band. The group plans to celebrate the anniversary with a flurry of activity. Sudden Death Records will release D.O.A.'s 10th studio album, "Win The Battle," in the United States Oct. 15. Canada's godfather of punk, D.O.A. founder Joey Keithley, is re-issuing the band's classic second album, "Hardcore '81," also on Sudden Death America. The album has been out of print for two decades.

In early 1981, D.O.A. released the album on a Canadian indie label and set up the now historic Hardcore '81 Festival in Vancouver. The festival also featured like-minded California band Black Flag. As a result of constant touring by D.O.A., Black Flag, Dead Kennedys and other key West Coast bands during this era, hardcore became a popular genre.

D.O.A. will tour North America throughout the remainder of 2002 and in 2003 on the "25th Anniversary Tour." The current lineup features Keithley on vocals and guitar, The Great Baldini on drums and Kuba (The Winnipeg Kid) on bass.

EQUIPMENT HEISTS CONTINUE

The Jackmormons are the latest band stung by the rash of sophisticated equipment thefts suffered over the past year by touring rock bands. Earlier this week thieves in Austin, Texas, stole the trailer from behind the band's van. The trailer was recovered but none of the equipment was found. The band was forced to cancel gigs in Memphis, Oxford and Jackson, Tenn. The band plans to release a list of the missing equipment shortly. New Orleans-based bands The Radiators and Walter Wolfman Washington and the Roadmasters each had their equipment stolen in the past year.