Local

Upbeat Midwest artist Peter Mayer will be performing at the Ames Public Library this weekend.

His stop in Ames is part of the winter/spring tour he began in January and includes one other Iowa visit. Mayer will be in Boone for the Iowa Student Environmental Conference on April 2.

Mayer’s tour stems from the October 1999 release of “Million Year Mind,” which added a fourth CD to his discography.

Mayer also recently opened his official Web site, www.blueboat.net. Although it is still under construction, it will soon house his biography, reviews, information on his records and tour updates.

Copies of Mayer’s records can currently be obtained through Peppermint, a label/distributing service based in Minneapolis that provides fans with hard to find CDs and tour information of independent singer/songwriters.

Mayer appears on the label along with such indie singer/songwriters as Brenda Weiler and Stuart Davis.

Their albums and other independent Midwestern artists’ work, in addition to “Peppermint Sampler” and “Peppermint Sampler, Vol. 2,” are available at www.peppermintcds.com.

Regional

After a brief tour of record stores, the Smashing Pumpkins have announced the initial dates for their upcoming U.S. tour, “The Sacred and Profane.”

The Pumpkins begin the tour on April 8 in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium. They will play theaters and ballrooms in the Midwest for the first 10 dates of the tour, even stopping in Axl Rose’s hometown of West Lafayette, Ind., according to Allstar Daily News .

The Pumpkin’s tour is in support of their recently released “MACHINA/the machines of God,” which hit stores last month.

Other nearby stops include April 10 at St. Louis’ American Theater and the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on April 15 and 16.

National

In other arena-rockin’ news, Pearl Jam’s latest work, originally set for release on Nov. 11, 1999, may finally have a solid release date.

After changing the street date four times since the original date, “Binaural” is now expected to hit store shelves on May 23.

The Seattle band’s sixth studio recording is produced by Tchad Blake, according to Pearl Jam’s official Web site.

The first single, “Nothing As It Seems,” comes out on April 11, and features the B-side, “Insignificance.”

European fans will get a live taste of Pearl Jam’s new material as they begin an overseas jaunt beginning on the album’s release date in Lisbon, Portugal.

Venues for their North American tour have yet to be announced, but cities have been posted on the group’s Web site.

Pearl Jam plans to get things started in the United States later this summer. Eddie Vedder and company will begin on Aug. 3 in Virginia City, Virginia, followed by stops in nearby Midwestern cities this fall.

On Oct. 9 Pearl Jam will perform in Chicago, followed by a stop in St. Louis on Oct. 11, and a show in Kansas City Oct. 12.

In related news, after five years of business, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard has departed from his independent label, Loosegroove, to devote more time to the band.