Steven Tyler headlined an exclusive media show last night (8 February) at Nashville's aVenue club, wowing a roomful of radio programmers with his new country material and classic Aerosmith hits. uDiscover was in the audience to witness the occasion.
The event was part of the Big Machine Label Group’s Ultimate CRS Mardi Gras Kick-Off Party, ending the first day of the Country Radio Seminar event. Tyler is recording a country-flavoured album for BMLG's Dot label, and played both of the first two singles from it, 'Love Is Your Name' and 'Red, White & You.'
With his hair blowing and a scarf on the mic stand, Tyler made his appearance at midnight, as he and his band launched into Aerosmith's 'Jaded.' The short set also included a cover of the soul gem 'Piece Of My Heart,' and left admirers in raptures with a closing version of Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way.'
Introduced by Big Machine Label Group founder Scott Borchetta, Tyler commanded the stage with his familiar charismatic presence, and could do no wrong in the eyes of a devoted audience. Anticipation grows for his album, on which he's been working since moving to Nashville a year ago.
Earlier in the evening, there were performances by southern country-rock band A Thousand Horses, ahead of their appearance at the UK's C2C Festival next month; the Cadillac Three, fresh from their highly successful UK tour which had ended only 48 hours earlier; and Alabama-born, Nashville-based country artist Drake White, who is Tyler's labelmate at Dot.
Watch Amy Helm's Stirring Sam Cooke Cover 'Good News'
Daughter of legendary Band drummer Levon Helm stomps and croons through a standout track on her new album
Amy Helm, the daughter of the Band's drummer Levon Helm, has released a video for her cover of "Ain't That Good News."
During the making of her rootsy solo debut LP, Didn't It Rain — out now — Amy Helm faced the 2012 death of her father, the Band's legendary drummer Levon Helm. She was also enduring the end of her marriage, while welcoming the birth of her second child. Helm, who had been part of the alt-country band Ollabelle and a longtime member of her father's Midnight Ramble Band, was led by the seismic shift those life-changing events created to re-record half the album.
While it carries her father's name as executive producer (Levon played on three cuts) and is awash in a wide array of influences from R&B and blues to folk and country, Didn't It Rain firmly establishes the younger Helm as one of Americana's most impassioned, soul-stirring singers. It stands to reason, then, that Helm would be especially drawn to one of the LP's cover tunes, "Good News." A favorite of her father's to play at the many Midnight Rambles he hosted at his home in Woodstock, New York, it's a song that Sam Cooke wrote and recorded at a pivotal time in his own turbulent life.
In the summer of 1963, Cooke's 18-month-old son drowned in the family's swimming pool. Months later, the first new music the R&B, gospel and pop icon would record in the wake of his son's tragic death was "Ain't That Good News," a lively reworking of an old gospel standard, which shifted the lyrics from spiritual to secular but maintained the joyful exuberance of the original. The tune served as the title track of Ain't That Good News, the last he would release before his own tragic shooting death at 33 in December 1964. For her rousing version of the song, Helm looked no further than her family's own backyard.
Filmed entirely outdoors on a crisp autumn day, outside the Levon Helm Studios and "the Barn" where the Midnight Ramble performance sessions and other concert events still draw large crowds, the accompanying video for "Good News" follows Helm and her band on a march through the woods. While Helm's performance spotlights her raw, organic approach to the tune, it also carries the freewheeling spirit of Cooke's original.
"I loved being able to connect to this song, singing it night after night, and building a vocal arrangement around my dad's one-of-a-kind groove," Helm tells Rolling Stone Country. "When we recorded it for my album, we decided to switch gears and do it acoustically. I wanted the video to capture as much of the live energy of my band as we could. So along with great vision from director Michelle Cutolo and crew lead by producer T Zhang, we opted for a live one-shot performance which we filmed on a beautiful autumn day."
Helm is getting ready to hit the road with Anders Osborne. Here are the dates for her upcoming trek:
February 11 – Nashville @ City Winery February 12 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay February 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage February 14 – Charleston, SC @ Pour House February 17 – Wilmington, NC @ Brooklyn Arts Center February 18 – Easton, MD @ Avalon February 19 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club February 20 – Irvington, NY @ Irvington Town Hall Theater
(headlining with opener Adrien Reju) February 25 – Boston @ Paradise Rock Club February 27 – Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall February 28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Alter March 1 – Columbus, OH @ Park Street Saloon March 2 – Cincinnati @ Taft Theater March 4 – Chicago @ Thalia Hall March 5 – St. Louis @ Old Rock House
42 years ago, the colour of the charts was definitely white. Barry White, to be precise, who had burst into the bestsellers as an artist in his own right (after years of paying dues during the 1960s) with ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby.’ By early 1974, he was everywhere, not just with his own new hit ‘Never Never Gonna Give Ya Up’ but as the leader of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, whose instrumental ‘Love’s Theme’ hit No. 1 on the US pop chart on 9 February, 1974.
White’s introduction to many record-buyers had come as the mentor and instigator for the female group Love Unlimited, who had a top 20 US and UK hit in 1972 with ‘Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love.’ Their Supremes-style delivery accompanied by lush orchestration proved a winner, and now as White continued his chart onslaught with his own patented, deeply sensual soul style, ‘Love’s Theme’ was the perfect complement. It featured a 40-piece orchestra conducted by…of course, big bad Barry himself.
The track was part of Love Unlimited’s Under The Influence Of…album, which itself went to No. 3 in the US and was certified gold. On that LP, the instrumental was really a “warm-up” to the female trio’s ‘I’m Under The Influence Of Love,’ but radio DJs, sensing a hit, went for ‘Love’s Theme’ in its own right, prompting its release as a single. How right they were: it topped the pop chart on this date in ’74, replacing Barbra Streisand’s ‘The Way We Were.’ A week later, the orchestra’s own album Rhapsody In White, also featuring the hit, entered the charts, making No. 2 R&B.
Soon, White would resume his own chart campaign, with another major hit in ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe’ and then, before the end of the year, a UK No. 1 with ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything.’
And “unlimited” was the word in every sense: 1974 was also the year that Barry married Love Unlimited member Glodean James.
Taylor Swift, the Weeknd Lead iHeartRadio Music Awards Noms
Taylor Swift and the Weeknd lead this year's iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations, scoring eight and seven nods, respectively Johnny Louis/Getty, Graham Denholm/Getty
Taylor Swift leads the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations with a whopping eight, while 2015's breakout pop star the Weeknd followed closely behind with seven.
The two pop stars will compete for both Song of the Year as well as the inaugural Album of the Year award. In the former category, Swift's "Blank Space" and the Weeknd's "I Can't Feel My Face" will go up against Adele's "Hello," Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance" and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk." 1989 andBeauty Behind the Madness will compete against Adele's 25, Ed Sheeran's X and Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hourin the latter category.
Both Swift and the Weeknd were also nominated for the inaugural Female and Male Artist of the Year categories (the previous two years featured simply Artist of the Year, which Swift won in 2015). Swift's competition includes Adele, Carrie Underwood, Meghan Trainor and Selena Gomez, while the Weeknd is up against Sheeran, Smith, Justin Bieber and Luke Bryan.
This year's iHeartRadio Awards will also feature a handful of fan-voted categories including Best Fan Army, Best Lyrics and Best Collaboration, as well as three new categories: Best Cover Song, Best Song from a Movie and Most Meme-Able Moment. Voting will take place via the iHeartRadio website from February 9th through March 25th, except for Fan Army and Meme-Able Moment, which will continue through the evening of the awards on April 3rd.
The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards boasts 21 new categories spanning a slew of genres, including alternative, rock, country, R&B, hip-hop, Latin and regional Mexican music. A complete list of nominees is below. The iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live Sunday April 3rd on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominations
Song of the Year Taylor Swift — "Blank Space" The Weeknd — "Can't Feel My Face" Adele — "Hello" Walk The Moon — "Shut Up and Dance" Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars — "Uptown Funk"
Female Artist of the Year (New Category) Adele Carrie Underwood Meghan Trainor Selena Gomez Taylor Swift
Male Artist of the Year (New Category) Ed Sheeran Justin Bieber Luke Bryan Sam Smith The Weeknd
Best New Artist Fetty Wap Hozier Sam Hunt Shawn Mendes Tove Lo
Best Duo/Group of the Year (New Category) Fall Out Boy Maroon 5 One Direction Walk The Moon Zac Brown Band
Album of the Year (New Category) Taylor Swift — 1989 Adele — 25 The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness Sam Smith — In the Lonely Hour Ed Sheeran — X
Best Tour (New Category) Foo Fighters Garth Brooks Luke Bryan Taylor Swift U2
Alternative Rock Artist of the Year (New Category) AWOLNATION Foo Fighters Muse Twenty One Pilots X Ambassadors
Alternative Rock Song of the Year Cage The Elephant — "Cigarette Daydreams" Elle King — "Ex's & Oh's" X Ambassadors — "Renegades" Walk The Moon — "Shut Up and Dance" Twenty One Pilots — "Stressed Out"
Rock Artist of the Year (New Category) Breaking Benjamin Disturbed Five Finger Death Punch Foo Fighters Three Days Grace
Rock Song of the Year (New Category) Shinedown — "Cut The Cord" Breaking Benjamin — "Failure" Pop Evil — "Footsteps" Zac Brown Band featuring Chris Cornell — "Heavy Is The Head" Three Days Grace — "I Am Machine"
Country Song of the Year Chris Janson — "Buy Me A Boat" Zac Brown Band — "Homegrown" Luke Bryan — "I See You" Brett Eldredge — "Lose My Mind" Sam Hunt — "Take Your Time"
Country Artist of the Year (New Category) Blake Shelton Brad Paisley Luke Bryan Sam Hunt Thomas Rhett
Dance Song of the Year David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack — "Hey Mama" Major Lazer & DJ Snake featuring MØ — "Lean On" Mr. Probz — "Waves" Skrillex & Diplo with Justin Bieber — "Where Are Ü Now?" DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge — "You Know You Like It"
Dance Artist of the Year (New Category) Calvin Harris David Guetta Major Lazer Skrillex & Diplo Zedd
Hip Hop Song of the Year (New Category) Big Sean featuring Drake & Kanye West — "Blessings" Rich Homie Quan — "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)" Drake — "Hotline Bling" Fetty Wap — "Trap Queen" Nicki Minaj featuring Drake & Lil Wayne — "Truffle Butter"
Hip Hop Artist of the Year (New Category) Big Sean Drake Fetty Wap Future J. Cole
R&B Song of the Year (New Category) Rihanna — "Bitch Better Have My Money" The Weeknd — "Earned It" Jeremih featuring J. Cole — "Planes" Omarion featuring Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko — "Post To Be" The Weeknd — "The Hills"
R&B Artist of the Year (New Category) Beyoncé Chris Brown The Weeknd Trey Songz Usher
Latin Song of the Year (New Category) J Balvin — "Ay Vamos" Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias — "El Perdón" Romeo Santos — "Hilito" Gente De Zona featuring Marc Anthony — "La Gozadera" Maná featuring Shakira — "Mi Verdad"
Latin Artist of the Year (New Category) Enrique Iglesias J Balvin Nicky Jam Pitbull Prince Royce
Regional Mexican Song of the Year (New Category) Calibre 50 — "Aunque Ahora Estés Con Él" Gerardo Ortiz — "Eres Una Niña" Voz de Mando — "Levantando Polvadera" Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga — "Mi Vicio Más Grande" Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho — "Te Mestiste"
Regional Mexican Artist of the Year (New Category) Banda Los Recoditos Calibre 50 Gerardo Ortiz Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda Voz De Mando
Best Lyrics *Socially Voted Category Thomas Rhett — "Die A Happy Man" Rachel Platten — "Fight Song" Adele — "Hello" Ed Sheeran — "Photograph" Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth — "See You Again"
Best Collaboration *Socially Voted Category Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar — "Bad Blood" Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend — "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth — "See You Again" Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars — "Uptown Funk" Skrillex & Diplo with Justin Bieber — "Where Are Ü Now?"
Best Cover Song (New Category) *Socially Voted Category Ryan Adams covering Taylor Swift — 1989 (Album in Full) Alessia Cara covering Taylor Swift — "Bad Blood" Kelly Clarkson covering Rihanna — "Bitch Better Have My Money" Pentatonix covering Omi — "Cheerleader" Troy Sivan covering Selena Gomez And Justin Bieber — "Hands To Myself/Sorry" Demi Lovato covering Adele — "Hello" Justin Bieber covering Drake — "Hotline Bling" Sam Smith & Disclosure covering Drake — "Hotline Bling" Ed Sheeran covering Fetty Wap — "Trap Queen" Fifth Harmony, Jasmine V, Jacob Whitesides and Mahogany Lox covering Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars — "Uptown Funk"
Best Song from a Movie (New Category) *Socially Voted Category The Weeknd (50 Shades of Grey) — "Earned It" Ellie Goulding (50 Shades of Grey) — "Love Me Like You Do" Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth (Furious 7) — "See You Again" Lady Gaga (The Hunting Ground) — "Til It Happens To You" Sam Smith (Spectre) — "Writing's On The Wall"
Most Meme-able Moment (New Category) *Socially Voted Category Adele and all of the "Hello" memes (Lionel Richie, Miss Piggy, Etc.) Drake and "Hotline Bling" Katy Perry and the Left Shark (from Super Bowl 49) Kanye West and Kanye For President / Kanye 2020 Taylor Swift's "Crazy Girl" with Running Mascara (from "Blank Space" video)
Best FanArmy *Socially Voted Category 5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOSFam Adam Lambert — Glamberts Ariana Grande — Arianators Demi Lovato - Lovatics Fifth Harmony - Harmonizers Justin Bieber - Beliebers Little Mix - Mixers Nicki Minaj - Barbz One Direction - Directioners Selena Gomez - Selenators Shawn Mendes - Mendes Army Taylor Swift - Swifties
In the last quarter of 1930, Louis Armstrong went from New York to Hollywood to appear at Frank Sebastian’s Cotton Club, a mock Tudor building in Culver City that had the reputation of being one the premier night spots in Los Angeles. Soon he was in the studio for OKeh recording as Louis Armstrong and his New Sebastian Cotton Club Orchestra, which was in reality the Vernon Elkins band that Louis played with every night at the club. Among the sides he cut was ‘Body and Soul’, which featured Lionel Hampton on drums and vibes and ‘Just A Gigolo’ recorded in March 1931.
In September 1930 Armstrong briefly appeared in in his first movie while he was appearing in Hollywood. In Ex-Flame Louis plays with the Les Hite Orchestra. A second film, Mixed Doubles, was probably made in early 1931, again with Les Hite. Neither film can now be seen as no print survives, but they were another small step along the road to wider fame and fortune for Louis.
It was after his second film appearance, and after his triumphal run at the Cotton Club, that Louis decided it was time to head home to Chicago. Five years later, having toured Europe Louis was in Los Angeles in July 1936 working on Pennies from Heaven in his first featured role in a Hollywood film. It starred Bing Crosby, who Louis had known from his time at Sebastian’s Cotton Club in 1930, and as was a typical role in those far off Hollywood times as Louis’s had to play a somewhat subservient part, but then, all black roles in Hollywood were of that ilk. Armstrong appeared as a musician who worked in a café performing ‘Skeletons in the Closet’.
While Louis was in Hollywood he recorded with Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra in August. It included the title song from the film along with a reprise of ‘Swing That Music’ and three other pieces.
Fast forward to 1960 and Louis Armstrong was completely accepted when on 8 February he was awarded a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Watch Seal, Ewan McGregor, Gary Oldman Lead David Bowie Tribute
Spiders From Mars keyboardist Mike Garson also performed "Aladdin Sane" for first time in 20 years at Los Angeles benefit gig
Ewan McGregor, Gary Oldman, Seal and the Spiders From Mars keyboardist Mike Garson were all on hand for Los Angeles' Celebrating David Bowie tribute
Ewan McGregor, Gary Oldman, Seal and Spiders From Mars keyboardist Mike Garson were all on hand for Monday night's "Celebrating David Bowie" benefit concert at Los Angeles' the Roxy, an event coordinated by local musician Angelo Bundini, Billboard reports.
While the inclusion of McGregor might seem like an odd fit for a Bowie tribute, the actor actually has some experience with the singer's music: In a medley for 2001'sMoulin Rouge, McGregor teased Bowie's "Heroes," a track he also performed at the Roxy tribute. McGregor also co-starred in the Bowie-inspired film Velvet Goldmine, albeit in the role that was based on Iggy Pop.
Garson, a longtime Bowie collaborator who played piano on Aladdin Sane, performed his classic piano solo from that album's title track for the first time in 20 years, as he informed the audience. Later, Seal joined Garson onstage to deliver a jazzy take on Reality's "Bring Me the Disco King."
Oldman, meanwhile, performed Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World." Other artists who appeared at Celebrating David Bowie included Fishbone's Angelo Moore, Nikka Costa, Eric Dover, Holly Palmer and more. Proceeds from the gig benefitted Max's Kansas City Project Inc.
Daryl Hall & John Oates at the Hollywood Bowl on September 20th!
With Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave.
Tickets on Sale Saturday, February 13th at 10am HERE
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 9, 2016) – Multi-platinum selling music artists and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES announced a summer amphitheater tour today. Produced by Live Nation, the tour featuring Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, will kick off on Friday, May 13 and will make stops in 21 cities throughout the country including Los Angeles, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston, Seattle and more. A full list of tour dates and venues is below. (Photo credit: Mick Rock)
American Express cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning today Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Feb 13 at 10 a.m. at www.livenation.com. Fans with the Live Nation mobile app will have access to a password-free presale starting Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 10:00 a.m. The app pre-sale is only valid for Ticketmaster-ticketed venues. The app is available via the App Store and Google Play.
Friends of Daryl and John, Gene (Fred Armisen) and Clark (Bill Hader) from soft rock’s seminal band, The Blue Jean Committee, have created a special video announcing the summer 2016 tour: https://youtu.be/XNb5ZCR08ho. To see the whole story of the Blue Jean Committee check out the IFC app. The second season of Documentary Now! premieres in the Fall on IFC.
DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES SUMMER 2016 TOUR
Friday, May 13, 2016 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion Sunday, May 15, 2016 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Austin, TX Austin360 Amphitheater Thursday, May 19, 2016 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre Saturday, May 21, 2016 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion Thursday, May 26, 2016 Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live Sunday, July 10, 2016 Philadelphia, PA BB&T Pavilion Tuesday, July 12, 2016 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center Thursday, July 14, 2016 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion Saturday, July 16, 2016 Boston, MA Xfinity Center Monday, July 18, 2016 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre Wednesday, July 20, 2016 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center Friday, July 22, 2016 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Sunday, July 24, 2016 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center Friday, September 09, 2016 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre Monday, September 12, 2016 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion Sunday, September 18, 2016 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl Friday, September 23, 2016 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena All dates, cities and venues below subject to change.
Daryl Hall and John Oates are the NUMBER-ONE SELLING DUO in music history. From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, the duo would score six #1 singles, including “Rich Girl” (also #1 R&B), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (also #1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch” from their six consecutive multi-platinum albums—’76’s Bigger Than Both of Us, ’80’s Voices, ’81’s Private Eyes, ‘82’s H2O, ‘83’s Rock N Soul, Part I and ‘84’s Big Bam Boom. The era would also produce an additional 5 Top 10 singles, “Sara Smile,” “One on One,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Say It Isn’t So” and “Method of Modern Love.” By 1987, the RIAA recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the NUMBER-ONE SELLING DUO in music history, a record they still hold today.
On May 20, 2008, the duo was honored with the Icon Award during BMI’s 56th annual Pop Awards. The award has previously gone to the Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Ray Davies, Carlos Santana and Dolly Parton.
In 2014, Daryl and John were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 2016 finds Daryl Hall and John Oates very much at the height of their powers making their own kind of soul, with a new generation of musicians recognizing not only their historic track record of success, but also their continuing influence and achievements.
Springsteen delivers marathon album with mighty marathon concert
By Greg Haymes
Updated 1:00 pm, Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Photo: PAUL BUCKOWSKI
IMAGE 1 OF 19
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform at the Times Union Center for their tour to promote their remastered release of the double album "The River" on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. (Paul ... more
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ALBANY – It was a sprawling show, even by Springsteen standards.
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Rolling into the Times Union Center on Monday night in support of their mammoth "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection," a whopping seven-disc comprehensive look at the era of the 1980 double-album, "The River," Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band took the stage at 8 p.m. and steamrolled through a 3½ hour set of 34 songs. It was an exhausting, Herculean effort, both for the band and for the sold-out, jam-packed crowd.
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It was also richly rewarding, as the first two hours featured a song-by-song performance of "The River," followed by a 90-minute tear through a cherry-picked selection of greatest hits that included "Badlands," "Backstreets," "Thunder Road," "Born to Run," an electrifying "Rosalita" and more.
"Are you ready to be entertained?" he asked the crowd at the start of the show. "Are you ready to be transformed?
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"Come along with us as we go down to the river..."
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With a pared-back, eight-piece band behind him (minus the horn section and back-up singers that accompanied him at his last stop at the downtown arena in May of 2014), the 66-year-old Springsteen explained that "The River" was "my coming of age record." Of course, he and the boys (and guitarist-violinist Soozie Tyrell) can still kick the stuffing out of the arena-ready party anthems – "I'm a Rocker," "Crush On You" and the Coasters-esque "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)." And soul-strolls like "Fade Away" and "I Wanna Marry You" (which he described as "a young man's song, a daydream") still tugged at the heart.
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But it was the back-to-back pairing of the album's title song (with Tyrell on violin, Nils Lofgren on steel guitar and the Boss' consigliere Steve Van Zandt on 12-string guitar) with "Point Blank" that cut the deepest, not only brimming over with narrative drama, but resonating the most from the perspective of age.
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ALBANY – It was a sprawling show, even by Springsteen standards.
.
Rolling into the Times Union Center on Monday night in support of their mammoth "The Ties That Bind: The River Collection," a whopping seven-disc comprehensive look at the era of the 1980 double-album, "The River," Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band took the stage at 8 p.m. and steamrolled through a 3½ hour set of 34 songs. It was an exhausting, Herculean effort, both for the band and for the sold-out, jam-packed crowd.
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It was also richly rewarding, as the first two hours featured a song-by-song performance of "The River," followed by a 90-minute tear through a cherry-picked selection of greatest hits that included "Badlands," "Backstreets," "Thunder Road," "Born to Run," an electrifying "Rosalita" and more.
"Are you ready to be entertained?" he asked the crowd at the start of the show. "Are you ready to be transformed?
.
"Come along with us as we go down to the river..."
.
With a pared-back, eight-piece band behind him (minus the horn section and back-up singers that accompanied him at his last stop at the downtown arena in May of 2014), the 66-year-old Springsteen explained that "The River" was "my coming of age record." Of course, he and the boys (and guitarist-violinist Soozie Tyrell) can still kick the stuffing out of the arena-ready party anthems – "I'm a Rocker," "Crush On You" and the Coasters-esque "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)." And soul-strolls like "Fade Away" and "I Wanna Marry You" (which he described as "a young man's song, a daydream") still tugged at the heart.
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But it was the back-to-back pairing of the album's title song (with Tyrell on violin, Nils Lofgren on steel guitar and the Boss' consigliere Steve Van Zandt on 12-string guitar) with "Point Blank" that cut the deepest, not only brimming over with narrative drama, but resonating the most from the perspective of age.
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Despite the four-guitar army up front, "Because the Night" was driven by Roy Bittan at his white Yamaha grand piano – at least until Lofgren uncorked the best guitar solo of the night. And saxman Jake Clemmons played with impressive confidence and power throughout the evening, swooping in on his solos like a hawk.
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By the time Springsteen & Co. wrapped things up with a joyous, unbridled stomp through the Isley Brothers' gem "Shout," some members of the crowd were heading for the exits, seemingly more tired than the bandmembers.
Greg Haymes is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
Concert review
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday
Where: The Times Union Center, 51 South Pearl St., Albany
Length: 3½ non-stop
Highlights: "The Price You Pay," "Drive All Night" and the dramatic back-to-back pairing of "The River" and "Point Blank"
The crowd: Sold out well in advance
LIVE DATES
DATE/LOCATION/DETAILS
10 Feb, 2016HARTFORD, CTXL CenterThe River Tour 2016
Examiner Dorri Olds met Katie Holmes in Manhattan on Sat., Feb. 6. She was promoting her latest movie, “Touched with Fire.” Holmes plays a bipolar poet in this gripping drama about what the world looks like through the eyes of this illness. Holmes threw herself into the role and and takes you on the high highs of mania and the terrible lows of depression on the flip side.
Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby in 'Touched with Fire'
Roadside Attractions
It is also about the intense relationship that develops between Katie’s character, Carla, and bipolar Marco (Luke Kirby), who met in a mental hospital. Kirby (Jon Stern on TV’s “Rectify”), also gives a knock-out performance. It’s a career-changer for sure.
Bipolar writer and director Paul Dalio brought searing authenticity to the script. Christine Lahti, who plays Carla’s mother with a powerful subtlety, communicates the heartbreak of parenting a bipolar child.
Holmes said, “I approached this project not really knowing much about this disease. When I met with Paul [Dalio] I was so inspired by his passion and willingness to bring such a personal story to the screen. The opportunity to take on a role of such challenge was really something that seemed right.”
The actress spoke fondly about her cast members, “It was wonderful working with Luke [Kirby]. We both prepared on our own and had a lot of rehearsals. We depended on Paul to guide our characters. Everybody on the crew, and in the cast, all had different stories that we shared. I realized through this process how many people have been affected personally so it made the work really rewarding.”
On the topic of working hard to get things right Holmes said, “Working with Christine [Lahti] was incredible and she taught me so much about acting but also really inspired me. Doing our scenes together was incredible—it was just so much fun. I wanted to keep doing more and more takes just because [working with her] was like playing a game. We got to be free, and try stuff, and she’s amazing. I wanted to do like ten more [tries], just because I got to and why wouldn’t I?”
Holmes said, “As an actor, I think this was an incredible experience to grow creatively. This wonderful group of people [and I] had a really great time making this and so many friendships came out of it. I look at this project as just a wonderful, creative time and I’m proud of the whole piece.”
“Touched with Fire” opens in theaters February 12, 2016. Rated R. 104 min.
25 Artists Who Have Never Won a Grammy
From megastars like Katy Perry to legends like Morrissey, acts who've never grabbed a Grammy gramophone
Katy Perry, Björk, Snoop Dogg and Nas are just a few of the big-time stars who have never won a single Grammy.
On February 15th, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj will both be returning to the Grammys — and both will be vying to take home their first trophy. Like Patti Smith (one nomination), Nas (11) and Snoop Dogg (17), neither has won a gramophone of his or her own. Here's a rundown of the pop stars, punk icons and rock geniuses whose work has never been recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Snoop Dogg Times nominated: 17 As of 2015, Snoop Dogg was tied for first place in the dubious competition to be the artist with the most Grammy nominations and zero wins. This year, he'll either extend that historic unlucky streak or end it forever: He's up for a 17th time as one of the featured artists on Kendrick Lamar's Album of the Year contender To Pimp a Butterfly. In the past, he's made the final cut for classics "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," "Gin and Juice" and "Drop It Like It's Hot," among others, only to be beaten out by the eminently worthy likes of Kanye West, Beyoncé and Dr. Dre. Snoop made his feelings on this pattern clear last month in a video supporting Jad...rs boycott: "Being nominated for 17 Grammys and never winning one … I feel what she's saying as a far as great performances never being acknowledged," he said. "But who gives a fuck? Fuck the Grammys. Fuck the Oscars. Fuck all that slavery-type award shows.”
Bryan McKnight Times nominated: 16 R&B's Susan Lucci is right behind Snoop in second place as the Grammys' most-nominated, never-awarded artist. You might expect that somewhere in his deep and velvety catalog, brimming with favorites like "Anytime" (lost Best Pop Vocal Performance to Stevie Wonder's "St. Louis Blues" in 1999) and Back at One (lost Best R&B Album to TLC's FanMail in 2000), there is an album or song or video or duet worthy of a statue. But no. Could it be that his pristine adult contemporary R&B – though apparently highly nominate-able – is somehow too safe for even Grammy voters?
Joe Satriani Times nominated: 15 Satriani is one of the most technically accomplished guitarists ever – the expert term for his level of playing is "so sick, dude." But somehow that's never been enough to sway the Recording Academy, which has consistently brought him right up to the edge of the winner's circle in rock and pop instrumental performance categories without ever letting him step inside. His cult-classic Surfing With the Alien LP and its song "Always With Me, Always With You" nabbed Satriani his first pair of no-win nominations back in '89; nearly 20 years later, he got his 15th nod for a live version of the same tune, but came up empty yet again.
Bjork Mark Horton/WireImage
Björk Times nominated: 14 Björk is up for Best Alternative Music Album this year for her heartrending 2015 LP Vulnicura. But don't get your hopes up: She's lost in the same category four times (for Vespertine, Medulla, Volta and Biophilia), along with 10 other nominations that didn't pan out, mostly in music video and vocal performance categories. Her art-rock isn't too far out for other award-giving bodies, though: Björk has won BRIT Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, 21 Icelandic Music awards, an award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, two Webby Awards and the award for Best Actress at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, among others.
Katy Perry Times nominated: 13 It's hard to imagine a world in which a megastar like Katy Perry, whose Teenage Dream produced a record-breaking five Number One hits, cannot count a single golden gramophone among her many decorations and novelty bras — but here we are. To be fair, the competition has been stiff. Perry has lost to Adele (a nine-time winner) on three occasions: in 2009, 2012 and 2013, and a different category each time. Last year, with no Adele album to compete against, it was Sam Smith who edged her out for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Nas Times nominated: 11 Nas' failure to win even one Grammy is in part due to a generational loophole: 1994's classic Illmatic, widely considered to be his masterwork, was released a year before the Best Rap Album category was even introduced. (It didn't get an Album of the year nomination that year, either; that award went to Tony Bennett's MTV Unplugged.) Since then, Nas has collected three Best Rap Album nominations and a handful in other categories, but none of them have yielded a win.
Busta Rhymes Times nominated: 11 In the late Nineties, the New York City motormouth was nominated four years in a row for Best Rap Solo Performance. He lost each time, twice to Will Smith: In 1997, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" fell to "Men in Black," and the following year, "Dangerous" was edged out by "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It." Busta has kept on plugging since then, earning nominations as recently as 2012, when "Look at Me Now" (where he rapped alongside Chris Brown and Lil Wayne) was cited for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
Nicki Minaj Kevin Winter/Getty
Nicki Minaj Times nominated: 10 In 2012, Nicki lost the Best New Artist category to soft-spoken indie crooner Bon Iver (or was that Bonny Bear?) – one of four nominations that didn't work out for her that year. This year, she's up in three more categories: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, for "Only" with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Drake; Best Rap Performance, for "Truffle Butter" with Drake and Lil Wayne; and Best Rap Album, for The Pinkprint. If she doesn't win any of those awards next week, she'll be up to 10 no-win nominations.
Tupac Shakur Times nominated: 7 Appearing onstage to introduce Kiss at the 1996 Grammy Awards telecast, Tupacserved the ceremony with an indictment: "You know how the Grammys used to be: all straight-looking folks with suits," he said. "Everybody looking tired. No surprises. We tired of that. We need something different." Pac was up for two awards that night – "Dear Mama" for Best Rap Solo Performance and Me Against the World for Best Rap Album – hoping to be a part of that something different, but instead he went home Grammy-less.
Public Enemy Times nominated: 5 The Grammys didn't give out an award for Best Rap Album until 1996, but it's fair to say Public Enemy's pivotal 1988 effort It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back should have held its own in the Best Album race, which wound up being won by George Michael's Faith. And no disrespect to Young MC, who won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group award for his 1989 track "Bust a Move," but "Fight the Power" came out that same year. Come on!
Depeche Mode Times nominated: 5 Depeche Mode have sold huge amounts of albums and frequently play arenas, but they've never joined fellow Eighties rock giants like U2 in winning a Grammy. Perhaps just as surprisingly, four of the band's five nominations have come since 2001.
The Notorious BIG Des Willie/Redferns/Getty
The Notorious B.I.G. Times nominated: 4 Three of Biggie's four nominations were posthumous, including one for Life After Death, which lost the Best Rap Album race in 1998 to Puff Daddy's No Way Out. Ironically, No Way Out's biggest hit was the Biggie tribute track "I'll Be Missing You."
Queens of the Stone Age Times nominated: 6 Josh Homme shared an award with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones for his work with Them Crooked Vultures in 2011 (the band's "New Fang" won Best Hard Rock Performance), but he has yet to make that kind of magic happen for his primary band, Queens of the Stone Age. In 2014, the hard-rock heroes made two more bids for trophies, this time for Best Rock Performance ("My God Is the Sun") and Best Rock Album for their excellent ...Like Clockwork, but they lost both times.
Guns N' Roses Times nominated: 3 GN'R have gotten a measly three nominations in their entire career – with the same number of those nominations going to Appetite for Destruction as to Chinese Democracy (that would be zero both times). And none of those three resulted in a win. Even former members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum did better with Velvet Revolver, who took home a Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for "Slither" in 2005.
Oasis Times nominated: 3 The self-proclaimed "greatest rock band in the world" went home from the 1997 Grammy Awards show zero-for-two nominations: Their mega hit "Wonderwall" lost Best Rock Song to Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason," as well as losing Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group to Dave Matthews Band's "So Much to Say." Two years later, they whiffed once again when "All Around the World" lost in a music video category. With the band currently very much broken up and no reunion in sight, that's likely to be their last brush with Grammy destiny.
Justin Bieber Ethan Miller/Getty
Justin Bieber Times nominated: 3 With megastars like Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons all in contention for Best New Artist at the 2011 Grammy Awards, it would be an understatement to say it was a surprise when jazz singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding was announced as the winner. This year, for the first time since that stunning upset, Bieber returns to the Grammys as a nominee in the Best Dance Recording category for "Where Are Ü Now," alongside Jack Ü. Will he win his first statuette, or will the losing streak continue?
Patti Smith Times nominated: 2 Neither of Smith's nominations were for her brilliant debut album, Horses, released in 1975. Instead, she was up for Best Female Rock Vocal performance in 1998 for "1959" and in 2001 for "Glitter in Their Eyes." The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will just have to content herself with the National Book Award she won in 2010 for her memoir, Just Kids.
Journey Times nominated: 1 Journey's 1981 hit single "Don't Stop Believin'" achieved cultural ubiquity long before capping The Sopranos' series finale, but neither the song, nor the massive-selling album from which it came, Escape, earned a nomination. Journey didn't receive Grammy recognition until 1997, long after the band's commercial heyday, when "When You Love a Woman" earned a nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The winner in that category was the Beatles, for "Free As a Bird."
Kiss Times nominated: 1 Kiss were completely ignored by Grammy voters until 1999. That's when the face-painted foursome scored their first, and so far only, nomination — Best Hard Rock Performance for "Psycho Circus." But even the most ardent members of the Kiss Army can't be too upset about who bested their heroes that year: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who won for "Most High."
Morrissey Times nominated: 1 For all his legendary work with the Smiths, for all his sterling solo work, for each and every one of his diatribes (there is a Best Spoken Word Grammy category, after all) Stephen Patrick Morrissey's only nominated effort was his 1992 album Your Arsenal. Moz lost in the Best Alternative Music Performance category that year to Tom Waits' Bone Machine, an event that likely did little to lighten his legendarily dyspeptic mood.
The Kinks Times nominated: 0 The Kinks were consistently ignored by Grammy voters, despite being one of the driving forces behind the Sixties British Invasion and their subsequent reinvention as late-Seventies/early-Eighties arena-rock stars. At least Ray and Dave Davies know they're responsible for the most beautiful rock ballad ever, "Waterloo Sunset."
The Spice Girls JMEnternational/Redferns/Getty
Spice Girls Times nominated: 0 In 1996, the Spice Girls became a global phenomenon with their bestselling LP Spice. But their girl power wasn't enough to win over the Grammy voters. Sometimes the Recording Academy rewards commercial success with nominations rather than wins; in this case, they didn't even get that.
The Strokes Times nominated: 0 The Strokes' 2001 debut album, Is This It, was an instant garage-rock classic. But they didn't even crack the list of nominees list for that year's Best New Artist (won by Alicia Keys) or Best Rock Album (won by U2 for All That You Can't Leave Behind). The band's subsequent albums have been similarly shut out.
Talking Heads Times nominated: 0 The New York City pioneers have sort of tangentially won two Grammys: Artist Robert Rauschenberg was awarded a Grammy in 1986 for Best Recording Package for his work on the band's True Stories, and graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister won for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for his work on the 2003 box set Once in a Lifetime. Elsewhere, frontman David Byrne shared a Grammy with Cong Su and Ryuichi Sakamoto for their work on 1987's The Last Emperor score, which won in the category of Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion or Television. But none of those counts as a Grammy for Talking Heads.
The Velvet Underground Times nominated: 0 Winning a Grammy likely never even crossed the avant-garde minds of the Velvet Underground, but you'd think that maybe one of the band's posthumous reissues would've earned at least a nomination for packaging or something — if only as a belated tip of the cap. But no. For his part, Velvets frontman Lou Reed won just a single Grammy during his long and illustrious career: Best Long Form Video in 1999, for Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart.
'Pretty Little Liars' Star Ashley Benson Opens Up About Panic Attacks & Fainting on Set
LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 19: Actress Ashley Benson attends the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Festival at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo : David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Actress Ashley Benson may have a solid group of friends to depend on when battling the crazy drama that goes down in Rosewood, but there was once a time when the Pretty Little Liars star didn't know where to turn when faced with a real-life health scare. Gracing the March 2016 cover of Health, Benson opens up about her crazy experience with panic attacks and fainting on set of the show.
Despite how open she is on social media and in interviews, many fans may be surprised to find out the 26-year-old California native suffered from severe panic attacks for two years straight (from 2011 to 2013). Benson admits the extreme rush of anxiety and fear was brought on by a lack of sleep.
They would happen at random times, which ultimately made it hard for Benson to fully carry out her work days. It became difficult for her to be on the Pretty Little Liars set, revealing she would often times have to leave. Driving even became a hassle, because they would also happen while she was behind the wheel. Benson went on to discuss how frequently the panic attacks would occur.
"Every single day," Benson told Health. "Because I had a crazy incident on set: I had heart palpitations, and I thought I was having a heart attack, so I fainted on set and turned blue. The paramedics were there. Once that happened, I was like, 'That's going to happen to me every single day,' and it was just that constant fear. So anytime I felt some sort of weird thing, I'd be like, 'Here it goes…'"
Benson revealed she didn't really have anyone to talk to about it. Her boyfriend at the time, and even her close friends, just didn't understand the complexity of her situation. She admits she "felt crazy." There were times when she would question why she was feeling a certain way, but wouldn't be able to come up with an answer. Benson believes anxiety is pretty common and that it should be talked about more often.
Luckily, she has found a way to manage the panic attacks. Although taking medication helped her for a long time, Benson found natural ways to eliminate the stress and anxiety. She cites hour-long naps as being one of the many ways she's taken control of her panic attacks.
"I do still get them a little bit," Benson said. "That's part of why I work out, too, because it has cancelled out the anxiety. I was on Xanax for a long time. It helped, but I decided I was going to be able to self-medicate through meditation, working out, sleeping, eating healthy and drinking more water. I have this meditation app on my phone. I use it at least three times a week."
Benson still suffers from anxiety, but she doesn't have full-blown panic attacks anymore. The anxiety episodes last for a couple of hours.
Patti LaBelle has been asked by Christina Aguilera to join her as an advisor on next season of NBC’s “The Voice”; LaBelle will give Aguilera and the singing hopefuls her input and trusted advice. Aguilera sat out last season as Gwen Stefani sat in the big, red swivel chair in her place.
“The Voice” is going into their 10th season, and it premieres on Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Between her Patti Pies and Patti Cakes and this, Patti’s career is getting a second wind!
Chrisette Michele Gets Ratchet On ‘Down In The DM’ Flip
Chrisette Michele is having fun exploring her trap side.
Along with her bass-heavy-single “Steady,” Michele has now dropped her version of Yo Gotti’s hit “Down In The DM” where she makes reference to some of her favorite social media stars and fun fashion staples. She also wants notes you about how NOT to treat her new fiancé!
“Down In The DM the Remix?? Omg | INSTAGRAM GIRL ANTHEM?! | YES MAAM!!!” she tweeted about a week ago.
About her new sound, she told HotNewHipHop last year, “I’m ready to play. I miss being a choreographer. I miss my leather pants. I miss being excited. I love my ballads and there will be some in this new album,Milestone, but it’s time to let my hair down and step outside of the box. I can’t wait to share.”
Also check out her version of Tory Lanez’s “Say It and her cover of Adele’s “Hello,” all of which will grace herSteady Gang Mixtape to be released on February 27th.
SAMMY HAGAR On Possible Return To VAN HALEN: 'We'll See What Happens When It Happens, If It Happens'
February 10, 2016
In a brand new interview with Daily Bulletin, former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar was asked what he would do if the group called him to come back. He responded: "My favorite thing to say without biting my own tongue is 'no comment.' Every time I turned around, it was a no-win situation. If I say what I feel... I would always get 50 percent of the VAN HALEN fans saying, 'Right on, you rule.' Then the haters would dog me like, 'You're always dogging VAN HALEN.' I'm going to shut up. They get their wish. We'll see what happens when it happens — if it happens."
Hagar and VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen recently exchanged tweets on Eddie's 61st birthday, leading to speculation that the longtime war of words between the two may finally be coming to an end.
Hagar last year blasted his former bandmates in an interview with RollingStone.com, saying there is "no chemistry" between the members of the group's current lineup, which includes singer David Lee Roth. Hagar explained: "I can only speculate on what I've seen on YouTube, things people send me now and then… There's just no chemistry up there. They don't like each other. I mean, it's obvious. It's like a backup band with a guy out there in front. I bet they don't say five words to each other offstage.'
Hagar added: "VAN HALEN was always about chemistry in the early days. Early, that band was all about fucking chemistry, man. They were on fire. When I joined the band, they had great musical chemistry. We were friends, and we were on fire. We had so much fun, it should have been illegal. Now all that's gone."
Asked if he thinks he will ever speak to guitarist Eddie Van Halen again, Sammy said: "I would hope so. Because that would be really sad if any one of us — I'll put myself in the same category — took this to our graves. But who knows. Whatever. It's not my decision because I was the one they pushed out and tried to fuck over. To me, it's up to them to come back and say they're sorry."
Hagar said he was "not sorry for anything" he did while in VAN HALEN, but added, "I wouldn't want to be in a band like that right now. I'd feel like a hypocrite for joining that band. How about that? There's a good quote for you. If I joined VAN HALEN right now, I'd feel like the biggest hypocrite in the world. And I'm not a hypocrite."
GUNS N' ROSES Rumor: IZZY STRADLIN To Take Limited Role In Reunion
February 10, 2016
According to The Pulse Of Radio, the latest rumor emanating from MyGNRForum.com regarding the GUNS N' ROSES reunion says that founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin will participate "for sure" in what has been described as a "limited" capacity. Stradlin seems like he will at least perform with the group at its two early April shows in Las Vegas, although whether he will appear at other gigs remains to be seen.
The same sources at the fan forum also said that there was "still discussion" about original drummer Steven Adler participating in the reunion at some level, while the name of his replacement, Matt Sorum, did not come up in the conversation.
GUNS N' ROSES has so far announced five headlining performances in April, including two in Las Vegas and two at California's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, with original members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan slated to perform together again for the first time in 22 years.
The rest of the band's lineup for the shows — and a potential tour later in the year — remains unclear, although keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboard player Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer are all believed to be involved.
According to Alternative Nation, there is an "oversight management committee" handling GN'R's affair, with Slash, Axl and Duff each having a representative and a fourth person representing the other members.
Fan speculation around the involvement of original members Stradlin and Adler has been heavy, with Stradlin reportedly not interested in doing extensive touring and the band members not sure whether Adler, who has a longer history of drug problems than any of the other members, can hold it together on the road.
LITA FORD Schedules Book-Signing Appearances
February 9, 2016
Dey Street Books (formerly It Books), an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has set a February 23 release date for "Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway: A Memoir". In this 272-page hardcover book, which was originally expected in 2014, the former lead guitarist of THE RUNAWAYS opens up about the '70s and '80s music scene, and her extraordinary life and career.
In support of the book, Lita will take part in a cross-country book tour, including readings, question-and-answer sessions, book signings and more.
"I got the first copy of my book 'Living Like a Runaway' yesterday," said Lita. "The anticipation of its release has got me on pins and needles.
"As I started writing this book, I said to my editor, 'This book is a fight, Peter.' He said to me, 'The best books always are, Lita.' We looked at each other and smiled. With that vote of confidence, I knew we would have a winner on our hands. From that point on, it was onwards and upwards."
Lita Ford lived her dreams, until her life turned into a nightmare. She left home at age sixteen to join the world's first all-female rock group, THE RUNAWAYS — a band whose legend was sealed by the 2010 hit movie starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning — and went on to become the first woman hard rock guitarist, a platinum-selling star who gave Ozzy Osbourne his first Top Ten hit, a bare-ass, leather-clad sexy babe whose hair was bigger and guitar licks were hotter than any of the guys. She is also the mother of two sons whose harrowing tale of her catastrophic marriage to a metal rocker makes Ike and Tina Turner sound like life at the country club.
But in the end, Lita's story changes from a music story to a woman's story — a wrenching, desperate drama of human bondage and a mother's love, a life-and-death struggle over her own soul. Trapped in an increasingly terrifying marriage, systematically stripped of her connections to the outside world, Lita Ford became a prisoner in her own life, a slave to her husband's demands, living like a captive. She plotted her escape and her freedom cost her the boys she stayed in the marriage to protect. Her graphic, explicit story will terrify and horrify readers, but they won't be able to put it down.
"Living Like A Runaway" will shock people with the candor that Lita Ford shines on her dramatic life story. At ease as a woman in the previously all-male world of rock, Lita shares with her male counterparts an unvarnished directness when it comes to topics such as sex, drugs, money or fame. No female rock star of Lita's stature has ever before told the real story of women in rock. With unprecedented rawness and honesty, "Living Like A Runaway" reminds us that Lita Ford is not only one of music's greatest pioneers, but also one of its fiercest survivors.
In a January 2014 interview with PureGrainAudio.com, Ford stated about her book: "It's an autobiography about, well, my life, the paths I've taken, all the different musical eras. It's got all my favorite stories in it. It covers everything really from me growing up to THE RUNAWAYS to Lita and all the things I've been through and experiences I've had."
She added: "The hardest thing was how things kept popping out and I'm going crazy thinking, 'Hell, I've got to include that... oh no... that needs to go in as well and... hey, do you remember that time...' — every time I think I've got everything, one of us remembers something else and we're back where we started. It's never-ending."
Asked how writing a book is different from composing music, Lita told PopCultureMadness.com: "It's completely two different animals. Just trying to come up with something that captures the reader and keeps the interest flowing. You don't wanna lose the reader's interest. So I think I did that; I think I was able to do that on this book. It starts off in a time in a period and you have to get into it a little bit, and once you do, you can't put it down — you can't put it down. What happens next? You can't wait for the next chapter. It's really cool."
Regarding whether it was hard to revisit certain episodes in her life while writing the book, Lita said: "Well, things are emotional. There's deaths, there's divorce, there's things that are so goddamn funny that you can't help it but cry laughing. It's just a very emotional book. And you have to really go there mentally — you have to go there in order to be able to put it down on paper and in a book for people to read. So it was a challenge. And you really don't have a choice as to when… 'I don't feel like doing it right now.' Fuck that! Go there. You have to go there [and] get it done. So it was tough."
Photo credit: Dustin Jack
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METALLICA Is 'Slogging Away' At New Album, Says KIRK HAMMETT
February 9, 2016
METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke to Rolling Stone about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic". He said that the group is "moving at a pace that allows us to live our lives and not have our lifestyles change too much." He added that METALLICA has come up with ideas for "a bunch of songs, more than enough songs" but none are finished. "We're slogging away," he said. "But, you know, it's metal. It's heavy."
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone last year that the band has written close to 20 new songs for its long-awaited tenth studio album, although he declined to offer a possible release date for the new CD. Ulrich said: "In our world, there's been a distinct difference between the creative phase and the recording phase. With this project, we're trying to bridge the two a little more organically and not have there be such a great divide between the processes. We want to see if we can bring some of the creative curiosity, the impulsive stuff that happens when you're first playing a song into the studio."
Ulrich added that the band doesn't want to record in a way that feels "labored over and overthought."
Bassist Robert Trujillo told The Pulse Of Radio that there's always a surplus of new song ideas coming out of guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield. "James usually comes up with a lot of stuff," he said. "He's the kind of guy where he plugs in his guitar, turns a volume knob or a, you know, a tone knob, and he comes up with, you know, the greatest riff that you can imagine. So in that case, there's no shortage of riffs and ideas."
Aside from touring, METALLICA has spent much of the eight years since the release of "Death Magnetic" on several other projects, including launching a music festival, collaborating on an album with the late Lou Reed and making a feature film.
Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that spending all its time making an album is no longer a priority for METALLICA. "If we had to sit there and, 'Okay, boys, now you write for the rest of the year and then you spend the next year after that recording' — I would pull what seven hairs I have left, I'd pull those out and rather just stab myself in the eye with nails or whatever," he said. "I just, I couldn't do it. I mean, we love the position that we're in to be able to come and go between all these different projects. That's what keeps us alive."
Video: PAUL STANLEY Sings THE MIRACLES Classic 'The Tracks Of My Tears'
February 6, 2016
KISS frontman Paul Stanley's latest solo project, an R&B band called SOUL STATION, made its live debut on September 11, 2015 at West Hollywood, California's The Roxy Theatre. The ten-piece band also features KISS drummer Eric Singer.
Professionally filmed video footage of SOUL STATION performing the Smokey Robinson and THE MIRACLES classic "The Tracks Of My Tears" at The Roxy can be seen below.
Stanley recently told the nationally syndicated program "Uncle Joe's Garage" about his new band: "SOUL STATION is a 13-piece band of people who are really like-minded — top-shelf people who have played with Smokey [Robinson], Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer… the list goes on and on. And, really, what we do is recreate note for note all the great music that is part of, certainly, my foundation. Sometimes it gets overlooked at this point, because people are being spoonfed crap."
He continued: "Look, I don't wanna talk about, 'Oh, the music was so great back then,' 'cause this isn't music that necessarily people would expect me to have an affinity for. But the music that we're hearing nowadays that kind of gets passed off as soul or R&B is just a beat on a computer and somebody doing a nursery run that's been tuned, you know, pre-tuned. It's just a different world. And when you hear the FOUR TOPS, or your hear THE SPINNERS, STYLISTICS, DELPHONICS, TEMPTATIONS, SMOKEY [ROBINSON] & THE MIRACLES. That music is amazing and timeless."
According to Stanley, race shouldn't be a factor in the way people listen to music. He said: "Great music is made by all nationalities. And certainly SOUL STATION, the cool thing is it's multi-national, and well it should be. I mean, you should be able to close your eyes and not know who's making the music. It's either good or it's not good."
He went on to say: "Look, as a kid, I was lucky enough to see Otis Redding, I saw Solomon Burke, I saw THE TEMPTATIONS. And those people had the good. I'm always kind of… I laugh when I hear some of the local talent being interviewed when they come through town to do concerts and they say, 'Well, you know, we sing along with tracks and stuff, because you can't dance and sing.' Well, James Brown did it. THE TEMPTATIONS did it. THE SPINNERS did it. If you can't sing and dance at the same time, it's 'cause you probably can't sing."
Regarding his future plans for SOUL STATION, Stanley said: "What I'd love to do is do some new music with the band and I'd also like to do a live CD, 'cause we've recorded everything, and, quite honestly, it sounds as good as anything done in a studio. You can't go wrong with the people that I've got in this band. When you've got three great back-up singers, when you've got three great horn players. The pedigree of everybody in the band… I'm the mutt, but I hold up my end."
Grammys 2016: Who Will Win, Who Should Win
Will Taylor rule the night? Can Kendrick take Album of the Year? Who's James Bay, again? Our experts preview the 2016 awards
Experts weigh in on who's likely to win big at the 2016 Grammys. Brittany Falussy, Billy Woodward
The 2016 Grammys are coming up fast. We enlisted a team of industry experts to weigh the odds for winners in the major categories.
Record of the Year
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk" "It was Number One for 14 weeks, and it was on pop, R&B and hip-hop radio," says Jack Isquith, Slacker Radio SVP of content licensing and programming. "That's insane dominance." VEGAS ODDS: 4-5
Taylor Swift, "Blank Space" "It was one hit among many [on 1989], which may hurt its case," says Isquith. VEGAS ODDS: 5-2
Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud" "It would have to jump over Swift and Ronson," says odds-maker Johnny Avello. "I don't see it." VEGAS ODDS: 6-1
D'Angelo and the Vanguard, "Really Love" "No chance," says Carl Mello, senior buyer at Newbury Comics. "He's more of an album artist than singles artist." VEGAS ODDS: 10-1
The Weeknd, "Can't Feel My Face" "If voters want to be seen as less than 80 years old, it has a chance," Mello says. VEGAS ODDS: 25-1
Who Should Win: "Uptown Funk." Ronson and Mars came up with a retro-soul classic that incorporates decades of party-starting history while still seeming utterly of the moment.
Album of the Year
Taylor Swift, 1989 "People love this album, but it feels like it's been out for 100 years," Mello says. "She might be disappointed going up against Kendrick." VEGAS ODDS: 1-2
Chris Stapleton, Traveller "He did tremendously at the Country Music Awards," says Isquith, "but he's not known enough with Grammy voters." VEGAS ODDS: 5-1
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly "This is the category where critical acclaim counts," says Isquith, "and this is the most critically acclaimed album." VEGAS ODDS: 7-1
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness "Voters will [choose him] in the singles category," says Mello. "They probably haven't listened to the album." VEGAS ODDS: 15-1
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color "You could almost see them sneaking in like Arcade Fire or Beck did," says Isquith, "but not with Kendrick here." VEGAS ODDS: 20-1
Who Should Win: Kendrick. 2015's most innovative hip-hop album was also a powerful indictment of American hypocrisy told with wit, wisdom and searing honesty.
Courtesy of Epic Publicity
Best New Artist
Meghan Trainor "She had four legitimately big hits and has an Everywoman persona," says Isquith. "And gets a bump because she's seen as a really good writer, too." VEGAS ODDS: 2-1
Sam Hunt "He won [Best New Artist] at the AMAs and did well at the CMAs," says Avello. "But I still give Trainor a slight edge." VEGAS ODDS: 5-2
James Bay "He's a very good artist, but he's kind of the Martin O'Malley of this category," says Isquith. VEGAS ODDS: 7-2
Courtney Barnett "She's an excellent lyricist and has a really strong persona musically," says Isquith. "I suspect people think bigger things are going to come for her, and because she didn't make a dent at all in the mainstream, I don't know if she's going to get the nod in this category." VEGAS ODDS: 6-1
Tori Kelly "She's a great singer, but this category has a couple of heavyweights," says Isquith. VEGAS ODDS: 10-1
Who Should Win: Barnett's full-length debut established her as one of the sharpest songwriters in rock — a sly observational lyricist with killer melodies to spare.
Best Alternative Album
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color "They've had a big year," says Isquith. "And Brittany Howard has a unique persona."
VEGAS ODDS: 9-5
Wilco, Star Wars "It's a good album, but a Grammy would feel as much like a lifetime-achievement award as a recognition of this record," says Isquith. VEGAS ODDS: 5-2
Björk, Vulnicura "Does anybody know that record even came out?" asks Mello. "I don't think the world is engaged with her current music whatsoever." VEGAS ODDS: 7-2
My Morning Jacket, The Waterfall "Another very solid album," says Isquith, "but not a career-defining album for them." VEGAS ODDS: 6-1
Tame Impala, Currents "It's an excellent album, but the band still feels more underground than the other artists here," Isquith says. VEGAS ODDS: 8-1
Who Should Win: Alabama Shakes stretched their sound with psychedelia and deeper grooves on their second LP, and Howard is a powerhouse whose confidence keeps growing.
METALLICA Featured In Episode Of SHOWTIME's 'Billions'
February 6, 2016
METALLICA is featured in the February 7 episode of Showtime's new financial drama "Billions". The band appears in one backstage scene and is seen performing in the show, which was shot on location in Quebec at one of the band's tour dates last September.
According to Billboard.com, Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who created the series with Andrew Ross Sorkin, are life-long METALLICA fans and the two, who also serve as the show's executive producers, wrote the episode with METALLICA in mind.
In the show, successful hedge fund billionaire Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (played by Damian Lewis) takes his buddies on his private jet to see METALLICA in concert in Quebec.
"We had heard stories about hedge funders taking their old friends on private planes to see their favorite band and it felt like METALLICA just represented something great for guys of this age because it's a band that appeals to blue-collar listeners, but the band also appeals to the smartest, most highly educated people," Koppelman told Billboard.com. "It's a great cross section and they're authentic, so it makes sense 'Axe' would love them."
Asked if they already knew the band, Koppelman said: "When I was 22, I went to work at Elektra and Michael Alago, who had signed METALLICA, had just left. I got assigned to be their A&R guy, which was a huge thrill. I just pinch hit for a year. I got to be backstage with them and at soundcheck. I've been friends with [METALLICA's managers] Cliff [Burnstein] and Peter [Mensch] since 1989."
When it was METALLICA's turn to film their scene, "The band couldn't have been more generous with their time," Levien said. "They have a warm-up room where they practice and lock in together as a band before they play. They allowed us to have [Axe] have access to that so it seems like he's in the inner circle and, by extension, our crew was in there. That scene was shot maybe 40 minutes before they went on stage."
Koppelman and Levien previously wrote "Ocean's Thirteen", "Rounders" and the ESPN poker drama "Tilt".
In a time when females are stepping into superhero roles and Ghostbusters was remade with a cast of women, now comes word that the eighth installment of the Fast And Furious franchise will have a sole female villain.
The script is not even done, but sources have said that newly minted Fast 8 director F. Gary Gray and screenwriter Chris Morgan are inserting a fierce female villain into the story. They are said to have their eye on a particular actress, too: Charlize Theron, whose gritty performance in Mad Max: Fury Road, certainly was a welcome force in the multiple Oscar-nominated George Miller film. It appears her dance card may be open during that time, too.
Gray and Theron have worked together before — on The Italian Job years ago. Universal had no comment on any casting speculation for its successful franchise, and no offer has been made to Theron. Sources say she hasn’t seen any part of a script yet.
So right now, its way too early to predict an outcome, but those agents representing strong female talent should take note. This is said to be a juicy role and, given the international reach of the multibillion-dollar franchise, is a primo spot for any actress. Whomever gets the plum role won’t be the only strong female in the cast: Michelle Rodriguez is expected to return.
With the release of their third album 'Into The Wild Life' due out in April 2015 (April 10th in Europe, 13th in the UK and 14th in North America), Pennsylvania rock band Halestorm have kicked off their first European tour of the year. They'll be joined by support bands Nothing More and Wilson for their UK and Euro dates, before uniting with The Pretty Reckless when they hit the road in the US next month.
We caught up with Halestorm bassist Josh Smith ahead of their gig at the Roundhouse in London, to discuss their new album, their worst fan moments and their best times on tour.
Contacmusic: How's the tour going so far? Josh Smith: Amazing, we landed in Dublin, almost 2 weeks ago, and it was our first time over there in Ireland; we played Dublin and Belfast and it was amazing. We're always so excited and always look forward to coming over here to play. The UK has just been so amazing to us; they just really latched on quickly. It's really really cool.
CM: So 'Into The Wildlife' is out in April, do you think this will be your most successful album yet? If so, why? JS: I do, yeah. I think it's just the best representation of us yet. It's a more mature Halestorm all around and we really, truly love the songs. It's not that we don't love our old songs as well but we're so excited to unwrap this and unveil this to the world. Yeah, I definitely think this will be the most successful. If you want something in particular, I think Lzzy's lyrics are much more personal. She got into the more personal stuff a little bit last record, and moved away from the tongue in cheek, sarcastic catchy songs. It's just a lot more honest.
CM: The video for 'Amen' has a lot of acting in it which we don't see a lot of in Halestorm videos. Did you enjoy the acting? JS: Absolutely, yeah. It's only the second video; we did a video for 'Familiar Taste Of Poison'. This one was pretty easy. We'd just played the last show on tour and we drove in right on set with one eye open, a little bit of a headache from the night before. So the bus driver part was very easy for me, I was already grumpy!
CM: So you've toured all over the world, what's the best show you've ever done? JS: Wow, there's so many memorable ones. Download was absolutely amazing we've played that twice and both times have just been incredible. That was really fun you know the festival gigs seeing that size of a crowd in front of you. It's really crazy. You don't see people anymore you see a mass.. a moving organism you know. That is always a great show and a really memorable one.
CM: Is there somewhere that you haven't yet played that you'd really like to in the future? JS: Yes, I mean so many places. I think we pretty much have the States covered, we just love touring round there. We last did Alaska and Hawaii which was really cool, but we haven't been to Australia yet we'll get there next year, South Africa, a lot of Eastern Europe, we went to Moscow. We're going to Warsaw, Poland, and a lot of South East Asia. I mean we've played Japan but not on a tour - more of a couple of one off gigs.
CM: How does it feel when you walk out on stage and the crowd starts screaming? JS: You can be having the worst day ever and, at that point, it doesn't matter. It's time to go to work and we have the best job ever.
CM: What's next for Halestorm following the release of this album? JS: We planned a tour and hopefully visit here often. This train has just started, we've just left station and we're going to be out for the next 2 years I would imagine. We're very much looking forward to it, hopefully play the Roundhouse again, or Brixton, wherever will have us.
CM: What is your least favourite song out of all of the Halestorm songs so far? JS: Fortunately, getting to this point, it's not like, 'oh, we only have one album out, there's not a tonne of material to play'. We're moving onto our third album and we have a couple of covers albums, we have some older stuff that we really don't play. But there are literally songs from both albums one and two that we've never played. One of them being 'Beautiful With You' which people ask about, but we just thought it was okay. It was a little bit of a sort of political battle for that thing to get on there. It's a good song, we just never saw ourselves playing it live and I don't think we ever will. Maybe we've played it acoustic before.
CM: What has been your worst fan encounter? JS: Worst fan encounter. We had a really funny one, I wasn't involved. Joe and Lzzy, it was after the Grammys and we were leaving a Grammy party and there was an incident. I won't get into that, the ambulance had to come, Halestorm was okay. But they kind of locked down the place. I was stuck on the outside, they didn't know what happened, there was an ambulance there, someone was hurt. Everyone else was stuck inside, I couldn't get back in, I was drunk and angry, whatever. Joe and Lzzy came out, they were all frazzled and everything and they were waiting for a cab for the Chateau Marmont and these paparazzi there were crazy snapping pictures and this guy, like eBayer type guy, is like asking them to sign pick guards and everything. A friend of ours is injured right now and it just so happens my wife is there and she goes running up like, 'No, this is inappropriate, this is not the time!' So it got out. It was sort of a stressful time and those sorts of fans where they're clearly asking you to sign stuff, a lot of stuff, to sell for their benefit, that can be frustrating. Otherwise, we have the best fans ever. We really do.
CM: Are there any new and upcoming bands that have caught your eye recently? JS: Yeah, actually. It's something we've been talking about a lot lately because we have a lot of tours coming up. If we're the headliners, we need openers and we want to bring out people we're excited about. This tour worked out great. Wilson is awesome, and they're awesome dudes and Nothing More we had heard a lot about and they're great so this tour has shaped up really nicely. There's this band I've listened to recently, been hearing about them a lot and they're called Marmozets. They're pretty sweet. So I downloaded their album. What else have I been listening to lately? There's this guy back home, he's kind of country, he's super country actually, but very old school. His name is Sturgill Simpson, I've enjoyed that record. It's a nice taste of home, especially being over here.
CM: What would you say to people that compare you, and all female fronted bands, to Paramore? JS: Well, we got that a lot with Evanescence. I'd say thank you. In the case of Paramore or Evanescence of whatever, they're very successful female fronted bands. Okay, if that's your take on it then thank you, I don't personally see it. I think art in general, people look for some sort of relating substance that they can latch on to, I know I certainly do it. It's those influence that influence further musicians and artists to make music, so if that's what they think, cool, thank you. Alright, I'll take it as a compliment.
CM: How many grapes can you fit in your mouth? JS: S**t, I don't know. I don't have that big a mouth.
CM: Well, if you get bored on the tour at any point, give it a go and send us a video or something! JS: When I do it I will Tweet a picture and maybe a number! I would estimate 18. Is that a lot of grapes? 15. 15 grapes. Yeah I'll try it.
Lzzy Hale signed up for the rock and roll lifestyle at age 13. Now fronting and getting loud on guitar with Halestorm, Hale is just about as rockin’ as they come. With a new album at the top of the charts, the band is in full on touring mode, and it don’t get better than this.
With The Strange Case of…, which was released in April, Lzzy digs deeper, gets madder and rips it up like there’s no tomorrow. The songs are slick and raw at the same time. It’s the stuff that rock icons are made of. Catchy hooks, wailing guitars, tight rhythms. Hell, yeah.
Haling from Pennsylvania, Halestorm consists of Lzzy on lead vocals and guitars, her brother and co-founder of the group Arejay on drums, Josh Smith on bass and Joe Hottinger on guitar.
The band made a name for themselves with the release of their self-titled debut in 2009. They scored two top 10 singles (“I Get Off” and “It’s Not You”) and toured non-stop with a wide variety of acts including Shinedown, Stone Sour, Disturbed, Megadeth, Papa Roach, Godsmack and countless others.
I caught up with Lzzy just as she learned that the band made Billboard history. Check it out …
GUITAR WORLD: I wanted to congratulate you on the release of The Strange Case Of... . I just read that Halestorm became the first female-fronted band in history to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums Chart.
First of all, isn’t that crazy?
That blew my mind. I was like, “What?!”
That’s what I said! Everybody called me up and told me this. And I’m like, “OK, hold on. There’s gotta be somebody else. You’re totally getting your facts wrong.” And then the head of our label’s been working in rock music for the past 25 years. She was just telling me, “Look, the Hard Rock Albums chart isn’t 25 years old. Even Evanescence only peaked at No. 3” or something like that. I kept reminding her, “OK, remember Evanescence, they sold millions of records.”
It’s very humbling, you know? I just didn’t expect that. We were just kind of excited because it’s our first No. 1 on any format. And so we were just excited about that. And to kind of top it all off, and have people call us up and say that we made history in a sense is very crazy and humbling. I’m honored to carry that torch.
When I heard your song “Here’s To Us” for the first time, I was thinking as I was listening to it, “Man, this would be great for American Idol.” And then I found out they sang it on Glee. I remember thinking, “If only there weren’t so many expletives it would be great for one of those shows.” Did you have to rewrite that for them?
Yeah, I rewrote a clean version for them because the exchange was, “We love the song, we want to use it,” and I’m thinking, “There are three words in this song that absolutely can not be on Glee.” Even coming from someone who hadn’t, up until that point, actually watched Glee. I know of it, and I know that they’d frown on that type of thing!
So yeah, I went back into the studio and recorded a clean version for them. It was very cool, it was pretty much the first full episode I ever watched of Glee, and I was sitting next to my A&R guy’s little girls. He’s got a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old and they are obsessed with Glee. So they’re giving me the blow-by-blow. So I’m getting my education from these little girls sitting next to me as the episode is rolling out.
They were all excited. They were like, “Do you know what this means? It’s the season finale!” And they’re Halestorm fans, so they just thought it was great thing. And I just loved it, man, because think about it. I mean, you get a band like us, one of our songs in that format, and on that TV show, you’re exposing yourself to people that normally would never be seeking you out, you know what I mean? So we have a lot of younger fans now that come to the shows, because they heard it on Glee.
A lot of the people that maybe watch Glee aren’t really into your heavier format of music, either, but your songs are so accessible. They’re very melodic. I do feel it has a lot of mainstream appeal.
I do, too. And it’s all about just getting it out there and getting it exposed because I believe, that since I was a teenager starting this band, it’s kind of always been this goal, and to kind of have this music that’s fun and not locked in really to any one thing. And I didn’t really believe that was possible until things started rolling, and we started seeing all these different people coming to our shows. And I start thinking, “Hmm, maybe this just isn’t one genre, not so one-dimensional.” It’s really neat to see all of that start happening now. Now we have other problems, we have this diverse fan base, and so we have to figure out how to market t-shirts to people who listen to Glee and then those that listen to Black Label Society or something.
Right, you have to have a lot of different T-shirts. You have to have the pink T-shirt with the happy face, and the black one with the middle finger, haha.
Yes, exactly!
Tell me what made you want to pick up the guitar in the first place.
Well, actually, me picking up the guitar was an accident. We had this 16-year-old guitar player in our band when I was 15. And up until then, I had been playing piano and playing keyboards in our band. So I had like a keytar. I was always attracted to the guitar, but I never really thought that I could be good at it, because I was trained on piano, so it was kind of a jump. And then the 16-year-old guitar player quit, after like six months. It really wasn’t that big a deal, but I remember in my 16-year-old mind being distraught, and being like “We’re never going to find another guitar player so I might as well learn,” you know?
So I got this cheap guitar, and then I fell in love with it and basically put down the keyboard. Because I realized “Wow, okay, so now I kind of have to make a choice between ‘Are you going to be Elton John?’ or ‘Are you going to be Black Sabbath?’” I ended up choosing Black Sabbath after all, and just never put it down. I’m 90 percent self-taught and had a couple lessons shuffled in, so I actually know what the hell I’m doing. But I don’t know, it’s been a crazy journey and the biggest thing is proving to myself that nothing is impossible. I think that’s always been my model in my head every time I get frustrated with wanting to be better at my instruments.
Do you still play piano? Is that you playing on the album?
Yeah, that’s the first time that I actually recorded a vocal and piano piece since I was about 16. So yeah, we’re going back to the beginning with this record, but it’s just kind of showing everything we’re capable of.
Tell me about your gear setup. What do you play?
I play mostly Gibsons. In fact, they have just given me a signature guitar. That’s the biggest news right now! But my baby right now is an Explorer. It has hot pickups, because what I ended up doing was altering the body ever so slightly. It’s a double-bound body. I bound the neck so it has a little more shine to it. I’ve always been a fan of what the guitar sounds like instead of kind of altering the tone of the guitar and I love my stock Explorer. And so when they approached me, I’m like, “Well, this is what I want to do.” At first, the look of it, it’s kind of like a White Falcon, but an Explorer. Like the Gretsch White Falcon, but as a Gibson, so it’s one classy bitch, basically.
As far as gear, right now I’m playing through an EVH amp. But I keep changing my stuff. I used to play through a Marshall JCM800 and then I also had a Randy Rhoads signature amp.
So before I was playing EVH, I was playing an ODB pedal. I still have my Dunlop Jerry Cantrell wah pedal because I love that. But what I’m playing right now is the EVH, and I’m just using the channels basically. So I adjusted all the channels for my needs, so like channel 3 is my boost for my lead. But it has such a great rock sound, that I literally simplified my setup so much, you know? I literally get a little OCD with my stuff. I’d rather have it be really simple, and just depend on rolling up on volume knobs. Or switching the channels than actually having different effects for a 45-minute set. It’s not part of what I like to do. Now, my guitar player, on the other hand, is a complete gear head and he’s got a Bradshaw board, and a bunch of crazy things on it. I’m like, “OK, well you can do that.”
Is that the setup you used on the album, too, for recording?
I used so much on the record. On some of the rhythm tracks we were combining the JCM 800 with a Diezel amp, which is really expensive, so I do not have one of those, but they have one in the studio. And we also were experimenting with a lot of different things. I experimented with a small Pignose amp, with some of the layering. Just because it’s crazy, your first amplifier type sound.
They had a wall of heads and a complete system. You can say to these guys, “Well, I want it to be more purple.” And then they’ll start switching the chords around and literally make combinations that whatever you think of. Like, “I want it to sound like a freight train going through a house.” And they’ll be like, “Well, okay, we’ll combine this amp here, we’ll have that at half power.” They do all of that stuff, so we experimented with a lot of stuff on the album.
I read your interview with Pat Benatar in Revolver, which I thought was very cool. What was that like for you, to talk to Pat?
Oh my god, it was awesome. She’s the coolest chick ever. And you know she’s 60 years old?
Oh, no way! Wow!
I hope that I’m that cool when I’m 60, is what I really wanna say. It was amazing. The phone call was only supposed to be for a half-hour, and we ended up talking for nearly two hours on the phone. It was so cool. She was talking to me about where I’m at, and gave me a lot of advice.
She basically told me, “You’re in a very fun time right now. And when things start to die down and become a little stagnant, you just gotta push through that middle part.” She says, “Because when you’re in your house, sipping your glass of wine, and you have this icon thing going on, that’s some good shit. So you just gotta push through.” I’m just cracking up.
She was talking about how her and Chrissie Hynde used to talk about who they’d be in 25 years and if they had royally screwed up, haha, trying to pioneer for all these young girls. And it was so cool because she paused for a second, and said, “Lzzy, you are what we would’ve hoped we would talk to in 25 years. You are what we were talking about”. The fact that she even knows who I am is pretty awesome. It was a very cool conversation. And I’m very glad she was awesome, because I was afraid she going to ruin it for me.
Right? That would’ve sucked.
I was like, “Do I really want to talk to her? Is she going to be a bitch or something?” And she totally is not.
And now you’re the role model. So what advice do you have for young female musicians?
I will tell you that I completely believe that the next generation of musicians is going to be flooded with women because of what we see at our shows. There are so many little girls that come to our shows and their parents are like, “See! She plays guitar.” And it’s amazing. There’s one song on our record that’s specifically written for one little girl that came to our shows. The song is called “Rock Show.” Basically, it was inspired by this letter that I got from this 13-year-old girl that we know. And she’s a little guitar player and her very first show was a Halestorm show. And she wrote me this beautiful letter about how it changed the course of her life, and it gave her hope that she can actually do this for a living.
It’s just so neat to see in all of these girls because there’s something gutsy about being a woman in music and a woman in rock n’ roll, specifically, because nobody, even now, nobody tells you that, “Hey, this is an option.” You know, it’s still that way. So you have to kind of buck the system a little bit and carve out your own path. I tell people all the time, “I traded in the marry-your-high-school-sweet-heart-with-the-white-picket-fence thing for the sweaty guys in the bars and guitar.” I wouldn’t trade it for the world because again, you don’t have to be something just because it’s normal and everyone else has done it first for hundreds of years.
I loved your advice on your recent Revolver interview at Rock on the Range, where you said, “Just don’t be an asshole.”
Haha, yeah, seriously. It’s funny. My dad is a kooky, older guy, and he was a bass player and he told my brother at one point in time, “The feet you step on the way up are connected to the ass that you’re going to kiss on the way down.” You’re human. You’re busy, and you’re trying to do your job but you don’t have to be an asshole. And if you are and you feel like you’re privileged enough to be one, then you really shouldn’t be in this business, and you have no idea what you’re doing because it does take a village.
Well, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Personally, just thank you very much for taking the time and thanks to everybody for taking the time to read this, because it means a lot to me to be a part of this. Guitar World has always been a part of my and my guitar player’s life for many years!
Here’s Halestrom rocking out on their official video for “Love Bites.”
Laura B. Whitmore is a singer/songwriter based in the San Francisco bay area. A veteran music industry marketer, she has spent over two decades doing marketing, PR and artist relations for several guitar-related brands including Marshall and VOX. Her company, Mad Sun Marketing, represents 65amps, Dean Markley, Agile Partners, Guitar World and many more. Laura was instrumental in the launch of the Guitar World Lick of the Day app. She is the co-producer of the Women's Music Summit and the lead singer for the rock band, Summer Music Project. More at mad-sun.com.
LATE-NITE: – Chelsea Handler, Jason Mantzoukas, and Lianne La Havas on Conan, 11pm, TBS – Olivia Wilde on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, 11pm, Comedy Central – Marley Dias and T.J. Miller on The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, 11:30pm, Comedy Central – Penelope Cruz, Magic Johnson, and Halsey on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC – Ben Stiller, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and TAO: Seventeen Samurai on Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 11:35pm, CBS – Sacha Baron Cohen, Zendaya, and Mana on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC – Ryan Reynolds, Katie Lowes, musical guest Wynonna & The Big Noise, and Jaleel Bunton onLate Night with Seth Meyers, 12:35am, NBC – LL Cool J, Viola Davis, and Malin Akerman on The Late Late Show with James Corden, 12:37am, CBS
Gilmore Girls Revival: Here's Everyone Who's Returning (Refresh for Latest)
By Michael Ausiello / February 11 2016, 6:02 AM PST
Keeping track of who is — and isn’t —going to be in the Gilmore Girls revival has become something of an Olympic sport. But now, thanks to this convenient gallery, it’s one where you have a decent shot at a medal.
Quick recap: Last Tuesday, production officially commenced on Gilmore Girls: Seasons, Netflix’s four-episode continuation of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s beloved WB/CW dramedy. In the week since cameras started rolling, nearly a half-dozen Stars Hollow vets have come aboard the project, joining stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson and Kelly Bishop. Several of the new castings were reported right here on TVLine (complete with sirens blaring!), while others quietly leaked via social media.
Well, consider the gallery below your official Gilmore Girls revival call sheet, albeit one that continues to grow with each passing day (that’s your cue to refresh this page every second of every day until these four 90-minute episodes drop on Netflix).
Courtesy of Fox
Nasim Pedrad to Play Teen Boy in Fox Comedy Pilot Chad: An American Boy
By Kimberly Roots / February 10 2016, 6:30 PM PST
Nasim Pedrad‘s latest role is definitely not one she was born to play.
The Saturday Night Live alum will portray a 14-year-old male in Chad: An American Boy, a comedy pilot Fox greenlit on Wednesday.
Per the official synopsis, the series follows a young teen “in the throes of adolescence” who “is tasked with being the man of the house, which leaves him with all the responsibilities of being an adult without any of the perks.”
Pedrad also will serve as a writer and executive producer on the half-hour, single-camera comedy.
“I’m thrilled to be able to portray a Middle Eastern family not working for or against Jack Bauer on network TV,” Pedrad said in a statement. “Also, a big thank you to Fox for understanding that my true essence is that of an awkward and misguided 14-year-old boy.”
Pedrad’s recent TV credits include Scream Queens, New Girland Mulaney.
Shutterstock
Ash vs. Evil Dead Adds Lee Majors (as Dad!), Dead Vet Ted Raimi for Season 2
By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 10 2016, 1:11 PM PST
Ash Williams’ pop is no less than The Six Million Dollar Man.
TV vet Lee Majors has boarded Season 2 of Starz’s Ash vs. Evil Dead in the role ofBrock Williams, the title character’s father, it was announced on Wednesday.
Also joining the horror dramedy is Ted Raimi, who has appeared in all of the Evil Dead features (in assorted roles) and here will play Ash’s childhood BFF, Chet Kaminski. (Raimi’s older brother Sam, of course, is the Evil Dead auteur himself, and serves as an exec producer on the series with star Bruce Campbell and Craig DiGregorio.)
Majors’ TV credits also include, of course, The Big Valley, The Virginian and The Fall Guy, and more recently episodes of Raising Hope and TNT’s Dallas revival. Raimi’s TV credits include Seaquest 2032, Hercules, Xena and Legend of the Seeker.
Season 2 of Ash vs. Evil Dead will premiere sometime in 2016.
Courtesy of USA Network
Ryan Phillippe Drama Shooter Ordered to Series at USA Network
By Kimberly Roots / February 10 2016, 12:15 PM PST
Shooter just hit the bullseye.
The drama, based in part on the 2007 Mark Wahlberg film, has nabbed a series order at USA Network, TVLine has learned.
Shooter stars Ryan Philippe (Secrets and Lies) as Bob Lee Swagger, an “expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president,” per the official character description. Omar Epps (House) is Isaac Johnson, a Secret Service agent who was Swagger’s commanding officer when both were in the Marines and who asks Swagger for assistance on a clandestine mission that ends very badly. Shantel VanSanten (The Flash) plays Swagger’s wife Julie.
Phillippe will be a producer on the series; Wahlberg (Ballers), Stephen Levinson (Boardwalk Empire), Lorenzo di Bonaventura (The Real O’Neals) and John Hlavin (The Shield) will executive produce with Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions. Hlavin also penned the pilot.
Shooter is USA Network’s second recent series order; the drama Falling Water was greenlit in January.
Shutterstock
Hayley Atwell Lands Lead in ConvictionLegal Drama Pilot at ABC
By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 10 2016, 9:30 AM PST
TV’s Agent Carter is looking to moonlight, on a very different kind of mission.
Hayley Atwell has landed the lead in Conviction, a drama pilot in development at ABC.
The project will star Atwell as the brilliant-but-rebellious daughter of a Clinton-like political family, who is forced into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles’ newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. Along with her team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts, she has two weeks to examine cases where there’s credible suspicion that the wrong person may have been convicted of a crime.
What does this mean for Agent Carter? In the event that Conviction is ordered to series and ABC’s Marvel drama is renewed for Season 3 (after returning to depressed ratings), TVLine hears that Atwell’s schedule would be worked out so that she could do both roles.
Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper will executive produce the pilot with co-creators Liz Friedman and Liz Friedlander. Friedman wrote the pilot, and Friedlander will direct.
11 FEBRUARY 2016
TV
BBC One's unmissable thriller The Night Manager gets an air date
It's Tom Hiddleston vs. Hugh Laurie - what more do you need to know?
BY MORGAN JEFFERY
1 SECOND AGO
With a stellar cast bringing John le Carré's popular novel to life, BBC One's The Night Manager looks set to be unmissable television.
The six-part thriller - starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie - will premiere in the UK on Sunday, February 21 at 9pm.
Hiddleston plays Jonathan Pine - a former British soldier and hotel night manager recruited by British intelligence to help take down arms dealer Richard Roper (Laurie).
"I was sent the first episode by my London agent, telling me that Simon and Stephen Cornwell – John le Carré's sons – were seeing who might be interested in a television adaptation of The Night Manager," Thor actor Hiddleston said.
"I read the first episode, and from the very beginning, I was completely hooked into the story and the character. I fell in love with it immediately.
"The character appealed to me because I knew, as an actor, I was going to have to operate at the highest level of my intellectual and physical ability, because he is a field agent, but also has to be smart enough to go undercover."
Seeing The Night Manager realised on screen has long been an ambition for ex-House star Laurie, who originally attempted to option the book 25 years ago - with the hope of playing Hiddleston's part.
"The character of Pine is a lost soul - I suppose that's one of the things I responded to when I first read the novel and kept on responding to whenever I've read it since," he said.
"He is noble, courageous, decent, but also lost. He is looking for a purpose, and decides that he will risk his life to take on an enemy who is described to him by a lover as 'the worst man in the world' – that is Roper's legend, and that's what I've got to try and inhabit.
"But it's an ambiguous story in as much as Pine's original goal is to bring down this monster, but at the same time [to] resist the monster's charm. Because Roper gives his monstrosity and the evil things he does a kind of logic, even a glamour."
Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander and Elizabeth Debicki also star in The Night Manager. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Susanne Bier, the series will launch on AMC in US on Tuesday, April 19.
By Andy Daglas
7 hours ago
What to watch on Thursday, February 11...
WINTER PREMIERE, 8pm, ABC Grey’s Anatomy Meredith is savagely attacked by a patient and discovered by Penny in “The Sound of Silence.” Luckily, literally everyone she knows is a medical doctor.
8pm, Bravo Inside the Actors Studio Scheduled to appear are Lauren Cohan, Danai Guria, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, and other cast and creators of The Walking Dead. James Lipton will largely ignore them though, since he’s most curious to explore the process and technique of Zombie Extra No. 4.
8pm, CBS The Big Bang Theory Sheldon and Amy commemorate Valentine’s Day with a special live episode of “Fun With Flags,” while Raj’s romantic life has become much more complicated. Elsewhere in “The Valentino Submergence,” Leonard and Penny struggle with aging woes while Howard and Bernadette discover a surprise in their hot tub.
8pm, The CW DC’s Legends of Tomorrow “White Knights” sends the team to early-1980s Russia, where Savage may be responsible for a rash of vanishing nuclear scientists. (As a wise man once said, “In alternate universe Soviet Russia, scientists vanish you!”) Along the way, Ray and Snart attempt to bond with Soviet scientist Valentina Vostock, tensions flare between Stein and Jax, and Rip asks Sara to train Kendra in the butt-kicking arts.
8pm, NBC You, Me and the Apocalypse Being mistaken for Ariel lands Jamie in hot water in “Stuff Still Worth Fighting For,” while Rhonda’s search for her son takes a similarly dangerous detour. Elsewhere, Sister Celine and Father Jude aid a young girl and Scotty faces a choice between job and family.
8:30pm, CBS Life in Pieces Tim gets inked as a Valentine’s Day gift for Heather, but his tattoo artist (Kat Von D) makes a spelling mistake, and now he’s stuck with a red squiggly underline on his arm. Meanwhile in “Tattoo Valentine Guitar Pregnant,” Tyler is put off when a music store sales clerk (Josh Groban) puts the moves on Clementine, and Greg and Jen consider having another kid.
WINTER PREMIERE, 9pm, ABC Scandal Six months after Olivia and Fitz split, each of them readjusts to the single life in different ways in “It’s Hard Out Here for a General.” For instance, she’s busy with a case at Pope and Associates that could spark a national crisis and he’s throwing smoldering glares at a Funko doll on which he’s taped a picture of Olivia’s face.
SEASON 5 PREMIERE, 9pm, Lifetime Project Runway All Stars Thirteen of the most elite designers return, and they must draw on inspirational moments from their pasts to inspire their creations in the first challenge. You’ll know one of them was inspired by winning a fourth grade spelling bee if they design a hat to look like a giant Chrysanthemum.
9pm, NBC The Blacklist While Red and Liz search for a potential child-napper in “Lady Ambrosia,” Tom faces the fallout from his bungled plan to help Liz. For one thing, he’d already printed up a bunch of new resumes with “Successfully aided protagonist of leading NBC procedural” at the top, so there’s $2.45 down the drain.
9pm, The CW The 100 Clark uncovers the brains behind a diabolical scheme in “Watch the Thrones.” (Granted, it wasn’t that difficult since the person in question was wearing a monocle, stroking a white cat, and cackling maniacally.) Elsewhere, Kane does his darndest to keep the peace while a grieving Jasper lashes out.
9pm, CBS Mom Christy helps out a handsome AA newcomer (Joe Manganiello), but she soon has more than moral support on her mind. Meanwhile in “Cinderella and a Drunk MacGyver,” Bonnie joins Jill at a swanky charity gala.
9pm, Bravo Top Chef “Restaurant Wars, Part 2” continues the supersized challenge with the second half of the service, the dinner menu. Will the chefs have enough left in the tank to do more than toss out a bunch of ham and swiss sandwiches from the cold case at 7-11?
WINTER PREMIERE, 10pm, ABC How to Get Away With Murder “What Happened to You, Annalise?” picks up a few weeks after the shooting, with Annalise facing a long road to recovery and the Keating 5 managing the aftermath of the incident. Though honestly, I'll be they've gotten pretty good at managing incident aftermaths by now.
10pm, Spike Lip Sync Battle Hayden Panettiere and Eva Longoria go head-to-head in an old-school Battle of the Network Stars-style showdown.
10pm, BBC America London Spy Danny is forced to question his relationship with Alex upon discovering a new side to his deceased lover’s life. On the bright side, his attention also lands on critical clue that he had previously overlooked.
10pm, CBS Elementary A Narcotics cop asks Holmes to plan a crime rather than solve one, specifically the heist of a drug gang's apparently impregnable compound. Elsewhere in “A View With a Room,” Watson helps Fiona Helbron on case and discovers something about Sherlock in the process.
10pm, USA Colony “Geronimo” reveals the resistance leader’s true identity... but only after being questioned by our celebrity panel! Meanwhile, Will doubts where Katie’s loyalties lie, Snyder seizes an opportunity to boost his standing, and Bram gains entry into a secret world.
10pm, Comedy Central Workaholics Blake’s new squeeze looks askance on Adam and Ders’s plan to throw a pot-themed party in “Gone Catfishing.”
10pm, NBC Shades of Blue Harlee must act fast to protect Saperstein after he becomes the chief object of Wozniak’s suspicion. But that's not the only thing keeping her busy in “Fall of Man,” as her abusive ex Miguel asks her to find the real culprit of the murder for which he’s been wrongly imprisoned.
10pm, FX Baskets “Easter in Bakersfield” brings family tensions to the surface, and not just due to rampant cheating at the game where you clink your eggs together to see which one breaks.
10pm, IFC Portlandia In “Weirdo Beach,” the Weirdos experience car trouble en route to the shore, while an office worker is irked that everyone wants to use his new charger. The latter plot probably refers to a phone charger, but would anyone be that surprised if it turns out to be a medieval war-horse?
SERIES PREMIERE, 10:30pm, truTV Those Who Can’t The network’s first full-length scripted comedy, created by Denver-based troupe The Grawlix, centers on three high school teachers who aren’t exactly sterling role models for America’s youth. “The Boys Are Back in Town” opens the schoolhouse shenanigans with a student election, a debate over debate practices, and a revenge plot against the resident bully.
10:30pm, Comedy Central Idiotsitter “Fumigation” forces Billie and Gene to vacate the mansion and take up in the guesthouse. Attempts to rechristen the experience as “FUNmigation!” aren’t quite taking, either.
LATE-NITE: – Carl Reiner, Jacob Tremblay, and Emily King on Conan, 11pm, TBS – Ben Stiller on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, 11pm, Comedy Central – Alexis Ohanian on The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, 11:30pm, Comedy Central – Kristen Wiig, Bob Odenkirk, and Elle King on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC – Katie Holmes, Fred Armisen, and Ty Segall and the Muggers on Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 11:35pm, CBS – Owen Wilson, Khloe Kardashian, and Alessia Cara on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC – Susan Sarandon, Alison Brie, Katie Nolan, and Jaleel Bunton on Late Night with Seth Meyers, 12:35am, NBC – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Grace Helbig, Jake Lacy, and Albert Hammond, Jr. on The Late Late Show with James Corden, 12:37am, CBS
Review
TruTV's 'Those Who Can't' is a teachable moment in subpar comedy
Adam Cayton-Holland, from left, Ben Roy and Andrew Orvedahl play teachers in “Those Who Can’t.”
In the new world of television, streaming services now regularly come to the rescue of canceled cable and network shows — Netflix finished off "The Killing" and gave a home to "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." "The Mindy Project" can now be seen on Hulu, etc.
But what happens to those shows created for, and then rejected by, streaming services? Well, in the case of "Those Who Can't," they go back to TV.
The first scripted series for TruTV, the Turner channel previously known for reality and prank programming, "Those Who Can't" was originally commissioned for Amazon, where its pilot premiered. Alas, the comedy about three pathologically immature high school teachers did not make the cut.
TruTV, however, thought it would be just perfect for the network's continuing revamp and picked it up (the pilot, airing Thursday, was reshot).
For the record, it's tough to imagine Amazon looking back with regret.
It's true that we've come a long way from "Room 222" and "Welcome Back Kotter." The cliques, clashes and catastrophes of high school are now the go-to-metaphor for just about everything; "Glee" didn't just kick-start a renewed appreciation for hits of the '80s and '90s, it also kicked open the faculty room door to expose the foibles, and comedic potential, of educators.
But bad teachers aren't guaranteed comedic gold, as the epic fail of a recent TV version of "Bad Teacher" proved. TV land, however, has been getting some attention for "Teachers," which may have encouraged TruTV to give a second season order to "Those Who Can't" even before the show premiered.
Rory Scovel, left, Andrew Orvedahl and Sonya Eddy in "Those Who Can't."
(Trae Patton / TruTV)
Because honestly, it's difficult to imagine the network doing so after the premiere.
Like "Teachers," "Those Who Can't" focuses on the dysfunctional high jinks of a group of single-gender educators played by members of a comedy troupe. In "Teachers," it's Chicago's Katydids; in "Those Who Can't," it's a trio of guys from Denver's Grawlix.
There's a big difference, though. "Teachers" is set in an elementary school, which lends its characters a kinder, gentler air. Even today we are not ready to see teachers interact with third-graders in an emotionally abusive way for laughs.
Not so with high school students, whom television has long branded as adults capable of sophisticated sex lives, byzantine treachery and, occasionally, saving the world from monsters.
In "Those Who Can't," the students of Smoot High are just a bunch of psycho bullies who push their teachers around in order to give those teachers, and the show, an excuse to go infantile ballistic.
Coach Fairbell (Andrew Orvedahl) is the wimpy one, Spanish teacher Loren Payton ( Adam Cayton-Holland) is the sensible one and history teacher Billy Shoemaker (Ben Roy) is the nerdy/henpecked one, but they're all just versions of the wearisome man-child who occupies so much of our current screen time.
There are a couple of women in the show — Maria Thayer as Abbey Logan, Sonya Eddy as Tammy Sherman — but as a librarian and a secretary, respectively, they are secondary characters. This could be perceived as sexist except that the male characters are all so idiotic and incompetent that it seems quite the opposite.
The joke is that the teachers of Smoot High have never grown up so they interact with the students as peers. This is supposed to make the endless cycle of scheming and abuse hilarious, but it's far too familiar to be anything but exhausting. And a little bit depressing.
As fun as it is to say, the world is not defined by high school, and high school is a far more nuanced place than our personal memories, or most modern depictions, allow. At some point someone will write a show capturing the world of teaching as deftly as so many workplace comedies examine the legal, law enforcement or medical professions.
But "Those Who Can't" ain't it.
------------
'Those Who Can't'
Where: TruTV
When: 10:30 p.m. Thursday
11 FEBRUARY 2016
TV
US TV
GRANT GUSTIN
MELISSA BENOIST
The Flash meets Supergirl as Grant Gustin posts first pictures from set
The complicated superhero crossover is happening...
Grant Gustin has excitedly posted several photos from the highly-anticipated geekfest that is the Supergirl-Flash crossover episode.
The actor posed with Supergirl star Melissa Benoist and also found time to mock the difference in their on-set chairs
The Flash's Grant Gustin will visit National City for a Supergirl episode airing on Monday, March 28.
The Flash has explored DC Comics' famed Multiverse - multiple versions of earth - during its most recent episodes, and the Multiverse will surely come into play again on Supergirl.
Earlier this week, The Flash episode 'Welcome to Earth-2' appeared to confirm that Supergirl exists in a different universe to Barry and his pals.
NAACP Image Awards highlight the power of diversity
Taraji P. Henson of TV's "Empire" accepts an NAACP Image Award for best actress in a drama series.
(Frederick M. Brown /Getty Images)
Scott CollinsContact Reporter
As Taraji P. Henson took home the prize for outstanding actress in a drama series at the NAACP Image Awards on Friday night, she left viewers and the audience with a little something as well: “We don’t have to ask for acceptance from anyone," the star of Fox's hit soap "Empire" told the crowd at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
"We are enough and we’ve always been enough."
Henson -- whose "Empire" husband, Terrence Howard, also won a top acting prize -- didn't have to spell out who she was referring to.
The 47th Annual Image Awards ceremony, which honors people of color in the entertainment industry, arrives amid a widespread debate over diversity in this year's Academy Award nominations.
Director Spike Lee, who has said he will not attend the Feb. 28 Oscar telecast as part of a boycott to protest the lack of diversity in the major acting categories, was seen in a reaction shot as singer John Legend gave an impassioned speech about racism.
Friday's two-hour ceremony, telecast live on TV One, started off with a musical number. Host Anthony Anderson was costumed as 1990s-era Ice Cube and rapping as part of the group N.W.A.
"Don't call it a comeback," Anderson said after he shed the costume, paraphrasing another rapper, LL Cool J. "We've been here for years."
Later in the evening, Anderson won his second Image award as the patriarch in ABC's family sitcom "black-ish," and the show also took the top prize for comedy.
Tracee Ellis Ross -- daughter of Diana Ross -- took the comedy actress award for playing Anderson's wife on the series. "Empire" won for top drama.
"Straight Outta Compton" took the top prize for motion pictures, while Sanaa Lathan was picked as outstanding movie actress for her performance in "The Perfect Guy."
Perhaps the night's biggest winner was Michael B. Jordan, who won for his starring role in the boxing film "Creed" and also won as Entertainer of the Year.
Anderson gave a shout-out to Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, joking that the pair -- who have also vowed to boycott the Oscars -- "better be here after all that 'ish' they started."
Stacey Dash -- a star of the film "Clueless" who has angered many with her views as a Fox News commentator -- earned a special jab. Anderson called her "Ann Coulter dipped in butterscotch."
Perhaps the strongest comments from the first half of the ceremony came from singer Legend, who called for "radical change" after winning the NAACP President's Award, presented by the civil rights group's leader, Cornell William Brooks.
"I accept this award with deep humility and gratitude," Legend said. He criticized "a criminal justice system that over-polices us" and lamented a world in which "the color of our skin conjures the image of threat and violence."
The current adversity offers an opportunity, Legend said. He added: "Let's not waste it."
Bruce Springsteen Details 'Born to Run' Autobiography
Rocker has been working on book for past seven years
BY KORY GROW February 11, 2016
Bruce Springsteen will release his autobiography titled 'Born to Run' this fall Taylor Hill/Getty
Bruce Springsteen will tell his story in his words later this year when he puts out his autobiography, Born to Run. The tome will come out worldwide on September 27th – a few days after his 67th birthday – in hardcover, ebook and audiobook editions.
"Writing about yourself is a funny business," the singer wrote in the yet-to-be-released book. "But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I've tried to do this."
Springsteen began work on the memoir in 2009, after he played the Super Bowl halftime show with the E Street Band. Over the next seven years, he wrote and reflected on the book in private.
A statement from the book's publisher, Simon & Schuster, says the book will chronicle Springsteen's life from growing up in Freehold, New Jersey amid "poetry, danger and darkness" and how it inspired him to become a musician. It will also cover his days playing bars in Asbury Park and how the E Street Band came together and became a tour de force. The publisher promises "disarming candor" in Springsteen's descriptions of his personal struggles.
Springsteen put out a children's book, Outlaw Pete, in 2014. At the time, he revealed the books he likes to read. The New York Times described his bookshelves as containing titles about cosmology, philosophy, baseball and crime, as well as literary classics like Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. His favorite authors at that time were Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy and Philip Roth, but he also had a taste for the classics. "I like the Russians, the Chekhov short stories, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky," he said. "I never read any of them until the past four years, and found them to be thoroughly psychologically modern."
NBC pays tribute to African American history with new Jesse Owens documentary
The U.S. athlete Jesse Owens, who flourished at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Steven ZeitchikContact Reporter
EXCLUSIVE: The intersection of race and athletics has become an increasingly popular documentary subject, embodied most recently by ESPN’s epic O.J. Simpson series.
Now NBC is now offering a new entry to the canon: “More Than Gold,” a story of Jesse Owens’ historic performance at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, narrated by Morgan Freeman. The network will debut the film this Sunday; it is being timed to the theatrical opening later this month, by NBC sister company Focus Features, of “Race,” the fact-based biopic that has Stephan James starring as Owens.
An uplifting jangle of a film, filled with colorful details and athlete testimonials, the one-hour "Gold" seeks to examine the legacy of Owens.
A college star carrying a mountain of expectation, Owens wasn’t seeking social change when he arrived at the Games in 1936. But with his four gold medals — in two individual sprints, a sprint relay and the long jump — he won over the masses at the Olympiastadion, offered a retort to a displeased Adolf Hitler and forever altered the fate of black athletes.
“I think the lesson of Jesse Owens is that you can shape history by doing what you love the most,” said Matt Allen, a senior feature producer at NBC Sports Group who produced the film.
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >>
Allen and his NBC Sports colleagues, including the producer and longtime Olympics chronicler Phil Parrish, went deep to find those who could tell Owens' story.
In addition to experts like Pellem McDaniells III, producers also interviewed a trio of athletes who were on the U.S. Olympic team with Owens, including gold medal swimmer Adolf Kiefer and canoe athlete John Lysak.
Of particular note is the third competitor, American swimmer Iris Cummings Critchell. A Southern California native who would go on to become a well-known aviator, she offers sharp pieces of color, such as the scene aboard the ship Manhattan that transported hundreds of athletes to the game. (Different sports were given different time slots above deck; pole-vaulting, nonetheless, was difficult.)
Owens’ three daughters — Beverly Owens Prather, Marlene Owens Rankin and Gloria Owens Hemphill — are also featured, describing poignantly such things as their father’s relationship with the German jumper Lutz Long, with whom Owens forged an unlikely relationship. Footage of the Games themselves, particularly the scene inside the stadium for Owens' victories, also offer a vivid portrait of life at the 1936 Olympics. (You can watch an exclusive clip here.)
The film, coming on the 80th anniversary of Owens' achievement, also arrives at a time of questions over justice for African Americans in a wider range of public life. If the movie underlines Owens' historic achievements, it also points to a more complicated modern world.
"There's no bad time to do a Jesse Owens documentary," Allen said. "But this is a moment to remember both the progress he made and how far there still is to go."
Owens' own battle to readjust to life back in the U.S., where he faced discrimination as well as financial struggles, is hinted at here; the story of American heroes rarely ends at their moment of heroism. As historian David Clay Large says in the film, Owens' triumph in Berlin "was a monumental experience for him he never forgot — and that he was never able to replicate, of course, when he came home."
The move fits with a larger vogue for sports docs, led most prominently by ESPN's "30 for 30" series, in which the built-in drama of a sports movie melds with the impact of a real-life story. "More than Gold" also helps set the table for the Rio Olympics. NBC is making a push with hundreds of hours of programming at the Brazil-based Summer Games, and is likely to offer more expanded content as the Games near. At the most recent Olympics, it produced and aired figure-skating rivalry tale "Nancy & Tonya" as well as the British-themed World War II piece "Their Finest Hour."
But the upcoming event has become a fraught topic, with some athletes expressing concern about attending due to the Zika virus; U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo is the latest.
Producers hope their new movie shows what happens when sports can break through the clouds.
“There has always been criticism from the outside, of various kinds and the Olympics aren't perfect," said Parrish, who has covered more than a dozen Games over his career. "But what's important is that they're even attempted. There are a lot of special moments at the Olympics. We're trying to show just one of them."
Halsey on Duetting With Bieber, Hating 'Tri-Bi' Label
The "New Americana" singer talks playing arenas, facing up to Internet haters and avoiding guitars
BY BRIAN HIATT February 10, 2016
"It became this cultural anthem that it wasn't supposed to be," says Halsey of breakthrough single "New Americana."Jimmy Fontaine
Halsey reads the comments, all of them. She knows what every random kid online thinks of her, and unwise as it may be to take on that psychic burden, it's hard to blame her: The 21-year-old, Jersey-bred alt-pop singer-songwriter had an online fan base built on pure charisma well before she signed a record deal. But in the six months since the release of her gold-certified debut, Badlands, and the much-hyped, divisive single "New Americana" (about being in a generation "raised on Biggie and Nirvana"), she's become an old-fashioned rising star, complete with an upcoming sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. "I have to remember for every kid saying something awful, there's a kid saying something great," says Halsey, who couldn't even mourn David Bowie on Twitter without haters accusing her of faking it. "Because I have this incredible sold-out tour."
Some artists have mixed feelings about their breakthrough song. Is that the case with you and "New Americana"? It's a cool song. I love performing it. But it wouldn't have made it into the album if I had my way. It was this tongue-in-cheek song that kind of got shoved down people's throats. It became this cultural anthem that it wasn't supposed to be, and it got so blown out of proportion. People would kind of say I was the voice of a generation, and I'm standing behind them, fucking drawing a line across my neck going, "Eh-eh, eh-eh, no, no, that's not what I'm trying to say here." I almost think the fact that so many people hated it so much is largely responsible for my success, because it made people talk about it.
What are you doing duetting with Justin Bieber on his new album? You hear, "Oh, Justin would never put a no-name like Halsey on his record. [Bieber's manager] Scooter must be representing her," which isn't the case at all! But they asked, and, like, pop music is fucking fascinating to me. I also learned how quickly I could go from having never met someone to having the world think I'm dating them. My mom texted me, "Are you dating Justin Bieber?" I was like, "Mom, what the fuck? Don't you think I would tell you?" But when we performed on the Today show, it was just so real, so emotive, so evocative — two people connecting in this love song. There was a moment where I think he and I were both kind of like, "Are we … are we … is this real?"
You're a big rock fan, so why is there almost no guitar on your album? Every song on Badlands I wrote on a guitar, and there will definitely be more guitars on my next record. A guitar can be so human, so sorrowful, so angry, and I wanted to figure out how to achieve that vibe without having to actually use guitars, because Badlands is a very futuristic record — and making it that in an era of futuristic music is a really hard thing to do! There's something very old-fashioned about a guitar, to me. That's probably a shitty term to use. I mean more "nostalgic," and that's just because in my adolescence, I listened to guitar-type music. Music is cyclical — guitars are going to come back, and it's going to feel very fresh.
Do you think the lines between genres are more permeable right now? Genre in 2016 is just absolute bullshit. Half the records on hip-hop radio are pop records at their core, and half the records in fucking alternative radio are pop. And pop radio doesn't even know what the fuck it's doing. I end up pleading my case to alternative programmers — you're telling me that my music is too dark for pop, too pop for alternative, and urban radio won't touch it — so we have a record that doesn't fit in. And what is more alternative than that?
"Genre in 2016 is just absolute bullshit."
What do you have in mind for your first headlining arena shows? I just went on tour with the Weeknd, and he used tons of fire. I was like, "Ooh, I need that!" But I want to build a show that's a grand, cinematic experience without hiding behind production elements as a crutch, without using those things to cover up my lazy ass. You still have to be able to perform your fucking ass off.
You happen to be biracial, bisexual and have bipolar disorder — but it drives you crazy that people think you've called yourself "tri-bi," right? I fucking hate it, the idea that something like that would be trivialized down to a fucking hashtag. I mean, there's a ton of biphobia — people refuse to accept bisexuality as an actual sexuality. And I'm biracial, but also white-passing, which is a unique perspective. So these kids say, like, "Oh, fucking tri-bi Halsey! She'll never miss an opportunity to talk about it!" I want to sit them down like a mom and go, "Six months ago you were begging for an artist that would talk about this shit! But then I do, and you say, 'Oh, not her. Someone else.'"
'Broad City' is coming back and is bringing Blake Griffin with it
Ilana Glazer, left, and Abbi Jacobson in "Broad City." The show returns to Comedy Central for its third season Feb. 17.
(Comedy Central)
Libby HillContact Reporter
“Broad City” is (almost) back and will feature embattled Clippers star Blake Griffin.
Comedy Central released a trailer Wednesday promoting the show’s third season and featuring Griffin, along with several other celebrity guest stars.
Created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, the series focuses on the intimate friendship of Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams that often leads to high (literally) comedy and a host of hilarious misadventures. The show features frank discussions of sex, relationships and career dissatisfaction all cloaked in a haze of pot smoke and general frivolity.
The series began as a Web series of the same name that ran from 2009 to 2011 before finding a mentor in Amy Poehler, who eventually became a “Broad City” executive producer when the series was shepherded to air at Comedy Central.
The trailer suggests that not much will change for Abbi and Ilana in Season 3, news that should please the show’s adoring audience, but that it will host a number of guest stars (including Hillary Clinton) and associated adventures.
Griffin appears to be playing himself (an improvement over not playing at all, lately) and his appearance causes Abbi much delight. Also appearing in the trailer were Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City”), as well as recurring characters Lincoln (Hannibal Buress), who plays Ilana’s sort-of boyfriend; Jaimé (Arturo Castro), Ilana’s roommate; and Bobbi Wexler (Susie Essman), Ilana’s mother.
The trailer is full of adult language and content that fans have come to expect from “Broad City.” It can be seen in its entirety here.
“Broad City” makes its Season 3 debut at 10 p.m. Feb. 17 on Comedy Central.
10 Things We Learned From L.A. Reid's Juicy Tell-All
Legendary producer shares stories behind the careers of some of pop's biggest stars in his memoir
BY JERRY PORTWOOD February 10, 2016
Read L.A. Reid's insider tales about TLC, Whitney Houston, Outkast and more. Quinn Hood
L.A. Reid's new tell-all book, Sing to Me, contains so many name-dropping details about the various stars he's worked with — including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Outkast, Jay Z — it can be head-spinning. But his music-industry saga started small, when he and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds decided to start LaFace Records in Atlanta in the early Nineties. "It felt like a city full of dreamers, a place where things could happen and a place that hadn't been born yet musically," he writes. After loads of success and a few missteps (like losing his shot with Lady Gaga), it's his Nineties heyday that remains vital to him. Toni Braxton's album, Secrets, remains one of the producer's favorites. ("It stays with me, one of the few of my records that I still play.") To get a taste of the man and the myth, here are 10 of the juiciest moments from the golden era of his epic career.
He let Pebbles poach Vanessa Williams' song. "I met with Vanessa alone in my apartment, where I was working, and I played her a song I had written and was preparing for her to record. That night at Galaxy Studios, Kenny played me another track he had recorded, and we wrote the lyrics and cut the demo of this new song we called 'Girlfriend.' … Vanessa was more than six months pregnant, so the timing could have been better, but they were going to pay $12,500 for the song. A couple of days later, Kenny and I went to Silverlake Studios to listen to Pebbles sing. … Kenny started talking about 'Girlfriend.' … When Pebbles heard the track, she wanted the song. She asked how much Vanessa Williams was paying us and offered us $18,000. 'Plus I'll throw in two cars.' … Vanessa never spoke to me again."
He protected Paula Abdul as Pebbles trashed his apartment. "We asked if [Paula] would choreograph a music video for Kenny — we were putting the finishing touches on his second Babyface solo album—and she said would trade us for a song. We wrote 'Knocked Out' for her and we took [her] into Studio Masters, where it took a long time to cut her vocal. … We didn't work on the album — Pebbles saw to that. Paula and I started to be friendly. We didn't have a relationship, but one night Paula came to my house and it was after midnight. We stood on the balcony listening to 'Man in the Mirror.' ... The phone rang. It was Pebbles wanting to know what I was doing. … Suddenly someone was knocking on my door, hard. I opened the door and there was Pebbles. Never taking her eyes off me, she walked past me into the kitchen, grabbed a broom, and shattered all my glass furniture. It was like slow motion, tearing shit up. I smiled and loved it. She never looked at Paula, who was trembling in fear."
He had to convince Pebbles to stop being jealous of Whitney Houston. "Whitney was the undoubtedly the most popular female vocalist of the day and the biggest-selling act on the label. She had a string of number one hits, but Clive felt she needed to strengthen her grounding in contemporary black music and ease up on the pop songs. So he called L.A. Reid and Babyface. … We had written 'I'm Your Baby Tonight' for her, and Clive found this song, 'My Name Is Not Susan,' that he wanted us to produce with her. … Whitney called from her hotel to tell me her room had been broken into and she felt uncomfortable. Could she use the guesthouse? It was late. [Pebbles called and] quickly became upset when she learned Whitney was there. 'Whitney's in my house?' she said. 'We're not having that. My husband is not going to sit in my house late at night watching a movie with another girl.' The next day, Pebbles came home and had attitude with me. She tried having attitude with Whitney, too, but Whitney put out that fire … [and invited us all] to her place in New Jersey."
He provided the spot for Whitney and Bobby to fall in love. "She was no longer just a shining superstar. Bobby made her a person. … She had fallen in love with Bobby Brown under my roof. As I watched them ride off into the sunset, the realization sunk in. I became fascinated by this. It seemed so unlikely, but, at the same time, so right. Bobby was a street smart bad boy and Whitney was an R&B angel. You never would have thought it, but when you saw them together, they fit like puzzle parts. They were R&B royalty."
He wrote a song for Michael Jackson that didn't get released for 25 years. "Michael wanted to arrange a meeting to talk about working together. This was Michael Jackson in his moment. His latest album was Bad. … We managed to put together a song called 'Slave to the Rhythm' that Michael liked enough to lay down a finished vocal, and he never sang a song he didn't believe in — he didn't even bother to try if he didn't. I sat across the other side of the glass and watched in what was an almost out-of-body experience as Michael sang our song. … God was in the room and He looked like Michael Jackson. … We finished only the one song, 'Slave to the Rhythm,' during those sessions where Michael laid down lead vocals, and it wasn't released for another 25 years. We had another track nearly done, but he never finished it."
He helped Jermaine Jackson record an MJ diss track. "During another one of these sessions with Michael, I was called to the phone. I went down the hall and took the call in an office. It was Jermaine. He went crazy on me. … We went back to Atlanta and needed to patch up things with Jermaine [and] … went back to work and what was the first thing Jermaine tells us? 'I want to make a song about my brother,' he said. 'I want to talk about how he's treated me through the years, like how every time I find producers like you guys, he takes my producers. He doesn't care about his family or anybody but himself.' … We ended up with a clever song, 'Word to the Badd!!,' but he we kind of lost our nerve and redid the song to make it more about Jermaine and some girl, not his brother. Clive heard the original version and wanted to put it out. … The song was getting requested on radio … [but then] two days later, the record disappeared off the air… I don't know what Michael did, I don't know if Michael did anything, but it went away in a flash."
He loved T-Boz and Left Eye, but he never had an affair with Chilli. "[TLC] focused their resentment on Pebbles. … In the end, they were unhappy about the amount of money they'd made, and they fired her not long after returning from the MC Hammer tour. I always stayed close with Left Eye and T-Boz, and I loaned my Miami apartment to her during all this disruption. [Her sickle cell anemia] secret came out when she collapsed during the first tour and had to be hospitalized … but she soon bounced back. She was my favorite, my eyes and ears on the street, my little muse. Living next to the ocean at my place in Miami was beneficial for her condition. Chilli and I were never close, although we were accused of having an affair many times. It was up to me to broker a deal, which put me in a difficult position with my wife."
He'd flirt with Toni Braxton — but that's it. "Toni and I connected musically. I love her voice. Of all the singers I have recorded, Toni remains my favorite. Though Toni and I had a special connection, it was always purely platonic. We would play-flirt, but she was seeing my brother, so she was hands-off. I pushed her and was able to pull out something special. We found her superpower."
He sent Usher to "Puffy Flavor Camp" to toughen up. "'Will you take this kid and teach him your swagger?' I said. 'Can you just give him some of your flavor?' And so I sent Usher to New York for what I called the 'Puffy Flavor Camp.' I wanted Usher to be edgier than LaFace was. We had made a few records with him after 'Call Me a Mack,' but nothing I found compelling enough to release. Our music could be soft and pretty. I didn't want Usher to be pretty. … Usher was 15 years old, but nothing about him ever seemed juvenile. I was turning him over to the wildest party guy in the country at an age when I still needed to get his mother's permission, but he went to New York for almost a year. I didn't know whether I was being irresponsible or having an epiphany.
He Gave Outkast Their Sex Appeal "These two 17-year-old kids — one named Antwan, one André — who called themselves Outkast, stood to the side of my desk and started rapping. They were so nervous, they wouldn't look at me. I didn't really know anything about rap. I went by my gut instinct. 'I think you guys are really good, but you're not ready yet. … You've got to work on things like sex appeal. It's not the singing business or the rapping business, it's the entertainment business, and you have to entertain. … With the success of Outkast, a real identity began to form around the new kind of Southern music that we were making. … At the same time, hip-hop was becoming the most important new development in the music scene since the Beatles and the British Invasion."
SPRINGSTEEN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 27TH
Simon & Schuster is proud to announce the world-wide publication of Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run, which will be released internationally on September 27, 2016. The work will be published in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions by Simon & Schuster in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India, and rights have already been sold to publishers in nine countries.
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Springsteen has been privately writing the autobiography over the past seven years. He began work in 2009, after performing with the E Street Band at the Super Bowl’s halftime show.
In Born to Run, Mr. Springsteen describes growing up in Freehold, New Jersey amid the “poetry, danger, and darkness” that fueled his imagination. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band. With disarming candor, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work, and shows us why the song “Born to Run” reveals more than we previously realized.
“Writing about yourself is a funny business,” Mr. Springsteen notes in his book. “But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.”
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“This is the book we’ve been hoping for,” said Jonathan Karp, publisher of Simon & Schuster. “Readers will see their own lives in Bruce Springsteen’s extraordinary story, just as we recognize ourselves in his songs.” Simon & Schuster acquired Born to Run in an exclusive submission from Mr. Springsteen’s legal representatives, Allen Grubman and Jonathan Ehrlich of the law firm Grubman Shire & Meiselas, P.C.. Simon & Schuster previously published Mr. Springsteen’s illustrated book with Frank Caruso, Outlaw Pete, in 2014.
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The international publishers of Born to Run are Editions Albin Michel in France; Mondadori in Italy; Heyne in Germany; Natur & Kultur in Sweden; Spectrum in the Netherlands, Politkens in Denmark; Cappelen Damn in Norway; Otava in Finland; and Penguin Random Spain.
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Opportunities to pre-order the book will be shared as they become available.
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
Appearing on the Zilch! podcast in the latest episode released this afternoon, Rhino's John Hughes, who is acting as executive producer for the brand new Monkees studio album, Good Times!, confirmed that all three members of The Monkees will be full participants on the album:
"[Producer] Adam (Schlesinger)...is working very closely with all three guys...all three are on the album and full participants…playing on tracks, singing (obviously), contributing songs...it's really all The Monkees, and that includes Davy."
Davy will be a part of the new album by way of Neil Diamond's "Love to Love," first recorded in 1967 but never officially released on an original Monkees album. It will appear on Good Times! in a reworked version with Davy's lead vocal.
Please note that this is a MUST LISTEN interview, and it's available for streaming and downloading on the Zilch! website.
SEASON 28 PREMIERE, 8pm, CBS The Amazing Race Social media stars form this season’s 11 teams, whose journey begins in Mexico City in “I Should’ve Been a Boy Scout.”
8pm, ABC Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown/A Charlie Brown Valentine The 1975 special finds Charlie hoping against hope to receive a missive of love, while Sally mistakenly believes she’s the recipient of Linus’s gift for his teacher. Then in 2002’s V-Day installment, Charlie Brown summons the nerve to ask out the Little Red-Haired Girl, Sally again tries to make sparks fly with Linus, and Snoopy channels his poetic muse.
8pm, Fox Sleepy Hollow In order to save Abbie, Ichabod and Sophie must first defeat a supernatural force that’s terrorizing Sleepy Hollovians. Elsewhere in “Incident at Stone Manor,” Jenny demands the truth from her father, while Pandora and the Hidden One gather strength.
8pm, The CW The Vampire Diaries Julian’s influence proves to be less than healthy for Damon, who was never exactly known for his restraint anyway. Meanwhile in “Postcards From the Edge,” Bonnie, Nora, and Mary Louise search for an infamous vampire hunter, and Caroline seeks help from Valerie when her pregnancy produces hazardous side effects.
8:30pm, Disney Girl Meets World After cheating on a test, Maya and Farkle must face the school honor board in “Girl Meets Commonism.” In more honest affairs, Auggie contemplates his future career options.
9pm, PBS American Masters B.B. King reflects on his life and career in this profile completed shortly before his death in May 2015. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, the film also includes concert footage and interviews with the bluesman’s colleagues and collaborators, including Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Ringo Starr, and many more.
9pm, The CW The Originals An anti-Original weapon lands in dangerous hands in “Dead Angels.” That pits Klaus against an unexpected enemy, and earns Davina the attention of a new coven interested in obtaining the object. Elsewhere, violence ensues when Elijah reasserts control of the Strix... which isn’t saying much, because violence ensues when any of these people pick up their dry cleaning.
9pm, CBS Hawaii Five-0 In “Hoa ‘Inea (Misery Loves Company),” the squad’s investigation of an adultery-tinged double homicide prompts them to recollect their own less than romantic (though, to be fair, also less than lethal) Valentine’s Days. Supplementing the search for love and murderers will be four songs fromColdplay’s latest record, A Head Full of Dreams.
9pm, NBC Grimm Monroe goes undercover when an ancient Wesen ritual produces lethal results in “Star-Crossed.” Meanwhile, the clash between Hadrian’s Wall and Black Claw ramps up.
10pm, PBS David Bowie: Five Years This documentary draws on the protean rock star’s personal archives to examine five years in his long and prolific career.
11pm, Cartoon Network Childrens Hospital “Doctor Beth” sheds light on Nurse Beth’s origins, which I imagine center on being bitten by a radioactive Beth.
LATE-NITE: They're all repeats, but hey, why would you stay in and watch talk shows when you could go outside and enjoy a brisk February evening? Okay, repeats it is then.
Netflix Renews Master of None for Season 2
By Tim Surette
17 hours ago
Well he's a master of something, you don't get renewed for being just okay at something (unless we're talking about Under the Dome). Aziz Ansari's Netflix comedy Master of None has been given a second season, ensuring more heartfelt rom-com antics will be headed your way later this year.
Ansari, who writes and stars in (and sometimes directs) the series, tweeted the news out himself. Proof!
This hardly comes as a surprise as the series was loved by many and made it onto several end-of-year best-of lists in 2015. Well, that and the fact that Master of None has to be a whole lot cheaper to make than something like Sense8, and it grabs that ever-growing millennial crowd that can fork over $8 for a Netflix subscription.
Master of None is a contemporary comedy covering multiple topics, including minorities, feminism, show business, and, you know, just being young-ish and growing up in this wacky time we call "now." However, the end of Season 1 veered toward romantic-comedy territory, with Aziz romancing, getting together with, and ultimately splitting from his girlfriend (Noel Wells), and deciding to move to Italy to attend culinary school, presumably so he could make and eat pasta all day every day. Now that sounds like a way to live life.
Remembering Whitney Houston 'The Voice' 4 Years Later
Whitney Houston leaves behind her incredible voice for the world to remember
Credit: WhitneyHouston/Vevo
February 11th, 2016 marks the tragic 4 year anniversary when the world lost 'The Voice', Whitney Houston. Dying at the young age of 48, Whitney Houston left the world heartbroken when the news hit that we had lost an icon and probably the best female vocalist of all time.
I remember when I was only 8 years old in Australia and I heard Whitney's voice for the first time on the 'Greatest Love of All' and I was completely blown away.
Myself, as well as many other millions of young girls were inspired by Whitney's angelic voice and model looks and we all wished we could be just like her. Starting her career in church as well as being a back up singer for Chaka Khan in 1978 on the hit 'I'm Every Woman', Whitney was only 15 years old and already had the pipes of a seasoned veteran.
Later on, Whitney would later release 'I'm Every Woman' as her own single and feature Chaka Khan on the song for the soundtrack of 'The Bodyguard'.
By 2009, Whitney was named the Guinness World Records Most Awarded Female act of all time. Throughout her career, Whitney Houston's hits have included 'How Will I Know', 'You Give Good Love', 'I Have Nothing' and her smash hit number one single 'I Will Always Love You', written by Dolly Parton.
Along with her superstardom as a singer, Whitney also starred in some successful movies including 'The Bodyguard' opposite Kevin Costner, (which was also her very first film role and earned her critical acclaim), 'Waiting to Exhale', 'The Preacher's Wife' and sadly what would be her last movie before she died 'Sparkle', starring Jordin Sparks.
Starting out as a fashion model in the 80's, Whitney was one of those artists that set an example for having class and elegance along with her incredible ability as a vocalist. Many other singers that came along after her were influenced by Whitney including; Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera and Beyonce' to name a few.
Although Whtiney Houston is no longer here to grace us with her voice, her music and incredible songs will live on in our hearts forever. One thing is for sure though, even though there may be many other artists who try to duplicate her voice, there will only ever be one Whitney Houston and let's face it, that's all we ever really need!
Rick Wright, widely respected in Nashville and beyond as the longtime guitarist in Country Music Hall of Fame member Connie Smith's band the Sundowners, was killed in a car accident on Sunday night (7). The two-car crash took place near Wright's home in White House, Tennessee. He was 57.
Wright played on numerous Grand Ole Opry dates and tours over the past 17 years with Smith, who had 20 top ten Billboard country chart singles including such No. 1s as her debut 'Once A Day' and 'Ain't Love A Good Thing.' The guitarist played on the singer's last album release, 2011's Long Line Of Heartaches.
“He played from the heart,” Smith, 74, told the Tennessean newspaper. “It's going to be hard looking to my right [during a performance] and not see him there grinning at me.” Wright grew up in Oklahoma before moving to Nashville, where he also played with the Music City Playboys and with bands in the bars of Lower Broadway.
“He had a heart so big that he'd do anything for you,” added Smith. “If we weren't working, he was playing somewhere else, because he just loved to play. I think that any musician who played with Rick became his friend.”
Rick Wright, guitarist for Connie Smith, dies in wreck at 57
jthanki@tennessean.com6:02 p.m. CST February 10, 2016
(Photo: conniesmithmusic.com)
On Sunday night, Richard W. Fagel Wright was killed in a two-car accident near his home in White House. He was 57 years old and better known as Rick Wright, the longtime lead guitarist for Country Music Hall of Famer Connie Smith.
"Rick Wright was an extraordinary guitar player and he was greatly admired by fellow musicians," said WSM DJ and "Grand Ole Opry" announcer Eddie Stubbs. "It was always interesting to watch other guitarists in the wings watching him onstage."
As a member of Smith’s backing band The Sundowners, Mr. Wright played and sang behind her during countless tour dates and "Grand Ole Opry" performances over the past 17 years. He also appeared on her last album, 2011’s “Long Line of Heartaches.”
“He played from the heart,” Smith said. “It’s going to be hard to look to my right (during a performance) and not see him there grinning at me.”
Offstage, Smith said, Mr. Wright was a joy to be around. He’d spend hours on the tour bus telling stories and playfully arguing with bass player Rod Hamm about their fantasy football teams. If she couldn’t figure out something on her cellphone, Mr. Wright helped her. Often he’d come back to the bus with dessert, “just because he thought I needed it,” she said with a laugh. “He had a heart so big that he’d do anything for you.”
Mr. Wright, who grew up in Oklahoma before he came to Nashville, was a member of the Music City Playboys and frequently played with other musicians on Lower Broadway. "If we weren't working, he was playing somewhere else, because he just loved to play," Smith said. "I think that any musician who played with Rick became his buddy."
He is survived by his wife, Sherrie; his son; his mother, Linda; and his brother, Steve. Visitation will be held at the Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home (2707 Gallatin Road) from noon until 6 p.m. Sunday, with a service to follow.
Andrew Bird Announces New Album 'Are You Serious,' Tour Dates
Fiona Apple and Blake Mills appear on the violinist and singer's latest LP
Andrew Bird has announced his new album, 'Are You Serious,' which features Fiona Apple and Blake Mills
Andrew Bird has announced his 10th studio album, Are You Serious. He'll release the LP on April 1st via Loma Vista. The official announcement follows an appearance on Conan this week to debut his bluesy, soulful new single "Capsized." Pre-orders of Are You Serious come with an instant download of the track.
Are You Serious features contributions from Fiona Apple and Blake Mills. Bird revealed to NPR's All Songs Considered that Mills plays guitar in the band and that his duet with Apple on "Left Handed Kisses" has Apple playing a romantic while Bird is the skeptic. This is the pair's first collaboration together though the both appeared on comedian Margaret Cho's 2010 album Cho Dependent.
Bird also announced a tour in support of the new album. He'll begin his international trek in February in the Netherlands and return stateside in late March. On the day of his album's release, he'll perform in Knoxville, TN at the Big Ears Festival. The violinist and experimental folk singer will hop between North America and Europe through the end of May, when the tour wraps in Colorado.
Are You Serious follows up last year's more experimental Echolocations: Canon. Along with the standard LP and deluxe edition, Bird will also be releasing a deluxe box set version of the album, which will include the exclusive Are We Not Burning? The D...f Capsized10" with four new tracks and a 64-page book with art to accompany each song on the album.
Are You Serious track list
1. "Capsized" 2. "Roma Fade" 3. "Truth Lies Low" 4. "Puma" 5. "Chemical Switches" 6. "Left Handed Kisses" featuring Fiona Apple 7. "Are You Serious" 8. "Saints Preservus" 9. "The New Saint Jude" 10. "Valleys Of The Young" 11. "Bellevue"
Andrew Bird World Tour Dates
February 25 - Eindhoven, NL @ Muziekgebouw February 26 - Amsterdam, NL @ Muziekgebouw February 27 - Rotterdam, NL @ De Doelen February 28 - Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort March 30 - Nashville, TN @ The Ryman April 1 - Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival April 2 - Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle April 4 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory April 5 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club April 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre April 8 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 April 9 - Boston, MA @ Citi Wang Theatre April 11 - Montreal, QC @ Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre April 13 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall April 14 - Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre April 15 - Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavillion April 16 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues April 18 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater April 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue April 21 - Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland April 22 - St. Louis, MO @ The The Pageant April 30 - Dublin, IRE @- Vicar Street May 2 - Edinburgh, UK @ Queen's Hall May 3 - Manchester, UK @ Cathedral May 4 -London, UK @ Roundhouse May 6 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso May 8 - Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royale May 9 - Paris, FR @ Trianon May 13 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park May 14 & 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Ace Theatre May 16 - San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic May 18 - Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall May 19 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox May 21 - Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre May 23 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot May 24 - Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
Jimi Hendrix apartment opens as a museum 45 years after his death
A new permanent public exhibition is opening in London, featuring a faithful recreation of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix's flat, where he lived with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham between 1968 and 1969. Mark Kelly reports. Image: Everett Collection
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Jimi Hendrix' former apartment has been restored and open to the public more than 45 years after his death. The London flat was reportedly the rock legend's first “real home” of his own, according to a Reuters report posted byYahoo News on Feb. 11.
Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images
Jimi Hendrix moved into the apartment at 23 Brook Street in July 1968 after his then-girlfriend Kathy Etchingham saw it advertised in a newspaper.
A multi-million dollar renovation restored the space to make it look just like it did when the rocker lived there. Hendrix personally decorated his pad with bright curtains, cushions and wall hangings.
The Atlantic Constitution Journal revealed that the apartment was recreated right down to the retro telephones and scallop shell ashtray on the bedside table. Etchingham told the Associated Press returning to the apartment was like “traveling in a time capsule back 45 years.”
Hendrix wrote music, rehearsed and gave press interviews at the apartment, which he lived in from July 1968 until March 1969, when he moved to New York. The “Purple Haze” singer died in 1970 at age 27.
Jimi Hendrix isn’t the only famous musician with ties to the apartment building on Brook Street. Centuries before the rocker moved there, composer George Frideric Handel lived in the house next door for 36 years and wrote some of his most famous works, including "Messiah," there. Handel died at the home in 1759.
The side-by-side former dwellings of Jimi Hendrix and George Frideric Handel underwent the expensive restoration and are now part of the "Handel & Hendrix in London" heritage site which celebrates the two musicians who came from very different eras.
Tickets to visit the Jimi Hendrix apartment in London cost £7.50 ($10.85), with joint tickets also available for the Handel house.
Meet Disney's Latina inspired princess, Elena of Avalor!Disney Junior
Last year, Disney Junior unveiled their first ever Latina inspired princess, Elena of Avalor. The character was described as a “confident and compassionate teenager” by Executive Vice President and General Manager of Disney Junior Worldwide, Nancy Kanter. “Our creative team has delivered a universal story with themes that authentically reflect the hopes and dreams of our diverse audience,” Kanter explained at the time. Voiced by Aimee Carrero, Elena is set to debut later on this year in an episode of “Sofia the First” and will later have her own spin-off series, “Elena of Avalor.”
Now, even though Elena has not even had her TV debut, the princess has already been turned into a dollby Hasbro and will make its debut at a Toy Fair in New York City on Friday, February 12. Elena is voiced by Dominican actress Aimee Carrero, who says she couldn’t be more honored to represent the Latino community while working for Disney. “To see her as a doll is absolutely surreal! I cannot wait for audiences around the world to meet her,” Carrero told NBC News.
Actress Aimee Carrero, who voices the title role in Disney's "Elena of Avalor," gets a first-look at the new Elena doll during a recording session for the series in Burbank, California. The doll, from Hasbro, will debut at Toy Fair in New York City on Friday, February 12, and "Elena of Avalor," a new animated TV series set in a fairytale kingdom inspired by Latin cultures and folklore, will premiere this summer on Disney Channel.Disney Junior/Matt Petit
At the time of the princess’s reveal, there was controversy surrounding the color of her skin and lacking characteristics of a 16-year-old Latina. However, Disney cleared up by calling the character of “mixed heritage” and “Latina-inspired.”
'Mozart In The Jungle' Season 3: Musical Show Starring Gael Garcia Bernal Confirmed To Return On Amazon Prime
Amazon's original web series "Mozart in the Jungle" announces release date.Courtesy of Amazon
Amazon Prime’s first original series “Mozart in the Jungle” has been a hit, so much so that it won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy, Musical TV Show, and so did its lead star, Gael García Bernal for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. The show has been on for two successful season so far and has just beenconfirmed for a third one. The news were confirmed via the show’s Twitter account, where they announced “it wasn’t over.”
“‘Mozart in the Jungle’ is “a show that has allowed me to enjoy and understand a little bit about classical music,” García Bernal told Entertainment Weekly at the Golden Globes last month. The Mexican actor plays the role of Rodrigo de Souza, an off-beat Latino conductor who converses with the historical composers who live inside his head. The young Latino conductor teeters to stay in control in a world of powered privilege and stuffy tradition, his character is said to be loosely based on real-life L.A. philharmonic conductor Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel.
Jason Schwartzman spoke on behalf of all three executive producers (including himself, Roman Coppola and Paul Weitz) and said they’re very grateful to Amazon for “endowing their orchestra with another season.” “We can’t wait to follow our characters through the vast world of music, whether performing on a subway platform or in the grand concert halls of Europe,” he exclaimed.
IN PHOTO: Lupita Nyong'o poses for cameras as she arrives at the European Premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in Leicester Square, London.REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" actress Lupita Nyong'o is reportedly in talks to star in the sci-fi thriller "Intelligent Life," with director Ava DuVernay circling to direct.
"Intelligent Life" comes from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, with the script by "Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow and collaborater Derek Connolly. Nyong'o is said to be in negotiations to star in the film, while DuVernay will likely receive an offer to direct the film in the next 24-hours, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
According to IGN, "Intelligent Life" centers on a U.N. worker in a dystopian future who falls in love with an alien. The film is said to be similar to Trevorrow's "Safety Not Guaranteed."
This past year DuVernay has been in demand as a director. Last summer DuVernay passed on directing Marvel's "Black Panther" saying:
"At one point, the answer was yes, because I thought there was value in putting that kind of imagery and culture in a worldwide, huge way that they do in a certain way: flying, exciting action, fun, all those things, and yet still be focused on a black man as a hero — that would be pretty revolutionary. These films go everywhere from Shanghai to Uganda, and nothing that I probably will make will reach that many people, so I found value in that. That’s how the conversations continued, because that’s what I was interested in. But everyone’s interested in different things."
Furthermore, Deadline reports that the director has also been offered the adaptation of Madelein L'Engle's classic book "A Wrinkle in Time" from Disney.
Lin-Manuel Miranda performs at 'Hamilton' Broadway Opening Night at Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6, 2015 in New York City.Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Although it looks like the current Broadway sensation “Hamilton” will have a very long run, it’s not easy (to say the least) to get tickets to see the musical and prices are getting heftier by the minute. Lucky for those who haven’t had a chance to see it, the cast of the play created by Lin-Manuel Miranda will perform their opening son at this year’s 58th edition of the Grammy Awards on February 15!
The cast will be joining the star-studded list of performers which includes Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Diplo, Skrillex, Pitbull, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Robin Thicke, Ellie Goulding, Carrie Underwood and The Weeknd, amongst many others. In addition, Lady Gaga is set to perform a David Bowie tribute.
MUSIC BIZ TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF THE MONKEES WITH OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT NASHVILLE CONVENTION 2.09.16
February 9, 2016 – The Music Business Association (Music Biz) will be honoring The Monkees with an Outstanding Achievement Award celebrating their 50th anniversary. The Award will be presented to band members Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork at the Music Biz 2016 Welcome Reception, sponsored by WEA, on Monday, May 16 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. It’s the beginning of a jam-packed year for the group, which will mark the anniversary with a world tour, kicking off May 18 in Fort Myers, FL; a new album, also featuring Michael Nesmith and a vocal from Davy Jones, titled “GOOD TIMES!” and set for a June release; and a remastered Blu Ray release of “The Monkees” TV series.
“The Monkees have blazed a unique path over the course of their five decades in the entertainment business, achieving incredible success not only with their TV series, but with their music,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “Their debut record, ‘The Monkees,’ was actually the first album I ever received, and is still one of my favorites. With more than 75 million records sold worldwide, five Platinum-selling albums (including two 5x-Platinum and two 2x-Platinum releases), and 12 Top 40 singles (including three chart-toppers), the group has earned a place in music’s upper echelon. Now, they are poised to reach a new generation of fans with their upcoming record.”
“Our thanks to Music Biz for this Award and to our fans for allowing us to live out our dreams for the past 50 years,” said band member Micky Dolenz. “It’s great to look back and remember all that we’ve accomplished, especially as we put the finishing touches on new music that we know our fans will love. We can’t wait to see everyone out on the road!”
The Monkees – consisting of Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and the late Davy Jones – burst onto the scene in August 1966 with their debut single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and is now certified Gold. The following month, the group’s TV series, “The Monkees,” debuted. A tribute to not only The Beatles, but also the comedy stylings of The Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy as well as the pop-art sensibilities of Andy Warhol and the emerging San Francisco psychedelic scene, the show brought The Monkees to new heights of popularity, with their debut self-titled album spending 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
Their next three full-length records, all released in 1967, also topped the charts, and each of their first five records have been certified Platinum, with “The Monkees” and “More of The Monkees” reaching 5x Platinum and “Headquarters” and “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” reaching 2x Platinum. The group disbanded in 1970, but reunited for a 20th anniversary tour in 1986. Later, in 1997, they recorded the album “Justus” and released the TV special “Hey, Hey, It’s The Monkees.” Following Jones’ death in 2012, the surviving members began performing together once again, leading to sessions for their upcoming new album, produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy.
Music Biz 2016, which will return to Nashville from May 16-18, is the music industry’s premier event, giving the commerce and content sectors a place to meet with trading partners, network with new companies, and learn about new trends and products impacting the music business. Registration is open now, with early bird discounts available until March 11, 2016. For more information or to sign up for the conference, visitwww.musicbiz2016.com.
What to watch on Saturday, February 13...
8pm, TNT NBA All-Star Saturday Night Stephen Curry looks to defend his Three-Point Contest crown and Zach LaVine seeks a repeat win in the Slam Dunk Contest among other star-studded skills competitions from Toronto.
8pm, Discovery MythBusters “Failure Is Not an Option!” finds Adam and Jamie shooting some stuff and exploding other stuff. I’m beginning to think they’ve got a major case of senioritis here in this final season.
9pm, Starz Black Sails Flint, Silver, and Billy cross swords with a new adversary, Rackham confronts his crew, and Scott finds his niche. Meanwhile, Nassau begins to again enjoy the fruits of civilization. Nearly 85 percent of the Starbucks have already reopened!
10pm, Esquire Beowulf With the tide turning against Rheda, Slean goes to great lengths to boost his mother’s campaign while Beowulf and the gang undertake a mission to help secure her position as Jarl.
11:30pm, NBC Saturday Night Live Host Melissa McCarthy and Kanye West make for a lineup of February-Sweeps-sized proportions. For you kids out there, “February Sweeps” was something networks cared about in the days when TV ratings could be measured without aid of an electron microscope.
What to watch on Sunday, February 14...
7:30pm, Fox Bob’s Burgers The history of romantic/creative partnerships is long and storied. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Don Draper and whiskey. To that list are now added Gene and Courtney, as they take over Wagstaff’s morning announcement duties in “The Gene and Courtney Show.” Elsewhere, Tina plays matchmaker while heading up the Valentine’s Day fundraiser, with disastrous results.
8pm, ABC The Bachelor at 20: A Celebration of Love Alums gather for this retrospective of the reality show’s 20 seasons, although if we’re being honest, the words “celebration” and “love” are both doing a lot of heavy lifting here. The special also whisks us to the wedding of Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert, where Seal performs at the reception.
8pm & 9pm, NBC An SNL Valentine / The Tonight Show Valentine’s Day Special The Peacock’s most venerable comedy brands present Valentine’s Day-themed sketches.
8pm, Fox The Simpsons In “Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4,” Prof. Frink sciences up a way to make himself desirable to women (any resemblance to, say, The Nutty Professor is purely coincidental). Elsewhere, Marge and the kids must rescue the Retirement Castle residents from drug-induced hallucinations forcing them to relive their happiest memories (any resemblance to, say, the Kids in the Hall’s Brain Candy is also purely coincidental).
8pm, CBS Madam Secretary Following an Eastern European uranium heist, Elizabeth oversees a mission to bring the thieves to justice. (It’d be a lot easier if she could dispatch, like, two Avengers, but Nick Fury hasn’t returned her calls since October.) Meanwhile in “Left of the Boom,” the Secretary juggles a delicate situation in Saudi Arabia involving an arms deal and two would-be teenage terrorists.
SERIES PREMIERE, 9pm, HBO Vinyl The rock ‘n’ roll scene in 1970s New York City forms the setting for this drama co-created byMartin Scorsese, Terence Winter, and Mick Jagger. The Scorsese-directed pilot finds record label president Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) striving to pull both his company and himself back from the brink. The ensemble also includes Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Ato Essandoh, andJuno Temple.
SEASON 6B PREMIERE, 9pm, AMC The Walking Dead Rick and the gang run into a spot of trouble while attempting to flee Alexandria “No Way Out.” You might think that trouble would come in the form of a zombie attack… and you would be correct, because this is a show that gives the people what they want.
9pm, CBS The Good Wife Alicia struggles to re-adapt at Lockhart, Agos & Lee in “Monday.” Her and Lucca’s first case centers on a secret new computer tablet, and it quickly sows division within the firm.
9pm, Fox Family Guy Peter’s phone goes kerplooie (technical term) after he overindulges on doodads and geegaws (technical terms) in “An App a Day.” But even worse things happen when he buys a replacement and gives his old device to Chris. In less technological matters, Stewie and Brian take to the tennis courts.
9pm, PBS Downton Abbey Mrs. Patmore commemorates the opening of her B&B, Violet surprises Robert with a gift, and Mrs. Hughes Tom-Sawyers Carson into handling the housework. Elsewhere, Mary and the family watch Henry compete in an automobile race, while Edith and Bertie are stepping on the gas themselves.
9pm, Showtime Shameless While things heat up between Ian and Caleb, Lip faces a less pleasant kind of heat from a faculty disciplinary committee in “NSFW.”
10pm, BBC America Adele: Live in London The Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter performs at Royal Albert Hall. Graham Norton hosts and interviews the star.
SPECIAL NIGHT, 10pm, ABC Castle Castle takes the stand in a murder trial in “Witness for the Prosecution.” But the discovery of new evidence complicates the case, sending him and Beckett on a race against time to see justice done. It’s a case so urgent, it couldn’t wait until Monday night apparently!
10pm, CBS CSI: Cyber After a hacker digitally “kills” Avery’s ex-husband, the team must work with a different hacker (Kelly Osbourne) to find the culprit. The episode is called “The Walking Dead,” possibly because somebody at CBS just took a class on SEO and is hoping to sneak into Google’s search results for “walking dead + Sunday.”
10pm, Showtime Billions Axe vanishes in “The Good Life.” Well… he thinks he vanishes, even though he’s just crouched behind a potted plant with his hands over his eyes, but nobody has the heart to break it to the li’l guy. Meanwhile, Chuck steps up his investigation.
10pm, PBS Mercy Street The surprise arrival of a hospital inspector knocks the staff for a loop in “The Dead Room.” In calmer affairs, Mary empathizes with a deserter, James. Sr. hopes to earn the respect of his family, and Silas punishes Samuel for his arrogance.
11pm, HBO Last Week Tonight With John Oliver The humorous newsweekly returns just as the heating-up of primary season brings the American political climate to maximum stupid.
SEASON 5B PREMIERE, 12am, AMC Comic Book Men “Stan Saves!” sees Stan Lee coming to the rescue of a customer in crisis.
12am, Cartoon Network The Venture Bros. Doc discovers an invention that could impact Dean’s college ambitions in “Faking Miracles.” Elsewhere, the Monarch makes a poor first impression on Dr. Mrs. The Monarch’s coworkers. It’s small consolation that his second through sixth impressions aren’t likely to be so hot either.
Photographer Travis Shinn shines a light on the band KISS
Celebrating Grammy Week, Morrison Hotel Gallery is honoring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band KISS with a special exhibit February 14-17, 2016. The exhibit will showcase photographs spanning the illustrious rock band’s lengthy career. In addition, Morrison Hotel Gallery is debuting the "KISS + UKIYO-E Project," presenting a distinctive collection of spectacular multicolored wood block prints. These prints represent one of Japan’s most revered genres of art and will be a limited edition, signed by the band.
The all-star cast of KISS photographers in this exciting exhibition includesTravis Shinn, Lynn Goldsmith, Bob Gruen, Danny Clinch, Neal Preston, Norman Seeff, and Patrick Harbon. Shinn contributes more recent images of the band, whose name is very well-suited for Valentine’s Day.
Shinn interviews here, speaking with humor, candor and enthusiasm regarding the exhibition, the experience of photographing KISS, and his distinctive formula for capturing rock's greatest personalities.
Will Engel: Please discuss your thoughts on the unique, upcoming KISS exhibition at the Morrison Hotel Gallery.
Travis Shinn: This is my first show I have been involved in with the gallery. I’m the new kid on the block. I’m excited to share space with some of the people I have looked up to in my career and a subject that is so iconic as Kiss.
The Ukiyo-e prints for the show are simply mind blowing. I am completely in awe of sharing wall space with them. The amount of detail and craftsmanship that goes into making them is incredible. It should be interesting to see the dichotomy of the prints in conjunction with the photography. Good times.
WE: What would you most like to share about the experience of photographing KISS?
TS: I have only been really star struck twice, first time involved a urinal at a Hollywood hotel. Second time was the time I got to shoot Kiss. I was always a huge fan. When I was a little kid, I had a bunch of their posters hanging on my wall. Every night, my sisters would have to cover the posters because they would scare the s– out of me. So, when I got the opportunity to shoot my childhood heroes, they walked onto the set and I could not stop laughing for the entire ten minutes I had with them. It was awesome. They were so tall in their costumes I had to hold the camera over my head to shoot them at eye level.
WE: Of all the numerous artists you’ve photographed, whose personality stands out as being the most distinctive?
TS: Funny, I get asked that all the time and I can never come up with an answer. I love my job and I get to work with incredible personalities. We have fun.
WE: How do you approach revealing a musician’s artistry through your photography?
TS: I never try to project too much of myself onto my subjects and treat them as I would any other person. I let them do their thing and I document that… with a little chaos thrown in now and then.
Microsoft and Remedy Entertainment have released a live-action trailer for the upcoming third-person action shooter Quantum Break, which features a cast that includes Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Lance Reddick (The Wire).
In an unusual step by the magazine the women feature on three individual covers which were revealed during a televised event in New York on Saturday.
It is the first time that three very different body types have been represented by the publication in its annual bikini special.
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Bikini babes: Hailey Clauson, Ashley Graham and Ronda Rousey have been revealed as the cover stars for the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
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Athletic: UFC pro Rousey, 29, is seen in a painted-on bikini as she kneels in shallow water
Perhaps least surprising of the three models announced was UFC beauty Rousey, 29, who was revealed last month to be featuring in the highly anticipated SI issue.
The MMA pro was pictured stripping off and posing in a painted-on bathing suit for a risque shoot in Petite Martinique.
The Californian - who also featured in last year's swimsuit issue - had a disappointing year in the ring after losing her UFC bantamweight champion title to Holly Holm.
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Maximum curves: Graham, at a size 14, is the first fuller-figured model to take one of the prized spots on the cover
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Blonde beauty: Fashion model Clauson, 20, took the rookie spot in the 2015 Swimsuit edition
Moments after the unveiling Rousey said: 'It's a real honor being part of such a historic issue that really pays homage to different body types of women and not promoting just one cookie cutter image for every woman, but showing that the healthiest version of every body type is the sexiest version out there.
'And I couldn't be happier...I think I was just as honored to get it as to be there in person to watch Ashley's reaction.'
Graham, at a size 14, is the first fuller-figured model to take one of the prized spots on the cover.
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Surprise! The women were brought out on stage as the hosts pretended to be announcing just one of them as the cover star
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Emotional: After the announcement the brunette burst into tears and said 'I’m shaking. I’m so honoured'
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Overwhelmed: An ecstatic Clauson told the audience at Manhattan Center on Saturday that the three covers were 'representing every woman out there'
She is pictured wearing a skimpy purple and yellow string bikini as waves crash around her.
After the announcement the brunette burst into tears and said 'I’m shaking. I’m so honoured'
The brunette beauty - who hails from Lincoln, Nebraska, took to Instagram earlier this week to confirm, alongside a sultry image from her shoot, that she will be featured in the issue.
The 28-year-old joins the ranks of Robyn Lawley, the first plus-size model to ever be featured in a spread in the issue last year.
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Revealed: Eagle-eyed fans spotted Ronda's distinctive tattoos in this snap by SI last month forcing them to reveal she is being featured in this year's issue
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Swimsuit babe: Rousey, 29, was pictured posing for an SI photoshoot in Petite Martinique earlier this year
In addition to her first-ever editorial and cover with the brand, Graham will also star alongside models Philomena Kwao and Nicola Griffin in plus-size retailer Swim Suits For All's second ad.
This year, Swimsuits For All will make history by having 56-year-old Nicola featured in its ad, making her the oldest woman to grace the pages of the Swimsuit issue.
Graham has been vocal about her dislike of the label 'plus-size' and previously told E! News: 'I've got plenty of friends [of all sizes] and different shapes and everything,
'And I don't want any of them to feel like they aren't 'real women.''
Newcomer Clauson, 20, took the rookie spot in the 2015 Swimsuit edition.
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Mixing it up: Ashley has been vocal about disliking the label 'plus-size' and doesn't want different size women to feel like they aren't 'real women'
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Curvaceous beauty: The 28-year-old joins the ranks of Robyn Lawley, the first plus-size model to ever be featured in a spread in the issue last year
But while she may be a newcomer to SI, the California native is a veteran in the fashion world having made her runway debut at 15.
She has also modeled for Gucci, Topshop, Jill Stuart and editorials in Vogue Italia, Vogue Japan and Elle.
Clauson poses topless wearing string green printed bikini bottoms while sitting in the ocean.
She ecstaticly told the audience at Manhattan Center that the three covers were 'representing every woman out there'
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Rookie no more: Clauson, 20, may be a newcomer to SI but the California native is a veteran in the fashion world, having made her runway debut at 15
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Runway star: The blonde beauty has modeled for Gucci, Topshop, Jill Stuart and editorials in Vogue Italia, Vogue Japan and Elle
Hailey Clauson models a tiny bikini for Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated have never run separate covers for their multiple-model shoots.
Most recently Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen posed together for their issue in 2014.
The scantily clad lovelies were pictured topless in colourful bikini bottoms while peering over their shoulders at the camera.
Last year 25-year-old Hannah Davis was unveiled as the cover star.
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Revealing: Hannah Davis caused a stir when she starred on 2015's cover
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Natural beauties: Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen wowed as they went topless in 2014
The front-page image caused quite a stir as it showed the 5ft 10in beauty tugging at her bikini briefs.
Model-turned actress Kate Upton, 23, starred on the front page of the magazine in 2012 and 2013.
The blonde stunner has gone on to launch a movie career and starred in 2014's The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann.
The 2016 issue will be jam-packed with bikini babes including 2011 cover star Irina Shayk, who is celebrating a decade shooting with SI.
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Going places: Model-turned-actress Kate Upton, 23, nabbed the cover spot two years in a row in 2012 and 2013
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Veteran swimsuit star: Russian beauty Irina Shayk, 30, was the 2011 cover beauty
Five rookies also make their first ever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit appearance.
Sports Illustrated announced the 2016 cover models during a televised ceremony on Saturday which aired on TNT.
More than 20 models who grace the pages of the swimsuit issue piled into the studio to hear the live announcement.
Nick Cannon and Rebecca Romijn hosted the one-hour event.
Gigi Hadid, who travelled to Tahiti for her SI shoot, insisted that she is not a naturally sexy star.
'I’m a goof, so I think I even smile when I get nervous,' she said. 'I kind of become a character on set and I think that’s where the sexy face comes from.'
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Televised event: Hosts Rebecca Romijn Nick Cannon invited 2015 cover star Hannah Davis onto the stage on Saturday
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Familiar faces: Gigi Hadid also made an appearance. The 20-year-old model features inside the 2016 issue
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Gigi insisted she's not naturally sexy: 'I’m a goof, so I think I even smile when I get nervous,' she said. 'I kind of become a character on set and I think that’s where the sexy face comes from.'
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Supermodel: Five-time cover model Elle Macpherson, 51, accepted the Jule Campbell Award
During the night five-time cover model Elle Macpherson, 51, accepted the Jule Campbell Award.
Teigen presented Macpherson with the honor, which recognizes her 'iconic modeling career and business acumen.'
Macpherson said: 'Believe it or not, I was ready to study law, but you never know how life is going to turn out. There is a saying girls - leap and watch the net appear. I could never have predicted my journey thus far, but I had the courage to try new things.'
The award was named after former Sports Illustrated editor Jules Campbell, who according to the Chicago Tribune planned and directed the annual swimsuit issue since 1965.
The 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hits newsstands on Monday.
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In the spotlight: Macpherson was presented her award by former cover star Chrissy Teigen
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Crooning: Ne-Yo provided the musical entertainment throughout the night
Music’s elite, from Stevie Wonder and John Legend to Rihanna and Demi Lovato, gathered Saturday evening to honor 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year Lionel Richie at a dinner at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
But it was Dave Grohl’s earnest, swaggering performance of Richie’s 1983 slow jam “You Are,” and the charming Richie’s own time onstage, that had gala guests smiling all night long.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘How the hell does Dave Grohl know Lionel Richie?” the Foo Fighters frontman chuckled during his “You Are” intro.
He then shared an anecdote about how after he broke his leg in a freak stage accident last year, he received “the biggest muffin basket I’ve ever seen; it was like 500 muffins” from the generous Richie. “So Lionel, tonight I didn’t bring you a muffin basket, but I brought you this [song],” he said, before serenading a delighted, dancing Richie.
“How cool was that? The guy from Nirvana just sang ‘You Are’!” exclaimed the evening’s host, Jimmy Kimmel.
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Richie’s MusiCares dinner presentation was full of cheeky humor – a fitting tribute for a man who has always unabashedly embraced and celebrated h...schy image.
Earlier in the night, Kimmel appeared in full Commodores drag, including a massive Afro wig, quipping, “It’s hard to sing about being easy like Sunday morning dressed like this, but Lionel did it!”
At another point in the evening, after screens in the dining room aired the 1985 music video for “We Are the World” (the USA for Africa charity single Richie co-wrote with Michael Jackson), Kimmel blurted out incredulously, “And that day, poverty was solved forever.
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Did we reallyjust sit here and watch the entire ‘We Are the World’ video?”
(photo: Tomasso Boddi/Getty Images)
Other amusing moments came when U2’s Bono, in a pre-taped video segment, mock-confused Lionel Richie with Guy Ritchie; when Kevin Spacey introduced Richie by singing “Mr. Bojangles” a cappella and peppering his speech with Johnny Carson and Bill Clinton impressions; and when Demi Lovato, before performing Richie’s ballad “Penny Lover,” pretended to address his daughter Nicole with: “I heard your dad was famous, so this is for you. I grew up watching The Simple Life!”
The performances, backed by musicians led by Tonight Show/American Idol bandleader Rickey Minor, were totally serious and respectful, however, befitting an artist as legendary as Richie.
Highlights included Stevie Wonder crooning “Three Times a Lady”; John Legend’s stunning piano performance of “Easy”; Rihanna’s elegant “Say You, Say Me”; Usher’s high-energy rendition of “Lady (You Bring Me Up)”; Yolanda Adams bringing down the house with “Jesus Is Love”;
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Florence Welch’s unexpected folk-rock remake of “Dancing on the Ceiling”; Chris Stapleton’s heartfelt cover of a Richie song made famous by Kenny Rogers, “Lady”; and a celebratory “Brick House” group performance by Tori Kelly, Gary Clark Jr., the Roots, Pharrell Williams, Leon Bridges, Little Big Town, and Corinne Bailey Rae.
Other performers included Lenny Kravitz, the Band Perry, Luke Bryan, and Ellie Goulding.
Richie’s acceptance speech, before he closed the night with his own performances of “Hello” and “All Night Long,” had its humorous moments, particularly when he reflected on how he has always been out of step with the music business – for instance, releasing a waltz, “Three Times a Lady,” during the peak of the disco craze.
“I did not know how the record industry worked. I didn’t know there was an R&B [category], and a pop group, or a country group,” he explained. “I did not know that there were [musical] categories – until I walked into a radio station one day and they said, ‘We can’t play your record because it’s too black.’
So I went home and wrote ‘Easy’ and I brought it back, and they said, ‘We can’t play that record because it’s too white!’ I was confused… But today I am standing here celebrating all the songs that they told me would ruin my career!”
(photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)
Other parts of Richie’s speech were incredibly moving. He brought a bronze bust of his late father’s hand onstage and clutched it tightly during much of his time behind the podium, and he spoke proudly of breaking the all-time MusiCares fundraising record, with more than $7 million raised in a single night.
“I know why now God gave me those songs: to stand here onstage tonight and thank all of you for raising over $7 million for my brothers and sisters,” he said. “My vision here on Earth is very simple. I am here to give a voice to the voiceless, and a face to people who are invisible…. We are our brother’s keeper. If you have anything in this world to give, give it all, because you take nothing with you. I am only the vessel.
I am only the messenger, trying to raise the consciousness of the world.”
John Legend, Demi Lovato, Luke Bryan, Meghan Trainor, and Tyrese Gibson will pay tribute to Lionel Richie at the 58th annual Grammy Awards, which air Monday on CBS at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.
Maya Rudolph and Martin Short to debut variety show on NBC in May
NBC will air "Maya and Marty in Manhattan" in May.
It didn’t work out for Neil Patrick Harris — but with a “Saturday Night Live” power team behind it, maybe this variety show will last more than one season.
The Maya Rudolph and Martin Short long-in-the-works show was finally picked up by NBC for a May airing, according to Variety magazine.
The series, “Maya and Marty in Manhattan,” will be executive produced by the king of Saturday night, Lorne Michaels, and will air live from NBC’s headquarters inside 30 Rock.
Rudolph and Short will also executive produce, joined by Matt Roberts (“Late Show with David Letterman") and Erin David.
The variety show will be executive produced by Lorne Michaels.
It's unclear how many episodes are in the works.
A project headlined by the comedians was rumored shortly after the two appeared on the 40th anniversary special for “Saturday Night Live" last year.
A Rudolph project has been in development even longer — ever since the funny lady hosted an hour-long special in May 2014 for NBC, called “The Maya Rudolph Show,” which was a trial run for a series, the magazine said.
The news comes after the network’s “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris” was canceled two months after airing.
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ play to be released as a book July 31
Rabid Potterheads will once again storm bookstores at the stroke of midnight.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” an upcoming play that picks up 19 years after the sevent...nstallment, will also be published in the form of a book, publisher Scholastic announced Wednesday.
The script book, based on a new story by Potter mastermind J.K. Rowling, director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne, will be released at 12:01 a.m. July 31 — conveniently Potter’s fictional birthday, Rowling’s real birthday, and just one day after the play opens at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End district.
Fans can initially buy the print and digital editions as a “special rehearsal edition,” which will eventually be replaced by a “definitive collector’s edition.”
The two-part “Cursed Child,” the official eighth installment of Potter canon, catches up with the now-adult Chosen One almost two decades after his epic triumph over evil Lord Voldemort.
DAN HALLMAN/DAN HALLMAN/INVISION/AP
Harry Potter mastermind J.K. Rowling penned the new story alongside director John Tiffany and playwright Jack Thorne.
Pottermore, Rowling’s digital publishing arm, has described present-day Potter as an overworked Ministry of Magic employee who “grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs” while his youngest son, Albus, struggles with his family legacy.
WARNER BROS.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” picks up 19 years after the seventh and final Potter installment.
“As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places,” publicists said in October.
John Duncan, who played Robin in the "Batman and Robin" movie serial, has died
James L. Neibaur
Racine Film Examiner
February 14, 20164:31 PM MST
John Duncan (left) and Robert Lowery
author
Actor-dancer John Duncan has died at the age of 92. He appeared in films with Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Alan Ladd, Bob Hope, and many other luminaries, usually in small parts. His adeptness at dancing the jitterbug made him a sought after extra in dance sequences for 1940s musicals. But he is best remembered as playing Robin to Robert Lowery's Batman in a 1949 serial.
The actor grew up on a farm near Kansas City. Duncan's dance skills in small town stage shows helped pay his parents mortgage during the Great Depression. Billed Johnny Duncan because of being such a young man, Duncan made his film debut in 1939.
By the early 1940s he was appearing regularly in small parts, including a brief stint with The East Side Kids ("Clancy Street Boys" and "Million Dollar Kid"). He continued working in films throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s when his career decelerated. His last film was "Spartacus" (1960), in which his screen character was beheaded.
"Batman and Robin" was the second serial based on the popular comic book. Its cheap effects and enthusiastic performances make it something of a camp classic today.
It is also the harbinger for the popular 1960s TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
Duncan continued to make appearances as he approached age 90, delighting in signing autographs at collectors shows on photos from "Batman and Robin" or one of his East Side Kids movies. He was living peacefully with his wife Susan when he passed away in Orlando, Florida on February 8, 2016, but his passing was first reported on February 14.
Music Review -Rick Springfield Gives Ohio a Valentines Day Treat!
David Kemp
Akron Concert Photography
February 14, 20168:53 PM MST
Rick Springfield Rocks the Hard Rock Rocksino Satge
David Kemp used with persmission
The cold blistery February warmed up a bit today with the all day presence of Rick Springfield and helped the North Coast celebrate Valentines Day .The morning starting early for over 400 fans who trekked to The Exchange record store in Parma Heights to see the 80‘s heartthrob . Several die hard fans traveled from Detroit, Michigan and parts of Kentucky to see the free performance today and an autograph signing as well . Not to be outdone The Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park also had the perfect Valentines Day date for the romantic in all of us.
The stripped down showcase included fifteen acoustic and electric versions of both his and others artists hits including , “ I Get Excited “ “ Don’t Talk To Strangers “ and “ Jessie’s Girl “. The best part for me was the almost storytellers like showcase about the songs , their meanings and how they came about . Intermixed with stories of drugs , love and dogs it was a fun night for all . The end of the show included a question and answer with the sold out audience and I had a few questions as well , mostly about his time on Californication but alas I was not able to ask them . He also stayed around after the performance for fans who purchased his new music CD “ Rocket Science “ so he may sign it . On another note I met a gentleman named Sonny who used to be an extra on General Hospital with him all those years ago and said when they were on set he was just a really nice down to earth guy . I highly recommend the autobiography “ Late , Late at Night “ to get the know the real man . It is worth the read !
The new CD “ Rocket Science “ is due out next week and just proves to say that this man, this artist , this person has a whole lot more to say and the fans want to hear it.
By Andy Daglas
7 hours ago
What to watch on Monday, February 15...
SERIES PREMIERE, 12:01am Pacific, Hulu 11.22.63 James Franco stars in this eight-episode thriller about an English teacher who travels through time to foil the JFK assassination. (Not for the first time, the ghost of Chester A. Arthur James Garfield sighs, kicks a spectral can, and shuffles away.) J.J. Abrams produced the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. (UPDATE: Always double-check your prolifically bearded 19th century presidents, kids.)
SERIES FINALE, 7pm, Disney XD Gravity Falls The hour-long “Weirdmaggedon 3: Take Back the Falls” caps the series with a final showdown between the Pines family and Bill Cipher.
8pm, CBS The 58th Annual Grammy Awards LL Cool J hosts the festivities from L.A.’s Staples Center. Scheduled performances include a number from the Broadway cast of Hamilton and Lady Gaga’s tribute to David Bowie, along with ditties from Adele, Kendrick Lamar,The Weeknd, and many more.
8pm, The CW Mortal Kombat X: Machinima’s Chasing the Cup A behind-the-scenes look at the Mortal Kombat X Pro League, as five of the world’s highest ranked kompetitors pursue the krown.
8pm, Fox The X-Files A gallery displaying controversial artwork is bombed in “Babylon.” While Mulder and Scully try to communicate with the comatose culprit and forestall a future attack, a pair of younger feds (Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose) challenge the veterans’ views.
8pm, Freeform The Fosters Callie and Jude seek the help of foster care advocate Justina after they learn that Jack is being abused in his group home. Elsewhere in “Under Water,” Jesus tries to get to know Gabe better, while Nick surprises Marina by asking her out.
8pm, NBC Superstore Dina’s feelings for Jonah come to the forefront in “Demotion,” but his attempts to let her down gently have unforeseen consequences at the store. Among them: Amy and Mateo contend for a newly open supervisor position.
8:30pm, NBC Telenovela Xavi seeks Ana’s relationship counsel now that he has a serious girlfriend—and she promptly sets about polishing all the flaws that irritated her when they were married. Meanwhile in “Caught in the Act,” the show’s pregnancy plotline awakens Rodrigo’s own parental instincts.
8:30pm, TBS American Dad! “N.S.A. (No Snoops Allowed)" sends Steve to work with Stan, where the younger Smith discovers the National Security Agency. Back home, Hayley takes a cheat day on her vegetarianism and tries a taste of meat.
SEASON 4B PREMIERE, 9pm, TNT Major Crimes “Hindsight, Part 1” kicks off a five-episode story arc with the murder of a woman and her young son while driving through gang-controlled territory. The case is further complicated when the gun that killed them is linked to even more unsolved homicides. Meanwhile, Amy Sykes strikes a tenuous alliance with a disgraced former detective.
9pm, Syfy The Magicians Various distractions bedevil the Brakebillsians’ minds in “Mendings, Major and Minor,” even though they should be sharpening their skills for the Welter’s Tournament. If that logline sounds overly scolding, well, I guess some of us just take magic-tournamenting more seriously than others.
9pm, Fox Lucifer Lucifer and Chloe search for a missing girl, even as he resolves to seduce Chloe in order to get over his crush on her. Meanwhile in “Manly Whatnots,” Amenadiel brings his concerns about the Fallen One to Maze.
9pm, TBS Angie Tribeca “The Thumb Affair” sends Tribeca and Geils into the seedy world of art thievery. Can Tribeca overcome her personal demons and recover the pilfered piece?
9pm, Freeform Recovery Road Springtime Meadows temporarily houses residents of a tonier rehab facility, one of whom (Mischa Barton) strikes up a friendship with Vern. Elsewhere in “Parties Without Borders,” Maddie must resist temptation when she attends a shindig that escalates into a hootenanny.
SEASON 2 PREMIERE, 10pm, AMC Better Call Saul Jimmy and Kim’s relationship steers into uncharted territory while Mike cuts ties with a loose cannon as “Switch” starts the sophomore season.
10pm, Syfy Lost Girl Tamsin grapples with past regrets while undertaking a dangerous mission in “Sweet Valkyrie High.” Lauren’s stresses are much more of the here-and-now, as she must share bad news with a friend.
10pm, ABC Castle The murder of a Russian diplomat’s son draws Castle and Beckett into a morass of international intrigue in “Dead Red.” In the process Castle is assigned to keep a spirited Russian security officer occupied, but there’s only so many times they can duet on Billy Joel’s “Leningrad” at the local piano bar.
10:30pm, TBS Full Frontal with Samantha Bee In Jordan, Samantha speaks with Syrian refugees and U.S. State Department officials about the process of vetting refugees seeking to enter the United States.
SEASON 3 PREMIERE, 11pm, Syfy Bitten “Family of Sorts” begins the final season with Jeremy on a mission to shore up his power. To that end, he dispatches Elena, Clay, and Nick to recruit all North American Mutts into the pack. They’ve prepared a very persuasive PowerPoint!
LATE-NITE: – From Los Angeles, Will Ferrell, Christina Aguilera, and 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne present Collegrove on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC – Craig Ferguson, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and World Darts Champion Scott Waites on Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 11:35pm, CBS – David Spade, Derek Hough, and Mashup Monday featuring Panic! At the Disco and SisQó on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC – Jason Sudeikis, Kelly Rohrbach, and Matthew Heineman on Late Night with Seth Meyers, 12:35am, NBC – Chelsea Handler and Jason Schwartzman on The Late Late Show with James Corden, 12:37am, CBS
Music's biggest night of the year is already off to an exciting start!
The 58th Annual Grammy Awards are well underway today and a handful of your favorite pop, rock, rap and country stars have already been named winners for their work this past year.
LL Cool J is hosting this year's festivities, which are being held at Los Angeles' Staples Center, and the host recently dished to E! News' Sibley Scoles about how he's preparing himself for the unexpected (Think: Kanye West rushing the stage orTaylor Swift 's squad breaking out into song).
"Anything is possible, you know? I don't know what I'll do. I might get nervous and my knees start shaking or trembling," he said while laughing before adding, "I guess I'll just run offstage screaming!"
But all jokes aside, being honored today by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is undeniably the most prestigious of awards for musical artists.
Aside from the two mentioned above, several other famous faces are expected to bring the star power to the stage for millions to see.
Best Regional Roots Music Album: Jon Cleary, Go Go Juice
Best Folk Album: Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Best Blues Album: Buddy Guy, Born to Play Guitar
Best Bluegrass Album: The Steeldrivers, The Muscle Shoals Recordings
Best Americana Album: Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free
Best American Roots Song: Jason Isbell, "24 Frames"
Best American Roots Performance: Mavis Staples, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"
Best Tropical Latin Album: Rubén Blades With Roberto Delgado & Orchestra, Son De Panamá
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano): Los Tigres Del Norte,Realidades - Deluxe Edition
Best Children's Album: Tim Kubart, Home
Best World Album: Angélique Kidjo, Sings
Best Reggae Album: Morgan Heritage, Strictly Roots
Best Latin Jazz Album: Eliane Elias, Made in Brazil
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Maria Schneider, The Thompson Fields
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: John Scofield, Past Present
Best Jazz Vocal Album: Cécile McLorin Salvant, For One to Love
Best Surround Sound Album: James Guthrie and Joel Plante, Amused To Death
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk (Dave Audé Remix)"
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
Best Historical Album: Various artists; The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: Various Artists, The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Volume Two (1928-32)
Best Album Notes: Joni Mitchell, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced
Best Recording Package: Sarah Dodds, Shauna Dodds & Dick Reeves; Asleep at the Wheel, Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: Maria Schneider, "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)"
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: Avi Kaplin, Kirstin Taylor, Kevin K.O. Olusola; "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy"
Best Instrumental Composition: Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, "The Afro Latin Jazz Suite"
According to Screen Daily, Sony Pictures Entertainment is in development on a television series remake of the spy hit Salt, which Angelina Jolie headlined in 2010. They are currently pitching the potential Salt TV series to broadcasters and co-production partners at the European Film Market in Berlin.
“We want to bring it to Europe in a completely different way,” said Diego Suarez, senior vice president of international television production at Sony.
The original film, which grossed over $293 million worldwide, starred Angelina Jolie as CIA officer Evelyn Salt who, after being accused of being a Russian spy, goes on the run in an attempt to prove her innocence.
Back in 2011, it was announced that Jolie was expected to reprise her role for a feature sequel, which entered the writing stage with Kurt Wimmer (who wrote the original) drafting, though ultimately nothing came of it.
By Andy Daglas
9 hours ago
What to watch on Tuesday, February 16...
SERIES PREMIERE, 12:01am Pacific, Amazon The New Yorker Presents Documentarian Alex Gibney produces the streaming service’s first original newsmagazine, featuring fiction and nonfiction pieces, interviews, cartoons, and other musings from the minds of Eustace Tilley and company. Contributors include filmmakers like Jonathan Demme and performers like Alan Cumming, Paul Giamatti, Alia Shawkat, and Michaela Watkins. Three episodes debut today, with two new episodes to follow each Tuesday throughout the first season.
8pm, USA The 140th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show America’s Next Top Pooches are crowned during the closing-night competitions from Madison Square Garden.
8pm, CBS NCIS NCIS teams up with the FBI when Secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter is secretary-napped in “React.” They get a hand from Special Agent Valerie Page, a childhood chum of McGee’s who swears not to give him noogies like she used to back in the day. Well, okay, just the one.
8pm, Freeform Pretty Little Liars “Where Somebody Waits For Me” reveals clues about Charlotte’s murder, as well as the truth about the ladies’ personal (i.e., non-murder-centric) lives. Along the way, Aria spills the beans about Ezra’s book to Liam, Ali opens up about her and Elliot, and Mona makes clear where her loyalties lie.
8pm, ABC Fresh Off the Boat In "Phil's Phaves," Louis and Jessica attempt to impress Eddie's adversary Phillip Goldstein after he pans Cattleman's Ranch online. When that doesn't work, they attempt to destroy the pint-sized critic instead. Meanwhile, Eddie makes Alison a romantic mixtape, but it lands in the wrong hands.
8pm, The CW The Flash Cisco and Wells will need all the help they can get to locate Zoom’s lair and rescue Barry and Jesse in “Escape From Earth-2,” even if some collaborators are chillier than others. Back on Earth-1, Caitlin hurries to perfect Velocity-9 so Jay can get his Crimson Comet on and bring down Geomancer.
8pm, Fox New Girl Nick’s infatuation with Reagan takes a toll on Schmidt and Cece’s relationship in “Wig.” So they try to make her less appealing, possibly through the use of some sort of wig. Meanwhile, Winston helps Reagan learn her way around a breakup.
8:30pm, ABC The Muppets “Got Silk?” finds Miss Piggy taking an aerial skills class in hopes of making new friends. Let’s just all stipulate that the “when pigs fly” joke is sitting right there, and the show will probably make it too, and we can all move on with our day.
8:30pm, Fox Grandfathered Jimmy, Sara, and Vanessa intervene in their own ways when Gerald is targeted by an online bully in “Gerald Fierce.” Because they’re sitcom people, all of those ways inevitably backfire.
SEASON 6B PREMIERE, 9pm & 10pm, TNT Rizzoli & Isles Jane and the team race to rescue Maura from abductors in “Hide and Seek,” but the kidnapped M.E. discovers that the culprits are part of a much larger conspiracy. Then in “Murderjuana,” complications arise after a security guard is wounded while foiling a robbery and killing one of the perpetrators. Leave the crime-foiling to the ones whose names are in the title, buddy.
9pm, PBS Independent Lens The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution chronicles the history and continuing resonance of the Black Panther Party, founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in 1966. The film features archival footage of Newton and Eldridge Cleaver, along with reflections from party members, adversaries, journalists, and others.
9pm, Fox Brooklyn Nine-Nine Hitchcock and Scully horn in on a big case, determined to prove that Jake was wrong to impugn their work ethic. Elsewhere in “House Mouses,” Amy and Gina help Rosa overcome a phobia, while Holt and Boyle work a celebrity case.
9pm & 10pm, ABC Marvel’s Agent Carter Who doesn’t love a classic hero/villain team-up? That’s exactly what Peggy and Dottie must pull off in order to rescue Wilkes in “Life of the Party.” As for the agent’s other adversary, Whitney maneuvers to take control of the Zero Matter. In the second hour, "Monsters" finds Peggy planning a rescue while Whitney plans to amass even more dark power.
9pm, The CW iZombie Liv may prove a less than reliable investigator after she eats the brains of a pathological liar in “The Whopper.” In even more troubling developments, Ravi discovers bad news, Major lands in hot water, and Blaine reconnects with someone from his past.
9pm, MTV Teen Wolf Scott and the pack have a cunning plan to discern the Beast’s identity in “A Credible Threat,” and it involves subterfuge, a charity lacrosse game, and shirtless locker-room hijinks. Okay I may have made that last part up, but there’s at least a 60 percent chance it’s accurate anyway.
9pm, NBC Chicago Med Complications beset Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Downey’s treatment of a 9/11 hero who needs a lung transplant in “Clarity.” Meanwhile, Sarah mulls her residency options, Dr. Choi tends to an injured teen athlete with a domineering dad, and tensions persist between Dr. Halstead and Dr. Manning.
9pm, WGN America Outsiders Houghton undertakes a perilous mountain trek in “Rubberneck,” while the coal company tries to keep tabs on the Farrells.
9:30pm, Fox The Grinder Urged by his therapist to move past his Grinder persona and discover his true self, Dean soon proves that his true self is still pretty darn annoying to Stuart in “The Ties That Grind.”
SEASON 1 FINALE, 10pm & 10:30pm, BET Zoe Ever After “Game Face” finds Zoe making a business deal without Gemini’s assistance for the first time, while romance may be in the air for Pearl. Then “2 Weddings and an Ass Whooping” cap the rookie season with Zoe blowing off Gemini’s title fight, creating major repercussions.
10pm, FX American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson Shapiro assembles O.J.’s defense counsel in “The Dream Team.” But his initial approach, donning an eyepatch and inviting elite attorneys to join the Simpson Initiative, falls totally flat because nobody will get that reference for another 20-plus years.
10pm, Bravo Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce Abby is persona non grata at Delia’s wedding in “Rule #876: Everything Does Not Happen for a Reason.” Instead, she channels her energy into finishing her book, though Barbara grows concerned about the emotional toll Abby’s under.
10pm, NBC Chicago Fire Severide and Cruz investigate after the squad responds to a suspicious call from a neighboring firehouse. As it turns out, their refrigerator is running, yet extensive efforts to catch it led only to dead ends. Meanwhile in “Bad for the Soul,” Casey’s bid for alderman proceeds even as the candidate grows jaded about some of his supporters.
10pm, CBS Limitless “Undercover!” sees Brian helping a headstrong FBI agent seal her case before her undercover identity is blown. But will the two of them end up under a different kind of covers, nudge nudge wink wink? In less sexy business, Sands takes measures to nip Rebecca’s probe of Sen. Morra in the bud.
LATE-NITE: – From Los Angeles, Zach Galifianakis, Ronda Rousey, and Pitbull with special guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 11:35pm, NBC – Eva Longoria, Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer, and Lucinda Williams on Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 11:35pm, CBS – Gwen Stefani on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC – Anthony Anderson, Famke Janssen, and Eleanor Friedberger on Late Night with Seth Meyers, 12:35am, NBC – Selma Blair, Juno Temple, and Ben Feldman on The Late Late Show with James Corden, 12:37am, CBS
Brett Randell is soulful and has a powerful voice that makes for a pleasing audio journey through his Rise EP. Across five songs, Randell slickly moves through catchy melodies that cause the listener to press the replay button. The lyrics are stories that reveal his love for acoustic folk and an evolving style of touching the right note when necessary that in turn, provides a thoughtful experience.
Photo used by permission from Brett Randell
"The Waitress," immediately sets the tone for the Rise EP. The song is more than your average coffeehouse cut as Randell manages to illuminate the lyrics in a way that creates a connection with the listener, where they feel as if they are in his shoes as he describes the magical euphoria of the situation. The acoustic guitar glides in the somber, and yearnful "Without You." Love fills the song and its emotive qualities allow it to be one of the standouts on theRise EP, as Randell deeply brings the hopeful and bittersweet pangs close to the speakers.
The title cut finds Randell unveiling the triumphs and heartbreaks that he's encountered. It is a fittingly crafted cut of earnestness and the violin playing in the background incites a haunting, and extremely moving intrigue that cannot be ignored. "Ghost" sounds similarly to a combination of Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson, while maintaining the impassioned subtlety of Randell. The finale, "Enigma" advances that subtlety in a more refined way as he in good taste, eloquently uses metaphors about the lack of restraint which happens after one has experienced such a puzzling situation that the track's name embodies.
Randell is a singer-songwriter native of Denver, CO, who has recorded three CDs over the past 6 years and with theRise EP shows no signs of stopping. There is no doubt that writing songs is what Randell does best with an emphasis on being sensitive and clever, while also vehemently intense so the message in the melodies are impactful.
There is a striking intensity in the singing voice of Lacey Sturm that is both captivating and instantly memorable. And for a while there it was sadly absent.
But no more.
Sturm, formerly Lacey Mosley, first captured our attention a decade ago in Flyleaf–the platinum selling, Texas hard rock band that connected commercially with their self-titled debut LP. When the singer departed in 2012 and had two children while Flyleaf carried on with a new vocalist, it seemed a possibility we’d not hear from her again.
But that’s not the case at all, as her new solo album Life Screams amply illustrates.
Photo: Lisa Aileen Dragani
A superb set that sonically carries on from her work with Flyleaf, Sturm’s new album offers up a compelling array of emotional, hard-rocking tracks with just the right amount of edge—the lyrics, the vocals, the unique, tactical screaming bursts—that truly is a whole new thing, but familiar enough to please even the most ardent Flyleaf loyalists. Significantly, that husband/guitarist Josh Sturm is an integral part of the mix now makes Life Screams very much a family affair. To its benefit.
“When I think about Flyleaf it makes me want to cry,” Sturm says fondly of her former band. “Because it was such a special, unique family. And its sound to me came from all five of us together–those four guys having different musical tastes and us all coming together and just having Flyleaf music.”
And now?
“This is really the band members trying to pull out what’s in me. The message is always the most important thing. It’s got to be honest, I’ve got to be able to believe in what I’m doing, and I also have to have some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Or hope.”
Post-Flyleaf and prior to the new album, Mosley established an additional career as an author and inspirational speaker: She penned 2014’s The Reason: How I Discovered A Life Worth Living and the upcoming The Mystery: Finding True Love In A World Of Broken Lovers, the creation of which ultimately got her out there performing again, she says.
“We actually did go on a little tour, for two months, when I had my second son, Arrow,” says Sturm. “I had written a book and I was just going to go talk about what I wrote–you know, just some kid dealing with depression, suicide, and all these things. So we went on this tour, and it was so much easier than even being at home—I got so much time with my kids, I didn’t have a house to clean, or meals to fix, I just was stuck on this bus with them, and we found creative ways to connect. So I realized, hey maybe I can do this.”
Sturm and her band certainly did it in Yahoo’s Santa Monica studios earlier this month. Two tracks from the Life Screams album, a fascinating chat, and one of the year’s most memorable studio shoots.
If you called it inspirational, you wouldn’t be wrong.
According to Today Parents on Monday, Feb. 15, new mother Tyra Banks shared the first photo of her newborn son on Valentine's Day. The supermodel turned supermom said this was the "Happiest Valentine's Day of her life."
Tyra posted the photo on Instagram that was taken by her Norwegian photographer boyfriend, Erik Asla. The new parents spent the day enjoying their newborn baby boy, York, who was born via surrogacy on Jan. 27. Since Erik, 51, is a photographer, he has probably taken lots of picture of his baby, but this is the first picture that has been posted for public viewing.
In the photo, Tyra is holding her baby close to her and only the back of the baby's head and side of his face can be seen. However, people are predicting he will grow up to be a beautiful little boy. When he was first born, Tyra posted, “He’s got my fingers and big eyes and his daddy Erik’s mouth and chin.”
CNN reported that the former "America's Next Top Model" host has been open about discussing her fertility struggles over the years. She has undergone IVF procedures. When she couldn't conceive, she used a gestational surrogate.
Tyra has had many titles over the years. She has been successful as a model, television personality, talk show host, producer, author, actress, singer and entrepreneur. However, none of those titles have made Tyra as excited as being a mother. The public is happy for her, Erik, and York. This is evident by the many congratulatory messages to them on social media.
1. Light This Party Up 2. Down 3. That One 4. The Best Damn Thing 5. Miss Mayhem 6. Pay It Forward 7. Found 8. Crowded Solitude 9. Let Me In 10. All Hands on Deck 11. We Connect 12. (I Wish I Had A) Concrete Heart 13. Earth to Angel
*1 Extra track only available on iTunes version: Beautiful Inside *2 Extra tracks only available on BestBuy version: Mercy, Walkin’ In
Rick Springfield’s latest musical effort is Rocket Science, his 18th studio album, which will be released on February 19 through Frontiers Music. Written largely with his longtime collaborator and former bass player Matt Bissonette, the album delivers the expertly crafted wide-ranging pop-rock songs Springfield is known for. “I wanted the album to be very open and electric — rock and roll with some country elements, and always with great hooks,” he says. The lyrics largely address matters of the heart with the irreverence, wit, and dark humor that has always permeated his work. “The songs usually start with titles for me,” Springfield says. “A title will catch my eye and inspire a lyric. Both Matt and I are happily married, but there’s some heartache on this one. You can’t just write about how everything is all good and bore people out of their minds. When different emotions come up, I just go with that. I don’t set out to write about anything in particular. I just look for something that feels true and that I can hopefully say in an interesting way.”
While on a rare vacation with his wife in Tahiti, Springfield wrote the rollicking first single “Light This Party Up,” which he describes as “a song about redemption and how life sometimes feels like one long fall from grace.”
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He wrote “Down,” a song about disillusionment and commitment, with Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus while traveling on DeMarcus’ tour bus to Atlanta, where the two were filming an episode of Drop Dead Diva. “Jay came up with the title ‘Down’ and we were off to the races,” Springfield says. “By the time we were halfway to Nashville the melody and structure of the song were complete, as if by magic. I love it when that happens.”
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Written with Bissonette, “That One” has a vulnerability characteristic of Springfield’s most emotionally resonant songs. “Who of us hasn’t had some heartless lover crap on us and our tender feelings?” he says. “This song hits home for me both as the protagonist and the victim. I have been both the crapee and the craper, I’m ashamed to admit.”
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A dobro guitar lends down-home flair to the rock stomper “Miss Mayhem,” which Springfield wrote with The Hold Steady’s Tad Kubler. “Ah, Miss Mayhem,” he says. “We have all met her or him at some point in our romantic past. A burning hot, amazing-in-bed, beautiful/handsome, wack-job!”
Songs like “Pay It Forward,” “Crowded Solitude,” and “We Connect” are imbued with a sense of spirituality that has been reflected in Springfield’s songwriting since his album Living in Oz. “I’ve been sneaking it in there since 1983,” he says.
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
20th Century Fox has released the first teaser image from the upcoming Predator film by Iron Man 3 director Shane Black.
Shane Black and co-writer Fred Dekker reportedly completed the script for The Predator back in November, but 20th Century Fox has not revealed any firm timetable for the movie's filming or release