Loose Ends: Nickelback Sells Out, More Fame For Maestro And Pete Doherty Paints In Blood

Nickelback ranked third in the world in concert ticket sales for the first quarter of 2006, according to touring trade publication Pollstar. The Vancouver band sold 415,000 tickets, ranking them behind U2 and Bon Jovi. The Back and Jovi are teaming up for a European tour that begins on May 15 and ends on June 11, and have seven North American shows lined up for July, so they'll likely be among the ticket sale leaders for the second quarter, too. The two bands will play Montreal's Parc Jean Drapeau on July 13.

Wes Williams, a.k.a. Maestro and Maestro Fresh Wes, has been named one of the first inductees into the Scarborough Walk Of Fame. The hip-hop veteran will let his backbone slide at a May 17 ceremony at the Scarborough Town Centre where he'll be honoured along with others who've made outstanding contributions to the Toronto suburb over the years. Williams has also embarked on an acting career in recent years, and often appears at local schools as a motivational speaker.

Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty wasn't arrested this week, and he'll soon be exhibiting paintings that he created using his own blood at a London, England gallery. His art depicts life on the road, and his self-portraits include him on a tour bus and smoking with fans. Doperty has apparently been creating blood paintings for a long time, but those that will be part of the upcoming exhibit are said to have been done over the last six months. The gallery is planning to sell them for 1,000 pounds ($2,070) each. You can view them at the Balachadha website, but a subscription is needed.

Magician Criss Angel, the star of A&E's Criss Angel: Mindfreak series, has also been playing music since he was six. He'll put that background to use on the soundtrack to his show, which will be released on June 27 by KOCH and Apitrag Records. The album will feature several tracks written, performed and produced by Angel, as well as several remixes of the show's theme. It will also include new songs co-written and co-produced by guests such as Godsmack's Sully Erna, Korn's Jonathan Davis and former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Erna, Bettencourt, Shannon Larkin and Motley Crue's Vince Neil appear with Angel in the video for "MF 2." The album will also come with a DVD featuring 30 minutes of previously unseen footage of Angel, who's currently shooting the second season of his show in Las Vegas.

John Pocisk, who was better known as Johnny Paris of Johnny & The Hurricanes, died Monday at the age of 65 in Ann Arbor, Michigan after being hospitalized for almost two months. Johnny & The Hurricanes had a number of instrumental hits in the '50s and '60s, including "Crossfire," "Red River Rock" and "Beatnik Fly." The group headlined over The Beatles at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany in 1962. Pocisk, a tenor saxophone player, continued to tour Europe regularly and played in Sweden in November.