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Back 2 Basics magazine resurfaces, in shops now. Go grab it. Che Fu is on the cover, got the full story on his departure from Supergroove too, goes like this...

Che: "I didn’t leave the band, I was thrown out. I’ve never told anyone that. A lot of people think that I left to go away on a solo career… we finished the world tour and we were in England practicing for [the] new Traction album and I was learning those songs with all my heart...” tho, as Che notes, there was no rap or soul styles in the new material, more of an indie pop vibe. “We came back to New Zealand straight after that and had a six week break. The word was we’ll meet up at the lawyer’s office to sign up [again]... Six weeks later I turn up at the office ready to get back into it and everyone’s quiet. They hand me this sheet of paper and say ‘can you sign this? This is your resignation.’ I was totally shocked. It was totally unexpected. Like, I could understand if we’d been fighting or there were drug issues or things like that but I thought we was cool... They made me sign a letter saying not to talk about it…

Q You were told to leave, right? Not like ‘this is not working out’.
‘’Yup. There was two of us. Me and the trumpet player Tim [Stewart].”

Che talks about his Dad and the Polynesian Panthers, growing up playing at 12 Tribes of Israel gigs, writing the chorus for Chains in unusual surroundings, heaps of good stuff. Check it out.

Check Fluxblog's MTV play-by-play VMA Awards recap. They watch, so you don't have to:
8:50 Shakira is here to lip synch in Spanish and slink around. With the damaged hair and leathery skin, she's looking a bit like Sheryl Crow. It seems as though she's threatening to shake her pants right off.

Village Voice plays copycat here ("with apologies to Fluxblog").
9:26: So who did more coke before coming onstage: Jeremy Piven or Lil Kim?


Jeremy Piven stars in HBO's latest hit show, Entourage. We've been watching the first series on DVD round our place and falling of the couch laughing our asses off. Pray it hits our screens soon.

Basic premise... "Entourage, the hit comedy series executive produced by Mark Wahlberg that takes a look at the day-to-day life of Vincent (Vince) Chase, a hot young actor in modern-day Hollywood, and his entourage.
He's brought with him from their hometown in Queens, NY: manager Eric, half-brother Drama, and friend Turtle. The series draws on the experiences of industry insiders to illustrate both the heady excesses of today's celebrity lifestyle, as well as the difficulty of finding love and success in the fast track of show biz.
Now that the boys are getting used to the perks of stardom, Eric, along with superagent Ari [Jeremy Piven], keep Vince's star rising while making sound decisions for a long-lasting career in a world of fleeting fame."

There's some video clips of the show here, (fast connection reccomended) have a look at the shark is back, and catch Ari's catchphrase, "Lets hug it out, bitch".

Here's some guff on season two from the New York Times (tip of the hat to Ria)...

"Rehashing box office grosses is so 2004. This summer, the hot subject at talent agencies and power breakfasts here has been the HBO series "Entourage."
" 'Did you hear what Ari said?' is now a regular feature of our Monday staff meetings," said Jeremy Zimmer, a founding partner at United Talent Agency. He was referring to Ari Gold, the show's insufferable talent agent, played by Jeremy Piven in an expensive Caesar haircut.
Meanwhile, at International Creative Management, the agent Brian Sher said he got huge laughs by announcing at a staff meeting that the priority project at Warner Brothers this fall would be "Aquaman." That's the show's fictional underwater action movie starring the groovy pop idol of "Entourage," Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier), and directed by James Cameron (the actual director of "Titanic" and "Terminator 2" fame, playing himself)."

Full article over here.