Rolling Stones deny hotel story

There's no truth to the idea that the Rolling Stones have a problem with the Bush administration, even after the song "Sweet Neo Con" from last year's A Bigger Bang. A story in the UK tabloid The Sun said the band had refused a request from the White House to give up their reservations at the Imperial Hotel in Vienna, Austria, so that President Bush could stay there for a summit meeting in June. A "source close to Jagger" was even quoted as saying, "Bush's people seemed to be under the impression that they would just hand over the suites, but there was no way Mick was going to do that." There's only one problem -- it never happened. The Stones actually released a statement on Tuesday, April 25th, that read, "The story circulating about Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones refusing to give up their reservations at the Imperial Hotel in Vienna for President Bush this June is completely untrue. No one associated with Mick Jagger, other members of the Rolling Stones, the tour director, or those responsible for travel arrangements for the tour were ever contacted by the Imperial Hotel, President Bush, or anyone on his behalf requesting them to change their reservation."

In other Stones news, longtime keyboardist Chuck Leavell will give a different kind of performance on Wednesday, April 26th. Leavell will be at the DeLisle/Pass Christian Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi, to read from his children's book The Tree Farmer to a group of second graders. The event is part of a nationwide effort to help students affected by Hurricane Katrina last year, and Leavell told the Associated Press, "All of the libraries and schools that were devastated in the hurricane are suffering for the books that they need to get to children, and I am very proud to be a part of this to restore it." Over 100,000 books will be donated through the program, including 10,000 copies of The Tree Farmer.

Leavell hopes to educate children on the importance of trees through his book. He said, "It is so important that we get children thinking about these issues at an early age. It won't be long before those kids grow up. They'll be our new leaders."
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