Video game players and music fans alike can now get closer to Band Hero's in-game playable character Taylor Swift than ever before, as they can perform as the music icon to her fan-favorite

Happy Birthday to:

Nights in Rodanthe star Richard Gere (1949)

"Well, the idea was a band, but we're really a neurotic bunch of obsessive compulsive weirdos," Switches singer Matt Bishop says.

"Raise The Dead," the eagerly awaited new album from Fueled By Ramen recording group Phantom Planet, has been made available for pre-order at the Fueled By Ramen webstore. Due in stores and at all online retailers on April 15th,

For the past seven years, the Honda Civic Tour (HCT) has been acclaimed as a "must see" music tour, and this year is no exception. Following the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album, Pretty. Odd., on March 25, Panic At The Disco will be ready to take the wheel as 2008 HCT headliners.

Happy Birthday to rapper Joe Budden, Vines singer Craig Nicholls (1977), "Rush Hour 2" star Chris Tucker (1972), singer Deborah Gibson (1970), Winger guitarist Reb Beach (1963), prolific actor Richard Gere (1949), Irish singer Van Morrison (1945), actors Noble Willingham (1931; d. 2004) and James Coburn (1928; d. 2002), comedian Buddy Hackett (1924; d. 2003), composer Alan Jay Lerner (1918; d. 1986), actor Richard Basehart (1914; d. 1984), and Roman Emperors Commodus (161; d. 192) and Caligula (12; d. 41).

Legendary music producer Phil Spector is continuing to work during his murder trial. Spector is recording solo newcomer Hargo's debut album in the evenings after his weekday appearances in a Los Angeles court, where he has pleaded not guilty to the fatal shooting of Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra, California mansion in February 2003.

Aussie rockers Jet and The Vines have joined forces in a bid to end seal slaughter in Canada. Members of the groups have joined People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)'s youth campaign by signing a petition at Australia's Big Day Out Festival, calling for an end to the hunt, which is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet.

Produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliott Smith, Beck, Guided By Voices, The Vines), Kevin Devine's Put Your Ghost To Rest is a collection of 12 compelling songs showcasing Devine's keen, idiosyncratic observations on a wide range of topics including love, friendship, suicide, drinking and the sorry state of Western civilization.