The Mars Volta and others join up for Voodoo Experience

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

The Mars Volta, N*E*R*D, TV On The Radio, Irma Thomas, the Butthole Surfers, Fishbone and Ben Jelen have joined the lineup for the 2008 Voodoo Experience, to be held Oct. 24-26 at New Orleans' City Park.

They augment a bill that also features R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots and Lil Wayne, among hundreds of others.

Festival founder/producer Stephen Rehage admits he was considering last-ditch options for Voodoo had Hurricane Gustav struck New Orleans with the force of Hurricane Katrina three years earlier. Luckily, the city was mostly spared this time around.

"I remembered all the struggles of 2005 and the options we might have to consider, but not moving forward this year never crossed my mind," says Rehage, who also produces the New Orleans Essence Festival.

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster and TheTenthRitual.com.

Courtesy of Billboard.com

Pharrell to lose the ink?!?!

Apparentally Pharrell Williams wants a fresh new start. The N.E.R.D star is planning on spending thousands of dollars on a new treatment to remove his MANY tattoos. Williams says he is sick of his body art and plans to undergo a new method of erasing tattoos which involves scientists growing skin grafts in a lab to be placed on top of the tattooed body part. He says, “It’s going to be pricey, but f**k it, it’s worth it. I got fire on my arms! I’m a grown man! There’s an institute called the Wake Forest Institute in North Carolina for Regenerative Skin Treatment. It’s basically like getting a skin graft, but you’re not taking skin from your ass or your legs. These guys actually grow the skin for you. First you have to give them a sample of your skin, which they then replicate. Once that’s been done, they sew it on - and it’s seamless.”

Williams says he may want to get replacement tattoos in the future. He adds, “When it has healed you can go get whatever tattoo you want.”

Courtesy of missxpose.com