SMALL FACES

Actor Steven Seagal has been nosing around the music world for ages--he sat in on guitar with the Allman Brothers at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April. Now he’s trying toenter it for real and has enlisted Bernard Fowler (backup vocalist for the Rolling Stones and frontman of Nickelbag, which has started a weekly Wednesday gig at the Cat Club) as a vocal coach. Seagal is concentrating on blues material at this point. . . .

Joe Jackson is revisiting the terrain of his biggest album, 1982’s “Night and Day,” for “Night and Day II.” Inspired by Cole Porter, the songs examine New York through a series of different personalities. Marianne Faithful guests on one track. It’s due Oct. 24. . . .

Rufus Wainwright has brought in his Montreal childhood friend Melissa Auf Der Maur (former Hole and current Smashing Pumpkins bassist) to play on a track for his second album, “Poses,” which is nearing completion. Wainwright is also joined by his sister, Martha, and has recorded a version of his father Loudon’s song “One Man Guy,” which features another longtime friend, Teddy Thompson (son of English folk-rockers Richard and Linda Thompson). . . .

Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna, while continuing as a producer and with his own Tweaker electronic project, has joined a new band tentatively called Vertigo. The group is currently shopping for a deal. Vrenna was also hired to compose and produce the soundtrack for the American McGee video game “Alice,” involving “Alice in Wonderland” characters. . . .

With the Bangles reunion in gear, guitarist Vicki Peterson is still playing with the New Orleans band Continental Drifters, with the group contributing a version of the Monkees’ hit “Last Train to Clarksville” for volume two of “The I-10 Chronicles,” a musical exploration of the Sun Belt highway. Also on board for the anthology are Grant Lee Phillips and the Mavericks’ Raul Malo.