Heart's Ann Wilson Set for Solo Project

Thirty years after their debut album fronting the multimillion-record-selling rock band Heart, singer Ann Wilson is in the studio working on her first solo album, reports her sister Nancy Wilson.

Her first solo album

According to her, Ann is moving away from Heart's hard rock sound. "It's not just a jamming, rocking type album, it's a very cerebral, sort of restrained and extremely musical production. She's working with Ben Mink, the Canadian producer who did 'Ingenue' with kd lang(cq) and got a Grammy for that," says Nancy. "She has an amazing collection of songs so far, some she's covering, some she's writing. I'm going to also play some guitar for her on the album. Ben Mink plays violin as well as guitar and keyboard, and they have a really beautiful, surprising sound." 

She adds, "Ann's vocals are like you've never heard Ann sing before. Not soft, but delicate, interior, like a quiet fire."
 
Meanwhile, the rock legends are being honored by such artists as Dave Navarro, "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson and Rufus Wainwright on the "Decades Rock Live" concert series on VH1 Classic premiering this Friday, May 5. Alice in Chains is also reuniting on the special as part of Ann & Nancy's wish list. "We've known Alice in Chains for many, many years, but Dave Navarro pushed to get involved. He was just a huge Heart fan and came in and said, 'Let me do this.' He turned out to be a great person to collaborate with and such a gentleman." She adds, "There's been a lot of talk about releasing a double-sided CD/DVD of the show. I'm hoping that comes true."
 
OUT OF THE COLD:

"Numb3rs" star David Krumholtz is none too pleased about being aced out of "The Santa Clause 3." And he'd like to correct the misimpression that his series duties prevented him from resuming his role as Tim Allen's North Pole major domo Bernard in the movie.
 
"Disney has blamed the show, but the show couldn't have been more accommodating as far as working out my schedule," says Krumholtz, who is riding high as the math genius in the CBS drama, which got an early pickup for its third season. "I actually felt the deal they offered was a very sour deal, an unfair deal especially considering how much work it would have meant to do both the film and the show at the same time. Disney, I guess, unfortunately, in the end, didn't value my participation as much as I thought. It stinks. It hurts. Not being in the movie was actually fairly heartbreaking for me."
 
Generally speaking, however, things are adding up very well for Krumholtz, who just bought his first house. "Numb3rs" is in the rare position of being an Established Hit Show, one Krumholtz feels "is only getting better. Next season there'll be a lot more character work -- that's the direction it's taking," in addition to its math-powered plotlines. Meanwhile, a feature he expected to make in Paris over hiatus stalled over financing problems, so now, "I would love very much to do an independent film, something grittier than 'Numb3ers' -- or a broad comedy. Either one of those two."
 
HEALING OLD WOUNDS:

Former "Queer As Folk" regular Hal Sparks reports there's a very personal tune on the "Zero 1" CD he's getting ready to release with his band. "It's called 'Indian Summer,' and it's about a girl I knew in high school who died in a car accident. She was drunk and she drove into a ravine and she and one of the other kids was killed," he recalls. "I remember I had a huge crush on her but never worked up the nerve to walk the 8 feet across the hallway to say 'Hi.' I keep thinking had I done that maybe she wouldn't have been at that party." The comedian-cum-actor, who's currently hosting the reality series "Survival of the Richest," says, "It's not that I feel really guilty, but I definitely regret that, so I deal with it openly as much as I can in my music."
 
Sparks is putting his CD out independently, and it will be available through halsparks.com and CDBaby.com. "I've gotten offers from record labels, but it's like do you want to make 10 cents on your record or $10?" He and the band plan to head out on a world tour this summer, and proceeds from the Stateside tour will benefit "the Save the Music Foundation for VH-1," he says. "I'm a big believer in musical education. Music alters the brain and makes you think better. So my goal is to give a guitar to each local chapter to pass on to some kid to use."
 
GOING, GOING:

"George Lopez" costar Constance Marie reports she is soon to go "on the longest vacation I've ever been on in my life. It starts in New York and then I'm taking my fiance to Croatia, because he's Croatian, and then off to Venice, Italy. I don't even care if I sleep on the floor." Well, we're pretty confident she won't have to.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)