Barenaked Ladies Cancel Kids Show
Steven Page Cocaine Charges; Richards Still Fighting Charlie Sheen
Drug possession charges against the Barenaked Ladies lead singer have prompted the band to cancel a scheduled performance at a children's concert in New York, the Canadian Press reports.
Following the release of their first children's album "Snacktime," the band was slated to perform at next month's Disney Music Block Party on Long Island. But in a statement posted on the band's website, manager Terry McBride said BNL chose to cancel the concert out of respect for the sponsor.
"Members of the band completely support Steven Page, but we don't want to put Disney in an awkward position before issues involving Steven's arrest are resolved," he said.
The cancellation came after court documents allege Page admitted to snorting cocaine in his girlfriend's New York state apartment last week. The documents, filed with the Fayetteville Village Court, contain details from police as well as a statement from his girlfriend's roommate who was arrested at the same time as the 38-year-old Toronto resident.
A felony complaint against the singer states he was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11 after police stumbled upon a car parked across a driveway with its driver-side door open.
Yes, it's cocaine
After tracking the license plate of the vehicle, police entered an apartment where they found Page and 25-year-old Stephanie Ford in the kitchen.
In a statement to police filed with the court, Ford said the two had just finished snorting what she believed to be cocaine using a rolled-up Canadian bill. She said Page had stored several capsules containing a white powdery substance in a bottle labelled Calcium.
A separate court document states that police questioned Page about the substance he was snorting after it tested positive for cocaine.
"Yeah, it's cocaine," the documents quote Page as saying.
Police allege Page had about a third of an ounce of the drug on him at the time of his arrest. He was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in a New York court on August 26. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. The criminal charge is a notable blemish on what has otherwise been a squeaky-clean run for the bespectacled Page and bandmates Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn.
Since forming nearly 20 years ago in Toronto's east end, they've crafted a sizable catalogue of catchy, humour-filled hits including "If I Had a $1,000,000," "Yoko Ono," "One Week" and "It's All Been Done" while garnering several Juno wins and two Grammy nominations.
Denise, Denise
Denise Richards went to court Friday morning, asking the custody judge for an emergency order restricting ex-husband Charlie Sheen's access to their children. Richards' lawyer, Neal Hersh, reportedly told the judge there's a serious issue in Sheen's home that could have an adverse impact on the kids.
Hersh told reporters outside an L.A. courthouse, "These are serious issues regarding the children. I would hope we will be graced by Charlie Sheen's presence in court on Monday - if he takes these matters seriously regarding his children, like Denise does."
U2
U2 stars Bono and The Edge won a four-year legal battle Thursday to reshape their old-fashioned Dublin hotel, the Clarence, into a futuristic landmark. Ireland's planning board approved a $235-million (USD) plan produced by British architect Lord Norman Foster to gut and drastically expand the riverside hotel.
The new complex would more than triple the number of its rooms to 166 and would feature a massive, floodlit glass roof atrium, dubbed "the flying saucer."
Bono, The Edge and their property developer partner, Paddy McKillen, said in a statement that the verdict was "great news for Dublin and for Temple Bar in particular." Temple Bar is the neighbouring cobblestone-street tourist district filled with pubs and music.
Their myriad opponents said, however, that the decision demonstrated the exceptional political clout wielded by Dublin's most famous musical sons. "We would obviously condemn the decision," said Ian Lumley, an officer with An Taisce, Ireland's heritage-protection organization. "It undermines national legislation on architectural heritage because of the number of protected sites being demolished."
