JASON NEWSTED On SUPERNOVA Singer: 'I Already Know What I'm Looking For'

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that hundreds of hopefuls began lining up outside the Rockit Room nightclub in San Francisco on Tuesday (March 21) — some eight hours before the 10 a.m. casting call — in order to compete for the singer slot in SUPERNOVA, the new supergroup featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee, former METALLICA bassist and current VOIVOD member Jason Newsted, and onetime GUNS N' ROSES axeman Gilby Clarke. The new singer will be chosen from 16 hopefuls when the second edition of CBS's "Rock Star" returns summer 2006. In addition, "Rock Star" has signed songwriter-performer Butch Walker to produce SUPERNOVA's first album, to be released just before the new band hits the road in 2007. Walker, named Rolling Stone's 2005 "hot" producer, has written or produced tracks for AVRIL LAVIGNE, PINK, BOWLING FOR SOUP and TOMMY LEE.

"I already know what I'm looking for," said Newsted, who will help pick the final winner from approximately 60,000 contestants trying their luck at auditions around the world. "It's not somebody who fronts the band, it's someone who can hang with me."

The line of people outside the Rockit Room snaked past a Chinese produce market and around the corner, with contestants nervously clutching lyric sheets and coffee. Some came with guitars, others with laptops. Some wore three-piece suits, others sweats. And while quite a few chatted or ran through scales, a good number stood around with iPods in their ears just trying to get into the rock 'n' roll spirit so early in the morning.

"Most rock singers are vampires," said Brooks Lundy, the singer in local POLICE tribute band STUNG, who was one of the first through the door.

Inside the audition room, a group of four casting directors worked their way through a procession of contestants who belted out covers of songs by the likes of JOURNEY, DURAN DURAN and MAROON 5, but mostly LED ZEPPELIN.

Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle.