The line-up of System of a Down, Incubus [ tickets ], Mr. Bungle [ tickets ], and Puya [ tickets ] will hit the road for the 30-city Sno-Core 2000 tour, which is scheduled to kick off on Jan. 15 near San Diego. The tour is marketed as a snow-sport lifestyle event and is scheduled to play theater-sized venues through February.

The progressive metal band System of a Down, which opened for Limp Bizkit throughout November, was scheduled to wrap up a pair of appearances on the British version of Ozz-Fest tonight (12/22). Incubus has been touring the radio holiday festival circuit.

Mr. Bungle is fronted by Mike Patton of Faith No More, and Puya is a hard-driving rock en espaņol act that appeared on this year's inaugural Watcha Tour.

Movies showing snowboarding and skiing action will be shown between acts, according to tour spokesperson John Boyle of Extreme Consulting.

''In some markets, local shops will set up, and we'll also tie in with some local resorts,'' Boyle said. ''But Sno-Core's focus is pretty much on the music first.''

Tickets are currently on sale in several markets.

The title sponsor of this year's event is ArtistDIRECT.com, which falls under the same corporate umbrella as the talent agency that represents System of a Down, Incubus and Mr. Bungle. AritstDIRECT principals Marc Geiger and Don Muller bought an interest in the Sno-Core tour from its founder, agent Rick Bonde, in late 1997.

When the Sno-Core tour debuted in 1996, it was routed through many ski communities in the Western U.S., and its line-ups were dominated by punk and ska acts. The tour has since moved to larger and more traditional concert venues, and has taken on a hard-rock edge. Primus headlined the tour in 1998, and Everclear had top billing in 1999.

''We've grown to a point where it's hard to play most resort towns, but we still try to fit in a handful,'' Boyle said. ''We really make those our anchors.''

For instance, in Salt Lake City, Sno-Core is aligning with the U.S. Free Ski Nationals competition. On the day of the concert, Sno-Core will have a media day at the Snowbird ski resort.