While reading the recent oral history of The Simpsons, I came across a statement describing one of the people who got the series on the air, the very successful TV and movie writer/producer/director James L. Brooks. It was said that if Brooks was awakened at 3 a.m. and asked what he did, his half-aware response would be an immediate, "I'm a writer."
There was once a time when I wanted a career like that of Brooks, working of some of the most beloved TV of the day and directing my movie scripts into award-winning hits. However, if you woke me up at 3 in the morning and asked what I did, I'd probably offer, "Uh... well, I love my wife. And our cats. Oh, and doughnuts. And I love TV. Oh, and I should probably mention my parents — are you going to tell them that I listed them after doughnuts?"
Sure, I write some stuff. It's satisfying, up to a point, but it's a fairly isolating and dry task.
On the weekends, I jump out of bed as soon as possible. Am I ready to go jogging, hiking or volunteering in a soup kitchen? No, silly, that's you. I'm up because I'm excited to watch my TV.
Saturday mornings are even more exciting than Sundays, and not just because the weekend is newer, fresher and more filled with promise. No, Saturday mornings are even better because my three favorite Christian children's shows are on.
I don't watch them for religion. I do, of course, swear allegiance to The Shield, The Wire and The Sopranos, as TV standard-bearers. And before I continue, I should specify that I don't smoke drugs.
I don't like all Christian children's programming. It's a mostly dull and uninventive form, and the special ones have to really work to stand out. I've
already learned my lessons about sharing, patience and other junk you don't need as an adult, but I still love colorful puppets and bad puns. Anyone who loves H.R. Pufnstuf and claims to be hip needs to drop their skinny-pants pretensions and check out shows like the following:
Dooley and Pals is a favorite. The program
follows the adventures of Dooley, a space alien who has landed in some American kid's yard and is prone to Ned Flanders-esque exclamations. Each week Dooley, a robot and a postal carrier (suspiciously reminiscent of S.Epatha Merkerson
on Pee-Wee's Playhouse) teach the kids lessons about life.
There's also a pair of aliens who act like a less-cynical version of The Muppet Show's Statler and Waldorf, plus odd animation and weird songs.
Wimzie's House is another fun one, featuring a sweet little girl who's supposed to be a dragon (or something) but looks like a puppet version of Punky Brewster. Altogether, the gang looks like Fraggle Rock rejects, which is endearing and probably explains why the Jim Henson Company sued them at one point.
My favorite character is Horace, the dumbest one and the one most likely to throw an angry fit. He's certainly more interesting than anyone on Grey's Anatomy.
Then there's Mustard Pancakes. Is that a name for a show or what? It sounds creative enough to be a Frank Zappa album, right? I shouldn't like this program as much, though, because there's a human starring in it. Lame!
No less, she's a middle-aged folk singer and seems Canadian. She's also a total rip-off of Nanny from Muppet Babies, but you have to see her face. Its characters are three dogs and a cat who live with this delusional single lady. One dog in particular, with the delightful name of
Oogleberry, instantly stole my heart with his sad eyes and eagerness to please.
My wife doesn't totally understand my fascination with these programs, but I don't
totally understand why she watches The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Maybe you shouldn't listen to me. My favorite movie genre is the "animal who talks, raps and/or plays sports" genre. I just like what I like.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Lyle Janes profile
Fans of public access television have been enjoying “The Lyle Janes Show” for 11 years now, surely a local feat if not quite as nationally notable as the adventures of Jay Leno and friends. Janes, however, does things differently than most talk-show hosts. You might even say that he does it… his way.
“I've always liked to sing. I grew up listening to big band and easy listening music, like Frank Sinatra and Mantovani. I also had asthma, though, so I could never do it a lot.”
Janes also grew up as a Jehovah's Witness, an unlikely beginning for a fabulous entertainer. “Oh, no, no, no!” Janes exclaimed. “I'm actually writing a book about that.”
As Janes grew into adulthood, he realized that he preferred the cult of show business, inspired by “The Merv Griffin Show.” Becoming a host and entertainer like Griffin became his dream. While Insight-98 might not be NBC, Janes fulfills his dream, every Wednesday night at 9:30, and there is no Conan O'Brien waiting in the wings to force him out.
Janes, a native of Louisville's Highview neighborhood and today a commissioner of the city of Parkway Village, can also be seen often at the Improv at Fourth Street Live, where his comedy act touches upon his Jehovah's Witness youth and what he calls “disasters and beauty school accidents.” (He recently began working as a hairdresser at Sensations Spa & Salon.)
A fan of singers Michael Buble and Harry Connick Jr., Janes went into a recording studio to make a demo. He printed 500 copies of Introducing Lyle Janes. His cover of “Mack the Knife” is probably the first to include a shout-out to Louisville. “I've been giving them out as Christmas presents. Or I use them as coasters,” said Janes, laughing, although they are also available at Ear X-tacy.
Even if he never becomes as famous as Merv Griffin, Janes has a wonderful way of seeing the world. “I've always ended my show on an upbeat note, every time. I always say that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.”
photo by John Rott
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Nora, Ben & Eli profile
In Louisville today, it's not hard to find bearded hipsters playing their interpretation of Appalachian mountain music while sipping craft beers and mumbling about moving to New York some day. Few, however, have the training and skill of a trio of pluckers who only recently earned their license to drive.
Nora, Ben & Eli are a group that never would have happened without early arts education. A decade ago, they were fortunate enough to join the Louisville Leopard Percussionists, the nonprofit program for elementary school kids where they learned how to play instruments, improvise and work together.
Nora Grossman, Ben Scruton and Eli Kleinsmith, all of whom play multiple instruments, were originally part of a post-Leopards group whose members fell away until only the three were left. The well-educated group evolved into a string trio exploring Appalachian, Irish and Eastern European folk music.
“Somehow, we all figured out that we all liked this kind of music,” said Kleinsmith, a 17-year-old senior at St. Francis. “I think it was because Ben and Nora had been going to the Hindman Settlement School. I started going to that, and we explored Appalachian music from there.”
At the school in Knott County, the group found mentors who helped influence their direction. “There are just so many nice people who are good musicians, too, and that's how we got the Appalachian style,” elaborated Scruton, 17, a senior at duPont Manual.
“One of the most important things we can do is to get people our age into this kind of music. Most are not aware that it exists,” said Grossman, a 16-year-old junior at duPont Manual.
They're still influenced by jazz, too. Scruton said, “Nora and I grew up listening to that style of music, from the Leopards, so we've got that in our minds. It translated to the other instruments, but we're not — we don't sound like Miles Davis or anything.”
Leopards founder Diane Downs is proud. “It's been great to hear them grow into monster musicians,” she recently told a packed house at the Leopards' annual fundraising concert, where Nora, Ben & Eli were featured guests.
They maintain a steady schedule now, but the boys will begin college this fall. None of the trio is planning to pursue a career in music, but they will all continue to play, even just for fun, for the rest of their lives.
Nora, Ben & Eli will perform at Sunergos Coffee on Saturday, March 13th, at 7 p.m. Free, all ages.
photo by John Rott
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
John Paul Wright profile: All Aboard for Funtime
An average day working on the railroad goes something like this for John Paul Wright: “The caller calls and you have to be there in two hours. I run the train for eight to 12 hours and go to the hotel. My away-from-home terminal is in Nashville. You might stay in the hotel 12 hours or 24. I work on call, no shift. Long hours being away from home. Lonesome. Johnny Cash said his early music sounded like a train. I know why.”
Wright, a resident of Middletown, was raised in a musical family in Germantown. He began playing guitar while attending the Brown School. He has also studied African drumming for 20 years.
“Hub Engineer” is a song on Wright's first album, Music for Modern Railroaders. It begins with a recording sampled from the CSX phone system. “When you become a hub engineer, you call that number to get that automated crew caller bot. A hub engineer is one that is qualified to run on all lines running out of Louisville. I though it would be funny to add that at the beginning because you live with your phone being on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”
Wright wrote “Hub Engineer” as a joke for his colleagues. “Modern railroaders love telling stories, stories about crazy stuff they have done on the railroad. That is my favorite part of my job. The last of the L&N employees are fast retiring. There is a lot of history from the L&N Railroad. My run is the Louisville to Nashville mainline. We are the modern railroaders directly related to Casey Jones, John Henry and the many men and women who built this country.”
Before he went to work on the railroads, he worked as the music director for Pneuma, an after-school arts group. He worked for a while at the late, beloved Twice Told Books in the Highlands, alongside artist and songwriter Sean Garrison. Today Garrison says of Wright, “He has the true voice.”
Joe Manning is a singer/songwriter with a large following and an equally large debt to Wright's influence. “J.P. was the first one to introduce me to bluegrass, and by extension to country music, so I blame him for a lot of the subsequent terrible choices I've made as an adult. He's also a great singer and songwriter who knows the value of experience in storytelling. Look at all the trouble he went to just to write some authentic train songs.”
Elaborating on the connections between music and railroading, Wright said, “A GE Dash-8 locomotive vibrates in a 6/8 pattern, you can stuff paper into the horns and create great tones. The rail sings when you go around a sharp turn. There are thousands of songs about the railroad. Some of the first American labor unions were railroad; Joe Hill and other musicians, Woody Guthrie, sang about union struggle.”
Wright plays most often for his wife and son, but is planning to record a new record this summer. He will warm up by performing at the Railroad Workers United's Labor Notes convention in April in Detroit.
Folk singer John Gage hosts Kentucky Homefront on WFPK-FM. He said, “I've known John most of his life. He's always been musical, and it's been wonderful to see him grow as an artist. He's continuing a tradition of American folk music, singing songs about the railroad. And they're great songs.”
As the secretary treasurer for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Local 78, “unions and corporate greed are on my mind more and more,” said Wright. “I am focusing on broader issues.”
For more information, please visit http://www.myspace.com/sd402 and http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jpwright
photo by John Rott
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Column #11: Ear X-tacy's troubles give one's awareness a jolt
I love mountains. I also love air, oxygen, kittens and other nice things. However, I've become aware that our community has a problem, people. There are so many gas-guzzling cars on our roads declaring their love of mountains through the poor man's canvas — the bumper sticker — and yet how many mountains are being saved by this declarative decoration?
Tip O'Neill famously asserted that "All politics is local," though, being a Bostonian, we only narrowly avoided having to quote "All politics is a local wicked pissa."
When I lived in Boston, people were very concerned with being aware that we shouldn't look at each other while riding the subway. When I lived in California, people were concerned with being aware that it's less fun to surf in a horribly polluted ocean.
Here in Louisville, I've been made very aware that mountaintop removal mining is a horrible practice. It has terrible consequences on jobs, health and our natural environment. It is happening just a few hours' drive away from here, though, and its impact has been felt here by good folks raising awareness that it's happening, over there. They raise our awareness with benefit concerts and with those stickers (which don't mention the issue of mountaintop removal, sadly leaving bored drivers uneducated on the issue).
Are you aware? If there's anything I've realized lately, it's that I need to be more aware. There's Haiti, of course. I'm aware of that situation. It's bad, folks.
This month, I'm aware that snow gets in the way of a lot of stuff. We have a lot of homeless people in this town, and in every town. A lot of children are not getting healthy, nutritious meals. Plus, there's Heidi Montag to worry about.
On a side note, I'd like to ask any well-meaning liberals who haven't yet removed their Kerry/Edwards '04 bumper stickers to stop reading right now, and go do so. Twenty percent of the Highlands, I'm talking to you. It was still kind of inspiring in '05, bittersweet in '06, pointless in '07, a huge wasted opportunity in '08, and today... well, I hate to use the "s" word, but doesn't advocating your support of John Edwards today make you feel kind of stupid? Hey, I used to like the guy, too, before I got to know him.
While we're in the Highlands, are you aware of the problems facing our beloved Ear X-tacy Records? If you haven't heard, store owner John Timmons held a press conference recently, in which he told our community that our iconic store has been losing money steadily and is in danger of closing.
I used to work there, and I later operated my own small, independent and unsuccessful business. Once, John and I had a nice chat about the difficulties of running a business. Sadly, it was at the Jazz Factory, another great local spot unable to survive.
John's announcement was sad, and it was very brave of him to come forward and speak honestly about their dilemma. One fact he mentioned was that the Facebook "Save Ear X-tacy!" page attracted 19,000 fans in three days, while the official store page has less than 5,000. Many of us love joining causes, on Facebook or at benefit concerts, but how many do more than that?
Most people are smarter than John and me and have never owned a business. Many of the killer expenses are unseen or unappreciated by customers. The money you pay for that cool indie record doesn't just cover the cost of getting it from the distributor. Some of your cash pays the LG&E bill, the water bill, the phone bill, insurance, workers' comp, employee paychecks — and more.
How many people who love the store will remember that they need to spend money there every single week? All 19,000 of them? I doubt that.
The people who are working to save mountains also have bills to pay. As John Timmons admitted, there are no easy solutions. I just hope that you're more aware of that now.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Tip O'Neill famously asserted that "All politics is local," though, being a Bostonian, we only narrowly avoided having to quote "All politics is a local wicked pissa."
When I lived in Boston, people were very concerned with being aware that we shouldn't look at each other while riding the subway. When I lived in California, people were concerned with being aware that it's less fun to surf in a horribly polluted ocean.
Here in Louisville, I've been made very aware that mountaintop removal mining is a horrible practice. It has terrible consequences on jobs, health and our natural environment. It is happening just a few hours' drive away from here, though, and its impact has been felt here by good folks raising awareness that it's happening, over there. They raise our awareness with benefit concerts and with those stickers (which don't mention the issue of mountaintop removal, sadly leaving bored drivers uneducated on the issue).
Are you aware? If there's anything I've realized lately, it's that I need to be more aware. There's Haiti, of course. I'm aware of that situation. It's bad, folks.
This month, I'm aware that snow gets in the way of a lot of stuff. We have a lot of homeless people in this town, and in every town. A lot of children are not getting healthy, nutritious meals. Plus, there's Heidi Montag to worry about.
On a side note, I'd like to ask any well-meaning liberals who haven't yet removed their Kerry/Edwards '04 bumper stickers to stop reading right now, and go do so. Twenty percent of the Highlands, I'm talking to you. It was still kind of inspiring in '05, bittersweet in '06, pointless in '07, a huge wasted opportunity in '08, and today... well, I hate to use the "s" word, but doesn't advocating your support of John Edwards today make you feel kind of stupid? Hey, I used to like the guy, too, before I got to know him.
While we're in the Highlands, are you aware of the problems facing our beloved Ear X-tacy Records? If you haven't heard, store owner John Timmons held a press conference recently, in which he told our community that our iconic store has been losing money steadily and is in danger of closing.
I used to work there, and I later operated my own small, independent and unsuccessful business. Once, John and I had a nice chat about the difficulties of running a business. Sadly, it was at the Jazz Factory, another great local spot unable to survive.
John's announcement was sad, and it was very brave of him to come forward and speak honestly about their dilemma. One fact he mentioned was that the Facebook "Save Ear X-tacy!" page attracted 19,000 fans in three days, while the official store page has less than 5,000. Many of us love joining causes, on Facebook or at benefit concerts, but how many do more than that?
Most people are smarter than John and me and have never owned a business. Many of the killer expenses are unseen or unappreciated by customers. The money you pay for that cool indie record doesn't just cover the cost of getting it from the distributor. Some of your cash pays the LG&E bill, the water bill, the phone bill, insurance, workers' comp, employee paychecks — and more.
How many people who love the store will remember that they need to spend money there every single week? All 19,000 of them? I doubt that.
The people who are working to save mountains also have bills to pay. As John Timmons admitted, there are no easy solutions. I just hope that you're more aware of that now.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Ravenna Colt interview
Johnny Quaid joined his cousin, Jim Olliges, in 1998 on a musical project that would become the very popular and acclaimed My Morning Jacket. He stayed through three albums, providing guitar and engineering services. Quaid left in 2004, when he moved to California and began working as a carpenter. His new band, The Ravenna Colt, takes its name from a book written in 1902, The Art of Taming and Educating the Horse. In it, author Dennis Magner describes The Ravenna Colt, "a virtually untamable, yet not necessarily barbarous animal." Compared to his previous band, this one is more akin to his version of the country troubadour tradition. The Ravenna Colt will play a record release show at Zanzabar on February 19th, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Louisville, Ky. I lived in Middletown until I was about 8. We moved to Simpsonville after that. After high school, I moved to Shelbyville to work on the family farm.
Is your family musical or artistic?
I have this one bearded cousin that is in a band with a funny name, something about a jacket or coat or something, I think he's got some potential, haha. My great-great-grandfather had a small orchestra and I believe they played parlor music. I had a great uncle that was a talented bluegrass guitar player. I have lots of aunts and cousins that are really talented in visual art, film and music. We're kind of like the Partridge Family without the bus.
What is your musical background / training?
I got started into music early on. Being slightly hyperactive - okay, maybe just wild - my mom thought it would be good to "channel" my energy and enrolled me in violin lessons in the suzuki program at 5 years old. I got on stage and felt right at home. I was the only kid in the class that showed up in jeans and cowboy boots. I stopped playing around 9 or 10 years old. I really wish now that I would have stuck with it, and I still hope to pick it up one of these days. I played piano for a year. At then at the age of 12, I was corrupted for life when a classmate at school started taking guitar lessons. From then on I was either at school, doing chores on the farm or locked in my room trying to learn the fastest Metallica riff I could manage. I took guitar lessons for about 5 years from a really great teacher, Greg Pullen. He really inspired me, and I would go as far as saying changed my life!
Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
Ah, the dreaded influence question that we all despise, but secretly love to answer! I was inspired early on by what my mom listened to, we wore out her copy of Born in the USA and Thriller albums! My guitar heroes are Keith Richards and Angus Young, Slash, and all the other standard government issue rock guitar players. When it comes to songwriting, I am inspired by guys like Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, John Prine, Otis Redding and everything and everyone that I've ever heard. I love all styles and genres of music.
What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
My project is called The Ravenna Colt. It's an outlet for my work as a songwriter. I've had the good fortune to have some really talented friends work on my album and join me on stage. I tracked some lead guitar work in the studio for local hometown heroes, The Debutantes. I also just did some production work for a string band called The Downtown County Band. I love working in the studio, it's a very special feeling to listen to a song come to life and grow into its own entity.
What do you hope to achieve with music?
Happiness. I can really feel my mood change after I have been working on music. I feel very alive when I'm performing and writing songs. I hope the listener feels that and shares that same sentiment. I would love to think that my kids or grandkids might be interested in my musical endeavors, but they'll probably think I'm a goofball playing ancient music!
Learn more at www.theravennacolt.com.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Valentine's Day: LoveMaking
Handcraft something from the heart for your sweetie.
Artists Cara Anderson and Kenny Andreozzi are in love and are very crafty, so who better to help you make a special, unique gift for your sweetie this Valentine's Day?
Here's something you can do for around $10, with all supplies procured at the Gardiner Lane Shopping Center on Bardstown Road.
Supplies:
* Rubber eraser (99 cents at Preston Arts Center)
* X-Acto Knife ($1.99 at Preston Arts)
* Card stock ($1.50 forlarge sheet at Preston Arts)
* Red ink pad ($4.49 at Staples)
Instructions:
1) Draw your design on the eraser - the simpler the better. Make sure to draw letters backward!
2) Carve the design into the stamp using the knife to remove the negative space around your design.
3) Ink your finished stamp on the ink pad and stamp away.
4) Use your stamp to make a Valentine for your best guy or gal.
You can make as many stamps as there are sides to your eraser - up to six!
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Artists Cara Anderson and Kenny Andreozzi are in love and are very crafty, so who better to help you make a special, unique gift for your sweetie this Valentine's Day?
Here's something you can do for around $10, with all supplies procured at the Gardiner Lane Shopping Center on Bardstown Road.
Supplies:
* Rubber eraser (99 cents at Preston Arts Center)
* X-Acto Knife ($1.99 at Preston Arts)
* Card stock ($1.50 forlarge sheet at Preston Arts)
* Red ink pad ($4.49 at Staples)
Instructions:
1) Draw your design on the eraser - the simpler the better. Make sure to draw letters backward!
2) Carve the design into the stamp using the knife to remove the negative space around your design.
3) Ink your finished stamp on the ink pad and stamp away.
4) Use your stamp to make a Valentine for your best guy or gal.
You can make as many stamps as there are sides to your eraser - up to six!
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Column #10: Jay and Conan inspire a musical-chairs fantasy
When it was announced that May 29th, 2009, would be Jay Leno’s last night as the host of “The Tonight Show”, I was thrilled. I would be getting married the next day, and I accepted the timing as a gift offering from NBC – nay, from all of TV and comedy – that they knew would make me very, very happy. As a comedy fan, and someone whose personality was influenced perhaps a touch too much by the influence of David Letterman, I don’t consider myself a mere passive observer. As a subject, of course I realize that there are more important things to worry about in life – but, for me, the biggest star who appeared on the Hope for Haiti telethon wasn’t George Clooney or Madonna, it was Jon Stewart.
Now that it’s hopefully over, I think it probably worked out about as well as it was ever going to. Don’t mistake that for an endorsement of Jay Leno; I saw him live 20 years ago, before he got “The Tonight Show,” and I’ve seen his TV show. He was never an inspiring, insightful or particularly memorable comic, but he wasn’t the bloated, transparently pandering RoboComic that he has since become. I live in reality, though, and it seems ridiculous now to think that Conan O’Brien could have tamed the wilder instincts of the younger, 12:30 a.m. Conan without losing what is essential to his comedy, while still appealing to the audience who found Leno and Johnny Carson so soothing and reassuring for so long. Conan could barely beat Craig Ferguson in the ratings. Apparently, the consensus is that brainy O’Brien appeals to a smaller, more focused audience who would rather watch the highbrow comedy of a bear pleasuring itself or a vomiting Muppet - instead of the lowbrow comedy of faux-everyman Leno mocking folks on the street for not knowing, offhand, who our 28th president was (Woodrow Wilson. I googled it).
While I am a realist, I am also a dreamer. I’m very complicated, folks. I hope that Leno will lose his audience soon, and move to China. So, since you’re asking, what would I do next? NBC has a stable of funny people under contract. Two of them have failed as talk show hosts already - Chevy Chase, obviously, and Richard Belzer of “Law and Order” had a talk show on Lifetime in the ‘80’s. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Steve Carrell all seem qualified for the job but that won’t happen. “Community” star Joel McHale also hosts the clip show “The Soup”, is funny, handsome, likable and seems ideal.
I vote for Ellen DeGeneres, though. We now have 2 female news anchors (and a half-black president), but late night network comedy shows are still the land of the white men. Everyone loves her, and it would be progress. But what do I know? I also think that, in 2016, our next president should be Oprah – for the same reasons. Even more interesting would be if Rosie O’Donnell replaced Letterman, when he retired, and battled Ellen to be America's Sweetheart…
And Conan? Any 11 p.m. slot would put him against Jon Stewart, and could backfire. Fox affiliates would revolt over low ratings, and he’d be ruined. He’d reject midnight on Comedy Central – but would 10 p.m. be such a bad idea on cable, leading in to Stewart? Surely “South Park” can rerun 18 times per day instead of 20.
Instead of paying $45 million to be rid of him, NBC could have aired him on USA, the most popular cable channel, which they own – nightly at 10. The whole debacle is already reminiscent of when Mariah Carey was paid $49 million to leave Virgin, then came back bigger than ever on Island Records. Or when Wilco was paid to leave Reprise, then was paid again to sign with Nonesuch, who were owned by the same parent company, and came back bigger than ever.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Now that it’s hopefully over, I think it probably worked out about as well as it was ever going to. Don’t mistake that for an endorsement of Jay Leno; I saw him live 20 years ago, before he got “The Tonight Show,” and I’ve seen his TV show. He was never an inspiring, insightful or particularly memorable comic, but he wasn’t the bloated, transparently pandering RoboComic that he has since become. I live in reality, though, and it seems ridiculous now to think that Conan O’Brien could have tamed the wilder instincts of the younger, 12:30 a.m. Conan without losing what is essential to his comedy, while still appealing to the audience who found Leno and Johnny Carson so soothing and reassuring for so long. Conan could barely beat Craig Ferguson in the ratings. Apparently, the consensus is that brainy O’Brien appeals to a smaller, more focused audience who would rather watch the highbrow comedy of a bear pleasuring itself or a vomiting Muppet - instead of the lowbrow comedy of faux-everyman Leno mocking folks on the street for not knowing, offhand, who our 28th president was (Woodrow Wilson. I googled it).
While I am a realist, I am also a dreamer. I’m very complicated, folks. I hope that Leno will lose his audience soon, and move to China. So, since you’re asking, what would I do next? NBC has a stable of funny people under contract. Two of them have failed as talk show hosts already - Chevy Chase, obviously, and Richard Belzer of “Law and Order” had a talk show on Lifetime in the ‘80’s. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Steve Carrell all seem qualified for the job but that won’t happen. “Community” star Joel McHale also hosts the clip show “The Soup”, is funny, handsome, likable and seems ideal.
I vote for Ellen DeGeneres, though. We now have 2 female news anchors (and a half-black president), but late night network comedy shows are still the land of the white men. Everyone loves her, and it would be progress. But what do I know? I also think that, in 2016, our next president should be Oprah – for the same reasons. Even more interesting would be if Rosie O’Donnell replaced Letterman, when he retired, and battled Ellen to be America's Sweetheart…
And Conan? Any 11 p.m. slot would put him against Jon Stewart, and could backfire. Fox affiliates would revolt over low ratings, and he’d be ruined. He’d reject midnight on Comedy Central – but would 10 p.m. be such a bad idea on cable, leading in to Stewart? Surely “South Park” can rerun 18 times per day instead of 20.
Instead of paying $45 million to be rid of him, NBC could have aired him on USA, the most popular cable channel, which they own – nightly at 10. The whole debacle is already reminiscent of when Mariah Carey was paid $49 million to leave Virgin, then came back bigger than ever on Island Records. Or when Wilco was paid to leave Reprise, then was paid again to sign with Nonesuch, who were owned by the same parent company, and came back bigger than ever.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Calexico interview
For over a decade, Calexico has been a goodwill ambassador of good music, melding indie rock, Americana, latin flavor, movie scores, jazziness and south of the border folklorico into a gumbo that has delighted fans from their home of Tucson, Arizona to Tokyo. Despite massive changes in the music industry, the veteran band is always brave enough to try something new. For example? They are collaborating with the Louisville Orchestra on Saturday, January 30th, at the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall. New L.A. buzzband The Airborne Toxic Event is also on the bill.
Velocity's resident pop culture guru, Peter Berkowitz, recently had a chance to ask Calexico's singer and guitarist, Joey Burns, a few questions:
Joey, thanks for doing this. I'm a first-time caller but a longtime fan!
Thanks for the opportunity to talk. Looking forward to the show.
How has the collapse of Touch and Go, your longtime label, affected Calexico? Do you know yet how your next record will be distributed?
It hasn't affected Calexico quite yet as we don't have a new release coming out this winter. I just spoke with (label owner) Corey (Rusk) and had a really good conversation about many things, music business stuff included. I think we both agreed to cross that bridge when we get to it. He's such a good friend and I really enjoy our connection. I suppose I am most sad about not having the whole staff at Touch and Go Records there anymore. They are such a great group of people and so helpful to bands like ours. They made it easy to be a self-managed indie rock band. They taught me that it's important to carry that creativity into the business side of releasing music and to always be surrounded by intelligent, like-minded people who have a strong work ethic and sense of humor.
Your music conveys a feeling of the Southwest more than probably anyone since Ennio Morricone was scoring Westerns. Additionally, yours is one of the most post-globally influenced American bands around still. Do you enjoy - or are you frustrated - that Calexico continues to stand out so much in a sea of more conventional, more simplistic and interchangeable rock bands?
We don't mind standing out at all. Our record collections and musical influences continue to get more diverse with each tour that takes us to far corners of the globe. With all of the influences, we strive to make it our own. It's important to make sounds with your voice and choice of aesthetics. We just received our first offer to play Mexico City yesterday at a rock festival called "Vive Latino" with a capacity of 55,000 people. Should be a lot of fun and good to play in unchartered waters, so to speak.
Many major acts, such as Bon Jovi and Hootie, have "gone country" in an attempt to broaden their fan base. As a versatile, roots-based American band, do you think you would ever make a so-called "country" record? It worked for Freddie Fender!
Sounds like you're a music producer. We've worked with Willie Nelson, Jerry Douglas, Joe Ely, and even the late, great Freddie Fender. I guess some of our recordings have touched on the more pure country motif. The song "Slowness" on the new album Carried To Dust definitely conjures up the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris vibe. The song features singer songwriter Pieta Brown. These influences of genre and style weave in and out of live shows and recordings. The variety is key for us and our own unique vision of how we blend things.
You have collaborated with Louisville's own Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), amongst many collaborations. Do you feel any kinship with The Band, in that you are able to be the star or the supporting band depending on the situation? Or The Roots? Would you consider being the house band on a talk show?
Sure. You a TV producer as well? I'm liking where you're going. Love The Band, The Roots and the Duke Ellington orchestra. Our dream is a massive music hall filled with instruments from around the world and recording gear.
For the January 30th show, you're collaborating with the Louisville Orchestra. How often do you get a chance to do something like this? Are you more excited or afraid of what might happen?
This is the first time for us live. We've done some similar work in the studio, but this is going to be great. We are all so excited. What should we wear? Tuxedos?
Your band's lyrics are more literate than most. Instead of asking for a favorite records list, could you recommend 2 or 3 great books?
You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett. Short stories of melancholia. Perfect for long flights.
Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing by Charles Bowden. Good inspiration for late night journal spelunking and Sunday morning walks back into town.
The World That Made New Orleans together with Cuba and Its Music by Ned Sublett. Tracing back to what made Jazz and some of the best music in the world.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Velocity's resident pop culture guru, Peter Berkowitz, recently had a chance to ask Calexico's singer and guitarist, Joey Burns, a few questions:
Joey, thanks for doing this. I'm a first-time caller but a longtime fan!
Thanks for the opportunity to talk. Looking forward to the show.
How has the collapse of Touch and Go, your longtime label, affected Calexico? Do you know yet how your next record will be distributed?
It hasn't affected Calexico quite yet as we don't have a new release coming out this winter. I just spoke with (label owner) Corey (Rusk) and had a really good conversation about many things, music business stuff included. I think we both agreed to cross that bridge when we get to it. He's such a good friend and I really enjoy our connection. I suppose I am most sad about not having the whole staff at Touch and Go Records there anymore. They are such a great group of people and so helpful to bands like ours. They made it easy to be a self-managed indie rock band. They taught me that it's important to carry that creativity into the business side of releasing music and to always be surrounded by intelligent, like-minded people who have a strong work ethic and sense of humor.
Your music conveys a feeling of the Southwest more than probably anyone since Ennio Morricone was scoring Westerns. Additionally, yours is one of the most post-globally influenced American bands around still. Do you enjoy - or are you frustrated - that Calexico continues to stand out so much in a sea of more conventional, more simplistic and interchangeable rock bands?
We don't mind standing out at all. Our record collections and musical influences continue to get more diverse with each tour that takes us to far corners of the globe. With all of the influences, we strive to make it our own. It's important to make sounds with your voice and choice of aesthetics. We just received our first offer to play Mexico City yesterday at a rock festival called "Vive Latino" with a capacity of 55,000 people. Should be a lot of fun and good to play in unchartered waters, so to speak.
Many major acts, such as Bon Jovi and Hootie, have "gone country" in an attempt to broaden their fan base. As a versatile, roots-based American band, do you think you would ever make a so-called "country" record? It worked for Freddie Fender!
Sounds like you're a music producer. We've worked with Willie Nelson, Jerry Douglas, Joe Ely, and even the late, great Freddie Fender. I guess some of our recordings have touched on the more pure country motif. The song "Slowness" on the new album Carried To Dust definitely conjures up the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris vibe. The song features singer songwriter Pieta Brown. These influences of genre and style weave in and out of live shows and recordings. The variety is key for us and our own unique vision of how we blend things.
You have collaborated with Louisville's own Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), amongst many collaborations. Do you feel any kinship with The Band, in that you are able to be the star or the supporting band depending on the situation? Or The Roots? Would you consider being the house band on a talk show?
Sure. You a TV producer as well? I'm liking where you're going. Love The Band, The Roots and the Duke Ellington orchestra. Our dream is a massive music hall filled with instruments from around the world and recording gear.
For the January 30th show, you're collaborating with the Louisville Orchestra. How often do you get a chance to do something like this? Are you more excited or afraid of what might happen?
This is the first time for us live. We've done some similar work in the studio, but this is going to be great. We are all so excited. What should we wear? Tuxedos?
Your band's lyrics are more literate than most. Instead of asking for a favorite records list, could you recommend 2 or 3 great books?
You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett. Short stories of melancholia. Perfect for long flights.
Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing by Charles Bowden. Good inspiration for late night journal spelunking and Sunday morning walks back into town.
The World That Made New Orleans together with Cuba and Its Music by Ned Sublett. Tracing back to what made Jazz and some of the best music in the world.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tom Green interview
Proudly Canadian Tom Green first achieved fame in the U.S in 1999 when his comedy show, The Tom Green Show, began airing on MTV. He had a quick rise, moving from TV stardom to movies, marrying Drew Barrymore, and hosting "Saturday Night Live" and appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone. But just as quickly, his career - and life - was in freefall.
At the height of his fame, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He ended his TV show. His marriage ended in mere months. A movie he directed, co-wrote and starred in, Freddy Got Fingered, was declared one of the worst movies in history.
Today, he has found a new path. Since 2006 he has hosted a new talk show, Tom Green's House Tonight, where guests visit him in his home. It is amongst the most popular regular programs on the web. Last year, after another health scare, he returned to stand-up comedy. His tour brings him to The Improv in Louisville on Wednesday, January 27th. Velocity's resident pop culture guru, Peter Berkowitz, recently spoke with him:
Have you been to Louisville before?
Yes, I have, actually. I've been to the Louisville Slugger Factory. I got one of those bats with my name personalized on it. I'm looking forward to being back there again, it's gonna be a great time.
How's the tour going so far?
It's going great. I'm touring around with my friend Sean, we're on a world tour. We started out in Edmonton, Canada, we're going to Atlanta and Marco Island and then Louisville, around the country and then on to Australia. I'm really lovin' it.
You did stand-up in your teens, but hadn't done it in many years. How did you get back into it?
Jordy (Fox) from MySpace's comedy site, he was up here at the house and he brought other comedians with him, guys like Russell Peters, Nick Swardson. Then they asked me to perform at the New York Comedy Festival. It was something I'd been wanting to do, I just needed somebody to ask me to do it. MySpace, on their comedy site, I did a secret standup show for that. They actually just put it up on their site, so you can check that out now.
Is your stand-up going to be like what we've seen you do on your web channel or TV shows?
It's a hybrid. I'm excited about using the internet, letting the fans see what's going on on the road. We were throwin' snowballs in Edmonton.
Is the web channel your main focus? Is that your full-time job these days?
It's like a completely independent hobby that's gone out of control. I do it whenever I can. Sometimes I can do shows, sometimes I can't do a regular show. I don't look at it like that. I don't look at it like a job. But yeah, I'm putting my focus on the channel. We're working with an ad agency in L.A., to bring it in a bigger way. I want to have other shows on the channel, I want to be able to get on the road but still have a chunk of shows up at a time. The fun thing is getting a sponsor. You need somebody to run it, y'know? We've had various sponsors over the years, like Budweiser.
Tell me more about putting your stand-up act together.
It's always evolving. I don't ever do the same thing, every night. I have jokes, there's things I talk about. Y'know, you do five hour-long shows in a row, you figure out what works. A little music, too. We've got some high energy crowds, people yelling stuff out. It's exciting. People have conversations with me. People yell out stuff: 'Do "The Bum Bum Song"! Slutmobile!' It's being loose, it's fun to go with it. It's exciting, a good time for everyone.
So you hope to keep doing this for a while.
I basically quit drinking for this tour. Well, not liquids - just not drinking booze. I'll have a drink after the show, maybe. It's not good for my endurance. I just lived in the West Edmonton mall for five days. The club was in a mall, where the hotel was, and the restaurant, and it was snowing, y'know? I just went back and forth, back and forth. It's pretty cool. It was like Biodome. I hope people will come see the live show, and also start following it on the web. This is what I want to be doing for the next few years - going on the road making videos. What's cool is that other people are making videos of the show and posting them. I'm a video nerd. Anything to do with making videos, editing, experimentation, etc. I find it mind-blowing still what people are able to do with it. It's exciting to me - new cameras. Growing up, wanting to make videos, I had to volunteer at the local community TV station - now I can edit with Final Cut Pro in an edit bay on a laptop in the hotel room, and then post stuff immediately. I've been filming the audience with a flip cam. I've also been playing a game with the audience: passing the camera around, having them film themselves, passing it around and then hopefully passing it back to me.
And you're healthy again, so this is a good time for you.
It's very therapeutic, doing this show. There's a lot of problems that I'm dealing with - the world, me... It's therapeutic and it's funny, too. I just want everyone to realize, 'Wow! Damn! We're lucky to be here.' I'm just trying to remind everybody.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
At the height of his fame, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He ended his TV show. His marriage ended in mere months. A movie he directed, co-wrote and starred in, Freddy Got Fingered, was declared one of the worst movies in history.
Today, he has found a new path. Since 2006 he has hosted a new talk show, Tom Green's House Tonight, where guests visit him in his home. It is amongst the most popular regular programs on the web. Last year, after another health scare, he returned to stand-up comedy. His tour brings him to The Improv in Louisville on Wednesday, January 27th. Velocity's resident pop culture guru, Peter Berkowitz, recently spoke with him:
Have you been to Louisville before?
Yes, I have, actually. I've been to the Louisville Slugger Factory. I got one of those bats with my name personalized on it. I'm looking forward to being back there again, it's gonna be a great time.
How's the tour going so far?
It's going great. I'm touring around with my friend Sean, we're on a world tour. We started out in Edmonton, Canada, we're going to Atlanta and Marco Island and then Louisville, around the country and then on to Australia. I'm really lovin' it.
You did stand-up in your teens, but hadn't done it in many years. How did you get back into it?
Jordy (Fox) from MySpace's comedy site, he was up here at the house and he brought other comedians with him, guys like Russell Peters, Nick Swardson. Then they asked me to perform at the New York Comedy Festival. It was something I'd been wanting to do, I just needed somebody to ask me to do it. MySpace, on their comedy site, I did a secret standup show for that. They actually just put it up on their site, so you can check that out now.
Is your stand-up going to be like what we've seen you do on your web channel or TV shows?
It's a hybrid. I'm excited about using the internet, letting the fans see what's going on on the road. We were throwin' snowballs in Edmonton.
Is the web channel your main focus? Is that your full-time job these days?
It's like a completely independent hobby that's gone out of control. I do it whenever I can. Sometimes I can do shows, sometimes I can't do a regular show. I don't look at it like that. I don't look at it like a job. But yeah, I'm putting my focus on the channel. We're working with an ad agency in L.A., to bring it in a bigger way. I want to have other shows on the channel, I want to be able to get on the road but still have a chunk of shows up at a time. The fun thing is getting a sponsor. You need somebody to run it, y'know? We've had various sponsors over the years, like Budweiser.
Tell me more about putting your stand-up act together.
It's always evolving. I don't ever do the same thing, every night. I have jokes, there's things I talk about. Y'know, you do five hour-long shows in a row, you figure out what works. A little music, too. We've got some high energy crowds, people yelling stuff out. It's exciting. People have conversations with me. People yell out stuff: 'Do "The Bum Bum Song"! Slutmobile!' It's being loose, it's fun to go with it. It's exciting, a good time for everyone.
So you hope to keep doing this for a while.
I basically quit drinking for this tour. Well, not liquids - just not drinking booze. I'll have a drink after the show, maybe. It's not good for my endurance. I just lived in the West Edmonton mall for five days. The club was in a mall, where the hotel was, and the restaurant, and it was snowing, y'know? I just went back and forth, back and forth. It's pretty cool. It was like Biodome. I hope people will come see the live show, and also start following it on the web. This is what I want to be doing for the next few years - going on the road making videos. What's cool is that other people are making videos of the show and posting them. I'm a video nerd. Anything to do with making videos, editing, experimentation, etc. I find it mind-blowing still what people are able to do with it. It's exciting to me - new cameras. Growing up, wanting to make videos, I had to volunteer at the local community TV station - now I can edit with Final Cut Pro in an edit bay on a laptop in the hotel room, and then post stuff immediately. I've been filming the audience with a flip cam. I've also been playing a game with the audience: passing the camera around, having them film themselves, passing it around and then hopefully passing it back to me.
And you're healthy again, so this is a good time for you.
It's very therapeutic, doing this show. There's a lot of problems that I'm dealing with - the world, me... It's therapeutic and it's funny, too. I just want everyone to realize, 'Wow! Damn! We're lucky to be here.' I'm just trying to remind everybody.
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Column #9: We snobs need to stand our (superior) ground
I am a snob. Or, at least that's something I have heard... umm, let's just say more than twice in my life so far. But what is a "snob", exactly? My copy of Wobster's Dictionary defines the term as meaning, "One who enjoys the very best in every walk of life. One who does not settle for whatever is easiest or most convenient, or most understandable to the person in the next cubicle." You may be saying, "Wobster's Dictionary? You think your so smart but you can't even spell!" No, actually, I was trying to be funny. Also, I know the difference between "your" and "you're", and I’m dang diggity tired of people like you telling me that I’M a snob just because I learned at some point in my life what the difference is between "your" and "you're"!
Still with me? I promise, I'll calm down for a moment. OK, but seriously, people, I see you all "becoming a fan" of "Knowing the difference between your and you're" on Facebook all the time, and yet a third of you still do it. Also, at the risk of sounding like a "snob," I feel fairly confident that my social networking circle is amongst the top percentile of smarty mcfarties in the greater Louisville Metro Facebook world - yet, still, I see this mistake inflicted on the literate public several times a week. Maybe you folks aren't as smart as I want to believe. After all, I see many of the same educated, cultured people also "becoming a fan" (yes, I need the quotation marks; you don't really expect me to use the phrase with a straight face, do you?) of the concept that "The dislike button is here! Add it now! LOL OMG YMCA!" No, friend, the dislike button is not here.
I have not sat down or drove through to eat a meal at the majority of the fast food chains that are ruining the health, wealth and moral fiber of this country since 1996. I haven't even read a single book by Michael Pollan, and yet I realized that all of the junk is just that, junk. I'm tired of having to defend myself against other educated, insightful adults who call me a "snob" for eating the best tasting, healthiest, localest food that I can find instead of shoving two corporate death burgers down my throat and calling it dinner. I love meat! I love hamburgers! I will gladly pay $10 for the burger at Bourbons Bistro on Frankfort Avenue any time, because it is huge and crazy delicious.
Two of my favorite records this year were by the bands Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. My own editor wrote that people like me "pretend to like them to feed your own superiority complex". I also think that Slayer is still awesome, and that Lady Gaga is the greatest thing to happen in way too long. I also referenced a 25-year-old punk rock song in the previous paragraph; I don't really say things like
"corporate death burger" in conversation, but I love my old punk and will not apologize for puking every time Rolling Stone hails Green Day as the saviors of rock 'n' roll.
I might have digressed away, at points, from my "snob" rant, but I think the points I made above were valuable and will make this world a better place. In fact, I can prove very quickly that solving all of this world's problems starts with you, beloved reader. How? The people who read columns in arts and culture free weeklies are the very people who get pegged as "snobs" by people who probably should be doing some more reading in the first place. (Don't tell them that I said that, they're very big and like to punch people). If you, the ones who are supposed to be good at spelling and retaining knowledge can't perform certain basic functions, then what chance do we have?
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Still with me? I promise, I'll calm down for a moment. OK, but seriously, people, I see you all "becoming a fan" of "Knowing the difference between your and you're" on Facebook all the time, and yet a third of you still do it. Also, at the risk of sounding like a "snob," I feel fairly confident that my social networking circle is amongst the top percentile of smarty mcfarties in the greater Louisville Metro Facebook world - yet, still, I see this mistake inflicted on the literate public several times a week. Maybe you folks aren't as smart as I want to believe. After all, I see many of the same educated, cultured people also "becoming a fan" (yes, I need the quotation marks; you don't really expect me to use the phrase with a straight face, do you?) of the concept that "The dislike button is here! Add it now! LOL OMG YMCA!" No, friend, the dislike button is not here.
I have not sat down or drove through to eat a meal at the majority of the fast food chains that are ruining the health, wealth and moral fiber of this country since 1996. I haven't even read a single book by Michael Pollan, and yet I realized that all of the junk is just that, junk. I'm tired of having to defend myself against other educated, insightful adults who call me a "snob" for eating the best tasting, healthiest, localest food that I can find instead of shoving two corporate death burgers down my throat and calling it dinner. I love meat! I love hamburgers! I will gladly pay $10 for the burger at Bourbons Bistro on Frankfort Avenue any time, because it is huge and crazy delicious.
Two of my favorite records this year were by the bands Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. My own editor wrote that people like me "pretend to like them to feed your own superiority complex". I also think that Slayer is still awesome, and that Lady Gaga is the greatest thing to happen in way too long. I also referenced a 25-year-old punk rock song in the previous paragraph; I don't really say things like
"corporate death burger" in conversation, but I love my old punk and will not apologize for puking every time Rolling Stone hails Green Day as the saviors of rock 'n' roll.
I might have digressed away, at points, from my "snob" rant, but I think the points I made above were valuable and will make this world a better place. In fact, I can prove very quickly that solving all of this world's problems starts with you, beloved reader. How? The people who read columns in arts and culture free weeklies are the very people who get pegged as "snobs" by people who probably should be doing some more reading in the first place. (Don't tell them that I said that, they're very big and like to punch people). If you, the ones who are supposed to be good at spelling and retaining knowledge can't perform certain basic functions, then what chance do we have?
c. 2010 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Column #8: Finding good comedy is no laughing matter
At age 40, Ricky Gervais came out of nowhere to revolutionize both television and comedy with his BBC series The Office. He has proved time and again, on chat shows and award shows, podcasts and in other people's movies, to be one of the funniest humans around. Both of his TV series were funny and rewarding. So how did he end up writing, directing and starring in The Invention of Lying, just another predictable, clichéd, unfunny dog of a movie?
The essential ingredient to making good comedy is time. As a character in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors notes, "Comedy is tragedy plus time." It's part of human nature to deal with a tragedy, like an exploding space shuttle, with humor; it's essential to our survival. But it's a different kind of time that is necessary for most comedy. Most comedies fail because not enough time is put into writing the script.
Jane Krakowski can be funny on 30 Rock because she has good material. Moviemaking requires months of 18-hour days, yet most comedies seem to have been written in a week. Though it seems foolish now, I cannot deny that I have seen both Extract and The Invention of Lying. Both movies were fairly well-reviewed, and both were written by one of my favorite comedy makers. So why, oh why, were both about as funny as Precious?
Mike Judge is the visionary behind Beavis & Butt-Head, King of the Hill and Office Space. Find me a writer with a better ability to turn relatable, banal real life into comedy gold and I'll be there to cheer 'em on. So why is his most recent work, Extract, an implausible, dull, misogynistic loser that looks like it was filmed in 1971?
Movies can seduce you with a witty trailer and an appealing poster, only to turn out to be a hot mess, like an eHarmony personal ad that leads to an awkward date at T.G.I. Friday's. But other movies, like the Coen brothers' masterful A Serious Man, can be exciting and thought-provoking long after the credits roll.
It's my fault, I know. I've been fooled many times, sitting through painfully stupid movies starring Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell or Bill Murray. I love comedy so much that I've wasted probably 200 hours of my life hating bad comedies. Some wake up every day and have a cigarette; I wake up every day glad that I haven't seen Mike Myers in The Love Guru. (And I proudly own a DVD copy of the Don Knotts movie The Love God).
Every week, I record Saturday Night Live, praying for at least two minutes of genuine mirth and rarely getting more. I don't understand why they can't write fewer fart sketches and book more comedians who have time-tested material ready and waiting for a national audience. In the past, they have helped expose comics like Andy Kaufman and Steven Wright, and the republic didn't fall.
If Woody Allen has made a dozen horrible movies, he has also made a dozen of my very favorites as well. The Coens hit a homer this time, but only after failing three of their last four outings. A glance at movie comedies that work shows that creativity and risk-taking really do pay off. Whether it's The Hangover or Caddyshack, Airplane! or Some Like It Hot, those willing to risk offending a few to make the rest of us laugh have certainly done well.
Sometimes I think that comedy is mad at us. Really, though, a bunch of lazy people are just exploiting their good name and our need to have a good laugh to make more money for themselves. In 2010, I resolve to avoid any Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams or Adam Sandler movie that won't be funny for as long as it takes me to eat my popcorn.
C. 2009 Velocity Weekly
The essential ingredient to making good comedy is time. As a character in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors notes, "Comedy is tragedy plus time." It's part of human nature to deal with a tragedy, like an exploding space shuttle, with humor; it's essential to our survival. But it's a different kind of time that is necessary for most comedy. Most comedies fail because not enough time is put into writing the script.
Jane Krakowski can be funny on 30 Rock because she has good material. Moviemaking requires months of 18-hour days, yet most comedies seem to have been written in a week. Though it seems foolish now, I cannot deny that I have seen both Extract and The Invention of Lying. Both movies were fairly well-reviewed, and both were written by one of my favorite comedy makers. So why, oh why, were both about as funny as Precious?
Mike Judge is the visionary behind Beavis & Butt-Head, King of the Hill and Office Space. Find me a writer with a better ability to turn relatable, banal real life into comedy gold and I'll be there to cheer 'em on. So why is his most recent work, Extract, an implausible, dull, misogynistic loser that looks like it was filmed in 1971?
Movies can seduce you with a witty trailer and an appealing poster, only to turn out to be a hot mess, like an eHarmony personal ad that leads to an awkward date at T.G.I. Friday's. But other movies, like the Coen brothers' masterful A Serious Man, can be exciting and thought-provoking long after the credits roll.
It's my fault, I know. I've been fooled many times, sitting through painfully stupid movies starring Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell or Bill Murray. I love comedy so much that I've wasted probably 200 hours of my life hating bad comedies. Some wake up every day and have a cigarette; I wake up every day glad that I haven't seen Mike Myers in The Love Guru. (And I proudly own a DVD copy of the Don Knotts movie The Love God).
Every week, I record Saturday Night Live, praying for at least two minutes of genuine mirth and rarely getting more. I don't understand why they can't write fewer fart sketches and book more comedians who have time-tested material ready and waiting for a national audience. In the past, they have helped expose comics like Andy Kaufman and Steven Wright, and the republic didn't fall.
If Woody Allen has made a dozen horrible movies, he has also made a dozen of my very favorites as well. The Coens hit a homer this time, but only after failing three of their last four outings. A glance at movie comedies that work shows that creativity and risk-taking really do pay off. Whether it's The Hangover or Caddyshack, Airplane! or Some Like It Hot, those willing to risk offending a few to make the rest of us laugh have certainly done well.
Sometimes I think that comedy is mad at us. Really, though, a bunch of lazy people are just exploiting their good name and our need to have a good laugh to make more money for themselves. In 2010, I resolve to avoid any Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams or Adam Sandler movie that won't be funny for as long as it takes me to eat my popcorn.
C. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Column #7: Peace, love, joy, books and DVDs
I believe in presents. Thank you, Gap ad, for reminding me that this is the season of not only Christmas, but also Hanukkah and, yes, you too, Kwanzaa. If not for your appearance on my TV screen every minute, perhaps I might have forgotten about this most holy time of the year. Or, perhaps not. I look forward to this annual rite of merchandising for two reasons. One, time off. How the U.S. of A., the home of the guy who decided to merge bacon and mayonnaise, also became the home of the “work ethic” while Europeans and Latin Americans get six weeks off every year and take three-hour lunch breaks every day while we scarf down our Cheetos and Coke lunches in 15 minutes is, simply, horrifying.
That day off after Thanksgiving is awesome, of course. Getting both Christmas and Boxing Day off is also nice. However, nothing is more wonderful than getting presents. Family? Please. Togetherness? That's stupid. Love? Yawn. The 20th anniversary edition of Say Anything? Cool! Is it as exciting as the Nirvana: Live at Reading DVD? Why not ask for both?
I was raised by people who consider themselves to be Jewish. You might think that being raised Jewish is easy, but for the most part it just leaves us jumpy every time we hear someone say the word “Jew,” or even a word that merely sounds like it. We see the world that's divided into Jews and “everyone else.” Through the years, I have considered whether this may or may not be a viable option for me. Ultimately, it has become obvious that I must finally go my own way; not united but not divided with anyone else. I know now that what I am can only truly be called a "Presenterian."
Hanukkah is a pretty good deal, sure. Eight gifts over eight nights, that would be more than enough for some folks. However, I say, “Why stop there?” In my single days, there would be the occasional night when I would order a pizza, and then eat it, all by myself, in one sitting. Not just a slice or two, the whole thing, not even leaving a slice for lunch the following day. Thankfully, and despite this, I eventually found a woman who accepted me, mostly. Even better, she isn't Jewish — which meant that I was now eligible for Christmas presents on top of Hanukkah presents.
I mean, I'm not saying that we got married because of that. Or because a wedding meant lots of presents. But I didn't mind those things. No one does. It's a fact that Gandhi loved getting leg warmers and a new tie every year for Christmas. Marrying into a large gentile family means getting so many more gifts than I ever got before. Even better, I can boast freely about that here, because most of them don't even read my column.
Speaking of togetherness, I must take a moment here to complain about those fat cats in Hollywood. They know that we're going to be stuck sitting on couches with uncles and cousins for hours at a time, so why do all the good TV programs go into reruns or on hiatus during the holidays? I would rather share a fresh episode of Breaking Bad or Project Runway than kill time with Hallmark Presents: A Dog Named Christmas. Also, how come the fun movies like The Hangover and Up come out in the summer, while the dark, tragic movies like Precious come out now, when we're bonding as a family? Do the math, Hollywood.
I'm just glad that during this very special time of the year we remember what's truly important — me getting that new book about “The Simpsons” that I've been looking forward to reading.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
That day off after Thanksgiving is awesome, of course. Getting both Christmas and Boxing Day off is also nice. However, nothing is more wonderful than getting presents. Family? Please. Togetherness? That's stupid. Love? Yawn. The 20th anniversary edition of Say Anything? Cool! Is it as exciting as the Nirvana: Live at Reading DVD? Why not ask for both?
I was raised by people who consider themselves to be Jewish. You might think that being raised Jewish is easy, but for the most part it just leaves us jumpy every time we hear someone say the word “Jew,” or even a word that merely sounds like it. We see the world that's divided into Jews and “everyone else.” Through the years, I have considered whether this may or may not be a viable option for me. Ultimately, it has become obvious that I must finally go my own way; not united but not divided with anyone else. I know now that what I am can only truly be called a "Presenterian."
Hanukkah is a pretty good deal, sure. Eight gifts over eight nights, that would be more than enough for some folks. However, I say, “Why stop there?” In my single days, there would be the occasional night when I would order a pizza, and then eat it, all by myself, in one sitting. Not just a slice or two, the whole thing, not even leaving a slice for lunch the following day. Thankfully, and despite this, I eventually found a woman who accepted me, mostly. Even better, she isn't Jewish — which meant that I was now eligible for Christmas presents on top of Hanukkah presents.
I mean, I'm not saying that we got married because of that. Or because a wedding meant lots of presents. But I didn't mind those things. No one does. It's a fact that Gandhi loved getting leg warmers and a new tie every year for Christmas. Marrying into a large gentile family means getting so many more gifts than I ever got before. Even better, I can boast freely about that here, because most of them don't even read my column.
Speaking of togetherness, I must take a moment here to complain about those fat cats in Hollywood. They know that we're going to be stuck sitting on couches with uncles and cousins for hours at a time, so why do all the good TV programs go into reruns or on hiatus during the holidays? I would rather share a fresh episode of Breaking Bad or Project Runway than kill time with Hallmark Presents: A Dog Named Christmas. Also, how come the fun movies like The Hangover and Up come out in the summer, while the dark, tragic movies like Precious come out now, when we're bonding as a family? Do the math, Hollywood.
I'm just glad that during this very special time of the year we remember what's truly important — me getting that new book about “The Simpsons” that I've been looking forward to reading.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Second Story Man bio
In 1998, the bohemian-suburban intersection of Louisville, KY, was rocked by the inhuman birth of Second Story Man. The band, named after a term for thieves, began as a revolutionary two woman / two man tag team tandem, a mash-up of 1967 idealism and 1977 DIY punk rock righteousness. In a town that has always reflexively run to the next hardcore show, Second Story Man's melodic, dynamic, heartfelt, independent, all ages rock & pop was destined to stand out. Today, 11 years later, they thrive as leaders and inspirations for citizens both older and younger. Justin Davis replaced Kelly Scullin on bass in 2004, but otherwise the power trio of drummer Evan Bailey and guitarists Jeremy Irvin and Carrie Neumayer have remained bonded together by music.
Having toured with influential favorites such as Sebadoh and Shipping News, Second Story Man continue to expand the parameters of the possible and the pogo-able. 2009's Screaming Secrets is their third full-length album and their first for Noise Pollution. Recorded with Kevin Ratterman (Elliott, Wax Fang) in his family's funeral home, it has been rumored that this album is their most definitive work to date.
Having toured with influential favorites such as Sebadoh and Shipping News, Second Story Man continue to expand the parameters of the possible and the pogo-able. 2009's Screaming Secrets is their third full-length album and their first for Noise Pollution. Recorded with Kevin Ratterman (Elliott, Wax Fang) in his family's funeral home, it has been rumored that this album is their most definitive work to date.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The 2009 Louisville Holiday Gift Guide
Struggling to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list? We turned to the experts for help.
Dot Fox is the clothing store where your hip, hot older sister shops. While they carry clothing for both women and men, the women's fashions are what they are most known for around town. The men's items help our unshaved, craft beer-drinking boys look better than they should, but the women's fashions are the ones that get heads turning on Bardstown Road and all points east.
Sarah Smith is a personable, helpful gal who looks like Dot Fox’s customers hope to look – stylish, classy, adult, yet relaxed, fun and adventurous. She quickly recommends agate belts by Kaymen B ($48), a "really cool" brand that makes western-style belts in various colors. The look is versatile, stylish in the city and practical in the country.
On the more expensive end ($116), pink studio women’s boots by Ismaela are a similar item. The suede boots will wow onlookers at night, at a fancy dinner or at the local dive bar, while also functioning well at a picnic lunch in horse country. As an investment piece, you won’t lose with these girls.
For both fashion-forward women and their metro men, Sock it to Me Socks work for both women & men. Made from a cotton and polyester blend, the “really awesome” socks run $8 and are available in many colors.
A Bess Vane crochet hat with a hooded neck ($54) keeps it local. Vane’s Etsy page boasts that her hats “will keep you warm while making you look awesome.”
Jeremy Paulin manages the Neutral Zone in the East End. It can’t be an easy job, as the U of L and UK stores are in two separate stores in the same shopping plaza, divided only by a Wal-Mart neighborhood store. Doesn’t sound very neutral to me! To further the divide, Paulin takes me around the U of L store, assisted by the contributions shouted by the lively ladies working behind the counter.
A nice and well-mannered man, Paulin’s first stop is nonetheless in front of the Christmas “rival ornaments”. I don’t know if an ornament of a Cardinal choking a Bluecat is exactly what Santa had in mind when he created Christmas, but it’s pretty funny. If you want to prove how loyal you are to our city’s top athletes who aren’t Muhammad Ali, they’re only $17, a fair price considering how much your friends will appreciate the fighting spirit and blunt humor of the item.
Though they have many popular clothing items, Paulin declines to list any as they are harder to keep in stock. Their most popular item is the Cardinal Gnome ($23.95), an adorable little friend with a grey beard and a red cap who can, indeed, be seen from PRP to Shelbyville.
For those more practical in mind and intent, a Cardinal computer mouse ($36.95) will help remind you what you are living for every time you look down at it. The 3-button scroll-wheel is also good for UK fans, for whom looking down at it can be even more symbolic…
A surprising gift for your gourmet-minded friends comes in a twelve-ounce bag. Cardinal coffee made exclusively by the local Java Brewing Company ($10) can help transform you from fan to barista and back again. Just don’t share any with your rivals.
Dandelion may have found the perfect location for their store, what they call “your home for modern living and gift giving.” The Vogue plaza is close enough to the Highlands to service young, boho chic folks, the recent college grads who are ready to grow up a little but don’t want their home to look like a retirement center. On the edge of St. Matthews, Dandelion is even closer to those who want to be a little artsy without getting too funky.
“We’ve sold a lot of these,” says owner Andie Frisbee about their mugs decorated with all of the signs of the Zodiac ($18). “They have really great graphics on them.” Indeed, the colorful containers pop out at the eye; your first impression is of the brightness, and you realize later what is on them.
The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book is the new instant classic book by Jack’s Lounge bartender and local legend Joy Perrine in collaboration with former Courier-Journal restaurant critic Susan Reigler. The slim volume ($14.95) is filled with recipes for swinging bachelors, partying parents or just those who like attractively designed objects.
Speaking of whiskey, how about some Whiskey rocks - as in stones. The Teraforma set of 9 is “ideal for chilling your favorite spirit without diluting its flavor,” and according to their website, is milled in Vermont from the oldest soapstone workshop in the US. ($22)
For the young journal keeper or budding poet, Papaya makes seven different journals, all uniquely designed, priced between $16 and $20. You can even walk around Dandelion with it and take notes on what else would look good in your home.
An arts supply store might not be the first place that you think of for a holiday gift, but Preston Arts Center has more tricks up their proverbial sleeve than you might know about.
Manager Lynn Busch agrees that an easel is a sure bet. “People want to buy it for their artist buddy.” Prices vary but are all very reasonable, so whether you have an artist buddy (who can always use more of these) or want to help encourage your mother or son to find a new passion, you can always start here.
Also worth seeking out are canvas panels by Frederick’s (not the negligee company). They are 50% off of various prices through the holidays, many under $10 already.
Kits of all sizes are also on sale, at various prices. You can get paints, brushes and what-have-you, and learn how to cartoon, how to draw pets, or how to draw horses. The whole family can join in on this, which will be even more fun after Uncle Larry’s had a few Hot Toddys.
Whether you are shopping for your child or for the child inside, Busch endorses “Bubber”. Bubber, you say? Wow, that certainly sounds like something fun! Yes, this modeling clay (5 ounces for $12.95) can be as fun as it sounds. “People seem to really enjoy playing with it,” said Busch.
photo by Johnn Rott. c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Dot Fox is the clothing store where your hip, hot older sister shops. While they carry clothing for both women and men, the women's fashions are what they are most known for around town. The men's items help our unshaved, craft beer-drinking boys look better than they should, but the women's fashions are the ones that get heads turning on Bardstown Road and all points east.
Sarah Smith is a personable, helpful gal who looks like Dot Fox’s customers hope to look – stylish, classy, adult, yet relaxed, fun and adventurous. She quickly recommends agate belts by Kaymen B ($48), a "really cool" brand that makes western-style belts in various colors. The look is versatile, stylish in the city and practical in the country.
On the more expensive end ($116), pink studio women’s boots by Ismaela are a similar item. The suede boots will wow onlookers at night, at a fancy dinner or at the local dive bar, while also functioning well at a picnic lunch in horse country. As an investment piece, you won’t lose with these girls.
For both fashion-forward women and their metro men, Sock it to Me Socks work for both women & men. Made from a cotton and polyester blend, the “really awesome” socks run $8 and are available in many colors.
A Bess Vane crochet hat with a hooded neck ($54) keeps it local. Vane’s Etsy page boasts that her hats “will keep you warm while making you look awesome.”
Jeremy Paulin manages the Neutral Zone in the East End. It can’t be an easy job, as the U of L and UK stores are in two separate stores in the same shopping plaza, divided only by a Wal-Mart neighborhood store. Doesn’t sound very neutral to me! To further the divide, Paulin takes me around the U of L store, assisted by the contributions shouted by the lively ladies working behind the counter.
A nice and well-mannered man, Paulin’s first stop is nonetheless in front of the Christmas “rival ornaments”. I don’t know if an ornament of a Cardinal choking a Bluecat is exactly what Santa had in mind when he created Christmas, but it’s pretty funny. If you want to prove how loyal you are to our city’s top athletes who aren’t Muhammad Ali, they’re only $17, a fair price considering how much your friends will appreciate the fighting spirit and blunt humor of the item.
Though they have many popular clothing items, Paulin declines to list any as they are harder to keep in stock. Their most popular item is the Cardinal Gnome ($23.95), an adorable little friend with a grey beard and a red cap who can, indeed, be seen from PRP to Shelbyville.
For those more practical in mind and intent, a Cardinal computer mouse ($36.95) will help remind you what you are living for every time you look down at it. The 3-button scroll-wheel is also good for UK fans, for whom looking down at it can be even more symbolic…
A surprising gift for your gourmet-minded friends comes in a twelve-ounce bag. Cardinal coffee made exclusively by the local Java Brewing Company ($10) can help transform you from fan to barista and back again. Just don’t share any with your rivals.
Dandelion may have found the perfect location for their store, what they call “your home for modern living and gift giving.” The Vogue plaza is close enough to the Highlands to service young, boho chic folks, the recent college grads who are ready to grow up a little but don’t want their home to look like a retirement center. On the edge of St. Matthews, Dandelion is even closer to those who want to be a little artsy without getting too funky.
“We’ve sold a lot of these,” says owner Andie Frisbee about their mugs decorated with all of the signs of the Zodiac ($18). “They have really great graphics on them.” Indeed, the colorful containers pop out at the eye; your first impression is of the brightness, and you realize later what is on them.
The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book is the new instant classic book by Jack’s Lounge bartender and local legend Joy Perrine in collaboration with former Courier-Journal restaurant critic Susan Reigler. The slim volume ($14.95) is filled with recipes for swinging bachelors, partying parents or just those who like attractively designed objects.
Speaking of whiskey, how about some Whiskey rocks - as in stones. The Teraforma set of 9 is “ideal for chilling your favorite spirit without diluting its flavor,” and according to their website, is milled in Vermont from the oldest soapstone workshop in the US. ($22)
For the young journal keeper or budding poet, Papaya makes seven different journals, all uniquely designed, priced between $16 and $20. You can even walk around Dandelion with it and take notes on what else would look good in your home.
An arts supply store might not be the first place that you think of for a holiday gift, but Preston Arts Center has more tricks up their proverbial sleeve than you might know about.
Manager Lynn Busch agrees that an easel is a sure bet. “People want to buy it for their artist buddy.” Prices vary but are all very reasonable, so whether you have an artist buddy (who can always use more of these) or want to help encourage your mother or son to find a new passion, you can always start here.
Also worth seeking out are canvas panels by Frederick’s (not the negligee company). They are 50% off of various prices through the holidays, many under $10 already.
Kits of all sizes are also on sale, at various prices. You can get paints, brushes and what-have-you, and learn how to cartoon, how to draw pets, or how to draw horses. The whole family can join in on this, which will be even more fun after Uncle Larry’s had a few Hot Toddys.
Whether you are shopping for your child or for the child inside, Busch endorses “Bubber”. Bubber, you say? Wow, that certainly sounds like something fun! Yes, this modeling clay (5 ounces for $12.95) can be as fun as it sounds. “People seem to really enjoy playing with it,” said Busch.
photo by Johnn Rott. c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Phantom Family Halo interview
Dominic Cipolla is a mainstay of the Louisville music scene, having spread his seed through Starkiller, Dead Child, Sapat and his baby,
The Phantom Family Halo. Their new record, Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die, comes in a gatefold style jacket and a free download card you can redeem for a copy of the entire album. It will be for sale at the show, as well as karatebodyrecords.com, and digitally at thinkindie.com and iTunes. They will be playing on Wednesday, November 25th at 10 p.m. at Lisa's Oak St. Lounge, touring with Russian Circles and Young Widows, then returning home and playing on Friday, December 11th at Skull Alley. The Louisville Beer Store will be hosting a listening party this Friday at 10 p.m.
Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, moved to Chicago at 5 years old, then Louisville at 13 years old... Yes, my grandfather was a clarinet player and several of my uncles were all drummers... apparently my dad has a beautiful voice, but he only sang for my mom.
What is your musical background / training?
Wanted to play drums as early as I can remember, got a drum set on my 8th birthday and have never stopped playing. As far as training goes, I would say discovering my mom and older brother's record collections was a huge part.
Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
That is a hard question; I guess I like anything with a certain level of believable honesty... and Yoko Ono.
What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
As of now, Sapat is the only other project I am involved in. I started playing with them maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I saw them play and just really wanted to add my thoughts to what they were doing... I love it very much.
What do you hope to achieve with music?
Music is therapy for everything in my life, so I only hope to achieve a even closer relationship with it. It's like a book of potions, learning how to conjure up all kinds of different spells.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Bowerbirds interview: What's 'nu'?
Out of Raleigh, N.C., come Bowerbirds, a nu-folk (or freak folk, or indie-folk, or whatever) band that is garnering critical raves for earnest hymns about saving the earth and loving each other. "But Bowerbirds' pro-Earth proselytizing is more endearing (and inspiring) than precious or cloying, and if anything, all that earnestness will just make you adore them more," wrote Pitchfork's Amanda Petrusich in granting that influential Web site's stamp of approval.
We spoke with Beth Tacular, who plays accordion and sings in Bowerbirds, in advance of Monday's show at the 930 Listening Room.
Are you OK with the nu-folk label? Do you fear that it sounds like a folkie version of Limp Bizkit? How do you explain your music to your older relatives?
I'm not really sure what to think of that label. I don't really like the word “new” being spelled “nu,” for one thing, because it sort of reminds me of “cool jazz” or something. And besides that, it seems like a sort of vague or meaningless label, sort of like “Americana.” We tell our grandmothers it's like a minimalist Harry Connick Jr. mixed with Lawrence Welk. (It's) acoustic, apocalyptic, ramshackle melodies and harmonies.
There are bands who could be compared to you — The Arcade Fire, Beirut and Bon Iver — who have all had success. Do you enjoy bands like those, or do you spend your time in the van listening to Iron Maiden?
We will obsess over one particular band for a while. Recent examples are Sharon Van Etten, The National, Antony and The Johnsons, Yeasayer. Justin (Vernon) from Bon Iver has been our friend and fan since we released Danger at Sea in spring of 2006, and we were one of the first people to hear his new recordings that would become For Emma, Forever Ago when he showed them to us in May of 2007. We were touring in support of Hymns for a Dark Horse, and opening up for The Rosebuds (Vernon's former band). He handed us his new CD to listen to. He didn't know what he was going to do with it. ...So yes, we listen to Bon Iver. We own a couple albums by Beirut and The Arcade Fire, who are both great, but we also listen to a really wide variety of music. Although I don't think we have ever once put on any metal music in the van, unless our Dutch tour manager had something to do with it. Our favorite young, living musician is easily Joanna Newsom.
Was the process of making your new record, Upper Air, different from making Hymns for a Dark Horse?
We recorded Hymns really quickly, in a few days, at (producer/collaborator Mark Paulson's) house. Upper Air we tried to record over a couple weeks before our monthlong tour with Bon Iver, but then we weren't home for three months, after a two-month European tour, and the new songs had matured by playing them every night, so we re-recorded them. ...It's a more complex album and took longer to record.
How do you coordinate being nature lovers, and being out of step with mainstream America, while maintaining a Twitter and a Tumblr blog and all that modern technology?
There are bad uses for technology and good uses for it. The fact that we are trying to survive as a touring band means that we are reliant on getting people to know about our shows, so we recently discovered that we could use Twitter once a day or so, just to let people know where we are, or if a show is about to sell out, or something like that. Honestly, we'd really rather not feel like we have to keep up with all the technology — the MySpace, Facebook, e-mails, cell phones — but they are sort of necessary for us to make enough money to even be able to tour as much as we do. The Tumblr blog actually makes touring feel more human and makes us feel more connected to other people when we spend the whole day on the road in a car by ourselves, missing other people. We have followed other friends' bands' blogs, and we really like being able to keep up with them that way. We really avoid technology for the most part, as much as we can, when we are home. ...The Internet, as long as you can keep from being addicted to it or using it to just waste away your day, can be an incredible resource for connecting with other people who care about the same things you do, or for learning about things. I wouldn't know half of what I know about, say, contemporary artists, natural healing or DIY cabin building, without the Internet.
While on tour, how often do you get to shower?
Almost every day, which is important, because we sweat on stage, and also like to go running and do exercises on tour. I like yoga, and our new drummer, Yan, is into Pilates. Phil does pushups and sit-ups.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Column #6: Amid TV's altered landscape, you overlooked a gem
TV Guide used to have an annual feature called “The Best Show You're Not Watching.” The concept itself is funny. The acknowledgment that something the editors love is failing (commercially, at least) is akin to acknowledging that your awkward middle school child is considered ugly by most people on the street.
My parents recently asked me what fall shows I am watching. I guess they are still used to decades in which the Big Three networks (CBS, ABC and NBC — before Fox, before the CW, etc.) rolled out their new programs in mid-September. My parents are the only people I know who still watch stuff like Private Practice or think that Boston Legal ended too soon. They stuck with E.R. for all of its 66 seasons. They might not yet have fully adjusted to the idea that TV is now, finally, a year-round game, changed both by the successes of the cable channels and the failures of the networks themselves.
My generation has hardly known a world without The Real World, but otherwise, we grew up with Cosby and Roseanne. The idea that reality programming is here to stay, and that scripted dramas like Damages or Drop Dead Diva — which would have been network shows in the recent past — are boutique cable alternatives now, still seems wrong somehow. It's as if the writers went on strike yet again, but this time it's lasted for a decade. The most popular scripted series on cable now is Burn Notice, which isn't any more edgy or provocative than Magnum, P.I.
It's hard for a network series to live up to the new standards set by those shows exiled to — or freed by being on — cable. A promising comedy like Community has so far played out as fresh as Growing Pains, not even as fresh as Family Ties, and is certainly no Office. Modern Family may help bring smart comedy back to the networks, but no self-respecting fan of Arrested Development can watch it without feeling sad all over again that the Bluths, canceled by Fox too many years ago, can now only be seen in reruns on IFC.
There is no room for debate with me: Mad Men is the best series on TV now. I know that you probably expected a writer with poor vision to say that. I'm not going to say that NCIS is the best just so I can fit in with the red states. Not that I ever would, but now that I finally get to have a president I'm proud of, Mark Harmon can do whatever he wants and I still won't watch it. Mad Men still isn't the most enjoyable show on TV, though. No, that honor goes to The Best Show You're Not Watching: Greek.
Greek, which airs on Monday nights on ABC Family, ended its third season last week. Were you as excited as I was? Probably not. After 54 episodes, not enough has been written yet about the funniest show on TV, one that also manages to be emotionally involving and inventive; it's the kind of series that John Hughes himself would have come up with if he had been born a generation later.
The premise — members of fraternities and sororities on an Ohio college campus — sounded about as appealing as Texas high school football did to me, but, as with Friday Night Lights, the setting is merely an excuse for the storytelling. Though ABC Family sounds like the wrong home for such a show, it's about making a family out of friends when your actual family isn't there for you.
No other show makes me laugh more, not even 30 Rock. No other show can tackle weighty subjects, such as class or sexuality, while also staying so light on its proverbial feet. Start catching up with the DVDs now — the new season will begin in January. Until then, make Greek your new fall favorite.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
My parents recently asked me what fall shows I am watching. I guess they are still used to decades in which the Big Three networks (CBS, ABC and NBC — before Fox, before the CW, etc.) rolled out their new programs in mid-September. My parents are the only people I know who still watch stuff like Private Practice or think that Boston Legal ended too soon. They stuck with E.R. for all of its 66 seasons. They might not yet have fully adjusted to the idea that TV is now, finally, a year-round game, changed both by the successes of the cable channels and the failures of the networks themselves.
My generation has hardly known a world without The Real World, but otherwise, we grew up with Cosby and Roseanne. The idea that reality programming is here to stay, and that scripted dramas like Damages or Drop Dead Diva — which would have been network shows in the recent past — are boutique cable alternatives now, still seems wrong somehow. It's as if the writers went on strike yet again, but this time it's lasted for a decade. The most popular scripted series on cable now is Burn Notice, which isn't any more edgy or provocative than Magnum, P.I.
It's hard for a network series to live up to the new standards set by those shows exiled to — or freed by being on — cable. A promising comedy like Community has so far played out as fresh as Growing Pains, not even as fresh as Family Ties, and is certainly no Office. Modern Family may help bring smart comedy back to the networks, but no self-respecting fan of Arrested Development can watch it without feeling sad all over again that the Bluths, canceled by Fox too many years ago, can now only be seen in reruns on IFC.
There is no room for debate with me: Mad Men is the best series on TV now. I know that you probably expected a writer with poor vision to say that. I'm not going to say that NCIS is the best just so I can fit in with the red states. Not that I ever would, but now that I finally get to have a president I'm proud of, Mark Harmon can do whatever he wants and I still won't watch it. Mad Men still isn't the most enjoyable show on TV, though. No, that honor goes to The Best Show You're Not Watching: Greek.
Greek, which airs on Monday nights on ABC Family, ended its third season last week. Were you as excited as I was? Probably not. After 54 episodes, not enough has been written yet about the funniest show on TV, one that also manages to be emotionally involving and inventive; it's the kind of series that John Hughes himself would have come up with if he had been born a generation later.
The premise — members of fraternities and sororities on an Ohio college campus — sounded about as appealing as Texas high school football did to me, but, as with Friday Night Lights, the setting is merely an excuse for the storytelling. Though ABC Family sounds like the wrong home for such a show, it's about making a family out of friends when your actual family isn't there for you.
No other show makes me laugh more, not even 30 Rock. No other show can tackle weighty subjects, such as class or sexuality, while also staying so light on its proverbial feet. Start catching up with the DVDs now — the new season will begin in January. Until then, make Greek your new fall favorite.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Column #5: Cozy up to some of our city's real treasures
When I was approached about writing a column, I was confused. I had become used to writing as a journalist, and my impression of most column writing was that most of it wasn't much better than Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes. Would I be expected to write items such as, "What's the deal with e-mail?" ("If I wanted Viagra, I wouldn't buy it from a prince in Nigeria!")
I decided to try writing this column as a look at pop culture as it is experienced in our everyday lives. Anyone can review a new record, and I have, many times. I wanted to try to contribute something a little unique — especially today, when millions of self-appointed critics blog all over themselves, I didn't want to have to write, "So, Letterman's in the news. He has a sex scandal? What's up with that?" Instead, I wanted to try to find a way to talk about, for example, how he has influenced me as a humorist, as a writer and as an aging and now-married man. (That's not what this week's column is about, though.)
Pop culture has always been a subject that I've understood easily, and the only one. Math and science come easily to some, but not for me. However, I once won $15,500 in a morning by answering trivia questions on a TV quiz show. (True story).
I spent most of my 20s failing to succeed as a writer in Hollywood. While there, I worked for several years as a product buyer for a record store. My area was anything that wasn't a CD or vinyl — DVDs, books, magazines, toys, candy — that fit into the pop-culture arena. (Our best-seller was a 2-foot-tall James Brown doll that danced to "I Feel Good." The Master P doll did not sell nearly as well.) That job didn't last, though, because many record stores don't, not anymore.
Having spent a couple of years prior at the University of Louisville, I knew this city well. If Louisville had been part of the movie business, I never would have left — and back then, we didn't have groups like the Louisville Film Society, which have been doing a wonderful job of providing us with many interesting movies that otherwise would never screen here.
I had to chase my dream, so I left. When that didn't work out, I returned to Louisville for some of the reasons that had brought me here originally: an amazing music scene, a fertile theater scene, many great restaurants, and numerous other examples of the kind of inspiring weirdness that has spawned heroes such as Muhammad Ali, Hunter S. Thompson and Warren Oates.
People who live elsewhere are always surprised at how much I brag about Louisville. Sadly, even more surprised are some people who have lived here for much longer than I have. So, please, visit Skull Alley (1017 E. Broadway) on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. The all-ages venue is hosting my favorite singer/songwriter in the world, Joe Manning — a guy who lives in our city. I love Joe's music so much that I asked him to sing at my wedding. But that's not all. Also performing are one of my other worldwide favorites, Joe O'Connell, who leads an Indiana collective called Elephant Micah; and Spirits of the Red City, a lovely group based in Minneapolis and featuring two erstwhile Louisvillians.
I hope to use this column to get people to think more about how culture affects our lives, and also to encourage people to discover local artists and entertainers who add so much to our lives here. Fourth Street Live will be there tomorrow. If you want more from life, though, come listen to some locally grown music. I guarantee that it will make you cry for the same reasons that Hank Williams makes you cry, or Nina Simone, or Sinatra — the good kind of cry that makes you feel glad to be alive.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
I decided to try writing this column as a look at pop culture as it is experienced in our everyday lives. Anyone can review a new record, and I have, many times. I wanted to try to contribute something a little unique — especially today, when millions of self-appointed critics blog all over themselves, I didn't want to have to write, "So, Letterman's in the news. He has a sex scandal? What's up with that?" Instead, I wanted to try to find a way to talk about, for example, how he has influenced me as a humorist, as a writer and as an aging and now-married man. (That's not what this week's column is about, though.)
Pop culture has always been a subject that I've understood easily, and the only one. Math and science come easily to some, but not for me. However, I once won $15,500 in a morning by answering trivia questions on a TV quiz show. (True story).
I spent most of my 20s failing to succeed as a writer in Hollywood. While there, I worked for several years as a product buyer for a record store. My area was anything that wasn't a CD or vinyl — DVDs, books, magazines, toys, candy — that fit into the pop-culture arena. (Our best-seller was a 2-foot-tall James Brown doll that danced to "I Feel Good." The Master P doll did not sell nearly as well.) That job didn't last, though, because many record stores don't, not anymore.
Having spent a couple of years prior at the University of Louisville, I knew this city well. If Louisville had been part of the movie business, I never would have left — and back then, we didn't have groups like the Louisville Film Society, which have been doing a wonderful job of providing us with many interesting movies that otherwise would never screen here.
I had to chase my dream, so I left. When that didn't work out, I returned to Louisville for some of the reasons that had brought me here originally: an amazing music scene, a fertile theater scene, many great restaurants, and numerous other examples of the kind of inspiring weirdness that has spawned heroes such as Muhammad Ali, Hunter S. Thompson and Warren Oates.
People who live elsewhere are always surprised at how much I brag about Louisville. Sadly, even more surprised are some people who have lived here for much longer than I have. So, please, visit Skull Alley (1017 E. Broadway) on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. The all-ages venue is hosting my favorite singer/songwriter in the world, Joe Manning — a guy who lives in our city. I love Joe's music so much that I asked him to sing at my wedding. But that's not all. Also performing are one of my other worldwide favorites, Joe O'Connell, who leads an Indiana collective called Elephant Micah; and Spirits of the Red City, a lovely group based in Minneapolis and featuring two erstwhile Louisvillians.
I hope to use this column to get people to think more about how culture affects our lives, and also to encourage people to discover local artists and entertainers who add so much to our lives here. Fourth Street Live will be there tomorrow. If you want more from life, though, come listen to some locally grown music. I guarantee that it will make you cry for the same reasons that Hank Williams makes you cry, or Nina Simone, or Sinatra — the good kind of cry that makes you feel glad to be alive.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Rachel Grimes interview
Rachel Grimes is an amazingly talented pianist, best known for her work with the group conveniently called Rachel's. She is currently promoting her first solo record, and is playing tonight at 21C Museum Hotel. The concert begins at 7 p.m.; tickets are $12 at the door. She agreed to answer a few questions:
Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
Grew up right here in River City - Prospect, Crescent Hill, Old Louisville, Highlands, now Clifton.
My brother is a fantastic drummer, and singer. He also plays vibes and guitar. He was with Seluah (SUCH a great record...), and recorded and toured with Rachel's. My father and his mother taught me so much about playing piano by ear, and all the wonderful early stride and show tunes. There were two pianos in the house - at times with four people charging ahead on "St. Louis Blues". My mother is music lover and a closet pianist (I know this having walked in the house unbeknownst...).
What is your musical background / training?
I played by ear until I started lessons in first grade. Not the best student - I preferred to just play movie theme songs than to practice my lessons. In high school I finally got in the groove of really working on Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin. I went to the University of Louisville School of Music and got a degree in composition. I played in bands since I was 16 - Lemonade Hayride, Hula Hoop, Rachel's, King's Daughters & Sons. Spent a lot of time at local shows over the years - what a treasure.
Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
An impossible list... so many favorites, here are a few:
- would love to have heard live: Ellington and band, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, Chopin, St. Columbe, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Evans
- so glad I heard live: Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Ralph Stanley
- how did their brain work?: Debussy, Bach, Stravinsky
What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get
involved with them?
I have just helped to form, with Jane Halliday and Daniel Gilliam, "Hear + Now", a music series dedicated to local composers. Our first concert is being presented by 21C on Oct. 8th.
I am currently on tour with my solo record Book of Leaves, and will be playing a few shows with another pianist Sarah Cahill. We decided that even though we have never met, we ought to take the chance to play
some four hands music so we will be playing a Debussy piece called "Pour
L'Egyptienne".
I can't wait to get home and finish working on the King's Daughters & Sons record down at the Funeral Home. It has taken us a while due to schedules and life. We got together because we all knew each other from the lively, interconnected music scene and just had to make some songs and sing together. I have played with Kyle Crabtree before when he went on tour with Rachel's as the second drummer. Shared the bill with Joe Manning, and have recently put some backing tracks on a song of his, "Lately at a Lesser Table", part of the Karate Body White Belt split 7" series.
What do you hope to achieve with music?
I hope to translate honest feelings, textures, colors, imaginings through playing, writing and arranging and wish that the performance or recording will give the listener something unique, meaningful, and enjoyable.
Learn more at www.rachelgrimespiano.com or www.myspace.com/rachelgrimespiano
Rehearsal for Spring from on Vimeo.
Silent Retreat from on Vimeo.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Column #4: He's man enough to admit he loves McConaughey
Let us consider the “man crush.” According to the website Urban Dictionary, it refers to “a man having extreme admiration for another man, as though he wants to be him.”
Next, let us consider Matthew McConaughey.
I've concluded that I am fascinated with Matthew McConaughey because he is the complete opposite of me. He is handsome, rich, popular and beloved. He makes doing his job look effortless always — he never looks like he's trying to be someone he's not, even though that actually is his job.
I think, and I worry, and, frankly, it's gotten me nowhere. If 7-Up is the un-cola, he is the un-me. He is a tall, muscular Gentile. I don't know if he named his son Levi because of the Bible or because of the jeans, and I appreciate that it could go either way.
The first time I realized that there was something special about McConaughey — that he was no ordinary heartthrob like Antonio Sabato or and Josh Hartnett — was when he made an appearance on “The Daily Show” in 2001. His interview aired in two parts because… well, I'll let the show's website describe what happened:
1. “Jon Stewart shows the pt. 1 of his interview with Matthew McConaughey in which they discuss ‘getting ready' and emus.”
2. “Matthew McConaughey tells and acts out a nasty story about goat sex.”
The man represents the good life, ala Jimmy Buffett. His production company is called J.K. Livin. This is short for “Just Keep Livin',” which is his personal motto. Who has a personal motto? That's adorable!
I don't care much for his action movies. Anyone can do that. I don't want to be Harrison Ford — I'm already grumpy. Chuck Norris? We already know what Chuck Norris can do.
No, I love that McConaughey has carved out his own subgenre of romantic comedies. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past — his rom-coms seem to be parts of a series, like his own private Bridget Jones. We know that he will play a charming cad who will refuse to grow up — until the end. He will charm parents and children, though he might smoke too much weed, and he will want to spend more time with his bros than with his chick. Christopher Guest might be better known for his unscripted comedies, but I can't imagine McConaughey sticking to anyone else's screenplay, either.
Also, I love that he spent some of his own money to finance a movie called Surfer, Dude, about a “longboarding soul-surfer… (who) returns to Malibu for the summer to find his cool hometown vibe corrupted.”
What happens next, Matt? “He must endure the insanity that comes with no waves or give into ‘The Man.'”
I've always had unpopular opinions about actors. Before McConaughey, I had Burt Reynolds. Burt, though, is much older. Once, I admired Burt for his effortless charm, quick wit and light touch with the ladies. It became too hard to cheer Burt on, though, especially when he does things like pass out in a pool of his own blood after a prescription drug overdose made him fall over and crack his head open. Matthew McConaughey would never find himself in that position — at worst, too many Coronas might make him miss some killer waves.
I can still remember telling a woman in 1996 that my favorite actors were Burt Reynolds and Don Johnson. She laughed at me. A year later, Burt was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Boogie Nights. (Okay, so Don Johnson never lived up to his potential.)
That's the other thing I enjoy about following McConaughey's career — he's 40 now, and I still can't tell if he'll one day be seen as the next Paul Newman. While I spend way too much time thinking about it, Matthew McConaughey just keeps livin'.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Next, let us consider Matthew McConaughey.
I've concluded that I am fascinated with Matthew McConaughey because he is the complete opposite of me. He is handsome, rich, popular and beloved. He makes doing his job look effortless always — he never looks like he's trying to be someone he's not, even though that actually is his job.
I think, and I worry, and, frankly, it's gotten me nowhere. If 7-Up is the un-cola, he is the un-me. He is a tall, muscular Gentile. I don't know if he named his son Levi because of the Bible or because of the jeans, and I appreciate that it could go either way.
The first time I realized that there was something special about McConaughey — that he was no ordinary heartthrob like Antonio Sabato or and Josh Hartnett — was when he made an appearance on “The Daily Show” in 2001. His interview aired in two parts because… well, I'll let the show's website describe what happened:
1. “Jon Stewart shows the pt. 1 of his interview with Matthew McConaughey in which they discuss ‘getting ready' and emus.”
2. “Matthew McConaughey tells and acts out a nasty story about goat sex.”
The man represents the good life, ala Jimmy Buffett. His production company is called J.K. Livin. This is short for “Just Keep Livin',” which is his personal motto. Who has a personal motto? That's adorable!
I don't care much for his action movies. Anyone can do that. I don't want to be Harrison Ford — I'm already grumpy. Chuck Norris? We already know what Chuck Norris can do.
No, I love that McConaughey has carved out his own subgenre of romantic comedies. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past — his rom-coms seem to be parts of a series, like his own private Bridget Jones. We know that he will play a charming cad who will refuse to grow up — until the end. He will charm parents and children, though he might smoke too much weed, and he will want to spend more time with his bros than with his chick. Christopher Guest might be better known for his unscripted comedies, but I can't imagine McConaughey sticking to anyone else's screenplay, either.
Also, I love that he spent some of his own money to finance a movie called Surfer, Dude, about a “longboarding soul-surfer… (who) returns to Malibu for the summer to find his cool hometown vibe corrupted.”
What happens next, Matt? “He must endure the insanity that comes with no waves or give into ‘The Man.'”
I've always had unpopular opinions about actors. Before McConaughey, I had Burt Reynolds. Burt, though, is much older. Once, I admired Burt for his effortless charm, quick wit and light touch with the ladies. It became too hard to cheer Burt on, though, especially when he does things like pass out in a pool of his own blood after a prescription drug overdose made him fall over and crack his head open. Matthew McConaughey would never find himself in that position — at worst, too many Coronas might make him miss some killer waves.
I can still remember telling a woman in 1996 that my favorite actors were Burt Reynolds and Don Johnson. She laughed at me. A year later, Burt was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Boogie Nights. (Okay, so Don Johnson never lived up to his potential.)
That's the other thing I enjoy about following McConaughey's career — he's 40 now, and I still can't tell if he'll one day be seen as the next Paul Newman. While I spend way too much time thinking about it, Matthew McConaughey just keeps livin'.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Brainy Bunch
Our resident pop-culture guru Peter Berkowitz offers up his ideas about the 2009 Idea Fest lineup:
I live in Louisville because unpredictable events happen here. One is the emergence and evolution of Idea Fest, a four-day celebration of big ideas, new ideas, weird ideas and (hopefully) helpful ideas that might make this world a better place. Or, failing that, a world in which physicists and mathematicians are treated like rock stars.
Given that the concept of an "idea" is a broad one, you can expect to see everything from child prodigies to elder statesmen, cooks to journalists and business executives to farmers.
If that's not impressive enough already, just tell yourself that you're cooler than those nerds, and that smart people get awful lonely 'cause they can't get chicks.
Julian Beever
Remember that time when you saw a crazy story about a European dude who draws 3-dimensional images on the sidewalk which look real but aren't actually, let's say, giant manholes, and you were all, "Woah!"? He's that guy.
Tiffany Shlain
A filmmaker whose very serious new film, Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence, is about being connected and a new dawn and a new era and... I don't know. At least Katherine Heigel isn't in it.
Kjerstin Erickson
My favorite people who appear at this fest are the ones like Erickson, who, at 26, have done more than I will ever do. Her organization works with African refugees. Just like Bono, but in much less annoying fashion.
Kembrew McLeod
The IF speaker whose name sounds most like a starter for the 1974 New York Nets, he's actually an media studies professor from Iowa. Huh. Okay, but he's talking about hip-hop and copyright issues, so that's pretty street, especially for Iowa.
Bert Hoelldobler
This German myrmecologist's topic, "The Superorganism," isn't what you thought it was if you read that too quickly. And no, I don't know what he does. Why do I have to do all the Googling in this relationship? According to the IF website, he is a past winner of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. So there's that.
Leslie Lyons
The photographer, known locally for her "I Live in Louisville" website, will be talking about the impact of T-shirts in our culture. She takes pictures of "real people," not models, which is why she's an artist and not rich.
Bob Berman
The thing about being the most beloved astronomy guy means that you mean a lot to people who obsess over astronomy, but very little to 97 percent of the human race. (Kind of like being the most famous writer for your local newspaper).
Daniel Roth
His ideas about how harsh economic realities can lead to bold new ideas is probably a year or two ahead of its time, but hey, any port in a storm.
Chris Turney
The topic is climate change. Go to this either to be terrified, or to yell right-wing taunts at him. Something for everyone.
A. J. Jacobs
You know that guy who wrote that Esquire magazine piece about spending a year reading the dictionary? That guy. (Actually, it was the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever.)
Ahn Trio
A song of theirs was used on So You Think You Can Dance. That's the classical music equivalent of saying that my mom knows who Kate Capshaw is because she married Steven Spielberg.
Moira Gunn
The host of NPR's Tech Nation will explain why my parents can't work their cell phone, and how the robots will enslave us all by the year 2020.
Daan Roosegaarde
From the Netherlands - as you might guessed - a discussion about architecture in the modern era. You people with ideas are really into how things affect us today, aren't you?
Marc Yu
A ten-year-old master pianist is great and all, but I bet he doesn't even have a clothing line or a reality show yet.
John McPherson
I clearly don't need to attend a lecture on the power of humor... even if his comic, Close to Home, is in 700 papers and I'm writing about... him. Maybe I can learn something after all.
Paul Osterlund
The former Intel exec now leads the Abundance Farming Project. If I had lots of money, I'd totally do noble things, too. Who needs a palace in the south of France, anyway?
Kulapat Yantrasast
The co-founder of wHY Architecture, which is renovating our Speed Museum, has a name that would be good for a British psychedelic band, which has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, but interesting nonetheless.
Anthony Bourdain
The chef, writer and host of the Travel Channel's No Reservations is many home cook's guide to a world of gastro wonders, with an endless curiosity and the attitude of an old New Yorker rocker.
Will Allen
An "urban farmer", Allen is the CEO of Growing Power, which has some good ideas about distributing healthy food. He even won a MacArthur genius grant. Someone needs to ask him why it's still so hard to find any healthy food in most urban neighborhoods.
Marjorie Garber
The Harvard professor's book, Shakespeare and Modern Culture, addresses the subtle genius behind modern interpretations of the Bard. I desperately want to know what she thinks of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.
Po Chi Wu
If you want to be reminded that China is and will continue to kick our ass during this century, come listen to him explain why. Maybe he'll feel sorry for you and hand out $100 bills, just because he can.
Dana Canedy
Canedy is a senior editor for The New York Times, which means that I will never work for her. The Radcliff, Ky. native will discuss her memoir, A Journal for Jordan, about losing a loved one to war.
Naomi Tutu
Bishop Desmond Tutu's daughter will talk about human rights, violence against women and how much fun it is to be named "Tutu".
Daniel Jones
The co-founder of Louisville's 21st Century Parks program discusses green living and his vision for a future in which... I dunno, new trees will be made out of old tires and all litterers will be executed? I hope so, that would be awesome!
Lee Dugatkin
The U of L biology prof returns to discuss his new book, Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, which is about "the evolution of goodness." Which sounds plausible until you realize that his book will sell 2 million fewer copies than Ann Coulter's last one.
Dr. Richard Kogan
Also returning with a new idea, the piano playin' psychiatrist will play some Tchaikovsky while exploring the relationship between "creative" and "batspit crazy". (Spoiler alert: what gets you arrested at the office supply store can also lead to some fresh tunes).
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
I live in Louisville because unpredictable events happen here. One is the emergence and evolution of Idea Fest, a four-day celebration of big ideas, new ideas, weird ideas and (hopefully) helpful ideas that might make this world a better place. Or, failing that, a world in which physicists and mathematicians are treated like rock stars.
Given that the concept of an "idea" is a broad one, you can expect to see everything from child prodigies to elder statesmen, cooks to journalists and business executives to farmers.
If that's not impressive enough already, just tell yourself that you're cooler than those nerds, and that smart people get awful lonely 'cause they can't get chicks.
Julian Beever
Remember that time when you saw a crazy story about a European dude who draws 3-dimensional images on the sidewalk which look real but aren't actually, let's say, giant manholes, and you were all, "Woah!"? He's that guy.
Tiffany Shlain
A filmmaker whose very serious new film, Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence, is about being connected and a new dawn and a new era and... I don't know. At least Katherine Heigel isn't in it.
Kjerstin Erickson
My favorite people who appear at this fest are the ones like Erickson, who, at 26, have done more than I will ever do. Her organization works with African refugees. Just like Bono, but in much less annoying fashion.
Kembrew McLeod
The IF speaker whose name sounds most like a starter for the 1974 New York Nets, he's actually an media studies professor from Iowa. Huh. Okay, but he's talking about hip-hop and copyright issues, so that's pretty street, especially for Iowa.
Bert Hoelldobler
This German myrmecologist's topic, "The Superorganism," isn't what you thought it was if you read that too quickly. And no, I don't know what he does. Why do I have to do all the Googling in this relationship? According to the IF website, he is a past winner of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. So there's that.
Leslie Lyons
The photographer, known locally for her "I Live in Louisville" website, will be talking about the impact of T-shirts in our culture. She takes pictures of "real people," not models, which is why she's an artist and not rich.
Bob Berman
The thing about being the most beloved astronomy guy means that you mean a lot to people who obsess over astronomy, but very little to 97 percent of the human race. (Kind of like being the most famous writer for your local newspaper).
Daniel Roth
His ideas about how harsh economic realities can lead to bold new ideas is probably a year or two ahead of its time, but hey, any port in a storm.
Chris Turney
The topic is climate change. Go to this either to be terrified, or to yell right-wing taunts at him. Something for everyone.
A. J. Jacobs
You know that guy who wrote that Esquire magazine piece about spending a year reading the dictionary? That guy. (Actually, it was the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever.)
Ahn Trio
A song of theirs was used on So You Think You Can Dance. That's the classical music equivalent of saying that my mom knows who Kate Capshaw is because she married Steven Spielberg.
Moira Gunn
The host of NPR's Tech Nation will explain why my parents can't work their cell phone, and how the robots will enslave us all by the year 2020.
Daan Roosegaarde
From the Netherlands - as you might guessed - a discussion about architecture in the modern era. You people with ideas are really into how things affect us today, aren't you?
Marc Yu
A ten-year-old master pianist is great and all, but I bet he doesn't even have a clothing line or a reality show yet.
John McPherson
I clearly don't need to attend a lecture on the power of humor... even if his comic, Close to Home, is in 700 papers and I'm writing about... him. Maybe I can learn something after all.
Paul Osterlund
The former Intel exec now leads the Abundance Farming Project. If I had lots of money, I'd totally do noble things, too. Who needs a palace in the south of France, anyway?
Kulapat Yantrasast
The co-founder of wHY Architecture, which is renovating our Speed Museum, has a name that would be good for a British psychedelic band, which has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, but interesting nonetheless.
Anthony Bourdain
The chef, writer and host of the Travel Channel's No Reservations is many home cook's guide to a world of gastro wonders, with an endless curiosity and the attitude of an old New Yorker rocker.
Will Allen
An "urban farmer", Allen is the CEO of Growing Power, which has some good ideas about distributing healthy food. He even won a MacArthur genius grant. Someone needs to ask him why it's still so hard to find any healthy food in most urban neighborhoods.
Marjorie Garber
The Harvard professor's book, Shakespeare and Modern Culture, addresses the subtle genius behind modern interpretations of the Bard. I desperately want to know what she thinks of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.
Po Chi Wu
If you want to be reminded that China is and will continue to kick our ass during this century, come listen to him explain why. Maybe he'll feel sorry for you and hand out $100 bills, just because he can.
Dana Canedy
Canedy is a senior editor for The New York Times, which means that I will never work for her. The Radcliff, Ky. native will discuss her memoir, A Journal for Jordan, about losing a loved one to war.
Naomi Tutu
Bishop Desmond Tutu's daughter will talk about human rights, violence against women and how much fun it is to be named "Tutu".
Daniel Jones
The co-founder of Louisville's 21st Century Parks program discusses green living and his vision for a future in which... I dunno, new trees will be made out of old tires and all litterers will be executed? I hope so, that would be awesome!
Lee Dugatkin
The U of L biology prof returns to discuss his new book, Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, which is about "the evolution of goodness." Which sounds plausible until you realize that his book will sell 2 million fewer copies than Ann Coulter's last one.
Dr. Richard Kogan
Also returning with a new idea, the piano playin' psychiatrist will play some Tchaikovsky while exploring the relationship between "creative" and "batspit crazy". (Spoiler alert: what gets you arrested at the office supply store can also lead to some fresh tunes).
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Column #3: It's no sale for this bigoted businessman
It's hard not to notice a 60-year-old man with a white ponytail working at a shoe store. He's even harder to forget when he's pressing his phone number into your hand, urging you to call him directly next time you're looking for more Vans slip-ons.
Lester (not his real name) took an instant liking to me because he liked the Bob Seger concert T-shirt that I was wearing. He never asked my name, but immediately started rambling about the Rolling Stones in the early '70s, how the kids today don't know what good music is, etc.
Curiously un-self-conscious, Lester then began complaining about how, “These young people don't even know about Motown, even the…” He looked behind us at an African American clerk and gestured in her direction. “They only know about the rap. It's all noise with the screaming and the anger and all the…” He leaned in and whispered a curse word, as if, otherwise, I wouldn't have known that part of what's bad about rap is all the cursing.
It could've been worse. When the Aug. 4 flash flood overtook our street, it took my car with it. When the insurance company said that they'd send me a check, my sadness turned into sunny delight. Now, though, came the hard part: shopping for a used car.
At the first dealership we visited, in the East End, we saw a promising ride. After a few more trips across the county came up empty, we headed back to look at the first car again.
We took the promising car out on the road. The test drive was going along just fine for the first few minutes. I turned the radio on to my favorite station, Country Legends 103.9. I like most music, unless it's created by corporate pawns with silly names like Miley or Mraz. The salesman seemed glad to find common ground over our mutual enjoyment of country music, and told an overlong story about meeting George Jones.
Exchanging basic pleasantries isn't amongst the hardest chores one faces in life. From the age of 5 or so, we all get a lot of clues from society about how to talk to people we've only known for a half-hour. He was off to a fairly good start.
"Where do you all live?"
"Germantown."
"Oh, yeah? Bardstown Road?"
My wife confirmed this before I could clarify his error.
The next thing you want to say probably isn't what he said next: "I like it over there. There's a lot of good, wholesome white folks there."
To clarify his perspective, he added, "Yeah, I don't care much for darkies myself."
Though you might think that we should've immediately told him how hateful he was, we didn't. We both knew that there wasn't anything we could say to make him understand just how wrong we thought he was. We also both knew that behavior like that catches up to someone pretty quickly. And we both knew that I have the power of the press behind me, to tell this story.
When I admit to stereotyping, it's usually with generalizations such as the following: When I think of people in the East End, I usually don't assume that they might be blatant, unrepentant racists. I also usually forget that country music fans are thought of, by some, as racists.
I like country music, but I also like reggae, salsa and not being a racist.
We left, and found another car for $1,000 more on Dixie Highway. That salesman might have been a racist, too, but if he was, he didn't burden us with his ignorance.
I don't expect to find bigotry in a business where thousands of dollars can depend on personal relationships. Here's an example: I would not buy anything from a blatant, unrepentant racist. I do not care if such a person loses his job — in fact, I look forward to it.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Lester (not his real name) took an instant liking to me because he liked the Bob Seger concert T-shirt that I was wearing. He never asked my name, but immediately started rambling about the Rolling Stones in the early '70s, how the kids today don't know what good music is, etc.
Curiously un-self-conscious, Lester then began complaining about how, “These young people don't even know about Motown, even the…” He looked behind us at an African American clerk and gestured in her direction. “They only know about the rap. It's all noise with the screaming and the anger and all the…” He leaned in and whispered a curse word, as if, otherwise, I wouldn't have known that part of what's bad about rap is all the cursing.
It could've been worse. When the Aug. 4 flash flood overtook our street, it took my car with it. When the insurance company said that they'd send me a check, my sadness turned into sunny delight. Now, though, came the hard part: shopping for a used car.
At the first dealership we visited, in the East End, we saw a promising ride. After a few more trips across the county came up empty, we headed back to look at the first car again.
We took the promising car out on the road. The test drive was going along just fine for the first few minutes. I turned the radio on to my favorite station, Country Legends 103.9. I like most music, unless it's created by corporate pawns with silly names like Miley or Mraz. The salesman seemed glad to find common ground over our mutual enjoyment of country music, and told an overlong story about meeting George Jones.
Exchanging basic pleasantries isn't amongst the hardest chores one faces in life. From the age of 5 or so, we all get a lot of clues from society about how to talk to people we've only known for a half-hour. He was off to a fairly good start.
"Where do you all live?"
"Germantown."
"Oh, yeah? Bardstown Road?"
My wife confirmed this before I could clarify his error.
The next thing you want to say probably isn't what he said next: "I like it over there. There's a lot of good, wholesome white folks there."
To clarify his perspective, he added, "Yeah, I don't care much for darkies myself."
Though you might think that we should've immediately told him how hateful he was, we didn't. We both knew that there wasn't anything we could say to make him understand just how wrong we thought he was. We also both knew that behavior like that catches up to someone pretty quickly. And we both knew that I have the power of the press behind me, to tell this story.
When I admit to stereotyping, it's usually with generalizations such as the following: When I think of people in the East End, I usually don't assume that they might be blatant, unrepentant racists. I also usually forget that country music fans are thought of, by some, as racists.
I like country music, but I also like reggae, salsa and not being a racist.
We left, and found another car for $1,000 more on Dixie Highway. That salesman might have been a racist, too, but if he was, he didn't burden us with his ignorance.
I don't expect to find bigotry in a business where thousands of dollars can depend on personal relationships. Here's an example: I would not buy anything from a blatant, unrepentant racist. I do not care if such a person loses his job — in fact, I look forward to it.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Column #2: My life as a stand-up guy
The first joke I told to a group of strangers, onstage, was about O.J. Simpson. The only good thing I can tell you about it is that it was in 1997, not last weekend. Well, the other good thing is that they laughed. A little. A little is enough, though, for a fledging comic who has been waiting for this moment for months, years or decades.
There are a few people who know what I did between 22 and 25, and they all want to know if I've seen the new movie Funny People. Are soldiers asked if they've seen G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra? Do cops get asked if they see cop movies? Do you assume that every teacher has seen Kindergarten Cop? Whatever your trade is, if Hollywood has made a movie about it, it probably has only a superficial resemblance to its reality.
I fell into stand-up by accident. I went to L.A. with a simple plan: Get a job writing for a great TV series, then move on to writing and directing movies.
Sounds easy, yes? I was 22 and didn't know anyone there except for some relatives, who, like your relatives, lacked clout in Hollywood. After years of being the weird one, suddenly I was surrounded by 100,000 other guys who looked, thought and talked more like me than I was comfortable with. (The fun house mirror is inaccurately named.)
Where does a writer go? When your task is to stay in a room, alone, producing universally beloved works of art, how do you transfer them from your thoughts into multiple Emmys, Oscars and... hey, do novelists even get awards?
I quickly discovered that in L.A., there are so many people desperate to be seen performing that anything can become a stage: a theater, bar, coffeehouse, book store, hookah lounge — even a laundromat. I also learned that a lot of performers were desperate in general, bitter and exhausting. I didn't want to be sentenced to that life.
I also suffered from stage fright. You know how public speaking is everyone's biggest fear? Imagine doing that in front of a hundred strangers, nightly, for years. It doesn't necessarily get easier. I saw myself improve as a writer the more stand-up I did, but was never able to perform my material as skillfully as it sounded in my mind.
Some people I came up with have had success. Why, only two months ago Zach Galifianakis became a movie star in The Hangover, after 15 years as a comic. Maria Bamford has been on TV a lot lately, thanks to The Comedians of Comedy. Who doesn't find Stephanie Courtney effortlessly delightful as the wacky gal in the Progressive Insurance commercials? Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Beckwith, Jimmy Dore, Martha Kelly, Jordy Fox or Manuel Gallegos? Neither have most people. After that, it gets even less glamorous. Three of the guys I worked with died young, from drugs or obesity.
Elizabeth had a roommate who was a young actress. Linda Cardellini soon landed the starring role in a TV series called Freaks and Geeks. Through her, I met most of the cast. Today, some of those people make a new Judd Apatow movie every month. And though I could see his latest movie, Seth Rogen will probably never again be as funny to me as he was in 1999.
A few hours before I went up onstage for the first time, on a Saturday in April 1997, I rented a movie called Punchline. Bitter veteran Tom Hanks is teaching suburban mom Sally Field how to become a comic. She tries out a joke involving 1970s serial killer David Berkowitz, and he shakes his head.
"Manson is funny - Berkowitz isn't funny." Then, as if I needed to hear his warning again, Hanks repeats, "Manson is funny! Berkowitz isn't funny!"
I don't regret trying, but I'm in no hurry to revisit that world.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
There are a few people who know what I did between 22 and 25, and they all want to know if I've seen the new movie Funny People. Are soldiers asked if they've seen G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra? Do cops get asked if they see cop movies? Do you assume that every teacher has seen Kindergarten Cop? Whatever your trade is, if Hollywood has made a movie about it, it probably has only a superficial resemblance to its reality.
I fell into stand-up by accident. I went to L.A. with a simple plan: Get a job writing for a great TV series, then move on to writing and directing movies.
Sounds easy, yes? I was 22 and didn't know anyone there except for some relatives, who, like your relatives, lacked clout in Hollywood. After years of being the weird one, suddenly I was surrounded by 100,000 other guys who looked, thought and talked more like me than I was comfortable with. (The fun house mirror is inaccurately named.)
Where does a writer go? When your task is to stay in a room, alone, producing universally beloved works of art, how do you transfer them from your thoughts into multiple Emmys, Oscars and... hey, do novelists even get awards?
I quickly discovered that in L.A., there are so many people desperate to be seen performing that anything can become a stage: a theater, bar, coffeehouse, book store, hookah lounge — even a laundromat. I also learned that a lot of performers were desperate in general, bitter and exhausting. I didn't want to be sentenced to that life.
I also suffered from stage fright. You know how public speaking is everyone's biggest fear? Imagine doing that in front of a hundred strangers, nightly, for years. It doesn't necessarily get easier. I saw myself improve as a writer the more stand-up I did, but was never able to perform my material as skillfully as it sounded in my mind.
Some people I came up with have had success. Why, only two months ago Zach Galifianakis became a movie star in The Hangover, after 15 years as a comic. Maria Bamford has been on TV a lot lately, thanks to The Comedians of Comedy. Who doesn't find Stephanie Courtney effortlessly delightful as the wacky gal in the Progressive Insurance commercials? Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Beckwith, Jimmy Dore, Martha Kelly, Jordy Fox or Manuel Gallegos? Neither have most people. After that, it gets even less glamorous. Three of the guys I worked with died young, from drugs or obesity.
Elizabeth had a roommate who was a young actress. Linda Cardellini soon landed the starring role in a TV series called Freaks and Geeks. Through her, I met most of the cast. Today, some of those people make a new Judd Apatow movie every month. And though I could see his latest movie, Seth Rogen will probably never again be as funny to me as he was in 1999.
A few hours before I went up onstage for the first time, on a Saturday in April 1997, I rented a movie called Punchline. Bitter veteran Tom Hanks is teaching suburban mom Sally Field how to become a comic. She tries out a joke involving 1970s serial killer David Berkowitz, and he shakes his head.
"Manson is funny - Berkowitz isn't funny." Then, as if I needed to hear his warning again, Hanks repeats, "Manson is funny! Berkowitz isn't funny!"
I don't regret trying, but I'm in no hurry to revisit that world.
c. 2009 Velocity Weekly
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