What’s new, Pussycat Dolls? Franchising

We’ve got the Blue Man Group. How about Blue Women -- well, at least blue in the more prurient sense?

The Pussycat Dolls, the neo-burlesque troupe that’s been a regular at the Viper Room for a decade and is noted both for its bump-and-grind and its celebrity guests, has partnered with Interscope/A&M; Records with the goal of developing a multimedia franchise that would encompass musical albums, DVDs and both a touring show and a version with permanent homes in various cities around the world in a fashion similar to what the Blue Men have done in recent years.

“I’ve always looked at it like that,” says Robin Antin, the dancer-choreographer who started the Dolls as a fun side venture and still designs and hand-sews most of the colorful if skimpy outfits. “I started this based on wanting it one day to be on Broadway, having a fixed place in Las Vegas, in London, and having girls in it who sing. And then there’s the whole film side of it, and a TV element.”

Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine sees the project as a mix of “Moulin Rouge” (his company helped develop and released the music from that movie) and “Chicago,” but most significantly as exactly the kind of nontraditional, wide-reaching venture a record company needs to redefine itself in these troubled times for the music business.

“It’s a new model,” he says. “It interests me for the same reason we did ‘Moulin Rouge.’ It’s a touring group, but one that looks like a theatrical show.”

But there’s a lot of work to do. The five principal members are accomplished dancers and actresses, but they are not singers. And while Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani are auxiliary members (as are Carmen Electra, Britney Murphy and Christina Applegate) and may guest on recordings, there’s still a need for full-timers who can front the musical performance element.

With that in mind, open auditions for new members will be held at a Burbank soundstage Dec. 2 to 4.

“They’ve got to fit in, have the right vibe and attitude, be confident with their sexuality,” Antin says. “The sort-of motto for the show is ‘Inside every woman there’s a Pussycat Doll.’ Hopefully they can bring that out of themselves. It’s about finding girls who have exceptional voices and are exceptional dancers. They don’t have to be super-skinny. The bodies I use in my costume sketches are really big women. It’s about letting women out there know: If you’re big and can work it, that’s what we’re looking for.”

The musical aspect will be overseen by A&M; Records President Ron Fair, executive producer of the “Lady Marmalade” hit from “Moulin Rouge” who also has produced and played on songs for Christina Aguilera.

“We’re going to find our own Christina, our own Beyonce, our own Mariah, maybe a J-Lo and a Martina McBride,” he says. “We’re going to take the essence of what the show is and merge it with original material. It can be a music-driven act that can branch off from the show.”

The Dolls have gotten considerable press coverage already and were introduced to a network TV audience in September via a “One Minute Movie” (written and directed by Antin’s brother and featuring Electra) that aired on NBC between episodes of “Friends” and “Will & Grace.” And the group will be a prominent guest on a Kid Rock Christmas special that VH1 is planning for December. Plans are for work on the album to start in early 2004, with Fair and Corey Rooney (Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and many others) as the primary producers. A single probably will be released in early spring.

6,666 is the magic number

Dave GROHL’S heavy-metal side project Probot will have its public debut with a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single to be released Nov. 10 by independent Southern Lord Recordings -- the release restricted to a single production run of 6,666 copies. The Foo Fighters frontman wrote and recorded all the music for Probot himself, then sought some of his favorite metal vocalists (mostly drawn from ‘80s insurgents outside the mainstream) to write lyrics and sing. The single features two songs, “Centuries of Sin” (co-written and sung by Cronos of the band Venom) and “The Emerald Law” (with Wino from the Obsessed).

The full album is due from the same label on Feb. 10, with other guest singers including Motorhead’s Lemmy, plus a guest guitar solo by Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil.

Small faces

* While quickie books about Johnny Cash are likely to show up, an in-depth biography is in the works but won’t be published before fall 2005. The book is being written by Michael Streissguth, author of “Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Reader” published last year, and whose “Live at Folsom Prison: The Making of Johnny Cash’s Masterpiece” is due next year. Both books are being released by Da Capo Press. The same publishing house also is preparing “Rolling Thunder Logbook,” in which author-playwright Sam Shepard chronicles his travels with the sprawling Bob Dylan-led tour of 1975 that also sported a fluid cast that included Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Arlo Guthrie and many more.

* Chicago’s mostly instrumental band Tortoise, which along with Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus and the band Shellac will curate the London All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in March, is working on a new album. Due in April, it will feature some material derived from improvisation, a writing method the band has not explored much in the past. Windy City singer Kelly Hogan guests in a choral role on one track.